Obesity in Children

By Chelsea W

Why is obesity in children still such an issue? It’s not like we haven’t addressed it as an issue before.
Child obesity is a highly addressed, highly discussed subject and yet, is still a growing issue. Telling a child they need to exercise more is not going to be enough when friends, schools, and parents are all encouraging unhealthy behavior, whether they know it or not.
The Heart and Stroke foundation suggests one hour a day or more of physical activity, no more than two hours of monitor time(tv/computer time) a day, and to minimize the daily sitting time. When you take into consideration a typical school day you find that your child is sitting for an average of four and a half hours a day.
A child could spend multiple hours at school on a computer doing work, and come home to spend another hour or two sitting down doing home work. Plus two hours of tv time and a hour split for lunch and supper, you are up to nine and a half hours of sitting.
However, many children spend much more than two hours on a monitor a day between tv shows, video games, movies, and computer games. The fact is, one gym class a day isn’t enough to keep kids fit.
Not every kid enjoys being told to go out and play, or go to the gym with their parents, or even play hockey. I know I sure didn’t. Why not find something they do like such as dance, horseback riding, swimming, karate, self defense, or gymnastics.

Offended for the Sake of Offense

By: Bryan Wallis

If you still hold hope in humanity, you might want to turn back here.

In this new age of relative peace, freedom, and wealth, people are looking for non-issues to be offended by, and I’m offended by that. They call themselves “Social Justice Warriors” and tend to communicate via a popular social blogging platform named Tumblr.

Despite being called Social Justice Warriors (SJW), I am constantly forced to wonder if they even know what social justice truly is. The “SJW” look for the slightest hints of sexism, racism, or anything else, and then blow it up to epic proportions. These crazy individuals seem to actively look to find something to be offended by.

Here we see Joss Whedon, writer and director of Firefly and The Avengers, giving “advice” on writing strong female roles. Jokingly, he says that a strong female role should be both: a. Strong, and b. Female. SJW promptly jump on his choice of words, saying that he is being trans-sexist by saying that a female shouldn’t have a “peeny/balls.” When I first saw this post, I was astonished. Surely they were kidding? How they saw the line as a statement on transsexuals is lost to me.

The ridiculousness doesn’t end there. If you do a quick search of “tumblr feminism” you’ll not only find blogs that go to extremes to support the typical SJW agenda, but you’ll find just as many that go to the same lengths to try to stop the SJW. If you look up “Male Rights Activists” you’ll find men who are trying to get equal treatment for everyone, men tearing down women, and women tearing down both parties of men.

“This is thin privilege” is a popular blog comprised of complaints about thin people being represented better, acting better, or gaining special privileges, purely due to their weight. This post is a personal favourite of mine. The blog complains that there were no overweight people in Les Miserables, ignoring the fact that the people of France at the time were starving. Many SJW will go out of their way to be offended, and some will even ignore historical accuracy.

I know that there are sexist, racist, and other-ist things that are everywhere, but the internet has become a giant cesspool of people being offended by everything from sexism to equality. Everything! It makes me sick, to be honest. We have this amazing technology, that can allow us to research anything from the comfort of our homes or that can be used to communicate with people around the globe, and we’re using it to… complain. Even I’m complaining, right now. I’ve felt the need to complain about others complaining, and I’m sure that someone else will see this and complain about my complaints.

Is this really what we’re spending our time on? Being offended? Why don’t we focus on getting along and love each other, rather than hating everything around us?

Overdose Training is Introduced to EDSS Students

By: Rachel Brubacher

Last April, Elmira suffered from a terrible tragedy of one of their students, Austin Padaric. Austin died from an avoidable drug overdose. In response to this, EDSS has decided to provide “Drug Strategy” to grade 9 and 12 students on March 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th, to prevent any future tragedies.       

A main strategy provided is an “Overdose Training” session. This act is very similar to the CPR training and First Aid training that is already provided through the school. It is a 75-minute session delivered to students currently registered in grade 9 Phys. Ed., and the grade 12 English classes. The program is provided by a registered nurse who works with the Waterloo Health Unit, and also a member of the Preventing Overdose Waterloo Wellington (POWW).

Mrs. Kolb, a vice principal at EDSS, said, that she believes the training will make a difference by making people more responsible in these situations.  

“We certainly hope [that] when you have knowledge  good decision making comes out of that”. Kolb said.

Paul Morgan, the principal of EDSS, stated, “We believe that this Overdose Training session could equip your son or daughter to save a life.”

The purpose of this program is to make students more aware that things like this can happen and it is good to be prepared for these situations.

Elmira No Frills Up For Sale

By Brett Schummer

This week, Paul & Adele’s No Frills in Elmira announced that they will be closing their doors, as part of Loblaw’s acquisition of Shopper’s Drug Mart.

The store will be going up for sale at the end of the week, as the Loblaws-Shoppers agreement closes. The listing is part of a government stipulation which regulates the corporation from obtaining too much market control within the town. Employing over 75 workers, the facility is one of two major grocers in Elmira.

Matt Kelly, a No Frills grocery manager, said, “The news is really sad because a lot of the staff have worked here since the store opened [August 2006] and have no where else to go.”

Other employees stated mixed reactions regarding the stated closure. Meat department worker, and EDSS co-president, Angus Mulrooney said that he was actually looking forward to his union severance package, since he was planning on leaving anyways, but also mentioned that he felt bad for some of his coworkers.

Local shopper, and No Frills cashier, Brenda Pearce said, “This is really a hard blow to the community. I know I’ll be making a call to my MP.”

No Frills

Preparation for the New York Trip Has Begun

By: Megan Weishar

The EDSS Travel and Tourism class is heading to New York City on May 2 and is already preparing for the trip.

On Wednesday, March 5 Mr. Swatridge, the Travel and Tourism teacher, held a meeting for parents and students who wished to go on the trip to New York City. The meeting detailed the itinerary, permission forms and costs for the trip, packing lists, and additional information about the trip.

Before they leave for the trip, the students will learn about New York City and some of the places they will be visiting in their New York City unit as preparation.

Alana Thoman, a student in the Travel and Tourism class last year, said that going to New York City brought the course to life and that it was amazing to actually see and experience everything they had learned about.

Although the trip is not until May 2, 2014, many students are already getting excited for the trip. Both Michelle Wang and Amber MacPherson said that they were very excited for the New York trip and couldn’t wait to go.

“I’m excited to just go and experience everything, since I’ve never been there before. But, I’m most excited to see Times Square and the Broadway show,” said Amber.

Michelle agreed saying, “Times Square will be amazing, and I’m excited for all the shopping!”

Sam Rideout, a student who went on the trip last year said, “it was probably one of the best trips I’ve ever been on, just being able to experience the city and sites was incredible! I’ll never forget it.”

“Mr. Swatridge has been to New York City countless times on trips with the school and outside the school, but he never tires of going.

“I’m always excited about going to New York,” he said. But, he said his favourite part about going is seeing everyone’s faces drop as they enter Times Square.

Swatridge said the trip would be pretty much the same as last year, going to Times Square, the 9/11 Memorial, a Broadway show, Central Park, the Empire State Building and many more amazing sites. However, the only difference is that this year they are going to the National History Museum.

He hopes that this year will be just as memorable as the last.

The Travel and Tourism Class of 2013 in Central Park

Bar Set High for 2nd District 39

By: Chris Paleshi

The second District 39 took place on Thursday, March 20th in the cafeteria at EDSS. The bands and promoters both worried about the attendance. There were high expectations from the first District 39 which rolled in an outstanding attendance.

“It was the most people we’ve seen come out to a school music event,” said Scott Metzger, the lead singer in The Suns, a local band.

Mitchell McCloy, an organizer for the event believes the success came from the popularity of each band and the promotion done by student council.

“We had some very good promoting leading up to the show,” said Mitchell. “The bands we had have also grown in popularity at the school.”

Despite the worry, District 39 held true. Just as many students if not more came out to listen to their school’s musical talent.

“We’re super happy with the turnout tonight,” said Mitchell after the show.

Much respect goes out to student council, the crew, and the support from all the students and teachers who came out to the event and made it possible.

The Suns a local band playing at District 39 at EDSS

Writer’s Club Faces an Uncertain Future

By Kristen Harris

In January of 2011 the EDSS Creative Writer’s Club held its first meeting, but now, over three years later, the club faces an uncertain future.

The club was started by Grade Twelve student, Amy Gofton and has met every Tuesday at lunch in room 124 until January of this year. Amy came up with the idea for a club where young writers could meet to share their work as a way of building confidence in her own writing as well as encouraging other young writers to become more open about sharing their work. She believes that one of the greatest barriers to young writers is an unwillingness to share their work and she worked hard to create an environment where people would not be embarrassed by what they had written.

The club continued strongly for several years, although very few new members joined, a core group of six individuals faithfully met every week. By now, most of the original members have graduated, leaving only two to keep the club running. September saw several new members come, but as time went on, the lack of commitment, interest and openness eventually led the club to all but officially shut down at Christmas time.

The club’s current leader, Kristen Harris has seriously considered closing down the group. ,But as Miss Gofton said, “Writer’s group should not be ended. As long as there are two writers willing to sit down and share their craft with each other then it should continue.”

When asked what she would do to create more interest in the club, Amy said, “To revamp the group, you need to re-evaluate what the members who do show up are hoping to get out of it. Once you’ve established what you want to get out of the group, then you’ll have a better idea of what you need to change. Find a way to encourage people to read aloud. Through creative methods, you may be able to create an environment in which students are comfortable sharing their work.”

A special meeting will be held Tuesday March 18th to determine the club’s future.

Amy Gofton the founder of Writer’s Club

EDSS presents “Sleepy Hollow”

By Amanda Dickerson
On February 27, students of Elmira District Secondary School (EDSS) presented a play “Sleepy Hollow” as part of the Sears Drama Festival.

The festival took place at Sir John A. MacDonald Secondary School (SJAM) where many high school students gathered to present a play performed by their students. In total, 30 students from EDSS participated in “Sleepy Hollow” that day. The intriguing production was written by Lindsay Price.

It was about a boy named Ichabod who is a very superstitious boy who moves to Sleepy Hollow. In Sleepy Hollow, they tell “Hollow Stories” which are a rendition of campfire stories. These stories scare Ichabod but he manages to keep his fear under wraps and act as if nothing is bothering him. While moving to Sleepy Hollow, he finds himself in attempts to court this rich girl Katrina however another man is after her as well, Brom Bones. Brom Bones discovers Ichabod’s fear about Hollow stories and one night tells the story of the headless horseman. Bones decides to dress up as the headless horseman to scare Ichabod. It ends in Ichabod never being seen and under assumption his must have been killed. The story of Ichabod is then used to prove the story of the headless horseman and becomes another “Hollow Story.”

On March 1st, the students gathered together again at SJAM for a ceremony to find out if their production had moved on or not. EDSS was not one of the 3 high schools that were picked to move on. St. Mary’s, KCI and Jacob Hespler were chosen to move on.

Cast member Sarah Brown, who played in an ensemble, felt proud and accomplished with the performance, but was very disappointed with the results.

“It went very, very well. Best run so far. I’m really unhappy with the fact that we didn’t go on. We did a beautiful job. I may be biased but we should have moved on,” remarked 16 year old Brown.

Grade 10 students Sarah Brown (left) and Nathaniel Johnson (right) strike a pose as part of an ensemble in a dance

Former EDSS Students speak out on the 75th Reunion.

By: Jenessa Babcock

Within Elmira, the talk and hype of the 75th Elmira District Secondary School Reunion is an increasing topic discussed by former students of the school. These former students spread the word on how successful and whether or not they will be attending the big event, some speaking out on the high prices they’ve heard about.

Mr. Conlon a former principal of EDSS was one of the many people helping to get the word out and created the event website with only a package price for the weekend long event. People were shocked and some very uninterested in pay the whopping 75$ bill. Although just in the recent months he released individual tickets for single events that will be for sale, but some people have remained uninterested.

Brad Brown, a former EDSS student and current parent, says that the weekend event is too much for his busy schedule especially because of how pricey it is.

“I don’t have 75 bucks to give out and I’m too busy, by then I’ll be golfin’,” he said just recently.

Mrs. Austin, a former student and current teacher at EDSS is involved in the Reunion committee and responded to the ticket price discussion. She stated that she understands the price is a lot, but says you actually save money getting the package deal. As well, now that individual tickets are out, people can pick and choose more of what they want to do instead of purchasing the whole package.

“I do agree that when you first see the $75 you may think it’s pretty pricey, but when you see the breakdown [of events], if you actually are going to participate all weekend you do save money by getting the package. If you’re not going to be here all weekend then obviously you’re not going to want to pay $75,” Austin says.

Mr. Reid, also a current teacher at EDSS who was a former student and a part of the Reunion committee, shows his confidence in the event when asked if he believes that the reunion will be a success, “of course, a brilliant success,” he said smiling.

The members of the EDSS Reunion committee remain positive about the success of the event, however former students say that they are simply not interested and just don’t have the time or money. The committee will remain confident and keep spreading the word.

Mrs. Austin and Mr. Reid part of the 75th Reunion Committee

Smile Bomb Coming to EDSS

By Chelsea Wilson

The EDSS student council are bringing smile bombs to EDSS this coming June in hopes of creating a day where everyone in the school is included and complemented.

The making of the smile bombs began late September and will continue being worked on throughout this semester. Students can look forward to finding their names on a sticky note with a message just for them posted somewhere around the school.

Student body co-president, Emily Orr, said that Matt Lalonde had came up with the idea to expand on the compliment post-it-notes by personalizing them to each individual student.

Lalonde took charge and put his idea into action, recruiting student council to help him with this enormous task. The goal: give everyone a chance to smile about themselves.

Ms. Austin, student activities supervisor and teacher at EDSS, said, “I think it’s a really unique idea that will make everyone feel like they belong,” and that she is, “looking forward to just getting everyone involved in something.”

According to Ms. Austin there was some difficulties in the process and that ideas had changed multiple times since taking the task on in September. Decisions are being made about how they plan on distributing the post-it-notes;treasure hunt style, or in a specific location.

Mr. Munroe, another student activities supervisor and teacher at EDSS, said that this, “definitely could be a successful.”

Student council continues to work hard to ensure every student in the school, no matter their grade, can feel involved in the school.