Summer Skin Care for Teens by Marcia Silverio

Summer heat means going to the beach, swimming in pools and, of course, the hot summer sun. While all of these things are great, the chlorine, salt water and sun can be harmful to our skin. To maintain fresh skin, and to keep it glowing and healthy, we have to follow these steps.

 

In June, July and August the sun’s rays are very hot and if you don’t wear sunscreen you will get sunburned easily. Don’t forget to put on sunscreen whether you are going to the beach or taking a stroll in the park. If you do happen to accidently get sunburned the best remedy is to rub aloe on your skin. You can get aloe vera gel in any local drug store.

 

Getting some color on your skin is nice but red skin doesn’t look good on anyone but a lobster. A bit of sun can be beneficial for skin but too much is unhealthy. Sunscreen wears off, sweats off, and washes off no matter how high your SPF is, so reapply sunscreen often.

 

For young ladies who like to wear makeup, remember to go light on the makeup. In the summer you sweat which opens up your pores. When you have makeup on and those pores open up, the makeup on your skin seeps into those pores. That gives you clogged pores, lots of break outs, and a dull complexion. If you feel you really must wear makeup, use a blemish balm cream with SPF, and water-proof mascara. The BB cream moisturizes and gives you the coverage you need. You don’t need bronzer or blush or anything else to give color because you will get natural color from the sun.

 

As itchy as they are you must remember that scratching leaves scars! Mosquitos are pesky little summer bugs but don’t scratch. Vicks VapoRub is a great product to stop the itchiness of a bite.

 

With everything you do and apply during the summer, make sure to wash it all off. When washing your face do not use soap bars because our skin has a normal balanced pH level of 5.0-5.6. Bar soap’s pH level is higher than our balance. Soap strips the skin of it’s natural oils and makes it tight and dry no matter what type of skin you have.

 

Most importantly stay hydrated from the inside out. When you’re feeling parched it shows on your skin, making it look dull and dry. Moisturizers and lotions can only do so much. Stay hydrated by drinking water or even eating fruits that are high in water like watermelons.

 

Be ready for the summer heat by following these simple rules. Your skin will thank you for it.

 

 

Dark Side of the Grammys by Alysia Kane

A Grammy is considered the most prestigious music award that any artist could receive, but have you ever noticed that the most common artists to receive a Grammy are the artists that produce “popular music” during that time period? Why don’t the modern day artists that are classified in the genres punk rock, heavy metal, metal, etc. get awarded for their accomplishments?

 

For such a prestigious award, the Grammys, some feel, are centered around a limited number of music genres. The musicians that are excluded from the Grammys found a way for themselves to be recognized, by creating their own awards show.

 

Five years ago, this awards show was established by Revolver Magazine, named The Golden Gods. Throughout the years, artists such as Rob Zombie, Asking Alexandria, Black Veil Brides, Metallica, Marilyn Manson, Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe, Slash, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith and more have showcased their talents, and have been awarded for their achievements.

 

This year’s award show will be held on Thursday, May 2nd at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. The voting for this award show is already open and fans are clicking away on the voting sites.

 

In recent years, the Golden Gods have received some of the recognition they deserve. This is because the Grammy Museum has given the Golden Gods their own exhibit. Although these bands are being recognized they, many fans still feel as though it is unfair that the Grammys are screened live on TV, while the Golden Gods are only available to watch through Facebook and Xbox Live.

 

Dedicated fans are ready to show their support for the outcasted bands that they love and follow. Tune in through Facebook or Xbox Live, while the award show is being broadcasted live, hosted by WWE pro-wrestling legend Chris Jericho on May 2nd, 2013.

 

Midterm Problems by Marcia Silverio

Midterms are less than a week away for New Milford High School students which means it’s time to buckle down and study. The question is, have students reviewed their study guides with teachers? Have students even received a study guide yet? The school and teachers want us to study hard and they want us to do well. The big problem is we only get one day to review with many teachers who made or helped make the test.

For some subjects it’s alright to have only one day to review, such as English or History. On your own you should be able to review a book with the notes that you should have taken when you were originally reading the book. A subject like Math or Science can be a bit more difficult.

In the subjects Math or Science, if you don’t understand how to do something, it can be very confusing and complicated. Those subjects require teachers to explain steps and different methods to achieve the correct answers.

Picture a classroom of 22 students. Each student in that class has a different question for a different problem. You can imagine that 48 minutes of class time is just not enough.

Most teachers will stay on track with their normal teaching routine for the week, which does not help students. Midterms start on January 30th and review day is January 29th. A majority of students feel that with only one day to review with teachers they will not be ready for midterms.

Because of this students should make sure to go to extra help as much as possible to get the studying they need done. Even if it is for 15 minutes or an hour, it will help you and prepare you.

Bullying, Then and Now By Malvina Giannoulis

Bullying has been something we are taught not to do since elementary school. There have been assemblies, lessons, movies, and other such things shown to us countless times over the course of many years. The whole reason we are taught these things is to treat people right and fairly, but why is it that many overlook this whole concept?

Different from what it was in elementary school or even some of middle school, bullying has changed drastically due to one thing, technology. When we were younger, bullying would be excluding a certain person from something, calling names, physical violence, and more, but now bullying is mostly based off social networking.

The reason bullying has increased, or seems to have gotten worse, is that people believe that hiding behind a screen and saying something bad about someone is a whole lot easier than saying it in person. They also think that they will have a better chance of getting away with it. However, this is even worse because once you type something and post it, no matter if you delete it or not, there is always a way to get back to it. “Teens may think that if they use a fake name they won’t get caught, but there are many ways to track someone who is cyber bullying,” reported in an online website all about cyber bullying.

A perfect example of what cyberbullying can do is the ABC Family film, Cyberbully. This is a movie about a young girl who receives her own laptop for her seventeenth birthday, then decides to join a social networking site. First, her brother hacks her account and posts false information about her, then starts rumours about her and calls her names. The situation gets worse and worse and she attempts to kill herself, failing.

If you ask around, many people have watched this movie and said it has impacted them a lot, it is one of many that involve cyberbullying. Movies like this can send such a strong message to people and make them really think about something they say or do before it is actually done. It shows that just a small joke or remark can hurt someone more than you think.

The question still is why do people bully? Some answers are unknown and some are easily found out. Maybe the person feels insecure about themselves and says bad things about other people to make them feel better. Or maybe they are bullied, so they bully others. It could be out of jealousy, wanting something they can’t have and disliking someone because they do. Whatever the reason is, there are ways to help you cope with what you are feeling instead of taking it out on others.

Bullying can affect more people than you think. “More than 1 in 3 young people have experienced cyber threats online,” reports Cyber Bullying Statistics.

Another is, “About half of young people have experienced some form of cyber bullying, and 10 to 20 percent experience it regularly.”

These facts show that bullying is real, and does happen in everyday life, not just in movies. It is most important to think before you act and take into consideration someone elses’ feelings. It is also important that if you see or witness bullying to not be afraid to speak to an adult if you think the situation is getting too severe. You could be a friend to a victim, just by comforting them while giving them advice.

Expectations of the Holidays By Malvina Giannoulis

On Thanksgiving Day everyone is thankful for their friends, family, and everything they have, yet the next day, Black Friday, is when people wake up at four o’clock in the morning and go shopping the rest of the day. Up until Christmas, malls and stores are packed from when they open until they are finally closed. The question is why does everyone have such high expectations of the holiday season?This time of year has seemed to become more about presents rather than spending time with your family and celebrating. Not saying that no one should be given a present around the holidays, but some people go to the extreme. Personally, I think that presents are more about the meaning and less about how much it costs or what brand it is.

Besides buying and receiving presents you should give back to the people who need it the most. For example, you could volunteer at a soup kitchen or donate clothes and toys. All year round there are Salvation Army bins that you could drop clothes in, but around the holiday season you will hear about something called Toys for Tots.

Toys for Tots is basically the collection of toys by schools, girl scouts, and other organizations to give back to kids’ parents who don’t have a lot of money to buy presents for the holidays. This is just one of the many examples of places where you can give back.

Instead of buying loads of expensive gifts for people you can make something yourself that’s meaningful and the person still loves. You can make a scrapbook, piece of jewelry, or even just a nice card.

After asking freshman, Danielle Kelly, about who she exchanges gifts with she said, “A few of my closest friends and family members. Last year I bought too many gifts and it was too expensive.”

Many people around the holiday season expect extravagant gifts such as new phones, computers, and other expensive items, when really it should be more about family. Of course, it is nice to receive many gifts, but you have to be thankful for what you already have and help others who need it more.

Student Opinions on Gym Class By Malvina Giannoulis

What is your favorite part of the day? For many people it is gym, lunch, or their elective. To other students who have it, it might be their free period. Aside from these “classes” the rest of the student’s day consists of their core classes. These times are supposed to be laid back and a short break from the day’s work.After having a conversation with one of the other journalists, Shantelle Guinto, about gym, she remarked, “Gym? I hate gym.”

Many like gym, while others do not. For example, gym is well liked because you have many options of what you would like to do. One day you could be in the weight room, or in the upstairs gym. When the weather is nice in the spring and fall you can even go walk the track across the street from the high school.

Another great thing about gym is how there are several different sports that can be played. So far this year there has been soccer, tennis, and volleyball. If you do not like the sport you are currently playing, you always know that it will not last for the whole year.

Gym is also known as an “easy grade” because if you change every day you already are earning points. Also, if you miss a day of changing you can make up a class after school. Other than that you need to participate.  This does not mean that you have to be running around the gym, but you can’t be sitting down the entire time. If you are not the best at sports, as long as you are standing with your team and are trying to participate you will earn a good grade.

When asked what she liked about gym, Freshman Haley Weininger said, “They teach us skills we never learned in the lower schools…”

For every person who does like gym, there is an equal amount of people who do not. They can choose to opt out of the class by being involved with a sports team, or in the Bergen Performing Arts Center dance program. Those who are unable to opt out, but want to, are lucky when it is their turn to switch to health. One marking period during the year, you are required to take a health class.

There are many reasons why people dislike gym. You will find the majority of the people who do enjoy gym are involved with sports, or are very athletic. The people who dislike gym may not be as athletic and are better at other things, such as reading and math. It can also be taken very seriously at times by others, which makes playing not very fun.

Haley also stated, “I think it’s not fair at times because there are some more competitive people who really want to try while others are new to the game and want to try, but the competitive people won’t let them.”

Another reason students do not like gym is because of fitness testing, which basically means that about three times a marking period students have to take a different variety of tests. These tests consist of running a mile, doing pushups/situps, and completing the sit and reach.

Students are graded on how well they perform these tasks.  The only thing is that one student may be more flexible than another, so obviously they will do better on the sit and reach. Others may have more stamina and endurance and are able to run the mile quicker.

Gym is either enjoyed or hated, depending on the student and the activity. Gym is not for everyone and that’s okay.

Technology by Shantelle Guinto

When The Lance was first launched each of our staff members’ initial task was to interview certain teachers and some students on their opinions about the use of technology in NMHS, but what about outside of school?

When the lights went out during Hurricane Sandy for most New Milford residents, people’s main concern was charging up their cellular devices and computers. Local malls like Garden State Plaza were packed with people with no intention of shopping, but using the outlets or spending some time where it is not dark.

I personally think that it’s great that everyone is able to keep in touch, get work done more efficiently, connect with other people from the world, and kill boredom, however it seems to me we are getting a tad too dependent on it. It is completely understandable that people felt inconvenienced by the lack of heat and light, but the amount of tweets I read regarding people being paranoid that their precious cell phone’s battery life wouldn’t last long was ridiculous.

It’s no secret that technology has been advancing drastically and at a fast pace. I, myself, spend a fair share of time online, whether it be blogging, social networking, or reading. Even our own newspaper is digital for crying out loud. In a way, it disappoints me that printed journalism and even printed reading books are dying out and are on the verge of extinction. Today, sure it’s a few cell phones that we’re worried about during the time of a hurricane, but what about years from now? How dependent can one civilization get on technology? It’s definitely something that I’m both looking forward and dreading to see, but I guess as society changes, our only option is to adjust ourselves.    

BOOK REVIEW BY SHANTELLE GUINTO

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a novel by Stephen Chbosky, follows a series of letters that are written by a boy named Charlie. However, the person to which these letters are addressed to is not revealed, either for intentional or unintentional purposes, it does a great job of depicting the story. The Perks of Being a Wallflower may seem like your typical coming-of-age narrative, what with its family problems, making new friends, teen rebellion, and football games, but there is a twist. Charlie observes life and the lives of other people. He sees things, and he understands. He’s existent, but uses thought as an excuse to not participate in life. Charlie is a wallflower, and when a friend of his points this out, he makes it his goal to try to become a man more of action and less of being consumed by his thoughts. Charlie describes this feeling as “being infinite.”

Charlie’s thoughts are filled with utmost sincerity and pureness that he is automatically deemed a lovable character. It makes you wonder how an adult author manages to illustrate the confinement of the mind of such an innocent, yet wise, adolescent, but Chbosky fails to disappoint his readers. Chbosky’s novel makes teens everywhere able to relate, and even adults feel a sense of nostalgia to their days of growing up through it’s underground humor and self-discovering years.

If you haven’t read this book yet, then for once I’m encouraging you to join the hype and get yourself a copy. A movie based on this novel is currently in theatres, and I cannot wait to see it!

Tripping Kids, Going to Jail By Shantelle Guinto .

The hard part isn’t choosing, its living with the choices you made.  But what happens if a choice you make leads you to spending time in prison?On Wednesday, October 17, 2012, a 24-year old inmate, James, came to our school to tell his story about how he landed a spot in a jail. During these assemblies, the inmates typically talk about their early lives, and continue speaking on up until the point where the events lead up to them going to jail.This year was no different. James told us that when he was around 6 or 7, he wasn’t well-liked among his peers, and all he wanted to do was be cool. Since he wanted to be cool, he did something childish that would soon be the building block of some more serious crimes. He tripped a kid in an auditorium filled with students in third grade, and the worst part of all; he got away with it.James felt that, if he could get away with that, he could get away with so much more. By sixth grade, his life started to revolve less around school, and more around alcohol and drugs. He didn’t even care when he was arrested because he knew all the right cards to play with his mother that would get her to bail him out, but soon enough his actions weren’t something his mom could get him out of.

By the end of this assembly, I felt sympathy towards the inmate. He’s only a human being who made mistakes that he regrets. I think that is something we can all relate to. Some might question whether or not I should be sympathetic towards James because he might have come off as highly inappropriate.

His story is quite similar to other inmates that have come in previous years, but the difference is James made serious topics such as, addiction, substance abuse, and being arrested sound like a huge joke, as opposed to the other inmates from previous years who seemed to have learned something.

However, I still think the assembly served a great purpose even though it may have not seemed like it. James obviously has some problems, not only in his bad habits, but with himself.

That’s what some people do when things get serious, they joke about it because they just don’t have it in them to face it. How do you look at a room full of teenagers, who still have have a whole bright future ahead of them, when you, yourself have ruined yours?

When James was asked what he’d do for a job once he’s released, he said things along the lines of being able to find a pretty decent job. What I think James needs is not jail, but a reality check.

From the way he spoke about his life, nothing really ever phased him. Going to jail, over and over again, is not what this guy needs because he just doesn’t seem to care. I spoke with a CCD teacher, Mrs. Boak about these types of situations and she mentioned that there are many soldiers who come back to their everyday lives that end up committing crimes. Something happened in them, while they were away, that developed things such as anger issues.

A judge realized this, and decided instead of imprisoning them, he asked them, “Do you want to be helped?” Those who said yes were put into a group of other people who have gone through the same thing. “…and it took some time, but gradually they managed to return to their daily lives through relating with…the other soldiers. I just thought it was very nice that a judge would do that, it’s what they needed,” Mrs. Boak said. In this case, jail was not doing anything for these people at all, as it doesn’t seem to do anything for James. When James was asked whether or not he would do drugs again, he said no, but he also said that if he did, he’d become addicted again.

I feel bad for James, and everyone like him because if he doesn’t face the real world and come out of the bubble he’s in where nothing else matters that little hope of him turning his life around will just cease to exist altogether. James needs to come to terms with himself, and what it is that gives him the need do all these things, so he can finally move past them, otherwise, he’s just going to relapse and live a life without much purpose in it much like he was doing before.

To think, the downfall of his life began with a simple act of tripping a kid in 3rd grade.