gator bites - Pembroke Pines Elementary

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Keep the Swamp Clean! By Claudia Tio Gator Reporter Do you clean up after yourself during lunch? According to an October report published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average American generates an average of 4.4 pounds of trash per day. For Everglades’ student body of over 2,600 kids, that adds up to 11,440 pounds of waste. Littering has become a huge problem. Soda cans, candy wrappers, and paper trays are constantly found on the ground. It is especially noticeable during lunchtime. Much of the school’s trash could be recycled, but it is placed in the wrong container. Sometimes, it is not even placed in a bin at all. Students who choose not throw away their trash properly either leave it on the table or toss it on the floor. “I think that if people keep littering, the school will just end up looking like one huge landfill,” said Savannah Jeffries, freshman. The maintenance staff is not a maid service. They are here to keep the school looking polished, but students need to do their part as well. Due to school budget cuts, there are fewer janitors in the school now than ever before. Putting trash in the garbage can will not make anybody seem any less cool. Trashcans are placed all over the school, both inside the cafeteria and in the courtyard area. There really is no excuse not to do it. Once students take initiative and pick up their trash, the school will be in a much cleaner state. Even if a student sees garbage on the floor that does not belong to them, they should just pick it up and leave the school cleaner than when they found it. By Asia Riley Gator Reporter In an effort to meet the state's class size mandate, Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) required all of the district's high schools to switch to a seven period schedule. A c c o r d i n g t o Browardcountypublicschools.com, the uniform schedule allows the district to offer one additional class per day; which, in turn, allows the school to offer more classes because teachers will now teach six of seven classes; thereby reducing the number of students in a class. Although there are less students in a classroom, that does not make a subject any easier to understand. Seven classes may E D I T O R I A L S By Rhea Brown Gator Reporter With only two healthy vending machines in the cafeteria, the lines are long and often, the food is sold out within the first 15 minutes of lunch. If the school had two more vending machines, then the lunch lines would be shorter and students would feel more inclined to try the food due to their shorter lines. According Healthy Vending Machines to letsmove.gov, sponsored by First Lady Michelle Obama, lunchtime is a break in the day where students need to recuperate, and having healthy food will give them the energy to pay attention in class. be too much for high school students to handle all at one time. Under the seven period schedule, a student can earn 28 credits during their high school career, as opposed to 32 credits under block (4x4) scheduling. “I don’t like it [7 periods], because class is a lot shorter. You don’t learn as much as you did with the block schedule,” Richard Leveille, junior, said. Leveille said that his grades have dropped because with less time, he gets easily distracted, and picks up less information. Ms. Lisa Alonso, personal fitness teacher, said, “Personally, I like the block schedule because they [students] had more Students are determined to get in line early enough to get a parfait, Caesar wrap, or Montego Bay wrap from the vending machines before they are sold out. This results in students rushing, which increases the risk that someone could get hurt. “Throughout my high school career, I have had to suffer in these long lines five days out of each week. There needs to be a change,” said Layla Nanita, junior. M o r e vending machines should be added to the cafeteria because students should not have to settle for whatever lunch they get; they should enjoy it because lunch is the only free time students have during the school day. How Bad is the Influence of Reality Television? By Fabiola Pina Gator Reporter Reality television audiences today are not looking up to positive role models. Shows currently on air are teaching adolescents to behave and think in an unsophisticated manner. The Girl Scout Research Institute did a study on reality shows and their effects on teenagers. It said, “ Of girls surveyed, regular reality TV viewers differ dramatically from their non-viewing peers in their expectations of peer relationships, their overall self-image, and their understanding of how the world works.” Out of the 1141 people studied, 37 percent thought they had to lie to get what they want, 28 percent said they would rather be known for their outer beauty than their inner A few food items that are available to students in our healthy vending machines. [PHOTO TAKEN BY RHEA BROWN, JUNIOR] New Schedule Change beauty, and all of this, they said, was due to the influence of people on reality television. Reality show Jersey Shore constantly promoted fighting, drinking, and promiscuity, and despite all of that, Music Television (MTV) still aired five seasons of it. According to misrepresentation.org, individuals are concerned about the renewal of the Kardashian’s family TV show. Parents are worried about the message that the media is sending to their children and their generation, setting poor role models. Reality television can serve as a bad role model to teenagers that look to them for guidance. It condones uncivilized behavior and thoughts, and negatively impacts the way adolescents think. time for the P.E classes.” She said that the longer class blocks are, the better it is for dressing out and with the new schedule, they cannot do drills. “Seven periods is a lot more stressful for student athletes. Instead of four homework assignments, it’s now seven,” said Hakeem Duncan, sophomore. He said that it is hard for him to complete so many homework assignments and go to practice everyday. The new schedule is going to take some getting used to due to the change from previous years. Seven classes at one time may prove to be overwhelming and difficult to juggle for some students. D10
Mayor’s Cup Remains in Patriots’ Possession By Danielle Lockamy Gator Sports Editor The Miramar Patriots defeated the varsity football team in the Mayor’s Cup on Friday, October 19. The Patriots started off the game strong with a 50 yard kickoff return. Within the first three minutes, the Patriots scored their first touchdown. Miramar continued to run through the Gators’ defense scoring two more touchdowns in the first quarter. Second quarter provided Miramar with another touchdown leaving the score 27-0. In the third quarter, the Gators get on the board with a 99 yard kickoff return touchdown by Andre Hallmon, senior, wide receiver. However, they cannot get the ball through the field goal post to gain an extra point. On the Patriots’ next possession, they responded by scoring another touchdown. Fourth quarter neither teams could put up points which closed the game with the score of 34-6. Braxton Dudley, junior, defensive tackle, said, “We did not go in the game with the right mindset and therefore left with a disappointing score.” Preceding the game, the City of Miramar’s mayor, Lori C. Moseley, stepped onto to the field to present the Mayor’s Cup trophy to Brian C Faso, principal of Miramar High School. Gators Come Home to a Victory By Gabrielle Delaine Gator Reporter On Friday, November 2, the varsity football team defeated the West Broward Bobcats, 35-17 at the homecoming game. The Gators had several key plays. Seniors André Hallmon, wide receiver, Donovan Rattigan, runningback, and Rodriguez Alexander, wide receiver, made the first three touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback, Joshua Cartwright, threw for 153 yards and rushed for 103 yards. “It was a good game. We just did what needed to be done to win,” said Sean Charles, senior, offense of guard. This was a very important game for the team. Not only was it the homecoming game, but it was the last game of the season. “Since this was our last game as seniors it was pretty emotional. We took the pressure and applied it in a way that gave us the opportunity for this win. It felt good to win,” said Joshua Shaw, senior, wide receiver. S P O R T S Gator Becomes a Wildcat By Demetria West Gator Reporter Senior football player, Alvonte Bell, is excited to attend the University of Kentucky. [PHOTO TAKEN BY DEMETRIA WEST, JUNIOR] Amongst our varsity football players, 6 foot 6, 228 pound defensive end, Alvonte Bell, senior stands out in particular to University of Kentucky (UK). On Tuesday, June 5, 2012, Bell verbally committed to UK in pursuit of a football career. Bell is a three-star recruit on many major sites and multiple other colleges offered him a scholarship including Florida State, Clemson, Louisville, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, West Virginia and Ohio State University. Rivals.com ranks Bell as the number 22 weakside defensive end in the class of 2013, and the number 73 overall player from the state of Florida. Scout.com, the service that ranks Bell as a four-star recruit, has him as the number 33 defensive end in the class,” according to ukrecruiting.com. Bell said that UK is more likely to give him a chance of playing his freshman year, which narrowed his decision down to choosing UK. He also noted that UK would launch him in the direction of the National Football League, something he plans to do once he is out of college. One of Bell’s goals is to attend college on a football scholarship prior to him starting his freshmen year. Alongside playing his freshmen year, he wishes to play professional football all four years and to graduate with a degree before proceeding on to the NFL. Balancing Athletics and Academics By Asia Riley Gator Reporter Being a student and an athlete can be difficult and time consuming. Having to go to practice everyday and still have homework to do after is stressful. Students who play sports and still do well in school are commendable. It is hard to balance time between schoolwork and sports. Although teachers may seem to understand the difficulties of time management for athletes, late work and excuses are not acceptable for most teachers. Katherine Diaz, junior varsity volleyball player, said, “It is hard for me to balance the two out because I have a lot of difficult classes. You just have to put your mind into it, and it will get easier.” School should always be one’s top priority. If one cannot manage to perform well in school while playing sports, they should reevaluate whether they should be in that sport or not. In reality, as a student, school comes first before any other activity one decides to participate in. Elizabeth Mompoint, volleyball outside hitter, junior, said she prioritizes her schoolwork and has always been on top of it. If she does not, she cannot play volleyball. “I never want to stop playing. I want to get accepted into a good college,” said Mompoint. Luckily, most athletes know that school should come before sports, and therefore should divide their time evenly between practice and schoolwork. The best way for athletes to continue to balance out sports and school is to complete all of their assignments. If they are having trouble understanding something they should ask their teacher for help whenever they have the time. The role of student athlete takes dedication and effort. As long as one can find a way to balance the two out, then ones position as a student athlete will be secured. E11
Page 1 and 2: GATOR BITES VOLUME XX ISSUE II Ever
Page 3 and 4: Band and Color Guard’s First Comp
Page 5 and 6: Paranormal Activity 4: Hit or Miss?
Page 7 and 8: S E Q U O I A C L U B SPIRIT WEEK 2
Page 9: By Laura Caicedo Gator Editorials E
Page 13:   Editors:  Jennifer Wills 

gator bites - Pembroke Pines Elementary

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?