Last Day of Break

Hello Bloggies!

Wow. Tomorrow is the start of Quarter 4 and I am oh so excited!

What’s that?  Oh… you don’t understand how I could possibly be excited to return to school after a week long break?

Well when you put it that way, I don’t understand myself either. But let’s face it people. We have approximately two months left of school and it should be fun! So tomorrow, when you set foot onto the gray-and-white tiles, just smile.

Okay, so maybe you don’t have to be that enthusiastic but there is so much to look forward to! So I’m going to tell you just how to tackle this last quarter. (That’s so nice of me, I know!)

Tip #1- Make sure you have something to look forward to every day. Sometimes it’s hard to wake up in the morning because we have nothing to get excited about. When you have something that motivates you to get through the day, it makes your day that much easier. It can be anything, your favorite food for lunch or dinner or even your extra-curricular after school.

Tip #2- Change things up a bit. Everybody gets tired of the same old routine every day and this can make going to school boring. Try changing your backpack into one of your old ones. I know it sounds silly but even something as simple as that can make school more interesting.

Tip #3- Make a nightly schedule to be sure you’re spending your free time wisely. Give yourself time slots for homework, breaks, and even bed time. You will find yourself with more free time than before because you will be finishing your work in a timely manner.

Tip #4- Plan your summer! I can’t stress how important this one is. First of all planning your summer now, will allow you to enjoy a well-planned, enjoyable vacation. Secondly, this will make you so excited for the summer that the rest of this year will be a breeze!

I hope these were all very helpful. See you all tomorrow!

Stay excited,

Hannah

Break Number 2

We’re onto break number two and I feel so so relaxed. Can we all just take a moment to acknowledge the fact that we’ve gotten through first semester finals?
No, seriously. Take a moment.

Wow. First semester went by so fast! I can hardly believe it. It seems like just yesterday that I walked into the newly painted building of Shalhevet to hear the new dress code rules.

I always like second semester better because of so many things:
#1 You know the teachers’ teaching styles so you kind of have no excuse when you bomb a test due to the format.
#2 You start fresh fresh fresh.  OMG I can’t stress this one enough. You know when you do really poorly on one test or project and then it ruins your whole grade and you hit the point of no return?  (Not firsthand but I still get it.)  Well second semester is like pushing the “control – alt – delete” keys.
#3 All of the fun holidays. Okay so don’t even start to tell me that you haven’t been thinking about the holidays!  Purim, Pesach, Lag Ba’omer and Shavuot — which reminds me, I need to start coming up with costume ideas!
#4 All of the fun activities from SAC are usually planned during second semester.
#5 It’s so close to summer vacay!

Although I know it’s going to be great, as you all might know, my bestie, Tamar Willis, will be spending the semester in Israel on a program. I’m going to miss her so much!  But being the positive person I am, I tried to come up with something good that will happen due to her departure. So here it is: my participation grades are going to go through the roof!

I hope you all have a very well deserved, relaxing break. I know I will!

Stay relaxed,
Hannah

Totally Stressed

Break numero uno is now over and I’m dreading those upcoming finals.

Studying for eight finals should be reserved for those who appreciate sado-masochistic behavior, not for high schoolers. But our administrators have taken it a step further: they’ve actually scheduled a final for after school hours. Our Talmud final now takes place on Wednesday the 11th from 5:00pm to 6:15pm.

That’s right, that would mean we would end school an hour and half after it is supposed to end.

It’s as if the administration is trying to tell us, “We know you already have nine hours of school but we wanted to add another so that while you’re taking your final, you can fall asleep halfway through.”  Oh yeah! Thanks for being so incredibly considerate.

And when has it ever been a good idea to have two general studies finals in one day? I now have History and English finals both in one day (Monday) which is perfectly fine because if my fingers fall off because of the immense amount of writing I will have to do, I won’t have to take the rest of my finals.

Now let’s discuss what a vacation is.
Va·ca·tion- a scheduled period during which activity (as of a court or school) is suspended
(Thank you, Merriam Webster)

Thats right, teachers. Vacation is when you leave school and all activity relating to school is suspended. That means: no essays,no math problems,no projects and don’t even assign reading, that’s sneaky. You get the point. You’re teachers! You should understand the meaning of vacation.

You’re also humans and were once students, so you should understand that no one wants work over a break, no one. You guys don’t like grading papers just any more than we  enjoy writing them.

It’s just really unfair that even when we’re given a break, it’s not really a break. But I don’t want to just bash on all of the teachers so kudos to all the teachers that believe homework on break is overrated.
Oh yeah, HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYBODY!

Stay Stressed,
Hannah

Uniforms, please?

People, I think it’s time that we institute something radical at school. Something crazy, something so un-Shalhevet that you guys might just feel the need to make sure this is a Boiling Point blog.

So here I go: I think we need to institute a uniform.

Now hear me out. Believe me, I love being able to wear whatever I want (knee-length skirts and proper shirts implied).  But picking out my outfit has now become an extra weight on my shoulders. You all are probably asking yourselves, “Gee, what can be so difficult in picking out a simple outfit?”  But when you’ve exhausted all of your outfit ideas and you’re just plain tired from your long day, picking out an outfit becomes so stressful.

Moreover, if school starts at 8 and I wake up at 7, I really have no time to pick out a creative outfit in the morning. Just this Tuesday, I fell asleep before I had time to pick out my clothes which left me with a very stressful morning.

I also happen to be kind of a slow person. Boy, did 7:00 pass by so quickly, and before I knew it, 7:30 rolled on by and I still had no creativity. And the yelling began. “HANNNAAAAH!!! Hurry up!” followed by “You’re going to make me late!!!” Oh and my favorite: “HANNNNAAAAH!! What are you doing? Waiting for Godot?”

I have no idea what that is a ref to.  Maybe I’ll look it up when I have time.

So I’ve resorted to picking out my outfit the night before. Oh, it’s just so tough! Now does a uniform seem so bad? And how preppy would we all look if we all wore the same skirts, shirts perhaps an adorable menswear-inspired blazer, and OMG shoes too?

How do you guys feel about having a uniform?  And if you’re not into a uniform, can you all suggest an “I’m so late but it still must be cute outfit”.

 

Stay precious,

Hannah

To Carry or Not to Carry

Succot 2011 offered a lot of time away from school and a lot of time to think about what’s going on at school.  Brace yourselves fellow, Shalhevites, for I am going to use a word that hasn’t been heard in our hallowed hallway: feminism.  Yes sir (or madame), girls are demanding equal ownership of Yiddishkeit.  A majority of Shalhevet’s female student body have made it loud and clear that they agree with the opinion that women have a halachic right to carry the Torah.  Yet there are many, myself included, who just can’t understand why on earth the need to carry a Torah is worth the divisive presence that is now officially palpable.
It’s hard to imagine that anyone at Shalhevet wants young women to go back to the days when girls were simply expected to be cheerleaders. We are a powerful force at our school. Girls hold the offices of president, vice-president and secretary of Shalhevet’s Agenda Committee.  In fact, the Agenda Committee is dominated by girls; seven of the 10 titles are held by girls.  The editor-in-chief of the Boiling Point is Leila Miller.  Of the 14 editorial positions on the Boiling Point, nine are held by girls.   At Shalhevet, women are leaders.  Regardless of whether they carry the Torah or not.

The group that demands to carry the Torah is vying for control of something at Shalhevet. The small group (three young women) who want to carry the Torah hide behind the banner of feminism, but if carefully examined, they have flipped the table and men are now forced to swallow the bitter pill of inequality.  Women’s feelings are always validated while men’s are discounted.  Why should a woman’s spiritual desire to carry the Torah override a man’s sense of discomfort with the notion?
I am not debating whether the girls have the halachic right to carry the Torah, I am simply arguing that everyone’s feelings regarding this “machloket” should be taken into consideration.  Allow the young women to carry the Torah and allow the young men to have a minyan where they do not have to experience it.  After all, our parents have the right to choose whether they go to Beth Jacob, Young Israel, or B’nai David.  Rabbi Segal (whom I admire greatly) is clearly taking away the right feminists have fought for: the right to choose. At Shalhevet we should all have the right to choose the minyan where we can devote ourselves to davening.  The right of choice should apply equally to women and men.

So there. Have a relaxing weekend.
Stay precious,
Hannah

Lunch

Lunch.

As sophomores, we have learned to appreciate the little 47 minutes of lunch that we have. Finally you have time to just kick back, eat your lunch, relax and…

Go to committee meetings, go to teachers, take a test, take a quiz, write a paper, fight for those two extra points, organize your locker, complain to the administration and find out that you need to schedule an appointment to complain to them, finally schedule a complaint session after they find the special clipboard and then realize you are supposed to complain to your teacher during that time slot about their unfair teaching styles (sophomores, you know who im talking about), complain about that, and finally trip and fall over the numerous numbers of backpacks in the cramped hallway and complain about that.

Finally you get down to sit for the last 5 minutes of lunch and you drop your food.

Obama Obama Obama!

Obama Obama Obama! That’s all we’ve been hearing about today.  But all I’m concerned about is the fact that I had to leave school early so that I could actually get home. I mean I know any kid would be dancing at the fact that the school is permitting you to leave earlier than usual with an excused absence, but classes still went on while I was home.

I can’t and won’t blame this on the people at school because it’s not their fault. In fact, I know exactly who I can blame this on. Does Obama not care about our education? Okay, maybe I’m just really upset that I missed my math class. But still.

Hollywood producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, along with other Hollywood glitteratti, will host a fundraiser at Fig and Olive, a posh restaurant on trendy La Cienega Blvd., later this evening. According to the Huffington Post, each invitee is expected to pay $17,900 for dinner with Prez O. I just hope the President doesn’t talk about the tough economic times we live in. Because obviously these people can’t relate.