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ReplyDelete“You’ve been duped!” the class hears as a cackle emerges from the doorway. On October 11th, 2018 principal of Bartels Middle school Mr. Rueth came into a seemingly average english class with an alarming announcement . “Attention all ELA teachers and media specialists…”. The class listens in as he continues reading the letter. “...all banned and/or challenged books will be removed from the shelves.”. The students look down at their books both saddened and angered. Little did they know, it was all just a hoax. Knowing of the trick, teacher Ms. Devries walks around the room and collects the books, placing them in a stack at the front of the room. When the teacher continued her lesson, everything was going to plan. All of a sudden, the principle busts in the door and blows the whole trick for everyone by explaining how he fooled them all. A sigh of relief from the students, but an angry english teacher was all that was left from the incident.
ReplyDeleteI love your hook, boi. I can picture it clearly, so good detail too.
DeleteYour hook was really good, made me interested in what would happen next!
DeleteI liked the hook, since its so easy to visualize
DeleteAnnabelle, I really love your use of detail in the very beginning! I admire your use of third person detail!
DeleteI liked the hook it really hooks you in.
DeleteA Very Bad Mosquito Bite
ReplyDeleteWhat was the worst mosquito bite you have had? Sam LaCrosse loves marching band. He is a freshman in Portage High School and he plays the tuba. In marching band, his arm rests on one spot of his arm. Since the class is outside, he also gets lots of mosquito bites. He just so happened to get a bite right on the spot of his arm his hand rests on.
The mosquito bite wasn’t bad at first, but after the bite being continually rubbed by his hand, his mosquito bite got worse. It eventually turned into a giant welt, and it looked like the Grand Canyon was on his arm. His mother caught notice of his bite and took him to the Emergency Room at the nearby hospital. Even worse, the mosquito bite became infected with impetigo.
The impetigo wasn’t bad at first, but it started to spread all around his body. Impetigo makes big red sores appear on your body. The doctors prescribed him medication for his impetigo. It helped him fight off the impetigo, but soon he ran out of medication. He thought it went away, but it came back and he had to go to the Emergency Room again. With all of this impetigo all around his body, Sam looked like he was a mummy because he had so many bandages on him.
Sam now has learned that he should tell people that he has wounds right away, because of this mosquito bite. This is really important to know because the bite could have gotten way worse than it was. Even the smallest of things can be dangerous, so watch out!
On a cool Saturday in October, 2 families gathered in Altoona, Wisconsin for a very nice wedding. Patrick and Lindley were getting married. It was a smaller shop place with very nice lighting. The ceremony lasted 15 to 25 minutes and ended with the beautiful phrase, “You may now kiss the bride”.
ReplyDeleteAfter the ceremony, the photographer called both families outside to start taking pictures. As soon as they entered the building again, they started forming a line to get food. The main course included dinner rolls, salmon, chicken, beef, carrots, mashed potatoes, and a type of salad. When people were finishing their main course, others moved to the dessert table which included 3 kinds of cupcakes and apple pies.
Once the desserts were gone, the music got cranked and everyone danced for the next 2 hours. Towards 8:00pm more of the guests started leaving and headed back to the hotel. Some of them eventually met back at the hotel pool and did some more talking and laughing. It was a great night filled with fun, laughter and love.
Like how you're more focused on the food than anything else.
Deletelike how you put a lot of details
DeleteColor is an extraordinary concept. It can be used to make up pictures, describe looks, and even make people feel different ways. Some scientists in Madison are even finding ways to how our brain processes color.
ReplyDeleteAt the Wisconsin Science Festival held at the U.W. Madison campus on October 11th through the 14th, the scientist had set up a test for willing participants. In between all of the other booths and in the middle of all the wandering onlookers, was a table filled with cups of different colored legos. With the legos were sheets of instructions and a color guide.
What the participant had to do was simple. Build a 2x6 tower of legos with each layer being a different solid color. The directions showed the participant what the layer should represent. It could be anything from what color the sky was right now or what color represents justice in the eyes of the participant. In all, the tower consists of 17 different layers.
Once the participant was finished with the tower, the scientists would take it and line it up with al the other tower made by different people from across the state. Once they input the colors into their computer system, the program they run will look for different patterns, like maybe a certain age thinks that orange represents courage, or a lot of teenage girls wear white shirts.
They would be able to figure these things out because on the layer guide they asked the participant to put a certain color for a certain age and gender.
The scientists do not yet know what this information will be used for, but overall the experiment looked very promising.
You had a very good hook! It really grabbed me and I wanted to read the whole article!
DeleteGood backround info, made it easy to understand.
DeleteI really like how you described everything, it gave me a good mental picture of the event.
DeleteYou had really good details!
DeleteI loved your hook Elizabeth!
DeleteIn Paris, France, there is a famous street called Champs Élysées. It is one of France’s many big hotspots for tourist to come around each year.
ReplyDeleteMaybe because of the famous brand stores you could find on it, like Louis Vuitton, or a winking Mona Lisa, or because of its history during World War II.
Many tourist come to see it, especially couples. Couples can be seen here holding hands and admiring the view together, while other tourist are taking pictures to capture every moment into a frame forever. Sometimes, some people would walk infront of the tourist, completely ignoring them.
Other than that, Champs Élysées is a very beautiful place to visit that is full of tourist every year.
ReplyDeleteBaraboo’s “Fair on the Square”
Everyone flooded to downtown Baraboo on October 13, 2018. People from all over Sauk County and Wisconsin gathered to see the wide variety of detailed artwork, amazing clothing, and delicious food.
Some fair-goers stopped to marvel at the creative and artistic booths created by local shops and businesses. Flyers and advertisements were handed to passer-byers for plays and stores. The local theater group performed songs as an advertisement for their upcoming production, “Newsie’s”.
Children of all ages lined up like an army of ants while awaiting their turn on bouncy houses or to receive balloon animals. Adults traded cash for large cups of coffee or hot chocolate due to the chilly weather.
A small group of musicians played well-known songs on large speakers. The many stands sold toys, trinkets, food, and anything you could imagine.
Baraboo’s “Fair on the square” was a fun, interesting way to support local stores, shops, galleries, bakeries, restaurants, and businesses.
Two weeks ago, the 8th grade class launched rockets at Portage Wisconsin!
ReplyDeleteNot actual rockets, but model rockets and while some were epic fails, the majority of them were great, and shot off far into the sky!
The students all agree that the fails were explosive! Some caught fire, and others shot straight into the crowd, and the ones that did launch ent high into the sky, almost like you would never see it again but they never failed to drop back down, whether onto the football field the students were on, or the bleachers on the track field.
Now, apparently the students worked tirelessly on this project, filling out graphs, and afterwards calculating the height, but the students also had some fun, putting together the stage one model rocket, and designing it as they see fit with their 3 person group. SOme wrote stars, and others wrote nothing but at the end of the day some of them went home with a burnt rocket that was on fire.
The whole activity was extremely exciting, and fun, and everyone agrees it was awesome fun! What's better than watching a rocket catch fire, or shoot into the air? Nothing, and that's exactly what the students at BMS did.
Good hook.
DeleteGreat hook.
DeleteAmazing hook.
DeleteSpectacularly Fantastic Hook!
DeleteOn a particular day in October, the 11th day to be exact, the wind and cold were fighting for dominance in south-central Wisconsin. In the warm gym of Waunakee Middle School, two amazing teams were battling it out on the volleyball court. Portage and Waunakee.
ReplyDeletePortage had only won one game, so they were all trying their best to take home a win. At the end of the game, Waunakee was up by five points. Would Portage ever catch up?
They showed promise with a good overhand serve to start them off. Waunakee volleyed it back. Portage got three good hits, bump, set, and sent it back over the net with a spike. It went on like that for about twenty fantastic exchanges. Both teams made some great saves.
Then, after what felt like forever, Portage got one hit… two hits… oh no! Portage dropped the ball. When it was over, the coach said,”That was a great game ladies!”
The game was won by Waunakee and Portage went home with defeat on their hands.
Like you use of suspense.
DeleteI love your hook, super interesting!
DeleteOn October 11, at 1:45 p.m. an event of astonishing proportions took place in small middle in school in Portage, Wisconsin. Picture this, an English class full of teen students zoned out, reading books and enjoying their lesson of the day. When suddenly a principal decides to ruin it…
ReplyDeleteWhen the principal entered the room the students didn’t give a thought to it. But when he handed the English teacher a paper all of the students in the room had become intrigued. As he read the paper out loud students mouths began to drop, the principal had said, “all banned or challenged books in Wisconsin school districts must be taken off of our shelves, immediately.”
Students were baffled, one witness/student said, “the room went in to chaos.” Students in the room were upset, yelling, jaws dropped as the teacher loomed over students desks and took away books that had to be taken. The entire room went silent and into abrupt shock.
The students continued with their lesson angry, however some had a different idea of what had happened. “It’s a setup”, some students were saying. While others clearly upset about their books being taken away as they sat there with a glare on their faces. And as it turns out… a couple of those students were right.
The principal entered the room again and told the advanced english students that they had been fooled. Students smiled and laughed as books were handed back to them and it was clear that the students cherished their books, and now they knew what it was like to have them taken away by someone else’s actions… Multiple school districts around the nation go through this and it shouldn’t happen. But at least for know the students get to enjoy their books and not have to worry about them being ripped away.
GRIPPING detail.
Deletestunning.
DeleteDefeated!
ReplyDeleteTWEET! On a cold early Saturday morning, a soccer game started in Portage, Wisconsin. All of the soccer girls were freezing cold, but kept going and fought through it. Monroe was a pretty good team, but only scored two goals on Portage. The game is going great when all of a sudden Portage has a goalie down. She can not get up and the audience is worried. Portage´s goalie gets carried off the field and we are later informed that her legs went numb. The game must continue, so Portage has a back up goalie quickly run in.
The score is 6-0 in Monroe´s favor. The Portage girls feel like they need at least one point to be okay. Suddenly, a Portage player gets the ball and is headed down a wide open field ready to make this goal. TWEET! The whistle blows and the chance is ruined. Crying can be heard and another Portage player is out. She got cleated in the leg and is bleeding, so she is carried off the field. Portage has no more subs to go in, so the game is stopped by default. It was a good game with a tragic ending for Portage.
Wisconsin State Marching Band 2018
ReplyDeleteHigh school marching bands around Wisconsin travel to the Whitewater College campus for their yearly competition. Portage High School (PHS) has been preparing for this day since the beginning of summer band practice, hoping to impress the judges with their performance of “Head in the Clouds”. After the performances of the larger schools that Portage would not be competing with, Portage was ready to go.
PHS was first to perform in their league. According to several Portage residents that witnessed the state showing of “Head in the Clouds”, “This [was] one of [Portage’s] best performances yet”.
After PHS takes their turn, several other high school bands perform to the best of their ability. But, as always, one school stood out. With their school band reaching numbers of over 250 high schoolers, Greendale won the league with an astounding score of 90 percent, which beats every other score of the night for all leagues. Portage came in at 4th place for their league with a score of roughly 70 percent.
Several complaints were made about Greendale performing with the smaller bands. One Portage citizen complains “[Portage] will never be able to go to nationals if [Greendale] wins state every year.” This raises the question: should Greendale be moved to the competition for the larger schools? Many other witnesses think so. However, the system that decides who competes with who is very strict. It is not the size of the band, but the size of the school that determines which league the school bands are put into. It looks like Portage will have to face Greendale for many years to come.
I really liked the description.
DeleteGood job in making good and deep details and third person view.
DeleteGood words and quotes that happen at the band
DeleteWisconsin is known for being the cheese state but you´d be a fool if that´s all you thought it had to offer. In southern Wisconsin lays Madison.
ReplyDeleteMadison, Wisconsin is huge, urbanized town that also happens to be the capital Wisconsin. There is so many things you can do in madison like, visiting the capital.
The capital building is a architectural piece of art and there is at lot to look at. They have an observation deck to look over the entirety of lake Monona and downtown madison.
Another thing to do in madison is visit downtown Madison, more specificly, State Street. State Street is a large street with lots of shop for you to explore and visit like Urban Outfitters or Starbucks. The street ends at UW Campus and next it you can find Union Terrace.
One last thing you can do is visit Union Terrace. Union Terrace is a terrace that have food and looks over Monona Lake. Make sure to bring your friends here to enjoy a nice and peaceful evening/afternoon, besides in summer.
Madison has a lot to offer so, you should try and get down there and have lots of fun!
Very good description!!!
DeleteVery good description!!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteTornadoes in Portage?
ReplyDeleteOn October 7, 2018 tornadoes were spotted near interstate 39 in Columbia County. That day schools and sports were directed to go inside and wait for the tornado to end. A few days later it was found out to be low hanging clouds.
The last tornado in Columbia County was in 2013. With it being five years since the last tornado Columbia County was expecting one. Throughout the year residents have gotten tornado warning without a tornado in sight. It was about time one appeared.
Social media in the area buzzed about the recent tornado sightings. It was only a day later when it was announced we’ve been wrong. The sightings were not funnel clouds or tornadoes. They were low hanging clouds.
Pictures from nearby resident showed there were no touchdowns that day near Portage, WI. This is not the case for nearby cities. It was a twist ending for all residents.
This was a really good story and I liked all of the detail that you put into it.
DeleteNice choice of words and description.
DeleteMagic: The Gathering New Set!
ReplyDeleteThere’s a new Magic: The Gathering set Guilds of Ravnica is so far a big hit in the MTG community! After a few days of it coming out the Walmart in Portage Wisconsin was completely out of booster packs from the set.
Not only are the booster packs going quick some of the singles on an online MTG store are out of stock including special edition Emmara Soul of The Accord is one of the cards. As boosters and cards flying off shelves their prices are pretty high one particular card is Vraska, Golgari queen going at $15!
One of the most powerful red and blue planeswalkers is making a comeback with a new deck and two different cards. The deck is mainly based on slinging spells to win. A new Vraska deck also crawls to the battlefield winning on dumping creatures into the graveyard to make the rest stronger to beat the rest. Leading the Slylensnia army is Emmara Soul of The Accord. This green and white combo unleashes an army upon the other players
Really good hook. This is making me want to buy it.
DeleteNice hook, and good details on the cards.
DeleteThe alarm went off and everybody froze. The students of Bartels Middle School had never had a fire drill during passing time, and for that reason, most, if not all of the students believed it was real. They had always practiced where to go and how to act when the alarm goes off in class, but never in the halls. “Slightly after the alarm sounded, there was a split-second where you could tell everyone was confused and didn’t know what to do.” said on girl who had been at her locker at the time being.
ReplyDeleteThe teachers and staff had not been informed of the event beforehand either, and ushered the kids outside. For those who did not see the teachers, Mr. Reuth, the school’s principal yelled in his booming voice, “Now everybody listen up! Headout those doors now!” pointing to the set at the end of the hall. One could see the fear in the student’s eyes as they obeyed the orders given to them.
Once outside, the bitter wind of fall immediately whipped around those standing on the baseball field, talking about what was happening. “It’s just another drill.” one boy said, confident in his answer. “But what if it really is real and part of the school is on fire?” replied a girl wrapped in a sweatshirt. Those comments came in many different forms as the idea that the school was on fire traveled through the crowd.
Through all of the chaos, teachers and staff managed to herd their students into groups with their third hour teachers, for that was where they were headed next. Some students couldn’t find their teachers and wandered around hopelessly. Eventually, after some looking, everyone was in the groups they belonged in and were counted for.
Staff, students, and teachers alike all headed back inside the warmth of the school building, for it was a drill after all.
There is a slight rumble in the background from all the cars engines firing up. Alex Hartwig is in one of those cars. His car is white with yellow and red stripes and has a big yellow 901 on the side. The best way to describe these cars is they look like mini NASCAR cars. The only thing that is different is the drivers go in through the roof on bandoleros while NASCAR drivers go in through the window.
ReplyDeleteAll the cars file onto the track at Dells Raceway Park in Wisconsin Dells. Alex was towards the back of the pack. When the green flag was waved they were off, and it didn’t take very long for Alex to move into 2nd behind the 92 car of Karter Stark. This explains why Alex is so well known in the racing world. He is practically famous because not only does he win most of his races but many older and more experienced drivers say he is one of the best drivers they have ever seen.
There were five laps to go, and Alex was steadily gaining on Karter. With one lap to go, Alex was the closest to Karter as he had ever been. Alex and Karter left the rest of the pack in the dust. Everyone was just watching the 92 car and the 901 car. When the two cars went all the way around the track and came back to cross the finish line, no one was sure who won. It wasn’t until a few minutes later did the track officials confirm that Alex in the 901 car had one. Barely. He won only by inches and thousandths of a second. But it was still a victory.
Later Alex said,” I wasn’t even sure who won once we crosses the finish line. I only knew who won for sure once the track officials came on the radio and said 901 you are the winner.”
Everyone was so amazed of how good of a race they just witnessed, they were talking about it days later.
I couldn't stop reading, I loved the hook at the beginning.
DeleteI couldn't stop reading, nice job Ashley!
DeleteWhen another game day was coming to a start, the family knew it was going to be another amazing day, watching yet another Badger football game. Although they knew that the previous games were not the best, the family had great faith in the Badgers to win this game against Western Kentucky.But, the real question is can they pull through or not?
ReplyDeleteIt was a nice sunny day at Camp Randall Stadium at around twelve O’clock in the afternoon.You could smell the smell of fresh baking brats and hot dogs cooking on the grill, the speakers of nearby tailgaters thumping to the beat of music, and the loud conversations of nearby fans as they talk about the upcoming game. When you look down from the parking garage you can see the people filing in for the exciting game as they go through security. You could even hear the clop clop of police horses as they come in to monitor the coming crowd.
Inside the stadium the game clock is counting down slowly but surely, one second closer to game time each time.As the family sits in their seats, they watch the pool of red file in. They sit and watch the excited players as they prepare to play, and hopefully win yet another game.
Finally, the game clock runs out, and the hype video for the Badgers booms out loud and proud. When kickoff comes they sit on the ends of their seats waiting to see what happens. Some time goes by of nobody scoring, then suddenly there's a huge uproar from the crowd as the Badgers march down the field and score a touchdown. This happens again, and again, and again. Our defense holds strong, and the badgers do not let Western Kentucky into their endzone once.
Western Kentucky ends up scoring three points from a forced field goal as they failed to get a touchdown. The score ended up being thirty-four to three. The family hears the ear splitting sound of all the band members celebrating the Badgers win. Along with the announcer shouting “and the Badgers end up pulling through thirty-four to three.” The family ends the game by singing varsity and celebrating yet another Badger win, one game closer to the bowl game. ”Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.” - President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“What a day to be loved by the Lord and to be in his house.” ~Bishop (Father) Donald Hying. During the 11:30 service on Sunday, October 14, at St. Johns the Evangelist Church in St. John, Indiana, this year's 9th-grade class was confirmed. To be confirmed is to pledge to be a practicing Catholic. There were 50 students being confirmed. 20 were students at the St. John’s school and the remainder were REs, or religious education, students who attend the public school and take CCD, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, a term meaning religious education.
ReplyDeleteDressed in black-tie attire, the confirmees entered the church, a grand and modern building with stained glass windows so detailed it’s as if they’re telling stories. Mass started as it regularly does, then the Bishop transitioned it into confirmation. During this time, the confirmees came up with their sponsors, the person they chose to be with them in this special time, typically a god-mother or father, behind them. When they got to the front, the Bishop would ask them what Saint they chose to study and why.
Hannah Gerstenkorn, a confirmee, stated: "I chose Saint Cecilia because she's the saint of music, something I really enjoy."
Then, the Bishop places his right hand on the confirmee's head and using the Oil of Chrism traces the cross on their forehead with his thumb. As this happens, he will say, "Be sealed with the gift of the holy spirit."
After everyone had been confirmed, mass finished with some songs and communion, a part of Christian worship when consecrated bread and wine are shared. Post-service there were snacks pictures in the church lobby. The confirmees worked very hard these past few months to achieve confirmation. The congregation sent them off, wishing them well.
In Portage Presbyterian Church on a cold October Sunday morning the members of the church had a secret party for the pastor celebrating Pastor Appreciation.
ReplyDeleteThere was lots of excitement because Pastor Dave does quite a few things for the community. He was one of the creators of the summer lunch program feeding many kids that can’t afford lunch.
The party seemed to have gone over very well and Pastor Dave appreciated all of the appreciations.
There was only one minute left… In early October 2018 the eighth grade Portage Football Team faced Reedsburg in absolutely terrible weather conditions, but remained positive. Their game was forced to be delayed by thirty minutes and this was caused by lightning and multiple tornado warnings in the area. Luckily the storms subsided and the game was a go.
ReplyDeleteThe Warriors took the early lead with six points in the beginning of the first quarter. Although by the late fourth quarter the odds were not in their favor and were losing six to eight, while on defense. Thankfully they were able to put up a huge stop and get the ball back. Sadly the offense went four and out to return the ball to the other team. After a minute of defense they continued the trend of making a big stop on defense. The Warriors offense then went for it on fourth down and the mobile quarterback scrambled for a much needed first, giving them one last chance. The very next play number twelve threw the best pass of his life with one minute left and lead the team for a final score of fourteen to eight, Warriors.
It started 0-0 but it definitely didn't end that way. Sunday 10/14/18 was the day 4 individuals had their scrims. These 4 were going competitively play fortnite. Fortnite is a video game that is an 100 player battle royale where around 100 player going into a game and only one person or team wins. If it’s easier to imagine it’s kind of like hunger games. They started late in the day around 6:00 PM. The teams were Kyan and C.J going against Mitchell and Kenny. It was going to be whoever go the most eliminations out of 7 games in duo squads which means 2 players against teams of normally 3-4.
ReplyDeleteIt starts game 1 Kyan and C.J try and secure an early lead so they go to the first place where most people where some people will go for some easy eliminations to start. Game 1 ends Kyan and C.J get the early lead. From that initial game only a couple of eliminations were secured. Then all of a sudden Kyan gets 6 eliminations and C.J get 2 they have a big lead now. Kenny and Mitchell are trying their hardest and catch up a little bit but not enough to tie. Fast forward and it’s game 7 the score is 16-8. Kyan had to eat and Mitchell had to go they got subs for them. It was the last game Kenny and his substitute go for a hot drop but die without getting any eliminations Kyan and C.J won.
People jumping to death. It was one of the most dangerous recreational activities. The date was July 2018. 3 boys were in seek of adventure. They had never been cliff jumping. They had seen tons and tons of videos of mishaps and awesome adventures cliff jumping. So they wanted to try it out for themselves. One of the boys asked their mom with great hopes that she would say yes. She was very excited and said yes. The boys packed into the car and started on their way to the Wisconsin Dells. It was around 6:00 on a summer evening. They drove through the noisy and full streets of the Dells. They arrived at the cliff destination. The boys and mom began on the 1.2 mile hike. They walked up to the dusty flat rock with the water barely rippling and the sun glistening off the water about 40 feet below them. The short boy went first. Then the tall boy. Then the medium sized boy. They all jumped and the air flew by them as they speared through the air. Them each gasping as the drop seemed to last forever. The water crashed under them and almost seemed to explode. They all said things like “this was the best day ever.¨” They all went home with the real life experience being as good as they expected it to be.
ReplyDeleteThe time in between classes is extremely important for students. It allows the students to be prepared and collected for the next class period. At Bartels Middle School the passing time is a topic with many different opinions.This author has found that students have different experiences involving their time in between classes depending on what needs to be done in between the classes.
ReplyDeleteAt Bartels Middle School the passing time is 3 minutes. The average in the U.S. is 4-5. Some students did report being able to get to class on time and prepared with little or no time to spare. While others reported there was not enough time to get things done.
However it was commonly reported by students that they do not have enough time to do the things required of them before a class period. Students often said some teachers were not willing to let students get a drink or use the bathroom. Which posed the thought what could students get done in those 3 minutes?
Most responded they could get from their previous class to their locker and onto the next class on time with just maybe enough time to grab a sip of water. (Some said if they got water they would get to class right when the bell rings.) This seems to show that students are are not using the bathroom in these 3 minutes.
On average it takes 1-2 minutes to use the restroom. With a 3 minute passing time that leaves 1 minute to get to your class and gather your things. As I have interviewed students from the Beaver Dam district they stated they had 5 minutes to get to class and they managed to do fine, they got a drink, used the bathroom, and got to class on time.
The students of Beaver Dam also said they were less tense and stressed about getting to class on time and/or worrying about a detention. They stated they felt a little more free and not consistently worrying about a kid walking a little too slow or dropping supplies in a busy hallway and not being able to pick it up. They said they were able to relax as they traveled from one class to the other.
Students have expressed the desire for a different passing time such as last years again. But then we would have to lower the minutes per period that we as students need. It could be possible to take some time away from recess/lunch and put it into the time between classes. However that would take away precious time that the students need to eat and have a break. There may not be a perfect solution that suits all involved but maybe with the proper attention it could be dealt with appropriately.
In a 2009 investigation by USA Today, it was found that meat served in United States schools wouldn’t meet the quality or safety standards of fast food restaurants. Also, according to Lunch Lessons almost half the vegetables eaten by most children age 2-19, in the United States were french fries. And obesity rates among children nearly tripled from 1970-2000 and now 20% of adolescents are obese. The National Lunch Program was established to help improve this issue. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private school and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to students each school day.
ReplyDeleteThis reporter interviewed several Bartels Middle School students on their thoughts about school lunches. When asked if they thought school lunch food was healthy, 75% said no and 25% said sometimes. School lunches have been getting better at being more healthy and eliminating deep fried food but there is still a long way to go. Schools are doing better at giving out more healthy proportion. A healthy, proportional meal includes: 50% vegetables/salad, 25% protein, and 25% starchy carbs. Most school lunch menus now include more whole grains, fruit, and vegetables, although they also offer an abundance of factory-farmed animal products and heavily processed foods like corn dogs, tater tots, and cheese pizza.
There are many reasons to feed kids healthy and well-balanced meals. These reasons include: better learning and memory, improved concentration, better overall health, better behavior, better academic performance, reducing obesity, and better habits for the future.
Although, there may be some bumps in the road to get healthier school lunches to their destination. When this reporter asked the students if they thought school lunch tastes good, one half said no and the other half said sometimes. Also, when asked if they eat school lunch, 75% didn’t. This means that most students don’t like how school lunch tastes and therefore probably don’t eat it. This means that any efforts to get students to eat healthier is very limited. This is so because if most students never eat school lunch they are most likely eating not so healthy lunches from ala carte or from home. To solve all of these issues schools will want to continue to find ways to make school lunch more appealing, healthy, and delicious.
New Cancer Treatments (Part1)
ReplyDeleteA new cancer treatment was tested on one little girl and the the results were dramatic. If you were to see Rihanna Plaza today, you would never know that she was born with a cancerous tumor the size of her newborn head on her arm. Rihanna started intensive chemotherapy right away, but after several months the cancerous tumor wasn’t shrinking. Looking for another option, the family connected with doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center who were testing a new drug called Vitrakvi. The drug targets a specific gene mutation in the tumor. This treatment doesn’t target tumors based on where the tumors originate. Rihanna received the drug twice a day at home and her parents saw immediate results. Rihanna also had no side effects and within months, the tumor became small enough for doctors to perform surgery without affecting the functionality of her arm. Today, all that's left is a scar and she is cancer free.
Vitrakvi was approved by the FDA for adults and children with metastatic solid tumors (not blood cancers) that cannot be surgically removed without serious harm and that have no other therapy options.
The FDA is an agency with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines, and other biological products for human use and medical devices.
Vitrakvi is available as a capsule and a liquid oral solution for children. This new drug is shedding some light for people with uncommon cancers.
In a interview with Stephanie Stahl on CBS Philly, Dr. Neal Shukla said, “We are really trying to move away from treating patients based on just where the cancer arises and really treating them based on what makes the cancer tick.”
Tumors are caused when a TRK protein that is encoded by three neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase (NTRK) genes fuse with a cancer cell. This acts as an ignition switch to accelerate tumor growth. Vitrakvi works by interfering with the resulting TRK proteins to stop disease progression.
Vitrakvi is generally safe and well tolerated. It also has a fairly high success rate. Among 55 adults and children with 17 cancer types, the overall response rate (meaning complete or partial tumor shrinkage) was 75%. After one year, 71% of responses were ongoing and 55% of study participants were still alive without disease progression. Several people who had partial responses in the initial report became complete responders. Vitrakvi has also been effective in 11 cancer types including lung and colon.
The FDA also approved Xospata for treating adult patients who have relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with an FLT3 mutation. AML is a rapidly progressing cancer that crowds out normal cells in the bone marrow and blood stream. This results in low numbers of normal blood cells and a continuous need for transfusions.
The National Cancer Institute estimates that approximately 19,520 people will be diagnosed this year with AML, and approximately 10,670 patients will die from the disease. Of that 19,520 people diagnosed, 25-30% have a mutation in the FLT3 gene. This is where Xospata comes in. Almost half the patients with AML will die. Most of these deaths are from the harsh chemotherapy treatment, but with Xospata there are midler side effects.
Just like Vitrakvi, Xospata also has a high success rate. Of 138 patients treated with Xospata, 21% achieved complete remission (no evidence of disease and full recovery of blood counts) or complete remission with partial hematologic recovery (no evidence of disease and partial recovery of blood counts) with treatment. Of the 106 patients who needed red bloods cell or platelet transfusions at the start of the treatment with Xospata, 31% became transfusion free for at least 56 days.
(Part 2)
ReplyDeleteAlthough these new treatments are giving hope to many patients, there is a downside. The cost of the drug is very inconvenient for most patients. Vitrakvi costs $32,000 a month and Xospata costs $22,000 a month. Although, there are companies trying to make the cost more convenient for patients, like Bayer. Bayer is a pharmaceutical and life science company (one of the largest in the world). Bayer believes the out of pocket cost for patients will be $20 or under when the drug starts to be used by more patients.
“‘Xospata offers new hope to patients for whom the treatment path forward is unclear,’ said Steve Benner, M.D., Senior Vice President and global therapeutic area head, Oncology Development Astellas, in an article with Astellas. ‘For the first time, people with relapsed or refractory FLT3 mutation-positive AML, have an FDA approved FLT3 targeting treatment available to them. The approval of Xospata is also a proud, landmark moment for our oncology program and marks the first approval of a medicine that will be the cornerstone of our new presence in the blood cancers.’” These new cancer treatments are shining a very bright light of hope to many patients who thought that light had burnt out. They are also a major step in the right direction of curing cancer.
Overall, these newly approved drugs by the FDA are helping and will be able to help many patients. They are much less harsh than chemotherapy and have great success rates. They are also much more tolerable by the patients, for the side effects of the treatment are much less than chemotherapy. And most importantly, they can save lives.
References
Bacon, J. (2018, November 28). FDA approves new drug reflecting cutting-edge, 'tissue-agnostic' effort to beat cancer. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/11/28/new-cancer-drug-vitrakvi-larotrectinib-targets-genetic-links/2135582002/
FDA approves new option for cancer patients - CNN Video. (2018, November 28). Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2018/11/28/fda-approves-vitrakvi.cnn
Highleyman, L. (2018, December 05). FDA Approves Vitrakvi for All Cancers With Specific Gene Mutation. Retrieved from https://www.cancerhealth.com/article/fda-vitrakvi-larotrectinib
Simon, S. (n.d.). FDA Approves Vitrakvi (Larotrectinib) for Tumors With Certain Genetic Change. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.org/latest-news/fda-approves-vitrakvi-larotrectinib-for-tumors-with-certain-genetic-change.html
Stahl, S. (2018, November 30). 'It's A Miracle': New Cancer Drug Shows Promise In Curing Patients. Retrieved from https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/11/30/its-a-miracle-new-cancer-drug-shows-promise-in-curing-patients/
Thomas, N. (2018, November 28). FDA approves two cancer treatments after expedited reviews. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/28/health/fda-approves-vitrakvi-xospata-bn/index.html
Xospata (gilteritinib) Cancer Medication. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cancerhealth.com/drug/xospata-gilteritinib