Prince William County kids notes

b>Middle school to host health expo Friday

Benton Middle School will hold a health expo from 5 to 8 p.m. on March 5 at the school, 7411 Hoadly Road, Manassas.

The event will provide free checkups and the chance to visit with health professionals. Children are welcome.

Kindergartners salute Seuss

Kindergarten students in Barbara G. Edwards' Fort Belvoir Elementary School classroom will take part in America Salutes Dr. Seuss on Saturday.

Army Staff Sgt. Juan N. Cruz will portray Cat in the Hat. He is the father of Alana Cruz, one of the students in the class.

Prince William Board of County Supervisor Mike May, Occoquan District, will be the guest reader for the fourth consecutive year.

The reading event will take place at the Canterbury Wood Center in Lake Ridge. There will be a balloon launch, reading stations, book distribution, crazy hat contest, prizes and surprises.

Girls appear in Kennedy Center production

Two local girls recently appeared at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Abigail Mumma of Gainesville and Jordan Kelsler of Bristow recently appeared in the Kennedy Center Marinsky Ballet (formerly Kirov Ballet) production of "Sleeping Beauty" from Feb. 9 to 14.

The girls auditioned Jan. 31 and were immediately taken into rehearsals and spent many hours practicing. They and their families spent multiple nights in hotels near the center in order to make rehearsals performances during two snowstorms.

Both girls have trained under Maria Monica Koo at the Gainesville Ballet School on Old Linton Hall Road. Abigail attends Gainesville Middle School and Jordan attends Marsteller Middle.

Easter Bunny to visit Potomac Mills mall

Families are invited to hop to Potomac Mills for photos with the Easter Bunny starting March 11 and continuing through April 3 at the Grand Court.

Hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with carrot breaks at 1 and 4:30 p.m., and Sundays noon to 6 p.m., with a carrot break at 2:30 p.m.

The shopping center is located at 2700 Potomac Mills Circle, Woodbridge.

Middle schoolers take part in 'Roboticon'

The 17 Prince William County middle school programs will participate in the fourth annual "Roboticon" on March 13.

The event will be held at Stonewall Middle School, 10100 Lomond Drive, Manassas, with opening ceremonies at 9 a.m. There will be 48 teams selected from a field of 72. The winning team and coach will represent the county at the national finals in Dallas.

Award-winning high school teams from Osbourn Park, Battlefield and Gar-Field will mentor the younger students.

Recent growth in the program is largely due to funding through the Prince William Educational Foundation with community business partners linking with the schools to support students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math activities.

Student chess players: Register for tourney

The next scholastic chess tournament will take place March 13 at Montclair Elementary School, 4920 Tallowwood Drive, Dumfries, sponsored by the Montclair Elementary School and C. D. Hylton High School chess clubs. Registration is from 8 to 8:45 a.m. and Round one begins at 9 a.m.

The tournament is open to students attending Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park schools. Private and home-schooled students living in these areas are also eligible. The tournament will be organized in four sections: primary, elementary, middle school and high school. Each participant will play four games. Trophies and medals will be awarded to the top players and all other participants will receive certificates.

There are no entry fees. Registration must be completed via e-mail with name, grade level and school to: princewilliamchess@gmail.com. The deadline for registration is March 11 at 6 p.m.

For more information, contact Dick Stableford at 703-670-5887 or o6usmc@comcast.net.

NVCC registration begins March 15 for 8-week session

Registration is taking place now for an eight-week session that begins March 15 at Northern Virginia Community College.

Courses in the eight-week session cover the same material and award the same credits as semester-long classes.

Student may enroll 24 hours a day at www.nvcc.edu or by telephone at 703-323-3770.

Children's musician to perform at library

Children's musician Alden Phelps will appear at Bull Run Regional Library on March 20 at 10:30 a.m.

His program, "Silly Songs with the Barnyard Bard," is for all ages.