CHS Weekly Announcements
For the Week of May 3, 2021
Yellowjackets of the Week
Here are your Yellowjackets of the Week brought to your by your SGA: Ms. Kathy Britt and Anyla Banks.
Ms. Britt has the sole responsibility this year for making sure the media center runs smoothly. She has been an asset assisting students and teachers with computers during the pandemic. Ms. Britt also supervises students during and after school, helps with technology issues, and enforcing school expectations.
Anyla Banks is a sophomore this year at CHS and school service chair of the Student Council. She is always ready to step up to any challenge to ensure she is successful in academics as well as school activities. Anyla has been doing an amazing job providing the student body with school information on the Toilet Talks.
Congratulations to Ms. Kathy Britt and Anyla Banks, your Yellowjackets of the Week!
Players 58 Podcasts
Players 58 is finishing our unusual season off with i am not your/you are my. This podcast is a series of monologues, poems, and stories written and performed by Center High School's thespians!
i am not your/you are my started as a project where students wrote two distinct creative writing pieces. One piece would end with "I am not your ___" while the other "you are my ___." It because obvious that students had a lot to say. There are performances here that are raw and vulnerable, some uplifting and sentimental, devastatingly sad, and others and proudly defiant.
Players 58 hopes that listening to their stories will help you develop a deeper appreciation and understanding at how complex and sometimes sad and messy and wonderful and confusing it is to be a young person.
You don't know them, but you can.
i am not your/you are my will be available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube on April 23, 2021.
Student Government Association applications available for the 21-22 school year
Hello Center Scholars! SGA applications and Class Officer applications are now available online on your student website portal. Or, click here to apply.
If you want a hard copy, please see Mrs. Giangrosso or Mrs. Krivena for an application.
Great job opportunity for Center High School kids
There is a new business opening in the Red Bridge Shopping Center - Cookies & Creamery. They are very enthusiastic entrepreneurs who live in the neighborhood and they are committed to building a fun and profitable business that is a positive force in our community.
They are starting to hire their team and really want it to reflect the diversity of our community and would love to have Center kids be a part of it.
This is a great opportunity for kids to have a fun part time job that will also give them a unique chance to learn about building a business from the ground up.
Application link below:
Important Senior Information
Josten's Orders
If you missed picking up your Graduation Announcements orders, you will need to go to the Josten's office. Their number is 816-523-4900. Please contact them for details.
You will pick up your cap & gown on May 14th in conjunction with the Project Grad celebration.
Yard Signs
Seniors can come up to the office and pick up their Senior yard sign Monday through Thursday from 8am to 2:30 pm.
Senior fees
Seniors need to log into the ICampus Portal and look at what fees are on their account. If you have questions or concerns about a fee, please contact Ms. Walker at 816-349-3423.
Fees can be paid online through the portal, or in the office to Ms. Walker Monday - Thursday, 7:45am - 3:30 pm. Please remember, we only accept, cash, money order, or credit card payments, no checks.
Don't delay, get your fees paid today!
Rare and Amusing Insults: Cockalorum, Snollygoster, and More
Cockalorum
Definition - a boastful and self-important person; a strutting little fellow
Once upon a time book titles were a touch more ... adventurous than they are today. Take, for example, the slim volume of songs and anecdotes the British publisher J. Fairburn foisted on an unsuspecting public at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries: The Cockolorum songster, and convivial companion, for 1800: Being a collection of monstrous good, monstrous droll, and monstrous bad, songs, introduced by some eccentric anecdotes of my cousin, the noble grand cock. Also a few cockolorum sentiments. Yes siree, they don't title 'em like they used to...
In addition to describing a boastful person, cockalorum can be used in referring to the boastful talk (and also for the game of leapfrog. If cockalorum suggests a crowing cock, that's because the word probably comes from kockeloeren - an obsolete Dutch dialect verb meaning "to crow.”
The darned little cockalorum! If is weren’t business I’d have soaked the tar out of him. He would grudge the old soldiers their pensions!—has the nerve to talk to me about my cigars!
—The Los Angeles Times, 27 May 1916
Snollygoster
Definition - an unprincipled but shrewd person
There is much that we do not know about snollygoster: where the word comes from, whether it is connected to snallygaster (“a mythical nocturnal creature that is reported chiefly from rural Maryland, is reputed to be part reptile and part bird, and is said to prey on poultry and children”), and whether this is the sort of word that one should avoid putting on a resume.
What we do know is that snollygoster was first used in the nasty politics of 19th century America. One amateur definition of the word dates to 1895, when a newspaper editor explained "a snollygoster is a fellow who wants office, regardless of party, platform or principles...."
Now here I am, a rale self-propelling double revolving Snolly Goster, ready to attack anything but a combination of thunder-lightning-smoke-railroad-iron, and hot water.
—Democratic Free Press (Detroit, MI), 1 Jan. 1846
Pillock
Definition - a very stupid or foolish person
Pillock (which has also on occasion been spelled pilloch, pillok, and pillick) is one of the hundreds of euphemisms for the male sexual organ in the English language. The Oxford English Dictionary records the earliest known use of the word from the mid-16th century (a fruitful time for genitalia euphemisms), and for several hundred years this was apparently the main sense of the word. However, beginning in the late 20th century pillock took on another meaning, which is that of an idiot or fool of some sort. Both of these uses are almost entirely confined to British English, and the word has little currency in the United States.
There is a season-ticket holder at Southampton to whom every referee will always be a “daft pillock.” —The Guardian (London, Eng.), 17 Jan. 1977
Lickspittle
Definition - a fawning subordinate; a suck-up
Lickspittle (the etymology is pretty self-explanatory with this word) is part of a grand pantheon of English words for sycophants. We have bootlicker, toadeater, ass-kisser, apple-polisher, and fart-catcher … wait, scratch that last one; a fart-catcher is a footman. The point is, we have many words for the sort of person who, you know, licks spit. Although the word was long thought to have been the product of the 19th century, recent findings show that we have been referring to lickspittles since the middle of the 17th.
They are most of them Barbers, Taylors, Panders and Procurers, Parasites and Lick-spittles: There are also by report some gallant Courtiers amongst them.
—Joseph Hall, Psittacorum Regio, the Land of Parrots, 1669
Smellfungus
Definition - an excessively faultfinding person
It is not often that we know who created a particular word, despite the claims that are made about such-and-such writer inventing this-or-that word; such claims are usually false. In the case of smellfungus, however, we not only know who coined the word (Laurence Sterne), we also know who it is supposed to represent (Tobias Smollett). Stern created a hypocritical character named Smelfungus in his 1768 book A Sentimental Journey through France, a satire on Smollett, whose Travels through France and Italy had been published two years earlier.
The matter of whether smellfungus is properly pluralized with an -i or an es has never been established. Both forms are found in occasional use, and you should employ whichever suits your fancy.
These were diluted into a combined mass of travels, by the Smellfungi and Mundungi within the century, and blazoned forth in all the pomp and parade of novelty, preceded by a very pretty preface, in which the tourist affects to be led, like blushing maiden, to the printing office, by the relentless persuasion of friends. —The Sunday Times (London, Eng.) 21 Sept. 1823
There are some two or three things the Smellfunguses all admit, we believe, and beyond that, nothing that they think will be pleasant to us to hear.
—Daily Ohio Statesman (Columbus, OH), 30 Apr. 1850
Ninnyhammer
Definition - ninny; simpleton, fool
The word ninny is probably a shortening and alteration of "an innocent" (with the "n" from "an" getting transferred to the noun) and "hammer" adds punch. Innocent hammer, while a fine choice of name for your Metallica polka cover band, did not have quite what it takes to make it in English as a fixed phrase.
Horses, will bee head-strong as vnnurtured Lobcockes, and snap their bridles in pieces as fast as hops; the powerfull prouender shall make them swell in the belly like a sullen girle in the cheeke, or a wench after toying and that will cracke girts apace: but for conclusion diuers women shall saddle their poore Husbands backes, and make plaine Ninny hammers of Noddies. —Thomas Dekker, The Owles Almanacke, 1618
Mumpsimus
Definition - a stubborn person who insists on making an error in spite of being shown that it is wrong
Supposedly, this insult originated with an illiterate priest who said mumpsimus rather than sumpsimus ("we have taken" in Latin) during mass. When he was corrected, the priest replied that he would not change his old mumpsimus for his critic's new sumpsimus.
The old mumsimus wyl not here the word of the lorde but draw backe: the new sustmus be so forewarde euen beyond the word of the lord, ye they care nomor for the word of the lord then wil serue their coueteous luere to fyl ther lustes, to serue for their envyous and cruell mynd, And to lyue in al abhomynatyons. —Philip Nicolls, Here Begynneth a Godly New Story, 1548
Milksop
Definition - an unmanly man; a mollycoddle (a pampered or effeminate boy or man)
Milksop literally means "bread soaked in milk." Chaucer was among the earliest to use milksop to describe an unmanly man (presumably one whose fiber had softened). By the way, the modern cousin of milksop, milquetoast, comes from Caspar Milquetoast, a timid cartoon character from the 1920s.
Milk also serves as compound indicating cowardice in milk-livered (“kind of like lily-livered, but with more milk and fewer lilies”). Should you have need of an adjective meaning “resembling or of the nature of a milksop” you are in luck, as English has two such words, milksoppy and milksopping.
I'll be bound, for Charles he's been seein' to the poor fellow, here these milksops sit as if 'were nailed to the stools 'cause they're got a wife, would'nt give 'um for a squadron o'ye, how do'st 'do Charles did'st give the poor fellow something to put 'um comfortable?
—Anne Newport Royall, The Tennessean, 1827
Hobbledehoy
Definition - an awkward, gawky young man
Hobbledehoy rhymes with boy: that's an easy way to remember whom this 16th century term insults. Its origin is unknown, although theories about its ancestry include hobble and hob (a term for "a clownish lout”). The earliest known use of the word comes from a 1540 translation of Gulielmus Gnaphaeus's The Comedye of Acolastus, in which it is used in an attributive sense, referring to young men's "hobledehoye tyme" (further explained as "the yeres that one is neyther a man nor a boye, at which yeres our voyce changeth").
Pettifogger
Definition - shyster; a lawyer whose methods are underhanded or disreputable
The petti part of this word comes from petty, meaning "insignificant" (from the French petit, “small"). As for fogger, it once meant "lawyer" in English. According to one theory, it may come from "Fugger," the name of a successful family of 15th- and 16th-century German merchants and financiers. Germanic variations of "fugger" were used for the wealthy and avaricious, as well as for hucksters.
And now, seing his auntient and opposite enimie the Pope, hath foysted in among us Petifoggers, who (like sheete stealers, tinckers, or Connyskin buyers) creepe in corners to utter their trash,. —Henri Estienne, The Stage of Popish Toyes, 1581
Mooncalf
Definition - a foolish or absentminded person
The earliest meaning of mooncalf was a false pregnancy, a growth in the womb supposedly influenced by a bad moon.
...in that they haue not a charge of their bodies but the cure and care of their soules and as Midwiues to discerne the moone calfe from the perfect fruite of weomen so Preachers should not bring forth moone calues. —Ralph Tyler, Five Godlie Sermons, 1602
Mooncalf then grew a number of additional senses outside the womb. One is a literary word for a deformed monster (for instance, in Shakespeare's The Tempest, Stephano entreats Caliban, "Mooncalf, speak once in your life, if thou beest a good mooncalf”). Another sense is that of “simpleton.”
Thou Mercury very Ridiculous, Thou Bloxford flye,Thou Moon calfe, born that very hour, on that very dismall fifth day of the moneth (you remember the Gun-powder Treason) when thy brother G. Faux was caught with a dark Lanthorne.... —John Booker, A Rope for a Parret, 1644
Saltimbanco
Definition - a mountebank; a person who sells quack medicines from a platform
Quacks (also known as quacksalvers) were a bit nimbler several hundred years ago, if the etymology behind some of the words for them is any indication. Both saltimbanco and mountebank involve climbing, or jumping up onto a bench. Saltimbanco comes from the Italian word of the same spelling, which literally means “one that jumps upon a bench,” and mountebank comes from the Italian montimbanco (montare, “to mount” & in, “in” & banca “bench”).
There was Priam likewise, that came for an Unguent for a burn; but the Saltinbanca had not enough, for the whole City of this poor Prince was all burnt.
—Cyrano de Bergerac, Satyrical Characters (trans. by 'a person of honour'), 1658
Smell-feast
Definition - one given to finding out and getting invited to good feasts
The smellfeast is a special kind of parasite; one who is able to detect the presence of fine food and drink before it is on the table. Some 19th century editions of Noah Webster’s dictionary included a secondary definition, “A feast at which the guests are supposed to feed upon the odors only of the viands,” but this sense has long since fallen out of fashion.
This is the Practice of your Smell-feast Friends, while you keep a plentiful Table they are your most Humble and Obedient Servants, but when the Accommodation fails, like Tartars, they seek for other Pastures.
—Anon., The Fables of Pilpay, a Famous Indian Phylosopher Containing Many Useful Rules for the Conduct of Humane Life, 1699
From the Merriam-Webster website
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/top-10-rare-and-amusing-insults-vol-1/cockalorum
8 AP Study Tips to Get Through AP Exams - or any exams really (from Get Schooled)
Rank your AP exams by difficulty.
This will help you prioritize your study-time. Spend less time on the AP subjects you feel confident about, and more time on subjects you find more difficult.
Get your notes out. All of them!
You’ve been taking notes on each lecture, right? AP classes are taught around the structure of each AP exam, so everything your teacher talked about in class, and all assigned readings are fair game. If you want to be sure about the final exam topics, clarify them with your teacher and make frequent reference to AP Free Response Questions.
Take practice exams.
If you’re taking exams online, you can access the AP Exam’s digital testing application beginning April 8. Use it to answer practice questions similar to the ones you’ll see on your actual exam, and to get familiar with how the site works. You can also check out AP Classroom for practice questions and progress exams to make sure you’re on the right track.
Make sure your technology is ready to go.
If you’re taking exams online, you’ll need to make sure you’ve installed the digital testing application on your computer before the day of your exam. If you’re taking more than one, you’ll have to set up each individual subject on the application. This is also a great time to test out your internet connection!
Pull out your old quizzes/tests.
Review them to see how much you've learned, refresh your knowledge of material from earlier in the course, and make sure you’re clear on any test or quiz questions you made mistakes on.
The night before the test, sleep!
Your brain will thank you. While you sleep, your brain will sort what you've studied to help you recall the information you need during the test.
The day of the test, hydrate and eat a good breakfast/lunch.
Get that mind body connection working for you during your test by ensuring you're hydrated and have had a nice, healthy meal before your exams!
BONUS tip: Take advantage of Free Response Questions (FRQs) available for every AP exam
The best way to get ready for any AP exam is by practicing with actual questions from the test. You can do exactly that with AP Free-Response Questions (FRQs). You can find FRQ’s for every AP subject here.
For more information about your standardized exams and how they have been affected this year by COVID-19, be sure to read through our SAT, ACT, and AP Exam Updates page or log into your AP College Board portal.
From: https://getschooled.com/article/5470-5-study-tips-to-get-through-ap-exams-video/
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About Us
A fully accredited A+ School
Website: https://www.center.k12.mo.us/center-high-school
Location: 8715 Holmes Road, Kansas City, MO, USA
Phone: 816-349-3330