The Internet is becoming, if not already, a necessity to education of all kinds. However, the price and effort to enable schools to access it can be very expensive and painful. Getting enough money together to have new computers for every classroom is a near impossible task even with discounts and sales. The end result is that most the computers on campus are painfully slow and after all that you’ve been set back thousands of dollars.

Thanks to some ingenious people over in England and the University Of Cambridge our problems may be solved in the next couple of weeks. A project that has been in action for a bit over two years now is finally ready to manufacture and start selling. The Raspberry Pi computer is a $25.00 computer the size of a business card that can perform all the daily tasks a school could ever need. Tasks like typing a document, PowerPoint, HD video playback, browsing the web, editing a image, or almost any other use you could need.

The raspberry pi computer runs linux, a free and simple to use OS similar to windows or mac. Linux offers tons of free alternatives to expensive applications like Microsoft word, Photoshop, Power Point, and more. Best of all Linux doesn’t get any viruses and is updated all the time for free. A lot of people, such as Angelo Espisito and Jessie Mirl already use Linux at home. Here’s what they have to say.

“I run Linux on my netbook at home. It’s really easy to use and has a lot of different interfaces to choose from. There’s the traditional windows look and feel, the mac look, and plenty more looks that you can choose from. It’s all really simple and any application I want to download I can find in the application market. It’s a lot easier to find programs then on a PC or mac.”

“My laptop at home originally ran WIndows XP and was getting really slow and freezing all the time. I installed linux on it and it instantly started working faster and everything is just a lot simpler. Not to mention all the applications are free. There is Libre office, which is exactly like Microsoft office, but free. It does word, powerpoint, excell, and all that other stuff. It even opens and saves as Microsoft office files. There is also Gimp which is like photoshop, and a lot more.”

For all the nerds out there, the computer is a single board computer with a 1.2 Gigahertz Arm Processor featuring a 256 MB broadcam wireless chip, Ethernet port, Micro USB power port, SD and USB slot, audio jack, RCA video and HDMI video monitor inputs, and status L.E.D’s all in a 85.60mm by 53.98 mm by 17mm single board that runs any linux distribution. If you have no clue what any of that means, don’t worry just know that it’s awesome.

For every raspberry pi computer purchased the raspberry pi foundation will donate one to kids or schools in poor locations that need computers. Not only that but the University of Cambridge will donate an additional one as well. This device will save schools a lot of money and could be seen around campus in the future.

]]> http://dvthundermedia.com/opinion/2012/01/24/9064/feed/ 0 http://dvthundermedia.com/features/2012/01/24/busy-bee/ http://dvthundermedia.com/features/2012/01/24/busy-bee/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:11:11 +0000 mmcfadden http://dvthundermedia.com/?p=9052

Floegel leads a busy student life

Morgan McFadden, Reporter

Crowded dances with multitudes of dancing bodies, roaring, spirited assemblies and spirit weeks where you will most likely find Harry Potter or maybe even the Mad Hatter: these are some of the things that build an enjoyable high school experience. Student council is part of what makes it all happen.

Tommy Floegel, freshman class president, has dedicated himself to student council and other major commitments . He is also in marching band, percussion band, part of the JV soccer team and is enrolled in all honors classes plus AP Human Geography.

“I’m so busy all week and even on the weekends most of the time. It’s super difficult to balance all my school work and an actuall social life, but it’s possible.” said Floegel.

The young class president shares some strategies to having a stable schedule, “I do my homework the second I get home. I don’t even look at my computer or Xbox because I know that I will get distracted. As much as homework sucks, I feel like it’s worth it in the long run,” said Floegel.

Honors classes have Tommy up to his knees in work, but he finds plenty of time for student council as well. “I wake up early on Mondays and Thursdays to meet with student council. It takes up time but it’s actually really fun since I made a lot of new friends there. It’s definitely a big commitment though. We always try to make everything at Desert Vista the best it can be,” said Floegel.

As difficult as it sounds, Tommy makes time to hang out his friends, Floegel said, “I always try finish my weekend homework as early as possible so I can still chill with my friends. Most of the time they just come over and play Xbox, watch a movie, eat and sometimes we even go mountain biking, it’s so much fun. It’s kind of like a reward for working hard all week.”

“We could have played better but most importantly we tried our best ;It’s a disappointing loss . No loss is ever easy.For now we need to keep our heads high and be prepared for Chandler High  tonight.” said Tinisha Toussaint

Currently, Desert Vista is ranked 7th in state and 267 in the nation, averaging 63.3 points per game,12.3 assist per game,37 rebounds and 10.4 steals per game. This is the best record desert vista girls basketball has ever had, last year was difficult for them, Mesa Mountian View beat them making them lose their first game into the state finals (63-51) , the 2010-2011 season ended with a major downfall. This year they will have to take a step forward  and rise up to their expectations .

“We want to win state so bad , and I know we can do it.” said Jaymee Brugman

Although there are a number of clubs dedicated to specific ethnicities, like SPICE club, Black Student Union, Asian Student Union, and Spanish club, DV still lacks an organization that focuses on understanding diverse back grounds, which is where the Teen Diversity Dialogue kicks in.
“The world we live in is only going to become more diverse and varied,” said Belinda Chiu. “It becomes increasingly important that we learn about ourselves, our neighbors, our communities, and our world.”
In a community with a growing amount of diversity and unique cultural backgrounds, the Teen Diversity Dialogues aims to bring students together who normally would not have gotten the chance to know each other.
“There are so many people at DV, sometimes it feels like I only really know about where I come from and where my friends come from,” said Bengladeshi freshman Arpita Kundu.
Although the discussion groups are small in comparison to the number of people in high school and the Ahwatukee community, sharing experiences gives a better view of other people and teaches students that every story is a different one.
“ The Teen Diversity Dialogue was a great experience for me!” said Natalee Homa, a highschooler who was involved in Diversity Dialogue the first session. “I got to meet new people and express how I felt as well as listen to how others felt on specific topics.”
Because the program aims to give highschoolers a much more in depth understanding of other people’s views, the conversations held by the students are strictly confidential outside of the dialogue.
“We want to provide a safe place for the teens to discuss whatever they like without fear of it going elsewhere, “said Kathy Dietz, Human Relations Commissioner.
“ The good parts about the dialogues were how easy it was to get along with everyone there and discuss topics without feeling like you were being judged,” said Homa.
The last session of Teen Diversity Dialogues had a total of nine students from around different schools in the Tempe District, and those who lead the program are looking to get the word out about it.
“It sounds like something I’d really like to do,” said Angelique Cappo. “A lot of the people I know come from different backgrounds and It just sounds like it would be a cool way to get to know those backgrounds and be a little bit more open minded.”

Angelique Cappo is considering joinging the Teen Diversity Dialogues.

By Kameron Ryals

    Thunder Buddies is a club where we create friendships amongst our students in
the Special Ed department and students with intellectual disabilities. With general ed students we want to create a positive high school experience by attending extra curricular activities, outings with friends, and school sport events. “I have being doing this all year. Me and my friends went and signed up for it on freshmen Friday. It is really fun and we get to make new friends. I plan on doing this all four years because it is just really fun.” said Cailegh Estevez, a freshmen.

“With my buddy, we go outside of school and hang out with them, like go to the movies. I went to a birthday party once and we hang out with them at lunch. I have been doing this since the beginning of the school year. It is really fun and we do a lot of activities with them and I plan on doing this next year.” said Mariah Paulson, a freshmen.

“I actually went to a birthday party and we went to the movies. At lunch I sit with them. I want to do it next year, but I have a lot of things going on so I will try my best to do it next year. It is a really fun experience.” said Cassidy Adams, also a freshmen.

This is the first year doing thunder buddies and will be going on next year. The meetings are every other Tuesday and to get in  go to the meetings during lunchtime. Or just talk to Ms. Marquez in C159, see Mrs. Hinds in the counseling office or talk to Mrs. Groeneveld in the Special Ed department.

The goal for this years relay is 150 team. The normal turn out is around 120 teams. Along with growing teams the committee plans on raising more money. The goal is to raise $150,000 is although every year they make more than that because of the donations that come in later. The plan is to get 150 thousand by the night of relay. Lastly, a total of 150 cancer survivors and care givers at the event is the heftiest goal to reach.

“With survivors we’ve been kind of lacking so its going to be a very big goal but its something we want to try and get,”said team development chair Ashley Roselli “I want to say we had about 40 last year”

The Awhatukee Relay for Life event is the 3rd biggest in the southwest region and the largest student run event. With the theme “Once Upon a Relay” teams come up with creative ways to defeat evil arch-nemesis cancer.

“The name of my relay team is ‘Bibbity Bobbity Boop Cancer’. I want to do relay because my best friends mom got cancer. She’s in remission but that’s why I relay,” said a Relay for Life Captain, junior Sasha Soto.

Mountain Pointe computer lab was flooded with team captains and co-captains signing up their teams for this upcoming Relay event in April. With a turn out of about 60 teams at kick off, the biggest kick off in five years, it is going to be a big a tough year for cancer.

By Sujin Seo

It’s that time of the year again. Relay for Life is coming up just around the corner and DV students are lining up to participate. Team captains are already signing up their teams to be part of the world-wide event to raise awareness for cancer. This event commemorates the lives of the people who have struggled with this disease, recognize their loved ones, and spread the fight against this dreadful illness.

Relay for Life Kickoff started with a spirit week that included a Harry Potter day, Dress Up As Your Favorite Character day, and a Purple-Out. Mark Honaker, the Ceramics teacher, is in charge of this year’s relay and is doing his best to make it a success.

Last year, hundreds of people participated in the relay, including many people from the Desert Vista community, who all united to raise awareness.

Millions of dollars are raised every year and donated to many research facilities. Relay for Life, sponsored by American Cancer Society, contributes funding toward various medical institutions like  National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute. The money has provided funding for low-income women to get screenings for breast and cervical cancer and is continuing to fund studies and research opportunities.

Many students attending Desert Vista are not well informed upon this national crisis. The more a student is brought to awareness of Factory Farming, the more likely they are to make healthier and smarter choices. Most likely, the meat produced for our cafeteria’s food is not organic, grass fed beef, or cage free chicken. This means that the students are being fed bacteria infested, hormone plagued food, which is not good for the well being of the body and most importantly, the brain, “Overuse of antibiotics in animals is causing more strains of drug-resistant bacteria, which is affecting the treatment of various life-threatening diseases in humans” (http://www.organicconsumers.org/Toxic/factoryfarm.cfm). According to www.organicconsumers.org, 80% of US pigs carry pneumonia upon slaughter due to gasses that irritate the animal’s lungs, given off from the excess of manure. When a person consumes this meat, they risk a chance of developing disease carried over through the animal. Approximately “five thousand deaths and 76 million cases of food-borne illness occur annually” (http://www.organicconsumers.org/Toxic/factoryfarm.cfm), many of which are caused from the unhygienic conditions and treatment occurring at these factory farms.

The less educated students here at DVHS are upon the destruction to our bodies caused by these industrialized farms, the less likely they are going to make the right decisions. Students should discuss this devastating topic within an appropriate class, or be better informed upon the plague this food is casting upon our nations health and diet. From unjust animal cruelty to animal waste that is creeping into our water system, these farms are doing nothing but reeking havoc upon the human body and our planets environment.

It is the duty of this school to lead students of Desert Vista to make healthier choices in their diet. It is proven to reduce illness, increase the health of the human brain, and create more energetic personalities. So next time you are out shopping at your loc

al food market, make sure to buy items that claim to be organic or free range. This will increase support towards more local farm owners and dramatically help decrease the large factory owned farms that are devouring our nation.

Works cited:

Quotes/information

http://www.organicconsumers.org/Toxic/factoryfarm.cfm

www.organicconsumers.org

Images

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By Sydney Barendrick

Spirit flags waving, class presidents shouting, and all of the excited students showing their thunder pride, Desert Vista’s annual winter sports assembly took off. Not only were the winter sports represented in the assembly, but awards were given out to Coach Rachel Proudfoot and Desert Vista’s own varsity football team. As people and teams were recognized, DV students, dance team, cheerleaders, and faculty joined together to bring spirit to the winter assembly.

As the students filed into the buzzing gymnasium, the thunder marching band was already in the midst of one of their spirit-lifting songs as the student council rushed around, trying to get every class into their right area.

“The whole gym was crazy, but crazy with spirit,” said Maggie Jenks, a senior. “You could tell that everyone was pumped and ready to show their class pride.”
With student council busying away, the cheerleaders were also belting out catchy cheers that boosted up the spirit around them.

After the gym had quieted down for a minute, Coach Rachel Proudfoot, a Physical Educations coach at DV, was presented with the Husband and Wife Law Firm award. Due to her long hours put into  P.E. classes, then coaching a basketball team after school, Proudfoot was recognized with the outstanding reward.

“She definitely deserved that award,” said Katie Saline, a freshman . “I have her as my P.E. coach, and she is an amazing and hardworking person, who deserves to be recognized for what she does.”
Soon after Coach Proudfoot’s award ceremony, there was a visit from the U.S. marines. These marines weren’t at the assembly just for fun, but to present the  varsity football team with a huge trophy, that only 50 teams out of the whole nation achieve. This award was for an outstanding and the best football team out of state. The team was presented with a two feet tall, bronze trophy and a banner to hang around school.

“It was amazing to see the looks on the football player’s faces as they held the trophy high above their heads,” said Nikhil Patel, a spirited freshman. “They looked proud. Proud for the coaches, proud for the school, and proud for themselves.”

It’s that time of the year again. Relay for Life is coming up just around the corner and DV students are lining up to participate. Team captains are already signing up their teams to be part of the world-wide event to raise awareness for cancer. This event commemorates the lives of the people who have struggled with this disease, recognize their loved ones, and spread the fight against this dreadful illness.
Relay for Life Kickoff started with a spirit week that included a Harry Potter day, Dress Up As Your Favorite Character day, and a Purple-Out. Mark Honaker, the Ceramics teacher, is in charge of this year’s relay and is doing his best to make it a success.
Last year, hundreds of people participated in the relay, including many people from the Desert Vista community, who all united to raise awareness.
“I love how the entire event is about you and your team working together to fight against the same common evil. Mr. Honaker [...] does a great job at representing the Desert Vista relay teams, and we are lucky to have him,” said Austen Pearce, a freshman.
Millions of dollars are raised every year and donated to many research facilities. Relay for Life, sponsored by American Cancer Society, contributes funding toward various medical institutions like National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute. The money has provided funding for low-income women to get screenings for breast and cervical cancer and is continuing to fund studies and research opportunities.
“Relay for Life is such an inspiring cause. And it’s really fun!” said Elizabeth Boelter, an enthusiastic freshman.
Mr. Honaker is doing an excellent job hosting this year’s Relay for Life at DV and students are already excited to participate. The relay will start in mid-April but participants are encouraged to start preparing for it now. In order to complete the full experience of Relay for Life, DV students will unite together to participate and help a cause that overpowers the world.