Issue II - East Meadow School District

FEATURES 11A student does not experience randomacts of kindness on a day-to-day basis,especially in the ‘me first’ world oftoday; it is just a simple fact. So when thestalls and mirrors of the school bathroomare plastered withsimple,beautifulmantras aboutlovingyourself,surprise is only anatural reaction.Accompanyingthe Post-it’sscribbled with abrightSharpiewere typed lettersspreading a messageSmile You’reeveryoneshould embrace. Love who you are; bethe person you are meant to be withoutcatering to what society believes to becorrect. Your flaws make you beautiful;we are all only human, after all. Withteenagers striving for perfection everyday because of outside influences, it iseasy to lose sight of the simple things inPhoto courtesy of Lauren ThomasPhoto courtesy of Lauren Thomaslife. You are alive; what could be better?Every person in school is fighting hisor her own battle, whether it is physicallyor mentally. To have a complete strangergo out of his or her way to reassure youAliveby Lauren ThomasEa s t Me a d o w Sc h o o l Di s t r i c tBoard of EducationBrian O’Flaherty, PresidentJoseph Parisi, Vice PresidentJoseph DanenzaCorey FanelliJeffrey RosenkingMarcee RubinsteinWalter Skinnerthat being you is good enough is uplifting,and could possibly save someone’slife. The person responsible for this inspirationalproject is still a mystery, makingthis all the more intriguing that theywould look for no publicity.Selfless acts like this should happenmore often in order to slowly revivefaith in humanity. Imagine a worldwhere people spend more time pointingout the positive than the negative. Isn’tit a wonderful vision? It was a beautifulday knowing that there are people inour world, and in aneven smaller case,our own school,who care about othersmore than themselves.PlatonicAdministrationLouis R. DeAngelo, Superintendent of SchoolsLynne Manouvrier, Asst. Supt. for Curriculum and InstructionRobert Gorman, Asst. Supt. for Business and FinanceAnthony Russo, Administrative Assistant for Human ResourcesPatrick Pizzo, Director of School Facilities and OperationsMary Ann O’Brien, Assistant Business Administratorlivesdo not exist; spendyour life sharingthese messages ofhope, instead oflooking in the mirrorexamining every‘flaw’ and freckle onyour face. You can make a difference:this singular person has. Now follow suitand keep your head held high.Smile, because you’re worth it!The Handy-DandyCURRICULUM GUIDEby Anson WangThat very special time of year againhas arrived. No, I’m not talking about theholidays, although we all wish that timewere back. We must look towards the future.In the following weeks, you willbe called/hunted down to your respectiveguidance counselor to schedule yourclasses for next year. To some, this is anoverwhelming point of the year. So manyclasses to choose from! I can’t make a decision!Should I really take that class? Whatdo you mean it won’t fit into my schedule?!These are some of the things I hear whilegoing throughout my school day from peoplewho are carefully planning out their futures.However, tomost, this conceptis beyond them.That little bookletthat we receivedbefore the holidaybreak with the bluecover is usuallyforgotten. Let’sall rewind andactually considertaking a look inthat handy dandyCurriculum Guidebefore it winds upbecoming food forthe dumpster.My first questionto all of youis, do you knowhow many creditsare required tograduate? I mean,before a guidancecounselor informs you about that fact. Ifyou don’t, you might want to pull out thatguide and flip to page iv and take a closerlook. As in most high schools, one musthave a necessary number of credits in orderto receive the appropriate diploma. Beforeyou move up to the next grade, you mightwant to reconsider if your class choicessatisfy your credit requirements. You don’twant to wind up being the senior who endsup realizing, “Oh I’m missing one year ofart! I should’ve taken Studio Art duringmy sophomore year!” And if you are, thenstinketh to be youeth.“What classes are you taking nextyear?” “Oh I don’t know, I’m just gonnatake the same courses as Ralph.” Really?It is true that teenagers don’t have the habitof planning for the future, but in an agewhere we emphasize individualism, thisis surprising. People should learn to pilottheir own lives, and not just take classes tobe with their friends. Even if you sign upfor the same class, there’s no guarantee thatyou both will be in the same section. TheGuide is point blank, sprawled out, plainas day, a roadmap of your high school, describingeach class in detail for your consideration.It cannot be easier to plan aheadand select the classes that are right for you.To not utilize this to its full advantage issimply just foolish. A little bit of effort toplan will make a huge difference in thedays to come. After all, you are going tobe in these classes for an entire year. Intense,right? Also, think of all the trees thatsacrificed their lives for this cause. Shouldtheir efforts have been in vain? So insteadof peeking over at Ralph’s schedule, trycoming up with your own.I also hear many other comments thatPhoto Courtesy of Google Imagesdon’t make sense to me. For example: “Myschedule stinks” or “All my classes areboring, I hate them.” Then what on Earthpossessed you to pick them? There are wellover fifty different classes to choose from,so there is bound to be one that catches yourinterest. This usually results as a symptomof I-Do-Not-Look-In-My-Curriculum-Guide syndrome. It is called a “guide” for areason. To avoid this disease, a prescriptionof careful analysis of the course descriptionsis recommended, followed by plentyof liquids. EMHS is doing everyone a hugefavor by providing these guides. In college,they will not be so kind. It is better to getused to the processnow thansuffer. Also,why wouldn’tyou want to tryto find a classthat you enjoy,have fun, ANDget good gradesin? All of theabove are just afew page turnsaway.F i n a l l y ,the final goldenquote: “Thisschool isn’t interesting.”Ifyou think this,you just haven’tbeen looking inthe right places.Maybe it’s timeto start somethingnew. Your day can be brightened upwith just the attendance of one interestingclass in this schedule. How will this everbe discovered if that Curriculum Guide isleft sitting in a corner collecting dust andserving as a home to spiders? Flip throughit, and you may find some very interestingchoices. For example, EMHS offers manydifferent programs in technology, business,and art. Combining these together,did you know that there are classes thatoffer Animation and even Introduction toVideo Game Design? Or are you musicallyinclined? Think about taking courses suchas Music Theory or Music Production, oreven play in a small group everyday withthe Chamber Music class. You will neverknow what you might find until you try.Even main subjects such as Math, Science,Social Studies, and English don’t have tobe boring. Some courses that are offeredare computer programming, culture studies,food studies, interesting book genres,journalism, public speaking. There aredifferent fields of science such as marinebiology, or even classes where you watchand analyze films all year. Those who feeluninterested are just too lazy to search forsomething extraordinary. There is somethingin that Guide for everyone, and fillingup your schedule with off-periods offers nobenefits.There are tons of new classes beingadded each year, and the school is opento suggestions for new ones. Learn to liveyour life the way you want. In the schoolenvironment, start with a smart decision ina class of your choosing. The CurriculumGuides are given to everyone for a reason…and not for scrap paper.Ja n u a r y 2011