UPDATED 0919, June 8, 2010

SOL's. SOL's have started in the beginning of June 1st, they will test you on the subject that you have been learning all year. But always remember, the night before the test day to have a good night sleep and to eat a healthy breakfast in the morning. It will ensure you that you will be able to stay focused during the testing. c/SA Hirschorn 6/9/10

Memorial Day Flags. The lowering of the flags during Memorial Day on May 31st at the Chestnut Grove Cemetery was successful. Five cadets showed up to help the veterans lower the flags, and the flags were each returned to their respective families. c/SA Hirschorn 6/9/10

Change of Command and Awards Ceremony. The new Senior Staff will be comprised soley of rising Seniors and the Platoon Leaders wil be comprised of the rising Juniors. The Change of Command/Awards night went smoothly and everyone was awarded their various awards for their participation in unit activities over the course of this year. The new leadership will lead the unit to the end of the year and through NCIC until the next Change of Command. c/PO3 Oakley, 5/28/10

2 Hour Early Release. Friday the 28th, HHS will have a 2 hour early release due to the Memorial Day weekend. Also special about the 28th is the annual Mayfest. Mayfest is a celebration for the spring time with food, games and activities. Unfortunately for the past year, it has rained, but this year, the rain didn't come and Mayfest was held outside. We will also have the following Monday the 31st off. c/PO3 Young, 5/28/10

AP Tests. School-wide AP testing started this Monday and runs through May 15th. The student will take the AP test for the class they have been taking this year. AP testing will be held in the Auxiliary Gym. Anyone taking a test should bring a pencil or a black or blue pen. Morning tests start at 0800, afternoon testing starts at 1200. c/PO3 Young, 5/6/10

Spirit Week . The week of May 3rd will be Herndon High Schools Spirit week for Spring Sports. This is one of the few weeks a year that you see students excited to go to school to show off their school spirit. This weeks Spirit days are as follows: Monday is Pajama Day, Tuesday is 80's Day, Wednesday is Hawaiian Day, Thursday is Sports Day and Friday is Herndon Spirit Day with a taligate party before the Varsity Lacrosse Game that evening. c/SN Hirschhorn, 5/6/10

Change of Command Practice. On Thursday, May 6th there will be a Change of Command practice after school at 1430. All Staff, and Key Players must attend unless you have made prior arrangements. Key Players include: Platoon COs, Platoon XOs, Guidons and Senior Chiefs. c/PO3 Oakley, 5/6/10

No Uniform Day. By April 30th, are Seniors are to have returned all uniforms except for their Summer Blue uniform. The uniforms to return include, Working Khaki, Winter Blue, and their Service Dress Blue. c/PO3 Oakley, 4/29/10

Spring Awards Night. May 14th is Spring Awards Night, the cadets will form up and wait for the Color Guard to finish their routine. The ceremony will then move into the awarding part of the cerimony where award groups will be called to the front of the platoons and recieve the awards they have earned through this outstanding year, Commander Cassara will then go down the line and present to each cadet the awards as cadet Juma announces the cadet's name and the awards they are recieving. Then the senior staff will get their final awards and thanks to the Corps of Cadets for their service and help. Parents and friends are welcome to attend. c/PO3 Young, 4/29/10

Change of Command Practice. On May 6th, 10th and 13th there will be practices for the Change of Command and Spring Awards night, the practices on the 6th and 10th are for key players and staff only. The practice on the 13th is for all cadets including NS-1's. c/LCDR Bentley and c/CDR Martin will be the commanding officers at this event and the Senior Night. c/SN Hirschhorn, 4/29/10

No Uniform Day. Cadets, the week of April 19th there will be no uniform day for any classes; this is due to this week's PFT and the upcoming NS-1 Drill Meet on Satuday April 24th. Bring your PT gear and wish all participants of the drill meet good luck. c/PO3 Coyner, 4/22/10

Spring PFT. Duringthe week of April 19th all classes will be doing their Spring PFT, or Physical Fitness Test. Try to push yourself to do better than the Winter PFT to show that you have been working for a higher score. If you meet the min imum score requirements you can receive the ribbon and attachment showing your passing level. Get a good nights sleep and have a filling breakfast for optimal performance. Good luck to all of you! c/SN Brundage, 4/22/10

NS-1 Drill Meet. The NS-1 drill meet is on Saturday, April 24th. We are in need of help so if you can give any time, talk to Commander or Senior Chief. There are 8 teams competing including our own with each team comprised solely of NS-1s. This is our own meet with all variables in our favor so try your best to take this one for Herndon. Hoorah. c/PO2 Polk, 4/22/10

End of Third Quarter. The year is almost over cadets, there are just over two months left. The third quarter will be over at the end of the week of April 4th. If you have any missing work in any class, you need to make it up and turn it in by Friday April 9th. Be aware of your grades adn continue to work hard to keep your grades up. Fourth quarter grades wiull be your last chance to bring up any bad grades as it's grades will be averaged with 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarters grades, your finals will also be averaged in as a 5th quarter. So swork extra hard, and study harder for the upcoming quarter, finals and the SOLs. c/SN Brundage, 4/8/10

Welcome Back. Welcome back cadets, now that spring break is over we all need to get back into our regular school schedule. If you have any work that needs to be turned in before the end of the quarter do it this week as the end of the quarter is Friday April 9th. As you may know, the teacher work day on April 12th has been cancelled becasue of the large amount of snow we have gotten this past winter. The cancelled teacher work day is now a Black day with seminar as the stinger. The year is almost over so give this last quarter your all and do well. c/PO2 Polk, 4/8/10

Spring Break . Cadets, Spring Break starts March 27th and ends April 4th, Third quarter ends the week we come back so make sure you have all your work turned in before you leave and anything you cant complete before then take a little time during break to do so. Just becasue it is Spring Break if there is somthing that has to be completed later dosen't mean to do it at the last minute. Overall have fun, stay safe, and enjoy your break. c/PO2 Polk, 3/25/10

Extended Leadership Board. The cadet Leadership Board has been extended to include Tuesday March 23rd and Thursday March 25th. This is due to a unit-wide urge to lead in the coming years. There are 37 people that were interviewed. Good luck to all those who haven't gone yet. c/PO3 Coyner, 3/25/10

Photo Day. Wednesday, March 24, 2010 is the unit photo day. The entire unit should be in Winter Blue uniform. Photos will be taken all day, but cadets should not come after school, as the photographer will be leaving at approximately 1405. The NS-2 class does not have class on Wednesday, do cadets should come down during passing time, Stinger Time, or lunch, to have their pictures taken. Look sharp cadets - these pictures will be in the Green Room next to the previous generation of cadets' pictures, and all of the coming generations will be looking at them. c/SN Brundage, 3/24/10

Area Five Results. Last Thursday, March 11, 2010, the Drill, Academic, and PT teams departed Herndon at 1530 to compete at Area Five in Virginia Beach. At the end of Saturday, March 14, 2010, Area Five had been completed. The teams learned most of their results on the bus ride back to HHS, and Commander sent an e-mail with the teams' results. Check your e-mail box, if you're on Commander's mailing list, for the message. Overall, the unit finished 5th out of 10 units at Area Five. Green Run took 1st place, and Norview took 2nd, so they will proceed to Nationals. PT Team took 1st place overall, Drill took 6th, Academic took 5th, and the unit's Inspection ranked 8th. Though we could have done better, we worked hard to make it to Area Five, since only the top 10 schools in the Area go to the competition. Congratulations to all who participated in the competition and thanks to the cadets who came as red-shirts or for moral support. Let's work even harder for next year and make it to Nationals! c/SN Brundage, 3/17/10

PAR Work Reminder. Attention all cadets, now would be a great time for all of you to work on advancing. Practice any movements and study for your tests. To set up a test date, leave a memo in c/Ensign Williams' box. To get movements, ribbons, or time in rate signed off talk to one of our many officers and they would be happy to sign. c/PO3 Coyner, 3/17/10

Area 5 Preparations. The week of March 8th will be dedicated to preparing and performing at the Area 5 Competition in Norfolk, Virginia. Area 5 is comprised of the top 10 teams in the Area. Area 5 schools usually are in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. At the competition the cadets will participate in PT, Drill, and Academic Competitions, adding points to our overall score in the hopes that their team will make it to Nationals. This year, only the top 2 teams of each Area will be able to progress to Jacksonville, Florida, for the highest level competition for any NJROTC unit. The cadets going to the Area competition will be leaving Thursday afternoon after school, and make their way to a hotel just down the road from Naval Base Norfolk. When you talk to the cadets that will be representing Herndon at the competition, wish them the best of luck. c/PO3 Coyner, 3/8/10

Leadership Board. Cadets, if you are interested in having a billet in the unit next year you must come to the Leadership Board, which is run during Stinger on Friday, March 5, Monday, March 8, and Tuesday, March 9. If you cannot make it to one of the set times, talk to cadet Pinillos about what you need to be ready for Leadership Board. Make sure that you have at least three jobs in mind that you want to go for next year, and the minimum requirements and duties of each job. c/PO2 Polk, 3/5/10

National Academic Postal. Last Wednesday, 24 of our cadets competed in the National Academic Postal test after school. This test is one of the most important tests the team has taken so far, because the this test is used to determine rankings in the nation, and will help us achieve Distinguished Unit for this year. A big thank you goes out to cadets Juma, Truese, Coyner, Fronczak, Truong, Goldin, Talbert, Donahue, and Zier, who took time out of their busy schedules to augment the Academic Team and increase our chances of scoring high. The test results will arrive after 27 March. c/PO2 Thomas, 3/3/10

Military Ball. Cadets, last week we had a joint military ball with Loudoun County High School's NJROTC unit. The night started with a toast to all the branches of the military, dinner and a speech from our honored guest Rear Admiral Haley. Cadets Tavish Thigpen and Alastair Young were the oldest and youngest cadets at the ball, and therefore took part in the honored military tradition of the cake cutting ceremony. After that came the dancing, with music provided by DJ Life. Although Herndon High School lost the bet with Loudoun County about selling the most tickets, Senior Chief was a good sport and danced anyways, along with Loudoun County's NSI, Chief Jones (Editor's Note: They didn't actually dance with each other.) The military ball is a fun and highly valued event and we hope we can have one that is just as fun next year. Make sure to thank Cadets Truong, A., and Juma for all the hard work they put into the ball. c/PO2 Polk, 3/1/10

Patuxent Meet Results. On Saturday Febuary 20th the Drill and Academic teams mustered in the front of the school at 0515 to travel to Patuxent High School for a Drill, Academic, and UPI meet. Herndon competed very aggressively, earning 1st overall. Herndon placed 1st in Academics, 1st in overall Drill, 1st in Armed Standard, 2nd in Unarmed Standard, 2nd in Personnel Inspection, 2nd in Color Guard, and Cadet Mercedes Majano placed in the top 10 in the knock-out competition. Special congratulations to Cadet Young, an NS-1 who stepped up to fill in for an absent cadet in the Armed Exhibition routine, and to Cadets Pinillios, Troung, and Thomas. Great job Drill and Academic teams, keep up the good work! c/SN Coyner, 2/23/10

Leadership Board. Cadets, Leadership Board is on the week of March 1st. Cadets must pick three jobs that they would like to have for the upcoming year. Make sure that you meet the requirements and know the expectations of those jobs. To find out the details about a specific job look at the Standard Operating Procedures online or in the classroom. Also contact the cadet who is currently in that position and ask them any questions you may haveCadets must wear their uniform to the Leadership Board, must have proper haircuts, and must complete any assignments given to them for the Leadership Board. c/PO2 Polk, 2/23/10

Gaithersburg Drill Meet. The Gaitherburg Drill, UPI , and Academic Meet will be held on Saturday, March 6th. All teams attending need to practice and prepare extra hard for Gaithersburg. It will be the last meet before Area Five. All team members need to attend their team practices and be ready for Gaithersburg and Area Five. Remember, we did good at Patuxent, so let's keep it up at Gaithersburg. c/ SN Brundage, 2/23/10

Presidents' Day. Last Monday, February 15, 2010, was Presidents' Day. Originally scheduled to be a holiday for FCPS, it was rescheduled to be a make-up day, due to the amount of snow days taken up by the massive storm. However, the snow was still making the way to school almost impassable, so we missed school again. Presidents' Day is a day to honor and celebrate our past presidents, and our current President. We celebrate the achievements and progress our great nation has attained during our presidents' time in office. c/ SN Brundage, 2/17/10

Snow Report . Cadets, as you all are aware, we have recently been on the receiving end of a record breaking amount of snowfall, with more than 30 inches of snow over 3 days, with an additional 9 inches mere days later. With this storm, FCPS was forced to cancel 8 days of school, and due to the sidewalks and bus stops still not cleaned and shoveled, a 2 hour delay on the Tuesday of the week we returned to school. We hope everyone was warm and safe and enjoyed their time off school. c/ SN Coyner, 2/17/10

Harbor House Snow Shoveling. Cadets, while some of us were sleeping in and enjoying the snow days, some cadets went to the Ball Harbor House to help dig out cars after the big blizzards occurred over the past week. The cadets went to the Harbor House twice in one week, and three times this year. This is a great way to show the community what we do and who we are. Thanks to all the cadets who helped out, and hopefully it will be the last time this year. c/ PO2 Polk, 2/17/10

Orientation Trip News. Cadets, due to the inability to secure orientation activities for our orientation trip to Patuxent, the trip's orientation section has been canceled. The Drill and Academic Teams will still be attending the Patuxent High School meet, which is, as of Monday, still active. c/ PO2 Thomas, 2/17/10

Orientation Trip Canceled. Cadets, the Patuxent drill meet and orientation trip to Norfolk was canceled due to a snowfall of 4-6 inches in the area. The Patuxent Drill, Academic, and UPI meet might be rescheduled to take place the weekend after the Calvert County Drill meet. Commander is going to keep the money until he knows whether or not there will be another orientation trip. c/ PO2 Polk, 2/2/10

Informal Change of Command. On Friday, January 29, 2010, the Informal Change of Command ceremony was held in the ROTC spaces. All cadets who could attend were invited to watch the passing of the colors. Cadet Commander (former company CO) Adam Schalk handed the colors off to cadet Lieutenant Gonzalo Pinillos (current company CO). Cadet Anna Truong will take the position of Executive Officer from Cadet Pinillos, and Cadet Mercedes Majano will relieve Cadet Lazar Piro as our new Command Master Chief. The official Change of Command will be held later on the year. Congratulations to our new leadership, and may they enjoy a prosperous and great year. c/ SN Brundage, 2/3/10

Second Quarter Ending. Cadets, as you probably are aware, the upcoming weekend has been extended by 2 days, Friday, January 29th, and Monday, February 1st. These days are the days that teachers will finish putting together your 2nd quarter grades. This weekend also marks the half-way point of the school year. Have a great weekend and a wonderful rest of the year. c/ SN Coyner, 1/28/10

Patuxent Drill/Academic Meet and UPI. This Saturday, January 30th, is the Patuxent Drill, UPI and Academic Meet. Drill Team is required to be at HHS by 1130 on Friday, January 29th, for practice. Academic Team is required to be at HHS by 1345 of that same day. All other cadets attending the Orientation Trip are required to be at the school by 1430. Do not be late; the bus departs from Herndon at 1500. After the meet is over, if you are not staying for the rest of the Orientation Trip, you will return to Herndon. Practice, practice, practice! Good luck! c/ SN Brundage, 1/25/10

Martin Luther King Jr. Day. As you probably know, Monday, January 18th was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This day celebrates and honors all of this great man's goals and achievements. He fought for equal rights for everyone and was part of the final push that succeeded in getting the government to create laws outlawing segregation of everything, from schools to water fountains; thanks to him, everyone was free to use the same facilities and be treated the same. Unfortunately, this great man was assassinated on April 4th, 1968. In his lifetime, he received a PhD in Theology, won a Nobel Peace Prize, and became a Baptist minister. We all wish that Dr. King was still alive, and wonder how much better the world would be with him still in it. So on your day off, we hope you took a moment to remember and reflect on all the great changes that Dr. King made during his lifetime. c/ SN Coyner, 1/21/10

King George Rifle Results. On Saturday, January 19th, the Herndon NJROTC Rifle Team went to King George High School to compete against some of the top rifle teams in the nation. With half of our top shooters at the Green Run Drill Meet, the Herndon Rifle Team stood strong and had fun. Great job, Rifle Team members, and keep up the good work. c/ PO3 Polk, 1/20/10

Green Run Results. Last Friday, the Drill Team departed HHS for an overnight drill meet at Green Run High School. Official results have not come back yet, but our team did not win. The Drill Team returned late Saturday night, and was exhausted upon arrival. Aside from the disappointing results, the team had a good time. The overnight trip was fun for our drillers. Congratulations for the hard effort our drillers put into their practice, and good luck at Patuxent next week! c/ SN Brundage, 1/20/10

Patuxent PT Recap. Last week, Herndon High School traveled to Patuxent High School for the Frostbite PT meet. We did great because every competitor pushed themselves to their limits. Cadet Kathleen Ratana won a medal for female curl-ups. Cadets Brianna Lowry and Anna Truong achieved 3rd and 2nd place, respectively, in individual female push-ups. Cadets Terrell Thigpen and Richard Fronczak both received medals for individual male push-ups. Cadet Adam Schalk received 3rd place in individual male curl-ups. Overall, the team placed 1st in the meet. Excellent job to all the cadets, and keep up the good work! c/ PO3 Polk, 1/13/10

Green Run Drill. On Saturday, January 16th, the Drill Team will be competing in the Green Run Drill and UPI Meet in Norfolk, Virginia. For this event, the team will leave the night before, traveling by motor coach. The cadets will then spend the night in the Sea Cadet barracks at NAVSTA Norfolk. The next day, the cadets will finish the drill competition at approcimately 1630, and depart for Herndon HS by about 1700. The team should arrive back at the school by 2100. Good Luck to the Cadets competing! c/ SN Coyner, 1/12/10

Area Five Rifle Match. On Saturday, January 23, 2010, the Rifle Team will shoot at the Area Five STS match at Annapolis High School. This meet will be the last meet of the season, and one of great importance. Many different schools will be shooting at Annapolis for Area Five, including Hayfield, Patuxent, Paint Branch, and other schools. The match will take most of the day. Also, Rifle Team members, don't forget about your NRA Qualification sheets. If you have targets that count, be sure to clip them to the NRA sheet and place them in CDR's box in order to gain medals. Good Luck, Shooters! c/ SN Brundage, 1/12/10

Senior Profile: Mercedez Majano. Cadet Mercedez Majano is in her fourth year in Herndon High School's NJROTC program, currently holding the job of Female Assistant Supply Officer. Her career in the unit has been centered on working in Supply, moving up the ranks from being a Supply Clerk in her freshman year. NJROTC has had a big influence on her high school career, and after she graduates, she is planning on going to Northern Virginia Community College, and then joining the Marine Corps afterwards. She describes her four years with the program as great, challenging, fun, and a life-changing experience. Her most memorable moment in her NJROTC career was when the unit traveled to Pensacola, FL, for Navy Nationals, and she was able to spend time with the other girls who attended at the beach near the condo the unit was staying at. We here at Herndon NJROTC hope she had a great rest of the year and a great future. c/ PO3 Polk, 1/11/10

Patuxent PT Meet. This upcoming Saturday, January 9th, there will be a PT meet at Patuxent High School, in Maryland. Herndon's PT team will leave the school at 0700, and the meet will end at approximately 1600. Rest up and be prepared, mentally and physically. Practice your event at home in your spare time. Cadets should dress appropriately for the weather, and should wear their warm-ups. Good luck to all of our participating PT members! c/ SN Brundage, 1/6/10

Senior Profile: Jimmy Thomas. Cadet Thomas has had a long and eventful history in NJROTC. He has had a lot of jobs in the unit: he has been Finance Officer, Web Services Chief, and a Supply Clerk. He has been accepted into George Mason University, and plans to study computer science there. Although he has a lot of memories in JROTC, his most memorable one happened just last year on our annual Orientation Trip, when a Marilyn Monroe impersonator sang to him for his birthday on the bus, in front of all the cadets and adults. We hope he reaches his goals, and has more memorable moments to come. c/ PO3 Brundage, 1/4/10

Winter Break. Fairfax County Public Schools were canceled on December 21st, 22nd, and 23rd due to more than 20 inches of snow and ice. Because of this, students had a 15-day Winter Break, which delighted most students. On Monday, the 21st, some of the cadets went to the Harbor House retirement home to shovel out the cars and pathways. All of the work was appreciated greatly by the residents. We hope that everyone had an enjoyable break and happy holidays! c/ SN Coyner, 1/4/10

King George Rifle Match. The King George rifle meet will be on this Saturday, December 19, 2009. It will be held at King George High School, and the top eight Rifle Team members will be selected to go. All scored targets will contribute to your overall total score, including today's and Monday's practice. Good Luck, Rifle Team! c/ SN Brundage, 12/17/09

King George Drill Results. On Saturday, December 11th, the Drill Team mustered at school at 0515 for the trip to King George, Virginia, at their first meet of the year. Overall, the team placed 5th. In the unarmed events, we gained 1st place in standard and 2nd place in exhibition. In the armed events, the team placed 2nd in standard and 7th in exhibition. Placing 5th at our first drill meet of the season is no small feat, considering that most of the other schools participating in Drill had started their seasons over a month before we had. Excellent Job, Cadets! c/ SN Coyner, 12/15/09

PT Team Feature. Herndon High School NJROTC has many teams that cadets can participate in. Along with the Drill, Academic, and Rifle Teams, there is the PT (Physical Training) Team. The PT Team has been hard at work over the last weeks improving their scores for the next meets. Last year, our PT Team took the First Place trophy home from Area 5, on Little Creek Amphibious Base in Virginia. The team's CO and XO, cadets Lowry and Bentley respectively, are on their way to leading the PT Team to success. Good luck in achieving all your goals this year! c/ PO3 Polk, 12/10/09

King George Drill and UPI. On Saturday, December 12th, the Herndon NJROTC Drill season will officially start. The team has been preparing for 2 months for the beginning of the season. Their first meet will be at King George High School in King George, Virginia. We will be participating in the Armed and Unarmed Exhibition, Armed and Unarmed Standard, and Color Guard, for the Drill portion of the meet. We will also be participating in Personnel Inspection, which is worth half of the total points for our placing at the meet. Wish our team good luck if you see them in the halls in the next couple of days. c/ SN Coyner 12/10/09

Drill Team Special. For the past 3 weeks, the Drill Team has been arriving at school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, at 0555. They have been hard at work preparing for a drill meet next Saturday, at King George High School. The Drill Team consists of Armed and Unarmed Standard teams, as well as Armed and Unarmed Exhibition teams. Drill Team requires hard work, dedication, good bearing, and the will to practice. All of us here at Herndon NJROTC wish our Drill Team luck for the upcoming weeks. c/ SN Coyner 12/02/09

Senior Profile: Connor Williams. Cadet Lieutenant Williams has been with the HHS NJROTC program since his freshman year. He was most recently Cadet Company Commander of our unit. He has led the Academic Team in previouls years and is a top competitor on PT Team. As he prepares to leave HHS, he is applying - or soon will apply - to various colleges and universities, some of which are the US Naval Academy, Virginia Tech, Virginia Military Institute, and Notre Dame. He plans to complete a ROTC program at one of these universities and join the United States Marine Corps as an officer. He plans to major in Middle Eastern Studies and minor in Arabic Studies. He has also just obtained his Capitol Hill Internship. If he had to choose a career besides the USMC, it would be a government-oriented job, such as the CIA. In his spare time, he likes to hang out with his buddies and watch TV or sleep. His favorite moment in his four years in Herndon NJROTC is when the unit was at Nationals two years ago, and the unit had to stay at the beach an extra day. We wish him good luck, whichever path he chooses. c/ SN Brundage 11/19/09

Area Manager's Inspection. On Wednesday, November 18th, Captain Brian Gawne, the Professor of Naval Science at George Washington University, visited our school for our annual Area Manager's Inspection, otherwise known as AMI. For the inspection, the Captain brought a few midshipmen from GWU's NROTC unit to speed up the inspection, to the pleasure of many cadets. After the inspection, the Drill Team gave a demonstration of unarmed basic drill. Just before the Pass and Review, Captain Gawne gave a small speech including how he believes this is one of the best units in the area, and possibly one of the best units in the nation. The Captain said that he was impressed and that the inspection went very well. Good Job, Cadets! c/ SN Coyner 11/19/09

Thanksgiving Break. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast, which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. During this celebration they danced, talked, and played a few games. The tradition still lives on today, and many of us celebrate our own Thanksgivings in their own special ways. c/LT Singh remarked that over Thanksgiving break, he would be "sleeping." c/PO2 Thomas said that over the break, he would be attending wrestling practice - especially useful after Thanksgiving day! Whatever you and your family decide to do over the break, stay safe and warm, and have lots of fun! c/ PO3 Polk 11/19/09

Veteran's Day. As most of you know, November 11th is Veteran's Day. Veteran's Day is set aside by our government to honor veterans past and present. This day is an important date to remember, and a time to thank our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen. On Wednesday, don't forget to thank Commander and Senior Chief for their service in the Navy! c/ SN Coyner 11/9/09

Annapolis High School Rifle Match. On Saturday, November 7th, cadets Coyner, Polk, Frost, Brundage, Rush, Leshock, Taylor and Castillo traveled to Annapolis High School for a Shoulder-To-Shoulder rifle match. Herndon's team arrived about an hour early, and was in the second relay of shooting. All of the cadets believe that they did well, but we are waiting for the results of the match as of today. The cadets had fun traveling to Annapolis and also meeting other cadets from other schools at the meet. We here at Herndon NJROTC hope that our team scores high in the match! c/ SN Coyner 11/9/09

Senior Profile: Yorwen Teah. Cadet Petty Officer First Class Yorwen Teah is wrapping up her fourth year at Herndon High School. Cadet Teah has made friends and has had many great achievements throughout her four years. In her free time, Teah likes to keep up with the news on CNN. She is still undecided on what college she would like to attend, but has many ideas for her ideal career. Whatever she chooses to do, we wish her luck! c/ SN Brundage 11/5/09

Honor Flights . This past week, some of Herndon's cadets got a chance to meet some of America's veterans at the Dulles International Airport. The Honor Flights took place during school, and the cadets who participated in them had many stories to tell afterwards. The Honor Flights were not just an emotional experience for the veterans, but also for the Cadets who attended the event. This was a great opportunity and we hope it made a lasting impression. Mr. Cooper, HHS Principal, received the following letter:

To the Principal, Herndon H.S.

I just want to compliment the young men and women of the Herndon High School Junior ROTC unit who stood Flag and Honor Guard at the welcoming ceremony for the World War II veterans arriving at Dulles Airport yesterday. They were a credit to their school and community and gave honor and dignity to the occasion.

I was very impressed with their pride and professionalism in welcoming our WWII heroes and wish them much success and fulfillment in their future lives and endeavors.

Sincerely, Mrs. Gwen Wyttenbach, Annandale, VA

It just goes to show you that you never know who's watching you, so good job Cadets! c/ PO3 Polk and c/PO2 Thomas 11/5/09

Herndon Armed Exhibition On Youtube : The Armed Exhibition drill routine from the Gaithersburg drill meet can be viewed from this link – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfoZDZw4fLU c/LT Pinillos 3/13/09