Lion Voices: What would you change about Tallwood?
November 13, 2017
If you could change anything about Tallwood, what would you change?
Gabriella Erestain: If I could change anything about Tallwood, I would change how apathetic everyone has become. Teachers have lost their passion to feed students information. Students do not have that spark in their eye like they used to. Everyone sees school as a jail and takes advantage of free education. Not many students are getting involved in school. There are many clubs and sports that are in need of participation. Many students find it hard to balance grades and extracurricular activities. We feel the pressure of trying to get into the best colleges and getting scholarships that we lose sight of working to become the best students that are well rounded and hardworking. However, many students still do not realize that life truly begins once high school ends. College is not always a priority for some, and after Tallwood jobs are not always available. Working hard now will pay off in the future. If I could change anything, I would want students to stop making appearances and relationships idols in their lives, and focus on their futures. I want Tallwood to be a community.
Michaella Dipasupil: I would change the hours of the school store and have students volunteer for the store just like people can volunteer in the library. People can be the library assistants during one of their classes and I think that this should be the same for the school store.
Alexa Sparkman: Something I would change about Tallwood is a longer lunch break, about fifteen minutes longer so that the students in the back of the lunch line have more time to eat and so that they have a longer break during the school day. Also, more pep rallies to make the school more spirited because other schools have already had three pep rallies this year while Tallwood has only had one.
Victoria Edlan: I guess the lunches, I don’t like how the lunches only have three bells. Also, the classes would be better if the teachers checked up on the students to make sure that they’re learning and understand what they’re learning. I think the teachers should lower their expectations for us to do much smaller assignments. I think we should have a program that my middle school did called “Core Plus.” This was where at the end of the day, you go back to your classroom and have a mini study block each 30 minutes before the bell rang to dismiss students.
Below are the stories featured in Volume 3, Issue 3 of The Roaring Gazette.
Students will soon need fewer SOLs to graduate by Aniyah Lewis
2018 Leadership Workshop coming soon! by Cassidy O’Neal
Marching Lions receive a Superior rating by Sotiria Bessinas
The Great Tallwood Divide: Has the academy split Tallwood in two? by Noelani Stachurski
Meet a Lion: Mrs. Yuzhbabenko by Chris Purkiss
Lion Voices: What would you change about Tallwood? by Frances Summers
Teachers’ homework policies vary by Frances Summers
CIEE offers great travel opportunities for students by Bethany Hansel
Ms. Adams is here for all your school store needs by Ashley Archila-Ventura
The homework surplus by Finley Brakke
Virginia schools must aim to teach ALL students by Marissa Goodall
“Jigsaw” a disapointing entry in the “Saw” series by Ashley Mallinson
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tallwood student • Nov 15, 2017 at 9:43 am
I would agree. There is always room for improvement at Tallwood, but also, there’s only so far we can go. Insightful comments though!
Anna • Nov 15, 2017 at 9:41 am
I agree that having longer lunches would be nicer for the students who get stuck in the back of the line. It would be nice just to have a longer lunch in general.
adviser • Nov 14, 2017 at 1:08 pm
Having worked at many schools, I strongly disagree with the idea that Tallwood students and teachers lack passion. I am saddened that Gabriella Erestain has not seen what I have–a student body and staff dedicated to building a community here at THS. Leadership Workshop, SCA, this newspaper, our sports teams, Poetry Out Loud, Noble Teens, Care by Community, international student exchanges, etc. There are myriad ways we show pride in being Lions. I hope all students see these positives and find ways to build on them.
Mrs Morris-Platte • Nov 15, 2017 at 9:41 am
I have to agree with Gabriella about the apathy surrounding involvement in the Tallwood community. Look at the twitter/instagram posts from other schools in the district and you see energy and student-driven enthusiasm for school and school activities. While we do have a core group of students who are extremely invested in our community here at Tallwood, it appears to be the same students repeatedly involved and leading the way. We need to find a way to spread this enthusiasm among the many. Students need to be involved because they see the value in belonging to this community. Gabriella is spot on in saying that often students see school and school activities as a burden. That attitude has to change. The faculty and staff must also model this enthusiastic attitude across more than just their subject area in order to help build this positive school culture. We have a lot of talented, kind, intelligent, motivated students and faculty members. Lets make our positives drown out the negatives!