Category Archives: Education News

New salad bar coming to Patterson

Posted on by Leave a comment

By Brennan Meeks

Patterson is getting a new salad bar for our students, staff and teachers during the week of October 15th-19th . The salad bar will be located in the cafeteria and will be open during lunch period only. Some students think it is a good idea to put a salad bar in the school because it can really help the students stay focused and on task. The salad bar will provide students with a way to eat healthy, gain energy, and get educated. There will be different types of salads to choose from so everyone can enjoy something they like. The salad bar will help our school improve and become healthier.

This is the first year that Patterson has installed a salad bar in the school cafeteria. If you have any questions about the salad bar, please see Ms. Diehl in the Health Corps room (across from the gym) for more information.

Principal Benton reveals his plans for the new year

Posted on by One comment
Principal Vance Benton

Mr. Vance Benton, Principal of Patterson High School (Photo: Brenden Williams, Patterson Press)

Interview by Jevaughn Taylor

The Patterson Press sat down with Principal Vance Benton to discuss some of the recent changes that have been made to the school and to keep up to date about more changes that are being planned for the 2012-2013 school year.

Patterson Press: What are your plans for the 2012-2013 school year?

Mr. Benton: To continue to improve student behavior and culture and implement meaningful change, especially to shape students’ lives and to strive  to be one of the top 5oo schools across the country.

Patterson Press: How do you feel about the changes you have made?

Mr Benton:  It feels good. I’m not satisfied with how things are right now but I am confident that we are moving in the right direction.

Patterson Press: How do you feel about feel about the students?

Mr Benton: Some students want this to be an ordinary school but i want it to be an extraordinary school for us. Fights are not acceptable in our school. We don’t let our circumstances shape us! We shape our circumstances.

Patterson Press: Can you share some of the future plans you have for the the school with us, if you don’t mind?

Mr Benton: Our day care should be up and running soon as well as our salad bar and QBA [in-school suspension].

Patterson Press: Some students think that with all the hall monitors, police officers, and resource officers in the school, they are being treated like criminals. What do you think about that?

Mr Benton: You’ve got some students who don’t come to school on time, either in class on time, don’t stay in class, and they steal and rob the other students,  teachers and other staff members who are trying to help them. We need more [officers] in the building, and I am sick and tired of seeing poor students that don’t have an education.

Patterson Press: Can you just give a small word of advice to the students?

Mr Benton: Students need to know how to decipher what’s good and what’s bad. If our students don’t start turning off that music and that television, they are going to self -destruct.

The Patterson Press would like to thank Mr. Benton for his time.

Community Fair brings school and neighborhood together

Posted on by Leave a comment
Participants join in a traditional Mexican dance

Participants join in a traditional Mexican dance (Photo: Patterson Press)

By Brennan Meeks

Patterson High School held a Back to School Night and Community Fair on September 20, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. The event was held mainly in the cafeteria but spread out into hallways and classrooms because there were so many things to do and see. Many local organizations from the Bayview area came out to support our school and inform students and their families about the services they provide. Among the community partners present were Johns Hopkins University, the Building STEPs program, CASA de Maryland and the Refugee Youth Project. Johns Hopkins Medical Center even sent a giant truck that provided free HIV screening and other medical services. Patterson put its many different resources and programs on display, such as sports, career pathway programs, health programs and much more.

Patterson had many visitors from the community, such as a local McDonald’s, which came to support us by giving away free sandwiches.  There were exciting entertainment acts, including a belly dancer, a hip-hop group and a a group of traditional dancers from Mexico. At the fair, the school also provided meals for teachers, students, staff, and families that were involved in the fair. At the fair, there were prizes that you can win just by completing a task. Also on display were many Patterson clubs that students can join. The Patterson Press table even featured old issues of the school newspaper dating back to the World War 2 era. The school store was open for anyone who wanted to purchase Patterson logo-ed shirts, mugs, pens, binders and much more.

Many Patterson students volunteered to help set up and run the fair, earning community service hours in the process. All of our Patterson family participated in this special event, making this year’s community fair a huge success.  We hope to do it again next school year. We would like to see a lot of family, staff members and students come back next time. Our mission is to make our school one of the top 500 schools in the nation, and this year’s community fair showed that we are well on the way to achieving that goal.

Rayvis Mitchell contributed to this article.

Ms. Diehl from Patterson's Health Corps, demonstrates how to eat a healthy diet. (Photo: Patterson Press)

Ms. Diehl from Patterson’s Health Corps, demonstrates how to eat a healthy diet. (Photo: Patterson Press)

CASA de Maryland

Latino rights organization CASA de Maryland promotes the Maryland Dream Act, which would grant more rights to undocumented immigrants in Maryland.  (Photo: Patterson Press)

Female coaches

Patterson’s female coaches encourage students to get involved in athletics. (Photo: Patterson Press)

belly dancer

A belly dancer performs for the crowd (Photo: Patterson Press)

Nail tech

Ms. Bridgeforth’s nail tech students give hand treatments and manicures. (Photo: Patterson Press)

eating

Students, family members, staff and visitors enjoy a meal together. (Photo: Patterson Press)

Clipper Corner

The school store (now called the Clipper Corner) sells Patterson T-shirts and other gear to students and visitors. (Photo: Patterson Press)

Free medical screenings

Health professionals provide free medical screenings on their mobile trailer. (Photo: Patterson Press)

Twilight: a hard lesson with even harder consequences

Posted on by Leave a comment

By Jakai Hunter, Patterson Press staff writer

In public high schools across the country there is a program called Twilight. It’s really like night school but on the internet. Now, normally if you’re doing Twilight, that means one of two things: Either you had a class and failed it or the class could not fit into your schedule and you are forced to take it in Twilight.

In a way, students are fortunate to have Twilight because otherwise some of them would not be graduating. The price of Twilight and the hours during which you are required to work on the program can prevent you from finishing or even starting it. Managing your time will be your number one priority when it comes to doing Twilight, but some students do not even bother to sign up for Twilight, not because they are in one of the situations I mentioned earlier but because they simply refuse to do it. Little do they know, it will soon become a decision they deeply regret.

As many students know, if seniors who fail to complete Twilight can not participate in any senior activities and cannot graduate from high school until the course or courses they are required to pass are completed. If you have been informed that you need to take Twilight, my advice is to take it seriously and get it done as soon as possible so you can move ahead with your life.

Recent Entries »