Sunday, May 8, 2022 was Mother’s Day. Many countries around the world celebrate Mother’s Day with their own traditions. How do different countries celebrate Mother’s Day?

In the United States, Mother’s Day is celebrated by presenting mothers with gifts and flowers. Families also celebrate the holiday by giving mothers a day off from household chores.

In the United Kingdom, the holiday is kind of a church custom. It remains grounded in religion, and many churches hand out daffodils for children to give to their mother. There is also a tradition in which girls bake a fruitcake for their mothers.

In France, the government used to award medals to mothers of large families in gratitude for helping rebuild the population after a destructive WWI. After WWII, the government declared the last Sunday in May to be the day of mothers. Nowadays, it is celebrated by giving a flower-shaped cake to mothers.

Japan celebrates the holiday by giving their mothers carnations. The holiday grew popular following WWII as a way of comforting mothers who had lost sons to the war. Children used to give red carnations to living mothers and white carnations to their dead mothers. However, white has become the traditional color now in Japan for Mother’s Day.

India has a 10-day festival for the holiday. Hindus honor Durga -the goddess of mothers- during their festival. The event is considered both a religious ceremony and a time for family reunions. Families spend weeks preparing food, gathering gifts, and decorating their homes for the festival.

Ethiopia has a festival dedicated to mothers. It is called ‘The Antrosht Festival,’ which is observed at the end of the rainy season in early fall. Daughters traditionally bring vegetables and cheese while sons supply meat for their celebration. Together, the family prepare a meat hash and sing and perform dances that tell stories of their family heroes.

Some countries celebrate the holiday honoring mothers’ sacrifices while other countries celebrate the holiday as a religious ceremony or family reunion. However, there’s one thing in common in those celebrations and traditions: they honor their mothers’ work and sacrifice.

By Senior Staff Writer Rose Seo

Valentine’s Day, also called Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14.

How did Valentine's Day start? Its start goes all the way back to ancient Rome. From February 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain. Their celebration also included a matchmaking lottery in which young men drew the names of women from a war, and then the couple would be coupled up for the duration of their festival.

Ancient Rome may also be responsible for the name of our modern day of love. Emperor Claudius II, back in the days, executed two men whose names were both Valentine on February 14 of different years. Their martyrdom, or the death or suffering of a martyr, was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine’s Day. This is the point where the history of Valentine’s Day begins, from a dark, bloody festival in ancient Rome.

However, as time passed by, and the holiday spread, it started to change and evolve. As the years went on, the holiday grew sweeter. Famous writers such as William Shakespeare started to romanticize the holiday in their work, and it gained popularity throughout Britain and the rest of Europe. Also, handmade paper cards became the tokens in the Middle Ages.

Although Valentine’s Day started from a dark, bloody Roman festival, it has now evolved into a sweet and celebrated holiday. Many people have developed their own traditions, although chocolates and cards are still the symbols of Valentine’s Day. How was your Valentine? Did you have a sweet nice time with your loved ones?

East Coweta High School is starting course registration for 2022-2023 starting from January 25 until February 11 on the East Coweta High School Counseling website.

Depending on their graduation year, students click on their graduation year and register for classes for next year. Students typically choose four academic classes in the areas of English, Social Studies, Math, and Science, as well as four elective classes that they are interested in.

East Coweta High School has many elective classes that students can choose from. If students are interested in academics rather than music or art classes, there are many academic electives that they can choose from, like: Psychology, World Geography, Astronomy, Forensics Science, Journalism, etc. However, if students are interested in non-academic classes rather than academic classes, East Coweta High School provides many non-academic electives that they can choose from as well. It has Fine Arts, Foreign Language, Performing Arts(Band), Driver Education & First Aide, JROTC, Business & Technology, Family & Consumer Science, Physical Education, and Computer Science. Each different area has lots of specific classes that students can choose from, so it might be a great opportunity for students who want to try many different things.

East Coweta High School also offers some AP classes for students who want to go more deeply into a subject that they like. It has academic AP classes such as AP English Literature and Composition, AP US Government and Politics, AP European History, AP Biology, AP Calculus, AP Physics, etc; and non-academic AP classes such as AP Studio Art, AP Computer Science, etc. If you are a student who wants to learn more about a specific subject, it might be beneficial to take some AP classes.

There are also some classes that are provided at CEC. CEC also has lots of academic and non-academic classes, but there are some classes that are not provided at East Coweta High School. CEC provides various non-academic classes such as Audio/Video, Aviation, Construction, Drafting, Engineering, Graphic Design, Medical/Firefighting, and etc. If you are interested in trying different non-academic classes or want to find which classes you like, taking classes in CEC might be helpful to you.

After you register for classes, it is important to check your email. You have to make sure that you are checking your email, because your counsellor might ask you about a scheduling question which requires a prompt reply. Choose classes with no regret, and don’t forget to check your email after you finish registration.

BIPOC (pronounced bye-poc) stands for Black, Indigenous, People of Color. The club’s main goal is to promote inclusivity at ECHS and to provide a welcoming space for students to discuss current issues that affect them. Though the club is intended to provide a space for BIPOC students, there is also the “alliance” part, and those who do not have connections to the first group can come too!

The club encourages a hands-on approach to celebrating diversity and spreading awareness. BIPOC Alliance aims to support students' cultural identities by proposing heritage appreciation days and amplifying recognition for Black History Month, Indigenous Peoples Day, and more at ECHS. One of their most recent projects has been making posters for Hispanic heritage month to hang up around the school.

However, the goals of the club sometimes extend outside of ECHS. On October 18, participating members plan on protesting the dress code with Fayette county students at a local council meeting. Promoting intersectionality in topics such as these is another important aspect of the club, and students are encouraged to bring their viewpoints to each club meeting. Whether it be attending/supporting protests, speaking with local government officials on issues important to the BIPOC community, or sharing educational resources on various social justice topics, BIPOC Alliance hopes to impact the community in positive ways.

BIPOC Alliance meets every Wednesday at 3:30 in room #1113

These days, many people are trying to lose weight through diet. Unfortunately, intermittent fasting is not a very good way of dieting. The best way to diet is to eat healthy, exercise daily, etc; however, people are still trying to diet by intermittent fasting even though there are many negative outcomes associated with the strategy.

Before knowing about the pros and cons of intermittent fasting, we have to know what intermittent fasting is. Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern in which you don’t eat for a period of time each day or week.

Pros of intermittent fasting include helping rid the body of excess fat, visceral fat, improving insulin resistance and gut health, detoxifying the body, promoting heart health, reducing overall body fat percentage, preventing skin problems, relieving constipation, helping hormonal balance, and reducing waist circumference.

Cons of intermittent fasting include nausea, dizziness, hypoglycaemia in case of diabetes, nutrient deficiencies or headache. Also, if someone has diabetes, they have to make sure they don't invite hypoglycaemia (low sugar) because it is very dangerous as compared to hyperglycaemia (high sugar).

I don’t say that it is bad to try intermittent fasting, but you must consult an expert first.

On September 16, 1810, Miguel Hidalgo gave his famous speech, “Grito de Dolores” (Cry of Dolores) that triggered the Mexican War of Independence. It wasn’t until 1821, however, that Mexico and Central America gained their independence from Spain. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua celebrate their independence days on September 15. These countries were a part of the short-lived first Mexican Empire. They later formed the United Provinces of Central America until they split into their individual countries.

The start of Hispanic Heritage month coincides with these independence days on purpose. Hispanic Heritage Month was originally only a week long. It was first observed in 1968 under President Lyndon Johnson until it was expanded to October 15 by President Ronald Regan in 1988. The extension allowed another important day, Día de la Raza, October 12, to fall within the timeframe.

Peer pressure is defined as: “Influence from members of one’s peer group.” However, peer pressure goes deeper than that. Peer pressure can cause people to do things that they would not consider doing if not influenced by someone else. Drugs and alcohol are one of the outcomes that can be caused by peer pressure. Some other outcomes include gambling addiction, internet addiction, video game addiction, etc. Peer pressure can ruin someone’s future. Although peer pressure is mostly known as being a bad thing, there is a positive side to it.

Positive peer pressure happens when someone’s friends influence them into doing something positive. If a student is doing very well in school, he/she could influence other students to set a goal and become better than they already are. Positive peer pressure has a better effect on teenagers than adults because teenagers are more vulnerable to the influence of their friends. The teenage brain is more sensitive to acquiring feedback from others, which means that they can be easily convinced to do something, whether it is good or bad. Parents can play a big role in whether or not their kids peer pressure someone in a good way or a bad way. Parents have to teach children that their behavior will play a big role in the way they influence someone. Another thing that parents can do is support their kids’ role models.

Peer pressure has been happening for a very long time, and it will continue to happen, whether people like it or not. Some people view peer pressure as a necessity in everyday life. Peer pressure does not have to be a bad thing. With a little influence from parents, kids can be positive role models that look out for their friends. However, people will not always have your best interest in mind, so being extra cautious to avoid negative peer pressure is a serious matter.

Do you have family in Germany?

“Yes, I have all of my mother’s side in either Germany or Hungary and I am German- like a German citizen- which is why I would go over there to study.”

If you had unlimited money to buy anything or travel anywhere in the world, what would you spend it on? It doesn’t have to be a big thing.

“Probably vinyl records or cds”

Do you have a favorite band to listen to on vinyl?

“I love listening to Amy Winehouse on vinyl and Arctic Monkeys.”

What clubs are you a part of and which one is your favorite?

“Oh gosh so ok I’m in International Club, French Club, Science Olympiad, and Chem Club … I would say Science Olympiad because I know a lot of people and it's fun to be able to study different sciences.”

So you mentioned that your favorite subject is foreign language. How many languages do you speak? Do you have a favorite one?

“I speak German, English, French, Spanish, and I’m learning Korean right now. And I would say that it's a difficult question because German I feel emotionally attached to because it's my mother language, but then I find French a very beautiful just romantic language, and it always just sounds super nice, and I do enjoy Korean because it's different from the other languages because of like the different characters and letterings and things like that so I would say it'd be like undecided between the three.”

What would your dream job be?

“I would say working at a like small bookstore that also has a cafe- like a cafe bookstore- or working in a flower shop that has a little cat as like the little house shop cat, you know, just a little cat that just runs around.”

Thank you, Isabella, for being a part of the first student profile by ECHS Today!

When the 2020-21 school year began with nearly a month of fully virtual instruction, we saw people skip class, get bad grades, and feel lonely. Students report that the reason why this happened was because no teachers could help them efficiently or just go to their house and tell them to get on and work. Similarly, many students felt as though they didn’t have any people to talk to since everyone was at home doing school. This isn’t an issue with face-to-face instruction since we have friends to..

Some of my friends hated virtual classes, but now that they are face to face, their grades and mental health have improved significantly.

There was a good reason why virtual classes were necessary, and it looks like it may happen again, but if we social distance and stay home when sick we may not have virtual classes again.