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You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello
Photo courtesy of Google Images
Written by Kayla Dubnick & Leah Berkowitz, Online Editors
As this year winds down, we would like to thank all of our avid readers for supporting and promoting our new website. As we say goodbye to the 2009-2010 school years and our senior staff, we look forward to saying hello to the upcoming one. With a trunk full of ideas and a fresh set of staff members, we hope to not only improve our current site, but also strive to continue the passion and dedication put forth by this past year’s staff. As we embark as the new senior staff in the next school year, we plan to come back rejuvenated and ready to take on any challenge.
We feel so grateful and fortunate to have been promoted as the upcoming editors of “The Westside Story” website. We hope that we can uphold the level of achievement that the previous year has set for us and transcend it. “I don’t know you say goodbye I say hello.”
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Day of Silence
Written by Christie Riganati, Online News Editor
The National Day of Silence is an annual day which brings the attention to anti-LGBT, which is against harassment and bullying throughout schools. The day was officially founded in 1996. This day is dedicated to stand up for those who are bullied because of sexual orientation and gender expression. This day will take place April 16th where students who choose to participate will take a vow of silence for the day. This will express their views against harrasment and bullying in schools. The Day of Silence has been one of the greatest school-led attempts to end harrassment and bullying.
This event has been approved by Mr. Stenner for those who would like to participate. The sponsor of the Day of Silence is science teacher, Ms. More. Those students who choose to participate will have a card on them which will help teachers and students identify who has taken the vow of silence.
Refer to http://www.dayofsilence.org/index.cfm for more information on The Day of Silence.
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FCAT Test Taking Tips
Photo Credit: www.fcat.fldoe.org
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Written by Christie Riganati, News Editor
As the Florida Comprehension Assessment Test approaches, many students may be anxious for ways to make the test a little less stressful. The FCAT has been developed to test students progress and achievements throughout their years of schooling. This test becomes stressful for students because they may not know how to properly prepare. With that, the Palm Beach County School District recently released some vital test taking tips for this very important test.
One very important tip which will alleviate anxiety from the FCAT is for the test taker to get a lot of rest. Rest is important and will help a test taker do well on their test. Most students require about 8-9 hours of sleep a night to be considered a healthy amount of sleep. Without rest one may feel tired and irritable which does not constitute proper characteristics of a healthy test taker. If a student doesn’t get enough rest it can also make it hard to think, which can cause a student to misread directions. Some people do not even know if they are sleep deprived so be aware of the following symptoms of sleep deprivation reported by The School District of Palm Beach County; difficulty waking up, inability to concentrate, falling asleep during classes, and feelings of moodiness or depression. So if one is currently experiencing symptoms such as those, begin to change sleeping habits and eliminate the symptoms to be well rested for FCAT.
Continuous balanced meals throughout the days are something that can help a test taker. Studies have shown that students who eat a balanced breakfast do better in school. breakfast provides energy to start the day off right. A good breakfast will get the body going and metabolism running. As reported by The School District of Palm Beach County a balanced breakfast may include; fruit, whole grain toast or cereal, and low fat milk. With a nutritious breakfast the student can focus more on school work and less on a growling stomach. All sugary foods should be avoided for breakfast. Sugar filled foods will cause energy to decline over time and hunger and fatigue will set in. For those who have to catch a bus or need to leave earlier can grab a quick meal by taking a ready to eat breakfast such as; granola bar, fruits, yogurt, and cereal in to-go package. THere are also foods known to boost concentration and alertness. Fruits have been known to improve memory and brain function because they are high in antioxidants. The School District of Palm Beach County reported that strawberries and blueberries are effective to coordination, concentration, and short-term memory. Dried fruits also raise mental alertness. Calcium is another important vitamins to include in this breakfast, calcium enhances behavior and learning. All in all, eating a balanced and nutritious meal is a key to better test taking skills for students.
Another factor which contributes to better test taking is the clothes the test taker wears. Comfortable clothes are significant when it comes to the FCAT or any other test. Make sure the clothes are fit for the temperature of the classroom, making sure it is not too warm or cold. Make sure clothes aren’t too tight or too lose, this could cause discomfort throughout the day.
In addition, test takers should be on time for school the day of the test. Promptness eliminates stress of rushing and worrying if one may miss the bell. Bus riders will arrive to school at normal time but if one gets to school by foot or bike it is important to leave on time or even a little earlier. This will guarantee prompt arrival to school. It is suggested by The School District Of Palm Beach County that test takers arrive to school 5-10 minutes early. Tardiness or the possibility causes stress and anxiety so make sure to be on time the day of the test.
With FCAT approaching students may find these tips very helpful. Remember to get a good nights rest, eat a balanced meal, dress for comfort, and arrive to school on time. Besides these keys to success remember to come into the test with a positive attitude and look forward to conquering the test. A positive attitude will start the day off right. Thinking positive can cause positive output. Taking all these tips into consideration, West Boca could expect an impressive outcome.
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Olympics Athlete Killed In Sled Crash
Photo Credit: Marshillonline at CreativeCommons.org
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Written by Cindy Castillo, Staff Writer
An athlete from Georgia, Nodar Kumaritashvili, was killed in a crash in training on the Olympic track on friday at the Whistler Sliding Center. Many of the athletes at this years winter Olympic games have already made the complaint that the tracks this year may very well be too fast. Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled 48 seconds into his run, just as he we about to finish his run down the track. According to the clock on the station, he was going at deadly speeds of 88 mph and was launched over the track wall. At the end of all of this horror, the luger slammed into a huge steel pole just off of the finish line, and died there.
Medical officials were then rushed to where the luger was laying and began performing chest compressions along with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, said the associated press. Kumaritashvili was then put on a stretcher and was then lifted into an ambulance . A helicopter was then called, and was there to pick up the luger about eight minutes after the crash ended.
The Associated Press reports the following as to how the luger was killed. “Kumaritashvili struck the inside wall of the track on the final turn. His body immediately went airborne and cleared the ice-coated concrete wall along the left side of the sliding surface. His sled remained in the track, and it appeared his helmet visor skidded down the ice.”
Georg Hackl, a three-time champion at the winter olympics, and a German coach told the Associated Press that “it was a very rare situation.” The coach also exclaimed that even though it is a very dangerous sport, you cant think about it while your racing.
Believe it or not, there was rumor that Kumaritashvili was only killed because he made a mistake on the course as his speeds raced in excess of 90 mph. This specific Olympic track is considered to be the fastest track in the world up to date, and there have been more than a dozen crashes in training this year alone, however, none were fatal. Shiva Keshavan, a four-time Olympian summed up the whole day by saying “I’ve never seen anything like that, I’m afraid it’s bad.”
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New High Speed Rail Expected To Hit Florida
Photo Credit: Jiang at CreativeCommons.org
This is an example of a high speed rail system in Taiwan.
Written by Christie Riganati, Online News Editor
January 28th President Obama stated in the State of The Union Address that he would award $8 billion of the stimulus package money to improving current rail systems and construction new high speed rail systems. Not only are the new systems high speed but they also are energy efficient. The rail system uses less energy per mile than automobile or aircraft traveling. If this eco-friendly rail system becomes nationwide it could reduce oil usage up to 125 billion a year.
As part of the $8 billion, 13 corridors across the United States will be improved. Currently, the U.S. rail system is technologically far behind the other developed nations. China has invested more than $300 billion into their expansion of the rail systems. To travel from Paris to Lyon on the high speed TGV takes about 2 hours, compared to the 5 hour train ride from Philadelphia to Boston which is about the same distance.
The Federal Railroad Administration has distributed $8 billion to 31 states in the U.S. The largest grants have been awarded to California which was for $2.3 billion and Florida which was for $1.3 billion. Although $8 billion is a lot of money it will not be sufficient for a whole new upgrade to the high speed eco-friendly rail system for the United States that money will mainly be used for improving and making current systems faster.
The money granted to Florida will help build a whole new track from Tampa to Orlando. These rail systems will have trains that can travel up to 168 miles per hour. This track is supposed to stretch as far south as Miami. Florida is said to be the “ideal state in which to launch the rail projects” by Time Magazine. This is because the metro area of Tampa and Orlando can be in competition with auto and air travel because the time it will take isn’t that long anymore. The rail system in Florida is set to open in 2015. Florida already owns 90% of the routes land so this avoids the struggle of legal actions and property issues.
Although this $8 billion is just a start to the eco-friendly high speed rail system it’s a good beginning to make Florida’s system more efficient. If all goes well this could cause a rail system upgrade throughout the United States.
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New Palm Trees at West Boca
Photo Credit: Linda Pikula, NOAA/NESDIS/Miami Library at CreativeCommons.org
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Written by Cindy Castillo, Staff Writer
Over the past two weeks students and faculty may have noticed the huge trees and backhoes overtaking the courtyard. Something many might be wondering is where did these trees come from.
The 180 palm trees were given to West Boca by the school district. The conflict over the trees actually began about four and a half years ago when hurricane Wilma hit and destroyed a lot of the agriculture around West Boca Raton High School. About half of the trees in the courtyard died. So in 2006, they were replaced along with all of the trees and bushes in the front of the school. Unfortunately they all began to die again and finally have been replaced since then. The original plan was to cover up half of the lots on the courtyard but it was actually cheaper to put new palm trees up. Now that the trees have been put up, the next step is to finish covering up five lots next to the band room. The new cemented area will be used by the band to practice. The band department had requested somewhere where they could practice other than the field because it was too muddy when bad weather hit.
11th grade band member, Justin Steipleman, said “ I’m very happy that the courtyard will finally be fixed because when we used to practice on the field everything would get so muddy it was hard to practice”. Statistics teacher Mr. Cinelli mentioned he thinks the trees will “be really nice once they fill out”.
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Helping Haiti
Photo Credit: CreativeCommons.org
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Written by Christie Riganati, Online News Editor
January 12th, 2010 Haiti experienced an unfortunate natural disaster. The Haiti Earthquake has been heard around the world. With Haiti being one of the poorest countries in the world, with such a devastating disaster the call for help has been desperate.
Now that the Earthquake has passed, the worst is left to deal with- the aftermath. All of the debris left to clean up requires a lot of crews that Haiti cannot provide for itself. There are also many victims that are buried below all the debris that are desperately awaiting rescue. In addition, families are left without shelter and their everyday needs. Many family members are missing as well. The devastation is the main thing Haitians are dealing with at this time. Thinking this situation couldn’t get any worse, on the morning of January 20th an aftershock 6.0 earthquake hit Haiti. Many are awaiting the return home of missing family members or receiving the tragic news that they may have not made it.
Another effect of the earthquake is the lack of funding for the recovery of Haiti. As the days go by, more and more funds become available for donating. At West Boca High, there is a collection in the media center. Items such as these are being collected; any non-perishable food items, ropes, blankets, clothes, shoes, tarps, powdered milk, rice, Neosporin, flashlights, batteries, etc. Publix Supermarket is also holding a fundraiser that is through the American Red Cross. Also various there are various numbers to text message that collect money for each text which goes towards Haiti’s fund. There are Haiti Relief Bracelets, which are being sold and the profits go to Haiti relief. In addition there is Hope for Haiti, a non-charitable foundation to better lives in Haiti, especially for Haitian children. Many celebrities have also made large donations to Haiti such as; Tiger Woods’ $3 million, Oprah and Sandra Bullock’s $1 million donations. Although these are all large sums of money it isn’t much to recover victims lives and part of the country. One victim’s medical bills could cost as much as one donation, but anything will help.
Overall the number of fatalities is rising and is expected to rise to about 200,000. Any help Haiti can receive will help. All different countries are coming to together to help this country in need. Although natural disasters, such as this one, cannot be prevented together the world can help this country recover.
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Low-Income Women Rejected from Free Cancer Screenings
Written by Marisa Kaplan, Print News Editor
Low-income women across the country are being turned away from cancer screenings due to state budget constraints.
According to the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network, women who would usually be eligible for mammograms and other cancer-detecting tests aren’t receiving them because of program cutbacks. The number of women being turned away can’t be determined because many women are referred to other cancer services.
Over 20 states, including Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Illinois, have had to make these budget cuts. Controversy over who should receive mammograms has increased over the past several months. The U.S. Preventative Task Force advised that “exams not be given routinely until women are 50, and then every two years.”
This goes against what has long been recognized as the national position on receiving mammograms at age 40. Even though mammograms cost about $100, many free providers aren’t able to give as many as they could in years past.
In order to meet some demand, states are using their funds to increase federal funding, while others get private aid from nationally-renowned groups like the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
In 2009, the ACS approximates that 34,600 American women between 40 and 49 will learn that they have breast cancer. The free screenings identify “more than 39,000 breast cancers, 2,400 invasive cervical cancers and 126,000 pre-malignant cervical lesions.”
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Another Revolution by Google.
Photo Credit: CreativeCommons.org
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Written by Cindy Castillo, Staff Writer
Many years ago, google, known by many as one of the most popular search engines, was invented. It was a tool used on the computer that could allow somebody to enter text into a space, and from just typing one word, search the whole world wide web. This invention was known as Google. It was truly revolutionary. Google allowed people to do research with ease, look up local restaurants, and find a dry cleaner if their shirt was dirty. Google is still used by just about every person who surfs the web, but as time passes, technology increases. Now Google is on the verge of another breakthrough technology.
Computers are starting to get a lot smarter, and Google has came up with a search that allows you to upload a picture, and from that single picture you can bring up thousands of links that relate to that very picture. Google’s vice president of engineering, Vic Gundotra, states that “It is our goal to be able to identify any image,” he said. “It represents our earliest efforts in the field of computer vision. You can take a picture of an item, use that picture of whatever you take as the query.” Something this revolutionary might truly change research and the web all together.
This feature on Google, however, will not be available for some time as this project is still in the works. The vice president explains “Google Goggles works well on certain types of objects in certain categories.” Demonstrating an example of this feature in action, Gundotra exclaimed that when a guest came by his house for dinner, she brought a bottle of wine as a gift. Gundotra then says he took a picture of the bottle and entered the picture in on Goggle’s toolbar. The result was “hints of apricot and hibiscus blossom” and the search went far beyond this. The feature was also used as he took a picture of the Itsukushima Shrine in Japan, a landmark known very well to travelers everywhere. The results returned a description of the shrine on his mobile phone.
With this invention and the many more yet to come who knows what will stem from a computer revolution in the near future.
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White House Party Crashers
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Written by Christie Riganati, Online News Editor
Last week the president held the state dinner at the White House. There were many politicians and Obama donors who had received cordial invitations to the dinner. Unexpected guest were forbidden entry. That Tuesday, Tareq and Michaele Salahi had intended to be present at this grand event and went right through security with no problems, even though they were not on the guest list. The couple had walked past secret service agents and had no problem entering the event. They had also taken pictures shaking hands with President Obama, Vice President Biden, and senators who attended. There is controversy over the accusation of the couple “crashing” the dinner; they believe they were invited although White House staff denies inviting the Salahi’s. The Secret Service has discovered that the proper procedure was not followed at one of the security checkpoints. The Secret Service also revealed that every guest had gone through a magnetic detector before entering so any harmful weapons would’ve never gotten past security even though uninvited guests did. The case is being investigated and will decide whether the couple will be charged in court.
This isn’t the first time this couple has been in the spot light. Michaele is currently rumored to have been casted in The Real Housewives of D.C. which airs on Bravo. Her husband, Tareq is involved in a public dispute over a family vineyard. The couple is also constantly taking photos with celebrities they run into such as Steven Tyler, Brian McKnight, Star Jones, and Betsey Johnson. Many people have speculated that they crashed the dinner to get media attention and make it onto reality television. This incident is serious, putting the lack of security at the White House in perspective. Although the couple did go through metal detectors, toxic substances such as Anthrax still could have been snuck in furthermore putting the president, vice president, prime ministers, and well-known politicians lives at risk.
Party crashers or a mere misunderstanding, the Secret Service has definitely made a mistake somewhere along the line that could’ve been fatal. The court case still awaits to determine whether Mr. and Mrs. Salahi will face consequences for their actions.
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