PAGE 4 ~ THE GRYPHON, FEBRUARY 10, 1978
t
I ' •
liese are three of the students who have been nominated by the En^sh department of Rocky Mount
Senior High to compete in a contest sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of Eng^sh for
achievement awards in writing. They are, from left to ri|^t, Eddie Wilson, Marion Blackburn, and
Brooks Pierce. The department also nominated another student, Angela Ryals. (Photo by
Hutchisson.)
Five Students Receive
NCTE Writing Avy/ards
To encourage high school
students in their writing skills
and to recognize publicly some
of the best student writers in
the nation, the National Coun
cil of Teachers of English will
give achievement awards in
writing to approximately 876
students who will graduate
from high school in 1979. The
English department at RMSH
has nominated Brooks Pierce,
Marion Blackburn, Eddie WU-
son and Angela Ryals to com
pete in this writing contest.
Each high school selects its
own nominees. These nominees
who are juniors are agreed
upon by the English depart
ment. In the selection of these
nominees many things were
considered. The student should
be able to write clearly and
effectively, revealing the abili
ty to think for oneself and
demonstrating competence in a
wide range of writing skills.
The nominees are required to
submit two written composi
tions, as impromptu theme and
one sample of writing that the
student considers his best
work. The impromptu theme
must be written in no more
than one hour under a teacher’s
supervision and it must be
submitted in longhand without
revision. The topic of this
theme is designated by NCTE.
Because NCTE is a non
profit educational association it
has no funds to award scholar
ships to the winners. However,
the names of the winners are
placed in a booklet that is
mailed in October to directors
of admissions and to English
department heads in 3000 col
leges and junior colleges in the
United States. The finalists will
be notified and announced in
October.
City Progrann Opens
Applications for the Mayor’s
Fellows Program are now being
taken. If a student wishes to
apply for this program, he
should see Mrs. Laura Watts in
the guidance center.
The purpose of the Mayor’s
Fellows program is to provide
interested young people with
some first hand experience in
the processes of governing the
city and a sense of personal
involvement in the leadership
of the community. It is not
necessary that you be an excel-
^erate^^tudentj^^^any^^avera^
student who wishes to be
involved in the program should
apply.
All applications will be
screened. Finalists will be int
erviewed and final selections
will be based upon leadership,
academic preparedness and in
terest in the city as Mayor’s
Fellows.
Fellows will work two hours
after school each day for six
weeks. Attendance at City
Council meetings will be requir
ed.
Applications must be return
ed to Mrs. Watts no later than
Thursday, Feb. 16. Students
selected will begin the program
on March 20, and the program’
will end April 28.
Students Surveyed
Concerning Exams
Mrs. Nancy Jones, Latin and
English teacher, recently sur
veyed her students concerning
the exam in those classes.
Questions on the survey in
cluded items on study time,
rating the exam as to the
degree of difficulty, and fair
ness of the exam. Mrs. Jones
also asked her students if they
had been told what to review
for the test and to predict their
grade.
The survey showed the most
students making grades below
50 studied less than one-half
hour, and students surveyed
that made between 50-59 show
ed the same results.
The survey indicated that as
study time increased, the
grades were higher. However,
while many people making in
the 90’s studied two to three
hours, many people scoring in
the 60’s claimed to have studied
the same amount of time.
Most students with grades in
the average range, 75S5, studi
ed from one to two hours.
However, some studied less
than one-half hour and some
more than three.
Almost all of the students
felt that the exam was fair, and
approximately the same
amount answered that the tea
cher had told them the material
to review.
In rating the degree of diffi
culty for the exam, answers
ranged from easy to very hard.
Some students who felt that the
test was easy made low grades,
while students who answered
that the exam was hard made
higher grades.
Many students came close to
predicting their grades. Some
felt that their grade was higher
than it actually was, while some
predicted a lower grade.
Seniors Voice Concerns
How do you feel about the
Senior Class Bumper Stickers?
The GRYPHON asked a few
members of the senior class
their opinion of the stickers.
Pam Barnes stated, “I don’t
think of them.” Keith Riven-
bark said, “I think they’re
unprofessionally done.” David
Bagley stated, “They stink.”
Hugh Nobles said, “My car
doesn’t look very good but they
don’t compliment the beauty of
my car.” Cythia Whitley said^
"1 don’t think about them much.”
The Senior class of Rocky
Mount Senior High is consider
ing the possibility of a trip to
Six Flags over Georgia, accord
ing to Mrs. Erma Dudley,
adviser to the class.
Six Flags over Georgia is an
amusement park located in
Atlanta, Ga. Mrs. Dudley also
stated that for the present she
and other senior officers are
just trying to get a list of names
of those who would go if such a
trip were possible. Nothing else
about the trip has been deter
mined.
FOR ORDERING & DELIVERING YOUR
■CLASS RING
FREDERICK'S MARm
. 901 West Thomas
to]
•i1 il.
bfiil
«^lnce
i
GENERAL and MECHANICAL
CONTRAaORS INDUSTRIAL
and COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION
Rocky Mount, North Carolina 27801
P. O. Box 2705
Atlantic Avenue Extension
Bus. 919-446-1174
>|cpi^tice
Hours: Monday-Saturday 8-6
meats
FORStTISrYniG MUU
Walker Ross Printing Company, Inc.
P. O. BOX 393 ATLANTIC AVE. EXT.
ROCKY MOUNT. N. C — PHONE: (919) 446-1981