Red Ribbon Week 2014

Red Ribbon Week 2014

By Waverly Spratt

Starting this Monday, October 27th, the Woodlands Preparatory school will be participating in the annual "Red Ribbon Week", the largest anti-drug campaign in the United States. Red Ribbon Week is a national movement that encourages students across America to live a healthy, drug-free lifestyle by simply saying "no" to drugs! To help enforce this positive message, the students at Woodlands Prep are invited to participate in the following 5 themed days:

Monday, October 27th (Today): Students are urged to "Sock It" to drugs by wearing crazy socks with the school uniform.

Tuesday, October 28th:  It's time to "Band Together" against drugs! Students can wear a bandana with the school uniform.

Wednesday, October 29th: Students can get inspired to "Team Up" against drugs by wearing their favorite team shirt / jersey / outfit with school uniform bottoms.

Thursday, October 30th: Keep calm and "Lei Off" drugs for life; wear a Hawaiian shirt, flower, or lei with the school uniform bottoms.

Friday, October 31st: This Halloween, students are encouraged to "Scare Away" drugs by wearing a Halloween costume to school! (Make sure this costume is school appropriate).

In addition to this fun week of themes, both lower and upper school students will be learning more about the harmful effects of drugs through a series of lectures and activities.

Woodlands Prep is proud to be drug-free!

The Truth About Ebola

The Ebola virus has affected thousands the past three months. Ebola, also known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a deadly virus that started in northwestern and central parts of Africa.  Recently, the Ebola virus has managed to become a major concern for countries in Africa and across the world. With a death rate of 90 percent, the Ebola virus has killed more than 1,200 people in Africa, particularly those in impoverished areas like Sierra Leone.        

Last month, two people from America caught Ebola in West Africa; both were transported back to the United States, treated with experimental drugs, and were released from the hospital. This past month, a traveller from Monrovia, Liberia was diagnosed with Ebola in Dallas, Texas; predictably, this person was infected with the virus before boarding a flight to America. He was not treated successfully and passed away from the strong disease. Two nurses who cared for this person have been infected with Ebola the past few weeks, and there are no more reported cases with Ebola thus far.

How does a virus like this even enter the human population and spread, some might ask? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the virus is transmitted to humans by wild animals that are infected with the virus. Mainly fruit bats are known to be the natural host for the Ebola virus. Once a person contracts the virus they begin to experience symptoms that include: fever, muscle pain, weakness, sore throat, and headaches. Those are only the sudden symptoms when infected with the virus, and then more dangerous symptoms occur like diarrhea, rashes, and vomiting. The only way the virus is transmitted from human-to-human is by the contact of bodily fluids.

There some are treatments for those infected with the virus, but there are no vaccines availed so far. Although there are treatments available for the virus, there is no single, specific treatment for Ebola; however, new ones are being tested continuously in order to get those infected healthy again, and there are two people in the USA today who were successfully cured from the virus. Until a cure is developed, we should realize following:

-Trustworthy Ebola information is produced from organizations such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). 

-Resources, such as the American Health Officials from  CDC, have assured the public that an outbreak of Ebola is very rare, and there are measures in place to prevent its spreading.

-Unless you engage in direct contact with the blood or   bodily fluids of someone who has Ebola, the CDC explains that you cannot get the disease.

-Ebola cannot be spread through air, water, or food.

For more truth on Ebola, please visit the following reliable links:

http://www.cdc.gov/ebola

http://www.hcphes.org/response/Ebola.htm

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-nigeria-stopped-ebola-2014-10

Researched and written by Dean Osmond and The Woodlands Preparatory School 

Senior Class Feature: Environmental Science

By Waverly Spratt

This year, some fellow seniors and I have had the chance to immerse ourselves in AP Environmental Science class. I think many of us didn't expect to come into contact with plenty of unique creatures! Take a look:

Ball Python

Red-Eared Slider

Softshell Turtle (or "Pancake" Turtle)

Box Turtle 

Rose-Haired Tarantula 

Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches 

Ms. Newman, our instructor,  loves having us interact with all of these creatures, as well as other forms of life. She says:
"science is touching, experiencing, and hands on discovery. I want my students to be able to directly interact with their environment on a daily basis. Also, my goal for this class is to implement a sense of appreciation and responsibility for the environment, as their generation has some big decisions ahead of them regarding the environment."
Ms. Newman's objectives are certainly evident in class, as demonstrated by the photos below:

Nathan sketches a tree for his project

Claudia feeds the hungry turtles

Olaf, the class kitten