KT Features
New Intervention Policy gives students new opportunities
By Michael Tamburrino '12
A new "Academic Intervention Policy" has replaced last year's "Academic Credit Policy" as a way to encourage good attendance and hard work in classes.
This new system works by slightly raising the maximum number of days a student can miss, but eliminating the option of summer school if he or she reaches the limit. Mr. Benson said, "If you miss more than 20 percent of your class days, then summer school isn't even an option for you. You can't go because it would not be an adequate replacement."
A student can have 33 absences in a full-year course, and 16 absences in a half-year course before they become ineligible for summer school. All school sponsored activities, meetings, exams, and suspensions do not count as absences.
Similar to the old "Academic Credit Policy," a series of attendance notifications will be sent to staff and parents as students accumulate absences. Also, those who have a significant number of absences last year are falling under the intervention system. Mr. Benson continued, "Any student who had twenty or more daily absences last year is being called down for a meeting with their assistant principal to talk about the importance of attendance."
Overall, Mr. Benson believes that the "Intervention Policy" is a significant improvement on the previous system.
"The 'Academic Credit Policy'≠ said that if you missed more than 'x' number of days, you were removed from the class [Before], if a student had mono or a death in the family and missed a chunk of time for a very reasonable situation they would still have been dropped. It was a little too cut-and-dry for my liking. [Now] they have a chance to pull it together, and fix the problem."
The policy has been under constant review and revision by a committee of school staff for four years, and was designed to emphasize the connection between attendance and schoolwork. Their main focus was to engineer a new policy that "[could] give students the most opportunity, and still hold them accountable for what they are or aren't doing. The burden is on the students to be responsible for their academic success. Potentially, some students who have attended summer school in the past, and maybe aren't paying attention in our [assemblies] when we've explained this could be surprised," said Mr. Benson.
Even if this new intervention policy "takes away a safety net from some students," the option to appeal is still available. If a student misses more than 20% of a class, they can still request a written appeal that can be submitted to a board of review. If they determine that your absences are legitimate, summer school may still be an option.
Mr. Benson has set high-hopes for this new policy. "I think it certainly has possibilities. I think it's better than what we had before, and I'm anxious to see how the students respond to it this year."
Cure Cancer with Playstation
By Natasha Schuyler '10, Knight Times Reporter
In 2000, Stanford University launched the Folding@Home project. This program's goal is to cure many diseases such as Alzheimer's, Mad Cow Disease, Huntington's, Parkinson's, Cystic Fibrosis, inherited forms of emphysema, and many cancers.
Playstation is also a part of the Folding@Home project. Sony has made the program available on all Playstation3s with a simple download. The program allows you to see the world light up in yellow as people from around the world launch their program.
Stanford University says that Folding@Home can help prevent, or cure diseases, by using simulations to do what can't be done with experiments alone. Simulations can trigger new experiments and experiments can trigger new simulations. The results of these simulations and experiments can be applied to the development of new drugs and therapies.
According to Stanford University, the Folding@Home project operates by simulating protein folding, proteins fold as fast as one millionth of a second. Simulating one fold is extremely complicated; it takes a supercomputer about 30 years to simulate one fold. However, Stanford≠s program uses multiple processors to compress the time of one simulation down to a week.
Most people know about the Playstation3's gaming capabilities, but many are unaware that Sony has joined Stanford's cause and added Folding@Home known as Life with Playstation as a downloadable application for all PS3s. The PS3's role in the project is astronomical; the one week it takes multiple computer processors, the cell processor of one PS3 can hasten the research to hours. According to the Playstation Magazine, that is about 20 times, or 2000% faster. One year of folding can be completed in a couple of weeks with the PS3.
Before proteins can carry out their functions, they must complete a process called folding. When proteins "misfold" many diseases can occur. That is the reason the Folding@Home project studies protein folding, misfolding, and aggregation which is when proteins clump together.
Sony has been awarded the Guinness World Record for the most powerful distributed computing system.
Incentives have been added to Folding@Home such as the inclusion of leader boards and teams to influence many gamers to fold. To join Folding@Home visit http://folding.stanford.edu to download this to your PC and join team 161300 or team RFA.
Your First of Many
By Adam Raphial '10, Knight Times Reporter
Can you believe it? After all these years of waiting, you finally have your license. You've had enough experience to drive by yourself. There's only one problem; every time you want to go somewhere, you have to ask your parents to use their car. There is but one solution to the problem: you have to buy your own car.
When I bought my first car, a '96 Grand Am, last year, I was excited of course. It was a beautiful red car that had little rust and 140k miles. It started beautifully and everything worked. The man who sold it told me that it had no major problems and that it would pass inspection.
With a brake job, new master cylinder, faulty ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System), new filters, faulty wiring, poor gas mileage, and a check engine light that never went off, it made me think that maybe, just maybe, I was lied to. It was a great car; it just needed a lot more TLC than I thought. Nine times out of ten, this is what one gets for a sub-thousand dollar vehicle more than 12 years old. Knowing what I know now, I might have been a little more wary of the car.
When you go to buy a car, there are some basics decisions that must be made beforehand. How much money are you willing to spend? What type of care are you looking for? There is no point in buying a small-engine Cavalier when you know you're going to beat up on the car, and potentially blow the motor. A checklist must be followed.
1. What kind of power range do you want? Four cylinders have great gas mileage, but no upper power. Six cylinders have a nice balance between power and mileage. And the eight cylinders are pure power and usually receive lower gas mileage ratings.
2. How many miles are on the vehicle? In accordance with Edmunds.com, a common rule of thumb is to take the age of the vehicle and multiply it by 12,000. That should be about how many miles the car should have. A 2005 with 100,000 miles is a definite red flag. However, a 1985 with 21,000 miles is also a red flag, as mileage counters are easy to roll over. (Highly illegal)
3. How much rust is on the car? I know what you're thinking. The answer is yes; rust does more than just makes the car look bad. Some cars have no rust on the outside, yet when you look underneath it there's the site of rotting metal. A car with a bad frame is a no go. It's a safety hazard and if the frame goes, there is no point in fixing it.
4. American or foreign? The problem with American cars is that the average car life for an American car is roughly 180,000 while our foreign friends put out Civics that last 250,000+ miles. However, the resale value of domestic cars is much lower, meaning you can get a Japanese equivalent car for much cheaper. With GM, Chrysler, and Ford going through tough times, with the possibility of bankruptcy, in which case all their warranties and service would go down the drain after 10 years, thus owning an American car much more of a headache and a possible money burner.
5. Car dealer or neighbor? Dealers will be more expensive, but most come with warranties, even for used cars. They also must pass at least a basic inspection. The average Joe will sell his car for much less, but if you don't know Joe from a hole in the ground, then that means that there is some risk of a faulty part that the owner might (or might not) know about, or might (or might not) tell you about.
6. How much time should be invested in looking at a car? Always take someone with at least a basic knowledge of cars. Also, always act like you know what you≠re doing. Anytime you have to ask what a part does, that gives the seller an opportunity to go into salesman mode.
Some last minute pointers:
1. Most used older cars come with problems with their brakes and tires. These are things most people don't bother with replacing.
2. Bring the car to a qualified mechanic if you can. Just $60 can tell you if a car is actually worth the money.
3. Get everything in writing. Everything.
4. Check out the CNY Swap Sheet. It's sold at Byrne Dairy and Kekis Mobil. It's a giant garage sale for all of this area, and there are tons of deals to be made.
5. Red cars do not raise insurance. It's a common myth that is wrong.
6. There are online forums for almost every car out there. (i.e) http://www.gaownersclub.com/ for all those Grand Am owners. These are specialized sites that can help you check the VIN number, which allows someone to follow a car from the factory and throughout its life. Its like a tracing number for a package.
7. Expect to pay a lot in insurance if you plan on getting it in your own name. You must be at least 18 years old to get insurance anyway.
Some famous first cars: Mrs. Waters - 1975 Cutlass Supreme, maroon with white hardtop named "Gloria", Mr. Lacey - 1972 Chevy Nova, Mrs. Nisiewicz - VW Bug, Mrs. Terenzetti - Cutlass Supreme, Mr. Fister - Ford Tempo, Ms. O≠Neill - 1973 Ford Mustang, and the big man himself, Mr. Benson - 1972 Chevelle Convertible.
Swim classes offered at RFA
By Chloe Cardwell '11, Knight Times Reporter
Rome Free Academy is one of the few schools that offers swim class. Other than most high schools, to graduate at RFA you have to have half a credit of swim. Years ago, to graduate all you had to do was pass one swim test. If you failed, then you'd have to take the class. Now that RFA has been rebuilt on Griffiss Base, with a pool, it has been decided by the school board that students must take at least half a year of swim, and pass with an average of a 65 or above to graduate. After passing swim, students have the choice to continue taking the class, or take a gym class.
Though we as a student body are very fortunate to have such a helpful and important class, not all RFA students are thrilled.
Freshman Demi Grant explains, "I think swim is too much of a hassle and we should have more time to change after, I don't like going through the rest of the day wet and dripping."
Other issues have been brought up as well. You only have one allowed health day, when girls at a high school age should be allowed more. Also, you'll occasionally be late to your next class from trying to get dressed in a crowded locker room, where everything is all wet and there are no hooks in the locker rooms to hang your clothes on as you get dressed.
As much of a "hassle" swim class can be, it can also be a lot of fun and very productive. Having swim classes at RFA is all about student safety and the safety of others in the water. You learn the back stroke, breast stroke, how to float, proper swimming techniques and even how to do a perfect cannon ball and make the biggest splash in your class.
Sophomore Taylor Holst says, "I took swim my freshman year and the beginning of this year. Last year I hated it, then ended up loving it and decided to take it again this year."
Swim is a helpful class that could save your life one day, even though the process can be a pain. Safety is a big concern for students here at RFA and is a major factor of the swim class decision.
Mrs. Sandra Williams, former athletic director and a supporter of RFA's swim class requirements, states, "In today's world there are pools in a majority of the backyards, community pools like Tosti and Municipal located in neighborhoods and lots of water (Lake Delta and the Mohawk River). I still feel strongly that all students need to know how to swim to the degree that they can save themselves from drowning."
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