Kennedy school rededication to draw local dignitaries, politicians 

    by Joshua Myerov
    Staff Writer Apr. 5, 2000 

    Mark Shriver, JFK's nephew, will give keynote address 

    Last fall, John F. Kennedy High School students and staff moved back into their brand new $28 million building without the least bit of fanfare.

    It has been a long time coming, but this Friday afternoon when a student-organized pep rally begins, the celebration will finally get under way.

    On Sunday afternoon, the party will culminate with a rededication ceremony featuring a list of honorary guests and guest speakers worthy of the JFK name.

    Those slated to make remarks Sunday include U.S. Rep. Constance A. Morella (R-Dist. 8) of Bethesda, County Executive Douglas M. Duncan, County Council members, state delegates and others.

    Del. Mark Shriver (D-Dist. 15), the nephew of the slain president whose name adorns the school, will give the keynote address.

    De'Neece Henry, co-chairperson of the Kennedy rededication committee, said the ceremony is a celebration of both the new state-of-the-art building and the late John F. Kennedy, which makes Shriver's appearance that much more special.

    "We have a new facility, and I guess you could say we have a new start," Henry said.

    For two years previous to the reopening of Kennedy, the approximately 1,500 Kennedy pupils were bused to the Northwood School on University Boulevard while their school was being demolished and rebuilt from the ground up.

    Today, very little remains of the original building except a few walls and staircases. The new building is 60,000 square feet larger than the old, has 26 security cameras inside and out, eight computer labs, two or three computers in each classrooms and state-of-the-art laboratories.

    Sunday's ceremony will include a video presentation in the school auditorium, musical performances by the JFK jazz combo and jazz chorus and a processional led by the Col. Zadok Magruder High School Army Junior ROTC Color Guard.

    A ribbon-cutting ceremony on the front steps of the main building will be presided over by County Council President Michael L. Subin (D-At large) of Gaithersburg; Patricia O'Neill, president of the Montgomery County Board of Education; and Kennedy Principal Sheila Dobbins.

    Also included in the ceremony will be the rededication of the Jonathan Noah Levy Media Center, in memory of the 1989 Kennedy graduate, class valedictorian, National Merit Finalist, Maryland Distinguished Scholar and winner of the Francis Scott Key Scholarship at the University of Maryland.

    Levy was diagnosed with leukemia as a high school freshman, forcing him to spend a great deal of time in the hospital, at home and away from school as he underwent treatments.

    Levy died in 1991, while enrolled in the University of Maryland's Computer Engineering Department. Kennedy's media center was named after him that same year.

    Levy's parents, Arthur and Margarete Levy, will speak at Sunday's ceremony. Jonathan "was a scholar," said Arthur Levy on Monday, "but he was also big into computers." Therefore, Levy said, it is appropriate that the media center is dedicated to him.

    The festivities Sunday will run from 2 to 4 p.m. at the school at 1901 Randolph Road.