Author: adviser

  • Music Collaboration in the Works

    The Intermediate Drama Class.
    Photo by Morgan Luke
    The Intermediate Drama Class.

    Unifying The Arts is a project thought up by Ms. Goyette, the new drama teacher here at Poly. Her plan is to bring together all of the arts programs–choir, orchestra, jazz–and perform a musical. Due to the reconstruction of the auditorium, the musical most likely will not happen until the 2016-2017 school year, but the instrumental and vocal departments are already in the early stages of preparation.
    Goyette’s interests in starting this began when she observed the divisions within the Poly arts programs; aware of the untapped potential of unification, she began to plan this massive undertaking upon receiving her new position.
    She is certainly the right teacher to ensure that this project is completed. Goyette graduated from University of California, Irvine, with a degree in musical theatre, working as a theater advisor at a performing arts magnet school prior to Poly. In addition, she was also a background performer at Disneyland, acting as Ariel the Mermaid in the daily parades.
    For the following year’s musical, Goyette is looking to put on Lynn Ahren’s Once on This Island. The musical is a Caribbean retelling of The Little Mermaid, centered around the romance of Ti Moune and Daniel Beauxhomme. The musical aspect consists of many island beats and Latin melodies, two new areas for the musical department to explore. Furthermore, the story is one rooted in love and friendship, themes guaranteed to attract a diverse audience.
    Though the instrumental and vocal departments have already begun rehearsing their parts, this project is not limited to those already involved in the arts; auditions will be open to any Poly student. Goyette hopes this will bring the hidden talents of Poly students to light; she wants to make sure there are no entry barriers, for talent is the decisive factor.
    Considering the depth of these departments in past years, the current absence of a program like this is confounding. This can be attributed to one major factor: budgetary restraints. A majority of the department funds goes to purchasing sheet music, so there is not much left for discretionary spending. In order to finance this project, Goyette has started planning fundraisers to raise money for the musical.
    Unifying the Arts has the potential to make these departments more familiar to Poly students and faculty. In the near future, the school will have to add a third category to its reputation: artists, for the arts are an under-appreciated but wholly essential component to Poly’s success.

  • RoboRabbits Team with Servite

    From September 19 to 20, seniors Megan Guttieri and Miriam Melendez participated in the Chezy Championships in Fresno, reaching the semifinals and winning the overall Programming Award. They competed as part of the Friarbots team, Servite High School’s robotics team. This is because Long Beach Poly’s FIRST robotics team could not compete due to last-minute complications. This did not deter Guttieri and Melendez, however; they still powered on through and found alternative ways to participate in robotics competitions. Chezy Champs has teams from all over the nation test their robots in a series of challenges. 35 different teams competed for the top prize, participating in events like Recycle Rush, where two alliances of three robots are pitted against each other. Other games involve shooting basketballs, climbing a seven-foot pyramid, and stacking totes. In order to win, teams must be strategic, have structurally sound robots, and communicate well. It is evident that the Friarbots possess all three qualities, for they emerged as semifinalists and winner of the Programming Award. “Chezy Champs is an inspiring experience because it provides students the opportunity to experience new things, fix old problems, and have a friendly environment,” said Thena Guttieri. For the past two years, the Friarbots have made it to the world championships in St. Louis. This year they were they were the Regional Winners at the Arizona West Regional and Quarterfinalists in the Curie division.

  • Appeal for Air

    An online petition has emerged with the start of heat waves to get air-conditioning in every LBUSD classroom. The petition, started by concerned parents on change.org, has received over 9,000 votes in two weeks. The online petition reads: “It is imperative that LBUSD update our buildings and put air conditioning in all of our classrooms. Temperatures have been consistently been rising, and hot weather is lasting well into autumn, in Southern California. Our children can’t be expected to concentrated in conditions like this.” With the start of autumn heat waves, the Long Beach Unified School District has continued to implement the use of minimum days to combat the heat. The minimum days were a feature started last school year While the minimum days are a short-term solution to the excessive heat in classrooms, it does not address the root of the problem: the lack of air-conditioning in every classroom in the school. Newly built schools in LBUSD, such as McBride High School, McBride Academy, and Roosevelt Elementary school feature full air-conditioning in all classrooms. A bond measure is a possible long-term solution to getting air-conditioning in all classrooms. This was the path of action taken by Bellflower Unified School District in 2012. A $79 million bond was approved by BUSD voters that improved overall structural issues with the district, which included updates to air-conditioning. Long Beach Unified is a significantly larger school system, and the full air-conditioning update could cost $700 million, according to LBUSD spokesperson Chris Eftychiou. Until the air-conditioning solution is solved, minimum days will continue to be implemented on a case-by-case basis.

  • New Bunnies to the Bunch

    “I graduated from Poly, and I want to give back to the program that made me who I am.” Thanh Van, AP Physics

    “[I will help] students pass their classes by providing them with good teaching everyday and keeping the students busy.”
    Steven Goodman, Special Education

    “[A] safe haven where everyone feels comfortable and just express themselves for who they are and make it feel like a family in which no one is going to be judged.”

    “I hope to teach my students this year lifelong skills that they can take with them in the future.” Kristina Pfohl, Algebra

    “The great majority of the students are very open to learning. I am very excited to see what Poly has in store for me.”
    Anne Stuyvesant, Geometry

    “[I’m] looking forward to working with highly motivated students and helping them pass the AP exam in May, and will help support them and help them feel confident and ready to take the test.” Stacey Hess, AP Language

    “I plan to have students become active learners by having them research and relate their understanding of in-class materials to their community and current events. I must show students that I value what they do outside of the classroom so that they can value what I do inside the classroom.” Vincent Puth, History

    “I would like to help my senior English students improve their writing, take the High Life to an even higher level, and contribute to a member of the school community.” Daryl Holmlund, English/Journalism

    “I’m really glad to be back here at Poly. Students here and in the district seem a little more aware of what is going on in the outside world.” James Cooperider, English

    “I love Poly. My son is a Poly grad; my daughter is a junior. It’s almost like I am coming home when I teach here.” Steve Perrin, Algebra

    “I want to start a full-on robotics program and get involved in as many engineering projects as possible.” Scott Gaynor, Engineering

    COOPERIDER JAMES cTMl6fvXWlN9Vahj3BMWxjIq2VtE2FttQvQcTLEz1bQ H0kkH4GXBiIGVCJQVgo6ujSVaIqpx3Eu7EacDtYRv_4 HESS STACEY HHlucr5M4lpALanRVfEK5x5FCPxqdZBKriqFAP3o41I WEBB JENNA XAWKNapGu34Ir1vsWVI0Oa__lzwq16GLgBY3fsdokjY tPdO8I5Vt6jFX9Pewo5pGkv9Qio39_jwSygjaNLLuI4 B5nZjaHKom3iuRhHiGbGJNkD9qlb35cV9Bvj5b3XR40 D7QJKp771fTOQfvhdtK-SGkalDfSWTQ-lZpinupKY90 J38H20dwzeCKRt6dOlA72iCfhpQbX4MBTNeSIiTk0K8 VB31v--y_t2THzx2bCytOeHJMsDcCpArVngEC-rFvQA WG_mz8NUphISgUAYVr4sAvUjQW9lS0qubllTsTgm8M4 X_JdMk4-whmqr3pEbg7IcIoGYHXux47b-PfmGvjNWe4 zsamC3pPJk71zuuKWexwzt0EbZ3bRK1UJJJAyDKvuLY CQjah_tn-wmDPobWIVrmiTEBGkiUoU4IAqZC9JuHKDU K-CpJ3YkRuY8AC1Ef6RTngUzxjvZ0HK8gPd5NtriOfM m6VqESixawYBRWnLRAXzgIkoiRFOgcvsSwoY8yFH5vg Wnq_BXjTxa9X6FEXDL27iLZ4-sJrEPPasY6xXRkE5GU

    Photos courtesy of Sanford Studios.

    Photos for Thanh (Aaron) Van and Andrea Wright were unavailable.

  • Straight Outta Compton

    Straight Outta Compton

    I’m always hesitant to see films dealing with racial oppression and subjugation because they always remind me of the stratification and prejudice that is my people’s reality. But what I experienced in theater number nine at the Pike Cinemark was something close to spiritual.

    Straight Outta Compton gives people a glimpse at what it is like to be a Black male trying to survive in a white man’s world in the 1980-90’s, today, and possibly forever.

    Those who deny police brutality, especially against minorities, need to watch the multiple times N.W.A. was harassed by the police—in front of their workplace, outside their own homes, and even at their own concert. All of these incidents were acts of white, male police officers asserting their power, and not the members of N.W.A. doing something illegal.

    The movie also deals with the case of Rodney King, a Black male who was brutally beaten by four L.A.P.D. officers in 1991. When all but one of the officers was acquitted despite video evidence, the oppressed minorities rioted in the streets of L.A., causing an estimated 1 billion dollars in property damage.

    The movie is still relevant today, twenty-five years later, because of the tendency history has to repeat itself. The Ferguson Riots of 2014-2015 started when officer Darren Wilson shot and killed the unarmed Black teenager Michael Brown. The riots escalated after the grand jury failed to charge Wilson with murder. Similar situations have popped up throughout the United States in recent years.

    The issues then and now are indistinguishable simply because we live in a Eurocentric world. “A system cannot fail those it was never meant to protect,” stated W.E.B. DuBois, the late Black activist. So to those who speak of victimization and racism being over and “not a prevalent issue today,” I say this: hell na.

  • Land of the Free, Home of the Christians

    L’shanah tovah! Or to all that do not speak Hebrew, “to a good year,” because it’s Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, once again.

    This two-day Jewish holiday is known as the Day of Judgment, and is celebrated all over the world for people to reflect on what they need to change to become better human beings. It has been questioned whether Rosh Hashanah, along with the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, should be school holidays.

    In Jewish tradition, it is prohibited to work during the two days of Rosh Hashanah, yet in the U.S., teachers and students are expected to be in attendance during those days of celebration and worship. In the nation of religious freedom, it is ridiculous that our school district doesn’t give the two days off to respect our teachers, staff, and students of the Jewish faith.

    Others might say that religion isn’t important in school. But in a country where children too young to understand what they’re saying are forced to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, which includes the line “one nation under God,” we are lying to ourselves if we think school and religion are separated.

    Every year, we receive one week off for the religious holiday Christmas, a week for the nonreligious New Year, and another week for the religious holiday Easter.

    It shouldn’t matter how many people identify with Judaism, Jewish students and teachers should be allowed to have the two days off to celebrate their new beginnings.

  • Dying to Fit In

    Hazing is an endemic in our colleges and high schools today that has taken the lives of countless students who only wanted to be like everyone else.

    Whether it be a college fraternity or a high school water polo team, hazing can be detrimental to a student’s mental and physical health and can bring on extreme humiliation.

    Gary DeVercelly Jr., son of former Long Beach Poly teacher Julie DeVercelly, died in 2007 during Rider University’s Phi Kappa Taus’s “initiation ritual,” a yearly induction into the fraternity through forced alcohol consumption. His parents have since then undertook a project with the Clery Center, a group that works toward safer campuses, to put together a just-finished documentary called We Don’t Haze.

    We Don’t Haze includes interviews with the DeVercelly family and the parents of Robert Champion Jr. and George B. Desdunes, innocent victims of an unjustifiable tradition—a tradition that should be eradicated in every school in the United States.

    Fifty-five percent of college students involved in some school activity have experienced hazing in their lifetime, and that is a statistic that has to change.

    Despite efforts by colleges and high schools to eliminate hazing, there is still a lot of progress to be made. Teachers and students should attend mandatory hazing-awareness meetings and assemblies, and all sports teams, clubs, and musical groups should be informed of the consequences of hazing. Only this way can we keep our studentry safe.

  • Poly Royalty

    Poly Royalty

    Since its founding in 1895, Poly has set the standards for sports, academic, and music on a national scale. Built upon a unique history marked by academic achievement and athletic records, Poly has become a kingdom that dominates all other high schools in the nation. Many alumni have gone on to prove that Poly is the best starting point for success. Poly’s reign has lasted for over a century now, and these achievements prove that our empire is not falling any time soon. Add your name to the list of kings, queens, and pharaohs who made the right choice by starting here.

    NIMBLE NOBLES

    Jackrabbits are well-rounded students: with five small learning communities including Justice (law), BEACH (math and science) , MAPS (medical), PAC RIM (business), METS (media), and two college-prep magnet programs, PACE and CIC, Poly utilizes academies as personalized learning curricula for students to model their courses based on their interests. Academies were designed to imitate a more personal learning environment.

    MUSICAL MONARCHS

    Poly’s six-time, Grammy award- winning music program has trained many artists to carry on the legacy of excellence. One alum in particular, Ikey Owens, started off in our notable music program. He went on to become a famous, two- time Grammy-winning pianist , receiving the first in 2011 with his band, Mars Volta. Owens was awarded a second Grammy in 2015 for his work on Jack White’s most recent album, Lazaretto, but unfortunately, he did not live to receive it, as he passed away last October.

    DIVERSE DYNASTY

    According to the Los Angeles Times’ California School’s Guide, Poly has a perfect score of ten for its diversity. Poly has the most even distribution of minorities amongst its student body out of all other high schools in the district. The school consists of 32.2% Latino, 30% Asian, 10.6% Caucasian, and 25.4% black students. Royal Jackrabbits stem from all kinds of ethnic backgrounds, keeping the kingdom varied.

    THE PRINCE OF POWERADE

    Did you know that Poly had its own flavor of Powerade? “The Flavor of Champions” was created for Poly in 2011 in honor of being crowned as #1 on ESPN’s “Fab 50” list, recognizing the most talented high school athletics. It’s not surprising since Poly has sent more football players to the NFL than any other high school over the last century.

  • 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.