THE PROSPECTOR
FEATURES: Overwhelming pressure to fill bigger shoes
VOLUME 53 NO. 1
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FLIP SIDE: Anthony brothers’ secret talent
SEPTEMBER 30, 2011
New teachers adjust to their new jobs at JENNIFER FOUNDS
LYNN HSIEH
NEIL SALAZAR
STEPHANIE FAN
JAMES HILL
JENNA RAY
VICTORIA DUAN copy editor
T
o accommodate the sudden surge in student population, the administration has added many new teachers to the school’s staff. These teachers, with their varying teaching experiences and different backgrounds make them valuable additions to the school. A couple of these additions include first-year teachers, such as literature teacher Carley Stavis, she is returning to campus after teaching as a student teacher under freshman literature teacher Rachel Crawford last year. Though she is no stranger to the school, Stavis notes that there are many differences between her experiences this year and last year, the most prominent being the amount of homework assignments she has to grade. “I went from teaching two classes last year for one semester to five classes this year,” Stavis said. She now teaches Voices of Modern Culture (VMC) in addition to freshman literature. Another familiar face is literature teachLESLY SANTOS
CARLY STAVIS
LIZAHORAIDA AGUILAR
CAROLINE SCHWEIKERT
er Kelly Bavor, who has returned to campus this year after three years of living and studying abroad at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her experiences in London have strengthened the connection to the the subjects she teaches. “While I was living abroad, I had the opportunity to study history in greater depth and also to visit some of the places we learn about in World Core — like Israel, South Africa, Egypt, Turkey, Japan and most of Western Europe,” Bavor said. This year she is teaching two periods of sophomore World History, and is looking forward to sharing with her classes the knowledge and experiences she gained from living and studying in London. Other teachers who are new to campus find that their previous backgrounds have altered their skills in teaching. French teacher Laurel Garceau is certified to teach both French and English. Not only has she taught French in the States, but she has also taught English in both France KELLY BAVOR
LAUREL GARCEAU
and Canada. She feels that teaching in these diverse environments has impacted the way she teaches and has taught her how to deal with different types of students. “I always have to get a feel of how the students are and that particular school’s expectations of their students,” Garceau said. “Some places are stricter than others and this impacts how the students act. When I taught in Canada, I was teaching English to non-native speakers at a private school and the students were very disrespectful and poorly behaved. I came in to that job in November and it was very difficult to change the behaviors they had developed with the teacher who was there before me.” Some of the more noticeable differences for most teachers included both the school’s population and the students’ attitudes. Said literature teacher Jenna Ray, who formerly taught at James Logan High School, “My classes at James Logan averaged about 36 students, but one class had as many as 42 students. With a class that large my lessons would take twice as long because I would have to answer twice as many questions!” Special Education teacher Neil Salazar and Spanish teacher Lesly Santos both noted that despite the differences in campus size and environment, this school is quite similar to their former schools. Salazar’s former school, Oceana High School, had 600 students, while Santos’ school, Leadership Prep School, had a student body of 400. “At Lynbrook it seems that everyone is very focused on academics, so I think it’s fun to come here and see students with a wider range of different interests,” academic communications teacher Caroline Schweikert, a former teacher at Lynbrook High School, said. Though these new teachers are still adjusting to an unfamiliar and new campus, with their diverse experiences and backgrounds, they are valuable new additions that will guide students through their academic careers.
Administration cracks down on excessive tardies to increase class time JESSE ZHOU features editor
Spikes in truancy and unexcused absences within the last school year have been troublesome for administrators and teachers. In an effort to combat future spikes, the administration has established a new tardy policy the 2011-2012 school year, with one reason being to reduce the loss of class time for both teachers and students. The policy specifically states that ten or more unexcused tardies in all of one’s classes combined can result in Saturday School, and the loss of campus and dance privileges. The tardy count is reset after every grading period. Some exceptions are made when certain fiascos happen, such as the recent shooting at Pasha’s Market, which shows that the policy is made to be flexible around certain situations people may face. However, the policy is ultimately made to decrease the profound number of tardies from reasons like truancy or oversleeping. “There is a sizable group of students who are late to school,” Assistant Principal Andy Walczak said. “The teach-
ers and us administrators thought there was a lot of class time being missed, and that there were a lot of interruptions. All encompassing, the tardy policy is trying to create consequences for students who are frequently tardy.” While the administrators’ intentions are for the best, the increased student population has caused traffic jams in the morning around Finch Avenue. Some students believe that this alone makes the policy unjust. “I have to drive to school… It’s the only way I can get to school because it takes me 40 minutes to walk, and my brother uses the [only] bike,” junior Rinoka Sato said. “Suddenly, there’s so much traffic compared to last year. The new tardy policy really sets in.” While the increased population can be easily noticed by everyone, administrators reason that external factors like an increased student population should not be the reason that one is late to class. From their perspective, it should be a student’s own responsibility to adjust to such factors, instead of pinning the blame on other sources. The new tardy policy has definitely caused some unrest in the students who have experienced the leni-
ency of last year’s tardy policy. The end of the first-grading period will show administrators if this updated version of the policy has improved attendance, or if they will need to make further adjustments to combat tardiness.
CAUSE OF TARDINESS| The large population increase impacts the morning traffic making it even more difficult to arrive to school on time.