by Brandon Borges ‘15

Saint Ignatius High School will require that all students bring a non-cellular device to school beginning in the 2014-15 school year, a drastic change to the school’s Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) program. All incoming freshmen and current students from the junior level down will have to acquire a device with screen dimensions of at least nine-and-a-half inches in length.

The technology requirement has been discussed extensively by the school administration and reflects a new consensus about the ways that internet connectivity can improve learning. Mr. Jarc, the school’s Education Technology specialist, said that the new requirement will dramatically expand the possibilities available to teachers.

“Teachers are able to use the internet and other tools [such as] laptops, iPads, and chromebooks [that students will] bring to make advances in the way students do presentations, collab projects, and other projects,” Mr. Jarc explained.

While the school has provided laptops in limited numbers in the past, the new BYOT policy will mean that teachers can now rely on students to have a means of instantly researching factual questions that come up in class, working on essays, watching videos, or otherwise participating in interactive digital learning experiences.

The changes in the BYOT program are also due to coming alterations to state testing policy.

“The OGTs soon will be taken online,” Mr. Jarc said, “and with the new BYOT policies in place, the school wouldn’t have to provide the large amount of devices needed for students to take the OGT.”

“One limit to the required devices is the screen of the device has to be nine-and-a-half inches or larger,” Mr. Jarc said, explaining that OGT-specific standards are the basis for the size requirement.

The size limit exclude cellular devices in addition to most small tablets, such as the Barnes & Noble Nook. However, size is the only serious restriction on the devices students will be able to use.

“Students can use a device that they are comfortable with,” Mr. Jarc said. “A student may not like how an iPad feels, but this system will make him more comfortable and bring out his strengths.”

Mr. Jarc said that he is realistic about the wide range of possible responses that the school’s faculty could have to the universal technology requirement.

“I think there will be a mixture of views,” Mr. Jarc said. “While some teachers will enjoy the students having technology on hand, some would react in the manner of ‘Keep those things out of my classroom.’”

Mr. Jarc accepts that the faculty will have differing views about the new technology, and says that that is where he will play an important role.

“My job is to bring the teachers to the program,” he said. Mr. Jarc wants to help teachers accept the new BYOT policy, which will in turn facilitate student adoption of the program.

Jarc stresses that the administration is taking care not to make excessive financial demands by mandating that families splurge on the most expensive possible technology.

“A benefactor has generously donated a large number of new chromebooks, and will continue to do so for a few years. That gift will support some students. Other students will be able to use devices purchased by the school,” Jarc said. “The guidelines for offering devices to families will be in line with needs-based financial aid.”

“We will make it work for all of our students. One way or another, all students will be able to participate in the BYOT program,” he said. “Any student that cannot afford a device will be provided with one by the school.”

The BYOT changes represent a significant shift in the way that Saint Ignatius approaches technology and online education. The device mandate will affect every student, every teacher and every classroom. In 2014-15, Saint Ignatius takes another step into the digital future.

by Benjamin Delhees

A cold, snowy morning in the middle of January raises the confidence of many high school students in hope of a snow day, a wish that for Saint Ignatius students was granted more often this year than most. But the surfeit of days off raises important questions about the consequences for a the test-saturated student body of a school whose core academic function is to prepare its graduates to enter and succeed in college.

A study done by the Buckeye Association of School Administrators showed that the average number of calamity days during the 2013-14 school year was nine across four hundred different school districts. Saint Ignatius High School scored a total of four, and some teachers believe that their classes have certainly felt the effects of what these days can bring about.

Educators, after all, are the professionals who are forced to adapt their tried-and-true lesson plans to conform to the unusual changes in their schedule. The reality of limited time means that some teachers may have had to cut many different activities such as review days and projects, elements that may be essential to the average student’s learning experience.

However, not all teachers believe that the limited time had deleterious effects on their students.

“Because the presentations and reviews I had to skip were additional pieces of work,” Mr. Bob Corrigan said, his students were not adversely impacted.

Many review days for AP Exams were cut as a result of the abnormally large number of school days lost, according to teachers such as Mr. Corrigan and Mr. Hess. Corrigan nonetheless affirms that the days of were justified, although he pushed his AP European History class’s test date back as part of an aid program instituted by the College Board.

“Student safety is the top priority,” Corrigan said.

The health of the student body is thus paramount in the eyes of at least one stressed college-prep test teacher. But the underlying fact is that calamity days have significantly impacted the way in which teachers have had to educate their students.

Mr. Hess, an AP Economics teacher at St. Ignatius, may speak for many of the school’s Advanced Placement teachers who were forced to contend with unexpectedly close exam dates.
“I wish I had more time,” he said.

Matt Koehler ‘15

As another school year winds down, it’s time to give a final thank-you to the retiring teachers who have put a staggering total of 99 years of service at Saint Ignatius: Mrs. Betz, Ms. Lachvayder, Father Styles, and Mr. Surrarrer have all helped students grow and thrive, adding to what the school is today.

All four teachers have put in countless hours teaching students in and out of the classroom: Mrs. Betz, who has taught freshman and senior English for 29 years; Ms. Lachvayder, who has taught chemistry since 2003; Mr. Surrarrer, who has taught chemistry, physics, and biology for 29 years; and Father Styles, who has taught theology, English, and Latin since 1968 and even served as principal in the Eighties–they will all be dearly missed.

Whether they’re leaving Saint Ignatius to retire (or to teach elsewhere, as Fr. Styles will be at Walsh Jesuit High School next fall), these teachers will miss the sense of community and the interaction with Ignatius’s unique faculty and staff. Asked what she would miss most, Mrs. Betz summed up the feelings of the four teachers saying, “I’ll miss the students, the faculty, the staff … This is really more like a family. It’s been a very special group of people.” Ms. Lachvayder will especially miss the joy of seeing the students grow. She loves seeing students “mature in their ability to think analytically and creatively with confidence,” and enjoyed helping them thrive “outside the confines of the classroom and explore the world” in extracurricular activities.

While they’ll miss their days working here, the teachers retiring will definitely enjoy the luxury of time to relax and be with their families. “When you’re a teacher, you have so many pressing responsibilities,” says Ms. Lachvayder, “and you don’t have as much time for leisure and family and friends, and have to give up a lot.” She’s especially looking forward to more time to travel, planning to explore Ireland and visit friends in Montana later in the year. Although she also has plans to travel, Ms. Betz says she’ll still be around, playing the piano at 7:20 Mass whenever she can.

After their hard work, these teachers will certainly miss Ignatius, but also look forward to starting a new chapter in their lives. Ms. Lachvayder put it well: “You know they say take time to smell the flowers? Well, I sure hope to smell a lot of flowers.”

by Owen Miklos ‘16

MID-YEAR GRADE: A-

FINAL GRADE: A

Almost one year ago, current sophomores, juniors, and seniors elected the slate of Michael Zupan and Owen Manning to serve as the Student Senate executive branch for the upcoming year. Along with his running-mate Owen Manning, Zupan preached a policy of involvement, a legislative agenda focusing on increased support at sporting events and dedication to improving on the tried-and-true methods set up by the previous presidents.

Now, fast-forward to now, and “Czar” Zupan is preparing to hand the reins over to his successor, Pat Mulach.

So, how’d he do? The question has two dimensions – public opinion, and his ability to keep his campaign promises.

The majority of the feedback he’s received has been positive, and between the success of Homecoming and the overwhelming crowds present at the playoff basketball and hockey games, the Zupan administration was evidently doing something right. The athletic director and varsity hockey coach Pat O’Rourke credits much of their success to the student section, led by the president himself.

Zupan is also credited for broadening the scope of the 3-on-3 basketball tournament, this year drawing record numbers for players and making it one of the premier extracurricular sporting activities at St. Ignatius.

However, not all of his promises were kept.

From the beginning, there was speculation as to how Zupan would be able to draw crowds to lesser-attended sporting events. It seems that that initiative was abandoned right from the get-go. Certainly, football and basketball and hockey drew record-breaking attendance, but that was where the success ended. Sports like golf, wrestling, bowling, and tennis continued their surge in proficiency in everything except crowd-drawing. Swimming finished fifth in the state with nary a supporter in sight.

When asked if he thought the presence of a larger crowd would’ve made a difference, golfer Andrew Zawie ’16 gave an emphatic yes, recalling his 121-yard hole out mid-season.

“If there was a crowd, I’d probably have body surfed,” Zawie said.

But despite this relatively minor misstep, President Zupan was – and for the remainder of the year, still is – one of the more charismatic leaders this school has had. Like El Presidente last year, Zupan won over the student body early on, and this effect has never worn off.