True Colors CICS Basil
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Transcript of True Colors CICS Basil
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WINTER 2015
TIPS FOR CHOOSING AHIGH SCHOOL
CHALLENGES OF BEING A FOSTER KID
CATCHING UP WITH NICK NERVIES
CONFESSIONS OF A NATURALISTACONFESSIONS
WELCOME LETTER
Hello students, staff, parents, and guardians,
I joined the CICS team two years ago at CICS-Avalon and was more than excited to begin my journey at CICS-Basil this year. Basil has done
some excellent work in the past year. This can be seen in our School Quality Performance Rating, which rose from a 2 to a 1 this year —
which is the second highest ranking!
Our scholars are dedicated to learning and motivated to achieve ac-ceptance into selective high schools, colleges, and beyond! Our parents and guardians form an essential part of our network, working together with teachers to ensure our scholars succeed. Teachers at Basil have a passion for our students and for making sure all scholars achieve an ex-cellent education that prepares them for success in a competitive world.
We are excited to be offering a variety of student activities this year, from tutoring, to student council, to basketball, to working with the True Star Foundation — all of which are a part of the dynamic activities that
Basil has to offer.
With all that said, I can’t wait to see the heights Basil will reach this year! Go Bulldogs!
Deborah Persson Middle School Principal
CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTORSDEANNA MCLEARY & NA-TAE’ THOMPSONMANAGING EDITORMARTI PARHAMEDITORIAL COORDINATORASHLEY HILLART DIRECTION DESIGN & ILLUSTRATIONANGEL D’AMICO-BAUERPHOTO COORDINATORDESHAUN ADAMSSCHOOL LIAISON JADE HEDGEMAN
STAFF
THE SKIN I’M IN5: THE FRIZZINESS: CONFESSIONS OF A NATURALISTA BY ISIS JOHNSON
THE STRUGGLE6: COPING WITH BREAST CANCER BY EMMANUEL SCHAEFFER 7: BEING A FOSTER CHILD BY CHRISTINE JONES8: CHOOSING THE RIGHT HIGH SCHOOL FOR YOUBY KATERRA BOWMAN
LISTEN UP9: CATCHING UP WITH NICK NERVIES BY THE CICS BASIL SCHOLARS
FASHION10: FASHION IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT BY BRANDI DIXON11-13: FASHION & FUN
HIGH TECH: FAST FORWARD14: IS TECHNOLOGY RUINING OUR FUTURE? BY JAMANI GREEN14: THEY ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD BY DVALLE HARP 15: IPHONE 6: DOES IT LIVE UP TO THE HYPE? BY ISIS JOHNSON
PLEASE LET US KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS ON
True Colors Magazine
CONTACT US: [email protected]
CONTRIBUTORS
Jamani Green
Dvalle Harp
Isis Johnson
Katerra Bowman
Emmanuel Schaeffer
Christine Jones
Brandi Dixon
TRUE COLORS 5
THE SKIN I’M IN
Let’s just say that having natural hair isn’t
the easiest thing that a girl can have. There
are a lot of good and bad things that come
along with having completely natural hair.
I’m sure it’s hard for many girls my age; we
have to do a lot to keep our hair in check. But
having natural hair is also a good thing; it gives
me versatility and it has helped me embrace
my natural beauty.
In order to keep my hair straight, there are
a several things that I must do. I have to go
through the long process of washing and
blow-drying my hair like everyone else, but the
difference is that some of us natural girls have
to add special oil to our hair so it won’t frizz
up. If you’re anything like me, that still doesn’t
work that much because I like to play a lot of
sports and my roots will frizz tremendously.
This causes me to have to wear my hair in a
ponytail for a while until I straighten it again,
which as some of my fellow naturalistas know,
can become damaging on the hair.
To say the least, having natural hair just
emphasizes your natural beauty even more. So
don’t be pressured to change cause you see
everyone else changing. Be true to yourself
and do what works for YOU. Embracing your
natural roots doesn’t come easy. If you are
transitioning, thinking of going natural or have
been natural for a while now, here are some
tips to get you through the process, or remind
you if you’ve fallen short.
The Frizziness: CONFESSIONS OF A NATURALISTA BY ISIS JOHNSON
1. Keep your hair moisturized.
2. Clip ends when needed.
3. Tie hair up at night with a satin scarf/bonnet.
4. Wear protective hairstyles to protect those ends and to help retain length.
5. Be patient with your hair; everyone’s hair journey is different.
6 TRUE COLORS
THE STRUGGLE
Cancer is an awful word that no one
person wants to utter, yet it has somehow crept
its way into the lives of many and affected the
lives of even more. According to cancer.org, this
year alone 232,570 new cases of invasive breast
cancer have been reported. That’s a lot! We
know who the cancer ultimately affects, but how
often do we stop to think how that person’s child
and family are affected?
Breast cancer is indeed a problem for families
due to the emotional toll it has. Today, breast
cancer is the most common cancer among women
in the United States, other than skin cancer. It
is the second leading cause of cancer death in
women, after lung cancer. That’s a tough pill to
swallow for any family. It is especially tough for
the children who are most affected. Takea Page,
16, knows this feeling all too well as her mother
was diagnosed with breast cancer not once, but
twice in a matter of nine months. “I felt extremely
hurt and even cried when I heard she had it.”
Page says in order to move forward she had to
“make changes in the way I think...I had to have
a positive mind-set, not only for myself, but for my
mother.”
Along with dealing with the anxiety of not being
100 percent optimistic about the outcome of
your parents’ sudden illness, children often begin
lagging behind in school due to emotional stress,
feeling shy about the subject or even feeling
awkward discussing it. Depending on the support
they have from other family members, children
are at times left with thoughts of suicide and
depression. Every child copes differently, but it’s
for certain that no one likes dealing with it alone.
“By being with my friends, going outside, having
my grandma and my cousin around, I learned
how to cope and find peace with what was going
on,” Page explains.
Through this time of turmoil and distress, Page
says she’s learned a lot about herself and the
strength of her mother. She offers this advice:
“We always keep our heads up. For teens whose
mother has breast cancer, keep your head up, do
everything you can to keep your mother happy
and pray every day.”
Coping With Breast Cancer BY EMMANUEL SCHAEFFER
TRUE COLORS 7
Sure, it’s common. You hear about it all the
time, but being a foster child is in no way a quick
hop, skip or jump around the park. Take a peek
into my world.
Being a foster child is very difficult; I don’t know
any of my biological siblings or family members.
Unfortunately, my family hasn’t come looking
for me like some other children’s parents. This
was a hard pill to swallow growing up because
I felt so disconnected from knowing who I was
as a person. Being a foster child is confusing,
especially at a young age. As I begin to grow
older, I develop more questions that, still to this
day, remain unanswered. Questions that mostly
center on: Why my parents would leave me, who
my parents even were, do they think about me,
or do they care at all?
Ok, now I know that was a lot, but let’s break it
down. Starting with the fact I never actually got
the chance to meet or know my birth parents.
I always wondered about what the future may
turn out to be. Wondering how my parents look,
speak or dress; if my mother and father would
be there to support me, just like I see other kids
and their parents on TV. But so far, it hasn’t
happen yet.
The fact that my biological parents are unknown
upsets me. But the world is still going to be here
with or without them, and that’s a notion that I
have to live with. Regardless of what the future
holds, I am forever grateful to have a loving fos-
ter family, friends who don’t judge me, and that
inch of hope that one day soon the doorbell will
ring, and I’ll open the door to a familiar face.
Being A FOSTER CHILDBY CHRISTINE JONES
AS I BEGIN TO
GROW OLDER,
I DEVELOP MORE
QUESTIONS THAT STILL,
TO THIS DAY, REMAIN UNANSWERED.
8 TRUE COLORS
It’s your 8th grade year! You’re excited, but
soon you will have to make one of the biggest
decisions of your life: Deciding what high school
you think is best fit for you. You have a future
ahead of you, picking the wrong high school
could put all of that at risk. Jerilynn Elliott,
Attendance/Truancy Counselor at Beacon
Therapeutic High School, says, “It is important
to not only prepare students for the world
academically, but socially also. Students need
to know how to interact with their peers and
elders.” When deciding on a high school of
choice, take heed to a few of the following tips.
1. VISIT THE SCHOOLS YOU ARE INTERESTING INGetting a feel for the school in person makes it
easier to tell if that school is a good fit for you.
While you are there, ask as many questions as
possible.
2. THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT IN YOUR HIGH SCHOOLIf you’re big into sports, look for a school with a
good athletic program, but focus on academics.
Elliot says that, “While researching schools, it
should first off be an institution that will prepare
you for post-secondary options, whether it be
junior college, university, vocational/trade,
military, or otherwise.”
3. TRY TO IMAGINE YOURSELF GOING TO SCHOOL HERE EVERY DAY Imagine how you would feel walking down the
halls or in the cafeteria. If you’re comfortable
and happy with many things about the school,
then definitely make it an option. Elliot says,
“A high school can only be as successful as the
students in the school and all parties have to be
determined to make that stride.”
4. TALK TO YOUR TEACHER OR THE STUDENT COUNSELOR ABOUT THE HIGH SCHOOLEnsure the fees are affordable for your family
without them having to make sacrifices.
“Although location plays a factor, many times
some of our gems of high schools are located
right in our inner city,” says Elliott.
Choosing the Right High School For You BY KATERRA BOWMAN
GETTING A FEEL
FOR THE SCHOOL IN PERSON MAKES IT
EASIER TO TELL IF THAT
SCHOOL IS A GOOD FIT FOR YOU.
TRUE COLORS 9
LISTEN UP
Nobly poised and delightfully amusing,
this19-year-old has certainly found his way
through Hollywood. A Los Angeles native, actor
Nick Nervies has landed himself a new TV sitcom
and decided to grant us an interview here at
Basil Media Center to catch up on everything
under the sun.
Q. What inspired you to become an actor?
A. Really, it started at the age of 9. It kind of
just happened. I had a friend who was an actor
and his mother asked my mother if she thought it
would be something I’d like to do.
Q. Do you plan on doing more movies?
A. I want to do more comedy movies. I like mak-
ing people laugh. At some point I want to do a
dramatic movie and do something that is more
challenging.
Q. Do you plan on acting forever?
A. Eventually, I want to stop for a while to go to
college.
Q. What TV show are you currently shooting for?
A. “Mr. Box Office.”
Catching Up With
NICK NERVIES BY THE CICS BASIL SCHOLARS
Q. Who is your celebrity crush?
A. Rihanna and Karreueche
Q. What has been your best and worst experience?
A. The worst experience is not being able to
spend time with my family and friends as often as
I would like. The best experience is being able to
travel and meet different types of people that I
grew up watching on TV.
Q. Name your most embarrassing moment.
I went on this date and I am afraid of heights,
and she wanted to go get on the ferris wheel.
So we are riding on the ferris wheel and it gets
to the top and stops. It started to rock back and
forth and I got so scared I started crying. She
never called me back after that.
Q. W hat advice would you like to share?
A. Whatever you want to do in life...go for it.
Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it. Put
in that effort... Looking back you’ll be happy you
made that decision and stuck with your plan to
make it work.
10 TRUE COLORS
Fashion is a way that people can express
themselves with clothes, jewelry, and make-up.
People often copy what someone else wears so
they can look or be like them. They usually call
themselves twins, sisters, and bros because they
are wearing the same thing. Sometimes others
are often judged by what they wear or how they
present themselves, but should this really matter?
Fashion can be considered different styles and
trends. It is not categorized into one umbrella or
one particular style.
When others judge people for certain things
that they wear, they will call their clothes cheap,
ratchet, petty, and hideous. Quite often people
will say the more expensive your clothes are, the
better they are. What? The definition for fashion,
according to Webster’s dictionary, is “a popular
trend, especially in styles of dress and ornament
or manners of behavior.” So does everyone have
to be the same in the way that they dress?
Why is it that celebrities have such a major
impact on what teens wear these days?
Perhaps it’s because your average teens read
magazines, see what celebrities wear, and think
to themselves, “I like that,” or “She is really
rocking that dress.” They then interpret that as
a way to dress for themselves. But why would
you want to be like someone else when you can
wear what you want and be true to yourself at
the same time?
Fashion designer and owner of Smudged
clothing line, Maria Gilard, says that “Fashion
is such a complex word.” She added, “No one
designer can place a cap on what the word
means or stands for.”
We are all peculiar in our own way. Therefore
fashion, according to Gilard, can “represent
each one of us uniquely... One ‘size’ does not fit
all and no one should be ridiculed or pressured
to keep up with society.”
Basically, you should be your own person. Own
who you are and what you choose to wear and
be proud about it.
FASHION
Fashion Is What You Make ItBY BRANDI DIXON
“ONE ‘SIZE’ DOES
NOT FIT ALL AND
NO ONE SHOULD
BE RIDICULED OR
PRESSURED TO KEEP
UP WITH SOCIETY.” - MARIA GILARD
TRUE COLORS 11
FashionFUN
14 TRUE COLORS
HIGH TECH: FAST FORWARD
IS TECHNOLOGY RUINING
OUR FUTURE?BY JAMANI GREEN
Imagine a world where everything is controlled
by technology and everything is done by robots
and apps from your mobile devices, iPad, and
tablets. In our world today we can push a button
to start a car and have phones that talk to us. But
the main question is: Is it ruining our future?
According to theranger.org, “Technology isn’t
always negative; students have access to just
about anything they desire through the Internet.
The world is on their fingertips.” The site also
reported, “Sitting in one place, they have access
to everything that is going on around them… As
a result, students become more globalized. That
experience impacts their learning tremendously.”
While technology has come a long way, it has
also had some consequences. With the lack of
federal regulations online, parents need to be
more aware of what their children are viewing
on the World Wide Web, and how it’s affecting
their day-to-day lives. The website education.com
sites one of the cons of technology as one being
cyber bullying – a leading cause to frequent
deaths, such as suicide, for people under 18.
Whether or not technology will ruin our futures
or make it better remains to be seen.
THEY ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD BY DVALLE HARP
What game console do you have? The
PlayStation, Xbox, and Wii all have something
in common. They are all well known and played
all around the world, but which is the ultimate
champion of the long lasting competition be-
tween the three?
XboxXbox has been around for 14 years, but Xbox
has had many problems in the past. It’s an all-
in-one home media center, very large and has
a growing game selection. Most popular games
include:
*Battlefield
*Need for Speed Rivals
*2k14
PlayStationPlayStation has been around for 20 years. Those
few extra years over Xbox are what many peo-
ple find to be a reliable quality about the system.
Popular games include:
*Grand Theft Auto V
*Lego Marvel Super Heroes
*Call of Duty Ghost
WiiPlaying the Wii is fun. It was the first game that
used a camera or motions in order for the user to
play the game. The Wii has been around for eight
years. Best games connected to the Wii are:
*Super Mario Galaxy 2
*Donkey Kong Country Returns
*Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition
If you own one or all of these game consoles,
then you know they are all different in their own
ways, and there is no clear champion because
they all perform uniquely different. You’re sure to
have fun no matter what game console you have.
It’s all about your preference.
14 TRUE COLORS
TRUE COLORS 15
If you know anything about the world today
you would understand the big deal about having
the latest iPhone. People stand outside in all sorts
of weather conditions just waiting to get their
hands on the latest bit of technology. Ricardo
Reddix, a Sprint store sales manager, says about
“150 people pre-ordered the new iPhone” at his
store alone. But is the newest iPhone what we
thought it would be?
There has been a lot of talk about the many flaws
the Apple product has. Yet, through all the flaws
of the new iPhone 6, it continues to sell without
any problem.
During the weekend release of the iPhone 6
and 6 Plus, over 10 million people went out
and purchased it. According to techtimes.com,
“Early signs point to the success of Apple’s latest
handset. The company has just announced that it
set a “new record” after selling 10 million units
of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus units combined
during their three-day launch weekend...” Those
unit sales trumped the highly anticipated release
of the iPhone 5 by one million.
Now let’s get down to the real problem, the
flaws. There have been plenty of reports, rumors
and videos of the new and proclaimed iPhone
6 being able to bend. “Not sure of all its flaws,
but they are made out of a durable aluminum
which makes them sturdy, but if dropped they
dent instead of bouncing back like plastic,” says
Reddix.
According to theguardian.com, “How many
iPhone 6 Plus phones have been bent in users’
pockets is still unknown. Apple claims that
it is not an issue for normal use, but phones
from other manufactures have suffered similar
bending issues.” Despite this issue, people all
over the world choose to see past the bending
and continue to buy the latest iPhone. Reddix
claims that, “With every version of iOS software
there are bugs, but they tend to release updates
quickly that fixes them, but no software is
perfect.”
We all may want that new thing, but do we
stop and ask ourselves is it worth it or even
necessary?
THERE HAVE BEEN
PLENTY OF REPORTS,
RUMORS AND VIDEOS
OF THE NEW AND
PROCLAIMED IPHONE 6 BEING ABLE TO
BEND.
IPHONE 6: Does it live up to the hype?BY ISIS JOHNSON