The Lone Star Dispatch 2014_15 issue #6

Page 1

James Bowie High School

the

Lone Star Dispatch Vol. 27

Issue 6

4103 W. Slaughter Lane Austin TX 78749

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

www.thelonestaronline.com

Votes are in and the elections come to a close, drum roll please

Looking to the future: Unaware yet that she will become the 2015-2016 co-president, Shelby Johnson stands surrounded by her campaign helpers. Many of the campaigners, in addition to advertising their election by putting up posters and passing out stickers, also brought food and other assorted treats. Photo by Jasmine Correa

Not quite my tempo: Brad Mayo pounds on the drums with fellow band mates to create drum beats, like the ones heard at football games during the Spring season, that can be heard around campus. Mayo and his friends stood out in the humid Texas air for hours to support the elections. Photo by Jasmine Correa

Shelby Johnson and Marcus Gallardo win election and take StuCo office

Granger Coats Photo Essay Editor

With the student council election votes cast, the race for class president has ended, and the winners of the election were Shelby Johnson and Marcus Gallardo. Johnson believes her passion and great interest for student council is why she was the best candidate, and that enthusiasm and readi-

ness to lead is the qualities that allows a class president to gain the respect of the students. “Student council actually matters to me and gave me something to be passionate about again after I left volleyball. I really enjoy it,” Johnson said. Johnson cares about student council and to her it means something special. “I really want to lead the student body,” Johnson said,

“We have kind of fallen behind in the whole pep part of high school and I want to bring some enthusiasm back to school.” Among the other candidates who ran for president were Jade Fabello, Dylan Jungmann, Cole Blagdam, and Noe Barrios. Fabello’s strategy of humor was prevalent throughout his campaign as in one of Fabello’s campaign posters he urged people to go against

their better judgment to vote for him. “I think humor is a good way to connect and reach people,” Fabello said. Other candidates also used this strategy of humor in campaigning. Gallardo used clever flyers and posters to help get his name out. James Ellerbrock the advisor and organizer of student council believe that student council is important, as they are the leaders of the

school. “Student council is a very special position, because it is an umbrella over the whole school,” Ellerbrock said. Only a certain group of kids can be effective student council presidents according to Ellerbrock, as he looks for distinct qualities in a class president. “Honesty, work ethic, ability to work with people, and the willingness to give up a lot of your time for vari-

ous projects here and around the school,” Ellerbrock said. The student council president is an important and crucial part of the school, requiring a truly special and driven student to be successful. As Eric Moe and Powell Henson leave office, and Johnson and Gallardo step in to take the presidency, only time will tell what the impact these students have on the community.

District in line to make major school schedule changes Annika Holm News Editor

art by Kamryn Bryce

The Austin Independent School District (AISD) has recently proposed a new schedule that would apply to all high schools in the district; the proposal would mean all AISD high schools would start at 9:00 a.m. and end at 4:20 p.m., for Bowie this would mean starting and getting out ten minutes later. This schedule has been created to work with the new student sharing program, which means that AISD students can take classes at other high schools that their school doesn’t offer. First period on A days will be the only period used for student sharing, and Flexible Instruction Time (FIT) will follow every first period; FIT will be used as a travel time for students using the student sharing program. The proposed schedule for next year would mean all Mondays are A days, all Tuesdays B days, all Wednesdays A days, all Thursdays B days, and Fridays would alternate between A and B depending on the week. Late starts would still be only on Thursdays. Because this is a district wide schedule change, it’s not completely up to individual high schools. But schools have been offered some freedom in choosing their bell schedules. “We have the freedom and the flexibility from 11:00 until 4:20 every A day to do whatever we want. On a B day we could have the same schedule, or we could structure it how we want,” principal Stephen Kane said.

Senior Tab

Senior staff members say goodbye to high school Four years goes by quicker than you’d expect and now 11 seniors settle their peace and prepare to go off into the world beyond Bowie’s halls

See “Senior Tab “ for more details

INSIDE

Kane has opened the choices up to teachers to vote and give their ideas and opinions, with the next meeting about the new schedule scheduled sometime next week. “I haven’t heard that much yet, I think that some departments are still discussing it and trying to figure out which is best,” Kane said. Kane has offered up two general choices of bell schedules: the common schedule and the revolving AB schedule. These schedules aren’t specific to Bowie and, according to Kane, could be adjusted to allow longer bell schedules and two lunch periods. “We could see something next week that doesn’t look like either of these schedules,” Kane said. This idea was originally introduced when students were using choice sheets to determine their classes for the 2015-16 school year, but the concept was not introduced to teachers until very recently. “I was probably first told about it in February. Mr Kane let the department chairs know that this conversation was happening at the district levels because this is an entire district mandate, meaning that the entire district would be on the same schedule,” history teacher Ruth Widner said. “We found out just about a week ago that the district had made a decision that kind of adopted the proposed AB schedule.” The schedule change has been proposed to make the student sharing work, but according to Widner there isn’t a guarantee that it will occur. Read more: “New schedules bring greater challenges on campus” pg. 2

Entertainment

Silver Star Spring Show brings Broadway to campus

Over 65 dancers leave it all on the stage as the team’s last show of the year commences. Seniors dedicate their last dance and perform for the last time. See page 4 for more details

Commentary

What ever happened to kids looking forward to school?

Teachers, administration, and students alike have lost the appreciation of childhood and treat high school students like working employees without pay. See page 7 for more details

News 2 Student life 3 Entertainment 4 Athletics 5 In-Depth 6 Commentary 7 Photo Essay 8


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