What can make your day better than a written card from your friend addressing how thankful they are for you? Of course, money and materialistic items might cause a feeling of happiness, short term, but a personal letter written to someone you admire can leave a mark on that person’s heart.
Long Beach Polytechnic High School this year provided the opportunity for students to send kindness grams to their friends. In addition, there was a Kindness Week starting from November 12th to the15th. Each day represented a way to be kind to your friends, students, teachers, and yourself. Audrey Deth from ASB stated the purpose of Kindness Week was to get kids mood and overall vibe uplifted. However, according to Deth it does “take a lot of dedication because we represent the student body so we try our best for any even that’s also not the Thanksgiving Drive or Kindness Week.”
Teachers were more than grateful to take time out of class to pass out the grams to students. This year, English teachers were given the role to pass out and return the kindness grams, but the students themselves had to know what period and English teacher their friend has in order to deliver it to them.
Karen Ferrer, an 11th grade student received cards and wrote cards to friends. She thought it would be a great time to draw images and write witty comments to her friends to uplift their day.
Most people were shocked when they received a gram. The shock of receiving a kindness gram demonstrates how we tend to forget to remind those we love how much we appreciate them. Not only do we forget to love others, but we also forget that we are loved, which is something everyone deserves to know. We often are so focused on our day to day, trying to go down a set schedule, that we forget to take a moment, step back, and just appreciate what we have.
Make sure to remind someone how thankful you are for them, even if it isn’t even a holiday. It may seem silly or outright useless to you to even take time from their day to tell them such plain words! However, you never know what someone is going through and just the two words of thank you can say more words then its composed of. If you’re looking where to start, send a handwritten letter– if you’re feeling extra thankful draw a heart or a picture along with it.
Author: adviser
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Doin’ it all for the (Kindness) Gram
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The Truth About Thanksgiving
Most of us have heard the story of the pilgrims as kids. As we have been told, the pilgrims were immigrants from England who traveled to America seeking religious freedom. An English-speaking Native American named Squanto helped the pilgrims find food and learn how to use the land so they could survive in the new world. As thanks to the Native Americans, the pilgrims held a feast with a turkey, united together as one people to show gratitude for their bountiful harvest and good friends.
Today, however, many of my friends are against the celebration of Thanksgiving because they believe that we are not celebrating friendship, but instead the oppression of the Native Americans. By coming to America, the first settlers brought diseases to the native people, attacked them, and stole the land that was rightfully theirs. Therefore, to celebrate Thanksgiving is to support the slaughter of the “real Americans” and forceful takeover of their homeland.
However, many historians believe that this story that we have been told about these first settlers is indeed false. For one, the pilgrims did not come to America seeking religious freedom. According to the Plimoth Plantation, a museum dedicated to preserving history of the Plymouth Colony, the pilgrims had already fled religious persecution from England by immigrating to Holland. While there, they had complete freedom over what religion or church they followed or associated themselves with. No, they didn’t come seeking religious freedom, but instead because they feared they would lose their culture. Many of their children had begun to move away from their families and associate themselves with the Dutch culture. To preserve their identity as an English people, they decided to take the journey to the Americas.
Most of the rest of the story is true. There was indeed a Native American named Squanto that helped the pilgrims, and they did have a three-day feast of Thanksgiving with each other where they ate and hunted together. But you also might not know that the epidemic that killed Squanto’s people had come and gone before the pilgrims arrived. They had nothing to do with that slaughter that so many people attribute the first Thanksgiving with.
It is undeniable that our country has some corrupt, bloody history. But that first feast of the pilgrims was not symbolic of any of that. Even if we are wrong about the pilgrims, that doesn’t mean that the holiday is corrupt. For years, Thanksgiving has been celebrated by sitting down with family and friends for a meal to show gratitude and joy for each other’s company. It doesn’t matter if that feast actually took place or not. You can still give someone a gift on Christmas without believing in Christ or go trick-or-treating without believing in ghosts or spirits, so it is perfectly okay for you to give thanks this holiday season and share a good meal. Just don’t forget the pie.
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Royal vs. Jokers
The rally stage. The infamous rally stage that houses the butts of seniors during lunch and nutrition, is indeed the throne to kings and queens: seniors, the rulers of the kingdom we call Long Beach Polytechnic High School. The little, itty-bitty specks we call “freshman” perhaps would be named as “the jokers”. Their lower status prevents them from being able to rest even a pinky on the brick steps of the almighty rally stage. Even at twenty arm lengths away, just the thought of one of these jokers on their rather dirty and cold stage creates a fire hot rage for the kings and queens of Poly High School.
One day in the Kingdom of Poly High School, a brave group of freshmen – I mean, jokers – were getting ready to eat their grub. At the rally stage, the kings dined fancy with their Hot Cheetos bags, every last crunch of processed cheese flavor bringing them closer to a bad case of diabetes, while the queens ate their lunch out of perfectly crafted Tupperware. As the jokers innocently pause in their steps to sit on the rally stage – I mean, throne – of seniors, the kings and queens were enraged at the sight of a lowlife joker on their beloved cathedra. The royals got up in a fury, walking almost a mile to the other side of the stage, catching their breath as they got to the jokers after their long trudge. A good workout, I might add, after all the Hot Cheetos, but that’s besides the point. The jokers trembled in their little boots as the royals huff and puff and blow them off the stage. The royals laughed in their victory, thinking they will never see or hear of the jokers on their stage again. Or so they thought…
The next day, the kings and queens change it up and are instead fine dining on sweet and spicy Takis, satisfied with the lack of jokers around them that would contaminate their air. As the end of lunch grew closer, more jokers, left and right, surrounded the stage with their new weapon: a sign. The sign read, “Freshman (Jokers) Welcome Here”. Their sign, a flag representing their will to fight the system created by the royals, waved high and proud over the stage, the blue and green markers bleeding through the paper due to the damp air. A great inspiration for all jokers and for those to come. A symbol of their strength and the f’s they don’t give. The royals, taken off guard soon begin to realize the persistence of the jokers, but prepare to fight back. Ripping the war flag off the catwalk, the seniors take back their turf. However, the jokers didn’t even blink, they didn’t give one rat’s ass. Instead, they sat right back down. Cheek to cheek, they sat their cheeks on the throne.
The previous story is based on true events at Poly High School. The arrogance expressed by the seniors that inspired this tale is not necessary. Don’t kick poor freshmen off the stage. Poly is supposed to be a place where we welcome everyone. Seniors, sit down!
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Choice Night
Poly pathways, sports, and clubs showed off their accomplishments so far in the year for potential incoming freshman on Wednesday, November 20 at Poly.
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Awareness Month
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month in many parts of the world. Breast cancer awareness is an effort to increase recognition of the disease and reduce the shame brought on to one by education on symptoms and treatment. Greater knowledge of this disease can increase early detection and survival rates amongst those who might be living with it. Money that is raised for breast cancer goes toward a reliable permanent cure.
Breast cancer awareness advocates raise funds and provide needed knowledge and patient empowerment. Educational campaigns are held along with free or low cost services. We all associate breast cancer with the prominent symbol of the Pink Ribbon.
October is also Red Ribbon Week, which is an alcohol, tobacco, and other drug and violence prevention awareness campaign observed annually in October in the United States. It began as a tribute to fallen DEA special agent Enrique Camerena in 1985. -
Book Review: The History of Long Beach Poly: Scholars and Champions
Although it is not on the New York Times Best Sellers list, the new book The History of Long Beach Poly: Scholars and Champions is getting a lot of attention these days in not only Poly, but the whole city of Long Beach. The authors, Mike Guardabascio, a Poly alumni, and Tyler Hendrickson, explore the unique aspects of our historic school from the beginning in 1895 through present day Poly. The book includes sections of early Poly days, how the World Wars affected life at Poly, celebrity alumni features, original traditions created by the school, and more information about Poly I don’t even think our principals know about.
Overall, there is a ton of intriguing information, but I’m not quite sure if ALL of Poly can fit into 191 pages only. Each chapter has small sections like “Football” in the chapter “Poly’s Sports Programs” where it only covers a page and a half. For a high school that is known for our football team with the most drafted NFL players, the section could’ve been a bit longer, more in depth. Perhaps it was a style decision, they want to keep it short and prompt, but it feels to me that the authors just gathered “cool” information and slapped it together to form this book. Now, the grammar errors are even less forgivable.
The book wasn’t all just sloppy facts, I did feel as if the book was a good overview of our school. As they said in an interview on The 562.org, “somebody’s gonna find this and fall in love with Long Beach.” I agree with this, I do believe this book was aimed for an audience that is not familiar with Long Beach or Poly itself, which could have been the whole point of writing it. Furthermore, the interview also made the authors’ love for Poly apparent and a strong inspiration for the production of this book. However, the lack of depth and careless errors made me feel this book did not fully express or reflect their love for Long Beach Poly High School. -
Poly Hosts “The President’s Own” Marine Band
On October 24 “The President’s Own” Marine Band performed in the Andrew Osman Performing Arts Center here at Poly. The United States Marine Band is America’s oldest continuously active professional musical organization.
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SAT/PSAT Study-a-Thon at the College and Career Center
October, characterized notoriously for the horrors and goosebumps, took another form of scary on October 15; this time in the form of a test. A test that lasted for a treacherous five hours.
The Scholastic Aptitude Test (most commonly known as the SAT) was administered to seniors while the PSAT was administered to freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. This year, all Poly students were confronted by a gloomy, foggy morning as they trudged to their assigned classroom, wishing that the grim morning would not foreshadow the day. However, despite the dreary environment, there was hope: this year, many students took advantage of the Study-A-Thon at the College and Career Center.
The coordinators of the SAT Study-A-Thon were Alaa Shhub and Roc’Kale Bowman. They described the “Study-A-Thon [as] an event and place for students to study for the SAT using Khan Academy…in order to improve their scores.” They stated that an astounding amount of students showed up: approximately 100. With the success of the Study-A-Thon this year, they will be hosting it again during the spring semester.
Students who took advantage of the College and Career Center were ecstatic. They were lured in by the advertisement of an increase of 90 points, and of course, pepperoni and cheese pizza.
Leann Namuco, an 11th grader in the PACE program, said, “This was a welcoming experience and comfortable. Yet although it was pretty loud and was sometimes a little difficult to study, it is still beneficial and would recommend suggesting to other people because it was more fun to study in groups. Not only that, you will learn better than being alone. Plus there was pizza.” -
What’s New with the CARE Center
High school is stressful for even the most successful of students. Whether because of the schoolwork itself or something else happening at home or between relationships, the CARE Center in Room 205 provides a safe place for students to talk with a counselor (Michael Gray) when they are stressed, overworked, or struggling. Gray aims to help students develop good habits along a healthier mindset to face and work out problems in their life.
This year, the CARE Center is working on a project to “elevate the importance of mental wellness skills equal to Algebra and essay writing,” Gray said. Academic topics are held at the highest standard on terms of importance, where “mental wellness is barely existent in terms of what percentage of students feel strong in their mental wellness skills. We don’t even teach mental wellness skills.”
Daily emails have been sent out to students via Schoolloop, called “Stronger 2gether,” to help students learn these skills, such as planning your day, keeping a “gratitude journal,” and self-reflection exercises.
“Developing Future Mental and Behavioral Health” is a class offered periods 1-6 as a capstone of the MEDS pathway. Students are able to help and talk to other students, similar to how Gray does.
“We basically talk a lot about how to solve conflicts,” Laura Clemons, a junior in the fifth period class, said. “We talk about what we can do to help better ourselves.” An example of this is how Gray has been teaching her is that we need to stop “should-ing” ourselves: when we tell ourselves we “should” do something instead of how we are going to do something, we tend to procrastinate more often.
Gray is also requesting video ideas/concepts from students for Stronger 2gether. For anyone interested, talk to Mr. Gray in Room 805 before school, at nutrition, and at lunch. -
fUN with Model UN
Model United Nations, also known as Model UN, is an elective class here at Poly run by sophomore PACE teacher Patrick Gillogly. In class, students role play as delegates to the United Nations and simulate UN committees.
The team had their first conference of the year October 12 at Cerritos High School. Over half of the individuals on the team received awards for excellence.
October 26, the team also participated in an event at UC San Diego.
Poly will host a Model UN conference that is a one day simulation on May 16, 2020. Students will play the role of delegates from different countries and attempt to solve real world issues with policies, keeping in mind the perspective of their countries. -
What’s Your Ride?
Poly seniors and juniors drive to Poly in their cars each morning in 2019. Each student has a unique car, ranging from imports to American cars. The students are between 16-18 years of age, old enough to drive on their own.
All the cars the seniors and juniors own are mostly 99% automatic transmission. This is easier on the beginners and easier to drive on a daily.
Some seniors and juniors have learned to drive a manual, however. “It was hard at first, but as soon as you learn it, you’ll enjoy it,” said Poly student Alex Zarate. He owns a white 1991 Honda Accord in a manual transmission with a car bra on the front and lots of modifications on it. He said Hondas are one of the most reliable cars. They are good on gas, and there’s also a lot of aftermarket potential. In Kelley’s blue book website, it has 4.5 out of five stars for reliability, so it’s one of the best cars to start out with if you’re a new driver.
Devin Martinez owns a 1996 Toyota Supra with a manual transmission like Zarate’s Honda Accord. Instead of using a four cylinder engine, it uses a 3.0 six cylinder engine. It’s a two door coupe and is classified as a sports car in Car Gurus. Many car enthusiasts like Martinez adore the Supra because of how legendary it is and the tuner potential it has. “It’s definitely my favorite car,” said Martinez. His car has aftermarket rims, coilovers, a front lip, and an aftermarket exhaust system that makes the car louder. Since it’s a Toyota, the reliability is there, Martinez said. He wouldn’t recommend it as a first car, though, because it is expensive. He paid $39,850 for his. Not too many high schoolers have that much money yet. But if you have the money to support it, the Supra is a great car to get.
The Honda Accord and Toyota Supra cars are both imports, which tend to be better than American cars. A study in 2014 by Toyota of Murfreesboro concluded that Ford’s highest mpg was 36.8 while Toyota’s was 44.2. But at the end of the day, it’s your choice whether you want an import or an American car. Everyone has different taste, and each car will have its ups and downs.
