Reflections

Table of Contents:

I. Evaluation of most favorite writing.
II. Evaluation of least favorite writing.
III. Reflection on experience.
IV. Reflection on self as a journalist
V. 9 ARTICLES
8. Aid In Shining Armor
6/7. Ms. Merioles’ Vivid Methods
5. What's Your Major?
4. Would You Get a Tattoo?
3. Is He Dead?
2. Mandatory Reading: How students see it
1. Poetry Love



I.
My Favorite writing this semester in journalism was the profile I did on Ms. Merioles. I started of weak with this article. I worked on this article for two weeks. Ms Merioles’ Vivid Methods is my first profile on a teacher. I like this article because I learned how to “paint a scene” in a article, and I did so for this article. I liked how I painted a scene about Ms. Merioles teaching about the immune system. It was kind of hard writing this because I had to remember back to how she taught from when I was a student of hers last year. Overall, I like this article most because it shows me improving myself as a writer compared to how I started of.


II.
My least favorite article this semester was What’s Your Major?. I did not think just getting a bunch of quotes could be so hard. I had to get a variety of different quotes. The article I thought would be the easiest turned out to be the hardest. I was expecting this article to be a piece of cake but I was wrong. I don’t like this article so much because it was hard and I do not like the way it came out. I still believe it needs improvement.


III.
I experienced many things in journalism. I improved as a writer. One of the most significant experiences I experienced was I learned how to paint a scene in my articles. I really liked that and it improved my articles very much. It helped me become aware of how I need to intrigue readers by using vivid methods.


IV.
I really enjoyed being a journalist. It was a wonderful experience. I think I am a good journalist. I started of weak and improved my writing. I liked journalism a lot and learned from this class as well.

Aid In Shining Armor

Along with college comes a monster for most students, tuition. Most look at financial aid as a savior but, it might not always be a strong knight in shinning armor.

Financial aid does not mean free money. Most students depend on loans. A loan is money you borrow with interest. When depending on loans, students should be smart and check if the loan is subsidized or un-subsidized.

With a subsidized loan, students don’t have to pay interest while they are in school. While they are in school, The state pays interest. An unsubsidized loan is paying interest as soon as you enroll.

Financial aid does have a heinous side. Truth of the matter is, interest kills you. A very evil side that is easy for most people to ignore because it is usually a tiny star at the end of the page is loan origination fee. Loan origination fee is charge loan agencies and banks give you just for signing up.

Scholarships sound fascinating. They are. Scholarships are grants from a state, a private party, government or even the school itself. Most students aim for the $10,000 and above. Numerous students ignore small scholarships. They should realize that no scholarship is too small.

College will get expensive so students will receive less. Tuition, the vicious monster, is increased every year but grants, part of the savior, decrease. Students should not quail and hide, they should apply for additional scholarships while they are in school.

If students achieved good grades while they were in school, they qualify for merit based scholarships which is based on academic performance. On the other hand, there is need based which is based on the need of the student and his/her family.

Fafsa and CSS are financial aid forms. Fafsa is a free application. CSS charges $25 per school. Students should do a application for all of their schools at the same time. These forms do get very personal. They ask for your parent’s tax forms and W2 profiles for verification. They must be submitted on time or early.

Though college is a like a colorful rainbow for gaining knowledge and a better future, there is no pot of gold at the end of any rainbow.

Ms. Merioles’ Vivid Methods

As the late bell rings, the class prepares to settle down while Ms. Merioles connects her laptop to the transparency, turns it on and lights up the screen with a video of a virus attacking the immune system.

Rather than getting in front of the class and teaching in a traditional oral way, Ms. Merioles likes to take out a transparency and show the lesson to her students on the Internet in a vivid, picturesque manner. With the help of transparencies, students are more attentive because they can actually see tissues, organs and cells working together in an immune system rather than listening and reading about it.

With ten years of teaching experience, Ms. Merioles has been teaching science here in Jamaica H.S. for five years now. She started teaching in the Philippines in 1998, then started teaching at Jamaica High School in 2003. “I love kids” said Ms. Merioles “Teaching is a job of love and devotion.”

Ms. Merioles believes basic learning starts with concrete and increases into abstract. In order to understand abstract, you need experience. She allows her students to see the experience of how white blood cells release pathogens against harmful organisms.

Freshman Jayme Gooberdhan appreciates Ms. Merioles‘ methodology “She explains her work very well” said Jayme “ Power point is very vivid”

The problem for Ms. Merioles is the time; 45 minutes are not enough. Sometimes starting the transparencies and the Internet take time. With more time, she would be able to show the material and explain it well to all the students rather than working quickly with alacrity.

“I try to make a substitute for the real experience”, said Ms. Merioles. Rather than handing out work sheets or drawing a response from T cells and B cells on the board, She shows actual lymphocytes that allow the body to remember previous harmful organisms to destroy them in the future.

“Ms. Merioles is very helpful and caring” said Junior, Philip Thuyamany. “When it comes to doubts, she explains the material in a way every student understands the problem”.

According to Ms. Merioles, her methods compared to teachers who teach verbally most of the time, are more vivid, intense and accurate. While other teachers rely on the traditional way and talk about the lesson in front of their class. Ms. Merioles provides a fun, interesting vivid image for her students to learn the lesson.

As the video is ending with B cells producing antibodies to finish foreign bacteria, Ms. Merioles turns off the transparency and explains further what the class just saw. The class scribbles down notes and Ms. Merioles answers curious questions about the human body’s defense system, the immune system.

Whats your MAJOR???!!!!

What’s your MAJOR??!!



Choosing a college major can be hectic. However, Most seniors and juniors attending Jamaica High School already seem to know what they would like to major in when they leave the halls of Jamaica and enter the halls of college.



“I want to major in computer engineering because I believe computers are the future”
-Senior, Nandram Shiwmangal

“I will major in culinary arts because I want to open up my own restaurant”
-Junior, Chanel Robinson

“I’m interested in nursing because I like helping people and always had an interest in the medical field since I was a child”
- Senior, Kortni Garcia

“I want to major in communication because I want to become a radio personality like Miss Jones.”
- Junior, Whitney Ford


“I’m interested in biology because I want to become a doctor and the medical field requires for me to major in one of the sciences”
-Senior, Harpreet Singh




“I like accounting because I like working with numbers”.
-Junior, Junior Pena


“I want to become a vet because I love animals”.
Junior, Bryton Bucknor


“I would like to major in accounting because I’m good at it”.
-Senior, Hugo D’Oliveiro

“I’ll major in pharmacy because my mom wants me to”.
-Junior, Saud Al Shaikh

“I’m not really sure. Automobiles or art”.
- Senior, Colin Fredricks


“I’m interested in education. I was inspired by Ms. Dibinis and my eighth grade science teacher”
-Junior, Salma Hoque


“I want to major in biology because I have a passion for it”.

-Junior, Asha Henmen

“I want to major in medicine e because I would like to become a doctor so I can help those in need”.
-Junior, Farhana Zahan

“I’m interested in education because I would like to become a kin kindergarten teacher.”

-Junior, Amanda Torres

“I want to major in dentistry so I can help people to have a good smile”

Junior, Philip Thuyamany




While a few are still confused, Most students are certain about the major they would like to pursue

Would you get a tattoo??

A lot of students that walk the halls of Jamaica High School, ranging from 14 to 19 years old, have at least one tattoo or plan on getting one.

A Tattoo is something that will stay with you forever. It’s permanent and it won’t just go away. Students are aware of that and most of them would get one if they haven’t already gotten one.

“I got it because I wanted something that reminded me of what I was doing. Something I can look back on and say ‘I got that in High School’.” said junior, Omawattie Balram. Majority of the students got a tattoo or would get a tattoo of something close to them. Something they could cherish. Like a permanent reminder of something significant in there life.

Shantel Williams, a junior who hasn’t gotten a tattoo yet, said, “I would get a tattoo because it shows a symbol about you. It can also express your feelings or someone close to you”. A lot of students walking around have “names” on their body. It can be their name, a boyfriend/girlfriend’s name, family members etc. Mainly, whatever seems important to them.

Some students on the other hand just want a tattoo because it’s “cool”. Senior, Nandram S, said “I would get tattoos because their cool and sexy”. Junior, Jane B. also finds them “sexy” but would not get one on her own body because it would hurt. Senior, Jermaine Write, said “It depends on where you get it. I got one on my chest and it killed me”.

Junior, Trieshanna Bradford, thinks differently. “Why are you marking you body? It’s a sin” say’s Trieshanna. There are some students who would agree with Trieshanna. To many, vandalizing their skin is not worth it. “I don’t need to tattoo my mother’s name on my arm to show that I love her” said Anonymous

Sophomore, Ashley Couret, got her tattoo at fifteen. “My mom said it was O.K.” said Ashley. She got her tattoo on her lower back. “It tickled, I was laughing. It only hurt when it got to my spine. It was alright though.” Said Ashley.

Many students have tattoos already and many would go and get them as well. To some students, tattoos are beautiful and represent something beautiful. To other’s, tattoos are useless and not worth the pain. Their considered decorations to some and vandalism by some.

IS HE DEAD?

Mr. Cohen’s Gateway junior class, journalism class, Mr. Marquis, and former Jamaica High School teacher, Mr. Croonquist went to see Twain’s humorous rediscovered play, Is He Dead? on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre on February 27^th,. The found it humorous and great!

Is He Dead? is a comedy written by Mark Twain. The play was written in 1898 but was not performed until it‘s rediscovery in 2002. It was adapted by David Ives and directed by Michael Howell Blakemore. Premiering in December 2007.

The actors were wonderful and believable. The star of the show is Norbert Leo Butz, a prominent Tony Award winning and Broadway acclaimed actor. His performance was brilliant! He play’s the role of Jean-Francois Millet. The production’s supporting actors were Andre, the vicious man who put Millet in debt, Marie Leroux, Millet’s lover, and Chicago, Dutchy, and O'Shaughnessy who played Millet’s buddies that encouraged him to fake his own death, Besides these acts there were more outstanding performances.

The play is about French painter, Jean-Francois Millet. Millet was actually a renowned painter in Twain’s time. The play is about Millet faking his own death so his painting could sell. When he was “alive”, barely anyone could pronounce or knew his name. After his “death”, his paintings were noted and admired, demonstrating a theme in the play, society’s value of art. Other themes were greed, wealth, and ensue.

Millet poses as a woman, Daisy Tillou. The plot was very entertaining. The dialogues were great and humorous. The audience was very much into the play and laughing at the hilarious scenes. For example, when anyone heard about the disease Millet died of, they would grab their crotches and make scared, disgusted faces and seeing a man act like a woman was funny as well. “It was hilarious and creative” said Omawattie Balram. Many students who attended the trip agreed with Omawattie.

The props in the beginning of the play were of when Millet was poor and there were actual paintings by Jean-Francois Millet on display. They were effective and really made the play believable. The props were also good when Millet or Daisy Tillou was rich in the third act. The painting in the back of the room in the second scene stood out and makes the audience wonder about who painted it. “The play was funny and caught the audience’s attention” said junior Gaitree Persaud “It was nice how the props were poor then rich”

The play received a lot of positive reviews from the critics. "A DELIGHTFULLY SILLY AND ENTERTAINING EVENING that leads to a SIDE-SPLITTING climax!” said Joe Dziemianowicz, from Daily News. Students in Jamaica High School who saw the play thought no different “It was an excellent play” said junior, Trieshanna Bradford “I think Twain would be proud to see the production of the play”

Performed on Broadway, Is He Dead received a lot of positive reviews, from Jamaica High School to noted critics. Why wouldn’t it? It was performed very well. If Mark Twain was alive, He would have loved it as well.

Mandatory Reading: How Students see it

Students would rather read a book they actually want to read other than being forced to read a book they don’t want to read.

Every year, students have to read a book in their English class; it is mandatory for every student to read the book their teacher lends them.

“Their boring.” says junior, Christopher Wills; referring to the books given to read in school. Like Wills, many students see most books they read in school as “boring” books. According to many students, some “boring” books would be The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, Animal Farm and plays by Shakespeare.

“Some books like The Scarlet Letter and Shakespeare books are hard. I didn’t get them that much.” says junior, Jane B. “Their unnecessary. I don’t see how Shakespeare is supposed to help me in life. It’s so hard to understand.” says a senior who wishes to remain anonymous.

According to a few students, not all books provided by the School are “boring”; a few kids did like
The Kite Runner and Night.

According to senior, Alex Dosrath, he likes the books he is given to read in school. He finds them interesting. He said “It also depends on the teacher, if the teacher can’t teach it right, you would be lost.”

One student who wishes to remain anonymous said “I don’t read those books, I read spark notes.”

Many students do like to read; they like the books they read in their “spare time.”
A multitude of students said they would like to read books in school that they picked out themselves. "I like books like A Wrinkle in Time and the Harry Potter series," says Corean Saliard. Kwesi Charles agrees and says “I like Harry Potter books too; you read it and finish it in a week.”

“Reading is Fundamental. Everyone needs to read.” says junior, Farhana Zahan. Salma Hoque agrees with Farhana and says “It also helps improve your vocabulary." As many students know, vocabulary will be on the SAT’s and it looks great on the regents. Reading a book they actually want to read is a great way for students to build their vocabulary.

Books that many kids like to read are The Harry Potter series, The Twilight Series, Romantic novels, and Suspense books. A lot of students said they like Science Fiction and fantasies. A few were also fond of fiction.

“I like hood, cool, hot, gangster books.” says junior, Andre Hartley. “Students like to read books they want to read not what their forced to read” says Andre's fellow classmate, Katy Ann Ganpat.

It’s not reading in general that student’s dislike. If they were given the opportunity to choose their own books, many of them said they would not sleep or check their phones while the class is in session. They would actually read. Reading is indeed fundamental and many students do realize that but being forced to read something they don’t want to read seems unjust to many students.