From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

News briefs

By Sistine Gurrey
St. Thomas Aquinas

April 24 2008

Are you Above the Influence?

Ever see those Above the Influence commercials on TV and online?

AboveTheInfluence.com wants you to tell the world how you stay above the influence and avoid peer pressure. All you have to do is create a video that is made 100% form scratch. That means nothing copyrighted like logos, music, or phrases. Your video can be anything that expresses how you live above it. It can be a dramatization, documentary-style video, or a commercial. Your video must be 2 minutes or shorter. The most creative and inspiring videos will get posted on the website. Pick up those cameras and film, you have until April 30. For more information go to www.abovetheinfluence.com/speak/submit-videos.aspx.

Practice your ACTs

Get in a little bit of practice before you take the real big tests.

JP Taravella's the DECA club will be offering a Mock ACT test for students in the area at 8 a.m. on May 10. You will be taking an actual ACT test and will receive your scores and learn test-taking strategies courtesy of The Princeton Review company, but you must register by April 25. There is a $25 test fee, but this allows you to keep the exam and participate in a special test strategy seminar on Tuesday, May 27, at 7 p.m. where you go over your exam.

For more information, contact the sponsoring DECA club advisor Jamie Simmons at 754-899-5543, or e-mail at Jamie.simmons@browardschools.com, or the BRACE advisor Charlotte Kaplan at 754-322-2300.

Don't miss this exceptional opportunity.

yet another for filmmakers

If you take particular interest in making comic book, sci-fi, fantasy, and related subject movies, you got a chance to enter the Florida SuperCon Independent Film Festival. Yup, a real film festival. All you have to do is submit a short (under 45 minutes) or feature (over 45 minutes) film of the categories listed above to PO Box 4012 Fort Lauderdale 33338 by May 1. There is a $25 (short film) to $35 (feature film) fee for each entry that must be paid online. There is also a downloadable submission form online that you must fill out. For more information go to: www.floridasupercon.com/FILMFESTIVAL.html.

Production Perfection

Deerfield Beach High Television department knows a good story when they see one, and because of that they won the "All-Florida" award from the Florida Scholastic Press Association. This outstanding television news show, Bucks TV, won the highest honor given by FSPA. They received 943 out of 1,000 points during the judging. Out of six categories: format, script, style, technical quality, ethics, and talent quality, Bucks TV had perfect scores in two categories. The students and their teacher drove up to Tampa on April 18th to receive their award at the Florida Scholastic Press Association 62nd Annual Convention. Congratulations.

World Champs

Yea, it's possible and the champs live here.

Flanagan High school's World Guard won the 2008 Winter Guard International Color Guard World Championships on April 10-12 at the University of Dayton Arena in Ohio. Ending an 11- year winning streak by James Logan High in California, Flanagan became the first Florida high school to win this title.

Over 500 high schools from all across the nation participated in the WGI Color Guard World Championships. These teams represented the highest skill set in the world. Also known as the "Sport of the Arts," the Winter Guard International livens up music through competitive routines with flags. Congratulations, Flanagan!