The month of June 2009 certainly kept journalists all over the world busy. New discoveries, attacks, releases of highly anticipated products, and plane crashes marked this month halfway through the year.
As June 1st rolls by, the first tragedy is on the way, too. Air France Flight 447 disappears over the Atlantic Ocean, near the Brazilian Fernando de Noronha Islands. After it did not arrive in Paris the following day as planed, it was confirmed that the plane has crashed; it did not land on any other airport in the world, and two days had already passed. Thus, it had definitely run out of fuel. With the investigation still ongoing, the reasons why the plane crashed, killing all 216 passengers and crew of 12, remains a mystery. The two black boxes that were onboard the plane are yet to be found, as well as the remains of the plane. This event devastated the people in 2009, and is one of the airplane accidents with the most casualties ever.
Over 50 people were killed in combat between Peru’s Army and indigenous peoples on June 6th. The natives, who lost 30 of their people, were protesting against the expansion of Peruvian cities and industrial zones in the Amazon Rainforest. The president of Peru, Alan García, did not approve of this, and sent the Army to calm things down. Instead, 22 soldiers died fighting against the natives. This outrage strained Peru even more during its time of critical political instability.
June was also the month of many discoveries. Scientists at Harvard University discovered a molecular mechanism that regulates coagulation. This finding is very significant to the field of medicine because it aids in the perpetual search for a cure for blood diseases such as hemophilia. A little further east, in Holland, Dutch researchers confirmed that ‘space headache’ is an actual medical condition which some astronauts have while not within the Earth’s atmosphere.
Several multinational companies launched one of their most anticipated products of the year in June. Apple Inc. launched the newest version of their famous iPhone, iPhone 3GS, which included a video recording option on the camera, and the voice control tool. Palm Pre smartphone from Palm, Inc. also hit the market last June. These new gadgets sure kept the techies busy, at least for a while.
An event that sent shock waves all throughout the world: the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, on June 25th. The reason for his death in the Ronal Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, is still being discussed, but the Los Angeles County Coroner said in the official statement that it was a mixture of prescription drugs that ended Jackson’s life. The memorial was held on July 7th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, but his service and burial was held on September 3rd, ten weeks after his death, at Forest Lawn Cemetery of Glendale, Los Angeles, California. On the same day, June 25th, another death shook the world: former Charlie’s Angel Farrah Fawcett lost the battle with cancer. She was buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California, on June 30th. The world had lost two great people on the same day, and the grief and mourning will never be forgotten.
But while the world was at its knees because of the events that happened in June 2009, what were the dwellers of NOVA doing? Let’s have a look at the lives of NOVA students in June 2009.
Final Exam Haze
Last minute reviews. To-do lists. Notes. Are you ready? The final exams are here.
As June slowly crept up on the residents of Praska bb, the anticipation and anxiety levels shot up the sky. Everybody was looking forward to the well-deserved break, but several nervous breakdowns were also on the horizon because of the upcoming final exams. The first week of June went by so fast, and was not nearly as long as most school weeks are; not nearly long enough to finish all of the reviewing. With more than five hundred pages to cover, some students feared failing the year. As the first day of exams came by, the students of NOVA High School sat down in the chairs, pens in trembling hands, and began to write. The exam time seemed fatally short, and the nights in between even shorter, not long enough to even skim the material once. Within the blink of the eye, the exams were done, and everyone felt a huge weight lifted off their shoulders. What to do now?
Before the students could get comfortable enough, they were summoned back to Praska bb to collect their transcripts and possibly “face their doom,” as some put it. But before all that chaos and disorganization began, there was an important event marked on the calendars of about 80 NOVA students: graduation. With ups and downs, laughs and tears, the seniors got their diplomas, happy they are through with high school, but sad to be separating from their friends. Along with the seniors to share the emotional high were the recipients of this year’s President’s Awards. Simply gleaming, they got the awards, taking in the experience, and taking home Barack Obama’s signature. With transcripts and diplomas in hands, NOVA students were off to enjoy the rest of the summer.
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