Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Counselor's Desk

As I type this, the weather outside is doing everything imaginable.

The day began with freezing rain but not enough to keep us from having school. As the morning passed, rain began to fall and it warmed somewhat. An hour later, it was freezing on the trees and power lines again.

Later, I looked outside to see the sun shining, and before the afternoon was over, I was about ready to dig out the lawn chairs and suntan lotion.

Arkansas weather is a lot like teaching school: one never knows what to expect in the course of a single day.

Things appear to be going very well for the beginning of a new term. Under the block schedule, beginning a new term is a lot like beginning a new year. A lot of schedule changes are made, old books are collected, new books are issued, new class rosters are run and recorded, and teachers have to begin a completely new orientation for their classes.

In a counselor's situation, the thing that would help most would be to have grades as soon as possible after the term has ended. But that would not be possible unless teachers had a work day between terms just to get grades together. Oh well, we're still learning as we progress under "the block."

I have run honor roll lists, and the results look good for the first term. We still have a high number on the honor roll. Some have raised questions about the way we're doing it. We require a student to have a 3.00 or "B" average for the grading period.

Considering the high number who are currently making that, the question arises, "Is it too easy to make the honor roll?" I've heard

some comments about increasing it to a 3.50 grade point. That is the grade average we require for a student to be termed an "Honor Graduate" at our graduation exercise.

Personally, I'm neutral on the subject, but I can see the criticism some are aiming at the policy. Under the current 3.00 requirement, a student could make an "F" and still be on the honor roll. I don't like that, and I have heard others express the same reservation. The principal is ready to request a change in the policy and it would be helpful to have some parent feedback.

It would be most helpful to have the feedback before a new policy is adopted. If any of you parents or students have strong feelings about this, I would like for you to put it in writing and mail it to me. We value the opinions of those in the community.

The Free Application for Federal Financial Aid is now available. Many seniors have already picked up theirs, but many more need to if they plan to apply for financial aid. Let me remind readers again that this is the form used to apply for the Pell Grant, Arkansas Student Assistance Grant, Perkins Loans, College Work-Study, and other subsidized and unsubsidized loans.

One may say that this form applies a student for everything available -- with a few exceptions, of course.

One of those exceptions is the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship. Those have been received and are now available to graduating seniors. The application deadline is October 1, 1997; however, I suggest students not wait that late.