New Days of Leisure: The Give-Back Days

By Haley Matson

Logan Huyler, a freshman at Watkins Glen High School, is excited for give back days now scheduled for this year. He says he is going to spend these days catching up on lost sleep and maybe even playing video games.

“During the week, I lose sleep when teachers give me too much homework,” he said as he crashed Mr. Durfee’s journalism class once again. “I stay up all night doing homework.”

He also says that he believes the difference between a snow day and a regularly scheduled day is that a snow day is a surprise while a regularly scheduled day is just like any other day.

Every school inNew Yorkhas a set amount of 180 days that the students are supposed to attend during the school year. In order to have these 180 days in a span of 10 months, there are certain breaks and days the school schedules in these months for students to have off, leaving a few days for “snow days” in case of an emergency, such as floods and snow storms. But when we don’t use these days, they are scheduled in and given back to the students so that quota of 180 days is met, as explained by Mr. Warren, the principal of Watkins Glen High School.

“Some would argue that these days could be used as extra instructional days,” said Mrs. Bartholomew, also known as Mrs. B. “But according toNew Yorkstate educational law, and according to the school contract with the faculty association, they’re used as emergency days. If we don’t use them, we have to give them back.”

And this year, we didn’t have a need for snow days so now they have to be given back. As a result now we will have off on Thursday, April 5th, which was scheduled as a half day at first. This is now one of these give-back days. The other two will happen on the 4th of May and on the 25th of May in which will extend Memorial Day weekend.

Senora Meierjurgen discussed the giveback days as her students set up the hallway for International Language Day.

“It’s nice to have it attached to spring break,” said Senora Meierjurgen. “It’s always nice to have a long weekend on Memorial day, although the flip side of that is, you’re normally in the middle of review for your finals and everything at that time.”

Everyone has their own ideas of why snow days and regularly scheduled breaks are different from each other and what they will do with their extra time off. Four students each had their own opinions but came together on one thing; they all said they were going to use these days to sleep.

Megan Dupuy, another freshman, said that she was going to get ready for race season. Ashlee Hill, a junior, said she hoped to go somewhere for a vacation.

When our snow days don’t happen, we still get these days off (at least while still in high school). Giveback days might not be spur-of-the-moment instances like snow days, but they are still amazing nonetheless.

WGHS Students Send an S.O.S.

Photos and interviews by Alice Crispell

The Bleak Future of Watkins Glen High School and Beyond

WGHS seniors Ben Bloodgood and Adam Hughey hope the S.O.S. message is heard by state policymakers. The two explained how the future looks bleak at WGHS.

By Damion Westlake

During a time when the United States is falling behind in education standards to other countries, our nation has hit a new low in economic failure. Throughout New York State school district budgets are in the red. For example, the Watkins Glen Central School district will have to cut 14 jobs going into next year. The idea of a school district’s staff being cut by 35 percent is a frightening thought. It could be upcoming in the near future for Watkins Glen School District and if we don’t change this it leads to a very bleak future for our upcoming students.

As a result programs will be drastically reduced. The Fine Arts programs, Business programs, and Technology programs will be most affected. Seniors Benjamin Bloodgood and Adam Hughey described what Watkins Glen High School would have been without these programs.

Bloodgood, for example, is pursuing a career in music. He will attend Mansfield University in the fall to pursue a degree in Music with an Emphasis in Music Technology. He has had many experiences at WGHS that helped him develop his talents as a musician, experiences which could have been taken from him if these cuts were previously enacted.

“If music department was cut, I would have a different future,” Bloodgood said. “They chop out opportunities for kids.”

Mr. Warren explained that WGHS will be a different high school next year.

“We are going to do best that we can to offer the programs currently in place,” said Mr. Warren. “I would also like students to know that it will be different. It hurts to let great teachers, people go but we try to maintain certain levels of every program we have. Be assured that offerings will be what we currently have, just different.”

Many believe that the video production class we offer will be one affected by the financial restraints because the teacher who teaches video production is being let go. Mr. Warren painted a different picture for next year’s class. Morning announcements will continue and a new teacher will teach video production.

“We are trying to keep all electives in place,” Mr. Warren said.

This however does not paint an entirely accurate picture. Mr. Warren explained that psychology and sociology will be dropped because they have too few students. In the fall psychology had 30 students. Psychology has five this semester while sociology has three students enrolled. The respective teachers, Mr. Cheplick and Miss Wood, are needed to teach more history classes due to the release of Mr. Fregly.

Many people question why there are so many cuts. The state government is one of the parties who holds the axe.

The governor of our great state of New York, Andrew Cuomo, declared war on incompetent teachers. He plans on making more efficient teacher evaluation programs mandated throughout the state. Cuomo’s war however is more likely to take out the future of teaching instead of the worst teachers. See Brandon Lucia’s story for an explanation of the last-hired, first-fired policy.

The governor said in his state of the state speech that “he was going to be an advocate for students”. How can he be an advocate for students when by this outdated system he may get rid of the teachers that are actually “advocating” for students? He’s making himself seem like an education governor but his decisions may hurt the education system throughout our great state.

Mr. Cuomo plans on replacing the current regents test format with a more college assessment test. The problem is, what does he expect if certain students have different teacher opportunities than others? Under another Cuomo proposal a merit system will ensure that some schools get more money than others.

Governor Cuomo plans on giving a $250 million grant to schools that perform well and have innovation within the state. A statement he issued said “You don’t just sit there and I’ll send you a check. … You actually have to do something for the money. You reward achievement.” The fact remains that giving those grants is well and good, but with budget cuts, smaller schools are hindered from showing that they cannot “innovative” and “perform well.”

The idea of getting the grant is great but it’s an almost biased system which Mr. Warren concurs with.

“Retirement of a teacher is a possibility,” Mr. Warren said. “Another possibility is to get state grants from the 250 million New York State just received. Problem is we do not have access to it and it favors certain schools over other.”

Here at WGHS are innovating with the creation of a program trying to save their teachers.

Student in collaboration with Student Council created a committee called S.O.S (Save our Schools). They have created a Facebook page and plan on attacking the preconceived notion that the only way of saving money is ridding of us of the teachers we need. They talked about sending mass letters and trying to get the word out locally and on a state level. Some members recently spoke to the Schuyler County Legislature.

Local voters recently decided to approve the superintendent’s proposal to consolidate the schools. Others wonder about the idea of bringing together not only the Watkins schools but the Odessa-Montour and Bradford schools districts. Mr. Warren informed me this could be a “future for our schools.”

“It is another great direction,” said Mr. Warren. “Our District has asked to talk to talk to OM on many occasions. Sharing sports, supporting programs for example this year we could have combined Varsity Boys Swimming Teams because both teams were on smaller scale. Odessa has been more receptive to ideas.”

Some students question the wisdom of such a move.

“I don’t see the future as Watkins Glen School District,” said senior Adam Hughey. “I see it as Schuyler County School district.”

Even as seniors prepare to leave the halls of WGHS the future will still affect them. Bloodgood has a younger brother who is a freshman in our school.

“He is going to be going to a metaphorical prison,” Bloodgood said.