At the start of spring break, some members of the Woodson Chorus A Cappella had the distinct honor of working with and performing at Carnegie Hall with Deke Sharon. Deke is most famously known as the composer of the vocal music for the Pitch Perfect movie franchise. Performers came from across the globe including the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. Woodson Chorus was the only public high school represented. The students received the invitation to perform after the organizers heard us through our YouTube channel. 

Congratulations to the following students for representing Woodson on such a prestigious and global stage: Carson Fenner, Emma Fig, Theo Hanna, Jonah Hilbert, Sarah Hymans, Bailey Libby, Anya Malaveetil, Charlotte Reymann, Brandon Spratt, Brielle Steeves, and Claire Warden. 

Congratulations to the following Woodson students that were accepted into the Residential Governor's Schools:

Visual and Performing Arts -

• Aiden Brennan
• Dariya Lukashuk 
• James Ngo

Agriculture - 

• Amy Cung
• Nicolas Tong

Humanities -

• Lily Eng
• Bridget Bushman

Engineering -

• Jared Jessup

Math, Science and Technology -

• Austin Song
• Mia Monroe

Congratulations to Woodson student, Nathaniel Kurland! He was one of seven FCPS students to be awarded corporate-sponsored scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The students are part of a group of more than 770 National Merit finalists chosen to receive scholarships financed by corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations. See the full list of student winners with their probable career fields.

Congratulations to Ryan Battaglia and Marek Raynal Kosecky for clinching the Boys Tennis Doubles District Champion title! Ryan also took home the Singles Champion title!

Congratulations to Nathaniel Grannis for placing 1st in the VHSL State Dive finals on Wednesday, February 14th.

Congratulations to Nathaniel Grannis for placing 1st in the Patriot District Dive Finals

Congratulations to Woodson OneAct. Out of the top four acting awards for VHSL States, Silas Blocker and Lucas Bickford took home two of them, and the team as a whole placed 3rd. Way to go!

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Another title for Woodson Theatre OneAct and "The Elephant Man". Occoquan Region Champions!

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Mr. Rushing and his student cast took home the Patriot District One Act Champion title! The production was "The Elephant Man" and Woodson's Silas Blocker was selected as Best Actor.

Congrats to the following Wrestlers for placing in the Patriot District finals.  On to Regionals!

1. 113- Scott Cockrell- placed 6th
2. 120- Royce Carroll- placed 4^th 
3. 126- Gavin Downer- placed 4^th 
4. 132- Carlos Ramirez- placed 4^th 
5. 138- Michael Mendoza- placed 4^th 
6. 144- Ochirdari Otgonbaatar- placed 6^th 
7. 157- Mateo Torres- placed 5^th 
8. 215- Rafael Pena- placed 2^nd 
9. HWT- Bryan Urrutia Romero- placed 3^rd 

Congratulations Woodson Science Olympiad Teams and Sponsor Ellen Babcock! On Saturday Feb 3^rd Woodson Science Olympiad competed in two separate tournaments. Team Europa attended the Princeton University Invitational and placed 8^th.  Two Teams attended the Fairfax High School Invitational and Team Io placed 2^nd and Team Callisto placed 11^th. 

Science Olympiad is a competitive science program where teams of 15 students compete in 23 different events in all fields of science and engineering in a one day competition that is exciting, fun, grueling, challenging and immensely rewarding. 

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UPDATE:

Congratulations to the Woodson Science Olympiad Team Europa for placing  1^st out of 31 teams at their Regional Tournament on Saturday Feb 24^th. We are also very proud of Team Io for placing 5^th and Team Callisto for placing 9^th! In total the team members earned 32 medals for individual team members, and the team as a whole earned one really big trophy for their coach! 

Next stop States on April 6^th at UVA! Grind back on!!!

Woodson Science Fair winners 2024

1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will advance to the Regional Science Fair in March.  Congratulations!

Behavioral and Social Science

Macrobiology

Microbiology

Computer Science

Chemistry

Environmental Science

Engineering

Physics

Materials Science

Woodson held an Athletic College Signing on Thursday 2/8/24 - Congrats to Celia Dawson, Soliel Clifford, Will Collins, Colleen Read, Peter Phan, Aidan Dash, Jason Kim, Bryce Donovan, and Sean Donovan. Go Cavs!

Congratulations to Taityn Speier for placing 5th at VHSL State Dive finals on Wednesday, February 14th!

We had 6 Orchestra students qualify for All State Orchestra! The concert will be held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Saturday, April 20^th @ 11am. 

All State Participants: 

Violin: James Ngo, Nathan Kurland, Isaac Kim, Josh Gwon, Sahn Kim

Bass: Zoe Eng

Congratulations to Sarea Manson, Carson Fenner, Kirsten Lunsford, and Serena Mancuso! Sarea and Carson will be representing Woodson in the Southern Region SATB Youth Honor Chorus. Kirsten and Serena will represent Woodson in the Southern Region SSAA Honor Chorus. Students were selected by audition from thousands of applicants across thirteen states. The honor choirs rehearse in Louisville, KY February 21-24 with a culminating performance at the end of the weekend. Congratulations to our singers!

Congratulations to the Following All-VA Delegates from Woodson Chorus!

Sarah Hymans - Soprano 1 - SSAA Chorus

Brielle Steeves - Alto 1 - SSAA Chorus

Allie MacDonald - Alto 1- SATB Chorus

Laiken Caldwell - Alto 1 - SSAA Chorus

Chiara Sale - Alto 2 - SSAA Chorus

Lucca Zamora-Soon - Alto 2 - SATB Chorus

Aiden Brennan - Tenor 1 - SATB Chorus

Joaquin Najar - Tenor 2 - SATB Chorus

Congratulations to the following Alternate Delegates!

Claire Pocock - Soprano 2 - 1st Alternate

Alex Winkler - Alto 2 - 2nd Alternate

Lance Howden - Tenor 1 - 1st Alternate

Carson Fenner - Tenor 1 - 2nd Alternate

James Hunter - Tenor 2 - 1st Alternate

Brian Zheng - Bass 1 - 1st Alternate

Brandon Spratt - Bass 1 - 2nd Alternate

Woodson's Deaf Academic Bowl Team placed 2nd at Regionals which qualifies them for the National competition in April at Gallaudet University. Way to go Ryan Chelline, Karine Jelalian, Sonan Sahgal, Maggie Smallwood, Shan Pillai and Julie Clinch!

The following Woodson Students have been named National Merit Finalist! 

Woodson Robotics competed at the First Robotics Competition in Ashland, VA. The Team ended the event ranked 15 of 29 Teams. The team was also selected for the Innovation in Control Award for their design of the Robot Drive System. 

“The Innovation in Control Award celebrates an innovative control system or application of control components - electrical, mechanical, or software - to provide unique machine functions. This team endeavored to simplify the lives of their drivers. Utilizing a robust custom drive train and employing LED’s to signal note possession, the drivers on this team effortlessly navigated the forge of the competition. Congratulations Team 8590!”

https://frc-events.firstinspires.org/2024/VAASH/awards

Twenty Woodson Marketing students traveled to Virginia Beach on Friday, March 1 for a weekend filled with competitive events, networking, and professional development. The DECA State Leadership Conference provides students with the opportunity to compete against the top talent in the state in categories focused on a variety of industries, including Marketing, Management, Hospitality & Tourism, Finance, and Entrepreneurship. Examples of event categories are linked below.

Special recognition goes to the following students for their achievements at the conference: 

- An Duong and Brianna Nguyen, Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making,  7^th Place Overall  

- Matthew Hiu, Hospitality Services Team Decision Making, Top 10 exam score

- Grace Degrandez-Mamani, Principles of Hospitality and Tourism, Top 10 role play score

An and Brianna qualified for the 2024 International Career Development Conference in Anaheim, California. This conference hosts over 20,000 DECA members, advisors, and business partners for four days at the end of April. 

For more information about how your child can be involved with DECA and Marketing and Entrepreneurship classes at Woodson, please contact Kelsey Treague at @email. 

The Regional Science Fair took place on Sunday, March 17th. We had three Grand Prize Nominees and one Grand Prize Winner!  Almost every Woodson project placed 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd in its Category, which is amazing.  16 of our 33 students won a cash prize, and many others earned scholarships, certificates of merit, and other various honors.  Congratulations to these students on their outstanding achievements!

Congratulations to Woodson’s Mock Trial Team who competed last weekend in the Virginia State Championships in Richmond, Virginia. Our team of nine dedicated students utilized creativity, intelligence, and vigor to attack a complicated fact pattern, conflicting witness statements, complex evidentiary rules, and the challenges of courtroom procedures in four full mock trials against extremely talented competition. Based on the scoring of real attorneys and collegiate mock trial competitors, our team won two of four mock trials and was ranked as the 10th best team in Virginia. This is Woodson’s highest finish in the State Championships since 2019.  Well done!  Our Mock Trial Team: Taraneh Doust, Sarah Courtney, Chance Jones, Meredith Phipps, Josie Owens, Jazzy Singh, Franchesca Douchine, Ceyda Bayraktar, and Aritak Waisi.

Congratulations to the following students who have qualified to represent Woodson at the State Leadership Conference in March 2024 at Virginia Beach.

Athletic College Signing Day was 11/8 - Currently, 13 Woodson athletes have committed to playing sports at the next level. Congrats to Andrew Perks, Bryce Donovan, Sean Donovan, Ellie Vander Ploeg Fallon, Julia Oleyar, Reese Cuviello, Eva Lennon, Ella Mathias, Maddie Gaboury, Claire Warden, Taityn Speier, Maura Fay, and Nora Gilmer. Go Cavs!

The Virginia High School League announces its 2023 Class 6 all-state field hockey team. The all-state field hockey team consists of five forwards, five midfielders, five defenders, and one goalkeeper. Only those players selected to the all-region first-team are eligible for selection to the all-state team. The all-state selection committee comprises eight coaches, with two from each region. 

Congratulations to the following Woodson Field Hockey athletes who were selected: 

• Julia Oleyar - Midfielder
• Reese Cuviello - Defender
• Kelby Lennen - Defender

The Virginia High School League announces its 2023 Class 6 All-State volleyball team. The all-state volleyball team consists of nine position players and one libero. Only those players selected to the all-region first-team are eligible for selection to the all-state team. The all-state selection committee comprises eight coaches, with two from each region.

Congratulations to the following Woodson Volleyball athlete who was selected for First Team:

• Maura Fay 

Congratulations to the following Woodson Volleyball athlete who was selected for Second Team:

• Emma Gardner

Congratulations to 4 Woodson students for their selection into the ACDA Southern Region Honors Choir. These students were chosen out of thousands of applications across the Southern Region. Congratulations to Sarea Manson and Carson Fenner for selection to the 7-9 SATB Choir and to Serena Mancuso and Kirsten Lunsford for their selection to the 10-12 SSAA Choir! They will be performing in February in Louisville, KY.

Congratulations to our Rocket League Esports team for taking home the State title, again! Coach Kuykendall, Coach Shu and team members Greysen Berg, Andrew Wong, Connor Lane, and Chance Clayville.

Students with a Perfect Score: 

• Keira C. 
• Kuber G. 
• Thomas G. 
• Enzo H
• Quan H
• Dan N.
• Son T. 

High Scoring Students - Cumulative:

• Kuber G. 
• Thomas G. 
• Son T. 
• Enzo H. 
• Quan H. 
• Andre M.
• Dan N.
• Evan H.
• Nicholas V. 

High Scoring Schools:

1. McLean HS
2. Woodson HS
3. Longfellow MS

The Woodson Band had 43 students earn a spot All-District Band after a competitive audition, the most of any school in our district.  We even had seven students earn first place on their instrument, a huge accomplishment!  A huge congratulations to the following students:
 

Top Band
Natalie Jiang – 1st Flute
Kyle Fernandez – 2nd Flute
Yeeun Kwak – 7th Flute
Luke Sun – 1st Oboe
Maya Moses – 4th Oboe
Jack Day – 4th Bassoon
Andrei Sabula – 1st Clarinet
Joanna Chappell – 3rd Clarinet
Jordan Hershaft – 4th Clarinet
Jameson Kim – 11th Clarinet
Teresa Nguyen – 19th Clarinet
Marta Scully Bristol – 21st Clarinet
Logan Lee – 22nd Clarinet
Abbey Moran – 23rd Clarinet 
Natalie Cradler – 3rd Bass Clarinet
Grant Kahler – 1st Alto Saxophone
Levi Thompson-Guldseth – 3rd Alto Saxophone
Nate Vailikit – 1st Baritone Saxophone
Ian Ahn – 4th F Horn
Joseph Tso – 3rd Trombone
Jake Spector – 6th Trombone
Benjamin Fitch – 3rd Euphonium
Gabe Eib – 1st Tuba

Second Band
Julie MacDonald – 1st Piccolo
Patrick Lee – 4th Flute
Ein Lee – 10th Flute 
Lilian Cochran – 4th Oboe
Maya Pendleton – 2nd Bassoon
Kai Foster – 3rd Clarinet
Sophia Ho - 7th Clarinet
Hannah Fensterer – 15th Clarinet
Drew Green – 17th Clarinet
Andrew Liang – 2nd Bass Clarinet
Donovan Tran – 2nd Alto Saxophone
James Kahler – 3rd Alto Saxophone
Niko Francis – 2nd Tenor Saxophone
Mayu Zuniga – 10th Trumpet
Kaylee Bryson – 4th Horn
Ralph Morton – 8th Horn
Callum Keller – 1st Bass Trombone
Eamon Girard – 2nd Tuba
Noah Ran – 3rd Tuba
Autumn Silverman – 6th Tuba

Alternates
Scarlett Aubrey – 2nd Alternate Oboe
Isaiah Pereira – 2nd Alternate Bass Clarinet

Woodson Model UN traveled to Yale University and brought home the Outstanding Small Delegation Award out of 200 schools from over 50 countries!

Julia Victor - Best Delegate
Ben Kralovec - Best Delegate
Rida Karim- Outstanding Delegate
Miranda Baxter - Outstanding Delegate
Cara King - Honorable Mention
Myra Jain - Honorable Mention
Sam Abbruzzese - Honorable Mention  

The 2024 USAS VIRGINIA AIR Rifle Junior Olympics State Competition (JOSC) kicked off on January 13th. Ben Hays once again demonstrated his mastery of accuracy and time. He scored 596 for 60 shots (56/60 shots were 10s) in standing position and won the 2024 gold medal. Congratulations Captain Ben!

Woodson’s Improv Team took first place from among 10 FCPS High Schools at Herndon on January 12th!

This is the second time Woodson has taken first out of the four competitions this year. Way to go!

Two of Woodson’s Model Judiciary Club’s competitive Mock Trial Teams competed in a regional competition last weekend against several schools. The mock trials were judged by attorneys, judges, or experienced national mock trial competitors. Each team conducted three separate trials against outstanding competitors. Based on the scoring of the judges, both teams finished in the top 10. Congratulations on a fantastic effort and performance!  Special kudos to Woodson’s Crimson Mock Trial Team that was ranked 2nd in the region and earned a bid to the State Championship in Richmond that will be conducted March 15-17.  

Congratulations to Girls Swim and Dive for placing 1st on Friday at the Patriot District Finals. 

These auditions combine three districts into a region and our region is the most competitive one in Virginia- this audition is often more difficult than the All-Virginia Auditions. Woodson is sending the second most number of students of any school in the region, which is made up of over 30 high schools. 

Congratulations to the following Woodson students:

Violin I | Josh Gwon, Kai McMurry
Violin II | Sahn Kim , Nathen Kurland , Isaac Kim, James Ngo, Ethen Lee, Cosette Jo
Bass | Zoe Eng
Piccolo (Flute 3) | Natalie Jiang
Oboe 2 | Maya Moses
1st Oboe Alternate | Luke Sun
Bassoon 3 (Contra) | Jack Day
Tenor Saxophone | Grant Kahler
2nd F Horn Alternate | Ian Ahn
Principal Percussion | Josh Park

Woodson 9th Grade student, Heman Bekele, wins the 2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge with Skin Cancer Treating Soap. Congratulations, Heman!

https://www.fcps.edu/news/americas-top-young-scientist-heman-bekele-was-born-ethiopia-educated-fcps 

Last week Han Lee participated in the Virginia State High School League golf championships in Harrisonburg, VA. Han posted a 75 (+5) and finished tied for 11^th out of 60 golfers from across the state.

Emma Fleming and Aurora Yoo earned spots and played in the Women’s Zone Qualifier at Twin Lakes. Aurora finished with an 80 (+8) on the Lakes Course to tie for 7^th place out of 68 golfers and earned a spot in next Tuesday’s Women’s state golf championship.

Congrats to Aurora Yoo who finished in 5th place at the Virginia High School League Women’s State Golf Championship held at Twin Lakes Golf Club. Aurora posted a 73 (+1) and finished in a three way tie for 5th place out of 38 golfers from across the state.

Girls Cross Country - District Results

Keira Arenholz - 2nd place finish in the 2023 Patriot District Championship

Girl's Cross Country team won 1st place in the District Championship

Boys Cross Country - District Results

Jibran Hutchins - 2nd place finish in the 2023 Patriot District Championship

Boy's Cross Country team finished in 3rd place in the District Championship

Girls Cross Country - Regional Results

The Girls Cross Country team took home 1st place in the Occoquan Region Championship! 1st time in Woodson school history! They will compete at VHSL States on Saturday, November 11th.

Keira Arenholz - 3rd place in Occoquan Region Championship. 2nd fastest time in Woodson history. Will compete at VHSL States on Saturday, November 11th.

Celia Dawson - 5th place in Occoquan Region Championship. 5th fastest time in Woodson history. Will compete at VHSL States on Saturday, November 11th.

Congrats to the following girls cross country athletes who also placed in the Occoquan Region Championship - Sarah Hymans (7th place), Monika Lukas (11th place), Hadley Vanek (14th place), Anna Strafford (16th place)

Boys Cross Country - Regional Results

Jibran Hutchins- 5th place in the Occoquan Region Championship - Will compete at VHSL States on Saturday, November 11th. 

Congratulations to the following Varsity Volleyball athletes for their All District Honors:

1st Team All District: Maura Fay, Emma Gardner, Nora Gilmer, Stella Gilligan

1st Team All District: Sofie Ferrell

All District Honorable Mentions: Jessie Lynch, Cat Quigley, Livia Lee

2023 REGION CHAMPS!

Woodson participated in a screening test with Gallaudet University last week to be eligible to compete in regionals. There are 4 regions and only 20 teams are accepted per region. The Woodson Academic Bowl team earned a spot in the South region and will be traveling to the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf on February 23, 2024. Congratulations to Ryan Chelline, Sonan Sahgal, Maggie Smallwood, Karine Jelalian, and to Coaches Julie Clinch and Shan Pillai!

Woodson 11th Grader, Mia Ramos, wrote the winning essay for the Virginia War Memorial's 2023 Veterans Day Essay Contest. 

This contest was open to all Virginia middle and high school public, private or homeschooled students. She won a prize package through McDonalds of Richmond and Hampton Roads and will be reading her winning essay at the Commonwealth’s Veterans Day Ceremony held on November 10th. Congrats Mia!

Two hundred sixty four Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students from 15 high schools have been named Semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation for 2024. 

All Semifinalists are eligible to compete for 7,500 National Merit Scholarship awards worth nearly $28 million, to be awarded in spring 2024. Semifinalists advance to finalist standing in the competition by meeting high academic standards and other requirements including a recommendation from a high school official.

Woodson High School 2024 National Merit Semifinalists are:

Zoe Eng, Anahat Goraya, Benjamin Hall, Gemin Kim, Nathaniel Kurland, Seth Lifland, Abbey Moran, Finnian Murphy, Joshua Park, Zahra Ramakdawala, William Jacob Ryman, Stephen Wolf

Congratulations to the following singers selected to the 2023 VA Senior Honor Choir: Jordan Hershaft, Chiara Sale, Brielle Steeves, Alyce Visioli. These students were selected after a rigorous audition process to represent Woodson in this ensemble. They will travel to Richmond, VA November 16-18 to rehearse and perform with other seniors from across the state and the Virginia Music Educators Conference. 

Their choral teacher, Ms. Amy Moir, will also be performing at this event!

Congratulations to Stephen Wolf who was an essay winner for last years WPLEC (West Point Leadership & Ethics Conference). He has been invited to be part of their Classroom Facilitation Team for WPLEC 2024.