By Kimberly Leonard and Jimmy Young NWEN guest bloggers and Collegian Reporters

May 1, 10:25 p.m. — A student is being treated at the University Student Health Center for flu-like symptoms and being tested for the H1N1 strain of influenza, also known as swine flu, according to an e-mail from Dr. Lynne Deane, medical director of the center.

Despite this development and the appearance of swine flu in Virginia, the University will continue to operate on a normal schedule, Deane said.

Deane urged students to report any cases of flu-like symptoms to the Student Health Center, which will be open Saturday and Sunday, May 2 and 3, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Another Virginia college has already been effected by the H1N1 virus, said Dr. Karen Remley, state health commissioner, in a news release. There are two probable cases of infection at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., she said.

“Both students had mild illnesses, both are recovering well, and both were suspected early of possibly having influenza A (H1N1) and were appropriately treated,” said Remley. “Neither student had traveled outside the country, but both had visited other states recently. None of the states visited were known to have confirmed cases of influenza A (H1N1).”

Remley said the announcement had come out of a desire to be overly cautious, considering that local transmission may have occurred because of the appearance of two students with the virus.

Jewish Family Services is hosting the 15th Annual “Night at the Movies,” May 14th, 7 p.m. at the Westhampton Theater.
The featured movie, Holy Land Hardball, tells the story of an unlikely group of players and executives who create Isreal’s first professional baseball team. General admission tickets are $50, student tickets (with valid ID) are $25, raffle tickets are $60, and combo tickets (movie and raffle) are $100. Tickets  and include at 5:45 reception at Suitable for Framing.

For tickets, please call 282-5644, ext. 0,

OR CLICK HERE

email JFS at information@jfsrichmond.org

All procedes benefit JFS.

Albert Hill Middle School has become an increasingly popular choice for students after they leave Mary Munford Elementary school.    Principal Michael Kight and his staff have worked hard to change the image of Hill  by addressing some false myths and by viewing the schools incredible diversity as its biggest asset.  The Times-Dispatch featured Kight and the incredibly work he’s done on its front page yesterday.

Albert Hill is home to students from the top to the bottom of the city’s economic scale, with its zone ranging from the public housing in Gilpin Court to the loftiest homes in the West End. With white students making up 24 percent of the student body, the school is also the most diverse racially.

“I don’t think you can get that diversity anywhere else in the city,” he [Kight] said. “When our kids leave here, they’re comfortable in any situation. Now, in the sixth grade, it’s a little awkward at first, but after the first semester, they’re used to it. You see kids from Carver meeting kids from Munford, and they realize they’re all the same.”

It sounds to me like Kight might have read a book, called Debunking the Middle Class Myth, about why raising our children in a diverse environment is so important.

I’m glad that the story of Albert Hill Middle School is being told. Some Munford kids will get into the IB Program at Lucille Brown, some will go to Henrico County or private schools, but most will choose to attend Albert Hill.  And thanks to Kight, that is a very good option.

In 2004-05, Hill had the lowest enrollment of the city’s nine middle schools, and projections were for the number to continue dropping. He said enrollment was projected to bottom out at 250 students.

Instead, Hill now has more than 500 students, pushing it up to fifth of the city’s nine middle schools. Though the building could hold more students, Hill is at program capacity because of the city’s three-tier approach to middle schools. (Each school has regular, honors and advanced courses, each of which requires classroom space.)

Last year, Kight recieved the R.E.B. Distinguished Educational Leadersip Award and Hill teacher Steve Beckett (a former classmate of mine) received an  R.E.B. Award for Teaching Excellence. There are lots of very dedicated and talented folks at Hill and I happy to see that the community is taking note.  To learn more about Albert Hill, you can visit the Museum District Association’s website.

Henrico Doctors Hospital Forest Avenue Campus is expanding in the Near West End.  Recently, the Forest Medical Plaza, the first phase of the expansion opened, The Times-Dispatch reports.

Groundbreaking for the next phase of the $80 million project will be in June, Nelson said.

The expansion will allow the 340-room hospital to convert semi-private rooms into private rooms, she said.

An outpatient surgery center will open early next year in a separate building and a high-tech magnetic resonance imaging machine will be added in the main hospital. In the fall of 2010, a new emergency room and heart center will open.

The last part of the expansion is scheduled for completion in late 2010 and early 2011 with a new outpatient center, laboratories and pre-admission testing areas.

I have a call into Henrico Doctors Hospital to find out more details but as of yet they haven’t returned my call, could it be they don’t take bloggers seriously?!?

Albert Hill Middle School will host 2nd Annual EcoFest on  May 16 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. rain or shine

The Albert Hill Ecofest was established by the school’s PTA in 2008 as a way to provide students with more insight and experience regarding environmental preservation issues and to encourage them to go green. The event will feature games, activity booths, demonstrations, giveaways, food, a silent auction, entertainment, and a dunking booth.

The community is welcome and encouraged to attend and participate.  If you’d like to make a donation to the silent auction or volunteer at the event, please contact Rita Johnson, event coordinator, at
245-1143, or Michael Kight, principal, at 780-6107.

Thomas Beatty, Principal at Community High School, in the Near West End, at Patterson and Libbie Avenues has confirmed that his school will relocated to the Chandler Middle School Building for the 2009-2010 school year.

The building, which is in need of extensive repairs, has been rumored to be turned into another use.   The City of Richmond School PR office did not return my call for comment on the future use of the school.

My talented neighbor, Rachel Pustilnik, was featured in the Times-Dispatch on Mother’s Day. Rachel runs the West End franchise of Stroller Strides, and often you can see her and her mommy-gang running up and down the streets of Charles Glen, the local park or Maymont.

Fitness Rarely does Rachel Pustilnik get through an exercise class without someone crying.

But that’s OK. This is Stroller Strides. A little crying is to be expected. The tots come along on this exercise hour. They watch from the comfort of their strollers as the moms work up a sweat.

“Of course you get criers,” said Pustilnik, owner of the local Stroller Strides franchise. “That’s part of motherhood.”

Today, Mother’s Day, is a good time to think about the parent’s role in promoting good exercise habits.

I love how the article emphasizes the benefit of your kids actually watching you work out, and how they want to imitate you.  And I can tell you that from my personal experience as a team leader for TRIgirl Training, the team-factor is really  motivating to people like me who sometimes have trouble getting out the door.

Rosa Johnson, a 75-year-old woman who suffered from dementia, was reported missing last weekend from her home on the 8600 block of Angelsea Drive, near Parham and Interstate 64. Yesterday she was found dead in a wooded ravine.

The Times Dispatch reports:

Rosa Johnson’s body was discovered by K-9 units as Henrico police and a search and rescue team from the state’s Office of Emergency Management Services combed the area near Parham Road and Mayland Drive, said Henrico police Lt. Richard Cosby.