Issue #2

For this portion of the newspaper, I’d like to highlight one of the many issues that students in both our community and all around the world face. It is important to be able to recognize these issues as all students deserve to be heard. Going by that message, hopefully this portion will spread awareness of what students go through. With that, I’d like to brush off the surface of anxiety which is able to cause depression in an environment that is targeted on learning and having fun.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 1 in 8 children has anxiety. Based on this information, these two critical problems are commonly faced in the classroom today. It is truly crucial to think about the amount of children whose problems are uncared for. Not only does this affect their mental health, but also their performance at school. 

Again, school is a learning environment, an opportunity to connect and engage- but anxiety, depression, and other problems affecting their mental health holds students back from their full potential. As we know, it is important to build friendships whilst learning in school, but anxiety and depression can lead to social and/or behavioral problems, which can also block out other opportunities to connect. Not to mention that anxiety and depression can lead to lack of motivation, causing poor performance in work.

The impact here is that this can give the impression to teachers, family members, and peers that this student isn’t willing to take education seriously when that is not the case. These problems are able to get so rough to the point that students neglect basic hygiene, self care, and self esteem which are all a part of our daily lives. The overall impact here is that anxiety and depression among students is not something to be taken lightly and it can really take away many benefits tha tschool provides, whether that would be to connect, engage, learn, etc.

However, these problems don’t appear out of thin air. There are events that are likely to occur which influence these problems. Most of these examples would circulate around stress, which is why these problems are able to arise. One example would be about personal problems between a student and a family memberleading to the student being stressed and distracted. It is important to remind others that we as a community are there for them, to help them slowly develop back into their regular habits again. 

Another example would be families comparing their children to their peers. What parents don’t know is that this builds worry amongst students and an unstoppable pressure that they have to keep going, have to get a good grade no matter what, and in the long run hurts them when it is supposed to benefit them. While it is important to motivate a student, pressuring them may only bring harm. Those are just a few of many examples which can further accelerate or cause anxiety/depression

However, there are ways to cope with anxiety or even prevent it. Besides getting the appropriate care from a doctor or a school counselor, it is also important to consider diet. It is crucial for students at this age to regularly  eat and drink healthy meals and track the ingredients in certain foods. Some recommendations would be different kinds of poultry, oil-rich fish, beans, baked potatoes, oats, nuts, and seeds which aid in serotonin production, regulating mood. 

Wrapping up this portion, as we can see it is very crucial to recognize the problems such as anxiety and or depression among students which can lack any positive thoughts if it is clouded by negative ones from stress buildup. Oftentimes, anxiety can hold students back from opening up to others. Not only is it important to give the student the right care, it is also important to prevent it. Mental health issues  impact not only academic growth and performance, but also social growth. Adolescence is the time to build friendships, engage, connect, learn, but all of that is deprived of our fellow students if we continue to not spread the word.

For more information, go to: https://ibcces.org/blog/2019/05/01/impact-anxiety-depression-student-progress/

By: Joanna Halle

I truly believe that homework has its ups and downs. If you think about it, it could help kids with their time management skills, but it could also stress them out. Kids also have sports and other extracurricular activities, but might instead have to stay home because they have to finish their homework. After a long day of school, schoolwork is the last thing I want to be doing. What do you think?

Why there should be homework:

There should definitely be homework because instead of forgetting everything you learned in school that day, you could actually practice what you learned through your homework. Also, you should be able to set a little time aside outside of school to get missing or unfinished work done, and that is when you could do your homework. This is important to practice good time management skills because later in life those skills you learned earlier could pay off later (like being on time to work, family gatherings, etc.).

Why there shouldn’t be homework:

There definitely shouldn’t be homework because there are so many kids who get stressed about not finishing their homework on time or getting so much you can’t finish, so why not get rid of it? When kids get stressed they could forget to study for important tests and become stressed out all of the time. Getting rid of the source would prevent all of that unneeded stress. This could save more time for doing things kids love, like playing outside, sports, after school clubs, hanging out with friends, etc.  

After reading this article, what do you think: homework or no homework?

By: Tanishka Mattaparthi

Writing something good at an author level can be hard, but it does not mean that I'm saying it's impossible. Many people have amazing writing capabilities in them…Meh…who cares about writing? Well, I do. But put all that aside, writing is really important once in high school, so developing the necessary skills before is the best thing to do. So, that is why I came up with a Writer’s Handbook, which I have been using for so long. This handbook has all the writing sources I know. 

The first thing writers do is the Writer’s Process, in which they follow a plan when they write. Simple but helpful.

Step 1: Prewrite

Think of prewriting as the “getting your act together” stage. Writers might choose a topic, or they list everything they know about a topic already chosen. They may conduct research and take notes. Then, writers organize their ideas by making a chart or a diagram. Like so!

DANCE LESSONS:

• Old warehouse

• Hollow stairway

• Miss Sempler

• Straight

• Elegant      

STEP 2: Draft 

Next, writers put their ideas into paper in a first draft. Writers know that there might be mistakes in this first draft. Which is certainly okay!

Every Wednesday after school I eagerly climb the hollow stairway of the old Benson’s Warehouse building I am glad to go dance lessons, even if they are in an old warehouse. Miss Sempler always greets the other students and me. She is also straight and elagant. She always says we sound like a heard of hippoes coming up the stairs. I try to go up the stairs with my head high and my shoulders back, just like miss Sempler would. 

Step 3: Revise 

Then, writers change or fix their first draft. They might decide to move ideas around or to add information. They might also take out words or sentences that don’t belong. 

Every Wednesday after school I eagerly climb the hollow echoing stairway of the old Benson’s Warehouse building I am glad to go to dance lessons, even if they are in an old warehouse. Miss Sempler always greets the other students and me at the top of the stairs. She is also straight and elagant. She always says we sound like a heard of hippoes coming up the stairs. I try to go up the stairs with my head high and my shoulders back, just like miss Sempler would. I almost feel like a dancer even before I get to class. 

Step 4: Proofread

Writers usually write a new copy so their writing is neat. Then, they read it again to make sure everything is correct. They read for mistakes in their sentences. 

Every Wednesday after school, I eagerly climb the hollow, echoing stairway of the old Benson’s Warehouse building. I am glad to go to dance lessons, even if they are in an old warehouse. Miss Sempler always greets the other students and me at the top of the stairs. She is also straight and elegant. She always says we sound like a herd of hippos coming up the stairs. I try to go up the stairs with my head high and my shoulders back, just like Miss Sempler would. I almost feel like a dancer even before I get to class. 

Step 5: Publish 

FInally, writers make their final copy that has no mistakes. They are now ready to share their writing with a reader. They might choose to read their writing out loud before.

Every Wednesday after school, I eagerly climb the hollow, echoing stairway of the old Benson’s Warehouse building. I am glad to go to dance lessons, even if they are in an old warehouse. Miss Sempler always greets the other students and me at the top of the stairs. She is also straight and elegant. She always says we sound like a herd of hippos coming up the stairs. I try to go up the stairs with my head high and my shoulders back, just like Miss Sempler would. I almost feel like a dancer even before I get to class. 

Until our next issue, Good bye!

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By: Ishanvi Mohapatra

Marjuana was an illegal drug. Yet still, President Joe Biden has made a law so that residents over the age of 21 are allowed to possess marjuana as long as they use it “correctly”. 

The development was a surprise, although Biden had held a campaign on decriminalization. “As I’ve said before, no one should be in jail just for possessing marjuana.” Biden stated.

To Biden, people who use marjuana “responsibly” are free to possess it. However, there actually aren't many ways to use or possess marjuana responsibly. What’s the point if you don’t have a valid reason to have this drug?

Small amounts of marijuana can be placed in a highlighter in the space between its nub and the tip of the cap. Like this, people can hide small amounts of marjuana all over the place, and pretend to act normal. They can also use Biden’s new law to act like they are using marjuana legally, by not using it in public. This is a massive issue that President Joe Biden’s law creates.

But, that’s not it just yet. After all, there has to be at least one good thing about possessing marjuana. And it really is the fact that marjuana can be helpful to treat diseased patients, Which is a major bonus for patients worldwide.

In 2021, Gallup polling showed that 68% of Americans favored legalizing the drug for recreational use. That was the highest ever recorded by Gallup. A NORC poll last year similarly discovered 67% favored marijuana legalization. Biden, however, has tread carefully on marijuana reform. While he doesn’t want it to remain illegal, he just wants it to be decriminalized, not legalized.

“It’s almost as if the President doesn’t recognize the astounding increase in support for marijuana legalization over the last two decades. In 2010, marijuana legalization was the minority position. Just 46% of Americans were for it and 50% were against it. In 2000, a mere 31% were for legalization. 

The White House anticipates that around 6,500 people will receive pardons for federal possession convictions, a drop in the bucket in a country where over 500,000 people are arrested for cannabis possession every year.       

Biden pledged to issue pardons to anyone with a federal conviction for marijuana possession. Soon enough, he called on governors to issue pardons for state level possession convictions. President Joe Biden called on the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to begin a process of reviewing marijuana’s schedule under federal law, with the potential to move cannabis out of Schedule 1, currently the most restrictive under federal law.