Google scandal still going on?

Recently I read the paper about the google scandal. This basically is about how google must stop child porn, and rude videos. I decided to see if google had stopped this silly predictive search, that they said they had got rid of, but this is what I found: 

Abercrombie And Fitch Under Fire From Sizing Policy

An on line video showing the expensive clothing brand being given to homeless people has gone viral.

The video was created by LA film maker who criticised the company's boss Mike Jeffries who in 2006 said that his clothes were only for "cool kids". Its been seen over seven million times since being published last month. Last month, comedian chat show host Ellen DeGeneres made a joke on her TV show about the label sizing guide, the size 00 she was showing was a doll's shirt.

The remarks made from the company's boss came from an interview back in 2006, but recently resurfaced due to with drawls in sizes on women's clothing. The largest size the brand do for women is now a large and for men an extra extra large.

Jefferies said in the interview, "In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids.Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends." Which is very stereotypical and extremely unfair to those who don't have a great amount of friends. the creators of Abercrombie and Fitch were also the minds behind Hollister. The California equivalent of the New York based apparel store.

Does this mean that the sizes will eventually come down over in England as well? Will this affect anyone you know? Many people in America are furious with the remarks made. Some refusing to shop at Abercrombie and Fitch anymore.

The Shine Media Awards 2013 - DCS's Day To London

On Monday the 24^th of June 2013, some teachers and students from Dinnington Comprehensive School headed down to London for the day to compete with many other schools from across the UK in the Shine Media Awards 2013.

The Shine Media Awards were designed to encourage students and teachers from schools across the country to produce a newspaper, magazine, newsletter, digital edition or a website. They were also designed to:

Encourage an interest in developing publishing skills in young people, helping them to improve literacy, nurture creativity, develop commercial and business skills, encourage teamwork and develop leadership skills.

Raise awareness and understanding of the skills required by the media and graphic arts industries, such as commercial awareness, leadership, editorial flair, circulation strategy and design and production and encourage school-leavers to consider the media and graphic arts industries as a career choice.

Raise awareness of the importance of respecting copyright and the ownership of intellectual property. Develop an informed awareness of the need for sustainable strategies to address environmental issues.

Promote interaction between departments within schools, including English, Art & Design, Business Studies and IT, interaction with the local community and between pupils, teachers and the wider business community.

On Monday the 24^th of June 2013, some teachers and students from Dinnington Comprehensive School headed down to London for the day to compete with many other schools from across the UK in the Shine Media Awards 2013.

Dinnington Comprehensive School entered their own website (DCS News) into the competition in April 2013 along with 2 other categories including ‘ Most Inspirational Teacher’ and ‘Most Outstanding Pupil’, hoping that we would get through to the semi-finals. A total of 200 schools entered the awards, here are the schools who participated in the Shine Awards 2013…

Addington High School, Adeyfield, All Saints’ Academy – Cheltenham, Ashdown Technology College, Audenshaw, Aylesbury High School, Bablake, Barr Beacon School, Baxter College, Beauchamp College, Beccles Free School, Bedford Academy, Berkhamstead School, Birches Head High School, Birkdale School, Birkenhead High School Academy, Blackpool Sixth Form College, Bluecoat Academy, Bodmin College, Bower Park School, Bradon Forest School, Branksome Heath Middle School, Brentwood School, Broadgreen International School, Broadoak Maths and Computing College, Brookfield Community School and Language College, Burnt Mill Academy, Bury Grammar School Boys, Caistor Grammar School, Caistor Yarborough Academy, Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Catmose College, Cedars Upper School, Charlton School, Chelmsford County High, Chesham Grammar School, Chingford Foundation School, Chipping Campden School, Chiswick School, City of London School, City School, Sheffield, Clacton Coastal Academy, Claremont High School Academy, Coundon Court, Countetshorpe Community College, Court Moor School, Darlington School of Mathematics and Science, Darrick Wood School, Dartford Grammar School, Devonport High School for Girls, Dinnington Comprehensive School, Dollar Academy, Duchess Community High School, Dulwich College, Durham School, Endon High School, Enfield Grammar School, Fearns Community Sports College, Forest School, Fort Pitt Grammar School, Forthill Community School, Fulwood Academy, Great Marlow School, Greshham’s Prep School, Gumley House School, Hampton School, Hardenhuish School, Harris Academy Bromley, Harris Academy Chafford Hundred, Harris City Academy Crystal Palace, Heaton Manor School, Hetton School, High Storrs, Hillview School for Girls, Holbrook High School, Holmer Green Senior School, Homewood School Sixth Form Centre, Humphry Davy School, Ibstock Place School, Immanuel College, Isleworth & Syon School for Boys, John Summers High School, Kennet School, King Charles 1 School, King Edwards VI College, Kings Norton Girls’ School, Kingsbridge Community College, The Knights Templar School, Langley Park School for Boys, Larkmead, Latymer Upper School, Lavington School, Longbenton Community College, Lutterworth College, Lutterworth High School, Lyng Hall School, Lynn Grove High School, Mabel Prichard School, Marshfields School, Mayfield Grammar School Gravesend, Melksham Oak Community School, Mill Hill School, Moor End Academy, Moorside High School, Morpeth School, Mount Grace School, Netherthorpe, Newall Green High School, Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise Academy, Northampton High School, Northgate School Arts College, Norwich School, Oasis Academy Oldham, Old Palace of John Whitgift School, Ormiston Bushfield Academy, Ormiston Maritime Academy, Osborne School, Oswestry School, Oundle School, Passmores Academy, Patcham High School, Pathfield School, Pedmore Technology College & Community School, Prince Henry’s High School, Rainhill High School, Royal Russell School, RSA Academy, Saint George’s C of E School, Saltash.net Community School, Samuel Ryder Academy, Samuel Ward Academy, Sedgehill School, Sir John Talbots Technology College, South Bromsgrove High School, St Bonventure’s, St George’s Ascot, St Joseph’s Catholic College, St Joseph’s RC High School, St Mary’s School, St Paul’s Girls’ School, St Peter’s School, St Sampson’s High School, St Simon Stock Catholic School, St Thomas More High School Westcliffe-on-Sea, St Thomas the Apostle College, St. Peter’s RC School, Swindon Academy, Tendring Technology College, The Academy, Selsey, The Beacon School, The Brier School, The Buckingham School, The Burton Borough School, The Chase, The City Academy, Hackney, The Friary School, The Godolphin & Latymer School, The Heathland School, The Hermitage Academy, The Petchey Academy, The Queen’s School, The Ravensbourne School, The Right Choice Independent School, The Springfields Academy, Thomas Bennett Community College, Thomas Bewick School, Tideway School, Tonbridge Grammar School, Tor Bridge High, Torquay Boys’ Grammar School, Tudor Hall, Ulverston Victoria High School, University Academy Birkenhead, Walworth Academy, Wednesfield High School, Westminster City School, Wickersley School, William Farr C of E Comprehensive School, William Howard School, Wisbech Grammar School, Withington Girls’ School, Woodside School, Wren Academy and Wymondham College.

The Shine Awards are judged by a high profile group of professionals. They were: Simon Heffer (Chairman of the Judges, Editor, Mail Comment Online and political columnist for the Daily Mail). Also in the panel of judges were: Jo Warner (Howard CLA), Valentina Moressa (Quark), Guy Black (Telegraph Media Group), Gary White (Cambridge University Press), Nicholas Brett (BBC Worldwide), Paul Sinker (The Newspaper Society), Terry Mansfield (Hearst Corporation), Victoria White (Editor Company magazine), Stevie Keen ( IPC Media social media), Keren Davis (author and journalist), Clifford Jakes (Chairman of the Shine 2011 awards), Michael Shaw (TES), James Jarvis (Antalis McNaughton), Nick Steidl (Stationers’ Foundation) and Melanie Essex (founder producer of  BBC School Report). All of these judges were split into 6 groups and were given certain categories to judge to make matters fair.

The first round of judging started on Tuesday the 23^rd of April 2013, where 200 schools were stripped down to . Luckily for DCS, our website and outstanding pupil category got through to the semi-finals. The next round of judging started on Tuesday the 21^st May 2013, where they gathered all the semi-finalists together and yet again rounded them off for the finals. A total of 30 schools out of the 200 that applied managed to get into the finals which took place on the 24^th of June 2013 at the Stationers’ Hall in London. The Stationers’ Hall is a very old building that was once part of St. Paul’s Cathedral. The Stationers’ Hall is a historic building in which for the past 600 years it has been the home of writing, illustrating, paper, printing and publishing.

Luckily for DCS, we managed to get through to the final with the category of ‘The Most Outstanding Pupil’ which is how we ended up in London as a group on Monday the 24^th of June 2013. Furthermore, on the morning of the 24^th, we all met at 6am ready to leave for London. The journey was long and dragging but eventually St. Paul’s Cathedral was in sight, meaning we had arrived. Not only did we see the Cathedral itself, we also saw glimpses of the Shard and many other famous buildings such as the Royal Court on the way too. When we arrived at Stationers’ Hall we got ourselves sorted with signing in (and we even got a bag of free goodies each!) We also got given a programme for the day which showed us what was taking place throughout the day. Here was the list of events going on during the day:

10:30-12:30  –> Exhibitions open for schools to listen to and take part in.

12:30 – 1:15 –>  Buffet lunch.

1:15 –>  Awards Ceremony.

Some of the exhibitions that were available to the schools throughout the morning were things like: BBC Worldwide, Copyright Licensing Agency, Creative Skillset, Quark Systems and Environmental Organisations… Once we had a look around the around the stalls, we and all the other schools gathered in the dining hall for lunch. There were a range of foods that you could choose from, and what made the experience better was that everybody was gathered as a whole. This allowed everybody to see each other for the first time and to take a look at what the variety of people who were competing in the awards. In the dining hall, long tables were laid out along the floors for all of the 30 schools to sit at during the lunch and the actual awards ceremony. Also in the dining hall, you got the chance to see just what an amazing building the Stationers’ Hall really is. There were large stained glass windows and a variety of paintings from people who lived in the building hundreds of hundreds of years ago. It just comes to show just how old the building actually is!

Once dinner was over, the awards ceremony kicked off.  The awards ceremony was presented by Ian Locks, Simon Heffer and Louise Court (editor of the Cosmopolitan magazine). Speeches was given by each one of the presenters to kick start the awards ceremony, and so then followed the awards. The categories and the finalists were:

Best Design and layout

Berkhamsted School

Bodmin College

Latymer Upper School

Norwich School

Best Original Artwork & Photography

Berkhamsted School

Norwich School

Sherborne School

Wymondham College

Best Cover

Bodmin College

Brookfield Community School and Language College

City of London School

St Mary’s School Ascot

Best Overall Editorial Content

Berkhamsted School

City of London School

Duchess Community High School

 Best Environmental Strategy

Aylesbury High School

Bablake

St Thomas More High School Westcliffe-on-Sea

Best Commercial Strategy

Oundle School

St Paul’s Girls’ School London

St Thomas More High School Westcliffe-on-Sea

Community Initiative

Darlington School of Mathematics and Science

John Summers High School

Langley Park School for Boys

Oundle School

Outstanding Pupil

Emily Booker – Dinnington Comprehensive School

Andrew Colley – Holmer Green Senior School

Joel Speed – The Knights Templar School

Best Feature article

Berkhamsted School

Duchess Community High School

Old Palace of John Whitgift School

 Inspirational teacher

Mr Mark Woodward – Bablake

Mr Harry Roberts – John Summers High School

Ms Dede Kankonde – The Right Choice Independent School

Best Online

Beauchamp College

Darlington School of Mathematics and Science

Kingsbridge Community College

Morpeth School

Best Newspaper

Caistor Grammar School

Duchess Community High School

Hampton School

Holmer Green Senior School

St Paul’s Girls’ School

Best Magazine

Blackpool Sixth Form College

City of London School

St Mary’s School Ascot

William Farr C of E Comprehensive School

 

It was great to see students of all ages from all different schools head up on the stage for each of the categories and it was just great to see the fabulous work which had been produced by pupils of the UK, and it just comes to show just how much talent the UK has in media. For the winners of each category, they got a glass plaque (and for the winners of the main categories, they each received a check of £1,000 and a free 5 user 6 month trial of QuarkXPress 9). For the remaining competitors, they each received a ‘Highly Commended Award’ and got given a certificate each for their hard work, so nobody left empty handed.

Congratulations to all of the winners of the categories, but also well done to all the other schools for getting this far, we are all winners and we should be very proud of our achievements!

Thank you to all the people who organised the event, and to all the judges and people who helped make the day a success. A great day for sure for everybody who made it there that day…

Why not take a look at the Shine Media Awards' site for more information: http://shine-schoolawards.org/