GMHS Lasso Online

Every year, hundreds of raptors are injured and left to die. But thanks to Kent Knowles of the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia, they can be rescued and hopefully be released back into the wild.

Knowles visited science teacher Dr. Peter Mecca’s class on Tuesday to inform the students about the birds, and showcase different birds.

The birds he brought in are ones that are too injury to be released back into the wild and be able to thrive by themselves. So Knowles uses them to inform students about the different kinds of birds.

A lot of the injuries are caused by car accidents to the birds. Knowles says this can be helped by not throwing out your food from your car onto the road. This is not because the birds eat the food, but mice do and the raptors will try to eat those mice, then sometimes tragically meet their fate with a car.

Read other articles by Jack>>>

Students may have noticed the school quieter and many students wearing matching red shirts Friday, April 20. Well it isn’t a coincidence; it is students showing their support of victims who are bullied due to sexual orientation.

It is known as “Day of Silence” and it takes part throughout hundreds of high schools across America.

So why silence? Shouldn’t you speak out about it instead of remaining silent?

Senior and Gay Straight Alliance member Emma Pierce said “There are people whose real voices are silent everyday, because they’re afraid of harsh treatment and judgment.”

Students are encouraged to remain silent for the day to show support of those who are the voiceless in fear.

But there is more you can do 365 days a year to help support the cause.

“Stop using negative words about sexual orientation or making jokes about it,” Pierce said.

Part of the way to end bullying about sexual orientation is to stop putting such a negative tone on our words.

Having won their prior two games, the boys soccer team came into the match with a positive vibe. They were set to face new Bull Run district rivals William Monroe High School.

Junior Adam Witzel passed the ball to senior Ian Oosterban for a goal with 29:49 left in the first half. That is all Mason would need as the defense and goal tending wouldn’t allow anything to go into the net to secure a 1-0 Mason win.

Going into Tuesday’s game against Central High School, George Mason had not gotten their first victory of the season. They lost their first two games, and tied their third.

Senior Max Kaplow took the mound in the top of the first and surrendered a run, but he got back a run in the bottom of the first on a single to drive in senior Stephen Lubnow.

The score would remain tied at one a piece until the fifth inning when freshman Evan Davis drove in a run to give Mason a 2-1 lead.

Kaplow would return to the mound for the rest of the game to seal the win for Mason.

Read other articles by Jack>>>

Have you ever been at a restaurant and been bored? Well thankfully on Leap Day 2012 at Mad Fox, no one had that problem thanks to a band called “Lu and the Blues Crew.”

The band is made up of Mason students including senior vocalist Lu Sevier, senior Devin Divecha on guitar, junior Nathan Cooper on bass, and senior Trevor Simpson on drums.

They started to play at 7:30 p.m. and performed all night along with other local bands. On the playlist were “Folsom Prison Blues,” by Johnny Cash; “Hootchie Cootchie Man,” by Willie Dixon; “Po Black Maddie,” by F.L. Burnsides; “Black Horse and a Cherry Tree,” by K.T Tunstall; “Thrill is Gone,” by B.B. King; “Stormy Monday,” by Eva Cassidy; “Level,” by The Raconteurs; “Paris,” by Grace Potter and The Nocturnals; “Blue Veins,” by The Reconteurs; “Mustang Sally,” by Wilson Picket; and “Honeyed Out,” by Kris Delmhorst.

Simpson was asked to play drums after McAllister learned he wasn’t able to attend. He learned all the songs on the drums in two days and played very well.

Band member Divecha said “I thought it was an amazing show and a great opportunity to show support for the Falls Church arts.”

He was also happy about the atmosphere of the performance saying “I’m glad everyone there was so enthusiastic about it.”

When walking through the hallways of George Mason High School, many students have noticed a campaign to end the use of a term for the intellectually disabled.

The “R” word has been used by teenagers for many years as a way to show dislike for something. The Best Buddies Club has always stood up against the word, and is trying to get Mason students to see that it is not an okay word to use.

They have set up a large poster outside of the Mustang Café that students are able to sign promising to not use the word again. Students who sign it receive a piece of candy wrapped with a piece of paper that says “RESPECT is the new R word.”

Many posters have also been hung around the school reminding students that the word is offensive to many-- not only those who are intellectually disabled, but the many family members that have been affected by it.

Check out the video created by the Treasure Valley Down Syndrome Association in support of the Spread the Word to End the Word campaign,

There is a new young band that goes by the name of Thoughts on Standby. The band is a creation of Mason senior Matt Gemond (bass and lead singer), and Bishop O’Connell High School seniors Tonito Walls (drums and saxophone) and John Toth (guitar and backup vocals). They formed the band while they went to school together at O’Connell in 2008.

Despite Gemond transferring to Mason and leaving his O’Connel bandmates behind, these are still some of the best friends you can find together and who play excellent music. They are a punk band, but also incorporate jazz and other music genres into their songs.

They have performed at numerous places such as Jammin’ Java, at George Mason for Spring and JV Shows, private cocktail parties, and fundraisers. But they were recently asked to perform in a show called “The Next Big Thing Tour,” which finds local talent and allows them to play at an all day music festival at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. There are two other stages, one at a place called DC9 and another at the Rock and Roll Hotel, but the 930 Club is by far the most sought out.

Thoughts on Standby went on stage at around 3:50 p.m. on Saturday and performed four original songs and one cover of a song. The first song they played was entitled “What I Used to Be,” followed by their hit song “Take the Kids Inside,” then their cover of Taking Back Sunday’s “Decade on the Influence.” They also played a song called “105,” and their final song named “Dr. Dank” was accompanied by their friend from O’Connell, Marc Saucer singing lead vocals.

The crowd loved the band’s music, including several George Mason students who made the journey to the club, as they cheered for Gemond in the front row of the stage.

Gemond said “I thought it went well.”  He also liked the bands that went on before and after him, saying, “as the day went on the bands got better and better, and the music got tighter and tighter.”

This is the second year of existence for the George Mason hockey team. Last year, Mason partnered with Potomac High School to create it. So far the team’s record is 2-7, but the whole team still plays very hard and is determined to win. The team practices at Kettler Capital’s Iceplex, the same place where the Washington Capitals practice, which is above Ballston Mall. There are seven members of the team: junior Taylor Arney, sophomore Adam Fendley, sophomore Matt Lowery, sophomore Connor Rhodes, sophomore Jack Stricker, sophomore Hunter Olsen, and senior Hans Olson. Hans Olson is the captain of the team.

Last Monday, the team faced off with Flint Hill School in Reston at Skatequest Reston Arena. In the first period Mason fell behind early after giving up a goal to Flint Hill at 4:04 making it 1-0. Mason tied it at one a piece at 5:27 when Hunter Olson scored. Sadly, the team would allow three more goals to make it a 4-1 deficit. Mason was outshot 7 to 15.

Mason fought hard in the second period, but they gave up a goal at 00:16 in to make it 5-1, then later gave up another goal at 4:41 giving Flint a 6-1 lead. Captain Hans Olson copied his brother and scored a goal for Mason at 6:19, making it 6-2. Flint scored one more before the end of the second to make it 7-2. Flint had 14 shots while Mason had 9 shots in the period.

In the third Mason played great defense. Unfortunately, they allowed two more goals to Flint at 6:21 and at 14:28. Mason was unable to score a goal, making the final score 9-2 in favor of Flint Hill. Mason was only able to shot 3 more times, giving them a total of 19 shots for the game, while Flint was able to shoot 7 more times for a total of 36 shots on the night.

The team is not going to let this loss keep them down, however.

Sophomore Connor Rhodes said, “this gives us some momentum and thrive to win our next game against Briar Woods,” which is on February 24^th at 6:30 at Kettler.

The game is their season finale, and they would love to see some support from Mason students as they lace up the skates one more time.

To most students at George Mason, special education teacher Jamie Lahy seems like a bow-tie wearing, helpful teacher. What most students don’t know about Lahy is that he breeds dogs and plays the banjo.

In seventh grade, Lahy’s mother made him play the piano but he didn’t like it. Much to his dismay, his mother forced him to stay in music, so he chose the banjo. He chose the banjo out of spite, because it was the most annoying instrument he could think of at the time. Over time, he learned to love it and still tries to play every day for at least 45 minutes.

Lahy’s favorite banjo performers are Bela Fleck and Pete Seeger, and his favorite song to play is “John Stinson #2.” He sometimes performs locally and at jam sessions with other banjo players. He even made an appearance alongside Jason Kutchma, junior, in this year’s fall JV Show.

Lahy also would like to remind people that the banjo is a serious instrument and not “just for rednecks.”

Aside from picking away at the banjo, Lahy also breeds dogs in his spare time.  During his sophomore year in college, Lahy received his first show dog, a commodore. He liked them because they looked unique and pretty. After college he started to show dogs professionally and soon received a job at one of the world’s largest show-dog kennels. For four years, they showed some of the top show dogs in the entire country.

Editor’s note: Before you read this article I would like to point out that this is satire. If you use these tips’ to help you study, you’re most likely going to fail your exams. This was written for comedic purposes.

George Mason’s girl’s basketball team didn’t have to travel far to reach Yorktown High School in Arlington, and when they got there they dominated, beating the triple A team 54-50.

Senior Lauren Kane, junior Stephanie Chaney, senior Krista Kelly, senior Leah Roth, and sophomore Ashley Alexander started the game for the Mustangs. Mason fought hard, but was trailing 12-11 after the first.

In the second quarter, Mason took the lead 21-20, after strong offensive surges from Chaney, sophomore Rebecca Moot, and senior Leah Roth. They only let the Yorktown Patriots score 10 during the second quarter.

After half time, Mason continued to stay strong, expanding their lead to 36-28 after the third quarter. Krista Kelly, senior, sunk two baskets, along with Moot shooting a three pointer, and Chaney giving Mason six points in the third.

Yorktown fought back in the final quarter, playing aggressively and scoring 22 points. But their comeback was not enough as Mason scored 18 points, led by Chaney who scored 11 points in the fourth, securing Mason with a 54-50 win over Yorktown.

Kelly finished with six points, Roth with three, Kane with six, Chaney with 28, Alexander with three, Moot with six, and Katie Goodwin, freshman, with two.

Life Skills students have been delivering mail to teachers since the middle of last school year, but this year it has increased significantly according to teacher Stephanie Ciskowski. The students with intellectual disabilities go to teachers who request it every sixth block.

Ciskowski says it is helpful for the students because it “works on vocational skills, which students could be doing after high school.” She also added “it helps with social skills such as greetings, goodbyes, and other formal conversation. 

Librarian Lisa Myklestad thinks “it’s great for them to get out and to interact with teachers and other students instead of just being in the same classroom all day.”

The special education department thinks it has been helping the students in the program, and the teachers receiving the mail think so too, like Myklestad who said “I love it. So many times I forget to get my mail, but they deliver it to me.” She is also very satisfied with the timing of it saying “I always get my mail and magazines in a timely fashion.”

Students may have noticed an increasing amount of mustaches making George Mason look like a 1980’s baseball team. Many people have heard of the term “no shave November” which showcases men’s ability, and sometimes lack of ability, to grow facial hair by seeing how much of a beard they can grow over the month. But the month is also known as “Movember” which stands for Mustache-November.

So what is Movember? It is a month long event that allows men to grow out their mustaches to show their support for prostate cancer. Guidance counselor Brad McAdam introduced it to George Mason and shows off his mustache proudly. McAdam heard about Movember from some friends of his, but the organization of “Movember” originally started in Australia 10 years ago.

The way this gains money is by having a donation jar, which can be found in front of the library. The money is collected by McAdam and donated to the organization through their website www.movember.com . In the 10 years it has been around, the organization has raised over $174 million.

Some rules for Movember are that no chin or sideburn hair is allowed. You must also shave at the beginning of the month, but McAdam said that he cheated on that part, by just shaving off the rest of his beard to set an example of a full mustache. Males that participate in Movember are known as “Mo Bros” and females that support them are known as “Mo Sistas.”

Male students that are facial-hair-impaired and females can show their support by donating money in a teacher’s name, and the teacher just might wear a fake mustache for a day.

After driving two hours in freezing cold rain and snow at 5:45 a.m. on Saturday, October 29, Mason IB Theatre students were saddened to know that the competition was suspended due to some competing schools closing due to weather. So it was rescheduled to the following Tuesday, which Mason students did not find out about until the night before.

The day of the competition, the student actors arrived at school at 6:30 a.m. to make the two-hour bus ride down to William Monroe High School, a 98-mile ride. When students arrived, they were informed that the only room they had for rehearsals was in the boy’s locker room. But students kept their attitudes at their best and adapted.

Mason competed with other schools in the Bull Run District whom they have faced before. The students performed the first act of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Senior Bryan Ward played Romeo and senior Morgan Eldred played Juliet. The judges were very delighted and said that Mason showed a level of maturity and understanding of Shakespeare that most adults do not.

As Spirit Week continues at George Mason, students put on their leather coats and spiked their hair to show the inner rock star inside of them. As reggae, jazz, rap, and country music have passed, George Mason students celebrate the musical styling of rock today.

Students can show their school spirit and get points for their class by dressing up as any genre of rock which includes: classic, modern, metal, hardcore, and many more. The possibilities are very wide for it, so go out and express the rock star inside. Just don’t slide across the floor knees first; the tile floor could leave some injuries.

The nationwide Best Buddies club recently partnered up with George Mason. What is the Best Buddies Club? Vice-President of the club, Maeve Curtin, said “It is a movement to create equal opportunity within the schools and jobs for people with intellectual developmental disabilities.”

At the high school level the point of it is to create social integration for kids with and without intellectual developmental disabilities.

Best Buddies does this by allowing George Mason students to have a one on one friendship with one of these students. The pairing of Buddies has already been decided, but the club is still looking for associate members who care about the cause of the club and want to be involved. Even prospective members not interested in being paired with a Buddy are invited to participate in the club.

They only meet once per month on the first Friday of every month.  This allows students to help but not have it be a commitment they can’t fulfill.

Club leaders include President Pamela Arias (senior), and Vice-President Maeve Curtin (sophomore). Also on the leadership committee is secretary Krystal Le (senior), Savannah Ruiz (senior) who is the publicity chair, and Courtney King (sophomore) who is the treasurer.

If your idea of metal is just bands screaming and yelling, you are wrong. One of metal’s most famous bands, Mastodon, does not worship Satan or just play their guitars fast. They play what people in the metal world know as “Sludge Metal” and “Progressive Metal.”

You may know Mastodon already from their most famous song “Sleeping Giant” off their album “Blood Mountain.” That song has appeared in numerous movies, tv shows, and even was available to play on Guitar Hero.

Mastodon just released their new album “The Hunter,” which is their fifth studio album and their first since 2009 when “Crack the Skye” was released. The album has 15 songs and is almost an hour long.

The album came out to rave reviews from places like CraveOnline.com who gave the album 10/10 and Thrash Hits who gave it a 7/7.

Mike Davis from BBC music said about the album that it "is sure to connect with anyone who’s previously rocked out to the band's wares just as easily as it will absolute beginners."

The general public made it popular also by making it the fifth best selling rock album currently on iTunes.

Although some of their song names are silly like “Octopus Has No Friends” and “Blastroid,” their music is very serious, like their song “All the heavy lifting” which features lyrics like “Just close your eyes. And pretend that everything’s fine” and their song “The Hunter” which has the lyrics “Free from it all, breathe in the darkest fall. We laugh and cry through a brother’s eye for now.”  Their two singles off the album are “Black Tongue” and “Curl of the Burl.”

Their music isn’t dirty at all so parents will appreciate it. The album is labeled under “clean” meaning that there aren’t any curse words or even suggestive themes, which is rare in today’s times when almost every album has a “Parental Advisory” sticker on it.