MIDDLE SCHOOL MOMENTS 03/31/17

HANC PRESENTS OY!

This Sunday night, H.A.N.C Middle schoolers had the privilege of joining the H.A.N.C High School play, the comedy "Oy." We worked for months memorizing lines and practicing. Getting to play a person that we have never played before was truly an experience. The play "Oy" is made up of 7 short, funny skits. Each related to Judaism. "Word Play," "Close Call," "Steve Goldstein Faces the Day of Atonement Unprepared," "A Trolley Named Tsuris," "Last Minute Adjustments," "Murray, Leo, and Sol rewrite the criminal Code," and "Good News From Albert." Before we knew it, it was Show Day! We had professional lighting and video. We had many props and background scenarios. Everyone helped doing the transitions during the play. The play got so many laughs and compliments. But it didn't end there. The Drama Club got to perform it all again Monday Night. We had success both nights. We will remember this experience forever. We thank Leore and Mr. Kintzer for putting so much work and effort into this play. We would also like to thank everyone else that helped out and especially our amazing cast for putting so much effort into this great performance.

Yaira Goldress, Allie Eisenberg

WIRELESS WEDNESDAY

For this week's Wireless Wednesday program (03/29/17) Dr. Levey and Mrs. Steiner asked the question: "Are there physical effects of screen time?"

We identified 5 potential physical effects of screen time.

1) Cyber Sickness - Cyber Sickness or "digital motion sickness" can result from a mismatch between a person's sensory inputs. A person may experience headaches to woozy feelings when they quickly scroll through their smart phone. For example, this "sensory conflict" can occur when a person is watching an active motion (fast cars, roller coaster, etc.) but they aren't physically feeling the movement.

2) Text Claw - Text Claw may result from heavy smartphone usage that results in a person's fingers, wrist and forearm being sore and/or cramping.

3) Eye Strain - Eye Strain results from staring at a digital device for long periods of time. This can result in sore, irritated and dry eyes, headaches and fatigue.

4) Text Neck - Text Neck, similar to Text Claw, is when a person experiences discomfort in their neck and spine from spending long periods of time looking down at their smartphone.

5) Petextrian-itus - Petextrian-itus is when a person becomes unaware of their surroundings when looking at their smartphone and walking at the same time. Pedestrian fatalities are on the rise because too many smartphone users engage in distracted walking. People have been known to walk into trees, buildings too straining or breaking an ankle or foot not noticing a step (up or down).

Have you experienced any physical effects of screen time?

Stay tuned for more exciting Tech Talk Topics!

TECH TALK THURSDAY

For this special Thursday Tech Talk Topic (03/3017), Dr. Levey spoke about Passwords. This topic coincided with the resetting of all the passwords on each students Chromebook.

The information for this program was gleaned from the cyberbullying.us website. This is an incredibly valuable and useful website for students, teachers and parents.

10 Tips for Teens - Passwords

1) Protect Them

Never give and/or post your password on Facebook, Instagram, e-mail, your smartphone, etc. to anyone - even a friend. Friendships sometimes don't last, and that password (and the information on your device), can be used without your permission.

2) Remember Your Secret Password

When you create an online account, and it asks you to provide an answer to a question you should know - don't treat it lightly or as a joke.

Make sure it's something you will remember months and years from now in case you have a problem at that time.

3) Don't Disclose Information About You

Do not use passwords based on personal information (your login name, birth date, address, phone number, middle name, pet's name, etc.).

4) Mix It Up

Use a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and non-alphabetic characters (symbols) if possible.

5) Be Creative

When creating a password, make your own acronym from a phrase that means something to you, and group together the first letter of each word. Use numbers and symbols when you can. Make sure the acronym you create has at least seven characters.

For example, "Last week I fell down thirty stairs" - Lw1fd30$

6) Change It Up

Change your password often (like now!). It takes time and is a bit of a chore, but do it anyway. It takes more time and is more of a chore to try and recover from a hacked account or from identity theft.

7) Don't Send It To Others

Never provide your password via a text message or over e-mail or in response to a request. You could accidentally send it to the wrong person or that person might show it to someone else. Or it could be a scam.

8) Don't Post It

Do not place a written copy of your password on the side of your monitor, under your keyboard, in your laptop case, on the back of your phone, etc.

Figure out a secure place where you can store the passwords you write down - or, if possible - never write down any passwords; it is best to commit them to memory or use a highly-rated password manager software.

9) Avoid Entering On Unsecured Devices

Do not type passwords on devices that you do not own, control, or fully trust. Computers in Internet cafes, school labs, airports, libraries, or similar public places should only be used for anonymous Web browsing, and not for logging into your online accounts.

10) Use Different Passwords

Don't use the same password across all of the online accounts you have. Try to use different passwords at different sites, so that one hacked account doesn't lead to other accounts being hacked.

Stay tuned for more exciting Tech Talk Topics!

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