BROADCASTER - Yonkers Public Schools

OUR I.B. WORLD

Issue Three 2016-2017

THE

BROADCASTER

“Let your efforts rise above your excuses.”

- Anonymous

“Determination,

dedication, discipline. You will

succeed!”

- Ms. Libutti

Welcome to Yonkers Middle High School, Mr. Shapiro

By Alvin John

It has now been a several months since Principal, Mr. Michael Shapiro has been placed at the helm of our beloved school. What follows is a candid interview in which the prin-cipal shares his thoughts, goals and vision for Yonkers Middle High School.

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Issue Three 2016-2017 PAGE 2

Interview with YMHS Principal Mr. Michael Shapiro Alvin John

What really influenced you to pursue education and become a school principal?

I had a conversation with a few students reently and we were talking about life and career op-portunities. They said they didn’t know what to do with their lives. I shared what I wanted to do had changed. For example, the last thing I ever wanted to do was to be in education. I didn't like school. No one really inspired me to do better, to reach my own potential. But then after interning on Capitol Hill and the NYS Assembly, I needed a job. I love history and politics; that's what I studied in college. So I taught middle school in the Bronx; I taught U.S. History for grades seven and eight and I fell in love with it. The following year, and thereafter for the next three years, I took students to Washington for a week to show my passion for history; and I let my students experience what I experienced. They saw President Ford when he was alive; and I fell in love with the profession. As a result, I went back to school to get my certification to be a teacher. One thing led to the next, so after being a teacher for seven years, I wanted something different. I wanted a more challenging career. and so I went to school to become a school administrator. After my seventh year in the classroom, I got the opportunity to be-come an assistant principal at Riverside High School. After that seven years as assistant principal, I became a principal at Paideia School 15 for 6 years, and a couple of years later, I had the itch again to get something more challenging in my career. I wanted something different because I thrive on chal-lenges. I had a meeting with the superintendent and I said this is what I want professionally, I want to grow professionally; I want to move up. So if an opportunity comes up, please consider me. I got a phone call in July, saying “Welcome to YMHS!” This was great news to me. Being in the best and largest school in Yonkers is a just the challenge I was looking for. As you said, with a new principal, it’s a very much new year for everyone. What are some of your goals for the school year? Currently, we’re rebuilding the mass schedule for next year. We are also very excited about the Virtual Enterprise Program we're going to have in the future, in which students will have a virtual business and work with other schools in the country. We're also very excited about our business career training center, where we're providing opportunities for students with special needs and our bilingual students. That's something that I think is important for us to continue to work on. Moving forward for the rest of this year, we are focusing on providing more opportunities for students, and cutting out free periods from student schedules. What we really need is a year of observation. We need to observe, to listen, and then that's how you learn about what changes that need to occur. There are certain things that will change; for example, we will move our special education students, so they can join the rest of the school population. Our ENL Center was moved to the third floor, which is a better learning envi-ronment than its former location near the cafeteria. It’s changes like these that send a message that no matter who you are; we are one learning community and we need to respect one another. So, for this year, we are able to accomplish certain things. We can't do too much too fast; but next year will be different.


What benefits do you really see in the International Baccalaureate Program and what are your plans for promoting it? The benefits of the program are tremendous as far as post-secondary opportunities, but also those beyond, such as of real life. Life has a series of challenges, ups, and downs, and so does IB. Life throws you many curveballs and you have to be prepared for that; you have to work through obstacles. We just can't give up the first time, because there are some things that we have to persevere through. We have to say “Ok, what is this situation, what do I need to do to make this right?” And this is really problem-solving. And I think that's essential. There’s a really broad horizon for these benefits of IB in this world and what’s really great is critical thinking and problem-solving. This is what we need more of. So, it’s a pretty strange year for seniors as it’s their last year of high school and we have a new principal. What is your advice and message for the Class of 2017? Life is about transitions. Students are experiencing a transition into a post-secondary institution. Some of our students are going into the military and some are going to the workforce. Many will learn a trade, and will hopefully open up their own businesses to give back to those who helped them along the way. You can see that life is a series of transitions, and how you deal with adversity, how to be deter-mined, how to be knowledgeable, to investigate, to trust and verify. I use this quote all the time; it's some-thing that I live by. President John F. Kennedy stated, “Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” Life is sometimes a series of informed risks. Don't be afraid to be great. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. People will tell you that you can't. But if you have the determination, the heart, and the will, then you can. I want the senior class to have this mindset to move forward and to have that determination.

What is one quality that you have that you believe will make you a successful principal?

I listen to the students. I have to hear from the student body. I like to be a good listener. The admin-istrators and I could agree to disagree at times; but at the end of the day, I believe students must have a voice. They must be able to walk into my office and say, “Mr. Shapiro, I need to speak to you.” That's im-portant to me. It's the same thing with my teachers. I must have an open door policy for teachers to meet with me and express their concerns about making this school better. All I ask is that people who come to me with complaints try to come up with solutions. If you really thought about the solution correctly, if I like it, I'll go with it. I don't need to have all the ideas. People need to know that their voice is important. Mr. Shapiro thank you so much for taking your time to participate in this interview.

It was my pleasure. Thank you so much.


The ACE mentoring Program By Cynthia Mukattash

Are you interested in the vast fields of or within architecture or engineering? Then ACE is the

perfect club for you. The ACE mentor program was chosen as a partner for National American Gradu-ate Day Initiative (AGD), in 2016. ACE is an excellent non-profit organization that is dedicated to helping kids stay on track to graduation, and ultimately pursue their dreams in college. It is a well rec-ognized organization in the U.S., and many local PBS stations have highlighted numerous ACE affili-ates. Yonkers High’s ACE team name is Team 38.

Ace is a club full of dedicated and brilliant students, who each year are given a task to build a

model to solve an architectural problem in their area. This is very similar to the robotics club; who build robots for the FRC (First Robotics Competition) that can perform specific tasks to win a game. The only difference is that ACE only meets once a week, until 4:00 on Wednesdays. So if you are on a tight schedule, and can’t meet the five days a week for Robotics, you can still join a great engineering oriented club. They learn many of the structural techniques of architects and construction engineers around the world. If you like to build or are interested in building, this is a great club to provide you with these skillsets that will last you through college. Regarding the club, co-team Captain Jehu Lucien says: “ACE is a club that allows other students and me to gain hands-on experience in the fields of ar-chitecture, construction, and engineering within a fun and engaging environment.”

One great aspect of this club, among many others, is the great scholarship opportunity that one

can attain from it. You may be awarded amazing scholarships and grants from presenting the project at their ACE convention, as a member of the program. This club is a great opportunity for giving you a head start in the fields of engineering, and because of this fact, looks great on resumes! The club is al-so led by two great science teachers of our facilities, Mrs. Cherian (who teaches AP and regular Chem-istry) and Dr. Kaszczak (who teaches IB-12 and Regular Biology). The co-team Captains are seniors: Jehu Lucien and Kathyfel Ureña. Regarding the club, Dr. Kaszczak states: “ACE allows our students to work with professionals from the fields of architecture, construction, and engineering to design a project that will benefit the Yonkers community”.

It is sadly too late to join the club this year, as the registration process is over with, however,

you can always join next year. If you are a senior, and cannot join the club as a member, there are many similar opportunities as this in College if you plan to attend. Also if you plan on pursuing a field in college related to structural engineering, ACE may need you as a mentor, in a nearby school. In summation, you should always look for great STEM opportunities as a student, because they may have great benefits and can really be a lot of fun, as well as a great experience for your future!

Issue One 2016-2017 PAGE 5 Victorious Moment

By Angie Lin and Cindy Ishak

The YHS Robotics Team, or the Mechadogs as we know them, won a prestigious award in their competition in Troy, New York on March 17, in a match against various other teams. This is the third time they’ve won a very prestigious award in the past four years. The team is very excited, as this has allowed them to go to nationals in Saint Louis, Missouri where they went up against top competitors from around the United States and the world.

The team was praised for their ability to not only create a magnificent piece of machinery, but to

also spread the passion and knowledge of engineering to other young people. The summer camp that they host annually since their second year as a team in 2015, takes place over the course of two weeks at the end of July and the beginning of August at the Police Athletic League. Students from 3rd to 8th grade, were shown how to build a robot, maintain a budget, strengthen cooperation within a team, and more importantly, how to have fun throughout every aspect. Students were separated into two different groups based on their grade. Our school’s Mechadogs were volunteers and helped guide the students. When they finished their robot, a small scale robotics competition of their own was held for them. Friends and family attended the competition at the Hudson Valley Rally where they hosted many local teams to give them a chance to take part and will host the event again this year on September 30th 2017.

Their engineering inspiration award was also recognized by NASA who sponsored the award

and thus paid for their registration fee in order for the team to be able to attend the competition in Saint Louis. The Mechadogs were able to stay for a week and made it up to 11th place in the Einstein division out of 48. Their hard work, dedication, and teamwork has gotten them to this point and will take them even further with your support.



YMHS Makes History in Lower Hudson Valley & New Jersey By Melody Kulaprathazhe

The National History Bowl is a history quiz competition for teams of students throughout the country. The Executive Director, David Madden founded the competition five years ago. Teams that qualify in regional tournaments can advance to the National Championships held in Washington D.C. and Arlington, Virginia. Students who have a deep interest in the political sciences partake in these competitive, intellectual buzzer games that test their knowledge on wide areas of history. This January, the History Bowl team from YMHS successfully advanced to the National History Bowl competition after qualifying at the Lower Hudson Valley regional competition held in Chap-paqua. This year, YMHS was represented by one varsity team at the regional level. The History Bowl team achieved great feats despite the lack of financial support from the district. It impressively placed as quarterfinalists in their respective section. This will be the fifth time that YMHS has qualified for the national level championships. YMHS is one of the two Yonkers Public Schools to qualify for nationals, alongside PEARLS Hawthorne School. Then on January 14, 2017, the Yonkers History Bowl team also qualified for nationals from the New Jersey regional competition held at Ridgewood High School. The NHBB Executive Director, David Madden, announced that it was the competition’s largest state or regional tournament ever, with over 74 teams competing. The team proudly finished as quarterfinalists in the playoffs at this competition too. The captain of the team, Andrew Lorino shared, “It was an amazing feeling. We had done exception-ally well for the past two years; but I am happy that we did even better this year. It was truly a reward-ing experience.” The History Bowl team is comprised of intelligent and dedicated students from grades ninth through twelfth. These students meet regularly on Tuesdays afterschool and on Saturdays to en-sure notable ranks at national level too.


A Trip to Remember

By Reedha Ali A few weeks ago, my classmates and I attended a trip to a synagogue. We went to hear the re-markable story of Bernard Storch, a survivor of World War II and the Holocaust. Before listening to this man's earth-shattering tale, my classmates and I met with several officials at the synagogue. Their main purpose was to explain a little bit of background on Mr. Storch. While I was listening, I noticed that they were often alluding to how we should pay our homage to the gentle-man and proceed with respect. Then, they advised that we embrace this captivating story, so that we may be able to tell his story elsewhere and spread this knowledge amongst others. Mr. Storch was born in South Poland of 1922. Up until World War II, he lived an innocent life with his family of six brothers and two parents. It was not until September of 1939, as World War II erupted that his life took a dreadful turn. This was when Mr. Storch was instructed by his mother to leave home and approach the German army to seek safety, as his community was being attacked. Mr. Storch described the wrath that was being inflicted upon the Jewish community; and how it was un-bearable for most of the families. Mr. Storch discussed how he witnessed numerous people being tor-mented and agonized for their beliefs, including his own family members who were beaten and burned right in front of him. Somehow, he learned to endure the emotional pain of such a traumatic experi-ence. This was, the beginning of a long hardship would become a relentless cycle of persistent obsta-cles. He was taken by the secret police to a labor camp in Central Siberia. Mr. Storch compared those labor camps to prison. Mr. Storch stated that he felt suppressed because he was unable to practice his religion with freedom. Little was he aware, he would be released a year later, only to experience anoth-er hindrance. After his release, Mr. Storch was drafted into the army and he served for five years. In those five years, Starch did many heroic things. Perhaps, one of the most heroic things he did was to assist with the liberation of hundreds of prisoners. He valiantly helped prisoners escape from four extermina-tion camps, three in Poland and one in Germany. He risked his own life while doing this, always with a fear of being caught. For the rest of the war, he remained in Poland fighting to stay alive. A year after the war finally ended, Mr. Storch left Poland along with his wife. The couple had the intention of start-ing a new life, forgetting about all the calamities they encountered. Weeks later, they arrived in New York, and they began a new chapter, while leaving their old lives behind. Currently, he is 95 years of age and resides in Yonkers, NY. Since then, he has dedicated the rest of his life to teaching and advis-ing adolescents through his engaging stories and valuable morals. When Mr. Storch finished telling his story. I was emotionally moved. His way with words and the emotion in his voice was excruciatingly heart-breaking. Before he concluded his story, he asked one thing from all of us. He requested that we all share his story as a virtue of morals and a canvas for in-spiration. He truly expressed his demand for us to tell his tale to future generations, so that they may inherit these morals. This is because a few years from now, the remaining survivors we have left will not be around to share their stories. Unfortunately, they will be gone, which gives us the job to keep their legacy around by spreading and learning from their hardships. They are the backbone of our com-munity, and what will keep us strong in the coming years. I will cherish what I learned and will be sure to tell about such lessons for as long as I live.

LET US LIVE TOGETHER IN PEACE AND HARMONY


Take a Stand By Angie Lin

Nelson Mandela once said, “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very hu-manity.” Although human rights are discussed in our history classes, it's only a short segment of what there is to be learned. Most students don't take the time to explore much beyond that to acknowledge worldwide human rights concerns in other country. However, what we can do is inform others through other means such as clubs. Around ten years ago, the Human Rights Club formed be-ginning with a small, dedicated group of students, who decided to be advocates for human rights. Alt-hough it began small, many students soon began to join as they became aware of these type of issues such as the Rwandan Genocide in Africa.

A few years ago, they organized for a guest speaker, who was a survivor of the Rwandan geno-cide to come in and speak about his experiences and the numerous unimaginable hardships many of them had gone through. The club partners up with YWCA every year on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Day in December. The club created posters and sold bracelets to help raise awareness and encourage students to help stand up against racism. The Human Rights Club is run byhistory teacher, Ms.McMaster, in room 3018 and typically meets every week on Wednesday. The club is very student-oriented so they get to decide in which direction they take the club in. Currently, they are read-ing a book entitled “Half The Sky” by Nicholas Kristof, which discusses the oppression of women and girls in the developing world and how a small amount of help can transform their lives into something more. Become more aware of the world around you and do your part by joining this club!


Brother to Brother

By Cynthia Mukattash and Ana Conceicao

We all deserve opportunities that will further us. Yet, in today’s world, many of the youth need guidance in obtaining this goal, especially many minority kids. A friend or an “older brother” that could push a child with potential to success may be needed. This is why members of the Brother to Brother club at Yonkers High devote their time. In the My Brother’s Keeper program, young men of color, who need guidance from someone academically and principally, can have a mentor that who will understand their struggles and help them to prosper.

Our 44th President, Barack Obama, brought out this initiative in 2016, to empower struggling kids with potential, who want to graduate from high school and achieve greater things. This project is oriented around sessions held in schools, each of which have a group of mentors that help younger students. Obama says that everyone deserves the same opportunities that he had. He is grateful for the strong mentors that guided him throughout his life. Having such educational programs like this for minority children across the country is very beneficial to them and to our society.

Yonkers High Senior, Brandon Jones, a member of My Brother’s Keeper, stated about the or-ganization, “My experience at the My Brother’s Keeper Challenge was extremely inspirational to me. While attending the meeting with my fellow minority classmates, we can all agree that seeing the overwhelming support we have from our community leaders really motivated us to make a difference in our community. I was humbled by the number of other students who, like myself, cared for this movement, and wanted to see people of color strive and prosper in Yonkers and beyond. The fact that Mayor Mike Spano, Superintendent Dr. Edwin Quezada, and Reverend Dr. Jim Bostic came to sup-port our cause gives me hope for the youth of today. As a Brother’s Keeper, many Senior classman and I pledged to help mentor young students in similar situations that we were in years ago. Our goal overall is to help keep these bright students on the right track, and eventually have them go out in the world and become great.”

Brother to Brother, is very similar to My Brother’s Keeper. There are many Brother to Brother programs which are similar to how MBK is, yet many of the Brother to Brother organizations are more faith based. Many of these programs have been around for almost a decade; and they are still going strong, mainly helping kids within fatherless households. The organization seeks strong-minded men and young men alike as mentors, who are willing to work hard towards a great change.

“Empowering the now and next generation of community leaders, thinkers and visionaries.”


Mentoring in Medicine

By Prachi Shah

Amidst a terrible snowstorm in New York, the members of DNA Learners took out their shovels and snow boots to make their way to the Mentoring in Medicine: Health and Science Expo in Harlem. On December 17th, an event took place at the Frederick Douglas Academy, where over a thousand stu-dents and many scientists came to explore the medical field. The objective of the Expo was to engage, educate and empower future health and science professionals. This was the 9th Mentoring in Medicine Expo, guiding student’s interests and curiosities regarding medicine. The program plans to expand to additional cities in 2017 and host thousands of more students at next year’s Expo.

The event started at 9 am, with registration and an opening session. From there, DNA Learner members were able to volunteer in the activities fair. Many different activities were going on at the Ex-po, with several students presenting their research and different scientists showing what their job con-sists of. In the gymnasium, there were many booths set up, each explaining something new and im-portant. Activities included biomedical engineering, blood groups/coagulation, blood pressure, DNA isolation, Electroencephalogram (EEG), neuroscience/sheep brain dissection, protein translation and radiology. Members were able to discuss the amazing advances that biomedical engineering are making, such as alleviating back pain. Others took part in measuring visitors’ blood pressure and dissecting a sheep’s brain to see the different structures like the cerebellum and the corpus callosum. While the ac-tivities fair was happening, there was also a research competition taking place.

The research competition allowed students to present any research they conducted to different judges and visitors. Alvin John took part in this opportunity and presented a project regarding sequenc-ing fungal DNA. Besides these fascinating aspects, there were also workshops for kids such as comput-er programming, Jell-O organelles and neuroscience. The Mentoring in Medicine Expo was an amazing opportunity that DNA Learners was able to grasp on. Events like this allow the club’s members to ex-plore different options in the field of medicine and talk to others to learn about their experiences. The Health and Science Expo gave insight into the myriad of opportunities available for students interested in a career focused on medicine.


Teach the Tots

Tatiana Pugacheva

Yonkers High School has partnered up with Junior Achievement of New York for the fifth time in the past four years to help empower the future by giving students the power to change their world, pursue their dreams, and be economically successful. Junior Achievement holds many different volunteering opportunities in which adolescents can either be empowered or teach others important life lessons in an engaging manner. Yonkers High School students were given the opportunity to im-pact elementary and middle school students’ lives by going to Public School 23 and teaching for a day.

Everyday lessons are taught in school in order to help students better understand their sur-roundings and prepare for their futures. In a capitalist world, it is important to be able to distinguish between needs and wants and to understand how businesses work. Students from grades 9-12 were able to use Junior Achievement tools, such as lesson plan guide books and supplies, to teach Pre-K- 8 grade about the economic world so that they could be financially responsible in their futures. For ex-ample, those teaching the lower grades such as Pre-K to 1st, taught students about the difference be-tween wants and needs. They also taught the attentive children about money, earning, and saving by reading stories and completing activities in a journal that reinforced lessons from the story. For the older grades, volunteers taught them about different jobs in the community. In order to engage the children while simultaneously teaching them about “the real world,” the students were given play money for the products they made in their pretend shop. The volunteers even collected taxes to pay for government jobs such as firemen and police officers. By simulating this consumer and provider experience, children were able to better understand businesses and the flow of money around the town. Children learned about voting and how they should not just conform to societal norms but ra-ther vote for what they believe in. These learned life lessons will help students be financially success-ful in their futures. Volunteers were given the opportunity to empower the youth with tools and knowledge they will need to be financially responsible so that they can pursue their dreams and change their world without facing economic restrictions. Students at Yonkers High School were able to switch places with teachers for a day by working with Junior Achievement and teaching the tots.


Violence Against Women: A Worldwide Issue By: Angie Lin

In 1993, the UN General Assembly declaration on the elimination of violence against women provided a framework for action on the pandemic. In 1994, Congress passed the Violence against Women Act to address domestic violence concerns. At least 119 countries have passed laws on do-mestic violence, 125 have laws on sexual harassment, and 52 with laws on marital rape. Yet domestic violence against women still remains a prevalent issue in today's society.

One in three women still experience either physical or sexual violence, mostly by an intimate

partner. Worldwide, over 700 million women alive today were married as children and a portion that married under 15 years of age. Child brides are often unable to negotiate safe sex which leaves them vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases and early pregnancy. Part of this issue is also due to hu-man trafficking globally. Adult women account for a large percentage of human trafficking victims. Young girls represent two out of every three child trafficking victims. Women and girls are most of-tentimes the victim as they represent 70% of all human trafficking victims. Many risk factors for both intimate partners and violence include: low income, lower levels of education, alcoholism, childhood trauma, and many others. The unequal position of women relative to men and the normalization of violence to resolve conflicts contributes to the violence issue.

There are various ways we can combat violence against women in the world. However, many

women oftentimes don't report these events which makes it difficult to take action. Among the women who do report, more don’t look towards formal institutions such as police or health services. They instead look to seek assistance from friends or family. Less than 10% of women seeking help actually go to the police, which is concerning considering one should be able to rely on such people to protect them. Providing women with legal representation and opportunities to pursue justice for crimes com-mitted will encourage more people to step forward. An end to forced early marriages and premature pregnancy would also assist in combatting this issue as this is a leading cause in death of girls be-tween ages 15 and 19. One can also help just by speaking out against domestic violence, as raising awareness about these issues brings it to the public’s attention.

Anyway by Dr. Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.

Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.

Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.

Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.

Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.

Give the world the best you have anyway.



How Drugs Affect Health and Cause Downfalls in Academics

By Adia Jefferson

Despite countless ads and awareness programs, the disasters and downfalls that drug usage causes, stu-

dents across the nation still participate in these lethal practices. Time can be spent listing countless motivations,

which inevitably cause these unfortunate groups of students to engage in using poison. However, in all cases, the

common fact remains that teens choose to use drugs because they’re viewing their decisions from a present per-

spective. They don’t consider the affects it may cause in the future. The first time a teen smokes a cigarette or

inhales their first dose of cocaine, the crucial question of ‘how will this affect my future?’ does not seem to cross

their scattered minds. The main focus is to experience that high, carefree sensation that drugs offer, when in real-

ity you are plunging into a labyrinth that you may never find your way out of.

The symptoms caused by drug usage and alcoholic abuse are made very well-known, students are ex-

posed to the undesirable dangers throughout their upper middle school years, and awareness of it continues

throughout high school. However, it is as if both existing and new users do not grasp the message or they simply

disregard its importance. Even outside of school settings, the often everlasting and severe after affects are tele-

vised and yet these warnings are ignored. Young people often hold the mentality that ‘they have control over

themselves’ and claim that they would never allow themselves to hit rock bottom. But once you start a habit,

especially one as severe as handling drugs, it becomes very strenuous to break. The downfall for misusing drugs

can be seen in hospitals and emergency departments due to the damage substance abuse causes, anywhere from

physical traumas to cancers, heart disease, and death.

Substance abuse does not only negatively affect the body physically, but it takes an enormous toll on

students’ ability to perform satisfactorily in school. Proven by the NIDA, ‘the brain relies heavily on chemicals

called neurotransmitters to help messages travel from one part of the brain to the other’. For example, the neuro-

transmitters in marijuana mimic the kind your body produce, and because of that, they're able to latch onto the

receptors in your brains. Furthermore, drugs interfere with the normal flow used by neurotransmitters, where

certain signals are increased while others are lowered. These receptors functioning properly is a key factor to

understanding and processing information in class. Due to this, the way in which the brain retains information,

and the ability to remain focused is altered to fit irregular patterns. This is why many students who abuse drugs

or alcohol experience lower grades, skip or do not attend classes, and in many cases, drop out of school. The

brain struggles to gain a proper grounding on education and assets needed to process material are lowered. This

ultimately leads to these kids losing motivation because of a decline in cross-disciplinary skills. Substance abuse

can alter one’s fate and send any student’s life spiraling out of control, because grades and the activities students

are involved both in and outside of school are crucial in molding your future. It has been proven throughout

years of diagnoses that in most cases, students who used drugs or drink alcohol throughout high school have

lower verbal memory, grades, and IQ’s, or simply drop out. This is what leads graduates to get into lower per-

forming colleges; or they do not advance to college at all. This leads to poor, low-paying jobs or unemployment

in comparison to non-users.

Do not allow yourself to fall victim to drugs or alcohol, whether it be a one-time experimentation, some-

thing you do in your spare time, or an addiction, especially based on the notion that, ‘everyone is doing it, so,

why can’t I?” In reality, only a limited minority of high school students engage in any sort of drug usage; do not

make yourself a part of that minority. Smoking marijuana and being able to down a shot of vodka is not some-

thing to be proud of. In fact, any sort of exposure is made to sabotage the full extent of your health and abilities.

There are various other healthy and positive methods that can be used to grant the body the same euphoric pleas-

ures a drug can give you, such as, listening to your favorite genre of music, or engaging in activities you find

uplifting. Using illegal substances does not have to be the source used to ease your nerves or help you ‘fit in,’

because in the long run, unfavorable outcomes will follow.

Believe in Yourself By Jillian Hunt

Set your standards high

You deserve the best. Try for what you want

And never settle for less.

Believe in yourself No matter what you choose.

Keep a winning attitude And you can neve lose.

Think about your destination

But don’t worry about if you stray Because the most important thing

Is what you’ve learned along the way.

Take all that you’ve become To be all that you can be.

Soar above the clouds And let your dreams set you free.



Yonkers High School

Mr. Michael Shapiro, Principal

Mr. Andrew Cohen, Asst. Principal

Ms. Alexandria Connally, Asst. Principal

Ms. Kathy Fakhoury, Asst. Principal

Ms. Tanya Jenkins, Asst. Principal

Ms. Yamile Ledesma, Asst. Principal

Ms. Melanie Vancol, Asst. Principal

Faculty Advisor

Ms. L. Libutti

Documents

BROADCASTER - Yonkers Public Schools