Novi High School's
Report Card
June 2004
 

Last day of school. Check. Graduation. Check. Report card. Still waiting! School's been out for everybody since June 11th, seniors held their graduation commencement on June 5th, and everyone's still waiting for the proof of their hard work during the semester: the report card.

While the eager students are waiting, it's about time someone returns the favor to Novi High School. Not someone who looks at financial problems or standardized test scores. Rather someone that's been inside the school everyday for the past three years. Someone that -- alright I'll do
it.

Faculty/Administration: A
Novi High School has outdone themselves (literally, just take a look at the budget cuts) when it comes to the faculty at the school. Outgoing personalities, different races, different genders, and different philosophies, the Novi High School faculty is as diverse in opinion as the student
body.

The love for teaching at the school is apparent, something that isn't always seen in other schools. Knowledge and love of subjects is obvious with almost every teacher in the school. They're always there before and after school. Whether they don't sleep at all, or they sleep in the school is not an issue, they're always there. From your joke-cracking, less-mature-than-the-students-in-the-class, to the stern, your-paper's-in-the-trash-if-your-name-isn't-on-it teacher, Novi High School has it.

The administration at NHS is second to none. Anyone could pick out the principal at Novi. There's just something about Mr. Lawrence that screams who's in charge; Dr. Cheal was the same way. The rest of the administration can catch you sneaking out of the back of the lunchroom, tell you to pick up your tray, and take your hat off at the same time. This group of adults makes up a faculty that any student can respect and enjoy.

Scheduling/Timing: C+
We know teenagers these days have it easy. We know adults used to hike 20 miles to school everyday in 5 to 50 feet of snow. But a 7:15 start time is ridiculous. Especially when stats and facts have shown that it's better for the young ones to ship off to kindergarten at that time, and the
high school kids to go later. It's not even worth it to point out the general argument that is preventing this from happening. But if this were a report card for the city, I would strongly suggest street lights. Moving on...

Scheduling at NHS is decent but odd, due to the start time. The lengths of classes are just down-right weird. NHS currently utilizes block scheduling, where you attend a class everyday for and hour and a half, and you're completely done with the class at the end of the semester. Problems with this include language classes and math classes, which can take actual time, not just class time, to learn. Positives of this scheduling include the ability to complete two classes of the
same subject in two semesters, and eventually earn all of your credits before senior year, when you won't have to do anything!

NHS also plays host to an idea called "seminar."  An hour class on Tuesday and Thursday for students to do whatever they want. Of course that's not how it's advertised, but that's what it has been turned into. Nevertheless, this class shortens the other classes on those days,
and throws off lunch time. Students get used to this scheduling madness, but it seems unnecessary at times. You could cut
out seminar and cut the passing time in half, allowing you to remove lunch and send the kids home at 12:30. Not possible, but oh so logical.

Grading: C- or C+
Grading at any school can either be good or bad -- there are no in betweens. With that said, Novi's grading is bad. It is 50 (yes, 50)
Valedictorians bad. Where to begin?

The reason NHS gets a C- or a C+ in the grading category, is because at Novi they'd mean the exact same thing, so it really doesn't matter. Novi's archaic grading system counts anywhere from a 90 - 100 as a 4.0, anywhere from an 80 - 89 as a 3.0, and so on and so on. They must love
round numbers.

At other schools you can get an 89 and have a 3.5 or so, and get a 92 and have a 3.8, separating absolute perfection from pat-on-the-back good. In other words, an 89 and a 90 should not be separated by a whole grade point! Sadly, this is a minor problem in Novi's classic 50 Valedictorians two years ago.

The difference between NHS students and other students is: at Novi, students cry if they don't get a 4.0, at other schools, students cry (from happiness) if they do get a 4.0. A 13-point grading system, the same that other schools have, has been discussed at Novi, but action has not been taken.

Budget is not an excuse with this issue. It must be fixed. And last but not least, Novi does not have class rankings. Colleges want them, but they don't have them. It's probably a good thing they don't, when you can have a 3.9 and not be in the top 1/8th of your class.

The plus side to Novi's terrible grading system is the students are still learning, and they are just as smart as you've heard they are. You can see it on their MEAP scores and their ACT and SAT scores, which are always above average. But grades are the incentive that keeps students working, and it would be greatly appreciated if they were as accurate as possible.

Safety: A
Novi High is as safe as they come. Not much that can be said about this one, but an officer is on duty all the time.  And personally, I attended this school for five semesters and never saw one fight.
Two fires in the past year is a little odd, but they further proved the school's safety in the timely evacuation of the student body, when years of fire drills finally paid off! Right?

Things to do: A+
NHS is full of opportunity. A student run radio station, a student run newspaper, including various independent newspapers, a great theatre program, bands and choirs, foreign language classes, electives galore, and just about every sport a student could ask for. To host all of these activities, the building includes four basketball courts, an indoor and outdoor track, a weight room, a
pool, an auditorium, a media center, a radio and TV studio, a football stadium, and more, all on campus.

Preparation for the Future: ?
This grade can only be evaluated case by case, which is too bad, because it just might be the most important. Novi has sprung many successful people in its years of schooling. We can only hope all 446 adults in this year's graduating class will follow their footsteps. There's no doubt they have what it takes.

As you look over this report card, hold back before you send Novi High School to its room, or ground it for the weekend. When you attend a school constantly praised for its excellence, you tend to only notice the out-of-the-ordinary, the things that aren't so excellent. Though they may be few and far between, they are there. For the sake of room, and your time, only key issues were
brought to the table. Put it this way, this report card could have been stretched into 100 categories; there still would've been two Cs.

Novi High School's future is bright; almost as bright as the students it sends into the real world. As we send off the class of 2004 and rope-in the class of 2008, we should have no worries about there preparation for the future. These are Novi High School students, and we know they have what it takes.

Note: Novi High School told me I have to leave like the rest of the seniors, so to avoid a restraining-order I'll be attending college in the fall. As I hand over the website reigns to Class of 2005 senior Dan Church, I would like to thank you. To those of you who stopped by every once in a while to see what was going on in the high school, to those of you that somehow recognized me from my outdated picture in the top-left corner, to those of you that have e-mailed your comments, suggestions, and especially praise: Thank You.
 

(c) 2004 the Novi Information Network