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Vocations classes host speakers from the Archdiocese

Our Lady of Grace couple Dan and Sheryl Moran spoke to BSM seniors about marriage. (Emma Eldred)

Vocations classes host speakers from the Archdiocese

May 11, 2012

Giulia Imholte and Katie Sisk

The hype turned out to be more than the actual event. In November the Archdiocese announced plans to have speakers on marriage visit all of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Catholic Schools, and what students expected to be a controversial discussion––after reading about the heated question and answer session at DeLaSalle––ended up being an uneventful,... Continue Reading

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BSM hockey players weigh options for their future in the sport

Ryan Collins is one of two sophomores that have recently made the decision to play for the U.S. NTDP next school year. (Emily Kruse)

BSM hockey players weigh options for their future in the sport

May 9, 2012

David Nelson and Peter Best, Staff Writers

Hockey is a fast-paced sport that lives off choices that need to be made in milliseconds. It’s a sport where one wrong choice can be the difference between success and failure. Sophomores Jack Glover and Ryan Collins were given the opportunity to play in the USA National Team Development Program (NTDP), based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This decision... Continue Reading

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Shannon Stroh

(Emily Kruse)

Shannon Stroh

May 21, 2012

Leila Aboussir, Online Photography Editor

Lights come up, voices start ringing, and the band starts playing their instruments. Shannon Stroh has been an avid member of the BSM theater department since her entrance into the school, but is rarely seen on the actual stage. Yet, Shannon’s dedication alongside her sarcastic, witty personality has made her an extraordinary member of the tremendous... Continue Reading

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Fun. releases ‘Some Nights’ album

The band experimented heavily with hip-hop inspired beats and auto-tune––though Ruess’s crystalline voice doesn’t need it. (Vinyl Records)

Fun. releases ‘Some Nights’ album

May 2, 2012

Lauren Effertz, Staff Writer

Three years after dropping their first album, “Aim and Ignite,” the New York-based indie pop band fun. released “Some Nights.” fun. is a supergroup of sorts; lead vocalist Nate Ruess formed the band after the break-up of The Format, guitarist Jack Antonoff also serves as the frontman for Steel Train, and keyboardist Andrew Dost is from Anathallo. Overall,... Continue Reading

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Four speech members place at State tournament

Anna Landis, Juliet Beckstrand, Rachel Hogen, and Sian Last represented BSM at the State Speech tournament where they all placed in the top eight. (Maura Brew)

Four speech members place at State tournament

April 30, 2012

Shannon Galvin, Staff Writer

On Saturday, April 21, BSM speech team members headed to Chanhassen High School to participate in the Minnesota State Speech tournament. At the end of the day, four students, seniors Anna Landis, Juliet Beckstrand, Sian Last, and junior Rachel Hogen, all placed in the finals. Landis placed third in Poetry, Beckstrand placed second in Great Speeches,... Continue Reading

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The Road to Prom
Boys’ hockey takes home the State championship
Pond Hockey tournament organized to raise money for Jablonski
Rising actors partake in Les Miserables performance
SportDateOpponentResultW/L
Boys LacrosseTue, May 15 Spring Lake Park21-0W
BaseballTue, May 15 Bloomington Jefferson7-5W
SoftballMon, May 14 St. Francis3-4L
BaseballMon, May 14 Fridley13-2W
Boys LacrosseSat, May 12 Minnetonka6-16L
BaseballFri, May 11 St. Louis Park7-3W
SoftballThu, May 10 Blake23-1W
SoftballWed, May 09 St. Louis Park18-6W
Boys TennisWed, May 09 Robbinsdale Armstrong1-6L
BaseballWed, May 09 Irondale10-2W
Boys LacrosseTue, May 08 Totino-Grace13-3W
Girls LacrosseTue, May 08 Spring Lake Park13-11W
Click on any sport above to see a full schedule for that sport.
SportDateTimeOpponentLocation
BaseballMon, May 21 4:15Holy AngelsHome
Boys TrackTue, May 22 NSConference OpponentsTotino-Grace
Girls TrackTue, May 22 NSConference OpponentsTotino-Grace
Girls TrackTue, May 22 NSConference OpponentsTotino-Grace
Boys TrackTue, May 29 Section OpponentsTBA
Girls TrackTue, May 29 Season RecordTBA
Boys LacrosseTue, Jun 05 1:00TBAChanhassen
Girls LacrosseTue, Jun 05 1:00TBAChanhassen
Boys TennisTue, Jun 05 1:00TBABaseline Tennis Center
SoftballThu, Jun 07 1:00TBACaswell Park
Boys TrackFri, Jun 08 TBAHamline University
Girls TrackFri, Jun 08 TBAHamline University
Click on any sport above to see a full schedule for that sport.

Home > Opinions > Skip-a-Final should be based on grades

Skip-a-Final should be based on grades

Emily Busch
October 25, 2009
Filed under Opinions

We all know that skip-a-final has been canceled because of the flu. Rather than letting the skip-a-final policy dissapear into oblivion, this is the perfect opportunity for the administrators to edit and revise the skip-a-final policy. A new skip-a-final should be based on grades not on perfect attendance.

If a I have an “A” in a class, obviously I understand the material. I should not be retested on material that I clearly know and understand. I should not be required to take finals in classes that I have a good grade in.

There are many advantages to having a skip-a-final based on grades. The first is that students would be more motivated to get good grades so they would work harder throughout the school year to learn the materials right away rather than cramming at the end of a semester and hoping to boost their grades.

Many juniors and seniors are aware of the stress of AP US History, they spend hours defining terms, answering questions, and studying for tests. By the end of the semester they have learned mass amounts of information, and the last thing they need to do is spend hours studying for a final in a class when they have already proven that they understand the material.

With a skip-a-final based on grades, students’ stress levels would be lowered because they would be able to focus on one thing at a time throughout the semester, rather than so many topics in so many classes right before finals.

When the semester ends, I won’t need to spend time studying information that I already understand because I will skip those finals. Instead I will be able to work on understanding subjects that I struggle with and do not have an “A” in.

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3 Responses to “Skip-a-Final should be based on grades”

  1. Drew Frenz Says:
    November 5th, 2009 at 8:48 pm

    Having an A in a class doesn’t actually say anything about how well you understand the material. Grades have absolutely nothing to do with knowledge, and anyone who thinks they do obviously lacks both an ability to observe their own life and an ability to think independently from what they’ve been told their entire life.

    Also, if I’m not mistaken, APUSH doesn’t even have a final. If it does it was so insignificant that I have no memory of it; that class is largely about busy work.

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  2. Evan Bakker Says:
    December 1st, 2009 at 8:30 pm

    In any given high school class there are about 20 ways to get an A, (in college there’s only one way, and that’s to understand the material which is why college is considered harder) therefore I do agree with Drew that getting an A by no means constitutes a knowledge of the concepts. One could then say since the grade doesn’t mean anything then no the point made in taking a final at all, but it’s the only way to assess a general understanding of the courses, even if they’re usually easy.

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  3. Anna Says:
    January 6th, 2010 at 1:08 am

    I think that skip-a-final should have been based on assignment completion in highschool rather than attendance. If you get sick, but still do the assignment on time, you obviously care about doing well in the class. That kind of behavior should be rewarded by being able to skip a final, not coming to school when you are sick and getting other people sick, or the people who never missed a class, but also have little to no participation, and don’t do their work.

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