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Awesome Youth: Rafaella Leitao

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Rafa's graduating this year and wants to go into engineering and sciences. She also wants to end up working for the Canadian Space Agency!

You don`t come across many people in your lifetime that epitomize your values and everything you want yourself to be, but once in a while, you stumble upon someone that is capable of these things. Not only does this girl have admirable ambitions in life, a mature mindset and achievements beyond the average teen, but she has also has the heart to reflect on how she can be the best person she can possibly be. I’m glad to say that I’ve met someone of such esteem, the one, the only…. Rafaella Leitao!

Rafaella was born in Brazil and speaks Portuguese as her first language. Her family eventually moved to Montreal and then to Calgary, and within a time span of a few months, she managed to master the French and English languages by teaching it to herself. In an effort to practice the languages, she found herself reading the entire Harry Potter series around 14 times in Portuguese, French, and English. And this is exactly what amazes me most about Rafaella; it is her ability to juggle her passion for learning along with her extracurricular activities. Within the school year, she’s involved in soccer and field hockey, concert band, and musical theatre (I went to go see her in the Queen Elizabeth School production of the Sound of Music, and oh boy, her voice is angelic *-*). On top of that, she takes Advanced Placement (AP) courses in physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics just for the purpose of challenging herself. It’s also no surprise that she excels in all that she does. The amount of effort she puts into her work is what I admire the most. She always aims for her work to be of utmost quality; a work that would be indicative of her hard work and pride. If it were anything less, it wouldn’t be worth handing in.

But wait! That’s not it~

It's Rafa and Gab 🙂

Not many teens take time out of their daily schedules to contribute to a worthy cause purely because they have a passion for it. Rafa took up a significant leadership role when she decided to advocate for universal education. But she made it look so easy because of her amazing work ethic, independent learning style, hard work, and determination. So in 2007, when Rafaella and her brother, Gabriel, moved to Montreal, they decided to study ahead of the Quebec curriculum. During that process, they compiled educational videos and materials to put together a website – CosmoLearning. Since then, they’ve helped over 2 million undergrads, teachers, homeschoolers, professionals, and avid learners in all subject areas (such as Anthropology, Art, Computer Science, Business Management, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Law etc.) with more than 1,700 documentaries, 11,800 video lectures, and 1,200 videos. They have garnered over 2,600 Facebook fans in more than 110 countries. Not only has their website reached out to global learners, but it has also affected the local community since peers, students, and teachers all use their website to further their knowledge (in fact, I encourage you to use the website next time you need homework help ;D). Their mission statement is to centralize educational and cultural resources in a variety of formats, allowing anyone in the world to educate themselves and succeed in their lives.

Despite being a busy bee with her studies, extracurricular activities, and CosmoLearning, Rafa still has the time to be a charmingly sweet girl and a dedicated friend. If I ever find myself confused about school work, she will go out of her way to dig through her resources to help me learn my material. And part of that owes itself to the fact that she is a curious and constant learner. She is the type of friend that will come find you and check up on you just to see if you had a good day at school. Just writing this makes me smile.

Rafaella is a true leader within the global and local community. Globally, she works to better the world through the spread of accessible education, and at home, she consistently works as a role model in bettering herself as a student, friend and person. It is admirable to see people like Rafa use personal initiative and integrity to advocate for meaningful causes, and ask for nothing in return. I know I’ll see great things from her in the future.

Meet Sarah!

Shine
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The Mayor’s Youth Council with Sarah! (She is in the middle of the photograph.) 

A few months ago, the Mayor’s Youth Council of Calgary, along with Mayor Nenshi, had the amazing opportunity of meeting a young girl with big dreams. Sarah applied to be on the Mayor’s Council, but age restrictions kept her from being selected. Nonetheless, she is an extremely charismatic and intelligent young citizen, not to mention adorable. Astounded by the wisdom she brought, Sarah was asked to speak about her three things.

Sarah’s 3 Things:

  1. A local youth group run by youth that helps out at local retirement homes.
  2. A run by youth tutoring service where children excelling in certain subjects (Example: Math, Reading, etc.) help students struggling in those subjects at the local library.
  3. A youth (and adult) talking session for anyone, but encouraging those who don’t know English to meet to speak English.

She elaborated upon each of these ideas and outlined the fact that they would each be implementable in an easy and affordable way. Sarah let the council know that these ideas would cause positive change in the community and allow everyone to work together, no matter what their background.

Not only were members of the Mayor’s Youth Council amazed, Mayor Nenshi himself was beaming at the sight of such a caring young citizen. Sarah was able to present these initiatives to the mayor himself and he granted her wishes by providing for many opportunities for her to execute these ideas.

Feeling inspired? Write your own essay and let the mayor know why YOU should be taking charge of the city for a day. Your voice will be heard and your ideas will be put to work. Visit www.youthcentral.com/mayorforaday for more information.

Write NOW! ~ Opportunity for youth

sarena
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Is the pen your weapon of choice?  Would you like your world of literary creations… rewritten?  Have a flair for the extrodinaire?

In other words (no pun intended), if you are a youth who is passionate about writing, the Write Now conference is for you.

On March 24, the Calgary Public Library will be hosting a fun writing and literary experience. Head on down to the Central Library (second floor) from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.  This opportunity is absolutely FREE and includes lunch!

So what exactly will this amazing day include?

  • Meet local authors: Annie Sorbie, author of Memoirs of a Good Death and Marcello Di Cintio, author of Poets and Pahlevans: A Journey Into the Heart of Iran and winner of  2007 Wilfred Eggleston Award for Non-fiction
  • Attend a workshop with these incredible authors to build upon your literary skills
  • Work with the Reality is Optional writing group and take poetry and prose to a whole new level, while playing fun writing games
  • Partake in an exiting writing challenge for a chance to win HUGE prizes
  • Participate in a book exchange with other youth

 

If you have any questions, feel free to email teenservices@calgarypubliclibrary.com and click here for more information.

Hope to see you all on March 24!  Remember to bring a a new or used book to participate in the book exchange.

 

 

Video of the Day: Magnetic Nail Polish

jen
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[vimeo 36863190]

-available at Urban Outfitters

Sled Island 2012 announcements!

Kat
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Sled Island 2012 takes place June 20-23 at various locations around Calgary. Festival passes are available from sledisland.com

This Calgary-born music festival is now one of the largest in Calgary which has always featured some really talented acts. This year, Sled plans on being even bigger and better and they’ll be bringing some of the world’s greatest indie rock acts to our city.

On Tuesday, the festival organizers released an extraordinary list of their first eight artists who are going to perform. This includes Calgarian Feist, the frontman of the Sonic Youth – Thurston Moore, The Hold Steady and a few other amazing acts.

In its sixth year, Sled Island continues to grow and this year Archers of Loaf, Canadian electro artist Grime, party rocker Andrew W.K and the roots act Timber Timbre are all guest curators for the festival.

Not to mention, Danny Vacon, the Calgary boy who’s known from favourite Calgary bands like the Dudes, Dojo Workhouse and the High Kicks, will also be a guest curator. He’ll be choosing local area acts and artists who will just further improve this great lineup. One of Sled’s manadates has always been to spotlight the local scene and this year is no different.

Mid-bird, as opposed to early-bird, passes for Sled Island 2012 are already available online from their site. Individual tickets for the Fri-day night show at Olympic Plaza (Feist and Timber Timbre are the two announced headliners) and the Saturday Plaza concert (featuring The Hold Steady and Malkmus) will go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster. The next list of artists for this year’s festival should be revealed in mid-March.

If you get the chance to go to Sled Island, I definitely recommend it! I attended  the festival and I got the opportunity to check out great acts like Of Montreal and the Sheepdogs while also getting to see some smaller acts like Gobble Gobble (now Born Gold) and Yip Deceiver! This year should be even bigger and better, so make sure that you attend!

Games to Grades; Top four learning sites

Celly
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If you’re in the mood to do a little extra studying, then here are four sites that can help you get there!

4.  Math is Fun

http://www.mathsisfun.com/index.htm

Although it sounds absolutely corny and ridiculous, the site is actually exceedingly good with basic concepts and examples in math. If you’re stuck, then this site explains it wonderfully.

3. Ed Quest Middle School Science

http://www.edquest.ca/

The prime junior high science science learning site! This site hosts notes on all of the Science Focus series textbooks used in the CBE. If you’re ever in lack of notes or knowledge, this site is prime.

2. ExamBank

http://alberta.exambank.com/

Although it costs money, ExamBank follows our curriculum and tests you accordingly. Whenever your unit finals are up, run to this site! Some of our teachers even use questions similar to the ones on this site.

1.Khan Academy

http://www.khanacademy.org/

This free learning site is amazing for practicing concepts and learning. The makers of the Khan Academy explain every concept reasonably and easily understood. Make an account, gather badges, and learn! This is the number one site to start getting engaged in learning.

Video of the Day: Amazing break dancers

ali
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It appears as though these dancers are immune to the laws of gravity…

What you should and shouldn’t celebrate on February 29

Syed
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http://www.dzinewatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/happy-new-year-2012-wallpapers-01.jpg

February 29. A day that appears every four years – that 0.25 in the 365.25 day orbital period of the Earth. What’s so special about it? Admittedly, there isn’t much to the day aside from its relative rarity in occurrence. However, I think that should change. Why? Because some days deserve to be more special than others, while some days you want to have occur as often as possible.

Days that should fall on February 29:

Mothers’ Day/Father’s Day (in addition to the regular Mother’s Day/Father’s Day): Let’s face it, moms and dads across the globe deserve more than just one Sunday a year for appreciation. My advice to you is to show your parents that you love and appreciate them every day of the year. That way, when February 29 comes around, you can show your parents that even on a day that only comes every four years, you still love them!

American Election Day: The States hold their Presidential Elections every four years. Know what else happens every four years? That’s right, a leap year. I think it would be awesome if they were to push their elections to February 29. It could even become a tradition: “American Presidential Elections – Held Every February 29.” I mean, November happens every year, it’s so boring! Why not mix things up every once in a while? On the other hand, there are some days that I would never want to move to February 29…

Days that shouldn’t fall on February 29:

Your birthday: OK, honestly speaking, does anyone really want their birthday to only actually happen once every four years? I mean, yeah, it’d be cool that your birthday hit that 1/1461 chance of being born on February 29, but you would only be able to legitimately have one birthday every four years, and the other three years you’d have to keep track of which day would have been February 29.

Christmas/Other awesome holidays: I think this one speaks for itself. Things like Christmas, New Year’s, and April Fools’ Day are once-a-year days of awesomeness, and as such, should not be relegated to only occurring once every four years. I already have enough trouble waiting for the 365 days to pass – not sure I’d be able to handle having to wait an extra three years.

February 29 is a special day, but just because it’s special doesn’t mean that every holiday should fall on that day. There are a lot of things that I would definitely not be able to wait four years for. What say you? Any days that should/shouldn’t be moved to February 29?

Want a chance to win free admission to Calaway Park? Come to Youth Week!

vicky
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Youth Week will be a roller coaster of excitement!

As Youth Week Calgary 2012 inches closer and closer (it officially starts April 21!), we have been working harder and harder to get cool prizes to give out during Youth Week! One of the latest prizes is four admission passes to Calaway Park, which we will be giving out along with the other prizes at Youth Week Events. So, if you’re interested in getting involved in the community and having a great time, Youth Week is where you want to be. There is going to be over fifty events all over Calgary aimed at acknowledging and encouraging youth contributions to our city, and of course, it’ll be a ton of fun as well- especially since the fun can continue at Calaway Park!

To find out more about Youth Week, visit the Facebook Page, website, and watch the star-studded promo video below!

World security is in your hands at WMUN

arielle
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Have you ever wondered what it was like for JFK or Fidel Castro during the thirteen days of the Cuban Missile Crisis? Or what it would feel like to change the course of history on a world scale as a world leader? Wonder no more for Western Canada High School (WCHS) presents the perfect opportunity to fulfill those daydreams! The executive student members of the WCHS Model United Nations team have been working diligently since late October to put together Western Model United Nations 2012, the first MUN conference in WCHS history!

On April 27 and 28,  students from schools across Alberta, including Calgary, Taber and Fort McMurray, will participate in this premiere Model United Nations style conference. Topics include the Cuban Missile Crisis and Kashmir Crisis (based on the conflict between India and Pakistan), Paris Peace Conference and Charlottetown Accord. In this conference, students will assume roles of important political leaders (like JFK, Castro and PM Stephen Harper) instead of countries as in a traditional Model UN conference. The crisis simulations (Cuban and Kashmir) will both test participants’ ability to think and act quickly for the sake of world security.The Paris Peace Conference and Charlottetown Accord, while not crisis simulations, will offer equally enriching experiences as participants engage in extensive debate and discussion to find solutions to important issues.

Even if Model UN is new to you, it is definitely worth looking into because it is never too late to learn! Model UN is a great activity where you can instantly make friends who have common interests, practice or improve public speaking and learn parliamentary procedure. Exceptional participants may even gain recognition with Best Delegate or Honourable Mention awards.

For more information, visit http://wchsmun.wordpress.com. If you have additional questions or wish to register, please e-mail wchsmun@gmail.com

Game of the Day: 99 Bricks (Another version of Tetris)

missCarrie
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I love Tetris. Who doesn’t?! There’s even a huge Facebook game where you can battle other people and smoke them in the classic puzzle game!

So as soon as I started to play 99 Bricks, a game using Tetris blocks, I fell in love. Essentially you are trying to assemble a building, and you can use as many pieces as you’d like (granted, you’ll be wasting blocks instead of storing it like in some versions of Tetris). Developed by WeirdBeastGames, this game could be a classic in my eyes; it’s challenging, addicting and a lot of fun!

This would be considered a perfect game!

Video of the Day: MOVE

E
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Follow these three guys for a trip of a lifetime – condensed into a short one-minute film.

Three guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, two cameras and almost a terabyte of footage… all to turn three ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food… into three beautiful and hopefully compelling short films…..

= a trip of a lifetime.

move, eat, learn

 -from vimeo.com

NBA All-Star Weekend

Stephen
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The 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend just wrapped up in Orlando this weekend, but you can still catch all the highlights and most memorable moments online.

Throughout the course of these three days, top pick players from around the league were selected to participate in a variety of challenges to showcase their talents. It’s also a way for the best in the league to come together and chill out for a bit, away from regular season.

This year’s NBA All-Star game was won by the West squad, but only by a narrow three points, and Kevin Durant was crowned the MVP of the NBA All-Star Game.

Head to NBA’s website to check out all the greatest assists and dunks from the weekend, as well as highlights from all of the events that took place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temple Run- the most addictive game

sheliza
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Temple Run – Live Action! Have you heard of Temple Run? It’s the most addicting game you’ll ever play. You basically run in a temple, collect coins on your journey and overcome obstacles (jump over the fire and a tree). I questioned why it was so addicting, and then it came to me… The aspect of temple run that differentiates from other apps is the fact that the more you play, the better you get and the more objectives you unlock. Now, this is genius because the more objectives you unlock, the more points you receive because they get multiplied. The objectives are somewhat easy too, like collect 500 coins. As you get better, faster and learn the essential rules/strategies, you end up with a 40x multiplier. This means multiplying your original quantity of points by 40. Of course everyone wants to beat their friend, so they’re going to do whatever they can to increase their multiplier. It’s truly genius. There are people who have won 23 million. That shows you how addicting it is! Temple Run is truly one of the most addicting apps in all of history. Its been nominated for Best App Ever, Best Time Killer, Best App Bargain, Most Addictive Game, Best Free To Play Game, and Best Casual Game. Become a Fan on Facebook. Play a similar version online. Download it now on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch! You’ll love it.

Video of the Day: Lego man sent to space by two Canadian teens

ali
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It’s absolutely amazing that we live in a day and age where we can photograph the stratosphere with $100 and some spare time. Major props to these kids. Here is the news report on it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSBv0u6mPNw&feature=player_detailpage

Here is the footage captured by the camera:

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