Below freezing temperatures this time of year might keep you from exercising outdoors but you can still get a good workout by swimming at one of Arlington’s three indoor swimming pools, located at the three public high schools. Washington-Liberty’s natatorium just opened in 2009 and features a 25 meter x 25 yard pool with a movable bulkhead, two 1m springboards, a separate instructional pool, a wet classroom and a spectator area. The other two pools are six lane 25 yard pools with a separate instructional tank. The pools open for community swim as early as 5:30 a.m. and stay open some days to 8:30 at Wakefield and Yorktown and 9:30 at Washington-Liberty. There are designated lap lanes, open swim areas, a tank pool for children and they offer swimming and aqua fitness classes. Daily passes are available or you can purchase multi-use passes or memberships. Free swim times for Arlington Seniors and Arlington Children and Youth are also available each week. Check the Arlington Public Schools Aquatics website for more information and links to community swim schedules, lane and tank availability, class descriptions, and fees.
The pools are located at:
- Wakefield High School 4901 S Chesterfield Rd, Arlington, VA 22206, 703-578-3063
- Washington-Liberty High School 1300 N. Quincy Street, Arlington, VA 22201, 703-228-6262
- Yorktown High School 5201 N. 28th Street, Arlington, VA 22207, 703-536-9739
They are currently offering gift cards for memberships so if there is an avid swimmer on your gift list you might want to check it out.
17 Arlington Students Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists
National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists are the highest scoring entrants in each state and represent less than one percent of the nation’s seniors. For 2010, ten Yorktown High School students, four Washington-Lee High School students, two HB Woodlawn secondary program students and one student from Wakefield High School were among the 16,000 students named nationally. In addition, four students from Arlington County attending Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (in Fairfax), have been named National Merit semifinalists. These students will have the opportunity to compete for approximately 8,200 Merit Scholarship awards totaling $36 million.
Great news from Newsweek’s High School rankings
All four Arlington high schools were ranked in the top two percent of high schools in the nation according to this year’s Newsweek rankings. Based on The Washington Post challenge index ranking schools based on AP and IB tests, HB Woodlawn ranked highest among the Arlington schools followed by Washington-Lee High School, Yorktown and Wakefield respectively.
President Obama will give speech at Wakefield High School September 8th
Arlington Public Schools re-open for classes on Tuesday, September 8th and the first day will feature a special guest for one Arlington school. President Obama will be giving a national back-t0-school addres at Wakfefield High School. The speech will be broadcast live on C-SPAN and the White House Web site. The school was apparently chosen for the speech, intended to motivate students to work hard, set educational goals and take personal responsibility for their learning, because of its history of success with disadvantaged students.
The following message from the Arlington County Police Department highlights road closures for President Obama’s visit to Wakefield High School on Tue, Sept. 8.
“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 4, 2009
MEDIA CONTACT: Det. Crystal Nosal, 703-228-4331
TRAFFIC ALERT: Presidential Visit Road Closures
ARLINGTON, VA. – The Arlington County Police Department will close roads
around Wakefield High School on Tuesday, September 8, for a school visit
by President Obama.
The following road closures/detours will take effect at 9 a.m.:
* Traffic coming from South George Mason Drive on South
Dinwiddie Street will be diverted at South 14th Street to King Street
(school buses will be allowed to proceed to the school).
* Traffic on Chesterfield Road from Claremont Elementary will be
diverted south on South Buchanan Street (school buses will be allowed to
proceed to school).
* Traffic on Chesterfield Road from King Street will be diverted
to South Dinwiddie Street towards Walter Reed Drive.
* Traffic on South Dinwiddie from Walter Reed Drive will be
diverted to Chesterfield Road towards King Street.
* Pedestrian and vehicle traffic will be not allowed in the rear
of the school (the football stadium side).
* Westbound traffic on South Buchanan, South Columbus, and South
Culpeper Streets from Walter Reed Drive will be closed at Chesterfield
Road.
The following parking restrictions will be in place from 6 a.m. to 3
p.m.:
* Parking will be restricted on Chesterfield Road on both sides
between South Buchanan Street to the Chesterfield/Dinwiddie traffic
circle.
* Parking will be restricted on South Dinwiddie Street between
South George Mason Drive and Chesterfield Road.”
