ARROW
THE
VOLUME XXX, ISSUE 8
Westlake High School
100 N. LAKEVIEW CANYON ROAD, WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA 91362
MAY 30, 2008
WHS Ranked Best in Ventura County, 23 in State KIMBERLY HA STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE NIEVES
Newsweek’s poll of the Best of High Schools ranked WHS 201 in the nation and 23 in the state. This was a drop from last year’s ranking of 137 in the nation and 11 in the state, but it is comparable to the 2006 rankings of 198 in the nation and 23 in the state. Nonetheless, WHS is the highest ranked high school in the Ventura County. Other area schools such as Oak Park HS and Newbury Park HS ranked 435 and 460 respectively while Thousand Oaks HS did not make the list. “It’s still excellent to think that there’s thousands [of high schools] in the nation and we’re in the top couple hundred,” said Principal Ronald Lipari. The formula on which the rankings are based is the ratio of the number of Advanced Placement, Intl. Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2007 divided by the number of graduating seniors. Because the number of AP tests taken last year was about 1400 for a graduating class of 500 seniors, the index was a lower ratio of 2.79. However, next year’s rankings are likely to be higher because there were over 1600 tests given while the size of the graduating class is 570 this year, giving an index of 2.9. The system of ranking can give skewed results, especially for schools with a smaller population, which would have an advantage over schools with a larger senior population. Therefore improving the ratio is beyond the school’s control because of the way the index is factored. “Gobs of schools in the nation got ahead of us, but they’re probably smaller schools,” said Assistant Principal Drew Passalacqua. Other factors affecting the rankings are the students themselves. Many of the top schools are magnet schools with a higher percentage of GATE students, and therefore schools competing against them will not have as many highly-motivated students who would take the college-level exams. The percentage of GATE students at WHS is 20%. However, WHS has open access to all students, meaning one does not have to apply to attend, whereas other schools might have more exclusive access by lottery. Although colleges considering applicants take in account the ranking of the high school, there are other factors, such as API scores, sports standings, and other extracurricular programs. “You can’t judge success on one ranking, but you should combine all the achievements,” said Passalacqua. However, the other qualities used to judge schools are not included because, according to Jay Mathews, who devised the index formula, “teacher quality, extracurricular activities and other important factors are too subjective for a ranked list.” Another subject the District is discussing is changing the GPA system from an indexed score to a non-ranked, weighted GPA.
PROM COURT 2008: (clockwise from top left) Seniors Rachel Borowski, Ben Liu, Kathryn Nary, Ali Athar, Jordan Mannisto, Tess Poliakin, Lauren Schloss, TJ Hennessy, Amanda Mays, and Chuy Muguerza.
Seniors to Celebrate “Under the Stars” SOFIA TALARICO NEWS EDITOR
The long awaited event of the year has arrived: bring on the tuxedos, the extravagant dresses, the corsages and boutonnieres; yes, prom has arrived with the theme of “A Night Under the Stars.” The formal event of the year, this year’s senior prom will be held outdoors at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The doors to the dance will open promptly at 7:00 p.m. and end at 12:00 a.m. “I hope it is going to be really fun,” said Class President Sara Hagey ‘08. This social event covers every aspect of enjoyment for the seniors, and many are looking forward to experiencing a night to remember. Students are expected to follow the certain guidelines. To attend prom, students must be present for all classes on May 30, the day before prom. All attendees will be expected to show a WHS I.D. card or some form of picture I.D. Guests must be at least 14-20 years old. Any student who leaves will not be admitted back in, and any unruly conduct will result in the student’s removal from the dance. Students who violate any of the guidelines may also be excluded from all future senior activities. The school dress code is also strictly enforced: boys must wear a required jacket and tie, no jeans or sagging pants, shirts must be tucked in at all times, and no chains or canes are permitted. For the girls, dresses may have spaghetti straps, halter-
tops, or may even be strapless. However, the dresses cannot have low necklines, and bare midriffs are not permitted, as well as sheer cloth. Though many students view these rules as extremely strict, they are imposed for the safety and well-being of the students. Once these guidelines are cleared with the students, they can enjoy the night of their lives. Most expect their senior prom to become a lifelong memory. Lauren Schloss ‘08 expresses her feelings about the magical night to come as “hanging out with all my friends for the last major event of senior year.” Prom is a great experience and chance for all of the seniors to bond before they depart for college. As in the past years, many students have formed groups and hired limos to chauffeur them to prom. These groups usually arrive at one’s house to take pictures with friends and family, and create memories that will last a lifetime. The color scheme is purple, black, and white. The tables will be decorated with beautiful flower centerpieces designed by Elena Gonzalez ‘08 from the ROP Floral Design Class here at Westlake. Upon arrival at the prom site, every entrant will be given the opportunity to have their picture taken which can be taken home at the end of the night. The DJ will be located above the dance floor on a balcony to allow more room for dancing. There will be a variety of lights and several boxes for everyone to dance on. The final song to be played at prom this year, as decided by all the seniors at Senior Seminar, is “Wonderwall” by
Oasis. Another delightful feature of the night is that dinner will be offered to all prom attendees. The menu includes: chicken piccata, mashed potatoes, house salad, and bread and butter in a buffet style arrangement. The buffet will be brought out at 7:30 p.m. and continue to be open throughout the night. There is no assigned seating arrangement, as students will not all be arriving at the same time. Tables will be circular and seat ten people. While the buffet tables and some tables to sit at are located indoors, there will be additional tables located outside on both sides of the dance floor to allow attendees the option of sitting inside or outside based on preference. Once the dinner portion is finished, various desserts will be available to everyone. Beverages are also included, and all food and drinks are unlimited. Fortunately the weather forecast looks perfect for prom night which will complement the outdoor dance floor. Luckily the nice weather coupled with the option to be indoors or outdoors at any time will prevent anyone from being too hot or too cold. The celebrations continue as seniors prepare for Grad Night. Disneyland is the traditional amusement park that holds after graduation festivities. Graduates who plan to attend Grad Night must report to the WHS gym by 8: 00 p.m. on Thursday, June 12. Students will report back to WHS the following morning about 7:30 a.m. for the complimentary Senior Breakfast along with the distribution of diplomas.