“Our school improvement model involves teachers working on content teams,” Dr. Tony Lake, principal, said. “Originally, these rooms were not grouped by department, but once they are, it will be easier for departments to collaborate.”

These content teams meet on Thursday mornings while the average BV West student is sleeping in. Arranging the school by departments – that is, grouping instructors by the subject they teach – will make those meetings more efficient and productive. Additionally, students will be able to find their classes more easily. Still, some teachers are hesitant to change.

“It’s like anything, change is tough, and having to pack things up may be a hassle,” Lake said. “They may like their view or something, but this will be better for the kids.”

In the new set-up, all the communication arts teachers will be moved to the first floor. The second floor will be mainly foreign language, and the third floor will be devoted to math and social studies. In addition, each department will have its own lab designated for them to use during class. Most science rooms will remain the same, with the exception of 310 and 314, which will become math and social studies rooms respectively.

“It will be much easier to direct parents to certain teachers as they come into the school,” receptionist Maureen Miller said. “Sure, I’ll still have to look up the room number, but if someone comes in looking for CA, I can direct them to the first floor.”

Most of the electives will remain unmoved, including industrial technology and mass communication. They will all remain in their current locations on the second floor. So will the special education rooms across from the Fixed Forum. Performing and visual arts classrooms will also remain unchanged.

On the opposite end of the building, however, changes are coming to the gym once again. The 500 classrooms will be remodeled to provide a new home for the fitness center, now located in a windowless room on the lower level of the gym.

“I think it will be a little more open with windows,” physical education teacher Mark Hanson said. “Everyone in the department is pretty excited to be up there and have light.”

Lake said the new fitness center concept was inspired by BV West’s newest sister school.

“I got the idea from BV Southwest,” he said. “It will be above the weight room and have a nice open, health club feel to it… All that needs to be done is moving the equipment from the current fitness center and adding some T.V. drops.”

The new fitness center will be around 300 square feet more than the current one. Lake also plans to have a projector removed from one of  500 classrooms and put it in the commons. Other schools in the district have already done this, allowing students to watch news and other programs during lunch.

The changes might seem minor to most students, but administrators hope the classroom re-arrangement and the new fitness center will make BV West a more efficient and pleasant learning environment.

Many high school teachers say that the primary purpose of high school is to prepare students for college.

“The district really seems to focus on preparing for college,” Dr. Verneda Edwards, executive director of curriculum and instruction, said, “but it could end up being military school, technical school, or even straight into the work environment for some students.”

The Blue Valley district is no different, and does a fairly good job of teaching students the things they need to know from an academic standpoint, however, there is more to college, and life in general, then knowing the course material.

“Blue Valley schools are good at teaching academics and preparing people for college,” senior Sasha Hurst said, “but we need to get away from only wanting to make money and get back to doing more of what makes us happy. Money isn’t everything.”

The Blue Valley curriculum was created based on requirements set by the government. The federal government sets certain guidelines, the state government makes requirements based on them, and the district creates its curriculum based on these mandates. The Blue Valley curriculum goes beyond the expectations of the state.

“Our curriculum exceeds most of the standards set by the state,” Edwards said. “It covers the state requirements, but the depth at which we teach the skills exceeds them. It’s not just the list of skills you teach, but also how deep you go with them.”

The Blue Valley curriculum is one of the best in the area, but it isn’t perfect.

“We’re typically a grade level above, skill wise,” Edwards said, “but there’s always room for improvement.”

Learning the skills needed to graduate is not the only part of being successful after high school. A student needs to make it through the rest of their lives.

“There’s a lot that goes in to being a successful student,” Edwards said. “You have to be well-rounded. You have to be involved in more than academics, because other activities push you to achieve. Of course you have to be academically strong, but you have to balance your personal and academic goals.”

This can be difficult for some students. Blue Valley offers programs for some students that involve traveling to other districts to study auto mechanics and fashion design. These programs can help students get instruction in fields they are interested in that are not normally offered in a high school setting.

“Last year I went to Broadmoor Tech in Shawnee for training in fashion design,” Hurst said. “It taught me so much more than I learned here.”

These programs can add to students’ education, but some people still feel that their instruction is lacking in some aspects.

“What is really important is finding yourself and what makes you happy,” Hurst said. “If you have an opportunity to find yourself, you should take it.”

The district has tried to implement the teaching of life skills into school through things such as Advisory. Many students, however, consider this class ineffective.

“It’s just a big waste of time,” Hurst said. “They try to teach us life lessons, but people don’t listen to what the teacher is saying.”

Despite this, the administrators still believe that they do a good job of teaching life lessons and values.

“We really stress the virtues here,” Edwards said. “There is a strong emphasis on how you treat others.”

The ultimate goal of high school is to make sure that young adults are capable of taking care of themselves as they move into a more independent environment. While there are differences in opinion over whether or not it does this well, there are people who feel like it worked for them.

“I think high school adequately prepared me for college, but only because of what I did in high school,” 2007 graduate Sarah Morefield said. “If I hadn’t been so involved, and if I hadn’t been in AP classes or classes that challenged me, then I don’t know if high school itself could have prepared me for college.”

The district believes that students should be prepared no matter what classes they take.

“Our expectation is that students will be prepared for whatever comes next for them,” Edwards said.

The hope is that students leave high school ready for college, and most students believe that they are when they leave, but to say that they are prepared for the rest of their lives is a different matter completely.

“Do I think high school prepared me for the rest of my life? No, but I don’t think it’s supposed to,” Morefield said. “I think it prepared me for the next step: college.”

And, in the end, that’s really all that can be expected of high schools.

“The world is constantly changing, so high school experiences change,” Edwards said. “We just have to do our best to change with it.”

Since the release of “Halo 3” in the fall of 2007, the game has been struggling to keep the attention of X-Box owners across the world. Bungie, the company that produces “Halo” games, is not to be held solely responsible. Other factors, such as the improving “Call of Duty” games made by Infinity Ward, had taken the attention away from what once held the attention of young X-Box owners.

The young gamers believe “Halo 3” was a letdown for a handful of reasons.

“The maps were better,” junior Connor Childress said. “I don’t like the pick-up items [in ‘Halo 3’]. It was also easier to get headshots in ‘Halo 2.’ I also hated the new ranking system that they added.”

Gamers also complain about the amount of ammunition present in a single round of fire in the “Halo” games. Though there are more powerful weapons available for pick-up, there still is not simply enough of them.

“I hate the guns because they’re lame and they always run out quickly,” sophomore Tessa Carson said. “Then you have to search for a new weapon, and that gets annoying.”

Unlike “Call of Duty,” where there is no rechargeable body armor, “Halo” games take about a full round of ammunition, if not more, to take down an enemy in regular matchmaking. Despite all of the poor aspects that gamers find with it, there are still some gamers who appreciate the family aspect they receive from playing “Halo 3.”

“I think ‘Halo 3’ achieved more in the long run because of its replay value,” sophomore J.J. Becker said. “But when ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’ came out I played that for a while. My dad loved ‘Halo 3,’ though, and I could play that online with him, which I can’t do on ‘Call of Duty.’”

Waiting in anticipation for the new “Halo” games has become a suspenseful event for gamers over the past few years. Hopefully, the developers of “Halo: Reach” will be able to come through without much disappointment this time.

“What I’ve seen in the trailers of ‘Halo: Reach’ is that there is new customization available for weapons,” Becker said. “There are also going to be jetpacks and more additions to the multiplayer. I, personally, think that the multiplayer looks sick.”

Multiplayer has always been a huge part of the “Halo” franchise. Many of the X-Box Live fans originally began their online accounts to play “Halo 2” with friends from the comfort of their own homes. Middle-schoolers would stay up late on week nights just to level up, learn glitches, and have a laid-back conference call with a handful of close friends.

Something that was lost in the transfer from “Halo 2” to “Halo 3” was the emphasis on a great multiplayer and online experience. The “Call of Duty” franchise has become a better game than “Halo” with its growing online community.

“‘Call of Duty’ blows ‘Halo’ out of the water,” Carson said. “There’s better maps and guns. There is just better everything in ‘Call of Duty.’”

But “Halo: Reach” creators are motivated to make their new game as enticing as they made “Halo 2.” With new jetpacks, mid-range rifles, civilian vehicles and better graphics than the previous games, the horizon is looking bright for Bungie.

A multiplayer beta (online demonstration) was released recently for the upcoming “Halo: Reach” game. It is available for any owner of “Halo 3: ODST” with access to X-Box Live.

It is a similar situation to the release of the “Halo 3” multiplayer beta in 2007. Just pop in the required “Halo 3: ODST” disc, and select downloadable content from the main menu

So get a hold of “Halo 3: ODST” and discover what is supposed to be a great new game.

“I am really excited to go to Southwest next year,” sophomore Alexa Mancini said. “It is like a chance to start over in a new place. It should be a fun experience.”

As a sophomore, Mancini did not have the opportunity to decide whether she wanted to try the new school or stay at familiar BV West. This year’s freshmen and sophomores must attend the school mandated by district boundaries for at least a semester. Then they can decide whether to return to BV West or stay at BV Southwest. Not all underclassmen are as excited as Mancini about their relocation next year.

“Some of my friends are not happy about having to change schools,” Mancini said. “One of my friends is upset because none of her other friends are going to Southwest next year, and I will miss the familiar faces at West, too. Others feel that they started here, so they want to finish here.”

Juniors had the opportunity to decide whether they wanted to be in the first graduating class of BV Southwest or graduate with their peers at BV West.

“My parents wanted me to go to Southwest since my sister has to go there next year,” junior Alex Cohen said. “I am excited about there being more leadership opportunities for me there, especially with how small our senior class is going to be.”

For Cohen and other students enrolled at BV Southwest, the leadership opportunities have already begun. The administration of BV Southwest has set up a Student Advisory Board, which is helping to plan the official opening of the school. Members also have the opportunity to weigh in on some the decisions the administration will make in the first year.

“It’s awesome to already be a leader of the school,” Cohen said. “I am looking forward to helping the students get a voice in administrators’ decisions, as well as working with the administration.”

The activities and organizations are not the only aspects to look forward to at BV Southwest. The building is designed to not only be practical and environmentally friendly, but also to give the students to have some of the amenities that are usually only offered at the collegiate level.

The school surrounds a large courtyard that, unlike the ones at the middle school level, will be left unlocked and can be accessed more easily for student use. It also has a few areas with tables for eating or studying.

The athletic wing and commons are connected to the academic wings with an innovative idea for a high school setting. “The Bridge” is a glass corridor that will have computer plug-ins, counters and wireless connections, much like cyber-cafes that are often found on college campuses. It will be part of the area where students can hang out during lunch every day.

“It will be awesome to have somewhere to hang out with my friends and work on my laptop,” Cohen said.

Principal Scott Roberts put a great deal of thought in to every decision, trying to make every aspect of the school practical. When designing BV Southwest, the goal was to take the parts of the existing Blue Valley schools that worked and reuse them, as well as fix the areas that could use improvement.

One of these areas is the broadcasting program. The studio has a built-in light and sound system and is adjacent to the broadcast room, which is spacious and easy to use.

“It is really nice that the studio and classroom are connected,” broadcasting teacher Steven Cortez said. “It will be nice for the kids to have access to do interviews, shows and practices more easily without having to walk back and forth like at West. The only downside is that I don’t have any windows.”

Another department that is far different than any other Blue Valley school is the theater department. The Performing Arts Center is designed similarly to the PAC at BV West, but it has a much higher quality light and sound system. The biggest difference is that unlike BV West, BV Southwest does not have a Little Theater. Instead, it has a large Black Box that can double as a Little Theater with removable theater seating.

“It sounds like theater next year will be a great experience,” sophomore Emily Love said. “We get the opportunity to lead our new department and set a precedent for the school. It will be interesting to incorporate kids from West and Blue Valley High and take ideas and traditions from both schools.”

BV Southwest has caused a lot anticipation throughout the district since the idea was first proposed several years ago. With the opening date quickly approaching, the excitement is building. As overpopulation continues to congest the BV West junior locker bay, students count down the days to next year when they will be part of a smaller student body, whether at BV West or BV Southwest. Those attending BV Southwest, however, have something unique: a chance to be a part of something new.

Perhaps without knowing it, the students who made those comments were insulting another’s religious practices. These remarks — not only directed toward Catholics on Ash Wednesday, but also to other Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and followers of almost any religion — can be hurtful.

“Sometimes a person spouts off negative things about another’s religion,” counselor Kristi Dixon said. “Some people are comfortable confronting this type of situation, but for others, it steals their voice, and they just want it to go away.”

The gray smudges were actually ashes rubbed on Catholic students’ foreheads in the shape of a cross. They are symbolic of the belief that when one dies, he will rise again, like Jesus is said to in the Bible. Ash Wednesday is a holiday celebrated every year, but many non-Catholic students do not attempt to learn or understand what it means; instead, they make fun of those who participate.

Similar stories can be heard periodically of students being mocked for their beliefs. While not always made intentionally, these comments can be taken as a deliberate attack.

Sophomore Leena Younes is a Muslim. She knows many people who have experienced religious intolerance.

“One of my friends has been made fun of before at school,” Younes said. “People have said that she smells like curry all the time, or because she’s a Pakistani Muslim, they make references to Osama Bin Ladin, who we don’t even associate ourselves with.”

These comments are insensitive, uninformed responses to a religion that another student practices.

“My friends, of course, defend themselves,” Younes said, “but it really hurts. You defend yourself, but you feel bad at the same time.”

There are many reasons a person can seem intolerant of another’s religion; however, this does not make their actions excusable.

“I would like to believe it is a lack of information,” Dixon said. “Maybe they just don’t know much about other religions. Many people fail to see the commonalities between all of the religions and instead focus on the negatives. They get their information from family or TV, which tend to be negative things about other religions.”

One student has found a way to bring together his friends and celebrate his culture as well as educate others about it. Junior Adam Sitzmann started the Jewish Student Union (JSU) at BV West. JSU is a nationally recognized school club that meets monthly to educate both Jewish and non-Jewish students about their culture.

“I started this club because I noticed that there were many students with a Jewish heritage they didn’t know much about,” Sitzmann said. “I wanted to give them the opportunity to learn about a part of their family lineage.”

Although Sitzmann is trying to stop religious intolerance by educating others, he has also experienced it before.

“Most of [the religious intolerance] is because people do not understand or don’t know their facts,” Sitzmann said. “When these instances happen, it can be easily dealt with. However, when someone says a derogatory comment or hurtful joke it is harder to face.”

Not only do students have trouble understanding others’ cultures, but some teachers do as well. Many fail to pay enough attention to religious holidays to know when they are.

“Some teachers will act like it’s a huge inconvenience to them to adjust their plan accordingly,” Sitzmann said. “It is really an inconvenience for me to have to miss school for the holiday.”

These students have had to face uncomfortable situations at school because of their religious affiliations. Many of these situations can be avoided if students find ways to raise their level of tolerance.

“Reporting these instances would really help, even though people don’t tend to do that,” Dixon said. “Many students also are not comfortable with speaking up when they see instances of religious intolerance. The bystanders need to speak up because it can be a powerful force, instead of just letting someone get their feelings hurt.”

People have to understand that they cannot control what another believes; they just have to respect and accept it.

“The biggest problem is that in the area we live in, people tend to be ignorant of different cultures,” Sitzmann said. “This is what causes discrimination.”

“According to Islamic culture, it is mandatory to pray five times per day,” sophomore Asma Mukadam said. “There are different times set throughout the day. These times change according to daylight hours. Prayer or salat is one of the five pillars of Islam.”

These daily traditions hold high importance in the lives of many students, but daily rituals are not the sole difference between cultures. Traditions among students range from daily occurrences to annual celebrations.

“After gaining our independence from the Turks, Greeks became extremely proud of their country and traditions,” senior Catherine Katinas said. “We recently celebrated Greek Independence Day on March 25. My church had a huge celebration; we sang the Greek and American national anthems, ate Greek food, and little kids recited poems. I do not think that most West students value their culture as much as I and other Greek-American kids do.”

The cultures in which these teenagers participate are not simply about rituals or celebrations. But each of these actions reinforce morals that they have already been taught.

“[Having] this type of a culture has made me very strong,” Mukadam said. “This is because of all the obligations I have to commit myself to, especially in regards to my prayers. I have to make sure that I pray on time for each of the five daily prayers.”

Along with traits that a person acquires, there are also a number of values that it teaches them.

“Greeks value hospitality, good food and family,” Katinas said. “While I am sure that those sound like things that anyone would value, the Greeks often put these first in their lives, which makes them important values to learn and respect.”

Most students do not take the time to learn about other cultures. When they lack this information, it is harder to relate to one another and understand behavior.

“There are definitely students being judged based on their culture,” counselor Kimberly Urenda said.  “Several students have comments made to them on a continual basis, based on their traditions and religion.”

While some stereotypes are relatively harmless, there are a number of stereotypes that show negative and untrue aspects of certain cultures.

“Islam these days is often talked about in the form of terrorism and violence,” Mukadam said. “But that is the total opposite of Islam. We are a peaceful religion, and the terrorism is not part of our religion. The people who are responsible for all of the violence are corrupt.”

It is important for students to get past the stereotypes that are presented and figure out what information is true and what is false. By understanding a culture, it is much easier to accept it.

“Students should not just believe everything that they hear,” Mukadam said. “There is so much to my religion that most people do not understand. We follow the five pillars, and I learn a lot. Right now I am memorizing by heart our holy book, the Qur’an. It just shows that there is so much that people do not know unless they ask.”

Many students are trying to get a better idea of the cultures that are represented at BV West. By simply asking questions, they are able to have a better understanding of the traditions that these students are a part of.

“Most of the time people just ask me about my hijab,” Mukadam said. “I try to give them the best answer possible, but it is clear that many students are really trying to understand my culture.”

However, there is still room for growth and tolerance.

“There is definitely a lack of true cultural understanding at West,” Katinas said. “I’m 100 percent Greek and I’ve lived in five states and visited almost every state, so I would consider myself culturally diverse. But most students have not been to all the places I have or experienced such a rich culture first-hand, so I cannot blame them for not being culturally diverse. Panda Express, José Peppers, and even the Greek restaurant Mr. Gyros can not give West students the real culture that they should experience.”

Although all BV West students do not have this much opportunity to experience different cultures, it is important to try and relate to other cultures and open up to new traditions.

“Understanding other cultures is huge,” Urenda said. “We need to become increasingly aware of other cultures in order to learn to respect others as you leave high school. We have come a long way, but there is still a long road ahead of us in understanding diversity.”

After taking preemptive actions to garner the administrative allowance “necessary” to let McMillen and her girlfriend to purchase tickets as a couple (which is cheaper than buying two “stag” tickets), the school ruled that the lesbian couple’s admission into the dance would be distracting and cause unwanted attention. The school then canceled the prom entirely.

Next, the ACLU stepped in, turning local high school drama into a national news event. The 18 year old, with the aid of the ACLU’s legal staff, sued the school. On March 23, U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson ruled in favor of McMillen; the Court found that the school district’s actions violated McMillen’s Constitutional rights and that McMillen and her girlfriend were to be granted entrance to the prom. Unfortunately, the decision came too late for the dance to be salvaged.

The story hidden beneath the story is that immediately following the prom’s cancellation, at least two alternative proms were planned by the student body. To many, this may speak only as a trivial footnote to the national news excitement. But the act shouts in favor of a key concept: regardless of what any governing body dictates, if the general populace is in direct opposition to the governance, the dictation will be considered null and void. Think about what happened when a certain group of Americans were taxed without their thoughts being taken into consideration (which is more famously known as “taxation without representation”). This concept has not only dominated the Mississippi court case but has, of late, become painfully evident in the realm of national politics.

On the same Tuesday that McMillen won her lawsuit, a much smaller (sarcasm fully intended) news story ran across the televisions of America. President Obama signed “Obama-Care,” his 2,300-page health insurance “reform” bill into law. According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released on Mar. 18, more than eight out of 10 Americans are satisfied with the quality of health care they currently receive. That’s from CNN, the slightly-left, happy medium between FoxNews and MSNBC. Disregarding the majority of Americans, Congress and President Obama decided to go ahead and revise one-sixth of the economy with a health care overhaul.

Now, regardless of one’s political leanings, a healthy dose of skepticism must be held while viewing President Obama’s decision to sign the bill. What gives any man the intellectual gusto to believe that he may determine what is best for a society — better than the society itself?

In McMillen’s Mississippi scandal, the vast majority of Americans disagreed with the decision of the small, governing body (the school district) and what happened? They were embarrassed. They were legally disavowed. And they were deemed backward and out of touch. A small group of elitists determined that their individual insight in regards to homosexuality was more accurate than the thoughts of the populace in regards to the very same topic.

At BV West, the school administration normally takes its constituent student body’s thoughts into consideration. They asked us about cell phone policies, and the school “laws” changed in congruence with those thoughts. But the bureaucracies at both the district and school levels also have inclinations toward acting “administration-ey” and cramming mandates down our throats.

One word: Advisory. Despite an overwhelming majority of students despising the very notion of Advisory, the district continues to fund the wishy-washy waste of time.

Two words: restricting assemblies. The administration lectures the student body for not being peppy enough during pep assemblies while, at the very same time, limiting students’ abilities to stand up, jeer at other classes and (basically) enjoy the “mandatory fun” time. Neither idea has taken student input into consideration. Both ideas have united the student body in a faction opposing the administration.

What I am saying is that actions have consequences. But illogical, ill-informed actions bring about the ugliest sense of disfranchisement within an American people that heralds individual liberty and personal responsibility. The Itawamba County School District has lost its credibility. The BV West administration has engendered cynicism within the student body. Now, the Obama administration and its majority Congress face the same fates.

“The soccer girls are, and should be, very proud to be the returning State champs of the 2009 season,” coach Alex Aiman said. “They earned the right to say they were the best.”

This season, they wish to be “the best” again. The overall goal is to win the State championship again.

“Our main goal is to repeat the State title,” junior Kasey Lierz said. “That has never been done before.”

While it is always a goal to win State, being the defending champions changes a lot of aspects. First, having the label of “State champions” motivates opponents to become more focused on winning and playing harder.

“We have a bulls-eye on our back,” senior Ashley Catrell said. “Every team is going to want to beat the State champions.”

Aiman also realizes that for other teams, beating BV West would be a significant victory.

“Other teams will want to bring us down and bask in our glory and success,” Aiman said. “In other words, it would make their season to beat the State champs.”

Another significant effect is the added pressure and higher expectations. People, and the team itself, expect defending champions to win games, and that causes pressure on the team to do so.

“The team has a lot more pressure to do well,” Lierz said. “There’s more pressure for us to work harder.”

This pressure might not be negative, though. Pressure can also be motivation.

“The added pressure is there, and we will need to deal with it in a positive way,” Aiman said. “For example, pressure is a privilege that not many teams get to experience.  Just think about that, and it makes you proud to have the pressure on your back.”

To withstand the pressure and succeed, players must step up and lead the team.

“All our seniors are returning and will make a big impact,” Lierz said. “We also have a lot of strong juniors to lead the team.”

The team must also work together. Team chemistry and balance is important to these State champions.

“Every player on the team will contribute toward the end result,” Aiman said.  “Alexis Aiman has her work cut out for her in filling in for Jordan Jackson, who is now playing at Nebraska.”

Jackson was the only senior on last year’s team. They also lost two goalkeepers from last season.

“The team is more balanced than last year’s team,” Aiman said. “We have many of the same players, but they are all a little smarter and a little faster. They know each other and can play more possible positions than last year.  Our goal keeping will also be different.  We lost Emma Crenshaw in a move to Ottawa and will now have to fill that void.”

Whatever happens, this team will work hard. Students can watch them on their journey to hopefully winning another State title. The team would appreciate student support at games and have planned theme nights to encourage fan participation.

If the season leads to another title, it will be unprecedented.

“I will, again, be very proud of the girls and the effort needed to get another State title,” Aiman said. “It will not be, and never is easy.”