Author: adviser

  • WHERE ARE YOUR CHAMPS GOING?

    February 6, 2019 marks the day high school student-athletes can be sign to a collegiate sport with a school part of National Collegiate Athletic Association. These schools sign the best of the best among the several students competing to be the best at what sport they participate in.

    Colleges sign athletes for all sports such as basketball, football, volleyball, swim, and track & field. Poly is notorious for students being signed to notorious schools due to their and talent and this year students hope to solidify their dreams into reality these coming months.

    Starting with some of the most notorious wide receivers in the Class of 2019 would be twins Keon and Kejuan Markham. Both brothers were signed by the same recruiter, Antonio Pierce, to Arizona State University (ASU) who ranks number 63rd in national public university ranking. Keon Markham signed as a wide receiver, ranking 43rd amongst the 2019 wide receiver recruits. On the other hand, Kejuan Markham signed as a safety for this upcoming season ranking 33rd amongst the 2019 safety recruits.

    The brothers state that ASU is taking over southern california and that, “we wanna be apart of it.” Before they leave Poly, they will stay for track season partaking in the 4×100 relay to compete for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) championship.

    Football recruits from Poly don’t stop there, Poly’s own Alex Austin signed by Coach Greg Bruns to Oregon State as cornerback. Alex Austin had offers from Colorado State, University of Hawaii, Montana State, choosing Oregon overall.

    Austin chose to sign with Oregon State as the, “vibe of Corvallis” – a beautiful place to live in Oregon – and the “opportunities” the university offers. Austin looks forward to playing the Oregon Ducks team his freshman season stating, “No ducks allowed.”

    More athletes are pending to sign with colleges as we are still months away from the deadline which is mid-August. A total of 42 students in last year’s class of 2018 signed with colleges all over the country – the total number for the class of 2019 is yet to be seen.

    Nonetheless, Poly hopes to continue the legacy they’ve made of producing premier athletes to make their way into leagues such as the National Basketball Association, National Football League, Women’s NBA, Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer.

  • Let’s Have that Speech!

    On January 25, Poly’s speech and debate team competed in the Spring Debate Competition.
    At this competition, sophomore Dana Kriebel and freshman Inanna Khanas made debates regarding three topics.
    The topics covered: the ethics of responsible gun ownership laws, birthright citizenships, and the Paw Act, the act that gives service dogs to veterans. Dana Kriebel won 14th out of about 65 competitors in the novist portions. Inanna won 26th which is a great achievement considering this being her first year. During this competition, 23 schools were present.
    Inanna and Dana both agreed that they “debated [their] best that [they] could have.”
    The debate for them wasn’t easier nor hard because they were about to come up with accurate evaluations in their arguments.
    They do plan on going to finals in their league.
    These two will participate in a Novice Tournament at Millikan on February 23rd. Those two, along with the whole novice debate team will suit up and perform their best at this tournament.
    The varsity debate team, last Saturday, at Arcadia High School, participated in the Spring Speech.
    There was about “4 inches of rain, but that did not stop us” said Speech and Debate teacher, Brett Alexander.
    Coco Sanabria and William “Big Sexy” Terlinda spoke in the Impromptu Speak lasting in a 5 minute speech. According to Alexander, “Coco and Big Sexy will be ready for State qualifications, I believe in them.”
    The state qualifications will be on March 1 and March 2 at CSULB. This competition will bring out 1,600 people from all over Southern California.
    This debate will be for the varsity debate team. Alexander states that he agrees, “that Coco and William are capable of qualifying for state.”
    In the 25 years that Alexander has been here he’s had 3 state champs.

    By Syanne Patton
    Freshman, Inanna Khanas

  • Tree Planting

    On January 26, from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM Poly’s Reserve Officer Training Course (R.O.T.C) participated in Operation Jumpstart’s Beautification Project by planting sycamore tree seeds in the neighborhood of Alamitos Beach Senior Center.
    The beautification project took place along the Long Beach Senior Center which marks its 25th tree planting anniversary.
    Fifteen R.O.T.C cadets put in three and half back-aching hours digging up plots for seeds to be planted in and any litter around the neighborhood.
    The R.O.T.C program seized the opportunity to participate in this grand event as it hopes to offer its cadets volunteering events to give back to the community and add to their resume when applying for a job.
    Jasmin Jallorina, one of the cadets present during the event felt, “humbled,” to be part of such a, “wholesome, heartwarming event.”
    Jallorina hopes to continue the event with the remaining two and a half years left in high school.
    After witnessing how, “jubilous the volunteers and the pedestrians passing by with a smile from eye to eye.”
    Not only does this open up R.O.T.C to another one of the several volunteering events, but also opens up the Operation Jumpstarts scholarship and mentoring program.
    Just from last year, 2018, Operation Jumpstart has railed in $50,000 of scholarship money, 1,500 hours of mentoring hours, and has served 410 students.
    After all the dust has settled, OJS has calculated a 98% of students involved in there program, had a 98% college attendance rate, an astounding figure especially in today’s college tuition.
    Over the course of the year Poly’s Reserve Officer Training Course has participated in many events serving the community in any way possible whether it be tree planting or helping out local schools with there science fair, R.O.T.C does it all.

  • Fine Money, Who?

    Essence Patton graduated 2 years ago and she still has not received her diploma. She owes $107 to Poly but does not plan on paying it back believing “fines are not a reasonable explanation for holding a students diploma,” and that if they wanted the money they could just “get it from the district.”

    When you turn in a book late or you lose it, you get fined, forget or lose your i.d., you get fined. Here is what happens to our fine money. Fines come from the library, the book room, or the school bank, and no one likes to pay them.
    The book room collects between $5,000-10,000 in fines a year, money that goes back into the district, in a general fund which is used to pay for whatever they need, such as new textbooks.

    The library takes an inventory every year to check for lost books, and the fines are split into lost books and late books. Those paid fines go into buying a new copy of the books lost. However the student doesn’t have to pay the fine, they could instead bring in a new copy and the fine will be cleared.

    The banker handles temporary I.D.’s and new I.D.’s once someone has gotten a certain number of temporaries or lost theirs. This year however the school has stopped charging for temporary I.D.’s. Which only leaves fines for the new I.D.’s, which come when a student has had 3 temporaries.

    So far this year, the school has made roughly $2,000 in those fines. The money for those fines goes into the cost of ordering and printing new I.D.’s, and the general ASB fund to help important school programs. If the fines are not paid then the student cannot attend certain activities or get clearance for extracurriculars on campus.

    California has just passed a law where public schools cannot withhold high school diplomas for unpaid fees. So maybe Essence Patton can finally receive her diploma.

  • The Rivalry Continues: Soccer Edition

    It’s that time of year again, where the Wilson and Poly girls soccer teams play in a rivalry game that has lasted decades. On Tuesday, December 18, the Jackrabbits girls varsity played the Bruins in what was the game that set the stage for the rest of the season.

    Last year, Poly lost to Wilson 0-2. But with a new coach this year and many returning players, it felt like a new energy was given to the team.

    “I didn’t sleep last night,” First year coach Anthony Perez said before the game. “I was so excited.” The Poly girls got out onto the field brimming with confidence, desire for this huge win the first thing in their minds.

    Poly started off strong, scoring in the first 4 minutes off a low cross by sophomore Kelsey Adams to Skylar Herrera who nailed it into the net. However, Poly couldn’t remain in the lead, and Wilson scored twice before half time was up.

    “We need to work as a team, don’t be afraid to play physical, and play with all your heart, ok? We can do this,” Junior Morgan King said in the team huddle at half time, while Poly was still behind.

    They went back out onto the field for the second half with high tension, the teams getting more and more physical as the game progressed. There were five yellow cards given out in the final 20 minutes, but Poly held their own. Despite being behind on the scoreboard, Poly was playing equally, if not better than Wilson.

    But in the final 8 minutes of the game, Poly got a corner kick. It was a perfect ball that arced across the crossbar, right to the head of Junior Aniah Cutler who drove the ball right into the goal. This goal was energizing for the team, as Poly finally had a bigger chance to comeback and beat Wilson once and for all.

    With 40 seconds left in the game, Poly got a free kick. Taken by Senior Ella Hiveley, it rebounded and was found at the feet of Sarah Santos, who was able to aim at the open space in the goal left by the goalie, and shoot. And the ball went it.

    With 25 seconds left to spare, Poly was able to pull off a win in what possibly was the biggest game of the season.

    The entire team, bench, and stands went crazy, enthused that Poly was able to pull off a win with almost no time left. “I knew we were going to win no matter what,” Cutler said after the game.

    With this huge win under their belt, Poly continues to be undefeated in both league and non-league play.

    On Tuesday, January 8 at Poly, the Jackrabbits and  the Millikan Rams girls soccer played against each other. Last year, Millikan beat Poly 3-1, but equipped with a new coach and some very strong returning players, Poly was hoping to pull off a win this year.

    This game started off strong for Millikan, scoring in the first eight minutes off of a cross by Emily Tamayo. Karli Slater headed the ball towards the far post where Samy Sierra headed it into the goal that Poly goalkeeper Kira Ybarra missed.

    Poly was able to rebound with a drving kick straight into the net by Senior Skylar Herrera in the 20th minute. But the Rams responded to the Jackrabbit goal with a cross by Sunha Park led by a shot into the goal by Oliva Tostado, putting Millikan in the lead.

    They also played Cabrillo Thursday December 20, winning 4-0.

  • Shooting at Torrance

    On January 5 at Gable Bowl House, three people were shot dead and four were left injured. The victims of the shooting were all in their twenties. One allegedly was trying to stop the fight that caused the commotion. This all broke out because of a fight between fathers at a family gathering. At the bowling alley, the day had been “crowded” according to eyewitnesses.

    As far as the victims, the 20-year-old who had been the youngest among the victims, had tried to stop the fight between the shooter’s group and the other men. People inside the bowling alley said, “There were 15 shots fired” and the commotion caused countless amounts of panic and chaos. Many families fled for cover as the rounds were fired.

    In a video released on social media, a woman held one of the victims as blood soaked the floor. As the video circulated, the more people were able to identify the shooter.

    An arrest took place two days later. The shooter was a man who was 47-years-old named Reginald Wallace. Wallace was a man who had been sentenced 17 years for assault with a deadly weapon and was released in 2017. He had been on parole at the time of the shooting. Now he is being sentence 25 to life for manslaughter and violating probation. Some might say, this incident remains as a horrible way to start off 2019.

  • The World is Ending?

    As of recently the focus on climate disruption is almost non-existent or ignored. President Donald Trump has also stated it as something he does not “believe in”. With even the President not even showing an interest in this, is concerning, as this situation seems to only get worse.

    According to statistics provided by NASA, there has been a global temperature rise of about 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit since the late 19th century. With the years passing, the climate only gets worse. Over the past 35 years, 2016 was considered one of the hottest years.

    Ocean life has had some awareness brought to it, in how plastic and trash easily gets into it, but yet after this knowledge being shared, results in fixing these issues are not as present. People advocate for these causes, such as World Wide Fund for Nature and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and yet the support is not nearly enough on a larger scale.

    Of course most people are aware about the glaciers and ice melting, but almost nothing is done in order to reverse these effects. Statistics on the effects of climate disruption are available for everyone to view, and about half a million of youth have taken action into this issue. Information gathered from the United Nations states 84% of youth believe more knowledge should be shared regarding climate, 73% feel the changes in our climate, and 89% say that the youth can make a difference.

    In what differences the youth can do is: go green, such as walking or different ways of transportation for the benefit of the earth, collaborating with others (maybe also coming together to form an organization), and finally partnering with the government, like the United Nations Joint Framework Initiative on Children, Youth and Climate Change.

  • 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.