parcc testing jfk performs ‘godspell · page 2 the world uses google. we use it to look up random...
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MR. JFK IS CROWNED
The
much antic-
ipated “Mr.
JFK” com-
petition
took place
on Febru-
ary 6, 2015.
The compe-
tition fea-
tured the
most eligi-
ble
“bachelors”
in school.
The con-
testants had
to be hand-
some, tall,
and had to have a picture-perfect smile. Okay,
well maybe that was exaggerated—although
the boys who competed were all handsome,
that was just a plus to the viewers. The compet-
itors were nominated by teachers and coaches.
The contestants had to be seniors to be consid-
ered. Other requirements were: involvement in
athletics and/or extracurricular activities, good
grades, and overall good student status. How
could you be chosen to represent JFK Memori-
al High School if you didn’t excel in the
“Three A’s,” as Mr. Cilento would say?
The boys began the event by walking
onto the stage, escorted by Alexa Novoczynski
and Emily Patten. The audience was given
background information on the contestants.
JFK PERFORMS ‘GODSPELL’
Spring 2015
PARCC TESTING BY TONEKE GRAHAM
On Page 4….
NHS INDUCTIONS
[NHS… the “perfect bal-
ance between academics,
voluntary work and good
character.” ]
BY MEHAK FARRUKH
On Page 3….
MR. JFK
[The overall winner of Mr.
JFK was Madhav Patel.
Madhav also won…
Most School Spirit…”]
BY LAURYN MUHAMMAD
AND RIYA SHARMA
This year, New Jersey,
along with 18 other states, has re-
placed the K-12 Standardized As-
sessments with the new PARCC
test. The PARCC test is a com-
puter-based assessment of lan-
guage arts/literacy and math.
PARCC was administered during
the weeks of March 23 to March
27 and April 13 to April 17. Dur-
ing the first tested week, blocks
one and three were tested while
blocks two and four were tested
the following session. Both weeks
consisted of language arts on the
first three days, followed by two
days of math. To accommodate
PARCC testing, the time schedule
of each block was adjusted, result-
ing in the extension of those time
slots.
During the weeks building
up to the testing of the PARCC,
many students and teachers felt a
sense of anxiety. Most of their
worries were due to the level of
difficulty of the test. Some felt
that the test would be difficult,
and that the expectations were set
a little too high. Others also felt
that the biggest challenge with
administering the PARCC, would
be adjusting to the use of comput-
ers for standardized testing. How-
ever, after taking and administer-
ing the test, the general population
of students and teachers were
more comfortable and relaxed
with the PARCC. Enough time
was given for students to complete
each section, while some even had
time left over, and everything
went smoothly with few to no
hitches.
Overall, this test was an
examination of a student’s critical-
thinking skills, and focused on
how the student solves the prob-
lems rather than focusing com-
pletely on just the answer itself.
Instead of the standard fill-in-the-
blank “bubble questions,” the
PARCC gives students the oppor-
tunity to solve problems on their
own and evidence their though
processes.
BY JENNIFER MORA AND SAMANTHA HEYER
This year’s school production was God-
spell. The cast turned this rock opera into a
show to remember and a glorious final memory
for vocal director Ms. Verrilli. The very talented
Mikey Perez, who performed the star role of
Jesus, dazzled on the stage with all of his closest
friends performing by his side. The entire cast
used their talents of song and dance to really
bring this play to life. If you weren’t able to
make a performance, you really missed out.
A highlight of the night was Madhav
Patel, portraying Regina George from Mean
Girls. Every member put their whole hearts into
their performance and it really showed. They all
wanted it to be the best and they truly succeed-
ed. Amanda Fiore lit up the room with her per-
formance of “Learn Your Lessons Well”. It was
truly spectacular.
Another great moment of the night was
Dolly Maharaja’s performance of “Bless the
Lord”. She did a phenomenal job and really
reached those high notes.
Godspell has been on Broadway multi-
ple times and JFK’s student cast truly did the
play justice. Godspell made the audience dance
in their seats and was most definitely a great last
memory for all the seniors involved.
On Page 4….
EASTER EGG HUNT
[The event comprised of
various stations and activi-
ties to participate in…]
BY MANSI SHAH AND
SHIVANI DESAI
BY LAURYN MUHAMMAD AND RIYA SHARMA
The cast of Godspell enchanted the audience with their
songs and acting.
Flashing a winning smile, Madhav
Patel poses as the new Mr. JFK. Continued on page 3
Page 2
The world uses Google. We use it to look up random
facts, the answers to our homework, and of course, research.
However, now we are also using it in the classroom! Google
Classroom is a tool that is newly being utilized in every class-
room in school. It’s basically a platform that allows
teachers to post assignments and conduct student
activities. The students get to turn in their work
online, leave comments, and interact with each other
as well. It is, in fact, now a requirement to use
Google Classroom at least twice a week in each
class. This new technology sounds great but using a
new learning tool can also be difficult to adapt. After
interviewing and asking a few questions to some
teachers at school, we have gathered the following
responses.
We asked Mr. Ridgeway, French teacher at
JFK, what are the advantages and disadvantages of Google
Classroom. He gave the following response: “It helps me with
homework assignments and efficiency. Some assignments re-
quire simple short answers that I can give on Google Class-
room and then I don’t have to worry about photocopying them
and so forth. I give more open-ended assignments, however,
and I don’t like to sit at a computer and grade. Students don’t
like to type in a foreign language. They prefer to write on pa-
per. But for simple short-answer assignments, it’s beneficial.”
We asked Mr. Hugelmeyer, history teacher, the same
questions and here was his response: “The advantages of
Google Classroom is that all the information for a course from
handouts to PowerPoints, links to videos, can be streamlined
through one place where students can access it every day at any
time. It’s also an open forum for students, under the guidance
of the teacher, to put up information that they found, as well
with the learning that we are currently doing in the course. So,
it is social media for the classroom. A disadvantage would be if
there was a problem with the internet. That can always cause a
little bit of confusion. With Google Classroom, I always found
that there are elements that don’t necessarily work for every
single internet format.”
We asked one last teacher, Mrs. Espada,
math teacher, the same exact question. She responded
by saying, “For students, it’s technology that they
know and already use— although not necessarily
Google Classroom. You are of a generation that grew
up with computers, cell phones; you are easily inter-
faced with this type of equipment. So I think for you,
it’s just another way of using what you normally use
in some other manner. For a teacher—I think in my
case—I grew up in a very different situation where
we didn’t even use calculators. So, it forces me to go
beyond what I know and have done my whole life. I have al-
ways tried to reach beyond what’s easy for me to do and em-
brace new technology, though. I would say for a math teacher,
it is not as easy as it would be if I was teaching history. In math
there are math symbols to take into account. Another challenge
is giving students partial credit if I use multiple choice. It’s not
as well suited for math compared to some of the other sub-
jects.”
In addition, we also asked the teachers if they would
continue to use Google Classroom in the future. All three of
them agreed and said that they would continue to explore and
use the website. Ultimately, there are both advantages and dis-
advantages to the new change. We are all going to have to
eventually embrace new technology. It is in our best interest to
keep up with the future.
NEWSPAPER STAFF
CLUB ADVISOR:
Mrs. Vitali
LAYOUT & DESIGN:
Jake Jellison
Anjali Patel
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:
Kareena Adnani
Charu Arya
Priyanka Bansal
Pamela Canelas
Heena Champaneri
Shivani Desai
Sharmin Doreen
Mehak Farrukh
Jake Jellison
Toneke Graham
Samantha Heyer
Jake Jellison
Cheshta Kundra
Taffy Lashley
Clarissa Mercado
Jennifer Mora
Lauryn Muhammad
Anjali Patel
Darshini Patel
Hiral B. Patel
Niki Patel
Bijal Rana
Mansi Shah
Riya Sharma
David Smeal
Mathew Sylvester
Manvinder Talwar
Spring Sports Awards June 2, 2015
Parent Faculty Fo-
rum
June 3, 2015
Senior Prom
June 5, 2015
Graduation June 18, 2015
Project Graduation June 18, 2015
BY ANJALI PATEL AND CLARISSA MERCADO
DISCLAIMER
The Torch is produced four
times a year by the students of
John F. Kennedy Memorial
High School. Any views ex-
pressed in The Torch are those
of the individual writers, and
not necessarily those of the
Torch Editorial Board, John F.
Kennedy Memorial High
School, or the Woodbridge
Township Board of Education.
GOOGLE CLASSROOM
Page 3 School News
This year marks the 50th anniver-
sary of John F. Kennedy Memorial High
School and to celebrate this momentous
occasion, the idea of a 50th anniversary
concert proposed by JFK students came to
life on March 27th. The idea was the
brainchild of seniors Matt Sylvester, Jen
Mora, and Jordan Wells, who are mem-
bers of the music group Classic Collective
Company (Jen manages the group). The
project was aided by Mrs. Dilonardo and Mr. Bergondo, but
ticket sales were mostly sold by students. It took a lot of hard
work and determination, but the concert turned out to be a suc-
cess.
The 50th anniversary concert was hosted by senior Tyler
Hudson, whose charisma and charm kept the crowd enthused.
The first performers were the singing and guitar duo of
Georgette Stillman and Kayla D'alerta, who sang three songs.
With Kayla’s vocals and Georgette’s acoustic and electric guitar
skills, the duo received warm applause after their third and final
song, “Lesser Things” by Barcelona, which was also sung as a
birthday gift to junior Katelyn Poisler.
The next performance was the band “To Vanish Tomor-
row,” featuring JFK students Aidan Fengya and Reynold Bea-
ton. They performed four songs and got the crowd hyped and a
few on their feet. With a combination of acoustic soft rock and
alternative/screamo metal, the band’s first huge gig went pretty
well.
The last performance was from the CCC themselves.
Shortly prior to that, Matt Sylvester and guest rapper Matt Hol-
bert performed a short rap with catchy beats. Afterwards, Jen
Mora came out and introduced David Rosner, the manager of
Quad Studios in Manhattan. He congratulated the CCC on their
work and gave them a recording deal—a session in their record-
ing studio for four hours! This probably was the motivation be-
hind the CCC’s explosive performance soon after and the audi-
ence saw their talent shine. One of the CCC members also made
a thoughtful prom proposal using a song to which the recipient
said yes! Overall, the concert celebrated JFK’s 50 years by
showcasing phenomenal musical talent from our very own stu-
dent body, and was a greatly coordinated student-organized
event. Here’s to another 50 years!
BY TAFFY LASHLEY
JFK’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT
MR. JFK CONTINUED
JFK’s Reynold Beaton (left), Aidan Fengya (right), and their band ‘To
Vanish Tomorrow’ rocked the crowd with their performance.
BY LAURYN MUHAMMAD AND RIYA SHARMA
Following this was the “Who Knows JFK” facts section,
where the boys were booted off of the stage as soon as they got
a fact about JFK or the Staff incorrect. Next was the talent por-
tion in which the contestants’ performances ranged from rap to
Irish dancing, juggling, and instrumental love songs. Finally,
they had to answer an open-ended question, picked at random.
The boys had to answer the question aloud without preparation.
This was their last chance to awe the judges. After the contest-
ants answered their questions, all of the boys lined up across the
stage. Finally, the judges announced the winners for best hair,
best smile, best personality, best talent, etc.
The overall winner of Mr. JFK was Madhav Patel.
Madhav also won the category of
“Most School Spirit,” and he says that leading “Running in the
Halls” might have had something to do with it. Marching Band
is his most momentous extracurricular, but he also does Chorus
and is in several clubs. For the talent portion, Madhav really
stole the show when he performed a cover of “Anaconda” by
Nicki Minaj. He even got up onto the piano. In our exclusive
interview, he said that he was so nervous about it, and that he
didn't tell anyone that he was doing it. When he got up onto the
piano, he also thought that he'd give his chorus teacher, Mrs.
Verrilli, “a heart attack if [he] somehow broke it.” Also in an-
ticipation of the event, Madhav says that he and another con-
testant, Andrew Wallin, learned almost everything about JFK
for the talent portion. Madhav truly does deserve the title of
“Most School Spirit,” because when asked about his favorite
part of the school, he said that it was the teachers because they
go the extra mile for the students. Congratulations Madhav!
The candidates for 2015 Mr. JFK (from left to right): Joe Egri, Peter
Conde, Andrew Wallin, Madhav Patel, Anthony Capurso, Ari King, Mikey
Perez, Keiran Williams, Bobby Williams, and Max Tahzib.
Classic Collective Company (CCC) was the final performance at JFK’s
50th annual anniversary concert. Musicians Mathew Sylvester, Kyle Ross,
Jordan Wells, Demetrius Williams, and Christian Tabares moved the audi-
ence with their talent.
Page 5 School News Page 5 Page 5
NHS INDUCTIONS
4
The National Honors Society gathered on
Thursday, March 26, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. for their an-
nual induction ceremony. The night started off with
the superintendent and vice principal giving speeches
about what the Honors Society stands for and why it
is so important. They also congratulated the juniors
on their acceptance into NHS.
As the senior members of the Society named
the junior inductees, they were each introduced with
a statement on who they wanted to thank. The NHS
pledge was recited afterwards by the new inductees.
Afterward, the senior members were formally intro-
duced with the college that each member planned on
attending.
This year’s inductees were: Nabihah
Amatullah, Thevuni Athalage, Maanasa Baalaji, Ga-
briela Balle-Quinones, Zia Bedi, Juanita Borges,
Ashley Conroy, Anu Daniel, Pooja Desai, Wyatt
Emme, Lauren Fernandez, Connor Freeman, Fran-
cesca Garison, Sara Hmedan, Mahima Jacob, Tham-
bu Jisnnu, Kartik Kalia, Cassidy Kaznowski, Elisa
Liang, Marya Mahmood, Harshil Patel, Pooja Patel,
Rujuta Patel, Chamodhi Ranatunga, Mariah Simp-
son, Ian Smith, Aditya Sridhar, David Tian, Claudia
Valverde, and Spurti Vemuri.
These juniors have entered a most prestigious
society. According to one of the senior members,
Rucha Borkhetaria, “[NHS is] essential for society
because it promotes young men and women to come
forward and put their mark on society by doing all
that they can, while maintaining good grades and an
impeccable character, to help those in need.” She
claimed that NHS stood for the “perfect balance be-
tween academics, voluntary work and good charac-
ter.” It is much more than just an extracurricular. It
represents those who act as young role models, and
those recently accepted should be congratulated
dearly. Each inductee works very hard in terms of
academics, extracurricular activities, and volunteer
work. As the school year nears its last quarter, the
National Honors society happily welcomes these
honorable young leaders.
BY MEHAK FARRUKH
The John F. Kennedy Memorial High School
Choir hosted the 14th annual Easter Egg Hunt on
Saturday, March 28, 2015. The event was a great
success, with nearly 500 people present, which in-
cluded adults, teenagers, and children. The JFK
Choir organized a fun and exciting event for all who
attended. The day was filled with lots of food, activ-
ities, and smiles. The event comprised of various
stations and activities to participate in, including
bounce houses
and an opportuni-
ty to take a pic-
ture with the East-
er Bunny. Those
who participated
in the egg hunt,
especially the
children, were in-
credibly excited
and eager to find
all the hidden Easter eggs. The Easter Egg hunt,
hosted by the JFK Choir, is always a great oppor-
tunity for people to gather, celebrate, and enjoy
Easter together in an exciting and extraordinary
way. It was evident that all who attended the event
left with a smile on their faces.
EASTER EGG HUNT
BY MANSI SHAH AND SHIVANI DESAI
The new JFK Honor Society honored to be called for their induction.
Page 5 School News Page 5 Page 5 5
JFK’S 2ND ANNUAL FASHION SHOW
BY LAURYN MUHAMMAD AND HIRAL PATEL
At 6:30 p.m.
on April 17, 2015
the doors opened
and JFK High
School, Ms. Santa-
na, and the Fashion
Club presented
their second annual
fashion show, host-
ed by Lincoln
Thom and Joe Fran-
cis.
A perfor-
mance by the JFK
“Elite” step team
began the show.
The fashion show
consisted of stu-
dents of all grade
levels who modeled
clothes that they
designed, or the clothes that someone designed for them. We
were lucky to have special guests Mr. Migacz, Mr. McFad-
den, Mr. Seavy, Mr. Di Palma, Mr. Burns, and Mr. Viteri,
who especially got into character. Everyone’s favorite fash-
ion model and the night’s “Best Outfit” winner was Mr. Ci-
lento, who also showed us his silly side, dancing his way
across the stage.
The show went in the order of the seasons. First, fall
fashion pieces worked the runway. The second season was
winter fashion, in which we saw some beautiful hooded tops
made by the student designers. The third season was spring
fashion, in which there were many bright colored dresses and
skirts. The last season was summer fashion, which we saw
many shorts and summer dresses. The final category was re-
ferred to as “Recycle Redesign”. In this category, the design-
ers focused more on pieces that you would not necessarily
see someone wearing while walking down the street. There
were outfits such as a
potato chip bag dress,
candy wrapper dress,
balloon dress, playing
cards, tie dress, and a
dress made with water
bottles!
In addition to the
models’ attitudes and
struts down the runway,
the audience also had
some fun. The DJ, a
2014 JFK graduate,
Param Bhavsar, played
a great playlist. The
hosts and even some of
the models couldn’t re-
sist dancing!
Oh we can’t forget, in the year of the selfie, some
models snapped a picture of themselves and the crowd to
capture the moment. At the end of the show, the models and
designers joined Ms. Santana on stage. After she walked the
runway herself, some of her senior students shared how
thankful they were for her. Ms. Santana was a little emotion-
al after hearing all the sweet words from her students. The
show was a definite success. It was great to see so many stu-
dents of JFKMHS working their way down the runway and
shining their personalities.
Science teacher Mr. Viteri enjoyed the spotlight as a fashion model.
Blowing kisses to the crowd, Sophia Lopes
(left) and Mahin Khan (right), show off their
original designs in the second annual fash-
ion show.
Alexa Novozynski strikes a pose at this
year’s fashion show.
Mr. Cilento stole the show with his transformation from principal to
fashion model at the 2015 fashion show.
Page 5 Entertainment Page 5 Page 5 6
Though Easter is traditionally a Christian holi-
day, it is enjoyed today by people of all religions.
Much like Christmas, the religious aspect of the cele-
bration is almost completely forgotten, instead trans-
forming into a day of games, candy, and family time.
Most of these games involve plastic or hard boiled
eggs to symbolize “new life,” originally meant to hon-
or the resurrection of Jesus. Common games involve
egg hunts and egg painting; many of the day’s activi-
ties are directed towards children.
For example, there is an Easter bunny that chil-
dren can take pictures with in almost every mall.
Much like Santa Claus is for Christmas, the Easter
bunny is the most important symbol of Easter and the
start of springtime. As far as catering to adults, the
holiday involves sending Easter greeting cards, choco-
late bunnies, and jellybeans to family and friends. Re-
gardless of how people decide to spend their Easter, it
definitely consists of a grand celebration of family and
life.
EASTER CUSTOMS
BY KAREENA ADNANI
Spring is finally here! All the snow has finally
melted away. With the snow, all the fur coats and dark
color trends are gone too. A new season means new
fashion trends to rock. It’s
that time to do some closet
cleaning and bring out the
spring clothes.
Spring calls for floral
prints. There are so many dif-
ferent ways to pair floral
prints. Bright colored prints
paired with a solid color is
super trendy. You can buy a
couple floral printed tops and
pair them with solid jeans or
shorts and a cardigan. Colors
play a huge part in fashion.
Bright fuchsia, mint green,
sky blue and lemon yellow
are trendy colors for spring
2015. Skater skirts and flowy
dresses are a must for spring.
A skater skirt is a great in-
vestment. Believe it or not,
you can wear it with so many
different types of tops. You
can pair a skater skirt with a
crop top, a loose top tucked
in, or even a lace top. They
are comfortable and super cute. Maxi dresses also
make a great addition to a spring closet. They are very
versatile. You can pair a maxi dress with a light cardi-
gan, with a light sweater on top, or even just by itself.
Accessories are a huge
part of any outfit. Jewelry,
handbags and shoes complete
any outfit. They turn a plain t-
shirt and jeans into a fabulous
outfit. Bold statement necklac-
es are always in season. Put
away all the dark, gunmetal
toned jewelry and bring out
the colorful statement neck-
laces. You can find a glamor-
ous floral print necklace at
Forever 21. Pair this with a
plain top and you are ready to
go out on that special date. As
fashion changes, so does
makeup. Springtime calls for
bright bold lip colors and a
nice bronzy glow. Pairing
your outfits with a vibrant
pink lipstick and applying a
glowy highlight to your
cheeks will transform your en-
tire look from dull to fabulous! Stay fabulous!
BY HIRAL PATEL AND BIJAL RANA
SPRING FASHION
Page 5 Entertainment Page 5 Page 5 7
SPRING INTO SPRING
BY PRIYANKA BANSAL
As spring rolls in, students of all grades are busy
with standardized testing, sports, and adjusting to the
new semester. Everyone needs a nice way to relax and
get away from the typical student's busy schedule with a
positive outlook. Here, we surveyed students and asked
what their favorite things about spring are!
1. Favorite Spring Activity- Egg Hunts
Most of us have experienced the joy of egg hunts.
The colorful baskets, plastic eggs, and best of all- the
delectable treats inside. A perfect way to take your mind
away from the stresses of school, egg hunting with your
younger sibling, your friends, or maybe your parents is
highly favorable.
2. Favorite Spring Fashion Trend- Floral & Flowy
Chiffon dresses, Tulle skirts, and Voile tops are all
back in with the season. Both comfortable and fashiona-
ble, sheer cloths paired with a flowery style are what
spring calls for. Spring is all about colors. By embracing
bright colors in your wardrobe, spring fashion can be
both easy and fun.
3. Favorite Spring Holiday- Easter
Although many may view this as a rather obvious
answer, Easter holds more value than the annual meet-
and-greets with the Easter Bunny. Easter has trans-
formed into a widespread celebration, prevalent in many
cultures. As a way to acknowledge and share culture,
Easter is one of the most adored holidays of the spring
season!
Adventure,
intrigue, and ro-
mance combine in a
new fantasy book
called The Orphan
Queen, by Jodi
Meadows. The book
was released on
March 10, 2015.
When Prin-
cess Wilhelmina was
a child, the Indigo
Kingdom invaded
her homeland. Ten
years later, Wil and
the other noble chil-
dren who escaped
are ready to fight
back and reclaim Wil's throne. To do so, Wil and her
best friend, Melanie, infiltrate the Indigo Kingdom pal-
ace with hopes of gathering information that will help
them succeed. But Wil has a secret—one that could
change everything. Although magic has been illegal for
a century, she knows her ability could help her save her
kingdom. But magic creates wraith, and the deadly
stuff is moving closer and destroying the land. And if
the vigilante Black Knife catches her using magic, she
may disappear like all the others.
I’m extremely excited to see if there are any se-
quels or if this book is going to be part of a series—I
love it! Wilhelmina is awesome. She’s strong physical-
ly, thanks to years of training; you want her by your side
if you’re battling glowmen. Wil is also intelligent, in-
credibly caring, brave, and able to use magic to manipu-
late objects. Thankfully, Wil has flaws too, like the fact
that she’s not much of a leader, even though she’s the
orphaned queen of Aecor, which was taken over by the
neighboring Indigo Kingdom. For all her intelligence,
there also times when Wil goes on pure instinct, which
can be a good or bad thing. Unlike most young adult
heroines, she also completely fails to notice eyes, and
thus is unable to recognize a certain someone. I hope
this small review made you interested in this fascinating
and thrilling novel.
BOOK REVIEW: THE ORPHAN QUEEN
BY HEENA CHAMPANERI
Page 5 Entertainment Page 5 Page 5 8
FITNESS TRACKERS
BY JAKE JELLISON
We’ve been hearing for years that we need to
get at least thirty minutes of physical activity each
day. Add school and work into the equation and sud-
denly making the time to exercise seems impossible.
It's not that we don’t want to exercise, but for the past
few months snow has kept us inside and the cold
weather makes it even more difficult. Now that the
winter is behind us, what can we do to stay motivated
and live a more healthy lifestyle? Thanks to wearable
technology, we can wear motivation on our wrist.
Fitness trackers from Fitbit, Jawbone, Garmin,
and Withings Health do an excellent job at tracking
your everyday activity. All of them offer the counting
of your steps, distance traveled, calories burned, and
minutes of activity you’ve engaged in each day. It also
tracks your sleep, determining how much of it was
good sleep or if you just spent the night tossing and
turning. Some more expensive offerings from Fitbit
and Jawbone even offer the tracking of heart rate,
which can help you more accurately determine how
many calories are burned during activities such as cy-
cling or weight lifting.
They all present this information on your com-
puter or smartphone through wireless syncing, and
some models have a screen on the band where you can
view this information. You can set a daily goal, and
the band will vibrate to let you know when you’ve
reached it. Sitting around for too long? The band will
also vibrate to encourage you to get moving. Jawbone
offers advanced software that comes with their bands,
which takes the data collected from the band com-
bined with your calorie intake to “coach” you to living
a better life style. Other bands will tell you that you
need more sleep, while the Jawbone will tell you that
getting an extra hour of sleep will help improve your
focus throughout the day. It will also encourage you to
get a certain amount of activity throughout the
day to improve your overall sleep quality. While this
an excellent feature, it also comes with a higher price
tag.
The majority of the bands are silicon straps that
are extremely comfortable to wear, and after a few
days you will forget that you’re wearing it. The major-
ity of them require a two hour charge once a week, but
some last much longer with the use of a watch battery.
The basic bands are thin and don’t take up much room
on your wrist, and can easily be worn with a watch
and other accessories. Others with screens and heart
rate sensors are a bit thinker, and must be worn on
specific parts of your wrist to work accurately. With-
ings Health takes a different approach however, com-
bining a wrist watch with an activity tracker. It’s a
great looking watch, and boasts great battery life as it
is powered by a watch battery. Which band you
choose is up to personal preference and feature set,
but if you’re looking for something that doesn’t
scream fitness, that may be something for you.
These bands also make getting physical activity
fun. Using their respective applications, you can chal-
lenge your friends to beat your step total, or beat your
calorie total. They also enable you to set up group ac-
tivities, so you can set up a time and place to do
something with your friends. It’s like a video game,
except so much better for you. 43% of those who use
an activity tracker reported taking more steps than
those who don’t. Not only will it contribute to a
healthier heart, it may just help you drop a few pounds
just in time for beach season.
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