Freedom
Freedom to me is doing what you want. I could make my own decision and I also could make my own consequence. But mostly freedom is worth fighting for. If I had to give my life for freedom I would because it would not be my freedom anymore, but it would be my daughters, my family’s freedom. I think America has the most freedom then anywhere because it gave my family freedom and a job. Without freedom I don’t think we could do have the things we do know like go to school, get a job. Like in Germany when Hitler was alive the kids would have to solute him every time they went out the door. If we didn’t have freedom maybe we would have to do something like that.
So when I think of freedom I think about all the people that gave their lives for us to do, what we do, and of all the people that are fighting for us, I also think of how may people in my family that fought for my freedom.


By Joshua

Freedom is just a word, but the meaning of the word is amazing; it opens eyes, souls, and there can be many definitions to this one word through many opinions. Foster kids are especially fond of this word and the meaning of this word and where this word “freedom” can take them. The most important goal to most of the foster kids is to have their freedom given back to them. Every goal that a foster kid has has to do with freedom. For them being let out of the system aka foster care, proctor, or any other program that they were forced to be in is the most exciting experience to them. Most of the people in programs or in the system have a lot of anger because they are not comfortable without the freedom that they deserve. Freedom is apart of everyone’s happiness.

–Madonna

My experience here at summit high school


Well my experience here at summit is good so far. I hope it stays that way and making friends here is good. I already know some people that go here that are in my program. I’m getting to know some new people and I hope that some of the new people that I meet will help me stay focused so that I can get termminated and off parole. So I can do things better and not be prison bound. I think that this school will help me in many ways like graduating and starting with new friends. I know that some kids here have been through some of the same situations that I have. It’s hard to do better, put the past behind, and do good things for life, when the only things you know are the streets and getting into troubble. In my opinion this school will help me do good. One reason is the people because I haven’t seen so many people willing to change in the same little community. Most people here are willing to help one another and get them trought the tough times and that’s cool. What I mean about people willing to change and help one another is when, I was in Decker Lake people were always set on going to prison and fighting. It was a hostle enviroment and we were locked down a lot of the time so there really wasn’t time to help one another so yea.

Zack

Do you fill old? Because I fill old. Like for me I fill old because I have two kids that are 3 and 4 years old. I know people that are in there 30’s that have kids that are the same age. When I tell somebody I have a 3 and a 4 year old they say god your old or they say how old are you. I also done thing that teen usually don’t do. Like I’m also more mature then most 18 year old and I’ve been able to go places, see thing that 30 year olds do and got to see in there life time. Me going to graduate from high school make me fill old too. So that’s how I fill a lot of the times and it just makes me fill old. Like all I need to do know is to get marred then I will be old not just fill old.

Josh

Hamlets attitude toward Gertrude and Ophelia is not that good he was an ass to them. He treated them like crap. When he does treat them good he doesn’t treat them like that for long. He treats them good when he does and he is really nice to them and respectful when he is nice to them. He gives them attitude, he also is not respectful and he says things to make them mad and to insult them. Like to his mom he says thing about his dad like to make her mad.
To Ophelia he was rude to her and he also pushed her a lot. He would say things that would make her mad and he would say thing to her that would make her cry.
He would tell her that he doesn’t love her. But I think he did it just because he wanted people to think he is crazy. But he was also nice to her and showed a lot of emotions to her.
To his mom he is not acting he is really mad at her because she marred his uncle and he says thing that will make her mad. He would want to make her mad not by saying it he would also do thing like the play he did for his mom and his step dad.

Josh

“There may be as many as 300,000 child soldiers, on drugs and caring AK-47s, in more than fifty conflicts around the world.” Ishmael Beah used to be one of them. He is one of the first to tell his story. This young boy who is now a man, spent three years of his life in the African army. He became an orphan and watched his parents get murdered. At age thirteen he was abducted and forced to join the army. Three years he killed more people than he can count, used drugs and alcohol and it wasn’t just the light stuff. At age seventeen he fled from the African army and came to New York City. He was then put into foster care and weighted to become someone’s son.

The reason for me telling you this is not to focus on the negative. Instead, look at the challenges and obstacles that he has had to overcome. You know it’s selfish to think that we have it bad and our lives can’t get any worse, we say that we are in a depression. No money, gas prices go up and banks close but if you really look at it we’re still living large. Food on the table, clothes on our backs nice cars and even money. Compared to Africa who has not nearly enough food to feed their families, clean water to drink and only a few have cars and not the nice ones.

So if you think you have it bad, just remember that there are other people in other countries that have it worse.

Jesse S

I think that the topic of death will have a different meaning at different points in each person’s life. For me I figure that we will all die at some point so why fear the inevitable. After my mom died, when I was 11, I have become fascinated with death. I thought that it was tragic how fast hamlet died not really getting a chance to do much. I think this is mostly because he died so young. I feel like I can kind of relate to him from a child’s standpoint. There were so many opportunities that hamlet missed. I mean was he like in his 20’s. I don’t know but he didn’t get to have children of deal with raising them. He didn’t get to be a parent. There were just so many things he didn’t get to do. I am empathetic to him and his situation. Although it is very fascinating how it happened, I would like to know more about it. Like how exactly the poison works and why it was chose for him to die that way as apposed to by a sword or maybe even a sly sneaky way. I find it fascinating the way Shakespeare could put this together like he did.

Brook

I think that the topic of death will have a different meaning at different points in each person’s life. For me I figure that we will all die at some point so why fear the inevitable. After my mom died, when I was 11, I have become fascinated with death. I thought that it was tragic how fast hamlet died not really getting a chance to do much. I think this is mostly because he died so young. I feel like I can kind of relate to him from a child’s standpoint. There were so many opportunities that hamlet missed. I mean was he like in his 20’s. I don’t know but he didn’t get to have children of deal with raising them. He didn’t get to be a parent. There were just so many things he didn’t get to do. I am empathetic to him and his situation. Although it is very fascinating how it happened, I would like to know more about it. Like how exactly the poison works and why it was chose for him to die that way as apposed to by a sword or maybe even a sly sneaky way. I find it fascinating the way Shakespeare could put this together like he did.

Brook

Every Valentines Day in the past has sucked. I usually am in a relationship but then miraculously we break up and then I am all-alone. I like Valentines Day for the most part. I think that Valentines Day is a special day to a lot of people, and it is dedicated to showing the person you love/like how much you care for them. I don’t have any traditions other than what everyone else seems to do. The exchanging of cards, and love notes. I was hoping to go with my boyfriend tomorrow, but that fell through.
My dream Valentines Day is to be in a stable relationship, and do some romantic things. I want to have a romantic candle lit dinner with soft music playing in the background. We would toast to our love with some warm glasses of wine. Afterwards I would cuddle with my loved one until the sun goes down.







By: Shalee

So what is betrayal well there are a lot of different ways to put betrayal because everyone has a different out look on that word.
Like to me it’s when someone dose something that will hurt that other person in some kind of way, that would be betrayal.
So if I was on the run and I told my brother and trusted him and then he turned me in that would be betrayal on his end to me.
That’s how I would fill about it.

We are reading about hamlet and he has these to friends that were sent down there to try to see what is making hamlet so mad.
And every day they have to report to the king what they fined out about his madness.
See to me that is betrayal in a small way because their just there, to report to the king not to see hamlet and that’s wrong.
As there doing this to hamlet its just making thing worse on hamlets end because of all of this just makes sending hamlet away ok.
And then there is ophilia and matt wants to know how she will react to the news of her fathers’ death.
Well sense I have read this play before I now that she end’s up going crazy at the sight of seeing her father lying there dead and knowing that hamlet killed him that drives her to loss her mined.
And that all I got to say about all of this stuff.

Melissa

Cell Phones

Cell phones should be banded from schools. They are very distracting. Students can cheat. And cell phones also can be disrespectful or can be stolen.

First cell phones can be used for cheating. It could be used a calculator. Students can also text answers for a test or quiz. Or students can take pictures of the answer sheet.

Also cell phones can be a distraction. Students can get online and shop for games, clothes or ring tones. Students can text someone else in that class or in another class. Students can take pictures.

Some people want cell phones in school for emergencies. Some caseworkers like to be in touch with their kids and let them be involved. I think it’s also good to have it in case you need to get a hold of someone last minute.

Jess

School should not get out on Thursdays and be out on Fridays. For one kids need all the education they can get, two it would probably increase the trouble that teens tend to get into, and finally because there is no real benefit to it.
Kids need to attend school in order to acquire the education that is needed to get by in this world. The less time you spend on reviewing your work and learning, you have a greater chance at being unsuccessful. Some things that didn’t require a certain levels of skill and education require it now.
Not going to school on Fridays could help increase the likelihood of trouble that teenagers get into over the weekends. The more time teens have to slack off, the more chances they have to act out negatively. It would only worsen the way things already are.
There is no real point to not having school on Fridays. The only reasons why teens would want that option is to sleep in and have more time to do “fun” things, when all it’s really doings is depriving you. This option would just add to the people who are confused about schoolwork, and it wouldn’t help the homework load that they take home.
School should not be out on Fridays, all its doing is taking away from your opportunities and abilities of having a successful life. It will decrease your knowledge and increase the proneness of doing unsuccessful things.







By: Shalee

Well I listen to all kinds of music. My favorite is rap because I like how they rhyme on the beat. I also like it because they make a lot of sense. What makes music really bad is when they do not time there notes right with the beat. Or there words don’t make any sense at all. They also suck when they are trying to be cool, when they are not really being cool. Emo music sucks because they just inspire people to cut themselves. Emo music is nothing good at all it is killing people. Emo music also sucks because you can not even understand them at all. It sounds like they are just screaming in the music. I love music because it is what gets me out of a mind state and it also helps me out by getting through the day. Music helps a lot of people to some people it is there life. Also some people think that if they had no music then they would not be able to live.

Robbie

The drinking age should be lowered. The reason I chose to have it lowered because it will help some people out. For example if they don’t lower it then the underage will just find it some other way. If you don’t then we are just going to drink it anyways. I think that if you lower it then a lot of people will like it.
In the military you get to drink at the age eighteen. I think it is dumb if they get to drink at eighteen and we don’t get to drink. I think that since we are eighteen then that means that were an adult and we should be able to make are own choices. We also will have to take full accountability for anything that happens.
Kids are going to drink anyways. Kids don’t really care if you do lower they are just going to have somebody else buy it for them. Some people like to drink for fun. Some people just like to drink to fit in. Some people drink to talk more. Everybody has a different reason to drink.

Robbie

I like a lot of music all most all music. I do though hate Slim Anus (eminem), 50 Pennies and Dr. Gay! I mainly listen to Psychopathic Records. You know like Insane Clown Posse Anybody Killa Twiztid KMK stuff like that. Cyprus Hill all that. I even listen to country and rock techno everything and just about anything. I don’t really care what it is as long as I like it. And if I don’t like it I don’t listen to it. I just like stuff I like or can relate to it and like it. You know cause you’re not going to listen to some thing u don’t like. I don’t care if you like it or not. And the people that don’t I do I don’t care keep it to your self-cause I don’t complain or care about what you like! Everyone likes what he or she likes.

~Ricky~

Why I’m for school starting later


When it comes to this topic there are more pro’s then cons that I can talk about.
Why I think that school should start later.
For one we as teens need more sleep that’s a proven fact. Us teens we stay up tell about
12-2 in the morning doing homework and recovering from work.
to be able to function in the morning we need our sleep.

Number two when we are more a wake we are more prepared for what is coming our way. And when we are more prepared we are more alert when it comes to us paying attention and that help us learn better.

See when we are not a wake we do things that are disrespectful when it comes to school. We will fall asleep we will talk we will text our friends in the next class
We will talk back to the teacher.

See but when we are more awake we will be ready to listen to what the teacher has to say. We will do are work in class. We are more active when it comes to the conversation in class.

They reason why I’m fore school starting later. is that I think that if we get more sleep we won’t be as disrespectful we will ready to learn what we need to learn.


Missy

The driving age should not be lowered. Some reasons are not responsible enough, money, and may cause more wrecks.
First is the teen is not responsible enough. The teenager will have to start knowing where to check the oil and they have to start checking it. They will also have to start working to get money to pay for gas and other things, but some aren’t responsible enough to get a job or to keep a job.
Second is they will have money issues. They will have to pay for the insurance it will be high to pay. Another is they will have to pay for check ups on the car. They also may have to work hard to get a job for the money to pay for the things; they will have to be responsibly enough to pay for the things.
Some people may say they should bring down the driving age. They can do errands for their parents. It will teach them how to be responsible.
Finally the teens could cause more wrecks. They aren’t responsibly enough to pay attention to the road and other objects. They could be playing on their cell phones or with the radio to cause a wreck. They wouldn’t take driving seriously.
Those are the reasons why they should not lower the driving age.

Josh

So on January 21, I went to a play its called Room Service with the school. It was really funny. I sat by Kirra and Ty, and we got into trouble for whispering. So at like intermission the people in front of us were all like “can you please not whisper when the play is on because we can hear it and it’s annoying.” I was like ok whatever crazy person. So like I’m kinda glad I went I got to get away from all the drama at home, and I got away with not doing homework. So I got to the play and it was crazy, it was way to many people there. So the play was like bout this play writer making this play for these people, and how they don’t have enough money and how they kind of struggle to make ends meet. So after the play all the cast was out there, and I got to meet them and it was really cool it sounded like they enjoy what they are doing.

Jess

Lowering the drinking age

Drinking is bad for the body if the person has too much alcohol in them. The drinking age should either stay the same or be upped. People should be wiser, more knowledgeable about the effects of alcohol, and be willing to take responsibility for their actions before being able to drink. To support my argument I have three reasons:

First, although some people would stop drinking because they only drink to rebel, those who like drinking would drink more. There would be more accidents because those who like to drink would get drunker and could cause more accidents due to their drunkenness. People would also drink more because authority can’t catch them for it. People still in school would drink causing trouble in the classroom where others are trying to learn. People barely learning to drive or not very good at driving would create more accidents because they can’t control the car very well with blurred senses.

Second, younger people wouldn’t have to break the law to go against their parents. Younger people would drink because it goes against their parent’s expectations and morals, and because they want to seem independent of their parents. People that are still underage could claim they are older. People could also claim that it’s their right to drink because the state said. Nothing is a person’s right until they earn it.

And third, some people would use the law against itself. People could say they are aloud to drink and the authority can’t do anything about it. People could say the law isn’t firm if it gets changed. People could also push the legislature by saying ‘you changed it once, you can change it again’.

To conclude, people don’t really get why they shouldn’t drink. People have hazed senses when they drink and could be a bigger harm to society if the drinking age is lowered. People could also be driven be those hazed senses and the liking of alcohol to push the legislature farther than they want to. If the drinking age were to be lowered people who like to drink would complain, or for some, rebel if it were to be upped to what it is. For these reasons, the drinking age shouldn’t be lowered.

Anthony