This week at Mason, many students have been missing from classes due to the IB testing.

It’s that time of the year again, yes ‘tis the season for standardized testing. Some of the tests occurring include: IB testing, AP testing, and SOL's, or Virginia Standards of Learning. Before we know it, it will be time to take final exams.

Don't forget to study if you have tests coming up. Some good test preparation tips include getting a lot of sleep at least two days prior to the test, eating a big breakfast with a lot of protein, and bringing a water bottle to your testing location if you are allowed to do so. Water not only keeps you hydrated, but it also provides oxygen to the brain and that helps you think.

The terrorist bombing at the Boston Marathon was a terrible act of cowardice.  Two bombs were detonated near the race’s finish line at approximately 2:49 p.m., on April 15.  The bombs were set off almost thirteen seconds apart, near the finish line on Boylston Street.  Among the three deaths reported, is that of an eight-year old boy named Martin Richard.  Over 170 people were injured at this tragic event.

Later that same day, President Barack Obama made a statement about the bombing, in which he said, “Any individuals or groups responsible for the senseless bombing will feel the full weight of justice.”

On April 22, the last of the two suspects, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was taken into custody.  The other suspect, Dzhokhar’s brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was killed during a stand-off with the police on the night of Friday, April 19.  There was a visible relief on the faces of Bostonians who lined the street around the area of the arrest.  The crowd cheered wildly in support of law enforcement’s effort, a sight not seen very often in America today.

The bombing’s effects could be felt all over the nation, including in Washington D.C., which is a mere ten miles away from Falls Church.  Falls Church’s own Metro stops as well as local airports had hyped up security.

Among the effects in D.C. after the bombing, Pennsylvania Avenue, in front of the White House, was closed to public traffic for about a week.

The Emancipation Day Parade, which took place the day after the bombing in D.C., also had added security.  People kept a lookout for anything that seemed suspicious, and luckily the event went on without a hitch.

The local effects were relatively minimal; life in our area seemed to go on without much change.  This may have been because the bombing did not occur close to home, and there was no local threat.  The changes were subtle, like a slight increase in traffic because of fear of using the Metro.

On April 17, Tyrone Byrd, principal at George Mason, held a moment of silence for the victims of the bombing.  One week after the incident, Monday, April 22, Byrd again held a moment of silence during seventh block to coincide with the time of the bombing.

Jennifer Jayson, a mathematics teacher at Mason, had firsthand experience with this incident.  Jayson’s husband ran in the Boston Marathon this year, but luckily finished nearly an hour before the bombs went off.  Jayson replied that when the bombs exploded her husband  “was in his hotel… he was going to go down to the finish line to watch others finish the race.”  Thankfully, he was not physically injured, but he was shaken up by the incident.

As stated earlier, maybe the local effects were subtle ones, but much like 9/11, this tragedy will not soon be forgotten, nor should it be.

Mason senior Christina Holman won the Gates Millenium Scholar Award on April 18 meaning that she is completely funded for college throughout her Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees at any college she chooses-- essentially a “free ride” scholarship.

The Gates Millennium Scholarship (GMS) is a scholarship program that includes conferences and mentoring opportunities to their scholars. There are also additional scholarships/internship available only to GM scholars.

“It really is a full network that stays with you throughout your education,” Christina Holman said. “When I found out about my selection a few weeks ago, my family and I couldn't help but celebrate.”

Only 1,000 students are chosen each year from across the country for this "good through graduation" scholarship. This year there were 54,000 applications.

The scholars are selected based on academic achievement, community service and leadership. To receive this award, Holman had to detail her community service activities and her high school grade history. She also had to write eight essays in response to different prompts and have recommendation letters sent for her by a “Nominator” and a “Recommender.”

“I found out about it while I was at an engineering summer program (MITES) at MIT last year,” Holman said. “One of the MITES Teaching Assistants is a past scholar and working on his graduate degree in, I believe, mechanical engineering.”

This very big award is one of many for Holman. She received a large grant from Wellesley College, the school she will be attending next year, and is receiving a scholarship from her church, Allen Chapel AME, and has received the Davis and Davis Scholarship from the DC National Naval Officers Association (DC NNOA). She also received several college-based scholarships such as a STEM scholarship she could have taken for $25,000, being a GWU honors student.

Holman will attend Wellesly College, the sister school of Harvard and MIT, in the fall. She will be studying engineering.

“I am planning to double major: receive a BS in Engineering from either Olin or MIT, through the school's cross-registration programs, and a BA in International Economics through its joint bachelors/master’s program with Brandeis,” Holman explained.

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English teacher Al DeFazio grades a student’s paper for interims this week. Teachers are working hard to finish their interim grades by 8 a.m. Thursday so that they can be available online Thursday afternoon via AccessGM Gradebook.

To give hands-on experience and help her students understand World War I & II and the Cold War, social studies teacher Tracy VanderNaald took 28 of her students to Arlington National Cemetery. This is not the first trip VanderNaald has taken her students on, she also took 17 of her students over spring break to seven of the major memorials: World War II, Vietnam, Korean War, Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., FDR, and Jefferson Memorials.

While going to Arlington Cemetery, VanderNaald was her students’ very own personal tour guide.

“I currently hold a DC tour guide license that I acquired two years ago when I worked as a tour guide. Therefore, I have been trained in touring Arlington Cemetery and I have quite a bit of knowledge about it,” VanderNaald said.

After going to the Arlington Cemetery and watching the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, freshman Annie Mothershead stated “It was humbling seeing all of the tombstones of the men, women, and children buried there. It really made me appreciate the hard work our service men and women do to keep us safe.”

With this experience under VanderNaald’s students’ belts, they now have a more personal understanding of the events they are studying.

Although librarian’s assistant, Mrs. Lynette Kemp, calls her prom in 1985 ultimately “unmemorable,” her prom dress has gotten much use as a dress-up gown for her daughters as well as a costume in the theatre department. Kemp, who opted to get ready with her neighbor as opposed to a big group, felt that prom was just another dance. “I’m more of a wallflower kind of person. I didn’t dance since then, until my own wedding!” laughed Kemp. She concluded that the prom rite of passage has essentially not changed very much since her time. Photo Credit: Lynette Kemp