Document

The Chantilly Highlander Your Community Newslet ter Serving Chant i l ly Highlands

Visi t us on the web at www.chha.org—now in COLOR onl ine! December 2006

Annual Meeting article……………………...3 Board & Committee Contacts……………..11 Board Minutes………………………………..2 Classified Ads……………………………….10 Community Calendar……….……………….4 Halloween Pictures………………………….9 Proxy Form…………………………………..8

In This Issue:

Mark Your Calendars for the Winter Wonderland!

Saturday, December 9th, 11 AM - 2 PM

There will be crafts and refreshments, and the return of the horse-drawn ‘carriage’!

So bundle up the family, and create some magical together memo-

ries at this special time of year!

Join us at the Community Center on December 9th from 11 am—2 pm for the

activities and refreshments.

Canned goods will be collected for the Embry Rucker House in Reston.

Organized and Hosted by Girl Scout Troop 3122

Bring out the entire family for the Winter Garden Lighting Ceremony! This event will be sponsored by the CHHA and the CH Garden Club on Sunday, December 3, 2006, at 6:30 PM at the Community Center (rain date Sunday, December 10, 2006, at 6:30 PM).

As the holidays draw near and we retreat to the warmth of our homes, we often overlook our furry and feathered friends outside. Winter is a time when wildlife is in greatest need of our help. Come help decorate the tree with wildlife orna-

ments in front of the Community Center (ornaments will be made and provided to everyone by the Garden Club).

Chris Tacinelli, CHHA President, will light the garden at 6:30 PM. The Garden Club will distribute ornaments to all present to help decorate the trees while we listen to live music played by the Sapphire Trio, consisting of Wendy Hunt, CHHA Secretary, her husband, Andy Hunt, and Sunil Pai.

Refreshments of cocoa, coffee, and cookies will be served in the Community Center immediately following the tree decorating.

Please mark your calendars to join us for an evening of warmth and fun and kick off the holiday sea-son by giving a gift to our feathered friends.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: THE CHANTILLY HIGHLANDS

HOMES ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING will be held

JANUARY 18, 2007, at 8 PM at the Community Center.

Board Members will be elected.

DECEMBER 3rd WINTER GARDEN LIGHTING CEREMONY

Page 2 The Chantilly Highlander

Chantilly Highlands Homes Association Board of Directors Meeting

Thursday, November 2, 2006 Submitted by Wendy Hunt

Minutes are tentative and will be reviewed and approved at the upcoming Board of Directors meeting.

Board Attendees: Mark Hassinger, Wendy Hunt, Chris Tacinelli, Jon Roe and Darin Welt, Wendy Osborn, Paul Thurneyson

Absent Board members: Larry Miller, Jeff Boehlert Homeowner attendees: 0 Chris Tacinelli called the meeting to order at 7:40pm. Mark Hassinger made a motion to approve the Octo-

ber minutes. Darin Welt seconded it and the Board approved the October minutes unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report: The Annual budget for 2007 was prepared in draft form and will be reviewed after the meeting at the Budget Work Session meet-ing.

Community Facilities: The pool house and commu-nity center need improvements. Board members did a walkthrough with professionals and reviewed all pool equipment, the pool house facilities, the Community Center and the Community Center and Pool grounds. The list of what needs to be replaced and revamped for the pool house was discussed and bids will be solicited for the repair work.

Land Management: Discussion of land contract and maps with our grounds contractor will be held in the near future. A grounds walkthrough was done and homeowner requests were addressed. Some repairs need to be made and tree work/removal needs to be done. The sprinkler system needs to be updated and maintained in order to properly main-tain the existing landscape around the Community Center building. Pruning and landscaping of the entrances on Centreville Road was discussed.

Architectural Control Committee: With a huge amount of effort from the board and the ACC, the remainder of the walkthrough has been completed and was discussed. Some letters have gone out al-ready, and many more will be mailed out in the coming weeks.

Community Activities: The Halloween party and pa-rade went well and the History Church again volun-

teered with great activities to make it a success. The upcoming Winter Holiday events were dis-cussed as was the need for volunteers to help set up these events.

Civic Affairs: The board member has continued dis-cussions with developments along Centreville Road.

Neighborhood Watch: No new news at this time. Communications - Newsletter and Website: No new

news. Articles and minutes are due to Deb Neuber-ger by the 12th.

Long Range Planning: We are currently looking for firms that will develop a long term plan and some items for long term planning came up in the recent pool house, office and grounds walk through.

Database: A suggestion was made to automate the walkthroughs and ACC files for easy information retrieval.

Old Business: R-Tap: The next step is to go to every single house, canvas style, and see if 75% of the homes agree to continue to pursue the traffic calm-ing program. It will be a large effort with a time-line and 12 volunteers have agreed to work with this committee. If 75% of the residents agree that they want a traffic calming initiative in the neighborhood, then specific measures will be voted on and if 75% of the residents agree to those meas-ures, they will be implemented. This is a huge pro-ject and will take a lot of effort for it to even be considered. Watch for children signs have already gone up. An article will be in the newsletter to in-form residents on this issue.

Board nominating committee: A few people have stepped forward to volunteer for the Board. Re-cruiting is ongoing and interviews will be con-ducted.

New Business: Insurance limits are being raised so that we will have adequate protection. A motion was made by Darin Welt to adopt insurance for em-ployee dishonesty protection. The motion was sec-onded by Jon Roe and passed by the board.

Meeting Adjournment: There being no new business to discuss, Mark Hassinger made a motion to ad-journ the meeting and Darin Welt seconded it. The board unanimously approved the motion and the meeting was adjourned at 8:40pm.

Page 3 December 2006

Board Members Needed A Nominating Committee is working on putting

together a list of candidates to run for the open po-sitions in the CHHA Board of Directors for the Janu-ary election. There will be four vacancies to fill due to expiring terms. Please contact Wendy Osborn, Chairperson of the Nominating Committee, at (703) 834-7978 if you are interested in running.

Take the first step and make the call to find out more!

SPECIAL GUEST SLATED FOR ANNUAL MEETING

At the Chantilly Highlands An-nual Meeting at the Community Center on January 18th at 8 PM, Supervisor Michael Frey will speak about various topics of community interest. He was invited by the Board to give an overview on the ma-jor topics: schools, transportation and development in the area. Here is your chance to hear what is going on in the community and beyond.

If any resident has a particular topic or question that you’d like Supervisor Frey to address at this meeting, please email it to [email protected] by January 12th. Supervisor Frey’s floor time will be limited, so advance requests will enable an efficient coverage of your concerns. For more information about Supervisor Frey, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/sully/supervisor.htm.

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December 2006

Page 4 The Chantilly Highlander

7:30 PM CommFac Mtg

7:30 PM— Board Mtg

Save the date: CHHA Annual Meeting

January 18, 2007, at 8 PM

CHANTILLY HIGHLANDS GARDEN CLUB 2007 MEETING SCHEDULE

(All meetings begin at 7 PM) DATE TOPIC

JANUARY 16th

Orchids CHHA Community Center

FEBRUARY 20th

Tin Can Luminarias – Share Your Garden Books/Reference Material CHHA Community Center

MARCH 20th Innovative Watering Techniques with Soup/Salad Dinner Member’s Home (TBA)

APRIL 17th Teacup Bird Feeders for the Garden CHHA Community Center

MAY 15th Container Gardening CHHA Community Center

JUNE 17th Neighborhood Garden Tour and Perennial Sharing– Locations to be Determined

JULY 17th Herb Gardening and Recipes Using Fresh Herbs Member’s Home (TBA)

AUGUST 21st Garden Feast – Tasting of vegetable dishes from our gardens Member’s Home (TBA)

We would like the Chantilly Highlands

Garden Club to keep GROWING! It’s not the size of the garden that is impor-

tant or how much gardening you do…it’s the enjoyment of the creation and sharing our gar-dening interests with each other. Please join us! For more information contact Denise Miller at 703-707-0891.

Christmas

Hanukkah

NO SCHOOL

Kwanzaa

6:30 PM -Winter Garden Lighting

Ceremony

11 AM—2 PM Winter

Wonderland

Page 5 The Chantilly Highlander Page 5 December 2006

Drummond’s Painting & Drywall

Interior & Exterior Painting Rotten Wood Replacement Drywall Repairs/Basements Carpentry Work Pressure washing - Houses & Decks Wallpaper Removal

703-263-1561 Office 703-501-7484 Cell Kevin Drummond

Serving the Chantilly Highlands and Franklin Farms communities for over 20 years!

Local references available. LICENSED & INSURED

FREE ESTIMATES

Traffic-Calming Petition The Residential-Traffic Assistance Program (R-

TAP) is moving forward with the help of the Fairfax County Department of Transportation, the local Super-visor’s office, and numerous community volun-teers. The goal of this process is to develop and imple-ment roadway modifications that will slow down traf-fic on Cobra Drive and Kinross Circle.

The next step in the process is to obtain signatures from 75% of the community’s homeowners supporting some level of roadway modification to reduce speeds and calm traffic. The community volunteers will be going door-to-door and possibly setting up a table at local community gathering places to obtain these sig-natures.

If we are successful in obtaining the required signa-tures, the Fairfax County Department of Transportation and the Virginia Department of Transportation will begin to develop, in consultation with a Community Task Force to be established, modifications that are appropriate to our community to slow traffic on these two roadways.

The homeowners will then have a second chance to voice their opinion either for or against these specific measures once developed. Please be on the lookout for your community volunteers as they make their way through the community and help us all work this proc-ess to slow the traffic on our streets.

CORRECTION: On page 2 of the November issue of the Chantilly Highlander, the date for the minutes of last month’s board meeting SHOULD have read October 5th, NOT September 7th.

Order your holiday pies made fresh by Mom’s Apple Pie Co. in Herndon to help raise funds for Franklin’s Technology Student As-

sociation’s national competition in Tennessee. Order forms can be found on Franklin’s website at www.fcps.edu/FranklinMS/franklin.htm. Do-nations are also graciously accepted by Frank-lin TSA by sending to Franklin MS. More infor-mation on TSA can be found on the national website at www.tsaweb.org.

Page 6 The Chantilly Highlander

Change a Light and Change the World

Fairfax County officials have a bright idea for resi-dents - replace one light bulb at home with an en-ergy-efficient, compact fluorescent bulb.

To pledge, visit www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=cal.showPledge. Be sure to select "County of Fairfax, Virginia" as the referring organi-

zation. Take time to peruse the Energy Star website for other use-ful information, including tax credits for consumers, how to dis-pose of compact fluorescent bulbs, and home improvement suggestions.

If every American household used five fluorescent light bulbs, they could prevent greenhouse gas emis-sions equal to more than 8 million cars, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA also says that replacing a single 100-watt incandescent light bulb with a fluorescent bulb pro-duces a savings of $30, and they last 10 times longer than regular light bulbs.

Join with the more than 400 Fairfax County employ-ees who already have pledged to change a light. Their efforts were recently recognized by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and the National Asso-ciation of Counties. What a bright idea!

Sincere Thanks to Saintly Neighbors

We thank our neighbors for their unconditional kindness that they gave to us during the loss of our father and husband. May God bless you this

holiday season and keep you and your families healthy and safe through New Year 2007.

Lori, Shelby & Colby

Page 7 The Chantilly Highlander Page 7 December 2006

ABCs and 123s: Early Learning and the Im-portance of Teaching Concept Before Content

Submitted by Kelly Besecker

If you have a preschool-aged child, you may have felt the pressure. The other moms want to know if your little one can count to one-hundred and recite the ABCs. Does she know her colors and shapes yet? In the competitive world of early childhood parenting, it may seem like a race to the finish line to prepare your child for kindergarten and the rest of his or her academic career.

Yet in the rush for bragging rights, many parents may be forgetting that the adage, “quality not quantity,” is appli-cable here as well. It is no small feat to teach a child to count, but it is more important to build an understanding of the concept of counting. A child may be able to count to ten, but can the child show you ten items together in a group?

This example illustrates the importance of learning con-cepts before content. As children learn the basics of math and reading, it is important for them to first understand conceptually how the world around them works.

When it comes to math, young learners should be taught the concept of addition before they memorize math facts by rote. As a parent, how do you teach the concept of ad-dition? There are plenty of everyday activities that are opportunities for learning. For example, your child has one piece of pizza, but would like another. If you add an-other slice to his plate, he now has two slices of pizza. One slice plus one slice makes two slices.

The alphabet, conceptually, can be a challenge for some early learners. While a child may be able to recite the al-phabet, he or she should also be able to name a letter indi-vidually and say what sound it makes. This is a concept that a child must master before he or she can begin to read. Classification skills allow the child to recognize that individually “C,” “A,” and “T” are just letters, but to-gether they represent something different: “CAT” is a word for an animal.

Other important concepts for young children include size, patterns and sequence of events. Students without an un-derstanding of basic concepts will have difficulty compre-hending how items go together; what commonalities or differences there are; and how to classify the items.

Classification skills are the foundation for education. Classification allows for a child to make sense of the world. With classification skills, a child is able to deter-mine that groceries go into a grocery bag, while animals go into a barn. As an adult, we take such things for granted. However, young children are still learning about

the world around them and developing classification skills.

Children who lack the ability to classify ideas will have trouble comprehending reading, arithmetic and science. Those who can comprehend how to classify items gener-ally do well on achievement tests.

Parents can help their children build classification skills by encouraging them to make a collection of items such as rocks, shells, stickers or whatever the child is interested in. Other activities that will encourage classification skills include: playing color and shape bingo, sorting and put-ting away clothes, setting the table, putting away grocer-ies and playing card games, such as Go Fish.

Finally, as much as it may seem a race, every child learns at a unique pace and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to learning. Parents can adapt their approach as they begin to recognize their child’s learning style. However, regard-less of the child’s unique learning style, all children bene-fit by learning concepts before content. Children who ex-cel in counting or reciting the alphabet may appear to be “winning the race,” but in the long term it is their under-standing of the concepts behind the alphabet and numbers that will allow them to excel for the duration of their years in the classroom.

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Page 8 The Chantilly Highlander

CHHA Annual Meeting PROXY For the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Chantilly Highlands Homes Association, Inc.

The Nominating Committee will reissue this Proxy next month with potential Board Candidates for your consideration. The undersigned hereby appoints _____________________________ as proxy to act and vote at the annual meeting of the Chantilly Highlands Homes Association, Inc, to be held at 8:00 PM on January 18, 2007, at the CHHA Community Center, Oak Hill, VA, and at any adjournments thereof, upon any business which may properly come before said meeting, all in accordance with and as more fully described in the notice of said meeting, receipt of which is hereby acknowledged. My four choices for Board of Directors are: _____________________________________, _____________________________________, _____________________________________, ______________________________________

Homeowner/Co-Homeowner Print Name ________________________________________________ Date ____________ Signature _________________________________________________ Lot # _______ Address ____________________________________________________

Instructions: 1) CHHA bylaws require that a quorum be present at the annual meetings for actions taken to be valid. 2) Please com-plete this form to ensure that a quorum is achieved. 3) A proxy can be rescinded if you attend the meeting. 4) When you complete the proxy, you will be conveying your voting power to the appointed individual. 5) The only votes expected to be cast will be for Board of Directors positions. 6) If you wish, you can abstain from the vote, but have your presence counted to ensure the quorum is achieved. 7) Proxies must be signed by homeowners or renters granted a proxy from the homeowner. 8) Areas with BOLD type must be filled out for the proxy to be valid. 9) If the Lot Number is not known, it can be filled in at the Annual Meeting. 10) Only one proxy per household.

Page 9 December 2006

Some Halloween Picture Treats! Some Halloween Picture Treats!

Page 10 The Chantilly Highlander

Classified Advertising KiddiesOnTheKeys private piano lessons please call 571-242-9156 or email [email protected]

For Sale: Tae Kwon Do sparring gear and uniforms (2 sets, size small). Student cello ¾ size. Call Hillary at 703-318-0789.

Francis Day Care: Located in Fox Mill Estates, open-ings for infants/toddlers. Frfx Co permit, CPR/First Aid certif., USDA Food Program. Exc. ref. Speaks English, Swedish, Farsi. Call Francis at 703-860-4734.

A&S Home Improvement-Remodeling Bath/ Kitchen, Ceramic floor/wall tile, Painting, Drywall, Electrical, Plumbing, Ceiling fans & more. Lic., Hon-est, Experience. Free estimates. 703-860-4734; cell 703-944-3135.

Almighty & Co.—Painting-Int/Ext, Local References. Drywall repair-Power washing-Rotten wood repair-Wallpaper removal-25 years-Free estimate. Call Carl at 703-378-5602 (voice mail), 703-926-8700 (cell).

KidWorks (Youth in Business...18 yrs & under)

8th grade NJHS student interested in helping/tutoring students in math and/or science. To set up a free trial session for your child, or for more information, please call Chris at 703-435-3507.

Pet Care—Rising 11th grader willing to take care of your pets anytime. Experienced, Responsible, and De-pendable. References available. Call Jennifer at 703-787-9323.

Carlos H. Monsalve, D.D.S. Pediatric Dentist

Member of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry

Infants, children, Adolescents,

Special needs children

Franklin Farm Professional Building 13350 Franklin Farm Rd., Suite 310

Herndon, VA 20171

Phone 703-481-1115 Se Habla Español Emergency Calls

Sully Historic Site December Events More information on the events listed below can be found at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/sully or by calling 703-437-1794. Fees for all events except the Holiday Shopping, and some may require reservations. Dec. 2nd - Holiday Shopping at Sully 10 AM—4 PM. Holiday shopping that’s perfect for children and adults alike! Dec. 6th –31st (except Tuesdays, Christmas Eve & Day) Festive Season at Sully. During your guided tour, experience the main house at Sully accented with greens and gracefully decorated for an 18th century season of celebration. Dec. 9th & 10th—Candlelight Tours, tours begin at 5 PM. Fol-low the path to the elegant 1794 home of Richard Bland Lee and discover the spirit of Christmas past. Dec. 16th—Victorian Yuletide Celebration Tea, 1-3 PM. Par-take of desserts and beverages reminiscent of the Victorian pe-riod. Dec. 18th—Christmas Ornament Workshop, 2-4 PM. Make a colonial style punched tin ornament to take home. Dec. 27th—Holiday Concert - IONA, 1, 2, or 3 PM. One of the top-rated pan-Celtic groups in the world. Dec. 28th—Holiday Concert - TreVoché, 2 or 3 PM. Perform-ing in Victorian style, a vocal trio which transports you back a hundred and fifty years.

Page 11 December 2006

COMMITTEE INFO Board of Directors meets on the first Thursday of every month at

7:30 PM at the Community Center. Meetings are open, and all resi-dents are welcome and encouraged to participate. To include a spe-cific item on the agenda, please contact the Board President.

Architectural Control Committee (ACC) meets monthly at the Community Center. Contact any ACC member or appropriate Board member if you have ACC questions or concerns.

Chantilly Highlander newsletter team welcomes your articles and community photos of specific events, or just whatever is going on in your neighborhood! We would also love your suggestions and ideas for new features as well as feedback on current content. Advertising questions and other information may be emailed to [email protected], or mailed to the Editor at P.O. Box 710238, Oak Hill, VA, 20171.

Community Activities Committee identifies and schedules events for the participation of Chantilly Highlands families. The committee meets as events are scheduled, and chairpersons vary throughout the year. If you are interested in leading an event or have ideas for a community activity, please contact a Board member.

Community Facilities Committee (ComFac) meets the first Wednes-day of every month at 7:30 PM at the Community Center. Issues pertaining to our swimming pool, tennis courts, playground, Com-munity Center and its grounds are managed by the Community Fa-cilities Committee. If you would like to become involved in this committee, contact Jeff Boehlert at 703-435-2836.

Land Management Committee handles all issues that involve the common areas of our community: primarily lawn care and snow removal. Meetings are held as needed. You may contact Wendy Osborn at 703-834-7978 with questions and if you are able to help on the Land Management Committee.

Chris Tacinelli Wendy Osborn Darin Welt Wendy Hunt Jeffrey Boehlert Mark Hassinger Larry Miller Jon Roe Paul Thurneysen Wendy Hunt Wendy Osborn

703-787-0315 703-834-7978 703-787-3883 703-467-8188

703-435-2836

703-435-4810 703-707-0891

703-904-9396

703-318-1468 703-467-8188 703-834-7978

CUT OUT AND HANG BY YOUR PHONE FOR HANDY REFERENCE!

Non-Resident $ 10.00 $ 15.00 $ 40.00 $ 60.00

Resident $ 2.50 $ 10.00 $ 25.00 $ 45.00

KidWorks (Under 18 yrs) Classified Ad Business Card 2” x 3½” Quarter Page 3¼” x 4½”

The Chantilly Highlander is a monthly publication which informs the community of our accomplishments, upcoming events, committee meeting highlights and decisions, and provides a forum for you and your family to communicate items of interest to your neighbors! Articles are reviewed and published at the dis-cretion of the Board of Directors. Published advertisement is ac-cepted, however it is not considered an endorsement by the Board. Electronic submissions are encouraged via email; however, please also provide a “camera ready” printed copy for comparison if there are graphics or fonts (print styles) that must be maintained.

Email address: [email protected] (Please include ‘Chantilly Highlander’ in the subject line so it is not de-leted as spam)

Mailing address: CHHA, c/o The Chantilly Highlander, P.O. Box 710238, Oak Hill, VA 20171

Please submit articles, advertising (with payment), and photos so they are RECEIVED by the 12th of each month for considera-tion in the next month’s issue: be sure to allow sufficient time for mail processing. Any non-profit notices will included only if space allows—for guaranteed placement it must be paid advertising. Advertising Rates:

When calling board or committee members, please be mindful that they are volunteers, with jobs and families, making sacrifices to serve our community. Try to contact the appropriate

liaison or committee chair for the best response to a concern/question.

Chantilly Highlands Committees President………………... Vice President………….. Treasurer……………….. Secretary……………….. Community Facilities Liaison…………………. Architectural Control Liaison………………….. Communications Liaison.. Long Range Planning & Database Liaison……….. Civic Affairs & Neighborhood Watch Liaison…………………. Community Events Liaison…………………. Land Management Liaison………………….

2006 CHHA Board of Directors Carla Abbud Cindy DiPalma Brian Keagy Jeffrey Parnes Answering Machine Wendy Hunt Jeffrey Boehlert Dave Puchrik Denise Miller Wendy Osborn OPEN (see Comm Facilities) Lori Manik Paulette Rogers Steve Edwards Jeffrey Parnes Jane Huang

Architectural Control (ACC)

Civic Affairs Community Ctr Rental Community Events Community Facilities Database Administrator Garden Club Land Management Neighborhood Watch Pool House Phone Resale Packages Swim Team Chair Tennis Courts Webmaster Web Posting

703-925-0949 703-471-1874 703-909-7698 703-904-0131 703-435-0736 703-467-8188 703-435-2836 [email protected] 703-707-0891 703-834-7978 703-435-2081 703-796-1061 703-481-1082 703-742-3353 703-904-0131 703-707-8889

Chantilly Highlands Homes Association P.O. Box 710238 Oak Hill, VA 20171

POSTMASTER PLEASE DELIVER BY THE 1ST OF THE MONTH

13001 Worldgate Drive Herndon, VA 20170

19 year resident of Chantilly Highlands

Direct: 703-283-2722

Office: 703-709-0101 x130

[email protected] www.DebbieGibbons.com

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