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Community Corner

Commonwealth Academy CARE Awards Celebrate Student Achievement

The Commonwealth Academy community welcomed distinguished guest Mayor William Euille as they celebrated student achievement at the 14th annual CARE Awards Dinner, held at The Westin Alexandria in April. Attended by C/A leadership, parents, friends, faculty and staff, and alumni, the evening included inspiring words from Mayor Euille, an entertaining and informative “tv show” interview with Director of College Counseling Steve Maczynski and alum John Salmons ’09, an overview of recent student accomplishments by Head of School Dr. Susan Johnson, PhD, and the bestowment of awards.

Nine alumni were honored. Each had since graduated from a four-year college and are now working or attending graduate school. Honorees included Ben Bonyadian ’09, Ian Howell ’07, Alison Leader ’09, Noah Mcgrath ’09, Meagan Nadeau ’09, Bertram Nicholls ’09, John Salmons ’09, and Kelly Witowsky ’09. Educator of the Year Awards went to Director of Counseling Earl Harris-Nicholls and Director of Admissions Josh Gwilliam, who also received the C/A Service Award for ten years of service to the school.

 

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As students with learning differences, many of our honorees at one time wondered if they would go to college, let alone graduate. But each has done tremendously well and they attribute their success in college to C/A’s program which, in addition to providing a rigorous college prep program, taught them how to take ownership of their learning differences and use specific tools and accommodations to support their learning style. During his interview, Salmons, who is currently working on a master’s in architecture, noted that he “didn’t realize how great the tools [I learned at C/A] were until I saw friends who were struggling because they weren’t organized.”

 

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The CARE Awards dinner is an annual fundraiser to enrich the classroom program of the school’s students through professional development for faculty and staff. The evening’s proceeds provided grants to five faculty members for summer study in their exemplary role as life-long learners.

 

Commonwealth Academy is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for average to superior students in grades 3-12 who benefit from small classes and instruction designed to address various learning styles, including those students who have organizational, attention, or learning differences. For more information, please visit www.CommonwealthAcademy.org.

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