Tips, Tricks, and Trinkets cont.
College tips in much greater detail by former college professor, Dr. Mary
Learning and Teaching is different in college. In high school students remain largely dependent on their teachers to tell them everything (What’s on the test? Am I doing it right? Here’s a review for your test). Some high school students will also rely on their teachers to “save” them (you didn’t do well, here is a re-test, here’s some extra credit. Sure, you can turn it in late). In college you have to be more independent and self-directed in your learning (What information can I just memorize and what do I need to know deeper? Have I thought about all the ways that a question can be asked over this topic?) Not that you occasionally won’t be offered re-tests or extra credit, but it is not going to be a given for every class. As far as what’s on the test: a good rule of thumb is: anything and everything can potentially show up on the test. Anything mentioned in lecture, on recommended assignments, or required readings. You will rarely be given a test review- this becomes your job to review yourself based on the learning objectives outlined in the syllabus for the course. Your professors will be experts in their field and you can (and will) learn a lot from them, but you will likely need to ask good, meaningful questions either in class, via email, or during their office hours, but note- office hours will be limited and each professor can have hundreds of students per semester depending on the course all vying for a few hours a week when the professor offers their office hours. Advice: there is strength in numbers. Find students in your class and form study groups that meet regularly. This can be the difference between success and failure…but pick your study partners carefully and it is important for you to be a responsible study partner for others.
Grading is different in college. Busy work is essentially non-existent in college, as are “daily grades'' for most classes. It is not uncommon for your grade to be based only on tests and/or papers/projects done over the semester. This could mean that your grade in the course could be the average of only 4 or 5 grades. This doesn’t mean there won’t be “homework,” but the purpose is for you to evaluate for yourself how well you understand, not to give you a grade. In fact, you are typically given the answers to the work and most college textbooks have the answers in them (or you can buy the solutions manual for extra money). Some students may enter college with a high school mentality that if it isn’t graded, it isn’t worth their time- most will find out quickly that this is not a motto that leads to success. If reading or working through a set of problems is recommended, likely there is a reason why… 70% may not be the cutpoint between a D and an F. That could occur at a higher percentage, or more likely, a lower percentage. For example, in a college course that I taught, the line between a D and F (ie “passing”) was 40%. Due to the letter grade and GPA structure at most colleges (the 4.0 scale), there is no difference between a high letter grade and a low letter grade. For example if an A is earned for a final average of between 90 to 100…it doesn’t matter if you get a 90 or a 100 you still get the 4.0. This will no doubt reduce the stress implicit in High School where a 100 point scale is used and on top of that determines your class rank. This feature of high school forces students chase every single point they can. Asking for extra credit to push a 97 to a 100 will be a thing of the past once in college.
Time management is different in college. In high school your time is pretty much managed for you. The day starts at a certain time and ends at a certain time and you are basically told what to do and where to go for every component of that time. You likely spent 7+ hours per day at school (or 35+ hours per week). In college a full time student (taking 12 to 15+ credit hours per semester) will spend 12 to 15 hours per week in class. Where you may have perceived a lot of “down” or “wasted” time in your day in high school. That will not be the case in college. Additionally without someone directing you how to spend your time as is done in high school, this responsibility belongs to you in college. In high school your class times are picked by the master scheduler. In college, you will pick your own schedule based on what you want to take and when the classes are available. This means that you may not go to class 5 days a week, perhaps you will choose to do all of your classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays or only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Maybe you schedule your classes back to back (if that is possible) or you can schedule breaks between your classes. Unlike high school, no one will tell you that you shouldn’t spend time in class texting or watching TikTok videos. You are paying for every hour you spend in class and for the time of the professor. If you choose to spend too much time in class on your phone, your professor is not going to tell you to get off or take your phone like it occurs in high school. Again, you are paying to be there and paying to hear a lecture from an expert in the field so if you choose to spend that time not paying attention to the expert, it’s your money. Likewise, you pay for the class whether you are there or not, so if you oversleep, schedule a doctor's appointment, have to work, etc and have to miss class that is your choice and you have paid for time that you are not receiving. If you happen to miss a test due to one of these reasons, only in exceedingly rare circumstances will you be allowed to reschedule that test. A word to the wise: NEVER miss a test.
Your “purpose” is different in college. For a multitude of reasons many high school students find that they can be successful (or successful enough) by engaging in “surface level learning.” They can haphazardly listen to their teachers or complete their work without truly engaging with the work in a meaningful fashion that ensures growth of knowledge or the ability to use the knowledge they’ve acquired for problem-solving, etc. Often, high school students will view the purpose of their learning as passing the class and graduating. Even high-achieving students can fall victim to this type of learning even though they might have a slightly higher purpose of getting a certain grade or achieving a certain class-ranking. This is not inherently bad as surface learning is a prerequisite for deep learning, but many students will attempt to engage with surface learning in college, which is not recommended and is not likely to result in success. In college, the endgame is to prepare for a future career which is going to require you to engage in deep learning. Deep learning requires a learner to extend upon the basic ideas and facts gained during surface learning, how to detect patterns and apply one’s knowledge and skills in new contexts or in novel/creative ways, and finally recognizing how and when to be critical of arguments and evidence. If students have not begun to develop deep learning skills in which school, which the vast majority of students do not, they will need to develop these skills on their own during their first two years of college when they are taking their basics. If they enter their last two years of undergraduate coursework without some experience with deep learning, they are likely to struggle in classes associated with their major, which will require it.
Kennedi Adams
Assistant Editor-in-Chief
The First Dose
COVID-19 vaccine
Starting out online school like any other day, it was Cade Norman (11) and Austin Conlee (11) turn to get voluntarily stabbed.
The first time Norman went out to receive a potential COVID-19 vaccine with his parents in Llano, TX, he came back unsuccessful. The clinic was giving the Moderna vaccine, only available to individuals 18 and older. His parents found an appointment available for the Pfizer vaccine at the Wonderland Of the Americas mall, and booked his appointment.
“I wanted the vaccine because I wanted to not get Covid and run the risk of death. That and my dad is a type one diabetic so I didn't want to give it to him either,” Norman said.
Receiving a strong pinch for a quarter of a second in their arms, they successfully received his first dose. Asked to wait for 15 minutes after the shot to make sure no reactions occurred.
“I experienced drowsiness, but other than drowsiness no side effects. It lasted about two days.” Conlee said.
April 21 Norman is scheduled for his second dose, and May 4 is the projected date he will be fully immunized. He plans to return to in person school this fall for his senior year, but and only go out when needed and continue to follow the CDC guidelines.
“My plans won’t change much it’ll probably be relatively the same,” Norman said. Although the option to see people is nice. I’m already making plans to meet up with my friends who will be vaccinated soon.”
Sarah Manning
J1 Student
The first time Norman went out to receive a potential COVID-19 vaccine with his parents in Llano, TX, he came back unsuccessful. The clinic was giving the Moderna vaccine, only available to individuals 18 and older. His parents found an appointment available for the Pfizer vaccine at the Wonderland Of the Americas mall, and booked his appointment.
“I wanted the vaccine because I wanted to not get Covid and run the risk of death. That and my dad is a type one diabetic so I didn't want to give it to him either,” Norman said.
Receiving a strong pinch for a quarter of a second in their arms, they successfully received his first dose. Asked to wait for 15 minutes after the shot to make sure no reactions occurred.
“I experienced drowsiness, but other than drowsiness no side effects. It lasted about two days.” Conlee said.
April 21 Norman is scheduled for his second dose, and May 4 is the projected date he will be fully immunized. He plans to return to in person school this fall for his senior year, but and only go out when needed and continue to follow the CDC guidelines.
“My plans won’t change much it’ll probably be relatively the same,” Norman said. Although the option to see people is nice. I’m already making plans to meet up with my friends who will be vaccinated soon.”
Sarah Manning
J1 Student
Styles Steals The Grammy's
Pop-rock singer, songwriter, Harry Styles took home his first Grammy at the 63rd annual Grammys and fans couldn’t be more excited.
The 27-year-old Englishman was nominated for three Grammys, “pop solo performance”, “music video”, and “pop vocal album” and took home the “pop solo performance” for his certified platinum single, “Watermelon Sugar.”
“Watermelon Sugar” was the second single Harry Styles released off of his 2019 album, Fine Line, which was nominated for the “pop vocal album” award. “Watermelon Sugar” reached the Billboard Hot 100 on Aug. 15, 2020, becoming Styles’ first number-one single and continued to rise to fame helping Styles score his first Grammy in the process.
Of course, however, Styles could never reach this high amount of success without the power of his fans, who were ecstatic to hear about Styles being nominated for his first Grammy’s and were thrilled to see him finally win.
“I was so proud!” Lucia Roquebert (11) said. “It was his first Grammy as a solo artist and he deserved it. Fine Line is just a masterpiece, in my opinion, he should have won the album of the year but the Grammy for “Watermelon Sugar” was well deserved! It’s really cool how I could see him grow over the years not only as a solo artist but as a person too!”
If winning a Grammy wasn’t enough, Styles had the honor to open the Grammys with “Watermelon Sugar”, Mar. 14, 2021. Styles owned the stage wearing a black leather Gucci suit along with a green feather boa and accepted his Grammy wearing a yellow, retro-inspired plaid blazer, brown bell-bottoms, and yet another (this time purple) boa.
Many of Styles’ fans, like Roquebert, have been a fan of Styles for an extremely long time.
“Nine years! Since his first audition [on the X-Factor]” Abby Levings (9), said.
Styles began his career on the British X-Factor where he was grouped into the renowned boy band, One Direction, consisting of Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Styles himself. The group won numerous awards ranging from Billboard awards to Brit awards. But for Styles’ fans, his grammy means something different.
“Harry won the Grammy on his own, he didn’t have any help from the other boys to create his album. He did it by himself and it shows just how talented he is as an artist,” Juliana Goldick (11), said.
To fans, however, it wasn’t just Styles’ musical talent that made him deserve this grammy, Styles’ overall message makes him stand out to fans as a role model and inspiration for not only them but the whole world too.
“Not only is he an amazing singer and his music is amazing, but he does so much for the community. He supports the BLM movement, LGBTQ community, and gives money to numerous charities. He really cares about his fans and always wants to spread the message of kindness with his motto, ‘Treat People With Kindness’ and I really feel that’s what we need in the world right now,” Roquebert said. “But what I love about him is that he always encourages you to be yourself and don’t let others or society tell you what you should do, how to act, or how you should dress. He inspires me to be myself and not let others’ opinions affect what I do.”
Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” and the rest of his music is available to stream on all platforms.
Emily Trevino
J1 Student
The 27-year-old Englishman was nominated for three Grammys, “pop solo performance”, “music video”, and “pop vocal album” and took home the “pop solo performance” for his certified platinum single, “Watermelon Sugar.”
“Watermelon Sugar” was the second single Harry Styles released off of his 2019 album, Fine Line, which was nominated for the “pop vocal album” award. “Watermelon Sugar” reached the Billboard Hot 100 on Aug. 15, 2020, becoming Styles’ first number-one single and continued to rise to fame helping Styles score his first Grammy in the process.
Of course, however, Styles could never reach this high amount of success without the power of his fans, who were ecstatic to hear about Styles being nominated for his first Grammy’s and were thrilled to see him finally win.
“I was so proud!” Lucia Roquebert (11) said. “It was his first Grammy as a solo artist and he deserved it. Fine Line is just a masterpiece, in my opinion, he should have won the album of the year but the Grammy for “Watermelon Sugar” was well deserved! It’s really cool how I could see him grow over the years not only as a solo artist but as a person too!”
If winning a Grammy wasn’t enough, Styles had the honor to open the Grammys with “Watermelon Sugar”, Mar. 14, 2021. Styles owned the stage wearing a black leather Gucci suit along with a green feather boa and accepted his Grammy wearing a yellow, retro-inspired plaid blazer, brown bell-bottoms, and yet another (this time purple) boa.
Many of Styles’ fans, like Roquebert, have been a fan of Styles for an extremely long time.
“Nine years! Since his first audition [on the X-Factor]” Abby Levings (9), said.
Styles began his career on the British X-Factor where he was grouped into the renowned boy band, One Direction, consisting of Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Styles himself. The group won numerous awards ranging from Billboard awards to Brit awards. But for Styles’ fans, his grammy means something different.
“Harry won the Grammy on his own, he didn’t have any help from the other boys to create his album. He did it by himself and it shows just how talented he is as an artist,” Juliana Goldick (11), said.
To fans, however, it wasn’t just Styles’ musical talent that made him deserve this grammy, Styles’ overall message makes him stand out to fans as a role model and inspiration for not only them but the whole world too.
“Not only is he an amazing singer and his music is amazing, but he does so much for the community. He supports the BLM movement, LGBTQ community, and gives money to numerous charities. He really cares about his fans and always wants to spread the message of kindness with his motto, ‘Treat People With Kindness’ and I really feel that’s what we need in the world right now,” Roquebert said. “But what I love about him is that he always encourages you to be yourself and don’t let others or society tell you what you should do, how to act, or how you should dress. He inspires me to be myself and not let others’ opinions affect what I do.”
Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” and the rest of his music is available to stream on all platforms.
Emily Trevino
J1 Student
That’s Me?
“In case you haven’t noticed I’m weird, I’m a weirdo. I don’t fit in and I don’t wanna fit i,” Jughead Jones said. Anyone could remember that line probably since it came from the popular teen drama Riverdale. People either love or watch it because teen drama’s are disastrous. Though everyone has their own unique taste on guilty pleasure, they send off a hypersexualization of teens. With society becoming more aware of today’s media, even teens themselves feel that there is this present “fascination” with Hollywood and teens.
Hollywood gives a heavy inaccuracy of teens with adults playing as teens, romanticizing toxic relationships and lack of diversity.
When watching a teen drama, none of the actors are actually teens. They usually range from the age of 22 to almost 30. There are no appropriate aged cast members, and this goes into Hollywood’s obscene sexualization of minors. Such as the strip tease scene from Riverdale where Betty is supposed to be 16. Riverdale is a main culprit of the sexualizing of minors but it happens in a lot of shows presented as a teen drama.
Though one can not undermine that some teens may be intimate, do drugs and so forth but in most cases it’s rare. Another major problem with teen drama’s is the way they romanticize toxic relationships. After or the Kissing Booth can be examples, with Noah being aggressive and possessive and aggressive towards the guys in Elle’s life though not in a romantic relationship. There is even a scene where Elle’s best friend is terrified of her being bruised and having a fear that his brother (Noah) did it to her. Yet, these actions are cast aside and these moments are to be presented as “cute” or “romantic.” It promotes the idea these relationships that are healthy and those in real life should be emulated.
Instead these shows should talk about how these relationships are actually toxic and spread awareness to teens. Aside from toxic relationships and sexualization, diversity is lacking within these shows and movies. Usually if there is to be a person of color they're usually light skinned, even if the role is to be for a dark skinned person Hollywood gears towards those who are light skinned. A lot of these shows also queerbait or don’t give LGBTQ+ roles to those actually in the community. These communities are cast aside and are shown in stereotypical ways and even misrepresent people of color and LGBTQ+.
Teen dramas are a topic that need to be talked about more rather than cast aside. With these shows and movies they should attempt to be more accurate with their casting and even what teens experience. Not have an ordeal with the “Gargoyle King'' or a cult. Have the shows represent people of color and LGBTQ+ communities properly instead of stereotypes for their white counterparts. Even discuss how a healthy relationship is supposed to be and talk about character toxic traits.
Cara King
J1 Student
Hollywood gives a heavy inaccuracy of teens with adults playing as teens, romanticizing toxic relationships and lack of diversity.
When watching a teen drama, none of the actors are actually teens. They usually range from the age of 22 to almost 30. There are no appropriate aged cast members, and this goes into Hollywood’s obscene sexualization of minors. Such as the strip tease scene from Riverdale where Betty is supposed to be 16. Riverdale is a main culprit of the sexualizing of minors but it happens in a lot of shows presented as a teen drama.
Though one can not undermine that some teens may be intimate, do drugs and so forth but in most cases it’s rare. Another major problem with teen drama’s is the way they romanticize toxic relationships. After or the Kissing Booth can be examples, with Noah being aggressive and possessive and aggressive towards the guys in Elle’s life though not in a romantic relationship. There is even a scene where Elle’s best friend is terrified of her being bruised and having a fear that his brother (Noah) did it to her. Yet, these actions are cast aside and these moments are to be presented as “cute” or “romantic.” It promotes the idea these relationships that are healthy and those in real life should be emulated.
Instead these shows should talk about how these relationships are actually toxic and spread awareness to teens. Aside from toxic relationships and sexualization, diversity is lacking within these shows and movies. Usually if there is to be a person of color they're usually light skinned, even if the role is to be for a dark skinned person Hollywood gears towards those who are light skinned. A lot of these shows also queerbait or don’t give LGBTQ+ roles to those actually in the community. These communities are cast aside and are shown in stereotypical ways and even misrepresent people of color and LGBTQ+.
Teen dramas are a topic that need to be talked about more rather than cast aside. With these shows and movies they should attempt to be more accurate with their casting and even what teens experience. Not have an ordeal with the “Gargoyle King'' or a cult. Have the shows represent people of color and LGBTQ+ communities properly instead of stereotypes for their white counterparts. Even discuss how a healthy relationship is supposed to be and talk about character toxic traits.
Cara King
J1 Student
Soccer Success
102 total goals.
23 wins.
One loss.
The buzzer went off on Friday, Apr. 2 at Comalander Stadium and just like that the 2020-2021 Clemens soccer season came to an end after a very successful season. Varsity soccer finished the regional quarterfinals and ranked first in the district. This year, the boys had amazing work ethic which reflected onto the field with their well earned achievements. With this season now over, the future holds what's in store for the boys varsity soccer next year.
“Well, the seniors are pretty much like our core leader group,” Max Walsh (11) said. “So without them people are gonna have to step into those roles. And some people who are on JV are gonna have to come up and make an impact.”
Max Walsh has been on varsity since his sophomore year and in the 2021-2022 school year he will be a senior. With this year's varsity team consisting of mainly seniors, the team will have to prepare to continue to shine.
“I'm confident that we’ll win district again (next year) and we're gonna win most of our games; I'm looking forward to the challenge though cause it's not gonna be as easy as this year,” Walsh said.
With confidence and dedication put into their games, boys soccer will be able to reign as district champs next year as they did this year.
“We've made it to playoffs every year so far that I've been here,” Dalin Burris (12) said, “but this year was further because we just have a better team this year and we played better as a team compared to previous years.”
This year was Burris’ last soccer season after playing on varsity since 2018. He was a starter and scored a total of 20 goals this season. The chemistry of this year's team is part of what granted them to advance to the playoffs and finish off with a total of 102 points this season.
“Preparing for a playoff game we were more focused before the game,” Burris said. “We didn't really mess around as much as we did for district games and we just got prepared earlier than what we usually did.”
During playoff games, teams play against each other from all over the state, meanwhile in district they only play against our local eight schools.
“It was extremely emotional; to think that we weren't gonna play another game after that day was really really heartbreaking,” said Hayden Sharp (12). “It was good to know that we tried our hardest and we put in the max amount of effort and did all that we could.”
April 2 was the last high school game played by the seniors who made this season one to remember. The emotions on the team were high, especially for the seniors as their high school soccer career came to an end after a victorious season.
“Depending on my team's attitude towards everybody else, like if they’re in a bad attitude, yelling at each other, then we're not gonna play as good as we usually do. But if we're all communicating at the same time and communication is all the way up there then we will usually play better.” Burris said.
The outcome of the team's success often comes from the teamwork put into it. Just about every day after school from December to January, soccer practice was held where communication and teamwork is built.
“It keeps you in shape for the months after and before a season, and mentally like you're still playing the game so you're engaged and you're ready when the season comes,” Walsh said.
During off season many of the soccer athletes compete in club soccer as well. This allows for the Clemens soccer players to give their best during soccer season and lead the team to victory.
Marisa Gomez
J1 Student
23 wins.
One loss.
The buzzer went off on Friday, Apr. 2 at Comalander Stadium and just like that the 2020-2021 Clemens soccer season came to an end after a very successful season. Varsity soccer finished the regional quarterfinals and ranked first in the district. This year, the boys had amazing work ethic which reflected onto the field with their well earned achievements. With this season now over, the future holds what's in store for the boys varsity soccer next year.
“Well, the seniors are pretty much like our core leader group,” Max Walsh (11) said. “So without them people are gonna have to step into those roles. And some people who are on JV are gonna have to come up and make an impact.”
Max Walsh has been on varsity since his sophomore year and in the 2021-2022 school year he will be a senior. With this year's varsity team consisting of mainly seniors, the team will have to prepare to continue to shine.
“I'm confident that we’ll win district again (next year) and we're gonna win most of our games; I'm looking forward to the challenge though cause it's not gonna be as easy as this year,” Walsh said.
With confidence and dedication put into their games, boys soccer will be able to reign as district champs next year as they did this year.
“We've made it to playoffs every year so far that I've been here,” Dalin Burris (12) said, “but this year was further because we just have a better team this year and we played better as a team compared to previous years.”
This year was Burris’ last soccer season after playing on varsity since 2018. He was a starter and scored a total of 20 goals this season. The chemistry of this year's team is part of what granted them to advance to the playoffs and finish off with a total of 102 points this season.
“Preparing for a playoff game we were more focused before the game,” Burris said. “We didn't really mess around as much as we did for district games and we just got prepared earlier than what we usually did.”
During playoff games, teams play against each other from all over the state, meanwhile in district they only play against our local eight schools.
“It was extremely emotional; to think that we weren't gonna play another game after that day was really really heartbreaking,” said Hayden Sharp (12). “It was good to know that we tried our hardest and we put in the max amount of effort and did all that we could.”
April 2 was the last high school game played by the seniors who made this season one to remember. The emotions on the team were high, especially for the seniors as their high school soccer career came to an end after a victorious season.
“Depending on my team's attitude towards everybody else, like if they’re in a bad attitude, yelling at each other, then we're not gonna play as good as we usually do. But if we're all communicating at the same time and communication is all the way up there then we will usually play better.” Burris said.
The outcome of the team's success often comes from the teamwork put into it. Just about every day after school from December to January, soccer practice was held where communication and teamwork is built.
“It keeps you in shape for the months after and before a season, and mentally like you're still playing the game so you're engaged and you're ready when the season comes,” Walsh said.
During off season many of the soccer athletes compete in club soccer as well. This allows for the Clemens soccer players to give their best during soccer season and lead the team to victory.
Marisa Gomez
J1 Student