Marisa LindemanStaff writer As the winter season progresses and the long awaited Christmas holiday comes closer and closer, our minds are bom-barded with final exams even more than before. Though it may seem like “some test” we take at the end of each semester, in reality, it is much more than that. Final exams can be the one test that bump you up in your class rank, or in the worst case scenario, fail you for the semester. “It is worth 20% of your final grade,” junior Alison Wilder said, “so if you fail, more than likely you will suf-fer.” Yet there is no need to worry about finals if you use the one magical strategy that seems to work every single time:

Studying. No matter how, what, when, or where you might study, this method never fails. “Studying equals a better grade,” junior Zac Slaydon said. “It refreshes my memo-ry on material I have learned earlier in the semester.” Studying may seem hard and time con-suming concept at first, but in reality it really isn’t. There are so many different paths you can take in reviewing that will all lead to a great outcome. “For finals, I usually look over my notes and redo example problems that I don’t remember how to do,” Wilder said.

Other study methods range from doing flash cards to note exam-

ples; all of it helps you to be more success-ful on the exams.

Though this is true,

one thing isn’t: Cramming for the test. “Studying hard the night before a test is good, but relying on it as the only method of preparing is bad,” German and French teacher Jan Krammer said. “If you don’t know the material, one night won’t help. If you do, that night will reinforce what you know.” Other than studying, making sure that you have a full-night’s rest and a stress-free brain is also a key point gaining your desired grade for your finals. “Make sure to get a good night’s rest, make sure they have the proper materials, and do a last-minute check to make sure they know the information for their test,” Krammer said. The choice of whether you study for finals or not is ultimately yours, but re-member, studying ensures the highest rate of success.

NORSEMANVolume 41, Number 5 • December 2011

T r a v i s B. B r y a n H i g h S c h o o l

• IN-BRIEF •www.BryanHighNoresman.com

ONLINESEE MORE

By the Ledger: Stretching dollars, equipping students

Athlete makes fast-break on court, in class

BREAkINg NEwS

FEATURES

SpoRTS

The ‘News’ category of The Norseman is the best way to stay up-to-date with the news & information at Bryan High.

Mastering the ability to balance commitment to a team, along with remaining dedicated to school is something many of students see as nearly impossi-ble. One student, senior Khadi-jah Brisby, manages to execute the two seamlessly.

To stay up-to-date with the latest sports scores for Bryan High School athlet-ic programs, be sure to visit bryanhighnorseman.com/sports.

John FullerEditor Although it may be difficult for some to imagine school without all of the school supplies that they were once accustomed, recent budget cuts have forced adminis-trators and teachers to take another look at what equipment and supplementary supplies they can purchase. “We have to put on a different think-ing hat,” Principal’s Assistant Maria Field said. “Our goal is to serve our students academically, in any way we can. We have to challenge ourselves in how to spend the money in new ways and to see how much smarter we can be about spending the money for the students.” This year, the organization of materials funds has also changed for school districts,

as instead of being allotted a specific num-ber of textbooks, schools are now awarded certain dollar amounts and are allowed to chose which resources to buy. “My teachers realized that there’s less money to purchase books and we have to utilize what we already have available,” English Department Chair Lisa Prejean said. “This year, we had a grammar book adoption, and to save money, we ordered just class sets, rather than an entire set for the entire school.” Teachers and administrators have also reduced the amount of printing and copy-ing they use in an effort to save money on paper and ink. “Because we have a reduced print bud-get, we do a lot more work out of the book, and students are taking their own notes,” Math Department Chair Jill Morris said. In addition to basic equipment and sup-ply funding, travel budgets for teacher and administrator training have also been reduced. “Travel is limited to the things that are immediate concerns, like the EOC (End of Course) exams,” Prejean said.

For Advanced Placement and trainings related to certain programs, the school is able to send teachers because they are re-imbursed through other funding sources. “They have not limited AP or Pre/AP travel because we do get reimbursements from the state,” Prejean said. “They re-imburse the fee for the actual workshop, which is usually around $450, so it makes it worth the district’s money.” Through past efforts and grant monies, the district has built up a large technology program, which administrators say they are taking advantage of to cut down on the amount of physical supplies that must be purchased. Many of the student rewards, for achievements like good grades, that were previously paid for with the equipment budget, have also been cut in order to de-vote more resources to materials that are necessary for the classroom. “We think more about how the money can be spent for the curriculum,” Field said. “It’s basically cutting off the fat and giving students the meat.“

moRE

opINIoN

Students set sights on sky“Pull!” Then the sound of shot-guns firing and a sudden crash of shattering clay. This might be a frightening experience to some, but to competitive skeet shooters, it is just a typical practice. Final Exams: Review to pursue your dreams

Feast of Carols ReviewStaff writer Andrea Mendes re-views the Choir Department’s annual holiday production: Feast of Carols.

Teacher mixes wit into curriculum for students’ benefitStephani WhisenantManaging editor Begin with a base of vocabulary, gram-mar and literature. Throw in a touch of dry wit, a dollop of hard work and bake...for 9,405 minutes. The result? Department Chair Lisa Prejean’s English classes. “She’s an awesome teacher,” senior AP English student Joey Wilder said. “Her laid back attitude is nice. She’s a lot more sarcastic than any other teacher I had and she really connects with the students in that way. We have fun in her class. It’s probably one of my favorite classes this year.” Prejean, who has been teaching for 25 years, 20 of which have been at Bryan High, has taught various levels of Eng-lish from a TAKS a mediation class to English II regular and PAP, to English IV AP and regular, and now IB senior English. Prejean has known she wanted to be a teacher since elementary school and that desire was reinforced during her high school years. “The main reason I stay in teaching is because I like the kids,” Prejean said. “I like getting to know them every year because every group is different, I mean there are similarities, but the personali-ties and getting to seem them be success-ful is why I stay in it.” Having a close connection with her stu-dents isn’t the only thing that separates Prejean from some of the other teachers.

She also has a daughter at Bryan High. “I love having her on campus,” Prejean said. “She doesn’t always love it though. When she was a freshman she would tell me: ‘don’t even look at me, don’t even acknowledge that I exist, don’t talk to me, don’t tell your kids about me’, but as she’s gotten older I think she began to appreciate me being here.” Junior Allie Prejean says that it was hard to adjust to having her mother on campus. “I was embarrassed my freshmen year,” Allie said. “The first day of school I told her to give me space and act like I didn’t exist, I didn’t want anyone to know my mom was a teacher.” And as her mother be-lieves, Allie does appreciate having her mom on campus now. “She always lends me a hand if I need her,” Allie said, “and if I forget something, she will have it for me.” As her students will attest to though, Prejean is not just there for her own daughter, but to make sure all of her stu-dents have what they need to be success-ful. “She’s always available for questions about projects or before a test,” senior Blake Maass said. “She makes sure she is available whenever we need the extra help.”

Her hard work and dedication is evi-dent in all areas of her teaching as she does whatever is necessary to make sure her students are successful.

“She teaches well,” Maass said. “She always keeps the class interesting which allows us to really learn the material.” Another aspect that impacts

the dynamics of Prejean’s classroom is the way she incorporates technology through the T3 grant. “I use technology mostly for commu-nication, like communication through the Facebook groups, and using Google docs,” Prejean said. “The Facebook group is really used to remind students of assignments, quizzes and tests, and to send out links. It allows for better, more efficient communication.” Prejean also takes advantage of tech-nology when it comes to turning in as-

signments and checking work. “I use Google docs to share documents with students and I use Turnitin.com to check for plagiarism,” Prejean said. I try

to teach them to use these mediums to get information and find out information for themselves. The more sharing of knowledge the students have, the better they are at find-ing a global perspec-tive.” Prejean hopes that with technology and her own original style of teaching, she can leave a good im-

pression on her students as they go to college. “The best compliment a student can pay me is to say ‘what I learned from you I used in college’,” Prejean said. “I had a student come back and tell me that our class discussions were way better than the ones they had in college, and that’s a compliment.” Prejean’s main goal in teaching is to help her students and give them skills that they will use for the rest of their lives. “I hope I teach them responsibility, in-tegrity, and to do their own work and be proud of the work they do,” Prejean said. “I hope I give them the skills they need to be successful in college.”

Guard brings color to performances year-roundAdviser

Rebecca Dominy

EditorJohn Fuller

Managing EditorStephani Whisenant

Assistant EditorsEmily Nash

Emma Raleigh

The opinions expressed are those of the writers and are not reflective of the administrators, faculty or staff of Bryan Independent School District.

Submissions to the editor are welcomed, but must be signed and should not exceed 300 words. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions in the interest of clarity and length or to not print a letter at all. Letters containing obscene or

libelous material will not be considered.

Bryan Independent School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, reli-gion, color, national origin, sex or handicap in providing education services.

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Norseman

Staff writersEva Araujo

Davis DowneyRegina Flores

Abel LaraMarisa Lindeman

Monserrat MadrazoAndrea Mendes

Maurissa RamirezJustin SandersYvette Ybarra

Highlight editions are published in print on the last Friday each month

Students showing disrespect to teachers has become a familiar sight on campus. Whether it’s something as trivial as a dress code violation or as minor as a late assign-ment, these students are not afraid to be dis-respectful to their teachers by raising their voices and exerting an insane amount of emotion. These students seem to be demanding respect and to be treated as adults by the teachers, yet they are not showing respect nor mature behavior. Many of these students don’t think any-thing of their actions. However, there are plenty of students who see these occurrenc-es and are taken aback. Why do students think that raising their voice and having childish behavior is the way to go about getting what they want? In reality these actions give them anything but respect. The teachers on campus are not just there to baby-sit you. They are trained profession-als who devote the majority of their day to the students’ well-being. Showing gratitude is the least we, as students, can do for them. Adding extra pressure on the teachers by not being in dress code, turning in late as-

signments and doing other rebellious things and then becoming angry when we are pun-ished is completely counter-productive. Just like a police officer’s job is to uphold the law, the teachers must uphold the code of conduct. You wouldn’t talk back to an of-ficer would you? It should be the same with teachers. Students forget that teachers have their own rules to follow, just like the students do. They are held accountable just like we are, and if anything they have more to lose. Many teachers are at the school hours be-fore it starts and hours after it ends. They go through seminars and tests to ensure they are benefiting us to their maximum ability. It’s not just teachers, either, the same re-spect should be given to substitutes, moni-tors, administrators and other personnel. So again, why don’t we appreciate all that they do for us? It seems if we want the teach-ers to respect us and be grateful for the work we do, we must first do the same for them. We aren’t asking you to like all of your teachers, but we are asking you to respect them and realize that they are only there to help each of us succeed. - The Norseman Staff

Be the One: show some respect

Monserrat MadrazoStaff writer Every Friday night during the fall the Guard adds color to the football field with the marching band, but their year doesn’t end with the last snap of the ball. While the Color Guard is mainly known as an addition to the Friday night football experience, their expertise ex-tends past the lines of school spirit as they also participate in Winter Guard. Sophomore Guard member Maria Roe says the preparation for football season is much different than Winter Guard. “It is not a big football field, it is one area in a gym,” Roe said. “It’s one big floor and the crowd is up close and per-sonal, so are the judges.” Having the judges so close can be very intimidating and stressful, but that

doesn’t ruin the experience for Roe. “In marching season the judges are up in a press box,” Roe said. “In Winter Guard the judges are near your face and can see everything and it’s just more stressful yet it’s still fun.” Guard director Marie Debellis says Bryan High is only one of the few Color Guards competing this year in the Win-ter Guard International World Champi-onships in Dayton, Ohio in April. “Registration is still going on right now, but normally about 150 different teams from all over the world compete in our Scholastic A division of this com-petition,” Debellis said. “It is a one of a kind event and our Guard will have the opportunity to compete with groups, and meet other performers, from all over the world.” This year, the Color Guard has a

unique show for competition. “Our show this year is called ‘First Circle’,” Debellis said. “The original art-ist is Pat Matheny, but we will be per-forming a Brazilian arrangement of this song by Ruban Blades. It will be a very colorful, upbeat and fun production.” To make sure their performance in Dayton is one of the best, the Guard practices almost everyday of the week for a total of eight hours. “We do a lot of trying to get the group together so that we are all one,” Guard member Valeria Munguia said. “If we are not all one we will stick out, you can see people messing up, so we have to be one with each other.” The Color Guard will be traveling to Dayton, Ohio for competition April 12-13.

Emma RaleighAssistant editor You always hear about people’s experi-ence with “awkward moments”, ranging from seeing an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend at the mall, to bumping into people at school. I have a different type of awk-ward moment pretty much every single day. About eight months ago, I watched Food Inc., a documentary that explored the secret underbelly of the food indus-try. Being a part of a family that eats more than their fair share of vegetables and fruits every day, and where whole wheat is the only option, I was a pretty healthy person. After watching that doc-umentary, my life had changed. Really. I was disgusted with the graphic scenes of cows and chickens being crammed into inhumane facilities before slaugh-ter. Many factories tossed parts of ani-mals, that you do not expect to find, into hot dogs or sausages. Each of these reve-lations disturbed the animal-lover that I am, but, above all, a single statistic stuck with me: in 1972, the FDA conducted ap-proximately 50,000 food safety inspec-tions, but in 2006 they only conducted 9,164. Even if we buy healthy food and

trusted brands at the grocery store, how can we be sure that it is safe to eat? Since that day, I made the decision to go veggie. Yes, it is a rare breed, but I am a Texan vegetarian. I did some re-search before the big jump, and it turns out that vegetarians tend to live longer lives, have a lower risk for heart disease, diabetes and stroke, have stronger bones and have a lower risk of getting food-borne illnesses. I couldn’t forgo animal products all together, so I’m something you call a lacto-ovo vegetarian. I don’t eat meat of any kind, but I still eat eggs and dairy. The initial adjustment was hard, and I had to shop for new products that had a lot of protein in them to make up for lack of meat. Becoming a vegetarian was something I did for myself, and I feel healthier because of it, but where does the awkward come in? The first week I became a vegetarian, I was invited to a birthday party at every-one in the Brazos Valley’s favorite res-taurant, Wings n’ More. I was dreading it, knowing I would be the only one not eating a plate of chicken wings. Most of

my friends didn’t know yet, but when I ordered one of the few menu items that did not include meat, they seemed con-cerned. They all questioned my meal choice, and told me ‘you could order a salad any time, this is Wings n’ More!’ Then came the big moment after a short silence. I’m a vegetarian. Some laughed and thought I was kid-

ding, others couldn’t fathom not eating meat for every meal, every day. I explained why I became a vegetarian, and they respected my deci-

sion. All of them agreed that they could never do it, and that

I was brave for doing so. A few even thought I wouldn’t last with my new diet habits. Most of the time in Texas, you’re ex-pected to eat a lot from the most impor-tant food group: meat. There are bar-beques every weekend, roadhouses on every street, and everyone either hunts, or knows someone who hunts. When I eat out with new friends, or ask for spe-cial no-meat pizza rolls I catch a lot of flack. It’s hard to explain to waiters at restaurants that you want this without

chicken, or that without shrimp, and I get a lot of weird looks. The first few weeks, I had a lot less en-ergy, and I had cravings for meat. I had to stay strong if I wanted to stick with it. One of the main reasons I continued was to prove everyone who told me I wouldn’t last wrong. It wasn’t the only reason though. I eventually gained even more energy than before, I definitely ate more natural and organic foods, and I even lost some weight. I was so happy with my choice, that I told everyone I knew. There was only one drawback to being vegetarian: my hair started falling out. My body wasn’t receiving the same vi-tamins and minerals it needed as it did before, so large chunks of my long hair started to come out. I figured out that I needed to take vitamins to make up for the things I wasn’t eating, which benefit-ed me in other ways as well. Overall, being a vegetarian, especially in Texas, can be hard and even awkward. It’s hard to settle on a restaurant that ev-eryone can go to, and family meals have to be planned around me, but I’m proud to be a vegetarian.

It’s not easy being green in Texas: vegetarianism difficult

The Color Guard performs at the Crosstown Showdown halftime show.

News & events at Bryan High SchoolAround Campus

Justin SandersStaff writer When fights happen or troubleoccurs,thereareonlyafewpeoplethatarehavespecializedtrainingtohandlethesituation.Thesearethepeople whose only job is to makesurethatstudentsaresafe. HeadhallmonitorLesterBanks’mainjobistomakesurethatallofthestudents,facultyandstaffareonthe same page for security. Banksconsistentlywalksupanddownthehalls checking for one thing: thatstudents are in class andare stay-ingoutoftrouble. “Youwouldbeamazedhowmanykidshaveactuallywalkeduptomeand thankedme formaking a dif-ference in their life and helpingthem stay out of trouble,” Bankssaid.“ThatiswhatIamabout,Iamnotaboutthepaycheck.” Banks alsomakes sure that stu-dents get on the bus, take care ofdresscodeissuesandthekeepstheparkinglotssafeandorderly. Bankssayshe isherestrictly forthekids,afterhehimselfattendedBryanHighintheearly80’s. “IhavealwayshadadreamthatI wanted to come back one dayand give back to my community,kids have always been my prideandjoy,”Bankssaid.“Iwanttobetheone thatmakesadifference insomeone’slife.” StudentResourceOfficers(SROs)alsoaid inkeeping the school safeandmakesurestudentsbehave.Of-ficerHaynesispartoftheBryanPo-lice Department, but spends most

ofhistimeoncampusasanSRO. “I have worked off-duty uphere with a number of studentsbefore I actually startedworkinghere,”OfficerHaynessaid.“Isaidtomyself, ‘Iactuallyenjoywork-ingwithkids’,andatthattime,Ijustdecided that Iwas ready forsomethingnew.” Haynesenjoysbeingtheofficerthatisn’tthoughtofasintimidat-ing,butastheofficerstudentsfeelisapproachable. “There are some students thathave graduatedand I still talk tothem,”Haynes said,“simply because ofthe contact I hadwith them whenthey were younger,making sure theystayoutoftrouble.” Haynesbelievesthattheschoolis as safe as it can be, but staysvigilant and always patrols out-sideorinahallway,watchingforanythingoutoftheordinary. “We do our best to communi-catewiththehallmonitors,teach-ers and staff, whatever we see,we share that information witheachother,”Haynessaid.“Itisallaboutcommunication,andwetrytodoourbest.” ThoughtheSROsandhallmon-itors may look intimidating, theonly reason they are here is forthestudents.Eachday,theycometoschoolwiththehopethattheywillmakeadifferenceinonestu-dent’slife.

Security PersonnelYvette YbarraStaff writer ManystudentshaveproudlywalkedthesehallsasVikings,butupongradua-tion,mostofthemmoveawayfromhighschool,leavingtheirteenyearsasmemo-riestomerelyreminisceover.Some,how-ever, get the opportunity to experiencetheothersideofhighschoolandcontinuetobeadailypartoftheVikingfamily. All four receptionist at BHS: VeraBecerra,NinaLink,PeggyLeroandPamPerrone,graduatedfromBryanISD. “Igraduatedfromtheveryfirstclass

at Bryan High in1972,” secretaryNina Link said.“Iwas only hereayearanditwasreally different.There were noclub organiza-tionsatall.”

Althoughstudentshavealways receiveaqualityeducationatBHS,Linkbelievesithasimprovedovertimebycateringtostu-dentsneedsinvariousareas.“There are so many more opportunitiesatBHSnowbecauseoftheextracurricularactivitiesandacademicclassesofferedtostudents,”Linksaid.The school has grown, but some thingsneverchange.“As much as school and students thinkthey change, one thing that will neverchange is the fact that students appreci-atehavingsomeonetolookoutforthem,”Perronesaid. “We loveworkingwithourofficeaidesbecauseitgivesusachancetoconnectwiththestudentsandgettoknowthembetter.”The receptionists enjoy interacting withthe office aides because it gives them a

chance to impact the school and the stu-dents. “We can’t help but bond with our officeaides;wegettoknowthemandtrytohelpthem anyway we can,” Link said. “Some-times,theycomeinhereandwanttotalkandwejustlistenandtrytoadvisethemwheretogoandwhototalktoabouttheirproblems.” The bonds they are able to make withtheirofficeaideslastpastgraduation. “We enjoy following them when they’vegraduated,”Lerosaid.“Alotofthemcomebackandtelluswhatthey’redoingandit’sgoodtoseethembesuccessful.” Students deliver messages, run errandsand complete any other office tasks thatneed to be completed. The students helptheschoolrunmoreefficientlyandhelpthereceptionistgetotherworkdone thatonlytheycando. The receptionisthavea varietyofdutiestocompletethatmustbehandledinapro-fessionalandtimelymanner. “I do pretty much anything for anyonethat needs anything,” secretary Vera Bec-errasaid.“Icanhaveacallcoming,aparentcoming,andabuzzercanbegoingoff.Youhavetobeamulti-taskerandIgetcreditforthat.” The relationships the receptionists areabletoformcreateapositiveworkenviron-menttokeepBryanHighrunningsmooth-ly. “We direct parents and visitors aroundthecampusandanswerthephoneandtakecareofthemail,”Linksaid.“Wehelpkeepthecampusrunningsmoothly.” Thoughthesecretarieshavealottohan-dletheyareabletoenjoytheirjobbecauseofthestudentsandcolleaguestheyseeeachday. “IenjoywhatIdo,”Becerrasaid.“Ienjoymeetingpeopleandtalkingtopeople.”

Office Personnel

Wednesday, December 14 Thursday, December 15 Friday, December 16

Exam-5thPeriod(100minutes) 8:25-10:05

Review,2ndPeriod(25minutes) 10:10-10:35

Review,3rdPeriod,Lunch 10:35-12:10

Exam,6thPeriod(100minutes) 12:15-1:55

Exam,7thPeriod(100minutes) 2:00-3:40

Exam-2ndPeriod(100minutes) 8:25-10:05

Exam-4thPeriod(100minutes) 10:10-11:40

Review,1stPeriod(40minutes) 11:45-12:25

Lunch(30minutes) 12:25-12:55

Exam-1stPeriod(100minutes) 8:25-10:05

Exam-3rdPeriod(100minutes) 10:10-11:40

FYP,3rdPeriod(40minutes) 11:45-12:25

Lunch(30minutes) 12:25-12:55