Academics 

AP Testing returns to Hilton Head Island High School

By: Carmine Genovese, Ashton Johnson and Nick Korneluk

Hilton Head Island High School is gearing up for its annual AP testing season, which begins on May 1st, and goes until May 12th. The exams will be administered to students across various subjects including: AP U.S. Government, AP Calculus, AP English Language, and many more.

With a significant number of students opting to take AP courses at Hilton Head Island High School, this testing season is a crucial time for students to showcase their skills and knowledge acquired throughout the school year. The AP exams provide students with an opportunity to earn college credits in various subjects while still in high school and showcase to their skills to potential colleges.

Ms. Fuller, an AP U.S. Government teacher at HHIHS, expressed her optimism and readiness for the upcoming AP testing season. She said, "I believe my students are well-prepared and ready for the upcoming exams. We have spent months preparing them for this moment, and I am confident that they will perform to the best of their abilities." 

Ms. Fuller also highlighted the school's commitment to ensuring students success on the exams, stating that "the school has provided various resources to help students prepare for the exams, such as review sessions, vocabulary practice, and practice exams"

As with any school year, teachers must adapt to the students they have. This is no different this year. Ms. Fuller acknowledged this and said, "I have prepared my students by not only teaching them the content they need to know to pass the exam, but also adapting for my students personal studying preferences, which could lead to a higher passing rate amongst my students."

Despite the challenges an AP class can pose, Ms. Fuller is confident in her students' ability to succeed, stating that "my students, and students in other AP classes have shown the ability to learn and adapt to the tough challenges. I am confident that their hard work will pay off, and they will perform great on the exams."

The AP testing season begins on May 1st, and students across various AP courses are preparing to take on the challenge. With the support of dedicated teachers, such as Ms. Fuller and the school administration, students feel confident in their ability to perform well and earn college credits while still in high school.

Overall, Hilton Head Island High School’s students are ready to tackle this year's AP testing season head-on, and the school, and its teachers are confident in the students' ability to perform exceptionally well. The school administration, teachers, and staff have provided immense support to ensure students' success, and the AP testing season is expected to be a great success for all involved. 

17th Annunal Pi-Day Orienteering Scavenger Hunt 

By: Deja Godsun

Pi-Day is a fun way for math students to celebrate an irrational number: 3.14159..  Dr.Gray explained, “It falls on 3/14 which is March 14th.” There is a class activity that several math classes are participating in. All of Dr. Gray’s classes and Mr. Willard’s 4th block class are celebrating Pi-Day on Thursday, March 16th this year to take advantage of the half day and not disturb other classes as much. So there will be four classes participating in the 17th Annual Pi-Day Orienteering Treasure Hunt. 

Here’s how the event was set up:  the students were placed in teams of 3 and answered a set of 7 questions. Wrong answers resulted in a time delay on the course. The teams had a map of the campus and markers they must reach. Once they collected all the markers, the team received a GPS locator to find the treasure. Dr. Gray said, “Smartest, fastest path usually finds the treasure!”

There were 2 winning teams for the 17th Annual Pi-Day Orienteering Treasure Hunt. Team 7: Gray Rezzetano, Joseph Baird, and Cynthia Gudaitis; along with team 8: Zach Starnes, Aidan Patterson, and Epifania Francisco Bautista. They ran the same initial course and then had a GPS location to different treasure. 

Learn to IB the AP

By: Tristen Simmons

Both IB and AP classes are considered college-level courses that many students find challenging.While the scores from IB and AP tests are important, they are just one factor that colleges and universities consider when making admissions decisions. However, high scores can help demonstrate a student's academic abilities and potential. The IB exams, which were administered in May, consisted of both in-person and remote testing. Despite the challenges faced by the student, he felt confident about her performance on the exams. This student stated  "I studied really hard and felt prepared for the test," said Thomson May, a high school Junior who took the IB exam. The AP exams are very strict;likewise, most exams are administered online. Thomson expressed relief at the changes stating "Not having to do multiple-choice questions was a huge relief." Who also felt that the AP exam "felt like I had more time to focus on the long-answer questions." Overall, he felt grateful for the opportunity to take these exams despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. He indicated that by stating "I'm just happy we were able to take the exams and hopefully earn college credit." He said his results for both the IB and AP exams “were released in early July.” Congratulations to all the students who will take these challenging exams, and we wish you the best of luck with your results! He wants all the students who take the exam in the future to remember “These exams are the culmination of all your work in the class; trust your abilities; take time to study; stay focused; give your best ability,

IB Testing 

By: Deja Godsun

IB testing begins on April 28 and ends on May 19. The testing has a 4 week long duration. Ms.White said, “Students take 2 or 3 exams for each IB course. Those exam scores, along with their internal assessment scores, all together can earn a student a grade of 1 – 7. Scores of 5, 6, and 7 often earn college credit, but it depends on the course and college. Students get their results on July 6. They can challenge scores, too, which is a nice option to have.” The IB, International Baccalaureate, program is an assessed programme for students aged 16 to 19. 

Students will be tested on these subjects: IB English Language and Literature HL, IB Spanish SL and HL, IB French SL, IB Chinese SL, IB History HL, IB Psychology HL, IB Business SL and HL, IB Environmental Systems and Societies SL, IB Biology HL and SL, IB Physics SL, IB Chemistry HL. The longest times vary. There are a few multiple choice tests that are 45 minutes. The longest is 2 ½ hours. Most are about 90 minutes, but every course has multiple exams over two days. Ms.White said,” I think they’ll do GREAT!! We have a very strong IB Diploma senior group, and they are the students who take most of the tests. Many of the juniors are strong students, too, but they don’t have many tests this year. Our scores are always really good, especially for an open enrollment IB Program. Some schools make kids apply to get into IB Diploma. We will take anyone who is interested as long as they can fit in all the requirements.” 

Seahawks Prep for End of Course Tests in Style

By: Celia Walter and Lizzy Markowitz 

Hilton Head Island High School hosted an End Of Course test preparation extravaganza on May 23rd right after school and ended at 6:45.  

In order to help students prepare for their End Of Course tests, two sessions were offered lasting a little over an hour each with dinner provided in between the two sessions. Each subject had teachers available in classrooms for students to refresh their memories on the course and sharpen their test taking skills before taking their end of course tests. The school also provided bussing for students after the sessions if they did not have another means of transportation to get home. 

Mrs. Hartman, an instructional coach at Hilton Head Island High school stated,  “Hopefully it will give them that last bit of push, kind of right before the test. Because final exams start Wednesday the 24th and they can go over…maybe some concepts that they may have learned at the beginning of the term and maybe they are not as familiar with as they are with those that they have just been working on.” 

End of Course tests are state mandated tests students take at the end of certain courses to test them on the state standards for that course. End of Course tests are worth twenty percent of a student’s final grade in that class and are very important for students. Classes such as Algebra I, English II, Biology, and United States History have End of Course tests.  

Mrs. Hartman also stated, “It also helps with kind of anxiety levels because students just get a little bit more practice. They might get to go over the tutorials a little bit more, so it makes them more comfortable going into those tests.” 

Hilton Head Island High School has held End Of Course test preparation extravaganzas before. It was done differently previously, with all of the teachers and students working in the cafeteria instead of in separate classrooms.  

Mrs. Hartman stated, “It used to be run through ninth grade and we used to do it all in the cafeteria and teachers would kind of take a table. This time we’re doing it a little bit different, we’re hoping for more students and we’re hoping for more concentrated focus on the different subject areas with teachers being in classrooms.” 

Teachers are hoping for a big turnout of students, so that they can help make sure students feel prepared and ready for their End of Course tests.