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Pembroke Pines Charter High School
17189 Sheridan Street
Pembroke Pines, Florida 33331
Volume 11 Issue 5 -January 2011
Charter High Academic Times
The demise of email
see page 10
Drama club dazzles packed house
see page 5
Soccer team honors student memory with win
see page 2
R.I.P. to the Wii
see page 10
Student Life
January 2011
2
Be chic when you eat
Goal achieved
Eliza Barrocas
MANAGING EDITOR
District win honors student’s memory
Matthew Coolidge
Staff Writer
As we grow older, things are supposed
to get easier. But as we grow, we fully realize what it means to lose something -- or
someone. Recently, the Pines Charter family
was struck with a tragic loss; Mariana Gonzalez, an 8th-grader at PPCMS West Campus, died of cancer. Mariana’s tragic death
hit the PPCHS boys’ soccer team especially
hard; her brother Tomas is a goalkeeper on
the team. With her sudden death right before an important district game versus rival
Archbishop McCarthy, the boys team came
together to help support the Gonzalez Family
to overcome the loss of a very special young
lady.
Tomas’s teammates united to help him stay
positive and comfort him during these tough
times. The Jaguars also attended Marianna’s
funeral and viewing, which, according to senior forward Dalton Churchwell, “allowed
us to show our support for Tomas and the
Gonzalez family. To commemorate the loss,
the Jaguars created shirts with sayings of remembrance for Mariana. Senior Jesus Berga
A game no one will
forget: In remembrance of Mariana
Gonzalez, the boys
soccer team played
their hearts out.
Photos by Adrian
Tabraue
created a shirt with the sentimental message “Mariana you will always be a part of
us” and Churchwell’s shirt had the message
“gone but not forgotten.”
The team warmed up in the shirts, and most
wore them under their jerseys during the
game. The team also brandished black armbands with Mariana’s initials inscribed on
them.
When asked about the team’s remembrance
effort, head coach Lemmon said, “One of our
team mottos is family, and for the family to
come together was tremendous support for
the Gonzalez family. Nothing can get rid of
the anguish; we did our best to help relieve
some it by winning this game for her.”
Before the game, both teams met at midfield for a moment of silence dedicated to
Mariana’s memory, and during the game,
every time Tomas touched ball, cheers rang
out from both sidelines. The Jags went on to
defeat archrival Archbishop 3-2 in a very important district game to remain undefeated.
“It meant a lot”, said Junior Marlon Mendez, “It was not only for us, but it was for
Tomas and his sister”.
NHS demonstrates the spirit of the holidays
DoSomething.org allows students to get active
Anyssa Gonzalez
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
What is it? DoSomething.org is a website
that provides teenagers with opportunities
to volunteer their time and effort for different causes. By utilizing the different types
of technology that teenagers have become
obsessed with, this organization has allowed
students to become active members in the
community with the things that they love. In
short, they are “using the power of online to
get teens to do good stuff offline.”
Anjali Talwar
STAFF WRITER
Who can get involved? Anyone that is willing to dedicate themselves. Whether it is
driven by the need to earn your forty hours
required for school or the selfless desire to
give, everyone has the ability to get involved.
How can you get involved? If you are interested in finding community service opportunities that correspond with your passions,
visit DoSomething.org, make an account,
and you can select those opportunities according to your needs and wants.
This holiday season, the National Honor
Society at PPCHS opened up its heart to give
to children in their time of need. NHS members went to the Broward Children’s Center,
where the students made gingerbread houses
with the kids.
“I had a great feeling about this trip, it was
going to be a good day,” said senior Kethnie
Moreau.
“The kids were so excited and they seemed
to have a great time,” said junior Nick Eyrich.
PPCHS’s beauty pageant…for boys?
Nicolette Sponer
NEWS EDITOR
Backstage at the River of Grass theatre,
eleven PPCHS seniors were fluffing their
hair, practicing their Emmy-winning smile,
and going over their talent routine. As the
lights flashed, they grabbed their escorts and
prepared to start the beauty pageant. But
this wasn’t just any beauty pageant; it was
Mr. Jag, PPCHS’s male pageant. The eleven
competitors were seniors Kevin Kennedy,
Daniel Guzman, Adrian Romero, Stefan Sabourin, Jonathan George, Brandon Garcia,
Donny Felix, Dwight Lodge, Chris Taylor,
Patrick Gould, and James Kerr.
They had to perform a series of tasks, including “Are You Smarter Than a Middle
Schooler” and an obstacle course. The boys
even surprised the crowd by dancing to
Beyoncé’s Single Ladies. All in all, Daniel
Guzman was the judge’s favorite, winning
the title of Mr. Jag. “I entered to be ‘the man’
on campus,” says Guzman, “It fits my personality and even though it was the most
nerve-wracking thing I’ve ever done, I had a
blast.” It was a night full of laughter and fun;
a night no one will soon forget.
Team Gingerbread: Members of NHS, including
Sherryn Huggins, Claudio Brand, and Johanna Segura, on their way to the Broward Children’s Center.
Photo by Lorraine Oyola
And the winner
is...: Mr. Jag male
pageant contestents
Johnathan George
(second from the
left) reading a
poem, Daniel Guzman (third from
the left) after being
crowned, and the
whole group performing to “Single
Ladies”. Photos By
Rebecca Murillo
Daniel Quevedo
Editor-in-Chief
Eliza Barrocas -Content
Rebecca Murillo -Layout
Managing Editors
Kevin Kennedy
Sports Editor
Lorraine Oyola
Photo Editor
Erin Jones
TechnologyEditor
Maria Flores
Cartoonist
Isabella Jones
FeaturesEditor
Nicolette Sponer
News Editor
Mr. Fagen - Content
Mr. Simon - Layout
Advisers
Kenneth Madera
GraphicsEditor
Bianca Rodriguez
Student Life Editor
Mr. Bayer
Principal
Jordana Cutajar
Environmental Editor
Content Staff:
Victoria Alvarez, Paul Austria, Julia Baca,
Enrique Batista, Cassidy-Rae Brantley,
Brianna Cha-Kim, Matthew Coolidge,
Taylor Engelman, Alexandra Mangano,
Carissa Perry- Smith, Melissa Sullivan,
Anjali Talwar
Layout Staff:
Daven Castillo, Nicholas D’Agostino,
Sarah Deluca, Scott Gil, Julian Graves,
Diego Vidal
Photography Staff:
Gail Fletcher, Fabiana Gonzalez, Taylor
Neita, Lissette Rivera, Adrian Tabraue
Pembroke Pines Charter High School
17189 Sheridan Street
Pembroke Pines, FL 33331
Phone: 954-538-3700
Email: [email protected]
Chipotle: Students talk about it all the time,
and if you’re in the mood for an oversized
and overloaded burrito this is definitely the
place to stop. With other options including
bowls and tacos, this is Mexican food with a
modern twist. “Chipotle offers a lot of food;
there’s a good variety and their stuff tastes
awesome,” states freshman Derick Garcia.
Chipotle also takes pride on the fact that they
are “food with integrity,” and raise their ingredients with respect to the animals, environment, and community.
Study, Study, Study: Students
found themselves making some
hard decisons when it came to
choosing what exams to exempt.
Photo by Taylor Nieta.
What classes are
you exempting?
Do you know
what tests you
want to get out
of most? These
are the questions that fluster
all throughout
PPCHS
during the month
of January. It’s
that time of year
again, that students are deciding what exams
to exempt out of
and which ones
to study like crazy for.
So what is the criteria that students use to
make such important decisions? Do students
tend to exempt their hardest classes or is the
weighing their options or taking the exams
that will improve their GPA’s?
“Personally I think student’s exempt their
hardest exams or the weaker subject,” states
Guidance Counselor, Mr. Greenbaum.
Starbucks: Although this chic coffee house
may have been popular for years prior, this
chain is reaping the benefits of our caffeine
obsessed generation. Students also use Starbucks as a tranquil place to get homework
and studying done too. With several drink
options that include teas, cappuccinos, and
iced coffees, Starbucks is the perfect place
for a stressed out teen to unwind. “I like
Starbucks because the employees are always
nice and friendly, they have delicious drinks,
and it’s a great atmosphere,” junior Natalie
Mendez states.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries: Looking
for a traditional burger and fries that has
more zest than your average fast food meal?
Well look no further because Five Guys is
the place to stop. With over 250,000 burgers sold daily and an estimated 200 restaurants opened around the country in 2010,
Five Guys became an instant hit. “I like Five
Guys because it isn’t a regular burger like
the ones you get from drive through places
like McDonalds or Wendy’s. It’s a good portion and has a lot of flavor,” states sophomore Jacob Isenberg. Offering hamburgers,
french-fries, and hotdogs with a topping bar
that includes pickles, relish, and more, Five
Guys has become the place to stop by when
you’re in the mood for fried delights.
All Photos By Google
Getting out of something you know you’re good at?
Bianca Rodriguez
STUDENT LIFE EDITOR
The C. H. A. T. Staff
Anyssa Gonzalez
Entertainment Editor
Eddie Baffa
Asst. Julia Baca
Business Managers
NHS will organize many other community
activities throughout the year, like helping
the middle school in FCAT camp and a shoe
drive.
As you drive around the Pembroke Pines
area, it is undeniable that this once sleepy
town is continuously growing; the food industry in this area is by far no exception.
On a 10 minute venture down Pines Boulevard, one can pass at least 10 different well
known corporate restaurants. From Chipotle
to Panda Express for lunches to Menchies
and Yogurt Land for desserts, we’re all
guilty of having the natural instinct to stop
in and grab a bite to eat. As a teen, being on
a budget also makes these restaurants seem
even more appealing. In accordance, where
we spend our time eating has become just as
much of a trend as being up to date on the
latest fashions.
These restaurants are not only budgeting friendly, but are the perfect and safe
haven for teens alike to lounge around and
catch up with one another. PPCHS has even
taken advantages of restaurants like these
as a spot for family nights and fundraisers.
Both the junior and sophomore class have
used Chick- fil-A as the site of family nights,
and the senior class has brought in funds
from sources such as Chipotle, Yogurt Land,
and Five Guys.
“I think it’s a great idea to have family nights at places where our student body
already chooses to go regularly; it makes it
easier for kids to come out and support our
school,” states junior class Vice President
Anna Cesarotti.
Not only are students capitalizing
on the popularity of these restaurants, but
these dine-inns are also taking advantage of
their onset stardom. While some offer frequent buyer cards or emailing lists, others go
to the extreme; just a few years ago, Chipotle
offered a free burrito to those customers who
came dressed in tinfoil for Halloween, thus
resembling a burrito itself! PPCHS alumni
Mariah Dominguez participated in these festivities, and stated “I love chipotle because I
love spicy food and it is super filling and satisfying. I love chipotle so much I was willing
to dress as burrito to get a free burrito, and I
wouldn’t have done that for just any restaurant that’s for sure!”
While some individuals have caught
the bug for trendy food, for those individuals
who may have been “living under a rock” for
the past few years, here is an insight on some
of these trendy restaurants that students have
shown a recent love for.
An overwhelming number of sophomores
(72 %) said they were taking their math midterm. Most sophomores take geometry in
their second year of high school, and based
on this poll, seem to feel they have a grasp
on the subject or aren’t doing well enough to
exempt. 70% of juniors plan to exempt physics. Does that mean we have a lot of budding
engineers or do we have students who fear
the test may be too hard?
“So far in my experience I feel students try
to avoid their most intimidating test, and if
more juniors thought physics was, then there
you go,” states Junior Physics honors teacher
Mrs. Invernizzi.
A whopping 68 % of freshmen said yes that
they were exempting biology. This can only
mean two things -- that we have future biologist walking among the halls at PPCHS or
they are too terrified of the exam.
While seniors are dealing with the beginning symptoms of seniorities 62% say they
will be cracking the books and taking their
math midterm.
Where the least variation occurred was with
the social studies midterms. All four grades
had nearly a 50/50 split on their decision to
take their history midterm.
3
Student Life
January 2011
Panda Express: For an affordable Asian
meal, Panda Express has a variety of options
that come in decent portions too. From traditional Chinese flavors to innovative and fresh
tastes, the Panda Express team has worked
up a menu that has something for everyone
to enjoy. Some options on this menu include
orange chicken, steamed rice, fried rice,
chow mein, and honey walnut shrimp. “I like
the orange chicken and the food tastes good.
It’s cheap too,” states senior Billy Golding.
Yogurtland and Menchies: For 30 to 40
cents an ounce, these places offer a sweet
treat that your wallet and bank account will
enjoy too. Delicious flavors including red
velvet, cake batter, cherry vanilla, and Dutch
chocolate would just not be completed without the full topping bar these places offer.
Some of their toppings include Kit-Kats, coconut, and a variety of fruits. “I love Yogurtland because not only is it cheap, but because
all of the flavors actually taste the way they
are supposed to!” states junior and Yogurtland employee Gabriel Rodriguez.
An Independent study on what midterms students are exempting out of.
Based on a non-scientific poll of 400 randomly selected student’s results varied amongst the
student body.
Entertainment
January 2011
4
Drama club dazzles packed house
The People’s Choice Awards:
Melissa Sullivan
STAFF WRITER
Eclipse and House MD big winners
Cassidy-Rae Brantley
STAFF WRITER
This year’s People’s Choice Awards took
place in the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles,
California. Fans and celebrities came together to see what the favorites of 2010 were.
The night was full of glam, fun, and laughs
with host Queen Latifah. Fans went onto the
People’s Choice awards website to vote for
and chose voted their favorites in the nominees given.
Top winners of the night included The Twilight Saga: Eclipse in the movie category. It
won overall favorite and drama movie; it also
won favorite movie actress Kristen Stewart
and on-screen team with its centered characters. Toy Story 3 came in as the people’s
choice for family movie, Nightmare on Elm
Street was favorite horror movie, and Johnny
Depp received favorite actor.
House M.D. got away with four awards
also, that included favorite actor and actress
for TV drama, doctor, and TV drama in general. For favorite guilty pleasure, Keeping
Up with the Kardashians won and Glee was
top for TV comedy.
In music, Eminem was the top winner,
receiving favorite hip-hop and male artist
along with an award for favorite song Love
the Way You Lie featuring Rihanna. Chosen
breakout artist was Disney star and singer
Selena Gomez and the Scene.
“Justin Bieber has had more publicity then
Selena and more songs on the radio,” states
sophomore Shelby Burdett, a student that
was surprised by Gomez’s win. Rihanna got
favorite pop artist, Taylor Swift as the People’s favorite country artist, and Usher for
R&B.
For years, the Drama Club and class has
stunned PPCHS students with their amazing performances and artistic events. The
club has accomplished a great deal of
things this year that are not only exciting
and amusing to club members, but the entire school.
So far the Drama students have showcased their annual Winter Fantasy, filling
nearly every seat in the River of Grass auditorium. The auditorium was jam-packed
with parents, students, and administration
on Dec. 10 as Drama put on an exciting
and thrilling performance.
Freshman Chelsi Chang participated in
the performance and said, “Overall, I think
we did a great job and we did amazing
reenactments of Lightning Larry and The
Sideways Stories. Everyone should look
forward to upcoming events”.
During the performance, club and class
members recreated the well-known presentation of The Sideways Stories of Wayside
A night of winners: The Twilight cast, above,
accepting their award for favorite movie. The
Kardashian sisters, right, came up together to
receive their award for favorite guilty pleasure.
Photo By Google
Pretty little line-up in 2011
Bianca Rodriguez
STUDENT LIFE EDITOR
Ring in the year 2011 with a whole new
set of shows. TV show addicts are definitely
looking forward to upcoming new season of
their favorite shows.
The Bachelor – A handsome blonde hair,
blue eyed hunk, Brad Womack is back and
looking for love…again. After previously
being on The Bachelor and turning down his
last two contestants, he says he has done a lot
of soul searching and is now ready to come
back on the show and find his soul mate.
Pretty Little Liars – The anticipated new
and second season of this show had millions
of girls glued to ABC Family. This is an intriguing and mysterious show of four best
friends who are trying to hunt down the person sending them text messages threatening
to disclose their darkest secrets.
Jersey Shore – The party crew is returning
for their third season on MTV and with a
new little surprise: a carbon copy of Snooki.
Say hello to Deena, already creating drama
with Sammi in the first episode. She is sure
to provide promising new drama for future
episodes.
Greek – This rambunctious cast returning
for its fourth season (and rumored last) in a
row on ABC Family. Everyone is graduating from college and moving out. It seems
like this could be the bittersweet good bye
for Greek.
New year, new
shows: 2011 looks
promising with new
seasons of original
favorites. Graphics
By Google
High; it features a high school where everything is “topsy-turvy”.
“The audience adored the scene and continued to cheer as the curtain rose,” said
freshman Rebekah Welch.
Another event being hosted by the Drama club this year will be the Talent Show
which will take place on Jan. 27. It will give
students who wish to share their distinctive
talents with the public the chance to do just
that. In previous years, bands, solo artists
and even dancers have been featured in the
show for their unique talents. As for this
year, the Talent Show is expected to be outstanding and is definitely well anticipated
by many students at PPCHS. Everyone is
also looking forward to the announcement
of the main-stage show, which should be
made soon.
PPCHS’ drama students have organized
several events throughout the years that
often bring excitement and smiles to the
student body; they will continue to do so
this year with their well-organized events
and activities.
Movies that’ll get your heart pumping
Paul Austria
STAFF WRITER
The Roommate: Leighton Meester and
Minka Kelly star in this thriller about a college student whose roommate at first seems
nice, but turns out to be something more.
Projected Release Date: Feb. 4
Gnomeo and Juliet: Modeled after William
Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, just
gnomes instead of humans.
Projected Release Date: Feb. 11
The Eagle: Starring Channing Tatum, The
Eagle features a young Roman officer’s
quest to find out why his father disappeared.
Projected Release Date: Feb. 11
Never Say Never: Features singer Justin
Bieber’s rise to stardom.
Projected Release Date: Valentine’s Day
I Am Number Four: Produced by Michael
Bay and Steven Spielberg, this teen sciencefiction film features an alien disguised as
an average high school student who falls in
love.
Projected Release Date: Feb. 18
A Swift obsession
Lights, Camera, Action: Drama Club goes all out, as
students, Yanell Ordonez (right), Demitri Narace, Victoria Green and Brittni Garcia playing improv games.
Photo by Adrian Tabraue
Freshman Drama: Freshmen Tatiana Bustamante
(Left) and Aleena Gomez (Right) start learning the
way of acting, during Drama club while playing
improve games. Photo by Adrian Tabraue
Glee sings its way to the top
Victoria Alvarez
STAFF WRITER
The new hit show on Fox, Glee, is at its
all-time high. Since it first started out in
fall of 2009, the amount of viewers has
almost doubled. There was an average of
seven and half million people watching
each episode in season one; however, the
last two episodes that have been shown
had over eight million people tuning in.
Some opinions as to why the show has gotten so popular are that it captures the extreme stereotypes of high school. It tends
to blow everything out of proportion and
just makes the viewers laugh. However, it
also hits home to a lot of kids because sometimes those things do happen. It gives students who are interested in theater and music
a show of their own liking.
“I think that Glee shows that no matter
how different you are, you can always turn
to music to help you out through hard times,”
said freshman Jessica Kaminsky. “Plus, little
jokes here and there aren’t too bad”.
The show is watched by approximately
3,000,000 people living in the United States,
proving that the Glee cast must be doing
something right.
Glee Season 2: The second season of Glee premiered on September 21st 2010 on Fox at 8pm Est on Tuesdays. Cartoon
by Maria Flores
Swift Obssesion: Taylor Swift was ranked 38th best artist off 2000-10 decade by billboard. Photo by Google
admitted. “She’s secretly my best friend. She
understands what I and millions of others
like me feel.”
Yet the most important thing that draws
Solomon to Swift has nothing to do with her
January 2011
Drama Preparation:Students Yanell Ordonez (right),
Demitri Narace. Victoria Green, and Brittni Garcia.
Play improv games during the drama club meeting.
Photo by Adrian Tabraue
Erin Jones
TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
When PPCHS junior Danielle Solomon saw
country songstress Taylor Swift in concert
last March, she didn’t have the reaction that
most fans did when she saw her. The minute
she walked into the Bank Atlantic Center
she was bawling. While most fans screamed
as soon as Swift came on stage, Solomon’s
water works got even worse. This hysterical
reaction was due to Solomon’s overflowing
admiration for the singer.
“Honestly there isn’t a way for me to describe it. I love Taylor Swift. I look up to
her,” says Solomon.
Solomon spends hours listening to Swift,
reading about her, and performing Google
searches on the singer/songwriter. Most of
her friends think it’s a bit obsessive.
“I think it’s a little scary and over the top,”
said junior Shannon Card, a good friend of
Solomon, “she talks about her all the time.”
In the high school world filled with drama,
heartache, and teenage angst, Swift is like
Solomon’s own personal guide. Taylor’s lyrics help navigate her through any troubles
she faces. Swift’s voice gives her comfort,
advice, and friendship from someone who
has already been through it all.
“At a time when I’m sad or to make me feel
better, I get a bit of mac and cheese and listen
to her music. It gets the job done,” Solomon
5 Entertainment
songs. In fact, it’s Swift’s spirit that has Solomon addicted to everything related to her.
“I love her honesty and the fact that she’s
down to earth. You look at celebrities today
and it’s shocking to see that Lindsay Lohan
is still famous. Taylor keeps her personal life
a secret in interviews and expresses her feelings through music,” Solomon says.
The fact that Swift thanks her fans in every
tweet, speech, blog entry, and interview she
ever made makes Solomon feel that Swift
deserves everything she works for. Last year
Swift did a thirteen hour meet and greet in
which she greeted thousands of fans personally with a big hug and took time to talk to
every single one. She even stayed an extra
hour to make sure she met everyone there.
“She was on her feet the whole time,” says
Solomon of the event. Even though she
didn’t personally attend, she was amazed
with Swift’s kindness.
“She’s real and she’s setting the bar really
high for artists because she puts so much into
her fans unlike most celebrities.”
Solomon seems to put so much energy into
Swift because she feels that Swift does that
much for her. Taylor Swift is someone who
gets her through all that life throws her way.
She’s a source of joy in the turbulent times
high school brings, so Solomon could care
less about who thinks she is too obsessed.
“I know I’m obsessed and I’m proud of it.
I’m not embarrassed to like someone who
stays out of rehab and isn’t caught with multiple guys,” Solomon says of Swift. “I’m obsessed with Taylor Swift, so what?”
Sports
January 2011
Dolphins off-season quest:
6
Florida college bowl roundup
Matthew Coolidge
STAFF WRITER
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
UCF vs. Georgia
The University of Central Florida earned its first
bowl win in school history with a 10-6 victory over
the Georgia Bulldogs. UCF rode its Conference
USA Championship to a hard fought victory over
Georgia. UCF sophomore running back Latavious
Murray led the Knights with 104 yards rushing on 18 carries and the
game clinching touchdown with 9:01 left in the fourth quarter. The
Knights defense also forced Georgia QB Aaron Murray to throw 2
interceptions.
Sun Bowl
Miami vs. Notre Dame
The Miami Hurricanes were defeated by the Fighting Irish of
Notre Dame 33-17 in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. The Hurricanes lacked good quarterback play, throwing a total of 4 interceptions—3 by Jacory Harris and 1 by Stephen
Morris. The Hurricanes defense played
horribly, giving up 397 overall yards and 3
touchdowns to a mediocre Notre Dame offense. The player of the game was Fighting
Irish Junior Wide out Malcolm Floyd, who
caught 6 passes for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Chick-fil-A Bowl
Florida State vs. South Carolina
The Florida State Seminoles defeated the South
Carolina Gamecocks 26-17 to win first year Head
Coach Jimbo Fisher’s first career bowl game.
The ‘Noles were led by sophomore running back
Chris Thompson, who rushed for 147 yards and
a touchdown on 25 carries, against a solid South
Carolina defense. The ‘Noles defense also played
a spectacular game, forcing South Carolina Quarterback Stephen Garcia to throw 3 interceptions
and zero touchdowns.
Outback Bowl
Florida vs. Penn State
Little Caesar’s Bowl
FIU vs. Toledo
The Golden Panthers of Florida International University
defeated the Rockets of Toledo 34-32 for the first bowl win
in school history. The Golden Panthers were led to victory
by their outstanding rush attack led by Junior Darriet Perry,
who rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries
and one rush of 74 yards. FIU’s defense also helped secure
the win by intercepting Toledo’s freshman Quarterback Terrance Owens three times and recovering a Toledo fumble.
The Golden Panther’s Sophomore kicker Jack Griffin made
the game winning kick from 34 yards as time expired.
The Florida Gators sent retiring coach
Urban Meyer out with a 37-24 bowl victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions. The
Gators were led by their stout defense which
intercepted 5 of Nittany Lion’s Quarterback
Matthew McGloin’s passes. The player of
the game was Florida’s Senior Safety Ahmad Black, who intercepted 2 passes and
returned them for a total of 129 yards and a
game sealing touchdown.
Meineke Car Care Bowl
South Florida vs. Clemson
The University of South Florida Bulls defeated the Clemson Tigers 31-26 to win the
Meineke Car Care Bowl. The Bulls were led
on offense by dual-threat sophomore quarterback B.J. Daniels, who went to the air for 189
yards and two touchdowns and ran for 22 yards
and a touchdown. The Bulls defense was able to force two
Tigers’ interceptions and held the explosive Clemson running game to only 50 yards and a touchdown, and held
Clemson Quarterback Kyle Parker to only 134 yards passing in his last NCAA Football game.
7
Offense, offense, offense
Kevin Kennedy
SPORTS EDITOR
The Miami Dolphins finished the
season a disappointing 7-9 for the second
straight year. It’s beginning to seem like the
AFC East Championship they earned in 2008
was just a fluke. These couple of mediocre
seasons is not exactly what Dolphins owner,
Stephen Ross, is looking for. Changes need
to be made.
In order to compete with division
rivals, New York Jets and the New England
Patriots, who each earned a playoff berth, the
offense needs some serious improvement.
The defense did a good job of stopping opposing offenses, and it was enough to be the
6th ranked defense overall.
Management failed on getting Jim
Harbaugh to become the head coach of the
team when Harbaugh signed with the 49ers.
I was pleased with this because I have high
respect for Tony Sparano. I think he does a
good job of keeping morale and intensity up.
Whenever they show him on TV, he’s always
clapping and giving praise to his players
when they need it.
I’m happy with the decision at head
coach, but I think a switch at a different
coaching position is needed. Dan Henning
needs to go. The offense was 30th in points
last season. No team makes the playoffs
with that statistic. The fans don’t even like
him because of his controversial, conserva-
tive play calling. He is expected to resign.
Another reason the offense has
floundered this season is because of the quarterback situation. Chad Henne just didn’t get
it done. At one point, they made Tyler Thigpen the starter, and the Dolphins were shut
out against the Bears with him at the helm.
And we got Chad Pennington, who lasted
two plays before getting injured and placed
Offense on three! The Miami Dolphins plan on making serious changes to improve their offense and come
back next year to a better season. Photo By Google
on the injured reserve.
A replacement at QB could be
through the draft or free agency. Cam Newton, the Heisman, trophy winner, would be
tremendous for the Dolphins. His athletic
ability is unreal. It is unsure whether or not
he will fall the 15th overall selection, but it
certainly isn’t impossible. Vince Young is
expected to be cut from the Tennessee Titans. Another prospect could be Donovan
McNabb. He is in the latter part of his career,
but the Dolphins need a quarterback for right
now.
Another position of need is running
back. Ronnie Brown is not expected to return with the team, and Ricky Williams is
expected to retire. Mark Ingram would be a
nice pickup in the first round if Miami doesn’t
take Cam Newton. The offensive line could
use a little bit of depth. That could be taken
care of in the late rounds of the draft.
Maybe even some depth at receiver could be needed. Once Brian Hartline
was placed on the injured reserve, Davone
Bess had to replace Hartline out wide. Bess
is more effective in the slot. A deep threat
would be most ideal.
The defense has been incredible.
Mike Nolan made this defense one of the
top in the league. If the Dolphins don’t go
offense with the first pick—which is highly
unlikely—they will probably go for someone
in the secondary. Other than that, there is really no position of need on the defensive side
of the ball.
If these positions are filled, the Dolphins have a legit shot at making a Super
Bowl run. With that defense, a mediocre offense might even be enough to earn the Dolphins a playoff berth.
Pro sports lack integrity –and it’s a shame
Kevin Kennedy
SPORTS EDITOR
Recently, there has been an outbreak in the lack of integrity in college and
professional sports. It seems like athletes
will do whatever they can to get a competitive edge—even if it means they have to
bend the rules a little bit.
It really became the center of my
attention when a New York Jets coach, Sal
Alosi, tripped Miami Dolphins cornerback,
Nolan Carroll. Carroll was running down
the sideline covering a punt when Alosi
stuck his knee out causing Carroll to go to
the ground. Carroll was injured on the field
and team trainers were needed. There wasn’t
any serious injury, but there’s just no place
for that in the NFL. Alosi was fired indefinitely for his actions.
And then you have the New England Patriots and their spygate scandal. Now
that is just ridiculous. Really? Videotaping
other teams’ signals? How can you lose? No
wonder they were so good! They knew exactly what the other team was doing on every
play! Head coach, Bill Belichick, was fined
$500,000, and the Patriots organization was
fined $250,000.
In baseball, you have the whole
steroids thing. It seems like everyone who is
good has some sort of connection to them.
Mark McGwire has 583 home runs, and because of his steroid use, he received less than
20% of the hall of fame vote.
There was a referee in basketball,
Tim Donaghy, who was placing bets on
games that he was officiating. He made calls
that would benefit the team that he had money on. As a referee, he could steer the course
of the game to one team’s favor. It was an
easy way to make a lot of money—who cares
about morals?
People who cheat never win in the
end. Cheating just makes you look like a
loser. You couldn’t just do it the right way
like everyone else? More and more people are starting to watch sports. Whenever
something bad happens, that is all they talk
about on television. These people don’t understand that if they get caught—which will
happen eventually—they will lose all of their
reputation. The popularity of sports is on a
steady rise while the integrity is plummeting.
This ties into things beyond sports.
What happens when a police officer takes
bribes for letting people go when they commit crimes? What would happen if a politician takes tax payer money to buy himself a
car? Nothing good happens from dishonesty
and selfishness.
I wish I could watch sports knowing that all of the players are playing as hard
as they can, the coaches are doing their best,
the management has it under control—and
most of all—I would like for it to be honest,
clean, and moralistic.
In every stereotypical high school, you have
the buff football jocks and the cocky baseball
players, but at PPCHS there is a new breed
of sports players that resemble something
straight out of Invictus.
The Jaguars have arguably the best soccer
team in school history. Their current record
is 18-0-1, and now, the team has their sights
set on the state title. Coach Thomas Lemmon says the team will be losing ten seniors,
a number that, in reality, is a large portion of
the team. This is the year that they must perform. It’s the last year they will be together
on the same team.
The team is led by seniors, Dwight Lodge,
Dalton Churchwell, and Alloy Buckle. Goalkeeper, Tomas Gonzalez, had five saves
against Archbishop McCarthy. Freshman,
Romario Bernard, is a promising player who
has the potential to become one of the top
players in the state. Coach Lemmon said that
the team has enough discipline and enough
talent to contend at states. Last year, the
boys soccer team lost in the state semi-finals.
They look to advance to the finals this season.
The team brought home a win from the Wellington Christmas Tournament, a three-game
tournament in which they won every single
game.
Senior Dwight Lodge is responsible for
making the winning goal in the game against
Varela. Lodge has been on the team since en-
tering high school, and his plans for college
keep soccer in mind. He has a few colleges
in mind such as University of Connecticut,
Rutgers, and Florida Gulf Coast University.
“We knew it was going to be a hard game,”
says Lodge, in reference to the final game of
the tournament.
The consensus, however, seems to be that
the team is in need of a little school spirit.
Most of the players feel that they need support during the entire season, not just when
their winning streak extends into the semifinals. Every team needs the encouragement
that can be offered to them, even if the games
aren’t as conveniently planned as most students would like.
The girls have also been playing excellent
this year. Coach Carlos Velasquez, who also
teaches AP World History and Leadership
at PPCHS, noted that it is their best season
in five years, and their future just seems to
be getting even brighter. He has the team
rolling on a 14-2-1 record. Junior Angelica
Jimenez feels that the team has bonded and
has a good chance of going farther than they
have the last couple years. Though the girls
will also be losing seven players to the 2011
graduation, Velasquez is confident that the
underclassman core will keep the team going
strong into next year.
As the PPCHS boys’ and girls’ soccer teams
advance, make sure to try your best to support them by going to their games. You’d be
amazed at how much talent your fellow Jags
actually have.
January 2011
A collapsing exit
of 2010
Alexandra Mangano
Staff Writer
The Metrodome, the Minnesota Vikings
state-of-the-art stadium, was supposed to
withstand the harshest blizzards and keep
everyone inside comfortable with an astounding view of the Viking football team.
But on Dec. 12, a huge snow storm from
Canada swooped in and caused the roof to
collapse, forcing the Vikings home game
versus the Chicago Bears to be postponed
to Tuesday Dec. 20. It was played outdoors
at “The Snow Bank” or TCF Bank Stadium,
home to the University of Minnesota Golden
Gophers. The game was played on a snow
covered field with temperatures in the low
20’s. The division-leading Bears went on
to spoil the Vikings 1st outdoor game in 29
years with a 40-14 victory over the Vikings
thanks to Quarterback Jay Cutler’s 3 passing
touchdowns. “The collapse of the Metrodome is very upsetting to me, because it was
a historical site with a lot of football history,”
states junior Alejandro Batista.
The roof collapse not only postponed the
Vikings home game versus the Bears, but
also the Twinsfest, which was to start on Jan.
24. These events will continue to be canceled
until a replacement roof can be found and installed. Look for the Metrodome to be back
in action in a couple of months.
Ice, ice, baby: The Metrodome home of the Minnesota
Vikings collapsed December 12 when snow crushed
the roof. Photos By Google
Charter soccer teams score again
Anyssa Gonzalez
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Sports
Scoring
stars:
Dwight Lodge, top
left, and Dalton
Churchwell,
top
right, at the Archbishop McCarthy
game. Ty Rosemellia, left, and Kayla
Faulkner, right, at
the game against
Northeast. Photos
By Adrian Tabraue
News
January 2011
PPCHS News World News
8
New law makes lunch a whole lot healthier
Erin Jones
TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
In most cafeterias nationwide the most popular question amongst the school body used
to be, “can the food taste any better?” Today,
the new question swirling around cafeterias
across the country is, “can the food get any
healthier?”
With two-thirds of Americans, about 190
million, overweight or obese, health has
come into the forefront in America as a
very important issue. On Dec. 13, President
Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger Kids Act
into law. The new law will increase federal
funding for school lunches by 6 percent per
child. It will also allow the Secretary of Agriculture to set uniform standards for foods
sold in schools. The law also enables thousands of more children to be eligible to receive free lunch. Obama hopes the bill will
combat child obesity within one generation.
Although this act was just recently introduced, PPCH’s cafeteria service, Chartwells,
says that they already have made their own
changes to make both school breakfast and
lunch a healthier occasion.
“We’re offering more whole grain food
items such as pancakes, pizza crust, and
brown rice. In the future, more whole grain
foods will be served, such as whole grain
pasta,” says Chartwells Cafeteria Manager
“At first I was reluctant to get the Panini
but once I did taste it I thought it was really
Cafeteria: Hundreds of students eat new, healthy food options everyday. Photo by Gail Fletcher
Gene Ramos.
This school year a new addition to the lunch
menu includes the Panini, a nutritious grilled
sandwich.
good,” says junior Janelle Gourzong. “It’s
refreshing to see more healthy choices for
lunch.”
The cafeteria staff is even planning on re-
moving anything that is sugary and innutritious.
“We have already eliminated the frozen
slushy drinks and by the end of the school
year we may no longer be offering ice cream
everyday as well as chocolate and strawberry milk which are all high in sugar,” Ramos
said.
Chartwells has even made steps to improve
their method of cooking the food so it can be
healthier as well.
“We have also removed all fryers from the
kitchen and bake our potato fries and chicken
tenderloins,” Ramos added, “Every day there
is a balanced choice meal offered at one of
the stations and more fresh fruits and vegetables are offered daily.”
A few years ago PPCHS took the initiative
to remove all of its soda machines and snack
machines. Today all vending machines on
campus contain nutritious bottled waters, vitamin waters, and propel energy drinks.
“The only soda machine is for teachers only.
Students aren’t allowed to access it,” says
Vice Principal Llanos, “We are on the right
track. We are a green school and a healthy
school that wants to make sure our students
have a bright future.”
First Amendment vs. National Security
Last year should have been the year that
Shontel Medwynter walked the stage and
received her high school diploma. Unfortunately, her circumstances did not allow her
to do as such. As a freshman she was diagnosed with cancer that would lead to her
death in April of 2009. Although PPCHS has
been mourning since, BRACE advisor and
junior class guidance counselor Mr. Greenbaum has found a way to allow students just
like her to continue their educations through
the Shontel Medwynter Memorial Scholarship. The idea stemmed from Shontel’s
mother, Pauline, who originally approached
Mr. Greenbaum. This is the second year that
the scholarships will be awarded, given to
three students of the senior class that exhibit
excellence in both academics and community service.
Freshman Britney Muniz, though she did
not personally know Shontel just like many
other current PPCHS students, participated
in the dress down day. Muniz says, “It’s for
a good cause and it is something worth supporting.”
Brianna Cha-Kim
Staff Writer
Every year the United States celebrates
and honors the accomplishments of a great
man on the third Monday every January. To
some students here at PPCHS, this day is not
only just the 25th anniversary of the holiday recognizing one of America’s greatest
heroes-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.- but also
a day with personal significance. Sophomore
Scooby Aponte said, “Martin Luther is my
personal hero. He has made life so different
for us and we owe a lot of thanks to him.”
Junior Stephen Fetcher also said, “Every
year this day of honor goes by and I don’t
think anyone really realizes the importance
of it. Dr. King was a very important man.
As high school students, we need to be more
aware of history and the impact it has on us
teenagers today.”
Everybody knows the story or at least has
heard bits of it. A man of true courage and
inspiration, he impacted the world tremendously during the late 1950’s through the
early 60’s as being the one to succeed in the
end of segregation between colored and noncolored people. King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hun-
Palin gathering all support she can for
presidential run
Melissa Sullivan
STAFF WRITER
Dress down day: Just a sample of the many students
who dressed down to help donate to the cause
(top right clockwise) such as Anthony Hernandez,
Keshauna Alexander, Alexis Cutler, Brandon Chang,
Taylor Nethersole, Gloria Gonzalez, Michael Milito
and Alexia Montas. Photos by Lissette Rivera and
Adrian Tabraue
was able to spread easily due to the poor infrastructure and poor water sanitation. AcIt’s been a year since a 7.0 magnitude cording the country’s Department of Health,
earthquake
about 3,300
occurred in
have
died
the Caribbebecause of
an island of
the cholera
Haiti, leaving
outbreak
it in ruins and
and another
devastation.
149,000
An estimathave gotten
ed 230,000
sick.
people were
Presidenkilled
due
tial elections
to the earthhave
also
quake
that
been corrupt
occurred on
and in a way
January 12,
lost in the
2010; many
confusion
of
those
from
the
who
were
catastrophic
killed had
earthquake.
to be pulled
The presiout of the
dential runrubble from
off that was
destroyed
supposed to
buildings or
take place
houses. Over
January 16,
a
million
2011
was
have been
put off until
left homelate Februless,
and
ary of this
the damage
year.
has further
Sophomore
increased a
Dominique
Haiti Disaster: One year after, Haiti is still in disarray. Photos By Google
year later.
Irons
beBack in late
lieves that
October of last year, a cholera epidemic was the progress into rebuilding and organization
confirmed and has since reached the majority is “not up to where it should be”. “I think
people can do more still,” says Irons.
One year ago, thousands came to the
Plans have been coming together,
with the help of other countries, to reaid of Haiti in crisis.
construct Haiti and help with its develof Haiti. Cholera is an infection in small in- opment. However, suffering from that
testine caused by food or water that has been earthquake
unfortunately
continues.
contaminated with bacteria. The outbreak
Cassidy-Rae Brantley
STAFF WRITER
dred times, appearing wherever there was
injustice, protest, and action; and simultaneously he wrote five books as well as numerous articles.
The amount of racism and prejudice that
currently exists is not nearly as cruel and
high as it was fifty to sixty years ago. The
actions and success of Dr. King’s life still
impact us today is nearly in every way we
go about our daily lives. Our school is intertwined with all races – with countless interracial couples and friendships. Fetcher is
currently dating a Latin sophomore, Alexis
Good. He said, “Nothing bothers us about
our different races. We are happy together.
Even if people were to make a comment, it
doesn’t get to us. Things have changed a lot
since the olden times. The world is better and
more understanding in many ways.” There is
no segregation or differences in the way anyone is treated and as a whole, everyone pretty
much gets along.
PPCHS has also taken personal measures
to represent the importance of black history
in general. Mrs. Peacock, the leader of the
Black History Club, meets with a group of
students to discuss and promote events pertaining to this culture. Presently, they’re
preparing for their performance in February only affected his time or his generation. It
and hosted auditions for any and every one changed the world forever.”
to come try out to be
a part of the upcoming show. “We are
very excited about the
show and have been
focusing on it,” Mrs.
Peacock said, “We
know it’ll be a good
performance and hope
everyone comes out to
support”.
Decades later, the importance and significance left behind from
Dr. King’s realm of
success is still shown.
Even in the daily lives
of teenagers here at
Pines Charter there are
noticeable differences
in how our life would
have been if this man
had not existed. Junior
Taylor Duke said, “It’s
not as if what Mar- Unity: Students of all cultures come together at PPCHS. From left to right,
Alex Rodgers, Jill Hsieh, Feda Fitian, Bridget Orozco, Ana Fernandez, and
tin Luther King did Jordan Lane. Photo By Lorraine Oyola
January 2011
Assange out of jail. The reason
for his jail time is a controversial rape charge in Sweden.
The Wikileaks story has
Moore says he will do whatbeen developing since this
ever he can to keep Wikileaks
summer when Julian Assange
open.
made headlines for his fight
Students have a lot to say
for government transparency.
about this subject. Junior ShelHe believes that the people
by Felder says that “WikiLeaks
should know what the govshould remain open because
ernment is doing in the war,
our tax dollars go to the war,
so he has been publishing
and I deserve to know what is
the war diaries of countless
being done over there. I also
troops and video footage of
believe that Assange should be
the battle fields. This issue
released because it is easy to
has divided the nation. Politisee that this sex charge is pocal figures on the right such as
litically motivated”. Junior GaSarah Palin and Mike Huckabriel Rodriguez would disagree
bee condemn his actions.
saying that “those confidential
Palin says the US should treat
files are just that, confidential.
him like a terrorist. She asks,
They should not be released to
“Why was he not pursued
the general public.”
with the same urgency we
Julian Assange: The face of Wikileaks and an international scandal. Photo from Wikipedia
Either way, Assange says
pursue al-Qaeda and Taliban
he will not stop. He has creleaders?” While Huckabee
tion is too kind a penalty”.
feels the death penalty is fair when he said
Political figures on the left such as Michael ated hundreds of mirror sites so that the
this about the leaker, “Whoever in our gov- Moore support Assange. Moore has donated information will be available to the pubernment leaked that information is guilty of $20,000 of his personal money to help bail lic without the government taking it down.
treason, and I think anything less than execu-
The dress down day this year collected
around $2000, doubling last year’s amount.
Mr. Greenbaum is impressed that PPCHS
students have rallied together to make a difference, even if it comes with incentive.
Dr. King’s ‘dream’ resonates with PPCHS students
News
Enrique Batista
STAFF WRITER
Students dress down in memoriam of Medwynter
Anyssa Gonzalez
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
9
Audiences across America were stunned
when it was heard that John McCain had
chosen Sarah Palin
to run for Vice President of the United
States in 2008. Palin
continues to shock
the public today
with her hit reality T.V. show and an
autobiography. She
has certainly come
a long way since the
run for vice-presidency took place
two years ago.
Palin now has the
high hope of not
only running for,
but becoming the
next president come
2012. She announced
her intent to run on November 9, 2010 and
to reinforce her campaign she immediately
toured the
country to
gather supporters. Although she
is working
diligently
to gather up
supporters
for her election, many
say that they
will not vote
for
Palin
and believe
that Obama will be reelected instead. “The
fact that she is running is ridiculous, her
policies are insane and she is a conservative
republican that follows the Bush administration. We had to put up with Bush for 8 years,
why would we want to deal with one of his
followers for another 4? Not only that, but
Cartoon By Maria Flores if she wasn’t supported as a vice
president I doubt
she’d be supported
as the president,”
said freshman Alden Diaz.
Even though
some may doubt
that Palin will be
elected, some have
high hopes for her.
She has overcome
many
obstacles
throughout the past
3 years and has always followed her
beliefs. “She has
done a lot of work
to get this far so
she deserves to be
elected in 2012, she is a strong leader and
will
follow through
with what
she promises,” stated
freshman
Rebekah
Welch.
Americans everywhere will
definitely be
tuning into
the
2012
elections to
see whether or not Sarah Palin has what it
takes to become not only the next president,
but the first woman president.
Technology
January 2011
10
11
The demise of e-mail
Eliza Barrocas
MANAGING EDITOR
With the creation of social networking sites
including Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, teens around the world today can create
friendships with one another with the simple
send of a friend request. With websites like
these, staying in touch with one another is
as easy as liking a status, commenting on a
wall, or tweeting a friendly hello; we are undeniably a technology obsessed generation.
However, despite our increased addiction to
social networking, we have begun to neglect
the one internet tool that can truly be considered the original means of communication:
emailing. Emailing does not offer all the fancy features that social networking sites do.
In addition, social networking sites have already linked millions of individuals together
making it easier to send messages back and
forth without having to undergo the process
of figuring out what their email address is.
“I really think social networking sites
are being used more than emailing. One
thing that people should really think about
when using those sites is that if they are
working on something that is more for-
mal, I don’t think that they should rely
on sites like these as their way of sending information. Leave those sites for socializing,” states junior Lucas Lucchini.
Social networks have definitely changed
the way we consume online media, and the
demise of email seems unavoidable. Social
networks make it much is easier to manage a hectic social life and teens everywhere are guilty of wasting hours at a time
on them. A study completed by Fox News
found that out of all the individuals studied, less than one-fifth of the 13-17 year
olds involved admitted to using emails as
a method of communication. In comparison, the same study showed that 40 percent
of adults 25-54 agreed that they use emailing accounts as their way to stay connected.
“I think that Facebook is an easier way
to get in touch with someone faster, because there usually on[line]. Also Facebook is better reliable resource,”
states sophomore Cheyenne Willeford.
As technology continues to cultivate and remain an important aspect of our lives, the fact
is that emailing, as well as many other aspects
of the internet, will soon become outdated.
Graphic by Juian Graves
The Nintendo Wii, released in December
of 2006, introduced a whole new dimension to video gaming. The fact that anyone
could play video games but also get active at the same time was mind-blowing to
critics at the time. The other consoles that
came out around the same time, the Xbox
360 and PlayStation 3, were based on the
regular handheld gaming idea but the quality of the graphics were enhanced dramatically. The Wii had an advantage when it
came to uniqueness because it was the first
of its kind in the video game world. The
most Wii consoles were sold during December of 2009. But then 2010 came along
and so did some competition for the Wii.
Microsoft introduced Kinect for Xbox 360
in November 2010 while Sony revealed the
PlayStation Move that September. Kinect
has the same idea as the Wii, minus one
Facing Facebook 24/7
Alexandra Mangano
Staff Writer
Recently Facebook has added a new feature called “Places I Checked Into,” which
allows friend’s easy confirmation to see
exactly what destination users are logged in
from. This new feature created by Facebook
has prompted much conversation among
students, in addition to raising many concerns from them as well. Most students have
“smart” phones that allow them to access
the internet anytime anywhere, but with this
new feature the challenge of staying safe
has increased.
“Finding out about the new tracking feature on Facebook astonished me, and now
I don’t even feel anything is personal anymore,” states sophomore Alexa Quintana.
PPCHS junior Trevor Walstrum is worried
that “criminals could track me or my family
down, just because I log onto Facebook.”
By showing a user’s exact location, criminals might have the advantage to target the
user’s family and even their home, simply
by allowing them to track their location and
identify whether they are at home, work,
or travelling.
Even though this feature can be potentially dangerous for students, Facebook
has installed some security features into
the new ‘Places’ app; “Facebook made
some changes to its regular privacy practices to protect sensitive location-based
information, such as limiting the default
visibility of check-ins on your feed to
‘Friends Only’,” reported the ACLU of
Northern California.
Another assurance for students come
from Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street
Journal, who wrote that he “found it easy
to use and reliable, with mostly logical
privacy controls, an issue on which Facebook has been bruised in the past.”
Although the safety panic brings upon
much stress to students, it is important to
know that this feature starts out turned
ON, and will stay on unless deliberately
turned OFF by the user. Turning OFF this
feature will not allow Facebook to broadcast your location when you log in.
After the holiday season burned holes through
the wallets of the many gift-buying teens, it is
only understandable that they’d like to spend
their remaining cash wisely. The last situation they’d like to end up in is purchasing
a new cell phone only to realize soon after
that they’d been ripped off. To avoid doing
so, read the following guide to get an idea on
which cell phones NOT to buy this New Year:
Nokia 1661: Although this phone does include an SMS (Storage Management Service), which can store up to 250 messages,
4MB internal memory, and an FM radio, do
not be fooled. One of the significant setbacks
is the lack of a camera. How else can one take a
picture to send to a friend? Or even create that
Mobile Upload album on Facebook? Exactly.
Take it from sophomore Dbora Lee, an exuser of the phone, “It really is a bad, bad
phone! I couldn’t ever take pictures and my
text messages had a hard time sending.”
The handset also lacks a Bluetooth, the device that allows driving and communicating
on the phone simultaneously, and a USB
port, so transferring things from one’s phone
Cartoon by Maria Flores
Paul Austria
STAFF WRITER
January 2011
Stay clear of the following phones, future buyers!
Isabella Jones
Features editor
R.I.P. to the Wii
Technology
big hassle: holding a controller. When playing Wii, players have to hold the controller
in their hand while playing, and that’s when
many of the safety warnings were emphasized
to tighten the controller strap on the wrist.
“I had the very first Nintendo Wii and the controller strap would always loosen up,” junior
Brandon Villa said. “Eventually, it was fully
loosened up and then you had to re-tighten it.”
Kinect uses a 3-D motion detector with facial
recognition to find players so all they have to
do is let the device find them and calibrate their
motion without needing to hold controllers.
Move uses a controller much like that of
Wii with the same idea. Options are limited
with the Wii because the games are very
family-oriented and they are not favorable for playing long-term. “Wii Sports and
Wii Play were fun at first, but after a while,
they got so old,” senior Dalvin Barry said.
“The Nintendo Wii needs better games if it
wants to compete with these new consoles.”
Cartoon by Maria Flores
Graphic by Julian Graves
to a computer won’t even be an option.
Samsung’s Solstice SGH-A887: One of
the key drawbacks on this handset is its
absence of instant messaging. And if Samsung fails to create a device such as BBM
(BlackBerry Messenger) or FaceTime, it
should at least include a basic feature such
as instant messaging, correct? How else
would one quickly message their friends?
The boring and too frequently used texting
way? Also, the memory card slot is behind
the battery so inserting it frequently to down-
load music will be a hassle. To top it all off,
the phone’s call quality is not impressive,
the browser speed is way below what one
would prefer it to be, and the video camera
will not capture every moment one records.
Motorola Hint QA30: The size of this
receiver may be miniature and convenient; however, it does not make up for
the many design flaws. Because the keys
on the alphabetic keyboard are placed
so closely together, it is quite difficult to
type on without hitting two keys at once
and completely misspelling a word. This
of course is a poor choice for those who
compulsively text message their friends.
“Instead of typing ‘hey’ it would come
out looking like ‘hjkey’. I hate that, because instead of just sending what I want
in an instant, it takes longer to go back and
erase what I first wrote into the right thing,”
says freshman Kimberly Champagne.
In addition the battery cover isn’t secure, and
dies only in a few hours, with or without heavy
usage. So, do not let its “cute” appearance deceive you. This cell phone will be dead before
you can text your friend a “What’s up? ;)”.
Fun-tertainment
January 2011
12
The opinions shared in these columns express the views of only the writers of their respective columns, and do not neccesarilly represent the views
of PPCHS students, staff, faculty, and administration, nor do they neccesarily represent the views of the rest of The CHAT staff, editors, writers and
layout artists.
Spot the difference
Ishin
Iwasaki
We here at CHAT have finally obtained rare photos of Mr Bayer in his true environment. Help us spot the differences between casual Bayer (left) and Mr Bayer in his work
ARRGtire (right)
13
Columns
January 2011
My search for immortality
COLUMNIST
Photos taken and worked with permission of Mr Bayer. Photo by Lorraine Oyola and Graphic by Kenneth Madera
Terri-puns
Warning: the following puns will enduce groans and facepalms. You have been warned!
A bicycle can’t stand on its own because it is two-tired.
If you don’t pay your exorcist you get repossessed.
manage to do it naturally.
So, when Spongebob decides to throw away
his life among civilization and become a jellyfish, what was really going on was not an
effort to have fun; it was an attempt at immortality.
Spongebob’s quest to achieve total ocean
dominance didn’t stop there. In another episode, Spongebob, trying to find an activity
besides karate, lies on the ground and pretends to be a plant. I laughed when I first
saw the episode as a wee lad, listening to
the quirky sponge repeat “Photosynthesis.. . Photosynthesis….” Little did I know,
Spongebob was actually mimicking the Elysia chlorotica, a sea-slug that can eat as well
as photosynthesize.
E. chlorotica basically eats algae and steals
their chloroplasts, giving itself the ability
to photosynthesize (think of Kirby, but flat,
green, and slimy). When I first read the article about them, my mind was blown. What
if we had this ability? Starvation would be
essentially wiped out except in those areas
that receive no sunlight: caves, Antarctica, or
Berkeley, California.
After learning about these slugs, I’ve wondered about what kinds of qualities I would
want to steal from animals. Fish sleep with
their eyes open, and that will most definitely
come in handy during some less-than-interesting lectures in college. Maybe if I steal a
bat’s abilities I can claim to be a vampire and
be a hit with girls. Then again, you can’t go
wrong with the unparalleled courage of a cat.
The jump from the couch to
the table might span a gap
too wide for an Olympic
jumper, but it won’t stop
Miss Kittywinkles from
attempting the jump
multiple times anyway.
Now that’s dedication.
If my assumptions are correct, Spongebob should soon
be in an episode where he eats
methane gas and saves Bikini Bottom. Why? Because new research has
uncovered that about 200,000 tons of
methane leaked by the BP accident was
rapidly cleaned up by methane-eating
bacteria. While scientists from all over the
world contemplated about how to solve
this crisis for months, microscopic bacteria
took matters into their own hands (er, flagellum). Bacteria – 1, Mankind – 0.
I hope it’s not too late to change my plans
for the future. It might have been nice to
have been a doctor or a rugby player, but
a part of me yearns to swim amongst the
immortal jellyfish. After all, becoming a
jellyfish seems a lot less harmful than splitting your body into Horcruxes. And I don’t
have enough frequent flier miles to try
to find the Fountain of Youth. No,
no, I don’t need any of that; just
leave me with my nature, and
I’ll be immortal while most
of Earth stays immoral.
Graphic By Daniel Quevedo
See the bottom of the page for the answers.
Question: What does Ponce De Leon,
Voldemort, and Spongebob Squarepants
have in common?
The answer: They all sought immortality.
You’re probably asking yourself how
Spongebob fits in with the other three. After
all, a Kelp Shake is not the same thing as the
Elixir of Life. The secret to Spongebob’s immortality lies within a fellow ocean-dweller:
jellyfish.
Nature has always fascinated me. While we
invent things and utilize technology to suit
our needs, simple animals can’t do that. My
dog doesn’t spend her spare time playing on
my Xbox, and my fish certainly aren’t going
to be building particle accelerators with little coral bits anytime soon. It’s too much of
a “large-scale” project for them (It’s funny
because fish have scales, see?). My point is,
while we might think that a new drink mixer
or rubber bands in the shape of animals are
redefining life, we’re really missing some of
the coolest things on this Earth.
When my friend told me about Turretopsis
nutricula, I was in disbelief. Dubbed the “immortal jellyfish,” these guys can revert back
to a childhood stage after reproducing. Although diseases usually wipe them out when
they’re immature (a principle many substitute teachers wish applied to teenagers), they
are technically able to live forever. That’s
intense. We’ve been searching for ways to
cheat aging for ages – alchemy, antioxidants,
male enhancement drugs – to no avail, but
these jellyfish the size of our fingernails
The energizer bunny was charged with battery.
A backwards poet writes inverse.
Santa’s helpers are subordinate clauses.
What do you call a guy
who falls in a hole?
A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
Julia
Baca
Phil
Photo by Lissette Rivera
Every calendar’s days are numbered.
Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.
Once you’ve seen one shopping center you’ve seen a mall.
Marathon runners with bad footwear suffer the agony of defeat.
The short fortuneteller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
If prying, do it for the right reasons
Columnist
A long time ago, my mother gave me a piece
of advice that would instill great courtesy in
me forever. It would allow me to go on and
not become a nosey, annoying nuisance in
Charter games
Cartoon By Maria Flores
Aspiring game designers here at PPCHS showcase their programming prowess on the schools website. Here are some of our staff favorites. Click the
screen shots to try them your self.
the eyes of others. As a child, the concept
was very simple and ever since I heard this
valuable recommendation years ago, I have
held on to it. But low and behold, other people just do not seem to
understand the concept, or perhaps they
just haven’t had anyone
give them this kind of
guidance before. That’s
what I’m here for. For
unfortunate people like
that, I will share the
knowledge so they too
can be as courteous as
my mom has made me.
The piece of advice was
this: “Mind your own
business.”
Yes. “Mind your own
business.” I thought that
was something that everyone was taught when
they were young, but
based on the nosiness
that I have observed in
all different kinds of
people, I was very, very
wrong. I mean, I find
it to be a pretty simple
concept; after all, if
something directly concerns you or is putting
someone in danger, by
all means you should involve yourself in the
affair productively. And if something does
not directly concern you and does not put
anyone in danger, move along and stick to
what has to do with you and your well-being.
Nosey individuals seem to surround me on
the daily. You know the ones who sit there
and look over their shoulder in the middle of
class to try and eavesdrop on you and your
friend’s personal conversation. Or the ones
who express grave concern for everyone, and
I mean everyone’s problems and at the end of
their 20 question rants you are left wondering “how do they even know me?” A perfect
example of one of these snoopy people came
in the form of a classmate the other day. Recently, tragedy struck a friend of mine. In
order for her to deal with the anguish, she
took a few days off of school. Somehow,
word got around about what happened and
by the time Monday rolled around a girl who
has only talked to my friend about 3 times in
her whole life came up to me with endless
personal questions about what was going on
with her.
There is a difference between genuine concern from a friend about another person’s
well-being and someone prying into another
person’s business just to get the inside scoop.
If you are doing the latter I suggest you stop
and stick to your own problems. It is rude
and uncalled for to ask personal questions
about issues that, at the end of the day, are
not going to affect your life much at all. Per-
haps the reason we are plagued with such
snoopy people is because of the way society is. You know, the way information gets
around so fast through texts, Facebook, and
other forms of social networking. But no
matter how information gets to you, whether
you asked to hear it or not, it is your responsibility to take it for what it is and not pry any
more than that if it isn’t your problem. I completely understand if you found something
out about a close friend and you want to console them, but unless you are genuinely trying to help the situation and make them feel
better about something, it is my belief that
you should leave the situation alone. And unfortunately, more often than not people just
want to hear the latest gossip and once they
get a little piece of the story, they want the
whole entire thing.
What advice can I offer to people who are
addicted to investigating every detail of issues that have nothing to do with them? To
keep it simple, just focus on your own problems. I can almost guarantee that any given
individual has enough problems of their own
to deal with and worrying about what your
friend’s ex-boyfriend’s step sister did to be
arrested really isn’t going to improve your
life in any way. So next time those two girls
in your math class are crying to each other
about their relationship issues, turn the other
way and remember...you have your own relationship issues to worry about!
Answers: There are eleven differences between the two photos, here they are
from left to right: treasure chest, hook, guine-pirate, treasure map, shirt, pirate hat,
mustache-goatee combo, eye patch, phone, smaller lips, ship in the water
Environmental
January 2011
14
Tornados plague the Midwest
Jordana Cutajar
ENVIRONMENTAL EDITOR
People in the Midwest were unable to properly welcome in the New Year. Instead of
having parties and watching the sky light
up with a colorful display of fireworks,
Midwesterners were locked inside praying to survive a disastrous storm. On Fri-
day Dec. 31 and early on Saturday Jan. 1,
tornados made a devastating pass through
Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois. Houses
and trailers were left in shambles and trees
were stripped of their branches and foliage, leaving the land polluted with debris.
One man, Chris Sisemore, survived being
flung into danger by the storm. “It sucked
Midwest madness: Tornadoes like these are touching down throughout the Midwest. Photo By Google
me out of my house and carried me across
the road and dropped me. I was superman for
a while….You’re just free-floating through
the air,” he told the Associated Press.
Usually during the winter time the Midwest is not burdened with storms. But the
region had been preparing for disaster with
gulf moisture raising the temperature to the
60s and 70s. Chris Buonanno, a
meteorologist at the National
Weather Service, claimed that a
storm system had been showing
signs of developing a tornado.
The storm took the lives of
seven people so far, with dozens injured. When the tornado
hit northwestern Arkansas it
killed three people. Another
three were then pronounced
dead when the storm trundled
through Missouri near Rolla.
The seventh person died in the
hospital from fatal injuries.
Sophomore Angelique Berkowitz said, “I think it’s terrible to start off the New Year
with something so tragic like
this happening. I feel sorry
for those people and hope we
can help them in any way.”
According to the Associated
Press, the tornados fatalities were
the first in the nation since Sept.
16. Now is the time for reconstruction. Even though the New
Year started off with a tragedy, the survivors are hoping they can end it in happiness.
Eco-friendly electronics
Erin Jones
TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
Technology is a major part of life but also
consumes a major amount of energy. Here
are some eco-efficient electronics that will
help you save the environment without
sacrificing your technology:
Samsung Blue Earth: This touch sensitive
smart phone has solar panels on the back
of it so that it can instantly be charged by
solar energy. The phone is made of recycled materials and contains a pedometer
that calculates the amount of CO2 emissions reduced by one’s steps compared to
driving a car.
iUnika GYY : This netbook doesn’t have
to be plugged in because it runs solely
on solar power. It has 8-inch screen and
800×400 resolution. It is also extremely
lightweight.
Chukka MP3 Player: This music player
runs on kinetic energy, so to keep the player running you just have to literally swing
the player around to charge it. You can get
45 minutes of playing time if you swing the
player around for a minute.
Future friendly: Chukka MP3 Player that runs on
kinetic energy rather than batteries. Photo by InstaBlogImages.com
Cold winter left us shivering Gulf oil drilling on hold
Jordana Cutajar
ENVIRONMENTAL EDITOR
Winter in Florida has always been somewhat of a joke. With it being chilly for a
few days then bouncing right back to summer weather. It had been known to offer a
refreshing break from the typical humid
heat we’re all so acclimatized to. But this
winter Jack Frost had something else in
store for Florida and the rest of the world.
With record breaking cold temperatures
everyone has been feeling the wrath of Mr.
Frost.
The envious Floridians that can usually
be seen wearing light cardigans and jeans
during the misleadingly named season are
now adorned in drastically different apparel. The sun lovers can now been seen
in boots, scarves, gloves, and thick winter
coats. Florida adds its own personal touch
to the typical winter environment this holiday season without snow and evergreens
but rather palm trees.
The cold front arrived to Florida on December 6th and continued up until December 16th. Florida was put on freeze alert,
newscasters warned pet owners to bring
their animals indoors, and homeless shelters were opened permanently. Orlando’s
weather dropped to 30 degrees, breaking
its record of 31 in 1985. Even Daytona
Beach dropped to 24 degrees, two degrees
colder than the previous record.
Then on January 12, 2011 a day after a
freak fog happening, the degrees dropped
again unexpectedly. During the fire drill
that day students were seen huddling together in the parking lot wishing to hear the
bell ring allowing them to return to class.
Senior Crystal Gray said, “This weather is
not good. I wear shorts every day; this is
Florida I don’t have enough pants to keep
me warm, I’m running out!” But freshman
Christian Alvarez disagrees, “I like this
weather because it’s different. It’s a bit too
cold, but as long as it’ll warm up I like it.”
Students could be heard dreading the
sound of the bell as they tried to scurry
to their next class to escape the cold. This
winter Floridians will be singing ‘Baby its
cold outside’ with an honesty that had been
missing for a long time.
Chilly at Charter: Students bundle up to try and keep warm in Florida’s chilly weather. Photo by Adrian
Tabrarue
Carissa Perry-Smith
STAFF WRITER
The worst may be over, but oil companies
still have to wait before they can resume
deep water oil and gas industries in the
Gulf.
Due to the Oil spill that happened in
March of 2010, government officials have
taken the initiative in making new regulations in which oil companies must abide
by in order to resume and expand offshore
drilling. Industry and government officials
can’t say how long this process will take; it
is all dependent on how quickly the industry can implement a number of new safety
and environmental requirements, and how
long federal regulators take to confirm that
companies’ operations meet the new high
standards. “I’m on the fence whether or not
it’s a good idea to continue drilling after
the massive oil spill in the Gulf. If there’s
a better alternative, I would go with that”,
says biology teacher Mrs. Chancelor.
Before resuming drilling, companies are
required to hire outside auditors to certify
that blowout preventers are up and running. Blowout preventers are specialized
valves that are used to seal, control, and
monitor oil and gas wells. More efficient
cleanup plans are also being designed for
bigger oil spills than in the past.
Under the new regulations, federal regulators will have more say in how companies drill and test their offshore wells; chief
executives are now required to certify that
their operations comply with the new
standards.
The industry has known for months that
the new rules were in the works, ever since
the interior department published a report
in May, recommending the new initiatives
that are just being set. Some of the new
regulations could have an economic impact on companies that work in the gulf,
costing the industry $183 million a year.
More regulations are being made, according to wsj.com; Interior Secretary Ken
Salazar said that he expected regulators
would draw up additional safety measures.
The government says that these steps
are necessary to prevent disasters like last
years’ massive oil spill from happening.
Until these new requirements are met, oil
rig drilling is put on hold.
Stuck in the mud: Pelican covered in oil due to of the Gulf’s oil spill. Photo by Google
Photo Gallery 15
January 2011
Photo Gallery
Lissette Rivera
Adrian Tabraue
Fabiana Gonzalez
Gail Fletcher
Lorraine Oyola
Taylor Neita
These are student life
pictures from our PPCHS
campus by our talented
photographers, above
named.