See pages 10 and 11 - Pembroke Pines Charter Schools > Home

Pembroke Pines Charter High School
17189 Sheridan Street
Pembroke Pines, Florida 33331
See pages 10 and 11
Earth is not regiftable
See page 19
Fantasy football
See pages 15
Giving not recieving
See page 2
Student Life
December 2010
2
Thoughtful gifts that won’t dig too deep in your wallet
Holidays more about giving than receiving
Brianna Cha-Kim
STAFF WRITER
Supporting a good cause: Mr. Velasquez shows that
the holidays are more about giving than receiving.
Photo By Gail Fletcher
The weather has taken its slight winter
change, bright joyful lights are beginning
to sparkle up the streets, and shoppers anticipate the December sales. It’s that time
of year; the long awaited holiday season is
finally around the corner. As it approaches,
this special time needs to be recognized for
what these months are really about. It’s a
time of joy, happiness, mainly one of worship for many families. Little kids anticipate
Santa Claus’ night adventures to their homes;
mostly everyone makes it a priority to put up
decorative lights, Christmas trees or Hanukkah menorahs– everything used to get in the
holiday spirit.
We have all proved to be sufficient in the
ornamental part but despite the physical evidence of our preparation for the season, is it
not a good question to ask are we ready in
the right way as well? So we can decorate,
we can buy Christmas cookies and bake
homemade cakes, but where is the part of
our holiday spirit that will actually make a
difference? Have we thought about what we
will do for others at this time, to help make
everyone else’s holiday a good one? We
haven’t taken the time to consider the many
little children who are constrained in hospitals, sick and unable to set out cookies on
Christmas Eve for Santa like any other kid;
and we also seemed to have forgotten about
the homeless, the less fortunate, those who
barely have enough to eat around this holiday time. If now is not the time more than
Victoria Alvarez
STAFF WRITER
ever to make a difference and give to the
needy, then when is?
Everyone has heard at some point in their
life, “It is better to give than to receive.” But
how many of us can honestly say we agree
with that? Until we realize what it feels like
to give, to sacrifice, it will be unknown if
this statement has the same personal effect
on you as well. Any and every one enjoys
being given gifts, but it is also a beautiful
thing to give. To see smiles on other people’s
faces and to be able to say “I put that there”
brings a much greater joy than any new piece
of jewelry or clothing can bring you. Somewhere along the line, the true meaning of the
holiday season seemed to slip the minds of
many people. It’s not all about the presents
or the hope to get all the things demanded on
a personal list; this should not be the focus or
main purpose as to why the world looks forward to the month of December approaching. Anxiety and eagerness for the ‘big day’
to finally arrive should be about the hope to
make someone else’s Christmas, Hanukkah,
or Kwanzaa celebration one to remember.
At PPCHS, measures have been taken to
ensure a happy holiday for young children
in particular. Mr. Velasquez, the teacher in
charge of the Leadership class has implemented a toy drive. He says, “As an educator, children are my main importance. Helping and caring for kids is my job and what I
enjoy doing. This is the season where everyone wants to feel loved, and I know just how
important it is for kids especially at this time
to feel the spirit. I have two young children
of my own so I know how much it means to
them to feel loved and I’m happy to be able
to make some sort of difference”.
The time is here – when Christmas carols
and world-wide known holiday music play
repeatedly on the radio stations, when the
gift shopping begins, when the voices of our
hearts need to be heard. Even if it’s a simple
minor thing, anyone can contribute to creating a joyful holiday for those who are in
need. Volunteering for organizations to raise
money, donating to hospitals such as Joe
D’Maggio for kids in the hospital, even making a dollar contribution at Publix for charity fundraisers helps to make the difference
and make a precious memory for someone
somewhere.
As young high school students, it is difficult to purchase meaningful gifts for your friends
during the holidays without going over your budget. So here is a short list of possible gifts
that you can give your friends and family, without digging too deep in your wallet.
1. Create a photo album or collage:
Photos have a lot of meaning behind them. They
document good and unforgettable memories without
saying a word. Taking the time to nicely put together
an album or collage of your favorite photos with that
person will show them how much you appreciate the
time you spend together, and how much you value
their friendship.
Graphic By
Google
2. Bake something:
Everyone loves those sugary treats during the holidays. Giving tasty and delicious sweets to someone
that you care about proves that you would take the
time to do something for them, no matter what. Even
though it may not cost a lot, it’s the thought that
counts, and the full feeling in their belly won’t argue
with you. “A lot of my friends and I bake stuff for
each other for our birthdays and for the holidays. It’s
something we all know that we enjoy and won’t go to
waste,” said freshman Courtney Dart.
Graphic By Google
3. Stuffed animals:
Giving someone a fluffy, adorable little pet to
walk around the school day with gives them
the feeling of being wanted and cared about.
Being able to show it off to their friends and
hold onto it in every class makes them feel
special and shows other people that that person is special to you.
Photo By Adrian Tabraue
4. Gift card to their favorite store:
Whether it’s Wal-Mart or Starbucks, giving someone a few
extra dollars to the store they enjoy the most shows that you
pay attention to their likes and dislikes and that you care about
them. Doing a kind gesture like this shows that person that
you want them to enjoy their holiday getting things from their
favorite store.
3 Student Life
The Supermom of the Charter System
Eliza Barrocas
MANAGING EDITOR
The Pembroke Pines Charter School system is
notorious for having a wealth of outstanding advisors and dedicated parents who devote themselves
to making the Charter system the absolute best it
can be. One individual who has gone above and
beyond to ensure that the Charter Schools reach
their full potential is Debbie Cilli; seven years
ago our school system was changed miraculously
thanks to the commitment of this devoted parent.
In 2003, the year that the Pembroke Pines Charter Elementary-FSU campus opened, Cilli wasted
no time in actively participating in all the school
had to offer. At the time, Cilli’s two out of four
kids, Kali and Anthony, were in second and fourth
grade. “I like to make a difference and I really
love the kids,” Cilli states as her reason for wanting to get involved.
She made PPCES-FSU campus history by becoming the first PTA president from the year 2003
to 2007. From 2007 to 2010, she was the PTA 1st
vice president and has since taken the title back
as the PTA president. At the PPCMS-West campus, Cilli was PTSA president from the year 2005
to 2008, was the 1st vice president from 2008
to 2009, and then became president again from
2009 to 2010. Currently, Cilli is also the PTSA
president for PPCHS. Having four kids in the
charter system even allowed her to be involved
with PPCES-FSU, PPCMS-West, and PPCHS all
at once!
With her motivation and a goal list intact,
Cilli’s help has allowed almost every campus to
grow and thrive in ways that other schools could
only dream of. One of Cilli’s many exceptional
projects has been helping the PPCES-FSU campus install a wealth of new technology, such as
innovative LCD projectors, document cameras,
On the night of November 18, 2010, PPCHS
transformed The River of Grass Auditorium
into a place where students from different
backgrounds could come together as one and
introduce their love for their cultures in this
year’s Multi-Cultural Show. The entertainers
took the audience along a journey throughout the world by performing a piece of music
or dance from their individual countries. The
performers consisted of clubs and individual
students who one by one wowed the crowd.
This year’s show was sponsored by Ms. Sandin and Mr. Daugherty who introduced the
hosts for the evening, Johanna Segura and
Yanell Ordonez.
The show started off with a delightful performance by our very own Jazz band, led
by Ms. Rivero, which played familiar tunes.
The audience hummed along to songs such
as Michael Buble’s “Save
the Last Dance for Me”
and “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson.
This was followed by our
Drumline, which had an
excellent
performance
with the stage lights following their beat.
Not all the numbers were
performed by groups, and
there were individual artist who left the crowd
amazed. Sophomore Randall Collins performed
a dance from Trinidad
and Tobago, along with a
wonderful impersonation
of Michael Jackson that
really got the crowd moving in their seats.
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
Mr. Simon
Advisers
Kenneth Madera
GraphicsEditor
Bianca Rodriguez
Student Life Editor
Mr. Bayer
Principal
Jordana Cutajar
Environmental Editor
Eddie Baffa
Asst. Julia Baca
Business Managers
Lending a helping hand: Debbie Cilli helped SGA
during the homecoming pep-rally this year. Photo By
Rebecca Murillo
Nicolette Sponer
NEWS EDITOR
Five! The sparkling ball drops slowly in New York. Four! People are screaming, rejoicing, partying. Three! Couples pucker up. Two! One more second of 2010, until the end of the
decade. One! Happy New Year! New Year’s is famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) for none other than resolutions; promises to start over with a new year, to get in
better shape, to be a better person. Students at PPCHS have their own resolutions set for 2011.
Freshman Joshua Kon (below),
also, says, “I am a swimmer, so
I want to get a faster time in the
mile.”
Even though you may not have a heavy wallet in your back pocket, you can still purchase or
create a nice, meaningful gift for someone that you care about for the holidays. The holidays
aren’t all about gifts; it’s about showing your feelings to the most important people in your
life, the people that keep you going every day. With just a small gesture you’re showing that
you appreciate everything someone does for you. Remember, it’s the thought that always
counts.
“It was nerve racking at first
and I wasn’t sure if anyone
was going to like it, especially impersonating Michael
Jackson just because he is the
King,” said sophomore Collins.
The crowd broke out in applause and cheers when the
Step Team took the stage and
stomped to African inspired
music in perfect rhythm. The
Dance Team had an assortment of music with Caribbean influences. Latin Dance
Team was in great rhythm
while they danced to salsa
from the Dominican Republic.
The finale was amazing,
with a performance from the
For Sophomore Joshua Martinez (left), dance is his main focus in 2011. “I want to practice
dance and get more involved
with it,” says Martinez.
choir singing “We are the World” with a parade of the flags from all nationalities. The
colors from all the flags truly lit up the room
and it was a fantastic ending to a wonderful
night.
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
Junior Lucas Desouza (above) says, “My goal is to
make the soccer team and get A’s.”
Senior Mariana Mejia
(left), takes her resolution to the home field. She
says, “I want to try and
not fight with my parents
as much.”
Singing like a star: Freshman Isabell Vasquez amazed
the crowd with her singing ability. Photo By Gail
Fletcher
The C. H. A. T. Staff
Daniel Quevedo
Editor-in-Chief
dren’s lives. All the teachers are my friends, I
know all the teachers at the [FSU] elementary,
[West] middle school, and high school too. I even
still volunteer at the preschool [West]! Once I get
a break it’s ‘like what else can I do?!’”
With this attitude, Cilli isn’t done just yet. “The
City of Pembroke Pines just hired a foundation
director, whom I look forward to working with in
order to help keep our schools open. The school
has had this foundation for the past several years,
and it essentially helps raise money to support the
Charter system,” Cilli states.
With all that she has done, Cilli has earned the title as a “go to girl” to many individuals. “She is a
supermom to all of us,” states sophomore English
teacher and junior class advisor Mrs. Ogonowski.
“Whenever I am overwhelmed or lack a perspective, she helps keep me focused…words cannot
express my gratitude for having Debbie in our
lives”.
It is certain that many can agree with this, and
the help that Debbie Cilli has provided our school
is undoubtedly making in difference in everyone’s
life.
Photo By Adrian Tabraue
Dancing the night away: Juniors Lucia Gonzalez-Llanos and Lino Maynard
performed for the Latin Dance team.
Photo By Gail Fletcher
Anyssa Gonzalez
Entertainment Editor
and DVDs. Even more notably astounding is that and has even provided the PTSA helium tanks for
through her efforts, this campus has been able to clubs who needed balloons for events.
“For SGA, we found out last minute that we
provide twelve classrooms with new technology
as well as save them over $58,000 in accordance were a little short on supplies and didn’t have a
to her endless connections and the thrifty quality helium tank to make the balloon arches for pep
rally. Debbie was
she possesses.
able to come in and
“The PTA was
give us a tank, saving
able to buy the
the day,” states junior
technology
at
class senator Caitlin
wholesale prices;
Driggers.
as far as instalAs for PPCHS,
lation, we were
some of the events
able to do it all
that Cilli can be asfor free through
sociated with include
both
qualified
the PTSA Stir Crazy
volunteers and a
Award, which incompany that docludes both a $100
nated their time.
savings bond and gift
In the month of
card to the restaurant
December, we
for every student of
will be spending
the month, donations
three Saturdays
of the college tuition
helping to inraffles, Charter Famstall new forms
ily Night and the staff
of
technology
appreciation
lunin all of the seccheons.
ond grade class“I just love it,”
rooms,” states
Cilli says. “The mile
Cilli.
stones of watching
Cilli’s econominot only my kids but
cal abilities have
everyone else’s kids
proven helpful
too. I get to see it
on several ocall, there’s nothing I
casions. Here at
miss. Giving back to
PPCHS, she has
the teachers is so imhelped several
portant because they
clubs purchase
t-shirts for inex- Jaguar Pride: Debbie Cilli shows off her Charter spirit by helping deserve so much for
touching our chilpensive prices the school in numerous ways. Photo Donated by Debbie Cilli
Here’s to a new year…
A Night of Great Festivities
Bianca Rodriguez
STUDENT LIFE EDITOR
December2010
Pembroke Pines Charter High School
17189 Sheridan Street
Pembroke Pines, FL 33331
Phone: 954-538-3700
Email: [email protected]
The Charter High Academic Times is the
official publication of the Pembroke Pines
Charter High School (PPCHS). The CHAT
Staff welcomes any comments to the editor(s)
and/or staff. Opinions expressed in this
publication, The CHAT, are those of the writers/
staff members and do not necessarily reflect
those of PPCHS students, staff, faculty and
administration.
Junior Kevie Rivero’s resolution is “not to procrastinate, which means not to waste time on Facebook.”
Photos By Adrian Tabraue
News
December 2010
4
Is your car prone to speeding tickets?
Carissa Perry-Smith
STAFF WRITER
Several debates have occurred on whether
a certain color, model, or even age plays a
role in how likely a person is to acquire a
speeding ticket. Data suggests that people
who buy high-performance luxury vehicles
have the temptation to test their car’s capabilities. Young drivers in flashy SUV’s or
sporty small cars, like Mustangs, are ticket
magnets as well.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “At
a stoplight, a woman in her 20’s driving
a red Pontiac Grand Am pulls up next to a
50-something man behind the wheel of a
black Mercedes SL convertible. Which one
of those two is more likely to get a traffic
ticket? The guy in the Mercedes, especially
if he’s from out of town”.
Quality Planning, a unit of Verisk Analytics, serves the insurance industry by analyzing and verifying the claims motorists make
when applying for auto insurance. The company conducted research to find out whether
or not these accusations are true. What they
Cartoon By MAria Flores
found was that the most ticketed model line
cars were that of a Mercedes SL, whose
drivers are mostly middle aged men and on
average collect four times as many tickets.
Going hungry for awareness
Enrique Batista
STAFF WRITER
One Club sponsored a hunger banquet in
hopes of raising awareness of the current
poverty levels in the world. Four classes
participated in the hunger banquet; Mrs.
Hyacinth, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Rushing and Mr.
Bertrand. During SSR on Nov. 24, the students went down to the cafeteria to enjoy a
lunch prepared for them. The students were
separated into 3 groups, each corresponding
to the lower, middle, and upper class, and
each of the groups received a certain amount
of food in accordance to their groups. The
groups were also separated in proportion to
the real world distribution of wealth, as in the
largest group was the lower class, then the
middle class, and the smallest group was the
upper class.
The students at the school spoke about how
they felt during the moving experience:
Senior Danny Torres, who got the amount
of food an average lower class person would
get, said that “it was sad not having anything
to eat other than cold rice and water. I hope
that more people realize that the situation is
real and hopefully they will do more to alleviate the problems of the poor”.
Senior Johanna Segura, who was in the
middle class, said that “it helped me realize
that a lot of people are poor and it’s important to be grateful for what you have.”
This event put the hunger issue in perspective. It showed not only the amount of food
that people suffering from hunger get, but
also the amount of people that are poor and
how few people get all the good things while
millions are suffering. It was incredibly hard
to find one of the people in the upper class,
since there was so few of them.
Senior Jordan Archer, one of the few selected to be in the upper class, said “I had
more food than I really needed, even after I
finished I had enough food to feed 10 other
people, I felt really greedy”.
Mrs. DePas, the ONE Club’s advisor, wrote
a story for the Sun Sentinel explaining what
ONE Pines Charter is doing to help fight
poverty and make a difference. Much to
everyone’s surprise and pleasure, Mrs. DePas’s story made it to the front page of the
Sun Sentinel’s Outlook section. Having our
school featured in the newspaper for excelling in our attempts to change the world is a
feat everyone should be proud of.
One Banquet: Students from Mrs. Hyacinth, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Rushing and Mr. Bertrand s’ classes participate in
One club’s banquet to raise awareness for world hunger. Photos By Adrian Tabraue
The Mercedes SL is a 550 Roadster and has
a 382 -horsepower, V-8 engine and starts at
about $102,600. Other high-powered Mercedes models that made the top ten were the
507-horsepower CLS 63 AMG sedan and the
CLK 63 AMG coupe, with violation rates that
were well above average.
The buyers of these high-performance luxury cars enjoy having the ability and opportunities to go fast. Despite most of these drivers
are in their middle age, drivers who purchase
less expensive sporty vehicles are acquainted
to getting just as many tickets. Statistics show
that 50 percent of males are more likely to
drive over the posted speed limit. Whereas,
33 percent of younger women are less likely
to get a ticket than men. Having conducted
many traffic stops, Miami-Dade Detective
Edward Smith states, “The color and the
make of the vehicle never influenced my
decision making. When conducting a traffic
stop, there was always probable cause.”
As you can see, getting traffic tickets has
nothing to do with the color of the car; it has
everything to do with who is driving the vehicle and the model of the car. The owners
of high-performance luxury cars tend to have
the urge to go fast, making them a more likely
target for traffic tickets.
Around the world this decade
The Independent Staff
Student News
2000- Charter opened
In 2000, Pembroke Pines Charter High
School opened and took in students from
many different schools across Pembroke
Pines. When the school first opened it was
given an average grade of a “C’. Since then,
the school has excelled and has shocked
many with all the outstanding test scores.
Attention federal workers:
say goodbye to phones in cars
of distracted driving. “This meeting is probably the most important meeting in the hisOn September 29th 2010, an executive or- tory of the Department of Transportation,”
der was signed by President Barack Obama he said. “…No message or call is worth the
banning federal employees, all 4.5 million of risk,” he stated in a video to the public weeks
them, as well as military workers, from us- later about families that have been truly iming cell phones while driving. This includes pacted and emotionally scarred after having
lost family members to
banning them
“senseless, preventable
from texting or
crashes.” LaHood says
making calls
the ban demonstrates
while operathow the federal governing federal vement is taking a lead.
hicles, using a
A huge portion of
phone to carry
the Distracted Driving
out
federal
Summit focused on how
business while
laws could work along
driving
priwith public awareness
vately owned
operations in regards
vehicles, and
to this crucial problem.
using federal
This part of the meetcellphones in
ing is one that sophoany way while
more Socrates Quintana
driving either
agrees is needed. “It’s
a
federally
not just a little thing on
or
privately
not doing it,” Quintana
owned vehicle
comments. He says the
In Decemconsequences of what
ber 2009, the
could happen need to
House of Repbe truly shown. There
resentatives
is widespread support
had also passed
on the matter of a naan order that
tionwide prohibition for
banned texting
behind-the-wheel use
while
drivof cell phones.
ing, but that
was just for Obama bans phones: All federal employees are now banned There’s a future plan by
8,000 House from using cell phones while driving government vehicles to the federal government
ensure safety. Photo By Adrian Tabraue
to prohibit texting- and
staff-members.
Obama has been on the issue of cell phone maybe from using cell phones while drivdistractions for about a year, and the new or- ing- for bus drivers and truckers who venture
across state lines. Based on information from
der surely won’t be the last.
The Department of Transportation had a the Governors Highway Safety Association,
two-day Distracted Driving Summit on the in 30 states texting while driving is against
issue. Transportation secretary Ray LaHood the law and in eight states all drivers aren’t
vowed to “set a new course of action” on allowed to use handheld cell phones while
the matter of distracted driving. The meet- operating any vehicle. Florida has no laws
ing, where the announcement was made, in- on either.
On October 27 2010, FMCSA (Federal Movolved families of people whose lives were
taken by drivers who were preoccupied by tor Carrier Safety Administration) prohibited
their phones. LaHood thinks using a cell texting by commercial vehicle drivers while
phone while driving is the deadly epidemic operating interstate business.
Cassidy-Rae Brantley
STAFF WRITER
2004- Facebook Created
Facebook, the world’s most used social network, first opened up in 2004. Created by
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook has become
one of the most used websites on the internet, with over 350 million active users.
2006- Charter becomes A school
Pembroke Pines Charter high school went
from a “D” school into 2005 to an “A” school
in 2006, the biggest single jump in Broward
county history.
2008- Snowbowl Started
In 2008, the Snowbowl was introduced to
PPCHS. The Snowbowl is an event in which
students split up into teams and throw dodge
balls at each other. The event takes place
each year and every team receives team
shirts. The winner is given a trophy and the
privilege of “Snowbowl champions”.
2010- Heat Dream Team
Basketball star LeBron James switches from
the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat,
NBA star Chris Bosh signs to the Heat, and
Dwayne Wade decides to stay with the Heat.
Together they formed the Miami Heat Dream
Team bringing in a lot of hope for an NBA
title.
2001- Wikipedia’s Creation
Wikipedia was created in 2001 by American
Internet entrepreneurs: Jimmy Wales and
Larry Sanger. It’s an online encyclopedia
that has information contributed by many
and any amount of volunteers and has been a
cornerstone of research papers since.
2003- Mr. Bayer’s Arrival
After Ms. Amalia Pares-Pomerantz resigns
from her position as principal of PPCHS in
2003, Mr. Bayer takes her place. He has been
the principal since.
2000- Bush Elected
George W. Bush becomes the 43rd president of the United States of America after a
tense election against Al Gore that called for
a controversial recount. He goes on to serve
two turbulent terms and leaves the White
House as one of the most unpopular American president in history. He had the highest
disapproval rating, 70 percent, ever recorded
amongst U.S presidents.
2001- 9/11 Attacks
In September 11, 2001, terrorists conducted
attacks on numerous US landmarks. With attacks on the World Trade center, The Pentagon, and a failed attack that was headed to
Washington DC, this was the deadliest attack
on US soil in history. Over 3,000 people died
and 6,000 were injured.
2005- Hurricane Katrina
Out of all the recorded Atlantic Hurricanes,
Hurricane Katrina was the sixth strongest.
More than 1,800 people lost their lives in
the tragic storm which decimated the city of
New Orleans when the cities levees failed.
Photo By Adrian Tabraue
2005- YouTube
In early 2005, YouTube occurred as an epiphany to three college students: Jawed Karim,
Steve Chen, and had Hurley. They wanted to
make a website to share videos just as easy
as it is to share photos, but little did they
know it would end up being the most used
website of the years to come.
2007- The last Harry Potter book:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was
released to anxious and excited readers in
July of 2007. J.K. Rowling wrote the seventh
and last book to the Harry Potter series with
the intention of ending the famous war between her protagonist, Harry Potter, and her
antagonist, Lord Voldemort. The book sold
15 million copies within the first twenty-four
hours of its release.
Pembroke Pines Charter High School was
recently honored in a Florida Department
of Education study that found it had the 3rd
highest graduation rate in Broward County.
PPCHS’s 98.6% graduation rate puts it behind only the College Academy and the
Graphic By Nick D’Agostino
2003- Iraq War Starts
The Iraq war starts in March 20, 2003. Iraq
is invaded by order of President Bush with
a multi-national force. The invasion lasts
less than 2 months. The US still has around
50,000 troops stationed in Iraq.
2004- Tsunami
In 2004, an earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean, creating a Tsunami that hit over 11
Asian nations. The tsunami caused the death
of over 150 million people, and left even
more homeless or displaced. 2006- Saddam Hussein
Iraq convicts Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein
of crimes against humanity and was hung on
Dec. 30th.
2007 - The Virginia Tech Massacre
On April 16, 2007 Seung-Hui Cho killed 32
students and teachers at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. This
massacre was the worst shooting incident by
a single person during peace in the United
States.
2008- Obama wins presidency
On November 4th 2008, Barack Obama shattered more than 200 years of American history after he dominated the election polls.
Receiving 349 electoral votes compared to
the 173 votes for Republican John McCain,
Obama became the first African-American
president of the United States, as well as the
first Democratic president to reside in the
White House since Bill Clinton in 2000.
2009 - Swine Flu
In Mexico, a new strand of the flu virus
H1N1 mutated to form swine flu. The pandemic swept the nation, affecting even those
who were healthy. But with a vaccination
created to prevent the disease from spreading, on June 23rd, 2010 the World Health
Organization declared the swine flu was no
longer a major issue in the world.
2010- Oil Spill
Deepwater Horizon, an oil rig in the Gulf of
Mexico, explodes. About 62,000 barrels of
oil spilled daily into the Gulf coast and over
185 million gallons spilled in the length of
the spill. This three month disaster is considered the largest marine disaster history.
Photos By Google
Graduating at the top of the county
Staff Writer
Alexandra Mangano
December 2010
Wo r l d N e w s
Photo By Fabiana Gonzalez
2001- iPod releasedz:
The first iPod was released in October of
2001. Far from what they look like now,
these iPods were bulky, non-touchscreen and
came in a variety of colors. Who knew that
in just five years Apple would outdo themselves and create the first touch screen iPod.
5 News
Pompano Beach Institute, both of which
have an unbelievable 100% graduation
rate. PPCHS’s high graduation rate shows
the hard work and dedication of everyone
at PPCHS from the students to the faculty.
Vice-principal at PPCHS, Ms. Allen, states,
“It says a lot about our teachers and students,
because our teachers plan a curriculum that
makes our students achieve high and give
100%, so they can adequately prepare for life
after high school.”
Since its opening in 2001, PPCHS has overcome many obstacles to achieve its 98.6%
graduation rate; this includes going from a
D school to an A school during the 20042005 school year, becoming the first school
in Florida ever to do so. PPCHS has been
an A school ever since its great 2005 turn
around and hopes to stay that way in future
years. “With all the support I receive here at
PPCHS, I am assured that I will graduate with
the faculty and staff next to me, every step of
the way,” states junior Celeste Chades. The
school has also grown from a small high
school, into an “Academic Village” including a Regional Library, Community College,
a University, and a Performing Arts Center.
There’s no stopping PPCHS from spreading
its wings and topping lists everywhere.
Photos By Rebecca Murillo
News
December 2010
Daniel Quevedo
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
6
2010 Primaries and its effect on America’s future
Democrats lose election, and you should care
Politics are not things students are usually
interested in. Who cares who gets elected
into what, who wins this and who wins that?
How will the results of some elections that
we don’t even have a voice in affect us? Parents hold up the finances
for most students at our
school. They pay the taxes, figure out how to get
us food, clothing, healthcare. “Important” election issues, such as what a
candidate thinks about the
Afghanistan war, or what
a candidate thinks on the
deficit, or what a candidate thinks on gay rights,
are ideas that are intangible to most students
right? Most of us don’t
really think of abortions
every day. Taxes aren’t
usually on our minds. Interest rates of loans don’t
bother us. Most students
only care about the next
day’s homework, what
movie is showing in the
movie theater this weekend, that new video game that is coming out
next week. Right?
The thing is many students that just read
the last paragraph will stop somewhere in
the middle of it and say, “wait Daniel. I care.
I care whether or not my parents can take
me to the doctor.” or “I care about whether
I will have to someday fight in a war that
no one even understands.” “I care about gay
rights.” “I care about loans, how else will I
get through college?” “Doesn’t the government not only fund, but run many schools
and universities?” The truth is most students
really don’t care about the elections, nor do
they care about what party they stand for or
whether they are blue, red, or slight shade of
purplish pink. But students do care about the
effects of the elections.
Over the past 2 years, Democrats have controlled most aspects of the US government,
and important pieces of legislature have
passed. The health care bill, a momentous
piece of legislature that will provide health
insurance to over 30 million uninsured Americans, was pushed through Congress through
universal opposition from the Republican
Party. Financial reform, which made many
big corporations responsible for their actions
and protected consumers, was passed in order to deter another recession through stringent opposition from the Republican Party.
The Stimulus Bill saved millions of jobs,
improved the infrastructure of our country,
kept many educational institutions afloat,
funded many eco-friendly programs across
the nation (The big silver cylinders outside
U-Building were funded by this bill; they are
going to help cool the air in U building and
save thousands in energy costs). The funny
thing is that, even after the Democratic Party
did so much to keep our country from implosion, many members were voted out
during the Nov. 2 elections. Democrats lost
taxes of the lower working classes and the
middle class, which make up the large majority of America. How does it make logical
sense to cut taxes, which fund helpful government programs, and at the same time lower the deficit of the government? That’s like
saying that if you have 2 apples in a basket
Graphic By: Diego Vidal
one house in Congress and now only hold a
slight majority in the other. Most U.S. states
are now governed by Republicans (including
our very own state).
America voted in people who, to say it
nicely, have not done much for our country
in the recent years. They voted in people
who started two wars, cut taxes to the point
of driving us to a recession, and deregulated
the market to the point that many of our parents are losing their livelihoods as their jobs
are being shipped overseas. Americans just
voted in the party of our every so popular expresident George W. Bush, who at the end
of his presidency had an approval rating of
around 30%.
They voted in people who claim to be bringing change to Washington... by going back
to the same failed policies of the Bush administration. They want to keep the Bush
tax policies and continue the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan, which cut so much money
out of the federal income that over the eight
years Bush was president, the budget deficit increased 1.5 TRILLION dollars, from
a budget surplus of 236 million dollars during the presidency of Democrat Bill Clinton.
(numbers from website Politifact.com)
The way that taxes work is that they, through
several different methods, make Americans
pay a fair share of their incomes to the government so that it can run and provide services to the people. The Bush tax cuts, which
the Republicans want to keep, mainly cut
the taxes of large corporations and the richer
people in America, and only cut some of the
and eat two of them, you will end up with 4
apples. This is what Republicans want to do.
The politicians that the public voted in are
people who for the past 2 years have done
nothing but block every piece of legislature
that they did not write (and they didn’t write
much). The occurrences of Nov. 2 were at the
very least
perplexing; how
c o u l d
people
e l e c t
back into office a party that had done them
so much wrong?
When viewed objectively, the results seem
like a puzzle. How could the public be so
frustrated to vote people out who have done
them so much good? But the answer is common-sense. People tend to always blame
what happens during a time period on the
ruling party. The recession started well before Obama took power, yet many people
will now blame him for many of the effects.
A recession is something that doesn’t start in
a couple months, but in a couple years, and
who was the ruling party for 8 years before
Obama took power? The Republicans.
The Nov. 2 election was more of a result of
anti-incumbent sentiments. People were and
are mad at the events that have been occurring in the past two years, and they voted out
the people in power, Democrat and Republican alike, it was just a coincidence that more
Democrats happened to be in power.
“The Republicans would be well advised to
remember that they didn’t win this election.
It was really an anti-incumbent mood, maybe
to some degree an anti-Obama mood. It was
not pro-Republican,” stated teacher Dr. Lou.
Even though I understand that people are
frustrated, and that everyone has been hit
hard by the recession, I think that this election was just an error in the part of the
American people. People must realize
that many changes were made during the two years that Obama has been
president, and I think many of these
changes take time to make a difference,
like health care reform.
I spoke to Ms. Sarah Phelps and she
agreed with me, saying, “I think that we
haven’t really seen if any other changes
implemented in Washington will benefit
us, and I think that now we are at risk of
this reactionary movement taking away
all the changes and we will never see
if these changes will benefit us. Things
in the country are bad right now, I recognize that, but I don’t think that doing
this, and then taking it back, and then
doing it again and taking it back works;
you have to give things time to work.”
For now I think we must be patient
and hold out for the next two years, and
wait for people to regain their senses,
and realize that they made a mistake
putting the Republicans back in power. I
don’t think that Republicans are bad people,
or that they cannot be negotiated with or anything like that. Everyone is in Washington to
serve their country and represent the people,
but they really have to step back, away from
the hysterical partisanship based on fear and
realize that
yes changes
are needed,
but they must
be the right
changes; progression instead of regression. They must not
just change things so that it’s back to when
they were in power, but change things so that
it is for the good of the American public. As
senior Ian Georgianna states, “One thing I do
want to say about the people that have just
been voted into office is that they want to
change things in order to decrease spending,
but increase war. Wars tend to be expensive”.
The Nov. 2 election was more
of a result of anti-incumbent
sentiments.
Young citizens involved in civics for a cause
Anjali Talwar
STAFF WRITER
Many students here at PPCHS recently got
involved in the community by working at
polls during this year’s election. The Civic
Involvement project is a semester long assignment that encourages students to experience government first hand. Students
worked in different aspects of the election
process for the project, including campaigning for a candidate, attending a commission
meeting, and volunteering as a poll worker
during an election. Dr. Vincent, who teaches economics and government at our school,
has been doing this project for the past nine
years. However, this is the first year that
all the proceeds have gone to the American
Cancer Society. In order to get this done, Dr.
Vincent got Mr. Velasquez, who is in charge
of Relay for Life at our school, to get his
7
students involved.
This year $8,085 were raised, and 50 students earned one thousand volunteer hours.
Dr. Vincent is proud to be doing this activity for such a great cause; “it is a wonderful
partnership and a passionate issue for me because I have had family members who were
diagnosed with cancer, and sadly my mother
Erna, died from cancer when she was just 61
years old. I was extremely ecstatic to be doing this; words cannot describe my happiness
in being able to work on an activity that is so
meaningful to so many”. Dr. Vincent has coordinated this effort over the past 7 years and
our school has won a county-wide competition in a 4A division to get the most students
registered to vote. This contest is the activity that helped to start the poll worker fundraiser over 3 years ago, which is undoubtedly
something to be proud of.
Matthew Coolidge
Staff Writer
December 2010
Steering America in the red direction
This recent election has proven to be a major victory for the Republican Party (GOP),
with them taking over the House of Representatives and gaining a foothold in the
Senate. The GOP gained the majority in the
House of Representatives, gaining sixty-one
seats this past election. This is a success for a
party that has floundered in recent years, due
to a more Democratic movement in America.
The win for the GOP is important because it
allows them to have a say in some of President Obama’s policies including ObamaCare and his economic plan. The President’s
recent plans have outraged a large number
of Americans; this includes the GOP, which
used this anger to gain more seats in Congress. Since they gained a large amount of
power in Congress, the Republicans look to
help pass bills to help push their ideas, like
anti-abortion and looser gun laws.
The Republicans also won a huge victory at
the state level with numerous gubernatorial
victories including Rick Scott’s narrow win
over his Democratic opponent Alex Sink. To
most Floridians, though, this doesn’t come as
much of a change because Florida’s past two
governors, Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist have
been Republicans. What this means for Florida is that many of the issues Republicans
stand for, such as not allowing gay marriage
and banning abortion, will be upheld in the
Sunshine State. Governor Scott also looks to
help protect Florida’s 2nd Amendment Rights,
which he believes have come under attack by
Democrats in Washington. He hopes to do so
by making sure every Floridian who follows
the law will be able to safely own a firearm
for protection or for sport. Scott pushes the
firearm issue because he is an avid hunter
and a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), but he admits his religious
faith influences him on
other beliefs,
such as being anti-gay
marriage and
anti-abortion. This is bad news for anyone in
Florida’s GBLT community who is looking
to get married, because the law will prevent
them from riding away in happy spirits. Governor Scott also looks to tighten the noose on
illegal immigration in Florida, a big problem
for the state in recent years.
Scott’s views on immigration include
forcing all immigrants to enter the country legally, and to send home all the illegal
immigrants who are “mocking our laws.”
Governor Scott also wants to implement the
immigration control system used in Arizona,
which would help dispel many of the illegal
immigrants in South Florida. Scott has even
stated during his governor campaign that “a
legal immigration system where everyone
plays by the rules is fundamental to our eco-
nomic and national security”. Scott’s new
immigration plan looks to stop the flow of
illegal immigration, using bold tactics such
as deportation, extreme new identification
measures, and strengthening border security. Scott also wants Florida’s employers to
make sure they are using legal, documented,
and safe workers who won’t steal American
jobs. Scott wants to make sure employers
use the free E-Verify system to ensure that
their workers are legal.
To help fix Florida’s massive budget problems, which include over a million Floridians
that are out of work and the state government
battling over a $3 billion dollar budget deficit, Governor Scott has proposed a plan to
increase Florida’s “Budget Accountability.”
His plan includes using his background as a
businessman to help create new jobs and job
opportunities
for citizens of
the Florida.
The plan also
makes each
state agency
set annual goals for every dollar they spend,
then measuring their performance against
those goals and then holding them accountable for the outcome. Scott also wants to
help force government members to justify
the way they spend Floridians tax dollars,
and he believes that holding them accountable for their spending will “help eliminate
waste, increase efficiencies and eliminate
ineffective programs”. If Scott’s plan were
to be put into action and work effectively,
Florida would be subjected to lower taxes,
less spending, and working to take a chunk
out of the State’s budget deficit.
Over the course of the recession, Florida’s
workforce has been struck hard by the unemployment hurricane, causing 40% of Florida’s homeowners to be underwater on their
The President’s recent plans
have outraged a large number of
Americans.
mortgages. Scott looks to fix this crisis for
Floridian’s by helping lower mortgage rates,
educating Florida’s workforce, and lowering
taxes. He looks to lower mortgage rates so
that homeowners can pay their house payments on time; this will help bolster Florida’s housing market and get the economy
ing to fight the oil companies to try and protect Florida’s coastline. This will help keep
our coastline clean and free from the pollution that oil drilling can cause to our coastlines and beaches.
On the national level, the Republican victory allows the GOP to combat President
Graphic By Diego Vidal Obama’s policies such as the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan,
and especially Obama-Care. President Obama and the Democrats are
pushing the withdrawal of U.S troops
from the Middle East, where they are
battling terrorism and trying to capture the enemies of America. Obama
is attempting to withdrawal the over
250,000 U.S. troops currently serving
in the Middle East, thinking this will
effectively end the war on terrorism.
But with the majority now in the Republican’s favor, it is almost certain
that they will attempt to block the
withdraw of U.S. troops, and continue the war on terrorism until Al Qaeda is defeated and Osama Bin Laden
is captured. This will help protect the
American people from the threats of
Jihadist and Muslim extremists, and
ensure that they are paid back in full
for their attacks on September 11th,
2001.
back on track. To help improve the quality
The GOP will also be able to stop the adof Florida’s workforce, Governor Scott looks vance of Obama care, which levies taxes on
to make sure all members are educated and medical items and a tax penalty on Ameriinsured.
cans who don’t purchase health insurance.
Scott also believes that improving Florida’s Using their majority power in the House of
education standards will help prepare our Representatives, Republicans will be able to
children for good paying jobs, which will al- deny any new Obama care bills from being
low them to support their families and stim- passed and keep America free of unwanted
ulate the economy with their spending. He taxes and penalties. Another issues the GOP
also wants those students who are bypassing can attempt to swing their way using their
college to have the skills necessary to sur- new majority power includes Obama’s ecovive and prosper in the world outside of high nomic stimulus plan, which favors Amerischool. This reform of the education system ca’s lower class. Republicans, who stand for
will mean better quality of education, which lower taxes and a weaker Federal governin turn will help prepare Florida’s students ment, want to keep Obama from destroying
for college and the workforce. An educated the middle class, and using tax money to supworkforce will also help Florida attract busi- port the lower class and unemployed.
ness, allow Florida to compete in interna- Overall the recent elections have provided
tional business affairs, and create modern the GOP a chance to step back into the najobs for Floridians. With all of this educa- tional political spotlight, push across their
tion, Floridians will be on the fast track to ideas, and block Obama and the Democrats
successful lives and good paying jobs which from passing their liberal based ideas. With
countless victories in the House of Reprewill allow them to stimulate the economy.
Florida’s Republican Governor Rick Scott is sentatives and State Governor races, the Realso very interested in saving Florida’s natu- publicans looks to keep America “red” for a
ral environment; especially the Everglades. long time.
He believes that “we must be good stewards
of our natural resources. Florida’s natural
treasures are the corner stone of the tourism
industry that drives our state’s economy, and
our beaches, rivers, lakes and parks are what
make Florida a great place to live and raise a
family”. Scott is not only for protecting the
Everglades, he is very involved in keeping
our beach’s free from offshore drilling and
the pollution it can bring. Scott is also work-
News Flash! The elections do affect us
Jordana Cutajar
ENVIRONMENTAL EDITOR
Civic Duty: All profits go the American Cancer Society
News
During election season, we all see the
political commercials when watching TV.
Republican Rick Scott slams Alex Sink for
her position as a CFO, which he claims led
to the recession. Following that commercial we see a smiling Democrat Alex Sink
calmly stating that she denies Rick Scott’s
‘false’ allegations, and then proceeds to
state her own accusations. The battle goes
on and on between not only Sink and Scott,
but all of the candidates.
Most students don’t know much about
the campaigns aside from the commercials
and what their parents have to say regarding the subject. Since our school is the site
for elections, we are all influenced by the
elections, with our campus being swarmed
with red, white, and blue political signs
telling you to vote for Kendrick Meek or
Charlie Crist.
Junior David Vallejo said, “After high
school we should start worrying about politics and the elections. Whatever occurs now
may not really affect us at the moment, but
it will in the future. I know I should care
about the elections but at this point in time
they haven’t captured my interest.”
On November 3, 2010 Rick Scott was announced as the new governor of Florida,
winning approximately 50,000 votes more
than Alex Sink out of a grand total of approximately five million. What does this
mean for us? Most of us can’t even vote,
yet everywhere we look we see the prominent signs of Florida’s government. Community pools, schools, roads, the energy
grid; they are all run by the state or federal
government, and who controls the govern-
Debating: Two students debate over the recent 2010 senate primaries. Photo By Lorraine Oyola
ment controls how these services are managed.
Freshman Kali Cilli said, “It’s important
to know about politics so that you can have
some involvement in the world around you.
What our government does affects not only
us, but other people in the world as well
and vice versa. We can’t make changes in
our society if we don’t know what’s happening.”
At this point in time most of us do not feel
the pressure or concern that the elections
conjure for most of the older population.
But in a few years we will all become a
part of that population and then what? The
choices made now will be aspects of our
future life that we cannot escape. So save
yourself the shock you’ll receive a few
years down the road and inform yoursel f
now.
Entertainment
8
Accio Harry Potter
December 2010
Nicolette Sponer
NEWS EDITOR
Tournament. The fifth year at Hogwarts and
the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order
Harry Potter holds number 1 for two weeks straight: Harry Potter 7 and the Deathly Hallows
Part 1 made $125,017,372 on its opening weekend realesing in about 4125 theaters. After 2 weeks
of holding the number 1 spot it shortly fell to 2nd to “Tangled.”
It’s the craze that is sweeping the nation faster than you can say “Expecto Patronum.” It’s
the series that everyone fell in love with from
the moment they read about the Boy Who
Lived. It’s the infatuation that is more addicting than Chocolate Frogs. It’s the single
most amazing thing since sliced bread. It’s
Harry Potter.
This worldwide phenomenon first started in
1997, when J.K. Rowling released the first
book of the series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Readers were captivated immediately by Rowling’s plot, wanting more
and more of Harry Potter, the boy with the
lightning-shaped scar. Seven books have
been released for the Harry Potter series.
Rowling wrote Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone first, telling the tale of a “regular”
boy who found out he was a wizard.
After an interesting first year at Hogwarts
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry
Potter finds out that he is the center of an
ongoing feud between good and evil. Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second book, where Potter returns to Hogwarts
and is faced with the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets, a lair known only to the heir
of Salazar Slytherin. Every year, Harry faces
progressively more strenuous tasks and also
learns more about himself as a son, friend
and wizard. The third installment, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, is composed
of family drama, and surprises are found
around every corner, the most surprising being when Potter meets his godfather Sirius
Black, a wizard assumed to be a killer. In the
fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of
Fire, Harry’s magical stamina is put to the
test when he is chosen to participate in a series of competitions known as the Triwizard
of the Phoenix, is turned around when Hogwarts is taken over by the sinister Ministry
employee Dolores Umbridge. Harry, Ron
and Hermione struggle against Umbridge’s
rules and secretly form a club called Dumbledore’s Army to stand up against the regime
of Hogwarts High Inquisitor (Dolores Umbridge), as well as to learn practical Defense
Against the Dark Arts. In Harry Potter 6, or
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Potter searches for the complete and complex
story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort, and therefore finds out what may be
Voldemort’s only vulnerability: horcruxes.
Rowling explains horcruxes as, “receptacles
in which a Dark wizard has hidden a part of
his soul for the purposes of attaining immortality.” In order to destroy He-Who-MustNot-Be-Named, one must destroy all seven
horcruxes that contain Voldemort’s soul. The
seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows, is an action-packed, nailbiting fantastic tale of Harry, Ron and Hermione’s expedition to attain and obliterate the
remaining horcruxes. Although spoilers will
not be disclosed, what can be said about
Deathly Hallows is that it contains many
mind boggling scenes that make the book
definitely worth reading.
J.K. Rowling has accomplished the amazing feat of creating characters that her readers can relate to. Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, the books’ main
characters, started out as three measly kids.
Six books and six years later, the trio has
transformed into three mature wizards, ready
to battle their way against Lord Voldemort.
“As I grew up, the story grew up with me,”
said junior Tammy Witkus, “I love how it
evolved from a children’s series into a more
adult series.”
Rowling’s main focus on magic is also
what has readers so captivated. The swooshing of wands, the casting of spells, the flying
on broomsticks—these things are activities
many fantasize about doing. Many schools
have gone as far as conjuring up Quidditch
teams, including the University of Miami. In
2005, students at Vermont’s Middlebury College invented a new brand of Quidditch. The
game took off faster than, well, a real flying
broomstick. Essentially, Quidditch is like
soccer, basketball, and dodgeball combined.
As quaffle-tossing and dodgeball takes place
on the field, three other players engage in a
game of flag football that has points at stake.
One of those players assumes the role of the
“Golden Snitch”, a small, gold-colored ball
with wings that is featured in Harry Potter’s
pages. Whichever team catches the snitch is
rewarded with a healthy amount of points,
and the game then concludes. In the land
of Muggles, the snitch is an actual person,
dressed in yellow or gold, with an ability
to run really fast. The snitch is chased by a
representative from each team (the position
is called Seeker), with both players attempting to “catch” the snitch by grabbing a tennis ball housed in a sock that hangs from the
snitch’s body.
Harry Potter gives us the ability to live vicariously through his magical struggles and
successes.
“Magic is something one can believe in,”
says senior Jaclyn Fine, “I know personally
that is what keeps me reading and rereading
the books.” Harry Potter spell books, Firebolt broomsticks, and character’s wands
have been franchised by companies to fulfill
the need of magic-loving fans.
Of course, these days no book is complete
without a movie twin. The Harry Potter movies have been extremely successful; who
would not want a visual about how to exactly
pronounce “Alohomora” or to see how huge
Hagrid really is compared to Ron Weasley?
Sophomore Taylor Mathews says, “Even
though many people hate how the movies
practically ruin the books, I love how they
bring the books alive. They help me visualize
scenes.” The seventh and last movie, Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was split
into two movies, for the book was way too
long to capture everything in a single film.
Part one came out on Nov. 19, many students
attending the midnight premiere. The much
anticipated part two is set to release on July
15, 2011.
The next time you head to Orlando, brush
up on your British accent and prepare to enter a world where wands, cauldrons and flying dragons are the norm. Where a witch can
stop by the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer, or join a famous wizard on the journey
of a lifetime. The Wizarding World of Harry
Potter, a theme park in Universal Orlando’s
Islands of Adventure, offers visitors a chance
to live the Harry Potter books and movies. In
fact, if it weren’t for the roller coaster hardware, it would be easy to lose yourself and
forget that you are not walking the actual
streets of Hogsmeade. However, the throngs
of people, the dichotomy of the beastly hot
weather of Orlando and the “snow” on the
town’s roofs also help keep you grounded in
reality.
Walking into Hogsmeade feels like walking straight onto the Harry Potter movie set.
Shops such as Honeydukes, the local sweets
shop, and Ollivander’s, the wand shop where
“everyone got their first wand,” according
to Hermione, line the “streets” along with
wonderful window displays. Of course, what
theme park would this be without rides? The
Wizarding World of Harry Potter offers three
roller coasters—Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, the Flight of the Hippogriff, and
the Dragon Challenge. The first, Harry Potter
and the Forbidden Journey, is the centerpiece
of this section of the park. The story is that
muggles (meaning you, non-magic peoples,
of course) are being allowed into the school
for the first time, and are brought through
several rooms in Hogwarts castle. The queue
line for the ride is almost as fun as the ride itself! While waiting in line, you are spoken to
by paintings, allowed to meet Dumbledore,
9
Entertainment
December 2010
For those of you who quite often find yourself lost in the midst of all this Harry Potter jargon, here are some of the commonly used words in the wizard world:
Harry, Ron and Hermione, and have the
chance to chat with the Sorting Hat. The ride
itself is not a roller coaster, but a scenic dark
ride. The experiences include flying around
Hogwarts castle, encountering the Whomping Willow and a horde of Dementors, and
being caught in a Quidditch match; all in
the company of Harry Potter. The ride performs such movements as dropping, spinning
around, twisting and turning. Sophomore
Gail Fletcher says, “It was fantastic! The ride
itself was at least a good four minutes long,
which is longer than any ride in the park.”
The Flight of the Hippogriff is a simple roller
coaster. The back-story to this particular ride
is that Hogwarts’ Care of Magical Creatures
professor Hagrid is teaching young wizards
to fly on a Hippogriff, much like how Hagrid
taught Harry to do in Harry Potter and the
Prisoner of Azkaban. The Dragon Challenge
is a dueling roller coaster which features two
distinct tracks built to overlap and intertwine
with each other. Formerly Dueling Dragons,
this coaster was renamed in homage to the
first task in the Triwizard Tournament, depicted in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Riders have the opportunity to choose their
fate- to ride either the Hungarian Horntail
(the blue track) or the Chinese Fireball (the
red track).
Even though the magic of everything makes
one a little breathless, Principal Bayer pointed out that “everything could have been a
lot bigger. Harry Potter is such a huge concept and I feel that they should have made
the park huge.” But overall, the Wizarding
World of Harry Potter lives up to every HP
fan’s fantasy. Freshman Anthony Kelleher
says, “I’m such a huge fan of the books, and
to experience what Harry, Ron and Hermione
experienced was the coolest thing.”
Even for the ultimate, die-hard Harry Potter
fans, there are facts unknown by many about
the series. Fred and George Weasley, the
mischief-loving twin brothers to Ron Weasley, were born on April Fool’s Day, which
is arguably suited for their personalities. Did
you know that “Dumbledore” is an old Devon word for “bumblebee”? It was picked by
Rowling because she imagines Dumbledore
wandering around the castle humming to
himself. The official Hogwarts school motto
is Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus, the
Latin translation for “Never tickle a sleeping
dragon.” You won’t see A’s or even B’s at
Hogwarts. In fact, in the Harry Potter series,
you will see grades like “outstanding” and
“troll.” Passing grades include Outstanding,
Exceeds Expectations, and Acceptable. The
failing grades include Poor, Dreadful, and
Troll. Can you imagine receiving your lab
write up with the word TROLL scribbled on
the top?
On a recent episode of Oprah, J.K. Rowling admitted that it may not be the end to
Harry Potter. For those of you who have
read the epilogue to Deathly Hallows, this
thought seems appalling yet extremely pleasing at the same time. Everybody thought the
seventh book would be the last, but Rowling stated that she could “definitely write an
eighth, a ninth book.” Let’s keep our fingers
(and wands) crossed that what Rowling said
comes true, for one can never have enough of
Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.
• Avada Kedavra (Ah-vah-dah Ke-davrah): The unforgivable curse, used mainly by
dark wizards. This curse kills its victim and
is unblockable. Harry Potter is the only wizard known to have survived this curse.
• Apparate (App-ah-rate): The term used to
describe the ability to travel by disappearing
and reappearing at intended locations.
• Dobby (Dob-bie): The Malfoy’s house elf
whom Harry frees in Harry Potter and the
Chamber of Secrets. Dobby is devoted to
Potter and does anything for him.
Hogwarts spirit: Students at PPCHS showed their
love to Harry Potter during this year’s spirit week.
Photo By Gail Fletcher (left) and Lissette
Rivera (right)
Stay warm with these winter movies
Paul Austria
STAFF WRITER
Here’s the scoop on the new lineup of movies for the winter of ‘10/’11:
Little Fockers hits theaters on Dec. 22nd as
the latest installment to the Meet the Parents
series. Starring Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, and
Robert De Niro, the newlywed couple Gaylord and Martha Focker have twins that are
five years old, and Pam’s parents are coming for a visit.
Yogi Bear comes out on Dec. 17th, and is
a tie-in with the alike-named famous TV
show. This new Warner Brothers animated
film stars Dan Aykroyd as the voice of Yogi
Bear, while actor/singer Justin Timberlake
plays the voice of Boo-Boo Bear.
The Dilemma stars Vince Vaughn and Kevin James and is about a man who knows that
his friend’s wife is cheating on his friend
and is unsure whether to tell him or not. The
Dilemma is available for viewing on Jan.
14, 2011.
Season of the Witch is led by Nicholas
Cage and Rod Perlman. This film features
a Crusader and his friend who visit a place
that has fallen victim to the Black Plague.
This action/drama hits theaters on Jan. 7,
2011.
From Prada to Nada, a movie based on Jane
Austen’s Sense and Sensability, is about two
sisters who think they will become rich with
the inheritance of their father after his death,
but instead experiences the opposite and are
sent to live with their peculiar aunt. You can
look forward to seeing this movie on Jan.
28, 2011.
Tron: Legacy will be released on Dec. 17
in IMAX 3-D. This Disney sci-fi film follows a man in his twenties who feels he is
being haunted by the disappearance of his
father. Garrett Hedlund and Jeff Bridges
headline this cast.
The Green Hornet, written by actor Seth
Rogen and Evan Goldberg, hits theaters on
Jan. 14, 2011. Seth Rogen’s character inherits a media industry after the death of his father and makes a new friend. Together they
fight crime under “The Green Hornet.”
• Mudblood (mud-blood): A derogatory
term for a Muggle-born witch or wizard; that
is, individuals with no wizarding parents or
grandparents. The term implies that the individual has “dirty blood” and is considered
extremely offensive.
• House-elf: A small humanoid used by wizards as slaves. They are two to three feet tall,
with spindly arms and legs and oversized
(as compared to a human’s) heads and eyes.
They have pointed bat-like ears and high,
squeaky voices. A house elf can only be
freed when their masters provide them with
a piece of clothing.
So many new series, so little time
Isabella Jones
FEATURES EDITOR
We know you’ve got a date with your dramatic Glee friends on Wednesday nights, the
boisterous guidos and guidettes from Jersey
Shore on Thursday nights, and the comedians of Saturday Night Live on the weekend,
but here are four of the latest series that deserve a little more of your time in front of
the tube:
Hellcats: If you find the typical know-itall, mean girl to be quite humorous, you will
surely grow fond of Marti (played by Aly
Michalka), an attractive prelaw student who
despises her university’s cheer squad yet is
forced to join the misfits in order to keep her
all-important scholarship. Luckily for Marti,
she was a gymnastics champ back in highschool. However, the show takes a turn when
she hears the terrifying news that her scholarship still may not be assured, and whether
or not to continue on such a team becomes
the question. In the midst of this melodramatic chaos, watching those Hellcats dance
is pretty amusing. For a Glee sense mixed
with blondes in skimpy spandex, tune in
Wednesday nights to the CW at 8/9 C.
No Ordinary Family: The Shield (played
by Michael Chiklis), who takes takes on the
role of a police sketch artist who, feels as if
his life at home and at work are mundane and
quite lacking despite his interesting name.
Adding to this bleak family are his clever
wife Dexter (played by Julie Benz) and two
adolescent children. But their life does not
stay stale for long, and by utter surprise,
they all gain superpowers. Will they put such
abilities to good use and eventually unify
their family? Stay tuned to No Ordinary
Family Tuesday nights 8/9 C. on the ABC
for answers.
Nikita: This restart on the 1990 film and
USA network action-packed series truly
does reinforce the phrase “if looks could
kill.” The revealing Nikita (played by Maggie Q) is on-the-run from a secret government agency that had previously trained her
as a spy and assassin, but now wants her
dead. All the while Alex (played by Lyndsy
Fonseca) is the new recruit in this secretive,
baneful Division and seeks to escape as well.
For women who mean business armed with
weapons and strutting heels, keep your eyes
open for Nikita, airing Thursday nights on
the CW at 9/8 C.
Hawaii Five-o: Based on the 1970s original, this series will undoubtedly become
your new favorite if you dig fast-paced,
eye-popping, and draw-dropping scenes.
The irritable Steve McGarrett (played by
Alex O’Loughlin) has got to clear the air
with some very wicked people. Luckily,
the governor of Hawaii allows him the complete opportunity to organize his own justice
team including the typical New Jersey native
Danny “Danno” Williams (played by Scott
Caan), Chin Ho Kelly (played by ex-Lost
star Daniel Dae Kim), and his racy, cantankerous sister Kono (played by Grace Park).
To discover the thrilling drama that unfolds,
say aloha to CBS Saturday nights at 8/7 C.
11 Features
Features 10
December 2010
Keep your eyes on the road; teen crashes devastating lives
Anyssa Gonzalez
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Driving is one of the most prominent milestones in every teen’s life, the one thing that
students look forward to -- and parents look
upon with fear.
But the problem that people do not address
when pulling up to the DMV for that fateful test is the overwhelming amount of accidents that change people’s lives every day.
There are different causes of such tragedies,
some of which are disregarded by teenage
drivers. The number of drivers involved in
fatal accidents in 2007 was almost 60,000,
nearly 10 percent of which were teenage
drivers (19 and under). Florida ranks number three in the nation for most deaths due to
traffic accidents, passed only by California
and Texas.
Though the big picture is something that
needs to be considered, it doesn’t really
sink in until it hits close to your own home.
Lately, that’s all that has been on the news—
teenage car crashes in Pembroke Pines, Miramar, and Davie. The media portrays these
accidents to be larger than life in an attempt
to teach teenagers a lesson or two about
speeding, driving drunk, not wearing your
seatbelt, and other elements that can lead
to depressing and life changing outcomes.
Student drivers: Seniors Danielle Heichen and Jamie Alabastro were recently a part of an accident on their way to
Though they are not the only ones involved school in the morning. Luckly, they were both okay. Photo By Lorraine Oyola
in the accidents, they seem to be the highState governments all across the country themselves.
light of every newscast simply to make a
Sophomore Dbora Lee is personally affectare doing their best to buckle down on speedstatement.
ed
by the reports on the increasing number
ing
and
texting
because
it’s
costing
everyone
As much as people don’t want to know
about these terrifying accidents, it is abso- an unnecessary amount of money as well. of car accidents because she will be driving
lutely imperative that they know the poten- According to Dmvflorida.org, over four mil- soon, and she will soon have to carry the
tial causes and consequences of their actions. lion tickets were given to Florida citizens, burden of watching out for herself because
They also need to be informed about things most of which were issued for speeding. For drivers do not care enough to slow down and
that are happening in their own community. driving six to nine miles over the speed limit, keep their eyes on the road.
“There’s more of a chance of me driving
Even students at Pembroke Pines Charter it will costs the driver about $80 dollars, and
High School, a place that we consider to be the numbers only go up from there. At 30 with those people,” states Lee.
Parents have the tendency to tell their chilour small, safe haven, have had their lives miles over the speed limit, the traffic violator
changed by the devastating events of a car has earned a hefty fine of $300. If the driver dren that they are not worried about their
chooses to attend traffic school, their ticket ability but of the recklessness and danger
crash.
Seniors Danielle Heichen and Jamie Ala- will lower significantly and no points will be that awaits them on the road. Hearing about
all of the car crashes may endanger a teenbastro were recently a part of an accident on added onto their license.
According to the Governors Highway ager’s chance to own a car or get their license
their way to school in the morning -- a very
Safety Association, Florida has not passed out of fear that they may have to endure the
dangerous driving time for many teenagers.
Both cars were totaled and rendered use- any laws prohibiting the use of cell phones same consequences.
A shocking and quite alarming story that
less. Although both girls emerged from the or texting while driving. As of November
crash with minimal injuries, it could have 2010, thirty states have banned text messag- tops many in recent times would be that of
ing for all drivers, 28 banned novices from Monica Pong, a student at Archbishop Mcbeen a lot worse.
This was Heichen’s first accident since she handheld or hands-free cell phone usage, and Carthy whose leg was severed in a car acciwas licensed in August of 2009, which might eight states do not allow drivers of any age dent. An elderly woman backed up onto the
lead someone to the conclusion that car ac- to use handheld devices. Why isn’t Florida curb, pinning Pong against the wall, injuring
cidents aren’t necessarily caused by a lack making a move towards banning texting if it her.
Junior Rebecca Riley, a student at Archof experience. Anyone can be involved in is creating such a problem?
bishop,
did not actually witness the accident
Georgia
has
gone
so
far
as
to
implement
something like this, and as long as the right
elements are mixed in, anyone is at danger. a Super Speeders law which increases the as it was happening, but she saw literally secAlabastro and Heichen were both shaken up, amount of a traffic ticket to an extraordinari- onds later. She said that though it was against
and Heichen still gets nervous when she gets ly painful number. If anyone is caught driv- the family’s wishes, someone had released
ing above 75 on a two-lane road, they will her name to the media, and the news spread
behind the wheel of her car.
“You have to experience it to know what it add 200 dollars onto the original ticket. The like wildfire.
“Had she not walked forward,” states Riley,
really feels like,” said Heichen, who doesn’t absolute horror created by this law might
actually be effective because no one wants “she would still have her leg.”
wish the same fate for anyone else.
Although Pong was flown to Memorial
The repercussions of car crashes affect to pay that much money for something so
Hospital in Hollywood as soon as possible,
more people than can possibly be imagined; seemingly ridiculous.
Speeding is a major problem, especially in they were not able to sew her leg back on
the most obvious is the drivers that are involved. They are burdened physically and school zones where students of all ages are again. She now has to cope without a leg and
financially because cars are not just a cheap crossing the streets. Mrs. Torres, a PPCHS learn to live life after such an extraordinarily
piece of metal. Most cars take a hefty toll administrator, has a son who just received his large change.
What could be the causes of all these accion a person’s wallet, usually costing in the license. The facts are terrifying but real, and
neighborhood of 10 to 15 thousand dollars, for her, it makes it even harder because she dents and fatalities? PPCHS’s very own SRO
(Student Resources Officer) Russell Wright
is a parent.
not including insurance.
“People still blaze through school zones,” is well aware of the distractions that accomHowever, the family’s wallet is not the only
one at stake. With an increase in car crashes states Torres. Especially when these school pany teenagers behind the wheel.
“Now you have all these pop out TVs and
becoming more and more apparent to the lo- zones become obstacles on a day that sometext
messaging,” says Officer Wright, “and
one
is
late
to
school;
it
seems
that
everyone
cal government, they are finding more and
more reasons to use taxpayer money to in- wants just to bypass them. When there are when you have friends in the car and your
stall cameras at intersections to catch the cul- children crossing the street, though, it is phone is going off, you aren’t defensive drivprits of speeding and disobeying traffic laws. scary for everyone—parents and the kids ing anymore.”
According to the Travel Industry Dictionary, defensive driving is defined as “the act or
practice of operating an automobile in such
a way as to minimize accidents, especially
by looking out for and avoiding others who
are driving badly.” In layman’s terms, however, this means paying attention. The worst
thing possible is to lose concentration due to
little things here and there such as changing
the radio station, checking a text, talking to
a friend, or simply taking your eyes off the
road for even a split second. That is all it
takes for something unwanted to occur.
A very common place for accidents to occur
is the all too tight parking lots. Cars are turning in and backing out and driving passed so
often that getting into a car accident almost
seems normal. Officer Wright knows of this
experience very well.
“My son pulled out a little too far and
backed up into a small car behind his big
SUV. It cost 500 to 600 dollars’ worth of
damage,” says Wright.
Police officers also put themselves at risk
with the built-in laptops for their squad cars.
Although they are only used for purposes of
looking up someone they have pulled to the
shoulder of the road, they can also be a factor
in car crashes.
Officer Wright says, “If a cop is sitting
there looking at his computer, chances are
he’s not completely concentrated on the
road.” It goes to show that while everyone is
a potential victim, everyone is also responsible for being aware of their actions.
The Florida Driver’s Handbook states that
you should be aware of events happening at
least 12 seconds in front of you. If you are
going about 50 miles per hour, this will average out to about 900 ft. in front of you, plenty
of space to slow down in case an accident
occurs that far ahead. Small but monumental
precautions such as this one can be the difference between glancing at two totaled cars
and sitting beside your totaled car.
On top of the impending dangers that are
caused by your own carelessness and that of
other drivers around you, there is the one statistic that is imprinted on the minds of many
teenagers. According to State Farm Insurance, the intersection of Flamingo Road and
Pines Boulevard, a mere ten minutes from
PPCHS, was found to be the most dangerous
intersection in the United States from 20002001. Because of factors such as poor lighting, drivers running red lights, and unclear
lane dividers, there were 357 car accidents
in just that intersection, one for nearly every day in the year. Even though State Farm
claimed this about a decade ago, the minds of
drivers that go through this intersection often
have not strayed from that thought. An estimated 90,000 cars fly through this intersection daily, a recipe for disaster.
As long as teenagers are aware of what
they are getting themselves into and preparing themselves mentally and physically for
the worst, their risk of being involved in
these car accidents and car crashes is lowered enormously, and so are the worries that
parents are burdened with when their teenager goes out driving for the first time. It is
a heavy responsibility that needs to be nurtured so as to keep anyone else from being
harmed so unnecessarily, and keep the roads
safe for everyone.
As cliché as the advice comes, it always appears to be the most simple and true—slow
down, buckle up, and pay attention, because
you never know what might hit you next.
Teens more at fault on the roads
Cassidy-Rae Brantley
STAFF WRITER
The increased number in recent local motor vehicle accidents are leaving people concerned and questioning, “What’s going on?
Are people distracted? Who’s causing these
accidents- teens, adults, or the elderly?”
Based on 8 random motor vehicle accidents,
an analysis was completed by the Sun-Sentinel to analyze a quick comparison between
the teens and the elderly and who is more
hazardous when driving. The results concluded that drivers between the ages 16 and
25 are ones who cause most car accidents.
Is 16 too young to drive?
Erin Jones
TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
Sixteen -- It’s the one birthday when everyone already knows your birthday wish
before you even blow out the candles on the
cake. That is because at 16, by law, teens can
trade in their restrictive permits that allowed
them to drive under the watchful eye of their
vigilant parents, for a license, that praiseworthy card that gives them the ultimate
freedom on the road. The only thing most
teenagers this age wish for is to pass their
license test with flying colors and to find a
car with a big yellow bow with their name
on it sitting in the driveway.
However, most 16 year old drivers also
know that with this much freedom comes
a ton of responsibilities. Motor vehicles accidents are the number one killer of teenagers between the age of 16 and 19. Last
year, more than 3,000 teens died in a car
crash while about 300,000 were injured in a
wreck. These startling numbers have raised
the question for years: is 16 years too young
for teenagers to be on the road?
In 2006 the Florida Legislature attempted
to pass a bill that would increase the minimum age to receive a license up by one year
to 17 years of age. Most recently in May
of 2010, Congress has presented a law that
would make all states require the minimum
age to obtain a license to be 18 while one
would have to be 16 to receive their permit.
They are hoping that the two year wait will
allow teens to better perfect their driving
skills which, they hope, will in turn reduce
the amount of teen fatalities in car accidents.
Junior Sarah Fisher has been driving for
a few months, yet she feels moving up the
driving age would be a positive thing.
“I think some teens are cut out for driving
and others aren’t. So by raising the driving
age, teens will be a lot more mature about
driving and take it more seriously.”
Although having her license helps Fisher
get to school, afterschool activities, and social gatherings, she says she’d be willing to
take a backseat and wait to get her license
at 18.
“My mom would be a little mad about still
having to drive me around,” laughed Fisher,
“but I wouldn’t mind it”.
Senior Josh Anderson, who also has his license, agrees.
“The streets would be safer without all these
inexperienced kids driving around. They
don’t have enough knowledge about driving
yet,” Anderson says.
Sophomore Patrice Prince, who has her
permit, disagrees and says “It wouldn’t be
fair that other kid’s accidents and mistakes
would stop all teens from having the privilege to drive”.
PPCHS psychology teacher Mr. White
thinks 16 is the perfect age to begin navigating the roads solo.
“Well [the brain is] certainly not fully developed, and keep in mind once a person
becomes a teenager, they’re going through
so many changes,” he says “They are still
maturing and actually going through many
transformations. Therefore, the teenage period is known as a period of great change,
a period of doubt, a period of thinking, and
a period of discovery. Yet, I do think [teens
are] mature enough to drive. As a matter of
fact I think they probably make the extremely good drivers. Their ability to drive a car
depends on maneuverability and experience.
In these things, teenagers definitely have an
advantage,” he said.
Mr. White attributes the high number of
teen deaths not to a teenager’s maturity or
ability, but to some of the choices they make.
“I think it’s carelessness on one hand due
to drinking and things like that. I think that
contributes to the high rate of teen accidents.
It’s definitely emotional. Teens are having
fun and unfortunately it gets out of hand.”
A major factor in car accidents involving
teenagers is in fact due to the use of drugs
and alcohol.
According to SADD. org, the Students
Against Drunk Driving organization, before
the crash “28 percent of teenagers killed in
motor vehicle crashes had been drinking”.
In the end, parental permission is needed to
obtain both a driver’s license and a permit.
So the decision of when to put teens on the
road is ultimately the parents’ choice.
John Neal, whose daughter junior Kenya
Neal will soon be a licensed driver, says
that “being a parent means having to juggle
between being strict and loose [discipline]
when it comes to your kids. Driving is one of
those things to decide if your child is ready
and then trust in their ability on the road”.
Safety first: Junior Sarah Fisher has only been driving a few months, but she still knows how a responsible driver
behaves. Photo By Lissette Rivera
Poll Results
Isabella Jones
FEATURES EDITOR
Student Surveys:
73% said yes to having their permit/ license and driving on a regular basis.
27% said no to having their permit/ license and driving on a regular basis.
59% said they own their own car.
41% said they do not own their own car.
82%
PPCHS’ secretary in the office, Janet Calero,
says “It doesn’t surprise me at all, because
teens think they’re invincible”.
Such incidents were reported as fatal and
five of them were at fault by teen drivers under the age of 25. Only one of the accidents
was caused by an elderly driver behind the
wheel after the vehicle hit and injured a pedestrian.
So questions can lastly be answered: teens
are now to be blamed for their reckless driving and the majority of such disastrous accidents.
December 2010
said they have not been involved in at least one car accident this year.
18% said they have been involved in at least one car accident this year.
42% have taken Drivers Ed.
58% have not taken Drivers Ed.
75% said they always wear their seatbelt when driving.
25% said they do not always wear their seatbelt when driving.
Teacher Surveys:
22%
of teachers said 16 would be the appropriate age for teens to be allowed to receive their license.
67%
of teachers said 18 would be the appropriate age for teens to be allowed to receive their license.
11%
of teachers said at least into mid-20s would be the appropriate age for
teens to be allowed to receive their license.
44% of teachers feel teens are more hazardous on the roads.
56% of teachers feel that the elderly are more hazardous on the roads.
(9 teachers/ 200 11th and 12th graders surveyed)
Graphic By Kenneth Madera
Features
December 2010
12
13 Features
December 2010
Life nearly lost, lesson definitely learned
Isabella Jones and Erin Jones
FEATURES EDITOR and TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
“What if I had heard my alarm clock?”
“What if I had left the house five minutes
earlier?” “What if I had been wearing my
seatbelt?” These are the thoughts that constantly rattle around the mind of PPCHS
junior Anthony Blanco. The events that occurred on the morning of Oct. 14 could have
taken his life; fortunately, however, he is still
here, he’s still standing, he’s a living lesson
on the unexpected obstacles life can bring.
That morning, he woke up late for school.
The bus had already zoomed past his neighborhood’s stop so his brother decided to
quickly drive him to the next designated
stop. When he finally caught up with the
bus, Blanco slipped off his seatbelt. As his
brother cruised down the street, he realized
too late that sophomore Ashley Mcghie was
crossing the road to get to the bus stop. With
no time to bring the car to a halt, Blanco’s
brother frantically swerved the car to avoid
hitting Mcghie, only to slam into another
vehicle that had been turning. The force of
the impact was so powerful that it knocked
Blanco’s brother from the driver’s seat into
the passenger seat. Blanco flew from the passenger’s seat into the open side window and
was thrown onto the jagged concrete street.
By then the bus had reached the stop.
Shocked bystanders rushed to Blanco’s side.
“When I saw him, I just began to cry. Part
of his head was a like a flap. He was just
messed up, he was spitting out blood, and
his arms and face were covered in blood. I
just really felt bad for him,” said sophomore
Kelly Vivas.
Vivas witnessed the accident. Her father immediately dialed 911 seconds after watching
the traumatizing scene unfold.
An ambulance rushed to the scene minutes
later and took a fazed Blanco to the nearest
hospital. He suffered from a serious laceration to the head, a mild concussion, a fractured finger, and a road rash that shredded
the skin off of his back. Blanco spent three
days recuperating in the hospital. Luckily,
the others involved in the wreck escaped
with minor cuts and bruises.
After being out of school for a month, Blanco has returned to share his life changing experience.
“Honestly, I don’t remember much about
the accident. I mean, all I remember is just
me taking off my seatbelt because the bus
cious life truly is.
“I try not to think about [the accident] as
Anthony Blanco: Alive and well after his harrowing accident. Photo By Adrian Tabraue
was right there and that we got hit. I just
woke up lying on the ground,” he says.
As for the state of the car, “it’s completely
totaled. The door came off, the body of the
car is crushed, and a wheel came off.”
“I can’t really do much right now. I need to
go to physical therapy, and especially since I
injured my back during the accident, it’s really hard right now to do anything.”
Because of the lasting impression, everyone
who witnessed and experienced such an incident has realized how significant and pre-
much and hope for the best, but at the same
time, I’m still grateful that I’m here because
it was a huge possibility that if I had gotten
hit [by the car], I would have died, since it
was coming at full speed,” said Mcghie who
was almost hit.
Blanco, as well, shares similar feelings.
“I’m thankful for my life. The doctor said I
shouldn’t have lived so I’m really thankful
that God gave me another chance.”
Blanco admits that the accident could have
been avoided and that many factors contrib-
uted to the wreck.
According to legalcatch.com, about 5,000
pedestrians are killed while about 64,000 pedestrians are injured in car accidents every
year. A pedestrian is killed in a traffic accident about every 8 minutes.
Speed was also another factor in the wreck.
In 2007, 19 percent of people in Florida were
killed by the sole result of speeding. Driving too fast gives a driver less time to react
and stop. Speed, of course, is one of the main
causes of accidents involving teens.
Blanco now realizes that wearing a seatbelt could have prevented him from being
ejected out of the window of the vehicle and
thus could have lessened the seriousness of
his injuries.
55 percent of passengers between the ages of
16 and 20 were killed in motor vehicle accidents because they were not wearing seatbelts. Florida even has a law that states if
anyone in a car is not wearing a seatbelt, the
driver will receive a $30 ticket for each unbuckled occupant. As the slogan goes, “Click
it or Ticket” because it’s not only the law, its
common sense.
Mcghie says of Blanco’s accident, “The
bus stop is literally two minutes away from
Blanco’s house and to see such a tragic accident happen in such a short space of time
is horrible”.
This is surprisingly a common occurrence;
according to carinsurance.com, 52 percent of
accidents occur within five miles away from
home.
Blanco is now apprehensive when it comes
to driving. Although he has yet to receive his
permit or license, such an accident has made
him very accepting of that, mainly because
he has realized how hazardous being behind
the wheel may be.
“I had no clue. I used to think that cars were
cool and that is was awesome to go fast.
But now I think you should go slow… like
10 mph below the [speed] limit and always
buckle up!”
As common as car accidents have become,
amongst teen drivers especially, most do not
end as fortunately as Blanco’s did. It’s crucial for teens to realize that most accidents
are avoidable by simply always staying cautious of the unanticipated obstacles that the
road may bring. In the words of Blanco, “life
is unexpected, expect the unexpected”.
Red Ribbon week ‘reaps’ drug awareness
Paul Austria
STAFF WRITER
PPCHS took a stand against the use of drugs
and alcohol, and marked the first week of
November as the annual Red Ribbon week
in a campaign to “just say no” to such absurdities.
On Monday the story of Enrique Camarena
was read over the intercom to students concerning a man who was assigned by the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration to travel
to Mexico undercover and investigate a major drug cartel. But on a lunch date with his
wife, he was kidnapped by five men, and tortured to death. His body was found a month
later in a shallow grave. And soon after,
friends and family starting wearing red satin
to commemorate his death, which started
Red Ribbon Week.
The activities continued on Wednesday.
During both A and B lunches, students were
encouraged to sign a large red banner in the
cafeteria to pledge they would stay drug and
alcohol free. This turned out to be a pretty
big hit with over 200 participants’ signatures.
On Thursday, students were told to wear
crazy socks in order to “sock-it” to drugs.
High knee, zigzagged, striped, polka-dotted,
and an assortment of other wild socks were
Red ribbon week: Another victem is taken by the Grim Reaper. Photo By ADRIAN TABRAUE
sported throughout the day.
Friday was headlined with the Grim Reaper
activity, where Mrs. Hughes, the National
Honor Society sponsor, assigned certain students to act as “dead” people who had been
killed by various drugs and alcohol. They
were not allowed to speak for the entire day
and the Grim Reaper, played by senior Jaclyn Fine, peaked in and out of different classrooms.
“We hoped to spread the word about the
dangers of drunk driving, not only the risks,
but the possible consequences that come
along with it,” Mrs. Hughes said. “We tried
our best to make sure that every student understood why drunk driving is something not
to be tried or tested or is okay.”
Overall, the PPCHS rendition of Red Ribbon Week again ended as a success. The
chief goal, for students to realize all of the
negative effects when dealing with drugs,
alcohol, and drunk driving especially, was
met. And when dealing in certain situations
of peer pressure, students will now hopefully
have the courage to just say “no”.
Junior Natalia Nino said, “Thanks to Red
Ribbon week, I’ve realized how very opposed I am to drinking and drugs. You lose
track of reality when under the influence of
them and can mess up your body in various
way. I will definitely not be using them now
or ever.”
Top ten safest cars for teens
Anjali Talwar
STAFF WRITER
Stay safe this holiday season by choosing a car that will keep you secure on the crazy roads. During this time of the year, you can buy cars for decent end of the year prices, but the question is… what to choose? You always want a car with great safety features so you can stay worry-free and assure yourself you are in good hands. According to www.topgearrules.com, the
following are the top ten safest cars for teens. Looking to buy your own new whip soon? Check out what they suggest!
1
Ford Focus- This is a cheap, safe,
and fun to drive car. With only $745 for the
antilock and electronic stability control, this
is a must have car for young drivers.
2
Honda Civic- It is extremely fuel
efficient and will last forever with proper
care.
3
Honda Fit- This car is sufficient
when it comes to safety, with six airbags and
antilock brakes. The body shell is also designed to survive a collision.
4
Honda Insight- This hybrid car
encourages drivers to take it slow costing only $20,520. It’s the cheapest hybrid
around!
5
Kia Forte- The cost is only $14,
500 for this automatic transmission car.
6
Nissan Versa- This car comes at an
inexpensive price, costing only $10, 710, and
an extra $250 for antilock brakes.
7
10
8
Drunk driving- NOT a game
Pontiac Vibe- It will suit drivers
with its six airbags, antilock brakes, and
electronic stability control.
Smart Fortwo- This two seater car
has a 70 horsepower engine so the problem
with speeding won’t be so serious.
9
Subaru Impreza 2.5i- The allwheel drive and electronic stability control
will reduce a driver’s chance of losing control.
PHOTOS BY GOOGLE
Reasons to be wary on the road
Isabella Jones
FEATURES EDITOR
•
Every 12 minutes a person dies in a car crash.
•
Distracted drivers account for 80% of crashes.
•
Every 14 seconds a car accident results in an injured victim.
•
There are more than six million car accidents each year in the United States.
•
Each year over 5,000 teens between ages 16 - 20 die due to fatal injuries caused by car accidents.
•
18-20 year olds are four times more likely to be involved in accidents.
•
The car accident death rate for teen male drivers is more than one and a half times female teen drivers (19.4 killed per 100,000 male drivers compared with 11.1 killed per 100,000 female drivers.)
•
Teens are just as likely to have accidents after school hours from 3:00 PM- 5:00 PM Monday through Friday as they are on week-
end evenings.
•
Drivers under the age of 24 account for $26 billion dollars of the yearly total cost of car accidents in the US.
•
More than 25% of all car drivers are involved in car accidents in a five year period.
Suzuki SX4- This ride is packed
full of airbags and antilock brakes as a standard measure for your protection.
Kevin Kennedy
SPORTS EDITOR
Underage drinking is a major problem that
occurs almost everywhere. Some teens go
above and beyond that stupidity, driving
even after they drink -- and risking their
lives. Understanding the consequences of
driving while under the influence is crucial.
If one is pulled over by a police officer and
their blood alcohol level is above .08%, they
are considered to be driving under the influence. A first time offender could receive
up to $500 in fines, 50 community service
hours, and 6 months in jail. If one’s blood
alcohol level is above .20%, the fine can be
up to $1,000, and the jail sentence could be
up to 9 months.
In addition to the direct penalties, one
receives an arrest for DUI on their criminal
record, and it’s certainly not enjoyable to
walk around with a bulky, embarrassing
ankle bracelet. Employers would also not
want to hire anyone that has committed a
crime like that. One night could ruin a life
forever, and it’s as simple as that.
However, these consequences are nothing
compared to what could physically happen.
One would be lucky enough to get pulled
over without losing an arm, leg, or any body
part, becoming paralyzed from the neck
down, ending up in a coma, or even dying.
And sadly enough, drunk driving is something so very common amongst teenagers,
especially in our very own school.
“I drove after just a few drinks, and I could
tell I wasn’t ready to drive. I definitely
won’t ever do it again,” said an anonymous
source.
Driving is a privilege most people receive
in their teen years—the same years they
behave the wildest. Now adding alcohol
to the equation makes the situation even
worse. Drunken teens behind the wheel?
Not a good combo.
Last year, one out of every ten thousand
people in the United States died in an
automobile accident. Many of which were
caused by drivers under the influence.
There are absolutely no positives that come
from driving drunk. Just don’t do it!
*All facts are according to the Virginia Tech and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, the AAA, www.Lawcore.com,
www.edgarsnyder.com, and www.car-accidents.com
Drinking and driving: Drunk drving is dangerous and
illegal. It’s a bad idea.
Photo By Adrian Tabraue
Sports
December 2010
15 Sports
14
Dolphins’ Brown starts projects to curtail teen violence
How do you find the time to talk to kids
when you have practice?
“Great question! Football season is incredibly demanding on my time, but in the NFL
we do get one day off a week, which is Tuesday. Typically I like to relax on Tuesdays,
but this program is certainly worth waking
up a little early for and spending a few hours
with the kids. I really enjoy it and it is a
great way to forget about football for a little
while.”
Kevin Kennedy
SPORTS EDITOR
Some celebrities and famous athletes create
charities as a nice way of giving back to the
community. But the star running back for the
Miami Dolphins, Ronnie Brown, is taking a
more direct approach. He created the Ronnie
Brown Project. Basically, Ronnie wants to
tackle teen violence, and to do that, he visits
schools in Dade and Broward counties and
talks to students about this key issue. Seth
Levit, executive director of the Jason Taylor Foundation who works with the Ronnie
Brown Project, got the CHAT in touch with
Ronnie Brown and this is what he had to say:
What prompted you to start The Ronnie
Brown Project?
“The Project is simply my way of giving back to kids in this community. Over
the years I’ve been a part of so many great
programs and events that the Dolphins, my
friends and my teammates have held, and for
some time now I’ve wanted to create something where I could really dictate what I felt
the focus should be.”
What do you intend on teaching the kids?
“Well, it really depends on the specific initiative. We look for important issues that
kids are facing every day and try to make an
impact in that area. Watching TV these last
few years and just seeing the things that have
been going on with kids and the acts of violence, I felt there was a need for somebody
to come in, and so we created ‘23 Ways to
Stop Youth Violence.’ The goal is to reach
as many kids as possible and let them realize
that there are other options and choices they
can make rather than acts of violence that
ultimately affect themselves or other people
down the road. This gives them a different
option to choose.”
Tackling teen violence: Ronnie Brown, above, in his
Miami Dolphins uniform. Left, right, and top right,
Ronnie Brown at a high school talking to students
about violence. Photos By The Miami Dolphins
(above) and Michael Hopkins (Left, right, and top
right)
Heat tickets:
Hard to come by this holiday
Paul Austria
Staff Writer
Even the night before LeBron James
decided to take his talents to South Beach,
season tickets for the Miami Heat were sold
out. Many fans thought they would never
get to catch a glimpse of the Big 3 in action,
but many forgot about individual game tickets. And with the arrival of James, the Heat
raised ticket prices.
The lowest price for lower bowl seats is $75
for games against the less-popular teams.
For the games against the top teams in the
league like the Lakers and the Celtics, lower
bowl seats start at $115.
Junior Kevin Puldon is an avid Heat fan and
is surprised but not shocked about the rise in
prices. “The prices are somewhat outrageous
compared to last season, but the demand was
expected so it makes sense,” said Puldon.
“It’s a business, and that’s how a business
works.”
To those who remember the $10 “nosebleed” seats from last year, they still offer
those seats in almost all games including the
ones against the top teams, but they may be
already long gone since the day individual
tickets came out.
If you’re looking for a good price on a pair
of seats, check secondary websites such as
stubhub.com and ticketliquidator.com and
getting lucky is possible. But the Miami Heat
strongly recommends using the Miami Heat
TicketExchange, as this is the only website
to guarantee you tickets that will, for sure,
give you entrance into the arena.
What do you think the students will learn
from your lectures?
“Again, there are so many different ways a
situation can be handled instead of resorting
to violence. And for each person, those ways
are going to be different, but we wanted to
give kids some options when they are faced
with things in their lives that make them feel
like they need to hurt someone. I understand
that kids are always going to have their differences, but our thought is that maybe we
can get them to stop and think for a second,
show a little respect for one another and approach these situations differently than the
way they are doing it now. And one of the
main things I think they can learn is that they
truly have the opportunity to make the difference more than anyone else. All it takes is
for one kid to change the way they act with
just one of their other schoolmates and they
begin to make a difference.”
What made you decide to do this instead
of a regular charity?
“For years I have been going to events and
programs for Jason Taylor’s Foundation and
I have always been impressed with the work
he does. So when I started to really consider
establishing my own foundation, I spoke
with JT and some of his staff. The more
we talked, the more it seemed like a great
fit. They have people that know all about
foundations and putting together programs,
so this way all of the money we raise can be
spent on programs that directly benefit the
kids. I don’t need to incur the expenses of
hiring staff, opening an office, etc. as they
already have that in place.”
Coach’s vision worth the weight
Kevin Kennedy
Sports Editor
A project that coach Bell has been
working on since August 2008 has finally
reached completion. Coach Bell, the strength
and conditioning coach for Pines Charter, did
everything he could to raise the money necessary for a revamped weight room.
“Some booster clubs donated hundreds, some thousands. The dress down day
last year generated almost a thousand dollars. The City of Pembroke Pines reallocated
money, delayed other projects, and made this
project a priority,” said coach Bell.
Of the total $45,000 raised, $15,000
went towards injury prevention: coach Bell’s
ultimate goal. The weight room has twelve
new benches, six new platforms, six new
squat cages, and a new set of bumper plates.
In addition to the new equipment, the walls
will be painted white, and the wood panels
will be painted maroon, black, and silver.
Coach Bell is going to try to get a fathead of
the Pines Charter logo, as seen on the football helmets. There will be action photos of
athletes on the walls. Coach Bell plans to
have a college corner—a corner of the room
filled with past Pines Charter athletes now
competing at the college level.
This was only the first stage to coach Bell’s
plan. Stage two is a ten year vision. He
wants to build a new athletic facility across
the street complete with a football, baseball,
and softball stadium in addition to a gymnasium and athletic support facility.
Bell’s thirst for athletic success at
Pines Charter will never be quenched until
Jaguar teams consistently win district, regional, state, and national championships.
Remodeling the weight room and building
new stadiums across the street is certainly a
good start.
Largacha looks to leave legacy
Paul Austria
Staff Writer
Senior
super star:
Steven Largacha has
helped the
jaguar boys
varsity basketball team
through the
years and is
ready for a
great season
his senior
year. Photo
By Adrian
Tabraue
Senior Steven Largacha is going on his
4th straight year on the basketball team. He
made his first appearance on the court during the junior varsity season of his freshman
year. He made the jump to varsity sophomore year, where his fellow teammates started to notice the immense talent he had; many
of them even regarded him as the best player
on the team. And when November 30 comes
around, it will be the beginning of the end
because it will be his last season on the hardwood for the Jaguars.
“This is it,” Largacha said. “I really hope
with the help of our coaches that we can at
least make a run for districts. I feel like I
need to end my senior season with a bang to
leave my mark on PPCHS athletics”.
NFL going soft on hard hits
Kevin Kennedy
SPORTS EDITOR
The commissioner of the National Football
League, Roger Goodell, has fined players
and even threatened to suspend players for
illegal hits. Goodell means well—he is concerned about player safety—but he is taking
away from the game of football.
The commissioner fined Steelers linebacker, James Harrison, $75,000 for his hit on the
Browns Mohamed Massaquoi. That was the
largest fine for any single hit in the history of
the NFL. He hit Massaquoi just as he was
catching the ball. Massaquoi wasn’t looking at Harrison, and Harrison made a helmet
to helmet collision with Massaquoi. The hit
left Massaquoi with a concussion and took
him out of the game.
But that’s football. If you are too scared to
go over the middle, don’t. People get paid
big money because they are fearless and can
catch passes in traffic. People get paid big
money to hit those receivers trying to catch
the pass. Taking that element out of the
game would make it less interesting. Impact
is what makes football America’s favorite
sport.
“Isn’t football about big hits? That’s what
makes football interesting,” said football
player and junior Olivier Rigaud.
Players should be able to hit whatever they
want with whatever they want. Asking defensive players to hit a moving, airborne receiver with their shoulder to the receiver’s
chest is too much. NFL representatives have
said that even if the hit is accidental, the
player will still be fined.
As a football player myself, I have never
adjusted to a receiver to hit him in the chest
with my shoulder. If the ball is coming, I’m
going to hit him with the crown of my head.
I’m not aiming at any particular body part,
just him. If a referee wants to penalize me,
so be it. I bet that receiver won’t try to catch
the ball over here again.
Sure, some believe that player safety is the
most important thing—and that’s a legit opinion. But taking hits out of the game defeats
the purpose of it. When I think of football, I
think of smash-mouth, hard-hitting men out
there putting their bodies on the line. Fining
players takes the element of toughness away
from football.
That’s what it’s all about -- being tough.
Part of the reason Goodell is trying to get
rid of the hard hits is to make more money.
Without hard hits, players will make bigger
offensive plays. Touchdowns are what make
the money.
I’ve played and watched football for my
whole life, and Goodell is making decisions
like it’s a business, not a sport. That is going
to be the downfall of it in the end.
Largacha averaged almost 15 points a game
last season to go along with four assists in
which the team finished with a disappointing
8-11 record that ended with a loss to Stranahan in the first game of districts. This season,
he is committed to putting the work in for a
shot at the district title.
“I’m trying to work as hard as I can to make
sure I’m in my best shape. With the help of
the coaches, hopefully we can win districts,”
Largacha said.
In preparation for this season, Steven has
spent his summer playing for the Miramar
Heat. He is also preparing for his new role
as the starting power forward in a new fourguard system that has fellow senior and close
friend Jonathan George as the only true big
man starting. The basketball team began the
2010 season on Nov. 30 at Pompano Beach.
Players’ health:
More important than fantasy points
Paul Austria
STAFF WRITER
Too hard of a hit to handle?: After Steelers linebacker
James Harrison got fined for a hard hit on Browns
Mohamed Massaquoi, questions have come up about
NFL hits. Photo By Google
December 2010
So you’re matched up against your best
friend this week in fantasy football. All the
Sunday games are over, and the only game
left is the Monday Night game. Your fantasy
team is just barely losing to your friend’s
team but luckily, the Dolphins are playing on
Monday, and star receiver Brandon Marshall
just happens to be on your team. A single
touchdown by Marshall would propel your
team to a victory and $20 coming your way
on Tuesday. First play of the game—the Dolphins are on offense. Dolphins quarterback,
Chad Henne, throws a deep ball to Marshall. Marshall is unable to make the catch
inbounds, but as he comes down, his knee
buckles and stays down on the field. The
team doctor says he has a torn ACL in his
knee and he is out for not only for the rest of
the game, but also the season. Once that announcement has been made, you check your
cell phone only to see it’s your friend calling in excitement, saying he can’t believe he
won this week’s matchup and that you owe
him $20 tomorrow. Now, you’re putting the
blame on Marshall and some of the blame on
the guy who tried to tackle him.
This scenario happens all the time in fantasy
football and this reaction is usually expected.
But in reality, do you really know and understand what just happened? First of all, an
injury such as a torn ligament requires weeks
and even months of recovery and rehab and
coming back to full strength after an injury
to this degree is really difficult. The average
person should feel sympathetic towards the
player first, because there’s a chance that
his career might be over. Your fantasy team
should probably be the last thing on your
mind when you see him lying down on the
field, pondering and hoping he’ll be able
to spend another Sunday playing football.
I understand that sometimes, instances
like these involve a lot of money from your
pocket because you lost and there was a
lot riding on that game. But still, I’d hate
to have to imagine being in that player’s
shoes. When I’m lying on the ground in
excruciating pain, the first thing on my
mind isn’t the fans or the fantasy owners that I can’t provide points for. No, it’s
my family and being worried if I can still
support them and give them a future that
they can look forward to. And when I read
the articles online and scroll down to the
comments, I’d hate to see the repetition of
the words “thankful”, “finally”, and “yes”.
You’d think there would be more people to
wish me a safe and speedy recovery, but
that goes to show you the lack of sensitivity sometimes by football fans all around
this country.
Nevertheless, I am appalled by the people’s drive to win and the insensitivity that
comes along with it. It takes a true person
to understand what an athlete goes through
when suffering an injury. The crutches,
the rehab, the unexplainable pain, and the
time in between appearances on the field
are sometimes undecipherable for an average person. I wish the people who played
fantasy sports wouldn’t be so selfish, and
understand that athletes are people too.
Fantasy sports explained
New strength:
Students are excited to see the
new equipment
in the soon to be
painted weightroom. Photo By
Adrian Tabraue
*Article has been updated from The Independent
Kevin Kennedy
SPORTS EDITOR
Fantasy sports have turned into a major activity that sports fans have been drawn to.
Even people who have just a small interest in
sports have partaken in the game.
About 30 years ago, Daniel Okrent and a
few of his friends invented the game. They
were baseball fans, and they created the first
fantasy sports league ever which they called
“Rotisserie.” The name came from the restaurant that Okrent held meetings at for the
new fantasy game. They thoaught it was just
something small—they had no idea what it
was about to turn into.
Other organizations started making fantasy
leagues for other sports like football and basketball. Since then, the game has expanded
rapidly. From conducting league meetings at
a local restaurant, people now play fantasy
sports against strangers across the country on
the computer. Everything is managed over
the web, harnessing full optimization.
In any fantasy sport, there are usually about
ten people. Each person has a draft selection
in each of a set number of rounds. Players
who are expected to accumulate the most
points are selected earlier in the
draft.
Players get points
based on how
t h e y
p e r form on
game
d a y .
Imagine
a player ran
for 70
yards
and scored a
touchdown.
That
player would earn 7
points for the yards and
5 points for the touchdown.
The numbers may vary in different leagues. The league settings can be
modified prior to the start of the season.
After all of the rosters are assembled, play-
ers await the start of the season. A schedule
is randomly set up. Each week, each team
matches up with another
team—just like real
sports.
Rosters have everything
a
real
t e a m
would
have—a
starting
lineup
with all
of the
positions and a bench.
The bench is consisted of excess players
who can be used for substitution whenever needed.
All of the points for the two teams
are added up. Whichever team has more
points wins the game. Just like in real sports,
you get a record, which is the number of
wins and losses you have in the season.
The teams with the best records make the
playoffs. Once the playoffs start, it’s just like
real sports—if you lose, you are out of contention. The final two teams standing play a
championship game.
Before the start of the season, it is determined whether there is a wager for the
league. All of the players put an equal
amount of money into a pot. The player who
wins the championship wins the pot.
Students are even taking part in it. Senior,
Joey London has 4 leagues. “I play fantasy
football for bragging rights. After the weekend’s games, I like coming back to school
and rubbing my win in everybody’s face,”
said London.
A fantasy sport is a game where ordinary
people can take sports into their own hands.
They can test their knowledge on the sport.
They can compete with friends on how much
they know about sports. To some people, it
is a very serious thing. To others, it is just a
game. Either way, fantasy sports have taken
sports fans by storm.
Technology
December 2010
16
17 Technology
December 2010
What you wish wasn’t on the web Great online options for holiday shopping
Brianna Cha-Kim
STAFF WRITER
Today, the internet is used by people of
all ages, ethnicities, and in all parts of the
world. It’s an international worldwide communication circle that any and every one
is able to access. However, due to this being the case, the importance of what is put
on the web can’t be overlooked. Signing on
to Facebook, updating a status, or posting a
picture is starting to become a natural part
of many people’s lives. Even hourly, some
teenagers find themselves on Twitter, posting any and everything that comes to mind.
Despite parents’ warnings about the trouble
the internet can cause, we fail to think of
how this affects us. But what we need to take
into consideration and really realize is what
we post on the internet will always be there.
Regardless if you erase what you posted
or delete the picture of you and your friends
surrounded by alcohol, if someone somewhere wanted to access it they’d be able to
do so and very easily at that. Any pictures
on websites can easily be saved to anyone’s computer hard-drive. No one would
like to think that they’d be blackmailed, but
the truth is that people will always surprise
you and what you make public knowledge
can always come back to haunt you years
later. Applying for college isn’t very far into
the future; it’s actually approaching much
nearer than we anticipate. What university
wants to accept a student that, when his or
her name’s typed into the internet, pictures
of them at wild parties and personal blogs
or statuses with foul language and naughty
phrases flash across the screen? It doesn’t
portray a good self-image of who you are
and it certainly doesn’t strike as appealing to
the college committees who have the power
to accept or deny your entry to the campus.
To imagine yourself being in the position
of a glorious opportunity and then having
it taken all from you after someone leaks
something that knocks you off your ladder
of success is terrible to think about. These
things do happen. Actress Vanessa Hudgens,
who had proved to be a famous Disney representative and was a role-model to many
children, suffered a scandal recently in the
last two years. You don’t know what the future holds for you - many may say that they
can’t or won’t be the next Michael Jordan
or the next Beyonce or even the next President; but if you allow yourself to fall into
the harm of the web, you may not be able to
become this type of person even if you have
all the talent to do so. What you do now will
come back to you when you’re applying for
jobs, when you’re getting married, your actions will be mentioned decades from now
even when you’re buried below the ground.
It’s really that serious – and it’s solely your
responsibility to save and protect yourself
from becoming a victim of self-destruction.
Blogging about getting high, being drunk,
Alexandra Mangano
Staff Writer
Internet Preminence: People have to watch what is put on the internet because the internet is dangerous and permanent. Photo By Taylor Neita
or the crazy, wild, dancing-on-tables type of
parties isn’t a good idea. Taking pictures that
insinuate you take part in this type of behavior isn’t the intelligent thing to do either. And
most certainly, taking videos of you fighting,
doing drugs, or participating in under-age
drinking is something sadly not everyone realizes is a severe danger. The significance of
your face, body, voice in a video of you beating someone up and engaging in a fistfight
with a circle of kids encouraging you is not
what you want to have your name associated
with in the long run. For right now, in your
high school days, drinking, drug use, and
bashing peoples’ faces in may come off as
humorous and great entertainment. But stop
and think for a second – will this be as funny
years from now when you’re not accepted
into college, better yet kicked out of college,
unable to become employed, and are even
charged with felonies for what these videos and posts reveal about yourself? I didn’t
think so. Now is the time to protect yourself
from your own online actions; choose wisely,
and post with caution. Better yet -- don’t post
anything you might regret in the first place.
The perfect gift for an 8 year old is… a cell phone?
Jordana Cutajar
ENVIRONMENTAL EDITOR
In society’s day and age it seems that every
teenager you encounter owns a cell phone.
From Blackberries to iPhones teens use them
all. In fact most may find it odd that some
teenagers don’t have a cell phone. With the
use of cell phones becoming more common
among teens it appears that the age for a teen
to get their first phone has been lowered. A
few years ago most teens had to wait until
they were at least thirteen to get their first
phone, now you see seven and ten year olds
walking around with nicer cell phones than
their older counterparts! What happened?
According to The McDowell News 8 per-
cent of 8 year olds have cell phones. And
if you think most of that 8 percent have the
cheap flip phones you’d be wrong. By age 12
more than half of the children in the United
States already own their cell phones. The
number sky rockets at age 15 when the percentage soars to 84! Most of us have seen
little kids at our trips to the phone store gazing desirably at the collection of cell phones
on display. Many of them are there to pick
out a cell phone of their own.
Junior Connor Fuchs said, “I got my first
cell phone when I was 13, I think that’s a
good age to get your first phone because
that’s when you start going out more often
and need to keep in touch with your parents.”
Senior Brandon Pilot said, “When I was 13
I got my first cell phone, it was a gift that I
had wanted for a long time. It was a cheap
little phone with pre-paid minutes that I was
only supposed to use in case of emergencies,
that didn’t change until high school. Now I
think that it is stupid for kids younger than
13 to get a cell phone because it really isn’t
a necessity. If your parents know where you
are, then why do you need one?”
Many teenagers claim that their cell phones
are a part of their everyday lives stating most
commonly that they can’t ‘live’ without
them. It seems that this phrase is being adopted by many youngsters in America now.
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Matthew Coolidge
STAFF WRITER
4. Bart vs. Thanksgiving:
This video provides us with a funny look at a classic American holiday, using Bart and Homer’s crude humor to help Americans look
at the holiday in a different way. In this video Bart breaks the Thanksgiving centerpiece and is exiled from his house, where he finds
himself at a local soup kitchen before making it to his house and reuniting with his family.
5. Merry Hanukah: (A Jewish Christmas Rap):
This uplifting YouTube video is a rap done by Jewish performers to celebrate the 8 nights of Hanukah. With humorous rhymes about
Dreidels and golden coins, this video is truly hilarious.
Online Shopping: People are tending to do their holiday shopping online this year Photo By Lorraine Oyolla
escrow services because only a scammer will
“guarantee” your transaction.
According to junior Tyler Perkins these
Teaching through tech:
A SMART choice
Isabella Jones
FEATURES EDITOR
Top five holiday internet videos
With millions of viral videos out there in the cyber world, here are a few that will be sure to bring you some holiday cheer in a hilarious
and comical fashion:
1. A Charlie Brown Christmas:
This is the classic American Christmas video; it has been around since 1961 and has been a Christmas fixture since its induction. It’s a
story about Charlie Brown and his struggle to win his neighborhoods Christmas display and star in his schools Nativity play. Charlie
Brown also brings some of his classic humor into the video.
2. Simpson’s Christmas Stories:
This video gives us a humorous look at the Christmas holiday, thanks to the jokes and actions of the notorious Homer Simpson. In this
video, after the priest cannot give the Christmas sermon, it’s up to Homer to give his version of what happened.
3. WKRP in Cincinnati: Turkey Drop:
This is a video from the 1978 sitcom, which features radio newsman Les Nessman describing a very unusual Thanksgiving promotion
involving helicopter and live turkeys.
With the rise of the worldwide web over
the past decade, online shopping has become a new phenomenon with everything
from designer shoes to cars available, often
at a discounted price. Online shopping is a
very convenient way of shopping, allowing
e-shoppers to look through a picture filled
catalog, order their item, and have it delivered to their house -- all from the comfort of
their own home.
“I am obsessed with online shopping; I think
it’s the greatest invention for girls especially
when you don’t have a car, or someone to
take you,” states freshmen Galit Sims.
Although online shopping is done by both
men and women, recent studies have shown
that over 63% of American women shop
online outweighing the 42% American men
that partake in e-shopping. Around the holidays, stores become overcrowded with hungry buyers, which results into many shoppers
buying gifts online to avoid the treacherous
crowds. Even though online purchasing
avoids the holiday commotion, it has its cons
as well.
“I do not like purchasing gifts online for
one reason, this is simply because you are
not guaranteed the exact item you choose
online, also because you receive the gift in
a long period of time, which doesn’t help the
rush that I am always in”, explains senior
Nathalie Henriquez.
With the qualms of online shopping, there
is a positive side which helps out with the
struggling economy that experience during
the holiday season. When purchasing presents online you do not have pay a tax fee,
saving shoppers a great deal of money.
“I have had a very positive experience with
online shopping, and I am very judicious
about places that I shop at, which are local
stores, so if a problem were to occur I could
fix it right away,” states English teacher Ms.
Phillips.
Even though online superstores like Craigslist and EBay allow customers to interact
with sellers either by phone or online messaging to discuss their product, often times
online shopping carries with it many hazards. These hazards include selling fake or
replica items, scamming buyers, or posting
faulty or misleading information about their
product. Recently, scams on Craigslist have
been on the rise, causing Craigslist to put out
a list of warning signs to help protect buyers and sellers from faulty transactions. According to Craigslist the “Golden Rule” for
a safe online transaction is to “Deal Locally
with Folks You Can Meet in Person” and
the site claims this will prevent 99% of the
scam attempts that occur on the site. Other
rules Craigslist recommends to help its users have a scam free shopping experience,
includes never use any wire services such as
Western Union or Money gram to wire funds
and to avoid any deals involving shipping or
Graphic By Julian Graves
Dwelling in the 21st Century, it’s about
time classrooms start exemplifying this futuristic era. Recently, Pembroke Pines Charter High School has been thrown into the
world of technology and teachers are now
using a myriad of hi-tech materials in the
classrooms to aid their students in learning.
One innovative object is Senteo Software, which resembles a calculator and includes various buttons labeled with a letter
A-J. While the students hold these in their
hands, the teacher puts questions and answer
choices up onto a SMART Board, and the
goal is for the students to answer the question by pressing the letter on the Senteo they
believe is the answer. After the students decide on an answer, they click their choice and
their names will pop up onto the screen along
with the letter they chose. After all students
have selected an answer, percentages of the
amount of students who chose each answer
choice will also appear onto the screen.
An object that functions similarly to the
Senteo Software is the egg-shaped ActiVote.
Ms. Hernandez-Davis, the AP Biology
teacher, is a frequent user of them, especially when reviewing with her class multiple
choice questions in preparation for a test.
She claims these hi-tech “eggs” have so far
been a pretty positive method for teaching,
saying, “Students enjoy using [ActiVotes]
and looking at overall class data, because they
allow us to review the percentage of students
that answered a particular question correctly.”
Sophomore Dbora Lee, a student of
Ms. Hernandez-Davis says, “I like when
we’re allowed to use them because they
allow me to see if I know as much as
the rest of my classmates do. It’s also a
lot more fun than just raising your hand
Activote Controlers: These egg shaped tools allow
teachers to quiz their students electronically
Photo By Gail Fletcher
to answer a question Ms. H-D asks.”
When asked what technology he uses to
help stimulate his students, English and
SAT Prep teacher Mr. Troha says, “I want
to present information to them in ways
they are not accustomed to. I attempted to
use FM radios, although it wasn’t very successful. I also present them with YouTube
videos and PowerPoint [presentations].”
And the outcome of using such technology has been effective, Mr. Troha says. “I
think my students have responded much
better to them. If not, I would lose them
[and their attention]. It’s all about having diversity in the methods of teaching.”
An additional modern technology placed
in classroom instructions are the SMART
Boards, or interactive, electronic whiteboards used by teachers. Basically, a pro-
rules have “helped me be 99% sure my
Craigslist purchases will be legit, and I won’t
get scammed like numerous others.”
Graphic By Julian Graves
jector is used to display the computer’s
video output onto this whiteboard, which
then acts as a large touch screen. It typically comes with 4 pens that use digital ink
to replace the traditional whiteboard markers. This SMART Board is often used when
teachers are presenting the class with different writings or student essays, which allow them to make corrections through the
computer, either by highlighting, circling
or underling, for the entire class to view.
Although most classrooms have become
useful for student-involvement due to
new technology, such advances have also
brought some negative outcomes. For instance, if a teacher’s lesson plan for the
day involves some sort of use of technology, sometimes the teacher cannot get a
device to function due to “technical difficulties”, which ultimately ruins the entire lesson for the day, and forces them to
alter the lesson plan. Yet, this is a rarity.
Sophomore Jessica Davis still hopes to
see more technology in her classes, saying “It’d be cool to have some sort of virtual connection that allows students to
watch their teachers teach from home if
they’re absent, just so they wouldn’t fall
behind or miss any important material”.
Junior Nyeshia Garland alike feels more
technological resources should be offered,
saying “I think we should have some sort
of high-tech recorder to tape our teacher’s
lecture in class so that we would be able
to view it anytime we wanted to. That
would be very helpful when studying.”
As society advances with innovative technology, so do the classrooms of PPCHS. So far,
most of these implements have proven to be
very effective in allowing students to interact
more with the lessons, and overall, allow the
classroom to become much less mundane and
allow learning to become much more… fun!
Technology 18
19 Environmental
December 2010
December 2010
Our Earth is not re-giftable
‘Human’ robot sent into space
Cassidy-Rae Brantley
STAFF WRITER
A robotic astronaut developed by NASA
and General Motors will go on a trip set for
the International Space Station along with
Discovery astronauts.
NASA will be
launching the first
ever humanoid robot into space to be
an assistant to the
Discovery
astronauts and to live at
the Space Station.
That shuttle will be
the STS-133 mission launching on
November 30th; it
would be the 35th
mission to the space
station. The main
accomplishment
looked forward to by
the robot right now
is to demonstrate
that robots can work
in microgravity with
humans.
“Our challenge is to build machines that
can help humans work and explore in space.
Working side by side with humans, or going
where the risks are too great for people, Robonauts will expand our ability for construction and discovery,” says a statement from
NASA.
Creators of Robonaut 2, also known as R2,
hope that over time the Robonaut will be
able to perform space walks or explore Mars.
The robot only of course looks to be somewhat human. It’s 330 pounds, has a height
Out of this earth robots! Together with General Motors, NASA has developed
a human-like robot to assist astronauts to assist astronauts in dangerous outer
space work. The robot (below and right) is capable of highly precise actions.
Some people, like Dr. Glenn (left) think that some aspects, like the human like
appearance of the robot, are unnecessary for its function. Photos By Lorraine
Oyola and NASA
of 3 ft. 4 in. from just the head to the waist,
and can cover up to 7 feet in a second. Its
computer power comes from 38 Power PC
processors. R2 is constructed mainly of aluminum and other materials that are metal and
nonmetallic.
What are the
thoughts on there
even being a human looking robot?
Chemistry
and physics teacher
Dr. Glenn thinks
the humanoid isn’t
necessary.
“Why go to all the
trouble of making
it have human features?” she comments.
Freshman Christina Camarena thinks
the development of
the humanoid robot is “kinda good
because it doesn’t
put real people into
danger anymore.”
Gadgets for Christmas
Melissa Sullivan
STAFF WRITER
The holidays are right around the corner
and as they near, teenagers everywhere are
beginning to ask for their favorite “musthave gifts”. With all the new technology
on the rise, teens are craving the gadgets of
2010. From iPod’s to pricey Mac computers, teenagers far and wide are looking
to their parents for these items during the
holidays this year.
The CHAT asked several students what
they wanted for the holidays, and almost
all of them said they were looking forward
to receiving an electronic device. Adolescents have gone from wanting hula hoops
and footballs to wanting pricey electronics,
especially this year.
Whether it is a laptop or phone, students
will definitely be asking for electronic devices for the holidays this year. These fancy
gadgets have caught the eye of teenagers
around the globe and companies everywhere don’t plan to stop this any time soon.
Bianca Rodriguez
STUDENT LIFE EDITOR
Although the holiday season is one of the
happiest times of year, it doesn’t have to hurt
our Earth. There are many easy ways to make
your holiday season more Earth friendly and
reduce your carbon footprint!
Go Green when purchasing your gifts- Another way to help shrink your carbon footprint is purchasing your Christmas gifts locally, instead of having them shipped from
halfway around the country. You should also
visit nearby craft fairs which often use household objects to create the items they sell. Not
only will the gift be more meaningful but it
will also lower the impact of transportation
emissions. Try to find gifts that are made
from recycled materials and read the packaging of the product to determine what your
product is made of; you may be surprised to
find the item you’re interested in just might
be made of recycled materials. Another way
to be green this holiday season is to look for
gifts that don’t require batteries, since batteries are not biodegradable and will sit in landfills or garbage dumps for years. If you can,
solar powered electronics are the way to go.
The advantage of fake trees: Fake trees tend to be
better for the environment since they are reusable and
actual trees don’t have to be cut down for their use.
PHOTO BY LORRAINE OYOLA
Fake Trees vs. Real Trees- If you’re the
type of person that feels the need to have a
real Christmas tree to make it feel like the
holidays, that’s ok too, because it’s what
you do with the tree after you’re done using it that can make all the difference.
While plastic trees are sometimes discarded
at the end of their use, their plastic content
makes them last forever in the landfill. However, the fact that you can reuse them every
year makes them both cost efficient and ecofriendly.
“I have used a fake Christmas tree for 10
years and I think it is much greener than
throwing away a tree every year,” says
PPCHS principal Mr. Bayer.
Avoid excessive light displays: House decorations
such as this one are not only pretentious, but bad
for the environment due to all the energy they use.
PHOTO BY LORRAINE OYOLA
Reduce Energy when decorating this season -When decorating the outside of your
house and your Christmas tree you can use
LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights. You can
also minimize your light display and add
a light timer that will turn off you lights at
whatever time you decide to set it - this will
greatly help lower the cost of your energy
bill. Now who doesn’t want to save a little
moola? This way your Christmas lights don’t
stay on throughout the night while no one is
enjoying them.
Comforting air with a natural care
Save Some Trees- This season you can also
make homemade cards. Although store
bought cards are more convenient, too many
natural resources are spent on producing
commercially made greeting cards only to be
thrown away at the end of the holidays. According to studies from eartheasy.com, the
amount of cards sold in the US during the
holiday season would fill a football field 10
stories high, and requires the harvesting of
nearly 300,000 trees. That’s a lot of waste!
Wrapping paper is also harmful to our earth
since a forest full of trees is chopped down
just to wrap your gifts each holiday season.
“Why not use newspaper,” says Mr. Bayer.
“I use the comic section of the newspaper to
wrap my gifts”.
Even if you can’t wrap your gifts in newspaper try to look for wrapping paper that has
recycled materials and most definitely shy
away from glossy, foil, or metallic wrapping
paper because this material is much more
difficult to recycle. Science teacher Mrs.
Rago says, “Instead of using paper gift bags I
use recyclable bags that people can use again
and again”.
According to studies from eartheasy.com, the amount of cards sold
in the US during the holiday season
would fill a football field 10 stories
high, and requires the harvesting of
nearly 300,000 trees.
So go green this holiday and save money. In the process you’ll conserve energy and our
natural resources and still enjoy your holiday season in a more natural, green way.
How to be a green gift-giving teen
Nicolette Sponer
NEWS EDITOR
Awesome gadgets: Students are looking forward to the
holidays for the gifts they are hoping to receive. Photo
By Lorraine Oyola
Most wanted gadgets for the holidays
1. Fourth generation iPod touch.
Apple has taken the world by storm and is continuing
to do so with latest iTouch. Teens and children everywhere are begging their parents for this cool gadget and
many are expecting to receive one in their Christmas
stocking this year. The iPod includes a camera, a recording device that lets you communicate with friends
easily, and many more features.
2. Blackberry Storm
Almost every student nowadays has a blackberry, even
parents and teachers are looking into getting this interesting gadget. It has a built-in 5MP camera, enhanced
browsing, and even a high-resolution touch screen.
3. Mac Computers
Apple has continued to succeed with the invention of
the ultra-thin and super sleek Macbook Pro. It includes
a multi-touch track pad, wireless Bluetooth technology,
and the ability to zoom in on your documents with a
pinch of your finger. This laptop is the best gift for any
tech-savvy teen and will be on many Christmas lists
this year.
Photo from LG
Alexandra Mangano
STAFF WRITER
Today’s society is full of citizens concerned
about the environment. Eco-friendly products shoot off the shelves promising a smaller carbon foot print and a cheaper bill. Living
in the “sunshine state” requires a dependable
A.C. system. It’s usually more problematic
during the summer, but things have changed
since our modernized civilization has created
high-tech appliances. LG has combined both
these ideas to produce Lennox SunSource, a
cost-effective and eco-friendly air conditioning system. It uses state of the art solar pow-
er-harnessing technology to provide consumers with clean, crisp air. “Just last week,
my parents purchased the Lennox SunSource
system, and have saved money ever since. It
is important for my family to reduce their bill
because of the tough times we are in now,”
states Sophomore Alexa Quintana
The Lennox Sun Source uses a single 190watt solar panel which provides power to assist the fan motor that moves air across the
outdoor coil that cools the air in your house.
Even on shady days, the Lennox SunSource
takes in the available solar resources and reduces energy usage.
Say no to commercial Christmas cards: Commercial
Christmas cards tend to use massive amounts of paper
energy to create. Try to make your own cards. Not only
will it be a better gift, planet earth will thank you for it!
Photo By Daniel Quevedo
star, heart, or square even- and they make
perfect air fresheners! There’s no baking involved, just let the ornaments dry for four to
five days and voila! The perfect holiday gift.
For those of you who aren’t so confident
in the kitchen- it’s okay, you’re still loved,
websites like therainforestsite.com and
greenandmore.com feature cute organic,
eco-friendly and recycled products.
Regardless of what your gift ideas are, take
time to remember Mother Earth and go green
this holiday season.
Around the holidays, students are scrambling to find gifts for parents, family members, and friends. Once they have the perfect
presents, a huge sigh of relief is emitted. The
gifts students usually end up buying, however, are not eco-friendly. There are easy and
simple ways to find or even make eco-friendly items for your loved ones.
Donating to organizations, such as The Defenders of Wildlife (defenders.org), in your
friend or family member’s name
is a great way to stay eco-friendly, fight a cause, and give a gift.
The Defenders of Wildlife is a
national, nonprofit membership
organization dedicated to the
protection of all native animals
and plants in their natural communities. They work to protect
and restore America’s native
wildlife, and your contribution
will assist them in their goal.
If you are more of an artsy person, a homemade eco-friendly
gift is a perfect fit. Making cinnamon ornaments by mixing
organic applesauce and ground
cinnamon is easy and adorable. Mix one cup of the organic applesauce with one cup
of ground cinnamon, creating
dough that should be the consistency of cookie dough. Roll
the dough out on a cookie sheet
until it’s about ¼ inch thick. Cut
the dough with whatever cookie
cutters you please, making sure
to leave a hole at the top so that
you can tie a ribbon. These or- Be Green! Students are beginning to become enviromentaly concious
giving gifts that are good for the environment. Photo By Gail
naments aren’t solely for Christ- Fand
letcher
mas trees; cut out any shape- a
Environmental
December 2010
20
Chillin at Charter:
How to be a green gift-giving teen New ice banks to keep PPCHS cool
Nicolette Sponer
NEWS EDITOR
Around the holidays, students are scrambling to find gifts for parents, family members, and friends. Once they have the perfect
presents, a huge sigh of relief is emitted. The
gifts students usually end up buying, however, are not eco-friendly. There are easy and
simple ways to find or even make eco-friendly items for your loved ones.
Donating to organizations, such as The Defenders of Wildlife (defenders.org), in your
friend or family member’s name is a great
way to stay eco-friendly, fight a cause, and
give a gift. The Defenders of Wildlife is a
national, nonprofit membership organization
dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities.
They work to protect and restore America’s
native wildlife, and your contribution will
assist them in their goal.
If you are more of an artsy person, a homemade eco-friendly gift is a perfect fit. Making cinnamon ornaments by mixing organic
applesauce and ground cinnamon is easy and
adorable. Mix one cup of the organic applesauce with one cup of ground cinnamon, creating dough that should be the consistency
of cookie dough. Roll the dough out on a
cookie sheet until it’s about ¼ inch thick. Cut
the dough with whatever cookie cutters you
please, making sure to leave a hole at the top
so that you can tie a ribbon. These ornaments
aren’t solely for Christmas trees; cut out any
shape- a star, heart, or square even- and they
make perfect air fresheners! There’s no baking involved, just let the ornaments dry for
four to five days and voila! The perfect holiday gift.
For those of you who aren’t so confident
in the kitchen- it’s okay, you’re still loved,
websites like therainforestsite.com and
greenandmore.com feature cute organic,
eco-friendly and recycled products.
Regardless of what your gift ideas are, take
time to remember Mother Earth and go green
this holiday season.
Teens going green: Charter Students adopt the practice of giving environmentally friendly gifts for the holidays.
Photo By Taylor Neita
21 Environmental
Pass the tofurky
December 2010
Red, white and green salad
Enrique Batista
STAFF WRITER
Mysterious ice: Students are curious to know what these ice banks are going to be used for. Photo By Gail Fletcher
Erin Jones
TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
Most students and faculty alike have no
idea what the 22 tall silver machines lining
the northern side of the U-building are.
“I thought those had something to do with
water towers,” says Junior Andrea Orhiuela.
“I thought it looked like a some sort of
weird machine,” said Junior William Albino.
Those massive silver machines happen to
be a part of Pembroke Pines Charter High
School’s intuitive to go green. They are
called Calmac Ice Banks and are going to
be used to cool the U-building, one of the
largest buildings on campus, during the day
time. The Ice Banks store and freeze water
at night during off-peak hours (9 a.m. to 10
a.m., Monday through Friday) when electricity is least expensive and in less use. During
the day, on-peak hours (10 a.m. to 9 p.m.)
is when electricity is the most expensive and
in high use, the Ice Banks will melt the ice
it stored the night before use it to cool the
U-building. This process, known as hybrid
cooling, will be the sole provider of air conditioning for the building.
“It’s an old school processes used in the old
days,” says Principal Bayer of the Ice Bank
process, “I’m interested to see how it works,
if students are going to feel either too hot or
too cold.”
Although the Ice Banks aren’t hooked up
to the U-building just yet, they are expected
to be up and running by 2011. They will be
saving PPCHS a lot of money when it comes
to the school’s electric bill, which is usually
about $800,000 a year. The use of hybrid
cooling instead of electric cooling will result
in about a 1/3rd of a savings on the bill.
The Ice Banks will also be saving the environment by reducing polluting emissions,
delaying the demand for more power plants,
and by conserving energy.
“I think it’s amazing our school is willing
to save the environment in this way,” said
freshman Nikki Brito.
The Ice Banks were delivered in the summer by crane and were purchased with a
$500,000 grant given to PPCHS from the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(ARRA) of 2009. The ARRA was implemented by the Obama administration to help
jumpstart the sagging economy by providing
homeowners, businesses, and educational
institutions across the country with grants
totaling about $787 billion to purchase positive, beneficial products that will in turn help
them save or generate money and jobs.
The Ice Banks will be joining the outdoor
classroom, smart light saving system, and
recycling plan to help make PPCHS an ecofriendly school.
“As part of our initiative to have a greener
school, this is a great addition [to PPCHS].
It’s helping us cover our carbon foot print,”
says Principal Bayer.
With more than 1,500 students, numerous
teachers and Florida International University (FIU) students and faculty using the Ubuilding every day, the Ice Banks will allow
PPCHS to cover a major carbon foot print.
By just being in the U-building and enjoying
the cool air, they will be saving the planet
one breeze of hybrid air at a time.
Saving the
environment
one tank at a
time: Students are
happy to know
that our school
is catious about
the environemt.
Photos By Gail
Fletcher (Top)
and Fabiana Gonzalez (Left)
Being a vegetarian can be tough
during the holiday season. The
worst part can be denying the
pot-roast that grandma made or
the stuffed turkey that dad spent 6
hours baking and 24 hours marinating. So what’s a vegetarian to
do when you are faced with this
situation? Take matters into your
own hands. Cook for a change!
That way, you can offer them
something instead of waiting for
them to feed you. Plan it ahead of
time and it’s easy! Here are some
traditional recipes that have been
tweaked to create a vegetarian
friendly menu!
o 1 medium bunch arugula
o 1 med head radicchio
o 2 heads Belgian endive
o ½ cucumber, sliced
o 1½ c cherry tomatoes
o 1½ c white mushrooms
Wash the lettuces, pat dry, trim, and tear
into bite-size pieces. Toss them together in
the bowl, and then top them with the vegetables.
Serve with vinaigrette on the side, or you
can toss the salad with a few T of vinaigrette
and serve immediately.
Photo By Gail Fletcher
Ginger bread Salad vinaigrette
o 1 c plus 2 tsp wheat flour
o 1 c white flour
o 2 tsp baking powder
o 1 tsp baking soda
o ½ tsp salt
o 1 Tb ginger, ground
o ½ tsp cloves, ground
o ¼ tsp cinnamon, ground
o ½ c canola oil
o 1 c maple syrup
o ½ c molasses
o 1 c milk or plain soy milk
o 1 Tb apple cider vinegar
o 2 Tb vanilla extract
Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder,
salt, and spices into bowl and whisk together.
In another bowl or blender, whisk or blend
oil, syrup, molasses, milk, vinegar, and vanilla until oily blobs are suspended in liquid.
Whisk the wet mixture into the dry until just
barely mixed. Batter will be wet and sticky.
Preheat oven to 350.
Oil pan(s) and line with parchment paper.
Half-fill the pan(s) with batter. Bake 35 minutes for small pans, 55 for large. Gingerbread
is ready when a toothpick or knife inserted
into center comes out clean.
Pot pie
o ¼ c vinegar
o ½ c olive oil
o 1 Tb lemon juice
o 1 tsp Dijon mustard
o 1 tsp light brown
o 1-2 tsp soy sauce
o 1 tsp minced rosemary
o 3 cloves garlic minced
o ½ tsp ground pepper
Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl,
bottle, or cruet, and whisk or shake until well
mixed. If you use sliced garlic, it will just sit
at the bottom of the jar, gradually improving
the taste of the dressing.
Whisk or shake the dressing immediately
before each serving.
Photo By Gail Fletcher
o 1 Tb butter
o 6 c assorted vegetables, thinly sliced or diced.
Melt the butter in the saucepan; add the
Some ideas:
vegetables and sauté over medium heat, stir- bell peppers
ring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add garlic and
- carrots
continue sautéing for another 5 minutes.
- celery
Sprinkle flour on top and continue cooking,
- corn
stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
- green beans
Gradually add the warm liquid, stirring con- leeks
stantly, until sauce thickens.
- onions
Add thyme and parsley and continue cook- peas
ing until all of the vegetables are tender,
- potatoes
about 10 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper,
- spinach
then transfer vegetables to the baking cas- tomatoes
serole.
- zucchini
Preheat oven to 400.
o 1 clove garlic, minced
Make the pie crust dough, then roll it into a
o ¼ c flour
circle slightly larger than the casserole. Lay
o 3 c warm veggie stock
on top of the vegetables, without sealing the
o ½ tsp thyme
edges.
o 2 Tb fresh parsley, minced
Place in oven and bake until filling is bubo 1 tsp salt or soy sauce
bling and crust is golden brown, 20-30 mino black pepper
utes.
o 1 pie crust
Photo By Google
Fashion
December 2010
22
Accessories assist in uniform revamp
Nicolette Sponer
NEWS EDITOR
In a school where uniforms are a
must, students strive to make themselves
stand out in a sea of maroon, black, white,
and grey. At PPCHS, teens pride themselves
not on their clothes, but on their accessories.
Boys and girls alike find ways to accessorize,
while still following the Broward County
Dress Code of course. Colorful Vans, glittery
headbands, vibin’ necklaces, and statement
rings are a
must among
the students.
Sophomore
Isabella
Delgado
is
known
among her
friends for
the fashionable rings
she wears.
“I
love
my
rings!
They’re
mainly the
only
accessory
I
wear,” says
Delgado.
One reason
for the awesome accessories is the
s t u d e n t ’s
feeling to-
wards the uniforms. Many think of them as
boring and monochromatic, in need of color
and pizzazz. The word uniforms itself just
screams “blah!” Junior Alexandra Rivas
says. “I accessorize to make our uniform look
better. [The uniforms] are too boring!” This
is where the bright pink Converse and electric blue nail polish come in handy for some.
For sophomore Feda Fitian, she spices up her
uniform with different colored hijabs, or traditional Muslim head covering. “I love to be
Photo By Taylor Neita
Gaga over shoulder pads
Bianca Rodriguez
STUDENT LIFE EDITOR
Who says things never come back into style?
Well the newest craze is a style that was well
too known in the eighties - shoulder pads. A
fad that many would think would have disappeared for good is back and they’re bigger than ever. Many celebrities we admire in
the entertainment world today are wearing
shoulder pads underneath and over their
clothes! Today’s designers
have made the shoulder pad
trend more modern by embellishing them and the trend
has caught on fast. Not only are
fashion icons and celebrities from
Lady Gaga to Taylor Swift rocking these shoulder pads but the girls
here at PPCHS are rocking them too.
Shoulder pads were evident
at this year’s homecoming – a bevy
of bedazzled forms and raised shoulders made the girls look taller and
leaner than ever. This fashion
trend, as worn by the unique Lady
Gaga, mimics the look of an army
colonel’s jacket with their achievements and embellishments proudly displayed. As with the trend in the eighties, the chance this fad will stay around
for long is slim, but at least while it’s
here, we can take it on and look good!
colorful and it makes my uniform look better.” a great self-image. It is how people know
However, the popular reason for accessories you; by what you wear and what you say.”
is a need to be different. At our school, students With his red scarf, red shoes, red watch, red
are forced to wear the same thing as everyone sweater, matching bracelet and belt, and do
else: khaki bottoms and a uniform top. This calls not forget the glasses, Louis is a perfect example of infor the need
dividualism.
to
accesThere are
sorize
and
a
plethora
show off our
of
different
unique style.
kinds of acJunior
Jane
cessories,
Somuah says
from the usual
she makes her
necklaces and
style
known
bracelets to
by “wearing
the unconvencute
sweattional
belts
ers over my
and socks. By
uniform shirt,
wearing acheadbands,
cessories, not
and shoes to
only are we
match.” Senior
spicing up our
J e s s i c a
uniform, but
Crain
dyes
we are showh
e
r
ing to othh
a
i
r
ers what our
partially pink
personal style
“because evPhoto By Taylor Neita
is and taking
eryone looks
the opportuthe same, I
nity to stand
want to look
different.” At our age, being different is a out. Pembroke Pines Charter High School
good thing. You stand out in a crowd, and ac- is limited with uniforms, yet blessed with
cesorizing school uniforms helps achieve that. the fact that the students have the chance to
Many guys also find the necessity to infuse accessorize like crazy. The uniform policy
their personal style, even if they won’t admit isn’t changing any time soon, might as well
it. However, freshman Beeloochee Louis ex- make the best of it and show off your earcitedly admits, “I feel it is important to have rings, nail polish, shoes, and personality.
What truly signifies “swag”
Isabella Jones
FEATURES EDITOR
“Swag”: a remark I feel is used way too
habitually to describe a style that is not, as
a matter a fact, “swag” at all. You are wellaware of the typical “swag” fanatics that sadly flood the halls of PPCHS. These boys wear
brightly colored cardigans, skinny khakis,
wooden rosaries, G-shocks, an assortment of
sneakers received from Dunk Xchange, and
sagging Jansport backpacks, that, as a collection, are an awful mix with the uniform.
And when it comes to the ladies’ “swag”,
the neon socks paired with moccasins craze,
along with Forever 21 accessories matched
with oddly colored Vans or flimsy ballet flats
obsession are simply put: not cute nor swag!
Although I’m positive the majority of teens,
at least the ones dwelling in South Florida,
would willingly disagree with me, I personally feel that the term “swag” should be
used to describe anything that is atypical,
unique, and a little bit off-beat, and someone
with “swag” would certainly not be fearful of going against the mainstream style.
I would almost like to associate the expression “swag” with the unofficial word “hipster”, or someone who is effortlessly cool,
edgy, and gives off a sort of urban bohemian
look. These are the teens who participate in
weekly thrift store raids, garage-sale bargain
hunting, and antique shop fervent-buying.
I also feel that if you possess “swag”, you
would certainly never be seen in the typical stores: Pacsun, Zumiez, Love Culture,
American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch,
Aéropostale, Hollister, or shoe stores such
as Foot Locker and Journeys. You would instead spend your money in trendy and worthy stores, such as Topshop, H&M, American
Apparel, and Urban Outfitters. You would
also invade your parents’ closets for any
out-dated yet especially fashionable clothing items that date back to the 80s, 70s, and
quite possibly even the 60s, because the older the piece appears, the more “swag” it has.
Sadly enough, PPCHS only contains “wannabee” swag fans. If they only stopped rocking the classic looks, and started going against
the grain when it came to fashion, they would
certainly be marked as cool in my book.
Phioto by Google
Fashion Polls
13%
say they don’t
have swag
87%
say they do have swag
Poll taken by Isabella Jones and Nicolette Sponer
We interviewed 50 students with several questions about fashion. Here are the most interesting results:
Do you accesorize your uniform?
58% Yes!
No 42%
45%
say having the latest
trend is a necessity
55%
say having the latest
trend is not a necessity
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.
Julia
Baca
23 Columns
December 2010
Time of the month? Try again
Columnist
Women are creatures with reputations for
being overly complicated, emotional, and
weak. And while these are just generalizations that the media, men, and sometimes
even women themselves make about the
female population, the actions of some
make these assumptions appear to be true.
We women sometimes make it very hard
to dig ourselves out of these holes that society has us grouped into. If we want to be
equals to men, we cannot put ourselves on
pedestals, we cannot blame everything on
the opposite sex, and we cannot use our
gender as an excuse for things.
Being a girl, I have had my fair share of
moments where I think “boys suck”. It is
very easy to point the finger at men when
the going gets rough, but girls need to realize that what is easy isn’t always what’s
right. I’ve heard girls blame anything from
their self-image issues to their inappropriate behavior on boys. You can’t use somebody else, especially a gender as a whole,
to be the reason behind every problem you
have ever had. I’ve heard friends of mine
blame the reason they cake make up all
over their faces on boys. They say that if
boys didn’t expect them to look perfect all
the time they wouldn’t feel the need to put
make up on or straighten their hair or be so
skinny. The thing is, if you actually talk to
a boy, almost none like it when a girl wears
a lot of makeup. Not to mention that most
guys do not even notice or care about your
daily routine of just a little bit of eye liner
and lip gloss. Chances are if you didn’t
wear any they’d say you look the same as
you do every day. To say it is their fault
that you spend so much time on your appearance is outlandish when really it is you
who wants to look good.
The reason behind a girl’s desire to look
perfect is a personal thing, not one that you
can blame on the entire male population.
with both people involved. Women are just
as capable as men of making mistakes and
hurting someone. If we want to be equal
to men, pretending that they have overwhelming power over us isn’t the way to
make that happen. The way to make that
happen is by owning up to our faults and
Another thing is that girls are constantly
blaming boys for problems in their relationships and assuming the worst about
them. Attention ladies! Men are human beings just like you and I. They don’t have
a master plan to ruin your lives and a relationship takes the effort of two people;
therefore, problems that occur have to do
being independent!
I am all for the feminist cause, obviously
wanting women to be equal to men. Because I want this, I try to never use my
gender, no matter how convenient it may
be, as an excuse for absolutely anything.
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard
something along the lines of “I can’t, I’m a
Ishin
Iwasaki
girl” come out of a female’s mouth I would
be pretty rich. Women should never doubt
themselves or think they are incapable of
doing something just because of their gender. A woman can do anything that a man
can do.
That being said, many girls just do this
because it can get them out of a situation
they don’t want to be in, not necessarily
because they don’t think they are capable.
I’ve heard girls try to get out of something
as simple as washing their own cars, saying it’s “a man’s job”. Another thing that
girls often do to excuse their behavior is
blaming it on that monthly gift that we are
sent by Mother Nature. If they realize that
they were rude to someone or are being
cranky they’ll just pull the old PMS card.
Now being a girl, I too would like to use
this as an excuse as it is a hassle and is a
very easy ticket out of an unfortunate situation. However, we control our own actions
and can’t just use this to justify all our bad
moods just because it’s there. It makes girls
look whiny and emotional. All I want is for
men to recognize the emotional strength
that girls can have, and using things like
our feminine problems to help us out when
we are being mean isn’t the way to get that
done.
So ladies, if we want to feel as equal as
men then we have to act like we’re as equal
as men! Using anything we can find to
point the finger at the male population and
using our status as the weaker sex to get
out of situations is not the way to do that.
It’s too late for me,
but my future children will believe
COLUMNIST
That’s right, it’s December, and we all
love December. It’s the month with the two
best holidays of the year: Christmas and, of
course, Kenyan Independence Day! Kenya dig that?
Now, while we may not all celebrate
Christmas (or Kenyan Independence Day,
for that matter), we all know Santa Claus,
that jolly old man that can somehow magically appear simultaneously in over 2,000
malls nationwide. Even though I don’t
come from a Christian family, we still celebrated Christmas. Just like most Americans. And I loved Christmas for the presents. Just like most Americans.
When I was a kid, I adored Santa Claus.
Not because he gave me presents, but
because he somehow managed to travel
around millions upon millions of homes in
one night. Even as a clueless little youngling I had enough mathematical sense to
know that a mere mortal couldn’t do that.
Supposing that his nine, mechanicallyengineered superreindeer could manage to
travel fast enough to hit all those houses,
he would still have to come in, find the
stockings or the tree, and eat some kid’s
cookies. And what perplexed me the most
was how he managed to get into our house.
We didn’t have a chimney and we locked
all our doors. He was my idol.
The disappointment I felt when I found
out that Santa Claus was not real, therefore, was intense. It was so intense I exchanged that year’s gifts for box sets of
Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead. After that,
school, technology, and the media successfully eliminated every other magical being.
As we grow older, it’s important to think
of a lot of things, like a career, starting a
family, finding a place to live. But I think
one of the most important things to think
about is how you will handle Christmas.
My question to you all is, in this world that
destroys more and more childhood magic
every day, how far will you go to keep your
kids believing in Santa Claus? Will you go
all out and completely fool them for years,
or just not care and hand them presents
yourself at midnight? If you think you’re
the latter, I suggest you also buy a plastic
Here’s where most parents get lazy. Sometimes, kids bring home “reindeer food” to
sprinkle in the front lawn. I’ll re-collect it
in a bag and burn it in an incinerator. No
way is my kid going to be disappointed on
Christmas morning because Blitzen and
Rudolph didn’t find his Wolfgang Puckinspired reindeer food to their liking.
When the kids wake up, they will see the
living room window busted in, the milk
and cookies gone, and a note left under the
Christmas tree. The note will be written in
They’ll doubt their sanity, and, once all rational
thought has been burnt out, only one thought will
remain: “Santa is real.” Well, either that or “Daddy is a god.” I’m okay with either, actually.
bowl because you’ll probably end up as
one of those boring people that leave candy
sitting outside their homes on Halloween.
As for me, I plan to raise my kids so they
are still believers when they are 64. Now,
it won’t be easy, as each generation of kids
get more and more tech-savvy and cynical.
Here are some of my plans to ensure total
dominance over their fragile little minds;
you may adapt them as you wish as well!
The first thing I will do is make sure my
kids stay asleep. There is no point in setting up elaborate plans if the kids just wake
up to see me plant their presents.
Now, Santa is magical, but he would be
more realistic and believable if there was
some method of entry. That can quickly
be fabricated if I just introduce my living
room window to my spinning 540 kick.
lemon juice, so that it stays invisible until
it is microwaved. What they get is a mix of
realism and magic. Score.
When my kids start getting cynical and
doubting of Santa, I’ll turn their minds
against themselves. One day, near Christmas time, the little buggers will open up the
closet to see what looks like half-wrapped
gifts – “Awesome, just what I wanted, the
complete set of The Fresh Prince!” – and
their belief in Santa will be shattered. Once
present opening time comes, I’ll simply
watch in amusement as their “pretend” excitement turns into genuine confusion as
they open up the wrapping to find something totally different – say, a zombie invasion survival kit? – and go nuts.
They’ll doubt
their sanity, and, once all rational thought
has been burnt out, only one thought will
remain: “Santa is real.” Well, either that
or “Daddy is a god.” I’m okay with either,
actually.
Of course, I can’t know what they really
want unless I have some kind of way to
keep tabs on them. I can pay some other
students in their school, but, I can also take
an easy way out and bug their phones and
monitor their Facebook messages. It’s only
because I love them.
Now those are just some of the things
I’ll do to ensure nothing but utter belief in
Santa. I mean, it’s the least I can do for my
future children. When reality starts hitting
them in the face as they grow older and
they realize that, in the midst of holiday
festivities, there are still so many unsolved
problems in the world – crime, hunger,
standardized testing – it’ll do well to have
some magic they
can hold on to.
By the way,
my Kenyan
Independence
Day
parties
are going to
be so “live,”
it’ll shut the
neighborhood
down. Hit me
up.
Photo Gallery
December 2010
24
PHOTO GALLERY