The Story
Today at BHS, students are participating in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
Again?
Yep. Last time we tried to do it, there was a major glitch with the system. The software that the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services used for the electronic version of the survey had a 600 user limit – a problem for a school of roughly 1500 students all trying to complete the survey at the same time.
Did they fix it?
Well, not exactly. But students will take the paper version of the survey instead of the electronic version. That includes students who did manage to make it into the survey the first time.
When are students taking it?
BHS is following a modified schedule today to accommodate the survey. It features a combined Advisory A and B in between blocks 2 and 3 which will be used to take the survey.
What exactly is this survey?
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey is a nationwide survey conducted by the CDC. It is used to monitor potentially risky behaviors in young adults that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability. The survey was designed to determine the prevalence of certain behaviors in groups and monitor them over time. Pretty heavy stuff.
Anything else?
Of course. BHS has a different wonky schedule on Tuesday to allow for more advisory time so that advisories can celebrate Thanksgiving. In addition to shortened classes, there is no school on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday for Thanksgiving break. The Runaway Bulldog is thankful for less class time!
The Runaway
Pay attention! This week is pretty out of the ordinary.
What to Say…
When those kids won’t get off their dang phones…
Due to an increase of in-school cellphone usage, Jozo sent out a not-mad-just-disappointed email last week. In the eyes of some adults, if a student has a stomach ache, headache, attitude, or bad grades, the phone might be the cause of such ailments. Because of their phones, students are getting distracted or not paying attention in class. So the school has decided to reinforce their cell phone policies in the classrooms. If a student is caught with their phone in their hand more than once per class, they must serve their punishment by putting said ‘evidence’ in jail (the assistant principal’s office) for five days – from first bell to last bell. Outrageous, we know – but it is in the school handbook so we guess the school does have the right to enforce their policies. Having your phone out to play a quick game of Retroball in the middle of class just got a lot riskier. Higher stakes = more fun…?
When you’re looking ahead to April…
Only one grade has gotten to experience the quintessential BHS adventure – intersession; the two day (or longer) expedition that all students participate in right before the start of April vacation. Seniors were able to do intersession during their freshman year. It’s hard to believe that the last COVID-free school year was back in 2019 along with VSCO girls and ‘Old Town Road’. Regardless, intersession is back on this year, although none of the international trips are running due to… well… the lunacy and illegality of travelling across borders right now. Sign-ups for this year’s intersession closed for seniors last Thursday, and all payments are due the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Junior sign-ups run from Nov. 30th – Dec. 2nd, sophomores from the 7th to the 9th, and finally, freshmen will sign up from the 14th to the 16th. As always, it’s a good idea to have plenty of backups ready in case the one you’re hoping for gets filled – especially if you’re an underclassmen. Don’t expect to be a freshman going to Disney! The catalog is linked here in case you need to make a quick last minute decision. Further information about timeline, registration and payment can also be found on that website.
Things to Know
We had company…
That shelter in place drill at BHS last week was actually a cover for the Bedford PD’s resident drug sniffing dog to come check out the lockers. That’s why it lasted so long. Don’t worry though, the K9 didn’t find anything of concern.
For those starving for sports…
Winter sports tryouts begin next week, starting on Monday 11/29.