Time to hunt... for jobs!

Jennifer Haddad

You may feel nervous, scared, and you may dread your first day. Like anyone experiencing their first job, you’ll think it won’t get any easier. That’s where you’re wrong. As long as you apply for a job that fits your interests and has a decent environment, you’ll feel yourself warming up to the idea.

Searching for a job isn’t easy, and no one said it would be. You get your hopes up, thinking you’ll get a job with great pay and hours that require you to do very little.

Brittany Wright, a student at RHS, states, “It wasn’t what I had expected. When working with kids, you have to work harder in order to earn their trust.”

Make sure that you apply to a job that you will enjoy. There’s no point spending hours of your time at a job that you couldn’t care less for.

Some students said they enjoyed working because of the aspect of responsibility. Others felt that their coworkers made the job seem less welcoming.

Be sure that the pay is decent and the traveling doesn’t take too long. It’s also a good idea to not let the hours affect your school and social life too much.

Sandra Cowie, another student at RHS, said “Having a full time job was disappointing. Even if it was worth it in the end, I felt as if everyone was out enjoying their summer while I had to go to work every day.”

When it comes to interviews, remember not to exaggerate when talking about yourself. Be well dressed and be yourself. They’re simply looking to see why they should pick you for the job. You might even need to suck up to them a little.

It’s always a good idea to carry your CV’s everywhere and hand them out as you pass by stores. Remember to never give up looking.

. LE WINTER FORMAL

Laurie Savoie

Le winter formal est un événment qui, depuis quelques années, aide a ramasser de l'argent pour la graduation des secondaires 5. Chaque année, cette événment est une réussite total. Le bal en blanc est une danse pour les secondaires3, 4 et 5. Chaque élève est invité et ont l'opportunité d'amener un ou une ami(e). Cette danse implique un dj amusant, de la danse et des décorations à couper le souffle. Le bal en blanc a habituellement lieu au début du mois de décembre pour célèbrer Noel. Chaque billet coûte 15$. Le commité de graduation de cette année est présentement en pleine discution sur les décisions à prendre pour cet événement. Nous avons du pin-sur-la-planche parce qu'il  y a beaucoup à organiser. Nous vous promettons une autre soirée inoubliable, alors prèter attention aux annoces le matin et le midi car vous allez bientôt en entendre parler.

High School Departure

Isabelle Gagnon

Winston Churchill once said, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning”. When we think about high school ending we think of it as the end of a chapter in our lives, and as a new chapter starting. We think back on all the memories and cherish them. Then we must think of what comes after the beginning.

Every book has an end; we are reaching the last chapter of our books. This year, was surreal, practically like a dream. Sooner than we think we will be on the last page reading the last words of the 2011 saga. We must take our book and reread it over and over until the memories are for ever engraved in our minds.

We must think back on our first strike in secondary 1, our first ped-day, our first detention. Then we go to secondary 2, our first fight with our BFF, our first crush, our first kiss. As we go on to secondary 3 we have our first non-sleep-a-thon, our hearts break for the first time, and we laugh about how silly we looked in secondary 1. Once we reach secondary 4 we feel strong and proud. We have our first winter formal and we begin to think about “what happens after this”. Now we are in secondary 5, we think about Grad pictures, Grad breakfast, our prom dates, and our prom dress. Now we don’t only have to think about what happens next. We have to know what happens.

Next year most of us will be in college or a trade school. We will be living out our dreams, and facing new challenges. With the end of the beginning, we begin to build our lives. This year we stress over college applications, jobs, and mistakes we should have fixed. We will think about all the things we should have done and all of those we shouldn’t have.

This year tempers will soar, friendships will bloom, and the graduating class of 2011 will bond. As we think about the change that is to come, and we will cry for all those we will lose. We will laugh from all those insiders we made through out the years, and we will forgive those we never thought we could forgive. This was the year we will remember for the rest of our life, this is our year!

Final Exams Are Ridiculous

Shawn Lefebvre

 

           Over the years, the amount of work school has piled on students has increased exponentially, and by the end of June, the amount of anxiety and aggravation amassed is stultifying. Parents may think that these pupils would be overjoyed and ecstatic since the school year has come to an end, but guardians always forget one horrific detail. Finals.

Students are well aware of the stupidity and nonsense that are present on final exams, but no matter how ready the pupil, they still know that in the end being bamboozled is imminent. This inevitably causes more stress, and in some cases causes some students to erupt with animosity. Yet can these disciples truly be blamed for being completely fed-up and frustrated? Absolutely not.

These so called “final exams” the government creates, are just plain ridiculous, and only serves to make lives more miserable. The original purpose of the final exams were to give an evaluation on whether the student has comprehended what he/she learned throughout the year, and yet the government will do everything in their power to make that evaluation as complicated as possible.

The only action these young prospects can possibly do is try their best, and hope for an acceptable mark that will continue them on a path to a bright future, but after all the hectic events are over, one just can’t help wonder what the point of making such a ludicrous test truly was? No one has yet to find a legitimate answer to that question, but hopefully one day, the government will express their own thoughts on their destructive creation.

Favourite Things

Brittany Wright

          Big teeth on plants, and jazz musicians. Bright razor blades that glint in the spotlight. Brand new scripts bound in a student’s binder. These are a few of Stephanie Cocking’s favourite things. The Rosemere High School drama teacher has now successfully put on three musicals since she began working at the school: Little Shop of Horrors, Chicago, and Sweeney Todd respectively. After all the doom and gloom upon which the last three plays have centered, Ms. Cocking has bent to pressure from the public and is directing a more upbeat, happy musical this year: The Sound of Music by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

The Sound of Music takes place in Austria before the Second World War. A young postulant, Maria, is sent to be a governess for Captain von Trapp’s seven children. The melodic Maria, thrust into a music-deprived home, teaches the children how to sing and have fun. With unforgettable songs such as ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘Do-Re-Mi’, and ‘Edelweiss’, a delightful romance, and a heart-warming tale of family, The Sound of Music is a classic enjoyed by audiences of all ages. Ms. Cocking confirms it so.

“The Sound of Music is very popular and appeals to many generations,” she says. “Apart from that, high school students are familiar with the play because they have most likely been exposed to it before. For example, they may have watched the movie on TV, they may own it, or their parents or grandparents might have seen it with them when they were younger. It’s simply that popular.”

When asked what she hoped to achieve by putting on this play, the director replied, “I want to put as many [talented people as I can] on the stage... I want to get a larger audience and build up a tradition of RHS putting on good drama productions.”

The Sound of Music is to be performed on the nights of April fourteenth and fifteenth, 2011. Tickets will be on sale starting March fourteenth, 2011. The RHS Drama Club hopes to see you all there because Ms. Cocking’s favourite things have recently become our favourite things as well!

Over-Consumption Among Teenagers

Alexe Robert

          We are now in 2010, soon to be 2011, and over-consumption among teenagers is still an aggravating problem. Teenagers, nowadays, have tendencies to want more of what they already have. They try to fit in at school among other teenagers who are just as over-consuming as they are. Students at Rosemere High School are far from helping to remediate to this issue.

Fitting in at school is not a simple task. On the contrary, it’s more than difficult. Teenagers have to say the right things, do the right things, and most importantly, buy the right things. Sometimes, it turns out to be fun, other times it can empty your wallet.

Rosemere High School holds over 1500 students. That makes a lot of consumption. Now imagine what 1500 students can purchase if more than the majority of them are over-consumers. That makes a lot of clothes, shoes, jewelleries, skin products, and electronics. Will there ever be an end to this?

Many students at Rosemere High School would disagree to say that they are, in fact over-consumers. Maybe they really aren’t, which would be very surprising. Maybe they just didn’t get the definition of over-consumption quite right.

Let’s take a minute to think about what you’ve consumed lately. Have you bought a new iPod even if your old one still works perfectly? Have you been shopping for new clothes even if your wardrobe is full? Have you bought new shoes just for the fun of it? Have you bought some ‘bling’ to fulfill your need for more? The next time you go out shopping, ask yourself if you really need what you’re about to buy. Is it worth the money if you already have one that works perfectly?

La Minceur n’égale pas l’anorexie ou la boulimie

Chanel Jacques
    
     C’est peut-être plus discret, mais cela se fait et cela s’est déjà produit. À l’école ou ailleurs, un stéréotype classique, c’est dès que quelqu’un voit une personne mince, elle est forcément anorexique ou boulimique. La raison pour laquelle cela arrive est parce que tout le monde se demande comment fait-elle pour être de si petite taille?

     Pour ceux qui n’ont aucune idée de ce que c’est, l’anorexie et la boulimie sont des troubles alimentaires. L’anorexie est un constant refus de s’alimenter, un excès d’exercice, l’obsession continuelle de perdre du poids et de toujours se trouver grosse en se regardant dans le miroir. La boulimie, est un individu qui a une faim incoercible tout en consommant d’énorme quantité de nourriture; qui par après provoque ces vomissements. Selon statistiques Canada, seulement huit pourcent des Québécoises âgées entre vingt et vingt-cinq ans sont atteintes de troubles alimentaires. Et seulement entre un a deux pourcent de Canadiennes âgées de treize a quarante ans sont atteintes de ces troubles alimentaires.

     En plus des autres qui mettent une énorme pression, les médias n’aident pas la cause. Leurs messages est qu’être mince vous donne une beauté et un bonheur absolu. Par après, ils suggèrent des façons de perdre du poids. Toujours selon la pédiatrie canadienne, approximativement trente-trois pourcent des adolescents en santé essayent tout de même à avoir une perte de poids avec un régime. Mais les autres soixante-sept pourcent d’adolescent le font de la bonne manière sans régime.

     Alors quand vous voyez une personne de taille mince, ne sautez pas directement à la conclusion qu’elle souffre de troubles alimentaires parce que souvent, c’est faux.

Décibels

De: Simon Thuotte

Si nous croyons ce qui est écrit dans plusieurs statistiques, l’ouïe des jeunes se dégrade de plus en plus. Même à l’école les effets sont flagrants. Pour certaines personnes, il faut répéter plusieurs fois.

Selon les statistiques, en seulement dix ans, les adolescents ont perdu de vingt à vingt trois pour cent de leur audition. Tout cela a commencé avec les walkmans qui étaient incapables de rivaliser avec le pouvoir sonore et la longévité des appareils d’aujourd’hui. Ces avancements sont en fait un mélange destructeur pour les oreilles; de longues écoutes à des niveaux sonores élevé sont dévastateurs. Certains pays, comme la France, émette des lois pour que les MP3 et les IPod  aient un volume maximum réduit mais la loi est très facilement contournable avec des téléchargements de la version originale. Les écouteurs pour baladeur, qui rentrent dans les oreilles, augmentent le son de six à neuf décibels comparativement aux écouteurs qui s’accotent sur les oreilles. Neuf décibels est la différence entre le son d’une balayeuse et celui d’une motocyclette.

Tous ces facteurs augmentent la perte et le risque de perte d’ouïe non seulement chez les jeunes mais aussi chez tous les consommateurs de musique.       

Electronics

Steve Pelletier 

In Rosemere High School, the popularity of electronics has increased substantially. Sadly, electronics have been forbidden for one simple reason, students are irresponsible, and lose equipment such as IPods and cell phones.

Parents shouldn’t even have to pay such big expenses, for such ridiculous reasons. The only reason a student should possess a cell phone, is in case of an emergency. All other electronics, such as IPods should be left at home.

For many teenagers, simply having an IPod or Cell Phone makes them ''cool'', either by showing off or by texting in class. Anywhere you go in the school; it is guaranteed you will see this technology. Students have integrated electronics, as if they were part of themselves, and obtaining these items has become an addiction. This addiction grows on the owner, and takes slowly takes away their freedom. Students now have concentration problems, and tend to ignore others because they are listening to music or texting their friend. These electronics should be regarded as what they truly are. Abominations.

Peer Pressure

Amanda Cloutier-Santos

Peer pressure can be found anywhere. There is no specific age to be bullied, and peer pressure is generally found among teenagers. Most of the time self esteem drops.

People usually believe that bullies can be their friends. The article, Teenager’s stories: What I learned the hard way about Teenage Peer Pressure quotes, “Is it worth feeling bad about yourself just to be friends with someone who doesn’t deserve your friendship?” I asked a few questions to three students from Rosemere High School.

Some students that have been peer pressured have refrained from doing something simply because others thought it was ‘stupid’. Brittany Wright, a student from RHS, states, “Sometimes I would hold out what I really wanted to say, not saying my opinions because I was scared to be called a baby.”

Others however, find themselves either being the bully or witnessing a scene involving bullying. When asked for their opinion, Jennifer Haddad, another student said, “Even though I may have wanted someone to do something, I never pressured them into it. I know that if it was the other way around, I wouldn’t want to be forced into something that I didn’t want to do.”

Preventing someone from being peer pressured can be as simple as talking them out of it. “I just convinced the person that they do what they want to do, and that it would be lame for them to do something just because someone told them to,” answered Sarah Bélec-Wolf when asked if she ever stopped someone in this situation.

Peer pressure is not only used negatively, but when asked if she ever peer pressured someone, Sarah answered, “Not if pushing someone to do what they want counts.” This is the positive side of peer pressure; people help others by using it to push them into believing in themselves, and do whatever they were scared to do.

Student-Teacher Relationship

Alex Hachey-Carey

Ever wonder why you sometimes learn better from a specific teacher? Why you are more comfortable asking questions in one class, then terrified in another? This is because of how a teacher makes his students feel while they are in his class. This is called a student-teacher relationship, and if constructed carefully, it can have an enormous impact on a student’s school life.

As a teacher, your number one priority is to make your students listen to you, and in order to get their attention, you must make them want to learn. You can do this by motivating them, giving them the tools in order to succeed, and the belief that they will succeed. The students will not only give their effort in the subject, but by doing so, it will also teach them a life lesson because after all, a teacher’s job is to prepare them for the future. If you get the opportunity to teach them and really make them learn something, then you should tell them that in life, nobody is ever going to give you something for free. You need to work for anything and everything that you want in life.

The student-teacher relationship is like a real relationship; both parties must contribute in order for the relationship to work. The student must make the efforts needed to succeed, even if it isn’t always easy. You also need to trust your teacher because they only want the best for you, and will always strive for your excellence.

The student-teacher relationship isn’t intended to be easy, but your better building one successful relationship, then having none. Not only does it give you a helping hand from time to time, but it can be extremely useful for when the time to apply for college arrives. The student-teacher relationship isn’t obliged, but it can work wonders in facilitating the year’s work, and make the whole high school experience a wonderful one.

RHS Environmental Struggle

Rachelle Urtnowski

          Rosemere High School and the environment don’t get along. There are absolutely no recycling facilities in the hallways, and the recycling bins in the classrooms are strictly for paper. There is no sensitization of any kind regarding being eco-responsible. A lot of students are still throw their paper in the trash can, and their garbage on the ground.

          The cafeteria is one of our school’s big problems. The dishes are of single use only, and they are not even biodegradable. This year, they have “compostable silverware”. Since don’t even recycle at our school, we have a long way to go before we start composting. Though they are biodegradable bins in the dump yard, this is only the first step. The number of garbage bags filled with waste every lunch hour at our school is preposterous, let alone what ends up on the floor.

          Also, small is the number of teachers who print on both sides of the paper. It doesn’t sound like such a big deal, but when you think of it, it doubles the amount of paper. In a class of 30 people, it makes a dramatic difference!

          There was an environmental club for a while, but due to lack of funds and cooperation from the direction, it might not be continued this year. Our school needs to change its habits drastically. People have to start opening their eyes and take action!

Permis de conduire

Vincent-St-Hilaire

          Conduire est très populaire auprès des jeunes. Avec plusieurs élèves qui approchent l’âge de conduire, il est important de bien s’informer à propos des permis de conduire. Dans cet article, vous allez apprendre sur les étapes à prendre pour l’obtention d’un permis de conduire.

          Dès l’âge de 16 ans, la première chose à faire est d’aller s’inscrire dans une école de conduite. Lorsque l’inscription est faite, vous devez passer la phase 1 du cours de conduite. Cette phase consiste à se pratiquer durant au moins un mois sur la route et passer un test en classe. Après la réussite de cette phase, vous devez aller dans un centre de service de SAAQ (Société d’Assurance Automobile du Québec) pour obtenir votre permis d’apprenti conducteur. Avant de vous rendre sur place, vous devez vous assurez d’avoir deux pièces d’identité. La première pièce consiste soit d’un certificat de naissance ou d’un passeport Canadien. La deuxième pièce est votre carte d’assurance maladie. Lorsque votre identité a été confirmée, vous devez remplir une liste de documents. Le premier document doit être rempli par vos parents. Ce document, PDF, confirme que vos parents vous donnent l’autorisation de conduire avant l’âge de 18 ans. Ensuite, une preuve démontrant que vous avez réussi la phase 1 du cours de conduite. Le dernier document à remplir est la déclaration médicale de la SAAQ pour voir si vous respectez les exigences médicales. Ensuite, vous devez compléter un test visuel. Lorsque vous avec complété le tout, il vous reste qu’a payer pour votre examen théorique et pour le permis d’apprenti conducteur. Le tout coute 69,97$ et est valide pour 18 mois.

          Maintenant que vous avez payé votre permis, vous pouvez aller conduire. Par contre, vous devez être accompagné d’une personne qui possède son permis complet a votre côté. N’oubliez pas que vous ne pouvez pas conduire après avoir consommé de l’alcool et vous avez seulement 4 points d’inaptitude. Pour plus d’information, visitez le site web http://www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca

Importance of Sec.5

Annabelle Gentile

          This year for grade eleven students, at Rosemere High School, it’s a very important year. It’s a special year because, it’s the year that all the students put their childhood memories behind them and move on to living as young adults. It’s a huge change. Students are use to having fun with their friends and not taking life too seriously, but this will come to an end. It’s the year where we are going to have to make big life changes, and choose what kind of direction to go in for later on in life.
          Many moments spent in high school are memories remembered throughout a person’s life. I believe that for a student’s final high school year, it should be about being yourself and just living every moment to its fullest until it’s over. As students, we should appreciate the time that we have left with our friends before everyone goes their separate ways, and starts a new chapter in their lives. Grade eleven shouldn’t be about fighting and starting rumours about each other. It’s a year in which we should forget about all the issues we might have had with people in the past.
          The secondary five students of this year should leave Rosemere High School, and remember it as a place with great memories and fun times. I suggest that for our final year we make it as memorable as we can.

Student Athletes: Do students come first

Jason Ethier
         
          Playing sports is difficult. Try to imagine practicing a sport three to four times per week, while trying to complete homework during the very little free time you have. Many athletes that compete in sports are mature and good students. These athletes don’t get off easy, they have to maintain a required grade average to keep playing the sport they love.
          It might sound like student athletes are heroes, but that’s not always the case. Some athletes that aren’t good students, don’t care about authority, and just go to their classes without really giving an effort, and believe that their abilities on the field or in the gym, will force their teachers to pass them, to allow their school to do compete well, but why would young adults, who could have a bright future as both athlete and student, act like this? The answer is simple. Teenagers are influenced by their Idols, and when they hear a professional athlete say that he wasn’t very good in school, or see athletes glorified in films, they start to think that it’s cool to skip school because they know that they have a natural talent, and believe that athletic ability will get them wealth and stardom.
          Today, people have forgotten an important old saying. “When you’re a student athlete, the student should be the most important part”. Being a student athlete can be very hard. It forces an individual to juggle school, sports, friends, and family, but coaches, teachers, family, and the student athlete himself, must put the student first for these individuals to succeed.

Les Rosemere Raiders; une équipe frappante

Pascale Barriere

          Honnêtement, je ne connais pas grand chose sur le football. Cependant, à cause de l’ambiance des supporteurs de l’équipe, je n’ai pu m’empêcher d’aller voir une des parties des Rosemere High School Raiders. Alors, le vendredi 10 septembre 2010, je suis allée voir une partie fort intéressante. C’était contre les Conquérants, et les Raiders ont eu une victoire écrasante. Dans le passé, ils ont rivalisé avec plusieurs équipes du Québec, mais peu importe d’où viennent les autres équipes, les Raiders sont toujours prêts à accumuler des victoires.

           Rosemere High School avait une équipe de football même quand l’école venait d’ouvrir dans les années soixante. Malheureusement, l’équipe a cessé d’exister après des hauts et des bas de plusieurs saisons. En 2005, les Raiders renaissent grâce à l’entraîneur Jason Puklicz qui a sacrifié plusieurs heures à avertir, chercher et entraîner les jeunes étudiants. Au début, les parties n’allaient pas comme prévues, mais avec la détermination et le dévouement de ces jeunes athlètes, l’équipe a pu remonter la pente en allant au premier championnat de Rosemere High School l’année dernière.

          Vêtus d’un uniforme vert, blanc et or, les Raiders sont une équipe qui m’impressionne même si elle ne gagne pas toutes les parties. Elle m’a conquise du fait que les joueurs s’unissent tous, en travaillant fort et plusieurs fois par semaine, en réussissant d’inclure des parents ainsi que d’autres étudiants mais elle m’a soumise au charme principalement parce que peu importe ce qui arrive, ils agissent comme une grande famille.