Falcon Flyer May 2008 Page 1

Bishop Dunne Catholic School

Dallas, TX

May 2008

Volume 2, Issue 5

By: Cydni Robertson

Study Tips for the Final Exams in June	1
Incoming 6th Grade: Bishop Dunne Academy	1
BD Helping Out in Honduras	2
Students Against Drunk Driving Club Initiated	2
Goodbye Memories & Senior Farewells	3
Senior Advice for BD’s Underclassmen	3
Bored? How to Keep Yourself Active This Summer	4
Summer Employment Ideas	4
Jam Out! Awesome Summer Concerts	5
Movies for the Two- Month Break	5
How to Get Around Town During Summer: Public Transportation	6
Everything You Should Wear This Summer	6
Male Cheerleaders for 2008-2009	7
Upcoming Football Practice for the Fall	7
Six Flags: Science or Amusement?	8
Goodbye, Journalism. Love, Cydni & Leslie	8

Text Box: Study, cram, fail, or pass, final exams are here at last. For some students, final exams are a breeze because of their 4.5 GPAs and straight-A status. But for others, final exams are the very last chance to pull up their grades. The question that is on every student’s mind—no matter their grade point average—is, “How do I study for my finals?” If finals bring headaches and tears, here are a few study tips to help you through trying times. How should you study for all of those nail-biting, pencil-breaking, and sweat- provoking finals? Study skills teacher Mrs. Toole advises students to “study at least three to six days in advance, gather all of your materials, including all of your notes, quizzes, and tests, make your own review sheet from these materials, and review the night before the test.” She also stated that “the most effective methods in test preparation are simple: prepare in advance, and most importantly, DO NOT

Text Box: CRAM!!!!!!!!!” Senior Amber Bagley has a similar approach to taking on her finals. Bagley plans to take it “day by day, covering materials such as old tests.” She said that while her study methods have been quite successful in the past, she did admit that she could improve her studies by “not procrastinating.”

By: Jessica Coosky

Mr. Ratliff, one of the soon-to-be sixth grade teachers. Photo by Cydni Robertson.

Falcons, say “Welcome home” to the new flock of chick-a-dees flapping our way! As the ’08 seniors fly out, the future ’15 seniors will be flying in. That’s right Dunne, our administration has decided to expand our nest of academia and introduce a younger, bright-eyed, and eager-to-learn group of sixth graders to the Falcon family for the 08-09 school year.

These new Falcons will most likely be located in Rooms 101 and 103, which are stationed in the middle-school hallway. The rooms were chosen because they are directly connected to each other and will allow for minimal traveling and hall-roaming. Sixth graders will share first lunch with their fellow middle-schoolers, and they will use the lockers adjacent to the front office facing the faculty parking lot near the 100 hallway.

So far, Bishop Dunne has enrolled enough sixth graders to form a class, but by next fall, these numbers could double, resulting in enough students for two classes. Between 20 and 50 new sixth grade students could be introduced by the

2008-2009 school year.

This project-based, cross-curricular, pre-AP level program will attempt to provide a “strong academic environment” to those fifth grade students who would otherwise be left in an awkward school transition from both the fifth and the sixth grades.

Newly inducted sixth grade coordinators, Mr. Jeremy Ratliff and Ms. Sherry Nelson, are very excited about adding sixth grade to the middle school. Both teachers have impressive middle school education backgrounds. Ratliff and Nelson will be the leading forces

Freshman hitting the books to prepare for final exams. Photo taken by Jessica Cooksy.

Everyone has his or her own way of studying. But students should know that there are actual steps that can be taken in preparation for tests. The informational book How to Improve Your Study Skills by Marcia J. Coman and Kathy L. Heavers outlines these steps with poignant clarity:

1. Ask what material will be covered on the test and write it down.

2. Find out what type of questions will be on the test.

3. Discover how much of the test is based on your notes.

4. Organize your notes and other study aids to correspond with the material you believe will be covered and the type of test to be given.

5. Avoid cramming.

6. Prepare yourself the night before the test.

7. Prepare yourself the day of the test.

behind all of the sixth grade’s activities and classes. These teachers will work together as they teach some of the core classes offered to the new middle school students.

“The sixth grade will have a very positive effect on the Bishop Dunne community as well as help us form a complete middle school,” explains Nelson.

But the teachers aren’t the only ones excited about the new addition. Seventh grader Jackie Arrambide thinks adding a sixth grade “will be good because they deserve the quality education that Bishop Dunne offers, just like the other middle school students.” Other middle schoolers, such as eighth grader Nicholas Rea, seemed skeptical about the induction because “the school is big enough ... But it won’t be that bad if they stayed in one room and didn’t crowd the hallways.”

So, out with the old birds and in with the fresh flock. Join the faculty and students in celebrating the expansion of our middle school next year.

There will be fun in the sun this summer.

Photos courtesy of photobucket.com

Final Exam Schedule Monday, June 2: Religion, English, Health, Psychology, & Conflicts
Tuesday, June 3: Foreign Language, 7th Grade Literature, & Science
Wednesday, June 4: History, Math, & Conflicts

Final Exams for Everyone