The fundraising events will take place from Feb. 6 through Mar. 2.

“I really hope we meet our goal to raise awareness and of course the $3,000,” SNHS President Jiyeong Park, senior, said. “I will be so happy if we do so.”

Last year, SNHS raised close to $2,000 for this event. This year the fundraising goal is $3,000.

“Please help us out, so we can achieve our goal,” SNHS Co-Sponsor and biology teacher Claudia Lemus said.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is an organization that funds research on finding treatments and cures for blood cancers. The presentation began with outlining what leukemia and lymphoma are and the impact the raised funds can make.

“We have come a really long way with the cure rate,” Leah Cutler, Campaign Manager of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, said. “In the 1950s, the cure rate for the most common rate of leukemia was 3 percent, but now it is 94 percent. We are not going to stop till we get to 100 percent, and that’s why we need your help.”

Jonathan Faure, a local survivor of acute lymphatic leukemia, was announced as the honored hero for the presentation for the second year running. His struggle with cancer and the process he went through to become fully cured was explained, as he was not able to come and speak for this year’s presentation.

“The presentation was very informative and it was nice to hear about Jonathan and his survival story,” junior Jessica Strong said. “That was the part I enjoyed the most.”

Multiple fundraising events were then presented by SNHS. For the entire month of February, there will be a ‘penny war’ between classes and faculty departments. For students, the penny war will be held during all lunches. Any student who donates $2 or more will be entered in the weekly raffles. The winning class will also receive a prize. For faculty, donation boxes will be placed in the workroom of each department, one in the main office and one in the guidance office. The winning department’s faculty members’ names will be entered in a raffle to win prizes as well.

There will be a Fuddrucker’s night held on Feb. 10 from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Flyers for this event will be handed out at a later time. A movie night will also be held in the auditorium from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. for “My Sister’s Keeper.” The date is to be determined. A dating event will also take place in the auditorium during Atom Time. This event involves five male seniors and five male juniors being auctioned off. Junior and senior girls will have the opportunity to bid on a guy for a date. There will be a $5 admission fee and the date for this event is to be determined. Lastly, chocolate bars will be sold. More information regarding these events will be announced at a later time.

Both AHS representatives, Mason District Member Sandy Evans and Braddock District Member Megan McLaughlin, supported the measure. McLaughlin was the Co-Founder of FairGrade, who campaigned for the board to change the grading scale four years ago. During an AHS PTSA meeting in October, she declared her support for the classes.

“We want to have that middle-level option,” McLaughlin said.

The classes include English Honors 11, World History Honors 2, U.S./VA History, English 12 and U.S. Government.

Sully District School Board Member voted against the measure.

Superintendent Jack Dale supported the measure and thought that it was going to pass before the vote.

“I think it is definitely going to happen,” Dale said.

Baker began playing at the age of four and is best known for her accomplishments in classical music. She is known all over the world for the powerful emotions and mastery that her performances emit.

“It’s extraordinary to have a musician of her caliber known all around the world come and perform for our strings students and their families,” orchestra teacher Stephanie Lewis said.

Her performance locations have varied from Carnegie Hall to the Lincoln Center to Strathmore Hall to the Coolidge Auditorium to the Kennedy Center.

“It’s great that she is coming to perform at AHS for us and we do not have to go to the Kennedy Center [to see her],” Sophomore Eric Mejean said.

The performance was sponsored by the Poe Middle School Orchestra Boosters and all strings students and families were invited as special guests. Donations were suggested and all proceeds will go to the Poe Boosters.

“This is a way to encourage students to stay in strings and continue in the musical department,” Lewis said.

Baker’s major accomplishments include her Master of Music degree from the Julliard School in New York City. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, one of most prestigious music schools in the country.

Because she is known around the world, many students were disappointed in the lack of enthusiasm for Baker’s visit to AHS.

“I’m disappointed that so many people got excited over Michelle Obama coming, but no one is aware that a Grammy-nominated artist will be performing for us,” senior Danielle Turner said.

Even with the lack of attention, Baker’s visit supported musical education and left a memorable impression for the students and families in attendance.

“It’s a true honor that she is able to perform for students and family,” Lewis said.

Both organizations feel that bullying is a problem, both at AHS and around the country. Nationally, one out of four teenagers have reported being bullied, and roughly nine out of ten LGBT teenagers have reported being harassed. Clubs like the Gay/Straight Alliance and Peer Mediators work to educate people about the dangers of bullying. They put up signs all over the school that call for respect and open-mindedness.

“I am for the Gay/Straight Alliance, because everyone deserves to have their own values and beliefs,” sophomore Hayat Yusuf said. “They should have the freedom to express themselves in a safe environment, like school.”

Students and faculty members feel that events like No Name-Calling Week will help to limit the amounts of bullying within schools.

“There’s a need for it,” freshman Lisa King said. “I think its a good idea.”

“I’m so glad! I hate Freshman Transition, because it’s kind of a waste of time,” freshmen Leah Turner said.

For the past three years, the program had a total of 13 sessions, but the number was reduced to eight sessions this year. This was a joint decision made by the school counseling staff in order to improve collaboration between the counselors.

“One reason for this change is was the fact that while teachers are able to work together and meet during Collaboration Day, the school counselors cannot because they’re teaching the freshmen,” counselor Carrie Schaefer said. “Therefore, in order to collaborate, the counselors have to meet during the regular school day, which takes away time from meeting with their students. The counselors were happy that the reduction of sessions allows them more time to work with their students, teachers and parents, as well as allowing them more opportunities to collaborate more easily with each other.”

Another reason for the change was because similar programs in the county are much shorter.

“At the end of last year, the AHS school counseling staff reviewed freshmen programs at other schools and learned that the majority of schools in the county offer four sessions for their freshmen, and even one school only offered one session, while AHS offered 13 sessions,” Schaefer said. “Therefore, with the support of [Principal Vince] Randazzo, the school counseling staff decided to reduce the number of sessions we offered.”

During Freshman Transition, students and counselors would discuss topics ranging from study skills, college, good habits, cyber bullying, harassment and grade point average. The program was held on Collaboration Day about twice a month.

While the freshmen were with their counselors, all the teachers would collaborate and talk about how to improve their teaching.

Upperclassmen would get the chance to sleep in, since school didn’t start until an hour later. The students who rely on bus transportation came to school on time and would go to the gym to be with their friends or finish up homework.

“I am happy that Freshman Transition Program ended. It was helpful and all, but I didn’t like how freshmen had to come on regular time and everybody else came late,” freshmen Alina Waqar said.

Senior athletes were escorted by family members down the aisle. A commentator read out their goals, future plans, years of participation and other personal information.

“I am very happy. This is not the end of their swimming. It is a lifetime sport, and even though they do not have the team, they can still swim,” Barbara Foster, parent of senior Alli Foster, said.

The meet itself began at 7 p.m. When the ceremony ended, athletes began warming up alongside the opposing team, the T.C. William Titans. Warm-ups continued for 20 minutes until the teams began their pep talks and cheers.

Then the meet began and the swimmers took off. The room was soon filled with the sounds of cheers and splashing water.

“Having Senior Night does help some athletes, but it also causes them to lose focus. It is a 50/50 chance. Some swam well and others swam badly,” Head Coach Neal Jarvis said.

When the meet came to a close, the athletes packed up and showered before heading for the bus or their parents. The action and rush died down as swimmers yawned and dragged themselves to the bus.

“I think Senior Night was rad; there were no hiccups and everything went pretty smoothly,” senior Andy Tran said.

After a group discussion with Kerns, students broke into smaller groups to discuss topics from fundraising tips to how to organize a meeting.

“I hope to accomplish more school spirit and to help people understand what Annandale has to offer through strong leadership,” SGA President Lena Nour said. She helped to run the meeting with her fellow officers.

Attendance was down from the last meeting, but Nour believes it is because since so many people attended to first meeting, they were not able to obtain all of the correct contact information from the members.

“There are fewer people because we had such an intense first meeting, but we’ll get it back on track with attendance at the next meeting by getting all the right contract information,” Nour said.

Some of the students present seemed to appreciate the time they were given. Senior Deigo Cornejo, who was representing Key Club and the Spanish Honor Society, was given his first taste of Student Congress since he was unable to attend the first meeting.

“It’s a good effort on their part to try to raise spirit,” Cornejo said.

He still is uncertain about how affective the organization will be in improving student leaders.

“I feel like they repeat things I already know,” Cornejo said.

The next meeting date will be announced by leadership students soon.

For many, Jan. 16 was a chance to thank King for his contributions to today’s society. But for many AHS students, it was just an extra day off.

“I didn’t really think about [Martin Luther King, Jr. Day] yesterday. It was just a day off of school,” sophomore Kiwon Sue said. “My family doesn’t celebrate it.”

Sue’s sentiment was shared among the general student body. Not many visited the MLK Memorial, watched parades on T.V. or took part in festivities.

“I celebrate by doing homework,” senior James Bui said. “I really appreciate what he’s done.”

Though many used the day to get ahead on their schoolwork, some took a minute to let the world know of their appreciation for King. Many did so through the most convenient way possible — social media networks.

Both Facebook and Twitter were flooded with MLK Day statuses, ranging from quotes to expressions of thanks for the day off of school.

“I posted a status on Facebook,” junior Judith Cruz said. “[It was] one of the quotes he said about how we don’t have to care for ourselves, but for other people.”

Through the onslaught of statuses and tweets, a few weren’t so grateful to the crusader.

“What bothers me is people dissing [King] on Facebook. They just don’t understand the implications of the actions he took,” Bui said.

King would have been 83 years old.

Senior Kardo Omerbell was in the car behind the taxi. He got out of his car and was casually walking towards the school when he heard a loud bang. He described it as “that noise the car makes when metal screeches along asphalt.” Omerbell added that “the noise attracted attention from all nearby.”

The driver of the taxi was seen on the phone, most likely calling for help. One individual was seen with the driver.

Senior Luis Cabrera arrived to school at 8:20 a.m. and reportedly saw a truck lifting the car out of the ditch.

By 9 a.m., the car had been taken away and the road block cleared, according to senior William Bennett, who arrived late to school.

The condition of the car is currently unknown, and the driver did not appear physically injured.

“We could not be more proud of you as a group,” IB Coordinator Shirley Campbell said. “They’re perfect examples of survivors.”

Sixteen of the 21 diploma graduates were able to attend the event. Each gave advice during the panel presentation.

“For anyone who isn’t sure about getting the diploma, you should still stick with it,” alumnus Linda Chitayapuntagul said. “I stuck with it and now I am really happy I did.”

Many members of the panel stressed the importance of good time management and organizational skills. They also emphasized the importance of studying for the IB exams, turning in college applications early and putting a lot of effort into the required extended essay.

“All of this hard work pays off in the long run,” alumnus Eduardo Albright said.

Every member of the panel shared the extracurricular activities he/she participated in when he/she attended AHS. Then the diploma candidates in the audience received the opportunity to ask the panel any questions they had.

“It was motivational to hear how they survived their IB classes and yet still had time for their personal lives,” junior and anticipated diploma candidate Wenhui Huang said. “Some of them actually did get sleep, which seems like a miracle.”

The ceremony continued with brief remarks from multiple coordinators, praising the students on their achievements. A speech was also given by class of 2011 valedictorian Polette Centellas, who also served as the class’s diploma representative.

“The road to this point has been challenging, but has also been fulfilling,” Centellas said. “I encourage everyone to undertake the program. It is difficult, but it is doable, and you’ll feel very proud of yourself at the end.”

Centellas also emphasized that putting effort into class every single day was essential, and moderation was the key to survival.

Campbell then called the IB Diploma graduates up individually to the stage, where they received their diplomas from Principal Vince Randazzo. After a round of applause for all of the recipients, Campbell then asked their family members to stand up and receive a round of applause as well.

A reception followed the ceremony in Clausen Hall for the IB Diploma graduates and their family members.