To the editor:

I really dont know how I feel as George Washington High School died for me the day it became a middle school. The colors, mascot, names, traditions and memories stay alive with all of us high school alumni. The students at both middle schools cant connect to them; there arent the football games, pep rallies, the school song and the rivalries. Middle school kids are still very young, barely teenagers; its just one more hurdle to get through before they move on to high school.
Alexandria has become even more transient than it was in the 60s. The native Alexandrians, like myself, are a dying breed. We grew up hearing stories passed down through generations about George Washington, Robert E. Lee, George Mason; some of our fellow students were direct descendants. 
Students now are from all over the world and with revisionist history being taught, we are fortunate if they are told that George Washington and Francis Hammond were real and not fictional people.

I will be in the minority, but it does not bother me if the middle schoolers want their own colors, name and mascot. Its not George Washington High School anymore; its sixth through eighth graders. I dont want them singing our song or calling themselves Prexies because they are not!

Both school names, however, should remain and not be changed along with the plaques and memorial inscriptions.  Lets keep some history, at least for awhile, in Alexandria.
Mary L. Kirk
GWHS Class of 65