Teachers and students are starting their preparation rush for the final exams. Teachers spend countless hours going over the same things trying to get each class ready for their exams. All this time is wasted on reviewing when it could be spent on actually teaching something entirely new. Students would be given the opportunity to expand their knowledge rather than completing review packets that have been done numerous times.

Although exams allow teachers to see the progress of their students at the end of the year, they are  still simply a waste of time. Students spend hours studying for a test that, for most people, brings down their grade unless they score an almost perfect grade.

Exams have such a wide variety of information to remember because they cover everything learned within that school year.  It is extremely hard to prepare for the exams because most students have more than one exam to take and the information starts running together.

Exams put a lot of weight on the shoulders of students. Their stress level goes way up towards the end of the year because they know exams are coming up. Multiple headaches and  late night sessions spent studying becomes a hassle. All this stress from studying and all the time spent seems to be useless afterwards. The final exams are pointless and hurt grades more than help students grades.

The attendance policy for the exams is even tougher on students. Students may obtain an “A” in a class, but since they missed more than eight days ,they have to take the exam. This is tough for many people, especially sports players who play out of town a lot or people who have a lot of health issues. Missing school does not mean that you have not retained the same information as everyone else. Especially when the students have the opportunity of make-up work to  bring  students up to speed.

I do not think we should have to take final exams because it brings about a lot of chaos into what are already stressful teenage lives . The end of year exams just put stress on both teachers and students that could easily be prevented. There is a lot of time that is wasted and students could do something more productive things in class rather than spending numerous class periods preparing for the exams.

Students will soon start to receive their final exam exemption letters. Unfortunately, not all of them will. Final exams, and exams in general, have been an issue of controversy for a while now.

Students should have final exams.  They help to prepare students for big tests in college. In college, exams are required and are on a much higher academic level than the high school tests are. By taking finals, students earn the opportunity to be prepared for their future.

These high level exams influence students to develop good study habits. Those who severely procrastinate will feel stressed and cram the day before, and will probably exhibit poor scores. In order to do well and succeed, students will have to spread out their studying to relieve pressure and retain more knowledge to do well. This can be applied throughout the year so students can obtain good grades and exempt.

Exams should also be required because the school needs proof that the students have learned what they needed to learn. Of course there are the Standard of Learning tests, but they are the bare minimum and are only available for core classes. Students need to develop good habits and aim for more than just knowing the basics.

There needs to be an understanding of how much they have  learned throughout the year. School should not be useless, the information learned should be retained. It should prove useful in future college life and for careers.

Even though we should have final exams, having them be required with the standards that we have now is good. Maintaining a “B” average, having no disciplinary notices, and having limited absences are good indicators that the student has properly learned what they needed to.

There will always be people that complain even though they should not because they had the option of exempting them. By working hard and meeting those requirements, those opposed to final exams can easily exempt them.

Whoever takes the finals this year should know, they are not designed to hurt grades. They are used to benefit students and improve education. They can help students become harder workers and more diligent students.

Staff Editorial

Summer break is only 28 days away. However, now is not the time to slip into bad habits and practices. Though the end of the year is near, it is extremely important for students to focus on maintaining the same academic standards that they started the school year with. It is easy to stop doing homework or to stop caring about the grades that are received with thoughts of summer burgeoning in students’ heads. However, to stop trying during the final stretch of school may be enjoyable for the moment, but it can be extremely detrimental to one’s future.

Even with the shrinking amount of school left, there is still time to improve grades to ensure one is in good standing before departing from school. Even for seniors who plan on attending college with the debilitating “senioritis”, it is integral to keep the academic standard that helped them get into their school, because most acceptances to these colleges are with the stipulation that the student does not slack off in the final days of their final year. For the underclassmen, and seniors alike, teachers are still teaching useful information that will be useful in the next level of classes; By not paying attention or not taking school seriously students will hinder themselves from fully understanding concepts when they are expected to know them in the next year.

It is not the summer yet, so students need to keep themselves focused on the goal of finishing the year with strong academics rather than with regrets about knowing that they could have done better. There is still time to improve grades and conversely, there is still time to harm grades as well. Students need to keep their futures in mind before they decide not to be studious because of the impending summer.

Brian Couturier, managing editor of The Progress-Index, spoke to PGHS journalism students on Thurs., May 17th. Photo by Ridhi Patel.

“Newspapers are dying” is something that one may hear and think about prominently in reference to the journalism industry today with less papers being sold, and more news moving to digital mediums. However, Brian Couturier, managing editor of The Progress-Index newspaper in Petersburg, Va., disagrees with that viewpoint. He expressed those sentiments and more in a speech to high school journalism students at Prince George High School on Thurs., May 17.

Couturier, 48, has been involved in the journalism profession for approximately 26 years. The New Hampshire native received a bachelor’s business degree from the University of New Hampshire before getting a master’s degree in journalism at American University in Washington, D.C. It was in New Hampshire where Couturier gained his first experiences in the journalism profession, covering news and politics.

Couturier has also spent time at papers including The Public Opinion in Chambersburg, Pa., The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa., The Herald-Mail in Hagerstown, Md., and the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Richmond, Va., before moving on to The Progress-Index. In addition to being a journalist, Couturier has been an adjunct journalism professor for over 20 years. In his speech, he expressed several facts about journalism and the media for the group of aspiring journalists.

The journalist began his speech by talking of how the newspaper industry boomed in its beginning. This success continued through the start of the 20^th Century and up until around 1950. Around this time, other forms of media like radio and TV took over. Radio was the first alternative form of media to have success, and then TV killed radio around the 1970s.

Over the past decade, the blowup of internet news has hurt the newspaper industry. With the industry already hurting from the growth of digital news, the economic punch thrown by the Great Recession of 2008 has further hurt the industry.

From 2005 to 2010 alone, 20% of jobs in the journalism industry were lost. The losses reached a point where a website began tracking the shrinking number of jobs.

“There’s a website called papercut.com that would literally tally the hundreds of thousands of jobs lost,” Couturier said.

According to Couturier, where the newspaper business was really hit was in ad revenues. Ads provide approximately two-thirds of revenue for newspapers.

However, in the words of Couturier, “it’s not all doom and gloom.” The newspaper industry brings in a substantial amount of profit compared to other businesses. Before the recession, newspaper companies made around 27% profit. Now, after the recession, companies are still making around 15% profit.

“What happened is the business model broke,” Couturier said. “That profit business model broke.”

Couturier advises journalists not to think of themselves as being in the newspaper business, but rather in the information business.

“Information is power,” he said. “And we’re in the information business.”

Couturier continued to stress the idea of the power that the media holds. He provided examples of how the media is technically the only business that was expressly mentioned and protected in the Constitution with the right of free press. In addition, he stressed how information is freedom, especially in countries subject to dictator rule, as the leaders limit the flow of news to their citizens.

“Many countries in the world, they’re not free,” Couturier said. “Well guess why? The media.”

Despite what some say, the basic foundation of journalism has not changed much, according to Couturier. He mentioned how, when he started in the profession in the 1980s, he not only carried a reporter’s notebook, but a camera as well, much like journalists of today.

“You have to get information, you have to write about it, and you have to present it,” Couturier said. “That’s not changing.”

Couturier did offer some opinions on new media, however, especially blogs. He joked that when someone says they are a blogger, he thinks of them as unemployed. He does not see blogs as containing useful news or information.

“Blogs, they’re almost like yesterday’s news,” Couturier said.

With some worried about the uncertainty of journalism as a profession, Couturier left the aspiring journalists in the crowd with hope about the years to come.

‘I’ve been hearing that the newspaper business has been dying for 26 years,” he said. “And it’s still here.”

*Congratulations to Wayne Epps, Jr. for winning the Dow Jones News Fund Scholarship with this winning article.

On the morning of May 13, mothers get to stay in bed and children surprise them with gifts. Mother Day has been a reoccurring holiday for hundreds of years.

According to mothersdaycentral.com, Mother’s Day originates from Europe in the early 1600s. It was at first just a day to honor the Mother Church but then it was opened up to actual mothers later on. This was a day where there was celebrating and honoring of mothers all around.

It specifically originates from England. When the settlers traveled to the New World, they didn’t celebrate Mother’s Day since it was a British church tradition and they wanted nothing to do with it. Later in the 1800s, Mother’s Day began being celebrated once again and has lived on. Mother’s Day is two weeks into May every year; on this day mothers around the world are given gifts and are surrounded by loved ones.

Many people appreciate their mom and love them dearly. There are different ways to show appreciation to them; flowers can be sent, taking them out, or even spending the day with one’s mom shows affection and appreciation. Some students and a teacher have shared how they show affection and love on this day.

Junior Caleb Johnson does many things for his mom on this special day and shows his affection for his mom.

“Usually my dad covers the flowers part so I make her a card and tell her how much I love her and how thankful I am for her,” Johnson said.

On this day they also go to church.

“There’s a special program towards mothers and it’s a time for us to talk about our mom; she would get more flowers,” Johnson said.

Johnson spends time with his family and especially his mom to make her day amazing.

“Mother’s day is really special day and it’s the day that you do what you’re supposed to everyday but you only do on Mother’s day because it’s Mother’s day. I love my mom a lot,” Johnson said.

P.E. teacher Lisa MacDaniels spends her time with her family on this day.

“On mother’s day usually we have dinner, my husband will fix dinner for me, and my daughter, my husband, and myself will hang out as a family,” McDaniels said. “I’m not big on having to go out and do anything, so I like being at home.”

Junior Amanda Terry and her family put thought into their gifts for her mom on Mother’s Day.

“One year we made this box full of little things that said Mother’s Day on it, things like free spa coupon and things we could do for her,” Terry said.

Terry also helps throw a party just for mothers that include fun activities.

“We normally have a big party at my house because we have a farm and four wheelers. It’s really fun and it’s for all mothers, there’s even cake,” Terry said.

This year, they’re mixing it up just a little bit.

“This year, my dad is taking my mom out,” Terry said.

Source: http://www.mothersdaycentral.com/about-mothersday/history/

Senior John O’Keefe reviews notes and handouts to study for the AP exams. Testing started on May 7 and will end on May 16. Photo by Olivia Tritschler.

By Korrina Smith

In preparation for the upcoming AP exams, students gather to begin their studying process.  Textbooks and notes are scattered across the tables as the students quiz each other on their course information.According to an article in the Sun., May 6, 2012 Richmond Times Dispatch, The Associated Press states that last school year 18 percent of high school graduates in the US have passed at least one AP exam.

What is Dubstep?

Q&A: Senior Savannah Woodfin

1. Who is your favorite Dubstep artist, and why?
I like skrillex, because he does remixes of a bunch of different songs that weren’t originally dubstep.
2. What makes Dubstep different from other types and genres of music?
The beat is so different, and a lot of the songs don’t use tons of words. The sounds like people screaming and doors slamming really help to make the song.
3. Why do you enjoy listening to dubstep?
The beat just gives you a rush, and when i’m driving I want to crank it all the way up.

Q&A: Fashion Marketing Teacher Kim Beales