Page 12 Mount Vernon’s Hometown Newspaper • A Connection Newspaper March 19, 2015 Agents of Change Help Shape Students from around County Budget county officials, a question-and- Fairfax County recognized Citizen ideas answer session, and small group brainstorming. for promoting peace. on budget and The breakout groups were a chance for individuals from the By Tim Peterson services sought. community to have a discussion The Gazette with county representatives about By Tim Peterson which government services they fter a friend of South County High School The Gazette felt were more or less valuable, as Asenior Sakira Coleman was sexually as- well as long-term ideas for reduc- saulted while running on a local public espite a damp, dreary ing county costs. path, Coleman decided to take action and started Saturday morning, Fairfax County’s Chief Financial the “Fight for Your Right to Run at Night” program. Dseveral dozen people Officer Susan Datta gave an over- “I don’t like feeling helpless,” Coleman said. “This turned out at the view of the FY2016 budget, high- is about raising awareness.” Photos by Tim Peterson/The Gazette South County Government Center lighting the county’s heavy reli- The senior has also served as president of the Amina Nahavandi (right), a senior at the for the first of two community dia- ance on real estate taxes and school service club “Stallions Lend a Hand” and Islamic Saudi Academy in Mount logues on the proposed budgets underperforming local economy volunteered at Greenspring Retirement Commu- Vernon, is announced by Dr. Margaret for Fairfax County government and housing market as factors con- nity, a workload that in addition to actual school- Fisher (left) at the Student Peace Awards and schools. The meeting along tributing to the projected budget work requires “no sleep ever” to maintain. of Fairfax County and recognized for her Route 1 began in the morning, fol- shortfall. Coleman and 22 other peace-promoting students peace-promoting work with Model lowed by a similar event at the “Fairfax County is clearly seeing and student organizations were recognized March United Nations, the Community Service Fairfax County Government Cen- the impact of the Sequester and 15 at the Student Peace Awards of Fairfax County, Club and Muslim Student Association. ter in the afternoon. Both were problems going on at the federal held at Mountain View Alternative High School in hosted by Board of Supervisors level,” said Datta. Centreville. From anti-bullying event organizers would be donated in their name. Chairman Sharon Bulova. “This is a stalled recovery,” to student association presidents and volunteers Guest speaker Vickie Shoap, restorative justice “When we adopt the budget, we Bulova said. “It’s important to look in the community, the student leaders were cho- specialist for Fairfax County Public Schools, ad- are investing in the priorities of at all services; are there different sen for exhibiting high moral and civic values. dressed the audience once the students were rec- our community,” Bulova said in ways for us to grow and proceed “The number of ways to peace is limited only by ognized. her opening remarks. The format into the future?” the human imagination,” said Dr. Margaret Fisher “When I looked at what these students have for the event included explanatory with the Peace Awards coalition as she opened the done,” said Shoap, “I was humbled and lifted. presentations of both budgets by See Budget, Page 5 program. “Seemingly endless suffering in the world There is hope for the future.” can give way when we join our strengths together.” Shoap referenced the nonviolence and civil dis- The peace awards started in 2006 with one high obedience that characterized the work of the Rev. Homeowner Shoots school and faith-based sponsorship. The event has Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, commenting that “We’re grown such that now each public high school and all fighting for human rights. three private schools in Fairfax County may select “We’re change agents,” she continued. “It’s hard Burglary Suspect students for the awards and there are 14 faith- to talk about things that are difficult in their com- based and secular sponsors. munities.” But, Shoap said, “You’re connected to a harges are pending an in- Police apprehended the injured This year schools were also able to select orga- growing global community of peacemakers.” Cvestigation for a 27-year- suspect after he retreated on foot to nizations to honor, including: the Anti-Bullying Though mostly upperclassmen were recognized old northern Virginia Telegraph Road and tried to hail a Committee of Cedar Lane School in Vienna, the with peace awards, Seungmin Lee of Rocky Run man who was shot while allegedly school bus going by the intersection. Dare to Care anti-bullying group of Hayfield Sec- Middle School represented the next wave of peace- attempting to enter a private resi- After being taken to a hospital, ondary School in Alexandria and The Peer Media- makers. His artwork was featured on the back of dence on the 5700 block of Lenore the suspect’s injuries were de- tion Program of J.E.B. Stuart High School in Falls the event’s program and won first place in the Lane in Alexandria, according to scribed as non-life threatening. Church. Fairfax Lions Club 2014 Peace Poster Contest. Fairfax County Police. Fairfax County Police encourage As students were called to the stage in the Moun- Lee used colored pencils to depict a red, white Officers responded to a report anyone with information to con- tain View auditorium, they received a copy of Mark and blue dove flying over a globe and a peace sign, of a burglary around 8:40 a.m. on tact Crime Solvers: online at Andreas’ book “‘Sweet Fruits from a Bitter Tree.” with hands of various skin tones reaching towards March 17. They identified the ho- www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org, by Along with a monetary award, each student also it. meowner as a 48-year-old man, texting “TIP187” plus a message chose a charitable organization to which $100 “It’s about people sharing, understanding each who shot the stranger in the up- to CRIMES(274637) or by calling other, that peace is beautiful,” said Lee. per body with a handgun. A stun 1-866-411-TIPS(8477). Wadia Mahzabeen, a Sakira Coleman commented that although the gun, the apparent weapon of the senior at West Potomac students receiving awards have done a lot for pro- suspect, was also recovered. — Tim Peterson High School, demon- moting peace and reducing violence, “There’s al- strated in front of the ways more to do. It’s nice to see we’ve already Embassy of Bangladesh, started.” 3/20/15 singing the country’s Award winners not present included Nimra home in Requested material. national anthem and Bilal, a senior at Mount Vernon High School; Time-sensitive speaking out against the Hanna Shiferaw, a senior at Quander Road School Postmaster: proposed execution of war criminals in Alexandria; and Reem Mohamed, a senior at Attention Permit #482 Permit handed verdicts by the 2013 Bengali the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science VA Alexandria, PAID War Crimes Tribunals. and Technology. Postage U.S. PRSRT STD PRSRT www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ March 19-25, 2015 ❖ 1 2 ❖ Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ March 19-25, 2015 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Mount Vernon Gazette Editor Steven Mauren News 703-778-9415 or [email protected] FHES Spanish Immersion Program Marks 25 Years From the Fort Hunt Elementary tive speakers, while others School PTA’s bi-weekly publication, have learned the language El Zorro. through years of schooling and exposure. ver the past two-and-a-half Lisa Rubenthaler is the decades, about 1,000 Fort partial-immersion lead OHunt students have moved on teacher. She teaches Fort from their primary schooling Hunt’s fourth-grade im- years having learned more than just the mersion students and is in three Rs. They also came away speaking her third year in her posi- Spanish. tion. Rubenthaler fell in This year, the school celebrates the 25th love with Spanish language anniversary of its inclusion in the Fairfax and culture during a high- County Public Schools World Language school visit to Spain, going Immersion Program. on to study Spanish in col- In 1990, 52 Fort Hunt first-graders started lege and moving to Madrid learning half of the day (language arts and for a three-year stint after social studies) in English and the other half graduation. She says el- (math, science and health) in Spanish. Fort ementary students pick up Hunt was among seven pilot schools in the language quickly without school district for partial-day immersion. even realizing what they During the following years, Fort Hunt have learned and they are added one grade level at a time to the pro- not afraid to make mis- gram and now has 350 students learning takes or experiment with Spanish immersion in grades 1 through 6. the language. “For those The school admits 75 new students to the students who continue immersion program each year using a with Spanish in high school county-wide lottery system. Immersion stu- it also gives them a major dents are assessed on their language knowl- advantage in the work edge during third and sixth grades. force and gives them access Photo Contributed Today, 16 Fairfax County elementary to many different countries Fort Hunt Elementary Spanish immersion teachers (from left): Isabel Gonzalez, Daviel schools participate in the World Languages and cultures,” she said. Cruz, Rachael Smith, Juana Miller, Lisa Rubenthaler, Rosa Callejas, Stephen Halliday Immersion Program, seven of them teach- Isabel Gonzalez has ing Spanish, while the rest teach French, been teaching Spanish immersion at Fort tures at an early age will help immersion Veronica Lindeman has been teaching for German, Japanese or Korean.