the
precedent
september 2014 VOLUME VIII ISSUE II
PERRY HIGH SCHOOL || PRIDE · PROGRESS · PURPOSE || GILBERT, AZ
Inside
Choir kicks off
PHS choir opens the year with their concert titled “Songs of the World” Page 8
Insight into “cheaters” of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Page 6-7
Principal Dan Serrano speaks on why the rain didn’t stop school
New F-building 300/400 set to open after fall break
Page 3
Take a look into the debate on whether or not school spirit exists in Puma Nation. Page 6-7
photo by Jordan Williams
Badminton prepares for upcoming season. Page 10
World/Nation:
Starting out as an al Qaeda splinter group, Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), is becoming a world wide topic. The goal for ISIS is to create a completely Islamic state across Sunni areas Iraq and Syria. ISIS is becoming infamous due to their campaigning strategy: killing dozens of people at once and broadcasting their work across internet sites. The group has had a growing sense of media coverage after their public murder of two American Reporters, James Foley on August 19, and Steven Sotloff September 2 as well as a British Aid Worker on September 13. Most recently, U.S. troops are gathering for air strikes against ISIS base camps, and on September 23, 2014 U.S. troops bombed Raqqa, a known ISIS stronghold.
phsprecedent.com
Table of Contents News || 1-3 Opinions || 4-5 School Spirit || 6-7 A & E || 8-9 Sports || 10-12
Construction crews install cabinets in a science classroom in the new F-building extension. The building, which is set to open on the first day of the second quarter (October 5), will be an extension of the F-building, and will be home to science and CTE classes. By Sarah Campbell the precedent
After months of waiting, the highly anticipated CTE building is almost here. The building will house several classes including culinary, marketing, fashion, graphic design, chemistry and computers and school store. Principal Dan Serrano claims that the building was in the making far before the construction began. “I’ve been talking to the superintendent for a couple of years,” he says. The Chandler Unified School District has recently named it the “F Building,” describing that it will be the 300 and 400 levels of the already
existant building. These numbers correlate with the room number associated with the classroom. With Perry’s rapidly growing population, Serrano believes a new building was essential. “Next year I don’t know that we would’ve been able to function properly,” he states. Serrano adds that the possibility of a new building was never thought of in Perry’s early years, “When we opened, 2800 was the capacity. We never even thought we would get there.” The new building offers larger classrooms for chemistry, marketing, and culinary arts. There will be two
Visit phsprecedent.com for a video tour of the building and more info on DECA’s student store. classrooms designated for culinary, equipped with new sinks, stoves, refrigerators and other utilities. Culinary has been previously limited, as they currently share the kitchen with the cafeteria staff. Admin Assistant Donna Murdock believes the new space will benefit culinary,
explaining, “They have to share it with the kitchen so this way they have their own rooms, and two of them.” The marketing class will also be able to expand with new space. “The marketing class is going to have a store,” reveals Murdock. “Students can come in, there will be a nice glass case,... and they can purchase items.” “October 7 is when teachers will start moving in,”the building’s Project Superintendent, Ti Morse, states. According to him, due to construction’s “very aggressive schedule, Saturdays, six days a week, [and] working nights,” building construction will
be completed within five months. “35000 square feet, we have 14 classrooms here,” says Murdock concerning building size. She believes the new space will also require a new sense of responsibility, “Now we need more security, [and] we need more custodial because we just got another 35,000 feet, so we’ve got to maintain that. The building will offer a larger space for several different classes, which many believe will help the programs grow. Students can expect a larger environment for learning upon returning from fall break.
TEACHER FEATURE
History teacher balances life at school and home By Mackenzie Ness the precedent
Keeping roughly 185 students engaged is always a struggle, but when trying to balance a chaotic and busy family life, it becomes much more difficult. David Arrington, World and U.S. history teacher, is someone whose main goal is focusing on the individual needs of each student. Yet it is his family dynamic that truly makes the greatest impact on his teaching approach. Arrington has six children, three of them have been adopted and of those six, “three of [them]
have special needs. One is diagnosed with severe OCD as well as developmental delays,” he explains, “my other two have social and anxiety disorders.” Arrington feels that raising three children with special needs, a newborn, and two toddlers has given him “a really great passion for diversity and the way different people learn.” He applies his parenting experience to his classroom, where just like at home, he has to help students grow in different ways. “I try to mix it up a lot [in class], doing lectures and projects to try and reach as many people as I can,” Arrington elaborates.
photo by Paige Coakley
During first hour, David Arrington instructs his class. He is constantly working with kids, whether it is his students at school or his six kids at home.
The diversity of teaching methods - such as independent or visual learning - can help a student
to learn; each student learns better when approached with the topic in a different way.
see ARRINGTON pg. 2