The smell of smoke in a classroom at Washington Reid (K-1) (Pattie ES annex) caused staff to pull the fire alarm at dismissal. Buses were already on campus, so the children were loaded on the buses and sent home without their backpacks (annex only). The alarm was pulled by a staff member who smelled an odor caused by installation of an air conditioning unit on the roof.

Grasslands used to cover much of the Western Plains states of the U.S., stretching from Canada to Mexico, but today much of those grasslands no longer exist. Find out why when you tune in to watch on May 17, from 1-2 p.m. EDT, tune in to a webcast by Prince William Network of a live electronic field trip from Pawnee National Grassland in Colorado.

The public is invited to attend the PWC Community Expo set for Saturday, May 20, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Pfitzner Stadium Complex in Woodbridge. The EXPO could be cancelled for severe weather or lightning. Check pwcs.edu or any PWCS website for event status.

This afternoon, May 9, at approximately 3:20 pm, the fire alarm sounded at Saunders Middle School and the building was evacuated. Officiaals determined that welding work was being done in the stairwell leading to the rooftop. The smoke set off the alarm.

Thank-you notes are available through participating PTA chapters and all Virginia Lottery Customer Service Centers. Digital thank-you notes and more information about the campaign are available at http://www.valottery.com/thankateacher.

Dr. Steven Walts, Prince William County Schools superintendent, has proposed a new way to address certain Board Member requests in the absence of an official policy on the topic.

Among actions approved by the school board were: Purchase of 15.10 acres of land for the Prince William Parkway Elementary School; and the documents necessary for the construction and/or operation of school additions to Antietam, Lake Ridge, Leesylvania, Minnieville, and Springwoods Elementary Schools, and Stonewall Middle School; and naming Gar-Field High School auditorium in honor of John Jenkins, Neabsco District Supervisor.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, which includes Prince William County Public School students, was ranked sixth in the nation and first in Virginia. Patriot earned Gold; Osbourn Park, Battlefield, and Woodbridge earned Silver in US News rankings