Author: adviser

  • Hawai’i H2O

    Hawai’i H2O

    Even though the girls’ water polo season will not officially start until December, the Lady Jackrabbits have been competing all summer. Most recently, the girls visited Honolulu, Hawai’i to participate in the 47th Annual Hawaiian Invitational. The girls’ water polo team competed in five games and ended with a 3-2 record.

    “[They] were in a bracket with some of the toughest teams around,” said assistant coach Tristan Brightenburg. “The girls beat the team that they needed to beat, and competed with teams who overlooked them.”

    Even though the girls lost to the Newport and Honolulu teams, they still beat the Vikings, Meriden and Pomona teams. However, the sole purpose of this trip was not just to compete in the tournament; this annual trip also served as a great bonding experience for the team.

    “The bigger picture of that tournament is to make memories…I’m glad to know that they had a great time together,” added Brightenburg.

    Before heading to Hawaii, the girls also participated in the Junior Olympics from August 1-2. The girls competed as a 16U team and ended the weekend with a silver medal in the bronze division.

    The girls’ season will not start for a while, so while they prepare for the season ahead, keep an eye out for upcoming games in boys’ water polo.

  • Jackrabbits Outrun Coyotes

    Jackrabbits Outrun Coyotes

    The Poly Jackrabbits kicked off their football season on August 27 with a road trip to Peoria, Arizona to face the Centennial Coyotes.

    The Jackrabbits managed to pull through a rough start with a 13-12 win, despite a plethora of penalties and a slow offense. “We’re a young team and a lot of our current starters are starting for the first time,” said senior linebacker Sergio Villaseñor.

    The Poly offense struggled to find a rhythm in the first half, coming up scoreless. With many new starters, the Poly offense had a rough start, racking up 16 penalties by the end of the game. Fortunately, the relentless Poly defense kept a manageable score for Poly to make a comeback. Junior linebacker Joshua Brown intercepted the Centennial quarterback early in the game and helped set the tone for the stout defense. At halftime, Centennial led 6-0.

    The second half for Poly featured a more explosive and organized offense, including a 60-yard touchdown pass from senior receiver Jack Jones, earning Poly a close 7-6 lead. Soon after, another Coyote touchdown put the Coyotes ahead 12-7.

    When the passing attack for Poly struggled, junior quarterback Nolan McDonald ran effectively to get first downs and keep the Jackrabbit offense on the field. Running back Michael Mauai had a strong varsity debut with a fourth quarter touchdown, putting Poly ahead 13-12 for the Jackrabbits’ eventual win.

    “Our offense started off slow and we obviously hurt ourselves with penalties, but our defense played strong the entire game,” said Villaseñor.

    The rest of the Jackrabbits’ schedule includes other difficult games, with road games to Las Vegas and Northern California to face nationally ranked Bishop Gorman and De La Salle. Today, the Jackrabbits will face Narbonne, an opponent sure to trouble the Jackrabbits.

    Luckily, the Jackrabbits know what needs improvement and plan to work even harder in practice. “We have one game under our belts so we’ve made our adjustments so that we’re ready for Narbonne,” said Villaseñor.

  • Roosevelt Elementary: The New Kids on the Block

    Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School reopened after a two-year rebuild of the entire campus on September 2nd. During the rebuild, staff and students relocated to Butler Middle School. The rebuild was paid for by Measure K bonds. Measure K was a ballot initiative, approved in November 2008, which will allocate $1.2 billion for the building, renovation, and general improvement of schools in LBUSD. Roosevelt Elementary was originally opened in 1935, and, in homage, photos of murals, along with an original door, are displayed in the library. “We used Measure K to build one of Long Beach’s oldest schools. Roosevelt now has a community health center on campus, it is energy efficient, and has the latest technology. As it is a historic neighborhood, we’ve taken great care with the treasures from the 1930’s. I hope everyone will agree that it was well worth waiting for,” said Felton Williams, the President of the Long Beach Board of Education. Other highlights of the rebuild include two computer labs (one Mac-based and on PC-based), a playground built over a ground-level parking garage, and a multipurpose room, complete with a stage and an audio/visual alcove. “I’m thankful to those who have been a part of this project. I’m excited to see the kids’ faces when they walk through the gate and see the school. It’s like opening a Christmas present,” said Clarissa Tolentino, Roosevelt’s principal. Roosevelt Elementary grew from 64,000 square feet to nearly 100,000. The school serves 1,100 students, kindergarten through fifth grade. Measure K is also paying for Poly’s own renovated auditorium, as well as improvements for Wilson High and major renovation for Jordan High.

  • Freshman Survival Guide (Results May Vary)

    I grimace whenever I look back on the past three years. These years have not given me the washboard abs and six-foot-height I wished for. Alas, the only things I’ve gained are twenty pounds and an insatiable addiction to coffee. Yet, my biggest frustration is not my physical mediocrity; rather, it was my lack of useful knowledge coming in. No one told me what it felt like to be a grain of sand at the beach in a school of over four thousand students, feeling microscopic is, at times, inevitable. Such was the fate I believed I was consigned to for the next four years. Or so I thought. High school isn’t all fun and games, but it isn’t a complete bore, either. Looking back, I can say that I’ve grown past my awkward freshman self.As I sit in this coffeehouse waiting for the ground to swallow me whole, I am overcome with a sense of responsibility to you, incoming freshmen, in hopes of making these next four years the best they can be. This duty to help has resulted in a hastily-written freshman survival guide from one of Poly’s most lackluster students. Though I wanted to release this in Sunday’s edition of the Times, the High Life will have to do. To all freshmen, make sure to print this out and post in on your walls. Treat it with the same reverence as the Bible. This collection of tips will single-handedly turn your life around. You can thank me later. For starters, you must learn that Poly’s seagulls are unavoidable. They have accuracy better than Olympic archers. Walk with caution, my friends. Secondly, spend a coup1e of hours on Urban Dictionary. You don’t know how embarrassing it is to not know the difference between “thought” and “thot”. Once you learn the art of communication, try talking to people. For the most part, Poly students are very friendly—not everyone is a cold-blooded cynic like me. Graduation is in four years, start eating healthy. You will most likely donate several organs in order to fund your college education, so the better their condition, the less debt you’ll accrue. A kidney might pay for a textbook or two. As you prepare to become a semi-functioning adult, learn to control your social media usage. Not everyone needs to know what Becky ate for breakfast. The whole world is your oyster and your eyes are plastered to a screen. Look up at the falling ceiling tiles once in a while — counting the dots are a great way to pass the time in class. What is the most valuable advice I can give to you? My biggest tip is to do something worthwhile. Engage in various things, actually. You’re going to spend four years with people as lost as you. Hang out with them. Go attend Poly’s many activities. Join a club. Better yet, join the High Life and hang out with me, Poly’s go-to source for bad humor. As you spend the next four years in these halls, I hope you heed my advice. It will help make these years a bit more bearable. Best of luck, fellow Jackrabbits.

  • Poly Fills Its Cracks

    Long Beach Poly High School began on-campus renovations the previous school year. Renovations will be finished towards the end of the current school year.

    The estimated total budget for this project is $20.31 million with the construction portion tallying to $14.14 million.

    Using this budget, the completed auditorium will have new elevators, restrooms, plumbing, air conditioning, fire alarms, and sprinklers. There will also be new changing rooms for the performers to use and they are improving the stage lighting, ceiling and roofing, seating layout, and refurbishment.

    According to LBUSD, the goals of this project are to renovate the exits of the auditorium, give it a seismic retrofit, and create a safe and accessible environment for all students while protecting and improving the historic design.

    “I can’t wait to see the auditorium when it’s finished,” said senior Imani Martin. “I’ve seen them working on it all summer and I can’t wait for the [finished] product. With this being my 4th year at Poly I am expecting to see an amazing final result.” In addition, the sidewalk on Jackrabbit Lane was repaved and its street outfitted with new handicap parking spots. This renovated section will allow for easier access to students and faculty.

    This fall, the school will upgrade security technology with the installment of better security cameras to ensure a safe environment. Past improvements include the replacement of phone switches and handsets in 2014 and the installation of Wi-Fi (Wireless Data Communication) throughout every classroom.

  • Happy 100 Years, Poly High Life!

    Since September of 1915, the High Life has been a tradition at Poly. This school year, the newspaper is proud to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

    In January, the staff will complete several projects in order to commemorate this occassion. The first project is releasing a full-color commemorative issue looking back on the various events the High Life has covered.

    Another project will be completed through the International Ambassadors program. For their project, co- Editors-in-Chief Crispin Jay Salapare and Andrea Garcia are digitally archiving 100 years’ worth of newspapers onto the website, polyhighlife.com. This project is a great leap in preserving

    Poly’s rich history.
    Every page needs to be

    digitally scanned and uploaded by a specialist, which will cost

    approximately $2,500.
    Lastly, a new redesign of the

    paper will be revealed in January. This will not only mark a milestone in the newspaper’s history, but also reflect its focus on delivering cutting-edge content in new, aesthetically appealing ways. In order to ensure these plans’ completion, the High Life need your support. Whether through

    financial donations or words of encouragement, all forms of help are greatly appreciated,

    As this is the paper’s centennial year, we are deeply interested in displaying your history. Send us your memories of your time at Poly to include in our January centennial issue. We are sure this generation will appreciate and learn a lot from them.

    To donate towards Andrea Garcia and Crispin Jay Salapare’s project, visit their GoFundMe page:

    http://www.go- fundme.com/z3kzjpg

  • Thanks for everything, Poly.

    To Our Fellow Jackrabbits:

    We are so grateful to have spent the last four years here at Poly.  We could not have asked for a more welcoming and diverse group of people to call our peers and mentors.  The school is such a great environment to be a part of, one where school spirit and kindness are found in abundance. Walk around the school and you will see this manifested in all of the students. Even when we had to cope with unfortunate events this year, we bonded and  grew closer amid these tragedies. The emphasis on community and camaraderie is one of the many things that make this school such a remarkable institution: it has shown us that Poly is really a family.

    As seniors, we can confidently reaffirm the notion that Poly is the Home of Scholars and Champions.  We have worked on this newspaper for the past three years, and we can say that Poly consistently molds its students into educated and responsible individuals.  We have written articles about Poly students competing in academic and athletic events, winning various scholarships, and receiving widespread recognition for their achievements.  We have witnessed Jackrabbits claiming not only league titles, but also state records and national rankings. However, we have come to realize that calling Poly the Home of Scholars and Champions is limiting; the school is home to a multi-talented student body in all disciplines.

    We want to thank our classmates for such a great experience.  We would also like to thank all our teachers and counselors for guiding us along the turbulent journey of high school. Thank you to the fabulous High Life staff and our new advisor, Mr. Autz, for working hard to keep the High Life alive. We only wish the best for next year’s High Life staff, who will work hard to commemorate the 100 years of the newspaper’s existence. We are expecting great things with the guidance and leadership of the new Editors-in-Chief: Cooper Bahr, Andrea Garcia, and CJ Salapare.

    Lastly, we are extremely happy with how the newspaper has turned out this year. We have succeeded in upholding our duties as journalists: to document the school’s history and inform the student body. With our new website up and running, the newspaper has reached a wider audience and that fills us with a sense of pride. We sparked debate over important issues and we appreciated everyone who shared their own opinions with us. We hope to see all of you continue Poly’s storied legacy.   Thank you for giving us such a great school to call our alma mater.

    Sam & Amara

  • Band Springs Into Final Concert of the Year

    Poly’s Spring Band concert was held at Cal State Long Beach’s Daniel Recital Hall on Tuesday, June 2nd.
    The Concert Band performed “Trifolium,” a trumpet trio featuring sophomores Brandon Samuels and Tatiana Tate, and junior Hunter Davis as lead trumpet.
    Following Concert Band, Symphonic Winds stunned the audience with two very dramatic moving pieces, the first being Steven Verhelst’s “A Song for Japan.” The song, featuring senior Michael Franco on trombone, serves as a tribute to the victims of the Fukushima earthquake that occurred in Japan in April 2011.
    Symphonic Winds ended the night with Daniel Bukvich’s “Symphony No. 1,” a four movement commemoration of the victims of the firebombing of Dresden, Germany during World War II.
    “The piece even included spoken words in German meaning help, fire, smoke, and firestorm,” said junior flutist Jonathan Rodriguez.
    The piece moved the audience, leaving them in fascination and in awe.
    “The piece ended with me playing a low note with inflections to imitate a sob. That was the last piece of the concert and it left such a powerful impact on the audience that there wasn’t any applause until the conductor left the stage,” said Rodriguez.
    Overall, the band members were very pleased with their last concert of the school year.
    “There was a full crowd, the bands played really well, the musical selection was very good, and the bands had a lot of support and love for the graduating seniors,” said Davis.

  • Senior Pianists Perform for the Last Time

    Poly seniors took to the Longfellow Elementary School stage for the KeysTone Piano Quartet senior recital on Friday, June 5th.
    This was the last time the advanced pianists would play as Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits. The quartet is made up of seniors Mayvera Doaran, Phoebe Hao, Jasmine Kay, and Damian Nguyen.
    Junior pianist Tre’von Robinson said he was “excited to see all the seniors perform so exceptionally after all their hard work in the classroom.”
    The hour long recital featured the entire advanced piano class and four solos, two duets, and four quartets. The quartets included the Scot Joplin Rag Rhapsody, Champagne Toccata, and the Moldau.
    For senior Phoebe Hao, ten years of practice and performing paid off, as she played throughout the entire recital, including a Debussy piece.
    Hao ended up enjoying “every performance of the recital,” and was excited that her years of practice did allow her to achieve perfection on Friday night.
    As an encore, the quartet premiered Damian Nguyen’s arrangement of Rhapsody of Blue for melodica and six hands
    “It was an honor and a privilege to be part of the quartet, especially since this was my first year in Poly’s piano program, and I am so proud that we are the first at Poly to have a piano quartet recital separate from the annual recitals that the piano classes have,” said Nguyen.i

  • Summer of Sequels

    Summer of Sequels

    Although the summer movie season kicked off with box office smash: Avengers: Age of Ulttron, the summer is still packed with many big blockbusters, ranging from action to comedy.
    June starts off strong with Jurassic World. Jurassic World is the fourth installment of the Jurassic franchise, as 2001’s Jurassic Park III was the previous one. This entry follows Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), a behavioral researcher who finds himself tracking the genetically engineered Indominus Rex as it terrorizes the titular theme park. Jurassic World releases on June 12.
    Ted 2, the sequel to the successful R-rated comedy, releases on June 26. Ted 2 continues to follow the antics of John Bennet (Mark Walhberg) and his foul-mouthed teddy bear, Ted (voiced by Seth Macfarlane).
    The first big animated movie of the summer is Minions. This movie is a spin-off/prequel to the popular Despicable Me franchise, focusing on the evolution of the iconic Minions over the years as they struggle to find a master. Minions releases on July 10.
    July 17 sees the release of the next installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ant-Man follows Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), a small-time thief who becomes a superhero with the mentorship and technology of Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas).
    Pixar’s first animated film of 2015 is Inside Out. Inside Out takes place inside the mind of a young girl, Riley (voiced by Kaitlyn Dias), which is populated by five emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust. Inside Out releases on June 19.
    Paper Towns is the latest movie adaptation of the novels of author John Green (The Fault in Our Stars). Paper Towns follows quiet high schooler Quentin Jacobsen (Nat Wolff) and his search for his missing neighbor Margo Spiegelman (Cara Delevingne). Paper Towns releases on July 24.
    The end of July sees the release of the fifth entry in the Mission Impossible franchise. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation continues the chronicles of IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), who must bring down a mysterious organization targeting the IMF called The Syndicate. Rogue Nation releases on July 31.
    Rounding off the summer is the action comedy movie, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. A movie adaptation of 1960’s the TV show of the same name, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. centers on secret agents Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavil) and Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) and their mission to stop a mysterious criminal organization that wishes to destroy the world. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. rounds off the big summer releases on August 14.

  • Prom 2015: A Venetian Paradise

  • Title Dreams Swim Away

    Title Dreams Swim Away

    Neither the girls nor boy swim teams were able to claim the Moore League championship title this year at the Cabrillo Aquatic Center, both coming in second to the Wilson Bruins.

    Victory seemed to be in reach for the girls swim team going into Moore League finals on Friday, May 8, having gone undefeated for the entire season. However, suffering from an unfortante turn of events, the girls lost their chance to reclaim their Moore League title. One of their key swimmers, freshman Fion Quach, suffered from an i11074261_10206819585391890_8045429563950839043_nnjury where she twisted both her ankles, preventing her from particpating in finals.

    “We made a game plan for Friday, but when Fion told me about her injury one hour before start time, my        heart sank,” said head coach Kalani Caldwell. “She was a guarnteed forty points. However, the girls still swam according to the gameplan. For me, we did win.” Even though the girls entered with a higher score from consolation, and won seven out of eleven events, they were unable overcome the Bruins.

    The day before, May 7, the boys had their final meet were they were they were defeated by the 43 year reigning champions. “We have a very young team. Ninty percent of them are freshmans and sophomores,”

    said head coach Eddie Kim. Beside their loss, both the boys and girls had exceptional swims. sophomore, Jack Neaton was the first person in ten years to go under a minute for the 100-yard breaststroke, with a time of 59.93. In addition, the girls 200- Medly relay time broke the meet record at Moore Leaue finals with a time of 1:49.47.