Home / News /Top Stories
.
January 13, 2012
Nishita Battula
If I was a teacher, I don’t think I would be able to give a student an F for their semester grade. I would definitely give the students who are failing plenty of warnings that their grade is in danger. Even though it should be the student’s responsibility to check their grades, I would also alert them about their progress. If the student still continues to choose not to change their study habits and behavior, then they deserve to fail.
So do teachers feel bad when they have to give a student an F for the semester? Mr. Chow, a biology teacher, says, “I don’t give them the F, they earn the F.” This is a very true statement and cannot be argued against. But I feel like any human being will feel bad after submitting an F as a semester grade for a student. This might especially happen if the student actually puts effort and tries to learn. Some of us are just bad at taking tests because of the pressure to pass. Also, some students have expectations from their parents to do well and to not fail. This adds extra tension for students, especially when they are taking important tests like finals.
Mr. Webb, an English teacher, feels the same as Mr. Chow, “I put the assignments in the grade book. They are what they are as a result.” Since grades won’t magically change, it is our responsibility as students to complete the assigned work on time and prepare in advance for tests and quizzes.
KRT LIFESTYLE STORY SLUGGED: FOODPOISON KRT PHOTOGRAPH BY JUSTIN HAYWORTH/WICHITA EAGLE (KRT113-July 30) Washing hands well with soap and water before beginning food preparation is important for cooks of any age. (WI) PL KD 1998 (Horiz) (MCT Campus)
January 12, 2012
Ilma Husain
We live in a world where everyone likes to pretend they are super hygienic. In front of our friends we do not touch dirty things such as garbage cans, we use hand sanitizers every five minutes, and we shout “ewwwww” when someone even proposes some unhygenic act. Although this is the case, the honest truth is that many people forget to perform the most basic act of sanitation — washing their hands after using the bathroom.
Washing our hands is something we have been taught even before kindergarten. It is part of a normal, daily procedure. You would think that by now people understand the importance of it, but there are still high schoolers who do not perform this simple task. Almost every time I am in the girls bathroom, I see at least one girl walk out of a stall and leave the bathroom without washing her hands. I hear the flush so I know for a fact that she was not changing or anything, but was in fact using the bathroom. I find it disturbing that people do not think it is disgusting or dangerous to not wash their hands after using the bathroom. Not only does it spread germs, but those germs can harm others. Other students can get sick because of the germs that a few careless people are spreading. Some common diseases that can be passed through such germs and bacteria are E. Coli, Giardia, and Salmonella.
To keep others and ourselves safe and healthy, it is extremely important that we do not forget what we were taught at such a young age and keep washing our hands to stop the spreading of germs and bacteria.
Photo Credit: Karina Yap
Writer Karina Yap and her significant other Christian Aquino.
November 9, 2011
Karina Yap
Do high school relationships last? For a few people, the answer would probably be “For a few months”. Most high school relationships seem to be short-lived, full of emotion and with little commitment. On the other hand, there are those serious but rare relationships that have lasted for more than a year which causes people to exclaim “You guys are still together?!” While those long-term relationships appear as if they will last forever, what will happen to them after high school?
While the idea of marrying your ‘high school sweetheart’ is an ideal, it is not very common. After graduation, teenagers enter into adulthood, have new responsibilities, and start a new chapter in their lives. What teenagers decide to do with their life after high school, whether it be college, work, the army, or anything else, couples will inevitably meet many new people, be busy with their new lives, and possibly be separated for long periods of time. You wonder where you could fit a relationship in with everything going on.
My boyfriend of more than two years and I have recently discussed our relationship after graduation a few times. We both plan to attend college after high school; after we told each other where we were applying, I realized that hardly any of our choices were close to each other. Luckily, the farthest distance between our colleges is within a 2 hour radius. Because I have never experienced a long distance relationship, I know it will take some time getting used to living miles away from my boyfriend. But for now, we’re enjoying the last few months of high school together while hoping for the best and working out things in the future.
.
October 4, 2011
Alex Rich
School Resource Officer (SRO) Robyn Berlin, along with the administration, held assemblies about enforcing the dress code and electronic policies on Sept. 9 through 14.
The assemblies were age specific, with one day per class and mostly involved Berlin and Assistant Principal Lance Miller informing students about punishable offenses. Since it’s Berlin’s second year at WHS, she felt she needed to do something this year to get studentsmore aware of consequences.
The school board recommended consequences, as stated in the husky planner, ranges from a dress change to expulsion, including a
possible referral to the SRO.
“There’s no new enforcement,” Miller said. “We just took the time to explain the rules.”
Among the rules the assembly addressed was the school dress code. According to Campus Supervisor Kathy Fetz, in recent years since dress code rules
prevented wearing hats or the colors red and blue, fights on campus have dropped significantly.
“It’s good to have rules, and it’s good to enforce them. It keeps things running smooth,” Fetz said.
Berlin mentioned during the assemblies that blue or red shoelaces are violations of the dress code policy, as well as the rule that hats are not to be worn inside of class, but may be worn outside of class as long as they are school colors. To some, these rules aren’t as important.
“If a kid is doing well in my class, I don’t see why I need to bug him or her about a hat,” Teri Hu, a teacher in the English Department, said.
Dress code has always been a large source of debate at WHS, both among staff and students.
“It keeps things orderly, and it keeps students focused on school,” government and economics teacher Mike Soltau said. “Hats in class are just disrespectful.”
Though the dress code policy was the main idea of the assemblies, the electronics policy will also be enforced in the same manner. If electronics are not surrendered to a teacher, students may be arrested, Berlin stated at the assemblies. The administration hopes raising awareness will prevent future violations.
This article originally appeared in the print edition of the Hatchet on October 4, 2011.
January 25, 2011
Avnish C. Patel
Artist Profile on Mario Rappa, class of 2011. He is currently starring in Starstruck Theatre’s Annie as cabinet-member Harold Ickes.
A Breathalyzer used to test for alcohol consumption
December 17, 2010
Avnish C. Patel
This previous Saturday, December 11, Washington High School had its Winter Ball. Despite the festivities enjoyed by the attendees, the sentiment of the occasion was slightly disturbed by some students possible experimentation with drugs. During sixth period the previous day, Assistant Principal Sean Moffatt made an announcement over the intercom regarding the dance. Apparently information was made available that certain individuals would be attending the dance under the influence of drugs, so the administration warned that they would be testing for illegal substances.
The main concern of the administration is the safety of the students and faculty of the school. A safe environment is conducive to education, the reason why students are in school. Because of the tip that certain students might come to the dance after experimenting with drugs, the administration took the initiative to warn the student body against this. The warning was meant to serve as a deterrent and Mr. Moffatt felt that it served its purpose, as at the dance, he did not get the sense that anything was out of the ordinary as the throngs of dance-goers passed by him at the door. Because of the lack of signs of drug use, no tests had to be administered and the deterrent seemed to work.
Now it seems sad that these individuals who wished to attend the dance “high” would choose drugs. Is it so difficult to enjoy the dance for what it is, a dance? Why are drugs deemed necessary to have a good time? This, unfortunately, is another textbook example of a few individuals making questionable choices and spoiling it for the rest of us, who are just trying to have some good clean fun.
In our generation, drugs seem accessible and almost overt in our everyday lives. We see celebrities in rehab for various addictions and the overall detrimental effects of drugs. However, some still choose the instant gratification of a “high” over the possible long term consequences. Granted a drug like marijuana is lauded as a medicine, but all drugs have their side effects that can drive students into dangerous and compromising situations. In the midst of a dance, with loud music and a crowd, any number of issues can be exacerbated by being under the influence. In effect, drugs taken by any person puts their life in danger as well as the safety of the countless with whom they interact. Mr.Moffatt echoed this sentiment when he affirmed, “If you’re taking drugs, you’re a danger to yourself…School is not a place for those kinds of things.”
It is immediately obvious that it is difficult to eradicate the problem from any one place, as the problem is ubiquitous. Drugs are everywhere and available to those who want them badly enough. However, the drug issue does test the moral discipline and soundness of mind of modern youth… a test they will surely fail if not in their right mind.
.
June 26, 2009
Washington’s 450 graduates of the Class of 2009 received diplomas on June 19.
Photo by Paolo Bonaccorsi
