Tag: Long Beach Poly High Life

  • Available Jobs for Teens

    There are plenty of job opportunities scattered among the Long Beach community.

    Jamba Juice in Long Beach is hiring team members for part time and pay $10.50 an hour. They are looking for people who can take pride in their work, genuinely care about the customer and the experience you are providing them. If you get the job you get a 50% discount off all smoothies, juices and food products.

    PetSmart in Signal Hill is looking for part-time cashiers.

    The Vans store in Belmont Shore is looking for a part-time sales associate. This job is good if you enjoy interacting with people, have the ability to work in a fast-paced environment and are very patient.

    Target in the Lakewood mall is looking for cashiers. To qualify you would need to have a helpful attitude towards guests and other workers, able to answer customers questions thoroughly and quickly, have a flexible schedule, and also willing to work in other areas of the store.

    Starbucks on 7th and Park is looking for a barista. To qualify you would not need any previous experience required although they require you to be able to learn quickly, be able work as a part of a team, help maintain a clean and organized workspace, and help produce products consistently for all customers by adhering to all recipe and presentation standards.

    And if none of that interests you but you still want a job, there are always people who are looking for babysitters. Depending on how many kids or how long the parents will be gone the pay can vary. If you want to babysit you can ask a family friend or parent to put out the word that you’ll babysit.

  • Interested in a Fashion Career?

    If you’re interested in pursuing a career in fashion or makeup check out this internship. The internship is called Freedom and Fashion and there are different programs you can join. Freedom and Fashion offers a fashion mentorship program that allows you to create your own fashion line. The program teaches important skills like leadership, self image, and the ability to make different decisions. At the end of the program they host the Freedom and Fashion Annual Fashion Show. the show displays the student’s hard work and achievements.

    They also offer the Freedom and Fashion Beauty Mentorship Program. In the program they don’t just teach beauty skills They teach self value, inner beauty, and the power of self expression. The students in this program leave with knowledge of the beauty industry and the experience needed. At the end of the program they provide students with on set experience with the Freedom and Fashion Pro Studio Day. They partner with professional photographers and a high end studio. Students are able to leave with professional photos to start their portfolio.

    Another program they offer is Freedom and Fashion Stylist Experience. Students have the opportunity to partner with professional stylist that mentor and teach the students new ways to communicate through fashion.

  • Life with a Job

    Out of 500 applications to the newest Chick-fil-a, located on PCH (Pacific Coast Highway), CIC junior, Gladys Mora got hired and is finding a way to juggle high school whilst working a job.

    “In all honesty, I don’t think this job has affected me to the point where my grades are suffering. Sure, I have a lot on my plate, but I don’t mind,” said Mora about her daily life. “I work part time, and I know what my priorities are. It’s just nice to receive some income I can spend selfishly on myself,” said Mora on the benefits to having a job on high school.

    “Nothing bothers me about having my job, I like it. Sometimes I work during school activities, like the football games, but it’s not worth quitting my job for,” Mora said light heartedly. she is excited about her new parttime job and looks forward to all the benefits that come with working within a network of people her age , that is the fast food industry.

  • 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.

  • Pink & Powerful

    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!”

  • Sophomores Attend Sexual Harassment Seminar

    On Wednesday, September 20 PACRIM sophomores attended a sexual-harassment seminar in teacher Libby Huff’s classroom. PACRIM alumni Rodney Patterson was the guest speaker whose intention was to better educate students and to make them aware of the different types of “harassment.”

    Huff said that Patterson was brought back this fall to speak regarding eliminating the miscommunication between the male and female students.

    Huff went on to explain how the issue of sexual harassment is not taken seriously.

    “This came about, because we as teachers have noticed that girls tend to blow off a lot of the stuff

    guys do, sexting, the way they talk or how they act,” Huff said. “They either ignore it or laugh it off.”

    Girls were asked about their thoughts on harassment, and the lack of seriousness was apparent.

    Huff stated that when girls were asked about the harassment they responded that their male peers are ‘just like that,’ because they have been doing it since freshmen year.

    The male peers said they believe their ‘harassing’ was not harmful. Huff described that the male students believed the ‘harassing’ to be appropriate, because the girls did not say ‘no’ and they were laughing it off.

    “ ‘The girls didn’t say stop,’ and ‘they were laughing,’ ‘so it must be ok’ ” Huff described the male responses to harassment.

    Huff explained that in the news, there are several examples of

    sexual harassment among female celebrities and how [harassment] is treated.

    “We have a lot of examples of culturally acceptable [harassment], and we wanted to make that not culturally acceptable within our academy,” said Huff. “The kids worked on their own definition together as a class based on what [Patterson] explained to them. In the end, they understood that it is a cultural thing and that there is no gray area. It helps them learn to be respectful of each other and setting their own priorities.”

    The students wrote a sexual- harassment policy based on their definitions of harassment. The students then discussed what would be the appropriate consequences for such behaviors.

    The focus of the seminar was not only on female victims, but also male victims as well.

    “We defined it as something as bullying, power, and dominance. There were incidents and stories of every combination you could thinkof.Thetieinisthatitisa power thing,” Huff said. “We also talked about false accusations and what are the consequences of those accusations. And we also talked about how [false accusations] are damaging and what happens to the person who does that.”

    Huff explained that it is important to educate students on what harassment is and means for those affected by it.

    “That being able to say it and recognize it [harassment] stops it dead in its tracks, because there are people who just don’t know what they are doing is bad,” Huff said. “In their mind they have never been educated about what is inappropriate or what is appropriate.”

  • 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*

  • Poly celebrates Hispanic Heritage at Rally

    Poly celebrates Hispanic Heritage at Rally

    On October 9, Club Leia organized a lunch rally to honor Hispanic Heritage Week.

    Hispanic Heritage week is a big deal for many of the Hispanic students because it gives them a week to really honor their backgrounds and where they come from.

    Senior Jessica Garcia explained the purpose and meaning behind the rally.

    “The purpose of the rally was to reach out to our Hispanic community and give them the sense that they are not alone,” Garcia said.

    During the rally, students were seen donating and participating.

    Senior Adrian Lopez said what the rally meant to him.

    “The rally did not only unify Hispanics, but as well as other cultures, which in many ways was touching because many that felt that they did not have support,” Lopez said.

    Club Leia members were going around during the rally and asking for donations for the earthquake catastrophe that happened in Mexico City. With these unfortunate events in Mexico and in Puerto Rico, the students and teachers had a chance to donate and come together to help everyone suffering.

    Donations for Mexico are also being accepted in every English class. Puerto Rico’s toiletry drive

    is also being accepted in room 155 where they ask students to donate hygienist products that will be sent to the people affected by the hurricane.

    Senior Ella Christensen explained her perspective on the rally.
    “The Hispanic Heritage Rally showed the multicultural elements of Poly’s Hispanic community,” Christensen said. “Along with several enthusiastic prideful Jackrabbits, the rally was successful.”

    There was a big turn out when “El Caballo Dorado”and “Suavemente” started playing, as many students rushed to the stage to dance.

  • What in the World?!?

    What in the World?!?

    Saturday, September 23- The World

    The end of humanity on Earth did not come to an end like research scientist David Meade said it would.

    Tuesday, September 26- Saudi Arabia

    The Saudi Foreign ministry announced that women over 18 years old will be able to drive this June 2018.

    Thursday, September 28- Bali and Vanuatu

    The two islands of Bali and Vanuatu each have a volcano threatening citizens with potential to bring havoc. Both the volcanoes are located in the Pacific Ring of Fire and are expected to erupt around the same time. Nearly 144,000 people from Bali and 11,000 people from Vanuatu have been evacuated and being taken to safety– as of October 2.

    Friday, September 29- Puerto Rico 

    San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz spoke at a press conference. She states, “If anyone is out there listening to us, we are dying, and you are killing us with the inefficiency and bureaucracy.”

    Saturday, September 30- United States

    President Donald Trump responded to Cruz’s statement. He tweeted, “Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort.”

    Sunday, October 1- Las Vegas, Nevada

    64-year-old Nevada native Stephen Paddock shot and killed 59 people– as of October 2– from his hotel room on the 32nd floor at the Mandalay Bay.