#MeanStinks

A couple of weeks ago, the 7th-12th grade Woodlands Prep girls were informed that they were to attend a girls-only lecture on bullying.

You are cordially invited, read the little pink invitation. Thanks, but no thanks, I thought to myself. I was, in all honesty, vehemently uninterested in attending something that seemed to single out females for bullying, a universal problem concerning both genders. And I wasn't the only one who felt this way.

Girls from each of these grades openly expressed the same doubts that I had; namely, "why aren't the boys attending?" It wasn't because we weren't aware that girl-on-girl bullying wasn't a thing. After all, we'd all experienced and witnessed it at least once in our lives; and, of course, we'd all seen Mean Girls. But even so: Why weren't the boys getting a lecture?

Despite our concerns, the day of the lecture followed suit. Not unlike the scene from Mean Girls, the 7th-12th grade girls filed reluctantly into the gym, curious as to how this would all play out. Standing up front was a beautiful blonde woman who looked not much older than me. She was introduced as Miss Lauren Galley, and she was here to promote her campaign with Secret Deodorant, entitled "Mean Stinks!"

It was immediately evident that Miss Galley was an exceptional public speaker. Rather than easing out of the brief introduction, she shot out of it like a racehorse, ready to influence the myriad of young ladies before her. She spoke confidently about why she was here; to inspire girl-on-girl support and promote self-confidence by emphasizing these three major points:

1). Our words have a profound effect on others.

As obvious as this may seem, sometimes we need to be reminded that words can hurt. To further expand on this, Lauren presented a paper doll named "Georgia". Lauren began to insult Georgia, and each time she did so, she would rip a part off of Georgia, such as an arm, until she was nothing but remnants of torn paper. This was to demonstrate that words are permanent; no amount of tape will completely restore Georgia from the damage done, just as no amount of apologies can completely dismiss or cancel out what we say. Thinking before we speak is a quick fix for

2). Jealousy can be turned into a force of positivity.

We have all dealt with jealousy at some point in our lives. After all, it is a completely normal emotion for everyone. However, Miss Galley suggested the two different schools of thought that we can adopt when we are jealous of someone else: we can either let that jealousy take over and have it turn into resent, or we can acknowledge and compliment the wonderful qualities that the particular person possesses. It is more than likely that both people involved will feel better about themselves, resulting in the spread of positivity.

3). Life is simpler without gossip.

End of story! Life is complicated enough as it is; gossiping about others only convolutes our perspectives and relationships. Making the calculated decision not to gossip about others keeps a clear conscience and a rumor-free environment.

It is evident that Lauren had some great points regarding girl-on-girl bullying. However, what was most refreshing about Lauren's speech was that she was relatable to each and every one of the girls in the gym that day. She did not claim to be the perfect paradigm of a girl; in fact, she openly talked about the mistakes she had made along the way, such as engaging in gossip and excluding other girls once in awhile. Another unique aspect of Lauren's speech was the "pinky painting session" - all of the girls were invited to paint their pinky fingernails blue after the speech, as an emblem
to represent that us girls are "ganging up for good"in order to bring girl-on-girl bullying to a halt.

Overall, Lauren's speech was a huge success; everyone took something away from it, whether it pertained to girl-on-girl bullying or personal insecurities. Because of this success, the WPS administration is planning on arranging a similar meeting geared towards the boys.

To learn more about Lauren's campaign, visit http://www.girlsabovesociety.org , and check out the pictures below!

Miss Lauren Galley with a few of the young ladies at WPS

Denise and Casey "gang up for good" and sport their blue pinkies!

Sara, Cathryn, and Onome capturing their support for one another

Scenes of 2014

Scenes of 2014
WPS upper school students and faculty reflect on the past year.

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

Peace Day 2014

September 21st marks the UN's International Day of Peace. See what Peace means to Woodlands Prep, as expressed in this multilingual video by Claudia Jimenez: 

My First College Visit

My First College Visit

By Waverly Spratt 

As someone who is not fond of math, I never expected to have an epiphany in the midst of my calculus class. While discussing the mundane topic of functions, my calc teacher made a statement that was meant to simply pertain to math: "nothing is constant. The only constant is change itself." Even though he was referring to functions, I started thinking about how this, in fact, applies to life. Maybe I should have focused on functions based on my quiz grade. However, I could not help the affect that this sentence had on me. 

As a senior, I will be facing a constant influx of changes. As exciting as these changes will be, I'll admit that I'm a little bit nervous - not so much about being on my own, but about choosing the right college for me. It's a big decision. Thankfully, I was able to take a visit to a school I am considering, the University of Calgary (in Calgary, AB, Canada). I was born and raised in Calgary, but left when I was only 11 years old; thus, it was the perfect time to rediscover the city and to garner information about the school.

The University of Calgary's campus was a lot larger than I expected. Thankfully, however, I had my brother - a student at the university - to show me around. I was extremely impressed by the on-campus amenities: there is a gorgeous, state of the art gym (Calgary has previously hosted the Winter Olympics, so the gym remains a profound training facility for athletes). the food court offers a wide variety of cuisines that appeal to the diverse student population. There's even a student gastropub directly on campus - an uncommon feature for most universities. My favorite amenity, however, is the library: a sleek, modern building that seems to serve as the centerpiece of the campus. It's the perfect place to study.

My brother showing me around campus.

The library, my favorite building.

After my brother's tour, I had the opportunity to check out the University of Calgary's dance department, as I am interested in being a dance major. During this tour, I was able to see the rehearsal studios and talk to current / prospective dance students. It was awesome to hear about the dance program straight from the dancers themselves; I even learned some valuable tips for the audition process. 

One view of the magnificent skyline.

In addition to exploring the University of Calgary's campus, I had the opportunity to explore the city of Calgary itself. After this bout of exploration, I can honestly say that Calgary is one of the prettiest cities I have ever been to. There are plenty of trendy neighborhoods, delicious restaurants, exciting events throughout the year, and stunning displays of art on every block; however, Calgary's most appealing quality, in my opinion, is its skyline. A short hike reveals its beauty: a river lined with bright green foliage meanders in front of the glimmering buildings, and on a clear day, you can see the Rocky Mountains stand stoically behind the buildings. I don't think I could ever grow tired of this view.

A pedestrian bridge known as the Peace Bridge. 

My trip to Calgary was a huge success. Seeing the campus for myself and discovering plenty of new information helped ease my nerves about the momentous decision I will have to make in a few months. I hope to visit the campuses of other universities fairly soon.