Listen Up!

The Ladies Auxiliary of VFW Post 9983 invites high school students to submit original patriotic art work for judging.

Visit lavfw.org for application and rules. The deadline is March 31.

New classes can be frightening, especially when the teacher is one you haven’t had before. Some seem easy, and turn out to be difficult. Some seem lenient, but are strict. And others are down right frightening.

It’s been a few years since I was in high school (JHS class of ‘04 to be exact), but I remember one thing well: Teachers have a funny way of surprising you.

The woman seen in this horrific picture from high school, Angela Garland, was my journalism teacher in high school. Before that, she was my creative writing teacher… and one I was downright petrified of.

The first day in her class, I was already having a crappy day. I’d finally convinced my mother that wearing spaghetti strap tank tops were, indeed, not against the dress code only to find out they’d changed the code over the summer. And, well, I didn’t want to be at school. I was what one could politely call uninterested. Then Garland struck with a reminder about the dress code and the horrible news that drinks would not be allowed in the classroom. But it wasn’t what she said, it was the strict “you’re going to listen to me” tone that came with it and the stern look on her face that convinced me I would despise her by December.

She turned out to be my favorite teacher by a long shot.

Mrs. Garland was the teacher that was always willing to help and, if she didn’t know the answer, would find out what it was and get back to you. She taught me that with bad news comes good, “promoting the positive,” she called it. For me, it meant that you always asked what whoever is being interrogated during the interview would be doing to improve whatever situation it was they were being interrogated about.

After that semester, I was in Garland’s classroom five days a week until graduation. Sophomore year, junior year and senior year I spent one class period and the majority of my lunch periods in that classroom working on the Cardinal and learning from the woman I learned was not nearly as strict as she came off that first day.

I still learn a lot from her. But now she shares her knowledge over meals.

For the most part, everyone loves the holiday season. With all the Christmas lights, decorations and the general atmosphere of the season, what’s not to love?

But, with all the Christmas frenzy, Thanksgiving gets lost in the shuffle and barely has time to shine.

As soon as November hits people used to start decorating their houses with pilgrims, pumpkins and fall colors to prepare for the November holiday then up go the Christmas decorations once it’s passed. Now, people have started putting up their Christmas decorations weeks before Thanksgiving.

During November, I would drive down the street and see tons of Christmas lights, colors and giant blow up snowmen and snow globes. Even on TV, I can only remember seeing one Thanksgiving commercial while the rest of my screen was filled with Christmas.

When did Thanksgiving become so insignificant to our nation?

I love Thanksgiving. I love the atmosphere, food, and meaning of the holiday.

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks, spend time with family and remember the history of our country.

So Christmas, while you have pretty decorations and an exciting atmosphere that doesn’t mean you can shove Thanksgiving to the side. Wait until after the fourth Thursday of November to put of your blow up decorations and insane Christmas light displays. Stop with the ho ho ho’s and Merry Christmas’s still December actually starts.

Just give Thanksgiving its moment in the spotlight.

 Layne Asher is a junior at Northside High.

The holiday season tends to bring out a bit of weirdness, whether it’s in gifts given or gifts received. Here are a couple of the unique gifts area teens have received:

Noah Camp

The most unusual gift I’ve ever gotten was dog biscuits. I thought my parents just gave me dog biscuits for my christmas present.  My parents waited a hour to actually tell me i was getting a puppy to.

The most unique gift I’ve ever recieved is my first BB gun.

Sean Gura said “I gave someone a hat with a fake moose on top of it.”

Sarah Bowman, Junior, Dixon High School
The weirdest/most unusual thing I’ve gotten for christmas is a girl calender :/ ha
The weirdest/most unusual thing I have given for christmas is candy underwear and bra!
A gift I would suggest for a teenager this year: clothing or some type of game!

 Cody Cadwell

Most Unusual: Oh. Easy. A bowl of okinawa soba.

Favorite: My Ipod.

Growing up, I can remember my Grandparents and parents complaining about different issues and how they always happen at the exact same time. Whether it is great news or bad news; everything always happened in threes. I never truly understood the statement until just recently when I was shoved into three completely different situations. It all started with an annoying high pitch scream, Ethan, my eight year old brother had come running into our house crying, holding his nose. Ethan had been outside with his friends playing with his foam sword; somehow in an attempt to run away he ran smack into my parked car. Almost instantly his nose turned from his regular tan complexion to a purple black shade. Just thinking it was bruised we went about our day. Throughout the day Ethan complained of his now swollen nose. Not truly knowing if it was broken or not we decided to go to the hospital. Come to find out it was not broken just badly bruised. Following this incident, issue number two came about. My cousin Brittany was coming home from a hard day of work, on her way home she had gotten into a bad car accident. Getting a phone call from my aunt, (Brittany’s mother) my dad rushed to the hospital. Luckily enough Brittany had only broken four of her toes, instead of completely losing her foot. She had surgery on her foot and things are looking up. Not stressing over it, I assumed it was a coincidence. I went about my life dealing with school and other activities. But once again, two days later, my dad went to work, only to discover someone had broken into several work trucks parked on his property, behind his office. Fortunately only some hand tools and other miscellaneous materials had been stolen, it could have been a lot worse. Shortly after this I began to realize what had come true. Things really do happen in threes. I laughed to myself finally truly understanding what my family had told me all along, and to this day I still believe in the infamous quote. “Everything Happens in Threes”.

Kayla Starzynski is a senior at Southwest High.

Listen Up! has grown from three members in August to nine after recruiting.

New members are:

Sarah Sorensen, a Dixon High senior

Miranda Meriwether, a Northside High freshman

Chiquita Belk, a Jacksonville High junior

Jasmin Rosario, a Lejeune High junior

Layne Asher, a Northside High junior

Germilia Taylor, a Jacksonville High sophomore

Taylor Spruill, a Lejeune High freshman

Of course, we also still have Ariel and Alexis Boyd, who are seniors at Jacksonville High, and Courtney Holland, who attends White Oak High.

If you want to fill out a confessional form, share words of wisdom, or have a story idea, find one of these guys at your school or e-mail Listen Up! Editor Amanda Hickey at jdnewslistenupmanda@yahoo.com

Listen Up! is currently recruiting new members.  We are looking for artists. writers, photographers and possibly videographers. We are very freindly and we promise to not bite.  We are hoping to recruite new members from Southwest, Dixon, Swansboro, Richlands, White Oak, and even homeschooled teenagers in high school (and other area high schools).  For more information see this weeks Listen Up! page including the Kanye incident.  

The 2008-09 school year has come to an end, and with it went about half of the Listen Up! staff. Which means *drum roll please* we are recruiting new victims MEMBERS!

Listen Up! is looking for area high school students who are 1.) interested in writing, photography, illustrations or videography 2.) responsible, can make meetings and meet deadlines 3.) want to have a bit of fun while learning 4.) earn a couple bucks while building a portfolio of clippings that could help when it comes time to apply to college.

The new Listen Up! year won’t officially begin until after school starts but we are taking applications now. If you are interested in joining Listen Up!, contact Listen Up! Assistant Editor Amanda Hickey at jdnewslistenupmanda@yahoo.com or 910-219-8461.

Be sure to include:

1.) your name

2.) your school

3.) your grade

4.) what you’re interested in contributing

5.) your contact information so I can e-mail/mail you an application

Inventor’s Digest magazine is hosting a national youth essay contest in honor of National Inventor’s Month in August.

The magazine partnered with the Smithsonian, the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Microsoft, among others.

Contestants ages 12-17 must explain in 500 words or less what product, service, tool or technology will shape our lives in 2059. Complete details will be available on the magazine’s Web site.

The winners will get a laptop computer, their essays published in Inventors Digest magazine and a chance to appear on a PBS TV series.

Before we know it, the musical sound of the ice cream truck will be replaced with the ringing of the school bell. To prepare students for school this year and to thank shoppers for their continued support, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust’s (PREIT) malls are donating thousands of packs of loose-leaf paper and supplies to children in need this fall as part of its Back-to-School Val-U campaign.  Onslow County School’s Needy and At Risk Children is the beneficiary of Jacksonville Mall.
“We hope to encourage and enable success in the classroom by providing children with basic school necessities and learning tools,” says Judy Trias, PREIT’s vice president of retail marketing.

PREIT’s Back-to-School Val-U promotion also incorporates a gift with purchase for shoppers while supplies last. From July 31st to August 23rd when shoppers present same-day mall store receipts totaling $75 or more, they’ll receive free school supplies to fill their backpacks. There are four gift-with-purchase packages. When shoppers present $75 in receipts, they’ll receive The Prodigy, which includes a school kit (pencil, pen, eraser, ruler and holder), pocket folder and spiral notebook.

With $125 in receipts, shoppers will receive The Intellectual, which includes the above and a pack of loose-leaf paper. For shoppers who present $200 in receipts, the Brainiac includes two of each item, and with $250 in receipts, shoppers receive the Genius– two school kits, two pocket folders, two spiral notebooks, two packs of loose-leaf paper and a flash drive.

“Shoppers are focused on value this Back-to-School season, and we want to reward them with the supplies they need when they shop in our malls. We also salute our retailers who are providing excellent promotions to entice shoppers. We encourage all area families to look to Jacksonville Mall for their Back-to-School needs,” says Trias.

From July 14 to September 7, visit www.mallwebsite.com, sign-up for the e-newsletter and enter the contest for a $500 shopping spree. The website also features back-to-school fashion, trendy tips and stylish suggestions, a well as special offers from mall retailers designed for the value-driven shopper.

“We know that today’s kids are online, so PREIT incorporated social marketing into its Back-to-School Val-U campaign by creating a fun video for YouTube about what happened to last year’s school gear. All families in Jacksonville Mall area are able to relate to the typical teen scenarios that unfold over the course of a year which are showcased in the video, culminating in the need for Back-to-School shopping,” says Anastasia Paszkiewicz, Marketing Director

PREIT’s Back-to-School video is available on YouTube and at www.backtoschoolvalu.com. For more information on PREIT’s Val-U promotion, visit www.mallwebsite.com.

PREIT, founded in 1960 and one of the first equity REITs in the U.S., has a primary investment focus on retail shopping malls and power centers.  Currently, PREIT’s retail portfolio consists of 56 retail properties including 38 shopping malls, 14 strip and power centers, and four properties under development.  PREIT’s properties are located primarily in the Mid-Atlantic region and eastern half of the United States. PREIT is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The Company’s website can be found at www.preit.com.  PREIT is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol PEI.

PREIT Back-to-School Val-U Promotion Gift-with-Purchase Packages

The Prodigy:  Spend $75 and receive one school kit (with pencil, pen, eraser, ruler, and holder), one pocket folder, and one spiral notebook.

The Intellectual: Spend $125 and receive one school kit, one pocket folder, one spiral notebook and a pack of loose-leaf paper.

The Brainiac:  Spend $200 and receive two school kits, two folders, two spiral notebooks, and a pack of loose-leaf paper.

The Genius:  Spend $250 and receive two school kits, two folders, two spiral notebooks, a pack of loose-leaf paper, and a flash drive.