Now here's a genuine good club

Read this link to a story about a school club that is actually part of an elementary school. Students work with autisic students of the school during recess a few times a week. What a really great club idea.
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/945909.html

The dust has been blown off the blog ..

Well...I have finally decided to blow off the dust that has been collecting on my blog for almost a month. Let's see...where to begin? With only eleven days of school left (not counting today or weekends) school clubs for the most part have winded down. To catch you up though here's a short update...

The Bead and Jewelry Club recently took a trip to a Colts Neck studio where they were able to make some stained glass pieces. I saw a couple of them and they looked really cool.

I believe that the National Art Honor Society will be inducting new members soon.

The Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) is having its last meeting on Wednesday of the year.

So that's about it for now... as I mentioned earlier school clubs are just about done but I'll see what I can dig up on school clubs elsewhere.

School Clubs Update

Bonjour. Thought I'd just give a little update on some school clubs. As the school year begins to slow down, club meetings are fewer and fewer gradually winding down.

The French Club is having a movie afternoon on Thursday in room C-3. (Hence the Bonjour.) I take French and we've watched movies in class in French and it's hard to understand but improves your listening skills. I usually have a good idea about what's going on although we usually watch Shrek and I've seen that movie in English.

The Literary Club is now accepting submissions of poetry or short stories for the literary magazine. I'm really interested to see when this comes out. I've heard about it on the loud speaker last year and this year, but it was never told where you could get one. This time I want to get one and give it a good look through.

That's about it for now. Like I already said, I'm not sure how many more meetings clubs will have but I'll find something to blog about.

Parental Permission

Here's an article about a bill that was shot down. The bill would have required public middle schools and high schools to notify parents about students participation in extracurricular activities. There article was actually posted over a year ago, 2/15/07 to be exact. Yet, it still struck me as odd that such a bill would be proposed. By middle school and especially high school most students have matured, hopefully, and it should not be required of the school to tell parents where their kids are. Personally it seems like a silly bill, and there are other things that are more important that should be worked on. Read it and see what you think.



http://www.dnronline.com/news_details.php?AID=8795&CHID=1

Beach Sweep

I've almost forgotten...this Saturday, April 26th, the 23rd Annual Beach Sweep is taking place. The Environmental Club of Wall High School will be there (Avon Pavilion at 9AM until about 12:30PM). If you're not part of the Environmental Club you can still go and it's a great thing to do for community service. This bi-annual event, which started in 1985 in Sandy Hook, includes beaches, rivers, lakes streams, and underwater cleanups across the world.

Here's the link to the organization's, Clean Ocean Action, website:

http://cleanoceanaction.org/

Here's the link to another fellow blogger's site that includes a list of other area locations this event is taking place:

http://experiencetheshore.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/april-26th-2008-23rd-annual-beach-sweeps-clean-up-the-jersey-shore/

Unfortunately I have a lacrosse game in the morning and will probably not be able to go, although I really do want to. Maybe I can find some time.

Madonna House

Remember SADD club members...tomorrows the last day to bring in items for the Madonna House. Bring in three personal toiletry items like toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, brushes, deodorant, etc. NO shampoo or conditioner or body wash because they are too heavy to transport. Put in a bag outside the main office or the boys/girls locker room with name and grade level.

Ethical Dilemmas

In journalism we are now currently studying ethics. I was instructed to find ethical dilemmas that involved my beat, school clubs. I was unable to find a real life example through my searches but, I did stumble upon a fictitious example. I'm sure ethical dilemmas take place everyday involving school clubs, but they are probably not big news in which it would be reported on in the newspaper or internet.


http://studentcenter.ja.org/aspx/LearnEthics/case_one.aspx



I personally have not really encountered big ethical dilemmas. Sometimes I'm not sure if I should report on a school club when I have a friend who is a member of the club or club president. I don't want people to think that I'm only reporting on the club because my friend is a member of the club.

Wallapalooza

Not sure if this totally qualifies as a school club but I thought I'd blog about Wallapalooza anyway. It seems Wall High School has a handful of talented musicians in several bands. The bands are coming to together to support the Wall High School Boosters Club to fundraise Project Graduation. The Wall High School Boosters Club is the parent-teacher organization of the high school. It should certainly be an interesting and exciting event and a great way for the Boosters Club to raise money. (Note: $10 for non students .. it isn't stated on the flyer)

Ski and Snowboard Club

So recently a student at Wall High School wanted to start a Ski and Snowboard Club. The student made a petition and had several students sign it and then gave it to the administration. The club, so far, is a no go due to insurance issues. Although not an avid skier myself, I've been skiing twice and snowboarding once (I like skiing better), I would definitely consider joining a club like this. It would be a lot of fun. Trips could be organized for the weekends or something up to a relatively close mountain. Maybe the administration will change their mind and in the near future Wall High School could have a new club!

Rock Away Hate

As promised I received more info and here's the flyer for Rock Away Hate...

...If you can't read the bottom it says, "All proceeds go to the MAtthew Sheppard Organization to prevent hate crimes across the country."

Red Cross

As promised I am keeping up my blogging but, considering I don't have school this week, I'm not sure how much is going on with school clubs. However, I was searching the internet and found something school club related. The American Red Cross offers students the chance to form a Red Cross club at their school. It is a great opportunity to do some community service, especially since it is becoming more and more important to colleges. Wall doesn't have one, and I'm not sure of any other area schools that do, but I'm sure it could be easily started. Here's the website which gives a lot more information.....
http://www.redcross.org/services/youth/0,1082,0_410_,00.html

I've been a bad blogger

Once again I have neglected my blog and this time I can offer you no excuse. I've been on spring break all week and haven't done much considering that almost everyone in Wall went away to warmer places besides me! This time I promise to keep up my blogging.


In other news...
I have not neglected my beat and have found out some cool info. The Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) of Wall High School is sponsoring a Rock Away Hate night. The date is Friday, April 18, 2008. It's going to be a night of music and entertainment with Chemtrail, Mr. Wilson, Dr. Calmes, and Mr. Neil. Tickets are $5.00

More info to follow as the date gets closer...

Sorry...

Long time no blog...sorry. Anyway I have finally finished my feature so I'm glad that's done. I wrote about students applying and receiving scholarships for college as well as talking about how much extracurricular activities, like school clubs (which this blog is about) really help a student. I talked to my guidance counselor who gave me good advice as well as the founder of Atlantic Financial & Educational Services, which is like a college consultant. For those of you who don't know a college consultant is like a personal assistant that helps you get into the top college of your choice. One of the best out there and probably most expensive, is Michelle Hernandez. I tried to contact her and I really wish I could have talked to her because apparently she is very successful in getting students into their top choices, like the Ivy's.

Here's a bit of an old article about Hernandez for you to read.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_43/b4055063.htm



Anyway... I learned that the top things colleges look at are mostly your grades and the difficulty of courses you take. Extracurricular's still help though because they can be that deciding factor that gives you the extra push and show how you can handle school work and other activities, but to find out more you'll just have to read my feature!

Volleyball Fever

Volleyball seems to be catching on at the high school. A girls intramural league is going to be starting up soon. Although I'm not to good, I'm sure a little practice would improve that, I like playing volleyball in gym class. Except, I'm pretty sure girls volleyball is in the fall which would interfere with soccer.

...That's all for now I guess. Remember to go see Once Upon A Mattress, I heard it's really good, although I can't go myself.

Once Upon A Mattress

The Drama Club at Wall is putting on a production called Once Upon A Mattress. The dates are March 27 and March 28 at 8P.M. and March 29 at 2P.M. Tickets are $8. The play was written as an adaption to the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. I would like to possibly attend since I've never been to one of the school productions. If I do go, I promise I will follow up with a review.

School Club Gone Wrong

Although the date on the article is March 16, I still thought it was important. While most school clubs often benefit students this one obviously took a wrong turn. I could see kids doing this outside of school, but not after school ON school grounds.

http://209.85.207.104/search?q=cache:wCoK-1ETGxsJ:www.vaildaily.com/article/20080316/NEWS/838899243+recent+news+involving+school+clubs&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us

Sight Week

To all the S.A.D.D club members remember it's Sight Week! Bring in your old glasses and drop them off near the main office. Three pairs of glasses equals one credit. The glasses will help those who have poor eyesight and can't afford to purchase glasses.

Q and A for Upcoming Feature

Here's an interview I did for a feature article I am currently working on about involving colleges and how much extracurricular activities help a student get into college or receive a scholarship. This was an interview with Colleen Kilmurray, who attends the University of Maine.



Q: Did you receive a scholarship mainly because of basketball?
A: Although I did receive my scholarship because of basketball, I still had to receive good grades in high school and perform well on the SATs in order to qualify for the scholarship.

Q: What types of extracurricular activities were you involved in?
A: In high school I was a member of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), volunteered helping coach young children how to play basketball, I played varsity basketball for four years and was captain for two years, and I played soccer and track my freshmen year. I also played a high level of traveling basketball outside of school where I received most of my exposure. I am a part of the Women's Basketball Team at the University of Maine which is a full time commitment. Basketball is very demanding between practices, traveling for games, classes and all the community service we complete throughout the local communities. I also am a representative of Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). SAAC is a program where two student athletes from each team meet together monthly and develop events, create fundraisers and help local shelters, churches and companies in the community.

Q: Were there other schools that offered you scholarships?
A: Yes, there were other schools that offered me scholarships for basketball as well. However, after a few visits I decided that the Unversity of Maine was where I wanted to go.

Q: Was the scholarship Maine offered you, the factor that made you decide to go there?
A: The scholarship that Maine offered me definitely influenced my decision because not only am I receving a free education, but I also get the opportunity to play the sport I love.

Q: What advice would you give to a student who wants to go to college and receive a scholarship?
A: The best advice I can give to a student who wants to go to college and receive a scholarship is to try your best in the classroom because if you don't get good grades you will not receive a scholarhip. Also, it is important to practice and have the mindset to get better each day. The more exposure you receive the better chance you have at receiving a scholarship. Travel teams and NCAA regulation tournaments are great places to get recruited because most college coaches attend them.

Volleyball Update

I told you I'd update you on the volleyball thing so here it is. Yesterday I was searching highschoolsports.net for my lacrosse schedule and happened to stumbled upon the boys varsity volleyball schedule for wall. Then today they announced on the loud speaker for all boys trying out for volleyball should be on the bus immediately. So if anyone wants to know, Wall High School now has a boys volleyball team.

Response to Shooting

A couple posts ago I blogged about the Northern Indiana University school shooting. I was browsing around online and found an article that involved a school club and their response to the incident. Give it a read...

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/821341,4_1_JO02_MINOOKA_S1.article

DECA

I probably should have mentioned this when I first started blogging but I just thuoght about it. There's this new club at school called DECA which stands for Delta Epsilon Chi. It an international association of high school and college students studying marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales and service. Last weekend some memebers of DECA from Wall went to Cherry Hill for the DECA state competition. The DECA website wasn't working to well for me so I couldn't find out what they actually do at the competitions but maybe the website will work another day.

Volleyball...?

So yesterday after lacrosse practice there were a bunch of boys in the gym playing volleyball. I've heard this from a couple people and I think Wall might be trying to start a volleyball team or maybe a volleyball club, I'm not sure? I already know a lot of other Shore area schools have volleyball teams. I'll see what I can find out and try to keep you posted.

I'm still here

To all my fans out there I'm sorry I haven't written in awhile. No worries though I am still here, I've just felt like I've had writer's block for the past couple days and every writing assignment I get, I have no idea what to write.

Anyway...

A school club made the front page of the Local News section in the Asbury Park Press today! It was the Environmental Club at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School. Read it and feel free to tell me what you think.

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008803060364

The Oscars and School Clubs!?

Meant to post this yesterday...


The Oscars and school clubs can be related. Did you ever wonder if some of the directors, like the Coen brothers, were ever in a film club at their high school or college? According to John Serba, "the Coens are the A.V. club geeks we remember from high school," which he posted in his blog on www.mlive.com. So maybe they weren't exactly in a film club, but it's close.

How about the film fest coming up at Wall High School? I'm really interested to see that. Who know's, maybe some of the student filmakers will end up at the Oscar's in a couple years? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

GSA Article

I found this interesting article on a school club know as the Gay Straight Alliance. A pastor, whose daughter attends the school, refers to it as a "sex club". Personally, I would never refer to GSA, which Wall High School does have, as a "sex club". The words "sex club" gives a connotation of something much worse than a simple after school club quite frankly.



(Editor's note: This story addresses mature subject matter not appropriate for children.)
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=67479

March Story Ideas

1. Dodgeball Tournament
Wed. Marth 5th in WHS North Gym
2. Snack Shack
Junior class sells snacks after school in D-2. They also have gift certificates available now.
3. Interact/Key Club
They are holding a drive to collect items for needy children in North America. Items include shampoo, soap, or other toiletries.

Feature Ideas

Here are a few feature ideas I'm considering writing about that involve teen issues. The first one pertains to my beat while the two others don't.

1. How much do school clubs help teens get into college?
2. Teen eating disorders/weight issue
3. Provisional License Issue



Any other suggestions?

Northern Illinois University Shooting

I thought I would comment on the recent school shooting at Northern Illinois University on Valentine's Day even though it doesn't fully relate to my beat of school clubs.

I read a couple different articles first from a few different sites. The first thing I thought of was what other countries around the world would think of us. I've never heard of school shootings in other countries, only America. Wasn't it only ten months ago that America witnessed the worst school shooting ever at Virginia Tech? Did we learn from that?

After doing some research, it appears the gunman, Steven Kazmierczak, was an outgoing student who didn't appear to have social problems. Yet, he had recently stopped taking his medication, the type still unknown, and had become erratic in the last couple weeks according to ABC News.

Around 3 p.m. Kazmierczak entered Cole Hall and opened fire on the lecture hall. Approximately 22 people were shot and six died including Kazmierczak. Investigators still can find no motive.

Since the Virginia Tech shootings there have been five school shootings including Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois. The others took place at Delaware State University, a Cleveland high school, and at Louisiana Technical College, but all were not as deadly as Northern Illinois or nearly as deadly as Virginia Tech. Still, school should be a place for education where everyone can feel safe and secure, not where students of have to worry when another student could bring a weapon to school. Some students might not like going to school, but they should at least be able to count on being in a safe environment.

Many think the violence stems from the current video games of today. Violent video games could lead to bullying or the worst, weapon use. And now to relate this to school clubs. To prevent this violence schools have formed anti-bullying clubs such as the one at Wall High School, the Anti-Bullying Task Force. If clubs like these can help stop bullying, they will also help reduce violence and hopefully prevent a future shooting.

Feature Article on School Clubs

Just a little feature article on a school club that's making a difference!


Indonesia: Water and sanitation and the ‘little doctors’

The mothers of Banjar Sari in Indonesia beam with pride as they watch their children performing in the primary school play. But the mothers are more than entertained by the young actors, they are also learning valuable lessons about the importance of boiling water, washing their hands before preparing food or eating and throwing away rubbish properly.
The actors are members of ‘Dokter kecil’, or little doctors, a primary school project funded by the government of New Zealand and supported by UNICEF. This school club has 30 students from grades four to six and promotes hygiene through community theatre and other lively activities.
The best thing about the plays is that children bring the lessons home about water, sanitation and hygiene. The mothers say that they are getting the message and are changing their hygiene behaviour.
The students’ work of improving the health of their community goes beyond their plays. They also take charge of the village’s Jum’at Bersih (Clean Friday), a national movement, begun in 1994, that encourages hygiene on Eid, Muslim people’s festival. When the Dokter Kecil club began in 1998, it took the lead in improving the community’s sanitary environment by upgrading drains, clearing debris from around the mosque and working on a school herb garden.
The little doctors are becoming leaders, learning to communicate clearly and effectively, to problem-solve, negotiate and analyse. One day they will be mums and dads so they are making sure the environment is hygienic for children in the future, too. But the benefits are already happening today.
“With a clean environment people don’t become ill,” said 13-year-old Zarkasi. “So our concentration for studying isn’t disturbed and we learn better in school.”
A centre doctor gives health check-ups for the school children and other members of the village, coming weekly to give out free medicine and discuss hygiene issues with the students and the teachers. The doctor’s lessons are used in Dokter Kecil’s newest plays, which are the most effective way for getting the word out about water, sanitation and hygiene.
“People love drama, and parents especially love to see their children perform,” said one of the supervising teachers. “It is a much better way than telling people to just change the way they do things.”From the International UNICEF website

Political Clubs

My post from yesterday about a primary party I attended got me thinking. Since my blog is related to school clubs, I thought, why not have a political club or even a debate club. Maybe there are some high schools out there that have them but I know my school doesn't. Since so many people attended the primary party, I'm sure many people would join a political club where students could discuss the candidates or even debate on issues such as immigration or the Iraqi War. Students would become more aware of politics and how America is run.

Primary Party

I went to a Super Tuesday Primary Party tonight. There were a lot of students there, more than I expected. It shows that the younger generations aren't just occupied with video games or television and we pay attention to current events. In this years New Hampshire Primary the youth turnout rate was 43% while the turn out rate of those over 30 was 55% according to statistics from civicyouth.org. The statistics are proof the youths are voting.

Twenty-four states hold their primaries on Tues. Feb. 5, an exciting and crucial day for all candidates.