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OSOM: Teen Conference 2011 (7-6-11)

July 6, 2011 By

It’s that time of year again!  Jack and Jill Far West Region Teen Conference 2011 was just as exciting and fulfilling as last summer.  This year, the Oakland/Bay Area chapter hosted the event at the University of California Berkeley.  Visiting such an historic and academically acclaimed college was very inspiring and provided a candid look into campus life.

Jack and Jill of America, Inc. is the oldest African-American family organization. It started in 1938 in Philadelphia.  Today, we have over 225 chapters in 35 states and the District of Columbia.   Each year, there are three Teen Conferences (Eastern, Mid West, and Far West Regions) where chapters come together for fellowship.

This year’s theme was “A World Without Black People”.  Each chapter explained how they interpreted the theme by creating a t-shirt, a scrapbook, community service board, and a skit; each chapter always tries its best to win each category and claim bragging rights for the next school year.  Our long weekend also included a Lake Merritt volunteer day, meetings, recreational outings, dances, and a Senior Banquet.

Jada’s Side of the Moon (J.S.O.M.)

In modern America, sometimes the media does not recognize the value of each race to its survival.  Inventions, concepts, and works all fall under the umbrella of “American”, which sometimes decreases the feeling of cultural identity in children today.  While our Teen Conference focused on the contributions African Americans made toward society today, I realized the world would drastically change if any nationality were erased from history.  

All of our meetings, discussions, and voting sessions really stress the importance of leadership in the community.  I learned my voice has the potential to truly impact the world, giving me a sense of empowerment no one can alter. 

New Moon Girls Media is a reflection of the Teen Conference.   New Moon is full of different types of girls, and all of the New Moon Girls have opinions that are heard on this site.  Many go beyond the web and apply New Moon values to their lives.  You girls are role models in your communities and actively seek to encourage girls around you.  .

What special qualities and contributions do your backgrounds lend to the world today?  Share your heritages on the message board!

What is the importance of children to the world’s future?  How do you all involved in your communities?

What’s your side of the moon?

By: Jada Webster

Filed Under: Arts & Culture, Body & Feelings, Changing the World, For the Curious, Miscellaneous, New Moon Girls News, Shout Out, Sister to Sister, Uncategorized

Are you getting enough ZZZ’s?

May 19, 2011 By

A girl's room with a bunk bedAre you struggling not to fall asleep at your desk halfway through school? You might not be getting enough rest at night.   As a middle schooler, I thought it was so uncool that I still had a bedtime of 8:30 p.m. Now that I am older, I would love to go to bed that early. These days, school, friend and family pressures often make it hard to go to bed early and get a good night’s sleep. But sleep is important to your health, and getting enough of it can benefit you in many ways.   According to WebMD, girls between 7 and 12 years old need 10-11 hours of sleep each night. Girls 12 to 18 years old need an average of 8.5 hours. So if you need to get up at 7:00 a.m., you should try to set your bedtime between 9:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. depending on your age.   Stack of pillowsGetting enough sleep each night is very important for your body. Here are some benefits to a full night’s rest:

  • Your body a repairs the damages it endures throughout the day.
  • It keeps your skin and heart healthy.
  • It helps increase your memory and reduce stress.
  • It is easier to stay alert in school and remember what you learned.
  • You will usually be in a better mood when you sleep enough.

Not getting enough sleep each night can have harmful effects on your health too, including:

  • Leaving you sluggish and crabby.
  • You could have trouble concentrating on important things such as schoolwork.
  • It is harder to think, process and retain information.
  • It might be harder to do activities such as sports.
  • You will be more stressed and not as happy as you could be.

Sleeping childSometimes it is hard to go to bed early because you want to stay up for your favorite TV show or talk on the phone with your friends, but parents set bedtimes for good reasons. It is important to respect those reasons so that you can function better the next day.   Tell us what you think. What is your bedtime? Do you think it is fair? What effects have you experienced, both positive and negative from sleeping enough or too little?   Leave your thoughts in the comments below!   Emily New Moon Intern

Filed Under: Body & Feelings, Shout Out, Sister to Sister

New Moon Girls Unveils Official UnFashion Show!

June 30, 2010 By

Hey girls, I’ve got a guest blogger today. Helen Cordes shares her great experience at her UnFashion show in Austin Texas last Sunday. Thanks for sharing, Helen! Here it is:

New Moon Girls UnFashion Show

What a wonderful party this was! Central Texas girls of all ages took to the purple runway June 27, showing off their amazing and creative outfits to the enthusiastic applause of a warm, supportive audience at the well-loved feminist Austin bookstore, BookWoman. Girls also created art that expressed their ideas about true beauty and UnFashion outfits for our Beautiful Girls gallery, and girls and audience joined in a post-show chat as we enjoyed moon cookies—with sprinkles!

Click here to see photos and videos from the fantastic event! It was so wonderful to see what girls came up with when concocting outfits that expressed something special about themselves and their ideas of what’s fun, interesting, and comfortable to wear. It was great to see how girls helped each other shine, reaching out to girls hesitant to walk the runway as well as coaxing moms to also walk the purple runway and share their ideas of personal fashion with the audience! We even had a fashion blogger who did a lovely blog post on our event (click here and scroll down to June 28th to read the post!), and girls and parents enjoyed browsing the fabulous book selection at BookWoman.

There were so many sweet and thought-inspiring moments. Each girl’s runway walk was awe-inspiring, and fun to learn why they liked what they liked. For example, one girl chose a loose tshirt to symbolize her support for her sister’s swim team; another chose glamorous turquoise mock-leather pants which were a gift from her grandma. BookWoman owner Susan chose a baseball uniform, noting that when she was young, girls were not allowed to wear pants or join baseball teams—rules that were changed over the years by many activists such as Jean Wolf, an older woman who took to the runway in a wheelchair. Jean’s daughter Dana told the audience how Jean went to the school board to protest pants rules for girls—and girls subsequently got the right to wear pants at Dana’s school. (Check out more about current pants activism with our Wear The Pants Day!)

Want to do an UnFashion Show like this where you are? Here’s how we did it. Helen Cordes, New Moon Girls adult editor, partnered with local girls interested in doing an UnFashion show, and BookWoman owner Susan generously offered her store as the setting. We put out the word to local girls organizations such as Girl Scouts and YWCA, as well as local media and bloggers. We got some inexpensive purple fabric for a “runway,” baked some cookies, gathered some art supplies, and showed up for the fun! Find out how to hold all kinds of events that let more people know about New Moon Girls’ amazing magazine and online community, and let the good times roll!

Filed Under: New Moon Girls News, Shout Out Tagged With:

Senate Election in California: Barbara Boxer & Carly Fiorina

June 16, 2010 By

barbara-boxer-carly-fiorina2

Senator Barbara Boxer and Ms. Carly Fiorina are running for the position of Senator of California. Barbara Boxer has been a Senator for the state of California since 1993. Before that, Senator Boxer served on the House of Representatives. Ms. Fiorina was formerly the CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP), the information technology* company. While much of the campaign has focused on creating more jobs in the economy for U.S. citizens, debate has recently become more personal. At an interview, Ms. Fiorina began commenting on how Senator Boxer’s hair is “so yesterday.” Her critique of Senator Boxer stopped when Ms. Fiorina realized the microphone was on.

Senator Boxer’s campaign released a statement in response to this remark, saying: “Let her talk about hair. We’re talking about jobs.” Ms. Fiorina apologized that her remarks shifted the focus away from what she believes should be a “serious election.”

Fiorina has addressed the topic of jobs, saying that despite the economic recession, she led HP in bringing in more money and an overall larger workforce after she initially had to make lay-offs. While both women agree that creating more jobs is a priority, the candidates disagree on big issues such as immigration, health care, and taxes.

The two candidates also have different backgrounds. Senator Boxer was the first woman to Chair the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW). She also helped write landmark legislation for afterschool programs to get government money, affecting over one million students today. Ms. Fiorina is one of the most well-known business leaders in the U.S., and she holds many positions on charitable boards such as The One Woman Initiative – A Fund for Women’s Empowerment. The elections are scheduled for November 2, 2010, so there is a lot of time for more to unfold before then.

Have you been following any of this campaign news? Do you think appearances play a role in political campaigns? Would Ms. Fiorina’s remark about Senator Boxer’s hair impact whether you’d vote for either woman? Are you interested in getting involved in politics? What political issues are important to you? Take our poll, and leave your comments below!

Love,

Luna

*Information technology- any technology that helps to produce, store, and/or communicate information.

Filed Under: New Moon Girls News, Shout Out

Excited for a Summer of Fun!

May 24, 2010 By

ErickaHi girls! My name is Ericka, and I’m ecstatic to be interning with New Moon Girls this summer! I am 21-years-old and will be graduating this December from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. I applied to be an editorial intern with New Moon Girls because I love writing and admire the empowering messages like inner strength and true beauty that this community promotes!

Writing is my passion, and my goal in life is to become an investigative reporter, where I can research and uncover previously unknown truths that will help people all over the world. I view this summer at New Moon Girls as a stepping-stone for all that is to come!

Besides the amazing opportunity working with New Moon this summer, I’m also getting married to my best friend and love of my life–July 17th is the big date, so I have been busy tasting cupcakes, trying on white dresses and picking out flowers. Life is rough! ;-) hehe… I also enjoy baking, going to coffee shops, playing scrabble, running, being with my family, going to rummage sales, cloud watching, nordic skiing, pretty sunrises, reading Laffy Taffy jokes, playing with my dog Charlie, going boating, watching movies in my pajamas, napping, eating ice cream out of cones, reading, having bonfires and making s’mores and playing badminton.

Someday I want to go on a hot air balloon ride over the European countryside. I cannot wait to get to know you all and become part of the New Moon Girls community, so please click here to check out my room and say hi! I also created this video to show you girls what my life is like.

See you around!!! :-)

Filed Under: New Moon Girls News, Shout Out
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