Trailblazer 1214 - Loudoun County Public Schools

December 2014
Volume 1, Issue 6
THE TRAILBLAZER
For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.
From the Principal’s Desk
Dear Trailside families,
speakers from Loudoun County Animal Control
Department last week.
In just a few days, we will be taking our winter holiday
break for two weeks. It is hard to believe that 2015 is
just around the corner. We have been very busy here at
school with a number of events. Our music department
and students have worked hard with preparing for and
performing a number of concerts this month. On
December 5th, our Trailside Choir performed at the
Verizon Center opening up the Washington Wizards
game with The National Anthem. Just last week, the
8th grade Choir, under the direction of Ms. Klontz,
collaborated with The Stone Bridge Choir to greet our
students in the morning with a bit of caroling.
Our school hallways are decorated so nicely by our
student art work. Mrs. Smith and Ms. Skillings have
over 100 framed works of art hanging throughout the
school. We are also fortunate to have a number of our
students assisting with the matting and framing of the
artwork during their DEN time.
Our Civics students are participating in Service
Learning projects. Mr. Giddens’ students just had guest
December 20 - January 4: Winter Break
January 7: Spelling Bee Finals
January 10: Trailside / Farmwell Staff Volleyball game
January 12: Rising 6th grade parent information session
January 13: Rising 6th grade parent information session
After we return from winter break, we will begin to
think about scheduling for next year. There will be
parent information nights regarding course selection,
course curriculum, and electives. Teachers from several
departments, school counselors, and administrators will
be facilitating this information meeting. Please plan to
attend.
Several of our teachers have been awarded Loudoun
Education Foundation grants. This is a very
competitive grant opportunity and we as so proud to
have three teachers recognized for this award. We are
so much looking forward to the lessons which will take
place in the classrooms from these grants.
Congratulations to Maria Wakefield, Kellie Koptish,
and Jennifer Cherry.
May you and your family have a
safe and restful Winter break.
Happy Holidays,
Bridget M. Beichler
January 14:
January 19:
January 22:
January 26:
January 28:
20325 Claiborne Parkway
Ashburn, VA 20147
571-252-2280
[email protected]
Orchestra 6 Concert
Martin Luther King Jr, Holiday
Band 6 Concert
Moveable Student Holiday
Rising 7th & 8th grade parent information session
Page 1
December 2014
Volume 1, Issue 6
PARENT ALERT—PICTURES/INSTAGRAM
Dear Parents,
In recent weeks, we have had an increased occurrence of students taking pictures of one
another before, during, and after school. Our school practice at Trailside is for phones to be
off and put away in lockers during the day. While we do want to integrate more technology
into the classrooms, we first need to go through a Digital Responsibility Curriculum with the
students. This responsibility has also been made very real this past week. It was brought to
our attention that there are a number of Instagram accounts created specific to Trailside Middle School. These
accounts have been created by an anonymous person, however the followers are primarily TMS students.
Several of these accounts have disturbing language and content. While the school does not monitor or enforce
social media, as this is the role of the parent, we are concerned with some of the content posted on these pages.
In particular, if there are geographical settings attached to your child’s account, there is a safety aspect. We are
planning to have an internet safety presentation for students, as well as an evening event for our parents. I
strongly encourage you to attend the parent event, as well as to continue to monitor your child’s account. In
our partnership between home and school, we want to keep our students safe as well as comfortable at school.
We will share out with our community as soon as these dates have been set. Thank you for your continued
support for our students, staff, and school.
Bridget M. Beichler
MORNING ARRIVAL & ROUTINES
Morning arrival is between 8:10 and 8:30 am. We open
up the doors for the colder weather at 8:10 and students
then proceed to their gathering areas. We are asking
parents to please not drop off or send your students to
school before this time, as we do not have most of our
staff on contract time until 8:15 am. For students who are
coming in to meet with a teacher, please make sure that
they have a pass from the teacher and arrangements
have been made to meet. For students who are
accessing morning math help with designated teachers,
please make sure that you arrive no earlier than 7:40 AM.
WALKERS, BIKE RIDERS, SKATEBOARDERS AND
PARENT PICK-UP LANES
Please talk together about safe travel to and from
school. We encourage all students to walk with a
buddy to and from school. All students should be staying
on sidewalks, pathways, etc. from door-to-door. As
students enter Trailside boundaries, they should remain
on the sidewalks and follow them to the entrance way.
There have been a number of times in which students
are crossing through the parking lot, which is very
dangerous. Parents, thank you for pulling around the
whole way to drop off and pick up. Please do not cut out
of line to pass a waiting car. We have had a lot of
success with moving all of the cars through the lane
and we want to make sure we are keeping all of our
students safe. Thank you for supporting our practices and
processes here at Trailside.
Page 2
December 2014
Volume 1, Issue 6
I am pleased to announce that our school has been selected to participate in the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP), often referred to as the Nation’s Report Card. NAEP is a program of the United States Department of Education and is an ongoing
assessment of what our elementary, middle, and high school students know and can do in various academic subjects.
The NAEP assessment will take place on January 27, 2015. A random sample of our 8th grade students will be selected to take a
mathematics, reading, or science paper and pencil assessment, and your child may be selected. The assessment will take 90 minutes.
Students do not need to study in preparation for NAEP; however, we do ask you to encourage your child/children to do their best on this
important assessment.
All the information your child provides may only be used for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for
any other purpose except as required by law [Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, 20 U.S.C §9573]. Your child’s grades will not be
affected. Your child may be excused from participation for any reason, is not required to finish the assessment, and may skip any question.
We depend on student participation to provide an accurate measure of student achievement to help inform improvements in education.
Your child will represent many other students in our state, so participation is very important. Results for individual students, schools, or
school divisions will not be reported.
By taking part in NAEP, students contribute to improving American education and ensuring that all of our children receive the education
they deserve. NAEP appreciates the participation of each child selected. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Tricia
O’Connell at 571-252-2280 or by e-mail at [email protected].
If you would like additional information about NAEP or to view sample subject area and student questions, please visit http://
nationsreportcard.gov/parents.asp.
Attention parents of
CURRENT 5th graders
Upcoming parent information sessions:
January 12: 6:30-8pm
January 13: 9-10:30am
Instrument Test Drive nights:
January 13th
January 20th
January 27th
January 29th
Loudoun Education Foundation
grants were just announced.
These teachers were all chosen to
receive funding for their submitted
proposals:
Maria Wakefield – $465 for “Eye Spy Animal Phyla”
Kellie Koptish – $500 for “Whoooo's In the Food Chain: An Owl Pellet
Exploration”
Jennifer Cherry – $491 for “A Comical Classroom”
Read more about the LEF grants at:
http://www.lef-va.com/fall2014grants.html
Parent Volunteer Opportunities
Page 3
December 2014
Volume 1, Issue 6
The last day to order yearbooks will be January 16,
2015! Get them while you can! Here is the link to
follow to order your yearbook https://
www.yearbookordercenter.com/index.cfm/
general/displayLanding . You may also order you
yearbook and find out more information by going to
Trailside Middle School's Homepage, click on
Activities and then click on Yearbook.
GAP YEAR FAIR
John Champe High School in Aldie is
hosting a Gap Year Fair on February
22nd for LCPS students. This is a
great opportunity for kids and
parents to learn about experiences/
options available between high
school graduation and college or
world of work.
Learn more at: Gap Year Fair
We are also in need of pictures of our students
outside of school doing community service, hanging out with friends,
partaking in clubs, sports etc. If you would like to share your photos
with us so that they may be used in the yearbook please visit http://
www.hjeshare.com. The school code is trailside, all lower case.
Outdoor Pack Time
Many of our students wonder about the “outdoor pack time” guidelines. We check the weather late morning and stay
inside if the air temperature is below 40 degrees or if there is a wind chill factor below 40 degrees.
The Chemical
Educational
Foundation® (CEF) is a
nationally recognized,
award winning nonprofit
organization committed to enhancing science education among
every generation, beginning with our youth. This year Trailside
Middle School will be participating in the 2014-2015 You Be the
Chemist Challenge.
The 8th grade students in Mr. Giddens'
class are doing a community service project
with LCAS. Many of our students will be
making posters to be hung in the shelter
advertising adopting one of the animals. This
is a flyer advertising the open house. Many
citizens will be visiting the shelter after the
19th and will see our posters.
The qualifying Test will be held after school on January 28, 2015.
If interested, please complete the permission slip and return it to
Mrs. Koptish or your science teacher by January 23, 2015.
Study materials can be found at: http://lcps.org/Page/146184
Don’t know if it’s an A or B day?
A/B Day Calendar
Page 4
December 2014
Volume 1, Issue 6
The following students won the classroom spelling bee and will move
on to the school spelling bee on January 7, 2015.
Lauren Abogado
Daniel Antonucci
Emily Bowe
Julian Cortinas-Carrasco
Nicholas Decker
Ian Devenish
Nitin Elavarasu
Jack Fedak
Paige Harris
Ben Hawkins
Ethan Helmrath
Anisha Jain
Zachary Kirchnar
Noelle Lee
Saarthak Maheshwari
Liam McGrail
Jahon Misra
Alfred Premkumar
Anjana Rao
Olivia Rich
Gabby Ritz
Namen Shah
Ryan Shears
Jorddus Sinclair
Shahaf Sorek
Sarah Triola
Hunter Wilson
Livia Wolfer
Kelly Zeng
In February we will begin a Parent Evening Book Club focusing on educational and parenting topics. Our first session
will be February 5th from 6:30-7:30 pm in the TMS Reading Lounge-Room
811. We will read and discuss the book Mindset by Carol Dweck. The book is
focused on two mindsets-fixed and growth.
Below is a brief of the book:
Dweck explains why it’s not just our abilities and talent that bring us
success–but whether we approach them with a fixed or growth
mindset. She makes clear why praising intelligence and ability doesn’t
foster self-esteem and lead to accomplishment, but may actually
jeopardize success. With the right mindset, we can motivate our kids
and help them to raise their grades, as well as reach our own goals–
personal and professional. Dweck reveals what all great parents,
teachers, CEOs, and athletes already know: how a simple idea about
the brain can create a love of learning and a resilience that is the basis
of great accomplishment in every area.
The staff at Trailside Middle School has read and continues to study this
book and components of it. We feel it is important to involve parents in
the ideas focused on by author Carol Dweck.
If you are interested and would like to sign-up and participate in this book
club please contact Kelly [email protected].
Below is an amazon link to order a copy of the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Success-Carol-Dweck/
dp/0345472322/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418656494&sr=81&keywords=mindset+by+carol+dweck&pebp=1418656496410
Page 5
December 2014
Umayya Abassi
Marissa Abdinoor
Aria Abedinzadeh
Lauren Abogado
Aaron Acosta
Hunter Adkins
Hansa Adusumilli
Dahlia Alawi
Gretchen Albers
Andrew Allegra
Connor Allman
Tallon Allway
Katana Alston
Christopher Amaya
Roca
Pranesh Ambokar
Arush Amin
Tanya Ansari
Daniel Antonucci
Roujon Aranowzari
Jillian Arganda
Akash Arul
Roshen Arun
Vedika Arunkumar
Ayal Assana
Iqra Ataf
Elias Augusto
Salome Augusto
Nasroallah Bailoul
Kavin Bapat
Jordin Barnett
Sarah Bartles
Brandon Battista
Brittany Battista
Jared Behrens
Kejsi Beltoja
Sydney Bencic
Jessi Beraki
Sophia Berger
Madeline Berger
Austin Best
Pranshu Bhaumik
Michael Bianco
Boston Billings
Jason Birsic
Daniel Blose
Madeline Bonifas
Kyle Borer
Zavian Bouharb
Hailey Boyd
Halle Boyles
Sydney Brenneman
Kaiya Brice
Danielle Brill
Mackenzie Brooks
Megan Brosan
Madelyn Brosan
Andrew Burton
Alexander Bushman
Allison Carolan
Jaden Case
Elizabeth Casey
Jacqueline Chance
Aditi Chandrashkar
Caroline Chang
Alexander Cheng
Mitchell Cheng
Rohan Chhatre
Jackson Christman
Caroline Chu
Emily Clark
Cameron Cocozza
Dominic Cole
Lauren Cole
Taylor Coon
Cameron Copeland
Jessie Cornell-Webb
Julian CortinasCarrasco
Joseph Cramer
Emma Cravens
William Crichton
Sara Cross
Lya Cruz
Allison Culko
Ryan Curran
Skylar Dabney
Nathaniel Dall
Mersal Danesh
Cat-Thy Dang
Teagan Davis
Thomas Davis
Sarah Deavers
Shannon Deavers
Mary Decker
Nicholas Decker
Pedro Del Valle
Dominick Dellecave
Hope Detweiler
Cole Devido
Mary Devido
Andrew Devito
Darsh Devkar
Dhruv Dewan
Emily Dickson
Madison Diderickson
Vy Dinh
Jackson Disilvestre
Brian Douglas
Samiha Duggal
Jane Dvorak
Gabrielle Echevarria
Renatta Eizaguirre
Nitin Elavarasu
Kathryn Enriquez
Emily Espinal
Madeline Esposito
Mallory Evans
Erl Fantilaga
Esha Fateh
Jack Fedak
Sophia Ferguson
Andrew Ferrin
Anna Ferrin
Gabriel Figueroa
Christian Fitch
Marcus Fleming
Ethan Flemming
Erin Frederick
Megan Frederick
Samuel Fremin
Erin Frey
Volume 1, Issue 6
Carina Mia Frias
Andrew Fryer
Matthew Fuerst
Sean Gallagher
James Galligan
Christopher Ganey
Daniel Garrity
Ruby Gau
Ali Ghadiri
Isabel Gonzalez Alvarez
Anna Good
Samantha Gray
Olivia Green
Tehya Green
Sarah Greenbaum
Megan Greening
Jade Grindle
Schae Groton
Nicholas Gubler
Emma Guido
Grace Guido
Gillian Guy
Taylor Hafer
Mia Hagood
Ali Haidari
John Hajdo
Owen Hall
Evelyn Hanley
Campbell Hansen
Morgan Hansen
Kaley Harris
Paige Harris
Thomas Harrison
Andrew Hastings
Benjamin Hawkins
Tyler Healy
Cameron Heidary
Hannah Hejazi
Ethan Helmrath
Taylor Henshaw
Lauren Hentz
Hannah Hilburn
Avery Hiller
Jeffery Hines
Lauren Hines
Alexandra Hitrik
Matthew Hoffman
Deyani Hogan
Ellen Hong
Kimberly Hoots
Brianna Horengic
Katherine Hornberger
Maya Horner
Nathaniel Horner
Aili Hou
Thomas Houck
Callie Houston
Jonah Hughes
Temesgen Hughes
Austin Humphreys
Abdur-Rehman
Hussain
Patrick Hutecker
Timothy Huyck
Jackson Ignotz
Daniella Imre
Faiza Isa
Mika Iwase
Lauren Jachimowski
Abigail Jackson
Troy Jackson
Zachary Jacobson
Anisha Jain
Annanya Jain
Advay Janardhan
Leona Jarafi
Liam Joyce
Chloe Joyce
Rebecca Jun
Margaret Jurich
Mysha Kader
Mikail Kamara
Kathleen Kasell
Mackenzie Keeling
Molly Kennedy
Indira Khaitan
Haneef Khan
Shayan Khan
Shayan Khoshkhou
Veronica Kidwell
Kylie King
Zachary Kirchener
Amanda Koehler
Cameron Kopko
Jacob Kotin
Saipavan Koyada
Jack Krablin
Sarah Krishnamoorthy
Matthew Kukulich
Jessica Kumke
Lucas Landry
Jenna Leatham
Samantha Leathem
Lucas Lee
Noelle Lee
Taylor Lee
Kyra Lenderman
Casey Leonard
Meghan Leonard
Alaina Lewis
Kyle Lewis
Cynthia Liang
Felicity Lingerfelt
Ian Lips
Abigail Lips
Justin Lisciandro
Kathleen Lobue
Kelly Lobue
Jillian Long
Sabrina Long
Thomas Lopresti
Alissa Lovejoy
Michele Lowe
Julia Lynch
Paul Lynch
Amish Madhav
Saarthak Maheshwari
Mason Mahmud
Susanna Major
Viswanath Malapaka
Quinn Manthei
Gabriella Manziano
Faustino
Claire Masi
Ben Matthews
Mckenna Mattingly
Zachary Mazur
Molly Mcbride
Alisa Mccaleb
John Mcgarrity
Maggie Mcgarrity
William Mcgrail
Kieran Mcgrail
Mcinerey Sean
Lola Mcmullan
Elyse Mcneil
Bradley Meech
Andrew Meehan
Jordan Meehan
Henrry Mejia-Cerritos
Joseph Merizan
Daniel Merkling
Erin Mica
Anna Michelitch
Sarah Michelitch
Anna Miles
Braden Millar
Julia Miller
Nitacharee Miller
Erin Mills
Jason Mills
Kevin Minaya
Joseph Mineo
Jilllian Miranda
Jahan Misra
Allison Molthen
Anthony Montalvo
Joshua Montano
Carley Moore
John Morton
Courtney Mulvihill
Ellie Mundie
Sierra Munroe
Lauren Nathan
Celeste Nathan
Susan Nawrozie
Ryan Needles
Abigail Neff
Helene Nesheim
Gabrielle Nguyen
Marc Nguyen
Benjamin Nichols
Nanami Nishimoto
Olivia Noel
Madison Norman
Nicole Notta
Ellie Nystrom
Sara Oakes
Alexander O'Brien
Raquel Odei-Morris
Holly O'Donald
Darby Ogorek
Piper Ogorek
Jacquelyn Olivera
Gaith Orfaly
Anna Ortiz
Marlene Ortiz
Nyla Ortiz
Madison Osborne
Mathew Padath
Melissa Parkin
Courtney Partner
Emma Paskey
Arav Patel
Emily Paulson
Nadia Payne
Halley Peffley
Charlotte Peter
Parker Peterson
Carmen Petito
Alexander Pierce
Daniel Pinney
Lauren Pittman
John Plummer
Austin Polhamus
Jack Posada
Luke Poulias
Alexa Poulin
Lauren Poulin
Ryan Preisman
Alfred Premkumar
Caityln Progin
Mia Puccio
Rachael Quan
Natasha Rabinowitch
Lameez Rajput
Anjana Rao
Vlad Ratiu
Raksha Ravichandran
Akhil Reddy
Isabella Rehermann
Katherine Reif
Olivia Rich
Camden Ridley
Gabrielle Ritz
Giovanni Rivas
Cameron Roberts
Daniel Robinson
Glendy Roca
Ian Roeder
Rebeca Rosales
Rachel Rountree
Sadie Rouse
Owen Runge
Mary Grace Ryan
Jonathan Ryerse
Humza Saleem
Nicholas Saliby
Caroline Sampson
Jenna Sandler
Thomas Santoro
Emily Sappington
Janhavi Satish
Samarth Saxena
Olivia Scarry
Madelyn Schlesinger
Amber Schmitt
Warren Schubert
Tyler Scott
Daniel Segura
Amaya Serbia
Kushi Sethuram
Naman Shah
Malika Shaik
Natasha Sharif
Marissa Sharif
Esra Shawkat
Brittany Shears
Ryan Shears
Sarah Sheikh
Husna Shinwari
Samantha Shomo
Jake Shorey
Kevin Shuey
Abigail Silvasy
Sydney Skelton
John Patrick Sliwinski
Brandon Sluss
Abbey Smith
Imogen Smith
Matthew Smith
Nathan Smith
Olivia Smith
Matthew Snuggs
Nitin Soma
Shreya Somayajula
Abigail Sommer
Gaya Sorek
Sean Soudrette
Matthew Souza
Alexander Spahr
Brennan Speier
Sean Speier
Savannah Spring
Kirthana Srinivasan
Prayank Srivastava
Sydney Stallard
Steven Stebbins
Andrea Stefanyshyn
Ainsley Steger
Eden Stephenson
Hana Stepnick
Brady Sterling
Cade Stevens
Robert Stewart
Chase Stone
Megan Stone
Collin Stone
Alexis Strandberg
Corey Strandberg
Abigail Sullivan
Angela Sullivan
Sravani Sunkara
Umar Tahir
Haven Talbott
Smita Tallah
Mara Tallent
Talha Tariq
Samuel Tempe
Tyler Tempe
Kenneth Templeton
Sophie Termaat
Amy Thomas
Brooke Thomas
Ryan Thomas
Jordan Thompson
Emma Thorn
Jayden Thornhill
Ashna Tirougnaname
Andrew Toczko
Kara Tokarchic
Aidan Tracy
Jeronica Tran
Alan Tran
Noelle Treadwell
Sarah Triola
Sulianna Tui
Olivia Valbak
Jonah Vancampen
Rachel Vanlandingham
Hope Varghese
Lorena Velazquez
Samyukhtha Venkateswaran
Trent Vera
Aliya Vivian
Adam Vivian
Heidi Walbesser
Madeleine Walker
Alexander Walsh
Collin Walsh
Madelyn Walsh
Angela Wan
Xander Waugh
Caroline Weaver
William Webber
Grace WeismanFleischer
Elora Weiss
Elizabeth Wells
Emma Wetmore
Gavin Wharton
Peter White
Jenaveve White
Abigail Williams
Livia Wolfer
Tyler Wrisley
Elaine Wuerschmidt
Jordan Yankee
Ryan Yankee
Alpar Yartas
Pranav Yella
Joshua Yi
Jennifer Yu
Matthew Yun
Maleehah Zafar
Momen Zahid
Kevin Zeng
Gawain Zhang
Kelly Zhang
Page 6
Are you Interested in Science? Enjoy Competitions?
The Chemical Educational Foundation® (CEF) is a nationally
recognized, award winning non-profit organization committed to
enhancing science education among every generation, beginning with
our youth. This year Trailside Middle School will be participating in the
2014-2015 You Be the Chemist Challenge.
Qualifying test will be
held after school
January 28, 2015 until 4:25.
If interested returned the attached permission slip
to Mrs. Koptish by January 23, 2015
Selected participants will then proceed to the
Regional Competition held at Harper Park Middle
School March 11, 2015
See the Science Department Webpage for more
information and study materials.
Trailside Middle School
After School Permission Form
I give permission for my son/daughter _____________________
to participate in the UBCC.
(Student Name)
I understand that my son/daughter must abide by all rules and
regulations of the school and also of those established by the
sponsor of the after school activity. If my son/daughter does not
abide by necessary guidelines, proper disciplinary action may be
taken, which includes, but is not limited to dismissal from the after
school program. I also give permission for my son/daughter to ride
the after school activity buses, which provide regional
transportation home.
My child will be traveling home: (Circle one)
Walking
Activity Bus
Car Rider
Emergency Contact:__________________ Phone Number:__________
_______________________
Parent Signature
_______________
Date
Feline Navidad
at Loudoun County Animal Services
December 6th - 21st
Help Santa Paws grant the wish of the shelter’s cats this holiday season!
ta Paws,
Dear San
ar. We
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climb too
litter boxe
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and alwa
would
ourselves
good, we
y
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g for
Because w
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w
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like just o
s to love a
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are foreve
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ve us. Tha
who will lo
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ing,
iscuit mak
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, pur
With love
LCAS
Kitties at
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Th
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Holiday Adoption Fees
Wise Whisker Cat
(7 years & over)
&
Small Animals*
$0.00 (no fee)
Adult Cat
(7 months to 6 years)
$25.00
Kitten
(6 months & under)
$75.00
* excluding large birds
For adoption hours and requirements and to view your future
family member, visit www.loudoun.gov!
Happy Holidays from the staff, volunteers and pets at LCAS!
39820 Charles Town Pike, Waterford, VA 20197 • 703-777-0406 • [email protected]
Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/loudounanimals