The View _ Octorber 2010

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RELAY FOR LIFE

DVTHUNDERMEDIA.COM EXERCISING EFFECTS

DV students support the cause

What effects does long term exercising have on athletes?

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Sports page 6

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

October 2010 Volume 15, Issue 01

Desert Vista High School

Web site redo part of tech goals

New, more advanced site to unveil after break

Stress mess Feeling overwhelmed in first term common for many By Angie Bumstead The View

Angie Bumstead/The View

SCHOOL FUSION has a lot of benefits to offer to students, parents and teachers. This new layout has better graphics, is easier to navigate, and more organized than the old site. Reach the new site by going to desertvista.us.

By Angie Bumstead The View

One of the school’s academic goals is to increase the use of technology. The web team has spent countless hours working on a tool for students and teachers by updating the Desert Vista web site. “In June we started evaluating numerous options and came upon the School Fusion company. We purchased the program, designed the new layout, and started the process of changing over from the old web site to a new site,” said business teacher Dabney Leinberger who along with media teacher Michelle Coro, and campus technology technician Abie Contract head the group. “Our specific interest was in making the DV web site a better technology tool for communicating with our community,” Leinberger added. Powered by School Fusion, this web site aims to benefit parents, students, and teachers. Not only is it more organized, but it also has many more advanced new features. One of these new features is especially helpful. Each student can log in and view a personal calendar system. This helps students stay organized by compiling scheduled activities and due dates, test dates, and homework for classes. “We’re really excited about some of the features offered by

INSIDE VIEW NEWS......................................2 OPINIONS.................................3 SPORTS...................................4 FEATURES.................................5 FEATURES.................................6 FEATURES..................................7 REAR VIEW...............................8

the site,” said Michelle Coro, “One of the things that encouraged me to recommend it was the use of personal calendars. Our students are busy with school, clubs and a host of activities. Helping them to stay organized is a big plus.” Another new feature of this web site is students will have the ability to check all of their grades at once. No longer will students have to scroll down lists of teachers every time their grade changes. Also, students will have 24/7 access to resources and documents, as well as online drop boxes if their teachers choose to use them. “The school web site has been in dire need of updating for years,” Coro said. “It was functional, but outdated. We found a way to make that change happen.” With an initial cost of $1,400 for setup and a yearly renewal fee of $500 a year, the team felt this was a reasonable investment for such a functional, organized site. Even though much of the work of setting up the site and importing student info is done, the web site committee will still have a lot of hard work when it comes to keeping the site updated with the newest information. Soon, parents will be asked to login so they can access the site too. Teachers will be in charge of keeping their own personal sites updated. “Parts of the site can be updated daily, by the hour, or even

Key updates that will help

• One login allowing

students and parents to check grades in all classes

• Announcements and news flashes updated daily

• A messaging system that allows messages to be sent to and from teachers

Kelsey Gross, “Every college will be able to see these scores. If I don’t get a good score, everything I’ve worked for in school will be for nothing.” And it’s true; these exams give colleges an overview of each student’s mental capabilities. They will be determining what scholarships may be eligible for. Scoring well is crucial for all college bound students. For every teenager, social life and friendships require a tremendous amount of focus and effort. Drama within groups of friends puts a lot of unnecessary pressure on everybody. “The cliques around school stress me out a lot,” said Junior Elisabeth Ashley, “When my friends start drama or get in fights, it makes everything more difficult. Emotionally, it’s hard to deal with.” So whether you’re a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior, stress can be an expected constant in life. Learning to deal with stress can be one of the biggest challenges, but one of the most relieving to conquer.

ISSuing

a new detention policy minute,” Coro said. “It’s much more functional for us to be able to make changes as needed.” The committee has high hopes for this site, as well as the rest of DV’s administrators. “We hope this just becomes another resource that teachers and students have available to them.” Coro said. “Technology changes so fast that this won’t solve all the problems of the world, but depending on how teachers use this, it can become a help for everyone who chooses to experiment with it.”

DRESS CODE

All dressed up and nowhere to go? Students at DV have a lot to say about the changes to the dress code.

It’s two AM on a Monday night and there’s still homework to be done. School and sleep are at war, both trying to take priority. With only six hours left until school starts, sleep has the upper hand. Stressful situations like this are daily occurrences for students here at Desert Vista. With school, family, and social life, balance is a maybe, but stress is a definite. October is arriving along with the end of the first quarter. Students will soon enough be receiving report cards in the mail. “I’m really stressed out about getting my report card,” confided sophomore Jihan Valencia, “I’m afraid of what my grades will be. It’s really stressful because I’m so worried about keeping my grades up.” This fear seems to be spreading like a disease around campus. Getting good grades may be one of the biggest pressures throughout school. Not only does October bring report cards, but also testing. This month will be filled with AIMS, PSATS, and SATS. “Preparing for the SATS is freaking me out,” admitted junior

GATORADE OR WATER?

When you are thirsty, which do reach for first?

Desert Vista is going through the accreditation process, a voluntary method of quality assurance developed more than 100 years ago by American universities and secondary schools, and designed primarily to distinguish schools adhering to a set of educational standards. Go to dvthundermedia.com to view a special video that presents the school’s goals.

By Angie Bumstead The View

Students all around campus are outraged at the change in Desert Vista’s detention policy. Last year, In School Suspension was detention held during school hours, but this year, ISS is eliminated. In its place, students in trouble will now have to go to detention before school, during lunch, or after school. What brought about this sudden change? The answer is simple. Students got in trouble for ditching, goofing off, and many other things. Then, as their punishment, they got taken out of more class for ISS, free to relax for an entire school day. “The faculty at Desert Vista felt it was necessary to keep students in class during the school day,” said Christine Barela, assistant principal, “By taking students out of class, they were missing valuable information.” Students who receive the punishment of after school detention will be called to the front office to receive their referral. After this, the student comes to DV between 3:30 and 7:00 PM, where they must

Angie Bumstead/The View

MIGUEL MARRERO fills out a referral form for after school detention for a misbehaving student.

perform schoolwork. Doodling, sleeping, and goofing off results in more punishment for the student. “I think it’s stupid,” said junior Tony Crawford, “that if we get ISS we would have to go in after school rather than during school.” Even though many students do believe this change is “stupid” as Crawford said, administrators believe it will benefit students immensely. “This change is really great because students will no longer be pulled out of class,” said Program Coordinator for the Thunder Success Academy Miguel Marrero, “The faculty hopes this will have a positive effect on students because now dentition is taking time out of their day instead of ours.” Marrero is in charge of detention for students after school, where he supervises them.


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