Category: News

Poly seniors Priya Kumar and Kevin Chau have been selected as semifinalists in the 2014 National Merit Scholarship program.
The National Merit Scholarship program provides recognition and scholarships to qualified students who scored highly on the PSAT/NMSQT. Divided into Critical Reading, Math, and Writing, the PSAT/NMSQT gauges students’ knowledge of these three sections and serves as a precursor to the SAT, exposing test takers to the substantial amount of questions and extreme time constraints most associated with the standardized test.
All high school juniors who take the PSAT are automatically entered into the National Merit Scholarship Program. The initial pool of students consists of 1.5 million entrants, which is then narrowed down to the top 50,000 scorers who are recognized by the program for their achievements. From that point, the field is reduced to 34,000 students, all of whom are named Commended Students.
Kumar and Chau are part of the 16,000 students nationwide who qualify as National Merit Scholar semifinalists. They are eligible to apply to be one of 15,000 finalists, and if selected, can vie for the 8,000 scholarships available to National Merit Scholar finalists. According to PACE counselor Connie Loggins, attaining the coveted National Merit Scholar finalist status not only entails national recognition and scholarships, but also opens up the door to other benefits.
“Being a Merit Scholar is recognized nationwide, but its rewards vary from college to college. It definitely gives you a boost in the admissions process. Some colleges even provide additional scholarships,” said Loggins.
Studying for the PSAT/NMSQT can take on many forms. Some students prefer to self-study, while others take SAT workshops as preparation for the test.
When asked how they prepared for the PSAT, Kumar said, “I went to one of the SAT workshops, and I brought my calculator,” to which Chau replied, “I have a nicer one. I also did an SAT prep thing, but it didn’t really help.”
Kumar and Chau are currently in the PACE program. Kumar plans to major in chemical engineering while Chau hopes to become a literature or philosophy major.
In addition to Kumar and Chau, Poly seniors Theresa Becich, Eric Brunner, Rachel Ogata, Lucia Procopio, Ryan Riehl, Samantha Singal, Isabel Wagner, Madeleine Wamsley, Vanessa Wilder, and Aida Ylanan were recognized as Commended Students.

Starting this school year, ACE is imposing stricter measures in order to ensure that students are arriving to school on time and attending all their classes.

According to the new bell schedule, school starts at 7:50 a.m., which is ten minutes earlier than last year’s start time. Due to the schedule change, Poly administrators have noticed an upward trend in students arriving late to class.

Each class period, administrators sweep through every hall on Poly’s campus in order to make sure that students are attending their classes. Regardless of the excuse, a student will be sent to ACE if he or she is seen without a pass by a school administrator. Although students are not present in class, they are still accounted for in the attendance system.

“Students who are habitually late to class will be reported to the LBPD for loitering,” said Assistant Principal Brad Davidson.

Students who are sent to ACE spend an entire class period standing against a wall. According to the Poly administration, this measure is intended to discipline students to arrive to school on time, teach them the importance of attending class, and improve school attendance.

While ACE’s goal to make sure students are attending class has good intentions, there are students who believe that ACE’s disciplinary measures defeat its purpose.

“Occasionally, I will be late to class. However, looking at a wall as punishment for my tardiness does not encourage me to arrive on time. In fact, ACE wastes valuable class time,” said an anonymous Poly student.

Whether or not students agree with ACE’s disciplinary measures, administrators recommend that students arrive on time in order to avoid being sent to ACE.

Poly alumni Atsuko Yomogida, Diane Olson, Jo Shuford, and Judy Salter stood with their Poly shirts on, inspecting the campus they said they once knew and loved.  This past week the four alumni from the class of 1960 took a tour of the campus and recalled what high school was like 54 years ago.

“Back then when we were going to school, life was simple, and we had a lot of fun. We still talk all the time about high school,” said Olson.

The women noticed that much has changed since they last visited. They admired the school’s new paint scheme, the portraits bordering the doors on the catwalk, and the mural on the side of the science building.

Beside the physical changes, the culture at Poly has changed too. The women said that the girls had to wear skirts and were not allowed to wear pants. They did P.E. in bloomers and had to monogram their shirts.

“We wore knit bathing suits, which sagged when they were wet. Once I tied the bathing suit too tight and I had to get it cut off,” said Salter. “They were awful.”

Poly also had sororities and fraternities on campus.  “The different sororities and fraternities would sit in different sections of the quad,” said Shuford. “So if someone told you to meet them at the quad, you knew which part to go to because of what club they were in.”

But the ladies also mentioned the cultural tensions that existed during their three years. There were no interracial couples at Poly, and there were separate social events outside of school for black and white teenagers.

“Poly has always been a completely integrated school. At that time we didn’t realize the segregation. It took me 10 years before it became contentious,” said Shuford.

As the women looked at the mural on the science building, they remembered many of the events and people depicted on the walls. They went to school with Billie Jean King, they rode the Cyclone Rider coaster that once stood on the Pike, and they danced at the Hutch.

Although these women are not from the same generation as current students, they share a common experience with them: Long Beach Polytechnic High School—Home of Scholars and Champions.

The Model United Nations Club took part in their first conference on October 12 at Cerritos High School.

Led by club advisor Dan Adler and senior co-presidents Caroline Saul and Aida Ylanan, Model United Nations (MUN) is one of the premier academic teams here at Poly which strives to broaden students’ cultural and worldly perspectives through simulated conferences.

These conferences are made to mimic actual United Nations assemblies, comprising of committees with fifteen to twenty students who serve as ambassadors of a specific country. Each committee is centered on one or two main topics, serving as a catalyst for diplomatic policymaking and debate.

The conference held at Cerritos High School was designed specifically for people new to Model United Nations. Only novices are allowed to participate, creating a relaxed, low-pressure atmosphere for students who want to experience a less rigid version of an advanced committee.

“These novice conferences allow students to discover their love for MUN before they develop their skills in diplomacy and international relations,” said co-president Caroline Saul.

Thirteen Poly students served as delegates of Libya, a country undergoing political upheaval after the collapse of Muammar Gaddafi’s socialist government. Its proximity to refugee-laden countries such as Sudan and Somalia and its prioritization of water security amid a desert environment were some of the issues students had to keep in mind while taking on the role as a Libyan representative.

“I thought it was really fun. It was a great experience which expanded my knowledge about the world,” said freshman Emma Larson.

Poly MUN will compete in numerous conferences throughout the year, including Berkeley MUN in March. The club’s growing popularity and ambitious agenda is a promising sight for club advisor Mr. Adler.

“We have great leadership this year, so my hope is to build a program that grows over the years and starts to do some of the bigger conferences, such as Berkeley this year and hopefully New York and Georgetown in the coming years,” said Adler.

Time will only tell for Adler’s goals and aspirations, but both he and the club members are optimistic about the future.

On September 9, the National Society of High School Students announced a Long Beach Polytechnic senior as a member of their organization. The NSHSS recognizes students with strong leadership, academic accomplishments, and community service participation. However, this may not be so.

The student had previously applied for the group in junior year, but did not get in. This year the NSHSS contacted the student and told her that they viewed her academic year and liked what they saw. The student then applied to join, paying a sixty-dollar “one-time fee,” and was selected after a few months waiting period.

“Our vision is to build a dynamic international organization that connects with the members with meaningful content, resources, and opportunities,” said NSHSS President James W. Lewis.

The organization itself was founded in 2002 and currently has more than 830,000 members in over 160 countries mentioned in a press release.

Ms. Sylvia Womack of the College and Career Center did not believe this opportunity was legitimate. When students take the PSAT or SAT, their scores are not only sent to potential universities, but find their way into the hands of questionable organizations. Scholarships and financial aid is often free to all students.

“For them to charge students is unethical,” Womack said. “If students come to me about paying any fee, I tell them ‘don’t do it.’”

Womack suggested that Poly students seeking scholarships and aid should come to the College and Career Center, where the staff can easily help them many scholarships they can qualify for. She also warned that FAFSA.com, which asks for a fifty-dollar “submission fee,” is often mistaken for FAFSA.gov, leading students down the wrong path.

There are many other websites such as fastweb.org, Zinch, and College Board that provide genuine help.