Today’s Teens Prove To Be Most Open- Minded and Accepting Generation Yet

by Meghan Kimberling ‘17 There are the Baby Boomers, then Generation X, Generation Y, Millennials and now a new emerging generation of 12 to 21 year-olds dubbed “Generation Z.” Cultural signals and surveys have shown that this new population has different views about gender identification and sexual orientation, compared to their older counterparts, creating a more accepting platform for future … Read More

Teen Substance Abuse Drops to a Record Low

by Shawn Yaftali ‘17 Unlike previous generations, the current wave of teenagers are defying the stereotype of young adults abusing dangerous substances. Recently, their use of alcohol, cigarettes, and other drugs have fallen to record lows. These results were compiled by a U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) survey, which studies the trends in illegal and illicit drug use … Read More

There Is a Scientific Explanation behind the ‘Winter Blues’

by Leah Peloff ‘18 As it gets deeper and deeper into winter, many people start to experience what is known as the “winter blues.” Opposite to spring fever, people often feel seasonally depressed due to the increased hours of darkness as well as the bitterly cold weather. Winter depression, or seasonal affective disorder (SAD), has numerous causes, including, “brain chemicals, … Read More

‘It’s Academic’ Fights for Spot in Semifinals

by Danielle Tobb ‘17 Sherwood’s “It’s Academic” team was thoroughly prepared when they stepped on the stage at NBC4 Studios for their competition against Northwest and Fairfax County’s Centreville on October 15. Social studies teacher and co-sponsor of “It’s Academic” Scott Allen explained that the team played the game with a calculated strategy: build up a lead in the beginning … Read More

Dance Centre Helps Dancers Follow Dreams

by Jonathan Chang ‘17 Ballerinas gracefully twirl and soar around the marley floor while others stretch and warm-up around the bars in the brightly lit studio. This is a typical scene at the Berrend Ballet Centre, a school for dance located nearby in Olney and where many students, former or current, have attended. Patricia Berrend, a former associate director of … Read More

Cooking Teacher Has Recipe for Success

by Frank Platko ‘18 When Sherwood’s tenured FACS (Family and Consumer Science) teacher Kim Cannon decided the 2015-2016 school year would be her last, she wanted to make sure her position would be in good hands. She knew exactly how to assure this would happen. She asked longtime friend, Lisa Gilbert, to replace her. Gilbert was hesitant to the idea … Read More

People Often Want To Believe the Fantastical

by Jonathan Chang ‘17 Conspiracy theories long have been a staple of American society. Whether it’s the belief that the moon landings were faked or that Tupac Shakur is still alive, people have been creating and believing conspiracy theories in order to explain certain events or phenomena. The use of mass communication like the internet nd social media platforms has … Read More

Study Reveals Students’ Concern about Water Quality Despite Staff Assurances

by Isabella Pilot ‘18 and Matthew Post ‘18 Some taste blood. Some blame lead. Some tie it back to an unknown substance floating on the Potomac River. Regardless of perceived flavor, a majority of students agree there is something wrong with Sherwood’s water. Despite being a biological necessity, 54.2 percent of students refuse to drink Earth’s most plentiful compound if … Read More

Fake News Challenges Citizens To Separate the Factual from the Fictional

by Leah Peloff ‘18 Conspiracy theories have always been a part of society to some extent, but have formed a particularly overarching presence in Americans’ lives of late. Sometimes comedically unrealistic, other times frighteningly convincing, they give some people an alternative explanation to things that they cannot explain, or wish have some deeper meaning. There is a dilemma, however, when … Read More

Theories Abound about So-called Mandela Effect

by Megan Werden ‘17 Oscar Meyer or Oscar Mayar? Is the show called “Sex in the City” or “Sex and the City?” Does the song “We Are the Champions” by Queen actually end with “of the world?” The doubt over which of these choices are correct has been attributed to the Mandela Effect, which is when many remember a certain … Read More