by Rebecca LimManaging Editor

For most kindergartners, going to school, playing outside and having play dates with friends is a given. But for five-year-old Brooke Mulford, chemotherapy, frequent hospital stops and radiation treatments have become all she has known since she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a form of cancer that affects developing nerve cells.

High school math teacher Jennie Burgee, Mulford’s aunt, has campaigned for her niece’s cause since she was diagnosed last year.

“Things we take for granted she can’t do. Childhood is a time to be free and happy, and that is taken away,” B u r g e e sa id . “ I t breaks my heart.”

Burgee’s e f f o r t s t o raise money f o r c a n c e r r e s e a r c h have already sparked interest a n d c o n c e r n among students o n t h e i s s u e o f c h i l d h o o d cancer.

“It’s emotional because childhood cancer is the

hardest thing to watch even an adult go through, let alone a child,” Burgee said.

This year, her cause coincides with the St. Jude Rally Against Childhood Cancer, which SGA is running for the third year.

“It’s really simple. We’re not asking for hundreds of dollars,” junior Brittany Addison said. “It’s more about getting the cause out there and getting the community involved.”

St. Jude Children’s Hospital operates solely on funding from donations, and unlike any other facility of

i t s k ind , offers aid to

its patients “ w i t h o u t

r e g a r d t o t h e

family’s ability to pay,” according to stjude.org. It costs $1.5 million to run St. Jude for one day.

“ Wi t h t h e h a r d economic times, it’s hard to raise funds, so donations are more important than ever,” junior Laura Whalen said.

But despite the r e c e s s i o n , r a l l y participants raised about $12 ,000 in donations through t h e 2 0 0 9 l e t t e r -writing campaign.

“ W e f o u n d that we had a big following and that a lot of kids want to do it,” Whalen said. “It keeps growing every year.”

T h e r a l l y brought the LBSS c o m m u n i t y together to target a n i s s u e t h a t i m p a c t s m o r e than just victims of cancer.

“ M y m o m had cancer, so I know what i t’s like to deal with a family member

who has it,” junior Kyle Gosain said. “I don’t know how to describe it—it’s the feeling you have when a loved one is sick and you want to help, but you don’t know how.”

St. Jude’s mission is to eradicate childhood cancer through treatment and research, a conviction that Burgee deems “an excellent cause,” she said.

Since its opening in 1962, St. Jude has become “one of the leading pediatric research facilities in the world,” and the overall survival rate for childhood cancer has soared from 20 to 80 percent, according to stjude.org.

The effort against childhood cancer is advancing every day.

But for now, the most that can be done by cancer patients and their families is remain strong, encouraging and hopeful.

“When people who are closest to you need help, the issue becomes so much more important,” Gosain said.

Service events, like the St. Jude Rally, that spread awareness and get the community involved, bring cancer researchers and scientists one step closer to finding a cure.

“It brings tears to my eyes when I hear about [childhood cancer] because I think of Brooke, happy and healthy, then watching her grow weaker over the course of a year. A child doesn’t understand why this is happening. She just wants to be a normal child, and she can’t,” Burgee said. “But she still manages to smile and laugh.”

Lake Braddock Secondary School9200 Burke Lake Road, Burke, Virginia 22015

bear factsthe

Wednesday, January 27, 2010Volume XXXVII, Issue 5

E d i t o r i a l

insi

de

S p r e a d

F e a t u r e

Students rally for a cause On Friday, Jan. 15 during lunch, students rallied

together to raise money for St. Jude. Across

LB, students and faculty rally and raise money

and support for a variety of causes.

Check out the decade’s top ten on spread, pages 10-11.

LBMT performed a production of Guys and Dolls from Jan. 21-24. If you missed the show, catch the recap in photos on page 19.

Did you hear about...?

Name-calling and gossiping is hurtful, even among friends. When is the line drawn between playful teasing and offensive insults? See what your peers think on page 9.

Find out which of your peers participate in two or more sports during the winter season on page 17.

photo by Neal Chhabra

Seniors Shivangi Bhatt and Brisette Carrasco-Salazar help

students sign up for the rally.

Do you know who else sits in your chair? Turn to page 5 to find out!

S p o r t s

2News27 January 2010

by Haley Von CanonReporter

Sept. 11, 2001 was by far the most influential event of the decade. At 8:46 a.m. that morning the first plane hit the World Trade Center’s first tower a n d was followed soon after by another attack on the second tower. A third plane flew into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m., and a fourth plane went down in Shanksville, Pa. Three-thousand people where recorded dead or missing in the aftermath of the m o s t d e v a s t a t i n g terrorist attack in U.S. history, but the magnitude of this event spread far beyond the d e a t h t o l l . 9/11 was at the dawn of this decade and shaped it for the years t o c o m e . Teachers and students alike look back on that day with horror.

“I was in college, and I woke up and got on the computer and the first message I got was from a friend who said ‘America is under attack,’ ” English teacher Kelly McMillan said. “Classes were canceled, and we watched TV while waiting to hear from friends and family in D.C.”

9/11 and the wars that followed have lasted into this decade and making it the top event in the countdown.

The most-recent presidential election had everyone biting their fingernails in anticipation on Nov. 4, 2008, to see who the next president of the United States would be. Both competing parties, regardless of who won, would be making history. The Republican elect, John McCain, planned to leave his mark by having the first woman v i c e

president, Sarah Palin.

On the other side, the Democrat Barrack Obama, had the potential to be the first African-American president. In the end Obama won electoral votes by a landslide 365 to 173.

Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States on Jan. 20, 2009, etching his name in history as being the first African=American president of the United States. Due to the election being so controversial and the significance of the result, makes Obama’s election the second

event in the countdown.Hurricane Katrina was the strongest

hurricane in U.S. history. It started as a category 1 hurricane over the Bahamas, and as it made landfall in Florida, it lost significant amounts of strength but regained it as it went over the Gulf of Mexico, upgrading into a category 5 hurricane as it ripped into the G u l f

Coast, including

New Orleans, La. The breaking of the levees was the major

reason for the incredible losses of life and property. The hurricane was devastating enough, but the aftermath and response left many people stranded. Refugees in New Orleans where evacuated to the Superdome, where conditions quickly deteriorated. The loss of life and home was devastating, and the political and economic aftermath left a

part of the Gulf Coast in shambles, which is why Hurricane Katrina is No. 3 in the countdown.

The first election of the decade was almost a premonition for the controversial decade that would follow. The candidates were Vice President Al Gore on the democrat side and

Texas Governor George W. Bush, as the Republican representative.

It started as a normal race and as the voting began and as the numbers came in, the trouble started. The state of Florida was the main cause of this controversy.

Bush was declared the winner before all the popular votes were counted. Bush did indeed win the electoral vote (276 to 271) but Gore sued for a manual recount when claims rolled in that some votes were not counted and the tally machines had malfunctioned.

N o p r e s i d e n t -elect was declared for 36 days. Finally the

Supreme Court ordered to stop the recount and

in a vote of 5-4 George W. Bush was declared the winner.

There are many conspiracies surrounding the election, and it raised the question of how dependable voting machines. It also prompted the modernization of the voting process. It also invoked the idea of possible manipulation of the votes and that the electoral voting process is possibly undemocratic. The election and controversy surrounding it made this event No. 4 in the countdown.

Go to the bfacts.org for the rest of the countdown.

by Kailey LeinzReporter

The 2010 Climate Change Conference was held by the United Nations in early December in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was the 15th Conference of Parties held to discuss the pressing matter of Climate Change.

Ambassadors, delegates and leaders traveled from 170 countries to the conference. One of the main topics discussed was global warming.

“There are two views regarding climate change,” said AP environmental science and Biology teacher Mark Khosravi. “One is the alarmist view in that the climate is warming and that humans are accelerating the condition by burning fossil fuels, deforestation, etc., and the evidence points towards warming trends that are leading to recent changes in the polar ice caps (melting), glacier melts retreats, emergence and expanded ranges of species more tolerant to warm temperatures. The other view is the skeptics, which they believe the change is due to a number of factors that occur normally in earth’s natural cycles. Evidence points toward Continental drift

theory, solar sunspots, fluctuations in the earth’s orbit and so on. Basically the earth is dynamic in that change is constant.”

Global warming is a reality, and a significant cause is the emission of greenhouse gasses as a result of human activities, according to the UN’s Climate Change Web site.

The UN is not the only group that is trying to find a solution for global warming.

“What I tell students is that they should research for themselves and come up with their own ideas,” Khosravi said.

LB’s E.C.O. club is also taking an active role.

“Global warming [is a] very important problem,” E.C.O. club president and sophomore Jared Cachuela said. “It can lead to climate change, and climate change effects everyone. Especially future generations. We should try to prevent global warming right now.”

E.C.O. stands for Environmentally Conscious Organization. They encourage others to be environmentally friendly and do green projects like collecting boxes for recycling cans and bottles around the school.

Another problem discussed at the UN conference was the “global carbon budget,” which is an estimate of the world’s total greenhouse gasses.

“The quantity of greenhouses gasses is increasing faster than in even the most carbon-intensive scenario,” the UN Web site stated.

Other problems that should have been discussed were deforestation, loss of ice and wetlands due to rising sea levels and dramatic changes in the weather, Cachuela said.

E .C.O. i s work ing to he lp the environment at LBSS.

“We’re currently collecting boxes for cans and bottles for each classroom because as of right now there’s only boxes for

Progress made in CopenhagenLeaders meet to discuss climate change

Arenas pleads guilty to gun chargesby Latianna Harris

Reporter

Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards shooting guard, is an excellent player, but that doesn’t mean he’s immune to getting in trouble. Arenas has pleaded guilty to carrying a pistol without a license after he was being investigated because he admitted to bringing guns into the Verizon Center team locker room to keep them out of his house and away from his children. He tweeted about his situation and was seen posing his hands as guns and waving them in the air before his game in Philadelphia, which ultimately led to the NBA’s decision of indefinite suspension without pay.

“His behavior was juvenile, that’s what put him over the edge and got him suspended,” marketing teacher Steve Sacks said.

Arenas was born and raised in Tampa, Fla., then moved to Los Angeles so his father could pursue his acting career. Arenas began to focus on basketball when he was around 11 and went on to play in high school and for the University of Arizona. He was drafted

into the NBA with the Golden State Warriors and later joined the Washington Wizards.

“[Arenas] is still a great player. That doesn’t change because he made one mistake,” freshman Leslie Owusu said.

After the suspension became public fellow NBA players such as Kevin Durant and Andrew Bogut took to their Twitter accounts. Durant said to pray for Arenas because he messed up, and Bogut made light of the situation by joking about bringing a water pistol into the locker room. Arenas also issued a statement saying that he now understands guns aren’t something to joke about, and he’s sorry for the effect that his lapse in judgment had on his team, teammates, the NBA and the fans.

“Guns aren’t something to joke around about, especially when you’re in the position of influencing younger children because you’re giving them the wrong idea,” junior Julia Nary said.

He violated NBA rules and gun laws.“[He should learn that] if you break the

law you suffer the consequences, no matter your status,” Sacks said.

Wi t h h i s s u s p e n s i o n , p e n d i n g investigation, and the possibility of facing criminal charges, Arenas has much to think

A decade of news: Memorable stories of the 2000s

photo courtesy of Keith Allison on www.flickr.comProfessional basketball star Gilbert Arenas admitted to carrying a pistol without a licence.

News 27 January, 2010 The Bear Facts 3

Underclassmen plan ahead for next yearby Ellen Dando and Sarah Kraft

Reporters

Along with a new year, comes a new set of courses for students to choose from. Some of these classes are completely new, while others have simply changed names or added sequential courses.

“This year we are offering Geosystems Honors , Oceanography, Broadcast Journalism 2 and 3, as well as Guitar 3,” director of student services Alka Howard said.

Finance is also changing its name to Economics and Personal Finance. For the rising ninth graders and all students behind them, Economics and Personal Finance will be a required course to graduate. In other words, for one year, they will have to give up one elective.

“I don’t think it’s that bad,” eighth grade student Haley Young said. “I’ll probably take it in 11th grade. There are so many

good electives you can choose from in ninth grade.”

Other students aren’t happy about this change.

“I don’t think they should make it its own class, they should add it to a math class.” seventh grader student Nicole Jordan said.

Two courses that are being added to the journalism program is Broadcast Journalism 2 and 3.

If someone wanted to take the class for a second time this year, it wouldn’t count as an elective credit.

“This has been a county-wide problem,” broadcast adviser Kathryn Helmke said. “There isn’t much difference [between the levels]”

Oceanography is a completely new class that gives students a science credit.

“If I were a high schooler today I would definitely take Oceanography,” Howard said. “It’s new, fun and really interesting.”

Oceanography is the study of oceans and will be taught by Mary Constantino and

Maureen Goble. “This course is an interdisciplinary

advanced science course covering diverse topics related to oceanic environments,” according to the course catalogue. “The purpose is to provide the student with information on geological, chemical, physical and biological foundations of oceanography.”

Students can expect about 2-3 hours a week of homework outside of class. There will be regular chapter quizzes and quarterly projects.

There are many new, interesting courses

Helping Haiti now

$20,000 scholarship available to students in the LB class of 2010

Rividium, Inc Scholarship is accepting applications for the Class of 2010 College Scholarships. Rividium, Inc will award four scholarships in the amount of $2,500 with the option for a second year if the student attends full- time and maintains a 3.0 GPA after completing their first year of college. To be eligible, applicants must be a LBSS senior, who will be entering college in the fall of 2010 and maintains a minimum high school GPA of 3.0. Also, all applicants must be citizens of or have legal residence in the United Stated of America. Applications must be mailed in by March 15. Scholarships will be awarded at the LBSS Senior Awards Ceremony on at 6:30 p.m. June 16,

High school curriculum night is next week

The high school curriculum night will take place in the cafeteria and gym at 7 p.m. on Feb. 3. Underclassmen and eighth grade students will get a glimpse into the courses and electives that will be offered to them next year.

compiled by Nistha Acharya

Staying currentaround LB

Academy fair proves informative for career-minded studentsby Dani Klein

Staff writer

At the beginning of the school year LB had 52 students enrolled in various academy courses, counselor Bonnie Allison said. Academy classes are a way for students to prepare for the careers they want to pursue later in life or take classes not offered at their school.

“It is important for students to know that academy classes are not ‘open enrollment’,” Allison said. “What I mean by this is they all require an application that includes a transcript and attendance record. Most of the academies also now require a written statement as to why the student wants to enroll in the academy program.

As there are usually many more applicants than there are available slots, not every student who applies is selected. In addition, students may only apply to one academy program.”

An advantage of taking an academy class is that the students only have six classes because one is used as a travel period.

“It gives me that free period to catch up on homework because it gets a little crazy with sports,” junior Taylor McCord said.

Juniors Taylor McCord, Katelyn Mathis and Sam Mamph are part of the sign language program that is offered at West Springfield.

“It is nice because there’s down time in the middle of the day,” Mathis said.

Part of the privilege of academy classes is getting the chance to work with students from other schools.

“The students treat me as any other student at Lake Braddock would,” McCord said. “They are very nice and welcoming.”

There are morning, midday and p.m. classes, but for most schools transportation is only provided for one of the three, FCPS coordinator of career and transition services Humbertson. If students can drive, they can come to any class, but most just ride the bus, he said.

“The school provides a bus that we meet

at 7:15 am in the front of school,” Mathis said.

The students have a free period, so they don’t have to worry about being late for third period.

“We normally get back around 9 am,” junior Sam Mamph said.

High schools that offer academy classes are Chantilly, Edison, Fairfax, Falls Church, Marshall, West Potomac and West Springfield.

The academy fair was held on Jan. 20 in the lecture hall.

“I contacted all of the academies, via e-mail, and asked them to send a representative for Jan. 20, employment and transition representative Suzanne Martone said.

More than 100 students showed up to learn more about the academy classes that are available.

“I would say the fair was a success, because this is the fourth year we have held the fair and this is the most students we have ever had,” Martone said.

Academies are great because it gets the students to use hands on learning to help them prepare for the future, Martone said.

“The goal of the fair is to tell students what classes are like for free,” Martone said. “It is a great opportunity for career skills.”

In the lecture hall there were posters set up from Fairfax, West Potomac, Edison and Falls Church high schools; each table had a representative to explain the classes offered at that school. For some classes, there were current students willing to share their insights on the class. Each subject was explained in detail on fliers, which the students could pick up.

“I am interested in criminal justice, getting away from school to a different setting and preparing for college,” sophomore Camy Demchak said.

Returning students came to learn about the next class they can take or to look at a new one.

“I am going to take sign language 4 next year to keep going with language,” Mamph said.

A variety of subjects are available to students, including business and information technology, fine arts, health and medical sciences, marketing, technology, trade and industrial and world languages that are not offered at LB.

by Emaleigh PhilipsPosers were put up in the lecture hall to give a brief overview of some academy classes offered to students.

photo by Alison NearyBonnie Allison, school counselor, helps junior Nicolette Dickman plan out the classes she will be taking next year. Students stream in and out of the guidance office to get help for many issues, ranging from class selection to personal concerns.

Dates To Remember

Feb. 2Rising 12th academic

advising

Feb. 8-12Rising 12th course

selection

Feb. 16Rising 11th academic

advising

Feb. 22-26Rising 11th course

selection

March 1Rising 10th academic

advising

March 8-12Rising 10th course

selection

Academy course offeringsBusiness and information technology:Account ing , advanced account ing , information systems, advanced information systems, programing, advanced programing, business law, business management, business cooperative management, CISCO 1 parts a and b, CISCO 2 parts a and b, computer systems technology-a levels 1 and 2, design multimedia and web technologies, economics and personal finance, network administration 1 and 2, Oracle 1 and 2programming, Web page development Fine arts: Dance 1-4, music and computer technology, professional musical and actor’s studio 1-3, advanced technical theater 1 and 2 Health and medical sciences:Animal science 1 and 2, dental careers 1 and 2, exploring health sciences, exploring the language of medicine, fire and emergency medical sciences 1 and 2, medical assistant 1 and 2, pharmacy technician 1 and 2, physical therapy/occupational therapy 1 and 2, practical nursing 1 and 2 Academy marketing:Entrepreneurship 1 and 2, hotel marketing 1 and 2 Technology:Engineering systems 1 and 2, engineering physics 1 and 2, independent research-engineering, aerospace science 1 and 2, geographic information systems Trade and industrial: Carpentry 1 and 2, cosmetology 1-3, criminal justice 1 and 2, electrical construction and engineering 1 and 2, heating ventilation air conditioning and refrigeration 1 and 2, landscape architecture and turf management 1 and 2, professional graphics studio 1 and 2, professional photography studio 1 and 2, professional television production 1 and 2

World Languages: Chinese 1-4, AP Chinese, Korean 1-4sign language 3

MSA (Muslim Students Association) is holding a drive to help Haitian earthquake victims. The group will be collecting money during all lunches until Feb. 5.

W H A T ’ S

BruinAnnual NHS ceremony inducts new members

by David KimStaff Writer

On Jan. 26, the National Honor Society (NHS) inducted its new members. Students applied for admittance into the prestigious club and were selected based on the core qualities valued by the NHS: leadership, scholarship, character and service

“The purpose of the Lake Braddock NHS is to create an enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote worthy leadership, and to encourage the development of exemplary character in the students of Lake Braddock Secondary School,” according to the NHS bylaws.

This exclusive society is open to sophomore, junior and senior students, who have attended LB for at least a semester and possess a 3.5 GPA. or higher. These potential applicants must then complete a student activity information form in order to be considered.

Members are then selected based on a majority vote of the five members of the faculty council. Selections are made based upon the aforementioned core qualities of leadership, scholarship, character and

service. Leadership, scholarship and service are determined by the information provided on the applicant’s from, while character is evaluated through school disciplinary records and interviews with faculty members.

The process of becoming an NHS member is a long and arduous one that doesn’t let up even after admittance. Members are expected to maintain at least a 3.5 GPA and are required to submit eight service hours per semester. Dismissal is a possibility for members who do not uphold the core beliefs.

Despite the high standards, the prestige of being a member of the NHS is well worth the effort in the eyes of some.

“NHS is worth all the extra time because it’ll help when I apply for colleges,” sophomore Conner Lewis said.

Still many members often find themselves struggling to fulfill their duties, such as the eight required community service hours per semester. Some student’s never even turn in the required number of hours.

“I usually find myself looking around at the last minute to get all my hours done. I don’t think I’m alone either. I think service hours are important, but I don’t think that we need to have school hours too,” junior Andrew Chen said.

Service hours are a requirement of

all NHS chapters, including the LBSS chapter.

“Service is one of the core beliefs of the organizations, therefore we try to provide means for students to serve in the community,” NHS sponsor Katie Mann said.

A record number of applicants applied this year, which may be a result of grade inflation because of the grading scale change. The grading scale change gave students who previously were ineligible the opportunity to apply.

However, not every student who applied was accepted, and those who were rejected were left puzzled and upset.

“I’m a straight A student, and I take the hardest available courses. I also play sports for Lake Braddock and have done some service hours. The only thing I didn’t have was leadership, which I don’t think should impact the decision that much,” sophomore Megan Porzio said.

Students who feel they were unfairly omitted may appeal a non-selection within 30 days of the decision, but are not guaranteed to succeed. The assistant principal of the chapter is responsible for determining whether the appeal should be rejected, reconsidered by the council, overturned or sent to the principal.

by Bob SayedStaff Writer

For the first three Thursday afternoons of the month, the middle and high school studio arts club, or Quixote Sublime, meets with Debbie Fitzgerald in B209 to build, create, model and sculpt works of art.

By definition Quixote Sublime translates to a supremely enthusiastic and idealistic person or group of people, and that’s exactly what freshman Alicia Tapper, who is also vice president of the club, says the members of the group are like.

“We have fun while doing something we all love,” Tapper said.

Meeting content differs each month. During the month of January the club focused on clay creations and pottery.

“Clay is really fun because there are so many ways we can individualize it into whatever we want,” said Tapper. “Every month our projects get better and better.”

Monthly projects range from landscapes, portraits to charcoal and still-lifes. Meetings begin with a general overview, and from there members are free to define their own boundaries.

“I started the club about four or five

years ago, and since then it has just skyrocketed,” Fitzgerald said. “Everyone learns from each other. The older ones teach the younger ones, and when they grow up, they can teach the next generation. It’s camaraderie.”

The club is planning on having an art show at the end of the year, and no one is more excited for it than club president Brent Wilhide.

“It’s a great opportunity for the studio arts club to showcase its talent,” Wilhide said. “The art club is a fantastic opportunity for people to better their artistic skills and to mature as artists.”

Students showcase their artistic skills in studio arts club

Buffa’s Dance Studio, ltd.

A quality dance school -- where dance is for everyone

AGE 3 THRU ADULT

BEGINNER TO ADVANCED LEVELS

Pre-school Dance Movement

Ballet-Jazz-Tap-Lyrical-Modern

Professional Instructors

Home of the Burke Civic Ballet

(703) 425-5599www.buffas.com

Burke Village Center II 9570-H Burke Road, Burke VA“Where Everyone

Is Family”

elhadyortho.com

(703) 440-0100

Rolling Valley Professional Center(Across From Pohick Regional Library)

6505-B Sydenstricker Rd., Burke, VA 22015

Want to advertise in the Bear Facts?

Call: (703) 426-1087

End of second quarter and first semester

Dec. 28

Teacher workdaysJan. 29-Feb. 1

Science fairFeb. 3

Curriculum night Feb. 3

Science fair awardsFeb. 10

Report cards sent outFeb. 18

President’s Day, No school

Feb. 15

Rising 12th grade course selection

Feb. 8-12

Rising 11th grade course selection

Feb. 22-26

Chorus swing dance and silent auction

6 p.m., Feb. 26

Rising 10th grade course selection

March 8-12

27 January, 2010 News 4 The Bear Facts

What’s in a chair?

by Emilie NorrisStaff Writer

Junior Andrea Viñas is the only non-senior who occupies this seat in Curry-Johnson’s classes. Interested in music, writing and traveling the world, she doesn’t have many plans pinned down. However, Viñas knows her strengths and the direction she wants to go. She wants to go somewhere new and experience something different and fresh. Creative writing is a good outlet and a fun experience for Viñas’ creative mind. For her, subjects with limited freedom of expression can be a bore. Like many students, Viñas describes her study habits as “inconsistent,” but manages to do well just the same, she said.

Period 3: Andrea Viñas

1 CHAIR

Every object has a story, but as everyone knows, objects can’t speak. That leaves it up to people to tell their stories for them.

In Sonja Curry-Johnson’s classroom, there is a chair and a desk that sit in the middle of the room. In a school filled with thousands of desks and chairs, one would think that each seat couldn’t possibly differ from another.

Yet, each seat does differ. Each seat and each desk has a different story to tell, from the points of view of several very different students.

This specific seat entertains: Andrea Viñas, Vivian Angulo-Quispe, Dianna Reeves and Jessica Salazar, one junior and three seniors. Reeves and Viñas are in creative writing class, which is an elective. While Angulo-Quispe and Salazar have English 12 with Curry-Johnson.

Aside from a desk, one might wonder what else these students have in common. All four students said they enjoy Curry-Johnson’s class, and it is Viñas’ favorite subject. And though all have had some similar experiences, like the common bother of finding gum under the desk, they differ in many more ways. There are simple differences that set each person apart from one another.

But at the end of the day everyone shares something in common, whether that be a pet peeve, a future profession or even

4 students

Period 5: Diana Reeves

Senior Dianna Reeves is a history buff who enjoys dabbling in writing as a hobby, though she plans to one day finish a novel, she said. History aside, Reeves is interested in becoming a veterinarian for farm animals.

”I want to work with horses or some other kinds of farm animals, not just the average house pets,” Reeves said.

Reeves took creative writing to learn new skills. She hopes to use these skills for fun, she said.

Senior Vivian Angulo-Quispe enjoys the books that she reads in Curry-Johnson’s English class, but claims that she doesn’t truly have a “favorite subject,” she said.

Although Angulo doesn’t have a favorite subject in school, she does have a favorite animal.

“Dolphins are pretty cool,” Angulo said.After high school Angulo plans to study education

and become an elementary school teacher, though she hasn’t yet settled on a specific grade, she said.

Period 4: Vivian Angulo-Quispe

Senior Jessica Salazar’s favorite subject is English.

“[Mrs.] Curry-Johnson is a great teacher, and I learn a lot in her class,” Salazar said. “But to be honest, my study habits are not great.”

Like Reeves, Salazar is considering a veterinary career after college. But unlike Reeves, Salazar looks forward to working with household pets.

“Dogs are the best. They’re man’s best friend. They’ve been around forever,” Salazar said.

Period 6: Jessica Salazar

photo by Emaleigh Phelps

photo by Katie Wagner

photo by Alison Neary

photo by Emaleigh Phelps

5Feature27 January, 2010

Feature 27January, 2010 The Bear Facts 6

by Elyse Endick, David Kim and Katie Wagner

Feature Editors and Staff Writer

Junior Catherine Shuster stares intensely at her target, ready to take aim and fire. She is one of the members on LB’s rifle team.

This team does more than just learn how to shoot targets with rifles. They learn about gun safety, themselves and their teammates.

Every second with the rifle counts.

Breathing or a single heartbeat can affect the shot, club sponsor James McLellan said.

Morning practices and intense dedication are needed to hit the target, a pin head-sized swath of area. But it’s all worth it.

“The experience gave me a new respect towards shooting,” senior Alexis Todaro said.

5The

It’s an Olympic sport. Professional athletes can participate in shooting at various distances and a biathlon, which combines skiing and shooting into a duel event. For the purposes of the Potomac Valley Rifle League, which LB and nine other schools compete in, targets are 10 meters, about 30 feet, away.

3 It’s not dangerous: “When people hear ‘rifle team’, they think it would be like paintball or shooting people – absolutely not,” Shuster said, “It’s a really safe sport that can open a lot of doors for people.”

They’re close. The Rifle Team goes out for the occasional Saturday brunch at Spartans Family Restaurant to bond.

“My first year I was really shy, but I love all the people now. Once you get to know them they’re all really cool people,” senior Brendon McConnell said.

It’s a big commitment: “Rifle team practices every Saturday morning at 7 a.m. We set up our equipment and shoot our targets. Once everyone’s done, we get the targets and score each other’s targets to see how everyone’s doing and give feedback and encourage each other,” junior Catherine Shuster said.

Junior Catherine Shuster takes aim at a target 30 feet away from her.

things you need to know about the

Senior Miguel Solis and other members of the rifle team set up their equipment.

Senior Alexis Todaro starts setting up before a rifle team practice.

It may just change what you think about competitive rifle. “I like that when you first shoot a target and you realize that you made a

good shot and you get a good feeling inside. I just love shooting,” freshman Cara Deissner said.

“It’s not dangerous at all, and it’s really fun because you’re around people who have the same skill as you. Nobody is too much better than anyone else. So you can all laugh at each other,” junior Robert Copely said. photos courtesy of Catherine Shuster

The rifle team has a group huddle before their competition.

graphic by Jess Groves

bfacts.org

Feature 27 January, 2010

The Bear Facts 7

by Hiwote SwannStaff Writer

The French are romantic. The British are eloquent. Italians love to eat, and Brazilians only care about soccer.

Each country has a stereotype, and America does not fall short. A m e r i c a —“the land of the free”—is also the land of fat, dumb, lazy and selfish, a t l e a s t

according to some. Countries from around the

world have given Americans negative stereotypes.

However, senior Danielle McCarthy is proud to be an American, but knows that other countries stereotype Americans as lazy and

overweight, she said. Senior Lul Hussein lived in Pakistan

for seven months and didn’t hear too many pleasant things about how they viewed

Americans, she said. “[Pakistanis] thought all American kids

were rude, disrespectful and selfish,” Hussein said.

Coming from America didn’t make things easier for Hussein. Anything little would get her in trouble, she said.

“The teachers in Pakistan didn’t like me,” Hussein said.

In fact, television was a main reason why they viewed Americans this way, she said, because commercials, television shows and movies give false images of Americans.

“It had a real impact on how the people I met viewed Americans,” Hussein said.

The stereotype of obesity is one of the major problems Americans face every day.

“Obesity is a problem that has risen, and we need to do something about it, like making physical education a class through all grades,” McCarthy said.

Fast food restaurants located at every corner and catchy advertisement have a strong impact on how Americans gain their weight.

Students pay close attention to unhealthy snacks in vending machines rather than learning what these unhealthy snacks are made of, LBSS nurse Joy Jordan said.

One way to solve the obesity problem, Jordan said, is to educate students more about healthful foods.

“Students need more education on nutritious food,” Jordan said. “But obesity at our school is not more [prevalent] than at any other school, “Jordan said.

Recent statistics show a dramatic rise in the number of Americans who are now overweight. Approximately 65 percent of people are overweight,

according to Weight Loss International. The data also shows that 31 percent of

people now suffer from obesity, compared with only 23 percent in 1994.

American stereotypes do not necessarily define every American.

Some are health conscious, hold multiple advanced degrees, run in marathons and donate to charities.

These Americans definitively challenge the American stereotype of being fat, dumb, lazy and selfish.

But, for now, the stereotypes still stick.

Bradlie Martz- igalaHomework assignments, essays, papers,

deadlines, projects, tests, practices: Where does it all end? One student who knows exactly what this means is junior Bradlie Märtz-Sigala.

Märtz-Sigala is p r o b a b l y one of the busiest students in this school. In and out of

schoo l , Mär tz -Sigala does venturing

crew, dance, participates in the German Club and is

president of the Jewish Culture Club. On top of all that, Märtz-Sigala

has to balance out her school work. She takes two Advanced Placement courses, which include AP Environmental Science and AP United States History. She also takes human anatomy and physiology, which she finds difficult.

“I do so much because I want to and wish I could do more,” Märtz-Sigala said. “Everything I do is because I find it fun. Even my AP classes and anatomy are fun in the sense that they’re so interesting, and the teachers are so fantastic. The only downside is the work I have to do to keep up.”

In order to maintain the expectations of her parents and teachers, it is vital that Märtz-Sigala has an organized schedule to keep up with all of her extra-curricular activities.

Märtz-Sigala is the co-president of the Jewish Culture Club and was vice president of the German Club last year. Märtz-Sigala also plays the violin in the string ensemble, and she has been playing the piano since she was five years old.

“I have to practice every day, and we go on amazing trips [in orchestra],” Märtz-Sigala said.

Aside from her in-school extra-curricular activities, Märtz-Sigala participates in Venturing Crew. Venturing Crew is what the Boy Scouts of America opened up for girls who wanted to be as adventurous as boys and go to the Boy Scout high adventure camp.

Through venturing, Märtz-Sigala has earned the Triple Crown award. The Triple Crown award, along with the Ranger and Silver award, are the highest achievements. In order to achieve this award, Märtz-Sigala had to go to three survival camps in scouting. She lived on an island for a week, swimming with 7-feet Mako sharks in Florida. Märtz-Sigala hiked over 90 miles in 12 days backpacking at Philmont, the boy scout backpacking camp in New Mexico and Colorado.

Märtz-Sigala also participates in Girl Scouts. She’s been doing it since she was five years old, starting at Daisys, an organization meant for all girls starting in kindergarten.

Another par t of Märtz-Sigala’s extraordinary life is dancing. She dances 12 hours a week, five days a week. She takes ballet, pointe, hip-hop, jazz, Israeli, modern and lyrical dance.

“I’m really flexible, and that makes dance a lot of fun. And I love to choreograph,” she said.

Märtz-Sigala has been dancing at the Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Northern Virginia. Märtz-Sigala does musical theater with the JCC’s Centertainer

performing group. Since Märtz-Sigala is half German, and

she has been interested in the language all her life. She also loves the culture, and hopes to spend some time studying in Germany after she finished high school.

Every Saturday morning since second grade Märtz-Sigala goes to The German School of Washington in Potomac, Ma.

Märtz-Sigala took AP German last year, and as a fluent speaker in German, she finds this experience fun and entertaining.

In order to get into The German School of Washington, you have to take the German Language Diploma Exam, which she will be taking in March, Märtz-Sigala said.

Märtz-Sigala rarely sleeps at night. Most of the time, you can find Märtz-Sigala either doing homework or managing her extracurricular activities.

“I don’t sleep a lot. I normally go to bed between 12-3 a.m. finishing homework and whatever works needs to be done for my extra curriculars, and wake up at 4:30 a.m. so that I can practice my violin and piano before going to the bus stop,” she said. “My sister calls me the coffee vampire.”

Someone who knows a lot about Märtz-Sigala would be her dance instructor, Alicia Ronquillo.

“She always has a positive attitude and is self motivated. She needs very little direction when assisting in classes and always seems to know how to handle what is thrown at her. She is a great student and person overall; always happy and willing to help out, I couldn’t ask for a better student,” Ronquillo said.

An inside look at one of LB’s busiest teens

America: The land of the free or the land of the

Martz-Sigala grooves to the music as part of the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia Centertainer dance troupe. Martz-Sigala has dazzled huge crowds in roles such as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.

Martz-Sigala uses her spare time to do her homework and study for tests. Her AP classes keep her up late at night, often as late as 3 a.m.

photos courtesy of Bradlie Martz-Sigala

“[Television] had a real impact on how the people I met viewed Americans,

senior Lul Hussein said.”

Bradlie Martz-Sigala teeters on the edge at a Venturing crew camp. She has been trained as an instructor and helps other participants adventure and stay safe.

by Noura BayoumiStaff Writer

photo by Emaleigh Phelps

graphics by Jess Groves

graphics by Katie Wagner

Editorial Policy

Published nine times a year, this student-run paper is an open forum produced by the journalism

department and is given free of charge to all Lake Brad-dock high school students.

The Bear Facts is an independent newspaper serving the students, the faculty and the Lake Braddock community as a forum for student expression. Editorials reflect the

opinion of the editorial board and unless otherwise noted are written by a member of the staff.

The editorial board solicits responsible commentaries and letters to the editors but reserves the right to edit for style, grammar or lack of space. Letters and commentar-ies containing obscenity, racial slur or libelous comments

will not be published.

A letter to the editor must provide the name of the writer and include some sort of contact information of the

writer. The letter should also specify the author’s title if that title is relevant to the topic discussed.

A letter will not be excluded from the newspaper solely because it conflicts with the views of the newspaper or

past or current editorials.

All letters must be signed by the author, or they will not be published. They can be printed “name withheld upon

request” if deemed appropriate by staff.

The Bear Facts is located in room B144 and can be reached by calling (703) 426-1087

for any questions, problems and submissions.

Responses may also be e-mailed to bfacts@gmail.com.

8 Editorial/Opinion27 January, 2010

Editors-in-Chief: Katie Kane and Chelsea Stanger

Managing Editors: James Hong and Rebecca Lim

News Editors: Nistha Acharya and Blake Murphy

Feature Editors: Elyse Endick and Katie Wagner

Editorial/Opinion Editors: Alexandra Sudak and Mechelle Thomas

SpreadEditor: Carolina Nativi

EntertainmentEditors: Ilana Brener and Sourina Sandara

SportsEditor: Brittany Hopkins

Assistant Editor: Ryan Lowry

GraphicsEditors: Jess Groves and Emilie Norris

Staff Photographers: Alison Neary

Business Manager: Brittney Kaltenbaugh

Web Editor: Blake Murphy

Newspaper Adviser: Kathryn Helmke

9200 Burke Lake RoadBurke, VA 22015(703) 426-1220

Fax # (703) 426-1093Vol. XXXVII No. 4, December 21, 2009

The Bear Facts

StaffEditorial

L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R

Making A Point

With the youngest of us being 12 and the oldest of us being 18, we all have learned how to cross the street. Long gone are the days when we had our parents remind us to look both ways and hold our hand when we crossed intersections. But now the administration is trying take hold of our hands once again.

The past few Wednesdays when school has ended at 1:53 p.m., there have been announcements made about enforcing traffic safety. This came as a surprise to many students who have been forced to use inconvenient crosswalks on the way to their cars. New tape barriers and stricter enforcers are causing more chaos and confusion than actual help.

They don’t protect us at all in the actual parking lot, just where the buses are. In some ways the parents dropping off and picking up are a lot more dangerous than the buses.

Parents continue pulling up wherever they want, including in student-paid parking spaces.

Although it is understandable that the administrators are just doing their job of keeping us safe, they need to do a more consistent job of it. Now that

these trivial crosswalk rules are being enforced, why aren’t kiss and ride rules ever enforced? We are just as likely to be injured on Thursday as we are on Wednesday. If the rules are going to be enforced at all, they should be done so every day. Also, having people out there in mornings is just as chaotic if not more so.

Or they could simply take smaller steps in their effort to keep us safe instead of caution

taping down the whole school. A more reasonable step would be placing more conviently-located crosswalks by each door coming out of the building so students have easier access to their cars or paths home. As it is, the few convenient crosswalks are difficult to get to, because they are being blocked by human bottlenecks.

O v e r a l l , n e w s a f e t y enforcements are thoughtful, but not well thought out. No student

would reject to being looked after, but the ridiculousness and inconsistency are causing issues.

We think the administration should lay off the extra security and leave the road crossing to the teenagers preparing to go out into the world. Especially in high school, teachers are reminding students how the real world is just around the corner. Yet they try to hold our hands until we get to that corner.

photo by Alison Neary

Dear Editor,While reading through the newspaper with my English

teacher, Mrs. Partlow, she discovered an interesting spelling mistake on page 13 in the “Entertainment” section. In the article about Guys and Dolls, it says, “New York gambler Nathan Detroit is desperately in need of money for a crap game.

A crap game is when you bet money on what your dice are going to say and then you roll the dice.” Isn’t it supposed to be “craps” and not “crap”? This led to a very interesting conversation about a “crap game”. This truly did belong in the “Entertainment” section of the newspaper.

True entertainment

H e l p f o r H a i t iDear Editor,

As everyone already knows, a great tragedy came upon the people of Haiti. More than 100,000 people have been killed and many are without homes and food. I am proud to say that our school has opened up a place for donations.

It is important that people donate, even if it is only a couple of cents, you could help thousands. I have recently heard that a girl from our school is making Haiti relief bracelets and donating the money that she collects to save some individual’s lives. I hope that everything will get better for the people in Haiti and that everyone joins together to save a country.

Dear Editor,I noticed that this issue was mostly focused around Lake

Braddock’s athletic achievements from the successful cross-country state championship to the incredible football season.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the article, “Off-season conditioning for spring sport athletes is made mandatory,” on page 18 in the “Sports” section. Most students do not know how hard athletes work before their regular season even starts.

Amber Gutierrez, senior

A t h l e t i c s u c c e s s

Earlier releases on Wednesday are causing havoc in the front parking lot with buses arriving the same time students are dismissed from classes. Students must now navigate through crowds to find appropriate crosswalks to their cars.

Restrictions in parking lot cause chaos

Dear Editor, I like our newspaper because it benefits the entire student body. It

keeps us informed and entertained with the latest news and much more. I also like the fact that it is written for the students, by the students. It’s our voice as a whole.

Dear Editor, The Bear Facts is a great way for our entire student body to stay

connected. I think it’s great that there are a lot of great topics to interest everyone. The greatest thing is that it’s all done by students. They work hard to really make something great and interesting.

Dear Editor, I like The Bear Facts because of the topics it covers. I also like

hearing about other people’s opinions on things, because sometimes I can relate to them or I learn new things about them. My favorite part is the little section that tells you the upcoming concerts!

Dear Editor, I enjoy reading the Bear Facts because it’s more high-school based

rather than adult based in the way that it’s written by students. Also, I really like that it’s free.

Bear Facts praised

Editorial/Opinion 27January, 2010

Editorial/Opinion 27January, 2010 The Bear Facts 9

Bruins BiteBack

Has a friend ever called you an inappropriate name;

Isabelle

Garcia,

“Yeah, if they really mean it, it makes me feel bad. It makes me

compiled by Alison Neary

Emily

Kubik,

“Yes, they have, but it was a joke, so I just started laughing.”

Jacob Brant,

Elizabeth

Conley,

“Yes, it doesn’t really bug me since it happens

“Yes, but I don’t think I could care much less—it’s a friend.”

“Yes, it made me feel very sad.”

Gary

Holtzman,

by Bob SayedStaff Writer

Our generation is a branch entirely its own from our taste in music, fashion, books, the way we interact with the opposite sex to the identity the youth of today have developed.

In comparison to our parents, we have altered our cultural makeup completely. Part of this comes from the criticism we receive from our parents and what they r e c e i v e d f r o m their parents.

Each generation creates its own mold, s e p a r a t e completely from previous generations and populates the country with people who can fit this mold.

But what happens when the lines dividing these boundaries begin to crumble?

What happens when the differences between yourself and your outdated parents begin to merge into one and the same, and you wake up one morning wondering why you’ve stopped fighting for first dibs on the computer with your little siblings, and have begun fighting with your own parents?

This obvious example of the cultural divide between generations is the introduction and evolution of the technological age. Technology was the single most apparent difference between our generations, until now.

Today, parents are just as likely to have a Facebook account, to text their kids as a reminder of curfew and just as likely to fully operate the Blu-ray player as their kids are.

Whereas once the youth was criticized for the excessive time spent online, it is now the parents themselves who spend hours and hours on Facebook, while we are at school. This problem r e q u i r e s immediate attention.

Facebook was once a guilty pleasure for the student body, reserved to t h o s e w i t h a college e-mail address and used as a way to interact with other students t e c h n o l o g i c a l l y. This was the peak of Facebook, when it was an underground service. There was a difference between a “social networking site” and the technological monopoly of our time.

I n S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 7 , however, Facebook opened its doors to the world, marking the beginning of a scourge that continues to this day and bringing our parents with it.

Since then, the number of Facebook members over the age of 25 has grown by 247 percent, according to marketing research company Comscore.

What little time spent by ourselves, after our obligations to sports, school and work have been met, has now been infiltrated by our parents, and although it is possible to tweak privacy settings so that parents are unable to access an entire profile, the possibility for embarrassment will always linger in the back of our minds.

Inopportune phone calls and texting also fall within the umbrella of the technological age, and it should not be forgotten amongst

by Noura BayoumiStaff Writer

“JERK, LOSER, NERD, DORK!” These words, among others, echo through the halls throughout the day between friends and enemies. There is no specific reason as to why students are so cruel to one another, although some find it funny and entertaining, while others use it as a way for revenge.

You never really know if the person is actually being serious when mocking or if they’re your friends.

You’re sitting at lunch talking and socializing with your friends, when all of a sudden you hear a derogatory term being called out to you. Do you take it seriously? Maybe confront the person and make them explain, or do you just sit back and pretend like nothing happened? When you know that they’ve hurt you in some particular way, whether it’s intentionally or as a joke, what do you do?.

Some people do nothing. After all, you don’t want to seem like the sensitive person. And it might have even been a joke to begin with. But how do you know? And where do you draw the line?

We all have different opinions of what is considered as proper and what is considered offensive. It depends on what took place during the time that you remember certain words and certain situations.

It might come as a surprise to you as to what offends people sometimes. It varies from person to person. It could be telling them to “shut up” or making fun of their physical appearance.

We often assume that the offending person is purposely trying to hurt us in some particular way, when honestly they just see things from a different perspective.

H o w e v e r, p e o p l e shouldn’t judge or offend another person because you never know what the other person’s situation is. The poor victim could have been having the worst day of their life, and you would have never known because you were too busy making fun and ridiculing them.

No matter what the opposing person said, you should never change yourself because of what another person said about you. It will only make you a weaker person.

If that person is truly your real friend, than they should accept you for whom you are, and not for your appearance.

So how can you tell the difference between someone who is being serious opposed to someone who is just joking around?

Well for starters, the person who is making fun might just slip a sneaky “just kidding” at the end of a sentence to have the satisfaction of saying what they mean, but not in a serious way.

Also, if you hear from someone else that a person is talking behind your back, then you know for sure that they mean it.

The person is just too scared and doesn’t have enough courage to say what’s on their mind directly to the person’s face. Instead of going through all of the trouble and mishap, confronting the person and speaking the truth is such a better option than lying and not being a good friend.

The point to remember: It doesn’t matter if it’s your best friend or an acquaintance, nobody should bully another student.

Youth in revolt, technology takes over

You’re a JERK!

photo by

Alison Neary

27 January, 2010 Spread10 The Bear Facts

fiction books

1. “The Da Vince Code” by Dan Brown2. “The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown3. “The Five People You Meet In Heaven” by Mitch Albom4. “Angels and Demons” by Dan Brown5. “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini

6. “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd7. “The Shack” by William P. Young8. “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini9. “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold10. “The Life of Pi”by Yann Martel

1. The Sopranos2. Lost3. 244. The Wire5. The Daily Show

6. Family Guy7. American Idol8. Freaks & Geeks9. Arrested Development10. Mad Men

1. “Yeah”by Usher2. “Hanging by a Moment”by Lifehouse3. “Low”by Flo Rida4. “Since u Been Gone”by Kelly Clarkson5. “In Da Club”by 50 Cent6. “Bleeding Love”by Leona Lewis7. “Irreplaceable”by Beyonce8. “Gives You Hell”by All American Rejects9. “Big Girls Don’t Cry”by Fergie10. “In The End”by Linkin Park

Most played songs

T.V. shows

Most watched

1. Ford F-150

2. Chevrolet Silverado

3. Toyota Camry

4. Honda Accord

5. Honda Civic

6. Toyota Corolla

7. Nissan Altima

8. Chevrolet Impala

9. Dodge Ram

10. Ford Focus

Most so ld cars

Best-selling

Information courtesy of www.at40.com

information from www.barnesandnoble.com

information from www.businessweek.com

information from www.tvguide.com

Ten Top 10s of the Decade

1. H1N1

2. Stem cell research

3. OTC drugs for kids

4. HPV vaccine for cervical cancer

5. Increase in Alzheimer's disease

6. Type 2 diabetes

7. Screening tests

8. Food labeling, food safety,

nutrition and education

9. Health-care reform

10. Health-care availability

Health concerns

information from www.associatedcontent.com

by Carolina NativiSpread Editor

photos by Emaleigh Phelps, Alison Neary and Gabby Lindemann, graphics by Carolina Nativi

27 January, 2010 Spread Spread 27 January, 2010 The Bear Facts 11

Web trends

1.

5.4.3.2.

10.9.8.7.6.

Twitter

FlickrHuluDiggGoogleNewsYelp

SkypeYouTubeWikipediaFacebook

Video games

1. World of Warcraft

2. Guitar Hero3. Halo

4. Rock Band

5. Super Mario Galaxy

6. Grand Theft Auto III

7. Legend of Zelda:

Twilight Princess

8. Brain Age

9. God Of War

10. Wii Sports

1. The iPod

2. GPS devices

3. The Blackberry

4. Digital cameras

5. DVRs

6. Nintendo WII

7. The USB flash drive

8. The iPhone

9. E-book readers

10. Notebooks

Gadgets

6. Family Guy7. American Idol8. Freaks & Geeks9. Arrested Development10. Mad Men

1. “Yeah”by Usher2. “Hanging by a Moment”by Lifehouse3. “Low”by Flo Rida4. “Since u Been Gone”by Kelly Clarkson5. “In Da Club”by 50 Cent6. “Bleeding Love”by Leona Lewis7. “Irreplaceable”by Beyonce8. “Gives You Hell”by All American Rejects9. “Big Girls Don’t Cry”by Fergie10. “In The End”by Linkin Park

Most played songs

T.V. shows

1.Emily2.Madison3. Emma

4. Hannah5. Olivia

6. Abigail7. Isabella8. Ashley

9. Samantha10. Elizabeth

1.Jacob2.Michael3.Joshua

4. Matthew5. Christopher

6. Andrew7. Daniel8. Ethan 9. Joseph

10. William

Most common names

information from www.tvguide.com

info

rmat

ion

from

ww

w.so

cial

secu

rity

.gov

information from

www.associatedcontent.com

information from www.webtrends.about.com

information from

www.abcnews.com

27 January 2010 Editorial/Opinion12 The Bear Facts

by Alexandra SudakEd/Op Editor

After consistently promising a public option in the nation’s health-care system, President Obama and Congress have decided to remove the public option from the table.

With a Democrat-dominated Congress and a liberal president in the White House, bipartisan compromises such as this are coming up a lot more often than would be expected. It should almost be no question that nearly any liberal measure would easily be passed, although the Republican count in each house is gradually increasing. Conservatives in the Senate are celebrating their Massachusetts victory. Now that Democrats are taking charge, bipartisanship seems to be much more of an important issue to Republicans.

In order to appeal to conservatives, Obama has made an effort to steer the country towards the middle, even in a Democrat-controlled House, Senate and White House. In doing this, one of the main domestic goals, improving health care, has taken a back seat to politics.

The public option was supposed to extend health insurance to those too poor to afford it. It was also supposed to cover 95 percent of Americans.

A noble effort, yes, but maybe too far-fetched or “liberal” for a conservative. Too much “interference” from the government. Well, if there are millions of citizens not covered, and with insurance companies

charging already-covered citizens through the roof, government interference is necessary.

Republicans seem determined to kill an even slightly liberal health-care bill, while Democrats are pushing for it to get passed in not-so-expected pleads to the right wing. Senators and representatives in the middle that are leaning one way or another are the ones that both parties are primarily targeting.

The most important thing is to get at least some sort of bill passed because any progress at all is important. Perhaps it won’t be as much of a drastic change as Democrats are hoping for, but every inch towards a more effective health-care system is beneficial.

If Republicans could simply consider a public option, instead of immediately throwing the idea away, and if Democrats could add some more splashes of conservative ideals, the bill would not have to be a resentful compromise on both sides, but rather a reasonable step towards spreading health care to those without it.

More support for a public option would have existed if myths like “You won’t be able to keep your current health insurance,” or “Going to the doctor will be like going to the DMV” were cleared up.

It is unfortunate that instead of compromising on a bipartisan-like public option, the idea was completely removed. Luckily, the health-care bill addresses many other improvements to the system, so perhaps those will be enough of a step forward, even without the public option.

As FCPS approaches the 2010-’11 school year, much more than educating our county’s students is on everyone’s minds. Runners don’t know if they will be able to run track in the winter. Sports teams are facing a winter season without the pep and spirit of cheerleaders. Many students are being left behind academically since they may not have access to summer school, even though they need it and qualify. And all the while, FCPS

board members are trying their best to dodge the flames ensued by all this talk about cutting programs, plus scrambling to find a spare $58 million lying around for the county’s use.

There is no doubt that the county needs the extra money,

which it simply does not have, in order to function properly. However, cutting programs, like indoor track (an idea that failed after runners rallied against it during last year’s budget debates) and the majority of summer schooling, is not the way to solve the problem. The board

members need to consider finding money from other sources instead of cutting what

matters the most to students. Alternatives could be limiting the

amount of clubs at schools, more limits on the amount of team-members on sports teams and increasing the price of FCPS

lunches. This would exclude those that are on free or reduced lunch. It’s reasonable to charge an extra $0.10 if it means that we can

save indispensable programs whose eradication would affect many students’ lives.

One of the board’s ideas that seems perfectly

reasonable is to charge a fee for sports participation. If paying $100 or maybe a little more will preserve all or most of the sports that we have come to know and love, that isn’t too much to ask. Paying for a program’s survival is better than the program not existing at all.

Besides the removal of school-funded programs, other areas of the school-system are facing similar financial woes. Classrooms are facing an addition of one to two students in each classroom, allowing the school system to cut the amount of teachers employed.

Adding more students to our already-crowded classes (sometimes 25-30 or more) will definitely save the county money, but the growth of class-sizes over time will gradually diminish the learning environment. More students and fewer teachers is just going to leave slower-learning students behind. But this isn’t the only problem that needs to be addressed.

Special needs staffing in elementary schools is being reduced and entirely eliminated in high schools. Ten percent of assistant principles, counselors, social workers and custodians are also being considered for removal.

Band and orchestra in elementary schools are in danger of being cut entirely, an idea particularly protested by high school band and orchestra members.

It is evident that the majority of students are not in favor of cutting their beloved programs.

Facebook groups promoting the survival of indoor track, winter cheer leading, freshman sports and band and orchestra in elementary schools are booming with complaints of thousands of members.

The main idea here is that it is not going to be easy to get students to step down quietly when it comes to the activities that make their day more enjoyable. Adding additional fees, taxes, etc. to fund programs instead of simply cutting them is the way to go.

And by the way, a little more federal stimulus money would be super helpful right about now, federal government.

by Alexandra Sudak Ed/Op Editor

Possible eliminations in the ’10-’11 budget• Freshman sports• Indoor track• Winter cheer leading• General educationsummer school• Special needs staffing in high schools; reduction of special needs staffing in elementary schools• Band, orchestra and foreign language in elementary schools• 10 percent cuts in assistant principals, counselors, social workers and custodians

Essential programs put at risk in the 2011 FCPS budget

Remova l o f pub l i c op t ion in health care bil l stirs democrats

by Mechelle ThomasEd/Op Editor

Over winter break I had what I call: commercial overload. It seemed that every time I turned on the television, the Mac vs. PC commercials were on. Hello, I’m a Mac, and I’m a PC. Okay we get it! Macs are better, but why?

I can’t deny that the commercials aren’t eye-catching. A simple white background with Justin Long posing as “Mac” dressed casually with a laid-back feel. Unlike, his commercial counterpart John Hodgman as “PC” wearing a suit and looking overworked. It’s clever! Who wants to be a grumpy guy in a suit? No one!

Even though, the Mac commercials constantly criticize the poor PC, I love my PC…sometimes. Now the time comes where you will revel in the irony of the following situation. Just minutes after watching the commercial I went to turn on my computer and well: Hello, I’m a PC, and I have a virus! You’ve got to be kidding me!

Why is it that PCs are susceptible to viral attacks? Why do virus makers feel it’s crucial to make viruses? Are they too lazy to figure out how to penetrate Apple’s operating system? Is it necessary to ruin a faithful PC owner’s computer experience?

The answer is: Yes!All computers get viruses, but it is not

likely for an Apple Mac to get a virus. One reason PCs have more problems is that there are more Microsoft users, which means that there more targets available.

Also, I have learned from personal experience that viruses will link to your updates and try to convince you that your computer is not protected and sneakily persuades you to purchase their software.

However, as your computer continues to get pop-ups about viruses and buying software, the PC is getting viruses. And, that is how you end up in the situation I was in. Because, as my Internet provider assistant said, my computer’s operating system was fried. Fantastic.

Another reason that Apple computers are better equipped than PCs is that Macs can serve as virus carriers. The viruses can be stored on the Apple computer but not infect it.

However, if a Mac user were to forward any infected e-mails to a Windows computer, it would be infected.

Finally, Apple computers catch few viruses because most of the tools and programs used to create a computer virus are designed for a Microsoft Windows operating system. This is also the same for spyware and malware, which are similar malevolent softwares targeted to infect PCs.

A great way to protect your PC is to find a good anti-virus program. The programs might be expensive, but they are a great way to protect your computer.

Viruses continue takeover of PCs

1. Norton Internet Security 2009

2. Avira AntiVir Personal

Edition Premium

3. McAfee VirusScan Plus

4. Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal

5. Panda Antivirus Pro 2009

information from about.com

Top 5 anti-virus programs

• Reduce long-term growth of care costs for businesses.• Protect families from bankruptcy/debt because of health-care costs• Guarantee choice of doctors and health plans• Improve patient safety and quality of care• Maintain coverage when you change or lose your job• End coverage limits for people with pre-existing medical conditions

Health-care reforms in the works

information from whitehouse.gov

• Class sizes increase by one extra student per teacher• Athletic participation fees• AP and IB test fees• Additional SAT test fees

Other budget changes

graphic by Jess Groves

For more information, visitwww.fcps.edu/news/fy2011.htm

photo by Alexandra Sudak

whereas X Factor allows people of all

27 January 2010 Editorial/Opinion

graphic by Jess Groves

13Entertainment27 January, 2010

by Emilie NorrisStaff Writer

When the lights went down and the musicians began to play, the audience leaned forward to investigate the giant dice in the center of the pit. Anticipation was in the air, and the audience was ready for the musical to begin.

Guys and Dolls began with a wordless scene in which the actors were able to express their characters through action rather than vernacular. When the characters did speak, they launched right into the first song of the evening, “Fugue for Tinhorns”, which set the stage for great songs yet to come.

S e n i o r R e i d Bigman (Nathan Detroit) and senior Andrea Harmon (Miss Adelaide) created the most adorable on-stage couple since former LB graduates M a t t T i e m a n and Taylor G a i n e s i n L u n c h . A n d r e a ’ s s o m e w h a t b l i n d willingness, in contrast with Reid’s truth-twisting ways,

created fabulous character chemistry between the two.

Senior Elizabeth Cole (Sarah Brown) sang with a clear, beautiful voice that rang through the theatre. In addition, she acted the role of a strict missionary out for a night on the town with great natural grace. Her counterpart, sophomore Scott Koven (Sky Masterson) also rang true in song and in his acting, playing the part of the heartless gambler with a hidden

soft spot.

Together the pai r was absolute ly wonderful.

As the stern but slightly clueless General Matilda Cartwright, junior Courtney Bradshaw had the crowd giggling. Also bringing a sense of lightness and fun to the musical were the Hot Box Dancers, flaunting bold and at times ridiculous costumes.

The ensemble and the crapshooters were near-flawless in the execution of their scenes. Big Jule and Lt. Brennagan’s one liners brought laughs from every seat in the theater.

The best scene by far was the sewer, w h e n t h e curtains opened to

reveal a smoke-filled stage where the crapshooters

were attempting to finish up their game. The fog

and lighting made the scene almost surreal. The choreography and song for the scene were delightful.

The orchestra was flawless in creating the melody that wrapped around the musical and the characters.

There was only one major issue in the musical, and that was the shoddy shifting. At some points, the curtains were closing in the midst of the last few lines of a scene, and lights were coming on before the shifts had a chance to get backstage, somewhat ruining the mood.

All in all, the performance was pretty outstanding, bringing together terrific actors with great voices, great musicians with loads of talent, fabulous directors with an eye for design, and stellar

technicians working light and sound.

by Sourina Sandara

Entertainment Editor

After eight seasons with American Idol, judge Simon Cowell has decided to leave the show, making the currently running ninth season his final one. Cowell has stated that he wants to concentrate on bringing his show X Factor to American audiences.

X Factor is a British singing competition that plans to hit U.S televisions in 2011. It will be broadcast under FOX Entertainment, which also hosts American Idol. Cowell will both judge and produce the show and hopefully raise its popularity in the states.

Many have argued that Cowell himself gave rise to the currently well know Idol show with his non-sugarcoated comments and criticism. But he has said that he has confidence that the show will continue to do well without him when his contract ends in May 2010.

With both Cowell and Paula Abdul’s departures, talk show host Ellen Degeneres has joined on as a new judge for Idol. She will act as Abdul’s replacement, joining Kara Dioguardi and Randy Jackson on the judges’ panel.

Cowell’s new show X Factor is a top-rated show in the U.K., and many people have predicted that it has the potential to attract high ratings next fall.

There have been many rumors as to who will be joining Cowell on his new show. But he has hinted that former co-judge Paula Abdul may be an asset. He has expressed that he had missed working with her when she left Idol. This gave audiences the idea that there could possibly be room for an Idol reunion.

Between the two shows that Cowell has worked on, many could clearly see the similarities between American Idol and X Factor. But the main difference that distinguishes the two from each other are the requirements. Idol restricts its auditioners between the ages of 16-28,

by Jasmine Tall and Christine YaoReporters

As the day approached, the anxious feeling to make all-districts hit hopefuls hard as they gathered at Robinson to audition on Jan. 9. This event was open to both middle and high school students, but only high school students were up for the concert and symphonic bands.

The symphonic band is the highest and most advanced band a player can be in. The concert band follows under it. Middle school students were allowed to make only the middle school band.

While other band members had to play two major scales, a chromatic scale, a prepared piece and a sight-reading piece, percussion players were the exception.

“I had to prepare three pieces,” freshman concert I percussion player Jeannette Essimi-Menye said. “One for the snare, one

for the timpani and one for the mallets.”

The audition is divided into four blocks for the duration of the day, where each block contains roughly the same amount of people. With the arrival at Robinson, students checked in and got a number. These numbers indicated which number audition they were. However, the order of things was reversed. The last person to check in may have been the first to audition.

Auditioning students first went to a big room where they could practice. The practice time they had depended on when they arrived at the school and their schedule block times.

“We go and wait in another room with the other people in our section,” sophomore symphonic trumpet player Colin Tribble said. “For me that was high brass. It was tiring because it was early in the morning, but I wasn’t nervous or anything.”

As auditions started, the students were not able to talk to the judges but had someone else in the room to take care of their necessities.

A musical to see for both ‘Guys and Dolls’

LB band competes in district

Junior Katie Franzel practices her oboe. She auditioned for the all-district band.

BREAKING NEWS “Simon Cowell leaves Idol”

photo by pbpulse.com

photos by Alison Neary

photo by Alison Neary

27 January, 2010 Entertainment14 The Bear Facts

Album release: Omarion with Olussion

And the award goes to...Celebrities get ready to walk the red carpet for the Golden Globes

graphic by Jess Groves

by Natalia ArancibiaStaff writer

As the 2010 year begins, so do the long-awaited award shows that will be taking place throughout the entire year. These award shows include: the Golden Globes, Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, MTV Movie Awards, Tony Awards and Emmy Awards, which are dedicated to recognizing the best movies, songs, artists, television shows, actors, actresses, performers and upcoming talent in the past year.

Each year numerous people and works are nominated for various awards such as: best actor or actress, best film, best director, best art direction and many more. Though there may be many categories and nominations, only one can win in each.

Who do you think it will be this year?This month the 67th Annual Golden

Globe Awards premiered on Jan. 17. Top nominees for best motion picture were Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds, Precious and Up In the Air. Nominees for best actor and actress were Emily Blunt, Sandra Bullock, Helen Mirren, Carey Mulligan, Gabourey Sadibe, George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Colin Firth, Morgan Freeman and Tobey Maguire.

Among many other stars nominated were Meryl Streep, Matt Damon, Penelope Cruz, Robert Downey Jr. and many more talented celebrities. Winners included: best motion picture drama-Avatar; best director- James Cameron for Avatar; best actress in a drama-Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side; best actor in a drama-Jeff Bridges in Crazy

Heart; best actress in a comedy-Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia, best actor in a comedy or musical-Robert Downey Jr. in Sherlock Holmes.

The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards will premiere on Jan. 31. Awards are given for best female artist, best male artist, album of the year, record of the year, upcoming artists and many other categories. Top nominees include: Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Madonna, The Black Eyed Peas, Death Cab for Cutie and Coldplay.

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will premiere on March 7. Much like the Golden Globes, awards will be given for best motion picture, best supporting actor and actress, costume design, visual effects and foreign language film.

Nominees for Oscars will be announced on Feb. 2. However, predictions for possible winners in all categories include: Precious, Up in the Air, The Hurt Locker, Invictus, Avatar, Colin Firth, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Meryl Streep, Penelope Cruz, Hilary Swank and Gabourey Sidibe.

In teen-related areas, MTV will be hosting its annual Video Music Awards and Movie Awards sometime in the second half of this year. MTV’s award shows are much like other award shows, however they target teens. Categories are much the same though nominees differ greatly.

“I like watching the VMAs because they have the most entertaining guest speakers and videos,” sophomore Emily Schell said.

As the new decade kicks off with winners for amazing films, directors and actors, only more amazing talent can be expected in the

Although better known as the front man of the boy band B2K, Omarion was able to successfully reach his solo career on his own. His first debut album 21 showed that Omarion has talent and potential, delivering the hit single “Ice Box.” But he still has to work on it. Omarion‘s first single and first track

of his new Ollusion album, “I Get It In,” featuring Gucci Man brought up the expectations of the album; unfortunately, this one song was not enough to free the album from mediocrity.

Ollusion contains songs like “Wet” that want to make you grab your head out of

frustration because of the horrible attempt he makes to sound like R. Kelly, while others like “Speedin”, which tries to balance the quality of the album and bring it from horrible to mediocre.

The album was complied by a variety of well-known producers such as T-Pain, who brought his own style to

the album.

Ollusion shows the mediocre work of an Omarion who is still struggling to find his own style and bringing his own personality to his work. Club hits like “I Get It In” and “Code Red” are only able to take Omarion to certain levels without an actual style or theme. Ollusion is one of

by Marcelo GarciaStaff Writer

1 2

5 6 7

10 12

16 17 19

graphic by Ilana Brener

photos by Emaleigh Phelps

27 January, 2010 Entertainment Entertainment 27 January, 2010 The Bear Facts 15

by Gabby LindemannStaff Photographer

New Year’s celebrations varied this year, from watching the ball drop to the comfort of one’s couch and rockin’ out at New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest. Either way, hundreds of thousands of merrymakers rung in the new year in Times Square and other major cities around the world.

Celebrating the new year dates back to ancient Babylon 4,000 years ago, when it was celebrated in March then moved to January.

The month of January was named for the Janus, a god with two faces, one

looking forward, the other back, symbolizing a break between old and new. In the Middle Ages, Jan. 1 was abolished because the celebrations accompanying the

New Year were considered pagan. The New Year is celebrated differently

in other countries. In Japan, New Years is called Oshogatsu, and the holiday

i s a symbol o f r enewal . Misunderstandings and grudges are forgiven,

houses are scrubbed clean, and traditional dishes are

cooked, while many Japanese pray to their ancestors for

happiness in the new year.In Greece on New Year’s Day,

the Festival of St. Basil is held, and a

silver coin is baked inside a cake. Whoever finds the coin in their slice will be lucky in the coming year.

In the United States, the most famous New Year’s tradition is watching the ball drop in New York City’s Times Square.

The tradition began in 1907, and the original ball was made of iron and wood. The ball this year was made of Waterford Crystal, weighs 1070 pounds and is six feet in diameter. Coordinators mixed almost 10,000 handwritten New Year’s wishes into confetti that was released over the heads of the hundreds of thousands of people in the crowd at Times Square.

In Las Vegas, hosted by the songstress Fergie, some 315,000 people rung in the New Year amid fireworks from the rooftops of casinos and clubs on the Las Vegas strip.

Superstar Rihanna brought in the New Year in the Middle East, celebrating in front of more than 10,000 people with a two-hour performance in front of Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace.

Junior Hayley Flynn brought in the New Year in Des Moines, Ia.

“I spent New Year’s at my uncle’s wedding,” Flynn said. “I have a lot of theater people in my family so the party was really crazy. There was a lot of dancing; the dance floor was never empty. We all stayed up until midnight, and it was a lot of fun to bring in the New Year with the new additions to my family.”

The tradition of “dropping the ball” at the stroke of midnight was given a twist in the cites of Nashville, Tn. and Atlanta,

Ga. In Nashville, a 10-foot long, red guitar took a plunge when the clock struck midnight. In Atlanta, an 800-pound peach made of fiberglass was lowered 138 feet.

“For the New Year’s celebration of 2009/2010, I went to my girlfriend’s, that is to say Nichole Gerber’s house,” sophomore Scott Koven said. “We watched the ball drop on TV and also watched this guy jump a car over a river. After it was 2010, we went outside with her brother and another friend of mine and lit off wimpy fireworks.”

For others who watched TV from the comfort of their own couch, news programs hosted by various celebrities let viewers observe the ball drop. On CNN, New Year’s celebrations were hosted by Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin, MTV was hosted by Adrienne Bailon and the stars of Jersey Shore. Billboard New Year’s Eve on Fox was hosted by Carmen Electra, with performances by Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta and Sean Kingston. Carson Daly hosted New Year’s Eve on NBC. Dick Clark’s traditional New Years Rockin’ Eve was hosted this year by Ryan Seacrest.

For those who didn’t look up this New Year’s, there was a blue moon when we rang in 2010. A blue moon is the second full moon in a month. The last blue moon was in May 2009, and the last blue moon on New Year’s Eve was in 1990 and will not occur again until 2028.

Besides celebrating at midnight on Dec. 31, New Year’s Day is for most people a day off from all daily activities.

Happy New Year!

10

89

7654 3

21

“I’m listening to Sympathy for the Devil by the Rolling Stones. I’ve been a Stones fan since 1964. They were the original bad boys of rock ‘n roll. A lot of their songs are relatable to me because I can connect with them. ‘I couldn’t get no satisfaction’, ‘I’m a streetfighting

“Right now I’m listening to Catch Me by Demi Lovato. I was never a huge fan of hers, but my friend showed me the song. And I like it. It’s cute and relatable to young people because it talks about

“Southern Man by Tim McGraw is a really good song. I’ve loved listening to Tim ever since I was a little kid and could understand music. The song explains a lot about Southern life, which I can

What’s on your iPod?

LBSS students watched the ball drop and rung in the New Year with friends, family and primetime television

information compiled by Ilana Brener

by Natalia ArancibiaStaff Writer

Kicking off 2010 and the new decade are new movies and shows. Hoping to reach new fan bases, producers and directors have created many new movies and shows hoping they will be big hits and major money makers.

The year will be filled with celebrities starring in major works. Among the new movies are: Valentine’s Day, When in Rome, Remember Me, Dear John, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, The Last Airbender and Alice in Wonderland. Among the new shows coming out this year are Life Unexpected, The Buried Life, Deep End and Shark Tank. However, probably the biggest hit this year will be the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

This year, the third installment of the Twilight Saga movie series will be released on June 30. Robert Pattison will also be starring in Remember Me, a romantic drama which will be released on March 5. Also in the romance genre are Dear John, coming

out on Feb. 5, and Letters to Juliet, coming out on May 7, both of which star actress Amanda Seyfried. Finally, Valentine’s Day, will be released on Feb. 12 and When in Rome on Jan. 29

Movies releases coming soon in other genres include: Frozen on Feb. 5, Toy Story 3 on June 18 and The Last Airbender, which will be released this summer.

MTV’s The Buried Life also aired on Jan. 18. The show revolves around four guys who set out to complete a list of 100 things they want to do before they die. For every one thing they accomplish on their list, they will help someone else achieve something they want to do before they die.

“I’m really excited to see The Buried Life because it’s different,” junior Vicky Paredes said.

The Winter Olympics will also be held this year in Vancouver, British Columbia. Events taking place in the Olympics include: snowboarding, figure skating, speed skating, curling, ice hockey, slalom, skiing and bobsled events. The national teams haven’t been announced.

Classical rock and roll, southern country

-John Cabiati, faculty member

-Cindy Carias, 9

-Justin Burback, 11

photo by Alison Neary

photo by Emaleigh Phelps

photo by Emaleigh Phelps

graphics by Jess Groves

New Year brings new drama in

photo by academictech.doit.wisc.edu

16Sports27 January, 2010

by Justin RichardsonColumnist

It seems like the number “0” has always meant something to Gilbert Arenas in his career. Doubters in his life claimed he’d get “0” minutes as a collegiate and professional athlete, and he proved them wrong.

But this time, “0” is used to describe the amount of games he has played since his felony gun possession charge. And the amount of games he had played since his 2007 knee injury is pretty low as well. Many Washington Wizards fans are left wondering, “How can this possibly happen to our star player?” If you were going to go back in time, specifically, March 2007, and tell a random Wizards fan that Arenas would get hit in the knee and blow out major ligaments and his meniscus, which would sideline him for the rest of that year and limit him to just 15 games for the next two years while recovering from that injury as well as failed surgeries to heal it quicker, that fan would think you were crazy. And then follow it up with some idiotic “prank” involving firearms on a table, causing Arenas to get suspended indefinitely? You would then have that fan laughing at you, calling you names and then he’d probably get a bunch of his fellow Wizards fans and they’d follow suit.

But alas, that is what has happened to the biggest sports star in the nation’s capital. And now, instead of playing All-Star caliber basketball, he gets to think about how stupid he was when he put those guns in his locker. He gets to think about what suspension length David Stern will give him following the investigation’s conclusion. (He’s currently suspended indefinitely, and the length of the ruled suspension will likely

be for the rest of the season.) He gets to think of all the little kids that wore his jersey that are feeling let down because of his antics.

My dad always said, and still says, that he hates goof-offs more than anything in the world. Well, that means he must hate Arenas with a fiery passion that has the intensity of a thousand suns because right now, Arenas is the biggest goof-off in the world of sports right now, even more than promiscuous Tiger Woods. At least those two didn’t do anything illegal. Not only did Arenas try playing off the gun charge like it wasn’t anything serious, but he was crazy enough to pretend to shoot his teammates during a Philadelphia 76ers-Wizards game, making two “L” shapes with his thumb and index fingers as he kneeled down in the middle of a circle, pretending to spray his teammates (who I think should definitely be disciplined more than the fines that they got). His stupidity caused Antawn Jamison to apologize for these incidents in front of the Verizon Center.

Gilbert, let me talk to you as a sports fan for a bit. I want you to think about that kid you mentor, the one that lost his family in a fire at age 10. What do you think he is feeling right now? I’ll tell you: He’s thinking that his best friend in the whole world, the one that is like a big brother to him after the circumstances he suffered with his family, the one that takes him bowling, shops with him and then got him a job as a Wizards ball boy, is a criminal. In addition, you play for a team that changed its name from the “Bullets” to the “Wizards” because owners didn’t want to glorify the gun violence that plagued (and continues to plague) the most important city in the United States.

So as a result, you have been given a huge responsibility that you can’t seem to uphold.

ZON

E

T h e B r u i n

compiled by Brittany Hopkins

Corey Smith—

Wrestling

Athlete of the issue

Boys’ varsity basketball6-8

vs. Robinson, W 53-52vs. C.D. Hylton, W 69-54vs. Colonial Forge, W 56-30vs. KIMA, L 58-67@ W. Springfield, W 42-27@ T.C. Williams, L 36-51vs. Lee, L 50-53vs. W. Potomac, W 64-59vs. South County, L 60-62@ Annandale, L 43-58@ Woodson, L 32-45

Boys’ varsity wrestling

vs. Centreville, W 40-36vs. South Lakes, L 37-39@ Battle at the Bridge 3rd place overall1/27 vs. Woodson1/27 vs. W. Potomac1/29 @ Arundel Dual

Girls’ varsity basketball3-11

vs. Robinson, L 28-46@ South Lakes, L 43-81@ Wakefield, W 53-45@ Hayfield, L 28-50vs. W. Springfield, L 32-69vs. T.C. Williams, 38-42@. Lee, W 44-39vs. W. Potomac, W 48-43@ South County, L 29-41vs. Annandalevs. Woodson,

Coed swimming

@ Annandale, tievs. Lee, Wvs. Woodson, L@ W. Potomac, Tievs. S. County, Wvs. W. Springfield, W 1/27-30 Districts2/2-6 Regionals2/19-20 States

When did you start wrestling? I started wrestling in the fourth grade as my dad wrestled in high school and got me involved in it.

What is your biggest motivation when it comes to wrestling? The biggest motivation that I have when it comes to wres-tling is to be as good as my dad as he achieved many things.

What are your goals for this current season?To qualify for states and win regionals by beating as many opponents as possible.

How do you plan to achieve your goals?Work hard by putting time and effort to the sport. I go to early morn-ing runs and work out to keep in condition.

What is the thing you like most about the sport?The thing I like the most about the sport is win-ning and getting into a real good match.

Sibl

ing

Riva

lry: T

he R

enzi

’s

Bruins take down the competition

photo courtesy of the Evans Familycompiled by Marcelo Garcia

Girls’ varsity gymnastics

@ LB, second place@ Centreville, fourth place@ Oakton, second place@ W. Potomac, second place@ Herndon, @ Aloha Classic1/28 @ South Lakes

“I have a lot of years on him.”

“He is better than I was at his age.”

“Winning districts three years in a row.”

“Nothing, fear of God.”

“I pretty much crush him in everything.”

“Pretty much life: basketball, dodgeball, anything physical.”

I am better than my brother because...

My brother is better than me because...

My biggest accomplishment is...

My brother is secretly afraid of...

My brother always beats me in...

I always beat my brother in...

“Madden and basketball.”

“He has a lot of years on me.”

“Top rank in the stare as a frosh.”

“Girls.”

“Dodgeball.”

“Madden.”

Ross Renzi, senior

Rory Renzi, freshman

“Girls.”

“Dodgeball.”

“Madden.”

Sports 27 January, 2010 The Bear Facts 17

by Emaleigh PhelpsStaff Photographer

Winter may be a time meant for relaxing and staying inside your home, but for a few students this is their busiest time of the year. Some athletes are partaking in not one, but two or three sports in the winter season alone, leaving them with little to no time to enjoy the relaxing mood of the winter season.

Sophomore Lizzie White is currently participating in not one, not two, but three sports over the winter season. She is a member of the LB gymnastics and dive teams and is also part of a non-school cheer squad. Her schedule can become stressful not just for her, but her parents as well.

“I have to tell my parents where to take me so they know where to pick me up,” White said.

White’s busiest days are Wednesdays where she has a two-hour and 45-minute gymnastic practice, then a half hour at home and a half hour in the car on the way to her two-and-a-half-hour cheer practice, she said. Then she goes home and works on homework.

Managing school and sports can be difficult, White said, especially when trying to complete group projects.

Another multi-sport athlete is freshmen Sophie Chase, who is a member of the LB indoor track team and swim and dive team and the Mason Makos swim team.

“It’s definitely hard because I have to stay on top of homework,” Chase said. “It doesn’t leave much time to relax, but I love both of my sports.”

Many athletes are caught between loving two sports and trying to stay on top of school work.

After trying such a hectic schedule, some student athletes decide the constant juggling act isn’t such a good idea.

Sophomore Sarah Price wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, she said. As a freshman, Price was on the school gymnastics and cheer teams.

“It was really hard to keep up with everything, and I was at school all the time,” Price said.

Since Price liked cheerleading more than gymnastics, she decided to continue with cheer for her winter sport this year.

“The cheer coach didn’t want me to do both [gymnastics and cheer] because of how much I missed last year,” Price said.

Some coaches know first-hand what it’s like for multi-sport athletes.

“I don’t mind athletes who do more

than one sport as long as it doesn’t conflict. I think it’s great. I was a multi-sport athlete here, but it’s a lot,” head swim coach Miriam Lynch said. “You don’t get to see them to help them improve when they can’t make it to all the practices.”

Chase is only required to go to one school swim practice per week so she goes to track practice then to her club swim team most days. On days when she attends the LB swim practices or meets, she runs on her own. Chase finds a way to improve on both sports almost everyday. The life of a multi-sport athlete may not be for everyone, as it can become overwhelming. But those who have that life make it work.

LB athletes find success while playing multiple sports

3119The average number of points scored by the boys’ varsity basketball team over the course of their first 13 games, including the Tournament of Champions, where the team finished in second.

The number of points that the coed varsity rifle time shot in the first three matches. The team has an overall record of two wins and one loss.

The total number of combined points that the girls’ and boys’ varsity swim and dive team de-feated South County on Friday January 8th. The Bruins swept the Stallions with the help of David Maquera, John McKenzie, Nick Laffose, Christina McGarry, Jordan Parry and Sophie Chase.60

By the numb3rscompiled by Brittany Hopkins

3The number of players from the boy’s varsity basketball team that were announced to the all-tournament of the Tournament of Champions. These players include senior guard Patch McLucas, senior guard Garret Trump and senior forward Ryan Curtis.

708

Maggie Collins—

Basketball

Athlete of the issue

The Colts and Saints will go head-to-head in Super Bowl XLIV Feb. 7by Ryan Lowry

Asst. Sports Editor

What position do you play?Guard

When did you start playing basketball?Since I was four or five.

What got you into Basketball?My dad did.

What keeps you motivated?Improving and being successful.

Do you plan on playing after high school?I’d like to, but it depends on the situation.

How do you manage school work and basketball?I have to budget my time during the week and on weekends. If I know the assignments ahead of time I try to get them out the way.

compiled by Hiwote Swannphoto by Emaleigh Phelps 1600 The distance that senior Liana Esptein holds

the No. 1 time in the United States, with a time of 5:07.04. She also is ranked No. 6 in the 1000m with a time of 3:00.79.

On Sunday, Jan. 24, the Indianapolis Colts took on the New York Jets and the Minnesota Vikings faced the New Orleans Saints in their respective conference championship games. Both match-ups featured veteran quarterbacks with extensive post-season experience going up against younger, less proven signal-callers.

In the NFC Championship, Vikings quarterback Brett Favre relied on his past experience

in the playoffs along with the potent ground game provided by running back Adrian Peterson to lead his

team to its first Super Bowl in

23 years. The Vikings faced a formidable

opponent in the New Orleans Saints, who started out with a 13-0 record before going on a three-game losing streak at the end of the regular season.

Ultimately, Minnesota lost to the Saints 28-31 in overtime.

“This game will be so much better than the AFC Championship,” senior Thomas

Gramsch said. “I think that the Vikings will beat the Saints and then lose to the Colts in the Super Bowl.”

The AFC Championship was a rematch of Week 16’s game between the Colts and the Jets, in which New York upset a then-undefeated Indianapolis team. In spite of their history, however, the Colts were still the clear favorite considering their 15-2 record and quarterback Peyton Manning’s experience. The Jets , on the other hand, were led by rookie quar terback Mark Sanchez a n d h a d a record of 10-7. The Colts avenged their previous loss, winning by a score of 30-17.

“I don’t know if the Jets are good enough to beat the Colts, but they’re better than a lot of people think,” senior Mike Fanning said. “It’s impressive for a rookie to take a team that far.”

The Colts and the Saints will play in the Super Bowl on Feb. 7 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami.

Sophomore Elizabeth White performs in her three winter season sports as pictured here. White is a member of the gymnastics team and the swim and dive team. White is also a member of a travel cheer leading team outside of school, as pictured on the bottom left.

Patriots

Ravens

Ravens

Bengals

Bengals

AFC

Colts

Jets

Jets

Colts

Jets

ColtsNFC

Cardinals

Packers

Eagles

Cowboys

Cowboys

Vikings

Cardinals

Saints

Saints

Vikings

Vikings

graphic by Brittany Hopkins

27 January, 2010 Sports 18 The Bear Facts

Fall sports exceeded goals and found successJoanna Miner

Reporter

The fall sports season extended for longer than expected, as the football team continued to play well into December.

This fall sports season was a rebuilding year for many, and for others it was a year to shine. LBSS student-athletes balanced the demands of school with their equally demanding athletic commitments. But regardless of individual success, each team displayed a tireless work ethic, good sportsmanship, and class.

Fiel

d H

ocke

yCr

oss

Coun

try

FootballCheerleading

Golf

Volleyball photo design by Brittany Hopkinsphotos courtesy of the Evans Family and Lakebraddocksports.org

For the 2009 LB varsity football team—the best team in school history—making it to states was a dream come true.

“I t was def ini te ly a great experience,” junior wide receiver Chris Williams said. “Sadly the outcome wasn’t what we wanted.”

The Bruins went into the state championship playoffs with a record of eight wins and two losses, including a win against the West Springfield Spartans for the Patriot District title.

The team faced the Fairfax Rebel Pride in the first round of the Northern Region playoffs. The Bruins, after playing at West Springfield instead of at home due to field conditions, came out on top with a score of 19-14.

The following week, the Bruins faced the No. 2-seeded Robinson Rams in the regional semi-final playoff game.

After a decade of crushing defeats from the Rams, the Bruins broke the losing streak in a 38-7 win, advancing to the Northern Region final game against the W.T. Woodson Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers, led by senior quarterback Connor Reilly, fell to the

Bruins 27-20, making the Bruins only the second team to win the Northern Region title in school history.

Advancing to the state semi-final game against the Battlefield Bobcats, the Bruins were snowed out of the game scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 5. The game was rescheduled for the following Monday. In overtime, the Bruins pulled out a win on third and 15 from the 15-yard line with a pass from junior quarterback Michael Nebrich to receiver Williams.

The Bruins then went on to face the Thomas Dale Knights of Richmond in the VHSL Division 6 State Championship, at Scott Stadium, on the campus of the University of Virginia in Charolottesville. In the first state championship game in school history, the Bruins suffered its third loss of the season with a final score of 25-21.

“We have to keep a positive outlook for next year,” Williams said. “We’ve still got a lot of talent.”

Going down in the record books as the best football season in LB history, this 2009 football season, and the incredible team that made it possible, is one that the school, and the community, will not soon

After an amazing run to the state semi-finals last season, the Lady Bruins’ graduated 13 seniors. The returning varsity girls knew coming into the 2009 season that it was going to be a rebuilding season.

The team was led by three captains, juniors Ali Froede, Brittany Hopkins and Melanie Brodner.

“[Being a captain] was definitely a big change from last year, like having to step up and take responsibility,” forward Froede said.

The Bruins’ had two players make the first team All-District team, two

players make the second t e a m , a n d o n e m a k e honorable mention. One player made the all-regional team and one made second team all-region.

Next season will be head coach Diane “O” Miller’s last season as a coach for LBVFH.

“‘O’ [Miller] has been my coach since I first started my freshman year,” Froede said. “She is great at pushing you and teaching you. I love her. She’s a great coach.”

The girls finished the season with a record of nine wins and 10 losses.

Among a returning roster of two sophomores, five juniors and three seniors, the only freshman on the team, middle blocker Kyra Rodi, was thrust into playing with a group of older girls.

“I thought [this season] was really fun because we did well, and all the older girls were really supportive and nice,” Rodi

said.This year, the lady

Bruins were lead by head coach Erin Clark and assistant coach Mike Clark.

“The coaches always pushed me to do better, and they always gave good advice on how to improve my game,” Rodi said.

The g i r l s ’ vars i ty volleyball team finished

The LB varsity cheerleading team also had a successful season. Not only cheering for the football team throughout the season, the cheer team practiced hard, six days a week to prepare for competition season.

Led by four senior captains, Astri Griel, Olivia Ball, Alex Kelly and Sarah Davidson, the varsity cheer team placed second in the district and fifth in the region.

“As a captain, I was a leader, and I motivated everyone to put a hundred percent in to what they do,” Davidson said.

For the six freshmen on the team this year, the most in recent LB history, the experience of cheering at football state finals and in the Northern Region Cheerleading Finals was one they will not soon forget.

“It was the greatest experience I could ever ask for,” freshman Jessica Anderson said. “And I mean, lettering your freshman year, that’s pretty awesome.”

The team as a whole showed very well on both the district and regional level, finishing second in the Patriot District and fifth in the Northern Region.

Seniors Alex Kelly, Olivia Ball, Megan Supko and Sarah Davidson were all selected for the all-district cheer team along with junior Alexa Winkler. These five first-team honorees played key roles in assisting the team to its great post-season finish within the Northern Region.

With nine seniors leaving the team, LBVC will likely have a

This season, a freshman was one of the stars star on the girls’ cross country team.

Freshman Sophie Chase set record times for the school at Burke Lake, qualifying her as one of the top ten freshmen of all time at the park.

“I definitely want to keep up with running throughout high school,” Chase said. “I think I could go really far with it.”

This year, the LB girls’ cross country team won at states.

“It was the best possible ending,” senior Amanda Parker said.

The boys cross-country team also had a grea t season.

Placing first in the district, second in the region, and fourth in the state, the boys finished the season with a successful record. The vars i ty go l f

team also did well this season.

Junior Kenny Towns has played the sport for the past four years, he said.

“I always played it with my dad, so I chose it as my fall sport,” Towns said.

With the loss of two influential seniors in Dan Buckrop and Megan Larsen graduating this year, the golf team will look forward to next season with high hopes.

Photos 21 December, 2009 The Bear Facts 19

Senior Lizzie Cole and sophomore Scott Koven embrace as characters Sarah Brown and Sky Masterson.

compiled by Alison Neary

Juniors Kelli Boyle and Telly Manos perform as Havana Danc-ers.

The cast of Guys and Dolls sings and dances as Nicely-Nicely Johnson, portrayed by sophomore Trent Hasty, leads the group with “Sit Down Your Rockin’ the Boat,” while inside of the Mission.

The Hot Box dancers take their bows together at the end of the performance.

Junior Brent Gibbons as Big Jule receives reprimands from Sky Masterson, played by sopho-more Scott Koven, as the crapshooters look on.

in photos