4
February
Forum
Attendance policies ready students
m A dam H olmes _____________
Staff Reporter
We have all been in this
situation: you find yourself
sprinting to your next class
because you were chatting
with a friend too long, in
the bathroom, or grabbing
something out of your locker.
You arrive to class a minute
or two after the bell rings,
and your teacher marks you
tardy.
The whole incident seems
forgotten. However, some
teachers count attendance
as part of their grading
system. This means that if
you are one of those people
that arrives late to class
frequently, your grade could
be affected. This may seem
unfair at first, but if you look
at it in a broader perspective,
these policies may prepare
you for your future.
Some students think that
it is okay to arrive late to
class, or to simply not show
up at all. As long as they do
the work, these people think
that it is okay to skip classes.
Guess what? It's not. It is
rude and disrespectful to the
teacher—the same person
who is attempting to teach
curriculum that might aid
you in life.
This doesn't mean
that every student that is
late to class falls into this
category. Some students have
from class, I'll do fine."
I'm not arguing with this.
Yes, completing work is an
important part of succeeding
academically, but it will not
be enough to get you by.
There is something about the
classroom environment that
helps a student concentrate
and focus more. By not
coming to class, you are
missing out on excellent
opportunities to learn specific
things only found through
classroom instruction. By
missing class, you will
miss work that can only be
completed in class, and I can
guarantee that is already a
factor in your grade.
By-taking initiative and
coming to class and being
there on time, you will find
that it will help your grades.
It is an excellent time to
ask the teacher questions
and discuss things that
you wouldn't understand
otherwise. By taking
attendance and punctuality
seriously, you will find that
in the long run, you are
preparing yourself for a
successful future. If you try to
skip out on your future, the
consequences will be more
disastrous than a 15 minute
lunch detention.
Hammond leads way in
new technical advances
m C helsea C allas
Staff Reporter
I think it's safe to say there
are many staff members at our
school who go unappreciated
an d Angie
Hammond,
Technology
Dept. Chair,
IT Specialist,
Webmaster,
is one of
them. The
Angie Hammond contributions
Hammond makes are
bountiful, including
legitimate excuses for not
overseeing an expansive,;^
arriving on time. However,
we need to realize that
attendance and punctuality
are necessary in order to
succeed. When someone"
arrives late to their job, they
may only get one warning,
which is much less than what
high school allows.
If an employee simply
does not show up at all, they
will most likely get demoted
or fired. By counting
attendance as part of a grade,
a clear message is sent that it
is important for life. It's also
an easy way to maintain a
good grade in a class.
For the students who
skip out on class periods on
purpose, most of them seem
to think that they will not
fall behind their studies as
long as they find out what
work they need to get done.
However, attendance is a
part of participation in many
classes.
By arriving on time to
class, a student is more likely
to succeed in class, as shown
in a recent study conducted
by the San Diego Unified
School District. It determined
that 57.9% of the student
population had perfect
attendance in the language
arts classes. The study
showed that the students
who had perfect attendance
were three and a half times
more likely to be proficient in
language arts.
Now, the students who
skip class often say that,
"As long as I get the work
informative website,
supporting environmental
conservation, an insightful
alumni program, staff and
student technology lessons
and much more.
Hammond was a staff
member here even before
Kim Noah, principal, who
commented, "All technology
ideas and innovations have
started with Angie."
The tech guru has initiated
teaching teachers how to use
the technology that students
see and use in the classroom.
The no-print days were her
idea, as well as i-SAFE and an
orientation to teach freshman
about available technology.
Noah concluded that
Hammond is a "doer!" "When
she has an idea, she is going to
make it happen," Noah said.
That very ability to make
things happen was evident
in the corporation where
Hammond spent her early
years as a technical expert.
After showing interest and
talent for technology in high
school, she won a full ride
scholarship based on her
typing skills to Farris State
College in Michigan.
The college was secretarial
and after feeling like
she didn't fit in with the
future secretaries who had
"little aspiration." She quit
and landed a job at a big
corporation in computer
programming.
After climbing her way
to the top, she decided 60-70
hours of work a week at a
high-powered job wasn't what
was making her happy. She
became a recess assistant at
Cedar Oak Primary, where
her children were attending
school.
"The relationship with
the kids is what keeps my
balance," Hammond said
referring to students.
Hammond's talent for
technology couldn't be
hidden, even as a recess duty.
After helping a secretary
in the office with a little
computer problem, she was
offered the technical specialist
position at WLHS.
Her passion for her job, and
for kids as well, is what makes
her such an important part of
this school. Even the smallest
parts of her job seem to excite
her. "I love thé feel of the
keyboard beneath my fingers.
It's like a little quirk with me,"
she said.
The alumni program
located on the school web
site is something Hammond
is most proud of. The alumni
page gives accessibility to
graduates as far back as 1939.
With 2,040 alumni registered
into the system, it is easy to
look up someone, acquire
their contact information and
see their senior picture.
Hammond is passionate
about students and anyone
else, who wants to see and
learn about the history at our
school. "It's so important to
be in contact with our alumni
because there's so much
history at this school," she
said.
It's important to
understand the credit
Hammond deserves. Taking
care of our technically
advanced school isn't an
easy task, but even you can
help her out in little ways.
When you have a technical
or computer problem, try to
figure it out or play with it a
little bit before going to her.
She is happy to help, but she
has a lot on her plate. If you
do need her help, you can stop
in for a small visit and I'm
sure she will be excited to see
you, and ready to help.
"I don't want to
them see what I am
talking about [on
myspace] or who
I'm talking to. They
should trust us."
—Brett
Wilkerson,
freshman
"No, I don't believe
so. Kids should not
have to tell their
parents their pass
word. Kids should
be m aking sm art
choices."
—Garett Grimm,
junior
Do you think
parents have the
right to know their
child's password?
"It is an invasion of
privacy. If the kid
wants to give the
password to them
then that is their
decision. However,
they should not be
required."
— Katherine
Longtain,
sophomore
"S p y in g is n o t
an effective w ay
of teaching your
children to be safe
on the internet,"
— M argaret
Hayertz, senior
All photos
by Malia Chong