Bloomington High School North, Nikean, 2011, Page 40

Description:	Photo Illustration by Rachel ThickstunThe Lengths Students GoThey can be seen anywhere in the school, onany given day. They are usually found crouchedover a novel or textbook with an intense look intheir eyes and a nervous air about them boundto the book or papers in then lap like a guardhandcuffed to a briefcase of jewels. These people are thetest-takers and project-presenters of the school, and someof them stand out more than others.Particularly if theyre wearing togas.Freshman Kate Raphael knows all about this; she had towear a toga for her Latin I presentation.We each researched a Roman person, Raphael said.You got extra credit if you wore your toga around schoolall day, so thats what I did.Raphael still laughs nervously at the memory ofcrisscrossing the school in ancient Roman garb.Teople just kind of gave me weird looks in the hall,Raphael said.At the end of this year, freshmen like Raphael will bepreparing for the next big academic endeavor: English 10Honors teacher Bill Hays and his David Copperfield exam.I heard that he grades really hard, sophomore RyanBuehler said, and that he even said, Tf you get an F or a Dyou can improve as time goes on, so I was like, im goingto fail this. That is not good. But I did okay.To prepare for the essay, Buehler marked quotes inthe book to support the thesis of the prompt he thoughtHays would most likely use.[The essay] took me the entire class, Buehler said. Iwas printing it when the bell rang. I felt like I was rusheda bit at the conclusion, so I just need to work on bettertime management.Time management is a skill not only important forsophomores writing an essay in an hour and 25 minutes,but also for juniors taking two A.P. U.S. History tests aweek. Students in the class must take thorough notesover an in-depth chapter and be fully prepared for theexam on test day.For Alexa Blessinger, the tests come in second place tothe notes.The hardest part is getting the notes done and then stilltrying to have time to study and do other homework,Blessinger said.According to Blessinger, its easy to tell when there aregoing to be two A.P. U.S. History tests.Basically, everybody has their book out all the timetaking notes every spare minute, Blessinger said. Mylunch table reviews before our test fourth period, too.A.P. U.S. History isnt the only class that sends itsstudents studying in all directions. Senior Meg Garl isone of a tide of calculus students who spends a large partof her spare time going over her homework and notes.One of the things that makes it more difficult thananother math class is that you have to remembereverything that youve already learned, Garl said.Before tests, Garl often goes to calc parties, whichshe believes they are especially helpful for homeworkproblems she isnt sure how to do, and are a great methodof test preparation.The tests are AP-style tests, so one thing that makesthem more difficult is that theyre timed, Garl said. Soyou really cant spend too much time on one problem oryou wont finish.Raphael, Buehler, Blessinger, and Garl are four of manystudents who have firriously scribbled notes duringclasses, or gone to calc parties, or stood in the lunch linein a toga. Each grade level presents a new challenge, be ittwice-weekly tests or in-class essays.So if a student is vigorously poring over a binder orbook, tabbing pages at hghtning speed, or in the bathroornbefore school pinning a bed sheet to themselves, do thema favor and dont ask questions. Just know that they arelike Raphael, Buehler, Blessinger, or Garl, and that theyreon a mission.Story by Megan Dyer000
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomnorth/id/7033
Collection:	Bloomington High School North

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