7H Weekly

The official newsletter of Bloomington Jr. Highs 7H!

Corporal Punishment Still in Schools Today

By: L. Sherfey The practice of corporal punishment in schools of the U.S. may be thought of as outdated and old-fashioned by most students, but is still legal in 19 U.S. states. A new bill being proposed in Kansas, attempting to define the fine line between corporal punishment and child abuse, has made many parents and politicians angry. Current Kansas law allows spanking that doesnt leave marks. The proposed legislation would define corporal punishment as up to 10 forceful applications in succession of a bare, open-hand palm against the clothed buttocks of a child. Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, told WTIC about quiet rooms. The rooms, which he said were as small as four by four feet, are still used in many states to punish children. But, the system is extremely biased, as forty percent of the children confined in these rooms have autism, and many are black or latino.

Olympic Closing Ceremony

By: C. Adelman As you all may know, the 2014 Winter Olympics have been going on for a while now. On Sunday, Feb. 23, we all said goodbye during the Olympic Closing Ceremony. The closing ceremony consisted of an intricate dance performed by several dancers in mirrored outfits, a floating boat, and giant floats of a leopard, a rabbit, and bear. Many of the athletes from the 2014 Winter Olympics showed up at the closing ceremony as they proudly displayed their national flags. The saddest part however, was most definitely when the giant bear blew out the Olympic torch and a single tear rolled down his cheek. As the screen faded to black and the credits appeared on the screen, we all have to agree that the people of Sochi definitely have a sense of humor: they mocked the mistake that was made in their opening ceremony, the red Olympic ring not opening. Fear not, though. The ring did eventually open this time.

The 6th Sense

By: L. Edwards
This year at the Students Involved in Technology Conference was full of amazing presentations and lots of raffles! One presentation really shined: the 6th Sense. The 6th Sense is a new kind of technology, with the basic idea being you strap a camera to your chest, making it a micro-projector. What it does is it projects something to the wall and tracks your fingers. The 6th Sense puts out things on the projector based on what it sees. One cool thing you can do is look at a book and it will show the Amazon reviews and the rating (if it has one). Another thing it can do is project the weather onto a map of the USA. You can also make the picture taking motion. If you read a newspaper, such the New York Times, it will play a video of the article from the website. You can also play games on a piece of paper using the 6th Sense. That right, you can play games on a piece of paper! This new technology is supposed to come out in 2016 and be under $300!

New Kind of Snow Day?

By: R. Jumonville This wild weather has caused many school cancellations, and is chipping into summer and spring break. What is the solution? Well, for the Pascack Valley Regional district, the internet is the answer. Having a warning that there might be snow, teachers created lessons the students could complete at home online! Asking teachers questions, working through assignments, or jumping into class discussions was all included. The community still doesnt know if this day will count towards the mandatory amount of school days in the year, but students were still successful learning. Who knows? This could be the new snow day. (Of course with small breaks to play in the snow.);)

This Weeks English Homework For Ms. Hutton: February 24-28

Choose 4 tasks. All work due by the March 3.

1. Freewrite for 15 minutes about something you like to do. 2. Explain a specific science term/concept learned this week. Include a graphic. 3. Interview your parents about what class they enjoyed most in jr. high or high school. Ask at least five questions and record their answers. 4. Write a poem about a place youre studying in geography. 5. Explain ratios. Give an example. Include a graphic. 6. What are you thinking about Animal Farm? As you read, what questions or thoughts do you have?