Are They - Miami Edison Senior High School

1
May, 2009
Volume 1, Issue 1
Body Piercings: Are They Fashionably Safe?
By Lidia Touissant
Interview with Our Principal:
"I got it for fashion!" says senior,
Naomie Payen. "I got it because
it's cool!" say senior Letoya G. Now
these days when you walk down
the halls of Edison, you notice a
lot of body piercing. Whether it's
on their belly buttons to their bottom lip or even on the tongue,
people seem to just simply love
them! As I spoke to many of the
people who got them in this
school, the majority states that
they got them for fashion or to be
cool. The others say they got them
for twisted pleasure. I also
spoke with people and asked their
opinion on piercing. Many stated
they would get it and the others
Mrs. LaVette Hunter
(aka "Big Bengal")
just thought the idea was ridiculous. But I asked everyone did
they know the risk behing getting
piercing and only a few knew. If
piercing goes wrong on the ear it
might give you an ear infection or
it may form a huge ball behind
your ear. With a tongue piercing, it might form a blood clot.
Anywhere else it might just form
a ball and get an infection
which may hurt.
When you are getting a
piercing make sure the people
opens a new pack of needles
and does not use an old one. It
is also important to keep your
peircing clean. Just remember
getting a piercing is cool but
very risky.
Sneak Peak . . .
Text Messaging
2
In the minds of Ladies & Gents 2
Counselor‟s Corner
3
Summer Jobs!!
3
HIV/AIDS
6
By Sidney Ware
What is your message for MESH students?
"To take education seriously. Especially this
year it is seen that through education you can
achieve your dreams."
How have you tried to enforce this message
so far?
"I've gone around and spoken to students
first hand and tried to encourage them."
What would you like to see from the
students?
"Self-respect. I think that it is important to
have self-respect... but they also need to give
respect to receive it."
What has been the most difficult thing this
year?
"It hasn't been difficult, just a lot of work."
What goal would you most like to see
achieved this year?
"For the school to be a "C" or better.”
2
Friends With Benefits
By Sydney Ware
By Laetitia Novembre
When you‟re not “official”, you don‟t talk as much and it
gives you the freedom to do what you want, a student
said when I asked him why he preferred to have open
relationships as opposed to being committed. This is
one of the very many responses that I got in regards to
one of the latest trends
among teenagers in our
current generation,
friends with benefits. But
what are the real benefits? I was given answers
like “they‟re less complicated or they‟re easier to
deal with, but what happens when things go too
far? When I asked people that said that they
liked the detachment, if
they had ever experienced someone “accidentally” becoming emotionally
attachment. Most of them said yes, and some of them
even admitted that they were actually the one‟s that
caught feelings.
Everyone is curious when it comes down to the thoughts of
the opposite sex. We all would like to discover what goes
on in their minds day after day. I went deep into the teenage mind to find out what they really think about. I discovered many luminous and some obvious things about adolescent today.
For starters, and average ,smart, goal oriented 10th grade
student Wilmide Casseus says she thinks about school,
food, her boyfriend, money, her appearance , and family on
a regular basis. Wilmide says I think about these things
when I‟m in school, bored at home or just out. I usually
think about food when I‟m hungry, my boyfriend when I
miss him and my family when I want to know what‟s going
on with them.
I next interviewed subject Marc Dujour, an 11th grade student who describes himself as hardworking and a person
who tries to do everything to the best of his abilities. When
asked what he usually thinks of, he replied “Money, my
job, my education, my hood, my family, my girlfriend, my
teachers and my friends.” Marc states that these individuals are mean much to him and it‟s important that he keeps
them in mind.
BRIEF NEWS! BRIEF NEWS!
Miami Edison Sr. High
School Articulation with
Miami Edison Middle
School
April 2, 2009
Lt. V. Arthur (City of Miami
Fire Rescue) & Mr. M.
Green (MESH)
EMT Students that participated included:
Aguy, Ricardo
Donne, Eddynendy
Gauthier, Jean
Myrthil, Tranette
Myrthil, Tranise
Petit-Louis, Claire
Pierre, Geraldine
The above students spoke
at Miami Edison Middle
School Articulation about
all the great benefits of
Emergency Medical Training and how they have
learned to perform CPR,
rescue breathing, check
vital signs and bandage
and splint injuries.
I've done so many things this visiting Princeton University (the
year with the kids and have a
2nd ranked school in the nafew big projects underway, but I
tion) from April 30-May 2 to
suppose the greatest accompresent her work and attend
plishment of the year was
the Race Relations
Tranette Myrthil receiving
the Princeton Prize in Race
Relations for her work with my
class last year as a founding
member of Promoting Our Will
through Education & Research
and her work as President of
the Miami Youth Council. She
will receive $1000, have a ceremony in her honor held the
week of April 20th, and will be
Symposium. Thanks.
Ms. Valdez
3
Counselor’s Corner: The Fork in the Road
By Ms. Gervais, TRUST Counselor
Coming back fifteen years after graduating from this high school has taught me
two things: time stands still for no one
and that there‟s really nothing new under
the sun.
where I stood in the top 10 and I really
didn‟t care about much else. How I wish I
could go back and undo some of that
thinking.
High school is by all means the toughest
environment any person can endure simply because it is during these years that
As your TRUST Counselor, I can certainly
students are exploring, searching for that
understand what it means to go through
“thing” that will make them feel better
these very same hallways as a student
about themselves. That “thing” could be
remembering how I hated going to some
anything from your hanging with your
teachers‟ classes. I remember Ms. Cal“crew”, a favorite subject, joining the
lam, my American Government/
wrestling team, being in the band, to getEconomics teacher and how much she
ting help from teachers that care. It could
and I really couldn‟t get along. She was
also mean making poor decisions about
too busy trying to get me ready for the
sex, drugs, and just plain not doing any“real world” and I was too busy trying to
thing while you‟re in high school. You‟re
ignore her. Now I‟m out here and from all
at a cross roads here at Edison Senior.
that she told me, I should have listened
You‟ve got two directions to choose from
more. Hey, it was senior year and I
and it‟s in the four years you spend here
wanted to get as far away from this school
that the choice has to be made.
as possible. You couldn‟t blame me for
not taking much seriously that year. My
As the year comes to a close, I‟m hoping
grade point average was high, I knew
that you listened to that security guard
who you thought “talked too much”, that
administrator that always caught you in
the hallway, or to that teacher who kept
saying the “same „ol thing”. Whether it is
dealing with that adult you just can‟t
stand, choosing to make responsible decisions about sex, to avoiding getting
trapped in the drug life, or just plain trying
to be a better person—here‟s hoping you
did more than I did with Ms. Callam.
Here‟s hoping you listened.
Ms. Gervais is a
proud Red Raider
Alumni and TRUST
(To Reach Ultimate
Success Together)
Counselor whose
door (Room N304)
is open to all
students.
Summer Youth Employment Launches
South Florida Workforce Launches Youth -24 gain an understanding about careers,
Employment Program
t he workp lace and appropr iat e
employment skills by linking students
to
(Miami, April 3, 2009) - In an attempt to
employers for work experience and career
mitigate the impact of
exploration.
youth unemployment in
South Florida, the South The program is
the businesses
Florida Workforce In- community, and the public sector.
The
vestment Board recently program's concept is simple: local employlaunched its Summer ers are being encouraged to
provide
Youth Employment Pro- career exploration
opportunigram to assist young ties to young people within
their organipeople between the zations during the summer months and
ages of 14-24 gain of 14 the SFWIB will cover the
youth partici-
pant's wages for the
hours worked.
For more information about the Summer
Employment Program, visit the agency's
w e b s i t e
a t :
www.southfloridaworkforce.com
or see
Mr. Corral, your Career Specialist for to apply online in Room 2290. Don‟t wait until
the last minute as this opportunity is open
to only 3500 to 4000 people.
( C o u r t e s y
www.southfloridaworkforce.com)
o
Journalism Staff:
(left to right)
Nakisha Daniel
Lidia Toussaint
Michele Bazin
Sydney Ware
f
4
Health Info
STD: The Silent Killer
By Estanley Baptiste
STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease)
is an infection passed during sex. Some
teenagers like Ricardy N., a freshman
at Edison, believe that it is very dangerous for teen. There are different kinds
of STD‟s. *The top three STD that affect
teenagers the most are Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and HIV", said
Dr.Gervais, doctor of the Edison clinic. But Nerlie, a junior at Edison, explains that HIV is the most talked about STD among her
friends. Each STD has its appropriate symptoms, and sometimes
no symptom shows up. Some of the common symptoms are; painful, difficult urination, discharge from the sex organs, and flu-like
feelings. Everyone can get affected if being sexually without precaution.
Precaution
The scariest method to prevent STD is abstinence. Dr. Gervais,
when being asked what advise she would give to a teenager said
that every teenager should protect themselves. “It is important to
have only one partner and to be safe that your partner is faithful.
Otherwise, only condom can reduce the change of getting STD.
Risky Behavior
Nerlie Francois said that many teenagers are having multi triple
partners in sex, hat put them at a big risk of getting STD. Teenage
boys says that teenagers are just looking for self-pleasure carelessly. One thing that Dr.
Edison Clinic Hours
Gervais think teenagers are
doing that is wrong is being
Monday thru Fridays 8 am to 4 pm
sexually involved just to
Doctor: Marie Gervais, PH.D.
please others. The teenage
The Risks
Nurse Coordinator: Sylvia Harley
boy said that teenagers are
Adolescents are one of the most STD affected group in the United doing risky things that can
Nurse: Valerie Blemur, RN
States. Also, Florida is one of the states with the highest number get them infected because
Medical Assistants:
of people with std. *Dr. Gervais. Three teenagers say that HIV is
everybody else is doing
the only kind of STD that their friends worry about. Dr. Gervais
them. They are afraid to be
Rosemene Etienne
states that teenagers don‟t know a lot about STD, because they
different. Those behaviors
Shakema Thomas
don‟t talk about it among themselves. The problems that the less can increase their risks of
they know about STD, is the higher the risk of getting infected.
getting STD.
The Parent Academy Workshops
5/13/09—
Everything You Want and Need To Know
6/2/09—
Graduation Requirements
All meetings are held in the Parent
Resource Workshops. Students can gain
community service hours for their parent‟s participation at each workshop.
You Want To Write For
The Edison Herald?
Want to be part of something big?
Want to have the ability to meet
new people and experience new things?
We are looking for sports writers, colum
writers, editors, photographers, artists,
etc...See either Ms. Gervais in N304 or
Ms. Cardenales in T308
Journalism Staff:
(from left to right)
EddlyTany Donne
Laetitia Novembre
Lourianne Apollon
Estanley Baptiste
5
Not Just Someone Else’s Business
By Lourianne Apollon
This past December 1, 2008 we celebrated the 20th anniversary of World
AIDS/HIV day. I celebrated for the
cause by attending the annual HIV/AIDS
Day event at Joseph Caleb Center. Attending the event for a second time
around really pushed me into becoming
an advocate for the disease. I learned
that many of African descent are affected by the disease more than
any other race. It motivated me
to stay true to myself, stick to my
values of abstaining from sex.
This major event made a difference in my life. It will help me
become a well-rounded individual.
This event gave me a true understanding of what‟s going on out
there and how STD‟s don‟t have a
face and now it can easily be your
classmate, your neighbor, a family
member, or the person you stand
next to in line at the grocery store.
If its one thing I have learned is to
speak for those are too embarrassed to
speak for themselves.
Since my earliest knowledge of the severity of the disease, I‟ve always wanted
to do something about it. The disease
has taken the lives of many close to me.
It has built a brick in my community that
no one wants to break through. It‟s very
rare for someone in my community to
come up and say “I am living with
AIDS.” Everyone wants to walk and talk
as if they‟re okay but they‟re not; especially the young ones who account for
more than half of the disease.
AIDS has become a major issue and I
want to be one less on the statistic by
abstaining and advocating for the
cause.
ioral Survey (YRBS), many young people
begin having sexual intercourse at early
ages: 47% of high school students and
7.4% middle school students.
African Americans were disproportionately affected by HIV infection, accounting for 55% of all HIV infections reported
by persons aged 13-24 years old.
Young men who have sex with men
(MSM) especially those of those of
Latin and African-American descent
were at a high risk of HIV infection.
Young women of Latin and AfricanAmerican descent are increasingly at
risk for HIV infection through heterosexual contact.
Prevention methods can include (but
not be limited to):
Abstaining from sexual intercourse
Getting tested for HIV regularly.
Statistics may come across as different
for many, but one thing they don‟t do is
lie.
Heterosexual women advocating for
themself by strongly encouraging the
use of condoms by their male partners.
Homosexual males being more forthcoming about previous sexual partners.
Communication on many levels to peoHere are some to consider as young
people and students (courtesy of Center ple in your family, school, church, or
chool program.
for Disease Control).
(Check out www.cdc.gov for more info.)
In 2004, an estimated 4,883 young
people received a diagnosis of HIV infection or AIDS.
According to CDC‟s Youth Risk Behav-
6
School Activities!
Soccer
Team Ma
de
A Differ
Class of 2009 Senior Picnic
ence!
Text Messaging Made Easy
We‟re always trying to find new ways to
get around texting long messages.
Here‟s some ways you can shorten what
you type on your cell phone.
RBTL=read between the lines
TTYL=talk to you later
PAW=parents are watching
KFY=kiss for you
OMG=oh my God/Goodness
LOL=laughing out loud or lots of love
PIR=parent in the room
PAL=parents are listening
TMI=too much information
TYVM=thank you very much
MOOS=members of the opposite sex
NALOPKT=not a lot of people know that
BFF=best friends forever
L8R=later
There were some that were too explicit
for print. Ms. Gervais has them available
for any staff members who would like
remain informed of what the
“young-uns” are up to.
CD9=Code 9/parents are around
B4N=bye for now
KPC=keeping parents clueless
Editor in Chief
Michele Bazin
Nakisha Daniel
Quentin French
Staff Writers
Daphney Jean-Louis
Lourianne Apollon
Club Advisors
Sydney Ware
Ms. Cardenales, Ms. Gervais
Laetitia Novembre
Estanley Baptiste
Lidia Toussiant
Ms. DeLaGandara, Ms. Boyer, Mr. Jones and
Seniors Esther & Molly enjoying themselves.
school. The Edison Herald welcomes readers‟ opinions on all topics. Letters to the
editor must bear the writer‟s full name. The
editor reserves the right to reject, edit or
shorten letters. All letters should be placed
in Ms. Cardenales‟ mailbox, put into
The Edison Herald box in Room N304 or
mailed to:
The Edison Herald is Edison Senior High‟s
student-produced newspaper. Opinions ex- Miami Edison Senior High—The Edison Herald
pressed in The Edison Herald are those of the
6161 NW 5th Court Miami, FL 33127
editors and writers and do not necessarily
305) 751-7337
reflect the viewpoints or official policies of the