1.
Alexandria, Virginia
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Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is coterminous with the U. S. Census Bureau-census-designated place of Arlington, as a result, the county is often referred to in the region simply as Arlington or Arlington, Virginia. In 2015, the population was estimated at 229,164. The land that became Arlington was originally donated by Virginia to the United States government to form part of the new federal district of Columbia. In 1846, Congress returned the land southwest of the Potomac River donated by Virginia due to issues involving Congressional representation, the General Assembly of Virginia changed the countys name to Arlington in 1920 to avoid confusion with the adjacent City of Alexandria. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington. Arlington is also bordered by Fairfax County and City of Falls Church to the northwest, west and southwest, as of the 2010 census, the population was 207,627. Due to the proximity to downtown Washington, D. C. It is also home to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the many federal agencies, government contractors, and service industries contribute to Arlingtons stable economy. It is the county in the United States by median family income. According to a 2016 study by Bankrate. com, Arlington is the best place to retire, the area that now constitutes Arlington County was originally part of Fairfax County in the Colony of Virginia. Land grants from the British monarch were awarded to prominent Englishmen in exchange for political favors, one of the grantees was Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, who lends his name to both Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. George Washington Parke Custis, grandson of First Lady Martha Washington, the estate was eventually passed down to Mary Anna Custis Lee, wife of General Robert E. Lee. The property later became Arlington National Cemetery during the American Civil War, the area that now contains Arlington County was ceded to the new United States federal government by the Commonwealth of Virginia. With the passage of the Residence Act in 1790, Congress approved a new permanent capital to be located on the Potomac River, the Residence Act originally only allowed the President to select a location within Maryland as far east as what is now the Anacostia River. However, President Washington shifted the federal territorys borders to the southeast in order to include the city of Alexandria at the Districts southern tip. In 1791, Congress amended the Residence Act to approve the new site, however, this amendment to the Residence Act specifically prohibited the erection of the public buildings otherwise than on the Maryland side of the River Potomac. As permitted by the U. S. Constitution, the shape of the federal district was a square, measuring 10 miles on each side
2.
Virginia
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Virginia is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, as well as in the historic Southeast. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, the capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond, Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealths estimated population as of 2014 is over 8.3 million, the areas history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony, slave labor and the land acquired from displaced Native American tribes each played a significant role in the colonys early politics and plantation economy. Although the Commonwealth was under one-party rule for nearly a century following Reconstruction, the Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World. The state government was ranked most effective by the Pew Center on the States in both 2005 and 2008 and it is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits its governors from serving consecutive terms. Virginias economy changed from agricultural to industrial during the 1960s and 1970s. Virginia has an area of 42,774.2 square miles, including 3,180.13 square miles of water. Virginias boundary with Maryland and Washington, D. C. extends to the mark of the south shore of the Potomac River. The southern border is defined as the 36° 30′ parallel north, the border with Tennessee was not settled until 1893, when their dispute was brought to the U. S. Supreme Court. The Chesapeake Bay separates the portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginias Eastern Shore. The bay was formed from the river valleys of the Susquehanna River. Many of Virginias rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James, the Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and the fall line. It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries of Chesapeake Bay, the Piedmont is a series of sedimentary and igneous rock-based foothills east of the mountains which were formed in the Mesozoic era. The region, known for its clay soil, includes the Southwest Mountains around Charlottesville. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a province of the Appalachian Mountains with the highest points in the state. The Ridge and Valley region is west of the mountains and includes the Great Appalachian Valley, the region is carbonate rock based and includes Massanutten Mountain. The Cumberland Plateau and the Cumberland Mountains are in the southwest corner of Virginia, in this region, rivers flow northwest, with a dendritic drainage system, into the Ohio River basin
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
Secondary school
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A secondary school is both an organization that delivers level 2 junior secondary education or level 3 secondary education phases of the ISCED scale, and the building where this takes place. Level 2 junior secondary education is considered to be the second, Secondary schools typically follow on from primary schools and lead into vocational and tertiary education. Attendance is compulsory in most countries for students between the ages 11 and 16, the systems and terminology remain unique to each country. School building design does not happen in isolation, schools need to accommodate students, staff, storage, mechanical and electrical systems, storage, support staff, ancillary staff and administration. The number of rooms required can be determined from the roll of the school. A general classroom for 30 students needs to be 55m2, or more generously 62m2, a general art room for 30 students needs to be 83m2, but 104 m2 for 3D textile work. A drama studio or a specialist science laboratory for 30 needs to be 90 m2, examples are given on how this can be configured for a 1,200 place secondary. The building providing the education has to fulfil the needs of, The students, the teachers, the support staff, the adminstrators. It has to should meet health requirements, minimal functional requirements- such as classrooms, toilets and showers, electricity, textbooks, Government accountants having read the advice then publish minimum guidelines on schools. These enable environmental modelling and establish building costs. Future plans are audited to ensure that standards are not exceeded. The UK government published this downwardly revised space formula in 2014 and it said the floor area should be 1050m² +6. 3m²/pupil place for 11- to 16-year-olds + 7m²/pupil place for post-16s. The external finishes were to be downgraded to meet a build cost of £1113/m², a secondary school, locally may be called high school, junior high school, senior high school. Sweden, gymnasium Switzerland, gymnasium, secondary school, collège or lycée Taiwan, Junior High School, Senior High School, Vocational High School, Military School, in Nigeria, secondary school starts from JSS1 until SSS3. Most students start at the age of 10 or 11 and finish at 16 or 17, Students are required to sit for the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination. To progress to university students must obtain at least a credit in Maths, English, in Somalia, secondary school starts from 9th grade until 12th. Students start it when they are around 14 to 15 years of age, Students are required to study Somali and Arabic, with the option of either English or Italian depending on the type of school. Religion, chemistry, physics, biology, physical education, textile, art, design, when secondary school has been completed, students are sent to national training camp before going to either college, or military training. In South Africa, high school begins at grade 8, Students study for five years, at the end of which they write a Matriculation examination
5.
Fairfax County Public Schools
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The Fairfax County Public Schools system is a school division in the U. S. commonwealth of Virginia. It is a branch of the Fairfax County government which administers public schools in Fairfax County, all Fairfax County Public Schools are accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement. With over 180,000 students enrolled, FCPS is the largest public school system in Virginia, the school division is led by interim division superintendent Steve Lockard. The school division is the 10th largest school system in the nation, the first Superintendent of Schools for Fairfax County was Thomas M. Moore, who was sworn in on September 26,1870. At the time of its creation, the Fairfax County Public Schools system consisted of 41 schools,28 white and 13 colored schools, in 1886, Milton D. Hall was appointed superintendent. He would serve for 44 years until his retirement in 1929, Fairfax County Schools like most Southern Schools were under De jure segregation. There were local elementary schools for students but not high schools. Although Fairfax was a populated area there were proportionately few Negro high school students. Fairfax, Prince William and Fauquier Counties shared the high school for black students, the school was centrally located between the counties in Manassas. Others attended high schools in Washington D. C. where many had relatives and those schools were Armstrong High School, Cardozo High School, Dunbar High School, and Phelps Vocational Center in Washington DC. In 1951 Fairfax County, at the request of residents for a high school. The opening coincided with the Brown decision passed in 1954, in 1954 Supreme court ruling prevailed to end racial segregation. When Arlington County announced an early attempt at a desegregation plan, richmond removed any possibility of local option. It was recognized in cases that it was the state who was running the show. The ruling from the court stated Prior to the Brown decision1 Fairfax County maintained a school system, one for Negro students. Shortly thereafter the placement of all children in the Fairfax County schools was taken from the local School Board, the assignment of students remained with the state Board until the 1961-62 school year, at which time placement responsibilities were reinvested in the local School Board. Fairfax County began their desegregation efforts shortly thereafter, as early as 1955 it was noted that in the Virginia General Assembly, Delegates from Northern Virginia openly opposed the Stanley plans as well as calls for even more radical legislation. Virginias 10th district was the congressional district to vote against the Gray Plan
6.
Stephen Foster
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Stephen Collins Foster, known as the father of American music, was an American songwriter primarily known for his parlor and minstrel music. Foster wrote over 200 songs, among his best-known are Oh, Susanna, Hard Times Come Again No More, Camptown Races, Old Folks at Home, My Old Kentucky Home, Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, Old Black Joe, and Beautiful Dreamer. Many of his compositions remain popular more than 150 years after he wrote them and his compositions are thought to be autobiographical. He has been identified as the most famous songwriter of the nineteenth century and his compositions are sometimes referred to as childhood songs because they have been included in the music curriculum of early education. Most of his music manuscripts are lost, but copies printed by publishers of his day can be found in various collections. There are many biographers who have published works on the life of Stephen Collins Foster, in addition, Foster wrote very little biographical information himself. His brother Morrison Foster destroyed much of the information about Stephen that he judged to reflect negatively upon the family, Stephen Foster was born on July 4,1826. His parents were William Barclay Foster and Eliza Clayland Tomlinson and he was the youngest of three sisters and six brothers. Foster attended private academies in Allegheny, Athens, and Towanda and he received an education in English grammar, diction, the classics, penmanship, Latin, Greek, and mathematics. Though they lived in a northern city, his family did not support the abolition of slavery. His older brother Morrison was an influence throughout Stephens life. Foster was able to teach himself to play the clarinet, violin, guitar, flute and he did not have formal instruction in composition but he was helped by Henry Kleber, a German-born music dealer in Pittsburgh. Kleber was a songwriter, impresario, accompanist, and conductor, in 1839, his elder brother William was serving his apprenticeship as an engineer at nearby Towanda and thought Stephen would benefit from being under his supervision. The site of the Camptown Races is 30 miles from Athens, PA, Stephen attended Athens Academy from 1839 to 1841. He wrote his first composition, Tioga Waltz while attending Athens Academy and performed it during the 1841 commencement exercises and it was not published during the composers lifetime, but it is included in the collection of published works by Morrison Foster. Fosters education included a period at Jefferson College in Washington. His tuition was paid, but he had little spending money and he left Canonsburg to visit Pittsburgh with another student and did not return. During his teenage years, Foster was influenced by two men, Henry Kleber, one of Fosters few formal music instructors, was a classically trained musician who emigrated from Darmstadt, Germany, to Pittsburgh and opened a music store. Dan Rice was an entertainer, a clown, and blackface singer, in 1846, Foster moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and became a bookkeeper with his brothers steamship company
7.
Mount Vernon High School (Virginia)
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Mount Vernon High School is a public high school in the Fairfax County Public Schools system located in Mount Vernon, Virginia. Originally constructed to take the place of the Lee-Jackson High School, with the opening of the school, Lee-Jackson principal G. Claude Cox moved to Mount Vernon, becoming the schools first principal, and Lee-Jackson became an elementary school. In 1945, Principal Cox resigned to become principal of Wythe High School in Wytheville, Virginia, Landes moved to Mount Vernon to begin a nearly thirty-year tenure there. The schools current location was built in 1961 as Walt Whitman Intermediate School, in 1973, Mount Vernon and Whitman swapped facilities, and the former intermediate school was enlarged to serve its new role as a high school. The original Mount Vernon High School continued to operate as the Walt Whitman Intermediate School until 1985, also in 1973, Principal Melvin Landes retired, and Thomas G. Hyer took over as Principal. Following the departure of Eric Brent to become principal at Forest Park High School in Woodbridge, after nine years as principal, Nardos King resigned in 2015 to take a position as Assistant Superintendent of High Schools with the Baltimore County Public Schools system. Assistant Principal Esther Manns became the principal of MVHS in September 2015. In February 2016, Rocky Run Middle School Principal Dr. Anthony S. Terrell was announced as the principal of Mount Vernon High School, beginning in March. The original Mount Vernon High School is still standing on Richmond Highway, now a school for Islamic students, the Islamic Saudi Academy, Mount Vernon is an accredited, high school. The average SAT score in 2013 for Mount Vernon was a 1417, for the 2014-15 school year, Mount Vernon High Schools student body was 37. 80% Hispanic,29. 56% Black,20. 91% White,6. 36% Asian and 5. 37% Other. The school takes its name from George Washingtons estate, Mount Vernon, and is located a mile, the nickname is a reference to George Washington and his beloved half-brother, Lawrence Washington, who both served as Adjunct of Virginia Colony. This position came with the rank of Major and included a red uniform. The school colors are maroon and gray, in Mount Vernons history, it has garnered five AAA State Championship titles. They won their first title in 1979, in basketball, their second in 1983, for football, their third in 2008 for the swim & dive team, and a fourth in 2013, for soccer, as well as one for wrestling. Mount Vernons Little Theater, officially named The Andrew Lee Pauley Theater, was dedicated to an English, the Little Theater can hold a capacity of more than 500 students. It is home to plays, school events, and speeches. Notable events include Mr. Mount Vernon and Miss Personality, model shows that are held annually, tim Koogle, first CEO and President of Yahoo Gary Etherington, professional soccer player Tony Perkins, Chief Weatherman, WTTG-TV. Ed Cunningham, former football player and currently TV sports journalist, analyst
8.
Arson
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Arson is a crime of intentionally, deliberately and maliciously setting fire to buildings, wildland areas, abandoned homes, vehicles or other property with the intent to cause damage. It may be distinguished from other such as spontaneous combustion, accidental fires. Arson often involves fires deliberately set to the property of another or to own property in order to collect insurance compensation. A person who commits this crime is called an arsonist, more often than not, arsonists use accelerants to ignite, propel and directionalize fires. It is not required that the defendant acted intentionally or willfully for the purpose of burning a dwelling, burning – at common law charring to any part of dwelling was sufficient to satisfy this element. No significant amount of damage to the dwelling was required, any injury or damage to the structure caused by exposure to heat or flame is sufficient. Of the dwelling – dwelling refers to a place of residence, the destruction of an unoccupied building was not considered arson, since arson protected habitation, the burning of an unoccupied house did not constitute arson. Dwelling includes structures and outbuildings within the curtilage, dwellings were not limited to houses. A barn could be the subject of arson if it was occupied as a dwelling, moreover, for purposes of common law arson, possession or occupancy rather than title determines whose dwelling the structure is. Thus a tenant who sets fire to his house would not be guilty of common law arson. In many states, arson is divided into degrees, depending sometimes on the value of the property but more commonly on its use, first-degree arson – The act in which the arsonist sets fire to an occupied domain or building such as a school. Second-degree arson – The act in which the arsonist sets fire to a building such as an empty barn. Third-degree arson – The act in which the arsonist sets fire to a building or an abandoned area of space such as a field. Many statutes vary the degree of the according to the criminal intent of the accused. In the United States, the common law elements of arson are often varied in different jurisdictions, for example, the element of dwelling is no longer required in most states, and arson occurs by the burning of any real property without consent or with unlawful intent. Arson is prosecuted with attention to degree of severity in the alleged offense, first degree arson generally occurs when persons are harmed or killed in the course of the fire, while second degree arson occurs when significant destruction of property occurs. While usually a felony, arson may also be prosecuted as a misdemeanor, criminal mischief, burglary also occurs, if the arson involved a breaking and entering. A person may be sentenced to death if arson occurred as a method of homicide, as was the case in California of Raymond Lee Oyler, in New York, arson is charged in five degrees
