Issue #5

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ANNANDALE HIGH SCHOOL

VOLUME #62 ISSUE 5

Informiing the Atoms siince 1954 4

Today’s Weather

Chance of Rain

58 48 TUESDAY, JAN. 17, 2017

(703) 642-4229 PHOTO COURTESY OF TEAGAN FOTI

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4700 Medford Dr. Annandale, VA 22003 470

Superintendent forums held Firm wants public opinion for Garza's replacement

BY TEAGAN FOTI Co-Editor in Chief The firm that was hired by Fairfax County to select the new superintendent is holding sessions for community members to come and voice their opinions on what they would like to see in a new leader.

The forums are being held all throughout January at various schools and centers throughout the county.

"I think that it's really cool that sessions are being held to hear what the people want in a new superintendent," junior Grace Hatch said. "It makes the people feel like their voice is heard."

There are various forums today at Herndon Council Chambers at 11 a.m., Burke Center Library at 1 p.m., Stuart High School at 7 p.m. and Chantilly High School at 7 p.m.

Anyone is welcome to come and offer input on what

PHOTO COURTESY OF HOWARD HUGHES

see FORUMS pg. 4

WORDS HURT

Election sparks discussion over derogatory language and its lasting impact

BY TEAGAN FOTI AND SADIE MODICA Co-Editors in Chief What if every word you've ever said was written on your body? Wouldn't you be a lot more careful of what you say? Or if all the messages that you've ever sent and words you've ever posted to your wall were written in your bedroom? Wouldn't you be a lot more conscious of your language?

Words are not as temporary as they may seem.

Although it takes less than a second to murmur something to the girl that passes you in the hallway, words are more impactful than teens often realize. The desensitivity of generation Z to sexist words is a growing concern as language has deteriorated in depth and increased in width over the last decade. Consequently, students are prone to use words that are cruel and derogatory without thinking twice.

The problem is words such as "slut" and "hoe" are used jokingly between friends but are also used in an alternate connotation to describe others who aren't necessarily so mutually friendly. They are also used by and to describe both genders. This versatility is what foolishly leads some to see the words as harmless, unaware of the true power the words possess.

The internet has been a pivotal part of the slut shaming epidemic. A 2014 harassment survey conducted by Pew Research Center revealed that 60% of internet users have witnessed a person being called an offensive name and 19% have seen someone be sexually harassed online.

"Being judged because of how I look is the only form of bullying I've ever experienced," senior Tehya Moss said. "I've definitely been called a hoe by other girls and guys, I took it personally at first but it doesn't bother me as much anymore; I've heard it too much."

Slut shaming is a growing epidemic enhanced heavily by the digital age and the perceptions portrayed heavily in the media. The way teens view themselves

confidence.

"I don't think that it's a self fulfilling prophecy, I don't think that if kids are called [a slut] growing up that they will become a slut," Pshycology teacher Whitney Hardy said.

While some are quietly offended by the words and statements, others go as far as to organize and participate in "slut walks" where women publicly stand up for their sexuality.

Slut shaming supports the notion that if women don't stay "pure" they deserve social ostracization.

This judgement from both males and females can be detrimental.

"Many have argued that 2016 was the year of the woman, but as I see it it was a time when women took a giant step backwards..."

The Issue This lack of vocabulary has transformed onto a bigger stage through social media, especially President -Elect Donald Trump's Twitter account. He has added fuel to the fire by igniting his campaign trail with comments like "grab her by the pussy" and "bimbo" while playing it off as "locker room talk."

Trump, the man in center spotlight is using sexist and crude words to describe women, so why can't anyone else? That's where the issue arises. Trump being elected legitimizes the careless words and comments he has used to malign his enemies and garner support from Americans.

Humans learn by example so when they see others do something, they generally follow suit. This can lead to great innovation, but in the current case could lead to the deterioration of women's rights; a movement that has been working tirelessly for nearly 200 years and still hasn't gained full equality.

Julia Sheehy Senior is traditionally through their bathroom mirror, but in the current generation it is more through the Snapchat or Instagram camera lens, where others are able to comment. This makes it uncharacteristically easy to comment on the looks or the promiscuous nature of photos, consequently destroying self esteem.

Many studies have shown that slut shaming can have a direct physiological impact on children growing up. Not in the sense that they will become what they are called, but more in the sense that it takes a toll on

Slut Shaming Defined According to Oxford Dictionary, "slut shaming" is "the action or fact of stigmatizing a woman for engaging in behaviour judged to be promiscuous or sexually provocative," but it can also be someone who expresses themselves in what is perceived to be an unorthodox way.

Landmark Mall begins construction Long awaited renovation prepares to start

BY SUAD MOHAMED Staff Writer The stuffy, enclosed mall many students know as Landmark will close at the end of this month to begin long awaited renovations. Located on Duke St. in Alexandria, the current plan is demolish the scarce hallways and turn them into an open, multi-use community space.

Redevelopment had been approved by the Alexandria City Council in June of 2013, but it was delayed by financial issues. The property of the Macy's and its parking lot was sold to the Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC), the owner of the mall, and the few remaining stores still operating in the desolate mall have reportedly been told to move out by the end of this month. The Suntrust Bank and Sears will remain open during future renovations.

The HHC created a new website to inform people of what they plan to do with the mall. They plan on redeveloping the property and building new apartment buildings, a plaza center with new restaurants and stores, a 10 screen movie theater, and a green space where community events can be held. see LANDMARK pg. 4

PHOTO COURTESY OF BOBBY PETROCELLI

see WORDS pg. 5

Guest speaker Bobby Petrocelli talks to seniors Bobby Petrocelli, a motivational speaker, will be speaking to seniors on Tuesday during Pride Time.

Petrocelli is a Certified Speaking Professional, and he is known for his inspiring story and words.

"I couldn't pass up this opportunity for our seniors to hear an inspirational message especially as they approach the second half of the year which for many if not all, is a critical time," Principal Tim Thomas said in an email to staff.

How to make college affordable Federal assistance and scholarships available for seniors

BY SADIE MODICA Co-Editor in Chief As Career Center Specialist Robin Roth aptly put it, "college is expensive."

Colleges want their students to be able to afford them, while making the most possible money in the process. Sometimes, the price can appear too steep and as a result, students decide not to apply to the more expensive schools.

However, there are many options out there to ease the burden on one's family for each school. Here at Annandale, where over half of students are on free and reduced lunch, there is a surprising amount of opportunity for a reasonable college price. Money for college can come from the college itself, or from outside sources.

The first step, in order to get financial aid, is to fill out the FAFSA form. FAFSA does two important things: it alerts schools of one's socioeconomic status, increasing the likelihood of scholarships from the school, and it

qualifies the student for federal aid, utilizing factors like the parent's assets and income "The earlier you do it, the more likely you are of getting some of that federal money," Roth said.

There are a few ways the specific college can support an enrolled student. Grants are sums of money allotted to students to make the tuition more affordable. Grants come with no obligations for the student, as long as they keep their grades up.

Work-Study is another way colleges can help their students pay tuition costs. Work-Study is a college program allowing students to work part-time for the school, and the salary goes towards their tuition.

Loans can come from the college, or from the government. Loans have to be paid back, and the more time that passes the more the student or parent has to pay. The price has a certain percentage increase each year the loan isn't paid back, which is called interest.

For this reason, many people's college debt follows them well into adulthood. To avoid this, students should accept fewer loans and look for other sources of money

to help with college.

Scholarships should be the largest source of money to help with the price of college. They can come from the college, organizations affiliated with the college or even organizations with no affiliation. There are thousands of scholarships out there for students to look into. Websites like Chegg and Fastweb match students with limitless scholarship application opportunities. Scholarship applications can be as simple as entering an email or as complex as sending in official transcripts and financial information. Most scholarships are looking for specific attributes in applicants.

There are also more comprehensive and selective programs, like Posse and QuestBridge, which take a lot of factors into account and offer up to full ride opportunities to their scholars at prestigious schools.

It's important to remember during the college process that U.S. colleges are businesses. Ultimately, they want to make money. They will, however, adjust the price if they want you to attend.

College Stressess

The Grammyss

Student Abroad d

Read about junior Khanh Nguyen's college fears

See who students think should take home the awards

Learn about junior Aseal Saed's month in Sudan

Academics 6

Entertainment 18

International 12

2 EDITORIALS

Jan. 17, 2017

Free college tuition?

Food deserts contribute to obesity rates

NY governor sets plan to reduce $1.3 trillion student loan debt

BY BINQI CHEN Editorials Editor

As high school graduation rates in the United States have consistently risen in the last few years, college application and enrollment rates are higher than ever.

However, college can also be stressful and frightening, especially with dark clouds of tuition money looming over your head and thousands of dollars worth of heavy debt slumped on your back.

The governor of New York has offered to lift some of that burden off of the state's low to mid income socioeconomic students in his new Excelsior Scholarship.

Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled a revolutionary legislative proposal that would cover all remaining tuition costs of any two or four year public New York state college or community college (SUNY/CUNY) after state and federal aid is applied.

The plan is exclusive to New York students whose families earn less than $125,000 a year. The proposal also only covers New Yorkers and is solely tuition based.

The plan also does not include room, board and books.

To maintain his or her enrollment in the scholarship, all a student has to do is make sure they keep their grades high enough so that they are able to graduate from college on time. This scholarship should give the students more initiative and encouragement to complete their degree.

Cuomo's plan is set to roll out next year and in three parts. In 2017, the scholarship would be exclusive to families that make up to $100,000 annually.

The amount would rise to $110,000 in 2018, and finally $125,000 in 2019. Almost a million families would be qualified for the scholarship.

If the proposal is passed, New York would be the largest state that offers free tuition with a total of 64 campuses across the state. If the Excelsior Scholarship proves to be a success, then it without a doubt would set a precedent for other states that are on the edge of providing similar legislative action.

GOVERNOR.NY.GOV

BY BINQI CHEN Editorials Editor

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont supports New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's affortable college plan.

The new proposal is a great push in the effort to decrease the United State's $1.3 trillion dollar and rising student loan debt. Making higher education available has been the center of both national and global discussion.

Senator Bernie Sanders has given his full support in Cuomo's scholarship. Throughout his bid for the Democratic party's presidential nominee, Sanders has repeatedly and passionately expressed his wishes for free college.

The student debt crisis is very much real, and it's only getting worse. Our government is no longer carrying its weight in helping students pay off increasing college costs, forcing families and graduates to step up and take in more burden. This is not fair, especially since student loans can have serious repercussions for students long after they graduate college.

College is becoming more of an expectation, rather than an option as a large fraction of employers require that their employees have completed some type of postsecondary or higher education.

Affordable college means that there would be more

people in specialized jobs, leading to more money in the economy. But, with costs that continue to skyrocket and ridiculous interest rates, many remain in debt for decades after they receive their degree.

Student debt presents an even bigger problem to people who want to pursue professions and occupations that require even further education past a four year college.

Millions of high school graduates each year jump in excitement at the thought of leaving home and attending college. New sceneries, friends, classes and a sense of adulthood and independency are some of the pros of pursuing a higher education.

But due to stacking costs, some students are simply deciding not to attend college. Money should never be an issue that comes between a person and his or her's education. Every student should have the access to higher education if they wish.

Providing free or affordable secondary education is not something that can be done overnight. To achieve the goal, it will take bipartisan efforts and the encouragement of global leaders.

HEALTH FACTS · A third of America's entire population is obese, while another third is overweight · In the last 30 years, obesity in children has doubled and in infants, it has quadrupled

Ossian Hall Park gets a makeover

· 23.5 million people don't have access to a supermarket within a mile radius of their homes

SRO Curcio leads effort in reducing trash at the popular hang-out spot

· National annual health costs in relation with obesity is $200 million

FCPS.EDU

Ossian Hall Park serves as a local hang-out spot for both students and the general community of Annandale, a popular travel route to school for students that live closeby and a habitat to many animals.

Ossian has become embedded into the culture of Annandale and it is hard to imagine our community without it.

Ossian is considered a relatively new park as reconstruction and the building of new sports grounds took place six years ago. Over the last few years, the image of Ossian being a safe and clean recreational place has changed due to overwhelming crime, litter and trash present all around the park.

Student Resources Officer Adam Curcio decided that it was time for a change. Over the last year, Ossian has slowly begun to return to the bright park it was originally intended to be.

Partnering up with the Fairfax Park Authority, Fairfax Police Department, Northern Virginia Conservation Trust and school clubs such as Green Atoms and the Science National Honor Society, Curcio has led both staff and students in regular cleanups at Ossian.

"The first one was in May, and we did two smaller ones in the summer, and another one focused on landscaping," Crucio said.

This is a great way to promote both environmental awareness and the value of public parks. Students also get the opportunity to earn community service hours

Cleanups and heightened partrolling has made Ossian Hall Park the safe place it was orignally intended to be.

and get to know other students with similar interests.

Families have also often thanked the volunteers during the cleanups.

Students find dangerous items such as glass or weapons. Other items that have been found include alcoholic beverages and cigarettes.

Ossian has a playground and a basketball court in addition to being located right behind Annandale Terrace Elementary School, which are all places frequented by younger children and therefore emphasizes another reason as to why the park should be regularly maintained and kept clean.

"The softball field is maintained for the school and

the tot-lot is important for the wider community," said Curcio.

In terms of reducing crimes, there are routinely two officers each night at Ossian monitoring all activity. Contrary to popular belief, most of the crimes at Ossian happen during the day and are quality-of-life offenses.

Hopefully more students can join in preserving a vital aspect of our school and make Ossian look as good as new. The cleanups are scheduled every month and is a small action students can take to improve our school.

"If [Ossian] is clean, safe and people can use it, I think it could be a center point for for the community," said Curcio.

Staff MANAGING EDITOR Sabrina Hawa VIDEO EDITOR IN CHIEF Crew McCarthy NEWS EDITORS Nancy Evora Jessica Salisbury EDITORIALS EDITORS Binqi Chen Aseal Saed COPY EDITORS Yvonne White IN-DEPTH EDITORS Ruth Mekonnen Kim Laura SPORTS EDITORS

Cameron Foti Jude Nanaw SPORTS XTRA EDITORS Ryan Gammon Grace Hogye PEOPLE EDITORS SoulisaPathammavong Marilyn Rivas WEEKEND EDITORS Mohamed Elhag Conrad Shartel INTERNATIONAL EDITORS Lina Al-Taii Tooba Siddique ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS Julius Miller Hussein Salem LIFESTYLES EDITORS Sheila Aguirre Lucie Lefbom

HEALTH EDITORS Judy Nanaw Julie Nguyen PHOTOGRAPHY EDITORS Alaina Garay Kailyn Garay ART EDITORS Serene Ghul Kavi Shamdin ACADEMICS EDITORS Rachel Shogren Halley Thadeus WEB EDITOR/MASTER Alex Tran AD MANAGER Mauricio Reyes CIRCULATION MANAGER Mauricio Reyes

Heard in the Twitter-verse...

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER Lennon Wuhrer STAFF WRITERS Jordan Adams Kidus Ayele Fares Ayoub Yabi Bereket Laura Clemons Luke Elkins Diego Feliciano Brandon Ho Kayla Holcomb Mahdi Larhmari Arzoo Marzi Suad Mohamed Casey Nguyen Katie Pope Sharon Sanchez Ashleigh Storm Kimberly Vaides Andrew White Ethan Zimmerman ADVISER Alan Weintraut

Others at times forgo home-cooked meals and opt for dinners out at fast food restaurants. It's upsetting that purchasing an entire meal fromof McDonald's Dollar Menu is cheaper than buying groceries.

Also, impoverished neighborhoods often do not even have supermarkets where fresh produce can be bought. The nearest grocery store might be miles away and in times of inclement weather, it can be physically impossible to go out and purchase food.

These pockets of area and food deserts where residents are simply not even given the chance to decide their own food choices should present attention to local legislation and needs immediate change.

In other communities, playgrounds and public gyms aren't available. Parents also might encourage children to stay safely indoors which only leads to the rise in sedentary activities such as playing video games or watching TV. For younger kids and teenagers, schools should step up and provide nutritious meals for their students as well as frequent physical activities.

In order for America to continue thriving, we need to ensure that the future generation is well.

This means giving everybody a shot at a stronger and healthier life.

Look out for the next tweet @theablast on Twitter for a chance to be featured on the next issue!

Annandale High School Vol. 62 No.5 4700 Medford Dr. Annandale, VA 22003 703.642.4229 Jan. 17, 2017 The A-Blast is an award-winning newspaper that strives to inform, educate and entertain the student body and community.

Published every three weeks, The A-Blast will not print any material that is obscene or libelous; or that which substantially disrupts the school day, or invades an individual's right to privacy.

The A-Blast is an independent, open forum for discussion that is printed at the Springfield Plant of The Washington Post.

Signed letters to the editor of 250 words or less may be emailed to theablast2016@gmail.com or submitted to room 262 or mailed to the school.

The A-Blast reserves the right to refuse advertisements.

All submissions become property of The A-Blast, Copyright, 2017.

CDC.GOV

· There are 418 rural food desert counties where residents are living over 10 miles from the nearest supermarket

BY BINQI CHEN Editorials Editor

CO-EDITORS IN CHIEF Teagan Foti Sadie Modica

In the United States, 20 to 30 percent of adults are obese, one in every five women are obese when pregnant and one in three children are overweight.

Globally, obesity has become a pressing issue that can no longer be ignored. The health of both the current and future generations are in danger.

A recent study published by the medical journal Pediatrics shows that children with obese parents may be at higher risk for developmental delays such as difficulty in using smaller muscles, failure in personal-social activities and a lag in motor skills.

Yes, unhealthy habits in eating and exercise are definitely a main reason for the increase rate in obesity around the globe, however, underneath the surface of what many call the "obesity epidemic" lies an example of economic inequality or more commonly known as the gap between the rich and the poor.

Families and citizens that are considered in the low socioeconomic group are at more risk to obesity due to limits in options in diet and physical activity. Poorer communities often preside in living conditions that do not give children the necessary resources to thrive healthily.

Lower-income families are restricted in their food choices due to budget strains. With income that would need to be stretched for as long as possible, many families have no other alternative than to purchase processed or sugary foods that are cheaper and have a longer shelf-life.

EDITORIALS 3

Jan. 17, 2017

Protest to voice your opinion Inauguration gives you an opportunity

BY ASEAL SAED Editorials Editor

50th anniversary of Loving v.

Virginia

BY ASEAL SAED Editorials Editor

PHOTO COURTESY OF ASEAL SAED

The post-election shock has worn off. It has been 70 days since we have learned of the outcome.

Now, Americans have come to terms, with the fact that Donald Trump is to be the 45th President of the United States.

Since then, Americans have been waiting for Trump to mature and show the class that a president should exude.

Yet, we continue to see countless times where Donald Trump has lied to and manipulated the public. Because of this, we must remain vigilant in holding our president accountable.

However, many believe that this can be done with a simple tweet.

Even with the feeling of validation from retweets and favorites from friends, change is not happening.

This idea of change through social media is mostly believed by teens.

If they truly believe in change, there is more that students can do with their voices. including protests.

After the election, protests all over the country sprung up in various cities for people to voice their anger.

Students all over the country were compelled to act in their own way: walkouts.

AHS, like countless other schools, held its own students led walkout in November in protest of Donald Trump's presidency.

However, if students really want to be a part of change and really care about their cause, then going beyond their comfort zone is important.

This inauguration season there are numerous protests that students can choose from to be a part of real change that will receive national coverage; protests where their voices will be heard and could actually enact change.

The day after the election, numerous protests are scheduled to happen. One of the most notable is the Women's March on Washington. at 10 am., Saturday Jan. 21.

The march was organized by a board of women who have a background in social justice to fight back against the rhetoric spoken against marginalized groups.

It is expected that over 200,000 people are going to show up and students can register on their website.

If we want to make a change, this is a real opportunity to fight back and actually show that you mean what you say.

AHS is such a diverse school which claims to fight against intolerance. This is an opportunity to do so in a way that could actually enact changes.

Being next to arguably one of the most powerful cities, protests allow for new changes. It's time for students to get together and fight for something they believe in.

This inaugural protests is a perfect way for students to organize in a meaningful and powerful way.

By being a part of a powerful movement, later on you can look back and be proud that you were a part of something bigger than yourself.

Protests students were involved during a school trip in Indianapolis, IN..

ANTI-INNAGUARATION PROTESTS When: Saturday January 20. 10 a.m.

Where: Freedom Plaza When: Saturday January 21 Where: Independence Ave. and Third St. SW When: Saturday January 20. 10 a.m.

Where: Anacostia Park

What platform do you use to voice your opinions?

"I usually go on Instagram and say what I want to say."

JONATHON MORALES freshman

"I use Twitter because everyone voices their opinions there."

ASHLEY REYES freshman

"Snapchat and Twitter "Instagram, because because it's quick and a picture tells a thousand words." easy."

FATIMAH NOUR KYLE DALSIMER junior sophomore

Interracial couples accepted more

"Snapchat, because you control who sees your thoughts."

ZUHAIR RAHMAN sophomore

"I use Twitter because a lot of people pay attention on Twitter."

HEMEN BESUFEKAD sophomore

"I don't use social media, so in person."

YEISON SHULTZ junior

"I usually do things in person because I don't use social media."

JULIANA IGLESIAS senior

Cartoonist Corner

On any day walking in the hallways, you can find numerous interracial couples holding hands, giving a quick peck before class, or any other forms of PDA This has become a norm that most of us are used to and do not look twice at.

However, this was not the case 50 years ago for Richard and Mildred Loving. 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the historic case of Loving v. Virginia.

Richard, who was white, and Mildred who was black were a married couple in 1958 Carolina County Virginia. However, their marriage violated the 1924 Racial Integrity Act which made it illegal for a white person to marry another race other than their own.

In their rural community, the police raided their home and their District of Columbia marriage certificate was invalid in Virginia.

They were charged and exiled out of Virginia for 25 years, forced to move to D.C..

They were distraught about being in a new city and away from their families. Eventually, they fought back in court going all the way to the Supreme Court.

In 1967, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed that Virginia's law violated the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment.

The Loving v. Virginia case

set a precedent to fight against discriminatory practices that were at an all time high in the 1960s.

The case was used to support same-sex marriage in 2015. The legacy left behind by the case still ripples in today's society.

A new movie called Loving starring Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton as Mildred and Richard Loving, is set to release this spring showing the struggle of the couple.

The movie follows the couple in their struggle to be a free couple.

It was released Nov. 11, 2016 and received wide acclaim.

In 2013, 12% of newlyweds married a different race than their own.

In a 2015 survey by the Pew Research Center 37 percent of Americans think that interracial marriages are good for society. That is up 24% from the previous year.

Without the Loving family, interracial relationships have become a norm in society, even our biggest celebrities are in interracial couples.

The acceptance of interracial relationships is seen all over our TV shows and movies.

AHS is lucky to be a part of a state that changed America in such a monumental way. The Loving case changed Virginia precedent for years to come.

Now when we walk down the halls of Annandale, we need to be more appreciative of the sacrifices that go behind it.

The 50th anniversary shows us how far, but also how little we have come as a nation.

"I use Twitter, because it is easy and quick."

GARRETT PATTERSON sophomore

"Twitter, because more people can reply and everyone can express their opinions."

MIKAEL MECHAL

Richard and Richard Loving who combated the courts after being exiled from Virginia for their interracial relationship.

Too early to choose classes Not enough time for an important decision

ILLUSTRATION BY MOHAMED ELHAG

BY CASEY NGUYEN Staff Writer The decisions we make now in high school impact the course of the rest of our lives. We have just dipped into that wonderful time of the year when the guidance counselor's office is busier than ever.

Sadly, the season also marks the fast approach of the course selection period for grades nine through eleven. On Jan. 22, students will be choosing the courses for the following academic school year.

Students will attempt to make the right scheduling decisions based on how they need to further their careers and improve their chances for admission to highly competitive schools like UVA and W&M. "It's difficult to figure out what classes will take you somewhere in life in such a short amount of time," sophomore Vy Nguyen said.

The transcript is an important document in a student's application. College administrations are interested in seeing if you challenged yourself with difficult coursework, and whether or not you have done well in them.

"It is definitely critical to choose challenging classes that you are

Students are rushing to choose what classes, especially electives by Jan. 22.

Orchestra, pictured above, is one popular pick for students.

capable of doing well in," sophomore Vinh On said.

"Choosing the right classes is not only important for college acceptance but also your own development as a student."

Students have also yet to see their first semester grades. This affects what classes they should take next year, whether it is regular, honors, or IB. However, the student's desire and effort to learn is an important factor as well.

"Grades measure your learning capability, however, it should not be only the only factor that affects what classes you should to choose to take," On said, "If you feel like you can take on a more difficult class,

then go for it."

In the beginning of freshman year, it seemed like graduation was a million years away. The four years often slipped by in what seems like four seconds, barely leaving enough time to plan out the rest of high school.

Starting next year in September, lines of students will be desperate to switch or drop out of their class.

Each student will be filled with cries of distress, not understanding why they signed up for the class in the first place. To prevent this from occurring, students need more time to make this important decision that affects their future.

4 NEWS

Jan 17. 2017

Seniors prepare for traditions Yearbook sells ads and offers senior quotes

Lay-away offered for Prom night tickets

BY NANCY EVORA

BY NANCY EVORA

News Editor

Senior cannot wait to buy the yearbok this year so they can look back and remember all the good times and memories that were made in high school. The Antenna yearbook will be accepting senior ad orders for those interested in buying them and they will also be accepting senior quote forms.

The ad can include baby pictures or special personal photos so parents can also express how proud they are of their children. Attaching a video to your senior ad is also available if interested, please email the yearbook staff at antennaybk@gmail.com or jehanneman@fcps. edu for further information.

Sizes range from 1/8 page to full page. The 1/8 page has up to 50 words and one picture, costs $65. The 1/4 page has up to 75 words and can have up to 3 pictures, the is costs $125. The 1/2 page has up to 100 words and up to seven pictures, costs $235. Lastly the full page has up to 150 words and up to 10 pictures and costs $400.

"Senior ads are a good opportunity for graduating seniors to be commemorated, either by themselves, their peers, or their parents," co-editor in Chief Benny Le said.

"We extended the deadline for senior ads in order to give additional time for submissions. Because our deadlines are approaching. We need time to finalize the ads."

The money that yearbook makes from the ads are used as fundraisers to cover all the expenses.

The orders for senior ads are due by Jan, 30 2017.

You can deliver your orders to Julia Hanneman in Room

Prices for ads vary depending on the sizes and amount of words.

262 or 268, Senior Tribute Ad can also be bought online by going to www.yearbooksforever.com.

Those interested in buying a senior quote must submit one photo and one quote. The photo should be of high resolution and the quote should be a total of 140 characters that meets the SR&R rules and regulations, in other words nothing too vulgar will be published.

Seniors should consider buying a senior quote so they can leave their final mark of high school printed forever.

Students can find the forms in room 286. Once they are filled out, they can return them to the same place.

The regular price for the senior quote is ten dollars and students have until January 20th to buy them.

Seniors have been looking forward to prom since their freshman year. They have been preparing to raise money ever since so they can a memorable prom with their friends.

The officers of the class of 2017 announced at the beginning of the year that the place for prom has already been reserved. Prom will be taking place on the Spirit of Washington cruise on June 9.

Because prom will be on a boat, the tickets for the dance are pricy, each being 100 dollars. The officers planned ahead of time and came up with a payment plan that will benefit everyone and it will be easy to afford.

"We realize that is pretty expensive for some The Spirit of Washington boat where Prom will be held. students and it's more than ordinary with what were forward to prom.

"I think the layaway is a good idea because it gives are trying to do. We are having prom on lay-away meaning that you pay 20 dollars at the end of each students time to pay for prom and it will feel less month so when may comes you are completely paid off expensive because we will be paying it in parts," senior with your tickets," class of 2017 president Matthew Gisella Aparicio Lopez said.

The best way to make senior year memorable is by Vogus said.

Officers and sponsors have worked hard to make participating in any fundraisers and help the class of prom for senior memorable and for students to help 2017 make more money.

"Follow us on Twitter, we have updates and when out in anyway they can.

"We are setting a spirit fundraiser right now, we we really have the fundraiser we would like you guys are setting a Chick-Fil-A fundraiser and we are setting to participate, we will hangout forms during W4, and Krispy Kreme fundraiser as well, I'm sure we have the it' s really just being aware of what is going on and we Valentine's day event and we also have march madness are constantly putting it on the announcement and coming up within the next month so those five things on twitter of what is going on and being aware of our should brings us a good amount of money," Vogus said. fundraisers," Vogus said.

Seniors are happy with the payment plan and look

SPIRIT CRUISES

News Editor

Landmark Mall

Lending a hand

CONT. LANDMARK Senior Yuki Zheng, Michelle Hoang and Kimberly Romero volunteer at the Kiwani Pancakes Breakfast event from last year.

"Key Club helps me find opportunities to volunteers and meet new people," senior Michelle Hoang said.

"That mall has been dead for a while," sophomore Asha Ali said. It's a good idea, but it's sad that all the memories will be gone."

In their official statement, HHC said that the plans would help bring tax revenue to the city and provide more jobs. They also said that the open spaces and outdoor seating will make the plaza more accessible. At this time, they haven't given a schedule as to when renovations will actually begin.

"It's about time," said junior Deega Hilowle.

YEARBOOK

Future events -ACCA Furmiture Drive on Jan. 21 at 8 a.m.

-Pancake Breakfast on Feb. 4 at 7 a.m. (different shifts) -Face painting /Valentine Cards on Feb. 4 starting at 7 AM (different time shifts)

Key Club expands services

BY NANCY EVORA News Editor Over the years, Key Club has strived to offer students a variety of opportunities to get involved in the community. Those who are members of the club take a pledge to serve the school and community as best as they can.

Key Club International is a well known club for providing students with the opportunity to serve their community and learn new skills such as leadership and communication of ideas. At AHS, there are 90 members, making it the largest club.

In past years, Key Club struggled with offering a range of different opportunities to members, rather students found the opportunities to be repetitive and sometimes students had conflicts such as transportation.

When the current Key Club president Yuki Zheng first joined the club, she took the initiative to implement fun ideas that would

be of the members' interest and easy to do.

"I joined Key Club in my sophomore year and I noticed how repetitive the service opportunities were. Some were also difficult to partake in because of transportation issues," senior Yuki Zheng said.

As one of the officers, Zheng had a different perspective of the challenges officers had to face in order to come up with different ideas that members would be interested in and able to do.

"As I took on secretary duties in my junior year I got to see how it was hard to create new successful opportunities.

I learned I had to work around a lot of obstacles like getting approval, scheduling, and logging hours," Zheng said.

This year the club members, officers and sponsors have worked diligently to make sure their members have a variety of options for community service and to try new experiences.

One of the many activities Key Club has offered in the past years have been GIVE

"I love how we have so many options to pick from in order to do our community service hours." senior Melissa Sanjanie and Kast, where high school students go help students from elementary schools with homework. Another activity that has been going on for awhile is Key Club's affiliation with Green Atoms where every Wednesday they recycle bottles around the school.

Every year with the new leadership stepping in and trying to improve the Club, they have come up with new ideas and opportunities for students to enjoy.

"The officers and I have looked into

various organizations, talked to multiple sponsors, teachers and researched opportunities that would allow the members to obtain their hours. I know for sure that we have shown more dedication than previous officers in making sure that the members have a variety of volunteer opportunity for our key clubbers," Zheng said.

New opportunities have come available such as Atomic Students United (ASU) during Pride Time, ACCA Furniture Drive, food drives, Kiwanis package breakfast, and face painting on Valentine's day activities.

"I love how we have so many options to pick from in order to do our community service hours done without any conflicts, plus we know ahead of time so we can make a plan and gather with our friends and have a nice time," senior Melissa Sanjanie said.

Overall, the club has made a great progress and both officers and sponsors have worked hard to make the club a great experience for those who join it.

BY TEAGAN FOTI Co -Editor in Chief For many students the best part of picking classes for the upcoming year is choosing what electives to take. Electives enable students to explore interests and learn about more non-traditional subjects.

Although electives are vital to forming fully rounded students, budget cuts and lowering enrollment has led to elective reforms in the past few years. However, this is changing.

As of early December, six new courses were approved for students in the 2017-2018 school year.

The following courses will be offered next year, IB Arabic 1 SL, Advanced Programming, Education for Employment for the Office (EFE¡º) 1, IB Lang/Lit SL 2, IB World Religions SL and STEM Essentials for ELs. Director of Student Services, Jennifer Crump-Strawderman, is excited to offer these courses and hopes that they will be popular amongst the students.

"I do not know who will teach the new courses," Crump-Strawderman said, "but I hope they will be successful since our teachers feel there is a need to offer them in our building."

Although there are countless electives offered on the course selection sheet. If

there are not enough students signed up for a class it will be cut from the schedule and the students that signed up for it will be asked to select another course.

New classes are highly susceptible to cuts due to low enrollment because often students are wary to be the first ones to take it, it's almost like fear of the unknown.

Although many cuts are made each year, the students who are in those classes are moved to another elective in the subject department.

In a traditional schedule, ºstudents will have 2-3 open slots for electives, depending on their grade. These classes can consist of anything that interests the students, whether that be taking another core class, going to an academy at another Fairfax County high school or taking any variety of course from culinary to sports marketing.

A majority of the courses were displayed at the annual elective fair, which was held this year on Jan. 6. The elective fair was held during W4/Pride Time and gave students the opportunity to go to four electives of their choice for about 15 minutes. The aim of the fair is to give students a quick look into what that class is like and hopefully to convince them to sign up.

Alhough Culinary Arts is not a new elective, the class still remains one of the most popular.

Students in grades 9 through 11 will be selecting courses in late January through mid February.

ARZOO MARZI AND KATIE POPE

New elective classes offered

Superitendent forums CONT. FORUMS

certain characteristics and ideas they envision taking Karen Garza's position shoes and leading the county next.

For those who are unable to make it to a meeting an online survey was posted on the FCPS website in early Jan. This is an opportunity for other county members to submit their opinions.

"I can't attend any of the meetings but will definitely go online and fill out the form," Hatch said "it can't hurt."

The company leading the search is Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA) will use the information conducted in these forums as a basis for choosing what the county would like to see in the new superintendent.

VHSL competition

BY NANCY EVORA News Editor Are you looking for something fun to do or have a great night with your friends? If so, then you should come and bring your friends and family to the VHSL theatre competition so show your Atom Pride and support for our AHS Theatre Company production.

"This year, ATC will be competing on February 4 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.. Each school is given a time slot, but our time slot has not been given yet. However, we will be having a school preview on February 1st at 6 p.m," ITS Clerk, Publicity and Marketing Specialist, and Actor senior Jessica Smith said.

The Theatre Company will be competing at the VHSL patriot district competition at Lake Braddock Secondary School. ATC will be performing a play in front of a panel of judges.

"This year we decided to devise a play in a group of six people so it's a collaborative playwright process so actually 8 people total ended up contributing with the writing of the script," theatre teacher Katherine Brunberg said.

Actors are excited and are looking forward to perform in front of the judges because they have been working hard in order to put a good show.

"We are working everyday in R5 to rehearse and do scene work for VHSL in order to impress the judges," senior Beckman Hollis said.

The actors that will be performing on saturday are the same ones that co wrote the one scene play and include Beckman Hollis, Jessica Smith, William Rangel Cardozo, Josue Valdez, Maya Koch, and Juliana Iglesias, all of them being seniors taking the Theatre Arts 4 class.

Admission is completely free for those who would want to enjoy and support the production.

NEWS 5

Jan. 17, 2017

IB program grows

WESOME TOMS

Students and course options increase

Staff members are selected monthly as Awesome Atoms for demonstrating Atom Pride in the workplace

BY JESSICA SALISBURY

PHOTO COURTESY OF JESSICA SALISBURY

The IB program is an academically challenging and balanced educational program that prepares students for the rigor of college. The program continues to grow and develop as many students make an attempt to receive the IB diploma every year.

This year the program has close to 400 students testing in the May 2017 session.

Those students will be taking 533 SL exams and 238 HL exams.

"There are also 20 seniors working towards the IB diploma and 50 juniors just starting the journey this year," IB Coordinator Linda Bradshaw said.

There were also over 30 IB courses offered to students this year, and there will be a new course offered next year called IB World Religions.

"Each IB class you take, gives you more tools in your toolbox to use in college," Bradshaw said.

The program continues to expand because it has many benefits that appeal to many students.

"I think the program continues to grow because it has to adapt to changing times, as it probably should, especially since it prides itself on being so worldly," senior IB candidate Madison Schinstock said.

Many students take IB classes to push themselves and to become prepared for the future.

"Part of the reason for why I took the classes was to challenge myself and see if I could conquer late nights and extended essays," Schinstock said.

Others take it because it is an international program.

"I want to study abroad in Korea, and since IB is an international program, it will be appreciated in schools abroad," senior IB candidate Rachael Champion said.

Bradshaw says students enjoy the

PHOTO COURTESY OF TEAGAN FOTI

News Editor

Senior Aisha Tahir looks through a microscope at a specimen in IB Biology. She is an IB diploma candidate, enrolled in seven IB classes.

program because the teachers are passionate about the subject's they teach, and students could get a potential credit at college.

"A 2016 graduate who is at Virginia Tech now started off on sophomore status because of all the credits they received from their IB tests," Bradshaw said.

"I think the program continues to grow because it has to adapt to changing times, as it probably should, especially since it prides itself on being so worldly" Madison Schinstock Senior IB Diploma Candidate

What many students don't understand is that the program is much more than just a bunch of rigorous classes.

"Students must complete an extended essay and CAS project among other

international assessments as well" Champion said.

Students also get a lot of support by their teachers and coordinator to complete these assessments. Students meet monthly to go over Extended Essay and CAS requirements as well as they are given time in the spring in the library to work on their Extended Essays.

Past graduates also return to tell current candidates about the classes they took previously.

"They recall how writing the extended essay helped them with college papers and that they have stronger time management and study skills after taking IB courses," Bradshaw said.

The IB Mission statement is "to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect."

Students interested in pursuing the IB diploma are encouraged to contact Bradshaw to create a course sequence plan for their junior and senior year. There are also pride time information sessions that are available this month to interested candidates.

Congratulations to Bethany Osborne!

The newest Awesome Atom is our Athletic trainer Bethany Osborne. Administrative Assistant, Patrick Pacak passsed it on to her.

"Bethany gives everything she has to AHS and then some to all our athletes, morning, noon, and night, not just Monday through Friday, but weekends and holidays too!" Pacak said.

NEWS BRIEFS SPIRIT WEAR

BUY BRICKS

The online spirit wear store is now open. Order your spirit wear online and pick it up at the concession stand in the jock lobby open from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Bricks that will be place in Jock Lobby are now for sale. For spring installation bricks must be ordered by Feb. 20, 2017. for more information contact the athletic boosters.

ACADEMY OPEN HOUSE On Saturday, January 28 there will be an open house for Academy. It will be held at Edison High School.

SCIENCE FAIR

INAUGURATION DAY There will be no school on Friday, January 20. It will be Inauguration Day.

The AHS Science Fair will be held after school on Januray 25. Judges are needed, go to the AHS website if interested in judging.

FOOTBALL MEETING There will be an important meeting held Wednesday, January 25 at 3:15 in the upstairs gym for all athletes interested in playing football next fall.

Contact Coach Scott for any questions.

Words hurt

Monday, Febuary 6 will be a teacher work day. Students will have no school. This will mark the end of the first semester.

STUDENTS RELEASED 2 HOURS EARLY On Friday, February 3 the second grading period will end and students will be released 2 hours early.

ATOMS WRITING CENTER On January 18 the Atoms Writing Center will be holding an interest meeting for anyone who is interested in becoming a tutor. The meeting will begin at 3:00 p.m. in room 274.

PRESIDENTS DAY Monday, February 20 will be Presidents Day. Students and staff have the day off.

TITUS' DRIVING SCHOOL 1. The school is bonded and insured PHOTO COURTESY OF SADIE MODICA

CONT. WORDS "The election of a racist misogynistic man who has made comments glorifying sexual harassment, and public comments against women, became the leader of our country," senior Julia Sheehy said, "that's unsettling."

But the issue is twofold. Women use the words and impulse judge just as quickly and as often as men. Hillary Clinton, a self proclaimed women advocate is guilty of slut bashing as she called the women accused of having sex with her husband "bimbo eruptions" and "some failed cabaret singer who doesn't have much of a resume to fall back on."

Both genders are perpetuating an association between sexual promiscuity and negative attributes, while a correlation is certainly not inherent.

"I feel like [slut shaming] can create a sense of double standards for women, kind of a misogynistic view of women and I feel like it can kind of proport this idea of like there's a specific term to make women feel bad when there isn't one for men," Hardy said.

The words are becoming so prevalent in the nation's vernacular that they are normalized-- at the risk of the ideas behind them being normalized as well. Dictionaries have added many of the derogatory words to their collection because they have a universally understood meaning.

Word such as "slut" and "hoe" are also often used in songs that children often begin listening to at a young age, inadvertently making them "okay" to use.

The issue with this is that the words are often used to justify rape. Leading one judge to ask a rape survivor why she didn't just shut her legs in order to avoid being seually assaulted. The occurrence of this is the motivation behind slogans such as "my dress is not a 'yes'" and "don't tell [women] how to dress, tell [men] not to rape."

"I definitely think that there is a big problem with rape culture in this country," Feminism club sponsor and History teacher Holly Miller said. "I just think that boys and girls need to be educated on treating each other with respect."

TEACHER WORK DAY

Protesters gather outside the Indianapolis capitol building in November.

The Feminism Factor The feminist movement has amped up recently due to this looming deterioration of image and rights. Whist many see it as a step forward and powerful progression for women, some see the women at the forefront as radical and excessive; inadvertently bashing the concept of feminism, which is simply the belief that women and men should be treated equally.

"I view feminism as fighting for equal rights for men and women," Miller said. "I think feminism benefits all people in society and I think we need feminism because we still don't have equality between men and women."

In a nation with a sexist rhetoric making it to the highest office in the government, as well as a marked wage gap, the need for feminism is clear.

"Many have argued that 2016 was the year of the woman, but as I see it it was a time when women took a giant step backwards with pay gaps still in existence, sexual harassment being present throughout countless fields, the number of female CEOs dropping, the pope's public comments about women's inability to be priests and countless other situations that have either, not been rectified when they should've years ago, or situations that have only made the gap bigger," senior Julia Sheehy said.

The problem will only get worse if it is not addressed. At the risk of legitimizing the ideas behind them, it's time to stop legitimizing America's derogatory vocabulary.

2. Students do not need 45 hours driving time prior to the program 3. Parents and students can Google the Titus driving school for school reviews 4. Students don't have to pay until they get their driver's license 5. If you bring your friend along, you get $25 off your payment.

6. If you're 18 years old, you don't have to hold your learner's permit for 9 months.

Phone: (571)-217-1441

Email: titusdrivingschool@gmail.com

VA State LIC # 1503-00634

6 ACADEMICS

Jan. 17, 2017

Choosing your college begins junior year Why Mason is at the top of my list

BY KHANH NGUYEN Special to the A-blast "Why George Mason University?" is a question I have become very accustomed to hearing and answering almost every time I tell a fellow student or even a teacher that George Mason University is my dream school.

Growing up, much was expected from me like maintaining straight A's, pursuing the IB diploma, and getting accepted and choosing UVA, NYU or even Yale. To many people's surprise, none of those things are in my agenda.

Although I have maintained a GPA above a 4.0, I never once had all A's throughout high school so far. This year, I chose the advanced diploma because I understood myself, how much I could handle, and the simple yet truthful fact that a piece of paper does not and will not necessarily define my future.

Countless looks of disappointment and shock are continuously shot my way when I proudly tell people GMU is where I want to pursue my desired career of psychology, and eventually, psychiatry.

For the past three years of high school, I have always felt obligated to not "settle" for someplace like GMU and it hurt every time I was judged for wanting to attend there. It has not been easy, but the more research I do about the school and the more I visit other schools, including "better" ones, the more I realize that GMU has my heart, not only financially, but academically, emotionally, and mentally.

As one of the largest and most diverse universities in the state of Virginia with a student population of over 33,000, GMU is a place where students and faculty members can interact with a vast amount of cultures and

people from all walks of life. It is not only a learning environment for academics, but also a place for growing and expanding one's mind. Diversity is one of the biggest factors that play into why I want to attend GMU as a minority student.

With the country's capital of Washington, D.C. only 15 minutes away from campus, opportunities for internships and even jobs are endless! As a psychology major, INOVA Hospital in Fairfax would be the perfect place for me to build connections in the medical field and gain work experience while attending GMU where psychology is one of the most popular and successful majors.

Ultimately, it does not matter where you go to school, whether that is a community college, GMU, or even Harvard, if you do not have connections, solid work ethic, experience, and passion. It is not about where you go, but rather, why you choose to go there and what you make out of it for yourself.

I was fortunate enough to be in touch with the advising office coordinator of psychology at GMU, Dr. Michael Hurley, who offered me the amazing chance to sit in a psychology class. Even with more than 33,000 current students and a couple other thousands of applicants, the faculty members take time out of their busy schedules to aid anyone and everyone. That goes to show how much the school is willing to help students strive toward their futures.

The more people tell me I can do "more" and I should not be going someplace so close to home the more determined I am to earn my way into GMU. A "real" college experience and independence are not determined by how far away you go, but what you choose for yourself, be it a few miles from your house or thousands across the country. I know myself better than anyone else and my intuition continues to tell me that Mason is it.

College is your first big and independent choice to make, and if you make it based off of what everyone else seems to want for you, you could potentially lead yourself

Scholarship watch College is expensive these days, and many people need help paying for it. There are many of scholarships out there and some are not too hard to get. Check here for scholarships each issue or log into your Blackboard and click family connection for more ideas. Scan the QR codes for more information on each scholarship. There will be sport, minority, merit, and service based scholarships, look here to find these types of scholarships.

Sweet and Simple Scholarship 2017 Essay: Yes, 250 words or less.

"Not every gift has to be expensive or extravagant. Sometimes it's the sweet and simple things that make a real difference in our lives. Think back and tell us about something you received as a gift and why it meant so much to you."

Reward: $1,500 Deadline: Feb. 28, 2017

Superpwer Scholarship 2017 Essay: Yes, 250 words or less.

"Which superhero or villain would you want to change places with for a day and why?"

Reward: $2,500 Deadline: March 31, 2017

National Peace Essay Contest Essay: Yes, 1,500 words.

Provide recommendations to address the refugee/IDP crisis, which you see facing the country in which you are now posted.

Reward: $1,000 - $10,000; plus an all expenses paid trip to D.C. and/or a full scholarship semester at sea.

Deadline: March 15, 2017

Statue of George Mason on the campus of GMU.

down the path of living for others the rest of your life.

College is about you and only you; not your friends, your boy/girlfriend, your parents, or even your teachers.

It is you who will be spending four years, if not more, of your life at that college, whichever one it may be. It is you who will be paying your tuition, you who will be making the best (or worst) of where you are and what you have, you who will be living.

When it comes down to it, this is why I want to attend GMU - it feels like home. Short and simple, but also incredibly true. It has felt like home for me since my very first visit the summer before my eighth grade year.

Everything there feels like the absolute perfect fit,

from the endless diversity of the students to the professors to even the food. Walking onto a college campus should feel like falling in love, like entering a room and only seeing the person you want to spend the upcoming years with.No doubts, no second thoughts. And that is exactly what GMU feels like to me - a place I can and hopefully will call home.

Good luck to all the seniors this year who are debating between schools and to my class of 2018 for next year with our own college applications and decisions! Remember that "college is a match to be made, not a prize to be won."

What's your dream college?

"UCLA because it's in California and it's a good school."

Manny Precht freshman

"JMU because I like the campus and the girls there."

Alejandro Casquino Sophomore

"George Mason because it's so close and has everything I need. Plus it's pretty good in the business sector" Elliot Alwes junior

"My dream college would be George Washington University because they have an excellent Medical school and they're close."

Heaven Lemma junior

IB Spotlight: Kimberly Romero

"Maryland College because they have a good lacrosse team."

Alex Bellem sophomore

"UCLA because they have good dental careers and it's away from everyone I know."

Amanda Nguyen senior

"Virginia Tech because my mom went there and it is a beautiful campus."

Emma Kilewer sophomore

"JMU because everyone has a good time."

Danyom Beyne senior

Sudoku

Senior Kimberly Romero, balances her time between sports, running, music, animals and studying for her full IB schedule. She studies hard and hopes to graduate with an IB Diploma in June and go on to atend college in Buenos Aires.

Q: How do you keep up with your academics and social life?

A: I try to prioritize certain tasks and events based on what I should do rather than what I want to do. I try to do homework the day I receive it so that I'll have free time during the weekend, or even later that day, to hang out with friends.

Q: What are your studying habits?

A: I try to start on my homework as soon as I get home from school and leave the studying for last. That way I have time to dedicate my attention to my notes. I listen to either classical music or piano music while I study.

Q: What is your favorite IB subject?

A: My favorite IB subject is Anthropology. Learning about different cultures is something that has always fascinated me!

Q: What are your plans after high school?

A: After high school I plan on studying abroad in Argentina. I'll be going to college in Buenos Aires and exploring Patagonia while I'm there. I intend on majoring in Environmental Engineering and then in Veterinary Science.

Q: How are you going to prepare for the IB exams?

A: I am going to take out all of my old notes and study them little by little each day. I will most likely have Skype sessions with my friends and make studying fun.

Q: What is your extended essay topic?

A: I selected anthropology as my subject. My specific question was, "To what extent has the modern world impacted beliefs and values of the Mayan and Incan cultures that exist today?" To further my research, I traveled to Riviera Maya, Mexico and Cuzco, Peru.

Q: Is your only focus academics?

A: While I do love to learn, I don't only focus on academics. I love playing sports and running. Music and animals are also another passion of mine.

Q: Who is your favorite IB teacher?

A: Mr. Kelly! He always makes our TOK classes exciting. It was through the first year of his class that I overcame my shyness of speaking.

Q: What advice would you give future IB diploma candidates?

A: Definitely try to be organized. Managing your time well not only saves you from so much stress, but it also will help ease your IB journey! Also, remember to breathe and take a break every now and then. School is important, but so is your health.

Q: What skills do you think the IB program has taught you that can help you later in life?

A: The IB program has taught me how to manage my time and have confidence in myself. I have been able to overcome many obstacles and complete homework assignments that teachers said wouldn't be possible to complete the night before. It's not only a program that requires you to focus on your academics and strive for the best, but it is also a program that teaches you a lot about yourself as well.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

A: In 10 years I see myself traveling the world (hopefully with my dog!), volunteering, and possibly having my own business.

Directions:

1. Place numbers where they do not already exist.

2. The game only contains numbers 1-9.

3. The goal of sudoku is to place 1-9 in the empty spaces so that each row, column, and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once.

Get the Answers!

On your smartphone, scan this code using the application QR Code get the answer to the Sudoku.

HEALTH 7 Dangers of achieving an ideal body

Jan. 17, 2017

Resolutions push teens to take part in extreme diets

BY JUDY NANAW Health Editor People think that once January rolls around, they will suddenly be able to easily lose all of the weight they want. However, just because it is a new year does not mean that humans can now have this super ability.

"Since it's right after Christmas everyone just gorged themselves on holiday treats and all these different junk foods," senior Maddie Schinstock said. "Now they think they need to lose all this weight and it's a new year so they might as well start it here."

The goal to lose weight often leads to harmful practices, such as pushing one's body too hard when exercising and depriving it of its necessary food and calories.

These acts can do the opposite of making one healthier by bringing upon dangers to one's body that they did not have before beginning their New Year's diet.

In addition, unhealthy habits can bring serious stress as crash dieting results in increasing the brain's levels of the stress hormone corticosterone. This can ultimately widen the risk of falling into depression or binge-eating behaviors.

Interestingly enough, crash dieting, or dieting with the aim of achieving very rapid

results, can lead to future weight gain rather than the initial goal of shedding weight.

After limiting foods for so long, when coming off of a crash diet and eating normally again your body will want to rebuild by storing all the necessary fat it was deprived of.

There is also the danger of not eating enough and restricting the nutients your body needs.

"You can go overboard and stop eating and just eat little bits which is not good for the body," senior Areeba Atique said.

Similar to damaging diets, excessive exercising may lead to mental complications like becoming more irritable, moody and self-conscious as well as becoming more prone to eating disorders. Anorexia and Bulimia are common disorders that can quickly affect someone who wants to shed weight without them noticing. Moreover, if one continually exercises, their mind is constantly pumping adrenaline and their thoughts are racing too fast, which upsets their sleep cycle and makes falling asleep much more difficult.

Exposing yourself to abrupt calorie restrictions and too much exercise causes the body and brain to alter

significantly as they are not used to the stress that is suddenly brought upon them.

The at first harmless New Year's Resolution will start to hold back the body's main function to survive.

"It's never realistic because it's in the middle of January and when you're inside and it's snowing outside, all you want to do is sit there and ignore homework and eat chocolate and junk food." Schinstock said.

"Maybe if it was in the summer [the goal] would be easier to reach, but in the winter it never is."

A lot of people will fail in their New Year's Resolution to lose weight and will be exhausted after attempting it.

This is true because many of these weight-loss seekers set up their goals too big and too fast. It is more effective to make goals specific and realistic so that they are levelled with what one's body can deal with.

Over time, the goals can be altered to be more challenging, but not until one can physically and mentally handle it.

"I think especially when you're a teenager it's very easy to get caught up in losing weight and think that it's only about the active losing weight and losing more weight whereas I think it should be more about just being healthy." Schinstock said.

Instead of aiming for a target weight, it is a better idea to begin 2017 by making a goal to make healthier food choices and moderately exercise.

In other words, break the one big objective into smaller and more measureable ones. This can be as simple as switching out chips for fruit and freeing 30 minutes in your

schedule to fit in a daily workout.

It is also good to start tracking your progress as you work on these aims in order to ensure that you are doing well.

Using smartphone apps such as MyFitnessPal allows you to keep track of the foods you are eating and workouts you are doing. More likely than not, when you are aware of your behavior, you can change it.

"Don't worry about it too much," Atique said. "It's okay if you end up failing it because half of the people don't even achieve their New Year's resolution."

It is important to keep in mind that our bodies cannot cope with sudden changes before jumping into harmful diets and exercise routines.

Even though one may think they are doing a good thing for themselves by setting up the goal to lose weight this new year, if they are not careful with their choices they can bring great trauma to their well-being.

Overall, having this objective is not necessarily a bad thing as long as it is done correctly. The dangers that come with it occur when someone is not informed on the possible risks of certain actions. This is why it is safer to begin with smaller goals and slowly progress as your body adjusts to the changes in your routine.

Rethink the resolution to lose weight and whether you are doing it for the right reasons-- is it for your own good and health, or for a certain way you want to look? Take it easy on yourself and work on your mind before your abs this year.

How are you improving Marijuana use is low despite legalization your health in 2017?

BY KATIE POPE Staff Writer

"I'm handling stress in my workload and making sure I organize beforehand because I used to procrastinate a lot last year."

SAVANNAH GRAVITT

"I've been doing sports and I haven't done that many since last year so it has been helping."

LUIS ACEVEDO freshman

"I'm running in my neighborhood and cutting back on eating chips and eating more fruits."

GALILEA SEJASMACHADO

"I'm going on a lot more walks [to improve my health in 2017]."

ALEX OHENE-OKAE sophomore

sophomore

freshman

According to the Washington Post, in Colorado from 2010-2015, the use of recreational marijuana has stayed decreased among 10th and 12th graders. Even with the growing acceptance of the drug, researchers have found that increased accessibility has no significant effect on usage. Ever since Colorado and Washington first legalized recreational marijuana in 2012 for adults over the age of 21, Alaska, California, Nevada, Oregon, Maine, Massachusetts and D.C. later legalized it as well.

Many suspected that the exploitation of marijuana would increase with legalization, however that is not the case. Perhaps teens have a better understanding of the dangers than most think. The constant health lessons that emphasize the effects of smoking have left an impression on many teens, deterring them from smoking despite growing acceptance in the U.S. According to the Fairfax County Public School youth survey results, 2% of eighth graders used marijuana in 2015. 9.3% of tenth graders used marijuana in 2015, and

According to CNN, one in eight U.S. adults say they smoke marijuana.

abnormally low blood flow to the brain, specifically in the hippocampus, which is the part of the brain that regulates emotions and is associated with long-term memory.

Even with the legalization of marijuana, people are still opposed to it and its bad influence. Additionally with social media taking over teens' lives, celebrities who advertise their smoking activities surprisingly do not seem to be affecting usage rates either.

Still, there are some advocates of legalizing the drug nationwide because they believe that there will be more positive effects in the community aspect.

"I think it should be legal because all the drama and violence and all the issues that are coming from it is because it's illegal," senior Bitania Endalkachew said.

"You should not regulate what I put into my body."

With the topic of marijuana spreading all over the internet, community and news, it would seem reasonable for smoking to become more common; however, the majority of people still do not smoke. The concern and negative connotation of weed is still very much present and recreational use may not rise in upcoming years despite legalization.

Recreational marijuana has yet to be legalized in all fifty states, but if it is eventually legalized nationwide, will it affect the teenager's futures? According to these recent studies, probably not. Usage rates may continue to follow this trend and remain low. The general knowledge of marijuana and its possible risks remains imprinted into the public's mind and despite outside influences, smoking is not increasing.

"I think it should be legal because all the drama and violence and all the issues that are coming from it is because it's illegal. You should not regulate what I put into my body."

Bitania Endalkachew senior

"I'm focusing a lot on sports like track and lacrosse and then hopefully I'll be running more than I did last summer."

MEGAN LEE

"I'm going to eat healthier because if I do that it's going to help me in sports and other activities."

WESLEY VAUGHN junior

junior

"I'm trying to drink more water so I'm going to carry a water bottle with me everywhere because I usually don't."

KAREN LARA

"Trying to manage stress by sleeping 30 minutes earlier. I usually sleep 12:00 to 2:00 a.m."

GABE HUSMAN senior

senior

20% of twelfth graders used marijuana in 2015 within Fairfax County Public Schools.

"I think smoking is one of the worst things someone can do to their body," senior Hunter Sloan said.

"Marijuana can make a person do things they wouldn't normally do and it fills your lungs with smoke and kills brain cells."

Professional Alzheimer Scientist, psychiatrist and founder of the U.S.-based Amen Clinics, Dr. Daniel Amen, researched the effects of marijuana on the brain.

His research led to his theory that smoking marijuana restricts blood flow to the brain therefore causing damage to the memory as well as the ability to reason The main damage that the brain scans revealed was

Health issues linked to sitting for too long Get up from your seat to avoid back pain, heart attack and cholesterol Students spend most of their time in school sitting.

With classes lasting approximately an hour and 45 minutes each, the majority of the school day consists of students sitting in their chairs, crouching over their desks as they take notes. Aside from the seven minutes between class changes, students don't often have the time to stand up or stretch.

According to WebMD, sitting for extended periods of time can affect both your physical and mental health.

Long durations of sitting partnered with improper posture can have lasting effects on your body. For example, slouching in a hard, solid chair can lead to a damaged tailbone when students put too much much pressure on the end of their spine.

The Cleveland Clinic states that good sitting posture involves sitting up straight with your shoulders back.

Rather than sitting on the edge, your bottom should touch the back of the chair. Disregarding these tips will result frequent back pain and the possibility of spinal issues. Additionally, resting your feet on a ledge or elevating your feet in any position promotes bad posture.

Instead, your feet should be flat on the ground to ensure that your weight is evenly distributed. Bad posture will not only affect your back but the pressure will also add stress to your neck and shoulders.

"Sometimes my shoulders and neck get pretty stiff

PHOTO BY JULIE NGUYEN

BY JULIE NGUYEN Health Editor

Sophomore Richard Le rests on his arm and slouches while using the computer. Students should get in habit of straightening their backs while sitting and occasionally stretching.

while I'm sitting in class," senior Julia Sheehy said. "I often try to switch my sitting position to get comfortable and ease the pain."

With more technology-based classes, students often work in computer labs and spend most of their class time on a laptop or computer. As students type, resting their arms at a strange angle can lead to tension in their muscles.

"I think it's a new thing for your back to hurt because of technology," senior Fatima Jaradat said. "We're always looking down at our phones or looking at a computer, which is not necessarily eye-level."

To avoid any pain, doctors suggest that you refrain from sitting for more than 30 minutes. They encourage that patients monitor their time and get out of their seats to stretch if sitting for longer than half an hour is needed.

In addition to this, the hours teenagers spend hunched over their phones go by unnoticed and ultimately heighten the strain put on their necks, shoulders and backs. When someone is consumed with technology they will likely forget to fix their posture.

Researchers have found that too much sitting is linked to a number of health risks, some shocking while others more obvious.

Andrea LaCroix, the director of the Women's Health Center of Excellence at the University of California, San Diego, found that extensive sitting relates to heart attack and heart disease. In her 2014 study, she found that people who sit for longer than 11 hours a day were at the highest risk.In addition to those cardiovascular issues, LaCroix found that sitting for too long can also be linked to high blood pressure, obesity and bad cholesterol. The combination of these problems increases the risk of death and preventative steps should be taken.

WebMD recommends limiting sitting time by investing in a standing desk. Seeing as most daily activities like driving, watching TV and going to the toilet involve sitting, adjusting your work environment could be beneficial for your health.

"I wouldn't necessarily blame the long school days, but the fact that in school we're always sitting down.

Maybe we need to be more active," Jaradat said.

Schools should implement more time for standing and active classroom activities which would allow students to rest their backs, ultimately reducing stress and pressure on their bodies.

The eight hour school days are exhausting enough and having to stay seated for hours does not promote good health. Students tend to slouch as they try to get comfortable and a common classroom image is of students resting their heads on their desks.

Since it is out of their control while in school, students should limit their sitting time while they are at home.

Make sure to fit time into your schedule to move. Going outside for a short walk or taking a break from homework to do some stretches can help prevent back pain caused by stiff muscles.

To promote good posture, less stress and better health, teachers should try to incorporate stretch breaks and more hands-on activities that will get students out of their seats.

8 PHOTO

Jan. 17, 2017

In the morning when Harris arrives he fixes and checks the desks before his students come in. "One time, someone hid an apple in the desk and another kid touched it years later and no matter how many times he washed his hands, they weren't clean," Harris said. "Now after every class I fix the desks and chairs and make sure there's no food on or in them."

KATIE POPE

Technology Education teacher Phillip Harris getting out of his car to start his normal day at 6:30 a.m. "I have an Avalon and a sports car but I only drive it on nice weather days," Harris said. Every morning Harris wakes up at 4:30 a.m. and tries to get on the elliptical machine for at least 30 minutes. He starts getting ready for school at 5 a.m.

KATIE POPE

KATIE POPE

I spy Phillip Harris

KATIE POPE

Harris talking to his Electronics 1, Electronics 2 and Advanced Robotics class. He starts off every class by talking to his students about upcoming competitions and explains what they have to do to be prepared for them. He then sends them off to do their projects.

KATIE POPE

KATIE POPE

Sports marketing teacher Michael Strand talking to Harris in between classes in the hallway.

Both teachers talk about sports, mutual students, and warn students to behaveb while transitioning between classes.

Instead of eating lunch, Harris goes into his office to put grades in the grade book and check his email. "I like my office because I have a 3D color printer nearby," Harris said. "The problem is kids use the printer too so they have to come into my office."

KATIE POPE

KATIE POPE

Junior Christopher Williams asking Harris for help on his electronic project which is located at the bottom left of the photo. Williams is in Electronics 2 and is head of an upcoming tech competition.

After practice, Harris goes back to his classroom and sets up for his classes the next day. After, he heads home to watch movies with his wife.

Harris is the head coach of track and field and holds practice everyday after school. He mainly coaches outside but on days where it is too cold or rainy, he holds practice inside.

ARTS 9

Jan. 17, 2017

Students prepare for spring musical

BY SERENE GHUL AND FARES AYOUB Arts Editor and Staff Writer

Senior Danyom Beyene finds this spring one of the most bittersweet times of his life.

This musical may be his last time performing up on stage.

Beyene has been performing in musicals since he was 12 and has been a part of almost every musical at AHS during his time here.

Beyene tried out for his top choice, the prince, on Jan. 9.

Other students looking to try out were required to turn in all paperwork beforehand.

For the audition, students were asked to prepare a monologue of their choice.

Each audition lasted around 5 minutes, with the judges asking a series of questions revoling flexibility and dance abilities.

Students were also asked about their level of comfort performing specific scenes with performers of the opposite gender which got a few laughs from judges.

They were also given multiple songs to practice, one of which they would be asked at random to sing a few measures of for the judges.

With a total of roughly 35 students auditioning over the course of two days, the teachers had a lot of decisions to make.

Pat Vaughn, choir teacher here at AHS, is beyond excited to be apart of the musical directing of what he calls an "absolute classic."

Vaughn is looking very forward to this this musical and had a lot to say.

"I just love the music in Cinderella and it's just a classic story of love and kindness and ethic and there's a lot of truths that you can take from the musical and use it in your life students will not only enjoy performing, but be able to use what they have learned in everyday."

Although this will be Vaughn's first year as the choir teacher, he is no beginner when it comes to musicals.

Vaughn has directed over 30 different musicals.

Dirrecting along with Pat Vaughn, Katherine Brunburg, will be teaching the elements of the musical such as stagework and acting.

The musical will take place the week after spring break in April. The musical will be performed in our very own auditorium.

SERENE GHUL

Theater takes on Cinderella

Junior Daryna Hoch sings the first four measures of The Little Mermaid, "I Am a Princess" in front of a set of judges for her audtion for Cinderella.

There will be four performances taking place. One performance on Thursday and Friday, and Saturday will have one regular time as well as a matinee show.

Once auditions have taken place, after a few days students will be called back for further audition or questioning.

Vaughn described the type of students they were looking for in the musical, "Commitment, people that come that are ready to work hard and that do what

they are told and actually work outside of rehearsal, outside of class."

Fortunately, the AHS Theater Company will not need to complete fundraising in order to make the play happen.

Because Cinderella is a classic as well as a Disney movie, it appeals to people of all ages.

Parents, teens, and kids, can all look forward to the musical. This is another reason why this musical was chosen.

"We're trying to build an audience so little kids can come see this such as middle, high school, college and adults and it appeals to everybody not just one certain group of people." Vaughn said.

Students are just as excited to be performing as teachers are about directing.

Beyene, finds himself constantly reminicising about all the good memories that come with performing.

Beyene also hopes to be casted one of the three male leads: prince being his first choice. With Cinderella having such a wide variety of roles, chances of being a part of the cast is greater.

The positions needed for this play go beyond just acting. The directors are also looking for dancers as well as gymnasts.

Many extras are needed in order to make the Disney classic as realistic as possible.

"Plays take a lot of commitment, so if you're lucky to be apart of one, you should put your best effort into every performance." Beyene said.

Cinderella, like any other musical, is going to take a lot of work in order to be successful.

With effort and determination of our students and teachers, they will work to make it one of the best performances yet.

"It's my senior year and it may be my last time performing. I'm hoping to have a good time performing with my friends up on stage and giving it my all." Beyene said.

Stuck indoors during snowdays? Try this DIY! Building a no-sew sock snowman 2.

MATERIALS NEEDED

3.

· 1 White sock · 1 Colored Sock · Rice · Rubber bands or thread · Colored buttons · Ribbons

After filling it, tie the top with a rubber band and take another rubber band and place it in the middle to form the head.

Start by filling one of your socks with rice until the size of the sock snowman is to your liking.

To begin, gather all the needed materials listed to the left.

5.

6.

· Glue gun · Markers/paint · Orange pom poms Total Cost: $10-15 Total Time: 45 minutes Purchase materials at: Michael's- Spring Mall Center, 6717 Spring Mall Dr, Springfield, VA

Now take three buttons of your choice and glue them to the bottom portion with a hot glue gun.

Take black paint and paint the mouth and eyes. Afterwards take pom poms and hot glue them between the eyes and mouth to make the nose.

Take some ribbon and wrap that around the neck and cut the remaining sock off. Roll it up and place it on top as the hat.

Featured artist Q&A: Daniel Chamul Q: What's your favorite part about art?

A: My favorite part about art is that you can express your creativity in an infinite number of different ways and the fact that there's no rules or guidelines to what I can and cannot do.

Q: Who inspired you to start art?

A: My sixth grade teacher is the one I'll give credit to because she introduced me to art and she was an artist herself, as well as exSenior Daniel Chamul enjoys painting naturetremely caring and motivational. themed art.

Q: What advice do you have for aspiring artists?

A: My advice to aspiring artists is to just do it! Find someone that inspires and motivates you and go for it because there really are no restrictions or rules as to what you can create.

This pastel piece was one of Daniel Chamul's first pieces which shows a vibrant and bright side of artwork.

PHOTO COURTESY OFYUKI ZHENG

PHOTO COURTESY OFYUKI ZHENG

Q: What gave you the idea to create this piece?

A: The idea for this piece came to me naturally, considering art does not have any restrictions.

Daniel Chamul was inspired to do this piece with acrylics based off of his love for working on space related pieces.

PHOTO COURTESY OFYUKI ZHENG

Q: How long have you been practicing art?

A: I've been working on art since the sixth grade, therefore it's been a good six years.

Q: What do you usually enjoy painting?

A: I love painting space related pieces, specifically the galaxy.

These pieces to the right are all by senior Daniel Chamul. The majority of these pieces were done in his art class over the years. Do you want to have your art featured in the next issue of The A-Blast? Each issue, the Arts page will pick a student's art from submitted content and feature their work of art on the Arts page.

All media is welcome, whether it be a painting, doodle, poem or song. Videos can be submitted too! Send all submissions to theablast2016@gmail.com, or send it to our dropbox (using the same email as above) for files larger than two GB.

PHOTO COURTESY OFYUKI ZHENG

Q: What style of painting do you enjoy best?

A: I don't have a personal favorite when it comes to a particular style of art, however I do enjoy working with water colors and acrylics.

Daniel Chamul did this painting that reads "LOVE" in special characters dedicated to his girlfriend Yuki Zheng.

Daniel Chamul did this watercolor piece of flowers because he simply enjoys working on pieces where he can get an inspiration from nature.

10 IN-DEPTH

Jan. 17 2017

IN-DEPTH 11

Jan. 17 2017

F ST AND INEXPERIENCED Toyota RAV4 4 1996.

Silver Nissan

Green Infinity 1997.

Dark Blue Honda

1977 British MGB Roadster.

Descriptions of driving schools

Match the car to the driver I park at the school near Ossian hall. I love my parking spot because it's next to my friend's parking spot.

Alberto Sandoval, junior I got my car in mid July. I've had it for about six months. This car means I have more freedom but also more responsibilities too because I use it to go to work after school.

Jason Danh, junior

Jessica Smith, senior I got my car when I got my license! I was 16 and a junior. It was my mom's car for almost 10 years, so when it was time for me to get a license, she gave it to me. I'm super grateful for all the transportation it has provided!

My dad bought it from a friend. I park at the school's parking lot. It helps me with transportation to get to my practices.

Match the right driver's license with their car above!

Coach Hughes I used to have one when I was younger, it was a red convertable. I was looking to get another one and I found this one.

I've been driving it ever since.

ANSWERS: Alberto's car is the last car, Valeria's car is the third car, Jason's car is the fourth car, Jesscia's car is the second car and Mr. Hughes car is the first car.

Valeria Arnao, junior

Behind the wheel at AHS

Titus Driving School

Keys Driving School

My experience behind the wheel was actually quite exciting. Basically I was going to get my license, and finally have my parents let me drive alone.

This was a huge deal for me. I took the test at DMV because I was 18 and finally eligable. Waiting nine months before I could do so was probably the hardest part. I was nervous behind the wheel when taking my test because of the anxiety but other than that, the test went smoothly and I got my license.

It's a driving school located in Alexandria. The training programs that are available help first-time drivers become familiar and comfortable with driving. It helps them become comfortable with traffic situations, safety and preparations for emergencies.

Keys Driving School offers behind the wheel training. It is a professional driving school. The good thing is that they are flexible with their schedule so it can fit in with yours. They offer free home pick up from their Alexandria location.

Find them at: 5335 Duke St #503, Alexandria, VA Contact them: (571) 217-1441

TOOBA SIDDIQUE senior

Find them at: 5208 Dawes Ave, Alexandria, VA Contact them: (703) 303-5020

How distractions can affect our reactions

BY CASEY NYGUEN Staff Writer For most adults, driving is like second nature. Just like breathing, it has become a natural instinct. For teenagers, like ourselves, driving is a whole new experience that we have yet to be fully skilled in. New skills require time, focus, and effort to master. But how can we be focused when we are surrounded by distractions?

The use of technology is rising day by day. We all rely on our gadgets, using various technologies to accomplish even the simplest tasks in our daily lives. It has become an addiction that we can't shake off by spending endless amounts of time on our smart phones.

"We have to have it in our possession, and when we don't, it's like something is missing," Driver's Ed teacher Mr. Hughes said. We feel an uncontrollable urge to check or respond to our notifications, even when we are behind the wheel.

Distraction is a major danger to drivers today. From having too many passengers in the vehicle to trying to change the channel on the radio. It is easy to lose your attention and get into a fatal crash. Cell phone use, for example, is among one of the main causes of car crashes today, there are about 1.6 million crashes annually.

"I always have the urge to jam to Kanye while driving, so I'll be constantly changing the song until I find something I like," senior Kevin Huynh said.

Despite this, there are many other deadly driving distractions.

Using one's car as a place to eat and drink like a restaurant is risky. According to the New York Times, 80 percent of all car crashes are caused by drivers being more focused on eating rather than the road ahead.

Chatting and gossiping to friends and occupants inside the car could also distract the driver. However, it does not always have to be an outside influence that distracts you.

The sign at the front of the school reminds students to be care while driving as they leave

Detaching from reality and thinking about the hectic day you had could be harmful as well.

"If you are not paying attention to what's going on around you, only glancing up and not scanning, you're going to miss something," Hughes said, "Another driver could be making a mistake and hit you."

Teen drivers are at a higher risk than any other age group to be

involved in a crash. For many young drivers, a smartphone is almost constantly absorbing their attention.

Notice how in the hallways, students move from class to class without looking away from their screens.

Apart from the screens, students wear headphones listening to music.

A handful of students walk with their sight and hearing occupied. They are completely oblivious to those around

them, causing them to tumble and bump into each other.

So of course, nothing good would come out of it while they are using their cell phones while driving. According to New England Cable News, 11 teenagers die every day as a result of texting while driving.

"Texting right now is more prevalent than even driving under the influence. Each year it goes up four percent as the cause of crashes," Hughes said.

It also doesn't help that teenagers are more prone to distraction.

Even more so, as they attempt to figure out the ups and downs of being behind the wheel. When compared to an experienced driver, they are four times more likely to get into an automobile crash when using a cellular device.

"They need to pay more attention and be more alert they're not as experienced at spotting things and it takes them a little longer to do so," Hughes said.

However, the dangers of using

smart phones while driving are not news. We hear it over and over again: don't text and drive. The statement has practically been implemented into our brains by now.

Even when we do know of the dangers, why are we so stuck to our phones?

"It's an urge that when you have that phone with you and when it's available, it's hard to not check it," Hughes said, "Everybody thinks that it is okay because nothing bad is going to happen and unfortunately this is not the case."

It is not just about what is in front of you that you don't see, it is what is going around you. It takes less than a minute to look down, text something, and look back up. By keeping the phone out of sight and out of reach, you ensure safety for yourself and others around you.

The next time you're behind the wheel and an incoming text pings, think of the consequences until the urge of picking up that phone stops.

6 quick car tips and tricks

1. Warm up your car?

Did you know that you might be warming up your car wrong? According to the Washington Post, you should warm up your car no longer that 30 seconds. Warming it any longer contributes to wasting fuel.

2. Hands on the wheel!

Everyone could be guilty of this, but once in awhile check to see if your hands are on the correct position.

You should not have a tight grip on the wheel and your hands should be on the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock position.

3. Always getting lost?

A popular and reliable GPS app drivers use is Waze. Not only does it have an appealing avatar, but it warns you of traffic jams, police nearby and it's free!

2. Clear the fog Shaving cream may serve two purposes. Put shaving cream on your windows from inside and wipe it off.

The ingredients of shaving cream are simillar to de-fogger products.

Do you have a driver's permit/license?

Red, yellow, oh no!

BY MARINA CHEN Special to The A-Blast

"No I do not have my license. It's because my parents work in the afternoon and we don't have time to get it."

SESINA BEYENE

"Yes. I do have my permit to help my mom run errands."

JOSE VELASQUEZ sophomore

"There's a large amount of public transportation so I never really found it important to learn how to drive."

"I don't have a driver's license because I don't have my own car to drive."

CHIOMA OKOH junior

ALEX BANKS

sophomore

junior

2. Abe & tire change

2. How to get unstuck

Typically, you are supose to check your tires before you get into your car. You should do the Penny test on your tires regularly. Put Lincoln's head down between the grooves of the tire. If you can't see the top of Lincolnc's head, your tires are fine.

Oddly enough, keep a heavy bag of cat litter in the back of your car. It will add extra weight so the tires will remain in contact with the road when it snows. You could also but cat litter on the ground to give your tires more traction.

"I am 18 working on getting a permit, but I don't have my permit because I am afraid to drive. I don't trust myself as a driver."

DIANA YOUSSOUF senior

"I got my driver's license as a means of transportation."

CHAZ POINDEXTER senior

"I don't have my driver's license. Mainly because I am caught up in school priorities and don't feel safe on Virginia roads."

JADE CANTU senior

"I have my driver's license because I think it's useful for a senior to have a car. It's easy transportation."

DANIEL AGUILAR

senior

It was late. It would have been pitch black outside too, if it weren't for all the streetlights and car headlights.

It was around nine at night, and I was driving my dad around in Maryland. He wanted to expose me to the countryside, all while trying to fit all of my driving hours in before school started so I can get my driver's license.

After an hour of driving that night, I was exhausted and longed to sleep, so I asked my dad if we could start heading home. I stopped at a stop sign and I looked over at him, trying to read his expression. Then after five awkward minutes later he reluctantly accepted the fact that I was done driving. I was relieved and started heading back to Annandale.

Little did I know I would be experiencing two more driving lessons that same night.

I was so eager to get back home that I didn't really pay much attention to the speed limit, especially since I was basically the only one driving on a Sunday night in a rural part of Maryland.

When we left the country part, and started running into more cars, shops, and suburban areas, that's when I started to get really anxious, because at this point I was still a newbie at driving. But I kept calm, for my sake, but mostly to impress my dad.

Next thing I know I was approaching a light at an intersection, when it suddenly turned yellow. I thought about stopping, but I was already halfway through, and the guy behind was still coming on fast.

I thought I'd be better to keep going than risk being hit at the bumper.

However, as I was driving past the light, a car going the opposite

direction of me made a left hand turn and almost crashed right into my side. Instead of ramming right into me, he still had good judgement to slow down and stop before only just nicking my side mirror.

My blood rushed to my ears and my heart was pounding. Even though I was in shock, I couldn't believe that I had kept my composure during that.

I had been in a car accident before, where the guy had crashed into my uncle's bumper at a red light, causing the back window to crack and rain down on the people in the

backseat. However, this time is was different, because nothing too serious happened.

I was proud of myself and apparently my dad also took notice of how well I handled the situation, because after that he murmured, "The first time a careless driver nearly crashed into me I screamed like a little girl," while chuckling to himself. I smiled and for the rest of the drive we were silent.

By the time we got home I was so tired that I plopped right down on the couch and slept for what felt like an eternity.

Do you drive?

A POLL WAS CONDUCTED VIA THE A-BLAST TWITTER ACCOUNT ON JANUARY 5, 2017.

RESULTS CAME TO A TOTAL OF 73.

LIFESTYLES 13

Jan. 17, 2017

Making New Year's resolutions for 2017 Sophomore Kayla Holcomb vows to drink more water and continue to improve in swim by bettering her breaststroke

Senior Brandon Ho talks about setting his goals for the new year and how he can accomplish these goals

BY KAYLA HOLCOMB

BY BRANDON HO

Staff Writer

Videographer

As I jump into the New Year I have many resolutions that I would like to fulfill. I think it is important for people to set resolutions in order to live a fulfilling and healthy life style. It also helps you learn to set and obtain goals. Sticking with a goal helps a lot in people's daily lives. It pushes them to not give up which is a great personal quality to have.

One in particular being getting more sleep. At this point in the year you could say that I am pretty sleep deprived. Many things have to do with this, one of them being sports. Sometimes practices run late or are just at a later time in general.

This also connects with my homework load. Usually I have a lot of homework to do after practice, and if practice runs late I am usually up for a while. I also have a hard time not procrastinating and usually wait to read those 300 page books until the last minute. I say I have time, but end up staying up the whole night before, trying to finish it and get no sleep at all. In order to improve my sleeping schedule I plan to work on getting things done earlier rather than later so that I am not staying up all night stressing to get them done.

I also think being more organized will help me manage my time better, like keeping track of my assignments in a planner or calendar.

Another resolution I have is dropping my swim times. I want to improve on my breaststroke time in particular because it is my best stroke and I would like to get the lowest time I can by the end of the season.

Putting in work during practices instead of slacking off, especially during hard ones, helps me a lot. Running and doing dry land also help me improve a lot with endurance, so I don't get tired as easily. To reach my goal I plan to keep pushing myself during practices and dry land. I want to work on my technique to help shed off as much time as possible. I have noticed that getting

As the new year approaches, I plan on accomplishing a few specific goals before the year ends. Last year, I set goals but never carried them out. This year, I really want to become more organized and successful in the accomplishment of my goals.

My main goal for this year is to be more organized.

I normally tend to just throw all my school work in my backpack and later spend time scavenging through my bag just to find one homework assignment. I have noticed that I am terrible at coordinating, which affects me in both school and life.

I strive to be able to keep all my task and assignments under control. I should start by planning more and writing more in my agenda. If I keep all my homework assignments and events written in my agenda, it should contribute to me being more composed. If I constantly remind myself to write in my agenda, it will be like a calendar for all the things I need to do for school that day.

Another thing I want to do is keep my binder more structured. I normally tend to just cram papers into my binder, never punching holes in them or putting them behind the right divider. If I start doing this then it will be easier to locate my homework and notes without having to look through a large stack of papers. I want to be more organized because if I start now it will only help me succeed more in all my classes and better prepare me for college.

I want to be more involved as well. I want to participate in more in and out of school activities, especially because this is my last year in high school.

I want to be able to make memories and try things that I may not ever be able to do again. I want to take part more in community service, too. The only time I have ever done community service was when I took government and I had to do it for a grade. I feel that I

Sophomore Kayla Holcomb begins her journey to drinking more water.

input from my coach, especially when working on my flip turns helps a lot. I plan to ask more questions when feeling unsure about my technique instead of ignoring it.

My final resolution is to drink less coffee. Usually every morning I start my day with a cup of coffee. I realize this is not the healthiest habit and I would really like to break the routine of drinking coffee everyday.

One reason being that coffee is not very healthy for you and some say that it can even affect your growth.

I plan on achieving my goal by finding new drinks that are healthier and still give me the energy I need to get through the day.

For many people I know, New Year's resolutions can be hard to keep permanently. My advice would be not give up. Even if you slack one day, tomorrow is a new day to start fresh and work harder to keep up with it. Sources say that it only takes two weeks to form a habit, so push hard to make that two week mark and then keep going from there.

Senior Brandon Ho working on his Common App, while also listening to music to stay concentrated.

should be more involved in society and help contribute more. I enjoy helping others but I do not make enough time as I should.

This year, my biggest goal is to exercise more and eat healthier. I plan to exercise at least three times a week for an hour or more. In the spring, I will play baseball again and try to make all the practices possible. Otherwise, I will go to the gym and lift during the week. I will also go on runs when the weather is nice. Along with exercising, I want to eat better.

First, I will drink a lot more water. I will do this by bringing a water bottle with me everywhere I go. I also want to cut out sugar from my diet. Overall, I want to live a healthier lifestyle and feel good about my body.

This year, I plan on accomplishing everything I want to and not to leave my resolutions in the dust. I plan on being more organized in life and in school, socializing more and capitalizing on all the opportunities in my community and lastly to eat healthier.

If I am able to complete all of these goals by the end of my high school year, I will be confident enough to say that 2017 will lead and be successful. However, I know I need to work hard to obtain these goals I have set.

DIY with Katie Pope Peppermint Sugar Body Scrub Simple Mixture to make your body look and feel good Materials Needed 1.

-2 Cups of white granulated sugar -1/2 Cup of olive/coconut oil -Peppermint essential oil -Red food dye -Bowl -Whisk -Measuring cups -Jars and 2 piece lids -Decorating items (optional)

4.

Set out all your materials to make sure you have everything ready to mix.

Mix the olive oil/coconut oil with the sugar in a bowl until it has a pasty consistency.

6.

5.

Add 3 drops of red food dye, and mix until the scrub turns pink.

3.

2.

Transfer the scrub mixture into your jars evenly.

Add four drops of peppermint essential oil into the mixture or until it smells the way you want it.

7.

Decorate the jars (optional). You could use cut pieces of fabric and mini bows, like I did.

Seal the jars tightly and enjoy this winter theme body scrub.

FASHION SPOTLIGHT Nora Hasrat, 12

Q: How did you learn how to dress?

A: I learned from my mom. She's a fashion consultant so she personally shops for her clients.

So I guess shes really influenced me since day one!

Q: Where do you like to shop?

A: My favorite stores to shop at are Forever 21 and Zara.

Q: What are your favorite clothing pieces?

A: My clothing essentials are leggings and an oversized nice sweater.

Q: What is your outfit for school or a date?

A: My key outfit for school or a date is a cute dress with a trench jacket with either knee high socks and boots or cute booties.

Q: On your lazy days what do you prefer to wear?

A: Lazy days I bum to the max. I usually wear a sweatshirt and sweatpants with moccasins.

Q: What is your favorite season to dress for?

A: Winter. I love winter clothes because I feel like you can work with a lot more. I love to layer my clothes plus I feel like it looks really chic.

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

A: It usually takes me about 30-40 minutes.

Q: How much do you usually invest in clothing?

A: I give my self about a 100 dollars each month.

Q: What are your favorite pair of shoes?

A: My Commes Des Garcon high top converse.

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

A: On most days I dress for myself and dress for success. If I flex one day it's because I want to feel good and feel more productive or wake up really early.

Q: Who is your fashion inspiration?

A:. Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner are my fashion icons. It depends on which fashion mood I'm in.

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

A: My Alex and Ani bracelets and a cute choker necklace.

Hasrat in D.C. wearing a unique style of nude pants and pink color sweater.

14 PEOPLE

Jan. 17, 2017

Passion for Performing Arts Senior boys share their aspiration to carry on their specialty after high school

THEATRE

CHORUS

William Rangel

Danyom Beyene

Senior William Rangel began his acting career in sixth grade, after being I cast as Baloo the bear in his first show "The Jungle Book."

After that he continued to participate in all theatrical performances for the next seven years. "The inspiration that sparked my ardor for the theatre was the time I went to go see my first professional show," Rangel said.

In seventh grade, Rangel's theatre program decided to take a field trip to NYC to see a performance from the Broadway cast of "Mary Poppins."

"It was a stunning spectacle of raw talent on the parts of both actors and technicians," Rangel said, "Sitting there, watching it unfold, made me realize how much a performance can mean to the audience, how impactful they are to their character."

Rangel has been very involved in theatre both inside and outside of school. His overall favorite theatrical experience was the time he spent in the Theatre Division of the Governor's School for Visual and Performing Arts.

"During this time I had nothing but new information constantly being delivered to me, Rangel said, "Having the experience as a whole really gave me invite on how a perfect cast can play off each other and execute wonderfully."

Through his involvement in theatre, Rangel has found that the theatre community has a constant radiation of positivity when done with the right people. "There are times in which you'll enter a toxic cast/company in which actors and technicians are all putting on a facade only to further their reputation, Rangel said. However, he believes that when placed with the right cast or company, you will find that the community works like a natural functioning ensemble.

Rangel has big plans for his future, hoping to receive a BFA in Acting after his undergraduates. After that he plans to go straight into the industry then go back for my MFA in Acting after a couple years.

"Hopefully things go as planned!" Rangel said.

Senior Danyom Beyene started singing at a very young age, where he began performing for his church. During Sunday mass, Beyene would play the guitar and at one point, his mom forced him to sing with the choir. "Performing at a church is definitely a very powerful experience because everyone is really emotional and you can feel the spirit," Beyene said.

Several years later, Beyene began his singing career in school. At first, he participated in both musical and theatrical productions at Annandale and later joined the chorus program.

During his sophomore year, he was recruited by previous chorus teacher Jessica Irish, who was in charge of the music for the musical that he was involved in. "I thought choir was boring in middle school since it seemed like all you did was stand around and sing, until I actually joined it and realized it allows me to express myself through music," Beyene said.

Although Beyene started with Irish as his chorus director, Pat Vaughn later replaced her. Beyene usually is not comfortable with new teachers, however he quickly accustomed to Vaughn's teaching techniques and style.

Vaughn has motivated and inspired Beyene to become a better musician, due to the fact that he is more than just a teacher. "Vaughn is friendly, and you can tell him anything and he will not judge you," Beyene said.

Beyene has received recognition and is currently in all district choir. He is also still apart of the theater program, which allows him to sing for musicals and improve his vocals.

He anticipates to be apart of the Cinderella musical, coming in April. It is my last high school musical, no pun intended and I want to go out with a bang," Beyene said.

Both chorus and theater have been a big part of Beyene's life, however he does not plan on pursuing it as a career. "I want to major in information systems but I love singing, performing and music so I do plan on joining any productions or choir in college," Beyene said.

BAND

ORCHESTRA

Ben Betts

Maximilian Rahardjo

From a young age, senior Ben Betts has been an avid musician and performer.

His main activities include playing the trombone and singing, but has also learned the guitar and piano. "I started singing when I was in something like first grade, and joined band when I was in fourth grade," Betts said.

Ever since he was a kid, Betts knew he wanted to make music like his dad, which is where his desire to make music came from. "My dad is a church organist, he's been one of the best musicians I've known for my entire life," Betts said, "He studied at Oxford and has had a really successful career." As a result, he started to find that music came naturally to him.

During his freshman year at AHS, Betts joined band and choir and has been in a bunch of different ensembles since then. "'I've always loved the music teachers at AHS. They always show how much they care and how much they want you to improve and do well," Betts said, "Also, making music with friends is a really good feeling, and I've met some extremely talented people." Betts also has been playing in and out of school, getting experience with different bands and professionals in countries all over the world, such as Cuba.

In addition, he has higher aspirations to continue his passion.

Betts has applied to several schools with good music programs, and hopes to attend the University of Michigan next year. "My plan is to major in music production. That's essentially everything to do with sound technology: live sound and recording, etc," Betts said. As a production major in college you still are required to focus on a primary instrument, and his goal is to become an accomplished producer with great musical skills. "Eventually I hope to work in a studio during the day and perform when I can for extra cash, and because performing has always been one of my favorite things to do."

Senior Maximilian Rahardjo started playing the viola in sixth grade and was recently offered $20,000 from Ithaca College and their school of arts.

He originally wanted to be apart of a guitar class but since it was not offered, he decided to play the viola as the next best thing for him. He finds music to offer people new methods of conveying emotions that words do not properly express.

"I feel that the mellow tone of the viola creates one of the more beautiful, rich expressive sounds," Rahardjo said.

Rahardjo accidentally found his passion with orchestra and since then has joined numerous programs outside of school including summer camps and private clinics. These programs helped him practice and improve to be one of the most recognized in his orchestra class.

Rahardjo has received awards within his program, including being recognized as a viola section leader at both of the concerts that were held this year. As well as being placed first and the viola section principal in districts the past two years.

Every year Rahardjo participates in the annual all-district 10 orchestra events. The orchestra students in the district audition to be placed in a special ensemble that hold a performance every January.

"I have always viewed this as a chance to assess my own skill level compared to the rest of the violists in the area, essentially broadening the scope of competition beyond Annandale," Rahardjo said.

Rahardjo has also enjoyed performing at the district level because it has allowed him to play new types of pieces and meet new people from different schools that have similar passions. "I would say that the district orchestra is my favorite out-of-school activity," Rahardjo said.

He will continue to practice and improve throughout college as a hobby and hopes that his passion will be able to earn him some money aside from his career.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Maria Colombo, senior

"I want to be a doctor."

NATHAN FERSON freshman

"Nothing specific, I just want to be anything successful."

SAM PHAN sophomore

" I want to be an OB/ GYN because I want a give back to the youth.

My mom has done so MICHELLE AKI much for me."

"I wanna be in human resource management."

junior

FATMATA KAMARA senior

"I want to be an ethnologist."

ABBY SPINK freshman

"I want to be a Special Ed instructor."

SANDRA BENITEZ sophomore

"I want to go to Iraq and take on ISIS or I'm gonna be President of the U.S., but that's my last option."

"I want to be a social worker because I want to help kids find permanent families."

ADRIEN HENAO

senior

junior

BRAHIM BANGURA

Senior year has had a very strange feeling attached to it. I am happy to be graduating, looking forward to what life has in store for me, and especially excited watching my friends and peers around me make their own future plans. But it is weird.

No one really talks about it, but we know our days together are numbered and we might never see each other again after graduation day. We will all walk out of Constitution Hall on Thursday, June 15, having had spent the last four (for the most part) years together through the journey that lead us to that very day. As my senior class and I enjoy our last homecoming, last Friday night football game, last winter pep rally ever, and many other events, there is a sadness that comes along with it.

The biggest regret I believe we should have is not getting to know one another and not ending feuds that were made over pity situations. Our class is divided between cliques and what not, but with the few moments we have left we should come together and become more than just classmates. High school despite the rough times, will be the most united you will ever be to your school and classmates. Even

though we have prom, graduation and all night grad to look forward to, it is not enough to get to know everyone and make friendships that will last but we must make the best of it. College is a grand opportunity but it will not be as diverse or as united as high school could have been.

I encourage us to enjoy what we have left of high school. Everyone, including myself, keeps emphasizing how done we feel and how ready we are to move onto the next phase of our life, but no one will admit out loud how we might miss all of this. Not the long, dreadful nights full of work and gruesome hours of practice, but just the fact that we have suffered together and got through it all together. We are a team, whether we'd like to admit it or not.

As everyone gets their college acceptance letters, are awarded scholarships, enlist in the marines or navy, or make their future plans we seem to forget that there are still things to look forward to at home.

There is the last of many things remaining, and first times of many things to come. Through all of the stress, pressure, and anticipation to graduate we must learn to be patient and know that all of our hard work these past years will be worth it, and enjoy the celebration along the way.

SPORTS X-TRA 15

Jan. 17, 2017

The stories behind the names Hundreds of students walk through the jock lobby every day. Many see the sign that contains the AHS track and field records but may not think about what it took for the athletes to get their names on the list. AHS alum, Shannyea Whichard is one of those names.

Whichard, who graduated in 2016 and now attends NOVA, holds the school record for the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.74 seconds. She began track her sophomore year and never expected that she would break a school record that season.

"I didn't think that I would hold the record because coming in there were a lot of fast girls who could have easily gotten the record as well," Whichard said.

Despite her doubt, Whichard was able to rise above and break the record during her very first year of track.

However, she had to work extremely hard to achieve her title.

Whichard participated in track practices that were held every day after school. During those practices, Whichard pushed herself harder and harder in order to shave down her times. From the start, she excelled in shorter distances. However, even record holders have weaknesses.

"The most challenging part of training was running anything above a 200 meter. My body did not like to cooperate with longer distances and I would usually tire out," Whichard said.

Whichard was able to push through the challenges, but she did not do it on her own. It is only Whichard's name that is written on the board, but she had help from others in. She credits much of her success to former sprints coach, Karl Klein.

Whichard claims that Klein, who resigned his position of coach last December, was the person who helped her the most in breaking the school record.

"He definitely always pushed me and talked to me and I knew he wanted to see me succeed," Whichard said.

After all of the work Whichard put in and encouragement she received, she broke the record her sophomore year and had her name put on the board. It was one of the first major accomplishments of her track career.

"It felt pretty good. I had been running track since fourth grade and had only ever accomplished personal records, so it was cool to add something else to my accomplishments," Whichard said.

Any runner would be happy to say that they broke a school record, but Whichard was not only happy with her feat, she was proud of what she learned along the way.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHANNYEA WHICHARD

AHS alumni reflect on their journey of breaking school records

BY GRACE HOGYE Sports X-Tra Editor

Shannyea Whichard, who holds the record for the 100m dash, runs in a varsity relay race.

The challenges and training that went into her track season resulted in much more than just a record. The effort she put in assisted her in developing important qualities that she has kept till this day.

"The biggest take away from breaking the record is that I had to become a leader. I had to work harder to become a role model and leader," Whichard said.

Although Whichard does not currently run on a track team she still carries the memories she made and lessons she learned during her seasons at AHS.

BY RYAN GAMMON Sports X-Tra Editor Most people know him as a normal person that lives an everday life, but Austin Rivas, a graduate of the class of 2013, is a record holder for three track events.

"I have broken the 300 meter dash at George Mason; which was at regionals my senior year, I ran a 49.01 second 400 meter dash senior year at Robonsin during regionals, and I hold a record for the 500 meter dash at

George Mason during regionals my junior year."

This to most athletes and some non athletes is a big accomplishment alone. These events are some of the most difficult races to run.

Rivas still tries to keep up with his daily workout routines, even though he may not be in regional qualifying shape anymore. Some might say it is due to the stress of college, but Rivas is still happy with where he is.

"I ran a year at the University of Virginia, but I did not want to pursue the athletic career as my academcis were getting to be more important, especially going to a school like UVA. I still try to stay in shape even though my times have dropped dramatically; now I run a mile every three weeks and as you can see my mile time is now nine minutes," Rivas said.

Even though he has graduated he has still stopped by from time to time to see how the track team has been improving and getting better.

"It is cool to come back and see where I started my high school career and where I also left it at the same time, it brings back a lot of memories for the season which is a little emotional," Rivas said.

But it is not an end to the bond that Rivas has with the coaches and some of the seniors that still run track at Annandale. Rivas also says that the competition is getting a lot more competetive and new records are being broken.

"I do have a job at Prince Georges county sports plex in Maryland for the past three years, it is good money for a job where you do very little , and I also see Annandale there from time to time so it is cool to see the coaches there, the competition of the runners and also the jumpers has increasingly gotten better with the amount of talent that is being shown in high school now," Rivas said.

Having your name on the board in the jock lobby does come with a lot of responsibility, having been a role model for the next record breakers of Annandale. Also leading his pack or crew in the track meet trying to hypre them up as much as possible. " Being well at track did ccome with advantages and more responsibility on my part. I was relied on a lot by the coaches and was trusted to lead everyone, and if something went wrong I was blamed for it. But it is really an experience and an honor to have my name on not one but three plaques down in the jock lobby where everyone could see my accomplishments."

Q&A with the Tigabu twins Seniors Dagim and Mahiteme Tigabu are both varsity track runners. They have excelled over the years and are now the captains of the team. Dagim specializes in the 5K while Mahiteme specializes in the mile. They are talented athletes and leaders for their team. Both have qualified for various invitationals and meets and are hoping to continue to improve themselves for their last year of track.

Dagim

Mahiteme

Q: What has been your greatest track achievement?

A: My greatest achievement was running a total of almost 700 miles during the summer and also winning at some meets.

Q: What is your biggest goal for the season?

A: My biggest goal for this season and for the spring is to get 9:55 minutes on the two mile and to run under 4:40 minutes for the mile.

Q: What has been your greatest track achievement?

A: My greatest achievement during track was when I won my heat at a race after I was punched in the stomach during the first lap.

Q: What is most challenging about track?

A: The most challenging thing to do is finding motivation to actually run.

Do you have any track horror stories?

A: When I was on a long run, I got lost and ended up running around 13 miles instead of ten.

Q: What is most challenging about track?

A: The most challenging thing about track is the mental barrier and having to keep on running even when it hurts.

Q: Do you prefer the spring season or the winter season?

A: I prefer spring because it is warmer weather and the air is not as cold as winter so it is easier to breathe while running.

What is your favorite thing about track?

A: My favorite thing about track is hanging out with friends at meets. I also like when the team geeks in the locker room.

Q:Which event are you strongest in?

A: I think that I am strongest in the 5K . My time is 16:10 minutes.

Winners

Q: Do you prefer the spring season or the winter season?

A: I prefer spring track over the winter season because it is outdoors. You also have more fresh air to breathe while you run.

Q: Which event are you strongest in?

A: The event I am strongest in is the 1600/mile. My best time is 4:40.

Q: What is your biggest goal for the season?

A: My biggest goal for this season is to run 4:33-38 for the mile Q: Do you have any track horror stories?

A: One time during practice, we were doing a long run and four deers started to chase us.

Q: What is your favorite thing about track?

A: It's the only part of the day where I don't have to think about my responsibilities.

Fantasy Football Winners and losers of the year

Losers

NAME: Matt Ryan TEAM: Falcons POSITION: Quarterback PASSING YARDS: 4,944 PASSING PERCENTAGE: 69.9 TOUCHDOWNS: 38 FANTASY POINTS: 305

NAME: Justin Tucker TEAM: Ravens POSITION: Kicker FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS: 39 FIELD GOALS MADE: 38 FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE: 97.4 FANTASY POINTS: 170

NAME: Jay Ajayi TEAM: Dolphins POSITION: Runnng Back RUSHING ATTEMPTS: 260 RUSHING YDS: 1,272 TOUCHDOWNS: 8 FANTASY POINTS: 170

NAME: Brock Osweiler TEAM: Texans POSITION: Quarterback PASSING YARDS: 2,957 PASSING PERCENTAGE: 59.0 TOUCHDOWNS: 15 FANTASY POINTS:

NAME: Rob Gronkowski TEAM: Patriots POSITION: Tight End REC YDS: 540 RECEPTIONS: 25 TOUCHDOWNS: 3 FANTASY POINTS:

NAME: Mike Nugent TEAM: Bengals POSITION: Kicker FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS: 29 FIELD GOALS MADE: 23 FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE: 79.3 FANTASY POINTS: 91

NAME: Antonio Brown TEAM: Steelers POSITION: Wide Receiver REC YDS: 1,284 RECEPTIONS: 106 TOUCHDOWNS: 12 FANTASY POINTS: 193

NAME: Chiefs POSITION: Defense FUMBLES RECOVERED: 13 INTERCEPTIONS: 10 SACKS: 28 TOUCHDOWNS: 8 FANTASY POINTS: 131

NAME: Kyle Ruldolph TEAM: Vikings POSITION: Wide Receiver REC YDS: 840 RECEPTIONS: 83 TOUCHDOWNS: 7 FANTASY POINTS: 112

NAME: Brandin Cooks TEAM: Saints POSITION: Wide Receiver REC YDS: 1,173 RECEPTIONS: 78 TOUCHDOWNS: 8 FANTASY POINTS: 140

NAME: Danny Woodhead TEAM: Chargers POSITION: Runnng Back RUSHING ATTEMPTS: 19 RUSHING YDS: 116 TOUCHDOWNS: 0 FANTASY POINTS: 19

NAME: Jaguars POSITION: Defense FUMBLES RECOVERED: 6 INTERCEPTIONS: 7 SACKS: 33 TOUCHDOWNS: 2 FANTASY POINTS: 120

16 SPORTS

Jan. 17, 2017

Boys track victorious at DCIAA Invitational

BY JUDE NANAW

BY JUDE NANAW

Sports Editor

Sports Editor

COURTESY OF AKREM IDRIS

The boys indoor track team emerged victorious at the DCIAA Invitational at the Prince George's Sports Complex.

The Atoms took on multiple opponents including South County, J.E.B. Stuart, Eastern High School and South Lakes.

"To get the win we each did our part and worked together to rack up enough points to take the win," sophomore Kyle Dalsimer said.

The Atoms won multiple events including senior Jacob Weber's first place finish in the 55-meter Hurdles event.

Junior Joseph McCoy and senior Reece Carter finished second and third in the same event respectively.

The Atoms' victory came down to a coin toss in the end as the boys team was tied in the score count with South Lakes High School.

"A lot of us runners put in many hours of hard work and practice which paid off at the meet because our hard work helped us pull out the win in the end," junior Nghia Nguyen said.

Along with the victory, the team also showed drastic improvement in times from the seasons opening meet to the DCIAA Invitational.

Senior Akrem Idris sprints down the stretch in a relay at "We want to keep getting better as a team and im- the DCIAA Invitational on Jan. 4 prove on getting some of the runners that are running "We as a team are preparing heavily for conference borderline between JV and varsity to run a little faster because we will be trying to run qualifying times for reand get their times down," Nguyen said.

Many runners improved their personal records at the gionals at the conference meet," Nguyen said.

Many runners are approaching qualifying times in meet in preparation for the Patriot Conference Championorder to qualify for the conference meet and regionals ship meet taking place on Feb. 1.

"We have to keep working to improve for conference meet.

Before the conference meet, the Atoms only have two by putting in the hard work at practice and on our own to meets remaining, the Winter Jacket Classic on Jan. 21. get better individually and as a team," Dalsimer said.

Following the Winter Jacket Classic, the Atoms will "We want to improve a lot come the conference meet so that we can have as many runners as possible qualify for compete at a quad meet against Patriot Conference rivals the Mount Vernon Majors, Lake Braddock Bruins and the Region 6A Championship."

The conference meet will be vital for the Atoms be- South County Stallions on Jan. 28. cause it will be the team's final opportunity to qualify for the Regional meet on Feb. 28.

The girls varsity basketball team was defeated by the Lake Braddock Bruins by a score of 53-44 on Jan. 10 in a tight match-up. The Atoms came out of the gates strong knocking down multiple three point shots in the opening quarter to take a slim 13-10 lead over the Bruins.

In the second quarter the Bruins took the lead for the first time in the game with 16 second quarter points. The score going into halftime was 26-24 favoring the Bruins.

Going into the half, sophomore Sarah Shamdeen lead the Atoms with 10 points and senior Katie Garrish having eight points. For the Bruins, senior Kate Esper and sophomore Alaina Park led their team with eight and seven points respectively.

In the third quarter, the Bruins defense stepped up playing full-court press in some circumstances with forced multiple Atoms turnovers.

"As a team we did not communicate well together and did not box out as well as we could have. We can always improve on those things as a team," junior Grace Hatch said.

The Bruins capitalized on mistakes made by the Atoms which allowed them to open up their lead to 43-30. Lake Braddock outscored Annandale 17-6 in the third quarter which allowed for their 13 point lead heading into the fourth and final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Atoms made a run to cut into the Bruins' significant lead but their efforts would not be enough despite outscoring the Bruins 13-10 in the fourth quarter.

Atoms Head Coach Jimmy Brown instructed the team to intentionally foul in hope of retaking possession and having an opportunity to tie the game.

However, intentionally fouling would not work out for the girls as the Bruins would go on to drain their free throw attempts to win the game 53-44.

"Lake Braddock didn't do much offensively or

SABRINA HAWA

Girls basketball looks to bounce back after loss

Junior Grace Hatch warms up by taking a practice jump shot in a game against Lake Braddock.

defensively that we weren't prepared for. We were just not playing our best basketball," Hatch said.

Garrish led the Atoms with 17 points and Shamden finished with 13 points.

The Atoms coming off a ten point 52-42 victory against the Woodson Cavaliers battled hard against the Bruins but were unable to pull out a victory.

"We plan on working harder in practice on things that we didn't do well against Lake Braddock in order to improve for our next games," Hatch said.

The team looks to improve for coming games against the Mount Vernon Majors on Jan. 17 and South County Stallions on Jan. 19.

Which basketball game will be the most difficult?

"Lake Braddock because their team is athletic and more physical."

"I think West Potomac will be a difficult game because they have a really good team."

IBRAHIM LUSENI

MELAT HAIMINOT

freshman

freshman

"Lake Braddock because they are our hardest opponent in all sports."

"Lake Braddock because they usually win a lot of their games."

VICTOR NGUYEN sophomore

"Woodson will be the most difficult because they are good at all sports."

KENZIE GARDNER sophomore

"South County because they have a good record with all sports including ANDY NGUYEN basketball." junior HOLLY RAMIA

"West Potomac because they are ranked number one right now."

MOIZ AHMER

"I would say Woodson is always our toughest opponent because they are our biggest rival."

SAHSA SILVA

senior

senior

junior

Q&A with Coach Christopher Bagot Q: How long have you been coaching at AHS? A: I have been coaching for all of my time at Annandale. However, I started helping out with coaching football when I was a senior in high school.

Q: What is your favorite part about coaching at Annandale?

A: Being able to give student athletes a good experience playing the sports I coach them in. I also love the comradeship that comes with coaching with other coaches. The shared mission and goals setting gives the job a purpose.

Q: Besides football, track and baseball, is there any other sport you would coach?

A: I love basketball. I attend every Georgetown University home basketball game and enjoy catching other local teams in action. I have been intrigued by the possibility of maybe being a freshman basketball coach.

Q: What advice do you have for underclassmen who are interested in participating in football, track or baseball?

A: To get involved in everything you can. Sports will give you many great experiences that will enhance your high school experience. Being part of team is unique thing and an opportunity to build great friendships. It also should teach you a lot about work ethic, failure and success.

Q: What has been your biggest accomplishment in coaching football, track or baseball?

A: Being a members of the football coaching staff and being a part of two district championship teams. However, I feel like my biggest accomplishment is the relationships I have built over the years with the student athletes and my fellow coaches.

Q: What goals do you set for yourself as a coach?

A: As a coach, I want to give my student athletes a great experience. On the field, my goal is to win a district championship.

Q: What made you want to coach and is there a story behind why you coach?

A: I started helping coach the Atoms when I was a senior in high school and I loved the experience.

Q: Did you run track or play football or baseball growing up?

A: I played football one year in seventh grade, but I grew up playing baseball and basketball. I also have played golf and tennis.

Q: Did you participate in football, track or baseball in high school or college?

A: I played football and baseball for four years in high school and did winter track my junior and senior year. I played four years of college football at Bridgewater College, winning four conference titles. I wasn't a starter but I got to play a lot of games.

Q: What makes you want to continue coaching?

A: It is what I love to do.

JUDE NANAW

Q: How long have you been coaching football, track and baseball?

A: This was my eleventh year coaching football and I am entering my eleventh year coaching baseball. This is my first year coaching winter track.

Despite being a three sport coach, Bagot is also an English teacher at AHS.

Basketball defeated by Bruins 90-78 Team struggles in absence of guard Dontae Johnson

BY ETHAN ZIMMERMAN The Atoms fell to 7-6 record on the season after a difficult loss to the Lake Braddock Bruins by a score of 90-78 on Jan. 10.

The team was missing senior guard Dontae Johnson who was out in the game against the Bruins due to an ejection in the previous game against Woodson.

Johnson recently surpassed the 1,000 point mark in his high school career on a driving lay-up to the basket against Edison.

The team had been working hard all week to prepare for the Bruins.

"We learned that they like to pressure the ball handler from the beginning of games," junior Tyree Anderson said.

The Atoms started off strong jumping to an early lead and battled the Bruins to stay ahead ending the first quarter with a 22-13 lead.

The Atoms practice seemed to be working

COURTESY OF ROBERT FIGLEY

Staff Writer

Senior Robert Figley boxes out Edison's Marquis Washington in a game on Dec. 22.

as the team was beating the Bruins pressure throughout the first.

"We ran press drills to practice beating the pressure by passing instead of dribbling out of it," Anderson said.

The Atoms lead was reduced to just three

points by the end of the second quarter as the Bruins' Corey Pelham hit a buzzer beating 3-pointer at the end of the second quarter.

The Atoms went into halftime leading 35-32.

After two quarters the Atoms looked

strong as the team took a commanding lead once again in the third quarter only to have their lead disappear as the Bruins took a 49-48 lead midway through the third quarter.

"The team's rebounding and defense could have been better," senior Jordan Adams said.

The Atoms regained the lead minutes later with senior Chase Murphy stepping up and delivering multiple consecutive jump shots. The Atoms held onto a narrow lead for the remainder of the third quarter, leading 58-55.

The Atoms continued to fight for the lead throughout the fourth quarter, but due to miscommunication on the court, the team was unable capitalize on multiple Lake Braddock miscues.

The Bruins took back the lead during the fourth quarter and would never look back as the Bruin lead expanded as time went on in the fourth quarter, ultimately resulting in 90-78 loss for the Atoms.

The Atoms will be looking to improve in the coming days before their next few games against conference rivals Mount Vernon on Jan.17, South County on Jan.19 and West Springfield. on Jan.24.

The Atoms will be looking to improve their record and snap their current losing streak.

ssBOYS BASKETBALL PATRIOT

CONFERENCE STANDINGS

1. West Potomac: 11-2 2. W.T. Woodson: 10-3 3. Annandale: 7-6 4. South County: 6-6 5. West Springfield: 6-6 6. Lake Braddock: 5-7 7. Mount Vernon: 4-9

SPORTS 17

Jan. 17, 2017

Wrestling sees improvement Atom comes out on top at annual wrestling tournament

BY LUKE ELKINS Staff Writer

The Grappling Atoms took part in the Joe Verciglio Charger Classic on Jan. 6 and Jan. 7. The event took place at Chantilly High School.

The team fought hard at the meet, six wrestlers were able to place, and one was able to come out victorious. Junior Allen Kokilananda battled and came out on top of the 145 lb. weight class, beating 23 other wrestlers for the title.

"I went in the tournament the 15th seed which really surprised me but I had no problem proving everyone wrong and winning the tournament at 145 pounds," Kokilananda said. "We saw a lot of improvement from young wrestlers and our veterans are always putting up a good show."

Although Kokilananda was the only wrestler to win, Varsity Coach Derek Sweet believes in his team, and believes they have what it takes to succeed.

"We're starting to see the hard work in the [weight]

"That's what you look for and hope for as a coach - dedication, hard work, and growth; both physically and mentally throughout the season. We're starting to see everything come together, which hopefully means that we are, and will be peaking at the right time," Sweet said.

The importance of grit and working hard is important in wrestling, and to get to the finish line, his team only needs to push themselves as hard as they can.

"The team has improved in many ways throughout the season we have bonded so much and technique wise we have gotten much better," said Kokilananda.

"Although the team is not as experienced as previous year's teams, but Sweet believes his team has exceeded expectations this year, even after coming off two very successful seasons in a row.

"Taking into consideration the number of injuries we have had so far this season, I would say that we are exceeding expectations at this point. Wrestling is one of the most difficult sports to pick up if you've never done it before, and we have a lot of young talent doing just that day in and day out - I couldn't be happier with the individual progress I have witnessed thus far," said Sweet.

The Grappling Atoms are preparing for the final stretch of the season, with the Patriot Conference tournament coming up on Feb. 3.

OURTESY OF ALLEN KOKILANNANDA

room pay off on the mat on game-day," said Sweet.

Coach Derek Sweet and Thang Ho congratulate Junior Allen Kokilananda on his 4-2 win at the NOVA Classic on Dec 9.

Shot put throwing for gold Swim and dive struggles

BY KAYLA HOLCOMB Staff Writer

COURTESY OF KELSIE LICATOVICH

As the indoor track season continues the shot put team will be looking to improve their personal records and also looking to improve as a team.

The team has been keeping up with their hard practices throughout the season and their coach, Joel Hoisington has been pushing them to improve their skills.

"My favorite part about shot put is the workouts," junior Mckenzie Yi said.

The athletes focus on their skills during these workouts to better prepare themselves for their competitions.

"I need to improve on my general strength and technique because other throwers have a height advantage that I don't really have," senior Amanda Nguyen said.

Senior Amanda Nyguen, winds up at a meet on Dec 6.

The team also works together to build a better and Despite the team's inexperience in the sport, their stronger team overall. coach is very optimistic in his athletes.

"I think the team has to improve on focusing more to"The best quality that I see in my athletes is untapped gether rather than being individuals," Yi said. potential said Hoisington.

The team is looking forward to their upcoming compeIt's my job to ensure that they reach their potential . titions and are also looking to do well in their individual Overall, the team is excited to see what the rest of the events. season brings and are working hard to improve.

"I am excited to see how my athletes perform at the "The team overall is working hard and doing a fantasend of the season and at the conference meets," Hoising- tic job I wouldn't change anything," Ward said. ton said.

The girls distance team was successful in the fall during "I'm looking forward to seeing everyone PR and hav- cross country. Many of the girls have been together on the ing our top throwers go to states said Yi. same team for their whole high school track experience.

Minor setbacks will lead to major come back

BY MAHDI LARHMARI Staff Writer

The Atoms swim team is coming off a disappointing loss against Lake Braddock Secondary School. The meet against Lake Braddock took place at Lee District RECenter. Boys swim lost 245 to 63.

Girls swim lost 229 to 86. With the next meet against West Potomac on Jan. 13, Atoms swim team hopes to bounce back and come out with the win.

"The last meet was tough, but we did the best we could. Some of our swimmers stepped up when we needed them," Coach Victoria

Douglas said.

Douglas also thinks her team can improve.

"The team needs to step up their workout and stretches to improve their swimming ability," Douglas said.

When bad things happen, good things will later come along. recently, Douglas saw a lot of improvements with her team.

"There were swimmers new to the stroke, and they completed it in the meet," said Douglas. "It's good seeing new swimmers stepping up and swimming different things."

Sophomore Alejandro Casquino, looks to bounce back and improve in the next meet.

"We need to work on our technical skills like our starts and flip turns," Casquino said.

Casquino also plays another winter sport, he plays JV Basketball and

starts at the shooting guard position.

Sophomore Magdalena Iglesias also thinks that she can improve for the next meet and do better. Magdalena is a sophomore and a swimmer for the atoms.

Magdalena looks to improve her butterfly time and get her endurance up. But for that to happen, every second of practice is going to count.

The boys swim team still remains winless. But on the the other hand, the girls only have one win throughout the season.

Our dive team has done very well throughout the season. In all of their meets, the dive team had a lot of people place.

Swim and dive will take on Mount Vernon High School at Audrey Moore RECenter on Jan. 21.

Girls track looks to rebound

Athlete of the month: Dontae Johnson

Senior varsity hooper excited to finish the season

Girls track has begins their campaign toward regionals with a successful meet

Dontae Johnson goes up for a huge dunk in a 91-79 victory against Edison on Dec 6.

Senior captain Dontae Johnson has played four years of basketball for Atoms. This year, he is working harder than ever to get his team as far as they can possibly go. Johnson recently scored his 1000th point which is a huge accomplishment Q: When did you start playing basketball?

A: I started playing basketball when I was 12 or 13, so 7th grade.

Q: What made you want to start playing basketball?

A: I started playing because there was a court near my house and I had nothing better to do in my free time.

Q: What do you do usually before a game?

A: To get ready for a game I make sure I drink a lot of water throughout the day and I put up a lot of shots after school.

Q: How did it feel to score your 1000th point?

A: Scoring 1,000 points felt really good because it's a rare thing to do, so I'm really thankful to all the coaches and all of my teammates who helped me throughout the last four years.

Q: How do you and your team celebrate a win?

A: When we win, we always focus on what we did good and bad during a game and try to find ways to improve.

We want to get better each game.

Q: How do you and your team deal with a loss?

A: When we lose, we always focus on what we did good and bad during a game and try to find ways to improve.

We want to get better each game.

Q: What's the hardest thing about basketball?

A: The hardest thing about basketball is having to adjust on the fly and making quick decisions.

Q: What do you do in the off-season to prepare for basketball?

A: In the off season I lift weights and do a lot of conditioning to prepare for the season.

Q: What is your favorite pre-game meal?

A: My favorite pre-game meal is spaghetti and (lots of) bread the night before, and a banana and Cheerios on game day.

Q: How does playing more than one basketball team help you during high school season?

A: I play AAU basketball outside of high school basketball. It helps me by getting me better and I play year round.

Q: Is it difficult for you to balance school, sports, and other activities that you have?

A: To balance school and sports I make sure to use my time wisely and get my work done early so I'm not rushing last minute.

The Indoor track season is now well underway; and the Atoms are off to a fast start. So far the track has had a very successful season.

Numerous athletes have already qualified for the Indoor Track and Field national competition. The team's most recents events have been the FIT invitationals on Dec. 28, where the Atoms competed against Bishop McNamara, Fairfax, Chantilly Forest Park, Mount Vernon and other 6A North High Schools. The Atoms also competed in the DCIAA invite on Jan. 8.

The track team took first place in the DCIAA tournament at the PG indoor complex in Maryland.

The team competed against Chantilly, West Springfield, Lake Braddock, Centerville and other 6A North High Schools.

Each result of an event for boys and girls Track and Field gets the team a certain amount of points.

The program as a whole collected the most points overall in the entire meet. The program was carried mostly by the boy team, who won their section of the meet on a coin toss.

"The meet was good, the boys placed first," Senior Kelsie Licatovich said.

The girls did not participate in the 4x800 relay. Also, Kelsie Licatovich and Gabriela Jordan sprint during practice. the girls didn't run the 4x800 because the coaches decidOn Saturday January 15th the Atoms will participate in ed it would better for them not to run it. two meets. One meet will be the Montgomery Invitational "Looking back at it, we should have let them run," at the PG Complex at 7:00 AM. Coach Harris said.

The Montgomery Invitational is a invite only competition. The rest of the Atoms will run, jump and throw starting at 7:30 AM at a different location, they competedagainst Woodson, Marshall and Thomas Jefferson.

"The girls had an okay meet, it could have been better though."

Kelsie Licatovich

senior A highlight of the girls team last week however was senior Gabriela Jordan's performance in the 55 meter dash.

Jordan placed second overall in the meet.

Even with their early success, track is always looking to improve and work on their weaknesses. Most of the runners need to work on the same things; like their starts, stamina and finishing.

"I need to work on my starts," Licatovich said.

"I need to improve on my stamina and ability to get out the blocks," sophomore Makayla Lopez said.

ss

INDOOR TRACK 2016-17 SEASON SCHEDULE

1/21/17: Winter Jacket Classic 1/28/17: vs Mount Vernon, Lake Braddock SS, South County @ Episcopal 2/1/17: Patriot Conference Championship - Field Events & 3200 M Relay @ Episcopal HS 2/4/17: Patriot Conference Championship - Running Finals @ Episcopal HS TBD: 6A North Regional Championship @ Prince George's Complex

OURTESY OF YVONNE WHITE

OURTESY OF DONTAE JOHNSON

BY JORDAN ADAMS Staff Writer

18 ENTERTAINMENT

Jan. 17, 2016

Hollywood speaks up on politics Do you think celebrities should be involved in politics?

Meryl streep continues streak of celebrity involvement

BY JULIUS MILLER Entertainment Editor In a touching yet sensitive speech at the Golden Globes, Streep projected her opinions on President Elect Donald Trump. The next day, she faced criticism in a series of tweets from Trump himself.

"Meryl Streep, one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood, doesn't know me but attacked me last night at the Golden Globes," Trump said. "She is a Hilary flunk who lost big."

Trump then went on to deny ever mocking a disabled reporter.

In an instance such as this, it was inevitable that Streep would face criticism from Trump. He has gone Meryl Streep at the 2017 Golden Globes speaking out on Trump after accepting her Cecil B. DeMille award after anyone who speaks of him in a negative manner and praised anyone The answer is simple, it is situational. In the her to mind her own business because she was who does the opposite. case of speaking out against Trump, of course it is British, she said, "When a man this ignorant & Celebrities hold some of the most important okay. The actions Trump has taken on issues and easy to manipulate gets within sniffing distance voices in the United States, especially when the opinions he has shown are horrible in nature. of the nuclear codes, it's everyone's business speaking on issues.

Whether it be calling Mexicans rapists or #RestOfTheWorld."

It is not uncommon to see them discuss saying it is okay to grab women by the p*ssy, In other cases, when the voice of celebrities politics or world conflicts when accepting awards. Trump's head seems to always be in the wrong is being abused, it is not okay. For example, when The best time for them to be heard is when their place.

Kanye West announced his support for Trump. face is the center of attention after winning.

When someone with negative intentions It gave the approval by an idol to some of They can press their opinions onto the public wants to seat himself in the highest position in Trump's degrading viewpoints. in the hopes of changing minds and getting the United States, it is fair to voice concern.

It is sometimes for the better for celebrities to likewise minds behind them in their battles.

Celebrities such as J.K Rowling, the author speak out, but in the end it is situational.

This poses a question, is it okay for celebrities of the Harry Potter series, have also voiced to involve themselves in issues such as politics? concern. When responding to a tweet telling

"Yes, of course. They are citizens of this countries and show hold and act on their opinions like anyone else."

"Yes, they have the right to express their political views, if someone doesn't agree with them, they don't have to do what they say.

JESSE AGYAPONG senior

SASHA SILVA senior

"Yes, because a lot of people look up to these celebrities and their voice can help influence the people's perspective."

"If it's OK for everyone else to have an opinion, why can't celebrities?"

RYAN PEICH

Hollywood activists

senior

DYANNA RODRIGUEZ senior

Harry Belafonte

Marlon Brando

Richard Gere

Belafonte is an American singer and actor but became involved in the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s. "The river of blood that washes the streets of our nation," Belafonte said. "flows mostly from the bodies of our black children."

Brando was an American actor but also a well known Native American rights activist. In 1973, he had a woman named Sacheen Littlefeather speak during his Academy Award speech. "He cannot accept this award," Littlefeather said. "due to the treatment of American Indians in the flm industry."

Michael Moore

In 1993, Gere was banned from the Oscars for using his time as a presenter to tell the crowd he hoped Chinese leader Xiaoping was watching so he could discuss human rights in Tibet.

After winning an Oscar for Bowling for Columbine, Moore used his time on stage to criticize President Bush.

Most notably calling him a "fictitious president in a fictitious time."

Kendrick Lamar Lamar is a hip hop artist from Compton who fights for racial equality through his music. His performance at the 2015 Grammy's voiced the struggles of being black in America. "2012 was taped for the world to see," Lamar said. "This is modern day slavery."

Jennifer Lopez Lopez is mostly known for her music, but recently released a video for her song Ain't Your Mama that pushed for gender equality through speech snippets from Hilary Clinton.

New year, new music More Life Drake

Leonardo DiCaprio

Danny Glover

DiCaprio is a well known actor throughout Hollywood but is also an environmental activist.

After winning his 2015 Oscar he spoke on global warming. "Climate change is real," he said. "We need to support leaders around the world...who speak for all of humanity."

Glover is an actor and political activist. During the 2016 election, Glover voiced his support for Bernie Sanders and opposed Trump. "Sanders has put forth the most coherent policy changes to achieve full employment."

Last release from the artists Views by Drake

After amazing success in the year 2016, Drake announced the release of his next mix tape More Life in late November. He confirmed on December 10 that it was set to release in early 2017.

To add to the anticipation, Drake released three tracks off the mix tape titled Fake Love, Sneakin'. and Two Birds, One Stone. Two Birds, One Stone took shots at both Pusha-T , Meek Mill, and most notably, Kid Cudi.

He described Kid Cudi in the lyrics, "You were the man on the moon, now you just go through your phases."

These lyrics mocked Kid Cudi's recent entry into a rehab center due to his mental health.

"I am really hype for this release," senior Mikael Mechal said. "Hopefully it will be better than Views."

Culture Migos Following a shaky debut album, Migos are set to release a sophomore album titled Culture.

This album will most likely do better than their last effort, Yung Rich Nation, due to the publicity that Migos have received in 2016.

Just when it seemed like Migos couldn't revolutionize the industry more, they released a single titled Bad and Boujee.

Offset comes in with an amazing verse and Quavo tops it off. This amazing track built hype for Culture. They also released a video for another single, T-Shirt, showing as strong beat and visuals.

"Bad and Boujee is one of the best tracks of the year," senior Gabriela Jordan said.

"It makes me look forward to Culture even more.

Divide Ed Sheeran Ed sheeran hopes to show consistency and quality though his forthcoming album, Divide.

Sheeran tweeted out a picture of the color light blue to hint at his next album on Dec 15. The anticipation for another album grew greatly after this.

To cause even more joy for the new year, he released a video showing him holding up a card that said "New music coming Friday!!"

The next day he teased the album cover for Divide with a picture of a subtraction sign fading into a colon.

Later, he finally tweeted out a division sign to confirm the rumors of the album's name. and later two singles titled Castle On The Hill and Shape Of You. "I loved Castle On The Hill and Shape Of You," senior Madie Walsh said, "Shape of You was not as good but still got me exxcited for Divide."

Drake's Views had an amazing year following it's release in late April.

Views broke several records, including leading the Billboard 100 for 13 weeks.

On top of this, it went quadruple platinum, selling millions.

Yung Rich Nation by Migos Yung Rich Nation was the first album release ever by Migos, and sold an underwhelming 15k it's first week.

Its highlight song was One Time, which acquired 25 million views on YouTube.

Though this release was unsuccessful, they had less appeal that year than now.

X by Ed Sheeran X was Ed Sheeran's sophomore album following +. It had major success through its hit song Thinking Out Loud.

Its first week sales totaled in at 210,000 copies.

To further attribute to its success, X went double platinum.

Divide should see the same success if not more.

ENTERTAINMENT 19

Jan. 17, 2017

Students anticipate films coming in 2017 Beauty and the Beast

Justice League The third movie in the brand new DC Cinematic Universe, Justice League will finally be bringing together the famed superheroes.

With a cast including Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg and Ezra Miller as Barry Allen, also known as The Flash.; the movie has high expectations.

After Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice audiences learned about Batman's plan to assemble team, they were shown glimpses of all of the other characters.

Trailers have been shown, however they do not lead to a story other than the team assembling. We know of no villain yet, anticipate it to be revealed soon for future films.

Rumors have been surrounding the movie saying it will be Brainiac, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

The controversy with the movie is that its the equivalent of the Avengers in a sense of a superhero gathering, but its only the fourth movie in the universe, not yet introducing some heroes.

DC is trying to switch up their order, and has

high hopes for the Justice League. Look out for this film coming in theaters on November 17, 2017. been surrounding the movie saying it will be Brainiac, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

The sequel for Justice League is scheduled to be released on June 14, 2019, but has since been delayed to accommodate the release for a standalone Batman film directed by Ben Affleck.

A live-action remake of the 1991 animiated film, Beauty and the Beast will have a packed cast. It will include Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson.

In the film, Belle is taken prisoner by a Beast in his enchanted castle. He learns to look beyond his appearance while evading a narcissistic hunter who seeks to take Belle for himself.

It will be produced by Bill Condon, who was the producer for the Twlight films.

Disney has had a reputation for the remaking liveaction films. its now been an annual event. In 2010, Alice in Wonderland which was a veru successful film.

Other films include "Maleficent," "Cinderella" and "The Jungle Book." Several other beloved Disney films will become live-action films including "The Lion King," "The Little Mermaid" and "Mulan."

The previous Beauty and the Beast movie was extremtly popular. It won Academy Awards, Golden Globes and even Grammys for the soundtrack.

It got a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and a holds a 95/100 on Metacritic.

War for the Planet of the Apes The third installment of the new franchise of Planet of the Apes, War now focuses on the aftermath of the simian flu, much like Dawn did.

The main protagonist, if you are on the side of humans, is Woody Harrelson. He plays the leader of the remaining humans on Earth, determined to survive and defeat the apes no matter what.

Andy Serkis is reprising his role as Caesar, the super genius chimp in charge of the apes, determined to make peace with the humans so his people can survive.

Exactly like Dawn, the two characters are at odds.

Humans want the apes dead, and the apes want the same for the humans, or to live among them in peace. War is inevitable, as suggested in the title, and will surely be shown in the movie. However, like the old movies, it will most likely not be the last installment in the new series.

It will be interesting to see if some time travel will be introduced, like in the old ones, and we will see the course of the movies changed. The previous Planet of

the Apes filmes have recieved plenty of great reviews.

All the films combined earned over one billion dollars in total. The film releases July 14, 2017.

"This movie played a huge role in my childhood, I watched it all the time," senior Matthew Vogus said.

Look out for Beauty and the Beast when it arrives in theaters on March 17, 2017; and the other Disney live-action films in the future.

Wonder Woman Another installment in the DC universe, Wonder Woman will be hitting theaters this upcoming summer.

Gal Gadot will be reprising her role in it, after having seen her for the first time with the lasso and shield in Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

The movie actually takes place during World War I, showing how old Wonder Woman really is. It will be a backstory, showing how she comes to Earth from her home planet, and how she becomes the hero that we see and love in BvS. The movie's co-star is Chris Pine, whose role has little detail yet, but it can be assumed that he is a close friend of hers.

There is no villain yet, but much like Captain America: The First Avenger, the enemy will most likely be another country or faction during the war, with Wonder Woman helping out secretly on one side. It will be interesting how she keeps her powers secret, and how she uses her powers in the fights. Gal Gadot

is also casted in Justice League, which is also a very anticipated film coming in 2017. The Patty Jenkins directed film is set to release on June 2, 2017.

After a five-year hiatus, The xx return with I See You

BY TIMOTHY GRAY Videographer Marking the end of a five year interval, Coexist having been released in 2012, The xx return with I See You. While the group had not been together for some time, member Jamie Smith, or Jamie xx, had been making huge waves.

His 2015 album, titled In Colour, featured hypnotizing snares and smooth, beachy, beats; the standout being a single featuring Young Thug and Popcaan.

Prior to that, Jamie had released an album in partnership with the legendary Gil-Scott Heron, his signature raspy voice singing newer renditions of his older material in addition to brand new music.

The xx collective marked their return on the 10th of this past November, with their ethereally atmospheric single "On Hold," featuring many of the similar hypnotizing snares and audio-cuts found in Jamie's In Colour.

The single's lyrics center around an estranged relationship, in which vocalist Oliver Sim describes his belief that he had his significant other "On Hold," alluding to his belief that he and the subject of the lyrics were meant to be together.

Romy Madley Croft's angelic vocals compliment Sim's gloomy, deep vocals, the song turning out to be a beautiful exchange of back and forth laments.

This single revives the quieter, more mellow side of The xx fans are accustomed to from previous albums.

Say Something Loving, the album's more uplifting and rhythmic single, employs a rapid paced acoustic rhythm, in which Sim and Croft sing in harmony.

After the introduction to the song, Sim and Croft exchange verses back and forth; and then come back together at the chorus. The lyrics center around a sense of unfamiliarity combined with love for a person, and the constant desire

from one end for the other person to reciprocate such love.

The melodic acoustics fading into the background are reminiscent of many indie or alternative ballads of today, permitting a cloudy ambience. Nearing the end of the song, Croft sings "before it slips away and don't let it slip away as she fades out."

The two singles allow The xx to broaden their horizons without losing touch from their signature mellow, electronic sound. In the past, The xx had made waves with their hit song "Intro," the intro to their self-titled wLP. The difference between these new singles and the single from their first LP is highly prevalent, and each member's respective solo careers' sounds are entered into the mix.

The xx has transformed into the product of three separate artists coming together. Rather than a flat unification of Smith, Sim, and Croft, each artist's signature sound can be deduced from the two singles.

Recently, Sims has revealed to various entertainment outlets, such as Pitchfork, that he is struggling with alcohol addiction. As a result, the album could be interpreted as his outlet, or escape from such addiction; possibly giving the album a unique beauty.

Both Croft and Sim have come out as homosexual, but Croft has stated in the past that this will have nothing to do with her music. The trio make love ballads; and at its heart, love can be applied to virtually anything. The xx are not looking to stir controversy, but rather to contribute to art.

Both singles' unique approach to pop and electronic-based mellow love ballads are a breath of fresh air, especially "Say Something Loving," its consistently beautiful and ethereal pace.

I See You was released Jan. 13; "On Hold" and "Say Something Loving" being the only two singles that released beforehand.

Students vote for their own Grammy winners

album of the year

record of the year

44% VIEWS by Drake

28% "Hello" by Adele

24% 25 by Adele 17% Purpose by Justin Bieber 12% Lemonade by Beyonce 1% A Sailor's Guide to Earth by Sturgill Simpson

24% "Stressed Out" by Twenty One Pilots 22% "Formation" by Beyonce 15% "Work" by Rihanna 10% "7 Years" by Lukas Graham

best pop vocal album

best rock album

song of the year

150 surveys were passed out to W4s on Monday, January 9th. 103 surveys were received and documented.

best new artist

26% "Love Yourself" by Justin 56% Chance the Rapper 33% The Chainsmokers Bieber 5% Kelsea Ballerini 23% "Formation" by Beyonce 19% "Hello" by Adele 17% "I Took a Pill In Ibiza" by Mike Posner 15% "7 Years" by Lukas Graham

5% Anderson .Paak 0% Maren Morris

best alt. music album

best rap performance 38% "No Problem" by Chance the Rapper

31% Purpose by Justin Bieber

26% California by Blink-182

29% 22, a Million by Bon Iver

26% Dangerous Women by Ariana Grande 23% 25 by Adele 14% This is Acting by Sia 6% Confident by Demi Lovato

23% Death of a Bachelor by Panic! at the Disco 21% Tell Me I'm Pretty by Cage the Elephant 21% Weezer by Weezer 9% Magma by Gojira

26% Blackstar by David Bowie 21% A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead 15% Post Pop Depression by Iggy Pop 9% The Hope Six Demolition Project by PJ Harvey

26% "Panda" by Desiigner 21% "Pop Style" by Drake 15% "All the Way Up" by Fat Joe 9% "That Part" by Schoolboy Q

20 WEEKEND

Jan. 17, 2017

Snowed in? The fun isn't over yet!

Consult this QUIZ to see what you should spend your next snow day doing 6. Where would you rather go?

A. The outdoors B. The mall C. A small coffee shop 1. What would you wear if you go outside in the cold?

A. Hat and gloves B. Just a jacket C. Long sleeve and pants

7. Would you rather: A. Walk your dog B. Do chores inside C. Do homework

2. Would you rather: A. Go play outside B. Go to the mall C. Stay in and watch Netflix

8. Would you like to go to college: A. In state B. Out of state C. Not go to college 9. Do you like...

A. Soccer B. Football C. Baseball

3. What animal would you spend time with?

A. A bird B. A dog C. A cat 4. What movie genre would you watch during a day at home?

A. An action movie B. A drama C. A romantic comedy 5. Where would you rather eat?

A. Panera B. Chipotle C. Home

11. What's better...

A. Tent B. Living room fort C. Neither 12. Which are you?

A. Team laptop B. Team desktop C. Team tablet

18. Which would you rather eat?

A. Soup B. Sub C. Salad 19. What's more important: A. Grades B. Sports C. Community service

13. Which would you rather have?

A. 100 OK friends B. 1 best friend C. 5 close friends

20. Would you rather: A. Hang out with friends B. Hang out with a friend C. Stay home alone

14. Would you rather: A. Very good at one thing B. Average at everything C. I don t know

15. How you spend $1000 A. Shoes shoes B. Laptop

9. Do you want to live in a...

A. Hot and cold place B. Hot place C. Cold place

10. Where would you rather shop at?

A. Pacsun B. Forever 21 C. A thrift shop

17. Finish the lyrics: Rain Drop...

A. Drop Top B. s keep fallin' on my head C. I don't listen to music

16. Which color would you wear for the rest of your life?

A. White B. Green C. Red

21. What music genre do you like?: A. Rap B. Country C. Rock n Roll 22. Would you rather: A. Eat 10 spiders B. Shave your head bald C. Be homeless for a month 23. What music genre do you like?: A. Rap B. Country C. Rock n Roll

If you picked mostly C... you should

If you picked mostly A... you should go

If you picked mostly B... you should go to

Ice Skate or Play outside

The Movie Theater

You are active and love going out with your friends.

There are so many things you can do in the snow when you aren't at school. This could include building snowmen, having snowball fights or playing normal sports in the slippery snow for a change. You should also go ice skating with your friends. It is fun to laugh over the challenge of learning how to skate.

You are a great friend and love everything new. You should go watch some of the newest movies with friends, family, or that special someone. There are many theaters in the area including: Tysons, Springfield, Kingstowne and Mosaic.

See page 19 for upcoming movies.

Stay indoors You are studious and whether it's catching up on homework, binge watching a show, or baking, nothing beats staying in the warmth. You are not limited to these three activities, the possibilities stretch as far as your imagination.

"I like staying indoors because I can do my homework," senior Omar Abuhashish said.

Eat at this upscale eatery with a waterfront view Although over the Potomac, the Harbor is worth it

Rating for McCormick and Schmick's: 7/10 Rating for the Capital Wheel: 9.5/10

The front of the restaurant McCormick and Schmick's, which is a delicious seafood restaurant with a waterfront view.

The sculpture on the beach at the Harbor, showing Poseidon crawling out of the sand.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HUSSEIN SALEM

McCormick and Schmick's is an upscale seafood restaurant with a waterfront view. It is located on the waterfront of the Potomac River, also known as the National Harbor.

This restaurant offers a large menu, ranging from linguini alfredo to specialty steak and seafood. It is on more of the expensive side, but the ambience makes everything worth it.

My personal favorite dish from the restaurant is the Buttermilk Fried Shrimp with a side of caesar salad. If you plan on visiting this eatery, make sure to request outdoor seating to get a fantastic view of the water, but as the weather gets colder it's better to get indoor seating which is just as good.

The atmosphere of the restaurant has a very original and relaxed feel to it, making visitors want to come back. Although personally I thought the restaurant and service was great, many guests do complain about the wait

fun you're planning. There's always numerous events and attractions going on, so be sure to check the events calendar before you go! The National Harbor is filled with plenty of stuff to make your experience worth your while.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HUSSEIN SALEM

People Editor

for the food, averaging around 30-40 minutes.

After enjoying your meal, you can check out the many attractions in the area. Hop on the Capital Wheel for $15 and enjoy the mesmerizing view or take a ride on the light up carousel for only $7.

The Capital Wheel doesn't compare to your average carnival ferris wheel. The price may seem a little steep, but considering it also comes with a free snow cone ticket and the astonishing experience makes it worth it.

I would say that the best time to go on it would be in the evening right when the sun is about to set and when the colorful lights of the wheel light up.

Another simple inexpensive attraction to take a look at is the infamous Awakening Sculpture, whether you take pictures in front of it or climb all over it. If the weather is too cold for you to want to walk around, consider stopping by the Muse Paintbar for a paint session or Savannah's Candy Kitchen if you have a sweet tooth.

You can never go wrong when going here, no matter what kind of

PHOTO COURTESY OF HUSSEIN SALEM

BY SOULISA PATHAMMAVONG

The Capital Wheel, which you can ride and enjoy at 180 ft.

Class of 2017 Bulletin

148

Days until graduation

To-do list: January Edition Finish college applications and FAFSA Stay up to date with the latest school events like Mr. Annandale Get your physical and other forms in for spring sports

Junior Mathew McKiver is ready to beat his personal record in high jump this winter track season.