Author: Michael Pena

  • Why Bill Nye is better than regular science class

    Bill Nye the Science Guy is a cultural icon who has taught millions all over the globe, and almost everyone has something good to say about him. Regular science teachers on the other hand are often despised. Why is that? I believe that it’s due to how the material is presented, for example Bill Nye is hyperactive and keeps his audience engaged with every little segment, while science teachers are often slow and unengaging. This causes students to gravitate towards Bill Nye over regular teachers.

    I decided to watch an episode of Bill Nye about Chemistry. This is because I was learning about it in class and I felt like I learned the material better, and it was more fun. Although Bill Nye talks fast and everything is a little sped up for the purpose of putting as much as you can in a 20 min video you do get a lot of information.

    This being said, it does not mean you should watch Bill Nye over paying attention to teachers.This is because although Bill Nye is more fun and you get a bang for your buck, in science class the teachers go into in depth detail and make sure you understand the material. The video I watched on Bill Nye only covered half of the unit from my science class and it didn’t really help for the inevitable test. While all this is true, Bill Nye is a great way to scratch the surface of any science topic and is a very fast/enjoyable way of getting this information.

                     

    (Disclaimer:this article is not to bash teachers it’s only for fun)

  • Songs To Listen During December

    December is coming soon, and an interview was made to get students’ opinions on their favorite songs to listen to during december.  In the results, Ariana Grande was a very popular singer who students listened to during december. At 3rd place, with 4 picks was “Sympathy for the Grinch” by 100 gecs. At second place, with 6 picks was “Last Christmas” by Ariana Grande. And at 1st place,with 9 picks was “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande.

    My personal list is “All I want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey. “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee. And “Feliz Navidad” by Jose Feliciano.

  • Poly’s Marching Band

    On Wednesday, November 17, Poly High School’s marching unit performed in the annual Band Spectacular.

    The Band Spectacular is a performance that allows all of the marching bands and color guard teams across the Long Beach Unified School District to showcase their field shows. This year, the Band Spectacular show was held at Cabrillo High School.

    Before the event started at 6:30 p.m., the Long Beach City College Viking Show

    Band, as well as the LBCC Jazz Big Band, performed a variety of songs, like “Mic Drop” by BTS, “Time Warp” from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and “bad guy” by Billie Eillish.

    At 6:30, Renaissance High School student Blessel Caballero performed the National Anthem alongside Cabrillo’s JROTC. Then, the Cabrillo Marching Jaguars went on and performed their set “Latin Closer”.

    Next, the Lakewood High School Regiment performed their collection of Earth, Wind, and Fire songs, doing lively versions of “In The Stone”, “After the Love Has Gone”, and “September”. Ryanne Sanchez, a sophomore in the HOSM program at Lakewood High School, said “I loved ‘After the Love Has Gone’. I liked the trumpet and saxophone solos, and I liked the drill that went with the song.”

    Wilson Marching Bruins came on third to perform their collection “Artworks”, with a vivid and energetic show. Performing fourth was the Jordan Entertainment Group with another collection of Earth, Wind, and Fire music. Apinya Imon, an 11th grade cymbals player from Jordan in the AIMS program, said, “During the show, I was very nervous and anxious, but I am very proud of our performance.”

    The Poly marching unit performed fifth in the show, and blew the audience away with the story of “Scheherazade,” their 2021 field show. The unit created amazing movements, with their synchronized footwork shifting into pictures of ribbons and diamonds. The color guard elegantly spun their colorful flags and rifles to combine their movements with that of the marching unit.

    “I felt great the night of Band Spectacular! I’ve fallen in love with Scheherazade, and savored every moment we performed of it. I especially felt great since events like Band Spectacular are a huge way to represent Poly’s amazing music program and I hope we inspired middle schoolers in the audience to want to join this life-changing program,” said Abby Crisostomo, a CIC sophomore who plays clarinet for the marching unit. “I am tremendously proud of our performance. I’d say it felt ‘spectacular’!” they added.

    Many other Poly students in the audience were wowed by the performances too. Oliver Ray Mojarro, PARTS sophomore, said, “I liked seeing the Poly band. I think that Poly performed the best. Poly was very precise and entertaining. I am so proud of Poly’s marching band. They did amazing and all of their hard work through so many hours definitely paid off.”

    The show wouldn’t be what it was without the hard work and dedication from the marching unit crew. Chris Stevens, the marching unit director, put so much work into organizing the band and their music with the assistant unit directors Casey Gillett and Sam Perez. Tom Hughes and Ethan Gathe worked with the drumline and front ensemble to help them perfect their sound, tying the show together. The unit’s drill designer Bobby Frey was responsible for the beautiful shapes the band formed and showcased, alongside Perez who choreographed the unit. They helped in creating the greatness of the show, with intricate dances and truly dialing into the details. Gillett was also the color guard instructor, who helped the color guard performance shine.

    Lastly, Millikan finished off with an interesting and techno filled performance of their set, “The Grid”. They incorporated visuals, like lightsticks, and audio, with a voiceover before each performance, into the show.

    Finally, at the end of the night, the unit joined all of the other schools and played two final songs. They started by playing “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey before they finished off the show with a performance of “You’re a Grand Old Flag”.

    Overall, the entire show was a fun time for all. It was exciting getting to see the marching programs of LBUSD bounce back after a year and a half of being online. “My favorite part of the night was meeting fellow musicians from other schools, talking and consulting with them, and making friends with them. It made me feel a part of something,” said Imon.

    The Poly marching unit once again displayed their good sportsmanship, impressive skills, beautiful talent, and hard work, truly showing why the marching band is having such a successful year, earning High Percussion in the 4A Division and High Music at the WUHSD Field Tournament.

  • Dance Premier

    Poly’s Dance Program, organized by Cynthia Negrete, held a Dance Premiere on November 18 in the auditorium. Starting at 6:30 p.m. they opened the Andrew Osman Auditorium for everyone to enjoy a performance. Poly students, teachers, friends, and family came to cheer on the dancers. Dancers from every level got a chance to show what they have been learning this year.

    Many students were filled with excitement for this performance. Dance team, dance tech, PE dance, and H2M (hip-hop to movement club) performed in the show. This was their first show of the 2021-2022 year so they worked really hard to make it spectacular.  Last year’s fall show was during virtual learning, but because students are back in person they were able to work together more and put their best effort into this show.

    “I’m excited to see the turnout this year,” says Iyana Weeks. Weeks was in the show last year and this was her second time performing at Poly so she was thrilled to be in the Dance Premiere. Other dancers felt the same way and had fun being able to put on a show.

    The Dance Premiere included several types of pieces such as jazz, tap, musical theater, modern, and hip-hop dances. The show opened up with dance team’s jazz performance to Spice Girls, which then was followed up by H2M’s hip-hop performance which was a mix of several songs together. After that was a musical theater piece which the dance team had performed in the All Together Now! show. The following dances were spectacular and showed off the dancers’ skills and enjoyment of dance. Additionally , there were a few dances contributed to Negrete’s mother.

    The audience had a good response to the show. According to a dancer’s parent, the show was special since they got to see their child on stage. After the show, many people went up to the dancers with flowers and hugs. They had so much fun being able to see and root for people they know on stage. Everyone is looking forward with excitement for the next show in spring.

    All of this could not have happened without the director (Cynthia Negrete), assistant directors (Lou Vazquez and Marissa Negrete), student directors (Emma Ochoa, Milana Tiv, Keke Chester, and Dionna Miller), and all of the stage crew. “Overall, I was pleased with the show,” said Negrete. Of course there were some things we can improve on for our next show because that’s what happens in every program since we want our students to keep growing, says Negrete. It was an astonishing experience for the students.

  • Get Out My Swamp

    After almost a year and a half of online classes and missing out on live school events, the Poly High School Theatre Arts Department has finally released the title for this year’s musical, Shrek the Musical.

    Head of overlooking the musical is Linda Bon, the drama teacher of the PARTS program. When asked why she decided on Shrek as this school year’s musical, Bon said that she had experience directing a junior version of Shrek and had lots of fun doing it. She also stated that she loved the original Dreamworks movie.

    “For a show, it’s delightful because there’s so many different characters,” said Bon. “There’s the fairytale characters, all the duloc, guards, and of course Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey. It just seemed like it was the right time to do this particular musical because frankly, we just need some cheering up as a school. It’s fun, funny, and has a positive message of inclusion and accepting yourself.”

    Bon also gave information on who else plays a big role in creating the elements of a school musical. She said that one of her secret weapons in directing a musical is Victoria Gathe, the Poly Stage Technician and teacher of stage crew. “She is an amazing talent. She’s already presented me with designs and sketches. It’s going to look beautiful.”

    Along with Gathe, other people who help create everything would be Brian Dokko and Cynthia Negrete.

    Dokko is Poly’s choir teacher, and he’s in charge of bringing in the music and finding the right voices to play each character. Dokko shared various examples of how the thought process of working in a musical goes. “We try to figure out what students we have. We try to pick a show that suits the strengths of the students.”

    He also mentioned that when picking which musical is best, the teachers will be going back and forth for weeks to make sure everything is set before they make their final decisions.

    Negrete is Poly’s dance teacher. Her role in the musical is to create the choreography and bring the show to life. Negrete said that in order to create various dances, you must get yourself familiar with the music and sounds. She also mentioned a part in the show that she hopes will grab the audiences’ attention: “Dancing mice. When mice run across the floor, they sound like they’re tap dancing, so we’re going to make them tap dance. So that it can catch the audiences’ eye, they get drawn in, and remember the moment.”

    Even during the hard work, they have all also shared their favorite parts in putting it together.

    “My favorite moment is backstage before the curtain comes up,” Bon shared. “The excitement among the students is incredible. The moments between shows, when the kids are excited and having a ball, I love that. That’s what I do this job for.”

    Dokko’s favorite moments are “watching the students grow from the experience, [their] sense of confidence goes up, and being part of a big production is a lot of fun.”

    Negrete said, “The best part is the interactions with the kids. I have a lot of fun teaching choreography. I have fun when things don’t go right, when there’s bloopers, and we’re laughing and having fun. We look back at the show and have a laugh. That’s the best part of it.”

    All this hard work results in the enjoyment of seeing a live show filled with the students of Poly. Shrek the Musical is currently planned for opening night to be on February 27, 2022. It’s one of the big things that can bring the school together after a year of being apart.

  • This Club Is Just Playing Games

    Gaming club, this club is really fun and you can chill with your friends. I highly recommend you come. It’s located is 806. The Club advisor is science teacher Masaru “Kent” Kawai. He teaches things all about physics. The thing is that you can bring food in the club for anyone or for yourself. I also like how it is chill and like there are fun people to play some video games with.

    My name is Isaac Chhuom and I am a senior. I am the vice president of the club. I keep track of everything that is happening. I’m also the DJ. There are some freshmen, sophomores, and many juniors and seniors.

    Icarus Gonzalez is the Treasurer. He keeps track of the money. He is also in charge of what type of games that we want to play. He does well in his position as Treasurer and is a good friend to talk to. Evan Soth is the president of the club. He even keeps track of the students and also tells us the upcoming events. We make our announcements every time we meet up. He is strong and independent in his role and is the best person also. Both of them are 11th graders.

    The secretary is Jason Khem. He makes sure people check up on the list. He loves his position and he also is in 11th grade. He wants to be in charge of the food and drink that you buy. What else snacks are there? The snacks he brings are chips or cookies. He is always prepared when someone is hungry. The thing is that he is trustworthy also and never makes any mistakes at all.

    Club member, Melany Toch said the other club members are cool and the games that we play. Toch likes the club cabinet members. She wants to have a cosplay contest. What she doesn’t like is the variety of the games.

    Another club member is Ashley Rodriguez. She likes how it is competitive and everyone gets along most of the time. She doesn’t like how the seats are.

    She likes the projector where it is at but not how laggy the game is sometimes.

    Ruben Rivera likes that the club is kinda quiet and wasn’t out of control. What else, there weren’t too many people, but there were a lot of people to talk to. What else are there common interests? He agrees with Rodriguez about the game lags. He wants more people to go and more games to play.

    One final club member is Nathan Bay. He says it was a good atmosphere. There were lots of different stations. He thinks there should be better tournaments. He likes the music and he thinks that the adviser, Mr. Kawai, does a good job.

  • Halloween Kills Met With Mixed Reactions From Students.

    Halloween Kills, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Andi Matichak, is slated to come out this October 15 in theaters and on the Peacock streaming platform.

    The movie, which is a direct sequel to Halloween (2018), is releasing after multiple trailers have dropped, including a final trailer that was posted on September 20. The trailers have been accompanied by lots of promotional material across different social media platforms.

    The movie is set to focus on the main Strode women, who have been terrorized by Michael Myers for three generations.

    “After watching the trailer, the approach the movie is going in with them seems well written,” said Poly PACE sophomore Genevie Lumada. “They correlate with modern day change of women empowerment and I’m all for it.”

    The movie is also supposed to be one of the goriest installments of the franchise so far. The trailer alone shows Michael Myers on a rampage, killing multiple characters in a few seconds alone.

    Joshua Chauy, a Poly CIC freshman, shared, “It looks really nice, with all of the gore. I’m ex- cited.”

    The film is additionally shown to be a nostalgic callback for diehard Halloween fans. The final trailer shows characters from the original movie, like Tommy Doyle and Lindsey Wallace, being terrorized by Michael Myers once again, 43 years later.

    “I notice all of the kids are grown up in the trailer, which is exciting,” Chauy added, “But I don’t think it will be better than the original.”

    However, some who have been disappointed with the Halloween movies are hoping Halloween Kills will revitalize the series.

    Victoria Heng, a Poly PACE sophomore, said she is, “…hoping it’s better than the original… I was underwhelmed by the Halloween franchise’s earlier movies.”

    The release of Halloween Kills adds to the excitement horror fans are feeling during the month of October. On top of the film, the trailer for the upcoming movie Scream (2022) was released alongside the first episode of the new Chucky TV series on October 12. The new television series, I Know What You Did Last Summer, an adaptation of the novel and 1997 slasher with the same name, is also set to come out on October 15.

  • Green Light For Squid Game

    Netflix’s new thriller, Squid Game has taken over social media by the masses throughout the entire month of September. 

    Squid Game is about a group of people in Korea who are in a massive pool of debt. These contestants are all sent to a bunker underground where they must play kid games but to the death, to win a reward of $38.6 million. 

    The main character Gi-Hun was chosen to play because he has no way of supporting his daughter, has no job, was caught up in loan sharks, and has a gambling addiction. Gi-Hun soon learns that without this money he cannot send his mother to the hospital to get her foot amputated because of her untreated diabetes. He also learns that his young daughter is moving to the United States and he cannot see her unless he can support her needs. 

    As soon as the contestants play through the first game of red light green light and watching 200 people being shot to their deaths they realize that they have to win to survive. The contestants took a vote because after seeing the gruesome death of a mass of people they finally understood what was at stake. But when they are released back into the real world they are faced with the same problems they had before. So the majority of the players return to the bunker knowing that their lives are on the line. 

    Squid Game forces participants and audience to choose between balancing their hapless desire for the payout according to their own philosophical and empathetic shelves facing the barbarity of everything in the universe.