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Thursday, November 21, 2019

Second Period Sentinel Investigates


After you share your Google Doc with Ms. DeVries, copy and paste your news article here to share with your classmates and the world.  Read over what others have written.  Write positive comments about their writing moves.

23 comments:

  1. Math... it seems so easy doesn't it? Have you ever asked a parent or guardian for help with your homework, but they didn't know? Have they told you to ask your teacher?


    At BMS (Bartels Middle School) this reporter found that several students find they have to ask their teacher the next day about their homework, which is often too late.


    When students are late with their homework they feel as though they are in a doctor's office waiting to get your shot filled with disappointment and confusion. Of course not everyone feels this way, some 8th grade student told this reporter: “I have plenty of time to do the stuff I want to do.”


    This reporter gave a 60 year old elder what she thought was a simple math equation, it turns out the female elder didn't learn the math equation until she was a first year high schooler.This reporter repeated the process with the same equation but with a 70 year old male, however this time the elder claimed he didn't learn the equation until he was a sophomore in high school. (a sophomore is the 2nd year of highschool)


    This isn't all bad. Considering the fact that the newer generations are slowly but surely getting smarter than the last. You can go home tonight and tell your parents or guardians that you're smarter than them, but just by a little.

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  2. Last night, many 8th graders at BMS, stay up late to finish their homework. They come to school exhausted and not able to focus on their work. The amount of homework 8th graders get can be stressful. Is there a way to stop the late nights of doing homework.

    8th graders get 2-4 assignments a night, with about 5-20 minutes to do it in class. Some classes don’t even give the students time to work on it in class. Which adds more homework than, which causes them to feel like a fish out of water.

    8th graders that are in a sport, they have many late nights staying up until 10-11 pm doing homework. They come to school feeling as if they were drained and they can’t focus. Maybe if the kid had time to work in class they would have been able to get some or all of it done.

    There does not seem to be an easy answer on how we can prevent late nights. A possible way might be giving more time to work on assignments in class. However, it depends if kids take advantage of the time given. But even that could not be enough time for the students.

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  3. Dress code has been a problem at BMS for a very long time. Students aren't aloud to wear the following, hats, ripped jeans, bandanas, shorts that don't go down to their fingertips when their standing up with their hands by their side, off the shoulder shirts, hoods etc. As the years go by they have eased up on some of the rules like shorts and ripped jeans but the no hats or hoods has not changed.

    Yes some of the outfits teens choose to wear these days are a little revealing and show a lot of skin, but it shows the person's personality and how confident they are. Have you ever seen someone walking around in clothing that is very revealing, can you see some of their personality, how confident they are in their body?

    The rule for no bandanas is understandable because bandanas are usually a sign of gang members. But also teens think it is cute to tie around their head like a headband. Also what's the point for girls not aloud to show their shoulders, what's the point in that. How are girls shoulders distracting but girls thighs aren't? A student from BMS said “boys should learn to respect girls and control themselves.” A simple bra strap shouldn't be distracting, it's just a thin piece of fabric. Does a piece of fabric seem distracting to you?

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  4. Not only is bullying an issue at Bartels Middle School, it is in schools and online around the world. Bullying can lead to self-doubt, self-harm, and even death. Suicide is the third leading death, with an astonishing 4,400 deaths a year says a Britain study. The Britain study also claims that half of suicides related to bullying. Not only does bullying result in suicide it also results in self-doubt. Self-doubt includes things like bad thoughts and not believing in themselves. A journalist at Bartels Middle School interviewed some mature 8th graders on- Is bullying a problem at BMS?

    Out of the six students the reporter interviewed six of them said they or someone they know is or has been bullied. Then as a follow up question the reporter asked the following question , “Is cyberbullying and issue”? After the reporter asked the question 50% said that cyberbullying is an issue. Although six people reported to know someone who was bullied they never said if they have themselves. “Cyberbullying is somewhat a big deal at BMS, I see kids on apps like Snapchat, and Instagram get cyberbullied all the time.” Says on 8th grader. Kids who are getting bullied feel as if an army is after them, and teachers trying to prevent it is like a non-ending cat and mouse game. Eighth graders were asked “ does the school do a good job handling bullying situations”? Almost everyone said no, they don't do anything. The reporter agrees with this statement, however she also agrees that teachers can't put a stop to bullying it's the students who can. Students see way more than teachers do, and how other students are treated.

    Another question the students were asked was “What can teachers do put a stop to bullying at BMS”? About everyone said something that dealt with bigger consequences. Although that may help think of all the angry parents and the kids who would get others in trouble as a joke (the online bullying form), although there are pros and cons to the suggestion “bigger consequences” it would have to be run past the school board to be approved which takes a lot of work and might not happen but is worth a shot.

    In conclusion,many students have seen bullying happening at Bartels Middle School but many still hesitate to answer the question, “what can be done to stop the bullying at Bartels Middle School”?

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  5. One morning a student at Bartels Middle School decides they want to look cute today. The student picks out their outfit, thinks they look nice and move on. They get to school and after the person went to their 1st class, and after only a few minutes they got yelled at,


    They decided to wear a tank top! They got sent to their locker to put on a sweatshirt. A student made a survey and 80% of the people who took the survey sadi bra straps/shoulders/thighs aren’t distracting.


    A handful of students also said the dress code is sexist to girls. They get dress coded a lot more often than boys. Dress code is like racism. Dress code is aimed toward girls and racism is mostly toward people of color. 60% of the survey said they had never been dress coded but they had been yelled at so based on the information people get yelled at and rarely get dress coded so girls get yelled at more than boys do.

    A student who took the survey said “For females, Don't bra straps look exactly the same as any other type of straps, And tank tops don't even expose that much skin”. And another student said this “males are mostly never dress coded because they never show any skin but females are mostly likely to get dress code because they wear outfits that show more skin than males so i feel like females should be able to wear what they want.”

    So by the information that was given from the survey lots of students at Bartels MIddle School believe girls get yelled at more and from one student they believe girls should wear whatever they want to wear then they can express themselves more.

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  6. Chromebooks are used often, up to 5 to 6 classes a day. Chromebooks take a very big part of education at BMS. However, some kids take advantage of that. They spend the class period playing games and looking up unschool related things. Now thats where the CIPA filter comes in. Browser history is monitored and inappropriate sites are blocked by the CIPA filter.

    Although the CIPA filter helps a lot, it can mess up sometimes. Teachers often post videos for students to watch and answer questions as homework.4 out of the 6 students that were interviewed reported that the videos are often blocked. A student reported that even though game sites are blocked students have found a way to get around it.

    The CIPA filter is like a superhero that never wins. Students have found a way around blocked sites and have gained ways to create game websites. What do you think about the filter?

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  7. For some kids, it is hard for them to learn because they didn't get enough sleep. It could be because of homework or the school day starts too early. People have been taking this to concern, but if school started earlier school would have to end later.

    Wayne E. Bartels's middle school starts school at 7:50 and ends at 3:15. If they were to push it back an hour and a half, It would end at 4:45. Some kids have after school activities and they would have to stay later because of the school end time. Students in the first and second hours are usually tired and have their heads down or zoning out and not paying attention.

    When students get home and their parents work until 5 they are usually home alone less. For teens less 8.5 hours or less could be considered detrimental for their health. School starting later would mean the students would drink less caffeine in the morning. For some kids, less sleep could mean alcohol or tobacco.

    If school started later it would impact the schedules of a working family. It would impact the amount of homework you do in a night because if you don't have a study hall and you have after school activities could mean you get home around 6:30. School starting later could cause more teens to get the urge to stay up later. They would want to stay up later because they think they could sleep in but that's not getting the sleep they need.

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  8. In the article homework in schools research Harras Cooper recommends a 10 minute rule which is your grade level multiplied by 10, for example 12garde = 120 minutes so that kids can practice and do their best in school.

    Altho in the article should students have homework it notices that Harras Coopers claims have no firm evidence and it could simply mean that kids that do homework are more committed to doing well.

    Another side is addressed in Getting Homework Done And Turned it says its not about if students get homework its how much and what kind for example middle school teachers have success with online math but when assigned 1 or more hours testcross went down.

    Math and science homework give better test scores but no difference in course grade.

    Researchers say there is no difference in content mastery but in familiarity in test questions.

    Parents support a lot of homework but there evidence is as dry as the sahara desert and those who research find it difficult to support 1 or more hours of homework.

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  9. In today's article we will be talking about students using their phones during school.During school students may have to use their cellphones for important things.They may need to talk to family members about after school events or other things related to school maybe they need their parents/guardians to bring them there work if they forgot.Then you have to consider where some of the teachers come from when they don’t want her students to get distracted by playing games or possibly texting other students and then getting them distracted.This writer thinks the ultimate solution is if student would have a certain time of the day to per say 15 minutes to use their phone durings school, so they can’t get what needs to be done on their phone and hopefully not get distracted for the rest of the day.

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  10. School starts at around 8:00 am and then ends at 3:15 pm.

    Most people wake up for school at around 5:30 am - 6:30 am. Out of the 4 people interviewed by this interviewer most of them said they have enough time to get ready for school and arrive at school before it starts.

    All of the people interviewed said they get around 5 - 8 hours of sleep. The average teenager needs 8 - 10 hours of sleep.

    You're probably wondering why they don't get enough sleep and why they don't just go to bed at an earlier time so that they do get enough sleep. But 3 out of the 4 people interviewed said they have after school activities. Which usually end at around 4:30 - 7:30 pm.

    Then when they get home from those after school activities they have their homework to do. Which they said they get done with at around 6:00 - 11:00 pm. The next day at school you won't want to be like a sloth in an amusement park because of how tired you are.

    But if you go to bed at around 9:00 - 11:00 pm that still gives you 7+ hours of sleep. That still should be enough sleep to at least function and get through the school day right? What do you think?

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  11. Passing Time
    By: Chayse R-Inv. Journalism Bend 2

    The transition from staying in the same room all day to moving across the school in 3 minutes is tough for many people. Many people struggle with passing time because they have to cross the school to get their materials, talk to teachers, and they have to get a drink or use the restroom in 3 minutes.


    Through all my sources, they all said they could use more passing time, they also said that about every 2-3 tardy there is a detention because you don't have enough time in between classes. Getting to class is like running through the badger defence to the touchdown, and even if we do run we get yelled at so then we will get yelled at. And getting a detention is like going to the dentist and getting a root canal.


    There for those 3 minutes is not enough time to do all this stuff, and it is tough for many. But there are solutions for these problems, talk to your teacher in class not in the hallway and don’t stop to talk to your friends do that at lunch and after school. If you do these things it will most likely help you in the long run, and you will be able to get to class on time.

    All in all, this will help you but it will not always help because you need to talk to a teacher or friend. Also you will get less detentions if you do these things, hope this helps.

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  12. There are many arguments on whether or not Bartels Middle School should make the start time later. After interviewing three teachers and two 8th-grade students from there, this reporter realized that one of the key factors was how many hours of sleep did they get that night? Did they need those few extra hours? If they did, would they be late for school?

    When asked, all of them had answers ranging from 6:45 am - 7:40 am on what time they get to school. One of the students rides the bus. They all said that they get around 6 to 7 hours of sleep on a good night. His next question was if they’ve ever been late to school, and of course, the teachers said no, but both of the students said that they have been late or almost late at least five times. They all also said that it takes them about 15 minutes to an hour to get ready in the morning.

    Next, he asked all of them if they have ever been able to actually fall asleep during class. Now, we all know that if you get caught sleeping during class it’s about as bad as going 40 in a 25 mph zone. One of the teachers said yes when they were sick and should have stayed home and gotten those hours of sleep they needed. The rest of the teachers said no because they got those valuable hours of sleep they needed. Both of the students said yes because they didn’t get a good night’s sleep. So, as the reporter said before, the deciding factor is, do they get a good sleep or not.

    Lastly, when asked if Bartels Middle School should make their start time later, two teachers said no, but it could be beneficial to middle school students. But, one of the teachers said that they should definitely change it because they think it is way too early. Both of the students said that it should be later for the students that didn’t get enough hours of sleep. There are a lot of reasons that schools should make their start time later, and there are a lot of reasons that it should start early. They are both beneficial in some ways, but one thing that everyone should think about is the amount of sleep every student and teacher gets.

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  13. Passing Time
    By: Noah B-Inv. Journalism Bend 2


    In Portage Middle school you only get three minutes of passing time. It is hard to make it from one end of the school to the other. If they are late/tardy in some classes it’s a detention. When walking through the halls you may be stopped by a teacher or by other students to talk for a minute which may cause you to be tardy. Some students were asked what they think about passing time. Most of their results were that we should have at least five minutes. Some others said that they just need a little more time so they can stop at their locker and grab their stuff for there next class. Instead of carrying every classes materials with us.

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  14. Do you have trouble to make it to class on time. Here is some information from the principal from Bartels Middle School. Yes sometimes getting to class is hard especially for the 6th graders. Sometimes you have to make a big trip around the school. He said if you have to talk to your teacher about being late.

    Sometimes being to class on time is like a bird trying to fly but that bird has no wings. But sometimes you have to put a skip in your step. Yes schools don’t allow running in the hallways but that doesn’t mean you can’t speed walk. Just make sure you don’t go to fast or else it is gonna look like you are running. If your locker is super far from your class and you need something for your next class take it with you yes that means more to carry but that means less tardies.

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  15. The transition from Elementary School to Middle School is rough for students is rough for students doing research. Students at Bartels Middle School have reported that they often have a hard time finding good information for research. They also reported being bored during free time. One key difference between Elementary School to Middle School, is the number of unavailable sites.

    The number of websites that are unavailable increases through schools. Students often have a hard time finding good information for research, or even information that could help them with other things for class. Students at Bartels Middle School reported things like information on wars being unavailable, due to their Cipa filter on their chromebooks. Other schools have also reported problems like this.

    However, they have also reported being bored during free time.Bms students reported games and other fun websites being unavailable. This is also the case in many other schools. Games on almost every school electronic is unavailable. Even games that could help students learn stuff are unavailable. That also means these students don’t get many brain breaks from work.

    But not all schools have this problem. About 2,657 schools throughout America don’t have this.They don’t have a problem getting research done for class. They don't have many excuses for not getting their work done.

    They also don't have games unavailable. This means they get brain breaks. They also get to play games that could help them in class. And last, they get to have fun during free time.

    So why do some schools have this and some don't. There are risks that everyone knows about. But the students who do have the unavailable websites get a smack in the face when trying to do research. Students who have these problems deserve the same things as the ones who don't. Why not do all or none? Not everything in life can be fair, but is that the way we want it to be in schools?

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  16. At bartels middle school the kids are trugging the halls and sleeping in class. Is this a sign of kids not getting sleep, or staying up late, or doing homework, or even worse they're playing video games. The answers might shock you, keep reading to find out.

    One of the main reasons at bartels middle school why kids are sleeping in class is that. They have a lot of homework to do and they don't have a lot of time to do it in which can be very stressful for a lot of the schools students.
    Two out of the fine people interviewed said they would rather sleep in class then learn because they're up all night doing homework.

    Research shows that 22% of highschool students don’t come to school that day because they are home sleeping. One out of the five people interviewed said that she sleeps in class all of the time because she wakes up early just to get to school on time.

    In a town in minnesota have nap time second period and they say that they feel really refreshed and they are already for their day to come, and they don't sleep in class their principal says.

    Three out of the four scientists say that kids when they are sleeping more when they are not tires they tend to learn and pay attention to the best and they are always ready to learn, One of the five people interviewed said that they sleep in class because they simply are just stressed about schoolwork.


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  17. Longer Passing Time
    People say that the passing time is too short because they need to go to their lockers and get what they need for their next class. They will need to open their locker get their stuff, go to the bathroom, get a drink, and go to class in under 3 minutes. It is impossible to do all of that stuff. What if your locker is on the other side of the school then your class is? What if the bathroom, and the water babbler is on the other side of the school away from your classroom, and your locker? One of the people that were interviewed said passing time is not long enough because people are coming to class late. Some teachers say “the bell don’t dismiss you I do.” Then we have to rush to our locker and get our stuff then to our class there is know time to go to the bathroom. You ask the teacher if you can go to the bathroom, and the teacher say “NO! That is what the bell time if for.” One of the 8th grade teachers say that we only get one free passes for the quarter, and after you used the free pass, and you need to use the pass again in that class you will need to spend 10 minutes with the teacher at lunch.

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  18. The bell just rang, the indication to move onto your next class. Other students have close by classes, but for you it’s a race! You grab your stuff and hurry your way out the door and to your locker. It finally allows you in and you snatch up your binders. You run for your next class and you are told to “walk” but you need to make it! You rush for the door but the bell just rang! An inch away from the door is where you sat but you still get a tardy. This is the tireless story for many alike at Bartels Middle School.

    The opinion that passing time is to short relies on two things. One, how far is you next class and do you need stuff from your locker. That’s the thing, from the students this reporter interviewed, some will say it needs to be extended so they aren’t always having to run like horses. But these people all have far away classes. The people who disagree with this statement, you guessed it, have close classes!

    So, it’s split opinions on the matter. But fixing this problem is a lot more complicated than many think. If it’s extended there will always be students who take advantages to the time, and there already is. To fix this problem at the beginning of the school year 2018-2019 Bartels Middle School shortened passing time to around 3 minutes. Which has caused many disagreements all around from the students.

    Like what was already stated, if it was people will use it a time to talk to friends or some other way and still get a tardy. Just because they won’t go to the place they are needed! They need to take responsibility to resist doing that. But the people who actually need more time would be ever so grateful.

    So passing time is a complicated problem. There is no set solution. Extending it by a minute would help the students always on the run. But others don’t need more time. So this is a complicated problem at BMS that needs time to consider. It just needed light to be shone on it.

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  19. Some students at Bartels Middle School think that the lockers are too small or not spaced out enough. A reporter decided to do a little research on this topic. The reporter interviewed seven students from BMS to see what they thought about their lockers. The reporter also did some online research, she found an article written by a middle school student in Tennessee, it was about how small and cramped together her school’s lockers are.

    The reporter started the interview by asking the student what they think about the lockers, are they too small? Just right? Four out of the seven students said they were too small, the other students said they were alright. The second question the reporter asked was “If you could change something about the lockers, what would it be?” All of the students said they would make them bigger, wider, or deeper.

    The last question the reporter asked was “What do you think the school could do to fix the lockers?” Almost all students had different answers for this question. One student said to turn two lockers into one by taking out the divider between the two lockers. Three other students said the school could make them bigger/space them out more. The last student said to just take them away.

    The reporter didn’t just want to get the opinions of students at BMS, so she did some online research and she found an article written by Valerie Fung, a middle school student in Tennessee.

    In the article, Valerie from John Sevier Middle School in Kingsport, Tennessee, thinks her school’s lockers are too small, cramped, and aren’t spaced out very well. She also thinks that the only positive thing about the lockers is that there is somewhere to put their stuff and they get to decorate it, but having tiny lockers is no fun for anyone according to Valerie.

    Valerie says the lockers are so small and close together, students are getting in each other's way. She also says that it takes longer in the morning if you’re trying to unpack your backpack and there is also two people packed on both sides of you, shoulder-to-shoulder, trying to unpack too. Valerie says this experience is not fun at all!

    In conclusion, students from all over would love to have bigger lockers and more room. Valerie, from Kingsport, Tennessee, thinks that schools should get on this problem nad solve it. So, are middle school lockers too small, or just right?

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  20. Last night many Bartels Middle School students stayed up late. They could've stayed up because of homework, family problems, or anything else. Most of those people probably didn’t get enough hours of sleep they should have. Since they didn’t get enough sleep they could’ve came to school tired and out of focus.

    The recommended amount of sleep you are supposed to get a night is 8 ½ to 9 hours of sleep. This reporter decided to survey a few people to see how much sleep they got a night. Most students said that they get around 6-7 hours of sleep a night.

    This reporter also asked what time do you naturally wake up in the morning. Everyone said around 9-10 AM. At Bartels Middle School school startime is 7:55 and most middle school students this reporter interviewed said they naturally wake up around 9 AM.

    This reporter asked this question: what do you think about school start time at Bartels Middle School. One student said that they think the time BMS starts is weird they wish it started earlier. Many other students this reporter asked said that they wish it was later. They said they would want it to start later around 9-10 AM.

    Changing school start time could really impact the students. Some might say school start time is as early as the early bird wake up. Changing the startime could have the students getting enough sleep each night. When the students don’t get enough sleep each night it can affect the way their mood changes. Such as they might be happy then all the sudden they are angry. Also it could affect the way they are in class. They could not be paying attention and not focussed on school work. So changing the school start time could affect that in a good way. The students could be more focussed and happy.

    There are a lot of conflicts about this topic. There really is no good solution to fit all students needs.

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  21. At Bartels Middle School, some kids are having an issue getting to class on time. Students are allowed three lates each quarter. If they are late to class four or more times they get a detention.
    Passing time is the time in between classes. Passing time at Bartels is three minutes.
    These are some issues that kids have between classes; can’t open their locker, have to go to the bathroom, teachers keep them after class and don't give them a pass to their next class.
    It’s 2 minutes till the end of the hour and you have to go to the bathroom really bad. The bell rings and your off to your next class but you have to go the bathroom and you don’t want to be late to your next class. You go to the bathroom really quick and you’re on your way to your next class and the bell rings. LATE!!!
    Teachers usually have a lot of teaching to squeeze in 55 minutes. Some teachers allow students to go to the bathroom during class.
    A short passing time is one of the issues at Bartels Middle School. If you have a solution please contact Bartels Middle School.

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