Cisspotlight by CIS

CIS Spotlight Shedding light on issues that matter to 8th grade students. December 17, 2014

Contents School Issues- Pierce, Jude, Conor………………..….2 Words and Action- Julia, Alexia…………………....….8 Online- Madison, Karinya………...……………………...12 Sports- Alex…………………………...………………....15 Cayman Issues- Charles, Nina, Nicky, Caitlin………18 A Word About Christmas- Amanda ……………….24 1

School Issues Dress Code Segregation? By: Pierce Maynard Many girls break dress code every day without any consequences. Did one female student take her ability to far when she wore flip flops to school? She did not only wear flip flops to school but, she also got away with it for the entire day. She went through all of the periods, lunch, and even break without being called out once. In fact many teachers do not recall her wearing flip flops when students told the teacher the very next day the teacher denied it. When a CIS student, Jude Egglishaw tried to wear flip flops he barely made it through first period. After first period he went into the 2nd period, and got called out immediately. The dress code may be strict, but is it only strict for boys? The dress code at Cayman International School has been very strict since 2002, but does this dress code favor one gender? For boys you must have a tucked in shirt, and a black or brown belt. If boys don’t have these precise details to their uniform they instantly get a violation. The school of CIS has been following up on the rules very strictly, but what about the girls. For girls they must have all buttons done, and their skirt must be longer than their fingertips. For the last few years we have all realized that girls are starting to unbutton parts of their shirts, and pulling their skirts up to their stomachs. Nothing is being done about this issue by the principal, teachers, or anyone who has the authority to enforce dress code and give out violations. Could this start to lead into a bigger problem? Are boys starting to get in trouble more because of this? The answer is yes. One of the main causes of violations for boys at CIS is having an untucked shirt. This leads to getting more detentions, and more detention can lead to suspensions. should the boys at CIS get suspensions, and detentions while the girls never have any consequences for not having dress code? Getting into unnecessary trouble for not having your shirt tucked in, or not having a belt can also lead to some much bigger problems. Studies show that when a student is getting in trouble their academic performances go down substantially too. Is this one of the reasons girls are overtaking boys in academics? Not are only a few boys at CIS are angry about this problem. Many of the boys of CIS are furious about this issue, because when they don't have a tucked in shirt, or forget their belt they instantly get violations. A student at CIS, Jeremy Walker says “I think it’s very unfair, because I think that the boys are always picked on, and most teachers don't realize how short their skirts are.” Jeremy Walker isn't the only person to report this problem. Conor Crighton says, “I do no think it’s right how teachers only focus on boys dress code, and never focus on girls dress code.” Don’t get it confused. Not only boys are mad about this. Alexia Landry states her opinion, “The boys dress code is a lot more 2

strict. I find it unfair that boys are not allowed to wear shorts while girls are allowed to wear skirts, and skorts. There is no doubt about it dress code is good for schools. They reduce crime rate in schools by 91%. They drop school suspensions by a whopping 90%. Assaults in kindergarten to grade 8 went down by 85%. Incidents of vandalism went down by 69%, and sex offenses are reduced by 96%. Do all of these statistics matter if half of the schools population does not follow the dress code? Statistics show that teenage girls start liking boys, and exploring their sexuality at ages 13 to 14. This means hiking up their skirts to their belly, and unbuttoning more of their shirts. Does the school not know about this, or do they just not care? It doesn’t matter which girls dress code is a problem that the school of CIS is ignoring. Roughly 90% of girls at CIS have their skirts shorter than dress code, and about 87% of them still deny it after the dress code test is done. Is this problem segregation, or is the problem itself unknown? Whether it’s segregation, or unknown dress code at CIS is a problem that needs to be taken care of.

Lunch Time Report By Jude Egglishaw

In Cayman International School, students and teachers have lunch from 12:00 to 12:30, and a little break from 10:00 to 10:10. It may sound like enough time for the average child to eat, but it enough for that child to eat and release this his/her’s energy that every child has inside. Well, what you need to consider is that it takes anywhere from 6 to 8 hours for someone to completely digest their meal, and, the average human should wait about 2 hours after eating before they play and sport or activity (http://www.livestrong.com). Lunchtime is the only exercise that many students get the whole day, and they need to use lunchtime as a way to get their daily exercise. Another thing that you should consider is that it takes longer to eat a salad, than it does French fries. What this means is that if children are rushing to enjoy the little time that they have on the football field, many of them won’t wait for a salad, and just get the French fries. One last thing that you should consider is that on the field, friendships are being built. Friendship is something that cannot be replicated, and is priceless, and schools are growing it by having children work together, to win a match of football, or to help each other do homework in the library. Lunchtime is also something that hugely affects the way a child grows up, and modern day children aren’t getting enough of it. Most people don’t realize how important lunch is; not only to a child’s fitness, but also to how he cooperates with other children around him. We went down to Cayman International School to ask Local Student Alex Cummer for his opinion about how his students were feeling about the shortage of time during Lunchtime, and had a look at a child’s perspective of this.

Question 1: How do you think CIS could improve the amount of time that students have during lunch? Alex’s Answer: “If we only had 3 minutes in transition between classes instead of 5 minutes, and had used all of the extra time for lunch, it would allow students to increase their daily activities, and students would have more bonding time.” Question 2: How long do you think we should have? Alex’s Answer: “I think that we, as the students, should have at least 45 minutes to enjoy the little time that we have as a community, to enjoy the lunch with football, or just some calm reading in the library.”

Question 3: If we do have longer lunches, do you think the current principle should increase the whole school day? Alex’s Answer: “I don’t think he should because we already have a longer school day than other schools on island, but something he could do is just cut off 2 minutes from each class, or if he wants his students to keep learning in the main courses, then another suggestion would be to cut off just 5 minutes from the classes that aren’t as academic as math or science. Classes like library, or technology.” Cutting lunchtime is one of the causes of childhood obesity, and isn’t a force to be messed around with. Modern day children need all of the help they can get, mainly because of today’s society, and how it has replaced going outside and play baseball with staying inside and playing baseball virtually. If a child doesn’t have to get up and do real exercise, the odds are that they won’t. This is why school lunchtime is such a vital ingredient to the recipe of childhood fitness, and this is why it must be made to at least an hour long. This should give most children enough time to eat their food without rushing, and play a good game of football before they are stuck in their next class. Or if they just had P.E, 1 hour should be enough time to eat and read in the library for a while. 5

All children around the world should be getting at least an hour of lunch each day to live a healthy, social life. Student Dress Code By: Conor Crighton Should we have a dress code at school? According to the California School News, as many as 25 percent of the nations public elementary, middle, and high schools were expected to implement a dress code. Many believe schools are trying to protect us. Are they? The answer is yes. In recent years, schools all around the world have been experiencing violence and theft of clothing and jewelry. For example, shirts, pants, watches, rings, hats, belts, and even shoes have been stolen. The only way to stop this is by making a dress code. Having a dress code can even help identify intruders from students. Findings by the Long Beach Superintendent, Carl A. Cohn, show that suspensions went down by 32 percent. One student from CIS school had this to say, “ CIS school and many other schools focus more on what a boy can where more than what a girl can where. If they saw a boy wearing yellow socks and a girl with a really short skirt, they would give a violation to the boy.” Another student named Madison said, “ The schools need to let their students express who they really are.” Carl A. Cohn also found that dress codes decreased fighting by 51 percent, school crime by 36 percent, and vandalism by 18 percent. However many people don’t like the idea of uniforms or dress codes. Opponents contend that dress codes and uniforms interfere with a student's natural tendency to experiment with their identities. School attendance rates have increased by 96 percent since the dress code policy went into effect (Caruso). In a survey taken by this reporter, 8 out of 16 eighth grade students believe that we should have a dress code/uniform. As stated earlier, dress codes are actually trying to protect us from dangers. The majority of people would most likely say that we don’t need dress codes. As much as 72 percent believe we should not have a dress code and 28 percent 6

think we should have dress codes. These findings are significant because they can help schools decide whether to have a dress code or not. Others argue that having no dress code can distract students. Despite this argument parents say that a mild dress code should be implied, otherwise children could walk around in their underwear. People should take action and stand up for what they believe in. What do YOU believe in?

Words and Actions

Gullibility Alexia Landry "Do not be so openminded that your brains fall out," G.K. Chesterton 2014. November. Alexia Landry had easily managed to deceive Madison Imparato that she was leaving the Island. For good. It was too easy. Madison fell for it like a kid believes in Santa Claus. All Alexia had to say was "I'm moving to New Zealand". Madison had even started to plan a surprise party for Alexia. If Alexia hadn't told her the next day, what would she have done? Alexia is leaving the island for real this year, and the class had bought her a beautiful watch. What if Madison bought Alexia an expensive gift for no reason, when Alexia wasn't actually moving? Hugo Murcier said that customers at stores are naturally gullible. If humans are nice, people take advantage of them. Humans grow up learning to never put their guards down, but we still do. 100% of Grade 8 at Cayman International School have been tricked in to doing something by someone else. Most people didn't want to admit that some of the things they have done because of someone else were dangerous. A lot of people seem to block it in their mind, embarrassed of their gulibilty. Amanda Ehman was fooled into having 'stupid' written on her forehead. By her best friend. It was at the Cayman International School Arc at around 7 pm. With permanent sharpie. What if it never came off? What if she was stuck with stupid written on her forehead for the rest of her life? Luckily, Amanda managed to take it off, but was embarrassed and emotionally distressed due to what she had been 8

tricked into happening. Alexia, her friend, still has a picture of this event, after Amanda tried to take it off. It left a black smear. Unfortunately Alexia was unable to get the picture for this publication. Did you know that 40% of Americans think that cell phones give Cancer, and the government in keeping it a secret? Austin Cline says humans are extremely quick at putting their lives into someone else's hands. A lot of people lack the ability to reason. They lose the ability to be logical. They lose the ability to be skeptical. You may know beg the question, "What can I do?". Don't be afraid to ask, 'Why?' Be aware of the world around you. You don't have to do everything someone tells you to do. Don't believe everything. Amanda Ehman, About one month after the incident. (Rum point. Grand Cayman) Photo by: Alexia Landry 9

Words Can Hurt

By: Julia “You’re and idiot, I’m going to kill you.” This phrase is used all too much. These phrases are used quite often around the campus of CIS. Are these phrases jokes or do they actually mean them? This is the kind of environment these kids are in. In two specific interviews, from two girls that attend CIS in grade eight, were conducted. In these interviews they were asked a series of questions about their behavior and confronting them about saying these words. One student, Amanda Ehman, who uses the phrase “I’m going to kill you!” more often than needed, was asked these series of questions. Her explanation to why she uses these words so often were, “Because I feel like I’m being threatened, and I watch too many horror movies…” On a typical day she uses this phrase anywhere from around 7 to 15 times. We asked Amanda if someone had caused her to say these things, she simply replies, “No, I just say it because I can.” Usually someone would think she is saying this because of something she’s learned from someone else. Well, when we confronted her about ever doing these threats, she explained how she had never done any of these threats, that she has only ever just said it. She mentioned how she has never killed a person, and doesn't mean to hurt the person when she says this. She was asked a question about how she thinks these phrases impacts others and her response was, “I don't really know how this affects others, they usually don't care or just don't listen. They usually know I’m joking anyways.” You never know for sure if they know you're joking. Some might take the matter very seriously. Some may think it’s a joke but others may be worried. Maybe feel threatened by her. Some common phrases used are “I’m gonna kill you.”, “I’m going to stab you”, “I’m going to shoot you.”, and “I’m going to cut your head off.” All phrases used way too much today. It is unknown why teens these days feel the need to threaten others. Is this a form of bullying that is hidden? To find out more we interviewed another girl from CIS, Madison Imparato, also a student who uses phrases such as “You’re an idiot” quite often. Maddie seems to live a normal life but uses theses phrases quite often. In an interview with this 13 year old girl she explains the real reason why she says these things. “I say these things because it’s my way of expressing myself, The people I usually say this to are my friends so they understand, that’s just who I am. They know I’m joking, so it’s okay. I have freedom of speech so it’s all okay.” She says when asked why she says these comments. Maddie goes on to explain how she thinks it impacts people, “It teaches them to grow up and get over it.” She also explains, “There are people in this world that need to learn the cold hard truth about life. Plus, after time they should just get over it.” When we asked Maddie if this was something caused by personal problems she simply responded, “It’s my way of expressing myself, it’s my own release. It’s also a way for me to express how I really feel about someone at that time. And then we both know I’m joking.” 10

This a form of bullying that everybody doesn't really find as bullying. It’s unknown why teens these days feel the need to threaten others. Whether they know you're joking, or not. We need people to realize how much this happens, how much these people really say these things. We don't realize how harmful this actually is to others. We don't always think before we speak and that takes a toll. We never know how much we can hurt someone till it actually happens. Everybody is guilty of this, some more than others. Although everybody makes these mistakes we can all help prevent them from happening. All you have to do it think how that will affect the person before saying anything. Although they are just words, words can hurt. Even if you or someone else is joking it doesn't always come out as a joke. If we all be a nicer person than together slowly we can fix this from spreading even further and help prevent this in the future.

Online Social Media Use By Karinya Linford

Many teens these days rely on social media sites to shape their image. with so many sites like Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, whatsapp, messages, kik, myspace, tinder, teenagers are locked up in their rooms typing away. Think of how many social media websites you know of. How many come to mind? Four, seven, maybe, thirteen, well today there are currently more than 2,500 social media sites in use. Now how could teens be able to study with more than 2,500 social media sites? Teens could claim there going on their computer to type up an essay but whos to say they aren't checking their skype, or looking at ask.fm, or chatting on facebook? And that teen is talking to their friend whos also supposed to be doing homework and maybe their in a group chat so those ten other friends also aren’t doing their homework. The point of doing isn’t just to boost your grade or just to have it because, homework is supposed to help the students learn more so they are prepared for tests, quizzes, and exams. So when teens are scrolling through Instagram instead of doing their homework not only is their grade going down but they also are not learning their material. An anonymous teen here at CIS told their story about how social media affected the drop of their grades. “I used to get good grades, usually A’s and B’s.” All the way up until last year when I got my phone.” The teen says, “I started to get addicted, talking to my friends, posting photos, and changing my status. All of my grades slowly started to drop and then when I got my report card i had 2 C’s.” The teen later says their grades dropped because instead of doing their homework they sat at home and just texted their friends. This teen says that not only did her grade drop but many of her other friends grades dropped to, “It’s not like it was just me though. My friends in my grade, in the grade above and below me, even my friends at other schools found their grades dropping because they weren't doing their work.” But this isn’t just an isolated incident with one girl and some of her friends. 90% of students at CIS say that they have stopped homevvork to go on social media before. 80% 12

say that they think social media distracts them from their school work. 7/10 students say they spend 3 or more hours a day on social media. Many articles and surveys have been conducted to see if social media affects school activity. A professor at Brown university, Riley Davis, wrote an article explaining how social media not only distracts the students immensely but also impairs their grades. Her study found that the higher use of social media results in lower GPA’s. They found that women spending more time on social media websites resulted in less time focusing on academics. So how do we stop this problem. Should parents take away phones and computers or limit social media use? Or should we just merely let teens figure out how to stop on their own? Some people could argue that at least social media addiction is better than drugs or alcohol, but is that really the case when our generations grades keep going down? Maybe its time for teens today to shut down their phones, open a book, and focus on what matters.

The Children of Tomorrow

By: Madison Imparato Imagine sitting at the super bowl in thousand dollar seats and a child is playing on an iPad. A once in a lifetime experience and the child is missing it because Subway Surfers is more important. Imagine sitting at a bowling alley and seeing a child playing a bowling app on their iPad. Instead of spending time with family and actually bowling, the child chooses to be anti-social. Imagine seeing someone at a concert and listening to music on their phone. That person should enjoy someone’s talents, not block it out with their headphones. These are all situations that adolescents sadly create. Yes advancements in technology are great and should be encouraged, but children should be children. Children should actually play, not the app. They should live through a once in a lifetime experience it and cherish it. They should experience all that life has to offer through their eyes not their phone’s camera. Children should not be living through a screen. You may be surprised to find that elementary students have social media and use it as often as the average teenager. In a recent interview children have admitted to having their electronics revoked by their parents. Children have also admitted to not using their electronics for good such as extra homework help. In a recent poll three out of three surveyed fifth graders have iPads and have forms of social media such as instagram, skype, snapchat, facetime, and kik. Also five out of five surveyed forth 13

graders have personal iPads. Two out of five these students have skype and facetime; one of these students also has snapchat. Four out of seven surveyed third graders have personal iPads, three out of seven have facetime, two out of seven have skype, and one out of seven have instagram. If this doesn’t put our generation in perspective I don’t know what will. The young minds of our world are being corrupted by advancements in technology. These improvements should be positive not negative; however they are becoming more negative of impact than positive impact.

I believe we can blame a major part of the cause of this problem to be the parents. Yes, there are strict parents left, but majority of parents have bought into technology and even gotten addicted themselves. The difference between children growing up in this generation is incredibly different from the generation fifteen years ago. How could we allow this to happen in fifteen years? Imagine how the problem will process and become worse in future years. If so much can happen in fifteen years imagine what can happen in the next fifty. We need to fix this problem before it gets out of control. I’m not saying ban electronics or force children to live like are part of the 80s. There are small things to secure children’s safety and childhood. Parents will play a major role in the fixing this problem. Parents need to monitor what their children do, set time frames, and courage children to go outside. The small changes in their routines and life style can fix this problem.

Sports Structuring the NBA

by: Alex Cummer

The Phoenix Suns were sent home after the 2013/2014 NBA season on April 16th. They did not make the playoffs because they were 9th in the Western Division even though they were ahead of the Atlanta Hawks who were 8th in the Eastern Division. Atlanta was knocked out in the first round to the Indiana Pacers whereas the Phoenix Suns could have been contenders for the finals if they had been in place of the Hawks. The success of the Suns can never be determined because they were not invited despite the fact they deserved to attend. This is not the first time they have been excluded from the Playoffs while fully deserving to take part. In both the 2008/2009 and the 2010/2011 season, Phoenix did not have the opportunity to clash with the other teams who qualified for the after season playoffs. All of these situations revolve around the lone issue that the NBA is structured poorly and has been for many years. Season

Deserved To Go To The Playoffs But Didn’t Due to NBA Structure

20132014

9th and 10th Place Western Over 8th Place Eastern

20122013

9th and 10th Place Western Over 8th Place Eastern

20112012

Matched

20102011

9th, 10th and 11th Place Western Over 8th Place Eastern

20092010