Water Fight in the Thompson-Okanagan Region
By Andrea Novakovic, Grade 11
For thousands and thousands of years, the people of Secwepemc, Okanagan, and other First Nations had protected their land and kept the natural balance of the environment. However, it only took a century and a half for foreign settlers to destroy this delicate balance and bring the area to the verge of an ecological collapse. Ever since the European settlers came to Canada, the First Nations of Canada have suffered greatly and the environment’s health has been gradually declining. The First Nations peoples were stripped of their lands and placed onto reserves, which were tiny compared to what they had before. Farming technology and techniques that were foreign to the land and to the indigenous people were brought in. They ended up harming the environment and the Aboriginal way of life.
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Recipe for Homemade Aloe Vera Shampoo!
By Tina Phan, Chris Tam, and Desmond Liu, Grade 12
Hey Warriors! We’re the Cosmetics Group, and we’re back with a recipe review for you all!
Back in November, we created a very simple Aloe Vera shampoo. Here are the ingredients we used!
Continue reading…
December 2011 Horoscopes
Aries – This month, you will find all the jokes and puns exceptionally funny. You will bust your ribs laughing at whatever your friends throw at you. Let’s call it the ‘holiday cheer’!
Taurus – Your hair can really use a trim, but with the holiday season and business all around, you just can’t stand sitting in a chair for too long! That’s alright, though. Just throw a hat on it and it’ll be fine.
Gemini – The cold will really start to bother you this month. Maybe you should get a new hat, a new scarf… or anything that can keep you warm when it’s really cold outside!
Cancer – Continue reading here!
The End of the Iraq War
By Andy Siu, Grade 10
As December 31st, 2011 approaches, the end of the Iraq War draws near as well. Over 30,000 American soldiers must clear out of Iraq by then. The war has cost the U.S. almost 1 trillion dollars and about 4,500 lives, not counting civilians and suicides, of course. The CEO of Camp Kalsu says that they are proud of what they’ve accomplished, which includes providing running water and electricity to Iraqi towns. However, taxi driver Hussein Matar argues that they still have “no water, no electricity, no reconstruction, and no nothing”. Matar then goes on to say that ever since they were liberated from Saddam Hussein, things got even worse as more countries began to take advantage of their situation. Iraqis have long been protesting against the American government, but to little avail.
Pizza a Vegetable?!
Written by Editors of the Word
The U.S. Congress has done it again! It is not the first time that the Congress has frustrated the American people. But instead of doing so by spending almost $1.3 trillion on wars, the brouhaha they’ve caused this time stems from the passing of a bill that blocks regulations of tomato paste, potato, and salt in school meals. The law now declares the tomato paste used on pizzas as a viable replacement for vegetable as a source of nutrition. So, does that mean that the Congress is affirming that pizza is a vegetable?!
For the sake of argument, Tammy and Max have each taken a side. As for me (Winnie), I am going to sit back, relax, eat some popcorn, and watch them fight for a win.
Occupy the World
By Thea Sample, Grade 11
Recently, many people have noticed the Occupy Vancouver tents located at the Vancouver Art Gallery. In fact, many students are either taking part in it or openly supporting the Occupy movement. In a nutshell, people are protesting because 1% of the world’s population own or control the vast majority of the wealth. Participants in Occupy protests around the world are advocating for change in the current economic system. More specifically, in Vancouver, (more…)
Fewer Homeless Shelter Beds after BC Cuts
By Sophia Yamauchi, Grade 10
A hundred and sixty beds that were made available to the homeless last year will no longer be offered this winter, according to CBC News. The provincial government has stated that the extra beds will not be needed this year because of the 300 new social housing units opened earlier in the year. When some of the city’s homeless people were questioned on what they thought about the cut, they told the reporters that they will probably end up staying out in the cold this winter. They also said that the new social housing spots will either be full or inaccessible to them. Vancouver has what is called an Extreme Weather Response Program (EWRP), Click here for more!
Oil and Water Don’t Mix
By Andrea Novakovic, Grade 11
Hundreds of people gathered in the streets of downtown Prince George, British Columbia to protest against the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project. The march through the Dakelh
Territory and the streets of Prince George was led by the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, who felt that the government was ignoring their title and status by approving this project when it clearly encroached upon the First Nation’s territories.
The Enbridge Northern Gateway involves a $5.5-billion 11770-km twin pipeline system running across Canada, transporting bitumen from the Alberta tar sands to the tanker port on the B.C. coast above Kitimat. The smaller 20” line would transport condensate, which is used to dilute heavy oil for transportation; the larger 36” line would transport about 500’000 of crude bitumen to marine terminal every day. The terminal itself would be frequented by all sorts of oil tankers, ranging from the Aframaz vessels (which only carry 700’000 barrels of oil) to the VLCC (“Very Large Crude Carriers”) tankers that have a carrying capacity of 2.3 million barrels of oil each. (more…)
Let’s Make this Christmas the Greenest Yet!
By Kevin Liu, Grade 12
Hello to all Christmas lovers, everyone knows that Christmas is the perfect time for gifts and we are all rushing to buy something special for our loved ones. Christmas is the time for giving and many of our presents have some materials that are disposable and end up in the landfills. Before you give out your lovely gifts, keep in mind these techniques that you can use to help reduce the amount of waste produced while sharing your Christmas spirit!
Canada Breaks Law by Hosting War Criminal
By Jacqueline Ding, Grade 10
John McNamer, a member of Lawyers Against the War (LAW) from Kamloops, wrote a strongly opinionated article criticizing the Canadian government for their lack of action against former U.S. president George W. Bush. Permitting Bush to cross the Canadian border to take part in a paid speaking event angered many human rights advocates. They called upon the fulfillment of international law, which obliges Canada to detain and investigate Bush for war crimes and torture, yet nothing was done to prevent him from setting foot on Canadian soil. (more…)
Chickens Not Fooled by GM Crops
By Jacqueline Ding, Grade 10
It seems to have escaped our notice that genetically modified (GM) crops have stealthily established themselves in the supermarkets around the world. If you keep reading, you will soon find out what the risks of ingesting such products are and how the public has turned a blind eye to the dangers they pose.
Keystone XL Update
By Angela Ho, Grade 11
Over the last six months, concerned activists and organizations fought together against one of the most controversial oil projects in North America, the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline. Hundreds of thousands of people sent petitions to the White House and State Department. Around 1250 people were arrested for civil disobedience and over 12,000 people encircled the White House to demand the halting of this disastrous proposal. After a long struggle against the expansion of the Keystone XL, activists celebrated victory when the Obama administration announced that the project would be delayed until after the U.S. elections in 2012, and further inspection of all impacts will be conducted. (more…)
Blame It On Luongo
By Mike Chen, Grade 12
As the New York Rangers celebrated, Roberto Luongo collected the puck out of his net while Canucks fans booed and jeered him. Luongo and the Canucks lost the game 4-0, with Luongo making just 15 saves. While it’s obvious that Roberto did not have a good game, or a good month for that matter, the team in front of him has not played well either. The Canucks were shut out three times in October, with many players struggling offensively and defensively. Now, many Canucks fans have overlooked the team’s performance as a whole, and singled out Luongo to take all the blame.
StyleWatch: Ms. Soo
By Darius Davidson, Grade 12
Hi! This is Darius Davidson, and I’ve been on the reckless prowl for stylish teachers in the
uncharted territory of Windermere Secondary. The teacher who caught my eye was Ms. Soo, for her choice of clothing on the 70’s decade theme day, so I went right to work and asked her some of the questions that you may be wondering about.
Self-Immolations in Tibet
By Andy Siu, Grade 10
Recently, people have been deliberately setting themselves on fire in Tibet. So far, 12 Tibetan monks and nuns have self-immolated, six of whom are believed to have died.
The first took place on February 27, 2009, but it wasn’t until more than a year later that 11 more set themselves ablaze to protest against the Chinese government’s suppression of free expression and religious belief in Tibet. The most recent one involved a 35-year-old Tibetan nun at a road junction in Sichuan. She covered herself in petrol and potentially ingested some. However, the Chinese government is doing whatever they can to prevent foreign journalists from investigating, so information is limited. (more…)
Just a Regular Student
By Dickson Liong, Grade 10
Whether you like it or not, education is an essential part of living. People have to go to school at one point or another in their life. This is the case for almost every Canadians, even for Evander Kane, a former student of John Oliver Secondary and a current team member of the National Hockey League’s Winnipeg.
David Stary is a student support worker currently working for the Vancouver School Board. He once spent 14 years at John Oliver Secondary School working with students with disabilities and was fortunate enough to work in some of the classes that Kane was in.
