Category: News

  • R-Word Gets Re-evaluated

    R-Word Gets Re-evaluated

    Currently, Poly’s intensive studies program and Best Buddies club are making changes to the terminology and protesting against current government policies in special education. Tonia Schwichtenberg, an intensive studies teacher, explained that the new Secretary of Education, Betsy Devos, has revealed plans to repeal bills and programs that place a large importance on least restrictive environments.

    As Schwichtenberg explained, least restrictive environments are climates where students are “able to participate in general ed classes and being able to be with their typically developing peers.” Potential policy is threatening these rights and opportunities.

    In special education, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, known as IDEA, guarantees the rights Schwichtenberg stated and protects schoolchildren with any kind of disability.  Thus with more researching, it was found that current President Trump and Devos, do not realize the importance of IDEA and are willing to repeal it, replacing it with something else, possibly for personal gain. Poly’s special education programs are making it a priority to speak out against these potential repeals.

    As for the Poly community, special education classes are standing up for all students with disabilities in the “spread the word to end the word” movement. Schwichtenberg explained, “We don’t want to use the word ‘retarded.’ ‘Special needs’ or ‘intellectual disabilities’ is what we say to spread the word to end the word.”

    The main purpose of the movement, explained the Best Buddies club vice president and senior Zephyr Zimmerman, is to “raise awareness of our societies’ use of the r-word and educate people that it is an offensive term used to label people with IDD, or intellectual and developmental disabilities.”

    In the future, Poly’s RSP teacher of strategies for success, Mr. Smith said, “When we hear students saying the ‘r-word,’ we say ‘hey we don’t say that, it’s not nice to say,’ and just keep preaching that message.”

    Overall, the inspiring triumph of the “spread the word to end the word” movement is successfully impacting and leading the fight for Poly’s special education community.

  • Polytechnic Events

    What you may have missed recently-

     

    Wednesday, March 1 – Zero Discrimination Day

    Friday, March 3 – World Wildlife Day

    Wednesday, March 8 – International Women’s Day

    The City of Long Beach hosted a tree planting at Hamilton Middle School on February 25. A grant from the Port of Long Beach was given to the city in order to help plant 6000 trees by the year 2020. The 3000th tree was planted during this event.
    People of all ages showed up to the event ready to get their hands dirty. Teens from all Long Beach high schools teamed up to help beautify the community. After they finished planting, everyone was offered fresh fruit, bottled water, and free reusable water bottles. The event was expected to last until noon, but with such a turnout all the trees were planted in under three hours.

    Ethan See (left) and Heinglee Va (right) planting trees outside Hamilton Middle School.

    A tree planting is planned every six weeks and has been for the past few years. English teacher Dr. Amy Stu

    ht, who has been attending for the last three years, encourages students to attend. “I first went three years ago, on Pearl Harbor Day. Ever since, I’ve taken students five times a year… Kids who I don’t even have anymore still go and talk about it.”
    She offers all her students extra credit for attending a tree planting event. Sophomore Leeann Avendano stated, “I feel like I make a difference when I’m planting trees.”
    While some go to better the environment, others go to benefit their grade, as Ivan Alvarez said, “I went for the extra credit,” and why not?
    Students are also advised to participate in the Alamitos Beach Clean Up held every fourth Saturday of the month from 10 A.M. 11 A.M. at Alamitos Beach.
    There is also another tree planting at 9 A.M. on Saturday, March 18, at the 7th Street church.

    What’s Happening In the Future

    Sunday, March 12 – Beginning of Daylight Saving

    Tuesday, March 14 – Pi Day

    Friday, March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day

    On February 23, Scott Gaynor’s Intro to Digital Circuits & Robotics class took a field trip to the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena. JPL is a research facility that does robotic space and Earth science missions, so the tour included many models of robots and spacecrafts that are currently in space.


    “It’s really cool knowing that this stuff went to space,” said freshman Daniel Castaneda. The visit also included a full tour of the laboratories and a multimedia presentation on JPL.

    Freshman Michael Dawson expressed his appreciation for the presentation, stating, “It was really helpful in trying to see what career path you want to go down,” as this trip was geared toward students considering a career in engineering.
    A highlight of the trip was the “clean room,” an ultra-clean laboratory where robots are built. This room is so clean that “even one ten-thousandth of a particle of sand is more than they allow,” said Gaynor.
    Students like Jannine Ek also enjoyed this room, saying it was interesting “to know how they made the robots.” Poly students enjoyed the visit and learned about JPL and it’s workings.

  • METS Ceremony Dispute

    Tuesday, February 28, in digital art and imaging teacher Erika Sands’ room, METS students who received a 3.0 and higher GPA were given a “pizza coupon,” which qualified them for a slice of pizza and a soda.
    Some students were concerned about the fact that they only received a slice of pizza and soda. METS sophomore Asiris Chavez, who has a 3.67 GPA from first semester, said, “It kind of sucked that we didn’t have a big ceremony because I know they’ve done that in the past and I worked really hard so I think that I kind of deserved one.”
    Some argued that they were perfectly fine having the pizza and soda. METS Sophomore Samoana Poyer who earned a 3.2 GPA said “No, I think it would have been nice but I’m not complaining, I enjoyed my pizza.”
    METS counselor Charles Acosta responded to the students who thought they should have held a big ceremonial event, saying, “We’re holding off on doing it until we get the auditorium back where we can bring all METS students together.” Acosta explained that Poly’s auditorium will be opening next year and that is when they will hold the ceremony honoring the students with a 3.0 GPA and higher.

  • International News Tidbits

    Republican Health Care Bill Introduced

     This week, Republicans plan to release their bill to replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

    AshLee Strong, a representative for Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, said, “We are now at the culmination of a years-long process to keep our promise to the American people.”

    The draft legislation plans to provide expanded tax credits and health savings accounts for individuals and reduce federal spending on Medicaid. It plans to eliminate the requirement that employers and individuals provide and hold health insurance. Republicans  have promised not to pull the rug out from the citizens covered by these programs.

    North Korea Fires Four Ballistic Missiles in the Ocean

           Last month there were claims coming from North Korea that they succeeded in test-firing missiles under the approval of North Korean ruler Kim Jong-Un. The United States, United Nations, Japan, and South Korea have all denounced these test firings.

    The missiles were fired from the Tongchang-ri region an area close to the border of North Korea and China.

    One South Korean official claimed that the launchwas at 7:36 A.M. local time, which translates to 2:36 P.M. Pacific Standard Time.

    North Korea is sticking to its claims that its entire space program is completely peaceful. On Sunday, March 5, South Korea raised its reward for defecting North Koreans that have any information about North Korea’s space program.

    Man Making Threats against JCC Arrested in St. Louis

           In St. Louis, Missouri, the FBI took into custody 31-year-old Juan Thompson, a man who is accused of making eight bomb threats against Jewish schools, Jewish Community Centers, and a Jewish museum.

    The FBI said in a statement that “the investigation into these threats is a top priority” and that “agents and analysts across the country are working to identify and stop those responsible.”
    “The FBI is committed to ensuring that people of all races and religions feel safe in their communities and places of worship,” the FBI said.

    According to the New York Police Department, hate threats are high this year and the majority holster harsh  anti-Semitic motives and attitudes all over the United States of America.

  • Mathletes Take the Pi(e)

    Mathletes Take the Pi(e)

    On Wednesday, March 1, Poly’s cafeteria hosted the Bay Math League’s first of four annual competitions.
    “It’s a big deal,” says calculus teacher and coach of the Poly Math Team, Pam Amici. “There are schools from all over California coming here.” There are twelve schools with teams in the Bay Math League. Poly is the only school from Long Beach Unified District. All others came from schools farther north.
    These schools crowded into the cafeteria, filling it with pink “I’m sec C and I know it” jackets and several variations of the Pi symbol made up of various other numbers or mathematical constructs. Poly’s team claimed the largest swath of the cafeteria and, though they had the home field advantage, they did seem to be lacking something the other schools were not: snacks. But, unlike most of the other teams, Poly’s team is not funded by the school.
    Most of the schools there had one or two teams of roughly a dozen people each. Poly on the other hand has sixty students on its team. “I believe that I let everyone who wants to participate participate,” says Amici. The only reason she caps the volunteers at sixty is that the bus to the other venues can only hold that many.
    According to a handful of the seniors on the team, the main motivator for joining is the extra credit, though there are a handful of underclassmen on math team for the pure love of math. One such mathlete is sophomore William Terlinden, who says math team has given him “perspective on [his] study methods.” He says, “It’s been a way to evaluate my actual skill in math instead of how much I can cram.”
    Senior Mani Vu has a different reason for joining Poly’s math team. “On math team,” says Vu, “I attracted so many girls it was ridiculous. I was like a chick magnet.” He then got serious and reflected on how math team has allowed him to embrace his “inner nerd.” He believes that the Math Team is one of those communities that makes Poly such a special place.

  • Pennies for Patients Providing Incentive for Students

    Cancer is one of the most common diseases and comes in many forms. Leukemia is a cancer of
    blood-forming tissues, hindering the body’s ability to fight infection. Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system. Myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells. All of these require medical diagnoses, and are only treatable by medical professionals. These expensive, torturous treatments include medications, chemotherapy, corticosteroids, radiation, or a stem-cell transplant.
    Each year, 12.7 million people discover they have cancer and 7.6 million people die from the malady; on average, cancer treatments can cost a whopping $30,000 a month. In order to help alleviate some of the financial burden, Poly has decided to participate in the Pennies for Patients campaign.
    “I love giving back as much possible to the society,” answered Kayla Van, a junior at Poly, when she was asked why she enjoyed being a leader in the campaign. Pennies for Patients is a nationwide project to help fund the world’s largest non-profit voluntary organization, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which provides funding for education and research on blood-related cancers including Lymphoma, Leukemia, and Multiple Myeloma.
    Millions of dollars have been raised in pennies and other spare change by more than ten million
    elementary, middle, and high school students throughout of the country. This spring semester, Poly students get to collect pennies during the campaign benefiting the society. However, they are welcome to donate nickels, dimes, and quarters as well.
    On March 14, a rally supporting the funding of the campaign will take place on the rally stage. In a three-week period, from March 6 through March 20, Poly’s goal is to raise up to $3,500 in change.
    Collecting boxes are in every classroom for students and teachers to donate. This year, every period four and nine will be competing. The class to collect the most money will win a pizza party, second place will get donuts, and third place will receive cookies.

  • Wellness Week at Poly

    Khmer Girls in Action is sponsoring Poly’s fourth annual Wellness Week from February 27 to March 3. On Monday, February 27, the Wellness Week starts off with the Women’s Self Defense at the teacher’s’ lounge from 3 P.M. to 4:30 P.M. Tuesday will be featuring a de-stress and healing also at the teacher’s’ lounge from 3 P.M to 4:30 P.M. At the library on Wednesday there will be a Soul Session from 3 P.M. to 4:30 P.M. On Thursday there will be a Healthy Cooking presentation in room 514 in Mrs. Sawyer’s class from 3 P.M. to 4:30 P.M. The final day will be the Health and Wellness Resource Fair at the quad from 11:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M.

  • Cool Kids at Poly

    On Saturday, February 11, ABC7 held a luncheon honoring about twenty-seven students for its Cool Kids segment. They were gathered together to be awarded for being helpful and inspirational in their communities. Among these students was Poly sophomore Heinglee Va, who was nominated by his aunt.

    For the past year and a half, Va spent every other weekend avidly taking part in making the beach a safer place for the community and, more importantly, for the marine life. He volunteers with the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit environmental organization that gets students of various ages together to clean the beach. Va says that when he moved to Long Beach three years ago he had a rather inactive social life and joining the Foundation is one of the things that has helped him fit in. He joined when his uncle introduced the idea and he figured that “it beats sitting at home watching TV.

    Va’s English teacher, Daryl Holmlund, said, “Heinglee always has a positive attitude, works hard, and is a deserving recipient.”

  • Auditorium Using Hofstadter Approach

    Auditorium Using Hofstadter Approach

    More than half of Poly’s students go completely unaware of one of Poly’s most distinctive features: the auditorium, which has been closed for so long now that it goes completely unnoticed by the student body.

    Rumors seem to crop up every few months about when it will be finished, though according to principle Quentin Brown, construction should conclude at the end of March.

    Despite the ever-migrating end date, Brown claims that there has been no actual setbacks beyond those that regularly accompany large renovations. The weather has been only a slight issue: work is rarely put on pause during heat waves or rain storms. Construction continues during the school year and the summer, but as Brown says, major renovations tend to run longer than anticipated.

    Nevertheless, the project’s ever-lengthening run time should not cause any issues. Before the district decided to start the project, they thought thoroughly about what it would mean only in terms of cost and environmental impact.

    Unfortunately, they seem not to have considered the effect on students and teachers. German teacher Maria Bezeredy, whose classroom has windows facing the auditorium, says “It’s awful. The noise is just awful. There’s an issue with the windows: it’s either noise or air.” And it is not only Bezeredy as the majority of classrooms on the south side of the Language Annex have to choose between stifling heat or blaring noise.

    Brown believes it will be worth it in the end. When he became principal he was shown the new designs for the auditorium. His initial reaction was, “Wow, awesome!” Coming from the former principal of a theatre and performing arts school, that should mean quite something.

    The auditorium will be used for drama productions, musical performances, and dance shows, not to mention school assemblies (which have been put on pause since construction began). The District Facilities Department mandated that both Poly and Wilson would receive updates to their auditoriums’ electrical and sound systems, seats, stages, and auxiliary rooms. Many students with music classes have expressed in no uncertain terms how much they would like to get out of the temporary bungalows and back into practice rooms with decent acoustics.

    The acoustics in the bungalows is not the only issue facing the music students. It has been a huge inconvenience for them to haul their instruments to and from far-away auditoriums such as Millikan’s. With heavy equipment like tubas or drums, this is a significant struggle.

    The project has run long, as so many similar construction projects before it have. Hopefully, the negative externalities that students and staff alike have endured since construction began will be worth it when the “awesome” new auditorium is opened.

  • International News Tidbits

    International News Tidbits

    Trump to Remove Protections for Transgender Students

    President Trump could issue new guidelines as early as Wednesday to rescind anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, overruling his education secretary who had pushed to keep them in place.

    “I would expect further guidance to come out on that today,” Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, said, declining to provide specifics. Mr. Trump, he added, is “a firm believer in states’ rights.”

    Mr. Spicer declined to discuss details of a rift on the issue between Betsy DeVos, the secretary of education, and Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, who was adamant that the administration move quickly to reverse an order from the Obama administration that allowed transgender students to use the restroom of their gender identity.

    But Mr. Spicer said during a White House news conference that Ms. DeVos was “100 percent” supportive of the president’s decision.

    Mr. Sessions, who strongly opposes expanding gay, lesbian and transgender rights, fought Ms. DeVos on the issue and pressed her to relent because he could not go forward without her consent. The order must come from the Justice and Education Departments.

    Chinese Feminist Group’s Social Media Account Suspended

    The main social media account of a leading feminist organization in China has been taken down for 30 days, and Chinese feminists are bracing for another wave of repression before major political meetings this year.

    The closing of the account for the organization, Feminist Voices, may have been linked to an article it posted about a women’s strike planned in the United States on March 8, International Women’s Day, feminists said on Wednesday. The strike, which is being coordinated by the organizers of the Women’s March on Washington last month, is called “A Day Without a Woman.”

    Feminist Voices (Nuquan Zhisheng) was founded in 2009 and has operated on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform in China, since 2010. It said it had received notice that it was being shut down late Monday from its host, the media giant Sina.com.

    “Hello, because content you recently posted violates national laws and regulations, your account will be banned for 30 days,” the notice said, according to a message Feminist Voice circulated on another social media account.

    This Years Carpet-Baggers at the Oscars

    And the Oscar this year doesn’t go to: Andre Royo, for his lead role as a melancholic ex-con in “Hunter Gatherer”; Alan Rickman, posthumously, for playing a thoughtful general in the drone warfare thriller “Eye in the Sky”; Margo Martindale, who stole scenes as the matriarch in “The Hollars”; John Goodman, for his performance as a survivalist in “10 Cloverfield Lane”; Susan Sarandon, who played a garrulous widow in “The Meddler.”

    Each received an awards push, or at least an awards nudge, from publicists, distributors, studios or some combination thereof. Yet for myriad reasons — timing, competition, dearth of funds, off-the-mark campaigns, lack of je ne sais quoi — none of those performances managed to gin up much interest, though some arguably were deserving.

    Crucial to understanding the machinations of the Academy Awards is knowing that the nominees, and winners, aren’t necessarily the year’s best but rather the most popular. So, in the week before Hollywood turns its gaze to the winners’ circle on Sunday at the Dolby Theater, the Bagger is looking instead to the could-have-beens, whose dashed dreams join the other ghosts of seasons past.

    7 Earth-Size Planets Orbit Dwarf Star, NASA and European Astronomers Say

    Not just one, but seven Earth-size planets that could potentially harbor life have been identified orbiting a tiny star not too far away, offering the first realistic opportunity to search for signs of alien life outside of the solar system.

    The planets orbit a dwarf star named Trappist-1, about 40 light-years, or 235 trillion miles, from Earth. That is quite close in cosmic terms, and by happy accident, the orientation of the orbits of the seven planets allows them to be studied in great detail.

    One or more of the exoplanets in this new system could be at the right temperature to be awash in oceans of water, astronomers said, based on the distance of the planets from the dwarf star.

    “This is the first time so many planets of this kind are found around the same star,” Michael Gillon, an astronomer at the University of Liege in Belgium and the leader of an international team that has been observing Trappist-1, said during a telephone news conference organized by the journal Nature, which published the findings on Wednesday.

    Hispanic Leaders Plan Fight Against Trump’s Agenda

    As President Trump is giving his first address to a joint session of Congress next week, Hispanic political leaders plan to meet in Washington to draft a strategy to counter his agenda, particularly his immigration crackdown.

    The Latino Victory Fund, a political action committee that works to elect progressive Hispanic leaders, will meet on Tuesday, as Mr. Trump speaks to Congress, to begin recruiting candidates at the federal, state and local levels who can push back against the president’s policies, including in cities and municipalities where they are having immediate impact.

    Those include in so-called sanctuary cities, which are jurisdictions that limit their cooperation with federal authorities seeking to detain unauthorized immigrants.

    “As the president is outlining his plans to break up families, roll back civil rights protections and gut the environment, we are going to be finalizing our strategy to defeat him,” said Cristóbal Alex, the president of the Latino Victory Project, a civic group affiliated with the Latino Victory Fund.

    Mr. Trump, he added, “literally started his campaign on Day 1 by attacking us, and his policies have reflected that, so we need to build up our power and fight back.”

  • Child Prostitution Is Still A No

    Many news articles have come out recently stating that child prostitution has been legalized in California. This is because Governor Edmund Gerald “Jerry” Brown, Jr. signed into law SB-1322 (Senate Bill No. 1322) on September 26, 2016. This bill changed the way prostitution would be treated for minors. The existing laws were that it was a “crime to solicit or engage in any act of prostitution” or to “loiter in any public place with the intent to commit prostitution.” SB-1322 made the existing laws about prostitution in California inapplicable for those under the age of 18. This bill allows children who are trafficked into prostitution to no longer be tried as criminals, but instead as victims. So instead of having to serve prison time, Child Protective Services will be called.
    Many of those against this new legislation claim that it will cause an increase in prostitution because now more children will want to prostitute because there will be almost no consequences. They also claim that more pimps will target children knowing that they don’t have to worry about the prostitutes getting caught and going to prison. This could be true in a minute minority of instances, but in the majority this will make it much easier for those victims of human trafficking to seek help.

  • No Environmental Justice, No Peace

    My fellow People of Color are going through a struggle everyday, either it’s discrimination for the pigment of our skin, our culture, or our simple morals in life. When I think of the definition of environmental injustice, I automatically think of low income, impoverished communities, a variety of ethnicities, toxic dirty air, pollution all around, and nobody enforcing a law, regulations, or policies.

    My name is Michelle Casian. I am here coming to you as a Youth Organizer with Communities for a Better Environment. I am here as a Woman of Color and a front line community member saying that I stand against these unjust oil refineries that are a part of the breaking of treaties like No DAPL (Dakota Access Pipeline). I am living proof as someone who is fighting for my community against the oppressive powers that threaten to take the rights that everyone should be receiving.  At the end of the day, it shouldn’t matter about the color of your skin, your income, or anything you identify as. You have the human right to clean air, water, and soil.

    One thing I witness everyday is having to carry a burden that our communities have to deal with. We live next to a very industrial city that is heavily oil influenced. We’re next to one of the largest oil refineries on the West Coast (Tesoro) and the largest oil drilling site west of the Mississippi River. We deal with our air being so polluted that it puts us at a higher risk of getting cancer, asthma, and other diseases. You’ll never see an oil refinery located in the backyard of someone’s home in Beverly Hills, but we have to deal with a whole block of oil refineries in the very backyard of residents in Wilmington, CA, and we have to assume that that’s totally normal? Either way, if these oil companies actually tried to go put a refinery in a community like Malibu, everyone would lose their mind. That community would demand to get that refinery covered up or gone for good, and based off of their income, they’ll get their wishes granted, which has happened in the past. What I’m trying to say is, why is it acceptable that a local community like Wilmington has to deal with this, but other folks don’t?

    This is an example of environmental racism. Some people can’t seem to get the hint that the environment is a serious problem, and especially for lower income communities. People have grown so used to getting treated badly that they think these situations are totally normal. We have a requirement to inform those who are not aware of this injustice and to fight for our right to clean air, water, and soil.