The dogs are out Senior teammates reflect on ten years playing together during final season
Spreading too thin Konopelko urges students to find passion in one or two extracurriculars Opinion Following in Dylan’s footsteps Powering through the changes Get Busy Livin’ Club members give Students adapt to a new lunch back to community, school Feature schedule News
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Pittsburg High School 1978 E. 4th Street Pittsburg, KS 66762
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Friday, May 4, 2018 Vol. 100 Issue 9
Sophomore Trevor Stover, junior Alesha Lawson, and freshman Jordan McDaniels study together for their upcoming final. Photo by | # #
Final s Final Thoughts Schedule ! "
Odd finals: Monday, 5/14 Even finals: Tuesday, 5/15
Sixth Hour 2nd opp Seventh Hour Third Hour Fourth Hour Fifth Hour Lunch Sixth Final Seventh Final
8:10 - 8:50 8:50 - 9:00 9:00 - 9:40 9:45 - 10:25 10:30 - 11:10 11:15 - 11:55 11:55 - 12:45 12:50 - 2:05 2:10 - 3:25
First Hour 2nd opp Second Hour Third Final Lunch Fourth Final Fifth Final Make-up Time
8:10 - 8:50 8:55 - 9:05 9:05 - 9:45 9:50 - 11:05 11:05 - 11:55 12:00 - 1:15 1:20 - 2:35 2:40 - 3:25
First Final 2nd opp Second Final Staff Lunch Make-up Time
8:10 - 9:25 9:25 - 9:40 9:40 - 10:55 11:00 - 12:30 12:30 - 3:30
All students are required to attend review periods. Students who are exempt from finals are only exempt from the class period of the final.
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fter the Building Leadership Team (BLT) discussed the consistent number of tardies and absences, the solution of finals exemption was brought up. “We started talking about tardies being an issue. There were 40 to 50 kids in the hall when the bell rang,� principal Phil Bressler said. As a BLT member, junior Madison Nagel believes the finals exemption policy is effective. “We thought [exemptions] would be a nice incentive for students to attend class and be on time,� Nagel said. “For me, it has worked.� Though math teacher Rebecca Lomshek sees improvement in punctuality, she is concerned about the readiness of students planning to continue their education. “I understand the need, and attendance has been better since we instated that, but I do worry about our students who are going to the college level,� Lomshek said. “The best scenario would be the college bound students shouldering the responsibility to take the final.� For a student to be exempt from their finals, they must have an 80 percent or better with no tardies and three absences or less in the class. The only absences that do not prohibit a student from being exempt are student activities. “Any non-school activity absence counts. Whether it’s a doctor’s note or the flu and you had to spend three days at home because you were sick, those are three absences,� Bressler said. “We felt if we started exempting one thing, we’d end up exempting everything.� When considering what type of absences would prevent a student from being exempt, Bressler said school activities are the only absences that are excused. “This is something we want kids to work for. We are rewarding students making school a priority. Find a way to be here,� Bressler said. “We look at school activities as a conference or business trip. You’re still working, but you’re working there. We’re not sending you to the doctor. There are times when I need to go see the doctor, but I put it off a day or two or try to go after school or on a day we don’t
Subtracting Classes
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For the past seven years, eighth graders have had the opportunity to test out of algebra I and take honors geometry their freshman year. For the 2018-2019 school year, all freshmen will take algebra I, and honors geometry will no longer be offered to students. In the past years, eighth graders were taught algebra I, according to high school math teacher Gary Ausemus. “At the middle school this year they are no longer teaching algebra I,� Ausemus said. “They are taking eighth grade math right now, there is no algebra, so it would be difficult to take geometry then algebra II.� Students with varying ability will be combined in classes, and the question as to whether upper level students will become uninterested arises. “There is always a concern about students getting bored in any classroom with content they pick up quicker than others,� math teacher Trevor Elliott said. “That is where differentiation of instruction comes in. The extension activities with the curriculum, College Preparatory Math, can be used for those students.� After students complete algebra I they will move on to a non-honors geometry class, then algebra II. It is still
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have school because I want to be here. I have things to do. Sometimes you’re going to have to make sacrifices.� Nagel has been attending school with mononucleosis but has been able to work around her school schedule to avoid absences. “It has been rough coming to school with mono. I have only missed a few classes to go to the doctor,� Nagel said. “It would be beneficial if doctors’ visits confirmed with a note were excused, but, rules are rules.� Junior Joel Kafka disagrees with the ease of avoiding absences. “Three is plenty, but you should be able to miss for funerals and doctors’ appointments,� Kafka said. “There is no other time for some busy students to schedule that kind of stuff.� Junior Brooklyn Hellwig also believes doctors’ notes should be excused when it comes to exempting students from finals. “I don’t like the policy because it hurts kids that get sick. It’s unfair since it counts doctors’ notes,� Hellwig said. “It seems our current admin cares more about attendance than students’ safety.� After observing the hallways and talking to students and faculty, Bressler feels the new policy is working. “I think the goal was to get kids to class more often and to get them there on time,� Bressler said. “I think people are getting what they wanted.� English teacher Kristy Uttley has seen the effectiveness of this new policy. “I think students have reacted positively,� Uttley said. “They’re excited about the opportunity to be exempt from the final.� After this semester’s pilot of the program, administration will decide if it has been successful enough to include in the handbook for next school year. “My gut feeling is it’s working, but we’ll have some preliminary numbers after this semester,� Bressler said. “If we decide it’s worth it, we’ll do it again next year. As long as we feel we are getting what we want out of it, I’m thinking we’d continue.� With three weeks left of school, there are 998 tardies compared to the 2088 last semester.
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undecided if honors algebra II will be offered in the future, according to Elliott and Ausemus. For senior Seth Hoffman, who took the honors math pathway, not having an honors program would have left him unchallenged. “The honors math program was beneficial to me. I learned more without spending too much time on a topic,� Hoffman said. “I would have felt I wasn’t learning enough. If I would have felt it was easy, I wouldn’t have tried to improve myself in math.� Senior Taylor Redd met standards to enroll in honors geometry, but decided to take algebra I anyway. She still felt she was challenged in the course, although feels having a mixture of levels would not have helped. “I would not like having a combined math class. It would be hard for the teacher to balance their teaching pace and styles with the variety of kids,� Redd said. “It may be beneficial with non-honor students getting help from honors students, but overall, I don’t think it would be beneficial.� Ausemus, however, sees how combining the different levels will benefit the classroom environment. “With working in teams, the different levels will help
the class, because different viewpoints are shared,� Ausemus said. “But, later on, when students try to get to calculus, they will have to double up taking algebra II and geometry at the same time.� Current eighth grader Abby Painter was planning on enrolling in honors geometry so she could pursue upper level math classes. She is now unsure whether she will get the chance to reach them. “Taking two math classes at one time will be difficult to keep up with. I won’t have room in my schedule for the rest of the classes I would like to take,� Painter said. “The change will not be beneficial because students are at different levels in their learning and are ready for different things.� According to Ausemus, there is a possibility gifted students who are on an Individual Education Plan can test out and take geometry, but it is currently undecided and all freshmen will be enrolled in algebra I. “This change is out of our hands because we are tied to what students come in with, and this is what the state level is recommending now,� Ausemus said. “If students have not even been exposed to algebra I standards, it is hard to move on to the next level.�
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