At the end of this school year, the staff of SLAMedia took a moment to reflect on the people, places, and moments that made this year stand out.
Sanchez Returns
During Halloween at SLA this year, every student had the pleasure of meeting the Ghost of Sanchez. The black and white pictures posted of the former history teacher in obscure places around the school frightened some and humored others. I found it absloultely hilarious, especially with the placement of some of the pictures, like behind trashcans and on top of Halloween decorations already put up the night before. It was a pleasant and humrous surprise seeing them around the school. And what made it more funny were the freshman reactions to this mysertious man lining the walls of SLA. The timing of the photos were excellent, with Halloween and the theme of ghosts. It will definitely be something that a older SLAers will remember in the years to come.
– Kennedy Coverdale
Where’s the Plane?
This year the mysterious plane that had disappeared from Malaysia. The funny thing about this was the perseverance of CNN about the idea of plane wreckage in the sea. The new channel spent the entire day waiting for the email from Malaysia that had “specifications” on the report of the plane wreck. The consant notation was “we need to know if it was plane wreckage” or “it could be plane wreckage” and “Any minute now we will receive the email telling us about more details for the possible plane wreckage.” These announcements were initially said at about 9 am and continued on to about 8 pm. Oh CNN.
– Soledad Alfaro-Allah
Our Crazy Winter
Philadelphia received some pretty harsh weather last January due to what is called a polar vortex, a large cyclone that releases cold air from the Northern Hemisphere. Although that it seemed like so long ago since we had our icy meltdown, it was actually only a couple of months when we were warned about the dangers of not wearing gloves in four degree weather. Most Philadelphians didn’t think too fondly of the cold weather. And after the fourth day of school being closed, neither did I. In fact it got to a point where there was nothing really to do but sit inside and curse the winter. Too cold to go out, too cold to do anything. Now that June is finally here, the people of Philadelphia can finally enjoy a warmer climate… and humidity!
– Will Amari
The Book Thief vs. The Movie
The Book Thief is my absolute favorite book of all time. In previous years I had read it, and this year in my 10th grade English class, we discussed and dissected it. Needless to say I was very excited for the movie release. The movie was awful. The movie and the book could have been called two separate names. While they had the same underlying themes, much was changed. The movie did not do the book justice whatsoever. A few of the characters’ personalities had changed quite a bit, and the narration of ‘Death’ was off and had awkward timing. I do think that Rudy was well represented. If you’ve read The Book Thief, and love it, DON’T watch the movie. And if you’ve watched the movie, most definitely read the book so you can experience the brilliance.
Stevie Wonder Sing-Off
I walked into the office to Mr Lehmann singing an old Stevie Wonder song and to be funny I made a joke about his singing. Then he preceded to call me out to sing a Stevie Wonder song too. I was dumbfounded because the only ones I had known of were Superstition, Ebony and Ivory, and Happy Birthday. Happy Birthday was the only one I actually knew the words to. Jeremy was the “MC” and when he pulled the song up, it was the studio version not the version we always hear. So I stood there until the beat arrived and had to sing in front of the whole office. I didn’t do a good job.
Reacting to the New SATs
I remember when I first heard that the SAT was going to be re-formatted. It didn’t bother me at first, but then I discovered that they were not simply changing the content of the test, they were removing the essay portion, and scaling down so that the highest score was a 1600. I felt as though if they had done this before, I may have had a higher score. I had taken the test twice. the first time I scored poorly so I had to raise my score. The second time I took it, I only scored 10 points higher. This would have been perfect for me, except I scored the highly in the essay portion. It has its ups and downs, so I will wait and see how this new format plays out in 2016. I also wonder if it will be changed again later. Only time will tell.
Moodle –> Canvas
For as long as Science Leadership Academy has been around, students and teachers have used Moodle as their assignment and announcement headquarters. With it’s tan, rustic appearance, Moodle seemed to be the source of love and hatred among SLAers. Then that all changed with the announcement of a new and technologically up to date website that did everything Moodle could do and so much more. With it’s cool blue theme and modern layout, Canvas quickly replaced Moodle, with some mixed reviews. For some, it was amazing, new and cool. It even had an app! But for others, there was just too many things you could do and it quickly became overwhelming. This was back in October. Today, after properly adjusting to the change, the general consensus is one of continued mixed review but an overwhelmingly lean in the positive direction. It seems as though although the change was abrupt and hard to swallow at first, as with a lot of change, it turned out to be for the better.
-Kenyatta Bundy Jr.
Solar Panel Roads
As lack of nonrenewable sources has been increasing and the prices of energy inflating, scientists have been coming up with a technology that allows our roads to supply us with energy. The idea is that our roads would be reconstructed out of solar panels. This answers many of the pressing issues in America involving energy and even the economy. They can benefit the economy because the instillation and maintenance of the solar panel units would offer millions of those who would be unemployed. The most important part is that we would have an abundance or even excess of renewable clean energy. This would help to prevent the occurrence of global warming as well, which is a reoccurring theme in our articles this year and was frequently because of the drastic weather changes this winter. This is the long-term solution we have been waiting for.
– Claudia Bonitatibus
