Vienna Public School opened in 1872 and was the only 'white' public grammar school serving the community. The two-story, wood frame structure sat on the current site that was known as "Schoolhouse Hill". There were two classrooms, one on the first floor and another on the second---but, when it opened, they only used the downstairs because there was just one teacher. The small building faced a dirt road referred to as "School Street". Later, it would be called Center Street. Mrs. M.M. Wright was the teaching-principal and she earned around $25 a month---but, by boarding in her students' homes and tutoring at night she made enough to live comfortably. There were about 68 students ranging in age from five to twenty-one years old. A few pupils, that exceeded the maximum age, had to pay the tuition of one dollar a year. All of the children walked to school---no matter how far away they lived. The school day was only six hours long. It went from nine to twelve and one to four o'clock with two recesses of ten minutes each. The children who lived close went home for lunch, while others carried their food to school in a tin bucket and ate with a teacher. One of the greatest privileges during the day was to be selected "water bearer" for the class. This child fetched water from the open spring on the school grounds in their classroom's drinking bucket. All the students shared the water and the same drinking cup. By 1882, Vienna was one of the five graded-schools in Fairfax County. Vienna still had about 68 students... but under a new principal, H.B. Harrison. There were two teachers and two grades. When H.C. Stroman took over in the fall of 1883, Vienna had 76 students. Bettie W. Jackson had four grades and 89 pupils toiling under her in 1884. The next year there were six grades and 67 students with Dr. O.S. Vook as head of the school. In 1886, the Vienna School Report shows five grades, two teachers, 75 students... and a new principal, E.R. Warriner. During this decade, the head of the school changed yearly---but the building remained unchanged because there wasn't any money to update it. The "schoolhouse" was in poor condition. Vienna found a way to get the funds to improve its schools and roads, especially Maple Avenue, by incorporating itself in 1890. Now, the town council could float a bond issue for $1500 to remedy the situation. A new Vienna Public School was only going to cost $1000; the other $500 went to the combination 'colored' school and church to build a new one-room public elementary school on the corner of Lawyers Road and Malcolm. In the early 1890's, on the same site, construction began on a larger building and it still faced Center Street. The second Vienna School was a one-story, wooden structure with two classrooms, a center hall, and a well-remembered water pump on the porch. The total enrollment of 90 students was divided into two grades with a teaching-principal and one additional teacher. After moving into this building, the outgrown schoolhouse remained on site. Plans were put off to move it to Church Street across from the Freeman House. Edward W. Pierce built the Vienna Public Library in 1897. It was located at the corner of Maple Avenue and Library Lane on property owned by William B. Lewis. The plot was deeded to the town and if it were ever used for other purposes, it would revert back to the former owners. The library was the best thing to happen to the schools in the area. Materials were now available for teachers to use in their classrooms and students could check out books to read at home. The Trustees of the Public School of Vienna had purchased five more lots from the Haywood subdivision in 1900. Records show that in 1902 two separate gifts of land were given to the school trustees to join all the lots. The school's water still came from the spring, but a pump on the porch of the school alleviated the long walk carrying filled buckets. Vienna's students were disappointed---they missed going for the water! Later, fifty dollars was appropriated to sink a well on the grounds. In 1903, Colonel Charles D. Hine and others convinced the owners of the Washington, Arlington, and Falls Church Electric Railway to extend their line to Vienna and Fairfax Courthouse. The trolley reached Vienna in 1904, but they needed some of Vienna Public School's property. The school trustees sold a parcel of land and proceeded to move the second school more southeast on the lot and turn it to face Maple Avenue. Soon the trolley had an hourly schedule to and from the city of Washington. It ran until 1936 when it was replaced by the "auto-railers" or "puddle jumpers". These vehicles looked like buses, but they had special wheels next to the tires that could run on the rails. Colonel Hine deeded some land (with a reversion clause) to the town for the library to be "closer to the heart of town". It was moved from Maple Avenue and Library Lane to the present site on the corner of Maple and Center Street. The Vienna School teachers were overjoyed and visited once a week with their classes. They would even send a few pupils at a time down the hill to the library---unescorted! The original site reverted back to the former owners and eventually was sold. It is now occupied by part of the Jade Shopping Center. In 1906, the County Board of Supervisors appropriated $250 for the establishment of a higher-graded school at Clifton. Fifteen students who met in a room that was hastily added to the grade school in the fall of 1907 had the privilege of attending the county's first "high school". The Fairfax Herald noted that the building of a high school in Vienna was being discussed. But---Oakton, Fairfax, and Vienna did not get a high school for quite a few years because the trolley could transport them into Washington for further education. Their trip was shortened considerably when the second high school was built in Falls Church about 1908. Vienna Graded School seemed to be bursting at the seams in 1914. The Board of Trustees approved the building of a new, third school beside the second in 1915 to alleviate the crowded classrooms. It was a one-story, brick structure with four rooms and known as "the most modern thing in town". The school had an asbestos roof of 'fireproof' shingles; a new furnace that provided steam heat; two indoor restrooms in the basement; and drinking fountains. The second school remained on site. At this time, the principal was Emma Haight and her entire faculty consisted of three teachers that taught up to the seventh grade. She instructed the eighth graders for one year. After that, those students joined the older children that traveled to Washington on the electric railway with their fathers and attended school in Alexandria or Washington. The railroad had run through Vienna since 1858 and transported troops during the Civil War. It was also available for the students to ride into Washington. The train made the trip in less time---but the trolley was a lot cheaper! Back to Top 1918-1949 In 1918, the General Assembly in Virginia passed a new law stating that all children between eight and twelve years of age must attend school at least 16 weeks of every school year. Within months, the School League of Vienna was organized to provide assistance to the teachers. They helped find good families for teachers to board with during the year and provided teaching materials. Things went along smoothly until... One night in the winter of 1919, about 12:30am, the trolley was pulling into Vienna. The conductors heard a loud explosion and blew their whistle to arouse the residents of the town. They arrived in time to see the new 'fire-proof' roof and the walls of the school burning brightly. The boiler of the furnace had exploded and by dawn everything made of wood was destroyed by the ensuing fire. Vienna school was leveled to the ground---only the chimney and the cinder block foundation remained. While a new school was being built, the children attended classes in various buildings. Younger students went to the Methodist and Presbyterian churches and the library. The middle grades were housed in the second building (that was still on site) and temporary structures built between that school and the library. The older pupils, in the 6th and 7th grades, went to Oakton High. Finally, Quonset huts were erected on the grounds and the younger children came back. Nothing much changed---except, there was no real school building. The bell still rang from a wood mount every morning; the children drank from collapsible cups at the old pump; and oil lamps were borrowed from the library. Money was needed to rebuild. So, since the Town of Vienna operated its own school, it decided to borrow $25,000 from the Literary Fund in 1920 to build the new one. Construction was begun the next year. Parents, students, and teachers---in fact, the entire community of Vienna watched as the fourth school was being built closer to and facing Center Street. In September of 1923, the fourth school was completed at a cost of $27,000. It was a one-story, brick structure with eight rooms (6 large and 2 small). The six classrooms had outside entrances and surrounded a, soon to be completed, community auditorium. The restrooms and furnace were in the basement. A room downstairs was used as a utility room, for 4-H meetings, and to serve soup and sandwiches. Mrs. Haight was still the principal when the school opened and was replaced in 1924 by Margaret Payne. The Vienna School League passed a petition among its patrons asking the school board to standardize the Vienna School. The Leagues minutes show that the County School Board decided to extend the school year to nine months in every school in the county. In June, the Vienna Town Council agreed to pay $1500 they owed to the School Board. It was their share of the cost of completing the auditorium in March of 1925. But, they complained that the roof leaked in several places, all the blackboards were not installed, and the bell wasn't even hung yet. The problems were fixed, the auditorium got its approval in time for the celebration, and the new principal presided over the dedication. The bell was also rehung from the porch ceiling. The second re-activated school on the grounds was sold to the Bowman family for $251. They took the bell tower off and moved the building (later their home) across the street. It is still at Center and Locust. Today, the Town uses it for Arts and Crafts classes. At the same time, the temporary structure was donated by the School Board and added to the 'colored' school at Lawyers and Malcolm Street. Lula B. Ferguson became principal and taught the seventh grade in 1927. She was quite pleased when the Virginia Assembly passed a bill the following year that provided free textbooks for the students. Up until then, she taught from books borrowed from the library. Everything she wanted the children to learn was written on the blackboard and transcribed by her students into composition books for study. The American Automobile Association started the School Safety Patrol Movement in Fairfax County in 1928. School authorities and teachers ran the program. As the movement and student enrollment grew, accidents among school children decreased. Later, in 1942, the Fairfax County Police Department took over the program. Within a year or two, they organized patrol units in all 48 schools in the county and had a total of 1,000 children involved. Eventually, the school was equipped with drinking fountains, washstands, and modern toilets. But, the town didn't count on the school's well drying up in 1930. There was no water available on site to use the new plumbing. Unfortunately, Vienna's town council did not have the money to drill another well and the people of Vienna refused to donate the money because they felt they paid high enough taxes to cover the cost of a new well. They remained at an impasse. So, the children were forced to carry their own drinking water to school in a jug or jar. In 1931, students could take a bus to Vienna Elementary. The first one was a green, flat-roofed bus owned and operated by Willy Day. Some children rode the trolley each day for only five cents! Of course, most of the children still walked to school. By 1935, there were seven grades with 350 students and the principal was Melvin B. Landes. Talk about crammed classrooms! In 1939, the county built Dunn Loring Elementary School to solve the problem of Viennas overcrowding. But, even with Dunn Loring, it was still necessary to expand the building. Two more classrooms were finished in---one on each side of the building---in 1941. Mildred Leigh took over as principal from Mr. Bower. A kitchen was built under the classroom to the right and a utility room went under the other. These new additions for the seventh graders formed two parallel wings on the back of the school. Their old quarters were the tiny rooms on either side of the front stairs. The second through sixth grades now ate in the basement under the auditorium and the first graders in their rooms. A further addition was made to the building in 1946. This new section connected the two wings and enclosed an area called the atrium. Two restrooms, a teachers lounge, and two more classrooms were added to the first floor. A cafeteria, a fully equipped kitchen, a boiler room, and two storage areas for athletic equipment and books were added to the basement. The old kitchen became a classroom and the Ayr Hill Garden Club furnished the teachers room. Physical education classes were begun in 1950 and held in a coal room in the basement. Vienna School even had an orchestra. In April of 1951, the Vienna Lions Club sponsored the First Annual School Safety Patrol Jamboree on a Saturday. Safety Patrol units from Fairfax County and the City of Falls Church participated. The patrol groups assembled at Vienna Park and marched from Glyndon Street to Church Street, down Church to Lawyers Road, turned toward Maple Avenue, headed up Maple to Glyndon, and back to Vienna Park. There was a program held at the Woodland Theater with an address by Governor John S. Battle. After lunch, awards and prizes were given to the most outstanding units. Vienna Elementary School Safety Patrols won a trophy for the Best Marching School. The following year the patrol group won a brass cup for the Best Float. Back to Top 1950-1979 By the early 1950s, overcrowding reared its ugly head again under principal, Leata P. Rowan. Some Quonset huts, the upstairs of the old Town Hall, and the firehouse were used for classes. The fourth grade was moved to a rented storefront and eventually to other schools. It was clear an addition to Vienna School was desperately needed. A new wing was built for the first and second grades in 1955. There were three classrooms up and three down. This created a new canopied main entrance, which is still used today. Unfortunately, it was soon evident that this measure was not enough to solve the 'housing problem' of Vienna students. Believe it or not---there were 600 children in the building! Louise Archer had been expanded and opened in 1952, but it didn't help. New elementary schools were quickly constructed to alleviate the crowding. Flint Hill was built in 1955, Cedar Lane in 1956, and Marshall Road in 1961. The Town of Vienna finally got their high school, James Madison, in 1959. Finally, a brand new intermediate school was built for the seventh and eighth graders. Vienna Elementary breathed a sigh of relief Then, the 60's took the county by storm. The Town of Vienna doubled in size and the whole country was experiencing a "baby boom". Vienna Elementary had to expand again. In 1963, a one-floor addition, parallel to the one built in 1955, was completed. The 'upper-grade' wing added seven classrooms, a girls and a boys bathroom, a storage room, and a second boiler. A full-time librarian, music and physical education teachers, reading specialist, and speech therapist were added to the staff. The new band and strings program provided by the county was one of the free options students could participate in once a week. The Special Education students were bussed to one or two centers nearer to Washington, D.C. Parents of these pupils were beginning to organize and work on getting their children into the regular schools. But---it would take nearly ten years for that to become a reality. Mrs. Rita Apter became the principal in 1965. Some of her teachers remembered by alumni included: Mrs. Lyle, Mrs. Hurd, Mrs. Anne Hisgen, Mrs. Burns, Mrs. Haslam, Mrs. Schweickart, Miss Jones, Miss Audrey Mitchell, Mrs. Mailpass, Mrs. Ledford, Mrs. Peatross, Mrs. Trader, Mrs. Tune, Mrs. Corrothers, Mrs. Weisnet, and Mrs. Merrill. The school won an Anti-Litter poster contest in 1966. A Vienna Summertime Program, sponsored by the PTA, also began that year. Then, in 1967, the sixth grade students studied Greece and a new food, pizza, was introduced on the cafeteria line. Between 1970 and 1980, the population of the Town of Vienna went a different direction for the first time in its existence! It dropped from 17,146 to 15,469 residents and Vienna Elementary School decreased in proportion, as did other schools in the county. They attributed the drop to more people moving farther out into the western part of Fairfax County. The entire student body attended an assembly in March 1970 to celebrate the 100th year of the public school system in Fairfax County and honor Mr. William West. A "Century of Progress" seal depicted the first public white school in the county, erected in Vienna in 1872, as well as the present Vienna Elementary School. Mr. West was the oldest person living in Vienna at the time and was 96 years old. Healso had the distinction of being the oldest former Fairfax County teacher at the time and one of the first Negro teachers in the county. William West, the son of a former slave, was brought up on West Street (named for his grandfather) and attended the Negro Public School in Vienna as a child. Major O.E. Hines' wife took a liking to the young man and tutored him for years. He went on to graduate from Howard University and eventually taught at his old alma mater in Vienna. Mr. West was always proud of the fact that he had resided in Vienna all his life. In 1974, doom and gloom reared its ugly head. Vienna parents were notified that there wouldn't be anymore county funds for modernization or renewal of the school. They began to worry that the school might be closed because of declining enrollment. The PTA worked hard to convince the School Board not to close Vienna Elementary and won a reprieve for a year or two. Luckily---in the late seventies---three Learning Disability classes, a L.D. Resource specialist, and three classes for the Mildly Mentally Retarded were brought to Vienna. This made the school a Special Education cluster center and it seemed to be saved from further consideration for closing. In March of 1976, the whole school held a Big Mac Day to honor the assistant building supervisor, Arnold McDaniel. The biggest problem was getting 526 students to keep a secret for two weeks. This was extremely hard because the children talked to "Mac" every day. The halls were decorated the evening before the event with posters made by the children. When he arrived the next morning, "Mac" was truly surprised. He and his family spent the morning visiting the students in their classrooms to thank them. Mrs. Brady had taken over as principal in 1973 and remained until 1977 when Mrs. Anne P. Monaghan came to Vienna. Many of the old teachers retired, some remained, and a new batch of teachers took their place. The staff included: Mrs. Nancy Lynch, Mrs. Marjorie Poe, Mrs. Lorraine Corrothers, Mrs. Evelyn Weisnet, Mrs. Joan Nobles, Mrs. Henrietta Thompson, Mrs. Carolyn Pfeiffer, Mrs. Melba Merrill, Mrs. Marlene Redick, Miss Gerry Mull, Mrs. Beverly Saksa, Miss Holly LaGrotta (Day), and Mrs. Amy Blake (Keller/Rosati). It was also the year Vienna added Instructional Assistants to the faculty---Mrs. Carla Galus (Special Education) and Mrs. Marilyn Roberts (General Education). Vienna also had quite a few male teachers: Mr. Tim Woolsey, Mr. John Victor, Mr. Weldon Mumma, and Mr. Steve Gutekunst. At the time, it was very unusual to have a man on the teaching staff---let alone four! In 1978, the school newspaper was the Owl-O-Gram---but, the next year, it became the Beaver Bulletin. The students had adopted a new mascot---unbelievably, they picked a beaver! Vienna now had a Beaver Team and a Bingo Team in the primary grades. That year our school joined The Great American Smokeout to get their parents to stop smoking. The innovative Gifted and Talented program was begun and the county instituted the Presidential Physical Fitness program. But, most importantly, steak subs were introduced in the cafeteria. The decade brought a lot of changes to the building. During the early 1970s, a room in the 'upper-wing' was converted into a small gym for the Physical Education program. The music room had also been moved to the end of this wing---across from P.E. Two of the original classrooms upstairs were combined for a library. The auditorium was carpeted and two other classrooms off the main area were renovated. Rooms 7 and 8 were combined into one large room for the Kindergarten. The office/clinic area was 'modernized'. And, in the summer of 1979, the "Rainy Day Room" was carpeted and renamed the "Sunshine Room". Back to Top 1980-1990 Vienna Elementary entered the 1980s with a new look and fresh enthusiasm that brought more changes. Handicap Awareness was introduced into the curriculum at school. Programs such as "Like You... Like Me" were introduced in 1980. They taught regular education students that physically handicapped students were just like them and everyone is handicapped in some way. An assembly starring the Vienna students was presented for the parents. The highlight of the musical part of the program was the 'signing' of the song "You Light Up My Life" by the primary grades. Students from the Mild Mentally Retarded classes participated in the Special Olympics that year and a Handicap Awareness Fair was also held. As mentioned before, Ann Monahan had taken over as principal in 1977. Hat Day and Book Character Day were her favorite theme days. While she was at Vienna, all the students and the teachers at school dressed as a book character they loved on a selected day during National Reading Month. The night before her birthday, in 1982, the staff filled her office with inflated balloons for a nice surprise in the morning. And---that autumn---the faculty had a flag football game with the sixth graders called the Halloween Bowl. But, the most important event that year was the 110th Birthday Celebration of Vienna Elementary School in the spring of 1983. It lasted an entire week! A different twenty-year span was celebrated each day. Alumni returned to share their student experiences at Vienna; musical plays were put on daily by each grade level; an alumni luncheon was held; dignitaries dropped by; and a concert was held to celebrate Arbor Day. Then---just when the community thought they'd seen it all, the fourth graders celebrated Vienna Elementary Schools First Colonial Days from May 24th to May 26th. Parents built a pit and campfire on the side of the school with a huge pot rack over it. Some fathers, mothers and children camped on the lawn to tend to the fire overnight! During the next two days, students prepared the meal from scratch (which the mothers and fathers cooked), made staples for the ficticious "Vienna Village", attended demonstrations, and participated in craft sessions. There were rousing games of marbles and hoop racing; a member of the 1st Virginia Regiment spoke and showed the students how to fire a musket. The whole affair ended with a town dance. Marge Thompson became our new principal in the fall of 1983---and what a year it was! Some students went to the White House to meet Mrs. Barbara Bush, wife of Vice-President Bush and others participated in Special Olympics. We had our our first Poetry Premiere and christened a new artwork gallery. 1985 turned out to be a spectacular year in the history of Vienna School and the Town of Vienna. Our PTA, the Vienna Jaycees, Vienna Elementary staff and students, and the Vienna community had raised enough money to build the Center Street playground. It was one of the most exciting and monumental projects ever constructed by an entire town. Architect, Robert Leathers was hired to plan the playground with the community, parents, staff, and students. Hundreds of adult and student volunteers worked on the project for four days and nights. Lunches and dinners were cooked on the grounds or provided by local restaurants to feed the enormous 'crew'. The result was the largest wooden playground constructed inside the Vienna town limits. Vienna celebrated their first International Night. There were crafts, food from other countries, displays, and entertainment. Many families attended and enjoyed the evening. The music teacher also organized a choral Renaissance Faire. Fairfax County came through with money for the renewal of Vienna Elementary in 1986. They upgraded the heating and ventilation systems; installed air conditioning in 'essential' parts of the school; made major improvements in lighting and electrical systems; and replaced the outdated plumbing fixtures (toilets). The library/media center and offices were enlarged and relocated downstairs by the new entrance. Remodeling of the cafeteria was well received by students and staff! The completion of the gymnasium was as important to the community as it was to Vienna students---it was open for public use at night! The school year 1987-1988 was packed with events like: a trip to the newly completed Washington Cathedral; a Clifford the Dog visit; and a Writers Conference. Illustrator, Rae Owings presented a program and drew chalk renderings of monsters and made a mural of "Night on Bald Mountain" as the piece of music played. The fourth grade enjoyed "Aunt Betty's Trunk." The new gym was dedicated to past principal, Marge Thompson, and Robert Pantell took over the reins of Vienna. This was his first assignment as a principal. Before coming to Vienna, he worked in the Special Education administration offices and had been a summer school principal. In 1989, Gallaudet College brought their Theater for the Deaf to the school, and the Air Force sent their jazz group to perform "Just Say No" for the students. Drug Free Zone signs were posted around the school grounds, and, one day in May, a large traveling group of Danish gymnasts got the kids 'physical'. Back to Top 1991-present
The 1990s brought Vienna Elementary changes in the building: total air conditioning; new thermal-pane windows that look like the original; and a well-needed paint job. An addition was also built onto the 'upper-grade' wing. It houses the School-Aged Child Care (SAAC) program. Unfortunately, later in the decade, the Center Street playground was declared unsafe and had to be torn down. Funds from the PTA and Fairfax County Schools were appropriated to build a new "modern" play area behind the school.
Some of our students celebrated Halloween at the White House with President Bush and the First Lady, Barbara Bush, in the fall of 1990. It was the second time Vienna Elementary had been invited.
Wheelchair racing athletes, Bill Duff and Bill Fuller, visited the school to talk about their 'abilities' before their big race into Washington. A few days later the entire school went outside along the bike trail to cheer them on. Then... we had the Melvin Deal dance troupe amaze us with some stilt dancing and African drum rythmns. Rounding out the entertainment for the year was a video harpist and Joe Romano's "The Magic In You" show. They both kept the entire student body mesmerized during their performances.
The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Society sent the "Bay Team" out to schools in 1991. They came to educate the students on things they can do around this area to save the bay. The children loved the hands-on experiments.
Vienna acquired a new business partner, ROLM. Their employees volunteer to tutor students; work with our Special Olympians; and judge science fairs, the Unconventional Invention Fair, and the Poetry Premiere. But... most importantly, they took it upon themselves to update our 'badly-lacking' phone system. We had another birthday during the 1992-1993 school year. This time it was the120th celebration of Vienna Elementary for the alumni to enjoy. The children performed in a musical in which each grade level had been assigned a certain time period in the schools history. They reenacted important events that were happening in the world and at Vienna School---then, sang a song from that era. An ice cream social was held; parents and kids bopped at a sock hop, a Civil War fife and drum unit mustered on the front lawn to play; and a Fun Fair was attended by the community on Saturday.
The most exciting news that year was that our old bell from the second school building had been discovered hanging in someone's backyard. The school and the PTA worked long and hard to get the bell back. A special glass cabinet was made and the bell was rededicated during the week of the 120th Celebration. It remains on display in the main hallway of the school. The first long-distance communication via the computer was experienced through a new program called Kids Net. Our sixth graders were matched up with another sixth grade class in a different area of the country. The two groups communicated with each other all year. It proved to be a rewarding experience and a glimpse of things to come. A teacher mentor program was established in 1993. Each staff member selected a student that---may have been going through difficult times; was not achieving on their expected level; may have came from a one-parent family; or just needed some one-on-one time. The teacher and student ate lunch together or talked at least once a week. We also had some students from Zimbabwe, Africa visit us. The group was in the United States to perform at the Wolf Trap International Childrens Festival. After their exciting performance for the entire school, the guests visited with the sixth graders and spent a good part of the day with them. The following year (1994) all the fifth graders in the county got to go to Wolf Trap Filene Center to see various childrens troupes from all over the world display their talents. It seemed like Vienna had a famous author or artist visit every year during the mid 1990's. Two such authors, David Wisniewski and Steven Shepard, talked to the student body about the writing process and shared their trials and tribulations with them. They discussed---how many rewrites it took before their books were accepted; how they published their works; and the thrill of illustrating their own stories. A new garden was planted on the hill outside the main entrance by the Ayr Hill Garden Club. It was dedicated in 1994 and named the "The Peace Garden". The morning ceremony was held outside with dignitaries seated under the front canopy and the student body seated on the grassy island. Arnold MacDaniel, the building supervisor, retired after 25 years at Vienna Elementary. "Mac" had a phenomenal knack for knowing every child's name that attended the school during his tenure and could recognize them after they left, went to high school, and became adults. After a student celebration during the day, a community barbecue was held outside on the school grounds. Hundreds of alumni and past teachers came to wish him well. A knight in full armor dropped by to visit the fifth grade in the spring of 1996. It was soon discovered that Sir Andrew is an armorer. He actually makes the weapons, chain mail, and suit of armor he wears. Some of the students got to dress up in medieval garb and the knight showed the students various helmets, weapons, and artifacts used in medieval times. Our school participated in the Shiloh Project. It pairs students with animals. They care for the animals on a weekly basis and spend quality time with them. The endeavor had a very successful outcome. Vienna Elementary held their first Math Night in 1996; it was a hit with students and parents. Everyone played simple games based on math skills during the evening. It went on to become an annual event. Mrs. Rosati spearheaded an Artifact Box Exchange in the spring of 1996. Her students gathered clues and artifacts from the Vienna area and sent them to another school. A few days later, a box arrived with the same criteria from a school someplace in the United States. The object was to guess where the other school was located by the clues in the box. Unfortunately, May of 1997 brought tragedy on a D.A.R.E. field trip to the Manassas Air Show. While our fifth graders were there, a plane crashed to the ground---killing the pilot. The students had gone to the airport to celebrate their completion of the drug awareness program. Make-A-Difference-Day was also held for the first time this year in conjunction with Volunteer Fest '97. Our students cleaned, weeded, and trimmed areas around the school. The project was highly successful and has been carried over every year since then. Odyssey of the Mind groups competed against other teams at Woodson H.S. in January 1998 for the first time. And, in the spring, the entire school culminated a year of activities and study of our country with an American Heritage Night. Booths from different states were run by the students. Parents and guests asked the children about their states and tried to 'visit' as many as they could during the evening. They also enjoyed food and music from America. The month of May marked the 125th Anniversary of Vienna Elementary. The school held an open house during the day and there was a performance in the evening. Past students and teachers spent a lot of time recalling their experiences and 'catching up' with each other. But, in 1999, Vienna sadly said goodbye to Mr. Pantall. The students entertained him at a retirement assembly with songs, poems, and skits. A reception was held in the auditorium for those students that had attended the school while he was principal. The staff and PTA said their goodbyes at a dinner and roast for him at the Westwood Country Club in Vienna. Linda Clark became the new principal in the fall of 1999. The school year would usher in a new millenium and bring exciting changes for Vienna Elementary. The whole building was painted inside and out---including the red metal roof. The school parking lot was remarked and Kiss-n-Ride signs were put up. A new communication system was installed---giving every room access to a telephone line and the Internet. Autistic and Pre-School programs were now based at Vienna. And, the pre-school program play area became a nice addition to the school grounds. The dreaded SOLs (which hardly any schools passed the 'introductory' year) were taken in the spring of the year 2000. This time the county, parents, staff, and students were impressed with the dramatic results. The third, fourth, and fifth grade passed all the Standards of Learning tests given by the state of Virginia. And, in the fall of 2000, the whole school celebrated the First Annual Diffendoofer Day with a special lunch of pan pizza and cake. A rather humorous interpretation of the book written by Dr. Suess was dramatized for the entire student body by the newly-formed acting ensemble of teaching and support staff. Vienna sixth graders spent a very physical day at Camp Highroads learning that it takes teamwork and cooperation to accomplish certain tasks and goals. This annual outing for the sixth graders kept with tradition---once again, it rained! The Science Van also arrived to spend a couple days with the children. They brought lots of hands-on experiments for the students to tackle Unfortunately, the fall of 2001 brought tragedy to an entire nation. On September 11th, terrorists flew two planes into the Twin Towers in New York City and another plane into the Pentagon in northern Virginia. The fifth graders from all over the county were at Wolf Trap Filene Center to see the International Children's Festival performance at the time of the attack. The students attending had to be reloaded onto their buses and brought back to their respective schools. During the following months, a large project was undertaken to honor those who lost their lives or participated in the rescue efforts. All of the Vienna Elementary students and Carla Galus, Instructional Assistant, made an 8'x18' American flag constructed from 350 individual flags. The theme: "What I Can Do For America!" helped the children realize that even the little things they can do make a difference! There were smaller red and white flags for the stripes--- plus, blue and white stars for the field. The students wrote personal messages on the flags and stars before they were put in place to form the larger flag. The enormous flag traveled to the 911 Rescue Center and the Fairfax County firefighters training facility for month-long stays. It finally reached it's permanent home inside the Pentagon. A group of safety patrols and staff accompanied the flag and ceremoniously turned it over to the officers in charge. Dignitaries from Fairfax County and Pentagon officials were the honored guests and the press covered the ceremony. Another patriotic happening was the day the entire student body, staff, and members of the community came togther on the front lawn of the school to join the rest of America in singing "God Bless America". On a more positive note---Vienna passed all their SOL's for the second year in a row and that meant another Diffendoofer Day for the students. The staff, once again, 'hammed' it up. Our school had a busy summer of 2002. The entire building was recarpeted and the hallways on the main floor were tiled. Large numbers were mounted over the outside doors to identify the building's exits. As soon as they finished this major task, Vienna was used all of July for the summer school program. The 2002-2003 school year began with the fifth graders attending the International Childrens' Festival at Wolf Trap Park. The happy event was immediately followed by great news---the students passed all their SOL's for the third year in a row. Of course, the faculty rewarded them with the traditional special lunch and another performance of the now infamous Diffendoofer Day play! Joe Romano returned after an absence of ten years with his new magic show. The children and their teachers were totally mystified and amazed by the truly unique performance.
Our seventeenth annual Grandparents Day was happily celebrated. This special day gets bigger every year. We have grandparents traveling from across the country to be with their grandchildren, as well as, scores of local "oldies, but goodies". Many of them 'adopt' other students whose grandparents cannot attend. Their warmth and love makes it Vienna's favorite day of the year.
There is no doubt that Vienna Elementary is an ever-growing and ever-changing 'family'. Children from around the world have settled in Vienna, and they bring new languages, traditions, and customs from lands our students could only read about in 1872. The future holds challenges that our students can accomplish with the dedication of the staff at Vienna Elementary School and the support of the community today! |
