The Signal December 2012

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December, 2012

TJ junior will travel to Australia

Junior Ashley Mace.

By: Brooklyn Holder Reporter Young teens everywhere have not only been accepted into The People To People Ambassador Program, but get the privilege of traveling to Australia in the summer of 2013. Ashley Mace, a junior from Thomas Jefferson high school, has been given the honor to go on this trip.

“I will be going to Australia with 39 other high school kids and 4 adults from America,” explained Mace. “The departure date is not set as of yet, but it is expected to be sometime in June.

The whole group is expected to be gone for 20 days and once we are there other supervisors will be joining us.”

Traveling to any place away from home can be unnerving, particularly for adolescents.

“I’m a little nervous because I’ll be away from friends and family for so long, but I hope to make new friends and have more stories to share with the people back here,” said Mace.

By choosing to step out in a big world, experiences can lead to great things and adventures of a lifetime.

“While we are in Australia we will be staying with families who live there, visiting the Sydney opera house, and exploring the varied landscapes. We will be visiting the Great Barrier Reef, rappelling down cliffs, and going to a nature park,” said Mace. “All the activities are designed to allow kids to branch out and experience new things.”

Talking to your school counselors, teachers, and even other students to learn about what programs are available for you can be very helpful.

“I knew a person who traveled with them the year before and she nominated me. After a month, the program contacted me to take part in it,” said Mace.

It’s a big world and there are a lot of things you can do. Do not be afraid to step out on your own because you might be amazed at what you find.

Volume 88, Issue 4

Commercialization of the holiday season By: Kelsi Thurman Reporter The sweet smell of pine on the holiday tree fills the air while sitting by the glorious glow of a warm fire place. ‘Tis the season for family and friends. ‘Tis the season for gifts, gifts, gifts. Because that’s what it’s all about right? The holiday season has been commercialized.

Congress held their first Christmas on December 25, 1789 after the American Revolution. But, European society influenced America not to celebrate because it was a religious holiday. Eventually, Christmas was declared a Federal holiday June 26, 1870. Christmas has long been celebrated by Christians as the day of Jesus’ birth, but lately the focus seems to have moved toward money and presents.

Kwanzaa and Hanukkah, though not federal holidays, are still involved in the commercialization of the season. Stores online and offline have upped the ante on decorations and specialty foods.

Santa Claus, kissing under the mistletoe, caroling, eating different kinds of foods, and holly are ideas that go as far

back as 1822, when Clement Clarke Moore wrote ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas: A Visit From Saint Nicholas. Believe it or not, Coca-Cola has shaped Ole’ Saint Nick’s current image after being created by Haddon Sundblom for an advertising campaign. Claus used to be big and tall, at times even seen as an elf, but after Sundblom’s creation he became seen as fat and jolly with rosy red cheeks.

It was once said that if a child was naughty, they will receive a lump of coal instead of presents.

According to the website Professor’s House, in today’s society it is frowned upon to look at a child as “bad”. What parent wants to be looked at by someone else as incompetent?

“I like this season because of all of the bright lights and christmas shows, but with all these expensive gifts, it is very hard to keep the Christmas cheer,” said Bonnie Dickerson, a parent of a TJ student.

The same website explains that people are guilted into buying when they have not seen someone in a long time.

All of these factors make a person experience the effects of commercialization and potential

Photo of holiday tree by Allie Townsend.

credit card debt.

The very popular Seinfeld Show episode “The Strike” aired on December 18, 1997.

The show presented a new and unusual tradition called Festivus. “A Festivus for the rest of

us” is the slogan for this holiday.

Instead of a tree, an aluminum pole is placed in the living room that is decorated. The Airing of Grievances is an opportunity to tell others how they have disapRead “Holiday” page 3.

Military an option for some after high school By: Allie Townsend Reporter/Photographer Everyone ponders what they are going to do after high school, and that is a big question you are asked as a freshman. Once you get to your senior year in high school, you really have to crack down and figure out post-secondary plan.

The counselors try to help you figure out what you want to do, but it is honestly up to the students to find out where they will fit the best: school, athletics, or maybe even the military.

For instance, a student could go on multiple college visits to determine the college they would like to further their learning experience, and receive degrees for it.

There are many different colleges across the United States that support different majors and minors.

Then there are the students who are completely athletic; the star of the track team, football team, or any other sport. Those students are the ones who work so hard in high school to get a free ride scholarship to college.

“I will apply to be looked at [by colleges] and see what may happen,” said junior Alicia Beckman. “But you never know.”

Beckman is keeping her eyes

options open. She explained she is going to be applying for any scholarship that she qualifies.

Some people want to go out and serve their country. If a student were to join the armed forces, there is a strong possibility that they plan to use that to further their learning experience in college, and in the field.

Over the summer, senior Scott

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Cleaver went to basic training for the Army.

“I joined the Army because my dad was in [it] for 12 years. I also have a lot of family from the army and military. I get good grades in all but I didn’t think I would get a full scholarship which everyone’s dream is. So I figured the Army could help me out with the tuition assistance,” Cleaver said.

Photo of senior Scott Cleaver.

Joining the Army National Guard, you would work one weekend out of the month and two weeks out of the summer, giving you part time job. This gives you the opportunity to go to school full time and get college degrees while you are serving your country.

If a student joins the Navy, you can go on a mission at any time. There is access to going to a classroom, but once you get the call to go on a ship all that classwork the sailor has, it becomes independent work. So they have to be self-motivated in order to graduate college.

Marines still have the opportunity to go into a classroom. They work a full time job, but they take a few night classes, or even set it up it with their commander to attend school during the day.

You can also join the military just because you want to serve your country.

Cleaver joined because he wanted to be mentally and physically stronger. He also wanted to be a fast reactor is certain situations, plus to gain a different perspective on the world.

Read “Options” page 3.

The world at its end

Photos of Myrtle the turtle, Vladimir the spider, and Lucian the snake in science teacher Mr. Brown’s room.

Photos by Allie Townsend and Shelbie Granger.

By: Kiarrah Pleas Reporter

Wildlife in a learning habitat By: Kelsi Thurman Reporter The science classrooms of Thomas Jefferson High School share a family of different species. Animals in the classroom help with student learning. It also helps with the animals overall well-being.

“I think it is pretty cool because you get to see different animals and how they interact with one another,” said senior Cassie Payne.

Animals living in the classrooms create bonds between teachers and students. According to The Pet Care Trust, having class pets help students become

more excited about learning because they also get to interact with many different kinds of animals.

“Initially I had pets in the classroom to see how kids responded to the animals. It tells a lot about their personality,” science teacher Mr. Mark Brown said. “Many kids have not encountered some types of animals that I have. Most kids hate snakes and spiders because they are not familiar with them.

So they need to be exposed in a positive way, so they break old misconceptions and have a realistic view.”

Some animals have been rescued by teachers or

Drowsy Chaperone:

The school musical

By: Isabella Moore Reporter “Well, what kind of a society do we live in if we can’t discuss the similarities between pornography and musical theater?” This line is uttered by Aaron Desantiago who plays Man in Chair in the upcoming TJ production of the Drowsy Chaperone.

“It’s a comedy and there is this wedding that is getting canceled,” said junior Marc Gwennap. “There’s just a bunch of drama that goes into that.”

Juniors; Aaron Desantiago, Faye Arthur, Brittany Allen, and sophomore, Eldon Warner, all have important roles in this years play. Desantiago will also be playing Adolpho, Allen will be playing Janet Van DeGraff, Warner will be playing Robert Martin and Arthur will be playing lead

role The Drowsy Chaperone.

Every year TJ has a play that lets the students get out of class during 4th and 5th period to help them rehearse before the big show.

Who doesn’t like a good musical comedy?

“It brings the mood into people and sets the mood for the school year,” said Gwennap.

Time is running out as these students need to rehearse and be ready for the first showing.

There will be a matinee for students on December 6th.

The late night shows are on Friday 7th and Saturday 8th.

All of the shows are at TJ. Tickets will be sold in the main office with Pam Harold for $8 an adult and $5 a student. Tickets are also available at the door and watch for the story on Swarm TV.

brought in by other members of society.

“I have snakes, fish, spiders and lizards. Many of the fish I took from the ditches after the flood last year. They are mostly carp, bullhead, cray fish, and bluegill. I purchased my bettas at the store along with the tarantulas. The king snake I have, was caught by someone in western Nebraska. I most likely will let him go someday,” Brown explained.

TJHS is making a difference. Creating a healthy environment not only for students, but animals in need of a home.

It is the end of the world as we know it. And what are you doing?

Wasting your time reading this.

You should be gathering food and supplies, or digging a tunnel to keep safe in and wait to come to the surface once again after a few years.

It’s the year 2012, and the much anticipated “end of the world” is a few weeks away. But this isn’t the first time the world was supposed to come to an end.

There have actually been at least 10 failed “Doomsday” predictions documented.

Prophecies of the world ending date back to 1806 and are as ridiculous as a hen simply laying an egg, and someone writing on it that "Christ is coming". As news of this miracle spread, many people became convinced that doomsday was at hand — until a curious local actually watched the hen laying one of the prophetic

Graphic by Trystan Brock.

eggs and discovered someone had hatched a hoax.

During 1835, Joseph Smith, part of the Mormon church, called a meeting of his church leaders to tell them that he had spoken to God. During their conversation, he learned that Jesus would return within the next 56 years, after which the End Times would begin. 177 years later and still no end.

Because of these failed premonitions, most people don’t believe the world will end on December 21, 2012.

“There have been many predictions of the world ending, and none of them were true,” said sophomore Cruz Gusman. “So, why should I believe this one?

And why should I be scared that someone’s calendar ran out?

Like, ‘oooo, go to the store and buy another one.”

Gusman is referring to the well known Mayan calendar in Mexico. The calendar was made by the Mayan people and ends on December 21, 2012. This is the reason the prediction was made in the first place. But there is one thing they left out in their theories surrounding the Mayan Calendar and the end of the world. The calendar doesn’t include leap years. Which means the world should have came to an end six months ago.

So, in all reality, we should be focusing on things that are more important and realistic... like the zombie apocalypse!

Project Lead The Way By: Dana Mefferd Reporter

Project Lead the Way is a class that can benefit you by teaching skills that will be needed for your job in the future. The very famous Rubik's Cube is similar to one of the projects students do in the class Project Lead the Way. It starts out as tiny wooden squares glued together. Next the students program a design on the computer. From bottom to top, layer by layer, the cube gets printed out in plastic on a special printer.

“In the first class we design things on the computer and it print it out and some hands on building,” said junior Steven Eidem. “In the second class there’s a lot of hands on work.”

Students in the class make mechanical models that are

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Photo of sophomore, Brandon Lockhart by Shelbie Granger.

able to work using solarpowered systems. The students use robots to plan and build these projects.

The very first project that you do is a puzzle cube. Later on in the class you also build a train, elevator, and a solarpowered car.

During Eidem’s second year, they built a marble sorter as the main project.

The machine did exactly what it sounds like. There are different sizes and colors of marbles that the machine has to sort.

“These projects are similar to the ones in real life.

These are real life products that companies can use,” says PLTW teacher Mr. Imad Qumseih. These projects help you get a taste of the real world. It shows students

some of the things big companies expect.

If these classes appeal to you, you're going to have to be good at physics and math. If you're a little rusty with math, no need to worry.

There is just one easy step to get into this class, sign up for the Intro to Engineering class.

“All my friends were taking it and they (previous years’ students) came and talked to us about it when we were in eighth grade and it seemed interesting,” said Eidem.

It helps you know what big companies are looking for and also gives you the skills needed to design and build things. So if you're interested make sure to sign up.

Options Continued from page 1.

Junior class rewarded for hard work TJHS makes

generous donations to community

By: Tristan Eggett Reporter

Some students, such as former student Cody Hammers, is currently stationed in Japan.

Joining the military could be a great help on any job in the future, too. If you enlist, you go to AIT (Advanced Individual Training) and get paid to learn skills that people go to trade schools and have to pay to learn.

Having the military listed as a job on a resume also means that future employers know that you are “capable of succeeding,” Cleaver explained.

Sometimes, the military isn’t an option for students.

Students also have to option of just dropping out as soon as their turn 16, in Iowa. Former student, Jayce Englund, dropped out of Abraham Lincoln shortly after his 16th birthday.

“I dropped out because I was too far behind in school,” said Englund. “I got a chance with music, so I took it.”

He decided to come back to school at Thomas Jefferson High School at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year. He then a few weeks started to skip a lot, and fell back into the habit of not coming. Shortly later he decided that he was going to drop out again.

Englund went on to explain that he got another chance at music, and dropped out again.

There is an abundance of options for students to choose what they would like to do after high school. What is the right choice

It may not always be easy to motivate students to get their work done, but many teachers have their own ways of getting students to do work successfully. There are students that work hard to keep their grade point average up, but others may have different priorities.

Getting good grades may not always be enough to motivate students, which is why Thomas Jefferson is trying to find better ways to reward students for their efforts.

The junior class teachers and faculty have a way to motivate their students into doing their work and trying to excel and get better grades.

Mrs. Ashleigh Weaver has her own way, she is giving away an iPad to not just any junior student, but only the ones who have succeeded in the special requirements that were asked or have been chosen by students to do.

“The students who are in the drawing for the iPad had to have 3 or less unverified absences, less than 9 tardies, and NO suspensions. Last, they must be passing all of their classes,” said Weaver.

Students who are in the drawing have only one name in the bag, but if you did extra activities to help the school, your name was put in the bag multiple times. The winner

Holiday

Texting and driving endangers lives

Continued from page 1.

By: Dylan Montgomery said counselor Karla Hughes, “I Reporter think thats been proven by the ac Many Thomas Jefferson stu- cidents that happen.” dents provide their own transpor- In 2009, approximately 6,000 tation to and from school. It is very important that students know to be safe on the road.

Anything that takes eyes off the road for around five seconds is not as important as your life and the lives of people around you.

Many crashes that take place on the Photo of TJ parking lot by Shelbie Granger. road are caused by people, both young and old, that people died in car wrecks due to are not paying attention to the texting and driving, (EdgarSnyder.com). road in which they are driving.

According to stopthetext- “It kinda scares me when I go stopthewrecks.com, 100,000 by someone and see them with crashes a year involve drivers their cell phone out and they’re looking down at it instead of the who are texting.

“I think it’s very dangerous,” road,” said Hughes.

pointed you in the last year and it is held at the festivus dinner. It is a tradition in which the head of the household is challenged to a wrestling match by guests.

This tradition created by Seinfeld is still celebrated today by some on the 23rd of December.

Festivus season has devalued the true meaning of Christmas, and is another example of the holiday season being commercialized. There are people who go and buy the materials to celebrate the fictional holiday.

“I only buy for my close family and friends. Depending on who it is, I would look for something pretty cheap,” said junior, Brian Collinson.

Maybe with today’s society, the true meaning of the holiday season revolves around being with the ones you love... and getting them something you think they need after all.

By: Kaylinn Taggart and Kelsi Thurman

Photo of iPad winnder, junior Shelby Klein. Photo submitted by Mrs. Weaver.

for this month was Shelby Kline. Kline was absent at the assembly, but she still won the drawing and was rewarded with the iPad. The school acquired the iPad through the “Gear Up” program. They will be doing this one time each trimester with the same kind of iPad, the iPad 3.

Another way teachers are getting students motivated to try harder is by giving them Off Campus Lunch passes.

This allows students to leave school grounds during their lunch hour so they can eat something other than school lunch.

“To get the Off Campus

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Lunch Pass, they must have a GPA for the previous trimester of at least 2.5,” said Tvrdy.

Along with the GPA requirement, students must have the following to earn an Off Campus Lunch Pass: 95% attendance or higher including excused and unexcused absences and no suspensions from school the previous trimester including In School Suspension and Out of School Suspension.

If grades are not the only things that motivate you to excel in class, Thomas Jefferson has other ways of rewarding students for their efforts.

The fine for texting and driving is $120.75. Under eighteen is a primary offense and over eighteen it is a secondary offense. If you are over eighteen, you can only be stopped for texting and driving if you run a stop light or are speeding.

“Texting and driving is causing almost as many wrecks as drunk driving,” said TJ resource officer Ron Zika. “The fact of the matter is anything that takes your attention off the road is very dangerous.”

You can pledge to not text and drive through a link on the Signal’s Facebook page.

Thomas Jefferson High School has been working to help out hundreds of families during this holiday season by collecting donations of toys and cans prior to winter break.

The new and unwrapped toys are for the Toys for Tots campaign coordinated by Mr. Jay Busby.

“I think Toys for Tots is a great program and it's always seemed to be a part of the holiday season,” said Busby. “I'm glad to be involved with it this year.”

The U.S Marine Corps started Toys for Tots because they wanted to distribute toys to children that were less fortunate. As a community this is a really good way to come together and give christmas presents to needy children.

The benefits are not just for the child. The TJ Reads class that collects the most new, unwrapped toys gets a class party.

“The toys are given to children in the area that either do not have family who has money to get them toys for Christmas or there just isn't anyone there to get them anything at all, said freshman Lucas Scheid. “It started on the 27th of November, and it ends on the 14th of December.”

TJ is also collecting cans for the NHS and DECA can drive which will be used in the community baskets given out around Christmas.

“The cans go to the community baskets that are given out at Christmas down at the community thrift store,” Mrs. Deb Goodman said.

Last year, around 380 baskets were given out to families in need of food. This years’ goal is to have one can per student from TJ, so about 1,200 cans.

The can drive began on November 12 and ends on December 6. The cans are to be brought to your TJ Reads class as well, and will be collected on every Tuesday and Thursday. The winning class will receive donuts.

“There is a real need this year.

The community funds usually receive canned-good donations from the government, but they won’t be this year,” Goodman explained.

These are a couple of options to help give back to the community and to those in need.

Maybe I’ll do it

tomorrow...

By: Kiarra Pleas Reporter Hi, my name’s Kiarrah, and I’m a confessed extreme procrastinator. I started this story, about procrastination and how it affects a student’s work, on August 25th, 2012.

When a teacher hands out a project, or something that isn’t due right away, a student will usually put off doing the work until the very last minute.

“I don’t like to do schoolwork. I hate it and I think it’s stupid,” said sophomore Karlee Dokmonovich. She went on to explain that procrastinating is a bad thing, though she does it repeatedly.

“No good comes out of procrastinating. It’s really bad. You don’t get your work done,” said sophomore, Alexis Alcaraz.

Procrastination is just a fancy word for ‘lazy’. When I am procrastinating I’m usually listening to music or watching my favorite TV show.

No matter how many times I think to myself “I need to do my homework” I never really end up doing it until last minute. By the ‘last minute’. I’m always tired so I think “I’ll just do it tomorrow.”

When, in all reality, I don’t.

Not everyone in high school procrastinates, though.

“I have four kids, I can’t procrastinate. It’ll all pile up and I’ll have a ton of things to get done,” said administrative assistant Pam Harold.

Mrs. Harold has a good point.

If students don’t get their work done when they’re supposed to, it piles up and they have to do it all at one time. This can build stress for the students and that makes getting the work done just that much harder. When this happens, the work that they do is more substandard than usual.

The easiest way to keep your work caught up is to DO IT WHEN IT’S ASSIGNED. If you don’t have time because of sports and are tired when you get home, just ask your coach for some study time before practices for the whole team.

If you have time on Mondays because of a late practice, you can use that to go sit in the class that you need help in and have one on one time with the teacher.

The commons are also always open after school to sit at and do your work in. In other words, use your time wisely.

Paper hearts in high school relationships By: Dana Meffered Reporter Unrequited love is better than no love at all, however, it is like half a loaf of bread that gets moldy and hard. For how much better is Dante admiring Beatrice, than Beatrice walking by him in disdain. To explain it better, Dante cares and loves Beatrice but all she does is ignore him and walks away from him.

Someone can care for you but that doesn’t mean they love you. Thats what unrequited love is. That’s the easiest way to put it. Unrequited love is when one person is in love while the other person doesn’t love them at all.

Some people say that it is ridiculous to love and care about someone who doesn’t feel the same way. They ask why waste your time? We are human, so

despite the warnings and disapprovals we are going to do it anyway. It seems that we always put ourselves in situations that might get our feelings hurt. No matter how many times we get hurt we always put ourselves in the same type of situations.

“I love you,” “You're my one and only,” “I love you forever and ever.” These are some of the things we say when we think we found “the one.” Love is a strong word though. Yet we throw it around like it’s nothing.

We might claim we know what love is but none of us do.

However at the same time the word love is a thought-terminating cliche. We say the word love just so that we don’t have to say anything else about how we truly feel. We try to condense deep, emotional attachment and affection into three

Like it’s nothing.

The scientific definition of love is an intense feeling of deep affection. After 4 months of having a “crush” on someone you are considered to be in love. The first stage of love is novelty where it is new, fun and exciting. The second stage is more of a long lasting friendship. The final stage is attachment when you can’t see yourself without that person.

When you truly love someone you can talk to them like they're your best friend. They fight like husband and wife and protect each other like siblings.

When you love someone you can’t go a day or live without them.

Everyone in high school goes through a relationship that has unrequited love. Don’t take it to hard or too personal.

Sooner or later you’ll find that special someone.

Eight ways to stay healthy this Finding a season major for college By: Kelly Espinoza Reporter Every year we experience the gloomy symptoms caused by weather changes from summer, to fall, then winter. Feeling the wave of fatigue, body aches, itchy/sore throat, and runny nose are the signs of your first cold of the season.

If you don't want to be part of the percentages then listen up for quick and easy tips to prevent a cold.

At a local grocery store you will find over the counter medications that include fever reducers, migraine and decongestant pills. The cold will remain while the medicine reduces symptoms, but it will not eliminate the virus without the help of a few remedies that are mentioned below.

“The best precaution to take for flu prevention is the probably the flu vaccine,” said Tucker Center Health Science teacher Patty Pettit. “Students sit close to each other in classrooms, I encourage them to use antibacterial gel and cover their mouth when coughing, and always good hand washing is essential.”

Tip #1: Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center have proven that eating chicken soup is not a myth, but an anti-inflammatory resource that relieves respiratory infections. They dis-

covered that the neutrophil’s activity is reduced in the immune system which stimulates inflammation. A neutrophil is a type of mature white blood cell that is in the blood.

White blood cells help protect the body against diseases and fight infections. Neutrophils remove and destroy some types of bacteria, wastes, and foreign substances. Therefore, chicken soup helps with relieving the cold symptoms.

Tip #2: Many people don't pay much attention to taking vitamins because they expect their immune system to fight off a virus. But even the strongest immune system can't fight alone without minerals and vitamins. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that fights off infections.

Zinc also helps with producing more white blood cells that fight with infections.

“I take vitamins when I'm sick like zinc and garlic,” said senior Jason Goldsberry. “I drink orange juice, and eat all my fruits, vegetables. I eat protein, sleep, and workout regularly as well.”

Tip #3: Teenagers need 8.5 to 9.25 hours of sleep. But according to the National Sleep Foundation, getting less than 7 hours a sleep every night can increase your risk of getting a cold. When you are sleeping, your body does the job of repairing and retaining nutrients

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words. We’re in high school and we have our whole lives to figure out what love is; why worry about it now?

We get our hearts broken a lot in high school. The other person claims they love us and of course we believe them. 'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you You're gonna believe them.”

This is a part of Taylor Swift’s song Fifteen. Sometimes her songs can explain how we feel or what we are going through better then we can.

I bet we have all been in a relationship where it seemed like you're the only one who truly love and cares. We fall “in love” with the wrong person all the time. It is because the wrong person says all the right things. They say what we want to hear, like a spell. They make us believe that they love us then they just up and leave.

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in the body.

“Colds are caused by a virus. Best thing you can do is treat the symptoms, get plenty of rest and stay hydrated,” said school nurse Lisa Kaufman.

Tip #4: It is good to drink fluids and stay hydrated because cold temperatures dry the air and it causes bacteria to lurk into your body. So more humidity is better for your nasal membranes.

Tip #5: Other tips include hot tea with lime and honey that helps with soothing the pain in the throat.

Tip #6: Saline nasal sprays.

Tip #7: Steam showers help with congestion and relieve nasal problems by moisturizing.

Tip #8: Lowering your head over a bowl of steaming water helps with a congested nose.

More than 200 viruses can cause a cold. Sadly, we can’t do anything to prevent it aside from getting a Flu Shot every year. If you’re unlucky you will go through the early stages of the common cold.

Colds generally last between one and two weeks, and could be one of the leading causes for missing school in the nation. According to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), 22 million school days are lost annually in the United States due to the common cold.

By: Jonathan Wheeler Reporter There are many options to choose from when it comes to choosing a major in college. But, when is the right time to decide which courses to take in the college of your dreams?

Chances are that you already know what you want to do for a job and what college you want to go to, but you may have no clue what major to take.

This is not the case for senior Dakota Lantari.

“I have chosen Buena Vista, or Iowa Western.”

There are many options to choose from but try to narrow it down to a few.

“My major is construction, because I like working with kits,” Lantari commented.

To start planning, make a list of the colleges you would want to go to. Try to go on college visits junior year and see if they have the course or major you want, then put that on the list. If they don’t, try a different college that might have it.

Also, don’t forget to take the ACT offered at TJ and talk to your conselor.