What happened to the computer lab in the back of the library? There is now a sign on the door that reads, "Lab Reserved All Blocks, Hybrid Learning Classroom." What is Hybrid Learning?

Hybrid Learning, also known as Compass Learning, is a program that the school uses to help students earn recovery credits necessary for graduation. It is an online class with a teacher presiding over the room answering any questions the students may have.

Students take a lengthy pretest before starting a unit. The pretest is designed to see what the students know so the program can construct a learning path specific to that student. The students then watch a step-by-step video of a teacher explaining the lessons followed by a short five to 10 problem quiz to show what they've learned. If students do poorly on the quiz the program will review the lesson. And finally, at the end of a section they will have a unit test.

Depending on the teacher, students will be graded on quizzes and tests.

There are mixed feelings on the subject of hybrid learning. Some students love being able to learn one-on-one from the computer at their own pace.

Others dislike the program. They would much rather be in a class full of students.

One George Mason hybrid student said, "It's hard to stay focused when learning on your own. There are so many distractions and it's easy to lose your concentration. I'm afraid I won't be able to finish the class by the end of the semester."

Mr. Ben Swartz, a hybrid learning teacher, said, "The freedom that it gives students is good; however, it places an additional challenge on them as they are tasked with completing course work with less teacher guidance."

This is the first semester that George Mason has been using the program; therefore, the school has being working out many technical difficulties, anywhere from computers freezing up in the middle of a lesson, to questions on a quiz that had absolutely nothing to do with the lesson.

See other articles by Sara>>>

The All American Rejects released a sampler CD called “Kids in the Street” which had two catchy songs on it, “Someday’s Gone” and “Beekeeper’s Daughter”. While catchy, the All American Rejects have failed to come back that zing that a group that’s trying to revive their career needs.

When listening to “Someday’s Gone,” the first seven seconds are absolute torture to our eardrums. When it first plays, you get a feeling of scream-o, unpleasant screeching of what sounds like a microphone too close to the amp.

However, once that awful noise is over it does a complete 180, and bam!  Tyson Ritter, the lead singer, comes on with his All American voice that’s so familiar in all their songs.

The lyrics to “Someday’s Gone” are cliché and consist of the not very original scenario of a boy’s being heart broken because of a girl.  Blah blah blah…

The “Beekeeper’s Daughter” is so-so.  Again, there is a lot of familiarity to the falsettos of Ritter and the common beat that all the All American Reject songs feature. The song is basically about a boy who is telling a girl straight up that he’s too busy for her and he essentially is taking advantage of her and will continue to do so if she lets him

“You’re a pretty little flower and I’m a busy little bee,” sings Ritter.

However, the song is very catchy and we’re positive Hot 99.5 will grab a hold of it fast, and play it so much that everyone hates it within three weeks.

Now, let’s not give a wrong impression: we both equally love the All American Rejects. Unfortunately we think that for a “come back” album like this, we were expecting (hoping) for something a little out of the ordinary.

Their last single, “Gives you Hell,” from the album “When the World Comes Down,” was brilliant, we loved it, but we’re tired of the same whiny lyrics about love-sick boys and girls. We hope that the rest of this album surprises us with different sounds and lyrics that are out of the ordinary for the All American Rejects to play.

Read other articles by Maria>>>

Read other articles by Dominick>>>

Editor’s note: This letter was originally published on Lasso Online’s Facebook page.

Great Job Ms. Smith and GMHS Students, 

For your information, and I only comment to insure that you collect all eligible voter registration forms during this effort, Ms. Smith can register students who are 17 years old now and who will turn 18 by Election Day on November 6, 2012. 

The registration forms can be turned in now even though you aren't 18 but you will be on Election Day. 

Also, there is a Primary contest this June. 

If students register now, even if you are only 17, you are eligible to vote in the June Primary; you don’t have to be 18 to vote in the Primary. 

Why is this important and allowed? It is recognized that young voters also have a say for who will be the candidates in the November general election. The candidate you want to elect in November - has to first get to the ballot through the primary.

Thanks so much for taking another step into participating in our nation and state electoral process. It's your future too.

A few weeks ago I got a letter form Dr. Jones. When my dad gave me the letter, I was completely confused as to why I was getting a letter from the superintendent. Was I in trouble? Did I win something? No, that’s not right, I didn’t enter anything-- I’m probably in trouble. Either way, I had no idea what it was all about.

With some apprehension I opened the letter and was really surprised at what I saw. It was a hand written letter, congratulating me on going to states for swim team.

The letter I got from Dr. Jones was really nice. I never would have thought that our superintendent would take the time to hand write letters to the students of the Falls Church City Public Schools.

It was a very nice gesture and I just want to say thank your to Dr. Jones for writing these letters to the students at FCCPS and me. I really appreciated it.

Thank you,
Eric Brown

Read other articles by Eric>>>

However you get to school in the morning, you and many other Mason students have undoubtedly passed by 7-11 and the questionable-looking deli and ice cream place next door.

However, on the other side of that white door lies heaven-on-earth. Mike’s Deli has recently become a hot spot among Mason students, especially the senior class.

Every day, the plain brown bags, aluminum foil wrappers, and small white chip bags litter the senior alcoves during the middle of the day. Senior Jeremy Stewart, a Mike’s Deli employee, has brought in business for the place by introducing it to all of his friends, who in turn have gone there almost every single day since they were introduced.

“I started working at Mike’s Deli at the end of the summer, and when people asked where I worked I would tell them and they had no clue what I was talking about. Now when I work I see lot of people that are from Mason, and the name is very well known around the school. It’s starting to become very popular,” said Stewart.

When Mike’s Deli came into my life I was a little skeptical at first, but after I took one bite into that “Dixie Chicken,” the world became brighter and I almost had an out-of-body experience.

“It’s the best place to eat in Falls Church. It fills me up without slowing me down,” said senior Max Kaplow who is often seen in the senior alcove with a “Belly Buster” breakfast sandwich or a “Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger” from Mike’s.

Mike’s popularity will surely continue to grow as its delicious selection of sandwiches, ice cream (all made on their premises), and milkshakes is discovered by more and more people.

Located at 112 N. West Street in Falls Church, Mike’s Deli is open daily.  For more information and full menus, visit http://mikesdeliatlazysundae.com/index.html

 

Interviewing, accountability, sales, time management, quality writing, organization, teamwork; these are all skills that we have acquired after two years of taking journalism at George Mason High School.

The staff is the backbone of any newspaper. You can measure the success of a newspaper by the staff not only through their writing or journalistic skills, but how they can communicate with each other. It is something that is not easily learned; it takes time, even years, to convert the names on a class list into a productive working team.

As you may know, George Mason High School offers only Journalism I and II, not allowing staff members to take the class for more than two years. This puts the paper in a compromising position.

Since there is no Journalism III or IV, each year the paper has to start at square one, when other high school staffs have been building staffs continuously for years. The fact that we are starting from scratch each year takes a huge toll on the productivity and effectiveness of the staff.

For example, this year we went the entire first quarter without an editor-in-chief or section editors.  We didn’t even know what section we would be writing in, which really held us back from performing to the best of our abilities as journalism students.

After going on our class trip to New York City for a scholastic journalism conference the past two years, the staff has been able to discuss how other newspapers are run with staffs from all around the country.

In the biggest and most successful school newspapers, the students were able to take the class as a four year course. Instead of having a few new students each year, we have a whole new staff. Instead of having to teach four new students how to write an article, each year, Lasso Adviser Mrs. Wagener has to teach an entire class the basics of journalism and it takes time away from actually writing for the newspaper.

The journalistic style of writing is completely different than writing essays in English. This is a skill-- including interviewing, media development, and note taking-- that isn’t necessarily difficult to learn, but takes time to become good at.

It is now third quarter and we have grown to be a very close staff. We have a very good chain of communication within the classroom and the quality of our articles has improved greatly. But what if students were able to take journalism starting as freshmen, all the way through senior year?

In 2010 and 2011, Lasso Online was awarded a Silver Crown from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the most prestigious award high school publications can receive. That was possible last year because of the re-enrollment of several Journalism I students into Journalism II.

Unfortunately, we were not even nominated for an award this year. As Journalism II students, and on account of the class as a whole, it is disappointing to find that our hard work wasn’t recognized this year.

It’s class registration season and we are in a dilemma. We want to continue with our journalism career, but we are unable to do so unless Journalism III and IV are created. How are we expected to improve our newspaper if we are forced to start from scratch every two years?

Lasso is an important publication to our school that has been running for 60 years. Last year, Lasso Online almost did not have enough people to fill a class, threatening the existence of the newspaper. The course was saved by a few last-minute enrollments, but the same fate remains a possibility from year to year.  We want to continue to keep Lasso an important, informative, and award-winning publication in George Mason, and not let it fade away.

What we are asking for is an opportunity for students to take Journalism III and IV so that Lasso Online can be the best newspaper that we can make it.

Sincerely,