Editorial: Grading Scale

For those of you who have always wanted to live on an island, congratulations, you’ve made it! Alexandria is now completely isolated from the rest of Northern Virginia. Of course, instead of getting the benefits of tropical living, we get the “benefit” of an alternative grading scale, one in which an A is 94 or above and passing is at least a 64. Fairfax County School officials recently voted unanimously to switch from the scale currently employed in ACPS to the 10-point scale in which a 90 is an A. FCS will be joining Arlington and Montgomery county on the new scale. The move cuts Alexandria off from the rest of Northern Virginia, and could potentially hurt students’ chances of getting into the college of their choice. Read more

TC’s Grading Scale

100-90, an A; 89-80 is a B; a C is 79-70; D is 69-60 and 59 and below is an F. The normal grading scale for most high schools, in fact most institutions of education, is easily recognizable.  At TC, however, the scale of grading is much higher than the norm, 100-94 = A, 93-90 = B+, 89-84 = B, 83-80 = C+, 79-74 = C, 73-70 = D+, 69-64 = D, and 63 & below is an F.

Some may say that the higher scale of grading speaks to T.C.’s higher expectations of its students and its strong intent to produce students of a higher caliber. However, these speculations are met with the thoughts of those who are experiencing it personally, namely, the students. Read more

Letter to the Editor: Skate Club

Dear Editor:

There is a big problem in our school. The problem is that there are too many students hanging around the building after school. Most of the students who stay around are students who love to skate. They skate in the drive-way where parents pull up to pick up their children. And this is very dangerous because they may get hit by one of the cars.

A great way to solve this problem is by making skating a sport at our school. This activity is really fun and a good way for students to stay active. Skating is also really easy; the tricks may be a little hard but with practice it will be easy. For this activity we will need some ramps and all of the equipment such as skates, knee pads, etc. We can all raise money to help those who can’t afford the equipment by having fund raisers.

This would be a good activity because it keeps students busy and away from bad things. Because skating is a really active sport, it can keep the students in shape. Lastly because there are so many students who love to skate, this will be a popular activity. These are some of the many reasons why I think skating should become a sport or activity at T.C. Williams. I hope to hear from you soon.

Very truly yours,

Analia Ayala

Letter to the Editor: College Club

Dear Sir: 

I would like to give you a suggestion to kindly add a club as an activity for the students in this school. The name of the club will be The College Club and it will encourage students to find colleges which will best suit them. The College Club will also be advantage for students in many other ways as it will provide them with an effective and comfortable platform from which they can think about their future programs. 

The College Club will provide students with a chance to visit different colleges and discover interesting things about those colleges. Also it will allow students to apply for colleges they personally like before their graduation so as soon as the student is graduated, he will not have to wait and will join the college of his choice for further studies. The College Club will also help the students in many other college related activities such as applying for scholarships. This will help them and their parents from financial point of view.   

I am sure that every student in our school will like The College Club and be very interested in it. The College Club should be the part of our school because it has countless advantages for students. I will be very grateful if you pay some attention towards my suggestion. 
 

Sincerely,

Adil Raja.

Letter to the Editor: Dealing with Drop-Out Rates

Dear Editor: 
 

Have you noticed the large number of seniors who have dropped out of high school? According to a posting on the website Menstuff for December 12, 2008; nationally about 70% of U.S. high school students graduate on time with a regular diploma. For Hispanic and African Americans, the proportion drops to about half.  Our school is probably not an exception to these numbers. I want to start a program to reduce the number of seniors dropping out and not attending college after high school.  

This program will focus on helping and encouraging high school seniors to stay in school and apply to different colleges according to their desired career choices. It will also help students prepare for a life after high school, whether or not they decide to continue their studies. The officials in the program will help students boost their self esteem by helping them with their educational skills. Some of the activities that will be provided are: preparing personal statements, resumes, college applications, financial aid, and scholarship information. 

To get this program started, I think we should first announce this on Blackboard and/or send individual e-mails to students who are struggling with school work at the moment. Once the administration has completed that, we should plan a meeting with the students, volunteers, and teachers and figure out what days and what time of day is most convenient for them. I have a group of teachers and volunteers who are ready to begin the program and have no interest in being compensated for their work. We should start this program at the end of junior year, so that the upcoming seniors will be prepared earlier in the year. This way they wouldn’t get stressed out through the whole year and leave certain things for the end of the year. I hope you consider this program for our school. It’s not a choice of whether we should have this program or not. We need this program for the sake of these young people who just need a little push to get started. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day and reading this. 

Sincerely,  
 
 

Angelina Membreno

Letter to the Editor: More Badminton

 

Dear Editor:

                   I have seen many teenagers who have a talent to play any kind of sport and they are physically fit. But they don’t get the chance to prove themselves in the school. They keep roaming around in the afternoons and create disturbance in the neighborhood as well as trying to create disturbance in the traffic too by joking around on the road. We have different clubs in the school, but they don’t have enough space for them in order to prove their abilities. We have a solution for those students who have the ability to participate in the activities but cannot because there is no enough space for them. This will also be helpful for those who cannot achieve credits in their studies. Those who want to go to a good college can also use this opportunity because they can be selected on the basis of their sport . 

      The sport which I would like to introduce is badminton. No one has ever thought about this sport but I think it would be helpful to the students instead of roaming around and to represent their techniques in the sport. The students have been seen fighting around and they were loosing the team spirit. This sport will create a sense of team spirit in the students and they will learn to compete to achieve similar goals. By doing this they will be able to work as a team. This sport is spreading around the world but we don’t have any team for this sport in order to participate in the tournaments. This club will also organize the instructional classes in which the players will be taught how to serve, rally, drop shots, back hand shot, fore hand shot, smash shot and deep shots. We have some teachers who have played badminton as a profession and they can teach the rules and regulations of the game and the changes made in the rules. This sport will create a discipline in the students as they will be taught in a disciplined environment and if someone fails to maintain discipline, he/she will be referred for detention. This will force them to maintain discipline and they will show off as disciplined students while they would be away from the school and the club.    

      We want to open this club as soon as possible. So for this purpose, the inauguration of this club will be held in the auxiliary gym by the principal. The principal will address the present students of the club and the people attending the inauguration. After that one of our teachers will address the people with a power point presentation to brief the importance of the club. We will be glad if you join this inauguration and say some words so that the students and the people may know your feelings about this club. 

Very truly yours, 
 

Aamir Zia Rabbani.

Letter to the Editor: Communication

Dear Editor: 

I want to add to T.C. Williams High School a class for communication skills. Our students don’t know the proper way to have a conversation with others in the real world. They are not prepared when they leave T.C Williams High School. It’s really important that they have good speaking skills because often the only difference between you and the other person going for the same job is communication skills. There are thousands of people that are applying to jobs just like you. 

The speech class will show students how to interact with other people. Students will learn how to hold a conversation with others, not just friends. They will learn better business speaking methods, vocabulary and word use. They will learn how to communicate during interviews and how to respond to the answers interviewers are asking during the fifteen to thirty minutes of interrogation. This class will have daily activities. One example is every day someone will talk to a business person; this will teach students not to be scared of talking with adults working in the community. 

The speech class will be an elective. These classes can start as early as this summer. The speech course will help our students in the future. Everybody really should want these classes at T.C. Williams High School. If the business speech courses are added, T.C. Williams will be known for giving students a lead start on entering the job market.  

Sincerely, 

      Abane Issa Daher

Letter to the Editor: Badminton

Dear Editor: 

T. C. William High School is incomplete because it is missing a sport called Badminton. “We are not interested in all these sports at school, there is nothing special or different about them,” they say. Hearing this made me realize that something has to be put into consideration and done about before some of the students’ lives end up in danger.

Many students are wasting their time engaging in unproductive or harmful activities after school. I talked to some of these students and they suggested that if Badminton was a sport at school, they would participate in the sport rather than engage in bad activities.  

According to the “Fun Facts about Badminton” which I read on December 10, 2008 it is a creative, fun, and team effort sport. It is one of the world’s fastest racket sports, requiring quick reflexes and superb conditioning. It is also a highly aerobic sport which can be played throughout one’s lifetime.  In a typical two-game match, a player runs approximately one mile. Badminton can be played as men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. 

If badminton is added to the school plan, I will have students sign up and come to practice before tryouts will be carried out. To make it on the team, students will have to display enthusiasm, determination, and discipline for the sport. They will be able to play as a team with their fellow members and respect each other. Time, punctuality, and practice is a must. Awards, medals, and certificates will be awarded to the outstanding team mates. 

Very truly yours, 

nabutono.irene. 

Irene Nabutono.

Letter to the Editor: Step Team

Dear Editor:

I am writing you to inform you about an activity that I am willing to sponsor. The activity is a T.C. Williams Step Team. I feel that our students should be able to express themselves through stepping because it relieves a lot of stress, and I feel that the students will enjoy having a step team. This activity will be open to all those who want to join. This is an opportunity for students to do something for their school and have fun at the same time.

Stepping involves stomping, clapping, moving and yelling, and as we know yelling relieves a lot of anger, It even soothes some people. It also involves participation and effort in order to be successful in stepping. Students who have nothing to do after school will be able to have an activity or something productive.

The stepping program will bring forth healthy competition and it will also bring publicity to our school. Please start this activity soon.

Sincerely,

Shanikqua Carter

Contest: Act Out the Real Story

            The Alexandria Campaign on Adolescent Pregnancy (ACAP) is asking for youths between the ages of 12 and 19 to make a video that shows the truths of teen pregnancy and the issues that go along with it.  The Undiscovered Reality digital video contest will offer a grand prize of $500, a second place prize of $250, and a third place prize of $100.  All of the winning videos will be recognized at the ACAP community breakfast on April 1.  Entries are due for submission March 1.  Rules and entry forms can be found at www.alexgetreal.com.  You can also contact Becky Griesse at 703-746-5030 or Rebecca.griesse@alexandriava.gov for more information or to enter the contest.

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