What a year it has been! As we prepare for 2011, we look back on all of the events that have occurred in 2010. Many of these events made us excited and inspired. Others moments, like the natural disaster in Haiti, make us look to the next year for a fresh start. Read below for a year in review, based of my blogs!

• Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill – The leak started in April and could not be plugged until three months later! This affected families, the ecosystem and the economy in the Gulf of Mexico area.
• “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – After much debate, the U.S. government repealed this law about the gay men and women who serve in the military.
• Wear the Pants Day – New Moon celebrated our first Wear the Pants Day!
• Senate Election in California - It was a big year for women in politics.
• Getting the Word Out About New Moon! – New Moon Girls got creative about how to Save New Moon!
• Be a Witch for a Day! – Universal studios opened a brand new theme park: the “Wizarding World of Harry Potter.”
• Tea Party Movement in the U.S. - A new political movement created debate about U.S. policies.
• Glee – The TV show gains widespread popularity in the media.
• SPARK Summit– What It’s All About! – A movement toward the healthy representation of girls in the media!

What was your favorite story or event, and why? What do you look forward to in the New Year… for yourself and for your country? We want to hear your reflections on 2010 and hopes for 2011, so please comment below!

Love,

Luna

We know you like to help others and give. Now until December 31 there is an exciting way for New Moon girls and adults to give BIG!

You can donate NMG memberships to girls in need at this website.

When anyone donates to the non-profit Mind on the Media for the Good Media for Girls campaign, they can receive a tax deduction on their donation. It’s a great reward for contributing to a good cause. And what’s amazing is that every donation you make will be matched by Mind on the Media. It’s like giving two memberships for the cost of only one. Even a small amount like $10 will make a big difference to the girls who get the donated memberships.

So spread the word to everyone you know—they can help Good Media for Girls by giving more girls the chance to read and participate with NMG online in schools, libraries and girls’ groups.

Tell us below what you’re doing to support this campaign.

Love,

Luna

If you write poetry, you may want to try the challenge of writing a haiku. This is a form of Japanese poetry that has three lines and 17 syllables, divided in a very specific way. (The word syllables has three syll-a-bles.)

In a haiku, the first line has 5 syllabus, the second line 7, and the last line 5! This is tricky to do! Not only do you have to count the syllabus in your words, but you have to get your idea across within a very, very short poem!

Sometimes they sound so simple but complex at the same time. Here are some examples of haikus from women Japanese writers…

let us start picking –
don’t drop herbs from your basket
or anything else! -Den Sutejo

the woman at high noon
untiringly watches
a distant fire -Katsura Nobuko

the more callouses
the more brightly
my ring sparkles -Takeshita Shizunojo

If you try one of your own, please upload it to your room and submit it to the Poetry section so we can read it! You can even sticker me to let me know you made one! Have fun writing…

Love,

Luna

P.S. Here’s a quiz by Zoe, so you can find out “What Poem Are You?”!

We see it on billboards, on signs; in big bold letters, Please Recycle! But, you have no idea what it means. What does it mean? How does it help? Why do people care about recycling?

What is recycling? Recycling is a way of reusing items that have been trashed. In special factories, they sort the different items into different categories. The categories include paper, plastic, and aluminum. Once these items are sorted, they are compressed into cubes, where companies then buy them and make them into goodies! Recycling is a great way to go green, and help the Earth!

So, you’re probably wondering how you recycle. The process is simple. If you haven’t already arranged for a recycle truck to come get your things, you can do so by calling the town hall. Pick a day that’s best for you and Wha-La! They give you your own recycling bin. Keep the bin in a place in your house where you’ll remember to put your recyclables in. Then, on the day you signed up for the truck to come, leave the bin outside next to your mailbox.

How does recycling help us go green? Well, as I told you earlier, everything that gets recycled gets reused, whereas everything you throw out goes to a landfill. Landfills are big dumps where people’s trash is held. A lot of things get decomposed, or break up into the earth’s soil. But, some items such as plastic water bottles never decompose! They just sit there while more of them pile up on top of each other, taking out lots of room and filling them up. But if more of us can recycle, we can easily prevent this from happening. Only about 466,000 families recycle in the whole world! We can do better than that! Each year, the average family who doesn’t recycle throws out 1,200 POUNDS of garbage that can be recycled! To easily tell if something can be recycled, look at the bottom of an item. There should be a triangle-like symbol with a number in the middle. If the number is a 1 or a 2, it can be recycled.

So, now you know all about recycling. From how to do it, how it’s done, and why it helps, you know it all! I hope that after you’ve read this, you’ll consider recycling, and encourage others to do so too!

By: Kati, GEB member

There are many interesting things to learn about Islam that you might not already know. For instance, the sacred month of Muharram is the first month on the Islamic calendar, in which fighting is forbidden. Some Muslims also fast during this time. The Day of Ashura is the 10^th day of this month. This makes sense, because Ashura means “tenth” in Arabic!

On this day, Muslims mourn the death of Husayn ibn ‘Alī, who was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. He was killed in the Battle of Karbala, which was a fight to keep the religion free of corruption. There are still different branches of Islam today, so the beliefs of all Muslims are not the same. For example, “Sunni” and “Shia” Muslims share the main beliefs of Islam but may perform different practices.

In general, The Day of Ashura serves as a reminder of the sacrifices the Prophet family made. It is a different kind of holiday, because it is for remembering, and not necessarily celebrating. On days of commemoration, some people light candles, pray, or have moments of silence. What do you do on special days of remembrance? Share with us below so we can learn about different traditions!

Love,

Luna

P.S. The Islamic New Year was just celebrated a few weeks ago. You can learn about the first day of the Islamic calendar by reading this article, that New Moon member Husnaa helped to write!