Are you afraid of moving up to senior high school? It is a completely new experience, but you shouldn't worry. We've got a guide to help you.

    You're not alone. Remember that everybody else in your year is in the same boat. You may not notice it, but they're just as nervous as you are.

    Moving to senior high school is a chance, not a problem. Things are different, and all you need to do is to be polite and learn the new rules.

    The teachers will help. If you don't know what to do or are worried about something, then ask for help. Teachers are probably the best people to turn to, because they have experience in helping new students. Pay attention to what your teachers say.

    Everything changes. There are lots of differences between junior high school and senior high school. You will have your lessons with different teachers in different rooms. You will have homework for different subjects on different days, so make sure you get organised. Make sure you know which rooms your classes are in and which days you have your different subjects on.

Other points:

    If you've got an older brother or sister at the school, then ask them for advice.

    Be yourself! It sounds simple, but things will become better if you just act naturally.

    Having early nights makes a difference. You'll also find it easier to get up in the morning!

                                                                                 Is There Life on Earth

    There was great excitement on the planet of Venus this week. For the first time Venusian scientists managed to land a satellite on the planet Earth, and it has been sending back signals as well as photographs ever since.

    The satellite was directed into an area known as Manhattan(named after the great Venusian astronomer Prof. Manhattan, who first discovered it with his telescope 20,000 light years ago). Because of excellent weather conditions and extremely strong signals, Venusian scientists were able to get valuable information as to the feasibility(可行性)of a manned flying saucer(飞碟)landing on Earth. A press conference was held at the Venus Institute of Technology.

    “We have come to the conclusion, based on last week's satellite landing,” Pro. Zog said, “that there is no life on the Earth.”

    “How do you know this?” the science reporter of the Venus Evening Star asked.

    “For on thing, Earth's surface in the area of Manhattan is composed of solid concrete and nothing can grow there. For another, the atmosphere is filled with carbon monoxide and other deadly gases and nobody could possibly breathe this air and survive.”

    “What does this mean as far as our flying saucer program is concerned?”

    “We shall have to take our own oxygen with us, which means heavier flying saucer than we originally planned.”

    “Are there any other risks that you discovered in your studies?”

    “Take a look at his photo. You see this dark black cloud floating over the surface of Earth?” We call this the Consolidated Edison Belt. We don't know what it is made of, but it could give us a lot of trouble and we shall have to make further tests before we send a Venus Being there.”

    “If what you say is true, won't this set back the flying saucer program several years?”

    “Yes, but we shall proceed as soon as the Grubstart gives us the added funds.”

    “Pro. Zog, why are we spending billions and billions of zilches to land a flying saucer on Earth when there is no life there?

    “Because if we Venusians can learn to breathe in an Earth atmosphere, then. We can live anywhere.”

    There lived in South Carolina a young woman named Eliza Lucas. Her father was governor of one of the islands of the West Indies. Miss Lucas often got seeds from her father, and then she planted them in South Carolina.

    Once, her father sent her some seeds of the indigo (靛蓝) plant. She planted some of them in March, but a frost (霜冻) came and killed all her plants. However, she decided to plant some more seeds in April. These grew very well until a cutworm found them and ate her plants. Once more Miss Lucas planted some of the seeds. This time the plants grew very well. She wrote to her father about it. He sent her a man who knew how to get the indigo out of the plant.

    However, the man tried not to show Miss Lucas how to make the indigo. He did not want the people in South Carolina to learn how to make it. He was afraid his own people would not get so much money for their indigo if other people made it as well. So he destroyed the indigo on purpose. But Miss Lucas watched him closely. She worked out how the indigo could be made. Some of her father's land in South Carolina was now planted with the indigo plant.

    Then Miss Lucas got married, and became Mrs. Pinckney. Her father gave her all the indigo growing on his land in South Carolina. It was all saved for seeds. Mrs Pinckney gave some of the seeds to her friends while her husband sowed others. They all grew and were made into the blue dye(染料) that we call indigo. In a few years, South Carolina was producing more than a million pounds of indigo every year. All the people were grateful to her.

    Orthopedic pillows are not just like any other ordinary pillow. These products are specially made to fulfill a specific function.

    People buy orthopedic pillows for several reasons. Sometimes people buy this type of pillow because their doctor has specifically recommended them to do so as part of a treatment and management plan for neck, back, or bone problems. In recent years, people have become more aware of the science behind orthopedic pillows, which accounts for the increase in the popularity of these pillows. There has been a lot of available orthopedic pillow information for anyone interested. The science behind these pillows has also advanced significantly over the years, which means that orthopedic pillows are now more effective and useful than ever.

    Orthopedic pillows help you maintain the right gesture. While traditional pillows may be very comfortable, they do not necessarily promote the proper gesture as you sleep, which is proved to be important for your health. It also helps you avoid waking up with a host of body aches and pains. Among the most common causes of back and neck pains is sleeping without adequate support. Orthopedic pillows can provide you with the necessary support that will keep these kinds of body pains away. The pillow is specifically designed to conform to the natural contours (轮廓) of your body, thus ensuring that your skeletal structure is kept in proper alignment (直线) throughout the night and that no part of your body is subjected to too much pressure, which leads to pain.

    Of course, it is understandable that you may find an orthopedic pillow a bit uncomfortable the first time you use it, but that is true with any new experience. The materials used in manufacturing these pillows are ideal for the kind of sleep that you are looking for.

    Just like any product in the market, there is a disadvantage to an orthopedic pillow as well. They are usually more expensive than traditional pillows. But, if you treat the purchase as an investment on your health, it may be a lot easier for you to part with the cash.

    Tomorrow brings to a close of the second school term of the 2018 academic year and the start of the winter school holidays. Following a busy examination period, this is a much needed break for many students across the province.

    Wednesday, January 6: Ice Skating

    Welcome to the world of ice for our first cold-weather event of the season! Whether you are a professional ice skater or this will be your first time on the ice, you are guaranteed to have a fantastic time!

    Wednesday, January 13: College Preparedness 2.0

    Although most of the stress of applying for college this year is out of the way, this College Preparedness workshop will help you take other things into consideration. Application deadlines for financial aid are drawing near and we are bringing in the experts to help you through all of the specific details. This workshop will help to best prepare you for scholarships, work study, and student loans that will make paying for college easy as A-B-C, Do-Re-Mi, and 1-2-3.

    Wednesday, January 27: Ecological Risk Assessment of Your Life/Home

    There are so many warnings out there about what you should and should not put in your body and use in your home. This workshop helps make sense of it all. Come to figure out how to live your healthiest possible life without spending a ton of money.

    Wednesday, February 3: Winter Survival in Any Situation

    Living in the outdoors with minimal equipment is a skill and an art. It is particularly challenging when the outside temperatures reach winter lows. The winter survival workshop will show you some old tricks of the trade for surviving outside in cold temperatures and how to make primitive fires.

    Wednesday, February 10: Best Friend Ever

    High school is temporary, but the friendships you make can be forever. How do you make a relationship last? Learn how to be the best friend you can be in this interactive workshop.

Every year, thousands of teenagers participate in programs at their local art museums. But do any of them remember their time at museum events later in life? A new report suggests that the answer is yes--and finds that arts-based museum programs are credited with changing the course of alumni's（毕业生的） lives, even years after the fact. 

The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Walker Art Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles recently asked researchers to conduct à study to find out how effective their long-standing teen art programs really are. They involved over 300 former participants of four programs for teens that have been in existence since the 1990s. Alumni, whose current ages range from 18 to 36, were invited to find out how they viewed their participation years after the fact. 

Among the alumni surveyed, 75 percent of them thought the teen art program experience had the most favorable impact on their own lives, beating the family, school and their neighborhoods. Nearly 55 percent thought that it was one of the most important experiences they had ever had, regardless of age. And two-thirds said that they were often in situations where their experience in museums affected their actions or thoughts. 

It turns out that participating in art programs also helps keep teens keen about culture even after they reach adulthood: Ninety-six percent of participants had visited an art museum within the last two years, and 68 percent had visited an art museum five or more times within the last two years. Thirty-two percent of alumni work in the arts as adults. 

Though the study is the first of its kind to explore the impact of teen-specific art programs in museums, it reflects other research on the important benefits of engaging with the arts. A decade of surveys by the National Endowment for the Arts found that the childhood experience with the arts is significantly associated with people's income and educational achievements as adults. Other studies have linked arts education to everything from lower dropout rates to improvement in critical thinking skills.