New ACT-based curriculum ousts state testing

By:  Lucy Pruitt and Elizabeth Lee

Staff Reporters

Recently, the Lamar County School District made the decision to be one of five school districts in the state to pilot the Excellence for All grant program. The grant, worth $50,000, was awarded to the district from the Mississippi Department of Education to revamp the core curriculum and implement more rigorous classes. As a result of the new programs, changes will come for coursework, tests, and possibly the way the state measures the districts’ performances. Another result of the program will be no state testing for students at the end of each semester; however, subject exams will be put in place. Tess Smith, Principal of Sumrall High School, is heading up the implementation of the new program. “Students will no longer take the Subject Area Tests (SATs), but instead will take a test at the end of each course,” Smith said. “The only state test students will continue to take is U.S. History.”

The Excellence for All curriculum has been designed to coexist with the new Common Core standards and curriculum to prepare students for the Common Core assessments in 2014-2015, along with future ACT testing.

In order to focus high school students on college and career readiness, the district chose to switch to the ACT company’s Quality Core curriculum, which means students graduating from high school will already have acquired some college credits. This allows students who don’t plan on attending college to be more eligible for jobs right out of high school. Kim Benton, interim deputy state superintendent, stated, “This is an innovative program of study that’s designed to prepare students for college and career pathways that will allow them to succeed on a national and international level.” The coursework will provide several options for students of all levels. “Students in grades nine and ten can earn enough credits to exit high school early and go on to community college if they wish,” Benton said. “They can also stay in high school and pursue advanced coursework in 11th and 12th grades, taking college courses while still in school.” The flexibility and more specialized coursework will improve every student’s education by specifically targeting their weak areas and better preparing them for life after high school, whether in a community college, university, trade school, or elsewhere.

A common practice for students today is memorizing the curriculum only to pass the test. Soon after the test, all memory of the material is forgotten. In educational paths, this is not a habit that will help students become career and college ready. The Excellence for All program focuses on teaching the students and getting them prepared for college and for their future. The curriculum will essentially be taught the same way it is being taught now, but Lamar County School District teachers will receive a five-day training course, funded by the $50,000 grant, to help them get acquainted with the new program.

Grades 9 and 10 will undergo the changes next year, and grades 11 and 12 will implement the new courses beginning the 2014-2015 school year. Changes are being staggered to allow the upperclassmen to continue on the educational path they have been on without interrupting the system to which they are accustomed. Students, teachers, and parents are embracing the promising new course standards and learning methods that characterize the curriculum chosen for Excellence for All.

Album Review > The 20/20 Experience

By: Lucy Pruitt | Staff Reporter

After having dominated the late 90’s and early 2000’s with his band N’ Sync then progressing to a very successful solo career, Justin Timberlake released yet another solo album. The 20/20 Experience was released on March 15, 2013, and debuted as number one on the U.S. Billboard Top 200.

“Suit and Tie,” the radio hit single of the album so far, peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and within the top five in several countries worldwide. Though many fans and critics have given this album high praise, I have found The 20/20 Experience to be far from stellar. The occasional song that runs seven or eight minutes long is great, but the entire album consisting of songs that are averaging seven minutes is pushing the limit.

At times while listening to the album, I got the feeling that the main goal of The 20/20 Experience was to exceed normal song length. Quickly after the expected time allotment for the song elapses, it feels as if the key changes, vamps, and bridges were randomly placed in the songs just for the purpose of creating unnecessarily lengthy music. The songs will fade out in the middle, giving you the impression that it will end only to leave you disappointed in the realization that you are barely halfway through. I find myself feeling a sense of accomplishment when I listen to an entire song in one sitting.

The intros to many of the songs are very creative, and though they are oddly irrelevant and completely different in style, they started to grow on me as I became more familiar with the music. In the first song on the album “Pusher Love Girl,” the intro sounds very theatrical and would fit somewhere in a Walt Disney movie turned 1950’s Broadway production, unlike the song which is about drugs, drug pushers, and addictions.

Despite their repetition, the choruses are catchy and fun. The album was classified as “Neo Soul,” consisting of styles ranging from jazz, funk, and hip hop to pop, fusion, and African music. All of these styles are very clearly portrayed in songs such as “Don’t Hold the Wall” and “Mirrors.”

I can’t help but compliment Justin Timberlake’s voice and technique when he sings. Most of the album is sung in his trademark falsetto that does not sound strained or forced. Because of his constant high voice, the change to his natural, deeper tone sounds rich and full in comparison. Though, I was disappointed in the length and content of The 20/20 Experience, I have to say that I was generally pleased with the album.

Phillip Phillips dazzle crowd at Eaglepalooza

By: Lucy Pruitt

Staff Reporter

This year, the Student Government Association of the University of Southern Mississippi hosted one of the most talked about Eaglepalooza concerts in its history. The memorable concert started off at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, April 5, with Churchill, an alternative band that’s sound could be described as a mix of Coldplay and Fleetwood Mac. After I watched Churchill perform its original songs and a cover of “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac, there was no doubt in my mind that this band is one day going to be hugely famous. The opening band warmed up the crowd with beautiful harmonies, incredible talent on the mandolin, and great crowd interaction.

Immediately following a crowd pleasing performance by Churchill, Grammy Nominated singer/songwriter Elle Varner strutted onto the stage alongside her keyboard-playing father and extraordinary beatboxer. During the middle of her set, Varner reached over and grabbed her guitar to play a segment of an unfinished song from her new album that will soon be released. When she sat down with the guitar, she started the riff and had to stop in order to tune her guitar. After asking her band to play an “E” multiple times, she eventually finished tuning and continued with her part of the show. Varner was very well known throughout the crowd and gave a very entertaining performance.

After a long, drawn-out wait for the biggest act of the night, I finally caught sight of a very rugged Phillip Phillips. Clad in a red-plaid shirt that he may or may not have slept in a couple times, loose fitting dark blue jeans, and black TOMS, Phillips drove his fangirls crazy. The screams from the crowd were eardrum-shattering, but Phillips seemed quite comfortable and used to the female crowd reaction. The audience was filled to the brim with crazed fans that, like myself, knew and sang every word of his album with him.

Phillips’ singing was perfect to the point of sounding exactly like his album The World from the Side of the Moon. He played his songs on his multiple Taylor guitars enthusiastically and skillfully. He managed to dance and jump around on the stage while never missing a note or a beat. His set included a handful of songs from his album, a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” and a creative mashup-like intro into his debut single “Home.” Phillips was not very interactive with the crowd and mumbled more than he spoke, but the amount of musical talent on the stage made up for it. Phillips’s band was obviously a group of very highly trained musicians and performers that included a phenomenal saxophone player that had a few memorable solos.

After Phillips played his artistic version of “Home” for the finale, he and his band walked off stage, and the crew came on and started taking the set down. The crowd began to disperse and separate when a group of college-aged kids in the back started shouting for an encore. Just a minute passed before Phillips and the band flew back on the stage and began to play the coolest song of the night. The encore was a mashup of acoustic versions of rap songs, old classics, and modern day hits. Overall, Eaglepalooza was a great concert with outstanding lights, music, and entertainers.

Coming Home

By: Lucy Pruitt

Staff Reporter

TOGETHER AGAIN
Junior Mary Helen Peden is surprised during her 3rd block show choir class by her father Major Chris Peden, whom she had not seen in nearly a year.

After serving his complete deployment in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, Major Chris Peden has returned his home of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He is currently assigned to the 1184th Deployment Distribution Support Battalion in Mobile, Alabama. The group’s job is to facilitate the movement of cargo to and from a Seaport of Debarkation (SPOD). The SPOD is generally the point that all logistics from main battle tanks to food items enter the theater of operation to support an ongoing mission.

Major Peden’s training to deploy actually started in March of 2012. His unit went to Fort Dix, New Jersey, for three weeks to train on basic soldiering skills prior to actual mobilization. This training consists of marksmanship, land navigation, and combative skills. The group mobilized at Camp Shelby on April 16, 2012, and they went through the soldier readiness process (SRP). They then completed unit validation, which certified the soldiers to complete the mission at hand. The unit landed in Kuwait on May 9, 2012, where they were attached to the 595th Transportation Battalion. Many of the soldiers were deployed to Afghanistan, as well as the United Arab Emirates. Major Peden served as the Brigade S4 (logistics officer) providing oversight and planning to the 595th Transportation Brigade and all subordinate units. The unit completed its mission and left Kuwait on February 3, 2013.

Upon returning home, the idea to surprise his daughter, Mary Helen Peden, of his arrival was proposed by his wife, Cindy, and the youth minister of Heritage United Methodist Church, J Nelson. Though Peden knew her father was planning to come back home soon, she did not know he was intending to come to the school. Then on February 5 Major Peden arrived at the school during Peden’s third block show choir class. Little did she know she would be interrupted in the middle of her class to see her father for the first time in a year. She knew her dad was coming home but had no clue as to when she would actually see him. Peden’s mother kept the date a secret from her.

The year without her father was a difficult time for Peden. “The hardest part of him being overseas was the separation and not being together as a family,” she said. There were multiple holidays, celebrations, and traditions that were not as family oriented because of his absence, such as her birthday, church events, Oak Grove and MSU football seasons, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

“I was so happy and relieved to know he was home,” she said. “I love my dad, and I was concerned for his safety.”

“We were both very excited about my coming home. As to who was more excited, I believe you could call it a tie,” Major Peden said.

This was Major Peden’s second and final deployment. His last deployment was also to Kuwait with the 1181st DDSB (Deployment Distribution Support Battalion) in 2009. He has plans to retire from the military in June of 2013. “My father had served in the army during WWII, and I felt that it was my patriotic duty to join the military to do my part. The military has provided a good opportunity to give back to my country,” Major Peden said.

Major Peden’s service in the United States Military is much appreciated by all. The Pedens’ story is just one of the many stories of Oak Grove students with family members serving in the military.

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars

By: Lucy Pruitt | Staff Reporter

http://www.booksellers.penguin.com PHOTO

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green was published last year and set in modern day Indianapolis. The book is narrated by sixteen-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster as she recounts what she calls her “Pre-Miracle Days” of past struggles with Stage Four thyroid cancer and her a fragile teenage life. Hazel has three primary best friends: her overprotective mom, highly emotional dad, and the author of her favorite book who, it should be mentioned, doesn’t even know she exists.

After her parents and doctors diagnose her with clinical depression, she is forced to attend a weekly support group for cancer kids where she meets a new acquaintance Isaac, a boy with “fantastically improbable eye cancer.” Through both Isaac and her support group, Hazel meets Augustus Waters, the adorably immature, intellectual teenage amputee. Augustus becomes infatuated with Hazel the moment she speaks to him. Hazel convinces Augustus to read her favorite book An Imperial Affliction by Peter Van Houten (the aforementioned third best friend), and he becomes nearly as obsessed with it as she is. Thus, the story begins.

Hazel and Augustus’s relationship grows against Hazel’s will, and after a scary admittance and discharge from the hospital with yet more medical problems, Hazel learns that Augustus had saved his “Wish from the Genies” (a fictional version of the Make A Wish Foundation); he wants to use his wish with her.

As Hazel’s family and friends develop, they assure her that she is more than she sees herself to be. She is more than her cancer.

John Green created a work of art when writing The Fault in Our Stars. He can take your breath away with a single sentence or throw a beautiful plot twist that will make you question every preceding thought. The sadness in the story is often masked by humor or a bright outlook. This book is not so much a cancer book or a book that will be appreciated by a reader looking for a light-hearted story; it was written for the readers looking for deep meaning and a well written plot. With every page, we learn more about the characters and their inner struggles. From regular teenage problems to the constant, wavering threat of death hanging over their shoulders, these teens inspire each other to love without hesitation and passionately run full-force at life, tearing away from all of the IV’s and cannulas that have held them back for too long.

The Fault in Our Stars will make you laugh, cry, and appreciate your life as it is. This extraordinary and memorable book is recommended for older teens and adult readers alike.

Young Republicans Address Elephants in the Room

By: Lucy Pruitt

Staff Reporter

The Young Republican’s Club, led by Mrs. Diane Hardin, is composed of students who feel that their political views line up best with the Republican Party. However, most of the students believe that the Republican party is very out of touch with the young voters of America. The group members are interested in meeting with like-minded students to discuss the changes they feel should be made.

YRC was started in 2010 by Kent McCarty in his senior year. The club started out like most clubs by meeting once a month, but because the members are so passionate they recently decided to have weekly meetings. The club meets every Thursday. It is not necessary to be an official member of the club to come to the meetings. The club gatherings are open to any like-minded student, whether he or she can can join every week or just once in awhile. There are typically 15-20 members who come to the meetings regularly.

The club’s most recent project has been quite a monumental task. The members chose to take the Republican Platform and revise it to more accurately reflect the views of today’s young Republican. This is no small task as the platform is 86 pages long. Mrs. Hardin has communicated with club leaders from other towns of Mississippi, as well as Texas and Virginia, and none of them are attempting anything so challenging.

The students in the club have already tackled some very controversial topics including the definition of marriage, religious freedom, illegal immigration, and education. The club spent two weeks on the topic of abortion but could not come to a consensus, so the members agreed to table the topic until a later date.

The club plans to finish the platform revision by the middle of second semester, so they can send it to Republicans of Mississippi to see if they could get feedback from the professionals. “The members discuss things with a maturity and level-headedness that is often missing in the ‘real’ political world,” Mrs. Hardin said.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

By: Lucy Pruitt, Staff Reporter

Twas the night before send-off and all through G-104,

Everyone was editing and writing some more

The stories were pinned on the bulletin board with care

All for the editors to see them there

The writers were crazy, all spinning in chairs

While Jordan and Morgan carried out a dare

Mrs. Davis in her sweater and Lauren in her hat

Had just sat down for brief newspaper chat

When all of a sudden there rose such a clatter,

I sprang from my chair to see what was the matter

Away to Mrs. Davis’s desk I flew like a flash

I slid under a chair and knocked over the trash

The articles pasted on the newspaper layout

Gave the expectation of really great sendout

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But Tyler and Andrew dressed as Santa and reindeer

With a little old radio playing Christmas tunes,

They danced around and acted like baboons

More crazy than loons they went and they came

They laughed and whistled and called us by name
“Now, TAYLOR! Now, KATIE! Now, OLIVIA and NATHAN!

On SAMANTHA! On ELIZABETH! On MARY KATE and CAITLYNN!

Santa, his elves, and his reindeer are here

To give all the staff more Christmas cheer!”

And then with red pen smeared on their hands,

Mary Ryan and Miranda were shouting commands

As I finished my stories and scrambled around,

I was boggled to hear the sweetest of sounds

The joyous jingling of bells I heard

As Nan and Kirk hurriedly entered

From Santa’s sleigh came the sound

With twelve reindeer in silver straps bound

I don’t know how the sleigh got inside

But it seemed to arrive in one swift glide

And sitting comfortably in the driver’s seat

Was Old Saint Nick with the Warrior Beat

Then the sleigh lifted into flight

And he flew off higher, nearly out of sight

He turned back to call

“Merry Christmas to all, those Warriors can write!”

SISTER, SISTER: Senior-freshmen Sibling Dilemmas

by: Lucy Pruitt

Staff Reporter

For most high schoolers, freshman and senior years are the most exciting. But for some freshman, like me, it’s even more fun because he/she has a senior sibling. Having a sister who is at a completely opposite side of the high school spectrum is really interesting and helpful at times. Because she has already successfully completed most of her high school career, she often helps me decide what I should do or be involved in, or at least tries to influence me.

Cartoon drawn by Andrew Adams

My sister Caroline and I have always looked alike, but now more than ever. I get stopped by teachers all the time in the hallway asking how I played in the volleyball game last night or if I did well on a test. Some of them don’t even realize that I am not my sister until after I tell them. I have had many of the teachers my sister once had, so I am very accustomed to being called Caroline at school. When I know that my sister is not around, or that no one named Caroline is around, I typically end up responding to it as if they had said Lucy.

Having a senior sister has many perks. One of them was knowing when Senior Roll Night was. I was able to stay up until the seniors came to throw mounds of toilet paper all over my yard. When the parade of cars came that night, my dad and I turned on the sprinkler system in the front yard to watch the seniors run, soaking wet, to their cars, my sister being one of them. I viewed this experience as a jumpstart to high school.

Having my sister in high school with me also has its low points, such as my reliance on her for transportation. On the day of the Petal game, my sister was charged with the incredible responsibility of taking me home. I ran to the parking lot because she told me she was running out early because she had to be home quickly. When I got to her empty parking spot, I stood in the middle of it and looked around for her car, but it was nowhere in sight. She had forgotten me. What was worse, though, was how she didn’t even realize she had forgotten me until she was halfway home and I was calling her. By the time she was leaving the parking lot with me, she ended up being near the last to leave. For the record, she did apologize.

My sister often shares with me how her friends always tell her that I have absolutely no concept of seniority. Because these seniors are always around me, I really consider them my friends, too. My sister lets me tag along sometimes when she and her friends go see a movie if I have nothing else to do. When people my age order me to do something and expect me to do it without question, I refuse.  So why should it be any different if you are a few years older? Although, I’m sure when I’m a senior, I will completely disagree.

Contrary to popular belief, having a senior sister did not make my first days of high school much less scary. It did help to see some of “our” friends in the hallway give me comforting looks, but it didn’t help at all when she yelled “FRESHMAN!” in my ear and pushed me into a wall during the second week of school. I wasn’t offended by it. My friends were laughing so hard anyway, I couldn’t help but yell back “JERK!” High school wasn’t nearly as scary as everyone told me it was going to be. People said the seniors would be big and mean, but they just seem a couple of years older. Maybe that’s just because I knew a lot of them.

I love having a senior sister. It’s an ongoing joke in my family that Caroline paved the way for me in high school, and she probably did. But either way, it has always been nice to be the baby sister, as long as she refrains from doing something really dumb in second semester that would leave me to blame.

Goodbye stress hello success

By: Lucy Pruitt

Staff Reporter

Being successful in school requires hard work, determination, and motivation, but sometimes doing everything needed to feel successful can bring overpowering stress. So, the question is, how do we do everything and still stay sane?

Freshman Lauren Pitts, athlete, accelerated student, and avid club member, tells us her way to stay calm, cool, and collected. “When I get stressed, I listen to music,” Pitts said. “It really relaxes me.” Pitts is involved in many different activities in the Hattiesburg area. These include being on the Oak Grove High School varsity soccer and junior varsity volleyball teams, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Beta Club, Mu Alpha Theta, and U-15 girls Hattiesburg Futbol Club soccer team.

Pitts’s schedule is never ending. Her fourth block in school is soccer, so on any normal Monday or Wednesday, she goes from school soccer to school volleyball to club soccer to finishing up school work late at night. Her volleyball games are typically on Tuesdays and Thursdays; because of this, she has to cut out her club soccer on volleyball game days. On Fridays, she starts the day with FCA and ends with OG volleyball.

“My mom thinks I’m never home,” Pitts said.

In addition to juggling clubs and activities, Pitts also excels in academics. She has never made lower than an A on a report card and is in two accelerated classes.

Stress in teens is typically caused by disorganization and lack of time to relax because of a busy schedule. Knowing where everything you need is and being able to locate it easily is a great way to decrease your stress. “I try to keep things in the same place by having certain places for certain things,” Pitts said.

With a crazy schedule, Pitts doesn’t have much time to relax, so she does everything she can to make her life less stressful. “I don’t have much time to just chill,” Pitts said. “Sometimes I just feel like quitting, but when I do, I look around and try to find someone who will push me to be a better person or player.”

Finding motivation in everything you do can help you get through the stressful times. “My motivation is competition. It’s fun to compete in practices and games.”

Different things make different people stress out. Some people may seem to not stress at all. Maybe your way to de-stress is listening to music, too, or maybe taking bubble baths and drinking herbal tea works. You might try lots of different activities before you find the right one. Organization, motivation, and your own way to de-stress can help you say goodbye to stress and hello to success.

SPORTS, SCHOOLWORK, AND STRESS
Freshman Lauren Pitts balances academics and athletics by staying calm both in the classroom and on the field. | Photo by MARY KATE WALDRON

Guest speaker coming to Oak Grove

Lucy Pruitt

Staff Reporter

Johnny Poulos stands in front of the empty chairs used to represent the deaths of Mississippi students in one year.

On October 19 Master Sergeant Johnny Poulos, Director of Public Affairs and an employee the Mississippi Highway Patrol, is coming to Oak Grove to speak to students about the dangers of texting/drinking and driving along with seatbelt safety, prevalent social issues among teenagers. Poulos is entering his 14th year as a State Trooper.

Poulos is from D’iberville, Mississippi. He plays guitar in a rock band with his friends. This helps him relate to the young drivers he speaks to. He started getting passionate about the dangers of teenage driving when he investigated a fatality crash involving two 18 year old males. This initially caused him to want to put together a driving safety video and deliver it to Mississippi students, organizations, businesses, etc. “Upon arrival at the crash, I feared my oldest son was involved. The experience made me realize the need for education of teenaged drivers,” Poulos said.

Poulos has made presentations to many organizations and schools, including Mississippi Power, Alabama Power, Georgia Power, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic Injury Research Foundation, Mississippi National Guard, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Forestry Service, and numerous civic organizations.

Through all of his years of presenting to groups, organizations, and schools he has won many awards. These awards include the 2007 and 2010 Best Safety Presentation at Uniformed Safety Education Workshop, 2011 Telly Award-Producer “Empty Chairs”, and the 2011 C.I.N.E Eagle Award-Best Video “Empty Chairs”.

In his presentations, Poulos shows a video that tells the stories of actual teenage/young adult victims of fatal car crashes. The results of the crashes on the victims vary from mental to physical injuries. The opening story of the video entitled “Empty Chairs” is about two parents who lost both their 17-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son. Poulos explains in the video how this is a story told by families every day in Mississippi. In the video, Poulos uses empty chairs to represent the number of students that were killed in car crashes in one year just on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Poulos shows in the video that Mississippi is ranked second in the nation in teenage driving fatalities.

The video goes on with stories similar to this. Poulos stresses to his viewers the importance of seatbelt safety, sober driving, and not texting while behind the wheel. Poulos, as always, hopes his presentation at Oak Grove High School will impact the students and save lives.