The Bruin- March 2015

Page 1

Wadsworth High School

Newspaper II/III

1870 - 2015 Wadsworth City Schools: “Celebrating 144 years of Excellence in Education”

Volume XL No. 6

march 2015

The

BRUIN 625 Broad Street Wadsworth, Ohio 44281

School adopts new testing policies BY CHARLOTTE BOLAND AND HAYLEE KUPIEC

Due to new state testing policies, Wadsworth school district has implemented a major change in its own testing procedures. While only freshman and a select few from other grades have been affected by Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) testing, the entire school has had to adjust to block scheduling. “This is way too much testing, and we are losing instructional time because of it,” said Mr. Moore, concerned by the excessive amount of state testing. In alignment with PARCC testing, the high school began block scheduling in February, where students only have four classes a day but for double the regular time.

SPRING BREAK March 30-April 3

While block scheduling was dreaded by both students and staff, there were some positives. The first half of the PARCC testing began in the Wadsworth school district towards the end of February and continued through the first week of March. Much controversy has surrounded these new tests that will be replacing OAA and OGT tests. PARCC tests have created much confusion in parents, students and staff. As a result, parents who disapprove of Common Core and PARCC testing have the ability to opt their children out of it. “As with anything new, it has brought certain frustrations and stresses,” said Dr. Hill, commenting on the confusion brought on by the new testing adjustments. If a student entered high school

PHOTO BY MCT CAMPUS

Due to the dissatisfaction with Common Core, several parents have opted their children out of PARCC testing.

prior to July 1, 2014, they still have to pass the OGT in order to satisfy graduation requirements. Conversely, if a student entered high school after July 1, 2014, he or she have three options to satisfy graduation requirements: 1. Accumulate 18 points on the PARCC tests. 2. Achieve a high enough score on college admissions tests such as the ACT or SAT in order to not have to take uncredited remedial courses in college. 3. Students who plan to go right into the workforce can achieve a workforce ready score on the WorkKeys test as well as an industry credential. This ordeal began in June 2010, when Ohio adopted a set of standards called the Common Core State Standard Initiative. Ohio’s New Learning Standards are used as a guide for what students should be able to do in both English and math at the end of each grade level. In order to coordinate with the standards, Ohio’s schools were required to switch standardized tests; thus, the PARCC (English and math) and AIR (social studies and science) tests were put into place. The exams cover several subjects from grades three through 12 and are taken on computers rather than paper. WHS will once again experience block scheduling due to additional PARCC testing from April 27 to May 8; however, this is a tentative plan.

$1.00

BLOCK SCHEDULING?

P R O S

“I get an extra day to procrastinate on my math homework!”

-Ben, 10

“I have so much more free time to ‘study’ in study hall.”

-DJ, 12

“I mean who would love sitting in the same seat for two hours while they listen to their teacher go on about something that you do not even understand.”

C O N S

-Rylee, 10

“Are you sure these classes are only an hour and forty minutes?”

-Aaron, 11

Police won’t ‘Let it Go’ this time BY CHARLOTTE BOLAND AND HAYLEE KUPIEC

With this year bringing record-breaking snow and cold temperatures, many were left many people wondering. As it turns out, Elsa has been at it again. That is right, the snow queen, whom you all love from Frozen, has been the culprit behind many of the severe cold days. While many cheer for her, as the cold resulted in multiple snow

Inside

the

days, others are not very happy with her antics. She has been racking up quite an arrest record lately. A Kentucky police department made a fake arrest warrant for the queen: “Suspect is a blonde female last seen wearing a long blue dress and is known to burst into song ‘Let it Go!’ As you can see by the weather, she is very dangerous.” After this run in with the law, Hanahan Police Department in

Bruin:

PHOTO BY MCT CAMPUS

Using pink handcuffs, the Hanahan Police Department in South Carolina recently arrested Elsa for bringing frigid temperatures to their town.

INDEX PAGE

american sniper killer found guilty Pi day reigns as greatest holiday

South Carolina decided to have a little fun. The department arrested Elsa for freezing a fountain and bringing a cold front to the area. Even using pink handcuffs, the police department executed their revenge on the snow queen. It looks like Elsa’s cold reign may have come to an end. Everybody is certainly hoping that she will return to her kingdom, and spring will reign once again.

–page 3 –page 4

surviving march madness –page 12

Editorial.........................................................2 News.............................................................3 Opinion......................................................4,5 Ads .....................................................6, 7, 11 Features......................................................10 Picture Pages ............................................8, 9 Sports.....................................................12,13 Health..........................................................14 Of the Month...............................................15 Speakout.....................................................16

What does wearing sweatpants say about you? (Turn to page 14 to find out.)

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