Although, there are many different reasons as to why students chose to change their class schedule this semester, there may also have been mandatory schedule changes.

Reasons behind schedule changes are a dislike of teaching styles, one-semester classes, or they had taken the class in previous years. 
Schedule changes were available the first week back from winter break.

If a student wished to remove or add a class to their schedule, they were one on a long list. Although, once all changes were final, hours in which students had one-semester classes were filled with electives or free periods.

Urbana High School Senior Kelsey Tatman, for example, dropped her college algebra class, unneeded for graduation, and replaced it with a study hall. A junior from another school stated that she thinks students drop classes either because they were failing them or got bored with them.
Sara, from Danville High School thinks that students who were new didn’t feel comfortable with the teachers and decided to, not drop the class, but to receive the same education from a different teacher. A graduate from Catlin High School added that he changed his schedule his senior year because he was taking redundant classes that were not necessary for his career.

I changed my own schedule for my second semester of my junior year. I changed my math teacher and added an art class. Even with these simple changes my schedule is much less stressful, especially because of cheerleading that takes up a lot of my time.

Sports are another reason why students change classes. The classwork and work for sports is overwhelming and stressful, resulting in off campus periods and study halls instead of physical education hours (P.E).

The option of having a study hall for P.E is a very helpful to athletes, aiding in the completion of homework and therefore better grade.

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DRA is organized to avoid students getting a Saturday school or an out of school suspension. Many students are visual learners and they are not able to visualize a lesson a teacher taught that day in class while being in DRA.

“I learn better in class because you get better help and a wide range of answers”, said Kuriakia Brown, a senior at UHS.

While some students like Brown prefer learning in a classroom setting, others disagree. Some students see DRA as a time to catch up on work, other students enjoy DRA because it’s a time for them to sleep, text, and simply avoid being in their teacher’s presence.

“I think DRA is effective for some students, but for others DRA acts as an award because they get out of class,” said Matt Goers, a Social Studies Teacher at UHS.

DRA also is a big help to some students who have fallen behind on work and need a little extra time to catch up. “My grades haven’t dropped, because I use my time in DRA to get my work done. It’s actually a big help”, said Kiara Shelby, senior at UHS.

Some people like DRA and others feel DRA it is not helpful at all. When you constantly miss school, are tardy and skip classes DRA is not the best thing to get put into.

“I think DRA is a good system, but some kids that miss too much shouldn’t be put in there. They should try a different sort of discipline,” said Tricia Earp, secretary at UHS.

DRA is always a good place to catch up at, depending on how you use your time. It’s up to you to take control of the free time and help you are offered.

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“Hosting the winter dance this year is going to be one of our biggest fundraisers to help bring us to our $5,000 dollar goal, so we are really hoping we are able to turn a big profit off of the dance,” said S2S member and Junior, Madison Cooper.
The cost per scholarship is $50 and includes tuition and other supplies for a student to attend high school for one year. The clubs goal is to raise $5000 worth of scholarships.

“We feel that the dance is a great fundraiser because it can get the entire community of the school working together to help the students of Sierra Leon,” said S2S’s President and Senior, Kirsten Slaughter.

The theme is a Winter Dance with a focus on being a better global citizen. Tickets for the dance will be $10 and will have a special perk this year; everyone who buys a ticket will be entered into win a $100 cash prize, as well other smaller prizes.

“It is wonderful that the students in S2S are so willing and eager to help others in a distant place. It says a lot about today’s young people that they are willing to give up their time, energy, and money to help kids their age that they will probably never meet,” says S2S’s Sponsor and History teacher, Mark Foley. “It says a lot about UHS that this group was created by students, who are now on the verge of making a real difference in the world. I’m honored to be a part of it.”

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“The internship is great because it allows students to learn different things in different field of work,” said Intern Carly Johnson.

Students are placed in an internships, the internship is related to the career interest field. Students are able to go to their placements during the school day; in either the morning or the afternoon, and in even some cases the middle of the school day.

“I think any time UHS can provide students with real-life experiences that are relevant to their future goals and life after high school. We are doing something special for kids,” said Principal Dr. Laura Taylor.

This program has been at UHS since 1980. Sherrick has been a coordinator of internship for while. “Ms. Sherrick has done an exceptional job with the program and the students are fortunate to have her as their guide as they embark on new and exciting endeavors,” said Taylor.
In the past student have interned at the University of Illinois Veterinary Medicine and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. “I loved that I got to spend half of my day doing what I love. I was around the animals and learning stuff that would apply to my future. I gained so much knowledge of vet med and just what life would really be like if I went into that profession. ,” said former intern Marissa Marroneof the class of 2010.

The students spend 12 hours a week at their placement site. Interns not only get field experience they also learn how to write resumes, create a professional portfolio, learn the organizational structure of interviews, create, transcript summaries, and project presentations.
This year Sherrick has 12 executive interns this year, ranging in fields from theater to accounting. “I am doing internship so I can gain experience and knowledge of the profession I want to do in the future,” said Intern Kashala McCain.

Students can apply for the Executive Internship program in the spring of their junior year. They are selected based on their academic accomplishments, teacher recommendations, leadership skills, application and their interview.

Before they leave for summer break juniors will find out if they are accepted into the program. In the fall the intern will start going to seminar they will help students prepare such as for interviewing.

“The Internship provides a wonderful opportunity for a student to learn if they are truly interested in a specific career path. This experience provides the interns with professional contacts and connections within our community to use as future resources,” said Kristine Sherrick.

On September 13, Parkland College hosted the Illinois College Exposition in their gymnasium, from 6:00 p.m to 8:00p.m. Over forty in state and out of state colleges and universities attend the exposition.

“It was very informative, I talked to some representatives who gave me advice on their programs,” said Urbana High School Senior Heather Shrum.

There was a vast diversity in the type of schools that attended the exposition including: Olivet Nazarene University, Paul Mitchell School, United States Air Force Academy, and Butler University.

The various schools were set up in aisles, so student and their parents could walk down the aisles. Student could receive information about the school as well as talk to college representatives. “It think it’s important (the fair) so students know about the different choices that are out there for colleges and universities,” said Shrum.

The exposition was hosted by Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling– which our own counselor Samuel Furrer is a member of. The IACAC is a branch of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. “It was really helpful, I feel that I got to go to all the colleges I wanted to, and I received a lot of information,” said UHS Senior Kelsey Tatman.

For more information about the Illinois College Exposition, the IACAC, the NACAC, or the Urbana High School Guidance Department, go to http://www.usd116.org/uhs/guidance/ice.html.

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Last year was Fundamental Things Club’s first year at Urbana High School. The group’s goal was to give the fundamental things in life to people who might not have them otherwise, so they decided to raise money for Heifer International, a charity that sends animals to third world countries and teaches the people there to use them in a way that they can benefit the most from them. Fundamental Things sold t-shirts as a fundraiser, but many of their fundraising plans fell through.


This year, the group decided to start new with a smaller charity that they can work more closely with, called Kids Give. Senior Kirsten Slaughter, the club’s president, found out about Kids Give over the summer. 
“I believe that Kids Give is a great opportunity to start improving the world one child at a time. Education is such a valuable thing that everyone should be exposed to and have the opportunity cherish,” Slaughter said.

The organization began taking service trips to Sierra Leone in 2009, and their next trip is planned to take place in December 2011. S2S will be helping Kids Give award scholarships to students at St. Mary’s Secondary School in Kukuya, Kambia. This is the first and only high school in Kakuya. 


By joining SJC to raise money for Kids Give, S2S can get their name out there in a bigger sense. 
We are able to get the support of the school and really push to make a difference,” Slaughter said. “By working together we can bring the school together under one common cause of bringing social justice, not just to our school but to the world.”

To fundraise, S2S is going to have rake-a-thons on Sundays. 
The club meets every Wednesday in Foley’s room.
 “If you are interested in making a difference in the world then this is the place for you!” says Slaughter.

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Social justice has been a focus and goal throughout Urbana High School. Since 2007, when Principal Dr. Laura Taylor founded the Social Justice Committee, social justice at UHS has expanded to beyond a simple idea.

“[Social justice at UHS] just slowly built,” Taylor said.

In the coming year, the committee hopes to continue the annual exchanges, participate in “Friday Forum” (a series of speakers at the University of Illinois), and work with Students to Students. Wednesday, September 21st, Social Justice Committee had their first meeting of the year, the club meets the third Wednesday of every month from 3:30 to 4:30.

“They are different from us, they are far away, they live in a small town,” committee chair Ellen Dahlke said.

Although they are slightly different, people in far away places have many things in common with us. The annual exchange of students is an opportunity for selected students to attend a more rural school for a day to experience a different environment. Students from the more rural school attend UHS the same day. This program breaks down barriers between the school and creates a sense of extended community.

“Friday Forum” is a speaker series at the U of I. Each Friday a individual or group gives a presentation. The Social Justice Committee is giving a presentation on “How Local Schools are Advancing Social Justice”. Students on the committee are given an opportunity to speak during the presentation or help plan the presentation.

“We’re looking to use the committee as an avenue for leadership opportunities,” committee co-chair Moyer said.

The Social Justice Committee is teaming up with Students to Students (S2S) to run a project to help young people get an education, even if they can’t afford it. Lawrence High School is a new school, it’s freshman class will be of 100 students. S2S and the Social Justice Committee hopes sponsoring these students will become a community effort. The education the sponsored students can gain will change their lives.

Before the program, the students had not been exposed to enough different kinds of foods for each of them to name a unique food, Senior in the Students to Students program Kristen Slaughter said.

A class based around social justice will begin next semester and is being offered for the very first time at UHS. The semester long class takes a deep look into society and examines all kinds of discrimination and prejudice. Students in the Social Justice Class will explore ways to improve social justice, question the norm of our world, and determine if there is anything they cannot change.

Students in the Social Justice Class take part in challenging experiments and creative projects. Those who never imagined themselves having strong opinions in social justice, found themselves quickly discovering and strengthening their viewpoints.

In one experiment, students wore buttons for 24 hours that showed their support for a social justice issue they believed in, Taylor said.

As a final project, students do a service work or create an ongoing project. One final projects a group of students took on in the summer class was the murals painted outside the main office. Another was a disability awareness project where 10 UHS students had to use wheelchairs for an entire day, and teachers had to accommodate for their needs. Later, that evening, students participated in a wheelchair basketball game.

Social justice is about improving the climate, Taylor said.

The Social Justice Program’s goals are: to lead staff to improve their understanding of social justice and social justice topics, to act as a research group for social justice issues in education, to act as a resource for staff interesting in incorporating social justice into their classroom, to involve student perspective to social justice school improvements, to be actively involved in the community and groups that support social justice.

“We exist in order to come together as a community and order to improve through the lens of social justice,” Dahlke said.

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usd116.org/uhs

This year, Urbana High School received two new counselors, one of which is Kevin Floress who replaced Michael Krumweide. Krumweide had been at UHS for 25 years. Floress deals with students with last names S-Z.
Floress grew up in the North West suburbs of Chicago. He attended Central Michigan University and received his Bachelors degree in Business Administration, then went to Indiana University in Bloomington and got his masters in Counseling.
Floress started his counseling career at Millard South High School in Omaha Nebraska. He worked there for four years. After moving to Central Illinois to work at Paxton-Buckley-Loda for a year, he then came to work at UHS.
He said the bigger school setting he started off with at his school in Nebraska, attracted him to UHS, along with more programs and support for students.
UHS Senior, Julian Threlkeld said, “He’s a great guy. He’s always willing to spend time with you scheduling, college planning, and all that stuff.”
No matter what school you attend, counselors are great people to talk to if you need help with schedule changes, or for seniors, advice with colleges and applying.

http://www.dimensionsguide.com/school-blackboard-dimensions/

As Urbana High School students returned to school on August 18 students had several concerns that were talked about throughout the building. This year’s discussions included stricter dress code enforcement, uneven classroom temperatures, and the building construction. One issue that was also discussed a lot was class sizes. Some teachers and students alike gave the impression that they thought the number of students per class had jump. However, school wide statistics give a much different impression.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Check out Meredith Headtke’s article on dress code and Dominique Style’s article on class room temperatures for more about these subjects.
In the 2009- 2010 school year, the average number of students per class at UHS was 13.8 according to the Illinois State Report Cards. The only school with a smaller average class size in the Big 12 was Bloomington, which had an average 13.6 students per class. The average class sizes for the other two twin city schools were much larger- with Central coming in at 22.1 and Centennial at 22.3.
“Teachers from other schools who now work here often talk about how where they came from their classes were much bigger – coming in at 32-38 depending on the subject area,” says UHS Principal Dr. Laura Taylor.
The average class size for the 2010- 2011 school year was slightly bigger at 17.9. “We are fairly certain it will still be among the lowest in the Big 12,” Taylor says.
A couple of years ago UHS had 1340 students and approximately the same number of teachers. Today, there are 1070 students. Just seven percent of classes have 30 or more students, the biggest class, excluding PE, having 32 students.
Some electives and the upper level classes have the most students, but UHS has many specialized elective courses that are fairly small.
Senior Ben Liebersohn says his classes this year are smaller than they have been before. “This year I have slightly more obscure electives and classes with many prerequisites,” he says, which causes the class sizes to be smaller. Liebersohn says his freshman year classes were “huge”, but he’s had less students per class consecutive year.
Many required courses also have a lower number of students than they used to. In 2004, PE classes often had 60 students. Today, most classes are usually in the 30’s, the largest classes having 45 students. This is an improvement that Taylor says is “much safer.”
American Government classes, another required course, have fewer students than they used to. Although the classes still have an average of 27.75 students per class, high for UHS, the numbers are lower than they were in past years when American government classes all had 30 or more students.
Teachers, by contract, can only have up to 165 students each semester (this excludes PE teachers.) At Urbana, the teachers with the most students have 150 per semester, but many have much less than that.
An area where the numbers of students have jumped is in the AP and college prep classes. AP Chemistry has 32 students this year and AP Biology has 27 students. Although 27 is not that big of a class, but is much larger than it has been in previous years.
“I have some very small classes but then some huge classes with 30 or more,” says Senior Kirsten Slaughter, who is enrolled in four AP courses. “From what I have heard many teachers are unhappy about the large class size. It is harder for them to teach with a large class in an environment that is controlled and engaging,” she says.
While not all teachers and students are too pleased with the sizes of their classes, the data shows that course sizes are generally not bigger than they have been in past years.
“I did look through our entire class count and while I do see some sections of classes that are at or just above 30, I don’t see any major differences from this year and last… At the high school level, having 30 in the class is really considered the norm in most schools like ours,” Taylor says.

http://cleantech.com/news/2334/plankton-to-the-rescue

Graduation means that many Urbana High School seniors are preparing to leave Urbana, but one UHS alum is coming back to the community. Urbana High School alum Dan Whaley came to the Assembly Hall for the graduation ceremony. Whaley will be giving this year’s commencement address.
“Dr. Taylor suggested him. We were looking for someone who had achieved something in the business world. Someone who was not an athlete because we have had those in the past,” said Senior Class Sponsor Erin Ludwick.
Whaley is an extremely successful businessman who graduated from UHS and received
bachelor degree in English Rhetoric from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1990. Asking him how UHS impacted his life Whaley said, “It enabled everything I did. What can be bigger than that!”
In 1995 Whaley founded the first company that allows people to book your travel over the web on GetThere.com. He is currently working on another project.
In Whaley’s commencement address he talked about the amazing time we live in, and the opportunities that young people today have to partake in humanity’s next renaissance.
“I can’t imagine a greater honor. It is my privilege!” said Whaley on giving the commencement address.

http://www.uscollegesearch.org/blog/category/college-admission

 said Math Teacher Davis Reif.