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  I first knew I was a writer when I first wrote a personal experience story back in the fourth grade and it touched people. The story was about the passing of my great grandmother that occurred in 2012. I talked about how she waited until I and my family left to close her eyes and the aftermath. 

         As my teacher Ms. McBeth was reading my story, my classmates were crying and paying close attention to every word that was written down.  At that moment, I knew that I was capable of being able to inspire and voice my experiences to others who may or may have not experienced what I did.  

       These days, I write about topics about depression, anxiety, sexual assault, broken homes, feeling unwanted, mental illness, etc. I focus on topics I could relate to or that I was close in contact with.  SLA has been a welcoming place for me as a poet because the staff and students allow me to develop a safe and welcoming space to write and to create what I see, am feeling, or something that inspired me in that particular moment. I love writing because it helps bring out the creative and emotional side that people don’t get to see when communicating with me. You wouldn’t know my true capability and creativity until you give me a pencil and lined paper. 

         What I enjoy most and value about SLA literary culture is how it allows students to have freedom of speech and gives students a chance to explore who they are and what they want to do. Being able to speak your opinion without judgment is very important and needed and SLA has that. When speaking your opinion or writing about something that you find important, knowledgeable, worthy, etc your response is respected and nobody tries to change that. Although one may disagree, they will still hold your opinion as valuable and important. 

         For all of these reasons, I’m happy that the school is reviving its literary magazine because it gives upcoming artists and writers a way to express who they are. It’s sometimes difficult for a writer or artist to find a comfortable and safe place for them to show what they are skilled at and their perspective on things. 

         Students have voiced and expressed who they are through art and writing! The fourth floor was established at SLA as a way to help students communicate and understand who they are through skills of writing, poetry, storytelling, art, and many more skills that students have within them that are yet to be shown. Art and the forms of writing play an important role for people especially students because it demonstrates how the skill desaturates differently in each student and how each student uses the skill in everyday life. Art forces humans to look beyond what is necessary to survive and leads people to create their own expression and understanding of the world. I found interest in the fourth floor when a senior came to my adviser which is on the second floor and introduced this fascinating and great establishment that once fell but was risen again through the determination and motivation of the Rocket family.  What I enjoy most and value about SLA literacy is how it allows students to have freedom of speech and gives students a chance to explore who they are and what they want to do. Being able to speak your opinion without judgment is very important and needed and SLA has that. When speaking your opinion or writing about something that you find important, knowledgeable, worthy, etc your response is respected and nobody tries to change that. Although one may disagree, they will still hold your opinion as valuable and important. When it comes to art you are open to exploring areas of art you may or may not know about. The concept of being able to explore is what’s important in arts at SLA because you are given the opportunity to take a path in arts that interests you and you are supported on your choice. 

Biran Mahmoud

Staff writer

Last year was online due to covid-19, It was not enjoyable at all because I was very excited for my freshman year but we had to be virtual. It was extremely hard making friends because I could not meet them in person and also it was hard to learn in class. I couldn’t learn that much because at home it is overly easy to get distracted by a lot of things, for example, phone, family, food, etc. I would try to not get distracted by getting rid of most distractions but still from now and then I would get distracted by things that would go around me.  

In-person is just different, there is nothing like in-person teaching. When it’s online the teacher has a hard time explaining to students things they are confused about but in person, it’s way easier. Also, I know a lot of people had this problem which was the wifi and sometimes the zoom link wouldn’t work or just glitch. Last year was the worst year in education for me personally. 

But thankfully now we are back in-person learning and I’m genuinely happy about that. It was overly exciting seeing people who I met on zoom and how different they were in person. The teachers are nice and I have been having a good time at the school. Most of the times kids don’t want to come back to school and want summer break to last longer but this year most people I know wanted to come back and they missed school which is a rare thing to see. 

My Life During Zoom School — A story by Biran Mahmoud

8 AM My alarm goes off multiple times before wake and then I would get up to brush my teeth then get some breakfast. 

9 AM Join my Zoom class even though sometimes it would crash.  

Around 11:40 AM I ate lunch usually it would be some fruits, sandwiches, etc.  

Around 12:30 PM lunch is over so I have to join zoom class again. 

3:00 PM I would log of zoom and close my computer to get a rest from the screen and let my eye rest.

4:00 to 5:00 PM I would work out in that time. 

6:00 PM After I finished working out I would take a long warm shower. 

7:00 to 8:00 PM do any homework I have but usually, I would have them done throughout the classes so I wouldn’t have that much. 

8:00 to 10:00 PM watch some Netflix probably usual action movies. 

10:00 PM around that time I would go to sleep. 

In-person school schedule : 

6:15 AM My alarms go off but I stay in bed for 15 more minutes before I actually wake up. 

7:15 AM  I leave my house and go to the train stashing. 

7:45 AM  Get inside of school swipe my card and get in the building. 

8:15 AM  I go to my first class of the day.

Around 11 AM I have lunch and hang out with my friends. 

3:15 PM I get dismissed from school. 

4 PM I get home and change my clothes. 

5 PM I start working out. 

7 PM Take a warm shower as usual. 

8 PM Do my homework. 

9 PM to 10 PM I would watch Netflix or watch youtube. 

10:30 PM I would go to sleep.  

CAMERON BOOKER

Staff writer

The amount of trash in the commons is absurd. People really should begin to clean up after themselves because this is our school and we should definitely keep it clean because our school is a reflection of who we are. As the first quarter comes to an end people are realizing the mess that is left in the commons and they really don’t like it. I’ve talked to a few students who don’t like the fact that during their independent study period they have to clean up after the other students. On top of that, the students that have to clean up others feel unsafe and think that there is a possibility that they will get sick and don’t think that it is safe at all. So I have thought about writing an article on it so we can make a change and create a way for students to dispose of their trash and not have to leave.

Over the two, one hour long lunch periods we have plenty of students who eat school lunch, bring their own lunches and buy things from the school store. People sit in their friend groups and can talk until the end of their lunch band and the crazy thing is is that when the invisible bell rings all students run to their next class leaving the trash of candy wrappers, sandwich bags, noodle cups, etc. lying around and the janitors are left to clean up after them  this is not ok and we need to put a stop to this before it gets any worse. I wouldn’t say that it is the kids fault. I think that the fact students only have two trash cans in the commons is the reason there’s so much trash because there’s nowhere to put it.

What should we do now?

Having only 2 trash cans in the commons is a problem and there is an easy solution. I think that we should get some designated trash cans that stay in one area so that people can find them easily. I think that there should be a recycle bin, and another trash bin for just plain trash like forks, bags etc. If we were to put three of these connected trash cans in the commons in three different locations I think that we would be able to keep our school clean and this will keep us in the position we need to be this will always make it an easier job on the janitors because the trash would be disposed of correctly and it would help the world in a way because things (trash) would be going to the right location.    

Staff Writer

Aylin Echandy

  Literature and art have swept students to come together to create The Fourth Floor. The Fourth Floor began in 2016 when students wanted a way to display their viewpoints on art and literature and since then, students have used the magazine as an outlet to express their identities and creativity.

     English teacher Larissa has been the faculty sponsor of The Fourth Floor since the group started at SLA’s old building. “A group of students wanted a venue to show off the work they and their peers were creating: writing, art, visual art,” she explained. 

          Josie DiCapua is a senior and head editor of The Fourth Floor. DiCapua gave me insight into her experience throughout her years of being a part of the fourth floor. She expressed that she wants to become an English teacher and see what it is like to view students’ creativity through the eyes of a teacher.

“I think one of the driving reasons for that is just to see how, like, kids my age can come up with, like, really creative and interesting projects,” she said “And seeing some of the artwork and the literature that my peers write, it’s so cool how they can do that and I think it’s so inspiring.”

The magazine has been on a publishing hiatus for the past few years, but I was able to explore older issues to get a feel for the creativity of SLA’s literary culture.

When reading the spring 2014 edition, I saw how students can turn simple sentences into a bigger ideology. In a creative piece published in the magazine, SLA graduate Leo Levy wrote, “Humans… are a simple input-output function, Samuel. Every input has a different output value. It’s all about the value we place on the inputs.” 

Levy is explaining the concept of the identity of a human. If you were to give a human being a particular item that human may use that item differently than how you would use that item. It’s like everyone uses something different because that’s how their mindset works, they do what is valuable and understandable for them. We don’t base who we are on what we are but on how we are and how we compare ourselves to nature. 

 Being to understand why we are who we are is necessary because it affects our reactions to society. Leavy’s statement is more complex and diverse for it to have one meaning, it consists of multiple meanings. 

“It’s all about the value we place on the inputs” comes from the amount of value we place into our minds which identifies the level of importance a person, place, or thing can be. A human’s perspective can differentiate critical thinking, changing the meaning and symbolism of something that is belonging or nonbelonging.  

DiCapua’s time being a part of the fourth floor has inspired her to want to influence and experience the next generation’s level of creativity and understanding of art. She finds it inspirational how her peers’ brains work in order to create art and or writing that impacts them- the mindset of a human being is very diverse and abstract, which drives the level of creativity and complexity of the publication. 

DiCapua hopes that over time students will attract diverse perspectives of art and literature for The Fourth Floor magazine.