School year marks start of weighted grades
August 16, 2007
By: Michael Wang <mwang@hilite.org>
- Summer school courses taken in 2007 will have added weight
- The school board did not approve to weight grades retroactively, so colleges will see an official GPA and an unofficial GPA on transcripts
- The unofficial GPA states what the GPA would be if grades were weighted all throughout the student’s high school career
- An addendum will be attached to all transcripts explaining two GPAs because of the introduction of the weighted grade system
- There will no longer be class rank
- Titles will no longer exist like valedictorian or salutatorian
- If colleges ask for rank, the standard statement is that this school does not rank its students
- Graduation speakers will be the class president, the distinguished graduate, and one other speaker
- Concerning whether colleges consider weighted grades or unweighted grades more, it varies by college. Most college admission officers just look at what the school provides
- The High Expectations committee, led by Linda Thompson looked at research to determine if weighted grades would encourage students to take more rigorous courses. There has been an increase in enrollments in some AP courses.
- AP Biology had three classes last year and will have four this year
- AP Environmental Science had one class last year and four this year
- AP European History had five classes last year and eleven this year
- Courses receiving extra weight will have a notation on them on student transcripts so that they can be easily identified as being eligible for added weight.
Flip-flops or laptops?
August 13, 2007
By: Tim Chai <tchai@hilite.org>
“Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions” -G.K. Chesterton
On my final night at the Ball State University journalism workshop the fire alarm went off in the residence building, Noyer Hall. Idly laying on my cot checking the latest updates on www.perezhilton.com of Lindsay Lohan’s DUI arrest, Beyonce’s head-first fall at a concert and Britney Spears whipping dog dung with a nearly $7,000 Zac Posen gown, the events unfolding outside didn’t even hit me when a fellow staff member burst into my room and yelled something about a fire.
I stared blankly at him. “What? Why does everyone on this floor have the crazies?” Becoming frustrated, his next comment was not so nice. “Get you’re a** up.”
Oh, my bad.
Delayed already by my incompetence to recognize the familiar sound (I thought that it was my editor’s phone), I had few moments to try to salvage any important possessions. It was in those few moments, spanning only 10 seconds at most, I learned what was most important to me.
I had brought numerous valuables with me to the camp: my laptop, my cell phone and my iPod. My eyes never strayed to those items in the chaos. Wasting precious time—time that would’ve meant life or death had the fire been real—I hastened my search for not my $1,400 computer, but rather my $20 flip flops.
But, in my defense, they are great shoes. My blue J. Crew ones in particular perfectly align to the contours of my feet. All things considered, they are my little slice of heaven.
Unsurprisingly, I found a strange comfort in conformity and familiarity. There’s a soothing feeling about wearing something so recognizable, something that’s walked with me hundreds of miles all over the world for the last few years. Maybe it was four days of breathing the mold growing on the dorm blankets, but I felt peculiarly at home.
First day can’t be perfect
August 13, 2007
By: Grace Baranowski <gbaranowski@hilite.org>
“We’re supposed to be perfect our first day on the job and then show constant improvement.”-
Ed Vargo, Major League Baseball Umpire
The first day of school has always been a little disgruntling for me. New classes, new faces, a change from the summer norms (like having to actually put thought into my clothes, rather than just throwing on gym shorts and a T-shirt). I used to love the first day of school. I loved the promising scent of unopened textbooks. I loved how neatly all my pens and pencils lined up in my bag like little soldiers saluting in attention. My mother would actually take me shopping for my “first day” outfit, most likely some combination of a skirt and a blue top designed to make a good first impression.
But as it is with some expectations, the first day almost always falls flat now. We don’t do anything interesting. Every period, the teacher hands out a syllabus and goes over classroom rules. I think by now we know not to talk while the teacher talks, to turn in homework on time, and to respect the belongings of others. What’s more, the first day cannot compare to that comfortable, lived-in feeling of your favorite classes of the past year. It’s like comparing your favorite, broken-in jeans to an inflexible new pair. They don’t move with you, know you yet. I find myself walking into the building with last year’s memories, somehow expecting that they’ll magically reappear.
No, the first day of school is never my favorite. When my classes fall in a regular pattern, and I can mentally go through my schedule and the names of my teachers, that is when I like school. Between that relaxed, in-the-groove feeling (which normally arrives around Homecoming) and this time of uncomfortable newness, we’re thrust into an interim period of waiting.
So if your first day isn’t the best, I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s all part of a bigger cycle–like the haircut Cory faced on “Boy Meets World.” He used to say that his hair would look the best the day before it was to be cut, and then he’d go to the barber’s and come back with a shorter haircut. That first day with his new style he’d be at his worst-looking, but he’d eventually grow into it, and when it came time for another trim he’d be at his best. It’s the same for classes. The first day is a shock, but we all grow into it. We find the classes we love, maybe even that one class that we don’t think we’ll be able to leave come June, and our classmates become friends. And now, as you’re perusing this column, and the bell rings once, twice, in that hypnotic, dinging tone to signal the start of another period, the cycle starts again.
Weighted grades benefit all students
August 13, 2007
By: Tian Yang <tyang@hilite.org>
We know there’s been a fair amount of confusion about the new CHS policy on weighted grades, but what students fail to realize is that, according to the counseling center, their grades are sent to colleges both with only school years starting with this one weighted and an unofficial GPA with all four years weighted. College rank is eliminated, which will most likely benefit students, since each class has around 1,000 students. Simply put, it is easy to see how this new system maximizes the full potential of each student’s individual resume.
Since the administration has not fully figured out a tried and true plan for the weighted grades system, the new grades system will work to the advantage of students in virtually every academic situation. According to the same source, the honors, AP and IB students will finally get the appreciated boost in their classes based on the level of difficulty, while those students enrolled in regular classes will have the flexibility to stay on the 4.0 system and maintain their current GPA. This provides a win-win situation for both parties, and only those who choose not to focus on their studies will maintain their possibly low GPA.
While this plan sounds good in theory to most, some students voice the argument that this new system should not eliminate the time-honored reward of the valedictorian title. True, valedictorian is a good word to place on a college resume, but the status is somewhat cheapened at CHS since it seems like every year the number of valedictorians increases. Accordingly, the new system allows for only one Distinguished Scholar, a title based on the culmination of grades and points awarded for social activity and participation. This will select the most well-rounded student in our whole student body.
But, really, much of this justification is unnecessary, because weighted grades are here to stay, like them or not. It’s possible to not like the new system, but it’s very difficult to argue that it isn’t designed for fairness and isn’t the way of the future. More and more schools are converting to a weighted grades system every year, and the moderated path our school has opted for plans to smooth the transition to a virtually painless change.
However, a word to the wary: Just because the AP or IB classes add on valuable GPA points, they will still be difficult. There will most definitely be a few students, perhaps urged by parents or counselors, that will sign up for these advanced courses in hope to boost their GPA only to find that the difficulty of the work is actually making their GPA drop below previous levels.
So what we’re trying to say is this: Enjoy the leniency that the new system is giving in terms of grades. This will help both the socially and academically active, provide a much better chance to boost a college resume and land a spot in a respectable college. And if college isn’t your bag, know that weighted grades will have no effect on yourself, since it only comes into play on college applications.
Latin Club to institute changes
August 13, 2007
By: Lily Zhao <lzhao@hilite.org>
The Latin Club, for their 2007 year, have made plans to extend their membership to Greek students as well as their traditional Latin population. With the addition of the Greek program, the club officers plan to offer many more activities related to both Greek and Latin studies.
Sponsor Caren Rickett said, “Because of the Ancient Greek programs, we wanted to give the Greek students an opportunity to join.”
Due to the extending of the club, club officers expect that the club may need to change its name in order to cater toward both Greek and Latin students. Also, the members of the club hopes that changing of the name encourages a wider spectrum of students to join.
Although no names stick out, the club officers plan to discuss this topic very soon.
“We are going to discuss (the name change) during the start of the year,” treasurer and junior Ellen Williams said. “By changing the name of the club, (the club and its members) are hoping for a big turnout and more involvement overall.”
Along with the name change and the inclusion of Greek studies into the club, Rickett and the club officers plan to include the integration of both Greek and Latin. This merge together of both languages plans to not only involve both parties, but for those two parties to fully understand the tradition, history and language behind Greek and Latin.
“Because of the club becoming, we hope, larger next year, we wanted to make this move due to the fact that the Greek students didn’t have a club before,” Williams said. “Also, (the club members) wanted to learn more about our counterpart in Greece, so we made this merge possible.”
NHS officers explore new options
August 13, 2007
By: Vannie Yu <vyu@hilite.org>
This year, the National Honor Society (NHS) ushers in new leaders along with potential new changes to the organization’s policies and activities. Gizele Rubeiz, NHS vice president and senior, plans to bring fresh ideas to the plate.
“One thing I definitely have talked about improving is getting NHS more involved with the Save Sudan benefit concert and just making that huge,” Rubeiz said.
“Also, my orchestra director and I have talked about possibly getting a program started for those who teach an instrument and they can earn hours through that. It’s similar to the NHS tutoring offered on PLC Late Starts.”
According to Rubeiz, extra activities to the organization won’t push out past events that have always been available to members.
“It’s always a good thing to give back to the community, and NHS provides its members with that opportunity,” Rubeiz said.
“In addition, you can participate in such activities with your friends, so you can have fun while you, say, sort carnations or sell final exam survival kits.”
With the assorted volunteer activities presented to NHS seniors comes also a possible new change in the organization that won’t affect them.
The current minimal requirement for prospective students looking to qualify for induction into the society exists at possessing a 3.3 GPA.
However, according to NHS sponsor Deborah Haire, potential adjustments might be made as plans are being discussed with the Principal John Williams for the academic requirement to be increased to a 3.5 GPA.
If this change were to definitely happen, it would make entry into NHS even more restricted and also lessen the pool of qualified applicants.
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