May 2015 - Contra Costa Journalism.net

Transcription

–Page 9
Different
exerience,
different
outcomes
Scuba
after choir
practice
NEWS
VIEWPOINT
ATHLETICS
Snowboarder
connects to
natural world
–Page 2
–Page 6
ATHLETICS
May 2015
Title IX opens up
opportunities for
female athletes
–Page 8
CC Spin
May 2015
News & Views From Contra Costa County High Schools
Acalanes Union
votes to cut staff
in 2015-16 year
AB 1575 strictures
lead to unintended
consequences for
student field trips
By IRIS WANG
Acalanes High School
By MEGAN JOHNSON
Northgate High School
What used to be a required school fee is now a suggested donation. Students and parents are no longer
forced to pay for class items, field trips, or sports, but
rather they are asked to donate or raise funds to cover
the amount needed.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2013, California public schools were
no longer able to impose fees upon students. There are
no longer any mandates that force students or parents
to pay for any part of their public school education,
ensuring that California public schools remain “free.”
This law was first introduced by Assembly member
Ricardo Lara (D), who was working on the case of Doe v.
California, in which the American Civil Liberties Union
accused state education officials of violating the free
public schooling guaranteed by the State Constitution.
The intentions of this law are clear; AB 1575 will help
identify, prevent, and address the charging of student
fees in violation of a student’s constitutional right to
a free public education, without imposing costly new
requirements on school districts.
Although it is a law that is intended to be beneficial
to all students and parents, ensuring that there is basic
equality of educational opportunity, many field trips and
other activities within the California school system have
been terminated due to lack of funding.
Northgate High has especially felt the unintended
consequences of AB 1575, as classes such as zoology
and physiology had to cancel their educational field
trips and classes like Leadership, Dance Production, and
all bands and choirs are struggling to pay for their trips.
Students and teachers alike understand the purpose
of AB 1575, but that does not stop the frustration that
seeps in when field trips are cancelled due to lack of
funding.
Blen Getahun, a junior who takes physiology, spoke
on the planned field trip to the San Francisco Exploratorium that was ultimately cancelled. Teacher organizers
asked for $20 per person to cover travel and admission
for students in the five physiology classes at Northgate,
but the classes fell short by $700.
“It was just frustrating that we had this trip planned
See AB 1575
Page 2
Yee named as 2015
Journalist of the Year
Megan Yee, a senior at Acalanes High School, was
named the 2015 Journalist of the Year recipient at the
annual Lesher Awards presentation on April 30 at the
Bedford Gallery at the Lesher Center for the Arts.
Yee is the second recipient of the JOY Award, a
competition begun in 2014 to recognize excellence
in journalism over the course of a student's entire
high school career. A $1,000 scholarship comes with
the award.
Jillian Argento, Clayton Valley Charter High School
earned second place honors and a $500 scholarship,
and Austin Hille of California High placed third and
earned a $250 scholarship. Alyssa Lederman of Northgate High School earned honorable mention.
See Lesher Awards winners Page 3.
Volume 8 Issue 3
Congressman Mark DeSaulnier and Superintendent Mary Shelton enjoy viewing the Robotics classroom
where students bring their projects to life. DeSaulnier toured Monte Vista earlier in February, along with
holding a district meeting to better understand the needs of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District.
Photo courtesy of Mark DeSaulnier.
Congressman DeSaulnier
visits Monte Vista High
By GINA MATTEO
Monte Vista High School
Congressman Mark DeSaulnier visited
Monte Vista on Feb.17, his first stop on his
Educational Listening Tour.
Elected as a member of the 11th Congress
early this year, DeSaulnier was appointed
to serve on the Education and Government
Reform Committees. DeSaulnier represents
California’s 11th congressional district, which
consists of parts of Contra Costa County, including Danville.
The Educational Listening Tour allowed
DeSaulnier to visit school campuses all over
the Bay Area to gain insight on the students,
parents, and members of the San Ramon Valley
Unified School District.
“This tour will help educate me on the
best ways to serve the residents of my district,”
DeSaulnier said in a press release.“(It) will allow
me to share with my colleagues the successes
of California’s educational system.”
The congressman toured Monte Vista
with Principal Janet Terranova and Superintendent Mary Shelton. He explored the campus
and was able to get one-on-one within classes.
He visited Intro to Engineering and saw
the Robotics team in action and also sat in on
an English class, Women’s Literature, where the
students spoke about women’s roles in society.
Congressman DeSaulnier held a roundtable discussion after school, where members
of the district, teachers and students were able
to share their opinions on what can be added
to help improve the district.
“The Congressman would like to hear
your thoughts and needs on what is needed
for education from the federal level,”Elizabethg
Graswich, director of communications and
community relations wrote in an email, announcing the tour.
The No Child Left Behind act was discussed, since recently the Obama administration has invited states to renew their waivers
for the Act.
District members also addressed the
increase in special needs students, and how
special needs programs have not been adequately funded in the past years. Because
special needs is now branching into mental
illness, educators are trying to identify more
students that need extra help.
“I want kids to learn math, but more importantly, I want them to survive,” Charlotte Wood
Middle School Principal Chris George said.
With the chance to make changes to the
No Child Left Behind Act, many educators are
striving to change how mental illness is being
addressed in schools, as well as obtain more
funding and add a variety of outlets for different types of special needs students.
Common Core has also been a popular
topic within the school district. Teachers at the
roundtable confronted the fact that Common
Core is not going to happen overnight, and
educators will not witness major improvements with one year.
Rather, Common Core will happen over
time, and elementary and middle school
students are more likely to succeed because
they have been introduced to Common Core
standards earlier.
“We will have more kids college ready,
but it won’t [happen] tomorrow,” Diablo Vista
Middle School Principal Becky Ingram said.
The roundtable discussion allowed Congressman DeSaulnier to understand the needs
of educators, and will help him make important
decisions regarding education in the future.
“[Education] is more than teaching,” DeSaulnier said “It is the foundation of what we
believe in.”
The Acalanes Union High School
District Governing Board passed two
resolutions in March approving a
reduction of current employees and
services in the 2015-2016 school year
that will affect all four high schools
in the district.
The Board approved the two
resolutions unanimously at its March
4 meeting. Resolution No. 14-15-15
addressed the projected elimination and/or reduction of certificated
employees, the vast majority of who
are teachers who provide “Departmentalized Instructional Services”
or classes.
In school districts, employee
salaries and benefits usually make up
almost 90 percent of the entire budget, so in years when districts need
to meet target cuts to the budget,
they invariably have to reduce their
workforce. As the 2014-2015 school
year draws to a close, multiple teachers and many administrative staff in
the district, the vast majority of which
are employed at the district level and
not at schools, are projected to be laid
off. Nine teachers district-wide have
been given “pink slips,” including five
at Acalanes.
“The reduction in [classes], or
sections, will be distributed between
the four high schools based on
student signups for courses,” math
teacher Ken Lorge said. Lorge is the
vice president of Acalanes Education
Association, the union that represents AUHSD teachers, counselors,
librarians, and school psychologists.
Resolution No. 14-15-16 approved a district wide reduction of
eight classified employees such as
administrative assistants, registrars,
custodians, and special education
instructional assistants.
Lorge further explained how
reductions in the number of classes
could be made by giving a hypothetical example.
“Let’s say at one school we have
44 signups for an elective subject that
has a contract limit of 31 students a
class. In years past, when our budget
hasn’t been as tight, they might have
offered two sections at 22 students
a class,” Lorge said. “This year in an
effort to tighten the schedule, they
might max out one section with 31
students and move the other 13 students into a second or third choice
elective. This will result in one less
section of this elective subject being offered.”
See ACALANES Page
5
Teens help elementary students experience nature
By BRIANA WILLIAMS
Clayton Valley Charter High School
In January, select Clayton Valley students hopped
on a bus filled with fifth grade students to be camp
counselors at Exploring New Horizons Outdoor
Schools. Eighteen counselors traveled with students
from Mount Diablo Elementary School to Exploring
New Horizons Camp at Loma Mar, the biggest outdoor
school in the program.
At camp, students learned about the wildlife
around them through activities, hikes, and songs.
Junior Madison Sorenson enthusiastically said
that the camp was lots of fun and she “felt like [she]
was 11 for a whole week.”
Most of the counselors agreed that being with
the kids was fun but could also be hard at times.
The days were jam packed with activities, such as
exploring tide pools and participating in nature hikes
in the surrounding forest. During the week counselors
were in charge of up to 11 kids in their own cabins.
They were also accompanied by another coun-
selor and the kids from their cabins in a hiking group
led by a naturalist, who taught the kids about nature.
As Emily Payne described it, the group of kids
that she and her fellow counselor were in charge of
“hiked along the forest [where they found] a burned
out area of trees and smeared ash on [their] faces, and
then went to a freezing stream and dunked [their]
heads in so [they] could join the Polar Bear Club and
then kissed a banana slug.” Other activities involved
the entire camp in the evenings, including the Night
Hike, Barnyard Boogie, and Skit Night.
In total, the trip didn’t actually involve a lot of
time. Students, teachers, and counselors came to the
camp on the morning of Tuesday, January 13, and left
on Friday, January 16. They spent a total of two full
days and three nights at the camp before returning
on the bus home.
This short amount of time was enough to win
most counselors over. Five out of the six counselors
interviewed replied that they’d most likely apply again
See TEENS Page
2
COMMITTED Clayton Valley camp counselors at Loma Mar. They spent the week there with
the fifth grade students of Mount Diablo Elementary School. Photo provided by Madison
Sorenson, Clayton Valley Charter High School.
News
2
May 2015
CC Spin
Between concerts, choir director scuba dives
school concerts, and taken multiple choirs
to state and nationwide competitions.
Despite building such a strong bond
so quickly with the Monte Vista student
body, many people are still hoping to find
out much more about her. What does she
like to do when she’s not teaching?
“Well, a while back I became a certified scuba diver in Monterey,” Reed said.
“I love the water; I love the ocean. I feel
sometimes like I’m one with the ocean.”
Underneath the water, she feels more
free than she ever has before. She describes the feeling as peaceful and serene.
“I really could dive with nothing
around me and just the feeling of the
water alone makes me feel like I’m home.”
Reed has been all around the world
diving; Cozumel (her favorite dive)in
Mexico, Turks, and Caicos Islands, Utah,
Saint George, Hawaii and Florida. Reed
isn't done, she has great plans for the
future.
“I’m going to the Grand Cayman
By BAILEY FERGUSON
An endless ocean. Pure earth beneath. Nothing but a sky of water above.
Sunlight barely pierces the water’s depth.
Then the shark appears. Breathtaking. Ominous yet silent, drifting past
like a storm cloud. 15 feet long. Just out
of arm’s reach. The regal king of the sea.
The diver looked into the eyes of death,
frozen with awe of the beast. Only after
it drifted away did this brush with death
seem the most horrifying.
Not the average experience for a
choir teacher, but Jodi Reed is no ordinary
teacher. After 32 years of Bruce Koliha
leading the choir department, Reed is
taking over the program and has quite a
legacy to live up to.
Reed is not starting out slow. So far
this year she has started a new A Cappella, held a Cabaret Show fundraiser for
new risers, hosted two highly successful
Island during the summer and really looking forward to that,” she said. “I also want
to go diving in Honduras because I’m told
that the diving there is unimaginable.”
On her many trips, Reed has gone
through many life-changing experiences
such as watching sharks up close and
traveling an expanse of five miles of currents in only an hour.
“There was this one time I almost
died in Monterey,” she said. “The visibility
of the water was really, really bad, if my
instructor moved two feet in front of
me, he would disappear. And there was
seaweed everywhere, and I was getting
tangled. It was terrifying. So did I actually
almost die? No. Did it feel like I was? Yes!”
Reed is so passionate about scuba
diving that she suggests everyone try it.
“It really is like no other feeling in
the world,” Reed said. “Everybody needs SWIMMINGLY Monte Vista High choir director Jodi Reed says she
to try it, diving is so amazing. At times feels one with the ocean when scuba diving and that everyone should
when I’m down there, it even feels like try this breathtaking experience. Photo courtesy Jodi Reed.
I’m part mermaid!”
Pittsburg's robotic pirate
Teens counsel elementary
students at outdoor camp
From TEENS
Page 1
nex t year. What kept some
counselors from giving a
definite yes was the chaos of taking
care of a group of kids, the energy
the week took, and all the makeup
work that they had to complete after
missing school.
Many counselors, though, were
assured it was worth it when pictures
were mailed to them of themselves
with their cabin group of kids as
a thank you gift. This gave them a
smile, and has many of them looking
forward to next year.
For the students who didn’t
make it into the program for Loma
Mar in January, some were chosen
to attend the April camp with Silverwood Elementary at Pigeon Point.
The camp will be a similar experience to Mount Diablo Elementary.
It will last four days from Tuesday,
April 28 to Friday, May 1.
The 13 counselors selected to
accompany Silverwood Elementary
will be in charge of fewer children
because the school is smaller than
Mount Diablo.
The few counselors who will be
attending in April responded with
varying degrees of enthusiasm, saying that they were looking forward
to the camp because of what they
heard from the January attendees.
The couselors also said they love
kids, and they get to enjoy a stress
free week without electronics or
homework.
Most enthusiastic of the bunch
was Paige Anderson, who replied
that she signed up for the program
because she really enjoyed fifth
grade camp when she was a fifth
grader.
She thought the counselors
were “super cool,” really old, and the
good kinds of crazy. She said she
“wants to be that in someone else’s
fifth grade memories” and can’t wait
to experience fifth grade camp again.
AB 1575 hampers trips
MEN BEHIND THE MACHINE Robotics mentor Jack Gillespie and Pittsburg High lead electrician Kemaiya
Bishop tend to the school’s robot, Bravo, named after the pirate ship captained by Jean Le Farge in 1819.
Photo by Pittsburg High School.
By DANIEL PEREZ
Pittsburg High School
After six weeks of work, Pittsburg High School’s
robotics team -- the “Pirate Robolution” -- displayed its
98-pound machine at a regional competition in San
Diego.
The Pittsburg entry was part of the FIRST Robotics
Competition:“For Inspiration and Recognition of Science
and Technology.” The organization was created in 1989
by inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen to encourage
students to learn more about science and technology,
and to teach students leadership, teamwork, and communication skills.
This was the first year the Pittsburg robotics team
entered the competition. Students taught themselves
the basics of robotics engineering, electrical, pneumatics,
web development, and team management. They had
Mapping climate change
Observed and projected effects of climate change across U.S.
regions, according to the latest U.S. National Climate Assessment:
1
6
4
2
8
NOTE: Alaska and Hawaii
are not to scale
1 Northeast
4 Great Plains
Heat waves, extreme
precipitation and
coastal flooding due
to sea level rise,
storm surge
Higher demand for
water and energy
due to rising
temperatures, which
also affect farming
2 Southeast
and Caribbean*
5 Southwest
More competition for
water due to reduced
availability, population
growth and land use
change; more risks
related to hurricanes,
other extreme events
3 Midwest
Higher crop yields
due to longer growing
seasons and rise in
carbon dioxide levels;
offset by heat waves,
droughts, floods and
other extremes
More competition for
scarce water supply,
wildfires as a result
of drought, increased
warming
6 Northwest
Lower water supply
in summer due to
earlier snowmelt
7 Alaska
Receding summer
ice, shrinking
glaciers and thawing
permafrost damage
infrastructure, impact
Alaska Natives
Megan Yee recognized
as Diablo Mag 'incredible'
By LAUREN KIM
3
5
7
support from Pittsburg robotics teacher Jack Gillespie,
as well as his previous students, who served as mentors
for the team.
First Team 5430, as the Pittsburg team was called,
worked more than 140 hours on weekends during
the six-week period. They also participated in practice
matches and community services to enhance their ability
to work as a team.
Pittsburg’s entry in the San Diego competition, which
took place at the beginning of April, followed an event
in Sacramento. Pittsburg’s rookie team learned not only
from Gillespie and former students, but also from other
veteran teams that provided strategies and ideas to help
improve future efforts.
The San Diego gathering was the ninth annual event
in the city. According to FIRST California, the 2014 San
Diego competition drew more than 1,500 high school
students in 60 teams.
*Caribbean
and Pacific
Islands not
shown on map
8 Hawaii and
Pacific Islands*
Decreased food and
water supplies due to
constrained fresh
water supplies,
higher temperatures
Other areas
• Coasts Lifelines,
such as water pipes,
evacuation routes,
are more vulnerable
to higher sea levels,
storm surges, inland
flooding
• Oceans Damage to
marine ecosystems
and acidification due
to absorbing carbon
dioxide emissions
and heat associated
with global warming
© 2014 MCT
Source: U.S. National
Climate Assessment
Graphic: Pat Carr
After years of writing and managing story ideas for
others, Acalanes High School Blueprint Editor in Chief
Megan Yee finally discovered what it’s like to be a story
idea herself. Yee was chosen as
one of the 21 East Bay Area teen
“Incredibles” featured in Diablo
Magazine’s February issue.
Diablo Magazine reporters
combed the East Bay Area for high
school students who stood out of
the crowd in their extracurricular
activities.
After consulting with the
various district super intendants
regarding promising student nominations, Stacey Kennelly, editor at Diablo Magazine, compiled a list of select,
high-performing stars to be promoted in her story, one
of which was Megan Yee who was recognized for her
prowess in journalism.
Appreciating Yee’s passion for journalism, Diablo
Magazine extended Yee a special invitation to visit the
publication’s office headquarters – a site that may very
well be similar to one where she works later down the
road.
Yee is to study journalism at the Medill School of
Journalism at Northwestern University and has plans to
pursue a career in journalism after college.
From AB 1575
Page 1
but it had to get cancelled because
there wasn’t enough money,” Getahun said.
Physiology teacher Corinne
Starr had taken this now cancelled
field trip to the San Francisco Exploratorium with her physiology classes
for the past couple of years, and last
year’s trip still managed to go on the
trip, even though AB 1575 had been
enacted.
“My field trip last year would
have been cancelled if not for the
PFC [the Parent Faculty Club], and
this year it was just too much money,”
Starr said.
Every class that has planned
trips to Southern California this year,
which includes band, choir, dance,
and Leadership, has faced the same
struggles in raising enough voluntary contributions to fund their trips.
“At the moment, classes that
want to go on field trips are not
allowed to ask for direct payment.
Instead they may only ask for
donations,” said Principal Michael
McAlister.
Dance and Leadership instrucotor Kourtnie Howerton said, “I can
see the good intentions of the law,
and nobody deserves to be left out,
but it’s been frustrating and comes
with its challenges.”
Muslim Club re-emerges
on Monte Vista campus
By FATIMA ALI
Monte Vista High
The Muslim Student Association
has rejoined Monte Vista High after
a three year absence. Senior Shyaan
Khan is president.
The MSA Club is for Muslim
students at Monte Vista who are
interested in attending religious
sermons and performing the weekly
Friday prayer, also known as Jummah prayer.
On a normal Friday afternoon,
Muslims gather at their local mosque
where they listen to a sermon that
can be on any topic, and perform
the designated prayer. Holding the
MSA meetings every Friday during
lunch offers a substitute to this
where students can interact with one
another while learning more about
their religion.
Prior to the prayer, someone
is called to deliver a sermon or a
speech. These are typically regarding
the Islamic insight on everyday ideas
or concepts.
Speakers have included Omar
Masood, an MV alumni and student
at Cal Poly SLO; Saleh Baseer, member of the San Ramon Valley Islamic
Center; Shoaib Jawaid, MV alumni
and teacher at the San Ramon Valley Islamic Center; and Yusuf Wiley,
a local educator.
Omar Masood and Shoaib
Jawaid attended MV many years ago
and were able to talk about ideas
that students could strongly relate
to such as daily struggles between
peers, knowing your intentions and
doing the right thing.
Members of the MSA Club can
deliver sermons as well. They pick
a topic and prepare a speech to
give to the club on an assigned day.
These topics can include the value of
upholding Muslim identities, how to
refrain from bad deeds and to never
give up on seeking forgiveness.
Although the MSA Club is an
association for Muslims, Shyaan is
open to letting anyone join or listen
in on sermons before prayer begins,
and they can even stay during the
time of prayer.
“I think it is great for non- Muslims to come in because it’s nice seeing them show interest in learning
more about Islam; it would be ideal
for them to come in when we have
knowledgeable guest speakers so
they can receive insight,”Shyaan said.
“They can also stay to see the prayer
as long as they’re not distracting.”
News
CC Spin
3
May 2015
Faerber sparks marine biology course at MVHS
By MADDIE DAILEY
Marine biology is hitting the beach running at Monte Vista High School, as it is being
taught by a true marine biologist herself.
Meghan Faerber teaches Biology and Accelerated Biology at Monte Vista. She also has a
background of pursuing her interest in marine
biology through a multitude of expeditions in
many different environments.
All her life, she has loved to study the
sea and its inhabitants. In her time off from
teaching, Faerber works at Stanford University
doing research on the evolution of body size
and ecology of marine animals from millions
of years ago to the present.
“While I love teaching, I also really love research,”Faerber said. “So working at Stanford in
the summers allows me to have both in my life.”
Science, the second highest rated scientific
journal, recently published multiple papers
based on the research Faerber helps with
during the summer.
“It is one of the largest and most detailed
studies of the fossil record to date,”Faerber said.
But before she came to teach and before
she helped at Stanford, Faerber was out at sea
watching marine mammals splash and play.
“I can’t actually pinpoint a specific moment” when she knew what she wanted to do,
she said. “I’ve wanted to be a marine biologist
since I was in elementary school.”
She says even when she was too young
to know what it actually meant, her answer to
“what do you want to be when you grow up”
has always been marine biologist.
“I’ve just always had a draw to the ocean,”
she said.
Faerber went to graduate school in the
United Kingdom, tailoring all her classes toward her interest in marine biology.
She began her career in a laboratory in
Hawaii where she studied the cognitive abilities of captive dolphins.
“It was an amazing experience,” Faerber
said. “I was a dolphin trainer for a couple years.”
But after some time, she realized this
wasn’t quite the right field for her.
“I then realized that I actually had a hard
time with captivity,” she said.
Faerber changed her focus to a more
behavior-based study of marine mammals in
the wild. Using this path, she did research in
Hawaii and the Canary Islands about the effect
of sonar use by the Navy on marine mammals’
sonar uses for her master’s thesis.
Faerber also spent time working at the
Monterey Bay Aquarium with sea otters and
rehabilitation, as well as some blue whale
research off the coast of California.
“I lived on boats quite a bit,” Faerber said.
“So I wouldn’t say I actually lived anywhere
except offshore for several years because I
would probably spend about eight months at
sea. It was usually six weeks on, at sea, and six
weeks off. And usually during those six weeks
off, I just traveled.”
Those many days at sea will come in handy
when next year comes around and the teaching begins.
The new class will include a variety of sub-
Meghan Faerber, biology teacher at Monte Vista High, is shown here working with Akeakamai the dolphin
in a cognitive research lab in Hawaii as a trainer. Photo by the Stampede, Monte Vista High School.
jects and projects. To name a few possible top- are starting it from scratch, you do have to go
ics: marine mammals, jellyfish, sharks and rays, through a really extensive proposal of what will
plankton, waves and currents. Some labs could be taught (and) how it will be taught,” Faerber
include dissections of sharks, starfish and sea said. “I am very lucky that I came into a district
urchin and also maintaining aquarium tanks. that already did all that work for me.”
Marine Biology will be offered for grades
The class could also include trips to the
Monterey Bay Aquarium, going tide pooling, 10-12 with the requirement of having completed Biology with a C or higher and also
or even whale watching.
Generally, when a new class is being having taken Geometry. The class counts as
introduced, there is a tedious process of get- a lab science for all out-of-state colleges, CSUs
ting materials together and deciding on the and UCs.
“The theme of marine ecosystem will
curriculum. However, because all the other
high schools in the district already offer this drive the curriculum involving the coverage
of classic biological concepts,” the course
class, not all the work was needed.
“Normally if a new class starts and you description said.
Student journalists honored at 2015 Lesher Awards
Student journalists from Contra Costa County high schools,
their parents, teachers ,friends and invited guests, gathered
at the Bedford Gallery at the Lesher Center for the Arts in
Walnut Creek on April 30 for the presentation of the annual
Lesher Awards.
Working journalists from the Contra Costa Times, led by
Metro Editor Craig Lazzeretti and Assistant Metro Editor Cecily
Burt, judged the entries.
The Lesher Foundation, represented by Executive Director Kathleen Odne, provided refreshments. Odne spoke to the
students about the value of journalism skills in life.
Terry Keohne, Chief Communications Officer for Contra
Costa County Office of Education, presented the Journalist of
the Year awards.
Elizabeth Graswich, Director of Communications and Community Relations for San Ramon Valley Unified School District
attended and shared some remarks on journalism.
Writing coaches Jim Finefrock, Lesley Guth, Carol Pogash
assisted California Scholastic Journalism Initiative Director Steve
O'Donoghue in presenting the awards as Lazzeretti announced
them and added in judges' comments.
The award program is named in honor of Dean Lesher,
fromer publisher of the Contra Costa Times, who supported
journalism in Contra Costa high schools throughout his tenure
as publisher and owner.
BEST OPINION/COLUMN
(Judge: Lise White, CC Times Staff Writer)
First: Sam Fraser, Acalanes High School. "Fraseology: Arizona attempts to recreate 1950s social conditions."
Second: Lia White, Acalanes High School. "YouTubers
should not be celebrated for offensive videos."
Third: Julie Jung, Northgate High School. "The Digital
Age of Dating."
SPORTS WRITING
Megan Yee,
Acalanes High,
Contra Costa
County Journalist
of the Year winner.
Jillian Argento,
Clayton Valley
Charter High
School, Second
Place, Journalist
of the Year.
Austin Hille,
California High,
Third Place,
Journalist of the
Year.
(Judges: Mike Wood Prep CC Times Sports Editor, and
Stephanie Hammong, CC Times Sports Writer)
Third: Megan Yee, Acalanes High School. "New principal
brings fresh energy and enthusiasm to campus."
First: Jake Barnes, California High School. "Tackling concussions head on."
Second: Michael Ney, Acalanes High School. "Sports injuries: Ugly, devastating and far too common."
Third: Paige Zilinskas, California High School. "Sophomore
kicks off football career."
PHOTOGRAPHY
(Judge: Dan Rosenstrauch, CC Times Staff Photographer)
NEWS WRITING
(Judge: Sam Richards, CC Times Assistant Metro Editor)
First: Dana Peterson and Alyssa Lederman, Northgate High
School. "Teacher's absence raises questions."
Second: Erin Fox, California High School. "Substitute a
no-show, class left alone."
Third: Ivar Laanen, Northgate High School. "School rivalry
sparks tension."
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
(Judge: Jennifer Modeness, CC Times Staff Writer)
First: Austin Hille and Caitlin Stein, California High School.
"Californian editors sample 'a latte' coffee."
Second: Keilana Lorenzana, California High School. "Current doctor exceeds expectations."
Third: Kaila Young, California High School. "Rebellion burns
its way to the battlefield."
FEATURE/PROFILE WRITING
(Judge: Cecily Burt, CC Times Assistant Metro Editor)
First: Megan Yee, Acalanes High School. "Homecoming: A
cultural fixture of constant change over time."
Second: Shea Cummings, Monte Vista High School. "Student spotlight: Lauren Furman."
Alyssa Lederman,
Northgate High,
Honorable
Mention,
Journalist of the
Year
Contra Costa Times Metro Editor
Craig Lazzeretti announced the
winners at the Lesher Awards.
First: Ryan Zhang, California High School. "Grizzlies Sprint
to Victory."
Second: Jess Mould, Acalanes High School. Image of Junior
Hannah Kresnak attempting a goal during a water polo match.
Third: Lincoln Johe, California High School. Two track
hurdlers going neck and neck.
DESIGN
(Judge: Catherine Jacobson, CC Times Assistant Metro
Editor)
First: Arianna Ninh, Acalanes High School
Second: Daniel Carpentier Balough, Gina Matteo and
Samantha Teshima, Monte Vista High School
Third: Austin Hille and Emily Mum, California High School
EDITORIAL
(Judge: Matthias Gafni, CC Times Staff Writer)
First: Danny Ennis, Acalanes High School. "Comprehensive
sex education must be preserved."
Second: Austin Hille, California High School. "District should
offer non-college options"
Third: Danny Ennis, Acalanes High School. "Patriotic paranoia and heinous acts spell out American hypocrisy."
OVERALL EXCELLENCE
(Judge: Theresa Harrington, CC Times Staff Writer)
First: Acalanes High School Blueprint
Second: California High School "The Californian"
Third: Monte Vista High School, "The Stampede"
News
4
May 2015
CC Spin
Monte Vista shines in Valley Teen Idol competition
By ABBY VOGELEY
With many talented performers at Monte
Vista High School, it was no surprise that six
Mustangs made it to the finals in the Valley
Teen Idol competition.
Sponsored by the San Ramon Valley
Rotary, Valley Teen Idol is a singing and
performing competition for middle and high
schoolers.
The finals were held March 29, when first,
second, and third place winners were chosen.
Monte Vista student Abbey Watson received
third place.
Watson was interested in competing after
accompanying a couple of her friends last year.
“I entered Valley Teen Idol because I saw
how much fun the contestants had last year
and I thought it would be a good experience,”
Watson said.
Auditions were held throughout January,
with performers allowed to sing a one-minute,
unaccompanied song. About 100 students
auditioned, and from that a group of 28 were
selected to compete in the semi-finals.
At the semi-finals were on Feb. 21 each
contestant performed a three-minute song
of their choice, ranging from pop songs to
Broadway show tunes.
At this stage the audience was allowed
to vote for their three favorite contestants.
The results are based both on the audience’s
choices and the choices of the judges.
After the votes were tallied and the judges
met, the 16 finalists were announced. Among
them were six Monte Vista students: Watson,
Talia Stivender, Audrey Butler, and a band with
members Kyle Wooten, Weston Wittek, and
Ethan Spain.
“I was excited and surprised when I made
it into the finals,” Watson said.
Although it was Watson’s first year entering, other acts have been competing for a little
longer. The band, named “The Chosen,” with
Wooten as the drummer, Wittek on guitar,
and Spain as the bassist, competed last year.
Forming in 6th grade after a school project,
“The Chosen” found out about Teen Valley Idol
through their middle school band teacher.
After advancing to the finals last year, the band
decided to compete again.
This competition has not only allowed
performers to compete, but has also allowed
them to learn more musically.
“I have learned that stage presence affects
how well you do in the performance,” Wooten
said. “I would tell someone entering [the competition] that stage presence is everything.”
Watson agrees that stage presence is
important in your performance, and that song
choice is just as important as the quality of
someone’s voice.
With so many talented contestants, it was
tough to advance to the finals, and extremely
talented performers were cut. Several other
Monte Vista students performed in the semifinals, including Becca Clemmons.
“I’ve learned a lot about dealing with not
being picked for something, and being satisfied
with your own performances,”Clemmons said.
Jodi Reed, the choir teacher at MV, applauds the students who participated this year.
“They’re fantastic,” Mrs. Reed, the choir
director, said. “I’m really proud of every single
one of them.”
Moll
retiring
after
Citizenship issues challenge student
three decades at PHS
By JULIE JUNG
For the past month, I have had to deal
with issues concerning my citizenship.
Ideally, no 17-year-old high school student
should have to worry about this, but as a
non-resident living in the United States, I
certainly have to face this issue.
I am an immigrant. I was born in Seoul,
South Korea, and moved to the United
States in August 2001, one month before
the horrific 9/11 terrorist attacks.
My parents were able to move their
whole family to the United States thanks
to a business visa. Specifically, I am an E-2
Visa holder and my most recent visa expires
in 2016.
Usually, I go back to South Korea every
three years to renew my visa; the renewal
process includes an interview at the South
Korean Embassy, a stack of paperwork, and
a review of my parent’s files.
If my parents, sister, or I were to fail any
part of the process, I would have to wait a
minimum of one year in Korea until I could
apply for another visa. It is not a fun process,
but I have to do it.
I never put much importance on my
citizenship until now. Why now, you ask?
Mainly because of college financial aid.
Most of you will apply or have already
applied for the FAFSA or the CSS Profile,
which are the most common ways students
receive some form of financial aid.
Unfortunately, as a non-resident, I cannot apply for these financial options. The
most annoying part about this situation is
the friends who complain about how little
the FAFSA or the CSS provides.
“Oh, the FAFSA only gave me $1,000
for this year.”
“I can’t believe I went through all that
paperwork for this.”
“If only I was poorer.”
I hear these statements throughout the
school and all I can do is listen, appalled.
Money is money, whether it is in small or
large amounts. Don’t get me wrong; I understand when someone may be disappointed
by the amount of money FAFSA provides,
but at least that person has the chance to
apply in the first place.
When my dream college costs around
$60,000 per year, even a penny can ease
the damage that kind of money will do to
a bank account.
Another privilege unavailable to me
because of my citizenship status is driving.
As embarrassing as it sounds for a high
school senior, I am still not able to drive
myself around. I wanted to start driving
once I turned 15 and a half, but my mother
was morbidly afraid that I might get myself
into an accident; she told me that I would
get to drive once I could legally drink.
Miraculously, my mother changed her
mind and let me pursue a driver’s permit
when I turned 17 and a half.
On Feb. 23, 9:30 a.m., I went to the
Pittsburgh DMV and stood in line for three
hours, only to be asked my Social Security
number. My mother and I tried to explain
how it would be near impossible for me to
receive a Social Security number since I’m
not even a Green Card holder. So, at 12:30
p.m., I walked out of the Pittsburgh DMV,
permit-less.
Of course I was disappointed and a little
bit sad, but the worst part was coming back
to school to my cousin, who is a citizen and
has her permit.
She began to brag of how she would
get her license before I could ever get my
permit and that she was going to get the
car that my parents had planned for me to
drive once I received my permit. It was the
perfect “cherry-on-top” moment.
As of now, I am preparing to apply for
an international student status, which gives
more leeway to applying for financial aid.
I know that as I go on in my life without
proper citizenship, I will face issues such
as the ones that I’ve mentioned.
However, I hope that when people hear
stories of visa-holding immigrants, they can
think of me and my experiences. One day,
I will be college debt-free, driving around
in my very own car.
By VICTORIA DUENAS
For roughly 28 years the students of Pittsburg High
learned Italian and French from the beloved Debra Moll.
This will be her last year at the school.
Moll is retiring after the 2014-15 school year, but
she might not be done teaching. She is looking into
teaching English in Puglia, a region in the south of Italy.
After growing up in Ohio, Moll studied at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. While in college she
studied abroad in the south of France, where she picked
up a bit of Italian.
When she returned from overseas she lived in
Glendale. One Labor Day weekend she and her mother
took a trip to San Francisco, where they fell in love with
the culture and decided to move there.
In 1986 she moved to Pleasant Hill but this time her
husband and two kids accompanied her. She started
substitute teaching in the Mount Diablo district, Antioch Unified, and Pittsburg. She soon landed a job at
Pittsburg High.
Her first year or so was eventful, especially because
she had to teach a junior English class even though she
had no curriculum to follow and specialized in foreign
language. It was a difficult start, but Moll said she was
motivated to stay by the “the diversity of the students,
colleagues and community of Pittsburg.”She remembers
when the district tried to end the Italian program and
the community supported her completely.
Moll will be greatly missed but her impact on the
foreign language department will not be forgotten.
Dilemma: Is it Mr., Mrs. or coach? The SheCode Club
By MADDIE DAILEY
In the various sports teams across
campus, many are accompanied by a complicated decision of “Hey Coach!”or“Excuse
me, Mrs. Bellini.”
Teachers from all subject areas participate in coaching sports teams of all
shapes and sizes. The coaches on campus
include: Craig Bergman, a PE teacher and
varsity football coach; Brooke Rogers,
varsity water polo coach; Alexander Allen
coaches golf and is a math teacher; Jenyth
Utchen, an English teacher and women’s
varsity volleyball coach; Keith Philapil,
freshman football coach and math teacher;
Gina Henehan coaches cheer and pom and
is also a history teacher; Nicholas Jones
coaches varsity mens basketball and is a
history teacher; and Jennie Drummond,
an art teacher, coaches the throw events
for the track and field team.
What is it like to switch from formal
to first name basis in the same day? What
is it like to have to focus on not only their
students’ success in academics, but athletics as well?
Bergman, PE teacher and football
coach, talks about putting in lots of extra
work for his sports program. “You know,
one time we did some calculations and I
would say on average we would probably
put in about 25 to 35 more hours per week,”
Bergman said. “When you consider that as
coaches we are here all day Saturday and
half a day on Sunday, breaking down film
and all those things. And after school for
about three hours each day, that takes us
to about 25 hours.”’
Many other teachers stated that they
spend at least 2 to 3 extra hours a day for
practice and even more on planning and
workouts, sometimes on weekends.
Sometimes this can get in the way of
both personal and teaching scheduling, but
some coaches are lucky enough to have
a specified schedule that tailors to their
coaching. Bergman has a football weight
class 6th period that takes some time out
of what would be done at practice. Utchen,
English teacher and varsity volleyball coach,
also has a special schedule.
“Our administration and English department are really supportive of teacher/
coaches because it’s so great to have them
on campus,”Utchen said.“So, my schedule is
carefully determined so that I can be in the
gym to set up at the end of 6th period, and
that I am not overloaded with homework.
It is too hard to teach two AP classes and
teach full time and coach a varsity sport, so
my schedule was great this year.”
Bergman, says that he does not mind
whether someone calls him“Coach”or refers
to him with the title Mr. As long as it is one
of the two, he is fine with it. Drummond
has a similar policy with names.
“Students don’t necessarily treat me
any differently, although some call me
“Coach” instead of “Ms. Drummond,” now,
which is totally fine,” Drummond said.
However, Utchen requires a more formal addressing in her classroom.
“In my classroom, I’m Mrs. (or Ms.)
Utchen. In the gym, my players can call me
Coach, Coach J.J., or just J.J,” Utchen said. “If
I see my players in the hallways, it’s Coach
or Mrs. Utchen.”
Every teacher spoken to said that they
do not do it for the money, but for the sheer
joy of coaching.
“Coaches get paid...less than $1.00 [per
hour],” Utchen said. “Yet I am richly paid in
thank you notes, total cooperation and appreciation from my team, and in gratitude
from my parents.”
Bergman agrees.
“You know your coach will receive a
very minimal amount. None of us do it for
that. We all do it because we like to coach,”
Bergman said. “And if we did it for money
I don’t know if anyone would be doing it.”
Pittsburg calling parents to cut tardies
school, a problem at Pittsburg High because
By JOSHUA BLAKES
of its high level of tardiness.
The policy applies to all Pittsburg UniIn a campaign to combat tardiness, fied schools, though. At elementary schools,
the Pittsburg Unified School District has which take attendance once a day, a first
instituted a policy of notifying parents when notice goes to parents after five tardies and
their children are habitually late to class.
a second letter after 10.
At Pittsburg High, parents will receive a
In announcing the policy this year,
first notice from the school when students Assistant Superintendent Abe Doctolero
are late for classes 30 times and a second said,”Showing up on time and ready to
letter after 60 tardies.
learn is important to your student’s success.
Principal Todd Whitmire said that punc- Being late impacts not only your student’s
tuality in school translates into benefits in learning time, but can be disruptive to the
later life.
other students in the classroom.”
“The tardiness is based off the work
The district urged parents to“take steps
ethic and not wanting it to roll over into to ensure your student is on-task and onadulthood,” he said
time every day.”
He said there is a strong correlation
Among other things, students can
with being tardy and bad grades, which change to a different bus schedule or ask
connects with having to play catch up in their parents for suggestions on how to get
to class on time.
District officials said that tardiness not
only affects student learning and disrupts
classes, it can have a financial impact on
the school.
“Daily attendance determines the
amount of money our school receives,”
Whitmire said. “It is important to have your
children in school, on time every day.”
“The tardiness is based off
the work ethic and not wanting it to roll over into adulthood,” said Pittsburg High
School Principal Todd
Whitmire
converts to WeCode
By FATIMA ALI
The WeCode Club, started by senior Anshula Singh,
is a club for girls that focuses on coding and technology.
Singh aims to create a fun and friendly environment while exposing women to different aspects of
technology. “Our main goal is to expose people (to)
the wonders of actually being able to make stuff on
the computer,” Singh said. “Lots of studies have shown
that in five to 10 years from now, coding will become
as common a language as Spanish, French or Japanese
for schools to teach.”
Originally, the WeCode club was called “SheCode”
and was tailored only towards girls. However the administration didn’t allow it. There are roughly 60 students in
the WeCode Club, including 20 to 25 boys.
AP Java is a class offered at Monte Vista that focuses
on coding. However, Singh recognized that not all people
have time for an entire coding class.
She has many things planned for the year besides
learning the basics of coding such as working on projects
and going on field trips to major technological companies
such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google.
“We also want to eliminate the nerd stereotype, and
make it the kind of club where people are comfortable
to come in and just be at the same level as most other
people and come for the value of learning,”Anshula said.
This club was designed to broaden the female role
of coding and other technological aspects.
Driving hazards
When driving, how big of an issue to you find the following
problems are today, compared to 3 years ago?
Much bigger problem today
Somewhat bigger problem today
Traffic
congestion
1.2%
0.2%
0.1%
About the same
Somewhat smaller problem today
29.8%
30.9%
Much smaller problem today
37.7%
Don’t know
Aggressive
drivers
1.2%
0.3%
0.3%
37%
30.3%
Distracted
drivers
Drunk
driving
0.7%
0.2%
0.2%
7.6%
0.6%
0.3%
14%
27.2% 57.8%
31%
Source: AAA
Graphic: Tribune News Service
21.2%
49.9% 20.4%
5
News
CC Spin
May 2015
Students form band, entertain at Monte Vista High
By NATHAN JAMES
Four MVHS students have formed a new
band, which played for the first time at the
winter rally last February.
The group’s members are senior Isaiah
David-Kim, senior Noah Congdon, sophomore
Daniel Roth, and freshman Kyle Wooten. Senior Ben Pollack is also involved and stood in
for a former band member, one of Congdon’s
friends.
The band members play multiple instruments and switch around positions.
The band currently does not have a name
but things are starting to become more serious.
“People want us to be serious,” David-Kim
said. “We want to give the people what they
want.”
During the performance, Congdon and
Pollack played the guitar, Roth was on drums,
and David-Kim was the lead singer. They played
the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” at the
winter rally. Wooten has just recently joined
the band and did not perform at the rally.
Congdon said it was David-Kim’s idea to
perform at the winter rally and that David-Kim
had wanted to perform for the school for a
long time.
“I really wanted to do it, it was something
new,” David-Kim said. “I’ve always loved live
music and I wanted to give the experience to
someone else.”
David-Kim had the idea since freshman
year, and he already knew Congdon at the time.
“We’ve been jamming together since
freshman year,” David-Kim said.
Pollack talked about the band right before
the rally.
“The band formed right before the winter
rally, rehearsing the week before,” Pollack said.
Since then, the band continues to be
active.
They rehearse their own songs as well as
covering other songs written by outside artists.
Other songs and artists they cover include
“Glycerine” by Bush, “A-Team” by Ed Sheeran,
“Under the Bridge” by Red Hot Chili Peppers,
“Lonely Boy” by Black Keys, and an original
song written by Roth called “Back at the End.”
Alcalanes layoffs hit
four campuses in fall
From ACALANES Page
1
The AUHSD currently has both full-time and parttime certificated employees. In terms of teachers, full
time employees are defined as those who teach at least
five periods a day. Part time teachers teach one to four
periods a day.
Class reductions are determined by sections, not
teachers, so they can result in either teachers teaching
fewer classes or complete layoffs.
State law requires public school districts to give
preliminary notices to the teachers whose services may
not be required in the next school year by March 15 of
the preceding school year. After the annual March 15
deadline, teachers who have not been “pink-slipped”
cannot be laid off for the next school year.
“Typically what happens after the deadline is that
there’s another date in May where the layoffs are finalized,”
AUHSD Business Services Associate Superintendent Chris
Learned said. “By May, we will have more information on
the state budget, and there will be changes in our budget
estimation that could potentially reduce the number of
certificated staff that are laid off, but not all employees
who are notified in March are absolutely guaranteed to
end up being laid off.”
The district is also making budget cuts in other
areas as well. All departmental supply budgets are being
reduced. The district is planning to close the Acalanes
Adult Education School because it will no longer receive
funding from the state.
“Our ultimate goal is to rein in our expenses while
still preserving the high quality education that the
students receive here,” AUHSD Superintendent John
Nickerson said.
Since the 2007-2008 school year, dealing with a tight
budget has consistently been a problem for the district.
“During the recession, the state underfunded the
district by 22 percent, which added up to millions of dollars of lost funding,” Learned said. “For every dollar the
district was supposed to receive, we only got 78 cents.”
In 2013, California passed and implemented the
Local Control Funding Formula, a new method for the
state to provide funding to public schools. Part of the
LCFF is the Local Control and Accountability Plan, the plan
that individual school districts develop that determines
how they will use funding they receive from the state.
The LCFF and LCAP give schools a base amount of
funding per student that is lower than the base amount
that schools received under the previous system. However, under the new laws, schools are funded additional
dollars for having students that fall within particular target demographics. California public schools now receive
additional funding for English Language learners, lower
income students, or foster youth.
In the average school district in California, 60 percent
of the students are in targeted demographics and thus
qualify their schools for additional funding. In districts
in Oakland and San Francisco, their student population
is 80-90 percent targeted students.
Only 6 percent of students fall within the target
demographics in the AUHSD. Under the LCAP and LCFF,
even if the state fully funds AUHSD what it qualifies for
according to the formula, the district will never return
to the inflation-adjusted pre-recession level of funding
it had in the 2007-2008 school year.
“Now that we’re coming out of the recession, the
state is restoring funding, but since we have (relatively
few) target students, the amount of funding we get
is not much higher than the base amount,” Nickerson
said. “We don’t receive as much as many other districts,
and it’s left us in a place where the money isn’t coming
quickly enough to get us out of the problem that was left
after the recession. We’re still facing a lot of challenges
going forward.”
Acalanes Principal Allison Silvestri noted how
fortunate Acalanes High School was to have extensive
support from the Acalanes Parents Club and the Lafayette
Partners in Education Foundation. A major part of APC
and LPIE funding for Acalanes High School goes towards
providing more academic class sections and supporting
electives such as the computer science, engineering,
instrumental and choral music, and drama programs.
“That being said, there are still teachers that will
be laid off,” Silvestri said. “And that will be hard for all of
us because they are the pillars of our community.”
The members love performing because
they can involve the crowd to enrich the
experience.
“I want to let the audience know that I feel
pumped, and make the audience feel the same
way,” David-Kim said.
Roth also commented on why involving
the crowd is crucial in the band’s performances.
“It can be interpreted different ways… I
want it to speak to people.”
Pollack gave his opinion on music and the
possibility of performing with the band again.
“I think music is a great way of expression
because it sometimes is easier to express meaning that isn’t words,” Pollack said. “If I’m asked
to perform again, I’d love to.”
Congdon, who also played drums at the
rally, stated,“I’m very passionate, I love to listen
to and play music. It’s what I do, it’s a lifetime
hobby.”
Congdon is also in two other bands outside
of school, Floating Islands and Starlighter.
Singer and rhythm guitarist Roth said he
would be open to the band someday exploring
options in New York or Los Angeles.
“It would be cool but I feel school should
be number one for now,” Roth said. “Going to
Los Angeles or New York would be a blessing,
music is a huge part of my life.”
David-Kim discussed the band’s hopes
for future performances.
“For now, we
are looking to do
more shows and
hope to play at
Senior Ball and
Graduation Night,”
David-Kim said.
David-Kim
has looked into
musical colleges,
and is considering
applying to one of
them.
“Part of me wants to be a rockstar,” DavidKim said. “It’s a dream.”
The band was enthusiastically received by
students, who tweeted that they hope to hear
them again soon.
Interact hosts multicultural rally
By JULIE LUM
Hercules High School
Freshmen, sophomores, juniors and
seniors at Hercules High came together
this year for a multicultural rally host ed by
the Interact Club. The student organization
began planning the event late December
and worked closely with Principal Paul
Mansingh to plan and search for performers.
Although other rallies focus on class
pride, the annual cultural rally celebrates
the diversity of all students and staff on
campus.
The rally, held March 13, included a
multilingual greeting, followed by games
and dance performances representing
different cultures. For many students and
teachers, this rally is the highlight of the
year.
“I always look forward to the cultural
rally because its shows how diverse Hercules is,” math teacher Maricris Cruzat said.
Yet this year’s cultural celebration had
a twist — the event was broken into two
parts. The idea spawned from a suggestion
by Mansingh. While the day rally consisted
of the traditional student performers, the
night rally included performers from the
across the Bay Area.
Upon exiting the evening show, guests
were greeted by clubs vending food items
for the audience. Although the Interact
team invested $300 in decorations, Mansingh funded an additional $1,800 to invite
the dancers onto the Hercules gym floor.
“What I like was this year we were able
to perform more,” Interact adviser and science teacher Emerlyn Gatchalian said. “It
was really good, especially the evening.
And after the event we had the club fair,
which was an added bonus.”
Despite the work put into planning,
Interact members were worried about the
turnout for the night show. They believed
the price tag on the ticket -- $5 for adults,
$3 for students without lanyards, $2 for
students with lanyards and free for children
10 and under -- would give parents and
students second thoughts about attending
the new event. Yet the packed bleachers
said otherwise.
“I think it turned out well. The night
one went better than we expected,” senior
Interact president Patrick Aquino said.“I was
pretty surprised about how many people
showed up.”
With the success of the night event,
the Interact club plans to continue the
evening tradition.
“We would like our next year’s officers
to pass it on,”Interact Co-President Gabrielle
Stone said.
PET: Hands-on science in new physics class
By KEVIN YAN
Why is it that physics, an area of science
that describes the many exciting phenomena of the physical world, often seems so
dry and abstract? Why does such a fascinating field of science seem to lose its charm
in the sterile environment of a classroom?
In many ways, the traditional format of a
physics class does not do this field of science
justice. However, the PET class, through its
unconventional methods, may be able to release the beauty and excitement of physics
from the oppressive chains of whiteboard
lectures and scantron tests.
The Physics and Engineering Technology, or PET, is a course taught jointly
by architecture and engineering teacher
Mike Huntsman and physics teacher Roger
Johnson. The course is a combination of a
physics class and an engineering class with
a hands-on twist.
The class aims to teach the curriculum
of a normal physics class using hands-on
engineering projects as the basis of instruction. By building various engineering
projects throughout the year, such as electrical circuits, paper rockets, Rube Goldberg
machines, and carbon dioxide cars (to name
a few), students learn about the physics at
play behind the scenes of these projects.
A large portion of one’s grade in the
class is determined by the engineering
projects. Students in PET are expected to
successfully finish their projects. If their
project fails, the students are expected to
start the project over.
“I don’t let students fail in this class,”
Huntsman said.
Huntsman and Johnson split the work
of teaching the class by managing different
aspects of the course. Johnson operates the
more traditional side of the class, giving
lectures, explaining concepts, and giving
the occasional physics test.
Huntsman deals with the handson aspect of the class, working with the
students on their engineering projects. In
order to accommodate these two facets of
the course, the class occupies two periods
of each day, forming one block-style, twohour period.
In order to build their elaborate engineering projects, students in the class learn
to use engineering computer programs that
allow students to design and plan projects.
PET gives its students the opportunity to
gain experience using the same tools a
professional engineer would.
Huntsman describes the curriculum
of PET as very similar to the curriculum of
college engineering courses, preparing PET
students well for engineering in college
and beyond.
The class is considered a physical
science course by the school district and
in turn yields a physical science credit
towards graduation. In addition, the class
is an Regional Occupation Program class,
which means that it is designed to prepare
its students for a certain occupation: In this
case, an engineering job. PET is also a UC
certified course.
The class is generally made up of juniors
and seniors, but sophomores are welcome
to waver into the class.
Huntsman, in addition to teaching
PET, also teaches Architectural Design and
Intro to Engineering. He is a firm believer in
“hands-on”learning and is a certified Career
Technology Educator.
Huntsman said that when he teaches
the class, he aims to leave his students
with a positive attitude about engineering,
and possibly guide them down the path of
becoming an engineer.
“Engineers are problem solvers.”
Huntsman said. “Without them, our world
wouldn’t be where it is today.”
City of Hercules bans all plastic bags
By JUSTICE DELOS SANTOS
The city of Hercules is taking steps to
become a cleaner, greener city, initiating an
ordinance that will ban plastic bags from
businesses.
The ordinance was adopted last Sept.
9, by the City Council, but will not be fully
enforced until July 15 to allow small businesses to adapt to the change. The ordinance states that plastic bags,
unless used to package foods, are prohibited; paper and reusable bags are allowed
and are required to be made available, but
will cost 10 cents per bag. A letter to business owners said, “The
intent of the ordinance is to protect the
environment by reducing the number of
plastic bags in our waterways through the
adoption of more sustainable practices
including using recycled paper bags and
reusable bags.”
Students and teachers at Hercules High
expressed support.
“I believe we shouldn’t be using
plastic bags in the first place,” says AP
environmental science teacher Michael
Hudson. “Paper and renewable bags
are much better
for the environment.”
Junior Edric Tom said, “I
think that it is a
good thing that
they’re doing this
because plastic
bags destroy the
environment.
By Hercules banning plastic bags,
it shows that Hercules is taking a
more environmental turn.” This ordinance is just another step for the city of
Hercules. A project called Alexandria at Victoria by the Bay will create 43 solar-powered
homes in a once-empty lot in East Victoria. “I think this is also a good thing,” Tom
said. “Hercules has always needed to improve in what they’re spending on. Now
that they’re building new houses, Hercules
is getting itself together.”
Hercules becomes one of hundreds
of cities in California to ban plastic bags,
VERBOTEN Under the city of Hercules’ new law,
plastic bags will be forbidden at check out
stands like this one in the Lucky supermarket
on Sycamore Avenue. Photo by Jessica Thang,
Hercules High School.
including fellow Contra Costa County cities
El Cerrito, San Pablo, Pittsburg, Walnut
Creek, and Richmond, the first city in the
county to implement a ban.
The pioneer of this movement was San
Francisco, which banned plastic shopping
bags in April 2007.
Viewpoints
6
May 2015
CC Spin
A different experience leads to different results
By GRACE WENSLEY
N
inety seven percent. That was
the percent of students in the
SRVUSD district that graduated
high school in 2011. Sixty five percent.
That was Vallejo City Unified school
district’s rate.
This is just one example of how
students living completely different lives
with different circumstances are placed
on the same standardized scale.
It is all a part of public school education. A system created to provide free,
standardized education across an area.
But if student experiences aren’t the
same then why are we mandating the
same level of success and proficiency
from everyone?
Experience. It is the key word that
explains these differences in “scores” or
“rates.” Many students have a very different experience compared to ours.
It’s difficult for a student to be successful when they are trying to determine how they’re going to get their next
meal and meet their basic needs, or raise
their younger siblings with the absence
of parents. On the other hand, most students at Monte Vista feel that their next
test or game means everything.
Much of the blame for low performing students is their “lack of motivation.”
If they would just get focused then
they could succeed just like kids in our
district, right?
Well, when all your focus is directed
toward literally surviving, is studying for
your vocab test high up on your list of
priorities?
But let’s not forget the students in
these districts that do graduate and lead
successful lives. There are many of them
that are “roses that grew from concrete”
like Tupac said. Still their experience isn’t
quite the same as ours.
Often time kids who can focus on
school are still affected by students that
interrupt class time.
Assistant Principal John-Paul Ballou
has had experience in districts similar
to VCUSD. He explains the reason why
we are able to take time out of our day
to practice for standardized tests, like
the new CAASP testing which ultimately
raise our “scores”.
“It (the practice test) does take
away from instructional minutes from
other programs, but I think that the fact
that we have such a great student body
allows us to do this,” Ballou said.
“I’ve
worked at
other schools
and I’d say that
as much time
as the teacher
wants (here) is
committed to
teaching.
Some
schools, a lot
of their time is
spent on discipline, there’s
not a whole lot
of focus in the
classroom, so
the students
This graph displays graduation rates of several districts around the Bay Area.
here allow the Districts have been measured and compared to each other on the same
teacher to be
standardized scale for years, despite differences in circumstances. Graph by Grace
a lot more efWensley, Monte Vista High School.
ficient. I think
most part kids are kids, and we all try
in that way we
our best at what is most important to us
have a luxury because we can do stuff
specifically; academics, sports, music.
like this,” Ballou added.
Other kids try their best too, but at
At Monte Vista High School, our
staying
safe, avoiding gangs, raising a
graduation rate and 95 percent passchild. It’s a whole different experience
ing rate as tenth graders of the CAHSEE
that they live, and it is important to take
reflect these special amenities that we
this into consideration when evaluating
have, and also life experiences.
the success of a school.
We all have to realize that for the
Teens need to be smart about social media
By RYAN DANG
San Ramon Valley High School
M
any teenagers are sick of warnings about
social media, how “everybody can see it” and
“the Internet is permanent.” Warnings now
are often ignored with statements such as “it’s set to
friends only” and “nothing on there can harm me.” But
how true are these statements?
Start with the first one: only friends can see the
posts. While there is a friend-only option in Facebook, it
does not hide everything.
For instance, the profile picture will still show up no
matter what option is set. Other social media sites such
as Twitter and Instagram are popular, too. In Twitter, it’s
possible for anybody to look at anyone’s profile, even
without an account.
That means anyone with Internet access can see
posts on Twitter. With about 3 billion people able to see
Twitter posts, the argument of “it’s set to friends only”
doesn’t hold up.
So what about “nothing on there can harm me”?
This means that their own posts on Twitter, Instagram,
or any other social media can’t come back to harm
them. Consider this, how many posts on Twitter are
about you? Not just the posts written by you, but also
posts by others.
And of all those people, how many are close
friends? The thing about social media is that everyone
can post anything about anyone for everyone to see.
So it really doesn’t matter if you don’t post anything that can harm you. What does matter is that one
person alone can post something harmful. The harmful
posts don’t even have to be true. They can be a rumor
that can spread not only through school, but throughout the world.
So why use social media if it’s “dangerous”? One
reason is that it has advantages, such as organizing
events and raising awareness of issues.
Another reason is the thought that “it won’t happen to me.” This is a good reason, since there are millions of profiles on Twitter and Instagram. What are the
chances of someone stealing my identity?
The answer is that the odds are not high, but the
risks can be high, too. Look at the popular “ice water
challenge,” a challenge to jump into freezing water and
then challenge three other people.
It’s dangerous as the rapid change in temperature
could cause headaches and numbness, and if participants can’t get back to land, they might drown.
Yet people still accepted the challenge. Why? Because they were thinking, “it’s not going to be me. I’m
not going to be the one.”
But consider why many people got cold feet about
the ice water challenge. On May 11, 2014, according to
Fox News, a 16-year-old boy died after taking the challenge, now, he won’t be able to Tweet about it.
No happily ever after for stolen phone victim
By MEGAN NETHERCUTT
Y
ou know the saying, “You never
know what you have until you lose
it?” Well, recently I came up with
my own saying. It goes something like
this, “You always know what you have
especially when you lose it.”
It all happened after I did what I’ve
done hundreds of times -- usually on a
daily basis, about three times a day to be
exact. I walked from my second period
class to my locker and threw my textbook and phone on top, freeing up my
arms to allow myself to open my locker.
Now, don’t lie to yourself, we’ve all
placed our phone on top of the lockers
at some point in our high school career.
I mean really, it’s such a convenient little
shelf.
As the end of brunch bell struck
10:10 a.m., I picked up my backpack and
walked to class. Just as Hilary Duff did in
A Cinderella Story, I left
my phone behind, only
this time, my Prince
Charming didn’t find it
to give it back.
After checking the
office three times that
day, checking surveillance cameras, making
reward posters, and
getting tips from students about possible
people to talk to, I had
Verizon put my phone
into theft mode.
According to the
man from Verizon
named Jonathan, “Theft
mode turns your phone
into a fancy piece of
plastic, shutting it
down completely.”
Why someone
would still want my
phone when they
could do absolutely nothing
with it is beyond
me.
Why had
someone taken
my phone? What
had I done to
deserve this? I
had found a total
of three phones
in my three years
attending Northgate, and I had
always brought
them up to
the office. Why
couldn’t someone have done
the same with my
phone?
Due to the
rookie mistake of
not backing up my phone, I had now lost
over 2,000 photos, and every contact I
had ever acquired over my five years of
owning a phone.
Knowing that some stranger had my
phone made my blood boil, but the fact
that someone could steal someone else’s
phone and think it was OK downright
shocked me.
Not only is it wrong, it’s illegal. What
has happened to our society? When we
grow up, we are taught not only by our
parents but also our teachers that we
don’t take things that don’t belong to us.
If we find something that isn’t ours we
return it to its rightful owner.
Next time you find something that
isn’t yours ask yourself, “How would I feel
if this were mine and someone took it
from me?”
If only my Prince Charming had
picked it up, this story would have
ended, as fairy tales usually do, with a
“happily ever after.”
CC Spin
CC Spin is printed by the Bay Area News Group but copy, photos, art and other
contents are produced by students at Contra Costa public high schools. Story development is supervised by the journalism advisers at the participating schools. Professional journalists coach the students and guide their reporting and writing.
Staff members from the Contra Costa Times and other local newspapers instruct
participating students in professional journalism standards and practices.
CC Spin is a product of the collaboration of The Lesher Foundation, the Bay Area
News Group, the Contra Costa County Office of Education, and the
California Scholastic Journalism Initiative.
All opinions expressed in CC Spin are the views of the student authors and do not
represent the opinion of the Contra Costa Times, the Lesher Foundation, any school,
district or county educational authority, or the California Scholastic Journalism
Initiative.
CC Spin is a product of student journalists and is guided by the tenets of
The First Amendment, the ethical guidelines of the Society of Professional
Journalists and California Education Code sections 45907 and 48950.
Facilitators
Faculty Advisers
Bert Robinson
Managing Editor/News
Bay Area News Group
Larry Freeman, Acalanes High School
Kathleen Odne
Executive Director
Lesher Foundation
Marialana Knorpp, College Park High School
Terry Koehne
Chief Communications Officer
Contra Costa County Office
of Education
Igor Litvin, Hercules High School
Steve O’Donoghue
California Scholastic Journalism
Initiative, Coordinator
Jim Finefrock, Writing Coach
Lesley Guth, Writing Coach
Carol Pogash, Writing Coach
Dick Rogers, Writing Coach
Brian Barr, California High School
Greg Rosewell Clayton Valley Charter High School
Brian Buttacavoli, Making Waves Academy
Rebecca Bellini, Monte Vista High School
Karen Jenkins, Northgate High School
Dick Rogers, Volunteer Adviser, Pittsburg High School
Kevin Keane, Volunteer Adviser, Richmond High
Giana Lillig, San Ramon Valley High School
Viewpoints
CC Spin
7
May 2015
What it's like growing up in Richmond, California
By JOEVANNA LEDESMA
Making Waves Academy
M
y days consistently revolve
around school, work and
domestic responsibilities. I
go day by day, putting any extra hours
into my AP calculus class. I can spend
up to seven hours studying for my final
exam for that class. I have to make sure
I am always on time to all my meetings,
especially because I am president of our
journalism club and chief editor. I am
also involved with another school club
called Sangre Latina. As vice president,
I have to be present at all meetings and
be actively involved in all events.
My busy and active life has helped
me develop important attributes like
good social skills and advocating for
myself.
I plan to attend a four-year university and pursue a career as a lawyer. It is
sometimes rare to find a college-driven
student in the type of community I
come from. I live in Richmond, California.
Richmond is city rich in history. But
over the years, its history has plummeted into a violent reputation. I come
from a community that is perceived as
full of gang violence and burglaries. According to San Francisco Business Times,
Richmond is the third most dangerous
cities in Northern California, following
Oakland and Emeryville.
But Richmond is separated into two
completely different regions. There is an
overpass separating the violent world
from the quiet friendly world.
I come from the former, a place
where I am not expected to make it
out of poverty and not expected to
succeed. My destiny is already written,
controlled by the city I come from. I look
around and see only people of color.
There are brothers fighting brothers, our
same kind bringing us down instead of
encouraging us to make a difference
for ourselves or for our community. I
completely disagree with the idea that I
am expected to fail and not break out of
poverty because I come from such a city.
In August of my senior year, I count
every person who walks by. We have
made it another year without losing
someone from shots fired late at night
and streets filled with the piercing noise
of sirens. These alarms often tell the
community that we just lost another
member.
This is Richmond. I attend Making Waves Academy, which is tied with
Leadership Public Schools as the toprated high school in Richmond, according toGreatSchools: Richmond Schools.
It is not easy being a Mexican American girl living in a place where minorities are expected to stay in poverty. By
2005 the Latinos had the highest dropout rate in the country. I go about day
by day as a statistic. To everyone, even
my own people, I am another number
on the charts, and to them my future is
not bright.
But my school provides encouragement for my education, reminding me
that I am not a statistic. I am different.
I complete my schoolwork, and after I
get home from my part time job at the
bakery, I need to fulfill my domestic
responsibilities. After I finish the first
round of cleaning and when my dad
comes home from work, we all sit down
to have dinner.
I am a Mexican American girl, expected to fulfill my role as a female in
my father’s eyes. Every day is a challenge
as I seek a way out of this expectation.
Every day I am labeled as a Mexican female and a minority. Every day I fight to
be seen as equal. I know that education
is my right. Every day I try to do what is
right because I know I that as a first-generation college graduate someday, I will
be a key to my community’s future.
were STIs and how to not get pregnant
by practicing abstinence. In high school,
condoms were mentioned, but the first
time I’d ever see one would be two years
later at a safe-sex workshop hosted by
GSA Network.
I have attended several such workshops and
watched many Laci Green
YouTube videos since then
and learned far more than
schools have ever tried
to teach me. It should
say something about the
schools’ approach to sex
ed that I learned more in
a five-minute video than I
ever did in elementary, middle, and high
school combined.
The one thing that all of these
workshops and videos talked about
that school never once mentioned was
consent.
Yet consent is probably the most
essential component of any sexual
encounter. In fact, consent is essential
to anything and everything involving
someone else’s emotional and physical
well-being.
Consent is what separates sex from
rape and dirty talk from
harassment.
Some might say that
talking about consenting to
sexual activity is inappropriate, as only those who are 18
or older can legally give consent. Some people get upset
that schools even teach the
little bit of sexual education
that they do.
Sex is a topic often
frowned upon by our society, so perhaps that shouldn’t come as such a
surprise. But sex ed is a life lesson. Most
people will indulge in sexual behavior,
and many even before they turn 18.
So is it really necessary to censor the
part of the curriculum that says “it’s OK
to say no” and that if a person doesn’t
want to do something, others have to
respect their decision?
Especially since sexual violence is
so common, particularly in college, why
would anyone want to deprive a young
person of the knowledge that it’s okay
not to want something?
By the time a person has their first
sexual encounter, they probably haven’t
learned very much about the social,
physical, and emotional aspects of a
sexual relationship.
What school teaches us about “safe
sex” isn’t even close to enough and in
my school experience, we weren’t even
given alternative resources if we wanted
to learn more.
So, before you think you know
everything about sex, think again. Watch
some Laci Green or Dr. Doe videos. Find
resources like Planned Parenthood or
the Rainbow Community Center to get
unbiased information.
Educate yourself, because the school
won’t.
Let's talk about sex ed: Do schools go far enough?
By STEPHANIE PICK
M
aybe it’s the public school
system, or perhaps just this
district, but someone believes
that one-and-a-half hours in fifth grade,
a class period or two in seventh grade,
and a week in high school biology class
is a sufficient amount of time for teachers to teach kids sexual education. It’s
not.
When I was in fifth grade, the girls
and boys were separated based on
their biological sex and we were shown
a video about puberty or something.
In the room with the girls, the female
teachers talked to us about periods and
how to deal with them.
The way they talked about it, it
seemed like it’d be no big deal. Most
people who have periods would strongly disagree.
In seventh grade science and high
school biology, all we really talked about
In student eyes, what makes or breaks a great teacher?
By CHRISTIAN BERGER
'I
t’s not my fault; the teacher just
can’t teach.”
Whether it is after a bad grade
or a hard lesson, I myself am guilty of
uttering this age-old excuse, and you
would be hard-pressed to find students
who haven’t.
But what criteria must be met for a
teacher to be classified as “good”?
Some students feel that teachers
must act as mentors, not just relayers
of information. Junior Sophie Chance
thinks that being able to relate to stu-
dents is key.
“Teachers like Madame Judy Uriarte
and Mrs. Christine Sexton are well-liked
around campus for a reason,” Chance
said. “They connect with you as a high
school student, not just another adult or
co-worker. They focus on you as an individual rather than the class as a whole.”
Chance is absolutely right. As a high
schooler, I face constant pressure from
having to balance my school work, extracurriculars, and community service.
There are times I feel as if nobody
understands, or even cares, for that matter.
Having a mentor as accessible as a
teacher is something that many students value. I’m not saying that teachers
need to be friends with their students,
but I firmly believe that relatability defines a quality educator.
Junior Alex Woodruff believes that
a class is much more engaged when
the teacher connects the information to
real-life situations.
“[Good teachers] don’t just focus on
their topic; they bring in current events
and life lessons that relate to the material,” Woodruff said.
I personally learn and comprehend
much more when teachers tie the material back to our world today, putting
everything in perspective.
“I think a good teacher knows their
subject very well,” counselor Dave Solomon said.
“Ideally, they would have some
experience in that field; either they majored in that subject, or possibly worked
in a related position.”
Overall, a student’s definition of a
quality teacher is complicated. Everyone
has different needs and learning styles.
However, I think most can agree
that teachers should understand what
our lives are like as high schoolers, with
important tasks and responsibilities being thrown at us almost every day.
Barbie dolls 'Ken' be for young men as well
By BAILEY LUTTRELL
W
e have all walked through a
department store and seen the
overwhelming aisles of toys.
The girls’ aisle consists of mainly one
thing: dolls. Barbies, Bratz, Monster High
and even Fairy Tale High dolls all share
one major thing in common, besides
their plastic skin: makeup.
These sparkly-eyed dolls make their
mark in the hearts of young kids all over
the world. According to teenink.com,
the typical girl from ages 3-11 owns
at least 10 Barbie dolls. On top of that,
more and more boys are growing up
with the infamous “Ken” Barbie doll in
their possession.
It is a commonly known fact that the
more time you spend with someone/
something, the more influence it has on
you. With these fake dolls, adolescents
begin to wonder why they don’t look
like their toy-best friend.
Girls wonder why they don’t have a
tall, skinny body or why their eyes aren’t
big and sparkly. Boys wonder why they
don’t have a six-pack or big muscular
arms and legs.
These fake dolls put the minds of
kids at risk. If our youth see these decorated pieces of plastic as inspirations
and goals, they can start to put their
mental and physical health in jeopardy.
They can start to starve themselves,
over-exert their bodies, and apply unnecessary amounts of makeup.
Seeing oneself as “inadequate” or
“not good/pretty enough” can lead major side effects including depression.
In 1965 Mattel released the “Slumber
Party Barbie” that included a bathroom
scale permanently set at 110 pounds
and a toy book titled “How to Lose
Weight” with one page inside marked
“Don’t Eat.”
The corresponding Ken doll came
with milk and cookies. Not only was this
advice not to eat and weigh 110 pounds
horrible, but it also set an unfair expectation for the two genders.
Although kids are the main targets
for Barbie sales, adults and teens also
fall under the captivating looks of these
toys. According to plasticsurgery.org,
14.6 million people had cosmetic plastic
surgery performed in 2012. These procedures can include facial reconstructions targeting mainly the nose, jaw
and cheekbones, plus breast and butt
implants, and “tummy tucks.”
Just walking down the street you
can see young children with dyed hair,
high heels, and even makeup. With Barbie’s perfection comes perfectly artificial
straight or curly hair, glamorous and
sometimes revealing clothes, and usually high heels. With this image in mind,
children and teens beg their parents to
let them sport these “perfect” styles in
attempt to match Barbie. Even adults
have this goal in mind.
Recently, a worldwide trend has
erupted where all people learn to accept themselves and their flaws. From
there, more trends were started such as
“Makeup free Monday.” More and more
teenage girls have been showing up to
school with a clean face and natural hair
as well as sweat pants and other comfy
clothes.
On top of this, more teens have
begun to accept their body the way it
is. Naturally changing your body for the
better is totally acceptable, but unnatural forms of enhancement such as plastic
surgery and steroids are unnecessary.
Due to this trend of acceptance and
naturalness, Bratz released new dolls
that have had a major “make-under.”
Stripped of their artificial looking hair,
eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, foundation, filled-in arched eyebrows, and
plump, colored lips, these dolls serve as
a much better toy.
The dolls also experienced a drastic
change in wardrobe -- the doll wears
regular jeans and t-shirts while doing
regular day-to-day activities.
These made-under dolls haven’t
sold as well as the old version, unsurprisingly. People will forever spend their
money on a product that they feel looks
cooler or is prettier.
But with these small changes in the
toy industry and society, maybe everyone will begin to accept their own flaws.
Athletics
8
May 2015
CC Spin
Title IX opens athletic opportunities to women
By KATIE RANGEL
At Clayton Valley, a girl playing a varsity
sport is not something anyone would question.
However, 40 years ago, only one in 27 girls
played varsity sports. Title IX helped make the
gender inequality gap smaller.
Traditionally, sports were male dominated
until Title IX was enacted at the federal level
in 1972. In the grammatically clunky language
of Title IX, 37 words change everything: “No
person in the United States shall, on the basis
of sex, be excluded from participation in, be
denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or
activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
Title IX has given women and girls the
opportunities to make significant strides in
the struggle for gender equality.
“Playing in high school has given me the
opportunity to play for different coaches and
to be on a different team,”said Sophie Wheeler,
a Clayton Valley softball player.
Today in high school, sports among girls
are becoming increasingly popular, and Title IX
has contributed to this increase in popularity
and competitiveness. But how effective has
the law been in recent years?
Playing sports provides leadership skills,
increased self-esteem, and a higher academic
performance.
“Without sports, I probably wouldn’t have
as good of grades because the sports here force
you to focus on school work and not just sports.
They make you well-rounded,” said Clayton
Valley ninth grader Aislyn Schwartz. There are now a total of 2.8 million girls
playing high school sports with hopes of obtaining a scholarship in a college. Having more
opportunities to play a high school sport gives
girls a better chance at getting a scholarship
to pay for college.
For many girls, getting a scholarship is the
only way they are able to afford an expensive
college education. Plus, students are often
thrown off track by the temptations of college.
Playing a sport gives you direction and allows
you to have a better plan for completing college.
Here at Clayton Valley, Title IX is such a big
deal to us that we even have a Title IX coordinator, Miguel Romo. I interviewed him this past
week and asked him questions regarding Title
IX and its role at Clayton Valley. When asked,
“What does Title IX mean to you?”he responded
with, “Title IX means gender equality among
all educational programs and not just sports.”
Throughout the interview he emphasized the importance of Title IX and how the
administration tries its best to ensure equality
in all programs.
Romo explained that,“In the past, we have
had anonymous complaints about the equity
in the baseball fields compared to the softball
fields. We have done our best to improve the
softball fields to the level of our baseball fields.
We made a designated bullpen, a new fence,
and new dirt.”
Mia Hamm, a professional soccer player
and well-known advocate for Title IX, spoke
about how Title IX has impacted her life, “I
honestly don’t know what my life would be
like without Title IX. I can’t imagine how many
people other than myself have had better lives
because of this law.”
Two Eagles sign
letters of intent
By JILLIAN ARGENTO
Clayton Valley Charter High School has once again
seen some of its very own Ugly Eagles sign letters of intent
with prestigious universities. Seniors Kahlil McKenzie
and Hailey Pascoe were honored in a national signing
day ceremony on Feb. 4, committing to University of
Tennessee and Lehigh University, respectively.
In signing letters of intent, the two student-athletes
made binding agreements to attend academic institutions and play for their sports teams.
Kahlil committed to play football with University of
Tennessee, where his father also attended and played.
Despite his ineligibility to participate in Clayton Valley’s
football program his senior year, Kahlil’s earlier athletic
career at De La Salle High School, as well as his participation in the 2014 Army All-American game, were enough
to prove his talent.
He received offers from countless schools, including the University of Alabama, University of Southern
California, and University of Oklahoma.
But when it comes down to it, Kahlil’s decision to
attend Tennessee seems to be based on a feeling of tradiThe girls rugby team at Clayton Valley Charter High School practices hard and plays hard. Photo provided by Mariana Harris, Clayton Valley Charter
tion and family. “I have a lot of family in Knoxville, so that
High School.
helped my decision, and I really like the campus,” he said.
As a representative of the Lady Eagles, Hailey committed to play basketball with Lehigh University on a full
basketball scholarship. Lehigh, located in Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, is home of the Mountain Hawks and its
women’s basketball team earlier this season had done
particularly well with a 16-6 overall record.
“I’m really excited. They have been doing really well
playing earlier,” Kyra said.
this year, and they’re very young so it should be a good
By JAKE PERALTA
“I love the thrill of the whole thing, and I love being part of next few years,” said Hailey.
Clayton Valley Charter High School a team where you have no choice but to be a family. Its great,”
As she’s been a member of Clayton Valley’s varsity
Last season, the men’s rugby team was the first of its kind at said Jackie.
team all four years of her high school career, Hailey has
Clayton Valley Charter High School. The team was formed through
At the start of the season, it was about understanding the pushed herself to achieve a certain level of excellence
a club, and after a successful season last year, a women’s rugby fundamentals: passing, rucking, and learning plays. Now it’s about beyond that of other students. Her hard work has earned
team was created in September.
incorporating those skills and focusing on “both the aspect of the her many honors, including being ranked in Cal Hi Sports’
The female team was founded by senior Jackie Berry. “I’ve game, the skills and the fitness, to all the drills we do.”
Top 5 for Basketball Guard.
always had an interest in rugby and my friend, [senior] Tisi Alantini,
Even though they haven’t played all their lives and may not
While she received offers from University of Hawaii
actually gave me the idea to start the team,” she said.
be as experienced as their opponents, they still find a way to win and Midwestern State University, Hailey chose Lehigh
Even though most of the team’s players are new to the sport, those tough, physical matches.
mostly because of her future teammates. “They were
earlier this year they had an impressive record of three wins, no
In December, Clayton Valley’s female team scrimmaged really friendly, they made me feel really welcome, so
losses, and one tie.
Pleasanton and the match ended in a tormenting loss. But they that’s why I picked to go there,” she said.
They hope to continue their outstanding record and to stay later played the same team in a tournament and beat them 15-0.
As both Kahlil and Hailey move forward in their
“That was a big deal to us,” says Jackie. The major victory athletic careers, they leave inspirational legacies behind
undefeated. Led by coach Ryan Lewis and his wife Amanda, the
team looks to continue their success by “going full speed in prac- proved to the girls how good of a team they have, despite their at Clayton Valley.
tice and putting 100 percent effort into [their] tackles and rucks.” little experience.
While Kahlil did not have the opportunity to play
As the girls’ rugby team continues their season, they have football with Clayton Valley, he was instrumental in moMost of the team’s players have never played rugby before.
For senior players Kyra Trowbridge and Jackie Berry, they wish an optimistic attitude moving forward. They hope to make an tivating his teammates as well as coaching them. Hailey
impressive impact as the first rugby team made up of Lady Eagles leaves behind an inspirational athletic career, as well
they had participated in the sport earlier in their lives.
“It’s so much fun. I love every part of it. I just wish I started at Clayton Valley.
as a record for the most free throws in a single season.
Clayton Valley Charter launches
female rugby squad to match men
MAN AGAINST WEIGHT
Coach Whitmore steps
up to collegiate level
to be making sure everyone sees the
same vision I see for the program”
Moore, as well as the Titan
After long-time Hercules High runners who ran under Whitmore,
football and track coach Kyle Whit- know that this season will come
more decided last year to move onto with its share of struggles in terms
the college level, the school has of chemistry.
brought in James Moore to assume
“In the beginning, the chemistry
the role.
might be a little shaky as we get
Moore, coach of the running to know each other,” said junior
program for Hercules’ youth track Brandon Mark. “As the season goes
and field team, the Running Rebels, on, I definitely see us connecting
has the experience to fill Whitmore’s more as runner and coach.”
shoes.
While the beginning of the year
“I’ve been coaching track and might get off to a rough start, Moore
field for over 10 years now,” said has confidence that he and this team
Moore. “I was a little nervous about can grow as a cohesive unit. taking over a program of such pres“We have a bunch of good,
tige and making sure I can hold up smart, intelligent kids and I look
to the level of commitment and hard forward to working with them and to
work known of the Hercules Titans.” many more years as a Titan,” he said.
While the departure of the
popular Whitmore was bittersweet There’s definitely going to
for many Hercules students, Moore
says he can tackle the challenge and be a lot of building. The
lead the team in the right direction. challenge is going to be
“One of the challenges is that
making sure everyone
we are a young team,” said Moore.
“There’s definitely going to be a lot sees the same vision.”
of building. The challenge is going
POWERLIFTING Northate High athlete Alec Sluser competes in the deadlift at a powerlifting competition in Vacaville. Photo by
Brittney Wake, Northgate High School.
Athletics
CC Spin
9
May 2015
Snowboarding connects you to natural world
By BRANDON GARNSEY
San Ramon Valley High School
F
or the past several years, the “men”
in my family have been road-tripping to South Lake Tahoe during
the winter months to take on the sport
of snowboarding and make our run at
the mountain.
My father (aka Pops), who is not a
jock in the traditional sense, has always
been an avid surfer and took up snowboarding about a decade ago as an
alternative winter sport.
He would tell us how free and at
peace he felt standing on top of the
summit, ready to “shred” down a mountain, freshly dusted with powder.
Today, there seems to be less of that
fresh powder and more reason to worry
about the future of a sport that means
so much to our family. Snowboarding
seems to be in jeopardy as a result of
climate change and is drastically different than only a few years ago.
My connection to the snow and the
mountain started when I was about 8
years old. Pops was anxious to get me
and my brother, Blake, involved. Back
then the draw of the mountains was
just the simple thought of playing in the
snow.
The pure, icy white, fluffy stuff, ideal
for making snowballs, snowmen and
sledding down hills all bundled up and
cozy in my snow gear.
In 5th grade, on a trip to a local store
that sold surf and snow equipment, I
was given the opportunity to buy my
first snowboard. The styles of the boards
were so cool, I really felt like this was a
way that I could express my individuality.
The package was completed with
boots, bindings, helmet, goggles and, of
course, a cool set of duds. I was excited
about the possibilities of spending quality time with my brother and Pops and
to explore this now popular alternative
to traditional snow skiing.
My early attempts at “boarding”
were dreadful. I felt like I was in a nightmare with no end. In my first encounter
with the ski lift, the trip up the intimidating and steep mountain ended in
trauma.
As I was lifted toward a seemingly
blissful winter playground, I pushed
off onto the snow and, klutz that I am,
tumbled face-first down the mountain,
abruptly halted by a rather massive pine
tree.
As I lay motionless and stunned, out
of the corner of my eye, I saw a group of
small kids, first-graders at most, navigating the slopes with ease, shredding left
to right, looking like miniature versions
of Shawn White. I had watched numerous times as my Pops flew down the
mountain. My brother had caught on
relatively easily as well. What part of my
DNA was missing?
Luckily, my family never gave up on
me. We continued to make that journey
up to Tahoe, spending time together,
making lots of fun memories along the
way. Now as a teenager, I still love that
peaceful mountain vibe and the fun and
irreplaceable time spent with “the guys.”
I have finally started to embrace
and conquer snowboarding. Each time
I head up to the snow, I work a little bit
harder, and stumble a little less often
-- always with constant encouragement
from my Pops and brother.
Snapping in to my board, riding up
the now much less daunting ski lift, I feel
a sense of freedom and triumph. It’s a
great chance to have fun and escape
the daily grind of homework, tests, and
drama that
often comes
with the high
school experience.
No longer
a “newbie,”
I can really
appreciate the
snow covered
slopes and
varied terrain
at our park of
choice, Sierra
at Tahoe.
Unfortunately, as
my interest
and love of
the sport has
grown in the
last five to
six years, the
snow totals
in the Sierra
Nevada have
noticeably
diminished.
SNOW BIRD Brandon Garnsey, San Ramon Valley High, hits the slopes
A recent
at Tahoe. Photo courtesy Anthony "Pops" Garnsey.
measurement
that this lack of cold-rain mixture is ruinof the snowpack
ing one of our beloved sports. Snowin early March 2015 was recorded at
boarding is something I feel passionate
the lowest level since 1991 and furtherabout and with little to no snow, I am
more the second lowest since 1950 as
unable to practice my hobby.
recorded by The Department of Water
In fact, our beloved Sierra at Tahoe
Resources.
resort
actually had to close for the seaTwo primary reasons for this are the
son this past week, a full month ahead
drastically declining amount of rainfall
of schedule because of Mother Nature!
combined with an increase in daily air
It makes me think, what will happen
temperatures. The Tahoe Environmental
if
the
snowfall continues to decrease?
Research Center reports that the daily
Will we ever reach a point where snow
minimum temperature has jumped by
activities cease to exist? So far, snow4.2 degrees over the past century.
boarding runs in the family, but for how
This worries me tremendously. Fellong?
low student snow lovers would agree
Acalanes women just miss playoffs
By TOMMY FELLNER
The Acalanes Women’s basketball team, the 4th seed in the
California State Playoffs, lost to top-seeded Vanden High School,
72-40, thus ending the Lady Dons’ deep playoff run.
Acalanes had its most successful season in the past 20 years
and was determined not to let Vanden, the top seed in Division
III, stand in their way in the March 17th game. The Lady Dons came
out fired up to play and ready to win and go on to the state finals.
Unfortunately, Vanden wanted to win too. From the tip-off, the
Vikings controlled the game, dominating the Lady Dons from
everything to shooting to rebounding.
Sophomore Emma Godfrey led Acalanes with nine points and
junior Julia Lyons had 3 assists for the Lady Dons.
Acalanes met unprecedented success this season and really
came together as a team as the year progressed. The Lady Dons
definitely built a strong foundation for next year’s crop of players.
The Lady Dons unfortunately had to say goodbye to three seniors
on the team but return most of their core players and should definitely be expected to make another deep run next year.
“This year we were amazing. We went farther than everyone,
including ourselves, thought we would go,” said Lyons. “We played
3 of the top 10 teams in the state and put up a fight in each game.
I could not be more proud of my teammates because they laid
everything out on the line every single game and never backed
down from the toughest competition.
"I’m just so incredibly proud of what we accomplished this
season. We left a legacy this year.”
The game against Vanden started off with an 11-2 run from
the Vikings, forcing Acalanes to regroup and try to avoid being
overwhelmed.
Acalanes regrouped somewhat after the timeout, only being outscored 15-9 to close out the quarter. After the first, it was
evident the Lady Dons would have to play lights out and then
some to get by this Vanden squad. And despite their best efforts,
Vanden had an answer for everything Acalanes threw their way.
The second quarter was full of more Viking domination.
Acalanes was held to single digits in this quarter while Vanden
piled on another 14 points to give themselves a nice 20 point
saftey net. At the half, Vanden led 40-20.
Vanden erased all hope of an Acalanes comeback in the second
half. From the starting minutes, Vanden pushed the ball even harder,
attacked the rim with more ferocity and crashed the boards even
more physically. This put the Lady Dons on their heels once more
and they found themselves struggling to minimize their deficit.
The Vikings put up 22 points in the third and limited Acalanes
to just 12. This was not as successful offensively as the first quarter
for Vanden, but it go the message across, they were going to the
championship.
However, Acalanes did not come all this way just to roll over
with one quarter left in the state semifinals, something they have
been working towards the entire season.
The Lady Dons kept fighting hard throughout the fourth but
still had a tough time getting things going offensively, although
they did hold Vanden to just 10 points.
Hercules stages its very own
basketball 'March Madness'
After being gone for a couple of years,
the leadership club of Hercules High School
has decided to bring back “March Madness,”
the school’s version of the National Collegiate
Athletic Association’s 64-team college tournament that occurs every March and April.
According to Leadership teacher Greg
Ochs, Hercules High first held March Madness
during the 2012-13 school year, but couldn’t
hold the event last year because it coincided
“When you’re on defense,
you need to think about
who you’re guarding, who
is going to get the rebound, when to help out.
On offense, we’re need to
be aware of who is being
left open, when to drive
and when to shoot. It’s an
art.”
with the annual dodge ball tournament and
there wasn’t enough time to sage both events .
For students, this twist on the popular college event has been fun-filled and kept them
active during Wednesday’s combined lunch.
“When we play in the games, there’s a
million things to think about,” said junior
Lawrence Pineda.
“When you’re on defense, you need to
think about who you’re guarding, who is
going to get the rebound, when to help out.
On offense, we’re need to be aware of who is
being left open, when to drive and when to
shoot. It’s an art.”
Hercules High’s version of March Madness has 16 teams of three players each , with
each team having substitutes available in case
someone gets tired or is absent.
Each game is 20 minutes long. All the
matches are played on a Wednesday beginning on March.
“The winners will receive pizza and bragging rights for the rest of the year,” said Ochs.
MARCH MADNESS Hercules High student Anand
Dhaliwal drives to the basket at one of the school's
"March Madness" games March 25. Photo by
DiAngelo Soriano, Hercules High School.
CHAMPION Northgate High vollyball coach Rodger Worsley
holding a trophy his club team earned at an invitational
tournament. Worsley is the new coach of the Broncos.
Photo courtesy Jack Cole, Northgate High School.
Features
10
May 2015
CC Spin
Student recounts his experience as transplant recipient
By JUSTUS KASPER
Those who need a transplant go through a
journey unlike any other. They must be heavily
monitored by doctors and be ready to have a
life-threatening procedure and then learn how
to readjust back to the normal world.
This journey is a bit intimidating and
rough.
I know first hand because I am a transplant
recipient.
This story starts in the summer of 2005. I
had just finished my third grade year at Seven
Hills and was ready to relax.
However, I also had to take my annual
ultrasound treatment at UCSF, where a chief
radiologist discovered a spot on my liver and
recommended a CAT scan to gather more clear
information.
In August of the same year, UCSF was
becoming more and more concerned about
the spot. To get a final read on what the spot
was, they wanted to perform a surgical biopsy
on my liver.
The procedure was scheduled right after I
turned 10 years old, which was an interesting
birthday present to say the least.
One giant needle and a piece of my liver
later, the results came in showing that the spot
was cancerous, and would spread throughout
my entire liver, killing me within a number of
months.
Though I was immediately put on the
transplant list, my chances of getting a new
liver were minimal.
According to organdonor.gov, more than
28,000 people get an organ transplant each
year, and that number has been increasing, but
there are more than 100,000 on the waiting list.
Concern flowing throughout my family
and I, we proceeded to carry out our lives as
normal. I was very nervous at the time, especially about my future.
I questioned what would happen to me.
Would a liver be available for me soon? When
will my liver reach the point where it is fully
cancerous? What would dying feel like?
At the time, I knew that my friends
could not really understand what I was going
through. My only option was to remain positive
and keep to daily life.
December rolled around that year and I
was in South Lake Tahoe in our family’s vacation home celebrating the holidays. On the
night after Christmas, we were all gathered
around the living room enjoying the last of
the presents and each other.
Suddenly, my mom’s pager went off and
she stepped out to tend to it. She returned
to the living room with tears, saying that the
page was from UCSF.
A liver was available for me and I must be
taken to their hospital immediately.
Somehow, I was able to get from South
Lake Tahoe to San Francisco just in time to be
prepped for surgery.
On December 27, early in the morning, I
had my liver transplant. I remained in the hospital for little over a week and then was able
to return home. However, it would over a year
before I could return to having a normal life.
Today, I am managing myself well, although I have some complications. Nevertheless, I continue the push for a life of my own.
My lesson to those who have undergone a
transplant, a major surgery, or even any physical or emotional rough patch in life is that it
is very tough at first to return to a normal life.
But, the beauty of life is that there are new
and better doors of opportunity for all of us.
For me, I see myself working as a YouTuber
and an independent video game journalist. For
someone else, it can be very different.
Know what you can and cannot do, and JUSTUS KASPER recounts his experience as
strongly focus on the “cans” and grow them transplant recipient. Photo from The Sentinel,
into something amazing for yourself.
Northgate High School.
Garcia works hard to turn prospects around
By GABRIELA SANCHEZ
Richmond High School
Chris Garcia, a junior at North Campus
High School in Richmond, is a very enthusiastic person. He’s tall,has brown hair,brown
eyes and is 17 years old. He’s a young guy
who likes to go for what he wants.
Garcia lives with his mother and little
brother. He has only one sibling, a threeyear-old brother named Leo. Garcia lives
in Richmond where he also has a job. He
works at a mechanic shop.
Garcia seems to enjoy his job. ”It varies,
it just depends on the day. Overall I would
say I’m happy where I’m at,” Garcia said.
“I’m a very respectful person,” said Garcia.” I like to help people when they need
the help. I complete everything I have to
do to the best," he said.
“Something I like to do during my free
time is relax and hang out with some of my
friends to get my mind off of hard school
work for a little. When I hang out with some
friends we like to talk, just catch up with
what’s new,” Garcia said.
Garcia knows how it feels to put in hard
effort to complete his work. Now he takes it
seriously and focuses more on school now.
“Even though, I’m a little behind with
credits, I’m working very hard to get all my
credits I need in order to graduate. I work my
way out to get my credits by doing all my
work and turning it in on time.” Garcia said.
Garcia didn’t perform well in high
school at first.
“When I was in my freshman high
school year, I would not take my schoolwork
seriously,” Garcia said regretfully. “ I would
think it wouldn’t affect me later on. I would
think everything would be easy. I would
miss school a lot and sometimes even ditch
some of my classes."
"Other times I wouldn’t even do my
work and I would be behind with my school
work. I didn’t really care much. I didn’t think
it would affect me to this point," Garcia said.
Even though Garcia didn’t do good in
his freshman year he still continued doing
the same during his sophomore year.
“During my sophomore year I would
do the same. The only difference was that
when I would go I would turn in some work,
but that wouldn’t really make much of a
difference. I would still be behind. Many
days missed, many missing assignments,
all that would hold me back from getting
all my credits.” Garcia said.
Garcia wouldn’t be responsible about
his work and going to school when he had
to in his first two years of high school. He
started to realize that he had to start doing
well in school and stop ditching class, do
his work, and stop missing school. It was
time for him to start doing good.
“Now I’m a junior. I started to take my
school work and education serious. It was
really affecting me. I had to put an end to
all that and start focusing on my school.
"I was growing up and it was only going to affect me even more if I didn’t put
an end to it."
Eventually, Garcia said, "I got transferred to North Campus, a continuation
school, where I’m currently working very
hard to get all my credits
needed to go back to
my normal school and
graduate.”
Garcia is doing way
better than he was
before. “Its been a long
year full of hard work,
but I’m not giving up.”
Garcia said confidently.
“ Even though I CHRIS GARCIA
have been digging Photo by Gabriela
myself in a very deep Sanchez,
hole, I still seek to find Richmond High.
an alternative.”
Garcia is looking toward the future.
"Graduating is something very important to
me and I know that with my hard work and
dedication I will make it far in life," he said.
"I wanna find a good college and get a
good paying job. Right now I’m still thinking about a career I would like to study for.
"It hasn’t been easy, but I know I’ll make
it,” Garcia said with confidence.
Where are jobs?
Where is high unemployment?
Unemployed and job openings
By industry, in millions
Professional and
business services
Health care and
social assistance
Retail trade
Accommodation and
food services
Government
Finance and insurance
Durable goods
manufacturing
Other services
Wholesale trade
Transportation /
warehousing / utilities
Information
Construction
Nondurable goods
manufacturing
Educational services
Unemployed
Job openings
Real estate / rental / leasing
Arts / entertainment /
recreation
Mining and logging
0
Source: Economic Policy Institute
.25
.5
.75
1
1.25
Freshman fisherman's hobby could become a career
By TOMMY FELLNER
F
or a select group of students at Acalanes,
3:05 doesn’t signal the end of the day, it
signals the beginning of an adventure. Jed
Wood is also one of those students. Wood
spends his weekends and breaks frequenting local fisheries bringing a new authentic
meaning to “streaming.”
Freshman Wood has been fishing ever
since he could walk. Wood’s father, Ned
taught him the basics of fishing and Wood
has been improvising and teaching himself
from that point onward.
Wood says he enjoys fishing both
for recreation and for sport. Typically, he
regularly visits the Lafayette Reservoir or the
San Pablo Dam in search of fish. Wood is a
versatile fisherman and can catch fish from a
dock, bank, boat or even a float tube.
“I just started fishing for myself,” Wood
said. “I like fishing because it’s fun and something to do. It can be exhilarating but also
kind of a hassle sometimes when I have to
go out there in my float tube.”
Wood has many reasons to go out
fishing, but it is mainly the thrill of hooking a
fish that has him hooked on the sport.
“My favorite part of fishing is probably
right when the fish hits your bait,” Wood said.
“It’s just like wow that was fun, but then you
have to reel it in. Right when they hit is a
great moment.”
However, Wood says there are also
downsides to fishing. Wood is so intense
that he rarely breaks to eat or drink and will
fish for nearly 12 hours straight. For Wood,
reeling in the fish as well as casting off and
losing expensive bait are some of the drawbacks of his favorite sport.
“My least favorite part of fishing are all
the hassles: breaking fish off, losing fish and
casting baits off,” said Wood. “I have a $200
bait and if I cast that off, that would be a day
ruiner.”
Wood would love to continue his
career as a fisherman as he gets older, but
being a professional fisherman doesn’t
necessarily reel in a lot of cash. Also, it takes
a really skilled fisherman to become a pro,
but Wood wants to keep up his passion for
fishing.
Wood competes in regional competitions for teen anglers. Although he hasn’t
won yet, usually being the youngest competitor out there, Wood still makes a name
for himself.
At the C.O. Pro-Teen event, professional anglers
team up with
teens and fish
in the Delta. The
pairs have about
six hours to catch
as many fish as
possible, and the
victor is declared
based on net
weight of fish
caught. Although
Wood did not
win the competi- ( C ) MCT 2012
tion, he won the
award for biggest fish caught on the day,
weighing in on 7.54 pounds.
Wood outfished his pro partner, Adam
Kern and ended up catching all of his team’s
fish. Wood and Kern placed 8th overall in
the event, with their total weight at 14.37
pounds, just three pounds shy of the top
weigh in.
When he is not fishing in competitions,
Wood fishes recreationally at local spots
such as the San Pablo Dam and Lafayette
Reservoir with friends. Wood goes on outings with friends Jack Brydon, Will Watson,
Joey Gladden, and Michael Lalor.
One memorable outing for Wood was
when he went to San Leandro and fished the
entire day.
“One time I caught 70 fish in one day,
all bass and all over two and a half pounds,”
said Wood. “It was a new spot we were trying
out and I fished from dark to dark. There
were three guys with me and we caught
140 altogether. I don’t think I stopped to eat
that day because it was so good, all I had
was some leftover cake. I don’t normally eat
when I fish because I don’t really want to
stop but then I’m always starving by the end
of the day. Sometimes I’ll stop to drink.”
Wood’s insatiable need to fish rubs
off on his friends and they all fish together
to keep improving
their craft.
“Jed has been
fishing for a really
long time, he actually got me back into
fishing in 6th grade.
What makes him a
good fishermen is
his experience and
time he has spent
on the water trying
to pattern the fish,”
junior Jack Brydon
said. “What makes
him such a unique fishermen is his ability to
mess and joke around but still be successful,
not many guys can do that. He is also unique
in the sense that not nearly as many guys
have been doing it as long as he has and as
often as he does. In middle school we would
fish 3-4 days a week at least and sometimes
up to 12 hours a day. And he manages to
pull that off without food or water.”
Wood has a resilience that really sets
him apart from the rest of the pack. He is a
joy to be around while he’s fishing and can
still catch a lot of fish. Moreover, Wood’s
drive to fish inspires others to pick up the
sport or get them hooked again.
He is able to create great memories
with his friends while continuing to be a top
fisherman. Although he has a tendency to
mess around, Wood knows when it’s time
to focus, and that shows in his top placing
at fishing competitions. His passion for the
sport is contagious and his drive pressures
his peers or whoever he fishes with to become better fishermen.
“One of my best memories was when
we both first started fishing for bass,” Brydon
said. “We would go every weekend and never catch anything and Jed told me he would
only go one more time before he gave up
because it had been about two months
and we would get poison oak almost every
time we went. One time I was talking to Jed
about how cool it would be to catch a fish
on the lure I had on and out of nowhere one
exploded on the lure on the surface of the
water and we finally caught one. A couple
minutes later, Jed landed a couple and we
were hooked.”
Wood is just an all around outdoorsy
person that has a knack for understanding how to fish and knows a lot about fish
migration and spawning patterns. He invests
time into broadening his knowledge about
everything related to the sport to help himself improve.
Wood’s passion is evident and this
sport that he loves could potentially become
his career, if that is the path he wishes to
pursue.
“I can definitely see Jed doing something in the fishing or outdoor world for a
living,” Brydon said.
“For his age he is one of the best fishermen out there. Every year we do a tournament on the delta and the past two years
he has caught the biggest fish, last year he
got 2nd place overall and won the big fish
prize.," Brydon added.
"He is definitely good enough and passionate enough about fishing to have some
type of career in the industry.”
Features
CC Spin
11
May 2015
Tattoos and piercings become forms of expression
By BAILEY LUTTRELL & KEELY COLLAR
T
attoos and piercings have become
a form of expression by students
at Northgate High, where students
never fail to express their feelings and
thoughts through art.
This kind of expression doesn’t
necessarily have to be through drawing,
painting, or sketching; your body can
also be a medium of expression.
Through piercings, tattoos, and even
hair dye, there is no limit to the ways
students can express themselves.
There are varied opinions about
tattoos and piercings. Carol Pennick, a
children’s psychologist, was quoted in
the Winston-Salem Journal as saying
that “body art helps adolescents express
themselves and with the consent of
their guardians, should be allowed.”
The National Geographic News
stated in April 2010 that 17 percent of
Americans were tattooed, or approximately 40 million people.
Individuals are forming their own
ideas on memorable tattoos, allowing them to have a heartfelt reason to
inquire about a tattoo.
However, it’s not just this type of
body art; all forms of body art have been
widely accepted by our students.
Senior Jessica Mastrelli talked about
her belly button piercing. She got it on
July 4 after wanting one for years.
“I got it on my belly button just
because I liked it.” Mastrelli said. “I got
it at Zebra because they’re super clean
and they did an awesome job. My
friends and family were all fine with it,
except for my dad, though; he wasn’t
too happy.”
With more of a cultural aspect of
body art, Jessica also added her knowledge with the Tahitian tattooing culture.
“Basically, when you get a tattoo in
Tahiti, tattoo artists customize it for you.
While they are inking you, you tell them
a story or about your past and with that
information they create a beautiful tribal
pattern for you.”
Senior Andres Ruvalcaba also shared
his experiences with tattoos.
“I got my first (tattoo) in the 8th
grade; it was a lion on my back. The second one was on my wrist and the third
was on my inner lip. My back one is just
to kind of symbolize my independence
and how I support myself. My wrist
says ‘Carpe Diem’, which signifies living
everyday to the fullest. My lips are my
initials.”
When Andres was thinking about
getting a tattoo, it was a topic he
thought long and hard on.
“I had been planning; I’ve always
wanted them. When I really think about
it, sooner or later it just fades away. If it
fades away from my thoughts, then I’m
not sure I would want that on my body
forever.
"You just have to think about it for
a long time. But I have no regrets, none
at all.”
When considering getting a tattoo,
students believed the best age to get a
tattoo was 18 or older due to the significance they believe comes with a tattoo.
“I don’t really recommend getting a
tattoo at 16, like I did, because I believe
if you want a tattoo at 16 and then still
at 18, that’s all the better for you. Take a
good year.
"Then, definitely find someone
you trust to do your tattoo,” said Chiara
Alfaro, a senior originally from Malibu.
Alfaro was very open when answering questions regarding her tattoos and
giving her opinion on her own experi-
ence:
“I like having a tattoo and don’t
really notice them. Others notice them
more than I do. A close friend of mine
responded badly to the tattoo I have on
my ribs. It was mainly about my age and
about possibly regretting it in the future.
“I didn’t think that growing up I
would ever get a tattoo or have something permanently on my body.
"But I’m very happy with what I
have and even plan on getting another
tattoo.I have a Hamsa on my right forearm; it means a hand to God. My mom
and I actually got them together as a
birthday present.
"Inside the Hamsa is a yin yang sign,
which my brother has a tattoo of. I incorporated it because I wanted to have
something that represented him but not
have the exact same tattoo.”
She said getting that tattoo felt like
“kitten scratches and only took about
20 minutes. My second tattoo, which
(shows) wings across my upper ribs,
took about four-and-a-half hours.
"I’ve never felt pain like that before.
It was the most painful experience I’ve
ever been through.”
PERSONALITY IN INK Northgate High student Andres Ruvalcaba shows off his very first tattoo on his back, top left.
Ruvalcaba's wrist tattoo, above, reminds him to live life to the fullest. Northgate High student Chiara Alfaro, top, shows her
stomach tattoo, and left, her arm tattoo. Photos by Keely Collar, Northgate High School.
Hercules sweeps MESA competition at CSU East Bay
By JULIE LUM
After a year of hard work and dedication,
Hercules High School students boarded a
school bus on March 7 to CSU East Bay for the
annual Mathematics, Engineering, Science
Achievement (MESA) competition. Little did
they know, the Titans were about to steal the
spotlight.
Traditionally, students sign up for a project
in the beginning of the school year and prepare
until competition day. But in early fall, science
and math teachers Emerlyn Gatchalian, John
Crosby, Maricris Cruzat and Julieta Palis introduced the MESA projects in their classrooms
as a part of the class grade.
Many students opposed the plan initially,
but their frustration turned to pride when
Hercules was called down for multiple winning streaks.
“It (preparing projects in class) actually
helped us improve our bridge, but for a lot
of people, it was kind of stressful,” Hercules
High sophomore Komal Kumar said. “It was
really helpful and all the effort we put in had
great results.”
Facing students from Antioch Unified,
Fremont Unified, Oakland Unified and West
Contra Costa Unified, the Titans swept every
area of competition. With 170 Titans in the
bleachers, no other school came close. One
of the greatest achievements was the success
in the National Prosthetic Arm Competition,
when all three winning teams came from
Hercules High.
Some students were upset by the event’s
lack of organization. Several students reported
that the MESA staff gave poor instructions
or judged unfairly without giving proper
responses.
“They (the judges) don’t seem qualified in
what they are doing. They’re either chatting,
looking at their phones and half listening to
what you’re saying,” Hercules heart model
competitor Alexander Lin said. “They put all
of these people’s projects down the drain. All
the hours of work, and sleep.”
Hercules teachers also said the competition could use some improvement. “I wish the
other schools were more competitive,” MESA
“I feel so proud of our students,”
MESA administrator Cruzat said.
“I’m confident for regionals.”
administrator Gatchalian said. “Our students
should feel challenged in MESA. It’s basically
Hercules against Hercules”
At the regional competition, winners were
to face students from Chico, Hamilton City,
Orland, Williams and Yuba City at CSU Chico
on April 25. Then there’s a chance to proceed
to the state and national competition level.
“I feel so proud of our students,” MESA
administrator Cruzat said. “I’m confident for
regionals.”
BACK PAGE
12
May 2015
CC Spin
The Coyle triplets travel toward graduation
there for each other throughout every bit of it.
“Any senior will tell you how frustrating
college apps are, so it’s been really nice to have
two other people right down the hall experiencing the same thing you are,” Matt Coyle said.
Next year they may be heading in different
directions, although they are applying to a few
of the same schools. San Diego State and Cal
Poly are both on Megan’s and Sarah’s lists. While
the girls will most likely stay in California, Sarah
is looking to some out-of-state schools. Matt
is thinking about attending Western Oregon
in Monmouth, Oregon. Megan is currently
debating between a few California schools.
“While I think it would be fun to go to the
same school, I’m ready to go off on my own
and not be thought of as one of the triplets all
the time. It’ll be good for all of us to have our
own college experience,” Megan Coyle said.
The longest period of time the three have
ever been apart was two weeks during one
summer. Next year will be very different. They
are all looking forward to the new adventure.
The Coyle’s say another perk about being
a triplet is having the same classes. Megan and
Sarah currently have physiology and economics together. While they don’t have any classes
with Matt, they constantly see each other in
the hallways.
In addition, the Coyle triplets have stated
that while it may be hard to express yourself
as an individual when you’re automatically
labeled as a triplet, it has made each sibling
stand out more.
“Because I don’t want to always be known
as‘one of the triplets’, I have found lots of activi-
By ALENA ELZE
All seniors and their parents know the
nervousness that comes when waiting for
college decisions. Now imagine tripling that.
Megan, Matt and Sarah Coyle are Northgate’s
only siblings who are experiencing this anxiety
in triplicate.
One of two sets of triplets in the school,
they are the only senior triplets. Born on Feb.
17, 1997, these siblings have been branded“the
triplets” since they first began school.
To those who aren’t a part of a sibling set,
it can seem almost impossible to tell twins or
triplets apart. The Coyle triplets, however, are
fraternal and all distinguishable by certain
features.
“We still get called each others names
sometimes, but I feel like that’s the same with
all siblings,” said Sarah Coyle.
Each year there are about 4,300 triplets
born in the United States. Compared to the
number of twins born each year, the number of
triplets is about 128,000 less. While twins can be
somewhat common, triplets are far more rare.
Any twin or triplet will tell you there is a
mix of pros and cons of being part of a set of
siblings, and the Coyle’s are no different.
“My favorite part of being a triplet is that
I always have someone to talk to who’s going through the same stuff that I am,” Megan
Coyle said.
This has been especially important this year.
When dealing with college applications and
senior stress, the triplets know that they will be
THREE TIMES THE FUN Northgate High seniors Megan, Sarah, and Matt Coyle chat on the steps outside of
Northgate High School on March 12. Photo by Jackson McDonough, Northgate High School
ties and hobbies that make me put myself out
there,” Sarah Coyle said.
“It’s helped shape me into the person I am
today,” she said.
All three siblings are a part of the Northgate Track and Field team as well as the Cross
Country team, however each sibling participates in different events.
Throughout their four years at Northgate,
the Coyles have made their mark on the school.
What most people don’t know about the Coyle
family is that they aren’t just made up of the
triplets and their parents.
Megan, Matt and Sarah also have two older
siblings who happen to be twins. Allison and
Chris are both juniors in college. They attend
Cal Poly.
“Growing up as not only a triplet but
one of five kids was definitely a bit crazy at
some points,” Matt Coyle said. “It’s been an
awesome experience though, and I wouldn’t
trade it for anything.”
Echavarria earns trip to Brown University
By JOANNA HERNANDEZ
Richmond High School
with two other students.
“I was so nervous,” said Echavarria. “I didn’t think they were
going to choose me.”Echavarria said “I was shocked yet so full of
joy.” In July she will be going to Rhode Island for three weeks to
experience the university.
Echavarria hopes to matriculate at Brown University and
encourage other people to take great opportunities.
“I hope I get to expand my knowledge and socialize with a lot
of people. I want to encourage people to try out something new,
like a scholarship or a job. Something they believe they think they
can’t achieve,” she added.
Having straight A’s was a huge advantage for her to get picked.
Echavarria said she worked hard all the time for all she remembers.
Echavarria is doing big things at the age of 16 and wants to
do even bigger things in the future. Her current GPA is a 4.0 and
its been like that since middle school.
Esmeralda Echavarria, a Richmond High School sophomore,
has been offered the opportunity to travel to Brown University in
Rhode Island for a scholarship this summer for having straight A’s.
The Ivy League Project offers scholarships to attend an Ivy
League school throughout the summer. It will be paying for her
flight, food, and the room she’ll be staying in. The Ivy League Project (ILP) was founded by Martín Mares in
1992 to encourage economically disadvantaged students to apply
to the most prestigious universities in America.
The program selects the most talented and promising 10th
and 11th grade students and takes them to visit the top universities on the east coast.
Echavarria’s opportunity came in January when she was selected to sign up for a scholarship in the university. She was lucky
to be chosen from 1,500 students in Richmond High School along EAST COAST BOUND Richmond High sophomore Esmeralda Echavarria.
Northgate student selling houses for a hobby
By ADEEL PERVEZ
Most high school students have only one
thing on their minds during their senior year:
college. However, Joseph Wu is the exception
in this case.
Wu, a licensed Realtor, has decided to sell
a house for his senior project. Wu took the real
estate licensing exam and began practicing
this year.
He answered my questions:
Pervez: What got you into real estate?
Wu: When I was younger, I liked to go
see open houses just to take a look at the
properties.
That’s when it all started. I took the Real
Estate Principles class at Diablo Valley College
as one of my elective courses.
Since then, I set myself towards getting
my real estate license and started working as
a Realtor.
Pervez: How was the exam you took to
get your real estate license?
Wu: For me, the California Real Estate
Salesperson License exam went very well. After
FOR REAL Northgate senior Joseph Wu, seen here on his business card, has created his own
advertisement in order to promote his real estate business. Photo from Joseph Wu, Northgate High
School.
I finished taking the required courses for the
license, I bought a practice book and studied
for about a week before taking the test. I passed
it on my first try.
Pervez: Why did you like real
estate specifically?
Wu: It’s challenging and because
of that, it’s exciting. Each house
A Pew Research poll collects opinions on future populations’
has different features and each one
financial stability, throughout the world.
of my clients have different needs
When children in our country grow up, will
they be ____ financially than their parents?
and preferences so every transacWorse off
Better off
tion is a new challenge that I get
Advanced economies: 65%
28%
to take on.
(10 countries)
Pervez: How do you manage
Emerging economies:
25%
50%
being a student and a realtor?
(25 countries)
Wu: I plan my time out wisely.
Developing economies: 39%
51%
I don’t believe in never having
(9 countries)
enough time to pursue a goal, but
Worse off
Better off
that I can make time to accomplish it.
24%
58%
Asia:
39%
I keep a calendar that lists all the
tasks I need to do each day a week
Africa:
51%
27%
ahead of time so that I know what I
need to get done to stay on top of
50%
37%
Latin America:
everything.
I also have a shorter schedule
35%
41%
Middle East:
than most of my peers, having no
5th or 6th periods, so I have more
30%
65%
U.S.:
time to dedicate to my job.
Pervez: Since you are relatively
65%
25%
Europe:
young for someone in this business,
Source: Pew Research
some people may have concerns
© 2014 MCT
Graphic: Erik Rodriguez
Optimism for the future?
about hiring you to work for them. How do
you approach that?
Wu: Generally, people don’t know that
I’m still in high school. They usually think I’m
a full-time working adult.
I always show my clients that I am a professional who has a firm understanding of the
housing market and that I am confident in
helping them through the process of the real
estate transaction. I also reference my real estate blog on my website at josephwu.kwrealty.
com called “What’s Up, East Bay?”
I write an article each week about what’s
going on in the housing market and tips for
homebuyers and home sellers.
By showing them that I can give them
high- quality service, my clients generally do
not have the idea of thinking about asking me
about my age or my experiences.
I develop a competitive edge by thoroughly researching the housing market and
putting more effort into my work. From my
personal experience, most people think that I
am older than my actual age.
As a matter of fact, one time someone
asked me if I was married.
Pervez: Do you have any clients?
Wu: Yes, my business has been starting to
pick up. I am currently working with a buyer
who is trying to relocate to Concord and I
am helping her find a home and guiding her
through the whole process, from getting prequalified for a loan to writing an offer on a property to getting through the close of escrow.
Pervez: Are you still planning on going
to college? What will be your major?
Wu:I still intend to attend college. I plan
on majoring in business with an emphasis in
entrepreneurship.
Pervez: What are your future goals and
ambitions?
Wu: I want to start my own business. That’s
always been the dream I’ve wanted to pursue.
I am considering either staying in real
estate and opening my own brokerage or
creating a tech start-up focused on designing
mobile applications or online tools to help
consumers by giving them easier access to
information, such as how Zillow.com provides
Zestimates, which are home value estimations
for each homeowner’s property.
Pervez: What advice do you have for others
who are interested in going into real estate?
Wu: Get familiar with what you will need
to do as a Realtor. It’s much more than just
knowing about real estate.
It’s about getting out there and meeting
new people and making win-win deals that
help people move into their new homes.
Some people have this idea that it’s a
job where you can make a lot of money, but
those success stories you hear about Realtors
making it big by having a multi-million dollar
closed sales volume are of those who work
very diligently (and I mean very diligently) and
that invest a lot of their time in their business.
Coffee or tea?
Coffee or tea?
Coffee is losing its traditional dominance as younger Americans
turn to tea
Which one do you drink?
Coffee only
Tea only
Neither one
34%
27%
18%
17%
17%16% 19%
14%
11%
10%
18-29
Source: YouGov
30-44
45-64
9% 9%
65+

May 2015 - Contra Costa Journalism.net

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