The Anchor » emma.ck

DON’T GET FROSTY, IT’S ONLY SNOW!

emma.ck — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:28:57 +0000

Snow. You love it or you hate it. This is to the Scrooges who grumble and groan at the sight of those linty, white flakes.
It’s wet. It’s cold. It’s messy. It’s magic. Nothing can compare to having a snowman greet you in the front yard. And what is more exciting than spinning out of control on a saucer sled? What could compare to the strategy of a snowball fight or perfect hot chocolate recipe?
You could hide indoors, or you could stand outside, stick out your tongue, and catch a snowflake. Decorate your neighborhood trees in strings of lights- nothing else will sparkle as bright! Slip on some wool socks and a pair of warm boots, it’s a guarantee for comfortable feet!
Don’t know how to skate? Get out on the ice in your boots- nothing beats an intense game of Broomball! But if contact sports aren’t for you, you might prefer a nice, sleepy game of Curling (a.k.a. shuffleboard on ice).
Don’t walk on the sidewalk, take the first steps through a new blanket of snow!
You could choose to stay dry, or you could lay down and make a smiling snow-angel. And if you’ve never seen the inside of a snow fort, you’ve definitely been missing out.
Suck on a candy cane or build your own gingerbread house- gumdrops are always a nice touch. Or maybe you’ve always wanted to make your own eggnog? Go ahead and do it!
It’s up to you!
Don’t “Bah humbug” your way through winter. Go play. Get wet. It’s only water!
Rev up your sled, the snow is here.

Purple, White and GREEN.

emma.ck — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 04:15:54 +0000

Southwest High School is adding a new color to its halls: green. In recent years, the Southwest Green Team has made huge strides in becoming a successful and productive club organization. The four-year-old Green Team, run by Mr. Tom Neiman, is a Community Education sponsored program. Green Team aims to accomplish two main goals: educating the community and students on the environment, and helping serve the community in any way possible.

Through hard work and education, the Green Team has been able to achieve much during its short time at Southwest. The team currently boasts over 50 members. These driven students have participated in several projects to help improve the energy efficiency of the school and the surrounding neighborhood, and to help improve the lives of others. This year alone, Green Team members have weatherized some of the windows in the East Building, helping to keep the school warm and to keep Southwest’s heating bill down. The team also visited the Feed My Starving Children organization last month, to help package food for the less fortunate. Additionally, the Green Team will assist Habitat for Humanity volunteers this spring, with efforts to build houses for the homeless.

In recent years, the Southwest Green Team has received much recognition for their impressive accomplishments. In 2010, the state of Minnesota honored the Green Team for their environmental programs, naming the club one of the “Top 12 Groups for Student Leadership.” The state of Minnesota also honored the Green Team with the “Cutting Carbon Grant”, a fund to help the team afford their window-weatherizing efforts.

The Southwest Green Team works every day to help keep our planet healthy. So how can you help the Green Team? One option is to participate in the Green Team sponsored Earth Day Clean-up project this April 23rd. The morning activity includes a pickup of the Southwest neighborhood and a delicious lunch. Another opportunity to help the Green Team can be found inside the Southwest cafeteria; always remember to recycle your lunch trays and milk cartons! As Mr. Neiman says, Southwest students are the solution to the planet’s environmental troubles.

*For more information on applying to be a part of the 2011-2012 Green Team, speak with Mr. Tom Neiman in the Community Education office.

The Curious Case of the Southwest Blast Days.

emma.ck — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:45:02 +0000

Blast Day 2008: 3 hour indoor party.
Blast Day 2009: 3 hour indoor party.
Blast Day 2010: 45 minute carnival?!
So what happened? How has the almighty Blast Day become a belittled afterthought within the school activities hosted here at Southwest?
A Southwest Student Council representative called the switch an “administrative decision.” She added that “Office staff had been stressed by previous Blast Days and required a change of tradition for this year.” But why did the administration feel that a change was necessary?
Input from Southwest’s new Assistant Principal, Ellen Stewart, helped to clarify the decision. During previous years, the Southwest staff had considered Blast Day to be very chaotic and unorganized. Administration found it hard to understand the purpose of large inflatable toys covering the West Gym or screenings of Blockbuster hit movies in the auditorium. As a solution, the staff created a “new, minimally disruptive Blast Day.” This version of Blast Day would take only 45 minutes and would make it possible for teachers to administer classroom learning on Friday, December 17th.
Additionally, Southwest students can still potentially attend events such as movie screenings in the auditorium and Southwest Theater or Southwest Band previews. However, the choice to possibly attend these fun out-of-class activities is the decision of each classroom’s teacher. Classrooms may visit different events throughout the school day, during classes, but each class must travel as a whole group and must stick together at all times. Administration believes that this arrangement, based upon constant teacher supervision, will result in many fewer students who are roaming the halls without the surveillance of Southwest staff. If all goes according to plan, this should help to produce a more organized and purposeful Blast Day.
The new Blast Day is suspected to compose a more controlled and stable environment in Southwest, this Friday.
But what can be said for future Blast Days? Will the control and organization tactics continue to rise up over our winter fun? Probably not. “Blast Day is still in a stage of modification. There will be more changes in the future.” concludes Stewart.
From now on, Blast Day will focus more on the idea of charity, and focus less on the extreme and extensive celebratory theme. Although the idea of a controlled and short Blast Day seems dismal, change is not always bad, and a more purposeful Blast Day could prove to be better for Southwest.

Southwest Students Tour the Windy City

emma.ck — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 00:21:11 +0000

MEA break is a time widely known among high school students for staying out late, sleeping in, and relaxing. However, over 35 Southwest students chose to take this time to explore college options in the Chicago, Illinois area. These students were a part of a 3 night trip to Chicago hosted by Project Success. The trip included food, lodging and private college tours.

Students applied several weeks in advance and, once accepted, joined several South and Washburn students on the 8 hour bus ride to Chicago, Illinois. Leaving Southwest after lunch on Wednesday, October 20th, with a quick stop for food on the road, the travel buses arrived in Chicago by nightfall.

Over the next two days, students toured schools all over the city. Students got to choose from a selection of schools including Columbia College Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Illinois at Chicago, Loyola University Chicago, University of Chicago and DePaul University. Each student was able to tour up to 5 schools. Students enjoyed the variety of the schools offered. Many students found schools that they loved, “the University of Chicago was beautiful and it had a good core liberal arts program.” said Hannah Germaine, a Southwest junior. Another common favorite school of Southwest students was Northwestern University.

Each day, when tours had ended, students were allowed to explore the city of Chicago. Students got a look at different neighborhoods in the city, and were allowed shopping time on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. Alison Graba, a Southwest junior, recalls of the experience “I really liked how much freedom the Project Success staff gave us. They kind of just let us lose in Chicago and trusted us to be responsible for ourselves, which was really refreshing.” Siri Keller, a Southwest junior, adds “ It was definitely a great way to really get a feel of the city!” Following the explorations of the city, there was also time for picture-taking at Millennium Park and Navy Pier- common tourist destinations of Chicago.

However, the fun had to come to an end. On Saturday, October 23rd, students began the bus-ride home to Minneapolis. With several technical difficulties along the way, student grew frustrated. However, all students arrived home safely. Overall, the trip was a huge success. “Project Success is such an amazing organization and the staff are such wonderful people.” concludes Holly Stein, a Southwest junior. What a great way to spend MEA Break! It sounds like the city of Chicago might see a lot of Southwest alumni in the next couple of years!

Southwest Student on Glee?

emma.ck — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 02:48:32 +0000

Well, not exactly. Although Muna Amed, a Southwest junior, got pretty close! This summer Amed attended auditions in California and competed with hundreds of performers for a spot on the beloved Fox Network television series. Season two of Glee introduced a couple of new characters, and Amed was in the running for a new female lead!

So how did this all happen? “I’ve always loved to sing and Glee was already one of my favorite shows. I thought ‘why not?’ I had nothing to lose.” says Amed of the experience. What a fairytale! After acing her initial audition, Amed was flown across the U.S. with the other 45 top competitors from open casting calls. The teens then performed a few songs and monologues.

Amed sure got a taste of Hollywood stardom! Over the course of her audition, Amed was on the set of The Office, and she watched the filming of several different movies and television shows! What else? Amed was recorded by TMZ staff while she performed a song with musical artist, Ne-Yo. How lucky!

As auditions concluded, two lead female roles were chosen from the original 46. Amed placed third. With Glee and fame just slightly out of reach, you might expect Amed to have been discouraged. But she has no regrets, “and I gained an agent out of everything!” she added.

Glee or no Glee, Amed did an impressive job and had an amazing experience. I suspect we will see more of Muna Amed. Congratulations Muna! Great job!