E. O. Smith High School

E. O. Smith High School, named after Edwin O. Smith, is a secondary school located in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It serves the towns of Ashford, Mansfield, and Willington, which together make up Connecticut's Regional School District #19. E.O.

Students from surrounding towns, such as Coventry and Windham (Connecticut) may also attend E.O. Smith, as participants of the school's Agriculture Education program, if their school does not offer an "Ag" program. The E.O. Smith campus lies adjacent to the larger campus of the University of Connecticut

Clubs and Activities

E. O. Smith offers a wide variety of clubs and activities for students to participate in, both after-school and during "activity periods," hour-long blocks of time that occur roughly twice a year. Sports include Baseball, Basketball, Cheerleading, Crew , Cross Country, Dance Team, Field Hockey , Football, Fight Club, Ice Hockey, Softball , Soccer , Swim and Dive , Tennis , Track and Field(Indoor and Outdoor), Volleyball, and Wrestling. These sports compete in the Central Connecticut Conference Eastern Division (CCC East). E.O. Smith has been successful in several sports, including Cross Country, where the boys team won the CCC East title in 2004, 2005, and 2006, and the girls team were runners up in the CIAC Class L meet. [cite web |url=http://www.casciac.org/gcc07l.shtml |title=2007 L Girls Cross Country|accessdate=2008-03-25 ] In addition, the school has several Unified Sports teams that practice and compete, including Unified Soccer, Unified Basketball, Unified Track, and Unified Bowling.

E.O. Smith boasts several strong academic teams, notably the Quiz Bowl, Science Bowl, and Math teams. After qualifying for the NAQT High School National Championship Tournament for the first time in 2006, the Quiz Bowl team enjoyed a strong 2006-2007 campaign, with the "A" team finishing the season ranked 97th in the country (out of over 2000 teams)and 1st in New England with a 23-4 regular season record and 2nd place finishes at the 2006 Long Island Fall Tournament and 2007 MIT Beaver Academic Tournament, as well as a semifinals berth at the 2006 Yale Fall Tournament. Both the "A" team and the "B" team (who finished 4th at the MIT Beaver Tournament) received berths to the 2007 NAQT HSNCT. Having qualified at the 2007 Yale Fall Tournament, the "A" team will be attending the 2008 NAQT High School National Championship Tournament.

E.O. Smith and UConn

E.O. Smith also shares a special relationship with the University of Connecticut in that students are allowed to take classes at the university free of charge during the school year. Both UConn and E.O. Smith credit is given for a successful completion of a class, such as math, language, psychology, or music. E.O. Smith also offers UConn Co-operative classes similar to other programs offered throughout the state.

Grading Scale

Currently, E.O. Smith offers classes on a weighted scale. AP - A - B - level classes are considered college-level classes, and G levels are TECH . The APA is calculated out of 6.3 points. An 'A' in an A-Level counts for six points, and 'A' in a B-Level counts for five points, and an 'A' in a G-Level counts for four points. Unfortunately A+s were not being counted as anything more than an A, thus B level students would not receive weighted B+ credit if they were to obtain an A+ in their class. The scale of grading is now out of 6.3 possible points, instead of 6.0, to compensate for lack of an A+, making the A+ a seventh grade, but at a loss to weighted GPAs.

The school year is broken down by Interim Reports, which occur halfway through a quarter, Report Cards, which are issued once per quarter, and Final Exams, which occur twice a year, at the end of each 2-quarter semester.

pecial Privileges

E.O. Smith currently has in effect a privilege system. Through academic achievement, students gain privileges, namely choice of study hall area for sophomores and juniors, and Open Campus for seniors. If a senior has earned this privilege, they are allowed to come to school when they have classes, and leave when those classes are finished. They are not required to stay on the school grounds for the entire day. In addition, those seniors who have earned a "blue card" for open campus may visit the businesses across the street.

enior Projects

E.O. seniors must complete a year-long, self-directed "senior project," which is a requirement for graduation. It includes written papers, community service work, a presentation to the school community, and research on a topic chosen by the student. Three teachers generally advise the student during the process, and grade the project upon completion as either highly successful, successful, or unsuccessful. A minimum grade of successful is needed for graduation.

Notable alumni and faculty

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*Peter Tork - Musician, member of The Monkees
*Rivers Cuomo - Musician, front-man of the band Weezer
*Tim Page - Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and author
*David O'Connor - Nationally recognized economist [cite web |url=http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/author/O/David_E._O'Connor.aspx |title=David E. O'Connor |accessdate=2007-03-07 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group]
*Kevin O'Keefe - Author [cite web |url=http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/051219ta_talk_collins |title=FIELD STUDIES |accessdate=2007-03-01 |last=Gotham |first=John Q. |date=2005-12-12 |work=The New Yorker]

References