The Blueprint - Spring 2022 Issue

ROME INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

NUMBER XI/SPRING 2022

Spring 2022 Issue

Number XI/Spring 2022

CONTENTS Editor-In-Chief's Note

As Seen on the Cover 1) COVER ART: Global Awareness (Ginevra P, Allya W.) 2) COVER STORY: “Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world”

Feature Articles 3) Psychology Column; Downsides of Social Media with regards to Mental Health 4) Did you know... who are the NEET ?

5) Covid Quarantine; A Step Guide to Pass Your Time

Music, A

rts, and Entertainment

6) Let The Sun In! - Spring Playlist 7) Study Music Recommendations 8) Spring-themed Digital Art

What ' s

Happening in RIS?

9) Eco Week 2022!

10) House Launch Recap

Editor-In-Chief's Notes!

Welcome to our Spring 2022 Issue!:) First, I’d like to say that this issue is a special one, reasons being that this combines both the March and April Issue, and also because sadly it is going to be my last one as editor. The decision to combine the March and April issue is done because exam season is coming up, and soon everyone is busy with studying for finals. Apart from that, since this is the last issue I will edit, I thought it would be best to end with a bang!

Being editor in chief for the Blueprint has been a great honor to me, and it has been a very fun and exciting journey. This opportunity allowed me to explore the many facets of leadership and organizational life, as well as creating a sense of community within the club itself. My gratitude and appreciation goes to the editorial and core team, Ms Bell as supervisor, and the entire Blueprint club; thank you for a great year!

This month’s theme is a combination of March’s theme (awareness and advocacy) and April’s (Earth), which makes it into the theme Global Awareness. As members of generation Z, we should be encouraged to become responsible agents of change. The world around us is changing rapidly, and words like ‘climate change’ and ‘global warming’ have been familiarized into our daily issues of concern. Additionally, with the rise of social media and online news, we can see coverage about issues and conflicts from all around the world from just a tap away. This can be insanely overwhelming, and oftentimes we find ourselves helpless.

However, as youth we should be empowered to not take a passive role, and instead become agents of change through advocacy. Since if not us, who? And if not now, when?

As our last issue in this school year, Let’s end it off on a high note!

We are very excited for you to read this issue, we hope you like it! :)

ALLYA W. THE BLUEPRINT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Cover Story “EDUCATION IS THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON WE CAN USE TO CHANGE THE WORLD” - NELSON MANDELA

DARCY M.

During these times of uncertainty, COVID has affected the lives of people all over the world. A large portion of these people are children, who have been confined to the four walls of their homes and without the opportunity to be at school and continue their education. Imagine if not having access to education was your norm. Imagine not having the privilege to make yourself smarter and more knowledgeable allowing yourself to have a brighter and more successful future.

Education shapes the person a child becomes, starting from a young age, allowing them to discover who they are and understand the world around them. Education also teaches children to develop their critical thinking which is a vital skill for life that is used in making decisions and interacting with people.

Along with critical thinking, schools provide students with basic level qualifications and knowledge that would later be used in the future in order to get a good job, allowing students to go on to have careers of their own, taking whatever path they desire due to the wide variety of options available, as a result of their education.

Although it is easy to take school for granted with the stress and feeling overloaded with the mass amounts of homework, it is important to remember that there are areas all over the world that do not have the same opportunities.

Nigeria is one of the least educated countries in the world and according to UNICEF, about 10.5 million children in Nigeria aged between 5 and 14 years old are not in school and only 61% of children aged between 6 and 11 years old attend primary school regularly.

These staggering statistics reflect how many children are affected by lack of education.

This extreme lack of schooling is due to a variety of factors, all revolving around the traditional mindset that is so fixed that there has been no change despite the development that has taken place over time in other countries around the world. Nigeria runs on various factors such as certain cultural practices (especially for girls), social and cultural norms and issues concerning the country’s economic aspects.

Following are some of the factors to be put into consideration: 1. CULTURAL PRACTICES

Even today, girls and women face various issues that stop them from having access to education. One of these issues is child marriage and then in some worse cases accidental pregnancy. In some less economically developed countries (LEDCs) young girls are expected to marry at a very young age and then work at home for the rest of their lives while their husbands go to work. With this lack of freedom, young girls are stripped of the opportunity to make a living for themselves and do things that are of their best interest. In most cases, girls and women cannot find a way out of these forced marriages due to the gender-based violence they are faced with. When put in these severely damaging conditions, the women and children that have to put up with this kind of domestic violence would never be able to break the cycle of abuse and start a life for themselves.

2. SOCIAL AND CULTURAL NORMS

Social and cultural norms are the expectations that passively control people’s behaviours. These expectations are enough to keep young girls from school as it is required that they follow through with certain cultural duties like ones previously mentioned such as housework and marrying at a young age.

3. ECONOMIC BARRIERS

Finally, the larger issue of poverty means that families do not have enough money to send their children to schools and instead, children must stay at home to aid their parents in carrying out certain tasks including agricultural work or cooking and cleaning for example.

Not only does the lack of education affect the children directly but it also affects the economy of the countries as a whole. No education for children will later mean that the working population will be too little to do any good for the country. This means that there would not be enough money going into the country in the future, leading to further issues regarding governments unable to fund basic services and care for the people. From this, the downward spiral effect would occur causing the country to fall so deep into poverty that after some time, the effects would be too devastating and irreversible.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

The first step in spreading awareness on the issue of the lack of education around the world, is to recognise how privileged we are and to understand that there are many people in our similar age groups that are much worse off than us. The ability to appreciate how fortunate we are is sometimes harder than some may think, as it requires you to look past all of the inconveniences school throws at you. However in reality, there are many children who would do anything to get even close to experiencing the education we have.

Another way in which we can help with this global issue is by donating to various organizations such as UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization), for example, that work to better the lives of many children by improving their quality of education or even simply giving them the opportunity to be educated at schools. Despite this seeming like a simple act, the money you donate, will have helped one or several children have a brighter future.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Why is education important and how does it affect one's future?.

Education | UNICEF Nigeria.

Women and girls | Right to Education Initiative

Downsides of social media with regards to mental health Ottavia M. and Penelope D.S.

Whilst Social Media is responsible for great progress with regards to communication, marketing and entertainment it is undeniable that its development has also provoked many detrimental effects especially with respect to mental health. Social media alone is accountable for increments ranging from 13 to 66% in mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. Thus, it is important to become aware of the dimension of its impact on mental health to be able to deal with these issues and expose the dark side of these mainstream apps.

The Psychology of Social Media There are several different motifs and explanations behind a shared post or tweet, and the psychology of social media has different tiers which correlate with the motifs behind what we see on our everyday refreshed page. The presence of social media in this new technological age, is concerning to many psychologists and mental health workers since more people nowadays are keen to develop more psychological issues by being present in the social media sphere. General problems which occur everyday because of social media are: risk of depression, loneliness and also anxiety. These problems arise due to the fact that on social media you could find awful people who always like to have the last word and make you feel bad about yourself. It is extremely important, especially for younger people to be careless about these problems and continue their lives without giving it too much weight. Social Media is not a platform which needs to promote this kind of behaviour, but it is a platform which should be accessible to everyone without making fake assumptions and nasty comments.

Psychologists explored and came up with signs that social media is impacting your mental health if you feel pressure in using your different platforms. If you are regularly checking your phone and you prefer being on it instead of spending time with real world friends in an open space, you are undoubtedly impacted in a negative way. It is important to maintain your social media account in the life we live in today, but it can’t take you away from doing things you need to keep on with a healthy mind. Distractions are also a major problem in social media activity, because you waste lots of your time in checking your posts and comments.

Self-Imagining A problem which has resurfaced ever so significantly because of social media is that of self-imaging. Social media sets unrealistic standards, as can be seen with apps such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat in which users can freely edit their pictures using photoshop, filters, Face-Tune, or even take photos which are not even their from apps such as Pinterest and many other tools to make themselves appear, however they wish. Unfortunately, this immoderate use of editing generates unrealistic expectations.

This apparent “perfection” some users advertise on social media engenders comparison between users creating self-esteem issues. Self- imaging issues arise not only with regards to appearance although many users will compare themselves to others with regards to appearance, these issues can arise with regards to people being jealous of someone's home which they post on Instagram, someone’s vacation destination or someone’s friends or job. The problem with social media is because everyone is so prone to posting the best version of themselves, sometimes even through deception, other users are more and more likely to compare themselves and feel inferior to a picture which sometimes might not even be accurate. The problem with social media is that it is addictive and even though mental health is being gravely affected people still depend on apps such as Instagram etc. even though they are crushing their self-esteem.

Fear Fearof ofMissing MissingOut Out The addictiveness of social media is responsible for mental health issues and this can be seen by the recent development of a mental health condition intrinsically linked with anxiety which is that of FOMO (the Fear of Missing Out).

The fear of missing out is defined as the apprehension that one is missing out on information, experiences, events or life decisions which could make one’s life better. This condition was blatantly worsened by social media because of the fact that feeds are constantly updated, platforms such as Instagram are known to be up to date with new information which is brought about through Instagram stories causing many users to always want to be on the platform in order to not “miss out” on anything. This condition is also brought about by messaging apps such as Whatsapp, where users constantly fear not being “online” because they do not know when they might receive a message from a friend, family member or other acquaintance.

This pervasive terror of not seeing something has caused people to become dependent on social media and to almost be imprisoned on these platforms. Many people also acquire the fear of missing out when for example they see some of their friends going to a party and posting about it on Instagram whilst they are at home and they start wondering about what they are doing without them and start second guessing themselves about “missing out” on the “fun”. FOMO can cause people to become slaves to social media and this can give rise to prolonged hours of activity which causes loss of sleep amongst other things. In fact, those who suffer from FOMO often develop fatigue and are stressed, and develop sleep problems and other physical problems.

Social Media is really becoming a mental health problem in our community. By facing self-image, FOMO, anxiety or also depression, people become stressed out and start to think they are not worth it or also start to believe that they can’t live without knowing what’s happening around them, which at a young age is really a serious issue, because it also affects their family and their friends which try to comprehend what the real problem or status of their mind is. This constant fear affects their mental health and it is a negative way to continue on with their lives. This is where psychologists enter their field, they need to help people survive this problem and make them go on with their lives. Social media is important, but your mental health is way more important, always keep that in mind.

References

Social Media and Mental Health - HelpGuide.org.

How social media can crush your self-esteem Fear of missing out - Wikipedia FOMO: How Social Media Affects our Social Lives and Self-Images

By Lavinia C.

Did you know... who are the NEET? NEET is the acronym of Not (engaged) in Education Employment or Training, they are the new type of illiterate. NEET are young people that don’t study, do not have a job or aren’t interested in work.

In the NEET world we can locate 5 subgroups: I Unemployed; II Unavailable, who are unable to carry out work or training activities for health reasons or family responsibilities; III Disengaged, who by passive choice are not looking for work or training opportunities; IV Opportunity seekers, who are actively looking for the job or training opportunity they deem most appropriate for them; V Volunteers, who are NEET by active choice, because they have taken a break to go on a trip or a voluntary or pleasure experience.

Situation of young NEET in Italy and Europe:

What drive young people to abandon their studies and looking for a job, what are NEET

really missing?

From the surveys carried out on the NEET, it emerged that many decide not to continue their studies because they are partly discouraged and partly unable to bear the expenses that, in many cases, adequate training requires.

But above all it is the lack of perspectives that leads to apathy towards the future.

Faced with an empty future with no prospects for them, young people can thus risk incurring drifts of aggression or disengagement.

Causes and solutions

In the abnormal growth in the number of NEET there is an extensive concurrence of faults that brings together the lack of skills transmitted in the training system, the limits of valorization of the human capital of young people in the production system, the inadequacy of public policies, the overprotective attitude of parents which prolongs the immaturity of the children. But all this cannot be an excuse for young people themselves, who underestimate the importance of engaging in solid training and of being enterprising in planning their future before the age of 20.

Between the different solutions, the important thing is to not demotivate yourself and to not think that things can change themselves, you must remain active and try to always do your best, improve your own personal competences and trust yourself!

Is to be NEET a problem?

Not to be engaged in society because you don’t want to, is a problem. The world needs young people to be involved in some kind of job that helps progress. Have you ever thought what will happen if everybody chooses to do nothing in their lives because they just want to have fun and to relax, because anyway there are other people that work? What will happen to our society ? I hope that we will never have to know this, but I personally think that life without work will be inconceivable.

SPRING 2022 MIXTAPE

S e u h n T I t n! e L

By Allya W.

The feeling of warm sun rays on your skin, blooming flowers, and picnics with your friends; nothing beats spring vibes! In this issue, we present to you this mixtape filled with feel-good songs, upbeat tunes, and charming tracks; everything you need to fill your spring with positive energy. Enjoy! ;)

The Sun Is In Your Eyes - Jacob Collier Why - Dominic Fike In My Life - The Beatles Shy Away - Twenty One Pilots Regent’s Park - Bruno Major April Come She Will - Simon & Garfunkel Good Days - SZA Infrunami - Steve Lacy As It Was - Harry Styles Blind - ROLE MODEL 4EVER - Clairo Waterloo - ABBA Evergreen - August Kamp, Joshua xBassett Nothing else i could do - ella jane You, Dear - Eloise Far Away - EASHA Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles It's Always You - She & Him All I Ever Asked - Rachel Chinouriri Put Your Records On - Ritt Momney Strawberry Sunscreen - Lostboycrow Beautiful Boy - John Lennon

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/654640495840833630/sent/ ? invite_code=5db9c77d4245483981a27cc80ca8303c&sende r=765682511555670390&sfo=1

Mariposa - Peach Tree Rascals Dreams - Fleetwood Mac TwentyTwo - Thea Ladyfingers - Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass Pink + White - Frank Ocean Lost in Translation - The Neighborhood Pleaser - Wallows Out 4 a breather - dad sports Get Free - Lana Del Rey OPEN A WINDOW - Rex Orange County ft Tyler The Creator The Path - Lorde

COVID QUARANTINE A STEP GUIDE TO PASS YOUR TIME

By Penelope D.S. Two years have passed since the beginning of this pandemic, and unfortunately, there are still many cases. COVID is such a boring situation to find yourself in. You have to be isolated by everyone and everything, it could make you feel sad and it could make you feel alone, so this down here is a simple step guide you could find useful if you ever find yourself in this situation. COVID is such an unpleasant feeling, many people are sick while they have it, and unfortunately, some symptoms can stay for a very long time. Please try your best to not risk getting COVID, always wear a mask, always wash your hands and take the vaccine!

So, now, what are some things you can do to pass your time in quarantine?

STEP 1: READ A BOOK If you feel bored and don’t really know what to do with your time, try getting a book and start reading it, instead of using electronic devices the whole day that can really damage your eyes and your brain. Take this as an opportunity to try something new, and do something you wouldn’t think of doing during busy and full school days.

Many people don’t usually read when throughout the day they have other things to do, especially middle and high school students who go to school the whole day and then have sports and homework, so they just feel too tired to read at night, and simply watch television before starting another super busy day!

STEP 2: STUDY MORE Being closed the whole day in a room could be useful to carry on with your school program and your homework. Take notes you didn’t finish taking, study something you didn’t fully understand and try to keep on track with what your classmates are doing in school by just entering online lessons and sending e-mails to your teachers. It will really help you, and it will indeed be an efficient use of time instead of just wasting your time laying on a bed. Trust me, by studying and doing something productive time flies away, if you just lay on your bed with your phone time will pass slowly, you will have a bad headache and you will be extremely bored.

STEP 3: CALL A FRIEND To not feel alone and depressed face-time your friends! Gossip with them, tell them how you feel, have interesting discussions, and I’ll assure you that you will feel less alone because you have someone to talk to and share your day with. You could call different people in only one day, after their school time or at night so that you have more things to talk about and talk to more than one friend, then your time is used perfectly because, after hours of being alone doing other productive activities, you finally see a face on screen and have someone to socialize with. Group calls can also be a nice way to spend your time because if you are more people in just one call, you will have much more fun and much more things to talk about, so try it out trust me!

STEP 4: WATCH NETFLIX Watching a nice movie or TV show on Netflix can be very relaxing and it's one of the best feelings when you don’t know what to do.

After a long day of studying, reading and talking with your friends, you just lay on your bed and finish off your favourite tv show. It makes you feel much better and much more relaxed, you just need to turn off your phone and concentrate on what you are watching so that you can fall asleep and be ready to pass another full day without feeling bored!

STEP 5: ONLINE SHOPPING This is more for people obsessed with buying new things! Online shopping could occupy a lot of your time because you can check out many different sites of shops you like and scroll through many different clothes and decide which ones to get. It is a fun hobby to do when you are bored and just want to see new things. If what you order arrives when you are still in quarantine you can create outfits, and just walk in front of your mirror to look at them. Online shopping is very interesting, and if you love fashion it is one of the best activities you can do when you are bored!

STEP 6: TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF Taking care of yourself in these situations is very important. So try a nice and clean skincare, take a long shower, listen to music, create a new favorite Spotify playlist and be sure to always stay healthy! Try and do some workouts you could easily do in your room, and then take a long shower, and you will feel really tired and ready to do relaxing things.

Remember also to eat healthy, instead of eating only junk food because you feel bored and alone. It will all pay you back when you get out of quarantine! Try to reach your goals and continue with your infinite to-do list.

This small step guide will really help you to pass some of your alone time in quarantine. It is extremely useful and important to have one you can read whenever you want. Please be aware of COVID, it is still a major problem, try to risk it as little as possible because it is a really boring and sad situation!

Study Music R

The Off-Season by J. Cole

ecommendat ions

MY TOP ALBUMS

Favourite Worst Nightmare

by Arctic Monkeys

By Mariam M.

good kid, m.A.A.d city by Kendrick Lamar

Anti by Rihanna

These months have been very stressful for all: elementary pupils are being nudged into their new student lives, everyone striving to finish the year strong and enter the exam season. Personally, I think this !stressful! period of time is an amazing opportunity to introduce you all to my all-time favorite leisure activity - listening to music. Pretty cliche, right? I know, I know.

However, listening and appreciating music is an underrated means of relaxing and coming to terms with yourself. It is a chance to detach yourself from the screens, from the books and notes, close your eyes and try to connect with your body. As Nietzsche, a well-known German philosopher would say: your body is the only materialistic aspect of you that will follow you through your whole life, including the ‘end-of-the-world’ exam season, so take care of it. And what better way to appreciate it other than listening to music and getting lost in the land of tunes?

Each song, each artist, each album convey a certain message and idea. Choose them with a desired mood or theme in mind! Personally, these are some of the most notable albums I have ever listened to, and I highly recommend you give them a good listen. ENJOY and good luck to all of us, I know we'll make it!

To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar Without Warning by 21 Savage, Metro Boomin, and Offset

AM by Arctic Monkeys

Lemonade by Beyonce

By Eco Council Penelope D.S.

ECO-WEEK 2022 “Eco-week” at RIS is an annual event that the members of the eco council organize and celebrate. It is a week full of eco-activities, and it is created to raise awareness on our beautiful planet. This year's eco-week fell perfectly with the theme of the month which is “Awareness”. The whole of the eco-week turned around different earth issues, and as the eco-council we tried to send this message to the whole school, hoping they would understand and challenge themselves to some things that could really help us.

Monday 14th March We started off our wonderful eco-week with a “Meatless Monday”. We decided to do this to make RIS students understand the importance of sustainability, and eating meat every day is really unsustainable, so we decided to give them this challenge. We asked the canteen and the school’s help to make this possible and raise awareness, and I really hope people take this seriously and try out the challenge. It is something really easy to do, and it would be great if they take it into consideration and start doing it every Monday!

Tuesday 15th March

Wednesday 16th March

“Wake up to climate change” and “Animal Awareness” have been the two issues of the day. We decided to make students come to school in their pyjamas and they had to bring along a stuffed animal with them. I believe that they all enjoyed this activity, since it is something that never happens in any school, and we tried to raise this message in the most fun and possible way! Many students also brought along with them food and medicines that will then be donated to Ukraine, to help them out with this really bad situation. Therefore as the eco-team, we really enjoyed seeing students understand and taking part in it.

Arts and Crafts with recycled plastic bottles has been the activity of the day! Many students signed up to create different things using recycled materials, and it has been great seeing their commitment to it. We decided to do this in an open environment, on our eco terrace, so that they could breathe some fresh air and have some fun with their friends. We then had the “eco-week assembly. It has been an online assembly where some members of the eco-council talked about the importance of the eco-week and why sustainability and recycling is important nowadays. It has been a great experience talking in front of the whole school, and I hope that people really understood the message.

Thursday 17th March “Non-electricity hour” period 4 has been an amazing success! We informed all teachers about this challenge we wanted them to undertake, and they all appreciated it and helped us with it. For students it has been a different kind of lesson, where they enjoyed learning new material without using electronic devices or light. We also had the “cleaning up” during lunch time. We chose to do this activity to make the school a more recycling place and a better environment for students. It has been an open area activity and I'm sure people who participated enjoyed it.

Friday 18th March

To conclude our beautiful week we decided to have a vintage non-uniform day with sustainable clothes. Students had to come with old, vintage and second hand clothes, or directly their parents' old clothes. I think they really enjoyed this different school day, and maybe it brought them to understand that sustainable clothes are actually better than others. We also had the knitting session during lunch time where they created their own clothes!

Hope you all enjoyed this eco-week and we can’t wait to plan more fun activities with all of you!

Number XI/Spring 2022

CREDITS Editor-in-Chief: Allya W. Art director: Mariam M. Proofreader: Giulia C. Special thanks to Mrs. Mongare-Bell!

As Seen on the Cover 1) Ginevra P., Allya W. 2) Darcy M.

Feature Articles 3) Ottavia M. and Penelope D.S. 4) Lavinia C. 5) Penelope D.S.

rts, Music, A

and Entertainmen

6) Allya W. 7) Mariam M. 8) Allya W.

What ' s 9) Eco Council 10) Dalal A.

Happening in RIS?

t