Issue 2
STUDENT NEWSPAPER
January 2013
5 Study Tips for Exams
Exams. Now there’s a word to make any high schooler shudder in fear. They come
twice a year, and horrify every single student. It’s difficult to get everything together, to try to prepare… To take some of the stress off, here’s some tips:
TIP #1
Get away from your computer. Or
any other distraction. Even if you decide to take a break, try to avoid any
kind of technology, as it’ll make you
lose your focus. We all try to find anything to grab our attention, so we can
justify not studying. A great, free program to install if your weakness is the
internet is Cold Turkey. It will effectively block any websites you enter
for as long as you tell it to, and you
cannot reverse it.
TIP #2
Find a friend. Teaching another person, or helping a classmate is one of
the very best ways to comprehend
something in your notes. You’ll be
able to help someone and learn at the
same time.
TIP #3
Flash cards! If your teacher has been
kind enough to give you an exam review sheet, put it to good use! Any
specific questions will be easy to learn
if you drill the cards. If you have trouble with a certain part of the course,
you can color-code them by section to
study specific parts. They’re also a
great thing to pull out when you have
very little time to study.
TIP #4
Put it into simpler terms. Simplifying
your complicated notes will make studying a lot easier. Try to change some of
the more difficult words into simpler
terms, as you will understand the phrases
better. Another good strategy is to turn a
part of your notes into something you find
funny, go overboard and make it a bit ridiculous. For example, if you turn the development of two country’s rivalry into a story of
how they stopped being “besties”, it will definitely be more memorable when it comes
time to write your exam.
TIP #5
Organise yourself, and do it early! Studying and preparing for those terrifying exams becomes a lot less stressful when you
know you have all your notes for each class
together and sorted out. If everything is
neatly organized, you won’t come home
to find you left those really important
notes at school. Instead, you’ll be able
to prepare early, instead of procrastinating.
The most important
thing to remember when it
comes to exams is not to
freak out. Breathing is a
helpful pastime, don’t forget
it. If you put the work in,
you will do well.
By Kayley
Wartman
Grade 11
Page 2
The Dart
Humans VS. Zombies @DHS
By Liam Twohig Grade 11 Journalist
Halloween has brought another
scary tradition at Dartmouth High
back to life: Humans versus Zombies. This giant helter-skelter game
of zombie-themed dart tag is one of
the many fundraisers that Dartmouth High does on a yearly basis.
With such themes as Dead Space and
“Construction Zombies” to raise the
stakes a little bit, it’s always a good
time.
Don’t know what Humans versus
Zombies (HvZ) is? Let me give you a
quick rundown…
Imagine yourself in Dartmouth
High, now try not to gag. Your
friends are there with you, but not
just any friends, eight of your amazing nerf blaster-toting, scary friends.
Now imagine that creepy music (or
Miss New Booty) is playing through
the halls… Which are pitch black.
Then add thirty of your classmates,
which have been zombified and
crave your flesh. You have very limited ammunition, very limited time
and an objective to complete. When
you add all of this together, you get
HvZ. Excited Yet?
Well, calm your zombie hunting fever a little bit; you have to jump
through some hoops. First off, it is a
fundraiser, so you have to give us
your money, ten dollars to be exact.
Next, you have to buy, borrow or
rent a nerf gun (we supply them
too.) Then you have to get an attitude of fair play and childish joy because otherwise, you ruin everybody’s fun. Does this all sound reasonable to you? Well, there is one
more thing: we only have one per
month.
So in the meantime, practice up with
your nerf blaster, get a squad (you
can’t name it The Squad, that’s already
taken) and get ready for a mad rush
of survival in November’s Humans
versus Zombies.
The Dart
Page 3
Pit Bulls: Vicious Killers or
Cuddly Puppies?
By Amaya Jarsky
Grade 10 Journalist
Everyone knows the stereotypical
idea of a pit bull: powerful, aggressive and mean, with locking jaws
and an inability to feel pain. A killer.
I, for one, would like to challenge
that. Pit bulls have a bad reputation
because people who want aggressive
dogs train them to be that way, but
they don’t deserve it. They are no
more aggressive than any other dog.
Aggressive dogs act that way for a
reason, and every dog should be
treated as an individual.
Pit bulls are stigmatized as being
aggressive, but there are actually
many dogs that are much more so.
The American Temperament Testing
Society (ATTS) puts dogs through a
series of tests to determine temperament. The average score is 77%, but
pit bulls scored 83.9%. As well, a
study at the University of Pennsylvania on the 33 most aggressive
breeds looked at thousands of dogs,
and determined the three worst offenders to be Dachshunds, Chihuahuas, and Jack Russell Terriers. The
only difference is that these breeds
are smaller. They can’t cause as
much damage so they get no negative stereotypes. Another study
found that in only 47% of dog bite
cases, the dog’s breed or
type could be
identified.
In
just 4% of
identifiable
cases,
the
culprit was a
pit bull type.
Also,
the
myths
about
pit bulls having
incredibly strong
locking jaws and
not feeling pain are
just that, myths. Pit
bulls have similar jaw
structure to most
other dogs, their
jaws do not lock,
and they exert
the
same
amount
of
force as any
dog their size. Pit bulls were originally bred for dog fighting, so they
have a high pain tolerance, but they
are definitely not immune.
See PIT BULLS
Page 4
Page 4
PIT BULLS continued
Some pit bulls are aggressive, but
they are not aggressive because of
their type. Many pit bulls are kept
for fighting or to intimidate. They
are often abused or neglected, and
usually aren’t spayed or neutered.
One study found that 97% of pit bull
attacks were the result of at least
one of these practices. You hear all
the time about “unprovoked” pit
bull attacks, but who’s talking?
Owners may claim an attack came
without warning so as not to take
responsibility for treating their dog
inhumanely or irresponsibly. A
study by Northeastern University
and the SPCA even found a link between animal abusers and serial killers. It’s a vicious circle: pit bulls are
stereotyped as being aggressive. People who want aggressive dogs get pit
bulls and train them to be that way,
causing the stereotype to persist. In
addition to this, no attack is ever
truly “unprovoked.” Dogs don’t randomly attack people because they
feel like it. Maybe that dog was
abused in the past, and something
about a particular person reminded
him of his abuser. Maybe a person’s
body language made him feel threat-
The Dart
ened, or something about a person’s
scent reminded him of a traumatic
event in his past. Unfortunately for
the dogs, whether it’s their fault or
not, they are the ones who pay the
ultimate price. Owners may spend
time in jail or pay fines, but almost
every pit bull to attack someone has
been put to death.
Every dog should be treated as an
individual canine, never lumped into
the massive category of “pit bull.”
Many people don’t know what a pit
bull really is. A pit bull is not a
breed; it is a type of dog encompassing 42 different breeds, and various
crosses between these breeds. We
are prejudiced against them without
even knowing what they are. It is
estimated that for every one pit bull
that kills, there are ten-and-a-halfmillion who don’t. Many pit bulls
are used as search-and-rescue, narcotic and bomb-sniffing or therapy
dogs. There is a common misconception that they make good guard
dogs, but the opposite is actually the
case; they are far too friendly. Regardless of these facts, studies estimate that about 2800 pit bulls are
euthanized in the U.S. per day. 75%
of municipal shelters euthanize
them immediately, without any opportunity for adoption, and 93% of
pit bulls in shelters are euthanized.
It is incredibly sad that we have condemned so many innocent dogs to
death, simply because of untrue stereotypes.
Pit bulls are not monsters. They
have a bad reputation for various
reasons, but through no fault of their
own. If you were kept tied in
someone’s yard constantly, abused,
neglected, only there to intimidate,
how would you behave? What about
if you were taught from a very young
age that violence and aggression
were good, and to be ready to attack
at any moment? On the other hand,
imagine you behave appropriately,
have never been violent, and love
your family. How would you feel if
you were punished for something
you had nothing to do with, simply
because you look similar to the culprit? Pit bulls aren’t more vicious
than any other dog. Any dog treated
the way some pit bulls are would act
accordingly. In addition, pit bulls
aren’t all the same. Each one is
unique. I firmly believe that the stigmatization against pit bulls needs to
end.
The Impacts of Music
By Zahin Hafiz
Grade 10 Journalist
Music is a recreation for all human
beings. Some people think that music has no negative impact on our
body and the others think that it has
a negative or a harmful impact. Both perspectives are
evenly true, as they are mainly
based on a lot of people’s opinions or thoughts. Music is
composed of many genres such as
pop, rock, hip-hop, jazz, rap, country, etc. Music can be entertaining,
relaxing and pleasurable. It can reduce pain and can fight illnesses.
Along with that, there are also some
negative impacts or side effects of
music.
Music can be entertaining, relaxing
and pleasurable. However, it is heavily dependent on culture and time
period and it helps us to learn about
the outside world. It has the ability
to change the emotional and physical status of people, whether they
are in a bad, good or in a sad mood.
Not only does it change your moods,
it also energizes you when you feel
tired. This is because, the brain releases dopamine, a feel-good chemical. Truly, I also do experience that
music changes my mind and my
emotions and makes me feel better
about things or situations. Music
See MUSIC, Page 5
The Dart
MUSIC continued
attracts a lot of people. For example,
the TV show “Glee” is one of the
most popular musical episodes that
have millions of viewers worldwide
and at the same time is investing
millions of dollars in each of their
seasons. By the way, some neurologists have found out that there are
genres in music such as Mozart and
classical that can enhance your creativity and your IQ level, and they
also found out that music from these
Page 5
illness ,treat depression, stress, insomnia and premature infants. Music therapy can be very beneficial for
drug and alcohol addicts as it helps
them to take their minds off of the
withdrawal symptoms and focuses
their attention on recovery. Also for
children on the autistic spectrum,
music therapists utilize music as an
educational related service to promote learning and skill acquisition.
However, this therapy relaxes majority of the patients out there and
improves their attitudes and their
senses of well-being.
Lastly, music unfortunately left
some negative impacts. Not all music genres, but some specific genres such as hard rock, rap,
heavy metal, and hip hop do
have some negative impacts
on our body and our mind.
are affecting both our physical and
mental health. These affect the symmetry between the right and the left
halves of the brain and it results a
disturbed state of mind. If these appliances are used from a very young
age, it can lead to learning disabilities and behaviour problems in children. According to a research by
Dr.John Diamond, an Australian
physician and psychiatrist, body
muscles go weak when subjected to
the stopped anapestic beat in hard
rock music. He also mentioned that
shrill frequencies and irregular beats
are harmful for the mind and the
body. Personally, I agree with Dr.
Diamond’s opinions as I sometimes
experience that I don’t feel well
when I listen to music continuously
for a very long period of time. I also
find myself becoming very
drowsy over time.
Studies
revealed
that
heavy metal and rap music showed
increase in aggression and it over
stimulates the nervous system.
Nowadays, music contains many
slang words. Children and youth are
using the slang words in their conversations frequently and this is becoming a serious problem for our
society as children are not learning
how to use proper or appropriate
language. This is probably becoming
a life-long habit for them. Also, people use headphones or ear buds for
listening to music. These appliances
In conclusion, I will
again state that music has both positive and
negative impacts on our body. On
one hand, music seems to be very
relaxing, pleasurable and entertaining. Many studies also showed that
music can help fight off illnesses and
pains and this method is usually
known as music therapy. And on the
other hand, music left some negative
impacts that affect both our body
and our society. I would also like to
restate my opinion that the positive
and the negative impacts of music
are mainly based on many people’s
opinions and thoughts together.
two genres helps you to
meditate deeply and easily.
Secondly, music reduces
pain and fights illnesses. It
has a very definite physiological and psychological
effect on people. For
instance, in World
War II; musicians
were hired to play in
Veterans Administration hospitals to aid in the physical and
mental healing of soldiers. This is
often known as music therapy. This
is still being used in hospitals to reduce the need of medication during
childbirth, to decrease postoperative
(occurring and relating to medical
surgery) pain and complement the
use of anaesthesia during surgery.
Music is also been used as a therapy
for seizures, to lower blood pressure,
treat ADD in children, treat mental