Tag: Long Beach Polytechnic High School Newspaper

  • Student Art Show

    The JCC Art Show ended on Friday, March 3. The art show went on for four weeks and took place at the Jewish Community Center. The exhibit included 97 different works of art from 20 different schools. Ten middle schools and ten high schools participated in the event. The categories consisted of the following; high school art, high school digital art, and middle school art.
    Six Poly students submitted their work into the show, five of whom won an award or prize. Senior April Ray won third place in high school art. Ray stated, “My piece was a water piece called ‘Still Life’ and it took months to put together.”
    For the same category, Emma Hastie, Enrique Martinez, and Andreana Santos-How won honorable mentions. Elizabeth Sandoval won first place for high school digital art. This category was new as of this year, created for all the digital/photography submissions received.
    There is another upcoming art show for the students who didn’t get a chance to submit work into the JCC art show.  The theme will be the role of gender in today’s society.
    Artists are asked specific questions to consider in preparation: What is the relationship between gender and society? How does culture shape one’s gender identity? What does it mean in a given culture to be masculine or feminine? How is society’s view of gender changing? Thoughts can be represented through a drawing, painting, photograph, collage, or a three dimensional sculpture.
    Everyone’s artwork will be judged by the Long Beach Art Museum in conjunction with the Millikan High School Museum Studies Exhibitions Department. The art will be judged based on the its visual depiction of theme, artistic merit, and meeting all of the stated requirements. Students interested have the choice of digital media, drawing, watercolor, acrylic, photograph, oil painting, ceramic, print, or collage.
    Two dimensional work should be at least 8”×10” but no larger than 16”×20”. Three dimensional work should be no larger than 16”×16”×20”. Art works can’t depict obscenities or weapons. Any Poly student is allowed to enter their piece, the deadline is still to be announced.

  • Nasty Couples are Nasty

    Nasty Couples are Nasty

    Let’s get one thing straight. When I’m walking to class, the last thing I want to see is some nasty couple making out in the hallway. I’m not one to shy away from PDA, but when I can see your tongue in someone else’s mouth, you have taken it too far. Have some self-respect. You want to to be cute and disgusting with your dearest? Save it for a place that’s not around other people.
    If I can hear you kissing from the other end of the hallway, please re-evaluate your life choices.
    There was this especially gross couple two years ago on the third floor of the science building. Everyday during lunch they would be jumping all over each other, and grinding, and just generally being nasty. No offense, but I don’t need to see that when I’m trying to eat. I’m tempted to go full Dolores Umbridge and say “Boys and girls are not to be within eight inches of each other.” I’m not that cruel, but still. There is no need to be kissing each other in front of other people.
    This is not only uncomfortable for me, but also for the couple. Being seen by others while you’re kissing your partner must not be fun. If I were the girlfriend, I would be uncomfortable when everyone passed me with a disgusted look on their face. And not only do people have a habit of looking, they also have a habit of talking, and you might get a lot of unwanted “publicity”. If you’re into that sort of thing.

  • Swim Starts Off Strong

    Poly’s swimming season has started. There was a girls swim meet against Los Alamitos and Marina,  which in they lost by a small margin. The thing with those swim meets is that they were D1 teams which made it harder because they were faster. This made good turnouts to the girls swim team with the fact that they can get an idea of the future of the season.
    The biggest competition so far is with Wilson High School since the Bruins have been maintained a 44 year winning streak in the boys swim meets. Boys varsity swim team is hopefully going to kill it this season because the boys have the capability of beating Wilson from all their hard work and effort.

    Most of the good swimmers have gotten a head start on this sport, having played five years old, such as Isabella Magalong a senior student member in the girls swim team, and Leilani Davila, a former member of the swim team. Many think that swim should actually be considered an individual sport but our swim team has a different opinion about that. As Magalong states, ”Before high school swim I would participate in club swimming, which in the time I saw it as an individual sport, but now I see it as a group sport,and as a team everyone has an aspect and each get points and have it as an accumulative effort.”

  • Track Goes to New York

    Poly’s boys and girls track and field athletes are heading to New Balance Indoor Nationals at the Armory Track in New York this weekend, March 10-12. The athletes will compete in a variety of events against schools from other states. Junior Ariyonna Augustine will be competing in the 60 meter dash and 200 meter dash. Last year Augustine won CIF-SS Division 1 championship in the 100 and the 200 meter dash.

    Augustine said she is scared of the competition but “confident” and wanting to “out everything on the track.” Her goal is to get a personal record, faster than 6.4 seconds in the 60 meter dash.

    When asked about their upcoming meet in New York, sophomore Jaelyn Predium felt “very excited” and glad to go somewhere she has never been before. Jaelyn will be competing in the 60 meter dash emerging elite.     The other track and field athletes that will be attending this New Balance indoor meeting will be Zhane Smith in the girls long jump and triple jump, Zion Bowens and Aaron Shampklin in the 60 meter championship series, De’Varriea Oleas in the 60 meter hurdles, and Tariq Harness and DeAngelo Chester in the 60 meter emerging elite. Poly will be also represented by girls 4×800 and distance medley relay teams.

  • Baseball Takes Tough Loss

    Poly baseball played an away tournament March 3 hosted by Los Alamitos. They lost 8-7, but it was an overall good game.
    Junior Mike Mauai was selected Player of the Game. When asked about his thoughts on the game, junior outfielder Nolan Brown said, “It’s a good game to see where we are as a team.”
    Players were prepared for the game but did not come out with the win. Junior center fielder EJ Andrews said he prepared for the game by, “taking practice very seriously, working on my defense, and hitting.”
    The coach was preparing the team by working a lot on defense.
    Brown said coach was preparing them by “working on a lot of drills, and defense. Defense has been a big emphasis throughout the season.”
    Their defensive practice is showing in the games but their offense is not quite good enough.
    Andrews’ thoughts on the coach are that “he brings a lot of enthusiasm to the sport, he gets us pumped up for the game. His favorite saying is ‘practice makes perfect.’”
    All of the players practice every day. Senior catcher AJ Renteria said he prepares for games by “hitting every day, working out everyday, practicing hard everyday, [and] no days off.”
    The Poly Jackrabbits also played a home neutral tournament game against the Loara Saxons. Unfortunately, the Jackrabbits lost by a score of 2-1, but their good defense showed. Senior Jake Creamer was selected Player of the Game. The Jackrabbits have only played a few games, and now hold a 2-2 record. Poly is now third in the Moore League.

  • Pennies for Patients Providing Incentive for Students

    Cancer is one of the most common diseases and comes in many forms. Leukemia is a cancer of
    blood-forming tissues, hindering the body’s ability to fight infection. Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system. Myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells. All of these require medical diagnoses, and are only treatable by medical professionals. These expensive, torturous treatments include medications, chemotherapy, corticosteroids, radiation, or a stem-cell transplant.
    Each year, 12.7 million people discover they have cancer and 7.6 million people die from the malady; on average, cancer treatments can cost a whopping $30,000 a month. In order to help alleviate some of the financial burden, Poly has decided to participate in the Pennies for Patients campaign.
    “I love giving back as much possible to the society,” answered Kayla Van, a junior at Poly, when she was asked why she enjoyed being a leader in the campaign. Pennies for Patients is a nationwide project to help fund the world’s largest non-profit voluntary organization, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which provides funding for education and research on blood-related cancers including Lymphoma, Leukemia, and Multiple Myeloma.
    Millions of dollars have been raised in pennies and other spare change by more than ten million
    elementary, middle, and high school students throughout of the country. This spring semester, Poly students get to collect pennies during the campaign benefiting the society. However, they are welcome to donate nickels, dimes, and quarters as well.
    On March 14, a rally supporting the funding of the campaign will take place on the rally stage. In a three-week period, from March 6 through March 20, Poly’s goal is to raise up to $3,500 in change.
    Collecting boxes are in every classroom for students and teachers to donate. This year, every period four and nine will be competing. The class to collect the most money will win a pizza party, second place will get donuts, and third place will receive cookies.

  • Cool Kids at Poly

    On Saturday, February 11, ABC7 held a luncheon honoring about twenty-seven students for its Cool Kids segment. They were gathered together to be awarded for being helpful and inspirational in their communities. Among these students was Poly sophomore Heinglee Va, who was nominated by his aunt.

    For the past year and a half, Va spent every other weekend avidly taking part in making the beach a safer place for the community and, more importantly, for the marine life. He volunteers with the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit environmental organization that gets students of various ages together to clean the beach. Va says that when he moved to Long Beach three years ago he had a rather inactive social life and joining the Foundation is one of the things that has helped him fit in. He joined when his uncle introduced the idea and he figured that “it beats sitting at home watching TV.

    Va’s English teacher, Daryl Holmlund, said, “Heinglee always has a positive attitude, works hard, and is a deserving recipient.”

  • Auditorium Using Hofstadter Approach

    Auditorium Using Hofstadter Approach

    More than half of Poly’s students go completely unaware of one of Poly’s most distinctive features: the auditorium, which has been closed for so long now that it goes completely unnoticed by the student body.

    Rumors seem to crop up every few months about when it will be finished, though according to principle Quentin Brown, construction should conclude at the end of March.

    Despite the ever-migrating end date, Brown claims that there has been no actual setbacks beyond those that regularly accompany large renovations. The weather has been only a slight issue: work is rarely put on pause during heat waves or rain storms. Construction continues during the school year and the summer, but as Brown says, major renovations tend to run longer than anticipated.

    Nevertheless, the project’s ever-lengthening run time should not cause any issues. Before the district decided to start the project, they thought thoroughly about what it would mean only in terms of cost and environmental impact.

    Unfortunately, they seem not to have considered the effect on students and teachers. German teacher Maria Bezeredy, whose classroom has windows facing the auditorium, says “It’s awful. The noise is just awful. There’s an issue with the windows: it’s either noise or air.” And it is not only Bezeredy as the majority of classrooms on the south side of the Language Annex have to choose between stifling heat or blaring noise.

    Brown believes it will be worth it in the end. When he became principal he was shown the new designs for the auditorium. His initial reaction was, “Wow, awesome!” Coming from the former principal of a theatre and performing arts school, that should mean quite something.

    The auditorium will be used for drama productions, musical performances, and dance shows, not to mention school assemblies (which have been put on pause since construction began). The District Facilities Department mandated that both Poly and Wilson would receive updates to their auditoriums’ electrical and sound systems, seats, stages, and auxiliary rooms. Many students with music classes have expressed in no uncertain terms how much they would like to get out of the temporary bungalows and back into practice rooms with decent acoustics.

    The acoustics in the bungalows is not the only issue facing the music students. It has been a huge inconvenience for them to haul their instruments to and from far-away auditoriums such as Millikan’s. With heavy equipment like tubas or drums, this is a significant struggle.

    The project has run long, as so many similar construction projects before it have. Hopefully, the negative externalities that students and staff alike have endured since construction began will be worth it when the “awesome” new auditorium is opened.

  • Basketball’s Journey through CIF

    Basketball’s Journey through CIF

    Game of the Year: Long Beach Poly vs. Chino Hills

     

    After defeating Bishop Alemany on Friday, February 17, the Long Beach Poly Boy’s Basketball team was scheduled to play the popular Chino Hills.

    The Chino Hills Huskies are the number one ranked high school basketball team in MaxPreps, and are also even more famous for members of the team called the Ball Brothers. These are three actual brothers: Lonzo, Liangelo, and LaMelo Ball. Senior Liangelo Ball and sophomore Lamelo Ball are famous on Youtube channels such as Ballislife or BallerVisions which features basketball mixtapes for the best high school phenomenons in the nation.

    The team also features three other less known yet still great players, such as sophomore

    Onyeka Okongwu and senior Elizjah Scott who are cousins with the ball brothers. The key players on the Chino Hills team all stand over 6 foot, with Okongwu being the tallest at 6’9”. This puts Poly at a height disadvantage, and the rest of the factors also make them the underdog in the matchup.

    Poly certainly knew they came in as the underdog, and certainly had an immeasurable pressure coming in. With over 2,500 tickets sold, fans sitting in the stairways of the stands and even standing on the rails, it could be seen that people expected a lot from both of the teams.

    Starting from the tip-off, Poly fought their way through the whole game. For most of the first quarter, they stayed in the lead, capped off by a near half-court shot by junior Darryl Polk at the end of the first.

    Senior Zafir Williams’s layup is denied by Chino Hills sophomore Onyeka Okongwu.

    However, Chino Hills slowly started to pull away with the victory after the first quarter ended. Although sophomore Lamelo Ball was held scoreless, big men Scott and Okongwu always found a way to get the

    rebounds to either push the ball up court or put the ball back in the hoop. The two bigs combined for 17 offensive rebounds and combined for 51 points.

    Senior Zafir Williams continued to fight, and ended with 31 points and 16 rebounds. This didn’t prove to be enough, and with Poly missing easy layups and rebounds, they ended the night with a loss of 98-74. Poly will continue on to play Corona Centennial in the consolation bracket, and Chino Hills will go on to play Mater Dei in the CIF semifinals.

    Boys vs. Alemany

    Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits played a non-league playoff game hosted by the Alemany Warriors on Friday, February 17, at 7 P.M. This game was part of the CIF Southern Section 2017 Boys Basketball Championship – Open Division. The Jackrabbits defeated the Warriors with a score of 66-48. Poly dominated most of the game.

    In the first quarter they scored 17-6, in the second quarter they scored 18-7, in the third quarter they scored 18-21, and in the fourth quarter they scored 13-14. This upgraded the Jackrabbits overall record to 22-6 and the Warriors 24-4, and both teams still have 12-0 league records. Long Beach Poly ranks 83 Nationally, 19 in California, 11 in the Southern Section, 17 in Division 1, and 11 in Division 1AA.

    Girls vs. Alemany

    On Saturday, February 18, the girls basketball team defeated the visiting Brea Olinda, 61-33. It was a closely contested contest, until the second quarter where the Jackrabbits went on a 15-4 run.

    The scoring for the Jackrabbits was lead by senior Ayanna Clark who scored 15 points and also snagged 13 rebounds on the night. This win marks number 500 for Coach Carl Buggs. Coach Buggs was as cool as a cucumber the whole game, even when Poly entered the 2nd quarter tied. “There was no adjust- ments to make, you work all year so that in that moment you know who you are, just play Poly basketball,” said Coach Buggs.

  • The Everyday Stresses of Being in High School

    Yes, teenagers experience stress. We as teenagers know that it is not easy being a teen.     As high school students, there can be various reason why we have stress, especially because we are also so close to adulthood. We cannot always control everything ourselves.

    If a person is feeling stressed, seek help. One should not feel afraid to ask for help or be afraid of what other people might say. Stress can lead to anxiety, which we would not want right.

    Stress can come from trying to control things that we cannot, or from something traumatic. Always remember that we can only control our attitude and our actions in life.
    Some real life examples are schoolwork, tests, exams, moving, sports, violence, etc. There are also some very common reactions to stress which can just suck the life out of you, like not being able to remember things or having trouble sleeping or even having trouble concentrating at school.

    The Care Center’s Michael Grey said, “ A great deal of stress is relieved when we quit trying to control everyone and everything around us.” If you would like more information on stress, feel free to read Mr. Grey’s book, “The High School Guide to Significant”. The last few pages are all about stress and how to deal with it.

    We’ve all probably felt stressed at some point and one of my best ideas to relieve stress, is to do something you enjoy doing, for example a sport. It helps a lot, trust me, it’s helped me to clear my mind from things.

  • Humans Of Poly

    Humans Of Poly

    On herself:
    “I’m Sakeena. My name means tranquility in Arabic. I like photography and traveling. That’s basically me really.”
    On discrimination:
    “Well I’ve been pretty fortunate because we’re in California so there aren’t very many people who are overtly discriminatory. I’ve heard snide side comments, but not anything towards me, personally, which has made me want to be more of a positive presence. I don’t want people to even have to think about making comments like that. I want people to know true Islam and that’s why I made the presentation.”
    On her presentation for World Hijab Day:
    “I talked about the concept of hijab which basically just translates to modesty, and how it applies to both men and women, not just women. Women do show it more, we cover our hair. But hijab doesn’t just apply to appearance, it’s also about the way you talk and the way you act. I also pointed out that Islam’s not the only religion that encourages modesty. Nuns in Christianity, [and] some orthodox Jewish women also cover their hair. So basically, it’s just about feeling closer to God. For me, it’s about being comfortable in my religious identity.”
    On ignorance:
    “Don’t be afraid to ask [about Islam]. We don’t bite. I love to answer questions. I would love to clear up any misconceptions that anyone has. If you are ever confused, don’t hesitate to ask.”

  • The Serialized Adventures of John P. Chandatlantic, Part 1

    Can I stop calling myself  Freshman now? It’s second semester now, so, like, I’m sorta not that fresh anymore. I know my way around, I can find classrooms and stuff. I found that club – damn, forgot to go again. Still haven’t been in the 500 building though. That’s weird. I don’t think I’ve been in the cafeteria since orientation day either…

    Jackie says I’m a freshman until I have my first bit of drama. I’m not doing that. I saw what she was like in her freshman year. I had to live with her during her most diva-ish moments. Jackie is, of course, my sister. She’ll graduate at the end of this year. Sometimes she’s a pain, but the rest of the time she’s… well, a pain, but she’s a pain who at least cares about her kid brother. I wish she’d drive me home, but I know that if I need her she’ll be there. I’m pretty sure she could beat up most of my classmates if they started picking on me. I don’t think I’ll need it, but it’s still good to have a safety net like that.

    I was picking at the ASB sticker on my ID earlier. I don’t know why mom got it. I’m never going to use it. I mean, I like football and I do know some of the players, but I just don’t think I’ll ever go to a game. I enjoy  my Friday nights. It’s the one night I know Jackie will be out and I don’t have homework and Mom and Dad usually go out to dinner. I can just play Fallout in peace. I like my friends, they’re awesome, but I like alone time, y’know? It lets me reflect on the week while venting my frustration into some mutants.

    Like last week-ohgod, I don’t know why, but I swear Mrs. Cotner hates me. I was talking in class, yea, but not loud or anything, and she wasn’t even talking – we were just doing bookwork – I had a question so I asked the guy next to me and she snapped at me like what am I supposed to do? Then she says if I have a question, I should ask her and I did and she was like, “well I explained that earlier, you’ve got to do this this and this” but I just didn’t get it. It just didn’t click, y’know?  I dunno, maybe that’s just how high school is. How would I know; I’m just a freshman.