Broadneck High School

• Sophomore head to Italy for study abroad trip
• No more essays on High School Assessments
• Population isn't growning, teachers are leaving
• Senior takes fashion into her own hands
• Involved senior finds time to volunteer
• Who are the stadiums named for?
• Wellness House provides support

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Emma Gilbert is leaving on a study abroad trip to Italy in January. She will be there until midway through July.

While most of us are overwhelmed by the worries of memorizing chemistry equations or taking a statistics exam, sophomore Emma Gilbert has other things on her mind.

Emma has dropped all of her math and science courses for this year in order to successfully spend several months away from home. Emma will be studying in Italy through a program known as American Field Service. The schooling she will be completing in Italy follows a different pace than ours; therefore, her credits for math and science courses would not transfer over.

As a result, she will have to take these classes in the years ahead. Departing Maryland in late January and returning midway through July, Emma will find herself living far away from home. 'I'm really excited,' she said. 'I'm also scared, but what's the worst thing that could happen?' This is the first time Emma will be studying abroad but not the first experience she has had away from home.

This past summer Emma participated in the Outward Bound program to spend over two weeks on a whitewater rafting and mountaineering course. The course included camping in the wilderness, rappelling and climbing mountains and plenty of hiking. Through it all, Emma says that she 'met some awesome people and learned some valuable skills.'

Emma enjoys traveling for new experiences and hopes to do it more often when she grows up.

After her parents agreed to the idea last winter, she then researched it for awhile until making her final decision. Because of the separation she will have from her parents, Emma understands that she will be on her own and will have to think on her own. She has been preparing herself by being less dependent on others.

'I'm independent, so I know that I'll be fine,' Emma said.

Emma thinks her mom will miss her the most, although she believed the trip was a great idea. Being a triplet, the time away from her siblings will be something Emma is not used to.

'Not seeing them every day will be weird,' she said. She will be able to communicate back and forth with her family and friends easily because she plans on creating an online blog in order to do so. However, Emma does not plan on constantly talking to those here. 'I'll be making a life [in Italy] and won't be worried as much about what's going on here.'

Emma will be staying with a host family that was specifically matched to her. She and her family were interviewed to get what is believed to be a close enough match so she feels comfortable with the host family.

'It will be easier knowing I'm with a family like me.'

Emma has not been told where in Italy she will be located, but should find out sometime before she leaves. Knowing where she will be staying is one thing Emma is looking forward to. 'I don't want to have any expectations because I don't want to be disappointed,' she said.

This trip is an incredible amount of planning and preparing which will be hard for Emma as it gets closer. 'It's not as easy as people think. A lot goes into it,' she said. She has the responsibilities of completing an online course on different cultures, relating to new people, and of course, packing enough for six months. Emma also had to help fund her trip by paying $4,750, approximately half of the total cost.

Why study abroad? 'There's no reason not to,' Emma said.

Congratulations! For all you out there with an English phobia, your salvation has come.

Granted, it's in the form of a test, but take the mercy where you can get it. Now to the slackers out there, this seems like a great idea, but to the teachers and those of us concerned with school, this is less of a blessing and more of a curse.

It has been decided that all writing will be removed from the High School Assessments. The reasoning behind such a decision is that the school needs to get back its scores so it can more quickly compare itself to other schools. No Child Left Behind preaches teaching to the test. In other words, if it isn't on the test, it isn't important.

Following this logic, one can assume that our state government doesn't care whether we can write or not. It seems a bit irresponsible when college admissions tests, namely the SAT and ACT, add writing components and the government omits them from the HSA.

Granted, not all colleges depend on standardized test scores. In fact, what they pay attention to even more are the admission essays. This is another example of No Child Left Behind leaving kids behind: it pushes them out of high school, but nowhere near college.

Lately, the government has become so concerned with increasing math and science scores they apparently no longer care about this generation's ability to write.

In a fast paced culture whose main communication resorts to e-mails and text messages, the idea of sitting and writing a grammatically correct letter is obsolete.

In an October 23 interview, Bill Reinhard, Maryland State Department of Education specialist, explained that the multiple choice section of the test has become so specified that the graders are going to be able to tell if a student can write well or not. I severely doubt that by filling in answer bubbles, one can tell who is a good writer and who isn't. In fact, grammar itself has become obsolete, and obviously not important enough to be taught in public schools.

Do school officials really think there really is no correlation between being grammatically correct and writing well? Better communication is what is going to be able to aide in solving serious world problems. When no one can hear each other among the yelling, writing is the only effective communication. Education cannot just come in a prepackaged, ready-to-go box.

In order to teach a student, one must learn what that student needs, and not focus on making her test scores higher than another student's. Taking writing from the HSA further enforces No Child Left Behind, which only stands for the purpose of standardized education.

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You get your schedule on the first day of school and head to your 1A class, hoping to see some familiar faces, only to find a jam-packed classroom with nowhere to sit. Starting this year, this scenario became all too familiar.

Although Broadneck has actually had a 5 percent variation in the number of students for the past eight years, what may seem like a growing student body is really due to the loss of teachers. Broadneck lost five teaching positions from the business, English, math, physical education, and social studies departments.

Last year, Broadneck High School was allotted 110.3 teaching positions, but this year Broadneck was only allotted 105.07 teaching positions. In addition, the allocation reduction was met by the combination of two excess teachers (who were taken away by Dr. Maxwell this year), voluntary reduction to part-time, and not filling in vacant positions.

The average student-to-teacher ratio is 23 to 1, which means that for every teaching position there are, on average, 23 students. Therefore, when Broadneck lost five teaching positions, 23 students per teacher (115 students) had to be spread out among other classes. The school's population has gone from 2111 students in 2001-2002 to 2230 students this year. (The figures for previous years were end of year figures; 2007-08 figures are for the beginning of the year.)

According to Rick Carlson, the administrator in charge of scheduling, classes have become larger, people have been turned down for certain electives and teachers are working harder than ever to accommodate this loss.

'We've been fairly steady the past few years, but this year has been impacted because there are [fewer] teachers,' he explained.

Classes of 30 and over are common. Electives were cut: study skills, business law, computer science publication, drug education, office system management, sports nutrition, sales and service (school store), micro and macro economics, constitutional law, and introduction to teaching. There simply aren't enough teachers to run the classes, so students are being packed into other electives.

The Broadneck area is a very popular place for families to want to live. There aren't many new communities being built for families in the Broadneck area, but just fierce competition for the houses already here. The loss of teachers and the resulting increased class sizes have created an illusion of population growth.

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Lexi Decker models clothing she has modified.

'Sometimes my parents will come home and there will be a ton of fabric on the floor,' said senior Lexi Decker. Lexi is mostly known as a bubbly redhead that can make anyone laugh on a really bad day, but Lexi is not only talented in making people happy, she is also very talented in clothing construction and crafts, especially when it comes to T-shirt reconstructions. Lexi became interested in clothing construction and crafts during the summer between her fifth and sixth grade years.

'My friend Emily and I did a sewing camp, and it taught you how to sew and the basics,' said Lexi. Since then, Lexi has made plenty of pieces of clothing that she models at school. She has made items like shirts, scarves, purses and even a corset. 'I like doing the T-shirt reconstruction or just any reconstruction because I like taking something that you would look at and go ‘oh it's a T-shirt' and changing it,' said Lexi. On the typical day in Lexi's life she attends school for two periods each day, then goes to work at the Subway in Cape St. Claire for about four to five hours.

After work she returns home to think up crafty things. Lexi is taking English, music aide, family and consumer science aide and independent study for sewing. Lexi loves being a sandwich artist at Subway, where she has worked since late August.

'I love it so much. [My friends] get so mad at me because whenever I start talking about Subway I never stop,' said Lexi. 'I just love it. Especially when I'm doing the veggies. I like putting them on the sub, and I like to talk to the customers. Sometimes I talk about how the different cheese reminds me of things, like the provolone cheese are like little smiles. It's just fun.'

After graduating from high school, Lexi plans on going to Anne Arundel Community College for a year or two. Afterwards she hopes to transfer to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. But that's not all that Lexi wants to do. 'I want to be an art teacher. I want to be a teacher because I think it would be a cool job. I wanted to teach English and then I was like ‘I don't know about that' and so I want to do something in the arts.'

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Senior Roni LaRoque is Student Government Association president, Model United Nations treasurer, Ophelia Club co-president, yearbook student-life section editor, volunteer, talk-show host… the list goes on and on.

Student Government Association president, Model United Nations treasurer, Ophelia Club co-president, yearbook student-life section editor, volunteer, talk-show host… the list goes on and on. Senior Roni LaRoque does just about everything.

'I love getting involved, being able to help,' said Roni. Roni has been involved with the SGA since her freshman year when she was a homeroom representative.

As a sophomore, Roni joined the spirit committee, a group that plans the spirit days and puts the homecoming pep rally together. Last year, as vice-president, Roni gained the experience she needed to become president in her senior year.

Roni is also extremely dedicated to two clubs at Broadneck: the Model U.N. and the Ophelia Club. Model U.N. is just beginning its second year, so there is a lot of work to be done. 'It's all very new,' said Roni. She wanted to join Model U.N. because it seemed like 'something different.' Roni enjoyed the club last year, and was thrilled when she was asked to be the club treasurer for this school year.

Roni is co-president of Ophelia Club, along with fellow seniors Alyssa Haglund and Kelly Long. Ophelia Club visits Severn River and Magothy Middle Schools to talk to girls 'about bullying [and] what to do about it. [We] hear what they have to say, give them advice [and] hang out,' said Roni, who has been a member for three years. She wanted to be a part of Ophelia Club because she was teased in middle school and she wants girls to know that 'things get better' in high school. 'My middle school years were terrible,' said Roni. She went to St. Mary's in Accokeek, a small town in southern Maryland.

Next on the never-ending list of Roni's activities is editor of the student life section of the yearbook. Roni assigns pages to her staff members, then edits and oversees their work.

When it comes time for deadlines, she has been known to spend countless hours at school making sure everything gets in on time. Roni is also very involved with the Bully Busters program at Broadneck. She has been interviewed by The Capital and Channel 11 News about her involvement. Roni believes she was chosen to do the interviews because she is 'really involved with the student body' and they wanted a 'student voice' to speak about the program.

Even with her active involvement in many school-related activities, Roni still finds time to engage in one of her favorite hobbies — volunteering. Roni has volunteered with the Special Olympics, Young Life and Invisible Children. She will be accompanying her classmates on a trip to Louisiana over winter break to work with Habitat for Humanity and a local animal shelter. Roni said she thought the Louisiana trip would be a great way to combine her loves of volunteering, traveling and camping.

Not surprisingly, Roni hopes to have a career in which she would work with people, rather than sit behind a desk. She plans to major in communications. 'My dream is to be with Invisible Children,' said Roni. 'I love what they do. [They have] a special place in my heart.'

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TOP: Knight Stadium for Lawrence E. Knight, first principal of Broadneck High School. BOTTOM: Kelly Field, named for Phoebe Kelly.

Who is Lawrence E. Knight and why is the stadium named after him? Who is Tim McMullen and why is the field house named after him? Who is Phoebe Kelly and why is the Bermuda field named after her?

Lawrence E. Knight was the first principal of Broadneck High School. Not only did he get the school up and running, but he hand picked the staff of teachers to head up the new school. Of the many teachers he selected, only two remain: Bruce Villwock and Sherry Suter.

'He set the tone for the school, he instilled our philosophy, and he had an unbelievable impact on our school,' Mrs. Suter said. Mr. Knight was principal at the school from 1981 until 1994. In the 13 years he worked at our school, Mr. Knight became the 'biggest supporter of Broadneck athletics.'

According to Mrs. Suter, he attended all after-school activities. Mr. Knight was the original fan; through his devotion to our school sports and athletics, the principals that came after him have been just as involved.

Tim McMullen was the first athletic director and baseball coach. Although the field house is named directly after him as a single person, he feels that it should have multiple names on it.

'I was given too much credit,' said Mr. McMullen. He feels that the credit should have gone to what he describes as 'the most dynamic coaching staff at Broadneck' instead of just to one person. However, he had a dynamic role in starting our school's athletics. Mr. McMullen said, 'The sports teams of the early 1980s had a unique interdependency.' This was due to the fact that the school had only 320 students, causing many students to play multiple sports.

To top that off, the school didn't have a senior class for its first year. Mr. McMullen coached the baseball team that won the school's first state championship without any seniors on the team.

He was athletic director for the first 10 years of the school. He also taught AP U.S. History. 'I felt that the athletic field was an extension of the classroom.'

Of the members of the first coaching staff at Broadneck, Phoebe Kelly remains most associated with what is known as the Bermuda field.

Mrs. Kelly's most memorable accomplishments are the many county and regional championships her and her tennis team achieved, and the state championship she achieved with her field hockey team in 1986.

She also had even bigger accomplishments in the classroom. Not only was she 'a tremendous health teacher,' said Coach John Williams, who teaches health and coaches basketball, but she also started our school's sports medicine program.

Despite being diagnosed with lung cancer, she showed devotion to the school by continuing to teach and coach every day.

Not only was she Coach Williams' mentor as a health teacher, but after she became too ill to work, she still came to check on him and make sure he was adjusting well and getting more comfortable teaching.

How do you thank people for founding a school, instilling its philosophies, hiring its teachers and coaches, and making it an excellent academic and athletic institution with amazing spirit and pride?

You name a part of that school after them. Then future students can find out who those people were.

'Cancer is something that affects far too many families right here in our community. I had breast cancer three years ago, and I know how difficult it is to deal with the whole process,' said Sharon Pettit, of the family and consumer sciences department.

'It's very overwhelming on so many levels.' 'I was fortunate enough to have really good medical care throughout my experience,' said Mrs. Pettit. 'I can only imagine how hard it must be to go through something like this if the family has young children.'

The Annapolis Wellness House was designed as a place for cancer patients and their families to go to for help. They are 'committed to helping cancer patients and their loved ones through the treatment phase of their illness,' according to their brochure.

The local Wellness House will provide support group programs for cancer patients, their spouses and children. Hospice of the Chesapeake already provides summer camps for grieving children, and the Annapolis Wellness Corporation thought they should take advantage of their experience, and work with them to create the children's support groups.

In addition to the support groups, the Wellness House will have support mentors so that cancer patients and families can have a relationship with 'somebody who's been through it' said Jan Wood, a Wellness House coordinator. They plan on having mentors specifically for spouses and teens.

Mrs. Pettit read an article about the Wellness House in The Capital last April, and she immediately thought she could get Broadneck students involved. She believed that her child development students and students involved in the National Honor Society could benefit from helping the Wellness House get started.

The Wellness House stressed that they want student volunteers to get a feeling of achievement from helping them, as opposed to doing work that seemed menial. They are currently working on fundraising and awareness for the Annapolis Wellness Corporation.

So far, they have held a Penny War during Spirit Week to raise funds for the Wellness House. 'We're getting some good small contributions,' said Ms. Wood. She emphasized the idea that these small donations were central in getting any organization running. Mrs. Pettit said, 'We were hoping they would need childcare support early in 2008, but the house itself will not be up and running now until probably late spring of 2008.

Just last week, they did find a house.' The Annapolis Wellness Corporation had originally planned on joining with Wellness House, an organization with similar objectives that operates around the nation. However, the national Wellness House does not provide child care, due to zoning problems. 'We've said ‘tough, we're going to make it work,'' said Ms. Wood.

Child care for parents with cancer was one of the original inspirations for the Wellness House, and they were not going to give that up. There is talk of having high school students and AACC students do service and internships with the child care aspect of the Wellness House.

In the original plan for the house, the Annapolis Wellness Corporation thought they would provide overnight housing for relatives of cancer patients on-site at the Wellness House. Instead they will work with hotels near the hospital.

The Annapolis Wellness Corporation stresses the need for a 'home away from home' for cancer patients, stating that 2545 cancer patients were treated at Anne Arundel Medical Center last year. They say that the overwhelming occurrence of cancer in Anne Arundel County is 'staggering.'

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