Schoolwide

Why the Hair rule?

By Zoe Hargis

“No faddish/unconventional styling or coloring of hair, nails or make-up. Hair styles must be conservative.”

This is the current rule stated In the student handbook. The Hair policy has been in existence ever since Badin opened its doors in 1966.

Many of the students here question the rule and its meaning.

Assistant Principal and Dean of Students, Mr.Imhoff, says, “The importance of this rule is to maintain a look that is respectable within the school community.”

Hair trends seem to be constantly changing. Looks become more dramatic and outrageous.

“As hair trends come and go, it is important to stay the course and maintain a standard for hair guidelines,” says Mr.Imhoff.

The hair rule has been something that has always been enforced, but altered throughout the year. Students here are welcome to challenge this and state their own opinions on the rule. A poll was sent out asking for students opinions on the hair rule and these are the results: 83% of students who voted disliked the rule and 84% of students want the rule to be changed.

Many of the comments regarding the hair rule were that they felt it needed to be changed so that the students here could have a way of expressing themselves.This rule may be challenged by students. In order to do this the proposed policy must be submitted in writing to Mr. Imhoff. He would then have the Discipline Committee look at the proposed policy and make a decision.

As for the future of the hair rule, “I would guess that these guidelines will always be in place, preventing the trends that surface year to year,” said Imhoff.

Debating Laptops Versus iPads

By Mark Johnson

Many students are wondering whether we will have laptops next school year or stay with the iPads. Some students really like the iPads and others wish we had laptops with more functions. Here are some pros and cons of both.

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When you compare laptops and iPads, they each have many pros and cons. Students have already tried out some laptops and the technology department is always interested in their opinions. Mr. Memory was kind enough to answer some questions you might be wondering.

Why were the iPads chosen for Badin?

“When I arrived at Badin, in the 2010 - 2011 school year, they had already begun a program with iPods for their Freshman and Sophomore classes. Mr. Frank Margello, the Principal, stated that using the iPod "puts the world in the palm of your hands." After using iPods for a few years, Mr. Brian Pendergest became Principal. He wanted me to research a new student device, to replace the iPods. After testing tablets, laptops, and iPads, we decided to go forward with iPads. Compared to the other devices tested, they had a longer battery life and a better touch screen. I also noted that Apple has a long history of educational products. At the time, Apple provided over 100,000 educational apps from which we could choose. Another reason to switch to iPads is that we already had two classes of students that were familiar with iOS, which is the operating system for both iPods and iPads. So, intuitively, those two classes already knew how to use iPads.”

What would the perfect technology device be for Badin students? Why?

“We routinely research student devices to see if there's a better device than we're currently using. I have identified an HP tablet PC, with touchscreen. It can be used in three modes: laptop, tablet, or tent. It has a webcam, as most laptops do, but it also has an outward-facing camera, like our iPads have. Therefore, in moving to this HP tablet, we retain the ability to take photos looking away or looking at the user. So, students can take a picture of a whiteboard full of notes, instead of having to copy the notes; alternatively, a student can use the HP device to take pictures of Geometry diagrams or chemical equations, which aren't easily transcribed into note form.

What is your opinion on laptops for Badin students?

“I think this HP tablet is better than a laptop: it's more flexible than a laptop and it retains the picture taking ability we currently enjoy with the iPads. So, if we plan to use a student device other than an iPad, I will propose the HP tablet.”

PROS

Laptops:

Bigger keyboard
Bigger screen
Papers get done faster
More functions to edit documents
Longer battery life

iPads:

Touchscreen
Apple software
Easy to use
Easy to carry around
Large app store

CONS

Laptops:

Take up more desk space
Not as simple as iPads
Can take a long time to turn on

iPads:

Typing papers can be difficult
Smaller screens

Preparing for the Festival

By Mickayla Kowalski

The school’s week of preparation for the festival has ended. Whether it was selling your raffle tickets, signing up to work the festival, or putting together your homeroom basket, everybody was involved. The festival is one of the biggest fundraiser for our school throughout the year. Without the help and support from all the students and faculty, the festival wouldn’t be nearly as much as a success as it is today.

One of the ways the Badin community was able to bring attention to the festival was the raffle tickets. The school was challenged with selling 700 tickets over a span of week. With one day left, there was still 100 tickets left to sell. The teachers and students came together to turn in enough tickets and we were rewarded with both Monday and Tuesday off of school. Not only did we get two days without school, we also raised money and awareness for the festival.

Many students were also encouraged to sign up for shifts of working the festival. Mr. Memory created and shared a Sign-up Genius with all of us to ensure that it is easy and accessible for everybody to sign up.

Many homerooms also started to collect money and buy items for their basket. Each homeroom will put together a themed basket to donate to the festival. The baskets will be put on display so people at the festival can try and win them.

The festival is June 22nd and 23rd at the new Marcum park. Many members of the Badin community will be there to support our school. Whether they are walking around, working a booth, or helping in any other way, they will be supporting our school. Make sure to clear your schedules and head on out there for a good time!

Cincy-Cinco Festival at Fountain Square

By Ashlyn Hillman

Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican celebration of the victory over the French army in 1862 at the Battle of Puebla. Many festivals take place to celebrate this day in history, and some even take place in Ohio. On May 4th, 5th and 6th at Fountain Square there's a Cinco de Mayo festival. This family friendly festival is open to all and anyone who is interested can sign up to volunteer.

If you volunteer for the festival not only will you get service hours, but also a few other benefits. One benefit is you get a free t-shirt and two free lawn tickets to a Riverbend concert in Cincinnati. Besides receiving free items, you get to experience the Mexican culture.

There will be authentic food, beautiful music, dancing and even a little area for kids to play. It's an experience you will never forget. The Cincy-Cinco is a well known celebration in Cincinnati and loved by all people. You don’t have to be Hispanic or know Spanish to come and and have a fun time. It is a chance to make new memories. The festival is a great way to learn about the culture and just a fun way to celebrate your weekend. So go to the festival, eat some authentic food, and dance the night away.

Rams are Serving the Community

By Bryan Henson

Helping the community has always been a big part of Badin's outreach. In the past students were required to meet 15 hours of service work.

Recently though Badin's service department is taking on an overhaul.

One of Badin's newest faculty members, Mrs. Halverson, is now in charge of our service program. Her goal is to change our mindset about helping. Sure people enjoy helping the community they come from and seeing the effects of their good works, but sometimes kids see the 15 hours as a chore.

Mrs. Halverson wants people to want to serve so starting with the class of 2021 the program is getting switched up.

Mrs. Halverson decided to come back to work after all of her kids started school. She knew she wanted to return working with kids but didn't know where to look. After a mission trip she decided that her work had to be in service. Things lined up perfectly because Badin was looking for a new service director and was happy to hire her.

Some of the students already possess the helping mentality that we want all Badin students to develop. Sophomore zach schuster is just one student who values giving back.

Schuster has over 40 service hours, most of them coming from a service trip he took last June. He spent his time there in Indiana building a house and fixing up a church. Schuster said that it was tough work but, “I felt good inside for all of the work I could do for these people.”

Many other kids at Badin continue to do so much for the community. With 70 students earning more than 20 service hours, 22 students with more than 40 service hours, and 8 students with over 100 hours and an ambassador award.

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