May 13, 1976
Rocky Mouht Senior Hish
Rocky Mount, N.C. 27801
Vol. 2, No. 8
Juniors Chosen
STUDENTS TO ATTEND GOVERNOR’S SCHOOL. Richard Oxendine, Martha Harris, and
Cindy Hartman will spend part of their summer at the Governor’s School. [Photo by Wilgus]
Teachers And Guidance
Counselors Discuss SAT
‘ ‘Educators are tired of taking
the blame for declining student
performance when much of the
root cause is lack of support and'
motivation in the homes,”
stated John Ryor, President of
the National Education As
sociation, to a recent National
Town Meeting at the Kennedy
Center in Washington, D.C.
Ryor also pointed out that
declining test scores are due to
“unmotivated, apathetic and
hostile students who make little
effort to learn.” Also, he feels
television, increased mobility
and single-parent split homes
are contributing to the edu
cational decline of many high
school students.
“Students don’t read as much
as they used to” was Miss Kate
Parks Kitchin’s reaction to why
' test scores in general have been
dropping. Miss Kitchin, guid
ance counselor, believes that
“the lack of family conversation
has caused many student’s
verbal scores to go down.” She
also emphasizes that good
mathematical scores are most
likely to be developed in a
classroom situation, while ver
bal abilities tend to develop in
the classroom as well as in
communication with other
people, especially well-educated
adults.
Mr. William Hutchisson, a
guidance counselor, feels that a
JOHNNY WELLS NAMED SCHOLAR. The Josephus Daniels
Scholarship was recenUy awarded to Johnny Wells by UNC at
Chapel Hill. [Photo by Wilgus]
“Greater diversity, (economi
cally and socially), of students
are taking the Scholastic
scores on an average are lower
than in previous years.” He also
emphasizes that many “stu
dents are accepting their junior
year score, and they are not
trying to improve it their senior
year.”
“Less parental guidance and
support is causing apathy
among many students and
therefore their test scores are
lower than in recent years,”
states Edyth Tweedy when
asked why test scores, particu
larly SAT’s, are not as high as in
the past. She, as a guidance
counselor, believes that “stu
dents have to be made mon
aware of what is required o
them to be successful and copi
with the problems in the worh
in which they live,” She hope:
that more students who take thi
SAT will pursue a stronge
academic program.
Johnny Wells
Named Scholar
Johnny Wells recently woi
the Josephus Daniels Scholar
ship Award. This scholarship i*
given by the University of North
Carolina. Johnny won the basi
of his scholastic ability.
Johnny’s 'high scholastic
average enabled him to be
inducted into the Nationai
Honor Society. He was also a
semi-finalist for the National
Honor Society Scholarship.
Music plays a large role in
Johnny's life. He excells in the
drums, piano, and also guitar.
He uses his talents widely in the
RMSH band. He is in the jazz
band, wind ensemble, and the
marching band. He is also
Senior Drum Captain.
This year three juniors have
been selected to attend Gover
nor’s School in Winston-Salem.
Martha Harris, Cindy Hartman,
and Richard Oxendine have
been chosen for the summer
session from July 5 to August
14.
Martha Harris was selected to
attend the Governor’s School for
dance. She has taken dancing
for seven years under Mrs.
Florence Rawls. Martha was
“very happy” to be chosen to
attend the school. Apart from
school and dancing, Martha also
participates in many outdoor
activities and sports.
Cindy Hartman was picked
from the nominees for excel
lence in the area of academics.
Besides excelling in school,
Cindy finds time to be an active
member of the Rocky Mount
YMCA Swim Team. She also
plays the piano and the clarinet.
Richard Oxendine was also
chosen for academics. Richard
says, “I’m very happy and
honored to have been selected
to attend the Governor’s School.
I’m going to try my best to do
the work.” When he was first
told of the honor, Richard said
he was “naturally excited, but
that he needed to get his plans
together for the summer.”
Richard keeps in shape with
karate in which he holds a green
belt. While at the Governor’s
School, he hopes to find
someone to teach karate to so he
can keep in shape and practice.
Naturally at first, all three
students had a few doubts about
giving up almost half of their
summer vacation, but after
thinking about the opportunities
of the school, it was the
concensus of all three juniors
that attending would be very
rewarding and worthwhile.
Johnston Named
Gill Fountain has recently
Aeen named a James M.
Johnston scholar by North
Carolina State University. Gill, a
quiet and conservative person
by nature exclaimed, ‘‘I
couldn’t believe it. In fact, I
read about it four times before I
could believe it.”
Perhaps the nicest thing
about Gill’s scholarship is that it
came as a complete surprise.
There were no interviews, no
tests, and more importantly,
there was no period of waiting.
Unlike other scholarships, one
does not have to apply for a
Johnston. These scholarships.
set up according to the will of
James M. Johnston, are
awarded to deserving students
who plan to follow certain
curriculums. “We applied for
financial aid,” Gill explains and
adds “I just got a letter in the
mail.”
Gill, an avid electronics buff,
works at TV Radio Hospital. He
plans to concentrate in electrical
engineering at State. ‘‘If I
change my curriculum, they’ll
probably change the amount,”
he says.
Gill is president of the
National Honor Society at
RMSH.
GILL FOUNTAIN AWARDED; Gill Foontain has recently
been named a whiner of the James M. Johnston Scholarship.
[Photo by Woodley]