Outlet malls are the best place to shop this holiday season.
They are family friendly and the overall environment is less rushed and stressed.
Their bargain prices are often marked down even more for the holidays.
Outlet malls offer designer and well known brands of merchandise, which ensures the quality of the items.
Also, besides offering last year’s designs and styles, many of them stock special exclusive items.
A common misconception about outlet malls is that they only carry clothes. However, most outlets have a variety of electronics, home goods and sports stores.
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With the holidays just around the corner, tis the season to find a new hangout to explore with friends or family. These conveniently close shopping centers are perfect for getting some last minute gifts too!

Reston Town Center
Ambiance:
The town center is geared more towards entertainment and less towards shopping. While it is not particularly decorated, the ice skating rink adds to the holiday spirit of the town center.

Entertainment and Shopping:
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Students Against Animal Cruelty is holding a donation drive for the Fairfax and Loudoun County animal shelters.

According to club sponsor and special education teacher Andrea Wallace, rescued animals typically overburden shelters this time of year. The drive—which ends in February and is the third since Wallace became the sponsor of SAAC—ordinarily collects two to three boxes of contributions.

“We’d like to see more,” Wallace said. “Animals need help [too.]”

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The area in front of the makeshift stage remained standing room only as MC and senior Keith Boylan energetically encouraged the crowd to “buy books!” and Marshall’s first Barnes & Noble Open Mic Night ended.

The event, which stretched from 7 to 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 2 and raised more than $660 for the All-Night Grad Celebration, featured two poetry readings, the dance crew FcDc/Rhythm Ground Breakers and The Thirteenth Story, along with solo or two-person musical performances.

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The orchestra’s annual winter concert, which took place last Wednesday, centered around “music from around the world, different time periods, winter time and holiday spirit” according to orchestra teacher and concert organizer Catherine Prosser.

Senior and second chair Hannah Perlman said that the orchestra, which performed a number of works including “The Snowman,” has become a more unified ensemble.

“It’s challenging to stay lined up with a score, so it takes a lot of focus and cohesiveness,” Perlman said.

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The girls varsity basketball team lost to Fairfax High School with a score of 43-60 on Dec. 13, making the current team record 4-2.

Marshall started slow during the first quarter and trailed during the second quarter.

“We needed to talk more on defense,” junior Elyse Smith said.

The Statesmen played substantially better during the second half with senior Christine LaBarbera’s rebounding skills, two three-pointers and three more points for nine.

Junior Maggie MacDonnell, scored nine points with two threes.

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The night before an IB Biology test, I am distraught by the amount of information I am unclear about. Upon posting a Facebook status and tweeting about my distress, to whom do I turn?

Salman Khan.

Salman Khan is the creator of the project khanacademy.org, a site that holds over 2,700 videos—topics covering calculus to history—all taught by Khan.

The site also includes numerous lessons in biology. I watched one ten-minute lesson on oxidative phosphorylation, and the subject became clear to me.

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DECA is expecting to provide INOVA Fairfax Hospital for Children with what is likely one of the largest-ever lump donations to the hospital, said DECA member Rachel Killmeyer.

“We just decided to work with them and come up with what they needed,” she said.

Members of DECA have spent the past week collecting items for patients at the hospital as part of their “Treats for Treatment” project.

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“Santa has left the building. I repeat, Santa Claus has left the building.”

With that announcement the holiday expo, held on Saturday Dec. 10, ended, marking its second year as a Marshall Community and holiday event.

The event showcased various small businesses in the area, in addition to having entertainment like pictures with Santa, periodic raffles that offered items donated by the vendors and performances from both orchestra and choir students.

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A universal pleasure:
Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa may draw different crowds, but they all gather around a dinner table. Food has the ability to make us feel comfortable and nostalgic. Holiday dishes often are rooted in individual cultures and family memories. For the juniors interviewed, the recipes they make during the holidays reconnect them to their cultural and familial traditions.

Annelisa Crabtree’s Christmas Vanille Kipferin
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