What you should know about college applications

Mrs. Jennifer Rincón
MS/HS Counselor

Some students struggle around the topic of college not knowing where to go, how it will be like, If they've chosen the right career... I know I’m a kid and know absolutely nothing about college, but I also know that students need help with that, so I interviewed Mrs. Jennifer Rincon, the Middle School and High School Counselor, who guides seniors through their college applications and informs them of things they need to know.

How do you know what is the right college for you?

In the search for the correct university for a person, several aspects are considered: location, types of university, costs, race, Extracurricular offer, etc.

How do colleges work nowadays?

Colleges have different schedules. Normally colleges give you classes in the morning but sometime in the afternoon or at night. Almost all schools are virtual right now, but most think that after class breaks they will be having classes back in school like we used to do.

How do you send a college application?

Mostly through an application platform like Coalition or Common App. Also, you can send your application directly from the webpage.

At what age do you need to start thinking about what you want to study?

There is no age to start thinking about that, but most of the process starts in high school

How do you know what is the right career for you?

First, you have to know yourself, know what your tastes, qualities, vocational interests, and personality are. Something that helps you a lot to know what you want to study is choosing electives, taking courses, challenging yourself, in high school doing AP, taking internships, and taking vocational tests.

At what age do you have to start researching colleges?

There is no age to start researching for colleges, but we prefer for teens to start between the end of 10th grade and the beginning of 11th grade.

Most students start by thinking about the kind of college they want to attend. As you do so, keep in mind that you have lots of options. More than 1,600 colleges, mostly community colleges, accept almost all high school graduates.

There you have it! I hope some of your questions related to college and the whole career experience have been answered. Do you have more questions? Leave them in the comments below! See you next time!

By Avril Vélez

6th Grade student

Black Lives Matter

Abuse, punishment, violence are some words to describe what happened on May 25th of 2020. George Floyd, an African-American, was a victim of the racist abuse of a police officer who knelt on his neck and back for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, causing his death. The video recorded in the scene went viral on social media. All this is happening in one of the hardest years in history, in the middle of a pandemic and a massive economic crisis for the world.

The United States has suffered many racist events in the past, but nothing has ever been as intense on the media as what happened in that summer of 2020. People went out all over the cities to protest for equality, including people from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and all over the United States. There were cartels around, songs were written, and walls painted with the phrase “Black Lives Matter”. Kids, teenagers, adults, and even elders walked with cartels of “Am I next?”, “No justice, no peace” and “Stop killing us."  The effect of this death motivated protests against police brutality, especially towards black people, which quickly spread across the United States and internationally. 

Throughout history, black people have been threatened and punished for the color of their skin. These people have suffered from violence, abuse, and threats. However, they've been brave and have continued fighting for equality. This episode only reflected how still, in America, the idea of racism continues living. There are still people who feel more important because their skin is white. This new modern racism will stay forever on the internet, thanks to social media.

Although there were many difficulties, the protests brought attention to the need for justice and respect towards civil rights and equality. The BLM movement became a symbol of tolerance and awareness against civic abuses, all this in hope of reducing the racial differences among people.

Just last week, Derek Chauvin, the police officer who killed George Floyd, was found guilty on three charges: second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter. This is important because, rarely, any police brutality cases make it to trials. His verdict will be announced on June 2nd.  

This event sends a clear statement for the need for accountability, justice, and equality for the American people. Humans should always remain strong against injustice.  Bad things are always going to happen, but if we face them with resilience, we will achieve peace and, eventually,  justice. 

Written by Rodrigo Linera

5th Grade Student

Vegan Lifestyle

Veganism is defined as a way of living that excludes all forms of animal cruelty for food, clothing, or any other purpose. For these reasons, the vegan diet aims to avoid all animal products. What vegans do is that they've created nutritional substitutes for products such as meat, eggs, jelly, and dairy. The substitutes are usually Tofu for cheese, agar for gelatin, and flax with water for eggs. Also, vegan bacon is made of soy sauce and laminated carrots. For milk-lovers don't worry because there is almond milk or soy milk!

Here we will talk about the most common questions people have asked me about vegan lifestyles because, even though I am NOT vegan, I have investigated a lot about the topic. When I usually talk to friends, they have millions of questions and these are the most common ones. WARNING: Some of them might be weird!

Why is Jell-o or gelatin not vegan?

This is because gelatin is a mixture of proteins extracted from the skin, boiled and ground bone, hooves, tendons, organs, and viscera of cattle, pigs, horses, and poultry. But the most common substitute is agar-agar, gelatin made of algae, cruelty-free.  So enjoy your algae flavored agar-agar like it was real gelatin if you liked.

What is the difference between veganism and vegetarianism?

People usually think they are the same but no. Vegetarianism you can eat everything except red meat and chicken or fish. However, veganism means not eat or wear any product that comes from animals, not even makeup applies. 

Can I eat dessert if I'm vegan?

-Of course! There are many cruelty-free options for your favorite treats.

Benefits for the environment:

Veganism combats world hunger. A lot of the food that's grown in the world isn't being eaten by humans. It conserves water. Hundreds of millions of people around the world don't have access to clean water. It cleans the soil. A vegan diet reduces energy consumption. It's more ethical. While meat is more calorically dense than plants, more aggregate calories (and more diverse nutrient profiles) could be produced if that land was dedicated to various plants.  

I know this will sound weird to you, but most likely by the year 2050, due to environmental factors, we will all need to be vegan. This means people that are already vegan are prepared.

By Paula García

7th grader

The world we build

"You reap what you saw." This is a common proverb we have heard a million times from adults whenever we complain about our grades, and it basically states the following idea: future consequences are inevitably shaped by present actions. Whether you like it or not, this is true, and it can be consistently seen through life, but I want to focus today's article around the idea that the world we build today, will shape the future of humanity. Have you ever stopped to think about what kind of world do you want to live in in the future? What are we doing today to get it? 

Climate change.

Let’s start by saying that climate change is causing a lot of damages, especially in the Arctic. This constant climate variation is breaking icebergs, the ice on the lakes is breaking really fast, and most of all, it is damaging environments for plants and animals to survive. Predicted events are happening sooner than expected. There is a loss of sea ice, an accelerated rise of sea levels, and longer, intense heat waves. A lot of species are in danger of extinction and some animals even have an expected day to disappear. Scientists expect the climate to continue rising higher and higher, therefore damaging more the Earth, our world.

Animals.

As I said, animals such as polar bears, penguins, and wolves are losing more of their kind. Their environment is being damaged more and more, and these animals need the ice to survive and to continue reproducing. Every day higher temperatures strike the Earth, and it is harder to maintain a safe perimeter. Their growth and reproduction is endangered.

Contamination.

Contamination is the main reason why the world is more and more dirty and dangerous. Events such as smoking, the smoke that comes out of cars or trucks, and trash in the ocean are affecting our world, making it harder to survive in our environment. Pollution poisons the waterways and soil. It might also kill plants and animals, living things that are vital for us humans survive in our world: Earth. Pollution also affects us, humans. Long-term air pollution can lead to chronic respiratory diseases, lung cancer, and even asthma. Particle pollution is also a way of leading to heart problems and death.

One of the main reasons for contamination is trash in the ocean. Some people, instead of recycling or throwing trash in garbage cans, they throw it into the ocean and they become dirty and smelly. As we all know, water is the most important thing in the world to survive, so we need it as clean as possible. But the more trash we throw in the ocean, the dirtier the water becomes. The trash in the ocean also contaminates the air making the air more dangerous and harmful for us humans.

What can we do?

Here's the thing: Not only natural changes like global warming are damaging the Earth, but also humans. In fact, humans are the ones who are making the world more dangerous. We can recycle, ride bikes instead of cars, don’t throw trash in the ocean or on land and stop using so much plastic and start thinking more organically. I also encourage you to care about your health by stopping smoking. Caring for and protecting plants, and reforestation is a great way to purify the air and reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If you cut one tree, you could plant 20 more trees. Also for a healthy world, we need healthy people. So, even though vegetables and fruits don't taste excellent, eat them! It’s better for the world and for your body.

And remember: the world we built now is the world we will live in in the future.

By Rodrigo Linera

5th Grade Student

How to find the perfect book

Many people have problems with finding their perfect book to read. Some people might find it difficult since some books might seem boring and some others might seem out of your level, but you are in luck!  This is the kind of article you need to read to find your perfect type of book.

Finding your level of difficulty.

Finding your book level might be hard, but not impossible. First things first, don't be lazy. Just because a book is too long or big doesn't mean it's not right for you. Sometimes books might seem long but are really easy to read. Find something that challenges you a bit, but be realistic, don't challenge yourself to something crazy impossible (like finishing Harry Potter in 3 weeks- that can be too much).

  

The Five Finger Rule:

There is a simple and quick method when trying to choose a book, say in a bookshop or library, called the ‘Five Finger Rule’. 

Here’s what to do:

• Choose a book
• Open it anywhere 
• Make a fist
• Start to read the page
• Put up a finger for each hard word or mistake
• If after one page you have 5 or more fingers up (so five mistakes or errors), the book is definitely too hard.

Find your LEXILE Level

A Lexile reader measure represents a person's reading ability on the Lexile scale. A Lexile text measure represents a text's difficulty level on the Lexile scale. When used together, they can help a reader choose a book or other reading material that is at an appropriate difficulty level.

Your Lexile is usually given to you when you take your Reading MAP Test. If you need your results, ask your teacher. Lexile can be a good tool to know if the book you are choosing is within your reading range. To find the Lexile of any book, you can go to www.lexile.com and write the book title. You can also find book recommendations by age and by grade level. 

Finding your reading genre

Genre is a style or category of art, music, or literature. As readers, we buy certain books because we have enjoyed similar stories in the past. Reading these novels gives us a sense of belonging, of sitting down with an old friend and knowing we’re on familiar ground. 

To find your perfect book, you first have to find your perfect genre. There are so many genres and subgenres that if I start telling you all of them, I'd probably miss some, so let’s talk about the basic ones.  I am going to give you a list of genres and a small description of them. 

There are many reading genres, like non-fiction, humor, drama, etc. so to understand the one you like I provide you with a quick description of each. 

Books are often classified into 2 groups:

• Fiction (not real events or stories) 
• Nonfiction (real-life events) 

Fiction Genres: 

Within fiction, you can find subgenres such as:

• Realistic fiction: Stories that sound real and might be real, but some details are fictional.
• Historical fiction: it's a type of book that might include events, settings, or characters inspired by history.
• Mystery: These stories have suspense, usually something or someone is missing or lost.
• Romance: These stories are about a romantic relationship between two people.
• Action-Adventure: Any story that puts the protagonist in physical danger, characterized by thrilling near misses, and courageous and daring feats, belongs to this genre.
• Science Fiction: This genre incorporates any story set in the future, the past, or other dimensions. 
• Fantasy: These stories deal with kingdoms. Myths, magical creatures and ideas characterize these books. 
• Horror/Paranormal/Ghost: These are high-pitched scary stories involving pursuit and escape. The protagonist must overcome supernatural or demonic beings. 

Non-Fiction Genres:

If you are into facts and real events, people and places, Nonfiction is for you! You can learn a lot by reading the following subgenres:

• Biographies: tell a story about another person's life

• History: explains real events from the past.

• Travel guides: these help you know important facts about a place you might want to visit.

• Self-help books: these help you by giving you advice about how to deal with or be successful at something you want to achieve.

• Science and Technology: The latest discoveries and inventions are in this category.

Well, I hope this guide helps you find your perfect type of book since reading opens a wonderful world of wonders, mysteries, and imagination. Have a wonderful and happy reading time!

 

By Maria Alejandra Ramirez

6th Grade