Changing Districts for the Best?

By Lisa Andariese 

Parents are raging at the school district because they are changing the district lines at the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year. Oakton students living in Fox Mill will be switched to South Lakes because they are changing the border line between Herndon and Reston.  The new border line of Reston will go through Fox Mill, and parents are upset about it.

Parents are mad that their children have to go to South Lakes because of all the “bad things” that they hear about it. For instance, South Lakes High School is the most diverse school in the district, and that makes parents scared of sending their children there.

They need to realize that any school they send their children to could be a risk. South Lakes is not a bad school, it has a great IB program, a great faculty, and the students who attend are great as well. Students here at South Lakes actually have “great spirit” and are proud to say they go to South Lakes.

Parents are just afraid of what they have heard, but they have not actually seen it for themselves. If they saw what South Lakes High School was really like inside, they would probably not hesitate to send their children.

Caroline Murphy, a junior at South Lakes, says “It won’t be that bad, parents just have to get over the fact that you can send your child anywhere and there will still be a risk of something happening to them.  Just because South Lakes has a more diverse student population doesn’t mean that we are a dangerous school.”  Many students at South Lakes agree with Murphy’s opinion.  No matter what, the lines in the districts will be changed, and some parents will be upset.  Hopefully, they will calm down after they see what a great school South Lakes is.

Back to April 26, 2007

Russell Simmons and Rap

 

By Ashley Armitage

 

On Monday rap executive Russell Simmons wanted to ban curse words from new and upcoming rap songs. People are complaining that if fans don’t want to hear the cussing then they can buy the edited version, but that’s not the point why Mr. Simmons wants to ban cussing. The reason is because there are younger kids that don’t need to know about guns and sexual content because they have their whole life to learn about it and to know what it is to drink, party, and smoke.

 

If you think about it a lot of a songs talk about rolling, popping, getting high and those aren’t things that little kids should know about. If you have little sisters and brothers then you would know because who wants their siblings walking around talking about that. Also the songs on the radio aren’t good either because if you want to listen to a good song then it going to be hard. Most of the music now is mostly some rap but all the rest is bleeped out. So I understand why Russell Simmons wants to eliminate cussing from music plus he is a music executive so he is well in bounds of his authority.

 

Back to April 26, 2007

Voices and Opinions on SLHS Renovations

By Kaitlyn Clinage 

After the long process of waiting for the reconstruction of South Lakes High School to be completely finished, the second phase of the renovations had just been opened up Monday April 9^th, the first day back from Spring Break.  Since then, many different opinions about the new section of the school have been expressed.

On the positive side of the reconstruction, most people are happy with the way the new section turned out.  The classrooms are and roomy and nice, and all of the furniture is new and in good shape.  Junior, Caroline Murphy explains what she likes about the new renovations, “The best parts of the renovations are the doors and walls in each of the classrooms instead of fire proof curtains.”  

On the negative side, students wish a few things were changed.  The one thing students seem to miss the most, are the four different colored subschools.  Junior, Lisa Andariese explains her feelings on losing the colored subschools. “The one thing that made South Lakes High School different was the colored subschools for each grade level, and the ramps.  No other high school in the area had those features and it made ours original.”

Also, many students feel the new section adds more hallway traffic, but hope it will subside once the other section of classrooms open up, so there won’t be use of the lockers in the hallways. 

Students feel that the new section has a lack of color and they feel like they’re in a hospital or mental institute with the white walls and long hallways.  Some teachers are upset because they cannot put things up on the walls in the new classrooms, and they’re so plain.

Overall, the majority of the school is pleased with the new sections to the new and improved South Lakes High School, and once they are completely finished, it will be easier to see the final product and then compare the new school to the old one.  Once it’s done, South Lakes will be a completely different school and have a whole new reputation.  

Click here to see more information about the renovation at South Lakes

Back to April 26, 2007

Fried or Baked

by Rocio Reyes 

Do you like your potatoes fried or baked that is the question. Here at South Lakes High school we have been forced to eat baked Lays potato chips.  Although they are healthier than fries, the taste is horrible.      

Our favorite french fries have been taken away due to the relocation of the cafeteria. But we think the school should put a bigger effort in trying to move the fries so we can eat tasty food again. Yes that is my opinion and the opinion of many other students. I conducted a survey in which I asked 50 people if the preferred the fries or chips better. An amazing 100% voted in favor of the fries and 0% voted for the chips.

           

Another concern we have is that the chips do not go well with most of the food. Take for example spaghetti, which is a dish with pasta and tomato sauce. If I try to match it with baked potato chips is makes the most disgusting combination ever. We are not trying to blame the cafeteria staff for the new change but we would just like to put our point of view of the change out there. We hope that they do install the fryers back and rest assure, I will be the first in line.

 

Back to April 20, 2007

New Improvements

by Kailey Lanier

Recently, some classes are in new locations in the school and construction restrictions have closed the orange and yellow sections. The school seems a lot bigger and more complicated for the students to navigate. Therefore, there are many signs in the hallways to help students.

Some of the construction workers and custodians moved the lockers out of the blue cafeteria into the gymnastic area. The sophomore and junior students had to relocate their lockers when arriving back from Spring Break. The yellow cafeteria has been relocated to the blue cafeteria.

The new rooms have received new equipment for the teachers and new desk for the students. The desks are not as small as the previous ones and are a lot easier for taller students to fit their legs underneath. Also, we have received doors instead of having to use curtains to divide the rooms. The students are extremely happy that we have received thermostats in the rooms because they were being suffocated by the construction.

Students around the school are trying to get used to the new sections and are beginning to adjust to the changes. A former student Nicole Airhart says, “The school is complicated because we do not have the colors to guide us to class.” Just about every student agrees with this quote by Nicole. Hopefully, soon the students will get used to the new sections of the school.

back to April 20, 2007 

Is Sleep Deprivation Really Necessary?

By Nicholas C. Delos

If you are a Fairfax County High school student chances are you are not getting enough sleep. This is the case for most high school students, according to a recent study. After struggling through another school day, you probably face a large list of pressures obliging you to stay up later, not the least of which lying in your bed. On the other hand, you face early school start times. As a result, you probably give sleep short shrift, maybe even leaving it by the wayside altogether now and then with an all-nighter. Believe it or not, the results of deprivation of sleep turn up in nearly every aspect of your life.

Most experts recommend nine hours of sleep for secondary school age teens and say eight hours is the minimum before negative effects start to surface. However, according to one recent survey conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, only one fifth of those teens are getting nine hours of sleep each night.

Insufficient sleep has been shown to cause a number of problems, including reduced concentration, weight gain, higher risk of depression and lower academic performance. One study, conducted by psychologists Amy R. Wolfson and Mary A. Carskadon, of over 3,000 high-school students found that students who were getting grades in the C’s, D’s, and F’s were going to bed 40 minutes later and getting just 25 minutes less sleep than students who were getting A’s and B’s.

The underlying cause for teens’ later bed times is the shift in the circadian rhythm as children reach adolescence. The circadian rhythm is a daily cycle of activity, which includes the regular sleep cycle. The change in the circadian rhythm makes it harder for teens to fall asleep before 11:00 p.m. and is also believed to cause adolescent teens to prefer to do activities later in the day.

The solution to the problem is to make school opening and closing times later by at least two hours. Such a change would allow for natural sleep times around 11:00 p.m. and have an optimal amount of time to sleep and leave time for breakfast and transportation. Such a change is simplified by the Fairfax County Public School system of tiered starting and ending times. The times for high schools and elementary schools could easily be switched with little effect on transportation logistics. Such changes have also been shown to have little negative effect on extracurricular and sporting activities and student jobs in nearby counties where they have been implemented. The resulting benefits for the community, such as a decrease in the number of traffic crashes caused by tired high-school students, better school behavior and higher grades would by far outweigh the costs of such a change.

back to April 20, 2007