News

WARRIORSHERWOOD HIGH SCHOOL

30th YearIssue No. 6

June 5, 2009THe

300 Olney-Sandy Spring Rd.Sandy Spring, MD

www.thewarrioronline.net

Inside the WarriorNews.....................................................1-4BSW.........................................................5Features................................................6-9Humor...............................................10-11Spotlight...........................................12-13Opinions...........................................14-16W. Warrior.............................................17Arts...................................................18-19Pop Culture.....................................20-21Sports...............................................22-24

Local Employers Curtail Hiring of Teens Number of Students Enrolled in Classes Impacts Schedules by Abhishek Malik ‘10by Paige Gearhart ‘10 and Maria Romas ‘10

see JOBS, pg. 4 see CLASSES, pg. 4

In Loving Memory of Daniel Hon

Early morning on Monday, April 20, Principal Bill Gregory’s voice sounded through the school, delivering an unex-pected and sorrowful message; one of Sherwood’s very own freshman students passed away the night before due to com-plications from pneumonia. Sherwood’s 2,000 students sat in silence, stunned by the news. Many of his friends had just learned about the death of one of their closest peers. Sadness drove through the students’ thoughts that day, everyone’s mind on the young man that touched so many lives. Sunday, April 19, freshman Daniel Hon passed away from pulmonary hypertension, or heart failure, caused by pneumonia. Born on May 13, 1994, Hon was beloved by his family, friends and teachers. Those who knew him remember him as a young man with a smile brighter than the sun and a personality that inspired those around him even through their darkest days. “[He was] the best. Whenever I needed anything, [he] would be there. [He] made me laugh all the time and I just can’t get over that [he’s] gone,” says a good friend of Hon’s, freshman Ray Wight. Immediately following Hon’s death, the community came together in a joint effort to support the whole Hon family through their time of need. “On the same day when Daniel passed away, all the Sherwood High students had already gathered the candlelight memorial

for him,” says Christopher Hon, Hon’s father. “Also on the same week on Thursday, all his friends and students were showing up at my house. How emotional that could be; I don't know anyone [who] has been respected the same way like Daniel.”

Freshman Katie Relihan was also sur-prised by the support friends and family were given from the community following Hon’s death. “I never knew that one life could change the lives of so many others; clearly [he has],” she says. Hon was not only well known around school, but he was one of the many faces that skateboarded around Olney during the day. Freshman Miranda Musser remembers Dan-

iel’s passion for skateboarding. “I’m sure there are some

great things to skate up in heaven,” Musser says. Friends of Hon organized an event at the Olney Skate Park on the Sunday after his death to commemorate the wonderful life he lived. About 200 people came to the event and after a few emotional words from Hon’s fa-ther, participants released multi-colored balloons into the clear blue sky. A tree will be planted on Sherwood’s grounds as a memorial for Hon. He will be remembered as a joyful, energetic and caring young man who changed the lives of many and brought happiness to all those that he knew. “He respected his parents and friends. He was a very good student. I didn’t need to monitor his homework and worry about his grades. The bottom line is, Daniel was very good boy, and I will never find another one to replace him,” says Mr. Hon. “I’m proud to be Daniel’s father.”

On the first day of school this year, junior Aimee Hockett walked into the class she was tak-ing for her technology credit, ex-pecting Food Trends; instead, she found herself in Software Appli-cations, though she had not signed up for it. She sat through the class and went home with every inten-tion of switching out. Later that day, Hockett’s mother denied her request to switch, and she had to sit through Software Apps for the entire year; she was placed into a random, unwanted class because the one she wanted was already filled up. At the end of every year, the administration determines which class offerings will be kept and which will be cut for the follow-ing year. This decision is based on the number of enrollments in the class, as well as the availability of a teacher for the class.

Also, a student, such in the case of Hockett may be taken out of one of his/her choice classes and placed into another class if there are too many students al-ready enrolled. This specific de-cision is made based on seniority and counselor to student interac-tion. Assistant Principal Dr. Renee Brimfield is in charge of schedul-ing students into classes for the new year. In consultation with Principal Bill Gregory, Brimfield decides which classes will not be offered for the next school year. “These decisions are almost al-ways made on the basis of course pre-registration,” Brimfield says. “Occasionally, it may be that no teacher is able to teach a particu-lar course, but that is very rare.” Classes that will not be taught next year are AP Art History, Guided Research, Foundations in Arts, Humanities and Communi-cations, Database Administrative

The past few months have been tough times for most middle to lower-income families. Amid this looming recession, unem-ployment has spiked to nine per-cent nationally and five percent in Montgomery County. Banks are being bailed out left and right, American car manufacturers are filing for bankruptcy, foreclosure rates are increasing rapidly, and people are piling pressure on the government to make the situation better. Locally, it has proven more difficult for a teenager to find a job in the Olney area as employ-ers are not looking to fill many positions. The only certainty is that the American economy is in rough shape. Now, more than ever, teen-agers have to respond to new fi-nancial realities. According to a recent nationwide study by Pew Research Center, 68 percent of 18-to-49-year-olds say they have cut back on spending in the past year. With parents struggling to

hold onto their jobs and put food on the table, many teens feel that they have to get jobs to help sup-port their families and pitch in towards setting aside money for college. “The money would sure be useful since I plan on going to a good college,” says junior Mi-chael Mucci. “First, I’d prob-ably look [for a job] in the Olney area and then look elsewhere if I couldn’t find anything here. I’m open to basically any type of job that isn’t like McDonalds.” However, local teens are hav-ing a tough time finding part-time jobs. Since businesses are receiv-ing fewer customers as people try to save money, employers are sub-sequently cutting back on work-ers. In the Olney area, businesses that regularly hire teens are hiring less than before the recession. “I’ve been hunting for a job for the past few months now. I’ve applied everywhere: Giant, Shop-pers, Walgreens, Quiznos, Ledo’s Papa Johns, Wendys and more,” says junior Matt Mignosa. “Some

said they don’t have any job op-portunities currently and others just gave me an application, but didn’t show any interest in actu-ally hiring me. I guess they don’t need any more teens for the sum-mer.” Most employers are curbing teen hiring during the financial crisis. “We’re accepting applica-tions, but are not hiring. We have been hiring teenagers less than last year mostly due to the recession,” says Scott Wilson, manager of the local pharmacy Rite Aid. The lo-cal grocery stores are implement-ing a similar policy, as they are not actually looking to hire teens for the immediate future. Other businesses cite differ-ent explanations for hiring fewer teens this season. “We’re going to carry over [most of] our work-ers through the summer because they have more spare time. None of our workers are graduating this year so I don’t think we’ll need any more for the summer season.

by Cassie Welch ‘10

See where Sherwoodteachers are going, pg. 8

photos courtesy of Sophie Sweeney ‘12

Check out the most popular food in Olney, pg.12-13

NEW!

The Warrior•NewsJune 5, 2009

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NEWS IN BRIEF

The Warrior Staff

Prom Unaffected by Economic Recession

Editors-in-ChiefLexi Evans ‘10Jake Steiner ‘10

Content DirectorsRachel Kim ‘10Maria Romas ‘10

Head Copy EditorsMellownie Ho ‘10Alicia Romero ‘10

Managing Photo EditorsBen Durham ‘10Alyx Henry ‘11

News EditorsKevin Hogan ‘10Rachel Witkin ‘10

Beyond School Walls EditorJacob Bogage ‘12

Features EditorsMoriah Ellenbogen ‘10Andi Hubbell ‘11

Humor EditorsGrady Lyon ‘10Lilly Johnson ‘10

Sherwood High SchoolSpotlight EditorTaylor Janney ‘10

Opinions EditorsAdam Kopp ‘11Ariana Rodriguez-Gitler ‘10

Wondering Warrior EditorNatalie Duncan ‘11

Arts EditorsAllie Sivak ‘11Hannah Stokes ‘11

Pop Culture EditorsEllen Kirkness ‘12Kim Wan ‘10

Sports EditorsDanny Golden ‘10Greg Grant ‘10

PhotographersMadeline Clarke ‘11Lilly Johnson ‘10

Business ManagersArmahsee Beain ‘11Sarah Levine ‘10

Publicity DirectorMarcus Lee ‘10

Editors-in-ChiefAbhishek Malik ‘10Eric Van Gelder ‘10

News EditorAriana Rodriguez-Gitler ‘10

Features EditorMadeline Clark ‘11

Opinions EditorsLilly Johnson ‘10Alicia Romero ‘10

Sports EditorJacob Bogage ‘12

Entertainment EditorMelissa Berkowitz ‘10

In-Depth EditorAllie Sivak ‘11

Humor EditorAdam Kopp ‘11

AdvisorPeter Huck

The Warrior Online

by Sarah Levine ‘10

Students have a blast at after-prom which was not af-fected much by the recession thanks to donations.

photo by Madeline Clarke ‘11

Participants walk the track at Relay for Life on May 30th.

photo by Andi Hubbell ‘11

Tim Hwang Wins SMOB Electionsby Armahsee Beain ‘11

Wootton High School junior Tim Hwang has become the 32nd Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB). He carried 56.49-percent of the 63,386 students that voted, winning with 35,654 votes in his favor. During his campaign, Hwang promised to push for an increase in early childhood education, close the achievement gap, reduce the number of students in classes and change the way people interact with the Board for the better. Now that he has been elected, all at-tention is on him to fight to turn these promises into reality. During his time as SMOB, Hwang wants to fight against ran-dom drug testing, internet censorship at schools, school fees and releasing contact information to military recruiters. Before running for SMOB, Hwang helped organize for the Purple Line Campaign, Yes Montgomery Can Campaign, No School on Inauguration, No School on Lunar New Year and No Finals After AP Exams. He has held many important positions like High School Montgomery County Coordinator/ Field Director and Campaign Intern, Council Member of Maryland Youth Advisory Council and Class President of Thomas S. Wootton Class of 2010 Planning.

Summer Reading Assignment Gives Students Choices on What To Readby Rachel Witkin ‘10

“It’s one night, so it’s worth it to do it up right,” says gradu-ated senior Prom Queen Gracie Clements. On Saturday, May 2, hundreds of students attended “A Glow in the Dark Affair,” the junior-senior prom at the Hyatt Hotel in Bethesda. Clements recalls having a night to remember. “I had a lot of fun at prom this year,” she says. “It’s no choice [not to go] senior year because most everyone goes, and you get to see everyone from school somewhere other than a boring classroom.” Junior Prom Princess Tracy Schmelter can second that notion. “I will never grow tired of the ex-citement of seeing that girl that sits behind you in history look-ing like she is ready to walk the red carpet,” she says. Every day, a student will walk into the same class and see the same people. These classmates indifferently are dressed in ordinary clothes in the same old classroom atmosphere. However, for one night, on prom night, things change. They are the same people but suddenly every-one is glamorous. The glow-in-the dark theme was voted on by this year’s ju-niors and seniors, so many were excited to see what form the theme would take at the dance. Some were disappointed because the lights was not unusual. The or-

ganizers lit up the room with the famous lights from homecoming, including the multicolored small dots of light that flashed around the room. But the only surprising points of interest for the theme were junior Brendan Allison and senior Patrick Sullivan who were decked out with glow sticks. Whatever the theme, prom demands the same routines. This year, however, the many rituals of prom brought a unique challenge this year because of the tough eco-nomic times. Hair, nails, dresses, tuxedos, limos, restaurants—it all adds up. Students became more creative to keep the excitement of the experience while cutting costs. Both Clements and Schmelter had a blast doing their own hair and nails with friends instead of paying a fortune at a salon.

For junior Prom Prince Bren-dan Prin, it was less of a hassle to get ready before the dance, due to the fact that he had his priorities in line. “I got dressed and made sure I had fresh breath and lots of cash.” It’s a good thing mouth wash doesn’t cost much, so Prin could use the cash for other items involving prom. “Let’s just say I’m broke now,” he says. Graduated senior Prom King Justin Park is in the same boat. “I paid for everything. That's what gentlemen do,” he explains. So, it just goes to show that some things are worth a little extra spend-ing money. “Recession? What’s that?” Park jokes about the mon-ey spent on prom. Prom night is something that should be remem-bered. It is, after all, the night of nights.

As students leave Sherwood for sunny skies, they have one as-signment that they must complete. Summer reading is enforced to prepare students for the next year, and to keep their brains active. This year, incoming freshmen must read a historical fiction book and complete five dialectical journal entries which will help them learn how to respond to the text better. Rising sophomores have to choose from a list of Greek gods and goddesses and take notes on the characters and their stories. This will prepare them for understanding all of the Greek mythology that appears in Homer’s The Odyssey, which students will read in the fall. On-Level students will read 10 stories, and Honors students will read 15 stories. Rising juniors in On-Level and Honors English will be able to choose a non-fiction book of their choice. When they return to school, they will have to respond to one of the prompts given on the summer reading sheet. Next year’s seniors in On-Level and Honors English must read one of the novels from a given list or choose their own first-person fictional narrative, take notes on the novel, and then complete an in-class writing assignment on the third day of school. All of these summer reading assignments do not require a stu-dent to go out and buy a specific book, giving them many options on how to complete their summer reading.

The Warrior•News The Warrior•NewsJune 5, 2009

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All On-level and Honors English classes likely are mov-ing toward having county exams and following a county curricu-lum in the next few years. Ninth and tenth grade English classes already have county curriculums, while an eleventh grade curricu-lum is being piloted at Sherwood this year. A twelfth grade county curriculum is coming next year. This standardization of exams and classes has elicited mixed responses from teachers. Some prefer the continuity in classes across the county, while others prefer to have a freer rein in the classroom. In ninth and tenth grade English classes, county exams for years have assessed students’ reading and writing skills. These English county exams are intend-ed to ensure that students across the county have met the same ob-jectives. For an ninth grade On-level exam, students must answer 40 selective-response questions based on passages that they have not seen before, write an essay re-sponding to a quotation and write two well-developed paragraphs on topics such as character devel-opment and theme. The Honors exam includes comparisons of excerpts and a more thought-pro-voking essay question. “I do think that the exam as-sesses the skills that we teach in English. I think it gives students

County finals mark the end of the semester for many subjects. They are designed to measure what students have learned throughout the year. But some wonder whether math county finals, in particular, measure students’ knowledge of the course material. “I think the exams are too hard,” says Algebra and Geometry teacher James Key. “I find that too many questions require clev-erness; it goes beyond the basic material taught in the textbooks. That’s fine for a few questions, but there are too many of that variety on the exams,” he says. Based on data from previous exams it appears that the majority of students receive lower county exam grade than quarter grades in courses such as Algebra, Geometry, and Pre-Calculus. “My grade on the final was an E, but my overall grade in the class went from a B to a C after taking the final. It was worse be-cause the littlest mistake can hurt your score,” says sophomore Nikki Brown who took the Geometry county final last semester. County finals are a test consisting of all the material that was covered in the classroom over the semester; however, the matter of not being fully prepared for the final is just one reason for why some feel students do poorly on the final. “The exam questions are some-times more difficult than what is in the textbooks. We do try to match the instruction to the level of difficulty of the exam questions. What makes it so much more challenging is the scope—it covers materials from all the units taught over the course of the semester, and many students don’t know how to prepare for such a broad assessment,” says Key. Another possible reason for the decline in scores on math county finals is that students are not trying their hardest. “I didn’t study, so I didn’t feel prepared,” says junior Daniel Hagedoorn who took the Algebra 2 exam last semester. Hagedoorn’s grade overall wasn’t severely affected and his grade on the final wasn’t too poor, but his lack of preparedness prevented him from bringing up his semester grade in the class.

Math County Finals Marks Don’t Always Add Up

English County Exams Show Move Towards Standardizationby Rachel Witkin ‘10 the opportunity to experience

what they have to do in a new cir-cumstance,” says English 9 team leader Alexandra Green. “Though you’re reading something cold, for the first time, it’s a good problem-solving skill and a good application skill for students to learn before they go to college.” The tenth grade exam is very similar as it expands on skills learned in ninth grade. Students have to respond to questions about literature, respond to words in context, express themselves in writing, and correct sentences with improper grammar. “I like the county exam; it’s a better measure of progress,” says ninth and tenth grade English teacher Maureen Meushaw. Along with the exams, teach-ers are given large curriculums which they must follow through-out the semester to prepare for the exam. While some feel like this dictates what they have to teach, others do not mind the standard-ization. “I don’t feel like I’ve lost my freedom to be creative in the classroom,” says Green. Although English 9 and 10 have had such county curriculums for years, English 11 and English 12 teachers have had more flexi-bility and freedom. This is chang-ing with the introduction of new county curriculums to the upper grades. “[The new eleventh grade curriculum is] a work in progress, and like all works in progress, it’s got a few bugs,” says Eng-

lish teacher Jeff Deitchman. “The good thing about it is that it does emphasize writing … in other ways, I think it needs some work. It asks us to do too many things at once. It doesn’t allow us enough time to assign all of the tasks and teach everything that’s in it.” Sherwood’s eleventh grade English teachers gave their feed-back to the county, asking for more writing and grammar to be incorporated into the curriculum when they sent a representative to the county. Next year English 11 will include a county exam, which will be a change from the department exam currently given. This has caused varied reactions among the upper-level English teachers because they have not had a county curriculum and exam at Sherwood yet. “I think it’s beneficial for a course team [English teachers in the same grade level] to have a county curriculum, and I also think it’s beneficial for a course team to have a common final exam,” says English resource teacher Shelley Jackson. Twelfth-grade English is also working towards a county curriculum. This might lead to a county exam, which would stan-dardize all four English grades. “I think I would rather give a county exam, only because that way it’s a consistent testing of all students in that course county-wide,” says English 12 team leader Debra Reier. Deitchman wonders if a coun-

ty exam will unduly determine how the course is taught during the semester. “[With county ex-ams], you run the risk of teaching to the test, which can be very sti-

by Rachel Kim ‘10

by Alyx Henry ‘11

New Guidelines on Race and Ethnicity Change the Face of Categorization

Junior Rose McIntyre who is Welsh, English, Scottish and Camboodian is an example of those who will be able to pick more than one race category next year.

photo by Ben Durham ‘10

fling to a teacher’s creativity,” he says. “It can also make the whole semester so purpose-driven that you lose the joy and spontaneity that are possibile in education.”

In accordance with the U.S. Department of Education deci-sion in October 2007 to modify data collection standards regard-ing race and ethnicity, MCPS will implement new standards in the 2009-2010 school year after sending out categorical forms to its students in the previous year in order to obtain self-reported race and ethnicity, allowing students to represent multiracial backgrounds in updated categories. The forms, known as the MCPS Race and Ethnicity Identi-fication Form, include a two-step questionnaire in which parents first designate whether a student is Hispanic or Latino or not, then the student’s race. More than one race may be checked to indicate that a student is multiracial. If no response was received from par-ents by June 1, 2009, schools des-ignated a student’s race by obser-vation. The forms are mandatory for new students. The emphasis on the race and ethnicity of students had previ-ously been in place because of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) signed by former Presi-dent Bush in 2002. Analyzing the results of test scores such as the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) and High School Assess-ment (HSA) shines the spotlight on groups of students that need

assistance, allowing educators to narrow achievement gaps and in-equalities in opportunity. Enroll-ment forms also inform school board decisions on reading, disci-plinary policies, and admissions for the gifted. The new categories may make a difference in the distributions of test scores and whether schools can be approved under the NCLB guidelines because they change the distributions of racial popula-tions. Schools that previously met the guidelines may not be able to reach the quotas necessary as a re-sult of the change in distributions of populations. MCPS will only use the new categories of race as opposed to combining both sys-tems of categories, as it is an in-creasingly diverse school system. The categories could also serve to specify exactly what populations

of students need assistance. “I think [new categoriza-tions] could be a good thing if it forces schools to really identify what they need to do in terms of instruction and helping students learn,” says Principal Bill Grego-ry. “And that’s been the shift that I’ve seen over the years, and I’ve liked it, and by increasing the cat-egories it may help me as an edu-cator become more focused on the students that I need to work with. We’re doing that anyway [at Sherwood] and we’ve been doing that for the past couple of years; really looking at kids and seeing which populations of students need which resources.” Although the differences in distributions of population per-centages have yet to be reported, the prediction by the Harvard Civil Rights Project, based on

data collected by the National Assessment of Educational Prog-ress (NAEP) in 2005, is that His-panic populations would rise sig-nificantly, leading to a decline in white and African American pop-ulations as well as fluctuations in test scores, amounting in notice-able shifts in demographics. The rise in populations would be the result of multiracial representa-tion in several categories. The categories of race in-clude American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Latino, black or African Amer-ican and white. Because students can select more than one box to represent their race, there are 63 categories that derive from com-binations from the original six. “I [don’t think picking] Asian represented both sides because I’m white and Asian … And I felt weird picking just one part of my race. I think that because I felt uncomfortable before, I started to put ‘Other’ last year and then I got used to it so I continued to put it,” says junior Rose McIntyre, whose more specific ethnicity includes Cambodian, Welsh, English and Scottish. After the information from the MCPS Race and Ethnic-ity Identification Forms has been collected, educators can monitor statistical, demographic and test data.

“We’d have to look more at the performance targets and re-vise them. I’m looking right now at some of our categories. There’s such an overlap of students that may fit into one category that we may not be able to identify exact-ly what population we really need to go after to really help.” says Gregory. Some students believe that the ability to check more than one new category will not be ben-eficial. “[Before], I just counted myself as Hispanic because that’s what I’ve grown up being; I haven’t really thought of myself any other way. That’s the culture that I’m more in touch with per-sonally and I think that’s what really matters, not skin color. I personally think that’s it’s pretty useless to have all these forms out … We really shouldn’t have anything based off of race,” says junior Randy Hoffmann, who is half Peruvian and half German. Regardless of the new racial and ethnic categories, Sherwood’s focus will be on the academic success of individual students. “I do think we need to go after the individual … We’re identifying students and if we work with the student, then other stuff is going to fit into place,” says Gregory. “Again, it’s looking at the indi-vidual. Are we perfect yet? Abso-lutely not. Are we getting there? Now that’s my goal.”

The Warrior•NewsJune 5, 20094

Staffing and Enrollment Affect Students’ Schedules

Teens Face Trouble in Job Hunt

from CLASSES, pg. 1

from JOBS, pg. 1

Of course, we expect business to pick up during the warmer days, seeing that we are an ice cream shop,” says the manager of Rita’s Ice, Jim Doll. The stores that are still hiring are being flooded with applica-tions from teens. “With this rough economy, it seems like all the kids are looking for a summer job. A few weeks ago, 40 teens showed up for the [job] audition. I only picked 10,” says John Hardi-son, manager of the popular ice cream shop Cold Stone Cream-ery, which is not cutting back on hiring workers despite the reces-sion. “Yes, we are having a bit less customers than this time last year, but it’s not that bad. We’re picking up now with the summer season rolling in. Whenever the weather heats up, we usually get a big rush of customers.” While some businesses are not losing much revenue, other lo-cal eateries are feeling the pain of this slump in the economy. “We’re hiring about the same amount of teens as last year. But, I’d say we’ve dropped about 10 percent in revenue during this recession. We’ll probably hire about 10 more teens during the summer,” says Katrina Fagan, manager of Cheeburger Cheeburger, a local fast food restaurant that regularly

employs Sherwood students. Because business is slower, employers such as Rite Aid don’t need as many teens to work the typical after-school and weekend shifts. Instead, they are retaining the more experienced workers for longer hours. Still, teens should not give up hope in finding a summer job. Other businesses in big shopping

plazas or the mall are looking to hire teenagers part-time for the summer. Also, places such as retirement homes, hospitals and non-profit organizations are always looking for volunteers. And there is always the option of unemployment. “If I don’t find a job this summer, I’ll probably just relax the summer away,” says Mucci.

Rita’s currently employs many teens; however, it prob-ably will not hire anyone new over the summer.

photo by Ben Durham ‘10

Programming, World Literature, Latin American History and His-tory of East Asia. Students who registered for these cut classes are contacted by the school about making a sched-ule change. “Counselors contact students during the year to dis-cuss changes. If it’s during the summer, we call or email. If we can’t reach anyone and if there are no fitting alternatives listed, we might have to choose something for the student. We try to choose a class similar to the one that was cut,” says Resource Counselor Constance Lee. Social studies resource teacher Joseph Sangillo empha-sizes that the administration and the heads of departments, such as himself, do not choose which classes will be offered. Instead, students control class offerings by choosing their courses. “No classes were ‘cut,’” Sang-illo clarifies. “The social studies teachers spoke to all 10th and 11th grade social studies classes about all the offerings, and heav-ily promoted African American History, History of East Asia, and Latin American History, along with all the social studies course offerings. This is why African American History will run with

33 students next year, when it did not run this year because of lack of enrollment. Not enough stu-dents signed up for Latin Ameri-can and East Asian [History].” To the question of why not have classes even if there are only a few students, Sangillo points out that there is only so much staffing to go around. “We would love to offer lots of classes, but we can-not run a class with such small enrollment numbers,” Sangillo explains. “If a teacher teaches a class with five students, then NSL, U.S. and Modern World classes would have 45 students. It’s just not possible to run small classes.” Brimfield believes that high school is a place for students to explore different avenues, but there are constraints for how many different classes can be offered. “I certainly agree that high schools should offer choice and opportu-nities for students, and we try to err on the side of inclusiveness when deciding which courses to offer,” Brimfield explains. “Un-fortunately, we are only given a specific pot of teacher allocations and we need to work within that number. So, if we have to decide between an elective, regardless of how cool it is, and a course re-quired for graduation, we have to go with the required course.”

New Grammar Competition Motivates ESOL Students

The atmosphere is tense in room C120. It’s lunch time, and a sentence on the Promethean Board reads, “To his frustration, Mr. T must teach students who have not completed their home-work and do not pay attention in class.” Two teams of separate ESOL levels II and IV have scrib-bled all over the sentence certain letters, ‘S,’ ‘V,’ ‘PP,’ underlined key phrases, pointed out punctua-tion and above the whole sentence reads the word, “Compound.” Team IV does not realize its error, but all the members of Team II raise their hands and shout, “Mistake!” Marcus Tom-pros, ESOL teacher and supervi-sor to this event, hands off the Promethean pen to sophomore Jason Chen of Team II, who cor-rectly identifies the sentence as “complex.” Cheers erupt from his fellow teammates while shouts of protest come from the oppo-site table of Team IV. Tompros checks to make sure everything in the sentence has been labeled cor-rectly before awarding Team II 14 points, making the score ESOL II: 32, ESOL IV: 12. This intense grammar com-petition started by Tompros in an attempt to reinforce his students’ understanding of English gram-mar more properly has been going on for little more than two weeks in the small room of C120, but the unexpected turnout on the part of his students indicates a need to

continue the competition at the beginning of next school year. “[The competition] gives them the motivation to learn,” says ESOL teacher Nancy Le-snick. “That’s the key to doing it.” Tompros and Lesnick did not expect many ESOL students to give up their free time at lunch in order to practice grammar—usu-ally, their students are found play-ing soccer out on the fields—but the competitive atmosphere and the chance given to each level to prove their mastery of English fu-els an intense rivalry which moti-vates students to come. “Whenever we argue, it’s funny because they become mad or we become mad, and when you win it’s like, ‘Oh yeah!’” says junior Daniela Ischiu, from the ESOL level IV side of the room.

by Jake Steiner ‘10

The team with the most points by the end of the competi-tion at the end of the year will win a party for themselves, but the competitive aspect of the game balances itself with the learning that also goes on. “We can fix each other’s mistakes and learn from it,” says Chen. “Because there is some-thing I don’t know that they know, I can learn from them.” For Tompros, one of the big-gest struggles in teaching ESOL students is to garner their interest in learning the grammar of Eng-lish. “People think it’s boring. You got to be a grammar junkie to get into grammar. [Sentences are] a sea of words [ESOL students] drown in, but once they can start indentifying subject, verbs, phrases, clauses, they can bring order to this chaos.”

ESOL students participate in a grammar competition, having fun and improving their skills at the same time.

photo by Ben Durham ‘10