Here's What Happened: December 13th - 19th

By Emmalynn Manayan and Amaya Ingram

Welcome to “Here’s What Happened,” where we cover what’s happened in previous weeks. We cover the week of December 13th through December 19th, 2020.

For the past week at school, the Junior class had their game night last Friday, a Letters for Rose chapter has been established, and the school district’s 2nd Annual Student Film Festival has begun.

Quite recently, a Letters for Rose chapter has been established at our school. In this program, volunteers create letters and art to send to local nursing homes to reduce the loneliness that many elderly citizens are currently facing during these troubling times. Volunteers can drop off their letters and/or artwork in specific drop boxes. These drop boxes are located in various parks, such as Three Rings Ranch Community Park, Wildflower Park, and De Forge Park.

As for the upcoming 2nd Annual Film Festival, there will be an informational/support meeting on the 17th of December. The link can be found on the attached flyer on the Beaumont High School page on the calendar and events section. The film festival offers five different categories that students can enter for the competition. These categories are short films, documentary, animation, PSA, and how-tos.

As for later on in the week, the school is offering an event called Friendship Friday, which is an opportunity to virtually hang out with friends at lunch. It is being held on December 18th. On the same day, Link Crew is offering a Christmas-themed Virtual Movie Night, starting at 7:30, this program allows Freshmen to watch a movie with their Link Crew leaders.

While our school has been undergoing the transition from physical to virtual learning, and students are trying to keep up with classes, some significant world events may have passed under the radar. On August 4, 2020, the day of the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, the citizens experienced the destruction of many buildings and homes, along with many injuries and loss of life. Many are still recovering from the destruction that the explosion afflicted them with. There have been countless complaints about how the government has not done enough to help the people that were affected by the blast. Architect Joe Sallum and his team have stepped up and tried to do their part in the community. So far, they have targeted Karantina, a low-income neighborhood that was very affected by the explosion due to its proximity to the location where it occurred. So far, they have renovated 22 houses in that neighborhood, completely free of charge, as well as built a new children’s center.

Another significant event this year was school teacher Ranjitsinh Disale being awarded $1 million after winning the 2020 Global Teacher Prize. Zilla Parishad Primary School, The school he taught at, is located in a village called Paritewadi, in the Indian state of Maharashtra. When he began working there, the school had a mere two percent attendance rate, but has now increased to 100%. Disale worked to improve the education of the girls attending the school by translating the textbooks into the village’s language. He also placed QR codes on the textbooks so that the students had access to videos, lectures, and numerous other study materials. He was chosen over 12,000 other applicants from 140 countries around the world for his great contribution.

There is also news that the planets Jupiter and Saturn will align soon and create a bright light known as the “Christmas Star”. Between December 16-21, Jupiter and Saturn will form a conjunction, appearing to be closer together than the distance across a full moon. On December 21, or the Winter Solstice, the conjunction will peak. This means that the two planets will be closer together than they have ever been in the last 800 years. When that occurs, a brilliant, bright light will emit, which is known as the “Star of Bethlehem” or the Christmas Star.”