The Dispatch, Vol. 33, Issue 6, 6/7/21

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CLASS OF 2021 GRADUATION Celebrate the graduating class of 2021 as they continue on to their future endeavors

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AUSTIN'S NEW HOMELESS POLICY Investigation into the passing of Proposition B for Austin's homeless population

pg. 8-9

CRUMBL COOKIE REVIEW Review of the taste and look of Crumbl Cookie's four different weekly specialties

coming UP June 4-August 16 Student and staff summer break June 7-June 17 In-person summer school August 17 First day of the 2021-22 school year

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Vol. 33, Issue 6 www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane Austin TX, 78749

THE DISPATCH MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2021

Pride in Publishing

Wrapping up the 2020-21 school year

Students and staff reflect on the past year, new grading systems, and next school year Arushi Sharma News Editor

As the 2020-21 school year comes to a close, seniors excitedly move on to their future plans and the rest of students and staff members reflect on this unprecedented year. While this past school year progressed and COVID-19 cases rose, some students were in-person and others participated in online school, never attending classes on campus. With the number of COVID-19 cases decreasing in the United States, many students are hopeful to return to some sort of ‘normalcy’ as summer and the next school year approaches. “I feel school hasn’t been the same through the pandemic and being online,” junior Brodi Tokar said. “I miss the social aspect of everything, regarding talking with classmates, teachers, and learning in person.” As of Nov. 2020, Bowie has been following Phase Three of the Austin Independent School District (AISD) Reopening plan which requires health screenings, masks, and some remote asynchronous days. Junior Aine Flaherty had been on-

Behind the Fence

line for most of the year and recently went back in person. “In person, I found it so exciting to meet my teachers and watch them try to guess who I was with excitement,” Flaherty said. “When I go on campus to learn, I feel like I can connect with my teachers on a different level and it was a really positive experience.” As of late April, around 31 percent of AISD students attended in-person classes, while the other 69 percent spent the school year attending online classes through Zoom. “This past year has been easier in terms of schooling for me because being online has given me more time to complete assignments and teachers have made it easier for us in terms of tests and quizzes,” sophomore Sophie Chasen said. Principal Mark Robinson is already preparing for the next school year. He anticipates that there will be an offering for both in person and online learning, but not like it was this school year. “I believe that students enrolled at Bowie will attend classes on campus similar to school before the pandemic,” Robinson said. “The need for remote learning will be met through virtual school at Garza online as it has been in the past.” Another major change coming next school year for students and staff members, along with the return to full-time campus learning for students, is a new grading system. Next year, the district will align all levels to nine week grading cycles. “A nine weeks term of consistent grading and feedback allows for more grades to be taken to determine an average,” Robinson said. “More grades, as long as one is not a zero, give students more opportunity to get the grade they want in a course and make it less likely that a single grade will cause a significant fluctuation.” While the change to nine

week grading periods does not mean students will have more or less work, past experience with short grading periods has made some students question the impact of this changes on grades. “I think that we are better off having six six-week periods than four nine-week periods because I think it's easier to manage assignments in smaller increments,” freshman William Gum said. “If there are too many assignments in a grading period it can be hard to keep track and get caught up.” Currently, final exams are weighted 25 percent of the semester final grade. Next year, that weight has not yet been determined. If it stayed consistent to current weights, exams could be worth as much as 33 percent in the future. “With the weight of finals, I feel that it puts a lot of pressure on students and negatively affects their mental health," Flaherty said. “A higher weight can cause many students to have high levels of stress, leading to poor performance on the exam.” According to University Interscholastic League (UIL), in order for a student to participate in UIL events, including sports games, they must be passing with an average of 70 at the end of the grading period. “The nine weeks grading period will help athletes maintain their grades and eligibility,” Flaherty said. “With UIL rules, you have to be passing each six weeks to play, and with more grades to average out, it will help many athletes continue to participate in sports.” Despite the change in weight for finals and adjustment to the grading system, English teacher Gabrielle Costello is ready for the implementation of the new grading period. “I personally am excited for the nine weeks grading period because I'm hoping that my future students will be able to utilize the sys-

BOWIE STUDENTS TAKING CLASSES ONLINE

MASKS REQUIRED OVER 600 GRADUATES

2021-22 SCHOOL YEAR LEADS TO... G GRADIN PERIOD ES TO CHANG KS E NINE WE

GARZA ONLINE SCHOOL

STUDENTS BACK TO IN PERSON SCHOOL ART BY Arushi Sharma

tem to their advantage as the nine weeks means more grades in the grade book and more potential opportunities for redeeming their grade when they need it." Although there are sev-

eral unknowns about next year, Tokar looks forward to his upcoming senior year with a positive light. “Next year will be an interesting transition int terms of coming back to school

and adjusting to the nine weeks system,” Tokar said. “Whether it be socially or just having in person lectures, I can’t wait to retain it all.”

2017 AISD bond boasts new beneficial renovations

Dimitri Silva Dispatch Reporter

In 2017, Bowie began making changes to the campus with funding from the Austin Independent School District (AISD) Bond Program that has been giving money

to the school to improve their infrastructure. These alterations include improvements to the fine arts building, the track, the roofing, and other areas around campus. Earlier this past year, the parking garage was completed with the funding from the AISD Bond. Ad-

NEW BUILDING: Construction workers place the roof on the new, start-of-the-art theater structure. The building is scheduled to be finished sometime this year. PHOTO BY Dimitri Silva

INDEX

RECAPPING THIS PAST SCHOOL YEAR...

News 1 , 2 Politics 3

Feature 4, 5 Photo Essay 6

ditionally, the garage includes new tennis courts for the Bowie tennis team to practice on. “I think the parking garage will be most useful for students at Bowie,” sophomore Chazon Mingarine said. “Since I can drive now and I've seen how bad the traffic gets after school, the parking garage will help a lot with [the control of traffic].” Sophomore Nico Colegrove agrees with Mingarine in that the garage has many uses for students and staff, but he isn't in agreement about the decrease in traffic that the garage will provide. “The parking garage could cause more traffic, since previously there wasn't many places to park close to school,” Colegrove said. “Earlier, students would park and walk to get to school, but now that there is more parking on campus, it will only make it worse leaving school.” As summer approaches and with the recent project of the parking

Entertainment 7 In-Depth 8, 9, 16

Sports 10, 11 Pop Culture 1 2

garage finished, the new athletic facility and the new theater have begun to be constructed. “We outgrew the original athletic building about a year after we moved in,” varsity football head Coach Jeff Ables said. “The building was too small for the number of participants in our athletic programs.” Not only will the construction of the new fine arts auditorium create a new theater for the campus, but the existing fine arts auditorium is being renovated as well. "I think our old theater was good, but it had limited space," junior Yuri Lee said. "I remember at dance showcases there were a lot of parents that had to stand because there weren't enough seats for everyone." Aside from the construction of new buildings, the academic building is currently getting new heating and air conditioning units installed. Reviews 13 Commentary 14,15

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“I think improvements to the academic building are important because better air conditioning for the campus is a necessity for students," Mingraine said. According to the AISD website, these changes to the academic building are currently 95 percent complete and are expected to be finished before the start of next school year. "Especially in the Texas heat, air conditioning is essential so I'm really excited to come back to campus with these changes," Lee said. With the school year ending, the construction on Bowie continues in the hopes of finishing the athletic facility by this summer and the new fine arts building by the Summer of 2022. “I'm most excited about the new theater because they'll be more space for the dance classes to practice and more seats for visitors," Lee said.

@jbhs_dispatch


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