The Plain Truth About Public Elementary Schools With Fairfax County’s school system touted as one of the best in the country, why is your child not receiving the attention that he/she needs during this critical time of development? Parents may not realize that their child’s daily school experience from preschool through middle-school is more profound, [...]

Westminster School Celebrates A Diverse Community, And A Shared Dream The Westminster School community and friends came together on Friday, February 27, to celebrate our rich cultural diversity.  More than 40 different nationalities are represented by Westminster students, parents, and staff. Many attendees dressed in elegant and colorful clothing representing their heritage.  The evening was filled with [...]

STEM In Elementary And Middle-School Education STEM is often misunderstood as simply the inclusion of science, technology, engineering, and math in a school curriculum.  Actually, STEM is an educational approach that integrates the traditional subjects of math and science along with the application of technology and/or engineering principles.  According to Dr. Patricia Fioriello at ExpertBeacon.com, [...]

My Child Wouldn’t Bully Someone Else—Would He? October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and it’s a great time to talk to your child about bullying.  Many parents are concerned about whether their child is being bullied, but does it occur to them that their child could BE bullying someone else? Preventing bully behavior starts at [...]

P.E. EVERY Day? What About Academics? Many schools today are limiting their physical education classes in order to squeeze in more academic time for their students.  It’s understandable:  we live in an area where academics are prioritized and students are expected to succeed in the classroom. So why do we have daily P.E. when other [...]

After-School Programs Enriching Student Lives When researchers from the Harvard Family Research Project analyzed a decade of studies they concluded that “children and youth who participate in after-school programs can reap a host of positive benefits in a number of interrelated outcome areas—academic, social/emotional, prevention, and health and wellness” (http://www.sedl.org/pubs/sedl-letter/v20n02/afterschool_findings.html).  Westminster School strongly supports these [...]

Finding The Right Elementary School ~ Do Your Homework! There are few decisions more important than finding the right school for your child. You probably have a few choices, including public school—so how do you make this tough decision? You really have to do your homework when it comes to making this choice. You can probably do [...]

Why Small Class Size Is ImportantIndividualized Attention Academic Achievement Positive Impact on Students and Teachers Studies have demonstrated that students who are assigned to smaller classes in grades K-3rd do better in every way that can be measured: they score higher on tests, receive better grades, and exhibit improved attendance. A recent Department of Education evaluation revealed that [...]

Turn Your Child Into A Reader What are the best ways to ensure that your child becomes a good reader? What if you find that your elementary-aged child isn’t very interested in reading? Studies have shown that the primary indicator of your child’s reading success is the number of hours that you spend reading aloud to him or her. This should not [...]