Category Archives: Announcements

Three Branches of Government Songs

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For a project in history, my friend Angelina and I parodied four songs so that they explained the three branches of government. Enjoy!

Judicial Branch: Parody of “Stay” by Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko

You just want your own kind of living
But the constitution’s not forgiving
If you invade someone’s God-given rights, they’ll fight
The judicial system will listen in court to for slight
 
CHORUS:
We all have rights here in the USA
Here in the USA
Though you may think it’s dumb, which you’re free to say
The constitution is here to stay

When a law
Goes against our forefathers
It becomes
Nothing but a bother
A law’s such a big thing to swallow
It always must follow
The sacred constitution
The document that sprouted from the sacred American Revolution

CHORUS

Legislative Branch: Parody of “Royals” by Lorde

The legislative branch decides
What a law should be about
For our country
They send it to the judicial branch
To see if it fits
With the constitution

Then everybody’s like,
“OMG, this totally rocks
Lets make this into a law
Or they say
“This one’s not constitutional.”

Then legislative
Branch is like, “What’s going on?
We need to rewrite this law
To please the judicial branch of the USA.”

And we’ll never be royals
(Royals)
We’re a democracy
We all have to agree
On what the laws should be
And we’ll never be rulers
(Rulers)
That’s why there are three
Branches of the government
We all have to agree
On the laws
of the USA
Oh the laws
And we all have a say

Executive Branch: Parody of “You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift

I’m on the phone with the judicial branch now
They want me to pass this law, but I don’t know how
There are pros and cons to this law
I have the power to VETO their plan 
Or to pass it and enforce it in this land
I’m conflicted and my resolve is wavering
‘Cause I know what’s right
And I know what’s wrong
It’s hard being in charge of our nation
Feels like I’m trapped
And there’s no escape in sight
But I decided to run
And try to help this great nation of the USA
I wanted to have a say
And now I do.

Overall: Parody of “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” from the Disney musical “Frozen”

There are three branches of Government
Together they help us out
They are trying to
Make the U.S. better
For me and you
They work with each other
The three in one
It’s just those three
There are three branches of government
Plus they’re a democracy

“I’m a communist.”

Okay, bye…

Still three branches of government
I wish you’d keep an open mind
Democracy could help you, too
Me and you
Two of a kind
Free and liberated
Life as it should be
It’s the life of the free
Do you wanna build a government
And make it a democracy

Communist, I know you’re in there
I know exactly where you’ve been
Soviets can’t help you now, my dear
It’s becoming clear
Your reign is done
Democracy’s in power
This is the hour
Of truth, and we wanna be free
This is our government

Current Events Write Up: High School Girls Discovered Dead After Forty-two Years

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On May 29, 1971, two seventeen-year-old girls vanished off the face of the earth while driving to a party at a gravel pit. Forty-two years later, last September, the remains of Pamela Jackson and Cheryl Miller were discovered in a creek just half a mile from the party in South Dakota. The girls’ deaths have been ruled accidental, possibly related to a flat tire. Based on possessions found in the car, as well as DNA evidence, Miller’s and Jackson’s identities have been confirmed, and their families can accept the girls’ remains.

It’s hard to imagine the kind of grief these families must have gone through. They had no idea what happened to these girls for forty-two years.  I’m glad they can finally have closure. My friend Carly thinks it is very sad. My other friend Morgan and she thinks it is cool that the girls’ parents can finally rest, knowing what happened to their children. The author had no bias.

Train jumps tracks, 32 hurt at Chicago’s O’Hare airport

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On Monday, the Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line train didn’t stop at the end of the line at its station in Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and climbed an escalator. National Transportation Safety Board investigator Tim DePaepe says he has never seen an accident like this before. No one was seriously hurt. 32 people had minor injuries, and almost all have already been released. The train operator has not been released, though, and NTSB experts will speak to her when she is to determine the cause of the crash, as well as study footage from station cameras.

Okay, first, let me just say that I have no idea how to pronounce DePaepe, but that is a freaking cool name. Second, I always find it sort of cool when two totally different machines randomly interact in a total moment of coincidence, like the train and elevator in this situation. My classmate Holland can’t believe a train can go up an escalator. The author had no bias.

Prepositional Phrase Song

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Because of you

I’ll never stray too far from the sidewalk

And because of you

I’ve learned to play on the safe side so I don’t get hurt

And because of you under the bridge downtown

Is where I drew some blood

Under the bridge downtown

I could not get enough

Under the bridge downtown

Forgot about my love

Under the bridge downtown it’s just a drop in the ocean

A change in the weather

I was praying that somewhere over the rainbow

Way up high, there’s a land that I heard of once in my life I’ve loved them all

With or without you

Without you, it’ll all get better in time

Even though I really loved you

I get by with a little help from my friends

Oh, I get hii-i-Theee answer, my friends, is blowin’ in the wind

The answer is on the boulevard of broken dreams

Where the city sleeps

And I’m the only one and I am on my own, pretending he’s beside me

All alone, I walk with him until we’re halfway there

Whoa, livin’ on a prayer

Take my hand, we’ll make it, I’ve been waiting for a girl like you

To come into my life

So, thank you for the music, the songs I’m singing

Thanks for all the joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun

But the wine and the song like the seasons are the reason for the teardrops on my guitar

The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star while my guitar gently weeps

At the end of the day I fell into a burning ring of fire

I fell down by the river 

I shot my baby one more time of your life in a northern town.  

The End.  

Adapted from the lyrics of Because of You by Kelly Clarkson, Under the Bridge by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, A Drop in the Ocean by Ron Pope, Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiko’ole, In My Life by The Beatles, With or Without You by U2, Without You by David Guetta, Better in Time by Leona Lewis, With a Little Help from My Friends by the Beatles, Blowin’ in the Wind by Bob Dylan, Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day, On My Own from the musical Les Miserables, Livin’ on a Prayer by Bon Jovi, I’ve Been Waiting for a Girl Like You by Foreigner, Thank You for the Music by Abba, Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks, Teardrops on My Guitar by Taylor Swift, While My Guitar Gently Weeps by The Beatles, At the end of the Day from the musical Les Miserables, Burning Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash, Down by the River by Neil Young, Baby One More Time by Britney Spears, Time of Your Life by Green Day, Life in a Northern Town by The Dream Academy, and The Story of us by Taylor Swift.

Current Events Write Up: US woman’s search for son ends in Lockerbie heartbreak

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US woman’s search for son ends in Lockerbie heartbreak

U.S. woman Carol King-Eckersley began looking for the baby she gave up when she was 19 in 2012 only to discover he had been killed in the Lockerbie bombing, a terrorist bombing that brought down a plane going form London to New York. For decades, King-Eckersley refrained from searching for her son, but finally the 65-year old gave in after her husband died. She knew his adoptive name, and while searching for him found his name on a website that listed students who had died in the bombing. She was heartbroken and attended a remembrance service for her son at Syracuse University.

I think this was really tragic. I think when you have a kid, you always share a bond with him or her, even if you’re not together. To find out that your son is dead, even if you never knew him, is just unimaginable. My mom thinks it’s really tragic that she imagined him for so long only to find out that he had been gone the whole time, and I agree. The author had no bias.

Current Events Write Up: This Mom Lost 3 Children To HIV. She’s Making Sure No Other Mother Suffers Such A Devastating Loss

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In Zambia, Africa, a woman known as Connie lost three of her children in the 1980’s to HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus). When her children got sick, she suspected it was HIV, but wasn’t brave enough to find out, and they passed away. When her husband got very sick, Connie felt she had no choice but to get tested, and she and her husband both tested positive for HIV. Both got treatment, and Connie found a new purpose in life as an AIDS ambassador and peer counselor. She tests people for AIDS in surroundings they are comfortable in and helps those who test positive figure out what treatment option is best for them. She also lends support to people with AIDS or HIV. In 2012, Connie had a healthy baby who tested negative for HIV.

Here is the Yahoo! link to the article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/01/world-aids-day_n_4350872.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

I think Connie is an amazing woman. She decided to rise out of the ashes of her old life and do real good in the world. She could have just decided to go on with her life, not doing anything important. She could have decided to be a victim. Instead she chose to help others, which is really admirable. My friend Angelina thought it was a very good idea for her to go seek help, especially because it was the reason she was able to have a healthy, HIV-free baby.

This article is not an opinion-based one, but it was obvious the author thinks Connie is an incredible, strong, brave woman, which is true.

Current Events Write Up: Police: Nev. school shooter, 12, got gun from home

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Yesterday in Nevada, a twelve-year-old boy brought a gun to his school, took it out, and shot another boy in the shoulder. When a teacher approached him and told him to put the gun away, the boy refused and shot the man in the chest, fatally wounding him. He then shot another student in the abdomen before fatally shooting himself. Both students who were shot are recovering and are going to be fine. Police say the boy, whose name is not being released by the press, got the handgun from his home and his parents may be facing charges.

This sickens me. Kids shooting kids and murdering teachers is just so wrong. This boy was just a kid! He wasn’t even my age, and he shot up his school! Why didn’t anyone see the warning signs? Why did he have access to a gun? Why do things like this happen?

My mom obviously thinks what happened is tragic, and she wonders how a twelve-year-old boy could be angry and despondent enough to kill himself and others in this way. She also thinks his parents are criminally negligent and should be charged, as should anyone who gives a child access to a gun. The author of this Yahoo! article,  Scott Sonner, showed no bias.

Creative Writing: Opening Adjective

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Once upon a time, in a faraway land called Old City, there was a girl suffering from writer’s block. Her ailment was silly, to say the least; her teacher had provided several very nice prompts for her to begin with that really should have inspired her. All excerpts from books or stories by experienced and just generally eloquent writers, the prompt sentences were original and descriptive, conjuring vivid imagery with each new word. And still the girl struggled.

The girl’s name was Princess Coffee Kangaroo, Coffee to her friends and Roo to her family. At the moment she was sitting at her desk in her school, the Old City Institute of Higher Education, or OCIHE. The school was a towering display of blue brick turrets perched precariously on a similarly textured and colored box that had arm-like hallways sticking out in every direction. It was a bit flashy for Tree’s tastes, but her old school, Buckingham Academy…well, don’t even get her started on Buckingham.

Inside OCIHE’s thick castle walls, Roo sat, pondering the cause of her writer’s block. Maybe this was Roo’s problem. She simply pondered too much. She didn’t do it on purpose. She would have been happy to reside totally in reality, without dwelling on thoughts and concepts beyond her comprehension. Roo didn’t make any conscious effort to think about such topics. They just sort of invaded her thoughts without any regard for her feelings or so much as a how do you do. Of course, perhaps this was the custom among thoughts. Roo didn’t know.

It wasn’t long before Roo was completely immersed int he supposed etiquette of thoughts, and if she had remained in such a state, her life may have gone on completely normally. However, fate had other plans, and Roo soon became aware of a growing pain in her right temple. After asking her teacher Miss Sakura if she could got to the office, Roo stumbled up the old stone stairs, the ache in her head growing with each step. Suddenly, a tidal wave of pain came rushing at Roo’s brain. She cried out and fell to her knees, clutching her head in agony. Then, right when she was sure she was going to pass out, the pain vanished as quickly as it had come. Roo collapse on the ground, gasping and shuddering. She lay there for a long minute. After she had calmed down and could breathe again, she shakily got to her feet and glanced around, holding her breath. When  no crazed students and teachers came flooding into the stairwell, shouting and frantically dialing 911, Roo came to the conclusion that no one had seen or heard her random breakdown. Since her head didn’t hurt anymore, she slowly walked back downstairs, trembling slightly and utterly confused.

When Roo reached the lower level, she braced herself and entered her classroom, afraid that someone would say she looked strange.

What she found was a room full of unicorns.

Current Events Write Up: Girl Found in Gypsy Camp Sparks Thousands of Inquires

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During a drug and weapons raid of a Roma gypsy camp in Farsala, Greece, a blond-haired, blue-eyed four-year-old named Maria was discovered by authorities. A couple in camp claimed Maria was their child, but a DNA test proved she wasn’t related to them. No one can figure out where she is from or who she belongs to. The couple, whose names are not mentioned in the article, claim she was given to them by an unnamed party because her birth mother could not take care of her. However, the family gave authorities conflicting statements on how Maria came to live with them.

I feel horribly for everyone involved. If the couple is telling the truth, it’s awful that their child was taken from them. Also, poor Maria must be so confused right now! She’s just a little girl–how can she possibly understand what’s going on? And all of the families out there who lost a blond-haired, blue-eyed little girl who would be about four by now and are putting in calls and emails to the police–well, almost all of those people are going to be crushed when it turns out Maria isn’t their little girl, possibly all of them.

My mom thinks it’s going to be very interesting to find out where this child came from, if they ever do. She speculates that Maria might have been born to a woman running from the law, which is why whoever gave her to the gypsy couple in the article didn’t go through legal channels–if their story is true, of course. The author didn’t seem to have a bias.