Congratulations to Our Tal-ented Musicians Jessica Lau Congo Carman Chan Being Environmentally Friendly in the 21st Century Benjamin Yu Helping Our Environment, One Tree at a Time Samantha Leung Minister of the Environment John Gerretsen Visits Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School Kaleigh Ambrose Multiculturalism at PETHS Jasmin Shirazi What Fruit Are You? Jessica Lau Mr. Ahmad: Much More Than a Funny Math Teacher Morgan Brown Coming Home…for a Day Gail Sajo A Day in the Life of Michael Wong Wilson Poon

Pop It, Lock It, Drop It! Rachel Wang Time is Money: Tips on How to Save Money Over Time Philip Hang Looking for Bargains Adrienne McCarty Afrocentric Schools…Are They Suitable for Canada? Philip Hang Dear Elliott Jessica Lau The Will to Forgive Jessica Lau Crossword Jessica Lau A Resolution for Us All: Say-ing “No” and Not Feeling Guilty about It Adrienne McCarty Friendship Messages Popcorn Picks: Juno and Dexter Agatha Nyambi What Are Trudeau Students Really Like? Morgan Brown

Embarrassing Moments Doris Huang Trudeau Surveys: Which Do You Prefer? Morgan Brown Horoscopes Sameena Khalfan What is the Right Job for You? Jyothsna Visweswaran Behind the Scenes of Grad Tea

Editors Morgan Brown Jessica Chan Adrian Cheung Fariha Husain Jessica Lau Adrienne McCarty Wilson Poon Jasmin Shirazi Layout Morgan Brown Wilson Poon Front and Back Covers Erica Tham Teacher-Advisor Mrs. Yun-Lee

Congratulations to Our Talented Musicians

Trudeau’s Concert Band and Wind Symphony traveled to Ottawa in May to compete in MusicFest Canada. Enduring early mornings and long nights, students enjoyed shopping, participating in workshops, and sightseeing on Parliament Hill. Perhaps the most memorable moment occurred when all the students on the bus started to sing their instrumental parts from repertoire music—we knew we were true band geeks and we were proud of it. As for the competition, the Concert Band achieved Gold while the Wind Symphony received Silver. Congratulations to both bands! Thank you to our wonderful chaperones and our amazing director, Mr. Colley! ●

Enticed by the tales of an eccen-tric, young Jean leaves his family and friends and sets off to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in search for King Solo-mon’s gold. During his quest, Jean confronts fear, love, and death, while discovering the val-ues of friendship and love that unite us all.

Inspired by Gail Sajo and supported by Ms. Coenen, this

play has its origin in a poem found by Ms. MacGregor. After completing a tremendous amount of research, the students who comprised the Sears Festival company wrote a script based on the central themes of the poem. They learned how to drum, dance and work with masks.

Though the play is an adventure story “with a moral and a relatively happy ending, the real life Congo has recently emerged from the bloodiest conflict since

“ In the beginning I hated it, but it really grew on me. It was one of the best classes.”

Mumbo-Jumbo is watching you!

- Harrison Browne

CARMAN CHAN Contributor

World War II” according to Ms. MacGregor.

Showcasing this piece during Black His-tory Month, the Sears Festival company showed that theatre can reach out to the com-munity. Accepting pocket change donations, the company raised money for WAR CHILD to support programs like “School Rehabilitation and Revitalization Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo”.

Needless to say, not only did the pro-duction of “Congo” broaden the perspective of the audience; it also made a difference in the world by helping to “reintegrate child soldiers and child mothers into the rehabilitated edu-cational system of the Congo” (MacGregor). ●

“According to an adjudicator from the festival, we took a potentially racial piece and turned it into a cultural extravaganza!”

- Ms. MacGregor

It is a well-known fact that our Earth is in trouble. From a 2002 poll, four out of every five Canadians feel that global warming and greenhouse gas emissions should be one of the govern-ment’s top priorities.

There has been no shortage of events bringing awareness to this already well-publicized issue. From last year's Live Earth con-certs to Al Gore’s controver-sial documentary “The In-convenient Truth”, the gen-eral public has been made aware of the gravity of the issue of climate change.

At 8pm, on March 29th, 2008, our world took on another endeavour in the constant battle against global climate change: Earth Hour. For a single hour, peo-ple around the world switched off their lights in a movement to show that to-gether, we can make a dif-ference.

In last year's first ever Earth Hour, 2.2 million peo-

ple and 2100 Sydney busi-nesses turned off their lights. This massive collec-tive effort reduced Sydney's energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour. This had the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for a year.

With such riveting success, key organizer World Wildlife Fund believed that this year, Earth Hour could be mounted on a much grander scale.

"It's a potent, very visi-ble symbol of concern and expectation for action," said Julia Langer, global threats director at WWF-Canada. "It's a celebration of what's been done so far and ratch-eting up to the next level of achievement."

The event spread far and wide, with cities like Bangkok, Brisbane, Can-berra, Chicago, Melbourne, Tel Aviv, and our very own Toronto joining the initiative.

In Toronto, hundreds of thousands of residents participated in Earth Hour. According to the Toronto Star, "Earth Hour saved about 434 megawatts be-tween 8 and 9 p.m. on Sat-urday" in the Greater To-ronto Area and the

Being Environmentally Friendly in the 21st Century

BENJAMIN YU Contributor

"electricity saved was enough to power about 434,450 homes, based on a benchmark of 1kw per av-erage home." GTA residents on average reduced their energy consumption during Earth Hour by over 10%.

Earth Hour has been met with many criticisms, with several journalists call-ing the whole event a “monumental flop”, with the “gains close to negligible.” More notably, in an analysis, David Solomon of the Uni-versity of Chicago Graduate School of Business, argued that "Earth Hour shows a decline of only 2.10%, which is statistically indistinguish-able from zero.

These people are missing the bigger picture. Earth Hour is not about solv-ing the problem of global warming. It is about showing the world that we are genu-inely concerned about our environment and that we intend to do something. ●

On Sunday, April 27th, members of Character in Action (C.I.A) and the Octa-gon Club participated in the annual tree-planting event hosted by the organization 10,000 Trees for the Rouge Valley. Over the past couple of decades, the organization has been able to reclaim over 140 acres of frag-ile watershed lands through such events. We were among the hundreds of volunteers who came out to enjoy the sunshine and to do some digging. Within a few short hours, thousands of saplings were planted and empty fields were turned into budding for-ests. What a thrill to know that in the years to come, birds, deer and other forms of wildlife will have a natural habitat in the city because of our contribution! ●

SAMANTHA LEUNG Contributor

Helping Our Environment, One Tree at a Time

A Message from E-Action

Thank you to all staff and students who participated in Earth Hour. By turning off our lights, we were able to save 56 kilowatt hours. This is the equivalent to powering 615 homes, with 7 light bulbs, for 1 hour. It is enough energy to power a typical primary school for one hour. Mr. Dysart, our head custo-dian, was very pleased with our school initiatives.

Remember to practice energy conser-vation every day. Open the blinds and continue to reduce lighting, whenever you can. Shut down the computers at the end of the day.

On January 24, 2008, the enthusiastic stu-dents of Ms. Erin Schipper’s World Politics class, met Mr. John Gerretsen, the Ontario Min-ister of the Environment. The jovial hand talker visited the class of future politicians to speak about his plans and to teach the class how they could be a part of a better, more environ-mentally-friendly future. When asked if he would like a bottle of water, he was quick to reply, "I'm the Minister of the Environment...", demonstrating that every step we take as indi-viduals help to make the world a better place.

The former mayor of Kingston, Ontario, John Ger-retson had planned to visit Trudeau earlier in the semes-ter, but had to delay his trip due to a bad snowstorm. Snowstorms, windstorms, hur-ricanes, tsunamis—natural dis-asters and the possible re-sults of global warming and climate change were the first topics of the day. Mr. Gerret-son mentioned that Canada has had it easy. W have not suffered as much as other developed parts of the world such as the United States and parts of Europe. Other countries, having experienced the effects of global warming, have had to come up with so-lutions to the overuse of natural resources, and weather changes. All countries, Mr. Ger-rentsen said, must work together to make real changes, but it starts with everyone in Ontario first.

The transit system in the Greater To-ronto Area (GTA) was the next topic of discus-sion. The minister colourfully described and

praised the transit system in Tokyo, making ref-erences to its efficiency and design. He com-mented that their system makes the GTA's sys-tem "look like child's play".

Grade 12 student Dean Saroop asked, "If we're trying to get people to use public transit, why have York Regional Transit (YRT) costs re-cently grown to three dollars?"

Mr. Gerretsen quickly shared with the class the news that the government plans to

spend about seventeen billion dollars on transit routes in the next few years. He said that the hike in transit fare is part of the "rules of the game", explaining that we need to invest today in order to prosper in the future.

This led to a discourse on cars and traffic. Mr. Gerretson praised the introduction of the HOV lane on the 404. HOV stands for High Occupancy Vehi-cle. HOV lanes are reserved to cars with two or more passen-gers. By allowing such cars to bypass traffic, HOV lanes are

meant to encourage carpooling.

The minister went on to explain how he and his colleagues are working together with the automotive industry to encourage the build-ing of more environmentally friendly vehicles. He offered, "I drive a hybrid, by the way.”

Mr. Gerretson stated that while the initia-tive would involve retraining workers to build the new types of cars, such action is necessary to make the world a greener place. He was proud to announce that in the near future, gaso-line at the pumps will contain 10% ethanol and

Minister of the Environment...

JOHN GERRETSEN ...visits Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School Kaleigh Ambrose

Contributor

John Gerretsen MPP

visited PETHS on January 24, 2008

although it may not seem like much, "it's a start". Ethanol burns more cleanly than gaso-line and produces less greenhouse gases.

When Mr. Gerretsen opened up the dis-cussion to allow class participation, the topic of sending our garbage to Michigan was brought up. The Minister of the Environment alluded to the fact that this deal will run out in 2009/2010. Future plans include the use of incineration plants instead of landfills. With re-gards to incineration, Mr. Gerretson mentioned that new technologies are being developed to ensure that minimum amounts of chemicals are emitted into the air. Scientists are currently working on scrubber-type devices to limit pollut-ants going into the air. They are also investigat-ing how to harness the energy emitted from the incineration plants for heat-ing nearby buildings. Still, Mr. Gerretson stressed that the "number one goal is to reduce and recycle" and new plans are in the works for recycling electronics to keep them out of landfills.

Other plans of the Ministry of the Environment include:

• creating a Greenbelt around the GTA be-cause it is "truly the way to go" in order to prevent industrial expansion on protected lands

• protecting Lake Simcoe and limiting the amount of phosphorus being poured into the lake by nearby industrial projects

• further developing the Zen car which is made in Canada and has zero emissions

• banning toxic chemicals in the lining of baby bottles

• banning the use of plastic bags

• forbidding the use of pesticides for cos-metic use

From our discourse, it is evident that the

Ministry of the Environment and their leader Mr. John Gerretsen are working diligently to ensure a brighter future not only for Ontario, but for the world as a whole. Many creative and innovative technologies are currently be-ing explored and may soon become reality if all goes according to plan. However, the Min-ister of the Environment entreats, "Give me a little time, I’m working on it."

During his visit, Mr. Gerretsen empha-sized the government's need to create an "open and transparent public process" with regards to new decisions being made con-cerning the environment. He wants to ensure that the public has a say in new technologies and is able to give their feedback about new designs, costs etc. Aware that people are

scared of things that they do not understand, the minister hopes to include the public in every possi-ble shape, form or way.

The minister’s visit offered the Grade 12 stu-dents a fresh perspective about the environment and about politics. His words inspired the stu-dents to open their minds

to new ideas and to embrace change.

Throughout his talk, Mr. Gerretson ‘s message was loud and clear: "a change in attitude by people is needed" in order for his plans to be successfully put into action. He told the Politics class that it is a good start to want to make positive changes in the world and pleaded, "Please, whatever you do, don't get cynical about the environment. Get in-volved."

As Mr. Gerretson departed, he offered these hard-hitting words, "I'd like to change [things] overnight, but quite frankly, that won't happen." However, that's no reason to not want to make positive changes right now! ●

“Please, whatever you do, don't get cyni-cal about the envi-ronment. get in-volved.”

-John Gerretsen

MULTICULTURALISM AT P.E.T.H.S. Who would have thought that my sister,

coming from a mainly "white" background, would be the star of her Bollywood dance class? Or that I would have friends in every cultural group imaginable.

For most of you, this is probably not a shock as we, the residents of York Region, live in a culturally diverse society. We experience this diversity not only in our neighbourhoods, but also at school.

Here at Trudeau, we are dedicated to providing a safe and friendly environ-ment for teenagers of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. Clubs like the South Asian Club promote the different cultures rep-resented at our school. They give us a taste of their culture by selling ethnic foods such as the deliciously spicy samo-sas and performing dances to traditional music. In fact, our school talent show Cabaret frequently features such cultural performances.

Ginnie Lau, a Grade 12 student en-thuses, "I like the idea of having the South Asian Club because it lets people learn more about their culture. We live in a multicultural society in which we are encouraged to be more flexible and knowledgeable."

Another way that the different cul-tures of the world are celebrated in the school are through class projects. For ex-ample, the Grade 10 English ISP focuses on cultures and how their customs, val-ues and beliefs affect the lives of their people. The Grade 9 Music ISP examines music from around the world.

Finally, we cannot forget our excel-lent language programs. While Trudeau is a French Immersion school, students may also elect to learn Spanish. Not only do we learn a new language in these programs, we also learn about the culture that influ-enced and was influenced by the language. Learning different languages will open up doors in our future. As Ginnie Lau com-mented, "Being multicultural is an asset that benefits people when they are seeking jobs." We are lucky to be a part of a school that is pro-multiculturalism.

Perhaps one of the principal advan-tages to growing up in a culturally diverse society is that we become more open-minded. We are able to form relationships with all kinds of people.

However, there are also some disad-vantages. A stroll through the crossroads or the cafeteria during lunchtime would re-veal that people from the same cultures tend to collect together. And while the groups might accept "outsiders", they seem to form tight-knit cliques throughout the school. This can be somewhat intimidating to other students.

Grade 11 student Virginia Ng tried to explain the formation of cliques. "I think it's just the comfort level of the people belong-ing to the cliques. They find things in com-mon with each other such as the fact that they like the same music. Some people might be family friends and are then introduced to others, and it just ends up that way."

While moving

JASMIN SHIRAZI Contributor

from Scarborough to ethnically diverse Markham gave me a bit of culture shock, I feel that my life has definitely changed for the better. Without multiculturalism, I would have never experienced such an ar-ray of cultures firsthand. Without my new ethnically different friends, I could never have known about talented people like

Sharukh Khan. I could never have experi-enced Chinese New Year the "real way". There is so much that we can learn from other peo-ple's cultures if we take the time to open up and be patient. I hope that everyone has the chance to experience and really appreciate multiculturalism for what it is - a whole new way to experience life altogether.●

Maybe in your past life time, you were actually a fruit! If you want to know what kind of fruit you might have been or maybe the kind of fruit you WILL be in your next lifetime, take this quiz!

Turn to page 13 to interpret your results!!

W h a t F R U I T a r e y o u ? ?

1. What is your least favorite colour?

A) Yellow

B) Brown

C) Orange

2. Size matters! A) Bigger the better!

B) Medium

C) Small

3. Would you rather spend your night playing Trivia with your friends or partying in a club downtown?

A) Trivia, of course! Bring it on!

B) Trivia, that’s so triv-ial. There’s a party down the street!

C) I’ll be at one of the places, but I won’t say much

4. Do you tend to be laid back or on top of things?

A) I’ll get on it sooner or later

B) Must be on top of things, or I don’t de-serve to wear my “I’m an ACADEMIC NERD!” button

C) I’m not over the top, but I still care

5. What’s your social status?

A) We just share a love for science and math!

B) It’s my duty to know everybody

C) I have a small group of friends

6. Lastly, what are you like?

A) Scary studious per-son

B) Sleek and cool

JESSICA LAU Contributor

M R . A H M A D M u c h M o r e T h a n A F u n n y

M a t h T e a c h e r

While Mr. Ahmad is known for his sense of humor and good advice, there’s a lot more behind this distin-guished Math teacher. Mr. Ahmad grew up in Pakistan and speaks Urdu as well as English. He joined the Paki-stan army when he was fourteen years old. In 1997, Mr. Ahmad moved to Canada to join his mother, sister, nieces, and neph-ews. The interview that fol-lows will give you a glimpse into Mr. Ahmad's life.

MB: What do you remem-ber most about your child-hood?

JA: My dad used to get mad at me because I slacked off in my homework be-cause of kite flying.

MB: What is the biggest dif-ference between Pakistan and Canada?

JA: The way people think. For example, in Pakistan, guys holding hands means friendship, but here it means a totally different thing.

MB: Can you tell me about

your university education?

JA: I was in the army. I was a captain and got a Bachelor of Mathematics and Physics. I studied Electrical Engineering in Canada at Ryerson and at-tended the Faculty of Educa-tion at Western.

MB: What did you do in the army?

JA: I was in the Regiment of Artillery and served in the Pakistan Air Force.

MB: What advice would you give to students to help them be successful in university?

JA: Organization is the key. Get organized! Also, when

you learn, it should be for the love of learning, not for only passing exams and tests.

MB: Why did you decide to become a teacher?

JA: Most of my family mem-bers are teachers or engi-neers. In teaching, every day you can learn something new. At the end of the day, I feel satisfied that I’ve made a difference. I can learn from students and teach them too. A human being’s educa-tion is never ending – it is continuous – and I learn something new everyday.

MB: Which do you prefer, Math or Physics?

JA: I love both equally. Phys-ics is the application of Math. All scientific knowledge comes out of Physics.

MB: Who has influenced you the most in your life?

JA: Anybody who is doing something good for human-ity. I admire them and wish them to progress and flour-ish in their lives. It could be someone like Bill Gates, or a scientist – especially those in

MORGAN BROWN Contributor

medicine looking for a cure for cancer or AIDS, or a soldier who is fighting in the battlefield for the hon-our and glory of his na-tion.

MB: If you could change one thing about the world, what would you change?

JA: Eliminate poverty be-cause it is a curse, the biggest curse in the world. And educate people.

MB: If someone gave you one million dollars, what would you buy?

JA: I would keep about $100 000 for my personal needs and donate the rest to some noble cause. Maybe to the people of Af-rica, to the less fortunate people.

MB: Do you have any final advice or anything else you want to say?

JA: I believe in prayers and I want to give good news to everyone. Your God does exist and he listens and answers your prayers. Don’t bow down to human beings, but in front of your Lord, the only creator.

Thank you, Mr. Ahmad, for sharing your inspirational story and views on educa-tion and life with us. ●

MOSTLY A’s: You are a kiwi! Though you may appear brown and boring on the outside, inside you are rich with information and intelligence. However, it might be good if you called up the strawberries and oranges of the world once in a while and exposed yourself to the sun. Science and math do run the world, but hey, what happened to life!

MOSTLY B’S: You are a banana, sleek and cool. You are smooth with everything you do. You’re not over the top

and you know just how to handle everything. Although sometimes you should be more serious and less laid back, you’re fine the way you are. Your special gift is the ability to sweet-talk with your charm out of anything.

MOSTLY C’S: You are berries! You’re meek, yummy and fun! Although you’re shy and some-times people may wonder where you are, you’re wonderful to be around. You know everybody and you talk to everyone, but you’d rather stay with your close friends. Even then, you’re not one to be boisterous and confident. Try opening up and giving everyone more of that sweet, unique taste!

W h a t F R U I T a r e y o u ? ?

R E S U L T S

Do you get just a little nervous on the night before the first day of school? Even if you may be too cool to admit it, you might experience sleeplessness or clammy palms or adrenalin-induced irritability just before you cross that threshold into the educational abyss.

Well that was me on St. Patrick’s Day eve. Go figure. After a gazillion years of enter-ing classrooms, both as a stu-dent and as a teacher (come to think of it, almost my entire life), I spent most of March 16th evening feeling school-queasy in anticipation of what I might encounter at Trudeau, after having been away for eight months.

Not to fret. Upon arrival in the east parking lot, I was greeted, as usual, by Ms. Bab-cock, Mr. Sisti, and Ms. Robert-son. This was so typically nor-mal and casual—a welcome that dissipated all of my angst. And then… again so typically on the return from a break, the fire alarm erupted and we had a chance to stay in the parking lot a little longer. As we waited,

other familiar faces gathered and, by the time we were per-mitted to re-access the school, staff and students engaged in post-March Break chatter. In-deed, nothing had changed.

Well, not exactly noth-ing. There are many new faces (both staff and students), new artwork, new oldness – kind of like finding a pair of comfort-able shoes you thought you had lost and then found, slip-ping your feet into them and saying, “Ahhh.”

I spent the day in classes, in rehearsal, in a staff meeting, in the office. Your lives here are so busy, your joy-ful encounters with learning (even when you feel lousy) so fruitful that you really don’t know how fortunate you are.

Sometimes, you may feel like giving up, like saying “What’s this all for? I don’t really need to be here. I can make my way without anyone’s help,” like dropping out. Let me reiterate: you have no idea how fortunate you are.

In my school in Lutsel

K’e, students from Kindergar-ten right up to Grade 10 strug-gle with personal, familial, so-cial and physiological issues that, literally, prevent them from learning and retaining information.

The little ones, who haven’t yet come to under-stand the judicious need not to tell all, come to school in the mornings with tales of abuse, drunkenness, and de-spair in their homes. They come to school even in -45oC because they know they will be safe, cared for, and fed. I love the little ones – they freely give affectionate hugs, want to be read to, enjoy “grown-up” conversation where their ideas are valued and challenged.

The senior students in grades 8, 9, and 10 are an-other story: similar to you in age, they have had interrupted schooling. Many do not value the need to go to school and see the building as a drop-in centre. In too many instances, they are lost – whether they will finish Grade 10 is iffy. Es-pecially the boys.

And, so, the principal and I have decided to split that class by gender: the boys will continue to learn on the land, which means that their

C o m i n g h o m e … f o r a d a y

MS. G. SAJO Correspondent

learning will be experiential and kinesthetic. Their academic English language and literature program will be built from their experiences hunting, trapping, and fishing. From this, they will write reflectively about their work and de-velop PowerPoint presentations, snowmobile repair manuals, news reports – operational text that truly represents their interests and exper-tise. And they will be taught by their aboriginal, respected, male physical education/on the land teacher.

I will work with the girls who are, by na-ture and by culture, more sedate, more like the students with whom you are familiar. We will explore similar kinds of text and comprehension strategies that you would expect in a more aca-demic venue. We’ll see how this all works as the changes evolve.

Coming back to Trudeau, even for a day, afforded me the much needed opportunity to regroup. Sometimes when a person works in an isolated environment, that person tends to lose sight of the big picture. Being at Trudeau reaffirmed my purpose in the small, remote, northern community.

All of us, at some critical moment, have considered “What’s the point of going to school? I have nothing more to learn. Maybe I should just drop out, get a job, make some money, and get out of here.” Seeing you at work in class, chatting in the halls, relating to

your teachers reinforced for me what I already knew: you have no idea how fortunate you are.

You have the capacity to invoke change; you are dynamic; you challenge and are chal-lenged by your teachers every day, and you rise to the demands they and you have set for your-selves with (granted, varying degrees of) excite-ment. You have stresses as well, but you have the support structures in place to guide and as-sist your decision-making, and, perhaps even more importantly, the strength to change your paths if you veer too far from your goal. You are, indeed, fortunate.

In the community of Lutsel K’e, the school is a parental and social surrogate. Although the school only has sixty students and a staff of ten teachers, student need is constant and immedi-ate. Such high need can take its toll on teachers. There are days when I think about the futility of our work, but there are good days too. The little ones find such joy in reading; the middle school, grades 5, 6, and 7, has become my teaching lab, thanks to their teacher who has given me pretty much free rein in the class. He and I co-plan, co-teach, and have had success in exploring a vari-ety of comprehension strategies.

Despite their learning challenges (a by-product of multigenerational Fetal Alcohol Syn-drome), these students are evolving into readers, thinkers, questioners, and writers. It is hard for them to retain information, but they are overcom-ing their difficulties. That, for me, is really exciting and makes all of the other issues nearly negligi-ble. So, when you think you have had enough of school, teachers, projects, deadlines, and are ready to throw in the towel, consider the condi-tions faced by these kids just to be in school.

I am grateful for being able to have a home in two very different worlds – that which I share with my family in the north, and that to which I can return at Trudeau. Thank you for keeping your doors open to me as we continue this adven-ture. ●

Above: Ms. Sajo visits Ice Palace at Lutsel K’e, Nunavut during March 2008.

“You have no idea how fortunate you are.”

A Day in the Life of…

Michael Wong

WILSON POON Student Life Reporter

There are more than 1100 students currently enrolled at Pierre Elli-ott Trudeau High School. Unfortunately, we do have the chance to get to know each and every one of our schoolmates. A few months ago, I had the opportunity to interview a randomly chosen person in our school and learn about his daily routines. Michael Wong, a grade nine student, was selected to participate in this interview and what he had to say makes for an interesting read.

FD: What would you do if you had a million dollars? MW: Buy everything I see

FD: If you could be any stationary thing at all, what would you be? MW: An eraser so I can erase everything!

FD: If you could be any letter of the alphabet, which would you be? MW: I, because it’s me

FD: What is the best part of being in grade 9? MW: I get to make new friends. Oh, the best part is that we have more freedom—we can play PSP and DS at school!

FD: What is the worst part of being in grade 9? MW: You’re not at the top of the school anymore. Being called a minor-niner and being a newbie at everything.

FD: What about recess, do you miss it at all? MW: I don’t care about recess, recess is boring.

Reporter’s Note: It was very difficult to find students who were willing to be interviewed and I would like to personally thank Mike for letting me share his life in Fuddle Duddle. This article was originally set to be published in the previous issue, but due to technical and scheduling difficulties, it was postponed to this issue.

Give me your first thoughts to these questions... FD = Fuddle Duddle MW = Michael Wong

If you had to sum up your life in a phrase, what would it be?

“My life is weird… Yea…”

Walk me through your day... 6:00 AM – wake up, shower, make my own lunch, pack up homework, get a ride to school for badminton club, then brass sectionals for repertoire, rush off to class afterwards.

10:29AM - Integrated Tech with Ms. Coenen, I like Tech class; you don’t have to write a lot, just do whatever you want basically, and Ms. Coenen is a cool teacher.

11:03AM - Waits for friends out-side music room, buys lunch at the cafeteria even though he made his own in the morning.

2:51 PM – Takes the school bus home.

4:04 PM - Goes online on MSN, procrastinates on homework, plays Guitar Hero like a pro.

7:35 PM - Badminton class.

12:11AM - Eating dinner alone watching “Clone High” and “Robot Chicken”.

12:29AM - Finishing (actually, just starting) homework.

"America’s Best Dance Crew" is raiding the TV airwaves and the nation. It is bringing a new flavour to the table of dance. The show is produced by Randy Jackson, an accom-plished Grammy-award winning producer and American Idol judge. Shows like “So You Think You Can Dance?" have also spawned a new wave for the Hip hop dance craze.

Okay, now close your eyes and think. Where did hip hop come from? Out of the magician’s hat? Out of 50 cent’s hip hop rhymes?

“Hip hop is dead” is the title of Nas’ album in 2006. Is hip hop really dead?

Many argue that rap artists today fo-cus on materialism. The music videos you see on MTV are filled with big cars, lots of girls and money. Others argue that hip hop is not dead: it’s just reached a new stage in the industry. It’s a wave of change that is constantly in the works. The hip hop music industry is a multi-million dollar industry that has grown since the 70’s.

What do you think? Is hip hop at a crossroad? What will happen to hip hop in the future? We see the media portraying hip

hop with a nega-tive connotation, but you must not forget that hip hop is derived from a lifestyle that exists. It’s from the Bronx where music is

life and hip hop dance is like food and water. This dance form has been embraced globally. New hip hop art-ists are emerging everyday.

Turn back the clock a couple dec-ades and you will see hip hop at its early stages. It started around the 70’s and has been developing since. “Breaking” was considered to be the original hip hop dance. One of the veterans of the hip hop beat is Kool DJ Herc. Growing up in Kingston, Jamaica, he brought break-beat DJ-ing into the hip hop community. He is regarded as a godfather of hip hop. Afrika Bambaataa is another important figure in the development of hip hop. With a local group of friends, he formed the group “Zulu Nation” and introduced a mix of music genres which grew into the multina-tional industry hip hop is today.

I have tried hip hop dance myself and I think it’s a great way to let out all your emotions. You become intertwined with the music and beat. I love to dance and hip hop allows me to express that pas-sion. Hip hop is quick-paced and fun. You get to be creative and mix it up.

Dance is like life: the more steps you take, the closer you are to your goal. Sure, you may fall a couple of times or mess up, but then you just pick yourself up and try again. I can’t think of a day living without music. Hip hop has evolved through the years and has caused a stir in-ternationally. As long as music exists, hip hop will live on. ●

POP IT, LOCK IT, DROP IT! RACHEL WANG

Contributor

“Hip hop rules! It expresses my crea-tivity” –Vanaja S.

“It has no meaning to its lyrics- Soulja boy is untalented and not original." -Kim D.

“It’s overrated, it’s not what is used to be”–Manny K.

“Hip hop music in-spires, it’s entertaining – experience it and you remember the things you experience.” –Leva R.

“It’s more materialistic, no new material, some of it is good stuff and some is about girls and money.” –Philip H.

“Hip Hop is definitely dead.” –Robell A.

“It’s dying - it hasn’t reached the point where it’s dead.” –TJ D.

“It’s more pop, it’s not what it used to be and it’s more mainstream.”–Nicolette D.

“How can you peo-ple listen to Soulja Boy?” – Quewin W.

“They use a lot of ma-terialism to promote it, it’s more down and dirty.” – Dana H.

“I think it’s changed a lot over the years - it’s different from its roots because it used

to talk about issues. Now it’s completely changed to what a gangster is. It’s more

stereotypical.” –Roop F.

“Hip hop dance is amazing, self-expressive and enter-taining. The ones who do it do it well. I look up to Mos Def the most because he is not afraid to say what’s on his mind and expresses himself through his lyrics.” - Leanne S.

“There is a TV show called "Mo Fang Bang Bang Tang" in Taiwan. In the show, people show their dancing or singing, or whatever they’re good at. Once I saw them break dance, I just wanted to learn it” –Chen Z.

“Show more groove to the music and less bling in my face. More action, less sing-ing.” – Bob Y.

“It's a demanding dance genre and has a significant influence on the art of dance in other cultures.” – Rakshika R.

YOUR THOUGHTS

TURN THE PAGE TO READ ABOUT TRUDEAU’S OWN HIP HOP DANCER ANGIE HO!

“I love hip hop dance. You dance from the bot-tom of your heart to the tips of your fingers and toes.” –Nancy D.

HIP HOP DANCER’S CORNER (A glimpse at a dancer’s life)

Name: Angie Ho Grade: 11 Years of dance experience: 2 Name of dance studio: Vybe Dance Studio Why she likes dance: “After watching other peo-ple dance, I finally got the chance to try it myself and I loved it. Dance is a fun way to exercise and work out. After learning a new move, you just try to improve. It’s also fun to dance with other people that have the same passion.” About dancing in a studio: “It’s so awesome to be in the studio and feel totally comfortable to move how ever you want! Not to mention, the wonderful people who dance with you! You bond a lot. I look forward to going to dance every single week! I'm very proud to be a part of Vybe—it’s the best dance company!” About dancewear: “When you perform, you get to wear things that you normally wouldn’t wear on the streets. Dressing up makes dance that much more exciting.” About TV dance shows: “I think the thing that made me want to dance was seeing how much fun those dancers had on TV. It’s very entertaining and it makes me want to move too!” Advice to readers: “I think everyone should try it! Take a chance!”

What happened to my money?! I swear there was more?! I need a new job. Sound familiar?

Frequently after getting our first paycheck or allowance, we teenagers tend to “burn” most of it, either celebrating or buying things that we don’t really need. After spending the money, however, de-pression sinks in and a the feeling of “Omg! What happened?” would follow.

Clearly, we need to stop this irra-tional use of money. Here are some tips that will help you save money, and, at the same time, leave you independent of the economic support of your friends.

- Don’t try to save all of your money. It is highly unlikely that a person can save every penny that one makes. Sooner or later a birthday or a special event will come up and “bam” a chunk of your money will be gone. A more ef-fective way of saving money may be to put the bulk of your money (e.g. 80%)

Time is Money: Tips on how to save money over time

By Philip Hang

into a piggy bank, while providing yourself with a small sum of spending money. This will lower the temptation of dipping into your savings.

- Think about how long you worked. Instead of referring to anything in dol-lars, one should express everything they buy in terms of the hours they worked. Most likely, the part-time jobs of high school students are not the most glorious or entertaining. Once you remember the amount of energy and effort you expended to earn your money, you might think twice before spending it on frivolous things.

- Hide your money in a difficult-to-reach place. After going to school, do-ing homework, or playing on the Inter-net, the body naturally gets tired. When you hide your money in a diffi-cult-to-reach place, then the motiva-tion of getting the money to buy extra food or shoes will decrease and most likely disappear. Believe it or not, this actually works!

- Keep track of how much money you have. If you kept track of the amount of money you have, then the like-lihood of withdrawing a large sum of money de-creases. In contrast, if you simply kept a pile of

money in a shoe box, it is hard to know how much you have after each withdrawal until it is too late.

- Buy stuff when it’s on sale. All stores have sales sooner or later to get rid of old merchandise. When the time arrives, put on a pair of comfy running

shoes and do some retail therapy. Take advantage of the sales because every dollar saved is time not spent working.

- Bring a lunch or find cheap places to buy your lunch. While stu-dents often need an extra boost to get through the day, it is probably not economically wise to head to the nearest vending machines or the cafeteria. There are many places to get food in and around PETHS, some items may be as cost-effective as 25 cents.

- When shopping, ask yourself if you really need the desired item. Don’t just buy on impulse. Have you ever wondered why candy and maga-zines are always located by the cash register? The shops want to trap you into impulsive buying and make you feel that you really need something when in reality, you don’t. Always think before buying.

- Buy better quality items. If they last longer you won't have to spend as much money replacing them. In most cases, replacing cheap items that do not last will result in you paying more, in the long run, than buying an item which is of higher quality.

There are many strategies to save money. But restraint is crucial. Whenever you want to buy some-thing, just remember how hard you worked for the money and ask your-self, “Is it worth it?” ●

LOOKING FOR BARGAINS

ADRIENNE McCARTY Contributor

Dear Trudeau, You have been asked to give and give and give some more. Our pock-ets are not indefinitely deep. So when you are not giving to perform-ances, dances, semi-formals or charities, give some thought to how you would like to spend your money. Here are some of things in which I would like to indulge...

S p e c i a l O f f e r s

HMV is currently

clearing out their

stock to make way

for the new HD

DVDs. You will find

most classics at

reduced prices.

Titles such as the

Matrix can be

found at $ 6.00!

Other titles are

also at reduced

prices at Walmart,

with most titles at

only $9.99!

Some Tips for Shopping Smartly… • Know the store. If something is dysfunctional in any way, reliable

stores will replace it. • Buyer beware. Sometimes, stores will try to resell dysfunctional

products to unsuspecting customers. • Haggle. As embarrassing as it may be, when you really want

something and you don’t have the money to support it, a simple “Is this your best price?” can go a long way. The worst they can say is “I’m sorry”, so why not? From experience, I have found that ask-ing can bring the price down as much as $50!

• Take advantage of your connections. Friends who are store em-ployees can usually get you lower prices. You may have to repay the favour later, but it’s worth it.

• Compare prices over the Internet and on the phone. Use an or-ganizational chart like the one below to summarize your findings:

Company Shuffle 4GB Nano 8GB Nano Classic Best Buy 49.99 149.99 199.99 369.99 Walmart 49.83 154.83 -- 259.83

Costco Prices Unlisted Future Shop 49.99 139.99 186 249.99 Circuit City 54.95 199 399

Sears -- 299 299 169

Product Where to Buy Compare Price You Save

Electronics Apple 4GB iPod nano - Silver

Future Shop $139.99

Best Buy $149.99

$10.00

Book Brisingr: Inheritance, Book III by Christo-

pher Paolini (hardcover)

Walmart.com $14.47

Amazon.ca $20.16

(Free shipping for or-ders over $39)

$5.67

DVD Battlestar Galactica: Third Season

Walmart.com $38.88

Amazon.ca $44.99

(Free shipping)

$6.11

In recent months, there has been consider-able debate regarding Afrocentric schools. While the concept is still relatively new to Canadians, many people have strong opin-ions on the issue. Some criticize that Afro-centric schools hark back to the days of segregation and discrimination while others feel that they are a necessary change in On-tario's education system.

In America, the Afrocentric school system has been established for many years, but is it really the answer for Canada, especially Toronto, where 56% of the popu-lation is made of immigrants? According to Loreen Small, mother of Jordan Manners who was fatally shot in May 2007, the an-swer is “no.” When asked for her opinion, Loreen said, “This black school thing…it ain’t right”.

Establishing an Afrocentric school in Toronto would set a dangerous precedent. What would stop each ethnic group from claiming special needs and demanding its own school? The number of possible ethnic schools is staggering. The point of educa-tion is to draw us together; ethnically- based schools would accomplish the oppo-site.

Canada is one of the most multi-cultural countries in the world. The co-existence and valuation of our different eth-nicities is what makes Canada truly unique. The grouping of only African-Canadians to-gether in one school will take away the very essence that is Canada.

There are alternatives to Afrocentric schools. For example, a course focused on African history could be offered as part of

the curriculum; Saturday school programs that address the needs of African-Canadian children could be instituted.

Some may argue that a course or a Saturday program is insufficient. However, we should also understand that Ontario's public school system is supported by tax-payers of almost every ethnic background. To fund a school system that is devoted to only one ethnic group’s history and culture is unfair.

In addition, once the students of Afrocentric schools have graduated from high school, they will be exposed to a multi-cultural society. Education should help people co-exist with others. It should teach mutual respect and tolerance, re-gardless of skin color. We should learn about the contributions of all cultural groups, not simply those of Caucasian background or African background. Knowledge and understanding of different cultures will bring us together and hope-fully promote a brighter future with fewer misunderstandings and conflicts.

Statistics have shown that Afrocen-tric schools have worked to reduce the dropout rate of African-American children in the United States. Some desperate par-ents in Canada may consider an Afrocen-tric school to be a dream come true. It is ironic how their dreams would sweep away the dreams of Martin Luther King and other civil rights movement proponents who had worked so hard and had sacri-ficed so much to put an end to segregation and to promote equality. Do we really want to step back in time? ●

AFROCENTRIC SCHOOLS ...are they suitable for Canada?

By Philip Hang

Dear Elliott... Dear Elliott,

Help! This year’s prom has just passed. I watched the video of all the people there. Their clothes, their hair, their make-up…everything looked amazing and expensive. It’ll be my turn next year and I don’t know what to do. My parents have already said that prom is silly and they won’t contribute to the cause. They won’t let me get a job either because they say it’ll distract me from my schoolwork. What will I do about clothes? What can I tell my friends? They’re already talking about next year...how we’ll all go in a fancy limo and how we’ll rent a hotel room for the after party. I’m going to die of embarrassment. Maybe I should just fail and stay in Grade 11!

Downright Broke

Dear Downright Broke,

You sure are in a dilemma, but at least, time is on your side. It is true that some parents think prom is no big deal, but try to reason with them. Tell them that you’ll be distracted from schoolwork due to worry over the big fi-nale of your high school life. Persuade them that a summer job would teach you independ-ence and responsibility while earning you some cold hard cash. Of course, you can always use those big puppy dog eyes or the famous nagging trick. And don’t forget...there are birthdays and festive holidays coming up...maybe your grandparents, aunts and uncles love you so much that they’ll pour money out of their pockets for you!

Keep in mind, nice clothes don’t have to be name brand. You could probably find a simple, inexpensive dress at Sears, the Bay or Daly Carols, which you can always spice up with the help of a fashionable friend. The limo cost won’t be so bad once it’s split up between you and your friends. As for the after party, try proposing a sleepover at a friend's house after the prom instead. After parties don’t make up prom.

Die of embarrassment? Maybe, but hey, as long as you have your friends and you’re hav-ing fun, that’s the whole reason behind prom. Enjoy it!

Elliott

Got a question that you’ve been pondering for a while and don’t know who to turn to or get

advice from? If so, then send your question(s) to fuddleduddle@live.ca to ask Elliott!

JESSICA LAU Contributor

Dear Elliott,

I think one of my friends has a big problem. She’s always on the go and she doesn’t seem to eat. At lunch time, I see her drinking wa-ter and eating a bite or two, but most of it goes into the trash. She says that she just isn’t hungry be-cause her lunch period is too early in the day. She says she eats at home and she’s fine, but I don’t think she’s fine.

Worried friend

Dear Worried friend,

Your friend could be going through a hard time or feeling very self-conscious right now. Try cornering her during lunch and getting her to spill. Ask some questions around the situation to get an idea of how she’s feeling and how you can help. Don’t ask in front of people and definitely don’t make her feel wrong and shameful. In-stead, be sensitive and understanding. Maybe once you have an idea of what’s going on, you can find a friend who can relate to her as well. If it turns out that your friend really does need help, then you can gently point her towards Guidance or some trusted adult. Sometimes all you can do is support your friend and wait for them to come around. Remember to always make them feel loved and let them know that you’ll always be there to listen and support them no matter what.

Elliott

Dear Elliott,

I’ve been sort of going out with a girl for a couple of months now. Although I like her, I don’t exactly want to be her boyfriend. However, many people keep commenting on what a cute couple we are and she takes it in like it’s gold. How can I tell her that I like it better with her as my friend and that I don’t want to be her boyfriend anymore?

Not exactly a boyfriend

Dear Not exactly a boyfriend,

First things first, don’t drag it. If you drag it, you’re making the relationship a lie and it’s going to hurt both of you and your friendship. If she really is your friend, then you’ll each take some time, and soon reconcile again. Her friends may be against you, but there’s nothing you can really do about that. What you can do is break it off with her gently in a private place. Be straightforward, yet kind, because you know you don’t want to hurt a friend. What good is a friendship if you lie to your friend and yourself? Breaking up isn’t easy, but living a lie can cause a friendship disaster.

Elliott

Remember the time your friend stole your pencil crayon, or the time you lost your lunch box, or even the time someone took your place in line? Those were petty prob-lems, and after a few minutes had passed, you would go back to your cheerful self.

As we grow and mature, the prob-lems we face grow in weight. They now centre around liars, backstabbers, hurtful words, and even deaths that hurt us. These problems cause friendships to be thrown out the window and forgot-ten.

Have you been able to forgive the transgres-sor? Or do you still hold a grudge against your former best friend? What is the cost to your emotional self? What is the cost to your spirit? What is the value of your friendship?

On January 30th, 2008, Ryan McKenzie, a freshman at Marquette High School in Chesterfield, MO, created an event called "The Will to Forgive." The idea had struck Ryan in April 2007, on the last day of his school's annual church retreat. Students were participating in a tradition called “letter burning” in which individuals who had been torn, cheated, or deceived, wrote a letter describing their hurt. The let-ter was then burnt as a sign of forgiveness. All that was left of the all-powerful, all-

consuming grudge was ashes.

As Ryan said goodbye to his anger and hurt, he thought “What if, we held an event just like this, EXCEPT that any person, regardless of religion, could participate?” This idea led to creation of "The Will to For-give."

Spread through Facebook, the event aims to remind people of the meaning of forgiveness and most importantly, the value

of friendship. It teaches peo-ple to forgive before it is too late. Sometimes words left un-said lead to regrets, and si-lence can turn friends into enemies. "The Will to Forgive" helps individuals to recognize the damage that has already been done, with hope of pre-venting further deterioration.

While it is true that peo-ple are brought together when bad things happen, Ryan be-lieves that "it is human nature

to care, but this care really isn’t 'activated' until this issue is identified as a problem, as a threat, as an issue. I believe that this is the aim of International Forgiveness Day."

From personal experience, I know what it feels like to suffer through pain. I had a good friend whom I knew for less than three weeks. When we first met, we bonded instantaneously. Then on June 24th, 2007, he was involved in a car crash and passed away the next day.

JESSICA LAU Contributor

The Will To FORGIVE

ACROSS 7. Confederation year 10. What's in a name? that which we a call a rose? 11. Paranormal Letters 13. Hawaiian Nut 14. A Primary Colour 15. Unknown Lover 17. Opposite of stressed

DOWN 1. (8) Kentucky Fried Chicken in a ____ 2. French Bread 3. Energy that is stored in an object 4. A full electron shell 5. Another word for mathematical average 6. First State in United States 8. Weakest Fundamental Force 9. Peanuts character 12. Words that mean the same 16. A Rugby Formation

CROSSWORD

It was really hard on me. Both my friend and I were going through a hard time. We leaned on each other for sup-port. I was upset that he had left me alone in this world. Later, I realized how many other lives he affected and left in despair.

My regret is that he and I had not known each other for long, and that we did not share enough moments together. I am sorry, Alfred Wong, that my last words to you were, “Is today your birthday? Happy 18th birthday!” and not have those words reach you, because that night, you were not at home. Rest in peace. We love you.

This summer, start with a clean slate. On May 22nd, forgive someone who has hurt you. And if you simply cannot forgive, then just don't allow the experience to cause you any further pain. Make it your personal goal to forgive at least five people in your life who have hurt you, and be will-ing to accept forgiveness from others. Thus the cycle would be complete.

Love and be loved. After all, what is the cost of your friendships? Do you have the will to forgive? ●

Maybe it’s just me, but have you ever said "no" and felt guilty about it?

We hear about it all of the time. It’s in everyday life. We are peer pressured into joining social groups like Facebook because it’s “cool” (air quotes intended). So instead of really thinking about the potential dangers posed by such social net-works, we just think “if I don’t do this, I am going to be left out. If I don’t accept someone’s invitation, I’m going to hurt their feelings.”

But here’s an idea: what if you did what was right for you and not worry about how others would re-act? What I am proposing is not just a New Year’s resolu-tion, it's a lifetime resolu-tion. Let’s do what is right for us and not feel badly about it.

Maybe we are over-thinking everything. Or maybe we are simply too ea-ger to please others. Who

knows?

According Gavinde Becker's book titled The Gift of Fear, "our intelligence is what makes us victims. We are one of the only species that will instinctively say 'no' to something, then talk our-selves out of it, and walk into the danger."

We need to trust our gut more. We have senses for a reason—-why not use them?

But what is an appro-priate way to say "no"? After all, saying "no" at the appro-priate time can really help. It can increase your effi-ciency and productivity, thereby making your life more manageable and less stressful.

Here are some strategies to consider when saying “no”:

• Be polite and firm when explaining your position. Be sure that the message is loud and clear to the person

A R e s o l u t i o n f o r U s A l l : Saying “No” and Not Feeling Guilty about It

ADRIENNE McCARTY Contributor

receiving the information.

• Keep your answer short and to the point. For exam-ple, you might say, "No, thanks. I'm busy." Lengthy justifications give people an opportunity to poke holes in your argument or decision.

• Make eye contact to en-sure understanding and to reinforce your position. It also makes pushy, aggres-sive people back off.

• Do not let others influ-ence your decisions. Do you remember a teacher or a parent saying, “If ____ (insert name here) jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?” Not exactly my favour-ite example, but a good re-minder that you should make your own decisions.

• When you say "no," mean "no." It’s like that Destiny’s Child song. When you say "no," don’t let it be the start of a negotiation. Instead, stay firm, knowing that you have made a definite deci-sion.

So before you make your next decision, ask your-self, “Do I really want to this?” If you don’t, just say "no." I release you from your obligation to feel guilty. ●

To: Alex Where is my money? From: Rock To: Rock I don’t have your money. From: Alex To: Alice Happy Belated 16th Birthday! Hope it was amazing! You de-serve it. From: Tor To: Alan L. Hi. From: Daniel To: Ravisha V. I lah juh, my brown buddy! From: Ahdi-ah To: Mason You’re an amazing person. From: Anonymous To: Prianka Good luck at University! Don’t stress From: Anonymous To: Michelle Lee Have a good day (Chipmunk)! From: Sahar To: Sanah & Vaidehie Hi! Hope you have a great time. Summer holidays rule. Happy belated birthday, Vaidehie! From: Jocelyn

To: P & P Have a good time at Unionville. We’ll miss you. From: Us To: Sahar Moo! From: Michelle To: Bevan Mo Happy Belated B-day!!! From: All your friends To: Vaidehie Happy Belated 18th Birthday! We love you! From: All your friends To: Tajana Smith Happy Belated 18th Birthday! Had fun partying like a rock-star? ;) ;) From: Your friends To: Rakshika I know what you did last summer! From: Your buddy To: Teli Hello Kitty likes you! From: F.L. To: Wei Papa bear, fat dragon From: Jason To: Aneela Akhtar We miss you! From: Your friends To: Neelam I love you! Aren’t you glad? From: Anonymous To: Poonam Patel, Sonia Kohli & Aarti Patel I love you! SNAP! 3LP! From: Neelam Patel

To: Ragavi Welcome to Can-ada! From: Your class-mates To: Viraj Patel How do you feel about this? From: Neeta Mistry To: Neelam Patel, Sonia Kohli & Aarti Patel I love you! SNAP! 3LP! From: Your favourite person in the whole world, ♥ Poonam ♥ To: Sarah Vat eez up? One Tree Hill is the best ♥ Don’t be so stu J From: Michelle To: Brookeee You’re the bestest eva! From: Jessss To: Jessss Hope you have a fun summer vacation! From: Brookeee To: Jenany Congratulations! From: You know who To: Rameez Asif Hey, Rameez! You are very hard-working. Go to university for higher studies! From: Zohaib Akhtar To: C. The answer is x2 + 4. Now stop bugging me. From: H. To: Mr. B. Have fun in France! From: All of us

F r i e n d s h i p M e s s a g e s

POPCORN PICKS!!

I’m going to be honest with you. The only reason I watched this movie was because Michael Cera from "Superbad” was in it. The movie is about a high school student who gets preg-nant, a bit cliché, don't you think? Well, she’s not just an ordinary student, she’s Juno McGuff. Juno is an extremely sarcastic char-

acter and it is this sarcasm that brings about many laughs throughout the course of the film. Ellen Page, a Canadian actress, gives a superb performance in the title role. Her one-liners had me cracking up even after the movie was over. Overall, the movie was pretty good. It is so much more than your typical teen movie.

I guess the moral of this story is that abortion is not the only option when dealing with teen pregnancy. While I do not entirely agree with this, the movie was cute with a satisfying ending. The soundtrack of this particular movie would also be a great addition to anyone's music collection.

This movie was much better than I had anticipated. I guarantee that you’ll get quite a few laughs out of it. I’d just like to mention that Juno’s stepsister’s name is Liberty Bell. I give this movie 4 out of 5 because the whole teen pregnancy thing has been played out one too many times --- just to name a few: "Knocked up", "Waitress", "Bella", "Sugar and Spice", "Saved", and "Jamie Lynn Spears" (the last one doesn’t really count but hopefully you get my point). ●

JUNO: Another Movie About Teen Pregnancy?

AGATHA NYAMBI Contributor

MORGAN BROWN Contributor

What are Trudeau students really like?

When I first heard about this television show, I was disgusted, yet intrigued by its concept. I mean, what kind of sick person would watch a show about a homicidal ma-niac who takes justice into his own hands? Granted, the maniac only targets people who have slipped through the cracks of a justice system overwhelmed by the multi-tude of crimes.

The protagonist, Dexter Morgan, is far from your average superhero. By day, Dex-ter is a forensic blood splatter analyst who is superb at his job. By night, he is a dis-turbed man with a passion for killing. Luck-ily, Dexter has learned to control his mur-derous urges, only giving in to punish those who truly deserve death. Dexter has gone through the pain of making himself seem like an ordinary person and has managed to fool almost everyone.

This television show is truly amazing. The story line is great and Dexter is an ex-tremely complex character. The show is based on a novel by Jeff Lindsay called Darkly Dreaming Dexter. I have not read the

DEXTER: Everyone’s Favorite Psychopath

book, so I can’t say how much of the show is actually taken from it. As for the show, every e p i s o d e gets better and better. The second s e a s o n builds on the great parts of the first sea-son. You learn more about Dexter as time progresses. Trust me, no matter how much you might want to hate Dexter, he makes it almost impossible for you to do so.

Dexter is a very graphic show. If you can stand the sight of blood, then this might be just the show for you. I give this show a perfect 5 out of 5. Not only will it catch your attention right off the bat, but just when you think you have got Dexter all figured out, there is yet another twist.” ●

Starting High School Early… Mme. Lycia Kougemitros came by the Library to visit with her seven month old twins, Abigail (left) and Christopher (right). While Mme. Kougemitros misses everyone at school, she is enjoying her time at home. She talks to the twins in Eng-lish and French.

EMBARASSING MOMENTS

“I was in Hollister and I asked the salesperson to get me a size from the back so he went to get it. A little later, I went to look for him and I saw him holding my stuff at the front of the line. While I was walking, I must have tripped on something because I slid on the floor and whacked a mannequin (wearing nothing but swim trunks) and it fell over. Everyone looked at me and laughed. I just walked away from everything…” – Hollisterlover <3

"I was searching for a book in my locker when my friend and her boyfriend arrived. He was looking in my locker when he came across my tampon bag. Without me knowing, he opened it, dropped it, and ran." - Rochelle

"I was standing at the bus stop when I saw an old man wearing sunglasses suspiciously look-ing at me. Since I was alone, I called the po-lice because he was staring at me and telling me to come to his car. Once the police were there, they took the man out of the car. It turned out that the old man was my grandfa-ther! I felt so terrible, but at least I did the

"I found an amazing prom dress at Sears. All the other girls I knew had pre-ordered designer dresses, and I was really embarrassed that mine was from a department store. So when people asked, I told them it was a custom-made Oscar de la Renta. On the big night, I arrived and saw a girl wearing my same exact dress! When she saw me, she told everyone it was a dress from Sears. I was so busted!" – Christina

"I was really stressed out with classes and after-school activities, so I wasn't getting enough sleep. One day during my first period math class I decided to take a short nap and I had a dream that my dad was late to take me to school. My teacher was right in the middle of a lecture and I woke up and yelled, "Dad, it's time to go!" He just shook his head and went back to explaining." – Anonymous

DORIS HUANG Contributor

JOKE: Did you hear about the man who fell into the upholstery machine? He's all right, now. In fact, he's fully recovered.

Trudeau surveys: WHICH DO YOU PREFER?

“I was running down the hall at lunch with my friends. Sud-denly I got slower and slower and it felt like I was in slow mo-tion. Then I tripped on nothing and fell down really slowly. People stared and asked, 'Are you okay?' I got up embar-rassed because people were like whoa… how did that hap-pen? Even the lunch monitor lady laughed at me!" – Mandy

“It was lunch time and I was drinking water. One of my friends told me to turn around and I did. Big mistake. I saw something really funny. Just as I turned back, my mouth was full of water and I spit it at my friend and sprayed water all over. She was mad... It was literally like a movie...” - Natasha

“ I was walking to the school bus when I stepped on ice, slipped and fell on my knees. I squealed a bit and people

"I was camping with my family and we had gone into town one day. My grandma pulled over so we could use the public washrooms. Once my sister and I were done, we decided to scare one of my cousins who hadn't come out yet. When he came out, I jumped up and screamed 'BOO!' It turned out it wasn't my cousin but an old man, and I almost gave him a heart attack! My grandparents saw the whole thing and laughed really hard!" - Cath-erine

“I was in the library when I saw my crush. I walked up to him and sat beside him. We were both alone, yes! We were talking when suddenly he said something really funny. I laughed and accidentally farted. It stank like expired milk and I think he smelt it too. I quickly got up and said I had to do my Math.” – Anonymous

“I was on the ski lift with my friends when it was almost time to get off. I was so distracted that I forgot. My friends got off and the ski lift started to turn and I was almost starting to go back down! They stopped the ski lift for me and I had to jump.” - Doris

H O R O S C O P E S

School: You will do really well in the final exams. Don’t stress.

Love: Between you and your crush, it’s a big chance you will move your relationship for-ward. When the time comes, try and make the right deci-sions.

Friends: Drama has come and gone, and your friends are sticking with you for now. Don’t let them regret it.

School: You’ll do pretty well in your report card; it’s time to think about finding a summer job or simply taking a break from it all.

Love: Your love life will slowly become dull this month. Try to spice it up, but avoid doing any-thing you will regret.

Friends: Just hang and chill out with your friends this month, you need a break.

School: You will excel in your least favourite subject with a little extra study.

Love: You don’t even have to try to get your crush to notice you. You should try to make positive contact this month.

Friends: Try to spend sometime alone this month, but don’t iso-late yourself. Think of the goals you want to accomplish and go for it.

School: This month, watch your pace as your marks go up and down with your mood.

Love: Don’t give up yet, when you least expect it, love will be waiting right around the cor-ner.

Friends: If you haven’t seen some of your friends recently, take the weekend off and plan something everyone will enjoy.

School: You will do well in school, but remember to hand in those culminating activities.

Love: You are tired of your crush barely noticing you. Do some-thing that will impress, but don’t show off too much or you may come off the wrong way.

Friends: Drama came and went, keep your head held high and you'll make it through.

School: This month you are go-ing to get a bit of a fluctuation in your marks. Spend more time studying for final exams rather than goofing off with your friends.

Love: Things are going to be rough for you this month. Just relax and take a break.

Friends: Ignore the drama and take a minute to think about

SAMEENA KHALFAN Contributor

School: Fortunately, you are not too stressed about school. You feel pretty confident, but make sure that your grades do not slip.

Love: Your crush will notice you this month. Be ready with a smile and some small talk to break the ice.

Friends: Try going out to the movies with your friends. Spend some quality time hang-ing out. You've earned a break!

School: You feel somewhat lost in your school work, but don’t stress out too much! Try ap-proaching a friend or a teacher for help. You’ll be surprised.

Love: This month will be a con-fusing time for you. Don’t worry too much. By the end of the month, you will figure every-thing out.

Friends: Don’t forget who your true friends are and you'll do fine.

School: You need to try a little harder and show more initia-tive. Don’t lose track of time and stop running to the refrig-erator while you’re studying.

Love: You will have a lot of crushes this month. Don’t mis-lead anyone or feelings will get hurt.

Friends: You aren’t really sure who your “real friends” are. Don't let that bother you; just try to find some new ones.

School: You're working really hard in school right now, and you are probably getting the marks you deserve. Don’t let this new confidence go to your head though. It isn't advisable to wing your finals.

Love: Your potential crush is starting to notice you more, do something bold and dramatic.

Friends: Your friends are al-ways there for you, just make sure you are there for them.

School: You have a lot of work to complete. Get organized, set your priorities and you'll do fine. No worries.

Love: This month, you will have a hard time trying to find love. Don’t despair — your time will come. In the meanwhile, pam-per yourself with healthy food and exercise.

Friends: You will be in over your head. Your life will be full of drama. Just ignore it and it will soon pass.

School: This month you will do exceptionally well. Exams will be a breeze.

Love: You and your crush will do something special this month.

Friends: You've lived through the drama. Now take a step back and analyze things before they get more out of hand. Your best choice is to confront your drama straight on, and try to find simple solutions to your everyday problems.

What are your skills and interests? Take this personality quiz to find out! Please answer truthfully and honestly, otherwise it won't work. Have fun!

What is the Right Job for You?

1. On a regular weekend with your friends, what would you probably do? A) Plan the activities yourself B) Follow your friend's ideas or suggestions C) Go to a sporting event or game D) Go see a movie or go to a gallery or museum 2. In a working situation, what would you probably do? A) Work by yourself with num-bers and/or details B) Help or teach other people C) Make your own decisions about the activity or project D) Work with animals, out-doors, or in nature 3. What do you consider your-self? A) Useful B) Creative C) Active D) Enthusiastic 4. If you wanted to express yourself doing or using some-thing besides talking, what would it be? A) Drawing a picture or com-posing a song B) Volunteering for a project C) Expressing yourself through an animal or nature D) Expressing yourself through a mathematical equation

5. If you had the chance to meet one of these people, which one would it be? A) Rasheed Wallace B) Picasso C) Princess Diana D) Bill Clinton 6. Which classes or courses do you like or favor the most? A) English/Social Studies/Geography B) Mathematics/Computers C) Physical Education/Gym D) Art 7. If you were stranded on a deserted island with two other people, what would you probably do first? A) Hike across the whole is-land to see if there was any sign of civilization B) Organize your personal be-longings and make sure that you have enough food and water

C) Design or make a mes-sage on the beach with coco-nuts and branches in case any ships happen to pass by the island D) Help the others and make sure they are comfortable 8. How do you approach problem-solving? A) Visualizing the problem B) Learning the details of the problem C) Collecting and gathering important information about the problem D) Planning a strategy 9. What description de-scribes your room the best? A) Neat and tidy B) Designed and decorated by yourself C) Designed and decorated by your parents or guardians D) A storage place for your outdoor equipment

By Jyothsna Visweswaran

10. If you were to work for a newspaper, what position would you like to have? A) Reporter B) Sports columnist C) Cartoonist D) Editor 11. If you were on vacation, where would you like to go the most? A) Hiking on a mountain or to a beach B) Theatres, galleries, or mu-seums C) A guided tour through par-ticular sites you are inter-ested in D) Visiting at your friends houses or seeing relatives 12. When you come home from school or an after school program, what do you usually do first? A) Clean or straighten up part or all of the house B) Play or take care of your pets C) Play a musical instrument D) Hang out with your friends or family 13. Which of the following would you most like to re-ceive as a gift? A) A new computer or com-puter-related product B) A new baseball mitt, bas-ketball, or any other sports equipment C) A CD or DVD D) A gift certificate or coupon to your favorite store or web-site

14. Out of the following four jobs, which would you prefer the most? A) A college or high school professor or teacher B) A best selling author or famous illustrator C) A professional sports player D) A top business executive 15. When you go to a shopping mall, which store do you go in first? A) A sporting or sportswear store B) An electronics store C) A photo or art supply store D) A department store or boutique

TALLY YOUR SCORES Now that you have finished your personality quiz, find out how you scored. Print this page and circle the letter that cor-responds with your answer for each question.

ANSWER SHEET

Add up all of the circles in each column. The column with the most letters circled is the area in which you would probably most enjoy working. For example, if I circled most letters in the artistic category, I might want to look for a job that in-volved artwork or writing projects.

Sport/Outdoor Clerical Artistic Helper

1 C B D A

2 D A C B

3 C A B D

4 C D A B

5 A D B C

6 C B D A

7 A B C D

8 D B A C

9 D A B C

10 B A C D

11 A C B D

12 B A C D

13 B A C D

14 C D B A

15 A B C D

TOTAL

_____

_____

_____

_____

Sport/Outdoor Clerical Artistic Helper

1 C B D A

2 D A C B

3 C A B D

4 C D A B

5 A D B C

6 C B D A

7 A B C D

8 D B A C

9 D A B C

10 B A C D

11 A C B D

12 B A C D

13 B A C D

14 C D B A

15 A B C D

TOTAL

_____

_____

_____

_____

Behind the

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