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September Block A
Welcome to a very special school year!
You Are Overwhelmed!
You Are Overwhelmed!
Leeyah B.
No, I’m not psychic, I just feel the same way.
I think we can all admit that distance learning is difficult, as it was last year. What makes this year even worse is that we have new teachers, new peers, and we haven't met any of them in person. Additionally, classes are from 8am to 3:15pm as opposed to the 9am to 2:00pm schedule last year. If that wasn’t bad enough, classes are one hour long now.
Reminding you of all these things isn’t going to make it better for us because we have to stay motivated. At the same time, we have to understand the harsh reality that we don’t know a lot about what will happen next.
What we do know is that no matter how hard it gets, there are always people in our ISM community that will keep you motivated, and help you power through -- teachers, advisors, counselors, and peers. There are people here who will take care of you no matter what. And that is the true beauty of our community.
A New School Year
A New School Year
Huda K.
ISM started the new school year on August 24, 2020. All of the students are using Zoom and studying at home. ISM started online learning instead of campus learning because COVID 19 cases were increasing rapidly in the Philippines. On August 3, 2020, there were 106,241 cases. One month later, on September 3 there were 226, 440 cases.
Grade 7 student Hannah said, “Online learning will be fun because we won’t have to go to school.” But now she says, “I wish campus learning could start sooner because it is very hard to learn on Zoom.”
Many schools are starting the autumn semester with distance learning over laptops and tablets to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. Many others have started with a hybrid of in-person and online learning. Teachers, parents, and youngsters are deciding what works and what doesn’t.
NCR Placed Under GCQ
NCR Placed Under GCQ
Pia S.
President Rodrigo Duterte places Metro Manila under general community quarantine (GCQ) from Sept. 1-30.
The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases recommends that Metro Manila, along with Bulacan, Batangas, Tacloban City, and Bacolod City remain under GCQ, says Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque on Monday, Aug. 31.
GCQ allows public transportation services and most industries to operate in a limited capacity. Only up to 10 people can join gatherings, so physical distancing is observed.
Mayors have proposed that the start of curfew be moved from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Curfew hours of 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. were imposed last August 19 by local chief executives of the National Capital Region. Only Navotas City retains the present curfew hours according to Roque. However, exact curfew hours will depend on the decision of the local governments.
“It won’t be immediate because they (local governments) still have to amend their ordinances. Other local governments have given the mayor the authority to change the curfew hours through executive order,” Roque says.
As of September 3, the Philippines has reported 226,440 COVID-19 cases, 158,610 recoveries, and 3,623 deaths.
COVID NEWS
COVID NEWS
Will the Covid-19 vaccine save us?
Will the Covid-19 vaccine save us?
Sophie. G.W.
If you have read the news lately, you might have noticed that scientists have a potential vaccine that could prevent you from getting the Coronavirus. Some say that the vaccine is going to help fight the virus while others speculate that the vaccine is not strong enough to make people immune to the virus.
CNN has confirmed that 40% of Americans say they won't get the vaccine, even if it would be easy to get and free of charge. Others state that one shot of the corona vaccine won't be enough to work. They suspect that the vaccine should be administered twice. Though scientists are experimenting with different vaccines there are only seven vaccines that are stage 3 (of Pre,1,2,3,4, approved). That means that there is not an approved vaccine yet.
How does quarantine affect mental health?
How does quarantine affect mental health?
Alexandra A.
Although quarantine is the best course of action to limit the spread of COVID-19, it has some consequences when it comes down to mental health. It has been proven that quarantine can lead to some mental health issues. Some issues include insomnia, stress, irritability, and confusion.
A study was conducted comparing the psychological outcomes of people who had been quarantined and people who have not. The study showed that people who had been quarantined showed symptoms of acute stress disorder, anxiety, and exhaustion, especially since a lot of inadequate information about the virus has been going around causing some unneeded stress and anxiety.
The quarantine has caused many people to adapt to a new schedule and way of doing things. Quarantine can put a lot of stress on people and leave them feeling disoriented and unorganized. Ways people can avoid these effects are by further educating themselves on what is happening with the virus and what they can do to further protect themselves, as well as try and keep oneself busy so that even in quarantine people can remain productive and healthy.
SPORTS & Entertainment
SPORTS & Entertainment
David Blaine’s Dreamy Journey
David Blaine’s Dreamy Journey
Ainsley S.
David Blaine ascended to five miles above the Arizona desert with the help from helium balloons alone! Blaine titled this stunt ‘Ascension.’ He began this stunt on August 31. His flight is documented on Youtube where it is possible to watch him take off and float among the clouds.
The whole adventure from take-off to landing took about an hour. Blaine and his team came up with an initial goal of going to about 18,000 feet (about 5486 meters) but ended up going to 24,900 feet (about 7590 meters).
The ‘Ascension’ team came up with a way for Blaine to lift off with a parachute on his back but hidden among the giant balloons. Blaine wanted people to see the silhouette of a man floating, not a man with a parachute. It kept the idea of “magic” in people’s minds.
Blaine held on to 52 giant helium balloons. Before takeoff, Blaine was weighted down by multiple weights. At takeoff he handed his daughter Dessa the first weight which triggered his ascent. Blaine dropped more weights as he floated higher and higher. At 24,900 feet Blaine let go of the balloons and extended his parachute and safely glided down.
“Wow. That was awesome!” Blaine said when he reached the ground.
Neymar Has Tested Positive for COVID-19
Neymar Has Tested Positive for COVID-19
Joaquin W.
PSG’s star soccer player Neymar Jr has recently tested positive for the coronavirus. Neymar tested positive on Wednesday, September 1. Another soccer player for PSG has supposedly tested positive for coronavirus.
ESPN says that he will be in self-isolation for 14 days and will have to miss his first game of the season.
Neymar has recently completed playing in the Champions League with his team, so he could have contracted the virus from one of the other players. Three PSG players have tested positive for the coronavirus. The PSG game might be postponed because of how many people have now tested positive.
The Rock and His Family Test Positive for Covid-19
The Rock and His Family Test Positive for Covid-19
Haemin Y.
The Hollywood superstar, Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock, and his family tested positive for Covid-19 three weeks ago. However, they are now fully recovered from the virus and all tested negative after their recovery journey.
The Rock and his family became infected when hanging out with very close family friends. He described the COVID journey as a very tough one, as he and his wife went through rough symptoms. However, their two daughters went through a less difficult journey as they had milder symptoms. All of them are fully recovered and are no longer contagious. After the strong man experienced the hard journey, he strongly encouraged his fans and everyone to wear masks when going outside.
“It baffles me that some people out there — including some politicians — will take this idea of wearing masks and make it part of a political agenda,” said Dwayne Johnson in The New York Times.
ISM SCHOOL YEAR START
ISM SCHOOL YEAR START
How Effectively has ISM been Handling Zoom?
How Effectively has ISM been Handling Zoom?
Tia S.
Zoom fatigue--it’s real. That feeling of discomfort and drowsiness you feel when on a Zoom call. There are ways to avoid it and handle it but the question is how well has ISM been handling it?
The reason we encounter this issue is because of something called constant gaze. The constant staring at the camera creates this feeling of discomfort. How often do you keep eye contact with a peer all throughout a conversation? Ironically, another cause of this is the need for you to have eye contact. Even if you don’t think you need eye contact from a peer, your brain says otherwise.
According to Harvard Business Review, the most effective ways to combat Zoom fatigue are through breaks, avoid multitasking, make virtual events optional, switch to phone calls and email and make having your camera on optional especially when you are with people you are not too familiar with.
All in all, ISM has proven to be lenient with breaks and time away from our screens. As for the camera on policy and making virtual events optional, these rules cannot really apply in a school environment. Although it is a tough time, ISM has been able to successfully pull off distance learning and will (most likely) continue to do so.
Online learning, Is it Really A Good Substitute for Face-to-Face Learning?
Online learning, Is it Really A Good Substitute for Face-to-Face Learning?
Jae Hyun L.
Ever since the grand debut of coronavirus, many public gatherings have closed down, which of course includes school. As a substitute for face-to-face learning, online learning, or distance learning, has been implemented in many schools to lessen the chance of the virus spreading amongst the students. This made me wonder, could online learning be better than face-to-face learning? Could it be a reasonable substitute in the future if the virus doesn't seem to stop? To answer these questions, I've decided to compare online school and regular school, to see what online school lacks in terms of education.
Let's talk about the pros and cons of online school. The obvious pro is that you are safe from the infamous coronavirus, you can study in the comfort of your home, and you can customize your workspace to better concentrate. However, it’s more likely that students will get distracted and play games or watch videos instead of studying. This is because if you leave a student to sit in front of a computer for multiple hours without any supervision, it’s obvious that they’ll get distracted.
It’s also said that staring at a screen for multiple hours can cause mild insomnia and make you more tired. Not to mention, some classes are hard or near impossible to do with online learning, such as physical education, and music classes if you don’t have the instruments necessary to attend the class. Students with special needs can’t get the assistance needed to learn from other teachers when distance learning as the teachers won’t be there to help them in real life.
Overall, I don’t think that right now online classes are suitable as a substitute for real-life school. But with adjustments for some classes, I strongly believe that this can be a suitable option for regular classes if the virus doesn’t die down.
Fun
Fun
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