Category Archives: School Life

Kissing Valentine’s Day goodbye

February 16, 2016 Audrey Dahl Leave a comment

On January 29th, the StarTribune reported that Scott Masini, principle of Bruce Vento Elementary School, decided that the school would no longer celebrate “dominant holidays”. Of these holidays are Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day.

In late January, principle Scott Masini sent a letter to the students’ parents saying that the school would no longer be celebrating dominant holidays. “I have come to the difficult decision”, Mansini stated in the letter, “to discontinue the celebration of dominant holidays until we can come to a better understanding of how the dominant view will suppress someone else’s view”. Mansini’s student body is largely non white, filling the school with a majority minority population. Mansini explained in the letter that he wants to “honor and engage in holidays that are inclusive of the student population”. These dominant holidays will now be just another day at Bruce Vento Elementary School.

Most of the holidays listed make sense to most people. Halloween could be seen as satanic to some religions, Thanksgiving suppresses Native Americans, and Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.

But Valentine’s Day?

Valentine’s Day, although often portrayed as a day of love and commercialism, has Christian roots. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia there were at least three Saints by the name of Valentine, all of whom were martyred on February the 14th. The most well known of the three was Saint Valentine of Rome. Saint Valentine of Rome was a priest who lived during the ruling of Roman Emperor Claudius II. During his ruling Valentine reeling against the rules of the emperor helped arrange marriage for soldiers. Valentine also healed sick children and through his journey converted people to Catholicism. When Claudius found out he was outraged and Valentine was sent to death. While Valentine was awaiting his death in prison, Valentine received cards and letters from many Roman children. Knowing the common roots of Valentine’s Day, it’s plain to see how the story of the Christian Saint Valentine could suppress other religions if the day were celebrated.

Although Scott Mansini is trying to enhance the celebration of holidays for minorities that fill his school, what about the children in his school who do celebrate dominant holidays?

It’s very likely for a student to be a minority and celebrate at least one of the canceled holidays.

So, what if Saint Paul Public elementary schools didn’t necessarily celebrate all holidays, including dominant ones, but rather educated the students on the holidays? This way the beliefs of every culture are outwardly acknowledged, but not celebrated in a way that would suppress other cultural groups. Students could learn the history of everything from Hmong New Year to Cinco de Mayo to Chanukah to Ramadan to Valentine’s Days. By acknowledging all holidays, all students are honored. Educating students on all cultural celebrations from a young age would build cultural respect and understanding, which you can never have too much of.

Bruce Vento Elementary School should at least recognize and honor the fact that Valentine’s Day, along with all other holidays, are very likely celebrated holidays among their student body.

School Life

Small Animals

February 12, 2016 Dejra Leave a comment

Looking for a class to fill your empty schedule? Well look no further!

Small Animals is a class where students get to learn about the history of domesticated animals. Students learn the material by watching videos, working on group projects, and by participating in interactive activities. You learn the knowledge of what to do when buying or taking care of a pet. The class touches on the topics of reptiles and amphibians, pocket pets (i.e. hamsters), and common household pets.

As someone who took the class, I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to pursue a career in the veterinary field, or anyone who wants to gain more knowledge on pets.

Still not convinced? I asked a few students to share their opinion about the class along with any new information gained, they said:

Serene: “It’s a really nice class. You learn a lot and Ms. Wedger is a very nice person.”

Betty: “It helped me prepare for the expenses of taking care of it (A house pet). If you’re not planning on raising a pet, do not take the class.”

The class is taught by Hannah Wedger, also known as Ms. Wedger, and is located in room 3206. Ms. Wedger also teaches Floral Design and Fish & Wildlife Management. She is also the leader of our Future Farmers of America (FFA).

Taking this class for one semester will will earn you both of your Tech credits.

Getting To Know/History, School Life

Students studying abroad

February 9, 2016 sahraahmed23 Leave a comment

There are two Highland Park juniors that are studying abroad this school year. One student is studying in Finland, and the other is in Japan. I’m sure they both have different thoughts and experiences on being in a different country. In order to better understand their thoughts, I decided to interview them. The questions I asked them are:

1. How are your schools different from highland?
2. What things do they teach or do differently?
3. What are some experiences that you enjoyed most/ least?
4. What made you want to study abroad?
5. What fun and exciting things you’ve done so far?
6. What advice would you give to someone who’s thinking of studying abroad?

Emma Mulhern

1. My school in Finland is much smaller than Highland. We only have three grades (10th, 11th, and 12th) and in all of that there are about 130 students and 15 teachers who teach them.

2. At my school we have six grading periods (there are four at Highland) and we take six classes per grading period. After each grading period we take new classes and we only take six classes per grading period. At the end of each grading period, we have exam week where we take tests for each subject (in other words we only have one test per class after six weeks of study). Also, at my school, classes are not always at the same time. I may have history in the morning on Mondays but have it be in the afternoon on Thursdays.

They teach a lot of similar things like literature, math, social studies, and science classes. However, in Finland, they are required to take English and Swedish foreign language classes and they deem English to be very important for them to learn and they must learn Swedish because it is Finland’s second national language as a minority of the population speaks it as a first language. They can take German, French, Spanish, and Russian for foreign languages.

3. I have really enjoyed just being a normal student here in Finlan and making Finnish friends. I have done many fun and interesting things here (look at #5) but I have also had hardships. My main hardship was learning Finnish. Of course at the beginning of my exchange I spoke English with my friends as I did not speak Finnish. I am still learning but now I speak it with everyone, but I of course still have a lot to learn. I never really got homesick, but I do know of many exchange students who got really homesick while on exchange during the first few months.

4. I’ve wanted to study abroad ever since my brother was an exchange student in Turkey and loved it. My family has also told me many stories from when they were exchange students. In my family, my mother was an exchange student in Sweden, my dad was an exchange student in Argentina, my brother was an exchange student in Turkey, one of my aunts was an exchange student in Japan and another one of my aunts was an exchange student in Brazil. This year, my cousin is also an exchange student in Spain. Anyways, hearing all of these stories from them made me want to have a great experience like that just like they did. They always told me that nothing will ever compare to being an exchange student. I completely agree.

5. I have done so many fun things in Finland. I have visited Tampere, one of Finland’s biggest cities, as well as gone to Lapland (Nothern Finland) where I got to go on reindeer and huskie pulled sleigh rides as well as meet Santa Claus. I have been taking a Finnish course here and I have also been playing hockey on the local hockey team. I have played hockey in America for quite a few years now and it is fun to play with the boys in Finland (as my town does not have enough people for an only girls team). At the start of the year all Rotary exchange students that come to Finland participate in a camp where we meet all the other exchange students and get Finnish (or Swedish lessons) for a week before we are sent to our new host families. Also, living with three different host families in Finland has been great as I have been able to learn about the Finnish way of life through different perspectives.

6. I would say to anyone who wants to study abroad that they should go for it. Look at different organizations that run exchange programs (such as Rotary, the program I am on exchange with) and see which one would be best for them and their needs. Then, they need to talk to their parents and convince them. This may be the hardest for most people as their parents might not want them to go because they don’t know much about it or aren’t sure if they can afford it. If they can convince their parents, then they need to find the money for the exchange. Some may be discouraged by this, but I know of an student from St. Paul who went on exchange student last year whose family had no money to pay for it. He managed to raise money to go on exchange and he had the year of his life. If he can do it, then anyone can.

In short: to anyone who is considering being an exchange student, just know that know it is one of the best experiences of your life. You make so many friends from other sides of the world and you learn about another culture and possibly another language. You get to try so many things you never would have tried in America. All of these experiences and new friends make you really appreciate the diverse world around you.

Caylin Weiland

Questions 1 and 2: Schools here in Japan are very different from the schools in America. First off, all of the high schools in Japan require you to wear a school uniform. Many uniform rules are that your skirt must cover your knees, you have to wear you hair up if it touches your collar, your eyebrows must be showing, and you cannot have any piercings not even your earlobes. I’m currently enrolled at Kwassui high school, which is an all girls Protestant school. At my school in Japan, we attend a morning mass everyday in our schools chapel, and have a closing ceremony in our classrooms. At the end of the day the students from each classroom clean their own room, and clean another area in the school. For example my class we clean our own room and we clean one of the stairways. While the classroom next to mine cleans their classroom and the bathroom. In Japan, you don’t get to choose which classes you want to take. For example you wouldn’t get to choose if you wanted to take volleyball class or choir. But, you can decide which high school course you want to take. Meaning, at most schools in Japan you can choose to join a general course, english course, or often a math/science course. These courses focus mainly on the courses subject(s), although you are still taught general required classes like math, science, Japanese, and history. Many students here, after school are in a club of their interest. I am currently in the dance club. I also used to be in the Japanese tea ceremony club called “sadou” and the Japanese archery club “kyudo”. Some students go to after school study classes, where they study and often prepare for their college entrance exam. The college entrance exam in Japan is what basically determines peoples futures, because if you don’t get a good score on the test you cannot go to a good university and, in turn you won’t be hired by a good company. So many students focus on studying for this entrance exam that basically, determines their future.

Question 3: Some of my most memorable experiences I’ve had so far were when I went to an Onsen, a Japanese hot spring, with about 20 other exchange students. There we all got buried in hot sand and then we went into the public bath house together. Although I was with just girls it was really interesting to bath with strangers whom you’ve never met, but we all got to bond and became very close after that experience. Another one of my most memorable experiences was when all of the other Rotary exchange students and myself went to a festival in October. There were big floats in the shape of dragons and fish, that men pulled in the streets. They rang bells and often lit fireworks. During that trip we went and ate at 5 different peoples houses. At one of the houses we ate “Name basashi” which means raw horse meat, which indeed it was. It was actually very good! I’ve also been able to eat shark fin soup, and many other things I had never ate before. Another one of my favorite experiences was during New years celebrations, where I got to wear a traditional Japanese Kimono, got my hair done, and ate a traditional Japanese style multi-course meal with Geisha at a Shrine.
One experience I didn’t like so much was when I first arrived and I got a heat rash, because it was so hot and humid. I also wasn’t so fond of having to use a squat toilet for the first time, in a port-o-potty. Squat toilets are gross enough indoors, but having to use one when it was 90% humidity and super hot during the summer for the first time, was not fun.

Question 4: What made me want to study abroad was my interests in other cultures. I’ve always loved to learn about other cultures, and I love to learn new languages. At Highland I took Chinese for 4 years, and really loved learning it. It was my favorite class, partially because I loved Mrs. Miao, and partially because it was just fun and exciting to get to learn the new language! I also wanted to study abroad because I knew it would benefit my future, when applying to colleges, getting jobs, and overall just growing and maturing into being my own and independent person. Being abroad you learn to adapt to the new environment, culture and language. I’ve learned so much about the people around me, the new culture, language, and mostly about myself. I’ve realized that I neglected and should be more grateful for every opportunity that comes my way, because when you’re an exchange student sometimes you’re not given a choice you just have to do everything your host family tells you to do or what your counselor or others plan for you to do. So, you really learn to love and just live with the outcome of every situation and enjoy every opportunity you’re given.

5. So far I have tried many new exotic foods! I’ve had shark fin, raw horse meat, salmon eggs, jelly fish, and a whole lot more! I’ve been able to experience many different festivals held in my city such as Obon- a day where they honor the dead by lighting fireworks and having floats that are pulled by friends and family in the streets, and Nagasaki Kunchi and Karatsu Kunchi are both festivals for different cities. I’ve also been to a “love festival”, Lantern festival, and I will have many more to go to! I’ve been to the Onsen, done Japanese Tea Ceremony, Japanese traditional dancing, played Japanese/Chinese Niko- a 2 stringed instrument, and I’ve done Japanese Archery. Some of my favorite things to do with my friends is to go sing Karaoke, or to do Purikura (a Japanese picture booth that makes your eyes big and you can design the pictures it takes). I’ve been to Hiroshima, where I went to the Atomic bomb peace park and museum. I live in Nagasaki, where the second atomic bomb was dropped. I’ve been to Saga where they had a big castle, and Fukuoka where I went to a concert and I went shopping. This is just to name a general few things I’ve done and that I really enjoyed. Soon, I’ll be going to Hokkaido (the top island of Japan) to go skiing. With my current host family they may take me to the famous island of Okinawa which is south of Japan, to go snorkeling and swimming! I will have 2 more trips with my Family when they come in March, and with Rotary- my exchange program. Both of which I will get to go to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and with my family Hiroshima again.

6. The Advice I would give someone who is wanting to go abroad now, in high school, or in college. I would say, do it! It’s honestly life changing! You meet so many people, you’re immersed in a new language and culture. It just completely opens your eyes to the world, and for me it has made me realize all of the thing I took for granted back in America. You learn to appreciate the littler things in life and to take life 1 day at a time because time goes by so fast. I have 4 more months left here, and I swear it was just New Years.

Getting To Know/History, School Life

Get to know your counsellors

February 4, 2016 MiaDoa Leave a comment

Get to know your counsellors at Highland Park Senior High School. I interviewed the counsellors about their job, and about themselves.

First, I interviewed Andrea Dickinson, she is the counsellor for students with last names from A to He.

Andrea Dickinson was born on December 1st, the year is unknown as she doesn’t want that information to be let out. Before counseling, she was a teacher. Her parents were educators like she is now. Her father was a principal, and her mother was a teacher. She decided to take a different role in education so she chose counseling. Andrea first started counseling for North St. Paul at John Glenn. Then she started counseling for St. Paul in 1997.

Andrea likes how everyday is different when she’s counseling. Another thing she likes about counseling is that she can actually help students with what they need. Andrea really dislikes the amount of paperwork she has to do. An easy thing for her when counseling is she’s available to help people. But as that can be easy for her, it is really hard for her also because, she isn’t able to help everybody as much as she likes.

People go to Andrea for all kinds of things they need help on. The most common thing people (most likely students) go to her for is to get their schedules changed. People also go to her when they have personal concerns about anything. Andrea Dickinson is really easy to talk to. People also go to her when they want to complain. Though most complaints are about their schedules.

Here are some things about Andrea Dickinson apart from her job. She has one child, a daughter, and she has one puppy. On her free time, she likes to watch The Real House Wives. Her favorite color is black (she thinks her soul is black). “Black, like my soul” is what she replied during the interview.

Then, I interviewed Jason Schlukebier; he is the counselor for students last names starting with the letters R to Z. Jason decided to be a counselor because he wanted to connect with students at a different level than teachers do. Before counseling, Jason was a teacher at Humboldt Senior High School. Jason not only taught there but he also first started counseling there. For 11 years he has been counseling; it’s his 5th year counseling at Highland Park Senior High.

Jason likes how counseling everyday is different. During the interview, he said counseling is more flexible than teaching. He could have lunch whenever, he can have snacks when he wants, and he can go to the restroom anytime he wants to. Whereas teachers have to wait for passing time to be able to go to the restroom. He likes the freedom of counseling. Though he wants to connect with students on a different level than teachers do, he doesn’t like how he isn’t able to connect with as many students as a teacher. Teaching, he gets to see around 150 students and connect with them, but counseling is a bit harder because, he has to wait for a student to come to him.

Teaching: he was a math teacher for nine years. Jason misses the daily interactions with students when he was teaching. An easy thing for him when counseling is connecting with kids and building relationships with them. Jason finds it frustrating when there isn’t enough staff to help a student for free. An example he used was if a student needs tutoring, they don’t have enough staff to help that kid. Meaning the student will have to pay for a tutor. Jason finds that part about school frustrating.

People mostly go to Jason when they have schedule issues. Students whose last names are from R to Z goes to Jason to talk about wanting to change their schedule. Jason also gets people to come and talk to him about their academic issues. Students (mostly seniors) goes to Jason and talk about college. They ask him for college information. These are the things people usually go to Jason for.

Here are a few things about Jason outside of school. Jason likes the color blue. In the interview, he says that blue brings out his eyes. He has a 10 year old son in fourth grade. During his free time he likes to spend time with his family. He likes to travel, ski, and cook. Jason also enjoys watching and playing soccer.

The next counselor I interviewed was Michael Biermaier. Michael was born on September 23rd. He is the counselor who works with juniors through the Mentoring Excellence Program (MEP), helping them in post-secondary eduacation planning.

Michael went into counseling because he’s very passionate about helping people with the first step out of high school. The first step out of high school is very important to him, he doesn’t want people to make the wrong choices. Michael has been counseling for 22 years. It’s the 11th year he’s been counseling at Highland Park Senior High. He first started counseling at Como Park Senior High School.

What Michael likes about counseling is meeting different kinds of people. Michael really dislikes the amount of paperwork he is given. An easy thing when counseling for him is relating to people and undertstanding them. A hard thing is balancing the demand of paperwork (counsellors get a lot of paperwork).

The most common thing students go to Michael for is about college. Students who are looking for a college, or need any help with college information, usually goes to Michael. Michael helps them decide where they want to go. Michael also helps them with how and where to apply for college. The thing about college is you have to pay, so Michael helps students with how to pay for college.

Here are a few things about Michael outside of school. His favorite color is purple. He likes purple because of the Vikings. Not only because of Vikings but also because of jelly beans and Jolly Ranchers. Michael has an Italian Greyhound. Her name is Belle and she is really old. During his free time Michael likes to fish. He has a cabin for fishing. Michael also likes to watch movies and sports.

The next person I interviewed was Johanna Skaar. Johanna was born on February 9th. Johanna is a counselor mostly for freshman. Johanna has only been counseling for 2 years. She works part time at Capital Hill. She also helps with shadow hosting. The first school she taught at was Best Academy.

Johanna started as a teacher. She really likes building relationships with students, and working one on one with them. At first Johanna considered working for special education. but after looking at the roles, she seemed more suited for counseling. Johanna likes seeing students improve. Especially when a student is going through a hard time and struggling but then they get better and they become more successful.

Johanna, like the other counsellors, dislikes the paperwork she has to do. She also dislikes office work and duties non related to students. Something she finds easy is connecting with students. Though connecting with students can be easy for her, she finds it difficult to help students with problems she can’t control.

The most common thing people go to Johanna for is if they’re having any stress, or if they’re struggling with academics. Students also go to her when they have problems with their social life. She likes helping and connecting with many different students; people usually go to her for those kind of things.

Here are some things about Johanna outside of school. Johanna’s favorite color is pink. She likes pink because of pink tulips, and Valentine’s. Right when she got out of college, she got a Bulldog that is now 10 years old. Johanna has one kid on the way and is due in April. During her free time she likes to relax with her dog. Johanna also enjoys watching TV with her husband watching The Sopranos. Other than relaxing, Johanna likes to walk by river.

The last counselor I interviewed is Kimberly Esso, she is the counselor for students with the last names Hi to Q.

Kimberly was born on September 28. The reason she decided to go into counseling was because she has always wanted to work in a school and also to work with students. What Kimberly likes about counseling is working with students. Kimberly said in the interview that her job changes every day making each day different.

What Kimberly dislikes about counseling is there’s a lot of busy work to do. Most her time is answering emails, phone calls, and doing paperwork. Kimberly finds it easy working with teachers and students. What she finds hard is learning a new school because every school is different.

This year is her sixth year counseling. She first started counseling at Open World Learning, also known as OWL. The most common thing people go to her for is college applications. People also go to her when they have class difficulties.

Here are somethings about Kimberly outside of school. Kimberly’s favorite color is blue. She doesn’t know why her favorite color is blue but, she included that blue makes her happy. Kimberly has a daughter who’s 3 1/2 years old. Outside, Kimberly likes biking and walks. She likes to be outside.

These are all the counselors at Highland Park Senior High that I interviewed. It was difficult to try and interview them all at one time due to their busy schedules. But luckily, I was able to interview them all.

School Life

SPPS lunch survey

February 1, 2016 cebnerpradas001 Leave a comment

Students have always had strong opinions about the school lunch food, and now SPPS is taking their word into consideration. Recently, more and more students seem to bring their own lunch from home, or simply do not eat. Considering the lower number of students eating school lunch, SPPS decided to dig deeper into why students choose to stay away from school lunches.

On the SPPS website, you can find the menus for meals served weekly, along with stars to rate that dish (1-5; 1: bad, 5: good). Students taking these surveys are hoping that their input on the dishes will be taken into consideration.

In order to take the survey, go to the link listed below and follow these steps:
http://spps.nutrislice.com/menu/highland-park-high-school-9-12/

First, choose the grade (9th-12th)

Next, pick the school you attend to (Highland Park High School)

Then choose which meal time you would like to pick a dish from

Once you pice the meal time, a calendar will show up with the daily meal offered each day and what foods are a part of that dish.

Pick a specific food. Once this is done, you will see a picture of the food and the nutritional facts.

Give the food of your choice a rating (1-5 stars). This survey also allows you to leave a comment on your opinion of the food.

Regarding the surveys, Italian Dunkers served with corn bread seems to be the most popular dish. Taking this into account, students are hoping that the school will now serve that meal more often, to encourage everyone to eat a good, nutritious meal. Hopefully they will also take into consideration the least popular meal, and either serve it less often or improve what students do not like about it.

This survey has become the beginning of allowing students to leave their honest opinion on their daily school life. The survey also educated the students on the nutritional facts of the foods they are being served daily.

Clubs and Activities, School Life

Chinese New Year at Highland

February 1, 2016 Wendy Vo 1 Comment

Free on Friday? Well, here’s something. On February 5th, 2016, Highland will be hosting a 2016 Chinese New Year celebration organized by the Jie Ming Mandarin Immersion Academy and the Highland Park Middle. Taking place at the Highland Park Sr auditorium, this event will last between 6pm-8pm. The celebration will include a performance and a carnival. Worried that the late night event will leave you feeling hungry? They’ve got that covered as desserts will be served after the performance. However, the actual date of the Lunar new year is on Monday February 8th, 2016. This will mark the first day of the year of the Red Monkey which is the ninth animal in the Chinese Zodiac.

The “red” part of the year represent fire which originates from the Five Elements incorporated into the Chinese calendar. Red is also considered to be a very lucky color in the Chinese culture. Chinese New Year will last for a total of 15 days

People born in the year of the Monkey includes the years: 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, and 2028.

According to SunSigns.org, people born in the year of the Monkey are ambitious (and competitive), smart, yet mischievous, and are associated with activity and adventure. With the year of the Red Monkey, people will be dealing with more financial problems. It is also advised that this year people should be more aware of their actions before making any abrupt changes with anything contributing to money, careers, and relationships.

Location of the event? Highland Park Senior HS: 1015 South Snelling Ave, St Paul, MN 55116

Events, News, School Life

51st anniversary

January 28, 2016 aatiq001 Leave a comment

Highland Park, home of the Scots, has been around for almost 50 years!

1964 is when Highland Park Senior High opened, and 1965 was the first graduating class. Students who graduated in 1966 started off in a different school such as Central, Washington, etc, but when they heard about Highland and how it just opened up, some of the students transferred over, and enjoyed Highland better.

Highland was known for its academics, fellowship, and how good the athletics were. Some called it the “dream school”, while others just thought it was just another school.

Over the years major changes have been made to HPHS. Back in 1965 there were just designated areas that are now football, baseball, and soccer fields. Cheerleading outfits have changed, such as in the fabrics used, and the Highland logo has evolved.

As we were looking through the past yearbooks, we saw so many interesting, and amazing activities that Highland delivered for the students. We saw a large assortment of clubs, and the many different homecoming activities that they had around that time. The yearbook used to be called “Tartan”, and Highland’s neighborhood rival used to be “Derham Hall”, as said in the 1965 yearbook.

Reunions are for people who want to come together again after a long period of separation, and the second graduating class from 1966 is reuniting once more! The founder of this reunion is Synthia Van. The reunion is Saturday August 13, 2016. There is a tour on August 13 at 9:30 A.M. at the Lost Spur Country Club in Eagan.

On that day, 50 years will have passed by for these grads. May that day be filled with happiness, joy, and miracles.

School Life

The Gates Millennium Scholarship

January 28, 2016 Wendy Vo Leave a comment

All over the nation, homes were filled with the clicking and clacking of keyboards as students furiously typed the night away. Rushing to unleash the eight stories of their lives, these student kept in mind that those essays would be the summary of their academic success, adversities, and commitments as a potential leader. With those eight stories, there could be a chance that they will create a life changing moment, determining the fate of their future, and their financial support in college. Being one of those students, the night before the deadline, at 12:15 AM, I sat back with a sweet sigh of relief after smashing the submit button five times (grateful that the site did not crash on me), and from there the waiting began.

January 13, at 11:59 EST, was the final deadline to submit the largest scholarship opportunity in the US for students of color. The Gates Millennium Scholarship was established in 1999 by Bill and Melinda Gates. Just in case you didn’t know, Bill Gates is the co-founder of Microsoft, known as the world’s largest PC software company. With the $1 billion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the goals of the Gates Millennium program is to provide outstanding minority students an opportunity to fulfill their highest academic potential, without being hindered by a financial barrier, so that they can create more diversity in different career areas including education, health and sciences, and mathematics, while also providing better opportunities for future leaders, and offering full support for both undergraduate and graduate programs. Only student of colors are eligible for this scholarship, including African American, American Indian/ Alaska Native, Asian American/ Pacific Islander, and Hispanic American. Other requirements include:

US citizenship or permanent resident;
GPA of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale or have earned a GED,
demonstrate leadership and commitment to community service, extracurricular activities
Eligible for the FAFSA
Will be enrolled in a US accredited college/university as first year students

Students who are rewarded with this scholarship will have their entire college tuition covered at a 4-year institution, and depending on whether the student chose to pursue careers in the sciences, mathematics, or education fields, six years of their graduate degree will also be covered. Being eligible is one small step towards an amazing opportunity, but being able to sacrifice time and effort requires a great commitment.

For the process, students would complete an extensive application with basic demographics and a profile, including your ethnicity, parent income, and self listing your classes and grades. The short descriptions must be included when listing your your leadership roles, community service positions, and jobs you have attained. Some students feel intimidated when they notice the five spaces given per category and worry about not being able to fill all five spaces with large contributions like being class president or team captain. Leadership in this case is just your participation in activities where you have a role and purpose. You don’t have to obtain a high or significant position to be considered a leader. However, the time spent completing the application itself is nothing near the amount of time spent writing the eight essays.

The person reading the essay is only able to identify students as an individual based on the content of the essays. Within those eight thousand words, applicants should be aware to use words wisely and creatively so that those eight thousand words will paint a clear portrait of who they are as a student of color both in their community and at school, leadership capabilities, and educational devotion. By portraying the descriptive details of the particular moment that is unique to only themselves, students are able to explain how their personal characters represents their worth towards this scholarship.

The essay prompts are as follows:

Discuss the subjects in which you excel or have excelled. To what factors do you attribute your success?
Discuss the subjects in which you had difficulty. What factors do you believe contributed to your difficulties? How have you dealt with them so they will not cause problems for you again? In what areas have you experienced the greatest improvement? What problem areas remain?
Briefly describe a situation in which you felt that you or others were treated unfairly or were not given an opportunity you felt you deserved. Why do you think this happened? How did you respond? Did the situation improve as a result of your response?
Discuss your short and long-term goals. Are some of them related? Which are priorities?
Discuss a leadership experience you have had in any area of your life; school, work, athletics, family, church, community, etc. How and why did you become a leader in this area? How did this experience influence your goals?
Discuss your involvement in and contributions to a community near your home, school, or elsewhere. Please select an experience different from the one you discussed in the previous question, even if this experience also involved leadership. What did you accomplish? How did this experience influence your goals?
Other than through classes in school, in what areas (non-academic or academic) have you acquired knowledge or skills? How?
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about that may help us evaluate your nomination (i.e., personal characteristics, obstacles you have overcome)?

The Gates Millennium Scholarship uses the same application every year, with the same constraints, and the identical eight essay prompts. The majority of the prompts are rather specific, and although you should grab the reader’s attention with a detailed story, it is also particularly important to give a clear answer in your conclusions. Although the minimum requirement for the essays are 500 words, it is encouraged that students make the best out of the 1000 word maximum.

Think that the organization will only take your word for everything you say about yourself? Nope. The application also requires students to seek recommendations from two individuals who are capable of recognizing your achievements and identify who you are as a suitable applicant. One person has to be the nominator and another a recommender. The nominator is often a teacher who you most connect with. It is crucial to ask someone who recognizes the importance of this scholarship in order for them to incorporate how much effort you have put in towards this scholarship.

The scholarship is very competitive with about 64,000 applicants each year. However, the faction of students who complete the application or fulfilled the requirements of at least 500 worded-essays leaves us with a 1 in 16,000 chance to be among the 1,000 students who will be winners. In mid-March, applicants will be notified on how to access the status of their application to see whether they made it in as a finalist. After that, the finalists will have to submit additional materials including transcripts, tax returns, college acceptance letters, and other information that determines their eligibility before announcing the actual winners. Not all finalist will be awarded the scholarship. By mid-May, finalist will be informed of the outcome of their applications.

Between 2000 and 2014, $845,713,056 has been awarded to the Gates Scholars, with and average award of $12,492 per scholar.

Unfortunately, the Gates Millennium Scholarship Program will no longer be open to new applicants after this round due to the lack of funds left for future students. This shocking news became a major motivation for students to complete their best work for the scholarship, recognizing that their younger siblings and peers will no longer attain the same opportunity to become a Gates Scholars.

Advice/How To, School Life

Getting Distracted by Electronics

January 19, 2016 aabdulle005 Leave a comment

We all love our tablets and cell phones etc. These devices were meant to save us time, but too often, they end up wasting it instead. For many people, cell phones have become a “new best friend”. Even if you aren’t actively trying to access your cell phone, you’re distracted by notifications, texts, and incoming calls.

People have a habit of checking their phones every 5 seconds, and that could cause a lot of injuries. Here are some reasons why checking your phone constantly is bad.

In 2012, 3,328 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver. You can prevent that from happening by pulling over if you need to talk on your phone, or turning off your phone.

You’ll see people walking down the hall and the street staring at their phone. That could cause bumping into someone, tripping over something or hurting yourself, etc. This could be prevented by making sure you are paying attention to your surroundings.

You have a big test tomorrow and it’s worth half of your grade, and kids don’t even bother to study for it because they’re too distracted with their cell phone, tablet, iPod, laptop, etc. By turning off electronic devices while studying, these distractions can be avoided. Students should set aside specific study times where they put their electronics away.

There are so many reasons of how electronics can distract you. To prevent it from happening, limit your cell phone use, turn off all your notifications so you don’t get distracted by all the buzzes.

Local, School Life

SPPS fights

December 17, 2015 feveng514 Leave a comment

This past school year has seen an increase in fights in the St. Paul Public School district. Harding High School, Como Senior High, and Central all have had to call police over the recent fights that have been happening, according to Fox News. In the beginning of the school year, a loaded gun was brought to Harding in a backpack along with marijuana. According to Fox 9 news, there was no intent on using the gun.

After the Central High student (name not released) attacked staff member Mr. Ekbald during lunch, the mother of the student said that her child did not know the adult was a teacher. The 16 year old student caused a traumatic brain injury, tingling in his hands and back, and neck pain to the staff member. Mr. Ekbald was choked until he was left unconsciousness and later was admitted to a hospital.

School officials are saying the outbreak of violence in SPPS schools are a result of poverty and lack of parental guidance. In an interview with Fox 9 News, the principal of Central High, Mary Mackbee, spoke about the outbreak of violence, “Our kids are needier they come from families that are suffering, whether financially or for other reasons. There’s just a lot of chaos in this world.”

One of the problems may be discipline. The Pioneer Press reports that many students are disrespectful towards their teachers. That behavior may lead to more violent behavior.

This issue hits Highland Park Senior High hard, because we’re part of the SPPS schools, and we care about our students’ safety. Kennedy McTeague, a ninth grader at Highland, when asked about her safety in school replied, “I feel terrible about what happened at Central, but I don’t think that’ll happen at Highland. We hardly have any fights and we are given alternative ways to deal without violent breakouts.”