District Budget ApprovedVOL 1, ISSUE 6 MAY 27, 2010 FREE

Student Newspaper of Corning Painted Post East High School

online @ thetrojantribune.ning.com

Schools Close l Staff Reductions l Teams Combineby Newspaper Staff

The Corning-Painted Post school board recently approved a budget that cuts more than 40 positions, closes two schools and combines junior varsity and varsity sports. The public voted to ap-prove the budget on May 18, 2010.

The following represents the major changes in the approved budget.

A tax levy increase of 5.46% with an esti-mated average tax rate increase of 2.4%. This reflects nearly $3.7 million in spending reductions including the elimination of 40 positions.

The closure of Lindley-Presho Elementary School. Beginning in 2010-2011, Lindley- Pre-sho Elementary School will be closed. All students who live in the Lindley-Presho attendance areas will now attend Erwin Valley Elementary School. The District will communicate directly with affected parents on an ongoing basis to provide information pertaining to the transition. This budgetary decision will save the District $491,000 annually.

The closure of Kent Phillips Elemen-tary School. Beginning in 2010-2011, Kent Phillips Elementary School will be closed. Students who live in the Kent Phillips Elementary School attendance areas will now attend either Gregg Elementary School (Houghton Plot) or Severn and Winfield Elementary Schools (Beaver Dams). The

District will communicate directly with affected parents on an ongoing basis to provide information pertaining to the tran-sition. This budgetary decision will save the District $750,000 annually.

Combined East/West Sports Teams. In another budget saving measure, all remain-ing East/West sports will be combined into one District team for the 2010-2011 school year and beyond. Planning for this transi-tion is in full swing. This budgetary decision will save the District $287,900 annually.

Student response was mixed. “I don’t want sports teams to combine because people who aren’t great at sports have less of a chance of making the team” said Christey Wilkinson. This sentiment was also ex-pressed by Casper Clay, “There are going to be no more East vs. West games which

is a big part of Corning culture.” Alyssia Muhammad said, “I think it’s a good thing that sports teams are being com-bined because we’ll have a better team and compete at a higher level. I feel bad

for the teachers that will lose their jobs.”

Bob Streeten, East High lacrosse coach and teacher spoke during the budget presenta-tion. He said, “Our main goal of what we’re trying to do is educate students,” said Bob Streeten, lacrosse coach and humanities teacher. “Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that every time we add something (to the budget) we have to cut a classroom teacher.

This is a time for tough decisions.”

Streeten pointed out that many sports in the district have to use younger players just to fill rosters.

School Board Member Nancy Arkin has pointed out that the teacher positions the board was saving by combining sports teams could have a bigger impact on students than having two varsity lacrosse or football teams. Caleb Noel said, "I personally believe that faculty and staff losing the jobs because of the budget cuts is not justified because there are not many tangible benefits for the students."

Virgil Cain Returns for Fifth Annual Java Jam Yearbook CelebrationThe fifth annual Java Jam, Logos Yearbook early distribution celebration, will be held on Friday, May 28, 2010 during lunch pe-riods 11am to 1pm in the library. Students who attend the event may pick-up their yearbooks before general distribution, which begins on Tuesday, June 1, 2010.

The event will include a live performance by Virgil Cain. A multi-talented musi-cian, Virgil has drawn on over a decade of recording sessions and live performances to meticulously build a multi-layered show that appeals to most any audience.

Co-Editor in Chief Alison Schuppert said, “I am a firm believer in the idea that life comes in stages. As this yearbook shows, nothing is cut and dry. Within just one year there are many traditions, transitions, and completely modern situations we encoun-ter.”

Co-Editor in Chief Ashlee Warner said, “This year has been defined by many lasts. I celebrated my last semi-formal, played in my last East versus West basketball game, and took my last trip to Connecticut with the girl’s lacrosse team, but most impor-tantly created my last yearbook. It has been a privilege to be a part of this yearbook staff.”

The 2010 edition of the Logos marks the 47th yearbook since East High opened its doors in 1963. Please join the celebration on May 28, 2010 and be among the first to receive your copy of the Sold Out book.

by Christine Moore, Staff Writer

The Trojan Tribune

Budget expenditures

from the Corning Leader

A donation of $1.71 million from the Corning Inc. Foundation will fund about 35 teaching positions in the Corning-Painted Post school district in the next school year and will help district officials and school board members as they struggle to put together a budget for 2010-11.

A top official of the district called the gesture “pretty amazing” and “an incredible act” by the foundation, the philanthropic arm of Corning Inc., the region’s largest employer.

“They have donated money in the past to support curriculum development and program initiatives -- teacher training, workshops, attendance at conferences, bringing in trainers for teachers, things of that nature,” said Jeff Delorme, assistant superintendent for administrative services.

But he said no other donation approached the size of this one, and he said this is the

first time the foundation has directly funded teaching positions for the district.

“It’s just an incredible act by them,” Delo-rme said Wednesday, a couple of hours be-fore the school board voted unanimously at its regular meeting to accept the grant and put the $1.71 million in the district’s special aid fund, where grant money is deposited.

The resolution passed by the board said the money is to be used “in support of 2010-2011 instructional programs in the areas of art, business, English, French, humanities, math, music, physical education, science, Spanish and technology.”

Delorme said that means the money will pay for teachers in those secondary-level classes. That will enable the district to use its own funds to pay for teachers at the lower levels.

“This certainly is significant because it not only is directly funding these positions, it means that by preserving those programs

we can use other resources at the el-ementary levels, for example. This, in ef-fect, while aimed mainly at the secondary level, really affects all kids in the district,” Delorme said.

Delorme said the grant will greatly help the district in its budget preparation, but he cautioned that it doesn’t mean the process won’t be painful.

Kristin Swain, president of the Corning Inc. Foundation, said Wednesday that it’s “the work of public education that we’re supporting” with the donation.

“We want to help with the job retention of teachers to have adequate staff in schools so the education of students can go on,” she said.

“What better investment can a com-munity make than in a school system?” Swain asked.

Corning, Inc. Donates $1.7 million to School District

Salaries 74%

Treasurer 6%

Other 6%

BOCES 8%

Utilities 2%

Transportation 4%

@FRIDAY, MAY 28

during lunch periods

$3 admission includes refreshments and live entertainment

www.virgilcainmusic.comfeaturing VIRGIL CAIN

EAST HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY

COFFEE HOUSE yearbook early release & signing celebration

javajam

11am to 1pm

EAST HIGH LOGOS YEARBOOK PRESENTS

Regular distribution of yearbook will begin on Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Yearbook Staff - First row: Ashlee Warner, Alison Schuppert; Second Row: Kelsey Coons, Linsey Wilkinson, Gretchen Smith, Anna Ong, Ashley Cates, Ashley Learn; Third Row: Adviser Mr. S. Miller

Each year, 90% of the nation’s water bottles become garbage or litter. Here at East High we’re trying to decrease that percentage by doing what we can to recycle. Fortu-nately, the recycling club, a group which has dwindled into nonexistence over the past three years, instilled a spirit of the need for recycling.. Mrs. Catherine Patterson, a history teacher at East, explained “we need a group of students to take this on.”

The blame for a lack of recycling in the school can not be placed on one person but rather everyone that does not help out. A few outstanding students and teachers try to do their part and Patterson explained that some students even collect bottles and cans throughout the day and bring them to her. She encourages others to “think about how many recyclables get thrown away in a day here.”

Recently, the question has arisen whether or not the school is following the Steuben County recycling laws. Accord-ing to the local area website, our county’s “law mandates

recycling of mixed paper (newspaper, magazines, glossies, catalogs, telephone books, paperback books, paper, and envelopes), clear glass containers, #2 HDPE plastic with mold seam across bottom, corrugated cardboard, and metal food cans.” The county offers free drop off stations for these materials in Erwin, Hornell, and Wayland.

Delbert Thorpe, school head custodian, explained that while before the recycling program was integrated the school produced “two hoppers of garbage a day”. This has been reduced to “half a dumpster full”. He also explained that the school has “three bins outside the school for recy-clables and the district’s people pick it up every Thursday.” Ken Murdock, the Director of Facilities, could not be reached for a comment.

The connection and line of duty that keeps the recycling program moving is hard to trace and is difficult track in case of a failure to actually recycle. Patterson explained how she is now “collecting bottles and cans” because it came to her attention that they aren’t always recycled. So while the recycling program is there and working, there is still a lack of participation preventing East High from exponentially reducing its carbon footprint.

We’ve all noticed the little blue recycling bins placed in every class room. Most of us have used them, such as Amié Roman, a senior. She stated that “it’s so easy to recycle here and the bottles can be reused, which is way better than them sitting around in a land fill.” But even after dropping an empty water bottle or soda can in the recycling bins we don’t give much thought to the recyclables.

What is happening to what we drop in the little blue bins? Roman explained that while she recycles, she wonders how well the system is working. Many people continue to toss their bottles in the garbage. The waste in this school ranges from this to throwing full drink bottles in the trash which an anonymous source admitted to doing. Roman said “I would like to think that the system works but I don’t think anyone can really know for sure”. Someone must step up and enforce recycling, to at least make East High a little greener. Only when we make use of the little blue bins and rid ourselves of bottles and cans, can we consider ourselves guilt free for our planet’s despair.

by Maggie Wayne, Staff Writer

Is East High In Compliance With County Recycling Program?

The Trojan Tribune

M AY 2 7 , 2 0 1 0EHS LIFE

online @ thetrojantribune.ning.com

2

International Baccalaureate Exams are frankly terrifying to imagine. Five essays for one test, derivatives, integrals, logarithms—without a calculator—science questions that can come from anywhere with grading techniques we can never hope to understand, remembering books from over a year ago.

From the rumors that circulate the halls, are imaginations are not far off and then there is waiting for grades and then re-grading—it is nerve wracking. “The only horror stories I’ve heard of are ones I’m too scared to retell.” answered junior Amanda Oggeri when questioned about rumors she has heard.

Have faith - since the program began in 1970 there have been over 566,000 students in the Diploma Program, and currently there are more than 806,000 I.B. students at 2,916

schools in 138 countries who go through the same process that we are soon to endure.

Exams are set to begin on Tuesday May 4th, sending classes into crunch time for curriculum and piling on the review work for students. I.B. Coordinator and English teacher, Mrs. Gates-Radford reassures that the pressure is not just for students, “As a teacher it is just as important that stu-dents make progress from the beginning of the course to its culmination.”

The classic advice from our I.B. Coordinator for dealing with all the stress though “Sleep! Seven to eight hours, eat a protein at every meal and relax! Have confidence in what you know…and take deep breaths.” All of it may seem clichéd but, for so many people to spout the same thing, it

must have some merit.

Through all the stress and fear, junior Molly Sweeney no-ticed a positive point about the exams, “They challenge you and show how if you work hard, how much it can pay off.”

Exams are a time for each student to prove that they actu-ally have done work in the years that they have dedicated to I.B. Caleb Noel, a senior, noted that, “[I.B. Exams] are very rigorous so they are good preparation for college tests.” So, the stress accompanies a challenge and a chance, to show off our abilities and prove to ourselves and others that we can do survive and succeed. No one has died from the testing yet (that we know of…), and they are inevitable for anyone enrolled in these classes, so the most we can do is buckle down and do our best—and wait for them to end.

Scared is a Synonym for I.B. Examby Christine Moore, Staff Writer

illustrations by Maggie Wayne, Staff Writer

The Trojan Tribune

M AY 2 7 , 2 0 1 0STUDENT VOICE

online @ thetrojantribune.ning.com

3

Detention Follow Upby Kelsey Walker, Staff Writer

What is the administrative view of deten-tion? Do they think it is effective? Do they think it is supposed to be able to rid people of their bad habits?

People go to detention for being late three or more times, skipping classes, harassing others, ect. Detention is supposed to cor-rect peoples’ mistakes and help them not to make the same mistake again.

When asked about detention being effec-tive and the point of it Mrs. Tunison, a foreign language teacher said, “In previ-ous districts, detention had a specific agenda. Students were not allowed to work on homework, read, sleep, or visit with other students. Rather, there was a trained behavior specialist facilitating the deten-tion period. His/Her job was to work with the students on behavior management and restitution. Students were required to complete a behavior modification plan for the future. This cut down on the overall

number of students in detention, as most students did not want to complete the plan.” Mr. Tobia said, “Detention is effec-tive for some kids, but for others there is no effect.” According to Mr. Tobia, “De-tention does change behaviors for some. It sends a message of the policies we want them to take notice of. We continue to have detention for the ones who do change their behaviors.”

Some staff do not feel as though detention is effective. Mrs. Decker, the health teacher, said, “No, detention is absolutely not effec-tive and neither is study hall. They should do away with both.”

Detention is not a very effective pro-gram at East. Some people’s behaviors do change, but most don’t. It is just like a study hall; time to fool around and not get any work done.

by Ellyn Wilson Staff Writer

It’s that time of year once again; time for the seniors to graduate and move on to the next stage of their lives. This can be a very confusing and difficult time for some while deciding what to do.

Also, some do not get accepted into their first college choice. Edward White said, “Alfred State was my second choice col-lege, but I’m still excited to be going there. I’ll be majoring in Graphic Design.”

Whereas others have no trouble at all find-ing a college or workplace in the career they want to go into. Kyela Vaughn said, “My college process was kind of easy. I was visiting my sister in Virginia and saw Norfolk State University. That was when I knew I wanted to go there. I based my col-lege choice on location and used CCC as a back-up plan” showing that sometimes that college search process is relatively easy.

While some decide to go away for college, others choose to stay home and attend

CCC. Colleges also can recruit sports players to attend and play on their sports teams.

Travis Rosenwinkel said, “Mansfield Uni-versity chose me to attend and play base-ball. I had to sign a letter of intent before it was official that I was going.”

College is the most popular choice among high school seniors because most would like to further their education in their career choice field. Others go to college because they are unsure of what they want to do as a career and want to try a few dif-ferent options out.

Another choice for a select few is the mili-tary. Often the military will pay for college education and will be able to secure you with a job in your career field.

Some seniors work after high school and do not go to college at all. Whether this is because they do not know what they want or because they feel college is not for them does not matter. It is a personal choice

College Choices

by Peter Thompson, Staff Writer

Lately, it seems more often that the minutes are racing by here at East High School. Are the students and faculty experiencing the time of their lives? While that may be true in some cases, much of the time it can be attributed to the faulty clocks in some of the classrooms of the building.

Even when a school clock is “functional”, there is a discrepan-cy between the clocks among the building, the clocks on the school computer, the clocks on students’ watches, and what is considered “real time”. With such strict at-tendance policy enforcement put into pace this school year, would it not be expected that some sort of uniformity would be applied to the function of clocks and bells?

Clocks are an essential tool to both faculty and, and especially students. While most of them at East High work, it can be very frustrating to be somewhere that doesn’t have a functioning clock. “Between classes, for instance, it can be extremely annoying that the clock doesn’t work. I have to go out of my way to check

how much time I have by other means,” explains senior Natalie Price.

Recently, there have been some members of the East High faculty who have found ways to “make time” so to speak for their broken clocks and actually fix them. Mr. Streeten, history teacher, used the method of leaving the clock near the window throughout the day, exposed to sunlight, and hav-ing the clock automatically reset itself to the correct time. Being a member of his homeroom, I can personally vouch for this tech-nique, as it works better than ever now.

It is encouraging that, in some cases, the issue can be resolved with a cheap, relatively labor-free solution. Some locations, however, have clocks that are simply in need of replacement. Both the large and small gyms in the building are broken, and if memory serves me correctly, have seldom, if ever worked for the four years I have spent here at East. “I’m so used to them not working, that I really don’t think about them anymore. I wear a watch so the thought

rarely crosses my mind,” states Mr. Hughes, a physical education teacher.

It seems clear that with the frequent lunch detentions, after school deten-tions, and in school suspensions being given to students for tardies, the adminis-tration of the school is intent upon applying preci-sion and consistency when it comes to the amount of time students are spending within the walls of East High School.

Despite this, the clocks are still wrong. Time after time, it seems that students are ultimately paying the price.

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

@FRIDAY, MAY 28

during lunch periods

$3 admission includes refreshments and live entertainment

www.virgilcainmusic.comfeaturing VIRGIL CAIN

EAST HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY

COFFEE HOUSE yearbook early release & signing celebration

javajam

11am to 1pm

EAST HIGH LOGOS YEARBOOK PRESENTS

Regular distribution of yearbook will begin on Tuesday, June 1, 2010

M AY 2 8 , 2 0 1 0JAVA JAMThe Trojan Tribune

online @ thetrojantribune.ning.com