Upper St. Clair

Upper St. Clair High School

Rich and spoiled are something that people always associate with kids from Upper St. Clair. Everyone who knows the region knows how Upper St. Clair has all the rich families and all the smart kids. It is true that we are all smart, but not all of us are the rich jerks that everyone seems to think we are. Upper St. Clair is a place that not many people will ever understand because there are a set of values and a code that everyone seems to live by. Upper St. Clair is a place of great success and a great place to live. To truly understand what Upper St. Clair is, one must see it through the eyes of someone who has lived there since he remembers. It is not the usual Pittsburgh suburban community, but one that values greatness, integrity and respect and that’s what gave Upper St. Clair the reputation that it has.

At a very young age, every student is taught very important values. It does help that all the students are placed into some of the best elementary schools in the country, based upon the number of Blue Ribbon Awards that each of the Upper St. Clair elementary school has. The Blue Ribbon Award is given to a school that exhibits excellence in the classroom, but also excellence for helping the community. Each school in Upper St. Clair has at least 2 Blue Ribbon Awards, showing how excellence is something all students strive for. Students are taught by day one to talk to other kids, learn about each other and to make friends and to not let anyone make anyone feel bad or hurt anyone. The students are taught to be the best they can be. It is not because of the parent’s money that everyone can get anywhere, but it has to be the students themselves that gets them to be where they want to be. They all are taught to treat everyone with respect and if we do that, then they will be treated with respect right back. They respect the rules that their parents, teachers, and school set in place for them. When they break those rules, they are not punished, but they are told that they have disappointed the school and their parents. It is there that they as Upper St. Clair students learn. They work hard to make their parents and our school proud. Over 25 students last year received scholarships for various things, like math competitions, reading, and many other things. More than half of each Upper St. Clair class is inducted into the National Honors Society. Everyone does their best to make their parents proud. It is the values that they are taught that make them who they are, and what makes Upper St. Clair the place of excellence.

Integrity is one of the most important aspects of Upper St. Clair. Upper St. Clair High School is known by most universities as one of the top high schools in the country. They have some of the best teachers, who make them work for their grades and teach them some of the hardest material that one can learn in high school. It is in the classroom that they as students thrive. They show up each day and are challenged to do better and better. That is what makes them who they are. Often people think that kids in Upper St. Clair have their parents pay the school to give their kids better grades, but that does not happen. The 2008 class of Upper St. Clair has proven every year that they were the best. Since the start of the Pennsylvania State Scholastic Assessment test, they have ranked number one every year that the test was administered according to the Business Times Magazine. They had a 100 percent proficiency in Math and 99 percent in Reading and 98 percent in writing. They have worked hard to earn the top ranking in the state assessment for public high schools. They take pride in the fact that they work very hard in a very tough high school to be the very intelligent students. They do not let anyone tell them that they got somewhere because their parents paid their way through something. They are proud to be from Upper St. Clair because nowhere else is just like it.

Academics are something Upper St. Clair has always excelled, but being well- rounded is what is what makes Upper St. Clair what it is. All students take pride in the fact that they are a very intelligent class of people, but they also take pride in everything that they do. They have shown excellence in academics, but athletics is something else that they take pride in. They are one of the smallest schools in the league, yet prove each year in most sports to be a powerhouse. The Upper St. Clair football team won the state championship in 2006, a western Pennsylvania lacrosse championship in 2005, as well as championships in tennis, girl’s basketball and boy’s golf. Everyone tries to prove that they are not just academically strong, but strong on the playing field as well. Also, they work in the summers for their parents, so that they can see what the real world is like and to see why they must do our best, so that we can have the nice lifestyle that they currently live. They work hard on everything that they do, no matter what it is. This is what helps them to be the well-rounded students that they are. It is their strong work ethic that makes Upper Str. Clair the place that it is. Every student works hard to be a well-rounded individual.

Respect, pride, integrity and excellence, are all words that describe Upper St. Clair. These words define the community in which I grew up. Upper St. Clair is a place where the students shape the outside view of the community. The only defining aspect that adults have on the view is their wealth, but the students are the ones that make the image of Upper St. Clair what it really should be. No one notices how hard we work. It is in the hand of the students, to show the excellence that is Upper St. Clair.

Gregory Cox and Carmichaels

Specialist Gregory A. Cox

When thinking of Carmichaels, one thing comes to mind. That thing is my cousin Gregory Cox. The main reason may be because he was killed in Iraq, but also because when thinking of Carmichaels, he is the first thing that comes to mind. It seems like he just fits everything about the little town. Greg was not the usual little kid. Actually he was anything but little. At 9 years of age he was already 5 and half feet tall and over 140 pounds. He grew up very close to the church. He was a very religious person who was one of the nicest people anyone could know. He was a very important person to many people of Carmichaels. Everyone knew who he was and everyone was very supportive of him. This little town was a perfect fit for him. The town was a caring, religious and proud town just like Greg. It is the fact that both Greg and Carmichaels are very caring, religious and proud, and this show how Greg and the town seem intertwined.

Greg was a very caring person who lived in a town that was just as caring, which made the two go hand in hand. Greg was a person who did everything for the benefit of others, and could care less for his own self. When he graduated from high school just before September 11 happened, he thought about going to college, but realized that if he went to college that it would be very hard for his parents to come up with enough money for his sister to go to school in a couple years. He did not think once about himself, but instead thought about helping his sister. Although college may have been the best thing to do, Greg decided that he would join the army. He knew that if he would fight for a couple years that the U.S. Army would pay for college. Unfortunately for him he joined just a month before the September 11 attacks happened, and was shipped out for Iraq about a year later. He was stationed over there for 2 years before he was killed. Greg risked his life just so his sister could have the chance of going to college. This shows how unselfish he was and how caring he was. His hometown of Carmichaels never forgot who he was. When he was laid out, there were more than a thousand people outside the family who came to see him. These people had such a great respect for him. Every year since 2004 the year that he was killed, there has been a fundraiser in Carmichaels for soldiers who were wounded in Iraq. They have raised a lot of money for wounded soldiers who have been brought home. Carmichaels is a small town but has proven to have a huge heart. That is why Gregory Cox and Carmichaels seem to be intertwined because both have such big hearts.

Greg was a very religious person who lived in a town that believed just as much as he did. Ever since Greg was a little boy, he would go to church every week. He also went to a catholic school for all of his schooling, which had some of an influence on going to church every week. At the earliest possible age, he became an altar server. This is how everyone began to know Greg. He would be the altar server every week till the end of high school. Everyone began to love the kid who they all knew was a very religious and kind-hearted person. The town consisted of mostly Roman Catholics, and most of the people went to church at least once a week. Religion was a big part in the town as well as in Greg’s life, but it was not till about 10 years ago that everyone had such a huge belief in religion. The main source of income in Carmichaels is in coal mining. It was 10 to 12 years ago that the coal miners in Carmichaels thought that the mine was running out. This would mean that a majority of the males in Carmichaels would be out of jobs. The people looked to the church as a way to help find comfort and a new way to earn money. Greg’s father worked in the mine at the time and needed a way to earn money just like everyone else. Greg thought of a way that he knew would help everyone. He proposed that there be a special mass every Wednesday to ask God for help. The people of Carmichaels backed up his idea and they started holding special masses every Wednesday. After about 2 months people were getting very worried and started to have doubts. They had no need to worry because the miners found a new source of coal and its still in work today. Both Greg and the community connected during these times, and it just shows how both Greg and the community are two things that go hand in hand.

SPC Gregory A. Cox and the town of Carmichaels both are two things to be proud about. Greg is a person that is looked up to by a lot of people and is the best role model that can be imagined. He has every quality that most people would love to have in a person. He was a smart, caring, nice, kind and a very loving person. He was known by everyone and they all knew the kind of person he is. There was not one person who would have said that he was a bad kid because the community and Greg were like one person. Carmichaels also had no reason to be anything but proud of itself. The town raised a lot of money to help wounded soldiers and still raises money for soldiers. Not many towns connect on the same level that Carmichaels does. Everyone gets along and everyone would help out each other in a time of need. Carmichaels is a town that anybody would be proud to live in. Both Greg and Carmichaels are two things to be very proud of. Greg will forever live in the hearts of many people just as will Carmichaels. Greg will be known as the kind, caring and loving kid who was unfortunately killed in Iraq. Many families will know Carmichaels as the town that helped their wounded soldier. These reasons would make a lot of people proud to either know Greg or live in Carmichaels. Both Greg and Carmichaels are things to be proud of and Greg is from Carmichaels, and is part of the reason why Carmichaels is to be proud, so it just makes sense that they are intertwined.

SPC Gregory A. Cox will be the man known to very few people as a soldier and a hero, but he will be known for his caring, love of religion and for his kindness by many more people. Carmichaels will be just another small town, but for some soldiers it will be the place that gave them a new beginning, but for many people it is home and a place for those people to be proud of. It just makes sense that Greg is from Carmichaels because the two just seem to be the same. It seems like Greg’s life and the history of Carmichaels go hand and hand because Greg’s life on earth seemed to be very much intertwined. There are a lot of places that intertwine with its residents, but Greg is the epitome of a place and a person intertwining.

Pollution

Polllution caused by mankind.


Pollution is, “Physical impurity or contamination; (now) esp. the presence in or introduction into the environment (esp. as a result of human activity) of harmful or poisonous substances, or excessive levels of light, noise, organic waste, etc”(Oxford English dictionary). Pollution to most people involves the environment. The environment is everything surrounding where a person lives. People say that pollution is what is causing the phenomenon of global warming. Pollution is seen as being harmful, and it is bad and harmful to the environment, but one has to be careful of how he uses pollution. When someone says that the world is heating up because of pollution, everyone agrees, but does everyone know what the real meaning of Pollution is. Pollution may be harmful to the environment, but is not the cause of global warming. The main cause of pollution is the burning of fossil fuels and through human actions and activities, pollution is harmful to the environment.

The environment of the world is in bad shape and that may be caused by pollution. The world is not the way it was 200 years ago. The current condition of the earth may have permanent consequences. Humans and their activities cause pollution to have the effect it does on the environment. Humans being so intelligent about pollution still have a profound contribution to the amount of pollution there is. The human population has been increasing for a long time, and “As the world population increases rapidly, there is an increasing demand for food, materials and energy. The activities that produce these products tend to pollute the environment”(ThinkQuest). The human population is increasing at a very fast rate. With more and more people, there is a greater need for food, clothing, houses and power. The process of creating more homes, food, and more power, causes the pollution that destroys the environment. These activities are the pollution that everyone talks about. The activities of humans and their actions are what cause pollution and they are harmful to the environment.

Fossil fuels are the main sources of energy today, and the burning of these fuels cause pollution and harm to the environment. Fossil fuels are energy sources that include coal, petroleum and natural gas. Humans use petroleum in cars in form of oil, gas, and lubricants throughout the car. Coal is used to make electricity for all the homes in the U.S. and is burned off into the air. The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide gas into the air and “Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the major pollutants in the atmosphere”(Socha 1). The burning of coal during the process of creating electricity and the release of carbon dioxide while driving are some of the main reasons why there is pollution. When they are used up, they release carbon dioxide into the air and carbon dioxide is one of the most common pollutants in the air. Fossil fuels are a major contributor to the pollution of the earth. They harm the environment in a tremendous amount. The burning of fossil fuels is one of the most common ways in which the world is polluted.

Although pollution is harmful to the environment, it is not the cause of global warming. So one of the main causes to pollution is carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Also, the world is heating up and it is predicted that pollution is the cause. It has been thought for a while that carbon dioxide has harmful effects to the atmosphere, but “CO2 does not cause catastrophic disasters – actually it would be beneficial to our environment and economy”(Dessler and Parson 3). Carbon dioxide has always been thought as bad to the environmentalists, but this green house gas is not the cause of global warming. Pollution has no effect on the warming of the earth. About a millennium ago, the world was warmer than it is now, and it is possible because the surface temperature of the earth can change for any reason. The term global warming is not true, but to use the word pollution in the same sentence as global warming just does not work. Pollution is harmful to the environment, but is not the cause of global warming.

Pollution, a word that many people do not understand because of its wide range and ambiguous topics. Pollution is harmful to the environment, but not to the earth as a whole. Pollution is caused by the release of carbon dioxide and by the burning of fossil fuels. Pollution is misused at times. Many people relate pollution to the belief in global warming, but these words should not be related. Pollution is a word that should be carefully used.

Works Cited
Dessler, Andrew and Parson, Edward. The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
“Introduction to Pollution.” 2001. How do humans contribute to pollution? 9 Feb.
2009 .
Oxford University Press. “Oxford English Dictionary.” 2008. Pollution. 9 Feb. 2009
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