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the VOLUME #61 ISSUE 1

ANNANDALE HIGH SCHOOL 4700 Medford Dr. Annandale, VA 22003 470

Today’s Weather

Informinng the Atoms siince 1954 4 Mostly Sunny

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WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 9, 2015

(703) 642-4229

New leadership begins at AHS Tim Thomas moves to Annandale from Westfield HS

BY HEZEKIEL YONAS AND DANIEL YENAGETA Editor-in-chief and Entertainment editor

ALEXANDRA ZERNIK

Every school year there are always new faces in the halls of Annandale; this year, there's one at the helmPrincipal Tim Thomas.

He's been working in Fairfax County for 23 years, starting from his days as a Spanish teacher at Centreville High School. He also chaired the Undergraduate Awards Committee and co-chaired the Spanish Honor Society there as well.

After eight years as a Spanish teacher, Thomas would go on to become the assistant principal at Centreville and Westfield high schools, and eventually principal of Westfield and now Annandale High School.

Already a month into the job, Thomas has been able to make some observations about Annandale and how it is different from Westfield.

"I recognize the difference in the size of the school for example, and the diversity as well. What I come into at Annandale is a place that is very much of a community-based school with a tremendous amount of adversity," Thomas said. "Those are things that are very exciting to me that are a little bit different than what I'm used to. I don't see those as challenges, I see those as opportunities."

Thomas will have to make adjustments because of the difference between Westfield and Annandale.

He acknowledges that making radical changes aren't needed straight out the gate, but he intends to build on what we have instead.

"My plan is not to turn things upside down and make drastic changes from the beginning. I think one of the things I want to do is create some clear direction, create some clear vision, optimize the interventions that are in Principal Tim Thomas spells out PRIDE during his freshman orientation speech given to welcome the new students. place [and] work closely with the administrative team," will do a good job."

Thomas said. "[We are] not only sustaining either a level which learning and teaching are taking place."

One of the things that he's noticed is that Annandale There are some changes that are already being put of excellence or tradition that takes place at Annandale, in place in order to enhance the education at Annandale. but really tryna take it to another level. I'm excited about is packed with school spirit.

"I recognize that there's a tremendous amount "The bell schedule is different because of the later the opportunity."

However, he still has a few modifications that he of energy, excitement, investment, dedication and high school start time. We'll [also] look at some of the commitment already in place by so many folks at intervention programs that are in place, we'll look at would like to enforce.

"I will look to gather feedback from the faculty and Annandale High School," Thomas said. "People are here trying to make sure that we are using the intervention staff, from the community and from the students about because they want to be here, and I include myself in a period- W4, not only for interventions but for enrichment as well," Thomas said. "We'll be sure to align that work interior cameras. We had interior cameras at Westfield, part of that as well."

Thomas is a very fun-loving person and hes made with division-wide goals, region-wide goals, pyramid and I see value in using interior cameras as a deterrent, not as a "gotcha" or "to try and catch people" mechanism, a good impression on the people who have had the goals and Annandale goals."

Among other changes, Thomas is trying to fill up the that's really not what it's all about," Thomas said. "Interior pleasure of meeting him.

"I think he's very optimistic and excited to be here. open positions in the staff. cameras, for me, are really about providing additional "Some of the changes that we are looking at making sets of eyes, and discouraging negative, inappropriate When the class of 2016 SGA board and I talked to him, he behavior for everyone. The degree to which we are able was very happy to be there and really wanted to have a are more organizational structure [oriented]. First and to protect the adults and the students in the building presence in the school," senior Kim Mai commented. "He foremost, at this time we're awaiting the approval of the during the school day can also influence the degree to even promised to come to our football games. I believe he hiring of an assistant principal to fill a vacancy that we

have," Thomas said. "Being fully staffed administratively, being fully staffed with the security team, making sure that our instructional staff is fully staffed and also taking a look at the support staff and making sure that we're fully staffed there as well. Right out of the gate, [we are] making sure that we have all of the right people in all of the right places."

Principal Thomas has always come off as a very sociable leader. Consistently attending school activities at Westfield High School during his tenure there, and constantly taking selfies with students.

"I think what students can anticipate from me personally is a level of accessibility, a level of approachability, a high level of engagement during the school day and after school as well," Thomas continued.

One of Thomas' goals is not only making sure students are regularly coming to school, but that they are also attending their classes in order for them to take advantage of the academic opportunities that they are provided with at Annandale.

"It is paramount to me that we focus on attendance and kids coming to school regularly, students being aware of and hearing to attendance and tardy policies for example. Among the priorities is to make sure that we have a high level of instructions taking place in classrooms, and that kids get to class on time and stay in class," Thomas said. "At the end of the day, what's most important is the learning opportunities that are provided to students in the classroom, but I also recognize the need to pay close attention to extracurricular activities, athletics, fine and performing arts, CTE programs, family and computer sciences programs that exist here that students take advantage of."

Thomas is aware of how important communicating will be because it will help staff members, students and the parents of students stay informed on what's going on at Annandale High School.

"We like to use keep in touch messages, for example, to get that information out," Thomas said. "I'm on Twitter, so I can tweet some of that information out as well."

Thomas wants to emphasize the idea of Atom Pride.

He believes that the motto that was acquired last year is demonstrated very well by the Annandale community.

"I think students can expect a continued emphasis on Atom Pride, I think they can expect that the school will have a clear, unified vision, and so the vision statement will serve to really underscore our beliefs, our collected beliefs as a faculty and staff and as students and families as well. The vision statement is separate from Atom Pride because of what Atom Pride is," Thomas said. "If we look at what P.R.I.D.E stands for, participation, respect, integrity, determination and empathy, that really helps to outline what the expectations are for student and adult behavior."

Principal Thomas plans on keeping Atom Pride alive by starting to have lessons on Atom Pride being taught in the W4 period.

"We look to keep the momentum going with some of the emphasis on Atom Pride, and we look to use W4, not only as a time for students to make connections with their W4 teachers, but also we'll look to use that time to help to reinforce and illustrate things like SR&R, Honor Code, see NEW PRINCIPAL pg. 3

Picture day on the way

Welcoming the class of 2019 Freshman get their first feel of high school

Students get ready for annual school photos during the first week

BY MOHAMMED ELHAG AND TEAGAN FOTI News Editors

BY SUMMAR AYOUB As the freshman class of 2019 begins to adapt to the high school environment, the senior class of 2016 gets ready to finish off their last year. The upcoming freshman class contains about 560 students, the sophomore class has 530 students, junior class has 540 students and the senior class contains 545 students.

"I am nervous because I've never been in a school this size before," freshman Fares Ayoub said.

Although some freshman may be nervous about fresh start at a new school, some freshmen have their siblings to show them around.

"I am not that nervous about school because I have my older sister, Teagan, to show me around school," freshman Cameron Foti said.

"I feel like having a sibling in school will help me as a freshman understand the rules and what is going to be expected from me," Ayoub said.

Annandale welcomed the freshmen by having a leadership flash mob, spirited cheer routine, band performance and pep talk from principal Thomas.

Leadership planned their flash mob to show the freshmen that high school is not scary. They danced to songs from the High School Musical

ALEXANDRA ZERNIK

Editor-in-chief

Freshman class sit in the gym for their annual freshman pep rally, watching the band perform.

soundtrack, "Hit The Quan", The Party Rock Anthem and Rolling on the River. This dance took about two days to practice and the outcome was successful.

"Sitting there with all my classmates, I felt excited about the new experiences I am going to encounter, with all the new people that I haven't even got the chance to meet yet," Ayoub said.

The teachers and administration are excited to welcome the new members of the Atom nation.

Check out this slideshow

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Get ready for the upcoming football season with latest trends

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Lifestyles 8

Entertainment 10

On your smartphone, scan this code using the application "QR Code" to view the frshman orientation slideshow.

Underclassmen pictures are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, September 16 and 17 during English class periods. Pictures will be taken in the auditorium. If you plan on purchasing pictures, the form, which was distributed in the schedule pick-up folder, should be filled out and brought to the auditorium, with money, during pictures.

The picture taken on these days will be used for both student ID cards and the yearbook.

Students ID cards will be given out in the same period soon after the picture is taken. This new feature was added last year, students are very excited to get their student identification cards as soon as their picture has been taken.

If a student is absent or displeased with their picture, there will be a picture retake day on a later undecided date.

All classes will be taking their pictures on this date with the exception of the senior class who have a separate date for senior pictures. Senior portraits will be taken during the second week of school.

For senior portraits there are five different packages, Premier for $60, Ultimate for $55, Deluxe for $45, Standard for $30 and Basic for $15.

Each student should check their appointment time to see when to take their pictures in the clauses hall.

Pictures for all classes, including senior portraits, will On your be organized and taken by smartphone, scan Lifetouch Incorporation. For this code using the more information about pictures application "QR visit their website, Lifetouch.

Code" to view the com, and prepare to take Lifetouhch webiste pictures on the second week of to learn more school.

Lifetouch website

Summer Hot Spotss Places to visit before summer vacation comes to an end Weekend 12

2 EDITORIALS

Sept. 9, 2015

FCPS may cut sports Massive deficit threatens extracurricular activities As one of the largest school districts with approximately 187,000 students, Fairfax County is facing problems involving their budget.

Superintendent Dr. Karen Garza revealed that the large estimated deficit of $100 million could lead to many budget cuts.

Although everything is far from being confirmed, a list of potential reductions was recently released to the public, some of which alarmed many parents and students.

A 36 member task force created a list of ideas ranging from reducing staff members to increasing class sizes in order to save money. The most questionable proposals included eliminating sports, school newspapers, yearbook and downsizing music programs such as orchestra, band and chorus.

Although it is unlikely that sports will be fully removed, Fairfax County can reduce the amount of funds they lend towards their sports programs.

This will force coaches, teams and assistants to raise even more money on their own in order to provide for uniforms, buses and other necessities.

For most sports, students already have to pay for their own uniforms and

ANNANDALEATOMS.COM

BY SADIE MODICA AND JULIE NGUYEN Editorials Editors

Annandale football players, Tim Johnson and Tucker Mack, in a 2014 game.

hold fund raisers to pay for expenses. If Fairfax County provides even less money, the student athletes won't be able to focus on what's important- playing the game.

In such a large and popular school district, cutting sports could also have the unintended impact of turning students and parents off FCPS, especially students who see sports as a possible gateway to college.

Many students get into college solely on their athletic ability, and those students would be pretty upset to see that opportunity taken away from them.

Not only are sports sometimes a gateway to college, they also teach students some valuable lessons about hard work, commitment and how to conduct themselves on a team.

These skills could help in any professional environment, and students and parents alike would be sad to see them go.

Elimination of school newspapers and yearbooks would affect many young writers and photographers in the county.

Removing these student run newspapers and yearbooks would deny those who take journalism classes the full experience of being journalists themselves.

School newspapers allow students to be more aware of current events around the world as well as what's going on in their school.

The papers that are oftentimes published monthly keep the student body up to date and show different perspectives on their school and the world Newspapers aid aspiring journalists in discovering their talents and seeing if the career fits them as writers. Removing these newspapers would only set students back and there would not be any benefits from cutting this student activity.

In addition to school newspapers, yearbooks are also student run and are

one of the many things that most students look forward to at the end of the school year.

The yearbook staff spends an entire year capturing memorable events through a lens and work hard to create the best and most creative yearbook for the rest of the student body. Without it, students would not be able to reflect on their school year and reminisce Having a tangible consummation of one's year can bring up pleasant memories, and make one more positive about their high school experience for years to come.

As for those students who have been a part of the newspaper and yearbook staff for multiple years, cutting the two student activities would put their efforts down the drain.

The staff members have worked hard for years in order to build a reputation for their organizations and they have brought forth many new ideas for the sake of developing their newspaper and yearbooks into the best that they could be.

Aside from eliminating newspapers and yearbooks, the task force suggested to stop funding music programs.

This proposal would only further outrage the students as well as their parents.

The music department currently does not get much money to begin with and this proposal would only set them back further.

There are many students within the school who are passionate about music and like sports, music promotes teamwork and commitment. For some students, orchestra, band and chorus are the only times where they can experience making music.

In conclusion, eliminating these programs would be detrimental.

Dump Trump

BY SADIE MODICA AND JULIE NGUYEN Editorials Editors Donald Trump has caught the attention of the public with his egregious personality and unorthodox views on how the government should be run under his presidency.

His proposal to build a wall to put a stop to illegal immigration and make Mexicans pay for it is a controversial topic.

Additionally, he wants to repeal the birthright rule, deporting Hispanics born in America to parents who immigrated illegally.

This is a ridiculous notion because those people have made a life here, perhaps gone to school and gotten jobs, and removing them would be of no benefit.

He claims that Mexicans bring nothing good to the nation, listing drugs, crime and rape as three of the effects of illegal immigration.

On the contrary, immigrants often take up most of the demeaning and menial jobs such as maids, janitors, meat processors and taxi drivers-- jobs that most would not want to do.

It seems that Trump does not understand the principles on which his country was founded. Refuge for all races and religions is a huge component of our nation's identity. The U.S. is a melting pot for all types of cultures and is continuously growing to be more diverse.

Here at Annandale, students are very accepting of each other, and the U.S. can be like that too.

We need a leader who can take a lesson from our Annandale community and be more accepting of those who seek America for its rich opportunities.

That leader is not Donald Trump, and never will be.

Are summer assignments pointless?

New homework policies raise the question Recent policy changes dictate that teachers aren't allowed to give students homework over winter and spring break, but why do we still have summer homework? Summer homework causes nothing but premature stress.

In the summer, procrastination is inevitable-- after a long year of rigorous work and stressing over things like finals and SOLs, students just want a break.

A break, however, is not what they get. All Annandale students have at least one summer assignment, sometimes four to five for upperclassmen.

Some of the common books read by students as underclassmen in the honors track.

Students, with all of their other various activities, are ill-prepared to cope with such a workload.

Annotating is the bane of every student's existence. when students come in," English teacher Melissa PhilSummer break is not meant to be spent hunching Reading a book is one thing, but annotating is another lips said. "But I don't think it should be so overwhelmover a computer or clutching highlighters until one's thing entirely. It often bleeds the enjoyment out of read- ing that, especially if they're in a lot of advanced level hands are red. Students would much rather spend their ing, and a dense or difficult book significantly prolongs classes, that all they're doing all summer is homework." only three months of freedom doing activities of relax- the time spent on the assignment.

Teachers believe that summer assignments are imation.

Students constantly question the benefit of these as- portant in the aspect of allowing the students to get Many students already choose to dedicate their sum- signments, especially when they seem to be of no edu- glimpses of the classes that they will be enrolled in for mers to school-related things such as governor's school, cational gain. the upcoming school year. It gives them a preview of SAT prep and academic camps. When three to five mon"[Summer assignments] help in some ways but I what they will be learning and helps their brains stay strous assignments are added to the mix, things get a don't like the theory of them because I think summer busy over the three months of break. bit hectic. should be the student's break," junior Jessica Ferson "I think they get an idea, of maybe what to expect, Examples of common summer assignments include said.

Phillips said. "I think it prepares the students for that current event projects, annotating a book or extensive Although students may complain about the work- academic year, and what they can expect personally as math projects. load, teachers have their reasons for summer assign- well."

Summer current event projects are typically around ments.

Even so, some teachers do share a common opinion 20 summaries and responses to articles with a given "I think they're necessary just to keep students ac- that these assignments should not be too time-consumtheme. They are not particularly hard, but time intensive. tively engaged and to give us something to work with ing or stressful for their students.

Dos and Don'ts: Frosh Edition

Staff CO-EDITORS IN CHIEF Summar Ayoub Hezekiel Yonas MANAGING EDITOR Alexandra Zernik NEWS EDITORS Mohamed Elhag Teagan Foti EDITORIALS EDITORS Sadie Modica Julie Nguyen

Raphael Yu PEOPLE EDITORS Conrad Shartel Julie Swenton WEEKEND EDITORS Cayley Byrne Biruk Negash INTERNATIONAL EDITORS Nancy Evora Timothy Gray

COPY EDITORS Linus Bumbaca Sharon Sanchez

ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS Daniel Yenegeta Ahmad Ayub

IN-DEPTH EDITORS Binqi Chen Aseal Saed

LIFESTYLES EDITORS Thida Pathammavong Tipyan Omer

SPORTS EDITORS Ryan Gammon Andrew Gonzalez Nebeyu Solomon

HEALTH EDITORS Sabrina Hawa Phuong Nguyen

SPORTS XTRA EDITORS Marem Atef

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITORS Soulisa Pathammavong Marilyn Rivas

ART EDITORS Alaina Garay Kailyn Garay ACADEMICS EDITORS Marife Baragano Kiara Patino WEB EDITOR/MASTER Christopher Han HEAD VIDEOGRAPHERS Faisel Hassen Bailey Oliver AD MANAGER Hussein Salem CIRCULATION MANAGERS Jeanine Barakat Maria Suarez STAFF WRITERS Almaz Abedje Sheila Aguirre Seham Ahmed Lina Al Taii Laura Clemons Anthony Dinh Serene Ghul

Grace Hogye Nicole Jordan Jennifer Kang Lucie Lefbom Kirk Lindberg Angelo Lopez Crew McCarthy Ruth Mekonnen Julius Miller Nicholas Mortensen Amani Muntu Judy Nanaw Duy Nguyen Andrew Nunez Sergio Pozo Cory Pringle Kadijah Sesay Kavi Shamdin Rachel Shogren Camilia Soruco Halley Thadeus Karungu Thuku Melanie Valencia Firdousa Wasuge PHOTOGRAPHER Tooba Siddique ADVISER Alan Weintraut

JULIE NGUYEN

BY SADIE MODICA AND JULIE NGUYEN Editorials Editors

"I understand the need for summer assignments, but I don't believe that they should be huge because it's supposed to be a summer break," Chemistry teacher Nancy Kaegi said.

However, even with that mind set, some teachers may not realize how much work students have to do over summer vacation.

The projects that are assigned in class may not seem like much, but the work begins to pile up once students receive their assignments in every other class.

More often than not, the four core classes are guaranteed to have summer assignments. In addition, there are some electives that require students to complete a summer project as well.

Many students choose to spend their summers traveling. Whether it be from state to state or country to country, some students spend the majority of their summers visiting other places with their families.

During these vacations, summer assignments and schoolwork are the last things on their minds. No one wants to be annotating Jane Eyre while they are sitting on a hotel balcony next to a perfect view of the beach.

On top of traveling, many students choose to participate in fall sports such as cross country, football and field hockey.

By the time they return from vacation, tryouts are taking place and soon enough practices begin. Practices for these sports tend to begin a month before school starts, or earlier, leaving students with even less time to complete summer assignments.

For example, varsity football practices are typically from 6 a.m. until 12 p.m. in the summer. Because of this, students are forced to balance their time between finishing summer assignments and practice, and more often than not balance is nearly impossible.

Almost every summer, students find themselves with several projects to do and insufficient time. Students are forced to rush said assignments and lose the intended academic benefit.

They find themselves thoroughly stressed out before school even begins- a recipe for disaster.

Do ask about the pool on the third floor-- it's a great hangout spot!

Annandale High School Vol. 61 No.1 4700 Medford Dr. Annandale, VA 22003 703.642.4229 September 9, 2015 Adviser: Alan Weintraut ajweintraut@fcps.edu

The A-Blast is an award-winning newspaper that strives to inform, educate and entertain the student body and community.

Published every three weeks, The A-Blast will not print any material that is obscene or libelous; or that which substantially disrupts the school day, or invades an individual's right to privacy. The A-Blast is an independent, open forum for discussion that is printed at the Springfield Plant of The Washington Post.

Signed letters to the editor of 250 words or less may be emailed to theablast15@gmail.com or submitted to room 262 or mailed to the school. The A-Blast reserves the right to refuse advertisements.

All submissions become property of The A-Blast, Copyright, 2015.

Don't hesitate to introduce yourself to upperclassmen-- they love making new friends!

Do wear silly bands, crocs and snapbacks to school-- it'll gain you major fashion Don't forget to sit in the front of the class and answer every question your teacher asks.

NEWS 3

Sept. 9, 2015

AHS prepares freshmen

Tim Thomas joins AHS staff as new principal

Week long program to assuage nerves and worries News Editor The leap from middle to high school can be confusing for many rising ninth graders and leave them anxious. A readiness program was made to counter this fear of high school and help new freshmen adapt to the new setting. During the last week of July 2015, the Rising Ninth Graders Transition to Annandale High School program was held. The program took place from July 27 to July 31 at Annandale High School. This is the second year doing this program.

The students came in for a meeting in the cafeteria at 9 a.m. After they finished with the meeting they did all kinds of things including icebreakers, educational, emotional, group, drawing and athletic activities. They ate lunch together at 11 a.m. then went on tours of the building, all in preparation for high school. Their day finished at 1 p.m. and they went back home in anticipation for the next day.

To end the experience, the students were taken on a field trip on Friday, July 31. They visited the Virginia Commonwealth University and Richmond for a capital tour.

The program was provided through the 21st Century Grant, a Fairfax county grant. In collaboration with Poe and Holmes middle schools, they picked the students and put together a capable group of willing adults. The team included Robert Byrd, from Fort Hunt elementary school, Marcy Pronovost and Kristin Lillis, from the Annandale special education department, and the AHS resource teacher, Hassan Mims.

Mims, the lead teacher in the program, was very involved in the program

this year and the last. He gave a lot of information on why and how the program was started.

The idea was inherited at Annandale from West Potomac High School and adapted to the conditions needed by the grant. AHS, along with Poe and Holmes middle schools, work a lot to ease the nerves felt by rising freshmen.

"The objective of the program was to give rising ninth graders who were identified [to] potentially struggle in our school a good fresh start about high school life and skills to be successful," Mims said.

There is countless research, done by organizations like the Big Brother Big Sister organization, that mentions how students struggle gravely with transitions. Because of this, they plan to continue this program to help students and give them more opportunities for success.

Another goal of the program was to set up some adults in the school as trusted figures or even case managers for the students. This is to make the rising ninth graders feel more comfortable at Annandale.

It was noted that the students asked a lot of questions about things they were afraid of for this school year. This year's program was described as a huge success. The rising students were able to relax and have fun while deterring their fears of high school.

Rising ninth graders ending the program at VCU for their field trip on Friday, July 31.

"It's good that they formed a good relationship with an adult in the build- looking to grow the program." ing," Mims said.

Last year, approximately 60 students "The grant was renewed, so as long attended the program and 100 showed as Poe and Holmes middle schools are up this year. They wish to achieve a popwilling to partner with us we're defi- ulation of 125 students at the next Rising On your smartphone, nitely looking forward to continuing the Ninth Graders to AHS program. scan this code using program," Mims said. "Next year we're

See this video for more details

the application QR Code Reader to watch a video about the program.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HASSAN MIMS

BY MOHAMED ELHAG

CONT. "NEW PRINCIPAL" attendance and hopefully incorporate some lessons around Atom Pride," Thomas continued. "[We want to] really make sure that at the end of the day, all of the adults and the students and families in the community share a common vision, and that everyone understands what it means to be an Annandale Atom and what it means to demonstrate Atom Pride, not only at school or during school, but also outside of school, like at events for example, and in the community."

Thomas doesn't intend on making changes that would transform Annandale into Westfield High School 2.0. He knows that because they are different schools, that the same adjustments might not have the same exact effect.

"I want to be very careful about referencing Westfield because there are things that we did that worked there and some things that we did that didn't work there. I don't want to make it Westfield High School, this is Annandale High School, it has its own spirit, it clearly has its own traditions and its history," Thomas said. "I'm not out to change all of that and turn it into a school that were not, we're Annandale High School.

What it means to be an Atom is having a tremendous amount of pride, investment, tradition and history."

Principal Thomas is more of an interactive principal than a reclusive one and aspires to establish relationships with the members of the school.

"I think what the Annandale community can expect from me is a principal that is very engaged, interactive, visible, approachable and accessible. I don't think people are going to wonder where they stand with me," Thomas said. "I think whether you're an adult or a student or a parent or a community member, you're going to know where you stand with me. I try to be very transparent but probably at the core of what I am as a school leader is the degree in which I establish relationships with students."

We all should open our arms to our new principal and help him establish strong relationships with the members of our school.

"All types of students energize inspire me. The connections and relationships that I establish and maintain with students are really what drives me to do this job," Thomas said. "With that being said I think it's safe to say that people will be able to come to the conclusion that I am someone who you will find is very interactive. Hopefully I've already demonstrated some of that and I don't plan to back down."

Micheal Rudden

Victoria Douglas

Teaches: Geometry and Algebra 1 Education: Masters from GMU Years teaching: 6 Hobbies: Football, fantasy, theater, music, movies, exercise/running Favorite food: Mexican Favorite movie: Too many! Favorite I saw this summer was Inside Out Biggest pet peeve: Waiting in lines Most excited for: Meeting the new students and staff at Annandale

Teaches: Algebra I Plus, Algebra II Plus and Algebra II Education: Bachelors degree from Penn State PHOTO COURTESY OF VICTORIA DOUGLAS

PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL RUDDEN

Meet some of this years new teachers Hobbies: Swimming, cooking and running Favorite food: Chicken marsala Favorite movie: The Parent Trap Biggest pet peeve: When people chew their gum loudly; like a cow Most excited for: I am excited to meet all the students and watch them grow!

Look for more new teachers in the next edition.

FCPS introduces new SIS grade book system Parents can now access students grades electronically

BY TEAGAN FOTI News Editor With the start of the new school year FCPS has initiated a new program to help students and parents stay informed on grades and class performance. The new gradebook system is a county wide program run through SIS (student information system). This new system will not be available until late September.

Available on the program will be students' class work grades, tests and quizzes, as well as attendance records and homework. Also posted will be classes chosen for future years and the credits required for each class taken.

"It will help me to work harder in school knowing that my parents can access my grades whenever they want," junior Tehya Moss said.

Many teachers have described the system as a way to make grades more transparent

and hope that it will help students to stay on top of their grades because their parents will have access to grades constantly.

Not all teachers have adjusted to the system, although the staff has attended training sessions to get comfortable with the site because it differs drastically from the old grade book system, IG Pro. "It's not very user friendly" English teacher Fusun Sulzbach said. "I think the more that we play with it and the more we use it the better handle we will get."

Although the system may be tedious to use in the beginning teachers and staff hope that the program will help to keep parents more involved in their child's success in school and will help to motivate the students to stay on top of their work, as well as to reduce the amount of emails teachers get from parents regarding grades and class participation.

"Learning it will take some time," Sulzbach said. "But there's always a learning curve."

This is a drastic change from prior years when parents were only given interims and occasional progress reports to show grades.

But parents might have to be more open

A screenshot of the SIS grade book.

minded to grades that are temporary, because they can be changed.

"I like that I can constantly see my grades and stay updated on how my work affects my grades," junior Jeremiah Bethea said. "This way I know where I stand and what work I need to improve upon."

In order to use this system at home, there are a few steps to set up an account. In the letter which was sent home, there will be the parent's first name, last name and an access code. There is a link shown on the page which leads to the site where an account is made. After entering the parent's first and

last name with the access code, it presents a Terms and Conditions page where they read and agree or disagree. Finally you can create your account, just as you would for any other program (name, email, password etc.).

NEWS BRIEFS PATRIOT CONFERENCE GOLF TOURNAMENT

VARSITY VOLLEYBALL VS. JEFFERSON

SENIOR PICTURES

JV/VARSITY FIELD HOCKEY VS. WEST SPRINGFIELD

The patriot conference golf tournament will begin on Monday, September 28, at 11 a.m. The tourney will take place at Twin Lakes Golf Course.

The varsity Volleyball team will compete against Thomas Jefferson High School on Thurday, September 10 at 7:15.

Seniors remember to take your seniors pictures at your scheduled time. Pictures will take place in Clausen Hall.

Friday, September 11, the JV/Varsity field hockey teams will face West Springfield High School at 6:15 p.m.

NEHS APPLICATIONS DUE

UNDERCLASS PICTURES

KEY CLUB MEETING

XC QUAD MEET

National English Honor Society Applications due by Thursday, October 8.

If you have questions ask Ms. Hanneman (room 268) or Ms. Gibson (room 267).

All underclassmen will be taking there school pictures in the auditorium during their english classes either on Wednesday, September 16 or Thursday, September 17.

The first meeting of the key club will be Monday, September 14, from 3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the cafeteria.

ORCHESTRA BOOSTER MEETING

LATE BUSES BEGIN The after school busses will begin Wednesday, October 7. To see what bus you ride stop by the main office to pick up a bus schedule.

Thursday, September 10, a meeting will be held in the orchestra room at 7 p.m. for the orchestra booster.

The Boys/Girls Cross Country team will be competing on Tuesday, September 29, at Occoquan Regional Park from 5-7 p.m.

4 PHOTO Class of 2016 seniors kick off the year doing it

Out of all the canvases the students had to paint, this painting in the senior courtyard was one of the simplest because they only had to change the five into a six.

THIDA PATHAMMAVONG

SOULISA PATHAMMAVONG

To start off the year, seniors remove tracings of the class of 2015 motto by painting over it with white paint.

SOULISA PATHAMMAVONG

COURTESY OF ANNANDALE2016

Sept. 9, 2015

MARILYN PIVAS

The seniors continue the tradition of painting a different canvas to represent their class and they add their own unique touch.

THIDA PATHAMMAVONG

THIDA PATHAMMAVONG

Students work hard to paint one of their class mottos "Legends" with their graduation year also included.

Senior Seham Ahmed prepares the canvases by removing the old designs for new 2016 designs.

MARILYN PIVAS

Senior Elizabeth Andia leaves her mark along with the other students by putting her hand print.

Senior Janan Gokturk helps out by touching up the edges of the six in the 2016 portrait.

COURTESY OF ANNANDALE2016

The class of 2016 spray paints the chimney with their class saying "go b16 or go home."

MARILYN PIVAS

SOULISA PATHAMMAVONG

The class of 2016 paints the c-train by creatively adding their graduating year into the word seniors and also spray painting the saying "we're taking over!"

Senior Gary Colomo displays his own creativity by spray painting the trees

THIDA PATHAMMAVONG

After a few hours, senior Kim Mai completes her time consuming and difficult portrait to show her pride in her 2016 class.

MARILYN PIVAS

SOULISA PATHAMMAVONG

Senior class president Ashley Britton and vice president Seham Ahmed pose in front of the AHS logo in the senior courtyard.

After painting her heart away, senior Kadijah Sesay adds touches to the class c-train.

After a long day of painting, the class of 2016 take a break from decorating the school and chill out in the senior courtyard with everyone that participated.

5 IN-DEPTH

IN-DEPTH 6

Sept. 9, 2015

Sept. 9, 2015

Annandale's Summer of Service Atoms share their stories of service from all over the globe.

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Idman Dahir, 12 & Beca Kindling, 10

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For three weeks in July senior Idman Dahir and sophomore Rebecca Kindling spent three weeks in July with kids referred to as "Young Scholars." Volunteering at the Thomas Jefferson High School sponsored program, the STEMbassadors, the pair worked with kids in grades K-6 who were considered gifted.

The two participated in the Weyanoke Elementary aspect of the program. They explained their favorite aspect of their trip being the field trip to Green Springs Gardens.

Above: The students are looking at "The weather was perfect, and the kids were beyond different organisms in a lake. ecstatic," Dahir said.

The trip began with the kids taking what they learned Left: The students are observing about clouds in their classes and applied it into real life. flowers "All of the kids were excited to take what they learned in class and use it outside," Kindling said.

As they were walking around the park they saw hundreds of flowers and even saw a family of ducks. The kids followed the ducks all around the lake until they got dizzy.

When faced with different plants they were unsure about, the students would immediately ask their teacher with a million questions.

The trip ended with the kids finding an open field and having one big class race.

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Above: Students are looking into a small pond filled with small fishes.

After riding in an overheating van for four hours and being told not to drink water from the cities due to safety reasons, sophomore Benjamin Lee shares his fondest memory from his mission trip to Cacalchen and Yucatan, Mexico.

While working with the children at a local school, Lee and his companions were given the task of putting together a musical with the children for their families. Different students taught different children how to play many instruments such as the violin, trumpet, and piano.

The planning for this musical lasted four to five days before the performance was held. For Lee, working closely with the children and seeing their great improvements and talents over the short amount of time made him think about the privileges and the opportunities he has back home. "It got me wondering how much they could achieve in my shoes," Lee said.

In the classes, Lee really enjoyed performing skits and songs to the kids about the powers of God. Lee's favorite activity that he worked on with the children during class was a task where students would have to complete an activity and then receive a clue from a wise man to move on. Those clues would be later used to create a Bible memory chapter that the students would present to win candy or other goods.

Lee, along with his team from church, also taught the kids about engineering and together they created straw towers and bottle rockets. Lee appreciated all the lessons that the kids had taught him and he wants to return in the following years.

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Amanda Luna, 10

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Amanda Luna, 10, poses with her classmates.

One of the most memorable parts of the trip, Luna said, was visiting a genocide memorial. As she walked through the halls, she was filled with grief. The beginning of an ethnic war in Rwanda, referred to as a genocide was in 1994.

Over 800,000 people died in the genocide."It was very upsetting to the point that almost everyone cried," she said.

As she walked in she was immediately taken back by the horrifying pictures. Luna explains that as they walked around the memorial they were surrounded by graphic images and videos. More than once, she had to turn away from the violence.

The tour began with an explanation behind the genocide which stemmed from the tension between the two biggest ethnic groups, the Tutsis (the minority) and the Hutus (the majority). The Hutus blamed the Tutsis for most of the economic problems that Rwanda faced. The tension quickly turned to violence when President Habyarimana was assassinated, a full blown genocide faced the country and the whole world watched in horror.

As they explained this to the group, Luna was taken aback by what she described as "disturbing." At every turn there were stories of violence and horrible deaths.

One story that stuck in her mind was about a boy who grew up during the worst of the fighting. Every day his mother would go out and fetch specific foods that he wanted, no matter the difficulty. One day she came back with food he refused, saying he wanted something else. As a mother wanting to make sure her son was happy, she went out again, but this time she did not come home. Later it was revealed that she had gone missing due to the extreme fighting in their home area.

Eventually they hit the last part of the tour were the deaths of the children.

At this point, everyone was crying and emotional. "The stories of these kids and adults was too devastating," Luna said.

The kids pose for a big group picture.

Luna poses with another classmate while in D.C. The younger students begin to learn on computers.

Nicol e Mcc oy, 11

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Kora Coker , 9 Earlier this summer, I volunteered as a counselor for a local Girl Scout Camp in Alexandria, Virginia. The camp was called Camp Forever Friends and its main goal is to educate young girls and get them interested in Girl Scouting.

For a week, I ran a camp station and taught girls grades K 5 about different forms of energy and how they are used throughout modern society. I shared the station with another counselor who taught and showed the girls several educational science experiments.

My favorite memory from that week was when we showed the girls a science experiment where we created our own natural gas inside a balloon. When we did the experiment with the older girls, we may have accidentally used a faulty balloon, for when the baking soda reacted with the vinegar it swelled up like a lopsided bowling pin. This struck the kids as both hilarious and incredibly interesting. The entire class was eager to touch the balloon and understand the chemical reaction that had taken place.

I found that moment to be the most memorable because that's when I finally realized exactly how wonderful it is to help a kid to learn and have fun while learning. I felt like I was making a difference, and it was great to be able to interact with those kids, for they were all really smart and asked really good questions. At the end of the week, before they went to their next station, we all had a gigantic group hug.

Virginia

An experiment Coker worked on with her classmates.

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PEOPLE 7

Sept. 9, 2015

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMANDA ADENAN

Student explores Europe over summer Senior Amanda Adenan and her family visited France, Croatia and Bosnia

BY AMANDA ADENAN Special to the A-Blast

The city was also very picturesque and small. There were small souvenir stands that lined the street leading up to the bridge. There were also divers that would jump off the bridge(21 m) if you gave them money to.

The third and last day we took a boat to an island with a national park called Mljet.

There were two salt water lakes in the middle of the island. While there, we went snorkeling (although there wasn't much to see), swimming and bike riding.

The food in Croatia was delicious!

There was a lot of fish since it was right on the sea, but they also had good pizza.

My favorite part about Croatia was going cliff jumping in to the Dalmatian Sea off one of the cliffs that lined the city walls.

My other favorite part would be the Old City at night. There were musicians on the corner of every narrow street and good ice cream, and the Old City had an ancient, enchanting feel to it. Croatia was part of the Yugoslav War of the 1990's, and Dubrovnik suffered from shellings and bombings.

We went to a gallery that showed images from the war and that was very interesting to learn about the history of another country firsthand. Dubrovnik was very different from Northern Virginia, not

Amanda Adenan (left) and her sister by the Jardin des Tuileries.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMANDA ADENAN

The Adenan family on a mountain in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

The view from the Stari Most bridge in Mostar, Bosnia.

just because they spoke another language, but also the city was much more older and its buildings showed.

What I miss most about Europe is sitting in the cafes in Paris while eating fresh baguettes and strawberries for breakfast.

I miss the beautiful view of the water and Lokrum Island from my room in Dubrovnik.

I hope in the future to be able to go back to Mostar and pay one of the divers to dive off the Stari Most bridge.

My favorite thing about Europe is that

you can be in one country sitting in a cafe drinking coffee, but in two hours be in a whole new country and be laying on the beach overlooking the Adriatic Sea. If you want a weekend getaway you can just catch an EasyJet flight and be in a different country. It is somewhat similar to going to a different state in the U.S., but you get your passport stamped with different countries and look like a world traveler! I will definitely go back to Europe in the future.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMANDA ADENAN

People in Paris are very laid-back. Everyone sits in cafes and watches people walk by, and they seem much more relaxed than Americans. There were also lots of cafes instead of fast food restaurants.

The language and currency was also different in both countries.

After Paris we flew to Dubrovnik, Croatia. Dubrovnik is a little city in the south of Croatia on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. We were fortunate enough to have our apartment right across the street from the beach and up the street from the old city.

The beach was very rocky because they don't have sand there, and the water was a little chilly.

The city was very picturesque with the turquoise water, rocky shoreline, city walls and orangish-brownish tinted roofs in the old city. The city relies mostly on tourism and a lot of cruise ships stopped by in Dubrovnik. The old city is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ancient walls surrounded the old city and stand between the city and the ocean.

The city streets were made from limestone, but you entered through two gates on either side of the city which gave it a medieval vibe. The main street in the city was filled with restaurants, shops, galleries and coffee shops.

There are no cars that can go in the old city, so it's all walking. Some scenes from the show Game Of Thrones were filmed in the old city of Dubrovnik so that was cool to visit those places.

On the first day we went to the beach, then I toured the old city and walked the Old City Walls with my sister, Colleen. The first night we took a cable car to the top of the mountain that overlooked the city and had dinner on the mountainside. Not only was it a very beautiful view with an amazing sunset, but goats came up right next to us while they were looking for their dinner.

The second day we went on a trip to the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina and went to the famous Stari Most Bridge.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMANDA ADENAN

One of the many love-lock bridges in Paris, France. Many of these bridges have been taken down due to the heavy weight.

We left for Europe the first weekend after school got out and we flew to Paris first. We spent seven days in Paris, France and then three days in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

We've traveled to Europe before, but this trip was different and more fun because my sisters and I were older and more mature.

Paris is a huge city, so there was a ton of walking and riding the train. We visited the Eiffel Tower, the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre and climbed about 390 steps to the top of Notre Dame then back down.

My parents went to a few art museums, but my sisters and I only agreed to go to the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay. We saw the Mona Lisa and that was cool, but it was very crowded around the painting.

We also went shopping on Avenue des Champs-ElysĂŠes which is the boulevard with all the famous shops and saw the Arc de Triomphe.

We took a river cruise at night on the Seine and I think that was one of the best ways to see most of the popular landmarks of the city, especially at night when everything is lit up.

We saw the original love lock bridge because it had not been taken down yet, but noticed that there are lots of bridges around Paris that also had love locks. We visited a lot of gardens and a few other things.

My favorite things about being in Paris was that at night everyone sat on the edge of the Seine and ate, played music and drank with friends. I also loved how there were gardens and parks in the middle of the city.

We spent many afternoons in the gardens just eating ice cream, drinking coffee and people watching (the French are very good at that). It was very relaxing.

Paris was very different from back here because they walk everywhere they go or take the train or bus. The only time we were in a car in Paris was to get from the airport to our apartment.

A panoramic picture of the Stari Most bridge. This bridge is a reconstruction of a 16th-century Ottoman bridge in the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina that crosses the river Neretva and connects two parts of the city.

WHO AM I?

WHO AM I? I was born in Amarillo, Texas

I attended Ohio State University (Go Buckeyes!)

I first attended Mount Holyoke College then transferred to UVA after my first year

I was born in Akron, Ohio I don't have any pets, but I wish I had a puppy!

I received my Master's degree from George Washington University

My favorite activities are cooking and running

I have a cat named Lucy and a bearded dragon named LeChunk

My favorite vacation was to the Vieques Island, Puerto Rico

I enjoy cake decorating in my free time

My favorite movie is The Princess Bride and my favorite TV show is The WonTwo words that describe me are motivated and adventurous

I worked as an ESOL teacher at West Springfield High School, Key Middle School and Greenbriar East Elementary School before coming to AHS

My favorite genre of music is hip-hop and R&B

My favorite movie is The Sound of Music

I'm currently a cooking instructor for Tiny Chefs - a company that teaches children how to cook

My most memorable vacation was spending a week in Quebec City as a costumed French colonial historical interpreter/reenactor portraying my ancestor this past summer

der Years

This is my third year of coaching volleyball On your smartphone, scan this code using the application QR Code to find the answer to the Who Am I.

My all-time favorite band is The Monkees This is my first year as a counselor at AHS

On your smartphone, scan this code using the application QR Code to find the answer to the Who Am I.

8 LIFESTYLES Get hyped for this football season

Sept. 9, 2015

RED OUT

NEON OUT

AMERICAN AMER ICAN OUT

Show your school spirit by going all out in red.

You can even add Annandale spirit wear to your football attire. You can look like a true Atom by making sure to bleed the AHS red.

You can find a feather boa at Party City for $3.

Get creative and colorful for the neon out.

Throw on the brightest pieces for a pop of color and show your wild side with vibrant colors. You can also bring or wear glow sticks. You can find tutus at Walmart for $13.

It doesn't hurt to be patriotic and wear red, white and blue at the American out football games. You can even incorporate the flag to your outfit. You can find necklaces at the Dollar Store for only $1.

WHITE OUT

No need to purchase new clothing. Put together the easiest white out outfit by taking whatever white clothes you have in your closet. You can also use body paint.

You can find a bow at the Dollar Store for only $1.

What's in your backpack?

Seven essentials needed throughout the school year GUM Gum is a simple way to wake you up, and instead of morning breath you will have minty fresh breath. It's an easy way to stop hunger during class if you don't have a snack. If you're not trying to share your gum, make sure to find a slick way to pop it in your mouth.

WALLET Bringing your wallet to school is very important, especially for those who drive. It's good to have cash on you in case you want to buy a snack at lunch or get a bite after school. You can also help out your class and purchase baked goods throughout the year.

CHARGER Keep a charger in your backpack in case of emergencies. It's important to keep your phone charged, but if you forget you can easily charge your phone at school. Make sure you get permission from your teacher before charging. A charger will come in handy for those staying after school.

SNACKS For those of you that can't wait until lunch, bring a little snack to satisfy your hunger.

You will also avoid the embarrassing growl during class. Try not to make a mess during class and keep it small so you don't lose your appetite for lunch

PENCILS

LOTION Lotion should always be applied after you shower to keep your skin silky smooth. Scented lotion is also an alternative for perfume. As the seasons change it's important to take care of your skin. It's always good to have it on the go in case you forget in the morning.

PERFUME/ COLOGNE

Make sure you have enough pencils to last you the whole school year. You don't want to be that annoying kid that always asks for a pencil.

They should always be sharpened because you will never know whenever it will come in handy.

Perfume and cologne is a great way to smell fresh, especially for those underclassmen taking P.E. You never know when you might need to freshen up. Apply a small amount and be considerate of others around you.

North Face Borealis Backpack, $70

FASHION SPOTLIGHT Shaheer Akhtar, 12 Q. How did you learn how to dress?

A. Most of my family dresses nice, so it's a given to dress nice.

Q. How long does it take you to get ready?

A. It takes me an hour to get ready because I have to shower and do my hair and pick out the right outfit.

Q. Where do you like to shop?

A. I like to shop at Zara, H&M, Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters. I like these stores because they have dressy clothing.

Q. How much do you usually invest in clothing?

A. I usually spend like $300-$400 a month. Sometimes it's every other month.

PHOTO COURTSEY OF SHAHEER AKHTAR

Q. What are your favorite clothing pieces?

A. I like full suits because it's aesthetic, but it also makes me feel smarter and better about myself.

Q. What is your outfit for school and a date?

A. I like to go with a nice dress shirt, some khakis or pants with nice loafers. It all depends on what I'm feeling Q. On your lazy days what do you prefer to wear?

A. I don't have lazy days, I like to look clean every day.

Q. What is your favorite season to dress for?

A. Winter, because Zara always comes out with really nice jackets.

Q. What are your favorite pair of shoes?

A. My favorite pair of shoes is my brown Clark boots because it goes with everything.

Q. Do you dress to impress or dress for yourself?

A. I dress nice because I feel good about myself.

Q. Who is your fashion inspiration?

A. I don't have one.

Q. What's your favorite accessory to add to your outfit?

A. A watch and bracelets because they always go nice with any outfit.

9 SPORTS Students adapt to new synthetic turf Sept. 9, 2015

BY RYAN GAMMON Sports editor With the help of the Annandale Boys and Girls club, FCPS and the PTSA, the Atoms finally have turf.

Having the turf field will mean that most games will not get postponed, which will help to avoid errors in the schedules like last year.

"I'm excited that it's finally in. This was a dream of mine when I came in about five years ago" activities director Karl Kerns said.

Many students are already taking advantage of the new turf.

"I think the turf fields are great.

Everyone will enjoy using the new fields," sophomore varsity lacrosse player McKenzie Yi said. "It will make the game faster and more exciting, but the players will have to get used to the turf because it plays so much differently than grass. It's all going to come with practice."

With the benefits of having the The Atoms new turf field turf field, their are some disadvan- injuries," The turf field also gets a lot hottages.

"While I'm totally aware that ter than the temperature outside there is a higher risk of injuries on which can be a problem for some of turf, especially relating to ACL and the student athletes. Also how messy MCL tears," sophomore varsity field the locker room can get with the turf material in the shoes and on the hockey player Megan Lee said.

"I think it's just another motivator ground.

"The only downside to turf is that for all sports teams to train harder to decrease the chances of these it can get too hot during the day and

that the turf can get in your shoes. sophomore varsity football player Allen Kokilananda said.

So overall when everyone shows up during the first week they will be amazed at how well the field looks and I know that I am dying to play on the field on Friday nights," Because the turf doesn't need water, when it rains it will help

athletes get more grip when it comes to the turf field. While grass comes up in clumps when it rains and can be hard and fragile whenthere is a deought, turf will always be the same so there will be no problems with traction and clumping will not occur.

"One of the reasons it will be beneficial for our team is that it doesn't get muddy when it rains so our jerseys will stay a bit cleaner," junior

varsity football player Justin Vo said.

"I really like how our new turf field turned out, it's really nice."

There are athletes that are going to be playing on the new turf field that don't find it to be a "getting used to" process, saying it will actually be easier than grass.

Even with all the benefits of the athletes playing on grass, there will be more benefits with the schools

funding while also having more of a sense of pride for the Atoms.

"All sports, not just football, bring in funds from tickets and fundraising, but if all the sports are able to use the turf, it gives a sense of ownership and school pride to the athletes, therefore making the games more exciting," sophomore varsity field hockey player Lennon Wuhrer said.

While many people prefer the turf field over grass, some athletes are still skeptical about the benefits of the turf.

"I like the way it looks from the stands, but if I had my preference I would rather play on a grass field because when you get tackled and fall it's a lot more comfortable to fall on grass than turf," senior varsity football player Beau Hatch said. according to Mr. Kerns The new turf fields cost over 1.5 million dollars and Annandale only had to raise $100,000 dollars.

With football already starting, lets hope the new field brings good luck and fortune for many years to come.

"The turf field is a new era for the Atoms and will live on with pride forever," senior varsity football player Colin Corey said.

What do you think about the turf field?

"I like playing on grass better but the new practice field looks really nice."

"I like playing on grass because the field is softer and more natural."

JEMELA KANU

KENZI GARDNER

freshman

sophomore

"I'm excited to play on a new turf field, although I like playing on grass fields better because I am used to it."

"I cant wait to play on the new turf fields, The Atoms sign on the game field looks great."

LINA ALTAII

freshman

"The turf field looks great, it's awesome to have fields that we can actually play on."

"The turf looks so nice! I can't wait to practice and play on the field.'"

"I think the new turf fields are super attractive and looks very professional."

"I like the new turf field. We can now practice in inclimate weather."

MAURICIO REYES

CASEY GOETTLICHER

ASHLEY BRITTON

RYAN FLYNN

junior

Senior

senior

senior

ANKITA BHURTEL

sophomore

New team, coach

BY ANDREW GONZALEZ

Atoms pick it up

BY NEBEYU SOLOMON Sports editor Coming off a cinderella story season last year the Atoms look to bring glory to the conference title once again. Going into this season the girls plan to improve on last year, and not only win districts, but win the regional tournament and states.

"My hopes for this season are to keep the standards high and destroy any limits that we may face," captain Ashley Britton said.

With the team losing many important pieces to a championship puzzle including to college field hockey commits they seem to be at a deficit this year.

"Every year teams lose talented seniors, so we were prepared for that. It is for sure a big change, but it allows for the rest of the squad to step it up and maintain the level that the seniors left us to uphold," Britton said.

The team has been preparing rigorously for this upcoming season with challenging practices.

"Our offseason has been crucial this year in preparing all the fresh faces we have," Britton continued. "We have had several games from wide ranges of competition, which has forced us to adapt to any team on the field of play."

With the help of Coach Hook, who has an

accomplished legacy of winning in the past, the Atoms hope to keep their winning streak going and get another district title. It will not be an easy goal to achieve because of all the teams that are possible contenders for the title this year. When asked who she thinks are the team's biggest competitors, Britton named South County, Woodson and T.C. Williams.

In the past three seasons, senior Ashley Britton has only helped her team improve. Her freshman year the team went 8-9 and lost in the first round of districts.

Then came sophomore year where the lady Atoms went 10-7 with a loss in the first round to T.C. Williams.

It was a gradual improvement on the previous season.

They ended up winning the conference championship against South County by a score of 3-1. Sadly, they ended up losing in the semifinals of the regional championship.

Britton seems to be on the right track and with the way things are looking the atoms are looking to pick it up this year!

COURTESY OF KATIE PACAK

Ashley Britton going for the ball

The Annandale Varsity volleyball team has started off the season with a 1-1 record, with a 3-0 win against Robert E. Lee High School and a 0-3 loss to McLean High School. The first few games of the season are against non-conference opponents such as Thomas Jefferson High School, Washington and Lee High School and Falls Church High School.

These games are important to the team because it helps them prepare for the brutality that comes with playing tough conference games against long time rivals Lake Braddock Secondary School (2-0), W.T. Woodson High School (1-1) and reigning Conference 7 champions South County High School (1-0).

"We need to still be motivated to win the non-conference games because they still help us come together as a team for conference games," senior Brooke Thadeus said.

Returning team members say that the team chemistry has drastically improved this year compared to previous volleyball seasons.

"This year it's [team chemistry] so much different from other years I've been on varsity, but in a good way," senior Symone Jenkins said. "It is a lot easier to get along with everyone because we're all juniors and seniors and we have no restrictions when we want to go and do things as a team."

All of the players are hoping to bounce back from their dismal 4-11 record last season, including the new head varsity volleyball coach, Alicia Kranak.

"I feel excited and I'm looking forward to building the team up," Kranak said. "I just expect that the team grows and it doesn"t matter if we win or lose it just matters that we grow as a team."

Coach Kranak has been coaching for a total of three years now. Before she started coaching here at Annandale, she coached for the South County Youth Club for four seasons. She has been playing volleyball ever since she started middle school.

Winning the conference title is always the main goal for every team each season, but this year it seems like a tangible goal for the Atoms. The Atoms are hopeful that they will reach the Region 6A North tournament for the first time in six years.

The addition of Mount Vernon High School to the Patriot Conference will hopefully impact the Atoms volleyball team in a positive way. The Majors went 2-12 last year in the Capitol Conference and will now be facing much tougher opponents in the Patriot Conference this year.

The Atoms will be seeking more conference wins and should an optimistic view for the 2015 season.

The Atoms next home match is on Thursday, Sept. 10 against Thomas Jefferson High School.

Katie Pacak hitting a serve

COURTESY OF IRIS ARRAZOLA

COURTESY ASHLEY BRITTON

Sports editor

Maddy McCrawson hitting a serve

10 ENTERTAINMENT MTV's Video Music Awards

Sept. 9, 2015

Top winning genres in the past five years at the VMAs

Miley Cyrus hosts iconic award show

BY AHMAD AYUB Entertainment Editor After two years of not having a host, MTV's Video Music Awards returned with a host that shocked many fans two years ago -- Miley Cyrus.

The awards show, which was shown on August 31st, contained everything that most award shows have: great musical performances, controversial moments, and artists winning awards that they may or may not have deserved.

Cyrus hosted the show changing her outfit every commercial break, each time coming out with a different and completely random outfit.

Sophomore Amy Han feels that Cyrus' more controversial acts and performances are okay. "Miley is branching out and being herself. I think she was a little frisky but if she's being herself that's alright!"

A few awards were distributed on the red carpet, before the show itself (Best Rock Video: Fall Out Boy's "Uma Thurman", Best Pop Video: Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" and Song of Summer: 5 Seconds of Summer's "She's Kinda Hot"). The red carpet event also had a few tributes to songs that were nominated for VMAs. Todrick Hall performed shorter versions of "Uptown Funk," "7/11" and "Bad Blood."

The show kicked off with a performance by Nicki Minaj, who performed her songs "Trini Dem Girls" and "The Night Is Still Young." She was joined by Swift, who sang a sample of her song "Bad Blood."

The first award during the show itself, Best Male Video, was presented by Britney Spears. "Uptown Funk"

by Mark Ronson won, which disappointed many that were rooting for Kendrick Lamar's "Alright."

Jared Leto introduced The Weeknd, who performed his hit song, "Can't Feel My Face," which even got rapper Kanye West to get up and start dancing.

Senior Hibo Ali favored this performance more than others. "He's very talented and he was able to get everyone to get up and dance."

Next, actor Rebel Wilson presented Minaj with the award for Best Hip Hop Video for her song "Anaconda."

When Minaj came up to accept her award, she gave a speech thanking people who supported her, like any artist

Miley Cyrus in one of her flashy outfits of the night.

would. However, at the end of the speech, she called out Cyrus for talking about her in the press a few days before.

Cyrus awkwardly dodged the comments, leaving fans wondering whether the alteration was real or fake.

Nick Jonas and Big Sean presented the Best Female Video award to Swift for "Blank Space," getting her second reward for the night. Demi Lovato then gave a performance on the stage outside the VMA venue.

Actresses Serayah and Jussie Smollet gave Big Sean the award for Best Video with a Social Message for his song "One Man Can Change the World," and went up with West and John Legend, the featured artists on the track.

Ne-Yo and Kylie Jenner then introduced Tori Kelly, who gave a great performance, singing "Should've Been Us." Swift presented West with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, an award given to artists who have consistently delivered exceptional music videos. Other recipients from past years are Beyonce, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears.

Pharrell Williams delivered a great performance on the outside stage. The Artist to Watch award was given to rapper Fetty Wap by Rita Ora and Emily Ratajkowski.

Afterwards, A$AP Rocky and Twenty One Pilots gave an incredible and exciting performance, mashing up their songs together, such as "HeavyDirtySoul" an "M'$."

Ice Cube and his son, O'Shea Jackson Jr., presented Video of the Year to Swift for "Bad Blood," earning her her fourth award of the night.

Cyrus ended the show with an electric performance featuring The Flaming Lips, aided by members of a charity for LGBT awareness and acceptance that she herself started (Happy Hippie Foundation). After her performance, she revealed that her new album, Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz, was free for download online.

In conclusion, in spite of having the lowest record TV audience ever for the VMAs, Cyrus hosted a great show. that entertained fans all around the world.

Compiled by Ahmad Ayub

Kanye West is the video vanguard West delivers a memorable speech

BY AHMAD AYUB Entertainment Editor "And yes, as you probably could have guessed by this moment, I have decided in 2020 to run for president."

A moment that caught the attention of everyone in the arena and at home watching on the television. Did Kanye West just announce a presidential campaign?

West was awarded the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, an award he definitely deserved with the amount of work he has put into his career. Like he said in his song "Spaceship," "Lock yourself in a room doing 5 beats a day for 3 summers. That's a Different World like Cree Summer's. I deserve to do these numbers."

He's delivered many amazing music videos, whether they have no real meaning like "Bound 2", or videos that aim to send a message like "Diamonds from Sierra

Leone."

Taylor Swift presented the award to West, for obvious reasons. To those out of the loop, at the 2009 VMAs, West interrupted Swift when she won the award for Best Female Video, claiming that Beyonce deserved the award because she had "one of the best videos of all time."

Junior Youssef El Boukri said that he was just as shocked as Swift was when it happened. "I knew Kanye but I didn't think Kanye would do anything like that."

Swift gave him the award with joy, and said she has been a fan of West for a long time. She explained how the first album she ever downloaded on iTunes was West's College Dropout album.

West accepted the award and started the speech, embarking on a journey that would take the crowd on a wild ride for the next 13 minutes. He began to talk about his encounter with Swift six years prior, showing some regret for his actions. He considers that maybe if he had a daughter at the time, he wouldn't have confronted Swift that year.

He admitted a mistake that he made in the speech, saying, "The problem was the contradiction. The

West gets emotional during his speech.

contradiction is I do fight for artists, but in that fight I somehow was disrespectful to artists." He explains how he was already in a state of shock when Swift won because he witnessed Justin Timberlake and Gnarls Barkley both lose, both of whom he favored to win their respective awards.

He goes on to talk about how MTV kept using the fact that Swift was presenting the award to him in order to get better ratings on television, something he obviously did not approve of.

He continues by drifting off to a different subject (how

award shows give artists that worked their whole life "the opportunity to be considered a loser"), and then starts randomly rambling for a little bit before admitting that he smoked a little bit before coming on stage.

After more rambling about how his generation needs to teach it's successors better, he reveals his 2020 presidential campaign.

Senior Shank Rai is skeptical about West running for president.

"Kanye has done great things in the music industry, but politics is very different."

Overall, it was a truly engaging and entertaining speech delivered by one of the most iconic entertainers of this generation, given because of an award that he worked tirelessly for.

Our picks for Kanye's top music videos Runaway

Power

Otis

Jesus Walks

Diamonds from Sierra Leone

The video for "Runaway," as opposed to being a standalone video, is actually an excerpt from a 35 minute video that Kanye West directed and starred in himself. The two music video versions are four minutes long (the regular cut) and eight minutes long (the extended cut).

The four-minute music video version shows West from up from a dining table full of people in white clothing, and walk to a piano. As he starts playing, women in black tutus start dancing in front of him.

The most significant reason that this video stood out among others was he feature film that it came from. However, the film itself was an entertaining watch and creative on West's part.

Although the song itself is almost five minutes long, the video for "Power" is only a minute and a half, yet still manages to fit a large amount of commotion (for lack of better words) in the video.

The video starts with a body shot of West wearing a gold chain with a pendant of the Ancient Egyptian god Horus, one of the several references to deities in the video.

The camera slowly zooms out, showing people on both sides, including two women loosely resembling Ancient Egyptian gods Isis and Hathor. Other unnamed women appear, as well as two warriors. Before the end, everyone disappears but West and the two warriors. They converge on West, but the video cuts off before they reach him.

The video for this song is incredible just based on at who is in it, as it features two of the biggest and most iconic rappers as of the time of it's release (and they just happen to be great friends).

The video begins with West and Jay-Z dismantling and then customizing a Maybach 57. They proceed to take it out for a joy ride in an empty lot with four models in the back seats. The song contains a cameo from comedian Aziz Ansari. Ansari is a friend of West's, and Jay-Z turned out to be a fan of his stand-up routines.

The video is just fun to watch because of Jay-Z and West rapping and having fun like any other pair of friends, doing things like fist bumping and setting off fireworks.

The most significant music video of "Jesus Walks" is the second of three different versions West made. This one focuses mostly on a theme of racism, as shown by the scenes with slaves working and a KKK member with a burning cross.

In the video, West is standing in a hallway with hellfire behind him and a halo-shaped light above him. There are several scenes depicting slavery, showing workers in a field.

Some scenes are shown of little girls playing with a jump rope.

Cops are shown chasing drug traffickers through a desert, eventually catching them.

The last major scene shows a KKK member carrying a burning cross up a mountain, being showered with rain in the end.

"Diamonds from Sierra Leone" is about what one would exactly think from the title; diamond harvests in Sierra Leone. West is advocating the purchase of diamonds from non-conflict regions (he even has a message saying so at the end of the video).

The video starts of documentary-like depicting children harvesting diamonds in a mine, saying that they are children of the blood diamonds.

The video follows West rapping in several locations, like in his car and in a church. Several scenes show the children of the blood diamonds following people who bought diamonds. At one point, a man gives his wife a ring, and blood (of the children) spills out of the wring, consuming her hand.

Upcoming releases and events in September

September 12 Madonna Rebel Heart Tour @ Verizon Center

September 18 Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

September 18 Everest

September 18 Lana Del Ray Honeymoon

September 22-23 Ed Sheeran @ Verizon Center

September 25 Fetty Wap Fetty Wap

11 ENTERTAINMENT Dr. Dre and NWA own the summer

Sept. 9, 2015

The strength of street knowledge muscles its way to the top of the box office charts

The highly anticipated, hard hitting Compton album was worth the wait

BY HEZEKIEL YONAS

The 16 year music hiatus for Compton-based rapper Dr. Dre is finally over as he released his full-length LP, Compton: A Soundtrack by Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre is considered as one of the greatest hip-hop producers of all-time, and his two solo albums, The Chronic and 2001, are regarded as classic rap albums.

The former N.W.A. artist is known for his deep, hardhitting voice, and adding some G-funk to his gangsta raps, but he takes a different path on his newest project.

The album is reminiscent to Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 because they've become grown men, they talk a lot less about gang violence and don't brag about their thuggish ways nearly as much. They also just use R&B hooks to try and add some mainstream appeal to the songs.

It's hard to blame Dr. Dre. It's difficult to rap about drive-bys, chrome 24-inch rims and gang related issues when you're a 50 year old family man who rocks dad jeans.

The only differences between Compton and The Blueprint 3 is that Compton features better production, fast-paced rapping, but also less hit singles. But enough with the Dre and Jay comparisons, let us introduce you to a day in Compton, California: The album starts off with an audio from CBS News discussing about how the city of Compton turned from the African-American dream to one of the most dangerous places in America. The dark, murky ending of the intro transitioned into "Talk About It," where the song starts out with a hard-hitting beat and King Mez going ballistic from the get-go. Dr. Dre holds his own on the braggadocios record, claiming "I was getting money 'fore the internet, still got Eminem checks I ain't open yet."

"It's All On Me" features a more nostalgic Dr. Dre, looking back on the trials and tribulations of his music career alongside some spectacular vocals provided by BJ the Chicago Kid. He raps about how he came from borrowing Eazy-E's car to becoming a world famous rapper spitting rhymes alongside Snoop Dogg. He also shares his hardships working with the violent Suge Knight.

On the latter half of the album, we see a Dr. Dre we've never really seen before, one who talks about social issues on tracks such as "Satisfiction," and "Animal."

The track "Satisfiction" is about how the lavish lifestyle that people believe some famous celebrities live isn't real, as Dre raps "My life is all authentic, that's why I'm going way up. Your satisfaction is fictitious, your happiness is made up."

On "Animals," Dr. Dre and R&B singer Anderson Paak discuss about the recent riots against police brutality, talking about how the media depicts the black rioters as animals. Paak's vocals and the production from DJ Premiere makes for one of the better tracks off the album.

Dr. Dre leaves his best for last on the outro track, "Talking to My Diary." The beat seems like something that could've been blasting from Dre's low rider back in 1999.

Mr. Andre Young reminisces about how he came from the ghetto to buying his mother everything her heart desired and reflects on his career with N.W.A. It's a great way to end an illustrious musical career from Dr. Dre. It's truly remarkable how Dr. Dre is able to get any rapper, well-known or underground, and get the absolute best from them; some of Kendrick Lamar's verses seemed like they could've easily come from his last album.

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Co-Editor in Chief

Compton is Dr. Dre's long-awaited farewell studio album

Straight Outta Compton became the highest grossing music biopic of all time when it made $134.1 million

But one of the faults of the album is the expensive, sometimes overdone hooks. The R&B choruses themselves are usually good (except for the one on "Medicine Man"), but they appear on so many tracks that it can get played out.

The best choruses are those on the tracks "Deep Water" and "Talking to My Diary" because they are so simplistic. Dre's biggest hits always had simplistic hooks that were performed by rappers, such as "Nuthin' But a G Thang" and "Still D.R.E." One of the other drawbacks is that Dre isn't going off on tracks with the deep voice and eloquent flow like he did in the 90's. And he doesn't use his signature synthesizers like he did on The Chronic or the bombastic drums from 2001.

Still, Dr. Dre has been able to conquer the summer by releasing a strong, cohesive album at the age of 50 that are better than a lot of the albums being released by younger artists. With Compton, Dre shows that he's still "a producer who can rap and control the maestro" with one of the hottest albums of the year. Rating: 8.4/10

BY DANIEL YENEGETA

TOP BEATS BY DRE · "Boyz-n-the-Hood" · "Crack A Bottle" · "Still D.R.E." · "Nuthin' But a G Thang" · "The Real Slim Shady" · "California Love" · "My Name Is" · "Express Yourself" · "Just Lose It" · "Gin And Juice" · "In Da Club" · "Forgot About Dre" · "Straight Outta Compton"

The Weeknd enters the spotlight with his new album

BY DANIEL YENEGETA Entertainment Editor

SPOILER ALERT Straight Outta Compton has gone straight to the top of the box office charts. The N.W.A. biopic made $60.2 million dollars in its opening weekend, and after watching it, it's clear to see why.

One thing about Straight Outta Compton that stands out is the casting and the acting. The directors and producers chose lesser known actors and actresses on purpose, so that the audience would truly see the performers as those they were trying to portray. They didn't want the audience focused on Denzel's jaw or Michael Ealy's eyes. They wanted Corey Hawkins to be seen only as Dr. Dre, and O'shea Jackson Jr. to be seen only as his father, Ice Cube.

This approach was wildly successful. The casting was spot on as almost every actor looked like a younger carbon copy of the person they were acting as. Not only that, but the acting was phenomenal.

The actors were able to portray the highs and the lows of the wild ride that took N.W.A. from impoverished Compton, California to one of the greatest hip-hop acts of all-time.

It felt like watching lost footage of Dr. Dre leaving home to pursue a career producing music. It felt like watching Eazy-E learn how to rap.

The audience feels like they are a fly on the wall as Jerry Heller struggles to find someone to sign N.W.A., or as Ice Cube smashes plaques with a baseball bat at Priority Records.

Even minor characters, such as Tupac, were cast perfectly.

It was this attention to detail that made Straight Outta Compton such a successful film. Everything from the wardrobe to the dialogue was accurate. Ice Cube and Dr. Dre did an outstanding job as producers for

the film. Such a great retelling of the N.W.A. story could only come from two former members of the group.

Another great element of the film was that it was told from N.W.A.'s point of view. What I mean by that is how Jerry Heller, Suge Knight and the police were portrayed as villains. It was N.W.A. against the world for a while. Rap was relatively new in the late 80s, and club owners preferred smooth R&B over the harsh and violent imagery in gangsta rap. Organizations from the media to local police to the FBI disagreed with the content of N.W.A.'s music.

Whether the genre of rap wields a positive or negative influence is still being debated today.

N.W.A. wasn't advocating for violence, instead, they were telling a side of the story that people to this day either fail or refuse to understand.

The portrayal of police brutality was very timely, as America is still dealing with the aftermath of multiple high-profile police shootings of unarmed young black men and women. It was as if right now was the perfect time to reintroduce N.W.A. to today's generation.

There was plenty of comic relief in Straight Outta Compton to balance the brutal realities of life in Compton. Eazy-E was a fan favorite, a drug dealer turned rapper with a charismatic personality and great comedic timing. DJ Yella was also one of the funnier characters, a ladies man who can tell the zodiac sign of a girl by looking into her eyes.

One problem with the movie is the scene where Dr. Dre is speeding through Los Angeles while being chased by police, eventually being arrested. The purpose of the scene was to show how angry Dr. Dre was, but it felt distracting and unnecessary. Nothing happened or was changed as a result of Dr. Dre's

arrest and the movie wouldn't be any different if that scene was changed or taken out all together.

Also, ending the film with Dr. Dre leaving Suge Knight to start Aftermath Records wasn't the best way to end it. It would be best if the film ended with Eazy-E's death and the remaining N.W.A. members coming together in remembrance of him. Ending it with the beginning of Aftermath makes the movie feel unfinished.

One thing that was left out of the film was Dr. Dre's violent behavior towards women, so the biopic could have been more honest at times.

The scenes that play during the end credits make up for the ending. The scenes show what the other group members, mainly Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, have been doing since the end of N.W.A. Through news footage and movie clips, the audience sees Ice Cube pursue an acting career with Boyz n' the Hood, Friday and Ride Along, and Dr. Dre goes on to continue making music while profiting off of Beats headphones. Having something related to Dr. Dre and Aftermath Records would be better suited for the end credit scenes, not the very end of the movie.

Overall, the movie was a near perfect retelling, and it is no surprise that it recently became the highest grossing music biopic of all time.

The superb acting and casting really stood out, and the comedic relief made the film very enjoyable for the audience, working well with the more serious moments.

Small details made for a very accurate film that is in no small part because of Ice Cube and Dr. Dre's involvement in production.

The movie does an excellent job of showing N.W.A.'s rise to the top in what is the best movie of the summer. Rating: 9/10

Top iOS 9 features Look for these improvements when iOS 9 releases on Sept. 16

PHOTO COURTESY OF XO AND REPUBLIC RECORDS

Since Abel Tesfaye released Kiss Land in 2013, he's been doing "all the politicin" as he sang on "Tell Your Friends." He appeared as a featured artist on songs such as "Love You Harder" by Ariana Grande and his song "Earned It" was on the soundtrack for 50 Shades of Grey.

His single "Can't Feel My Face" took him to the top of the Billboard charts, where he has remained for four weeks. It seems like yesterday he was releasing mixtapes and was relatively unknown in the mainstream pop scene. Now, Tesfaye, also known as The Weeknd, is up there with Grande and Ed Sheeran in terms of radio play, sellout concerts and huge fan followings.

But as he makes the transition from unknown artist to pop star, it was expected that he would at least slightly deviate from the slow and dark music that gained him success with his three mixtapes. Beauty Behind the Madness is a good mix of that same music along with faster paced pop. It's always interesting to see an artist grow and develop, and Tesfaye delivers an amazing sophomore album that shows his growth while still maintaining his signature dark R&B. The most radio friendly song on the record, without a doubt, is "Can't Feel My Face." The song feels like a throwback Michael Jackson track, with an upbeat bass line and drums courtesy of Swedish pop producer Max Martin. Martin has produced many other singles that rose to the top of the pop charts, from "Baby One More Time" to "Bad Blood."

Other more upbeat songs on the album include "Losers," in which Tesfaye sings about dropping out of high school and following his dreams. "In the Night," also produced by Martin, showcases drums reminiscent of 80s pop.

Tesfaye said that the track was made as a tribute to Michael Jackson, and Jackson's influence on Tesfaye is very

Entertainment Editor

Beauty Behind the Madness is Tesfaye's second studio album

evident on some of the songs on Beauty Behind the Madness.

There are also plenty of songs that feel like they could have come straight off of Echoes of Silence or House of Balloons, two of his trilogy of mixtapes released in 2011. The first song on the album, "Real Life," begins with a blaring, almost noisy guitar as Tesfaye sings about how he tends to push away any girl that falls in love with him.

"Last year I did all the politicin'.

This year I'm all focused on the vision."

The Weeknd "Tell Your Friends" One of the best songs on the album, "Tell Your Friends," features Kanye West helping out with production. Tesfaye sings about a wild lifestyle full of drug use and

women, over a smooth yet menacing piano chord progression. The song sounds as if Michael Jackson's "Bad" was slowed down, smoothed out, and put on all types of drugs as Tesfaye reflects on his life before he "made it big" and the things that fame has brought him, such as his cousin trying "to take a selfie at my Grandma's funeral."

Tesfaye is an excellent songwriter, and does a great job of portraying vivid pictures of his crazy life through his music. However, one criticism of Tesfaye has been that his content in all his songs is the same. Compare him with his contemporaries, such as Frank Ocean, for example. When Ocean released Channel Orange, he had songs such as "Pyramids," "Crack Rock" and "Bad Religion."

Those three songs by themselves cover a wide range of topics. It would be great to see Tesfaye diversify the content of his lyrics.

Even though it can seem like he's singing about the same things repeatedly at times, The Weeknd is still able to deliver an outstanding pop/R&B blend that has helped to solidify his status as one of the top artists in music. Rating: 9.1/10

LONGER BATTERY LIFE One common complaint about the iPhone is the battery life. You charged your phone in the morning, but somehow you are low on battery before lunch is over.

The iOS 9 software will extend battery life by an hour, according to Apple. It will extend battery life with a Low Power mode and with light sensors that can tell when the phone is faced down and not being used.

MORE NOTES FEATURES Apple is finally realizing the potential in the Notes app with iOS 9.

Now, in Notes, the user will be able to make a to-do list, include photos to go along with the notes, and even allow the user to draw in the notepad Notes will also be accessible from any app by using the share button.

A NEW NEWS APP The news app will be on the Home Screen, and will feature stories that are tailored to your interests.

The app will have news from a wide variety of sources, so there will be something for everyone.

For someone who likes reading news, this app will be useful, but for others it will just be a waste of space.

IMPROVEMENTS TO MAPS

IMPROVEMENTS TO SIRI

IMPROVEMENTS FOR IPAD

When Apple Maps was first released to the public, many people had complaints because of inaccuracies or wrong directions Since then, Apple has made improvements, and in iOS 9, Apple Maps will include public transportation.

Users will be able to see bus routes or Metro routes laid over the actual map.

Improvements to Apple's Siri comes after companies like Google and Amazon made improvements to their voice answering devices.

Siri will be able to understand more commands and reply faster.

Siri will also be more accurate in iOS 9. The Search function will also see improvements. In Search, you can check the weather, sports and be given suggestions.

There are many tweaks and improvements in iOS 9 that are specifically for iPads. These improvements mostly have to do with multitasking In iOS 9, iPad users will be able to use a split screen to use two apps at the same time. iPad users can also use "slide over" to quickly use an app and return to the one they were using before.

12 WEEKEND It’s not too late for these

Sept. 9, 2015

summer hot spots

Scott's Run Nature Preserve The Building Museum 7400 Georgetown Pike McLean, VA 22102

401 F St NW Washington, DC 20001

Times: The park is open from one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset.

Times: Mon- Sat: 10 am-5 pm Sun: 11 am-5 pm

One of the few nature preserves in Fairfax County, Scott's Run Nature Preserve is a popular destination for residents of Northern Virginia. It is home to many rare plants and is an ideal spot for hiking, but it is most known for the small waterfall that transitions from the creek running through the preserve to the Potomac river.

"This was my first time doing something like this and it was really fun once I got to the waterfall," senior Dianna Agyeman said. "Getting to the waterfall is very difficult. There were so many rocks to get over but the whole experience was worth it."

The National Building Museum is the country's leading institution devoted to the "built environment." Located just four blocks from the National Mall, the Building Museum is a family friendly and easily accessible attraction for people living in D.C. and surrounding areas.

The most popular exhibition this summer was the "BEACH" exhibit. This man made beach-insipired exhibit houses a monochromatic white ball pit, and even has beach chairs.

"My favorite part about the BEACH exhibit was the huge ball pit," senior Sarah Deible said. "A bunch of younger kids kept throwing balls at me and my friends, it was really funny."

Senior Dianna Agyeman and AHS alum Rochelle Kenney.

Senior Kirk Lindberg, junior Julius Miller, and junior Drew White.

Senior Jamiah Harrison and senior Claudia Molina.

Senior Luke Daggle with AHS alum Jennifer Nguyen.

Senior Janan Gokturk and AHS alum Megan Hua.

Nationals Park

Jiffy Lube Live

1500 S Capitol St SE Washington, DC 20003

7800 Cellar Door Dr Bristow, VA 20136

Upcoming games: Miami Marlins @ Washington Nationals series - Sept. 11, 12, 13 The Nationals Park is a baseball park known for being the home ballpark for the Washington Nationals.

With over 40,000 seats in the stadium the Nationals park offers affordable tickets with a fair price range. With frequent home games, Nationals Park is a popular spot for people looking for a fun group activity on short notice.

"I love going to Nationals games with my friends and cheering on our home team, especially my favorite player, Bryce Harper," senior Amanda Adenan said. "I like sitting on the deck near his spot on the field so I can watch him play."

Senior Sarah Deible.

Upcoming events: Jason Aldean - Sat, Sept. 12 WMZQ Fall Fest with Brad Paisley - Sat, Sept. 26

Senior Molly Gormley and friends.

Senior Andrew Gonzalez and senior Amanda Adenan.

Senior Ryan Flynn with his family.

Jiffy Lube Live is a large, outdoor performance amphitheater, that consistently hosts popular musicians. This summer, concerts at Jiffy Lube Live brought the DMV together with performances by Nicki Minaj, Tim McGraw, J. Cole, Chris Brown, Luke Bryan and Rascal Flatts.

Seniors Ruth Tiguh and Kayla Hulbert won fifth row seats to the J. Cole concert on August 9 and had the ultimate concert experience.

"It was an unforgettable night that I got to spend with my best friend," Tiguh said. "It was the best day of my entire summer. I was happy that I got to experience it with my best friend."

Seniors Ruth Tiguh and Kayla Hulbert.

Seniors Seth Tweneboa, David Park, Brian Uglietta, Kevin Folli, Colin Corey, Cory Pringle and Temesgan Awoke.

Senior Temesgan Awoke and senior Tipyan Omer.

Class of 2016 Bulletin Senior Ashley Britton goes for the pass in her final high school season on the field hockey team.

To-do list: September Edition Senior portraits are next week! Make sure you know your appt. time Do any last minute ACT studying if you're taking it on Sept. 12 Don't forget to sign up for the Common App!

286 days until graduation