Tuesday February 22, 2022 

**Today is George Washington’s birthday. Born in 1732 into a Virginia planter family, he was the  first President of the United States. 

He pursued two intertwined interests: military arts and western expansion. At 16, he helped  survey Shenandoah lands for Thomas, Lord Fairfax. Commissioned a lieutenant colonel in  1754, he fought the first skirmishes of what grew into the French and Indian War. The next  

year, as an aide to Gen. Edward Braddock, he escaped injury although four bullets ripped his  coat and two horses were shot from under him. 

From 1759 to the outbreak of the American Revolution, Washington managed his lands around  Mount Vernon and served in the Virginia House of Burgesses. Married to a widow, Martha  Dandridge Custis, he devoted himself to a busy and happy life. But like his fellow planters,  Washington was unhappy with British restrictions. 

When the Second Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia in May 1775, Washington,  who served as one of the Virginia delegates, was elected Commander in Chief of the  Continental Army. On July 3, 1775, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, he took command of his ill trained troops and embarked upon a war that was to last six grueling years, in 1781 with the  aid of French allies–he forced the surrender of British General Cornwallis at Yorktown, ending  the conflict. 

Washington longed to retire to his plantation at Mount Vernon. But he soon realized that the  Nation under its Articles of Confederation was not functioning well, so he helped bring about  the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787. When the new Constitution was ratified,  the Electoral College unanimously elected Washington President. 

Washington was cautious in foreign policy, not wanting to entangle the new nation with the  affairs of other countries; he kept the United States from being pulled into the French  Revolution. Washington was also cautious about the rise of political factions and cautioned  against both factions and foreign entanglements in his Farewell Address. After two terms in  office, Washington retired to his beloved Mount Vernon. Less than 3 years into his retirement,  Washington fell ill and died on December 14, 1799. The nation mourned his loss for many  months. 

Since 1885, Washington’s birthday has been observed as a federal holiday. In 1971 the  observance was moved to the third Monday of the month, and is often referred to today as  “President’s Day”. 

**Any student taking an AP course, please make sure you sign into your College  Board account, or create one if you do not have an account, and join your AP  Classroom. See your teacher if you have questions. If you plan to take the AP  exam in May, please go to School Cash Online and pay for the exam. Deadline to 

pay is March 4. Please see Ms. Zietoon or Ms. Cline if you have any questions  about paying for the exam. 

**Boys Outdoor Track informational meeting will be held Wednesday 2/23 in A136  from 2:20-2:45. 

**Any student interested in playing for the Girls Varsity Tennis Team and who did  NOT pick up an informational packet should see Coach Sunkel in Room  A139. Tryouts begin March 1st. 

**Come out and support the boys’ varsity basketball team tonight as they play  Walkersville in the CMC championship game at Hood College’s BB&T Arena. The  game begins at 5:00 PM. Tickets for all spectators will be sold at the door. 

**Congratulations to Gracie Nam & Savannah Presson who have recently been  selected as Bettie Awards winners by the Delaplaine Arts Center. Their pieces  were selected during the first round of jurying, & they are now preparing their  work for the exhibition. Way to go! 

**Our Boys Indoor Track team has a new 3200m State Champion- Jack Sears,  who destroyed the competition in the last 4 laps. Mikayla Moxley also won two  state titles in the 500m and 800 in a similar fashion, destroying the competition in  her last laps. Congratulations to these 2 awesome student athletes! 

**Today’s Black History Month” daily trivia question is….: What Southern state elected Julian Bond to its House of Representatives in 1965?