Gabriel Pineda thought his Eagle Scout project was going to be easy, until he got to George Mason Elementary School and saw that the old ma of the United States painted on the blacktop that he remembered was completely gone.
At first, the 17-year-old wanted to do a touch-up project on the map he played on as a young boy, but it was removed when the playground was resurfaced a couple of years ago. Instead, Pineda decided to completely repaint the entire 35-foot square map from scratch.
“(W)hen I was there I always liked the map. It was colorful, it was bright and fun to play on,” Pineda said. “We also learned where the states are, so I decided I wanted to put it back onto the blacktop for the kids, so that they could have that as well.”
Pineda, who plans to study marine biology this fall at Ferrum College, got the approval of his Scout troop and then met with George Mason Elementary Principal Brian Orrenmaa, who jumped at the opportunity and helped convince the school PTA to pay for the stencil.
“I think any elementary school has a goal of having a lasting impact with their students,” Orrenmaa said. “I was very thankful for him willing to help, so I approved it fairly quickly.”
The new map will also be geographically correct. Its predecessor inaccurately located Alaska and Hawaii in the Gulf of Mexico.
Pineda lives down the street form the school and plans to have the map finished by the end of the month. He is now getting help from a half dozen or so of his co-Scouts and his family, all of whom are wearing protective face masks and plastic gloves. He’s also installing a six-foot-tall ruler near the playground at the school so that students can measure their heights.
So far the primer has been laid, and the map will be painted in non-toxic concrete and patio paint in red, blue, green, purple and orange.
“When I’m home from college on a break or something I can still go and see it (and say), ‘Hey, I did that,'” Pineda said. “Once this whole pandemic is over I can go to the playground and see the kids playing on something I did.”
Recent Stories
The YMCA in Del Ray (420 E Monroe Avenue) is temporarily closed after a medical incident. Alexandria Fire-EMS are on the scene assisting a woman who went into cardiac arrest…
Alexandria Congressman split his votes on security funding bills for U.S. allies over the weekend. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) voted for bills to aid the defense of Ukraine, which is under Russian invasion,…
The Alexandria Police Department is investigating the theft of more than $50,000 worth of luxury handbags stolen from two consignment shops in the city. On Jan. 26, the owner of…
A little over two years after it opened, Foxtrot in Old Town is closed — swept up in a series of closures affecting all locations in the Washington D.C. area….
For many remote workers, a messy home is distracting.
You’re getting pulled into meetings, and your unread emails keep ticking up. But you can’t focus because pet hair tumbleweeds keep floating across the floor, your desk has a fine layer of dust and you keep your video off in meetings so no one sees the chaos behind you.
It’s no secret a dirty home is distracting and even adds stress to your life. And who has the energy to clean after work? That’s why it’s smart to enlist the help of professionals, like Well-Paid Maids.
Monarch Montessori School is now enrolling infants, toddlers and three year-olds for its full-time Montessori program. We offer a seamless enrollment process which involves submitting an application for review, paying the enrollment fee and submitting the remaining enrollment materials before your proposed start date.
At Monarch Montessori School, we aim to provide an authentic Montessori learning experience. At our Alexandria location, we currently have 8 openings in our Primary classroom (ages 3-6), and 6 openings in our Toddler classroom. Additionally, there are 3 infant openings at this time.
Our first floor space is an open concept. Infants and toddlers share the same large classroom. Children ages 3-6 are in two classrooms on our second floor. Each classroom has one lead and assistant guide. We offer a year-round program, with intermittent breaks for Spring Break and Winter Break.
Scholarship Fund of Alexandria Annual Gala & Auction
Do good while having a good time at the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria’s 38th Annual Gala and Auction at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center. The fun begins with a 2-hour open bar reception while mingling with 499 other Alexandrians who
