November 2023 Issue

Holiday Traditions You Might Not Know

By Elena Aviles

Staff Writer

Throughout the world, there are a large number of various traditions and customs that exist to celebrate important holidays that bring people together. These are just some of the many traditions that highlight important aspects of each of these holidays throughout the year.

Christmas: 

Christmas Pickle

An essential part of Christmas is gift giving, including opening presents from under the tree on Christmas morning. During this time, a pickle shaped ornament can be hidden deep within the branches of the tree, and everyone races to see which person can find this pickle from within the tree first. Whoever wins by locating the pickle first receives a bonus gift and is allowed the privilege of opening a present first. 


Kwanzaa: Honoring Ancestors with Storytelling 

One of the most essential aspects of this family-oriented holiday is learning about and honoring your heritage. This can be done in many ways, such as listening to African music, making or reading a book about your culture, and sharing African folktales or personal family stories with your loved ones. This storytelling helps your family learn about their personal history and allows them to learn about their ancestors and honor their past. 




Hanukkah: A Dreidel 

The Dreidel is an important symbol for the miracle of Hanukkah and celebrates this idea through bringing people together to play the game. The four symbols on each side represent the first letter of each word in the phrase, “A great miracle happened here” to signify the purpose of the holiday. In the game,  each of these letters determines how much of the prize you are able to win. It is believed that the game originated as a way to study their religion and the Torah in secret by spinning the popular gambling device while teaching orally. 


Eid: 

Wearing Clean Clothing

The importance of this holiday is signified through the clothing that is worn during this time, as people are encouraged to wear new clothes for this holiday. It is desirable that the clothing you wear is nice and clean, and people often bathe before dressing. The act of wearing this type of clothing signifies the cleansing and purification that you go through during this time, as it allows you to start new beginnings and have a renewal of your faith.  



Diwali: 

Rangoli

One of the most colorful and creative aspects of this holiday is the making of rangoli, which is the creation of shapes and designs through the arranging of colorful powders. This traditional art form is a way for people to express their gratitude and happiness toward various deities during the festival of the holiday. The designs are significant because they welcome Hindu gods into the household, showing how important they are religiously due to the good luck and prosperity that they signify.



Chinese New Year: 

Red Envelopes

During the Lunar New Year, a common custom for families celebrating during this time is to gift each other bright red envelopes. These beautiful, decorated envelopes are significant because they carry money inside them as a gift, and they are often exchanged between adults and children and between friends and family. They symbolize good luck and wish you well for the beginning of the new year. 


Preparing for Finals 

By Gracie Graham

Assistant Editor in Chief 

Certain classes obviously come easier to some than others. If your specialty is math, maybe try studying a few days earlier for your English or science class if you’re less confident in your skill level/grade in the class. At the end of the day, if you walk into your classroom feeling unprepared, chances are you’re not going to reach your ideal grade. It’s extremely important to feel strong in your knowledge of the topics, and to focus on what you do/don’t know

Freshman year, Mrs. Johnson gave a list of all the topics from the first semester of learning. She then asked us to use red, yellow, and green markers to color code based on how we felt our mastery was. We used green if we completely understand the topic, yellow if we need to review a little, and red if we need teacher assistance/extra practice. This is a great way to recognize what topics need more attention before finals, and you can apply this method to all of your classes!

Around two weeks before finals is more than enough time to start preparing. A method I was taught is to start with your last final (your sixth period class) and work your way to the first final, (your first period class). This way, you’ll have more time to keep the information in your long term memory, instead of cramming it in at the last minute. 

You do not need to study for a whole 12 hours for one class. If anything, this will further burn out your mental and physical health, which will make your performance on your finals far lower than your full potential. When studying, try using the pomodoro method, a plan to work in intervals that keep your mind actively engaged for the best possible results. An example of this would be studying for 25 minutes with a 3 minute break, or taking a 30 minute study session with a 4 minute break. It’s best not to exceed a 40 minute study session, as the average teenage mind stops paying attention to content at that point. 

Teachers try to do their best at preparing students for the final tests, but they can only do so much without knowing what you need specific help with. Asking teachers for extra worksheets not only encourages you to work harder, but allows the teacher to reevaluate if they need to reteach some of that material before the end of the semester.

YouTube, Khan Academy, Delta Math, etc... have been helpful tools if you use them to your advantage. YouTube channels like Heimler’s History or the Organic Chemistry tutor can help you review topics from your social studies classes or any of the science classes you take. Khan Academy has most classes online with in depth tutorial videos and practice questions to make sure you’ve mastered the topic. 

Yes, finals are stressful. It feels great to be able to successfully display your progress and all the work you’ve achieved within the school year. However, it’s essential to remember that tests do not define your academic career or abilities. An A or B will not define the success of your future or the importance of your education. Take deep breaths, and try your best. Good Luck, T-Bolts!



Winter Fun in Chicago 

By Kaitlin Smith

Staff Writer 

Photos Courtesy of: Millennium Park Foundation, Navy Pier, and the Chicago Zoological Society

 With the arrival of the holiday season, places all around the Chicagoland area offers amazing opportunities for families to get out and enjoy some quality time with one another. A wide variety of traditional experiences as well as unique activities allow families with all different interests to have a great time! Here are five ideas for your next group outing!


-Ice Skating in Millennium Park

The McCormick Tribune Ice Rink located on Michigan Avenue in Millennium Park offers free ice skating! You can rent skates, and there are available lockers to store any objects you may have purchased whilst downtown as well as free skating lessons available on weekends. The rink is open from November to March weather permitting and attracts thousands of people each year. This is a great destination for your group to visit!


-Holiday Magic at Brookfield Zoo

Looking for a winter wonderland for people of all ages? Brookfield Zoo’s lights display is Chicagoland’s longest running light festival with over two million LED lights zoo-wide! On select dates in November and December they have interactive light displays and entertainment during certain hours (including ice carving and roaming carolers), as well as great places to take pictures! Reservations and admissions vary, so check out https://www.czs.org/Brookfield-ZOO/Home for more information.


-Light Up The Lake, Navy Pier

Navy Pier hosts the biggest indoor and outdoor holiday experience in Chicago from November 24th to December 31st. They offer a huge lakefront light display, outdoor ice skating, fire pits to roast marshmallows, creative holiday workshops, live music, axe throwing, and much more. The Centennial Ferris Wheel with heated carts is also available for rides. There is a combination of free and ticketed activities for the whole family.


-The Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

Have you ever wanted to know the science behind snow or how different cultures around the world celebrate the holidays? To answer those questions and more,  the Museum of Science and Industry has just what you are searching for in their holiday experiences. More than 50 trees decorated individually to represent the differences in cultures surrounding the holidays border the Grand Tree, a four-story, floor-to-dome tree. The museum also has intricate photographs of snowflakes featured in their celebration of snow!


-Tinley Park Holiday Market

Right here at Zabrocki Plaza on Oak Park Avenue will be our very own Holiday Market with handmade items, delicious treats, live music from local groups, hands-on crafts for the children, a place to decorate cookies and write letters to soldiers, all in the warmth of heated tents. With free admission, it is truly a wonderful place to visit so close to home!

Holiday Arts and Crafts 

By Sandra Pala

Staff Writer 

Do you want to build something of your own this holiday season to show your friends and family? You’ve come to the right place! Here are a few ideas for holiday crafts that are simple and easy to make!:

Popsicle Stick Snowflakes 

Materials: Colored popsicle sticks, glue, glitter, pom poms, string

Directions:  



DIY Snow Globe

Materials: Glass jar, bottle brushes, figurines, glue, glitter, distilled water, glycerin

Directions:


Canvas Ornaments 

Materials: Acrylic craft paint, paint brush, ribbon, glue, mini canvas 

Directions:


Career Day Impressions

By Gracie Graham

Assistant Editor in Chief 


On Thursday, November 16th, VJA hosted our annual Career Day, a special day with over 80 professionals who give their time to talk about their career paths, and help students try to find their passions as they prepare for post-graduate careers and jobs. From tattoo artists, freelance writers, lawyers, doctors, and veterinarians, there was a guaranteed path for everyone. VJA students always benefit from these presentations, so here’s some information that stuck with our student body after their experience.

A common misconception that always seems to get in my head is that you need to have everything planned out in order to achieve success. If anyone was able to squash that notion out of my mind, it was the freelance writer workshop I attended. My speaker went from different jobs involving his passion: writing, but none of them really felt right for him. He realized with time, that you can be your own boss and work for yourself with writing. His story included starting off at a news station, traveling a bunch for work, writing for a specific network, to finally finding what he likes to do on his own terms, allowing me to come to the conclusion that not everything needs to be perfectly planned. Sometimes it’s best to try everything and see where life takes you, which will eventually lead to your dream job.

Omar Nofal felt a weight lifted off his shoulders after his career day talks. As a junior, Omar works hard to solidify his post secondary education options, and he claims, “Career day made looking for colleges so much less stressful,” and found the motivation to start looking for colleges that fit his needs. Another example comes from Amelia Kowalkowski, an aspiring medical student. She found that her speakers gave her options outside of four year colleges which can be helpful for students who want to spend less time in school, and more time in an actual medical setting. 

When choosing your classes in the next upcoming weeks, keep your plans for the future, or any aspirations you may have in mind. You can take classes at Andrew for free based on your goals right now. Current junior, Saja Bader, brings up that career day has inspired her to take an architecture class at Andrew, which is something she never thought she would do. If you’re still undecided or not sure what you enjoy, try a semester class here! It just may change your goal and ambitions for the future. 

Just because you know what you would like to study in the future doesn't mean you know how to exactly execute your goals into a career to support yourself. Presentations such as the lawyer taught students like Gaby Lapera the steps to becoming a attorney, and influenced her even more into pursuing this path in the future. 


Events like Career Day are so important to our school community because without them it’s very difficult to navigate how to transition into the real world. You can say, “I want to be a teacher,” but not know how to properly prepare yourself to teach. Speakers like the ones who graciously attended our event know this and assisted students in taking the next steps in their life, no matter what those steps might be. We thank all the speakers again for their time and dedication to us and their career. 



Let the Competition Begin! 

By James Abraham
Staff Writer


 Early in October, when the performance season ended, the JV and Varsity Cheer and Dance teams began their competitive seasons. Our Dance and Cheer teams are highly renowned, with the former consistently ranking high in national competitions. Even recently, the Varsity Dance Team started off with a bang with an impressive first place finish at a home competition. 

The Cheer teams have been working to perfect their show stoppers for their competitive season, too, and we’re all on the lookout for their next performance. After the dances they demonstrated during the performance seasons (as we’ve seen during football games and other showcases of their talent), they’re bound to impress us all. 

The girls on both the JV and Varsity teams of both sports are some of the greatest we’ve ever had at VJA. Both groups have been working so hard to perfect their choreography and they all deserve full recognition. We all can’t wait to see what achievements these teams will bring the VJA name in their winter seasons, and we’re so proud to have such amazing athletes in our student body and in the community.