Until it’s gone.

When your phone gets taken away, or you are in the middle of nowhere without wi-fi, or at your grandmother’s house and she still uses dial up, you feel like you’re missing something. You get that itching, anxious feeling like you’re forgetting to do something important, and you can sometimes even feel a little bit… lost.

That’s how I’m feeling right now, at 6:03 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 3. My Internet has been out for a total of half an hour, and I’m already feeling symptoms of withdrawal as I keep forgetting I can’t get online. I can’t stalk my friends on Facebook, or buy songs on iTunes, or watch last night’s Glee on Hulu, or try to reach rank 10 on Tetris, or read the Sparknotes summary for the chapters of “Frankenstein” I just read and am still confused about.

However, I still am not completely disconnected. I sent a frustrated text to my boyfriend (technology) and plugged in my iPod to charge so I can play Megajump (technology) as I write this blog on my school-issued Mac (technology). My mom is currently downstairs, screaming in to the phone (technology) to the ATT computerized help service (technology).

What would happen if people actually, just for a little while, took a break from it all? A technology fast, if you will. I know it would be hard with school and all, but let’s say you try this over Thanksgiving break. Would people talk more face-to-face? Would we stop to smell the roses? Would we pray? Would we be less lazy and avoid a WALL-E-esque ending? Or would mass chaos ensue because no one in this day and age even knows how to function without a Blackberry at his or her hip? I don’t really know the answer to any of those questions, especially this last one: Is technology creating more problems than it solves? Think about it. Texting and driving is a cause for accidents. “Japanese Spam” causes you to lose information on your computer and valuable time. Games distract students in class, frustrating teachers. Though technology has really created improvements in the medical community and elsewhere, becoming completely dependent on it can create many problems.

Now my Internet is working again and I can e-mail this blog to my adviser, finish my homework and play a few rounds of Tetris.

Yet for some reason, concerts are considered a rite of passage for teens and some of the most popular activities for students, even on weeknights. On my Facebook newsfeed, I lost count of the number of people going to concerts in the past month. The statuses, pictures, wall posts and overall hype about the recent concerts was overwhelming. If you were paying any attention at all to popular conversation, you would have been well aware that dozens of GAC students attended concerts such as Paramore and especially John Mayer. During the days surrounding the concert, students used their Macs to blast his music during my economics class.

What is it that makes concerts so appealing? The only concert I’ve ever been to in my life was the Backstreet Boys (which, by the way, is way better than NSync). The only reason I went was because my childhood best friend’s uncle was a radio DJ and we got tickets for free. It was their Black and Blue tour, an awesome concert. I don’t remember much about it except I fell asleep on the way home and I bought a cheap sticker at the souvenir stand.  It was fun, but not the most significant event in my life. I feel like concerts are fun, but they always get way more hype than they deserve. So here is my question: have I missed out on something major in my life? Or are concerts as underrated as they seem?

First of all, I don’t feel any different. The first day of school, my last at GAC, was the same as always, just plus a laptop. My friends are awesome per usual but the same, some of them since sixth grade. Our “new” kids to our class this year are students who are returning after only a few years or even a few months absent. There’s nothing big and scary and new, not counting college applications, but even those are basically just another assignment. They just matter a little more.

The only actual difference I’ve noticed so far, besides sitting in the gallery at lunch, is noticing whose missing. Seeing Sandy Jiang get her yearbook at Spartan 2gether day, getting Rachel Huppertz’s old AP lit book watching former Spartan Spear-it blogger Chelsea Mitchell drive through the GAC carpool, not in uniform, to pick up her sister, and Facebook stalking Dorothy Wallis’ dorm room pictures all remind me that they’re gone; even when we were technically the oldest class in 8^th grade, the class of 2010 was just across the quad. It’s difficult to think about that they’re spread out now, all over the country, friends who’ve been together for up to 15 years now separated. Every time one of my friends mentions how we’re going to all be apart next year I rapidly change the subject, not really because it’s hard to handle, but because it honestly doesn’t feel real to me yet, at all.

Which is probably a good thing, because I’m not sure how well I’m going to cope when it finally hits me.

But now isn’t the time to think about that. Fellow GACS seniors and high school students, now is the time to do what Ms. Terry told us to do on the retreat: Live It Up. Yes, we have homework. And sports practices. And college applications. And newspaper deadlines. But, in my opinion, while school should definitely be our top priority, it should never be our only priority. We should stop waiting to feel different, for our lives to start, and set a good example for those sixth graders who are looking up to the high school, like I was. We have to make the most of the time we have with our friends and the people we care about, serving God and loving each other while we’re still here at GACS.

Because it won’t last forever.

Each year in elementary, the Bible Bowl reinforces the importance of learning the scripture. The atmosphere surrounding the bowl is fun and competitive, but the fundamental purpose is to impress upon young students the importance of Biblical knowledge and the application of this knowledge to their everyday lives.

Mrs. Rhonda Hawkins shared, “A few weeks prior to the Bible Bowl, students in grades 3-5 were given a quiz over Bible trivia. The top 6 from each grade were named to the teams, along with one alternate from each grade. Two practice sessions were held where the teams were randomly selected with 2 members from each grade level on each team. The teams practiced using the equipment and working together to come up with the answers.”

The Bible Bowl at GACS was held on February 19 in the Bowen Gym in the elementary building. The winning team took contrl  with 4,000 points including the Daily Double and Final Jeopardy question. The champions were: Rebekah Wheadon, Gracy An, Bryanna Waide, Shawna Swan, Conner Evan, and Paul Thomas with alternate Christopher Elam.

Team 1:
Hunter McItosh(3rd), Katie Williams (3rd), Nate Richey (4th), Lacey Shaffer (4th), Lunden Wright (5th), Maxwell Turk (5th)
Alternate (Jack Jacquet)
Team 2: Bryanna Waide (3rd), Gracy An (3rd), Rebekah Wheadon (4th), Shawna Swan (4th), Paul Thomas (5th), Conner Evans (5th), Alternate (Christopher Elam)
Team 3: Darius Jones (3rd), Jessica Wright (3rd), Trinity Washington (4th), Jack Hollier (4th), Zack McMaster (5th), Mason English (5th), Alternate (Nick Scioritino)

The winning question was “From what tribe did Jesus descend?” Team 2 proudly answered “Judah” and won!

Mrs. Hawkins purchased the Bible Jeopardy system by using a grant funded by the school’s PTO. This material made the Bible Bowl fun and challenging.

But this idea of setting resolutions for the upcoming year has spilled to the youth of our time. Children and teenagers are now making goals for themselves to get better grades in school, to stay organized in school, or even to ask that special someone on a date.

Journalist Joshan Smith, went around the junior high and elementary buildings at GACS to interviewe students about their New Year’s resolutions. Here are some of the responses:

Fourth grade elementary student  Brandon Runkel stated that in the New Year he wants to “stop eating all the chocolate I want.”

Fifth grade student Jennae Alexander states that in the New Year she hopes to “stop biting my fingernails.”

Eighth grade student, Anthony Mistretta, states that in the New Year he wants to “only drink sodas on the weekend.”

Seventh graders Mycah Boland, Kristina Reynolds, Becca Dusek, Rachel Samaras and eighth grader Jessica Dusek states that in the New Year they all want to “make a good grades in Latin.”

We can all learn from these young students about how they are applying themselves to become better people in life. The caution is not to set yourself up for disappointment. Try to choose one or two manageable resolutions. Start small.

Four years and many calculations later, students ages nine to fourteen get to work hands-on and learn math, engineering, and computer programming in…Robotics.

In the past four years, Robotics has grown rapidly with fourth graders and fifth graders who have offered Robotics as a science elective. Second and third graders will soon be incorporating it into their science classes as well.

In elementary, Robotics is king!

“Whenever students miss Robotics they are disappointed. (Mr. Baker laughs) Rarely have I seen a student sad about missing class,” adds Mitchell Baker, the faculty sponsor for the elementary Robotics teams.

The competition Robotics teams go to a series of tournaments held every year that lead from region, to state, and ultimately to the  international which ironically will be held in Georgia this year.

The teams build Lego robots to perform “missions” or tasks that are related to the year’s theme.  This year the theme is transportation.  The robot must complete the missions in a time limit of two minutes and thirty seconds.

“The response to Robotics has been overwhelmingly positive” says Baker , “Our next step is to get Robotics into the junior high, where kids can take it as an elective and meet during class and not just outside of school for an extra curricular.”

There is no doubt that Robotics will keep expanding.  Because students must complete a research project and participate in an interview about why they built the robot the way they did, no one can second guess the educational purposes of Robotics. “Robotics helps us to think outside the box backwards,” says standout student Zachary Musser.  Notwithstanding all the learning, the students know one thing,  school can be fun.

The GACS Robotics Team has its first competition on December 5, the Gwinnett Open Qualifier at Georgia Environmental & Heritage Center. Come out and give them your support!

Although it somewhat seems that I’ll forever be branded that “new kid” around campus, I’ve been having some success in getting involved and meeting people. The musical, Snoopy, proved to be an awesome way for me to make new friends, and performing with the cast was just spectacular. Oh, and in case you didn’t hear, we won GTC!

Another thing that has happened is that I’ve started to discover my favorite and least favorite classes. Right now, my least favorite is AP Calculus. Boy, it’s a killer! Mr. Beasley is hilariously brilliant and my classmates are really cool, but I am dying in there. I’ll be studying for a test, feeling oh-so-confident, and then on test day, as soon as that sheet of paper with math problems is handed to me, I have a sudden urge to… RUN!

I think my favorite class is currently Honors Latin III. I’m the only senior in the class, and I honestly think that may be why I enjoy it so much. We seniors are so caught up in our own things – college coming at us fast and senioritis spreading like swine flu – that I’ve generally noticed less enthusiasm among my classes with only seniors. My Latin class, with mostly sophomores, maintains a pretty nice balance of goofing off and focusing on the task at hand. Also, we get to use the Mac Labs every Tuesday! What more could you ask for?

Here’s something: Lately I have been trying to eat lunch with as many different people as possible. I encourage you to “mix it up” wherever you are, as well. You’d be surprised at how much you can learn from a person just by sharing a quick meal and casual conversation. There are many blessings in disguise.

That’s all for now. Check back soon.

Pepino loves to be around others and play with his “amigos”. It is easy to make him happy, he enjoys himself while at the park, and is kind and gentle around others. The really cool thing is that he understands Spanish, the perfect dog for Ms. Howard. She can give him commands in Spanish and English, he understands both. Pepino is well behaved and is loved by everyone, but especially by Ms. Howard.

Ms. Howard loves to talk about him and they have a very close bond. Even though Ms. Howard had to go through security three times, leave all of her clothes in Spain, and she was exhausted, she would probably still say it was the best trip ever.