News
Personal Chromebooks to be loaned to students in 2018
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Story by Morgan Thomas n the beginning of the 2018 school year, high school students will be able to have their own Chromebooks provided through the school. The move of bringing in the Chromebooks for students has been talked about for the past 10 years and is finally being put into action. “Now that Chromebooks are available and relatively less expensive than other laptops, it’s more of an affordable option,” principal Chris Botts said. “We’re a Google-based school so it makes sense to get Chromebooks.” The Maize school district is currently working on a “rollout process” of the Chromebooks. Botts said that they are trying to work out how they are going
to look, how they’re going to get them to everybody, and fix little problems that could happen. The district plans on getting the Chromebooks out to students before school starts next year so it’s not as hectic trying to get them out all at once. Botts said that there are some worries about students taking advantage of the Chromebooks, but the district is going to develop some policies and procedures that will help alleviate some of the worries. “It’s a privilege for students to use the Chromebooks and we want students to use them properly,” Botts said. “We’ll figure it out as we come across problems.”
The Chromebooks are hopefully a permanent addition to the high schools. There’s also talk about moving the Chromebooks down to the middle school level as well. As of right now the biggest move is to focus on the Chromebooks in the high schools. Once a student has graduated the district is thinking about letting students buy their Chromebook from their school. “Were not sure what that looks like yet” Botts said. “But if it’s a good tool and the student wants to keep it for college, then they might have the option to.”n
Seniors lead Class of the Year competition
Story by Kiara Ehrmann he class of 2018 is pushing forward in an attempt to win a second Class of the Year competition. COTY is a competition between the four classes. To gain points, students attend school activities labeled COTY events and check in at the designated table. The more students per class who attend COTY events, the more points the class obtains. The purpose of the competition is to encourage students to attend more school events, especially those with a lower rate of student attendance. This is the second year of the competition. Last year, the class of 2018 won and students were eligible to
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participate in a day trip to the Sedgwick County Zoo. This year, there will be two prizes: one at the end of the first semester and one at the end of the year. The class with the most points at the end of the semester will be offered cookies and hot chocolate, and the class with the most points at the end of the year will be awarded with a day of fun. Pending administrative approval, this day will include a trip to the Wichita Sports Forum, heading to a park to eat pizza and then going home for the rest of the day. The current point totals puts seniors ahead with 508 points, juniors in second at 333 points, sophomores in third
508 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50
COTY Point Count
333
309
206
with 309 points and freshmen with 206 points. As for next year and the years beyond, Student Council plans to continue the competition with the hopes of encouraging more and more students to support their classmates. Student Council members also hope to continue to up the prize, maybe even to eventually taking the winning class on an out-of-town trip. “I would really like in the future, if one of the [prize] days could be out of Wichita,” senior Olivia Wagner said. “If we could go to Kansas City or something like that. I think that would be really cool, and that’s what people are kind of striving for now.”n
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I would really like in the future, if one of the [prize] days could be out of Wichita... That’s what people are kind of striving for now
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—Olivia Wagner, senior
Seniors
Juniors
DecemberPlay | maizenews.com
Sophomore
Freshmen
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