by James Armstrong, III

With Standards of Learning exams (SOLS) coming the next few week’s students are studying hard, and reviewing in class.  But less than a month after the SOLS, students have to take their final exams in most classes.

The SOLS are being administered on May 21-May 25, and final exams are on June 12-June 15.  If you ask me, those dates are too close together.  Most class grades weigh heavily on these tests and for them to be at the end of the year, it seems all too crazy to me.

Won’t you rather have one big test, then two?  Then the same information won’t have to be studied twice…for five classes!  It would be easier and a lot less stressful if it were done that way.

The only downside is that we do have to take two tests, and it won’t be easy to change.  All we can do to help is study and study hard.  SOL and Final Exam schedules are on the school website at:

 http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/SouthLakesHS/seahawk_news/SOL%20Schedule%202007.pdf.

Click here to go back to May 18th homepage

by Andres Ruiz Morris

In high school today many of us are faced with the pressure of not only making it in school but also face the grueling task of maintaining a job at the same time. Many of us that work as well as go to school understand that our lives have no rest, once school is over our work begins. At the same time we must keep up our GPA, score high on the SAT’s and also worry about projects for IB. So the question is what is there to be done for those of us that are forced into this position?

A great option is Co Op, it lets those that need to go into work leave school early providing they readjust their schedule a bit but they still receive credits for graduation while at work. As for those that cannot give up their classes, they are forced to give up on their jobs otherwise face failing in school, so they must decide for themselves which is more important. Mathew Paulino, a junior at Potomac Falls High School, said on the topic, “It’s so hard for me to work almost full time in a super market and just try to pass in school, sometimes I wish I could just give up on one but I know that ain’t gunna happen.”

A link to information on FCPS’s Co Op program FCPS CO OP PROGRAM

Click here to go back to May 18th homepage

by Lisa Andariese

Many could not wait for the premiere of Spiderman 3; lots of people went to the midnight showing because they could handle the long wait for Friday April, 3. If you have not seen it yet and have no idea what it’s about, read on.   Peter Parker aka Spiderman has finally found a way to split his duties between M.J and being the greatest super hero New York has ever seen. When his suit suddenly changes to black, the other side of Peter Parker, the bad boy no one would have ever guess comes out. Peter has a choice, stay with his new dark side and lose the love of his life, or go back to being the old Spiderman everyone has come to love and enjoy.

The movie Critics gave the movie a B- which means fair, saying it was an overall disappointment with only a few good things to like about it.  “ I was really disappointed when I saw it, because I was expecting so much more, the first two movies had jaw dropping points and then the third movie the only thing I really liked about it were the special affects” says Molly Ferrell a junior. “I was really excited to see this movie because I absolutely loved the first two movies, after the movie I left disappointed, you can’t have two great movies and not have an awesome third it just doesn’t work that way”  said Caroline Murphy also a Junior.

Click here to go back to May 18th homepage

by Caroline Murphy

The South Lakes Prom has always been held on a Friday.  Many students dislike this because they don’t have enough time after school to get everything ready.  Even though it might not seem like it would take that long for guys to get ready, they actually have a lot to do, and the time after school sometimes isn’t enough.

Many girls just don’t go to school on prom Friday.  Most junior and senior girls schedule hair, nail, and make-up appointments for prom.  The only problem with this is that they have to be done during school because they don’t have enough time after.  “I already have my hair appointment scheduled for 11:00am” says junior, Lisa Andariese.

Unfortunately, when you miss a day of school, there is a lot of work to be made up, especially for junior.  “I’m pretty upset prom is on a Friday.  Don’t get me wrong, I like missing school, like any normal teenager.  But, I hate having to make up all the work” says Andariese.

by Parvin Sahraei 

As the school year ends people are already talking about their plans for summer. What will you be doing? Swimming at the pool? Exercising? Going to some camp? Or maybe you have to go to summer school.

If you haven’t been studying much, your goal should be to break out of your bad habits such as listening to you’re ipod instead of doing homework and go to summer school so you don’t have to go the next year because if you keep putting it off you’ll fall behind because it’ll get harder. But at the same try to do things you haven’t done before like maybe you want to show off your talent at the next talent show. Try practicing what you love to do to get ready. Who knows, maybe it could even be your career when you grow up.

Some people will be going on vacations to other countries and islands. If your one of the lucky ones to go, take every opportunity to learn about that place, their culture, life. Get to know the people. It’s always a good idea to know people from around the world. But whatever it is you’ll be doing, remember that its friends and family that make it special.

by Blanca Portillo 

There is no doubt about South Lakes being a wonderful school. It’s under a lot of changes and it looks better and better each day. But one of the things that everyone talks about and criticizes our school for, is that there is a lot of gang related topics. It hurts to know that our school is under that type of criticism. I haven’t heard of one single school that hasn’t had a fight. All schools have to deal with those types of problems. The students always have problems and in highs school, there’s what you call “drama.” Every teenager goes through it and we all have to understand that.

 The staff, students, and everyone that is involved with South Lakes are wonderful people, aside from what everyone else says. Every student needs an education and problems will be faced at all times. One student says, “We are being judged by a few specific people, not as the school as a whole.” Under any circumstances, we are a great school and everyone that attends South Lakes knows that.

by Johanna Martinez 

The year is coming to end and seems like the eldest in our South Lakes clan have come down with a mild yet untreatable condition. The condition is commonly known as senioritis. Some of the common symptoms of senioritis are extreme laziness which can result in, lateness to class, homework not being done, and worst of all, just not coming to school. Though the condition is untreatable there are ways of prevention. Getting involved in sports and other activities can help boost your motivation and give you the time management to get your last assignments in your high school career done. Even so, some seniors just seem to be way too affected by the condition and are hopelessly consumed by senioritis. Senior, Garreth Bossard says, “Now that I’ve been accepted to Villanova, high school work seems a little less important”. So as the days wind down for our beloved seniors, their battles with the common and widespread condition senioritis, wind down as well.

by Anna Zogby 

Adam Brody, who is commonly referred to by his role as “Seth Cohen” from the former T.V. series the O.C., has made it big in In the Land of Women.  His particular acting style, which is attractively humorous, suits this type of movie very well.  It shows a sensitive side of men that they normally wouldn’t get any credit for.

In this film, he portrays a heartbroken young man from
Los Angeles (Carter Webb), who has just been dumped by his famous movie star girlfriend.  In order to try to move on, he goes to take care of his senile grandmother in
Detroit.  While he’s there trying to star over, he becomes friends with the three women across the street…a mom (Meg Ryan) and her two daughters.  He finds himself having feelings that he didn’t know he could feel anymore.  He later finds out that the mother is sick and he feels terrible for interfering with their family.  This “bond” that he’s formed with these women helps him figure himself out, and help him find his way back to normality. 

I really enjoyed In the Land of Women, not only because it is a moving story, but it teaches life lessons.  In Carter’s case, don’t stop your life completely because you have a broken heart, but rather try your hardest to move on; dwelling on the past won’t solve anything.  In the mother’s case, ignoring a situation can lead to bigger problems. If it were up to me, I would give this movie three and a half stars.

Learn more about this movie here

For an overview of this movie, click here

by Michael Shannon 

The Skycar Volantor developed by Moller International, is capable of vertical take-off and landing much as a helicopter, and flies from point of departure to destination much like an airplane. However, the Skycar Volantor is uniquely qualified to travel short distances on the ground, just like an automobile. All of this and incredibly, its easy to fly! Actually, a computer does the flying. The pilot only has to move the controls in the direction he or she wants to go, so that little skill is required. The Moller Skycar is a Volantor capable of these remarkable achievements through the use of an arrangement of proprietary technologies. Favorable power to weight ratio is the basic qualification for VTOL. However, in order to create a safe, environmentally responsible and economically feasible method of transportation, Moller International had to take into consideration a number of components including airframe and engines.

From its inception, the M400 Skycar Volantor has been designed to minimize both direct and indirect costs. The Skycar uses an engine that can burn almost any kind of fuel from diesel to natural gas, so that worldwide refueling can be accommodated by what is locally available. Using gasoline, the M400 can be expected to get over 20 mpg. With a range of 750 miles, the logistics associated with refueling the sharp-range helicopter can be eliminated. The
Rota power engines have only two major moving parts, weigh less than 80 pounds, and occupy less than one cubic foot. The bulk of the remaining technology is electronic and replaceable in modules as the onboard redundant systems identify a failed or failing component. Vehicle size greatly affects ground mobility and parking space required. The Skycar with its component size can be stored in a space the size of a standard single car garage. The landing gear on the vehicle makes road ability possible for short distances. Initially  introduced as the M400, four-seat model, the Skycar technology has the ability to be both scaled up to six passengers, M600, or scaled down to a one seat passenger, M100. This allows a cost efficient vehicle size to accommodate a variety of military, paramilitary, and commercial transport missions.

No matter how well an engine is designed, it has the potential to malfunction at some point during its lifetime. The possibility also exists that something outside the pilot’s control, like bird digestion, could cause an engine or lift fan to fail.

Click here to learn more about the Skycar

By Andres Ruiz Morris

After the April 16^th shootings at VT, the nation has again revitalized the debate over gun control, which until last Monday’s heartbreaking shootings, has been on the back burner of mainstream political debate. At the center of this broad debate is the argument over whether college students should be allowed to carry guns on campus.

Again, the events of April 16^th have polarized the nation, leaving very little middle ground in this specific debate. Those who favor gun rights on campus argue that the shooting could have been prevented if one of the students had been allowed to carry a gun to prevent the shooter from killing 32 people.

On the other side of the debate are those who feel allowing students to carry guns would only be fueling a fire that would only increase the possibility for another incident similar to that on April 16^th. In the larger sense many feel that loosening gun laws in a nation that is relatively lenient on the issue of gun control would open even more doors to criminals and those who could be a potential threat to others.

Seung-Hui Cho, the killer at VT, even though he had a rather prolific history of mental illness was able to pass the regulatory background check in Virginia. What many hope to happen from this ignited debate is a deeper look into the gun fetish of the United States, where it is so easy in certain states (Virginia being one of them) for those with questionable backgrounds to purchase not only sporting weapons but even semi- automatic rifles and pistols.

Reporter for The Center of Public Integrity, Jim Morris (who is in the process of putting together an expose on the gun industry in the US) said “From personal experience, the first hand of the availability of firearms that are manufactured for the use other than “sport” is staggeringly liberal, I personally feel the nation should rethink our general approach to firearms in the United States.”

Back to April 26, 2007