Archive: December 2006
A winter survival guide to staying home this holiday vacation
by Aimee Huynh This holiday season, many people are jetting off to the south for the warm beaches of Florida or the Caribbean. Some are heading west to hit the slopes in Colorado, while others are flying all over the...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:54 AM ET | Comments (0)
Vera Bradley bags become a fashionable alternative to backpacks
by Alexandra Mendoza They are all over the hallways, taking the place of backpacks. To many they would appear as big quilts shaped into the form of a bag, yet big enough to carry all the necessary school supplies. These...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:53 AM ET | Comments (0)
The green tape phenomenon: the truth behind the trend
by Bill Barlow Are they some sort of gang? Stoners? These days, swarms of green-tape-toting underclassmen walk the halls, perplexing teachers and students alike. The many rumors surrounding this trend are all a joke to the man behind it all,...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:52 AM ET | Comments (1)
Local bands find great success and gain popularity on MySpace
by Alexandria Hiponia School would probably be the last place students would expect to talk to a rock star. It is, however, becoming a prominent breeding ground for up and coming talent. Many students have formed bands and have posted...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:52 AM ET | Comments (0)
Vegetarian lifestyles consume local teenagers' day-to-day lives
by Maddie Sumser "It's gross," junior Anna Weems says about eating meat. This is not an unusual response from teenagers in high school these days. Some do it because, like Weems, meat doesn't appeal to them. Others do it for...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:51 AM ET | Comments (0)
Consule Wars 2006: The Showdown between the PS3 and the Wii
by Bill Barlow and Eric Avassar After years of design and development, Nintendo and Sony unveiled their highly-anticipated gaming consoles, the Wii and the Playstation 3 (PS3), respectively just in time for the holiday season. On Nov. 17 and 19,...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:50 AM ET | Comments (0)
Changing fashion trends among students
by Cristina Brown Parents all have different ways of embarrassing their children and the way life was in their high school days has changed from when they were young. Yet, by the time the eyes start rolling, ma and pa...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:49 AM ET | Comments (1)
New artists entering the music scene
by Amanda Nevlund & Lauren Hargarten Music, no matter what Music, no matter what the genre, has two sides to it. One side is covered with commercial artists and songs that everyone seems to know. The other has undiscovered and...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:49 AM ET | Comments (0)
Mohawks: fashion faux pas?
by Shannon Murphy It all happened sometime in September of this year, when two good friends were sitting in a bedroom listening to some music, and senior Conor Dolan looked up and asked his friend to give him a mohawk....
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:48 AM ET | Comments (0)
Country music unites listeners
by Emily Smith Kenny Chesney. Alison Kraus. Keith Urban. These names are all familiar to fans of country music, and over the past few years, these names have been getting more and more renown outside of their genre. In the...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:47 AM ET | Comments (0)
Software on FCPS computers blocks students from popular sites
by Chris Rice Whenever someone signs on to any computer owned by Fairfax County Public Schools, a message appears with the word "Warning" in all capital letters with an exclamation mark. The warning states that "all systems and networks are...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:46 AM ET | Comments (1)
Honor Council formed to combat dishonesty, cheating
by Anna Nguyen Whether it is by separating desks, enforcing the use of cover sheets, or taking advantage of online plagiarism detectors, such as Turnitin.com, teachers constantly search for strategies to prevent cheating, a prevalent concern in schools. This year,...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:45 AM ET | Comments (0)
Washington Post's Challenge Index measures advanced class enrollment
by Marissa Acker The Challenge Index is a way to measure a public school's attempt to challenge its high school students. It was created by Jay Mathews, a Washington Post staff writer. According to http://www.washingtonpost.com, "the formula is simple: Divide...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:45 AM ET | Comments (0)
Computers monitored at RHS
by Amanda Nevlud and Alan Safferson School computers are being monitored by administrators, this may sound like a nightmare for in school, online poker players, but it is becoming the reality in Robinson. The school is trying out a new...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:45 AM ET | Comments (5)
Sophomores learn about morals, decision making at Ethics Day
by Katie Duffy George Mason University on Nov. 30 to participate in Ethics Day, where they could explore ethics through various hypothetical and media-inspired situations. Working in groups of ten, students rotated to four different rooms, each presenting a different...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:44 AM ET | Comments (1)
(RED) brings Africa to shoppers across America
by Robby Panos Red. The color of emergency. The color of blood. In January, rock star Bono of legendary band U2, well-known for its charitable work, joined with successful businessman and attorney Bobby Shriver to launch (PRODUCT)RED, a global initiative...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:43 AM ET | Comments (0)
The other September 11: remembering Pinochet's dictatorhsip
by Miguel Perez Augusto Pinochet, who died recently on Dec. 10, 2006, reformed Chile's economy at the cost of thousands of lives and human rights violations. He rose to power on September 11, 1973; overthrowing the democratically elected Chilean President...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:43 AM ET | Comments (0)
Senior superlative nominees revealed, dinner held to announce winners
by Jillian Berner Senior year is full of activities like the class photo during Homecoming week, senior nights for sports games, prom, and other ways to celebrate the last year of high school. The superlative process is one such tradition,...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:42 AM ET | Comments (0)
Challenge Index: wrong formula
by Zarmeena Waseem In statistics that only offer pass or fail information, how do we know where the overachievers really lie? Washington Post education reporter Jay Matthews offers us a view on how challenging schools are around the nation. According...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:42 AM ET | Comments (0)
'Uncle Sam wants you': school military
by Lindsey Hardenbergh The lunch room is full of laughing, unidentified noises, the occasional threat of a food fight and the never-ending scramble to get into food lines. That's why the military recruiters often go unnoticed. Yet they sit every...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:41 AM ET | Comments (0)
Diamonds in the rough
by Zarmeena Waseem The name of this project may remind you of the familiar Disney line in Aladdin, but the title is actually referring to the children of Sierra Leone. A DECA project directed by Brittany Mooney and Claris Bangura...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:40 AM ET | Comments (0)
Memorable childhood games banned across USA
Within students' chaotic lives of racing to meet a project's due date, begging teachers to grade a late worksheet worth a few points, or making an attempt at an extra credit piece to relieve some of the stress on...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:40 AM ET | Comments (0)
DECA students raise money for young Iraqi victims of war
By Amanda Betzold The marketing students involved in DECA are undertaking a new challenge. The mission is to reach out beyond the community and connect to people worldwide. In order to accomplish this ambition, DECA has established a strong relationship...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:40 AM ET | Comments (0)
Class of '06: new addition to school sparks many harsh opinions
by Megan Cannon Every morning students look upon the huge obnoxious clock in the front of the school that is just asking to be spray painted. At the end of each year, the seniors give a gift to the school...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:37 AM ET | Comments (1)
Students challenged to swim without unhealthy sugars
By Lauren Kranz According to my teammate ,sophomore Daniel McGuire, the average teenager can eat an overwhelming amount of sugar in one day. "I eat about 10 Jolly Ranchers, Starburst, Skittles, and a soda," he said. He's not the only...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:36 AM ET | Comments (0)
Real meaning of the holidays goes unnoticed by many students
by Kaitlyn Gleason Most people around this time of year are bombarded with those sugary-sweet images of jolly men in red jumpsuits, eight days of gift exchanging bliss, candy canes, ornate feasts, and spending money we don't have mindlessly in...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:36 AM ET | Comments (0)
Mountain Mayhem
By Anna Nguyen With snow approaching and Winter Break waiting just around the corner, students will not have to look far to find a place to hit the slopes. Wintergreen Approximately two and a half hours away,"[spans] 11,000 acres on...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:36 AM ET | Comments (0)
Elections: were they running against each other or Bush?
Republican perspective by Thomas Hearin The results of the 2006 election have come in and the Democrats have taken majority in Congress. The people have spoken, and want a party change in the government. I admit, as a strong Republican,...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:35 AM ET | Comments (0)
Hunter Quinley competes on Robinson and club team
By Donnie Dixon tic human being." These are the words spoken by arguably the most gifted student- athlete combination to grace this school in years. This person is senior Hunter Quinley. Hunter started playing soccer at the age of four...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:33 AM ET | Comments (0)
The choice between club and high school teams proves hard for some
By Christina Brown Since many students were young, their parents from the very beginning have encouraged them to get involved in sports so they could decide which was the right one for them. Maybe gymnastics was what they tried, or...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:32 AM ET | Comments (0)
The quarterback controversy
By Alan Safferson Jason Campbell, who was drafted by the Redskins in 2004 has spent his first two seasons sitting on the bench and watching. The Redskins spent an enormous amount on him, in terms of draft picks. Many called...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:31 AM ET | Comments (0)
No more support for Starbucks until they make fair trade with Ethiopian farmers
Staff Editorial Martin Luther King Jr. said "Before you've finished your breakfast this morning, you'll have relied on half the world." Living in this area, few would stop to think about that on his or her daily drive to Starbucks...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:31 AM ET | Comments (0)
Redskins Season Overview
By Alan Safferson The 2006 season has been a tough one for the Washington Redskins. After playing exceptionally well last season, the team had high hopes for this season. Some even talked about making it to the Super Bowl. After...
By Stephanie Axelrod | December 19, 2006; 8:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
