Midlothian High School - Trojan Yearbook (Midlothian, VA)

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ACADEMICS The A ¢P dttttade AP CALCULUS STUDENT, TRIPP RAGLAND works a problem at the board with an enthusiastic grin. AP CLASSICS TEACHER, MRS. ROB- ERTSON prepares for her students with a look of intense concentration.

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ncorporating original and tradi- tional ideas offered students the opportunity to utilize a unique academic experience. Implemen- tation of a new grading scale caused students and teachers to make adjustments in their studying and grading. Most students felt that the grading scale helped their grades because letter grades had aten point range. The “plus” add- ed to the grade boosted students’ confidence and grade point average. Another new addi- tion to the academic life was the school day’s schedule. In order to alleviate lunch over- crowding, the administration and SCA cre- ated four lunches, permitting extra time fora study period. Despite these changes, the teachers and students continued their tradi- tional relationships. Frequently students sought teachers’ valuable help in the halls and after school, producing a mutual respect between teachers and students. Everyone took pride in being among the TRUE BLUE ORIGINALS. be EB PD er tS auth th. ADD Sty ras SLRs MO DEMAICS tiga Pn et Eee ee ihe the. Tait Be Beare J 3 ’ 5 be am + os WA Ns YE ‘a 4 » a aD PNA ang . ME GOe Ya eee - Ay Vet AR Dy tN ee Os

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MR. GRAY, TEACHER OF BOTH AP AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN HIS- TORY uses body language to make his point. AP FRENCH STUDENT, BRIAN DIL- LARD, REVIEWS HIS WORK while waiting for advice from Mrs. Jones. AP ENGLISH-12 STUDENTS, LISA HAYWARD AND CAROLINE LAM- BERTH hand in their papers to a smil- ing Mr. Hagadorn. The AP Attitude Getting a Head Start on College n light of academics, the two let- ters “AP” came to mean more than, say, ‘apple pie” or “arro- gant pig.” Advanced placement courses were introduced as pre- paratory classes for college and the AP exam. The AP exam was offered as an option for students in May, after they had nearly completed the course. If a student received a good score, usually a four or a five, some colleges would grant freshmen credits. Among AP courses offered were a three- year AP English program, 12 Honors-AP English, calculus, for- eign languages, history, chemis- try, and biology. Senior David Neale, in 12 Hon- ors-AP English taught by Mr. Ha- gadorn and AP calculus taught by Mrs. Ballard said that the major differences between honors Eng- lish and AP English were the in- creased amounts of writing and discussion. “AP courses encourage more in- dependent work and boost a stu- dent’s confidence for college,” summed up David. In Mr. Gray’s AP American his- tory class, Tommy Willis thought that the essay tests given were a lot different from the usual picky objective tests. He also comment- ed that, “more responsibility is put on the student.” Laura Denny took three AP classes, one of which was Dr. Ra- demaker’s chemistry class. Be- sides doing individual experimen- tation as opposed to working with partners, they were also responsi- ble for research outside of class. Although AP classes were gen- erally reserved for seniors and ju- niors, some sophomores took ex- ception. The school’s three-year AP English involved skipping tenth grade English and following the eleventh grade curriculum. This program gave seniors the op- portunity to expand beyond American and British literature to World literature. Scott Latta, enrolled in Miss Carrillo’s 10-AP class, said that “The focus on writing thesis papers also helps me in other classes.” Tonia San- born, a senior enrolled not only in the three-year AP English track, but also in three other AP classes, commented that, “Generally, if you do well on the AP exams, you have much more flexibility in col- lege.” Other than allowing a student to earn college credit, AP classes also prepared students for col- lege-type classes. Most students agreed with AP history and Eng- lish student, Margaret Black- burn, who said that, ““AP courses are a much-needed taste of col- lege-type curriculum.” ACADEMICS LQ) The AP Attitude