MTV Video Music Awards
Monday, September 28, 2015
The 2015 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 30, 2015 at the Microsoft Center in Los Angeles, California. Many people were excited to watch the show, hosted by the unique and vibrant artist, Miley Cyrus. Cyrus joked on stage that MTV chose her to host the show to prevent her from participating in another crazy performance. Yet, to close the awards ceremony, Cyrus performed and announced the release of her new studio album “Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz”.
Anyone could agree that this year’s MTV VMA’s was quite a show as many interesting announcements were made by the celebrities. Despite Nicki Minaj’s and Taylor Swift’s altercation on Twitter, the two singers sang “Bad Blood” and hugged on stage after the performance.
As that feud was resolved, another began when Minaj called out Miley Cyrus. After nominations were released, Minaj went on a Twitter rant about the Anaconda video not being nominated for Video of the Year. A few days before the show, “Buzz Feed” claimed that Miley Cyrus responded, “I didn’t follow it. You know what I always say? Not that this is jealousy, but jealousy does the opposite of what you want it to -- that’s a yoga mantra. People forget that the choices that they make and how they treat people in life affect you in a really big way. If you do things with an open heart and you come at things with love, you would be heard and I would respect your statement. But I don’t respect your statement because of the anger that came with it. And it’s not anger like, ‘Guys, I’m frustrated about some things that are a bigger issue.’ You made it about you. Not to sound like a b-, but that’s like, ‘Eh, I didn’t get my V.M.A.’”
Angered by Cyrus’s comments from the New York Times article, Minaj swore at Cyrus on stage. Cyrus defended herself by claiming that the media tries to manipulate many situations. Instantly, Minaj’s microphone was shut off, but she was still attempting to speak with Cyrus on stage. Whose side are you on? Share your opinions online at bladragontales.blogspot.com
Not only were there feuds on live television, but the audience also learned that they will have a potential presidential candidate for 2020. Kanye West was presented with the Vanguard Award by Taylor Swift. He presented a 15 minute speech to accept his career defining award and even announced his 2020 presidential intentions. In 2020, do you think that West will be a great fit as president in the United States? Share your opinions online at bladragontales.blogspot.comBy: Chelsey Skeete '16
Meet Mr. Henninger
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
As Boston Latin Academy’s 10th headmaster, Mr. Henninger is committed to make BLA better again by listening to the voice of the students and implementing these ideas into new ways to improve the school. You probably have seen Mr. Henninger in the hallways before. Last year, he worked as the director of the English and History departments, overseeing 28 teachers and 2 librarians. Mr. Henninger comes in as headmaster very well qualified. He holds a B.S. in economics, as well as an M.S., and C.A.S., each with a concentration in education. For the past 20 years, Mr. Henninger has served in a variety of teaching a position roles. Overall, he has supervised about 40-50 schools undertaking about 70 staff and faculty positions.
I sat down with Mr. Henninger and asked him a couple of questions for his plans for BLA…..
Who is Mr. Henninger?
“You can’t summarize a man in one line. I am a principal, a parent, I’m a coach. I’m so many things.”
How long have you been teaching for?
“I started teaching in 1989. I’ve just aged well.”
How was your experience in school as a young child?
“ I grew up in an environment where I couldn’t tell the difference to black, white, green or yellow.”
What is most important to you about BLA?
“We have a school with one voice. What’s relevant is your success. My degrees haven’t taught me have to find your voices, my practice has. I’m very transparent and honest. There will be no faking the funk. If I don't know, guess what I will say. I don’t know. I want the reality.”
What do you think that you can offer to BLA?
“What i think and what i view really doesn’t mean a hell of all a lot, until I hear your voices. My job is to support your process in learning. I come here everyday because I want to come, not because I have to come.”
What is the best part of being an educator?
“The best part of my day is talking with you guys, by far. I’ve never not liked my job teaching, being in education, never. And the day i don’t enjoy you will see the back of my head because I will leave.”
Any final comments that you would like BLA students to know?
“You should see me as one of the most approachable people that you have ever made in you life. I want everyone to be able to be heard and have the voice. I will never not listen to you. I will never ignore you. And if you see me in the hallway all you have to say is a simple ‘hello’.”
By Tinyan Omere '16
Descending the depths of Latin Academy’s basement may be a mysterious experience for some, a scary one for others, and can even spark a sense of adventure for most students who travel to the school building’s ground floor for reasons such as accessing the Cave. But for the cast and crew of the pending sequel to Ghostbusters, which is scheduled to be released on July 15th, 2016, BLA’s basement served as a suitable movie set for a portion of the filming for this sci-fi comedy film. In fact, filming for the movie began in Boston on June 17th, 2015, though the plot of the movie is actually based in New York City. In order to establish the overall feel and legitimate appearance of NYC, areas of Boston were transformed in order to accurately capture elements of the most populated city in the country.
In late August, Latin Academy’s basement was developed into a movie set that was inaccessible by the public for security reasons. On the outside looking in, one can only imagine how the basement was transformed and will be featured on the big screen, considering all that must go into shooting, directing, and producing this $154 million budgeted film. One Latin Academy student who had the opportunity to catch sight of some of the action recounts on her sights from the outside, “I was just sitting on the bus one day in late August looking out the window when suddenly, I saw tons of large trucks and trailers I knew had to be for a film set. I immediately got off the bus to investigate the scene. I had suspected it but was very surprised that it actually was the set of Ghostbusters.” (Jacarrea Garraway ’16) The numerous trucks and trailers that spanned the grounds of Latin Academy truly provided much excitement for members of the public like Garraway, who gathered in the interest of observing the film crew at work.
“While I did not get to explore any part of the basement during that time, I will just mention that it was a very low key atmosphere from the outside, but I could tell that there was a lot of distress and commotion coming from within the basement walls. Many crew members were running back and forth between the basement door and trucks. One time, I even saw them bring out the official Ghostbuster machines the women carry on their backs in the movie!”
Ghostbusters 2 is said to revive the supernatural comedy franchise that was established on June 8th, 1984, with the original film revolving around New York City parapsychologists whose jobs are to discover and capture ghosts. The saga is set to continue with stars Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate Mckinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth, Neil Casey, and Andy Garcia. The next installment introduces Wiig’s and Mccarthy’s respective characters as a dynamic duo of unrecognized authors who team up to defend Manhattan against a ghost invasion and ultimately save the world.
BLA Renovates Entrance and Upgrades Bell System
Monday, September 21, 2015
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| Students were welcomed back to school with a renovated entrance in the school colors. |
As students walked through the doors of BLA on the first day of school, they saw something new: the new entrance of the school was painted! The railings were painted black, the doors on the inside were painted black, and the floors were cleaned. Also, there is a sign that says the school's name, a mural of a dragon, the school’s mascot, and a list of BLA and Girl’s Latin School headmasters. As explained by our new headmaster, Mr. Henninger, during the class assembly on the first day of school, the project was funded by the Girl's Latin Association. This project brings a fresh look to BLA, and makes it look nicer. Many students have said that they like it, and that it looks really nice.
Another renovation the school made is the new bell system. Students have complained that they cannot hear the bell. Sophia Madden ‘16 says, “It is too quiet to hear if people are doing group work in a class or in the cafeteria.” Mary Angjeli ‘16 passionately says “I hate it. It sounds exactly like the sound an airplane intercom makes when the pilot is about to speak. Also, you can’t hear it.” She then continued to say, referring to the new painted entrance, “Unlike the bell, I actually love it! It gives off school spirit.” Another student, Amran Hassan ‘16, stated “I hate the bell. I can’t really hear it, and I have good hearing. It sounds like a whale.” Sonny Diep ‘16 stated “It’s too low. It sounds like a ship. Last year was too loud. This year was too low. We need that middle sound #goldilocks.” Clearly, several students are upset about the new bell system, and have many opinions on what it sounds like. Possibly, students and teachers will all get used to it, and it will not cause problems such as being late to class because students could not hear it.
Overall, the renovated entrance and the upgraded bell system are two projects that attempt to make BLA seem nicer, and be a better place to be throughout the day.By Dimitrios Moshovitis '16
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| Technology teacher Ms. Roche is forced to resort to pen and paper to complete daily tasks. |
On countless occasions, a student or faculty member has become very familiar with the school’s wifi system. The wireless internet here at BLA just isn’t up to par. The city’s hotspots for free wifi have faster and more reliable internet access than the wifi in one of Boston’s 3 exam schools.
We are currently living in the 21st century, an era where new technological advancements are being made every day. As time goes on, we are only becoming more dependent on the internet. I don’t need to list the advantages that wifi brings to a learning environment, because most of us are already familiar with them. But what has to be addressed are what problems internet access brings to a high school and what problems are indigenous and specific to BLA.
A problem with the wifi is, obviously, that it doesn’t work. There has been an increasing struggle for students and faculty to be able to use the internet effectively. It has gotten to the point where some classes can’t run the way the teacher has planned because the internet would fail to load a PowerPoint presentation or an important educational video. There have been too many times where teachers had to think quickly and improvise an entirely new lesson due to BLA’s internet failure. U.S History teacher, Ms.Brown, commented, “The inconsistency of the school’s wifi makes it difficult for teachers to depend on it for class instruction”. The school’s wifi, described as inconsistent, is unreliable. Frequently, the internet will crash in the middle of the teacher’s lesson, which disrupts the class and takes away from the student’s learning.
An additional problem with the wifi is the availability of it to students. Smartphones, a prevalent piece of technology readily available to most BLA students, are basically handheld computers. They are useful for a quick Google search or email. Unfortunately, BLA members can’t use them to their advantage because the wifi almost never works. When asked her opinion about BLA’s wifi, Christy Benjamin ‘16 stated, “It is very slow. It takes a long time for the whole class to be on the same page”. She’s referring to the popular situation where a class would be asked to log onto a specific website/powerpoint so that they may proceed with the lesson. However, many students run into trouble when their pages aren’t loading because the wi-fi gave out or the website crashed.
Students feel that the wifi should not only be improved school wide, but also that the password should be provided to every student. Only those who have the wifi password, something that the faculty tried to keep a secret of, can use their internet. “It should be open to everyone” said Brendan Griffin ‘16. He was referring to the sad truth that students aren’t allowed to have access to the wifi. Because students aren’t supposed to have the wifi password, they are even more compelled to find it out from others.
Denying access to the school’s wifi from the school’s own students is like a nursing cat denying her kittens of milk. It’s there for them to use, so why can’t they have it? So with the aforementioned new computers that BLA has acquired, how are they going to be used if the wifi is not good enough to even access the web? What’s the point?By Sophia Dorsainvil-Johnson ‘16
Boston Calling Prices Alienate Teens
Thursday, September 17, 2015
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Sienna Kwami '17
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