Clypian South Salem High School - 1910 Church St. SE Salem, OR 97302 Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019 - Volume LXVI, Issue I Clypian.com
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1 Mini Issue 1
Summer Homework Causes Stress
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Amelia Smith/Content and Opinion Editor
very summer, students at South, enrolled in certain IB or Pre-IB classes, are expected to do summer homework. Teachers use summer homework to help students keep their minds active and to minimize how much they forget over the summer. It is also used to help students get ahead on topics that will be covered in the following school year. Although, in theory, summer homework is a good idea, the stress and the timing surrounding it could be detrimental to a student’s performance during the school year. Long summer breaks can definitely be damaging to a student’s learning process. Many students will forget material taught the year before, meaning that teachers must spend more time reviewing material at the beginning of each school year. This decline is shown through what Harris Cooper, chairman of the department of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, wrote about summer homework for The New York Times saying that “...I conducted a review of 39 studies, and it confirmed that, on average, achievement test scores declined between spring and fall…” This idea is challenged later in the same article by Nancy Kalish, the co-author of The Case Against Homework: How Homework Is Hurting Our Children and What We Can Do About It, who wrote that “...if a child can’t regain his grasp
of fractions with a brief review, maybe those skills weren’t taught well enough in the first place. Doing a mountain of math sheets without a teacher’s help — and perhaps incorrectly — is not the answer.” Summer homework can also add unneeded stress to students during their break and it can lower students’ motivation to do homework during the rest of the year. In fact, when asked whether they believed summer homework is helpful for students or not, several said that it is not. “...the point of summer homework... is to keep your mind stimulated throughout the summer so you don’t ‘lose progress’ on your learning… although this doesn’t work out because most students will just wait until the last minute to do the homework therefore the point of summer is rendered useless and makes the idea of school also less exciting because you have to do school work on your break,” Nicholas Himler ‘20 said. Having homework over the summer can also take away from a student’s other opportunities to practice valuable life skills, like having responsibility through a summer job, being physically active and working on their social skills. “[Summer homework] is not beneficial at all, we need real breaks,” Charlotte Torgerson ‘21 said.
Proper Mindset is Key to Student Success
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Sept 4
Katy Morris/Feature Editor
he 2019-2020 school year is upon us. The three months of sunshine and freedom are gone and the clouds of rain and responsibilities hang over us once again. This upcoming school year may seem daunting at times but with a proper mindset anything is possible. One of the most important things to having a successful school year is to have a positive outlook on the year. If the majority of thoughts are negative then it is harder to be motivated and do the best possible work. Positive thoughts about difficult situations may make them seem a little easier. In order to lessen the stress of school work, being prepared for classes is really helpful. Have all the necessary materials for classes: notebooks, pencils, pens, highlighters; anything that will make notes clearer and easier to follow. If teachers ask for something specific to their class it is important to try to get it as soon as possible to make life a little easier. Getting organized is really important. Starting the year off unorganized will only add to the stress of starting school again. Buy notebooks and folders for each class or organize school work with a binder. A planner is also a really good way to stay organized. Homework, due dates and test dates are all things that can be simply forgotten, but a planner is a good way to assure you remember them. Another part of being organized is having good time man-
agement. Allot time towards each homework assignment or project so you can complete them in a timely fashion. Within time management falls procrastination. This is something that everyone is guilty of, but it is never helpful, and only causes more stress and lower quality work. Teenagers tend to stay up late and dread those early morning alarms. Beginning the day tired and irritable is not a good way to start the year. Getting adequate amounts of sleep is extremely important. So, make sure to go to bed earlier than usual so waking up is not as hard, especially during the first couple weeks of school. Everyone remembers what it was like to be a freshman or a new kid to the school, so remember that a little kindness can go a long way. Whether that is helping someone find their way to class, inviting someone to sit at lunch, or even a simple hello; the Saxon way is to make everyone feel included and welcome in our school. The most important thing you can do to prepare for the upcoming school year is to be who you want to be. Do not spend time worrying about what others think because there will always be people who disapprove. Coming back to school is scary for everyone, newbies to seasoned pros, but preparing for a rewarding year can lead to success.
Sept 4
Mini Issue 1 2
Varsity Sports Schedules
Wednesday, Sept. 4
Saturday, Sept. 7
6:30 pm- Girls Soccer vs. Sheldon, away
9:00 am- Girls Waterpolo vs. Mountainview, home 10:00 am- Cross Country Invitational at Bush Park 10:00 am- Boys Waterpolo vs. Mountainview, home
Thursday, Sept. 5 6:30 pm- Girls Volleyball vs. Summit, home 7:00 pm- Boys Soccer vs. Newberg, away Friday, Sept. 6 5:00 pm- Girls Soccer vs. Mountainside, home 7:00 pm- Football vs. Newberg, away
Monday, Sept. 9 7:00 pm- Boys soccer vs. South Eugene, home Tuesday, Sept. 10 6:30 pm- Girls Volleyball vs. Sprague, away
Dress Code, Schedule Get a Makeover
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Claire Graham/News Editor
n preparation for the 2019-20 school year, two major changes were announced by South staff and the Salem-Keizer School District. After pressure from student activists, Salem-Keizer Public Schools released a revised dress code, in early August. Additionally, new a new bell schedule, released via the South Salem newsletter, revealed plans to implement “Student Enrichment Time” (SET) every Friday, and a late start on Thursdays. The Salem-Keizer school board voted to change the dress code after Claire Campbell ‘23 testified at a June 11th, 2019 board meeting, asserting that the current code was sexist and degrading. “When you’re a young woman, your life is already so hectic and difficult... the only thing that seems to matter is how you look... We at the Salem-Keizer school district need to be taught that women are not just bodies,” Campbell said. Campbell went on to suggest specific revisions, including allowing hats, hoodies, fitted pants— such as leggings or skinny jeans, pajamas, ripped jeans, tank tops and athletic attire. To emphasize their message, Campbell also called on a group of female students to take pictures in various outfits that would violate the original dress code. In early August the board issued a new dress code with all of Campbells’ recommendations included. “It is better than I could have ever imagined it,” Kate Holliday ‘23, a proponent of the change, said. “It incorporated all of the essential pieces we had suggested and it even included more than I personally expected. In the past the school board hasn’t really come through for me personally and it was won-
derful to see that happen after all these years.” Salem-Keizer is one of several districts making revisions to their dress code. Other districts include Seattle Public Schools, Austin Independent School District and the Roanoke Virginia School Board. South also made major changes to the bell schedule. Thursday will be an A-day, but it start at 8:12 instead of 7:30. The time between 7:30 and 8:12 will be dedicated to professional development for staff. Friday will operate like a B-day with an assembly. The assembly time will be dedicated to SET. “We’re trying to come up with new ways to support our students and provide resources to them, and build our community,” Assistant Principal Sarah Bucholz said. “A lot of our SET time is going to be filled with assemblies and schoolwide lessons, about, for example, internet safety, or social and emotional learning, which we call SEL.” Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday will operate like normal: an all-class day followed by an A-day and B-day.
SOUTH SALEM HIGH SCHOOL ■ MONDAY A/B Day: Students attend all 8 periods.
■ TUESDAY A Day: Students attend periods 1-4. ■ WEDNESDAY B Day: Students attend periods 5-8.
■ THURSDAY A Day, LATE START: Student attend periods 1-4
■ FRIDAY B Day, STUDENT ENRICHMENT TIME (S.E.T.): Students attend periods 5-8 and S.E.T.
3
9:06-9:50
4
9:56-10:38
2
9:38-10:58
S.E.T.
10:16-10:58
4
5
11:14-11:56
A Lunch 10:38-11:08
B Lunch
6
12:02-12:44
12:14-12:44
B Lunch
12:24-12:54
B Lunch
6
12:47-1:14
12:24-12:54
B Lunch
11:34-12:54
7A
11:34-12:54
3A
11:14-12:44
3/7A
11:26-11:56
5
10:44-11:26
A Lunch 10:38-11:08
3/7B
10:44-12:14
A Lunch 10:58-11:28
3B
11:04-12:24
A Lunch 10:58-11:28
7B
11:04-12:24
5
12:14-12:41
A Lunch 11:38-12:08
B Lunch
12:44-1:14
B Lunch
12:14-1:14
3/7A
12:11-12:41
5
11:44-12:11
A Lunch 11:38-12:08
3/7B
11:44-12:44
7
12:50-1:32
8
1:38-2:20
12:50-2:20
4
1:00-2:20
8
8
1:53-2:20
1:00-2:20
4/8
1:20-2:20
1:20-1:47
7
4/8
BELL SCHEDULE 2
8:18-9:00
MONDAY (A/B)
1
7:30-8:12
2/6
9:06-10:38
TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY BLOCK (A OR B)
1/5
7:30-9:00
1
8:12-9:32
THURSDAY BLOCK A (LATE START)*
*
7:30-8:12
6
8:56-10:16
2
11:09-11:38
2/6
10:36-11:38
10:36-11:03
3
FRIDAY BLOCK B (STUDENT ENRICHMENT TIME) (S.E.T.)
5
7:30-8:50
1
10:03-10:30
2 - HOUR DELAY MONDAY
Delay
9:30-9:57
1/5
2 HOUR DELAY BLOCK
Delay
9:30-10:30
A or B lunch is determined by 5th period class on Mondays, 3rd period class on Tuesdays & Thursdays, 7th period class on Wednesdays & Fridays.