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Downriver
High School, again has seen many changes. To
begin with, the most drastic change for the students has been the change from
semesters to trimesters. In the long
run, this will give students more opportunities to earn credit.
Last
year with our school year set up into semesters, students were able to earn a
total of 7 credits per year. With
the trimester system students will now be able to earn up to 8 credits per year.
The other benefit to this schedule is that students only concentrate on
five classes plus Express Class (See page 5 for an explanation of Express Class)
instead of seven classes at a time. Class periods are currently longer with
classes being 67 minutes long. This longer class time allows teachers to do more
project-base learning with the students.
Incoming
freshman students need a total of 22 credits to graduate. The trimester schedule
gives students an opportunity to earn credit faster.
Students
are still getting used to our 7:50 start time, but are also grateful for the
2:25 dismissal time.
Finally, DHS is following the Gibraltar School’s calendar that includes late start times. This will only affect Gibraltar bus students. They will be picked up 45 minutes later in the morning. Downriver High School’s start time remains the same and all other students are expected to be here at the regular start time of 7:50. The first late start day will be October 15th.
DHS Senior Class prepare for
upcoming events
On September 22nd,
the Senior Class of 2009 had their first official senior meeting. The senior
class sponsors, Mrs. Diane Lampe and Ms. Dawn Adanti, along with the Class of
2009, discussed many topics.
Some of topics touched on in the meeting were dances, fundraisers, and field
trips. One of the more popular topics of discussion was where the Senior
Dinner/Awards Ceremony will be held this year. The senior class voted that they
would really love to have it on The Detroit Princess Cruise Ship. In order to
obtain the money needed for the Senior Dinner, the seniors will have several
fundraisers. Some fundraisers that are going on right now are pop and Full
Throttle sales in the office and candy sales in the Childcare Center.
Within the next few weeks or so, the seniors will also be selling Mrs.
Lampe’s famous chili during lunch, a bake sale during DHS Open House on
October 9th, as well as delicious cookie dough order
forms floating around the school.
The Senior Class is also working on having a Homecoming Dance for the entire
school some time in November/December. The Class of 2009 is really excited about
all we have to look forward to this year! They thank you in advance for the
support!
Our
Senior Class of 2009: Nicole Bailey, Jenna Cross, Jelisa Dumas, Deanna Easter,
Blakley Egan, Erin Grieves, Aaron
Haase, Samantha Hurley, Heather Lynch, Sandra Miller, Jessica Pauli, James
Rowlands, Jessica Scanlon, Ashlee Smth, Shiloh Snyder, Jamilee Spry and
Breeon Walbridge.
Students research presidential candidates
By Lisabeth Mikolajczyk
Students in Ms. Mikolajczyk’s Civics
class got a taste for what the presidential candidates have to offer and also
learned a little bit more about the political parties that have presidential
candidates in the running. Currently, there are six candidates running for
President of the United States: Chuck Baldwin for the Constitution party, Barack
Obama for the Democratic party, Cynthia McKinney for the Green party, Bob Barr
for the Libertarian party, John McCain for the Republican party and Ralph Nader,
as an independent.
Students were surprised to learn of the
“minority” political parties and their candidates. “I didn’t even
know other people were running beyond McCain and Obama,” said Sandra Miller,
“I researched the Green party and found they have a lot of good things to say
about how to run the country” Phylicia Girardin stated, “I was very
impressed with the Libertarian candidate, Bob Barr. I was glad I got to
research him.” Students had to research what the parties’ platforms
said about education, taxes and federal programs. Overall, they learned
more about the political process and they learned that there are political
parties that match their own beliefs about how the United States ought to be
run.
DHS students continue recycling
Downriver High School’s eighth grade program started recycling paper last year as part of their “Teen Coalition” project with the Guidance Center. Mrs. Guizzetti and her class will continue this throughout this school year as well. In addition to continuing the effort to recycle paper, the school is also recycling water bottles. Every two weeks a fundraising group picks up and takes the bottle to a local recycling center. “I think the effort by staff and students to recycle is great for the school and environment. I am thrilled that we added water bottles to our recycling plan!” said Mrs. Guizzetti.
Conditioning and tryouts for the DHS basketball team begin November 1st. See Mr. Kirby for further details. Don’t forget that in order to play you have to be academically eligible.
September Student of the
Month is Nicole Bailey
DHS
staff members are proud to announce that Septembers Student of the Month is
Nicole Bailey. Nicole is a 17 year old senior, originally form Huron School
District, and she is ecstatic to be recognized as the first SOM of the 2008-2009
school year.
Nicole’s
favorite things about DHS are the outstanding teachers and staff.
She loves her science class, taught by Mrs. Curtis, because she didn’t
realize how good she was at it. Nicole claims that all of her teachers are
fabulous and she loves all of her classes equally.
She also likes to work, go to football games on Fridays and hanging out
with her friends. Nicole also is enjoying reading the Twilight Saga.
Mr.
Kirby said, “I would have to say that this young lady has clearly made her
mark on DHS. She always has a smile
on her face and always treats all staff members with respect.
Although I have never had her in class, there has not been a day where
she has not made an attempt to say hello to me.
Nicole Bailey is a great choice for student of the month.”
Nicole’s advise to her fellow classmates: “Come to school everyday, pay attention and do your work!
DHS includes Express Classes in their schedule
This year at DHS, each staff member is teaching a different Express Class. These Express classes are held 25 minutes before lunch (for the middle school) and after lunch (for the high school). They are designed to give students a different kind of education. One that is focused on character, social skills and relationships. Students will be able to take 3 of these classes this year, one per trimester. This is a pass/fail class. If a student passes all three trimesters of Express Class they will earn 1/2 of an Elective credit. DHS staff members feel that this is an important part of the education for our students and are very excited with the progress of these classes. Below, each teacher describes their Express Class.
Professional Dress days for students are a success
Students get awarded positive action points every Thursday if they dress professionally for school. The goal is to have students understand appropriate dress for a job interview and/or a professional job. Many students are already “dressing the part” and we hope to see school participation for this weekly event increase!
BRRR! It’s Cold!
Attention Staff and Students:
Please remember that the temperature fluctuates frequently in the building.
Dressing in layers is the best way to be comfortable throughout the day!