Awards and Recognitions

OMG (11/17/09)
Last week at the fall national journalism convention, attending by over 6,400 journalism students from across the country, Oakton Media Group made a quite a showing for ALL of our publications! The following national awards were brought home.Probably the most exciting award was the announcement of Katie Smith and Emily Bagdasarian as having the No. 1 literary magazine design in the country, which appeared in the 2009 Opus. They are both advised by Susan Sullivan.
Publication Awards:
Opus Literary Magazine (Charlotte Dobry, Editor; Susan Sullivan, Adviser): 10th place
Online Outlook (Koorosh Massoudi, Editor; Chad Rummel, Adviser): 9th Place
Paragon Yearbook (Megan Baumgartner, Editor; Chad Rummel, Adviser): 5th Place
Individual Awards:
Newswriting - Honorable Mention - Shannon Ragan
Editorial Writing - Honorable Mention - Zoe Mitchell
Review Writing - Superior - Chris Papas
News Editing / Headline Writing - Honorable Mention - Vipin Reddy
Newsmagazine: Layout - Superior - Erica Wohlleben
YB Copy/Caption: Sports - Honorable Mention - Caroline McGrath
YB Copy/Caption: Student Life - Superior - Rachel Sapone
YB Layout: Theme - Honorable Mention - Linda Tran
Literary Magazine: Layout - Excellent - Katie Smith
Literary Magazine: Poetry - Honorable Mention - Leah Shamlian
Short Documentary - Honorable Mention - Nathan Smith  
In-Camera Feature - Honorable Mention - Lauren Cajar
In-Camera Feature - Honorable Mention - Nick Mead

Chorus (11/11/09)
Congratulate the following 40 Chorus students who were selected through audition to participate in the All-District Chorus event to be held here at Oakton in February.
Women’s Choir (9th and 10th grade Women)
Soprano 1: Claire Stikeleather Alexandra Bloom Morgan Doss Daniella Beck, alternate
Soprano 2: Lauren Goetz (highest score in her section) Emma Mankin Susanna Jacobson Jessica Levy Madeline Paul Elizabeth Himes Shannon Mason
Alto: Keiona Jones Ashley Doran Sarah Smith Melissa Murillo Elizabeth Scarcella
Mixed Choir (11th & 12th grade Women and All Men)
Soprano 1: Natalie Nysetvold Michelle McHugh Holly Kelly Chelsea Casanave Isun Malekghassemi
Soprano 2: Ava Driscoll Elizabeth Turner Cecily Jacobson
Alto 1: Stephanie LeBolt Corinne Holland Courtney Washington Summer Perez Erica Jacquay, alternate
Alto 2: Jennifer Wolf Kristin Gavin
Tenor 1: Spencer Waters Trevor Herrinton Taylor Vogelzang Kevin Sol, alternate
Tenor 2: Richard Rossini
Bass 1: Ari Veach
Bass 2: Jacob Rakosi Zaxary Price Tim Nysetvold

Orchestra (11/10/09)
Congratulate the following Orchestra students who garnered a seat in Senior District Orchestra through a competitive audition last evening.
Violins: Alice Xiang Maddie Farmer Brian Hortelano Christina Lee Henry Yen Ricky Bassett
Cello: Eric Hautbois
Bass: Iman Abdikarim

Debate (11/5/09)
Congratulations to Ambareesh Gorle and Same Lucas who placed 5th in the Novice division at the WACFL (Wack-full) debate competition on Saturday.

Publications (11/2/09)
Congratulations to the staff of the Outlook, Paragon and Opus! The following awards were announced by VHSL this morning for the 2008-2009 publications.

Outlook Newsmagazine, Trophy Class
Paragon Yearbook, Trophy Class              
Opus Literary Magazine, First Class

Each publication scored Wachovia Cup points for the statewide competition.

Marching Band (11/2/09)
The Cougar Marching Band received straight superior ratings at the State Marching Festival on Saturday.  This performance was the culmination of 3 months of hard work, beginning on August 3.   The students did a great job and the judges were very impressed with the quality of their performance.   The drum majors this year were Bill Fuchs, Eric Sharer and Katherine Black.  Special thanks to Katie Hovanec, our guard instructor.  This superior rating is one-half of the requirement for Honor Band designation.  The other half comes in March at the District Concert Band Festival, where the Symphonic Band must also receive a superior rating.  Congratulations again to all marching band and guard members.

Leadership Award (10/13/09)
Twenty-one students from Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) were nominated for the College of William and Mary Leadership Award, which recognizes students who demonstrate leadership both in the classroom and in their communities. Jay Tucker is Oakton’s recipient of the William and Mary Leadership Award.

Marching Band and Guard (10/13/09)
Congratulations to the members of the Cougar Marching Band and Guard for their superior performance on Saturday at the Stafford Invitational.  Oakton won first place in the following captions: Music, Marching, General Effect, Guard, Drumline and Drum Major.  This Saturday (October 17) is our 25th annual Oakton Classic.  It is the largest marching band contest in the state and we would love to see the faculty here watching 37 bands, including the Oakton Cougar Marching Band.  Congratulations again to the marching cougars.

Orchestra (10/7/09)
Please take a minute to congratulate the following Orchestra students who garnered a seat in the Northern Virginia Regional Orchestra through a competitive audition on Monday evening. 260 string players auditioned for 82 spots, with Oakton placing the most students out of all high schools in Districts X, XI, and XII.
Violins: Stacy Ham, Irene Lee, Danny Song, Rachel Kim
Viola: Mikey Lankenau, Wendy Xue, Katie Brodie
Cello: Ryan Hinztman, Andrew Lankenau, Mike Dettmar
Bass: Evan Cannon, Principal
Additionally, Ryan McNamee was also selected to the percussion section.  These outstanding musicians will be representing Oakton at the Regional event in November.

Marching Band (10/5/09)
Congratulations to the members of the Cougar Marching Band for their superior performance on Saturday at the Spotsylvania Invitational.  Oakton won first place in the following categories: Music, Marching, General Effect, Drum Major, Guard and Percussion.  They also won first place in Class 4A and, by virtue of having the highest total score of the contest, was awarded the Grand Championship. 

Literary and Arts Magazine (9/29/09)
Congratulations to OHS Literary and Arts Magazine staff members Emily Bagdasarian and Katie Smith who are National Finalists for their design in the 2009 Opus edition. They will learn what national ranking from the National Scholastic Press Association at its convention in November. Emily and Katie face two finalists publications from Charlotte, N.C., and Wayne, Ind. You can view their online spreads at http://studentpress.org/nspa/winners/design09.html.

Marching Band (9/29/09)
Congratulations to the members of the Cougar Marching Band on their two great performances on Saturday.  At the North Stafford Invitational, they won second place percussion, first place guard and second place band.  At the Hermitage Classic, the band won first place music, first place in class 4A and Grand Champion.   These students have been working since August 3 and have done great work this season.  Congratulations again to all members.

National Merit Finalists
Sheen Justin, Alice Li, Yuanzhe Li, Laura Lyons, Natalie Nysertvold, Katie Smith and Zacharie Stair have been named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists for 2010.

FCPS Publications Named NSPA Pacemaker Finalists
Two Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) student publications have been named finalists in the National Scholastic Press Association’s (NSPA) Pacemaker Awards competition.
Oakton High School students Emily Bagdasarian and Katie Smith were named finalists in the 2009 Design of the Year competition for their magazine page or spread in Opus, the school’s literary magazine. Susan Sullivan serves as the adviser.

Congratulations to Dr. John Banbury, finalist for the Spillane Leadership Award for Instructional Excellence.  Dr. Banbury was recognized for the Collaboration Wednesday initiative which began in September of 2007 to provide faculty time to work closely together to identify essential content for common classes, develop common assessments for students, share engaging lessons, develop departmental grading, and provide support to students.  Dr. Banbury clearly is making a significant impact on students through his leadership of staff and students at Oakton High School.