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Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ November 29 - December 5, 2012 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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November 29, 2012Mount Vernon’s Hometown Newspaper • A Connection Newspaper

Finn Higgins looks over the Christmas tree that his parents Kathy and Markselected. With the Higgins are volunteers Sylvain and Caroline Richard.

Caroline Richard adjusts adecoration on one of thewreaths for sale at the church.

Volunteers Bill and Kyle White, Charles and Caleb Sims and Caroline Richard.

Signs of the Season

Volunteers gathered at Saint Aidan’s last week awaitingthe arrival of Fraser fir trees from North Carolina. Thetrees and wreaths will be on sale weekends through Dec.9. Six local schools — Riverside, Hollin Meadows,

Waynewood, Fort Hunt, Stratford and Hybla Valley — are partici-pating in a giveback program. Ten percent of the purchase price willbe donated to the respective PTA. Coupons are available in the mainoffice of each of the schools. Saint Aidan’s is located at 8531 River-side Road.

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See Fee Could, Page 5

By Michael Lee Pope

The Gazette

Nowhere is the idea of atransportation impactfee more popular than

the clogged Route 1 corridor,where the Wal-Mart at KingsCrossing has added to the gridlockthat has long plagued the region.Because the developer did not askfor increased density or other vari-ances, no rezoning was needed.And becausethe project wasdeveloped “by-right,” countyofficials werenot able to usethe proffer sys-tem to ask de-veloper J.B.G.Rosenfeld forthe moneyneeded to ex-tend the turnlane into thepopular retailmega-store.

Enter the im-pact fee.

If FairfaxCounty createda new trans-portation impact fee, county offi-cials could charge the developerfor the cost of the turn lane — re-gardless of whether a rezoningwas needed or not. It’s an ideathat’s gaining popularity in MountVernon, where the gridlock atKings Crossing has created a lin-gering distaste for the shortcom-ings of the proffer system.

“I think it’s a fair way of dealingwith by-right development, and Icertainly don’t think that it wouldkeep a project from being devel-

oped,” said Jim Davis, co-chair-man of the Mount Vernon Councilof Citizens Associations. “It is im-perative that we do have a morebalanced system to spur growthand have a way to mitigate thingsthat can degrade the quality of lifehere.”

The idea has yet to receive for-mal consideration, althoughpeople have been talking about itinformally since last spring. TheSoutheast Fairfax Development

Corporationhas not yetformally con-sidered theidea, and sothe organiza-tion does nothave a posi-tion. But presi-dent DavidVersel says theidea is likely togenerate a va-riety of re-sponses.

“If you aretalking tos o m e b o d ywho owns aproperty whowants to do

something by-right, then I wouldhave to believe they would notsupport paying an impact fee theycurrently don’t have to pay,” saidVersel. “But maybe there’s anotherbusiness that wants to see trafficimproved, and they would supportit.

SINCE 1989, the county has hadthe authority to levy impact fees.But the Fairfax County Board ofSupervisors never took advantage

Fee CouldMake ImpactShould Fairfax County createnew transportation impact fee?

“It is imperative thatwe do have a morebalanced system tospur growth andhave a way tomitigate things thatcan degrade thequality of life here.”

— Jim Davis, co-chairman,Mount Vernon Council of

Citizens Associations.

2 ❖ Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ November 29 - December 5, 2012 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com


Final dress rehearsals are underwayfor this weekend’s performances of“The Nutcracker.” West PotomacAcademy and Alexandria Commu-

nity Dance are teaming up to present theirfourth annual joint performance of “TheNutcracker,” the traditional holiday storywith a modern twist, on Nov. 29, 30, andDec. 1, at West Potomac High School.

Four shows will be performed: Thursday,Nov. 29, at 5 p.m.; Friday, Nov. 30, at 6:30p.m.; and Saturday, Dec. 3, at 2:30 and6:30 p.m.

West Potomac Academy’s Dance studentswill participate in the entire production,both on stage and behind the scenes, andAdvanced Dance students will have featuredperformances. The performance will includeballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical, modern, andhip-hop dance and gymnastics.

More than 100 dancers from the Alexan-dria area of Fairfax County auditioned for

the performance. Students from the follow-ing Fairfax County public schools are rep-resented in the production: Belle View, FortHunt, Hollin Meadows, Stratford Landing,Washington Mill, and Waynewood elemen-tary schools; Sandburg Middle School, andWest Potomac High School. Performersrange in age from four years old to adult.

Alexandria Community Dance has abusiness partnership with West PotomacAcademy.

Groups are welcome to attend the per-formances. For the first time, residents fromPaul Spring Retirement Community willattend a performance, followed by a meet-and-greet with the performers.

Tickets are $10 for students and $12 foradults in advance, or $12 for students and $15for adults at the door. For more informationand tickets, visit www.alexandriadance.com.

Backstage at the Ballet

NewsNews

Photos by Louise Krafft/The Gazette


News

Chair of the annual Mount VernonKiwanis Christmas Tree sale Paul Mehlerwatches as Dick Peterson trims the baseof an 8-foot Frasier fir tree.

Kiwanis Holds AnnualHoliday Tree Sale

The trucks pulled into the parking lot atthe Belle View Shopping center early Sat-urday morning, Nov. 24, laden with Fraser

firs, wreaths and garlands. Mount Vernon Kiwanismembers spent the morning sorting trees by sizeand setting up for the annual tree sale. All pro-ceeds of the sales support local charities andschools in the Mount Vernon area.

Kyle Hayden carries a tree selected bythe Karlisch family to the trimmingstation.

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From Page 1

Fee Could Make Impact

Back-ups on the left-turn lane at theKings Crossing Wal-Mart have added toexisting gridlock on Route 1.

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of that power. When board members consideredwhether or not to adopt such a system several yearsago, the elected officials determined that they wantedto stay with the current proffer system rather thantrying to create a hybrid system with both.

“I think if we tried to do both, we would end upwith a classic battle with our development commu-nity,” said Mount Vernon District Supervisor GerryHyland in an interview last year. “We came to theconclusion many years ago that we would get moreout of a proffer system, which is why we decided togo that route.”

Now the gridlock created at Kings Crossing hasreopened the Board of Supervisors’ long-standingdecision against seeking impact fees. Last year, theMount Vernon Council of Citizens Associations passeda resolution urging the Board of Supervisors to im-post impact fees on any development needing a build-ing permit. Once a fee system had been created, theresolution suggested, county officials could use therevenue to pay for “building reasonable transporta-tion infrastructure to benefit the development.”Hyland’s office responded with a memorandum out-lining concerns about redeveloping the Route 1 cor-ridor. “Staff is concerned that an impact fee programwould apply to all redevelopment in the corridor,”the memo reported. “Impact fees may discourageredevelopment in this area and undermine thecounty’s goal to foster redevelopment in this desig-nated commercial revitalization area.”

MANY MOUNT VERNON residents say the impactfee is a desperately needed tool that should be usedwhen developers do not need to rezone. Without it,they say, residents are stuck with gridlock and tax-payers are eventually handed a bill to fix the prob-lem. Those who are pushing for the creation of animpact fee say concerns about redevelopment shouldtake a backseat to concerns about quality of life.

“If by-right development does not improve trans-portation infrastructure, it should not be built,” wroteMount Vernon Council of Citizens Association Trans-portation Committee Chairwoman CatherineVoorhees.


ELEMENTARY SCHOOLATTENDANCE AREASStudents who speak a language

other than English at home

38,760 FairfaxCounty elementaryschool students (44percent) speak alanguage other thanEnglish at home.

By Alex McVeigh

The Gazette

As Fairfax County has ex-perienced massivegrowth in its interna-tional population, its ef-

fects have spread to its educationalinstitutions. Forty-four percent ofthe Fairfax County Public Schoolsstudents come from homes thatspeak a language other than En-glish, which includes 160 differ-ent languages.

In 2006, the county came upwith the goal to eventually haveall graduates be able to commu-nicate in two languages. Thecounty currently offers 11different languages.

“We highly value thediversity of our popu-lation, because it’sadvantageous forour students to growup here, as globalcitizens,” said TeddiPredaris, director of thecounty’s Office of Language Ac-quisition. “We believe it’s a hugeasset for our students in their fu-ture endeavors.”

Approximately 28 percent of thecounty’s current population areforeign born, with Spanish, Ko-rean, Vietnamese, Arabic, Urduand Chinese/Mandarin being themost common languages spokenin the homes of elementary schoolstudents.

The county’s kindergarten two-way immersion program is onemethod used by schools to takeadvantage of increasing diversity.The program consists of half En-glish speakers and half who speakthe immersion language.

“In this program, the teachersand students are language mod-els for each other, and they spendhalf the day working at each lan-guage,” Predaris said. “Our crite-ria for adding these programs ishaving a large enough populationof the non-English speaking groupto make a 50-50 mix possible. Thisis one of the models we hope toexpand in coming years.”

The county has five Spanishkindergarten two-way immersionprograms, at Bailey’s, Braddock,Lake Anne, London Towne andRose Hill Elementary Schools.New this year is a Korean two-way immersion school at ColinPowell Elementary School inCentreville.

Schools Using Diversity for Student BenefitsImmersion, ESOL programs aim totake advantage of area cultures.

“We highly value the diversity of ourpopulation, because it’s advantageous

for our students to grow up here,as global citizens.”

— Teddi Predaris, director of the county’s Officeof Language Acquisition

Focus on Immigration

math and science intheir native language. As a mag-net school, students from acrossthe county can apply, which theschool uses mainly to fill its En-glish-speaking requirement.

“The native Spanish speakerscome to Bailey’s with a wide range

THE PROGRAM AT COLINPOWELL was designed totake advantage of thearea’s large Koreanpopulation. The Ko-rean students whoare in the pro-gram all couldspeak a littleEnglish

“The program is aniche that fits very wellin our community. Forthe native English speak-ers, it helps them under-stand more about the cultureof the people they share thecommunity with every day. It giveseveryone more understanding ofthe people that walk through ourdoors every day,” said PrincipalLinda Clifford. “Walking into aclassroom the other day, I wasamazed at how many non-Koreanstudents were able to understandKorean very well.”

Clifford said she hopes in futureyears that the school can expandthe program beyond kindergarten,eventually to every grade at theschool. The school also offers anafter school program to all stu-dents who are interested in learn-ing Korean, and they even have apre-school program to teach im-migrant families about school pro-grams and other information theymight not otherwise be familiarwith before their children startschool.

Students in the program atBailey’s Elementary take health,

recess allow theSpanish speakers to

talk among themselves,which helps open themup. Children learn most oftheir language from eachother, so having nativespeakers of both lan-guages helps both groups

immensely. Each group of na-tive speakers gets to be the lan-guage role model for half a day,with the other students learningfrom them. It really boosts theirconfidence.”

COUNTY SCHOOLS also featureimmersion programs in Japanese,German and French at elementaryand middle schools.

Another area of growth has beenthe county’s English for Speakers

of English skills, de-pending on where they comefrom,” said Assistant PrincipalRachel Charlton. “Some comefrom very rural areas where theyhave little to no schooling. There’salways a silent period in the be-ginning, but periods like lunch and


of Other Languages program,which started 35 years ago with300 students. Since then it hasseen a steady increase, with15,000 in fiscal year 2001 and31,000 this year.

Janet Funk, principal of GunstonElementary School in Lorton,where approximately 300 studentscome from a home where anotherlanguage is spoken, says everydayinteraction with new cultures is animportant part of early education.

“Interesting conversations canbe heard in the lunchroom, espe-cially when students from othercountries bring their food fromhome. Children are very interestedin bringing their favorite foods,which naturally flows to a discus-sion of traditions and celebra-tions,” she said. “With these infor-mal discussions, the students learnthe importance of accepting class-mates for who they are. This sup-ports our goal of cultural accep-tance an collaborative interactionamong our school community.”

But with such diversity comeschallenges, especially when itcomes to Standards of Learningtests.

“Classroom teachers and ESOLteachers work diligently to helpthe students learn the English lan-guage. Many of our students fromother countries are still learningEnglish and are reading belowgrade level expectations,” Funksaid. “These students receive read-ing instruction in the classroomsetting and the ESOL classroom.They are receiving a ‘double’ doseof reading on a regularly sched-uled basis. However, when itcomes time to take the SOL tests,they are required to take the teston grade level in a language inwhich they are not proficient.”

In Virginia, SOL tests must betaken in English, but in Texas, forexample, standardized tests can betaken in Spanish.

CHANGES to the state’s licensurerequirements this year have alsocaused some difficulties. This year,the state required teachers in el-ementary school programs to notonly be licensed in their language,but also for elementary education.

“We’ve struggled this year dueto the new requirement,” Charltonsaid. “We’ve had to use some long-term subs until as recently as twoor three weeks ago before we hadenough full time teachers that metqualifications. Now I think the uni-versities are aware of the change,so it might be better in futureyears, but it can definitely make itdifficult to find people.”

See Curriculum, Page 21

Viewpoints

What was your biggest concern or fearwhen moving to U.S. schools?

—Donna Manz

KasthuryParamiswaran,senior,Malaysia

“I had a closegroup of friendsthere and I didn’tknow anybodyhere,” on leaving Malaysia whenshe had made friends in hernative high school. “I still workvery hard in my [I.B.] classes.”

Dalila Ferrara,junior, Italy

“Actually, I wasreally happy tomove here. Myonly fear wasthat I wouldn’t beaccepted. Thatdidn’t happen. My biggest dreamis to get an MBA from Harvard.”

Millan Mbise,senior,Tanzania

“The culturalaspect. Forexample, inTanzania there islittle interactionwith teachers. The teachers arestrict, classes are very intense. It’snot like that here. I played varsitysoccer last year and that helpedme a lot with the transition toMarshall.

“I figured out what I wanted todo with my life when I movedhere. I want to be a pharmacist.”

Jia Loh,senior,Malaysia

“Mybiggest fearwas findingfriends. Stillfind it hard

to join cliques. Most of myfriends are internationalstudents. I’m still workingon that part of the transi-tion. My dream is to find ahigh-paying job I like,accounting or law.”

AmberHolder,senior,Panama

“Mybiggest fearwas that Iwouldn’t

have the same friendsthroughout my academiccareer. My dream is toestablish a music educationsystem that would producemore diverse, well-roundedmusicians, not just musi-cians who are skilled in justone instrument.”

By Donna Manz

The Gazette

The schools that feed intoGeorge C. Marshall HighSchool are the academic

home to children from all over theworld. It’s not surprising, then,that Marshall is an internationalcommunity, a Tysons CornerUnited Nations, so to speak. Manyof the students come for the pres-tigious I.B. (International Bacca-laureate), but most are in theMarshall district, which embracesstudents from Tysons to the far-reaches of Vienna. From Italian toSwahili, there is a myriad of lan-guages native to Marshall’s stu-dents, who represent more than90 nations.

“Marshall has an internationalstudent body from all walks oflife, from the four corners of theworld,” said principal JayPearson. “Our kids cross so manyboundaries. We don’t refer to itas ‘diversity,’” Pearson said. “Forour students, this is the norm.These kids are very accustomedto moving between groups of stu-dents from everywhere, so, therearen’t ‘cliques.’

“We are the face of what FairfaxCounty is in 2012.”

FIVE INVITED STUDENTSgathered in a roundtable discus-sion at Marshall recently. Whatthey agreed on is that Americanschools are less-intense academi-cally, less-academically pressuringthan schools outside the U.S. Inother countries, it is academics-only that define your future, a se-

lected group of students said inthe recent discussion withPearson and an interviewer. In theU.S., the students said, you haveextracurricular programs that en-hance the total person. What theU.S. does not have, however, thatinternational schools stress, is anemphasis on foreign language flu-ency.

English is a compulsory curricu-lum in many school systems theworld over. Some students, suchas Kasthury Paramiswaran, aMarshall senior from Malaysia,speak multiple languages, fluentin each. Kasthury’s family movedaround the world as part of herfather’s job, and Kasthury mas-tered four languages in her jour-neys. She said she still works veryhard in her I.B. subjects, getting“A”s in every one of her classes.She is applying to colleges in theUnited Kingdom and the Nether-lands.

Jia Loh, a Malaysian native whohas been in the U.S. for two years,said the transition to schools herewas “hard,” even though the aca-demic environment is less intensethan in Malaysia.

“I had to adjust to different cul-tures. It was hard to find friendswho share my culture.”

Dalila Ferrara’s family movedaround Italy; her father is in themilitary there. In the early 1990s,he was assigned to a U.S. base inTexas and his experience there wasnot a good one. “He warned menot to tell people I’m Italian,” Dalilasaid. “He told me not to be proud-

Marshall High Is the Face of Fairfax CountyNinety-plus countries representedby student population.

George C.Marshall

High Schoolhas a student

populationrepresenting

more than 90nations.

“Marshall has aninternationalstudent body fromall walks of life,from the fourcorners of theworld … We arethe face of whatFairfax County isin 2012.”— George C. Marshall High

School Principal JayPearson

Photo by

Donna Manz/

The Gazette


www.MountVernonGazette.com

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A Connection Newspaper

See Letters, Page 9

Praise forCub Pack 1504To the Editor:

I commend Cub Scout Pack 1504 for theircompassion and dedication in conducting anannual food drive to serve our neighbors inneed. Last year over one ton of food was col-lected from giving neighbors and given toUCM.

To all members of Cub Scout Pack 1504, keepup the exemplary service to our neighbors inneed. Your service to them and our communi-ties are invaluable. Thanks again.

Frank MedicoMount Vernon

Letters to the Editor

Offering SomeHealthy CorrectionsTo the Editor:

I was pleased to see the Mount Vernon Ga-zette cover the recent American Association ofUniversity Women (AAUW) showing of themovie “Food, Inc.” with a panel discussion inwhich I took part (“Taste Trumps Nutrition,”Nov. 23), however, several corrections to thearticle are in order.

❖ The title insinuates nutritious, unproc-essed healthy foods and meals can’t be healthy.Reality is they can. With a bit of effort peopledon’t have to choose between taste and nutri-tion.

❖ I did not make the statement that organi-cally grown foods are the “safest and nutri-

tionally most beneficial way to buy and con-sume food.” My position is that consumers maywant to consider buying some foods known,when grown conventionally, to contain signifi-cant pesticides. See the Dirty Dozen and Clean15 from the Environmental Working Group:http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary/.However, I don’t believe it’s necessary at thispoint to buy all so-called organic foods to eathealthfully.

❖ I provided several statistics about diabe-tes which were cited incorrectly. The follow-ing are correct: Nearly 80 million Americanshave prediabetes. About 50 percent of Ameri-cans over 65 years of age have prediabetes.

More than 500 people — and dogs — gathered on Saturday, Nov. 17 at Fort Hunt Park for Fort Hunt ElementarySchool’s 11th Annual One Mile Thanksgiving Fox Trot. The after-school running club, the Fleet Foxes, their fami-lies and friends from neighboring schools gathered for the one mile race. At left, Jackson Culver and Cory Culvercross the finish line. At right, Fort Hunt Elementary School third grade teacher Barbara Bonnet crosses the finishline with her dog.

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Opinion

This week our ongoing series aboutimmigration in Fairfax Countytakes a look at county schools andsome of the joys and challenges of

having a diverse student body that speaks asmany as 160 different languages at home.

Find the series compiled online at http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/Immigration/

For the director of language acquisi-tion in Fairfax County Public Schools,the 44 percent of students who speak a for-eign language at home present an opportunityto create language immersion classes wherehalf a kindergarten is learning Spanish or Ko-rean while the other half is learning English.

For principals of some elementary schoolswhere more than half of their students are notproficient in English, the need to have studentsmeet benchmarks in a variety of subjects is arelentless process. In addition to limited En-glish, immigrant students come from variedbackgrounds, some with good basics in their

own languages and some with limited previ-ous education in any language. The parents ofthese students are similarly varied.

Meanwhile, representation of Latino andAfrican American students in Fairfax County’stop instructional centers for gifted students lagsdramatically.

FCPS is conducting two critical setsof public meetings this week and next.The call for public input is not specifi-cally about growing diversity in the

schools, but related challenges make both thepossible expansion of centers for the county’smost talented students and the selection of anew superintendent of schools that much moreimportant.

A fast moving proposal to expand the num-ber of centers to provide “advanced academic”services is the topic of meetings this week. Themeetings will run from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday,Nov. 27, in the Westfield High School cafete-ria; Wednesday, Nov. 28, in the Lee High Schoolcafeteria; Thursday, Nov. 29, in the Kilmer

Middle School cafeteria.Fairfax County Public Schools Superinten-

dent Jack Dale will be retiring in June of 2013.The School Board has hired a search firm,Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, whichwill be gathering community input. Many ofthe challenges facing the new superintendentwill revolve around growing diversity, and atrack record of open communication andachievement in this will be key to success.

SUPERINTENDENT SEARCHCOMMUNITY MEETINGS❖ Dec. 3 - 7 p.m., cafeteria, South County HS, 8501

Silverbrook Road, Lorton, VA 22079❖ Dec. 4 - 7 p.m., cafeteria, Langley HS, 6520

Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA 22101❖ Dec. 5 - 7 p.m., cafeteria, Robinson SS, 5035

Sideburn Road, Fairfax, VA 22032❖ Dec. 6 - 10 a.m. Gatehouse Administration Center,

8115 Gatehouse Road, Falls Church, VA 22042Room 1600

❖ Dec. 6 - 7 p.m., cafeteria, Annandale HS, 4700Medford Drive, Annandale, VA 22003

❖ Dec. 6 - 7 p.m., cafeteria, Groveton ElementarySchool, 6900 Harrison Lane, Alexandria, VA 22306

❖ Dec. 7 - 1 p.m., Gatehouse Administration Center,8115 Gatehouse Road, Falls Church, VA 22042Room 1600

Students in Fairfax County speak 160 languages.

Learning in a Global Community

Editorial


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The Gazette welcomes views onany public issue.

The deadline for all material isnoon Friday. Letters must besigned. Include home address

and home and business numbers.Send to:

Letters to the EditorThe Gazette

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Call 703-917-6444Email

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From Page 8

Letters

Children born after the year 2000have a 1 in 3 chance of develop-ing type 2 diabetes and minoritychildren (African American, His-panic Americans, etc.) have a 1 in2 chance. The source for these sta-tistics and many others about dia-betes is the CDC’s National Diabe-tes Fact Sheet, 2011 http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/pdf/ndfs_2011.pdf

Thanks to the Gazette for cov-erage of this important topic.

Hope Warshaw, MMSc,RD, CDE

Alexandria

Every yearbetween Christ-mas and NewYear’s, The MountVernon Gazetteturns its pagesover to the contri-butions of localstudents. We areseeking artwork,photography,poetry, opinions,short stories andreflections. Wewelcome contribu-tions from publicschools, privateschools and stu-dents who arehome schooled.

E-mail to:[email protected], ormail (.jpg and textfiles on disc only)by Dec. 5, to1606 King St.,Alexandria, VA22314. Please besure to include thestudent’s name,age, grade, schooland town of resi-dence along witheach submission.For information,call 703-778-9410.

Be a Partof

CHILDREN’S(& TEENS’)

GAZETTE


Stop Hunger NowOn Sunday Nov. 4, Messiah Lutheran Church hosted a“Stop Hunger Now” food packing event. More than 50volunteers helped create 10,000 dehydrated packagedmeals. In assembly line style, they packaged the ingredi-ents, weighed the meals, sealed them, counted them forboxing and sealed the boxes which were then put in thetruck to await delivery to hungry people around theworld. Members of Messiah church, its pastor, RobertLewis, and members of the community participated inthis event as well as contributing donations.

Photo by Diana Hill

News

She Remembersthe Splendor

She remembers the splendor,when we reminisce

Of moments so tender andinnocent trysts

And when she, relenting,permitted a kiss

But nothing more intimaterendered than this

The other contenders shegently dismissed

The endless temptations shelearned to resist

‘Til sprays of carnations affixedto her wrist

Conveyed approbation ofimminent bliss

The clergyman’s sermon onlove in our midst

Her splendid attendants andfriends she would miss

Her twittering sisters all fit toassist

Should anything, Heavenforbid, go amiss

The ways that we’ve wended,each bend and each twist

And blessings unending toomany to list

— John J. Finerty, Jr.

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12 ❖ Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ November 29 - December 5, 2012 Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ November 29 - December 5, 2012 ❖ 13www.ConnectionNewspapers.com www.ConnectionNewspapers.com


The 42nd Annual Scottish ChristmasWalk Weekend kicks off the holidayseason Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 as more

than 30,000 participants and families de-scend on Old Town for a weekend of fes-tivities that is consistently ranked by theSoutheast Tourism Society as one of the top20 events in the South.

With the exception of the Del Ray Arti-sans Holiday Market, parade, tour of homesand Holiday Boat Parade, all listed eventstake place at the George Washington Ma-sonic Memorial, 101 Callahan Drive, Alex-andria.

FRIDAY/NOV. 30Christmas Marketplace — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.Heather and Greens sale — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.Deck the Halls With Santa, A Children’s Party

— 1-3 p.m.Del Ray Artisans Holiday Market — reception

6-9 p.m., 2704 Mount Vernon Ave.Taste of Scotland — 7 p.m. for Patrons Pub, 8

p.m. general reception.

SATURDAY/DEC. 1Holiday Homes Tours — 11 a.m.-4.p.m.

(various locations)Heather and Greens sale — 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.Del Ray Artisans Holiday Market — 10 a.m.

to 4 p.m., 2704 Mount Vernon Ave.Scottish Walk Parade — 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.Massed Band finale — 1:30 p.m. at Market

SquareHoliday Parade of Lights along the waterfront

— 5:15 p.m.

SUNDAY/DEC. 2Del Ray Artisans Holiday Market — noon to 4

p.m., 2704 Mount Vernon Ave.

Find more information on these and otherholiday events at www.visitalexandriava.com.

The Holiday Boat Parade of Lights will wrap upSaturday’s festivities.

Scottish Walk Weekend Events

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Drum majorBrian Brendelsalutes visit-ing dignitar-ies as theNorthernVirginiaFirefightersEmeraldSociety PipeBand passesthe reviewingstand.

Under the direction of drum major J.J.Powers, the City of Alexandria Pipes andDrums kick off last year's Scottish WalkParade in Old Town.

Megan Murchie-Beyma performswith the Thistle Dancers to beginthe Mass Bands finale of the 2011Scottish Walk Parade in front ofMarket Square.

Holiday Entertainment


Entertainment

The Alexandria Black History Museum and Culture King-dom Kids will host a Kwanzaa Celebration program onSaturday, Dec. 8, 2012, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Mu-seum. The cost of admission for this event is $5.

The museum’s annual program explores the history andsignificance of Kwanzaa. Learn about the principles ofKwanzaa, a seven-day cultural celebration that begins Dec.26 and ends Jan. 1, and find out how to incorporate it intoyour holiday season. The program will be produced by Cul-ture Kingdom Kids. Jessica Smith, Director of CultureKingdom Kids and a Kwanzaa expert, will lead participantsin learning fun ways to celebrate the seven days of Kwanzaathrough a variety of creative games, interactive songs, dancesand hands-on crafts.

Culture Kingdom Kids is an educational arts company thatproduces children’s programs celebrating African-Americancultures. Since 2010, Culture Kingdom Kids has promotedcultural pride and heritage awareness through fun and in-teractive performances and workshops at schools, festivals,community centers and museums. In 2011, Culture KingdomKids founder and owner Jessica Smith received the AfricaShowcase Award for Excellence in Children’s Cultural Pro-grams. In 2012, Smith was recognized as one of the FortyUNDER 40 by the Prince George’s County Social InnovationFund for her exceptional contributions in education throughCulture Kingdom Kids. Visit www.culturekingdomkids.com.

The Alexandria Black History Museum is located at 902Wythe Street in Alexandria’s Parker-Gray Historic Districtand is open from Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4p.m. Patrons needing special accommodation must notify themuseum two weeks prior to the event. The Museum is withinwalking distance of the Braddock Road Metro on the Yellowand Blue Lines. Visit www.alexblackhistory.org.

E-mail announcements to [email protected]. Photos andartwork are encouraged. Deadline isThursday at noon.

THURSDAY/NOV. 29Torpedo Factory Art Center

Holiday Open House. 6-9 p.m.Free. Join the Torpedo Factory ArtCenter’s artists for the annualHoliday Open House. Shop for one-of-a-kind gifts while enjoying sweetsand savories from Bread & Chocolate.Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 N.Union St. Call 703-838-4565 or visitwww.torpedofactory.org.

THURSDAY-FRIDAY/NOV. 29-30Will Downing. 7:30 p.m. Tickets:

$69.50. Visit www.willdowning.com.The Birchmere Music Hall is locatedat 3701 Mount Vernon Ave. Visitwww.birchmere.com or call 703-549-7500.

THURSDAY-SATURDAY/NOV. 29-DEC. 1The Nutcracker. West Potomac

Academy and Alexandria CommunityDance present their fourth annualjoint performance of The Nutcracker,at West Potomac High School at6500 Quander Road. Thursday, Nov.29, at 5 p.m.; Friday, Nov. 30, at6:30 p.m.; and Saturday, Dec. 1, at2:30 and 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10for students and $12 for adults inadvance, or $12 for students and $15for adults at the door. Visitwww.Alexandriadance.com.

FRIDAY/NOV. 30Free Concert. 8 p.m. Enjoy an evening

of music for Clarinet at The Lyceumlocated at 201 S. Washington St. This

free concert is offered as a publicservice. Call The United States AirForce Band’s Concert Line at 202-767-5658 or visitwww.usafband.af.mil.

Book Signing. 6:30 p.m. Hooray forBooks is sponsoring a book signing attheir store at 1555 King St. Author/archaeologist Jordan Jacobs will besigning copies of his book,“Samantha Sutton and the Labyrinthof Lies.” Hooray for Books is locatedat 1555 King Street. Visitwww.hooray4books.com or call 703-548-4092.

THROUGH NOV. 30Art Exhibition. The Gallery at

Convergence presents “pitture eparole” (“Paintings and Words”), asolo exhibition from artist, LynneElizabeth Heiser. A portion of allsales benefit Convergence programsincluding Artist’s Way, ConvergenceShared Artists Studios, and the LabAll Ages. Opening reception on Oct. 6from 7-9 p.m. [email protected] or call703-915-0917 to RSVP. Call 703-998-6260 or visitwww.convergenceccf.net.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY/NOV. 30-DEC. 1Alexandria Harmonizers Holiday

Dinner Theater. Friday, 7:30 p.m.;Saturday, 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.Featuring seasonal favorites incaroling and choral masterpiece sets;a light hearted musical play starringthe one and only “Jack In The Box”;plus a delicious dinner served byyour singing Harmonizer waiters.Reserved table seating. Adults $30,children $15, seniors $25. Purchasetickets at www.harmonizers.org.Venue: First Baptist Church of

Kwanzaa Celebration

See Calendar, Page 16

Alexandria, 2932 King St. Call 571-969-1377 or visitwww.harmonizers.org.

Craft Sale. Heritage PresbyterianChurch will hold a “Made By TheBell” Christmas Boutique on Nov. 30,from 3-7 p.m. and on Dec. 1, from 9a.m. to 3 p.m. Handmade Christmasdécor, ornaments, hand knitteditems, baked goods, and unique gifts

are among the items for sale.Heritage Presbyterian Church islocated at 8503 Fort Hunt Road. Onehundred percent of the proceeds goto support Heritage PresbyterianWomen’s outreach programs forchildren and women. Call 703-360-9546.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY/NOV. 30-DEC. 2Del Ray Artisans’ 17th annual

Holiday Market. Handmade workfrom local artists plus bake sale.Reception is on Friday, from 6-9 p.m.The hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. onSaturday and noon-4 p.m. on


Calendar

Sunday. Visit TheDelRayArtisans.org/HolidayMarket.

Artfête Weekend. Open house andholiday party celebrate expansion ofMadison Annex. Exhibits of instructorartwork, artist demos, a wearable artrunway show. Food and drinks areprovided by Chadwick’s andLavender Moon Cupcakery. Livemusic by Orquesta Tropikiimba.Ceramic and jewelry sales continuethroughout the weekend. Artfêteholiday party is on Friday, Nov. 30,6-9 p.m. Ceramic sale is noon-9 p.m.on Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. onSaturday, and noon-5 p.m. onSunday. Jewelry sale is noon-9 p.m.on Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. onSaturday, and noon-4 p.m. onSunday. At The Art League’s MadisonAnnex, 305 Madison St. Visitwww.theartleague.org or call 703-683-2323.

NOV. 30 THROUGH DEC. 16The Little Theatre of Alexandria’s

“A Christmas Carol.” 8 p.m. Ringin the holiday season with a return ofthe classic by Charles Dickens.Ebenezer Scrooge. Complete withspecial effects, Victorian carols, andTiny Tim, “A Christmas Carol” is amust for the entire family. LittleTheatre of Alexandria is located at600 Wolfe St. Call 703-683-0496 orvisit www.thelittletheatre.com forshowtimes or to purchase tickets. $15(does not include service fees).

SATURDAY/DEC. 1Annual Alexandria Holiday Boat

Parade of Lights. Alexandria’sHistoric Waterfront at the foot ofCameron Street. At sundown,Alexandria’s harbor lights up whenmore than 50 illuminated boatscruise the Potomac River at thehistoric waterfront, led byAlexandria’s fireboat Vigilant andWashington, D.C.’s fireboat JohnGlenn. Call 703-746-3301 or visitwww.visitalexandriava.com.

An Advent Quiet Day Workshop.9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. With David Vryhof,SSJE of The Society of Saint John theEvangelist. Pause to consider thenature of gratitude, the expression ofgratitude, and the lens of gratitudethrough which we can see the worldand all its creatures. In McMurrayCommons. Registration begins at 9a.m. The $35 fee covers breakfastand a light lunch, as well as tea andcoffee. Contact Phil Lyons [email protected] or 703-960-6468.

Barbershop Harmony Concert. 1p.m. Free. Celebrate the holidayseason with the Harmony HeritageSingers at Sherwood RegionalLibrary. In classic barbershop style,the 40-member Harmony HeritageSingers perform traditional Christmassongs such as “It’s Beginning to LookLike Christmas” and “Angels WeHave Heard on High” spiced with afew chorus favorites like “DeltaDawn” and the Beach Boys hit,

“Barbara Ann.” All are welcome. AtSherwood Regional Library, 2501Sherwood Hall Lane. Call 703-765-4779 or [email protected].

Holiday Craft Fair. 9 a.m.-3 p.m.Alexandria Unit 24, The AmericanLegion Auxiliary, is having a holidaycraft fair in Gadsby’s Tavern locatedat 400 Cameron St., featuring 20crafters of wide variety andhomemade baked goods.

Christmas Walk. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Strollthrough lovely properties in thehistoric district of Alexandria dressedup for the holidays by acclaimedinterior designers and local florists.Part of the 42nd Annual ScottishChristmas Walk Weekend, theproceeds from the tour go directlytoward the programs of TheCampagna Center. Purchase tickets atSt. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 228 S.Pitt St.

Concert. 7:30 p.m. Chris Smither willbring his new album Hundred DollarValentine to The Birchmere at 3701Mount Vernon Ave. Tickets are $25.Call 703-549-7500 or visitwww.birchmere.com.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY/DEC. 1-2, 8-9, 15-16Historic Candlelight Tours. 5-8 p.m.

Join “Mrs. Washington” as she hostsan evening of candlelight tours,fireside caroling, and hot cider andginger cookies. Tours include merrymusic, and characters from theWashingtons’ world guiding visitorsthrough the first and second floors ofthe home, adding ambiance andauthenticity to a traditionalChristmas evening at Mount Vernon.Tickets may be purchased at the FordOrientation Center (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.daily), or through MountVernon.org.Admission is $22 for adults and $15for children under 12. Call 703-780-2000 or 703-799-8697 or visitwww.MountVernon.org.

DEC. 1-25The Christmas Attic’s Holiday

Advent Calendar. Each day atsundown, the store will reveal“advent art” featuring a variety oflocal holiday creations. All art will beplaced either in the windows or onthe brick of the building on the frontside facing Union Street. Visitors canpicture the entire building beingtransformed into an advent calendar.There will be holiday entertainmentand activities inside the store forshoppers to enjoy on a variety ofnights. At the closing of the AdventCalendar event, the canvases ofadvent art will be available forauction at a post-event celebration(to be scheduled). Proceeds from theauction will go to the Make-A-WishFoundation of the Mid-Atlantic. AtThe Christmas Attic, 125 S. Union St.Call 703-548-2829 or visitwww.christmasattic.com.

SUNDAY/DEC. 2Christ Church’s Nine Lessons and

Carols service. 5 p.m. The Festival

of Nine Lessons and Carols is aworship service celebrating the birthof Jesus that is traditionally followedat Christmas. Contact Jason Abel [email protected] or 703-549-1450ext. 104. Christ Church is located at118 N. Washington St.

Photos with Santa Claus. 10 a.m.-3p.m. Join Alexandria Firefighters &Paramedics for photos with SantaClaus at Firehouse 201 at 317 PrinceSt. A $10 donation includesphotograph with Santa in front of thehistoric 1863 “Champion” SteamEngine in one of Alexandria’s oldestoperating firehouses’ as well as acredit for one medium resolutiondigital image or one 4x6 print. Allimages taken are available to viewonline and reprints are affordablypriced starting at $2.99 for a 4x6.Proceeds benefit the Helping HandsRelief Fund and the Alexandria FireDepartment Children’s Holiday ToyDrive. Visit http://local2141.smugmug.com.

Annual Toys for Tots. 1-5 p.m. TheCity’s 38th annual Toys for TotsBenefit Square Dance will be held atLee Center Exhibit Hall, 1108Jefferson St. This year’s theme is“Feelin’ Great at Thirty-Eight” andfeatures a special 3 p.m. performanceby Capital Squares DemonstrationTeam. The annual square and rounddance benefits the United StatesMarine Corps Reserve Toys for TotsDrive. Recommended donation foreach couple is a new, unopened toyor a $10 minimum contribution(singles $5). All toys and proceedsfrom this dance will remain in theWashington metropolitan area. Todonate a toy, drop off donation until3 p.m. at the Lee Center. Call 703-746-5592 or 703-746-4343.

THROUGH DEC. 2Free Art Exhibition. This juried

photography exhibition — open to allartists nationally andinternationally—explores the themeof upheaval in our personal lives andthroughout the world. A reception onNov. 8, from 6-8 p.m. occurs during2nd Thursday Art Night and featuresa talk by juror Brie Castell at 7 p.m.Target Gallery (Studio 2), 105 NorthUnion St. Call 703-838-4565, x4 orvisit www.torpedofactory.org/target.

MONDAY/DEC. 3Fabricated: An Exhibition of

Wearable Art. (Deadline for entryis on Dec. 3. (Exhibition will be fromFeb. 2 through Mar. 3, 2013.Fabricated is an all-media exhibitionfeaturing “wearable art.” While themaking of any article of clothing orother wearable object typicallyinvolves aesthetic considerations, theterm wearable art implies that thework is intended to be accepted as aserious and unique artistic creationor statement. It is open to all artistsnationally and internationally. Visitwww.targetgallery.com.

From

See Calendar, Page 17

5x5(x5) exhibitionTarget Gallery hosts 5x5(x5), which examines artwork on a very intimate scale, with all work being no larger than 5 inches

in any direction. This all-media, juried exhibition includes 112 works by 68 artists and runs Dec. 8-30. Target Galler will hosta reception Thursday, Dec. 13, 6-8 p.m.;, and a juror talk with Stefanie Fedor at 7 p.m. Target Gallery is located in the Tor-pedo Factory Art Center, 105 N. Union Street. Visit www.torpedofactory.org/target.

Five of the small works from Target Gallery’s 5x5(x5) show.


The Best in Family Dining

An Alexandria community fixture for more than100 years, the Royal Restaurant offers the bestin Greek, Italian and American cuisine. Enjoyburgers, steaks, prime rib, chicken, seafood,pasta and full salad bar complete with specialchildren’s menu items.

Foodfit for a king

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Award-winning wine menu • Major credit cards accepted

Calendar

THROUGH DEC. 3Free Photography Exhibition.

Andrew Zimmermann: Cold River.This solo exhibition of large-formatblack and white photographscaptures the “character of blankness.”The opening reception takes place onNov. 8 from 6:30-8 p.m., during 2ndThursday Art Night. The Art LeagueGallery, 105 North Union St. Call703-683-1780 or visitwww.theartleague.org.

TUESDAY/DEC. 4Author Series with Nathan Leslie.

7-8:30 p.m. Leslie will discuss hisbook, The Tail of Tommy Twice atthe Beatley Central Library, 5005Duke St. Free. Visitwww.alexandria.lib.va.us or call 703-746-1702.

Free Concert. 7:30 p.m. Guestviolinists Jonathan Carney and BennyKim join the National ChamberPlayers, a chamber ensemble madeup of members of the NationalSymphony Orchestra, in aperformance of Corelli’s ChristmasConcerto and Vivaldi’s The FourSeasons. The concert is free and opento the public. At Pendleton Hall,Episcopal High School, 3900 WBraddock Road. Visitwww.episcopalhighschool.org, oremail [email protected],or call 703-933-4135.

Researching George Washington’sReligious Convictions. 6-8 p.m.Free. Mary Thompson, researchhistorian at Washington’s MountVernon Estate, will discuss GeorgeWashington’s religious valuesthrough research using the assembledprimary documents at Mount VernonEstate. At Morrison House located at116 South Alfred St. Call 703-838-8000 or visit morrisonhouse.com.

WEDNESDAY/DEC. 5Author Series. 7-8:30 p.m. Free.

Elizabeth Schuch will discuss herpersonal memoir, “More ThanBipolar: A Memoir of Acceptance andHope,” at the Beatley Central Library,5005 Duke St. Visitwww.alexandria.lib.va.us or call 703-746-1702.

THURSDAY/DEC. 6A Peter White Christmas. With Peter

White, Mindi Abair and special guestat the Birchmere. $49.50. Visitwww.peterwhite.com. The BirchmereMusic Hall is located at 3701 MountVernon Ave. Call 703-549-7500 orvisit www.birchmere.com.

Art Focus Group. 7:30-9 p.m. Clay inthe Classroom: Sculpture, SensoryExploration and CommunityBuilding. Learn about the manybenefits of good clean play with mudin the classroom. Classes are $25each or $200 for the 10 class series.A school or group of teachers canshare the registration for the fullseries. At 2804 Sherwood Hall Ln.Call 703-201-1250.

Free Concert. 7:30-9:30 p.m. The2013 Living Legends of Alexandrianominees will be introduced with amusical tribute, featuring music bythe NOVA Community Chorus, theNOVA Jazz Ensemble and the NOVAAlexandria Band in the Rachel M.Schlesinger Hall, 3001 N. BeauregardSt. The nominees of 2013 LivingLegends of Alexandria are introducedto the community at 6:30-7:15 p.m.Free, parking in the BeauregardParking Garage is $6. Contact NinaTisara at [email protected] orLisa Eckstein at [email protected].

FRIDAY/DEC. 7Holiday on the Avenue. 6-9 p.m. The

entire community comes together tolight the neighborhood Christmas

tree. Even Santa attends. This joyouscelebration is followed by an eveningstroll down the Avenue, which isilluminated by thousands of candles,called “luminarias.” Del Ray Farmer’sMarket at Mount Vernon Ave. and E.Oxford Ave. Call 703-746-3301 orvisit www.visitalexandriava.com.

1964 The Tribute. 7:30 p.m. 1964The Tribute is cheered worldwide byrecreating a Beatles concertperformed live, with exact detailedreproduction of the songs, voices,instruments, suits, haircuts and eventhe iconic “Beatle Boots” madefamous by the Fab Four. Now it willappear at The Birchmere Music Halllocated at 3701 Mount Vernon Ave.Tickets are priced at $35 available atwww.ticketmaster.com.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY/DEC. 7-8Sweeney Todd at TJ. 7 p.m. For a

bloody good time, attend StephenSondheim’s classic tale of “SweeneyTodd - the Demon Barber of FleetStreet” about a vengeful Londonbarber and his landlady’sscrumptious but mysterious meat piesas performed by the ThomasJefferson High School for Scienceand Technology’s student choir alongwith the TJ faculty, parent andalumni choirs. Tickets are $10 at thedoor on performance days at theThomas Jefferson High School forScience and Technology at 6560Braddock Road in Alexandria. Visitwww.tjchoir.org.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY/DEC. 7-9Del Ray Artisans’ 17th annual

Holiday Market. Handmade workfrom local artists plus bake sale.Reception is on Friday, from 6 to 9p.m. The hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m.onSaturday and noon-4 p.m. onSunday. Visit TheDelRayArtisans.org/HolidayMarket.

SATURDAY/DEC. 8Christmas Open House. 12-4 p.m.

Join a Civil War-era Santa at thisfamily-fun holiday event thatexplores how Christmas wasobserved during the Civil War. AtFort Ward Museum & Historic Site,4301 W. Braddock Rd. Admission is$2 for adults, $1 for children. Call703-746-4848 or visitwww.historicalexandria.org.

Breakfast with Santa. 9 a.m. Theelves will begin seating at 9 a.m. toawait Santa’s arrival. There will beplently of time to sit on Santa’s lapand share lists with him. A fullbreakfast buffet will be available. AtCarlyle Club, 411 John Carlyle St.,Call 703-548-8899 or visitwww.thecarlyleclub.com. Admissionis $28.95 for adults; $15.95 for kidsage 4-12; free for age 3 and under.

Holiday Gifts Jewerly Workshop.2-3 p.m. Free. Make four uniqueholiday gifts, stamp tags, and makeyour own gift boxes. Limited to 12participants. At the Beatley CentralLibrary, 5005 Duke St. Visitwww.alexandria.lib.va.us or call 703-746-1702.

Artisans Holiday Marketplace. 3-6p.m. At Durant Center, 1605Cameron St. Entrepreneurs Class2012, Fall Semester Showcase ofGraduates’ Micro-BusinessesGraduation Ceremony ArtisansHoliday Marketplace. Complimentaryhomemade appetizers and artdesserts. Proceeds benefit EWI andour local artists and creativeentrepreneurs. Holiday selectioninclude one-of-a-kind jewelry,scarves, designer aprons, skin andbeauty products, fine art, note cards,holiday ornaments and more. Free,but RSVP required. Visit ewint.org.

Free Ice Skating Show. 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. The public is invited towatch figure skaters show off theirmoves at Mount Vernon RECenter’sHoliday Ice Show, where most

experienced skaters, as well asbeginners of all ages will performtogether. Mount Vernon RECenter islocated at 2017 Belle View Blvd.Contact Carl Kirtley, at 703-768-3224or visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov.

Civil War Christmas in Camp.noon-4 p.m. Learn how Christmaswas observed during the Civil War byattending Fort Ward Museum’sannual “Christmas in Camp” OpenHouse. Suggested donation is $2 foradults and $1 for children. Fort WardMuseum & Historic Site is located at4301 West Braddock Road. Call 703-746-4848, or visit www.fortward.org.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY/DEC.8-9Historic Alexandria Candlelight

Tours. Tour Gadsby’s TavernMuseum, Carlyle House, Lee-FendallHouse and the historic Bank ofAlexandria building by candlelight.Special this year – a holiday taste ofhistoric chocolate, co-sponsored bythe Historic Division of Mars, Inc.Saturday from 6-9 p.m.; Sunday from3 to 6 p.m. At Gadsby’s TavernMuseum, Carlyle House, Lee-FendallHouse. Call 703-746-4242 or visitwww.historicalexandria.org.Admission is $20 for adults, $15 forseniors and $5 for children.

SUNDAY/DEC. 9Christmas Music. 9:45 a.m. The

Plymouth Haven Baptist ChurchChildren’s Choir will present theirChristmas music presentation in theFellowship Hall, 8600 Plymouth Dr.Open to the public.

Holiday Evening with Raul Malo.7:30 p.m. $29.50. The BirchmereMusic Hall is located at 3701 MountVernon Ave. Call 703-549-7500 orvisit www.birchmere.com.

Bell Ringing. 2-3 p.m. Alexandria’sBrowne Academy musicians willdeliver their Handbells performanceat the Charles E. Beatley CentralLibrary, 5005 Duke St. Refreshmentswill be served. Open to the Public.Call 703-746-1702 or visitwww.alexandria.lib.va.us.

Concert. 4 p.m. New DominionChorale, conducted by ArtisticDirector Thomas Beveridge, willpresent J.S. Bach’s ChristmasOratorio at the Rachel M. SchlesingerConcert Hall and Arts Center on theAlexandria Campus of NorthernVirginia Community College, 3001North Beauregard St. Tickets $5-$30.Tickets at the door or online.Parking is free. Call 703-442-9404 orvisit www.newdominion.org.

Holiday Market – Women, Art andShopping. 1-5 p.m., CharlesHouston Recreation Center, 905Wythe St. Free. More than 25 local,female artisans will display theirwares during an afternoon of fun, artand friends. Proceeds will benefit theAlexandria Domestic Violence andSexual Assault Programs. This eventis also a collection site for new toysand gifts for children of the clients ofthe Alexandria Battered Women’sShelter. Call 703-746-3123 or visitwww.alexwomen.com.

THROUGH DEC. 9Old Town Boutique District’s

Window Wonderland. Come outto Old Town Alexandria and view thefestive Window Wonderland ofholiday lights and decorations ondisplay at our local boutiques.Throughout Old Town Alexandria.Visit oldtownboutiquedistrict.com.

MONDAY/DEC. 10A John Waters Christmas

‘Command Performance’ at theBirchmere. $49.50. John will besigning copies of books purchased atthe show. The Birchmere Music Hallis located at 3701 Mount VernonAve. Visit www.birchmere.com or call703-549-7500.

From


People

Dancers from JustDance Studio in Al-exandria will maketheir dance debut at

The Kennedy Center and Hippo-drome Theatre in Baltimore thismonth.

Natalie Edwards, 11, of Alexan-dria, who joined the U.S. touringproduction of “Billy Elliot the Mu-sical” in September, will perform

with the cast when it stops at TheHippodrome

Theatre in Baltimore, Md. Dec.18-30. Natalie has been studyingdance for eight years under SallyTierney, owner and director of JustDance in the Fairfax County partof Alexandria, in the Belle ViewShopping Center off Fort HuntRoad.

Other students and former stu-

dents of Tierney’s, Emma Feddo,Kailey O’Farrell, Elena Pipkin andSydney Webster, will perform inBallet West’s “Nutcracker” at TheKennedy Center in Washington,D.C., Dec. 5-9. Emma, 11, hasbeen dancing for six years; Kailey,13, has been dancing for nineyears, including six with Tierney;Elena, 12, has been dancing fornine years; and Sydney, 10, has

been dancing for three years.Tierney opened her school in

2003 for girls ages 3 through 12for instruction in classical ballet,Broadway tap, Broadway jazz,Cecchetti and pointe.

Dancers To Perform in ‘Billy Elliot,’ ‘Nutcracker’She has 25 years of teaching

experience, is an American BalletTheatre certified teacher andmember of the Cecchetti Councilof America and Dance Masters.

From left: Elena Pipkin, owner and director Sally Tierney,Sydney Webster, Kailey O’Farrell and Emma Feddo at theJust Dance Studio.

Visit These Houses of WorshipJoin a Club, Make New Friends, or Expand Your Horizons…

To Advertise Your Faith Community, call Karen at 703-917-6468

Christ the SaviourAnglican Church

“To Love & Serve the Lord withGladness & Singleness of Heart”

www.christthesaviouranglican.org

703-953-2854

Location – Washington Mill E.S.9100 Cherrytree Drive

Worship Service – 10 a.m.Inter-generational Sunday School – after service

Good ShepherdCatholic Church

8710 Mount Vernon Highway, Alexandria VA, 22309Tel: 703-780-4055 Fax: 703-360-5385 www.gs-cc.org

Loving as Christ loves, serving as Christ serves

Saturday Evening5:00 pm; 6:30 pm (en Español)

Sunday7:30; 9:00; 10:30 am; 12:00 Noon

2:00 pm (en Español)

6:30 pm Mass (from Sept. 9until mid June)

Weekdays(Mass or CommunionService) 9:00 am (followed by Rosary)

Children’s Liturgy of the WordSundays (Sept.-July) during 9:00 amMass (English)

Sign Language InterpreterSunday at 9:00 am Mass

Mass Schedule

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Zone 3 Ad Deadline:

Tuesday Noon

703-917-6400

Zone 3: • Alexandria

• Mount VernonClassifiedClassified

21 Announcements 21 Announcements 21 Announcements

OBITUARY

Joyce Diane Helmus, 64, of Rineyville, died Monday, November 19, 2012 at Hardin Memorial Hospital.She was a native of Earle, AR. She served in the U. S. Army for eight years and retired after 30 years from Civil Service in Alexandria, VA with Human Resources Command As a member of the Screen Actors Guild, she portrayed a Soldier in the 1981 movie "Stripes".She was preceded in death by her brother, Howard HodoShe is survived by her husband, Mark Helmus; a daughter, Shelley L. Hermann of DE; a son, Bart Allen Helmus of VA; mother, Virginia Bowen of W. Memphis, AR; father, Jesse Hodo of Huntingdon, TN; a step-brother, Dwayne Hodo of Huntingdon, TN; a step-sister, Laura Hodo of Huntingdon, TN; and two grandchildren, Kati A. Hermann and Gavin C. Helmus.The funeral will be 10 a.m. Monday at Brown Funeral Home with Rev. Chris Thorson officiating. Burial will follow in Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Central in Radcliff.Visitation will be from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may take the form of donations to Brown Cancer Center.Condolences may be expressed online at www.brownfuneral.com.

21 Announcements 21 Announcements

OBITUARYHansel "Hank" Mundy

On November 25, 2012 in Alexandria, VA. Hank served in theU.S. MarineCorps in the Pacific during World War II and laterretired from theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He spent therest of his career as aConstruction Estimator in the Philadel-phia area. In 1995 he moved to Alexandria, VA. He was pre-ceded in death by his wife of 44 years, Patricia Ann PietroMundy. Hank is survived by his daughter, Alicia Mundy; andsister Jackie Mundy. A memorial service will be held onFriday, November 30, 2012 at 3 PM at Everly-Wheatley Funer-al Home, 1500 W. Braddock Rd., Alexandria, VA 22302. Inter-ment will be held at a later date at Arlington National Ceme-tery. Flowers and a guest register may be found atwww.everlyfuneralhomes.com


OBITUARYRobert D. Martini

“Bob”

Robert D. Martini “Bob”, 78, of Alexandria and Arrington, diedFriday, November 23, 2012 at his home in Arrington. BornJune 6, 1934, he was a son of the late Thomas Martini, Sr. andGeneva Zehring Martini. Robert had been a self-employedmeat broker.In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his be-loved wife, Bertha M. Martini; a son, Robert Martini, II and adaughter, Lisa Martini.A graveside memorial service will be held 11 a.m. Wednesday,November 28, 2012 in Mount Comfort Cemetery by Pastor DanLee.





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TELEMARKETERSOur company is seeking telemarketers for part time positions. Hours are flexible be-tween 12:00pm - 8pm. Experience strongly preferred but not necessary. Must have good speaking voice. Clean, fun work environ-ment with excellent commission packages & contests. Located in Fairfax off Rt. 66.

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21 Announcements

ABC LicenseMWB DEVELOPMENT 1, LLC

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or 800-552-3200


Email announcements to [email protected]. Deadline is the Thursday at noon.

THURSDAY/NOV. 29Public Information Meeting. 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Fairfax County Park Authority staff membersand wetlands design professionals fromWetlands Studies and Solutions, Inc. willpresent a wetlands restoration plan for HuntleyMeadows Park, a 50-plus acre freshwaterwetland. The public information meeting is inthe park Visitor’s Center located at 3701Lockheed Blvd. Working closely with the public,wetland experts and design professionals, parkstaff and volunteers gathered data, developedproject goals and worked through severaldesigns over the years. The final design will bepresented.

SUNDAYS/DEC. 2, 9, 16 AND 23Advent Celtic Evening Eucharist Services.

5:30 p.m. St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church will beoffering a 4-week series of Advent CelticEvening Eucharist Services. Candlelight, silence,prayers and music from the Celtic tradition willset the tone for this Sunday evening worshipand communion service. All are welcome. St.Aidan’s Episcopal Church is located in the FortHunt neighborhood, 8531 Riverside Road. CallJohn Baker at 703-360-4221, Susan Hartzell at703-309-9103 or visit staidansepiscopal.com.

MONDAY/DEC. 3Stress, Grief and Coping with Change

during the Holidays. 11 a.m. Capital Caringpresents “Stress, Grief, and Coping with Changeduring the Holidays” with bereavementcounselor Wendy Maiwurm. At Hollin HallSenior Center, 1500 Shenandoah Road. Toreserve a seat, call 703-765-4573.

WEDNESDAY/DEC. 5Mount Vernon At Home. Virginia’s Village will

be hosting an information session for seniorswho want to age in place in the Mount VernonCommunity. Membership and volunteeropportunities available. In the SherwoodMeeting Room, Sherwood Regional Library. Call703-303-4060 or [email protected].

THURSDAY/DEC. 6Business Lunch. 11:30 a.m. Former U.S. Rep.

Tom Davis will speak to the Mount Vernon-LeeChamber of Commerce on “What the 2012Elections Mean for Business” at the Belle HavenCountry Club, 6023 Fort Hunt Road. A CapitolHill Insider, Davis will give an assessment onwhat businesses can expect with taxes,regulations, and the upcoming “fiscal cliff.” Forreservations, contact the chamber office at 703-360-6925 or visit MtVernon-LeeChamber.org.

THROUGH DEC. 7Fruit Sale. The Mount Vernon Lions Clubs are

selling navel oranges and grapefruit. They canbe purchased by the case for $38 or half case for$20. Prepaid orders can be made to AndreaCorsillo 703-960-4973 or Tom Wilson 703-585-6327 by Dec. 7. Delivery date is Dec. 15.

MONDAY/DEC. 17Sight and Hearing Screening. 6-8 p.m. The

Mount Vernon Evening Lions Club will behaving the Sight and Hearing Screening Van atWalt Whitman School’s Family Fun Fitnessnight. Used eyeglasses and hearing aids will becollected at this site. Call Andrea Corsillo at703-960-4973.

ONGOINGUCM’s Back Porch Thrift Store is in need of

donations of furniture. UCM will pick upfurniture, as well as other larger donations, orthey can be dropped off at the back of the storeMonday through Saturday, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.To arrange for pick-ups, call 703-768-7106, ext.320. Located at the Mt. Vernon CrossroadsShopping Center at 7838 Richmond Hwy.

Dance for Parkinson’s Disease. Thursdays,1:30-2:30 p.m. At Heritage Presbyterian Church,8503 Fort Hunt Rd. Those with Parkinson’s andcaregivers are welcome. No dance experiencenecessary.

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By Michelle Kain

The Gazette

Garfield ElementarySchool in Spring-field, like all ofFairfax County, has

a population that reflects awide range of backgrounds.With 33 languages spoken, theschool’s ESOL (English forSpeakers of Other Languages)program has had to expand.The school has a first gradeclass of 60 students, 58 ofwhom are ESOL students rang-ing from levels one throughfour.

Jane Cofie-Raczko, who hasbeen a teacher for the past 13years, teaches one of three firstgrade classes in which all 20 of the students haveEnglish as a second language.

The majority of these students are from Hispanicor Middle Eastern backgrounds and common lan-guages include Spanish, Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, Ko-rean, Chinese and Vietnamese. The challengesinvolved with teaching these students depend ontheir proficiency with the English language.

“For students who speak almost no English, itcan be difficult to communicate to the studentsthat you want them to succeed and that you arethere to help them. It can also be difficult to getthe students to ask for help, mostly due to theirlack of confidence in their speaking ability. Forstudents with a better knowledge of the social lan-guage, it can be tough to give them a similarlystrong academic language. Add the already diffi-cult material to learning English for the first timeand it can be very challenging,” said Cofie-Raczko.

“The success of the students with the curricu-lum and their preparedness for middle and highschool depends on the schooling they received intheir home country as well as when they enrolled

Teachers discuss challenges of teaching English asa Second Language.

We Are the World, at Garfield

at Garfield,” said Rozi Khakpour, an ESOL teacherat Garfield Elementary.

Students who have attended Garfield from thestart get the opportunity to develop oral languageat an early age through programs such as Lunchand Bunch in which kindergartners with Englishas a second language meet twice a week to havelunch and practice this important skill.

The program, along with others, have provento be successful as “students who have been atGarfield since kindergarten often exceed in highschool and earn positions on the honor roll,”Khakpour said.

“Another thing that has proven to be helpful,”said Kirsten Howard, another first grade teacher,“is Garfield’s social curriculum.” This social cur-riculum, which concentrates on teaching studentscooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy,and self-control, has given students a greaterawareness outside themselves and has helpedthem in middle in high school as demonstratedby their willingness to take on leadership posi-tions.

Mariana Del Cid-Quintanilla, Spanish,Parents from El Salvador

Anmul Jan,Pashtu, Bornin Pakistan

Michael Opuni, Akah,Parents from Ghana(Michael born in US)

Yusuf Ouanina,Arabic, Morocco

Tracy Huynh, Viet-namese, Vietnam

Mohammed (Jafar)Abdulridna, Arabic, Iraq

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Jane Cofie-Raczko gives her first grade class thedetails regarding their upcoming test.

of being Italian.” Dalila carriedthat warning with her when sheentered Marshall. The dire warn-ing turned out to have no basis ather new school. “When I tellpeople here I’m Italian, they say,‘oh, I love Italy’ and then, I’m sorelieved. Yes, I am proud to say I’mItalian here.”

In Italy, it was always school andstudying through late evening,Dalila said. She had no social lifethere.

“When I came here, it was sucha relief,” she said. “I was so happyI finally had time for myself.”

Millan Mbise, from Tanzania,was pleasantly surprised by thedegree of interaction between stu-dents and teachers. Teachers areless approachable than in the U.S.Millan, whose native language isSwahili, grew up speaking English,

From Page 6

‘Hidden Curriculum’up their native language.

“Studies show that bilingual stu-dents do better academically.”

Bloom said the school helpsnewly-immigrated students totransition by embracing the fami-lies as they enter the school. Rela-tionship-building is how he refersto the partnership. “When you es-tablish that relationship with newfamilies from other countries, youget rid of a lot of hurdles. Whenyou do that, the families feel val-ued and a part of the Freedom Hillfamily. We have students learningfrom one another simply fromtheir exposure to each other.”

The children of Freedom HillElementary School are so accus-tomed to establishing relation-ships within the classroom, theydon’t recognize barriers, Bloomsaid. “It’s a representation of theworld.”

Bloom refers to the school’s di-

Focus on Immigration

“There’s so much value in having aschool where children from all overthe world can come together.”

— Scott Bloom, Freedom Hill principal

as well. English is compulsory inthe schools, and, Millan calls it the“unofficial” language of Tanzania.

Millan is bused from Marshalldaily to Falls Church High Schoolfor a class in “pharmacy technol-ogy.” He learned what he wantedto do with his life while living hereand attending an American school.He wants to be a pharmacist someday.

FREEDOM HILL ELEMEN-TARY SCHOOL feeds into theMarshall pyramid. Like Marshall,Freedom Hill is the world in mi-crocosm. There are more than 42languages spoken in the students’homes and the children of Free-dom Hill represent more than 53countries. Some Freedom Hill stu-dents are from diplomatic families,already bilingual or multilingualwith English exposure. Others arenew to English. The school,through its many ESOL levels,works with these students to helpthem adapt to English.

“Within the realm of school, thekids are held accountable to com-municate in the English language,”said first-year Freedom Hill prin-cipal Scott Bloom. As the kids in-teract with their peers, they pickup English.

“I like to think we also recognizethe importance of kids having thatdual-language skill,” Bloom said.“We want them to learn English,but, we don’t want them to give

versity as a “hidden curriculum.”“There’s so much value in hav-

ing a school where children fromall over the world can come to-gether,” Bloom said. “You set thestage for the children to share theirhistory, backgrounds, culture, andexperiences. “There’s so muchpower in bringing all these differ-ent cultures together that I thinkit’s justified to call it a hidden cur-riculum.

“The kids don’t even knowthey’re learning from this diver-sity.”

Marshall’s roundtable studentseager to discuss their new lives allsaid that school life is more pres-sured in their native countries withlittle opportunities within theschool system to learn nonaca-demic things. Schools do not pro-mote extracurricular activities asthey do here.

“Students are pushed by theirparents to excel academically inMalaysia,” Kasthury said. “Many ofthese kids commit suicide. They’retold, ‘if you’re not the best, you’llnever succeed.’”

Amber Holder has found a mul-titude of extracurricular activitiesto engage in. In Panama, there wasonly a single option. Here, shesaid, she’s involved with themarching band, the literary maga-zine and other programs. “InPanama, you have to find oneplace to fit in. But, here, you canfit in in many places.”


Sports

By Jon Roetman

The Gazette

Second-year Mount Vernon head boys’ basket-ball coach John Wiley stood outside the visit-ing locker room at West Potomac High School

on Tuesday night and said it takes three years to builda successful program.

Last season, Wiley’s first with Mount Vernon aftercoaching at Bowie High School in Maryland, theMajors lost nearly twice as many games as they won.

“I’m in my second year. This year is going to bebetter than last year,” Wiley said. “By my third year,I want to contend with the top teams in the area.”

Whether Mount Vernon once again becomes oneof the top teams in Northern Virginia will be deter-mined in time. Meanwhile, Wiley’s quest for improve-ment took a step in the right direction.

Mount Vernon defeated West Potomac, 63-59, inboth teams’ season opener on Nov. 27, giving theMajors their first win against the Wolverines since2009. West Potomac point guard Brandon Pressleyburied a runner with 3.1 seconds remaining, cuttingMount Vernon’s lead to 61-59, but the Majors wereable to run out the clock and junior forward ShawnyLovitt put the finishing touch on the victory with alayup at the buzzer.

“It feels great,” Mount Vernon senior RobertDecardi-Nelson said after the win. “Finally beat WestPotomac.”

Mount Vernon trailed, 20-9, at the end of the firstquarter, but battled back to tie the halftime score at28-28. West Potomac held a 44-43 lead late in thethird quarter when Mount Vernon junior guardKwadwuo Diawuo came up with a steal, drove tothe basket and scored on a tough layup, giving theMajors a 45-44 lead they would not relinquish.

A bucket by senior forward Don Smith gave MountVernon its largest lead of the night at 53-45 with lessthan four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.West Potomac pulled to within one when Caleb Wil-liams’ three-point play cut the Majors’ lead to 57-56with 1:29 remaining, but the Wolverines couldn’tcomplete the comeback.

Decardi-Nelson, a 6-foot post player, scored ninepoints and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Majors.

“[I] work hard in the paint,” Decardi-Nelson said.“I treat it like it’s my house; I just protect it.”

Diawuo scored eight points and played energizeddefense for the Majors.

“Those are my two captains: Robert Decardi-Nelsonand Kwadwuo,” Wiley said. “[They have] a lot ofheart, a lot of hustle [and] a lot of passion.”

Bryce Washington led Mount Vernon with 13 pointsoff the bench. The junior forward knocked down apair of 3-pointers, the second giving the Majors a48-44 lead early in the fourth quarter.

“It takes courage and knowing you can shoot theshot,” Washington said about hitting perimeter shotsin a low-scoring game. “I just have to knock it down.”

Lovitt scored 10 points for Mount Vernon. Lucasand senior guard Patrick Bender each added nine.Bender knocked down a trio of 3-pointers.

Williams, a senior, led West Potomac with 17 pointsin his first varsity game. Pressley scored 16 pointsfor the Wolverines and Kwame Camon added 11.

Six-foot-2 senior post Javon Trice scored 10 pointsand grabbed 11 rebounds for the Wolverines.

“I thought he played tremendous,” West Potomachead coach David Houston III said about Trice. “[Itwas the] best I’ve seen him ever play.”

West Potomac was without junior guard DemornayPierson-El, who was injured. Houston III said he ex-pects Pierson-El to return soon.

Mount Vernon will host Oakton at 7:30 p.m. onTuesday, Dec. 4. West Potomac will travel to faceHerndon at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 30.

MV Edges West PotomacMajors beat Wolverinesfor first time since 2009.

Mount Vernon senior Robert Decardi-Nelson (5) scored nine points andgrabbed 10 rebounds on Nov. 27.

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Sports

By Jon Roetman

The Gazette

After Tuesday’s season-opener,West Potomac girls’ basketballcoach David Sawczuk made aneffort to track down Mount

Vernon head coach Courtney Coffer.Sawczuk thanked Coffer for Mount Vernon’sintense effort and hoped the experiencewould help West Potomac down the road.

One of the teams in the Route 1 rivalrywill be competing for a Northern Regionchampionship this year. The other is look-ing to build on last year’s two-win season.It wasn’t hard to figure out which waswhich.

The Mount Vernon Majors defeated theWest Potomac Wolverines, 82-39, on Nov.27 at West Potomac High School. MountVernon, which fell one win shy of the statetournament last season, used full-courtpressure early to build a commanding leadbefore cruising to victory. The Majors forced40 turnovers and had had six players scorein double figures.

“Most importantly, the team defense wasthe thing I was proud of the most,” Coffersaid. “They’re playing good basketball right

now. Hopefully, we can continue to get bet-ter and better.”

Senior guard Kelly Loftus led the Majorswith 17 points. Senior guard Taylor Dun-ham and junior guard Chanel Shannon eachhad 14, and senior guard Tiffany Webster,junior forward Samantha Porter and fresh-man guard Erin Irving each had 10.

Shannon knocked down a trio of 3-point-ers.

“Chanel Shannon was incredible tonight,”

Coffer said. “She’s the X-factor for us. Whenshe has it going, this basketball team has awhole extra dimension that makes us thatmuch better.”

Mount Vernon built a 29-5 first-quarterlead by forcing 16 turnovers in the openingeight minutes. West Potomac struggledagainst the Majors’ full-court press anddidn’t reach double digits on the scoreboarduntil a free throw by Tayla Dawson madethe score 32-10 with 6:04 remaining in thesecond quarter. The Majors held a 50-14halftime advantage and led by as many as53 points in the second half, when a free

throw by junior forward Erica Irving madethe score 79-26.

Mount Vernon finished with 30 steals,including 10 by Loftus.

“It gives us confidence,” Loftus said of theteam’s pressure defense. “Turnover afterturnover, we get layups off of it.”

Irving grabbed 10 rebounds for MountVernon and Porter finished with six.

West Potomac sophomore forward MaddyZdebski scored a team-high 13 points andgrabbed seven rebounds. Senior forwardBlossom Pierre scored 11 points and seniorguard Asia Mills-Burch added eight.

Sawczuk returns for his second season ashead coach. Last year, he was the Wolver-ines’ third head coach in as many seasons.

Sawczuk is trying to institute “a lot moreaccountability and responsibility for [theplayers],” he said. “Until now, they’ve neverbeen held accountable because it’s been adifferent coach every year. So now it’s ac-countable for being on time, working everyday, showing up and doing what you’reasked to do — the basics. But also for us,it’s accelerating the pace of the game.”

Mount Vernon will travel to face Oaktonat 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 4. Oakton wasthe only team to defeat the Majors last sea-son, beating Mount Vernon twice.

West Potomac will face Falls Church in atournament at Stuart at 5:45 p.m. on Thurs-day, Nov. 29.

Mount Vernon Girls’ Basketball Smothers West Po in OpenerSix Majors scorein double figures.

Mount Vernon senior guard KellyLoftus scored a game-high 17points against West Potomac onNov. 27.

Mount Vernon junior guard ChanelShannon scored 14 points againstWest Potomac on Nov. 27.

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NancyDunning

The Best Mom In The World A Eulogy for Nancy Dunning written and read by her daughter, Liz

A lot of people, I think, have moments when they imagine that they have the best mom in the world. I was lucky enough, however, to be absolutely certain– for a long time – that I actually did. My mom was my best friend. We talked just about every day. And, anyone who knows her, knows a couple of thingsabout my mom, one of which was that she was more or less always right. When I was a teenager, that pissed me off sometimes. I mean, seriously, when you’resixteen and supposed to be going through that phase where you know everything, it puts a crimp in it to live with someone who actually does.

But, another thing that you must know if you met my mom was that she wasn’t smug about her omnipotence. Like any good superhero, my mom used herpowers for good, not evil. To make other people – not just herself – feel good and be better. She taught my brother and I how to do that, too. I hope we werepaying attention. I’m pretty sure we were.

My mom also taught me just about everything I know about optimism and joy. Those were things at which she excelled. It started, when my brother and Iwere kids, with crazy names for things. I bet that you thought that playground on Old Dominion was just the Beverly Hills Co-op. Nope. It was the SuperDeluxe Playground. And, back when the Mt. Vernon school playground was that log-thing which is probably now illegal in most states, a trip to the SuperDeluxe Playground was an adventure indeed. Every day was an adventure. Whether we were sneaking food into movies when I was younger, or she was sing-ing hilariously bad opera while she made breakfast, my mom made clear that every day had something good in it, something to be happy about. Even if it wasjust that they’d just started selling Christmas Blend at Starbucks. These small events and details weren’t small – they were big. They warranted a phone call.So did a great song on the radio. So did anything that made her smile. These were great calls to receive. Random, sometimes, but great. I mean, who doesn’twant to know that she busted the person next to her at the last traffic light picking their nose in the car? Who didn’t want to hear her joyful voice, her laugh?She loved to laugh and there isn’t a better feeling than making my mom laugh. Because, if you really got her going – and there are lots of ways to do this –she’d just get to that level where she’s crying because she’s laughing so hard. That’s when you know that you’ve really won. Bonus points are given if you dothat while one of you is driving.

Her gift with joy, with optimism, gave her part of her gift with people. She had, what I jokingly called, her secret decoder ring. That was our short-hand –and there is always short-hand – for her ability to listen, really listen, to people when they talk. And, more than that, to understand what they’re really sayingand, who they are and where they’re coming from. That’s why she wasn’t just people’s neighbor, or real estate agent, or neighborhood activist, or columnist,she was their friend. It didn’t take much to be my mom’s friend. She didn’t make you jump a lot of hoops. Or wear overalls and a baseball cap with the sameaplomb that she did. (And thank god, because really? Who can pull off overalls and a baseball cap like my Mom? Nobody.) She wanted to learn more aboutpeople and know more people. So she lit people up when she talked to them.

And, as a consequence, people mostly did what my Mom wanted them to do, or what she asked of them. Because her ideas were smart. They were filledwith the energy and the joy that she carried with her all the time. And they reflected an understanding and awareness of the thoughts and values of everyoneinvolved. So, if you did what she wanted you to do, you were also doing the right thing.

But, mostly, she wasn’t a superhero – complete with secret decoder ring – to me. She was my Mom. She was better at that than anything else. She told mybrother, and me, and my Dad that she loved us at the end of every phone conversation. That’s what our family does. And so, individually, knowing that the lastwords we said to each other were, “I love you,” helps.

There wasn’t a day of my life – and there won’t be one – when I wasn’t sure that my mom loved me, that she believed in me, that she was proud of me. Andwith or without a secret decoder ring, a cape, or a phone booth to change in, it truly takes a superhero to, in this crazy messed up world, love people so welland so much. So perfectly. It takes all that to be what I have – the best mom in the world.

On December 5, 2003, Nancy Dunning was murdered in her home in Alexandria, VA. Nancy’s family, friends and co-workers have not forgotten her and celebrate her life daily.We will not give up and believe that the person who murdered her will be caught and prosecuted.A $100,000 reward available for the individual who comes forth with information leading to the arrest and conviction of this murderer. If you have any information, we urge you to please call the Alexandria Criminal Investigations Section at 703-838-4711 or e-mail them at http://alexandriava.gov/dunning.

Nancy Dunning was my friend. Thirty years ago, she envisioned Del Ray as a community full of active citizens, thrivingbusinesses and excellent schools. Not only did she work tirelessly over the years to help create this community, but sheinspired many of us to join in her effort. For those of you who did not know Nancy, read this beautiful tribute written byher daughter, Elizabeth. For those of you who did, join me in remembering her contribution to Del Ray and Alexandria.

—Jack Taylor, Alexandria Toyota

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