Alex Carr's The Jaguars' Spot column for Wed., Jan. 27, 2010

Today is the first day of the rest of your school year!

          Finals are over! Whew, what a week, right Jags? The year’s first semester has come to a close as report cards start showing up (or mysteriously disappearing) from the family mailbox! I hope you got the grades you wanted (and your parents wanted you to get!).

          If this semester didn’t turn out quite the way you hoped, this is your chance to make things right. You have 18 weeks to get those grades up. Take advantage of it and do your best!

          And remember to use all your resources: After School Enrichment (ASE) is always there for you providing free tutoring in all your subjects. Also, being alert and attentive in class makes a huge difference. For one thing, your teacher will like you more and because all that snoring you were doing was very disruptive. And TRY! I see a lot of smart kids getting C’s or B’s when they could be getting B’s or A’s just because they slack off and stop trying.

Mmmmm … blood:

          No, I’m not talking about the ever so popular vampire craze! I’m talking about the Red Cross Bloodmobiles coming out to VHCS to gather some of our precious blood.

          It’s actually pretty cool. These two huge buses, loaded up with all sorts of medical equipment, park right near the outside basketball courts and kids get pulled out of class throughout the day. After you’ve donated, they give you a lots of chips, cookies, and other snacks to help you build back your strength.

          If you want to donate, there are a few requirements: You have to be 16, have a signed permission slip, and you can’t have any problems with your blood like hepatitis. You also cannot live with a vampire or BE a vampire. Sorry, I don’t make the rules! Then they take a pint ... or is it LEAVE a pint? Oh, well, pretty much the same difference, right?!

          If you’re interested make an appointment in room 403. The Bloodmobiles will be at school all day Thursday, January 28.

Tell me about it!:

          All the cool-looking posters around school have been telling us that Car Week is coming to VCHS starting Monday Feb. 8. Guys (and a few girls) park their rides in the quad at lunch hoping to inspire some “Oohs!” and “Awws!”

          You guys you should probably be really nice to your dads for the next few weeks so he’ll let you borrow his 1964 cherry red Mustang convertible with the spoiler on the back. My dad says, if I play my cards right, he might even let me take our 1998 Chevy van conversion with the ding in the back where he smashed it into our garage. According to him, it’s soon to be a classic). I can hardly wait!

          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).