Local Lego Team Wins Grand Champions Award
A local, Great Falls-based, FIRST LEGO League Team Positive Aftermath won the 1st Place Grand Champions Award at the VADC Championship Tournament held at James Madison University, Harrisonburg on Dec. 7-8, 2013.
Join Generations of Great Falls Families for ‘Christmas Eve at the Nutcracker Club’
Performances Saturday, Dec. 21, and Sunday, Dec. 22, at the Waddell Theater on the Loudoun Campus of Northern Virginia Community College.
The first cast of the "Gingerbread Cookie" dance were the youngest dancers in the company when The School of Theatrical Dance [SOTD] in Great Falls first staged "Christmas Eve at the Nutcracker Club" in 2006. Now those dancers are in the Level 8 Ballet class that SOTD Director Theresa D"Alessandro says she created, "in response to their talent and technical accomplishment." When one of those dancers, Dylan Murphy of Great Falls, was a member of the Level 7 Ballet class a couple of years ago, she said, "The Winter Show is a great tradition. The show is a lot of fun.
Backwards Thinking
Considering that I’ve been cancer-centric now for nearly five years, one would have thought I might have learned and totally embraced an alternative concept: forward living – and less thinking about past causes and their possible current effects. Certainly cancer causes physical manifestations and symptoms that are diagnosable and indicative of trouble. But it’s the unseen effects that in some cases cause as many difficulties. What I am referring to is the mental and emotional toll a terminal diagnosis and short term prognosis can have on the patient’s perspective on life and living, and what’s presumptively thought to be left of it.
Preserve 3-2-1 for Housing
Housing for all income levels near transit supports vibrant communities and job growth, reduces traffic.
In the latest edition of The Herrity Report, Springfield Supervisor Pat Herrity proposed "redirecting developers’ $3 per square foot contribution for buying rent-controlled housing units into a trust fund to pay for public school renovation and construction."
Home for the Holidays: Surviving a Long Trip
Keeping children entertained on lengthy airplane rides.
Liz Henry is nervous about her upcoming flight to San Francisco. It’s not TSA regulations or long lines that are causing her anxiety, however. It is traveling alone with her three children — all of whom are under the age of 6.
Teaching Children To Be Charitable
Experts say modeling, nurturing are keys to raising generous children.
Elena Santiviago walked her 6-year-old son down the aisle of a grocery store near her Arlington home. They picked up five boxes of toothpaste and two bottles of mouthwash, several bars of soap and a few sticks of deodorant. The shopping trip was part of a school project in which students fill holiday stockings with personal hygiene items for the homeless.
Art Educator Releases Two Books
Stories offer children and parents innovative ways to explore art.
Elizabeth Augenblick Smith, 10, spent a recent Saturday afternoon gluing strips of brightly hued tissue paper to create a collage. There were no rules or guides to follow.
Classified Advertising December 18, 2013
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Holiday Sibling Shop Spreads the Spirit of Giving
FACETS hosts a traditional Holiday Sibling Shop.
FACETS, a non-profit in Fairfax that helps those affected by poverty, hosted a Holiday Sibling Shop on Dec. 16 at the Ragan Oaks Community Center that allowed children living in an affordable housing community to shop for donated gifts to give to their siblings during the holiday season. According to James Wilson, a community advocate for FACETS, the Holiday Sibling Shops not only give children the chance to shop for gifts, but also reduce stress the families may face.
Centreville Football Beats Oscar Smith for 6A State Championship
Wildcats finish 15-0, ranked No. 15 nationally by USA TODAY.
The Centreville football team defeated Oscar Smtih 35-6 in the VHSL 6A state championship game on Dec. 14.
Langley Boys' Basketball Coach Newman Gets First Win
Saxons defeat Fairfax to improve to 1-4.
The Langley boys' basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak.
Alexandria Schools See Rising Poverty In the Classroom
City has the highest rates of students who qualify for free or reduced price lunch in region.
In the last decade, the percentage of Alexandria students who live in poverty has grown from 50 percent to 56 percent. That's the largest percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced price lunch in the region, according to a recent analysis by the Washington Area Boards of Education.
West Springfield’s Berglund Reaches 1,000 Career Points
Spartans start season 5-0.
West Springfield senior guard Amy Berglund reached 1,000 career points on Dec. 7 against Madison.
McLean Girls' Basketball Cruises to Victory Against Langley
Highlanders pull away with 35-3 run.
The McLean girls' basketball team improved to 4-0 with a win over Langley on Friday.
McLean Boys' Basketball Beats Rival Langley in Overtime
Highlanders senior Sullivan leads all scorers with 17 points.
The McLean boys' basketball team evened its record at 2-2 with a win over Langley on Friday.
Spreading Holiday Cheer
Wine shops from around the region give their suggestions for bottles to bring to holiday parties.
Holiday season means parties, hostess gifts, office Secret Santas and other occasions where many people bring a bottle of some spirit or other to spread good tidings. So what to pick up? What's right? What kind of wine goes with what kind of food? And where to go for some good advice?
‘Tis the Season
Greed, ghosts and redemption in LTA’s ‘A Christmas Carol.’
It’s a tale nearly as old as time: The miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is ethically and emotionally transformed after being haunted by visits from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come in the Charles Dickens classic "A Christmas Carol," now playing at The Little Theatre of Alexandria.
Let There Be Light
'A Christmas Story' wins Best in Show.
Crowds lined Alexandria's waterfront Dec. 7 as nearly 40 boats cruised the Potomac River to take part in the 14thAnnual Holiday Boat Parade of Lights.
Classified Advertising December 11, 2013
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