Three assemblies held in auditorium

Administrators conducted assemblies yesterday, Oct. 25 on citizenship for seniors and juniors during first and third period, respectively, and for freshmen girls on sexual harassment during seventh period.

At the beginning of first period, an announcement directed the "entire senior class" to go down to the auditorium. There, Assistant Principal Linda Wanner and SGA's senior class advisor Summer Roark introduced Steve Dodds, a representative from Jostens who advertised graduation keepsakes and asked the class of 2006 to fill out cap and gown measurement forms. Wanner said that this assembly would be the last time she spoke to seniors as a group until graduation.

Wanner delivered speeches to both the senior and junior classes, saying that "life is hard, but the harder you work, the easier it gets." Afterwards, both classes watched "Be the Change," a motivational video created by CAMFEL Productions. CAMFEL also produced "It's My Life," a video that the class of 2006 watched during another assembly in November 2004.

According to Wanner, the Pepsi Company pays CAMFEL to set up free video presentations at schools. Wanner chose to show this movie because she believes that it is a contemporary depiction of important teen issues. "Students hear a lot of positive things from fellow students, teachers, and parents," Wanner said. "This movie is another way to [learn necessary lessons] that touches closer, since it has multimedia songs students know and real people students identify with."

Night School Principal James Short, who spoke to the juniors, agreed that the assembly sent a motivational message which "put responsibility on students to recognize what is best for themselves."

The ninth grade girls' meeting took place about ten minutes into period seven, while the senior class picture was being taken in the gym. Students who attended the session were given raffle tickets and the chance to win two homecoming dance tickets. Counselor Sue Bray explained that the session was to address "changes that the girls' bodies are making." She also said, "We had a similar meeting for the girls last year, and since it was successful, we decided to have one again this year even though we had some difficulty in scheduling it."

Bray said that she planned the freshmen assembly in September. According to science teacher James Demma, teachers heard about the "Be the Change" assemblies on Oct. 20. The only reminder of the assemblies teachers received was in a bulletin letter for resource teachers. The bulletin for teachers, however, only mentioned that senior pictures would be taken yesterday.

As a result, many teachers were unaware that the senior assembly would occur, according to science teacher Melanie Rock. "I'm a little bit irritated to feel that teachers have to rush through the curriculum and remake plans as a result of these assemblies," Rock said. She added, "But they are like fire alarms because even though they are a bit frustrating, they are for [the students'] good."