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Sophomores prepare for CAPT

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Ben Goldschlager

This year’s sophomore class is expected to take a double hit of standardized testing. Teachers are intensely preparing students; as this is the last grade to take CAPT tests, they aim to finish with a bang. As the month of March begins, sophomores are feeling the heat and the advice they are hearing over and over: It’s all in how you prep.

Depending on the class, each teacher supplies their students with various material to practice for their exam.

“Tasks are given to sophomore classes monthly,” John Wetzel, a mathematics teacher, said. “Teachers decide from a bank of prepared materials how to best prepare their students for the mathematics CAPT.”

According to several sophomore students, the teachers are overdoing the amount of practice.

“I have noticed that we started way too early for CAPT this year,” Rachel Morrison ’16 said. “I think we have done too much practice, and we are drawing away from learning anything but CAPT.”

However other students are content with the all the practice, knowing it will help them in the long run.

“I have taken practice tests in Chemistry and done multiple CAPT practice essays in US and one in English,” Jojo Adler ’16 said. “The early preparation helps because there are those little details you have to pay attention to.”

Students claim that although they are tedious, taking standardized tests in tenth grade contributes hugely to learning how to prepare well for bigger tests.

“CAPT teaches us how to get ready for important tests like the SAT and ACT,” James Banbury ’16 said.

But they are not done with testing yet; on March 2, the sophomores faced the PPSAT.  Hopefully some of the CAPT preparation they’ve been working on so hard will carry over.

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About the Contributors
Grace McCarthy, Staff Writer

When Grace McCarthy ’16 moved from New Zealand less than a year ago, she had no idea that she would discover her passion and potential career in America; journalism.

McCarthy said that “living in America has really opened up a lot of doors [for her] to pursue [her] writing.” Back home, McCarthy’s high school didn’t offer a journalism class, so she eagerly signed up for the class at Staples.

In journalism this year, McCarthy likes to write features and reviews. McCarthy explained that because she is from another country, she writes differently and likes to cover topics from back home. For example, she wrote an article about how the earthquake in New Zealand, that happened in February 2011, impacted her. McCarthy puts a personal spin on the story’s angle, making it relatable to her audience.

The New Zealand newspaper “The Press” is delivered to her house every day, which allows her to keep up with everything happening back home.

Even though McCarthy enjoys her life in Westport, she can’t wait to go New Zealand and use her journalism experience.

McCarthy plans to move back to New Zealand with her family at the end of her junior year. Her goal is to go to Massey University of Wellington, New Zealand because they have a great journalism program that will help her pursue her passion.
Ben Goldschlager, Web News Editor

Ben Goldschlager ’14 is an involved member of the Staples and Westport communities. He’s the president of the Model UN and Artists’ Club, the web news editor for Inklings and is involved in Debate Team, Junior States of America and Young Democrats.

Goldschlager has also spent time volunteering at the library working with the new 3D printers. He gets to train people from the ages of 7 to 60 on how to use them, and he can print things for fun and for practical reasons.

“We have a bookcase at my house that uses these little plastic pins to support the shelves,” Goldschlager said, “but we’d lost two, so I designed and printed two replacement pins and they work.”

After writing his favorite piece, “5 Ways to Seem Like You Get Pop Culture” last year, Goldschlager is excited to come back for a second year of reporting for Inklings.

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