This includes weightlifting and physical education as well, the main area that students are complaining about. Ryan Stephens, a senior, who thinks that “it is just a waste of time to write a prompt in P.E. but then again I know that our school
has a good reasoning behind doing this.” An example of a prompt to discuss this would be writing paper about the health of running in P.E. or a paper on obesity.

After meeting with Mrs. Day on Writing across the Curriculum, she shed some light on why this addition is going to help the students at school. She says that the goal of the new curriculum is to “produce better writers and better writers are also better thinkers, and good writers also have better standardized test scores.” One of the hopes is that we’ll see the effects of the program in North Augusta’s SAT and ACT scores.

Why now though? Why this year? Starting next year all schools will be using a Federal Curriculum and all schools will have the same core standards in the United States.  North Augusta High will adopt this curriculum and so to start off early and get students in the habit, this is where the writing portion will come into place.

Adam Parlor, a junior, thinks that writing across the curriculum will be “a good start to help students improve standardized test scores, and I know I am definitely in that category of needed improvement.”

So where is the Freshmen Academy going to be located? The good news is North Augusta has already designated an area for the academy inside the high school, so there’s no need for seniors and juniors to fret about whose parking lot will be replaced with a giant circus tent. The designated area will be set for all the classrooms on the cafeteria side of 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd hall.

“The freshmen will also have their own set of teachers”, says Mr. Bornscheuer, “The goal is to give the teachers a chance to connect with the students”. Teachers will be able to work as a team while they focus on each individual student to assist them with problems, weaknesses, and the goals they are striving for.

Mr. Bornscheuer speaks from experience. Before coming to North Augusta High School, he was influential in assisting to create a Freshmen Academy as Principal of Silver Bluff High School. Silver Bluff’s Freshmen Academy was the first within Aiken County Public Schools. At NAHS, some teachers have already volunteered to teach. Mr. Bornscheuer confirms that the academy will still offer the Honors Program, and the freshmen can still have the electives that are placed in other parts of the school. The academy will also have a separate administrator and guidance councilor. There is no doubt that Mr. Bornscheuer has planted high hopes on how this will give freshmen a strong start in high school.

Mrs. Carrick, a guidance councilor at North Augusta, also relays her high hopes to parents stating confidently, “I can’t think of why any parent wouldn’t want this for their children”. It’s one of the most important years for high school students. All most all administrators agree that the freshmen year has a major impact on whether an individual student will graduate.

So are there any negatives to the Freshmen Academy? It’s possible some upcoming freshmen may not be in favor of it, but it will give them a benefit they won’t regret. For upperclassmen, it will only be sad to know that witnessing the humorous scene of a senior giving a freshman direction to the swimming pool on top of them gym will now become less frequent. Until the School Board Meeting on the 24^th, the Freshmen Academy is only a proposed program, but plans have been made to make sure that once the school is given a go, they will be able to have the academy ready for next year.

If upcoming freshmen or their parent guardians would like to learn more about this benefit, they can attend the 2012 Freshman Expo on February 13^th. It will be put on by the NAHS Transition Team and the school’s Guidance Department. Besides the opportunity to learn about the Freshmen Academy, there will also be opportunities to get flyers and learn from students about clubs.

For updates on the results from the school board meeting, check this article after the 24th.

From separate auditions for elementary, middle and high school, students from each school will be chosen to perform in the show.

There will be many talents performed for the show. Talents are categorized into vocal, instrumental, and dance. One talent that stands out from the rest is reciting poetry. Senior Kwashane Robinson says that he plans to recite poetry as his talent. “I’m not going to say the name of it yet, I want it to be a surprise.” Robinson so far is the only poet auditioning for the show. This is his first year auditioning.

For junior Mary Tabor, this is not her first year and doesn’t plan on being her last. “This is my eighth year doing NA Idol, I’m not nervous.”  Tabor is going to dance to “Waiting on the World to Change” by John Mayer.

Talents are limited to three minutes and during the auditions the finalist will be timed. If you are a finalist and your performance goes over the limit you will be asked to shorten your performance. Not all performances can be summed down to  three minutes and still be polished and superlative. The three minute rule is to give other performers a chance to perform.

Another performer, Alexandria Allen, who is a senior, also plans on singing a song for the idol show. This will be her second year in performing but she is still a little nervous. She plans to sing  ‘All I Could Do is Cry’ by Etta James.

The first audition will be in January and another in February. The show will be March 20th.

Even so, some students have been breaking school code and eating in the hallways, dropping food crumbs or even leaving opened bags in the hallway that contain food. As a result, the school had bugs and roaches. Pest control got irritated with having to come out and exterminate them so frequently, so Mr. B contacted A&A Vending, the vending company that is in charge of the vending machines, to see if there was anything he could do to resolve the issue. A&A told Mr. B about the timers, and he decided to install them to reduce the problem.

Since the timers have been enacted, the vending machines no longer accept money except for during lunch hours (11:05-12:30). If a student puts in a dollar ten seconds before the machine cuts off and doesn’t make their selection before the machine cuts off, it will “steal” the money and someone else will be able to use the dollar once it resumes the next day, according to an A&A Vending informant. “It irritates me when they won’t take my money,” said freshman Kumar Reynaldo. For those students with health issues, like diabetes, Mr. B’s advice is go to the nurse’s office and get a snack from there since the nurses have food for the specific purpose.

The vending machines also caused a problem after school with the bus area.  All the students are trying to get into the lunchroom so that they can hear when their bus is called, but when you have students standing in line in front of the vending machines, pushing and shoving occurs and could potentially cause a fight.

These timers help to enforce the school policy of ”no food or drink in the building.”  If a student can only buy food during their lunches than they have to eat the food in the lunchroom where there are proper trash receptacles and janitorial staff to effectively clean the areas in order to reduce any problems with pests.

Earthquakes are instant and unpredictable. Getting to a safe place can be very difficult when everything is moving and shaking.  However,  it can help to know how to react, even if drills don’t contain the realistic element of surprise. Will Myers believes, “Students would be shocked if there was a earthquake because no one takes the possibility of an earthquake serious.”  Amelia Carter reinforces this by asking, “Wait, do you evacuate in that one?”

Everyone should always evacuate in a real earthquake after shaking has ceased because aftershocks often cause the collapse of structures damaged in the initial shock.

Structures are built to withstand vertical loads. Most causes of structural failure in an earthquake are because of the lateral forces that displace the supports. North Augusta High School is fortunately well built to withstand most minor earthquakes. It has a light metal deck roof diaphragm which distributes lateral loads to the columns and reinforced masonry shear walls. The columns and shear walls then distribute that to the foundation.

During the event of an earthquake, people should stay clear of the things that are likely to collapse first. This includes windows, potentially dangerous furniture, and facades. The facade is especially dangerous because when it collapses it’s likely to be fatal to any victim in its way. Students and faculty should not try to run outside before the shaking has stopped in order to avoid this danger.

Experts are constantly debating on the “safest” procedure during an earthquake, but this is hard because it depends on too many factors to have an exact solution. The most commonly recommend theory is to “drop, duck, cover, and hold on.” Dropping should be easy, and ducking should be human instinct. However, it can become more difficult on the subject of “cover”. The student desks at North Augusta High can’t withstand the impact of many of the likely falling objects that would be present in a major earthquake.   If there isn’t anything sturdy nearby to cover with, interior walls, metal door frames, and squatting next to sturdy objects that could block things like beams, can also provide protection.

In any case of an earthquake, staying calm is important and can make for better decisions.

Coming of age, many cannot wait to drive. It gives everyone a sense of freedom and independence. Some know exactly what they want, down to the style of lug nuts, and others simply take what they can get.

For those in the market, there is an uncountable amount of car databases, all designed for selling, trading, and buying cars. Newspaper ads still exist, but this is the 21^st century… get a computer. Autotrader.com and Cars.com are great resources for finding vehicles all over the country. You’ll find a huge selection of whatever you’re looking for that can easily be narrowed down depending on price, color, or model. The downfall to these great sites is that it cost money to list vehicles on them, thus dealers make up a large portion of the sellers on these large internet car-searching engines.

Craigslist is a well-known large source of buying and selling traffic in general, and you might find what you’re looking for as long as you don’t mind staring at a computer screen for a couple hours. For the best deals, try smaller listing sites such as Mautofied.com. Listings are free here, luring many people who “don’t need help selling their car.” Selection here won’t be large, but if you’re on a budget and aren’t too specific, this would be your best bet.

Looking to sell your car? Same things apply as above. Depending on your ride, you will need to gear your ad to a specific audience. For those with a relatively stock ride, things such as the newspaper and online databases are great. Just be sure to use your money wisely with the paid listings, and always make a creative ad; create something that would set your car apart. Because cars often get generalized and grouped on major sites, the searcher will be looking for the one with the best price, so price it low enough to keep it catchy, yet high enough to keep a little negotiating room.

NADA.com and Kelly Blue Book (kbb.com) are great ways to find the value of your car or truck; these sights will give you the typical trade in value, and resale value. These are the numbers you are going to want to price around when selling. Always try selling yourself before considering to trade to a dealer because they will always give the low-ball offer on your car. Don’t be offended by their little emotion when it comes to your car. They run a business, and it naturally is their job to make money off of you. They will give you less money for your car than what it is worth so that they can turn around and sell it at a competitive price, while still making enough money to “pay the bills”.

So what happens when you find the car you want? Or you have a buyer for your car? Though Ebay uses PayPal, it isn’t flawless. Never buy a car without inspecting it yourself, or having a close friend do it (in instances when you find a truck in Texas, and you’re in Florida). Always be sure to check for a title, and a Carfax report. A title is issued when a car is purchased, and travels with the car. Today you will find few owners with a “title in hand”, meaning that the owner of the vehicle can literally hold the title in his hand. The reason so few are like this is because few buy their cars outright. In the land of “buy today, pay tomorrow….if I feel like it”, problems have resulted in the simple buying, selling, and trading of cars. When financed, the bank will hold the title until the owner has paid the debt off. Transferring titles while the bank is still in custody can prove to be a headache, so be sure the owner has the title before pursuing a purchase.

Same goes for anyone selling a car. I don’t advise trying to sell a car you still owe money on. Trying to own the newest thing can turn into owing the bank more money than your car is even worth, a situation that is often referred to as being “upside down”.

The other important document to keep an eye on is the car’s Vehicle History Report. Often referred to as a Carfax, it is a document the keeps track of all entries against a vehicle, using its Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). Purchase dates, service records, and wrecks can be spotted on these. Keep a close eye out for damages and repairs. For example, a car may have been in a bad wreck, causing frame damage. This would weaken the structure of the vehicle and make it unsafe to operate.  The vehicle would be given a “Salvaged” title if it were considered totaled. Avoid “Rebuilt” titles also because they’re rarely legal. These would suggest that the vehicle was in a severe wreck and had been fixed to the minimalist point of functionality. Many would use a truck with this label, for example as a farm vehicle, simply for moving trailers and hauling things off main roads.

When all things line up, the most common thing to do is carry a cashier’s check with you to purchase. A cashier’s check would be like carrying a bill worth whatever amount it was filled out for. It freezes your bank account to ensure that that amount of money will be there when the seller goes to deposit it, and the money is transferred. Sellers have become weary of accepting these recently due to attempts at fraud. No, not making fake cashiers checks, but by taking their money back before it can get deposited. A cashier’s check takes up to 3 whole business days to completely transfer. If you’re the seller, I caution you, especially when dealing with out-of-town guests. They may try to give you a cashier’s check, in which case you would give them the car. They make off with the car and you go to the bank to deposit it. All is good until 2 days later when your bank is calling, saying the funds were not transferred. You’d find yourself with no money, and no car. You would have to file for a stolen car report, which 2 days out gives little chance of recovery.Which brings me to two points: 1) Though it may not be the safest thing, but dealing in cash, in person, is the easiest thing to do. 2) Never send a title with the new owner of your car. Always mail the title to their address a few business days later to protect yourself.

With technology and fraud ever growing, selling and/or buying a car is never as easy as it seems. It is a long process, and one should always do their research beforehand. Nothing is more sickening than finding your hard earned money stolen. Always use good judgment and common sense to avoid scams. The best car buying/selling experience is up to you.

The White Knoll game was the second of two football games the band missed for competition, the first being the Northwestern game which was followed by the Midland Valley Competition the next day. Fortunately, the Jacket Regiment was able to secure first place in that competition. Senior and Drum Major Gareth Calk says “While the band does regret not being able to make it to all of the football games, preparation for competition necessary for the band’s success is something the Jacket Regiment can’t skip out on.”

Senior Nathan Leopard agrees and says “I can speak for the entire Jacket Regiment in saying that we love our football team and our student section very much, but just like with every competitive event, the Jackets want to win. Receiving support from the student body is what makes success in competitions possible.”

Two weekends ago, on October 22, the band competed in the Lower State Competition where they placed sixth. While this finish, as Freshman Julie Meyers describes it, “was not quite what the Jacket Regiment was hoping for,” they had a chance to tweak their show in order to be ready for State the following weekend. Julie continued, “the band [had]to practice hard to get the show perfect by next weekend for State competition.”

Only the top six placing bands at mid-state were eligible to advance to state competition, so the hopeful Regiment did enough to qualify for the big competition, and had no where to go but up. On October 29th, the Jacket Regiment traveled to Spring Valley High School to compete in State Competition. Thirteen AAAA high schools from all over the state of South Carolina came to compete, and our Regiment finished in tenth place receiving a superior rating, an accomplishment that members of our student body (band or non-band) should applaud.

It’s Spooky to Be Hungry began in 1992 in Rochester, MN. The CSRA was one of the first communities to embrace it, and the food drive has taken place annually in October ever since. The CSRA program has seen unprecedented growth; what started as a few people striving to make a difference has exploded into a ten county, 3000-volunteer effort. The 2010 project raised $57,000 and nearly 125,000 pounds of food for Golden Harvest Food Bank, which translates to over 320,000 meals.  Amazing numbers, and senior Zach Richardson says that “the community is getting more involved and I think that this year’s statistics will be even better.”

The program runs through the entire month of October, and donations are collected in a number of ways. Most obvious to students are the large cardboard cylinders that sit outside the front office for a few weeks  each year. Several teachers and school organizations encourage students to bring in cans: for example, Mrs. Gambill gives extra credit and Beta Club counts ten cans as a service project. For students who want to take a more hands-on approach, each neighborhood runs a door-to-door collection the Saturday morning before Halloween. These drives are always looking for volunteers.  Senior Nathan Leopard was one such volunteer, saying “”My mom actually got me into it, and first I wasn’t too thrilled. However, once I did it I really enjoyed it, and it feels really good to get food for people who may not be able to afford it.”

As another Halloween comes and goes, have fun and get scared. But remember the truly frightening circumstances some people live in daily, and do what you can to help them. Take a moment in between haunted houses and costume parties to participate in something like Spooky to Be Hungry. Help make Halloween a little less scary for those in need.

Casper's got nothing on Spooky's friendly mascot. (Image is registered to Spooky to Be Hungry).

Final statistics for the 2011 drive will be posted here in a few days.

Just recently in South Carolina,  Superintendent of Education Dr. Mick Zais, asked for 36 million dollars to replace out-of-date textbooks in his budget for 2012.  However, he believes this is the last time the state will purchase printed textbooks.  Plans to move South Carolina education to e-books are already underway.  Of course, the state has to wait for textbook companies to get their materials online, and students would have to be supplied with some form of a tablet-type computer, but Zais is devoted to promoting the movement with lawmakers and schools all over.  The benefits of e-books are a growing market.

Traditional books are costly to print, and can only be updated by buying new books.  They are not environmentally friendly given the many trees needed for their mass production.  They require time to be distributed and collected, plus they need a safe storage to collect dust during the summers.  Even more important, textbooks are bulky and heavy, over taking lockers, weighing down book bags, and leading to serious back problems for some students.  Jammed in one’s book bag, they can effectively knockdown a fellow classmate in the mad rush to avoid getting swept between classes.

Daniel Pippen had a lot to say on the matter: “By using e-books, the educational system would be taking a progressive step forward into incorporating technology into schools; this e-book system could be developed further and could have many modifications on a program which will ultimately enhance our learning curriculum”.

But wouldn’t it be expensive to supply every student with some sort of tablet-like computer?  When compared to the cost of each textbook and its replacements, book publishers say no in the long term.  However issues of durability,  drops and spills, software bugs, and battery life would need to be further addressed.

Daniel continued his thoughts with similar concerns.  He said, “Let’s say the school supplies the e-books, these are much more prone to breaking than a textbook and the student should not be held as responsible for its care compared to a textbook. E-books could also be unreliable if there is a malfunction of some sort or if it does break, this would leave the unfortunate student without his books for days until it could be replaced.”

Still, e-book devices can hold hundreds of pieces of printed material.  Downloading updates is easy, as is taking notes and highlighting information.    They certainly would weigh less and would be easier to use on the small desks in the classrooms.   The electronic device can even read the material to the student who doesn’t enjoy reading.

Jacob Phillips sums it up well, “E-books would be a good source of education and could help kids move on with a new, computerized generation that I personally believe we are about to enter into.”

As a devout Apple customer, I had a tough past week. Yes, last Tuesday Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S and I watched the video with my jaw dropped in awe of what my favorite company was doing. The newest technology involved–including an 8 megapixel camera, Siri voice command and many other features–blew me away and I cursed myself for not waiting another few weeks to update to the iPhone 4S rather than the 4 that I got a month and a half prior to this release (however, I do love my iPhone 4 and I’d highly recommend it to anyone!). Despite the new technology, all the features and apps in the world couldn’t have prepared me for what came on Wednesday evening: Apple announced the passing of co-founder and former CEO, Steve Jobs.

Jobs had health issues for many years, ultimately suffering from pancreatic cancer. He took three extended leaves of absence before finally resigning as his position of CEO on August 25. Current CEO Tim Cook replaced him.

For the past two years or so, I’ve aspired to have the slightest resemblance of a career that Jobs did. Coming from absolutely nothing (seriously, he was an adopted college drop-out), he transformed the known technological world and then some. He co-founded the company Apple alongside Steve Wozniak, briefly served as CEO of Pixar after breaking it off of a graphics branch at Lucasfilms, and even had a place on Disney’s board of directors, but Jobs ultimately had his focus on Apple. Unveiling the first Apple II desktop in the late 1970s, he continued to pave the way for technological success for many, many years to come.

So what does this mean for Apple now? After being on top for so long under Steve Jobs’s reins, where does the company go? On October 6, about 17 hours after learning that Jobs passed away, I saw a tweet claiming that Jobs left blueprints for the next four years of Apple technology (check out the article here). So yes, Apple may be down, but Jobs made sure they wouldn’t be out.

Whether you’re a Mac or a PC, no one can doubt the size of the footprint that Jobs left on technology. Even President Obama commented that “The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than that much of the world learned about his passing on a device he invented.” Senior Jennifer Grimm also stated, “I own more Windows products. However, from a business standpoint it’s amazing how he was able to expand that company the way he did in just a few short years to be a technological leader across the world.”

I’m still waiting for my iPhone to update its software so I can see what Apple has in store for me (not to mention the other millions of users who are anxious to update their iPhones, iPod touches and iPads as well!), and I’m excited. Yes, Jobs is gone and it’s terrifically sad, but I have faith in Apple as they readjust and conquer. Perhaps you’re reading this on the screen of a MacBook or an iMac, or even an iPad or iPhone. You probably own an iPod and if all else fails, you’re probably using a mouse. Perchance you’re the most anti-Apple advocate there is (although I doubt you would make it through this article if you were such a person) and you’re laughing at me as I proclaim my faith in a company that you scoff at (again, I doubt you would have read the entire thing), but either way Steve left us with wonderful advice a few months before his death. He tweeted on February 24, “Innovation distinguishes between a tweeter and a follower.” We know which one Jobs was; perhaps he’s inspired you to be the next person to rock the known technological world.