Northeast Band Clinic
   Three Ripley High students--Kate Haynes, Dana Morton, and Hillary Medlin--participated in Northeast Mississippi Band Clinic this past weekend. Approximately 114 students were chosen from over 300 who auditioned for the band. After seven hours of practice, band clinic participants performed for family and friends in an afternoon concert held at Itawamba Junior College.

Students Paid for Grades
2/1/09 Rubio

A few years back, when students received good grades on their report card, they got pats on their backs from their parents. Today, however, in some areas, not only do they get pats on their backs, they get money for it.
   According to the Chicago Tribune, over 5,000 freshmen at twenty Chicago public high schools gain money in cash for earning good grades. Every five weeks, students are checked in math, English, social sciences, science and physical education. Any student in the school areas of Chicago will receive $50 for an A, $35 for a B, and $20 even for a C.
   At the end of his or her sophomore year, a straight-A student could earn up to $4,000. This offer goes to the sophomores, too. The program aims for freshmen and sophomores because research shows a correlation between how well students do during the two years of high school and students being at risk of dropping out.
   However, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, schools pay

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Questioning the Production of the Electric Car
2/18/09 Rubio
      According to msnbc.com some motor agencies such as General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Co., and Chrysler LLC barely survive from their profits in developing plug-in electric cars at a time which they spent billions of dollars. However, these companies fear that price of gas will falls far too low when they bring out the cars next year and that people will not buy them. With this loss of sales in mind, they believe all the high-priced research will have gone to waste.
   GM and Chrysler have been recently
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RHS Seniors Chosen to Take NAEP Test
naep cut Candice Hana
01/29/09 Haynes
  Despite snow and sleet, Ripley students came to school while surrounding county schools closed. Yet, seniors still missed their first two classes in order to represent Mississippi by taking the NAEP test.
  After the test, students found that the particular test that they had taken was given on different levels.  While some seniors stated that the reading test was
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Birth to Octuplets
02/04/09 Rubio 1 Comment

   In January a 33-year-old single mother had octuplets besides the fact that she had another six kids from two to seven. Nadya Suleman says that she can love and care for her fourteen children even if she struggles being unemployed. Suleman stated that she chose to be a single mother. All fourteen children were conceived by sperm donated by the same father.       At the beginning, she requested six embryos implanted; however, two of her children resulted twins.    According to NBC chief medical editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman, estimated the cost of delivering the infants and caring for them until the babies grow healthy for them to leave the hospital with their mother at $1.5 to $3 million. Meanwhile, hospital officials said that six boys and two girls came in good condition but will not let them

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Shopping Favorites Liquidate
02/01/09 Rubio
    With the looming darkness of our economy, students are finding some their favorite shopping spots are closing down.
   For those who like coffee, especially from Starbucks, that company lost about 6,700 jobs whereas Walgreens lost 1,000 jobs.  Even Home Depot cut back on about 7,000 jobs.
   Enthusiasts of Goody’s have found that Goody’s has been closing stores since last summer. Goody's filed for bankruptcy protection in June; the company closed and liquidated dozens of underperforming stores, ended a distribution center in Arkansas, a corporate office in New York, an associated distribution center in Tennessee, and its e-commerce business.  According to AccessNorthGa.com, the outlook for Goody’s is grim: at present no buyers or
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Phone Ban
2/1/09
To all teen drivers using cell phones behind the wheel: Watch out. The National Safety Council is requesting a national driver ban on cell phone use along with any hands-free devices. According to a study from the National Safety Council, approximately 636,000 car crashes annually can be traced back to simply using a cell phone while behind the wheel, causing over 12,000 serious injuries and 2600 bereavements.
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Fortune 500
02/6/09 Stubbs

    The Economic Crisis has finally taken its toll on corporate businesses across the United States. Many Fortune 500 Companies have been laying off thousands of workers, closing some store locations, and even shutting down the entire company. Among these stores are Circuit City and Linens n’ Things.

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Math and Science Team Competes at BMC
2/08/09 Haynes
Biology students of Ripley’s Math and Science team placed third overall in this morning’s competition at Blue Mountain College.  Those testing in biology were Rachel Walker, Caleb Stubbs, Reed Lindsey, and Kara Morton. Those representing Ripley in chemistry were Michael McBryde, Amanda Cooper, Kate Haynes, and Chris Kenney; those students in math were Brea Rich, Craig Chunn, Matthew Rainey, and Laneasha
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