Ellen Degeneres

Ellen DeGeneres.

Some people would argue that this particular woman is one of the funniest and most loved comedians of the century. Some people turned away from her when she announced in 1997 that she was gay and when she later became an icon for the gay community.

Born in January 1958 in Louisiana, Ellen DeGeneres was constantly around her brother who was always considered the “funny one” but little did they now what was to come. Ellen originally wanted to become a veterinarian but later decided that she was not “book smart” so she pursued the job as a waitress, sales person, painter and legal secretary. Then, when Ellen was 23 she started performing at a local coffee house and was later discovered and invited to the Tonight Show. They enjoyed her appearance so much that Ellen was then invited to all of the major talk shows like Oprah, Larry King Live and Good Morning America. Her career was skyrocketing and no one could stop her soon to be fame. For the next few years Ellen started to appear in movies, commercials and was beginning to start her own talk show in 2003.

When Ellen started her show she immediately started to speak out about her being gay and how it was wrong to abuse animals. She started to follow in Oprah’s shoes because she started to donate and help many people and at the same time she was being a great comedian. On her talk show, Ellen repeatedly has games for people in need like her “Dough-Vember” to help a luck family that needed help financially. She continues to help people and animals daily.

Ellen DeGeneres has also won many awards including 4 People's Choice Awards for Favorite Daytime Talk Show Host, Favorite Funny Female Star and was in Forbes top 5 Influential Woman. I hope Ellen continues her show for many more years to come because she just makes your day so much better As Ellen once said, “Sometimes you can't see yourself clearly until you see yourself through the eyes of others.”

Lauren :)

Inspiring, moving, exciting, emotional, amazing, remarkable astonishing and heartbreaking. Those are all words that would describe what our school felt on Monday October 26. That was the day that Eva Olsson came to our school and once again broke her silence to talk to us about her past experiences with the Holocaust.

What impacted me the most about Eva Olsson's visit was how much courage she has to be able to speak out about the genocide that happened. I could tell she was still very emotional about all of the events that happened and especially about her mother and how she was not able to say goodbye.

One of the most important lessons that Eva taught us, I think, is that we shouldn't use the words hate, to not be a bystander and to not drink and drive. (Eva lost her husband after the war due to drinking and driving and said that the war was caused because of hate. She said to use the word dislike if you must but never hate)The hardest lesson in my opinion will be to always remember to love and remember your family because you don't know how long they are going to be with you. Unfortunately Eva lost her family because of the bullying by the Nazis'.

It must be very difficult to do what she is doing but it is good that she is because since she is one of the very few survivors of the Holocaust, it was nice that we got to hear her story because many people will not be able to hear it first hand in 20 years. I was very happy that I had the chance to listen to her story.

Lauren

Norval 2009

On October 19, the middle school went to Norval, a team building day. I really enjoyed the activities we did there like the blanket, the wall and mission impossible. All of the the things we did there were fun and I think helped our classes.

The things we did well together were having fun and communicating. We all contributed to the activities but Will was the leader. (he told us what to do) Although we were all communicating, we should have been taking turns speaking instead of everybody talking out.

The Drum Cafe was o.k. It sounded really awsome when everybody played together. It was difficult when people would try and play something else because it made you go off beat. I think middle school should do it again next year except where something to help your hands.

My Overall impressions were great, but next year we should all be able to do everything like the high ropes. I had a really great time and I learned to trust my classmates even more.

Lauren

Small Things,

Small Things

People are always saying things like you should slow down and focus on the small things. I hear that so much that I try and ignore it when people say it, but I realized I really should focus on the small things. So, I started thinking really hard about what small things that have impacted me in some way and this is what came to my mind.

My dogs. I have 3 Charlie, Meadow and Jaxon. They are all perfect in their own ways and I am lucky to have them. When ever I am mad or upset they are always there to cheer me up. They don’t get made at me if I don’t do something for them because they are so forgiving and happy. It is amazing how great animals are as friends. They truly are a person’s best friend.

Lauren
Ariss, On

Saying and Doing

“Waste no more time arguing about what good men should be. Be one.” That was a quote by the Roman Emperor from 121-180. I think what he meant is if someone is debating what is right, than he should be doing what he says is right. For example, if someone says that fighting is bad and they go punch someone they are being a hypocrite.

The quote makes me think about all of the times I have, or have witnessed people saying one thing and doing another. It happens all of the time but most of the time it isn’t very serious. An example of the quote is, people are always saying that more people should be doing things about poverty and yet probably around half of them aren’t doing what they said the other person should do.

Think of the times you have been hypocrite. What was it and how would you have changed what you had said and done?

Lauren
Ariss, On

Poverty

Poverty Reflection

Why is it that poverty is such a big problem around the world? We have all of the resources we could ever ask for but still people ignore those and opt to spend all of their money on other things. For example, people in Europe and the U.S spend 17 billion on their pets every year. If people would just focus on others needs rather then their own wants, we would be able to eliminate global hunger with just 19 billion. You may think that is a lot of money but if people are spending 17 billion on their pets then all we need it 2 billion more. We all love our pets but wouldn’t you rather help a person that needs help?

When I read Jason, Hellen and Charlotte’s story I was shocked at what I had just read because the way the children in those stories still looked on the bright side (most of the time) was amazing. They were experiencing poverty but I don’t think any of them new any different way of life so they just took the hard times easily. For instance in Jason’s story, he wrote about his trip to Kenya and how he noticed that the children their looked at life with such a bright and fresh perspective.

There is poverty around us everywhere we go and it comes in many different shapes and forms and I think that if we just take a little bit of time each day to try and think about ways we can make a difference I know it would help. The key fact is that we have to make sure to follow through on our ideas to make change and everybody is more than capable of it. As Stevie Wonder once said, “We all have ability. The difference is how we use it.”

Lauren
Ariss, Ontario