Park Square Grand Opening

Heading into the school, you wonder where you are going to find that Arizona tea that you’ve been craving.  The only place that you can think of is the gas station down the road and you have no way of getting there and back in time for class.  You aren’t sure if you can make it through the day without Arizona tea.  But wait!  The school store supplies Arizona tea!  You rush in and buy it, excited for the day to finally begin. 

            On April 8, 2010, a crowd of students and staff waited outside the door of Park Square.  Three green ribbons stretched across the door, waiting to be cut by the planners of the school store.  

            For over five months, the Econ Club has been planning Park High’s first ever school store.  “We started planning about the beginning of October,” said Mr. Hyland, one of the economics teachers and advisor of the Econ Club.  “It really started with deciding the furniture and then the product, as well as the Econ Club.”

Gradually, items began to be added to the store: beverages, candy, t-shirts, and even a cash register.  The windows read: “Park Square—Opening Soon.”  Students began to wonder if the store would open before the end of the year.  And it did, on April 8.

            At 8:00 AM, Mr. Hyland began the ceremony.  First to cut the ribbon were three underclassmen:  Shauna Meyer, Alec Taft, and Tyler Verhey.  The second ribbon was cut by two upperclassmen, Matt Struve, ’10, and Anthony Gockowski, ’11.  The final ribbon was cut by the two students behind the school store: Jared Kean, ’10, and Luis Ortega, ’10. 

            As soon as the third ribbon was cut, the crowd rushed into the store, where the ribbon cutters/workers handed out green, black, and white beads to celebrate the opening.  Teachers and students filtered in and out throughout the morning, buying t-shirts, candy, and most importantly, Arizona Tea. 

            “We hope to break even by the end of the school year, pay for the things we’ve bought, and make a profit by next year, first time,” Mr. Hyland stated.  By the time they begin to make a profit, the money will go to help entrepreneurs in third world countries start their own businesses through a site called Kiva.org.

            Students seem excited for the opening of the store as well.  “We have a place so you don’t have to go anywhere else to get breakfast,” says Maddie Sockness, a senior.  “I forget breakfast sometimes.”

            One deal that the store offers is the coffee mug.  It is $15 but you can use it at the Coffee Bar, which is located in the concessions stand, to receive discounted coffee.  But that isn’t the hot seller.  “My favorite product would have to be the $0.25 Blow Pops,” says Mr. Hyland.  “I didn’t think they’d sell.” 

            So rummage around your house for loose change and head down to Park Square!

Park Becomes an IB World School

                On Tuesday, December 15, it was announced that Park High School was now an official International Baccalaureate World School.  For two years, students have heard of this program that is going to be replacing the AP classes here at Park.   Now it has finally happened. 

                So, what exactly is an International Baccalaureate (IB for short) world school mean?  The intention for IB schools is that “teachers, students and parents will be able to draw confidently on a recognizable common educational framework, a consistent structure of aims and values and an overarching concept of how to develop international-mindedness”, according to the International Baccalaureate Organization.  Basically, the goal is to help students grow into lifelong learners and internationally minded people.  IBO says that “IB learners strive to be inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced, and reflective.” 

                In the IB world, there are three programmes: Primary Years Programme (ages 3-12), Middle Years Programme (ages 11-16), and the Diploma Programme (ages 16-19).  Park falls into the last programme.  The DP lasts for two years, so students at Park would begin taking the classes beginning in the eleventh grade.  There are six groups that DP students focus on: language A1 (the student’s native language), a second language, individuals and societies (i.e. history), experimental sciences (i.e. physics, chemistry), mathematics and computer science, and the arts.  It is a rigorous curriculum, especially with the extended essay assessment, to go through to get an IB diploma.  But IB has its benefits.

                For students, it really prepares them for college.  They’ll be able to research and evaluate sources of information, organize and prioritize, have knowledge of another language and culture, and they are aware of the principles of academic honesty.  Being a student that is in the Diploma Programme, it puts them one step ahead of other students who do not take the courses by increasing their chances at admission. 

                As for teachers, the IB program can seem a little overwhelming.  But as IB teachers, they become a part of the global community, become better teachers, and are able to take advantages from multiple opportunities within the IBO. 

                So as Park transitions from a 4×4 block schedule to a 3×6 schedule, they also will become the IB World school.  By taking the IB courses and maybe even getting the diploma, Park students will be one step ahead of the others, such as Woodbury or East Ridge students.  Park students should be proud of their school if they aren’t already.