Alex Carr's The Jaguars' Spot column for Wed., Dec. 09, 2009

PSAT for Dummies!

          OK, not really for DUMMIES. I don’t know a single dummy at VCHS. OK .. there is that one kid who follows me around while he picks his nose but he’s not really a dummy, he just has very poor nose etiquette. But we ALL feel a little like dummies when we have to figure out how to interpret our PSAT scores.

          That’s why we’ll be getting a little help from our school counselors when our PSAT scores arrive next week. I talked with counselor Susana Cook who told me that during this process she and the other counselors will help students create accounts at CollegeBoard.com -- a website where kids can access their scores, and even take questions of the day to help prepare for the BIG ONE ... the SAT, which most kids take in their senior year.

          “The process is similar to what we do with the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB),” she added, “however the ASVAB is a bit more specific in determining strengths.”

          I also talked with Principal McCowan who told me he highly recommends that all students to take the ASVAB, even if they don’t plan on joining the military because, in his opinion, it really helps a kid decide on possible career choices.

          PSAT Interpretation takes place Monday the 14th in the library. If you don’t know where the library is, you might want to prepare yourself for a shock when you finally see your PSAT scores!

Tell me about it!

          Are you ready for Port-a-Pilates?! My eagle eye and keen sense of observation told me there are four new portable classrooms being installed at various locations around campus. (It could also be because they are enormous and there are about 20 construction guys running around each one!)

          I asked Principal McCowan what was going on and if there was any reason to be for me or any of my friends to be afraid. For example, is the detention capacity of the school being enlarged and will kids be forced into slave labor to help balance the school budget? You know, just normal kinds of questions.

          “These portables come from the Upper School,” he said, “and are being installed here to make the school better in general.”

          Two of them are located on the blacktop basketball courts (not the ones in the gym!), which pretty much renders the courts useless because THERE ARE TWO ENORMOUS BUILDINGS ON THE FREE THROW LINE! Well, don’t worry, dribblers, the new buildings will be put to good use as fitness rooms and for other things like oh, I don’t know ... Pilates. (Bet you were wondering how I was going to get that in there, didn’t you?) The current fitness room is located in a small space in the Maxine. “The idea for this new fitness room is to be kind of like a 24-Hour gym, although it won’t be open all day,” McCowan added in a way that made me want to ask a smart-aleck follow up question before realizing just in time that semester grades have not been given out yet. The school eventually wants to get a few TVs in there to make the place even more attractive to students.

          The purpose of the other two, which are located behind the library, is still up for debate. One idea is to make them the new student store, where Darren Irwin’s Special Ed kids can practice life skills such as working a cash register. Another idea would be to move a classroom in there. Class space is always tight.

Got a great item for this column? Tell me about it! Catch me on campus or go to my web page and shoot me an e-mail (www.carrfamily.com/alex).