Do you like high-intensity sports? Do you like being a part of a team activity? Do you like being in a passionate community? Are you in 8th grade or above? If you answered yes to any of these questions, outdoor track and field could be a great activity for you! Learn more about it below!

Races, Activities, and Events!

Starting next Monday the 4th through next Friday the 8th, outdoor track and field will be accepting new members! Practice will start 3:00 PM after school at the track and will end at 4:45/5:00 PM. If the weather is below freezing or raining, you will meet in the lobby.

Coach Rick Schuder and Coach Lavel Walker are, as said by a member of the track C. Seiffert, “hardworking and well involved, but also keep you on your toes and working!”

Events and Races

In outdoor track, you will expect a meet once week after one month of track practice. In meets you will experience 100 meter – 2 mile races, pole volt, and high jump. These races are intense and fast moving. If you love being active and bettering yourself, these meets are for you. These types of meets usually last all day on Saturday. (Click here for more information on meets, practice, and schedules.)

If any of this interests you, you should definitely consider going to next week’s practice! It’s so much fun and great for making friends and pushing your limits. We hope to see you there!

Over the month of February, the Black Culture Club worked very hard for Black History Month. Part of this celebration was sharing announcements every morning about lesser-known black history figures. Some of the black history figures mentioned were Jimi Hendrix, Edward Bouchet, Mamie Phipps Clark, and many more. These announcements were a way to shine a little light on some black figures that we may not learn about in school.

Ella Baker was a very interesting black history figure that stayed mostly behind the scenes during segregation but still made a huge impact. Here is an example the announcements normally consisted of. “Today’s Black-Figure in History is Ella Josephine Baker who was born on December 13, 1903, in Norfolk, Virginia and raised in North Carolina. She had a passion for social justice at a young age and her grandmother being a slave fueled the passion. In the 1940s she started at the NAACP (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) as a secretary and shared the group’s message of “ a world without discrimination based on race.” In 1957, Ella Baker moved to Atlanta to form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Dr. King, she helped facilitated protests, build campaigns, and ran a voter registration campaign called the Crusade for Citizenship. Baker viewed the young people as a very huge aspect of the civil rights movement. Because of this, she helped lay the framework for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). The SNCC contributed to the movement through freedom rides and had a large emphasis on the importance of voting rights for African-Americans. Baker died on Dec. 13, 1986, on her 83rd birthday. She left a very important legacy and was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1994. She was also honored on a U.S. postage stamp in 2009.”

The Black Culture Club made this year’s Black History Month one to remember.

Sleep. All of us need it and most of us love it, but we take it for granted. The Nationwide Children’s Organization says that teens need about nine to nine and a half hours of sleep a night. It’s reported that only 15% of teens actually get the recommended amount of sleep. The average amount of sleep is 7 hours for teens. After puberty, a teen’s internal clock changes by 2 hours. For example, a teen who goes to bed at 9 will now go to bed at 11, but since students still have to wake up at the same time or earlier for school, this leads to sleep deprivation. Teens tend to get overwhelmed with sports, clubs, and homework. All these things come before sleep. Sleep deprivation can lead to being irritable, and cranky. It can also cause attention deprivation, memory loss, poor decision-making abilities, slow reaction time, and loss of creativity. Therefore, teens should try their best to manage their time wisely, and get nine to nine and a half hours of sleep.

On the 3rd of December, the Middle and High School Strings programs performed at Cab Calloway. They were conducted by Ms. Ayers, the program director, and played eleven pieces. The middle school strings students opened with six pieces from a variety of genres, from La Mariposa, a piece in the style of a traditional Cuban mamba, to Gloria in Excelsis Deo, a choral piece by Vivaldi (a composer from the Baroque era of music), to Rosin-Eating Zombies from Outer Space, music parodying the soundtrack of old horror movies. Rosin-Eating Zombies finished the concert and was played beautifully. The performance, complete with special effects played on instruments and live screams from soloists, proved to be a success and generated thunderous applause from the audience.

After the middle school concert, the high school students followed. The high school orchestra managed to play five challenging pieces and played each one with great skill. One piece in particular, Troika, was used for the movie Lieutenant Kije. It was composed by a Russian musician and composer, Sergei Prokofiev. The song had many contrasting dynamics, ranging from the soft pianissimo to the loud fortissimo. Every piece played during the concert brought tremendous success to the Cab Calloway School of the Arts Orchestra.

Social media is a huge part of teen lives with some even spending almost nine hours a day in front of their screens. Teens normally spend up to ⅓ of their day on social media according to the Guardian. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a maximum of two hours of screen time a day to keep being as healthy a possible. Social media is very influential to us and can play positive and negative effects.

Social Media plays many negative effects on teens. Cyberbullying is a huge issue and being on social media creates a place for it to happen. The Cyberbullying Research Center says, “About half of young people have experienced some form of cyberbullying, and ten to twenty percent experience it regularly.” Cyberbullying can lower an adolescent’s self-esteem and has caused some teens to feel physically ill. Social media can also cause stress and anxiety. According to the Child Mind Institute, some teens may turn their likes and followers into a popularity contest and feel like they need to have the most to be popular even if they don’t realize they’re doing it. Body image can also be affected by social media because of celebrities. While on social media, teens see all of their favorite celebrities looking perfect which can raise their expectation of what they’re supposed to look like. In summary, social media can play a negative role on teens through cyberbullying, stress, and self-esteem.

Even though there are many negative effects of social media, that shouldn’t stop teens from using it, but they should protect themselves from harmful posts. Teens spend so much time on social media that they are losing a lot of sleep. Spending less time on social media gives you more time to sleep and do homework. Also, having a private account can protect you from online predators and cyberbullies. Not to mention, If someone who is already following you starts to post mean comments, blocking them will rid your life of their negativity. Additionally, you should have a trusted adult in your life who you would feel comfortable going to if something was happening to you online. It’s okay to follow celebrities who you aspire, but following positive people who post inspiring messages can help bring up your self-esteem. Social media can turn into a negative space, but if you protect yourself then it can be a safe place.

Even though there are many negative effects of social media some things can be positive. Social media can be used as a way of communication for teens. Many teens have formed study groups through social media and shared information to students who may have been absent. Social media can also help teens stay in touch with past friends through changes in their life such as school switches. It is important for teens to share their talents and social media can be the place to do it. Many celebrities were discovered on social media, so having a place to display their creativity benefits teens in tons of ways. Many people also utilize social media as a way to spread awareness and kindness. Celebrities can post messages about mental health and self-care which can help teens all over the world. Sometimes even teens share positive messages about kindness and that proves that social media can be used in a positive way.

According to PEW Research Center, 72% of teens say they use Instagram and 69% say they use Snapchat. Social media is such a huge part of adolescents’ lives and they use it constantly for various reasons. Ever since social media was invented, there have been many risks that have increased over the years. This just shows that teens have to be more careful with what we do on social media. If they keep themselves safe on social media, it can be a very positive place with inspiring messages. Overall, social media or online access is a part of 94% of our lives and as long as they’re safe and responsible, social media can be a positive place.