News & Notes

PAGE 10 |MARCH 18 – 24, 2021

LOCAL News-Press

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Community News & Notes

Application for F.C. Youth Reps Now Live

Citizens for a Better City

(CBC) has launched the application process for Year “8” of Falls Church City Youth Representatives on City Boards, Commissions and Civic Groups. The Youth Representatives Initiative was started by CBC in 2014 in an effort to involve the City’s youth in local government, support our Boards & Commissions and promote civic leadership development.

Applications are now available online at fallschurchcbc.net and youthrepsinitiative.net or they can be picked up at the City high school’s Guidance Department. Any high school-aged student interested in serving on a City Board or Commission or on a participating Civic Group Board may apply. The deadline for application submissions to CBC is April 12. Interviews will be scheduled for April 22 – 25.

Fifty Falls Church City High School students are currently serving on these City Boards, Commissions, and Civic Groups:

ELLA DAVID is the Military Child of the Year for the Marine Corps. Read more about David in the item on page 11. (Photo: Courtesy

Operation Homefront)

The Architectural Advisory Board, The Arts & Humanities Council, The Advisory Committee for Recreation & Parks, The Electoral Board, The Falls Church Chamber of Commerce, The Falls Church Homeless Shelter, The Housing Commission, The Human Services Advisory Committee, The Historical Commission, The League of Women Voters, The Library Board of Trustees, The Urban Forestry Commission, The Citizens Advisory Council on Transportation, The Environmental Sustainability Council, The Economic Development Authority, The Falls Church Education Foundation, The Village Preservation & Improvement Society, The Falls Church Democratic Committee, Creative Cauldron, The Tinner Hill Social Justice Committee, The Lions Club, and The Falls Church Women’s History Group.

CBC reported the program is growing in popularity as more students apply every year — especially younger siblings of those currently serving.

F.C. Women Talk Immigration Policy Changes in Community

The Falls Church League of Women Voters invites the public to attend a virtual program on recent changes to immigration policy. Our guest speaker will be Archi Pyati, Chief of Policy with the Tahirih Justice Center, a national organization headquartered in Falls Church that provides direct legal services, policy advocacy, and training and education to immigrants fleeing gender-based violence. The program will address recent changes to immigration policy, including executive actions and bills before Congress. Archi Pyati will also discuss impacts for Virginia and Falls Church, as well as local efforts to welcome immigrants to our community. The program will take place on Saturday, March 20 at 4 p.m., via Zoom. The Zoom link is posted on the website of the Falls Church League of Women Voters at my.lwv.org/virginia/falls-church. For additional information, please email Barbara Lipsky, blipsky@ cox.net.

FOR THE PAST THREE WEEKS, Langley’s students, parents, and faculty/staff have participated in the “Give S.O.M.E. Love” food drive benefiting So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E.), a Washington, DC-based service organization that supports those experiencing homelessness and poverty. Together, the Langley community raised more than $5,000 and collected more than 2,000 non-perishable food

items to donate to S.O.M.E. (Photo: Courtesy Sharon Vipperman/The Langley School)

Send Us Your News & Notes! The News-Press is always on the lookout for photos & items for Community News & Notes, School News & Notes and other sections of the paper. If you graduate, get married, get engaged, get an award, start a club, eat a club, tie your shoes, have a birthday, have a party, host an event or anything else you think is worth being mentioned in the News-Press, write it up and send it to us! If you have a photo, even better! Because of the amount of submissions we receive, we cannot guarantee all submissions will be published, but we’ll try our best! Community News & Notes: newsandnotes@fcnp.com | School News & Notes: schoolnews@fcnp.com Mail: News & Notes, Falls Church News-Press, 105 N. Virginia Ave #310, Falls Church, VA 22046

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

LOCAL

MARCH 18 – 24, 2021 | PAGE 11

THE ADAPTATIONS MUST GO ON! All City of Falls Church students are figuring out how to navigate the hybrid schedule, and that goes especially for theatre students who will be doing a stage reading of a piece adapted for Romeo and Juliet. Half the students are rehearsing in person, and

the other half are virtual. (Photo: Courtesy FCCPS Photo/Steve Knight)

F.C. Teen Wins Child of The Year for Marine Corps

Falls Church resident Eleanor “Ella” David is the 2021 Military Child of the Year for the Marine Corps. She’s a senior at McLean High School and is an aspiring professional musician.

She is the daughter of Medha and Col. George David, commanding officer of the Marine Corps Cyberspace Warfare Group based at Fort Meade, Maryland.

David has performed as principal violinist and violist in her schools’ orchestras and in community groups.

While her arm was in a cast due to a broken wrist, David documented the progress of her fellow student musicians, then used her violin as physical therapy to regain range of motion. She began playing viola in eighth grade at the suggestion of a quartet coach, who became her private instructor.

Music has provided David an avenue for connecting with other students when her family has moved with the military.

Her family have lived in Japan, Spain and the United Arab Emirates, having relocated seven times in her life. David’s father has deployed for a total of 50 months since she’s been born.

In addition to music activities, David excels in academics and on the soccer field.

She combined her interests in music and science for a study of the mechanics of sound production in string instruments, a winning project in the 2020 Fairfax County Science Fair. She has achieved top scores on all nine AP tests taken and earned the distinction of National AP Scholar for 2020.

David serves as a chemistry and math tutor at her high school and helped develop virtual tutoring sessions in chemistry and calculus to adapt to online learning in response to Covid-19. Outside of school, she enjoys scuba diving, sailing, and watercolor painting.

Living overseas inspired an interest in languages and cultures. She has studied Spanish and Arabic and is learning Latin and Brazilian Portuguese.

David plans to study chemical engineering and viola performance in college.

Justice High Student Chosen as IT Award Winner in VA

Yabesra Ewnetu of Justice High School (3301 Peace Valley Lane, Falls Church) was selected as one of three 2021 National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) Virginia affiliate winners for participating in computer-related extracurricular activities; leadership through teams, clubs, and teaching peers; and advancing their own computing experience and technical skills. Ewnetu is part of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) Impressionists group, an afterschool mentoring program that works with middle and high school minority girls interested in participating in career-related STEM activities.

Through that organization, they have had the opportunity to facilitate their own STEM seminars. HackSIP, a hackathon financed with an NCWIT grant, teaches girls from around the country how to code using a microbit.

This summer, after securing a second NCWIT grant, the students will be hosting HackSIP2, a weeklong summer STEM camp for girls.

Statewide Clean Up Effort Is Active Until March 31

Keep Virginia Beautiful

(KVB), a Richmond-based nonprofit organization dedicated to cleaning up litter and beautifying the state, is seeing numbers rise as more people sign up for its Shiver in Virginia initiative.

This year’s initiative is designed to be Covid-safe and give people more choice in how they contribute to the beautification of their communities. Registration for Shiver in Virginia will be open until March 31.

Shiver in Virginia participants can engage in activities such as litter cleanups, recycling, trail cleaning, graffiti removal and other good deeds. For a small and impactful donation of $20.21, participants will receive a free one-day Virginia State Parks parking pass and a chance to win fantastic prizes. After registration, participants will receive a link to the KVB Mission Challenge website, where they can map the collective progress on the 2,021-mile path across the state. With each act reported, participants will be entered into drawings for additional prizes.

KVB is challenging participants to share their pictures, contributions, and successes with others on social media. Help spread the word using the hashtag #shiverinvirginia.

For more information, visit keepvirginiabeautiful.org/events/ shiver-in-virginia-2021.

Grace Christian Hosts Fundraiser at Flippin’ Pizza

Grace Christian Academy

(3233 Annandale Rd., Falls Church) will be hosting a carryout fundraiser at the Falls Church Flippin’ Pizza (800 W Broad St #103, Falls Church) on Thursday, March 18 from 4 – 8 p.m. Interested patrons just need to mention Grace Christian Academy when they order and Flippin’ Pizza will donate 30 percent of their total check to the school.

Best Native Plants for Gardening Program on Friday

In this overview of native plants,

Extension Master Gardener

Elaine Mills will explain what they are and how they attract and support local pollinators, butterflies and birds. She will describe how to choose native plants appropriate for the conditions of a gardener’s yard, Free. RSVP at mgnv.org/events. to receive a link to participate.

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