The Way of the Ram

Ah, the new school year. What better way to have the beginning-of-school-assembly than to look at the faces of the awkward freshman, the talk of swine flu, and how we have the biggest population the school has had yet… exciting so far.

There are a couple of things that have changed since last year. Apparently the halls and hall passes will be monitored more carefully. I have not yet been checked for a hall pass, but when that day comes, I will gladly comply with anything that one of the security guards asks of me.

The assembly went down the same way it normally does: Mr. Gross was talking about the “no bullying” policy that he says every year. He also brought up the “dress code” that our school has. As long as students wear clothes that they would let their parents see them in, I see no problem. But I have seen a few girls wearing what I can’t even count as a shirt. Mr. Gross says, “If you are showing skin, cover it up.”
Mr. Gross started to get philosophical with his goals for the year. It is not a bad idea to have goals for the end of the year or even the end of the quarter. I have a goal to make sure that at least some of the students get to read this article. It’s healthy to have goals. Next on the agenda was the “No Hats” rule. Unless you have a religious belief that says you have to wear a hat, you are not allowed to wear one. I heard someone talking about how they have a religious loving of the Patriots so they have to wear a Patriots hat. Although witty, I don’t think that the security guards or Mr. Gross is going to let your football-loving self wear the hat.

Mr. Gross then made a smooth transition into talking about how we go to a college prep school. He told us what he expects from each and every one of us. Mr. Gross is right; it is a privilege to go here for a couple of reasons. One of them is the fact that if you are going to attend college, it will look great on a college resume that you graduated from this school. The other reason is that we get laptops which are what Mr. Gross spoke about next.

About the tablets be smart with them. The teachers have learned over the years that anyone can go onto the internet while it looks like they are on Microsoft Word. So they have installed a program called Dyknow which allows them to see your computer screens and exactly what you are doing. Please, leave the Tetris for home.

To end the ceremony, Mr. Gross showed the school a little cartoon that made everybody chuckle which featured a man telling his son, “The secret of life is to shut up and listen.” It is your choice if you want to abide by the cartoon. But I assure you that school will be much easier if you just do what all the teachers say because if you get on the teacher’s good side then you can goof around more and they will not get mad at you.

Finally Mr. Gross told us that the future is in our hands. It is a good idea to listen to that statement; it can be a great year or a not so great year. It is up to you. So remember to always have a hall pass, don’t bully people, don’t wear hats, and always remember the way of the ram…