A year of school flies by fast

Eight months of schooling can cause change inside its buildings and outside its four walls. While the 2010-2011 school year is coming to a close, looking back on it the changes are more obvious now then they were at the time.

“It’s weird how much can change in only one school year,” said freshman Brianna Jackson.

The first day of school was Aug. 9th, as new freshmen bustled in, the new seniors took their place. Schedules were handed out and throughout the day friendships were forged between people who had only just met each other.

Students came back into school, sporting the newest fashion trends such as off-the-shoulder shirts for girls and the v-necks for guys.

But while school was coming back into focus, Operation Iraqi Freedom was reaching it’s end. President Obama declared it over on Aug. 19. Soldiers would finally be coming home after seven years of war.

Picture day fast approached students and teachers; the picture taken on that day would live on for generations in a yearbook. While the girls primped and prepped, the boys smoothed and tucked for just one good picture to be taken on Aug. 26.

More important than a school picture; sports such as football, golf, and volleyball roared to life in the first month of school. The first pep rally was held on Aug. 27, where the seniors beat everyone out with their “battle cry” and the freshmen got their first taunting.

Girls broke out their pea coats and UGG boots, which were plentiful around campus, and the guys brought out their leather jackets and tennis shoes as the cooler weather settled over the city.

The first week-long break emerged on the scene with much anticipation on the week of Oct. 18-22. Students took the time to relax their brains from the new knowledge being poured into it and teachers got to relax their nerves with no students to watch over.

On Oct. 29, the school participated in the blood drive, hoping to beat out Bolton for more blood giving. That day was full of fainting, mass blood loss, and sleepy students from the pints of blood given from those who participated.

The day that many avid baseball fans wait all year for finally came. On Nov. 1 the World Series game was played and the New York Giants took the title for the first time since 1954.

“I was so nervous for that PLAN test when I heard it was like the ACT,” said sophomore Cassidy Cook.

The PLAN Test may have freaked the sophomores out but on Nov. 2 they overcame the test. Though it was not nearly as hard or long as the ACT, it helped sophomores know what they needed to work on to be prepared for the next year.

On Nov. 13 the annual dance Snowflake commenced, and while relationships began there, friends were also found. This was the last all-school dance for seniors and it hit a melancholy key.

Nov. 22 the annual Miss BHS pageant came into play, where Grace Burgess passed on her crown that she had won only as a sophomore to senior Reykisha Stewart. The night was full of girls decked out in their best dresses and the baseball team dressed as sharp as a tack.

The three days of Nov. 24-26 came as a welcome of family and bonding when Thanksgiving Break set in.

After gaining 10 lbs., students and teachers returned to tackle mid-year exams. While the freshmen got their first taste of high school exams, most seniors hoped it would be their last. The exams were held on the 16 and 17 of Dec., in which the 17 was shortened after completing all the exams.

Then came Winter Break. The temperature was colder, the days seemed to fly by, and sleeping in became a constant. As the passing of a New Year came and went, school reared its ugly head. Only this time it didn’t anticipate the weather would rear its head too.

Another fashion trend popped up after the holidays, a trend that helped more than the buyer. TOMS spiked in popularity as a shoe that not only helped those less fortunate get shoes, but also held comfort and thick, warm material for the cold months. They popped up over campus in every color from bright blue to sparkly black.

School resumed Tuesday Jan. 4 with no delay, but that very next Monday snow hit the world and left Shelby County all out of school. While many were thankful, some were trying to re-plan lessons. It really didn’t help when school was canceled the next day either, a rare treat in the Memphis-area.

The day of return, on Jan. 12, report cards were sent out for parents to see how their kids first semester went. While some kids had to be pulled from classes, others jumped with glee at making it by.

Students and teachers got another day off that next Monday on Martin Luther  King Jr. Day. To make this week shorter the weather had a trick up its sleeve, on Friday Jan. 21 another blanket of white covered our town bringing shouts of joy from small children and worry for school administrators in Shelby County. All hope was not lost because they announced a few months later that the snow days did not have to be made up.

On the week of Jan. 31 to Feb. 4, Winterfest commanded the school. Nerd day was a popular hit, as well as red-and-blue day. People’s school spirit began to shine through and as the pep rally came it was a sad one. The seniors realized this would be their last one, and their time at high school was closing off.

February was a quiet month compared to the months ahead for school, even though basketball was riled up and taking the court.

A day a football fan lived and breathed for came about on the calendar. Football fans gathered from all around on Feb. 7 to see the New Orleans Saints take the Super Bowl XLIV championship.

Then a crash back to reality sent many reeling in disbelief. On March 10, Japan was struck with an 9.0 magnitude earthquake which caused a tsunami to hit the island country. The tsunami at it’s highest point was 124 ft tall and traveled nearly 6 miles into the country. The National Police confirmed 14,238 deaths, 5,314 injured, and 12,228 people missing as well as 125,000 destroyed or damaged buildings.

Spring Break lifted everyone’s spirits in the month of March. Students took on the break with excitement, taking family trips, visiting colleges, and sleeping the day away. Teachers took their time and relaxed, as they had finished their grades the week before.

The blood drive came back to Bartlett on March 30 and more fainting, blood loss, and sleepy students ensued. Those that did not get the chance to be involved last time took glee in finally being 16 and able.

The dance everyone had anticipated came to school at last, Prom. Where the seniors felt the anxiety of their final farewell and the two people were selected for the coveted title of Prom King and Queen. Domenic Martini and Janyl Iganda were selected to have these honored titles.

“It just went by too fast!” said senior Xavier Lawrence.

Even with a year of ups and downs, it is easy to look back and see the unshakable memories and the new friendships forged.

6+1=7, right?

Nearly everyone on campus has heard the rumors that BHS is moving to a “seven-period school day” in the fall of 2010. Well, the rumors are true. Sort of.

After Shelby County Schools became a part of the Tennessee Diploma Program, the graduation credit requirements for the 2009-2010 freshmen increased from 20 to 22.

In order to fulfill these additional credit requirements, Shelby County School’s superintendent John Aitken asked schools to figure out a new schedule that will incorporate an opportunity for students to receive more credits.

Houston and Millington chose a trimester schedule, consisting of three twelve-week grading periods. Other Shelby County Schools decided to use some form of the hybrid block schedule.

Bartlett’s version of this hybrid block schedule, also known as “6 + 1,” offers students the chance of earning seven credits in one school year as opposed to the normal six.

“Our belief is that since the juniors and seniors do not have to have as many credits, we needed to find something that’s flexible enough to allow freshmen and sophomores to earn seven [credits],” Vice-Principal Jane Gatewood said. “The juniors and seniors wouldn’t have to earn seven but could.”

However, school hours will not change whatsoever. Instead, most fourth-period classes will no longer observe “Channel One” time, a 30-minute period once reserved for a teen news broadcast. By doing so, these classes will extend to a 90-minute instructional period.

Though many underclassmen oppose the idea of having a seven-class schedule, they may be relieved to know that they will not be spending anymore time at school than they already do.

Currently, classes only receive half of a credit per semester. With six classes each semester, the total number of credits received at the end of the school year is six. On this new schedule, however, students will be able to receive a full credit for each semester of the 90-minute fourth period class (+1 class). When the second semester rolls around, students will just take a different class in order to receive another full credit.

With these two whole credits, the total possible credits for the year will grow to seven. By the time a freshman (or next year’s sophomore) becomes a senior, he or she will have fulfilled all of the credit requirements in order to graduate and could possibly earn more than the required credits.

Current sophomores and juniors who still only have to earn 20 credits for graduation have the choice between the full credit class and normal half-credit class.

“I’ve tried to expand the elective offerings so that there would be more opportunities for juniors and seniors to take an additional class that they might be interested in,” Gatewood said.

Not all fourth-period classes are switching to the one semester session.

The administration is not looking for students to fulfill the requirements early, but even if students do they will not be allowed to leave school early or graduate earlier than their classmates. This schedule will simply provide extra electives for them that will add to their curriculum.

“The thing that I do anticipate having to address is the fact that there would be seniors who would not choose to take an additional class,” Gatewood said. “They might end up with two study halls and you can’t have more than one study hall in each semester. I look at that as something we’ll have to deal with on an individual basis.”

Because most of the +1 classes will be electives, students will have more of a variety of classes to choose from. Although next year’s schedule will feature new classes, the school will not be increasing the number of faculty members. Thus, some teachers will have an extra class, and some teachers will not be affected by the schedule at all.

Because many teachers will have an extra class, it would be easy to assume that the extra class will put a great strain on them. How is it possible for a teacher of a larger class to keep the attention of students for a full hour and a half?

According to Gatewood, this 90-minute period will not consist of straight lecture. Teachers will break the class into segments.  Some of the class period will be devoted to lecture, but other class time will include workshops, group study, classwork, and possibly guest speakers.

Because the +1 class period’s instructional time differs from the full-year period, teachers will have to limit the material that they cover.

“If it is a blocked [+1] class, it will be incumbent upon the teacher to go through and choose those standards and those curricular topics that are most important. There will be some things that will be not as important that will need to be eliminated,” Gatewood said. “That’s difficult for a teacher to do because they’re all important.”

Also, this schedule will give students an easier opportunity for course recovery than having to attend summer school.

“Students need the opportunity to retake classes within the school year rather than summer school in order to stay on track for timely graduation,” Gatewood said.

Summer school will still occur, but this new schedule will limit the number of students who need to re-take a class.

The +1 classes offered next year will not simply consist of electives. Some core classes will be one semester as well. Because students are only involved in a core class for one semester, will they be losing vital information that they could be learning throughout the school year? No.

“It’s going to vary. What I’ve got to be certain of is if a student were taking ninth-grade English, I would have to have that student enrolled in something that is an English elective first semester in order for the student not to lose skill,” Gatewood said.

These “core electives” will be, for example, Creative Writing or Reading in the Content Area.

With this new schedule, students will see the immediate benefits and simplicities involved with the seven-credit school year.

And school will still be over at the two-o’clock bell.