Good News: Student Car Sharing Catching On

From Richmond BizSense:

Virginia Commonwealth University introduced Zipcar in 2010. Miriam Maddux of VCU’s Parking and Transportation department, said the cars have been on a roll.

In 2011, 219 students signed up for Zipcar, and now the school has 359 members. VCU’s fleet consists of a Ford Focus, Scion XB, a Toyota Prius and a Honda Insight.

Maddux said the cars were reserved for about 724 hours each month last year.
VCU has almost 3,000 Zimride members.

Even with more than 7,000 students applying for parking permits last year, Maddux said the school is still pushing the car-sharing services hard.

“We strongly encourage students to use alternative transportation, such as Zipcar and Zimride, for trips off-campus,” she said.

From Bikinis to Burqas

From announcement:

“From Bikinis to Burqas: Are Women Oppressed or Empowered by Religiously-Mandated Dress?” Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012, 7:00-8:30 p.m. VCU Student Commons Theater, 907 Floyd Avenue. Panelists, with diverse expertise, will discuss how these charged issues of modesty, women’s rights and religious rights can be addressed in informed ways without reliance on stereotypes or generalizations. This discussion is free and open to the public. Parking is available for $5 for the evening at the 801 W. Main Street Parking. This series of public presentations is hosted by a partnership of the First Freedom Center, the Religious Studies Program at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Richmond School of Law.

Open High Student At SCFOJ Meeting Wednesday

Quite a few residents of the neighborhood are members of the Sierra Club, which should come as no surprise given the neighborhood’s affinity for the river. The Sierra Club also has a history of speaking up for the neighborhood.

This Wednesday evening, 7 pm at the Science Museum of Virginia, the Sierra Club Falls of the James will be holding one of its regular monthly meetings. Its free and open to the public. This month’s meeting features a presentation called “My Journey of Discovery on the James River”, by Kaleigh Remaldo, an Open High student.

From the SCFOJ newsletter:

Kaleigh Remaldo, a student at Open High in Richmond, along with 20 other high schoolers in 2011, won a $50,000 Dominion Power grant to take a 28 day canoe trip from Covington to the Ches Bay, her “Journey of Discovery on the James River”. On their trip, they were to measure and map the relationship between land uses and water quality, keep journals, and record their experiences. This should be a unique presentation. Also, Glen Besa, our Virginia State Chapter Director, will provide our annual briefing on the General Assembly. Learn about the good, bad, and ugly legislation in the 2012 General Assembly.

VCU IHOP Express Adds Security

According to a story in the VCU student newspaper, the Commonwealth Times, security has been tightened at the new IHOP Express restaurant.

After a fight that attracted the attention of six police cars on Jan. 20 in the IHOP Express at Laurel and Grace Place, Dining Services’ recent decision to check student IDs might make more sense to students.
In last Tuesday’s TelegRAM, VCU announced that the IHOP Express will be increasing security on Friday, Saturday and Sunday after 1 a.m, when they stop taking swipes.
VCU students will be asked to show their ID in order to access the dining facility. They are allowed to have a maximum of three guests.

The eatery was opened this past year as part of new Grace Street parking deck construction.

In more positive news, students can use the Cabell library more as open hours have increased, and there is a student petition that asks the VCU administration to focus more on student needs and less on construction and expansion of the Monroe campus. (ed.- No surprise here).

“Super Saturdays” For Student Financial Aid

From announcement:

The Virginia Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
(VASFAA) will host the 10th annual Super Saturday at 65 sites across the
Commonwealth of Virginia on three consecutive Saturdays – January 28,
February 4 and February 11. Ten (10) of those sites are in the Metro
Richmond Area.

Super Saturday provides an opportunity for college-bound students and
returning college students to get free, professional, one-on-one
assistance in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA) on-line. Financial aid professionals are on hand to assist
students and parents in completing the FAFSA. Also, financial aid
presentations are also provided to explain the federal and state
financial aid process to students and parents.

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Experiencing Eye Strain?

From announcement:

Please join us on Tuesday, January 24 at noon for “Computers and the Eyes”
presented by Dr. Juan Orellana, Associate Professor, VCU Dept. of
Ophthalmology. This program will cover how to work comfortably with
computers, and address other causes of eyestrain and headaches. Space is
limited and registration is required. Light refreshments will be provided.
For more information or to register, please contact Sarah or Dana at
828-2432, or email seamick@vcu.edu.

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Patrick Henry Enrollment and Open High Award

Press release:

Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts, (PHSSA), the State’s first elementary charter school and a Richmond Public School, is accepting new kindergarten and first grade applications for mid-year enrollment as it moves into its permanent location at 3411 Semmes Avenue, Richmond, VA.
PHSSA has an academically challenging integrated curriculum based on a SOL framework that demonstrates an environmental science focus that integrates the Arts, Language, Math, and Social Studies. The students tested 94% in English and 97% in math on the spring, 2011 SOL assessments. The new location of the school provides additional square footage that allows PHSSA to open up more spots for enrollment.
The school currently has 185 students and is proud of its very involved and diverse community. One parent offered up some thoughts on their experience with PHSSA.
“We have lived in Richmond for eight years, and we made the decision to enroll our child in PHSSA mainly because of the integrated curriculum and the focus on science, art, and environmental studies,” said PHSSA kindergarten parent, Matthew Warner. “I witness this as I talk to my child about what he has learned, and I look at the work that he has done at the school. In addition, my kindergartner can apply these things in his daily life. The ideas that he expresses, while we are on our family activities are a direct result of the lessons and the curriculum from PHSSA.”
Interested families can visit the PHSSA website at www.patrickhenrycharter.org to download an application or can pick up an application at any of the Richmond City Branch Libraries. Families will need to complete the application and mail it to P.O. Box 2459, Richmond, VA, 23218.
Applications must be postmarked by Monday, January 9th to be considered for enrollment. No preference will be given to families who get their applications in early. If applications exceed space, a lottery will be performed. Families will be notified of enrollment by January 17, 2012.
Patrick Henry School is the first elementary charter school in Virginia. The school’s charter was approved in October 2008. The school started its second year of school on August 10, 2011.

In other news, Open High School won a 2012 Board of Education Competence to Excellence Award.

From the announcement:

The Board of Education Competence to Excellence Award was earned by 171 schools (ed. across the state) that met all state and federal benchmarks for at least two consecutive years and made progress toward the goals of the governor and the board.

Congratulations Open High!