VIPs Coming This Week, Peace Talks Between Langley and McLean

McLean has VIP guests visiting  this week. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell drops by Monday afternoon. Fairfax County School Superintendent Jack Dale visits Wednesday.

Governor Visits a Democrat. Gov. McDonnell, a Republican,  and Irish Tenor Anthony Kearns will appear at a  ThanksUSA Charity Benefit for Military Families Monday afternoon at a posh home on  Swinks Mill Court. The neighbors include Dranesville Supervisor John Foust, who has been invited to attend.

This $2.6 million home belongs to Joseph Christopher Simmons, Managing Partner PricewaterhouseCoopers Washington Metro Region and treasurer of the Northern Virginia Technology Council.

The two-story house with nearly 10,000 square feet of space has seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, five fireplaces, but the county assessor does not consider it a mansion. No swimming pool. No tennis courts.  Simmons bought the home in 2007.

Simmons has contributed to the campaigns of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va. --- all Democrats. But there's also a $2,300 contribution to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate and a Republican.

ThanksUSA, founded in 2005,  is a non-partisan, non-profit that provides needs-based scholarships to the children and spouses of active duty military  forces for college, technical and vocational schools.

Anthony Kearns, a founding member of the Irish Tenors, is a frequent performer at fund-raisers for ThanksUSA.

School Superintendent Visits a School. County schools superintendent Jack Dale visits Kent Garden Elementary school Wednesday to kick off a partnership between Kent Gardens and  the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division. These are the folks over in Montgomery County who make sure our fighting ships are sea worthy.

Why are the folks who design our fighting ships interested in elementary school kids? Last year Kent Gardens became a STEM school. This has nothing to do with plants.

This K-6 program is about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Goal: To excite students about engineering, math, and science.   Making engineering a part of the elementary school provides students with the crucial understanding of building and designing. It also motivates their learning of math and science, according to its website.

Peace Talks between Langley and McLean High School. Administrators from both schools plus student council presidents gathered in January to make sure there was not a repeat of the ugly incidents that occurred at the December basketball game between the two crosstown McLean rivals.

In December Langley students vandalized the McLean gym and insulted the McLean Step Team. Now the PTA presidents hope to meet.