Smart Lunch

There has been a lot of debate on whether smart lunch is really helpful or not. Some think it is a complete waste of time but majority find it very awarding towards their education. Smart lunch is a 60 minute period split into two tutorials; tutorial A and tutorial B. Smart lunch is meant to allow students to study, work on homework, get help from teachers, and eat with the remaining time. Kennedy High School is the only school in Iowa that has smart lunch but is having much discussion on whether to keep it or not due to some students not using it to their full advantage and taking it as a joke. Some people at the school find it completely useless and others find it extremely helpful.

“Smart lunch is a necessary and vital tool in my school life. I have many activities and obligations outside of school and without smart lunch, I wouldn’t be able to get half of my homework done. Although I understand why it isn’t fair to provide smart lunch to everyone as some students view the period as a long break, it wouldn’t be any fairer to take it away from students who need and use smart lunch every day.”, said Tasneem Sadok.

“I think it’s definitely helpful but not just in the sense that it helps you do homework; it’s nice having that destressing period with friends. It’s like that little push that gets you through the day.”, said Gaige Wessling.

“I think it’s helpful because for people with extra-curricular activities we don’t really have time outside of school to do our homework and it helps us get our work done on time.”, Kirsten Wenclawski said.

“I think it is helpful because I am in sports and smart lunch gives me the extra time I don’t have at home to study and get homework done.”, said Nate Sternat. 

As you can see the students' response, smart lunch is very beneficial to lots of people. It should be kept around for the future students to experience. 

Longer Winter Break

This year during 2015-16, Kennedy High School along with the whole Cedar Rapids district had an extra-long winter break and has students feeling all types of different emotions.

              The Cedar Rapids district has decided to divide the 2015-16 school year into semesters and with this occurring it also includes two weeks off of school for their winter break. Students are usually used to trimesters and having finals right before thanksgiving break but with this change, the breaks are much different.

              This year’s winter break started on December 19, 2015 until January 4, 2016 and finals are on January 14 and 15.

              Now with the semesters, students leave for two weeks and come back with less than two weeks to prepare for finals. The real question is “Was it worth having this super long break when you have to come back and work extra hard for the semester tests?” and “How did kids really use their extra time during break?”

              “I thought the break was just right and super fun! I got to hang out with friends and travel when usually I don’t have any time for friends.”, said Kirsten Wenclawski so. “Even though I had to come back and study extra time, it was worth it because I never get the free time to do whatever.”

              It is clear that many students enjoyed their fun over break but others thought it was very effective for their classes.

“I liked the longer break and I think that a lot of other people did too. There was definitely more time to do homework and I know that helped me because I had to make a spaghetti bridge along with many other students for a physics project over break.”, said Madison Palmer jr.

As the break was effective to some students, a couple still didn’t enjoy having to study so hard after the long break. Some thought it was difficult to remember everything after not having that daily learning with their teachers. Also, a couple of students felt rushed into learning the material all over again.

“I didn’t like having finals after break because I felt like we had a break from everything and if you didn’t study you probably forgot some things, then had to get right back into it. When I came back we had to do a lot of review with teachers.”, said Palmer jr.

Instead of having finals after two weeks of fun, it is clear that students would much rather them be before break. “It puts a weight off of a shoulder and gives them time to relax just a little bit more than this year”, said Wenclawski.

              

New Semesters, New Breaks

This school year the district decided to go by "semesters" this year. It's not an easy transition due to having trimesters for so long, but I would say the students here at Kennedy High School are doing the best they can.

With a new semester being, the finals are filled with a lot more information that us students need to remember. Our daily routine is the same as they have always been, it's just that we don't get fresh start with a new term three times, now we only get two.

Along with the changes of having our school year be spilt up into semesters, our breaks during the year change as well.

Our Thanksgiving break is only 5 days long this year. We get three days of school off along with a two day weekend. We used to get a whole week off with finals being right before. It was our break along with a new start to school and we didn't have to worry about any homework.

Another break that has changed is our Christmas break. Christmas is now exactly two weeks long, but we still have to worry about homework and finals since they are two weeks after we get back. It's nice getting that much time off, but with all that time off tends students to forget more of what they have been learning before.

The last break that is changed is Spring break. It doesn't change much just that it is a week earlier this year. Spring break is now during March 12 to March 20.

There are clearly ups and downs to this new semester thing and to the breaks but as the years go by they will hopefully be able to tweak it to everyone's liking for the future high school students.

How to keep your energy up

There are many different things you can do to keep your energy up. Keeping your energy up is very important because of many reasons. It keeps you motivated, concentrated, and helps with a positive attitude.

One way to improve your energy is sleep. Make sure you always get a good sleep during the night. Sometimes it can be difficult to get the full amount of hours of sleep every single night, but if you train yourself to get in bed at a certain time it will help a lot.

Another way to keep your energy up is your eating habits. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you should never miss it. Getting the rights nutrients in your body can start you day off great by feeling full and refreshed.

Stress causes a lot of low energy. Try to eliminate some of the stressful things in your life. I know it can be difficult but try talking to someone who can help you with the thing that is causing you to have anxiety. Anxiety has been shown to take up almost all of your energy so if there is anyway you can take that away you would feel a whole lot positive.

Drinking lots of water is another way of keeping your energy. Instead of drinking really sugary juices or pop, drink water. It fills you up more and doesn't slow you down. Also, when eating, don't eat lots of sugary foods or unhealthy foods. Keep it very nutritious.

Like I said before, keeping your energy up can be very difficult, but with these extra tips you will be more positive and energetic in no time!

How Hip Hop is different than any other dance

People take hip hop for many different reasons. It is completely different than any other dances. Hip hop the dance started as "street dancing" and originated from the South Bronx in New York City. There are many moves you can do with this style of dance such as; breaking, locking, and popping.

Hip hop is a very difficult dance to do, you have to be able to move your body a way that no other dance shows. For some people, it comes natural to and others it does the complete opposite. Some dancers don't know how to pop their bodies like natural hip hoppers do. But then again some dancers don't enjoy super graceful movement such as ballet, etc. which is one reason hip hop became so popular.

This style of dance has become very popular over the years. the most popular hip hop dancing that people nowadays know more would be the line dances such as; "The Cha Cha Slide", "The Cupid Shuffle", etc.

Hip hop is also the only dance that doesn't require you to take ballet along with it. Due to the different technique between ballet and hip hop, dance studios don't require dancers to take both.

Because of how different hip hop is from other dances most people decide to just take it considering it is much faster than others.

Dance is harder on your body than you think

Dance is a very physical and active sport. Just like any other sport you have to be mentally and physically prepared for everything that is about to come.

Depending on the type of dance you are doing you could be moving fast or slow, but it all takes a lot out of you. When dancing you have to have strong legs and a good core.

As you get older, your body gets weaker there's no question about that. Dance is very hard on you joints when dong it for so long. Instead of strengthening it as it does when you are younger it starts to hurt you more and more as you get old.

Dance is a very good exercise and does great things for your body when you are young; it is god aerobics, stretches your body, give you the energy you need, and it gets you going for the day. Although these things are very good for you it only does it for so long.

Like I said before, your body gets weaker as you get older and your muscles and joints can't take as much as you used to be able to. You also can't move as fast as you used to.

So, when dancing make sure to prepare yourself as best you can. Stretch all the time!! Also, make sure to eat healthy and keep your energy up.

Dance vs. Cheer

People who are not in dance or cheer get confused on the difference. They just refer them two completely different sports as the same.

Dance is a little bit more graceful. It has more of a flow type of movement. There isn't usually a whole lot of tumbling and stunting unless you are doing acrobat. In dance, if you jump it usually leaps, you don't really jump in one place the whole time. Another thing that is different is the music. With dance you usually do one song. There are also different types of dancing that you can choose to do.

Cheer is more robotic. It is very stiff and sharp the whole time. Although some types of dances are also this way not all are. Cheer is filled with stunts and tumbling. It involves a lot of jumps as well such as; toe touches, pikes, hurdlers, etc. Again, even though dance does this occasionally, they don't do all the time like cheer does. With cheer's music it is usually a remix verses one song the whole way through with dance.

Yes, cheer is a form of dance in some way but the differences are clear to some and not to others. It can be difficult to tell the differences because they are both filled with spirit and have dance sort of movements.

Ballet Requirement

It is easily determined that to achieve most dances you have to have the technique you get from ballet. Ballet is the foundation of all dances. Although it may be boring to some dancers, people don't realize how much of an impact it really makes.

When signing up for any dance class besides hip hop you have to also take ballet. Some people get frustrated by this requirement, considering everyone who takes dance classes isn't going to have an actual dance profession when they get older.

The way that some parents and kids see it is "Why would I take or spend money on a dance class that my kid doesn't enjoy. All s/he wants to do is have fun with a class they love. They are just doing it for fun, I don't see why I can't just sign them up for one class that they will love."

It is clear that some people have an issue with this requirement, but it is more than just another dance to others. Ballet has been shown to have other benefits besides being just another dance that some kids enjoy.

Ballet is a slow moving dance, but that is the beauty of it. It gives you the time to relax, stretch, and give you the technique of a real dancer. Ballet has been proven to improve coordination, flexibility, and it is truly healthy for you. It also improves strength, alignment, and balance. Ballet is also a stress reliever and helps with any problems you may have.

When doing ballet you must have the right technique and proper training. Ballet is a very high risking sport of injuries when not properly doing the dance correctly.

Based on this information it is shown that the ballet requirement exists not only because of it just being another dance but there is more to that.

Competition Day

Dancers are always excited for competitions. Spending months and months learning different dances to get ready for these days is exciting but can also be exhausting.

Usually the day of a competitions start pretty early considering you have to wake up get your hair and makeup done, make sure you have all of your costumes, shoes, accessories, and props in your bag with you, and be there two hours before you perform to warm up.

Once you get there it is pretty hectic. Depending on if your dance studio has their own dressing room or if you have to share with other studios determines how crazy and crowded it can really get. There are girls and their moms all running around like crazy trying to hurry and get you ready to go practice the dance a million times before you go out and perform.

When you are all ready to go through your routine that you are about to perform, you go with the other dancers and your dance teacher/s and get lined up to go behind stage. This is about the time when your nerves start kicking in nut when you are on stage the adrenaline kicks in and you don't even realize what's all happening because it goes by so quick.

After that, depending on how many dances you do it is usually an all day thing and most studios have all dancers stay for awards.

Yes, it is an extremely busy and chaotic day but for some weird reason, us dancers love it! It's what makes us want to come back and do it all over the next weekend. It's because we are doing what we love and nothing is more important than that.

Nutritious meals

When dancing and doing any other sport it is important to stay fit and keep healthy. You also want to keep your energy up with the hard going sport. Food is major thing to keep you healthy and your energy up. It's choosing the right things to eat that can be difficult for some people. Depending on how much you dance determines how much you should eat. Full time dancers have to eat a lot each day to keep their metabolism up. Dancers need lots of carbohydrates, right kinds of fats, protein, and micronutrients.

For full time dancer it is important to eat a good breakfast before going to class. Some nutritious breakfast ideas are:

1) Blueberry Soy Shake

• 1 cup of frozen blueberries
• 1 cup of a soy beverage
• 1 banana
• 1 tsp. flaxseed oil (optional)

2) Scrambled eggs with toast

**For 1 and 2 website-  http://www.actsafe.ca/wp-content/uploads/resources/pdf/dancernutrition.pdf
Being a dancer it is also very important to eat many snacks during the day when you have time. Some healthy snack choices are:

1) Vegetables and low fat dips such as avocado-yogurt dip, creamy garlic-herb dip, smoked salmon dip, lima bean dip, and guacamole. To find these recipes and many more low calorie dips go to http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/low-cal-dips-spreads/low-cal-easy-guacamole

2) Fresh fruit

3) Nuts

Lastly, dancers need a good dinner. Some nutritious meals are:

1) Poached or baked chicken/fish with no skin

2) Steamed vegetables or rice

For desserts you can try frozen yogurt instead of ice cream or popcorn with NO butter.

**For more ideas and recipes go to this website: https://www.theballetworkshop.com/Nutrition_and_the_Dancer.html

Lucky hair tie

Many people have that one thing that gets them through every game, competition, etc. It's their lucky charm, they can go a day without or else they will "lose". That lucky charm is different for everyone who has it, for me its a lucky hair tie.

When it is competition season for dance it get kind of intense. Everyone is rushing to get all of their hair and makeup done and making sure they have all the costumes they need. Every weekend I happen to just use the same hair tie to hold up my hair; a dark purple, thick, and average sized ponytail. I know people would say that would stand out with your hair too much but my hair always had to be in a bun, so therefore when my hair is being wrapped around ten million times you can't see it. The reason I always use this hair tie is because it just always happens to be sitting out and it always the one my mom picks.

At one of my competitions I was getting ready to go on stage, I was already so nervous (this is also when I was a lot younger) and I was focusing on not forgetting the dance. who knew that was thing to not worry about. As I was dancing I felt my hair becoming loose. I started to panic a little inside but kept dancing hoping it would stay in just a little longer. I had a dance move coming up where I had to whip my head and I knew at that moment I was going to get I trouble by my teacher for not putting my hair up tight enough because it was clearly going to come out by the end of the routine.

The move came upon me and my hair had came out and the ponytail had flew across stage. I was so upset when I went back to the dressing room (mainly at my mom because she was the one who put my hair up). I noticed my purple hair tie in my dance bag and wondered why I didn't have it in my hair. My mom and I always laugh we have noticed I always happen out of coincidence to use the purple tie and we both thought it was weird how this one day I didn't use it.

Being a normal 6 year old I freaked out and told my mom to put the ponytail in my hair and started accusing my hair catastrophe on the black hair tie that I used that day instead. Ever since then I have always double checked that I have my "lucky" hair tie with me.