THE MONITOR

Author: Kina B.
Editor: Mrs. Dragoo

February is a month brimming with excitement and significance, as we delve into a myriad of celebrations. From cherished traditions, to historical remembrances and exhilarating sports events, this month offers a rich tapestry of experiences worth exploring.

Let's embark on a journey through the notable observances of February: Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, Black History Month, Super Bowl Sunday, and President's Day.

Groundhog Day, observed annually on February 2^nd, holds a special place in American folklore. According to tradition, if a groundhog emerges from its burrow and sees its shadow, winter will endure for six more weeks. This quirky custom, celebrated notably in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and captivating communities across North America, offers a playful glimpse into the whimsical world of weather prediction.

Following Groundhog Day, February 14^th brings Valentine's Day, a beloved occasion celebrating love and affection! Couples exchange heartfelt sentiments through gestures ranging from handwritten notes to gifts of flowers and chocolates. Beyond romantic love, Valentine's Day serves as an opportunity to express appreciation for friends and family members, fostering bonds of kindness and camaraderie.

February also marks Black History Month, a time dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of African Americans throughout history. Originating as "Negro History Week" in 1926, this observance expanded into a month-long celebration in 1976. It provides an invaluable opportunity for students to explore the rich tapestry of Black history, highlighting the resilience, creativity, and perseverance of individuals who have shaped our nation's story.

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Author: Angela H.
Editor: Josephine B.S.

Dear Reader,

Did you know that at least 20% of middle and high school students have experienced bullying? I am sorry if you are reading this and are part of that 20%. Nobody deserves to be treated like that, whether it is by someone younger than you, older than you, or even someone the same age as you.

Bullying is a subject that has always been around, and it's not going away anytime soon. Just because it is here though, does not mean that it happens to everyone. I personally have never been bullied, but I have helped and been there for people that have been bullied. So, in this letter, I am going to teach you some ways to deal with bullying.

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Author: Joshua P.
Editor: Dreia D.

Many books, each important to specific historical eras of American history, are disappearing from public shelves due to their “offensive language.”

What books are being banned? According to Reggie Jackson, an author for the Milwaukee Independent, some of the books being banned include: Who was Maya Angelou?, Who is Barack Obama?, Who are Venus and Serena Williams?, What Were the Negro Leagues?, An Indigenous People’s History of the United States, An African American and Latinx History of the United States, How to Be an Antiracist, Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism, and The Diary of Anne Frank.

Most of these books are related to minority groups in America and nonracist principles of teaching. They’re now gone from the shelves because a few empowered people have prejudices on this topic. Supposedly, banning books was developed to protect kids from harmful content. However, in modern times, it has slowly removed history from the shelves. Though book banning can be effective in some cases, biased people are still utilizing it to erase history.

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Author: Nick Z.
Editor: Sh'kayla J.

An exploration of pop icons, how and why they were loved and hated at their peak, and simply loved now.

The Carpenters are one of the most fascinating groups of the 1970s. Loved for their clean-cut image and easy listening style, they had multiple chart successes, but weren’t necessarily appreciated until the 1990s. Despite their image as relics from different times, they can help us explore the shifting tides of the seventies, both culturally and musically. Let’s examine the Carpenters and their changing reputation.

The appeal of a musical group is often difficult to understand, as “good music” is subjective. It’s been said that the Carpenters were victims of timing. The early 1970s were a turbulent time for culture—a time of change and of chaos; amidst all this, music audiences gravitated toward a certain sound. With their clean-cut image and soothing music, they managed to appeal to all ages.

This made them commercially successful, but to critics, their distinct image and sound weren't appealing. Their image was a creation of their record label, A&M. A 1971 press release described them as “wholesome and natural, with unpretentious personalities” and critics went along with it—not always kindly. “I would say they have the most disconcerting collective stage presence of any band I’ve ever seen,” said Lester Bangs, reviewing a recent San Diego concert.

For decades, music and culture have been used as tools to rebel against the status quo, but the Carpenters made music not intended to be revolutionary. They were advertised as mirroring traditional American middle-class values. “Their problems with reviewers had to do with the music coverage in journals, whose writers got their jobs because they knew something about the current scene, which at the time was largely countercultural,” said journalist Tom Nolan.

Beyond their “uncool-ness”, the Carpenters’ critical reception is reflective of the separation of pop and rock that was happening at the time. In the early decades of popular music, pop and rock meant the same thing; in the late sixties, the genres started to have different connotations. The Carpenters wrote in a genre of MOR (middle-of-the-road)—much softer than rock. MOR intention was to entertain and soothe more than to mean something; it was easy for critics to ridicule.

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Author: Xiamely M.
Editor: Bianca G.

Do you know what you're going to do after you graduate?

There are numerous options available to you—whether you want to take a gap year, jump straight into a career, or apply to a 4-year university. There are plenty of different careers you could pursue. I’m considering learning about psychology and human behavior, along with game development and coding. Furthermore, I hope to get married and have children in the future. My plans for the future are not completely clear, but I asked other students at Connections Academy about their plans as well. The responses varied quite a bit, but a few were similar career-wise.

Autumn, a freshman, responded by describing her plans and hopes for the future. After high school, she hopes to find a good job and possibly attend college for cosmetology. She stated, “I like to be creative and most of my childhood I was doing hair, which led to me being good at it.” Autumn plans on finding a college that she can benefit from, but would like it to be close to where she currently lives, so she doesn’t have to move far.

Tyler, a junior at Connections Academy, plans to go straight to a 4-year college (in-state so that it’s more affordable) to earn a bachelor’s degree in English. As someone who has always loved writing, including poetry, songs, and stories, he’d like to become a creative writer. Tyler is considering moving to Colorado with his girlfriend after graduation.

Tomás, another junior, has dreamed of becoming a writer since he was young, and has recently developed a love for psychology. Although he’s considered multiple states to eventually move to, the one that caught his eye is Massachusetts. He believes that the state is beautiful, and he’s fond of its educational system.

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By: Elijah J.
Editor: Leydi B.

“Video games are bad for you?
THAT’S WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT ROCK AND ROLL.”
—Shigeru Miyamoto, developer of Mario Bros.

Gaming has changed through the ages, starting with the earliest Nintendo and Sega games, to the PSP and Wii, to futuristic PSVR and the Meta Quest. Who here remembers going to their friend’s house to play some Mario Bros. or Sonic the Hedgehog? Those are two of the most iconic games of all time. However, Nintendo didn’t start with that. Originally, Nintendo was famous for its Game & Watch series. Mr. Game & Watch would be a Chef, a Judge, or a Circus performer. Those are three of the games you could play. Mr. Game & Watch is even older than Mario! The maker of Mario believed in making kids happy. Shigeru Miyamoto once said, “Video games are bad for you? That’s what they said about rock and roll.”

Now to Sega. Originally, Sega had its own line of consoles, including the Genesis and the Dreamcast. You might remember Sega from an iconic tune that plays in one of their games. This tune is from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. After a big drop in demand for Sega consoles, Nintendo bought Sega out. Now you can play Sega games, but you can’t buy a console.

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By Donald J.

Shall we take a look inside a teacher’s mind?

Hello Monitor Blog! In this article, I will be interviewing my Homeroom Teacher, Mrs. Candice Brodowski. I got this idea by thinking of article ideas. I was just sitting with my notepad in hand, and I looked over at my Guitar World magazine and thought, “They always interview people, why can’t I?” So I got my computer, logged in, and looked at my list of teachers to interview. It took a while to find the teacher I wanted to use, but I finally landed on Mrs. Brodowski because she’s one of my most interesting teachers. So without further ado, here’s an Interview with Mrs. Brodowski:

Q: What inspired you to become a teacher?

A: I’ve had wonderful teachers in the past who really encouraged me and helped me to gain confidence, and that I had abilities that I could do, and also I struggled when I was in school, and I wanted to become a teacher to be able to help other kids not have to struggle the way I did, and let them know that people understand them.

Q: If you could rate being a teacher from one to ten, what would you rate it and why?

A: I would definitely say ten! I love being able to work with students and inspire minds of the future. I love that I could be creative and use different ways to teach, and I also love that I get a vacation when my nieces and nephews get vacation.

Q: What was your favorite subject as a child and why?

A: I have two, I love Language Arts, and I love Social Studies. I like Social Studies because I like to learn about the world, and how people influenced the world, and I like Language Arts because it allows you to be creative and express yourself, there’s usually no right or wrong answer, you can kind of write and freely express yourself

Q: Were you in any clubs in school as a child? If so, what were they?

A: I was in several clubs, I was in the Nature Club, in which we got to walk around and hike and learn about different plants and animal, I really enjoyed nature. I was also part of the Journalism Club, where I got to do that writing and be creative the way that I wanted to. I was also part of the Music Club, so that was where people who were singing and involved in band could get together and collaborate and make music, I like music again because it allows you to be creative, I was also involved in an Arts and Crafts club, and I was also involved in an after-school tutoring club where I got to help other students as a student, so like a peer mentor.

Q: Finally, did you have any favorite teachers in school?

A: I did have a couple of favorite teachers, my second grade teacher, Mrs. Niner, who was a teacher who really encouraged me to write, and to be creative. She sent in my work to be published, I was a published author in the second grade. Although it was just a little poem, it encouraged me and made me feel important, and that I could do something. And then I had in high school, a teacher name Mr. Young, who was my Social Studies teacher, who showed me how SS applied so much to the world, and also when I was older, he I got to be a teacher aid where I got to grade and do things, he showed me the teacher world.

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By: Katira S.

We all know that Patrick Mahomes is one of the NFL’s most talented QB’s this century has ever seen. He continues to shock us all week after week, and with a loss last week and a close game this week Pat has a whole lot on his plate with wild card weekend coming up.

But Patrick has not been the only Mahomes trending this week, the other happens to be his brother Jackson. You may know Jackson Mahomes from his crazy Tik Tok dances, but we all know him as Pat’s little brother. Jackson’s wayward fame seemed to gain attraction on September 19, 2021, when the Kansas Chiefs faced the Baltimore Ravens and ultimately lost due to a fumble and recovery. After the Chiefs lost, Jackson thought it was appropriate to pour water on a so-called “Loud and Belligerent” Ravens Fan. But this wasn’t the last of Jackson. Shortly after this on October 17, 2021, Kansas City faced the Washington Football Team and before the kickoff, Jackson Mahomes was seen dancing on the late Sean Taylors memorial for a Tik Tok video (Sean Taylor was Murdered in 2007). But Jackson later “apologized”. But this apology went through the ears of many and out the other because shortly after this on December 15, 2021, Jackson was back at it again on a Tik Tok video complaining about the services he received at a small bar in Kansas City. This is the Bar that later ripped Jackson to shreds, I’ll give you a little piece of what was said,” …That is an expectation we would have from a mature and rational person, not someone who pours water on fans and dances on memorials of tragically lost people for Tik Tok clout…”. (Courtesy of Complex.com and Sotkc’s Dec 15 Instagram post).

But as you all know by now that wasn’t the last of Jackson Mahomes. On Saturday, January 8th, 2022 at the Denver Bronco vs Kansas City Chiefs game Jackson was once again seen on the Kansas City sideline doing Tik Tok dances, but the dance wasn’t the part that had him trending for the last two days, it was the fact that he had on a jacket that said: “Mahoms” when it’s supposed to be spelled “Mahomes” This was just another stupid act for Tik Tok clout.

You may wonder “what does this have to do with Patrick?” well to answer your question, Jackson is basically riding on the coattails of Patrick. The fame that Jackson has, he is using it the wrong way. After the water incident, reporters asked Patrick what he thought of his brother’s behavior and he had this to say,” There was things said to him and Brittney that you don’t see caught on the clip, but I mean he’s been good at not trying to respond to that stuff, he takes a lot and uh he’s usually pretty good at it and he’ll learn from it and just try to stay away from those people as best he can”. (Courtesy of TMZ sports). Patrick Mahomes has to wake up and smell what’s cooking in the kitchen before it burns and starts a fire because if he doesn’t, the Golden name “Mahomes” is going to be corroded by a chemical branded “Jackson Mahomes”.

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By Sage M.
As online students, we can all relate to spending numerous hours on our electronic devices. Most of these devices emit blue light, which can cause painful headaches. And recently, all over social media, there has been this claim that one product can fix it all: Blue Light Glasses. These glasses claim to filter HEV/Blue Light that cause symptoms like tired eyes, sleeplessness, and vision blur. These have had mixed opinions of doctors, professionals, and users all throughout the media. I decided to get a definitive, truthful answer to these stirring questions. I tried the Quay Blue Light Glasses so that you don’t have to.
This particular brand of glasses range from $40-$65 dollars, so I was skeptical at the effectiveness these would have compared to other, more expensive brands. Nonetheless, keeping in mind what it was supposed to help, I started my experiment. I wore them whenever I was on my phone and on my laptop, which meant I was wearing them for most of the day.
I enjoyed wearing them for the first couple of days. They didn’t interfere much with my day-to-day life, though they took some getting used to because I normally don’t need to wear glasses. To many wearers, they are very stylish, and they come in many different colors to suit anyone’s taste. In addition, those first few days, I found myself getting less headaches. My eyes were still tired, but I blamed that originally on lack of sleep from the day beforehand.
However, in the following days, wearing of the glasses felt redundant. The more I wore the glasses, the less I felt they were working. My eyes were just as tired and I started to get headaches again. My sleep schedule didn’t vary much throughout this period of time as well. I fell asleep at the same time and woke up around the same every morning with the same ease as without the glasses. Also, as time went on, I felt the glasses getting increasingly uncomfortable. To be able to consistently remember to put on the glasses whenever an electronic device was in my view was a burden, as I felt if I went too long in front of my computer without them all then I wouldn’t be able to record completely accurate results because they wouldn’t work.
After the two weeks with the glasses, I paid extra attention to how I was feeling the following weeks after the glasses. Most of the time with and the entire time without felt almost exactly the same.
Would I recommend them? In all honesty, probably not. The glasses did not work as I expected them to consistently throughout the two weeks. It is important to keep in mind that it could have just been the brand. Just because they didn’t work well for me, doesn’t mean they won’t work well for you. I recommend other maneuvers to try to keep blue light exposure to a minimum. Most phones have settings where you can decrease the amount of blue light emitted by the phone, especially at night so you can get better sleep. This can be found in the settings. You can also keep your screen brightness on your phone and laptop low so the light is less harsh on your eyes (this is one of my go-to methods for preventing headaches). The Quay Blue Light Glasses were not worth the money or the discomfort for me, but one of the other methods or other brands might work for you!

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By Rebecca H.

As the world watched the inauguration ceremony of Joseph R. Biden, Jr and Kamala D. Harris, it was filled with many historic firsts, but our nation’s new leaders are not the only ones making history. On January 20th, Amanda Gorman became the youngest inaugural poet in the history of the United States, joining a prestigious group of poets who have spoken at presidential inaugurations, including Maya Angelou, Robert Frost, and Elizabeth Alexander.

Ms. Gorman is a 2020 graduate of Harvard University, where she majored in sociology and minored in Spanish. She began writing when she was five years old, and when she was sixteen years old, she was named the first Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles and made a youth delegate to the United Nations. Three years later at just nineteen years old, she was named the first ever National Youth Poet Laureate. She was contacted by President Biden’s inaugural committee after First Lady Dr. Jill Biden suggested that she speak at the inauguration. Dr. Biden heard her open for the Library of Congress’ literary season back in 2017. In an interview with the Associated Press, Gorman explained how she was struggling to finish her poem two weeks before the inauguration, but the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th gave her “a second wave of energy to finish the poem”.

Gorman’s poem, titled The Hill We Climb, is a five-minute spoken-word poem that The Boston Globe said, “outshined even the performances of megawatt stars like Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga”, who were featured performers at President Biden and Vice President Harris’ inauguration. In the poem, Gorman includes two references to the hit Broadway musical Hamilton, created by Lin Manuel Miranda, whom Gorman credits as one of her main influences. Miranda responded on Twitter, “You were perfect. Perfectly written, perfectly delivered. Every bit of it. Brava!”. In addition to her brilliant work in poetry, Gorman is also a published author. Her first book, titled The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough, was released in 2015, and she has two new books releasing in 2021.

Amanda Gorman has a very bright future ahead of her, and one of her goals is to take the oath of office herself. She told the Boston Globe in 2017, “I always say the really, really long-term goal, meaning 2036 is to become president”. Given the power and strength her words have, I would not be surprised to see her being sworn-in as our nation’s president, in fact, the last word goes to Amanda Gorman –
We are striving to forge a union with purpose, to compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man and so we lift our gazes not to what stand between us, but what stands before us / We close the divide because we know to put our future first / We must first put our differences aside / We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another.

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