Welcome
Well,
that was a long wait! In the words of our "beloved" principal,
sorry folks! As you know if your in year 13, everyone lately
has had a ton of exams to deal with, and that includes us too!
Anyway, on with the long awaited 3th issue of The Whistle-Blower!
Minute silences are a great way of giving people time to reflect and contemplate events. But why does the school not take them seriously? These silences are only held to remember truly horrific events which must not be forgotten! So why when it came to the supposed three minute silence for the tsunami victims, did the school cut it to a one minute silence, is that all these people are worth?
Also to my horror on the 27th of January, holocaust memorial day, we did not hold any specific event. Frankly this is appalling. The issue recently brought to light by Prince Harry’s naïve actions has been ignored. Is it not the purpose of these days to remember what happened? No wonder today’s youth is becoming unfamiliar with history.
A
Tale Of Hats and Headphones
Ok,
so Burleigh was always against the wearing of hats in lessons. This is
one of the few rules I agreed with. But in true Burleigh fashion, it seems
the management has destroyed something that it had going for it.
Recently, a new harder line on hats has been taken, with students' hats being confiscated without any prior warning, something I don't agree with, (at this point I'd like to point out I disagree even though I myself don't wear a hat in school, so I'm not biased). I've even had friends tell me that they've had hats taken from them with no warning in a corridor out of lesson time! How pedantic can you get, Burleigh?!
Also, a seemingly new, even more nonsensical rule has been brought in saying that student aren't aloud to wear headphones. No, not "Students are aloud to have headphones in their ears" but now, students aren't even aloud to have them round their necks. I give up!!!
"I.D
cards mean higher security"
This is what a friend of mine was told by a librarian when he forgot to
bring his I.D card and desperately needed a computer to print off some
work.
It seems the desperate attempt for I.D card justification is waining, and library staff are going to new lows in order to defend the cause for I.D cards that was lost before they even arrived! You see, my friend had been to every other computer room, and there were none spare. Knowing he'd forgot his card, he asked the staff member for a bit of slack and could he be let off this one time. He was told no, and that despite the thumbprint technology still in place for years 10 and 11, he wasn't aloud to use it.
He
was told that I.D cards apparently are much more secure than using your
own thumb. One question, what do they need to be secure from? More importantly,
considering this person has several fake copies of his card with various
humourous takes on the Burleigh slogan, are they really saying that a
piece of un-laminated card is harder to forge than someone's unique thumbprint?
Obviously, we as an entire student body must be missing something, or
is it just that the school is trying to find even more outrageous ways
of justifying something that wasted God knows how much money?
Burleigh's policy on dealing with bullying, and certain students in
particular, is worrying to say the least. It seems that they are using
an incredibly flawed technique called the 'no-blame approach'. This
basically involves inviting both parties to a conversation to discuss
things, rather than having disciplinary action being taken against the
bully.
This is all very well when the circumstances involve two students that
used to be friends but have had a minor altercation, but when someone
is being harassed, intimidated or even physically attacked, all it
does is re-iterate that the bully's actions have no consequences, and
that the victim is not being taken seriously.
The Child Protection Agency, Kidscape, has a similar view on the matter:
http://www.kidscape.org.uk/press/131200NoBlameReasons.shtml
Now I know several
people who are being threatened every day, and the
powers-that-be at Burleigh need to be made aware of the problems with
this. It's time bullying was stamped on PROPERLY.
I have three simple questions for all of our readers this month. Get all of them correct, and you should be running the College canteens!
As Burleigh has a “Healthy Schools Award”, should it be promoting healthy food in the canteens? Yes/No
Are chips “healthy food”? Yes/No
Should Burleigh therefore be promoting chips by reducing them to 40p for a day? Yes/No
The answers, of course,
are Yes, No and No.
So why can’t the college management get that right? We’re
not the only ones who should have been revising what we are supposed to
know! Since pretty much every day you hear something in the media about
how we’re all going to get fat and die from heart disease while
eating KFC, maybe the canteen should have their main meals, not junk food.
Chips are probably the biggest selling food at lunch, they don’t
need any promotion! Is the “Healthy Schools Award” just a
healthy dose of irony?
Answers to our usual address please.
Doctors'
Notes from Parents
We are a post
16 newspaper, and so, some articles are more relevant to those in post
16. From the age of 16 we are seen as adults by the medical profession,
and therefore our information is kept confidential from our parents/guardians.
Going to the doctors is now a private thing, and if our parents want to
inquire about out medical status, they must first get permission from
us. So why do we have to bring in letters from our parents stating we
have been to the doctors, when they are not allowed to know the contents
of the meeting? We are expected to behave like adults and set an example,
but it is hard to when we are still treated like children. Conflicting
messages like this makes life very confusing. The official government
statement is:
“Young people aged 16 or over but under 18 can give independent consent to their own treatment. It is not necessary to obtain the consent of a parent or guardian. A young person can be overruled by a court order.”
Further information can be found following this link:
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/family_parent/health/nhs_patients_rights.htm#Consent
Any response welcomed.
Once again, I feel compelled to air my views over the ridiculous waste of money at Burleigh, indeed, I dread to think how much the latest bungle has cost. On my way to the K-block, I came across a group of workmen painting a zebra crossing on the road.
In my opinion, this will quite clearly not be used, as the entrance to the k-block, and the path down the side of the s-block (the route which most people crossing the road will be taking), are not directly opposite each other, meaning the quickest, and shortest route, is to cross the road diagonally, and, as such, is what everybody does.
Unfortunately, those bright sparks, have seen fit to position the crossing just on the bit of road that nobody uses for crossing over.
While I'm on the subject, another immense waste of money was the installation of interactive white boards in the k-block. Very few of the teachers actually know how to use them, and even those in the know never do use them, so what was the point? This money could have been spent on windows that don't blow shut at the slightest hint of a breeze, and which students are no longer allowed to touch for fear of damaging the flimsy framework, or on windows which don’t have an inch gap between the wall and the seal.
The
Silence of Free Speech
It seems that once again Burleigh has blocked
our site. Every time Burleigh does this, it just serves to justify our
points even more.
The fact is, we aren't being slanderous, or saying anything offensive, mentioning specifics like names. So what is the big deal with us expressing our opinions and thoughts, Burleigh? Can't you cope with the fact that we might not agree with every single decision you make? We aren't out to get you on everything, but by doing this, it isn't helping your defense!
I urge you to re-consider this continual blocking of our web site, as we will just keep getting round it!
All
done!
Well, that's it for
two weeks. This time we really mean two weeks! - well except for the fact
half term is now in the way, ah well, After half term!
Anyway, please get writing to us with issues that you want to raise! We need your help if you want us to challenge Burleigh about issues that effect everyone!
Anyway, see you soon, have a good Half term!