GMHS Lasso Online

The Mr. and Ms. Mason competition is a contest between several students from each grade, selected by the faculty on the basis of academic achievement and character criteria. The students compete in various competitions including creativity, talent, formal attire, and interview skills.

In the end, the winners of the competition are crowned Mr. and Ms. Mason and are embraced with praise for having won such a great title. The senior winners not only embrace the honor of being Mr. and Ms. Mason, but they will also be the Falls Church Memorial Day Parade King and Queen.

As much of a fun and exciting ordeal this competition is, it also has a charitable cause. A portion of this year's proceeds will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as well as to Haiti relief.

A new decade is coming at the end of this year and with it new trends, fashions, artists, and memories will come. Before we embrace the future, let's reminisce on the past. This decade was full of memorable people and objects. Let's take a look back and see what is hot and what is not of this decade.

The process started with all the candidates taking turns reciting a poem that they selected and memorized. As the judges tallied the first round, there was an intermission where the jazz band, accompanied by Adeyianka Bowman, performed "Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones.

Promptly following the intermission, the students stepped forward once more and recited a second poem. The audience was filled with joy as they watched each student recite his or her poem. Some poems brought laughter and excitement, others were intriguing and complex, while some brought tears to the eyes because of the sorrow in the words.

The competition was a great success. Julia Douglas took first place and will go on to the next level of competition in Richmond, VA in April. Even though not everyone could continue on, they all were winners due to their commitment to memorizing and performing their poem.

The forum started off with Mr. Misra welcoming the sophomores and then saying a little bit about the students and the IB program. Next, Yates Jordan introduced the entire panel of alumni. Yates introduced by first and last name, class year, and the college they currently attend. The college list was all across the board, from Harvard University to Oberlin College to the University of Toronto.

"I thought it was nice to hear from actual IB students and how they enjoyed and did not enjoy IB. It was a better perspective rather than hearing Mr. Misra give his rant on how great the IB program is," sophomore Maria Rivas said.

There was laughter and deep, intense thought throughout the entire forum. Students took a different look at the IB program and how it really can positively affect their high school and college career.

Later that evening, the IB alumni returned to the high school to receive their IB certificates in a ceremony. The keynote speaker was IB English teacher Mrs. Alissa Stein, who spoke on the importance of being "colossal receptors" in life-taking in all of the information around us to make informed decisions and judgments on our world.

The Salvation Army is a historically Christian organization that hires teens like the students at George Mason to help with volunteer work. The charity is a wonderful way for a school to get its students involved in helping others, but is it the right charity for a public school? There is one factor that questions the charity's place in a public school setting, and that factor is discrimination.

The Salvation Army has a "but" factor in the charity process, and it has to do with personal religious beliefs. The Salvation Army has a past of discriminating against people of a non-Christian religion and people of the LGBT community. The first thing that comes to mind when hearing this is well, since the "Army" is a "church" organization, this is expected. I believe that they have the right to hire whomever they want for any reasons, but when it comes to these beliefs and standards in a public school setting, it is inappropriate.

George Mason High School is a PUBLIC school and the definition of a PUBLIC school is an educational institution providing an education to all [the public], no matter the demographic. Every demographic, meaning that every type of person, whether they are black, white, Christian, atheist, gay or straight, everyone has an equal opportunity. The Salvation Army does not agree with this; however, it is a private organization that only wants those who meet their religious morals and standards.

Mason does deserve applaud for immersing its student body in the business of charity, but an organization that is friendly to the diversity of the Mustangs would definitely be a much better choice.

To all those Mustangs who enjoy the water, the first day of the 2009 George Mason High School boys and girls swim teams practice starts Monday, November 16. The two coaches Head Coach Mr. John-Michael Lemon and Assistant Coach Mrs. Janice Nette are holding the first in-water swim practice at the Dunn Loring YWCA. All swimmers are expected to attend the practice.

Practices will be held regularly at either the Dunn Loring YWCA (in water practices) or the school gym (dry land practice). Assistant Coach Nette has sent out emails to all the registered students. In the email, information on the upcoming season is posted.

All students participating in winter sports are strongly encouraged to come to the winter sports information night. The information night is taking place on Thursday, November 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the GMHS cafeteria. At this meeting the Athletic Department will have an informative presentation put together for parents. Also parents will be able to ask questions and have them answered by the coaches themselves.

Due to the fact that the swim team meets at the pool that night, all parents of swimmers are asked to arrive early so the coaches can answer any of their personal questions before they depart to the pool.

As the season quickly approaches, the anticipation gets intense. The swim team is sure to have a good season, as long as everyone is dedicated. So to all those signed up, get your swimsuits ready-- practice starts Monday, and our first meet is December 4.

Every year, people and schools around the U.S. take one day (November 11) out of the year to honor and remember those who served our country. At George Mason High School, the students and faculty take the time to honor our very own veterans. George Mason is home to a select few who served our country; they are listed below.

Frank Sheedy- Navy
Joseph Martinez-currently serving in the Marines
Al Kreiser-Air Force
Peggy Monahan-Navy
Officer Steve Rau
Richard Kane
Jim Gravette-Air Force

These men and women have served in all parts of the Navy, Marines, or armed forces. Mr. Al Kreiser served in the US Navy for 30 years before he joined the staff at GMHS. When asked about his fondest memories he answered, "Traveling the world, sailed the Atlantic, Pacific, and the Mediterranean oceans was a wonderful experience." Sounds to me like the story a grandfather would tell his grandson, stories of heroism, and adventures-- the types of stories that GMHS is proud to have our faculty tell.

The history of Veteran's Day goes far back to the ending of World War I. Veteran's Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, was originally set as a holiday to honor the end of World War I. In 1938, legislation passed for November 11 to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and later celebrated and known as Armistice Day. This new legal holiday honored World War I Veterans. After going through the both World War I and the Korean War, the word "Armistice" was replaced by "Veterans" and on June 1, 1954, November 11 was officially known as Veteran's Day, thus the birth of the national holiday we know today.

At GMHS, we do lots of things to show our veterans respect and honor. Right outside the main office (in front of the library) teacher Ms. Maria Shields has set up a commemorative display in the art display case. In this case there are pictures of all the veterans that work at our school. The chorus class is also honoring the veterans by singing for them this Wednesday.

On this Veteran's Day, Masonites would like to take the time to say thank you to those that served our country. To the select few that were brave enough to defend all of us, we want to say thank you, to those a part of our school and all those in the country.

Where have all the GMHS students gone? Not far, most of the students have not even left their homes. George Mason High School's attendance was extremely low last week as an enormous amount of students were out sick, and even more left during school complaining of being sick. Classes are empty, teachers are bamboozled, and students are at a loss without their peers.

If you want to get a feeling for how many students have been absent, just look at the empty desks. The only thing School Clinic Associate Ms. Sandra Patricia could say is that "there has been a high number of students absent this week, that is all I can tell you."

The question is, what exactly is causing all of the Mustangs to be absent? Well the credit goes to none other than the flu. The virus started with one student and then spread like wild fire.

Like the flu, so to do rumors spread; Swine Flu has been the topic of the latest rumors. A handful of students have been diagnosed as having the Swine Flu this year.

The bug is spreading so fast because of sick students attending school. Whether it be because of a large project or a test, some students have decided that they must attend school. This is a horrible idea, and because of it even more students are becoming infected.

Patricio would like to let all students know that "If you are not feeling well please tell your parents, and do not come to school, DO NOT come to school if you are sick!"

How many students will have to be sick in order for school to shut down? Well the answer to that question is fuzzy. There is not a set number of students. In any case, it depends on the number of student to classroom teacher absent ratio.

So to clear things up, do not depend on a number someone has told you, just make sure that you do not contribute to the spread of the flu, and as said many times, KEEP YOUR HANDS CLEAN.

Last Friday during the Homecoming football game, seniors Teddy Rueckert and Courtney Ready were honored with the title of Homecoming King and Queen. During halftime teacher Mr. Erik Healy came to centerfield and told the audience the news.

Ready and Rueckert, receiving the most amount of votes via Angel, were crowned as the King and Queen of 2009 GMHS Homecoming. The pair walked the field with pride as they went to retrieve their crowns. The two took the crowd by storm as they waltzed around the stadium, letting everyone know that it was their special night and to show how grateful they were for everyone's support.

The two ruled the rest of the game and let their superiority spill over to the Homecoming dance. They bounced up and down and "shook their tail feathers," crowns bobbling on top of their heads. Dance attendees could feel their joy and excitement circulating through the air as they danced the night away.

If you have not noticed already, there is a new set of twins lingering at the end of the senior hallway; the two are not the most honest of sort. They lie, cheat, and steal your money. Who are these to tantalizing doubles you asks. They are none other than the two new vending machines installed, in effort to satisfy your mid-day hunger pains.

Unfortunately the last thing these two do is satisfying. I am sure most of us have been bamboozled by the clever acts of these vending machines. The machines continue to have faults and leave customers short. On multiple occasions I have found myself in the hallway kicking and hollering as it greedily ate my money.

One common act of robbery is for the machine to take your money, tell you that what you selected was sold out. Then when you try to get your change back its counter is not in sync and you come up short.

Another annoyance is the fact that before it even allows you to get change it asks you a zillion and one questions, like for starters it ask if you want to buy a different snack (NO). My personal favorite; it asks you if you want your change back! Ummmm... of course I do!

For the impatient (like myself), you might find yourself giving up and leaving in frustration, money lost, nerves on the edge, and stomach growling.

If you do find yourself sitting in the hall robbed, just head down to the office. With some proper evidence and reason, the finance secretary Mrs. Baldo will be happy to give you a refund. After all of this hassle, you will probably be beyond annoyed, but we would like to say that we appreciate Mrs. Baldo for taking the time to help students.

I am sure that the vendors who supply the machines mean us Mustangs no harm, but seriously I think it is time for some maintenance.

Last week was an invigorating experience for all those attending George Mason High. Students showed their school spirit by decorating their class halls and dressing up according to the spirit days. Classes battled it out, all hoping to defeat the infamous seniors and claiming the first place title.

Whether it was out dressing, out decorating, or out-shouting the Mason Battle Cry, every grade was in it to win it.

After school on Thursday the 15th, students stayed after school to decorate their halls. Everyone pitched in to try and defeat the seniors. Gr8's decked out their hall in a "Stone Age" theme, while the freshmen cut taped, and pasted their hall together in an "Ancient Civilizations" theme. Sophomores stepped their game up and showed their spirit plastering the walls of their halls with the "Medieval Times" theme; juniors were on point with their hall boasting the theme of "Age of Exploration." To top it all off, the seniors rocked their hall and went all out, literally, with their theme of "The Future." In the end, the competition had some surprising and not so surprising outcomes. On the not so surprising end of the spectrum seniors, of course, took first place in the hall decorating competition. On the other hand the Gr8's surprised everyone and took second place. Sophomores finished in fourth place, while juniors took third, and freshmen took fifth

The next morning was the official start of spirit week and students dressed up in a Caveman theme. The Flintstones ruled the school, some people got even more creative. I recall seeing "fire" roaming the halls. The next week there was an array of different themes that had students going all out.

To end it all, Friday was "Mason Day," and there was a sea of red flowing through the GMHS halls. Everyone really showed his or her spirit by collectively wearing red. The last block of the day was the pep rally. Here was the opportunity for everyone to let loose and let all of the spirit spew out.

Teachers and faculty complain that they were extremely limited. For starters the old copier only produced black and white images. Poor teachers had to keep it plain and simple. The dinosaur of a copier was also pathetically slow and it jammed non stop. Teachers were losing their cool trying to make copies of our tests and quizzes.

Eventually someone in the big seat had to step up and purchase a new printer, and when they did, teachers could hear the hallelujah chorus in the background. Do you not believe me when I say that teachers were actually jumping for joy when they walked in to the workroom and saw that shiny new printer? Then just take a look at the responses I got from a few teachers when I asked them "How excited were you to see a brand new printer in the office?"

Librarian Lisa Johnson says "Oh yes I am beyond excited, it is just great. The old printer only printed in black and white but now we can print in color, and even scan!"

English teacher Bridget Dean-Pratt (keeping her cool) said "It's good that all the printer machines are up and working, it's always good when everything works."

Some teachers were extremely enthusiastic like English teacher Joy Wagener, who could only utter the words "95 pages a minute... AMAZING!" and science teacher Jessica Naftzinger said, "I am really excited, it's got this cute little screen with all these different options..." She got a little caught up in the moment, and could not even express the excitement that rushed through her.

The excitement around school has put teachers in good moods and I am thinking that's a good thing. Remodeling the teachers' lounge anyone?

A group of students were honored this morning during TA announcements for receiving letters of Commendation from the National Merit Scholarship Program. The students are noted below.

Dean Ball
Hannah Boning
Katherine Buenneke
Jordan Cheney
Julia Douglas
Mary Glover
Wendy Herbst
Grace Kuipers
Natan Lailari
Jason Liew
Graham Overby
Samuel Parker
Emilio Ramos
John Western
Each year high school students from all over the United States enter the National Merit Scholarship Program, an academic competition for recognition and scholarships, in hopes of being distinguished, and receiving a large scholarship that would go to the college of their choice. High school students enter the competition by taking the PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary SAT/National Scholarship Qualifying Test), merit and receiving an exceptionally high score.

Out of 1.5million yearly applicants only 50,000 students receive a score that qualifies them for National Merit Recognition. The students that were mentioned this morning were a few of the 34,000 students that received letters of commendation for receiving an outstandingly great score, but sadly just a mere bit to low to qualify as a semifinalist.

Even though these students were not semifinalists, they are praised for their outstanding academic achievements.

George Mason was buzzing with excitement Thursday as students were anticipating the pictures being taken in the auditorium for picture day by Lifetouch photography company. Everyone in the school had a little more incentive Thursday morning to look their best for the pictures.

Bria Platenburg, sophomore, said "Yes I am excited, because I love taking pictures!"

Starting at 10:05 a.m. the lights were flashing and students were smiling from ear to ear as the photographers cranked out the photos.

Students headed to the auditorium at designated times according to their grade, and first letter in their last name. As you got closer and closer to the auditorium you could feel the excitement from students approaching the photographer stand.

At the end of the day you could hear the laughter and sobs of students after the photographers were gone-- some happy and excited with what they assume their picture will look like, and those who were hoping their picture did not look like what they assumed.

 Parents of the students attending George Mason High School gathered this past Thursday night for the 2009 "Back to School Night," on the mission of navigating through the school to meet and experience their students' teachers and school day.

"I enjoyed having the opportunity to meet my child's teachers, and getting the feel of a school day," said Mr. Eldred, a father of one of Mason's sophomore students.

Teachers put in extra hours to either stay or come back out Thursday at 7 p.m. to meet and answer any questions parents had concerning the classes their children were taking.

Teachers also gave a breakdown of their classes, giving parents insightful information on upcoming major assignments, tests, etc. Parents were also privileged enough to get inside secrets on how to check up on their students.

Previous to getting to meet the teachers, parents had to first get their student's schedule and make their way to each individual class, which presented itself as quite the struggle. Halls were hectic with confused and turned around parents attempting to get to class before the bells rang and "class" began.

Of course us Mustangs could not leave our parents to be bewildered and at a loss. Thankfully the "omnipresent" football and cheerleading team, and a few other volunteers, were there to give a helping hand to confused parents. Some parents made their way to their desired class with ease-- others not so much, which resulted in senior Yates Jordan making the announcement to parents that "cutting class was not acceptable," stirring up laughter and the few guilty smiles.

"It would have been impossible for me to find my way to classes without the help of the guides," said Mrs. Dinsdale, a mother of a sophomore.

Overall, the night went very smoothly, and was enjoyable. Parents and teachers both enjoyed the few hours they had together. The night ended with great ease and a few ending remarks from Mr. Byrd. It was truly a perfect way to start off the school year between parent and teacher.