Overland High School - Trail Yearbook (Aurora, CO)

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A169621- .,,5J, 4400100 L K,t. O IJ 51 Melissa Mizer Copy: Katie Simpson Layout : Katie Simpson CONCENTRATION IS A key to perfection. Jr. Ke- vin Shive takes a break from his academic classes as he works on a picture for Photography One class. KICK BACK AND study! Sr. Matt Gibbs finds a quiet place to work. The three new study centers at- tracted many students, although few actually studied in them. Study skins

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6 C on't ask me about studying, I cram!,' said Jr. Beth Schinn. Unfortunately, this was what many students were guilty of before a test. Mrs. Patty Wisner, as well as teaching in the business area, taught the study skills and notetaking class. Mrs. Wisner had one tip for students: The biggest mistake on the students' part is not studying each sub- ject regularly. Staying up-to-date will help avoid crammingf' Other than cramming, study techniques used by different students may not have helped their grades, but they were interest- ing. Jr. Danielle Armstrong said, When I study, I turn on my radio, kick back in my sweat pants and T-shirt, grab a coke, and review my materials. Jr. Stephanie Wheeler preferred another way of studying. She said, If I do study, I might study in the bathtub at home. On the other hand, Jr. Marcus Robinson had a different approach to studying altogether. I usually don't study for tests. If I know it, I know it. If I don't, I don,t. Athough most people surveyed were tak- ing an accelerated English class, they still mentioned science classes as one of the most difficult classes to study for. Soph. Jenni Martik said, Biology is impossible to study for! I mean, who wants to know how amoebas reproduce?! Soph. Tae-hui Kim tudying Takes Some -- Skill -- CONSTRUCTIVE USE OF time helps Sr. David Fair finish his work. Many students found the library a nice place to study during - lunch periods. said, Usually chemistry takes the most time to study for. It seems like I understand the material, but some test questions re- quire the application of the material. So, I need to practice, and understand the mate- rial, rather than memorizing it. Terry Kotta OVERHEADS DOMINATE THE list of teaching techniques at Overland. Fr. Jeremy Eynetich is mes- morized by the math work being demonstrated on the overhead. 8 6 Academics l SPANISH THREE STUDENTS spend time trans- lating into English. Soph. Stacey Fox, Fr. Angie Choi, Soph. Sherry Yim, and Sr. Josan Kunst work indepen- dently during class. Taking tests was something most people dreaded. All of the studying done, came down to that moment. Some types of tests were easier to take than others. Jr. Lisa Herckner said, If I had to chose one type of test I liked most, it is multiple choice. The answer is right in front of you, and you don't have to go pulling some answer out of the bluef' Although many people agreed with this, some preferred essay tests. Tae-hui said, I like essay tests most of all. Even though they take more time and thinking, it doesn't require as much memorization as true-false or multiple choice where there's only one answer. Studying was something many students put off until the last possible moment. This had some drastic effects on students' grades. Keeping current with daily assign- ments was one technique for accomplishing good grades. I am always astounded how students can have an assignment three weeks in advance and not start it until the night before it is due, said English teacher Kathy Daly. Another concept that would benefit stu- dents was to learn how to learn. Social Studies teacher Jim Bond's philosophy about teaching explained this best: Give me a fish, and I'll eat for a day. Teach me to fish, and I'll eat for a lifetime. I v rim - Kurt Tsumurxi 3

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ombing Cherry Creek, dissecting cats, watching chemical reactions, and listening to foreign language tapes. These were only a few of the labs that students were involoved with. Labs were an important part of most sei- ence classes. The best lab was when we dropped a bomb on Cherry Creek from a moving plane. You had to judge where the bomb would land. We blew the roof off of Creek, said physics student Sr. David Brooks. Labs like this one involving a mock-up of CCHS allowed students to experience and understand what their teacher had been lec- turing them on for days as well as being a nice change from the usual classwork and monotonous lectures. I liked the DNA lab the best. It taught me what I needed to know, and it really helped me to understand what was happening much better, said Fr. Chessa Contiguglia. While science students were testing the laws of physics, examining DNA mole- cules, dissecting animals, and mixing chemicals, the foreign language classes lis- tened to language tapes in the language lab. The foreign language classes went to the language labs at least twice a month. Lis- tening to actual native speakers of the lan- guage helped most students develop their speaking and listening skills. I believe that Mike Martin CONCENTRATING ON OPERATING his micro- scope, Soph. Jeremy Dupont focuses on the slide of cells. The purpose of the lab was to observe mitosis of cells. 8 8 Academics Mike Martin aving Fun Bombing -'-Creek- FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDENTS Sophs. Summer Rosenoffand Michelle Skrine listen intently as they try to understand the speaker on the tape. the lab helps me become more familiar with the actual spoken language. It just isn't busy work, it's a challenge to try to under- stand when they speak so quicklyf' said Jr. Tor Aarestad. The lab also helped some students with their homework. When we go to the lab, it's good to be able to speak the language while doing the exercises. It makes homework more meaningful, ex- plained Jr. Eric Woodward. Students' feelings towards labs were var- ied. Some students despised having labs while others liked them. I hate the lan- guage labs because the speakers on the tapes talk too fast to understand, and I don't seem to learn anything, said Sr. Sharla Bond. I like labs because you can actually see the different physics laws working, and you are able to understand the concepts betterf, said physics student Jr. Patty Wei. Then there were some stu- dents who both liked and disliked labs. Labs are fun and interesting, but I hate to do the write ups, said David. Teachers tried to pick labs that would help their students understand the main concepts of each lesson. Students seem to like labs that are quick and spectacular. They most dislike ones that involve a lot of math, said Dr. Richard Anderson. Teach- ers seemed to prefer the same labs as the students. I like to see them working with material they enjoy and can succeed with, said French teacher Mrs. Bobbie Stamper. The majority of the labs were enjoyed by both students and teachers alike. Labs were still an essential element of the school's educational curriculum. Tom Kccfc BRICK POWERED CARS? Srs. Jon Stemper and quired to build cars which were solely based on brick Geoff Murphy help Sr. Mike Johnson test his car. As power. Each class also competed with the Industrial an extra credit assignment, physics students were re- Arts classes, who also had the same project.