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.