The Virginia Department of Education has revised its standards for SOL testing to include free response questions.

According to the Virginia Department of Education website, the new questions require critical thinking designed to prepare students for the challenges they will face in the next grade.

The new questions will make up about 15 percent of the modified SOLs.

“I think it’s a good idea,” math department co-chair Judy Greenblum said. “It’s important for students to know how to problem-solve and to think critically, rather than just … drill and practice kinds of questions.”
Continue Reading

“I can’t believe Matt pulled this off,” sophomore Greer Gabor said as she mingled with students at the The Fresh Selection benefit concert at Jammin Java on May 5.

The concert, organized by sophomore Matt Colwell, featured the area’s most well-known rap artists such as Genie and Lyric as well as smaller acts such as DJ Ryan Feng from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

Continue Reading

The Young Democrats and Young Republicans of Marshall will hold a presidential debate on June 1 in Michael Hall.

The Young Democrats and Republicans have been preparing for this debate with dedication and focus.

“We are going to be comparing the Republican Platform to the Democratic platform on the issues that matter most, like women’s rights and such,” founder of the Young Democrats Andrew Crider, junior, said.

Continue Reading

In response to the multitude of ideas posed by freshmen, biology teachers created the Arabidopsis Fair, a science expo exclusively for Honors Biology students.

According to Biology and Environmental Systems teacher Barbara Brown, freshmen “just didn’t have the preparation” to participate in science fair, so the faculty decided to use the Arabidopsis Fair “so that it would be easier for us to help the kids.”

Every year Honors Biology freshmen cultivate mutant and wild type variations of Arabidopsis under different stressors.
Continue Reading

The orchestra’s yearly Pops concert will be held much earlier this year due to renovation demands. According to choral director Catherine Bond, this will be the last orchestra performance held at Marshall until the new auditorium is finished.

Rescheduled for May 3, this free concert will also be the final performance for 12 seniors, who will be honored either through solo performances or renditions of songs chosen by the honoree. Cellist Brendan Metzger, senior, chose to be in the solo performance and will be playing a part in the Orchestra’s rendition of “Pavone for a Dead Princess.”
Continue Reading

The Fairfax County School Board approved a measure to investigate moving school starting times from 7:20 to 8:00 a.m., a motion that has resurfaced since it was intiatlly voted down by the board in 2009.

Although no plan currently exists to change start times, there is an intent “for the School Board to study how later start times could be achieved,” school board chair Jane Strauss said.

The revival of this issue can be partially attributed to the Start Later for Excellence in Education Proposal.

Continue Reading

Students disappointed with last winter’s lack of snow have something to look forward to: the lack of school closings has prompted the Fairfax County School Board to remove two school days from the end of the year.

Before the School Board vote, the last day of school would have been June 19. Now, students will be released on June 15. The extra two days have been relabeled as teacher work days.

Continue Reading

Aiming to introduce elementary school students to the world of business, about 60 members of Marshall’s FBLA chapter participated in the Junior Achievment program on April 18. Statesmen engaged with students of all grade-levels at Shrevewood Elementary School and led eight-hour lessons on basic business concepts.

“Even though I am on my feet for eight hours and I am exhausted running around making sure the kids are understanding the material, I love doing it,” senior Negin Hooshmandnia said, reflecting on her involvement in the function in previous years.

Continue Reading

“At first I thought I was in trouble,” recalled senior Brandy Allen when she received a note to the counselor’s office during class, telling her to stop by during Learn.

Upon Allen’s apprehensive arrival, career center specialist Gardner Humphreys congratulated Allen on being one of the 11 students in Fairfax County to be awarded the Student Peace Award.

“I didn’t even know what it was, initially,” Allen said.

First awarded in 2006, the Student Peace Award is awarded to students who demonstrate a commitment to peace by resolving conflicts of either local or global importance.

Continue Reading

Four competitors won first place in their respective categories at the regional science fair last weekend.

First place winners Annie Bryan and Emily Casey, sophomores, said they had started their project to address the deficit of pure water in Africa. The team searched for a way to transport desalinated water to African villages far from the coast lines. Bryan and Casey built an apparatus to distill water containing the same salt density as the Atlantic Ocean. Bryan said they “purified the water by 97.7 percent.”

Continue Reading