Tornado Times December 2013

Tornado times • December 2013 1

Volume 5, Issue 2

Taking the times by storm

600 NE 13 Ave.

December 2013

Pompano Beach High School

Pompano Beach, FL 33060

BEST GENERATION YET?

Involvement peaks with club membership, service projects

Smith serves his way to top

By Shreya Aggarwal, News Editor

Ryan Smith currently leads the Class of 2014 with 843 service hours.

As a member of the post at the Coconut Creek Police Explorers for the past four years, Smith is no stranger to hard work. He is currently an Explorer Sergeant who works to “keep (the post) functioning efficiently as well as to ensure my fellow explorers enjoy their experience while learning and gaining important life skills, just as my predecessors did for me.”

The program allows high school students ages 14-17 to become educated and involved in law enforcement.

Smith has used his experience as a police explorer in different school projects.

“It has taught me invaluable leadership skills as well as responsibility, integrity, dedication, and loyalty,” Smith said.

An explosion of honor societies and clubs committed to community service demonstrates that this year’s students are more active in school affairs.

According to Interim Assistant Principal Ms. Narus, the number of clubs has nearly doubled in the past two years from 34 to 58.

“Recently students have been more inclined to make a club they are interested in, whereas in the past, they didn’t join anything if they weren’t interested,” she said.

Student Government Association (SGA) President Rakeem Ford said, “We created so many more clubs.

They all want to leave their legacy.”

Fifteen clubs have been created this year, and new clubs continue to pop up.

Established clubs have experienced an increase in members since last year.

Business Professionals of America president Madisen Farley said her club’s membership “has (more than)

This increase may be associated with the need for students to enrich their college applications.

Seniors and juniors are realizing that they need to appear versatile and extraordinary to be accepted by the college of their choice.

Mu Alpha Theta co-president Silvia Moreno said, “I want colleges to see that I can manage my time and be a well rounded student. The main drive is college applications, but (clubs) also allow me to explore my interests and expand my knowledge.”

More clubs means that more students will participate in school-wide projects and help make them a success.

A major project this year was the Harvest Drive.

Every club was asGRAPHIC BY JON GARDNER signed a specific item doubled from 25 to 52 members,” to avoid shortages. Large organizaMadisen Farley, club president, said. tions, such as JROTC, BPA, SGA, “Kids have been a lot more involved.”

NHS and Key Club, contributed the most.

The current school-wide project is Toys for Tots where each club donates toys to be used as Christmas presents for less fortunate children in the community.

Upcoming events for next year include the Sadie Hawkins Dance and Relay for Life.

“It’s exciting to see how underclassmen are taking an active role in the school community,” Ford said.

“I want colleges to see that I can manage my time and be a wellrounded student” – Silvia Moreno

News by the numbers:

By Michaela Garretson, Opinion Editor

Senior Ryan Smith participates in a traffic stop scenario last summer as a part of the Coconut Creek Police Explorers. He has a total of 843 community service hours. photo courtesy of Ryan Smith

NUMBER OF BAGS DONATED TO FAMILIES THIS THANKSGIVING

BY THE HARVEST DRIVE

95

percentage of U. S. citizens who report celebrating christmas

$2,000 amount awarded to the top silver knight winner

number of stars reviewers gave “the hunger games: catching fire”

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3,360

5

2 Tornado times December 2013

‘Falling’ into sickness:

Illness plagues students

By Shreya Aggarwal, News Editor

As winter arrives, illness follows.

Immune systems change with the temperature, and the amount of viruses in the air increases.

Science teacher Dr. Singkornrat explained that those with weak immune systems become sick and in turn spread germs to those with stronger immune systems.

“Cold viruses have so many strains that you can catch a cold easily, but that’s not always a bad thing,” she said.

She advised that students wash their hands frequently, not touch their faces, and not sneeze into their elbows since they are not washed as often as hands.

Students find it difficult to keep up with schoolwork after being absent from school for a few days.

“I missed a lot of school work and soccer,” senior Aja Bear said. “I had to make everything up.”

Sophomore Hannah Hink also missed several days due to illness. “It brought down my grades,” she said. “I have to go slower” to understand the material.

Senior Briana Bigio was home for nearly a week with bronchitis. “It was hard to get back into the daily routine,” she said.

Ms. Morton, the front office receptionist, counted 50 to 75 more students going home sick or being sent to the nurse in October than those in September.

“It’s that time of the year that the weather changes and kids go back to school spreading their germs,” she said.

Dr. Singkornrat recognized that more students missing class means she must give more time after school.

“We cannot control it,” she said.

“Teachers will make extra time for students and help students understand missed information.”

Akeesha Clarence and a parent supervisor check their list to see what items they need next. The family for which they are collecting the items will receive everything in the shopping cart.

Photo by Mitchell Horlick

Harvest Drive feeds 280 families

By Sydney Van Dreason and Sabrina Conza, Staff Interns

About 280 families had a reason to give thanks for a Thanksgiving meal because students and faculty donated to the Harvest Drive.

Beginning on Oct. 21, the Harvest Drive asked that students and faculty donate specific non-perishable items, including canned soup, cereal, pasta and napkins.

“Lots of cereal and soup (were donated),” Camila Rodriguez, sophomore class president, said. “When we finished dividing everything up, that’s what we had the most left over of.”

JROTC gathered up 12 bags per family, placed them into carts and distributed the bags to the families

who came to the school on Nov. 21. Altogether, approximately 3,360 bags were distributed that day to low-income families.

“The food they receive is not only enough for Thanksgiving, but for the entire week,” Rodriguez said.

“We hope it will let them have a happy Thanksgiving.”

The Harvest Drive exists to help struggling families and to teach children at an early age that their contributions can make a difference in the lives of others.

“Our goal was to give back to the community and give other families a chance to get together around the table and enjoy the holidays,” said Rodriguez.

Tornado times • December 2013 3

Check out www.thetornadotimes.org to answer polls and to comment on these columns and more.

Holiday cheer should go on all year That rosy-cheeked mythological image of St. Nicholas exists in all of us.

You know how it goes.

The weather gets a little colder and out come the sweaters and the checkbooks. In general, people are more willing to give toward the end of the year.

According to Blackbaud, a supplier of software and services to nonprofit organizations, such groups see 18 percent of their total charitable donations in December, more than double any other month.

The reasons for this trend are easy enough to guess.

Around the holidays, our hearts are meant to be full of joy — joy we are meant to spread through charity, not necessarily for religious reasons. While Gallup polls indicate 95 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas, only 59 percent belong to a church or synagogue.

You do not have to belong to a church to spend weeks searching for the perfect gift for a loved one or to drop your change into a jar for a bell-ringing Santa. We are all susceptible to the warm fuzzies.

Few joys are greater than knowing that you have made someone a little happier, even for a few moments.

Mia Gettenberg, Editor in Chief Ashley Voet, Managing Editor Shreya Aggarwal, News Editor Michaela Garretson, Opinion Editor Emily Solley, Features Editor Marissa Lamberti, Student Life Editor Matthew Wilson, Sports Editor Jon Gardner, Graphic Design Editor Elise Anello, Photo Editor Amy Goldman, Website Editor Mitchell Horlick, Business Manager Jesse Baker, Asst. Features and Design Editor Robert Barclay, Asst. Photo and Design Editor Graphic by Jon Gardner

And how much does anyone miss the 58 cents thrown into a collection jar?

For that matter, how much would anyone miss $10 a month to help a food bank keep going through the warmer, less charitable months?

How much would a few hours given to lonely residents at a nursing home cost? Could we all afford to spend a little less and give a little more year round?

It seems that our time and money is worth more to us after the holidays. In a modern world full of distractions, it can be easy to forget

that holidays are not the only excuse to be a loving, generous human being.

The true challenge of the holidays is not to find the perfect present or to learn a new complicated method of gift wrapping or even to manage busy holiday airports. It is to extend the joy and generosity beyond winter.

No matter the time of year, we should not need the presence of fragrant trees, long-burning candles or a hay lined cradle to remind us that there are others who suffer.

The easiest way to reduce

suffering is to find someone who is a little worse off than you and help however you can. This can be as simple as donating money, time or even just patience. How often in our daily lives do we ignore the people we pass in the store? But would we not exchange a “Happy Holidays” with them if we made eye contact on Dec. 25?

In 2014, give a little more money, time and joy whenever you can. Say “Happy Holidays” all year round, and when someone finally asks you what you are celebrating, respond: “Being alive.”

Sweater weather:

South Florida teens face danger this winter

By Jon Gardner, Graphic Design Editor

Well, it will soon be time to brave the harsh South Florida winter. With cripplingly low temperatures below 71 degrees, I have devised the official South Florida Winter Survival Guide™! The guide has been divided into three portions for your viewing pleasure: outfitting, nutrition and social networking logistics.

Outfitting In the event of a blizzard, it is important to be prepared. Whenever the temperature ventures below 75 degrees, full precautions should be taken in your outfit to prevent frostbite.

Ugg Boots are the only brand of footwear that will protect your fragile toes from devastation and the possibility of required amputation. Any other boots that cost less than $100 will provide inadequate protection from the dangerously low temperatures. Leggings, when paired with Ugg Boots, ensure survival.

Nutrition One of the most tragic situations is a lack of nutrition while braving the frozen expanse of South Florida. I have only one suggestion: five-dollar coffee. The emptying of your wallet will not only lighten your load and make transportation easier, but will provide you a vital resource: Starbucks.

The low temperatures that terrorize South Florida have been known to

completely freeze internal organs.

To prevent this, at least one cup of Starbucks must be consumed daily, especially with whipped cream. Any less expensive coffee will speed up the process of your insides freezing.

Social Networking Logistics Finally, look out for your fellow South Floridian. Among the early warning systems, Twitter and Instagram are vital tools used to notify residents of blizzards. One tweet regarding the temperature outside or a picture of your Starbucks and Ugg Boots could save a life. For those not fortunate enough to be involved in these life saving social networks, there is sadly nothing we can do.

I hope this life-saving guide will aid you in your outdoor missions this winter.

Tyler Byrd, Asst. Student Life and Sports Editor Julianne Gross, Asst. Website and News Editor Alexandra Richter, Asst. Features and Sports Editor Daniella Theodosiou, Asst. Business Manager and Opinion Editor Dr. Andrew Shipe, Adviser Staff Interns Sabrina Conza Nicolas Gallardo Max Orellana Christian Perez Tucker Storer Sydney VanDreason Tornado Times is produced by: Pompano Beach High School 600 NE 13 Ave. Pompano Beach, FL 33060 Phone: (754) 322-2000 Email: pbhsnewspaper@gmail.com Website: thetornadotimes.org Twitter: @TornadoTimes Issues in the 2013-2014 school year are planned for October, December, March and May. Tornado Times welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed. The staff reserves the right to edit letters for poor taste, libel and space.

Tornado Times is a member of the Florida Scholastic Press Association.

Advertising rates are available at estore.browardschools.com. Please contact us by email or by phone if you have any questions.

Advertising which promotes illegal products under Florida law, includes false statements or is written in bad taste will not be accepted.

The opinions in this publication are not necessarily those of advertisers, Pompano Beach High School or Broward County Public Schools.

Tornado Times earned a silver certificate in 2013 from the Florida Scholastic Press Association.

4 Tornado times December 2013

Hall of S

Erin Su

“Be selfle driven to Sarah Spardy in the com strive to s “Be passionate love of sof about what you’re girls that doing, focused, and determined to keep going even if you hit a bump in the road.”

Tornado times • December 2013 5

Silver Knights Silver Knights fight for service projects

By Jesse Baker, Assistant Editor

undook

ess and help others mmunity. I spread the ftball to the I coach.”

Eliza Hurst “Be a dedicated leader in the community. Leadership doesn’t bring anyone far without dedication.”

Five seniors are preparing projects for the Silver Knights Program: Sarah Spardy, Eliza Hurst, Emily Solley, Madisen Farley, and Erin Sundook.

“Madisen and I were already planning a project that sounded Silver Knight worthy, so we decided to go for it,” Spardy said.

James L. Knight, co-founder of the Knight Ridder newspaper chain, which included the Miami Herald, founded the Silver Knight Awards 53 years ago to recognize academically outstanding students who are also greatly involved in their community.

To apply for the program a student must be a senior, have at least a 3.2 unweighted GPA, and must be able to show long involvement in community service.

Two scholarships are offered through this program: one for the winner, $2,000, and one for the honorable mention, $500.

Students compete in 13 categories, which include art, science, social science, journalism, math, business, athletics, drama, English and literature, music and dance, new media, speech, vocational-technical, world languages, and general scholarship.

Spardy and Farley are working together on their project, a 5K race in which runners bring a toy instead of paying money; the toys will then be delivered by the Pompano Beach Fire Department to children on Christmas.

The project came to them over the summer. “We were just walking one day and came up with the idea,” Farley said. “But we didn’t want it to be like every other (5K).

We wanted to make it special.”

Hurst would like to restart Cookies for Cancer, an award-winning project that was started by a previous Silver Knight Award winner, Ashley Anastasi.

If Hurst follows through, she has the advantage of the project’s longevity. “I want to keep the legacy alive, I’m just not sure how to,” Hurst said. “I used to do it in middle school, so I wouldn’t have to start from scratch if I decided to do it again.”

Silver Knight coordinator Mr. Bankowski has been quite encouraging. “I believe everyone can do well on this, and I’m here to help in any way I can,” he said.

Though it is too late for present seniors to submit projects, Mr. Bankowski said he is always open for new people and new ideas.

Underclassmen interested in Silver Knight Awards should begin to get ideas together and talk to Mr. Bankowski. He said it’s never too early to develop an award-winning service project.

graphics and layout by emily solley photos by tyler byrd

6 Tornado times December 2013

upcoming events Jan. 6: ICC meeting Jan. 6-9: Winter spirit week Jan. 9: Winter pep rally Jan. 13-14: Herff Jones Cap and Gown

Holidays bring unique traditions “Since my mom is Christian and my dad is Jewish, celebrating both holidays is important to the different sides of my family. I’ve celebrated both ever since I was young, and it’s helped me come to respect both of the religious views.” –Chasen Bloch, 11th grade “I’m Jewish on my mom and dad’s side, so all together my family lights the menorah and gives gifts every night on Hanukkah. We use a ‘Hanukkah bush’ and ‘Hanukkah Harry’ and eat latkes together, and it really helps me keep in touch with my family’s values and religion.” –Brooke Rabinowitz, 12th grade “I’m atheist, but since my family is Catholic, I have to go to mass with them every Christmas. Although I don’t believe in the religion, it’s a good time to spend with family.”

–Jad Salloum, 11th grade

‘Catching Fire’ ignites audience

By Elise Anello, Photo Editor, and Jon Gardner, Graphic Design Editor

As the sequel to the beloved movie “The Hunger Games,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” had a lot to live up to.

Based on the popular Hunger Games trilogy, the second book in the series, “Catching Fire,” is arguably the most jam-packed and emotional.

In the movie “Catching Fire” Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark return to their new homes in District 12. As the rebellion continues within the districts, the two must reluctantly become figures of “The Capitol” and tour through each district.

Fans of the books, movies or both will feel like they are on an emotional

Check out more Student Life articles on our website, thetornadotimes.org: • BPA goes to states • Sadie Hawkins comes to Pompano

roller coaster: happy, relieved, terrified, depressed or just plain overwhelmed. Readers will be pleased that “Catching Fire” displayed the book accurately and allowed viewers to connect visually with characters and events. One could say that “Catching Fire” outdid its predecessor “The Hunger Games” because of its fast-paced and emotive tone throughout.

This movie thoroughly develops characters and relationships and continues the intensity of the theme from the books.

Jan. 16: PTSA meeting Jan. 20: No school—Martin Luther King Jr. Day Jan. 24: Faculty show

Interviews by Elise Anello, Photo Editor

“Every Christmas Eve and Christmas morning my family and I attend mass. We make sure to set up the nativity scene in our home, and we always pray before we eat; we try to remember what Christmas is really about, which is the birth of Christ and spending time together as a family.” –Briana Blankhorst, 12th grade

“Over winter break I don’t really celebrate anything; in my religion (Hinduism) our main festival passed on Nov. 3. It’s called Diwali and serves as a new year and a festival of lights.”

–Shruti Agarwal, 10th grade “Every winter break my family comes into town, and we have a big dinner and exchange gifts. We don’t go to church or anything, so it’s less about the religion and more about spending time with my family for me.” –Claudio Perotti, 12th grade graphics by jon gardner

Tornado times • December 2013 7

Follow us for sports updates on Twitter @TornadoTimes. Join the conversation and post scores, stats and photos.

Opinion: Recruiting gives opponents unfair advantage

By Matthew Wilson, Sports Editor

“Golden Tornadoes” hasn’t meant gold medals in sports within the past few years. The problem is that we cannot recruit for sports teams as our competition can.

For most sports, teams have to go against such powerhouses like Cardinal Gibbons, American Heritage and St. Thomas Aquinas. While those schools can recruit and bring in any player they want from all over, potential players can only get into this school through a lottery.

District rivals like Heritage go out and sign kids from club and travel teams that dominate the sports world, offering them scholarships to play for their team. Here, we can offer a good education, but we cannot guarantee that the lottery will fall in a recruit’s favor.

The coaches at this school have a rough time with this. The volleyball team, which made it to regional semifinals but has never qualified for states, lost to Cardinal Gibbons, which has won 19 state championships.

Most coaches and players agreed that our school is at an unfair

disadvantage. Coach Jenkins, head varsity basketball coach, said, “It’s unbalanced and unfair for the private schools to recruit, and (people) expect us to go and win games and compete for our district title.”

The baseball and softball teams also face the challenges of playing private schools in the playoffs. The baseball team finished districts as a runner-up to Heritage. The softball team managed to finish ahead of Gibbons and Archbishop McCarthy in its district before crashing 10-0 to ... Heritage.

The track and field team has been reclassified into a district that adds Cardinal Gibbons, American Heritage Delray and Calvary Christian to University School, Heritage and Chaminade Madonna. It will be tougher for individuals to qualify from districts and for regionals and states. Last year the team sent two girls to state championships and had over half the team go to regionals.

The football team had already tried to move out of their division and go into a conference with similar schools. But it ended up going 2-8 to end the year. The conference

had private and charter schools that recruited this year to improve their chances of winning. The Tornadoes, as a public school, were the only team not allowed to recruit and suffered the most, coming in last in the north division.

The soccer team has faced this problem this year, moving into a new district with many private schools and no public schools.

Some athletes like the tougher competition. Senior soccer and volleyball player Briana Blankhorst said, “When you face this competition, it makes you work harder.”

Sophomore volleyball player Tara Brannen, a transfer student from Monarch, agreed that playing private schools makes it harder to win a title.

But she also said, “When I was at Monarch, we didn’t have the same competition as we do at Pompano. It is much better to play harder teams; it makes it fun and challenging.”

However, it isn’t fair to have Pompano in districts with major private schools. The Florida High School Athletic Association bases the classification solely on number of students enrolled, yet state officials aren’t

Senior Phelan Kenyon-Jones defends against Pine Crest. The boys soccer team had a rough game, losing 4-0 against the private school.

Photo By Emily Solley

the ones playing on the field, being destroyed and heartbroken by the more dominant teams on the field.

The constant losing makes kids at our school not want to come out, and we have fewer players who want to play sports. The more private schools that come into our division and recruit talent to their team, the more likely that we will keep losing.

Quick hits Girls soccer: The Lady Tornadoes are 5-3-5, including wins against Deerfield Beach 2-0, Northeast 7-0, and Coconut Creek 6-0. Ilaria Berni leads the team in goals with eight goals.

Boys soccer: The Tornadoes are 1-8-1, defeating Coconut Creek 3-2. Senior Julian Deese leads the team with six goals.

Boys basketball: The team is 2-4, including a 73-63 win over Monarch and a 59-55 win over Coral Glades.

Girls basketball: The team is 0-11 for the season thus far. Junior Sue Ferrer leads the team in scoring.

State bound: The swimming and bowling teams made states this year. Swimming sent Julia Schulte, Bruna Pavan, Meg Collier, Courtney Stewart, Carly Ehrlich, Joe Ring, Andrew Coffey, Victor Zielinski, Kelly Schulte and Race Wilhoite. Bowling sent Robert Barclay, Brandon Sucher, Nathan Sparrow, James Shefferman, Brodie Barclay and Laurence Dugan.

Correction: In our October issue, it was incorrectly reported in “Golf teams swing for success” that the girls golf team was unable to field a full team at districts. It was also incorrectly reported that no girls advanced to regionals; freshman Kylee Mineo moved on to the regional match. We regret the errors.

By Matthew Wilson and Tyler Byrd

8 Tornado times December 2013

Do you like them?

Yes

No

Do you want them to know?

Boyfriend or Girlfriend Family

Girlfriend Boyfriend

JEWELRY

Friend

Yes

How often do you see them?

WATCH OR WALLET

No

Joke or serious?

LUMP OF COAL RE-GIFT

Joke

UNDERWEAR

Serious

Girl or Guy?

Once a year Often Girl

BAKED BATH & GOODS BODY CLOTHES WORKS

Guy

GIFT CARD OR MONEY

DESIGN BY ELISE ANELLO AND JON GARDNER PHOTOS BY MITCHELL HORLICK AND NICOLAS GALLARDO