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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In a study done by scientists at Imperial College London, evidence was found that electrical fields from televisions, computers, and other everyday electronics can cause illnesses like asthma, influenza, and other respiratory diseases.

“ Tanning can be fatal if the eyes are unprotected. It can cause change in the skin and cause skin cancer,” said Pediatric Neurologist Dr. Giri Dharan.

According to the scientists the electrical fields given off by a great variety of household items, which include televisions, lamps, computers, cookers, and wiring charge tiny particles in the air such as viruses, allergens, bacteria, and extremely toxic pollutants.

Since these particles are so small, they are always in the air, being breathed in constantly. The charge that the particles pick up from nearby electronics makes them stick to the lung tissue and the respiratory tract, causing different infections in the body.

“I believe electronics are a necessary part of life because everyday we rely on electronics to get through our day. Also electronics have performed miracles in the medical field to help those sick become better. Our society has become so dependent on electronics that we need it for everyday life. Without it society will crumble and reduce our civilizations to that of prehistoric life, for example back to the era with cavemen,” said junior Derrick Tam.

Today society has become extremely dependent on electronics, suggesting that society cannot survive without them.

“I think they [electronics] are completely necessary because they come in handy for emergency situations. iPod’s distract people from unpleasant situations, pretending to text helps in awkward situations and cameras record memories. I don’t believe microwaves are necessary because they’re cancerous. Anything you can microwave, you can put in a toaster oven and it’ll taste one hundred times better. The world would stop revolving if Computers were eliminated,” said junior Alessandra Asperti.

Over the past few years, a big concern among people is whether cell phones can cause brain cancer. Many scientists, including Naohito Yamaguchi, have done studies on this theory but more research needs to be done to know for sure. These studies all come to the same conclusion, that there is no evidence that links cell phones to cancer or other health problems.

According to Environment, Health, and Safety Online (EHSO), Naohito led a study in February of 2008 with the Tokyo Women’s Medical University. This study compared the affects of phone use in 322 people diagnosed with brain cancer and 683 healthy people. They came to the conclusion that using a cell phone did not dramatically affect people’s chances of getting brain cancer.

“There’s no practical evidence that electronics are dangerous to people’s health,” said Dr. Giri .

The cell phone controversy will go on for years until scientists have rock solid evidence that there is no link between cell phones and brain cancer. However there are some suggested precautions to take.

Using a headset or speakerphone mode will move the phone and its antenna away from the head. Also the effects of cellular damage are greatest on developing organisms (children), so phones should be kept away from them.

Lastly if in a car, use an external antenna, which will move the source of radiation farther away. These are just several helpful precautions suggested by EHSO.

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Just to brush up on what we’re sure we already knew but maybe just forgot, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act was established by Bush in 2001 in hopes of improving the national education system. It enacts the theories of standards-based education reform, which is based on the belief that setting high standards and measurable goals can improve individual outcomes in education. In fact, it is very comparable to our school’s SMART goals.

Like our SMART goals, the NCLB act has not been without some disapproval. Most of this stems from the way by which these set standards are measured- testing, school evaluations, and more testing. Schools are encouraged to focus only on reading and math test taking skills, as opposed to a more creative and individual approach to education. This approach may even be going back on the ultimate goal for the NCLB Act- to prepare students for careers. Knowing how to do better on a test without knowing the material itself cannot get a student very far in life.

“Some students just aren’t good test takers, but that doesn’t mean they’re not smart,” said junior Glenn Kugelmann. “A school with lower test grades doesn’t automatically mean it’s worse.”

That is why we believe it’s crucial to be shadowing Obama’s plans at this time. Though no concrete plans have been made yet, Obama has said he wants to keep the NCLB Act though with drastic alterations to certain parts. Rather than rating school solely on student test scores and placing all the administrations’ focus on testing, the president proposes to replace that system with a new accountability stem that incorporates many new factors.

“We want accountability reforms that factor in student growth, progress in closing achievement gaps, proficiency towards college and career-ready standards, high school graduation and college enrollment rates,” said Education Secretary Arne Duncan when announcing the proposed changes earlier this month.

As with many of his other reforms, Obama also wishes to invest billions of dollars in reforms for education in the States. As announced in his 2011 fiscal year spending plan, the president has allocated almost $50 billion towards education this year, which is $4 billion more than last year. Of that, a total of $1.3 billion of the additional money requested for the department would finance a third round of Race to the Top, a competitive school improvement grant program.

The program is essentially a competition between participating states and districts for the title of the ‘most reformed’ school and the extra money that comes with the title. New York is a participating state in the competition.

“If you set and enforce rigorous and challenging standards and assessments; if you put outstanding teachers at the front of the classroom; if you turn around failing schools – your state can win a Race to the Top grant that will not only help students out-compete workers around the world, but let them fulfill their God-given potential,” said Obama as he introduced the program in July 2009.

Competition never served anybody wrong. It makes our phone bills lower, health coverage better, and it may just make our education greater as our administration has some extra motivation for improvement.

Nothing is yet concrete in terms of Obama’s education reform. Yet, from what we’ve heard, things are certainly on the right track. Less emphasis on testing and greater motivation for improvement? Sounds just as sweet as that chocolate heart we’re all awaiting in a few days’ time.

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Our school’s AP Bio class recently visited Bellevue Hospital, one of the largest and oldest public hospitals in the United States, to met Dr. Becker, a radiology professor at New York University Medical School.

Dr. Becker showed some incredible pieces of technology such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), X- rays, ultrasound, and a camera the size of a pill that can take a few thousand pictures. These innovations are now replacing dangerous surgeries.

“It’s remarkable that today health professionals are able to diagnose health problems in patients through non-invasive and safe technologies. I am looking forward to medical technology advancing,” said senior Rebecca Utkin.

At the end of twentieth century, surgeons had to open patients in order to find problems, which put the patient at risk of infection and required weeks of bed rest.

Today everything is different. Doctors only have to place patients in a machine and wait less then thirty minutes. The results are tremendous; computers present precise three dimensional models of organs, allowing doctors to find problems in any part of the body, from the brain to the toes, all by simply moving a computer mouse.

“Soon we will be able to make holographic models of patient’s organs, just like in Star Wars,” said Dr. Becker.

Technologies used in hospitals are significantly more advanced than technologies people use every day.

However, there is a reason for that. This equipment is very expensive. “One Tesla magnet, that’s used in MRI is worth one million dollars, and every machine has from four to eight of them,” said Dr. Becker.

Every day technology is improving, all of which impacts human lives. Fifteen years ago, a person could die from an anomaly that doctors were unable to diagnose. Surely, treatment by guessing is not a very good idea.

It is hard to imagine what scientists will invent next. It is hard to count how many lives have been saved by technological advances, and even harder to count how many more lives will be saved with future technology.

The trip to Bellevue Hospital left mainly good impressions.

“All the technologies that Dr. Becker presented to us are fascinating. It is amazing how, because of technology, so many lives were saved,” said AP Biology teacher Mrs. Kimberly Lombardi.

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She, like most students, is too tired to read and write just for fun. And that’s not a good thing.

Now I know what you may be thinking. But she already read and wrote, at least if she did her homework. That’s true enough, but I’m not talking about reading and writing for school work. I’m talking about doing it for non-academic purposes – personal and fun purposes.

According to www.mychild.co.uk 85 percent of a child’s learning comes from outside school and school work, and that includes reading and writing not just books, but magazines, short novels, poems, comic books, manga, and fanfiction.

“I can’t read the books I want to read because I’ve already got an assigned book to read, and it’s hard to read even that,” said sophomore Jaclyn Appelgate.

“Decrease the amount of homework,” said sophomore Emely Funes. “Teachers say ‘we have a lot of work to do too, you know’, and I understand, but it really starts with the work they give us first.”

Though less homework would be a nice solution, we all know it isn’t possible.

The only solution that is realistic, in my opinion, is pure will-power. Instead of complaining about it and doing nothing, we should make time for it.

“Anything is possible. It’s just a matter of will power and intent,” said graduate John Harden.

If we want to have time to do something other than school work, then we have to have the intent to make time.

“We all do a lot of work: students, teachers, and administrators,” said English teacher Heather Prevosti. “Sometimes we allow our work to overwhelm us. We have to create a space for work and a space for play. There should be balance in our lives, and the only person who can ensure that healthy balance is each of us.”

Making a schedule and having it include some leisure time when you can do whatever you want can help reduce some stress too. Have the schedule include the dreaded “bed time”. Eight hours of sleep can help more than you think, and may even help your grades.

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It was a Tuesday night in November, cold and chilly, when the Asia Society honored influential couples who have made an impact on the world. This event took place at the 33rd New York Annual Dinner held at the Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan emceed by Asia Society President Vishakha Desai.

“I am globally fluent in fashion,” said special guest Grover from Sesame Street.

According to Grover, partnerships with educators around the world are a necessity because learning and sharing with each other is the most important thing someone can do.

The dinner included interviews by CNN anchor Daljit Dhaliwal, and each of the honored guests, whose achievements and jobs revolve around journalism, diplomacy, education, and public policy.

The honored couples included Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke and Kati Marton, Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Deepak S. Parekh and Smita Parekh, Peter G. Peterson and Joan Ganz Cooney, and the Kronos Quartet.
Journalist Nicholas Kristof and his wife Sheryl WuDunn responded passionately when asked about the education and development of women worldwide.

“The remedy to so many of the problems around the world has to do with education. We [Americans] don’t share that same passion for education as Pakistan fundamentalists do, and we sure should,” said Kristof.

“Education can be done in many different ways. Even if a handful [of schools] are taken out, we still need to educate. Education still is the long-term solve, but also important, is the idea of bringing women into the labor force and letting them play productive roles in society. Education isn’t enough, but it’s a good start.”

Kristof and his wife were honored for their contributions to journalism, including their books Thunder from the East and China Wakes, and their efforts in raising awareness about global health, poverty, and gender issues.

This couple influences the world daily with their words.

When asked how students can begin to help the world’s needy besides educating themselves, Sheryl WuDunn said to visit the website halftheskymovement.org because it lists many non-profit organizations that work to help women.
When asked the same question Kristof said, “Take a gap year after high school, before college. It’s more popular but unusual. Go abroad; get outside of your country zone. It can be a life changing perspective.” The Asia society, hosts of the annual dinner, is also a partner with our school.

The Asia Society’s mission is to promote a greater amount of knowledge on global issues in the United States. Their purpose is to bring the Asia and U.S. leaders together to solve important issues including human rights, the status of women, and environmental and global health issues.

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Have you ever thought about giving blood? On November 6th, 2009, the New York Blood Center had a blood drive right here at our school. Ms. Lombardi and her advisory ran the event. The blood drive is held every spring, beginning last year.

If you ever thought that donating blood was a simple thing, you are both right and wrong for different reasons.

A donor must be at least sixteen years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and must have a balanced height-to-weight ratio. Students under the age of seventeen must have written parental consent before blood can be drawn.

Although there is an age requirement, students under the age of sixteen are willing and eager to donate.

“I think that donating blood is a great opportunity for young students to get involved with their community at a young age.” said sophomore Nasir Kujenya.

When the technicians, also known as phlebotomists, draw the blood, they take 1 pint. For some, that is a substantial amount of blood. If the person is not of a certain body weight and mass, they could be giving away essential blood that the body needs to survive, and that could pose a potential health hazard.

After the blood is donated, it goes to the two hundred hospitals in the New York area that receive blood from the New York Blood Center, two of which are on Staten Island. The blood is then used for transfusions.

“There are about thirty full-time, paid phlebotomists,” said Miranda McAuliffe, Staten Island coordinator for the New York Blood Center. “They are not volunteers.”

This blood drive was a standard drive done by the New York Blood Center. Phlebotomists take the same amount of care with high school students as they do with adults. Just because it is at a school does not mean that the donated blood is any less significant.

“1 pint saves three lives,” said McAuliffe. “And only 2% of the population donates. These levels are higher in schools though.”

Not many people realize how much of an impact they can have on others just by donating. For the average adult, 2 pints of blood is taken, but from high school students, only 1 pint is drawn. Anywhere from three to six lives are saved from giving blood.

I want to give blood “to save people’s lives,” said junior Justin Castro.

Being an international school that requires community service hours to graduate, the blood drive is an important event. Students gain perspective on how ones life can truly help save another while at the same time, earning ten community service hours for donating.

“Students are split fifty-fifty when it comes to donating,” said science teacher Ms. Lombardi. “Some of them are excited about giving their blood, while others are more hesitant.”

Students may have heard from their friends about how “tired and weak” they are after the whole process is finished. This feeling, however, can be helped by eating a healthy breakfast that morning. It also helps to eat red meat to build up iron and raise the red blood cell count. Vegetarians that don’t eat meat can get their protein from beans or soy.

Students can donate, and teachers can donate. The choice is yours.

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Smoking is harmful. It causes diseases, and it doesn‘t just harm the person smoking, but everyone around as well. Some people might not know the affects of smoking, but most people do know, due to the many commercials warning them of what can happen. Smoking shouldn’t be something people do, and here’s why.

According to www.smoking-facts.net, cigarettes contain a lot of chemicals that are proven to be cancerous and harmful, such as: acetone, tar, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, and nicotine. Tar is used to patch up roads. Acetone is used to remove nail polish.

Carbon monoxide is fatal in large amounts. Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known to man. And the most disturbing one yet, formaldehyde is very poisonous, and is used to preserve corpses.

“Some of the possible side-affects are COPD- (chronic abstractive pulmonary disease). One of these is emphysema. Smoking can also lead to lung cancer, cardiac problems, and other problems of the vital organs of the body. Even secondhand smoke has proven to cause health problems to people who inhale it,” said school nurse RN Brigid Davies.

So, what is our school doing to raise awareness about smoking?

“We tell kids not to smoke, we put up signs that say not to smoke, and we have literature and classes on the harmful affects of tobacco,” said guidance Counselor Ms. Hattie Slaughter.

People nowadays know that smoking is harmful, and they still smoke.

According to Ms. Slaughter, teens start smoking, because they are curious, or pressured by peers, or think it might make them feel grown up. And what’s worse, once a person starts smoking, they are hooked. Others, however, are smarter.

There have been incidents of students caught smoking on school property. According to Ms. Slaughter, smoking on school property is illegal, and the students caught had to listen to long lectures about smoking.

“Yeah, I got caught smoking. They suspended me. I don’t care much. I still smoke sometimes, but not around the school,” said an anonymous student from our school.

Many smokers do have white, beautiful smiles, fine breathing, and don’t have any problems that come from smoking. But don’t be fooled. Those problems don’t happen overnight. It takes years to develop them, and usually when these problems do start to appear, it might be too late to fix them.

“Smoking is disgusting. It’s tempting to try and the majority of people have tried it. But in the end I realized that it doesn’t do anything good for anyone and I think people shouldn’t do it,” said freshman Rachel Kogan.

Smoking is a nasty habit. It can be broken, but it tends to be a long and painful process for the smokers. So what is the best solution to prevent cancer and diseases caused by smoking? Don’t smoke! Every person gets one life. Is it worth to lose it to an illness caused by smoking?

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We may not flinch from mentioning the unmentionables, but our school’s still short on sexual education.

Twenty two US states, plus DC, mandate sexual education.

As of September 1, 2009, New York is still not among them.

Many will receive the infamous “talk” from a family member, or some offhanded tips from a friend, but check the numbers: more than six in ten high school students will have sex before they graduate, and 110 teens will become pregnant today, according to getthefactsny.org.

“We should definitely have health education in school,” said junior Raven Fakoya, adding “students get their knowledge on sex from the streets.”

Data compiled by the Guttmacher Institute reveals that fifty percent or more of teenage pregnancies in New York end in abortion.

Only three other states can claim likewise: New Jersey, Massachusetts and District of Columbia.

At least New Jersey and District of Columbia mandate Sex Ed.

It’s time for New York State to step up. Since it rejected federal funding for ineffective abstinence-only programs, state and federal governments have not replaced that funding for evidence-based sex education.

And when the Center for Disease Control reports that one in four teenage girls have a sexually transmitted infection, it’s clear students either don’t have the information they need, or aren’t using what they know.

We can’t change hormones but we can change some major misconceptions.

Some teens  are going to have sex. But bombarded with enough of the facts, a fraction might sink in and incite them to be slightly safer about it.

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Boston Area Coalition of Reason has been putting advertisements for atheism on subway stations in New York City.

“I want to let atheists and humanists everywhere know they are not alone. That there are indeed groups out there that feel the same way. I hope to let people know that there are communities that they can become apart of.” said Spokesperson, David Niose.

This company has also put ads on Boston subway stations and the first place to have atheist ad’s on a public transportation was in Washington D.C. The Boston Coalition even went as far as Britain to advertise their idea.

“I had no idea people could do such a thing. How are we suppose to raise our kids in a healthy Christian environment when everywhere they go they have ad’s and signs telling them different?” said New York subway traveler, Mona Danziger.

A survey was conducted outside of one of the many New York City subway stations. Out of 500 people, 287 chose ‘ other/atheist ‘ choice as their religion over Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or Buddhist.

“I can’t believe that people can just put advertisements on subways, when priests and other ministers preach and work hard to keep people believing in our Lord,” said frequent church member and subway rider, Lisa Smiths.

What has most people raising a concern is that Christmas is right around the corner and these posters distract from the purpose of the holiday practicing one’s religion. “Christmas is a secular holiday, and people who don’t believe in God can still have a holiday spirit,” said Niose.

Most people today, think that if you don’t believe in a “god” that you are not a good person, but the Boston Area Coalition is trying to show that people who don’t believe in God are no different than people who do believe in God.

“The New York subway station has over a million people riding it every day and was probably the best choice for the Boston Area Coalition to put their ads on subway cars,” said, accountant and subway rider, Anthony Daversa.

Today many people believe that they need God to be happy and without “him” you would never overcome the obstacles in your way.

“I have written a book to let people know you don’t need God to be happy,” said Coordinator of Boston Coalition, Greg M. Epstan. They feel everyone is equal no matter what their religion is.

No matter what religion a person is, we are all equal and should be proud of the path we follow.

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