Michelle Chubbuck;;

                       Where do horoscopes come from? Well, of course they come from stars, but how do they find these things out? The answer is astrology. Before I tell you about horoscopes, I must touch the subject of astrology. First of all, astrology is the study of stars and planets. For over 3000 years people have been studying the ‘heavens’ and giving constellationsnames. Before they found out that plants move due to gravity, they thought that plant movement was a sign from the gods. They thought that the solar system, including the moon and the sun, was symbolic for the force within all human beings.

                       For some people, horoscopes are some kind of ‘psychological map’, showing parts of our personality. In order to read this map you must know components to it, like the planets, houses, or signs. The moon acts as the inner child we all have in ourselves and your feelings of nature, Mercury, as our thoughts, and Mars, the fighter inside us..etc. So the planets are mostly the Greek gods. Each planet is placed in the right spot to represent the twelve signs or symbols of the horoscopes. Back to the question, ‘Where do horoscopes come from?’, well they are no doubt from the Greek era. Since the planets are contributed to the finding of horoscopes, and naming the different parts of our personality.

                      References: Intro to horoscopes  Origin of Horoscopes

The Winter Solstice is a day when the Earth’s axis is farthest from the sun. People in the high latitudes this is the shortest day of the year, and the sun is low in the sky. Since the Earth is always turning, the degrees where the Earth’s axis is farthest from the sun only happens for an instant, but the ‘after effects’ last for a least 6 days after. “Solstice” comes from the Latin word sol stetit, meaning “The Sun stood still”. Winter Solstice is a celebration so shortening the day and extending the nights. Depending on the year, the Winter Solstice is held between December 21 and December 22. To celebrate this, people hold recognition of rebirth, gatherings, festivals, or rituals. In Europe the Winter Solstice is held on the 25 of December.

Many different cultures interpret Winter Solstice in different ways,since it is neither the beginning or middle of a hemispheres winter.  Some cultures celebrate the solstice as a way to ask the sun god (Apollo or Helios) to bring back the sun, so they could grow more crops. The Solstice also symbolizes a new year, reborn, to celebrate new lives and lives that have past in the previous year.  In Greek mythology the gods and goddess meet on the Winter and Summer Solstice. The Romans celebrate it by holding a festival called Saturnalia, to prays the god Saturn, who is their god of agriculture. 

There are many different symbols for the Winter Solstice. One of them is fire.  Fire symbolizes the sun, or warmth, and people think that the fire may help to bring the sun back. A Yule candle is also another one.  In the old days people would rub the candles on the farmers tractors in hope that the farmers could plow the field early to plant the crops.  They also will burn a Yule log and save the ashes for fertility so that they would have a good harvest the following year.

There are so many people in need of help these days with the job lay offs. And what is a better way to help them then give them food so that they have hope that there are still good people in the world or that they might live another day? So HOSA is sponsoring a canned food drive to help out the less fortunate in our community. Anything really helps canned food, boxed food, and nonperishables. There are boxes all around the school so you can drop your donation off and help.

There are so many food drives out there, so why are people still in need of food? Lots of people donate tons of cans and other nonperishables. Well about 12.4 million house holds are at risk for becoming homeless due to high home costs. So they need help with everything. Even one can of anything will help these people.

Food Drive Facts;

“Children, from birth through age 19, are the largest single group receiving emergency food assistance.
The people in most need of food are childern and the elderly, ones that are to young or too old to join the work force.” -Project topica

The book Burned by Ellen Hopkins is a grabbing story about a Mormon girl named Pattyn Scarlet Von Stratten, who just wants to have a normal teenage life. She does whatever it takes to get that lifestyle. After her father catches her with a boy, beer and a BB gun, she is sent to her aunt’s farm for the summer. There she learns many things and meets a very special person When she returns home she disagrees with her drunk fathers views, and begins mouthing off to him. When she decides to run off with the love of her life, things take a turn for the worst. Burned has many twists and turns that you don’t see coming.  This story is very thrilling and leaves you wanting more than you get. I would recommendthis book to anyone and everyone who enjoys reading.

G.A.L.S stands for G.irls A.sking L.earning and S.haring. The sponsor of G.A.L.S is Mac Tibbits. G.A.L.S is not a club, it is not something you sign up for. You are able to come in whenever you want and just hangout. The meeting are held every other week on Tuesday. They talk about life experiences and life issues that teen girls face. Ranging from the latest fashion to handling being a teen parent. Also including how to do your hair, nails, make-up and much more. G.A.L.S is a very relaxed group. There is no need to be scared and shy.

The school has recently purchased new books for the library. They spent over $2,000 on the books. They paid for these new books from the library fees that the students pay over the year.  They range from the 5th grade level to 12th grade level. The topics vary from vampire books to some popular teen books. Sandy Bahr says, “They should ask the students what books they want before buying them.”The library holds over 10,000 books, and these new books are now available for check-out to the students. Odilia Manuel says,”I think it’s a good idea because we need new books for students to read.”

Exactly what is popularity? What makes a person popular or unpopular? Being popular is defined as being liked by many people. So in school, there are lots people liked by many people,but they are not high up on the ‘popularity chart’. Why is that? So what makes you popular? Is it you appearance, personality, or relations?

I asked a few people what really makes a person popular, most of them said things like being outgoing, how many people like you, being confident, participating in a sport, and looks was the main key.

If that’s what makes you popular what makes a person at the bottom of the ‘popularity chart’? The definition is lacking general approval. This one is many things. Examples are lack of relations to approved people, lack of hygiene, loud and rude, and shy and quiet, sometimes.

Photo found at http://newcentrist.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/light-at-end.jpg

Is 2012 really the end date of the world? It has been predicted by the Mayans, the Hopi Indians, and Michel Nostradamus. If it really happens, how will it end? By fire, water, ice, or even wind? What will we do when it comes, or if it comes? The government has not commented on the prediction of the possible coming of Armageddon. So are we all left to perish or is it just another miss interpretation like Y2K.

If it happens there will always be survivors left. Whether it is ten survivors or a hundred or a thousand. The human race will not cease to exist completely. But how will it be for the survivors? Will they be more or less fortunate then the ones that perished? What will they be left with? A barren landscape, a frozen environment, a flooded world, or a toxic wasteland? Whatever it would be trying to survive the after math will prove to be very challenging.

So what are your views on the 2012 frenzy?

There are many ways you can help save the environment. First you might ask, what is going green? In many ways it is helping to clean up the world from the trash left behind. It is to also using renewable recourses. Going green slows down the process of the depletion of our nonrenewable recourses.

But how can you help to make this world a better place for the future generations? The first and most obvious reason is to recycle. Carpool on your way to school or work. When brushing your teeth, use only needed water and don’t keep the water running. Turn off lights you don’t really need at the time. Help plant trees. There are so many was you can help change the environment.

The High School has tried to go green by placing cardboard boxes in every class room to help the students recycle paper and plastic. Not many students use them. So how can we get more high schoolers into recycling? Well we can start with the less cooler way. Disney has the friend for change project. You can pledge that you help go green and play some games too.

Found at http://www.lizandlaura.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/sick-dog.jpg

What are some ways you can avoid getting the flu? Or even the H1N1 virus? Wash your hands. Yeah, sure you hear this all the time. But do you really do it? So many people are getting sick now. Do you want to get sick? On top of not feeling good, you miss school, and the homework just piles up.  You can’t avoid being around a lot of people, and maybe some of the people are sick, but you can help stop it.

              Wash, Wash, Wash. Everyday, after coughing, sneezing, blowing your nose, wash your hands.  Do not share things with people who have a cold or are getting it.  If you do not have time to constantly wash your hands, do not touch your face, this helps the germs get into your system better.  Get a good night sleep and avoid getting “run down”.  Reduce stress, spread homework, work, and other things out instead of doing it all at the same time.  Stay healthy!  After using kleenexes, throw them away immediately.

There are many more ways to avoid getting sick. So don’t let homework slow you down. Stay healthy, and don’t get sick.