Tag: Long Beach Poly

  • How Covid-19 Affects Youth’s Mental Health

    How Covid-19 Affects Youth’s Mental Health

    Mental health, though often stigmatized, has been an issue since before Covid 19 shifted our everyday lives. Now, as stay at home orders displace us from our work and school environments and our everyday routine, mental health continues to be a top issue, especially among young people. 

     

    According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 10–20% of adolescents globally experience mental health conditions, yet these remain undiagnosed and untreated. 

     

    At least one in five youth aged 9–17 years currently has a diagnosable mental health disorder that causes some degree of impairment; one in 10 has a disorder that causes significant impairment. 

     

    Regardless of whether youth have a diagnosed or undiagnosed disorder, factors such as isolation, fear, and a lack of engagement with friends and peers can negatively affect a young person’s mental health and lead to stress and anxiety.

     

    As social distancing, isolation, and online learning become the norm, how has this taken a toll on students’ mental well-being?  Four Poly students were asked how the Covid 19 pandemic has affected their mental health personally. Here’s what they said:

     

    Lizette Karina Ramon, Pace Senior

    “It’s been so hard because I’ve had a lack of motivation for doing things. This whole situation is depressing, and the way our country is handling this pandemic is frustrating. My mental health has not been the best because I try my best to be optimistic but the way things are going, I don’t think they are going to get better soon. I’m just very tired mentally.”

     

     

     

     

    Luis Cuahtli Sanchez, Justice Junior

    “You lose a lot of motivation for doing school work just for passing, it’s like they’re simply giving us things to do and not giving things for us to learn. 

     

    But I’ve forced myself to get used to this because this pandemic will last a long while so it’s better to make it easier for me rather than harder. 

     

    But still….just knowing this virus is out there and there’s no vaccine just scares me, it can infect anyone, my friends, my family and even me. But there’s no point in being scared all day, there are still things that have to be done and we can only hope for the best outcome for everyone in the future and hope this ends soon. This has affected me quite a lot and it takes time to get used to it.”

     

    Maya Morales, CIC Freshman

    “The first few weeks were easy mentally. I was being lazy but I was happy. After about a month or so, I started to feel depressed. It went on for a few days and the whole time I didn’t leave my house at all. I didn’t want to go anywhere and for some reason, I would just listen to sad music and make myself even more sad and cry. So dramatic!

     I think just being inside all the time and feeling a little lonely because my sister, my mom and my dad would work for so long, it messed with me a little. But I learned you just need to be a little more active and not simply do homework and stay in the house all day. Working-out or any physical exercise like a walk helps boost your mental health and makes you a little more productive.”

     

    Lance Manago, Meds Senior

     

    “I’m doing pretty good honestly. Online school is okay, but I just miss everything about waking up early and driving to school and seeing all my friends and teachers.

    I would say it didn’t affect my mental health but rather affected my physical health. I’m an outside person, I love being outside and try to be active every day. 

    I was also looking forward to graduation and prom and grad night, it truly sucks what class of 2020 has to go through”

     

  • Celebrating HERstory!

    Celebrating HERstory!

    Happy Women’s History Month!

    The High Life staff features some of the inspiring women they admire.

    Don’t forget to celebrate the women in your life everyday!

  • Hairspray! Feb 20-22

    Hairspray! Feb 20-22

    The Poly Theater Department is opening Hairspray on February 20 in the Andrew Osman Performing Arts Center. Auditions were held for all Poly students the last three days before Thanksgiving break in 2019, and the chosen cast has been working hard the past three months for this production.
    Hairspray follows the story of Tracy Turnblad, an overweight high school girl who auditions for a local TV dance show, The Corny Collins Show, with dance moves inspired by her African-American classmates met in detention. Much of the plot follows her attempts to integrate the show.
    “This particular story is very culturally-relevant even though it takes place in the 1960s,” drama director, Linda Bon, said. “It has a timeless message that I think most students will appreciate and enjoy.”
    Hairspray will perform at 6:30 P.M. on February 20-22, plus an additional matinee showing on Saturday (February 22) at 1:30 P.M. Tickets cost $10 per student and $15 per adult but are available for presale at a discounted price through the banker.
    Athea Aguel and Gabby Kaiser are both starring as Tracy. Mara Stanford and Maile Quinn are cast as Penny (Tracy’s best friend), Lucas Nguyen has been cast as Link (Tracy’s love interest), and Joseph Diress and Elijah Simmons are both starring as Seaweed (Penny’s love interest). The play’s main antagonist, Amber, is played by Hannah Gardiner, and her mother, Velma, is played by Amanda Angeles and Mica Ramos.
    Select roles are double cast, so certain nights will have different actors portraying the characters. Mara Stanford, cast as Penny in Cast A, said she loves working with her counterpart to pull off the show, even if they are not going to be starring at the same time.
    Althea Aguel couldn’t believe she was cast as Tracy for Cast B while still a freshman.
    “I think everyone was cast…according to their personality and skill level,” she said. “Everyone’s really passionate about it. It’s exciting to be in a place where everyone loves what they’re doing.”
    Every cast member has put their “heart and soul” into the making of the musical, she said, so she encourages everyone to come and support.
    “It’s such an exciting entertainment mode because of the music and dancing,” Bon said. “The script is hilarious, so I think that most high school students would enjoy it more than they think they would.”
    “It’s a lot of fun. Everyone’s so talented, leads are fantastic, other than me,” Stanford joked before adding, “I’m really proud of everybody.”

  • Onision and Chris Hansen

    Youtube has been trying to enforce regulations to keep viewers safe from creators. But, what happens when Youtube fails to create safety measures fast enough? YouTube creators have been abusing their platform for their gains– whether it’s to make more money or for their selfish needs. Logan Paul demonstrated this behavior when he exploited a suicide victim and XtremeGamez, demonstrated this behavior when he pretended to be dying. Both did it for views.
    Chris Hansen, known for his segment, How to Catch a Predator, took it in his own hands, to shut down creators who abused their power. In November 2019, Hansen debuted his new YouTube series, Have a Seat with Chris Hansen and addressed controversial YouTuber, Onision.
    Hansen realized that Onision’s online actions have been questionable. Concerningly, Onision has a series online where he comments on underage girl bodies. He once stated that cutters are “white girls” doing it for attention. Mockingly saying “I’m just gonna put lines in my skin because that makes sense.”
    But that was not the cause of Hansen’s investigations. Hansen began investigating after it came to his concern that Onision has been grooming his fans, specifically underage girls.
    Onision, along with his fiance, Kai Anderson, is being accused of grooming a fifteen-year-old girl named Sarah, for sex and eighteen-year-old model, Billie Webb. Both victims spoke out against the abuse they witnessed by Anderson and Onision on Chris Hansen’s new YouTube series.
    After Hansen created attention towards the situation, the FBI has created an open investigation. The FBI currently is looking at Onision’s alleged predatory behavior and child grooming.
    Chris Hansen attempted to receive a response from Onision, to allow him to defend himself. However, Onision called the police on him for “internet stalking,” and filed a lawsuit on Hansen.
    Onision seems to be avoiding any repercussions and uses his fans as a barrier from the law. The Onision and Chris Hansen drama shows the dark side of Youtube. portraying it as a site to exploit viewers for income and personal pleasures.

  • “Sex Education”

    Last year in January a show on Netflix was released called Sex Education. The show is about a socially awkward high school student, Otis, who has no experience in “making love” but is advanced in the knowledge of the subject because his invasive mother, Jean, is a sex therapist.
    Otis is uncomfortable about the entire topic of sex yet is surrounded by it every day. People in his school found out about his mother being a sex therapist and Otis then decides to use his knowledge to gain popularity and social status a school.
    He starts an underground sex therapy clinic with a rebel girl named Maeve. Otis provides advice and correct information to lost and misinformed students, while Maeve, collects the money and scouts for people. As their business progresses, new problems arise within their personal lives.
    Otis’s best friend, Eric, becomes jealous of the newfound relationship between Otis and Maeve, Otis’ mother tries to force a relationship between them but also begins a secret relationship with a local plumber, his dad isn’t around and he is occasionally frustrated because of it. Maeve lives alone at a trailer park, her family is full of junkies and is left to fend for herself she, she begins a relationship with the most popular athlete at their school and doesn’t feel like she’s good enough, and her addicted brother returns to town and stirs things up in their business and at school.
    Overall Otis and Maeve build a strong bond throughout this time but never fully express how they feel. The new season was released recently showing the aftermath of the drama in the previous season and the supporting character’s stories and their development through the season were brought to light.
    In my opinion, this show is very informative and also controversial being that it shows an inside view of a portion of a teen’s life. The show is very relevant to teenagers and adults in this day and age showing how people of different ages, backgrounds, sexual preferences, and gender, react to certain situations and their views on the topic of sex at a young or older age.
    The show is humorous, inappropriate and relatable. Many people can relate to many emotional obstacles and struggles within the show. This show is interesting and worth watching. I would recommend this show to anyone at Poly looking for a good laugh and interesting situations.

  • “Yummy” more like “Yucky”

    It’s 2020: the start of a new decade, new year, and a new generation of pop culture.
    I would’ve liked to think, given how many decent popular albums that were coming out as the previous decade was coming to a close, that we would start this year off with a bang – have a second “roaring 20s” for music.
    But just as he did in 2010, Justin Bieber has to step in and ruin it for everyone. We started off the 2010s with Bieber, and we’re stuck with him again. “Yummy,” released on January 3, was the first big pop song to drop in 2020, and it sets a bad rap for the other pop artists getting ready to release their next albums.
    It’s easy to forget the verses, what with their mumbled lyrics and outdated trends, but once the chorus kicks back in with the repetition of “Yeah, you got that yummy yummy yummy,” you are overcome with the urge to scratch your eyes out. Bieber is trying so hard to be cool, but the choice of a word as silly as “yummy” makes him seem more like a prepubescent tween than a 25 year-old man releasing his 38th single. It’s a load of meaningless crap designed to infuse itself in your brain like a drug you can’t withdraw from.
    There should be no surprise – the attitude isn’t much different than one of his earlier singles, “Baby.” But still least that song had the sense to have melodic differences. “Yummy” couldn’t even manage to give a proper ending over than that last repetition of the chorus. And that lack of an ending is exactly what describes the song. It has nothing to say. There is no point, no meaning, no other reason than to release a song.
    If this is the sound that we have to start off the new decade with, I pray that the new generation doesn’t have to live with this is their ears from the moment they can remember anything. But just wait – soon enough it’ll be playing in every clothing store, restaurant and grocery store, and it’ll be burned into our minds forever.

  • “Hiccups”, a Thai, Chinese and Vietnamese fusion restaurant

    Hiccups is a restaurant located at 1946 N Lakewood Blvd Long Beach, CA 90815 which offers a wide variety of milk teas, smoothies, fruity teas, and slushies. They also have many different types of food from different Asian cultures to choose from.
    As you walk into the restaurant you would instantly notice the aesthetic interior decor they have which makes the small restaurant look pleasing to the eye. But because it is small, I imagine that when it does get crowded, the restaurant will get packed rather quickly. There are also not many tables which would make it hard for you to find a seat when it’s packed which was the problem I had when I went.
    Their service could use some work with paying more attention and interacting more with their customers and the wait time for the food to be done took longer than expected around 25 or 30 minutes.
    Their bite-sized popcorn chicken is crispy and seasoned well. Another thing when combined with the sweet and sour sauce (provided with the order) it gives the chicken a nice sweet and savory flavor.
    The Beef Pho was a little disappointing taste-wise. The beef included in the pho was well cooked and also gave a bit more flavor to the broth but the broth itself was a little bland. I also did not like the type of flavor the herbs added to it.
    The Boba Thai Tea had a great sweet taste to it just like you would expect a Thai tea to taste like and the boba had a soft texture to it which brought it all together. They did add in more ice than what I had originally asked but it was ok.
    Hiccups seems to be a nice place to meet up with friends or family to order some food. They have a good selection of drinks and a good variety of different dishes to try out. Some of the food might not appeal to everyone but they are still worth eating the others types of the other food that they offer.

  • Poetry Slam!

    Poetry Slam!

    January 16th at 6:30 pm was Long Beach Poly’s annual Poetry Slam at the Poly Playhouse directed by Drama Director Linda Bon.
    In the beginning and throughout the show students from the Poly Jazz program performed a Jazz combo. The excellent musicians were Ben Rifkin on Trumpet, Shogo Ellefson on Bass, Nathan Greer on Drums and Nathan Mai on Alto Sax.
    The panel of judges consisted of Daryl Holmlund, an English teacher at Long Beach Poly, advisor for the High Life student newspaper and serving his 5th year as a Slam judge, Gwen Larsen, an English teacher at Long Beach Poly who is a supporter of Poly’s artistic community, Andrew Shrout, an improv coach for the Long Beach Unified School District who takes his experiences from teaching, Peter Seng, a Poly senior student that stepped in for judge Angelina Taylor who was the winner of last years slam with her compelling poem,” Up Until Now”, and Jenna Webb a 5th year teacher at Long Beach Poly.
    “I truly enjoyed being able to hear these stories that students had to tell,” said Webb, “they were honest, vulnerable, and brave. I know that I could never be courageous enough myself to be so open and exposed, yet these students were able to do so- and they were able to do it so eloquently.”
    There were 5 categories: Identify, Mental States, Love and Loss, Injustice and Mixed Bag.
    The Jazz Combo played , “There Will Never Be Another You” and “Wave” during the show.
    Taylor McEachin won with her astonishing poem “How to be a good girlfriend,” which showcased how self love is the first step to loving someone else. Briana Mendez-padilla won 2nd place with her heartfelt poem about body image standards titled “Image” and Mariah De Vera winning 3rd place with her poem “Keats”.

  • ‘Tis the Season for Pi(e) (COMIC)

    ‘Tis the Season for Pi(e) (COMIC)

  • Dancers Bust a Move (Photo Gallery)

    Dancers Bust a Move (Photo Gallery)

    On November 7th, Poly’s dance program held their annual winter dance show at the Andrew Osman Performing Arts Center. Featuring choreographies by Cynthia Negrete, the event showcased performances from Poly’s Dance Team as well as Negrete’s dance classes.

     

    Photos by Nick Eismann, Contributing Photographer

  • “She Kills Monsters” Killing it at the Poly Playhouse

    “She Kills Monsters” Killing it at the Poly Playhouse

    On November 14, 15, and 16 the Poly Playhouse presented their play “She Kills Monsters.” An action packed comedy which still managed to touch upon serious subjects, “She Kills Monsters” is a breath of fresh air amidst a stressful college season.
    The play, put on by Mrs. Bon’s Play Production class, starred Gabby Kaiser as Agnes, an “average girl with an average face living an average life,” and Audrey Moor as Tilly, Agnes’ geeky little sister who died in a car crash and a renowned Dungeons and Dragons master.
    Agnes and Tilly were never close while Tilly lived, both sisters being polar opposites and Agnes having a tendency to be ashamed of Tilly, a scenario which may be relatable to the audience. After her sister’s death, Agnes finds Tilly’s Dungeons and Dragons notebook, containing a game scenario she created.
    Realizing there is much more about Tilly she does not know, Agnes seeks help from Chuck, a “dungeon master” who will lead her through a D&D journey in an attempt to understand the complex younger sister she never took the time to get to know.
    Filled with cheerleading demon girls, an aggressive fairy, bugbears and a cube of slime which eerily talks like her boyfriend, Agnes is in for the time of her life as she explores the universe her sister has created and often found refuge in.
    Once in the game, Agnes meet’s Tilly’s character, Tillius the Paladin, a mix between the side of her she never showed and what she aspired to be. Agnes discovers things she never knew about her sister such as her sexuality or her being bullied.
    “She Kills Monsters” targets different audiences. Firstly and most obvious, to the geeks and nerds who are fans of the game and understand what it’s like to be Tilly. This play does not mock them or make them the butt end of a joke but rather, divulges into their lives and explores their sentiments under the surface.
    But you do not have to be a D&D expert to enjoy the play, the premise is explained quite clearly, and remember, Agnes does not have any prior knowledge of the game so the audience can learn along with her.
    But the play was not only relatable to a teen audience, adults could get a kick out of the endless 90’s pop culture references.
    Overall, “She Kills Monsters” was beautifully executed play and made the audience laugh, think and cry at some point. The acting was phenomenal and the set design and costumes really transported the audience to a world of fantasy. “She Kills Monsters” was well worth seeing and my condolences to those who missed it.

  • Gooooood Morning Jackrabbits!

    Gooooood Morning Jackrabbits!