What do teachers have to say about merit pay? Well, Mr. Gill thinks, “Under current circumstances, I’m afraid that much of the basics for merit pay would come from standardized test scores. I think standardized test scores are not the best indication of how successful the teacher is in the classroom.”

If the state mandates that students take the standardized tests to measure the success of their teachers, they would not only have to take the tests at the end of the year, but also at the beginning of the year. This way the state can see which teachers are teaching the best. Mr. Gill later said, “I have quite literally had students come up to me years and years later and tell me that I have changed their life. So does that mean I have to wait years and years to get a raise?”

Senora McKnight said, “Merit pay has the potential to cause resentment among teachers, and in my honest opinion resentment among teachers is never the best way to go.”

Mrs. Davis believes, “Everything depends on the method that they use to determine who gets merit pay. It can create better teachers or the ‘gifting’ of grades.”

Mr. B thinks, “If merit pay can be created in a way that it is pay for actual performance, then it’s a good idea. However, it is going to be very difficult to come up in a fair way to award merit pay.”

It seems most teachers are against it because there seems to be no fair way to determine who gets merit pay, but what do students think of merit pay?

“I don’t feel like it’s a good idea. Teachers are going to start giving grades. It’s no longer going to be about the academics,” feels senior Ryan Hughes.

Freshman Beritanica Mathis disagrees, “I think that merit pay is right and fairly even. Teachers should be paid on how well they teach.”

Freshman Marlene Martinez however disagrees, “I think it’s not fair because some students don’t give a crap about their grades.”

Who is right though?

Merit pay enables the state to get federal grants.   The grants would be in turn used to pay the teachers more. In Columbia, SC, they will receive $47 million in federal funding to reward teachers and principals. This would benefit every county if all counties recieved part of the federal grants. This could be a good thing, “If it is implemented in the proper way, it could benefit both the teachers and the students,” said Mr. Gill.

But it could also be a bad thing, “this won’t necessarily be fair to the teachers,” said freshman Brian Mere. Or this could actually not affect North Augusta High very much, “There is already a good group of teachers here at North Augusta, and if done in the proper way, merit pay can be the icing on the cake,” adds Mr. Hudson.

If “Battle of the Bands” is unfamiliar to you, it is a school function that let’s anyone under 21 get a band together and compete for some cash and the title of being a BOTB winner. Each band can perform any mix of songs whether covers or originals. Also, they only have around fifteen to twenty minutes of playing time.

This year, there are four bands that have signed up so far. The first band is “I.D. Check” with senior Jackson Redd (lead vocalist, guitarist), junior Carson Faulkner (guitarist), 2010 graduate Kris Hodges (bassist), and sophomore Nick Moore (drummer).

The second band is “Simple Truth” with sophomore Arianna Williams (vocalist), freshman Nick Barrs (guitarist), junior Matthew Mollo (guitarist), junior Will Harley (bassist), and sophomore Mack Yates (drummer).

The third band is “Rose’s Last Novel”. The only student in this band that went to NAHS is Jade Williamson who graduated in ’09. She is the band’s vocalist and guitarist. Kelsey Hornback thinks, “Jade Williamson and her band are going to be sick.”

The final band signed up for Battle of the Bands includes junior Gareth Calk (vocalist, guitarist), Fox Creek junior Dane Adams (guitarist), senior Bear Shuford (bassist), and USC Aiken freshman Justin Benson (drummer).

These are the four bands signed up to compete. However, there is also going to be a rap group performing. “Atta Reality” is senior Garrett Carrier and senior Daniel Reese’s rap group.

“We shall rock this planet ‘til it cracks from awesomeness”, Kris Hodges from “I.D. Check” predicts. Come to the auditorium February 19th at 6:00 PM to find out which band will have the fans rocking and which bands will have the audience rolling.

These are a few of the million concerns that seniors are stressed with at this time of year. College-bound seniors have many things to do early in the school year to prepare for the future. Most have already applied to colleges, many have already narrowed the list and visited the ones they are interested in, but others have not even thought about college yet.

This crash course on local colleges is for you late bloomers. If you haven’t decided where to apply, or maybe if you’re just now looking, follow this small guide to big opportunities. This doesn’t include all the local colleges or universities, covering all of them would take me until we graduated, and then it wouldn’t be of help to anybody. I hope this crash course in college will help you in your choices for the future.

So this is how this college crash course works. This crash-course guide is going to be broken down college-by-college or university, including all the major points of interest. There are 5 major categories in selecting a college: price, location, size, majors, and student life. *Price will be in-state (assuming that all students at North Augusta are from South Carolina) and will include all tuition, fees, books, and housing, etc for one year, or two semesters. These are in no particular order of importance, one may matter more to you than me. These are however, how most college searches categorize your interests. I will also include other important information as we go along. So let’s get started.

Clemson University
Price: $20,320
Estimated personal expenses: $6,378

Clemson Tiger Paw Photo Credit: Raycomsports/blog

Location: Clemson, SC
2 hours and 23 minutes from North Augusta, SC
Size: Total Enrollment-19,111
Freshman-3,386
Men-1,803
Women-1,583
Majors: Clemson has 80 undergraduate majors. The most popular include- Engineering, Bioengineering, Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Nursing, Business, Food Science, Parks and Recreation, and many others.
Student Life: Clemson has a very wide range of student activities. Football is a big deal at Clemson University. Their mascot is the tiger and the school colors are orange and purple. Clemson has a rush week for sororities and fraternities, intramural sports, and 50 or more clubs.
Application Deadlines: December 31 for early notification; May 1 for final admissions for fall 2011

University of South Carolina
Price: $17,850
Estimated personal expenses vary
Location: Columbia, SC
1 hour and 14 minutes from North Augusta, SC

Carolina's Logo Photo Credit: Sportsapparelsuperstore.com

Size: Total Enrollment-27,488
Majors: More than 350 degree programs; this includes International Business, Nursing, Business, Sports Management, Psychology, Natural Resources, Communications, Veterinarian Sciences, Environmental Sciences and many others.
Student Life: USC is an “urban living” campus in downtown Columbia, SC. USC has a huge football stadium (Williams Brice Stadium) and their mascot is the Gamecock. The campus life is also the city life for USC students, with classes spread out across our state capitol. USC is known for it’s weekend parties, especially during football season. Carolina has many sororities and fraternities as well as 300 student activity organizations on campus.
Application Deadlines: October 15 for early notification; December 1 for priority applications

University of South Carolina-Aiken
Price: $15,159
Personal expenses vary
Location: Aiken, SC
No more than 25 minutes from North Augusta, SC
Size: 3,203
Majors: USCA offers more than 30 programs of study and has many majors and minors to choose from. USCA offers Pre-Pharmacy classes, Nursing, Business, Communications, Health Science and many others.

USCA Pacers logo. Photo Credit: Peachbelt. com

Student Life: Unlike the previous schools, USCA does not have a football team. They do have 13 competitive NCAA teams that include soccer, softball, and baseball. Basketball is a popular sport, competing in the Peach Belt Conference. Their mascot is the Pacer. USCA does offer sororities and fraternities as wel l as a newspaper staff and other student run organizations.

Coastal Carolina
Price: $13,320
Location: Conway, SC
No more than 4 hours from North Augusta
Size: 8,400 undergraduate students; 44 percent freshmen
Majors: Coastal Carolina does not offer the same bachelor degrees as other four-year colleges. For example, they offer Pre-Nursing, instead of a full Nursing Degree. This also goes for Pre-Law, Pre-Engineering, and Pre-Medicine. They do, however, offer other degrees such as Elementary Education, Physics, Biology, Chemistry and others.

Coastal's logo-Yes, thatsa bird, a Chanticleer. PC: Happyhourvalley.com

Student Life: We’ve all heard: Coastal Carolina is a renowned “party school.” However, coastal is not just a party school. They have many oppurtunities for students. They have a Student Government Club, fraternities and sororities and many other clubs, such as Psychology Club, Pre-Health Fratenities, History Club, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Deadline for Application: December 1st for priority acceptance.

Winthrop
Price: $15,577
Location: Rock Hill, SC
2 hours 45 mins from North Augusta
Size:6,241 undergraduate students; 1060 freshmen
Majors: Winthrop has 80 undergraduate degree programs, including: Accounting, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Business Education, Performing Arts, Arts, Athletic Training, and Early Education, just to mention a few.

The beautiful Winthrop campus. Photo credit:campusshot@oldwingspan.com

Student Life: Wihthrop offers more than 180 clubs and student organizations on campus and off. They also offer intramural sports and compete in NCAA Division 1 sports. Winthrop also has 18 fraternities and sororities. Their mascot is the eagle and their colors are garnet and gold. Winthrop is a great academic establishment, a beautiful place to live and learn and it’s 15 minutes from Carowinds; what more could you ask for?
Application Deadlines: December 1 for priority acceptance

University of Georgia
Price: $ 37,496
Location: Athens, GA
No more than 2 hours and 30 minutes
Size: 26,142 undergraduate students
Majors: Georgia offers 22 baccalaureate degrees in 140 different fields. The proffesional degrees include law, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine.

The UGA dog. Photo credit: wisd.com

Student Life: Georgia offers about 600 registered student organizations, including 35 social fraternities and 23 social sororities. Athens is always jam-packed with Bull”dawg” fans during football season. UGA is big on football, and the mascot is an actual dog, “UGA”. U.S. News & World Report’s 2010 “Best Colleges” edition has UGA tied for 21st among national public research universities. Kiplinger’s Magazine ranks UGA 4th in its 2008 list of the “100 Best Values in Public Colleges.” And recently, Georgia was ranked #1 in party schools in the nation, yes the whole NATION!

Augusta State University
Price: $2,004.00 (does not include housing; Augusta State does not offer on-campus housing)
Location: Augusta, Georgia
15 to 25 minutes from North Augusta
Size: information was not availiable, but Augusta State is considered a small school, no bigger than USCA or Aiken Technical College.
Majors: Augusta State is big in Arts. If you’re not into artsy stuff, they also offer: Chemistry, Physics, Physics/Mathematics, Art, Performance, Music Education, Music, History, Communications, English, French, Spanish, Political Science, Sociology, Social Work, Criminal Justice, Accounting, Finance, Management, Management Information Systems, Marketing, Interrelated Special Education and more.

Augusta State's Logo Photo Credit:gacolleges.com

Student Life: Augusta State is also big on basketball. The Jaguar’s basketball team competes in the Peach-Belt Conference, along with USCA. The Augusta State golf team is also very esteemed. Clubs and activities, sure! They have over 100 student run clubs and committees. Augusta State students can also find plenty to do when class isn’t in, Augusta is a hot spot for parties, club scenes, the Masters, and restaurants.

Aiken Technical College
Price: $ $1853.00 (this is full time 15 or more credit hours)
Location: Aiken(Graniteville), SC
15 minutes from North Augusta
Size: information is not availiable, but Aiken Tech is smaller than USCA.
Majors: Aiken Tech offers technical degrees, duh. They offer associate degrees, certificate programs, and diplomas in applied sciences. Majors included are: Nursing, Welding, Radiology, Basic Business, Business Managment, Accounting, Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and many more.

Aiken Technical College. Photo Credit:aikenproperties.com

Student Life: Aiken Tech is most known for it’s killer softball team. They also have a men’s basketball team.  Aiken is a great little town to be a student in too. There is plenty to do. Aiken Tech does not have fraternities or sororities, but does have a few student-run clubs and organizations.

So, that’s a lot of information.  College is a huge decision in your life, and can affect you in so many ways.  I hope this information either helped you narrow your search or helped you decide where you’re going to go.  Another tip for choosing college, make a pros and cons list and decide what is most important to you.  Seeing it layed out in two categories will help you decide.  Goodluck!

If you dislike or are completely opposed to the current grading system, you are in good company. Many feel that the current system is inadequate, but unfortunately, there is no better solution to the problem.

Senior Maura Jackson agreed that the grading system was poor, but felt “that though [the grading system] needs major work, there is really nothing better to replace it with that could test our knowledge of things in school.”

Even though you may not agree with the current system, you must still learn to overcome it. There are even ways that you can use grading to your advantage! There are many tips that can help you to do better in school and improve your grades. However, the most important tip is to never give up. If you give up, you truly deserve the failing grade.

When you struggle the most with grades is when you should be seeking the most help, not giving up. Regardless of how you are doing, there are always ways to improve. It is your job to never give up so you can continue to seek these ways out.

The first step to making better grades is to pay attention in class. There is no way to avoid this. If you don’t listen in class, you will miss important information that you will surely be tested on. Even if you feel you know the information already, continue listening. Your teacher may throw some extra facts in that you didn’t know and the book didn’t have. Also, if a teacher notices that you are not paying attention in class, he/she will be less inclined to help you when you ask for help or for ways to get better grades.

Next, make sure that you dedicate some amount of time each night to studying and doing homework. For students who work, play sports, or have many extracurricular activities, this can often be a difficult task. Regardless, find some time to squeeze this in. If you feel that you are overbooked, try to look at your schedule and see when you can fit some study time in. This may be on the bus to a game, in between club meetings, or even right before or after school. You somehow need to make sure you get your assignments done and you understand the material before you enter for class. Macie Whatley, a junior, expressed “it is very important to get all your homework done. It helps you understand what you are doing in class and prepares you for the test. I am very busy in the fall, but I find time to get all my work done while we ride the bus to away tennis matches.”

If you find that you are still struggling to manage time and complete all your school assignments, prioritize what comes first. After all, much of high school is about learning to make tough decisions. Should you study for that big math test, or should you finish that last minute English project? Before you answer questions like this, ask yourself which is more important. If you are struggling much more in one subject than another, it only makes since to first study for the one you need assistance in. If you find that you must make a compromise between two subjects, decide which one is the priority and dedicate the most time to that class. If the question is about completing different assignments for one class, it may be helpful to look at the grading breakdown for the class. For example, if homework assignments and tests both count for 50 percent of your grade, it is important that you complete all your homework so you can have a buffer for your test grade. However, if the test grade is 80 percent and homework is 20 percent, you should put much more of your efforts into studying for tests. Take a look at this information of your classes to gauge where you need to be focusing.

Finally, make sure you take advantages of the resources available to you. At North Augusta High School, there are many opportunities that students can take advantage of if they are struggling. Several clubs offer tutoring, and many of the departments now offer tutoring on certain days as well. Find out what services are available that will help you and make plans to attend. If you are having trouble in a class, the best remedy is free help. Also, you can ask your teacher if she would be able to help you with a concept some time during the day. Don’t ever be afraid to ask, for the worst they can say is “no.” Most teachers would be glad to see you take the initiative to do better in their class. Rajan Amin, a senior, agrees that “teachers are the first person you should go to if you need help. Whenever I get confused in class, I just go before or after school and ask my teacher to help, and they are always glad to do it.”

Making good grades is certainly an obtainable task. However, finding the time to dedicate to preparing for class and doing assignments makes this very difficult. Ensure that, regardless how bad your grades are, you never give up. Always persevere and continue to look for methods to pull up your grades. This may involve sacrifices on your part, but compromising these for better grades may be much more rewarding in the long run. Good luck on your quest for better grades!

However, high school might not pose such an adjustment issue to most. Math, science, history, and English, while more difficult, are pretty straight-forward and based in a routine that goes back nine years before coming here.

However, a new student’s glimpse at a senior’s schedule might elicit a stammering, monosyllabic response of ignorance; to wit, “Huh?”

Honestly, with such ambiguous course titles like “Service Learning,” “Teacher Cadet,” and “Theory of Knowledge,” can you even expect an upperclassman to understand the purpose of these alternative electives? Before you resign yourself to this lack of knowledge (or decide to apply for a class without knowing what you will be required to do for it), take a gander at the explanations below.

Teacher Cadet
Starting with the most straightforward, the Teacher Cadet class, taught by Mrs. Butts, is a course aimed to prepare seniors for a prospective career in teaching. Current seniors may recall teacher cadets visiting their homerooms three years ago to aid in high school adjustment. While this practice stopped after that year, cadets still receive experience in dealing with younger students by participating in elementary or middle school shadowing. In addition, teacher cadets learn educational theory. Grace Manci, senior and current teacher cadet, explained the style of the class. “It’s taught mainly in lecture form, so it doesn’t get boring. We also have class discussions. So far we have learned about child psychology and high and low self-esteem.”

The students in the class are graded less on traditional tests and quizzes than on application of educational concepts through projects like creating children’s books and reporting on lessons during their school-shadowing. In return for their efforts, the teacher cadets may receive college credit.

There are other benefits to the class. Another teacher cadet, Jon Leverett, said that the class is beneficial “because it helps you learn how to relate knowledge to other people, and it gives you the opportunity to share your opinions and views.” He went on to say that the class’s training aspect extends beyond teaching. “I enjoy working with kids, and the class can help me when I interact with them at church as a youth leader.”

While this year saw the change from having one period of the class to having two, the group of students selected for it is still exclusive. Jon explained that “(the application process) did require teacher recommendations, and the application consisted of writing an essay about an influential teacher or why you wanted to become a teacher yourself.”

Service Learning
The second ambiguous class on our list is Service Learning, a twelve-student fourth-period class focused on serving both North Augusta High School and the community at large. Taught by Mrs. Oswald in the business department, it is inextricably linked with the Future Business Leaders of America, as every member of the class is an FBLA Chapter Officer. However, its work extends beyond that.

Jennifer Price explained its basic functions as: “Basically, if anybody needs anything, we try to help them out.” She also mentioned that the class provides an opportunity for the students to learn how to apply their personal abilities in a business context. “Those who are gifted with computers make fliers, PowerPoint presentations, and brochures for organizations that need them. Those of us with really good people skills go out into the community and help with social events like the Business Expo or a Chamber Convention. We learn how to work with what we’ve got and how to make the best out of every service job.”

The grades in Service Learning are similar to those in Teacher Cadet, as they are based more in participation than in academic examinations like tests. In addition to action during class-time, the students are graded on their reflections (written essays about their efforts during the class and how it has affected them as people) and community service.

While Jennifer admits that Service Learning involves a lot of time-consuming assignments and service projects, ultimately she recommends that anyone attempt to become involved in it. “With networking becoming such a big emphasis in our society these days, I would really recommend people getting involved with this class, as they can meet so many (business-related) people who will help them out later in life.” In addition, the class helps build necessary business skills. “In Service Learning, we are able to compromise and work more efficiently by using our unique abilities to get the job done. It’s not easy since we’re all so different in our ways of thinking sometimes, but it really does get us ready for the business world since compromise has to be second nature there.”

Theory of Knowledge
The final ambiguously-titled class is Theory of Knowledge, taught by Mrs. Creamer to three elite International Baccalaureate candidate students: Re’ven Smalls, Chloe Phillips, and Emeka Okafor. This class is the most difficult to describe because it is so comprehensive.

Chloe Phillips said that includes, “the different areas of knowledge: history, science, the arts, and a lot of others. We take different knowledge issues, present about them, and have group discussions.” One of the most well-tread concepts in the class is the review of logic and ethics, including “Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle.”

By far the most academic of these unique courses, Chloe concedes that the class can be difficult at times, with written papers and oral presentations comprising most of the grading process. However, she supports it, saying “The most fun things about the class are the discussions. You can truly express how you feel and link your feeling to the subject matter.”

Sadly, with the demise of the IB Program, this class is likely reaching its end. However, the other courses are open to future participation by underclassmen. With their strict application processes and requirements, it is important to master the basic subjects before you delve into senior ambiguity.

"This has been my first couple of days at this school. This school is smaller than my middle school. The people seem nice though." Shyrone Bash, 9th

"So far it’s been the same as last year, it’s hard to tell if I’m going to like this year better." Saman Behzadian, 10th

"I didn’t like the scheduling, they have me in 3 study halls." Ashley Cannon, 12th

"It’s been busy, I’ve had to do lots of homework and studying. There was less of that last year." Katelin Cornell, 12th

"It’s been alright, but I don’t like the new cell phone rules." Roger Freeman, 10th

"I’m less busy because I have fewer classes." Shelby Fuller, 12th

"This year has been much easier because I have more study halls." Courtney Kocher, 11th

"This year has gone extremely well compared to last year. This year I have a girlfriend and really great teachers. Last year was bad because my dad died so my grades dropped." Casey Nichols, 11th