Issue 6

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8

Editorials

Arts

debates the new cell phone policy’s effectiveness

Photo

In-Depth

gives a preview of the spring musical, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”

showcases the many meals created by the culinary arts department

shows how to start planning for summer now

A

Sports previews the upcoming Pack the Pit match against West Springfeld

ANNANDALE HIGH SCHOOL

the VOLUME #58 ISSUE 6

13 17

10-11

4700 Medford Dr. Annandale, VA 22003

Informiing the Atoms siince 1954 4

TUESDAY, JAN. 22, 2013

(703) 642-4229

Mr. Annandale returns Last minute interest from senior and junior boys saves competition from cancellation

Principal Vincent Randazzo said that even though there has been an increase in concern for school safety, the administration will continue to do all that they can to keep AHS safe with policies that are already in place.

3 22 88 $1,100 $5,000

The age at which senior Jasmine Lee began drawing See page 6 The number of couples that have broken up after “finding love” on The Bachelor See page 19 The percent at which students graduate on time See page 9

The amount of money that girl’s basketball raised at Pink Night See page 16

The amount of money that SNHS wants to raise for the Leukemia and Lymphona Society See page 4

Boys and Girls State Boys State will be held at Radford University from June 16 to June 22 and Girls State will be held at Longwood University over the same week.

Yearbook prices increase Yearbook prices are $73 currently and will increase to $80 after Jan. 25. See Julia Hanneman in room 268 to pick up and drop off order forms.

TWB does ‘Shakespearience’

On your smartphone, scan this code using the application “QR Code” to read about the Theater Without Borders program participating in local D.C. theater

Are we safe?

Recent poll reveals that students feel ‘moderately safe’ while in classrooms

BY GWEN LEVEY AND CHRISTINE TAMIR Co-Editor in Chief and News Editor Columbine, Virginia Tech, and now Newtown, Connecticut. They are all places that will live in infamy as victims of some of the worst massacres due to gun violence in American history. They have something else in common, though: these tragedies took the lives of students in school.

Around the halls of AHS, students haven’t been able to steer past the inevitable question that no school should have to answer: what if an act of violence were to affect us?

According to a recent survey conducted of 387 students during multiple R7 classes on Jan. 16, the majority of students feel “moderately safe” while traveling to school, in between classes, while in the classroom, and at school-sponsored events, such as at sports events, dances, and plays. This is in contrast to only 33 percent of students that feel “very safe” while in the classroom.

“We have added four security assistants on staff, but it’s not because of what happened in

Newtown,” Principal Vincent Randazzo said. “[What happened in Newtown] changes how we see the day and how we’re responsible for one another. This is the one thing I hoped [students] wouldn’t have to think about.”

As these unimaginable tragedies continue to become common news more and more in our day to day lives, the battle on gun rights has sparked controversy throughout the country. Even with the recent threat of gun violence, 66 percent of AHS students “strongly disagree” that school officials, including teachers and counselors, should carry weapons to protect students. In December alone, two students in Fairfax County were recommended for expulsion for bringing a loaded handgun to Robinson Secondary School and a BB gun to J.E.B. Stuart High School.

“Personally, I feel that our schools are as safe as they can be,” PTSA president and AHS parent Kathy Ryan said. “We live in a very crazy world unfortunately and I strongly believe that teachers and administrators do all that they can to keep us safe. No environment is ever one hundred percent safe, but everyone works hard to keep our children safe at Annandale.”

The other disparity is that the onslaught of these mass shootings have not only taken students’ lives, but teachers’ lives as well.

Victoria Soto bravely threw herself in front of the shooter at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

“AHS Safety” continues on page 5

“Mr. Annandale” continues on page 5

Heritage Night at risk of being canceled Annual event may not happen this year without sponsor

BY DANA FILPCZYK News Editor The large cultural student talent showcase event known as Heritage Night normally held in the middle of March may not happen this year.

There is currently no sponsor for the event, but attempts are trying to be made to keep the tradition that has become an important part of AHS in representing its diversity.

“We are trying to not cancel it,” Principal Vincent Randazzo said.

There is still a chance that Heritage Night will not be cancelled.

One teacher has been interested in being the sponsor, but it will take an estimate of about seven to twelve teachers to help put together all of the details that go into this large scale event.

The threat of Heritage Night being cancelled is not because of poor turnout, lack of participation or financial struggles. Each year, the event gets many students who perform, usually 90 to 100 participants and majority of the tickets are sold, usually 500 to 600 tickets sold.

“The show is amazing and I have

loved being a part of it, but the problem is that it is a lot of work,” former Heritage Night sponsor and ESOL teacher Georgiana Tomisato said.

Tomisato is not hosting Heritage Night this year because she is hosting a Korean middle school teacher throughout the month of January, taking away time for her to devote to the event. She is planning on retiring at the end of this school year and has been trying for the past few years to have another teacher replace her as the sponsor. Also, the theater arts teacher George Bennett, who has helped direct Heritage Night in previous years, is out on medical leave and is unavailable at the moment with producing the event.

“Last year, I literally was staying after still about 8 or 9 every day during February and March working Last year’s Heritage Night raked in around 500 to 600 tickets, nearly selling out the whole on all of the details of the event,” show. The school gains hundreds of dollars from the event every year.

Tomisato said. “Another teacher has been interested, and we’re trying to something going to keep Heritage having Diploma candidates and work out the details. Heritage Night Night from being cancelled,” last honor societies hosting it may not might turn into a talent competition year master of ceremonies (MC) happen.”

A committee is trying to be formed show, but we still don’t want to lose and junior Amelie Trieu said. “I was to host Heritage Night, but it is still thinking it could be a CAS project for that cultural value that comes with the IB Diploma candidates to do and uncertain if the AHS tradition will the event.”

The show proves successful maybe the honor societies could get be held this year or if the event will every year, and many students are involved as well. A joint effort could change at all.

“We just are not fully aware discontent with the idea of Heritage really help because it is a lot of work.

I spent about 2 to 3 months last year of what is going to happen at the Night being cancelled.

“I have been talking with some working on the event. However, moment,” Tomisato said. of my friends and trying to get other efforts are being done to try and keep Heritage Night going, so

COURTESY OF ANNIE NGUYEN

By the numbers

It is a time-honored tradition of Annandale: the highly-anticipated Mr. Annandale pageant on Feb. 13. However, this year, the competition was in jeopardy until the last day to turn in forms. Each year, up to 20 junior and senior boys compete for the sash and crown and the coveted title of Mr. Annandale. Up until Jan. 16, the day forms were due, only one person had turned in their forms.

The fate of the pageant was saved on the last day to turn in forms when 17 junior and senior boys turned in their forms late in the day.

“I had trouble thinking of what I wanted for my playlist, and was busy, so I didn’t have time to turn in my forms,” junior Jose Rivera said.

The Mr. Annandale pageant is an example of the problem of students not taking deadlines seriously and waiting to the last minute to turn in forms. In the days leading up to the deadline to turn in forms, leadership students had frantically been working to get people to sign up, and were worried Senior Andrew Riddle performs in the the competition “Mr. Strength” part of the competition at last year’s event. would have to be cancelled.

“It’s high school; no one turns in their forms early, so I’m not surprised no one turned in their forms earlier,” junior Melissa Pratt said.

The Mr. Annandale pageant consists of four categories: elegance, talent, muscle and spirit. For the elegance category, the contestant will walk out in their nicest formal wear with their female escort. In the talent category, each contestant must present a special talent to the audience. For the muscle category, each contestant will attempt to somehow prove that they are the manliest of all the competitors. For spirit, each contestant must provide a clever way of showing school spirit.

“I’m really excited because I get to show off my guns during the muscle category, but I’m most excited for the elegance part,” junior Lewis Folli said.

COURTESY OF ANNIE NGUYEN

OLIVIA LAFFERTY

BY BAYLEY BRILL Staff Writer

How do you feel about the new phone policy being set in place?

“Most of the teachers aren’t enforcing in the classrooms but in the lunchroom they are. It is a stupid policy because its not fair to the students. ”

— Marife Baragano freshman

“I think it is pointless because I’m going to be using mine either way. I do not know much though because they never mention anything about it.”

— Gaby Payne sophomore

“I think it is very dumb and I don’t like it at all. The teachers should allow us to just take it out, I don’t think it is fair towards students.”

— Sulton Naieem junior

“I think it is pointless because its not going to get enforced, there are too many kids to keep track of. ”

New phone policy ineffective Lack of enforcement makes the new phone policy insignificant

By Megan Ryan Staff Writer As you walk down the hallway, its impossible to realize that there has been a change in the technology policy. Students walk around with their cell phones out and teachers turn a blind eye to the incessant Twitter and Instagram apps open on their phones.

Due to the recent social media fights, specifically those that occured on Twitter, the administration has atempted to tighten the policy set in place here at AHS in regards to the use of technology throughout the school.

“The rules are very simple; anyone who has their cell phone registered can use it for educational purposes.

The cell phone policy itself has not been changed and for those people who have not registered their phones, I have asked their teachers to confiscate it, package it and send it to the office where they keep it for the end of the day where their parents get it,” said Principal Vincent Randazzo at a press conference with The A-Blast.

The issue with this new regulation though is the lack of enforcement by teachers and the limited understanding that students have of the new policy.

Even though this new policy is supposed to crack down on the students, no one is listening. As much as the administration is trying to get teachers and other staff to enforce the rule, it’s not working out.

The policy has changed so that any electronic device that a student wants to use during the school day needs be registered with the school security office, and if registered the device will not be confiscated as long as

I think it is dumb and my teachers aren’t really enforcing it.”

— Andrew Boyd senior

— Compiled by Megan Ryan

“Hey, I have that same sweater!”

By Bayley Brill Staff Writer When you walk down the halls of AHS, you are greeted by a sea of bodies dressed in North Face jackets, Uggs, and Sperry’s holding iPhones.

It is not surprising that 2,400 students who spend five out of seven days together end up dressing alike. Whether they notice it or not, this is all because of peer pressure. But my question is- where is the variety?

With as many stores in the mall, it’s amazing how everyone ends up shopping at the big three- Abercrombie, Hollister, and American Eagle. Kids rarely want to venture out and try a new store, afraid of wherever they want to shop is not “cool enough.” Kids end up conforming, not because they want to necessarily but because they are afraid of standing out. ­­— Continued on thea-blast.org

Hey, I have that sweater!

In your smartphone, scan the QR code to the rest of Bayley Brill’s story about the lack of diversity in trending fashions at our school.

Although many students register their technology with the school, others still do not choose to register their devices.

it is being used for educational purposes.

“The last month of school before winter break students used the inappropriate use of social media such as Twitter and Facebook to disrupt the school day.

It’s not that we weren’t enforcing it before,” Randazzo said.

The issue with this new phone policy is the fact that many students refuse to register their devices due to the lack of fear of losing their phones and laptops.

Since most teachers are not aware of the implications of this new policy, many of them do not make students keep their phones put away and do not enforce the act of registering all devices.

But other teachers have either stuck to the old

policy of no cell phones at all in their classroom or that students can have it out, but only for educational purposes.

Even though students are told not to use it in class, without it being registered, according to the new policy, they still use them and don’t listen to their teachers by hiding them under desks and coats every period. Just as it has in the past, students still continue to use these pieces of technology without worry or care.

This cell phone policy has not worked in our school yet, and I highly doubt it will work in the future. Just because teachers and some administration doesn’t enforce the rules and the students don’t care enough to listen.

Professional vs. college level sports The NFL has a much bigger fan base and is more competitive

By Megan Ryan Staff Writer

—Khalid Kamara senior

Jan. 22 , 2013

Olivia Lafferty

2

Editorials

Game Day had arrived. From tailgates to war paint, NFL fans are getting pumped to watch their team win.

Professional sports, specifically the NFL, are the best kind of entertainment around.

Fans of all ages swarm to fields all over the country to witness one of the most exciting events in America.

Unlike fans of college sports, NFL fans are dedicated to their teams, and have been since childhood. Their extreme support shows due to the huge fan base that exists at every game. There is such a broad spectrum of people that can root for a single team, it is almost insanity as little kids to seniors are die- hard fans of their teams.

The quality of the athletic ability of professional athletes is also astonishing.

These athletes work so hard to be the best they can be with no interruptions or distractions, on and off the playing field.

Despite the incessant media attention and paprazzis, these athletes stay focused on what they came for: to play the sport they love.

In contrast, college athletes have to worry about graduating, finishing their homework and getting good grades all at the same time which often affects thier overall performance.

The quality of abilities of professional verses college level athletes is revealed through the games. For example, in the Redskins vs. Seattle playoff game, the Redskins had 101 rushing yards while Virginia Tech, in the Russell Athletic Bowl game, they rushed for 4. That is a 97 yard difference, almost the entire length of a professional football field.

Another advantage of being a fan or NFL football verses college football is the ability to watch every game, even if you cannot attend. Professional sports have the best TV coverage out of any other level of sports in the country as almost every professional

sport played is shown somewhere on TV. Every NFL game that is played is shown either on ESPN or other networks, such as FOX and CBS, while at the NCAA level, only about half of the games are aired, making it hard to cheer on your favorite team unless you can attend the game.

Since there is more TV coverage, it then allows more commercialism.

Commercials earn the sport leagues a lot of money, giving the league more opportunities and nicer equipment to use.

Professional sports, specifically the NFL, are also much more competitive.

For football, it consists of the top ranked team in the divisions, (NFC East, NFC South, NFC north and NFC west) to playing sudden death, where if you loose you are out of the playoffs.

If you win all of the three weeks of games, then the team will move on to the mighty Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl is an NFL player’s ultimate goal. It means that your team is the best out of the league and that you are champions.

College has nothing like that.

College football, for example, consists of an extreme amount of bowl games that mean little to nothing and aren’t watched around the country.

With all of these advantages, professional sports can easily beat out any college sports with every fan, and counting.

NCAA football has more school spirit and player motivation

By Melanie Bennett Staff Writer The NFL, NHL, MLB and NBA have cast an ugly shadow over professional sports due to the excessive stubbornness and greediness that the professional players have. Although there are pros to professional level sports, there seem to be more disadvantages than advantages.

When comparing pro and college sports, athletes that play at the college level tend to be much less greedy and stubborn for various reasons.

Professional players are very greedy and their only concern is how much money they make, not their athletic ability and their love of the game.

Professional sports have been corrupted by money. The lure of millions of dollars causes so many young athletes to skip years of college competition and move on to the national level. Due to greed and the obsession with their paychecks, professional sports brings an increase in player strikes and arguments that threaten the regular season and in turn create many upset and disappointed fans.

For example, on September 15, 2012, the NHL went on strike because the players felt they were not getting paid enough. This shortened the 2012-13 season from 82 games to

48 which resulted in the cancellation of 510 regular season games. With the loss of games, the NHL and its hockey players have in fact hurt their image and paychecks due to the dramatic decrease in profits that are usually made off of tickets and fan gear.

While professional sports are having trouble even starting their seasons, college sports continue unaffected.

College athletics have the advantage of their history, tradition and school pride that can not be equaled by any other type of sport.

Unlike professional athletes, college athletes play to win and do their best without the expectation of major endorsements and an increased fan base.

College athletes also act as better role models due to the fact that they can not play sports if their academic grades are not acceptable. This criteria forces athletes to work hard in order to play hard and keeps only those who show the ability to balance all aspects of their lives. zit gives them a reason to want to play and do well in school.

Fans of professional sports may argue that school is a distraction for them but all in all it just makes them more well-rounded individuals.

Many times we hear about student athletes making stupid mistakes though on and off the field. And not all professional players are just in it for the money and glory. In fact, many pro athletes really do play for the love of the game.

For the most part, college sports are more made for fans rather than the players who play them.

But, with the school spirit and enthusiastic fan base, colleges players are overall much more motivated and the motivation is what makes college sports all the more exciting to watch.

Staff Editors In Chief: Colleen Adenan Gwen Levey Managing Editor: Ngan Pham Editorials Editors: Destiny Gammon Omnia Saed News Editors: Dana Filipczyk Christine Tamir People Editors: Kate Grandchamp Carli Loeb Health Editors: Kylee Nisker Art Editors: Abby Barnes Carina Chu

Annandale High School 4700 Medford Dr.

Annandale, Virginia 22003 email: ablast13@gmail.com

Academics Editors: Molly Keck Berta Tarqui In-Depth Editors: Noah Fitzgerel International Editors: Joe Sehrer Shamaim Syed Photography Editors: Priya Adhikary Chloe Loving Lifestyles Editors: Gaby Camilli Megan Flynn Sports Xtra Editors: Ayah Oweis Sports Editors: Jarod Golub Betsy Kruse

Vol. 58 No.6 Jan. 22, 2013 fax: (703) 642-4299

Entertainment Editors: Sarah Bergen Emily Blank Weekend Editors: Andrea Melendez Rowan Shartel Ad Manager: Stephanie Allshouse Circulation Manager: Hannah Carlson Copy Editors: Stephen Oakes Thien Mai Web Editor: Rachel Wilson Web Staff: Jared Lefbom Head Photographer: Olivia Lafferty

Head Videographer: Nadia Elgendy Staff Writers: James Barker Yesenia Blount Bayley Brill Nuhami Mandefro Sarah Metzel Omar Haddou Erin Johnson Megan Ryan Mark Slough Shira Steinberg Alec Stewart Johnathan Telda Sandra Webb Elizabeth Zernick

Photographers: Melanie Bennett Katherine Bonilla Daniel Hiwot Tiffany Huynh Erin Johnson Habib Khalid Videographers: Medhane Berihun Hiwot Daniel Alejandra Iriarte Habib Khalid Laelle Mekonen Amir Mohammed Fahmi Mohammad Rahel Tecle Adviser: Alan Weintraut

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 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, 2013.

Editorials

Jan. 22, 2013

Cramming towards the end As the second semester comes to an end teachers need to pace the workload

3

Likes or Dislikes

Tomorrow you have your semester exams in IB Physics and Algebra 2, as well as a huge project due for English class. Does this scenario sound familiar? This is every student’s nightmare, and unfortunately, it is every student’s reality.

With second quarter concluding at the end of the week, many students are scrambling to find a foothold amidst the deadlines for tests, quizzes, and projects. I myself am included in this majority. Many of us have found that this added stress is not the result of poor planning on our part, but rather it is the fault of our teachers.

“Teachers should pace their assignments better and check with each other when assigning the workload,” junior Ngyuen Cao said. “They always give us big assignments all at once and it’s pretty overwhelming.”

Cao takes several honors courses and has a heavy workload. The end of the quarter is always hardest for students in honors classes because we are usually expected to complete many projects. I’m sure the teachers who assign these tasks have the best intentions at heart, but sometimes it feels impossible to complete everything. As a perfectionist, I suffer through psychological pain when I turn in something I didn’t have time to revise at least 3 times. The students in regular classes have a less cumbersome homework schedule.

While students who take the easier classes have less assignments, people in honors and IB classes have a disproportionate amount of work to worry about.

DESTINY GAMMON

By Sarah Metzel Staff Writer

Second quarter is notorious for being the most stressful quarter. For one thing, it is the longest in terms of days. It was tough trying to juggle my workload between Hurricane Sandy and Christmas break because no one knew when anything was due. When I saw my interim grade reports, I nearly screamed.

“The pacing can be bad sometimes, especially at the end of the quarter,” senior Ben Vest said. “There are usually a couple of weeks of constant tests, quizzes and projects due. Usually it stresses me out when there are a lot of things due at once. I don’t think it actually affects my grades that much, just my mental health. I don’t usually get much sleep at the end of the quarter.”

It’s unfair to treat students who decide to take rigorous classes as though they have superhuman powers. I typically end up having to make the choice between studying thoroughly and getting enough sleep.

I think teachers should cooperate with each other to reduce the unnecessary stress that they put on their students. At Frost MS, students are organized into teams with a

designated group of teachers. These teachers meet on a regular basis to plan their lessons and collaborate on deadline placements. This way, students don’t have the added stress of three projects being due on one day.

If teachers really wanted us to succeed, they would not make it impossible for us to manage our time. A viable solution is for teachers to work together and come up with weekly game plans that allow students to get all their work done.

I’m not saying that teachers should hold our hand as we take baby steps. By no means should advanced classes be easy. That’s the reason we take them -- to challenge ourselves in the areas of our interest, and of course, to earn the extra credit. Changing the pacing does not mean lowering the level of difficulty.

Teachers should make the obstacle course passable, while keeping it challenging.

So the next time you feel that your obstacle course of time management is impassable, remember that you are not alone in your frustrations. Speaking of which, I have to go study for a Physics test that I have... tomorrow.

Statistics show that one-third of people in the world are believed to have ‘Celebrity Worship Syndrome’

OMNIA SAED

By Omnia Saed Editorial Editor

Junior Melissa Stamp is one of the many teens obsessed with numerous celebrities.

thought of myself as being so obsessed over someone but it just happened anyways,” Shamma said.

A new world wide pandemic has hit teenagers across the world as they have become officially addicted.

Websites and news mediums like TMZ, Perezhilton.com and Entertainment Tonight all attract thousands of loyal subscribers all of which are driven to find the latest information on Hollywood icons.

B u t , w h a t ’s p e r h a p s m o s t disturbing especially for this generation is the new extent to which this addiction has been taken.

This obsession is not simply limited to just cultivating information anymore.

With reports surfacing that Justin Bieber was and has been smoking weed, social media went up in a fury as hundreds voiced their opinions on the issue. But none was more horrifying than the trend #CutForBieber where members of Justin’s 38-million-strong Twitter followers came up with the idea of self-harming themselves in order to gain media and Bieber’s attention

in hopes of getting him to quit his “habit.”

Directioners have become so experienced in their celebrity stalking brigades that a group of fan girls were able to successfully break into New Zealand’s Aukland Airport’s security system, just to watch Harry Styles sitting down in the waiting area through one of the airport’s surveillance cameras.

A clear sign according to psychiatrists of the third phase of “Celebrity Worship Syndrome,” is when fans may suffer from obsessional conditions that may cause them to break the law.

The first stage of the disease is when a fan’s interests gets far too addictive. A fan becomes so devoted to information on their idol that they begin to pay attention to all news relating to their icon such as clothes, their latest vacation or what restaurants they recently ate at.

Ten percent of fan girls will reach the second stage of the syndrome where one becomes so oblivious that they believe to have a “special relationship” with their idol.

Already perceived as the generation of ignorance, this new celebrity fascination only worsens the image already placed on teenagers today.

Now, we’re seen as fanatic fan girls, only fueled and concerned by what happens to the icons of Hollywood, when more times than not we don’t even know what’s occurring outside. Ask a Directioner to name all five members of One Direction, when they were born, what their favorite foods are and what they were doing just yesterday, and I can assure you nine out of ten will answer you right off the bat. But ask them who the German chancellor is or the name of the current Syrian President, they’ll pause, stutter and finally admit to defeat.

It’s sad how we misuse the technology and the resources we have. Social media, which has the ability to inform and change any issue in the world, is a hot line and discussion group for fan girls; not that we shouldn’t use Twitter, and Facebook for leisure or to just simply talk about nonsense. I mean that’s why so many are crazed with celebrities in the first place. It’s fun to just get away from reality and immerse yourself in something else completely. But, we shouldn’t forget that our generation has potential.

We shouldn’t just be seen as the crazy fanatic fan girl teenagers but a group that knows their celebrity trivia, and Justin Bieber’s favorite food AND who the current president of Brazil is (It’s Dilma Rousseff by the way), and a group motivated to find a solution to the recent mass shootings and the gun law debate.

So just remember while you’re stalking Bieber, Zayn Malik or even Kim and Kanye, check what’s going on in the real world too.

Rebuttal: neckties are much more professional In response to James Barker’s Go ahead and tie one on

DESTINY GAMMON

By Lewis Folli Special to The A-Blast Noah and Stephen go to a job interview, Noah is wearing a bow tie and Stephen is wearing the traditional necktie. Even though they were both equally qualified, Stephen got the job. Sad that his life is ruined, Noah went to the employer demanding a reason why Stephen won the position and not him. The employer responded with a simple answer: “Stephen looked more professional.”

The moral of that story is that neckties are more professional looking than bow ties. One should NEVER wear a bow tie to a job interview!

There is a reason why President Obama and other government officials wear neckties every day.

AHS students will have no school on Jan. 28 and Jan. 29 due to Teacher Workdays

Students can be found frequently complaining of heavy workloads as the end of the quarter and semesters near.

Celebrity obsessions have gone too far

Scroll through your Twitter timeline, or simply scan the headlines on your way to the checkout lines and I guarantee you’ll see the names of at least five celebrities. What they’re wearing, where they are and who they’re currently dating, heck what they just ate is even a must-know for many. Justin Bieber’s Beliebers, One Direction’s Directioners and even Lady Gaga’s Little-Monsters, have epitomized a new generation obsessed with celebrities; an obsession that’s beginning to play a negative role in our generation.

According to the Daily Mail, it is believed that one-third of the world has “Celebrity Worship Syndrome,” meaning one is so obsessed with certain public figures that he or she suffers a legitimate medical disease.

Sophomore Yassmin Shamma classifies herself as a true Justin Bieber“belieber.”

“I have a Twiter dedicated to him and I spend countless hours looking up his videos and watching them over and over again.”

While many shy away from the idea of being considered medically obsessed, it is quite common to contract “Cyrus virus,” “Bieber fever,” or “Direction infection.”

“I can’t help it because I never

Student Holidays

Above, junior Lewis Folli

Even though it might not seem like it sometimes, they are professionals at what they do and thus must wear professional attire.

Although referred to as “classy,” bow ties can often interpreted as “unprofessional” and “childish” to many people.

The previous article argued that “many celebrities such as Chris Brown and Ryan Gosling have begun to wear bow ties” and showed a photoshopped picture of the

celebrities wearing bow ties. One must note that the pictures were taken at award shows where the “professional” look is not required.

Not only are bow ties unprofessional looking, but they are also dangerous! There have been at least 840 confirmed deaths due to accidental suicide while trying to tighten a bow tie. Do you want to accidentally choke yourself tightening your bow tie? I would think not!

Despite being dangerous, bow ties are also annoying to have since they are right below your chin. Just imagine ruining your bow tie every time you look down. People with goatees also dislike bow ties because their hair get attached to the cotton and often damage or even ruin the material.

We all see in movies a traditional routine that a husband and wife do every morning before leaving for work. The husband comes downstairs with their neckties untied and the wife ties it for him, sealing it off with a big ‘ol’ kiss so he could have a good day. This is

simply not possible with bow ties due to how difficult it is to put on.

In fact, the world record time to put on a bow tie is 13.59 seconds compared to just 12.99 seconds to tie a windsor knot necktie. In this fast paced world, every second matters!

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you should never wear a bow tie in your life because that would be outrageous but what I AM saying is that you should save the bow ties for formal events like homecomings and proms and quinceaneras, weddings and other events like that. But your necktie should be your primary tie for everything else in between!

A high school student saying “I’m never wearing a necktie again in my life” is pretty much like saying “I don’t ever want to get a job in my life.”

Even though the holidays are over, it’s never too late to get your favorite male friend a necktie if you want him to look good. As Deion Sanders said, “look good, feel good.”

End of the Quarter Students are pressed to turn in work and complete midterm exams as the second quarter ends on Jan. 25

BALA restarted AHS will redevelop its “Big Atom-Little Atom” program working with middle school students at Poe, Holmes and Frost Middle School

Bob McDonnell The governor stated on a radio station that he condoned teachers and school administrators to carry guns at school

Inauguration President Barack Obama officially started his presidential term following his inauguration on Jan. 20

Which fan base has the most crazed fans?

“The Twi-Hards because its weird and the movies are good, but people shouldn’t be that obsessed with a movie.”

— John Paletti

freshman

“Directioners” because they have crazy items and I’ve seen the brink of it. They have posters and t-shirt and everything One Direction” — Sofia Jorgenson sophmore “Ke$ha’s Animals, because they send her their own teeth, so she can make jewlery, and dress up in order to emulate her.”

— Amanda Singh

junior

“Beliebers because they support him through everything which includes camping outside for days on end for his concerts and CD releases.”

— Jennifer

Villarroel senior

NEWS

The AHS literary magazine, the Filament, is still accepting original works of art by students. Any appropriate poems, photography, music or works of prose are welcome. All submissions are due to English teachers by Jan. 25.

Mandatory CAS Meeting All junior IB diploma candidates are required to attend the midyear CAS meeting on Jan. 24 in M2 during Atom Time. If you cannot attend, you must see government teacher Lindsay Zurawski.

Class of 2013 Bake Sale The Class of 2013 will hold a bake sale on Jan. 23 after school in front of the cafeteria. The money spent on baked goods will go towards Prom and other events.

FAFSA Completion Workshop Career Center specialist Robin Roth will hold the second FAFSA workshop of the year on Jan. 23 from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. in the library computer lab. Please see Robin. Roth in the career center for a list of material needed to complete the application.

Elective Fair This year’s elective fair will be held on Feb. 15 during Atom Time.

All underclassmen will be able to decide the locations they would like to attend that day prior to the event.

Music Department Boosters The orchestra and choral department will be holding booster meetings on Jan. 22. Orchestra will have the booster meeting as well as a rehearsal from 6 to 9 p.m. in the orchestra room. Chorus will haave a vooster meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the chorus room.

Parent Nights Multiple parent nights will occur within the next few weeks. The 8th grade parent night will be held on Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. in either the auditorium or the cafeteria. Th junior parent night will be held on Feb. 7 in Clausen Hall at 7 p.m.

The IB parent night will be held on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. in Clausen hall for all students interested in participating in the IB program.

End of Second Quarter Th last day for the second quarter will be on Jan. 25. As a result, Jan. 28 and 29 will be teacher workdays, so there will be no school for student. Report cards will be distributed on Feb. 1 and a new Atom Time cycle will begin on Feb. 11.

MIT Acceptance On your smartphone, scan the above code using the application “QR Code” to view a story about senior Kevin Kwok’s journey prior to getting accepted into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

BY DANA FILIPCZYK News Editor The Science National Honor Society (SNHS) is planning to raise $5,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through multiple events initiated by the annual campaign Pennies for Patients. The fundraiser will take place from Feb. 4 until March 1.

The campaign will be introduced with a presentation during Atom Time on Jan. 30 in the auditorium.

“Raising $5,000 is a very optimistic goal, but I think we can reach it,” SNHS Publicist and senior Katherine Mock said. “We have a lot of good ideas and we are trying to market this campaign well.”

The main event is a coin collection competition, also knowns as a “penny war,” which will last the duration of the campaign. The donation collection boxes will be located in the cafeteria during all lunches. There will be different competition themes where the most money donated for a category will win: a gender war one week, a class war for two weeks, and a pie-a-teacher theme week. A faculty competition between the departments will also be held.

“We are trying to reach out to the community in an effective manner and make a strong public presence within our school,” SNHS co-sponsor and physics teacher Thomas Chorman said.

Another main fundraising event is Date for a Cure.

This will be held on Feb. 13 during Atom Time in the upstairs gym, where junior and senior male students will be auctioned off for dates. An entrance fee of $3 is required in order to attend the event.

“We are trying to promote our events to the best of our ability and get large student involvement with all of them,” Mock said.

Other events SNHS is hosting involve a movie night, a Silverado’s night, bake sales and chocolate and roses sales. The movie night is to be hosted on Feb. 22. The admission fee is $5 and Toy Story 3 will be played.

DANA FILIPCZYK

Deadline for Filament Submissions

Yearly SNHS fundraiser to reach new heights

Senior Hung Truong, president of SNHS, and junior Ahyeong Park, vice president, talk about Pennies for Patients.

Chocolate bars will be sold for $3 each throughout the campaign, and roses will be sold during the week leading up to Valentines Day. Furthermore, there will be three bake sales after school on Jan. 30, Feb. 6 and 20.

SNHS officers and members are focused on promoting their campaign to reach $5,000, which is $2,000 higher than the goal they exceeded last year.

“I hope that people are willing to help out with our campaign and donate because this is for a great cause,” SNHS vice president and junior Ahyeong Park said.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is an organization that funds research on finding treatments for blood cancers and providing services and education to patients. SNHS is raising money in honor of Daniel

Eisig, a 15-year-old boy diagnosed with Leukemia when he was 10, who is now cancer free and has been for over three years.

“This is why this fundraiser is so important, because our efforts help other patients like Daniel, who now have the chance to get better and beat cancer,” SNHS president and senior Hung Truong said. “Our goal is to raise awareness about these type of cancers around the Annandale community.”

SNHS has an online donation website account.

Students can visit http://nca.sy.llsevent.org/ AnnandaleHighSchool to make a donation.

Debate team competes in districts New club finalizes preparations for district competition

BY SANDRA WEBB Staff Writer After their successful debut, the Forensics and Debate Team will continue to compete at the district level. The district competition for speech is in two weeks and the competition for debate is in two months.

“I didn’t expect it at the beginning of the year, but I think the team has owned their own success,” Forensics and Debate team sponsor Lynn Beal said. “Obviously I’m really proud of them.”

The Forensics and Debate Team began in September and surprised AHS with a sudden success. They have participated in one competition this year, during which one AHS student ranked first place. Another AHS student ranked second, one student ranked fourth and two others ranked sixth.

“I’m really happy with our success. I think we’ve done a lot better than any of us assumed would happen,” team member senior Khadra Said said.

Forensics and Debate is one team that is broken up into two separate categories. Even though they compete separately, the team feels united and

Senior Brian Quang performs an impromptu speech about the value of Starbucks.

has close bonds.

“The best part is kind of how we’re like one big family and we kind of support one another, whether you’re doing debate, impromptu or improv or poetry or whatever it is we kind of just come together to help one another out,” Said said.

Forensics students compete in an Interpretation category. Students

prepare a script from a piece of literature and select important passages to use in a 10 minute presentation that summarizes the story.

“You have to present it using different character voices, gestures, facial expressions, bodily movements, without moving, pretty much,” Beal said. “[Students have to] then memorize

those quotes and then learn to present them in ways that are very dramatic, without acting.”

Most team members spend long periods of time preparing their piece and making sure their presentation is perfect.

“We work every class period, the whole class period and after school,” Said said.

In addition, speech competitions include a Ritual Oratory where students have to write their own speeches or even participate in an impromptu section, where students must present a speech on a given topic with only a few minutes to prepare. “[It’s] a ton of work,” Beal said.“The class and the team are really self-driven.

I’m more of a guide and they’ve done the work.”

Students participating in the speech (forensics) competition are due to compete in two weeks at the district level, and many are hopeful for more high scores and great results.

“Hopefully we’ll rank third, second or first so we can go to regionals,” senior team member Nisha Sarath said.

AHS looks forward to supporting the new team and to their continued success.

“My hope is that we do even better than we’ve already been doing and that we’re able to get more people involved in the club in the future to expand more from the class to a bigger after school club,” Said said.

In School Suspension Program to begin Administration renews discipline measures to keep students on campus

BY GWEN LEVEY Co-Editor in Chief Suspension is a word that most AHS students never have to hear. For those that do, however, this usually means a few days or more off of school at home missing class work and other vital school information. Starting the second semester, going home will no longer be an option for those students suspended; instead, they will be making their way to school like everyone else, but will be spending it in the new in-school suspension program.

“It’s a different form of intervention and discipline,” assistant principal Aaron Schneider said. “We’ve had the idea and have wanted to do it for a while now. We’re starting the program now because Principal Randazzo was able to get a little more staffing.”

According to Schneider, during a student’s suspension, they will have to report to a designated in-school suspension location and remain there for the day. Teachers provide students with work that they will work on at their location throughout the day. The general idea of the program is to keep suspended students working and caught up in class instead of not doing work at home and falling behind.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY OLIVIA LAFFERTY

News Briefs

Pennies for Patients begins

CHRISTINE TAMIR

4

Jan. 22, 2013

Security specialist K.W Williams will be involved with the new in-school suspension program that will be held in a trailer.

“I think [in-school suspension] would be better because out of school suspension you can go ahead and do anything you want and it wouldn’t really be like it’s a punishment, it’d be more like you’re just getting out of school,” freshman Camile Soruco said.

Principal Vincent Randazzo agrees that this is a good way to handle school discipline issues instead of having students go home to wait out their punishment.

“We want to keep students on track with

schoolwork,” Randazzo said.

The program will be run in a trailer located in the back of the school. While there, in coordination with suspended students’ teachers, their regular assignments will be sent for them to work on them throughout the regular school day.

“Nothing significant happened for [the program] to be put into place now,” Assistant Principal Jamie Carayiannis said. “We’re always looking for ways to support kids in endeavors here at school. We want to keep them engaged.”

Security measures increase Recent shootings and media scandals have led to more safety measures

OLIVIA LAFFERTY

Fairfax County schools have ensured that they take the proper safety measures, especially after the debate of recent events.

Twitter accounts.

“The way we found out about what was happening on Twitter was because students reported what was happening to us,” Randazzo said.

Randazzo said that no administrators have Twitter accounts, but did express an interest in having an account to tweet about school events that he attends.

“We haven’t changed any policies, even after what happened recently with Twitter,” Randazzo said. “No one has an account except the athletic department.

Administrators don’t have Twitter accounts to track students. I want one, but only to tweet about certain school events or to congratulate someone on something they’ve accomplished.”

The confession has set many students’ minds at ease, especially for the sake of their privacy on the social media site.

Junior Rebecca Yohannes expressed relief at hearing that the administrators weren’t behind the fake accounts.

“Sometimes I tweet some things that aren’t pleasing to the administrators,” Yohannes said. “So, overall, I’m relieved.”

In contrast to the amount of fights that have risen this year, AHS’s profile states that offenses against staff, students, and other offenses have lowered by 25 percent from the 2008 to 2011 school year. This number dropped significantly from 247 offenses at the

end of 2009 to just 61 in 2011. With the results of this year’s physical altercations, however, this number may start to rise again.

According to a recent article by The Washington Post, Fairfax County Public Schools spokesman John Torre said that most schools in the county have an electronic entry system and self-locking doors. All visitors to a school are also required to “register at the front office and are escorted around the property by a staff member.”

“We do not have automatic lock-in doors. Only elementary schools have lock-in doors and the buzzin system. Middle schools do not have lock-in doors either,” SAM program academic advisor Hassan Mims said. “We have hired one new security guard and have new cameras this year.”

Though AHS doesn’t have self-locking doors and visitors are not always escorted around the school, administrators are constantly reporting to different areas in the school that they monitor at various times throughout the day.

“We are not planning on changing anything, since we have very good policies [regarding school safety] already in place,” Randazzo said. “We have to look at our school culture and I feel that our school culture is very good.”

Annual male pageant returns Tradition continues despite setbacks “Mr. Annandale” continued from page 1

After all the contestants have competed in all four categories, the judges will consult with one another to crown Mr. Annandale. This year teachers Lindsay Zivney, Robin Griffin,

News Briefs Personal Electronic Devices

“How safe is AHS” continued from page 1

Engineering Professor Liviu Librescu used his body to blockade the door during the Virginia Tech massacre, giving all but one student the chance to escape the shooter. These are only a couple of teachers that have bravely risked their lives for their students during a school massacre, reminding teachers of the risk they may have to take in a life-or-death situation.

“We’ve got standards of classroom management, we’ve got standards of what to do in case of emergency, we’ve got meetings on a seemingly regular basis,” history teacher Joe Valentino said. “We just had one last week about what to do in case of emergency, and they’re constantly updating. Some of us would almost think they do too much in this respect, but they feel it’s enough and I certainly do and I feel completely safe here.”

The recent poll revealed that 52 percent of students agree that authority figures, including teachers and administrators, do everything in their power to ensure students’ safety. In contrast, most students said that they “slightly disagree” that AHS performs sufficient drills to ensure students’ safety in case of an emergency, including fire drills, lock-in and tornado drills.

“We conduct the exact number of drills that are required for Fairfax County,” Director of Student Services Jennifer Crump-Strawderman said.

The subject of school safety isn’t just a result of the recent rise in gun violence throughout the country: with the result of the recent Twitter scandal and students’ abuse of social media, rumors of different policies being placed or administration having Twitter accounts to track students surfaced.

According to the poll, after nearly five fights in one week and several suspensions, the increase of physical altercations in school this year has influenced 52 percent of students to question the safety of AHS. The majority of the students who questioned this were sophomores while juniors and seniors followed by 42 percent. This is due to the rise in fights that students have seen this year, as 58 percent polled said that they have witnessed an average of one to five fights already this semester.

Contrary to popular belief and this increase in altercations, the administration does not monitor

5

News

A Blast

the

Jan. 22, 2013

John Hawes and more will make up the panel of esteemed judges. The judges will work together to crown Mr. Muscle, Mr. Talent, Mr. Elegance and Mr. Spirit; then, they will finally crown Mr. Annandale.

“Big things are going to happen [at the competition] and I’m really excited to see what people come up with,” said senior Nolan Gilbert.

The leadership students have put a lot of time and effort into getting ready

for the Mr. Annandale competition.

“We have to get permission from the administration, reserve the auditorium, and make posters to advertise,” said junior Eric Mejean.

The Mr. Annandale competition is mainly a way to get students to show their school spirit in a lighthearted way, as well as a fundraiser for the school.

“I’m most excited to see how the students display their school spirit,” said leadership teacher Stephanie Harmony.

The juniors competing in Mr. Annandale are: James Barker, Lewis Folli, Zack Hussain, Jose Rivera, and Oscar Benitz. The Seniors competing are: Brody El-Achi, Nolan Gilbert, Hari Mizouri, Justice Garrish, Sherief Beshara, Andy Riddle, Luke Lundy, Joey Shiflett, Kelvin Fuentes, Bryan Jefferson, Andrew Boyd, Khalid Kamara, Rashad Cobb and Jae Min Kim. The Mr. Annandale competition will take place in the auditorium at 7 p.m.

Registration for personal electronic devices will be done on Jan. 30 in the cafeteria from 2 to 2:30 p.m. Visit the AHS website to find the two forms that must be filled out, as well as other information that pertains to setup guides for different mobile devices.

When the two forms are turned in during the registration session, the student will receive a small gold sticker with an identification number on it to be put on the device.

It is important for students to register their devices so that they can use them freely at a faculty member’s discretion. Future dates for registration may be announced at a later time.

Collaboration Day The next Collaboration Day and Freshman Transition Program will be on Jan. 30. For all students who rely on bus transportation, buses will be operating on normal schedule.

All freshmen girls must report to the auditorium and all freshmen boys must be at the posted location assigned by counselors by 7:20 a.m.

All sophomores, juniors and seniors go to the main gym. Students should arrive to school no later than 8 a.m.

Classes will begin at 8:27 a.m.

FCA Meeting The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) will have a meeting on Jan. 22 during Atom Time in Clausen Hall.

All members are encouraged to come and attend the meeting.

Green Atoms Meeting The next Green Atoms meeting will be on Jan. 24 after school in M-24. Plans for the upcoming fundraiser will be discussed.

Korean Bible Study

Korean Bible Study is held every other Friday at 2:15 in room 205.

Every meeting students discuss a chapter from the Bible in English.

Texts are provided in English and Korean.

FBLA Meeting

The Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) will have its next meeting after school on Jan. 23 in Clausen Hall from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

AMC Test

The annual American Math Competition (AMC) will be held during W2 on Feb. 5 for all the math students who signed up and paid the $2 fee to participate.

Big Atom Little Atom Meeting

Multiple AHS students meet for the reunification of the tutoring session.

Alumnus Ashlyn Nisker was the escort for contestant Samir Shah, who went on to win the Mr. Elegance portion.

Alumnus Charles Aftergut competes in the strength portion.

Alumnus Jack Deible was crowned Mr. Annandale.

--Photos by Sarah Bergen

Big Atom Little Atom starts up again AHS students set to tutor middle school students

By Christine Tamir News Editor After several years of club dormancy, the Big Atoms, Little Atoms (BALA) program will begin again. BALA is a program intended to help facilitate the transition for eighth graders into high school.

Thanks to the leadership of counselors Rebecca Lockard and Stacie Shaffer, the program has blossomed into a large and united initiative to help smooth eighth graders’ transition into high school.

“Middle-schoolers struggle with the size of the school, number of students – the sheer presence of people,” Shaffer said. “The expectations of the classes, and rules in general.”

With the added pressures in mind, both Lockard and Shaffer realized that a role model was needed to help guide new students through the trials of high school.

“The vision behind it was to really help our freshmen students adjust and transition to high school,” Lockard said. “[BALA] was one of the best ways we thought they could better relate to.”

Both believe that incoming freshmen could easily relate to those close to their age, as opposed to adult mentors, whom many students may not connect to as easily as peers.

“I think it sounds like a really great way to get eighth graders comfortable with coming to high school,” junior Kelcie Chandler said.

Lockard and Shaffer are looking to start the program with AHS’ feeder middle schools’ (Poe MS and Holmes MS) current eighth grade class.

“We’re hoping to make a connection before the eighth graders come to AHS so they can form a relationship before coming to high school,” Lockard said.

BALA mentors attended an in-school field trip on Jan. 12. Fairfax County held a countywide meeting to kickstart AHS’ mentoring program.

“We literally started a week ago,” junior Berket Yemaneberhane, a Big Atom, said.“We did training and we talked about how other schools’ mentoring programs worked, and how we could make ourselves better mentors.”

BALA aims to begin pairing students with their mentors and arranging formal meetings (hopefully) during W4 and Atom Time. Both sponsors hope that high school mentors will develop closer relationships with their Little Atoms on their own.

“During my freshman year, I didn’t know what to do, or what extracurricular activities to be involved in,” Yemaneberhane said. “Giving them an opportunity to know what to classes to take and helping them move to high school will be really good and help them to become better high school students.”

The students split up into groups named by colors to help one another learn to become tutors.

A county speaker talks about his experiences as a mentor.

-Compiled by Amelie Trieu

6

People

What’s your New Year’s resolution?

Jan. 22, 2013

Doing epidermis art IB Art helps senior Jasmine Lee realize her dream job of becoming a tattoo artist

“I did not have one this year because I always give up on them.”

—Andrew Gonzalez freshman

“My New Year’s resolution is to drink more water.”

—Douglas Nguyen sophomore

“My resolution is to keep my grades up this year.”

—Amber Scaff junior

“My New Year’s resolution is to enjoy the rest of high school and prepare for college.”

—Maddy Reinert senior –Compiled by Shira Steinberg

Celebrity Birthdays

January 22 Diane Lane 23 Chesley Sullenberger 24 Neil Diamond 25 Alicia Keys 26 Wayne Gretzky 27 Bridget Fonda 28 Elijah Wood

29 Adam Lambert 30 Phil Collins 31 Justin Timberlake

48 62 72 32 52 49 32 31 62 32

February 1 Lauren Conrad 2 Shakira 3 Shelley Berman 4 Alice Cooper 5 Christiano Ronaldo 6 Kris Humphries 7 Ashton Kutcher 8 Seth Green 9 Mia Farrow 10 Emma Roberts 11 Jennifer Aniston 12 Jennifer Stone 13 Jerry Springer

27 36 88 65 28 28 35 39 68 22 44 20 69

Her foray into the world of cosmetology came from working as a shampoo girl at the urging of her parents, both hairdressers. She became more interested in the world of beauty, doing friends’ hair and makeup. She has now combined the two fields and views tattooing as a form of art on the skin.

“Makeup tattoos can be good, but really people gotta

By Kate Grandchamp check who they’re getting tattooed from, ‘cause they might People Editor be bad and tattooing is permanent, obviously. It’ll be just “A person is not old until regrets take place of dreams.” terrifying having crooked tattooed eyebrows,” Lee said.

Lee’s parents are fully supportive of her occupational The profound words of senior Jasmine Lee demonstrate a level of philosophic maturity much beyond her years. It is pursuits, but it wasn’t always that way.

“At first they weren’t all that happy with [me wanting from this security in her own knowledge that the budding to become a tattoo artist], but they know I like doing what artist thrives and plans her future.

“I would love to be a tattoo artist, it’s a great job. I do I do,” Lee said. “So now they just support me in what I what I like to do, and I get paid well for it-- it’s great for want to do with my future.”

Lee’s mother, in particular, has influenced her decisions me,” Lee said.

Lee says she definitely feels her enrollment in art at regarding tattoos.

“I don’t have any tattoos yet because I promised my school has helped her realize her dream.

“I’ve done some research for IB Art and Art 4 and I’ve mom I wouldn’t get any before I turned 18,” Lee said. looked into many tattoos for inspiration,” Lee said. “I “She just thought it wasn’t appropriate. I’m just keeping realized how beautiful they were and I thought I could the promise.”

Lee’s desired tattoos are surprisingly simple in do that using my skill [as an artist].”

Lee has considered going to a university for the arts, comparison to the art she so adores.

“A tattoo is art on your skin. Whether it’s meaningful but their high tuition costs have persuaded her to attend or not, it’s beautiful (or at least a regular college and enroll in art it’s supposed to be, if you got a classes there. tattoo from a good tattoo artist),” “Either way, I’ll be learning more Lee said. art,” Lee said. “I have sometimes She plans to get a gun tattoed thought of [not going to college and on each hip when the time just getting into the business right comes. away], but I think education is still “I’m going for a cowboy look, important. I can always get tattoo like midwest sheriff. You know experience from working part-time, how they have guns on their hips maybe as a tattoo assistant.” and pull them out all cool in the Her grounded view of education movies? I thought it’d be nice to has helped her stay straight in the get a tattoo like that.” rest of her classes, as she does not Although Lee views tattooing believe non-art courses are a waste as an artform, she does not of time. believe getting a tattoo solely for “Some are really helpful, [like] its rebellious stigma is all bad.

Psychology,” Lee said. “I loved that “[The only ‘stupid’ tattoos class. I’ve always been interested in are those that] are completely how the brain functions and what meaningless and ugly at the it actually does. It was just new. I same time,” Lee said. “I can’t learned so many things.” even explain how [stupid some Lee has plans to attend NOVA (Top) Lee demonstrates her talents through a more form of art, tattoos. (Bottom) senior Jasmine Lee people are]...I’ve seen people get Community College next year on edgy discoveres her passion for tattoo art through the art tattoos that are misspelled and the Pathways Program before classes she participated in throughout high school. they don’t notice ‘til someone seriously considering what school points it out.” she would like to attend next.

Lee takes up arms at the way “I really don’t care what school tattoos have been branded in the I go to, actually,” Lee said. “As long modern age. as I get to pursue my dreams. No “People think that tattooing matter how sh**ty my school [is], it [won’t] stop me from doing what is just...I don’t know. They seem I love to do.” to think it’s not classy, and not Although Lee’s scholastic art neat, and not formal. I find teachers have helped her cultivate that negativity so annoying... her craft throughout the years, It’s permanent, yes. But it’s their assistance has been mostly inpermanent art.” class, whereas a large part of Lee’s She also dismisses any health inspiration comes from the world risks associated with ‘inking,’ that surrounds her. “I find myself saying that, with care and being inspired by many things... caution, 99 percent of infections sometimes music, sometimes any can be avoided. According to of the people around me...[or] just Lee, the only people who should daily life,” Lee said. be worried about any sort of She places a huge emphasis on poisoning are those with weak individuality. immune systems, as prevention “[As much as I love celebrity is as easy as taking care of one’s tattoo artist Kat Von D], I’m not ‘inspired’ by her. I skin around the tattooed area and making sure that the mean, she does amazing stuff, and her sketches are tattooist disinfects and cleanses his/her tools before each breathtaking,” Lee said. “ I go on her Facebook page and use. go through her albums to see her works that are posted “I believe in doing as many things as you can while every day, but I don’t base my work on her’s, ‘cause then you’re alive. It’s better than staying safe at home and the ideas aren’t mine.” doing nothing risky. The next day you might die and regret “I think it’s unfair [that the underclassmen now have not trying things. I’d rather take a lot of risks today and a limited number of electives]. They should be allowed to die tomorrow and be happy with my life.” take as many varieties of classes as they want, to help Lee says that no matter what she ends up doing later them expand their views,” Lee said. “Anything with limits on, her one goal in life is to be successful. just sucks.” “[I want] to be number one.”

Lee began drawing when she was just three years old and started painting even before entering elementary school. It was then that she entered numerous competitions --Photos courtesy of Jasmine Lee for watercolor and oil painting. She continued to compete throughout middle school, but has only competed once while at AHS, placing second and third in each of her respective categories.

• This will be my fourth year teaching at AHS.

• This is my fifth year teaching at AHS.

• I attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

• I attended Slippery Rock University.

• I majored in Marketing Management.

• I majored in Health & Physical Education.

• I listen to Counting Crows, David Gray and Ray Lamontagne.

• I have traveled to and toured Europe when studying abroad my senior year of college.

• My birthday is May 1.

On your smartphone, scan this code using the application “QR Code” to see a student spotlight of freshman Janan Gogturk.

On your smartphone, scan this code using the application “QR Code” to see more of Lee’s artwork on her Instagram.

Who am I?

• In my spare time, I like to spend time with my fiancé by traveling, cooking and relaxing.

Student Spotlight: Janan Gogturk

Lee shows off her artistic abilities on her friend, Megan Mohr, by tattooing a feather and birds on the side of her stomach. Lee has been an aprentice under a friend at a tattoo shop for almost a year.

• The sports I have participated in include lacrosse and soccer.

• My favorite TV shows are shown on Discovery, NatGeo and ID channels.

• An interesting fact about me is that grocery shopping stresses me out.

• My favorite part of working in a school is getting to know my students, and helping them with resumés, college applications and giving them advice about the real world.

• My motto is: “Don’t burn the day away.”

• In my spare time, I like to run and play guitar.

• I listen to Elliot Smith, Bright Eyes and Ben Kweller.

• I have traveled to Costa Rica, Mexico, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

• My birthday is April 3.

• The sports I have participated in include football, basketball, tennis, track and cross country.

• My favorite TV show is Fringe.

• My favorite store is Nike.

• My favorite part of working in a school is the students.

• My motto is: “Don’t ask anyone to do something you’re not willing to do yourself.”

–Compiled by Carli Loeb

To find out who these teachers are, visit www.thea-blast.org/category/student-life/people/

Health

Jan. 22, 2013

Boost your metabolism Body composition and daily activities can affect the way the body breaks down food

Reduce fat intake: Fatty foods slow down your ability to burn calories. Go for the veggies instead of animal fat and avoid excess fat from sauces and dressings.

Olivia lafferty

Keep hydrated: The body requires fluids to break down nutrients and support metabolism rate. Try drinking cold water; the body warms it up and burns about a calorie per degree it warms it.

Junior Jennifer Nguyen drinks plenty of water while working out at a local gym in order to maintain a healthy metabolism.

exercising regularly. Staying active assists in burning calories and promotes muscle growth.

Muscles require more calories to maintain than fat. What would be considered excess calories for a less active person, might be needed to fuel someone who exercised more. This burning of excess calories equates to a lower chance of gaining unwanted weight.

“I keep my metabolism healthy by eating well balanced meals and participating in activities like the marching band,” sophomore Thomas White said.

Metabolism is simple to maintain, however it can be just as easy to throw off a body’s metabolic processes.

A problem for many high school students is the amount of sleep they get each night. Not having enough sleep is also detrimental to one’s metabolism.

“Teens are hardwired to stay up late but they cannot function without eight to ten hours

of sleep,” health teacher Gabriel Romano said.

“When you don’t get enough sleep, you gain weight.”

According to the Annals of Internal Medicine medical journal, sleeping for only four hours over a range of four consecutive days is enough to alter the sleeper’s metabolism. In addition to disrupting one’s metabolism, the lack of sleep can also make someone more resistant to insulin.

Insulin resistance may foreshadow future weight gains or severe health conditions such as diabetes.

Age also influences the metabolism’s speed.

Muscle deteriorates as an individual grows older.

Without the additional muscle, less calories are naturally burned, resulting in a slower metabolism.

Staying fit is not rocket science. With basic knowledge of one’s metabolism, living a healthy life may not be so hard after all.

Food myths that won’t die Myth: Don’t Eat After 8 p.m.

Myth: Eating fat makes you fat

Myth: Salt is bad for you

earlier in the day, while late-night calories sit in your system and turn into fat.

are bad for you.

and sodium has negative effects on the body’s health.

Theory: You burn up the food you eat

Theory: All fat grams make you gain weight and

Advice: Try cutting the evening snack out all together since night eaters tend to overeat. Don’t go longer than five hours without eating because once meals are skipped, the next opportunity will cause overeating.

The reality: Fat is not always a bad thing. A small amount of fat can help you feel full so that you eat less overall. It can also make certain healthy foods, when dipped or added, taste better which can lead to eating more of healthy foods. Fat helps with the absorption of certain vitamins and nutrients which promote good overall health.

Advice: Choose monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, found in nuts and avocado, that don’t raise blood cholesterol levels and may reduce risk of cardiovascular disease. Avoid saturated and trans fats, found in margarine and fried fast foods, which are less healthful and increase risk of heart complications.

Myth: Dieting is the best way to lose weight

Myth: You can eat anything as long as you exercise

the smartest way to drop a few pounds.

weight no matter if there is a change in your diet.

The reality: Exercise, mainly cardiovascular, is an effective way to help lose excess body fat.

However, this only works when a healthy diet goes along with it. Exercise alone won’t automatically make those pounds drop unless it is receiving the proper nutrients to do so.

The reality: The calories may sit

around a little longer if you eat and then lie around, but when you move around the next day, your body will continue to break down what you have ingested.

However, this doesn’t mean that eating unhealthy snacks won’t continue to store as fat.

Theory: Switching to a strict diet plan is The reality: Short-term,

you will lose the weight on any plan that results in you eating fewer calories. But temporary changes don’t always lead to permanent losses and have an overall negative effect on the body.

Advice: Don’t try and force yourself to diet.

Instead, change the way you eat entirely. A more effective way to lose weight is to change your eating habits. Find an eating plan with the right amount of calories for you to lose weight.

Simple ways to boost your metabolism Do this:

By Thien Mai Copy Editor Eating right and getting enough exercise is crucial to a healthy life. How exactly do these components contribute to a healthier life? The answer lies in the role of the human metabolism.

The term metabolism encompasses all the bodily processes necessary for maintaining a cell’s life. The sustainable growth and recovery of all human cells rely on the individual’s rate of metabolism.

The most widely accepted definition of metabolism, however, is the rate at which calories are burned in a person’s body to sustain it throughout the day. For this fact, the improvement of one’s metabolism is often times the first step towards losing weight.

However, what components go into a person’s metabolism? The first determinant of a person’s metabolic rate comes from that of their parents.

“When I think of metabolism, I think of how fast my stomach digests food,” senior Yanira Guerra said. “I have a fast metabolism and I think it comes from my dad who also has a fast metabolism.”

Indeed, metabolism is hereditary and is often passed on through generations. This does not mean individuals have no say in how “fast” their metabolism is.

There are countless numbers of ways a person can positively influence their metabolism. Two very important criteria to keep in mind when trying to improve metabolism are the choices of food a person consumes and the amount of exercise he/she gets.

Eating a proper amount of calories is both vital to maintaining one’s activity level throughout the day and preventing unwanted weight changes.

If a person consumes more calories than they can burn, the excess calories are stored as fat in the body.

Corresponding with healthy eating is

7

Theory: Exercising will cause you to lose

Advice: Create a workout schedule that allows you to meet your exercise needs. In addition, make sure to drink plenty of beneficial fluids as well as maintaining a healthy diet that provides the body with all of the minerals and nutrients it requires.

Strength training: Adding resistance to your exercise routine helps build more muscle. On average, muscle burns nine times more calories than fat.

Not this: Skip sleep: The body’s ability to function properly relies on energy from sleep cycles. A change in this can result in altered rates of metabolism and food break down.

Crash diet: Restrictive diets send the body into starvation mode, holding onto every calorie it can. A healthy morning breakfast can boost metabolism and increase alertness.

Ditch carbs: Carbohydrates produce glucose that your cells need to function properly. Eat “good” carbs such as whole wheat or whole grain products.

How do you exercise in the winter months?

“I swim butterfly and freestyle for the swim team.”

—Aaron Boyd freshman

Theory: Intaking a large amount of salt

“I don’t exercise in the winter because I’m really lazy.”

The reality: The human body requires sodium to control the body’s volume of fluids and help maintain its acid-base level.

There is no reason for people with normal blood pressure to reduce their salt intake.

Advice: Those with high blood pressure should consider limiting sodium intake. However, consuming more potassium based foods can level out these two levels so consider eating more spinach, broccoli or bananas.

Myth: Diet food helps dieting

—Gabby Lewis sophomore

“I do a lot less cardio but I tend to replace it with things like burpees.”

—David Ngoma sophomore

Theory: Items marked with “low-fat” and

“reduced sugar” make losing weight easier and painless.

The reality: These items do not necessarily contain fewer calories, which is the easiest way to lose weight.

The feeling of eating these “healthier” options may cause the urge to eat more of them than regular products.

Advice: Always check the nutrition label, no matter what the front side reads.

Compare the calorie amount of the “low-fat” with the regular product. Determine if eating a smaller portion of the normal product would be less calories, or overall better for you, than a larger amount of the healthier one.

“I run on the treadmill and use a home gym.”

—Matt Holt junior

“I swim on [the school’s] swim team.”

—Meghan Lynn senior

—Information from RealSimple.com and LiveScience.com —Compiled by Shira Steinberg

Five minute meal: trail mix On your smartphone, scan this code above using the application “QR Code” to view a sideshow on how to create your own healthy trail mix.

8

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Jan. 22, 2012

ACADEMICS

Jan. 22, 2013

Seniors graduating on time we can accommodate every type of learner,” Mims said. “We hope to create additional programs at AHS to support students. We want to add another layer of support, enrichment and remediation on top of Atom Time and after school.

We are also thinking about starting initiatives at our feeder middle schools.”

The committed teachers are devoting their time to help seniors who are falling behind. The teachers are trying hard, but the question of whether their methods will be effective still remains to be seen.

“If a lot of seniors are falling behind, it could be because of personal reasons.

It is not always because they are lazy.

In my opinion, it could be because they are not getting enough attention from their counselors,” senior Leo Becerra said. “I’ve thought about this a lot, and I think that the best solution to this type of problem is to create more of a community.”

Becerra was at risk of falling behind because he had some academic troubles sophomore year. Thankfully, he worked hard and was able to catch up with his classmates. By taking some sophomore classes as a junior and junior classes as a senior, Becerra was able to redeem himself through hard work and sacrifice. He will be graduating this August.

“In school, there is a lot of stress. Senior Leo Becerra was in danger of falling behind, but has redeemed himself with hard work.

Stress builds up and causes anxiety,” Even though it may be a little later, he will still graduate if he keeps up with his academics.

Becerra said. “Kids need some time to these kids, the goal should not be to with your classmates. feel free, they need a break.”

“This is my last year of high school make the kid come to school. The goal Although the Committee has some should be to get the kid to want to come and I don’t want to keep growing up original ideas, it could be hard to to school. That is the only way they will in a society and generation that has connect with students who don’t want to learn,” Becerra said. no love for each other,” Becerra said. receive help. This is the reason why the Some seniors may be falling “The solution is for us to become a On-Time Graduation committee is also behind, but Becerra proved that with community.” aiming to motivate students to come to perseverance and hard work you can school by taking pride in their work. catch up with the crowd and graduate “For teachers who are trying to help

Although June may be far away, some seniors are still wondering if they will graduate

BY SARAH METZEL Staff Writer

SARAH METZEL

This year, a committee of teachers was created to help seniors who are in danger of falling behind. It’s called the On-Time Graduation Committee, and it aims to help students stay on track to graduate in four years.

A reason that some students may not graduate is because of poor grades, but there could be many other reasons due to an extended school year. Other students transfer and have to make up other classes. Some ESOL students have to take double the courses because of language barriers.

“One goal of the On-Time Graduation Committee is to increase the AHS graduation rate to over 90 percent,” committee co-chair Hassan Mims said.

“Over the summer I had an in-depth discussion with Principal Randazzo about his vision and priorities for this year.”

The On-Time Graduation Committee is made up of at least one representative from each department as well as the administrative team. With the current average at 88 percent, the committee is working hard to improve the ontime graduation rate. This Committee brainstorms innovative instructional strategies that teachers can utilize in classrooms to motivate students.

“Our school has different types of learners, and through initiatives like the On-Time Graduation Committee

Four tips so you don’t fall behind

2. Do what you can Don’t sign up for 13 clubs, all IB classes and year round sports. You will definitely feel overworked and stressed. Figure out how much stress you can take before you sign up for a class that requires a lot of attention.

Don’t think that you have to do everything to get into a good college or job. If you take on more than you can, you will spread yourself too thin and not be able to give something good effort.

BERTA TARQUI

1. Retake any classes that you almost failed Think back to any classes that you almost failed. If you didn’t understand a lot of the content then you should consider taking it online over the summer or next school year.

Since you didn’t understand much of the class it could affect you when you take a class that needs previous knowledge. If you try and receive help then you will probably receive a better grade and understand it.

With everything going on, like classes and clubs, it can be difficult to stay on top of school work. The important thing is to stay organized with your school work.

3. Plan out your electives to suit a goal If you already have a career choice in mind than try to keep up with that goal. If you have a career like nursing than you may want to take a course off-campus

because that is where it is only offered. To be able to take it, you have to make sure you have a free space in your schedule. Pass your classes, so you won’t have to retake them, and strive to finish your graduation requirements.

4. Schedule your time accordingly If you are in a couple of clubs, take higher level classes and participate in sports than you know how it feels to be overwhelmed. You will probably have a many things going on after school. Design a schedule and prioritize so you don’t fall behind with everything. Always put your school work first, then clubs and sports.

Even though they may be close to heart, don’t put it on the top of your list.

5. Don’t get “sick” If you feel stressed with school and decide to stay home, it won’t be the end of the world. However staying home constantly won’t help you with all your stress. In fact, it will probably add more for you to do.

It may be tempting to stay home to catch up but teachers don’t stop teaching when you’re not there. So get to school and learn.

Down:

3. A group of numbers a group of 1. A line segment on the interior of a numbers that consist on 0, 2/5, .1 circle; the endpoints are on the circle 7. Made up this theory a^2+b^2=c^2 8. A group of numbers that consist of -2, 0, -1, 3, 4

Electives at AHS The focus next week will be electives. Here are some electives to think about 1. Child Development and Parenting: If you are interested in child development and want to learn how to raise a child, then this class will help you prepare for the future if you plan to have children. This class will help you know what is best for the children and will help guide you through the way of parenting. This elective will get you one credit.

2. Creative Writing 1: If you love writing or want to improve your writing skills, then creative writing will help you with your own writing and you will be able to help other students with their own. If you participate in this class, then you could help design and produce AHS’ literary magazine. This course will give you one credit. There is also a second part to this course if you wish to continue.

3. Studio Art & Design: If you have always loved to draw, paint or create art, then you should consider Studio Art & Design. You will learn the process to making art and discover in the many areas of art such as printmaking, ceramics, sculpture and digital media. This course will earn you one credit and there is a supply fee.

4. Guitar 1: This class is great for those who are interested in learning how to play the guitar and about the guitar. This class needs no audition or previous knowledge.

You will learn how to read music and how to play a wide range of songs. This class will earn you one credit and a possible fee is required.

Vocabulary Words BETIDE verb To happen to or befall NEOPHYTE adjective Having the character of a beginner.

Compiled by Berta Tarqui

Mathematics Crossword Puzzle Across:

9

2. They are numbers that you can multiply together to get another number

OSCILLATE verb To swing back and forth QUIBBLE noun An utterly trivial distinction or objection WITLESS adjective Foolish, indiscreet, or silly

4. A group of numbers that consist of 0, 1, 2

9. The point halfway between to given points

5. A property; a(b + c) = ab + ac

10. A group of numbers that consist of 1, 2, 3, 4

6. An expression that has a square root, cube root, etc.

7. A set of basic functions used as building blocks for more complicated functions The list of parent functions varies

Answers to this crossword puzzle On your smartphone, scan this code above using the application “QR Code” to view the answers to this mathematic crossword puzzle.

Spring musical rehearsals begin You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown will debut in April

By Abby Barnes Arts Editor

JAN. 24 — CHORUS

5th grade Honors Chorus, Annandale Singers perform.

FEB. 7 — CHORUS

All-state Chorus auditions at Hayfield HS

FEB. 9 — CHORUS

District 10 honor chorus at Hayfield HS.

FEB. 14 — CHORUS Singing Valentines

MARCH 4 — CHORUS

Choral Pyramid Concert rehearsal from 2:10pm - 4:00 p.m. in the auditorium.

MARCH 5 — CHORUS Choral Pyramid Concert at 7:30 p.m. in auditorium.

MARCH 9 — CHORUS

District Choral Festival. Location: TBA

FEB. 7-9 — THEATER

TBA Children’s play at 7:00 p.m.

FEB. 1-2 — BAND

All district band at Hayfield HS

APRIL 17 — BAND

Band to OrlandoFest (Depart AHS 5 p.m.)

Lucy babbles incessantly about this and that just to fill the page.

Linus is in the middle of a deep literary awakening, and Charlie Brown hasn’t even started his book report yet. You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown entertains audiences with its innocence, humor, and ability to surprise even the most experienced with strong moral lessons.

Drama students have begun preparations for the spring musical, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, derived from Charles M. Schulz’s 1 9 5 0 ’s c a r t o o n P e a n u t s . T h e rehearsals began immediately after winter break and will end with the performance of the play on April 11, 12, and 13. It is being directed by Lee HS teacher Steven Hirsch in the absence of regular drama teacher George Bennett, who has been on leave after heart surgery.

The play will be reviewed to win Cappie awards. The Cappie Awards celebrate and recognize high school theater students across the nation.

The awards will be distributed at the

end of the year and scores are given in over 35 different categories including Lead Actor and Actress, Best Sound, and Best Choreography. The play You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown was chosen specifically by Hirsch for its ability to exhibit the talents of AHS students.

“We wanted to pick something that we’d be strong on so there are not as many chorus members,” senior Skye Lindberg, who is part of the ensemble, or chorus, said.

“We wanted a small cast so we could really hopefully succeed and get a few awards at the Cappies.”

The full cast is composed of six main cast members and six chorus members. Over 30 students auditioned for the main roles of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy Van Pelt, Linus Van Pelt, Patty, and Schroeder. The cast includes freshman Deanna Gowland, sophomore Melissa Haberle, juniors Mark Slough and James Barker, and seniors Gwen Levey and Harris Fitzgerel.

Rehearsals have been taking place every Tuesday and Thursday.

The show is expected to be a comical and fun embodiment of the legendary Peanuts comic, which was first printed in 1950. The cast members urge AHS students, their families and friends to come see the play.

“It’s really just going to be a lot

Juniors James Barker and Mark Slough and sophomore Deanna Gowland pose in character at Broadway Desserts.

of fun for a lot of people that haven’t seen the musical version of Charlie Brown,” Lindberg said. “It’s going to be kind of fun to see the characters that you know singing and dancing.

It’s a really interesting show.”

Senior Maddy Reinert, who will play the role of Peppermint Patty, agrees.

“It’s really exciting. It’s definitely

different from the plays you would’ve seen so far this year because it incorporates music, dancing and big numbers,” Reinert said. “Everyone should come see it.”

The play will be performed on April 11, 12, and 13 at 7:00 pm in the auditorium. Tickets will be sold for $8 pre-sale and for $10 at the door.

Tape people to reappear in hallways Art students begin to create life-size tape models

By Carina Chu Arts Editor The hallways will once again be filled with sculptures made of tape. This year, art students have begun creating 24 human tape models reflecting certain themes selected by the art students.

The creations started out as ideas and sketches.

In small groups, the students had to figure out how they would portray their selected theme.

The sculptures take a little over a month to plan, research, sketch and build.

“They had to figure out how to tell the story of the theme that they chose with their sculpture,” art teacher Jacqueline Pappas said.

The themes vary from dreams and nightmares to power and identity.

Students in Pappas’ Studio Art 1 class were split into groups of four with different roles for each member. Each team had to determine the responsibilities for its members, which included being the model, cutting tape from the body and putting the tape pieces together.

“It’s really fun,” freshman Amal Ahmed said.

“It teaches us how to work hard and how to work with each other.” Ahmed’s team’s theme is identity.

Juniors Sherri Jones and Alejandra Perez begin to wrap tape around the foot of their model, junior Ivan Johnson.

Members start by wrapping clear tape around their model’s body part. One member then cuts the tape and removes it from the body. Since the tape will keep its shape, the team tapes the seam.

Members will add more layers to strengthen the piece and the tape mannequins begin to take shape.

“Once [the sculptures are] done, we’ll display them around the school,” Pappas said.

The statues will be completed around late January to early February.

Locations for the artwork are still undetermined.

Potential locations for the displays are the lecture hall and the front lobby. The models will be on display in the hallways for only a week.

Last year, the art department’s sculptures were influenced by the decision of the administration to introduce character pillars to the school.

Controversy surrounded the sculptures last year, as a few students chose to tamper with them to send out inappropriate messages. A warning was sent out to students, but it was too late. The character-building message was already lost on students.

“The problems we faced were the displays,” Pappas said. “People want to touch [the displays], it may cause problems to [the sculptures].”

Despite past issues, Pappas hopes that there won’t be any problems with the displays, and students will enjoy the hard work of their peers.

“We educate the students about the artwork and what it is,” Pappas said. “Hopefully this year we won’t have that problem when we display.”

Homemade playdough stress reliever

With midterms just around the corner, relieve your stress with this easy playdough recipe

FEB. 27 — ORCHESTRA

Annandale pyramid pre-state assessment concert at 6:30 p.m.

MAR. 7-9 — ORCHESTRA

VBODA State Orchestra Assessment Performance TBA

APRIL 17 — ORCHESTRA

Orchestra to OrlandoFest (Depart AHS 5 p.m.)

Materials:

- Medium pot - 1 C of flour - 1 C of water - 2 t of cream of tartar

- 1/4 cup of salt - 1 T of vegetable oil - Food coloring

1.

In a medium pot, add the flour, salt and cream of tartar.

2.

Add the water and the vegetable oil.

3.

6.

Once cool enough to work with, knead the dough until it’s smooth.

7.

Add food coloring to create desired color. In this photo, six drops of blue and four drops of green were used to create a teal color.

Broadway Desserts Review On your smartphone, scan the code above using the application “QR Code” to read about the Broadway Desserts performance at George Mason University.

PHOTO FROM MARK SLOUGH’S FACEBOOK

Upcoming Art Events

Jan. 22, 2013

CARINA CHU

12

Arts

4.

Over medium heat, stir consistently. The mixture will begin to thicken.

5.

After a couple of minutes, the mixture should ball up.

Take off the heat and out of the pot. Let it cool.

Continue to play with your homemade playdough or store it in a plastic container.

­— Photos by Carina Chu

PHOTO

Jan. 22, 2013

13 How to make Alfredo Sauce Ingredients: -6 oz. Butter -2 oz. garlic -6 oz. flour -1/2 gallon milk -1/2 gallon Heavy cream -Salt and black pepper -2 lbs. Parmesan cheese

Whether they are tossing a salad or mixing cake batter, Culinary Arts students put their skills to the test in order to prepare desserts and entrees for events throughout the school and community. Led

by Chef Christine Gloninger, the students receive direction in order to make delicious recipes come to life.

Serves: 32

PRIYA ADHIKARY

1. Measure and prepare all of the ingredients

Senior Diana Hurtado coats the sponge bread dessert pastries with simple syrup. Desserts similar to this one were served at the Government Center on Jan.16 at a Holiday Reception for Chairman Sharon Bulova.

2. Heat the butter, add garlic, stir and add flour to make roux

CHLOE LOVING

PRIYA ADHIKARY

3. Stir in milk and heavy cream- simmer until thickened

Junior Jennifer Hoang garnishes the sponge bread pastries with white chocolate shavings. “I like cooking because it is fun creating something to eat,” Hoang said.

CHLOE LOVING

Junior Jasmin Hernandez puts the orange vinaigrette into the gravy boat, which will later be poured onto the salad.

Junior Jennifer Hoang chops red peppers and slices cucumbers in order to add a variety of flavor to the salad.

This finished product was served as the first part of the meal.

Next year Culinary Arts will be a double block class.

PRIYA ADHIKARY

CHLOE LOVING

PRIYA ADHIKARY

4. Add the sauce to the cooked pasta.

“Making Chicken Alfredo is easy because he ingredients are pretty basic you just need to lay them all out,”senior Patricia Banzuelo said

Chef Gloninger adds all of the ingredients for the salad into the salad bowl to make a finished product, shown on the left.

Senior Patricia Banzuelo finishes the desserts by decorating the sponge cake with hot chocolate fudge.

5. Season, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese when serving

Tip: “Keep the temperature low so you don’t burn the sauce. Bring the sauce to a full boil to thicken,” Chef G said.

Junior Dong Huang prepares the chicken by seasoning the raw fillets of poultry with salt, pepper and olive oil. “I recommend this class for people who want to learn how to cook and also for the culinary experience” Huang said.

Chef Gloninger demonstrates how to grill and flip effectively. “Lay the chicken at 2 o’clock and then turn to 10 to get the cross-hatch before turning the chicken over,” Chef G said.

CHLOE LOVING

CHLOE LOVING

PRIYA ADHIKARY

Culinary Arts Prepares for the Cheer Banquet

Huang cuts up the chicken after it has been cooked, to put on top of the pasta shown on the side rail.

On your smart phone, scan this code using the application “QR Code” to view exclusive pictures from the Culinary Arts class.

14

ADVERTISMENT

Jan. 22, 2012

SPORTS X-TRA

Jan. 22, 2013

Competing while teaching

BY AYAH OWEIS Sports X-tra Editor Most students don’t think of their teachers as anything other than teachers, but teachers do have social lives and some even like to play sports outside of school.

Of course there are coaches who coach sports at different schools but it can be difficult to imagine a teacher playing on a team with a bunch of their friends.

Some teachers do it to stay in shape, some do it with friends. Others just do it for fun and for the sake of competing.

English teacher Margaret Jarrell is planning on joining a dodgeball/kickball team along with some of her friends.

“I wanted to join a team because I miss competing,” Jarrell said. “My friends and I are all athletic and wanted to play against other college level athletes.”

Who’s to say teachers can’t compete or play like us youngsters do? Many of the teachers who play in club or intramural teams played a sport in high school and college and wanted to continue doing what they loved to do for fun “back in the day.”

While Jarrell plays for the fun of it, track and cross country coach Dave O’Hara runs with the Georgetown Cragin Winkler (far right) and teammates hold their trophy; Winkler plays flag football.

Running Club. As a gym teacher, friends, but he also does it because he O’Hara believes he has to “practice what fun ways to stay in shape.

After high school and college there love playing baseball and wanted to he preaches.”

“I tell kids to stay healthy and not are not many ways to continue on with continue.

“We’re a really good team and we’re get fat, so it only makes sense that I your sport unless you go professional; hoping to win championships this playing on an intramural or club team take my own advice,” O’Hara said. “I is just another way to keep doing what season,” Bagot said. call it operation don’t get fat.”

Many teachers just are not ready Staying healthy and fit is the most they love to do.

English teacher Chris Bagot plays to give up a sport they love. Jarrell, common reason teachers continue doing baseball on a team called “Sneaky however has chosen a different sports.

While not all teachers turn to sports Weasels” along with some of his friends alternative.

Although Jarrell has been playing to stay fit, most choose to find new and who played on the AHS team with him.

Bagot doesn’t only do it to be with field hockey since high school, she

wanted to try something new.

“Dodgeball is something I’ve never really done before,” Jarrell said. “It is a sport that not many people play and I can have fun with it.”

While Jarrell is choosing to branch out and have a little fun learning to do something new, many other teachers choose to stick with what they know.

Being in a club or co-ed team adds more pressure while also keeping the sport fun because athletes are playing with their friends.

“You get to compete with people your age who are just as good and sometimes even better than you,” Jarrell said. “It’s very competitive but also fun.”

While other teacher-athletes only do one sport, varsity cheer coach and gym teacher Cragin Winkler seems to do it all.

Winkler snowboards, dances and plays flag football. She first began snowboarding in high school; she fell in love with it because it was a fun way to keep active in the winter and because it can be a social and individual sport at the same time.

In college, she started playing flag football and immediately got hooked by its competitiveness. She is now playing in a co-ed league.

Something that has stuck with Winkler throughout her life is dancing, and she is hoping to continue dancing, especially hip hop, for as long as she can.

These four teacher-athletes are only a few of the many other teachers who do sports in their free time.

Even though they have jobs now, they still find time to do the things they love while also keeping in shape all year long despite the fact they have a very demanding job.

Not only do they play sports to have fun but as an alternative to going to the gym every other day.

“When you get older it’s hard to stay active,” Winkler said. “That why you have to find different ways to stay active; you never know what’s fun till you try it. ”

COURTESY OF CRAGIN WINKLER

Some teachers choose to play on sports teams to stay active

Jumping on the bandwagon Recent debate has people wondering if it hurts or helps their favorite sports teams

BY BAYLEY BRILL Staff Writer People go to sporting events to cheer on their favorite teams, but some of these people only cheer for teams when they are doing well. Most sports fans call these people bandwagoners.

Some very die-hard fans loathe bandwagoners because they think they are not loyal, and only like the team because they are doing well.

Bandwagoning at times actually helps teams because it gains them fans and they sell more tickets and merchandise. However, while the sports teams and companies are loving the fact

that more people are “jumping on the bandwagon,” many sports fans are fed up with these “false fans.”

An example of this was the Redskins this past season; many fans called out other people for bandwagoning because they did not believe the others were “true fans.”

“I get mad when people bandwagon because they are not true fans, I am loyal to my team but they only like the teams that are doing well,” junior Noah Wolfenstein said.

Some do not really care about bandwagoning, and think it is good for the team.

“I like when people bandwagon because it gives my favorite teams more fans,” senior Amy Halamyer said.

Without a doubt, the better a team is doing, the more likely someone is to “jump on the bandwagon.”

If a team is not doing well it’s pretty obvious that most people won’ t look twice at them, except for true fans who have stuck with the team despite their losses.

15 Facts about the Bandwagon Effect The “bandwagon” started off as a literal wagon which was used by a political candidate in the 1800s while traveling during promotional tours.

High schoolers are more likely to “jump on the bandwagon” than any other age group.

Bandwagoning started off only being used in politics but has become popular in the sports and music.

At times, the bandwagon sheds light on important events; such as Kony 2012.

Bandwagoners are also called “fairweather fans.”

90 percent of sports teams don’t bother to find out any information about their fan base.

Does it annoy you when people “jump on the bandwagon?”

Why? “Yes. I think bandwagoners are traitors who don’t stick to their own thoughts.”

—Kurtis Neal senior

At times it seems like many people dislike bandwagoners, but for the most part, people don’t care because it has no effect on them or their opinions. Others are annoyed by bandwagoners not because they’re “false fans,” but instead because they believe people should stick with their views no matter what.

“I think it’s stupid, people should just root for one team,” sophomore Alex Cruz said.

Whether people like it or not, bandwagoning exists, and different people take it in different ways.

Some enjoy bangwagoners for helping out their team’s fan base. Hardcore sports fans dislike bandwagoners because they only like a team because they are on a winning streak. Many think people should give the bandwagoning debate a rest.

Either way, it gives a team more fans and more people in the stands to cheer for them when they are doing well.

Q & A with runner Aviad Gebrehiwot

“It gets annoying because they just do what everybody else is doing, not what they want to do.”

—Zareen Samey senior “Yes because they’re limiting their own perspective and that takes away from their individuality.”

—Lily Montes De Oca junior “It does annoy me because I think bandwagoners aren’t true fans of the team.”

—Robin Amin sophomore

Sophomore is under constant pressure to do well, but somehow always seems to pull through

“No because I believe people can like who they like and support who they want. It’s nobody’s business.”

BY AYAH OWEIS Sports X-tra Editor

—Nathan Ohene freshman

Q. When did you start running?

A. I started running cross country freshman year and continued on to track.

“Bandwagoning does not annoy me because it has no effect on me or my opinion.”

Q.What do you like most about running track and cross country?

What drew you in?

A. At first I did track to get in shape for the upcoming soccer season, but when I realized I was actually pretty good at running, I decided to stick with it. I also like the competitiveness of track and cross country races.

—Chris Austin Athletic Trainer

Q. What is the hardest part of racing?

A. It’s a mental sport so I have to keep calm and work really hard. Keeping pace is also a struggle but I love racing in all.

—Compiled by Ayah Oweis

Q. Even though you’re still a sophomore, do you see yourself running in college?

A. I do plan on running in college. I’m only a sophomore so I have not gotten any offers yet, but for now I am just trying to get even better for college level teams.

Students are excited for the NHL games after the lockout ending

Q. Are there any rituals you do before a race that get you pumped up?

A. I usually listen to music and try not to freak out because I don’t want to psych myself out; if you keep thinking about the race you start to get more nervous so I try not to overthink things too much before I run.

COURTESY OF ED LULL

Q. Who is your inspiration when it comes to running?

A. Coach O’Hara, Ahmed Bile, and my mother. Coach O’ Hara really pushes me to work harder and push myself. I look up to Ahmed because he’s a local runner and we both were coached by Coach O’Hara, so it’s cool to think that we’re coming from the same place. My mother is there supporting me at every race and she’s very supportive of me. My brother also helped me because he ran with me when he went to AHS .

Gebrehiwot leads the pack in a recent indoor meet. He has been running cross country and track since his freshman year and has easily made districts every season.

On your smartphone, scan this code above using the application “QR Code” to view a story about the hockey season starting after a lockout.

Girls team raises funds

Atoms baseball holds camp to create place in After raising money for cancer, girls team community

BY SANDRA WEBB Staff Writer AHS baseball teams and coaches continue to host a baseball clinic open to little leaguers and community players. The traditional fundraiser is held on Sundays with AHS students helping to teach community children a variety of baseball skills.

“This clinic is basically a fundraiser and an outreach to the community and to our little league and just getting you know, interest. And not only that it helps [players] prepare for their upcoming season,” baseball coach Ron Abrigo said.

All returning AHS baseball players are required to be part of the clinic’s coaching staff.

“Some of our former players that are in town, particularly college players, will come will come and work it,” Abrigo said.

Student participation in the clinic gives the participating young boys older role models to look up to.

“Well I’ve gotten to show my leadership and help the kids get better at the game. I benefit from this by bonding with the kids and also with my coaches,” sophomore baseball player Kyle Goettlicher said.

The clinic also benefits AHS by preparing young players for AHS teams.

“You help the kids get better so it helps the program for when they get older,” sophomore baseball player Richie Niner.

Many current AHS baseball players also participated in and benefited from the clinic when they were younger.

“I went to it when I was little, too,” Niner said.

The AHS community baseball clinic is an important tradition benefitting past, current, and future Atoms.

Players who still wish to sign-up can contact Abrigo

Jan. 22, 2013

looks to continue season’s success

BY JAROD GOLUB Sports Editor

The varsity girls basketball team raised over $1,100 at its annual Pink Night on Jan. 11. The money that the team raised will go to an organization in Alexandria Hospital that treats cancer patients.

Aside from raising that much money, the girls also won their game that night against South County Secondary School with a score 51-33.

This along with a win against Lake Braddock Secondary School the week before and a loss to T.C. Williams High School last Tuesday puts the girls’ record at 4-9 as of deadline on Thrusday Jan. 17.

Coaches feel that the team is performing well at this point in the season.

“We’re right there in the hunt, we’ve definitely got a chance at first place,” head coach Patrick Hughes said. The team currently holds third place in the Patriot District, despite having lost all of their seniors before the holiday break. They are right behind a three

way tie for second place between Woodson HS, Lake Braddock SS, and T.C. Williams HS. The young team has had to step up and work together without any real leadership figures.

“The whole team has really come together, we win together and we lose together,” junior Rebecca Yohannes said. “Everyone contributes.”

Aside from teamwork, the players have gotten better and began performing at a level that can compete with the other teams in the district.

“Kaitleigh Fetterman is one of our most consistent players, she’s the only returning starter really, there are no seniors and the team is very young,” Hughes said.

A few of the players have also been injured recently, taking even more players away from this team that already has little to no leadership.

One of these players, sophomore Erin Johnson is one of the team’s top scorers, scoring 18, 6, and 11 points in the team’s last three games respectively.

It is not talent that the team lacks.

The team makes on average, 46 percent of their free throws, 36 percent of two point shots, and 38 percent of three point shots. Talent is not the problem, although, the team does not have any dunks. The problem is the lack of leadership and teamwork.

However, the team is improving.

ERIN JOHNSON

16

SPORTS

Sophomore Erin Johnson warms up pre-game. Johnson is one of the teams top scorers.

“After working on our defense at practice things are definitely getting somewhat better,” junior Gabrielle Casey said.

The team’s confidence level needs to improve to become a dominating force in the district, and with the confidence comes the teamwork.

“We have to talk on defense and work together, after that we’ll be more confident,” Yohannes said. “We’re definitely not as good as we could be, but we are getting better.”

The team’s improvement may or may not be enough to get them to their goal of being first in the district.

They have put in the work; practicing everyday, working on offensive drills and defensive drills.

“We were not really prepared on defense at the beginning, but we are practicing and getting a lot better,” Casey said.

“The team has really improved, and I think we really have a chance at the district this year,” Hughes said.

Only ‘half’ effort from team After lacking confidence and points in the second half of games, boys varsity basketball looks to improve 2-12 record

AHS Basketball Pink Night

COURTESY OF THE ANTENNA YEARBOOK

BY JAROD GOLUB Sports Editor

The team prepares to rebound a foul shot.

Sophomore Umar Farooq jumps to get a rebound for the Atoms.

Thirty two minutes. That is how long a high school basketball game is. Despite the basketball team’s 2-12 record as of deadline on Thursday Jan. 17, AHS has held the lead in a majority of their games, the problem is the second 16 minutes of the game. This has proceeded to a lack of confidence in the players.

Despite this dismal record, the team’s recent scores are showing how they can compete with the other teams in the district. The point deficit has decreased in recent games, only losing by four points to South County Secondary School, six to Lake Braddock Secondary School, and three to T.C. Williams on Jan. 15.

The team’s problem is not in the level of skill the players have, which can be seen through the second leading scorer in the District, Sanar Shamdeen, averaging 19 points a game and 2.4 assists. The team’s problem is confidence.

“Overall it’s our confidence,” Head Coach Matthew Behne said. “We have to think that we can beat these other teams, and then that’s what will happen.”

“We have to do a better job at closing out our games,” senior Sanar Shamdeen said. “That’s what will get us the wins we’re looking for.”

Another problem for the team is injuries plaguing some of their players.

“Starting off we have 11 varsity guys, then take out two or three with injuries, and that takes away a good percentage of our substitutes,” junior Stephen Schwartz said.

Players that were out for injury include Schwartz himself with an ankle injury and Sophomore Ahmed Elnour.

Despite all of the bad luck and the lack of confidence that the team possesses, they still have an optimistic outlook on the second half of the season.

“We’re getting better as a team, we just need that one good win, and then the rest will come,” Shamdeen said.

Aside from working on playing the entire game, the team is also working on its defensive skills. In practice they have been working on different man to man and zone defenses.

These defenses along with work on rebounds could possibly help the team, because the player with the most rebounds only has an average of eight rebounds per game.

During the team’s injury laden period, younger players have stepped up to fill in for the injured players.

“We’ve had players step up recently, like Michael Tran in the last few games, and sophomore Austin Hall, have all been getting more playing time,” Behne said.

In order to begin winning games the team needs to continue to work hard and play through the entire game, not just stop after the sixteenth minute of every game.

The team hopes to Upcoming games for the AHS varsity boys basketball team include Woodson High School tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Woodson HS, and West Springfield HS on Friday.

District tournament goals Track team looks ahead to Patriot District tournament with hopes of a first place title Freshman Marife Baragano sets up on defense against South County.

—Erin Johnson

Pink Night Slideshow On your smartphone, scan this code using the application “QR Code” to view a slideshow of photos from girls basketball’s Pink Night.

Halfway through the winter track season, athletes and coaches have accomplished great things but have many things that they would still like to accomplish. AHS has many talented athletes and many great coaches to go along with them, making the outlook for the rest of this season look as good as the first half.

“On women’s sprints, they [the runners] look really good and very strong,” distance coach David O’Hara said. “The guys, however, are extremely beat up because of injuries that have been effecting them recently, but when everyone gets healed hopefully we can take a run at a district title.”

Runners of the distance and sprint teams are training for the afformentioned title. Aside from the team’s overall goal in the district, many of the runners have personal goals as well for what they would like to accomplish by the end of the season.

Sophomore Aviad Gebrehiwot runs the mile and two mile events with times of 4:36 and 9:53 respectively.

Junior Cynthia Weiner runs the mile in just 6:13 and a 1000 meter race in 3:35. Both her and Gebrehiwot have become standout runners on the AHS indoor track distance team.

Other times performed by the Atoms runners include Alex Ellison running a 6.64 second 55 meter

ED LULL - TRACK & XC PICTURES - NORTHERN REGION

BY TIFFANY HUYNH Staff Writer

Senior Austin Chavez runs at a recent meet for the Atoms.

dash, and Rowan Shartel with a 44.22 second 300 meter sprint.

Although their times are strikingly fast, these athletes still push themselves to the point of exhaustion. AHS runners still work hard and get better.

The runners still have goals that they set for themselves, whether it be a chance at the state tournament, or an improvement of their times.

“I want to get under a 4:30 on my mile and try to get around a 9:40 time on my two mile,” Gebrehiwot said.

“My goal is to try to run the mile under six minutes,” Weiner said.

These goals may seem easy to achieve and reach, but what many people do not know is that beating your time is a lot harder than it seems. Improving by just a minute is a great accomplishment because it is not an easy thing to do.

Improvements in race times are what can lead athletes to getting a spot in the state tournament.

Just a few seconds can be the difference between winning the race and losing it and a spot in the tournament.

“I hope I can make it to the state tournament, my times have been good so far this season,” Gebrehiwot said. “I just hope I can keep them up there.”

So far this season, the team has placed times that are state material, and with the district tournament looming in the near future, these times need to stay above par for the team to have a chance at placing in districts.

Preparing to go in the ‘pit’ The wrestling team hopes to grapple the Spartans and win tomorrow’s meet For most students, Pack the Pit means taco-in-a-bag and a free t-shirt, but for the athletes on the wrestling team, having to perform under the bright spotlight is similar to entering the Colosseum.

“I plan to unleash the aggression that I have not consistently shown through out the season so far,” senior Bryan Jefferson, 220 lb., said.

“I think we’ll win and crush West Springfield,” senior Justice Garrish, 182 lb., said.

Pack the Pit will take place tomorrow Junior Trevor Hobbs attempts to pin his Lake Braddock opponent at the duel meet on Jan. 16. at 7:00. As of Jan. 19, the team’s record was 2-2 in the district. work with a dash of screaming and response to challenges in our practice, “We’re preparing the same as we yelling,” head coach Keith Sholders said. as a team we should come out on top,” always do, teaching, mentoring, hard “Because of the intensity and positive

BETSY KRUSE

BY BETSY KRUSE Sports Editor

Jefferson said.

Jefferson is currently ranked number two in the state in the 220 lb. weight class.

“These rankings don’t mean anything. I will take the season match by match and they will decide who will be number one,” Jefferson said.

For senior Archie Elba, 145 lb., this Pack the Pit will be his last and he is looking forward to avenging the losses from the last two years.

“I expect the team to do well against West Springfield,” Elba said.

“We have some strong wrestlers on the team, not just physically, but mentally,” Jefferson said.

“I strategize about what I’m going to do as far as each period goes,” Garrish said.

Pack the Pit will be the team’s last district meet before heading into the district tournament.

“It’s the end result that counts.

We’re working extremely hard towards the district tournament,” Sholders said.

“We’re looking forward to individuals making advancements.”

17 Wrestling vs.

Lake Braddock

SARAH BERGEN

SPORTS

Jan. 22, 2013

Freshman Alex Joya, who is in the 108 lb. weight class, lunges for a take down.

BETSY KRUSE

What’s your favorite part of Pack the Pit?

Head coach Keith Sholders yells tactics to a wrestler during his match.

“We have a big crowd and people are cheering for us while we beat the other schools.”

“My favorite part is to see my friends wrestling and seeing them compete against the other guys.”

—Sergio Martinez freshman

—Abu Kamara sophomore

“My favorite part is the wrestling, I get to see our team dominate and demolish the other schools.”

“My favorite part is the spotlight on the mat and everything else blacked out, so you can focus just on that match.”

“The school coming out to see the wrestling team because I get to see all of my friends and they watch me wrestle.”

— Kaitlin Martindale junior

—Christian Sacra senior

—Justice Garrish senior —Complied by Megan Ryan

Swim team has standout athletes with potential to perform well in the postseason

SARAH BERGEN

High successes are expected Senior Justice Garrish strategizes how to escape the tight grasp of his rival.

BETSY KRUSE

Junior Anour Sakta works to rotate the Bruin wrestler over onto his back.

Senior Meghan Lynn swims the backstroke portion during the 200 individual medley. In this event, swimmers are required to swim a 50 meter lap for each of the four strokes. This is Lynn’s fourth year participating on the swim team.

throughout the season.”

A large majority of the team’s strength comes from the divers. Seniors Clark Girardin and Paul Helfgott along with junior Allie Vogus have already qualified for regionals. Senior Daniel Jessen also qualified for regionals in the 100 meter freestyle.

“I am very excited to have qualified for regionals so

early in the season. My goal is to qualify for states and I will do my best to achieve that goal,” Vogus said.

“I’m hoping that I’ll be able to get a personal best in the 50 free so that I can earn a relay spot and hopefully be part of a team that qualifies for regionals and states,” junior Travis Swann said.

SARAH BERGEN

Swimming lap after lap can be a monotonous task, but the ever present goal of performing well at the Patriot District Championship has motivated the athletes of the AHS swim and dive team.

“At the beginning of the season, I made it my goal to qualify for finals in the 100 meter breaststroke and I’m doing everything I can to reach that goal,” senior Andrew Boyd said.

As of Jan. 18, the boys swim team record was 4-2 and the girls swim team record was 2-4.

The preliminaries of the Patriot District Championship will take place on Jan. 26, and relays and finals will take place on Jan. 27. The dive portion will take place in the morning of Jan. 26.

“One of the things about districts is that there is extra time between events and it is most helpful to one’s own swimming because there are multiple heats of both girls and boys and this allows for a greater possibility of best times” senior Daniel Jessen said.

It is expected for all three boys relays to qualify for regionals along with two girls relays.

“As we start resting up, I believe that we might have a chance to break a school record and make states,” Jessen said. “We were close at the beginning of the season, but we became worn out and trained

COURTESY OF BETH OLIVER

BY MELANIE BENNETT Staff Writer

Senior Ulugbek Israilov waits for the perfect opportunity to make a move.

Alumnus wins Rose Bowl On your smartphone, scan the code above using the application “QR Code” to view a story on a Stanford football player.

18

Upcoming movies

Entertainment

A Blast

the

Jan. 22, 2013

MTV digs up awful reality series From Jersey Shore to BUCKWILD, it seems like MTV is running out of ideas

By Emily Blank Entertainment Editor

HANSEL AND GRETEL WITCH HUNTERS: In this spin on the fairy tale, Hansel & Gretel are now bounty hunters who track and kill witches all over the world. As the fabled Blood Moon approaches, the siblings encounter a new form of evil that might hold a secret to their past.

Fri. Jan. 25

PARKER: A thief with a unique code of professional ethics is double-crossed by his crew and left for dead. Assuming a new disguise and forming an unlikely alliance with a woman on the inside, he looks to hijack the score of the crew’s latest heist.

Fri. Jan. 25

Just as MTV ends its ties with the phenomenom known as Jersey Shore, it quickly finds a new reality show series to take its place. The show is called BUCKWILD and it takes place in the wonderful state of West Virginia. As if another state needed another steriotypical connotation added to their name, BUCKWILD features your typical cast of young adults living blue collar lifestyles and even attending college.

The show takes into account what apparently most West Virginas do in their free time, which they seem to have a lot of. One episode of the show features some of the cast going “Mud Sliggin’” as they would pronounce it. Basically you get in the back of a beat up pick up truck and drive into wet messy mud puddles until everyone’s covered in mud. Fun right? It doesn’t stop there they also think jumping into power plant waste water and swimming in it is fun.

The careless and senseless events occuring in the show continue to make it unbearable to watch, but I will admit that the drama is up to par with Jersey Shore’s. The cast does enjoy going out to clubs and parties (I know, who knew there where clubs in West Virginia?) and seemingly are subjected to drama. So far the show mostly consists of drama between the ladies regarding their relationships and so on where

and realize how outrageous their behavior is.

MTV seems to be desprate for new realiy shows now that their mega hit reality series Jersey Shore is gone, but BUCKWILD doesn’t appear to be the answer.

It’s like The Real World, but a rural, country, hill-billy version. My opinion would be for MTV to drop the silly reality series and get back to what they used to do best, incorporate music into television. But let’s face it, that is highly unlikely to ever happen with our reality television absorbed society and because of it, shows like Jersey Shore and now BUCKWILD are here to stay.

as the boys seem to be too busy jumping off bridges and lighting fires .

It’s like watching a bunch of grown up Honey Boo Boo’s. They’re not afraid to embrace their country lifestyles and show off their crazy hobbies with the rest of America. Although you may find yourself laughing at the out of control country boys and girls, the show lacks entertainment at times because of the ridiculousness that occurs throughout the show. Like TLC’s Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, the show may be entertaining in the first few episodes, but the excitment quickly fades just as you become unamused with the ludicrous acts

Borderlands 2 does not disappoint Crazed game makes its mark on the gaming world with exciting new features

WARM BODIES: After a zombie becomes involved with the girlfriend of one of his victims, their romance sets in motion a sequence of events that might transform the entire lifeless world.

Fri. Feb. 1

SAFE HAVEN: A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.

Fri. Feb. 8

By Mark Slough Staff Writer The fast-paced, loot-packed world of Borderlands 2 is a brilliant experience that is not to be overlooked.

The open world of Pandora, filled with quests, loot, bad guys and more loot, is an astoundingly wellmade world with different environments and clever scenery. With different classes to play, such as the stealthy Assassin, the elemental Siren, the frenzying Gunzerker, and the tactical Engineer, the game can be played in any way. The beings on Pandora, from the common Marauder or Bandit to the Volatile Crystalisk, are well thought out and compliment the game. This game has endless opportunities from the start, and it does not disappoint.

Borderlands 2 is an intensely fun game, including characters with extensive personalities, and a knack for sometimes vulgar but exceedingly witty writing. The game itself has a fairly interesting story, with some key plot twists that will almost rock you back in your chair. But the story lends its

By Emily Blank Entertainment Editor

A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD: John McClane travels to Russia to help out his seemingly wayward son, Jack, only to discover that Jack is a CIA operative working to prevent a nuclear-weapons heist, causing the father and son to team up against underworld forces.

Thurs. Feb. 14

and endless new weapons, shields, modifications and skill points that you can acquire makes the game that much more enjoyable. The designs and graphics are slightly cartoonish, but are realistic and even have funny posters hanging on the walls of the establishments. The game itself is pretty addicting, but adding friends to play with using the built-in up to 4-player co-op mode really can top it off. With you and more friends playing together, the game adds harder enemies and rarer loot.

Pop sensation announces new album Justin Timberlake excites fans with the news of his upcoming album The 20/20 experience

SIDE EFFECTS: A woman turns to prescription medication as a way of handling her anxiety concerning her husband’s upcoming release from prison.

Fri. Feb. 8

entertainment mostly to the writing, which gives most characters the fullness that they have. The story itself is a classic tale of an evil (in this case very funny) villain who takes over a land for the profit that lies inside,;enslaving and terrorizing its people for the land’s worth. The story doesn’t give much of a different aspect, but still plays very, very well and makes most players laugh out loud as they go along. The gameplay, although frantic, is still addicting to say the least, and the endless loot

He brought “Sexy Back” six years ago, but can he do it again?

Justin Timberlake recently announced via Twitter that he is coming out with a new album that is said to be released sometime in the next few months. The album is going to be called The 20/20 Experience and although nobody but Justin knows of the release date, he is still dropping hints here and there.

Timberlake released the big news through a YouTube video titled “I’m Ready.” In the video, Timberlake admits that although he has only released two albums in the last decade, he is ready to make this next decade far more superior from the last.

Timberlake also stressed the fact that to make the kind of music he does, it takes a long time to be perfected

and up to par with his standards.

He even went on to say, “I don’t want to put anything out that I feel like is something I don’t love, you just don’t get that every day. You have to wait for it.”

This would be Timberlake’s third solo album, which is pretty surprising considering how much success he has brought to the music business. Timberlake has won several awards from his music, ranging from MTV Music Awards to People’s Choice Awards, and including the Grammy. This new and up and coming album features many other popular artists such as Timbaland, Pharrell Williams, JC Chasez, Robin Thicke and many more.

Timberlake just recently released a single from his new album last week through YouTube; the track is called “Suit & Tie” and features star studded rapper Jay-Z. Although most Timberlake fans can’t contain themselves with the news of his comeback, many others are left wondering what took him so long.

Since the release of his album FutureSex/ LoveSounds, Timberlake has spent a good amount of his time starring in movies such as “The Social Network,” “Bad Teacher,” and “Friends with Benefits.”

Celebri-

Get inside your favorite celebrities’ heads

Timberlake is known for taking his sweet time before releasing an album: his first solo album Justified was released back in 2002 followed up with his second album FutureSex/LoveSounds in 2006.

The anticipation for Timberlake’s next album has even caused some fan pages to create countdowns.

One sure thing is whenever The 20/20 Experience hits iTunes, it will definitely be a hot seller for the music market as Justin finally makes his big comeback.

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On your smart phone, scan this code using the application “QR Code” to read a review of “Struck by Lightning”

“If you grow up to be a good man, the rest will all make sense.” #real —Justin Bieber

“Back in the studio. Uh oh...”

—Taylor Swift

“When adversity strikes you respond in one of two ways...you step aside and give in...or you step up and fight.”

“If something is meant to be, it will happen at the right time with the right person and for the right reason.”

—Robert Griffin III

—Kylie Jenner

WEBSODUKU.COM

“Struck by Lightning” movie review

ENTERTAINMENT

Jan. 22, 2013

Movies in 2013 to see Movie 43

Iron Man 3

Release Date: Jan. 25

Release Date: May 3

“I’m looking forward to seeing Movie 43.

I love those kind of movies where there’s a bunch of different famous actors in one movie. I also love comedies. ” —Lulu Faisal junior

“I’m really interested in seeing the third Iron Man because the first two were really good and I’m hoping they do just as good of a job.”

19

Upcoming Concerts

The Used Mon., Jan. 28 The 9:30 Club

—Cati Pever sophomore

Ed Sheeran Tues., Jan. 29 Rams Head Live!

The Great Gatsby Release Date: May 10 “I’m looking forward to The Great Gatsby because I saw the original in theaters when I was 13 and thought Mia Farrow was horribly miscast as Daisy. So I’m interested to see if Carey Mulligan is a better fit.”

—Bonnie Vining English teacher

The Hangover: Part III Release Date: May 17 “I saw one and two and they were really funny, in a way they were realistic. The joke were really clever and they didn’t leave you hanging at the end of the movie.”

—Nguyen Cao junior

Star Trek Into Darkness

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Release Date: May 17

Release Date: Nov. 22

“I’m excited for the Star Trek sequel because the first movie was good and well made.

I’m excited to see how Benedict Cumberbatch does as a main villian.”

—Bailey Oliver freshman

“I’m looking forward to Catching Fire because I read all The Hunger Games novels and they were really good and suspensful. I hope they can do just as well with this movie as they did the first one.”

Despicable Me 2

Release Date: June 21

Release Date: July 3

—Meghan Lynn senior

I See Stars Fri., Feb. 1 Empire

Wakey! Wakey!

Sat., Feb. 2 Jammin Java

—Tessa Iglesias senior

Monster University “I’m excited because Monsters Inc. was one of my favorite movies growing up and it seems perfect that as I’m going off to college, this prequel features the monsters’ college days.”

Reel Big Fish Wed., Jan. 30 The 9:30 Club

Lee Brice Thurs., Feb. 7 The Fillmore Silver Spring

“Steve Carrell is one of my favorite actors, and I love the character that has his voice. The first Despicable Me was really funny and I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen in this movie.”

—Kaitlin Martindale junior

Jesse Ruben Fri., Feb. 8 Jammin Java

—Compiled by Ayah Oweis and Sarah Bergen

Hard to find love on The Bachelor Are reality TV shows really a good way to find true love?

BY SARAH BERGEN Entertainment Editor 26 love-crazed girls fighting for a rose and the chance to win a spot in one eligible bachelor’s heart.

Is six weeks enough time for one man to meet his future wife? Obviously not, considering out of 25 proposals throughout the duration of The Bachelor and Bachelorette series, only three couples have lasted.

The rest of the couples have broken up within one to three months of the finale episode airing.

The popular series has run for 17 seasons now, garnering over 7 millions viewers over the 10 episode season. Fans wonder how the show continues to keep going strong with the relationships not lasting long.

“I think the show is fun to watch because of all the dates and the drama on the show,” junior Michelle Burnett said. “But I don’t think it’s realistic, because there are TV crews around them and they can be completely different off camera.”

Throughout the six weeks that the show runs, the girls live in one house, which can only mean one thing; drama. Fans seem to be more interested in the stircrazy girls fighting over the one guy rather than the love story itself. Each episode, the Bachelor chooses two girls to go on personal dates with him.

“They go on all these expensive dates that aren’t

Current bachelor Sean Lowe hopes to find his second chance of love on the show. Lowe was in the top three of the past season of The Bachelorette with Emily Maynard.

realistic in the real world,” Burnett said.

On some dates, the bachelor has been known to take girls to exotic places such as Puerto Rico, Prague, Croatia and South Africa. Along with the two personal dates, the bachelor will pick five to seven girls to go on a “group date.”

“I think the girls fall in love with the date they go on, not the actual person,” senior Paige Britton said.

Each Monday night at 8 p.m., the show begins on ABC. The two hour show is a bit too long for some fans.

Instead, fans wish that the show would only be an hour, and the season would run longer than six weeks.

“You can’t put people together and expect them to fall in love,” senior Christina Uglietta said. “The purpose of the show is to find love, and that never happens.”

A recurring element that encourages viewers to continue watching is the bringing back of old bachelors or bachelorettes that have failed at finding love on the show the first time around. For example, Sean Lowe, the current Bachelor was just recently on the past season of The Bachelorette.

“I loved [Lowe] on Emily’s season, and that’s what has made me want to watch this season even more,” Britton said. “I was really sad when Emily didn’t choose him.” Lowe ended up making it to the top three in Emily Maynard’s season, but was sent home one episode before the finale.

Unfortunately, another downside to the show is the fact that the ending is often spoiled by websites.

“Reality Steve” has already leaked the girl that Sean chooses in the end, along with spoilers to who goes home each week.

“The websites always leaks the news before the episodes, and it ruins it,” Britton said. “Someone needs to shut those sites down, because I always find out before the finale every season I’ve watched.”

Bon Jovi Sun., Feb. 10 The Verizon Center

Little Big Town Thurs., Feb. 14 The 9:30 Club

Pretty Little Liars returns On your smart phone, scan this code using the application “QR Code” to read a review of the season premiere of PLL.

Cheap, fun and easy weekend tips for family and friends Starbucks DIY Invite a couple of friends over and have a coffee day where you can create different gourmet coffee treats and drinks like Black Forest coffee or spicy Mexican coffee. Those are recipes that can easily be found online and with ingredients located in your cupboard.

Blast from the past Feeling a bit of nostalgia on remembering your childhood memories? Take a couple of hours and make it a cartoon marathon right in your living room. Hulu offers all types of cartoons like Johnny Bravo and Fairly Oddparents, that will have you feeling like a kid again on a Saturday morning

Jan. 22, 2013

Get a city feel in the suburbs This new Merrifield development offers shopping and dining options

Le Pain Quotidien The Mosaic District may have a small-city feel, but this cafe elevates that to a feeling of being in a quaint Parisian hot spot. Le Pain Quotidien serves up pastries, salads, quiches, soups and their famous tartines. This Mosaic District location makes for a geat lunch date, midafternoon snack and a taste of France. On your way out, be sure to pick up one of the bread loaves or cookies to go. The avocado tartine is a popular item on the menu.

Molasses cookies are a favorite here and make a good snack later.

The Mosaic District

Reuse and restyle When searching through your old clothes, a pair of comfortable, used jeans is difficult to let go of. Why not try and start a new project and create a new book cover or sensible tote bag that will have you appreciating the economical use of an old favorite pair of jeans?

Collage chaos The overwhelming stack of magazines can seem useless once read over. An easy and different way to decorate a bedroom or binder is by having a collage night with some friends, and cut out pictures of your favorite items and celebrities. You can even create collages for your mom’s birthday or your locker space.

Angelika Film Center The idea of a boutique theater like the new Angelika may be something most students are unfamiliar with. Here are the basics: the theater has a singificant number of shows each day from about 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., with a combination of mainstream and indie films. Theater rooms are smaller, more decorative and have more comfortable seats. The major perk of Angelika is the cafe. Instead of your basic popcorn and candy, they offer deluxe sandwiches, salads, an espresso bar, a popcorn bar that serves flavors such as pizza and tandoori. The main food attraction?

The Junk. This chef ’s concoction includes: potato chips, pretzels, bacon bits, salted peanut butter caramel, dark chocolate, rice crispies and popcorn. A treat like this is available in no other theater in the area. The one downside for students is that movie tickets are $13, but remember, you are paying for great food, an interesting atmosphere, and a new experience.

On your smartphone, scan the code to the right using the application “QR code” to view showtimes, information and a menu for Angelika Film Center at Mosaic District.

Five finger discount This is not a way to tell you all to go out and steal. Grab a group of friends, head out to the mall and split up into groups. See how many items you can get for free (stealing is not an option).

See how many coupons, samples and free items offered you can reach. For each item the team receives a point.

Bellacara

Makeup potluck Invite some friends over and have a makeover night. Have all your friends collect all types of make up items that they may have at home, and have them bring them over. You can create classy an elegant looks or get downright crazy. Provide a movie and some easy treats, and you’ll have yourself a fun girls’ night in.

Anthropologie

––Compilation by Andrea Melendez

2013 class bulletin Bake sale today and Feb. 6 next to the cafeteria.

This relatively new, boho-inspired chain has been opening more and more stores recently. For those of us in Annandale, though, this new Mosaic District location is much closer and more convenient than its Tysons, Georgetown and Penn Quarter counterparts. In Anthropologie, you will find unique jewelry, floral prints, beaded bags, chiffon tops, books and gifts, home decor, candles, shoes and more. While many of the clothes are out of the normal price range for a student, sales are both frequent and reasonably priced, and jewelry is always a great option. Make sure to check out the decorative displays throughout the store; they are changed frequently and are always very creative.

Graduation countdown: 98 days

E-mail Mrs. Roth as you hear from more colleges and universities!

BY

Cuisine Critiques Restaurant Guide

By Rowan Shartel and Andrea Melendez

Sandwich Republic opens in Springfield with taste

Frozen Dairy Bar and Boardwalk Pizza On your smartphone, scan the above code using the application “QR code” to view an exclusive story about Frozen Dairy Bar in Falls Church.

Located off the Springfield interchange of Old Keene Mill Road, Sandwich Republic is located in an up and coming area.

New restaurant chains have also begun to surround the area in an effort to renew the shopping center nearby.

Upon entering the parking lot, we noticed that the location was also being used by two or three more restaurants and so in trying to find the entrance, we went through the back of the restuarant.

Visibly devoid of customers except for one almost finishing, the process of ordering was extremely quick.

Sandwich Republic reminded us of a version of Potbelly and so it was easy enough to follow the process of ordering.

Their menu has been divided into five sections: Artisan Ciabatta sandwiches, Signature sandwiches, the New Vegetarian, Specialty sandwiches and Satisfying Salads.

The five sections have different themes and are

made specifically to match the taste buds of the customer ordering.

Each section offers a fresh selection of cheeses, vegetables and choice of meat or subsitute.

We chose the turkey breast, bacon and Vermont sharp American cheese. Some of the toppings that came in addition were lettuce, pickles, onions and mayonnaise. The man preparing our food was pleasant and was quick on asking all the right questions while preparing the sandwiches.

The sandwiches, which are all baked on ciabatta bread, come in hot or cold options.

The structure an architecture of the place has the look of a modern subway shop. Along the walls, there are glass jars filled with plastic vegetables and the lighting is made to have the location bright an area.

With warm red and yellow tones, the atmosphere is perfect for a day out with friends and family.

Another part of the decor and furniture comes with a couple of seat and tables with a long over the counter area.

The counter offers several stools to sit on and in doing so watch as they prepare your meal.

The toppings that are offered are lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, onions, pickles, hot peppers, oil and vinegar.

The sandwich was surprisingly large in portion and, and with a side of a chocolate chip cookie, was worth the price.

Sandwich Republic also has a catering menu and creates delicious platters for both the vegetarian or the carnivorous customer.

From the easy access to the location to the fresh and new variety of options, Sandwich Republic is sure to get good reviews and a variety of customers in the mood for a delicious and healthy alternative sandwich.

Bellacara is a local, independently owned beauty boutique that carries skin care, makeup and hair products.

This Mosaic District location is their second shop, with the other being located in Old Town, Alexandria.

The shop’s owner wants to bring unique and effective beauty products to people in a trendy and fun environment. The Bellacara staff is very informative and all have a passion for beauty products.

Some of the notable products carried at this shop include: Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray, for everyone out there hoping to achieve that just-went-to-the-beach look, Smith’s Rosebud Salve, which treats everything form dry skin to chapped lips to burns and Butter London nail polish in numerous sparkly and elegant shades.

The best part about this shop for students?

Though much of it is upscale, there is a large selection of items under $25.

ROWAN SHARTEL

20

WEEKEND

Upper left: The Bellacara storefront is inviting and quaint, with decorative lights in the window.

Left: This Rosebud Salve is one of the best-selling items at Bellacara.

Sandwich Republic

A

7020-C Old Keene Mill Rd., Springfield, VA 22150

Top: As part of their Signature Sandwiches, the Turkey breast, bacon and Vermont sharp American cheese, was topped with pickles, onions and mayonnaise.

Below: The menu offers the five different section of sandwiches, salads and cookies.

––All photos by Andrea Melendez