Tag: Long Beach Polytechnic High School Newspaper

  • Who Cares? Poly Peer Counselors Cares

    Do you ever feel like you need to talk to someone about something that’s bothering you or you just want to get it off your chest?

    Poly has a place where students can do exactly that, and it is called the CARE Center in room 205. Mr. Gray is the counselor, and the hours are from 7:30 AM to 1 PM Monday through Friday.

    Students can go there for personal concerns, family problems, academic problems, to improve relationships in school or at home, child abuse, sexual abuse, depression, self harm, suicidal thoughts, student-athlete issues, or anything they are struggling with.

    If students need help, they can tell their teacher during class, and get a pass to the CARE Center. The center is not an excuse to get out of class. Other options, besides going to the center during class, is to go during nutrition or lunch.

    Counseling groups consist of personal development, stress and anxiety, and grief and loss. It also has groups to help support parents and teachers.

    “If a student is ever scared to go to the CARE Center, you should know that everything you talk about in there is completely confidential,” Senior Lily Brossus said. “No one will know what you share, not your parents, friends, or teachers. It’s a safe environment, and if you have problems, I encourage people to go if they need help.”

    The CARE Center is a safe place, and Poly students are encouraged to go seek help. All of the counselors are supportive, and the center helps approximately 1,500 students each year.

    “Everyone should know that it’s okay to talk about your problems, because us peer counselors are students at Poly just like all the kids who come in,” Senior Zenita Leang stated. “We’ve experienced things like some of the people who come in.”

    “It’s a really safe place where you can meet new people who really care about you and want to help you with your problems or whatever you have going on in your life that’s bothering you,” senior Abby Rubin explained.

    The CARE Center has helped people with all kinds of problems, no matter how big or small. The counselors are there to listen, give advice, and guide students while they are struggling. They are also there to make students feel better and like they are cared about.

    “As a freshman and sophomore, I learned that the CARE Center was a place where you could go for help,” Leang said. “I realized that it’s a very useful and valuable resource to have and it was something I wanted to be part of to help fellow students out and make them feel better.”

  • Summer Bummer

    Most people have a favorite season, especially when choosing between the polar opposites summer and winter. A good majority of students prefer the sunny, school-free former over the cold, depressing latter.

    But as for me, well… I just do not know. I am not the type of person to be going out everyday, but at the same time I can relate to the feeling of being over school just as much as the next person.

    However, I have now gotten to the point where I’m not completely sure I agree with the majority, because like many people I know, without school my weekdays are pretty bare of plans.

    I am Mexican, so that means I am going to be getting up just to clean and turn on my loud banda songs and after that, I’ll only be sitting on the couch eating – which is not good because of the huge amount of weight I will inevitably gain.

    On the bright side, my stress levels will experience a plummet that mirrors the Xcelerator ride at Knotts, and my sleep habits will return to normal, aka hibernation. So, I guess summer shouldn’t be too bad.

  • Plastic Wrap Couples Be Like:

    I hate clingy relationships soooo much.

    For instance, when you are no longer able to hang out with a friend because they’re with a new person who is practically controlling their lives.

    I can’t even list on two hands the amount of friends I have lost because they got in a weird relationship which consumed their lives (ok fine, I might be exaggerating, but you get the picture).

    Then of course, after they break up they all of a sudden are able to hang out with the ones they left friendless and abandoned, as if nothing ever happened, as if they’ve done more than wave hey to you in passing! Ha, haha, –  I don’t think so!

    Nope, not today sister! Why not go crawling back to your boyfriend – you know, the one you left us for? Oh, what’s that?… you say it didn’t work out? We are in high school sweetie. I could’ve predicted that!

    Especially now during my senior year when I see clingy behavior between people who won’t live in the same time zone in about three months. Sorry not sorry! They are, and I say this with 99.99% certainty, NOT the love of your life. In fact I bet $20 you will not even talk  to each other 10 years from now.

    So, to the people who ditched their friends for ‘soulmates’ throughout high school and have found themselves without a companion in sight, I say this: LOL.

    But seriously, your lover isn’t the only person in your life who loves you, so act like it.

  • Can’t Break Away from Kimmy Schmidt!

    “Unbreakable, they alive dammit!” These are the opening lyrics of the theme for the hilarious Netflix series, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt written by Tina Fey that get my heart racing. That combined with the upbeat drum and the swat team member’s hand that seems to pop out of the screen reaching towards me makes me fall in love again with each episode!

    No, I am not crazy. But the characters in one of the greatest shows to ever be filmed certainly are. Each season of the comedy contains 13 episodes,  and while some are over in a flash, others seem more extravagant in production and hilarious as you go on.

    The first season took me about a month to fully watch (twice) and digest. Then, they made me wait a full year to finally continue onto the second season, which satisfied my itch after an intense cliffhanger.

    After I finished the second season, which felt at most two seconds long and ended on another monumental cliff-hanger, I had to wait another year for season three! Obviously, you can tell how dedicated I am to this show.

    Why? Because each season introduces new love interests, hilariously outrageous conflicts, and a Titus Andromedon music video.

    In my opinion, the third season was the funniest out of the three because in seasons past, not all of the characters were equally funny. Titus would usually be the only one whose jokes made me LOL. But  thankfully, everyone has material that makes not only me, but my family as well, laugh.

    So here’s the low-down [SPOILER ALERT!]:  Titus covers songs from Beyonce’s Lemonade album like “Hold Up” and “All Night” after breaking up with his first love and getting scurvy. Kimmy goes to traffic school to become a crossing guard but can’t because she is married to her kidnapper and Lillian becomes the local representative and falls in love with the guy whose reputation and career she is trying to destroy. And Jacqueline gets married to her comatose boyfriend and changes the Redskins offensive name and logo.

    This is also the season with the most innuendos referring to real-life conflicts such as unwanted deurbanization, racism in sports leagues, and the many definitions and practices of feminism in college.

    Overall, despite the final cliff hanger of Kimmy getting an amazing job at a new successful business, I think this season was a complete success, even if Nia disagrees with me.

  • Another Michael Jackson Article

    Another Michael Jackson Article

    Yay, I get to write another article about Michael Jackson! Anyone who knows me knows that I love Michael Jackson.

    I love him more than the casual listener, and more than I probably should. That being said, whenever anything new comes out that is MJ-related, I’m one of the first to know. On memorial day, Lifetime premiered the film Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland. It was based on the book Remember the Time by Jackson’s former bodyguards Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard.

    Now, I read the book and it was fine. I’ve read a lot of books written by people who’ve claimed to be close friends of Michael. When reading or watching things like that, I always take it with a grain of salt.

    Everyone thinks that he’s the one who was closest to Michael.(Even Conrad Murray in his stupid book that nobody asked for!) Everyone claims he is the only one Michael could turn to.

    It’s funny, a lot of people said this and yet, he died alone and went through his court trials with almost no support from his so-called friends. I’m sure that parts of the story were true, but most of it seemed like complete BS.

    When I heard that Michael was getting a Lifetime movie, I knew they were going to try to get the audience to feel sympathy for him. It was going to be very dramatic and I was going to end up crying. I mean, it’s Lifetime for goodness sake. They casted the Michael Jackson impersonator, Navi, to play him.

    I’ve heard of Navi and had watched some videos of him online, and Lifetime casting him as the love of my life brought about three problems.

    Navi is British. He is British and he cannot hide his accent. So when he’s performing, he barely talks for this very reason.

    Navi is NOT an actor. Michael Jackson was way too emotional for his own good. How can we expect someone to properly portray one of the iconic musicians of all time during his most controversial periods when the guy playing him isn’t even an actor!?!

    Michael wouldn’t approve. A movie was made about Michael in the 90s and they were considering a non-black actor to portray him. Upon hearing this, Michael became furious and reportedly shut down the production. If this movie was really about honoring Michael, they should have respected his wishes, or even better, not have made it.

    The movie itself wasn’t all that, but it really wasn’t too bad either. And if you don’t know that much about Michael Jackson, it is definitely worth the watch.

    The Michael Jackson estate didn’t really approve, and his family hasn’t publicly said anything positive or negative about it. But I can’t fully support anything the family doesn’t.

    I suggest reading the book instead to really see the side of Michael they try to show. Michael Jackson was an amazing person and people should just stop trying to squeeze every last penny they can out of him. The man has been dead for over seven years!

    Let my husband rest.

  • Blood Drive Success

    On Thursday, June 1, Student Commission helped host this semester’s blood drives in Poly’s big gym. The blood donated went to Cedars-Sinai blood donor services for people in need of blood in hospitals.

    To be a donor, students needed to be 16 years old and 135 pounds or more with a signed consent form and a valid picture ID or 17 years or older and at least 110 pounds.

    Commissioner and junior Ha “Caitlin” Lam said usually 250 students donate, but this semester approximately 300 people each donated a pint of blood. Students who donated were rewarded with either a free shirt or a free pint of Baskin-Robbins ice cream.

    Lam said, “We contacted them a year in advance to let them know we wanted to donate. Poly loves community service.”

    Sophomore Aren Jacob Agoncillo, who donated blood, said, “I wanted to give blood because I was told that I have a blood type that’s very rare and I could give it to anyone and I just wanted to help the people who need it.”

    Sophomore donor Cohan Gifford Manzon said, “I donated because I was willing to do anything to help someone and it’s not that hard just to give back to whoever needs it… I wasn’t nervous at first but then I saw the blood coming out and my arm started getting tired but I kept going because I knew it was for a good cause.”

  • Letter to the Graduating Class

    Dear graduating Jackrabbits,

    It is finally here, the day we never thought would come. Graduation is just around the corner. Excuse me, life is just around the corner. After four years of no sleep, terribly crowded parties, and being surrounded by annoying and immature people and teachers you have to see everyday, you will now be moving on to fouryears of even less sleep, even more crowded and crazy parties, and at least somewhat mature and less annoying people. But this time, you don’t necessarily have to go to the classes with the annoying professors.

     

    Instead of stressing about what to wear for school the next day, you will start worrying about how you are going to pay for your next meal, or if you are going to be able to pay off your hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans. But not to worry little bunnies, we will get through it. After all, we are Jackrabbits. We are from Poly, the home of scholars and champions – that’s us!

    So cherish these last days of high school. Be extra nice to the teachers you cannot stand. Wish a beautiful life to that one girl in your fifth period English class that you have never talked to because why not?

    Now you can all start fresh in the next chapter of your lives. If you are truant in high school, make the extra effort to go to your Introduction to Biology class nearly every time. If you have never been to a high school football game, try to go to a college game of any kind; they are a lot more exciting. If you never made an effort to talk to high school guys, try with college  ones. They are supposed to be more sophisticated and accepting (yeah right).

    This is just the beginning – today high school graduation, tomorrow you are graduating from law school or medical school. Heck, you could be graduating from clown school if you really wanted to. Just remember to always do what you love, not necessarily what makes the most money.

    And do not be so stressed, puh-lease! If you find yourself having a mental breakdown because you are doing all your studying for a final the night before, first of all, you are crazy, and second, just calm down. In five years you will not remember that final. Just breathe, eat some chocolate, do some yoga, smell some roses. Everything will be fine in the end.  I know this is cliche, but never doubt yourself! We all are capable of amazing things, and if you ever need a reminder of that,  I am sure you can contact one of your fellow former Jackrabbits. Good luck to you all! WE DID IT!

  • Poly Students get the Chance to Visit Europe this Summer

    Poly Students get the Chance to Visit Europe this Summer

    As the year is coming to a close, summer vacation is already being planned out and organized for certain students taking French and German. Poly is fortunate enough to have multiple language departments embarking on cultural trips to allow students to embrace the language they have studied during their high school years. This summer, Poly’s French and German students have the opportunity to travel and stay with foreign exchange families to broaden their understandings with real, cultural experiences.

    For German students, the exchange has been occurring over this past school year. Poly junior and German student Ella Christensen explained, “German exchange students come around spring break to stay with American students and then during summer, American students go to stay with the same family in Germany from July to August.”

    While in Germany, Poly students have a variety of activities and places to go. Junior Aubrey Chapman said, “I am going to go to school for a week while I am there to see what schools in Germany are like and my German exchange student is taking me to Paris and Athens.”

    The French language department will travel to France and like Poly’s German department, French foreign exchange students had come to stay with Poly students during this school year. The French exchange students “attended cheer, swim, and cross country practice,” according to sophomore Matlynn Giles. Giles continued to explain that Poly students going to France to stay as foreign exchange students “was an option and one-third of Poly’s French students are doing the dual French-American program.”

    The foreign exchange program Poly has provided for its students studying French and German is continuing to inspire and influence students to learn more about different cultures.

  • Class Eliminations Expected In the Fall

    Home economics, creative writing, Black history, marine biology, foods and nutrition, and film analysis are all offered as electives and available to all students, but next year that will all change.

    These classes are a versatile group that teach students a unique set of skills.  Although Poly does provide the classes, they are not responsible for what happens to them. The Long Beach Unified School District decided that Poly offered too many electives, and needed to focus on academics.

    To make up for losing electives, Poly now offers a multitude of APs for students to take. Creative writing has been a class choice for 100 years and taught by Brett Alexander for four years. Alexander emphasizes  that having the ability to write well is vital, and that being able to compose something that has meaning is an important skill.

    “It’s sad that students won’t get to express themselves in [the] classroom; it’d be a bummer that future kids won’t have a good course like that,” said junior Ella Christensen.

    Alexander commented, “I’ve really enjoyed it because students come in [and] spill everything onto a piece of paper without a time limit. It’s been fun. I have students from every academy; it’s a great class to have.”  Alexander, along with other teachers at Poly, is very sad to see the class go.

    Anne Smith is a long-term substitute this semester, taking the place of Gayle Boone-Beegle who had taught home economics and foods and nutrition at Poly for over 20 years. Smith said, “What I like most about teaching this class is that students find something that they didn’t expect they could do is very interesting; it’s my favorite thing.”

    Students are exposed to real life skills, like learning the steps to forming a good and wholesome diet, or experimenting with a recipe or dish foreign to them. Many of the eliminated electives would have informed students on things they would have otherwise never gotten the chance to be educated on.

  • METS Student Isaac Covarrubias Wins Logo Contest

    METS Student Isaac Covarrubias Wins Logo Contest

    METS recently changed their name to Poly Arts, also known as PARTS. To go with their new name, a contest was held to design the new logo. The assistant principal Stacie Alexander said, “A reason why we decided to change the name and have a logo contest was because the teachers and students are not really connected. They just feel like they’re assigned in there and we want them to become connected and feel like more of a family.” She also stated, “When I was in a meeting I asked the teachers if they felt they were connected to their pathway and they said, ‘no,’ and the teachers came up with the idea of changing the name to better fit what classes we offer and to have the students come up with the logo so they could be part of the process of becoming better connected to everyone in their pathway.”

    The logo contest started a couple months ago and ended about a few weeks ago. There was voting online at Back to School Night and voting here at school. Two people submitted their artworks and the winner has been picked.

    The winner of the contest is sophomore Isaac Covarrubias. Covarrubias stated, “I saw it on Schoolloop and I had some spare time so I decided to enter the contest.” He said that just the drawing itself took 10 to 15 minutes because at first they didn’t ask for the drawing to be colored. Later he colored it and made small alterations. The artwork will be shown online and T-shirts will be made.

    Covarrubias stated, “My mom saw my artwork and she helped me and gave me advice on what I should fix.” Poly teacher Erica Sands will be awarding Covarrubias with a prize, though he doesn’t yet know what.

  • Long Beach High School Hockey

    Long Beach High School Hockey

    Long Beach Prep High School Hockey is a team made up of high school students who play  hockey. There is a JV and varsity team. In spring they play under the LA Kings and in the summer they play under the Anaheim Ducks.

    Hockey is starting to be a popular sport in Long Beach. Long Beach Prep gives high school students who play hockey  a chance to play other cities and represent Long Beach. Some of the other cities they play include El Segundo, Venice, Redondo Beach and Wiseburn.

     
    The coaches are Adam Stanovich, Austin Stanovich , and Matthew Dove. They teach hockey players new skills and help them become better players overall. The coaches have a passion for the sport and prepare players to play at a higher level. When asked what his thoughts were on the coaches, forward Josh Ribeiro said, “They know what they’re talking about.” The coaches are very experienced. When asked how do you feel about playing on Long Beach Prep defender Adin Keiter said, “I’ve been on the team for two years now (four seasons), and I feel that I’ve been able to develop my skill on a team that’s suitable for my skill level. When I started, I was only playing hockey for a couple months, so LB has been about 80% of my career.”

     
    Keiter also has a passion for the sport like many of the players on the team. Former JV goalie Steven Fitzer  said he “likes the fun environment and the competitiveness” of playing on Long Beach Prep. Fitzer also said, “I love the pressure and the non stop action” of being goalie. Many players say Long Beach Prep Hockey is like a family.

     
    The Hockey players are not only athletes, but scholars and many of them want to achieve a higher education and play in college. When asked how does it feel to be a part of Long Prep, forward Natalie Compton said,  “I feel like I am a part of a family and I get to hang out with people from other schools so it’s cool. It’s more of a normal high school experience than my school is so I think I need the experiences that come with being on the team.”

     
    Long Beach Prep is like one big family and a great part of the Long Beach community. It is also a great team to just watch. Long Beach Prep always appreciates if anyone comes out and supports the team in their upcoming summer season. So come out and support Long Beach high school hockey.

  • Aspiring Talent at Poly

     

     

    T-Lost

    By Ashlyn Morgan

    Staff Writer

     

    Long Beach Poly rapper Tyler Stokley also known as T-Lost is known for his unique performances on the rally stage. Tyler began rapping in 2015, but then he took a brief break and then began to rap again around late 2016. His first live performance on the Poly Rally Stage was during the Homecoming Faire.

    His raps have caught the attention of many Poly students and have caused him to become well known around campus. He has also performed on the rally stage during lunch and other fairs. Aside from his live performances, he also promotes his music on social media. Stokley stated, “I prefer performing live over recording because I can express myself more and really get into it. It involves the audience more and there’s more of a connection between the artist and the audience, too.”

    When asked about where his music inspiration comes from Stokley said, “I guess my music is inspired by the band Gorillaz. Though I’m surprised that people are actually enjoying my music and listening to it.”

    His new mix tape, “I Don’t Care”, will be released on May 15th. The album will be available on his SoundCloud, his Youtube channel, and most major music services like iTunes and Spotify. Stokley has a Youtube channel (youtube.com/Tlost), Instagram, and Soundcloud. If interested, take a listen to his music. When asked to describe his music in three words he described it as “sick, fire, and dope.”

    Eddie Valencia

    By Rebecca Lopez

    Staff Writer

         Eddie Valencia is well known around Poly for his extraordinary and unique dances. The senior’s dancing has caught the attention of many Poly students and has students from all over campus raving to see him dance. Valencia’s favorite style of dancing is “cute and sexy” and it gets the rally stage audience full of screaming fans. As a senior, he has only been dancing for two years, and he’s already performed on the rally stage about 7 or 8 times. Eddie claims that dancing is both a hobby and his passion.

    There is really no one who inspires him. Valencia said, “I don’t really look up to people because I like to do my own thing.” He doesn’t remember when his first performance was, but Eddie felt really nervous and worried about what people were going to say. He plans on pursuing a dancing career after high school and he will be focusing on K-pop.

    Recently, Valencia went to Mexico because he was invited to KCON, a Korean music festival, and performed there. While in Mexico, he had a video filmed about his dancing and it will later be released. Valencia said that being filmed was interesting because he had to have people following him around. The video will include clips of him from the convention as well.

    Eddie’s upcoming performances include the senior rally and the Poly dance show  in May.

     

     

     

    JYoungin

    By Chantera Walton

    Staff Writer

    Long Beach Polytechnic’s sophomore Jeremiah Jones, also known as JYoungin, is infamously known for being a rapper. At the young age of 16, Jeremiah is already an artist and an entrepreneur.

    Jones’s passion for music started at the age of 14, and he said, “I was inspired by my father. He used to be in the music industry and he had a couple of artists that he promoted by making T-shirts to give away to the crowd.” He is well known around school and on social media for his music. He describes his music as, “motivational, catchy, and the new vibe.”

    Jeremiah wants people to take away something valuable from his music. He does not want people to just listen to the music he wants them to listen to the message. He expresses, “I want my music to have a big impact on people. I want my music to be uplifting and motivational I want them [youth] to know if you want to do something in life then don’t let nobody tell you [that] you can’t.” He also wants his music to be positive and different. “I’m really passionate about my music, I love writing [and] leaving people with a message in my lyrics; I like to call myself a lyrical rapper because it’s certain songs that are out there that are really negative but I like to think my songs are just having fun and living in the moment,” he ssaid.

    Jeremiah has plans on releasing new music. He says he has been recording a couple of songs and they will be dropping soon.

    Romel Morris

    By Yesenia Pacheco

    Arts and Culture Editor

         Romel Morris, sophomore, began writing his rhymes at the age of five. He never took his music seriously until he was eleven and started to perform in school talent shows and street shows. He focused on rap and break dancing throughout his childhood. He has written all of his own music, and has enough material to make several mix tapes.

    He listens to all kinds of music, but his favorite genre has always been hip-hop. “I look up to a lot of local rappers, but I try not to get too into one artist. I don’t wanna end up some kinda copy cat. That ain’t me.” He said as his fingers tapped across a bar, making a basic beat he often uses for his free styles.

    When asked about his recent increase in social media followers, Morris commented, “I don’t think I’m there yet. People know me, but there’s still so much to be done. I really wanna make it.” As of right now he is taking things step by step, starting with one minute freestyle videos on his Instagram, then once he gets a solid following, he’ll startup other media sites.

    He is open to collaborating with other Poly musicians, if they have a connection and can “vibe together in a creative and intellectual kinda way.”