ALUMNI NEWSLETTER
SPRING 2020
THE LEARNING CONTINUES!
The Congressional School campus may be closed, but learning has continued. Within 2-days of the Virginia mandated school closing, we were up and running with Congressional School Online.

and see how our virtual learning program is keeping students engaged.

JOIN US FOR THE RED CARPET VIRTUAL GALA
This Saturday - May 16 at 6:00 PM

Congressional School is celebrating its 80th Anniversary. Thank you for being part of our story and helping build the strong institution we have today with 350 younger learners, Infants – Grade 8.
 
We invite you to join us virtually this  Saturday, May 16 at 6 pm  to hear from our new Head of School, Dr. Edwin Gordon, Raise Your Paddle in support of the community and bid in the Live Auction. Our theme #CongressionalCares is community focused and will support three areas:

  • Emergency Retention Fund
  • Faculty and Technology Enhancement Fund
  • COVID-19 School Emergency Response Fund 

To inspire our community, and as a thank you for their son’s nine year experience,  Sandra Buteau P’20, Board Member, and her husband, Phil Budwick P’20, are offering The Budwick Family Challenge – 89 gifts for $35,000!   Watch their video appeal  and help us meet their generous challenge with a 100% deductible gift at The Red Carpet Virtual Gala or before via  www.congressionalschool.org/CongressionalCares .
 
We also invite you to explore our 200+ items in the online auction and 9 Live Auction items. Visit the Gala website at  www.congressionalgala.org  to preview and bid. The Live Auction will run between 6:00 – 6:45 pm and online auction will close at 10 pm this Saturday.
 
To join The Red Carpet Virtual Gala please use the Google Meet link below.


Or dial: +​1​ ​3​3​7​-​3​0​5​-​7​8​3​9 PIN: 8​8​5​ ​1​7​5​ ​4​5​2​#
For the best user experience, we encourage you to make Chrome your default browser. 
 
#CongressionalCares

Third Project Green Schools Win for Congressional Students.
For the third year in a row, Congressional students have won a Project Green Schools Green Difference Award for their Global Perspectives Sustainability Project.

This year's award goes to our current 7th graders for their sustainable refugee model they created last year in Mrs. Yassine's 6th Grade Global Perspectives class. The students' model offers ideas for sustainability on behalf of individuals who are displaced and need a place to live. The project won for the category 'Stem and the Future of Sustainability.' 
Click image to watch the video
Live Auction Spotlight:
A Taste of California Wine
John Tato '99 invites you to t ake a tour of California wine country without leaving the comfort of your home! The donation includes a six bottle wine sampler of classic California wines. See the wine list.
Thank you Sponsors
Thank you to  Edy Rameika ’86 and Roxybird   Floral and Event Design for being our Lead Sponsor for The Red Carpet Virtual Gala!
And, thank you to all of our sponsors .
Congressional Launches Summer Academy
This summer, Congressional is pleased to launch a brand new program offering online academic for-credit and non-credit enrichment classes to students in rising grades 3-9. A selection of thirty classes will be available between June 15 and July 17 including math, writing, study skills, leadership and more. Check our website for details to be published later this week.
Spring Magazine Focuses on Congressional School Leadership
Our Spring 2020 Magazine has been published and was mailed to alumni in April! The theme of the magazine is leadership. Hopefully you received your copy in the mail. We've also published it online for you to flip through. See the magazine online.
Alumni News
A big thank you to Victor Lawe '81 who recently gifted us his vintage Congressional High School letterman jacket. Victor was on the school's football team and fondly remembers his coach Caroll Williams. Thank you, Victor. The jacket will join the school's archive of artifacts that visually tells the story of Congressional School through the decades.
Congratulations to Congressional School alumnae who are graduating from The Madeira School and going on to play college-level sports. Amara Eley '16 will join the Women’s basketball team at Rutgers University-Camden and Lily Rathbun '16 will join the lacrosse team at the University of California Berkeley.
Thank you to  Lizzie Sherman '18  who joined us on campus in March for Revisit Day! She provided an excellent resource as an alumni to the prospective parents at the event. Lizzie attends St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School as a sophomore. She tells us that she is loving AP World History, has played JV volleyball and basketball, is an admission ambassador, and is a part of the school's literary magazine.
Bill Barnes ’74 and Eleni Halstead ’74  both graduated from Congressional’s high school in 1974. Bill was our Founder’s Day speaker in 2016 so he was familiar with our recent campus updates. However, this was the first time Eleni was back on campus since graduation. It was great to see her excitement about the school today.
Aaron Thapa '19  is attending Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and has been enjoying his after school performing arts activities with the musical. Aaron was part of marching band in the fall and more recently participated in in Winter drumline. He is taking advantage of the resources and equipment that are available at Thomas Jefferson. Aaron is also taking Japanese and learning to play Taiko drums.
Eva Smith '19  was one of the many alumni we were excited to visit with at Homecoming this year. Eva is a freshman at Yorktown High School and tells us that she got honor roll in the first quarter and played field hockey (and their team was undefeated)! We're so glad to hear that she's doing well in high school.

Class of 2016 High School Graduation

Congratulations to our Class of 2016 who are graduating from high school this year!

Although the year didn’t finish as you’d hoped, we are proud of you and wish you all the best as you embark on this exciting new chapter of your lives. 

In the News
Arlington Magazine
Congressional is featured in an article about how schools are handling the switch to virtual learning.
Washington Parent
Dr. Silvia Moore, Director of Learning Center, published an article - Getting Your Kids Motivated to Study.
Falls Church News Press
Congressional students were featured for raising money for charity through a community shoe drive.
In Memoriam
Christopher A. Barker
Christopher A. Barker (Coach Barker) died at Adler Center hospice on April 23, 2020, from complications of leukemia. A teacher and coach for more than 35 years, Coach Barker encouraged his students to live active lives and introduced them to a range of fitness activities such as hiking and whitewater rafting. Coach Barker taught at Congressional School from 2002-2013 and was very popular with the students and the teachers/staff. He will be greatly missed. He leaves behind four daughters Kit, Anna, Claire, and Laura and stepson Ryan.
Connect With Us
FOLLOW US ONLINE
We are accepting applications for the
2020-2021 school year.
Our Admission Office is doing virtual tours.
Email Laura Day, Admission Associate.
Questions or Comments?
Contact Chris Pryor, Assistant Head for Advancement. 703-533-8167.
Congressional School  |  3229 Sleepy Hollow Road, Falls Church, VA
WWW.CONGRESSIONALSCHOOL.ORG | 703-533-9711