Accounting For High School Students Made Fun

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Admin
Accounting For High School Students Made Fun

Accounting For High School Students Made Fun

by Lisa Lowdermilk, Scholarships.com Virtual Intern

Did you ever wish you had more freedom to choose what classes you could take in high school? Students in Georgia share your pain and the Board of Education is considering implementing a plan which will allow students to take only the classes which are relevant to their future careers. Students will be required to take general courses before choosing their “career cluster” at the end of their sophomore year but depending on the “career cluster” they choose, some students may be able to get their dream jobs right out of high school!

While I know I would have liked more choices regarding the classes I took in high school, I'm still not sure I'm onboard with this idea. For one thing, not everyone knows what career they want when they're in high school – some students have trouble deciding what they want to do well into their college careers! – even me: When I was in high school, I was convinced I wanted to become a pharmacist before I realized my true calling as a writer.

The fact is that college is expensive and the idea of cutting down on the rising cost of college by taking some of the necessary courses in high school is very enticing indeed. Along those same lines, if this program is implemented and a student decides they don’t really like their course of study, they can switch between clusters until they find one that better suits their goals.

So, will Georgia become the first state to implement a more individualized high school experience? We'll have to wait and see next fall.

Lisa Lowdermilk is a soon-to-be published author (her first novel is a murder mystery for young adults set in the future), an avid video gamer and an artist. She enjoys watching thrillers, trying different restaurants and attempting to breakdance. Lisa completed her Associate of Arts degree entirely online and is now majoring in professional writing at the University of Colorado Denver.

By BRIAN RATHJEN
When Clear Creek Amana freshman Mackenize Lown lost her life in a car accident Oct. 17, the people closest to her quickly began a tribute Facebook page to honor her memory.
It wasn’t long before the comments and fond memories of the 14-year-old Amana teen came pouring in.
Two days after her death in the two-car accident on U.S. Highway 6 just west of the high school, more than 60 people had shared their thoughts on the “Remembering Mackenzie Lown” page and what she meant to them. By all accounts, the CCA freshman was a well-liked girl who had made a real impact on their lives.
Friends, family and strangers alike remarked about her athletic and dance-team talents, the fun times shared at practice and how she had kind words for everyone. She was also remembered for her “beautiful smile” and bringing a “great energy” wherever she went.
“Cheer and dance was so much fun with you at Jenny’s Cheer and Dance studio,” wrote Amber Striegel, referring to Mackenzie’s love of dance. “It was such a joy seeing you there. You were always happy. You were a good person and i (sic) will never forget that.”
“Rest in peace, Maxkenzie~(sic),” wrote Kristin Espinoza Brack. “You were always such a bubbly and lively young lady in my Lifeskills classes…while we’re sad here on earth, we know Heaven is receiving an angel. Sleep in peace and go with God.”
Those posts were among more than 90 that had been written and posted to Mackenzie’s memorial page by Saturday morning.
Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, have had a huge impact on everyday lives, and grieving the lost lives of loved ones – young and old – is just another example.
“She’s a good example of this,” said Alex Lensing of Lensing Funeral Home, Coralville, the mortuary that handled Lown’s arrangements. “There’s a lot of people who don’t go to funerals for personal reasons, so this (social media) is an outlet to gain closure or to talk about (a loved one).
“It’s a support group, in and of itself.”
Even to those who didn’t know Lown, it became clear very quickly how much she meant to others. Less than 24 hours after the accident, more than 450 people had “liked” her Facebook memorial page. That number had skyrocketed to 1,150 by Wednesday morning, jumped to nearly 1,400 a day later and was at about 1,700 by the weekend.

T-SHIRTS, BALLOON LAUNCH
But there were many other ways friends, family members and others chose to remember Mackenzie, who was involved in dance, cross country and student council at CCA High School.
One of the most poignant moments of the week came during the pre-game of  CCA’s home football contest Friday against Mount Vernon. During a moment of silence, Mackenzie’s fellow teammates on both the dance and cross-country teams gathered near the north goalposts to launch pink balloons into the clear, crisp autumn sky above Clipper Stadium.
A similar balloon launch – where more fans symbolically let their grief drift into the sky – took place at halftime.
Allison O’Keefe, a sophomore and one of Mackenzie’s best friends, designed a special T-shirt to honor her memory, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Lown family.
“Everybody sees her as an angel and so that’s why this has the big wings in the back,” said O’Keefe, referring to a large wing-clad M on the shirt’s rear. Inscribed is a poem from English romantic poet John Keats: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever; it’s loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.”
Earlier in the week, the Clipper cross country team created T-shirts of their own to remember their teammate. Also hot pink in color – O’Keefe said that it was her favorite color — together, the shirts spelled out “Mackenzie Lynn Lown forever.” Some of the shirts were also decorated with drawings of bumblebees and flowers. The team wore the shirts during warm-ups at Thursday’s Iowa Class 3A district cross country meet in Anamosa.
Both the Clippers and Mount Vernon football teams – and Solon and Center Point-Urbana – also wore special decals – a pink heart with wings – on the backs of their helmets. (Mackenzie attended CP-U prior to transferring to CCA.)
CCA High School principal Mark Moody said that later on, Mackenzie’s parents and her fellow students are considering buying a tree and other activities to honor her memory. There was also a well-attended Celebration of Life service Sunday for Mackenize at the Bella Sala in Tiffin.

Tagged as: CCA, Clear Creek-Amana, Mackenzie Lown