Category: News
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Freedom in Philly
Two weeks ago on Thursday, November 2 through Sunday, November 5, three Poly students were chosen to be a part of the Freedom Foundation Youth Conference. Juniors Carina Ayala and Lenny Khan, along with Senior Elaina Miskiel were the chosen participants to go to Philadelphia and experience the fundamentals of the program. They stayed on the Freedom Foundation’s campus at Valley Forge.
The Freedom Foundation was started in 1945 and has been running successfully ever since. It’s focused on “overcoming challenges to freedom by providing experiential educational programs while challenging participants to examine our history and discuss the issues of the day” according to their website. Each of their programs have been thoughtfully planned out and designed to ensure that both young people and adults gain new or deeper appreciation for the significance of the founding documents and acquire tools for engaged, responsible citizenship.
Since its beginning, Freedom Foundation’s mission was and still is to educate Americans on rights and responsibilities, honor acts of civic virtue, and challenge all to reject apathy and get involved.
Carina Ayala explained that her experience “definitely changed the way [she] think about Congress” and “[she’s] learned so much”. All participants expressed their enjoyment of the time they had and the new information that they learned. Lenny Khan said, “It was good to see other’s perspectives on how they view politics. It was fun to meet others from other states.”
During their trip Ayala, Miskiel, Khan, other students from other schools had the chance to go around the city and sight see some of Philadelphia’s landscapes. Some of the landmarks that they had the opportunity to see in person were the Liberty Bell, the Independence Hall, the Philadelphia Courthouse, and where George Washington’s home used to stand. They had the opportunity to be a part of a mock trial of the Masterpiece Cake Shop, Ltd. versus Colorado Civil Rights Commission while in the courthouse which is in fact a real case that will occur on December 5 of this year.
Khan described the lessons that the trip taught him personally: “Be more open, don’t shut other people’s thoughts down. Consider other’s ideas not only your own.”
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Poly’s Day in Court
On November 2 Poly’s mock trial team tackled the first round of the court case People vs. Davidson and were rewarded by a winning verdict. The trial happened at the Los Angeles Superior Court with real judges and attorneys.
Charlie Dodson is an AP World History teacher and is the advisor of the mock trial club at Poly.
“The Constitutional Rights Foundation sets this [mock trial] up every year,” Dodson said. “A competition for LA county, which over 60 schools participate in and our school has participated for a number of years. Teams are divided into prosecution and defense. We are given a single case.”
Sophomore Tammy Pham described the experience she encountered as a member of the club.
“You are presented with a case and you would have to go into court and present to the judge whether the defendant is guilty or innocent, depending on the side you are on,” said Pham.
Poly’s mock trial team was given the case, People vs. Davidson, and Dodson explained that the case was centered around Casey Davidson’s felony of the murder of Alex Thompson with a walking stick.
“The case was about murder,” he said. “There are forensic reports for the prosecution and a rebuttal. There are witnesses for the prosecution and for the defense. For round one, our job was to defend Casey Davidson, the defendant, to prove him not guilty by creating reasonable doubt, which we did.”
Senior Marco Romero is the president of the Mock Trial club. He was on the defense team for the case and described the difficult, yet exciting experience.
“I think it is a great way to expose people who either want to be lawyers, want to step out their comfort zone, or just want to get a taste of what lawyers do,” Romero said. “The competition is judged by a real life judge and scored by either lawyers or law students.”
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Students Explore Aquarium
The sharks were a big hit for Poly’s Intensive Studies students during their first field trip of this school year.
Student Alexis Rojas was uncomfortable at first when it came to actually petting the sharks, but according to senior Kendall Cascell, towards the end of the trip Rojas “was petting the sharks like nobody’s business.”
Intensive Studies teacher Indira Jimenez explained how the idea of taking a trip to the aquarium became reality.
“It was a free scholarship that we obtained,” Jimenez said. “They gave us a workshop of different animals, where they live and their different habitats, and a free tour of the Aquarium of the Pacific.”
Jimenez said that she invited Cascell and senior Abigail Brown to be a part of the field trip on Wednesday, November 7 because of their International Ambassador project dedicated to the special education program at Poly.
The focus of the project is to give students in Intensive Studies classes the chance to diversify their activities with interests, and the aquarium field trip served as an activity for those students fascinated with marine life.
“We got to explore the aquarium and then the students broke up into two different classrooms and got to look at some parts such as turtle shells, shark teeth, and sea otter fur,” Cascell said. “It was an activity to get the students to think how the items on the different tables were similar.”
After analyzing the anatomy of marine animals, the students explored the pools where they could touch, interact, and observe sea creatures.
Many students enjoyed the sharks, but according to Cascell, sophomore Paula Thuong loved the seals.
“Abbi and I called Paula the seal whisperer,” Cascell said. “The seals only came out for Paula and followed her inside of the tank.”
Brown added that the seals would just watch Thuong through the glass.
The most memorable experience, according to Jimenez, was watching her student’s reaction when touching and feeling the different sea animals.
In the end, the students had the chance to explore different interests, and Brown explained that it was enjoyable to see students including Rojas and Thuong interact with a marine world outside of Poly.
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ROTC Pays College Tuition
It is officially college season and this is the time when high school seniors are working on college applications and looking for any and all ways to get money for tuition.
Unfortunately, not all scholarships guarantee a full ride for college. However there is always the choice of a military scholarship that does in fact pay for all years of a student’s college education. The Air Force, Army, and Navy branches of the military have Reserved Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs in colleges that give scholarships to anyone willing to apply.
While the scholarship provides students with full college tuition, in return the student has to be committed before the start of their sophomore year in college to stay in the program while they remain in school. That student has to not only be committed to the ROTC program but also to being a commissioned officer in the military at a minimum of four years after college. The choice of being enlisted to the military is always a choice but there is also the choice of going into the military as a Health professional; there are many choices for health professions in the military, anyone can be anything from a Doctor to Obstetrician to Veterinarian and anything in between.
Unfortunately neither the Marines nor the Coast Guard have the option of ROTC for college students but they do have something similar. The Marines have an option under the Naval ROTC program that allows students to apply for a Marine Corps scholarship and the Coast Guard has a separate program called the College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative that gives students who may be interested, the chance to get a scholarship as well.
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DACA is Still a Thing
About 9 months into his presidency, Donald Trump has managed to repeatedly mortify many Hispanic families. Apart from the fact that he is still working on building his “border wall,” he has repealed DACA impacting many Hispanic members who were part of the program.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was created by former President Barack Obama in 2012 and allows certain people, or Dreamers, who come to the U.S. illegally as minors to be protected from immediate deportation. Recipients are able to request “consideration of deferred action” for a period of two years which is then to be renewed.
DACA increased wages and labor-force participation of DACA-eligible immigrants and has increased the odds for a career and better standards of living than previous family members.
One Poly student has felt the impact of Trump’s DACA repeal.
“I, out of my whole family and my two brothers, am a DACA recipient,” the anonymous student said. “One of them is graduating this year and when he got the news it struck our whole family hard.’’
Around 800 college and university presidents have signed their institutions support onto a letter urging Congress to pass legislation as soon as possible to permanently protect Dreamers. These universities would like to provide security for dreamers who currently study on their campuses, and who will be seeking an education with their establishments in the future.
“Colleges and universities have seen these remarkable people up close, in our classrooms and as our colleagues and friends,” according to the letter posed to congressional representatives. “Despite the challenges they face, they have made incredible contributions to our country and its economy and security.”
Many people think that DACA is no longer an issue, however, it still impacts a wide variety of Poly’s surrounding communities.
“The repealing of DACA was a big hit to many other families and I know, some way, my family such as other families will not stop fighting for our loved one’s dreams,” the anonymous DACA recipient said.
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Video Class Receives Grant
Contemporary Video is a class that allows students to explore the world of film, from scriptwriting to editing. The class can be difficult for students, even more so without the proper equipment. Contemporary Video teacher Laura Stringer realized this problem and set out a plan of action to get the necessary funds for her class.
“I’ve never really taught this kind of class before, which in itself can be difficult, but not having the proper equipment doubles the challenge,” Stringer said.
She, along with the other film teachers in the Long Beach Unified School District sought out for a grant.
The Career for Technical Education (CTE) decided to give a state grant of a $200,000 range to the teachers. The changes within our school are already inaction, as room 804 received new computers on October 26.
“These are from the last millennium,” Stringer sang in pure excitement as she and her class carried out the outdated machines. Her wooden tables are the next to go, and she has plans for a new layout for her room for the following year.
New air conditioners and a possible field trip are expected to be in her possession by spring. By December, she plans to obtain new cameras, desks, and blackout curtains.
“We can practice filming some sort of show for the school, with the curtains,” Stringer said with a wide smile. “Maybe with news, maybe even with The High Life, anything really. I went back [to college] for my credential just for this class. I’m very excited.”
Contemporary video is a PARTS class, which offers students a chance to expose themselves to careers in film beyond college. The goal of the class is for the students to have a hands-on experience in filmmaking.
Although the class does have the new Mac computers installed and ready to use, the class itself is far from ready. Students are to use their own personal devices as there are not any cameras. Any editing is to be on hold until the spring.
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Pac Rim, PACE, and CIC Offer Shadow Program for 8th Grade Students
With November approaching quickly, seniors at Poly are deciding where they would like to attend college. However, seniors are not the only ones choosing their next destination for their education– eighth graders across the LBUSD district are faced with the same dilemma.
From October 16 to December 6, PACE, CIC and Pac Rim will host eighth graders as shadow students at Poly.
Pac Rim and CIC facilitator Jeffrey Inui said, “Shadowing is an opportunity for kids to see the school and the programs in greater detail. The way Poly does it, is that we set up individual hosts with students. The reason we do it this way is because it gives [students] a genuine experience about what the classes are and what the programs are.”
Cindy Stuart, the PACE office assistant, went into detail about how the shadowing program goes about.
“[Eighth graders] apply through the district, and I get a list of emails,” Stuart said. “I email the parent and the eighth graders the application and ask them about their favorite subject or sport. And then I have a list of juniors and seniors that want to have a shadow. I then go through their schedules and try to match them. We had 250 [the day when applications were open], and then I cut it off the second day at 300.”
Inui, on the other hand, explained the shadow program for CIC and Pac Rim.
“[Eighth graders] design the experience,” Inui said. “Eighth graders can choose anybody. Pac Rim has always done [shadowing], but it wasn’t official until last year. You couldn’t even choose Pac Rim if you wanted to shadow it. This year we have 500 to 600 requests to shadow.”
However, smaller learning communities (SLCs), or pathways, do not have shadow days for prospective students. According to Inui, the SLCs about four years ago attempted to give eight graders the chance to shadow their programs.
Besides Millikan and Poly, other LBUSD high schools opted out of initiating shadow programs for eighth graders because of the incessant amount of effort, work, commitment and time it takes to accomplish.
Another upcoming event, is the Eighth Grade Choice Night on November 28.
“The pathways will all present– not just CIC and PACE,” Inui said. “Families will be welcome to visit the campus and see projects. Student council and music groups get heavily involved. Usually I get 300 to 400 parents show up. There will be translators that the district provides.”
Senior Gabby Gliane, alongside Student Commission and the rest of link crew, will host the event.
“We will be joining forces to help kids to come to Poly,” Gliane said. “We are going to try and have games and a little orientation, so it can be fun.”
The PACE representatives will present the the program through Michelle Aberle’s powerpoint presentations, which are 30 minutes in length and occur five times throughout the night.
“Aberle also invites seniors to come and help out [during choice night],” Stuart said.
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Pink & Powerful
Cancer.
It’s something that has affected many American families. From adolescence to adulthood, trauma from this disease can last a lifetime. It can not only affect the individual, but the people within their lives. It can create emotional scars, but can also bring families closer together. Cancer can come in all shapes and sizes.
One of the most prominent forms of cancer is breast cancer. 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer, and the survival rate is 90%. Depending on the type of breast cancer, surgeries can range from lumpectomy, which is the removal of tissue in and around the tumor, to a mastectomy, which is the total removal of the breast. After the surgery, many women receive chemotherapy, in which drugs or medicines are used to treat the cancer.
The treatment of of breast cancer can be quite stressful, and patients need all the support they can get. That’s where Breast Cancer Awareness month plays a role. It is a month dedicated to supporting and celebrating patients and survivors of breast cancer. It helps raise money for research into the causes and treatments as well. There is even a club dedicated to raising money, called Team Pink Plus.
Senior Becca Gutierrez explained what Team Pink Plus does for Poly
“So Team Pink+ is a cancer awareness club on campus,” Gutierrez said. “For the month of October (Breast cancer awareness month) we focused raising money for breast cancer, specifically for The Young Survivor Coalition. They are an organization that helps and supports women who are battling breast cancer and are under the age of 40. We fundraised through selling spirit packs at the breast cancer game, holding a silent auction for tickets to the We Can Survive concert and USC tickets, and most recently a Pie Your Teacher in the Face Rally. We raised over $1000 in October alone through these events and we plan on continuing to do the same through the end of the year!”
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Extreme Makeover: Poly Edition
The back of Long Beach Poly is getting a brand new makeover beginning this school year. The track is being remodeled, and the bungalows are moving to make space for an outdoor pool.
According to Poly track coach Crystal Irving the construction will start after the football season is over. The new track will be an all weather track with a turf field that will take 4 months to complete. During those 4 months a lot of adjustments will be made.
Since the track will be under construction, Poly’s track team will not be able to practice, and it will affect the PE classes as well.
For practices, Irving stated that practice will be held at multiple spots including Signal Hill, Browning High School, the beach, and Chittick Field Park.
“I think it is amazing that we are getting something we should have had a long time ago,” Irving stated.
The track’s remodel not only affects track but also soccer and any sport that relies on it to run and condition.
Along with the track, teachers in the bungalows are having to switch classes because the bungalows are where the new outdoor pool will be located.
One of the teachers from the bungalows that has already moved is Kristin Quevedo, an Algebra 2 and AP Statistics teacher. Originally in P-7 Quevedo was transferred to room 412.
Quevedo expressed that for her the move is stressful due to the fact that on top of moving and getting everything arranged, she has to make sure that the class is moving smoothly. Along with the stress, Quevedo said she misses teaching in P-7, because all the math teachers were close together so it made it easier for them to collaborate.
In the end, all the teachers in the bungalows are going to be moving throughout the year, and their new classes that they will be going to will be permanent ones until reconstruction is done.
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What in the World?!?
Friday, October 6
Long-ranged missiles are being prepared in North Korea. Russian lawmaker said that the missiles can potentially reach United States’ West Coast.
Saturday, October 7
Eleven pedestrians were injured in a car crash near London’s Natural History Museum. In the police statement it said, “The incident is a road traffic investigation and not a terrorist-related incident.” Sunday, October 8 in Jakarta, Indonesia, 58 men were arrested during a protest for gay rights. Seven of the 58 arrested are being charged under Indonesia’s pornography law, and they may serve up to 10 years in prison. The others will be released if they are not criminals or possess narcotics.
Monday, October 9
German conservative parties decided that there would be a limit on the amount of migrants who wish to seek refuge in Germany. Tuesday, October 10 the head of Thailand’s military government has announced the need for elections to help decide who will hold office. Thailand has not had elections for the past 3 years since the military took over in 2014.
Wednesday, October 11
An Anthrax outbreak has been found in Botswana’s dead hippos. Anthrax is an infectious disease that is spread by wild animals, and in this case, the outbreak originated with wild hippos. Thursday, October 12 in India’s top court, it was ruled that having sexual intercourse with a female under the age of 18 is considered rape. This ruling will potentially decrease the number of child marriages.
Sunday, October 15
The long-range missiles that were being prepared by North Korea on October 6 were tested and ended up failing. After the missiles were fired, they soon exploded. The U.S. military announced that the attempted firing did not pose a threat to the United States. Monday, October 16
Hillary Clinton told spoke with an Australian state broadcaster, and she explained WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was used as a tool by Russia during the 2016 presidential election. Tuesday, October 17 United Nations (UN) said aid workers in the Central African Republic had to cut rations in half because of underfunding. Aid by air became too expensive to fund.
*Information was used from the World Digest section of the Huffington Post*