Whatever Happened to The Class of 2005?

Then she graduated from Cardozo High School and arrived at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, where she bombed the placement tests so badly that she had to take remedial English and math. She failed the makeup math course twice before passing it. Low grades overall put her on academic probation. Finally, mid-sophomore year, she was forced to withdraw. Chappell sometimes thinks back to the Cardozo math teacher who, instead of assigning algebra homework, would have students clip photos of motorcycles from magazines and do other projects unrelated to math. "I thought it was strange and weird," Chappell said, but he did not complain because the class was "an easy A." To examine the fate of one graduating class of D.C. high school students is to find multiple stories like Chappell's -- stories that illustrate how a struggling urban schothe system, such as a reliable dropout rate or a way to track how students have fared after leaving. system often fails to shepherd its students and set them on a promising path to adulthood.

gener schools,DC,news
source http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/06/AR2007100601165.html
by V. Dion Haynes and Aruna Jain

October video game retail sales slide 4 percent

NEW YORK -- U.S. retail sales of video game hardware, software and accessories slipped 4 percent in October as demand for most gaming consoles declined from a year earlier, according to data from market researcher NPD Group. Overall game sales were $1.07 billion last month, down from $1.11 billion in October of last year, NPD said on Tuesday. Year-to-date sales were down 8 percent at the end of October, at $11.07 billion.Hardware sales tumbled 26 percent to $280 million from $381 million a year ago. With the exception of Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360, every gaming system saw a decline in unit sales, NPD said. The Xbox sold 325,000 units, up 30 percent year-over-year, Microsoft said.

Sales of game software, meanwhile, climbed 6 percent to $605 million from $573 million. The basketball blockbuster "NBA 2K11" from Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. was the month's best-selling title. It was followed by the shooter "Fallout: New Vegas" from Bethesda Softworks and "Medal of Honor" from Electronic Arts Inc. .

genre news,games,technolgy

source http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/16/AR2010111605935.html

by BARBARA ORTUTAY

Review: Cold War gets reheated in 'Call of Duty'

The latest edition has even drawn the wrath of the Cuban government, thanks to a mission based on an attempt to assassinate a young Fidel Castro.Call of Duty: Black Ops" (for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, $59.99) has plenty of other elements that are engineered to trigger protest. It's mostly set during the Vietnam War, still a touchy subject for any pop-culture treatment. There's some entirely gratuitous torture. And there's a weird post-game fantasia in which Castro joins President John F. Kennedy and future President Richard Nixon in fighting off a zombie invasion. All the free publicity - day-one sales totaled $360 million - tends to obscure the question of whether "Black Ops" is actually any good. The short answer: If you're a "Call of Duty" fan, you won't be disappointed. If you're not a fan, this installment won't change your mind.


genre games,news,entertainment
source http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/16/AR2010111602491.html
by  LOU KESTEN

'Fed lowers economic expectations for 2011'

Top Federal Reserve officials expect the unemployment rate to remain around nine percent at the end of next year and eight percent at the end of 2012, according to internal forecasts that drove the central bank to take new efforts to boost the economy three weeks ago.The 18 top leaders of the central bank expect the U.S. economy to grow at a 3 to 3.6 percent pace next year, which by their calculations will be enough to bring joblessness, currently at 9.6 percent, down to the 8.9 to 9.1 percent range in late 2011.diminished economic expectations that shaped the Fed leaders' decision to buy $600 billion of Treasury bonds in a bid to lower long-term interest rates and encourage growth. Those forecasts are supposed to assume "appropriate" monetary policy, meaning that the continued high unemployment is expected even with the new measures in place.

genre new,world,money
source http://voices.washingtonpost.com/political-economy/2010/11/fed_officials_expect_9_percent.html?hpid=topnews
by Neil Irwin

'Just Hit Snooze '

I think high schools start class later in the morning. One reason why I think  it should happen because teens get more rest. Another reason why I think schools should start later is because it might cause less accidents. People who disagreemight say that high school students might be late for after schools activities. However, I think its important to remeber that a later school time migh help high school students.

'Va. high school restores Fs'

West Potomac High School Principal Cliff Hardison announced Friday morning that he was reversing new grading policies.and allowed  and allowed students caught cheating to retake tests rather than get zeroes.The change comes after a public outcry among parents and teachers at the school, in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County.The cheating policy gave teachers the option of letting students retake tests. Both initiatives now have been rescinded.

genre schools,news
source:http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-breaking-news/education/va-high-school-restores-fs.html

'Harry Potter and the massive 'Deathly Hallows' revenue'

As predicted, the latest addition to the Potter series worked its magic on the box office, raking in a $125 million in ticket sales.This weekend's $16.1 million haul was respectable, but only a little over half of last weekend's $30.1 million take.The Robert Downey Jr./Zach Galifianakis road trip comedy brought in an unremarkable $9.2 million in its third weekend, for a total gross of $72.6 million so far.  "127 Hours" expanded to 108 theaters over the weekend and squeaked in just under a million with $915,000 for the weekend.


genres news,movies
source;http://voices.washingtonpost.com/celebritology/2010/11/weekend_box_office_harry_potte.html

'Springfield Mall at a crossroads'

The Springfield mall are struggling mall could soon be closed because of there redevelopment Or it could be destined for a multimillion-dollar Christmas gift, with new high-rise apartments, outdoor outlets said (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post) .The Northern Virginia mall's owner, New York-based Vornado Realty Trust, has been shopping its $160 million in debt in recent weeks,Representatives from Vornado declined to comment on their plans for the mall, except to point to previous public statements about their commitment to redeveloping it.If the mall closed, it would mark the end of a storied shopping destination that helped define Springfield for decades. It would also become the latest reminder that the ubiquitous indoor mall, a byproduct of 1950s


genres news,shopping
source;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/21/AR2010112103882.html

'The Review Of Diary Of Wimpy Kid'

In my opinion the movie 'diary of wimpy kid' is a great movie for all ages its a comedy of the book diary of a wimpy kid by Jeff Kinney. In addition  the book is as great as the movie the movie is great all views should watch this movie.


The movie diary of a wimpy kid starts off as main chacter (Zachary Gordon) get tricked that is his first day of school and then he has a week left and him and his friend Rolwey are best friends but through out the movie they lose connection and Gregory wants to be the most popular kid in the school by the end of the year while facing many challenges.


what I though about Zachary Gordon acting was great i felt like it was kinda like the book I think he should be an other movies as a kid actor  but by the end of the movie he was still a great actor I would see any movie that he is in. That's what i think about the actor.

During the end of the movie they made up as friends and were friends and Greg the main chacter  didn't make his goal as being the most popular by the end of the year but he completed it but no as he expected my feeling about the movie was a great ending.

Good Or Bad Decision?

I think this is a good and a bad decision the reason why I think its a good decision to make it a half day is for other students can not  introuble and stay foucas in there classes. A reason why its a bad idea is because students can lose there special classes like gym,journlism and art. Thats why I think its a bad and good decision.