Volume 77 No. 5
Grimsley High School
801 Westover Terrace
Greensboro, NC 27408
Wednesday, January 31, 2001
State of bathrooms reflects on everyone
By Erin West and Dirk Lankford
Staff Writer and Reporter
Is there hope for the bath
rooms at Grimsley High School?
The answer to this question lies
with the students and the jani
tors, who need to unite to fight
the demons of bathroom filth.
From dirty floors to unflushed
toilets, Grimsley bathrooms
clearly have room for
improvement.Thejanitorial staff
with the support of the adminis
tration has taken action to fight
these poor conditions.Students
“How are [the janitors]
supposed to keep a
student from urinating
on the floor?”
-Mr. Moody,
assistant principal
I Burgin photo
Sandra Saleh talks with Billy Watson, both members of the custo
dial staff, as they wait for students to clear out of the bathrooms.
readily admit to these conditions.
“The smell made me nauseous,
I mean you had to hold your nose
when you walked [into the bath
rooms]”, said Susan Bieber, a
sophomore.
The janitors’ negligence is not
the sole root of the deplorable
conditions of the bathrooms. Stu
dents also play a large role in the
bathrooms’ condition.
“[The janitors] can’t do this
alone, we need everybody to
help. Grimsley is [the students’]
home away from home, and they
should take care of it better,” said
Mr. Billy Watson, ajanitor.
Students repeatedly leaving
toilets unflushed primarily
causes the stench coming from
the men’s lavatories. The men’s
bathroom in the vocational build
ing, which is usually found with
all three of its toilets left
unflushed, is a prime example of
this problem.
Students who don’t know how
to flush the toilet are at least able
to make their target. Urine on the
floor is another leading contribu
tor to the foul stench.
“How are [the janitors] sup
posed to keep a student from uri
nating on the floor?” said Mr.
Moody, assistant principal.
The men’s bathroom in the mu
sic building gives off a different
odor - smoke. We found ciga
rette ash in the toilet. This is a
student-based problem.
The women’s bathroom in the
music building is also undesir
able. All three of the stall doors
are missing locks and door
latches and there are no bins for
personal care items. One of the
Vocational urinals stand without stalls.
Burgin photo
toilet seats are covered with an
unusual tar-like substance. Al
though it is frequently stocked
with toilet paper, it still needs ma
jor improvements.
Many bathrooms all over the
school lack hot water and soap.
Overall, the women’s bath
rooms are in better condition
that the men’s. “Missing the tar-
Continued on page 2
Grimsley says "no" to block schedulinq
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ByKateBoylan
Stajf Writer
Students dreading the possibil
ity of 90-minute classes next year
have no fear; classes will remain at
55 minutes next year.
Despite the movement of 12 of
the 14 Guilford County Schools to
the block schedule format,
Mrs.Teague and the Grimsley fac
ulty voted on Thursday, December
14 for Grimsley to remain on the tra
ditional schedule for at least another
year.
The traditional schedule in
cludes students taking six classes
each day, which run about 55 min
utes. At the end of their high school
career students who remain on this
schedule for all four years of high
school have the opportunity to take
28 classes. After the decision
Mrs.Teague said, “Dr.Grier was very
specific when he said that what he
cared about was results. When I
looked at our test scores from last
year, they were the highest among
Guilford County Schools. How
could I support changing what we
were doing?”
Of the 12 high schools,
transitioning to the block-schedul
ing format, four already have the
block schedule in place. The other
eight high schools will switch to the
block format next year, which in
cludes lengthening classes to 90
minutes, with classes lasting for one
semester, as opposed to an entire
year. Junior Quinton said, “ My old
school was on the block schedule
and it allowed me to have more time
for homework and more time after
school to do activities outside of
school.”
Grimsley remains in the minority.
80% of North Carolina’s high
schools use the block schedule for
mat. The decision, as controversial
as it was, was made due to the grand
scale of changes Grimsley would
have to go through in order to ad
here to the block schedule format.
Some of these changes include stu
dents adapting to classes, which run
50% longer than the usual classes,
and taking mid-terms a week after
the students return from winter
break. Also, students would have
the opportunity to take 32 classes
in four years.
Extreme changes would not only
have to be made among students;
they would have to take place on a
larger scale among teachers here
at Grimsley teachers. Teachers
would have merely a semester for
each class they taught, which
would involve teachers’ changing
their entire lesson plans and ap
proach to the lesson. Out of the
staff of 116,86 members voted on
the block scheduling issue. Mrs.
Teague decided that the teachers
were the ones who should make
the decision concerning the
schedule for next year, because as
she said, ‘The teachers work with
both parents and students.”
Another concern among Mrs.
Teague and the Grimsley faculty is
the effect the new block schedule
will have on students taking Ad
vanced Placement and/or Interna
tional Baccalaureate classes. They
feared that the new schedule would
affect the students’ performance on
the Advanced Placement exams, as
well as the International Baccalau
reate exams, which are administered
in May. Junior Elizabeth Valchar
said, “I think the decision to not
change was a smart decision, be
cause I take IB classes and I think it
is ridiculous to take the exam so long
after the class.”
Seventy-two of the Grimsley fac
ulty members voted in favor of the
six period schedules for next year.
The teacher’s sentiment seemed to
simulate the students’ sentiment,
and the new block-scheduling for
mat was denied.
Future dilemma Cruel intentions
Is attending college the Cliques, harassment
only option after high and pranks plague teen
school? interactions.
^ pages 8-9
Lady Whirlies
Women's basketball
team takes 1st place in
Little Four Tournament.
pagel5
News 1
Editorial. 4
Features 7
Sports 15