ODYSSEY DEADLINE FOR SENIORS

**ATTENTION ALL SENIORS **

The deadline for Odyssey courses is June 1st. If you have not completed all of your requirements you will not be eligible for graduation in June, NO EXCEPTIONS!!

Report Cards

Hello All,

I have great news! You now have until April 12th to improve your Odyssey Scores and complete classes, the first student to complete a course before April 10th will win a special incentive (electronic). Enjoy your break.

-Ms. Carr

Safety for Single Women, Sometimes it takes more than common sense.

" I have seen more reports of young women disappearing. In the past, there were a larger Today’s times are more dangerous than they were before. Most single, “independent” women believe they’re invincible; but the new attitude that many women have taken places them at risk. For example, jogging alone in the middle of the night unless you are with a friend, have a weapon or accompanied by a large protective dog is just plain dumb."

-M.C..

What are some things you can do to be safe in your home.

·         Get a CCW or a shotgun

·         Never leave your home completely dark; whether you’re there or not.

·         If you will be out of town for more than a few days try to get a house-sitter or refer to number 2.

·         Get a dog

·         Install an alarm system

Have male visitors (you never want to leave the illusion that you’re alone)

·         Be creative (use decorative household that can easily transfer into weapons)

·         Establish a safe hiding place, should there be a sudden intruder

·         Leave the radio or television on when you’re gone.

·         Be aware of your surroundings when traveling to and from your home. It would be a good idea to change your route (especially if you have a set work schedule)

How can you stay safe outside of your home?

·         Carry Mace/Pepper Spray

·         Take a Martial Arts or self-defense class

·         Travel in groups as often as possible

·         ALWAYS, check your backseat before getting into your vehicle.

·         Park in well lite areas.

·         If a person is trying to get your attention while driving or insinuating that there is an issue, do not pull over.

·         Check your mirrors constantly while driving, people will follow you, so while your yapping on the phone or listening to the radio, you could be leading them to your home or an area where they can pick you up quickly.

·         Yeah you’re grown, but always let someone know when you’re meeting a new person, and that person’s information. IF you don’t have it, then you should not be meeting with him or her. Simple as that.

·         Don’t pick up guys from bus stops, off the street.

·         My favorite, if you know that you must pump gas DO NOT take your purse in with you. A woman standing at the pump with her purse on her side is certainly targets

       Online Dating/Dating

·         You can meet a psycho anywhere so you can apply these to dating in general. 

THE  FIRST MEETING SHOULD ALWAYS BE IN A PUBLIC PLACE, LIKE A RESTAURANT. BETTER YET HAVING A FRIEND IN THE BACKGROUND SOMEWHERE ISN’T SUCH A BAD IDEA EITHER.

·         2. No matter how much chemistry you think you may have with this guy, don’t invite him to your home or go to his after the first date.

·         3. These are new times and people have different ideas on dating and how soon or not intimacy should take place. If you don’t know where he lives, works, or what his last name is; you may want to think twice about what you have been doing for this time came.

·         4. Refer to three, if a guy refuses to give you his personal information then he is definitely hiding something cut them off. Make it seem casual

·          Run a background check (ties in to number three and four)? I have been shocked many times, yet grateful      

       at the same time.

·         Be careful of who you give your phone number to online. I had a friend who was talking to a guy in prison; don’t ask me how he got access to a cell phone but its being done. They were buddies on Facebook and began to talk casually. Of course it wasn't revealed until they had been talking for a while. Now, a person that was a violent felon turned all new religion has their name and phone number.

·         Online dating sites are not 100%. It’s not like they run background checks on people. How do you think predators lure children? It’s no different. You can be looking at a handsome face and a serial killer could be behind the keyboard. It’s an extreme example, but so what.

·         Test their mental state with one exercise. Ignore a few phone calls to see what happens.  If they’re a psychotic stalker you will know. The first sign of mental instability  has to be addressed abruptly, and a wise decision has to be made to continue or terminate communication.

·         It’s terrible that I have to say this, but women really need to stop sending these naked to half naked photos to these men they barely know. The new term is “thirst”. Are you seriously that desperate for attention? Just to slide this in, I wouldn't recommend sending naked to half naked pics to any guy, phones are stolen, and things beyond human control happen. Also, sometimes when you think you know a person you truly don’t.  Ok, I’ll say it if you just have to do it, don’t have any identifying marks and cut your head off for crying out loud. They can use their imagination.

·         Most importantly, if there any unusual signs of possessiveness or anger do not take the relationship any further. I've heard about countless stories (some of the people I know personally) lose their life, something important or someone because they chose to stay in a violent relationship. There IS NO EXCUSE and no REAL MAN will put his hands on a woman that he supposedly loves. There are too many options to get out, don’t become a statistic. Just think, if you decide to have children and they have to witness this type of behavior? A vicious cycle will take place or they will be affected mentally.

      In closing, I know I’m not a know it all but I've had experience in the areas that I mentioned. We are all human, and are subject to make mistakes. Spreading information is more effective and important than sharing pics of missing people, which I still do…hoping that it will spread the word. We are living in some dangerous times and unfortunately being on high alert could mean life or death…peace. 

Natural Hair-The Black Woman's Struggle

As a child I can remember my mother complaining about my hair and how difficult it was to comb, etc..etc. At the age of 9 a chemical relaxer was put in my hair and just about every strain fell out. Black people as a whole are guilty of downing one another. I trace these issues back to the time of slavery, when darker-skinned blacks were treated far worse than the lighter-skinned ones. The division of the black race began there. The more European you look the better you are. As generations passed these sick ideals were planted inside the heads of our children. It makes me sad to hear young women and girls (some as young as six) talking about what good and bad hair is. I thought having hair on your head was a good thing no matter what the texture. Society makes us believe that Europeans hold the standard of beauty and every other non European woman has to assimilate in order to be accepted by society. It is up to us to change that.

I have seen so many woman of color choose to wear their natural hair and I applaud their effort. I understand how difficult the transition can be. Once you have grown accustomed to a particular way of doing things it's hard to change. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Black women in general are more self-conscious about their hair than any other group of women and we will spend top dollar to make sure our hair looks it's best. The standard excuse I hear is "I can't live without a perm" Really? are we that insecure? You will risk your health and well-being just to have straight hair? One thing I will surely agree with is the creative ability Black women have when it comes to hair-styling. If you wan't a straight look, why not wear a weave? 75% of Black women do it anyway. I think it's up to us to change the negative thinking and learn to accept our natural beauty. All of the fault does not lie on women, there are several men (Black) that do not accept and ridicule women that choose to wear their God given beauty. We have to do better.

There is a major problem in corporate America. I had a girlfriend tell me a few years back she didn't want to wear braids at her job (she worked for one of the three major automotive companies) Her hair was falling out and her scalp unhealthy and yet she continued to poison her system with chemicals in fear of what her colleagues would think. I didn't agree with her at the time, but I can certainly understand how that could be an issue. So, what can be done? If you have a natural hair and there is an interview, wear a straight weave and then resume to wearing your natural hair, If there is an issue after that then you have a discrimination suite. Sometimes you have to outsmart your enemy.

http://blackgirllonghair.com/2012/07/5-reasons-natural-hair-should-not-be-viewed-as-unprofessional/?utm_source=crowdignite.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=crowdignite.com

Finally, most recently there has been talk about Ms. Gabby Douglas. Instead of the black community praising her for her accomplishments they spent time focusing on her hair because it was not up to par..for who? Do people realize how much training and sacrifice was made in order for her to reach this level? How ignorant and shallow of the people who made negative comments. This child's mother sacrificed everything she had to make sure that her daughter was a success and you want to sit back and talk about her hair? What a pathetic society we live in. Anyway, a young lady wrote a poem about this situation and I will end it here. I think everyone should listen and take heed. The name of the poem is called "Ponytail"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMmcUSAznCs&feature=share

~M.C~

The Idiot Box-Rant

The idiot box a.k.a television was one of the greatest technical creations in my opinion. However, it is now being used to manipulate and control the weak. It's amazing to see how much television has taken over the lives of so many adults and more importantly our children. Children are being raised by television. The morality of society has taken a drastic drop; and I blame a large portion of it on television. One way to free yourself from this is to stop watching. My mindset and overall attitude began to improve when I stopped watching television.

The main question I get is, "What do you do?" What do I do? there is plenty to do.I read, research, volunteer, work, help a neighbor etc..The average American spends around six hours a day glued  the idiot box. There are so many pressing matters going on in the world and I see more attention being placed on these senseless reality shows. I enjoy using Facebook, one of the worlds top social networks. If I had a nickle for every update I see about a reality show or some entertainer that could give a rats ass about the average person then I would be rich. There was a famous quote that said "If you want to hide the truth from the masses then put it in a book". Reading romance novels or other fiction does not constitute a well read well informed individual.

I'm sorry to hurt your feelings but everything you see on television isn't real. The news included. A prime example of mass manipulation was the events that took place during 9-11. If people actually took the time to do some research and not rely on the news to feed you like a baby then you could clearly see there was a conspiracy and the main objective was to justify what was being done to people in the Middle East along with slowly taking our civil liberties away. The majority of us are so caught up in Reality T.V. drama and talk show garbage that you are too blind to see what is happening before you. I challenge you to question some of the things you see and hear. How are people supposed to become upstanding citizens when your heads are filled with garbage and you are allowing your children's heads to be filled with garbage? It's just a question. What you see with your eyes can strongly affect your mind and your thoughts. It's ok to watch television if what you are watching has some substance and your not spending a part time jobs worth of hours sitting in front of it.

The sick world we live in!

I am beginning to get the feeling that something major is about to happen in this world. I won't necessarily say the end of the world but it seems like there are more cruel and perverted crimes being committed against children. I have seen at least three different stories where a child was the victim of a kidnapping, rape and/or murder. What does this truly mean? For the believers, no matter what your religious-spiritual background is....does this mean that God is slowly calling his children home or is there more evil in the world than ever before? If you want to look at this from a different standpoint. Perhaps the population is out of control? I thought there were enough poisons being exposed to people through the atmosphere, food, ect. I guess I just have a huge problem with wrapping my mind around something like that.

The pedophiles, OMG. Everyone hates them right? Well, most people do. What we fail to recognize is these people were molested as children (9 times out of ten) . However, there is still not much sympathy for the pedophile. People say things like. "He/She should have known it was wrong and sought help", or "Why didn't they think about how it felt when it happened to them". Well, I'm no therapist but I can guess that it has something to do with the way people handle traumatic experiences or how it is dealt with if it is ever brought out. Most people won't tell a soul for years and years later. I really can't wrap my brain around people that molest their own children...I think that is a topic for another day.

I guess I just needed to vent about all of these negative things I am seeing, especially around the special holiday season. I just know one thing, it will make my year if I do not hear about anymore kidnappings, molestation, torture and or murder of anymore children. Especially at the hands of their own parents. I guess some things are just not meant to be understood.

Christmas?

I guess I am just too real for some people. I know everyone has heard at least one person say that and they question their sincerity. Is that person saying that because It sounds like the right thing to say at the time? Are they saying it to impress someone else? Who knows? What is my definition of something that is real? A real person is someone that doesn't feel the needs to sugarcoat "unfriendly" issues or topics. You won't tell someone what they want to hear; you will tell them what they need to hear. I do believe it's déclassé for someone to avoid using tact, you can brutally honest without being cruel. I already realize I am on a totally different level than most people...that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm smarter. I just happen to be well informed and not willing to believe everything I hear. I have definitely had some "discussions" with my mother and her beliefs vs. my beliefs. My beliefs about holidays and religion. I agreed at the age of 13 to stop celebrating x-mas in its ordinary fashion (I use x because the holiday is a shame and does not truly represent Christ) that may offend some Christian people but I believe it's time to stop being spoon fed and do some real research. I don't shop on black Friday or do join the rest of the crazy people fighting for deals. For years I would simply visit family and have a nice dinner. My interest has decreased dramatically. I honestly don't want to go home for Christmas. I would rather get some sleep and eat Chinese. However, I will sacrifice my own personal happiness to appease my mother and do something special for the kids at the community center I work for. Of course here is always a time and a place for everything. I believe in spending time with people you love and spending money on them when the mood strikes you, not because you have been conditioned to do so. I love to hear about the Christmas dinners for the homeless, I have even volunteered to serve dinner on those days but what about the rest of the year? Homelessness and people starving in America should only be recognized during x-mas? I think not. What is wrong with society? I believe it shows that there are a large number of people who cannot think for themselves...one word..Pathetic!