On April 14, sophomores took the California High School Exit Exam, juniors took the Smarter Balance Assessment, while freshmen and seniors took the day off.  The Smarter Balance Assessment was administered in order to test the merits of the exam.  According to Principal Kim Diorio, the test was a great success.

The administration is also working on administering Advanced Placement (AP) tests. According to Diorio, the administration is sorting out pre-registration for the hundreds of AP students who will be taking the tests in May.

“We’re working on pre-registration right now, which is big,” Diorio said.  “It takes a lot of planning.”

The administration is planning  the baccalaureate and graduation for the class of 2014, both of which take a lot of work, according to Diorio.

“We’re really focused on getting through the next six weeks,” Diorio said.  “There are a lot of end-of-year events that we must plan, like Senior Awards Night, lots of department awards, baccalaureate and graduation.  We also must plan Powder Puff football and field day, so it’s a lot.”

The administration has been trying to speed along the construction and is preparing for its completion in the near future.  On April 15, Diorio met with the facilities and construction crew to discuss the landscaping of the new performing arts center. On April 16, Diorio had a facility steering committee meeting to discuss the aquatics area of the gym.

At the facility steering committee meeting, Diorio also discussed when people can expect to move into the buildings that are under construction.

She also discussed the coordination of these moves, because it will be the administration’s responsibility once construction ends.

Diorio expects people to move into the buildings either in May or over the summer. On top if its end-of-year duties, the administration is already planning for the beginning of the upcoming school year.

“We’re already looking at next year’s calendar and scheduling events,” Diorio said.

The administration is working on finding teachers for next year. It will need to hire two English teachers, a journalism teacher, a physics teacher and a biology teacher.

The list of teachers who will leave next year includes Mike McNulty, who is retiring; Kirk Hinton, who is going to teach in Africa and David Cohen and Kelli Hagen, who are both taking a leave of absence.