Jefferson High School - Jeffersonian Yearbook (Alexandria, VA)

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Team members sharpen wits The Enghsh Team is hosted every Friday dur- ing IMPACT in room 230 by Joan Lawson. The team is one of the only freshman teams, and is called “The Frustrated Frosh.” The team usually numbers between 4 to 6 people, be- cause of irregular mem- bers which showed up now and then. Six people are the maximum number of people allowed to take the test. The tests involve vocabulary, reading, antonyms, synonyms, and the like. The tests were given about 3 to 4 times a year, and each test spans over several IMPACT periods, for a total of over an hour. Students discuss publishable drafts in small groups. Eun Koo Kim not writing. ‘Response’ Ability and English When the School for Science and Technology opened, many people asked whether this spe- cialized school would have an English program. The answer was yes, but the program would not be a basic course. In the average ninth grade class, the students study grammar, litera- ture, and composition. In the high-tech English class, the main focus was on the reading, writing, and the learning processes. Some of the activities throughout the year in- cluded: finding out what kind of personality the students had; studying cognitive modeling; writ- Akhil Khanna writing. ing publishable products (some of which were even sent to publishers) keep- ing journals; reading books to present to the class and write papers about; studying various types of literature; and most of all, writing responses to every activity done, whether it was big or small. These activities and more kept the students busy during their English classes. These classes may have been different from those of another high school, but in general the students liked the break from the monotonous subjects of a normal English program. 19

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IMPACT: Six Letters That Spell Concern Each Monday, during ninth period, the Science and Tech freshmen attend their IMPACT classes. IM- PACT is designed to make students aware of special activities taking place in the school such as fundraisers, workshops, and career planning assis- tance. It also provides an opportunity for the school’s band, chorus, and orchestra to perform in assemblies. Each IMPACT class sends its own 18 representative to the Student Government. IMPACT class doubles as a special class where teachers and students can communicate about com- mon problems such as stress, grades, and achieving goals. Members of the guidance staff add to this by visiting and talking with IMPACT classes. Students get a break from the classroom for a special IMPACT activity. Brian Lieberman shows us his time management techniques.

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Publications: Print on a Roll Ninth period is here and I’m making my way to Room 240 to a yearbook meeting. As I get closer, Deborah Smyth’s voice drifts out the door and down the hall. ‘‘Don’t touch that! What are you gibronies doing?!” I walk in and see that she’s got some poor kid with a terri- fied look on his face cornered, again. Smyth has spotted me. She ceases to yell at the other kid and comes, over, grabs me by the ear, and screams, “Go away!” I sit down with a sheet of 20 yearbook layout and begin to work. Looking up from my work, I see the newspaper staff huddled in the far corner of the room arguing over last minute photos and quotes. Meanwhile, the entire newsletter staff is milling around the computers watching one person complete a layout. Despite the chaos, slow- ly but surely things are being done. When Smyth thinks I’m not looking, I see her smile as she surveys the activity in the room. Deborah Smyth: ‘‘Nodding is good!!” Robin Michener works on layouts. Yearbook Staff Aims to Please In the beginning, over fifty students were eager to contribute to the first yearbook at Science and Tech. However, by the end of the year that number had dwindled to about ten. Being the only publi- caton where final results are not seen weekly or monthly, sometimes it was hard to stay on task and keep slowly churning out results. To the staff it seemed as if the only time anyone would worry about “how is the yearbook com- ing?” would be at the end of the year if it was not completed. One talent gained from being a member on the staff was the ability to with-stand constant change, both major and minor. As soon as things had been going smoothly for a reasonable period of time, it would only be a matter of minutes until you would hear: “I lost that copy for spread twenty-twenty one” or “The picture file is gone, there is a drink spilled all over that layout sheet, and the company representa- tive is coming in five minutes.’’ The entire yearbook theme was even changed a few months after work was begun, in addition to losing valuable staff to sports. Despite the problems, with a hard-working staff and a constantly slaving advisor, ten freshmen and a senior editor added up to another successful publi- cation from the School for Science and Technology.