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Despite Budget; Philadelphia gets New Schools

April 17, 2014 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Despite the Philadelphia School District shuttering around 40 schools and almost not being able to open on time this year, the district for the 2014-2015 year is opening 3 new schools. The schools, building21, The U School, and The LINC are all now accepting applications for their inaugural school years’.

According to Philadelphia’s The Notebook, “These innovative schools will share common educational features: They will be small, proficiency-based, focused on youth development, and connected to real-world experience. (See this guide from the District for a short primer on the new school models.)”

These schools will be opening admissions to students citywide but generally want most of their student body to be made up of kids from the neighbor hood, since all three now inhabit what was a neighborhood school.

For student’s interested, additional information sessions will be held on April 11, 5-8 p.m. at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, 2800 W. Cheltenham Ave.

Eagle Mock Draft- Sports Talk with the Straight Shuter

April 11, 2014 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Image Courtesy of http://image.cdn.ispot.tv/ad/7TFS/nfl-network-super-bowl-2014-scouting-combine-ft-deion-sanders-large-2.jpg

As a Philadelphia sports fan I have a ridiculous amount of interest in the Philadelphia Eagles, and by extension what they do in the NFL Draft. With this being head coach Chip Kelly’s second year, he now has established himself as the leader of this team, which also means he has a plan. Every head coach has a plan, but usually a coach doesn’t know what to expect in their first year, therefore Chip Kelly now knows what to do, and how to do it.

Round 1: 22nd Overall Pick

Justin Gilbert (Cornerback) Oklahoma State

Justin Gilbert is my favorite person in this draft. There is a very real, very likely chance that he is not available when the Eagles pick. However, the recent reports are that Gilbert has struggled with separating too much from wide receivers in game, I am not concerned, but NFL teams will be. In his latest mock draft ESPN draft expert Todd McShay, has him going 25th overall to the San Diego Chargers. This would obviously mean that the Eagles are passing on him. If he is indeed available at the Eagles pick and they don’t draft him………..AHHHHHHHHHH!

Round 2: 42 Overall Pick (From Buffalo Bills for Bryce Brown (Running back) and 5th Round Pick

Allen Robinson (Wide Receiver) Penn State

This is what everyone wanted to see! Now Washington Redskins’ wide receiver DeSean Jackson’s replacement does not come in the first round as many people expect, but in the second round. Allen Robinson reminds me of Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall. He is big, he has great hands, and he runs great routes. The downside to Robinson is his speed, but if he can produce for Penn State, I am certain he can produce for the Eagles. The only scenario I see different here is if the Eagles choose to go for Cody Latimer of Indiana or Jordan Matthews of Vanderbilt.

Round 2: 54 Overall Pick

Kyle Van Noy (Linebacker) BYU

The best part about the trade is that the Eagles manage to keep their own second round pick, which they can use on defense. I love Kyle Van Noy, I personally think he belongs in the first round, which is why once again he may not make it back to the Eagles, but the great thing is, since the Eagles have that other second round pick in this scenario, they could take Van Noy higher if they feel he may not make it back to them, and draft Jordan Matthews here.

Round 3: 86 Overall

Deonne Buccanon (Safety) Washington State

Buccanon is a very solid safety with excellent coverage skills. Yet another blessing pick for the Eagles, Buccanon is in my opinion one of the five safeties in the draft. After this pick the Eagles’ draft would officially be a success as every area of need is addressed, and addressed well. Now we get to start having fun.

Round 4: 122 Overall

Jeff Janis (Wide Receiver) Saginaw Valley State

Who is Jeff Janis, and where is Saginaw Valley State? Both very valid questions. Jeff Janis is a wide receiver prospect that exploded at the NFL scouting combine, very few people know who he is because after getting injured in high school, he went from a five star recruit to a nobody. Now, Jeff Janis has exploded back into the world of football, however his fame was brief as once again no one knows who he is. He is basically a faster and more explosive Eric Decker, who is a wide receiver for the New York Jets. This means that Janis is an above average number two receiver but not a great number one receiver. In the fourth round this would be an awesome pick.

Round 7: 237 Overall

Wesley Johnson (Offensive Lineman) Vanderbilt

Wesley Johnson is basically everything and anything on the offensive line. The Eagles might draft him in the seventh round so that they have insurance in case of injury to one of their offensive lineman.

If the Eagles follow this draft, look for them to be real contenders in 2014.

The Fourth Floor by Isabella Aznar and Soledad Alfaro

April 10, 2014 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Mondays during Y band, something different is happening in Room 300. The room belonging to Mr. Herman, Digital Video & Photography teacher, is occupied by the new literary and arts magazine staff, called The Fourth Floor. You could compare this club to a 1950’s Newspaper organisation, with Ideas floating around every which way out the mouths of eager adolescents at SLA. You will find people editing literary content as well as interpreting the visual arts as a unit. The only difference is instead of typewriters and ringing phones you hear fingers on laptop keys.

The magazine’s goal is to promotes creative student writing and work, an idea developed by Sophomores Anna Sugrue and Leo Levy.

“Anna and I have been talking about doing something like this for a year and a half now, so we decided to stop talking and start doing.” Said Leo.

“Anyone from the school is welcome and encouraged to send in creative writing, and art, to The Fourth Floor Magazine. The way students can do this is by emailing the literary magazine’s email address: the4thfloor@scienceleadership.org.”

“The guidelines for submissions are anything that the student is proud of, that is under 1,000 words.” said Anna.“If it goes over this limit, we are willing to edit it, as long as the student tells us what can be cut out.”

The magazine was made by adamant writers and students to celebrate the creative spirits that are at SLA and publish their wonderful work in a professional place that they can show off to other people.

Leo said that, “I personally feel like a lot of the content that students put out is wonderful, but not particularly presentable. This will be a wonderful place for SLA student writers to get their first taste of publishing and promoting their art- We will decide the pieces we publish based on length, what we feel is publishable, and what gets submitted.”

Additional guidelines for submission include keeping profanity to a minimum, having had at least one peer edit, and making sure what you are submitting is not a draft; instead make sure it is something you feel proud about.

The first issue of The Fourth Floor literary and visual arts magazine will be published towards the end of the year before the seniors have their Capstone week.

2048

April 7, 2014 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

The new addictive app that everyone playing at SLA is called 2048. It a very simple game that involves moving numbers and multiplying them. The game was created by Gabriele Cirulli and is now the most popular game on the app store. It is very similar to another similar game called threes, and has been accused of copying that game.

2048 is played on a 4×4 grid. Numerical tiles take up each individual box in the grid. The game starts out with two number two blocks. By clicking the arrow keys all of the blocks move all the way in that direction. If two blocks with the same number collide they form one single block that is those two combined, so two twos make a four, two fours make an eight, and so on.

Whenever you combine two tiles, your score goes up by a number of points equal to the value of the new tile created. The object of the game is to keep combining tiles to get higher and higher numbers. The game is won when you get a 2,048 tile.

This is challenging because every time you click the arrow keys to move a tile, a new number two, or occasionally number four tile appears in a random blank square. The game ends when there are no empty squares left, and you have no possible moves.

Unlike many other popular apps, 2048 requires no gaming reflexes or fast thinking. It’s a purely mental game that requires logic and reasoning, targeting an audience that likes this sort of game.

2048 is simple and addicting. Every time a person plays it, they have to play it again to try an get a higher tile. Some students at SLA have succeeded in getting to the 2048 tile, while others still struggle to do so.

5 NFL Trades That Should Happen- Sports Talk with the Straight Shuter

April 4, 2014 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

5 NFL Trades That Should Happen- Sports Talk with the Straight Shuter

by Jesse Shuter

Staff Writer

NFL stands for National Football League. It is also known as the No Fun League, No Fair League, and many other names. My personal favorite is Not For Long. This is because the NFL is ever changing and always exciting. Trades are happening in football much more lately, and I love it. Change is fun, sometimes it stinks at first, but it always ends up making the game more exciting.

Now I want to start by saying that there is almost no chance of these trades happening. I am not delusional, I just think that they should happen, and would be fun to see.

Trade #1:

The Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson, Running Back and a 2014 4th Round Draft Pick

For

The New Orleans Saints: Mark Ingram, Running Back, Akiem Hicks, Defensive End, and a 2014 2nd Round Draft Pick

Woah, did I really just trade star and future hall of famer Adrian Peterson from his beloved Vikings. Yes…..I did. Peterson as you may have noticed just turned 29 years old and is exiting his prime. Now obviously he will still be a star, and it is great for contending teams to have a star workhorse running back. The Minnesota Vikings are not a contending team, and even if Peterson has three or four more great years, there is no way that the Vikings can win the Super Bowl in that time. They need to rebuild and who better to rebuild with than a 24 year old proven running back in Mark Ingram, who can replace the huge void left by Peterson, and 24 year old defensive end Akiem Hicks who can replace the void left by unrestricted free agent, now Chicago Bear, Jared Allen. The 2nd round pick helps a lot too. Meanwhile, the Saints who are on the cusp of a Championship, want to win now, while star quarterback Drew Brees is still throwing as good as anyone. Peterson is the difference between them and the championship. If this trade happened, not only could the Saints challenge the ex-champion Seattle Seahawks, but I could easily argue that they are better. It is also a relatively low asking price considering what you are getting Peterson. Not to mention Peterson gets to contend for the championship he deserves.

Trade #2:

The Arizona Cardinals: Larry Fitzgerald

for

The Oakland Raiders: Denarious Moore and a 2014 2nd Round Pick

Hey, another franchise star says goodbye, in the world of the Straight Shuter. Larry Fitzgerald is declining and who better to take on a declining receiver that costs a lot of money than the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders are trying to contend once again, but that isn’t going to happen if Matt Schaub has no one to throw the ball to. The Raiders Receivers quickly become 1: Fitzgerald, 2: James Jones, 3: Rod Streater. That looks pretty awesome to me. All they have to do is part with Moore and a pick. Meanwhile the Cardinals, get rid of a big contract, and get Moore to replace Andre Roberts who they lost in free agency. They can then use their first round pick on a receiver since the class is so deep, and all of a sudden they are fine, and they have tons of extra cash lying around.

Trade #3:

The New England Patriots: Stevan Ridley, Running Back

for

The Indianapolis Colts: Trent Richardson, Running Back

Both of these gentlemen require a change of scenery. Ridley continues to fumble to football and is quickly becoming a nuisance to Bill Belichick. He has talent, he just needs a new place where he can be utilized. The Colts meanwhile had traded for Richardson last year with their first round pick after his unbelievable rookie season. On the Colts he was an absolute bust. Belichick would love the opportunity to work with Richardson and fix him, the only problem with this trade is that the Colts may not be ready to give up on Trent.

Trade #4:

The Dallas Cowboys: Brandon Carr, Cornerback

for

The Houston Texans: NFL 3rd Round Pick, and Ricky Sapp, Linebacker

Ever since the Cowboys signed Brandon Carr, he went from elite to okay. Last time he was elite was on the Kansas City Chiefs under head coach Romeo Crennel, now Crennel is the defensive coordinator for the Texans. Carr could then re-establish himself as an elite corner. The Cowboys can use the extra pick to rebuild their flailing defense. They could add a replacement corner in the first or even the second round with how deep this draft is. Ricky Sapp, in my opinion is a very underrated player especially considering how few people actually even know who he is. I think given the right opportunity he can prove himself to be a solid starter, and even if he can’t the cowboys can use him when Sean Lee inevitably gets hurt.

Trade # 5

The Philadelphia Eagles: Evan Mathis, Offensive Guard and Bryce Brown, Running Back

for

The Buffalo Bills: 2014 First Round Pick (#9 Overall)

Now to be clear, I don’t want to see Mathis go, but if the Eagles are truly ready to let him leave, which again they shouldn’t, this is the way to do it. The Eagles can then draft Sammy Watkins or Mike Evans to replace the departure of DeSean Jackson. Meanwhile the Bills are really in need of a guard ever since they lost Andy Levitre the also have quite a few injury prone running backs (C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson), and especially with Fred Jackson nearing the end of his career it would be nice to have a reliable talented backup.