AP exams persist through pandemic, not in students’ best interest

Marina Engler '21, Staff Writer

May 15, 2020

Entering my junior year, I already had the month of May marked on my calendar. Starting in September, I began to learn content that would eventually be crammed into an hour long AP test. However, as the coronavirus swept across the world, the manner in which the AP tests are now being given is n...

Junior parking sales begin

Mia Daignault, Staff Writer

May 24, 2019

Junior parking tickets went on sale on May 13. They cost $20 and are available for purchase in the Assistant Principal’s office until they have all been sold out. As seniors begin to depart for internships, students in 11th grade can purchase parking passes, permitting them to park on campus. Staples...

Homework volume does not correlate with rigor

Sophie Driscoll ’19

January 16, 2019

At higher levels of certain courses, difficulty of content increases slightly but volume of homework increases dramatically. However, homework quantity does not correlate with academic rigor. Of course, some students override into high-level classes without the necessary  foundation for success...

College Board cracks down on AP memes

May 21, 2018

By Adam Wenkoff '18 ...

Students should be able to move non AP-tests on days of AP finals

May 18, 2017

Adam Wenkoff '18 The two weeks of AP final exams are, for many, the most stressful weeks of the year.   Students taking finals in their AP courses should be able to move their other tests to a day where they don’t have a final.   With 10 percent of each class grade depend...

Solving the Inconsistency and Confusion that Final Exams Bring to AP Classes

May 17, 2017

Ben Pearl ’18 Advanced Placement exams officially ended on Friday, May 12. Accordingly, I thought it would be appropriate to offer a solution to the problem students and teachers face every spring: when to schedule an AP class final exam.   The Numbers: According to the Staples H...

Succeeding without advanced placement classes

May 9, 2017

Phoebe Mendelson ’17   Over the course of my four years at Staples, I’d like to think that I’ve learned and gained insight on a few things, one of them being that there are many experienced and knowledgeable adults and students who take the opportunity to impart their wisdom on others. ...

Return of the Nerf Guns: A.P. Assassination soon to come

May 8, 2017

By Nicole Dienst ’18 The long standing tradition of A.P. Assassination is beginning on May 15, the same day that senior internships start. The competition is for seniors who took at least one advanced placement [A.P.] course their senior year. Each week is a new round and in order to make i...

Preconceived notions manifest a stigma against junior year

Emma Greenberg, Opinions editor

June 10, 2016

Though junior year seems fun considering the dances, driver's licenses, class options and freedoms. I’ve heard many things contradicting the “perks” that are to come as a sophomore about to enter her junior year. All I hear about prom is that it’s a nightmare when it comes to getting everyone...

AP announces Clinton’s Democratic nomination and causes confusion

Molly Liebergall, Web Managing Editor

June 7, 2016

Last night, the Associated Press announced that Hillary Clinton had secured the Democratic Nomination according to their recent superdelegate count, despite its being released before tonight’s six remaining state primaries.  This resulted in uncertainty among the Staples community. “People in my c...

A.P. Assassination remains despite recent gun violence

Amelia Brown and Julia Rosier, Features Editors

May 5, 2016

A lot has changed since 1999. Chalkboards are now smartboards and textbooks are websites on tablets. But, A.P. Assassination remains.  Not only that, but its popularity amongst students has grown from just 35 student participants in 1999 to over 130 participants in 2016, despite concerns of its appropriateness. P....

It’s a sin to kill a book worm

Izzy Ullmann, Features Editor

December 14, 2015

We are taught from the day we enter elementary school that reading is a fundamental tool for all students. It is a nonnegotiable statement. Reading simply helps us flourish. Being a high school student, I can quote a variety of appreciated speeches by Sherman Alexie about the transitive benefits of reading, or Ralph Waldo Emerson�...

Administration debates class leveling system

Andrea Frost, Breaking News Editor

March 10, 2015

Core classes at Staples High School are offered at various levels to appeal to the learning needs of all students. However, while physics has five different class levels — honors, A, B, AP physics B and AP Physics C — most Staples High School electives listed in the course catalog can only be taken...