The Potential For High School Skateboarding Teams

Did you know that skateboarding is very close to becoming a recognized high school sport? The National High School Skateboarding Association, launched in 2007, is working to make skateboarding a team sport in high schools across the country. Many see this step as fundamental in making skateboarding a mainstream rather than counterculture sport.

The first season of team skateboarding, in 2007, was known as the California High School Skateboarding Club. Though it began small, it received widespread attention. This club was soon contacted by people all over the country who wanted to begin similar skateboarding teams at schools nationwide. For the 2008 season, more than 20 school teams signed up to compete throughout Southern California, and the name was changed to the National High School Skateboarding Association to reflect the national attention the movement had already received.

In 2009, there were over 45 teams competing in three regions: North, Central, and South Los Angeles. Though the movement is still centralized in California, not surprising considering the lengthy history of skateboarding there, the movement is poised to explode throughout the nation in the coming years. Soon you may see a competitive skateboarding team at a school in your town.

The current competitive skateboarding season includes two competitions in the regular season, with the winners advancing to additional competitions at the semi-final level. The top individuals at the end of the season can potentially win an invitation to compete in the X Games, one of the sport's most prestigious competitions. NHSSA provides a valuable platform for young skateboarders looking to get their talents seen by big names.

The mission of the National High School Skateboard Association, or NHSSA, is to provide an environment for high school skateboarders to showcase their skating talents while still in school. The NHSSA believes that young skateboarders, like all other young athletes, need an outlet to compete and reach their full potential. The NHSSA supports skateboarders who want to take their abilities to the next level professionally, those who want to have a career in the skateboard industry, and those who simply enjoy skateboarding as a hobby.

Though this movement has received widespread attention, it is actually not the first attempt at competitive high school skateboarding teams. In fact, the idea goes as far back as the 1970s, the era of team skateboarding. In this era, skateboarders would often affiliate themselves with their local surf/skate shop, forming teams that would travel throughout California, competing for bragging rights. Though most of the competitors were high school students, teams were affiliated not with high schools but with skate shops.

With the NHSSA, it is clear that skateboarding is here to stay. This popular sport is on the cusp of becoming widely recognized as a high school sport. In future decades, it may become possible for teens across the nation to join a competitive high school skateboarding team. Still, the prospect of team skateboarding is not attractive to some young skateboarders, particularly those who skate with an individualist spirit and resist becoming part of an organized group, instead preferring skateboarding to remain counterculture.

School Homecoming Prom, Dance, and Party Ideas and Themes

Is your student body planning a high school prom, dance, or party? Do you need ideas for your themes? Well look no further we can help spark your creative juices by going over several factors that determine a successful prom.

High School Homecoming

Most High School Homecomings are organized by Student Council Advisors. Now the main idea for a homecoming is to promote school spirit. The planning that goes into a homecoming or party is not as involved as your High School Prom. This does not mean that the decorations should get overlooked at your schools homecoming. We will discuss those ideas later.

High School Prom

At a majority of High Schools, their Proms are planned by the Junior Class Prom Committee. The prom is the send off for the school's upper class students. There can be two separate proms depending on the size of your junior and senior class. Some schools in different districts go as far as to combine proms due to smaller class sizes. Since the High School Prom is a formal event, it is usually receives more attention and funding.

High School Homecoming Dance Ideas

So you and your committee are looking for ideas for your homecoming, dance, or party. Your themes depend mostly on the traditions of your school. Try to tie in what your school mascot. If your party or dance is something more casual, then it may be predetermined. The basic ingredients for successful school homecoming dance are music, hype, and energy. The company you hire for the Michigan DJ can make or break your ticket sales for the next dance depending on how the music was balanced. How well your committee hypes the party will determine the outcome as well. Do not forget that the energy level at your school homecoming dance will be based on how much decorating your group does.

High School Prom Themes

Your High School Prom theme deserves more attention than the typical High School Homecoming. This means spending more time selecting a reputable venue location, caterer, photographer, and Michigan DJ Company. Here is a list of High School Prom themes for you to choose from.

A Dream for Us

A Kiss is Just a Kiss

A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Night at the Oscars

A Night in the Clouds

A Night of Mystery

A Night on Treasure Island

A Night to Remember

A Night with the Stars

A Red Carpet Affair

A Stroll down Broadway

A Taste of California

A Taste of International Flavors

A Walk in the Clouds

An Affair to Remember

An Evening in (Place)

An Evening of Stars

Arabian Nights

Between Your Heart and Mine

Big Band

Born to Be Wild

Box Office Bliss

Bright Lights, Big City

Broadway Backstage

Can't Fight the Moonlight

Captured in a Dream

Caribbean Nights

Carnival

Carried Away

Casablanca

Casino de (School Name)

Cherished Moments

Come What May

Cupid's Ball

Daring to Dream

Deep Blue Destiny

Depths of Love

Destiny Awaits

Destiny Awaits

Enchantment under the Sea

Escape

Eternal Elegance

Everything You Want

Fire and Ice (Worlds Collide)

Fly Me to the Moon

Forever Tonight

From this Moment

Garden of Enchantment

Glamour and Glitz or the 20's

Got to Believe in Magic

Greek Paradise

Happily Ever After

Heaven in Your Eyes

Heaven on Earth

Here's to the Night

Hollywood Night of the Oscars

Hollywood Nights

Horary for Hollywood

Hour of Enchantment

I Believe

I could not ask For More

I Promise you the Stars

If only for one Night

I'll Always Remember You

In The Still of the Night

In the Still of the Night

It Might Be You

It's a Jungle Out There

Larger than Life

Let the Good Times Roll

Magic under the Stars

Magical Memories

Mardi gras

Masquerade Ball

Memories of Tonight

Memories to Last a Lifetime

Moonlight In Paradise

Moonlight on the Nile

Moonlight Rendezvous

Moving On

Mystical Journey

Mystical Twilight

New York, New York

Night in New Orleans

Night with the Stars

Nightlife 200-

One Sweet Night

One upon a Time

Our Treasured Night

Paint the Town Red

Paradise Awaits

Parisian Romance/Escape

Picture Perfect

Putting on the Glitz

Remember Me Always

Retro Romance

Romance in the Park

Saturday Night Fever

Save the Last Dance for Me

Saving Forever for You

Shores of Venice

Show Me the Meaning

Simply Forever

Simply the Best

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Space Odyssey

Springtime in Paris

Stand By Me

Star Struck

Starlight Fairytale

Still the One

Sunset Serenade

The Perfect Prom

The Way You Love Me

These are the Times

This Magic Moment

Time after Time

Time of My Life

Tonight is the Night

Tonight's Dream...Tomorrow's Memory

Tropical Paradise

Under the Sea

Underwater Paradise

Unforgettable

Unforgettable

Voices That Care

Waiting for Tonight

Waiting for Tonight

Waltz under the Blue Moon

What Dreams May Come

When You Believe

With Upon a Star

Written in the Stars

You'll be in my Heart

The Ultimate Dance for your Students

Selecting a theme and going over ideas will help guarantee a fun and memorable event. This is a key component in producing an unforgettable prom or homecoming dance. First, think about the type of prom you want to have, whether you want it to be romantic, fun, or mysterious. Most schools develop themes that generally set the guidelines for the prom colors and decorations. Some schools have become more creative by revolving the entire dance party around the theme and ideas. This goes all the way down to the students costume attire to decorations. Whatever theme your committee chooses, make sure it fits the personality and customs of your student body.

High School Choices

Are things not going so well in public high school? Do you know your school choices? Are you on the brink of dropping out? Have you already dropped out? You are not alone. For example, in California, graduation rates are at their 10 year low. In the city of Detroit, only 25% of high school are getting a diploma. Something is wrong here.

I will give you my hit on what the problem is, and some solutions to consider. First of all, the "No Child Left Behind" program is having exactly the opposite effect from what was intended. This is a program that was intended to give every high school student an equal chance of getting a good high school education. In real life, "No Child Left Behind" has become a huge drop out machine.

Now that the program is maturing, some schools seem to be performing better, and students scores on the tests seem to be getting better. Wrong. What is actually happening is that slower students are being eliminated, and only the scores of the higher scoring students are being measured. In my state it is well known that drop out data is being disguised due to pressure on schools to perform well and get federal funds. The way it is done here is to not count as a drop out, any student who leaves school and states that he wants to get a GED, be "home schooled", or go to an online school. They do not know, and do not care if that low scoring student actually goes on to get a GED or whatever. All the high school cares about is that he will no longer be counted "against" them.

To me, the worst outrage is that the "No Child Left Behind" program is functioning as a filter, to separate out those kids who came from relatively more privileged, and stable backgrounds from those who have family, economic, and social problems. I know that there are children who defy all odds, and excel, but overall this is the truth. Minorities, you step over here, all others step over there. This makes me very angry. Why has President Obama allowed this to continue. My suspicion is that it is due to his poor choice for Education Secretary, Arne Duncan. Mr. Duncan is career executive who has never taught school, and would probably die of fright if he ever went to an inner city school. Duncan is a free market fanatic, and believes in holding schools, and students "accountable".

I am all for having people take responsibility for their own actions, but there is something larger at play here. I will give you an example. Here is my own story. My step daughter just dropped out of HS. This is not something I approved of or encouraged at all. I am very upset about it. In her earlier grades, she was held back twice. Being held back twice increases the chances of dropping out of school to over 90%. Somehow I thought she would defy the statistics.

My step daughter is Vietnamese. In her early school years, she had a difficult time catching up to native English speaking students. In high school she began to do well. She made the honor roll. The problem was that just after making the honor roll, she failed the state exams... again. How is it that a student who is awarded the honor roll by her high school can fail the state exams? This means that she was getting the maximum that she could from her school, but that school was substandard, and was not preparing her for the standardized tests. It also means that we had little confidence in her schools' ability to help her prepare for retesting. So, here is what we decided.

We enrolled her in an online high school. After extensive shopping, we selected a school that is medium priced, has a good curriculum, and good accreditation. We avoided schools that were attached to the public school system, and the state exams for obvious reasons. The school that we chose was National High School. If you are searching for an online high school, you will have a lot of choices. There are more than 200 of them advertised. Some are very expensive, costing $1000 per course. Some are free, and sponsored by the state.

Kodenkan Jokyu Tanto No Maki Nobori Ryu -Shihan Russ Rhodes

Shihan Russ Rhodes ---Shinkodenkai--- from Pacific Coast Academy Martial Arts in Los Gatos CA specializing in Kenpo (Kodenkan/) / Ju-Jitsu (Dan Zan Ryu)- demonstrates a move coined by Shihan Rhodes called - Kodenkan Jokyu Tanto No Maki Nobori Ryu- In this beautiful but potentially lethal technique, Shihan Rhodes shows the control and power that can only be demonstrated by a martial artist with over 40 years of training.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qJnxBJhcwA&hl=en