Best Blogs: FCPS Gifted Programs, K-9 Veterans Day and More

Did you miss some of the blogs this week on McLean Patch? Each week, we'll round them up in one convenient place for you.

And while we have your attention, are you interested in blogging for Patch? Are you an expert in your field? Are you passionate about your hobby? Our readers are interested in everything from national security to needlepoint. Apply online now.

Here are the highlights from blogs that ran this past week.

"Join The National Effort to Make March 13th of Every Year K-9 Veterans' Day"

• Kenneth E. Reynolds writes about how several states have already signed proclamations in 2012 declaring March 13 as K9 Veterans Day.
• "March 13, 1942 is the official birthday of the United States K9 Corps, and so it seems only right to annually honor their service on that date. We only seek your heart felt desire to help, and to be a voice for those deserving Veterans who have no voice."
• "Because of the attacks on our homeland, many more dogs than are normally associated with the term “war dogs” are in the fight, and this campaign will not discriminate against them."
• Read the full post here.

"'Stop and Think Kids' Ask School Board Not to Dumb Down Gifted Education"

• Asra Nomani writes about the current controversy surrounding the gifted program in Fairfax County Public Schools.
• "The speed of the proposed changes caused an appropriate uproar at public meetings with parents, with one school official dismissing the parent response as 'pretty sad.'"
• "At kitchen tables around the county, parents are pouring through facilities maps, enrollment figures, test scores and parent feedback forms, challenging school officials on many of the assertions they are putting forward and asserting, quite rightly, that Fairfax County Public Schools is railroading parents, ramming a plan through the school board."
• Read the full post here.

"Introducing Linda Toki of the McLean Photo Club"

• "Linda Toki is a graphic designer who knows photography.  And, she hopes, eventually, to become a photographer who happens to know graphic design."
• "Like others who move between brush and the lens, Linda enjoys the camera’s efficiency, its accuracy, and the greater room for trial and error."
• "The McLean Photo Club is in its fourth decade -- and we welcome new members. Or just come to the next club meeting as a guest, to see what the club’s about."
• Read the full post and check out Linda's photography here.

Would you like all the local McLean news delivered to your inbox every morning in one convenient email? (Think of it as the digital version of a daily newspaper). Sign up for the McLean Patch newsletter here. It's free and easy.