Volume 32, issue 2 epteraber 15, 1995
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Maine South H.S. Park Ridge, IL , ^
National Merit semi-finalists announced by Cyrus Wilson The names of the 15,000 National Merit Semi-finalists were announced on Wed., Sept. 13. Maine South is proud to have nine students who qualified as semi-finalists. The semi-finahsts from Maine South are Stephanie Chen, Ken Lai, Steve Mahler, Adam Megacz, Tim Paschke, Chris Ryan, Brian Shields, Mike Vesper and Cyrus Wilson. Though over one million juniors take the PS AT/NMSQT each October, only the top 50,000 are honored the following fall. Students who scored in the top half of one percent in the nation are named as semi-finalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). The PSAT/NMSQT is a test much like the SAT; the individual section scores are on a scale with a maximum of 80, corresponding to an 800 on the SAT. The composite score, wever, is different in that the verbal section Is twice as much weight as the math section, b be a semi-finalist in Illinois, one must have achieved a selection index of 213 or higher. This cutoff is much different from last year's, 201, due to a recentering of the scale. The competition does not end with the high score on the qualifying test. The 15,000 students apply for finalist standing. Becoming a Oil
finalist requires completion of the application and essay; U.S. citizenship or permanent residency; a consistently high academic performance record; and an SAT 1 score that, when converted to the PSAT/NMSQT scale, is no
more than 10 points below the PS AT score. Although about 90 percent of semi-finalists become finalists, only about half of the finalists will be awarded scholarships. The (Semi-finalists continued on page 6)
Distance learning classroom opens doors by Kara Wipf Seniors taking Spanish V AP this year are trying to adjust to learmng in a much different way than Spanish classes of previous years. Over the simimer, a great technological advancement was made at Maine South with the addition of a new teleconferencing lab, also called a "distance learning" classroom. The new classroom is found in C117, not in the A-wing where foreign language classes traditionally meet. The class meets fifth period, and in additon to the 13 seniors from Maine South, five students from Maine East also take part in the class. The five students are not bussed to South, rather, they take part in class from their own classroom at Maine t. This is where the term "distance learning" takes its meaning. CI 17 has been equipped with state of the art equipment including four video screens, three video cam-
eras and computers. Two of the screens always display a shot of the Maine East class, while the other two focus on either the Maine South students, or Srta. Duckworth, the Spanish V AP teacher. In contrast to ordinary classrooms where chalkboards and chalk prevail, the video screens help the students learn vocabulary and grammar. Srta. Duckworth handwrites her lesson on a piece of paper that is instantly displayed on a screen for both Maine East and South to see. In addition, Maine East students can hear Srta. Duckworth and her students speak, via microphones and speakers, and they are also able to respond. The need for such a lab was discovered when only five students registered to take Spanish V AP at Maine East. Rather than having a teacher devote an entire class period to teaching only five students, or deny the
students the right to take the class, the classroom was built to satisfy all. Srta. Duckworth believes that it will help in the future if other schools have low enrollments in language classes. While the lab is able to promote speaking and using Spanish more effectively, as well as increasing technological awareness, students have mixed feelings regarding the experience. Denise Knipp thinks that the lab "is an interesting way to learn." Wes Crampton claims that the lab "is fun, but hard to get used to." However, several students voiced opinions similar to what Steve Westman feels when he said, regarding distance learning, "It's scary." Despite feelings of student uncertainty, the new "distance learning" classroom may prove to be a valuable asset to the Maine South learning expererience.