Tomorrow When the War Began: Review

‘Tomorrow When the War Began’ is about a group of teenagers who went camping for fun in the holidays in the Australian Bush. It was supposed to be a great time but it soon turned sour as they realised their country had been taken over by allied forces. They decide that they should fight back because no one else would. ‘Tomorrow When the War Began’ is the first book of the series; its duplicate in movie form was released in late 2010. Both the book and the movie show differences in the plot, characters and the setting.

The plot in the movie has changed to the book to better appeal to a wider range of people and to shorten the otherwise lengthy story.
In the movie it has skipped some of the minor details of the story and rushes the rest to satisfy those die hard fans. In a movie form the differences did help the movie to be more commercial but it might he picked up by the fans.

The characters in the movie are well cast and suit the roles of each individual. Each character’s personality was prominent throughout the movie. For example their reaction and emotions when they discovered what had happened.

Similar to the characters, the setting is also true to what is described in the book and pictured in the movie. Like the town and the showground looked realistic and not like the whole thing was made out of a heap of cardboard.

‘Tomorrow When the War’ began is a good example of how a book can be turned into a movie. Though there are some things that have changed it benefits the movie to help it appeal to a larger audience.

By Kaitlin

Book vs. Movie: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Many people for years have thoroughly enjoyed the Harry Potter novels, by J.K.

Rowling. These 7 books have a huge fan base, which all began in her first novel,

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. With the movie first released in 2001,

critics and fans were both eager to see how the movie stacked up to the highly

regarded novel.

On reading the novel and viewing the movie, I thoroughly enjoyed the way in

which David Heyman (producer) and his team presented the novel. The story

line was very similar to that of the book, which in my opinion was a very

positive aspect.

A number of characters in the book were not included in the movies, though.

Characters such as Peeves, Professor Sprout, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy did not

appear, but were not major characters for the plot development.

I liked most of the casting of the characters, especially Hermione Granger

(played by young actress, Emma Watson). Her clever and snooty nature was

perfectly portrayed by Watson. Daniel Radcliffe for the protagonist, Harry

Potter, did surprise me as I had my own personal interpretation from the books.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and recommend it to all Harry Potter fans.

By Alison

Pressure for a Model

Every photo young teens see of models or celebrities forces them to feel like they need to look and be like them. But what we don’t know is how the models feel when they are on billboards, magazines and front page covers. The comments they receive and the pressure to be that “Girl, everyone dreams of looking like”

Two years ago model Adriana Smith suffered from Anorexia, Bulimia and Binge Eating. It all started from her first photo shoot for Victoria Secret, when she had to model a revealing bikini piece, alongside model Miranda Kerr. She tells of how when she was in the change room she pinched every piece of “fat” on her body and started screaming. But of course there was not a piece of fat insight.

Before every photo shoot Adriana would make her self vomit, and starve for the whole day, and binge when she got home. This happened for over 3 months until Adriana’s body wasn’t functioning properly. Adriana collapsed during a photo shoot and was rushed to hospital; she was admitted for anorexia, bulimia and binge eating.

Adriana now sees a psychotherapist, she visits the children’s hospitals for kids with illnesses like she used to have . Adriana still does modeling but doesn’t let her self get out of control, she only models for causes she believes in, Adriana is the new cover model for Butterfly Foundation.

“Modeling isn’t about looking fantastic all the time and having the body of a goddess, there are sacrifices and limits” Adriana told us. “but it can also be the most fun and best times of your life”.

Below are resources you can call if you/or a friend is suffering from a eating disorder/anorexia/binge eating/bulimia

Butterfly foundation- 1800 33 4673
EDV- 1300 550 236

By Emma

IS THE END OF THE WORLD NEAR?

There have been many predictions of the end of the world (1988, 1992, 2000) and clearly, none of these dates have proven to be correct. However, 2012 is believed to be a definite end to our Earth. Wise men, fortune tellers, scientists etc. have preached this news due to the Mayan calendar finishing one of its great cycles on the 21st December, 2012 at the exact time of 11:11. On this date, it is alarming news that everything will be completely wiped out including the existence of the human race.

The end of the world will come in a series of cataclysmic events throughout the world. Unstoppable natural disasters such as Floods, tsunamis, bushfires, cyclones, unbelievably strong winds and unknown others will wipe out our Earth on the dreaded date arising quickly in December this year.

Unlike the other predicted dates, there are more precise answers as to why the end of the world will occur on the 21st December 2012. This date marks the conclusion of a b’ak’tun time period in the Mesoamerican Long count calendar which was used and associated with the Maya civilisation becoming known as the Mayan Calendar. This written and inscribed material of the long count calendar has survived from before the European conquest. This long count calendar was linear rather than cyclical and was kept roughly in units of 20 days made a unial, 18 unials (360 days) made a tun, 20 tuns made a k’atun and 20 k’atuns (144,000 days) made up a b’ak’tun. Therefore, bringing the end of the world to 21st December 2012.

This phenomenon has spread throughout the world, through the media, campaigns, public talk etc. More than 50,000 questions since 2007 have been posted on different websites asking about this date of the end of the world, they wonder whether they should kill themselves and children before this date comes to kill them. This spreading news has so far caused one suicide due to the fear of the world ending in the 2012 apocalypse.

However, amongst all the believers that are certain the world will end this year, there are millions of people that are not persuaded by the idea. These people plan to continue their everyday lives and not prepare at all for the date. On the other hand, the people that are ready for it are going out and making reckless decisions, spending all their money and some even achieving their bucket lists!! This group of people are constructing bunkers underground, in hope that they’ll survive.

No-one knows for sure if anything can save us, no-one knows for sure if this date will be another false prediction, but we can only prepare and wait for this date; 21st December 2012.

News Report By Jaz & Chloe

Private Schools – the more you pay, the less you get

It seems that private schools not only leave you with less money in the bank, they leave you with less knowledge of homework given, less school days and less teacher-student teaching. So why do parents pay so much for private schooling and in return the computers do all the teaching?
“My children are getting somewhat of a good education. Technology is a helpful tool though technology alone is cold,” explained one parent in a recent interview. “I fail to see why private school students require more holidays then public school students.”
Why is it that private schools students have nine week terms and a free day at the beginning and end of every term? Private school parents pay for the education their children receive, but why is it that they have less schooling and never seem to do homework?
“I would like to be aware of the homework given to my children, rather than having to dig through layers of technology to find the assigned homework buried on the schools website,” explained the parent.
It seems that the more you pay, the slacker the schools become on providing the parents with information on the homework given. If you’re not paying for your children’s education, what are you paying for? The teacher’s salary? The buildings? The canteen food? Probably all of these. Although teachers may be giving homework, students don’t usually go home and say to their parents: I have homework for this subject, this subject and this is what I have to do. “Parents should be sent a notification or email when homework has been set for their child in a particular class, what it is and when it is due.” He could be right on the mark with this proposal, but would it help?
Technology is becoming a big part of today’s culture and school life, but is there a limit? Students are using technology for their social networking purposes, as well as for every class in school, and now at home for homework. So is there a time when it all becomes too much? It may be a bit old fashioned, but surely students would work much better with the care and teaching from actual teachers, rather than computer screens and the Internet.
By Karynn

Should teacher’s salary be dependent on the success of the students?

Some people might say no. They could say that for any other profession the pay does not drop just because of a client’s welfare. This is protected by law. This is true but is their client a child that has their whole life ahead of them? A child that is not old enough to decide if they should be educated? A child that will one day rely on his school results in order to choose the right career for themselves?
People could say that it is not the teachers fault if a student does not want to learn. It is the opposite. It is entirely the teachers fault if the student acts up and does not get the results they can. A teacher should make the class fun and engaging for the students. They should have learnt how to deal with the age groups and be able to keep them focussed. It is their job. Teachers are not employed to stand up the front of a classroom and talk for an hour and fifteen minutes, or to hand out worksheets. Teachers are employed to teach their students and when a student does not get the results, the teacher obviously did not do their job properly. People put it on the students to give it their best and learn. This is rubbish because most children do not want to learn. They are forced to come to school most days; whereas teachers are not. Yes it is their job which they are required to attend; but it is also their job that they chose to do. They brought it on themselves. If they did not want to put in 100% they should have chosen a different career.
The Board of Education are already discussing the idea of teacher’s salaries being dependant on student’s results. 60% of parents are supporting the idea, saying, “We need to upgrade the quality of our educators. Dependant salaries will make them work harder.” The board is appalled at the lack of effort put in to help each individual student. We all have different ways of learning, some are visual and some learn by putting things into action. Teachers are failing to incorporate the different styles of learning into their lesson plans.
Teachers should also make an effort to relate to their students. Some say, “How can we? We are adults and they are children.” This is preposterous! It all comes down to their choice of job. A teacher MUST be able to relate to their students. They may be adults but they were kids once. Times have changed, teachers no longer should be these hard, strict educators, but should be compassionate mentors. Teacher’s salaries should be dependent on the success of the student because it will increase the quality of learning in youth.
By Anette

Should the watermelon be renamed?

The watermelon; a large, round, pink fruit. Yes PINK fruit, yet its name is the WATERmelon. Water is clear, not orange or purple or PINK! This name, ‘watermelon’ gives a completely wrong perception of the fruit. People would imagine a clear fruit or even a blue fruit because of the colour of the sea. This is not what they get; they get a sphere with an outer shell of green and an inside of pink! Ridiculous! The colour of a fruit can very much determine if a person will buy or eat it.
Imagine walking around in a store one day – looking for some fruit to eat. You read the name, “Watermelon.” You think it sounds interesting. A clear fruit! You think, How odd – I might just buy it to experience eating a nearly invisible fruit! But little did you know when you arrived home, all excited to eat your invisible fruit; you slice it open and find that it is not clear. It was not clear at all! It was PINK! Can you imagine the disappointment you would feel?
Enough on colour, there are plenty of other reasons why the watermelon should be renamed. What about its taste? It’s full of sugar – completely different to water. Water is a plain taste, a taste you can’t even really taste. A taste that can in no way be even remotely related to that of the watermelon.
Why on earth was it named the watermelon in the first place? It’s juicy enough to be called a juice-melon, and sweet enough to be called a sweet-melon! So why a WATERmelon? The person who thought up the name must be very odd, thinking up a name so utterly different from the actual fruit! The watermelon should not have ever been called the watermelon.

By Anette

The Bieber Obsession-Healthy or Not?

Having an obsession does not physically harm a person. Justin Bieber is the biggest teen heartthrob in the world. He is so incredibly successful and is loved for his beautiful, flawless voice, music and personality.
There is nothing wrong with having an obsession with him because he is a good role model. He is a good, kind and thoughtful Christian person.

Life has not always been good for Justin. He was raised by a single mother who gave birth to him at only 18 years old. His parents separated when he was only a few months old. He lived in a tiny town in Canada and was very poor. So poor that he slept on a sofa bed in public housing. Until he was discovered on YouTube, signed to a record label and moved to the USA.
You are not doing any harm to yourself by having an obsession with Justin Bieber because he inspires people and writes songs that really mean something to him. He doesn’t make music to be successful, he writes music for his fans.

Bieber also encourages people to believe in their dreams because his craziest dreams came true. He writes music to inspire people and wants everyone to believe in their dreams.
“I’m telling you, people. Every day we wake up is another blessing. Follow your dreams and don’t let anyone stop you. Never say never.” –Justin Bieber.

Bieber is a Christian and he does not write songs with raunchy lyrics or to encourage alcohol or partying. Justin Bieber is a good role model and every teenager with dreams should look up to him, because he never thought putting a few videos of him singing on YouTube would make him famous and loved by millions of fans who believe in him and support him.
“Haters will say what they want, but their hate will never stop you from chasing your dream” ― Justin Bieber

By Alexandra

Are teenagers too caught up in their celebrity obsessions?

Teenage obsessions over celebrities have been a normal part of growing up, particularly with girls. But are these little teenage obsessions of our generation becoming something that everyone is getting too caught up in?

Recently, we had Justin Bieber come to Sydney for a three-night stay from July 15th to July 18th. He was a special guest on the most popular morning news show, Sunrise. That morning, fans from all over the country lined up for 20 hours straight, and numerous of fans had to be helped away by security. It even included of some fans being admitted into hospital. It was such mayhem that they had 35 security guards, 30 police and 8 first aid officers. 60,000 people applied for a ticket to see Justin Bieber perform three songs. Child psychologist Sally-Anne McCormack said “Remember when Justin Bieber was on Sunrise? It was really dangerous, kids got trampled in the crowd”.

Teenage obsessions over celebrities are becoming very unhealthily. Crying, fainting and staying up at all hours trying to spot their celebrity obsessions is becoming very popular reactions to hearing about their celebrity obsession. Some teens will sit on their computer all weekend checking up on their Facebook, Twitter or any other social networking site, to see if their celebrity obsession has tweeted back or accepted their friend request. It is getting out of hand.

Many teens’ lives are becoming based on celebrity happenings. Are they too bored in their own life that they become obsessed with celebrities? Or is it a conversation starter because every teen has their celebrity obsession, as it is a passing fad? News on celebrities is everywhere, we see them on the television, newspapers, magazines, and every form of media includes them, triggering many to idolize them.

Justin Glennon, a senior in High School said, “People shouldn’t focus on following someone’s every move, it should be about living your own life”. Whatever the trigger is for teenagers to become so obsessed with their celebrity obsessions and crushes, they need to be less recognized so that teenagers start to get more involved in their reality instead of getting too caught up in the gossip of their celebrity obsessions lives.

Horrible Homework?

Homework is always made out to be the worst part of school. It is the worst memory when you think back to school. But is homework now days increasing to a ridiculous level? In a recent interview, Jasmine in year 7 shared her opinions on homework and shares what students of our decade think of homework. Jasmine was asked a few questions on the topic of homework, her answers are not surprising for a 12-year-old girl.

When asked about the options of having or not having homework, Jasmine answered like any other student would answer.
“I would definitely choose to have homework”, Jasmine said with sarcasm. Jasmine talked about definitely not having homework because she said that you need those lazy afternoons to recap and socialize with your neighbours and family. Although, Jasmine also had a reasonable twist to her answer, “I do think though that unfinished class work should be done at home as it shows that you were obviously not working hard enough that lesson”. This is a very fair perspective of homework that most people would relate to.

This then brought up the big question about the benefits, if any, of homework to children such as Jasmine.
Jasmine was very firm and knew what her opinion was on this topic. As any child of her age would say, “To be honest I really don’t think homework benefits our learning. All we achieve with our homework is frustration and a brain overload”. This is not a surprise as everyone remembers homework as a pain and a memory that should be forgotten forever. Jasmine also brought up the point throughout this question which was that sometimes, she has barley any time to spend with the family as she is in her room the whole night finishing off her homework.

When asked the question of whether homework is fair or not Jasmine answered with a “NO!” Her answer was very reasonable and would give a lot of teachers something to think about. Jasmine exclaimed that teachers don’t realize that students take other classes not just theirs. “Teachers give us a reasonable amount of homework for that class, but they forget about how many other classes we have that also give what they think is a reasonable amount of homework”. There is no doubt about it – every student her age would agree with this argument.

Jasmine then explained that the majority of her grade would agree with her about homework, but there are some students that appreciate being given homework as an extra time to study and get what they have learned stuck right into their brains. Although, it seems most students are fed up by the end of the day. But as Jasmine said, “If we had a grade vote, of course homework would be voted as a big no”.

By Chloe