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Happy Halloween!

October 31, 2008 By

Happy Halloween! We’ve been celebrating Things that Go Bump in the Night all week at newmoon.com. Hopefully you have enjoyed celebrating the fall season this past month. If you celebrate Halloween or plan to go trick-or-treating tonight, we hope that you have a safe, fun AND healthy time.

According to this article, Halloween doesn’t even have to necessarily be an unhealthy holiday in terms of consuming sweets. According to dentist Dr. Mark Helprin, how often you consume candy is more important than how much you consume. You’re much less likely to develop cavities if you eat candy at mealtimes, for example, because of acid created by your mouth when you eat.

For those of you who go trick-or-treating, do you or your parents set any limits on your candy consumption?

Filed Under: Arts & Culture

Flu Shot

October 30, 2008 By

Do you girls hate getting shots? I know that I do. I just read that the University of Minnesota attempted to set a record for flu shots given in a day at their St. Paul and Minneapolis campuses this past Tuesday–they gave around 11,538 shots in nine hours!

While getting a shot isn’t a fun activity, it’s better than getting sick later on. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all children older than 6 months of age up to nineteen get a flu vaccination each year, since the flu virus is constantly changing.

Does your school promote getting the flu vaccine? What factors or fears do you think stop people from getting vaccinated, knowing the benefits? Visit the Body & Feelings discussion boards at NewMoonGirls.com to talk about this issue and others. (You’ll need a NewMoonGirls login to participate).

Filed Under: Body & Feelings

Video the Vote!

October 28, 2008 By

Election day is just one week away! With McCain and Obama running such a close race, either candidate could potentially get elected.

Voting issues and problems at the polls from the last election are still fresh on everyone’s minds. Video website Video the Vote is dedicated to monitoring and protecting the process of voting. Through its website, the organization encourages ordinary citizens to document voting problems in their own communities and to upload their own videos on the site. Video the Vote works closely with their partner sites such as PBS, YouTube, and Rock the Vote, to distribute the videos across the net.

Many of you may not be old enough to vote yet, but this is a great opportunity to still get involved with the election and politics, as well as join in on an initiative that helps to protect your right to have your vote-and voice-heard in the future! If any of you create your own videos, send them in to gweb@newmoon.org and we’ll feature them here on the New Moon Girls blog as well! Need inspiration? You can watch the Video the Vote trailer below:

Filed Under: Changing the World

Halloween or Fall Festival?

October 26, 2008 By

The spookiest holiday of the year is coming up this Friday, and we’re celebrating Halloween all week at newmoon.com!

Does your school or community celebrate Halloween–or is Halloween replaced by an alternatively named Fall Festival? With both Christian and Pagan roots, Halloween is considered by some people to be a controversial holiday because of its negative links to characters such as witches and ghosts. However to most kids, Halloween simply means a chance to dress up as one of their favorite characters and eat more candy than usual.

What do you think about Halloween as a holiday? Should schools not be allowed to host Halloween events because the holiday’s historical background has the possibility to offend? Visit the Spotlight Hub at newmoon.com and discuss this and other issues on the Spotlight message board.

Filed Under: Shout Out

Sexist Words

October 24, 2008 By

You may not even realize it, but many common phrases and elements of the English language have sexist and gender-role implications. The sexism in our language can be hard to notice, but it’s there.

100 reporters in Argentina made a list of rules to cut back on sexist language in the news. The Argentine Network of Journalists for Non-Sexist Communication, will release their list of ten tips on November 25. This is also the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

What do you girls think about sexism and American language? Head on over to The Great Debate message board at New Moon Girls.com. You must be logged in to visit, but if you don’t have a membership you can go here to sign up!

Filed Under: Shout Out
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