European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 28, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes monday. August 28,1989 education news new school year brings changes Bidav Walczak education writer More than 100,000 students in Europe begin the 1989-90 school year today under significant changes including a stricter attendance policy increased courses for College bound students and a grading system that rewards those enrolled in those courses. Sec related Story Page 9. John Stromple director of the depart ment of defense dependents schools announced the changes last Spring but decided to wait until the beginning of the 1989-90 school year to implement them. The revised attendance policy states that unauthorized student absences cannot be tolerated and insists that students must attend regularly and punctually in order to remain  previous policy stated that unauthorized absences arc not to be taken  students who skip a class will automatically be Given an of for any work required on the Day that they were absent. The imposition of the Penally Fol Lowed complaints by teachers that Stu dents were Given passing grades or better whether they attended classes or not. Frequent truancy can result in expulsion under the policy but Region and District school officials said each Princi pal will decide what constitutes frequent truancy. In another change every High school will offer honors or advanced placement courses this year As part of an expanded program aimed at providing More challenging courses for students. The school system allowed High schools to hire one teacher above their allotted number to help provide instruction for the courses. Advanced placement courses offer students the Chance to receive College credits. To earn them students must pass a test by the College Board the same organization that provides the Scholastic aptitude test. More than 90 percent of the colleges and universities that most advanced placement candidates attend give credit and or advanced placement to students with a test grades thai arc considered acceptable. The College Board offers such tests in More than 20 areas including computer science Art economics and music. Advanced placement courses arc not altogether new to the overseas school sys tem.  High school for example has offered advanced placement English since 1969. However few of the High schools have offered advanced placement courses. In 1986, the last year for which advanced placement lest scores for Dodds Stu dents arc available More than 2,900 Stu dents graduated from High schools in West Germany but fewer than Iso took even one a test. High schools will offer expanded Hon ors courses in conjunction with the drive to add academically challenging courses. Honors courses will require More work than traditional courses. Students enrolled in advanced place ment or honors courses will see their Grade Point averages Rise. Students who earn an a in either honors or a courses will earn five Points instead of the traditional four. A level students will re Cievo four Points and a la vol students will Cam three. The weighted grades will Only affect students transcripts and will not change their class rank or make them eligible for class valedictorian or salutatorian. How d you spell champs ? up a to is a Lemm new nor. Daniel Puzzo 12, with his 9- ear old sister Joanna.  writer Torrejon a Spain if you go to school at Spang Dahlum elementary in West Germany and you can t spell gangrene get out your dictionary and get ready. The Puzzo arc coming. Daniel Puzzo now 12, spelled gangrene correctly two years ago when he won the spelling Bee at Royal Oaks elementary in Madrid. He won the same contest with a somewhat healthier sounding word  this past year he moved to another Madrid school that did t offer spelling bees so he could t compete. Instead he coached his sister Joanna a third grader. She won by spelling  but red faced school officials misspelled her name on one of the awards and had to give her another one. Everyone keeps asking us when we re leaving so they can have a Chance Megan Puzzo. Mother of Fth two prodigious spellers said earlier this summer at Torr Jon a not far from Madrid. Well that time is coming. Her husband master sol. Thomas Puzzo is being transferred to the 52nd tac fighter Wing at Span Dah Lam a a not far from the West German Luxembourg Border. The family is scheduled to arrive in West Ger Many in Early september. West Germany features autobahn and cuckoo clocks and . Schools located there sponsor regional spelling bees and the Opportunity to compete in the United states. Spain does t. So Puzzo was a bit miffed that her children the Best spellers at Royal Oaks for three contests never got a Chance to compete at a higher level. I m not saying they would win she said. But they should be Given their  a feisty woman from Belfast Northern Ireland she s written letters to a former British prime minister about her father s unemployment and to the Stan and stripes about her children s linguistic wizardry. For his part Daniel Puzzo has a simple Way to Cor rect spelling. The family does t sit around the dinner table read ing dictionaries aloud. He said he was just Given a list of 2.000 words to study for the spelling Bee and he studied. That s All. He reads a lot. But he also likes some of the More common 12-year-old pastimes such As football soccer basketball and Little league baseball. His Mother said he had trouble spelling some of Fth Shorter words the ones with four or five letters. But the judges did t ask him any of those. Joanna 9, was a pleasant Surprise her Mother said. We did t push her too hard because her concentration in t so great on these kinds of  in fact she quit and her parents let it go at that. But when she had second thoughts her older brother stepped in and helped her study for the spelling Bee which she won in May. Their father was a straight a student and second Grade spelling Bee Champ but Thomas Puzzo said he can t remember what word he won with Way Back when. The Puzzo children said there s no secret to precise spelling. You just have to study hard Daniel said. Gotta know your  Here Are new principals in Dodds system Belgium shape High school Juliana Cardon England Croughton Middle school Robert  elementary Wolfgang Plakinger Lakin health Middle school Georgia William Little Tissington elementary Bernice Johnson Greece Athens elementary Mario Pfisterer Alfred to Mahan High school Larry Howard Italy Aviano elementary John Murphy Comiso elementary High school Harvey oct la Maddalena elementary Sam Minnii Tinaple elementary Jean Waddell Vicenza elementary Gilbert Espinosa  elementary David morn s so Sterberg High school Paul Ristow Spain Rota elementary Robert Ludwig Royal Oaks Madrid elementary David Labuhn Scilla elementary Gunc Vicic Rucker Torrejon elementary Herb Reynolds Zaragoza elementary Tom Hogan Turkey Izmir elementary High school Terry Emerson West Germany Augsburg High school Gene Knudsen bad sibling elementary Noel Tillman bad nauheim elementary Sherry Temple Lon Baum older High school Robert Brinton Darmstadt Junior High Dan Basarich Aguerberry Frankfurt elementary Denise Cuddy Frankfurt elementary Ardille Hamilton Frankfurt High school Edward Siemaszko Fulda High school Bruce Davis West Germany Germer Shim elementary Gic Ssan elementary Gic Ssan High school Gap Pingon elementary Junior High Hanau Middle school Hanau High school Heilbronn elementary Junior High Johann Kalb Nurnberg elementary Karlsruhe elementary Mannheim elementary Ntim Borg Middle school Primo sons elementary Junior High Schwabish Hall elementary Simbach elementary Ulm elementary win him elementary Charles Ragland Mary Ann Burkard jct Hagmeir Linda Mccauly Robert Sennett Douglas pc Lucy Susan Martz Cothran Larry sessions Cynthia Gessling Lorraine Shanoski Daniel Robinson Joc Zuckerman Mary Kubas Meyer to Bennett Barnard Norman Raflee Carol Ackermann