The View - November

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CRITICAL THINKING TECHNOLOGY SPELLING/WRITING SPIRIT

WELCOME AdvancED!

AIMS PREP

DV GOALS

Getting ready takes time Spelling and writing page 3

LOGO CONTEST WINNERS TURNITIN.COM Who drew the new school logo?

Helping the campus go green

Spirit page 4

Technology page 2

The View

16440 S. 32nd St. Phoenix, AZ 85048 480-706-7900

DESERTVISTA.SCHOOLFUSION.US

READ THE VIEW ONLINE @ DVTHUNDERMEDIA.COM

It’s an

November 2010 Volume 15, Issue 2

Desert Vista High School

Standing at attention for military membership

Honor

By Angie Bumstead

looking forward to it for a number of reasons. Not only does a career in the Air Force pay me to do something I love, but it also supplies retirement, education, health services, and a sense of pride in serving my country.” And Walden is right: the military does offer a lot of benefits. Programs are offered which can supply college bound students with a free education, including expenses like tuition, fees, books, and living expenses. “It seems that more students are joining the military now for the benefits,” said Corporal Jackson who is in charge of recruiting for the marines at DV. “In fact, I’m only allowed to recruit a certain number of students each month. The economy isn’t the way it was 20 years ago. The military definitely offers some really great benefits.”

Each potential recruit, after taking the ASVAB, must also take a medical exam. This helps recruiters understand the individual’s strong points so they can choose a military career for them out of a list of over 350 different options. After this choice is made, recruits are now able to swear in service. Each military contract consists of four active years of serving and four inactive. The purpose of the four inactive years is for in the case of an extreme national emergency. This way, there will already be trained troops ready to serve their country. “Being in JROTC has taught me to be way more disciplined,” said junior Nathan Cole, “The regimented lifestyle has helped me learn leader and life skills I could not have learned anywhere else.”

ing to put the effort into. As Larry a VERY discounted price compared Strom, Math Department Chair, says, to the three universities in Arizona. “Students should Along with the not take one over significantly the other, they lower price, only should take classes the credits transaccording to their fer to a univerpriorities.” sity, meaning the AP also benefits grade earned is those who want not averaged into college level their university classes, but don’t GPA.” want to pay for It is off-campus tuition true that some or run the risk of colleges and uniJessica Tueller/View Staff versities do not messing up their future GPA. Goroaccept AP credit. Varsha Parasarthy listens to a lecture in her AP “It all depends vitz explains, “My Human Geography Class AP Chemistry class on the higher equals Chemistry institution that 152 at the comyou are going to munity colleges. That’s one year of attend,” explains Strom. chemistry college credit completed at “AP classes are a great option for

many students at DV!” Gorovitz said, “But, in general, they are hard and a student should be prepared to do the work. If you don’t have a great work ethic you many want to reconsider this as an option for you!”

The View

The time for tests is upon us; students are getting ready for the AIMS, PSATS, and SATS. But, for some students on campus, there is one more test to study for. All individuals joining the military require the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test (ASVAB.) This test gives an overview of abilities in four critical areas, arithmetic reasoning, word knowledge, paragraph comprehension, and mathematics knowledge and also determines qualification for the military. For those looking into a career in the military, this is one of the most important tests required to take. “I’m joining the Air Force,” said junior Chris Walden, “and I’m really

By Angie Bumstead The View

As more students enter high school with higher math skills, students taking advanced classes are younger than average. Here are a few students who have exceeded the expectations for freshman.

Sue Han Freshman “Taking honors is challenging, but I like learning new things and meeting really awesome and cool new people.”

Tala Mujahed Freshman “I think that being in Honors has benefited me a lot. Yes, they are really time consuming, but it’s putting me ahead. When college comes, I’ll be more than ready.”

Anisha Gupta Freshman

“I’m in Honors Algebra 3-4, Honors Freshman English, Honors Bio, and Honors Spanish 3-4. These classes have taught me a lot on how to balance my time and it challenges me a lot as a person. ”

Seth Barrios Freshman “I’m only in three honors, and I don’t really think they’re that difficult. It’s all about applying yourself. Taking these classes is a great way for me to get ahead. Also, my sister was in Honors and I’ve always wanted to follow my sister’s footsteps.”

Marcos DeRose Freshman “Being in Honors classes has challenged me a lot. I definitely can’t sit back and do no work. When I decided to take these classes, I just really wanted to try something new. I’m glad I did because even though I have less time now, I’ll have more time later when I have all my credits.”

Corporal Jackson smiles as he talks about his years of service in the Marines. Angie Bumstead/ View Staff

Advanced Placement: Is it for you?

By Jessica Tueller The View

“The ability to receive college credit, looks great on their transcripts, required by some colleges, and get weighted credit here at DV,” said Kris Gorovitz, science teacher. DV provides all this and more to the diligent students that take AP classes. AP, or Advanced Placement, equals the credit of college classes. Experts in their fields teach students in preparation for the AP exam at the end of the year. DV offers over 20 of these classes in English, Fine Arts, Foreign Language, Math, Science, and Social Studies. AP does differ from honors. They are more intense classes and usually receive higher credits. But the student should make the decision on which subjects he or she is will-

National Merit Finalist Says Anyone Can Achieve It By Jessica Arvayo

Recipe for the Perfect Student Day - Jessica Tueller Needed: -1 ½ hours of healthy meals -6 hours of intense learning -2 hours of extra-curricular activities -3 hours of time with friends -1 hour of grudging homework

Mix it all together with plenty of sleep and a dash of jaded cynicism and you have a delectable student day!

The View

Walking into the room where Ashley Swazey sat, eating a friend’s leftover Tofu lunch and cracking jokes with an acquaintance, you would never guess that any of them were semi-finalists for the National Merit Scholarship Program. There was no arrogance or exaggerated self-opinions, just a crowd of students who share the same interests and happen to be in the same place in life. It just goes to show that truly anything is possible for anyone. With a lot of hard work and persistence, you can achieve the level of success you allow yourself to achieve. Q: What is the National Merit Scholarship Program? A: It’s the junior year PSAT score. They send it to the society and if you meet that score, then you become a semi-finalist. You write them an essay and things like that to become a semi-finalist. Q: Approximately 34,000 high scores receive a letter of recognition of their outstanding academic promise, how does it feel to be one of them? A: Well, I feel lucky because I don’t take any AP classes and I’m the only person who doesn’t take any AP classes. I feel really lucky. Q: Why is it important for you to win this? A: Because scholarships are enabling me to go wherever I want. It’s nice to be able to know I can go wherever I want. Usually 90% of semi-finalists become finalists from Desert Vista. Q: What advice would you give to any students who would like to get involved in the contest next year? A: I would say, study for the PSAT, because getting a good score is important. Even with being a semi-finalist, you get more opportunities. Also, take it [the PSAT] freshman through senior year so you have more practice Ashley Swazey works on homework while cracking jokes under your belt. Jessica Arvayo/View Staff

AVERAGE AP MATH SCORES

2010-3.85 2009-3.78 2008-2.82 2007-3.72 2006-3.69 2005-3.51 2004-3.58 2003-3.4 2002-2.96


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