SCHOOL NEWS

Wakefield academic awards

At its weekly assembly May 23, Wakefield Country Day School gave students the awards that they had earned from the National Mythology Exam and the National Exploratory Latin Test. Teachers John McMahon and Welby Griffin assisted Head of School Kathleen Grove with the presentations.

For the National Greek Exam, senior Will Mullany earned a merit certificate and green ribbon.

In the National Mythology Exam, awards went to: (in Grade 3) Bailey Heinzelman and Peter McMahon, bronze medals (indicating 90- to 94-percent scores); (in Grade 5) Lily Shahida, Brooke Miller and Porter Gilliam, gold medals (100 percent); Rachel Cieplak and Eva Parios, silver medals (95-99 percent); Tatiana Calderon, Brooke Woodward, Hannah Williams and Shannon Kelley, bronze medals; (in Grade 6) Emma McGunigal, gold, and Jackson Romine, bronze; (in Grade 8) Rebecca Paulisch and Carolina Leonard, silver; Tad Wojcik and Rahmet Rahimi, bronze; and (in Grade 9) Willow Lynn, gold, and Madison Romine, bronze.

In the National Exploratory Latin Exam, student winners were: (in Grade 3) Peter McMahon, summa cum laude; (in Grade 5), Rachel Cieplak and Lily Shahida, magna cum laude; Eva Parios and Shannon Kelley, cum laude; and (in Grade 6), Drake Lynn, magna cum laude; Andrew Kwolek, Jackson Romine and Emma McGunigal, cum laude.

WCDS athletics update

At its spring athletic awards event May 18, Wakefield Country Day School announced the names of students who were elected by league coaches to allconference teams as well as the winners of awards from the school’s coaches. All-conference athletes were: In boys lacrosse, junior Daniel Chadduck was named the Delaney Athletic Conference Division II Player of the Year and to the All-Conference First Team. Senior Woody Hazel was also named to the First Team and senior Michael O’Heir received an honorable mention. In girls soccer, junior Alex Cancio-Bello was named to the All-Conference First Team. Eighth-grader Alyssa Hamilton was chosen for the Second Team, as was sophomore Kim Pankow.

This was the third selection this year for O’Heir, who was on the All-Conference First teams in Cross Country and Swimming. It was also the third selection for Pankow, who was First Team AllConference this year in volleyball and basketball.

Coaches’ awards for Wakefield’s athletes were:

In middle school girls soccer, the Most Valuable Player was Alyssa Hamilton; the Most Improved Player was Sydnei Eachus and the Coaches’ Award winner was Julia Weir. In middle school boys lacrosse, the MVP was Gabriel Cancio-Bello; the Most Improved Player was Grayson Galeone and the Coach’s Award winner was Gage Landis.

In varsity girls soccer, the Most Valuable Player was Alex Cancio-Bello; the Most Improved Player was Shannon Weir and the Coach’s Award went to Kim Pankow. In varsity boys lacrosse, Daniel Chadduck was Most Valuable Player, Woody Hazel the Most Improved Player and Michael O’Heir received the Coach’s Award. And in varsity tennis, Most Valuable Player was Greg Czekaj; Most Improved Player was Maeve Dale, and the Coach’s Award winner was Brian Shafran.

Russo graduates from

William and Mary

Katherine Anne Russo of Flint Hill graduated from the College of William and Mary on May 13 with a double major, earning a Bachelor of Arts in government and in English. The weekend’s commencement ceremonies in Williamsburg included an address by the college’s chancellor, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and the commencement speaker was the PBS NewsHour’s Jim Lehrer.

Russo has been accepted as a fellow in the college’s New Media Institute program in Washington, D.C., and also will work this summer as in intern at the Washington-based Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Last summer, she interned at Layalina Productions, a bipartisan nonprofit organization whose mission is to help bridge the divide between the Arab world and the United States by creating effective television programming to be broadcast in the Arab world in Arabic.

In addition to pursuing of her double majors, as part of a college service program Katherine volunteered over her winter breaks to teach English to children in underdeveloped countries – in 2011 at the Monte Cristi Orphanage in the Dominican Republic, and in 2012 at a school in Jinotega, Nicaragua. This past year, she also participated in a youth mentoring and tutoring program in the Williamsburg area. She also served for the past two years as captain of William and Mary’s Club Soccer Gold Team.

An accomplished horse woman, Katherine has hunted for the past 12 years with Rappahannock County’s Old Dominion Hounds (ODH); this spring she and her sister, Allison, took third in the jumping division of the ODH Hunter Pace Race.

In 2008, Katherine graduated with first honors from Wakefield Country Day School in Huntly, having served as senior class president and also as one of the school’s top athletes in varsity soccer, basketball and volleyball. Additionally, during her senior year at Wakefield, Katherine raised funds to introduce a special reading program for first graders at Watkins Elementary School, a Washington, D.C. inner city school.

Joback receives Liberty masters

Joseph Andrew Joback II graduated from Liberty Theological Seminary, Liberty University, on May 12 with a Master of Arts degree in Christian Leadership Studies. A 2001 graduate of Rappahannock County High School, Joey is the son of Jimmy and Ellen Joback of Flint Hill and lives with his wife, Kristen, in Lynchburg, where he is employed by Capital One.

Burke among Eastern

Mennonite grads

Brittany Burke of Flint Hill was among the graduating class of 2012 at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg earlier this month. Burke received a bachelors degree in Health and Physical Education from the university, a four-year fully accredited Christian liberal arts college that prepares students to serve and lead in a global context.

Tester named to dean’s list

In Huntingdon, Pa., Juniata College has named 381 students to the dean's list for the 2012 spring semester – including Leah Michelle Tester of Sperryville. She is the daughter of Howard and Kathleen Tester and a 2009 graduate of Fauquier High School. At Juniata, a liberal arts college with 1,550 students, the dean's list recognizes grade point averages of at least 3.6 out of a possible 4.0.

Light is MA recipient

Jeffrey Light was recognized as a member of the 2012 graduating class of Eastern Mennonite Seminary in Harrisonburg, Va., on April 29. Light graduated with a Master of Arts in Church Leadership and is a resident of Woodville. Eastern Mennonite is an ATS-accredited seminary that prepares men and women to serve and lead in a global context.