Health & Safety
take Intruder Drills serouisly
I think students in our school should take intruder drills more seriously. As you may have noticed, in America recently there have been many school shootings happening even right here in Saint Louis! Many students don’t take the drills seriously and may not be prepared or might not know what to do if a school shooting were to happen. I think we should take intruder drills more seriously because they help us be prepared, help our mental well being, and to help us save lives.
The first reason I think we should be taking the drills that the school provides us more seriously is because it could help us be prepared if a shooting ever happens. Being able to know what to do during a dangerous emergency outside of school could really help you and the people around you who may not know what to do. This is useful because you have already learned the skills to keep yourself safe.
Another reason I think we should be taking the drills the school provides us more seriously is because it will keep us mentaly well if it were to ever happen. It is important for you to be calm and quiet during these situations because you want to make sure if there is an intruder you're not being too loud because that can give away your location and put you in even more danger. Being mentaly okay is also important during a real dangerous situation because you want to make sure you know your surroundings and to make sure you can think straight to find a way to either keep calm and stay hidden or to have a plan for escape.
My last reason why we should take the drills the school provides us more seriously is because you could save someone's life. You could save someone's life just by knowing what to do during a dangerous situation. And since you know what to do you can help them get calm and keep them safe. You can become their hero for saving them. You could also teach them what to do if they get in the same situation or see someone else who needs help.
In conclusion, I hope I was able to convince you into taking the school drills more seriously and be grateful to them for teaching you how to be more prepared, how to stay calm and how to be safe and save lives. Hopefully you learned something from this.
By: Chrisfher Jiminez, 7th Grade
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Vaping is dangerous!
Vaping is cool, right? But did you ever wonder what you're putting into your body? It’s very easy to get addicted to vaping. It's like smoking a cigarette. The more you do it the more you get used to it entering your lungs and body, therefore you crave it more because it is addictive. Vaping has many chemicals. According to the American Lung Association, nicotine has many chemicals including propylene glycol, and heavy metal particles. Propylene glycol is a chemical food additive that is also in the same category as alcohol. It puts flavor into the liquid nicotine inside the vape. According to Particle Pollution | American Lung Association, ``Heavy metal particles can also increase the risk of heart disease, lung cancer and asthma attacks and affect the growth and function of the lungs.``
What About Nicotine?
Experts say nicotine can harm the development of the brain causing it to malfunction and mess with the brain circuits. Brain circuits control attention span, learning, and impulses. Nicotine is dangerous to your physical health and it can lead you to heart disease at an early age. You can have hardening of the arterial walls which are blood vessels that bring oxygen and blood from the heart and to all the cells in the body.
What are Vapes/Juul’s and What do They Look Like?
Vapes and Juul’s can look like USB flash drives, pens, cigarettes, and cigars. Students mainly vape in school bathrooms, and even empty classrooms. Juul’s have nicotine refills called pods. Pods can contain as much nicotine as a 20 pack of cigarettes. They also have a new product called “nicotine salts” which is supposed to be softer on the throat. Another product is flavored nicotine which can be more appealing to youth.
Addiction
The more you vape the more addicting it gets. Your body gets used to the nicotine that your body is receiving. Ever tried slowing down? When you go without vaping the nicotine that's in the bloodstream drops, which can cause feelings of strong urges to vape. This is called nicotine addiction. If you choose to quit vaping your brain also has to adapt to the changes of not receiving nicotine. This can be a very uncomfortable time since you would be craving nicotine more each day you go without vaping. While trying to quit vaping, you might get the feelings of being restless, feeling hungry, having more cravings of nicotine, having the feelings of sadness or depression, and more.
If you ever think of vaping or have already done it, I advise you to stop. It can really take a toll on your mental and physical health, slowing you down and messing with the brain. If you ever wish to stop you can read more from the sources below.
Sources:
By: Alijah Davie, 8th Grade
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Anxiety is more than stress
Did you know that 284 million people have anxiety in the entire world ?
That means 284 million people feel anxious in public or feel anxious being separated from someone. Anxiety is a disorder that impacts your life a lot. It's kind of how introverts are made. It's the most common of mental disorders and affects nearly 30% of adults at some point in their lives.
It is something that impacts me also. It can be hard to focus if you're kinda already busy being nervous about things that might seem small to other people. Like speaking in large crowds or flying on a trip or being nervous that the one person is not there with you.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a type of Anxiety that is triggered by a terrifying event; either experiencing it or witnessing it. PTSD symptoms can include things like nightmares, vivid flashbacks and symbolic reminders of trauma. PTSD is mostly caused by traumatic accidents or childhood abuses but can even be caused by things that can actually threaten your life like war or kidnapping. It can happen from any traumatic event including rape, sexual abuse, being bullied or harrassed for your identity. Identity bullying includes things like racism, homophobia, sexism and so much more.
Another form of anxiety that many of us experience is Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD). SAD can feel like you can't be away from a certain person without feeling anxious about it. I remember seeing a video of a girl with SAD on a plane constantly messaging her dad because she was feeling fearful.
Anxiety makes you anxious at different times and ways but it's still all Anxiety. It is still a fear. Everybody has a fear. Mine fears are social fears like speaking in public. Anxiety can’t change who a person is; It just changes how we feel.
-An Introvert
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By: Haley Hanks, 7th Grade
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Peer Pressure
When people think about peer pressure, a familiar story always pops up in many people's minds. Situations such as hanging around with friends while they dare you to do something dumb and unnecessary which ultimatly results in a huge perplexity. This is not always the case with kids and young adults. However, many situations dealing with peer pressure nowadays are often negative.
Sometimes peer pressure can have a good outcome such as, increased self-confidence, introduction to positive hobbies and interests, reinforcement of positive habits and attitudes. Many times peer pressure has bad outcomes though like decreased self-confidence, depression, social distancing, and unsafe behavior.
Here are some outcomes from negative peer pressure according to Kids Health:
85% of highschoolers have felt peer pressure.
75% of adolescents have tried alcohol due to peer pressure.
28% of those who gave in to peer pressure improved their social status.
70% of teen smokers began as a result of peer pressure.
I think that peer pressure can be positive or negative. But if you start to worry or feel pressured into doing something you don't want to do or know is wrong,, stand up to the pressurer, or tell somebody. If you ever see a friend making poor choices due to peer pressure, try to help them find a better choice.
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By: Priscila Salgado, 6th Grade
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