Midlothian High School - Trojan Yearbook (Midlothian, VA)

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“Language Honor Societies add a sense of enjoyment and a strong feeling of prestige to the academic environment.” —Tommy Hesbach “It’s a great way to meet friends and be bilingual. I wish I was in one.” —Robbie Lanham “Tt just adds to the phenomenal amount of diversity in our society. It lets everyone know they are spe- clalea —KHric Costello ‘““A mi me gusta. Es muy divertido. (translation: I like it. It’s fun).” —KEddie Cho “The Language Honor Societies are great because every member deserves to be a member. Plus Ed- die Cho is a member!”’ —Dave Neale 10 ACADEMICS séusther Aouor

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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

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STEPHEN LYONS AND LISA HAYWARD PREPARE the “Bouche de Noel,” a delicious French dessert, for the French Honor Society party. TINA MAILO, PRESIDENT OF THE SPANISH HONOR SOCIETY, CO- ORDINATES THE CLUB’S ACTIVI- TIES with sponsor Mrs. Myers. ae ae ‘= — é ute a Another Honor Language Societies or academically eager foreign lan- guage students, a French, Ger- man, and Spanish club, as well as the National and Junior Honor societies were not enough. This year marked the second year of French, German, Spanish, and Latin Honor societies. The strict requirements for admission made getting into these clubs a true honor. All clubs were nationally affiliated and had charters as well. With the existence of the larger and more active general clubs, the honor societies tended to have a limited number of activities. The French Honor Society held a Christmas party where host and club president Stephen Lyons served his guests authentic French food, and the usage of English was definite “faux pas.” Increased use of the language was a main objective of all three Hon- or Societies. Tina Mailo, presi- dent of the Spanish Honor Soci- ety commented, “Just having reg- ular meetings has been excellent for development in the language.” The Spanish Honor Society also went to La Siesta to share in au- thentic Mexican cuisine. Like the National and Junior Honor Soci- eties, induction was the chief ac- tivity for all three clubs, “Getting in is definitely an honor,’ German president Jill Cartwright claimed. The Honor Societies had a big ad- vantage over most other clubs that bound them together. All the members of the honor societies had class together fifth period in their respective language, except French, which had members in fifth and sixth periods. With new opportunities for language exper- iences, members of the French, Spanish, and German Honor So- cieties expanded their cultural horizons. SPEAKING FLUENT GERMAN, HONOR SOCIETY MEMBERS Jus- tine Essig and Jill Cartwright discuss future plans. ACADEMICS st ncther Kouor a) i Gs