【推荐2】It is essential that students have a category of school-related activities they can participate in. These activities can range from activities during normal school hours to after-school activities. No matter the time, these activities should be available to every student, and at Victory Pioneers International Schools (V.P.I.S) it is encouraged that every student participate in at least one activity, educational and recreational.

One of the primary reasons school activities are important at V.P.I.S. is because it gives students the exercise they might not normally receive. Most popularly, these types of activities include major sports such as football, basketball, baseball, tennis, track and field and soccer but also might include gymnasium games and other games.

Activities during V.P.I.S. also make a good impression on colleges if students are planning to pursue more education. Colleges look for students who do not just go to school and go home after school. These activities range from participating in clubs and sports to volunteering after school at a recreation center or having a part-time job. If a college sees you maintained good grades while participating in these activities, it will be impressed.

V.P.I.S. activities also allow students to be creative. Gifted-and-talented activities allow gifted students to participate in what they otherwise would never have experienced in the classroom. They are a great way to allow students to be creative. Additionally, participating in clubs such as drama that appeal to students’ interest also allows them to expand their knowledge and be creative.

Students also can have their interests expanded by participating in activities. These activities could consist of anything, such as joining the Future Business Leaders, the school’s debate team and the chess team, to name a few. By participating in these activities, a student might realize he is interested in something he never knew he was interested in before.

【推荐3】Have you ever dreamt of being among the people talked about on a celebrity blog? Well 140 junior high and high school students from Edmonton, Alberta don’t have to dream any longer. An inter-school project they worked on was so successful that Perez Hilton blogged about it, which is surprising since his blog is usually for celebrities. They did a flash mob (快闪) in a shopping center with the main message being “stand up to bullying”.

Over 140 students, aged from 12 to 17, participated in the anti-bullying flash mob, dancing to a well-known song called “Loser Like Me” “We actually had almost too many; we had to cut back on the number at each school,” said Kristina Solikowski, one organizer of the event.

“I was just really excited!” said Olivia Brassard, a grade seven student at RS Fowler School. Being one of the younger student dancers, Olivia couldn’t get over her nerves at the start. “I was a little shy because I had to interact with a lot of grade eights and nines, but after, I got more comfortable,” said Olivia.

The reason why Olivia got involved was partly for the fun of dancing but also because she really believed in the message that bullies are bad! “I thought it would be a good way to spread the word about the bullying that goes on in our society,” said Olivia.

Olivia’s friend Allison Wood, a grade eight student at St. Albert Catholic High School, got involved for the same reason as Olivia. “I don t think it’s going to be possible to stop bullying all together, but I think we can certainly decrease it,” explains Allison.

These students have set a good example for kids everywhere. There’s no better way to decrease something bad than by getting people together to do something good, right?

【推荐1】New Yorker writer Kyle Chayka came of age alongside the internet. As a teen, he published his own blog and joined forum (论坛) for pop music. He discovered one of his favorite Jazz songs --- John Coltrane’s full version of “My Favorite Things” – driving around at night, listening to the local radio station.

Chayka misses the time ---and the ways, then, that personal discoveries like these were made. In his new book, Filterworld: How Algorithms (算法) Shaped Culture, Chayka says he never would have fallen in love with Coltrane’s songs if he’d heard it on Spodify. He says he doubts Spodify’s algorithm would even suggest it, because the song is so long. And that, even if it did, he wouldn’t have learned anything about Coltrane as an artist, because the Spodify interface doesn’t provide the same context that a radio DJ does, sharing details between songs. The person behind the song choice, he argues, made his emerging interest in Coltrane possible in a way modern recommendation system cannot.

This is one of many “back in my day” stories Chayka uses to illustrate his argument that algorithms have “shaped culture”. Thanks to recommendation generators like Tiktok’s top picks and Spodify’s autoplay suggestions, “the least troublesome and perhaps least meaningful pieces of culture are promoted,” Chayka argued. He admits that quality is subjective when judging these things, and instead argues that recommendation systems undermine personal taste. Taste, he writes, was once a combination of personal choices and popular influence --- but now algorithms rely more on choices of the masses. Developing taste requires effort and active engagement, but what we see now are algorithms turning taste into consumerism.

A central point of the book, in fact, is that people today are not only well aware of the power of algorithms, they can’t escape them. He interviews a young woman who wonders if “what I like is what I actually like,” worried that her taste is so shaped by algorithms that she can’t trust herself. The book may be most useful in these sections, where Chayka and his interviewees attempt to make sense of how internet algorithms have shaped their own lives and work.

【推荐3】I used to make the same New Year’s resolution every year——to simplify my life and make time for me——but I was always too busy to stick with it for very long. Change is not easy for me. I liked helping people and hated to say “no” when I was asked for help. I was so overcommitted that I didn’t have time to just sit and read a book.

As I ran from task to task, I could never outrun the feeling that something was missing, that was real happiness, which seemed just out of reach. I felt like I was missing a key piece of the instructions on how to put my life together.

My real awakening came about in a strange way a few years ago. We were having the inside of our house painted and so we had to all the decorations out of the painters’ way as they moved from room to room. Somehow, we got along quite well without all the items we had collected over the years. Then we decided to think hard about what we would put back. Finally, we removed many decorations because they made the rooms feel small and cluttered (杂乱的). We put back only the things we really wanted. The house felt so much more open, peaceful and beautiful.

When I started to hang our calendar back up, I noticed how full each day was. Every square was filled in. I decided to continue my decluttering (清理) with the calendar. It was near the end of July, so I started “clearing” August and September. I kept doctors’ appointments, family events and commitments to church. But I removed extra tasks I had taken on.

Now I’m more relaxed. I’ve learned to say “no” when I was asked for help. I feel like I have blessed others by donating our unused items to charity. But, most of all, I schedule time for me each day to do what I want. The uncluttered beauty of our home and schedule gives me great peace and joy.