Free rice

Think you’re going to get bored over break? Play around here and strengthen your vocabulary skills – Fast, Himes, Dolan, Thomas, Dunlay, Jacquin, etc. would be proud.

Plus it feeds the hungry. What could be better than that?

Thought so.

Invisible Children

Although Invisible Children does so many amazing things and I could ramble on about them forever, I don’t have the time and neither does the reader. However, I can give a quick summary, share why I love it, and then hope that you’ll adventure onto the site and get involved too.

Mission statement: We are a social, political and global movement using the transformative power of story to change lives.

In 2003, when three striving filmmakers traveled to Africa looking for a story, they found much more than that – they found disgust and awful living conditions. They recorded their experience, and began the Invisible Children. Today, they create informative videos and documentaries to inform, and also encourage others to help in their quest of making conditions better for all of those deprived of safe living conditions.

Watch some more of the videos, too. They really put things into perspective for me.

I really hope you take the time to navigate through this site and help get the word out there. Knowing you’ve helped to make things better – even if it’s just one person – is the greatest feeling ever. So again, check it out, spread the word, I promise it’s worth it.

And of course, as always, click here to donate or purchase from the store.

To Write Love on Her Arms

I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all had bad days.  For me, they seem to encompass me wholly and ruin what could be a perfectly good day.  Sometimes it’s stress from school, work, friends, family; sometimes it’s just something inside of me that makes me want to just yell at the whole world.  Luckily, for most of us here at STA, the bad feelings come and then quickly go.  However, for so many teenagers around the country (and around the world!), the feelings never cease… leading to major depression and ultimately, suicide.

Untreated depression is the number one cause of suicide, and suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers.

I’m no expert and I couldn’t tell you why depression occurs or what ignites it, but I do know that it’s an awful disease to live with.  But what can I do to help?  I think the most important thing may be just acknowledging the fact that everyone’s life isn’t perfect and helping them to realize they’ve got options.  When I feel depressed, all I want is someone to just comfort me and remind me that things are going to be okay.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that each year approximately one million people die from suicide, which represents a global mortality rate of 16 people per 100,000 or one death every 40 seconds. It is predicted that by 2020 the rate of death will increase to one every 20 seconds.

If you’ve seen the “To Write Love on Her Arms” events on Facebook, I highly recommend “attending” it!  Basically, it’s just a day where the organization tries to get as many people as possible to write “love” on their arms as a visual reminder that help is available and to offer hope to anyone who’s having a hard time.  Check out the website here: it’s pretty awesome with a great message.  They’ve got a ton of apparel and just by wearing it, you’re a walking advertisement.

A few ways to help:

1. buy the merchandise!  My personal favorite:
2. attend the national TWLOHA days and actually write “love” on your arm
3. join the “street team” and help spread the word
4. donate
5. Want more? Click here for TWLOHA’s complete list of ways to support the cause

CauseWorld

For anyone who has an iPhone, iTouch, or Android phone, I just came across one of the coolest apps ever, called CauseWorld. Basically, it’s just a tool sponsored by CitiBank which allows you to collect “karmas” (see below for explanation) and donate them to a cause of your choosing. Super easy way to make a big difference in someone’s life.

Here’s what it looks like, in case you want to download it (which you completely should):

And here’s a video tutorial teaching you how to implement CauseWorld, or if you don’t want to watch the video, scroll down for a short step-by-step how-to guide.

In order to understand the following steps, you should probably download the app first to make it easier on yourself.

1. Open the app every time you’re standing outside of a store.
2. “Check in” to the store you’re standing outside of (or a store that you’re standing near to, your built-in GPS will locate both) and “karmas” will be collected.
3. Donate your “karmas” to one of the causes supported by CauseWorld.
4. Link your CauseWorld to your Twitter or Facebook account, spread the word, and get others involved!

Here are the causes you could potentially be helping:

Remember, the more good you do, the more good karma you’ll have.

We Are The World

Remember way back to 25 years ago when Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote “We Are The World” for African Famine Relief? To this day, it’s still one of the best selling songs ever. Featured voices included Jackson, Richie, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan and so many more fantastic, memorable artists.

Ever since the instant success of the song, pressure has been put on Jackson and Richie to re-produce the song with a new all-star cast. Of course, the request has been denied by Richie time and time again until the recent devastation in Haiti.

To donate, click here. Or, download the song off of iTunes.

Featuring the voices of over 80 artists and tons of genres include: Janet Jackson, Jamie Foxx, Miley Cyrus, Lil Wayne, Akon, Celine Dion, Nick Jonas, Oranthi, Nicole Scherzinger, Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Nettles, Josh Groban, Usher, Adam Levine, and once again, so many outstanding artists.

The We Are The World: 25 for Haiti video was released yesterday, February 13, and already has over 1 million hits on youtube.

Check out the video.. I promise it’s worth watching to the very end:

Interested in the lyrics and who sings what part? Find it all here.

How to make the parking lot a better place

Anyone else as annoyed with the parking lots as I am?

1. When parallel parking in the morning, PLEASE don’t leave spaces between your car and the car in front of you.  Also, if you’re the first one to park, please pull up all the way to the top parking spot so not everyone else trying to parallel park isn’t maneuvering around you. Reverse, drive, reverse, drive, reverse, cut it tight, drive… pretty sure we all hate it (and most of us suck at it).
2. When leaving the parking lot after school, it’d be nice of you to occasionally let someone out of their parking spot instead of zooming past them and keeping them stuck in their spot until 3:15 once the lot is cleared.
3. Just a rumor… but I’ve heard that some sophomores are parking in the parking lot… yeah, not okay. I had to wait my turn, the other juniors had to wait their turn, the seniors had to wait their turn. Now you wait your turn.
4. When you pull into the parking lot, traffic goes RIGHT. No, not left. No, not left when there’s a spot open closer to the left side than the right side. And no, not even when you get to school late and no one else is driving around the lot. RIGHT. Always, always, always, go right.
5. Parents, please try to avoid parking in our parking spots to watch your daughter walk into the school or wait in a vacant spot after school until she comes out. I promise you she’s a big girl now.
6. Also, I know it’s frustrating when we’re speeding into the school and frantically trying to find our parking spot, and I understand that we might irritate you when you’ve got somewhere to be, but please understand that we also have somewhere to be. School is our job.

And for the people who park on the side streets:

1. You’re supposed to park right on the curb, not one foot away from it. The closer you’re parked to the curb, the more room everyone else has to drive past your car without side-swiping it.
2. Yes, there is a yield sign on Westover, so yes, the car turning onto the street from 55th does have the right-of-way.
3. When cars are approaching you, don’t swing your outside car door open as wide as you can to grab your backpack. I honestly don’t even understand why people feel the need to do that.

Sorry for all of the complaining, but someone needed to say it. Am I forgetting anything?

Annual Tampon Drive this week!

Beginning today, STA is hosting its annual tampon drive.  Just a refresher on how it works:

Bring in tampons to subtract points from you opponent grade’s scores and bring in pads to add to your grade’s score.  Frosh and juniors are battling against each other and sophomores and seniors are going head to head.  The winner’s prize is TBA.

Despite the prize (good or bad), it’s so easy to grab an extra box of pads or tampons at Target, and it really makes a huge impact on other women’s lives.  Think about how when you realize you need a tampon at school and you don’t have one stashed in your backpack how nasty you feel!  (Sorry for the visual, but…) Some women don’t have ANY feminine products to last them through the course of their periods.  Really, think about it.  And then act on it.

Please and thank you!

High School Hero

Come out and donate blood at St. Teresa’s!

Friday, February 12

8:30 am – 2:30 pm in Goppert

Make sure to register in advance on www.savealifenow.org and use sponsor code stteresaacademy

16-year-olds are eligible to donate with parental consent, so make sure to mark your calendars!

Want to help Haiti?

1. Bring in money! Any spare change you can donate can do a ton of difference. Drop the money off in M&A in Ms. Berardi’s office and Ms. Blessen will take it with her to Haiti on January 31st!
2. Donate blood! Go to any American Red Cross location or make an online appointment here. You must be 16 to donate and have signed parental consent if you’re under 18.
3. Watch Friday night’s “Hope for Haiti” celebrity telethon, and download all live musical performances on iTunes after. Expected appearances range from Brad Pitt to Madonna to Carrie Underwood and even Robbert Pattinson. 100% of proceeds go directly to Haiti relief.
4. Continued prayers for sure!

Check here for more organizations and ways to help.

Carrie Underwood says it all

Don’t believe you can make a change? Just ask Carrie and she’ll prove you wrong.

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