Front Page
"Rewards created for good attendance raises questions"
Texas established a new attendance law, saying that students must attend 90% of a course in order to get credit for it. Bowie High School came up with incentives to start attending school more, such as exam exemptions and personal parking spaces. Students were confused, at first, and they knew it had a lot to do with the state obtaining money - but the students should take advantage of the opportunity they're being given to make their school life somewhat easier.
Who: Bowie High School students.
What: The new established attendance policies and incentives.
When: The beginning of the Spring semester.
Where: The attendance policies were established in all of Texas, but the incentives were for Bowie.
Why: There was a problem with a lack of attendance in Texas public schools, and more attendance for the Texas means increased state revenue.
How: They're enforcing the attendance policy by coming up with incentives (rewards).
Quoted: Freshman Grace Little, senior Madi Little, junior Mason Kendrick, US History teacher Ruth Widner, and senior Lauryn Kendrick were quoted in the story.
Strongest Quote: "I know someone who dropped out of high school, got her GED, and directly went into the film business. But I also know people that have dropped out of high school with no ambition and no concrete support that waste away all their unused potential.
The opening sentence wasn't really interesting enough to make me want to read more.
The conclusion was a quote.
Student Life
"Lyles brigs laughs with her Vines about teenager problems"
Mikaela Lyles makes Vines on Vine. Some people agree with social media, because it's a way to socialize and keep yourself entertained. Other people disagree with it, because there are online bullying problems and it disconnects you from your own society.
Who: Mikaela Lyles.
What: Vine, and social media in general.
When: Now?
Where: Here. I'm guessing.
Why: Lyles makes Vines to entertain people and herself, because her friends from Florida had always told her, growing up, that she was really funny.
How: Um.
Quoted: Junior Mikaela Lyles, senior Bryanna Feamster, junior Sahaj Mann, senior Samantha Jimenez, and English teacher Vicki Herbert were quoted in the story.
Strongest Quote: "Social media isn't meant for such things. Social media has even tried to prevent this from happening by adding block options to make sure users can't contact you again or see things that relate to you."
The opening sentence felt kind of cheesy, and I probably wouldn't have continued reading if it weren't for this assignment.
The conclusion was a statement.
News
"Band to compete in nationals"
The Band is going to be competing in the Grand National this year. It's in Indianapolis this year, and they'll be competing against some of the best marching bands in the nation. There's a lot of planning involved, pertaining to the trip itself and the money and sustenance, but excitement is high and everyone is very competitive.
Who: The Bowie band.
What: They're going to the Grand National.
When: November 2016.
Where: The Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Why: All the excitement and the history mentioned make you assume that they're really good, and that would by why they're going to the Grand Nats.
How: A lot of time and money and effort.
Quoted: Sophomore Caroline Garcia, head director Kim Shuttlesworth, freshman Allison Yetter, freshman Maya Webb, and freshman Adam Dinkins were quoted in the story.
Strongest Quote: "From a travel standpoint, you have to think about how many hotel rooms, how many chaperones, how many kids, how many meals, and what do they not pay for. From a planning standpoint, you have to make sure that you pick a good show. That makes all the difference."
The opening sentence made me want to read more.
The conclusion was a quote.
Sports
"Swiftly overcoming obstacles"
Instead of baseball, basketball, or football, two freshman train in parkour. It's a sport that requires a lot of agility and attention to detail. It's not something to be done outside of a gym with professionals, because it's dangerous when you don't have someone watching over you.
Who: Joseph Killeen and Seth Leifheit.
What: Parkour.
When: Now.
Where: They train at BAM Academy and both go to Bowie High School.
Why: They both think it's interesting and fun, and requires a lot of thinking and challenges.
How: With a lot of hard work, I would infer.
Quoted: Freshman Joseph Killeen, freshman Seth Leifheit, and Parkour facilities owner Matthew Willis were quoted in the story.
Strongest quote: "Once I jumped off a 20-foot wall and tried to do a front flip and land it, but I ended up crashing and almost twisting my ankle."
The opening sentence was sort of in story-mode, and it really did make me want to read more.
The conclusion was a statement.
Entertainment
"In Review: Star Wars"
People all over the place are still freaking out about Star Wars: The Force Awakens. People, even over a month after the initial release, are still filling up theaters everywhere for their fourth times seeing the movie. It's been eleven years since the last Star Wars movie, so it was about time that the next one came out. Although some things about the movie are causing problems among people, people are still waiting on the edge of their seats for the eighth episode to come out.
Who: All Star Wars fanatics, and even the people who aren't obsessed and just enjoyed the latest movie.
What: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
When: The initial film was released about two months ago, but people are still going crazy over it now.
Where: Everywhere (at least in the U.S.).
Why: It's been a long time since the last episode had been released, and this film has become the fourth highest-grossing film of all time, with numbers still rising.
How: The earlier episodes had pulled everyone in, and there was no way they were missing the latest film.
Quoted: There were no quotes.
Strongest Quote: There were still no quotes.
The first sentence made me want to keep reading, along with the second, and the third.
The conclusion was a statement.
Commentary
"Drawbacks of the 'Incentives'"
The incentives for maintaining good attendance are really setbacks for most of the students. Reserved parking spaces would be frustrating, especially for the people who are unwilling to pay so much money just to buy one. The exam exemptions are a waste of time, and so many people already have more than three absences this semester, so it's unfair to them. The off-periods are more of a threat than an incentive.
Who: The students of Bowie, or the people who are administering the Incentives.
What: A new attendance law was established, so the people at Bowie decided to give incentives to the students for them to keep up their attendance, but it's really just a huge setback.
When: Starting the 2016-17 school year officially, and somewhat in the 15-16 fall semester, continuing indefinitely.
Where: Bowie High School.
Why: They're a setback for many different reasons - threats, frustration, money, fairness. (Read summary - I think I mention all of those).
How: Um.
Quoted: There are no quotes in this story.
Strongest Quote: Still no quotes in the story.
I wouldn't say it made me want to read more, but I like how it's started.
The conclusion was a statement.
Main Story
"Tarzan brings STC to new heights"
The STC did an amazing job portraying "Tarzan" through the musical. A lot of things about just this play can get many students credit for places they plan to go in the future, and people are starting to recognize the people who played the characters in mundane places. Everyone that worked together on it are extremely proud, from the tech to the performers to the choreographers.
Who: The Starlight Theatre Company.
What: Their depiction of "Tarzan" in the form of a musical.
When: About a week ago, and the shows have been being performed for quite a few weeks.
Where: Bowie High School.
Why: Because it's amazing (I've seen it).
How: How? Through a long while of hard work, team work, choreography, rehearsals, set-building, and costume-designing. And some money.
Quoted: Senior Eryn Northcutt, junior Emma Hashcke, junior Jackson Walker, senior Austin Hyde, senior Juliana Davis, and director Betsy Cornwell were quoted in the story.
Strongest Quote: Almost all of these quotes are pretty strong, but: "I was stuck in the longest traffic line of my life on the day of that terrible rain storm waiting to see the cast list. I was getting all these messages on my phone, but I just ignored it and when I finally got to school it was so rewarding. This is the first tie I have set a long-term goal and achieved it, so it really makes me more confident for the future since Disney has also been a long-time goal. If you work really hard for something and if you really want it, sometimes the universe conspires for you."
The first sentence was kind of amazing.
The conclusion was a quote.
Photography
1. My favorite photo in the entire paper is "King of the Jungle."
1A. It's my favorite because it's really interesting. There's a dynamic about the action in the picture combined with the viewpoint that makes it really exciting.
1B. Viewpoint.
2. My least-favorite picture in the whole paper is "Reaching for the Sky."
2A. The way her face has a pole coming out of both sides of it, the way the background distracts from the subject, her back leg. I feel bad for totally roasting this picture, but it really bothers me.
3. Tarzan, definitely. It's fun, and the musical is great, and sitting in on either the shows or rehearsals and capturing moments from both seem like fun, and also like they provide lots of opportunities for great pictures.
4. I'd say it's a 7. There are quite a few good pictures, but there are also some not-so-good ones. A lot of the photos have problems with background things going on, or bad focus quality. The high points always have a good viewpoint and a not-distracting background.
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