When I think of West, I think of the daily lines of students craving a fresh cookie from the café, as well as the weekly under-the-table hot dog transactions at the back corner of the school. I remember Mr. Campione hurtling an egg at the blackboard in the name of physics, and I can’t help but reminisce Mrs. Cartee’s unhealthy obsession with tiny chairs. I think of the blood, sweat, and quite-literal tears shed by the chem kids reviewing VSEPR the night before a test—as well as the comforting words of encouragement offered by students and teachers alike. I’ll always remember the spontaneous roars of laughter erupting during Mr. West productions, and I’ll never forget the rattling of the bleachers in the last quarter of an East-West football game.
When I think of West, I think of some of the most spirited, dynamic, and warm-hearted students I have ever met, united in times of victory and resilient in times of loss. I think of the teachers that continue to inspire me, and I am reminded of some of the greatest friendships I will ever form. It is this community that has shaped our perceptions of the world, our personal theories of how it works. As we meet new people, share new interactions, and encounter new experiences, I hope that we will continue to seek communities that electrify the world in the same way that West had. I hope that we will all find our niches, surrounding ourselves with people that bring out the absolute best in the world—and, by extension, the absolute best in ourselves. On behalf of the Class of 2021, I would like to thank West once more for this undeniably, unforgettable experience. It has been an honor.
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Many of us procrastinate, despite our best efforts not to. After all, it always seems easier to complete those assignments later, when it's more convenient. When that time never comes, we regret our actions, scrambling to turn something mediocre in at the last minute. Here are a few tricks to help you avoid this trap in the future:
1. Remove nearby distractions, including your cell phone This one’s a bit cliché, but it really does work. Studies have shown that turning off your phone and setting it facedown drastically improves focus, retention, and understanding. In fact, even setting it on “Do Not Disturb” is better than nothing. It is important to remember that everything will still be there when you get back, and removing these distractions early on allows you to return to them later with more energy and less stress. 2. Start it, even for five minutes Doing unfavorable tasks is hard: each has an “activation energy” that we must overcome to complete it. Luckily, the hardest part of completing a task is often just starting it. This means that if you commit to doing something for only five minutes, you’ll likely work more productively on it for much longer. 3. Predict Your Failure As you set your goal, think about what is going to stop you from completing it. Predict how you’ll fall short. Doing this helps you recognize your bad habits, preparing you to overcome them in the future. 4. Create accountability It’s much easier to disappoint our own expectations than others’. Thus, if you commit to working on a task with a friend, the added accountability will make you much more likely to stick to your plan. 5. Make “friends” with your future self We often push tasks back, hoping that our future selves will be much more motivated to complete it than our current selves are. Unfortunately, this is often not the case, as we are typically more stressed, time-crunched, and overwhelmed as the assignment due date creeps closer. By over-idealizing our future selves, we fail to recognize the obvious: that they are not so different than our current selves. We can remove this disconnect by empathizing with our future selves, completing the assignments that we get at a much more manageable rate. 6. Reward yourself! Sometimes, we just need some positive reinforcement to motivate us to do our work. Set a goal and reward yourself when you reach it—no matter how small the accomplishment is. 7. Set a time (and commit to it!) Most of us would consider completing our missing assignments unfavorable, so we sporadically complete them over long periods of time—dragging our feet to complete one here and there. Unfortunately, doing this actually makes the process more unbearable: according to neuroscientists, prolonging unfavorable events prevents our brains from adapting to their unpleasantness. By instead committing to a definite set of time, we can enter into a more prolonged and productive state of mind. 8. Put yourself in the right environment It’s always easier to focus in a silent library than in a chattery restaurant. That’s because we’re more inclined to mimic our environment, to do what those around us are doing. Luckily, if we set ourselves in a motivated environment, we can reap the benefits of our strange psychology. 9. Take a break Many of us procrastinate when we feel overwhelmed, hoping to avoid our problems by delegating them to the future. If we instead set a short time to decompress, we can return to our tasks with a fresh mind. 10. Make a To-Do List By writing our tasks out on paper, we make them more tangible. When this happens, we become much more inclined to complete them, recognizing their urgency and time-commitment. (Not to mention, crossing off those tasks always feels great 😊) 11. Finally, make it easy Make it as easy as possible to access your pencils, textbook, and laptop by setting them nearby. The less work it takes to begin the task, the more likely it is that you’ll complete it. Reading a list of books can be a big time commitment, one that we often don’t want to make. However, when we are genuinely invested in a story, this seemingly-stressful commitment becomes an afterthought.
To simplify the process, I thus assembled a list of books that are worth everyone’s time, books that have resonated with CB students and teachers for years after their initial read. Here are the most memorable books that you ought to read before the end of high school:
Partnering with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), CBW has officially begun its transition into a No Place for Hate School. House Principal Mr. Rubenstein explains the importance of this decision: “[The school] is working with ADL so that people have a deeper understanding of their similarities and differences, so people can understand each other from diverse backgrounds, ability levels, and sexual orientations.”
West has three main goals for its transition, each centering around awareness, understanding, and appreciation. To accomplish these, it plans to reach out to as many voices as it can: surveying students and staff, it began to clarify its current role in addressing inequity—as well as the steps that it should take to further its inclusive agenda. The questions that the survey asked ranged from the diversity of books, art, and movies offered to the inclusivity of the curriculum as a whole, all of which yielded surprisingly-consistent results. Using this data, the school has already responded to calls for change. “We’ve formed a representative student and staff No Place for Hate team...and we meet biweekly,” Rubenstein says. “We’re having those conversations now that we have a better understanding of people’s perceptions and first-hand experiences...and after creating an agenda, we’re going to come up with activities that are geared towards the whole student body.” He hopes to connect to students by advertising such activities via the school’s website and newsletter. Moving forward, Rubenstein even envisions the No Place for Hate initiative linking student-run groups such as the Black Lives Matter Club, the Brown Student Union, and the Gay-Straight Alliance Club. Despite early successes, he believes that there are many more steps that the school must take to assimilate the initiative into the culture at West. He hopes to start small, to create manageable goals for the year that target what the data suggests more than anything. While he stresses that each goal will not be met this year, he believes that these efforts will eventually lead to sustainable change in the way we present and represent information in the curriculum. “Moving forward, I think that each year [the initiative] going to become more ingrained here at West, and that’s the goal.” The following essay is a train of thought that I had. I asked some of my peers for their opinions on the matter: “Is makeup empowering?” To answer this, I focused on its normalized use by women—though I acknowledge and encourage that others use it.
Makeup has been used for thousands of years; for women, it has become as “essential” to femininity as skirts, long hair, and a soft voice. Despite this, makeup has become a new monster today: with an overwhelming variety of brushes, lipsticks, eyeliners, blushes, powders, eyeshadows, and highlighters to choose from, makeup has integrated itself deeply into women’s daily lives. This has created a unique culture, with impacts both liberating and oppressive. Generally, makeup is seen as artwork, with powders as paints and the face as the canvas. Because of this, feminists market makeup as liberating: women can “choose their look” from a variety of different colors and styles. Thus, they argue, makeup empowers women by enhancing their features and giving them confidence in their own unique appearance. Feminists are not wrong: women choose to wear makeup for all of these reasons. The use of makeup has even helped to destroy gender stereotypes when used by men. Despite this, wearing makeup is not much of a feminist issue for women, as its prevalence in popular culture is hardly revolutionary. In fact, this “choice” seems to have been made up for women long before they actually make it. The roots of makeup come from the value and emphasis placed on women’s looks. Most women wear makeup, and its use has become so normalized that women are expected to wear it all of the time. When they do not, they are viewed as “dressing down” or looking less professional. Likewise, those who choose not wear makeup at all seem to be far more harassed than those who do. My sister, for example, is one of the few at my high school that chooses not to wear any makeup because she does not like it. Despite this, she constantly feels pressure to wear it from friends, social media, and society in general. Her choice is not celebrated but questioned. In today’s society, what is celebrated is using makeup to mask one’s insecurities, and those who stray from this norm are seen as less sane. While women are under scrutiny not wearing makeup, there is an ironic paradox: those who wear “too much” makeup, as well as makeup that strays from the norm, experience similar harassment. For example, bolder or brighter shades, while empowering to some, are highly critiqued as overwhelming. Covering up too much skin is also seen as artificial. While I was at a dinner event with a friend a few years ago, one adult commented that my friend’s face “looked like concrete” and “lathered excessively with thick paint.” Similarly, in the workplace, modest makeup is the tacit “dress code”; those who stray away from this are not taken seriously because of they seem to be placing too much of an emphasis on their appearance. Ironically, this emphasis was originally placed by society long before this, with fixed standards. This culture therefore takes away the very aspect of makeup that makes it empowering: the ability for women to “choose” their own look. Generally, the culture of makeup is colorful, bold—empowering, even! Its use has been normalized beyond women, emboldening men and nonbinary people. However, it is also extremely black and white. There are many tacit rules that come with this culture, and these rules are often not flexible. Social media and the growth of technology have been no help with this: in airbrushed, scenic photos, celebrities show off their skinny bodies while they pose in fully-applied makeup. Snapchat “lenses” alter reality by slimming faces, adding electronic false eyelashes, and airbrushing blemishes. This has only enforced the normality of altering one’s natural features, which have been deemed as unacceptable. Surrounded by this normalized culture, women become pressured to join the movement so that they will not feel left behind. To me, the question still remains: is makeup empowering or belittling? Perhaps it’s subjective—or maybe it is a little bit of both. From California wildfires to nationwide protests, today’s events are hard to ignore. In fact, it is contested issues such as environmental policy, coronavirus response, and healthcare regulation that are at the heart of the upcoming presidential election. Staunch differences between each candidate’s platform have divided Americans, many of which have strong preferences for who their future leader should be. Is the CB community nearly as divided? To find out, I asked students to anonymously submit their preferred candidate, citing the reasons for their decision. Below are some of the responses:
“TRUMP! Great president and will keep being a great president…[Joe Biden] can’t run this country and he’s racist!!” “Biden. Trump wants to remove the Affordable Care Act which will leave a lot of people without health insurance.” “Biden because he believes in climate change, wants to improve education, and wants to improve healthcare.” “Trump because he helped the economy a lot before the pandemic. I know he isn’t a great person but the unemployment rate was really low with him as president, which benefitted a lot of people.” “Biden because he focuses on issues such as climate change and wants to abolish private prisons. I also believe he will provide more police reform, and he won’t push to take away women or LGBT rights.” “Biden…I think Trump might legit not know what’s in the Constitution.” “Both candidates suck.” “Biden because of how awful Trump is. He doesn’t care about minorities, the poor, etc. In my opinion, it is very selfish to support Trump this election because your first priority is money.” Of course, these responses don’t necessarily reflect the ratio of students who support each candidate. However, they offer insight into what issues, qualities, and policies students deem as important for the future. I encourage the CB community to continue to voice such opinions—both in conversation and at the booths! The current health pandemic has greatly affected many, both in the community and around the world. While self-isolation is the most responsible practice, it has its drawbacks: humans are naturally very social, so social distancing can have a negative impact on their mental health. Given the current circumstances, I decided to modify the March monthly blog--asking older teens in the community for their self-quarantine experience, opinions, and advice. This month, I asked fellow CB Cares Volunteers the same questions. Here are their responses.
Q: How has COVID-19 personally affected you? Before the pandemic, I had so many things to balance in my schedule between schoolwork and various extracurricular, along with still finding time to spend with my friends and family. It was strange at first with how rapidly all of that was cancelled and my schedule was left completely empty, but then as I adjusted it was nice to be able to have time to relax. I’ve been able to try new hobbies such as sewing and complete all my school work in a timely manner. -Bella A. COVID-19 has affected my life a lot in these past few weeks, we now have off from school for the rest of the year and we can't leave our homes. I can't see my friends and and i just recently found out some unfortunate news that someone i know has it. -Reese H. The end of this school year was supposed to be packed with activities, including the freshman trip to DC, the band trip to Dorney Park, band concerts, track meets, and jazz festivals. Now that school has been canceled, I am no longer able to take part in any of those things. I don’t know if my summer art classes in North Carolina will still take place. I am not able to see all my friends and it’s driving me crazy. However, I am spending this time drawing and spending quality family time, so I am trying to look on the bright side. -Madelyn E. Q: Is there any advice that you have for others in the same circumstances? My advice for everyone would be to make a schedule. It doesn’t have to be a strict hour-by-hour plan for everyday, but I find it helpful and comforting to have some routine. It would be so easy to waste time during self-isolation, so I think having routine helps ensure you fill your time doing productive things. -Bella A. My advice for anyone in the same circumstances is to just try and stay calm and be sure to wash your hands, stay inside, and try and make the best of this situation. -Reese H. Please do not go outside except to exercise or get food. This pandemic is killing people, and it is important that we follow the social distancing guidelines. Also, look on the bright side. It will get better and everything will be back to normal in a few months. Use this time to do something you are passionate about, like music, art, photography, or exercise. -Madelyn E. Q: What is your opinion on distance learning? Does it have any limitations? Personally, I enjoy distance learning. The meetings with classes aren’t too long, but still long enough to get work done, and when I work on my own, I can go at my own pace. It’s a very flexible program which is needed in a time such as this, one none of us have ever experienced before. However, I can see how distance learning could pose issues for some students. Because much responsibility is put on the students to attend classes and do their work asynchronously, it could be easy to blow off many assignments and videos calls. Also, I recognize that for some it’s hard to focus and complete school work while in their homes. With that said, I would still say that, overall, distance learning is working well for most. -Bella A. I think distance learning is alright, in most cases it's easier to do school from home, but sometimes i can get distracted and it takes me awhile to finish my work. -Reese H. It isn’t bad. It is definitely easier than normal school, considering we have two classes a day and each class is once a week. The teachers give manageable workloads and I feel much less stressed than I would in normal school. -Madelyn E. Q: What has this experience made you appreciate? This experience has made me appreciate the daily interactions I have with others. I believe everyone would agree with me when I say that I miss seeing my friends, but I also miss the people I see everyday who I wouldn’t necessarily consider a close friend. 5. After self-isolation finishes, what changes will you make to your daily routine? As of lately, I have been exercising a lot more than I normally do. I have started every day off with a run, and while it’s not a long run, it feels good to begin my with physical activity. It has also forced me to wake up earlier, causing me to not waste much of my day sleeping in. As I continue on even after self-isolation ends, I would like to keep up the extra fitness and productivity in my life. -Bella A. This has made me appreciate being able to go outside and being able to go places and do all of the everyday things i would normally do. Now that we can't go most places or even to school and most of the world is on "lock down" it has made me realize how lucky we were to be able to do those things. -Reese H. It made me appreciate the time I am spending with my family. We walk the dog and have been watching a lot of movies together. I also am appreciating the down time away from school. -Madelyn E. Q: After self-isolation finishes, what changes will you make to your daily routine? After self isolation is finished, i am definitely going to try and go out more and hang out with my friends as much as i can. I think everyone is going to make a lot of changes and appreciate being able to go outside. -Reese H. I am definitely going to see my friends more, since we will have not seen each other for 4 months. I am going to try to be more active and spend less time on my phone. -Madelyn E. The current health pandemic has greatly affected many, both in the community and around the world. While self-isolation is the most responsible practice, it has its drawbacks: humans are naturally very social, so social distancing can have a negative impact on their mental health. Given the current circumstances, I decided to modify the monthly blog--asking older teens in the community for their self-quarantine experience, opinions, and advice.
Q: How has COVID-19 personally affected you? I used to have a packed schedule that kept me active and busy. I think the main effect of COVID-19 and social distancing is that because we are staying home every day for the safety of others (which I support), my life has come to lack structure. What used to be a 14 hour day of work is now staying at home and having to make myself complete assignments. In addition, my family and I don't get along very well. I try to spend most of my time alone in my room as to not engage in conflict since my family can be easily upset. Ultimately, both of these things have taken an enormous toll on my mental health and stability. -Anonymous I've had to stay home and rarely left the house besides going out to walk my dog. Many of my competitions and various other events have been canceled, so there is nothing really to look forward to. My dad is a neurologist in northern Philadelphia, and he has around 12-15 cases in his hospital. We're all worried about his health, but besides that, life has just been treading along slowly. -Sarah Z. Biggest effect is not being able to compete with a team that I have trained really hard for. So many of the track athletes poured their heart and souls into it and made a lot of sacrifices only to be told that their season was canceled. It;s not just track athletes though--it's every athlete. It;s a really big adjustment to not be able to go and pole vault every day and interact with teammates. Also, I feel the [current] community in general gives off a fearful environment and it's so much different than the Doylestown that I grew up in. -Chloe T. I haven't had to deal with anyone I know getting COVID-19, but my mom works in a doctor's office where she's still working around many people and answering phone calls about people with symptoms. My grandma was also in England visiting her family there and getting back here was a bit of a struggle, but she is now at home quarantining for 14 days! Also obviously everything being canceled because of COVID-19, including my work closing and dance studio closing. -Sophia F. My mom works in a hospital so our family has to take extra precautions than most would. -Mihika S. COVID-19 has affected me to a point in my personal day-to-day life: over the past few weeks, I have been locked up in my house by my parents, so that part of my life has changed very much. Normally, I am rarely home for long periods of time, but nowadays, that's pretty much the only thing I do. -Partha P. It has been kind of frustrating because the weather is nicer and we can finally go outside, but we aren't allowed to see our friends. -Kiley A. Q: Is there any advice that you have for others in the same circumstances? Take it day by day. if you feel as though you're spending your days going nothing productive, do one small thing at a time and celebrate your progress. I read a quote that said, "you're not working from home; you're attempting to do work at home during a global crisis," and it isn't easy for anyone. If you and your family don't get along, just do the best you can to stay safe and stay happy. -Anonymous Please recognize how privileged you are right now to be in a house with access to running water, food, and electricity. Learn how to appreciate the little things that you take for granted. It isn't the end of the world, and complaining cannot solve anything. Instead, embrace what you've been given, and turn the situation into something you can reflect on positively. -Sarah Z. My advice to others is to find a way to adapt and make the most of this time. Sure, you may be stuck at home, but this is an opportunity to improve in a class you struggle in, get outside more, connect with friends you may have drifted from, spend time with family, and maybe even train for that sport you were determined to compete in this school year. Being stuck at home is all you make of it. -Chloe T. I guess just try not to panic, just be smart! Try to appreciate the time you have right now because even though it stinks not being able to go out, there's plenty of things to do at home and with your family to keep you busy. -Sophia F. Just stay inside and don't panic. Keep washing your hands and try not to touch your face, eyes, and nose as much. -Mihika S. Just keep in mind that this will be over eventually, and we will go back to normal. Don't panic. -Partha P. Meditation helps a lot, and waking up earlier before people in your house does make it very peaceful. -Kiley A. Q: What is your opinion on distance learning? Does it have any caveats? Phase 1 of distance learning severely lacked structure. Even though it was a transitional period, better structure could have been implemented (grading assignments for only 1 point, etc.). I believe Phase 2 has the structure that Phase 1 lacked, so it will be more successful. I think CB made the right call making classes pass/fail and cancelling cores/finals. This gives the opportunity for students who are going through the crisis worse than others an opportunity to focus on themselves and their families. -Anonymous I don't like the fact that it's majorly busy-work based, but I know that it's often out of teachers' control with what they can offer us. I'm so lucky to to still be able to have a laptop and easy access to learning and an education. -Sarah Z. While teachers are trying their best to crank out distance learning, it does come with many challenges. For some, it takes away the opportunity to get the class communication that is helpful for so many students and concerns many others because it takes away a chance for them to improve their GPAs, especially if they were shooting for more selective schools. Overall, I think it is nice that it is nice that the teachers have still put their best effort into a system that is not perfect and have shown that they care about the students. -Chloe T. Distance learning isn't the best. I don't blame teachers or the district though, because it really was such a sudden switch that none of us really knew how to do this. I think the problems are just not being able to be in a classroom and interact with teachers and peers. My main concern is with the bigger picture, such as AP tests, college admissions, or classes next year since the grading and everything is so different. -Sophia F. I am fine with distance learning where we only review for our upcoming AP tests but I don't think distance learning should be graded or we should learn new content. This is considering that we don't have a final and every person's family situation right now is very different. I think school should be the least of everyone's worries right now, which is why graded assignments would be bad. -Mihika S. Distance learning is not that bad; it has a few issues that I'm sure will be worked out with time. -Partha P. So far, my teachers have been somewhat confusing with where we find out distance learning material and none of them besides my chem teacher have posted a meeting schedule, which I feel helps a lot. -Kiley A. Q: What has this experience made you appreciate? It has made me appreciate my friends more than anything. They know how my mental health can be affected by my family and have done so much to reach out to me and make sure that I am okay. It has also brought me to appreciate physically going to school and learning with my peers and teachers. I would give anything to be back in my desk finishing my senior year right now. -Anonymous Everything, particularly the connection I have with other people. I'm endlessly grateful for my friends, for my family, for a house and the ability to stay at home because I have all the resources I need. -Sarah Z. This experience has really made me appreciate the level of freedom that we have in our lives and the safety that our town projects. We are free to come and go without the worry of having to go out and unintentionally harm ourselves or loved ones because of some virus. -Chloe T. This experience made me really appreciate the little things I love doing but can't very often. I've been on walks, learned dance combos in my basement, done puzzles with my mom, embroidered, read books, watched TV, and just done so many things that in a normal week I couldn't because there wasn't time. However, I've also learned to appreciate the things that we can't go to right now. I miss school, work, and all my activities that I would often complain about. I never fully appreciated the human interaction and experiences those things have me, and now not having them makes me realize that! -Sophia F. I like how everyone is willing to help each other and look out for each other. It's sweet. I also like how we can see how well nature is doing without our interference. -Mihika S. It''s made me appreciate going outside much much more. -Partha P. It has made me appreciate school a lot more, because I was able to learn much easier in school and found it easier to focus. -Kiley A. Q: After self-isolation finishes, what changes will you make to your daily routine? I will continue to exercise every day. This is something I have just implemented into my schedule during social isolation and it has been a way to relieve my stress. I think this is one of the healthiest habits I have developed, and I want to continue to implement it into my normal lifestyle. -Anonymous Taking more time to self-reflect and practice meditation & journaling! -Sarah Z. In my daily routine, I hope to make more time to go outside. It reminds me of when I was a kid and I would go outside from 10 in the morning until dinner time. Even the younger kids who grew up with phones have been pushed outside by their parents. My sister, who would almost always rather go on her phone, recently said that she now loves going outside. -Chloe T. The changes I'll try to make when this is over is first appreciating those things more, and in the moment when I'm there. I'll also try to manage my time a lot more so I have time to do these things I love and have been spending time doing. -Sophia F. I'm going to try to workout as much as I am now and value people more. You never know when you might not be able to see them and for how long it will be. -Mihika S. I'm going to go back to my regular routine that I used to follow, mainly going out with friends, working out at the gym, etc. -Partha P. I don't really think I'll make any changes that I haven't done before. -Kiley A. Q: If you could live in any time period, when would you live?
I would live in the 1990's because I loved the fashion trends (which was a little weird, but also cute!). Some fashion trends I loved are butterfly clips, plaid skirts & pants, and denim jackets, but obviously there's so much more to say! -Nicole M. If I had a chance to live in any time period, I would want to live in the 70’s. I would want to live then because there wasn’t any phones or anything. People would actually talk to people and what I have heard from my parents it sounds like it would be a fun time to live then. -Madison L. Q: Now that winter is coming to an end, which indoor/outdoor activities will you miss the most? I'm going to miss making hot chocolate and cookies while feeling festive for Christmas. There's not a thing I do differently in each season, rather than staying in and watch videos or going shopping at the mall. -Nicole M. One indoor activity I will miss will be playing indoor soccer. one thing I like about indoor soccer is that the teams are smaller, and I like to play on the turf because the ball moves faster. Even though I will be moving to outdoor soccer, I will still miss playing on the turf since we don’t get the opportunity to play on turf as much as I would like. -Madison L. Q: Do you have any book, movie, or TV show recommendations for days off from school? If you like poetry, Milk & Honey or The Sun and Her Flowers are some must-reads! However, I also recommend reading some other books like Nimona, They Both Die at the End, Eleanor & Park, and Fangirl. -Nicole M. One TV show I would recommend is Gossip Girl because when I watched I loved it. This show would be perfect to watch on a snow day since it will occupy your time. Since I liked it so much after the first time, I watched it I watched it a second time and it was just as good the second watching it. -Madison L. Q: What flavors would you include in a Valentine’s Day box of chocolates? I would include chocolate filled with chocolate syrup, cookies & cream, strawberry, & raspberry. These flavors remind me of Valentine's day and they fit in with the theme of pink, being in love, and being sweet to others. -Nicole M. The flavors I would include in a box of valentine’s chocolate would we cookies and cream. I would include these flavors because I never see cookies and cream chocolate in the boxes, so I would like to see it in the boxes since a lot of people would enjoy it. -Madison L. Q: Reflect on your past month. Did you begin to accomplish any of the goals you set at the beginning of the year? I accomplished having a homework routine, where I don't put everything off until the last minute. Although, I want to accomplish more this year that I didn't focus on last year like getting a part time job or volunteering at my local library or hospital. -Nicole M. I did start one of my goals which was getting all A’s so far, I am halfway through my goal. I have gotten all A’s for both the first and second marking period. I’m hoping I can keep it going for the third marking period. -Madison L. Write (and answer) your own question! Q: What is your best childhood memory? A: My favorite childhood memory was when I was 4 years old, my dad took me out to my favorite park and we took a mini photo shoot with the ducks at the pond! I remembered having so much fun, and I looked so cute whenever I look back at the pictures. -Nicole M. Q: What were the highlights of your holiday break?
My favorite part of holiday break was seeing my cousins on Christmas Day. There are ten of us and we have always been really close. The youngest is 10 and the oldest is 18. We play a lot of games together, like Ghosts in the Graveyard, Spoons, and Ultimate Werewolf. Then on the Friday after Christmas some of us met up and went bowling. I also did a lot of other fun things. My family and I went to LumiNature at the Philadelphia Zoo, and we saw my cousin Sasha in the Pennsylvania Nutcracker. Also, I had my friend come over, and later my Uncle, who lives in Los Angeles, came over for dinner and we got to play on my new Wii U with him. On Tuesday we went to the Mütter Museum with my Grandpa. It was really gross but also kind of cool. -Riley S. The highlights of my break was getting to spend time with my family. I also enjoyed not having to go to school and getting to have a break from the work. I also enjoyed eating all of the food that my family had made like some many different kinds of Christmas cookies. -Madison L. Q: How do you usually spend you New Year’s Eve? Usually, on New Years Eve all of the family’s on my Mom/s side meet in Philadelphia to watch the fireworks. Then we go to a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. -Riley S. Usually just with my family. We try to go on vacation during the holiday breaks, so that is always very fun. Because I am usually celebrating the New Year a few hours before or after my friends, I don't make a big deal out of reaching out to people to wish them a Happy New Year. Regardless, this holiday is very relaxing and a nice start to the year before school begins again. -Anonymous I usually spend it with my family, but this year I went over to my friend’s house. At my friend’s house we just hung out and watched the countdown on the tv, and we also just enjoyed the new year. -Madison L. Q: What are some of your goals this year? This year, I have a lot of goals. I want to jump rope every day, try to be kinder when I am in a bad mood, and get the Central Bucks School District cafeterias to have reusable, stainless steel utensils, or at least compostable utensils so that we can reduce how much trash we produce. -Riley S. I am trying not to procrastinate with my schoolwork, which I always do. Also, my time-management skills need work. Besides this, I want to involve myself a bit more in the community, maybe through volunteering or a team sport. -Anonymous Some of the goals I have this year is to try to get distinguished honors for all marking periods. And also, to do well in soccer and try to get at least 12 goals this year. -Madison L. Q: Do you usually meet your New Year’s resolutions? Why or why not? I usually try to get to my new year’s resolution, but mostly I don’t end up completing it. It’s not because I give up its because its my luck that it wouldn’t happen. I will mostly achieve my goal of scoring at least 12 goals in soccer, but the first goal I mostly will end up getting at least 2 distinguished honors. -Madison L. Q: What are you looking forward to this year? This year I am looking forward to over the summer. My brother is going out west to do a paleontological dig, and during that time I am going to try to volunteer at an animal shelter. -Riley S. I’m looking forward to the summer starting and this year I feel like would be the best summer to hang out with friends and just relax. I can’t wait to not be in school and have a break from all the schoolwork. -Madison L. Write your own question! Q: What was your favorite thing that happened last year? A: One of my favorite things that happened last was getting to go to Hawaii. It was the highlight of my year because I got to see stuff that just wasn’t at the new jersey beaches. I got to explore and see things I would probably never see again. -Madison L. |