Remember the "Christ" in Christmas. Be a bearer of peace just like Him. Merry Christmas.

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Despite the many years of having gifted programming in schools, there are still stereotyping problems. Here are some suggestions that might be passed on to teachers, facilitators and instructors to help make class life a little easier for gifted students:

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Everybody is well into the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping. Buy, buy, buy. There are some people who would probably give anything not to have a material gift bought for them but instead be given the gift of time. What kinds of time could you give as a Christmas present? How much time or how many times isn’t important. The fact you have given willingly from one of the most precious things you have is good enough. Here are a few ideas;

-make up vouchers redeemable for driveway snow shoveling and/or walkway clearing

-help decorate the home of someone you know isn’t able to

-offer to pick up someone’s kids at school and take them

-make up vouchers that offer cooking meals

-include someone without family in your Christmas festivities

-vouchers for: house/room cleaning, doing somebody else’s dishes, washing/laundry/ironing, homework help/tutoring, grocery shopping, driving little brothers/sisters to lessons, regular visits to an elderly relative to check on them, offer to drive an elderly relative to visit other members of the family, do-anything-you-want-but-let’s-do-it-together, drives to church on Sundays, reading to children, and many more. J

Merry Christmas!

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Sandra Tipei and Kaley Kennedy, Gr. 10, LAT Gifted Program are attending the CSUNA (Catholic Schools United Nations Assembly). Good luck. Bring peace to the world.

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Food banks were originally established to provide temporary help to people in need. People would feel ashamed to go there. Food banks were seen as last-resort places. Sadly, nowadays we see them becoming almost a way of life for many people. About 295,000 people use them each month in Ontario alone. This is up about 7% from last year! In August and October, Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank actually ran out of food for the first times ever.

Governments don’t seem to care. Welfare payments get cut, subsidies get cut, low-rental housing is not in anybody’s plans. Governments even force people to volunteer (students don’t graduate without their 40 hours of volunteer time) and do the work for the government!

Who does care? There are a lot of dedicated people who volunteer their time generously to help the poor. The Out of the Cold Program, Salvation Army, hostels, church groups and street patrols are all out there. There are also a lot of experts who do a great job of talking it up on TV shows and telling us how serious the problem is and how it is growing

What are the reasons why food banks have become so important to so many people? Here are several: high rents, high cost of food in stores, joblessness, inflation, highly trained immigrants forced to take on menial jobs and slowly can’t make ends meet, untrained/unskilled single parents (usually female) who need childcare or they can’t work. Are these problems so great and difficult to solve?

In all honesty, it is disgraceful that food banks continue to get bigger and bigger and unfortunately more important in more people’s lives. Do we not have experts in construction, gardening, social services, design, architecture, nutrition, and food supply who could be put together at a big conference and told to come up with viable alternatives, ideas and solutions? Are there not simple ways to help poor people grow their own food, buy food at wholesale prices, raise their own animals on vacant land, learn to preserve what they grow, grow simple mini-gardens in their residences, learn trades, start simple businesses? What do we do instead? We give them their daily rations and leave them in the endless circle of poverty. Rather than a handout, let’s give them a hand up!

This Christmas, as you eat your luscious feast, just give a thought to the above. Maybe you could even help out in some way by doing something tangible (not just donating money): write a letter to the editor, help at a food bank, volunteer at some kind of shelter, contact your MP or MPP, inform parents/friends/relatives with any of the professional skills mentioned above and try to get them involved in solutions, take in somebody in need, start a school group that would meet to come up with viable solutions to the problems mentioned.

The most important reason why food banks should be seen as a national disgrace is they are a constant and growing reminder that despite the enormous wealth in our country, we are still not generous enough or caring enough to look after people who need help.

Learn from the Golden Rule: Do to others what you would want done to you. Be totally ashamed of Food Banks and maybe some day somebody who reads this article will generate the motivation to do something about them.

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Tutoring could become a very lucrative career for some people in the future. There are more and more students that need assistance with their courses as demands for excellence increase. Courses are being made tougher by governments. Businesses demand quality and excellence in graduating students. Why not become a professional tutor to help students who want to achieve at a high level?

You don’t need much to get started. It helps if you are really good in at least one subject that is offered in schools in your area. The ones that get the most demand are math (different kinds such as algebra, trigonometry, etc.), physics, chemistry, English Literature, French, computer. Because there are a lot of immigrants there is also a great demand for English for New Canadians. There are many seniors who need instructions on how to use computers and the internet.

Going rates for tutors are anywhere from about $20-$40/hour. Highly specialized help for people with learning disabilities can bring from $40-$75/hour or even more. It doesn’t take much time before you have what might be considered a satisfactory week’s wage.

Once you have a clientele, start hiring others to tutor for you and take a commission from the work you find for them. Start a service in your area.

Take a look at some of the tutoring services available in your city to see how they operate. You might even want to work for them for part of a year to get some experience and learn some skills before going out on your own.

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A Canadian writer, Yann Martel, has won the prestigious Booker Prize for his book "Life of Pi." It is the story of a boy and a tiger adrift in a boat. Should be a good read. It was selected by five Booker judges.

Beyond Crazy: Journeys Through Mental Illness by Julia Nunes & Scott Simmie. Stories about famous Canadians, like Margot Kidder, whose lives have been affected by mental illness.

Sarah’s Children by Anne Cameron. A family drama, involves a mother who is felled by a stroke. Her relationships with daughters, grandchildren and friends change.

Sleep No More and 24 Hours by Greg Iles. Thrill-a-page suspense story will keep you glued to the book.

The Bomber by Liza Marklund. A bomb blast is found to not be a terrorist act. The person who died in the blast was hiding many secrets.

I Was Hitler’s Cat by N. J. Dodic. A dark comedy, fictional memoir by the astute observer of human folly, Tutti Hitler, and his relationship with Hitler and Eva Braun.

Gossip: Ten Pathways to Eliminate it from Your Life and Transform Your Soul by Lori Palatnik & Bob Burg.

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(special report by Aniela Szumilas, LAT Gifted Program student, Toronto, ON)

Think of a CEO in a spacious well decorated office, on the phone and making killer deals by the minute. How many of you pictured a woman?

On November 8, 2002, the Rotman School of Management (U of T) held their first annual "Shebiz Symposium". This day long symposium was designed with the purpose of displaying, as well as developing interest in the woman’s world of business. Young women between the ages of 14 and 18 each with different expectations; from numerous schools all over the GTA gathered at the Rotman School of Management’s own Fleck Atrium.

After arriving at 8:30 and eating a wonderful breakfast they provided, the delegates took their places at previously designated tables. All the participants received an impressive gift bag (my sister, currently a student at the U of T now swears she knows where her tuition goes). Within the next several minutes, a Rotman student joined our table and we prepared to take part in the events of the day.

The conference began with a welcoming speech and soon the audience was introduced to a woman with so much education that I couldn’t stop myself from being in awe of her accomplishments. Although there were many presentations, it wasn’t all talk. You can’t put 100 girls in a room and not have some fun and games! One of the activities on the agenda was "the trading game". If anyone has ever wondered what a trading floor is like, it is loud, it is stressful and it is more fun than I can begin to describe. The girls at each table were divided into 2 groups and assigned cards and in groups of two the ladies had to go onto the trading floor and quite literally "trade" what they had for what they needed. At the end of the game, the points of each team were calculated and although my team came FAR from first place, the experience was invigorating.

After a short break, we returned to our tables and met the woman who to me is the epitome of success: Barbara Stymiest, the CEO of the TSX and TSX Venture. It was more than a speech; it was an opportunity to look achievement in the eyes and see lots of hope for me. Ms. Stymiest showed us that it is possible to be a woman in a high, successful position and have a family too.

All the speakers stressed the importance of keeping our options open in high school. We were all encouraged to stay with the subjects of math and science. These subjects, we were told, would be the most important of all of our choices.

Following this insightful and motivating session, we were invited for a delicious lunch (more of my sister’s tuition here) and shortly afterwards, we were once again split up to play another game. This was the marketing game where we were given ordinary objects and told to make them something fabulous and try to sell them. We saw a mop transformed into the reusable "family floss" and a paint roller presented as the answer to all our cellulite problems.

When the game ended, we regrouped at our tables for the final two speakers who represented the Holt Renfrew image. What seemed like a couple of entertaining hours was really a day of learning and understanding. "Shebiz" ended with a distribution of great prizes (my table got first place for best centerpiece!) and group pictures.

The day was truly worth my time. As I left the building with a smile on my face and a million thoughts in my head, I realized that "Shebiz" had succeeded in its goal. Although I was interested in business before attending the symposium, what I saw and heard that day only further encouraged me to study business in the future.

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(special report by Kaley Kennedy, LAT Gifted Program student, Toronto, ON)

Interested in politics, debating, and world issues? Model UN is possibly just for you.

The recent CSUNA conference introduced many students to a new world of debating. On November 21st and 22nd, I was one of a group of girls from Loretto Abbey that attended the Catholic Schools United Nations Assembly. Hundreds of students from throughout the school board participated.

We gathered for 2 days of debating, discussing world issues, passing resolutions, and many other events. The days also allowed us to meet new people and learn about many things going on in the world. This was the eighth CSUNA to date and the sessions were filled with wonderful experiences for everyone involved.

The conference actually started on November 20th, at about 6 o’clock, with opening ceremonies. There were a number of guest speakers and a review of the rules, as well as a roll call. At roll call each delegation was allowed to deliver a short speech on their selected country. It was a good chance to meet some of the delegates and learn about some of the countries before the debating began.

For those of you who do not know what a model UN conference is, it is an opportunity for a team of 2-4 people (a delegation) to represent a given country. The delegation is required to research their country and write a foreign policy paper, outlining various aspects and positions of their country, and at least one resolution. The delegations are then given the selected resolutions to look over prior to the beginning of the conference.

On the day of the conference, all the teams gather in their respective rooms, General Assembly, Economic/Social, Security Council, and Human Rights. The delegates are expected to represent their country based on that country’s beliefs and values. The delegates debate the presented resolutions.

The conference is a chance to sharpen your public speaking, debating, and analysis skills. It is a wonderful experience. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys debating. Next year consider attending CSUNA, not only for the debating and speaking, but also for the people you meet, the things you learn, and the potential you might reach!

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(from an article by Joel B. Overmayer in the Toronto Star)

Google is considered to be one of the best search engines on the internet. It is time for Google to move over. There are search engines waiting on the sidelines for people who get tired of Google. Here is how they work.

The earliest took the wording of a search and looked for the same pattern of words among Web pages. Often the ones you wanted were lost among thousands of other irrelevant listings.

Google came along and changed that. What it did was first list all the most popular Web sites related to the topic and then add on the less relevant. Google did this by looking at links a site had to other sites. The more a site had, the chances are that it was more popular, so it was listed first. E.g. the search "rental car" leads to "Hertz" and then other lesser-known rental companies.

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1. WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?

2. WHICH DO YOU LIKE BETTER, SILVER OR GOLD?

3. WHAT WAS THE LAST FILM YOU SAW AT THE CINEMA?

4. FAVORITE TV SHOW?

5. WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST?

6. WHAT WOULD YOU HATE TO BE LEFT IN A ROOM WITH?

7. CAN YOU TOUCH YOUR NOSE WITH YOUR TONGUE?

8. WHO INSPIRES YOU?

9. WHAT'S YOUR MIDDLE NAME?

10. WHICH DO YOU LIKE BETTER, BEACH OR MOUNTAINS? WHY?

11. WHICH DO YOU LIKE BETTER, SUMMER OR WINTER? WHY?

12. FAVORITE ICE CREAM?

13. BUTTERED, PLAIN OR SALTED POPCORN?

14. FAVORITE COLOR?

15. FAVORITE CAR?

16. FAVOURITE SANDWICH FILLINGS?

17. DO YOU HAVE TRUE LOVE IN YOUR LIFE? EXPLAIN.

18. WHAT CHARACTERISTICS OF PEOPLE DO YOU DESPISE?

19. FAVORITE FLOWERS?

20. IF YOU HAD A BIG WIN ON THE LOTTERY, HOW LONG WOULD YOU LEAVE IT BEFORE YOU TOLD PEOPLE?

21.STILL OR FIZZY WATER?

22. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BATHROOM?

23.HOW MANY KEYS ON YOUR KEY RING?

24. WHERE WOULD YOU RETIRE TO?

25. CAN YOU JUGGLE?

26. FAVOURITE DAY OF THE WEEK?

27. WHAT DID YOU DO FOR YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY?

28. WHO DO YOU LEAST EXPECT WILL SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?

31. PERSON YOU EXPECT TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU FIRST?

32. WHAT ARE THE KINDEST WORDS YOU THINK EVERYBODY WANTS TO HEAR?
(email this to everybody you know and wait for replies. Lots of fun)

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-Big Ben is considered to be the most powerful and accurate clock in the world.

-the body of St. Bernadette has been untouched by death (not dried or mouldy) over several hundred years.

-over 150 countries broadcast time through the use of bells.

-about 25% of American bankruptcies are caused by people having to lose everything when somebody in their family gets sick and they have huge medical bills.

-the Philippines is the world’s largest exporter of women. The trend started during and after the Vietnam war as soldiers and then their friends started marrying them. Most are mail-order brides and nannies.

-a swordfish is the fastest fish in the oceans. It can travel at up to 109 kmh!

-the automobile speedometer was introduced by General Motors in 1901.

-going skiing during the Christmas holidays? Here are the top 10 ski resorts in Europe: 1. Arlberg, Austria 2. Cortina, Italy 3. Chamonix, France 4. Jugfrau, Switzerland 5. Kitzbuhel, Austria 6. Portes du Soleil, France/Switzerland 7. Trois Vallees, France 8. Val D’Isere, France 9. Verbier, Switzerland 10. Zermatt, Switzerland.

-a recent British study suggests that smoking one marijuana cigarette is equal to smoking about 20 regular tobacco cigarettes because of what is in the smoke!

-over 2 billion "scrunchies" have been sold in the last 10 years to hold women’s hair.

-in the 1880’s, women held about 1% of US patents. By 1998, women held about 10% of new inventions despite making up about half of the workforce.

-another 80 km section of the Great Wall of China has been found under centuries of sand. It is more than 6 metres high and 3.5 metres wide at the top.

-why do people take vacations? 1. Relax, relieve stress. 2. See new things. 3. Spend time with family/friends. 4. Do what I want, when I want. 5. Bring family closer together. 6. Enrich perspective on life.

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(regular article by Sandra Tipei, LAT Gifted Program student, Toronto, ON)

When you think about a new automobile you think of a nice, shiny, perfect vehicle that just appeared at the dealership ready to be driven away. But there is an extensive process going on in factories behind closed doors and I got to experience this process firsthand.

Along with six other students from Loretto Abbey in Toronto, we were given the opportunity to visit the GM pick-up truck factory in Oshawa, Ontario and found out just what it takes for that shiny new pick-up to show up on the showroom floor ready to be driven home by you!

It takes 20 hours to build a dream truck with most portions being installed within a minute! Each production day, one truck rolls off the production line ready to be shipped every 58 seconds. So how do they build a complete truck within that short period of time? With sophisticated machines of course! And a little help from their state of the art efficiency system.

As we were walking through the factory, I noticed something very surprising. There were more machines than people! No these weren’t like little blenders or toasters. They were advanced robots capable of precision installations, welding and painting just to name a few of their responsibilities. These machines were smart enough to realize when they were doing a bad job and would automatically stop and either play a song or blow a whistle loud enough to be heard by all around it. Even these robots needed some attention!

As advanced as these machines were they still need their human counterparts to keep them running smoothly. These factory workers are not to be underestimated. Although they seem to have a relatively easy job, it isn’t in any way "a walk in the park." They have to do the same thing day in day out, 7 hours a day, 5 days a week! That’s like doing the same math equation every minute of every period of every day that we’re in school! Of course the workers do have something to look forward to - the pay and the benefits! The workers are also allowed to purchase one of the vehicles they produce.

This was the first time I have ever seen a parking lot full of GM vehicles! Talk about loyalty! And it doesn’t stop there; once people begin to work in a GM factory they’re likely to retire from that same spot. After retiring, some people come back to guide tours of the factory, as did our tour guide.

Although this is still a male dominated business there seem to be more and more women popping up in the assembly lines, as assistants, and even the Vice President is a woman! Needless to say that is inspirational to all female car enthusiasts out there.

GM is an exceptional company, with wonderful people working for them and this tour offered us a little more insight into the births of the vehicles we drive today!

No. There are a few other things that you might want along with love. How about health, passion, hope, courage, continency, chastity, virtue, forgiveness, goodness, long-suffering, kindness, honesty, humility, courage, perspective, humour, charity, discernment, joy, peace, cheerfulness, mildness, faith, modesty, wisdom, maturity, reason, morality, principles, values, generosity, vigor, humanity, ability, discretion, boldness, justice, fortitude, prudence, frugality, piety, understanding, awe, patience, self-control, happiness, guts, and rent money.

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(from an article by Andrew Guy in the Toronto Star)

One way that hip-hoppers try to bling (show off wealth) is to get gold caps on teeth. This unusual teeth treatment was popularized by hip-hop and rap artists such as Wu-Tang Clan, Master P, and Big Pun. Styles vary from caps on one or two front teeth to rims only, to a whole row being "grilled out." There are also temporary clip-ons. Unfortunately they have led to problems, however, of a kind nobody really expected.

The main problem arising from this fad is an inability to get a job! That’s right. Young people are going out to find work and the gold teeth distract and turn off potential employers. As a result, many are reverting back to white teeth. This solution, however, isn’t quite so simple either.

Placing a cap over a healthy tooth blocks nerves that keep the teeth healthy. Sometimes teeth are dead under the gold after a long time. Shaved healthy teeth are open invitations to bacteria to do their damage. Some must be extracted. Dentists are very busy repairing sometimes extensive damage to what would have been healthy, normal teeth. Once the teeth are altered or damaged, they become sensitive, fragile and open to various kinds of infections, cavities, rot, etc.

What to do about it? Don’t get caught in a fad that will inevitably be short-lived but will cost a lot of people aggravation the rest of their lives. Be yourself. Nurture a healthy natural smile. Nature knows best what you really need.

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(from an article by Anahad O’Connor, New York Times)

The fondness for cellphones is starting to dramatically affect the environment. There are about 128 million subscribers in the USA and about 1 billion in use around the world. Most cellphones are used about 18 months before replaced with newer models with more features and/or smaller. Herein lies the problem.

The huge amount of waste cellphones is beginning to become an environmental hazard. By 2005, it is estimated that 130 million cellphones will be discarded. That is about 65,000 tonnes of waste per year. The chemicals, metals, plastics are going into soil, water, plants and will move up the chain to humans.

Some countries are pressuring manufacturers to eliminate the toxic chemicals found in cellphones. There are voluntary take-back programs created and some countries are actually forcing companies to take back their old phones for proper recycling or disposal. There is also a push on for programs that turn over old phones to charities or reselling in less developed countries. In Maryland, phones are recycled and reprogrammed for elderly to call 911 in emergencies.

Think twice before you do anything with your "old" cellphone. Be environmentally friendly. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

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(from an article in the North York Mirror)

York University students Peter Hui, Gigi Lui and Graham Huber won a NASA design contest for the official mission markers of a shuttle flight in the spring (May 23) of 2003. The crew patch will be worn by all members of Mission STS-115. The design depicts a space shuttle superimposed over solar panels and these float above the earth. The names of the astronauts are displayed on the perimeter of the patch.

Congratulations! What an honour!

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(from an article by Michele Mclean in the North York Mirror)

Conversation Café, 96 Harbord St. Toronto is just the start of a whole new way of going for a coffee. Topics are selected and people arrange to meet at specific times to discuss issues.

A host usually chooses a café and discusses starting a group with the owner and a mutually acceptable time. Hosts then may print flyers and post them in the neighbourhood or in their school It is usually open to everybody. The ideal size seems to be about 5-7 people. A group larger than this is usually split. There is no registration and you never know how many people will show up. People can get involved at any level of participation.

This is not a dating service. The intention is for people to get together and discuss things such as: does the media help/hinder the sense of community, what movie made an impact on you, how would a war in Iraq affect you and anything else imaginative you can think of as a host. If you know people are getting together for a chat, people make more of an effort if theyu know it is planned.

Sounds like fun. This kind of thing could be very easily arranged for students, teens, as well as adults. Why not give it some thought and try it?

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(from an article by Amanda Vogel, Health ‘n Vitality magazine)

Most people find it difficult to exercise for 20 minutes or more. How about two or three 10-minute exercise times or "sparks" every day? Studies show this works.

Subjects in tests improved aerobic capacity, muscular endurance, flexibility, cholesterol improved, and about one pound was lost per week. On average, people were doing about 15 "sparks" per week. Because they were only 10-minute sessions, people were able to go at it pretty intensely and got more quality exercise.

This might be a way of getting couch potatoes off their duffs a little more. No special equipment or clothes are required and one does not have to leave for a club.

How to do it? Start with 2-minute "sparks" three times a day for the first two days. Over two weeks, build up the length until you exercise for 10 minutes, 15 times each week.

Rewards are there. Aerobic improvement, muscles are conditioned, flexibility improvement. Try it.

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Not to know is bad; not to wish to know is worse. – African proverb.

It is not enough to belong to a religion. You also have to put it into practice. Religion is like a medicine. You have to ingest it to combat the illness. – the Dalai Lama.

In television, you talk until you can think of something to say. – Lou Holtz, a network football analyst.

Compassion and pity are very different. Compassion reflects the yearning of the heart to merge and take on some of the suffering. Pity is a controlled set of thoughts designed to assure separateness and is the involuntary reflex of fear. – Paul C. Roud.

There are three things that if a person does not know, he/she cannot live long in this world: what is too much for him/her, what is too little for him/her and what is just right for him/her. – Swahili proverb.

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P = The problem logged by the pilot.
S = The solution and action taken by the engineers. ************************************************************

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except autoland very rough.
S: Autoland not installed on this aircraft.

P: No. 2 propeller seeping prop fluid.
S: No. 2 propeller seepage normal. Nos. 1, 3 and 4 propellers lack normal seepage.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on backorder.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200-fpm descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what they're there for!

P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windscreen.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with words.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

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