>> you're watching "teen kids news," and here's what's coming up. >> i'll tell you about a teen who owes her life to medical science and the kindness of strangers. >> it's the oldest continuously occupied military post in the united states. we'll get a special tour of west point. >> coming up, i'll tell you why this person is driving badly to save lives. >> something you probably do just about every day may be hazardous to your health. >> that and lots more right now on "teen kids news."

>> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm mwanzaa. >> and i'm siena. here's our top story for this week. >> we've all seen those cute paper balloons in stores. you fill one out when you donate money. but you may wonder, who does your dollar help? nicole has the story. >> ♪ a little bit longer, hey >> musician nick jonas, american idol david archuleta, and teen dream justin bieber -- they're just some of the celebs who support the children's miracle network hospitals. but 13-year-old alena, and millions of kids like her, are the real stars of the charity. alena gets a special present delivered to her house once a week. it's not clothes, jewelry, or games. alena's gift is medicine that helps keep her alive.

>> so i have a rare genetic disorder called maroteaux-lamy, or also known as mps vi, and i take an enzyme replacement once a week to help me live and grow. it's my naglazyme. >> she has to go through a long procedure called an infusion, that pumps the medicine into her veins. >> it's 4 hours and 10 minutes on a pump. oh, she's beyond brave. she's very brave. and it's because she knows the importance of getting her medicine. so she knows she has to do it. >> health professionals like pearl are able to help kids like alena deal with their medical conditions, in part thanks to donations to children's miracle network hospitals. >> well, i think it's great that people in our community has contributed to my care because then i know that there's people out there who actually care and that want to help. >> you might be at a costco or a walmart and see our children's miracle network hospitals balloon.

and you can pay a dollar and that donation will go to your local children's miracle network hospital -- whichever one is in your community. >> alena regularly visits the children's hospital at montefiore. >> what our program does is it teaches children about their illness and about the procedures that they'll have while they're in the hospital and how to cope with any pain and anxiety they might encounter while they're here. and without the support of children's miracle network hospitals, we wouldn't be able to maintain that program. >> alena's been part of the hospital's child life program since she was 3. that's when her family realized she was sick. >> you don't expect that you're gonna hear news that this little thriving little kid probably wouldn't make it through her 25th birthday. >> the disease affected alena's ability to grow and move around. >> when i was little, when i didn't get the enzyme treatment, i wasn't able to reach my arms high. but now i can make my arms go high. and i couldn't run as fast.

but it hasn't affected me anyway. i could just do what any normal child could do. >> and that's given her something to sing about. >> ♪ raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens ♪ ♪ bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens ♪ >> alena's vocal about her illness because she wants people to know they can help other kids like her. >> ♪ of my favorite things >> she also practices what she preaches. alena helps raise money for children's miracle network hospitals as their poster child. >> stay with us. there's a lot more coming up on "teen kids news." >> we'll be right back. .. soft.. and totally irresistible. your lip butter? likewise. new revlon® colorburst™ lip butter. a hydrating buttery balm for baby soft lips in 20 shiny colors.

>> it's considered one of our country's best colleges, and it

has several names. "the academy." "the point." "west point." tyler tells us about the history of the u.s. military academy at west point. >> west point traces its roots back to the american revolution. general washington considered this the most important military location in america. he called it "the key to the continent." >> both the british and the americans knew that whoever controlled the hudson river would probably win the war. the best way to move a lot of people -- men, soldiers, supplies, provisions -- was by water, using ships and boats. so controlling the river networks in america was an important aspect in the war. >> massive fortifications were built and crammed with continental soldiers. >> show us your bayonets! >> all: huzzah! bayonets! >> to keep the british from traveling upriver and dividing the colonies, a giant, 100-ton

chain was stretched across the hudson. these here are links from the original chain. each link weighs about 200 pounds each. >> yes, it did work. even though there was no attempts to get past the chain or to come up the river with british ships. it was deterrent to the british. >> in 1779, washington moved his headquarters to west point. it was here that america's most famous traitor tried to betray his country. his name has become the symbol of treason. >> i think that was benedict arnold. >> benedict arnold. >> that was benedict arnold. >> benedict arnold. >> benedict arnold. >> in 1780, he wanted to be the commander here. he'd been wounded grievously a couple years earlier. and he felt that he wasn't being treated properly. so his wife and he had conspired with the british to turn over

west point for 30,000 pounds sterling. in today's money, that'd be several million dollars. so he sought this command. he gained this command. and then he tried to turn it over to the british, but it was foiled, and he escaped. and he became the most famous traitor in american history. >> arnold fled to safety with the british. after the war, the young country recognized it needed a military college. >> what our founding fathers realized -- with the size of our country, we need a strong military. we also needed a professional, military class of officers that were educated and trained in the art and science of war. >> in 1802, president jefferson made it official. the united states military academy was born. >> this is the entrance to west point. it's called thayer gate. it's named after the man known as the father of the military academy, colonel thayer. >> he is known as the father -- not the founder, but the father

of the military academy. his contribution is immense. he established what we call the thayer method, where students were tested every day, discipline was rigid, and "duty, honor, country," those words, though not codified in law -- they were the standard. >> 1st division barracks was built in 1851. over the years, some of our nation's greatest military leaders slept and studied here. names like world war i's general pershing, world war ii's general douglas macarthur, and desert storm's general norman schwartzkopf. >> two of the three astronauts on apollo 11 were west point graduates -- michael collins and buzz aldrin. you think of all our great generals and officers -- most of them were educated at west point. we've had two u.s. presidents that gained their education

here. we've had all kinds of incredible personalities come through here and serve. >> when we return, we'll learn what it takes to attend west point. the talking. [announcer:] new revlon® photoready 3d volume™ mascara the round tip brush coats even the tiniest lash. the innovative formula reflects every lash... for a 100% more magnified look.

>> ♪ screaming eagles >> ♪ screaming eagles >> ♪ pick up your ropes and follow me ♪ >> ♪ pick up your ropes and follow me ♪ >> the u.s. military academy at west point doesn't look like your typical college. and it's not. students here are called cadets. in all, some 4,000 attend the academy. >> and the author describes it as, it's basically the mechanical efficiency of that

pump/motor combination. >> the education here at west point is outstanding. in 2009, we were chosen by forbmagazine as the best college in america. >> it is equal to 210 degrees. >> and it has just what you'd expect at a top college, from state-of-the-art educational facilities to all kinds of extracurriculars. [ indistinct shouting ] [ cheers and applause ] but it also has this... and this. [ indistinct shouting ] cadets go through rigorous physical training... and learn combat skills. >> one up! >> two up! >> three up! >> room cleared! >> to apply for admission, you need to be a u.s. citizen between 17 and 23 years old.

you must meet high standards for academics, leadership, and physical ability. and you need to be nominated, usually by a member of congress. >> just to get into the academy is quite an achievement for young people who apply. and we have some of the finest military and civilian professors and instructors in the nation. >> it's a west point tradition that the lowest-ranking person of the class is known as the "goat." this man was the goat of his class. he's george patton. despite being the goat, he became one of our most brilliant and effective generals in world war ii. the academy's motto is "duty, honor, country." and it's taken very seriously here. cadets live by an honor code that states, "a cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate

those who do." >> integrity, honor -- those things are critical because we're developing leaders of character. >> graduates earn a bachelor of science degree, along with a commission in the army as a second lieutenant. >> do you solemnly swear? >> all: i solemnly swear... >> that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states. >> all: ...that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states. >> class dismissed! [ cheers and applause ] >> this excellent education is tuition-free, but graduates are expected to serve in the military for five years. not all of west point's traditions have stood the test

of time. in 1980, andrea lee hollen became the first woman to graduate the academy. west point is open to visitors, though you have to be part of a scheduled tour. >> i believe anytime throughout the year is a wonderful time to visit west point. when the cadets are here in session -- when they're marching on the plain, football games -- it's wonderful. [ drums playing ] we have a world-class museum. we really do. and the scenes around west point -- the vistas, the scenery -- is just majestic. we have the proud heritage of the american revolution. [ drums playing ] >> when you see the cadets marching on the parade ground, it's easy to understand why present and past cadets are proudly called "the long gray line." a favorite saying here is, "much of the history we teach was made by the people we taught." at west point, i'm tyler for

"teen kids news."

>> on "speak of the week," we find out what you think. >> we're being called the social-media generation. so, what do you think? are websites like facebook good or bad? >> i think mostly good if you don't, like, put stuff on there that you know you shouldn't.

>> i personally have caught up with a lot of friends from elementary school and stuff like that that i probably wouldn't have been able to keep in touch with. >> are websites like facebook good or bad? >> i think they're pretty good, you know. keep in touch with your friends and stuff. >> it's kind of bad for our generation to, like, not be used to, like, social interaction. like, when everyone's just, you know, facebook, i.m.'ed, or, like, texted and stuff, like, when you meet someone face to face, it's so, like, awkward, and, like, you don't know what to say to them. and i think it's making our whole generation socially awkward. so, i think facebook is kind of a bad thing, personally. >> although it might come as a distraction to people like me, for the most part, it's really revolutionized a lot of things. >> the easy answer would be that, like most things, social media has both pros and cons and depends on the individual. but listen to this. as part of a study, 200 college students were asked to give up online media for a few days. many found that difficult to do. they experienced emotional stress, anxiety, and even the jitters. these are symptoms similar to withdrawing from alcohol of drug

addiction. now, that's pretty scary. we'll keep you posted as new research comes in. for "teen kids news," i'm monika. >> it's time to play "word." find out if you can find the true definition among the false ones. let's do some d's. "debacle." is it... [ alarm rings ] debacle is a complete defeat. what a debacle. she got only 2% of the vote. >> [ laughs ] >> how about this? "dilate." does it mean... [ alarm rings ] dilate is to make wider or larger, expand. darkness makes the pupils in the center of your eyes dilate.

how about "dire"? [ alarm rings ] dire means terrible or awful. failure at "word" has dire implications for your performance in school. ha, just kidding. [ children cheer ] let's review. and that's "word" for this week on "teen kids news." >> you might have already suspected this, but now researchers have confirmed it. moms of teens girls are taking their fashion cues from their daughters. here's something else that's not surprising. the girls are not happy about this trend.

>> this report is brought to you by the national road safety foundation. 17-year-old rebecca rapin, from michigan, is about to have a dream come true, and the people she's meeting are gonna help make it happen. >> we're videotaping my psa that i won a contest for. >> called "drive 2 life," it's a national competition for kids to come up with ideas for a tv spot that encourages teens to drive safely. and it's sponsored by the national road safety foundation, in partnership with scholastic. top prize -- getting to work with a professional director and crew to bring the concept to reality. >> all right. so, we're gonna carpool it, and we're gonna go to the location. >> while the crew got things ready for the shoot, rebecca and the director walked through her storyboards. >> it starts here, and they're eating, and then they're -- instead of texting, they're writing. the message i was trying to get across with my psa is that, like, people should just be driving safer and that, like, just the littlest thing you're

doing in your car could, like, make a huge accident. >> so, we turned your storyboards into a television script. >> rebecca's finding out that what looks simple on paper takes a lot of planning to produce. >> then once we're set up, we're ready to go in the car and start shooting. all right. you ready? >> yeah. >> should we do it? >> yeah. >> let's go. >> the script calls for a driver to be doing things that are very distracting and dangerous. >> um, do you have a hair tie? >> yeah. >> put the hair tie on. put your seatbelt on. >> do we need to tell you not to try any of this at home? this crew is working on a road that's been closed specifically for the shoot. >> and are you happy with it so far? >> yeah, it looks really good. >> after each scene, the team reviews the shots to make sure they're getting what they need. >> all right. do our next shot. >> it's painstaking, demanding work, often doing the same scene over and over and over again. but finally, they have everything they need, and rebecca gets to have a spielberg moment. >> nice job, everybody. that was a lot of fun. we got a lot done today.

it's a wrap. [ cheers and applause ] >> a wrap for the location shoot, but rebecca's psa is only half done. now it has to be edited. >> i think that'll be kind of cool, like, to see how it all panned out and kind of be able to decide, like, what goes away and how everything looks. >> the next day, rebecca and the director prep the script for the edit session. >> and what do you think are the strongest shots? which ones do you like the best? >> i like the eating the burger and drink 'cause, like, she, like, from when i was sitting next to her, she had her pinkies literally on the thing and you could tell it was a struggle to try to -- actually try to drive doing that. >> after reordering some scenes, they discuss how to end the spot. >> "just because you can doesn't mean you should. just drive." >> and then we'll add in "a message from the national road safety foundation." >> okay. >> rebecca is lucky that not only is rick an emmy winning editor, he was also the cameraman on yesterday's shoot, so he's very familiar with all of the shots. here, he's showing rebecca some cuts of music to consider.

[ rock music plays ] >> you don't like that one. >> unh-unh. [ music stops ] >> okay. >> they agree they want something upbeat. >> then we have this one. [ upbeat music plays ] >> rebecca's finding that creating a video is a collaborative process. >> he would ask me first, like, "okay, what do you want to do?" and i'm like, "okay, we could do this," and he's like, "yep," and then he would change it, and if he didn't like something that i said, he would tell me why and then we'd just change it. >> the pressure's on. in just a few hours, rebecca is scheduled to show the completed video to the client. she's nervous but confident. we'll show you how her big moment went next week. for "teen kids news," i'm scott. t we'll be back soon with more "teen kids news." >> thanks for joining us, and have a great week.

>> here's a shout-out to pr newswire for including "teen kids news" on their big screen in times square, new york city.