Tag: Long Beach Poly

  • Sailing Doesn’t Go so Smooth For The Jackrabbits

    On January 5-6, 2019, the Long Beach Poly sailing team competed again at the famed Rose Bowl Regatta, a race where over a hundred high school and college teams compete separately to win the inaugural race of 2019. Ironically, the regatta takes place in Long Beach, not at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena.

    The Jackrabbits have competed in the race for nearly ten years as an unofficial team. They haven’t yet reached recognition from the high school administration, but have a growing history of successful seasons.

    As a sailing team, they are given race courses with a start line and compete in their boat against thirty teams, similar to cross country. Multiple races are completed daily, constituting a regatta. The teams are scored in order of finish, and the team with the lowest average of race scores wins the event. The race committee changes the race course to keep the competitors attentive.

    In typical winter sailing, the event was forecasted to have light wind and few waves, conditions that are against Poly, who practices in the heavier afternoon breeze. Coach Mark Ryan has said that he has “been working with the team to help control the boat, even in light air.” This light air favors teams further south that are able to practice in very little wind. However, Ryan has been coaching the team for two years now and has seen them finish in the top five at many sailing events. He says that “for a team as small as Poly’s, they are doing fantastic.”

    He’s not wrong. The Jackrabbits have remained competitive against top sailing schools like Newport Harbor and Point Loma, often coming within striking distance and even emerging victorious.

    Poly and Wilson practice together, and Poly team captain Cameron Feves said that “the rivalry keeps everyone on their toes at practice and at regattas.” Feves is the team’s MVP and is “largely responsible for his frequent wins over the Bruin’s captain Trent Turigliatto,” according to Feves’ crew member, Julia Golison.

    Feves has already committed to sailing at George Washington University next year and is a fearsome opponent on the water. The regatta, however, didn’t pan out like Feves intended. He was defeated by Turigliatto by a slim 3 points. Turigliatto attributed this to “seeing the wind shifts” and not overall superior skill. Even so, a victory is a victory.

    The Jackrabbits  are currently in 12th place, holding a one point lead over the Bruins. While each member is unsatisfied with the current results, they have said that they will continue to practice hard and end the season well in March.

  • Poly Jackrabbits Pin Down The Victory

    On January 10, boys varsity wrestling took on Lakewood in the Big Gym at Poly, and it was provided high energy entertainment for those that came to watch.

    Twelve exhilarating matches took place from weight groups 106 pounds to 235 pounds. Poly took the dub winning 8 out of 11 matches played against the fierce Lakewood Lancers. The majority of the matches were won by pins rather than points which just goes to shows how hungry varsity boys wrestling wanted the victory.

    Each match was filled with a fluctuating amount of emotions especially sophomore wrestler Zong Lo’s match. Weighing in at 152 pounds Zong showed some struggle closing in the match, but nonetheless Zong won by pinning his opponent. Zong, just a sophomore, wrestling at varsity states, “I felt nervous,” but since he had his team cheering him on, “I had courage!”

    Zong’s senior brother Chang Lo was another wrestler that night. Chang definitely has a more aggressive style, continually going after the opponent and eventually winning by a pin. The four year wrestling veteran trained so hard that, “it looks like they’re the one under performing.”

    Adrian Villicana also came out with a win that night not by a pin, but by points. You can score points for your match by escaping when your opponent has on the mat (1PT), taking your opponent on to the mat (2PT), when your opponent has you down on the mat and you come from underneath and gain control of your opponent (2PT), or when your opponent commits an illegal action such as stalling or an illegal hold. At the end of 3 rounds and no pin, Villicana had more points, winning the match.

    Closing out the night was David Cortez, a sophomore who competed in the heavyweight class. Using your weight to your advantage in wrestling is a key factor to pinning your opponent because you can easily weigh your opponent down. Cortez won that night by pin and even though he won the match he states he was, “impatient,” and, “nervous.”

    Altogether, Poly varsity boys won the night and hope to do the same in the upcoming matches, meets, and tournaments upcoming this spring semester.

  • YouTube War

    Felix Kjellberg, rather known online as YouTube sensation Pewdiepie, created his YouTube channel in 2010. As of now, he has over 67 million subscribers and has been the top subscribed channel on YouTube since 2013. However that is about to change as the YouTube channel T Series, is slowly catching up to him with a subscriber count of over 66 million.

    Now everyone is wondering who will be the next “King of YouTube”.

    Personally, I have been watching Pewdiepie’s channel since late 2013. During that time, he and a couple other YouTubers were great distractions from whatever troubles I was going through at that time. His videos would always make me laugh no matter what type of mood I was in. In other words, he had a huge impact on my life.

    With T Series around, this brings up a lot of questions, concerns, and thoughts. After all, the difference between T Series and Pewdiepie is what their channels are based off of. For starters, T Series is an Indian music record label

    and film production company owned by Bhushan Kumar and Kishan Kumar that owns other channels under the same name. Pewdiepie on the other hand, is a single person channel with no other companies based off it. Just like Matthew Patrick (The Game Theorists) had said, “Since their MCN (multi- channel network) contains a whole bunch of huge channels, not just one, all those channels can be used to promote each other.”

    I find it unfair for T Series to be receiving subscribers from their other owned channels, meanwhile Felix has worked really hard to earn his. From what I see, T Series is only receiving more subscribers just because they don’t want to see Pewdiepie stay on top. If T Series ever does come to exceed Felix, will things be any different? Are they getting the same love and support any other regular YouTuber receives? Is there anyone who will really be affected by this?

    It’s not hate I feel towards the competition, but I can assure that it is not love either. In the end, whether Pewdiepie stays number one or not, he will always have my full love and support.

  • The AP Room is Now Open

    The AP Room is Now Open

    This year Jason West, the new AP Coordinator for Poly High School has turned Room 132 into a study lounge for any student who is currently enrolled in at least one Advanced Placement class.

    This lounge was inspired by a coffee shop as a place where AP student can receive tutoring, study in group, and access a wide variety of resources as well as other non-traditional materials, including a welcoming cup of tea if you bring your own mug. The room offers a warm, relaxing, and welcoming vibe. This will allow students to remain comfortable and focused.  Much like most college campus’, who offer a study room, students must be signed in upon arrival.

    Poly’s AP room is a learning atmosphere where students can join a study group and succeed in their classes, it symbolizes as a badge of honor for all the hard works students have put into their classes. Teachers are always welcomed to visit West for support, resources, materials, and for addressing students needs.

    If students are even in need of supplies, textbooks, study materials, or a spot to study, they are more than welcomed to stop by in room 132 for freebies that West has collected over the 12 years as a teacher.

  • National Merit Finalists

    The National Merit scholarship program provides opportunities for students to be recognized for their phenomenal academic achievements. Students with PSAT scores at the top one percent of scores in the state, with the addition of reflecting transcript records of their score, qualifies them to be semifinalist. There are currently three semifinalist at our school that will compete against students from other states for a $2,000 scholarship.

    Many Ivy league colleges and corporations sponsor these scholarships, potentially giving semifinalist additional scholarships to almost any school they apply to. Pace Counselor Connie Loggins strongly believes the Poly students will “have no problem entering the final round” because of their strong commitment to academics and extracurricular activities.

    Erin Shin, a PACE senior, is one of the semifinalist, and she dreams of going to Stanford or Yale. She hopes to major in neuroscience and one day become a physician. Through her experiences thus far, she believes it is important to be a leader by taking the initiative to help others.

    Shin is persistent in her school work, but makes sure to make time for outside activities. She belongs to a youth orchestra and piano quartet at Colburn School of Music in Downtown LA; works at Kumon and the school cafeteria; and recently began tutoring in the AP Resource Room.

    Despite her full schedule, Erin is persistent in managing her time “by trying to stay off social media” though she admits that “doesn’t really work these days”.

  • Robotics Club Hosting Fundraiser

    Long Beach Poly Robotics Club participated in an off-season competition called Fall Classic and placed first in the competition.

    The Fall Classic is hosted by a company yearly with the objective of having games created for schools to compete with their designed robot.

    The LBP Robotics Club completely redesigned their robot within 4 weeks.

    Although this is their second year as a rookie team they’ve done well with the club and competitions. There are currently 30-35 members active in the club.

    Senior Marine Alais has been part of the club for two years now and said she was recruited by Theana Guttieri, a now graduated Poly student, when Guttieri stopped by the science classes to discuss about recruitment, Alais said it sounded interesting and joined. Alais experience with competitions makes her feel like it’s “a really big community”, with most schools helping each other out and working together.

    The club not only has their focus on competitions but also in community outreach, working on projects, and mentoring middle school students.

    An upcoming fundraiser  for the club will be taking place December 15 at Applebee’s.

    The club is also hoping to create a Vex team and have an upcoming competition taking place during the beginning of January.

  • Jazz Ready for Thursday Concert

    On November 1, the Poly Jazz Bands will have their first concert of the year in the Poly Auditorium. Each of the four bands will perform four songs, and each song will feature several improvisational soloists.

    Band director Chris Stevens said during Jazz “A” band rehearsal on Monday that he has been “looking forward to the concert for months”  and that the bands are “well prepared.” After several weeks of intense practice, he believes that each band is off to a “great start.”

    The concert will open with the “C” band, an ensemble of freshman musicians that are brand new to the Poly music scene and to jazz music. As the concert progresses, the age and experience of the players increases and culminates at the “A” band. Senior Jazz A trumpeter Adam Traut said that the band is able play “with lots of energy.” He’s proud to have made it to the top level for two years and will be a featured soloist tomorrow evening.

    While programming the concert, Stevens found a 1939 big band chart by the name of “The Bouncing Ball” tucked away in the Poly music library. As he unearthed it, he found the paper records from when the chart was last inventoried in 1940. Stevens handed it out to Jazz A and they will be performing it at the concert as a nostalgic nod to Poly’s long history of musical excellence.

    Junior trombonist Evan Hoover said that the piece would be a “great trip down memory lane” for the audience.

    Everyone in the Poly Jazz program is looking forward to another year playing in one of Southern California’s premier high school music ensembles.

    The concert will start at 7 p.m. in the Poly Auditorium and will run to approximately 9:30.

  • 18k Homecoming Dance

    A tradition at high schools all over the country, the big homecoming game and the dance that usually follows is a source of excitement for many students. Despite this, one of the largest schools in the Long Beach school district, Poly High School, has not had a homecoming dance in 10-11 years – that is until Saturday, October 6, when Poly students flocked to the Big Gym to start the tradition up again.

    “It’s just not been something we’ve done in 10 to 11 years. The reason is that there was a low turnout in interest among the students, and I think that’s why we didn’t have one for a very long time,” said Vincent Puth, Poly’s Activities director. There was certainly interest this year.

    The dance theme, “18k Gold”, held a lot of significance for the organizers. “18k stands for eighteen-carat gold, and basically it’s gold and the year twenty eighteen combined,” Senior Senate homecoming dance organizer Dalavy Hak explained. Transforming the gym into the ultimate dance space, Senior Senate was able to snag a DJ, an ice cream truck, food, and of course, tons of people.

    Hak described the challenges of organizing the dance: “As it is our first homecoming dance in a really long time, and it was hard getting everything together. But it’s good preparation for us because the Senior Senate is going organizing prom later on in the year as well.” Hannah Samaniego, another member of Senior Senate, said that the hardest part was making the gym not look like the gym and make it look really pretty.

    “The gym was pitch black with lasers and a loud DJ. They had gold themed decorations such as streamers, gold balloons and a place to take pictures,” Poly freshman Samantha Victoria described.

    While the Senior Senate was preoccupied with planning, the talk around the entire school in the weeks leading up to the event was all about the dance, whether you had

    bought tickets yet, who were you going with, and what you were going to wear. During lunch almost every day leading up to the dance, you could hear the claps and cheers of fellow students as someone held up a poster asking another student to the dance. The line for the banker was long almost every day, as people were trying to buy tickets in advance.

    Samantha Victoria, who went to the dance, said that there were about six hundred or so people in attendance, and added, “Someone said that they sold 700 tickets, but most people showed up later.” Tickets sold out in advance, leaving some students disappointed and unable to attend.

    Poly freshman Sophia Graves said that while she would’ve loved to go because all of her friends went, she was unable. “The tickets sold out before I was able to get one, and I was also swamped with homework on the weekend,” she said, “but from what I heard, it sounded like a blast, and I’m disappointed I missed out.”

    The story was different for those who got their tickets early. Seniors seemed to be especially excited.

    “I was super excited for this years Homecoming Dance, Poly has never had one before so it feels great to be a senior and to experience this for the first time. The theme was also super cute!” Said PACE senior Sandra Berenice Rosas about the dance.

    “I’m happy that Poly finally had a Homecoming dance! I always wondered why we didn’t have one but I’m thrilled to go with my boyfriend. I had fun picking out my dress and getting ready with my friends,” said CIC senior Gladys Salamon Mora.

    “About time! Homecoming was like a breath of fresh air to Poly. It’s exciting to have something new brought to campus. I’ve been to all the dances at Poly and I was super ecstatic to learn that Homecoming was coming to Poly, and it just seems right since all other high schools have one,” said MEDS senior Ashley Salgado.

    It was a new experience for underclassmen, too.

    “I think that HOCO is a great way to bring school spirit, and it [would] probably be a really fun experience. I really liked the HOCO week, so I’m expecting to have fun at the dance too,” said CIC freshman Miya Yasumura before the dance.

    After the dance, Yasamura was somewhat disappointed but still kept a positive spirit. “I was bummed out because I had to pay for the ticket and pay for the food but nevertheless, I still had fun and I’m looking forward to going with my friends next year,” said Yasumura.

    Shafiq Amat, a freshman in PACE described his expectations before the dance: “I thought the HOCO dance was going to be like a regular Hughes dance where you just dance and stand in the corner after you get tired.”

    However, after the dance, he had some advice for those who would go next year. “When I actually went there it was kind of boring because I didn’t have a date. If you want to go to HOCO dance next year, make sure you have a date because you will feel left out. It was kind of fun though, the music was okay,” said Amat.

    Despite some students feeling less enthusiastic, when asked whether she thought the dance was a success, organizer Hannah Samaniego exclaimed with a huge grin on her face, ¨Yes, of course!¨

  • Behind the Crime Scenes!

    Behind the Crime Scenes!

    When I first thought of this article,  it was because I was     curious to see what our Poly CSO’s do with their lives outside of school. Have you ever been curious as to what your teachers do in their spare time? Surely they have something they like to do aside from all that grading

    The gate worker and security guard Mike Castillo has been working for poly for the past two years. He is someone students often walk past, but seldom ever greet.

    Castillo, when he isn’t keeping poly’s campus beautiful, coaches youth basketball and youth football. “I was a jock in high school, I guess in that way, I still am.” Castillo said, smiling in remembrance of his past self.

    Nowadays, Castillo’s joy and passion comes not from sports alone, but his family. “My kids are my everything. I’m very soon to be a Grandpa, so I have that to look forward to.” he remarked with a small chuckle.

    Jeff Eyanson (the CSO pictured) has been a part of the Jackrabbit family for 28 years. During 8 of which he has been working toward receiving his doctorate. He was able to find the time to study while he worked. “I was able to work in between the cracks of time. I was able to do a lot of research while I’m at the main gate.”

    All that hard work will soon pay off for Eyanson, “I can see the end of the tunnel.” he said with a wide grin. As of now, Eyanson already teaches youth baseball and colleges courses twice a week in San Diego. He plans to remain working at poly as well as teaching online courses, “Is there anywhere else to go? I went here, stood here for 28 years. My son will go to high school here. Once a Jackrabbit, always a Jackrabbit.”

    Looking back to his years as a student here on campus, Eyanson can only remember being one thing: Busy. “I was in all kinds of clubs, student council, I was assistant coach for volleyball my senior year, and I was coach for 13 years after. We won CIF in 2000.”

  • Help Wanted: Poly Football Looking for Pierce Replacement

    After four years football head coach Antonio Pierce is leaving Poly. One of his main reasons for coaching here at Poly was his son DeAndre Pierce, who attended Poly and graduated in 2016.

    During his four years as coach he went 35-11, and made the playoffs three out of the four years.

    Before coaching, Pierce was a harding-hitting linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants, where he eventually won a Super Bowl. During his playing career he was known for his philanthropic activities with urban youth.

    “It was a great four years,” said Pierce, according to the Press-Telegram “I learned more about myself and how to coach and I created bonds with young men that I think will carry on for the rest of my life.”

    He now starts a new journey as linebackers coach at Arizona State University.

    “Antonio Pierce made a huge impact on us, he left us on good terms, he’s now the assistant coach and some will say it’s like a promotion,” said athletic director Robert Shock.

    Freshman Jake Garcia said, “He’s probably the best coach I’ve had up to this point. Not only is he super knowledgeable about the game, he’s also the type of coach that will push his players to become the best they can be off the field.” Coach Pierce made a huge impact on his players as some of them explain that he treated his players the same, no matter what their ranking was. Junior Elijah Juarez said, “I don’t mind him leaving because I know he’ll always have my back and the rest of the teams’. It’s not personal, it’s business.”

    Poly is currently in the process of picking a new head coach, “We are in the application stage, then we’ll put together a committee to review the candidates and set up the interviews,” said Shock.

  • Raw Preparation and Practice Leads to SmackDown for Wrestling

    Poly’s wrestling season recently started and the teams are coming out strong. Recent encounter was with Lakewood, in which Poly brought home the W with senior Jerry Luna in fourth place, junior Chang Lou in sixth and senior Tomas Lou in ninth.

    Senior varsity captain Tomas Lou, explained that the team “started out a little rusty but as we worked together to improve in our matches.” Lou also he added that the “connection between our team we all share our blood and tears – I know it sounds cliché but when we’re in that room we all share those feelings where we work hard to improve as a team and a family.”

    With the support of their captain, the team has built up confidence. Freshmen wrestler Karin Lopez explained her experience in her first year on the Poly wrestling team: “They have been very supportive and showed me many new moves apart from the ones I knew before coming to Poly, and my coaches are always there cheering us on and being very supportive.”

    As shown the team has such a strong bond and them having a lot of confidence with each other gives them a positive vibe on the rest of the season and make them work to come out stronger.

  • It’s a Hard-Wood Life

    Long Beach Poly’s boys basketball team suffered a devastating loss to the Lakewood Lancers in overtime by 3 points ending with a score of 90-87.

    When talking to the senior Darryl Polk Jr about the loss he said, “I was so lost for words because we haven’t lost to Lakewood in 13 years and we lose to them by 3 points.”

    “We need to play as a team more because, when the momentum is lost we start losing sight of winning and start doing our own thing.” said Polk.

    Their next game they played was against Wilson. Poly was up by 15 points the whole game, until they started playing selfish and Sloppy. The game came down to the last quarter and Wilson started playing like the better team. After a buzzer beater by Wilson guard Jayden Woodard the contest went into overtime . Through an overtime rally Poly was able to win the game with a final score of 74-70, barely pulling through.

    On the other hand Long Beach Poly’s girl basketball team has been steamrolling through every Moore league team this season. They beat Milikan 67-47, and Wilson 72-30. Their next game is January 19 against Cabrillo.

    Even though they blew out Wilson the Lady Jackrabbits always fell like they can improve, “We didn’t play with as much energy as we did against Millikan,” said freshman Kalaya Buggs.