[JuliaGreen]

The Killer Bees have used an application and interview process for many years. One reason we do this is to get to know the students better - we know how the team functions and we know what type of skills we are looking for. We do this every year - returning and new students. We do exit interviews for our seniors.

Sometimes, students want to join the team because they think colleges are looking for "extra-curricular" involvement. Sometimes they want to join the team to get some extra days off of school when we travel. Sometimes they want to join the team because a significant other is on the team. The application and interview process tends to help them decide this is not the place to improve your resume, sleep schedule or relationships. This year, we had students who originally were interested in the team because of these reasons - and some of them really, really like STEM now that they have done cool stuff with the Killer Bees.

We also have students on varsity basketball teams in the winter. These students have to make the hard choices about what comes first (no pun intended!). There were days during build season where they did a full day of school, a full practice and then a full team meeting. Homework was done between classes, at lunch, in the car and late at night. As these students became more involved in the Killer Bees, they are re-considering what comes "first". As with any team, if you don't show for practice, you don't show on the floor or field. You show up on the bench.

We have fees to be on the team - siblings on the team pay 50%. The fees are enough to cause a person to think about what is important. And we don't turn students away because they can't pay the fee. We make it work.

To quote our friends from 51 " You get out of this what you put in to it" - Great Life Lesson for all.

Julia