Vietnam Picture #4

What does this soldier look like? What do you think he is feeling in the moment? What stands out in your mind as you look at the picture?

Vietnam Picture #3

What goes through your mind as you view this picture? What emotions do you feel? How would you respond if you were in that situation?

Vietnam Picture #2

What does this image say about the Vietnam War? What does it make you think? How does it make you feel?

Vietnam Picture #1

This image is a painting about the Vietnam Memorial. What is the main theme of this picture? What does it say about soldiers remembering the war?

Group #1

The American middle class was mostly white. They tended to

Why We Should Care About Gorillas

By S. Terrazas

We should care a lot if gorillas are endangered (or in this case any animal not just gorillas) because if they disappear from the face of the earth that will damage the circle of life. We are in the circle of life too, keep that in mind.

Dozens of gorillas die in a year. Today only about 2,500 remain in the wild, and only a few dozen live in the world's zoos. The eastern lowland gorilla population has declined significantly in recent decades. If this keeps up gorillas will become extinct. This is a very sad matter. Because they are not only dieing they are also being brutally killed and are being infected with diseases.

Only 700 mountain gorillas exist in the world. More than half live in the Virunga conservation area. (A huge swath of territory at the intersection of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.) Rebels loyal to warlord Laurent Nkunda battled over the park in their clashes with the army. the poor gorillas are in the middle of this. 10 have been killed this year. If this keeps up there will be more gorillas, because they are being killed faster than they can reproduce.

Gorillas are also dieing from diseases like Ebola. Ebola kills through massive internal bleeding. It has been known to infect gorillas and chimps in Africa. It wasdiscovered in 1976 and has killed about 1,000 PEOPLE, these people probably got the disease by eating or touching infected meat from wild primates. Ebola is believed to be one of the world's most deadly diseases. It can be passed on be touching or eating primates and/or people.) It has no known cure. Between 50% and 90% of the people that got infected die. Among humans, the disease often burns out before spreading far. Thats a good thing, dieing from Ebola must be a painful death!

In Congo gorillas are hunted for their fur and for their meat. Gorillas are hunted by native people for their meat, known as bushmeat, to eat or sell, for body parts that are used for amulets or traded as souvenirs, and for protecting crops that gorillas destroy.Hunting and poaching are the leading threats to gorilla populations throughout Africa. Gorillas are shot, speared, and trapped for their meat as well as for trophies. Gorillas are sometimes caught in traps for smaller animals and die of infected wounds. Their survival is also threatened by habitatdestruction caused by agriculture and logging. Human populations in central Africa are increasing, which means that the gorillas' population will continue to shrink.

These poor creatures are being killed for no reason at all. When trees are being logged instead of just leaving them there to die with no vegetation or shelter they can be put in reservations. Why would people eat gorilla meat? Its probably infected too. I would be scared, plus there is cows. People like wearing animal fur. I'm not totally for that or against it. Hey i love looking good and having the nicest stuff. But there is also artificial fur that is really similar. I wouldn't like to wear a a gorilla tooth around my neck. I have my own i carry around with me. Animal statues have no purpose at all. Why would people like having a dead gorilla in their living room its not like you can play with it. We really need to think about how we treat other species.

Other gorilla facts:
Habitat: The western lowland gorilla is found in the African countries of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Congo, and Equatorial Guinea. The easternmost range of the western lowland gorilla is the Oubangui River. The eastern lowland gorilla is found in eastern Zaire. The mountain gorilla is found within limited mountainous regions of Zaire, Rwanda, and Uganda at altitudes of 1,650 to 3,790 m (5,413-12,435 ft.). Western lowland gorillas inhabit tropical rain forests, forest edges and clearings, riverine forests, swamps, and abandoned, cultivated fields.

Gorillas Adult female gorillas tend to be shorter than adult males, and weigh only half as much. Females average 1.4 m (4.6 ft) and 90 kg (198 lb.). Males average 1.7 m (5.6 ft.) and 180 kg (397 lb.).A gorilla has a stocky build with a broad, shallow chest, a short trunk and longer arms than legs. Long arms show the gorilla's tree-dwelling ancestry even though it is now mostly on ground. The thumb and big toe opposeable allowing gorillas to grasp and/or manipulate objects. All great apes exhibit a capacity for complex learning. In behavioral research facilities, some gorillas have learned sign language and formed very simple sentences to communicate with people. They are really smart.

Baby Gorillas: A newborn gorilla weighs about 1.4 to 1.8 kg (3-4 lb.). Newborn gorillas are totally dependent on their mother for care and are clutched belly-to-belly for close contact for the first few months. At about two months they have developed enough strength and coordination to cling to their mother's hair unsupported 50% of the day. Juveniles are weaned at about 2 1/2 years and begin building their own nests for sleeping.An infant gorilla begins crawling at about nine weeks, riding on its mother's back at about 16 weeks, walking at about 35 weeks, and wandering among group members at about one year. Gorilla babies develop physical skills about twice as fast as human babies. Silverbacks are tolerant parents that successfully rear weaned orphaned or abandoned juveniles.

Immigrants and Racial Profiling

By C. Ibanez

Many immigrants in San Diego are being neglected. Their employers are putting them in danger. Authorities and volunteers are treating them rudely. They are also being refused at aid and evacuation sites.They have no where to go and no one will offer them help. Instead of being treated with respect or at least compassion they are being abused and racially profiled. Immigrants are being neglected by authorities and forced to work in farms adjacent to fires. There have been numerous instances in which immigrant laborers are being forced to stay working in farms adjacent to evacuated areas. Employers are threatening to fire laborers who refuse to work under precarious conditions. This poses a great health risk for them. Primarily because the air they are breathing is polluted. Many people are afraid of losing their jobs so they continue working under such conditions.

The San Diego Union Tribune reported that many immigrants living in remote canyons and fields near the fires are not evacuating. they are not evacuating either because they are afraid of losing their jobs or scared of getting caught by the Border Patrol. They are also staying in their homes because they have no where to go because they are being rejected at refuges centers because of their legal status. They are being rejected because they now need an ID of proof of their legal residence. Many don't have them because they lost them in the fire.

immigrants are being racially profiled by police and deported by the Border Patrol. Six undocumented immigrants were arrested by border patrol when they were looking for help in San Diego. They were left homeless after the wild fires in San Diego destroyed their home. They were getting food for their family a lady called the cops and accused them of stealing food meant for evacuees. Police responded to the call they came to find 6 people in a van who did not speak English nor did they ave a drivers licence. They then confessed that they were Mexican citizens. The police let them go a while later border patrol showed up. Police had called border patrol after finding out that they were illegals. They arrested the immigrants they were deported the left a couple and 4 kids because the kids were U.S citizens. Apprehensions and deportations of these immigrants are potentially illegal, since San Diego Police Officers are not supposed to report undocumented immigrants to Border Patrol agents unless they are formally arrested and charged with a crime.

That this is happening in the U.S is just wrong. This was supposed to be a land of immigrants and honestly no one is truly 100% American. Everyone is an immigrant or descendant of an immigrant. These people do not deserve to be treated like this. Immigrants should be treated with respect. Just because they are immigrants does not mean that they are less human than anyone else.

Are the Patriots Cheaters?

By S. DeLeon

Are the New England Patriots cheaters? We all want to know the answer to that question, and believe it or not they are. The Patriots are a very good team that deserve to be good but they wanted more so to get more they did something that made them regret what they did. They cheated in their fist game against the New York Jets by video taping their plays. That was disrespectful and they are okay with what they did. That's just wrong to do that to a team you are friends with.

The NFL commissioner took away a first round pick away from them and he fined the Patriots and Bill Belichic $500,000 dollars total. This fine did effect the way people think about them. People might think that they cheat in every game and that's why they are so good. The way they cheated was wrong they video taped them and than they thought they were going to get away with it. They did admit that they cheated and that they were sorry about what they did. This will effect the head coach job but they are doing so well that everyone has forgot about it.

This makes America look like cheaters and that we will do anything to win. People from different countries might look at America like we did a horrible thing and they did but they see us as cheaters. That will effect us in the global game or big global tournaments because they might say the Patriots did it maybe they did it to. With the War in Iraq, our image isn't exactly great around the world. People see the Patriots as the team that won three Super Bowls in six years but now they are doubted and it seems like they cheated their way to victory but no one knows excactly how they won.

To me they should be punished more because that is not acceptable to the other team and to America. I do think they are cheaters and they are not a great team but that is my opinion. To me they should have taken this to court and done some more harm to them. To me they should have been forced to forfit that game and suspend the coach for doing what he did. This is not loyal because they did cheat and did it a horrible way.

what do you think?

a quote

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.
-Percicles

a quote

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.
-Percicles

making Borman greener

Many people are concerned about the environment. For some, the biggest issues are related to global warming, while for others, it has more to do with air quality, destruction of preserved lands and endangered species.

Businesses are realizing that, often times, they can save money by being more environmentally friendly. If that's true of businesses, it should be true of our school as well. So, that is why I pose the following questions:

What can Borman do to be more environmentally friendly?
What would a "green" school include in its design?
How would we pay for all the improvements?

ideas

IMPACT was developed by the brainstorm of students answering the questions:

• What would make education more meaningful for you?
• What would make school a better experience?
• How could we make a difference in our community and in our world?

For that reason, we encourage ideas from students regarding future IMPACT projects. Here is a place where you can brainstorm any idea. It might seem insane at first, but we could make it happen.

Make Borman More Beautiful

Next Quarter, we will work on a project to make Borman more beautiful. Don't get worried. We're not talking about improving the looks of the students or teachers. We're referring to the school itself. We'll definately work on creating a garden. We'll also be painting murals.

Besides that, what should we do to make Borman more beautiful? Be respectful, honest and realistic in your response.

Turkey Dance

On Tuesday, we will partner with the Social Awareness Club for a dance to raise money for charities. Whatever we vote for today will be our designated global charity. I need people to volunteer to sell candy and soda at the dance. If you would like to do that, simply e-mail me.

What other fundraisers should we do?

Borman Website

Students in the IMPACT program have begun the process of creating a new Borman website. Throughout the month of December, students will work on designing the student web page (which is currently blank). We need some volunteers to create the layout, coordinate on the design and begin creating the Borman website.

If you would like to participate in this, please respond to this blog or e-mail Mr. Spencer.

The current Borman website is can be found at http://www.cartwright.k12.az.us/borman/index.html

What should the student page have? What else should the webpage have?

food bank

The IMPACT program partnered with the Social Awareness Club in a trip to the St. Mary's Food Bank on Saturday. Currently, the two groups are working on many projects together. These include a Turkey Dance this upcoming Tuesday as well as an Astro Mural that we just finished. We'll be posting pictures of the mural within the next few days.

Together the two groups have donated over 1,500 items of food and have had roughly 30 volunteers particpate in our service learning trips. Great work everybody!

If you volunteered, please write a short reflection about your experience. What was it like? How did it feel before and after? Who were you able to help? Would you recommend this activity again?

Wonder Why? - Dangers of Alcohol

By N.D.

People wonder why adults drink alcohol and get addicted. As a student I think that adults start getting addicted by when they turn 21 that's when they are a legal to drink. They start drinking and they can't stop drinking. Its as if they are meant to be together, like they are married to each other or like peanut butter and jelly. That’s funny. I wonder why people drink and can’t stop drinking. Every time when I see somebody drink I always ask myself that question. I know that I will understand when I get older, if I do drink when I am old enough.

I ask my parents why do people drink and they said that drinking gets them away from their problems that they have at home. It makes there day happy if they had a sad or hard day at work. Drinking is often related to celebration. I mean, people have to have alcohol when they celebrate. It gets the fun out of them and it makes there day. Mostly they told me that it relaxed their body. Then I ask them that why can't they just talk to somebody or just take a shower and just relaxed and go to sleep. My dad said to just go to my room and stop questioning him and my mom said that I'll understand when I get older; when I start drinking. I told her that I was thinking that to myself and she said that I was weird because I am not suppose to think about that stuff right know. Then I told her that every teenager thinks of that stuff.

Alcohol could take control over your body I mean that it could make your behavior change and that you would start doing stupid things like going to the bath room on yourself. That’s so funny to some people. It's a silly thing to do. Or maybe you would do bad things like killing somebody and you would go to prison. They say on TV millions of times not to drink and drive home or where ever you’re going. People do it anyway, because they don't think right when they are drunk.


Alcohol is not a good thing to drink. Please don't drink alcohol. I always tell that to my dad and mom or to whom ever I see drinking to stop drinking and start thinking about there body and there lives and that I don't need to worry about them and just worry about myself and about my life .


I want to ask people questions and these are the questions; when did you start drinking, how does it taste like, why did you start drinking, are you addicted to alcohol, and why do you drink? I really want to know these question so I could know about people that do drink and I really want to know because when I am old enough then I might not drink. When people drink and drive and they get pulled over, that people get out of hand when they are drunk, and the next day you get a hang over and sleep all day long. That is so dangerous. So, maybe I'll just avoid alcohol altogether.

Lessons from Vietnam and Korea

What have we to learn from the Vietnam war? We have learned absolutely nothing from the Vietnam War. Or I should say our leaders have not learned the lessons from Vietnam. It was a conflict that began back in Eisenhower's term. We sent the military in South Vietnam to ward help ward off the takeover of the whole country by communist. Over a ten year period, our total commitment was over 500,000 men. Our rate was a little more than 10 percent of that total by the time we pulled out of Vietnam. When they had pulled out the people,they were all Communism.

What did the Vietnam War produce? It produced dividing countries away,It also created animosity against our men in military .

I do believe we have learned from Vietnam is that today, we do support our troops unlike Vietnam. During the time of Vietnam, we blamed our troops instead of the Administration; today we have turned the our brains and are now blaming the Administration instead of the troops like we use to. Our troops are doing their job and that is following orders given by the President George Bush.

Why did we lose in Vietnam? people wonder why. They were fighting and had been fighting for their freedom for many centuries. We saw this as a civil war that was going to fall to communism and create a domino effect. Instead of sitting down and talking about our differences like professionals, we decided to use technology and military and thought it would do the job to fight. This was due to the policies put in place by President Johnson.

We need to look to our past in order to make a better future, for the people. We need to learn from the past so we don't make the same mistakes . Vietnam and Iraq are so similar that it is very haunting that is really scary. We could have avoided war, but our Administration wanted to learn from the past what we had did when we fought back then.

Below are pictures of the Korean War Veterans Memorial!!!

I think that we should stop this mess because then if we don't then people are going to die and that people don't want to die they want to live and stay alive like the rest of us.It would be easier because then bush wouldn't need to be hated on and then he wouldn't need to bother on fighting in a war.It would be as if the world didn't have anything going on .The world would be so nice and that it would not a mess anymore.

Quarterly Update

It is not uncommon for adults to rant and rave about the current generation of youth. "They're so selfish," one complains. "It's such a me-focussed generation," experts suggest.

True, the current generation might enjoy portable music on mp3 players and posting pictures on myspace. Yet, this is also a generation that wants to serve, that cares about the issues in society and that wants to make a difference.

This last quarter of IMPACT was one where students really took ownership to make sure IMPACT lived up to its bold name. You can read the "Current Projects" or "Calendar" to realize that there is something happening every day, before school, during school and after school. Often, there are even weekend events.

We can quote data to suggest that things are happening: nearly 1,000 cans of food, over 500 service hours, 100 articles written, etc. We can show websites and murals to try and prove it. We can view our documentaries or listen to our podcasts.

However, ultimately, it is not in websites or cans or anything like that where we make the biggest impact. The truth is that none of that matters if lives are not changed through the learning that occurs. I am encouraged when I read the service learning reflections.

The truth is that the biggest impact we can make is often with those who are closest to us. It's in the smaller things, such as when students choose not to fight or stand up for what they believe. It's in an attitude that says, "I will do what is right, regardless of whether I get anything in return."

The students have worked hard and we, as the teachers, are really proud. Thank you for what you are teaching us in the process.

If I could change one thing about industrialization . . .

by A.V.

The first thing I would do is pass a law that is against child labor because no child deserves to have the childhood many children of the past unfortunatly had to go through.A childhood where many of their parents would get injured or even die in their jobs,of hunger,or of all the deadly diseases there were back then.Secondly I would help all of the people that got injured while at ther job because if a man or a woman lost their arm of leg at their job they wouldnt get health covorage and most of those people after they lost one of their body parts were not alowed back at that job or sometimes not at eny other job eather.Lastly I would talk with pressident Rosavelt so that he would pass a law that would forse factories to use safe chemicals because if people back then had known about the effects of pollution none of what has happened sense then would be have happened no global warming, no illnesses do to the a non-sanitary life style. Those are the three things I would do if I could go back in time and change the things that happened during industrialization.

How can we make Borman greener?

Many people are concerned about the environment. For some, the biggest issues are related to global warming, while for others, it has more to do with air quality, destruction of preserved lands and endangered species.

Businesses are realizing that, often times, they can save money by being more environmentally friendly. If that's true of businesses, it should be true of our school as well. So, that is why I pose the following questions:

What can Borman do to be more environmentally friendly?

What would a "green" school include in its design?

Child Labor - The Facts

Quoted from No Sweat: How Levi Strauss and Reebok Cleaned Up Child Labor in the Sporting Goods Industry

According to the International Labor Organization (www.ilo.org), 211 million children ages 5-14 are still suffering under the conditions of child labor, and this brand of child labor is not Hollywood style—kids singing, dancing and playacting for a living, getting personal tutoring, their own crafts table and a trust fund for college. The internationally recognized definition of child labor excludes children 12 and older, who are just working a few hours of light work each week. It focuses instead on children 15 and under whose work is hazardous, who are not given adequate education and who are, many times, forced to work under subhuman conditions.

According to the ILO, 171 million children ages 5-17 are working in hazardous situations, with 8.4 million involved in the worst forms of child labor, like trafficking (1.2 million children), forced and bonded labor (5.7 million), war (300,000), prostitution (1.8 million) and illicit activities (600,000). The conditions under which these children are forced to work read like a sordid headline from the Industrial Revolution--lack of light and/or ventilation, extreme heat and/or cold and backbreaking labor that can result in death, maiming and/or loss of limb, not to mention the lifelong psychological damage of war, prostitution and corruption. Some of the worst occupations and situations that these kids have been subject to include: airport runways, railway stations, dangerous animals, brick manufacturing, care for mentally disturbed individuals, carpet weaving, night clubs and bars, machinery, prisons, mining, war, asbestos, mercury, radioactive substances and corpses.

So what can we do about it?

Social Voice News

Social Voice News is a five-minute newscast designed to inform students about the world in which they live.

Goals:
1. Seven newscasts created, edited and posted to the internet by the end of the second quarter
2. At some point during the quarter, have a high enough quality that we can launch SV News school-wide

Mural #1

We are currently painting a mural for the gymnasium. The subject is the Borman Astronaut.

Goal:
Finish the entire mural by December 1, 2007

Crochet Blankets

We will crochet blankets and give them away to charity. What if you don't know how to crochet? Don't worry, we will have people who will teach you. What if you can't bring any yarn? Again, don't worry, because we will supply the yarn.

Goal:
10 blankets by January

Letters to Soldiers

For the last quarter, we have been writing letters to soldiers. These letters go to soldiers in Iraq and in the Veteran's Hospital.

Goal:
500 total
250 - Iraq
250 - VA hospital

Fundraisers

During the second quarter, we will be raising money for a global charity. The charity will be researched by the seventh grade class and voted by the Leadership Team.

Goal: $1,000 total

Service Hours

On our team, we log in community service hours. Currently, we have just under 500 hours as a team.

Our goal for second quarter is to have a combined total of 1,000 hours (combining first and second quarter).

Upcoming IMPACT Activities

The following is a list of projects students for the second quarter:

Service Projects

• Food Drive - partnership with the Social Awareness Club
• Fundraisers - selling hot chocolate
• Recycling Program
• Community Garage Sale
• Service Hours - goal of reaching 1,000 hours
• Food Bank Service Trips
• Letters to soldiers
• Crochet blankets for the children's hospital
• Turkey Dance - partnership with the Social Awareness Club

Creative Projects

• Mural #1 - Borman Astro Mural
• Mural #2 - We will begin sketching and painting it

Media Projects

• Social Voice News
• Borman Website - Sports Report, Clubs Report
• IMPACT website and blog
• Social Voice website and blog
• Civil Rights Documentary
• Face the Issues Podcast
• My Life website
• PERHAPS - a return of Moco Loco

Academic Projects

• Student Leadership - Fridays
• Book Club - Tuesdays and Thursdays
• Social Voice Book
• History Day
• Social Voice Articles
• School Newspaper - one per month
• Online portfolio

Activities & Events

• Field Trip #1
• Field Trip #2
• Family Night -at Rollero this time!
• After-School Movie - Newsies
• After-School Movie - Walk-out