CHS Globe » Final Draft

CHS New Wing Gets Positive Reactions

Jake Lee — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 14:57:47 +0000

Though construction in CHS has been going on for the past few months, Clayton students and staff members are finally able to experience the new wing. The new wing has been a huge upgrade to CHS from the recently constructed classrooms and departments for various classes. These classrooms include the new language offices, science classrooms, a greenhouse, Globe newspaper and video classrooms, and a room for culinary classes.

Many students are happy with the new building and show positive input in the recent addition.
“I feel like the new building lets in much more light than the old section,” sophomore Adam Rangwala said. “It’s a lot more pleasant and there’s more working space through the hallways than the other buildings.”

Sophomore Mac Rechan agrees with Rangwala and includes additional support.

“I think it’s pretty amazing overall,” Rechan said. “The transformation from last year has been pretty impressive and it’s like having an entirely new school.”

Not only are students happy with the layout of the building, but they are also impressed with the new design of the classrooms.

“The new classrooms are definitely a lot nicer than the old classrooms,” Rechan said. “It is a lot more up to date with different technology and there’s a lot more space in the new classrooms.”

Students are not the only ones that are satisfied with the new building. Teachers also show great appreciation for the new building, especially science teachers.

“The space we have is much more functional that what we previously had,” AP environmental science teacher Mr. Collis said. “The spacing of the desk in relevance to the whiteboard makes more sense. Also the layout of the lab is even bigger than before and I’ve never had this much room. In the old buildings, there weren’t even lab rooms. They were just two classrooms combined so the new building is a huge improvement.”

Collis continues to talk about the new possible curriculum and classes from the new wing and the impact of the greenhouse.

“The greenhouse will definitely be a curriculum changer,” Collis said. “Science classes will have additional plant based labs, and next year, it is possible that a class will be created that revolves around growth science.”

Though many people are satisfied with the new wing, some are unhappy with a couple parts.
“The hallways are so spread out and you never see anyone,” senior Taylor Gold said. “I used to see some of my friends all the time, but now it’s just longer walks to classrooms without seeing anyone.”

Not only are walks longer between classes, but there is also a vital part missing from the new wing.
“One thing that I found really odd and disappointing about the new wing is that there are no bathrooms,” sophomore Lily Niswonger said. “If you’re in the new building and you have to go the bathroom, you have to walk all the way to the old building.”

Students are also dissatisfied with the ongoing construction and look forward to the finished school.
“I look forward to seeing school construction coming to a close,” junior Seth Lewis said. “I’m excited to see the finished product of the school without the interference of construction in the hallways.”

Senior Sydney Wright also agrees with Lewis.

“I’m wondering when things will settle down,” Wright said. “It’s hard to concentrate with fire drills and construction noises during class.”

Though there are mixed opinions on the new wing, overall, the new wing has been successful in accomplishing its main goal of providing plenty of space for the science, language, and other departments. Hopefully, the finishing touches of construction will be done soon so that CHS can return to its peaceful school days.

Haley Wartman: Athlete of the Month

Jake Lee — Thu, 12 May 2011 17:21:22 +0000

Hard working and passionate are two words that encompass lacrosse varsity player Haley Wartman. Wartman is expected to have an outstanding season as both an individual player and one of the leaders for the lacrosse team.
“Haley is a natural born lacrosse player,” teammate Jasmine Respess said. “She has a lot of talent and is always willing to help other girls on the team.”
Wartman has only started playing lacrosse since her freshman year, but her talent and passion for lacrosse has pushed her to become one of the stronger players on the team. Perhaps one reason for this is the amount of dedication Wartman puts into lacrosse, including outside of school.
“Over the summer, I went to a lacrosse camp and played a lot of lacrosse to improve for the season,” Wartman said. “I feel like this is definitely my best season.”
Respess also agrees on the high level of dedication that Wartman commits to.
“Haley constantly works hard on the field and spends time outside of practice to improve, always thinking about the team,” Respess said.
Over the last couple of years, Wartman has developed a strong lacrosse game and plays the position of defensive mid, where she plays on both offense and defense. When asked what drives her to put in maximum effort into lacrosse, Wartman says it is about the feeling of accomplishment from the win.
“I like to win as a team because it feels like a great accomplishment,” Wartman said. “It just feels good because you know that you worked hard and that the whole team worked hard together.”
Not only does Wartman’s hard work contribute to the team individually, but it also impels teammates to work just as hard.
“Whenever I see Haley play lacrosse, it motivates me to work just as hard.” Respess said. “Haley never gives up and it makes the whole team want to do just the same.”

Testing: Too Much?

Jake Lee — Wed, 11 May 2011 19:12:56 +0000

It’s that time of year again for students: testing. The bountiful amount of tests that appear throughout the end of april and may make students realize whether they have mastered a course’s material. Though the AP tests, End of Course exams, finals, and ACT may help students reflect their gained knowledge over the year, are the amount of tests too much for students to bear?
With college applications sent out soon, many juniors believe that studying has recently occupied their whole schedule.
“Studying for these tests have consumed my life this quarter,” junior Ali Rangwala said. “I study for hours for each test only to have another one thrust upon me.”
Though studying may occupy most of their time, some juniors do not mind and enjoy the incredible amount of learning from difficult courses. Despite junior Bianca Vannucci’s strong desire to learn, she believes that classes should not be centered around tests.
“I’m taking a lot of challenging classes because I like to learn,” Vannucci said. “But I find it really frustrating that so many classes are structured around tests. In AP classes, you are not studying the subject, you are studying for the test, and I feel like it’s a waste of time.”
One factor of the numerous amount of tests is definitely stress. To reduce the amount of stress from the consistent testing, juniors believe that a well-planned schedule is the best way to reduce stress levels.
“I have had a busy schedule that’s pretty stressful,” Vannucci said. “However, I try to plan out my week in advance, and throughout the year it has been a successful way to manage my stress.”
Though many juniors feel a lot of pressure to do well in rigorous courses, some seniors have also taken classes seriously, despite their soon departure to college. However, seniors do agree that the second semester of their senior year has not been as productive as their previous semesters.
“I had more classes and took work much more seriously in first semester since I wasn’t into college yet,” Senior Monica Gierada said. “In second semester, I haven’t been working nearly as hard and my schedule is a lot easier.”
Senior Sarah Graeber also agrees that second semester has been less productive, despite the amount of tests.
“I have definitely been less motivated to do homework every night,” Graeber said. “I have found it hard to study for tests and APs knowing that my grades are not as important this semester.”
Though college may not be too far away, seniors still feel stress from school work and the amount of tests.
“I had an AP Psychology exam the same day as my math final,” Graeber said. “It was overwhelming studying for both exams that weekend. I also had to come in earlier to make up a final the next day and then study that night for the AP Calc exam the next day.”
Though students miss several days of school for testing, teachers are still on track with their course and are able to prepare students for their own tests. In the case of AP Biology, students missed some time to review for the AP test because students had to take an End of Course exam and the ACT.
“Honors students can be the most active and the most involved in activities outside of the classroom, and hence, miss quite a bit of school in addition to the EOC, SAT, ACT, and AP testing requirements,” AP biology teacher Sally Lazaroff said. “Experienced teachers know this, and prepare throughout the year to complete the curriculum despite the multiple student absences.”
Though the required testing may be overwhelming for many students, teachers are still able to prepare their students well for the many different tests.
“Students in AP biology were given several resources for review,” Lazaroff said. “They took three practice exams, a lab exam, and then practiced several free response questions in class.”
With the overwhelming amount of tests, students and teachers have felt stressed out, but they believe that there is no way to avoid it and it is essentially part of the school life style.
“I think stress is a necessary evil,” Rangwala said. “The stress can be overwhelming at times, but there really is no way to schedule it in a better fashion.”

Colleges: A sophomore perspective

Jake Lee — Wed, 05 May 2010 03:56:22 +0000

“Why do I have to be prepared for college?” sophomore Adam Ferguson said. “I’m only a sophomore in high school.”
Like Ferguson, many other sophomores believe that college is far away. However, the college fair at the Center of Clayton, which invited students from Ladue, MICDS, and John Burroughs to learn more about 126 different colleges, made students realize that college is the next step.
“The college fair made me want to work harder because I realized college is coming up soon,” sophomore Justin Campbell said.
After visiting the college fair, students are also preparing more to impress colleges in the future.
“To prepare for college, I’m working very hard and challenging my intellectual capacity to become the ideal student colleges are looking for,” sophomore Drake Pinkston said.
Most students are glad that they attended the college fair because it helped them grasp more information on the different colleges.
“The college fair was really helpful because it allowed me to understand more things about each college,” sophomore Petra Petermann said.
However, some students saw flaws in the college fair program.
“I have no idea what I’m looking for so the college fair wasn’t very helpful,” sophomore Julia Grasse said. “I wish they took in account of the students who didn’t really know much about what college they were going to. But next year will be a lot more helpful because I’ll be looking for more specifics and I’ll know more.”
Sophomore Sydney Wright also thought that the college fair could have been improved.
“None of the colleges that I was looking for or was interested in were there,” Wright said. “The schools that were there were either too big or schools that I have never heard of.”
Sophomore students realize that college is coming soon, but they try to not stress about it and make the best out of their high school lives.
“I just want to enjoy high school life and try to worry about college later,” Petermann said.
Sophomore Scott Floerke also agrees with Petermann.
“I’m not even worried about college because I think we need to first balance our studies and extracurricular activities in high school,” Floerke said.
Though some students try to enjoy their high school lives, other students are stressed out about college.
“I’m stressed out because everything I do now affects what colleges I get into,” sophomore Raihana Omri said.
Wright is beginning to stress along with Omri.
“I am really stressed out for college because there is a lot of competition in our grade to get into a good school,” Wright said.
Despite being stressed out, students still look forward to going to college for several reasons.
“I’ll get more freedom,” Omri said. “Even though it means more responsibilities, I’m ready to go to college.”
Campbell also agrees with Omri because of the new things he will experience.
“I want to go to college because of the competitive sports teams and so I’m prepared to get a job,” Campbell said.
One cause of stress may be from parents pushing students to go to the best schools.
“My parents will be disappointed in me if I don’t get into a top college,” sophomore Ali Rangwala said.
Other parents are more supportive with their child’s decision in what college they want to go to.
“My parents want me to be happy about where I want to go,” sophomore Emma Vierod said. “They are not going to push me to go to a specific school.”
With college applications and standardized tests, such as the ACT and SAT, coming up next year, current sophomore students are sure to have colleges on their mind.
“There are days where I don’t really care about colleges,” Grasse said. “But some days it feels like colleges are approaching too soon.”

Video Games Do Not Cause Violence

Jake Lee — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 02:16:31 +0000

Jake Lee

Cause of death: murdered by a person influenced from violent video games. Already this idea sounds exaggerated. However, it is possible according to article writer Grace Shin. How can video games be the sole cause to make people more violent and aggressive?
Shin’s sole support is the assault on Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered 13 and wounded 23 before killing themselves. Shin says the reason why they committed the act is because they had customized their own shooting game a month earlier.
However, there could be many different reason of why they killed students in their school. Stress from schoolwork and being bullied are just a couple of the many different possible reasons. It is said that Harris’s and Klebold’s victims were all school athletes, so it is possible that they may have been bullied by them.
Clearly there is not enough evidence that teenage murderers are caused from violent video games.
Though not all people have game systems, most people have at least seen video games before at friends’ houses even if they have not played them. If everyone is associated with video games, how can it be fair to say that the cause of a killer’s blood lust was from video games?
Even if murder is not involved, aggression from violent video games is still a bold accusation. It is human nature to get angry. Anything that gives a surge of adrenaline and testosterone gives one the same effects of aggression or violence, especially in teenage boys.
Intense sports like football, a TV show, and even a scary movie raises adrenaline levels and makes humans more aggressive from the excitement of the stimulus. From being excited, the stimulus raises testosterone levels, which make people more aggressive.
Though video games may be one factor in humans becoming more violent, it is at least not the sole cause of aggression. Video games can be avoided to become “less aggressive”, but there is no point if humans are already surrounded by things that cause the same aggression as video games do.
Also, people easily realize the difference between killing a person in real life compared to killing in a video game. The line between what is acceptable in real life and in video games is obvious to anyone who is mentally stable.
To have the will to hurt someone else needs a motive. Though video games may stimulate aggression, there would be no reason to hurt someone solely from playing video games. People turn to violent and verbal abuse when they believe it is necessary, even though it may not be logical.
Perhaps violence from video games can be justified with male behavior, but one should understand females are also aggressive. Females who have never played a violent video game still show the same aggression levels as males, according to professor Cheryl Dellasega at Pennsylvania State University. Verbal abuse is more likely in females over physical abuse, but point being, there is still aggressive behavior involved without the influence of video games.
Violence has been steadily increasing. According to PBS, big city violence crime has increased by 40% over the past 30 years. Though violence has been increasing over years, other factors have also increased. Education is more important than ever and parents push kids to study hard to a point where it can be taken unbearable. Media also interacts with the general population more. The list goes on. There are more things that cause stress in the present than the past. These new stress levels can cause people to not bear with them and finally give up and release their frustration through violence and aggression.
Another interesting view of why people think that video games do cause violence is because the government promotes it. By being against violent video games, the government can be seen as opposed to crime and appear supportive to peace. Just because the government says something is true does not mean it is. Plus, there is no proof that video games cause violence, despite studies on it.
From my own experience, video games are addicting and can be competitive when playing with other people, but never does it lead to someone hurt in the end.
The only pain caused from violent video games is the pain of one’s virtual character.

Watching winter Olympics incites awe, motivation

Dee Luo — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:01:22 +0000

The Olympics, an event that was the zenith of conversation a couple weeks ago, has been pushed into the distant past. No one really cares that Lysacek made history by winning men’s skating gold, or that Kemkers’ coaching mistake cost Switzerland a gold. In fact, I don’t even care.
No, when I think about the Olympics, I don’t recall the medal count, or who won this and that, or who was supposed to win something and failed. Instead, I remember the amazing perseverance and motivation those athletes had.
I agree that the whole cliché of ‘Olympians must be role models’ is a lot of idolization spewed out by the media, but every exaggeration starts with a seed of truth.

(Sonja Petermann)

Those snowboarders and skaters and skiers and curlers and hockey players and lugers have a sense of motivation and determination that really is something spectacular. With the lack of those two attributes currently plaguing even simple tasks, such as finishing a lab report, I watched the Olympics with complete jealousy.
The fact that some athletes would spend another four years trying to be the best at one solitary sport was unbelievable to a mind that couldn’t commit to a homework assignment for more than 50 minutes. Why were these people able to stick with one sport, even after failing a thousand times, and still be able to continue training with some sort of enjoyment?
Some athletes had gone to the Olympics three times, 12 consecutive years, and still they came back, even when they had already won gold. That amount of time and that amount of persistence just boggled my mind.
I would sit in front of the television, listening to the NBC commentators talk about how much dedication and hard work so and so put in to get to this moment, and it got to a point where I didn’t even care if the particular athlete actually placed in finals or not; I would be too busy staring at the screen, at the little person crouched on top of a foggy white hill or somewhere, trying to telepathically steal their determination.
Each time one of the “Go World, Visa” commercials came on, I would actually listen and try to figure out the secret to such amazing perseverance. And, this is going to sound very lame, but I started doing homework in front of the television, not so I could catch every moment of the Olympics, but because I really believed that being in the television presence of these individuals might possibly motivate me to finish homework and stop procrastinating.
Now, I see the obvious logical fallacy in my whole “homework in front of the TV actually boosts productivity” theory, but that just shows how obsessive I became.
Well, it’s been two weeks and I have yet to figure out how those amazing athletes, who are indeed in the same species as I am, are able to push back the curtain of procrastination and frustration to become the best in the world at just one thing.
Maybe I’ll never be able to dedicate myself to one task at one time, and with a world that prides itself on the ability of multi-tasking, I might never be able to capture the same single-minded perseverance of those Olympic athletes.
But the Olympics left me with a shining example of determination, motivation and persistence that I can always look back upon and wonder at their incredible mindset. Although I have not managed to grasp the exact lesson I was supposed to learn from that example (which translates to: I still procrastinate), this Winter Olympics in Vancouver left an impression of awe and yearning for the ability to apply my mind to something so wholeheartedly.
And that’s as good a start for a teenager trying to find the inner power to resist procrastinating as any.