A CALL TO ACTION

by The Staff of VOXSTA

Tonight, the Board of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) is meeting to discuss how our schools get funded. For the past two years we've had a system known as "student-based budgeting" (SBB), which has limited our opportunities to have extracurricular activities at our school and next year will result in the loss of even more staff. This year, we don't even have a library at SuccessTech, let alone sports teams and the other kinds of things that help students develop in more positive ways. We urge all concerned students, parents, and teachers to come out to Collinwood High School and testify to the board that #smallschoolsmatter. We know that small schools like SuccessTech matter because we can offer one-on-one help for those who need it most, which is why last year our graduation far exceeded the District's. We are able to take in students who haven't thrived at other schools and give them a pathway to success. That matters and we can only do it if CMSD continues to invest in us not based on the number of students we have, but on the promise of a way forward we offer to students who've stumbled on their path to graduation and need the kind of support we offer in order to get them "across the stage" and on to productive futures.

All are invited and welcome to attend tonight. Please come join us!!!!

PLACE: Collinwood High School 15210 St. Clair Avenue

TIME: 6:30 PM

Mid-Winter Blues by LJ Gillespie & the VOXSTA Staff

 

These are the hardest days of the year for high school students. It's not like we don't aleady hate waking up in the morning, but add four feet of snow and bone-chilling winds and it's a recipe for saying "forget it" and pulling the covers up over our heads. We are writing this today to give you motivation to wake up and come to school even when it's hard. In fact, especially when it's hard. Because when we do difficult things we're not "feeling" right now, we're building the kinds of habits that will help us push through the many obstacles life will throw at us. So get your a$$ up and get to school. You won't regret it.

 

 



I CAN'T BREATHE   by James Chisolm

Recently, some of the biggest stars in the NBA have started wearing shirts that say, "I Can't Breathe." They're doing this in response to the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man selling single cigarettes in Staten Island, NY. No matter what his crime, Mr. Garner should not have died at the hands of a police officer. Police are there to protect and serve, not to be judge, jury and executioner. I love that heroes like Derrick Rose, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are leading the whole NBA in raising their voices for this issue. So many young black men watch what these guys do and for them to be leading in a cause for social justice gives me heart. I give them a big shout-out!

 

What is out there? by Jenny Henry

 

 

The recent launch of Orion has got me thinking about the possibility of life on other planets. Would it be possible to live on Mars and would it be different from living on Earth? Is Earth on borrowed time and do we need to find possible places to live in space? I would like to go to Mars to see what's up there and see what things look like. Everyday here on Earth you see the same thing: people not getting along because of the things that separate us like race, social class, and culture. Maybe if we started a new society on Mars we would all get along and learn from the mistakes we've made on Earth.

 

 



 

THANKSGIVING REFLECTIONS

From the VOXSTA Staff

 

I am thankful for being able to wake up and see another day, for being free, and to have free education. --McKayla Edmonds

I am thankful for those who believe in me. --Jaquain Williams

I am thankful for life. --Jeff Tomaro

I am thankful for being able to see another day. --Khalil Williams

I am thankful for everything. --James Chisolm

I am thankful for my parents. --Jenny Henry

I am thankful for family. --Kareem Rahman

I am thankful for being able to have all five of my senses. --Lelanda Todd

I am thankful for Canada. --John Tomaro

I am greatful for my life, for being loved, for being able to form words and use them to help everyone who supports me and im thankful for you all. --Devonte Owens

In Memory of Tamir Rice  by Kareem Rahman

 

Yesterday, I saw the body of Tamir Rice lying in his casket. I didn't know him. I went to his viewing because a lady from my church--a cousin of one of his family members--was going. I discovered when I got there that another one of his family members has lived down the street from me for a long time, which really brought the issue home for me.

 

 

The service was quiet and a lot of people were crying. It was sad, as such a solemn occasion should be. What struck me most was the armed guards standing outside the front of the funeral home. It was weird to see armed guards at a funeral and it made me realize the sensitivity of the situation. There was also some media there. It makes me wonder why it takes the death of a young man to bring protection and attention to a community that often gets ignored.  

A Moment of Silence  

by The Staff of VOXSTA

 

No matter who you are or which side of town you live on, this was a hard weekend for Cleveland. There was a quadruple homicide on the East Side Friday night and on Saturday a 12-year-old boy was killed on the West Side by a police officer. We don't know the whole story on any of these situations, but we do know that three of the dead from this weekend's gun violence were students in CMSD. Their lives mattered, and we just wanted to honor them today with a moment of silence before we pick up the pieces and figure out how to keep these kinds of things from ever happening again in our city. Peace be with you all today.