Category: News

Poly hosted its fall blood drive on Thursday, December 5, in the big gym.

Poly’s ultimate goal was to donate 300 pints of blood. According to American Red Cross statistics, one pint of blood is the equivalent of saving three lives. Even though 38% of the US is qualified to donate blood, only about 10% actually does. With the collective Jackrabbit support, Poly was able to donate a total of 255 pints of blood. That much blood has the potential to save approximately 765 lives.

“When you give blood, it makes you think about the lives you save. Some people don’t have a healthy immune system and when a healthy person donates blood, the donator can save lives,” said ASB officer Davis Ho.

The blood drive was conducted by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center but the on-site procedures were operated by certified medical volunteers. Poly alumna, Cheryl Berlow, was the main coordinator of the event and helped to set up the blood drive with Poly’s Commissioner of Welfare Jonathan Coleman, who took care of things on campus.

“Donating blood saves lives. My job is to take vital signs and draw the blood. The technical term for that is venipuncture. We also record patient histories in case there is a problem later that we would need to address,” said Melissa Curran, a registered nurse at PHI Health who volunteered during the event.

Only seven percent of the US population has Blood type O negative which can be transfused into a recipient with any blood type. Because of this, O negative blood is always in high demand, but in short supply. The plasma from type AB-positive blood can also be transfused into any recipient blood type (except O negative), but is also in high demand and short supply because only three percent of the US population is AB-positive.

“I think it was important to hold the blood drive because you never know when someone you love or even you yourself will need blood,” said Coleman. “The blood drive went very smoothly, and I would like to say thank you to everyone who donated.”

In addition to helping Poly towards its goal and saving hundreds of lives, donors were offered small rewards for donating blood. These little perks included the choice of a T-shirt which depicts a mustache or a “Pint for a Pint” coupon that includes a free Baskin Robbins pint of ice cream for donating a pint of blood.

The Long Beach Firefighters of local station 372 donated new Huffy Beach Cruisers to four Poly students on December 3.

Seniors Myleenah Gray and Nomora Warren and juniors Perla Rivera and Leah Phillips were chosen by the Poly counselors to receive the new bikes. The bikes were meant for two boys and two girls. However, because there were no male candidates for the bikes, four girls were chosen instead. The Poly counselors decided on these girls for many reasons.

“These girls were chosen because they continued to show dedication to school while balancing problems back at home,” said Humanities Counselor Kalani Caldwell.

The students were awarded the bikes at the Bethune Transitional Center (BTC), a place where students with various problems receive counseling and other services. Since 2006, the BTC has helped students who persevered through high school despite problems at home. The Poly girls were very thankful for the bikes.

“They all gave me thank-you notes and big hugs. It made me cry,” said Rhonda Haramis, coordinator of the Bethune program, to lbschools.net.

The bikes that the Firefighters Local 372 donated also came with a helmet and bike lock. In total each bike set would cost about $205. Although grateful, the girls believed that the bikes should have gone to students who needed it more.

“The bike was a nice surprise, but I feel like there are students who are more deserving of the bikes,” said Rivera.

With the new bikes in hand, the girl show that with hard work comes some sort of award. This provides motivation for other students who have their own challenges at home. The four girls have advice for students who are in similar situations.

“Just continue to attend class and maintain your grades. As long as you do you work, you will always get something in return. In my case, I got a new bike,” said Phillips.

What Gray, Warren, Rivera, and Phillips have in common is that despite ongoing challenges at home, they still continue to stay in school, plan to graduate high school and ride into the college of their choice.

Students in senior Ladena Reed’s Bookworms Club enjoyed an eventful day last Wednesday, November 20 by reading children’s books to elementary school students at Mrs. Dorsey’s Daycare Center.

The event was designed to both give the daycare children a fun time and to provide knowledge and experience to the Bookworms members. This was achieved by reading classic childrens books such as “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom”, Batman comics, and a plethora of Dr. Seuss books to the daycare kids.

“After we read ‘The Dark Knight’ we played Avengers and it was awesome. I really like the Bookworms club members. They should come back to read more to us,” said Los Cerritos 5th grader, Eric Ortega.

Jordan Brown, creator of Mrs. Dorsey’s Daycare Center, also coordinated a game of freeze tag in order to get the daycare children more involved.

“I love younger children and love the opportunity I’ve been given to interact with them,” said Brown,
Merret Dorsey, who is a Poly alumnus, loved the services provided by the Bookworms Club. She was all smiles during the event and claimed to be proud of her former school’s current students.

“The Bookworms Club is welcome back anytime; the children definitely enjoyed its company,” said the main caretaker of the children, Mrs. Dorsey. the club plans to revisit the daycare as often as possible.

Many of the club’s members have also signed up to help baby-sit some of the younger children on their own time. The Book Worms Club might return to the Daycare in the next few months to have another reading.

Eighth graders from various middle schools toured Poly High School for Poly’s Choice Night on November 20. Choice Night gave the eighth graders a chance to learn what Poly has to offer. The students attended the event last Wednesday because they wanted to learn more about Poly and to get answers for any questions that they had.

“I came to Poly’s Choice Night because I think Poly is a great school. I’ve heard many things about its electives and teachers and I wanted to know more,” said Jasmine Baker, an eighth grader from Hill Middle School.

The eighth graders and their families were greeted by the International Ambassadors as they walked into the auditorium. Many performing groups such as Jazz Combo 1 and Vocal Jazz 1 also greeted the families to entertain and show off Poly’s esteemed music program.

The performances were followed up by a talk from Head Counselor Gayle Mashburn. She told the students what to expect during Choice Night and what events to look forward to. She discussed the three specialized academies at Poly; PAC RIM, CIC, and PACE. Ms. Mashburn also mentioned the four smaller communities (Beach, MAPS, METS, and Justice). This was also a chance for the International Ambassadors to answer any questions prospective students and their families had.

“Choice Night is important for eighth graders and their parents so that they can get to know about the opportunities that Poly offers,” said ambassador Ramia Thomas.

After the talks, the eighth graders and their parents had a chance to go to designated areas where they learned more about the academies. These meetings were divided into two sessions giving the opportunity for students to visit another academy. Parents and students alike were impressed with all of Poly’s academies.

“Academically and athletically, Poly is a stellar school. Poly’s reputation precedes itself,” said Mike Dwinell, a parent of one of the eighth graders.

With the conclusion of Choice Night, the eighth graders left with an impression of what they can expect at Poly High School. The information they gathered during the night will help when making their decisions on which high school to attend.