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“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” —Oscar Wilde
Meet the Phenomenal Teacher and the Astounding Rookie Teacher of the Year... By Minerve Jean Meet Ms. Anna Mirabal, or as better known by her beloved students, “Mom,” our phenomenal teacher of the year. She is the lead teacher of the well known Academy of Finance, located in room 109B. Ms Mirabal teaches several aspects of business and Ms Ana Mirabal, Teacher of the Year finance. Ms. Mirabal also holds several notable positions such as the Advisor of SHAPE and FBLA. She has been teaching at North Miami Beach Senior high for over five years and has held a rewarding position in the Marketing and Advertising field of business as an executive. “I made a career change and became a teacher,” explains Ms. Mirabal. “Instead of working in a field I was passionate about, I chose to pass that passion onto the next generation of business leaders. It’s the smartest decision I ever made.” Faculty and staff members agree that she has been an incredibly positive force in the lives of all her students. Many of her students see room 109B as a second home. “My experience has been phenomenal,” comments senior Wilsmith Thelus. “I learned more in one year than I would learn in many years. She is a great, caring and devoted teacher. Honestly, her class definitely brought out the leader in me.”
“I found my love of business because of her class and I’m forever grateful that I have her as a teacher. She’s awesome,” says Senior Eliana Araujo.
WHAT’S INSIDE Page 2—NEWS ► FBLA Gets the Experience of a Lifetime ► NSA Spying on America
Her broad knowledge and experiences in the field of business and finance has helped her students become successful business leaders and entrepreneurs themselves. The next time you pass by room 109B, stop by and congratulate Ms. Mirabal for her title as Teacher of the Year. Ms Rachel LaFrance, Rookie Teacher of the Year
Ms. Lafrance, has been announced as the rookie teacher of the year. Located in room 713, she teaches developmental language arts through ESOL as well as speech and debate. “She’s a good teacher,” explains junior, Jocelyn Romelus. “She helps us learn new things each day and makes sure we fully understand the material.” Entering North Miami Beach Senior High on August 2010, she has been teaching for a total of three years. “It’s been great,” remarks former student, Carl Fene. “I learned a lot. She’s an amazing teacher and her method of teaching brings the material to life,” the senior reminisces. “It’s been great so far and I really enjoy it,” comments Ms. Lafrance. Another senior, Ashley Brito, says “I learned many things that I didn’t know or understand; she’s like a mother and cares about her students very much.” So, when you spot Ms. Lafrance around the school, stop and say a quick congratulations on her nomination as rookie teacher of the year.
► NMB Giving on Thanksgiving Pages 3-5—FEATURES ► Drama Club ► SkillsUSA ► GEMS ► NHS ► Gen Next ► Speech and Debate ► Texting and Driving ► Uniforms! ► Growing Temptations Page 6—EDITORIALS ► One World Language? ► NMB is Filled With Zombies! ► Pep Rallies Page 7—TECHNOLOGY & ENTERTAINMENT ► PS4
Do We Have A New Principal? By Kelnisha Lightbourne On November 20, 2013, Michael Goldberg decided to take on the position as Principal of the Day, here at North Miami Beach Senior High School. Mr. Goldberg is a financial advisor who overseas the retirement planning for all of the educators in the school board, called The Retirement Benefits Group. Mr. Goldberg was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts and graduated from University of New Hampshire in the year of 1995. His strong partnership with the school and close bond with our principal, Mr. Milliken, landed him the position of Principal of the Day. On this day, he accepted the challenge of experiencing the hard work and dedication that our principal puts out to keep our school functioning properly. Our temporary principal described his experience at NMB as “exceptional,” after taking part in enforcing the tardy program,
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along with viewing the amazing way our students are learning in iPrep. He then went on to compare how differently students are learning in the present day, to the way he learned in high school. Mr. Goldberg mentioned how being principal is not easy. You need to put in tremendous amounts of hours, like Mr. Milliken did, to Mr. Michael Goldberg and Principal Milliken discuss a class project with be prepare for the job. Freshman student, Moshe Tzafrir While thinking about his greatest accomplishment he stated, “I would comes in.” Mr. Goldberg ended his interview have to say my kids. When you experience by addressing the students of NMB on the stuff growing up and doing it yourself it is importance of having a worth ethic, which pretty unbelievable, but when you see your is a key component to being successful. He kids doing it, I think that’s where the pure joy repeated, “You have to put the time in.”
NMB: A PLACE TO BE SURROUNDED BY WINNERS IN ACADEMICS, ARTS, AND SPORTS
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You hold in your hands the final print issue of The Quest. We will continue to produce the newspaper, just only in electronic format. This particular edition has been published both, online and in print formats. Scan the QR code below with your smartphone to view this edition online.
North Miami Beach Senior High 1247 NE 167 St N. Miami Beach, Fl 33162 Volume 41 Issue 1 Twitter: Follow @ NMBHigh
2 • THE QUEST • January 2014
NEWS
FBLA Chargers Get the Experience Of A Lifetime T
NSA Spying on America By Olivier Romulus
By Minerve Jean On Friday, November 1, NMB’s Future Business Leaders of Americas (FBLA) chapter embarked on a life changing field trip. Three well known teachers, Ms. Mirabal, Ms. Cromartie and Mr. Luzardo accompanied 36 members of FBLA on a four hour long bus drive to the Hyatt-Regency Hotel located in Sarasota, Florida for the annual National Fall Leadership Conference. “The Fall Leadership Conference is an event in which FBLA chapters from Florida come together. The location changes every year,” explains Ms. Mirabal. While there, students attend workshops, network with others, participate in events and competitions, and raise money for charitable causes, such as March of Dimes and Autism Awareness and Research. For some members of FBLA it was their second or third time attending the event. “This year’s hotel is even better then last year’s,” exclaimed Jorrell Blair, who was a second timer. Upon arriving, our members quickly changed into business attire and attended the opening ceremony, hosted by guest speaker Byron Garrett, an amiable, knowledgeable, and successful businessman and author. After the opening ceremonies we had Battle of the Districts, where several schools competed against each other in the area of FBLA trivia. Competing Chargers included Minerve Jean, Eliana Araujo, Tasha Germaine, Shumara Cadet and Mike Luscar. Next came open event testing in the categories of Personal Finance, FBLA Facts, Sports Management and Math and Business Calculations. On Saturday, our Chargers woke up early for a hectic day of attending workshops. “I learned that if you want something badly enough, you have to fight for it as badly as you would fight for oxygen when drowning,” commented Tasha Germaine, after the workshops. “I was reminded that the more education you have, the wiser you become and the more successful you are.” Closing ceremony was right after the events and the open event testing winners from the previous night
he National Security Agency (NSA) is one of the largest United States intelligence organizations in terms of employees and yearly budget. There are estimated to be 30,000-40,000 people working there and it has an annual budget of 10.8 billion dollars. The NSA is charged with global monitoring and decoding of information for intelligence purposes and they monitor all data coming and going from our phones, computers and other electronic devices.
were announced. Congratulations to our members, Eliana Araujo, who won first place in Personal Finance, Nicolette Dubon who won second place in Personal Finance, and Kervin Vancol who won second place in Contemporary Sports. For the second time in a row,
NSA operates under the Department Of Defense and reports to the director of National Intelligence. The NSA is allowed to achieve their mission through clandestine means, which can involve bugging of electronic devices to the sabotaging of electronic devices. The headquarters of the NSA is located in Fort George G. Meade, Maryland although it is separate from the rest of the compounds located in the place. President Truman established the NSA in a memorandum of October 24 1952. NSA’s insignia contains an eagle with a key in a circle. The NSA can see everything you do from text messages to emails to them having satellites taking pictures of you so be careful what you send or watch on your devices, nothing is kept from them. According to the Washington Post, the NSA’s collection systems intercepts and stores 1.7 billion emails and phone calls every day. However, the NSA does not see every email or phone call that is happening because that’s too much data for them to handle and even if they could, little things would go unnoticed. Everything, or most every thing, the NSA does is legal because they are a part of the government, and the government makes the laws, but there are limits to this. The NSA is allowed to hold onto that information for five years, unless there is proof of crime and/or foreign intelligence.
FBLA members tasting the sweet rewards of their hard work NMB’s FBLA Chapter took home the award for the largest amount of members. During our last night there, our FBLA Chargers put their game face on and played a heavy game of volleyball against Mater Academy. Later on, all our members participated in the walk that raised money for the March of Dimes Foundation. “It was my first time participating in the conference and I had a blast,” Eliana Araujo reflected. “I loved listening to our keynote speaker talk about never giving up and shutting down anyone or anything that stands in our way. I especially loved winning first place in Personal Finance; it was great being able to bring that win home for NMB.”
There have been at least 12 employees of the NSA who have intentionally misused the government’s surveillance authority in the last decade. Those employees weren’t surveying for potential threats, they were spying on their significant other. The NSA’s director, Gen. Keith Alexander urged lawmakers during a hearing to step away from the headlines about spying abuses and to focus on the facts. Jameel Jaffer, the Deputy Legal Director with the American Civil Liberties Union said, “ We shouldn’t tolerate even one instance of misuse of this program.”
On Sunday Morning, November 3rd, our Chargers packed up, bid farewell to Sarasota and boarded the bus home. Our members left with pictures, knowledge of what was learned from the workshops and the experience of a lifetime. For some, this will be their last year participating, but for others this is just the beginning.
NMB Giving on Thanksgiving
By Gabrielle Brown
Thanksgiving stands as an important holiday to America. Thanksgiving began as a feast in the early days of the American Colonies. Thanksgiving is celebrated as a National Holiday, dedicated to giving thanks for the blessings of the harvest of the preceding year. Though the traditions may have changed in some ways, the idea of enjoying time with family and gathering and giving still stands. This year at North Miami Beach Senior, a donation was made by Ms. Rosalie Schlaen, to the FIT (Friends in Training) program, which used the funds to buy turkeys. These were split between families of students in the school, the community, and staff members. Students of four different clubs, Future Business Leaders Of America (FBLA), GEMS, SHAPE and The National Honor Society participated in a canned food drive, which allowed for a huge gathering of food cans for the Thanksgiving baskets that were handed out during the turkey distribution. Donations of produce and juices from Farm Share were used to complete the baskets that were then given out to different families and staff members.
North Miami Beach Senior High School 1247 NE 167 St North Miami Beach, FL 33162 Follow us on Twitter @NMBHigh (305) 949-8381
Editorial Policy Graphic Designers:
Elizabeth Martin • Christopher Padilla
Tommy Maharlika • Malik Pierre • Jose Salazar Gabrielle Brown • Ranal Azueta
Above: Custodian, Mrs. Hudson, and Clarens Philippe Below: Ms. Rosalie Schlaen
Advisor.............................................Rei Luzardo Principal..................................... Randy Milliken
The Quest is the student newspaper of North Miami Beach Senior High School. Opinions expressed are solely those of the students and do not reflect the views of North Miami Beach Senior High School, its administration or staff, or the School Board of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The Quest welcomes reader submissions on all topics. However, we will NOT publish content submitted anonymously. Please keep letters to the editor under 150 words, submitted digitally if possible to RLuzardo@dadeschools.net. The editors reserve the right to reject, edit, and condense letters. Content may be edited for grammar and clarity.
3 • THE QUEST • January 2014
FEATURES
Dramatic Enough For You? By Aajha Canton At North Miami Beach Senior High, there are many different clubs that are offered to the students. The drama club is at most one of the greatest creative clubs here at NMB. Not only do they bring character and tone into the school, but also entertain and enlighten, while doing so. The drama instructor, Ms. Smith, is at the head of Troupe 3206, and following and helping are the co-presidents Hilarie and Leonard (both seniors) and the rest of the crew, including the historian, publicist, head technician, and more. With the many heads put together and helping hands, everything in the drama club is A-OK. Now, not only does the drama club offer plays and skits, but also open mic sessions, the glee club (which is basically musical theatre), a poetry section, and many others. Even if acting is not a natural talent, there are other sectors that can be considered. Drama club also has subdivisions for acting, too. Technology, which is lighting and stage and sometimes building the props for the plays, wardrobe and make-up. There are so many different roles that are intertwined with drama. The drama club is not only a great association to be involved with, but it also helps develop skills. Public speaking, confidence, flexibility, and it can also be a stress reliever when school becomes too overwhelming at times. It is used often as an outlet or a chance to let people’s amazing talents shine through and take over.
Ms. Smith talking to Drama Club students
If you feel a desire to show and prove your talent to people, the doors for drama club are always open and waiting. But watch out, it might just swing back and hit you with all of the jokesters in the club.
Joining SkillsUSA
By Elizabeth Martin SkillsUSA, as defined by the website, SkillsUSA.org, “is a partnership of students, teachers, and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled work force.” Their goal is to “help each student excel.” Since its creation in 1965, SkillsUSA has undergone many changes and advancements, becoming an international organization present in many schools, encouraging many students to join and enjoy themselves in it’s prospects. Though the club is overseen by Mr. Luzardo, North Miami Beach’s 3-D Animation and Digital Design teacher, it is encouraged that every student partake in the club and its festivities. The club is open to all types of students with any sort of talent or knowledge that can be applied to the working industry. Joining SkillsUSA offers a variety of learning opportunities. SkillsUSA has recognition from colleges and scholarships for students who are members of the club. Students also have the chance to participate in their chosen contest, among a lengthy list of options, free for anyone to take place in. The contests are not merely limited to the listed options, as there is a contest for miscellaneous skills that may not be present within the catalogue of competitions. There are three competitive levels for students to participate in: regionals, states, and nationals. Students who compete are given the chance to visit the locations where states and nationals are held. Nationals are going to be held at Kansas City, Missouri, which has been the location for the last 15 years. However, it will be moved to Kentucky in the years to come. State championships will be held in Pensacola, Florida, this year. Next
SkillsUSA members, ready for regionals! year, the state championship will be moving to Central Florida. Mr. Luzardo, the club sponsor, stated, “I have been a sponsor of Skills for 15 years now. In that time, we have had an incredible amount of students win gold, silver, and bronze medals for states, regionals, and nationals. Typically, we take about a dozen students to states and a few to nationals.” When asked about her experience with the club, Dominique Montague, a senior as well as a first time member to the club, she responded with, “As an artist, I am able to express myself through art as well as publicize it to the people.” SkillsUSA meetings are held Fridays in room 110, Mr. Luzardo’s room, ending by three p.m. The club is of interest in students who practice art and have any talent, job oriented or other. If interested one should, visit during one of the meetings and greet the students of said club.
Girls Educated and Motivated for Success By Ruth Rocker
G.E.M.S. (Girls Educated and Motivated for Success) is an all girl group that helps young girls to become successful young women in today’s society. Many people assume that all they do is talk about girl stuff. Others believe that it’s just a random group of girls that gave themselves a catchy name. This is not even close to the truth. In this group, they are all sisters. They make up one big family even though they don’t look the same. G.E.M.S is a strong example of sisterhood. These girls may disagree and argue at times but at the end of the day they are there for one another. G.E.M.S is not one of those groups where you’d go to meetings and not know anybody. The girls are all accepting of others and especially newcomers. They give a warm welcome with wide arms and smiles of enthusiasm. G.E.M.S is the group where you can talk to your peers about your GEMS, a truly motivated group of young ladies feelings and not get judged. Whatever happens or is said in G.E.M.S stays there. Everything discussed is kept confidential within the group. things school can’t teach about life. An experience like this is one in a million. Just from being in this group you’ll be able to gain many things. Sisterhood, self-confidence, life skills, self-respect, social skills, and many more things come from the experience of being in this group. Now, don’t get it twisted. G.E.M.S is not a place where girls act depressed and tell sad stories. This is just one of the advantages of being in this group, there are many shoulders to cry on. They help out in the community and care for things going on in the world. A perfect example of this is them helping HOSA with their food drive for Thanksgiving.
In a way, they are all teachers. They are always there for you, they are friends, and more importantly, sisters. A lot of people don’t understand what it means to be a teacher. A teacher is one who feeds others knowledge from their own experiences. A student is one who takes the knowledge given and applies it. A consoler is one that can give advice or just a shoulder to cry on and encouraging words. All the G.E.M.S. easily jump from one of these roles to the other, on a daily basis.
This group does community service, goes on fieldtrips, has presenters that come in to talk to the girls, and does many other things. With a group like this, every young girl should join. When you leave, you’ll feel like a better person and more educated about
Everyday these young girls make history. This group and these girls is just remarkable. In the words of Ms. Martin, one of the G.E.M.S sponsors, “These G.E.M.S all hold glimmers of inspiration.”
4 • THE QUEST • January 2014
FEATURES
HONORS SOCIETY AT NMB
By Gabrielle Brown
The National Honor Society Club for students to be in the National Honor at North Miami Beach Senior High is Society, they have to maintain a 3.0 GPA, becoming one of the better-known clubs. have the quality of being a voluntary North Miami Beach Senior High’s National contributor to the school and have a character that upholds Honor Society principles of morality and Club is one of most ethics. The NHS at NMB helpful clubs, which “(NHS) brings kids easily upholds these allows students to standards. meet the required from different backservice hours to grounds together and “NHS taught me a lot graduate. National of valuable lessons in Honor Society builds friendships.” the four years I was part is a nationwide of it. Being president for organization. It is two years built up my public speaking readily found in many high schools. skills. NHS is a great club to be involved Members of NHS must have scholarship, in and I definitely miss being a part of it,” leadership, service and character. former president of the National Honor The National Honor Society at NMBSH Society at NMBSH, Eyleen Izaguirre said, is one of the clubs that continues to grow. when asked about NHS and how being With help of facilitator, Ms. Sharon involved in it helped her achievements. Krantz, students not only learn leadership The National Honor Society helps students skills, but also gain skills that are required become the leaders of tomorrow, due the when looking for scholarships. In order rigorous event planning, independent
NHS members attending Food Bank Field Trip events and management. The current president of the club, David Dacres, says “Our National Honor Society Charger Chapter does not only represent the four ideals of Character, Leadership, Service and Scholarship; to me this club is an absolutely incredible experience,
because it is able to bring kids from different backgrounds together and build on those friendships.” The National Honor Society Club, not only works as a way to get hours but also brings different students to one another.
Generation Next: Moving Forward By Janeice Moise Generation Next, or Bible Club, is a club for anyone willing to know more about and be enlightened about Jesus Christ. If anyone’s interested, it’s now located in the cafeteria after school from Tuesdays through Thursdays, from 2:30 to 4:00. The members of Bible Club are slowly beginning to progress within each week, bring a friend!
Whether you’re a Christian or not, Generation Next’s doors will be wide open to anyone who knocks. You don’t have to be a die-hard Jesus person to be a member! This is something many people think of, so they choose not to join. Bible Club is not for community service, not for extra credit resources, it’s here to help others in their walk with Jesus Christ. With Generation
Top: GN Poster board, Bottom left: 3 members, Bottom right: A meeting
Next, it’s guaranteed that your walk with Jesus will be much stronger; only if you’re actually dedicated.
That’s the type of effect the members of Generation Next can have on many individuals.
Generation Next is actually more than a club; it’s a family. Once you get to know everyone, you just become brothers and sisters in Christ and it’s just beautiful. Once you get comfortable, you start speaking your mind then others will also be enlightened. Bible Club is a MUST! Don’t miss out.
This club is only effective on those who are willing to be enlightened and those who actually want to be a part of the Holy atmosphere. Yes, some may think it’s similar to a church service, but there’s a difference between the two. The members of Generation Next are children who actually drag themselves over there. They pick up their own two feet and they don’t have to have a parent yell at them to put their clothes on for a boring church service in a language they’re not used to. Generation Next is just a spiritual family that many students should get involved in. The cafeteria doors are waiting for new arrivals!
With this club, it’s sure that by the end of the school day you’ll be leaving home with a huge grin on your face. You’ve let many things off your chest and you just leave your worries somewhere else. Hate will leave your body, and positivity will fill it, instead.
NMB’s Speech and Debate, a Club all Who are Serious About College Should Join By Farheen Damani-Hussain
Did you know that NMB has a Speech and Debate club? Saturday, October 12, 2013 was North Miami Beach senior
Speech and Debate Competition high school’s second debate. Miami-Dade public and private schools were coming together at Miami Beach Senior High school and competing. Some of these schools included American Heritage,
University school, Columbus, Krop, Nova, North Miami, Cooper City, and Alonzo Tracy and Morgan. North Miami beach competed against these schools in speech and debate.
The competition was very tough and very fun. We met and befriended many people from across Miami. The nice experience of meeting fellow debaters and giving each other tips gave me a wider perspective of the world. These people came from all walks of life and some weren’t even born in this country. The day started off at 5 a.m. At 6, they came to school and carpooled. They arrived there at seven and were the first ones there. After that, all the other schools came in and the competition began. For both speech and debate there are five rounds. You do not find out if you won or if you lost a round after the round.
No, you have to wait until all five rounds are done and after the awards ceremony is over to get your results.
Yes, you heard right, awards ceremony. Speaking of the awards ceremony, North Miami Beach senior high school came in fourth place in oral interpretation for speech. A sophomore, named Pauline Tendoh performed her Oral Interpretation speech in those five rounds and got us an award but everybody that competed deserved the award for his or her hard work and dedication to the team. The debate topics for this completion were different for both novice and varsity. Novice Lincoln Douglas debaters got the topic, “Is civil disobedience in a democracy morally justified?” On the other hand, the varsity Lincoln Douglas debaters got, “In a democracy voting ought to be compulsory.” Being in Speech and Debate gets you a lot of benefits. The first benefit is the fact that you get a chord when you graduate for joining speech and debate. The second
benefit is the fact that public speaking looks great on your college resume. College scouts like it when a person isn’t nervous or shy when he or she talks to other people. They want to see a certain confidence in us. They want us to be able to speak up for ourselves and let us be heard to the world. These qualities show leadership! To help you gain these qualities, you should join Speech and Debate, to help you find your voice.
The third benefit is meeting new people. You’ll meet and encounter a lot of people when you’re in Speech and Debate. These people learn from us while we’re learning from them. You’ll make longlasting relationships with the people that you compete with. Last but not least, you get smarter. You get smarter because of the research you do and the topics that you get. Speech and Debate has been proven to increase your vocabulary by as much as 20%. Speech and Debate meetings are held every Wednesday in room #713. Our sponsor is Ms. Lefrance, the debate teacher.
5 • THE QUEST • January 2014
FEATURES
Texting & Driving: On The Road, Off The Phone
By Nedgine Joseph Texting and Driving have become one of the most dangerous global crises. Texting while driving can cause severe disasters and even death. Although it has been reiterated over and over again to the world, some people tend not to listen and keep doing the same thing, they’re taking chances with other people’s lives. When texting while driving, our mind gets distracted on the texting and our driving reaction time decreases, causing catastrophic accidents. Being distracted for even a short amount of time, can still cause dreadful damages.
stupid text. Or if you were texting while driving, you don’t die but you kill somebody, you would go to jail because, once again, it was your choice. You don’t like that at all now do you, so before texting while driving think twice. This texting and driving thing has made such an enormous wicked impact onto this world that it needs to stop.
Research shows that, it is twice as likely that a person who texts while driving will cause an accident more than a person talking on the phone; According to NHTSA, driving while texting is six times more dangerous than drunk driving. Statistics indicate that in 2011, at least 1.3 million car crashes occurred involving cell phones; text messaging makes you 23 times more likely to crash. According to Harvard Center for Risk Analysis study, texting in cars and trucks causes over 3,000 deaths and 330,330 injuries per year. One example of these disastrous events is Heather Lerch’s story. She was a 19 year old who had her whole life in front of her, but one text took it away. On February 23, 2010, while driving home from work, she became distracted while she was texting. Her distraction caused her to lose control of her car and drive through a guardrail. This impact caused her door to collapse into the vehicle. She died instantaneously, just three miles away from her home. You might think that, “That would never happen to me,” well guess what, it can. Think of it this way, what if you were driving while texting and you die, how would you think your loved ones would feel, taking care of you and loving you for all these years and lose you over some
North Miami Beach A Uniform Senior High School By Schneider Jonassaint This school year North Miami Beach changed from a no uniform school to a mandatory uniform school. Wearing uniform this year helps prepare the graduation class of 2014 to have a better understanding of professional clothing for the business world. Some students believe the concept of wearing uniform has no benefit to them. They fail to realize school uniform benefits students because they increase social equality, shift focus from appearance to academics, and help elevate school pride. Some students are more privileged than others, the students who are more fortunate tend to look down at their peers as being unequal. They have more, and better clothes, than most of their peers, so they believe that they are on a higher level. They start to separate themselves because they believe they are better then everyone. Wearing uniform will increase equality for all students because uniforms promote a single standard of dress. Wearing uniforms also benefits students because it shifts the focus of students from appearance to academics. Many students believe that school is a place to showcase the kind of clothes they have. Students are always trying to impress their peers. Now, since uniforms require students to wear specific clothing, there will be less worrying about what to wear. Therefore, school environments become less competitive and more focused on learning. Which will improve academics and make everyone more likely to become successful. School uniforms boost school pride. Wearing uniform helps to build a sense of community within the school, uniforms create an atmosphere of belonging. This essence of unity can positively affect a child’s attitude toward school. School uniforms are an asset to, not only the student body, but also the faculty and administration. They help bring student focus and increase school pride and establish an equal playing ground, which makes all parties comfortable. The debate over school uniforms is a controversy that never seems to go away. However, if we focus on the statements made herein, we can clearly see their benefit.
To help this cause, multiple states have banned texting while driving, including Florida, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California and 40 other states. Lucky for us, Florida is one of those states. Whoever decides to break the law pays a fine, which increases your insurance premium and adds points to your driver’s license. However, to be lenient, you can text or email when you’re stopped at the red light. There are also groups like AT&T and others that are encouraging teens to not text while driving, to take the pledge and make a difference. Texting and Driving should not be practiced; a person should wait to text when they’re not at the wheel of a vehicle to do whatever they need to do, when they know nobody’s at risk. Before deciding to text and drive think twice about the consequences.
GROWING TEMPTATIONS By Gabrielle Brown
Topics few people really like to talk about are teenage temptations, but lately because of movies such as “Perks Of Being a Wallflower” and similar movies, and TV shows, the topic has resurfaced. Teenagers all want to feel accepted by a group of people, but how far does teenage temptation really go, is it something that you should talk to a teenager about, and does talking even help? Peer pressure is a major contributor to teenage temptations, in addition to their own hormonal changes and sometimes even parental neglect; teenagers have to face other challenges such as facing other people and their views. Which is why friends, most times play an important role in choices made. Teenagers all want to feel like they belong; being in high school and being a teen is a very challenging stage in life and many temptations can lead teens down the wrong path. There are many temptations out there, one being alcohol. Many teenagers are alcoholics; 1-2% of teens are alcoholics, according to the Poly-Drug Addicted Test. Alcohol has many effects. In 1988, over 8000 teenagers died in alcoholrelated auto accidents. What does this have to do with belonging, you ask? The main reason for teenager drinking is pressure from young people of the same age. About 90% of the teenage population tries alcohol. Another 8-9% exhibits alcoholic behavior, due to peer pressure. Over 4.5 million teenagers between 14 and 17 are problem drinkers. Yes, that’s a lot to take in, but of course teenage temptations all have a negative effect, which is why it’s talked about. Alcohol decreases teen ability to pay attention, and teens who drink are more likely to engage in sexual activity, have unprotected sex, have sex with a stranger, or be the victim or perpetrator of a sexual assault—which brings us to another teenage temptation that’s common; sex. Sex is now a common thing among teenagers; most teens have sex because sex is confused with love. A lot of teens don’t realize that you don’t have to have sex to love a person. There is a lot of pressure to have sex, especially among girls. All girls want to be liked and sometimes they will do things they shouldn’t to get that feeling. Just like alcohol, having sex as a teenager can have negative effects. A negative effect is the increasing rate of teen pregnancy There are many other teenage temptations, but if the teenagers are strong minded enough, they could overcome them.
EditorialS
Are We on Our Way to a Second Tower of Babel? By Elizabeth Martin
6 • THE QUEST • JANUARY, 2014
NMB is Filled With Zombies By Samiha Hassan
The story of the city of Babel is told in the Bible, in the book of Genesis 11:1-9. At that time, everyone on Earth spoke the same language. With this great cooperation in language and understanding, the people decided to build a tower that would reach the sky. When God came down to look at the tower, he knew that as one people, with one language, nothing that they sought would be out of their reach. God then confused their speech, so that they could not understand each other, and scattered them over the face of the Earth. The building of the tower to the sky then stopped. However, today, we seem to be moving in that direction, once more.
Zombies! Zombie sightings have been reported around the halls of NMB. Oh wait, never mind it’s just the students. The school hours have taken a toll on most of the students. Rising before the sun, and reporting to school at seven has changed them for the worst. They are now cranky, not so nice creatures with more in common with zombies than humans.
There are many benefits to people being able to speak one language. Being able to speak one language will allow for global communication among the people. Having a universal language ties the many nations together, as they will be endowed with the ability to communicate with those of a differing country or even continent. This Renaissance period painting of the Tower of Babel by Lucas van would be important for the future, as globalization Valckenborch is increasing dramatically. Business and political leaders would be able to connect easily for issues such as when a child is young, they are more likely to learn more trading, economics, and diplomacy. than one language, as this is the time in their development when they are able to learn the most. Therefore, their mother One would assume that learning a new language would (for their family) language can be learned and passed on. be difficult. However, many countries integrate foreign languages within locations like schools and colleges. For English is merely one possible worldwide language instance, English is the third most spoken language in the that could be taught to the people. It is possible to create world, according to the 2013 edition of the Enthonogue—a a new language with planning and studying of linguistics, publication that contains statistics for more than seven which could be virtually easy to learn with the use of the thousand languages in the world. Taking Japan as an linguistic studies. Esperanto, a language created by Ludovik example, Japanese students are known to have a considerable L. Zamenhof (1859-1917), is proof this is possible, as it was amount of knowledge of the English language and even have meant to be an international language. It consists of elements international English speaking schools. such as Latin. So far approximately two million people know and practice this language, and it is still growing. Some of Furthermore, many of the children of the world are born the locations it could be found include, China, Brazil, and and raised in locations that are not of their native tongues. By even Africa. targeting the future generations and not the older generations, implementing a new language would be easier when trying A global language has numerous applications, that are to achieve a global language. Children are more likely to necessary for the goal of the globalization. This is a way to understand a language than an adult would, so teachings “build bridges,” between countries and further understand would not be much of a problem. conflicts and issues of the world. From trading to even casual conversations, a universal language is necessary for Concerning the situation of a possible loss of cultural international communication. diversity, this is inescapable whether there is a universal language or not. On the contrary, there are still families who So, the questions remain… are we heading towards enter foreign countries and still do more than pass on their a second Tower of Babel event? Will there be another rich heritage to future generations. Also, as mentioned before, cataclysmic event to prevent it?
Why so? Well, high school students have very little time to get any rest. Students also have a pretty tight schedule. Most who participate in clubs, sports or activities get home around seven, at night. When they get home they have homework. Lots of homework. It takes several hours to complete the homework they’ve been assigned. There is no time to de-stress and do normal teenager things like hang out with friends or watch TV. It is now around 12 and the student goes to sleep. Teens need an average of eight and a half to nine hours of sleep, according to the website, Kids Health. However, the average high school student gets around six hours of sleep, if they’re lucky. Sleep is pretty important for all of us. A lack of sleep can lead to things such as stress, depression, lack of appetite, eating disorders, and more serious conditions in the future. Shouldn’t the health and well-being of a student come before education? What is the point of school if you are too ill to attend? Attendance is not so great with high school students; some are tardy while others do not bother to show up. If school started a bit later, perhaps attendance would improve. Also, most students are just half-awake during the first half of the day. The brain isn’t properly functioning yet. The lack of sleep also causes students to nap in class, missing out on important lessons and their own education. This causes a drop in grades, and may affect the student’s future education and career. A later start time for school would help students a lot. Starting school later would not only boost one’s academic performance, but it would also help them live a healthier lifestyle. Besides, a later start time would not harm anyone, so why not give it a try?
Are Pep Rallies Actually Pepping Students? By Lauren Dozier
enough to buy tickets to these events!
At North Miami Beach Senior High, there are often pep rallies. The overall goal of these activities is to get the whole school amped up for the upcoming events. During the pep rallies, there are competitions between the teachers and students, performances by the band, dance team, step team and other peers, and the most anticipated event, the color war. Although the pep rallies are meant to bring high spirits to the faculty and students, do they actually have a positive effect on them or do the students just enjoy it because they are out of class for a period?
So in North Miami Beach Senior High, pep rallies are not just an excuse to get out of class. They really do have a positive effect on the students, staff and school environment. Pep rallies are a sort of reward, or treat, for the students. It gives them something to look forward to and a reason to be happy to come to school. If the school did not have pep rallies every now and then, school events would be a lot less successful and the entire atmosphere would be much more boring.
I believe that the pep rallies have a stunningly positive effect on the student body and their attitudes about school. Not only do I think it’s true, but I have seen it happen! There is never a more exciting day than the day of the pep rallies. Everyone is always dressed in their grade colors happily representing their year. Seniors are dressed in all red, juniors in blue, sophomores in white and last but never least, the freshmen in black. The highlight of the event for the upperclassmen is always waiting for the freshmen to represent their year so that they can laugh at them. In [this freshman’s opinion] we have outshined the upperclassmen at previous pep rallies, in almost every event. The attitudes on pep rally days are extremely different from the rest of the school days, by a long shot. Students are ready to go to just about every school event after going to the pep rallies. All throughout the day, everyone is getting pumped for the rally by painting his or her face with their grade colors, starting chants in lunch, and even dressing in full body suits of their grade color! If that is not pep and school spirit, I don’t know what is! Even on days after the pep rally, they are still one of the biggest topics of conversation. For example, after the Homecoming Pep Rally, a huge amount of freshmen decided that they wanted to attend the Homecoming football game that upcoming Friday. Within the next few days, Homecoming dance tickets shot through the roof two days before the actual event! If the pep rally hadn’t occurred, the students would not have been excited
The Junior Class shows their school spirit
7 • THE QUEST • JANUARY, 2014
TECHNOLOGY AND ENTERTAINMENT
Sony Shakes Up Gaming Market With PS4 XBOX ONE DOES A 180
By Ranal Azueta
Since the release of the PlayStation 3 in late 2006 the electronics company, Sony, has not made significant moves in console gaming. The only changes that have occurred to the console were the actual compactness of the hardware, and the capability to store a larger amount of data on one console, without the need for an external hard drive. The Sony PlayStation 4 will is the successor of the PlayStation 3. This is a new console, released on the 15th of November in North America, with vastly improved designs and social network capabilities.
The new PlayStation 4 has many new features and alterations to the design, compared to the PlayStation 3. The hardware for the PS4 is similar to that found in personal computers. The actual design of the PlayStation console is slightly more box or cube shaped than its predecessor. The design of the controller has been slightly altered to be more confortable. The PlayStation 4 has a simpler, advanced micro device, or AMD processor. What this means is that the game developers will have an easier time applying their software to the PlayStation 4, as a result this will increase support for the console. In the past this was a problem for games such as Skyrim, which had delayed releases for downloadable content on the PlayStation 3 and
problems with extensive gameplay, often resulting because of the complicated AMD processor.
The PlayStation 4 has a new social focus on gaming, as well as physical changes. The share button is now added to the PlayStation dual shock 4 controller to allow gameplay to be recorded and shared with friends. The touch pad and head set jack has also been added to the PlayStation 4 controller. The controller has added improved analog sticks and trigger buttons allowing for better game control and response. A game brought on the PlayStation network can be played while downloading the same game. This happens by downloading a portion of the game and playing the downloaded portion. As the game progresses the rest will download in the background of the screen. The bright blue LED light added to the front portion of the Dual shock 4 controller will now make it easier for the game to identify where the controller is in the room and will decrease the delay of the controller and game reaction time. The PlayStation sells for $399. This includes the PlayStation 4 console, dual shock 4 controller, a mono wired headset, and other cables necessary for the installment of the console. Game exclusives have been a big part of any console’s overall rating and for the PlayStation 4 there are a few widely known game exclusive titles. One game exclusive for the PlayStation 4 is Infamous Second Son. This game is part of the Infamous series and in the past has also been an exclusive for the PlayStation 3 console. Another PlayStation exclusive is Kill Zone Shadow Fall. This game is also apart of a series that was an exclusive game title for the PlayStation 3.
By Jose Salazar To many gamers around the world, the Xbox 360 has been a favorite. However, in this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the biggest center of attention was the successor to the Xbox 360, the Xbox One. The reason for all the attention was not because of all the brand new features the new console brought. Rather it was the opposite. Microsoft’s initial statement of the Xbox One implied several digital right management policies, as well as demanding an ‘always on’ Kinect and a 24/7 Internet connection. What seemed to be a good intention idea quickly angered several fans of the Xbox, causing them to favor with Sony’s PS4. However, in late July, Microsoft executives released information, stating the Xbox One dropped its DRM policies. This is jokingly referred to as ‘a 180’, in reference to the Xbox 360. In later weeks, Microsoft went on to apologize for miscommunicating, saying that the misunderstanding in the newly implemented policies was their fault. Later, the Xbox One underwent another 180, striking down the mandatory always on Kinect 2.0, as well as fixing the need for a 24/7 Internet connection. The fixes included an Internet connection be present during setup of the Xbox One and the option to turn off the Kinect in the system preferences. However, despite Microsoft’s best attempt to undo its mistakes at E3, many Xbox fans have turned to the upcoming PS4, saying ‘the damage has already been done.’ Many critics have done reviews on the new successor to the Xbox 360, saying ‘it is nothing more than a glorified DVR.’ To this day, Microsoft is attempting more to convince consumers to buy the Xbox One, going from including an all-new headset with every Xbox One, along with a sticker to beating the PS4 with an earlier release date. The Xbox One has over 500 titles ready for launch and is offering a trade in system for gamers to trade in their 360 copies of games, to the all-new Xbox One copies.
Is Social Media Such A Good Thing? By Drashmeir Vincent
Everyone likes social media right? Who doesn’t? A lot of people do not use social media for plenty of reasons. Sometimes social networks can destroy your life in less than a week. It can be a great distraction and it may also portray false views. Social media has grown since the prehistoric days of Interent connection to becoming something used by the everyday person. An individual may share their opinions, personal beliefs and experiences on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. That’s where the problem begins. In an age of anonymous browsing, young people, who are these social media’s main visitors, are more prone to cyber bullying, which is a very big problem in the U.S. now. Others, who do not agree with the things they may post online can judge them harshly. In less time than it takes to bat your eyelashes into a blink, something shared on a social media site can be downloaded, saved and shared again without leaving the opened page window. Administrators and higher authorities warn of the dangers of posting something online because it is never deleted, even if you delete it. Many young people do not think of the consequences of their actions, until its too late. The rapid pace of the social media network stops or lags for no one. In just a minute a picture that was shared between friends can be used in a way the primary poster would not like and can be embarrassed by the results. To keep up with this dynamic social media era, our allegiance to these social media websites has to remain unquestioned. Time wasted on these sites, according to the New York Times, may be as much as a whopping accumulated 15 hours out of the God given 24 hour period we live by. That would, no matter what many may say, be a distraction to your everyday life. Addiction would stem from the need of this constant behavior and would grow into a dependency. If time is something we can never get back and many regret of its involuntary loss in their lives, why would we waste so much time investing into our downfall? You cannot believe anything posted on the web thru these social media websites except for the rare gems that come from a reputable source. Many people post false issues and false information just to gain a following. Most of the time information, as I said earlier, can be shared in a flash. A spread of lies can sway a mind down the wrong path. It can move people to a revolt and can cause chaos in the living world.
“Sometimes social networks can destroy your life in less than a week.”