ANNANDALE HIGH SCHOOL
e h t
4 7 0 0 M e d f o r d D r. A n n a n d a l e , VA 2 2 0 0 3
LAS AB T informing the Atoms since 1954
703.642.4229
7
TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2003
10-11
8
MASTERING MOVIES
How students with learning disabilities find ways to learn.
The in’s and out’s of film making, and a look inside the Film Study class.
BY ANDREW SATTEN AND JOHN REISS Co-Editor in Chief and Staff Writer
brought to you by NBC 4
NEWS BRIEFS Students to Speak at School Board Meeting Senior Elaine Filadelfo will be speaking during Thursday’s School Board Meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Luther Jackson Middle School. She will have three minutes to protest the impending decision on adding 30 min. to the end of a school day. “Adding 30 min. to the day is going to do more harm by disrupting school,” said Filadelfo.
Bone Marrow Cancer Claims Graduate’s Life Asad Darwish, 21, died Saturday after a three-year battle with bone marrow cancer. “He was a quiet student, he was very caring too, very smart...he was full of life,” said Arabic teacher Khitan Omar who had Darwish as a student. Darwish was from Palestine, and he was taking classes at Northern Virginia Community College while working to support himself. The funeral was held yesterday at Dar-Ul-Hijrah, as mosque in Falls Church.
Women Assaulted An assault occurred on the 4000 block of Medford Drive at around 8 p.m on March 4. A man entered the house and sexually assaulted a women. The man is described as Hispanic, in his early 20s, with brown hair and brown eyes, standing about 5’9 and weighing 180 pounds. Recently there have been other assaults at Springfield Mall and in Prince George’s County. Officer Sophia Grinnan of the West Springfield Police Department warned students of the possible dangers and said, “use the buddy system and be aware of your surroundings.”
Guitar Concert Friday the Guitar Club will be holding a fund-raiser concert in the auditorium from 7 to 10 p.m. Tickets will go for $2 and the club hopes to raise at least $300. While there were over 26 auditions only 15 to 18 total will be playing and each group will play two to three songs. “It’s important to hold this fundraiser, but it’s even more important for the kids”, said guitar instructor Russell Kee. “The kids [need] to get the feedback and experience that they couldn’t normally get from their parents or friends.”
Terror Fears How concerned are you about a terrorist attack against the D.C. metropolitan area?
After 35 years of service for Fairfax County Public Schools as a teacher, coach, administrator, and most notably, principal of AHS for the last nine years, Don Clausen has decided to step down from his post at the conclusion of this school year. “I just feel that it’s my time,” said Clausen, who plans on volunteering with his wife Patricia in Central America, where the two met in 1967 working together with the Peace Corps. The process of selecting a new principal is already underway. A meeting will be held Thursday in the lecture hall for parents and community members outlining the
23% Not at all
Somewhat
A lot
—The survey was given to 119 students during B , C, and D lunches on Feb. 28 by The A-Blast.
English teacher Nancy Grim who has taught at AHS since 1987. “This school operates and functions on so many different levels, and he manages it all.” “He has that balance where he cares for students, and when there is a situation, he is strong enough to manage it,” said Safety and Security Specialist Cliff Cornwell who first worked with Clausen in 1988 at Marshall High School. “He cares for a lot of people, not just in the community, but in other countries too,” he said. Though his leadership style is one in which he does not generally command the spotlight, his dedication to AHS is evidenced by the sheer number of school-related events he attends. Whether it be a school play, concert, —“Clausen” con’t on p. 6
Graduation security stepped up in wake of 9-11
BY KATHY IBARRA Staff Writer From breakdancers to Korean drummers, Heritage Night is set to dazzle audiences Monday night at 7 p.m. in the auditorium after snow storms delayed its original March6 performance date. AHS’s global tapestry of talent will be represented through song, dance and performance art, and organizers are hoping to match last year’s standing room only, sell-out crowd. The SGA has started selling tickets in the cafeteria for $3 each, with a four-ticket limit per person. “There are amazingly talented students in this school and Heritage Night gives some of them a chance on stage,” said Paul Watlington, one of the many sponsors. Watlington, ESOL teacher, brought the tradition of Heritage Night from Falls Church HS, where he started it over a decade ago and continued to sell out for 11 years. This year sponsors have faced a number of challenges. “With about 20 acts from all dif—“Heritage” con’t on p. 4
BY CAROLINE FRIEDMAN News Editor
Freshman Donna Jove rehearses with the group Latin Girlz a combination of traditional and contemporary Latin culture. The group, sponsored by spanish teacher Bianca Mullins, choreographed their own dance.
Band receives high honors at festival BY SOHAIB KAHN Staff Writer
Junior April Brassard rehearses with the band on her clarinet.
The AHS Symphonic and Gold Bands earned top honors in the Band Festival this past weekend at J.E.B Stuart High School,where 10 high school bands from the state of Virginia performed. The performance by Gold Band started the festival on the second day at 9:30 a.m., and the symphonic band marked the end of the festival at 4:20 p.m. The Gold Band performed on grade four levels, for ten minutes on the song “Edgewood Festival” by Jim Curnow, and “At
the Apex” by Jack Bullock, while the Symphonic Band’s performance on grade six level which is the highest and more professional for about 30 minutes. The songs they played were “Army of the Nile” by Kenneth Alford; “Overture to Die Meistersinger” by Richard Wagner and “Al Camino Real” by Alfred Reed. After the performance the students were taken inside different room for the sight-reading. Instructor Jack Elgin was provided a script, which is written specifically for the students that they had to perform. They were given seven —“Band” con’t on p. 5
Due to Sept. 11 and the continuing threat of possible terrorist attacks, graduation at Constitution Hall will have heightened security including metal detectors, property and people searches. Once people have made it through the rigorous searches, they will not be re-admitted if they leave. Nancy Grim, Graduation Coordinator, said, “They [the security precautions] are the same for any other venue, whether it Grim be FEDEX Field or the MCI Center.” There will also be more precautions taken with the tickets for the June 17 celebration. In the past, tickets have been given out about three weeks before graduation, when students pick up their caps and gowns. This year tickets will be given the day before in order cut down on the number of lost tickets. The tickets will also have a special emblem imprinted on them, in order to “ensure that the people in the building are supposed to be in the building and to follow fire regulations,” said Grim. The emblem will ensure against reproduction, as in past years the tickets have been somewhat standard and NEW SECURITY held the risk of pos—Metal detectors sible being —Bag seaches copied. —Body searches Also, family members who could not receive one of the alloted amount of tickets were allowed to attend graduation and —“Graduation” con’t on p. 6
3rd quarter grades impacted by numerous snow days Students’ interims affected by few grades, school year could be reworked Staff Writer
45%
selection process, along with providing a forum for opinions regarding the ideal leadership style, experience and skills that the community desires that the candidates to possess. Under Clausen’s tenure, Clausen which began in 1994 following former Principal Ray Watson, the diversity of AHS has continued to expand. With a global background and fluent Spanish speaking skills, Clausen has been adept at bringing the school’s multicultural population together at all school functions. “The school will miss his even-handed balance,” said
Heritage Night ready
BY KYLE SMEALLIE
32%
Understanding steroids and performance enhancing drugs.
JOHN REISS
50º hi /23º low
STUDENT STERIOD USE
Inside advertising tactics and the minds of AHS marketers.
Principal set to retire in July
JOHN REISS
Party sunny, seasonably chilly.
15
YAO
DISABLED NOT DEFEATED
Today’s Weather
VOLUME #48 ISSUE 8
As inches turned to feet and school days turned into snow days, overloaded students suddenly were carefree and liberated from schoolwork. However, as the snow melts, the academic aftermath of the Presidents’ Day storm becomes obvious. One major consequence of the ten missed school days is that third quarter has been significantly shortened. Eight of the ten days have been missed during
the third quarter. This means that students have limited opportunities to, for example, raise a low grade, which makes every test, quiz, and homework assignment much more important. Senior Caitlin McKinney has felt the negative effects of the snow days, particularly on her IB Higher Level Math grade. “Since the math meets have been canceled, that extra credit is gone for me, which was a big part of my grade,” said McKinney. She added that her grade in that class had gone from an “A” to a “C.” Another effect of the snow storm is that teachers have less time to prepare for the Standard of Learning (SOL) tests, although they have been rescheduled a week later. Furthermore, next year the exams will be barrier tests, stopping students from graduation if the exams are not passed. “I am worried about the SOL’s, because I was
unable to prepare the way that I wanted,” said English 11 teacher Augustine Twyman. Some students agree with Twyman, and are very stressed about the upcoming exams. “I am a little worried about the SOL’s because the teachers are pressed for time, and it is important to do well, especially for this [the junior] class,” said junior Justine Bui. One plan to alleviate the SOL quandary involves making April 7, previously a teacher workday, into a regular school day. Also, there may be a 30-minute extension of the school day from April 21 to May 16. (See page 2 for a full explanation of the plans to make up the snow days.) “I think it’s pointless to add a few minutes to each class; it will not be productive at all. I can’t accomplish anything except talking with my friends in that amount of time,” said junior Charlene Farrell.
The alternative plan will also involve making the April 7 teacher workday into a student day. However, it will add one day to the school year, making the final day on Monday, June 23, instead of Friday, June 21. Many students favor this alternate plan. “We should add a day; I don’t want to spend time after school because I have important things to do when I get home at two [o’clock],” said junior Mark Bellingham. Junior Darren Wyatt voiced his contempt with the way that FCPS has handled these snow day make-ups. “I think the snow days we were hit with [are] going to hold us back in our SOL tests,” said Wyatt. “It’s a disgusting thing, the way that the school system has handled the snow emergency that has messed up the educational process.”