munster high school Vol. 48 / Issue 2 / September 27, 2013 / Munster High School /8808 Columbia Ave, Munster IN
crier INSIDE LOOK Tomorrow 83/58 Sunday 67/45
Up and coming Theater performs “Dr. Evil and the Basket of Kittens” tonight at 7 p.m. Varsity Football plays Griffith tonight at 7 p.m. at Griffith
“Don’t ask me, ask the people who did this to me,” she said. “What they said put the marks there.”
MAKING DRASTIC REMARKS more coverage on page 5 photo illustration by Casey Gouwens
Underclassmen picture retakes Oct. 10 during school, senior retakes Oct. 17 after school until 7 p.m.
Marching forward Marching Band competes at Providence High School tomorrow
page 4 iPhone vs Android Crier compares the difference between the Android and the iPhone
page 7 Challenge accepted Boys’ Varsity Soccer plays in Zionsville tournament tomorrow
page 10
Administration starts 2013-2014 grade book check policy Administration require teachers to put one grade in the grade book each week, grade book checks every two weeks William Hatczel Sports Editor Two weeks ago, the administration started the grade book check policy for the 2013-2014 school year. Every two weeks, administrators will access teachers’ online grade books to keep tabs on them, according to Mr. Mike Wells, principal. “It (the policy) is the District goal of common grade practice,” Mr. Wells said. Grade book checks do not surprise teachers since they have experienced the policy before, according to Mrs. Tammy Daugherty, head of the English department. “It is nothing new, but we have a new administration this year,” Mrs. Daugherty said. “We have to see how
flexible the expectations are. If everything stays the same then it is not new.” Ms. Leigh Ann Westland, English teacher, believes she may need to adjust her schedule on when handing out certain assignments. “I just have to use my time more wisely,” Ms. Westland said. “I might have to stager assignments more in my classes with multiple sections.” Mr. Keith Koszut, head of the Science department, plans accordingly when giving his students work to complete in class. “I need to watch out for lengthy projects, reports, and labs,” Mr. Koszut said. “In science lab activities, there are sometimes a lot of parts to it that students need to complete in the lab report. I need to square them (labs) up in
a timely manner.” While some teachers may need to adjust their schedules, Mrs. Jennifer Dettlo, head of the Spanish department, believes it will not affect her. “The policy will not have an effect on my life,” Mrs. Dettlo said. “Teaching, like any other job, has expectations. If you meet expectations then you are doing your job.” The policy not only helps teachers stay on track with grades, but gives a helping hand to students and their parents, according to Mrs. Dettlo. “It is only fair that students and parents have the opportunity to see their current grades and help them figure out what they want at the end of the semester,” Mrs. Dettlo said. “It can help them achieve.” While teachers hold the responsi-
bility of updating grades weekly, students need to check their grades too, according to Mrs. Daugherty. “Kids need to check their grades,” Mrs. Daugherty said. “It should be like a partnership. You turn it in, give us a few weeks to grade it, and then check your grade.” Although the policy serves as a district goal, only the high school currently uses this policy. However, Mr. Robert Snyder, Guidance administrator, believes the same kind of policy could spread to the other schools. “The other schools in the district will examine and look at it,” Mr. Snyder said. “It is different to set a policy in an elementary school because there is one administrator and the grade books are different. Each building is its own microorganism.”