The National Harbor Makes New Additions

by Giselle Namata

The sun is coming out and the snow is finally melting… So what else is there to do in this area? We may not have very many activities to do in our city, although we do live in the D.C. area! There are endless possibilities, you just have to get up and look for them. But that’s ok… I can give you something to do! You may be familiar with Old Towne, Alexandria with it’s many outdoor events in the spring time and extensive streets filled with shops. You can never be bored there! Did you know that with a short drive across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge or a boat ride across the Potomac River, you can find yourself in Maryland and in a completely different atmosphere? There are just as many things to do in the National Harbor!

This is a newly developed area and has transformed this once empty land to a flourishing bright city with many activities. As the weather warms up, they start to have public viewings of movies outside on the lawn and on the Fourth of July they have their own fireworks.

In recent events at the National Harbor, they have decided to put up a Ferris wheel at the end of the dock closest to the bridge. This Ferris wheel will have a 176 foot view of the Washington Monument, the Capital, and much much more! You can go on the National Harbor’s website and watch it be developed with a mobile webcam set up focusing on the Ferris wheel.

Right down the street is a newly opened outlet mall! Tanger Outlets extended their branches to Oxon Hill, Maryland. The National Harbor Tanger Outlets feature over 85 brands to shop from.

Looking for something to do over Spring Break? Check out the Jagwire’s spread in the printed newspaper for the April edition for more warm weather happenings. 

Sierra Leone War-Time Leader Ahmad Tejan Kabba Dies

Ahmad Tejan Kabbah died on the 13 SSSSmarch 2014 at the age of 82 after a severely week of illness. Kabbah died on Thursday afternoon at his home with his close friends, family, his five children and three grandchildren by his side. Kabbah have two wives Patricia Kabbah who died in 1998 and Issta Jabbie Kabbah. It was an irreparable loss for the country. Tejan was praised for his leadership in the civil war which lasted for a long time.  He was the first former head of state convicted by international court since Nazi after World War II. He was the first Muslim to have a sit at the head of state. An ethnic Mandingo and was born in Pendembu, Kailahun District in Eastern Sierra Leone but he was eased in the capital Freetown. Kabbah served as a chief of deputy of the Western Africa Division of the UN Development Programmed (UNDP) in New York and retire in 1992. The UN was against Kabbah of running for presidency in 1996 and some of his follower companion they think he was unprepared .He later wrote a book Coming Back from the Brink in Sierra Leone. In his book page 40 he wrote “An Army? What Army? “ The greatest challenge I face on assuming the presidency in 1996 was in the area of peace and security( Although) there were many  dedicated soldiers who were prepared to defend motherland, there were others whose loyalty was deeply questionable….outgoing NPRC  elements who were not in favor of handing over power to a civilian administration.” Tejan save people from slavery and hunger. Kabbah was with the SLPP (Sierra Leone People Party).  He was known as a peace maker of Freetown, Sierra Leone. The people of Sierra Leone will never forget his bravery and the leading of the civil war for 11-years.

March is Moving to Marvelous Facts

March is Moving with Marvelous Facts
By Anna Ziegler 

    
     March is one of many peoples favorite month. It is the time period where the season completely switches over from winter to spring. It is a time when no one knows for sure what the weather will look like due to the switching of seasons. When people think about the month of March, many things comes to mind : flowers, fresh air, rain, cleaning, butterflies, girl scout cookies, and four leaf clovers. 

    This month is very interseting, and when I say interesting I don't mean that the month has thiry-one days but facts that one may not know. To start off March was named Martius after Mars, who was the Roman of war. They named this month in honor of the Roman God of War because March was the month when many wars took place.With saying that, March was actually used to be the first month of the year on the Roman calender, this is why we always use the saying "fresh new start" to talk about March. 

    March not alone is the month celebrating Woman's History but many more fun holidays. Some of the holidays celeberated in March are : Saint Patricks day, sometimes Easter, Peanut Butter Lovers Day (March 1st), No Smoking Day and Harriet Tubman Day (March 10th) and Waffle Day (March 25th). This month is filled with interesting holidays that many do not know about. 

    Along with celebrations, March is filled with alot of amazing birthdays. To start off it on March 12th, 1912 Juliette Low founded Girl Scouts. In honor of her all Girl Scout cookies are given out during the month of March. During this month four United States Presidents were also born : Andrew Jackson, James Madison, Grover Cleveland and John Tyler. But one we can not forget is on March 26th, the journalism teacher at Falls Church High School was born, Mr.Simon. 

    Many intertesting facts happen during this month. Some more are that March's birthflower is the Daffodil. The birthstone for March is aquarmarine and bloodstone. It is the National Nrtition and American Red Cross Motnth. Also March and Novemeber start on the same day of the week every year, and that is the only two month that happens to.  Next time the month of March pops into your head, I hope you think of these cool facts as well as the "new fresh start" month phrase.

Ebola Outbreak in West Africa

Ebola spreads in Guinea and surrounding regions

By Tyler Sibal

Recently, Ebola (a very lethal Virus/Disease) has spread in West Africa specifically in the country of Guinea. 59 people so far have died to the illness as the U.N. stated and it is possible for the disease to spread to neighboring countries and keep on throughout the world.

In the past, there have been severe cases of widespread outbreaks of diseases resulting in deaths such as the Bubonic Plague and Spanish Flu in 1918. Just about 100 years later since the Spanish Flu, small outbreaks have occurred such as SARS, H1N1, H3N1, H5N1, H7N9, and Ebola.

Ebola, which has symptoms similar to a severe fever, stands out as it recently killed 59 of the so far 80 people and has no vaccine and no immunity. Ebola has around a 75 percent fatality rate for an ill person from the accounted cases of the disease in Guinea.

Whenever an outbreak occurs, medical “communities” take great concern over such an event to prevent it from spreading elsewhere in the world. Ebola and other diseases have been present in countries with poverty and small countries in Asia or large populations in cities such as Hong Kong. Ebola in Guinea has been considered highly contagious which can be a disaster in a poor country as everyone shares the same water or poor sanitation due to poverty and in areas such as these it could easily contaminate and infect a person.

To prevent the disease from spreading to other countries and communities, medical charities have sent 33 tons of medicine and other equipment to set up isolation units to facilitate the prevention so it doesn't spread. Diseases and outbreaks should always be top priority for countries instead of wars and unneeded money usages. Diseases such as Ebola take the lives of people who can never be replaced. We can help by donating to this specific charity linked in the bottom to help with the medical costs and equipment. Also we can help by simply washing our hands and always to remember in public when touching things such as an escalator railing or a door handle to always wash our hands afterwards thoroughly and avoid touching our face so we don’t get sick!

                                                                                                                                                  Donation Website

Location of Guinea in West Africa

Honoring Our Veterans With The Medal of Honor

Some veterans have been overlooked for the Medal of Honor because they were African American, Hispanic, or Jewish.  This Tuesday, President Obama rewarded twenty-four veterans the Medal of Honor in an emotional ceremony. This ceremony was the culmination of  a fifty year long campaign of Korean War veteran Mitchel Libman, eighty-three years old, to procure the highest honor for his childhood friend, who he believed had been denied the honor simply because he was Jewish. THis ceremony reminds us of one of the thing s which makes America special. Here in America, we confront the imperfections from the sometimes painful past.  In 2002, the Pentagon reviewed the list of those considered for the medal, and decided that nineteen of the candidates had been denied due to racial prejudice.  Out of the whole twenty-four veterans being honored, only three are still alive. All three of these veterans served in the Vietnam War: Melvin Morris, a former Green Beret;  Santiago J. Erevia; and Jose Rodela, who served as a Special Forces commander.  During the ceremony, daughters, sons, and grandchildren heard stories of heroism: destroying an enemy tunnel with TNT while under fire, clambering on top of a tank to take it out, and getting fallen comrades even when it meant certain death. These veterans have been living a quiet life after the war, and this award ceremony is a fitting tribute to the wonderful service they gave to our country.  Thank you, veterans!

First Day of Spring

First Day of Spring

By Sabrina Arauz

         We've had fierce snow between this 2013- 2014 winter. Everyone from Fairfax County Public Schools can agree that we've missed many days of school with plenty of delays. Sure, it's nice to have a day off from school due to the snow, but many people have grown tired of snow every other week plowing us down. Not only is it tiring, but it's also very dangerous to those out on the streets or people who have to walk.

Today is March 20, 2014, in other words, the very first day of spring! This doesn’t exactly mean that the cold weather will disappear instantly, but the weather will definitely start to get warmer. The flowers on the trees will begin to grow to white and then a beautiful pink color. The grass will begin to look greener and the sky will be cleared of so many clouds and bluer.

Everyone is also looking forward to the wardrobe change. No more jackets and huge sweaters! People can finally wake up and not have to think about how many sweaters or jackets they need to wear. Walking through your neighborhood will be easier while trying to catching the bus or just simply going outside to take a walk. Anyone doing sports during this time will no longer have to deal with cancelled meets, practices, or competitions.

So even though we will still be experiencing some cold weather for the next month or so, spring will give us a pleasant and warm welcome. The snow has stayed with us for quite a while, but nature will eventually do its job and change to the new season of spring!

Live Life Like It Could Be Your Last Day, But Don’t Live Scared That It Actually Is

Live Life Like It Could Be Your Last Day, But Don’t Live Scared That It Actually Is
By Emily Grabauskas

   On Thursday, March 12th, a young mother of 2 (31) by the name of Jamie Rowley was struck and killed by a driver in Ashburn while she was out for a run. Not to long go on January 13th, another mother of 3 (34) by the name of Meg Menzies was killed by a drunk driver while out on a 13 mile run while training for a marathon. Both women were avid runners doing what they loved to do every morning; however, they didn’t know that they would not return home to their families this time. 

These similar stories go to show that even though you may take the necessary precautions to be safe, such as wearing bright and reflective clothing, running in the daylight, and running on the sidewalk, you never know when something could go wrong. This doesn’t mean that you should stop what you always do. People die from car crashes, but we still drive. Now, there are stories of people dying while running along the road, but we should still run. Live life like it could be your last day, but don’t live scared that it actually is.

If we take every precaution we should, then there is no reason to believe that we will be unsafe. If anything, the drivers on the road should be more careful. Meg Menzies was hit by a drink driver while the state of the driver who killed Jamie Rowley is unknown. Maybe he was distracted, maybe he was tired, or maybe he was speeding. Whatever it may be, drivers and pedestrians share the same space, the sidewalk next to the road, so we need to make sure it is a safe space for everyone.

Both women have attracted the hearts of the running community. Creative memorials were constructed along the roads where these women were killed. People donated old running shoes in order to make the sites alive with the spirits of these women, but their children are still without mothers. If you feel so inclined, there is a page to donate money to an educational fund for the children of Jamie Rowley. http://www.gofundme.com/7hy03o is the link. 

From now on, live every day to the fullest because in the blink of an eye, something out of the ordinary could happen to you while you are doing something you always do. Be safe in the world, but please don’t stop living.