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Great Falls Connection ❖ Children’s Connection ❖ 2009 - 2010 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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Great Falls

December 29, 2009 - January 5, 2010 ❖ Volume XXIII, Number 52

Great Falls

Lydia Chiu1st GradeForestville Elementary

2 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ Children’s Connection ❖ 2009 - 2010 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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Dear Readers:This week, the Great Falls Connection

turns over its pages to the youth and stu-dents.

We asked principals and teachers fromarea schools to encourage students to con-tribute their words, pictures and photos forour annual Children’s Issue.

The response as always was enormous.While we were unable to publish every piecewe received, we did our best to put togethera paper with a fair sampling of the submit-ted stories, poems, drawings, paintings,photographs and other works of art.

We appreciate the extra effort made byschool staff to gather the materials duringtheir busy time leading up to the holidays.We’d also like to encourage both schools andparents to mark their 2010 calendars forearly December, the deadline for submis-sions for next year’s Children’s Connection.

Please keep us in mind as your childrencontinue to create spectacular works of artand inspiring pieces of writing in the com-ing year.

The children’s issue is only a part of ouryear-round commitment to cover educationand our local schools. As always, the Con-nection welcomes letters to the editor, storyideas, calendar listings and notices of localevents from our readers. Photos and othersubmissions about special events at schoolsare especially welcome for our weeklyschools pages.

Our preferred method for material is e-mail, which should be sent [email protected], butyou can reach us by mail at 1606 KingStreet, Alexandria, VA 22314 or call 703-778-9414 with any questions.

Editor Kemal Kurspahic

Children’s Connection 2009

Welcome

Sarah Khatib, 6th Grade, Forestville Elementary

Mandy Smith, 3rd Grade, Colvin Run Elementary

‘Elmer theElephant,’ byMax Rock,Kindergarten,Great FallsElementary

‘Giraffes,’ by Annie, Village Green Day School, Great Falls

MadisonBrandt, 4th

Grade,ForestvilleElementary


This month, the children atthe Learning Fun School inGreat Falls, were doing aunit on International

Festivals and holidays, and they werequick to point out how lights are usedin some form or another everywhere.So they decided to make a collectiveart effort for this project. They havesubmitted two versions of their work -

Celebrating HolidaysWorldwide

one in the evening and the other indaytime representing thew holidays,including Christmas, Hanukkah,Kwanzaa, Ramadan or Id, Deepawali,St. Lucia Day, New Year’s, Chinese NewYear. The students’ names: Ishan G,Yaajushi V, Ruby H, Lily S, Zoe M,Shreya J, Ryan S, Luke B, Dillon C,Jack W, Harry R, Adrian S, Adam C,Sovan P, Kate S, and Amy T.

Village Green Day School

Katelyn,Butterfly

Zach,Panda Bear

Aiden,Leapfrog


Lindsey Bertin,3rd Grade

Colvin Run

Elementary

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By Emily Templin

Cooper Middle School, 8th

Grade

Kids of this new “technol

ogy generation” areleaving their parents inthe dust. They seem as

though they come right out at birthclutching a TV remote. Five-year-olds can work a DVD player betterthan their 30 year-old moms, andteens can text more words perminute than they can talk. Kidsspend more of their time in frontof screens than ever before, and Idon’t think it’s all good.

Sure, technology can definitelybe helpful at times, but using itevery second of every day andthinking you can use it to fix ev-ery little problem isn’t going tohelp anyone. On average, kids andteens spend four or more hours perday in front of the TV and at leasttwo more hours on the computeror playing video games. I thinkthat is insane and kids really needto run around outside and just bekids. People only need to watchone show per day, if anything.

And now, with websites likeFacebook and Myspace where kidscan chat and post pictures,cyberbullying has become a prob-lem. Kids are being threatened ormade fun of by other kids via chatroom or email. Sometimes, adultspose as kids and when they meettheir victim in person, they harmor kidnap them. Cyberbullyingand the issues it causes are defi-nitely problems that have onlybeen seen in this generation.

Let’s not put aside the fact thatwhile these kids are sitting arounddoing nothing, they are eating.Eating and eating and eating. Oneout of every three American chil-dren are obese or at risk of becom-ing obese. So not only are we sit-ting around all the time, but weare eating all day too. And whenyou don’t go outside or do any-thing active, I don’t think that’sreally going to help you.

Kids of this generation are learn-ing to rely on technology for everylittle aspect of their lives. Whentheir computer crashes, how willthey do their homework if theycan’t use spell-check? And whenwas the last time you saw anyonewrite in cursive? Basic skills likewriting, spelling, and using correctgrammar are being lost because noone takes the time to stop and justreread what they wrote. Whenthings aren’t fixed for them in asecond, kids are lost and confused.Kids of the “technology genera-tion” are our future. Do we reallywant them so helpless?

Txt u L8ter!What’s wrongwith the “TechGeneration?”


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See Lesson, Page 18

By Rosie Brock


Grade

Sometimes the contrast between my old life and mynew life seems so foreign,

almost like a distant dream- fad-ing from my memory before iteven has time to completely reg-ister. My whole childhood was asheltered one, hidden away fromall the garbage that makes the“real world” such a harsh reality.

Growing up under the hot Floridasun, I spent my time swimmingand playing make-believe with myfriends. My small private schoolwas almost like a slightly dysfunc-tional but still loving family, close-knit and familiar since birth. Ofcourse my life wasn’t perfect, butsomehow throughout my entireearly childhood I maintained acomplete innocence.

However, all this changed whenI was 13, a sixth grader who washalf finished with her first year of

middle school. It all started whenI read a letter (which was sup-posed to remain secret) and foundsome startling news. At the endof the school year, my family andI would be moving away from ev-erything I knew and loved, toNorthern Virginia.

The summer was an array ofmoving vans and goodbyes. Oncein Virginia, the rest of the breaksped by like a blur. Finally it wasthe first day of school, basically themost nerve-wracking day of my

life. My stomach was filled withbutterflies and my palms weresweaty, a mixture of fear and ex-citement ran through me. The firstmonth was hard, I’m not going tolie - I’d gone from about twentykids in a grade to two-hundredteenagers. Having been so inno-cent my whole life, the reality ofthis new situation was rathershocking at times. The language,“bad kids,” and just being new tothe area threw me off balance. Athome everyone was under pres-

sure, looking for jobs, and dealinganxiety, thinking that maybe thismove wasn’t for the best.

As my first year of living in Vir-ginia drew to a close, I felt slightlychanged as a person. That little girlfrom Florida just wasn’t here any-more, someone else… older andless naïve, had taken her place.The year had taught me so much,about how family sticks together,friendships, and something even

The Most Valuable Lesson: ‘Let It Be’


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See Letters, Page 16

Dear Santa,For Christmas I would like a

Moxie girl and the Moxie girl colorkit. If that is a scarcity then pleaseget me my opportunity cost:American girl doll (Julie). I wouldalso like a calendar, but that is al-most never a scarcity. If you don’tget me it, my mom or dad will. Iknow that this is not going to hap-pen, but my real economic choiceis a lap top (I won’t get my hopesup). Have fun in the North Pole!Merry Christmas! Love,

— Megan

Dear St. Nick,I am asking for Kaya and Her

Dog (An American Girl doll) dollset. If you have a scarcity of those,my opportunity cost would be amake up box. I think I should getthese things because I have beenpicking up litter, making stuff outof natural resources, and I havebeen trying to play with mybrother nicely. I would be mostpleased if you got me that, but I’msure whatever you are going to getme will be fine. I understand thatyou almost have to go all the wayaround the world, so I’m just say-ing thank you for all that you dofor the US kids. Your Friend,

— Mackenzie

Dear Santa,How are you doing, because I’m

doing great! I would like an elec-tric scooter, but if that is too muchfor you, I would like a new base-ball glove and a new bat. If youcan’t get those, that would be myopportunity cost because I knowthat some of those are a scarcity. Iwill have interdependence withmy family for the whole year. Ihope that those are good economicchoices. I would also like any kindof chapter book. Thank you! YourFriend,

— RileyPS: Have a good Christmas!

Dear Santa,How are you doing in the North

Pole? I hope your reindeer andelves are feeling and doing well.If you can respond back, will youplease tell me if you and your re-indeer would like something toeat? My economic choice this yearis a cat. If there is a scarcity ofcats, my opportunity cost wouldbe the charcoal, orange, and sil-ver Mercurial soccer shoes. In mystocking, would you please put$500 and a bad dream catcher.Thank you for everything that youget me. Your Friend,

— Adrien

Dear Santa,How are you doing at the North

Pole? I hope you and your elvesare well. I also hope you will havea good Christmas making presentsfor everybody. I hope you think Ihave been a good boy because Ihave tried to be nice to my mumand dad. My economic choice forChristmas is an Ipod touch, but ifthere is a scarcity of Ipod touches,please could you bring me a paint-ing set? My opportunity cost is abig pool table. Do you want milkor whiskey to drink? I will leave acarrot out for Rudolph the rednosed reindeer, and thanks for thepresents last year. Your Friend,

— Callum

Dear Santa,How are you? I hope your are

fine. I also hope Rudolph is finetoo. Do you like chocolate chip oroatmeal raisin cookies? If youdon’t like either, what kind do youlike? I like the Wii Fit you gaveme last year! My brother and Istill play it all the time. This year,for Christmas my economic choiceis an Xbox 360. If there is a scar-city of them, my opportunity costis a Michael Jordan jersey. Have agreat Christmas. Your Friend,

— Ethan

Letters to Santa Claus From Patrick Mills’ 3rd grade class atForestville Elementary


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Hilary Sanborn’s 2nd grade class atForestville Elementary answered the ques-tion:

If you could give your parents any giftthat didn’t cost money what would that giftbe?

Here are some of their responses:

Lauren Wallace - “I wouldn’t argue withmy brother for a century! I would do thatbecause when we argue, it drives my mombananas!”

Hannah Freund - “I would learn how toknit a hat + scarf. And I would write acard. I would make a beautiful breakfastfor my mom and dad.”

Isabel George - “I would make a hugecard that has lots of hearts and puppies anda picture of my mom and me. I would callmy dad and tell him to saw some wood andcarve it into a box that can open. I’ll paintit and make breakfast in bed.

Ella Rey Nash - “I would make my moma homemade box with green on it becausethat’s her favorite color. And in the boxwould be a cookbook of some recipes sheloves. When she opens it up, it will say Ilove you mommy.”

Patrick Ffrench - “I would do extrachores like cleaning the house. Make mymom and dad all their meal’s for onemonth. Make their bed every day of themonth. Not hurt my brother so he won’tget upset! Make my mom a paper airplaneset. Do a lot of extra Math, Social Studiesand Geography in the summer. Tell mymom nice things every day. Read an houra day to help me learn more and send myparents love notes.” Mary, Honey BEE, Village Green Day School

Forestville Elementary

Gifts of Love

10 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ Children’s Connection ❖ 2009 - 2010 Great Falls Connection ❖ Children’s Connection ❖ 2009 - 2010 ❖ 11www.ConnectionNewspapers.com www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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Forestville Elementary Gallery

Morvarid Sizdahkhani,5th Grade

Michael Suh, 1st Grade

Samina Mondal, 3rd Grade

Lydia Conner, 1st Grade

Photo by Gabrielle Pijaca

Sara Monian and Katherine Gallo work on their bill project during Civicsclass. This is one of Cooper Middle School’s 8th graders biggest projectof the year.

Soren Mohayheyh andHayley Murnan demon-strate teamwork in artclass and how ‘amazingthings can be madewhen you try hard.’

Photo by Matt Anderson

John Etherton, Garret Snare, Jordan Jopez, Luke Kohli, Andrew Wong,Palavi Prayaga, Tory Robinson, Nicole Ravas work on their English in theCooper Library, which is a central part of students’ learning at Cooper.

Photo by Kyle Kirkpatrick

Clay Olsen completes his Spanish and science home-work in QST.

Photo by Amirah Ahmad

Steven Hintz and Senorita Della Gatta work togetherto answer Steven’s question. Cooper Middle Schoolstudents and teachers work together to overcomeproblems with wise solutions on a daily basis.

Photo by Mary Long

Amanda Lund, an eight grader at Cooper MiddleSchool, begins writing a message on the chalkboard inMrs. Baber’s drama class. Although the chalkboard’sreally meant for writing down homework, Cooperstudents love to write on the board just for fun andleave goofy notes to their friends.

Cooper Lifein Pictures

Cooper Middle School

Photo by

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By Cici Sobin


Grade

Where will I be, say, 10 years fromnow? That’s a question everymember of today’s youth seems

to ask. I have always gone from dream todream: I’ve wanted to be an Astronaut, Ani-mal Cop, and at the moment, a Bariatric Sur-geon, or Photo Journalist. Just 10 years fromnow I will be 23 and just graduated from col-lege. The economy, hopefully, will have im-proved and finding an internship will not beas challenging as it seems to be today.

For me I want to be able to help the world. A Bariatric Surgeon helps those who areexcessively overweight to slim down. Iknow of several people whose lives havebeen dramatically improved when theyhave gotten surgery to reduce their weight.Obesity is an extreme problem in the U.S.,especially today. I want people to be ableto help people get their lives back on track,and do the things that we all take forgranted. Like spending time with your kidsin the backyard, walking man’s best friend,and being out in public without everyoneautomatically judging you. This surgery canincrease your life span and decrease yourchances of obesity-caused illnesses.

If my dream of being a Bariatric Surgeonis unrealistic, which some say it is, or even

if it changes, I havebackup. For the pasttwo years I have been amember of Ms. Farrell’sjournalism class at Coo-per Middle School. Ihope to continue my in-terest of Photo Journal-ism throughout highschool and build on themany skills I have al-ready gained. Workingfor National Geo-graphic, or like my goodfriend’s mother, CristinaMittermeier, workingwith Conservation Inter-national, would be adream come true. I lovebeing with animals andbeing surrounded bynature. Photography isone of my favorite hob-bies. So being able totake pictures of the things I love would bea blast. I know there is a lot of hard work,and if I want rare pictures, a long, long,wait.

I am sure that whatever I am doing I willlove it. I am getting a fantastic educationat Cooper Middle School, and cannot waitfor next year, wherever I may be. I am de-termined to continue journalism and tohave a great high school experience withit. In addition, I do and always will love

By Gabrielle Pijaca


Grade

The best gift I have ever beengiven? Well, I could say a lot ofthings, trampoline, IPod,laptop, but what about the

things that can actually make you feel bet-ter when you’re down? The best gift I haveever received was when I got my kittens. Iwas given them for my birthday the yearafter my dog had passed away from a tu-mor and old age. He was my best friend atmy house and definitely one I will neverforget. I had decided that for my family,another animal would be good for us. It tookme about six months to finally get my par-ents to agree that an animal would be good.So, I was looking at dogs, but my parentshad said that kittens would be a betterchoice for the lifestyle of our family.

Within the next couple of days I had foundthe purr-fect kittens. They were brother andsister Domestic Long hairs. One, the brother,was a light gray with some barely notice-able white stripes, while the sister was asolid dark gray with white on her stomachgoing up her neck and a small bit on herface. I knew, the moment I saw them, theywere the ones. After we had filled out anapplication and after several long interviewson the phone, we were allowed to pick themup. When we got to the foster moms home,my brother was very excited to see them,

Maxime Von Blumencron, 6th Grade, Forestville Elementary School

GiftsForever

for this was his first time to meet them.While my parents were filling out the finalpaperwork, my brother and I went to seethe kittens. I may have never seen mybrother so happy for such a long time. Hesaw our new kittens and their other brotherand sister who were getting adopted byanother family.

On the car ride home, my brother said totake them out of the cage so we could meetthem. I may have never seen such relaxedkittens. They loved to be held, but wereawfully tired from when we had played withthem before. Miles fell asleep in my broth-ers arms, and Little Bear fell asleep in mine.

The moment this happened my brother andI knew what our favorite cat would be. Tothis day, our favorite kittens still sleep withus. My favorite, Bear, even knows mynightly schedule. She knows when I am inthe shower, so when I open up the door,she is sitting right there. Then, I start towalk down the hall and she runs after meand jumps on my bed.

My cats bring me so much happiness; Idon’t know what I would do at home if itwas not for my cats. They have made a hugeimpact on my family, and can make yourday brighter just by doing what they do best,nothing.

Ten years from now.

Madi Schuman,Longfellow Middle School, 7th grade

science, whether it is biology, or chemistry.Learning is something I enjoy and I knowthat in 10 years, when I am looking for ajob, when life is serious, all that I’ve learnedwill pay off. I owe a lot to my mother whopushes me to succeed, and to my olderbrothers who not only tell me how muchmy mother’s advice will pay off, but sharetheir knowledge of the world with me. In10 years, no matter what, I will be happy,and prepared for whatever comes next.

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In the pantheon of things (subjects) withwhich I have absolutely no knowledge (andeven less interest) are cars and more specifi-cally – and especially, their repairs. Thehead of a pin would likely provide sufficientspace for that knowledge. So when some-thing as routinely simple as an “Oil” lightilluminates on my car’s dashboard, myimmediate reaction/assessment is “Oh…!Now what do I do?” What little I do knowto do, reactive though it may be (asopposed to proactive as it should be), is toconsult the owner’s manual provided by thedealer/manufacturer. However, since thereare 352 pages in that manual, I’m notinstinctively able (even though oil beginswith the letter “o”) to seek and find theanswer to my question. That questionbeing, as simply as my limited knowledgecan determine is, “What kind of oil do I putin my car’s engine?”

Knowing what information I wantedthough, did not assist me in finding it as Iflipped through the hundreds of color-coded and headline/categorized pages/sections, so I went to the back of the man-ual, the glossary of terms if you will, to see ifthe very specification information for whichI was looking was somehow identified. Sureenough, it was. Oh boy, was it!

The terms are listed alphabetically so Iscanned/flipped the pages until I found thegrouping for the letter “O.” And there, tomy nearly uncontrollable joy, I found theexact answer I was looking for. And found itin such Kenny-level English that I thought itworth mentioning and focusing on as fodderfor this week’s column. Reading the listingsunder “Oil,” from top to bottom I read, “OilChanging;” “Identification Symbol;” andthen the pièce de résistance and the choiceI could not actually resist – or believe myeyes – which enabled me to find the answerto my oil question, was printed the follow-ing: “What kind of oil do I put in myengine?” Can you believe that? A manualwritten just for me, and a category/answerto my question that was so perfectly suitedto its owner’s minuscule level – and totallack – of knowledge, that it prevented evena “Bozo” like me from clowning-up thismuch-needed repair/replenishment. Youcan’t imagine (although maybe you can) thesheer joy and relief I experienced, whenafter stressing-up the usual anxiety broughton by these kinds of car-related conun-drums (the appearance of an “idiot” light;aptly named), and then holding this volumi-nous owner’s manual in my hands as wellwith a simple answer apparently not in theoffing, that I was able to, in relatively shortorder, find the answer and find it so obvi-ously stated that, my usual mental anguishconcerning this mechanical mishmash wascompletely eliminated.

When I saw in the owner’s manual thatthe section/page that I needed to get to wasin fact the exact question to which I wasdesperately seeking a simple – and quick –answer, I busted out laughing and said,“Finally, a manual that I can understand.”

Simple pleasures for a simple person.Now that’s what I’m talking about!

Kenny Lourie is an Advertising Representative forThe Almanac & The Connection Newspapers.

Oil’s WellThat ReadsWellBy KENNETH B. LOURIE

E-mail: [email protected]


Zone 6 Ad Deadline:

Monday Noon

703-917-6400

Zone 6: • Arlington • Great Falls

• McLean • Vienna/OaktonClassifiedClassified

OBITUARYChristal Ann Sudduth, 77, of Oceanside, CA passed away on November 25, 2009. Mrs. Sudduth was born on July 1, 1932 in Los Angeles, CA. She earned a Bachelor's degree from UCLA in 1954 and later taught pre-school for many years. Christal married then-Lt. JG Roger Sudduth on June 5, 1954. They travelled the world together, both in the Navy and as civilians, with Roger retiring as a Captain in 1977.

She is survived by her loving husband of 55 years, Roger of Oceanside, CA; daughter, Lesley Barnard of San Diego, CA; son, Lawrence Sudduth of Arlington, VA; sister, Joy Denman of Washington D.C.; grandchildren, Devin Elliott of Ft. Myers, FL, Allyssa Sudduth and Robert Sudduth both of Marlborough, CT. She was preceded in death by a son, Darryl Sudduth, in 2001.

A Memorial Mass was celebrated at 5:00pm, on Saturday, De-cember 5, 2009 at Saint John Vianney Catholic Church on Bal-boa Island, CA. The Committal will be held on Tuesday, April 13 at 11:00am at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA. Arrangements are by Poway-Bernardo Mortuary.

21 Announcements 21 Announcements 21 Announcements 21 Announcements

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ABC LICENSEAssaggi Osteria,LLC trading as Assaggi Osteria, 6641 Old Dominion Drive, Mclean, VA 22101. The above establish-ment is applying to the VIR-GINIA DEPARTMENT OF AL-COHOLIC BEVERAGE CON-TROL for a Wine and Beer On and Off Premises license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Domenico Cornac-chia, Managing Member

ABC LICENSECottage Ethiopian Restaurant, LLC trading as Cottage Ethio-pian Restaurant, 3111 Colum-bia Pike, Arlington, VA 22204. The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DE-PARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL for a mixed beverage on premises, Wine and beer on and off premises license to sell or manufacture alcoholic bever-ages. Beemnet Dada, Partner

26 Antiques

We consign/pay top $ for antique/semi antique furn.

including mid century & danish modern Teak

furniture, sterling, mens watches, painting/art glass,

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E-mail: [email protected]

The biggestthings arealways the

easiest to dobecause there isno competition.

-William Van Horne

Nothing is too small to know, andnothing too big to attempt.

-William Van Horne

Nick Leto, 3rd Grade, Forestville Elementary

Photos by Erin Cole

Colvin Run ES First Graders Meet SeniorsAs part of Colvin Run Elementary Schools commitment to shaping itsstudents character, each grade level embarks on a Service LearningProject annually. In November 2009, Colvin Run Elementary School firstgraders took a trip to Tysons Towers retirement community to shareThanksgiving songs and poems with seniors. Over 50 students partici-pated in the service learning project and 25 seniors attended the event.After the songs were over the seniors and first graders shared dessertsand stories.


MUSIC MASTERSWhere You’ll Love To Play

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To add your Realtor represented Open Houseto these weekly listings, please call 703-821-5050

OPEN HOUSE LISTINGSWill Return after the Holidays

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Assembly of GodVienna Assembly of God ... 703-938-7736

Washington Christian Church...703-938-7720Cristo Es Mi Refugio...703-938-7727

Baha’iBaha’i Faith for Northern Virginia ... 703-821-3345

BaptistGlobal Mission Church ... 703-757-0877Peace Baptist Church ... 703-560-8462

Bethel Primitive Baptist Church ... 703-757-8134

Cartersville Baptist Church ... 703-255-7075Fellowship Baptist Church ... 703-385-8516

First Baptist Church ... 703-938-8525The Light Mission Church ... 703-757-0877

Vienna Baptist Church ... 703-281-4400New Union Baptist Church... 703-281-2556

BuddhistVajrayogini Buddhist Center... 202-331-2122

Church of the BrethernOakton Church of the Brethern ... 703-281-4411

CatholicLight Mission Church ... 703-757-0877

Our Lady of Good Counsel ... 703-938-2828St. Athanasius Catholic Church ... 703-759-4555

St. Mark’s Catholic Church ... 703-281-9100

CharismaticChristian Assembly ... 703-698-9777

Church of ChristBerea Church of Christ ... 703-893-7040

Disciples of ChristAntioch Christian Church ... 703-938-6753

EpiscopalChurch of the Holy Comforter ... 703-938-6521

Church of the Holy Cross ... 703-698-6991St. Francis Episcopal ... 703-759-2082

Jehovah’s WitnessJehovah’s Witnesses ... 703-759-1579

LutheranEmmanuel Lutheran Church...703-938-2119

St. Athanasius Lutheran Church... 703-455-4003

MethodistAndrew Chapel United Methodist ... 703-759-3509

Church of the Good Shepherd ... 703-281-3987Dunn Loring United Methodist ... 703-573-5386Ephiphany United Methodist ... 703-938-3494Great Falls United Methodist... 703-759-3705

Oakton United Methodist ... 703-938-1233

Visit These Houses of WorshipJoin A Club, Make New Friends, or Expand Your Horizons...

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF VIENNA

450 ORCHARD STREETVIENNA, VA

[email protected]

www.fbcv.org

Dr. KENNY SMITH,PASTOR

SUNDAY WORSHIP, 7:45 AM & 11:00 AMMIDWEEK SERVICES, WED. 7:00 PM

To Highlight YourFaith Community

call Karen at:(703) 917-6468

11321 Beach Mill RoadGreat Falls, VA 20165

It’s like coming home

Rev. D. J. Zuchelli, Pastor

[email protected]

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SUMMER WORSHIPSUNDAY: 10:00 AM

Vale United Methodist ... 703-620-2594Smith Chapel United Methodist ... 571-434-9680

Wesley United Methodist ... 703-938-8700

Non-DenominationalChristian Assembly Church ... 703-698-9777

PresbyterianGrace Orthodox Presbyterian Church ... 703-560-6336

Korean Central Presbyterian ... 703-698-5577Vienna Presbyterian ... 703-938-9050

QuakerLangley Hills Friends...703-442-8394

Seventh-Day AdventistNorthern Virginia Christian Fellowship ... 703-242-9001

Vienna Seventh Day Adventists ... 703-938-8383

Unitarian UniversalistCongregation of Fairfax ... 703-281-4230

UnityUnity of Fairfax ... 703-281-1767

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From Page 8

Dear Santa,I am very excited for you to

come. For Christmas, my eco-nomic choice is two capital re-sources: gel pens and my oppor-tunity cost is three black hair clips.Is the Christmas angel comingalong? If she is, I will be so ex-cited! So how are the reindeeranyway? How are you, and howis Mrs. Claus? You provide a goodservice. I hope you have a verymerry Christmas. Sincerely,

— LondonPS: Can you get Beckett (my

dog) something this year? Thankyou!

Dear Santa,How are you doing today? I

hope Rudolph feels good forChristmas. I’ve been very goodthis year. I’ve done things likehelping with my baby brothers andcleaning up my room. I’ve beengetting O’s on my work lately. Igave you rice crispies last year, doyou want them again this year?Can I have an automatic blasterNerf gun, a Sorry board game, andan orange Nerf football? Whatresources do you use for makingthese goods? If there is a scarcityof footballs, I’ll just have the Nerfgun. Thank you for giving me thepresents last year. I still play withthem. Love,

— Jaylen

Dear Santa,How are you? I hope you are

doing good. I have been good thisyear. My economic decision forthis year is a book called FallingUp. My opportunity cost is a bookcalled A Light in the Attic. I wouldlike to ask if you would likeoatmeal cookies or chocolate chipcookies? I would like those booksbecause I am interested in poetryand I love poetry and reading!Your Friend,

— OksanaPS: If there is a scarcity, please

just leave anything under the tree.PPS (post post scriptum): You

and your reindeer make a greatteam.

Dear Santa,How are you? Is it going well at

the work shop? For Christmas, Iwould like an American girl dollnamed Ivy, but if there is a scar-city, my opportunity cost is abubble gum machine. I hope theservices will be starting soon be-cause those goods are two of mywants. Also, thank you for gettingmy dog something every year.Would you like chocolate chipcookies with milk again this year?Santa, I think I have been good thisyear. Good luck this year with thetoys! Sincerely,

— Caroline

Letters to Santa


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SAVANNAH FOR ST. PATRICK’S DAY MARCH 14–18..............................................$949Includes Motorcoach from Vienna or Rockville, 4-Nights Hotel in Historic District, DailyBreakfast, 1 Lunch, 3 Dinners, Reserved Seating on Parade Route, City Tour, Tybee Tour,Parties and Fun!

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By Alex Cochran


Grade

The greatest gift that I have ever receivedwas when many of my friends gave donations to I-Care I-Cure for my barmitzvah. I-Care I-Cure is a charitable

foundation that is very close to my heart because itis in honor of my friend Ian, who passed away a fewyears ago from cancer. His mother created the foun-dation I-Care I-Cure in hopes of raising money sochildren can receive less painful treatment for can-cer. I thought of the idea when many of my peerswere using their bar/bat-mitzvahs to raise moneyfor their favorite charities. This gift was the greatestgift I have ever received because it made feel like Iwas helping others, which overwhelmed me withhappiness.

The donations totaled up to be around five-thou-sand dollars; enough to sponsor their next fund rais-ing event. The best part of this though was whenIan’s mother called up to thank me and my twin sis-ter, Ali, for raising all of the money.

When I first heard the idea of donating my moneyinstead of keeping it I hardly even considered theidea. I thought that since I had my bar mitzvah, thepresents should be for me. I eventually came aroundthough and looked at the positives of donating themoney. Some of them were; I don’t need the money,it would make me feel good, and most importantly

The Greatest Gift IHave Ever Received

it would help others in need.Although I may have left my bar mitzvah day with

less boxes or checks, I left with a great pride insideof doing the right thing. It may not have been theeasiest choice or the most fun but it was definitelythe most rewarding present I have ever received,which makes it my favorite.

Kimberly Ross, Longfellow Middle School,7th grade

Children’s Connection


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Before

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Lesson onBalancing SchoolWork, Social Life

Alex Rock, Kindergarten, Great Falls Elementary School

more important. I realized thatas I had been trying to live my life,I was actually trying to control ev-ery single aspect of it. Everythinghad to be perfect or I couldn’t dealwith it. I had to look perfect, getperfect grades, and overall, nevermess up. I was so afraid of lookingstupid that I guarded myself frompeople. Since being shy is alreadyone of personality traits, I can’t af-ford to be extremely guarded.

Over the summer I started to getfrustrated with myself, tired of try-ing to fit in with the crowd andalways get everything right. Themore pressure I put on myself, themore miserable I became. Don’tget me wrong - I had a relativelyfun summer, but in the back of mymind there was always that littlevoice putting me down.

Eight grade began, and I couldfeel the pressure building each day.Balancing schoolwork and my so-cial life was a challenge. If I feltugly or just depressed, I skippedschool. This whole pattern wasbeginning to run my life, andfrankly I started to become myown worst enemy. One morning Iwoke up, looked in the mirror and

From Page 7

decided that I was through withliving my life like this. Everythingjust suddenly seemed so muchsimpler; I realized that everyone -from supermodels to civilians,have flaws. Once I learned to ac-cept myself for who I am, otherproblems didn’t seem like such a

big deal. It sounds somewhatcliché, but the most valuable les-son I’ve learned so far is to “Let itbe.” You just have to let the littlethings go, relax, and move on. Nolonger is that critical voice in myhead running my life, instead Icontrol my destiny.


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great fallsconnectionarchives.com/pdf/2009/123009/gfch2009.pdf · 4 great falls connection...

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