By Ashley Armitage

One week left of school for all the underclassmen. That also means that this is the last online issue of the sentinel for the year even though we just stared this has been a fun experience for me and everybody else that is in the Journalism 1 class. I hope that the online version of the school newspaper goes on next year also.

Another end of the year thing is that all of the seniors are going away to college and that means that a lot of people are going to go their separate ways, and some people won’t even see their friends anymore. But I say congrats to all the seniors and I hope they do well and succeed in life.

To all the underclassmen we all still have some years to go. Some of us 1 others 2 or 3 years left but remember to make your high school years the best 4 years of your life and that we will all be seniors soon. Have a great Summer!!!

By: Katie Busch 

Finals are almost here and students can already feel the pressure to hand in overdue work and complete unfinished assignments while studying to prepare for finals. School seems just be getting easier at the bitter end and then we realize we have to recall everything we learned this year to make out with a decent final grade.

On the positive side of exam week we won’t have any work besides studying. Also we get out of school at noon on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Plus, with finals coming it means it’s almost the end of the year which I’m sure everyone is happy, or at least relieved, to hear.

Students who are overwhelmed by exam week shouldn’t be worrying so much because there are ways to take the pressure off final exams and ultimately get a better grade on your final. The first and most obvious way to prepare for finals is by studying. If you’re a little confused in one subject find someone who knows that subject well to tutor you or even ask your teacher for help. Other ways to be ready for finals is to get a good night’s sleep and eat breakfast. Don’t cram the night before because what you don’t already know you won’t learn or learn well in a single night. Study and take some time to relax and you’ll do well on your finals.  

By: Lourdes Vazquez

The one thing everyone talks about during the last week of May is of course the Herndon Festival. It always starts the last Thursday of May until the Sunday of that week. Herndon is known for their festival, it always full of games, food stands, rides and people. It’s a great time to go out with friends, meet friends and run into old ones. The festival is known for its rides such as the samurai, the zipper and tilts a word. So if you go you should definitely get on those. On Thursday you can go early and get a wrist band so you can get in for free the rest of the week and get on the rides for free. The Herndon festival is so much fun and there’s no reason to miss it.

Summer is coming and the countdown has already begun! As of Today Friday June 8^th we have 7 school days left. Over the summer many are focusing their summer solely on friends and having fun, but everyone needs money to do the things they want to do. So what do you do? Get a job! Many places are looking for summer help, restaurants, summer camps etc, they pay well too.

Summer events that you will need money for are, Concerts, The big John Mayer concert is at the end of July, don’t miss it. Road trips, beaches, and amusement parks cost lots of money and most teenagers cant afford that, and don’t think that your parents are going to help out either.

Hanging out by the pool, getting tan, going to friends houses and having fun is what summertime is all about. Waitresses get paid minimum wage but their tips all ads up; even in small restaurants you can end up getting a lot of money a night. Summer Camp jobs, like counseling pays between ten to eleven dollars an hour.

 If you want to do what you want this summer and it costs money, do what you need to do and get a job.

 By Alex Tudor

            In the cafeteria and around the school there are many different vending machines. A lot of students rush out of the house, trying to catch the bus or just make it to school on time.  If this happens, normally students will just grab a Cheez-it or other snack during the 10 minutes we have between classes. Lately some of the vending machines have been locked so that students cannot buy anything until 10:15.

            The Vending Machines that sell soda in the cafeteria were cut off until after school awhile ago. Although the cafeteria soda machines have been cut off other ones around the school haven’t. The Gatorade bottles run for $1 while Soda cans run for 75cents. To find these unlocked soda machines turn right after coming out of the locker rooms and they’ll be there on the left.

By: Andres Ruiz Morris

                                    Juniors of the class of 08 have a big year ahead of them. The end of this school year closes the chapter on the class of 07 but opens a new door for the rising juniors. Although senior year is often viewed as a layed back year, the amount of pressure for those of us who seek to get into college is enormous and we are forced to realize that the minute the last day of school is over, the rush begins to do everything possible to get into that one good college. This Summer Juniors will be forced to buckle down and plow through SAT’s and ACT’s while trying to find all the money to even go to college if we’re lucky enough to get accepted. During our Senior Year, the class of 08 will need to keep our minds open and think out of the box in order to maintain an edge for our college applications. Tiffany Chan, a junior of 08, said on the issue, “It’s very overwhelming, It’s hard to remember all these dates for Tests and tours and stuff, I just can’t wait till I can finally get accepted somewhere!”

Here is a link to Fast web, a great site that lets you customize your goals and needs for college to find scholarships that can provide financial support for college.

Fastweb

By: Rocio Reyes 

          When you join a school sport you have a set schedule. You go to school, then go to practice. Practice usually lasts for about 2 hours or more. That usually takes up all your time everyday and then you do the same thing over and over and over again everyday expect on weekends. But what do you do when the season is over? What do people do now with this new gained time? That is the problem most athletes are facing. The have “free time” now after school but have nothing to do or wish they could keep playing to stay in shape. One of the best things to do is keep in touch with your team mates. Doesn’t matter what sport you played. You should organize game days between the entire team and just meet and play. You can also go running, go to the gym or better yet stay after school and check out the sports clubs out there.

By Kaitlyn Clinage 

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First off, some students have less work to do now that school is almost over, because their major projects and assignments have already been due.  With all the testing that’s going on right now, teachers aren’t assigning homework to students to enable them to study if the feel they need or want to.

Secondly, the majority of school sports are over and the pools are opening up. Because of this, students are spending more time with their friends and at the pool; they no longer want to do their school work.

Thirdly, those of us who aren’t seniors wish we were, and are seeing their peers leave early or coming late to school, therefore we wish we could do the same.  Because they only have two and a half weeks left of school, which makes it harder on the rest of us to think that we still have school after they graduate.

Also, some students are calculating their GPA’s and trying to figure out the bare minimal grade percentages they need to keep their fourth quarter grades as high as possible.  For example, if a student receives an “A” all year in one class, they might only need to get a “B” or “B+” to maintain their “A” for their final grade remarks for that class.  Some students feel it is unnecessary to do all the extra work and studying to get an “A” when they might not need it, especially with their lack of energy and excitement for the summer.

Lastly, some teachers are also getting sick of school and are anticipating and counting down the days left, just like we are.  Therefore, they don’t want to do anymore work either.  Because of this, students are having less work to do at school, and watching movies in their classrooms.  I can guarantee those students aren’t complaining, but that has a major impact on how they determine how much time they put into their school work.

By Alexander Crowder                As grades soar, so do the expectations of colleges. This is one of the main concerns of the student body these days. As schools up their learning requirements and push their kids to get exemplary grades, suddenly the grades do not become as exemplary. When once, a 3.7 was exemplary, now it is expected, and a 4.0 is the new standard. While it can be considered a good thing, those kids with grades that are the old special, are finding it difficult to get into college. Also the colleges find it hard to accept these people based on grades anymore, seeing as all of them have the grades required The consequence of this is that colleges are no longer looking for grades and academics to get their student’s enrolled, and are now focusing their attention on the ever dreaded SAT. The grades have gone out the window and are now replaced by standardized test scores, so now in order to find your way into a college, not only must your grades reach above the normal standard, but so must your test scores, causing a distress among the student body. He question became, since when did we have to push ourselves so hard in order to get ourselves to a place that could allow us to continue with our lies and so forth. While colleges sympathize with most of the student body, there is still nothing that they can do and the great fear among the educators and students alike is that the same thing will happen with the SAT’s and that they will have to find a new alternative for accepting students. 

by Eliana Diaz