Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Recommendation Report


RECOMMENDATION REPORT

To: West Hills High School Administration Team
From: Amanda Childers
Subject: Dress Code

As a student at West Hills High School, I understand that the school dress-code has been a big problem throughout the years. Over time, the dress code has been getting more and more strict. Students and even some faculty believe that the dress code is a little too strict and agree that it would be best if it changed. Issues such as the way the dress code can add to stereotyping and sexism as well as problems with students health. I would like to discuss a few things from this years West Hills High School dress-code.
In the West Hills High School Student Handbook, it states that the following articles of clothing are dress-codeable:

  1. Spaghetti strap shirts
  2. Razor back shorts
  3. Fallen, Metal Mulisha, etc.

Spaghetti Strap Shirts
In Santee during the summer, temperatures easily reach over 90 degrees. Spaghetti strap shirts are a common article of clothing that people like to wear because they are cool and comfortable. If students are allowed to wear this article of clothing to school, it might be more of an incentive to come to school.


Razorback shirts
Razorback shirts are shirts that show your shoulder blades. A lot of people have these kinds of shirts and they come in a variety of different styles and patterns. They are also another way to stay cool in the Santee summer heat. If someone doesn’t have anything to wear that is cool enough to wear to school, then there is a possibility of them overheating and getting sick.


I recommend that the West Hills High School team make the dress-code less strict. It is said that the reason the dress code is the way it is because they want guys to be more focused on school and not on the girls at our school. But, by punishing the girls, it makes the males look bad.
In conclusion, I think it would be best to change the dress code to make it more reasonable. Students would be more likely to come to school and enjoy coming to school if they liked what was happening here. The dress code is a big controversial issue but all this can be resolved. The reason these articles of clothing are forbidden is because, according to the administrators, they are distracting. If thought about, the administration team is teaching males and females to be crude. They are teaching them that it is okay to call girls sluts and whores because of what they are wearing, and its punishing women to give in to these stereotypes.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

10 Elements



10 Elements Outline
Miep Gies
*ALL INFO IS FROM "ANNE FRANK REMEMBERED" BY MIEP GIES*


Birth Date And Place
Miep Gies was born in 1909 in Vienna, Austria. Her original name is Hermine Santruschitz.

Family Members
Miep's mother, father, adopted mother and adopted fathers names are unknown. Her husbands name was Jan "Hank" Gies. She has one child named Paul Gies and a daughter in law named Luce Gies. Lastly, Mieps grandchildren: Erwin,  Jeanine, and David Gies.

Childhood And School Life
When Miep was only 11 years old, she became very sick and malnourished so she was sent away from Austria to Leiden, Amsterdam to improve her condition. She moved in with her adoptive parents and was set to stay for 6 months, but she was still in not the greatest health so she stayed longer. After a year, Miep considered herself dutch and wanted to live with her adoptive parents. She loved classical music and riding her bike and all the kids in school were very nice to her.

Hobbies, Interests And Activities
Miep loved to dance at the nightclubs on the weekends and was one of the first people to learn the Charleston, Two Step, Tango, and the Slow Fox. She would go out dancing on Saturday nights. She also loved pictures or movies. She would regularly go see them whenever she could. Just like when she was a child, she still loved to ride her bike. Miep also likes to work, and took great pride in her independence.

Anecdotes
After almost three years in hiding, the Franks, van Daans, and Dussels luck ran out. On August 4, 1944, a Friday morning, Miep ventured up into the Annex where her Jewish friends were hiding during the holocaust to gather grocery lists. It began just like every normal day. As Miep was working at about 11 or 12 in the afternoon, a man in civilian clothes appeared at the office door with a bin and ordered everyone to stay put and not to move. By this point, Miep was reluctantly, but undoubtedly aware of the situation. The man with the gun left the office and Henk, Mieps husband showed up for lunch. Miep ordered him to leave and he understood and left. Ellie, one of the office assistants was very upset, so Mr. Koophuis sent her away and asked Miep if she would like to go as well, but she replied "I cant". Miep didn't want to leave her friends up in the annex after being there for them all this time. Finally, after some time had passed, a German officer appeared. The German also returned with the dutchman who had first appeared. They split the office up and talked to people individually. The German officer came in to speak to Miep and she realized that he had a Vienna accent and she used this to her advantage. As they talked, the sound of steps came down from the stairs to the annex. "...I could hear the sound of our friends feet. I could tell they were coming down like beaten dogs".


Career

At the age of 24 in 1993, Miep had a difficult time finding a job. She had been fired several months earlier from a textile company and because of her independent attitude, was eager to find more work. One Saturday afternoon, a lady that lived on top of Miep and her adopted family came home with news of a job opening with a man named Otto Frank. When she went to ask about the job, Mr. Frank immediately liked her and began to put her to work, starting with making jam, and then as a service operator. She was originally supposed to work as a fill in, but when the lady she was filling in for came back, she was surprised to see another desk in the office. Mr. Frank had made enough room for the both of them. The worker that returned was named Miss Heel, a lady about the same age as Miep, but blond and chubby. She was a member of the NSB, a dutch Nazi group. She quit after a couple months of her return. Miep worked with the company all through the holocaust.

Reason For Fame
    Miep Gies became famous for the hiding of Anne Frank and her family. For almost three years, she took care of them in the Annex, an attic above Mr Franks business. Throughout time, Meip, Mr. Frank, and his family became very close. In 1939, Hitler began to discriminate against Jewish people and created absurd laws that made life very difficult. Eventually, he started moving jews to concentration camps, and then death camps. While this was happening, Margrot, the oldest of the Frank daughters, was ordered to go to a work camp. The Franks knew this was trouble and began thinking of options. The Franks turned to their close friend, Miep, for help and a place to hide. Miep, as well as her husband were successful in hiding the Franks and their friends until August 4, 1944. The Franks and their friends that were hiding up in the attic were captured. Miep ventured up into the Annex one last time to gather some small items that her friends had in hiding, including all of Anne Frank's writings and journals. Anne Frank’s diary gave insight to the life they lived in the Annex. Fear, claustrophobia, and disease along with all the other problems the friends faced were all explained with lots of detail and emotion. Everyone who lived in the Annex tragically passed away except for Mr. Frank. With some persuasion, Anne’s diary was published and her story touched millions around the world, as well as Miep’s courage and heart. After the publishing of Anne’s diary, people longed for Miep’s side of the story, thus her book, Anne Frank Remembered. (Published April 15, 1988)

Later Life/Old Age
    As Miep Gies got older, she moved away and got a different job. She got pregnant at the age of 40 and gave birth to her son Paul Gies in 1952. Although the holocaust had been over for some time, Miep could never throw away any food. Because of the fame that had grown from both Anne’s and her writings, Miep traveled a lot and told thousands of people her story. Henk, her husband, passed away on January 26, 1993.

Death
Miep Gies passed away in her home on January 11, 2010 just a month before her 101st birthday. She passed away due to a hip injury from a fall in her home. She left on a legacy that the world could not be thankful enough for. Her son, daughter-in-law, and their kids live on in her legacy.  

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Journalism Article: Self Help Festival

The Self Help Festival Comes To San Bernardino, CA

On march 22, 2014, The Self Help Festival is scheduled to take over the NOS Event Center in San Bernardino, CA. The festival will feature bands from all over the country to play together.
    The NOS Event center (short for National Orange Show Events Center) is located on 689 south “E” street in San Bernardino, CA. It was originally used for orange shows because of its large spaces and versatile uses. The 120 acres of land, as well as 150,000 sq ft of indoor exhibit can accommodate up to 40,000 people. Its obvious why the band A Day To Remember chose this location for the event. The name “Self Help Festival” came about as the band and friends were throwing around ideas for the upcoming festival. Someone had mentioned that concerts, and music in general, simply makes listeners feel better about themselves and their personal lives. In some cases, its safe to say that music even saves lives.
   
At this years Self Help Festival, you can expect to see 16 bands including A Day To Remember, Bring Me The Horizon, Of Mice And Men, The Story So Far, Memphis May Fire, Attila, The Word Alive, Stick To Your Guns, Issues, Letlive, Terror, A Skylit Drive, Hands Like Houses, Beartooth, Hundredth, and last but not least, Rotting Out. With two stages, including an indoor stage and an outdoor stage, This festival includes bands from all over the US and even one band from the UK. The bands”ADTR”, “BMTH”, and “OM&M” are very popular in music today with multiple chart-topping albums and songs.
    As for tickets, there are three different types available. The first ticket is  just a basic general admission ticket and costs $39. The other two options are VIP packages. The first package is the Common Package which includes a ticket, a screen printed poster, a t-shirt, and front of the line passes. The Courtesy Package includes a ticket, a screen printed poster, a t-shirt, front of the line passes, a laminate, and a VIP meet and greet with some of the bands.
    As the festival gets closer and closer, social media sites are blowing up with excitement including one person who, on the band Stick To Your Guns Instagram stated, “We are driving all the way from Vegas to see you guys!”. Its no question that this festival is a big deal for those who are into this genre of music. But, as one could imagine, with so many people in this one area, not everything will go according to plan. With such large crowds and loud music, things are bound to get out of control. Parking and traffic is one of the many concerns about the event as well as food and water.Parking is between $15-$20 and outside food and water is not allowed. Dehydration is also a huge concern as well as the fact that alcohol will be sold there. All in all, the festival will be an interesting event to see play out. 


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SIDEBAR

A Day To Remember:
From: Ocala, Florida
Formed In: 2003
Albums: And Their Name Was Treason, For Those Who Have Heart, Homesick, What Seperates Me From You, and Common Courtosey 
Members: Jeremy McKinnon, Neil Westfall, Joshua Woodard, Alex Shelnutt, Kevin Skaff

Bring Me The Horizon:
From: Sheffield, England
Formed In: 2004
Albums: Count Your Blessings, Suicide Season, There Is A Hell Believe Me Ive Seen It. There Is A Heaven Lets Keep It A Secret, Sempiternal
Members: Oliver Sykes, Lee Malia, Matt Kean, Matt Nicholls, Jordan Fish, Jona Weinhofen, Curtis Ward

Of Mice And Men
From: Costa Mesa, California
Formed In: 2009
Albums: Of Mice & Men, The Flood, Restoring Force
Members: Phil Manansala, Valentino Artega, Austin Carlile, Alan Ashby, Aaron Pauley

**Band info from  http://www.wikipedia.org/**
 

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Coraline Movie Review

In the world of film entertainment, stop-motion pictures seem to be the most difficult and tedious to create. Stop-motion animation is the process of taking thousands of photos of puppets, which are moved centimeter by centimeter every picture. After the puppets actions are completed and all the pictures have been taken, they are played together in order, which gives the illusion that the puppet or object is moving. One of the more recent and up to date stop-motion films is the controversial children’s movie, Coraline.
Coraline was directed by Henry Selick, (also known for the films: The Nightmare Before Christmas, and James and the Giant Peach) who was asked by the author of the book Coraline, Neil Gaiman, (also famous for books such as: The Graveyard Book, and American Gods) to bring his story to life. Henry Selick, Neil Gaiman, and a team of over 100 people worked endlessly on everything from the clothes on the characters backs, to the voices behind them.
Coraline is a young girl voiced by Dakota Fanning (famous for her appearances in: The Secret Life Of Bees, Twilight, and The Runaways) who moves with her mother, voiced by Teri Hatcher, (known for her appearance in Desperate housewives) and her father, voiced by John Hodgman (known for his appearance in The Invention Of Lying) to an apartment called the Pink Palace, located in Ashland, Oregon. As soon as she moves into her new place, she is eager to venture out and explore, but when she unsuccessfully attempts to gather the attention of her parents, who are writing a gardening article, she decides to go out and explore the property on her own. Right away, it is easy to tell that Coraline is a girl with a lot of attitude as well as curiosity, and her parents inattentive routine result in her defiance. As she ventures out to find a well, she is startled by her neighbors grandson. A tall, awkward boy by the name of Wyborn, or Wybie, voiced by Robert Bailey Jr. Right away, Coraline is not amused and quite annoyed by her unwanted friend. As she broadens her search to end her boredom, she meets a man by the name of Mr. Bobinski, voiced by Ian McShane, as well as Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, who are voiced by Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French. Mr Bobinski is one of the Pink Palace residents of whom is a drunk and believes he can talk to mice. Miss Spink and Miss Forcible are two elderly women who also reside in the Pink Palace and are retired actresses. The film begins to take an interesting turn when Wybie brings Coraline a doll that resembles her exactly as well as when Coraline discovers a door, sealed by the wallpaper in the living room that seemingly leads to nothing.
One night, Coraline is awaken by the sound of a mouse in her room. When she sees the mouse, she proceeds to follow it with the intentions of catching it. As she chases the mouse into the living room, it makes an unexpected bolt through the door once behind the wallpaper. As Coralines curiosity grew, she ventured through the door to find herself in a parallel universe to which everything is the same; or so she thinks. Coraline finds everyone from her old world in her new one where everyone has buttons sewed under their eyes, but other than that, everyone seems to be everything Coraline has ever wanted. As you could imagine, Coraline was skeptical at first, but because of the hospitality of her “other parents”, she becomes more comfortable. After a few journeys between both worlds, Coraline starts to realize that the “other world” is in fact a bad place with some help from “other wybie”, a cat, and three ghost children. The “other mother” is deceiving and selfish. She askes Coraline to sew buttons over her eyes so she can stay forever, but Coraline knows that something isn’t right. In a desperate attempt to restore her reality, Coraline must realize that she should always be careful of what she wishes for.
In my opinion, the movie Coraline is a great way to teach young children, adults, and everyone in between that we should not always get what we want and that our desires can be deceiving. This film sends a message that i believe everyone should hear, yet I do not entirely agree that this film is suitable for all young children. Although, if the viewer is not easily frightened, this movie will take them into what may seem like a different world! Suspense, adventure, and mystery lies around every corner and will keep the viewer guessing. After viewing some behind-the-scene footage on the making of Coraline, I have gained a lot of respect for all the men and women who worked eagerly and passionately in order to bring this novel to life. I would recommend this movie to anyone who loves a thrill and a helpful lesson or two. But the question is, what would you do?