First Lady Michelle Obama will be visiting AHS on October 13 to speak to the student body. With her will be Republic of Korea First Lady Kim Yoon-ok, who Obama is bringing to AHS as part of her welcome to the United States.

“This is a huge honor for our school,” PTSA President Emily Slough said.

In addition to the school’s diverse student body, the AHS community is home to one of the largest Korean-American populations in the Washington area, making it a prime location for Obama’s visit.

“Everybody talks about branding. This really puts us out there. It really gives us the chance to show, not so much what Annandale is all about, but to show people around the country that Annandale High School opened in 1954, [and is] keeping the traditions from over the years, building new traditions,” Principal Vince Randazzo said. “The White House recognizes the diversity of our school; what makes it great.”

There will be roughly 600 students, faculty members and guests at this event. The administration announced this week which students would be eligible to attend the event, but it will be a mixture of student leaders, IB Diploma candidates, ESOL students and others. Anyone who attends must be an Atom of Good Standing, meaning they have A’s, B’s and C’s and no disciplinary infractions. The Atoms in Good Standing were chosen at random for the event. The IB Diploma candidates will serve as a backdrop for the speech. School board members, members of the Board of Supervisor and members from the Korean business community will also attend the event.

Students and faculty members who were selected to attend will be called out of class around 9:00 and will wait in the cafeteria until they can begin the screening process to enter the gymnasium. Obama is scheduled to be at AHS from roughly 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. When she first arrives, 12 students were selected to lead Obama on a quick tour of the school. After students leave the assembly, they will miss half of their last class of the day to eat lunch and participate in reflection activities in the cafeteria.

Before Obama will deliver her brief remarks to the student body, however, the audience will be treated to a musical performance from Jennifer Koh, the World Children’s Choir and AHS students themselves. The choir is composed of children from different cultural and geographical backgrounds, all of whom sing about friendship and peace.

While Obama is at school, her speech will be televised through closed circuit television to each classroom. Students will be allowed to leave the classroom to eat lunch. Parking will also be affected, with some students and faculty forfeiting their spots for the day. However, if students have a parking pass, they are still permitted to park at school. Randazzo encourages as many people as possible to take the bus or carpool.

Details of the scheduled event are still unfolding, so keep checking back for more information on Obama’s visit.