GreatGreat FallsFalls Sports, Page 12 ❖ AA MusicMusic ‘Out‘Out ofof Classifieds, Page 14 ❖ ThisThis World’World’ News,News, PagePage 1313 Entertainment, Page 11 ❖ HomeLifeStyleHomeJune 2014 LifeStyle Opinion, Page 6 o n u r B a ic n o r e V y b o Great Falls t Great Falls o h P HomeHomeLocal Media Co n nectionLifeStyle LLifeStyleLC online at www.connectionnewspapers.com Life Special Section InsideStyle World Champions News, Page 3 With music including a rendition of “Halo” amongst the set list, the concert Father’s Day Photo Gallery would not be complete without an electric News, Page 10 Blankinshipguitar played or two. the Langley electric senior bass dur-Alex Photo by Chi Pham ing the “Out of This World” concert. www.ConnectionNewspapers.comJune 11-17, 2014 Requested in home 6-12-14 home in Requested Time sensitive material. sensitive Time Attention Postmaster: Attention ECR WSS ECR Postal Customer Postal PERMIT #322 PERMIT Easton, MD Easton, PAID U.S. Postage U.S. PRSRT STD PRSRT online at www.connectionnewspapers.com Great Falls Connection ❖ June 11-17, 2014 ❖ 1 2 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ June 11-17, 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com News Photo By Photo Reena Singh Clinical Psychologist Jennifer Leyton-Armakan talks to teens during the Teen-to-Teen Mental Health Sum- mit Thursday. Teens Talk Depression Mental Health Summit focused on The team members hold their first place trophy in front of FIRST’s festival banner. destigmatizing depression. By Reena Singh Hanna Hunt took her pageant World Champions The Connection crown off of her head that night to reveal herself as a Langley But if robot construction wasn’t hat if mental illness student who suffered from anxi- Great Falls’ Lego and suicide didn’t ety. The 17-year-old junior made enough, the team also recruited W the aid of MIT professors and the have a stigma? That’s teen depression and anxiety her Robotics Team National Institute of Health (NIH) a question Safe Community Coa- platform after winning the pag- to tackle the problem of safe drink- lition and the Josh Anderson eant. brings home first ing water in the wake of disasters. Foundation hope to make into a She said she often feels alone According to their findings, the reality. and like a failure even after hav- place at World demand for potable drinking wa- The two organizations invited ing successes. ter is expected to exceed supply students from schools through- “I didn’t want to go to therapy Festival. by 40 percent in the next two de- out the area and parents to the because you don’t want to think cades. Teen-to-Teen Mental Health you’re crazy,” she said. Rachel Stone Using labs at NOVA, the team Summit at McLean Community After the panelists spoke, The Connection created patented prototypes of a Center on Thursday to listen to teens and parents separated. water purifier, which filters all a panel of teenagers about their Parents were informed the best here some might see from heavy metals to hurricane experience with depression and way to help teens deal with de- how to help those who may be pression and anxiety while the colorful bricks, the six The team takes a field trip contaminants. “We also grew e- W fighting the problem themselves. students had a break-out session members of Team Posi- from competing to the St. coli cultures to test the bacterial “You have to speak up, or you to figure out the best way to tive Aftermath see Legos as the Louis Gateway Arch. effect of colloidal silver,” explained building blocks of the future. In a seventh grader Aaraj Vij, “Doing will be battling it alone,” said destigmatize depression at brain-charged feat at the St. Louis FIRST (For Inspi- the experiments ourselves and seeing the results was Will Rau, senior at Langley High school. ration and Recognition of Science and Technology) both fun and educational!” Their creativity and in- School. “Happy thoughts or After the teens discussed op- Robotics World Festival, these elementary and middle tellect is destined for good. “Our dream has come wishful thinking won’t cut it.” tions, they presented the list to school students won rave reviews for their robot and true, and we want to keep pushing forward until our Each of the six panelists - from other groups. Many students research. Returning home to Great Falls, their heads solution is in stores internationally,” said seventh schools like Thomas Jefferson found the event and discussion were filled with new ideas, and their arms toted their grader Vishnu Murthy. High School of Science and Tech- helpful and enlightening. first place trophy award for innovative solutions and Even after brainstorms and Google hangouts, these nology, McLean High and Lan- “I have experience with de- research. members aren’t ready to split. They enjoy dozens of gley High - urged those with de- pression,” said 17-year-old Along with regional and state contests, a year of hours of time together—on field trips, fundraising pression to get professional help. Jamie Simon, Reston. “It was preparation under expert coach Aditi Vij brought the for the Red Cross, and mentoring younger teams. The first step for many was to good to hear other people tell team to St. Louis for the world championship of Lego “We tend to bring out the best in each other!” said tell their parents. their stories, and I felt a ground- robotics. They faced over 600 teams under one roof, seventh grader Siona Prasad. “Telling my parents was one of ing experience that helped me flown in from 70 regions around the globe. the best things in my life because orient myself.” Much unlike athletic competitions, FIRST THEIRS IS A TEAM that bridges school bound- at that point, things started to Others came to the event be- innovatively encourages inter-team cooperation, aries and earth’s four corners; they attend five area change,” said Jack Saunders. cause they had friends who which fosters enduring international friendships. schools and their nationalities include French, In- Saunders said he was a happy were dealing with depression “Our favorite part was definitely meeting all the other dian and Chinese. One fun tradition has been learn- kid, but he began feeling a and did not know how to help teams!” remembered sixth grader Alex Tisseront. ing a new dance each year—this year, the robot dance change in his mood when he was them. In February, two students itself—and sharing their interests of chess, music, in middle school. at Langley High School killed THE TEAM’S ROBOT “Bubbles” was lauded by athletics and even comedy. “I was always a happy person,” themselves in the same week judges for its multi-geared cage design and pneu- Zach Wang, a sixth grader, thanks the coaches for he said. “My parents would call due to unspoken depression, matic function, which maximized accuracy and effi- fine-tuning his public speaking skills. “At first, I didn’t me their sunshine.” causing a surge of interest in the ciency. “Our team went through at least six different like to talk, and now I’m much less shy,” he said. By the time he was in high topic and a hope for change. robots before coming up with our final design,” re- Parent Astrid Tisseront also listed First Lego League school, he coped with his stress “I came here because I’m in- marked sixth grader Sanjana Meduri. “So giving up contributions of real-life skills: everything from re- by scratching, then cutting, his terested in this topic,” said 16- is not a word in our dictionary!” search presentation and receiving feedback, to ana- arm. He also coped through al- year-old Apiding Osika, As in any project, the final product was the result lytical questioning and product marketing. “These cohol, and nearly drank enough McLean. “A lot of people at my of apportioned roles and teamwork. Programming, are certainly not the first things ‘legos’ and ‘robotics’ to kill himself one night. school have these issues, and I digital design, research and documentation, construc- bring to mind.” “I wanted to get better, and don’t know how to help them. tion, and professional outreach were all on the team’s Now heading into its fifth year, Team Positive Af- that was a big part of it,” he said. It helped me to see how to deal agenda. With perseverance, the end result was real- termath encourages fellow students at school and in “You have to want to get better.” with the issue and see how com- ized through long weekend practices, evening calls, the community to join them. Learn more at Miss State Fair of Virginia mon it is.” and biweekly meetings. www.usfirst.org. www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Great Falls Connection ❖ June 11-17, 2014 ❖ 3 News Steve Hibbard/The Connection Steve The award for Best Play went to “The Children’s Hour” at Langley High School. (From left): Hayley Wenk, Madeleine Chalk, Kathleen Welch and Rachel Mayman. Cappies Awarded for High School Theater he 15th Annual Cappies Awards Gala for high West Potomac High School for “Spamalot,” includ- Tschool theater was held Sunday, June 8 at ing the coveted Best Musical award. The Best Play The Kennedy Center. Nine Cappies went to See Cappies, Page 5 Freeze Time And Reverse The Aging Process • Non-Surgical Body Contouring Cannot be combined with any other offers. Expires 8/31/2014. • Cellulite Reduction • Skin Tightening • Wrinkle Reduction www.fontainedejeunesse.com Cannot be combined with any other offers. Expires 8/31/2014. Venus Freeze for Face, Neck & Body! BEFORE AFTER BEFORE AFTER BEFORE AFTER BEFORE AFTER Before After Most Clients can be expected to experience similar results 4 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ June 11-17, 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com News Photos by Steve Hibbard/The Connection by Steve Photos The award for Graduating The award for Supporting Critic went to Jamie Actress in a Play went to Joeyen-Waldorf of Great Lily Brock of Herndon for Falls from Langley High “The Children’s Hour” at School.