Stephanie O’Phelan Opinion Writer

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Mr.Weiss, this is all in the big packet but i cant upload it right now since i dont have my drive.

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The school day was interrupted at Miami Beach Senior High when a group of students flooded and vandalized one of the new buildings. Significant damage was done on the second and third floors of one of the new buildings. At around 9:30 in the morning, the fire alarm rang as a first warning, but it was quickly disregarded by administration. Shortly after,

 According to Dr. Sidener “Some vandals stuffed the floor drain in the bathroom with paper towels and vandalized the sprinkler so the pipe burst”. Three to four inches of sooty water slowly flooded the classrooms and halls as the student body anxiously awaited in their fire drill stations.

o    When I was little, I used to love racing with my bicycle. I used to go up against all my sisters friends. Then one day my training wheels went flying out and I crashed into a tree. I hit my head, shoulders, arms, knees and had many bruises and scrapes. My parents put ice and bandaged me up. Within a few days I was as good as new. This could have been prevented with proper supervision, and protective gear, since I wasn’t even wearing a helmet.

The school year continues to wears on at Miami Beach Senior High, as students struggle to meet deadlines set by colleges. Soon, they will be faced with decision that will mark the rest of their lives. When choosing the right college, students must consider many factors because inevitably preference varies greatly between each individual. The rate of college enrollment has increased by 12 percent over the last couple of decades adding a hint of competitiveness to student applications.  

          More and more, colleges are looking for all around high-quality, active citizens to be part of their institution. The scholarly whiz kid is no longer as accredited as an active member in society. High GPA’s may be impressive but a balance between work and play show the holistic capabilities of a student.  Community service projects and volunteer work make all the difference. This includes extracurricular activities such as involvement in sports, clubs or music programs which set the average Joe apart from an Ivy League student.

            When a student is in the process of selecting a college, financial situations may raise an issue. However, finance should not deter students from considering a college. Financial aid and scholarships are readily available. One may want to consider Bright Futures, a highly recommended scholarship program which according to its website “rewards students for their academic achievement” by means of financial support. In this case, students are required to apply for the program through their high school. Other qualifications can be looked through at the Florida Bright Futures website.

            Other scholarships or grants are issued for qualifying applicants. This includes scholarships for: Lefties, African Americans, students pursuing mortuary science education or art scholarships. The most important thing to remember is that no application for a scholarship comes with a guarantee. Therefore students should always try to get a head start on their college search.

                Procrastination counteracts your progress especially when it comes to meeting all the requirements for college. It would be in the students benefit to research colleges as early as possible to ensure that they do everything in their power to increase their chances of acceptance. By the end of junior year, future college applicants should have begun application process and began drafting essays. If you are looking for more information, contact Dr. Page our college advisor.

Name: Stephanie O’Phelan

Editorial Topic: This angle of the story should cover a student’s “best bet” to get into a good college. What are the basic requirements? average gpa (weighted and unweighted), extra curricular activities, additude and essay tips. A breif mention of senioritis and what to do to get the most out of your high school education in order to succeed in college. It should also include what colleges are looking for and what some of the best colleges at the moment. As well as costs, financial aid, tuiton, books, ect.

Deadline: May 15, 2008

To gather information, I’ll need to interview people who have specific background knowledge about the topic in question.  Two people who know specific facts about this topic are:

First Person’s Name:      Dr. Page                                                              

Date/Place of Interview:  His office or at school

Six initial questions I’ll ask: ((more than 6…….)

Who were some of the students that got into colleges?

Who is this year’s valedictorian?

What was their gpa?

Did they get into a good school?

How do they think they got where they are today?

What are colleges currently looking for in a student?

Are there certain requirements?

What is the average gpa of an ivy league student?

How important are extracurricular activites?

Do you have any suggestions for future applicants about extracurricular activities?

What are some things to consider before choosing a college?

When should a student begin to consider colleges?

When do colleges start looking at your records?

Is it required that a student choose a major upon entering college?

Would  you advise students to take an early career direction?

What would you suggest to help them get prepared?

How do you feel about the academy’s that are starting next year?

Where are most students looking to go to now?

 About how many of MBSh applicants get into their favored college?

How can someone boost up their chances of getting into college?

How much is the average  tuiton (range)?

Where can a student look to for fianancial aid?

Are there any programs you would recommend (scholarships…ect)?

Second Person’s Name: Teacher

Date/Place of Interview: Classroom, hallway or outside?

Six initial questions I’ll ask:

How do you feel about the academies that are starting next year?

How do you think that they will affect the students?

Why do you think that the school is taking a forceful step towards preparing students?

How do you think college has changed since you attended?

What are you doing to help your student prepare?

What do you encourage your students to do in order to get into a good college?

Would you suggest smaller colleges over the more popular ones to your students?

How would the school’s grade affect students progress?

Would a schools’ grade have an effect on the students possibility of admittance?

                       Hygiene at Miami Beach Senior High- opinion piece

Stephanie O’Phelan

The construction of the new buildings has given Miami Beach Senior High a

boost of confidence. However, it seems that along the way, administration and staff have

overlooked the hygiene and maintenance of the school, especially the conditions of the

once hospitable 300 and 400 wings. One student, Perla Diez thinks that “They are

focusing too much on the new building, they should take care of both sides.” After all,

the old side of the school is in dire conditions and in need of some repairs.

Biology teacher Ms. Diaz, recently started her annual bacteria experiment with

her students. The experiment was a comparison of bacteria in different parts of the

school. Ms. Diaz said it was a project where “Students got to choose areas that they

thought would be dirtiest and got to test it out for themselves.” Samples were taken from

floors, handles and bathrooms. While Ms. Diaz said “The worst was definitely in the old

building…” student lab reports showed that railings and handles in the new buildings also

showed a substantial amount of bacteria as well. Among the results was also mold and

fungi in the water fountain handles, this was in part due to the fact that they are never

paid attention to. Ms.Diaz went on to say that she “Never personally witnessed them

cleaning door handles or water fountains.”

            Along with sanitary issues comes the negligence of repairs at Beach High. Water

pipes have been ruptured several times since construction began, which often retricts the

use of restrooms and water. A sink in the 400 wing bathroom was left unrepaired and

rusted on the bathroom floor for several weeks. Not to mention usual lack of toilet paper

and soap in the bathrooms. And along with repairs come the unnatural colors of the water

fountain which periodically emit a grayish brown color. Another student, Bailey

Stasevich assumes that “It’s probably a mixture of dirt and cement.”

Hygiene seems to be the main issue at Miami Beach Senior High as the school

board appears to have no particular rules other than those involving the handing,

preparing and serving of food. And while students may not remain in the old buildings

for long, it is expected that administration take it upon themselves to keep all parts of the

school up to par until construction of the school is complete.

 Reflection

To be perfectly honest, I really hated writing this article. It was more of a news piece than an opinion which kind of bothered me. Overall, I felt that there were a lot of aspects to it and to write a really good article I would need a lot more time. The quality of our work often depends on the amount of time we are given which makes it harder. Even though by now we should be able to come up with something good by the end of the week.

Interviewing administration can be hard and the time at which they’re available usually does not coincide with my free time. Without the input from administration, an article, especially one that covers facts, can be left incomplete.  I’m not sure if the same would apply to opinion pieces though. I mean as long as I have facts and the people’s opinion I guess it’s ok? Not sure about that but I wouldn’t want to “burn bridges” with “school authority” particularly by publishing ideas which are not supported or not entirely true.

I’m not if I’m getting my point across but basically I don’t know if I would want this article published. not that it deserved publishment because it isnt particularly great. Even still, it doesn’t portray the school in the most positive light and I don’t think that it encourages anyone to have school spirit which is kind of what our newspaper is about. I mean I guess we could have some articles that are downers but ive realized that we cover mostly the good aspects and progression of our school.

Also, this might be a bit over the top paranoid but administration always reviews our newspaper and I think that if we publish negative ideas of Beach High then Dr. Sidner will be more controling of what we do. I wouldn’t want that. I’m not even sure she can tell us not to publish something that’s supported by facts but still. And in conclusion, I have no idea what my next article will be about I have no ideas. But, maybe Alicia will come up with something good and hopefully edit it this time around.