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CHANGING THE SYSTEM
New eligibility process put on athletic participation Curtis Shank
This year, he process for determining athletic eligibility has changed. Each student who was not on the honor roll last semester is required to fill out the gray eligibility cards with their grades in each of their seven classes. Last year teachers were supposed to send e-mails to coaches if their player was failing their class. Teachers had to look through a list of 400 athletes to find their students and remember to report their grades. “The main problem with the old system was that the teachers were busy and sometimes were not getting back to coaches about a student’s grades,” athletic director Lane Green said. “But the main reason for the change was to put the responsibility of proving eligibility back on the kids.” Head soccer coach Jim Ricker approves the change. “Kids used to say ‘I don’t have to do this assignment because coach isn’t going to know if I don’t’,” he says. “Now coaches know every week exactly how a student is doing in a particular class, which almost never happened last year.” Students must be passing five classes to be eligible to participate in sports. English teacher Laura Beachy, however, sees the process as a
the harbinger
What’s Good
bit tedious. “When I get five cards in one class period, I sometimes can’t get them all done during class,” she says. “Then the kids have to stay after and wait while I fill them out.” She thinks the system could be improved by eliminating the requirement for some students that consistently show success. “After a few weeks, if a kid has had consistently good grades in a particular class, he should be able to drop those classes from his eligibility card,” she says. Freshman football player Ben Edmonds agrees with Beachy. “It’s stupid to have to keep filling the cards out when I’m not even close to failing any of my classes,” he says. “At this point in the quarter, you can’t drop from an ‘A’ to an ‘F’ in just a week.” The consensus however, is that the benefits greatly outweigh the costs. “Any coach would say it’s a positive thing,” Ricker said.
- “Now coaches know every week exactly how a student is doing in a particular class...” Coach Jim Ricker - “...to put the responsponsibility of proving eligibility back on the kids.” Athletic Director Lane Green
What’s Bad
- “When I get five cards in one class period, I sometimes can’t get them all done during class.” Teacher Laura Beachy - “It’s stupid to have to keep filling the cards out when I’m not even close to failing any of my classes.” Freshman Ben Edmonds
Choir to sing with KC Wind Symphony
The choir whiteboard shows a countdown. They began working on the masterwork Carmina Burana at the very beginning of school and have been toiling away ever since. They work every day during class: together and in sections with altos, and sopranos and the other parts breaking up into different parts practicing is one aspect of the class. The rest is spent in lessons in the background of the piece. There is less than one month to go until the performance. All SM East choral students will be performing Carmina
Annie Fuhrman
Burana, the stage piece by Carl Orff, with the Kansas City Wind Symphony on Oct 28 at Yardley Hall. “I can’t wait to get it all together and see what it will sound like with the instrumental parts,” junior Mary Dolliver said. This compilation of several secular Latin and German poems is one of the more difficult pieces the choir has done because of the many movements and because different parts are all singing different things at the same time. This year, instead of using only the most advanced choir, Choraliers, all of the choirs will be involved. “It’s exciting, and I feel kind of special to get to be a part of this,” sophomore Courtney Newell said. “It is just so different than anything we have ever done
Oct. 5 2004
before,” junior Ashley Coffyn said. “It is so emotional and really intense when we sing it.” The Carmina Burana has been used for many purposes. It has been with many instrumental parts, as performance pieces and even set to choreography. “When Orff heard all of the poems together it was just so complete, and overwhelming that he did this,” choir instructor Tracy Resuguie said. “There is just so much history,” junior Lauren Hoover said. “You can really feel it when you sing.