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ERASING AIDS A closer look at the AIDS epidemic throughout the world and how AHS students can help.
An inside look at the tricks of the trade for the popular game of poker.
Force used on a student who did not have his ID at the UCLA library.
Today’s Weather Sunny Low: 32
Today’s Lunch Hamburger on Bun Cheeseburger on Bun Fish Fillet on Bun Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Yogurt w/Pretzel
Today’s Flex Tues., Dec. 5— R1/R5
This Day in History 1933— Twenty first amendment to the American Constitution ratified 1955— Rosa Parks began famous bus boycott in Montgomery Alabama 1974— NFL’s Seattle Seahawks forms
NEWS BRIEFS AHS establishes schoolcommunity partnership program
AHS recently established a SchoolCommunity partnership to help connect the home, the school and the community. the purpose of this is to ensure that the growing immigrant population at AHS can achieve academic success. The coordinator of the program will be Vida Sanchez. Sanchez will work closely with school personel and parent liasons to ensure that this program is successful. Classes, workshops and activities will be held for teachers and parents to help enhance cooperation between diverse cultures. This is designed to help parents understand the culture and structure of the school. Additionally, this will serve to inform parents on their roles in students education. Sanchez will also manage the parent resource center at AHS. This center contains numerous resources for parents of students at AHS.
59%
Undecided 20%
21%
Yes
No
Has the the war in Iraq has been worthwile?
This survey was distributed on Nov. 28 during B, C and D lunch. Of 500 surveys distributed, 427 were completed and returned for inclusion in this graph.
“Black Friday” shopping reveals the popularity of the latest Playstation game system.
Renovations for Ossian Hall Park begin, student parking not affected BY KRISTA SILANO Managing Editor Many students, staff members and visitors ofAHS have noticed in recent weeks, a drastic change on the corner of Heritage Drive and Four Year Run. The majority of the trees have disappeared, and big white trucks and orange cautionary barriers have replaced them. These changes are part of the long process of renovation to Ossian Hall Park. The renovation was first suggested five years ago when board members and supervisors decided that the overgrowth of the park, which caused difficulty to monitor student activity, as well as the lack of parking, needed to be changed. The process began with “Phase One” in late October, which Safety and Security Specialist Cliff Cornwell said includes clearing out the trees in the front of Ossian Hall Park, paving the parks paths, adding additional paths, removing the welcome sign at the intersection of Heritage Drive and Four Year Run and replacing it with a nicer, stone one, and paving a space for a new batting cage. According to Cornwell, “Phase One should be completed shortly.” While in recent weeks, the park has been inundated with construction trucks and numerous workers, Cornwell says there has not been anything to complain about. Senior Christina Valez, who has a purchased parking space in the Ossian lot, agrees with Cornwell about the smooth renovation thus far. “When the renovation first started and all the construction was going on, I got nervous about whether or not my parking spot was going to be affected,” said Valez. “Ossian” continued on page 5
Ossian Hall Park has been in the renovation process since late October. Recently, many of the trees throughout the park were cut down. Two multi-purpose courts, a rectangular field, a performing arts center, a community plaza and new playgrounds will be built in the renovated park. No date has been set for the completion of the project.
Drama performs Dracula
Weather cancels two performances of play, hurting profit, reviews
COURTESY OF SAHAR ATAYEE
BY LUCAS HIGGINS Staff Writer
E. Faye Butler
War in Iraq Survey
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PLAYSTATION 3 PANDEMONIUM
Ossian gets a makeover
Tonight, “The Wicked Witch of the West” performs at Artspeak!
Tonight Artspeak! will present wellknown performer E. Faye Butler. She is often regarded as one of the most popular local musical theater stars. The performance begins at 7 p.m. in the lecture hall at Poe Middle School. No reservations are needed for the show, and it is open to the public. Butler has performed in many local shows, including Dinah Was, Ain’t Misbehavin’, and Polk County at Arena Stage; as well as The Gospel According to Fishman at Signature Theater. Butler has been nominated for three Helen Hayes awards. In her next role, Butler will make her Broadway debut as the Wicked Witch of the West in the musical The Wiz. The goal of the Artspeak! program is to excite students about the arts. Butlers performance is one of a series of Artspeak! events which will be held this year.
703-642-4229
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2006
ALL DEUCES ARE WILD
POLICE TASER UCLA STUDENT
High: 42
700 Medford Dr. Annandale, VA 22003
DAVID SHERMAN
VOLUME #52 ISSUE 5
ANNANDALE HIGH SCHOOL
Junior Paul Mathis starred in the annual Fall Play: Dracula. The show was hurt by the cancellation of two performances.
“Dracula is so out of the Annandale Theater Department’s comfort zone. It’s extremely different from the kind of stuff we usually perform,” said senior Evan Milberg, who played the part of Dr. Van Helsing in the 2006 fall play, Dracula. “Most of the plays we [perform] have something to do with royalty, or is along those lines.” Not only was Dracula a challenging play for the students, the success of the play was not helped by the rescheduling of opening night and the cancellations of the opening night and a Saturday matinee performance, which many students had planned to attend. These performances were cancelled due to high winds which caused county-wide school closures. Between a Friday night show and a Saturday night show, which had to compete with the “Dracula” continued on page 5
AHS receives $45,000 grant nities at the school and increasing immigrant parent participation. This is the third grant AHS has received from WAPI, and the third year AHS has been accepted by the organization. The school has been a consistent participant in the WAPI program because of its vast diversity and unique programs for immigrant parents. “The Parent Resource Center here is the first ParBY MICHELLE RISSE ent Resource Center at a secondary school in all of News Editor Fairfax County Public Schools,” said Mpras. Not only Three years ago, Dr. Fay Mpras was given the op- is AHS the only public secondary school in Fairfax portunity to work with the Washington Area Partner- County with a Parent Resource Center, but it is also ship for Immigrants (WAPI) by applying for a the first school with a School-Community $25,000 grant. Little did she know thatAHS Center in FCPS “and possibly the nation,” would be chosen for the grant, and three said Mpras. more to come in following years. Javaid Khokhar, a parent liaison This year, AHS was awarded $45,000 for AHS, spends his days speaking with grant from the Community Foundation for immigrant parents and participating in the National Capital Region and Washingseminars. ton Area Partnership for Immigrants orga“I speak three languages, so I am nization (WAPI) for a school and community able to speak with students and parents partnership to reach out to the greater comfrom India, Pakistan, and South Asia,” Mpras munity of immigrant families. said Khokhar. Currently, AHS has six “For the past two years, 13 teachers have been parent liaisons, but with the WAPI grant, it hopes to involved in teacher research which raised the ques- employ more. tion, ‘How can we help our immigrants students?’ “ “I’m very excited about this grant,” said Khokhar. said Mpras. “Now we can expand the activities beyond the building “The information found [from the teacher research] and reach the parents.” will hopefully be implemented in a plan for the school The main goal for the money is to establish better this year and in future years, so we can help immigrant communications between immigrant parents, their parents help their students achieve academic success,” students, and the schoool. said Mpras. With this grant from WAPI, AHS will be expanding the immigrant youth leadership opportu“Grant” continued on page 5
Money will be used to further develop AHS’s Parent Resource Center
Immigration stories at AHS This is the first of a three part series on stories of immigrants coming to AHS BY MICHAEL CRAIG Academics Editor Imagine going to a whole different country on the other side of the world. Not knowing anyone except your family. Not being able to understand the language of country, the culture, or the country’s history. Feeling clueless and wanting nothing more than to fit in. Some of these feelings are familiar to AHS freshman Bewketu Tamir, who completed his journey to America a little less than 11 months ago. Tamir, who traveled from his old home in AddisAbaba, Ethiopia to Virginia, is quickly learning to adapt to AHS. The first thing that Tamir noticed after arriving in The United States from his home 8,000 miles away in Ethiopia is the level of technology in the U.S. “The United States is more technological and advanced,” said Tamir. The school environment in the U.S. is also a new change for Tamir. AHS proves to be a different atmosphere when compared to Tamir’s old school back across the Atlantic. “There are definitely more available materials in schools here,” said Tamir. He is enjoying his first year at AHS and especially takes interest in the subject of history. “I enjoy learning about the history of this nation, it’s interesting,” said Tamir. “History and Math are my two favorite subjects, but I enjoy history the most.” Both of Tamir’s electives at AHS, Journalism 1 and Theater Arts 1 are intended to help Tamir improve his writing and speaking skills. As well as the subject of American History, Tamir also enjoys playing the sport of soccer with his friends near his house. “I’m choosing not to play atAnnandale because I want to improve my academic performance,” he said. Tamir’s family decided to travel to the United States from Ethiopia because they wanted to avoid the political corruption of their old country. “Immigration” continued on page 5