Oakton Outlook 2008-2009 Issue 9

out look

05.06.09

oakton

feature Message sent: students and security react to increase in sexting among teens page 9

clubs Student bands Catalyst and The Morans form, perform page 9

academics Teacher evaluation system lacks student participation in process page 9

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID OAKTON, VA PERMIT No. 337 OAKTON HIGH SCHOOL 2900 SUTTON ROAD VIENNA, VA 22181

Musical Madness

Seniors salute their last time on stage ...page 10

s this going to be like an episode of “To Catch a Predator?” joked Nathan*, a sophomore boy, referring to the Dateline NBC program devoted to investigating pedophiles and sexual predators.

But the joke hung in the air for a second too long, as his mention allowed an unseen truth to rear its ugly head. Legally, he was a sexual predator… carrying three counts of child pornography on his cell phone at the time he was interviewed...

guarantee that it will not — sexting - taking and sending sexually be shared with someone explicit pictures over cell phones else,” Mentzer said.

— sexually exlpicit - defined by VA code However, it seems as though the younger popuas a picture, photograph, drawing, lation has not caught on to digital image or film that depicts nudity the rapidly spreading truth or sexual conduct of sexting. One reason that — minor - someone under 18 years old girls who take and send — child pornography - possession of the photos, legally referred to as the victims, is trust sexually explicit material including between the girl modeling, minors is a class XI felony (minimum 1 and the original recipient. year prison or $2000 fine) “Most of the pressure to take these pictures comes from a guy. The guy builds up the trust to get the girl to take the pictures, and usually it ends in the pictures being sent to other people,” Nathan explained.

“Then one girl will send a picture that gets around, and another girl will see the attention she is getting and want that, too. So she sends one around also.”

Although the students participating do not see the gravity of their actions, capturing and sending explicit material of minors is a disciplinary issue and potential criminal activity.

“It is not the goal of the security office or the school administration or the student resource officer to bring criminal charges against students and take them to court,” Baranyk said. “Nor is it the court’s desire to go forward and prosecute these cases even though some of these cases are felonies. It is not our desire to prosecute of teens admit teenagers for being foolish. Our goal is to get to sending/ ahead of it, to prevent it, to address it when it posting sexual comes up, to remove these pictures from stucontent of dent possession and to encourage students to themselves avoid that type of behavior. We try to keep it away from the police because once that has legitimately gone forward, there are very limited actions the school can take. These kids will be seeing serious misdemeanors and felonies.”

Sexting, however, means very different things to different people. Although in the eyes of the law it is seen as child pornography, of inapproprithose who partake in the action tend to forget ate pictures are their status as minors and the consequences sent to teens’ they could be facing despite the current media boyfriends or attention. girlfriends “[Kids] don’t think anything bad is going to happen,” Nathan revealed. “The girls don’t see related articles realize that if they ...page 19 send it to one person, it will be sent around.

And no one thinks they are going to get in trouble. I feel like it is not as damaging as we are told it is. Everywhere on the news it says of teens think it is ruining girls’ lives, but if it is then why do that sending sexthey still do it?” ual content can have “serious consequences”

“Sexting,” the act of sending sexually explicit content via cell phones, has proliferated through the court system, the media and the hallways of the school. Under current laws, this practice can be considered possession and distribution of child pornography, a felony that could brand even a juvenile with a lifelong “sex offender” title. Students can face investigation and punishment from both the school and police for taking, sending or even possessing such photos on their phones. Girls in the photos are investigated and punished in the same way that the guys who receive these pictures are; and the investigations are increasing school-and nationwide.

“There is no question there has been an escalation in the number of cases from last year to this year,” revealed Wally Baranyk, safety and security specialist. “The greatest number of incidents involves freshman girls. It is primarily ninth and 10th graders that are engaging in this activity.”

As Oakton’s head of security, Baranyk holds the responsibility for investigating cases once they reach the school disciplinary system. The school attempts to handle the cases to reduce police involvement and the possibility of criminal charges. Usually investigations will start after a parent or of teens admit student has informed the school of a picto sending/ ture circulating, after which Baranyk and posting nude or his team begin the interview process. seminude “We have done about 12 interviews in content of others the last few weeks—18 in total this year.

Last year we had probably half of that,” Baranyk recalled. “It seems to be becoming more of a fad this year; you see sexting in the newspapers, and now you hear parents voicing concerns about it.”

Although Robin Mentzer, assistant principal and freshman administrator, of teens who denied commenting on the grade levels of send pictures students involved, she warns all students said they did of the severity of the allegations that these it to be “fun or actions can hold. Beyond school punishflirtatious” ments, which depending on the content can range from detention and Saturday school to suspension and expulsion, these pictures damage reputations and self esteem levels of those involved. “[Students] fail to realize the concept of [the World Wide Web] and the implications that they can have for them, and that -- information taken from the “Sex and Tech survey” from The sending a message to someone doesn’t National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy

sexting terms

“I

*editors note: some names have been changed to protect student’s identity

feature

How the rules change as latest tech trend grows in popularity

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05.06.09

sextingstatistics

20%

39%

75%

63%

75%

- ethan doyle with additional reporting from ellie kaufman, can be reached at editors@ oaktonmedia.net

Front cover: Senior Kyle Burris belts out the final notes of a musical number in “Little Women.” The play will be on stage in the auditorium May 14-16.

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05.06.09

From plastic to steel, one small step leads to a big difference

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plastic facts

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round Oakton, more and more students each day have been abandoning their plastic water bottles and are purchasing economically friendly stainless steel bottles. The “going green” movement has officially made its way into students’ lives.

Each year, 38 billion plastic water bottles make their way to landfills. Water bottles take 1,000 years to decompose, so these bottles continue to accumulate in landfills each year. Also, the U.S. alone exploits 1.5 million barrels of oil to The carcinigens in the plastic can get into make bottles for water. This is enough oil to water over time. This is really bad for you power 100,000 cars for a whole year.

- Nicole Capella, jr.

In addition, the plastic from bottles can be detrimental to the health of the consumer.

There are seven different types of plastic.

Numbers 1, 2, 5, and 7 are most commonly used for plastic bottles. The health risks that coincide with the usage of these bottles include an increased risk of asthma, allergies, certain types of cancer, and negative hormonal effects.

“The carcinigens in the plastic can get into the water over time,” said Junior Nicole Capella. “This is really bad for your body.”

Reusable plastic bottles like Nalgene sports bottles, are no better. They contain a hardening chemical called Bisphenol A, more commonly know as BPA. This chemical has been proven to be a direct cause of cancer. Due to its hazards, some countries, like Canada, have outlawed it; yet this plastic is still legal in the United States.

The differences between plastic and stainless steel is more than skindeep. Water bottles cost on average $0.75-$2.50 a bottle. Whereas, the same amount of water from the tap is $0.000338. Buying a bottle a day will cost at least $273.75 a year.

Some claim that bottled water is healthier. However, there — 8 out of 10 plastic is no evidence to support waterbottles become this statement. Tap water landfill waste is tested by the Environ— Plastic bottles survive mental Protection Agency over 1000 years before (EPA) many times a day for cleanliness. On the they begin to decompose other hand, bottled water — It takes over 1.5 plants, which are tested by million barrells of oil the Food and Drug Adto manufacture a years ministration (FDA), only supply of bottled water performs purity checks once a week and they do not share these results with the public.

So what’s the alternative? Stainless steel bottles. They replace the waste of countless plastic bottles, have no hazards to the health of the consumer and cost only $10-$20 a bottle, cumulatively saving the daily user hundreds of dollars each year.

- sarah kashanian, staffer, can be reached at sarah.kashanian@ oaktonmedia.net

cougar quotes: Why did you switch from plastic to stainless steel?

-Devon Bartlett, jr.

I got my bottle because stainless steel is way more ecofriendly than plastic.

Also, the steel bottles look a lot cooler than plastic ones.

-Peter Chen, sr.

I used to use plastic water bottles everyday and I just felt like it was a huge waste so I bought a re-usable stainless steel bottle instead. I’m helping the environment and my health.

-Krista Durham, soph.

My parents were tired of having to buy plastic bottles and they got me a stainless steel one so that they wouldn’t have to anymore. Also, plastic is really bad for the environment, so I’m doing my part to help out.

-Chris Atwood, jr.

I got one because I go camping a lot and they are a lot more durable than plastic ones and they’re healthier for your body too.

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05.06.09

page 05

Wait, you don’t eat what?

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Oakton students become vegetarians to send a message.

itting in the cafeteria at lunch, junior Nicole Capella

Growing up in a culture that promotes vegetarianism has encouraged Mehta to conciously eat healthy. searches through her carefully packed brown paper “My mom makes a variety of foods, including traditional Indian food,” Mehta said. “I’m happy the way I am; all of my family does it.” bag. In the last year and a half, the vegetables, yogurt Nevertheless, as a child in a meat-eating household, Smith finds that maintaining her vegetarian lifestyle is slightly more difficult. and peanut butter sandwiches she eats have all become a “My parents aren’t vegetarian but they are really good cooks,” Smith routine part of her new diet. As a vegetarian, Capella has said. “I’ve picked up techniques for basic cooking and gone with it from there. I don’t cook dinner for myself every night; my parents made a personal choice to address a humanitarian issue. often make vegetable side dishes [that] I’ll eat. Often, I’ll cook a big batch of something and freeze it for the rest of the week.”

“I found out how they treat chickens in chicken farms” Capella said.

Astronomy teacher Rebecca Pifer has been a vegetarian since age “I thought the inhumanity was really disgusting. They’re animals; they 12. The harmful effects on the environment and the brutal conditions have rights, too. Animals have to watch others get killed and walk animals are forced to live in deterred her from eating meat. through their own feces; they are force fed.”

“If you are someone who cannot see yourself giving up meat there Unlike Capella, junior Katie Smith didn’t understand why someone are places you can go to buy meat products where animals have been would adhere to a vegetarian lifestyle. The thought of giving up meat ethically treated,” Pifer said. “However, a significant portion of greenseemed nonsensical and foreign. However, house gases come from cows releasing methane into after research, Smith decided to become a the environment.” full-time vegetarian and has experimented Junior Sierra Hemmig found the transition to vegwith Veganism. etarianism difficult, not because giving up meat was “In the seventh grade, I had to do a a challenge, but because her parents were hesitant to persuasive research paper, and I had a allow it. friend who had been a vegetarian for as “I started out pescatarean which is a vegetarian that eats fish.,” long as I could remember. I started out writing my paper in an attempt Hemmig said “My parents were reluctant for me to become a vegetarto convince her to stop being a vegetarian.” Smith said. “Not only was ian because they thought I wouldn’t get enough protein. I had mostly I shocked by the conditions the animals are forced to live in, but the stopped eating meat anyways, and it felt wrong to eat animals. I told tremendously negative effects of livestock farming on the environmy parents that they couldn’t force me to eat meat.” ment and the amount of waste produced. It takes something like seven Despite the obstacles at home, many vegetarians find it more difpounds of grain or corn to produce a single pound of cattle. I ended ficult to find healthy and filling food in the school cafeteria. up convinced that she was right. I’ve been one ever since.”

“They shouldn’t have just pizza for vegetarians,” said junior Matt Veganism, a branch of vegetarianism that avoids all animal prodCapozzola. “Most of the salads have chicken, so I typically just eat ucts, including milk and eggs, is difficult to uphold. Smith soon found pizza and fries. I’ve told the cafeteria that they offer little for vegetarthat her allergies made veganism more appealing, but the rigors of ians but no changes have been made.” high school made it harder to plan meals.

In a school that serves lunch to about 1000 kids, planning meals “I am lactose intolerant so I felt better ignoring dairy for every student can be difficult. In a society that seems to revolve products,” Smith said. “I’ve done a lot of reading around meat, most will choose a hamburger over a vegetable on veganism, and there are a lot of benefits; burger. provided you have the time and energy to “We have four nutritionists and registered dietido it right. I quickly found out I don’t. tians on staff,” said cafeteria manager Glenn Dan— Flexitarian:Those who eat a mostly After about eight months, I just iels. “We have vegetarian burgers once a week gave up.” vegetarian diet and have humus bitables and fruit salad, but Freshman Caitlin Sjoka — Pescatarian: Those who abstain from if it’s not a big sell, we won’t sell it. I’ve been doesn’t believe in the common doing this [for] 16 years, and we’re always eating all types of meat except for fish perception that giving up open to suggestions. [The students] are the — Lacto-Ovo: Those who don’t eat meat meat is difficult. customers, but we can’t make vegetable or fish but consume dairy products “It’s actually not hard burgers for 10 kids. It‘s a give-and-take [to become vegetarian].

— Vegan: Those who don’t eat meat, fish situation.”

It’s not difficult to take or any dairy products Although many become vegetarians one thing out of your to protest animal abuse, Smith says it’s — Raw Vegan: Vegan diet that consists of diet and replace it with all about personal choice and beliefs. foods that have not been cooked above something just as tasty.”

“Everyone has a right to eat what they 115 degrees Farenheit.

Sojka said. want,” Smith said. “It’s a case where I feel For junior Mira Mehta, what I’m doing is right, but I’m not going to being vegetarian is not just a lifeevangelize to others about it. Lots of people ask me quesstyle, it’s a part of her religion. tions about being vegetarian, and if someone wants to ask “If you’ve never had it, you never want me a question, I’ll happily answer it.” it,” Mehta said. “I’m Jain, a nonviolent and tolerant religion. The religion is based off of - daphne martschenko and sarah kashanian, staffers, can kindness and forgiveness. [Being a vegetarian] be reached at daphne.martschenko@oaktonmedia.net and is an optional part of it but most people practice sarah.kashanian@oaktonmedia.net it because they believe in nonviolence.”

veggiestyles

see staff experience on page 18

cougar quotes What is your favorite vegetarian meal?

Grilled vegetables and salad.

- cailtlin sjoka, fr.

I really enjoy spaghetti with meatless tomato sauce - matt capozzola, jr.

Salad with crutons and pasta with tomato sauce.

- erin gallagher, so.

Veggie lovers pizza.

- nicole capella, jr.

tasty vegetarian eats in the area 1) Sunflower

Vegetarian Restaurant

2531 Chain Bridge Road Vienna, VA 22181 Entrees: $5-$12 Staff Recommendation: Sunflower Forest $11.00 Layers of fried bean thread noodles, minced shiitake mushrooms, celery, soy protein, vegi-ham, water chestnuts, carrots, sunflower seeds and baby corn, wrapped with lettuce 2) Amma

Vegetarian Kitchen

344-A Maple Ave East Vienna, VA 22180 Entrees: $6-$9 Student Recommendation: Onion Rava Masala Dosa $8.99 Spiced potatoes and onions wrapped in a crepe made from semolina, sprinkled cumin seeds, ginger and green chilis, topped with onions.

The Senior Class would like to thank Doug Bibb for his generous contribution of renovationg the senior courtyard.

For the past 3 months Doug and his workers have kindly given up countless amounts of their time to work with us to renovate the senior courtyard. Despite bad weather and violent geese attacks they never gave up. We would not have been able to do this project without them and we’re truly grateful for everything .

Doug Bibb’s Landscape Company is a full-service, residential design and build company serving Northern Virginia sine 1996.Please visit our website for a full list of services we offer along with dozens of photos of our work.

703-661-6991 • dougbibb@cox.net • www.dougbibb.com

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05.06.09

page 07

Nose rings, ear piercings and tattoos... Oh my!

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eing unique is a key aspect of many people’s lives.

Individuality is what gives people their identity.

Piercings come in all different shapes and sizes, like gauges, studs and hoops. This contributes to the message people try to send.

Omar Mohamed has a total of six piercings and each one is a little different.

“I have two in my left ear lobe, one in my left ear cartilage, two in my right ear cartilage and one in my septum,” Mohamed said.

Every piercing is a progressive step detailing Mohamed’s life and telling a little story about him.

“I have wanted piercings for forever, so

I got two in my ears,” Mohamed said. “At first I only wanted to get three but I decided to get two more and I thought it was really cool, then I wanted to get one in my septum but my girlfriend wouldn’t let me.”

Individuality is the biggest inspiration for Mohamed getting his five earrings and one nose ring.

“I did it to be different, to be my own person, to be whatever I want to be and for the ladies,” Mohamed said.

Sporting his septum ring, Omar Mohamed, like many other Oakton students, attempts to find his own way to express himself through body art.

If you could get a tatoo or piercing, what would it be?

I’d get it on my back and it would be of a clover with my clan name.

I want a belly button stud because I think it is cute.

- Connor McCormack jr,

I want it on my back. It would be a dragon and in Latin it would say i’m the destroyer of all things.

- Harrison Batchelder jr,

- Liz Mogrovejo, so.

I am going to get a ghetto Jesus on my back.

- Michael Zimmerman, so.

News in Briefs

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eople have many reasons for getting tattoos including: art, expression and fashion.

Senior Bonnie Barlow has combined all of the reasons backing body art. Barlow sports six piercings and one tattoo.

“I have got one piercing in my tongue, one in my nose, two on each ear, and a tattoo of my name on my wrist,” Barlow said.

For Barlow the art is a way of bringing out her own personality.

“If I didn’t [have the tattoo and piercings] I wouldn’t feel like my own person, it’s how I express myself,” Barlow said.

Body art can also convey the

history of one’s life and their feelings.

“My first ear piercing my mom did with a piercing gun so that I would look girly,” Barlow said. “I got the nose ring because it looks good and my mom told me to do it.”

iercings are a form of expression and that is exactly how, sophomore, Cora Hobbs is showing her feelings.

An artistic expression is one of the key factors in choosing their piercings.

“I think it’s a dedication to my artistic side and something I can show everyone,” Hobbs said.Instead of going with the traditional one piercing in each earlobe Hobbs decided to go above and beyond.

“I have two gauges that are zeros, one fourteen gauge, one nose ring, two cartilage piercings and six regular earlobe piercings,” Hobbs said.

Hobbs found a unique way to turn a fashion statement into her own personal canvas of emotion.

“I got [my piercings] because I think that they are really just a way to express myself,” Hobbs said. “It’s also cool because people don’t usually get twelve piercings.”

While ear piercing is generally regarded as a typical practice in society, Cora Hobbs’ decision to pierce her ears multiple times was influenced by her desire to stand out and express herself.

P

B+ (87-89) = 3.3 B (83-86) = 3.0 B- (80-82) = 2.7

AAA division. The cup is based on a point system, and the higher each team places at the state competition, the more points they earn for their school. Oakton has never won the Wachovia Cup before.

C+ (77-79) = 2.3 C (73-76) = 2.0 C- (70-72) = 1.7

Foreign language students accepted into Virginia Governor’s Academy

A (93-100) = 4.0 A- (90-92) = 3.7

D+ (67-69) = 1.3 D (64-66) = 1.0 F (below 64) = 0.0

Prom will be Fri., May 29 from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. at the Hilton McLean. Tickets will be on sale in the cafeteria from Fri., May 22 to Friday May 29 and will be $55 for the first week, then $65 a person. No tickets will be sold at the door. The theme is “glamorous” and the catchphrase is “lookin’ fine in ‘09”

Oakton front-runs the Wachovia Cup going into the Spring athletic season

The Wachovia Cup, which recognizes schools for their accomplishments in state-level competitions, is currently led by Oakton, followed by Blacksburg and Strasburg in the

The Virginia Governor’s Academy for Foreign Language accepted six Oakton students and designated two as alternates in six different languages. Chosen for Chinese, sophomore Charles Hanley; for French, junior Cristina Harrell; for Japanese, junior Jacki Chiu; for Latin, sophomore Isun Malekghassemi and junior Daphne Martschenko; for Russian Jordan Nieusma (alternate); for Spanish, juniors Merrite Johnson and David Larson (alternate).

Senior Surveys

- owen chesser, staff writer, can be reached at owen.chesser@oaktonmedia.net

Your school. Your news. Stay up to date.

Jack Dale presents proposed grading scale to be implemented in the 2009-2010 school year:

Prom to be “Lookin’ fine in ‘09”

Barlow has chosen several methods to express her individuality, from her multiple piercings, including this one on her tongue, to her wrist tattoo.

Senior Surveys will be completed by May 15. Seniors in Non-AP Government classes should have taken theirs April 30 and May 1. Seniors in AP Government will be taking them in class May 14 and 15.

And the winners are...

Senior Alex Peterkin won 2nd place at the Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair. Freshman Simren Ajrawat won a Certificate of Merit in the Virginia section of the American Waterworks Association.

At the Journalism Education Association convention write-off contest in Phoenix, Arizona, junior Nathan Smith won a Superior rating in Broadcast Feature Story, senior Matt Johnson won a rating of Excellent in Feature Writing and senior Anthony Barba received an honorable mention in Sports Writing.

Senior Chris Weil was selected as the Virginia AAA Male Athlete of the Year by the VHSL and Allstate Foundation based on both his academic and athletic achievement. Weil won a $1000 college scholarship.

The FBLA had several wins at the State Leadership Conference, including being named an Honor Chapter.

Senior Daniel Hanson, junior Homan Fazli and junior Nick Sojka won 1st place in Banking and Financial Systems.

Sophomore Jeffrey Abed won 1st place in Business Math.

Both teams will be competing at Nationals June 25-28.

Senior Kasey Sherman won 3rd place in Personal Finance.

Seniors Jim Braudaway and Danielle Filipponi won 5th place in Business Financial Plan. Junior Richard Kassner won 5th place in Business Calculations.

- amanda herman and chris weil, staff writer and feature editor, can be reached at amanda.herman@oaktonmedia.net and chris.weil@oaktonmedia.net

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academics

Student opinion omitted from teacher evaluation process

Despite the reservations of some faculty as to high schoolers abilities, these concerns generally do not exist at the collegiate level. Many top universities exciting prospects for students, we now enter into a period distribute evaluations directly to students whose comments are then of the year that is slightly more nerve-wracking for teachers. forwarded to administrators for the purpose of establishing tenure.

“I think it is the same principle as a kid evaluating a baby sitter,” Kian said.

Within the next few weeks, the final decisions on staffing will be made, “If a kid just says ‘she’s boring’ a parent isn’t going to do much of anything. But thereby determining who stays and who goes. Because of the budget if a kid says their babysitter leaves them alone for long periods of time, you are going to be hard pressed to find a parent that doesn’t value that information. cuts and increased student-teacher ratios, an even smaller porportion Sure there would be some irrelevent comments in the process, but two or of teachers may be invited back to Oakton. But while the cutting of staff three articulate responses outweigh dozens of average ones.”

While each teacher is required to distribute student evaluations to at least may be widely discussed among faculty, parents and the community, the one block of each subject, these assessments may not be taken seriously and it process by which teachers are evaluated is not. is up to the teacher’s discretion which comments, if any, are then passed on to New teachers are assessed their first three years and then move into a superiors. As of now, evaluations are only for the teacher’s own benefit. cyclical three-year evaluation. As a part of this assessment process, teachers “I had the kids fill [the evaluations] out, and I left the room while they did it take a self-assessment, are observed by an administrator and are constantly which is what my college professors did,” said Kristi Layman, Spanish teacher. providing evidence of their abilities.

“I kept them in an envelope and I didn’t look at them until all their grades “There are five standards and there are 22 guidelines teachers and staff were in. That way they could feel free to actually express their opinion; I didn’t members are evaluated on,” said Robin Mentzer, assistant principal overseeing have them write their names down or anything. And then after all the final English, fine arts and advanced placement. “Things grades were done, I reviewed them all and I thought like planning and assessment, instruction, safety and they were useful.”

People assume...that students don’t have organization, communication and professionalism Proof of student’s desire to evaluate their the mental capacity to formulate articulate [are considered].” teachers can be found on the wildly popular “Rate opinions. When some students could vote However, with only five assistant principals to My Teachers” Web site. This site, which has been for President of the United States, why aren’t featured in numerous major news outlets such as oversee over 200 teachers, the evaluations are limited they capable of evaluating a teacher? in their depth and effectiveness. the Washington Post and New York Times, allows “The question really comes down to time,” - saied kian, sr. students to comment on and rate teachers at their explained John Banbury, principal. “It cannot be a school based on easiness, helpfulness and clarity. time consuming process and if you are an assistant For Oakton alone, nearly 3,000 comments have been principal and you have 25 teachers to oversee and 600 kids to oversee and so posted on faculty. on, time gets away from you very quickly. Is it a perfect system? Probably not, “He can be really tight, or REALLY annoying,” writes an Oakton student but it is sound.” about his history teacher. “He has ridiculous mood swings and is impossible According to the FCPS website and Human Resources regulations, Fairfax to have a friendly argument with [be]cause he thinks he’s never wrong. Easy County Public Schools outlines the process as “a collaborative endeavor class and good teacher though.” between the evaluator as well as the employee.” But some students especially Despite the seemingly shallow analysis offered by most comments, students are concerned by the lack of student representation in the process. As of now, still flock to this site each year after schedules are distributed. There are there is no specific allocation for their opinions in the process. significant differences, however, between the open forum nature of a website “I think that students are one of the best indicators of teacher success,” said and a school implemented program.

Saied Kian, senior. “People assume because of ‘ageist’ biases that students “I think that it would be hard to do [student-teacher evaluations] because don’t have the mental capacity to formulate articulate opinions. When some how could I say to one parent that this child is worthy and this one is not to students could vote for President of the United States, why aren’t they capable do that evaluation,” Mentzer said. “Then I would have to say your child is not of evaluating a teacher?” very mature.”

Some within the county believe that students are not informed enough to “I think students need to be heard. I think students get a perspective of a have a devoted part of the evaluation. teacher that I can’t get; they are in a unique position. But I cannot fathom “The student is the most paramount piece of education, but it doesn’t mean a way to have them in a role to evaluate a teacher because they don’t have [they are capable of evaluating teachers],” Mentzer said. “For example, I used enough knowledge of all the aspects that go into teaching, but I think they to teach kindergarten. What would a kindergartener know about what is have to be heard if they are not happy.” needed for their education? There is a difference between knowing what you - matt johnson, editor in chief, can be reached at matt.johnson@oaktonmedia.net need and knowing what is required of a person to help you get there.”

Should students evaluate teachers?

We know how we learn best so they should try to adapt to us. I think students should take part in the evaluation process.

- zach fabian, soph.

If the government deems students capable of deciding who runs the country they should be able to give a sound opinion on a teacher.

- matthew miller, sr.

No. Students would be really biased and would not give a fair evaluation.

- alena suyama, fr.

Yes. Because the students are the ones in the class with them and epxerience their teaching methods.

- kelilah anders, sr.

cougar quotes

cougar quotes

raduation. Summer. Vacation. While the end of the year holds

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We’re leaving together but still it’s farewell...

Drama students prepare for final countdown to their last performance of the 2009 school year

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“To prepare, I actually think about my passion, which is musical theatre, and try to turn that feeling into the way Jo feels about writing.”

-amanda herman, sr.

show time

“JO”

he curtain is falling and staying. For while still embracing her tomboy spirit and senior drama students this year’s unique personality.” spring play, “Little Women,” is the “Little Women” requires a mainly female last musical they will perform as high school cast and actors with various talents includstudents. ing singing.

There will be many mixed emotions “The play was chosen based on the among the senior actors performing. amount of talent. This year, there are a lot “It is bittersweet, and I will definitely cry of girls in drama,” Burris said. “Auditions before and after the last performance,” said are held to see what play would fit best senior Gracie Terzian, who plays the role of based on the available actors.”

Meg March.

The cast is more excited than nervous for The drama students their performance. Just have been working vigorin case nerves strike, — Showing May 14-16 at ously and the seniors want however, they have ways 7p.m. the best turnout for their of coping. last production at Oakton.

“We got together as — Gracie Terizan has been “We have rehearsals eva cast and crew before in 10 shows at Oakton and ery day and soon we will each show, and it helps 20 in her entire life. have weekend rehearsals to drink water and get — Last play for senior that last as long as the ready with the other actors and actresses. school day,” said senior girls in the show,” HerKyle Burris, who plays man said. “It’s also good Theodore Laurence III. to have some nervous “We practice hard so we can perfect every energy to get through a performance.” scene and put on a worthwhile show.”

Drama has worked hard, and especially The play “Little Women” is the story of for the senior actors, this will be a show to four sisters: Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March. remember.

Their neighbor, Theodore Laurence falls in “It’s bittersweet performing in my last love with Jo. Sadly, Jo does not return these Oakton Show,” Herman said. “I love workfeelings and denies Laurence. Laurence ing on the show so much, but I’m sad that then moves to Amy, who does accept his it’s the last time we’ll all be working tolove. gether.”

“My character is the main character,” said senior Amanda Herman, who plays the - tesla jensen and jessica klaber, clubs role of Jo. “We follow her story primarily. editor and staffer, can be reached at editors@ Her biggest dream is to become a writer oaktonmedia.net

“BETH” “I become Beth, i feel the way she feels in certain situations. I convey her feelings from my heart, I really feel it from inside.”

-madeline paul, fr.

“AMY” “My favorite part of the play is the costumes.

It’s fun to wear the big dresses and just being able to dress up.”

- esther workman, soph.

“THEODORE” “I usually use flashcards to memorize my lines and friends help me rehearse as well, it’s like a vocab test.”

-kyle burris, sr.

“MEG” “My favorite scene is when Beth dies, because I hate her guts.”

-gracie terzian, sr.

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05.06.09

Spring music performance trips end on a high note

band

fast facts

--When: April 22-26 -Where: Myrtle Beach -Who: Symphonic, Concert, Jazz A and -What: Concert: 1st, Symphonic: 1st, Jazz A: 2nd, Jazz B: tied for 3rd, Band: Overall instrumental grand champion -Why: Band Spring Performance Trip

- shayda shahbazi, staff writer, can be reached at shayda.shahbazi@ oaktonmedia.net

photo courtesy of esther workman

After performing their selections, the members of the treble choir wait for a judge to come up to stage. They pay close attention to their critique during the clinic.

-When: April 17-19 -Where: Williamsburg -Who: Madrigals, Select, Treble -What: Madrigals: Superior, Select: Superior, Treble: Superior, Chorus: prestigious Esprit de Corps Award -Why: Chorus Spring Performance Trip

fast facts

Cougar Band members enjoy their stay at The Myrtle Beach Resort. After their tiring performances, they relax by swimming and tubing through the lazy river.

Under the supervision of their experienced director Dr. Cheryl Newton, the Cougar Band traveled to Myrtle Beach earning the Overall Instrumental Grand Champion Award.

“The days we had off to stay in the resort were the best, especially because of the lazy river, pools, hot tubs, and all the friends we had around us,” said junior Kevin Clark.

Senior Jenna George, playing the alto saxophone for her last year in the Oakton band, was awarded the festival concert soloist award.

“Whenever the band enters in a music competition, we get good music scores because we all work very hard to earn it,” Clark said.

Both departments proved their dedication, and represented Oakton on a high note.

“Spring performances help us to motivate each other, and to push our abilities to the best they can be,” said sophomore Molly Cedro.

chorus

photo courtesy of nikki votaw

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s the weather started to take a turn, the music departments worked hard to perfect their pieces for the ongoing performances. This year, the choral department traveled to Williamsburg earning the highest possible achievement level in all three ensembles, while the band traveled to Myrtle Beach earning a variety of awards.

The Choral Director, Tiffany Powell, encouraged the ensembles to reach their superior level.

“With the help of Mrs. Powell, we earned a superior rating along with the two other choral groups,” said freshman Jaclyn Yost.

A new addition to the Chorus, Nina Stabile, earned individual recognition as the “Most Outstanding Student Accompanist” of the festival for her impressive piano and musicianship skills.

“We performed really well as a group, and Nina helped the Treble Choir with her great accompanist skills and strong voice,” Yost said.

Textbooks come to life as art students visit NYC “We saw a lot of stuff which we studied in class.”

A big part of the excitement and enjoyment felt by the students on the trip was seeing pieces of art in person that they had only previously seen in books, a whole new experience for them.

“A lot of the artwork in the book we studied in class was in the museum and seeing the real thing was a lot better for the students,” Sharkoffmadrid said. “The students experienced it so now the artwork’s not just one more thing to remember because it’s in a book, it really exists.”

In addition to just enjoying looking at the artwork, a number of students drew sketches. AP Art History students wrote about works they liked by an artist they were assigned to for their fourth quarter project in the modern art unit.

“We had to look for artwork by our modern artist for our fourth quarter project,” Noonan said. “Mine was John Michael Visquit so I looked for art I liked by him and wrote about them.”

After that, the students traveled to the Metropolitan Waiting for their new bus driver to arrive, students converse Museum of Art where they went on another tour. The amongst themselves. The students were stuck in New Jersey Metropolitan Museum contained artwork from across all of after their bus driver got sick and they had to wait for a replacehistory unlike the Museum of Modern Art which focused ment. “I was a little disappointed, but at the same time it was a specifically on modern art. relief to relax,” said junior Henry Noonan.

“When we walked through the [Metropolitan Museum], been longer. my jaw dropped to the floor. It was so exciting because I “The trip was too short,” Sim said. “I was hoping it would never thought there would be ancient Greek statues in New be two days and we would stay the night, but it ended up York,” said sophomore Jungmin Sim. “It was amazing to see being only one day and we had to rush, but the trip was still how they were around for such a long time but you could really fun and exciting.” still see all the details.”

After the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the students started their bus ride home and by the end of the trip, the - alex zanin, staff writer, can be reached at alex.zanin@ only complaint students had was that the trip could have oaktonmedia.net photo courtesy of jungmin sim

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eyond the textbook, students gained first-hand insight into the creative productions of modern artists and the evolution of art through history.

On April 17, students in AP Art History and Studio Art attended a one-day fieldtrip to New York City where they visited the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “We had 29 students go on the trip to the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City along with myself, Mrs. Conley and a volunteer adult, Ms. Grace.” said Margaret Sharkoffmadrid, AP Art History Teacher.

At five in the morning, the 29 students and three adults attending the trip piled onto a charter bus at Oakton and began their trip to New York City.

“Waking up so early was the only bad part of the trip,” said junior Henry Noonan. “I would have rather had the trip be two days and spent the night rather than wake up early in the morning.”

The students experienced a slight bump in their trip early on when their bus driver got sick and they had to wait for a replacement driver to come and pick them up.

“The bus driver got sick and we had to stop in New Jersey for a while, but it was okay because it was such a nice day out,” said junior Alexandra Perez-Puelles. “There was a Mosque, some trees and some benches so everyone just sat around, talked and ate lunch.”

When they eventually arrived at the Museum of Modern Art, the wait seemed worth it as they took a tour looking around at different compilations of modern art the museum had to offer.

“It was a really cool museum,” said junior Lauren Marfurt.

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05.06.09

And the winner is...

Class pet teaches psych students learning behavior

Overheard in the Classroom is a student reflection classroom activities written by guest columnists

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“E

very government teacher has a goal of getting students to become active citizens,” said government teacher Eliot Waxman.

From the AP Environmental Science committee hearing simulation to his work on the televised C-SPAN debate, Waxman consistently attempts to give his students a firsthand look at the inner workings of politics.

Others have taken notice of his innovative teaching style, and as a result he has recently received a four-week long fellowship with C-SPAN. “Had I not had the opportunity to do the C-SPAN debate, I never would have known about the fellowship or would have gotten nominated for it,” Waxman said.

After a long and grueling application process, Waxman was one of three teachers selected for the project.

“I was nominated by Cox because they also sponsored the C-SPAN debate,” Waxman said. “I wrote two essays for the first cut and the second cut was a phone interview with them. Most of the questions were about why I wanted to be there and what I planned on doing.”

In his application, Waxman highlighted a few main goals he hopes to achieve while completing the fellowship over the summer. Each objective of his will benefit the global teaching community and it will have a profound impact on his own teaching ability for the upcoming school year.

“It is a very self-directed fellowship. I have two ideas that I am hoping to pursue this summer,” Waxman said. “One of them is trying to create a more generalized C-SPAN debate so that it can be used for other political races.”

Waxman’s goal is to build on the model implemented at Oakton for the mock presidential debate and generalize that template for teachers to use all across the country.

“I will have to think about how a teacher at a rural school in Arkansas or a teacher who is working in downtown Chicago faces different challenges on any given day,” Waxman said.

In addition, Waxman will focus on creating a new curriculum for AP Comparative Government during the fellowship. Waxman and English teacher Sidney Dillon have been discussing new projects for the new super seminar they will be teaching together next year as well.

ellie kaufman

AP Psychology’s class pet, Siggy, plays in his cage while students try to coax him out of his cage. Siggy is a very entertaining distraction during class for many students.

drew gunther

As government teacher Eliot Waxman speaks to a crowded auditorium of seniors during the C-SPAN Debate in Sept., a C-SPAN camera man focuses in on the teacher. Cox Communications and C-SPAN both sponsored the televised debate which Waxman coordinated. Cox later nominated him for the fellowship.

“We are working even now on planning for next year and we are trying more interdisciplinary things,” Dillon said.

“Having the students see it through that lens will be an amazing thing for them. They can see how life is connected, not separated into individual subjects.”

Overall, the fellowship will benefit Waxman’s teaching in various ways. Although one of Waxman’s students, senior Lihi Tzur, already agrees that he is an exceptional teacher, the experience will contribute to his overall knowledge of the subject.

“He puts in a lot of time outside of school to be a better teacher,” Tzur said. “I think the fellowship will just add to his experience which he likes to include in class discussions, and it will give him some ideas for his future students.”

- ellie kaufman, academics editor, can be reached at elena. kaufman@oaktonmedia.net

Senior wins accounting award

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dvanced Accounting senior Bickert said. “He’s also been a member Matthew Ellis won the 2009 of the Virginia Society of CPA’s AcVirginia Society of Certified counting Club for the last two years, Public Accountants’ Award of Achieve- and he has worked on the yearbook ment. Each year, only one student from staff as an accountant so he’s not only each participating school throughout learned the material, but he has apthe state may receive plied it.

— only 92 students an award, making the Ellis also scored were given the award in decision highly selechigh on the NaVirginia tive and the award a tional Workplace — the first year the significant honor.

Readiness Test, National Workplace Advanced accounta national exam Readiness Test was ing teacher Lana administered by the administered at Oakton, Bickert nominated National Occupaall advanced accounting Ellis based off of his tional Competency students passed with a accounting success in Testing Institute perfect score both academics and ex(NOCTI) that tracurricular activities. asseses students’ “I nominated Matt because he has knowledge of the work force. Ellis the highest grade in Advanced Acattributes his success however, to his counting for the second year in a row,” involvement in yearbook.

fast facts

daley michael, sr.

e call him Siggy. He’s about seven inches tall standing on his hind two legs with a tail that’s almost as long. He became part of the psychology family about a month ago and was named after one of our psychology role models, Sigmund Freud.

While attempting to understand operant conditioning one day in class, our teacher Mrs. Clark played us a guest columnist video clip of how to teach a rat to play basketball. After watching the clip, our class was so enthralled by the adorable rat on screen that we decided we needed a pet of our own to get a first-hand look at operant conditioning. Getting a class pet to play with wasn’t a bad thing either.

My third period AP Psychology class decided that with all the experiments and theories we learn, the best way for us to get hands-on experience with these concepts was to get ourselves a live case study.

The decision to get a class rat was almost unanimous as rats are classically used in experimentation. So far, we have managed to “teach” him things that he is already biologically predisposed to know, but we still have fun watching nonetheless.

In his cage, there are five yellow balls. We take these five balls out and play with them in front of his cage while he debates which ball to retrieve first. Eventually, he is able to get all of them back. Now we’re working on making it more difficult for him to find them as we put them on top of his cage or farther away from his reach.

Siggy will be a great tool to use as an example of operant conditioning, as well as other behavior studies. Operant conditioning is when a subject, or in this case a rat, learns new behaviors through reinforcement. For Siggy, we have taught him how to fetch yellow balls by feeding him treats each time he gets a ball. We will use naturalistic observation, or watching him, along with our own forms of experimentation, like teaching him how to play basketball or conditioning him to run mazes and find his reward.

I am sure that having Sigmund will greatly contribute to the class’ understanding of psychology as well as providing concrete evidence and experimentation of living research.

And of course we can’t forget the joys of having a class pet.

Waxman awarded C-SPAN Fellowship

“The main thing I do involving accounting in school is yearbook. I manage, prepare financial statements and keep track of expenses so I think my work there was the reason why I got the award,” Ellis said.

Ellis will be attending UVA in the fall, where he plans on continuig what Bickert calls a time-tried tradition of success within the Accoutning Department at Oakton.

“I’m not entirely sure what I want to major in,” Ellis said. “Finance and accounting is definitely a combination I’m considering, but whatever it is, it will ultimately include finance because that’s the path that I want to follow.”

- roya crider, staff writer, can be reached at roya.crider@oaktonmedia.net

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05.06.09

Student bands get their start Meet the Musicians: Catalyst

Will Hunzeker Lead Guitarist

“W

Andy Gross Drums

upta

Meet the Musicians: The Morans

Teddy Shanahan Holly Kelly Bassist Vocals, Keyboards

e’re all about the music. Nothing can stop The Morans,” announced Andy Gross, co-founder and drummer of this four-piece band. The Morans are the product of a year’s hard work and sporadic bursts of creativity.

All sophomores, the band consists of three boys and Holly Kelly, their female lead singer and keyboard player. Andy and Will Hunzeker, lead guitarist, cofounded the band in a project that began by accident.

“I met Will my freshman year in gym,” Andy recalled. “After we started talking, he told me he played guitar, and I was a drummer. We decided we should jam, and we did. For six months. I hadn’t seen a future. Then I noticed Will was actually good. It hit me that we should make something out of it, so we tried writing a couple songs.”

Andy, having heard about Holly’s talent, recruited her over Facebook, asked her to come try singing with them. Holly’s audition song was “Voodoo Child.” It went brilliantly, and she was on board immediately.

The next move was replacing Holly’s makeshift bass playing with the last draftee, Teddy Shanahan, who she claims “is a lot better, because he can actually play.” The classicalsoprano-turned-blues-singer laughed affectionately at that, saying, “I love the boys. They’re so ridiculous, but we have fun.”

The genesis of the band was accompanied by a unique naming process. The band proudly christened themselves “The Morans,” after Margaret Moran, Will and Andy’s ninth-grade English teacher.

Set List: The Morans According to Andy, she’s “by far the best teacher Blue in the world.” All she wanted in return for her name was front row tickets. Their first gig Voodoo Child (Cover) arrived only a couple weeks after Teddy.

Walking With the Wind “This is kind of embarrassing,” warned Andy.

“But hey, everyone has their first gig. Ours Turn Around Who Did You Think I Was (C) was at my mom’s fiftieth birthday party.” Holly took a different outlook, noting that “it was Untitled an older crowd, but they loved us, and it was good publicity.” It was good enough to land The Jade Morans a booking at Jammin’ Java in Vienna over the summer.

Leading up to that show, “practice is crazy,” Holly said. “The best thing is when we’re all improvising and suddenly we just stop and go ‘oh, we actually do like that’ and we can turn it into a real song. But when we’re recording, we try everything over and over a million times. We insist on getting it perfect.”

The band has a classic sound, a creative blend of rock-infused blues, and they pride themselves on that. “We’re no Jonas Brothers,” Andy said, “We just enjoy the music. One love.”

Andy Gross, drummer, focuses hard at his place in the band’s “set” in his basement.

The Morans’ hold practice irregularly, but “it gets really intense when we do,” he said.

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clubs

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Allen Luethke Lead Guitarist

“M

Ben Webster Vocals, Guitar

Alex Harasty Bassist

Alex Rodriguez Percussion

usic gets you away from everything. It’s an escape. It helps you forget, but it also helps you feel. It’s an outlet for emotion. You don’t have to show everything on the surface if you can put it into music,” said Ben Webster, lead vocalist of the two-year-old band Catalyst.

Springing from the approval received after a group of four boys put on a spontaneous performance in eighth grade, Catalyst is an emerging alternative-rock band. Ben is on vocals and works as parttime lyricist, while Alex Rodriguez handles percussion, Allen Luethke is resident music-writer and lead guitarist, and Alex Harasty, a student at Thomas Jefferson, is the distant but appreciated bassist.

Catalyst has played outdoor shows, though mostly covers, as Ben deemed the band to be “in the writing process.” Rodriguez alternately professed his laconic vision of “hitting the big time [and] selling about 5,000,000 records every week.”

The next step for the band is an impending arrangement with Jammin’ Java, where they hope to get a regular booking for the next year. The boys dedicate a good amount of time to the band, which is “a huge part of [their] lives.”

“The hardest thing about the band is getting everyone together,” noted Ben. “Our bassist, Harasty, goes to TJ. Sometimes sections of Set List: Catalyst the band practice together; we practice Cheating the Sun about once a week as a full band, but we each try to get in about an hour of music Like a Stone (Cover) per day on our own.”

Best of You (C) The members are dedicated, putting the Wherever You Will Go (C) band before extracurriculars and giving The Sound of Madness (C) up sports to focus on the music. While the band works on “getting their name out,” Evil Angel (C) they simultaneously work on a couple of When I’m Gone (C) originals still in-the-works.

“We’re like Led Zepplin,” Rodriguez said with a straight face, then looked pointedly at Ben, sitting beside him, “minus the amazing singer, of course.”

“Well, I have the good looks for a frontman,” responded Ben, making a face. “There’s a reason we stick you behind the drum set.”

The pair burst out laughing, and Rodriguez continued.

“I did it for the girls, of course,” he said, smiling half-seriously, and then added sadly, “but really, that’s not going so well.”

Besides that, the band helped the members “improve as musicians,” said Ben, adding that the band mentality “has brought us closer together, mainly connecting through the music. It’s a great release for any pent-up emotion.”

- kirin gupta, staff writer, can be reached at kirin. gupta@oaktonmedia.net

ta

kirin gup

kirin gupta

Ben Webster strums a Gibson amidst collection of guitars valuing in the thousands. Addicted to music, Ben sings “about 17 hours out of16 that [he’s] awake.”

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clubs

05.06.09

Basketball teaches teamwork in Best Buddies

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akton’s gymnasium came alive on April 18 with the third annual Northern Virginia Best Buddies Basketball Tournament. Along with Oakton, teams from Marshall, Chantilly, Centreville, Westfield, Langley and Potomac Falls high schools came out to compete. The tournament was a way for members of Best Buddies to improve their teamwork while having fun.

Oakton’s team proudly holds up their trophy.

“It was a really great experience for [the buddies], they practiced teamwork and it was overall a lot of fun,” said K Scarry, president of Oakton’s Best Buddies. The tournament was held for the third year, and, “has always had a good turnout,” Scarry said. daniel chait

daniel chait

daniel chait

Chanting “1-2-3, Go Oakton,” the team prepares for its first game. Centreville placed first in the tournament, while Oakton placed third.

Other teams in the tournament were Langley, Marshall, Potomac Falls, Westfield and Chantilly. Marshall won the trophy for “Most Spirited” in the game. “The sense of spirit and teamwork [the kids] have makes the games so much fun,” K Scarry said, president of Best Buddies.

(above) Matthew Nelson, Barrett Johnson and Gabe Mayuga watch as a player from Centreville shoots a basket. “Best Buddies Basketball is the best thing in the world. It’s a lot of fun playing with the kids and watching them succeed,” said Barrett Johnson, associate member of the club.

“We had one whole team, but subbed players in throughout the game.” Every school got a chance to play each team, and the winners were determined by who won the most games. Centreville was a return winner this year.

- daniel chait, staff writer, can be reached at daniel. chait@oaktonmedia.net

Secrets unlocked...

Key Club cracks down on slacking attendance

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yes darting back and forth nervously, a student inspects the room for any prying eyes. Finally assured that no one is watching, she reaches out hesitantly for the key club meeting sign-in sheet. Taking one last glance around the classroom to ensure no teachers or club officials can see, she quickly scrawls down her name. And another. And another.

Key Club, a long-standing high school organization devoted to improving the community, requires that a student receive a minimum of 50 points in order to receive credit for the club. Students receive five points for attending meetings and events hosted by the key club. In order to attain all 50 points without attending all the meetings, certain students have gotten other members to sign them in.

“I see this during every meeting,” said sophomore Wendy Xue. “It’s not right. There are a number of students who are part of the Key Club who decide not to show up for meetings but take credit for it anyway. They form groups of people, and only one person attends every meeting and signs the rest up. That way, they get full credit for being a part of a club, while attending one-fifth of what was required.”

Although students like Xue are conscious of what’s happening, a number of Key Club members are unaware of the incidents occurring.

“It’s upsetting to find out something like this has been happening,” said Key Club president Pilar Lopez-Gomez,

senior. “We’re definitely going to have a talk about this next meeting, and hopefully the people who have been doing this will learn from their mistakes.”

In addition to Lopez-Gomez, Key Club Sponsor Catherine Browning was unaware of the skipping taking place.

“I didn’t know anything about [the skipping],” Browning said. “There’s always a lot of kids and energy at the meetings, so if a couple of kids don’t come, it wouldn’t surprise me if no one noticed. It’s their loss; meetings are fun.”

Despite warnings issued out by officers, students continue to skip meetings. Members are thinking of different ways to solve this problem.

“I think that from this point on, we should call out roll,” said sophomore Manon Shankle. “This way, we can be 100 percent sure of which students attended and which didn’t. I understand if a member skips one or two meetings; things come up. But to take credit and say you attended a meeting that you didn’t bother to show up for is wrong.”

Now that club officers are aware of the skipping taking place, they will be on the look-out for any students who continue to cheat on club hours.

“For the students who we do catch, I would have to consult the other club officials to see what an appropriate punishment would be,” Lopez-Gomez said. “If they’ve only skipped a couple meetings, then shame on them, but I don’t think

they deserve a punishment harder than that. It all depends on how many meetings they did attend and whether they hold a position on the key club. I don’t think I would necessarily revoke anyone’s [position i.e. vice president, secretary], but again, I would have to talk to other people and agree on a suitable punishment.”

According to Lopez-Gomez, Key Club, one of the longest standing high school clubs, hasn’t experienced a problem similar to this in the last four years.

“This wasn’t even an issue last year,” Lopez-Gomez said.

“As far as I’m aware, this is the first year that this is happening. It bothers me to know this. I can’t always attend all the meetings, but I wouldn’t have someone else sign me in if I wasn’t there.”

Of the students who have lied about their attendance, none of them have received any punishment or been caught yet.

“I made a commitment in the beginning of the year saying I would dedicate my time to this club, and I intend to keep it,” Xue said. “I don’t want to be one of those people who compromise their morals and cheat just to get a club credit.”

- michelle chu, staff writer, can be reached at michelle.chu@ oaktonmedia.net

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Teacher evaluation lacks student voice

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mitting student opinions in the teacher evaluation process is a grave error. The most important piece of education, the student, is rendered voiceless in a process that dismisses student maturity and devalues the importance of teacher-class interaction.

A major talking point in the most recent presidential election was teacher accountability.

Both candidate Obama and candidate McCain offered solutions to help increase teacher accountability and improve education for students.

Rather than offering incentives for teachers to retire early, elevated accountability can start with a sound and prioritized evaluation process.

1) TAKE STUDENT OPINIONS

No one knows a teacher better than a student.

Spending nearly 300 hours in a classroom with a teacher gives students an in-depth understanding of how effective teachers are at their jobs. While students may not have teaching degrees, they do know what does and does not work. Teachers can design a flawless curriculum, but if they cannot deliver the content in an efficient and professional manner, the goal is nullified. Certainly not all students would take the survey seriously, but dismissing an entire framework for a few bad apples is never a good policy.

If surveys are treated as important by teachers and administrators, students will rise to the occasion. Assuming high school students, many of whom take college courses, are not capable of offering valuable insight is degrading.

Administrators simply cannot acquire the same understanding of a teachers’ abilities in a few short observation periods over a year time span.

2) MORE FREQUENT, RANDOM VISITS

Planned observation periods lead to nothing more than artificial results. Even the rowdiest of students know to alter their behavior when an

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administrator is in the room. There is an unspoken rule in high school that every student and teacher knows: make the teacher look good for 30 minutes during class, and it will pay off somewhere down the road. Not to mention a teacher who knows they are soon to be observed is in most situations going to put extra effort into preparing for class.

Rather than sitting in classes for extended periods of time at pre-designated times, administrators should be actively sticking their heads in doors more often and at less predicatable times. Randomly entering a Physics class for just minutes at a time a few times a week will paint a much more realistic picture than would the current system in place.

ryan o’gorman

luxury of picking and choosing which comments they wish to forward to their superiors so why should high school teachers be held to a different standard? As of now, the teacher has the ability to submit whichever comments from the student surveys they so choose, leading to an inaccurate sampling of student opinions. It would be more beneficial and worthy if all the comments were submitted to superiors. Less emphasis should be put on teachers to provide positive data and more energy should be put into supplying just a few basic data points in general.

3) MANDATORY SUBMISSION

this staff editorial is the official opinion of the Oakton Outlook

At the college level, professors do not have the

Attendance is key to any club’s success

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mayura iyer

akton offers a myriad of service clubs to the student body. However, there are several members of certain clubs who don’t show up to the meetings staff writer and still receive credit for hours they didn’t complete, purely to enhance their résumé.

There are many members of Key Club, American Red Cross Club, and other service clubs that work hard and truly get the full experience through their community service. However, the few students who do not participate, yet still receive merit, ruin the credibility of the club, thereby diminishing the effort other hardworking members put in.

To be a member of any club, attendance and participation should be required. Members should attend at least 75 percent of the meetings, not just

every so often. Yet, people who do not meet these expectations are getting credit for volunteer hours, giving colleges a false impression of their service work.

For example, some students in Key Club form groups of four, and one of the four attends the meeting and signs the names of the other three in order to receive credit for hours they did not complete. These ‘members’ have only come to four of the meetings, and are receiving recognition for their nonexistent dedication to the community.

Certain members of American Red Cross Club follow a similar suit, simply asking a member to sign their name on the service list in order to get the credit they need to be a member. Therefore, verification forms should be made to prove that the volunteer hours were completed, and rules should be instituted so that only the person who completed the hours can sign their name on the

club’s list.

Someone cannot ethically say they were a member for a particular amount of years on their college applications if they did not even participate in the club.

A tracker list should be made to show how many meetings a member has attended. That way merit and recognition is rewarded accordingly. Also, the club leaders can call roll out loud to see who is and who isn’t attending the meetings. Octagon Club, another service club at Oakton, has its officers keep close track of members and their hours this way.

Merit should definitely not be awarded to members who have only do what any other person outside of a service club does, and it should only be given to those who truly put an effort into bettering the community through the club.

see story on page 15

05.06.09

voice

page 18

CAU

05.06.09

U A

Scandalous median N C TIO Sexting legislation O I N C benefits minors yet to be discovered T AU U A C TIO n T NC I O I T AU U See story on A TIO C page 03 N O NC I T AU U A TIO C N C TION AAUU T C I ON N O I CAU T U A TIO C N NC O I T A U U A TIO C N nC O I T A U U A TI C ON N O I CAU T U A into their first-choice college.

In the best cases, the photos are kept confidentially with the individuals they were sent to. In other, more frequent circumstances, the photos have been widely circulated through media such as the internet or facebook, which jeopardizes teenager’s privacy as minors who are not ready to deal with the harsh consequences of their actions.

Without a nationwide response, the growing fad of “sexting” can continue to expand without limits or protection from people with bad intentions. If left unprotected, teenagers who get themselves into these situations are left susceptible to consequences heavier than they know how to handle. The government should take responsibility in implementing legislation modeled off of Vermont’s recent undertakings, as it would clarify what is and isn’t acceptable behavior.

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Vegetarian Challenge sarah kashanian

I

staff writer

love eating meat. Chickens, cows, turkeys, you name it; I am enthralled at the idea of devouring any kind of meat.

Sure, I care about animals just as much as the next teenager, but give me a plate with a nice juicy sizzling cheeseburger, and my sensationalized taste buds will take over. The burger will disappear

within minutes.

When co-writer, Daphne Martschenko, and I decided to write a story on vegetarians at Oakton, we could not help but add a twist. We decided to conduct our own experiment. I, a meat lover, would turn into a vegetarian.

Day one can be summed up into one word: withdrawal.

Imagine staring at a water fountain all day but being unable to drink any water at all. No, scratch that, try going a week, and then multiply that by ten. Turning vegetarian ‘cold

n a recent poll, 39 percent of teenagers have admittedly engaged in sexting. As if every person in the nation didn’t already know this, teenagers have an undying attraction to sex or any topics branching from it. The most current lure to sex has been through picture messaging, sending naked photos to one another. In the eyes of adults, the only thing worse than discovering that their children aren’t perfect is the prospect that they could be branded a SEX OFFENDER for the rest of their lives.

Currently, kids who distribute these photos, which are often done so in a mass text to their friends, can be labeled as sexual offenders. This label doesn’t quickly go away and follows them for the rest of their lives.

Due to this harsh ruling, a new law has been proposed in Vermont to allow sexting between 13-18 year olds.

Basically what this means is that if you’re within that five-year range, you can send whatever you feel like to someone as old

as 18. While there’s a remote possibility of receiving a slap on the wrist, I’d check my kids’ phones a little more often if I were a staff writer parent in Vermont.

Though I can understand the idea that teens shouldn’t be labeled as sexual predators, legalizing sexting isn’t the way to go. There should be an emphasis placed on stopping this epidemic not promoting it.

Rather, the law should change so that kids are given a misdemeanor or charged with indecent exposure if they’re found with this illicit material. Allowing something illegal isn’t going to help curb it.

The only thing Vermont will see if this law is passed is a spike in sexting across the board.

If students are allowed to “sext” between any ages how can they be expected to stop once they become adults? It is ridiculous to assume that simply because a kid has a birthday, sexting becomes suddenly morally incorrect, but before that, its perfectly acceptable.

This law is sending the wrong message.

Though sexting has been identified as wrong and immoral, we are now allowing it simply to protect kids from suffering the consequences. Granted, the penalties should be reduced, but am I the only person who sees something wrong with this whole idea?

A median is yet to be discovered for this issue, but if there is any hope of preserving the innocence of Vermont’s youth, this should probably be done in the coming weeks. However, I can promise you that this law will do anything but stop sexting.

alex perry

emily mills

he recent occurrences of sexting have increased across the nation, and even in our own school.

Pictures clearly taken staff writer for sexual purposes are no light matter, and in some cases are just as serious as physical sexual acts. While it is considerably less serious than harassment or in some cases, molestation, it still needs to be addressed as a separate entity.

Recent measures taken in Vermont which distinguish people accused of misusing “sexting” from sex offenders, while identifying “sexting”, if publically distributed, as a specific crime in its own right. These steps need to be emulated by every other state as it protects 13-18 year olds from the distribution of media which can ruin their reputation.

Meanwhile, the law would still accommodate couples who wish to “sext” without legal involvement, as long as there is no public distribution following it. Although this “no harm, no foul” policy sets loose parameters for the topic, teenagers are still protected from public knowledge of their intimate exchanges.

Although the context in each specific instance has to be considered, the law becomes beneficial to teenagers who may become life-long victims from the extra attention. Intimate exchanges between teens in relationships are acceptable, while a wide-scale distribution of those pictures becomes a road to exploitation and criminal convictions, forcing some students to drop out of school or impede their acceptance

Con

Outlook staffer challenges herself to eat vegetarian proving how anyone can live without meat and experience enlightenment.

turkey’ made me have that “I want it, I need it, it’s right in front of me but I can’t touch it” sort of feeling.

I knew that there had to be an easier way. Continuing my self-torture of keeping my same diet except without meat, poultry or fish was not an option. So, I did what I should have done in the first place: research.

Idiotically enough, I had not realized how important protein from the consumption of animals is for keeping the human body satisfied. Or that B12, a nutrient necessary for the synthesizing of red blood cells, is found in meat; meaning my already low iron level would decrease and threaten my wellbeing with anemia if I did not take a B12 supplement.

A trip to Harris Teeter was dire due to my health being on the line. I ended up buying nearly $40 worth of vegetarian food and vitamins for myself. I now had an eclectic array of options for my insatiable hunger.

I became a lacto-ovo vegetarian, which is the kind that excludes meat, poultry, and fish but includes dairy products.

After a week of careful vegetarian dieting, I noticed a few changes in my body. I had become more energized, less hungry and had lost five pounds. My cravings for meat became a horror of the past.

Negative effects? I have yet to have any. After experiencing the detoxifying effects of turning vegetarian, my meat loving old ways may never return. I love my new lifestyle.

It has been about three weeks since I have eaten an animal. Yes, a hot dog fresh off the grill still sounds satisfying. But, why support an industry which brutally kills animals and will ultimately deteriorate my health; if I can eat a Smart Dog, which tastes exactly like a hot dog, instead?

So to all the hard-core carnivores out there, try turning vegetarian. I dare you. You may never want to eat meat again.

See story on page 08

voice

page 19

05.06.09

FCPS’s zero-tolerance rule is Leniency should dictate the only way to deal with drugs drug policy in schools ethan doyle

Pro

W

hen it comes to exposed to with illegal substances over-the-counter in the building compared to the and prescription dangers students are exposed drugs, students have easy access to when somebody is carrying to a wide supply. In order to around a bottle of Advil. protect students, the county Instead of expelling and has adopted a zero-tolerance suspending every student who academics editor brings any type of medication to policy for all drugs on school property. Regardless of whether school, Fairfax County should you are caught taking a birth control pill adopt a more lenient drug policy. Students during lunch or you are caught with a rock who are caught with over-the-counter or of crack cocaine in your backpack, you will prescription drugs without the appropriate automatically be suspended for two weeks qualifications should have the drugs with a recommendation for expulsion. confiscated, but should not immediately be These punishments just don’t add up. suspended. A punishment of that magnitude Although it’s necessary to protect students on a student’s personal record could be from illegal substances, punishments the end of a student’s academic career. regarding the use of prescription and Unnecessary expulsions and suspensions over-the-counter drugs in school should of otherwise innocent students are not equal those of illegal drugs. There is a unwarranted. large difference in the danger students are According to the Washington Post, Maryland schools confiscate medications brought to school that are not permitted with a doctor’s note without additional punishments. In Fairfax County, the : t n drugs are confiscated and the student is eol for a m o automatically suspended without a h h s from scys and a suspen- l i n chance to appeal the sentence until n l PSuuspensioof five ndadays anadys from awill a later date. If schools believe m “ ar d uses imu of te it is completely necessary to min imum calend . All ab .” max for 30 tivities police ban all over-the-counter and sion ent ac to the d d e prescription drugs from the u t t s epor be r school premises, then school officials should at least allow students who violate this regulation a warning or grace period considering the easy accessibility of these drugs and their necessity for many students’ personal needs.

ellie kaufman

A

junior lacrosse player at Drug possession may be a South Lakes, expelled “victimless crime,” but possessing from Langley for illegal drugs is still illegal; making marijuana possession charge, it impossible for the school system committed suicide prior to his to take anything but a hard stance pending expulsion from FCPS. on the issue.

Around the same time, a The message the zero-tolerance editor in chief student within our own doors policy sends is simple: Don’t bring was suspended for taking a any drugs to school, whether birth control pill that was not registered by Claritin or crystal meth; it is all the same the clinic during lunch. Due to this recent from an administrative standpoint. In series of unfortunate events, the Fairfax order to get kids deserving of punishments County zero-tolerance drug policy has come out of school quickly, the policy endorses under a great deal of criticism. However, a mandatory minimum sentencing to the zero-tolerance policy is a necessity for minimize the time administrators must maintaining order in a school district of spend and empower the administration to over 50,000 students. act decisively when necessary.

The scope of the school’s drug war is regrettable, and it is regrettable that kids can get in so much trouble for taking harmless, over-the-counter Crime: substances or prescription any prescri pti non-presc on or medication like birth control. ription controlled substance However, think of this issue from an administrative standpoint. It is impossible to tell what kind of pill someone just popped from across the cafeteria.

In cases like that, unfortunately it is better to set a strong precedent to dissuade students rather than a weak precedent that enables them.

Although the policy is charged as being too stringent for the “victimless crime” of a drug offense and too indiscriminant in its description of drugs (over the counter medication and prescription drugs demand the same punishments as marijuana and cocaine), it is the best weapon school officials have against drugs invading school boundaries.

Con drew gunther

Student suspended for taking birth control at school tells all Q:What happened?

A:

I was sitting in the cafeteria and I took my birth control, which I always do. I have to take it at the same time everyday and I started taking it during the summer and when school freesia jackson, jr. started I just took it at the same time.

Q: How did you get caught?

A:

I took it out under the table. [Dr. Mentzer] must have thought it was my cell phone so she was watching me.

When I put something in my mouth she called me over. She radioed Mrs. Goins and they let me go back to class but said I had to go to the office before 7th period.

They called my mom and waited for her to come to school. When my mom came in, Mrs. Goins said, “We have a serious problem,” and took out the SR&R book. She made

us read it, saying she had no discretion; she had to suspend me for 10 days.

to get it appealed so it wouldn’t be on my record, but it wasn’t.

Q: What happened when you received the sus- Q:What did you do during your suspension? pension and were considered for expulsion?

A:

I had to go to a hearing at an FCPS office. [I was there with my mom and dad] and Mrs. Goins, two hearing officers and assistant officers interrogated me. They had photocopies of my birth control, narratives from all my teachers, my grades, all my SOL test scores from the third grade and any absences from school. They looked through anything I’ve ever done.

They said they would send us a letter about whether I would be expelled, sent to an alternative school or another school such as Chantilly or Madison or reinstated. I was reinstated, but under probation. I had to sign a contract basically saying that I would progress academically and I couldn’t miss any days of school or I’d be expelled. We asked

A:

I watched a lot of TV and did all the homework I could. My mom had to go to school everyday, pick it up and bring it back. I also had to go to the class trip [to The Newseum] by myself and complete the assignment. It was pretty depressing.

Q:How did the suspension affect you?

A:

I was denied the right to education over this rule.

It’s my junior year, the most important year, and I’m still trying to catch up. I’m also worried about what this will mean for college.

- danielle holstrom, editor in chief, can be reached at danielle. holstrom@oaktonmedia.net

media mix

page 20

Fantasies Metric

Music

Background: Although founded in New York, Metric hails from Toronto, Canada where it bases it’s 21 century Alternative sound. Members have had ties to bands like the Yeah Yeahs, Liars and TV on the Radio, which would account for a similar sound heard throughout the record.

Review: Unlike O.A.R.’s below mentioned latest E.P., Metric’s fourth studio album is aptly named. The whole collection comes off as a “Fantasy” with a surreal electronically-charged alternative sound. The album boasts a wide variety of musical arrangements enhanced with a synth-rock sound meshed artistically with the muted feminine vocals. The mood and lyrics change to fit the music as well, providing any number of emotion within the album.

Key Tracks: “Sick Muse” and “Collect Call”

Yes Man

17 Again

Starring Jim Carrey

Background: Yes Man, a comedy starring Jim Carrey, tracks the life of a man named Carl Allen, depressed by his divorce who begins to turn his life around after he is compelled to answer yes to everything. Carrey’s character encounters a new adventure at every turn, most importantly, into the arms of lovable leading lady Zooey Deschanel.

Review: Jim Carrey can always be counted on to garner a good number of laughs simply by turning his face into something ridiculous. “Yes Man” is entirely focused around this talent, and on a parallel transformation of Carrey’s mundane character into something suitably ridiculous (not just the face, a real live character). Carrey’s face will make you laugh the most, but the most lovable thing about it is the burgeoning relationship between Carl Allen and Allison (Zooey Deschanel). Allison is the perfect complement to his character: just the right amount of quirky. Turns out, Jim Carrey really isn’t just another funny face.

DVD

Hello, Tomorrow

Starring Zac Effron Background: Mike O’Donnell, a senior in high school, has everything going for him. A star basketball player, a scholarship to college in his grasp, and a beautiful girlfriend; until he throws it all away in the wake of life-changing news. His high school sweetheart is pregnant.

Twenty years later, O’Donnell’s life isn’t what he thought it would be. Through a “spirit guide,” a depressed Mike magically becomes 17 again.

Returning to high school, as this much younger, and much better looking version of himself, O’Donnell gets a second chance.

Review: 17 Again can be summed up in two simple words: Zac Efron. In his first romantic comedy, Efron returns, yet again, to high school, an atmosphere where he thrives.

For the target audience, teenage girls, the film pleases from the first minute showing exactly what they paid the ten dollars to see: Efron shirtless, practically glistening under the auditorium lights. But, besides Efron’s abs, the film contains a light-hearted humor and will keep any teenager amused with its portrayal of the ridiculousness of high school. Although the film could be seen as predictable, a continual stream of awkward situations and humor will keep audiences amused.

Movie

O.A.R.

Background: O.A.R., Of A Revolution, started as a campus band in 1996 playing reggae and alternative. It rose to mainstream success in 2001, and has continued this with “All Sides,” released in July. “Hello, Tomorrow” highlights two new singles, as well as three other O.A.R. crowd pleasers with live versions on this EP. Review: Titling an E.P. “Hello, Tomorrow” is a good attempt to make a record sound fresh and exciting. Don‘t be fooled. The E.P. is a collection of the latest singles, most prominently, the good-but-extremely-overplayed “Shattered (Turn the Car Around),” and old favorites by the band, like “One Day” and “Ran Away to the Top of the World.” For a hardcore fan, it’s suitable. The high-quality of the live versions are proof of their good sound, but makes it identical to the studio versions. But for someone looking for a band that lives up to the name “Of a Revolution,” this E.P. is a disappointment. There’s nothing revolutionary about it.

Music

outlookstaff

05.06.09

Parks and Recreation Starring Amy Poehler

T.V.

Background: Created by “the same people who brought you The Office,” finally allows Amy Poehler, who rose to fame through NBC’s Saturday Night Live, to star in her own comedy. Poehler plays Leslie Knope, the deputy head of the Parks and Recreation department in the fictional city in Indiana, who is determined to enrich the community through construction of a city park.

Review: What some people would describe as “Office-esque,” the mockumentary style found in Parks and Recreation is Michael Scott gone female.

Unfortunately, Parks and Recreation comes up as a less hilarious comedy, falling short of that standard without the necessary cast of supporting characters.

NBC Thursdays. Airs: Thrusday at 8:00 on NBC

- zoe mitchell and kirin gupta, staff writers, can be reached at zoe.mitchell@oaktonmedia.net and kirin.gupta@oaktonmedia.net Editors in Chief

Academics Editor

Ethan Doyle Danielle Holstrom Matt Johnson

Elena Kaufman

Feature Editor Chris Weil Voice Editors Zoe Mitchell Nia Roberson Clubs Editor Tesla Jensen Kirin Gupta (Asst.)

Insight Editor Erica Wohlleben

Business Manager Nyssa Wratschko Yenni Tan (Asst.)

Online Editors

Sports Editor

Koorosh Massoudi Ryan O’Gorman

Alena Schwarz

Staffers

Copy Editor

Alex Buscemi Daniel Chait Michelle Chu Victoria Doxey Erik Gunther Amanda Herman Kyle Hughes

Alex Straton Photo Editor Drew Gunther Gladys Manzur

Mayura Iyer Sarah Kashanian Daphne Martschenko Emily Mills Alex Perry Vipin Reddy Rachel Sapone Shayda Shahbazi Sarah Kashanian Owen Chesser Drew Harrington Jessica Klaber Elise Werner Alex Zanin

Advisers Chad Rummel Mary Clare McKesson The Outlook is an open forum for student expression. Unsigned editorials reflect the collective opinion of the Outlook staff.

Signed editorials represent the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Outlook or Oakton High School. Reader opinions are important to the Outlook and contributions are welcome.

Make your voice heard by sending us a line about what’s on your mind. Letters to the editor may be may be sent via email to editors@oaktonoutlook.com or dropped off in Chad Rummel’s box in the main office or in room 196. The Outlook reserves the right to edit submissions for grammar and content provided the meaning remains unchanged.

Largest team brings all skills together

page 21

Despite the rain, spring track and field has continued their races, practicing every day and making up the continually-postponed meets. The Outlook sat down with a few dedicated runners, out of over 200 athletes on the team, to get their perspective on their events in the 2008-2009 spring track season.

Shot Put and Discus Throw Jacqueline Quander, Jr.

Which is more complicated to master?

It wasn’t actually hard all it is is an eight pound ball. I had problems with my arm because I was throwing [the shot put] like a baseball, and I tore something in my arm. Duscus is only two pounds; it’s really all technique. Anyone Describe the events you compete in.

- jacqueline quander, jr. can learn how to do discus, they just have to learn the technique. Shot put you I do shot put and discus. [For shot put] you take the need strenth. You can learn it, you just won’t get very far without strength. ball, tuck it under your chin, and there are two ways [to throw it]. One is to stand leaning down, back towards the field as you spin around you release the Which do you prefer shot put or discus and why?

Everyone does shot put and discus but you like to specailize. I’m better at shot ball. The force from when you release presses the ball forward. Discus is defiput. It’s like brute strength, which I have a lot of. When I started I wasn’t plannitely not like throwing a Frisbee. Discus is the most difficult thing to master, ning on actually trying out. but once you get it down it’s not that hard. You hold it opposite to your finger, you cup your hand and you fling your arm forward and release it.

110 and 300 meter Hurdles Sajan Moktan, Sr. How do you run hurdles?

- sajan moktan, sr.

To do a hurdle you have to run at full speed into the hurdle and jump into it.

It’s not jumping though, it’s more like getting over the hurdle without trying to jump over. It takes time and a lot of practice before you get your form down.

There is a front leg and a trail leg, and you kick your front leg up and your trail leg is supposed to be parallel to the ground. You’re supposed to snap it forward, and it has to be fast. You cannot stutter. You don’t have any time to think.

Which event do you prefer?

I like 300 meters more because you get more time to jump over each hurdle.

One-hundred and ten you have to stretch so I just like to cruise around and then jump over the hurdles.

What are your goals for the rest of the season?

I’ve been running hurdle for four seasons, and I love to hurdle. It’s addicting.

Basically it’s like life. There’s an obstacle in front and you have to try to get over it. If you fall you don’t stop you just keep going. My times have gotten better.

For the 410 meters I used to take five steps, and I cut that to four steps, so it’s a lot faster. The 300 I have to work on finishing strong.

Long Jump Francesca Ramsey, Fr. Describe the long jump.

- francesca ramsey, fr.

You basically just run and jump into the sandpit and see how far you get. There’s not that much more to it. You’re supposed to keep you legs up for as long as possible, and reach for your toes. You’d think that it was bad to fall [during practice], and although it’s bad to fall back, if you fall forward it mean’s you’re trying harder.

Why did you choose to compete in long jump?

No other girls really would volunteer for the event, so Coach Harris volunteered [me] because I have long legs. But it’s actually a lot of fun.

Are there any reasons you think people didn’t volunteer for long jump?

I guess people just didn’t think that they would be good at it. Definitely fun though. I mean, it’s not that hard once you get good at it, and learn how to do it.

- james caracoglia, so.

3200 meters James Caracoglia, Soph.

Describe what you normally run?

I run anywhere from the 800 [meters], which is half a mile, to the 3,200 [meters], which is two miles. The 3,200 is a lot about pacing and knowing your comfortabiliy levels to wok hard till the end. It’s fun because it tests your endurance and you can still be competitive over a long distance. I don’t do the 800 [meters] as often, but that’s a two lap sprint around the track, and you never get to settle into a nice groove.

How competitive is the team?

It’s really competitive, we’re really deep as a team, and we’re really good too. Most [runners] typically place well in competitions and there’s competition [among team members] to get better spots. It’s always a competition.

What are your goals for the rest of the season?

Basically to improve my mile times and the 3,200 times. That’s the major goal right now for me.

Pole Vault Jenn Markin, Soph.

- jenn markin, so.

Describe the pole vault.

You run down the run way with the pole and aim at the little box target, and you put down the pole and jump, and propel yourself over a bar which is at a certain height.

How did you get started in pole vault?

The coach just wanted me to try it because I also do gymnastics and it’s a similar skill. I have kind of always wanted to do it because it’s an interesting thing to do. I will continue to do it because I want to stay in shape for cheerleading and gymnastics next year.

How hard is pole vault to learn?

How often do you have to practice for long jump?

Personally I think it’s difficult to learn. I mean running is just running, and jumping is just jumping as far as you can. In pole vault you have to learn how to use the pole, and learn to propel yourself over the bar. Once you learn how to do those things, after a while it’s not that hard. How

How much do you feel you’ve improved?

I think it’s difficult to learn. In pole vault you have to learn how to use the pole, and learn to propel yourself over the bar. Once you learn how to do those things, after a while it’s not that hard.

Sometimes we will do it after practice, and then we always have to practice on Tuesdays and Fridays. Tuesdays [to practice] before Wednesday meets, and Friday [to practice] before Saturday meets.

Actually, every time that I’ve [jumped] I’ve improved my score. The more you practice, the better you get at it.

hard is pole vault to learn?

- zoe mitchell, co-voice editor , can be reached at zoe.mitchell@oaktonmedia.net

05.06.09

sports

page 22

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Ice,Ice Baby Junior Carlie Robbins does not lead the typical life of a high school teenager.

Besides missing one period of school a day, she’s a national and Olympic hopeful figure skater.

he appears to be merely the girl who knows all of the answers in class; you would hope that out of a random selection of students, she would be your partner. She never sports any Oakton athletic gear, so it also appears that she’s not a student-athlete. You’d speculate as to what her email address, which boasts the letters “s” and “k” with an “8” following, really means, but she’d never explain it to you, and you’d never connect the dots of what “skate” really means to her unless you asked. Little did you know that junior Carlie Robbins is a dual citizen that ice skates for the English national figure skating team.

She is now not only the quiet, knowledgeable girl in your second period class, but a potential Olympic athlete that skates around the world. It seems unusual that you could be in a good amount of her classes and never know this fact that, when exposed, draws enormous attention. So how did you miss out on this piece of information about Carlie?

“It’s all so hard to explain. I just feel bad talking about it,” Robbins relayed. “It’s not a school sport, so I feel like it’s hard for people to understand. It’s hard to explain what it means, like if I landed a double axel after three years of practicing, [people don’t understand the significance].”

Because Carlie is not your typical athlete who gets asked who she’s playing against on competition days and is a member of a well-established, coordinated-dressing team, it is often assumed that she is not an athlete, but only the teacher’s favorite student with a GPA of over a 4.0.

“I feel sometimes that people don’t see me as an athlete,” Carlie admitted.

“A lot of [ice skating] is about your appearance and subjective judging, so people don’t necessarily take [the sport] seriously. It would be nice for [other people] to understand how much time and effort I’m spending on [ice skating].”

Though very few people are enlightened regarding the high level of ice skating Carlie participates in, those who have gotten to know her, such as her drama teacher, Vanessa Gelinas, insist that Carlie “doesn’t let all of it define her.”

5.06.09 “I get tidbits [regarding her ice skating career] by prying information out of her,” Gelinas said. “She plays the role in the area that she’s in.

When she’s in school, she’s a student.

When she’s on stage, she’s a character.

When she’s at the rink, she’s a figure skater. She wears many different hats.”

It is hard to understand how much time Carlie spends on a sport that is not school-related. Maintaining a perfect academic standing while training six days a week, Monday through Friday for three hours and Sunday for one hour, while also attending either yoga classes, the chiropractor, or dance classes, seems impossible. Juggling a choreographer and regular coach with practice locations in Reston and Maryland add to Carlie’s after-school lifestyle; but in the end, her improvement is left up to her.

“When I’m on the ice, it’s mostly me.

I always joke about [ice skating] kind of being my job,” Carlie laughed. “Most of the time it’s me [practicing without a coach] telling myself what to do. My coach gives me things to work on, but by now I know what I need to run through.”

Carlie’s awareness of her individual effort’s effect on her performance drives her to practice despite feeling “lonely sometimes.”

Blantantly recognizing herself as a “perfectionist,” Carlie has learned to persevere without supervision, just as her mother, Carolyn, has expressed, “[tries] not to make [the family’s] life revolve around her.”

“Skating is the type of sport that if I take a week off, it’s hard to come back on the ice,” Carlie said.

“Everything will feel off for a couple of days. So even if I’m not feeling motivated, I know I have to be on the ice. I have friends who figure skate, so sometimes they’ll help, and we’ll motivate each other. If everyone on the ice is at a higher level, and they’re training at a higher level, I’ll train at a higher level.”

Though Carlie has both friends at school and on the ice, her friends at the rink differ due to her competitive edge, characterized by her “ten-year-old self ” saying that she “didn’t want to see other people doing jumps or spins that she couldn’t do.” Despite her “weird self conscious competitive thing,”

Carlie is close with other skaters.

“I skate against [people I train with] sometimes. It’s hard to be friends with people you’re competing against,” Carlie revealed. “A lot of my friends at the rink are guys because it’s easier to be friends [with males] because I don’t have to compete against them.”

Now established among her skating friends as a force on the ice, Carlie’s journey toward winning British Nationals as a junior all started with the television.

“When I was two-years-old, I watched Christie Yamaguchi in the Olympics, and after that I went around telling everyone that I was a figure skater,” Carlie remembered. “I think I saw her at the rink once, but I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t get to meet her.”

Though Carlie has a slim chance of going to the 2010 Olympics and fulfilling her dreams started by Christie Yamaguchi, her prospects for 2014 look promising.

“Everything would have to fall into place if I made the Olympic team,” Carlie hoped.

“Right now it’s not happening senior year; it’s kind of out of my control right now.”

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- alex straton, copy editor, can be reached at alex. straton@oaktonmedia.net

sports

05.06.09

page 23

Boys lacrosse battles its way to District games

A

sarah kashanian

fter practicing plays and repeating drills in the hot, sunny weather the week before the first District game, the Oakton boys varsity lacrosse team entered the field where the game was held. On May 1, the team competed against Herndon in the first round of districts.

Leading up to this, however, the season started well with an early win against a team from Richmond, but got progressively harder as time wore on.

“We played a club team from Richmond, and did really well with a 9-1 win, giving us a good start to our season,” said junior attack Alex Yost. “Later we played teams in the Concorde District. We started off pretty well, but the competition got harder the farther we got [in the season.]”

Adding to the increasing difficulty was the loss of several important players due to injury, as well as an increase in the teams size.

Although the team has grown, the players lost impacted how the team performed.

“We’ve had some bumps on the way,” said head coach David Junior attack Andrew Leonard, runs with the ball at the District game on Friday, May 1. The team won a clear victory of 10-3, despite a few mishaps toward the end of the game.

Guill. “We had some injuries early on; one of the seniors broke a collar bone and some have had concussions. Also, one problem is that we have such a large team it’s hard to keep them all motivated. The loss of the freshman team is why we have a larger team this year, and it’s hard having 40 players because not everyone gets to play as much.”

While the season has been disappointing at times, the team has been able to pull it together when it mattered most.

“The season has been frustrating,” said senior defender Taylor Stevens. “We have so much talent, yet haven’t been able to see it transfer to the field in games. So far we lost to three of our district rivals: Robinson, Chantilly and Westfield. Considering we have typically beaten them in the past, it’s been hard to deal with. But we are working really hard in practice and pulling it all together when it counts, right before playoffs.”

Going into Districts, the team hopes to meet success as they did in Yost’s favorite game against Herndon earlier in the season.

“When we played Herndon the beginning was close, but as the game progressed we became more intense and dominated them in the second half,” Yost said. “In districts I just hope we can play together as a team. We know we are good, but we have to play the four quarters of Oakton lacrosse like we know we can.”

To aid in this, practice will continue to boost the team’s confidence.

“[We’ve] got to get them thinking like lacrosse players,” Guill said. “That’s the big one there, and also emphasizing a strong will to win.”

Upon entering the playoffs, the lacrosse team is going in with class and enthusiasm.

“We are going into the playoffs optimistic with our heads held high,” Stevens said. “As far as working together goes, we are not just a team, we are a family.”

At the actual game, this family of boys lacross players defeted Herndon with a 10-3 victory.

“We were up 8-0 at half time, and were dominating pretty much every aspect of the game,” Yost said. “Our defense played lights out, and really slowed down their offense while our offense moved the ball well, and got everyone involved in the game.”

Toward the end, the game got heated as the team played against uneven odds.

“In the second half, we got three penalties on one play and had to play six on three for 30 seconds,” Yost said.

“Our defense did a great job, and our backup goalie Adam Dutchak made a great save allowing us to kill off the rest of the penalty time.”

However, when the District game ended, Oakton came out victorious.

“We played like we knew we could,” Yost said.

- elise werner, staff writer, can be reached at elise.werner@ oaktonmedia.net

Girls lacrosse wins districts, advances to semifinals

S

ticks ready, eyes on the ball. Two lacrosse players face each other off on the field. A whistle sounds in the background, and the players jump into action. In a sudden sweeping motion, the ball is hurled into the air and the players fight to scoop the ball into their nets.

“I’m so excited for districts,” said senior Sarah Beth Rupp prior to the game. “It’s time for [the team] to show what we’re capable of. How we’ve performed so far into this season doesn’t reflect how good we can be, and this is our chance to show our coaches that hard work does pay off.

I’m pretty confident that we’ll do well. There are things [the team] needs to work on, but we’re well aware of what our strengths and weaknesses are and we’re really pulling our act together.”

On May 1, girls varsity lacrosse competed against Herndon in the first round of districts. The game resulted in a 17-6 win for Oakton, and the team will continue onto district semifinals.

“Winning feels great,” said junior Jasmine Palmer. “After we win a game there’s an obvious boost in team spirit and everyone is really excited, but at the same time we know we could’ve done better. After every game we know that there are things we need to improve and work on, regardless of what the final score is.”

In previous years, the team has experienced a lot of success, reaching and winning state level competitions. “[Girls lacrosse] has performed really well in the last three years,” said junior Lauren Mathieu. “We’ve made it to States for the past three years. There’s definitely pressure to do well, especially being a three time defending State Champion team. It means a lot to us to do well.”

The team practices every day after school, engaging in

strenuous drills and activities to prep the girls for upcoming games.

“The feeling of winning a title and knowing we have so much to protect motivates us to keep going when we’re out on the field,” said lacrosse captain Christina Nugent, senior.

“The coaches are always encouraging us, and the fact that my other teammates are out there with me, working just as hard keeps me going during games too. I’m out there for them.”

Even when the team isn’t busy preparing for or playing games, team members still choose to interact with one another.

“I think [the team] is one of the closest sports teams at Oakton,” Palmer said. “We are always going to out to dinner, the mall or having sleepovers together. We’re all really supportive of each other and we have one of the most diverse teams, with freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. Even though there’s an obvious age gap between [team members], I’m still close to a lot of freshman. I can talk to them just as easily as I can with seniors, and I hope they feel the same way about me.”

As lacrosse wraps up their season, team members share what they’ll miss most about the team.

“I’ll definitely miss all my coaches and team members, and especially that feeling you get knowing you have something to look forward to after school,” said junior Erin Kurle. “Lacrosse has just been such a rewarding experience, I’d hate to see the season end.”

For some, the journey doesn’t end there. Graduating seniors, like Rupp, don’t plan to part with lacrosse just yet.

“I definitely want to continue lacrosse in college, if at all possible,” she said. I’m going to the Naval Academy next

taylor soldner

Sprinting towards the center of the field, junior Lauren Burke prepares to catch the ball. On May 1, girls varsity lacrosse competed against Herndon in the first round of Districts. The game ended in a 17-6 victory for Oakton, and the team will continue onto the Distict Semifinals. year, and they don’t offer lacrosse as a club team. They do have a varsity team, and if I can make it then I definitely will continue. My dad and my sister both played lacrosse, so it was always a big part of my life. I decided I wanted to try it, so I joined freshman year and I really liked it. The team atmosphere is so different than any other sport I’ve played.

I’ve played field hockey, been a cheerleader and have never been on a team that’s as close knit as lacrosse.”

- michelle chu, staff writer, can be reached at michelle.chu@ oaktonmedia.net

sports

05.06.09

page 25

P

While the two teams, Five For Fighting and The Red Army, square off in a preliminary game, two opposing players fight for possession of the ball. Often times the team who controls the ball for the majority of the game comes out with the victory. participants in this year’s floor hockey tournament speculate at the potential to continue this trend in the coming years.

“I talked to the sponsor, Mr. Greeney, who said that he definitely wanted to make this an annual event,” Yeganeh said. “He thought it went pretty well, and I support it for the future.”

- alex perry, staff writer, can be reached at alex.perry@ oaktonmedia.net

alena schwarz

This event appropriately occurred just as the local Washington Capitals began to lock up the opening round for professional hockey. As noted by science teacher and long time hockey fan Sean Greeney, this may have been an impetus for the tournament.

“Well there was some interest from the kids who were capitals fans, and I’m a huge hockey fan so I figured we’d try to get something to happen since the 3-on-3 basketball didn’t happen,” Greeney said. “I figured let’s do something for the kids and that’s what happened.”

The game of floor hockey itself shares many characteristics of hockey. Long-time player of actual ice hockey, senior Brian Hendricks noted key differences in the game.

“It’s not quite the same as street hockey, but it’s definitely a good practice for people who don’t know how to skate,” Hendricks said. “It’s a good warm-up since you have more control, and the game is more relaxed. I’ve never played with the walls, but I heard it’s pretty tough to control the ball since its constantly bouncing everywhere.”

Additionally, players do not have to wear padding, and their sticks have to remain below shoulder level. The game is also played with a ball rather than a puck to make playing easier. Each game was also refereed by Mr. Greeney who used to play ice hockey in high school and college. As for how the event was run, he had a few suggestions for next year if it is continued.

“Hopefully next year we’ll have more teams so maybe we can expand on it since we know how we want it to work,” Greeney said. “I don’t think I would change much other than that. Actually there was conversation about getting teachers for the all night graduation party to have something like that so you guys could play against us as a set of teachers.”

While hockey fans rave in the midst of the NHL playoffs,

alena schwarz

alena schwarz

utting away another goal, the Fighting Sioux clinched yet another win, sealing their title run. This team sported a few ice hockey players which helped spur their victories. Though there were only four teams in the school’s first floor hockey tournament, each was tested multiple times before advancing.

Though the Fighting Sioux was a young team, they didn’t lack any talent our motivation heading into the games.

“Our objective going into the tournament was only getting the W,” sophomore Craig Thomas said. “After that was accomplished we felt our work was done.”

With a round robin structure, each team got to play three games before the playoff round began. For those who did participate, the event was more about fun than actual competition.

“Being able to play against some of the Oakton ice hockey team was interesting because I never knew we had a legitimate team,” senior Casey White said. “Since they’d been playing hockey a long time, they were obviously really talented, and they knew how to handle the ball well. They definitely knew how to do fast breaks and set themselves up on offense.”

Concordantly this event did not draw as much attention or enthusiasm as Gatorball. While teams had fun competing, it was not quite as intense an atmosphere.

“Well it is a fun event, and I just wanted to hang out with some friends,” said senior Farshin Yeganeh. “We had some good practices before the games and just wanted to test our skills against other competition to see how good we could be.”

alena schwarz

Fighting Sioux sweep first floor hockey tournament

Attempting to defend a wrap-around goal, senior Farshin Yeganeh positions himself to cut off any shots or passes. “We ended up losing two games and tying one, but we did pretty well as far as the game that we tied,” Yeganeh said. “For the game that we lost, we did not do well on defense but were okay on offense.”

Standing in front of an open net, senior Michael Pournaras looks for a pass from team-mate Sean Czerniak. Floor hockey largely differs from ice hockey in its lack of skates, often times allowing more mobility and quickness from its participants.

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sports

page 26

05.06.09

Last girls soccer home game: a bittersweet end

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irls soccer suffered its second loss Tues. Apr. 28 to the Robinson Rams. The loss was more discouraging than its first due to the recognition of the team’s seniors prior to beginning the game.

Despite two recent losses, it holds an impressive record and has much to look forward to in the post season.

“Senior night itself was really fun, but the game was disappointing. We’re having a captain’s meeting to sort out all our issues for [Apr. 30]’s game,” said Christy Hassell, senior captain.

The lone Oakton goal was headed in by freshman Katherine Coyer in the first half. Robinson went home with a win of 5-1.

- amanda herman, staff writer, can be reached at amanda. herman@oaktonmedia.net

1.

marisa sheffield

3.

2.

marisa sheffield

on thebooks

marisa sheffield

1. Freshman Caroline Coyer steals the ball from Robinson captain senior Monika Criman. Coyer went on to assist her twin sister, Katherine, score the only Oakton goal of the game.

2. Senior captains Erica Stein, Jenna Cahill, Christy Hassel and their families applaud the accomplishments of the senior players. 3. Senior captain Christy Hassell runs through the team lineup, giving high fives for good luck.

photos by alena schwarz, drew gunther, taylor soldner and shafer dobry

Baseball

Softball

Boys Soccer

Girls Soccer

Crew

Apr. 24 vs. Centreville L (5-9) Apr. 27 vs. Chantilly L (9-11) Apr. 28 at Herndon L (4-14) May 1 vs. Fairfax May 2 at Fauquier Record: 7-9 Upcoming Games: May 6 vs. Robinson

Apr. 24 vs. Centreville L (0-11) Apr. 28 at Herndon W (11-1) Apr. 30 at Potomac L (1-4) May 1 vs. Fairfax L (0-2) Record: 4-9 Upcoming Games: May 6 vs. Robinson May 8 vs. Chantilly

Apr. 21 at Yorktown L (1-5) Apr. 24 vs. Chantilly L (0-2) Apr. 28 at Robinson Apr. 30 vs. Herndon May 1 at Centreville Record: 3-5-1 Upcoming Games: May 11 District 1st Round

Apr. 24 at Chantilly L (1-2) Apr. 27 vs. Centreville W (5-1) Apr. 28 vs. Robinson L (1-5) Apr. 30 at Herndon W (3-1) Record: 8-2 Upcoming Games: May 11 District 1st Round May 13 District Semi

Apr. 18 Darrell Winslow Boys 2nd, Girls 1st Apr. 25 Al Urquia Regatta Boys 3rd, Girls 1st May 2 Ted Phoenix Regatta novice 4th, girls 2nd Upcoming Regattas: May 9 VA Championship

Boys Tennis

Girls Tennis

Boys Lacrosse

Girls Lacrosse

Track

Apr. 22 at Westfield L (2-7) Apr. 24 vs. Centreville L (4-5) Apr. 27 vs. Chantilly L (1-8) Apr. 28 at Herndon W (6-3) Apr. 30 vs. Fairfax Record: 4-5 Upcoming Games: May 11 Region 1st Round

Apr. 22 vs. Westfield W (6-3) Apr. 24 at Centreville L (3-6) Apr. 27 at Chantilly L (4-5) Apr. 28 vs. Herndon W (9-0) Apr. 30 at Fairfax W (9-0) Record: 8-4 Upcoming Games: May 11 Region 1st Round

Apr. 21 at Chantilly L (2-8) Apr. 25 vs. Madison Apr. 29 at Langley May 1 Dist. 1st Round at Herndon W (10-3) Record: 4-5 Upcoming Games: May 8 District Final

Apr. 18 vs. Good Counsel Apr. 22 vs. St. Stephen Apr. 25 vs. Chantilly May 1 Dist. 1st Round vs.

Herndon W (17-6) Record: 3-3 Upcoming Games: May 8 District Final

Apr. 18 at Gus Lacy Apr. 21 at Westfield Apr. 23 Penn Relays Apr. 25 Golden Eagle Classic Apr. 30 at Westfield May 2 VMI Invitational Upcoming Meets: May 6 vs. Hern/Chan/Cent

sports

05.06.09

page 27

Select athletes run in Penn Relays, represent OHS

T

he Penn Relays are 33 hours of competition. With a race approximately every five minutes, officials run tight and unrelenting schedules; the athletes must prepare for a level of competition that makes no exceptions and allows no excuses. Compared to the typical high school track meet, the Penn Relays are unmatched.

The nine runners selected to participate in the Penn Relays understood that putting the group over the individual was the only way to achieve success. Eyeing the competition, the team members felt a form of nervousness that extended past the usual emotions. In the foreign environment there was only one thing that didn’t change: the athletes had each other.

“It is extremely intimidating up until the moment the gun goes off,” said senior Becca Kassabian. “After that, everyone is on an equal playing field.”

The Oakton girls and boys 4x4s both attended the meet held at the University of Pennsylvania on April 23-25.

The Relays accommodate more athletes than the Olympic Games and is the oldest relay meet in the United States.

boys - derek gleich, sr.

“You want to come out fast in the beginning because there’s a big crowd,” said senior Derek Gleich. “[The fall] slowed us down a bit, but we had a really fast fourth leg, [senior] Cornelius Bentely. He had never run the 4x4 before but he ran it in 50 seconds. We [beat our personal record] by three seconds in the end.”

The girls relay team met with similar success in their race, setting a solid foundation for their championship season.

“The girls qualified for regionals,” Kassiaban said. “We were really excited and finished fourth in our heat. There were 60 heats of 15 teams.”

Overall, the track team record looks strong as the team enters the start of the championship season on May 14.

“I’d really like the team to win another district title,” Kassabian said. “Everyone on the team has the potential to do well, and what’s good about track is that it gives you many opportunities to prove yourself.”

- daphne martschenko, staff writer, can be reached at daphne. martschenko@oaktonmedia.net

girls

participants

“Thousands of people from all over the country come to compete,” Kassabian said. “It’s not just restricted to high school, a lot of college teams race there.”

The large crowds, shattered records and non-stop action were overwhelming and new for the Cougar runners.

“The competition was a lot higher than we were used to,” said sophomore Morgan Harwood. “There were teams faster than us, but we hung comfortably in the middle.”

The level of competition left little room for mistakes, but even in such daunting circumstances the Penn Relays stressed the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship.

“There was a guy from William and Mary,” Kassabian said. “It was really sad and hard to watch because he was doing really well until he fell at the last hurtle. The crowd really helped him finish. Even though he came in last, the crowd cheered him and helped him to jog in and finish.”

The Oakton boys 4x4 realized how crucial teamwork was after a fall at the start. It was the team cohesiveness that allowed the boys to quickly look past the unexpected obstacle and cross the line with a regional qualifying time.

- dustin gleich, sr.

- mathew henton, so.

- cornelius bentley, jr.

- alex straton, jr.

-morgan harwood, so -becca kassabian, sr. -shelby windmuller, so.

Boys tennis closes season, prepares for Districts

A

fter a brief, half hour warm up, the boys tennis players take their places on the court, matched up against their opponents. With the season almost over, every match counts, and for the team, it’s been a successful season.

With a split season, the players were content with their style of play and are ready to move on.

“I was pretty satisfied,” said senior Evan Hyer. “I just can’t wait until Districts.”

For those players who didn’t make the cut to Districts, they are still expected to come.

“The players are encouraged to come and support us during our matches,” Hyer said.

Even though the season was much imporved, the team could have been better had injuries not gotten in its way.

“The injuries kept the season about the same as lasty year,” Hyer said. If we hadn’t lost [sophhomore] Chris Fu, we would have been above 500.”

In terms of the post season, Hyer believes that it will be promising.

“There’s a lot of great competition this year,” he said. “If we don’t make it [to states] this year, then definitely next year.”

In the upcoming years, improvement looks promising.

“Next year will be even better since we’re only losing one senior,” Hyer said.

The change in coaches this year will also help the improving process.

“I enjoyed the new coaches,” Hyer said. “I think they really helped to improve the team.”

taylor soldner

Standing at the net, junior Hashim Sbarta and his partner await the serve from their opponent from Fairfax.

- alena schwarz, sports editor, can be reached at alena. schwarz@oaktonmedia.net

sportsbriefs Oakton has taken over the top spot in Group AAA and will recieve the Wachovia Cup. The Wachovia Cup recognizes the League’s state champions of state champions, the school in each group that performs best in state-level competition across all sports. The winner of the cup, sponsored by Wachovia Bank, is determined by a point system based on performance in state championship events. from www.vhsl.org

- chris weil, sr.

Senior Chris Weil has been selected by the VHSL and Allstate Foundation as the Virginia AAA Male Athlete of the Year, based on scholastic and athletic performance. Weil will be given a $1,000 scholarship at a luncheon in Charlottesville on May 11.

On Saturday, May 2, the novice crew team participated in the Ted Phoenix Regatta, held at Sandy Run. The Regatta was the novice crew’s version of States. The novice women’s four placed 2nd, only being beat by Woodbridge by 19.4 seconds and beating Madison by eight seconds. The novice men’s four came in 7th place.

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