Category Archives: school

School is….. longer?!

Guess what?! Some states are starting to consider longer school days! And about five others have already been starting an hour earlier! In the article, “5 states to increase class time in some schools,” It says that five states are going to make learning time for students longer by adding 300 hours to the school year in 2013. The five states that are doing it are Colorado, Massachusetts, New york, Tennessee, and yes, Connecticut. The site says that the reason that states are making school times longer is because they want to boost student achievement and make U.S. schools more competitive on a global level. This will affect almost 20,000 students in 40 schools. They are hoping to expand it to more schools. But that is up to the teachers and parents on whether or not they want to make the school day longer, add more days to the school year, or both.

My opinion on this issue? My opinion is that we should not have a longer school day because we already spend enough time in school! We barely get to see our parents! If anything, the school day should be shorter. Also, some of us kids are not morning people and it is a struggle to wake up in the morning. If we have to get up even earlier, we may get sick from lack of sleep! And if school was an hour or more longer, some people would not be able to do the after school activities that they enjoy most (ex. soccer, lacrosse, karate etc.)  Lastly, even though we are kids, we have lives outside of school, senate people!!!!! And I think that if you ask any other kid, they would agree with me.

~Erika Markowski

The Fall of the Town Pool

The town pool is a “waste of money” says a Cheshire citizen quoted in the Cheshire Herald.   Every year millions of dollars are spent on the Cheshire pool.  Does it have perks? Of course it does, it’s a pool. But does it also have a lot of bad things about it?   For example, this year we are spending 7 million dollars on a machine that will make it so the pool will not use as much energy.  A lifeguard who represented the pool at a town meeting stated that 500 kids were taught how to swim in 2011. The real question is whether 500 kids learning how to swim is more important than millions of dollars that could be going to other essential needs of the town.

In my opinion the Cheshire public pool is a HUGE waste of money. I think that millions of dollars of Cheshire’s money should be going to more important things like education or healthy eating. Yes, I do believe that it is attractive to have a town pool, but I do not think it looks good to the town if the roof covering it is falling down every single winter!   Did you know that 1.3 million dollars of the schools budget was cut so that there was more money to spend on the pool?  I doubt it. There is no way that we have this much money to just throw at the pool and hope that it survives the year.  Even if does survive then you just hope you won’t have too much trouble putting the bubble up and down. I have been a citizen of Cheshire ever since I was born and I think that I have been to the pool all of 3 times. There are way too many problems to worry about when dealing with the pool. I think that it should be closed for good.

~Adler Demac

Getting Enough Sleep is Very Important for Kids

Is sleep important for children? A new study says yes. A new study published this week in the journal Pediatrics shows that children who do not get enough sleep have less control over emotions and are less focused at school. The National Sleep Foundation recommend that children who are between 5 to 12 should get 10 to 11 hours of sleep. Getting enough sleep does not just wake you up in the drowsy morning.  If you get enough sleep, your behaviors and grades can get improved. Before the survey had began, students were asked to sleep the same amount of time as they normally would, and their teachers were asked to score down their behaviors and grades. After five nights of kids’ sleep change, the teachers were asked to do the same again. Compared to the original score, those who slept less had the worse behaviors, and those who had enough sleep were normal.

I think sleep is just so important, sometimes you can pass out if you’re way too tired. If you’re tired at school, you won’t be able to pay attention in the class. If you don’t pay attention, you won’t be able to do your homework at home, therefore you can get  bad grades. If sleep is that important, why don’t kids just go to bed earlier? Do they spend too much time on the screen? I know some kids do that, but also, I know most kids in my school do not spend a whole lot of time on the screen, and they couldn’t get enough sleep either. It’s because when kids get to high school and middle school, they get more homework than before. In addition, they have to wake up early in the morning. Especially in high school. So I strongly suggest that middle school and high school should delay the school time, if you want kids to pay their whole attention in the class, you need to let them wake up late. If kids want to go to bed early and be awake the next morning, and they have sports or activities after school, they will have too much pressure. In a long period of time, they will be stressed, and we definitely don’t want kids to get too stressed. So, if the schools want kids to get better grades, you have to delay the school time, then kids can get an amount of sleep they need.

~Oscar Cai

Dodd Drama Club 2013 Production To Be Alice in Wonderland, Jr

This year, the all-anticipated release of the show is coming early. The Dodd Drama Club will be performing the musical Alice in Wonderland, Jr, based on the book and movies. In the story, our protagonist, Alice, follows the curious White Rabbit, who is late to something, down a big hole, where she finds herself in Wonderland. There, she shrinks and grows, all because of little potions. She also meets Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, races the Dodo bird, raps with a bubble-blowing Caterpillar, and beats the Queen of Hearts at her own game! She also encounters the Mad Hatter and the March Hare at one of their infamous wild parties, and sings a few songs as well. Some major songs from the show include “I’m Late” (White Rabbit), “The Un-Birthday Song” (Mad-Hatter and March Hare), “Painting the Roses Red” (Queen of Hearts), “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” (Caterpillar), and the theme of the show, “Alice in Wonderland” (Full Cast). While there are no set dates yet, this show should be performed in March 2013. The directors for the play are Mr. Runte and Mrs. Shanley. Last year’s production, Aladdin, Jr, was a smash hit, which is hopefully a good omen for this year as well.

I’m pretty excited for this play. Having had a major role in last year’s show, (Jasmine’s understudy, if you were wondering,) I have been looking forward to this year’s performance since the day of our final performance last year. I know what you’re wondering…. what do I want to be? Honestly, I would love to be Alice. I think that it would be so much fun in a lead role. Taking the final bow, with all the applause….. it’s a feeling you really can’t describe. I’m having trouble trying to put it to words right now! I also think that the costumes this year are going to be amazing. There are so many crazy outfits, like the Flowers, the Queen’s Knights (who are dressed as playing cards,) and the Cheshire Cats, (yes, plural. There are three Cheshire Cats who function as the narrators, but who also interact with the story as well.) I just can’t wait for the play to begin!!!

  ~Claire Stover

The Dangers of Walking to School With No Sidewalks

(NICHOLAS DRANEY/Standard-Examiner) Children walk home from Snowhorse Elementary School in Kaysville.

Do you think it is safe to walk home from school with no sidewalks?  When there are no sidewalks students have to walk on the edge of the road. They could easily get hit by a car, especially if the road is narrow and two cars are trying to get by.  In the winter a student could slip and a car could be coming.  It could hit the student if he or she couldn’t get up in time.  Having no sidewalks to get to school is dangerous for students.

“Sidewalks are an important piece of a walking route to school.  Paved sidewalks are ‘pedestrian lanes’ that provide people with space to travel within the public right-of-way.”  When I walk to school part of my route has no sidewalk.  I have to walk on the edge of the road and when cars pass by me they get really close.  One of these days I’m going to get hit by a car.  It’s dangerous!  Also, when it is raining cars whiz by and hit puddles that get me all wet. If I have to walk to school everyday then I should have sidewalks all the way so I can be safe.

~8th Grade Student

Change, One Step at a Time

Bullying is obviously a bad and growing problem in schools. it could be about how you look, dress, your race, religion, gender, or ability to do certain things. While people are bullying their peers, they are not thinking it’s going to affect them in anyway other than make them feel a little bit bad about themselves. But, it could be so much more than that. Making a mean remark about someone can not only make them self conscious, but can cost them their life. Bullying can and has made people commit suicide, which is the third leading cause of death in the United States.

Different kinds of bullying consist of physical bullying, verbal bullying, indirect bullying, social alienation, intimidation and cyber bullying. All of these things are equally hurtful, and can all lead to bad results. After being bullied, someone could become depressed, have an anxiety disorder, thoughts or attempted suicide, harming of themselves or others, etc.
In my opinion, bullying is one of the number one problems in schools and the community. To get the word out about bullying, there have been many songs, articles, videos and clubs made to make people aware of bullying. In this video they express what happened to one girl named Phoebe after she was bullied. Also, in this website, it shows peoples opinions and their thoughts on how to stop and/or prevent bullying. It’s as simple as saying one nice thing to a bullied peer. If you try to prevent bullying, others will follow in  your footsteps! So be a leader and try to make a change!!

~Krista Sbordone

Cyber-bullying; It’s useless, but why so Common????

Everyone knows how worthless Cyberbullying is, but some kids just don’t care! On Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc. there are arrogant  teens trying to act all cool, and things start to get out of hand. Sometimes it starts off with a normal conversation, until there is nothing left to say. Then people get bored, and this is where people can get, well, careless. People stop talking about themselves, and start talking about others. That’s when the cyberbullies start posting stupid stuff on Facebook or something, like pictures or comments that can really hurt someone. For example, on September 9, 2012 a little boy was cyberbullied, and dreads going to school! I’ll tell you what happened; a mean classmate thought being an immature, rude, bully was considered “cool”, and decided to see how many other people “hated” this little boy. To find out, he posted a status and then “asked his friends to like it” if they hated the little boy! To read more about what happened, click here.

Obviously I hate cyber bullies, and bullying in general. The idea of hurting someone, and knowing it is just disgusting in my eyes. I mean seriously, has anyone ever heard of a digital footprint!? Even if someone only cyberbullies someone once, it can ruin their reputation later in life, because it is never deleted; it’s on the internet forever! However, the thing that really bugs me is that cyberbullying is becoming more common. How is this even possible!? Most kids are smart enough to understand the consequences, but it seems that some of them are just too…obsessed with trying to be “cool” even though we all know that bullying is so not cool! So, what do you think? Why do you think cyberbullying is more common now?

~Christina Middendorf

A Life Where Robots Take Your Place

Could you imagine a life where an allergy is so severe that they have to send a robot in your place for school? That’s what first grader Devon Carrow has to do, because his peanut allergy is so life threatening. There was once a time when his mom had given him a kiss after she had eaten a cookie and he broke out into hives. Also, after a trip at his godparents house he had to make a visit to the hospital  and ended up staying there for three months! These allergies make it hard for him to leave the house. His mother once said, “He’s almost like the boy in a bubble.” For example, when his family goes to the movies they have to pop their own popcorn and bring sheets to cover their seats.

The device called “VGo”  changes the life of first grader Devon Carrow in a big way by allowing him to go to school (not Physically but virtually). The $6,000 robot lets him sit in a classroom like any other regular child. He does everything like any other child has to do, so there are no extra privileges. He will soon be able to hang out with his friends in the cafeteria as soon as his “VGo” technology is upgraded. With these advancements Devon will be able to try to live the life a regular kid. After the incident that made him end up in the ICU it showed that his classmates don’t picture him as a kid in a robot screen, but as an actually kid (They drew him get well cards and pictures of him).

~Chinaechelum Okoro

School Lunch: What Kids Really Think

School lunches in 2012 have the goal of making healthier generations to come.   By doing this they have decided to cut calories in school lunches. This will most likely leave all of us hungry throughout the day. Already we don’t eat all of our lunch because we don’t find all of it appetizing. Not only does this leave us hungry but it also gives us a higher chance of obesity because it slows down our metabolism.

Personally, the food Dodd Middle School serves is definitely better than our elementary school food, but it still is not as appetizing as one would hope. Our school cooks make us take a fruit or vegetable. My question is, how much waste are we creating if most people don’t even eat the fruits or vegetables? Also, are they trying to make us hungry throughout the school day? Already, most kids don’t eat breakfast before school and now lunch is becoming smaller. This cut in calories will actually make our performance in school be not as well because we will become unfocused. With our lunch program and America’s lunch program in general, school lunch will be going from “gotta love it” to “gotta hate it”.

~Natalie Bryden

Boys Will Be Boys

Bullying is a big problem in our nation. While most people are against it, there are still those few who view it in some cases, as “just horseplay”.  There is one incident at Kopachuck Middle School, Washington state in which the bullying was recorded and you can clearly see the teacher participating. When questioned, his excuse was “I thought they were just horsing around” and “Boys will be boys.” The 13 year old boy involved was held down by chairs, dragged around the room, and had his own socks stuffed into his mouth. At one point, the teacher poked the student in the stomach. At another, he put his bottom in front of the young boys face and said “Oh and by the way, I’m feeling a bit gassy today.” The teacher was put on administrative leave for ten days followed with the teacher finishing the year as a substitute. The next school year, the same teacher is teaching full time again, but this time in another school. The child was not able to return to class again the next day and transferred schools and was in therapy for months after the incident.

This teacher is obviously a sick person to be tormenting a young student. I think that he should have been fired and never allowed to teach again, but thats my opinion. I also feel that he should have to pay a 10% part of the boys therapy fines considering it’s most likely his fault the child needs therapy. I think it also was a very bad decision to move the teacher to another school where they don’t know what he has done in his past. Also, now he can do this to another child. What are your thoughts on this matter? Do you think it is ok for the teacher to keep his job and just be transferred?

– Alex Glenn