Alex Carr's The Jaguars' Spot column for Wed., May 28, 2010

It’s not summer yet!

          Believe it or not, right now is one of those key moments in your high school career where you define how you will be looked at by colleges and future job opportunities. Will they see a student who got C’s and slid through high school? Or a student who got B’s and A’s and showed that they cared about their future?

          If you want the latter (Since you want the latter), you need to make these last few weeks of your VCHS school year really count. Fortunately, you still have plenty of opportunities bump up those grades.

          First: Finals are approaching. Yes, they are known to make even the smartest students sweat, but if you can dominate them, your year is largely in the bag. Just take that extra hour, or even thirty minutes, and crack open that textbook and study up. If you and your textbook don’t get along, there are literally thousands of sites on the internet that might work better for you. Or create a study group with friends to make it more fun.

          In almost every one of my own classes, teachers have recently assigned end-of-the-year projects that can count just as much as the finals. They aren’t really that difficult academically, but there is just a lot of research and preparation to do. If you have a project like this, don’t put it off until the last weekend before it’s due. Do some work on it RIGHT NOW and continue chip away at it bit-by-bit. That’s definitely going to improve your total grade in that class.

          You can also go to After School Enrichment (ASE) and get some help from teachers. This is the program’s last week, so make sure you get in there for some last minute extra credit. You have no excuse not to go since it’s sitting there waiting for right after school. They even have buses to take you home.

          Principal McCowan told me this week that he has high hopes for the students at VCHS. “There are a lot of fun things coming up these last few weeks like Jag Wars, the ASE Breakfast, and Grad Night, but academics come first no matter what,” he said. So stay off the non-privileged list or you won’t be able to take part in these great activities.

          Finally, how’s this for a deal? I have it on good authority that if we all work our hardest this week and not slack off at all, we get this coming Monday off from school! Just kidding, of course we get Memorial Day off, but why not make it feel like a day off from school that you really earned?

Tell me about it!:

          I’ve talked to a few of the clubs around campus and they’ve told me about the eighth grade visit coming up this week. That’s when some of the kids from the Middle School coming over to get an idea of what’s in store for them when they become freshmen next year. The clubs are doing all they can to catch the eyes of these new prospective members. Note to new prospective members: High school is going to be so much fun! No trash-canning occurs. No bullying. Just come with a desire to make high school work and you will have tons of new friends and opportunities. Trust me, with events like Winterfest and Springfest, Club Rush, all the sports, pep rallies and about a bagillion other things, these next four years can be some of the best years of your life!

          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).

          Read all of San Diego Press Club award-winner Alex Carr's columns at www.carrfamily.com.