Different Communications

By: Robert Tapia

Date: 4/14/11

Different Communication

I was asked to write a 500 word essay from my teacher. She had told us we could write about anything, but we have to support our thesis. I thought to myself that I can write about the autism bracelets that are sold at my school, but I have to back it up. I scheduled a couple of interviews and took a couple of pictures to back up my facts. While I was doing this process I realized that all of my evidence has to do with communication. We take for granted all of o

ur communication abilities because people with autism have a different way of communicating and is difficult to understand by other people. People have to understand that autism has not just appeared out of nowhere, it has been in our world for a while now and we have to

recognize it.

Autism is out there and people need to recognize it. Their way of communicating is different than ours and they struggle to obtain what they want. People communicate all the time to interact and survive.

To do anything in this world you have to communicate with somebody that understands you. Talking, texting, chatting online, singing or rapping are all forms of communication in their own ways. When you don’t understand something then you might ask a question. With autistic people it is harder because they are frustrated and use sounds instead of words. How autism occurs is a mystery. Autism is noticed around the ages of three to four years old.

There are many different forms of autism. The three main forms are Autism Spectrum Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, and Asperger’s Disorder. Spectrum Disorder is

the most serious because their behavior and interaction are really effective. Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) is not as much as serious as Spectrum but still a serious

matter. PDD are people who think literally and can’t take jokes. Lastly, is Asperger’s Disorder which is the least serious and it is only a general language delay.

There was a walk in Marisa Mead’s, sophomore at Daniel Pearl Magnet High

School (DPMHS), hometown. Her friend called Mead and told her that there is a walk on April 2^nd. The walk was at Land caster Jet Hawks stadium. The walk was for autistic awareness and Mead wanted to support the awareness. Mead had orders some bracelets that she had found on awarenessdepo.com and wanted

to raise money toward the foundation of the walk. She is doing that by selling the bracelets at the student store on the campus of DPMHS. The bracelets are $2.00 at the student store.

“The main Point of the Fundraiser was to raise money to bring awareness to an educational environment as well as raising money to advance technology pertaining to the Autism Spectrum Disorder.”

Mead’s twin brother has Autistic Spectrum disorder and she has made the decision to donate all the money from the bracelets to the foundation even though the walk has ended. You don’t have to have an autistic family member to be a donator. Support the awareness of autism.

Teens tell the story of why they dance

By Patrick Avognon

Thursday April, 14, 2011

The art of dance has been around for centuries. It has evolved simple steps to more complex moves. Today teens all over the world use the complex steps for a multitude of reasons.

Zulma Cristobal, a freshman student at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS), used to be a timid student when she enrolled in Millikan Middle School and Performing Arts Magnet. She was self-conscious about her weight, she didn’t feel talented, and was always the girl in the back, until the summer before her 7th Grade year.

“My teachers always used to push me, and at the start of 7th grade, when I lost the weight, I was in love with dance,” Zulma said with a smile on her face.

That summer, Zulma attended a summer dance class at her school. She was more comfortable due to the lack of experienced students. Almost immediately, the extra weight started coming off, and when school started in the fall she was put in Advanced Dance.

“When I dance, I feel on top of the world. I feel so graceful when I dance, plus it’s health,” she added.

Healthguidance.com says that dancing not only benefits the lungs and heart, but it is also a huge calorie burner to help you lose weight, so it’s safe to say Zulma is right about that. With her practicing at her normal rate of four days a week and three hours a day, Zulma will have the body to keep doing what she loves for a long time.

Another student at DPMHS, Omar Memije, has had dance in his heart for a while as well. Only a sophomore at the school, he had decided to transfer out to attend a performing arts high school. He hopes to focus more on his art and to share his experience with the world. He is so dedicated to his art that he is willing to drop the entire life he has spent two years building, to start all over.

“With all the arts being cut at schools, I don’t have anything to look forward to anymore when I come,” said Omar with a disappointed look on his face.”It’s the only way I get to express myself."

Many teens, like Omar, use dance as a form of self expression. There seems to be a genre of music for every emotion. Many dances such as Crump, “Jerking”, Ballet, and Jazz all originated from one specific emotion emotion.

“Whenever I dance, I don’t notice anything else around me. All I need to hear is the bass line and I’m dancing my heart out,” commented Omar.

Many youths, like Omar, hope to become professional dancers so that they may share their experience with the world. But some dancers, like Zulma, want to pursue other careers and one day hope to put their love of dance to rest.

“I want to study, and go to college and be someone successful, but I always want to keep dance with me,” said Zulma. “But when you’re somebody that nobody notices and you get this chance to perform and be somebody else, it’s amazing.”

The Rocky Road to College

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 By Ayla Allen

Eighteen-year-old Katharine Blackman entered the ninth grade at Viewpoint School in California four years ago, with college already at the front of her mind.

From that point on, every summer was carefully planned with extracurricular activities and internship experiences that would strengthen her college application. She worked her hardest in all classes through freshman and sophomore year.

Then junior year arrived and Blackman found herself taking Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry, AP English Language, AP Spanish Language, AP US History, and Honors Math Analysis. Though this year was the most stressful in her opinion, Blackman persisted to keep her grades up to provide an impressive transcript.

“I think my junior year was the worst. I had at least five hours of homework most nights, and I usually stayed up until about 1 or 2 in the morning studying for tests,” said Blackman, now a senior.

Many students feel the need to attend a certain college, and unknowingly increase the pressure on them in an already complex process. In addition to that, students can feel pressured by parents, teachers and peers to the point where it all becomes too much. Japanese society is a perfect example of overwhelming pressure on students.

In Japan, there are test preparation schools, rather than college preparation schools, just to do well on a test to get into the college of their choice. There is extreme pressure for kids to go to the right preparation school, then to the right college, to get the right job to be prosperous in their society.

“I’m proud of the students that work hard because they have pride in themselves, but I don’t think it is necessary to overburden them with work and worry and kill them with our expectations,” said Jo Nakama, who owned her own school in Tokyo, Japan teaching English and American culture.

Performance-driven suicides, or inseki-jisatsu, are not uncommon in Japan among high school students. The fact that U.S. rates are rapidly catching up to Japan is a cause for alarm, though.

The U.S. offers the right and opportunity to pursue higher education even if not at a prestigious university, but the college application and acceptance process is intimidating in itself. First students must choose the schools right for them. This can range from school location, student to teacher ratio, urban or rural areas, small colleges or large universities, etc.

After choosing the colleges one wishes to apply to, complete applications must be put together, including SAT or ACT scores, volunteer hours, letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities, the application fee and other things of this nature. In order to make deadlines, for applications and financial aid, this must be accomplished during the school year while still taking all regular classes and keeping up with homework.

Seventeen-year-old Leeza Arbiv knows the importance of maintaining good grades. Currently at number 12 in her junior class, she is striving to earn a spot in the top five, which would place her in the top eight percent. The top eight percent have much greater chances of being accepted to various Universities of California (UC).

“It is very stressful for teens because this is something that can affect your whole life, and you are competing against thousands of other students for a few acceptances a college has. Then, you are also competing for financial aid,” said Arbiv, a student at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS).

Being a senior doesn’t necessarily mean less work. Blackman is now taking AP Calculus BC, AP English Literature, AP Psychology and Honors Physics; however, all of her hard work has already been rewarded.

“I’m going to UC Berkeley next year. It felt great when I was accepted into UCLA, UC Berkeley and USC. I think I made the process a little more stressful than it had to be, but I have no major regrets because I worked as hard as I could for the past four years,” Blackman said.

Seniors at DPMHS are congratulated on their college acceptances.

Additional college acceptances are celebrated at DPMHS.

College brochures contain helpful information for students at DPMHS.

The Common Application (http://www.commonapp.org/) is a non-profit membership organization, founded 35 years ago, that provides general online and printable applications for students and school officials. Membership is open to colleges and universities such as Yale, Columbia, Harvard, and public colleges. This program is now often used to assist in the college application process.

The Princeton Review (http://www.princetonreview.com/) offers assistance with testing such as the SAT and ACT.

Students can search for grants and scholarships at www.PrincetonReview.com/CollegeFinance.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, Inc. (CHCI) has partnered with State Farm Insurance to create the College Preparatory Kit for High School Students which offers tips on organizing time for applications and various tips at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/apply/the-application/23626.html