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Herndon High Hosts Improvathon
Students practice and learn improv at fundraising event.
“I got a whistle, and we have some penalties,” said Scott D. Pafumi. Pafumi, was laying out rules for the Improvathon event at Herndon High auditorium. The Theatre Director at Herndon Middle School, Pafumi had been asked to referee this year’s Improvathon. Ten teams made of students from across Fairfax County went to Herndon High on Saturday, Feb. 8 for six games related to improvisational or improv theatre. Judging the events were Town of Herndon Mayor Lisa Merkel, Town councilmember Melissa Jonas, and Herndon High Assistant Principal Maria Sneed. Evan Hoffman, director of the NextStop Theatre Company was the master of ceremonies. Participating with the Herndon High team was Herndon senior Hunter Robinson.
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McLean Woman’s Club Donates $1,500 to McLean Project for the Arts
At its monthly meeting on Feb. 4, The Woman’s Club of McLean presented its annual donation of $1,500 to the McLean Project for the Arts (MPA) through the project’s representatives Bill DuBose and Robin Walker, who expressed their gratitude for the contribution. The club also sponsors and supports MPA’s exhibits of children’s art at the McLean Community Center. The donation is one of many that the club plans to make this year with funds obtained from its annual Holiday Homes Tour.
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Historic Cornwell Farm Open to the Public
March 8, 2014 in Great Falls, VA
The Cornwell Farm residence in Great Falls, Virginia has survived as a well-preserved example of Northern Virginia antebellum plantation architecture. The property was accepted into the National Register of Historic Places on April 13, 1977. It is one of the area’s most significant residential properties with a Nineteenth Century Manor House, circa 1831. It is scenically important in that it is the major architectural element to be seen along the historic Georgetown Pike, the first road in the state to be designated a Virginia By-Way. The entry features a magnificent cedar tree-lined private drive arriving at a pea gravel motor court. The gently rolling land and country vistas are some of the most gorgeous this close to Washington, DC. The property features a 4 stall barn, fenced and cross fenced pasture land and run-in shed for horses.
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Strings Concert Held at Dranesville Elementary School
The fourth and fifth grade students perform for family and friends.
”It was a great evening for the kids,” said Seth Lovern. His daughter, Alexis, a fourth grade student at Dranesville Elementary School had just completed an evening string concert at the school cafeteria. “Her mom plays the violin, so she [Alexis] wanted to play the viola to be different.”
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Week in Herndon
The MOMS Club® of Herndon will host a Relationship Roundtable on Thursday, Feb. 20, 10 a.m. – Noon at Trinity Presbyterian Church (615 Dranesville Rd, Herndon). Guest speakers Elizabeth Mahoney and Irene Burkett will lead an open discussion on ways to strengthen your relationship with your spouse or partner. Topics to be addressed include: common barriers to communication, effective communication techniques, and stress reduction methods. All Herndon, VA (zip codes 20170 and 20171) stay at-home mothers are encouraged to join this free event.
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Rachel Carson’s Linda Gammon Wins Band Director of the Year Award
Carson Middle School band director Linda Gammon was named the 2013-14 Secondary Band Director of the Year.
Linda Gammon has won countless awards over the course of her 38-year teaching career, been named guest conductor of nearly every district band in Virginia, and has published a number of music education books. In Feb. 2014, Gammon added the Fairfax County Band Directors Association (FCBDA) Secondary Band Director of the Year Award to that list of achievements.
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McLean Community Center Seeks Board Candidates
Nominating petitions will be available Tuesday, Feb. 18.
The McLean Community Center (MCC), an agency of Fairfax County Government, is seeking candidates to run for open seats on its 2014-2015 Governing Board. The board provides oversight and guidance for MCC programs and facilities, which include the Robert Ames Alden Theatre (The Alden) and the Old Firehouse Teen Center. The center is located at 1234 Ingleside Avenue.
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It’s A Celtic Invasion!
The Alden welcomes Nova Scotia’s Celtic Rock Ambassadors, Grand Dérangement, and Ireland’s Own Traditional Band, Caladh Nua, to its stage.
Two up-and-coming, internationally acclaimed Celtic music bands, one that treasures the heritage of traditional Irish music and one that brings a totally new rock aesthetic to the genre, will come to The Alden in McLean’s stage in the coming few weeks, just in time to get in the mood for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. The theatre is located at 1234 Ingleside Avenue, inside the McLean Community Center.
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The Bird Feeder Celebrates Anniversary
Owner Roger Ritter has helped Reston’s bird and wildlife lovers with their needs for two decades.
When Roger Ritter and his wife Gail opened The Bird Feeder in Reston in 1993, they filled a consumer niche for a community of fellow bird and wildlife lovers in Reston.
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Generations of Families To Be Honored at Gala
Senior Services of Alexandria’s Generation to Generation Gala — highlighting families in Alexandria whose dedication and passion for giving back to the community are passed down from generation to generation — will take place on Saturday, March 29 at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center.
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From Two Perspectives
The Alexandria Mentoring Partnership (AMP) was created in 2006 to ensure that quality mentors and mentor programs are available for Alexandria's youth and young adults in need.
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More on ‘Wrong Direction’
To the Editor: I enjoyed both recent letters written to the Connection re "Development Taking Wrong Direction." I have lived in Great Falls since 1974, 40 years this coming November.
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Holidays Are Over, But Need Still Exists
We live in a community comprised of people from many diverse backgrounds. What a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family. We are able to live in culturally vibrant communities, teach our children how to live in a multicultural world and we are able to learn tolerance and respect for others. God wants every individual to know that he is loved and valued. Jesus said in Luke 10:27 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with your entire mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
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Floris Elementary Chess Team Wins Silver Knights Cup
Floris Elementary students competed in the third annual Silver Knights Cup chess tournament recently and won top school in the competition. The top four scorers from each school were taken to calculate school placements; from Floris, the top scorers were Ray Shen, Mantra Vivek, Anand Vinod, and Jonathan Tong. More than 220 students from 20 schools participated in the tournament in one of four sections: K-1, K-3, K-5, and K-8. Other Floris students who competed were Connor Whiting, Alec Riso, Aditya Kakkar, Vikas Nanduri, Shrey Papneja, Shiven Chokshi, Sumanth Ratna, Sri Kapa, Krish Sahoo, Yashwant Kapa, Shivam Papneja, Yash Sahoo, Maria Izzi, and Zahra Izzi.
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She’s Working To Build a School in Liberia
Novel to fund effort and raise awareness.
Angela Peabody released her novel, "When the Games Froze."
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Petition Halts Senior Housing Development at Cornwell Farm
More than 700 people signed online petition to stop Clark Realty’s plans to build senior housing on historic property.
An outpouring of opposition from the Greats Falls community quickly halted a developer’s application to purchase and re-zone the historic Cornwell Farm Property on Monday, Feb. 3. Clark Realty had proposed building 39 senior living residences on 20 acres of land on and around the property. But in a matter of days, more than 700 community residents signed an online petition, titled “Oppose Zoning and Cluster Development of historic Cornwell Farm Property,” and the developer withdrew its application the following week.
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Wreathlaying Marks Reagan's Birthday
Passengers traveling through Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Feb. 6 joined in singing “Happy Birthday” to commemorate the 103rd birthday of President Ronald W. Reagan during a wreath presentation ceremony at the airport's statue of the former president.
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Revealing Wonders of Science
McLean High School student Shivani Gupta started off an afternoon session of Wonders of Science at the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Shop in Alexandria on Saturday, Feb. 1, with examples of bones and fossils that she collected as an 18th century natural scientist. Shivani is one of dozens of students participating in Dean Howarth’s Project Enlightenment at McLean High School. The project engages each student in researching the lives of individuals or 18th century professions engaged in the creation of useful knowledge. Saturday’s session introduced visitors to natural science, botany, physics and geology. Visitors were introduced to machines that produce electrical fluid, a camera obscura and a variety of fossils, bones and other artifacts that would have been collected and studied by 18th century scientists and thinkers.
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Letter: Fully Fund Our Schools
To the Editor
