The Flash | Volume 29, Issue 3 | May 2022

FLA SH

| Issue 3

Seeds of Change

Mr. Grace’s gardening SEL means AP Lang students get their hands dirty while getting grounded

Gas prices

student drivers

Rocklin’s academic decathalon team

to competition

Mr. Grace’s approach to SEL plants

of change

Springing into break

This Season in Sports: Featuring mens lacrosse

Elden Ring review

Introducing our reporters

Adviser: Joshua Rubinstein

you to all our

for their hard

and

Emily Broad

Brianna Peck

Allie Monaghan

Taylor Aubry

McLean

Barbieri

Aplass

Hopkins

McMillin

Keefe

Kaylee Medill

Wright

Gaska

Perdomo

Emily Broad

Honoring the

Mr.

Kanye.

Kanye.

Dance team vs. studio:

the difference?

Dress code moves

but

testing divides

student’s

Religious celebrations

different cultures

Featuring Rocklin’s student athletes

Parking problems

Back on the dance floor:

formal held inside

This Season in Sports:

beach

Meet our Editors for

us on

Why are prices so high?

Rising gas prices

The last time Californians saw a jump in gas prices as high as they are now was during the 2008 Great Recession.

However, changes in supplyand-demand, environmental concerns and global markets have caused them to be higher than previously recorded as the state transitions from its COVID regulations.

“So what a lot of it goes back to is when COVID hit two years ago, there was a massive global drop in demand for gas and oil because airline flights stopped, people stopped having to commute to work, everyone’s working from home, people stopped purchasing as much. This caused a huge drop in demand for oil and the price of oil plummeted,” said AP Microeconomics teacher Mr. Hardy.

At a quick glance, it could appear that the Biden administration are at fault for inflation. However, both Congress and the president have little ability to affect the oil market. Even less, global markets. The real cause of higher prices is the rise in demand for oil.

“What’s causing this is far beyond the president’s control,” said Mr. Hardy. “The bigger picture, long-term, now that COVID is under control is that more and more societies are opening up, people are flying internationally again, businesses are asking people

to come-in in-person to work so there has been a huger increase in the demand for gas and oil, but the industry had gone offline so much that really the supply can’t keep up with it.”

In addition, California is a special epicenter for increased prices due to its progressive environmental ideology. Every summer, California introduces a new gasoline mixture in hopes of reducing gas evaporation.

“California basically has stricter environmental regulation on our gas, which I think most of us would agree is a good thing. Californians tend to complain that, ‘Oh our gas is so expensive’, but part of is particularly the summer blend, it has more purification that makes it more costly to supply and therefore more costly at the pump,” said Mr. Hardy.

Elaborating on California’s other environmental protection efforts, AP Government teacher, Mrs. Crowe said, “There are also other factors too, like California gas, we have higher tax amounts so that drives the price up. . . there are all these little nuances so just to pinpoint one little thing is really hard.”

But the rise in gas prices isn’t only affecting California, it’s a nationwide problem.

“

“What’s causing this is far beyond the president’s control. The bigger picture, long-term, now that COVID is under control is that more and more societies are opening up“

Photography by Emily Broad

Problems at pumps

Although the president has begun to release barrels from our emergency petroleum reserve, the effect of the Russo-Ukrainian war has also added to increased prices.

“Russia is a major world exporter, in fact they are the number one producer in the world, particularly in places like Europe for example,” said Mr. Hardy.

“The war with Ukraine is having pretty significant effects to the extent that we are embargoing or choosing not to purchase Russian oil, that’s causing prices to move further.”

However, both Mr. Hardy and Ms. Crowe are both confident that there will

eventually be a drop in gas prices once the oil industry recovers. But until then, gas prices will remain high as California remains commuter-based.

By: Brianna Peck

“C” Students Bloom

In Academic Decathlon, students of all levels of academic achievement can succeed

Aftercompeting at State for the second time in a row in March, the Rocklin High School Academ ic Decathlon team shared what makes Decathlon the unique activity it is; an activity in which students of all stripes can compete and succeed.

Academic Decathlon is a nationwide competition in which students compete in ten events ranging from mathemat ics to interview for individual and team medals. This year’s topic was “Water: A Most Essential Resource.”

“One of the unique features about Decathlon is that it’s for students of all grade ability levels,” said Michael Knight, the team coach.

“There’s the Honors, which is kinda like your A students, there’s the Scholastic, which is your B low A students. And there’s also Varsity, which is kinda like your C students. And so your team has to be one third of each of those catego ries. You can’t just have all your 4.0, 5.0 students. You’ve gotta go and recruit in those other levels too. And it also gives them that they’re competing at their own level. So C students are competing with C students and they can be very successful.”

When it comes to ability, “A students are kind of all about similar. And so it’s the C students that put in the time and kind of rise to the occasion that help you win.” For these students, “a lot of times it can build their confidence and make them do better in school as well.”

The team went on to medal at the virtu al state championships after taking first place at county.

“You’re gonna learn things that you’re probably not gonna learn in school...”

“I was actually very excited with how we did as a team and the fact that we had three people medal at state this year,” said senior Scholastic decathlete Ryan Renger. “This team is the best one in Rocklin history. The fact that we’ve done state now back-to-back two years in a row where we never made state in the entire history of Rocklin Academic Decathlon is kind of cool.”

More than just medals, Decathlon pro vides its members with exposure to a variety of different subjects. “You’re gon na learn things that you’re probably not gonna learn in school,” Mr. Knight said. “There might be things, the different topics in social studies and stuff, that you might not get until you get college, if you went into those areas.” Moreover, “It looks good on your resume and appli cation for colleges.”

Sanjay Sivakumar, a freshman on the team, said, “I feel like it’s definitely im proved my work ethic. I’ve been willing to work really hard and spend a couple hours reading. And I haven’t really read seriously in a long time.

”

“It was a great experience for me the three years I spent with the Decathlon team,” reflected Renger. This was his last competition as a graduating senior. “We had a really good team throughout all my years I got to bond with and have some fun with winning medals and just winning competitions.”

By: Radian Hong, Introduction to Journalism Reporter

Speech

Mathematics

Economics

A Seed of Change

Mr. Grace and his fourth period AP Lang. students plant flowers for SEL.

Student Feedback

What did you enjoy about this experience?

“I thought planting flowers for SEL was a much more organic concept than the traditional SEL, where we just sat in classrooms. It com pletely took my mind off of school. It was really fun and it allowed us to get outside and actually bond. It was really re laxing, and overall really great for our class to get to know one another. It made me feel really specific and unique to our class.”

What did you learn from this?

“I was able to get into my hobby of gardening more, and I am now applying for a job at Green Acres. It made me really want to take care of my plants.”

On March 29, AP language and composition teacher James Grace took a different approach to the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) period. Instead of following the traditional SEL powerpoint curriculum conducted by CharacterStrong, students came to gether to plant flowers in pots that they could take home.

“Something that I do with my classes is walk around and identify plants around our campus. We just get outside and look at the plants around us. This last time, I was surprised to see how few plants were blooming even though it’s spring. I just thought it would be nice to spend an SEL period on planting”, said Mr. Grace.

“My idea was to get my students to go outside and do something with their hands, and to disconnect from screens. Students are on screens all day, and some of it is school involved, but most of it is their own phones,” said Mr. Grace. “Then, everyone wonders why

they’re all bummed out, but it’s because they’re on screens all day”.

Students in fourth period AP language and composition during SEL enjoyed the opportunity to take a break from screens and classwork, and appreciate time with nature. “I liked watching students work with their hands, get dirty, and interact with nature. My favorite part is looking back at the pictures of it, and everyone is glowing. Everyone looks happy, and they’re creating something which is really cool.”

While still experimenting with making SEL successful for his students, Mr. Grace said, “I don’t know what SEL is. I’m not a therapist. However, I do know that forming relationships is an import ant part, and that’s what makes a good teacher. When you have 200+ students, it makes it very difficult to form rela tionships. In my SEL class, where I have less than 30 students, I feel like I am more connected to that class.”

RHS Junior Kat Sewell

ARE AP CLASSES NECESSARY?

ManyRocklin High School (RHS) students wonder if taking AP classes are worth the trouble. Students taking AP classes can earn college credit and prepare themselves for the rigors of higher education. However, the rigor of AP classes can come with an overwhelming workload.

Olivia Glover, a sophomore a RHS said, “AP classes are a lot more intense in the sense that there is a lot more work, it goes into much further analysis and detail.”

Olivia takes AP World History and recommends taking the class because it prepares students for the pressures of college classes.

AP World History teacher Mrs. Keniter said, “I know there are limited AP classes as sophomores, so I think AP World is a great jumping off place. Many of our students just take every AP class they can, but I think limiting yourself is the better way to go.”

RHS junior Kendall Gomes said, “The pace of an AP class instruction is faster. The whole year is leading up to an AP exam that is taken in May and the exams contain critical thinking questions.”Kendall explains that there is much more work when taking AP classes but they are great for students looking to challenge themselves.

According to Mrs. Kenitzer, “Colleges want to see well rounded students, not just a student that has taken every AP class. Enjoy your high school days, don’t stress yourself out before your even start your life.”

By: Bailee Mason, Introduction to Journalism Student

“Yes, I definitely think AP classes are worth taking. AP classes are the perfect balance of a challenge, hard work, and fun! I definitely recommend taking AP classes.”

P R

B R E

After a long school year that has been filled with many ups and downs, and constant changes due to the varying conditions of COVID-19, many students looked forward to a break from school and being able to get away after a lot of hard work. RHS student Maddie Huff said, “School has been so exhausting and draining, and I’m so done with it all.”

Some students, however, don’t mind school - but still look forward to a break. “I enjoy school but I also get tired of it,” said Rocklin Student Madi Kirby. Madi even had goals for her spring break: wanting to focus on friends, family, and volleyball. School is such a large part of all of these students lives, that they find themselves lacking the time to do extracurricular activities that they enjoy. Between school, sports, and for some- work, many students can barely find time to make for their friends, family, and some even struggle to find time to eat and take care of themselves.

Hailey Schluer was looking forward to spring break for the extra sleep and time for herself which is something she does not really get on the average school day. For those who are extremely competitive in a sport, they have late nights and early mornings. Hailey starts her day around 6 a.m everyday, and is up until roughly 11:30 p.m every night due to her cheer practices. Hailey has little to no time for a social life outside of school because of her busy schedule, so spring break will give her a chance to spend time with her friends and family, “School and cheer are the two main things in my life, I am constantly traveling for my Allstar cheer team and it is so cool being able to do what I love, but I also get really stressed trying to keep up with school at the same time.”

Though cheer can cause stress it is also enjoyable for Hailey, “I have a cheer banquet that I am looking forward to as well. I really just want this break to chill out and enjoy myself ... I don’t typically have time to hang out with friends because I’m at school then I have cheer, so I will finally be able to hang out and enjoy myself with the people I care about.”

Written and Original Design Inspiration by: Blythe Hancock, Intro to Journalism Student

Schluer

“It is competing is a lot

After

COVID-19 and not having a proper lacrosse season, the boys lacrosse team is back and better than ever. However some things have changed compared to the first two years before the virus. Both Jackson and Owen share their thoughts on how this season can be a bit of a struggle but still fun.

This year many players are getting injured from playing against tough teams. Not showing up to games and practices affects the boys on the field as a team and individually. On the other hand the team still wants to give it their all because there’s still hope.

Owen explained, “I think the season is going well, disregarding our record. I believe the scoreboards don’t reflect how we have played and how far we are coming as a team. It is different now since we are now competing in D1 so our competition is a lot tougher.”

Jackson also agreed with Owen, “The season isn’t going exactly how we hoped, but even with all the struggles we’re still going out there to compete and play as a team.”

Both of them reflect on the past seasons they played on and compared it to this year explaining why it is so different this year.

“One big difference from last year to this year is that we actually have a full season and it’s not being restricted by covid 19. Another difference is the coaches. We have a lot of new coaches this year so it was definitely odd trying to adjust to that,” Jackson said.

Owen talked about how being captain changes everything, “This year I am captain which changes the way I act and perform compared to the past three years. I was able to become captain by being voted by my peers into the position. As a captain I feel like I need to help lead among my peers and try to push forward on building a better culture with the team for the new generations of players”

Through the trials and tribulations this season has to offer the boys are still finishing this year strong with many memorable moments.

different now since we are competing in D1 so our competition lot tougher.”

The Wait Pays Off

Rocklin Students share their thoughts on Elden Ring, FromSoftware’s first RPG since 2019’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Almost three years after its announcement at the 2019 Electronic Entertainment Expo, fantasy role-playing game Elden Ring finally released on February 25, 2022. With 12 million copies sold in its first month, Elden Ring proves that FromSoftware’s challenging and exploratory gameplay formula is still in high demand.

Hidetaka Miyazaki has been directing game production at FromSoftware since

he joined in 2004, with 2009’s Demon’s Souls proving success for the company. However, it was 2011’s Dark Souls that took the world by storm with its mysterious story and notorious difficulty. Not only did Dark Souls spawn a highly rated trilogy, but it also accidently created a new genre called “souls-like,” referring to games with a similar formula to Dark Souls.

After Dark Souls III released in 2016, Miyazaki went in a new direction for

2019’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Sekiro had much faster-paced combat, and a more straightforward story and themes based on feudal Japan. Though Sekiro didn’t sell as many copies as Dark Souls III, Sekiro had great reviews and was even awarded Game of the Year 2019.

Now, with Elden Ring, Miyazaki has brought back fantasy elements such as dragons, giants and skeleton catacombs for the first time in six years. With story

help from George R. R. Martin, it’s no wonder why Elden Ring is getting the recognition it deserves.

“It’s my first time playing a Souls game, but so far it’s really good,” said Rocklin High School senior Owen Jones.

Traditionally, FromSoftware’s level designs have been linear, but Elden Ring introduces an open world into the Souls formula. There is a main path the player could stay on, but most of the map can be explored right off the bat.

“The world just keeps surprising you, and it always exceeds your expectations,” said senior Seth Strasser. “There are huge secret areas that are so cool and tucked away.”

The open-world has been perfectly adapted to FromSoftware’s gameplay and storytelling. Without holding their hand, the player is able to explore and learn the controls through trial and error. The first main boss, Margit, teaches the player that they have to react fast, and can’t be greedy with their own attacks.

I love spamming sun lasers and fireballs while they can’t even reach me...

One new feature in the game is the addition of horseback. Exploring the map is a lot easier when you have a fast horse to ride around on. The horse is also important for

“My favorite boss is General Radahn because of how well done the boss fight is. They surprised me and I enjoyed it every time I tried the fight,” said Jones.

Online multiplayer makes its first return since Dark Souls III, with both co-op and player vs. player fighting. If one finds a boss a bit too difficult, they can summon a friend to have them fight with them. On the other hand, you can fight your friends in magic or melee combat to see who’s the better player.

“Elden Ring has the best multiplayer I’ve ever played,” said senior Max Zollman. “I love spamming sun lasers and fireballs while they can’t even reach me. It’s better than any MMO I’ve tried.”

games are still a popular type of game. In this age of online-only games that are littered with microtransactions, it’s great to see a 60+ hour game be talked about as much as it is.

Written by: Ryan Barbieri, Staff Reporter

Nichols was also the youngest sports editor in the country when he worked for the Roseville Press Tribune from 1972 to 1979.

LISTEN FIRST LISTEN

THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF CASEY NICHOLS

Casey Nichols was a beloved yearbook advisor, teacher, coach, avid baseball fan, husband, father, friend, and supremely admirable human being. On February 2nd, 2022, he died in the hospital at the age of 67. He dedicated much of his life to teaching journalism to students and was named National Yearbook Advisor of the Year in 2004 for his dedication to teaching students about the importance of journalism and its intricacies.

Graduating from CSU Sacramento in 1981, then going on to earn a M.A. in Journalism in 1987, Nich ols went on to inspire many students and staff in his 36 years of teaching. He encouraged students to ‘listen more, speak less’ as well as teach them how to think critically about their news and how to find truth on their own. As an educator, he was highly respected and decorated with awards for what he taught and how he taught it. The National Scholastic Press Association recognized him with the Pioneer Award, and the JEA awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award. He was inducted into the Ball State Journalism Hall of Fame. He was also heavily celebrated by Rocklin Unified School District, receiv ing awards such as Rocklin High Teacher of the Year. Nichols was also the youngest sports editor in the country when he worked for the Roseville Press Tribune from 1972 to 1979. He educated many at Kent State and Sierra College as well.

As well as an incredible educator, Casey Nichols was an avid Bruce Springsteen enjoyer, attending over 20 concerts of his. He and his wife, Sarah, loved traveling to concerts across the country. Nichols end lessly enjoyed pursuing baseball games as well, attending games in every single major league stadium except Miami and Milwaukee.

Mr. Nichols was loved by students and staff alike due to his ability to engage anybody on a personal level, making all who shared a conversation with him comfortable and eager to listen. Whether it be journalism, politics, golf, or baseball, he had a way of making you feel respected and heard in the same way that you respected and listened to him. His commitment to teaching brought him back out of retirement when Rocklin High School needed a photography teacher. There, he was a valuable source of wisdom for the Editors-in-Chief in times when they had very little guidance, encouraging them to stay their course and making sure they didn’t let things slip through the cracks.

Yearbook staff from years past, current students, staff members, friends, and family came out on Thursday, February 17, 2022 to celebrate his life. There, many shared memories and experiences they shared with him, as well as passing on the wisdom he bestowed upon many.

Written by: Alex Bernstein, Yearbook Editor-in-Chief

Umm... What is

From controversies with a comedian, to his music, students weigh in on the

Kanye

West and Pete Davidson are currently feuding because of rumors that Davidson started dating Kim Kardashian West after they publicly split up in November of 2021. When they confirmed the rumors in February of 2022, West started publicly going after Davidson.

West made Instagram posts of text messages between them, where he would demand that Kardashian-West keep Davidson away from his children.. West released the song “Eazy-feat’’. The Game” on Spotify, where there is a line from the song that goes “God saved me from the crash, just so I can beat Pete Davidson’s ____.” Kar dashian-West is asking that West stop harassing them, but West is claiming that he just wants to see his kids and doesn’t want Pete involved with his family.

Rocklin High School (RHS) sophomore Cole Tanner thinks “Kanye West should leave Kim and Pete alone as long as he is still seeing his kids and they are safe. If anything happens to them, then he should take it to court and let them handle it. What he is currently doing is wrong.”

Jacob Kristiansen, RHS sophomore, says that, “he’s

Above: West performing at a concert covered in ... something? Below: Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian-West out on an amusement park date.

Kanye West up to?

comedian, to needing a $200 device to listen

method/madness of Kanye

right by wanting to be around his kids, but is going about it the wrong way. I saw a music video that he made where he buried a claymation version of Pete Davidson alive and that just doesn’t sit right with me. If I were Kim and Pete, I would take legal action and make Kanye stop harassing me.”

Kanye West also just released his stem player, a device that you use to dj. It has four buttons on it that single out different parts of a song. For example, you can single out the beat of a song, or just the lyrics, or the melody.

“The stem player is such a good idea but it sucks for its price. The music quality is terrible and it only works on Kanye West’s songs. It would be so much better if you

could connect it to a real speaker, but you’re stuck with something about the size of an iphone speaker,” said Freshman Ryder Henriksen.

To listen to West’s new album, Donda 2, you need to buy the stem player. His fans are pretty upset about that, accusing him of doing it for the money. In response to his accusations, West said that he only did it so that music streaming platforms didn’t take his money.

Overall, people seem to be upset with West and what he is doing right now. Is he just doing it for money and attention, or does he actually think he is doing the right thing?

Written by Cameron Gaska, Staff Reporter

Kanye West’s stem player

“...[West] says that he released it to the stem player to avoid the royalties that Apple Music and Spotify take away from the music artists, but I think he did it to force fans into buying his stem player.”

-Ryder Henriksen

Top Shots

All images captured by the PhotoJournalism students of Rocklin Media...

and introducing...

Graci Hoop, Evan Peterson, Radian Hong, Bhoomi Kumari, Destin Armstrong, Maddie Wiebe, Kacey Mickschl & Madi Kirby

We

Balancing Dance Team and Dance Studio

Rocklin

High School (RHS) dancers, from 9th-12th grade are under a lot of stress while trying to balance their busy schedules and maintain a social life.

“I think I get overwhelmed easily with both of them but that’s when I remember that the reason why I do them both is because I love dancing and that is enough motivation in itself,” said Dance Team senior, Isabella Diocson. Balancing the RHS Dance Team and being in a competitive dance studio is a challenge most of the RHS Dance Team members face.

There are many obstacles when balancing school, dance team, and a competitive dance for a studio. Taitem Allen, RHS sophomore said, “I do feel drained mentally because I’m so busy all the time, but I remind myself why I do what I do.” However, there are some positive sides to the balance of it all. “Doing it with the people you love makes it all worth it,” says Sophie

Killian who is a junior at Rocklin High. Along with being so busy, there is a time management aspect involved. Sophomore, Kaci Painter explains, “Time management is very important to me. I try to get as much done in class or in plus to limit what I have to do after school.”

Alongside Painter, Isabella Diocson also touches on the subject, “It used to be super hard to find time to do my homework…I definitely have had to learn time management skills in order to accomplish all that I need to get done.”

Although doing dance team and studio dance is a lot for these dancers, they have found ways to make it work and to continue to be happy in their day to day lives.

Written by and Original Design Inspiration by: Graci Hoop, Introduction to Journalism Reporter

The More Things Change...

Are students at Rocklin High School dress coded for how they look or is it strictly on what they’re wearing?

Rocklin

High School’s new dress code says, “students must wear secured clothing that covers personal body parts … AND... shirts must have one strap around the shoulder or around the neck ... AND ... the torso must be covered … AND ... student’s must wear clothing that maintains a safe learning environment in classes.”

The question remains however: How does the school enforce these rules?

Statistically speaking, many more female students are “dress coded” compared to their male counterparts. Discipline Tech Mr. Reynoso said that in his personal experience it is true that, “Dress coding is a female problem and not a male problem.” Female students like freshman Ariss Peterson agree that female students receive more dress coding and yet she believes, “A female should feel comfortable in her body without feeling restricted.”

Where the line of “restriction” should begin and why some students seem to receive more dress code violations is difficult to define.

Freshman Trey Spencer thinks that students receive extra attention when they make bolder clothing choices, “The most outstanding problem I see with the staff [enforcing dress code] is probably keeping the rules and standard equal for all students.

Sometimes I feel like they may pick out or are unfair to those who maybe express themselves more within their clothing.”

Students like freshman Jillian Garcia see the benefits of having a dress code however she feel that some students are picked on more than others, “I feel that sometimes [the staff] go out of their way to dress code a small little thing - and it feels like if the staff like you - you don’t get dress-coded as easily.” Students like Jillian seem to want two opposing things at the same time: they want the dress code to be enforced fairly, and they want to feel they can express themselves without feeling restricted.

Freshman Talan Peterson also believes that body type can draw the attention of Discipline Techs, “If you have a body that your features show more, I feel if you have a bigger chest or a bigger [butt] it’s easier to get dress-coded.”

Junior Graci Hoop agrees and yet, “I don’t think [the staff] do it intentionally, they are just more focused on the girls being the distraction than guys being the problem. If a girl has [a bigger chest] and is wearing the same shirt you are wearing they would get dress-coded rather than you.”

Written by and Original Design Inspiration by: Evan Peterson, Introduction to Journalism Student

Clothes NOW allowed to be worn according to the recently revised dress code

RHS is Divided When itRHS is Divided When it

Students,

staff and administra tors have mixed feelings about IXL learning at the close of the program’s first full year on cam pus including concerns about the program’s practicality and efficacy.

“Is this a short-term thing or is it a longterm thing?” said RHS math teacher Ehsan Taghavi. He expressed concern that the district would simply drop the program as soon as funding ran out rather than invest in it for the long run. “It’s not worth modifying all of your les sons to accommodate it and then just have it disappear in a year,” he said.

District leadership plans on collaborat ing with teachers and site administrators on whether or not to contin ue the program beyond the one time funds provided to address COVID-19 learning loss, said RUSD Program Specialist Amanda Bannis ter. “If it’s a short term it does require an investment to get familiar with,” she said. “As the previous teacher, I un derstand that sentiment.”

Teachers have discretion as to how they implement IXL in their classroom and if and how they modify their les sons to include it, she said.

“The way we teach math at Rocklin High school and the things that we do in our program don’t necessarily jive well with IXL,” said Mr. Taghavi. “And given that we’re already short on instructional minutes it’s diffi cult to find time to do the various assess ments and things of that nature that are required to really do the programs.” RHS math teacher Craig Waechtler also cites instructional minutes as a reason for not implementing IXL in his classroom. Standardized content is available within IXL that directly correlates with the text books adopted by RUSD, said Mrs. Ban nister. The diagnostics themselves how ever do not directly relate to that content.

Offering a different perspective, RHS ELA teacher Adrienne Tacla said that IXL has been useful in determining where students are at and practicing those tar geted skills as a class. “So for example, if I wanted to work on parallel structure, I could give the student in the past, give students a worksheet or something to

work on versus now I can see kind of real time where they’re struggling,” she said. She uses IXL as a supplemental resource to her teaching as it allows her to target individual skills in ways she hadn’t been able to before and to help prepare her students for CAASPP testing.

“IXL can be much easier for a teach er because from my end, all I really have to do is click a couple buttons and it assigns homework to students,” said Mr. Taghavi although he does not use the program in his classroom.

According to Mrs. Bannister, RUSD staff were asked to regularly use IXL in the majority of Math and ELA courses, reg ularly defined by the district as students

a diagnostic tool that then recommends skill plans to bridge student knowledge gaps as well as to reinforce current skills. All this data is available to teachers and can be used to better meet the needs of individual students and the class as a whole. Theoretically, an individual student using IXL should still reap the full bene fits of the program regardless of overall application. Since IXL was purchased for the school’s enrollment, the school is charged around 15 dollars per student regardless of whether or not they use it.

Targeted implementation of IXL for partic ular student groups is to be considered after consulting staff members. “I also use it with my English learners because we do focus on a lot of skills,” said Mrs. Tacla. “A Lot of them are not high school level be cause some of these kids are beginning speakers, and so that was helpful. So that makes me a little bit different than some of the other teachers.” Likewise, Mr. Taghavi said that there is room to implement IXL in everyday math or math sup port classes if the program is to be used in the long term.

waste arts teachers really

answering a minimum of fifteen ques tions a week based on IXL Learning’s own findings on student progress. A brief anecdotal survey on the Rocklin Media’s Instagram page revealed that most stu dents rarely use IXL. Mr. Taghavi said that few teachers he knows of in the math department use the program at all.

“This is only my first time doing it and I wasn’t super consistent,” said Mrs. Tac la. “So I think if they actually helped us, you know, sit down and look at it and everyone in the department was us ing it, it would be much more helpful.”

Although CAASPP scores are not yet avail able, “We have been able to see student grow and proficiency in targeted skills,” said Mrs. Bannister. “I don’t know that we can say that for every single student, but we have seen growth.” IXL is designed as

Mr. Taghavi also has had mixed experiences when it comes to the IXL diagnos tic with the school’s first attempt at administering it a stand out failure. “It was a very disappointing day for many teachers,” he said. “We’re here for the kids and I have kids in tears. That’s never something you want as a teacher.” Teachers were told no cal culators were allowed and it wasn’t un til more than halfway through that word came that they were in fact permitted.

“I remember vividly walking into Mr. Mar tinez’s room, his kids were testing and he tells me how are they supposed to solve this? He puts a basically calculus problem in front of me without a calculator and I was thinking, I have no way of solving it. How is this poor student supposed to?”

Mr. Taghavi said. “So I have honors level kids in tears because they’re being told that they tested fourth grade level. It’s something completely out of their control.”

Story and Design by: Radian Hong, Introduction to Journalism Reporter

“IXL can be much easier for a teacher because from my end, all I really have to do is click a couple buttons and it assigns homework to students.” - Mr. Taghavi (yes. the same taghavi.)

“...and I was thinking, I have no way of solving it. How is this poor student supposed to?” - Mr. Taghavi

Comes to IXL Learning

Comes to IXL Learning

Zachary Tweltridge

“It’s not really that bad, but sometimes it’s just, it’s a little annoying I guess.”

Jayden Folsom

“I feel like it could be helpful if we actually did it but most of the time the teachers don’t promote us to do it so we don’t end up doing it.”

Saphyre Nofuente

“The skills that they have us do are super not relat ed to anything that we do in class that does actually help in class. We don’t write in that class either. So there’s nothing with my writing skills that are helping to improve me.”

Matt Kennedy

“If you miss like a nega tive or a parenthesis, or if you don’t type it right in the submit button, then it just gets it wrong. And then you’re confused on what to do.”

Ryan Sanders

“Language arts

IXL is good, math IXL is really, really bad.”

Gavin Ronaldson

“I feel like it’s kind of a waste of time. I don’t really learn anything.”

Kennedy Owens

“It’s very stressful and the fact that they put a smart ness score to keep track of your score, it’s insulting.”

4 years ago I get a signifiscore on the IXL testing.” “Getting an answer correct earns you around 2 points, but getting an answer wrong causes a loss of around 10 points.”

“This form of testing is completely pointless and seems to simply take away from actual instruction time in class.” “It throws you into the deep end.” “I think the tests are fun to do.” “It takes time away from teachers time to teach us and makes teachers feel like they’re not trusted to do their job” “I feel that IXL was a real waste of money, could’ve used it to improve the school lunches.” “The language arts portion is fine.” “Hate IXL with a passion.” “It was a waste of time and puts teachers learning in a box.” “Haven’t used it very much in my classes so I don’t really have experience with it.”

RHS is a diverse school with students and faculty from all walks of life. Yet, the majority of school vacations center on Christian holidays, for example, breaks on Christmas and Easter. These breaks provide RHS Christan students and staff the opportunity to honor their culture/religion while balancing school and work. On the other hand, students and staff at RHS from nonChristan or non-American households must celebrate their cultural and religious holidays without the benefit of time off.

RHS Freshman Isabelle, who practices Catholicism, ap preciates the ability to have time off to celebrate Christ mas. “It’s nice to be able to celebrate Christmas with out worrying about school or sports,” Pendon said.

Contradictorily, Rishit Sharma is a Hindu RHS Junior who has had a much different experi ence because of his religion. “Recently, due to Navratri [Hindu festival of nine days], I had to keep a series of fasts while tennis was in session. This led to a matchday where it was really hot. I had to play a match on an empty stomach, which wasn’t ideal,” Sharma said.

Additionally, Sharma feels that speaking with his teachers about his predicament is challenging. “I’ve never talked to any of my teachers that there even was a Hindu festival, much less that I couldn’t participate that day because of it.” He said the cause of why he would not converse with his teachers about this dilemma is because “they’d [some teachers] have no idea what we are talking about.”

Sharma thinks one of the chief causes for this misunderstanding is that Hinduism and Christianity are very different religions, and are practiced in nations with strongly diverging ideologies. “’The prejudice of American Exceptionalism’ is why many of his teachers may not under stand his and other situations,” said Sharma. “from the start of education...you only color in sheets depicting Jesus, the Easter Bunny, etc..even though schools claim to be secular.”

Sharma also claims that RHS individuals have an extreme ly high level of ignorance, as he recalls being subjected to ignorant remarks about his religion such as “Hindus are cow worshiping hippies,” and witnessing other derogato ry remarks directed against members of different faiths.

Although having dealt with frustrating situations, Rishit agrees with the notion that teaching students and staff about different festivals and cultural practices, especially in a more enhanced method than is presently done, will lead to a more reasonable understanding of students and staff who struggle to combine culture with work or extracurriculars. He said, “It will lead

to better understanding and a better culture for everybody.”

However, some students have not found their cultural holidays and school to conflict with each other. RHS Freshman Rabia Ziyaudin, who is Muslim, said, “No, I haven’t really had any problem trying to balance schoolwork with cultural activities.”

Mr. Joshua Rubinstein is the Publications teacher at RHS and is a practicing Jew. Mr. Rubinstein has encountered conflicts between his work schedule and religious holidays in the past. For Mr. Rubinstein being a Rabbi and teacher sometimes does not go hand in hand. He said there are four major Jewish Holidays called the High Holy Days, which he has to be present in to lead his community to celebrate. He said, “Es pecially as a Rabbi, I have to be there for them. So I end up having to take time off of work.”

Mr. Rubinstein said every year, RHS teachers get a set amount of substitute days, and after that, “it starts to cost us [teachers] money out of our paycheck to get substitute teachers.” He wishes that some of our formal breaks coincid ed with his celebrated holidays. However, he knows it is not practical for every culture and religion to have their holidays off. Mr. Rubin stein wonders, however, “Is there a way for this to be something that doesn’t affect my overall sub days that I get each year?” Christan staff at RHS do not have to worry about their over all sub days being taken because of religious holidays since they often have the luxury of their holidays aligning with the official holidays.

Mr. Rubinstein emphasized that he under stands how difficult it is for students to integrate school and cultural holidays, “it makes you [a student] feel very different from everybody else...if a student is a Christian, they probably never have that sort of conversation with a teacher about their religion.” He then went on to say, “I also feel like, sometimes students just don’t know that the flexibility is there, and are afraid to approach teachers.”

Mr. Rubinstein further said that it did not make much sense to try to modify how many sub days he gets because of his reli gion. For Mr. Rubinstein, it is “...more of just accepting the reali ty rather than trying to change it… but now that I’m having this conversation with you, it makes me really think a little bit more deeply about the fact that I don’t have to accept things as just sort of ‘the fact’ or ‘reality.’ Perhaps I could do what I encour age my students to do and have the conversation. It’s possible that nothing will change, but what if there could be a change?”

Story and Design by: Bhoomi Kumari, Editor-in-Training

Non-Christian and non-American students and staff at RHS sometimes struggle to balance their education or work with their religion and/or culture.

Mr. Rubinstein leading services at his synagogue.

Rishit Sharma (right) with his mom (left)

Rabia Ziyaudin (second girl on the left()

Parking Problems

Students of Rocklin High school have struggled with limited parking spots for a long time due to the school’s inability to expand parking, and students are not happy. Much of this crisis comes from the business park across the street from the high school campus declaring there will no longer be any parking for students. If a student fails to comply with this rule, the student’s car will be towed, along with a fine they or their family will have to pay. Sophomore Sophia Dyer sums up the feelings of many students sharing, “It sucks. I sit in my car for 45 minutes before school every morning.”

Many students have to wake up extra early for a decent parking spot on Victory Lane. Juniors Jordyn Villalba and Isabeau Seipler have both said they wake up at the “crack of dawn” for parking spots each morning. “Leaving an hour before school starts to sit in the car is stupid,” said Villalba who hates that students have, “...collectively decided that waking up at the crack of dawn will get you a better parking spot.”

Though they are frustrated, students and administration don’t seem to have any solutions at present. Rocklin’s student population has a high percentage of student drivers - and originally the school parking was designed for far fewer students.

Until a solution is found, many students try to risk parking where they know they can’t and cars are getting towed and fined. Senior Claire Tew asks, “Why should we have to get fined for parking for trying to park close to our class?”

Sophia Dyer calls it a “towing crisis,” and she elaborated saying she “...[doesn’t] see why there is a problem with parking behind CVS, nobody parks behind the store.” Dyer also complained about the cold mornings and how she runs out of gas quicker to keep herself warm, “...I’m cold, tired, and miserable but hey at least I got a parking spot.”

Maddie

How students have to face limited parking spots on campus

Rocklin Student Athletes

Many times athletes forget that they must put their job as being a student first. Getting the extra reps but not finishing up your history homework is not what being a student-athlete is. The members of the varsity women’s soccer team from Rocklin High School know this better than anyone else. These athletes put in just as much work on the pitch in the classroom, which allowed for each and every one of them to keep themselves eligible to play the sport they love. Through this dedication, it is difficult not to commemo rate these athletes on a job well done.

The varsity players will be officially commemorated in Lodi, California at a SJS Board of Managers Meeting in April with a Section Banner. The team was awarded the, “Winter Aca demic Champions Award Section for the highest GPA in the Sac Joaquin Section with an unbelievable team GPA of 3.89” (Pappas). This high of a GPA just adds to the fact of how incredible it was of an accomplishment their studying was. To put this into perspective, the overall sports GPA at Sacramen to State is merely a 2.839, which includes every sport. The Alabama Crimson Tide football team’s overall GPA is a 3.90, another impressive team. First year varsity defender Jessica Trubell remarks, “I was definitely impressed and surprised [about our team GPA]”. The sophomore claims to have had to work a little more to keep her grades up. Trubell knows

“it wasn’t easy… but it was doable” Trubell has always had to work a little harder than most in school, since she is always challenging herself with difficult classes that many students stray away from. Ever since middle school, Trubell has kept a 4.0 GPA even though she was in the Key and Quest acad emies at Granite Oaks, which are the notorious GATE academies. This young student athlete is only one of the many pristine examples the varsity soccer team produced within its season.

A twitter post from the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section page person ally congratulated the team as well, saying “Congratulations to the 2021-22 Academic Champions in Girls Soccer… The Rocklin Thunder.” Underneath there is an image of the soccer team. This is a huge win for the Rocklin High School athletic program, as this school has not won an award such as this in recent years. With athletes as hardworking and talented as the women’s soccer program, it is safe to say that everyone hopes they manage to inspire others to follow in their path by becoming a true student athlete.

Story and Original Design Inspiration by: Destin Armstrong, Introduction to Journalism Student

The 3.89 GPA Rocklin High varsity women’s soccer team

Rocklin High School’s Dance 1 program finally got to have their very own dance showcase after two and a half years on March 3, 2022. Three out of four shows were sold out.

RHS Dance students, led by Mrs. Blankenship and Dance 4 student directors, were ecstatic to finally have their first showcase after two years. This showcase was a long work of progress that took lots of prep and planning, “...it’s a lot of time, casting the show, deciding which students are in which dances, determining which styles the choreographers are teaching, each student needs four costumes…”

Mrs. Blankenship also said that she started planning the show in August, “I was so excited. It’s difficult to have a performing arts class when there is no performance so it was very exciting to get them onstage and for them to know the dances they learned were actually going to be seen by a live audience. It was exhilarating.”

Through all of this preparation Blankenship’s passion and care for her students shines through. Blankenship was overjoyed about how hardworking and successful her dance 1 students were. Junior dance 1 student Maddie Wiebe who never got to be in a show due to COVID said “It was a great experience… being able to actually have a dance show was nice.”

Story and Original Design Inspiration by: Kacey Mickschl

Rocklin

High School has added a new sport this year. Varsity girl’s head volleyball coach, David Muscarella, has given the opportunity to any girl to play for Rocklin’s inaugural beach volleyball team. This allows them to still maintain consistent volleyball practice and be in shape for the indoor season if they can’t afford the club’s competitive teams. However, since it is a new program any girl that was interested had to pay for some of the costly tournaments and attire.

So far, the students are enjoying the new sport. Stella Mahaffey, a freshmen student at RHS, said, “I think it’s a lot more carefree compared to the indoor school team, and we’re definitely just having fun with it until the program starts to pick up. I’ve heard it’s been pretty easy to balance with clubs, and we don’t have a lot of people to play against so there are a lot fewer tournaments. I’m really enjoying it though, it just takes getting used to.” Since the high school doesn’t have its own sand volleyball court, the team goes to parks around Rocklin and Roseville to practice and compete. Changes between the sand and the indoor court make it not only exciting but also a little difficult for the players.

Just like the rest of the sports at RHS, beach volleyball is challenging and eventful. Freshmen athletes, Julia Bray and Emma Swank explain that “the sand is very different from indoor but super good for cardio and getting reps in.” Also, “...there are only 2 people on the court, so you really have to work much harder to win. The tournaments are really long, like 4 games of 3 sets in a row.” Though the program was a spontaneous and exciting decision, there were already other coaches ready to help the sport. Coaches Devon and Courtney

desire to prepare the players for indoor volleyball season, when that rolls around in the fall.

Seeing as this is a new sport, and the tournaments would never be a home event because the high school doesn’t have its own sand court, most of the school isn’t even aware of this athletic addition to the school, “...not that many people know about it because it’s new, but it’s a really good opportunity for people to try playing volleyball for the school who don’t want to do court season,” said Emma Swank.

She adds that even people who don’t have experience with volleyball are welcome to join. Beach volleyball is a “no-cut” sport so it allows growth in the players. This decision of the school to add this sport will not be overlooked because how much the players are already enjoying the new program.

Even though it is harder than indoor volleyball, and the practice and tournament locations are not convenient, the practice times (two times a week) are very flexible for athletes that have other extracurriculars going on in their schedule. It opens a variety of doors for success and advancement not only for the players, but also for how the program itself will evolve.

Story and Initial Design Inspiration by: Madi Kirby, Introduction to Journalism Student

I think it’s a lot more carefree compared to the indoor school team...

Editors-in-Chief

Hey! What’s up? Julia and Taylor here, your Flash Editors-in-Chief for next year!

In running the magazine, website and podcast next year, our hopes are to cover the underrated experiences of Rocklin High School.

Our biggest goal is for students to be able to look back at the school magazine in a few years and reflect on the highs and lows of their experience at Rocklin High School.

We also hope to make the magazine something that includes everyone, and students can relate to. Got any ideas for good stories? Email us! ... or you could join us on the journalism staff?

(just sayin’)

Have a great summer, Rocklin!

- Taylor Aubry and Julia McLean

More inside:

SIMON

ISABELLA RODRIGUEZ

ISABELLA RODRIGUEZ