After a one year gap, students interested in medical science have a club again. Although the club technically existed last year, it was inactive due to lack of interest.

The medical science club plans on studying and doing activities based on and around particular illnesses by investigating them and watching videos about them.

The club essentially exists to give students a background in the knowledge they will need for a medical job.

“One major activity is to show students what goes on in a [medical] job,” club sponsor and science teacher Sunny Nieh said.

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Just like the rest of voting America, the Young Democrat and Young Republican clubs are counting down the days until the elections. But for them, that day will be less important than those leading up to it.

These remaining weeks before the elections will be filled with canvassing, phone banking and other activities to support their respective candidates, in an effort to affect the election in a way that will have more of an effect than simply voting would.

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The start of a new school year brought renewal to the Marshall Anime Club. Designed to provide a friendly environment for students interested in the unique styles of Japanese animation, the club has undergone major “revisions” this year according to club Vice-President Alexis Benjamin, senior.

Anime, unlike western animation, is characterized by its exaggerated physical features, stylized facial expressions, and outrageous actions. Much of the art style of anime is influenced by traditional Japanese calligraphy and painting.

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In celebration of Marshall’s 50th anniversary, a Gala will be held on Nov. 9. As well as providing a reunion for alumni and involved parents, the event will serve as a fundraiser for the new space created by recent renovations.

The Gala will “provide an opportunity to celebrate a milestone in this school’s history,” principal Jay Pearson said. “It’s a chance to look back, and also look forward.”

Planning for the event began last year, event chair Malou Rennert said. The theme decided on for the event will be “Fifty Years under Five Stars.”

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May 21 marked the end of an era for students currently taking drama or band classes.

On that day, the auditorium and band classrooms began the process of a complete renovation. New seating, carpets and walls are just a few of the expected changes. The construction is tentatively slated to end in late November of this year, although all school activities that use the rooms will most likely need to use an alternative venue for the first half of next school year.

For now, the whole place is undergoing a process of being stripped “down to its bare bones,” band director Paul Vesilind said.
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Sophomores Ann Bryan and Emily Casey received a bronze medal at the International Sustainable World Energy Engineering Environment Project Olympiad, which took place May 3 to 7.

“They had a great idea and they ran with it and they worked very hard to work together,” science teacher Joelle Lastica said.

Lastica added that Bryan and Casey’s project was an example of how far students can advance with their project.
The team’s project looked at how to purify water. It did so by evaporating water multiple times.

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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.”
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“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.

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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.

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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.
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