april 2015 esk of mrs. stivender dates...
TRANSCRIPT
The Legend The Legend is published monthly by Lake Placid High School, 202 Green Dragon Drive, Lake Placid, FL 33852
Desk of Mrs. Stivender
April 2015
Editor: Alexis Merlo
By Katie LeBlanc and Delani Coleman
Dates to
Remember!
FSA Reading Test
There is a new
standardized test that un-
derclassmen will be taking
this year to replace FCAT.
Teachers have been prepar-
ing students for this test for
weeks; the new format is
very different from any
standardized test that has
been taken here at Lake
Placid High before. While
students are taking the
Florida Standard Assess-
ment, teachers will contin-
ue teaching the students
who are still in their class
and the ones testing will
make up the lesson when
their testing is over, just as
it has been done in the past.
Testing will be during the
weeks of April 13 and
April 20.
Prom
Lake Placid High’s
Under the Sea prom will
be on May 9n at the Flori-
da Aquarium in Tampa.
Students will meet at the
high school at 4:15 to
load onto the buses and
depart for the Florida
Aquarium. Students will
be searched before load-
ing the buses and go
through the aquarium se-
curity before entering
prom. Deputy Garza will
also be going along with
the students for security
measures. Mrs. Stivender
is expecting prom to go
very well due to the nu-
merous successes in past
destination proms. Mrs.
Stivender suggests that
when students are decid-
ing on clothing to wear to
prom, they take into con-
sideration that they will
be on a bus for quite some
time while traveling to
and from prom; it is also
suggested that students
bring extra clothing that
they change into on the
way back. Students will
be taking bus to and from
the aquarium.
Second Semester Grades
As the 2014-15
school year comes to an
end, students will be de-
ciding on classes for next
year. Mrs. Stivender asks
that students chose their
classes wisely. She tells
The Legend that colleges
are looking for the num-
ber of academic classes
and their grades. Colleges
do not like to see that a
student took a lot of in-
ternships and co-op clas-
ses. It is very important
for students to get as
Caps of Love Update! By Kayla Harris
SGA’s Caps of Love drive
has been a huge success
The collection goal has
been surpassed
SGA received an award for
its work with Caps of Love
All year long, Lake
Placid High School students
have been collecting bottle caps
and other plastic lids for charity.
Caps of Love, the organization
that collects the lids, recycles
donated plastic and uses refunds
from the recycling to purchase
new wheelchairs for disabled
children in the United States.
Thanks to SGA and all the stu-
dents who took part in the col-
lection drive, Caps of Love has
been able to add tens of thou-
sands of lids to its numbers.
How many caps have been col-
lected, exactly? According to
SGA president Sophia Hernan-
dez, SGA “stopped counting
once we hit 126,144,” but the
actual count is most likely closer
to 130,000 caps. This far ex-
ceeds SGA’s goal of 125,000,
and they are excited about these
results. “I feel so honored that
the student body has responded
the way they have,” So-
phia says. “I never in my wild-
est dreams imagined that they
would show out so much and
donate so, so many caps...We
never thought this could be pos-
sible.”
Not only has SGA’s
work with Caps of Love raised
money for children in need of
wheelchairs, but it has earned
SGA well deserved recognition
as well. At a recent student gov-
ernment convention, Lake Plac-
id High’s SGA won third place
for its successful bottle cap
drive. “We entered a project
book for [Caps of Love], and
we won an award for it,” Sophie
explains. The trophy that they
earned now sits in a display
case in the SGA room, making
known success of the project.
Though the possibility
of another Caps of Love drive
next year is still being deter-
mined by the incoming SGA
officers, the accomplishments
of this
year’s
drive can-
not be
mistaken.
SGA’s
original
goal at the
beginning
of the school year was to col-
lect 50,000 bottle caps, a goal
that has since been more than
doubled. Such success would
not have been possible without
the full support of Lake Placid
High. “We’re very proud of
everybody who has helped
make this happen,” Sophia
says. She would also like to
issue “a big ‘thank you’ to all
the teachers who have come up
with creative ways to motivate
Child Abuse Awareness Month
Page 2 The Legend Volume , Issue
By Kristen Harris
Preparing Future Investigators in Forensics By Ana Ramirez
Many state and local gov-
ernments work to encourage
public awareness of child
abuse and child neglect
This special awareness cam-
paign encourages schools
and their students to get
involved with child abuse
prevention
The child abuse hotline can
be called anytime at 1-800-
4-A-CHILD
Every April, purple
pinwheels pop up across lawns
nationwide. Businesses, homes,
and government establishment
display the colorful decorations
as a symbol for children and the
youthful happiness deserved by
each and every one of them.
These pinwheels are a part of
Child Abuse Prevention Month,
an awareness campaign created
by the organization Pinwheels
for Prevention in 2008. Every
April, the U.S. President Presi-
dent of the United States issues
an edict proclaiming the start of
Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Many state and local govern-
ments also work to encourage
public awareness of child abuse
and child neglect, launch pro-
grams in communities, and re-
commit themselves to the
issue of child abuse preven-
tion. The theme of this year’s
Child Abuse Prevention
Month is “Making Meaning-
ful Connections,” which was
chosen to encourage the
building of healthy relation-
ships between
children and the
adults in their
lives.
This
special aware-
ness campaign
encourages
schools and their
students to get
involved with
child abuse pre-
vention. Accord-
ing to guidance counselor Ms.
Wilson, Lake Placid High
School prepares its teachers to
aid in issues of suspected
child abuse. “Our teachers are
trained every year. We have a
PowerPoint that is sent down
to us from the district office,”
she explains. “We give
them… things to look for. We
give them steps and proce-
dures to follow.” Though she
says reports that child abuse
cases reported in Lake Placid
are few and far between, she
Ms. Wilson adds that “there’s
cases we don’t know about.”
She further explains, “We
don’t have a lot we report. It’s
low frequency, but I’m afraid
there’s a lot we don’t hear
about. Children are afraid to
speak. They know something
is going on with their friend,
and I would really like to see
more of the students take an
active part in going to an adult
when they fear something is
going on.”
If a student suspects
that a friend may be a victim
of child abuse, there are steps
that he or she should take. Ms.
Wilson advises students
to“look for signs.” She de-
scribes exactly what students
should do in a situation by say-
ing, “If they see something- a
big change in a friend or some-
one they know…. Just try to be
a friend to that person. There’s
help… [If you feel the first
adult you told didn’t help] keep
going. Tell another
adult. Just be
aware of what they
see with their
friends. If they
have a concern, go
to an adult that
they trust. It
doesn’t have to be
a counselor; it can
be any adult on our
campus. Follow
up;, don’t just re-
port it one time. There may be
things happening that [students]
don’t see; just follow back up
with them.”
“Abuse isn’t always physical;
sometimes, it’s verbal or emo-
tional,” she explains. If at any-
time a student feels as if he or
she or a friend is in danger of
abuse of any kind, the child
abuse hotline can be called any-
time at 1-800-4-A-CHILD. It is
open twenty-four hours a day,
This year, forensics
has been offered to seniors
who were interested in tak-
ing the class. As the year is
coming to an end, these
seniors will have to work
together to solve a murder
case of their own.
What is forensics?
According to Mrs. Rinald,
who taught the class for
three years from 2006 to
2010, “forensics is the ap-
plication of science” that
involves criminal investiga-
tion and the use of experi-
ments to come to a conclu-
sion. Forensic science is
going deeper into science
and using what one knows
from biology, chemistry
and any other regular sci-
ences. Within the forensics
subject, there are many top-
ics that one may specialize
in such as hair analysis,
fingerprinting, blood splat-
ter, ballistics and decompo-
sition. There are many
subsections to forensics
that one may choose.
The forensics class has had
several labs that contribute
to the lessons learned.
When studying hair, the
students observe the hair
through microscopes and
learn to anatomy of it. In
the blood splatter lesson,
students learn about how
blood’s behavior with grav-
ity and how blood shape
and direction can identify
what happened and where
it occurred. Since real
blood cannot be used, syn-
thetic blood is used.
With the help of
teachers,
Mrs.
Rinald will
be creating
a crime
scene us-
ing a cloth
dummy. In
the final
project,
students
are split
into small teams by choos-
ing what topic they want to
work in whether it is evi-
dence collection, hair, psy-
chology, fingerprints, docu-
mentation, etc. Each team
will have to explain their
findings and come together
to solve the case. They will
eventually have to present
the case to a
“jury” which
will consist
of students
from a histo-
ry class or a
group of
teachers. The
final project
will last at
least 7
weeks. By
having students participate in
a crime scene of their own, it
will make them “analyze
their evidence” and learn
how to prove their finding by
explaining and demonstrat-
New Year’s New Food Standard for Schools
Page 3 The Legend Volume , Issue
3rd Nine Weeks Club Updates!
By Jayda Knight
dents have to meet the follow-
ing nutrition requirements:
Be a “whole grain-rich”
grain product
Have as the first ingredi-
ent a fruit, a vegetable, a
dairy product, or a pro-
tein food
Be a combination food
that contains at least ¼
cup of fruit and/or vege-
table
Contain 10% of the Daily
Value (DV) of one of the
nutrients
of public
health
concern in
the 2010
Dietary
Guide-
lines for
Ameri-
cans (calcium, potassium,
vitamin D, or dietary
The United States De-
partment of Agriculture, has
recently published practical nu-
trition standards for snack foods
and beverages that are sold to
children during their school day.
As most students already know,
there has been a huge junk food
reduction. Throughout the past
few years, Michelle Obama has
cut numerous amounts of junk
food items from schools around
the country. This isn’t to punish
students and take away to the
only school foods that we like,
such as cookies, but this policy
is being implemented help de-
crease the percentage of kids
suffering from obesity and will
become a stronger national cam-
paign strongly supported by
Michelle Obama in the 2016-
2017 school year.
Next school year, the
foods that will be sold to stu-
Key Club is competing
in their annual conven-
tion next week
SGA is holding a
dodge ball tournament
FFA members will be
going to SFSC to com-
pete in districts.
Recently, the Key
Club has been involved in
Relay for Life, which will
be held April 25 at the
football field. Key Club is
also participating in their
annual convention in Or-
lando called Dcon. At this
convention they will be
awarded for all the work
and projects they have
done throughout the year.
In the past two years the
Key Club have won the
turkey scavenger hunt and
look forward to getting
more awards at their con-
vention.
The president of Key
Club, Brisia Fonseca, has
been involved with Key
fiber).
The Nutrition Standard for
Beverages that are allowed to
be sold at schools are:
Plain water (with or with-
out carbonation)
Unflavored low fat milk
Unflavored or flavored
fat free milk and milk
alternatives permitted by
NSLP/SBP
100% fruit or vegetable
juice
100% fruit or vegetable
juice
diluted
with wa-
ter (with
or with-
out car-
bonation), and no added
sweeteners
Clubs and sports that
fundraise by selling candy to
make a profit will have to do
this on their own time.
“Students and athletes will no
longer be allowed to sell candy
bars or any type of food item
during the school day. All
sales must be done outside of
our school campus,” said Mrs.
Stivender
Although it may take
a while to adapt to the lack of
junk food on our campus, it
may very well be beneficial. It
is worth the shot, with a lower
rate of obesity these students
can become a part of making
America a healthy place.
Club since her sophomore
year. To join Key Club
Brisia stated, “Most of the
time old members bring
friends along and get inter-
ested and decide to join.”
For
more information about ac-
tivities involving Key Club
please see the advisor, Mrs.
Eidenberger.
In FCCLA the
members are planning to
put together egg wraps to
sell to students for $2.
FCCLA is also planning to
participate in the dodge ball
tournament, on April 29.
Some of the members are
extremely excited about the
event. Mr. Skalski, the
FLCCA advisor stated,
“This is my first year I have
done FCCLA but I did do
Key Club up north.” Since
he is just starting out
FCCLA has not received
any awards but Mr.
Skalski is hoping to win
some. He later added,
“To join FCCLA see me
or my officers.”
Some upcoming
events in SGA would in-
clude getting volunteers
to sign up to help out for
Amy’s School of dance
recital. If students do
choose to sign up they
will be given community
service hours for however
long the student volun-
teered for. SGA will also
be holding a dodge ball
tournament on Wednes-
day, April 29. Each class
grade will need a total of
8
players. SGA is a fun and
social way for students to
get community service
hours and to become a
better student.
On May 5th,
FFA will be hosting their
annual banquet here at
the school in the com-
mons. The students will
be recognized for all the
hard work they have
done throughout the
year. The students will
be participating in sev-
eral upcoming contests.
Mrs. Vester, the advisor
for FFA, stated that the
members of FFA will be
participating in districts
at SFSC. On April 11
the students will also be
going to Gainesville for
a state competition.
Mrs. Vester also stated
she has been involved
with FFA for her whole
life. Mrs. Vester’s dad
was the old advisor and
when he retired she took
over his position.
If students are
interested in joining
FFA students will be
required to fill out an
application and pay a
yearly due, which this
year was only $30. FFA
is a fun way to get in-
volved and become edu-
cated with agriculture.
By Halie Murphy and Nick Videll
Page 4 The Legend Volume , Issue
Name: Florida Gulf Coast Uni-
versity
Location: Fort Meyers
Size: total undergraduate en-
rollment of 12,861
Fast fact: FGCU has no foot-
ball team.
College Spotlight By Kristen Harris
Name: Palm Beach Atlantic Univer-
sity
Location: West Palm Beach
Size: total undergraduate enrollment
of 2,887
Fast fact: PBA has the only Sailfish
mascot in the nation.