Category Archives: Uncategorized

The office will close at 1pm today due to the inclement weather.

There is the possibility of cancellations, closings and delays tomorrow, Wednesday, January 30, 2019 due to the extreme cold and potential snow/ice. Please check before heading out to any events.

You can find relevant websites and phone numbers in our inclement weather reminder.

As APS offices are closed, our office is closed.

All activities at Arlington Central Library are cancelled, as it is closed.

The Virginia Tech Northern Virginia Center is also closed, so the Tech Hobbyist Club will not be meeting today.

For more details, see our inclement weather reminder.

1. If Mason cancels its classes, our classes at their Arlington campus are cancelled. If Mason announces a delayed opening, our classes scheduled to begin after the campus reopens will take place as scheduled. Mason usually treats all its locations as one.
2. If Arlington Public Schools (APS) cancels classes, our office is closed and our classes at Fairlington and Arlington Mill Community Centers are cancelled. If they announce a delayed opening, our classes scheduled to begin after APS reopens will take place as scheduled.
3. If Arlington Central Library is closed, any special event scheduled there is cancelled,
4. Activities such as special events which meet outside of our host institutions and our clubs do not have hard and fast rules. When in doubt, contact the activity coordinator.

• Listen to the radio or watch television news bulletins
• Visit www.gmu.edu for George Mason University or call 703-993-1000
• Visit https://www.apsva.us/emergency-alerts/ for Arlington Public Schools or call 703-228-4APS
• Visit https://library.arlingtonva.us/library-news-blog/ for Arlington Central Library or call 703-228-5990

SPRING 2019 COURSE PREVIEW

Saturday, February 2, 2019
Doors open at 8:30 a.m.
Program begins at 9:00 a.m.
and ends at Noon

KENMORE MIDDLE SCHOOL
200 S Carlin Springs Rd, Arlington, Virginia 22204

Open to current and prospective members.
Bring friends, relatives and neighbors!
Encore Learning’s instructors give brief
presentations about their academic courses.

Members often tell us that the instructors’ presentations at the
Course Preview influence their registrations.

Get the latest news on our clubs, special events and volunteer
possibilities along with a quick bite and hot drink.

Call the Encore Learning office at 703-228-2144 for specific directions or any questions.

To become a member or to renew membership, we recommend our website, where you can pay securely with your credit card. If you wish to purchase or renew your membership at the course preview, only personal checks can be accepted.

Our newest club, Tech Hobbyist, is now meeting weekly on Mondays from 2-4 P.M. at the Qualcomm Thinkabit Lab at Virginia Tech’s Northern Virginia Center.

The Tech Hobbyist Club and friends in the lab on December 3, 2018.

The Club Coordinator is Steve Shapiro. Club members are often assisted by interns and our sponsor, Jim Egenrieder. So far they have learned how to use Arduino, how to program in Scratch and how to use the 3D printer. Here’s a sample of their handiwork:

Encore Learning Name Plate made by Tech Hobbyist Club using 3D printer.

Newcomers are welcome. If you’d like to join, please send an email request to info@encorelearning.net with your name and contact information. Information about all of our clubs can be found on the Clubs page of this site.

As part of our ongoing Encore Learning Presents series, we were proud to welcome Dr. Chip Beck to Arlington’s Central Library. 

Dr. Chip Beck, before his talk in the audtorium of Arlington’s Central Library.

Dr. Beck is a retired Navy Commander and frogman, former CIA and State Department consultant and NCIS Agent, as well as a U.S. Army combat artist and editorial cartoonist. With more than 45 years working on international affairs and direct involvement in many crises around the globe, Dr. Beck shared his insights and behind-the-scenes tales of some of recent history’s most intriguing events.

His free-wheeling talk delved into his many adventures in Asia, Africa, and Central America, including Cambodia and Cuba, during war and peacetime, as well as many amusing interludes in between. Dr. Beck also shared details about his life as a combat artist, including in Desert Storm and as Artist in Residence at Gettysburg National Cemetery.

View Dr. Beck’s work online.

Encore Learning Presents is jointly sponsored by Encore Learning and Arlington Public Library. Check our online calendar for upcoming presentations. Unless otherwise noted, all presentations are open to the public, no registration required.

Always up for a new culinary adventure, our popular Ethnic Lunch Club took up quite a few tables at Little Viet Garden.

Oh, and the food was good, too!

Thank you, Carolyn Francis, for the photos!

If you’d like to join our Ethnic Lunch Club, please send an email request to info@encorelearning.net with your name and contact information. Information about all of our clubs can be found on the Clubs page of this site.

Our members recently enjoyed a two hour walking tour of the highlights of DC’s incredible Jazz history in the Shaw neighborhood. The clubs and theaters on U Street, N.W., dubbed the city’s “Black Broadway,” drew audiences to hear headliners like Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong and D.C.-born Duke Ellington.

Our members in front of the Historic Howard Theater. Photo courtesy Louise Kenny.

Members listen to tour guide Garrett Peck in front of Bohemian Caverns.                Photo courtesy Louise Kenny.

Members in front of DC Jazz Icon, a mural by Kate Dicecco on one wall of the Right Proper Brewing Company. Photo courtesy Louise Kenny.

Some of the crowd went on for more modern day jazz – to listen to our instructor Ken Avis and his band Veronneau.  Thank you to Louise Kenny of our Special Events Committee for coordinating the tour.  View our current list of Special Events and join us soon!

One of our Community Advisory Council members, Dr. Emma Violand-Sanchez, was recently honored by the Arlington Community Foundation (ACF) with its annual Spirit of the Community Award. ACF held a celebratory luncheon on September 27, and Vice President Tom Adams represented Encore Learning.

Encore Learning Vice President Tom Adams and Dr. Emma Violand-Sanchez at the ACF Spirit of Community Luncheon. Photo courtesy Tom Adams.

Dr. Violand-Sanchez founded the Dream Project in 2010.  This non-profit empowers students whose immigration status creates barriers to education by working with them to access and succeed in college through scholarships, mentoring, family engagement and advocacy.  In the past year, the Dream Project awarded $144,000 in scholarships to “dreamers” residing in Virginia.

Dr. Violand-Sanchez was honored for her dedication to helping low-income students, particularly in the immigrant community, overcome the disadvantages in pursuing their education, notably language barriers, parent engagement and financial need.  Dr. Violand-Sanchez was the first immigrant Latino administrator in the Arlington Public Schools where she started the first bilingual education program, the first bilingual GED program in Virginia and programs for English Language learners.  In 2008, she was elected to the Arlington School Public Schools Board of Education and served for two terms. We are so fortunate to have her serve on our Community Advisory Council.

Our Community Advisory Council Chair, Chris Milliken, along with her husband, member John Millken, were the co-chairs of the ACF event.

From left to right, Chris Milliken, event Co-Chair; Jeanne Broyhill, President, Arlington Community Foundation; Nancy White, Executive Director, Arlington Free Clinic, which was this year’s winner of the Community Impact award; Dr. Irma Becerra, President of Marymount University, who gave the keynote address; Dr. Emma Violand-Sanchez, this year’s winner of the William T. Newman, Jr. Spirit of Community Award; and John Milliken, event Co-Chair.

Arlington Free Clinic was also honored for its 24 years of service to those in our community who need our help in accessing health care.  Thorough volunteers and donors, the Clinic provides comprehensive healthcare mainly low-income earners whose jobs don’t include access to health insurance.  Last year, the Arlington Free Clinic cared for over 1,600 individuals who received close to 10,000 healthcare visits including 800 dental visits.

For more information on Dr. Violand Sanchez’s Dream Project, please visit https://www.dreamproject-va.org/

More information on the ACF Spirit of Community Awards can be found here:

https://www.arlcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Press-Release-2018-Spirit-of-Community-Award-Announcement.pdf

In June 2018, our adventurous foodies had lunch at Lighthouse Tofu, a Korean restaurant.  Here are some photos of the food and fun. Thanks to Arlene Kigin for organizing, and to Carolyn Francis for the photos!

If you’d like to join our Ethnic Lunch Club, please send an email request to info@encorelearning.net with your name and contact information.