missbananafontana's advice column | missbananafontana's Advice About School

askmissbananafontana

advice column ask question view feedback favorite columnist advicenators

Q: im applying to a private high school and i go for my interview tomorrow.
i need any tips on what to wear, how to act, and how i can prepare myself.

thanks!

1. Dress to impress- Don't wear jeans. Wear nice black pants or khakis. No T-shirts, either. Try a nice sweater or oxford. Sometimes the interviewer will have a sheet that will be marked on how well the interviewee (if that's a word) presented and dressed themselves.
2. Be courteous, and speak when spoken to. Answer all questions in a confident, clear voice. The most common question is "Every year we recieve more applications than the number we can accept. Why should we pick you?". Answer in a very confident voice this time, and make it original, but classy. When a hand is given to you to shake, grip tightly and firmly. Seriously, a lot of people judge someone on their handshake. Be polite, mind your manners, quietly observe how things are done, and smile. This is important. Look people right in the eye and give a friendly smile. And act smart and when asked to write something, if anything at all, capitalize your I's and sentences, and use proper punctuation which you have neglected to do here. IMPORTANT: DO NOT LAUGH, unless the person giving a joke does first. If you laugh inappropriately, then it could be taken offensively.

CAUTION: I don't know if you know this, but if you meet someone Asian there, Heaven forbid you bow. So do not on any circumstances, bow. Shake hands. Some people assume that bowing would be polite, but it will be taken offensively if you don't do it correctly, which you're bound to if you have not had years of practice.

Have a nice day.

Q: Okay, I asked a question about this before. Well, only that I was considered in being assigned into this class that I had no idea what it was, well now I know it's a class for prepps!
Okay Im not a prep. What-So-Ever! I'm not like dirt poor nasty needer of friends but I have no friends in this class. And every teacher I asked was like Ohh wow congratulations! Im like for what? I told my favorite teacher about my problem.. because I can't just drop out of this class because my Mother was imformed and she told everyone and she wont be mad she'll be dissipointed. I know I can do everything in the class which is a bunch of building stuff. Im almost possitive but today was my first class where the teacher informed everyone about what we would be doing and I kinda was a little late so I walked in maybe 6mins late asked if this was the room for G&A and kids looked at me as if I had 6 heads!! I have no friends in this class but everyone I've told was like Ohh my god stay in it dont you dare drop out this is an amazing oppurtunity. Like today Bailey was like "Are you sure youe saposed to be in this?" so being completely insulted i was like "My teacher told me that I was on the list-- So I just hope my teachers not wrong!" Trying to be nice but ohh I just wanted to smack him. Im not the kind've person to get in this. Its a bunch of smart people.. So I asked my teacher why I was even chosen she said because i think outside the box. ILL STOP I will I hate it. But Its only my first class so i should stay in and prove these little kiddies wrong! I know, but i stayed back last year and this is the second year of me being in there grade Im not the most popularist kid, or the best looking. Or anything really and I know this shouldnt madder but it does! All the girls are pretty and I feel so huge and ugly I seriously wanted to cry.. the only kid in my class thats in it with me is Adam. He was the only guy who talked to me and everyone was like Adam you talk to Katie?? And he completely was like Yeahh shes awesome. =]] Kinda made me happy but I embarressed him and I know I did:[ I can't drop out, but I like can't stand to be in the class... and the only kid who actually talks to me might like now be made fun of! I like Adam[[FRIEND]] I dont want that..=[[
I dont have the confidence to stay in this. Ive been getting the grades ever since I stayed back i didnt think anyone noticed. Well now people are stopping me in the halls! Infront of kids, be like "ohh Katie I Hear your doing so much better-- Im sooo proud of you.'" and yea im flattered but jeeeezz. I never liked being the invisible girl, but i had that class in the morning now no one will drop it its like story of the year. The smartest girl in my class Madison didnt get in and she thought she would but only a certain number of kids could and I was chosen instead of her-- now shes like out to get me NO JOKE!
I know im making this sound like end of the world but I know its not.. but why is it such a big deal?? Get over it and drop it.. No one talked to Adam! Erghh I know it isnt as horrible as Im making it out to be, people are noticing im not like my brothers but for liek 2 years nothing now im drowning in there congratulations!!!
=[[

If you were chosen for an advanced class for thinking outside the box, you must be a great thinker because you sure didn't get in there for your grammar skills. This is an issue of self esteem. You don't feel good enough and feel like you don't belong. Well, if I was in your school, I would be one of the pretty girls sitting there in the G&A class. And if you came in all slumped over and had a grimace on your face and had bad attitude and aura hanging about you, I wouldn't talk to you either. When I was about eleven, I was antisocial and obsessive. I was the weird little kid who was the outcast with one real friend in the entire class. And about halfway through seventh grade, I looked at one of the "popular" girls I saw in the hall. She was smiling and laughing and had friends around laughing and smiling too.

That was when I basically had an epiphany. That very weekend, I went to the mall with my mom and picked out "happy" clothes. I got clothes that said "I look nice and am nice". I put on a smile and brushed my hair. I went to school the following Monday and during free period, I took a breath and walked up to the girl I saw in the hall and said hi. She smiled and ever since, we have been best friends and I am friends with the people that I used to see in the hall, who I wondered how they were so popular. And you know what? No one has ever, ever, ever said to me, "I know you. You're that ugly, fat antisocial kid who was in my sixth grade class". I was a new kid in the school.

That is exactly what you need to do. Do you honestly think that those girls in class look at you and think "Oh, that girl is fat and stupid!"? No. No, they don't. They don't care. They're not out to make fun of you; they hardly notice you. You're there, but just barely to them. The class is not the problem. The problem is you.

I know because I look back and see me sitting alone while everyone works together and laughs. I realize that the reason I had no friends was that no one knew that I wanted to be friends. A smile goes a long way. This recently happened to me, actually. A girl I never even knew existed. She had been in my school for a while, but I never really noticed her or knew her name. One day I was sitting in lunch doing some homework, and a girl sits down next to me. She sits down and says hi. You remind me of her, and what you could be. Who says that you can't be friends with the pretty, smart girls? No one besides yourself. You are good enough, you just need to act the part.

Sorry if I'm being tough. I just think that you could be so much happier if you take my advice, suck it up, smile and say hi. Best of luck.

Q: For English class we are doing a research paper on someone who has made a difference in society. Someone like a president or something..any ideas people?

Well, a lot of people have made differences. Your parents made a difference in the world by having you. There's one more person in the world. You could do a lot of people. There are so many, many people who make differences, important and unimportant. You could do Henry Ford, Clara Barton, Amelia Earhart, Louis Pasteur, Orville Wright, and many, many, many, many others.

As the person below me joked, you could do someone who has made a difference for the worse. You could do Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, George W. Bush, and a lot more. I think that would actually be a good question to ask your teacher and would be a more original and thoughtful take on the project, no joke.

Or, of course, you could do someone that everyone is going to have thought of; Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks. I'm just saying that you could do maybe Henry Ford or someone more original than these. I'm not saying that they're bad or anything, just that everyone is going to pick someone like George Washington.

Q: has anybody read the four agreements ? it looks good and i want to read it, what are your opinions on the book ?

I think that it's a beautiful guide to achieve a life of freedom and happiness. Miguel Ruiz writes from his heart four lifestyle commitments, which can transform life into the realization of your own personal dream. I think that it's very practical and simple, and a definite must-have. The Toltec beliefs are ancient, but provide a wonderful instruction guide to attain true happiness.

P.S. This isn't a copied book review, even though it sounds like it, I know. : )

Happy New Year.

Q: i know what it is i think, but can someone give me examples of wordplay?

Examples of word play include puns, anagrams, brain teasers, crosswords, etc. Like this is an example of word play:
"Old kings never die; they just get throne away."

Some word play are just bad jokes. Here's some more examples:
http://www.badpuns.com/jokes.php?section=wordplay&pos=1&numitems=5

Hope that clears things up for you.

Q: did lindsay lohan attend hollywood high school at some time at her life? THats what i heard

As far as I know, no. She attended Cold Spring Harbor Jr./Sr. High School in Long Island a few years after her role in "The Parent Trap", then attended Sanford H. Calhoun High School for a few months before resuming her acting career.

SOURCE: GOOGLE- please try this source before asking. It's so much easier!

Merry Christmas!

Q: For school i have to survey about 50 different people( doesnt matter if i know them or not) I have to find out if they disagree or agree with a school policy and why( tardies,absences,grafiti,lockers,ect.)

Tardies- I so disagree. What if you have a doctor's appointment or something? It should vary based on situation.

No hats- I completely disagree. What harm does a hat cause? It may be courteous to take hats off indoors, but not a rule.

Graffiti- I agree. Graffiti and vandilizing things is not acceptable. It is ugly and shameful. Note I do like murals with artistic talent, but regular spray-painting is just awful.

No hair dye- I agree. Hair dye is not natural, and schools should be a place where students learn what is acceptable and what is not. Unnatural hair and mohawks are not acceptable, AND a major eyesore.

Q: I'm 15 and a sophomore girl. I am thinking of going to like a boarding school next year if my parents would let me. I hate my mom and i really want a new start in getting friends and stuff. My first question is is it worth it? I would miss my pets and some family and my friends. But I can't stand my mom and I want a new start- badly. I also want to try living on my own. And if you have been to boarding school how was it? Or if you know someone who went, how was it? My second question is what are some good ones? I live in PA, near philly. I dont really care where it is, even though, I'd prefer to be closer to home. I want a good school that looks good for colleges and has good kids.

I loved boarding school. I'm going to Dana Hall in Greenfield, MA, and it is wonderful there. TABS is the board of boarding schools, and they have a wonderful site where I found these schools for you:

CFS, The School at Church Farm: http://schools.com/directory/adv_search/schooldetail.cfm?id=137

Girad College (actually grades 1-12): http://schools.com/directory/adv_search/schooldetail.cfm?id=262

The Grier School: http://schools.com/directory/adv_search/schooldetail.cfm?id=198

The Hill School: http://schools.com/directory/adv_search/schooldetail.cfm?id=181

The Kiski School: http://schools.com/directory/adv_search/schooldetail.cfm?id=32

Linden Hall: http://schools.com/directory/adv_search/schooldetail.cfm?id=255

Milton Hershey School: http://schools.com/directory/adv_search/schooldetail.cfm?id=47

Perkiomen School: http://schools.com/directory/adv_search/schooldetail.cfm?id=222

Shady Side Academy: http://schools.com/directory/adv_search/schooldetail.cfm?id=88

Solebury School: http://schools.com/directory/adv_search/schooldetail.cfm?id=77

Westtown School: http://schools.com/directory/adv_search/schooldetail.cfm?id=163

Wyoming Seminary: http://schools.com/directory/adv_search/schooldetail.cfm?id=112

Q: What the HECK is the theme of this book? We have to do an oral report on a book, and I chose this one-and we have to think of a theme. I know that every book has a theme, but seriously - wtf is the theme of this book??!

Wikipedia- "...the ongoing theme is that Casanova wears a mask to symbolize his mood."

BookRags- "Contemporary society and modern man's sexual urges."

Here's two links from BookRags:
http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-kiss-the-girls/themes.html
-Complete summary of the theme of the book.
http://www.bookrags.com/Kiss_the_Girls
-Amazing study guide from quotes to chapter summaries.

Q: Ok so I'm doing an immigration essay at school and I'm writing about how it's beneficial to the United States. The problem is, I'm really confused and I have no idea how to word and set up my essay. The problem I'm having right now, is that I can't think of 3 main points. Like for each point, it will be one paragraph. I think I could do a point about Cultural stuff, but I need 2 more points. If anyone could give me ideas of 2 more points to write about (and I don't want them to be rude), and if you could give me great websites or say your opinion than that would be GREATLY appreciated!

I'm not going to set up your homework for you, but I will assist you in giving you what I think to be helpful links to you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_States#Effects_of_immigration

http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/

http://kimberlychapman.com/essay/essay.html

Q: For anyone who has taken the SAT IIs for biology, could you tell me the layout and if it was difficult or not, and what grade you took it?
Thank you.

Well, I have never, but I found some links that I think you will find helpful:
http://www.shenet.org/high/hsacaddept/science/gaugust/gasat2exambio.htm

http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/biology/

Hope that helps you!

Q: Can someone please translate this for me?
Please and thank you!!!!

Nunc Ulixes ad insulam Sirenum navigat. Sirenes erant feminae pulchrae quae corpora avibus similia sed capita puellarum habebant. Carmen dulce canebant, quo naves ad saxa in quibus Sirenes habitabant atrahebantur.

Ulixes alium dolum efficit! Cera in auribus nautarum ponitur (carmen audire non possunt); nautae Ulixem ad malum (mast)navis ligant. Hoc facto, solus Ulixes carmen Sirenum audire potest , et sua navis et nautae tuti sunt.

HELP:
Carmen dulce canebant, (quo naves ad saxa [in quibus Sirenes habitabant] atrahebantur). This sentence has three clauses.

a/trahe/ba/ntur-- compound of traho
hoc facto -- this having been done

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!LIKE MILLIONS!!

Now Ulixes to island Sirenum voyage. Sirenes were woman beautiful which fleshly avibus similar but poll tax girl habebant. Song sweetness canebant , from naves to saxa upon by which Sirenes habitabant atrahebantur. Ulixes other fraud to do! Wax upon ear sailor ponitur ( song be heard not to be able ); sailor Ulixem to evil mastnavis ) string. This facto , alone Ulixes song Sirenum be heard power, and her ship and sailor you more safely are.

There you go. Hope that helps! ; )

EDIT:

I'm sorry that some pieces are missing, but some of the words that you have don't come up with any meaning in the Latin dictionary. Sorry, but I did my best and that's the best anyone could do!

Q: okay i ahve this problem with my math teacher, well call her Ms. Fry (i dont know haha) But she said that i we dont understand somehting to come after school for extra help, so i ask her what day would be good and she tells me. So i call my mom and tell her but she cant come and get me, so i hav to cancel, thats apparently MY FAULT.
Anyways come the test i have no idea what im doing and I ask Ms. Fry a question and she says she cant answer it, but i was totally lost, but decided shes doing it to be fair to the other students which i understand. BUT we have this packet where we have to look up the answers (like where to measure)and the packet isnt tiny either, ITS HUGE and that was the easy part, but i spent so much time on the hard part i had no time for the easy part and by the time i got to it, everyone was crowded by the door waiting for the bell to ring. So i say aloud "Im never gonna make it, where do i find this?!" cuz the packet was huge and someone gives me the answer. I had onl one left, so she calls us up in teh front of the classroom and i explain to her i wasnt cheating, but i do understand it was wrong to talk during a test. I tell her that and she says she doesnt care and that its not her fault im "Slow". Then i ask her when the best time for extra help would be and she says its too late for that. I mean its never too late to know more about anything, maybe a possible retest, but im not even expecting THAT i just want to understand what i didnt. If that makes sense haha.
But i dont know what to do in this situation, im failing and have a bad teacher that hates her job and tells us everyday "im only doing this for the money"
HELP!

You should really get your mom or a cousin or SOMEONE to pick you up since you really need this. Now, this "Mrs. Fry" has very inappropriate behavior for a teacher. Explain this situation to a guidance counsellor, and in the meantime, you should participate in a homework club or get a tutor. If you would have a hard time paying for a tutor, you can get friends who also have a hard time and split the cost between the families. You could also ask to switch classes so you can have a teacher that can better explain things to you. I hope this helps and good luck!

Q: Why are highschool teachers so mean?

This is my first year of highschool and i found out that most of them don't care about a lot of things and the way they say it makes them sound so cold and mean.

Like one teacher was really nice and then she yelled at this girl because she accidently did something wrong and said sorry. "This is highschool, you fix the problem! You don't just say SORRY and then it's all better!"

And then i hear a lot of people complaining about university teachers and some teachers tell like some bad things about their university teachers when they were in university. And that they don't care.

I'm just really wondering why? I'm a very sensitive persona nd I'm just really, really not used to it. I almsot cried because i got in trouble for the most random littliest things!

Are people just nice but as they get higher to high shcool and University they get mean and cold or something? Is it because THEIR teachers rub it off of them?

Is that even allowed in all schools? Or is the fact that we need more teachers are true and they just hire anybody?

If the point of school is to become successful people, you need help from teachers. Shouldn't the people really be picky about their personality to hire teachers for school?

What about the kids who are failing? Obviously they won't ask the teacher for help if they're really mean!

I'm really sorry to put thsi up, maybe I should copy all this on a peice of paper and give it to a random person in the school or something but I'm really scared to do that and i'm just hoping atleast some of you guys can answer even a few of these things I'm having trouble with.

Thank you.

Not all high school teachers are mean. I saw this the other day, and I thought I'd share it with you. Read the first reply and then the ninth one down.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AlIsfDOJJEn3tQMLXbiwUPMjzKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20061222061217AAOqRB8

Q: Christopher Columbus didn't DO anything! He DID NOT discover America! Its should be Rosa Parks day BECAUSE SHE ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING!!!!!!! Does anyone know any websites that I could go research that kind of stuff? To proove that he didn't do anything and that it should be Rosa Parks day?!!??!!!

Ummm... yeah he did. He went to go find a short route to the Indies, and found the big hunk of land called North America. The Vikings actually get the credit now, but still. Are you saying that Rosa Parks should get a day for discovering America on the day we call Columbus Day? You're being kind of mixed up. And for your second question, do you want a site that will say that Christopher Columbus is a fraud and that we should have a Rosa Parks Day? Sorry, but you can try Wikipedia for SEPARATE searches, since, hello, wake up, they have nothing to do with each other. And also, all Rosa Parks did was stand up for herself. That's all we know her for. I'm not saying that she wasn't a good person, just that she didn't do anything like introduce civilized Europeans to a new land that they could modernize into what we know today as America.

Q: is there a website that i can plug in a math question and get work shown for it?

Yes, but it depends what kind of problem it is. Here are some sites:
Proportions: http://www.algebra.com/algebra/homework/proportions/solve-proportion.solver
Reduce Fractions: http://www.algebra.com/algebra/homework/NumericFractions/reduce-fraction.solver
Fraction Calculator: http://www.helpwithfractions.com/fraction-calculator.html
That's all I can think of right now. If you need something else to solve, feel free to message me.

Q: Hey! =]

15/f 9th grade

okay well last friday i had a 10 minute presentation, well it was supposed to be 10 miunutes but i tottaly bombed it! it sucked. I got up there and i looked at everyone and i just forgot EVERYTHING i was supposed to say, we got to use notecards and i couldnt even like read the notecards right my words were all slurred together and i was like shaking like crazy! and like i had like LOOOONG pauses and yeah when i was done everyone was like laughing and it was so embaressing but i had to soke it up.

but i need some like some GOOD techniques on how to do presentions, and maybe even if you have some embaressing stories about when you presented

because in the spring time we have to do a 50 minute presentation ahhh!

so helppp!

thanks! =]

Try practicing in front of something silly, like a row of stuffed animals. Practice over and over again in front of whatever silly thing you're using. Then when you go up to give the presentation, look at the opposite wall and think of all your stuffed animals all lined up (or whatever you're using). I know this sounds dumb, but I used it, and I am totally fear-free!

Q: i go to a middle school many kids tease me about my weight. there are gangbangers. the hit curese and yell. please tell me how i can stop this besides going to an adult?

Are you fat? I know this sounds cliched, but the best way to eliminate the problem is to lose weight. Not for them, but for you. Being overweight can lead to many problems later on, including heart disease. If you are not fat, you can have to build up some confidence and tell yourself that it doesn't matter what they tell you because it isn't true. But I'm going to go that you're overweight. Try joining a sports team, or dance class. I used to be heavy at about 10 or 11, and I started field hockey in 6th grade, where I am now very healthy. I was afraid people would laugh and make fun of me because I was fat and wasn't good at sports, but practice makes perfect! Now nobody teases me for my weight, and I feel good about myself and healthy. I'm sorry if this didn't answer your question about bullying, but I hope that your healthiness is more important. Go to http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/ for more info on bullying and how to stop and prevent it.

Q: 15/f/good student.
here's the scenario:

we're supposed to buy and bring a book to school on a certain day. i forget, and don't buy it. i realize that i didn't buy it when it's already too late to get it. i start to freak out, thinking that the one F i'll get for not bringing the book will affect me a lot. i start to FREAK out.
same thing with homework/tests and studying. just the TINIEST things make me freak out/panic.

does anyone know why this is?

You're freaking out because the thought of a negative dent in your content, normal life is awful to you. I get like that too. It's stress. Try WebMD for stress...
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/teen-stress-management

Q: I just made a peoject out of jello and now I realized that it will melt in school! what do i do? i can't do it over :[ and it is due tommorow! ahh! help :(

I would put it in one of those metal lunchboxes and put a lot of ice in baggies or some ice packs around it so it doesn't melt. I hope that'll work, because I don't know anything else you could do.

bio

Happy 2008! My name is Dana for those of you who don't know, and I obviously love to give advice, because if I didn't, I wouldn't be here. I will pick at anyone who doesn't bother to capitalize their "I"'s or the beginnings of sentences. Proper grammar and spelling is very important to me. bcuz it Just loooks soooo sloppie when u type lyke this. So a word to the wise, and for the majority of you that it doesn't apply to, think about it, and watch yourself. Second of all, I will never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever write something that is not true. So therefore I am always right. So stand down and accept it. (Note: that also means that my "opinions" are actual facts. At least the ones I bother to write.)

Never ask me anything about how fat you are or love life. Cliched, I know, but I am heartless when it comes to the truth. If you don't know what to do with your cheating boyfriend that you still love, go ask someone else since I could not care less. Seriously.

Have a nice day!
Love,
missbananafontana

Favorite artist so far: Bob Marley
Favorite movie ever: "Breakfast at Tiffany's"
Favorite actress: Grace Kelly (as you can tell)
Favorite brand: Vineyard Vines (as you can tell)
Favorite song: "No Woman, No Cry"

WARNING:
My answers will be based on a preppy lifestyle. I am the clean, preppy sort, like the person who looks clean and classy and doesn't really notice anyone who isn't, regardless that some weirdos think that preppy people hate them. Also, if you wonder about the corrections on the answers I give, no worries; they're just simple corrections to those who don't know where to put a period, or that they have to capitalize the beginnings of sentences. Please don't be offended.