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 ^ . school hflVP, thp. nnnnrfiiniH/fn f-Ql'ri omH if ol1/-»iT7.r:»^ u.,. 4^^ u . i _ 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

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