In an effort to support breast cancer awareness, the Staten Island chapter of Making Strides Against Breast Cancer held their annual walk on Sunday, October 17, 2010 at Clove Lakes Park. In the end, over $305,000 was raised for cancer research.

Breast cancer is a cancer that affects hundreds of thousands of women and men nationwide. Breast cancer survivors and patients from all over Staten Island attended the walk and contributed by volunteering, walking, and participating. It takes an enormous amount of strength to overcome any cancer, let alone breast cancer.

“I always feel like I did what I had to do to stop the breast cancer, and after the cancer is gone, you say to yourself, ‘How in the world did I do that’,” said eleven year breast cancer survivor, Rita Albergo.

She was one of the many breast cancer survivors that attended the walk to raise hope for the women struggling to overcome breast cancer. “Everyone should be aware that there is hope, no matter what,” said Albergo.

Although breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women, there are approximately 2.5 million survivors of breast cancer in the United States living healthy lives. Efforts in states throughout the country have been made to get peoples’ attention about breast cancer.

In Orlando, Florida, radio station 106.7 declared October 15, 2010 “PinkTober Day” encouraging people to wear pink for breast cancer awareness. Another Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk was held on Sunday, October 10, 2010 in Orange County, California which raised over $140,000 for breast cancer research.

Even our school was involved in the fight against breast cancer. Students from the College of Staten Island High School attended the walk to show their support and roses were sold by the Pepe advisory with the proceeds going to breast cancer research.

All of the efforts being made to support breast cancer awareness are saving thousands of lives and bringing hope to all diagnosed breast cancer patients.

“People are joining together, not just watching from the sidelines,” said Lymphoma survivor, Patricia Rizek. “We’re all a family for one day.”

These events are bringing people together and creating a bond that gives patients the support they need to fight breast cancer.

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This year’s Jingle Ball will be held on Friday, Dec. 10, 2010 at Madison Square Garden.

New York radio station, Z100, announced its all-star cast on Oct. 25, 2010. Performances will be made by Katy Perry, Selena Gomez, Taio Cruz, B.o.B., Paramore, Bruno Mars, Travie McCoy, Michael Bublé, Enrique Iglesias, and Justin Bieber.

There will also be famous guest hosts for this event, including Jay Sean, Jesse McCartney, Sean Kingston, Emily Osment, Flo Rida, Just Jared, Kim Kardashian, Jersey Shore’s DJ Pauly D, and much more!

Tickets were available to Ticketmaster members on Nov. 1, 2010, but opened to the entire public on the following day, November 2.

Z100 partnered up with Musicians On Call, a charity, which brings live and recorded music to patients in healthcare facilities. The money that is made from Jingle Ball will be benefiting Musicians on Call. This charity is an important cause. They are thankful for the donations because it’s a non-profit organization. This charity, formed in 1999, complements the healing process for patients, for families, and for caregivers.

“I feel amazed to be going to Jingle Ball. I’m so excited because I get to go backstage and meet everyone who is performing. I can’t wait to meet Justin Bieber again, this will be my sixth time meeting him,” said sophomore, Gianna Bruno.

Unfortunately, Jingle Ball tickets are officially sold out, so the only way to get tickets is to win them. Tune in to Z100, (100.3), for opportunities to win Jingle Ball 2010 tickets for the concert and maybe even for exclusive backstage passes.

To pop culture admirers, listeners, and to the fans of Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, etc., don’t miss out on this year’s rockin’ Jingle Ball concert event. Like Christmas, Jingle Ball only comes to town once a year.

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Professionally dressed students came – wide-eyed – into their transformed classrooms and school offices to hear from an impressive variety of adults, working in an equally varied number of fields.

“Career Day really opened my mind to what I want to be when I get older,” said junior Samantha DiMarco, who wasn’t alone in heralding the event’s successes. “I didn’t expect to see enthusiasm from our junior and senior students. From hats to heels and dresses to jackets, they really went all out and it made us all very proud,” said Parent Coordinator Annette Lentini.

Students were able to sample life and professional lessons from a dizzying array of presenters from entertainment executives to world renown chefs. Some student favorites included freelance multi-lingual translator, Jisu Kim, CFO Matt Signore from Warner Music Group, and Financial Planner John Ross.

Everyone wants to be successful when they get older, and good grades are a big part of achieving that goal. Many jobs today need more than a college diploma. Many seek out students who are doing significant post graduate work.

“At this age students usually don’t care or don’t know what they want to be at the moment, but when you get older you have to keep in mind to love your job,” said John Ross an Agency Sales Director, Financial Planner.

Overall, the day was a real outside-the-box learning experience for everyone, and a real boon for our school.

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Since health class is not offered, the SPARK, Ms. Hattie Slaughter, at our school decided to incorporates health into advisory. SPARK is a program that offers individual and group assistance on positive alternatives. Even though Ms. Slaughter teaches the sophomore advisories with regular health lessons, it is not the same as having an actual health class.

According the Department of Education, health class is not mandated for students to take as a specific class, which is why we learn health class through advisory.

Health class should be mandated to take because having health class through other classes is not always beneficial. By not having a specific class dedicated to health it is not guaranteed that you will have a health lesson everyday and it is important for students to learn about health.

“Health class is to inform students on their mental and physical health and to teach good eating and exercise habits. It is also to teach the importance of health. By teaching health poor nutrition, and drug and alcohol awareness are prevented,” said Ms. Slaughter.

According to Ms Pastena only one health credit is required to graduate, so the lessons that would be taught in a traditional health class are taught throughout the four years of advisory.

“Learning about health class in advisory is important because we get to learn about how to live a longer healthy life and the bad effects of drugs,” said sophomore Ashley Heyne.

Ms. Slaughter is not always available to teach health lessons, which is why health should be part of our curriculum. Without a health class students don’t learn proper things they need to know for their everyday teen life.

The few Advisors who are teaching about health are helping their students to become more aware of their bodies. Ms. Orlando’s advisory is currently focusing on alcoholism and drug abuse.

“I think it’s important for students to learn about health because it helps them become aware of their bodies, as well as the poor influences in society,” said English teacher Melissa Orlando.

According to Ms. Pepe, health is an important subject that covers everything from nutrition to issues that teens face in today. It may help students to talk about topics that they may not be able to discuss with their parents or friends. It also can help in knowing the facts on certain subjects instead of guessing.

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Guitars, drums, and a few more international instruments combined to open the second Holiday Concert with a bang. With proceeds going to Haiti, students and faculty filled the auditorium with joy. The performers breezed though the concert with seeming ease while the audience bobbed their heads in tune to the beautifully arranged music.

The highlight of the night was the Winter Wonder Rap. Screaming students were ecstatic when freshman Leo Krkuti rapped in tune with the instrumental music played by the remainder of music students.

“In guitar, we practiced real hard on the Winter Rap and I was happy with how it went,” said freshman Calissa Mc Cue.

Closing the second annual Winter Concert was an inspirational story, Christmas Eve Sarajevo. Narrator freshman Victoria Manzo led the audience through the story with a passionate voice as music accompanied her.

The audience left not only with an earful of good music and a great performance but also with the pride of knowing that they had a chance to help out Haitians who were devastated by the earthquake by dropping money into the upside-down drum just outside the auditorium doors. Overall, $250 was collected for Haiti.

“I felt great donating because knowing a dollar or two can help someone in need was the best part of attending the Concert. I think the performers were great and have wonderful talents,” said sophomore Gilana Levin.

Preparations for both events began in the beginning of the first semester. For the freshmen students in the music classes, a five month deadline for an anticipated perfect concert was difficult despite the amazing result.

” It turned out being an awesome concert even though we had such little time to prepare. It was very good, and the crowd loved it,” said freshman Samantha Escobedo.

Of course, Mrs. Packowski had her hands full juggling two events.Only one day after the Winter Concert, H Block music students participated in a community Drum Circle with special needs students from PS 37R.

A Drum Circle is just a simple gathering of two communities who intend to share music and play together. Our school hoped to share its unique international music and instruments with students from another school community.

The Drum Circle began with students from the visiting school listening to an introduction about drums by doing a drum roll. Junior Caileen Gonzalez broke the silence by playing a classic game of Simon Says with the kids. Who doesn’t love Simon? Afterwards, the kids had a chance to play a beat on the conga, a Cuban drum, according to the number of syllables in their name.

“I loved the Drum Circle,” said visiting student Christopher V.

The drum circle wasn’t only for students but for the participating adults as well. The teachers from PS 37R appeared to have a blast playing the drums with everyone.

“I think it was a wonderful introduction. My students loved it. I can’t wait to do it again,” said teacher Darlene Bowman Archer.

Along with the teachers and students, the H block students also enjoyed working with everyone and teaching them how to play drums.

“It was a great experience. I enjoyed it very much because I love little kids,” said senior Brittany Llorca.

The entire Drum Circle was a success, though of course it had to conclude with a even greater bang. H Block students began to play a familiar song, The Lion Sleep Tonight, on their instruments as the visitors clapped in tune. Aisha Musa sang while everyone else clapped and played their instruments.

“I liked the song at the end, The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” said visiting students Joshua M.

Later, the H Block students shared cupcakes with their guests as they said their good-byes.

The community drum circle that took place on January 15, 2010 was a complete success and went as planned. Now, Mrs. Packowski is awaiting the next one to yet arrive.

“I think it went very well. It was a first time experience for the facilitators to work with students close to their age outside of this school. I think it’s wonderful that we can reach out to our community and bring them this rare and rewarding experience,” said Mrs. Packowski. “The Staten Island community at large will have an opportunity to participate in a community drum circle offered in late February.”

As the music department grows and established itself within our small yet mighty community, we can expect many more opportunities and events at school. For now, we give you all a big thumbs- up!

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According tohttp://www.novareinna.com, the custom on Valentines Day in Denmark isto be humorous and have fun. Danish men give females a valentine letter known as gaekkebrev (or “joking letter”) The sender of this gaekkebrev writes a poem but does not sign his/her name. Instead, he signs the message with dots, one dot for each letter in his name. If the lady who receives the card guesses the name of the sender, then she is rewarded with an Easter egg later on that year.

According to www.everythingvalentinesday.com, Scotland celebrates a Valentine’s Day festival. At the festival, an equal number of men and women’s write their made up names on paper and fold it half, and put them into two separate hats.The men choose from the women hat, and the women choose from the men’s hat. If the names that were drawn don’t match, then the male is matched with the woman who chose his name. The ladies pin the name of their partner over their heart or on their sleeves. Later, there’s a dance where everyone meets up and they celebrate with their partners.

In France , a custom known as “drawing for” once occurred because later on becomes banned. According to, http://www.novareinna.com unmarried individuals would go into houses facing each other and begin calling out across from one window to another, matching up with the chosen partner. If the young man failed to be interested with his valentine, he would leave her. Later, a bonfire will be lit where the ladies could burn images of the ungrateful partner and say bad things while the picture burns. This ritual was eventually banned by the French government because people would abuse one another. Today, the French exchange greeting cards known as cartes d’amities, which contain heartfelt messages.

In China, Valentine’s Day is celebrated somewhat like it is in the U.S. “Gentlemen purchase flowers for the ladies,” said Geometry teacher Ms. Anney Li. In Chinese high schools, flowers are sold and they are distributed to the classrooms, like we do at our school. Restaurants are definitely places that older couples go to, to eat on Valentine’s Day. Many different countries celebrate Valentine’s Day. Whether it’s going out to eat, celebrating a festival, or watching pictures of ungrateful men burn in fire, like in France. “I personally like Valentine’s day because I think it’s nice to feel special on that day, to know you are loved by someone else,” said junior Marisch Perera. Valentine’s Day should be celebrated with the ones you love, and in a unique way.

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Sonia Rykiel, the “Queen of Knits,” began designing in 1962 when she was pregnant and unable to find any soft sweaters. Rykiel, who recently made an appearance on NYCTV’s, Video Fashion Daily, explained how her knitted approach is both fresh and elegant. Her style is depicted throughout her numerous embellished studded and sequin belts, wrapped over tailored knitted cardigans and dresses.

According to The Fashion Book, published by Phaidon Book Company, Rykiel states how she loves knit because it is “very magical, and sophisticated enough for the evening.” A shimmering Sonia Rykiel dress was worn by Kate Bosworth at the Grand Palais in Paris, celebrating Rykiel’s new lingerie collection for H&M. February 20, 2010, will mark the release of a second collection featuring an iconic knitwear collection for women and girls as well as playful accessories. After all, frivolity is a major theme this season. According to Nathalie Rykiel, president and artistic director of Sonia Rykiel, “The world is tough and you just have to have fun. Play around with your clothes in a way that’s different.”

Bright stripes, colorful scarves, 70’s style frizzy hair, and neon heels are also crucial to this coming season. According to style.com, Rykiel also hit the current idea of the big soft fun fur as a huge bubble of color; in her case, baby pink, purple knitted fox or teal-blue Mongolian lamb. During Paris Fashion Week, Sonia Rykiel showed her own collection for next spring.

There, she displayed gorgeous ruffled dresses in vintage floral and polka dot prints. By the time three models vamped their way down the elevated runway in metallic silver-and-black striped sweaters and skirts, it was inevitable that this seasons clothing was boisterous yet couture. Rykiel’s smocked dresses had a 70’s vibe, while crystal-strewn knit dresses mirrored the embellishment on her popular Domino bag. The seasons slogan read garçon manqué, which means tomboy, which was inspired by Rykiel’s tree climbing youth.

“Sonia Rykiel’s dresses are unique, but some girls are able to pull off her designs better than others,”said junior Danielle Ianazzi.

However, Ennio Capasa, the “mix of couture and the street,” is very different from Rykiel. His elegance is depicted throughout his use of toned down colors and sheer fabrics. His moment in fashion is used to open minds, and create fashion diversity in the future. According to Capasa, “Open backs, royal blue and black, and the mixture of dresses and high boots” is very important to him. Ennio Capasa is the creator of Costume National, the Italian fashion house he founded in 1986. He is now an internationally renowned designer label, famous for his subtle shapes, dark tones and sartorial detail.

“Capasa and Rykiel are both very different, but they both have a style in which I enjoy. I would wear Sonia Rykiel if I were going to a party or a club, but I would wear Capasa if I were going to a white tie affair, or an elegant event,” said senior Samantha Wong.

Both elegance and fun are essential to the fashion industry. So remember ladies, peace, love, Sonia Rykiel and Ennio Capasa.

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This December featured a UN meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark intended to tackle the issue of climate change on a global and political level. Despite the proceedings in New York prior to Copenhagen, major unresolved disputes and disagreements between nations prevented smooth negotiations.

According to the UNFCC, the views of the U.S., China, and the European Union were the main obstacles that prevented the creation of a binding agreement.

“The reality of climate change is not in doubt I have to be honest, I think our ability to take collective action is in doubt right now, and it hangs in the balance,” said President Obama while addressing other world leaders, negotiators, and UN delegates.

According to members of the UNICEF’s Climate Change Team, Kerry Constabile and Sue Lee, it is tough for UN discussions to occur because a hundred countries are involved and the same arguments reappear.

Managing and financing any planned initiatives are common problems as well because they raise questions such as who will lead the fight and who will pay.

“It’s tough to set the same carbon emission standards for every country because of the difference in lifestyles among people in developed and undeveloped countries, and those same undeveloped countries need room to industrialize, so they need to be allowed to raise their carbon emissions,” said journalist, political adviser for Singapore’s ASEAN branch, environmental policy expert, and professor Simon Tay.

President Obama touched upon these difficulties while suggesting a solution that may work only through ‘Mitigation’, ‘Transparency’, and ‘Financing’.

Mitigation would involve setting standards for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, setting targets and deadlines for each country according to their contribution to climate change.

Transparency would allow nations to check each other’s progress, or the lack of it. This would ensure that each nation that signs an agreement follows its demands.

Finally, financing would primarily help developing nations transition to using greener and cleaner energy and technology.

China, Brazil, and the EU put several similar plans forward, and other nations contributed to the discussions too; however, a consensus seemed highly impossible with conflicting interests.

Regardless the controversies, the weeks of negotiating did have highlights.

“We underline that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. We emphasize our strong political will to urgently combat climate change in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities,” states Article I of the Copenhagen Accord, released on December 18.

Besides agreeing to the fact that climate change is happening the accord also addressed what needs to be done.

Article II states, “We agree that deep cuts in global emissions are required according to science, and as documented by the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report with a view to reduce global emissions so as to hold the increase in global temperature below 2 degrees Celsius”

Even though the Accord sounds promising, it is simply an international declaration. An official agreement has been delayed, and will hopefully be created at future Climate Change meetings scheduled this year and the next.

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Did you know that car accidents are the number one killer of teens in the U.S.? According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), in 2008, about eleven teens were killed in car crashes everyday. The Department of Transportation claims that a horrifying six thousand deaths were caused by inattentive drivers that same year.

“That’s a horrifying statistic when you consider that accidents caused by drivers using cell phones, texting, or taking their eyes off the road are entirely preventable,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood when announcing Focus Driven, an advocacy group for victims of cell phone related motor vehicle accidents.

We’re all taught from a very young age to wear our seatbelts and not drive while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. But perhaps the most dangerous distraction while driving is something as common as a cell phone. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates 1.6 million teens drive while reading or typing messages.

Texting has become one of the fastest and easiest forms of communication. Even adults and parents have picked up the habit. As fast and easy as it is to type out a text, it’s just as easy to end a life.

“Using a cell phone while driving is a common thing many people do. They don’t realize how dangerous it really is. It’s one thing to pick up the phone while your driving, but when you text you are physically taking your eyes off the road,” said police officer Johnny Pena of the 76th Precinct.

According to a 2009 survey by the Allstate Foundation, 49 percent of teens consider cell phones to be distracting, and think it is the number one distraction when behind the wheel. Yet, 82 percent of teens still admit to using cell phones while driving.

“I have voice to text recognition on my phone. I can just talk into my wireless headset, and a text will be sent to whomever I say in my phonebook,” said senior Corinne Mueller.

Many people are under the misconception that hands-free cell phones are safer than head-held cell phones. However, according to the University of Utah, hands-free phones are just as dangerous because conversations with others delay reaction times.

According to Allstate, cell phones are the most common distractions for drivers. But multitasking drivers have to pay the consequences for their actions. New York is one of six states that ban all hand-held cell phone use while driving, and also one of 19 states that recently put a ban on texting for all drivers.

“Under the new law, drivers can no longer read or send text or picture messages on their handheld device or laptop while their car is in motion. Lawbreakers face fines up to $150,” said William J. Smith, Communications Director at the District Attorney’s Office of the Richmond County.

Mr. Smith also said that in New York, anti-texting fines can only be imposed as a second offense. That means only if the driver appears to be breaking another law, he/she can receive a summons for texting. These summonses, which are issued by the NYPD, are processed by the DMV.

But the price of the lives that are put in danger when a driver is behind the wheel intexticated shouldn’t be compared to a mere fine.

If we admit to using phones while driving, and we know how dangerous it is, then why do we still put ourselves at risk? It’s not just about drunk driving anymore. There are so many distractions that can endanger not only your life, but the lives around you.

KeeptheDrive.com is a great resource to learn more about texting while driving, and how to be a great driver. It provides real stories and solutions to drive safely. So when you take the wheel, hold on to it. Put your phones down, avoid a crash, and save a life!

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If you rode the New York City Subway on January 10, 2010, you probably experienced an unusual holiday. For the past nine years, January 10 has been declared No Pants Day by the comedy troupe Improv Everywhere.

The idea of No Pants Day is for thousands of New Yorkers to ride the subway in their underwear and act as if nothing is unusual. The reactions from fellow riders are priceless.

The event began at 3:00 pm at six meeting points through out the city, Foley Square and Central Park in Manhattan; Prospect Park and Bushwick in Brooklyn, and Flushing Meadows Corona Park and Astoria in Queens. The participants were then split up into groups by their birthday and the last digit of their cell phone number to be assigned their route and the car they would be riding in.

“We used 10 subway lines spread out all over the city, though sadly we didn’t use Staten Island as there is no direct subway route. We picked routes that would lead our participants to Union Square in about a half hour’s time,” said Charlie Todd, founder of Improv Everywhere.

All of the routes required a transfer at Times Square and converged on Union Square for a pantsless celebration. The three thousand participants formed conga lines around the park, held break dance competitions, and sang a pantsless rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.

The participants flooded the local businesses. Some were on high alert, while others such as Heartland Brewery and Starbucks warmly welcomed the pantless brethren.

The event’s most exciting component was the reactions from fellow passengers.

“I was on the 1 train when two college age boys entered the train at Franklin Street without pants. I thought it was an initiation for a fraternity until two pantless women got on at Houston St. After that, I thought I was losing my mind until somebody told me it was a prank,” said a rider who wishes to be referred to as Denise.

Tourists looked on in awe at the unusual sight. When asked why they were not wearing pants, the participants were instructed to say they simply forgot their pants and they didn’t know why the other participants aren’t wearing pants.

“No Pants is always a fun event for me personally because I enjoy watching the reactions from the New Yorkers we encounter. Even as it gets more popular as the years go by, there are always people seeing it for the first time,” said Todd.

The New York event has grown from seven participants to over 3,000 in this year’s rendition. The No Pants Subway Ride has also become a global holiday, with participants in cities all over the US, as well as in South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

While the event began as a prank, it has evolved into a de facto underwear parade. However, the spirit of the event has not been lost. The priceless reactions are what keep the event going.

If you are seeking a memorable experience and a feeling of comradery, think about participating in the 2011 No Pants Subway Ride. Remember, don’t show up if you are not going to take off your pants.

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