2 news
February 28,2011
Counselors, teachers work on schedules
to accommodate curriculum changes
BY KAT ELLIOTT
Photographer
As students plunge into second se
mester, administration and counselors
already have their focus on schedul
ing for the 2011-2012 school term.
Students often find the procedure te
dious since they must make decisions
regarding various available academic
paths, which include College Prep,
College Tech Prep, Honors, Advanced
Placement (AP), and International Bac
calaureate (IB) options. Determining
what fits each student best depends
upon their future intentions: the
workforce, college, or the military.
Once teachers make recommendations,
and parents and students sign the nec
essary forms, the counselors must
battle the computer to make a feasible
master schedule that will accommo
date the majority of students in classes
with numbers conducive to a learning
environment. With approximately
1800 students to filter through the pro
cess, the task is more complex than
most can fathom.
"On average, schedules must be run
six to eight times before the overall
percentage reaches about 85% of the
total student body being placed. Once
that is finished, counselors can take a
look and sometimes make adjustments
to complete individual schedules. That
usually gets us. up to 90-95%," said
counselor and registration coordina
tor Michael Harrington. "Second and
third alternate electives then come into
play. Finally, any students who still
have incomplete schedules visit the
office, and the counselors help them
find suitable placements."
Incoming freshmen classes will
serve as guinea pigs of the decade
because several changes will occur in
the curriculum.
"US History will become a two-year
course because legislators believe there
is too much material to be acknowl
edged in one year," said social studies
teacher Joel Darden.
Another change involves the pro
cess for becoming an IB Candidate.
In the past, only students who lived
out of district had to apply for candi
dacy, whereas now, all interested
students, including those already at
tending Grimsley, must apply to enter
the program.
Along with freshmen, upperclass
men will also note changes in the cur
riculum. AP and IB teachers are mak
ing minor adjustments to their syllabi
in IB Foreign Languages and English,
as well as AP French and AP World
History, based upon expectations from
IBO (International Baccalaureate Or
Students win free
movie passes
BY NIKI SHUMAKER
Reporter
As a reward for completing midterm
exams, students received free tickets to
see "The Social Network" at the Carou
sel Cinema on Battleground Avenue. On
Sunday, February 20, three show times
were available to accommodate the
large number of students attending.
Freshmen and half of the sophomores
viewed the show at 5:00 pm; the sec
ond half of the sophomores and juniors
saw the movie at 7:15 pm; and the se
niors enjoyed the movie at 9:30 pm.
Carousel Theatre sponsored a con
test among elementary, middle, and
high schools. During the week of No
vember 19-26, students purchasing
tickets for the latest "Harry Potter" film
turned in vouchers they received from
their own schools. The school repre
sented with the highest number turned
in would be rewarded a free movie day,
and the Whirlies won.
"Fm not surprised we won since our
students are the 'Harry Potter' genera
tion, and besides, we are so close to the
theatre," said media specialist Kate
Cummings, who publicized the event
at school and distributed the vouchers
through homerooms on Wednesday,
February 16.
Teachers were also invited to the 9:30
pm show for a reduced price of $5.00
per ticket, but everyone in attendance
enjoyed the three dollar snack special
of popcorn and a drink.
Congratulations are in order!
Best of Luck to Principal Anna
Brady, who has been chosen
as one of eight principals in
the running for the 2011
Wachovia/Welis Fargo North
Carolina Principal of the Year!
ganization) and College Board, respec
tively. AP students are still pondering
over why they must pay for their ex
ams when the IB students do not.
"The county still funds the IB
program entirely, though the budget
crisis may force the board to rethink
that issue," said IB/AP Coordinator
Dibrelle Tourret.
Freshmen tend to share mixed feel
ings regarding their upcoming sopho
more year while they are still accli
mating to high school life. Some are
eager to see what new academic chal
lenges they will encounter other than
gym or typical freshman courses.
"I am really looking forward to tak
ing AP European History because I
love to learn about the different parts
of the world and their history; I have
always been interested in history and
have always looked forward to learn
ing about different cultures and how
people live," said freshman Eric Rahn.
"I'm also looking forward to my chem
istry class because I have a great in
terest in all sciences and can't wait to
learn about the elements and the amaz
ing things that make up our world. I'm
pretty nervous about my math next
year, though, because I am definitely
not very strong in math. I'm still hop
ing that I will enjoy it and have a good
time learning."
Sophomores are beginning to feel
the anxiety due to the thought of mul
tiple, difficult courses they will be re
quired to take next year, including that
mandatory Scholastic Aptitude Test
(SAT). Even so, some expressed that
they are reaciy for the challenge.
"What I look forward to most next
year is IB Theatre Arts. I'm also ex
cited about Theory of Knowledge and
Spanish V since a lot of my friends
. are in that class now. I'm pretty ner
vous about IB English 11, AP US His
tory, and Calculus," said sophomore
Aaron Ashby.
Juniors cannot help but admit they
are excited about becoming seniors,
especially with the realization that
the stress of their junior courses is
soon to end. Many of these same stu
dents look forward to courses consid
ered most popular for those in the
graduating class.
"I'm considering taking sociology
next year with Coach Franks. I am on
the golf team, and I've never met any
one so energetic. Being in his class will
be a blast," said junior Meredith Creene.
New courses hoping to survive the
scheduling process next year are Came
Design and Creative Writing. Their
availability depends upon how many
students sign up for them and the avail
ability of teachers to cover them.
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