As last week was Homecoming Week, there was a lot of scohol spirit at Long Beach Poly from September 28 to October 2. Many students and teachers expressed their spirit each day by dressing up. Monday, September 28th was Jersey Day, followed by Fashion Disaster Day, Dress Like Your Teacher Day, Twin Day and Poly Colors Day, throughout the rest of the week. On Thursday, October 1, Poly held its annual Homecoming Faire. The Homecoming Fair is an afternoon dedicated for clubs to fundraise. It was a great success and many booths raised funds by selling a varity of delectable treats and drink to their fellow students and faculty members. The booths sold all types of multicultural food, like chow mein, tacos, and hot links. “I had a really great time with friends,” said senior Lesette Zamorano. “And the food was so good.” As the fair went on, a DJ played music on stage as students danced in groups and applauded each other in the quad. Friday was Poly’s homecoming game at Veterans Stadium against Cabrillo High School. Many Poly students and teachers came and were hyped for the game. During half-time Poly’s band played as fireworks shot from the right side of the field. Poly won the homecoming game with the final score of 73 for Poly and 7 for Cabrillo. Overall, it was a very successful week of homecoming spirit.
Category: Slideshow
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Hawai’i H2O
Even though the girls’ water polo season will not officially start until December, the Lady Jackrabbits have been competing all summer. Most recently, the girls visited Honolulu, Hawai’i to participate in the 47th Annual Hawaiian Invitational. The girls’ water polo team competed in five games and ended with a 3-2 record.
“[They] were in a bracket with some of the toughest teams around,” said assistant coach Tristan Brightenburg. “The girls beat the team that they needed to beat, and competed with teams who overlooked them.”
Even though the girls lost to the Newport and Honolulu teams, they still beat the Vikings, Meriden and Pomona teams. However, the sole purpose of this trip was not just to compete in the tournament; this annual trip also served as a great bonding experience for the team.
“The bigger picture of that tournament is to make memories…I’m glad to know that they had a great time together,” added Brightenburg.
Before heading to Hawaii, the girls also participated in the Junior Olympics from August 1-2. The girls competed as a 16U team and ended the weekend with a silver medal in the bronze division.
The girls’ season will not start for a while, so while they prepare for the season ahead, keep an eye out for upcoming games in boys’ water polo.
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Jackrabbits Outrun Coyotes
The Poly Jackrabbits kicked off their football season on August 27 with a road trip to Peoria, Arizona to face the Centennial Coyotes.
The Jackrabbits managed to pull through a rough start with a 13-12 win, despite a plethora of penalties and a slow offense. “We’re a young team and a lot of our current starters are starting for the first time,” said senior linebacker Sergio Villaseñor.
The Poly offense struggled to find a rhythm in the first half, coming up scoreless. With many new starters, the Poly offense had a rough start, racking up 16 penalties by the end of the game. Fortunately, the relentless Poly defense kept a manageable score for Poly to make a comeback. Junior linebacker Joshua Brown intercepted the Centennial quarterback early in the game and helped set the tone for the stout defense. At halftime, Centennial led 6-0.
The second half for Poly featured a more explosive and organized offense, including a 60-yard touchdown pass from senior receiver Jack Jones, earning Poly a close 7-6 lead. Soon after, another Coyote touchdown put the Coyotes ahead 12-7.
When the passing attack for Poly struggled, junior quarterback Nolan McDonald ran effectively to get first downs and keep the Jackrabbit offense on the field. Running back Michael Mauai had a strong varsity debut with a fourth quarter touchdown, putting Poly ahead 13-12 for the Jackrabbits’ eventual win.
“Our offense started off slow and we obviously hurt ourselves with penalties, but our defense played strong the entire game,” said Villaseñor.
The rest of the Jackrabbits’ schedule includes other difficult games, with road games to Las Vegas and Northern California to face nationally ranked Bishop Gorman and De La Salle. Today, the Jackrabbits will face Narbonne, an opponent sure to trouble the Jackrabbits.
Luckily, the Jackrabbits know what needs improvement and plan to work even harder in practice. “We have one game under our belts so we’ve made our adjustments so that we’re ready for Narbonne,” said Villaseñor.
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All District Mixes It Together
Poly music students participated in the annual All District Concerts, which were held from January 29 to February 4 at the Terrace Theater as well as in Milikan High School’s auditorium.
Both concerts featured spectacular nights filled with impactful, full orchestra pieces, such as “Jupiter” and Dvorak’s “New World Symphony.” Both pieces were well received by the audience, leading to the concerts’ overwhelming success. Students from all levels, including different middle schools and high schools in the district and even the professional Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, prepared extensively to provide such memorable performances.
The All District Concert is different from other concerts in that it is inclusive of every high school and middle school in the district; however, only the top 100 students who audition are accepted to represent the top musicians in the district.
This year also featured the Side-by-Side Concert with the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra (LBSO), which occurred throughout January 29 and 30 and only happens every two years. At this concert, the All District players performed alongside the LBSO, playing for an audience of about 12,000 4th and 5th graders total.
“Playing next to professional brass players, especially when we played “Star Wars,” is a learning experience you only get once in a lifetime,” says senior trombone player, Michael Franco, “This All District was the best one I have ever been in by far.”
At the Milikan All District Concert held on February 4th, which was open to the public, senior Concertmaster Jeffrey Lam received the prestigious Fred Ohlendor Memorial Scholarship, which is rewarded to seniors who exhibit exceptional musicality and leadership.
“I was surprised to receive it,” said Lam, “And very honored as well.” When asked how he felt about the performance, Lam said, “We did pretty well, (I’m pretty cynical) so that says a lot by itself. Despite the challenging repertoire, it came together well.” Lam adds, “It was a wonderful experience and a good way to end my last All District performance.” -
Slideshow: Class of 2014 Attends Senior Prom
The Class of 2014 attended their Senior Prom at the Park Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on Saturday, May 24th. In previous years, the venue for prom had typically been the California Science Center. However, the Class of 2014 vigorously fundraised for the past four years and fortunately had enough funding to afford a more elegant venue. “Senior year was the best year of my life. I can honestly say that prom was my greatest high school experience at Poly; it sealed the deal,” said senior Marcel Rodriguez. For some seniors, senior prom was an event that they had been looking forward to since they were freshmen. For many, it was more than what’d they imagined. “Prom exceeded all my expectations. I made memories that I’ll cherish forever,” said senior Ryan Riehl.