Unhealthy School Lunches

One of the major problem seen today in kids in America is being overweight and obesity. School boards and parents are trying to stop the unhealthy habits, starting with school lunches. Hamburgers, fries, soda machines, chips, pizza. These are all very common lunches found in schools. The nutritional value is very small in all of these. Vegetables are nearly obsolete in these lunches. Parents and school officials are pushing for healthier food. Instead of french fries and chips for the side what about fruits and vegetables. Instead of pop, water and milk. Instead of hamburgers, healthy sandwiches and salads and soups. Overcoming childhood obesity won’t be solved with just one thing being done, but many habits need to change. In Appleton, Wisconsin they have removed all the unhealthy food. The school now serves fresh fruits and vegetables, water only, salads, meat prepared the old fashioned way, and whole wheat bread. Officials say that grades have risen, there are rarely any arguments, and teachers have little problems with the students. Not only do the students look and feel healthier, but their behavior in the classroom has improved. If the healthier lunch option in Appleton improved so much in the school why aren’t other schools doing the same?

THE DAILY GAZETTEBY: Grace, Braden, and Maddie

Swearing in School

@#$%&*@&%(#$*. Kids these days are swearing machines. 90% of teachers hear more than one swearword in their class each year. 50% of students admit to swearing in front of teachers. Not including the ones that didn’t admit to it. School officials and principals are trying to bring down the swearing in schools. Counselor’s have been strung into the problem too and schools are searching for a solution. “At our school swearing is out of control” says Dave Johnson Principal at South High in California. “You can walk through the halls and just hear swearwords coming out of students mouths.” So what can be done to stop the swearing in school environments? “Harsher punishments” thinks Johnson. Detentions need to be given out or assignments need to be zeroed out, there needs to be harsher punishments to stop the swearing.

Injuries in School sports

It’s fall and it’s a Friday night, one thing is on most people’s mind. Football. It’s a cold winter night, and you just pulled up to the hockey rink, ready to cheer for your team. High school sports are a way of life for some, whether your playing or a number one fan. In most schools, participation isn’t the problem, it’s the injuries suffered. In 2005-2006 there was a study of 9 high school sports. 1,442,533 injuries were reported in one year in just these 9 sports. One of the more serious injury recorded was concussions. A concussion can happen in one instance, but it can have a life-long impact, especially if you don’t take care of it. Each year more than 400,000 kids are sent to the emergency room for concussions. Participating in high-school sports is suggested but students must be careful.

One of the many great authors, who contributes her time and talent towards The Gazette. Maddie Soukup, 16

Hazing Rather it be new kids at a school or in a sport. Most kids admit to have participated or been the target of hazing whether it be sport or school related.This past December both the magazine Sports Illustrated and the newspaper USA Today published major stories about hazing incidents in our schools and colleges, especially among athletes. Accounts of student athletes being subjected to harmful and degrading acts as part of an initiation to become members of a team were highlighted. Lest we think hazing is a problem confined to boys, both articles reported the flagrant abuse that transpired at a “powder puff” football game between junior and senior girls at a suburban high school outside Chicago. The event, caught on video and aired repeatedly on television newscasts, showed seniors kicking and punching their junior counterparts as well as smearing them with a mixture of house paint, fish guts, and human feces. Several of the juniors required hospital care for their physical injuries (one can only imagine the extent of their emotional injuries).

Discipline of StudentsIt doesn't take a lot of research to tell us that discipline in school is different today than it was in the 1950s. But it does take some investigation to find out why. Various studies have shown that students who act up in school express a variety of reasons for doing so:

• Some think that teachers don't care about them.• Others don't want to be in school at all.• They don't consider goal setting and success in

school important anymore.• Students are unaware that their adolescent

behaviors will result in punishment they won't like.

Variety Use of Cell Phones in Schools

Cell Phones can be very distracting to students during school. Whether they are texting or playing games or doing other distracting things, the phone usage needs to stop. A small 29% of schools absolutely bans the use of phones in schools. “I think everyone should ban the use of cell phones, sure they can be helpful at times but for the most part they are taking away from a learning environment” says school official from Memphis, Tennessee. If more schools took the stand to ban phones, the learning environment could be taken more serious and grades would go up.

Seeing No Progress, Some School’s Drop Laptops

The students at Liverpool High have used their school-issued laptops to exchange answers on tests, download pornography and hack into local businesses. When the school tightened its network security, a 10th grader not only found a way around it but also posted step-by-step instructions on the Web for others to follow (which they did).When the entire school has study hall, the network inevitably freezes because of the sheer number of students roaming the Internet instead of getting help from teachers.So the Liverpool Central School District, just outside Syracuse, has decided to phase out laptops starting this fall, joining a handful of other schools around the country that adopted one-to-one computing programs and are now abandoning them as educationally empty — and worse.Many of these districts had sought to prepare their students for a technology-driven world and close the so-called digital divide between students who had computers at home and those who did not.mixed about how best to integrate the new gadgets into curriculums. Last month, the United States Department of Education released a study showing no difference in academic achievement between students who used educational software programs for math and reading and those who did not.Those giving up on laptops include large and small school districts, urban and rural communities, affluent schools and those serving mostly low-income, minority students, who as a group have tended to under perform academically.Matoaca High School just outside Richmond, Va., began eliminating its five-year-old laptop program last fall after concluding that students had failed to show any academic gains compared with those in schools without laptops. Continuing the program would have cost an additional $1.5 million for the first year alone, and a survey of district teachers and parents found that one-fifth of Matoaca students rarely or never used their laptops for learning. “You have to put your money where you think it’s going to give you the best achievement results,” said Tim Bullis, a district spokesman.

Harassment 13% of students say they have been bullied while attending school. Much of these kids aren’t the stereotypical push into a locker its more intimidation and demeaning. More than 3% of kids admit to being bystanders while watching other students be bullied. Approximately 11% of kids admit to bullying another student. And those are only the ones who admit to it there are an estimated 10% more that have all together bullied.

HomeworkThe exaspera ted s ighs o f pa ren ts everywhere signal the seemingly inevitable homework tug-o f -wars . Who hasn ' t wondered, "Why can't he just sit down and finish his work?" or "Should I remind him again about the science test?" Leapfrogging over homework hurdles can be especially tricky if you live with one of the kids described below.Remember that homework hassles are often discipline problems in disguise. Defuse the power struggles by following the cardinal rules of discipline in general: set limits that are reasonable — and stick to them when it's realistic.

Debates Debates are a staple of middle and high school social studies classes. But have you ever thought about

using debates at the lower grades -- or in math class? Education World

offers five debate strategies and extra lessons for students of all ages.

Included: Debate fairy tale ethics, use four corner and inner/outer circle

strategies, more.

School Uniforms

Some people think that kids who go to private schools and have to wear uniforms restrict the students from expressing their style. Others may say that wearing uniforms help the students to stay more focused because people may wear clothes that are distracting to others. Many high school students today like to express their style, while their style maybe what they like, maybe is questionable to others. Different types of style may cause distraction to other students around them especially in high school. Wearing low necklines, low rise pants, tight fitting clothing and bright colors cause students to lose focus on the learning material. rather than to wear uniforms, how about having a strict dress code? this idea will still let students express themselves in a more respectful manner. whether its making the change to uniforms or a strict dress code its all a person opinion, can effect the students abilities to learn.

Sportsmanship

Whether your team is good or not, what matters the most is sportsmanship. sportsmanship is key to be an successful team. You represent the school that you attend and if your attitude to the referees or other teams is taken into consideration on what school you come from. whether its helping another player from the opposing team, or saying something along the lines of good shot, or nice goal is a good way to show sportsmanship. The name on the front of your uniform is more important than the name on he back.

Studying tips from upperclassmen for the freshmen

For many school its that time in the school year where the end of the semester is approaching. The link crew at Totino - Grace rounded up the freshmen to give tips when studying for finals. Although its nothing new for the upper class men, it is a big change for the freshmen. The link crew leaders talked about ways to get a start on studying early rather than putting it off till the night before the test. Ways to stay on task, talk to a teacher, student, parent to really help you know what to study and what not to waste your time on. The main things that the link crew touched on was Start now, use your time wisely, and don’t wait till the last minute. When you go into the first day of finals, you are prepared for the test and what it covers.

Why to student athletes shouldn't put sports before education.

While Many high school students are involved in sports, the question lies whether or not students should put sports before academics. Students shouldn’t put sports before academics. At the high school level sports become very competitive and many are looking to play in college, academics are seen as something on the side.School should become first because in order to continue playing you must maintain your grades. Also colleges look at your activities and grades and are able to tell if you can balance your sports and grades at the same time. This is why students should really focus on their grades before sports.

Why come to Totino-Grace?

Totino-Grace is a small private Catholic School in Fridley. Totino - Grace emphasizes on the importance of both faith and education.The atmosphere at Totino - Grace is very warm and welcoming. Teachers really care about the students and really want to help them succeed. Many students say that when they come to TG they are home and everyone here is a family. As a Catholic School faith is a great part of our daily lives and always put God first in everything we do. Teachers are really able to focus on each student because the class sizes are fairly small and whenever someone needs help with anything they are always willing to spend extra time to make sure each student understands the material. Not only is Totino-Grace known for both faith and education we also take pride in our extracurriculars. Whether you participate in sports or in other activities. To learn more about Totino-Grace please visit our web page www.totinograce.org for more detailed information.