COOL STUFF HAPPENING IN OUR WORLD...AND BEYOND

A NEWS REFLECTION

BY LJ GILLESPIE

& DEVONTE OWENS

 

Being high-schoolers, it's easy to overlook some of the fascinations surrounding our everyday lives. We get so wrapped up in our music, video games, sports and who likes who that we forget to see a big picture. This past week, some pretty big stuff has transpired, from power-shifting elections to wars breaking out in distant lands. And yet, there's still reason for hope and wonderment, for yesterday humans figured out how to land for the first time on a comet, Comet 64P. We wonder how many kids walking these halls with us today are aware that we did this amazing thing, and it makes us wonder how we can get our peers interested in looking at the "big picture" all around them. It helps us when we know more about our world--it makes us feel connected to something larger and gives us a broader perspective to see beyond our tiny realities. So do yourself a favor, check out the following link to the CometP story..or, better yet, do your own research. Think beyond yourself today....and believe beyond the possible. 

 

  http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/12/earthlings-we-landed-on-a-comet.html



EDITORIAL:  Keep "5 of 8" in Ohio!!!!

Why on earth would the State Board of Education want to do anything that might lead to the elimination of fun and creativity in our schools?

by the VOXSTA STAFF

On Tuesday, Novemeber 11, the State Board held a hearing and preliminary vote
 on changes to the "5 of 8" rule, which mandates that elementary schools in Ohio offer at least 5 of 8 categories of non-core academic classses/services to students including gym, art, music, school counselors, nurses and librarians. Because students and stakeholders across Ohio have been trying to raise awareness on social media, many people came to testify in Columbus on Tuesday. When they got there, they were told the time for public comment had been moved. This prompted outrage among many in attendance and four members of the board walked out in protest. The full school board is scheduled to vote in December and we need to keep up the pressure against these assaults agaisnt great public education in Ohio!


TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD, TWEET #KEEP5OF8 and be sure to add a message about why it's important to keep the arts and other non-core academic classes in our schools!

The Results are in......ISSUE 4 PASSES!!!!

by the VOXSTA News Dept.

 

 

SuccessTech junior AJ Knox thanks the voters of Cleveland for stepping up to pass Issue 4 yesterday.

 

Yesterday, the people of Cleveland voted overwhelmingly to renew the bond issue that funds the buliding and maintenance of Cleveland's schools. 63% of voters cast their ballots in support of Issue 4. VOXSTA Editor Jeffery Tomaro interprets the results this way: "It means the voters in our city care about the youth and our community as a whole." VOXSTA Staffer Dezzin Gunn added, "We appreciate the voters who recognized the importance of rebuilding our schools so that no kid has to go to a dilapidated building. When the voters invest in us, they're inversting in the future of Cleveland because we are the future." Recognizing that Issue 4 was not the only important education initiative in yesterday's election, VOXSTA Editor-in-Chief Devonte Owens reminds us, "Issue 6 [the Tri-C levy] also passing gives us hope that more underprivileged youth in Cleveland will have opportunities for higher education. This is great news for our city." Finally, VOXSTA Artist Diamond Hamler wants to personally thank her parents for, "always voting when schools are on the ballot!"

 

Editor's Note: The staff of VOXSTA wishes to thank everyone who came out yesterday to ensure Cleveland has the resources to provide great public education for all our students.

Happy Halloween  from the staff of VOXSTA

 

As you go out tonight, be safe, have fun, be aware of your surroundings, don't steal little kids' candy.....and if you happen to run into a zombie, send up your Bat Signal and John Tomaro will come to your rescue! For real.

A SUCCESSFUL PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE DAY AT SUCCESSTECH!!!

by the VOXSTA News Staff

 

The board in Ms. C's room welcomes parents to this fall's Parent-Teacher Conferences.

Over 40 parents and family members came to our school yesterday to check on the progress of their STA scholars. This set a school record for attendance and it shows that our parents really care about our education. Ms. Jackie Hicks, the mother of VOXSTA Staffer Jaquain Williams, said, "I'm very proud of the teachers because they encourage the students to reach their potential." That is high praise for our teachers and reflects the fact that, like our parents, our teachers truly care about us and want us to succeed. "It feels great when our parents engage in our education. It takes a team to help us achieve our goals," VOXSTA Editor Dee Starling reflected, "and this being just the first quarter shows us we can get that number from 40 to 60 to every parent!"

 Chief Secretary Mrs. Johnson proudly shows our record-setting Parent-Teacher Conference sign-in sheets!!!

EDITORIAL: VOTE "YES" ON ISSUE 4

by the Staff of VOXSTA: The Voice of SuccessTech Academy

 

 

     On November 4, the citizens of Cleveland will have a chance to make a difference by voting for Issue 4, which will prolong a current tax that helps CMSD fund school buildings and other improvements.

     The staff of VOXSTA is recommending that our readers vote "YES" on Issue 4 because we know that we need the money to build more up-to-date schools to help our students learn in better environments.

     "Many of us came from schools that our parents went to, so they were old and decrepit," says VOXSTA News Editor McKayla Edmonds says. "My mom went to Nathan Hale and when I went there it was raggedy and old. Now it's brand new and I wish it was like that when I was there. It hurts a little to see the new Nathan Hale and know that I lost out on the chance to go to a better school, but I'm glad that now other kids have that chance."

      When told about the ballot issue, sophomore Chivon Gant perked up, offering, "When I went to East Clark, it had paint coming off the walls and it didn't feel good to be in a school that was broken down. A lot of us didnt feel valued because of what we saw around us."
     Responding to Mr. Gant, VOXSTA Editor-in-Chief Devonte Owens added, "Coming from Iowa Maple, one of the oldest buildings in CMSD, and knowing that it may be rebuilt with this tax makes me feel good in a way I can't explain." We believe Mr. Owens speaks for many CMSD K-8 alumni who want their little brothers and sisters to have better opportunities than they did.

     Perhaps sophomore Dee Starling sums it up best: "Coming from a bad environment, sometimes schools help us build our confidence. If we go to a raggedy, broken-down place, it makes us feel like raggedy, broken-down people. That's why we need to vote YES on Issue 4. Every kid in Cleveland deserves a great place to learn."

 

 

 



Ebola Comes to Cleveland....(but don't panic!!!)

We found out Wednesday that a nurse from Dallas who took care of a man with Ebola contracted the virus herself and then visited family in the Akron area. She also took a plane from the Cleveland Hopkins Airport back to Dallas. It made a lot of us anxious, scared, and a little paranoid. The good news is that Ebola is a very difficult virus to get and the person here in the area was not showing symptoms, which is required for the disease to be contageous.

Yesterday, several area schools stayed closed as a precaution, including Cranwood @ JFK in CMSD. JFK cleaned their whole school with a bleach-mix and students returned on Thursday. The District's actions were precautionary measures to prevent the spread of this terrible virus, even though the likelihood that anyone in Cleveland has Ebola is very low and the virus cannot live long outside of the body. In a statement to VOXSTA, SuccessTech Principal Sara Kidner said, “It is important for our students to have factual information so they have an understanding, although there are general percussion that we can take to prevent this."


We should be aware that Ebola is NOT the only virus out there. For example, 36,000 people die in the U.S. every year from the flu virus. Other viruses like hepatitis and many different STDs are far more likely to affect us. Many of these viruses, like Ebola, only get spread through direct contatct with bodily fluids. Therefore, it is really important that we avoid contact as much as possible with other peoples' fluids...even though that sounds really nasty, it just makes sense. One thing we see a lot at STA is people drinking out of other peoples' pop bottles. We shouldn't be drinking out of our friends' pop bottles--even "air drinks" can spread viruses. Know the facts, wash your hands often and use common sense, and you should be OK.

For more information about infectious diseases, visit www.cdc.gov!