the stentorian | ncssm
fea tu res/opinion
October 2011 5
Super Study recalled with restrained
appreciation by juniors
By Ty Tran
Though many juniors who
have placed out of Super Study
reflect on their time there with
a conciliatoiy appreciation for
its purpose, but most would
agree that there are many ways
to improve one of the most
hated programs at NCSSM.
Regardless of expressins
of exasperation and disdain,
most students are aware
that Super Study is a well-
meaning concept, designed
to temper their newly-found
autonomy with the lesson that
it is necessary not only to work
but to study at the School of
Science and Mathematics.
Temperance, many would
point out, however, may be
difficult to accommodate,
especially when one loses an
hour and a half for digital work
or leisure.
For the 106 juniors who are
no longer required to attend
super study, the period that
was once spent in industrious
silence is now an hour and a
half of freedom to work or play
as they please. Recalling their
time under supervised study,
however, most would concede
that it was beneficial to their
productivity and necessary
for the transition into life at
NCSSM.
“It was pretty helpful,”
remarked Monal Dipani, a
junior who placed out of super
study, “I was able to focus
and it helped me get my work
done.”
“Having a time to sit
down and focus is a great
idea,” added Emmanuel Assa,
another junior, “especially for
the brutal workload.”
When questioned on how
they are faring without Super
Study, students provided a
more interesting range of'
responses.
“I actually work a lot faster
outside of Super Study,”
Dipani revealed.
“I grow rashes from the
stress of procrastination now,”
said one junior who did not
wished to be identified.
“It doesn’t change
anything,” admitted another
student, “My productivity’s
decreased, but there’s an
increase in the variety of work
I can do.”
Certainly, it seems the
availability of the internet
can industrialize one’s work
ethic, or dismiss it entirely. It
is hard to deny, however, that a
significant amount of work gets
done in Super Study, where
the atmosphere is structured
in the way to orient students
in that particular direction, in
the sense that there’s not really
anything better to do.
Adulation aside, what
is not surprising are the
complaints about not having
homework at NCSSM: the
digital assignments.
“Super Study doesn’t really
work because of the difference
Juniors anticipate
second trimester
By David Ojo
When inquiring juniors ask
seniors about second trimester
their description often goes
something like this: the sun
of your life. Half of your class
won’t return after winter break.
These are just a few of what
seems to be an endless list of
misconceptions concerning
“2nd tri” at NCSSM.
Juniors are told thier grades will drop second tri
Courtesy of Samantha Hartsoe
sets at 4:30. It rains, all day
long. I would tell you to
prepare for the worst 12 weeks
of your life, but unfortunately
this grading period is longer
than that. The extra class will
destroy you and teachers start
to grade harder. It is utterly
impossible to have any fun,
ever. January and February
will be the longest two months
In reality, the 2nd trimester
at NCSSM isn’t all that bad.
Yes, the weather could be
nicer, but it doesn’t matter
where you go to school, you
can’t avoid the winter. There
are things that you can’t do
during the winter, but one
would do well to use this time
to bond more with hall mates
and other students. Speaking
from personal experience,
2nd trimester is a good time
to branch out and meet the
students you couldn’t quite
branch out to during the first
trimester.
If you’re
like me and
played, a
varsity sport
first trimester,
you’ll find
that you have
a newfound
abundance of
free time after
school. For the
non-athletes,
2nd trimester is
still full of time
to capitalize on
opportunities.
Now that you
have had time
to settle down
and adjust
to NCSSM,
you can get
a more solid academic start
to this trimester, as well as
making some headway in
extracurricular activities.
To be completely honest,
2nd trimester is different for
all those who experience it, but
for me, and numerous others,
the 2nd trimester at NCSSM is
actually more enjoyable than
the first.
complaints, however, do not
fall on deaf ears. “We’ve
developed a pilot for the last
two weeks of 1st Trimester,”
Juniors studying in Super Study.
access to a computer. It leads
to the thought that Super
Study, while necessary for
incoming juniors, is a naturally
flaw'ed system, because while
promoting ethics and structure.
Super Study intrinsically
alienates a critical half of
between the amount of paper
work and typed or online
work,” explained Assa. “If you
don’t have anything but online
work. Super Study is a waste
of time - it’s an hour and a half
of doing nothing.”
The most popular
Courtesy of Samantha Hartsoe
stated Dr. Joan Barber. “The
first 45 minutes of supervised
study would be devoted to
book work, as it is now. In the
second 45 minutes, however,
students will have the option
Continued on page 6
Seniors stress
about apps
continued from page 4
Your essay should be
personal and if you’re having
all of your friends and teachers
read it, it might lose its original
point. Honestly, most of the
.students that read your essays
are more focused on their own
success with writing than your
own.
“ft took me awhile to think
of an idea for my essay. I
wouldn’t have been able to do
it in just one day and I’m glad
I had my parents to help read it
over before I submitted,” said
senior Katy Roys.
Seniors, I understand the
stress you were feeling with
the crunch to get all of your
materials in on time for UNC’s
early action deadline, but
it’s important to understand
the difference between
complaining and actually
working toward a solution.
NCSSM’s hope for the
launch of the Naviance system
was to create an online outlet
for teachers, students, and
colleges to instantaneously
submit supplementary forms
and records, such as teacher
recommendations, transcripts,
and other school forms.
Pam Oxendine and the rest
of the counseling department
have been working to perfect
the Naviance system so that
things will run smoothly in
weeks to come. The counseling
department has worked out
arrangements with universities
so that applicants’ materials
will arrive and be eonsidered
for admission, even if all the
forms don’t get in on time due
to errors with Naviance.
Senior Hun Wong thinks
that the program is user-
friendly. “I love Naviance!
I pressed five buttons and it
worked!”
Other students are little more
apprehensive about transcript
and teacher reeommendation
requests. “I don’t like that there
is no confirmation of any of my
documents being submitted,”
says senior Jocelyn Keung.
Work with your counselor
if you’re having trouble, be
patient, and respect the time
and effort that they’re giving
you.
Applying to college is
stressfiil, but balance is key.
Try to get ahead, don’t get
overwhelmed, don’t compare
yourself to others, and give
yourself a break. Years from
now, we’ll look back on this
time fondly and regret that
we were stressing too much to
enjoy it.