“The standards have just dropped since I’ve become a senior. The main thing that is different is going out on weeknights,” said senior Jake Mazelzky.

Homework has become a secondary concern. “When I get assigned homework, it’s not a big deal because I probably won’t do it,” said senior Army Aston-Lewis. Teachers fight to invigorate their students and delay the annual arrival of senioritis. “I try to do alot more hands-on activities and dissections because students have to be in class to complete them,” said Human Anatomy teacher Ms. Mary Landis.

The club is hosting two school-wide drives this month in order to aid those that have less than most others do. The first drive is a book drive, to help out younger children who haven’t had the chance to read tons of books. “Books make such a difference in the lives of so many children,” said Key Club member junior Victoria Tovig. “It’s great to help others out.”

The other drive will collect sports equipment for poor children in Anacostia. The goal is to give kids “a fun activity to take part in after school, so they do not get involved in activities with negative consequences,” according to Tovig. The Key Club hopes to help the children have fun, positive and active lives.

All Langley students are encouraged to participate. If you have any books that you read a few years back and haven’t picked up since, why not give them to someone who will read and enjoy them? Got any old bats, basketballs, or tennis balls that you used when you were ten, but not so much now? Just donating one item can turn somebody’s life around. After all, one person’s “junk” could be somebody else’s treasure.

For anybody that would like to donate, items can be dropped off at Ms. Shapiro’s room (room 294) anytime. The book drive ends on Monday, Feb. 27, and the sports equipment drive is ongoing.

Jake Yoon

"No, because there are 2,000 people in this school, and we need privacy." -Jake Yoon (9)

Dina Kamel

"It's pointless, because most theft occurs in the locker rooms and they can't put cameras in there." -Dina Karmel (10)

Michael Ratcliffe

"No, they will get broken within a week." -Michael Ratcliffe

Emily Hewitt

"No, because I don't think they are necessary." -Emily Hewitt (12)

“It felt amazing. We went against some really good dance teams and it was a huge compliment to us to win,” said freshman Sophia Iglesias.

The team’s performances involved high energy dances and a lot of endurance. Even though the kick routine consisted of about 50 kicks, the girls make it through with smiles on their faces the entire time. “I was dead once we finished the kick routine! I was extremely tired,” said Iglesias.

The team will be competing at the national championship tournament, sponsored by the National Dance Alliance. Nationals will be held in Orlando from March 3-4. “It’s nice to know that we can represent Virginia as a first place team when we go to nationals,” said freshman Allison Maebius.

Freshman year, for many students, is a year of maturation (on some levels) and self discovery through the process of choosing to pursue a certain interest in school. My situation throughout my high school career is a great example. Even before the idea of a personal finance class, my electives were highly constricted. I took Photography 1 my freshmen year but opted to replace it with Journalism the following year. Optimally, I would have taken both. But Photography 1, while a seemingly minor facet of my education, served as a foundation for what is now one of my greatest passions: photography. Had I been forced to omit it for Personal Finance, I would not be the same person with the same developed interests outside of school. It gave me a taste of something I came to love and expand upon years later.

Beyond the disadvantage of losing an elective freshmen year, a personal finance class is not something to hit a group of new students who are just beginning their high school experience. It is something that should be introduced later, to older students who can understand the gravity of the subject and actually absorb its content.

I went with seven other people to celebrate my friend’s birthday. We started out with cheese fondue. I do not normally enjoy cheese fondue, but I loved dipping green apples into the cheese. It sounds quite odd, but the mixture of the sweet with tangy was absolutely amazing. They also provided us with bread and vegetables to dip in the cheese, but I did not really like either of those mixtures.

After that, a pot of broth was provided for us to dip the meat into. The meat is given to your aw and you cook it for two minutes by putting it in the broth. I had steak,chicken, and shrimp. I lost my meat twice and had to dig around for it in the pot, so be very careful when you take your meat out! The meat also came with six different sauces that you could dip them in. Every time I tried a new sauce a different taste was created. I enjoyed most of the sauces, but there was one that was very spicy. It felt like my tongue was on fire, which is never good.

I then got two different dessert fondues. One was the classic dark chocolate and the other was a Bananas Foster. Bananas Foster was white chocolate, bananas and cinnamon all mixed together – it was a disaster. There were too many different tastes swirling around in that pot. The dark chocolate, however, was one of the best desserts I have ever had in my life. They gave us a variety of different items to dip into the dessert fondue, including rice crispy treats and marshmallows.

The Melting Pot is expensive and it is not a restaurant you would go to every week. But if you have a birthday or other special event coming up, you should definitely give The Melting Pot a try.

Zaccack joined Interact Club her freshman year, and became president two years later as a junior. “I have always been interested in community service,” she said. “I want to help those less fortunate than me.”

Since becoming president, Zaccack notes that the Interact Club has focused its attention on aiding the direct area—which makes it different from other organizations, such as the Key Club or National Honor Society, whose projects are sometimes done on a broader scale.  Because of this, Interact participates in local projects, such as the McLean Chocolate Festival and Stop Hunger Now, to help members connect with their communities.

When planning events, Zaccack and her fellow Interact officers first sit down and examine their calendar to decide which dates to hold service projects on.  They then look at other successful projects that have been done in the past to determine how to best execute their current developments.  “We also love to help organizations that our members feel passionate about,” she said.

Zaccack notes that her most rewarding project so far was a car wash last year that benefited the Langley MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Walk team. The MS Walk was a very personal event because a former member—Joseph Larounis—had a family member diagnosed with MS.  The club decided to hold the car wash to raise additional funds, and in the weeks leading up to the event, Zaccack scrambled to raise support.  After creating Facebook notifications, sending out mass e-mails, hanging flyers and making posters, the efforts proved worthwhile as the event raised a staggering $2,500.

In the future, Zaccack plans to stay involved in her dedication to community service.  She plans to join other service organizations while in college, and hopes to eventually become part of the Rotary Club.  A global organization, the Rotary Club is a group of successful entrepreneurs who want to give back to their communities.  “I would definitely love to continue my work,” she said.

Nick: I would agree with you for the most part, but there are still exceptions. If you are in a position to make millions of dollars in the NFL by leaving early, take it. There is no need to risk an injury or a bad season in college that will hurt your draft value.

Tommy: Even though it may be tempting to take the money, no one is a ‘sure thing.’ Mark Sanchez took the money and even though the Jets have had moderate success with him at the helm, he is also what’s holding them back from going all the way. He’s immature.

Nick: Yes, but he would not have been any better if he had stayed in college for another year. Take Andrew Luck. His draft value hasn’t really changed from last year to this year. The only difference is the millions and millions of dollars that he gave up to stay an extra year in college.

Tommy: You can enter the NFL draft and leave college incomplete, or you can finish what you went to school for, an education, and come out into the NFL with the added confidence that comes with an impressive academic accomplishment.

Nick: Look, I have respect for the athletes who want to finish all four years of college before entering the draft, but sometimes the financial aspect of the NFL takes precedent.

Tommy: You’ve worked so hard for three years and then you leave before you can even finish?

Nick: You go to college to get an education. You get an education to get a good job and hopefully earn good money. If  you can get a good job with great pay as a junior in college, take it.

The Crucible cast was selected by Theatre Department Head Phyllis Jaffe, and will be coming out later this afternoon.  The auditioning process was exceedingly different this year, as students pre-auditioned with thirty seconds of drama and thirty seconds of comedy before they knew what the show was going to be.

From these pre-auditions, Jaffe was able to decide which play she wanted the Theater Department to take on. “(The students) were overwhelmingly better at drama… I had four shows in mind, but after seeing them perform, I realized that The Crucible was the best choice,” said Jaffe.

Following Jaffe’s selection of the play came the true auditions. Students read certain excerpts of the script individually. After auditions, the call-back list was posted, and those who were called-back, performed again Friday afternoon in groups.

“I actually like call-backs more because you get to do scenes with other characters, so you’re able to develop your character more and be in the moment,” said sophomore Jamie Joyen Waldorf.

For the first week of rehearsal, Jaffe is planning on having the actors read through the script and discuss schedules for the time period. Preparations have begun for the Saxon Stage’s latest Cappie show.