Article #9- Senior Awards

All dressed to impress in formal attire, May 22nd, 2008 was a very special day for the seniors of Jamaica High School. Working hard since their freshmen year, the seniors have now been awarded for their academic achievements.

The senior awards ceremony took place in the auditorium during seventh and eighth periods. The seniors were all eager and anxious for the results. “I can’t wait and see to find out how many awards I get,” said Naicke Alexandre, an enthusiastic senior.

The ceremony began with a speech from the principal, Mr. Acham, welcoming guests and congratulating the seniors for their academic achievements. He distributed awards to valedictorian Afnan Haq for scholarship, citizenship, and community service, and salutatorian Harmindeep Singh for scholarship and service. Alex Dasrath was given the award of inspirational reader and the senior with the third highest average in his graduating class. The crowd cheered these intelligent students as they made their way up the stage.

Ms. James, the college advisor, was given the honor of giving out awards to students who received a 90 or better during their four years of high school. A few of these students, aside from the valedictorian, Afnan Haq, and salutatorian Harmindeep Singh, were Ricardo Nicolas, Christina Megalla, Farzana Amin, Naresh Samuel, and Sherly De Los Santos. Next, the merit award was awarded to many seniors who managed to maintain an average of 85-89; Dominique Burrus and Mohamed Ali were among the few.

Two scholarships were also given out during the senior awards ceremony.
Ms. Kalansky awarded Delroy Waugh the Coca- Cola scholarship of $20,000. After Delroy received his scholarship, he made a heartfelt speech dedicated to Ms. Kalansky and awarded her the Educator of Distinction Award. Delroy also received an award for his excellence in mathematics.

Dominique Burrus received a scholarship from the Democratic Club of Queens for her athletic abilities.

There were also many great performances throughout the ceremony. The Gospel Choir sang “Marvelous, Glorious” with their melodious voices. Tracy Ganga and Jennifer Locust did a duet and sang “Miracles.”

Overall, the senior awards ceremony was very entertaining with the constant joyous cheering of the ecstatic class of 2008. Now that graduation is in a matter of weeks, the seniors of Jamaica High School are preparing to let go of these memorable moments and prepare for the future. “Even though its fun it’s sad at the same time,” Bushara Ali said in a bittersweet tone, she continued, “it reminds me that this year will end soon and then it’s all about us and our future.”

Article #8- Prom Night

Director Nelson McCormick has released a new suspenseful horror movie on April 11, 2008. The movie Prom Night was a thriller that always had the audience on the edge of their seats.

Prom Night is about a teacher named Richard Fenton who fell in love with his student Donna Keppel. This psychotic and obsessive man will do anything possible to be with Donna. He killed both her parents and was put in a mental facility with a restraining order. However, that doesn’t last long. It has been two years since the incident of the tragic death of Donna’s parents. Donna is getting ready for what is supposed to be the best night of her senior year: prom night. However, she doesn’t know that there is more than one lover on the loose. Will Donna and her friends be able to survive the night with a killer stalker on the loose or will they all end up having bloody deaths?

This movie was a great movie. Although it had a low rating of 4.5 out of 10 there are still a lot of students in Jamaica High School that enjoyed watching it.

“I liked this movie,” said Salma Haque, a junior in Jamaica High School. “It was better than I thought it would be,” she continued. “The only thing was that it was too short. The ending could have been made longer.”

This movie, although only an hour and a half long, does a great job in making the audience get a feel of how prom night will be. It also has some great actors and actresses like Brittany Snow starring as the main character, Donna Keppel and Johnathon Schaech starring as the psychotic killer.

So, if you’re in the mood for a good scare, stop by the theaters and make sure you watch Prom Night.

Article #7 - New School At Jamaica

Starting the upcoming school year, there will be a College Board school opening in Jamaica High School, consisting of grades sixth to twelfth. This school will have a total of ninety students, all of them who will be walking down the same halls as the students of Jamaica High School.

The opening of this specialized school has concerned many students and has filled their minds with a myriad of questions.

“Are they going to be part of our sport teams and clubs? Will they have the same opportunities as Jamaica’s students? How will this affect us?” said an anxious senior, Sonia Miah, of Jamaica High School with a worrisome expression.

Many students are against the idea of a new school opening in Jamaica High School. They think that it is unnecessary and believe that the new school will have a negative affect towards their academic studies and extracurricular activities.

“We will have to limit the space in our own school just because some new school decides to open up,” said Kuljit Kaur, a freshman of Jamaica High School. “Who knows maybe they’ll get offered some of the same AP or Honor courses we take which will decrease our chances in getting in,” she continued hot headedly.

There are many different opinions about this school opening in Jamaica. Most students in Jamaica High School disapprove of it because they feel like this new school is an invasion to the school and will affect them negatively. However, there are a few students that approve the idea of opening this new College Board specialized school in Jamaica and think that it will be beneficial.

“It will improve the image of Jamaica because this new school is supposed to be prestigious,” said Asha Henman, a junior at Jamaica High School.

Starting this upcoming year change is taking over Jamaica. There will be a new school that will own a section of Jamaica High School with new students walking down the same halls which once belonged to the students of Jamaica.

Article #6- Alcohol Anyone?

Drinking alcohol has become the social norm for Americans throughout the United States . Whether it is in social gatherings, as in parties or even a special occasion, the consumption of alcohol is almost always present. However, recently the question of children drinking alcohol with their parents has become a very controversial topic of discussion.

Will drinking alcohol with your parents make you a responsible drinker in the future? This is the question that the New York Times had posted as their question of the day that now has the students of Jamaica High School all hyped up about.

“I think that this is a good way for kids to understand the importance of the limitations of alcohol. We will learn how to control ourselves when we get older and won’t need supervision,” said Liakat Morshed, a junior in Jamaica High School .

Many students in Jamaica High School agree and share these same thoughts. They believe that drinking alcohol under the supervision of your parents will encourage kids to act more mature and “adult like,” which would influence them in drinking more responsibly in the future.

Although this is a good argument to make, there are other students in Jamaica High School that object to this very strongly.

“I don’t think that this is a good idea because even though it's better that kids drink with their parents than with their friends, they could take advantage of the fact that they get to drink all the time with their parents,” said, Tasnia Kabir, a freshmen in Jamaica High School.

Even though drinking alcohol with ones parents may have a few pros there are also a few cons. A child may get addicted to drinking alcohol at a young age. Even though they would be drinking with their parents a few sips here; this could get the child passionate for drinking. The child will also have free access to alcohol and could drink it secretively while their parents are out.

So, the debate is still on: Will drinking alcohol with the supervision of your parents make children responsible drinkers in the future? Though this issue still seems to remain unsettled, students of Jamaica High School still continue to discuss this matter with great interest.

Article #5 - Relationship Cafe

Attention Jamaica High School students! A new club called Relationship Café has occupied Room 210A.

This new club that has taken residence in room 210A is part of an agency called “Open Hearts- Open Minds” which is a partnership with children. Relationship Café, which started just recently in January 2008, hopes to inform the students of Jamaica High School what it means to be in a healthy relationship. Whether it is a boyfriend girlfriend relationship, a friend relationship, or even family relationships, the three social workers and three social worker interns of Relationship Café will help in every way to help solve problems.

“Our job is to offer skills to the students on how to handle situations so you can utilize them to solve problems,” said Sherise Thomas, the site organizer of Relationship Café.

Another goal that this club hopes to accomplish is to give academic, financial, and social support to students who are at risk for academic failures. Sherise Thomas along with the social workers that work with her want to help students to get a better understanding of themselves and the relationships they may encounter in their lives.

“We are in partnerships with children and are here to give our support to students and give them an understanding of good relationships,” said Damaris Stephens, a social worker who is working with Sherise Thomas.

However, the question is what makes a relationship so good? Well according to Damaris, “there are several core factors of a good relationship. There should be open communication between the two people as well as trust and respect. It’s about two separate people to come together and making it work.”

Relationship Café is not an after school program. Students who wish to join this club may do so during their lunch period. As of now this club meets during periods three, four and six. Relationship Café is only a seven week program the club organizers are interested in expanding their program to keep the club if more students are willing to sign up.

So, if there is a problem that needs to be solved go to room 210A during your free time to get help. All information will be completely confidential. With the help of skilled professionals, students could be provided with the necessary counseling they need in order to solve their problems and be content with the outcome of the situation.

Mr. Rule's Profile

Handing them their Do Now worksheets Mr. Rule is always greeting his students in front of room 353B with a welcoming “Good Morning.” While he is doing that, his students get straight to work and are busy completing their Do Now assignment.

Always dressed in professional attire, Mr. Rule is always ready to get to work and enjoy his teaching career. However, he hopes to accomplish more by becoming a principal in the future.

His energetic attitude makes him a good candidate for becoming a principal. Mr. Rule is the youngest teacher in the social studies department and has accomplished many things. Throughout his seven years of teaching he has taught at Jamaica High School for six years. His previous years were spent teaching at St. Francis Prep.

He is also a very dedicated advisor of the Law Team. He will come to our law meetings no matter what,” said Sara White.

Mr. Rule is very proud to work at Jamaica High School. “I’m proud to teach at Jamaica High School,” he said. “From day one everyone was very helpful and you don’t get that from every school.” He believes that teaching history is very important because things repeat and you have to learn them.

Mr. Rule is known to always say “I don’t care” to his students. He says he wants to get the students to inspire themselves by saying he doesn’t care. “I want them to do stuff for themselves,” he said, “not to make Mr. Rule happy because once I am gone their plans are gone.” A former student of Mr. Rule, Sonia Miah said, “He always says he doesn’t care but he actually does. He wants us to do well.”

However, Mr. Rule thinks that he can achieve more when he becomes a principal. He just got his second masters in School Building Leadership to become a principal. “I’m tired of being a teacher”, he said. “I want to accomplish more. When you are a teacher you have only one classroom and the principal has the whole school.”

Although he does not have a specific school in mind, Mr. Rule will make sure that when he becomes principal the rules that he makes will be followed completely. He believes that rules are very important and are there for people to follow.

Mr. Rule is a dedicated teacher who spends most afternoons in school. He is always available for tutoring everyday after school. “I’m here everyday,” he said, “unless I’m deadly ill.”
When the bell rings, the students in room 353B rush to get to their next class on time. While they are exiting, Mr. Rule is answering questions a students had on the lesson or is saying “have a nice day” to his students.

Article #4- Should Students Be Paid To Excel?

A new phenomenon that has recently been decided upon by many school districts in the city has started a spark of controversy and debate. Many schools in New York City are paying students for doing well on their standardized tests. The mastermind behind all of this is Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg who believes that giving cash rewards to students is the key idea for “turning a school around” and making it academically successful.

Many teachers and principals are enthralled by this idea and agree with it tremendously. Teachers and principals that work in New York City public schools believe that paying kids to excel in school is a great incentive. Students will become more eager to work harder and ace standardized test so they can get cash prizes. These cash prizes range anywhere from twenty to about two hundred dollars, maybe even more, depending on how high the student performed on the test.

Although, paying students to do exceptionally well in school may be a mesmerizing prize that will have students enthused, there are also some negative aspects of this phenomenon. Ms. Merioles, a current living environment and psychology teacher, said, “Monetary incentive is a weak reinforcer because the student focuses on the reward and not on the behavior itself.” If you stop giving the money then the behavior would stop.” This is a very logical and sensible explanation of why these cash prizes will not be successful for long. Students will decline in their studies as soon as the school districts decide to stop distributing these cash awards. Sonia Miah, a senior at Jamaica High School, said agreeably, “I don’t think that this is such a good idea because you never know how the kid will spend their money. They shouldn’t motivate the kids with money; they should want to do good in school so they could be successful in life.”

However, there are also a handful of students in Jamaica High School that think that cash prizes are a good incentive. Saud Al-Sheikh, a junior in Jamaica said, “I think that it is right for them to give money because it will encourage people. Also, it doesn’t mean that just because some kids may misuse the money the rest should be punished. I would use that money to invest for college.” Also, another advantage of having this incentive is that it is a win-win situation for both the students and the teachers and staff who work in public schools. If students score high on their standardized tests they will be awarded with cash along with the teachers and principal of that school. According to the New York Times, teachers and principals could receive a bonus of as much of $3,000 dollars!

So the debate is still on and the questions are still being pondered upon. Should students be paid for their academic successes or should they be treated the same way? Is money really a strong and reliable incentive or should students have another motivation for doing well in school? These questions are still very controversial and teachers and principals from other public schools are still re- considering if they should still continue with this phenomenon.