Late last month some of you drivers might have seen a warning note stuck to your car windshield. Some of you even received a citation! Students are pushing buttons on teachers who are finding it harder and harder to find places to park. Students are parking far too close to school. Give the teachers a break! The complaints went to the school police officer and not only were students parking in teachers’ parking spots, but were parking without a permit.

For those who don’t know what permits are, they are a $25 sticker to place in your car to ensure you are allowed to park in the Como lot. The citations were given out after a strict warning, and unfortunately they cost about $40. Make sure you pay your fines and buy your permits. The officers have seemed to be lenient about parking, but when the students of Como Park invade the space of the staff things get pretty serious!

So remember, park in the space provided for students and buy the permit sticker to stay out of trouble and save money on the annoying cost of citations!

The student body in universities is an important aspect for students choosing the right school. Some people like huge universities and some people enjoy a smaller class. If a student enjoys very large student bodies then they should consider going to Ohio State University. This college has student enrollment of a whopping 53,000 students. OSU has an admission rate of about 62% and the average ACT score to get in is about 25-30. Contrasting to the humongous OSU is the much smaller Morningside College which has an enrollment of about 1,150 students. Morningside is located in Sioux City Iowa and was voted one of the Midwest’s “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” by U.S News and World Report. Obviously there are many more colleges in between these two diverse universities but this shows the comparison between a huge college and a small one. In the end it comes down to the student’s preference.

Another important aspect of choosing college is tuition and other expenses. The average cost for a four year public university in the United States is about $47,020 per year. The average private school tuition price is $26,000 per year. Students attending public universities should expect much bigger class sizes. The main disadvantage to larger class sizes is less one on one attention from the teacher. It is a lot different from high school where students can go into their class after school and automatically get help; in college it is much different. If a student is looking for a college that is excellent in the academic field they should consider schools like Harvard, Yale, Brown, and all of the Ivy League schools. These schools are some of the best colleges in the country. Unfortunately these schools average an acceptance rate of 10% so are very difficult to get into. Students usually will score from 1900 to the upper 2000’s on there SAT’s for a good chance to be accepted. But the big question is the tuition costs required to attend. On average to get into an Ivy League school a family should expect to pay $48,000 or more a year. If a student can get into an Ivy League school with their grades and they can afford it, it should be a must because of the opportunities those schools can offer.

On the other hand if the student’s family can’t afford a very expensive college there are still excellent options to consider. All schools in the Big Ten Conference are great schools and have a good price. Some of these schools range from Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Northwestern. If a student wants to pursue a job in the medical field they should consider Minnesota and Iowa. Both of these schools have excellent medical studies and have hands on learning hospitals for interns to train. If a student is considering something in the Liberal Arts area they should highly consider Wisconsin and Northwestern. Both of these schools are highly recommended in their Liberal Arts areas. The great thing about these schools is that they don’t cost a ton to attend. All of these schools range from $10,000 to $20,000 per year. They are a lot less than the Ivy League prices and still a great education.

College is an important step in a student’s life. Making the right college choice takes a lot of research and insight to make the right decision. A student also must work hard in high school and be involved in extra curricular activities to increase the chances of getting into a school. The colleges mentioned above are only a few of what the U.S. has to offer in schools. Ultimately, it comes down to the student’s decision, but hopefully these distinct college choices will help.

More than 1.5 million people have been displaced by the quake, which destroyed at least 500,000 homes. The earthquake shook major cities all over the area, while Tsunamis caused by the earthquake ravaged coastal towns and cities. So far 723 people have been reported dead, and thousands of others were reported missing. 160 people have been arrested for looting between March 1^st and 2^nd, and 10,000 Chilean troops have been sent into the affected areas. At first the Chilean Government declared that they did not require international aid, but they have now opened up to assistance.

The objective for this year’s robot is to navigate through a course and score a goal with a soccer ball, a difficult task indeed.

Also, each team is required to align themselves with two other teams to achieve this goal.

Each team has six weeks to complete and ship out their Robot.

Como’s team met everyday after school, working with mentors from General Dynamics, to complete the robot by February 23^rd.

The Regional competition will be held at the U of M on April 1-3. If Como’s team scores the most goals, they will go on to compete in the National competition in Atlanta, Georgia.

At last year’s competition, Como placed 9^th. Their goal for this year is to place higher than ninth at the Regional competition.

The Como Choir group is leaving March 11th for New York to perform and see the thrilling attractions of the city. They’ve been fundraising since last year for this trip, and anyone in the choir was able to sign up. For five days they will be touring Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Times Square and many other city highlights. The group will also be attending a Broadway musical and a boat cruise on the last day of their trip. The goal of the trip is to perform Beethoven’s Mass in C major at Carnegie Hall, which is a 54 minute piece! Everyone is excited to sing along with college and professional choir groups as well as an orchestra.
They will be conducted by the famous conductor and composer John Rutter. The group consists of about 30 students led by our very own choir teacher, Carol Whitney. During their trip they’ll even be staying at a five star hotel. This is an amazing opportunity for all choir students attending, and we’re all excited to hear the stories they come back with. Best wishes on their performances!

Inside Carnegie Hall

With the state tournament only hours away J Frasl isn’t even the least bit scared. In fact, he’s actually pretty excited. On a scale of One to Ten as far as nervousness goes, One being not nervous at all and Ten being as nervous as you’ve ever been, J says he’s at a One and says he’s looking forward to being around other good wrestlers. As far as predictions on placement he says, “I’m looking to take it one match at a time”. His preparations have changed a little and he’s focusing more on the little things and perfecting the things he’s already good at. His eating habits have also changed a little with the induction of more generous helpings of Power Bars.

As a team this year wasn’t the greatest, “we didn’t do as well as we planned, but their’s a lot of promise and potential for next year” J said. Reflecting on the season J also said, “It’s sad to see wrestling come to an end. All the good times and things I’ll never forget.” As far as wrestling in college, J says he’s leaning more towards football. For those of you looking to watch J wrestle he’ll be wrestling at about 4:45 near the end of the first session today at the Xcel Energy Center.

When you think about what is in your food while eating your school lunch, you are probably thinking like almost every other student eating their lunches too. Where do our fruits and vegetables come from?

Our fruits and vegetables come from the Farm to School aka. Farm2School Food Company. They supply our school with apples, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, coleslaw, corn on the cob, cucumbers, onions, peppers, watermelon and zucchini. They are all directly sent from the local farms to the schools.

The farm2School Food Company has programs located in 48 of the 50 states excluding Nevada and South Dakota. They have been substantially growing since they started from 1 to 400 different programs. Their goal is to deliver a school lunch that not only tastes satisfying to the students, but also can support the local farms. They also wish to provide healthier choices for students and to help reduce obesity among children as much as possible.

Their message to students is to “help children understand where their food comes from and how their food choices impact their bodies, the environment and their communities at large.” They have won several awards including the “Victory Against Hunger Award”.

The farms are local farms from Riverside Farms in Elk River, Vine Valley Farms in Anoka, John Svihel Vegetable Farm Inc. in Foley and Pepin Heights in Lake City.

]]> http://www.comocrier.org/life-at-como/2010/03/03/a-local-look-at-school-lunches/feed/ 0 http://www.comocrier.org/staff/2010/03/03/christian-erickson-room-service/ http://www.comocrier.org/staff/2010/03/03/christian-erickson-room-service/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:55:48 +0000 cerickson http://www.comocrier.org/?p=1365 Christian Erickson spends his free time drawing pictures of cats and playing guitar. He is a level 20 Undead Rogue that plays on the Shu-Halo WoW server. Also… METALLL!!!!!