Author: adviser

  • Hot H2O

    The oldest rivalry in Long Beach came back to life for one more game, as the Long Beach Poly Girls Water Polo team counted down to their last practice before they faced the game that matters the most to them: Wilson.

    The game started at 6:19 pm December 19, with the sprint won by Wilson High School. Poly’s head coach Brandon D’sa used Kate Sarantos, Tara Johnson, Alana Snyder, Maddie Marshall, Paulina Martinez and Josie Hahn as his starting line up. Within the first two minutes of the game Wilson scored 2 goals, ending the first quarter with 3 goals and four attempted goals by Poly.

    After a heated two minutes of yelling and emotional speeches from both teams, the second quarter began with the sprint won by Wilson. Poly had Tara Johnson, Aristiana Modica, Josie Hahn, Kate Sarantos, and Paulina Martinez in this quarter. With 4:35 left on the clock Wilson scored another goal making the score now 4-0. Aristiana Modica got ejected allowing Wilson to be a “man up.” Wilson scored yet another goal, the score now 5-0. After their first timeout a Wilson player got ejected, giving Josie Hahn, Poly’s girl, an opportunity to score. During the third quarter, Wilson high school scored two more goals, which make it 7-1.

    The last quarter arrived and the sprint was won once again by Wilson. Off of the sprint Wilson scored another goal, the score being 8-1. Off of the line, another of Wilson’s players were ejected for grabbing resulting in Poly scoring again, making it 8-2. The goal was made by Josie Hahn from the five meter line. After the goal was made, Poly’s number 12, Tara Johnson was ejected, resulting in another goal, the score now 9-2 at 3:19. After a minute of seeing who has the ball, Maddie Marshall stole the ball passing it to Emily Rockenbach who scored, the score was leveled out to 9-3. Wilson scored another goal the score rising to 10-3. After that goal Poly’s 4-5 side player Kate Sarantos scored another goal with 1:09 left on the clock. However, one more goal was taken by Wilson, the score final score turning out to be 10-4.

    Jennifer Sarantos, Kate Sarantos’ mom said, “We’ll get them next year, and the year after that and so on and so forth, you just gotta keep believing and it will happen.”

  • Students Honored With Breakfast!

    As of this year, Student of the Month has been created in order to recognize students on a broader scale and on a more personal note. Teachers are able to nominate students through a letter for each month and 2 students are selected in each pathway.

    For the month of January, on Friday 18th at exactly 7:00 AM, students came in with relatives in order to celebrate their nomination along with breakfast. Of these nominees was sophomore Jeremy Puerto, as he felt “excited” and felt “super surprised” at being picked. When he received the e-mail he was “shocked” but also proud for being acknowledged. Puerto offered some advice to students, “never give up” and keep up the good work.

    Senior, Kaelah Franklin’s feelings towards being nominated was “weird” but “interesting”. Franklin was confused as to who nominated her but found out through her teacher, Linda Bon. In what she’s been doing this year to be a possibility in being nominated, is involvement with school such as: drama, stage tech, and choir. Yet with so much on her plate, she’s still able to balance everything out, and chooses to do even more.

    Senior, Thalia Hernandez was yet another nominee who felt surprised, which seems to be the common theme amongst majority of the nominees. Hernandez felt “happy” towards being selected. Besides her being surprised, she has been involved a lot with school but has admitted that in recent months, has been “falling behind” but has picked herself up.

  • Sailing Doesn’t Go so Smooth For The Jackrabbits

    On January 5-6, 2019, the Long Beach Poly sailing team competed again at the famed Rose Bowl Regatta, a race where over a hundred high school and college teams compete separately to win the inaugural race of 2019. Ironically, the regatta takes place in Long Beach, not at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena.

    The Jackrabbits have competed in the race for nearly ten years as an unofficial team. They haven’t yet reached recognition from the high school administration, but have a growing history of successful seasons.

    As a sailing team, they are given race courses with a start line and compete in their boat against thirty teams, similar to cross country. Multiple races are completed daily, constituting a regatta. The teams are scored in order of finish, and the team with the lowest average of race scores wins the event. The race committee changes the race course to keep the competitors attentive.

    In typical winter sailing, the event was forecasted to have light wind and few waves, conditions that are against Poly, who practices in the heavier afternoon breeze. Coach Mark Ryan has said that he has “been working with the team to help control the boat, even in light air.” This light air favors teams further south that are able to practice in very little wind. However, Ryan has been coaching the team for two years now and has seen them finish in the top five at many sailing events. He says that “for a team as small as Poly’s, they are doing fantastic.”

    He’s not wrong. The Jackrabbits have remained competitive against top sailing schools like Newport Harbor and Point Loma, often coming within striking distance and even emerging victorious.

    Poly and Wilson practice together, and Poly team captain Cameron Feves said that “the rivalry keeps everyone on their toes at practice and at regattas.” Feves is the team’s MVP and is “largely responsible for his frequent wins over the Bruin’s captain Trent Turigliatto,” according to Feves’ crew member, Julia Golison.

    Feves has already committed to sailing at George Washington University next year and is a fearsome opponent on the water. The regatta, however, didn’t pan out like Feves intended. He was defeated by Turigliatto by a slim 3 points. Turigliatto attributed this to “seeing the wind shifts” and not overall superior skill. Even so, a victory is a victory.

    The Jackrabbits  are currently in 12th place, holding a one point lead over the Bruins. While each member is unsatisfied with the current results, they have said that they will continue to practice hard and end the season well in March.

  • Girls Jacks Do the Tango with the Lancers

    On Thursday, January 10th, beginning at 3:30 PM in the big gym, our wrestling meet against Lakewood was considered to be an eventful one. As each girl went up to wrestle their opponents, they were determined to finish their matches, and rack up a win. Only three girls were a part of the Lakewood wrestling team, while Poly had 11 girls on ready to get in the ring.

    Sophomore, Mishelli Morales was first up in the matches, weighing in around the 137’s.  Fixed in pushing her way out of a pin. Morales describes how she felt as not “really confident” and would want to have done “a rematch” in order to successfully win her match. Morales felt as if there could have been improvement, as she “panicked” and would have been “more aggressive” if given the chance.

    Freshman, Julissa Lara was quick on her feet and bringing action into her match, weighing in at 135 while the opponent weighed at 150. Lara successfully was able to get out of a pin. As for her thought processes during the match, she was “feeling scared” especially since she was bumped up in weight class.

    Poly lost both matches.There was a third opponent who did not wrestle, due to no one being of her weight class, but Poly won the match due to default as the team had more girls present.

  • #Surviving R.Kelly

    American Singer/Songwriter Robert Sylvester Kelly, better known as R. Kelly, has had a three-part documentary series created about him and his allegations regarding pedophilia and rape. It has been revealed that R. Kelly has committed multiple repulsive acts on teenage women.

    Kelly is a goddamn rapist. For some reason, after this bald man has been exposed for his nefarious and abhorrent acts, he is still trending and making millions of dollars for his music when his old a** should be in jail with the rest of the pedophiles and rapists. He is a manipulative waste of skin. Lock that bald man up!

    His nasty, pedophile, peeing on little girls supporting fans should be thrown into jail with him. There is absolutely no excuse for people to support his actions. Imagine if that was your daughter? People do not care about things until it happens to them.

    I’m sure everybody remember the episode of the Boondocks where they showed a fictional representation of R. Kelly’s trial. That episode is coming to reality this very day. Cancel that bald pedophile!

    Along with R. Kelly’s allegations and secrets surfacing, other artists secrets have come to light. Such as P. Diddy, Jay-Z, and other well known artists. It is time that these people are held accountable for the nasty things that they do.

  • The Government is Going Down

    The government shutdown! What does that mean? The government facilities has suspended their service due to an executive order given by the president. This means services like passport distribution, tax refunds, financial aid, and social security services are no longer running. This by far has been the longest on record in American history. The government has shut down for 22 days, and counting, yet no one knows specifically why this is happening. Trump announced in his public service announcement on January 8th, that he is very concerned about the borders. So until people consider raising money for a wall to be built to protect Americans from “drug smuggling….criminals.”, shutting down the government disables the border from allowing people into the country. Making the issue of immigrants and refugees less problematic for the President.

    The most important issue that interferes with the government shutting down is the impact on the community. The community’s need government assistance for public reconstruction, facilities that are government profit. Workers are not getting paid, so people are not showing up to work, which will sooner or later have a huge impact on government runned systems.

    How doe this affect you? In the long run, important services could stop all together due to lack of funds. The government supplies money each year to the district of Long Beach if the government postpones taxes, that could cause a Domino Effect of events that could lead to insufficient funding for schools. Not only schools, but financial aid for college students as well. The voices of the people are not being heard and California is suffering the consequences.

    A news report from NBC explains how a tree in Yosemite Park, that was one of the oldest, was cut down. Even though it may not seem like a big deal, the need to keep nature reservations is essential to keep a balanced ecosystem. Without these reservations, we would not be able to protect wildlife and essential resources for survival. The rangers blame the government shut down for not doing anything about it. This shutdown is affecting the US on a large scope. This allows the president’s agenda to go unchecked, meaning the voice of the people is not being heard. Corrupt businesses and capitalists are taking advantage of the shut down because there is no order. If this proceeds any longer than it has to, will our government truly be considered a democracy?

  • Volleyball Goes To The Beach for some Fun in The Sun

    In the spring semester, Poly High School will start its first ever Beach Volleyball Program. This sport will compete within the Sunset League in Huntington Beach. Tryouts are open to the entire school and the top ten girls will compete with the top level of Beach Volleyball for high school.

    Long Beach Unified School District doesn’t have Beach Volleyball as a sport but the athletic and high-performance volleyball players at Poly have been invited to compete in Division 1.

    The club president, Grace Abdoo, has stepped up and organized this new sport to increase its popularity. Currently they are raising money to enter the League and buy new equipment and jerseys. Games and tournaments will be Saturday mornings during the months of February, March, and April.

    Stay turned to hear the first Beach Volleyball results in Long Beach Poly’s history.

  • Signs During Finals Weeks

    Aries: Woke up early to study, fell asleep during the test. F

    Taurus: Tried to bribe the teacher for a good grade, couldn’t afford an A. B-

    Gemini: Passed on studying, passed the test anyway. D-

    Cancer: Watched Netflix instead of studying, got an A+… in the movie version. C

    Leo: Ditched finals period to go to the zoo, never regretted it. Incomplete

    Virgo: Skipped the party and studied all night. A-

    Libra: Tried to cheat off Aries… and also didn’t pass. F

    Scorpio: Half-studied, half-grade. C

    Sagittarius: Guessed right on the multiple-choice section! B+

    Capricorn: First one there and still not finished while everyone waits. A-

    Aquarius: Had a panic attack during the test, will have panic attack when report cards come out. D+

    Pisces: Faked being sick, won an Oscar! A+

  • Poetry is a Grand Slam!

    Taking place at the Poly Playhouse on January 11, 2019 at 6:30 PM, students recited their own original poetry while getting rewarded for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place. The prizes given where the money made with ticket sales  One of the contestants was senior Josalynn Bass, with her poem “Ana”. As she recited her poem it almost seemed as if this Ana was based on  an actual person, but nearing the end of it, the meaning started changing from a person to anorexia. Bass states, that at first she had written and intended on performing  another poem entirely, until she later changed her mind. In fact, the poem she performed was written “last minute” but was proven to be the right choice according to Bass. Her inspiration for “Ana” was based off of personal experience, but she also in part wanted her poem to have the ability to be able to resonate with the audience. She had hoped that after being heard, her poem might “relate with somebody else”, as it is a topic that is often not “talked about a lot”, since representation is not shown.

    Junior, Hannah Gardiner was also present, during the event, in reciting her poem “Normal”. Similar to the kind of twist “Ana” gave, the message it conveyed was one of how someone may look “straight” and be expected to act as such, but not exactly be straight. Atopic that is close to Gardiners heart, being so vulnerable on stage was a choice she made, when it would’ve been so easy to simply follow the prompt. Slam Poetry was an assignment given to the students, a part of Drama, as an assignment and Gardiner had the choice between “writing something for credit” or “actually putting [my] emotion into it”. Gardiner also used her personal experience as an inspiration when writing her poem. As for writing the poem, it took her “less than a minute” to come up with an idea of what kind of poem she wanted, versus finalizing her idea took “weeks”. Even the night before Poetry Slam, Gardiner was still “changing things” and was not as satisfied with the final product but liked “how it turned out”.

    Although everyone who showed up put their emotions out for all to see and recited their exceptional pieces, only three students walked away with prize money given to those who donated upon entering the slam. The third place prize went to freshman Ee’gypt Wilson who had not done an event like this before, but felt that she needed to get her feelings across, “I was worried about people seeing me be vulnerable on stage.” She doesn’t regret putting herself out there and was rewarded for doing so. Junior, Amber Payan expressed her anger and intense sadness for all the women who spoke out sexual assault this past year. She expressed her hatred towards abusers, and her empathy for survivors. Her passion  awarded her the second place prize. The winner of the poetry slam was junior Angelina Taylor, who spoke about her identity, as a black young American. She gained the audiences support and praise with every line she spoke. The crowd was filled with snaps, applause, and words that showcased their approval. Overall the poetry slam was a success, everyone gave their best effort, they went home proud, knowing that they had put themselves out there and were praised for it.

     

  • Bird Box Review

    Last month, on December 13, 2018 a new movie called Bird Box was released on Netflix, and it was a huge hit. Almost everyone was talking about this movie and boosting it up because it was “so good,” according to many.

    In the movie, a mysterious force takes over the human population and no one really knows what it is, only that if you see it, you will die. Now, the remaining survivors must avoid coming in contact with this force that takes the form of their worst fears.

    Malorie Hayes, played by Sandra Bullock, sets out to find a new safe place for her and her two children where she can start all over. She faces challenges on her journey through the woods and a river because she’s blindfolded throughout the whole trip… The movie has been compared to A Quiet Place but I don’t find much correlation between the two.

    Overall, the movie was good like people had told me before I had watched it, but I don’t think it reached the expectations of many, including myself because, personally, I expected a bit more since people kept “hyping” it up. See it if you want to, but don’t expect too much or you might be disappointed.

  • Crash Dat Soulja Boy

    Flash floods throughout California have resulted in a series of mudslides, leaving people stranded in their cars. Among those involved in such incidents is Soulja Boy, who posted on his twitter to confirm that he was in a car crash during the floods.

    “My car got stuck too almost went into the ocean,” he tweeted alongside a clip of mudslides. He later clarified the situation with his with his fans, adding that he was “involved in a very bad car accident ”.  He explained that he still hasn’t got his car back and that its still stuck “in the water in the middle of the mudslide/flood.” He doesn’t seem to bothered by the loss of his car, however.

    “I’m just thankful to be alive I don’t care about the car its materialistic, you can’t take it with you when you’re gone,” he added on his Instagram. Recently, Soulja Boy removed his two video game consoles from sale after shrugging off a potential Nintendo lawsuit. Before he stopped selling the consoles, he made a number of since deleted tweets laughing off the idea of such a lawsuit.

    “For anyone that thinks Nintendo is going to sue me you’re retarded,” he said. “Nothing going to happen everything is legit. My console isn’t going anywhere trust me,” as stated by Complex Magazine.

  • Just Becuase It’s Called High School, Doesn’t Mean You Can Get High!

    You do three things in the restroom: you take care of your bodily business, wash your hands, and get out. Occasionally, maybe you check yourself out in the mirror and fix your hair, but that is about it. These are basic, common needs that everyone has to take care of regularly, and thankfully, we have restrooms on campus to give people a place to fulfill those needs.

    But when certain people use the restrooms as a little hideout to get high, staff has to come close them down.  Suddenly, I’m wandering around campus like a chicken with its head chopped off, looking for an open restroom, praying to God that he’ll let me find one before my bladder decides it wants to turn my boxer briefs into Soak City. And God forbid that I ever have to take a dump here on campus, because there’s always the chance I’ll land myself in a restroom that hasn’t been closed down, but that people have smoked in. So, I gotta sit there on the toilet and just breathe in all that stank and let it marinate into my clothes, and then when I get home, my mom starts asking me, ¨John, why do you smell like weed?¨ and I gotta explain to her that it wasn´t me; it was someone else.  But of course, she hates me and does not trust a word I say, so she is trying to punish me when my only crime was having to take a dump at school. And it takes like 45 minutes for me to finally convince her I was not doing anything sketchy. And since I spend so much time trying to absolve myself of some sin that I did not commit, I have less time to get all my homework done, and I end up getting even less sleep than normal that night. So when you decide you wanna go get high in the school restrooms, the rest of us suffer.

    Don’t just take my word for it. The other day, my friend was on her period and had to put a new tampon in, she said she went to three different restrooms during lunch, which were all closed. By the time she got to the fourth one, her period juice had already oozed through her underwear and into her jeans. Nasty business.

    We all know weed isn’t as harmful as cigarettes and actually has a bunch of health benefits, unless you count all the cancer-causing carcinogens and particulate matter. Some people care about not getting cancer, so for this reason and all the others listed above, please just go smoke somewhere else.