Círculo de Influencia

In the book Vida y Muerte, the narrator, who is a member of MS-13, has many individuals in his life who helped shape who he is, both good and bad. The people range from family, his mother and brother, and his “gang brothers.” In nearly everyone’s life there is a circle of people who help shape who they are. They may be friends, family, or even enemies.

Mis padres son las mayores influencias en mi vida. Ellos tienen me ayudó ponerse en quien soy yo hoy. Me enseñaron los valores y la moral y me enseñaron a hacer buenas decisiones.

 

Mi abuelo a mi muestra dedicación en el cuidado de su familia. Tiene ochenta años y todavía se preocupa más por los demás que por él mismo.

 

Mis amigos van a ser descritos en conjunto. Ellos son un buen grupo de personas que me han mostrado que podemos divertirnos sin hacer algo ilegal. Ellos han estado allí cuando para mí cuando los necesitaba y realmente nos importamos el uno al otro.

 

Costa Rica

[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”]
[et_pb_row admin_label=”row”]
[et_pb_column type=”4_4″]
[et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]
Follow Matthew’s board Costa Rica on Pinterest.

The pins I chose are what I would use to determine where I would stay, when I should go, and how much I should spend. When it comes to vacationing, I prefer to be prepared before I go. Every one of our vacations in the past has been in the states, so going to Costa Rica would be a completely different and even more stressful experience until everything was planned and packed. I also like not standing out as much as a tourist so one of my pins covers proper etiquette for the country such as tipping and table manners. Food is very important to me when I visit places so I would also like to know what other people suggest trying before I leave the country.
[/et_pb_text]
[/et_pb_column]
[/et_pb_row]
[/et_pb_section]

News Story 3

President Obama did not pass the immigration action bill through Congress. In reaction to this, Texas along with 17 other states are suing the Administration because the states’ governors feel that the act was unconstitutional.

 

“Obama doesn’t have the constitutional authority for this action and he knows it,” junior Cade Palmer said. “On November 19th the Justice Department released a letter that he did not have the executive power for this action.”

 

Last month, President Obama granted amnesty to 5 million immigrants. However, he did not pass his bill through the legislative branch, but instead passed it executively.

 

“What needs to happen is that Congress needs to step in and I believe the President did this to force Congress’ hand,” senior Mason Malone said. “But it’s interesting to note these two sides of the President.”

 

Eightteen states are filing lawsuits against the Administration with future Texas governor Greg Abbott leading the lawsuit. The court-case is believed the begin next year, but there is no set date so far of when it will begin.

 

“I’m excited that out of everybody, Greg Abbott, as the governor-elect of Texas, is the one leading the charge against Obama’s overreach,” Palmer said.

 

However, many citizens believe that the case will not be successful because the states are outnumbered nearly two to one on their case belief. Also, with NYC mayor DeBlasio leading, a coalition of Mayors, called Cities United for Immigration Action, are backing Obama on his decision. They believe that the immigration action will strengthen their cities economies, according to the coalition.

 

“Depending on the stance they take when going to court on these lawsuit, it’s possible that some may be successful with their lawsuits, but considering not many will take the right angle, I suspect many states won’t succeed,” freshman Sabrina Smith said.

 

To some, however, a loss at court will not be necessarily a disappointment. The Immigration Action would allow parents of legal citizens and residents to acquire legal work documents.

 

“What most people don’t understand is the Immigration Action only affects people who have american-born children, and have been here since before 2010 or before 16 years of age,” ‘14 White Oak Alumni Carmen Soto said.

 

On a day to day basis, many undocumented families worry about the government knocking on their door and asking for an ID or getting pulled over while driving. Some people, such as Soto, believe that Obama’s action was unlawful, but they believe that many families now have hope at a good life.

“I hope it’ll go through. For many people I know, this will be something great,” Soto said. “Parents who worry about their children coming home to being orphans won’t have that fear anymore.”

News Story Two

In order for students to have access to Wi-Fi on long bus rides, an anonymous business donated $25,000 to equip school buses with Wi-Fi beginning March 1.

“Giving free Wi-Fi to our students will enable them to do research, read the news or even watch educational videos each day,” Putman said. “Students cannot access any games unless they are educationally-sound, and they can’t access social sites or other sites unsuitable for young adults.”

In November, the local newspaper ran a story about Putman’s proposal to install Wi-Fi on each school bus. The router for each bus will cost $200, and the monthly service fee for each bus is $60. The donation will supply each of the 10 buses with Wi-Fi for 3 years.

“My bus ride is about 45 minutes each way,” Junior Mariah Nunes said. “Most of the time I talk with my friends or try to read a book. With wireless Internet, I will be able to do much more.”

Eighty-five percent of students rely on the school for transportation. The students will be able to utilize this new installment to do extra credit assignments. Productivity will increase on the school bus commutes, according to Nunes.

“This will make life easier for some of my students,” social studies teacher Matt Fedeor said. “My seniors in government are required to read newspaper articles dealing with political issues, and they must comment on the articles on our class blog twice a week.”

Soon, teachers will not have to worry about assigning web-based homework, since students will be able to complete these assignments on the bus, according to Principal Jeanette Rother.

“It’s not a bad idea. I just wish I had a laptop” Sophomore Jerod Reyes said. “Maybe the school can find a way to get sophomores a computer a few days a week. It sure would help me with my homework load.”

All Juniors and Seniors receive a laptop for the school year. Putman is now working to bring in more grants so every high school student can obtain a laptop as well.

“The students are lucky to have a superintendent like Dr. Putman,” Rother said. “She is always looking for new initiatives to increase opportunities for students. We may be a little, rural town West Texas, but we have big city technology.”

News Story One (Edited)

In order to determine whether Junior Jim Stacks may grow his hair out to donate to charity, the school board will vote next Monday at 7 pm to overturn or agree with Principal Tonya King’s decision.

“I hope the school board will vote in favor of my request,” Stack said, “I was very disappointed when Principal King turned down my request.”

Stack hopes to donate to Locks of Love, a non profit organization that provides wigs made from real human hair to those who cannot afford it. All male student’s hair must not exceed collar length, the dress code states. Stack must have his hair at at least ten inches to be able to donate.

“I have known the Stack family for 20 years,” School Board President Bill Valdez said. “I even attend church with them.”

Despite knowing the Stack family for nearly two decades, Valdez refuses to release his opinion and any information relating to the meeting discussing the issue and the dress code next Monday.

“We can’t just break school rules when we want,” ” King said, “I would have students asking me every day if they could break the dress code.”

Even though King denied Stack’s request, she still knows about his younger sister and her battle with cancer. King said that she would be willing to organize a fundraiser for Locks of Love.

“When we received my sister’s wig, she was so happy. I had not seen a smile on her face for a long time,” Stack said.

Stack’s motivation to provide to Locks of Love comes from his sister’s recent battle with cancer, and her happiness when she received her hair. Stack wants to make another kid battling cancer just as happy.

“We desperately need human hair, a minimum of ten inches per donation,” Locks of Love President Gisel Roco said.

Each month, Locks of Love receives about 200 requests for wigs, and has to turn down about 150 because of a lack of hair to give. Student Council President said. The student council signed a letter stating that 150 students were willing to donate to Locks of Love.

“When the wig arrived, she came alive again,” Stack’s mother, Holly Stack said. “I think her change in attitude helped her get well.”