North Rowan High School - Northern Lights Yearbook (Spencer, NC)

Page 135 text:

Keeping accurate and complete records for ap- proximately 600 students, it seems as if Mrs. Austin's work as S.I.M.S. coordinator is never done. Photo by A. Kluttz Perplexed, Cassandra Aldrich tries to decipher her new computer printout report card. Despite the fact that the S.l.M.S. machine makes the report card process somewhat more convenient for teachers, students' personal printouts are difficult to under- stand at first and are missing the old-fashion per- sonal touch of teachers. Photo by C. Watkins . 'fir 151-lm, V .W , N - ': 'N' ,U V N - V' ,Mi-1.1.9, V i , .. -V AQ H Ion-,,,,,,W f .Vg , .V I ' V- . . I '-AH fx 5. S gs 11. L Saving much time and needed energy by using Scan-Tron tests, Mrs. Burgin grades exams in min- utes rather than in hours. Photo by J.Plummer Computerized X 131

Page 134 text:

Control by computer. Mr. Thonen fills in the little dots on a role sheet that indicate the presence of students. Photo by A. Starnes it 4 uuhle Eguhhle Until 31121 Trouble omputers were designed for effi- ciency and time-saving. But occa- sionally, even using the new, state-of-the- art methods seemed tiring and tedious for teachers and for students. One of the main t'gruoes of using com- puter systems was the monotony of filling in the thousands of tiny bubbles used on Scan-Tron and S.l.M.S. machine sheets. Another disadvantage is, as Nicole Cor- pening stated, lf you don'thave a pencil then you can't take your test on Scan- Tron. The advantage of speed, however, seemed to outweigh all other disadvant- ages. I use Scan-Tron only for exams because it is faster. The disadvantage is you really don't know what the students learned, commented Mrs. Morris, a sci- 130 l Computerized ence teacher. The S.l.M.S. tStudent information Man- agement systeml machine also served as a great time-saver. This computer pro- gram was used to process attendance, grades, and student schedules. Mrs. Austin, S.l.M.S. Coordinator, added, Information on individual students or groups of students can be reported and totaled in minutes compared to the hours that were sometimes necessary the old way. Although rather impersonal, computers saved much needed time for the faculty. As a result, the time-consuming personal touches of yesteryear have been traded for futuristic efficiency and speed. Krista Hicks wg ibn No fear of dots here. Cool and man takes a Scan-Tron test in Fashion ing. Photo by B. Puckett Daryl

Page 136 text:

Getting all the parts to fit, newspaper staffers John Workman, Laura Wetmore, Chad Cook, and Deborah Jones try to get the headlines, stories and pictures together for the first issue. Photo by J. Plummer. ln order to make the Cavalier more interesting, Johnny Loftin shoots pictures for the paper. Photo by B. Koontz. 40- , ' v V 'J . Q . mite Qlaflzxlier From enthusiasm, frustration and deadlines, to print! ccording to Emerson, t'Nothing can be achieved without enthusi- asm, so the enthusiastic Cavalier staff achieved a great deal. Staffers overcame the frustration of mental blocks and the pressure of deadlines to produce four issues of the newspaper. In addition to more students with a greater willingness to work hard, the staff added cartoonist Tim Batten. As Laura Wetmore, editor-in-chief commented, Even though there are more people on the staff this year, we work together well and expect to publish the best papers ever. In the past, many students ignored the Cavalier, but this year things were antici- 132 l Newspaper Staff pated to look up. The student body doesn't view the newspaper as an impor- tant medium of communication. llook for- ward to trying to change this perception of our newspaper by producing an in- formative and well-structured paper, - said advisor Mrs. Jean Kennedy. Not only was the newspaper a source of entertainment and information for the student body, it also served as a way of preparing for future jobs, as Carlotta Chambers expressed, Being on the newspaper staff has given me betterin- sight into my future career in journalism. The enthusiasm and effort helped the Cavalier staff achieve a better publication. Regina Perry Sw