Thursday, January 20
Historic Vote Comes to Alexandria
Southern Sudanese voters hope to make new future for war-torn nation.
Guot Juac, now slightly graying, was one of the Southern Sudanese who came to vote in Alexandria this week.
Thursday, January 6
Swimmers Take to Lake Audubon
Reston Masters Swim Team hosts 24th annual lake swim.
For 24 years, the Reston Masters Swim Team has hosted a lake swim Memorial Day weekend, 22 of them taking place at Lake Audubon. The event is one of the only times each year that swimming is allowed in the lake. Shirley Loftus-Charley has participated in every one of those swims, dating back to her time living in Reston. Despite her decades of experience, this year was a first for her.
Growing Their Own Food
Oak Hill Elementary students plant their own garden, learn about healthy eating.
When it comes to hands-on projects, students at Oak Hill Elementary take that idea literally. On a recent, sunny morning, children in all grades took turns preparing the soil and planting vegetables in their outdoor garden.
Promoting Inclusiveness
Forest Edge Principal Frank Bensinger retiring after 21 years.
Frank Bensinger has witnessed and been part of a lot of changes in public school education in his 21-year tenure as principal of Forest Edge Elementary School in Reston: more frequent assessment testing and associated paperwork; greater diversity among students and families; more attention to and demands from students with special needs, to name a few. But one constant, and the thing that has "kept me going all these years," says Bensinger, is simple: "The kids," he says, "are still the kids."
Herndon Remembers the Fallen
Chestnut Grove Cemetery hosts annual Memorial Day ceremony.
Hours before the Herndon Memorial Day Ceremony at Chestnut Grove Cemetery in Herndon, members of the Herndon High School Junior Naval ROTC were already hard at work. They were preparing the Avenue of Flags, where casket flags of fallen service members were displayed along the main road in the cemetery.