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2 The Southfield Jay / October 2009 News<br />
News briefs<br />
New administrator<br />
joins SHS staff<br />
Columbus Moore has been hired as<br />
a new assistant principal.<br />
The former Southfield-Lathrup<br />
football coach and Michigan State<br />
alumnus says he loves sports and<br />
traveling. Moore brings 10 years <strong>of</strong><br />
experience with him, doing what<br />
he calls, the “same job” at different<br />
buildings in Southfield Public <strong>School</strong>s<br />
and elsewhere, such as Ann Arbor <strong>High</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>, Cooley <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong> in Detroit,<br />
and Redford <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong>.<br />
Moore says, “Kids are the same”<br />
wherever he goes.<br />
One <strong>of</strong> Moore’s first tasks is to<br />
create an Emergency Education plan<br />
that includes posting numbers on the<br />
school exits. He says his main role is to<br />
lend support to Principal Michael Horn<br />
and the rest <strong>of</strong> the administrative staff.<br />
- Rachael Robertson<br />
WSHJ 88.3 is back<br />
After months <strong>of</strong> silence, WSHJ<br />
88.3-FM is going back on the air. The<br />
school’s radio station was shut down<br />
at the end <strong>of</strong> last year because it was<br />
uncertain who would run the station<br />
amid the staff lay<strong>of</strong>fs.<br />
English teacher Julea Ward has<br />
replaced Jason Topp as the radio<br />
teacher.<br />
The station kicked <strong>of</strong>f its mid-<br />
October return by giving away candy<br />
and stickers promoting the station.<br />
The station has been promoting the<br />
hottest jams, and new and improved<br />
radio shows featuring news, sports and<br />
school events.<br />
- Logan Patmon<br />
About the cover<br />
Senior Jazmin Miller ran a savvy<br />
campaign for Homecoming Queen that<br />
featured four-foot tall posters <strong>of</strong> herself.<br />
The cover <strong>of</strong> <strong>this</strong> issue features one <strong>of</strong><br />
Miller’s eye-catching Homecoming<br />
posters that helped her earn the tiara.<br />
The poster-sized photos, which<br />
graced the school halls, were taken by<br />
Timothy Paule and reprinted here with<br />
written permission <strong>of</strong> the photographer.<br />
- Logan Patmon<br />
District tightens attendance policy<br />
Tardy students will feel pinch in grade point<br />
By Logan Patmon<br />
Editor-in-Chief<br />
For the third year in a row, the district<br />
has changed its attendance policy.<br />
Just as students were getting used<br />
to last year’s attendance policy, the<br />
2009-2010 school year began with a<br />
brand new policy. This school year’s<br />
policy is drastically different than last<br />
year’s.<br />
While last year’s policy allowed<br />
an unlimited number <strong>of</strong> tardies and<br />
absences, <strong>this</strong> year’s policy allows<br />
students 5 tardies or absences. Upon<br />
the sixth tardy or absence, the student’s<br />
grades will be reviewed. If he or she is<br />
passing the class to which they were<br />
tardy or absent six times, he or she will<br />
receive credit for the class but will get<br />
zero honor points added to their grade<br />
point average for the class.<br />
This means the student’s grade<br />
point average will severely drop if a<br />
student has more than five absences or<br />
tardies to any class.<br />
“I think the new attendance policy<br />
is too strict, especially for first hour,”<br />
said senior Michelle Fitzgerald. “It’s not<br />
always the student’s fault that they are<br />
late. Some students have to drop <strong>of</strong>f<br />
siblings, and other people have a hard<br />
time getting transportation to school.”<br />
The policy is more strict <strong>this</strong> year<br />
because last year’s policy didn’t work out<br />
very well, said Deputy Superintendent<br />
Ken Siver. After reviewing attendance<br />
records, administrators realized that<br />
many students were late to class last year,<br />
while others chose not to go, he said.<br />
This year’s tighter policy won’t hinder<br />
students from graduating, Siver said, but<br />
it will impact their grade averages.<br />
The loss <strong>of</strong> honor points isn’t<br />
written in stone, though. It is possible<br />
for some students to get those points<br />
back, Siver said. The policy allows<br />
students, parents and an administrator<br />
to have a conference to discuss the<br />
student’s attendance. At the end <strong>of</strong> the<br />
conference a student could be <strong>of</strong>fered a<br />
contract in which the student promises<br />
that there won’t be another problem<br />
with attendance.<br />
But to recover the honor points, the<br />
student would have to go before the<br />
school board and make an appeal. The<br />
board would decide on a case-by-case<br />
Photo by Alisha Sterling-Miles<br />
Bus stop: Junior Taylor Hunter arrives to school with his backpack, ready<br />
for another day <strong>of</strong> classes. <strong>School</strong> starts at 7:20 a.m.<br />
basis whether to restore the student’s<br />
honor points, Siver said.<br />
“This policy is designed to help<br />
students and to prepare them for the<br />
real world,” said Siver. “In the work world,<br />
you can’t be late to your job very <strong>of</strong>ten,<br />
and that is what we are trying to teach.”<br />
Three years ago, the school used to<br />
fail students based on poor attendance.<br />
But the State <strong>of</strong> Michigan made it illegal<br />
to fail a student based on attendance,<br />
thus the policy has been modified.<br />
Southfield Jay expands Web coverage<br />
Andrew Melton<br />
Staff Writer<br />
The Southfield Jay has recently<br />
revamped its Web site.<br />
The web address is www.my.hsj.<strong>org</strong>/<br />
mi/southfield/jay.<br />
The new additions to the site include<br />
videos <strong>of</strong> activities such as pep rallies,<br />
band performances and special events.<br />
There will be music clips, along<br />
with Web exclusive stories and photos.<br />
“The Web site allows us to be a<br />
multi-media publication,” said Editor-in-<br />
Chief Logan Patmon. “We are embracing<br />
new technology and hoping that our<br />
readers will find us in the paper and<br />
visit us on the web.”