A couple weeks ago, we asked you fantastic members to submit Pink Ball photos showing their favorite school subject for a chance to win 50 points for your Cause. Though many of you have already graduated, you still found a way to show us what subject made your interest peak and got you excited about learning. What a bunch of smart cookies we have! Here are our favorite photos received.
For your own chance at 50 points, scroll down to see what this week's Pink Ball Photo of the Week theme is!
"So, let me paint a picture for you. At the start of my day I attend a normal High School, complete with Chemistry and Spanish classes. Then, about half way through the day I walk across this magical place, called a parking lot, to this magnificent school called the Fine Arts Center. Here, I study Voice, which consists mostly of classical singing. I also take Music Theory and History, from this man. At the beginning of the year he gave us our "bibles", which most music students live, eat, and attempt to master the diatonic modes out of.
Dr. Grier happens to be the coolest teacher ever. He uses The Beatles in his lessons and he poses for SocialVibe pictures. Plus, he helps head a club called The Foothills Green Artists. They volunteer around our community and sell reusable water bottles,with our school logo on them, to help reduce the use of plastic water bottles. So, not only is Dr. Grier teaching future musicians everything they know, but he's also saving the planet little by little. Thus making his classes the best ever. EVER. :)"
"My favorite subjects are english and choir.I wrote my favorite quote,from Bob Marley, to show my love of writing.The music notes show my passion for singing and music."
"I can't choose. Mathematics and Spanish literature! They both rock my world. So does SV! =]"
THIS WEEK'S THEME is: Thanksgiving! Naturally, we have to center this week's Pink Ball photos around the wonderful holiday that allows us to give thanks for all of our blessings while stuffing our faces with... well, stuffing. What's your favorite part of Thanksgiving? Sweet potatoes? Football? The Macy's parade?
Send your Pink Ball pics to pinkballphotos@socialvibe.com. Include the theme in the subject line and your SocialVibe URL in the e-mail. The best photos will receive 50 SocialVibe points! If you upload your photo to Flickr, be sure to tag it with #SocialVibe.
A 10 year-old Arkansas student is challenging the time-honored tradition of saying the pledge of allegiance because he feels the values stated aren't currently holding true, due to the current lack of equal rights for gays and lesbians.
After taking a good hard look at the pledge and deciding he didn't think the ideals were currently being upheld by our country today, Will refused to stand for the pledge on Monday, October 5 while a substitute teacher was in the classroom. After angering his teacher and administrators (and of course, being punished), Will has exercised his right to freedom of speech (or unspeech) and has chosen to repeat his boycott each day since.
Will, who wants to be a lawyer, says he always tries to analyze things for what they are. In the case of the Pledge of Allegiance, he says "I really don't feel that there's currently liberty and justice for all."
"I've grown up with a lot of people and I'm good friends with a lot of people who are gay and I think they should have the rights all people should, and I'm not going to swear that they do," the ten-year-old Phillips said.
His quiet boycott has met criticism from both school staff, administrators and students, some of whom have taken to calling him inappropriate and hateful names like "gaywad." Will says he doesn't see his protest ending anytime soon.
Jay Phillips responded to questions about whether his son is using this as a ploy to gain media attention, saying it is a cause very near to his heart. "He felt that just because he's ten years old doesn't mean he doesn't have opinions, doesn't mean he doesn't have rights, and doesn't mean he can't make a difference."
Will and his father appeared on CNN Monday morning to explain his choice in boycotting the pledge of allegiance:
What do you think about Will's quiet boycott against the Pledge of Allegiance? Can you see where he's coming from (and do you think you'll join him) or is it uncalled for?
It's never too late to right your wrongs, even when it comes to overdue library books. A librarian at a Phoenix high school was pleasantly surprised to receive two returned books recently, along with a $1,000 money order to cover the fees, as the books were checked out some 51 years ago!
Georgette Bordine, librarian at Camelback High School, said the fee for an unreturned library books is 2 cents per day. That would total about $475 for the two missing Audobon Society books, but that the anonymous borrower added the extra funds just in case the rates had changed.
The borrower, who wants to remain nameless, had mistakenly packed them when his/her family moved out of state.
The books will be refiled and the money used to purchase - you guessed it - more books.
This is a nice little story. I think we've all found overdue libraries hidden in dark corners of our houses, but how often do we go out of the way to return them to the original place borrowed from? There is no good deed too small, my friends!
If you've ever attended public school, summer camp, a birthday party or just dinner with your annoying siblings, chances are you've been involved with a food fight of some sort. Countless movies depict playful scenarios in which kids rebel, using mashed potatoes as artillery and cafeteria trays as shields. Who knew participating in this classic unruly act could get you arrested?
Following a particularly out-of-control food fight at a Chicago middle school on Thursday, 25 of the students involved were cuffed, arrested and locked up. The kids, aged 11 to 15, were charged with reckless conduct and have all been ordered to appear in court.
Parents of the students are up in arms over the charges, claiming the punishment is completely unnecessary and uncalled for.
“My children have to appear in court,” Erica Russell, the mother of two eighth-grade girls who spent eight hours in jail, said Tuesday. “They were handcuffed, slammed in a wagon, had their mug shots taken and treated like real criminals.”
The students were released to their parents that evening and were each suspended for two days, though they may be serving more than that after their court date, most likely community service or probation.
“They’re all scared,” Ms. Russell said of the children. “You never know how children will be impacted by that. I was all for some other kind of punishment, but not jail. Who hasn’t had a food fight?”
President and co-founder of Prespectives Charter Schools, Diana Shulla-Cose, defended herself to parents who claimed the arrests were unwarranted and random, as not all students involved were arrested. Shulla-Cose ordered an on-campus police offer to call for backup after the fight escalated and administrators were unable to gain control of the students. She described the food fight as "unfortunate" and added, "we don't take this lightly."
What do you think? Is arresting students over a food fight totally crazy or do the students deserve to be reprimanded for acting like babies?
Forty years ago today, on November 10th 1969, the premiere episode of the classic children's education program Sesame Street aired. We're going to make an educated guess and assume that the majority of you reading this aren't current fans of Sesame Street, but most of us had some exposure to the educational cable program as tots.
The show certainly has changed a lot over the last forty years, but you'd be surprised just how far! For example, did you know Sesame Street was originally intended for inner-city children? The fact that it was such a hit with kids worldwide was a surprise to the show's creators. Cookie Monster also smoked a pipe in the early days, Oscar the Grouch was a LOT grouchier, and kids rode bikes - WITHOUT helmets.
You can buy the early editions on DVD, complete with warnings that the episodes may not be suitable for today's youth!
Just for kicks, check out this promo featuring Bert & Ernie that aired in the days prior to Sesame Street's premiere:
Happy Birthday Sesame Street! This post has been brought to you by the letter S and the number 4!
Did you watch Sesame Street as a kiddo? Who was your favorite character?
Is writing a novel one of those things you've always wanted to do but haven't yet gotten around to? Get off your tush this month and do something about it! November is National Novel Writing Month, the perfect time to dig your paws into sharing that story that's been up in your mind for ages.
How does it work exactly? It's like this: everyday this month, take some time to write a few pages (or more), with the end goal of completing a full, 175-page (50,000 word) novel. Over 120,000 aspiring novelists will take on the challenge this month.
"NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly."
Sometimes you need a little extra push to get started... this could be just the thing to breathe life into your writing project. Plus, it's getting colder outside and the days are getting shorter. Take advantage of those extra hours of darkness and start writing!
Just a couple of days into the construction of the new multi-million dollar school being built by Raising Malawi, Madonna is reaching out to people worldwide in hopes of gaining support and donations to fund any number of the organization's projects to benefit the children of Malawi. As Madonna explains in a video message, she will be matching the donations dollar for dollar with her own money.
The singer and humanitarian penned a guest blog on Huffington Post today explaining her mission in Malawi and describing why she was so moved by the children of this country, one of the most poor in the world.
"Please join me in supporting the work of Raising Malawi," Madonna asked her fans. "Every dollar we collect will make a huge difference in a child's life. By matching your donation, dollar for dollar, I will personally ensure that your contribution has an even greater impact. That's a promise."
These days, Madonna is as known for her humanitarian efforts and adoptions as she is for her music. The Queen of Pop, who co-founded the non-profit Raising Malawi, is heading back to the impoverished African country to begin construction on a state of the art school for young girls in need.
Madonna will be present to help break ground on the school, as construction begins today in the capital, Lilongwe. The $15 million school, Raising Malawi Academy for Girls, will focus on empowering young women to become leaders.
"Our goal is to teach them to challenge themselves, serve their local communities and develop their country," she said. " ... Research proves that young girls throughout the developing world are often left without opportunities to receive a comprehensive education."
Two of Madonna's four children, 4 year old David Banda and 3 year old Chifundo "Mercy" James, were adopted from Malawi, after a messy legal battle. All four of her children are with her in Malawi.
Malawi is home to 13 million and is one of the poorest nations in the entire world. Raising Malawi was founded with the purpose of helping feed, educate and provide medical care for the needy.
$15 million is a lot of money for a school, so we are sure it will be a phenomenal learning experience for these girls. What do you think?
