hIghL
Congratualtions!
You have survived
the first haif
of the school year!
Volume 85 No. 5
Grimsley High School
801 Westover Terrace
Greensboro, NC 27408
January 30, 2013
mghLIFE
(.(.
I believe
these
innocent
whales
are being
killed illegally, and the
operation is a waste
of money for the
Japanese government.
Unfortunately, the
Japanese plan to return
to the Southern ocean
for additional whaling.
5 5
Luke Sumerford
page 3
News
Lockdown practices will
resume more frequently
as principal reassures
parents, students, and
teachers that safety is a
top priority. page 2
Opinion
Juniors taking Honors
English with Mrs.
Purgason share their
editorials written as
part of their course
curriculum. page 5
Features
Teen magazines are not
working hard enough to
encourage body positivity
for their young female
readers, thus self-esteem
issues are on the rise.
page 9
Sports
Despite closing of the
school pool, swimmers
and divers continue to
perform at optimal level,
defeating their opponents
at an All-County Meet.
page 10
Index
News
Opinion
Spread
Features
Sports 10-12
Grant money awarded to GCS will benefit
middle schools with latest technology
BY JASMINE AKINS
Reporter
Announced on Tuesday Dec.
11, Guilford County Schools
was one of sixteen winners of
the U.S. Department of
Education's Race to the Top Dis
trict competition. Their proposal
ranked fourth of aU applications
and received the second highest
financial award. The County
won $30 million in grant money,
and two other districts won $40
million. Because this grant is die
largest in GCS history, local
middle schools will be going
digital since the grant wiU cover
the cost of tablets for every stu
dent, as well as training and
support to students, their fami
lies, teachers, and even princi
pals. Such will occur within the
next two years.
GCS's PACE (Personalized
Achievement Curriculum and
Environment) Schools Project is
creating and stimulating stu
dent-led learning in the district's
24 middle schools, reaching al
most 17,000 students and just
about 1400 faculty members.
PACE coordinators will work at
the middle schools to lead this
foundation's change in teaching
and learning. Tablets will be
equipped with personalized
learning maps that track each
student's mastery of concepts, al
lowing more time to master con
cepts without pressure to rush.
Those students who are ready
for more complicated tablets can
choose from enrichment and AL
(Accelerated Learner) activities
that interest them.
Many people may wonder
why Guilford County's middle
schools are reaping the benefits
of this grant. According to
prnewswire.com, district data
indicates that the rate of aca
demic growth decreases in
middle school, thus the grant
will allow the district to focus a
comprehensive strategy in
middle school grade levels,
while also building on reforms
already put in place at elemen
tary and high school levels.
Guilford County is the third-
largest school district in North
Carolina with the highest gradu
ation rate among North
Carolina's largest five districts
at 84.5 percent in 2012. Over one-
third of GCS schools have earned
North Carolina's top designa
tions, which are based upon stu
dent performance and other
measures. According to the state
accountability measures, the
number of GCSs schools earn
ing the top honor of School of
Excellence from the state, has
increased from one in 2007-08 to
19 in 2011-12.
After the holidays, GCS will
receive an additional $5.2 mil
lion in optional grant funding,
also from the U.S. Department
of Education, bringing the total
Race to the Top-District grant
award to $35,222,003. Though
the present focus is on middles
schools in Guilford Coimty, the
district's vision is to personalize
and digitalize learning for all
students, staff and parents. The
additional dollars received will
cover the purchasing of ten tab
let devices for each middle
school for check out and use by
parents to assist their children
with homework and even ad
vance their own learning. They
also will purchase online and
broadcast content so all of
GCS can access learning out
side of school.
Optional grants include
$1,995,065 for Guilford Parent
Academy, $1,570,646 for GCS
Virtual Public Middle School,
and $1,656,307 for the
African-American Male
Achievement Initiative. The
African American Male
Initiative will help profes
sional learning communities
that focus on raising the aca
demic achievement of tar
geted students. The goal is to
form teams within the six el
ementary schools to address
other classroom barriers that
limit educator effectiveness
and student learning. The Vir
tual Middle school will ini
tially serve sixth and seventh
grades, and after one year, it
will expand to eighth grade.
Student recruitment wiU focus
efforts on students who would
be the first to attend college in
their families, while providing
an additional school choice for
the families.
Lockdown practice eases concerns
among teachers, students, parents
BY JACOB WOODS
Photographer/Reporter
Following the.atrocity oc
curring at Sandy Hook El
ementary School in
Newtown, Connecticut on
Friday, December 14, when
20 elementary school stu
dents and six adults lost their
lives to a disturbed, 20-year-
old Adam Lanza, the media,
educators, parents, and stu
dents across the nation com
municated on the controver
sial issues of gun control and
violence. Questions arose
regarding what could have
prevented such a tragic
incident, what school proce
dures were in place, and what
they would have done in a
similar situation.
Other incidents involving
random shootings occurred
in Aurora, Colorado, where
James Holmes entered a
movie theatre featuring "The
Dark Knight Rises" and killed
12 people and wounded more
than 50. Portland, Oregon
was also the location of a ter
rible tragedy on Tuesday,
December 11, when 22-year-
old Jacob Tyler Roberts
started shooting at movie
viewers. An armed civilian
confronted Roberts, who later
shot himself.
For all of the previously
mentioned reasons, lockdown
procedures are a requirement in
schools. Such involve specific
annoimcements to teachers and
staff to lock doors, close and
cover windows, and com
pletely secure their classrooms.
Students and teachers should
not use cell phones because
their voices may carry out
side their locations and draw
attention to the perpetrator.
Teachers are not to open their
doors for any reason unless
one of the members of the ad
ministrative team ap
proaches knocks and identi
fies himself or herself to the
teacher inside and asks for
the door to be opened. For
rooms that cannot be se
cured, a plan is in place for
the adults and students to
relocate to the nearest se
cured room. Once a room is
secured, teachers place two
green cards: one their door
vyindows and one on an ex
terior window. For those
classrooms without door
windows, teachers place
green cards under their
doors for visibility. Only the
principal can terminate a
lockdown procedure, either
in person or over the inter
com system. Faculty and
staff members attend train
ing in order to react in their
students' best interest; safety
is the key.
Members of the National
Rifle Association (NRA) be
lieve this country does not
need stronger gun control.
General citizens have reason
to own semi- automatic rifles
or shotguns as a means of
protection. "Guns don't kill
people; people kill people" is
a common mantra from Re
publicans and NRA members
alike. Some NRA members
believe that teachers and
staff should be trained and
armed. However, many
educators believe that
such a plan is ridiculous;
all it would take is one sto
len gun before more vio
lence would occur.
One major concern at
school involves safety for
students and teachers in
New Science since most of
the classrooms lack doors
and walls, making those in
the area more vulnerable
to casualties than other
classroom buildings.
As students practice
lockdowns, they must re
member to stay out of
sight, remain silent, and
keep calm. While calling
home or parents' work
places may . seem like
a reasonable reaction,
using a cell phone could
be detrimental since talk
ing or incoming calls
causes' noise, which
alerts the perpetrator
where people are hiding.