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Aaron Myers, 9 escapes bear attack, shares his story
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page 10 FRIDAY AUGUST 27, 2010 | VOLUME LVIII ISSUE 1 | 7400 CORNELL RD. CINCINNATI, OHIO 45242, 513.686.1770 EXT. 3089
Rule-breakers rejoice Cell phone, attendance policies change mariaMARBALLI editor-in-chief
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fter years of student complaints on cell phone usage in the building, the administration has listened and responded. In the past, cell phones have been prohibited during school hours, and have frequently been confiscated or held at the front office for the remainder of the day. But those days are a thing of the past. The new student handbook states that students are permitted to use electronic devices in common areas outside of classes. “Anyone can now use their cell phones when they get out of class, during lunch, or even at their lockers,” said Mr. Chris Davis, principal. When in class, if a student is caught on their cell phone, it will no longer be confiscated. Because some cellphones are worth hundreds of dollars, it became too much of a liability for the faculty to hold them. Such a change has been pushed by students for years, and most are relieved to have their voices finally heard. “Being able to communicate during school can be so important, and it’s great that I can actually text my mom without worrying about getting my phone taken away,” said Jenlain Coyle, 12. Although the new rules are less stringent than the old ones, there are still consequences for texting in class. For a first offense, students will be given an after school detention. Even though students can now whip out their phones in the hallway, they can no longer whip out their parent-signed notes from home explaining why their child is coming in late after missing the first two bells of school… for the seventh time this quarter.
CALENDAR 2
NEWS 3-5
SNAPSHOTS 6
FORUM 7-9
After accumulating close to 10,000 tardies last school year, the administrat ion found it necessary to make a change. “Most places of employment won’t give that kind of leniency,” said Davis. Now, each student is limited to five excused tardies per semester, meani ng that they will no longer need to bring in a not e from their parents when arriving late. “We really don’t care what your excuse is anymore,” said Davis. After the fifth tardy, parent not es will no longer be accepted as an excused tardy. All proceeding tardies must be represented by a doc tor’s note or a request to appear in court, or else it will go unexcused. “We ended up having kids photocopying their notes and changing the dat e for everyday they came in late. That’s ridiculou s,” said Davis. So for the student who though t they could write up a quick note every time they wanted to come in late, the tables have been turned. After five late days, all tardies must be legitimate and signed by a doctor. Besides the new cell phone and tardy policy, there will be new laptop car ts in the business, science, social studies and eng lish classrooms by the end of September. Additionally, 20 smart boa rds were installed this past summer in hopes that by the end of first semester, every classroom will have a smart board. Students can expect a positiv e outcome from these changes.
FEATURE 10-11
FUN & GAMES 12
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A&E 13-16
SPORTS 17-19
SPOTLIGHT 20