Dan Brown does it again
Sheldon Alum goes to space
National Exposure
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a student newspaper
the Talisman
Sheldon High School 2455 willakenzie Rd., Eugene, Or 97401 vol. 45 Issue 1 Oct. 16, 2009
Saturday’s Homecoming to make a splash
Planners of the first formal dance of the year have worked hard to make the week enjoyable for all by Alicia Luck backpage editor
Mark your calendars for this year’s Homecoming on October 17. The court of Homecoming is made up of one couple from each grade level with the exception of eight people chosen from the senior class. The winning couple will be announced during tonight’s football game, before tomorrow’s dance. The couples were announced at the Homecoming assembly, after which Sheldon students had a chance to vote for one of the couples. Homecoming is the most formal dance of the year besides prom, but, unlike prom, this dance is open to the entire student body. The total budget for the year has an effect on future dances that will be held at Sheldon. Because of the economic downfall, Activities Coordinator Elyse Myers said, “We have to make $ 750 at a dance to just break even because we have to pay two police officers, campus supervision, and the D.J.” This means that more money has to be made at Homecoming so it can go into a fund for next year’s prom, which is planned by the junior class officers. Myers said, “Initially it is the sophomore class officers that plan homecoming. The money that is raised goes to a fund for prom the next year.” The time restraint dealing with Homecoming has to do with the planning that also must go into the football
game. A meeting among the administration set for three weeks prior to the event was when the theme was decided. Myers said, “The sophomore class officers worked on a possible theme to be presented to the administration.” After getting the approval from the administration, the theme for Homecoming was decided: “Life Under the Sea.” During yesterday’s The Best of the Irish Showcase,
Homecoming was also announced. The showcase was a way for the community to see what is involved at Sheldon, including some of the clubs and sports teams. Dance team, marching band, and the cheerleaders all performed out on Dennis Ludwig Field. Sophomore President Ben Taube said, “So the day before the game at the Best of the Irish showcase the court was announced.”
Welcome Back!
Michael Chase photo
Senior ASB members David Kim (right) and Kayla Chan show the students their dancing skills at the Hello Assembly. Many noted how positive it was that so many students attended.
Budget cuts continue to cause trouble for Sheldon Economic problems have posed serious threats to students’ learning experiences in the classroom by Ashley Mowles staff writer With the new school year, staff and students at Sheldon High School have been seeing various changes throughout the halls of their school. Budget cuts that the 4J District has been enforcing have led to the loss of staff and classes. For each school year, 4J gives a certain amount of funds to each school in its district. All of these schools don’t receive the same amount since the various funds they each provide are different from one another. Certain things, such as the ratio between students and teachers, can determine how much a fund is received. The number of full or part time teachers is measured by FTE, which means full time equivalency.
Each subject has a set amount: 1 FTE equals one full-time, 8 hour teacher. The science, math, fine arts, and health departments have all had a 0.33 FTE decrease, along with the physical education department and the foreign language department. They have all seen the highest drop in FTE. This year at Sheldon, there has been a reduction of teachers: three full-time teachers among all departments were lost. For students, this means that they’ll have fuller classes and have less time to spend individually with staff members. Not only have teachers been affected, but counselors and administrators have seen a plunge also. One counselor and a 0.5 FTE decrease in administrators have been cut because the budget is too small. Deciding which teachers to cut was an extremely difficult decision, so the administrators decided to take multiple views of the choice they were about to make. They took into account choices by the staff and teachers and had an online survey, open to the public, to tell what area they should cut from. They asked parents at meetings to get an allaround feel for what the parents believe. Finally reaching
a verdict, they decided to cut fairly from different subjects. Forecasting next year for students will most likely be different because of these cuts. “Anytime you make a cut, they have less offerings for students, which means we have less classes for students,” stated Principal Dr. Bolden. This school year, Sheldon had seen an increase of students. The funds that were provided this year gave no extra money to hire additional staff that was needed to keep the student ratio the same. “Having fewer classes to choose from makes it harder to decide core classes I would want to be taking and even harder to decide my electives,” said sophomore Amanda Baxter. Compared to other schools, like South Eugene, the cuts have been around the same. Though they choose different areas to cut, the cuts are similar to the cuts here at Sheldon. Each school schedules its class periods differently compared to Sheldon: they have A/B schedules and 6-8 periods a day for all of their students, for instance. Even with the loss of staff, Sheldon will continue educating at the same rate as it has before, even with less staff members.
Teen drivers susceptible to accidents due to phone use Cellular distractions put all at risk by Kyla Henninger staff writer Many people are worried about the driving habits of students at Sheldon High School. There are a lot of dangerous activities that happen behind the wheel; the biggest one is texting and driving. There are a lot of students who would not feel obligated to answer a text message while driving unless it was an emergency. Other drivers on the road feel disturbed when they look over
and see other people are texting. According to webmd. com, almost 50% of people between the ages of 18 and 24 have sent texts while driving. Students can reduce that percentage by first pulling over if they need to answer a text message immediately. Students can also turn off cell phones, put them somewhere that they are unable to see it, or put the phone on silent while driving to reduce the urge to use the phone. Another way to avoid problems is to give the phone to the passenger in the vehicle if possible. These are three different ways that we can help reduce accidents and improve the safety of others. The most dangerous distraction that police officers see on the road is when drivers are distracted by other passengers in the vehicle. Hand-held devices are another common
distraction for drivers. There is a law for everybody under the age of 18 saying they will be pulled over for using any hand-held device as a secondary act (there needs to be something else that is happening that is unlawful to be pulled over). After January 1, 2010, anybody who is caught using a hand-held device will be pulled over and be given a $90 fine, and that does not require a secondary act. A way to reduce the percentage of accidents is to make time in life to do necessary things while at home. Most people are not taking the time to fit other things in their lives and are increasing the possibility of causing wrecks. Everybody knows that it is difficult to break bad habits, but this is one that is extremely necessary to break because it can cause serious injury or death.