Feature Biel overcomes disease with support of family
Joya finds system to complete homework Jami Kahn
Karen Rodriguez Staff Reporter Night came around and Austin Biel, freshman, woke up at 4 a.m. with the urge to puke. When his mom got home from work, they immediately took him to Northwestern Hospital because that was a sign of a concussion. They didn’t know, however, that after walking out of the hospital they would be “scared and fearful,” for the next two years. Biel was diagnosed with Medullo-blastoma on Aug. 8, 2008. Medullo-blastoma, a malignant brain tumor that originates in the cerebellum, is most common in boys ages 2 to 13. It grew rapidly and in four months it began affecting Biel’s vision as well as his hearing. It was necessary for Biel to go to the doctor for radiation two weeks, five times a week. Radiation has side effects that include making the IQ slower and forgetting information. In November 2008, Biel had to undergo surgery to make a hole in his chest where a tube fed him. It was called Total Protein Nutrition(TPN). He couldn’t eat for a year and the tube was only there at night. In the morning, Patricia Biel,
Dilsia Miranda
Staff Reporter A. Biel’s mother, would take it out. “I’m sick of cancer. It’s not that fun,” A. Biel said. The Biel family made sure that Biel knew they would be there for him at any time of the day. “They just want me to be better,” Biel said. Biels’ friends at Holmes Middle School gave him their support, fund-raising for him so that the family could pay off their hospital bills. Biel is now cancer free. Still, he is in remission; therefore, he must go for head scans once a month. “You know there’s a God when you hear his cancer is gone,” Ms. Biel said. Now Biel has some advice for other cancer patients. “Good luck. It’s very hard, time passes, but you’ll make it through... to the end,” A. Biel said. A. Biel wishes to be able to go back to riding his bike and playing football when he gets better, but he has to learn how to swim again. In being cured, A. Biel has changed “spiritually, physically and intellectually.” “Austin is more compassionate with people that are sick, he’s more sensitive,” Ms. Biel, said. “He has a different outlook and appreciates the things he has more.”
Austin Biel, freshman, laughs at an old memory that Logan Bartholomew, little brother of Hilary Bartholomew, Biel’s best friend, told about the baseball games they had with their families. Having cancer made it hard for Biel to remember certain things. “The radiation had some side effects, and unfortunately Austin forgets a lot more then he used to,” Katie Wisdom, Biel’s aunt, said.
Senior leaders take on leadership after taking junior leader class
A look inside Joya’s Homework schedule 1. Geometry--problems 2. AP Human Geography---Cornell notes 3. Literature--Grammar phrases worksheet 4. Literature--”Lord of the Flies” quiz
“an italian dinner”
Elda Robbins, P.E. Teacher
Bety Camino Bety Camino
geometry problems, he checks over his answers, reworking problems he remains unsure about. After he is sure that his answers are correct, he pulls out his AP human geography book and Cornell note sheet. He first reads all the questions on the sheet, reads the passage in the book and then goes back and answers the questions. He restates the questions in his answers, using complete sentences and paraphrasing to help himself understand the material. If Joya doesn’t understand a part of his homework, he puts it to the side and moves on, so he doesn’t spend all of his time working on one problem. “I find that it helps if I can just put it down and work on something else for a little bit so I don’t fry my brain working on that one part when I have so much else to do,” Joya said. Joya moves on to his literature homework, a worksheet about grammatical phrases, and he then prepares for a speech he will make the next day. He then completes a quiz to lead into “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, the next unit his class will be studying. Once all his homework is completed, Joya checks his assignment notebook to make sure he has nothing else due the next day. “Homework can definitely be a pain, but I can see why we need to do it, so I figure there’s no reason not to try my best at it,” Joya said.
**Five problems left--finish this after Lit. Grammar sheet
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FEBRUARY 12, 2010 in the WHS CAFETERIA @ 6 p.m. KIDS - $5 STUDENTS - $7 ADULTS - $10
UNA NOTTE ROMANTICA
“a night of romance”
the junior leaders class. “We had to learn to take control,” Garrila said. She Asst. News Editor described the junior leaders While Elda Robbins, class as “a regular P.E. class, physical education teacher, but with a lot of running.” has her freshmen swim the Senior leaders help width of the pool, Cristina Ms. Robbins with regular Garrila and Alex Przekurat, freshman P.E. classes. But seniors, can if a teacher be found “I look for kids na ssei s tae ndc es, teaching Ms. who are reRobbins’ the senior n o n might sponsible, have leader swimmers help out in how to swim. reshman inner strength, fstrength Garrila and a n d kids willing to conditioning Przekurat classes. work hard, and are two of 19 “ I f seniors who anybody is be a mentor.” are senior thinking leaders. about going Garrila into teaching a n d (be a senior Przekurat leader), went through the junior they (senior leaders) are leaders class in order to responsible for a group and become a senior leader. it is groundbreaking,” Ms. “I bring them (senior Robbins said. leaders) through the According to Ms. Robbins, freshman curriculum. I teach senior leaders are very helpful them a good stretch. (There’s) because “these kids (senior a lot of practice and a lot of leaders) are closer to their observing,” Ms. Robbins said. (freshmen’s) age”. According to Ms. Garrila and Przekurat Robbins, in order to take the agree that they learned to junior leaders class, you need take leadership and “don’t let a teacher recommendation. freshman be stupid”. Then the juniors set up an According to Ms. interview with Ms. Robbins. Robbins, she tries to find as After the juniors are signed many sophomores to join for up, Ms. Robbins receives a the next year. list of everyone interested “In the spring, I have kids in taking the class. The class start asking questions,” Ms. period with the highest Robbins said. amount of juniors becomes
At 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Omar Joya, freshman, sits in the foyer, gets comfortable on the bluecarpeted bench and unzips his backpack. The foyer is quiet; most students have either gone home or are in their after school activities. First, Joya takes out his geometry book, calculator, notebook and pencil. The book balances on his lap with the notebook on top. His face pinches as he studies the problems, and he writes his answers slowly and carefully, so as not to make a mistake. According to USA Weekend magazine, the average high school student spends 10 to 15 hours weekly on homework. With more than seven hours in school five days a week, not to mention after school activities, students use different systems in order to complete their work in time. Joya is currently taking intro to engineering and design, accelerated honors advanced geometry (90s), honors literature and AP human geography for his first semester. He uses his personal system in order to find time for his homework among everything else each day. “I like to start with my hardest homework first, to get it out of the way, and not have to deal with it later,” Joya said. As he completes his
Krista Sanford
Top: Judy Lee, senior, looks over a freshman P.E. student’s schedule. Lee enrolled in the junior leaders class for her first semester of this year and was then assigned to lead Peter Gajzler’s freshman P.E. class for her second semester. Bottom: Cristina Garrila, senior, talks to a few freshmen students in the gymnasium before class on the first day of the new semester. This starts Garrila’s second semester as a senior leader.
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January 29, 2010