What does Halloween mean to you?

Journal Question: What does Halloween mean to you?

Halloween does not mean anything special to me. To me it is just a holiday for kids to have fun, dress up, and get candy. I do not know the origins of Halloween or why we have it, so that may be why it does not mean anything to me.

Drug Abuse Meeting

Journal Question: Last night all parents of seniors had to attend a meeting on drug abuse. What was your parent's feedback on the meeting? What do you think of the mandatory meeting?

My mom went to the meeting and she said that it was a waste of time and that she did not want to be there. She also thought the meeting should have been optional and it was a bad idea to force people to attend the meeting who did not want to go, and that if one of your parents does not go to the meeting you cannot be involved in school events. She also said that she heard that the meeting was recorded so that we can watch it and she does not understand why they want us to watch it.

Michael Jackson's New Movie

Journal Question: Michael Jackson's new movie started last night. Give your opinion on the movie and media circus that surrounds Michael today.Read at least one review of the movie release. Choose your own news source.

The movie seems like a good idea because before he died he was supposed to go on tour, but since his death he cannot. The movie is good for people who wanted to see a concert but now can't, and it is good to remember him with the movie. The review that I read said it was a great tribute to him and the Michael Jackson fans will love it.

Student Backup

Journal Questions: Read the following article : 2Moms' Business.What is your feeling on this type of business? Is there a market for this type of product?

I think this business is a very good and innovative idea. Backing up files is important because if your computer crashes you can lose every file, and many people are too lazy to back up their files, or don't do it because they do not think their computer will crash, but it can. This product can help prevent that and paying the $49 for one year to automatically protect all your files is worth more than all the hours of frustration trying to get everything back and retyping them. There is definitely a market for this, especially for college students and businesses who may not have the time to keep backing up files, and maybe even for families who cannot be bothered with it.

Yankees

was a quiet NEWS week; please respond to the following question. The Yankees won last night and are moving to the next round of the playoffs. Are you a die hard Yankee fan and can't wait to watch some more baseball. OR Yankees weren't they from the civil war period? I don't care and don't watch baseball my time is better served doing________________.

I am a Mets fan and do not like the Yankees. I really do not care if they win the World Series or not, and my time is better spent watching the Giants, who are going to win the Super Bowl this year. I did not watch the Yankees game yesterday because I wanted to watch the Giants game instead because it interests me more.

Different cultures/adversity

Journal Question: Last chapter we spoke about different cultures and how actions, written communication and non-verbal communication play a big role in our ability to communicate. Please read the following article and state if you would be able to face such adversity for something you love to do. (tell me what it is that you would face such adversity)

I don't know if I would be able to face such adversity for something I love to do, because sometimes it can be really hard to deal with, even if it is for something you love. I would try to deal with it, but if there really was a lot of it, it would definitely be hard to continue doing what I love.

Business Olympics

The Business Olympics teams are due Monday October 26th, the subject 21st century classrooms. How could you change this class or another class to bring it into the 21st century? How would you like to see our school change to enable all students to learn more and become active participants in their education?

Instead of having desks in the middle of the classroom and then computers around the perimeter, I would have computers built into the desks that come up when you press a button. Then you can log on and with your school account and have a computer and a regular desk in the same place. I would also have schools offer more electives, and if there are not enough people to fill a standard classroom, you can have classes conducted over a video-conferencing style device where the teacher is in a school, and the students can see the teacher and all the other students on a screen.

Balloon Story

Journal Question: What is your point of view on "The Balloon Story"? Do you agree or disagree with the charges? How do you feel about the children's role in this?

I think that this hoax was a stupid idea to increase publicity for an upcoming television show. There are other ways they could have increased awareness without having to resort to a national hoax that wasted the country's time and resources to attempt to rescue a child who was supposedly in the balloon, but instead he was hiding in the attic the entire time. The family should have placed advertisements in newspapers, magazines, on television, and on the Internet if they wanted to promote their show, not pretend their son was floating away in a homemade balloon.

Swine Flu

Journal question: New York state health care workers have been mandated to take the H1N1 (Swine Flu) vaccine. Do you agree with this or not? Why

I agree with this because even though the swine flu has not caused many deaths yet, it is good to take the vaccine to prevent the workers from catching it. There is nothing wrong with taking these preventitive measures to keep workers safe.

Swine Flu

Journal question: New York state health care workers have been mandated to take the H1N1 (Swine Flu) vaccine. Do you agree with this or not? Why

I agree with this because even though the swine flu has not caused many deaths yet, it is good to take the vaccine to prevent the workers from catching it. There is nothing wrong with taking these preventitive measures to keep workers safe.

Nobel Prize

Journal question: What do you think about the newest Nobel Prize Winner: President Obama. Do you agree, disagree and why.

I disagree because the Nobel Prize is supposed to go to someone who has done or invented something new or revolutionary that could have a positive impact on our future. I'm sure there are many scientists or inventors who have discovered or invented something that is worthy of the Nobel Prize, but Obama has not done anything yet, and nothing that has benefited the country, that makes him deserving of the Nobel Prize.

Healthy Food in Schools

Journal question: Healthy food has been the topic of the discussion in the Smithtown School District; from changing food in the cafeterias to ending bake sales to no more cookies in the school store. Check out today's article regarding a similar plan in West Babylon. Should Smithtown take the same actions, what are your feelings on our food in school, what would you change?

Smithtown should not take similar actions, and other schools should not either. I think the schools should leave the food choices how they are because they are fine and have worked for all of these years. The school should not change the food choices and remove unhealthy foods because now you are limiting the food options, and if someone really wants a muffin, they are just going to bring it from home instead. It will not change what people eat and the school will lose money because they will sell less food. It is also not the schools place to not let students eat certain foods, and by removing some foods they are saying that you should not be eating them.

Yesterday's Speaker

Journal question: Yesterday we had a speaker from Johnson and Wales (I know he was late and we had only a couple of minutes with him). Did his presentation inform you about the college, your senior year? Was it easy to understand, how was his presentation; written, visual, verbal, and non-verbal. (Relate it to the information we have covered in class so far!)

I thought the speaker yesterday gave a good presentation for the short amount of time that he had. The visual part, the power point, looked very nice and it was very informative, and the text on the slides was concise and helpful. The presentation helped me learn a lot about the Johnson and Wales University and I thought it was cool how they have multiple campuses in different states for one university.

Financial Education

I really do not know that much about finances and have never really been taught much about them. I am iagn economics class now and I am finally learning about finace and it helps you to understand what is going on with the economy now.

Drugs in School

Journal question: The Smithtown School District has been in the news lately regarding drug usage in the schools. What are your feelings on our schools being involved, covered and the new requirement to have parents attend a seminar prior to prom and banquet. Click the link to this weekend's coverage.

Based on the article, heroin use seems to be a big problem that Smithtown is not doing enough about. At one part in the article, it said they assigned a publick safety officer only to patrol the parks and beaches for heroin use. Assignning one officer to patrol every beach and park does not seem like it would be a very effective way to catch heroin users. I think that Smithtown schools as well as the town of Smithtown need to find a better way to catch the people who are usuing heroin.

Texting and Driving

Journal question: In today's Newsday there is an article regarding texting and driving. Give your point of view on this VERY important topic. Check out the article first.

I agree with this article and think that texting while driving should be banned. It is a very dangerous thing to do and has already resulted in many deaths. When you text and drive you have to read the message you just received, type a response, and send it, and doing all of that keeps your eyes off the road which obviously is not a good idea. Having the phone ring when you receive a message can also be distracting, and texting while driving should definitely be banned.

State a Proverb and What It Means

Journal question: State an appropriate proverb, the country of origin and what it means to you. (You can use ones we discussed in class or do your own research)

"A single day of sub-zero temperature is not enough to create 3 feet of ice" is a Chinese proverb, and this means that one day is not enough time to do something great, and that more time is needed to accomplish big things. This is similar to the Italian proverb that "Rome was not built in a day," which means the same thing. Rome became such a big and powerful empire, but it took many years for it to become as big and powerful as it was, and it did not happen overnight.