Mrs. Joy Wagener, English teacher and Lasso Advisor, remembers enjoying the process of getting ready for the prom more than the dance itself. “All of my friends always came over to my house before dances for photos in my parents' backyard.  That's my favorite memory,” explains Wagener. Though she attended prom only a few years ago, she notices that the main difference now is “that students seem to think it's cooler to leave prom early than to stay all the way through.  At my prom, everyone stayed for the last dance.  It was all about class unity and savoring our high school moment together. My senior year, the last song played was a special request, Garth Brooks' ‘I Got Friends in Low Places.’ We all stood in a circle, holding hands and kicking up our feet, line-dance style.  That was an awesome moment!” Additionally, her prom was more formal, consisting of a fancy, seated dinner, tuxedoes and floor-length dresses. “It was a big night out!,” she exclaimed. To top it off, her boyfriend and prom date for both junior and senior prom became her husband! 

George Mason’s band and choir students’ long awaited trip to New York occurred over the weekend of April 20. The members of the two musical groups met at school at 5:30 a.m. for their six-hour bus journey to the Big Apple.

The band, led by Mary Jo West, and the choir, led by Lauren Glass, had prepared for and anticipated this trip for a long time.  In order to raise funds for this trip, members of the musical ensembles sold chocolates.

On the afternoon of the 20th, the chorus, symphonic band and percussionists attended a Meet the Artist program, while the Wind Symphony members had a private clinic with one of the National Band & Orchestra Festival guest clinicians.  Dinner and a group picture in Times Square followed, and the students also attended a Broadway show.

Anna Barbour-Leslie, freshman, most enjoyed the Broadway musical, Once. “It was really good and really funny.  It was just so good, overall,” she said.

The next day, the choir students and their chaperones walked around Rockefeller Center and Fifth Avenue.  Meanwhile, the wind symphony warmed up for a performance.  After that, they all attended a Blue Man Group show.

One band student, freshman Philip Whittlesey, most enjoyed the “Blue Man Group.  They were really good, but it is hard to explain what I liked about them.”

On the last day of their trip, the students visited the 9/11 Memorial.

Freshman Justin Trainor favored “the 9-11 Memorial, because you could look up at Freedom Tower and it just goes up for miles.”

The George Mason High School Band and Chorus had a performance at 2:00 p.m. then they started their journey back to Falls Church.  After a hectic and adventurous trip, the travelers arrived at George Mason High School around 9:30 that night.

Prom is right around the corner and juniors and seniors have made some very big “promposals.” A “promposal” is when someone asks another to prom in a cute and creative way. It’s been a tradition at Mason to ask someone to prom in a really fun way, but some people still don’t know what to do to make their proposal memorable. Here are five ways to give someone the “promposal” they have always dreamed of.

1. Make a poster. This is creative and super easy. You can take one poster and spell out their name in their favorite colors with cool designs. Then take another poster and spell out “Prom” with a question mark. Make sure the letters are big and bright so the person can see it really well. Have some of your friends hold the posters and hold some flowers and stand in between the person’s name and “prom.” Don’t forget to smile!
2. Bake them something. Everyone loves sweets, so find out what their favorite dessert is and make it. If you want to be really creative, write on the dessert “Prom” or even spell it out with your baked goods.
3. Write a note. This is a very classic way to ask someone out to Prom. Write a long note about him or her and give it to one of their friends so they can deliver it or put it somewhere where you know they go, like their locker. While he or she is reading the note, stand there with balloons or flowers and ask if they want to go with you.
4. Make a scavenger hunt. This is a really fun and creative way to ask someone. Before you make clues, figure out where you want him or her to go and be sure a friend goes with him or her to help find the clues. Next, write some clues on a piece of paper, making sure the clues are short and sweet. Post them at the places you decided on earlier. At the last clue, make sure you are there with flowers to ask. To make it more romantic, attach a flower or a balloon to all of the clues.
5. Sidewalk Chalk. If you are artistic, then use chalk. In front of the person’s house, write out their name and then “prom?”  Make it really big and colorful. Stand behind the chalk with flowers and a big smile on your face.

Don’t be nervous about asking someone out; it’s the thought that counts. Just be creative and have fun with it. You don’t have to do a huge “promposal” either. Something small and thoughtful can have just as much impact.

Anna Ayre, a junior at George Mason High School, volunteered at Georgetown Hospital for more than 30 hours this school year. Ayre had to contact the volunteer office at Georgetown University Hospital and fill out an application, then attended an interview, and once accepted, a training and information session. She also attended additional information sessions about pediatrics and the neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU, for sick children and babies.

Says Ayre about the experience, “I mostly entertain the children who are living at the hospital for an indefinite amount of time. In the pediatric ward, this involved bringing toys to their rooms, playing with or reading to them, sometimes wearing a gown and gloves, and then afterwards disinfecting the toys and putting them away. In the NICU I hold and ‘snuggle’ babies and just generally provide human contact and affection, since the parents of these children can’t be at the hospital all the time.”

Ayre began volunteering at Georgetown Hospital at the age of 15, which was the age requirement at the time. However, the age requirement is now 18 for Georgetown Hospital. Georgetown not only accepts volunteers to help out the nurses; they love to have volunteers for all departments, especially the front desk.

“It’s a great opportunity to serve the community, and especially those individuals who need it most, and I would highly encourage anyone interested to pursue the possibility of volunteering at the hospital,” says Ayre about the rewarding experience.