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Review Club Day, recap the Watermelon Run and get to know Fremont’s newest teachers see pages 6 and 7
Fremont High School
the
PHOENIX
Vol. 3 Issue No. 1 Sept. 30, 2014
Staff and students leave a permanent mark
Photo courtesy of Sue Larson
by Kayla Layaoen Managing Editor
“I’m so excited,” a passing Fremont High School student said at the beam signing ceremony on Sept. 16. “History is in the making.” Fremont High School staff and students, along with district representatives, got the chance to leave their mark on the new cafeteria building that is currently under construction. During an after-school ceremony, a small group of
staff and students gathered to hear Principal Bryan Emmert talk about the new building and what it will mean for the FHS community at the beam signing ceremony. “This will connect to Fremont for years and years to come,” Emmert said. Emmert called up several different groups, including staff members, who are also alumni, ASB students and members of the district’s board of trustees, to come up during the ceremony and sign a beam.
This was then lifted and put into place in the cafeteria’s infrastructure. The beam will not be painted over and the signatures will be visible in the completed building. The money for the new building comes from the $198 million Measure B Bond that voters in the district passed in 2008 in order to fund new facilities in all 5 schools in the Fremont Union High School District. According to the district’s website, an additional $33.4 million has been accumulated to assist with this project.
Photo courtesy of Sue Larson
New school year, newly improved counseling by Juan Martinez
Assistant Arts & Ent. Editor
The new school year has brought a lot of change to Fremont, some more noticeable than others. One major alteration is the way students are organized in the new guidance system. The counselors are now in charge of different grade groups rather than in alphabetical order. Originally, the way students were organized was by last name. This year, each member of the guidance
team manages a certain grade group and follows them until graduation, with the exception of freshman. Lisa Freitas is now in charge of all freshman, and counsels all the freshman classes that enter FHS. Dan Amezquita counsels the present sophomores, Bo Buhisan is in charge of current juniors and Sandy Woosley and Sherry Fazzio, are co-counselors for current seniors. This new change was agreed upon last year during a guidance meeting to
make the process of helping all students more efficient. Throughout the years a student attends FHS, they will always have the same guidance counselor, which makes things a lot easier to understand how they’re organized rather than having them switch counselors every year. Another reason for the change is that it’s useful for the guidance counselors to follow their corresponding grade’s curriculum. It’s harder to juggle knowledge about each grade level and
each class in that grade level. Each student has a different high school experience. This new system allows the counselors to help students decide on classes that are suitable to them, rather than giving them any unnecessary classes. “Before, we would have to learn the curriculums for government, US history and world history,” Mr. Amezquita said. “Now I only have to focus on world history.” In the old system, the guidance counselors had to
be more biased on who had priority with them. Seniors had priority so they could graduate on time. Now this is not always the case. “Seniors had priority at the beginning of the year for graduation and juniors the second half, so there was almost no time for the sophomores,” Mr. Amezquita said. Just because they’re not your official guidance counselor, doesn’t mean you can’t go to any one of them for advice. Just like most of the FHS staff
students may say they seem scary but past students would say they’re all approachable. Mr. Amezquita says that past students still visit and say things like “I can’t believe you’re not my guidance counselors any more”. Students are encouraged to check which guidance counselor applies to them and maybe even drop by to introduce themselves. Chances are they would be happy to see you.
News
Sept. 30, 2014
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Islamic State of Iraq and Syria continues militant reign by Chau Nguyen Sports Editor
From Aug. 19th to Sept. 14, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria released three videos showing the beheadings of two American journalists and one British aid worker. American journalist Steven Soltoff and James Foley both went to Syria in 2013 to cover the conflicts in Libya where they disappeared. On Aug 19, ISIS uploaded a video to YouTube showing the beheading of Foley and on Sept. 2, a second video entitled “A Second Message To America” was uploaded and showed the beheading of Soltoff. In Iraq, the two distinct religious factions of Islam are the Sunnis and Shias. In the past, Saddam Hus-
We will degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy Barack Obama sein was the president of Iraq and was also a Sunni. However, he was a secular leader, meaning he was not very religious and his laws were not religiously based. Currently however, Sunni militants form a large part of ISIS because they are the minority in Iraq and are being suppressed. ISIS is known by many names, but there are three
Photo courtesy of ABC News
IRAQI security forces hold up a flag of the jihadist group ISIS
common ones: ISIL, ISIS and the Islamic State. The L in ISIL stands for the Levant. According to the New York Times, the area called the Levant is “not just Syria but also Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, and even part of southeastern Turkey.” ISIS refers to the parts in Syria that ISIS has conquered. The Islamic State is mainly used by the militants because it makes them believe the nation they are creating is politically legit and that they are the Islamic State, one that speaks for all Muslims. Their ambitions are evident in how they chose to name themselves. The purpose of ISIS
is to gain more land so they can become a nation. Because of this, ISIS militants are battling in parts of Syria, which is currently still fighting its rebels. According to the New York Times, their intentions are to have a nation stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to Syria in hopes of creating a fundamentally Islamic state. Sharia law is thought to be hardcore and extremely cruel, but in most Muslim states, the law is not taken literally and is rather interpreted. However, extremists like ISIS have taken a literal sense of the Sharia law and inflict harsh and cruel punishments. In the videos, the jour-
nalists wore orange jumpsuits and a masked man dressed in black garments says Foley’s execution is the result of President Obama’s increasing airstrikes in Iraq. These airstrikes were aimed to stomp the group. At the end of the first video, Sotloff is threatened to be killed, unless Obama stopped the air raids. ISIS uploaded yet another video showing the beheading of a British aid worker, David Haines on Sept. 14th. Titled “A Message to the Allies of America”, a clothed man similar to the first one in the videos, claims Haines will be beheaded At the end, the man threatened another British worker named Alan
Henning, unless Prime Minister David Cameron stopped assisting the U.S. with air strikes. On Sept 10., in a speech exclusive from The New York Times, President Obama stated he would allow airstrikes in parts of Syria and asked Congress to approve his plan. “We will degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy,” Obama said. On Sept. 18., ISIS created a propaganda video that departed from their usual videos with the masked man and beheaded captives. In the first video, a British man named John Cantile
explains why ISIS is fighting and what their purpose is. The video is titled “Lend Me Your Ears” and Cantile further discusses that ISIS is falsely depicted in Western media. From the New York Times, they state that many analysts believe the reason from backing away from the beheadings is because it makes Americans more reluctant to go to war and more insecure about their government. According to CBS News, as of Sept. 23, the U.S. declared aerial warstrike on the Islamic State militants on both sides of the Syrian and Iraqi border focusing on the province of Raqqa.
Students taking well to new environmental science program by Kelly Zhong Staff Writer
Advanced Placement Environmental Science class, also known as APES, is a good addition to Fremont’s science curriculum with positive responses from both the teacher and students. “APES is an interdisciplinary class,” Ben Lowell, the APES teacher, said. “That brings together things from biology, chemistry, physics, geology and a lot of different areas. It looks at the interactions between the physical, chemical and biological components of the planet and how those work together to impact living systems. We also learn about the ways humans are impacting the environment.” Moreover, students learn many things that apply directly to their everyday lives. This can range from learning which kind of light bulb to use, fluorescent or incandescent, to bigger ideas such as the drought California has been experiencing currently. Students
understand what it means to save water and how it would be helpful. “I feel like there are things in the news everyday that directly apply to the stuff we are learning in this class,” Lowell said. This sounds like a lot of material to cover within a year. Compared to the normal environmental science class, APES goes more in depth into certain topics and requires more quantitative reasoning.
I really do [recommend this class] because it makes you realize what you’re really impacting in terms of the environment Arturo Perez Furthermore, the AP test at the end of the year includes all of that material and tests it in the form of multiple choice and free response questions. Therefore, students get quite a bit of homework, about
10-20 pages of reading and note taking from the textbook weekly. In addition, students take a quiz each week, a test every four to six weeks and have other lab reports. Even though students have much to do, they don’t get overloaded in terms of homework. “As long as you get your notes done in a week I think you’re fine,” junior Geraldine Cabutotan said. “And the homework is not really hard.” As its name suggests, APES labs do not involve chemical explosions or intricate mechanisms. They generally involve living systems and the environment. The students’ first unit is ecology: How ecosystems work and how living and nonliving things interact. Accordingly, their first lab is to analyze how pillbugs respond to different environmental factors. Despite the amount of material they must cover, there are quite a number of students taking APES this year, about 96 students, split into three blocks. The
Kayla Layaoen | The Phoenix
DILIGENT APES students conducting an experiment in class.
response was surprising to the science department, especially since they were thinking the maximum number of blocks would be two. They hope to have two to three blocks next year as well. Many students took APES because of an interest in the environment and were not disappointed. “There are really small details about every cycle that you wouldn’t really know [if you hadn’t taken
this class],” junior Alexis Della said. Both the teacher and students would recommend this class to other students next year. I think [the class is] great for students who are interested in the material and who have taken lots of AP classes and want to synthesize everything together at the end of the year,” Lowell said. Students would recommend this class for similar
reasons. “I really do [recommend this class] because it makes you realize what you’re really impacting in terms of the environment,” junior Arturo Perez said. Though challenging, this class is also good for students who want to challenge themselves with an AP class for their first time because the material is applicable to daily life.
News
Sept. 30, 2014
3
Bay Area mountain lion attack The Phoenix
by Kristina Lechuga Staff Writer
A six-year-old boy was attacked by a mountain lion while on an afternoon hike with his family on the Picchetti Ranch Zinfandel Trail at the Picchetti Winery in Cupertino on Sept. 7, prompting a search for the lion and eventually leading to the capture and killing of the animal on Sept. 11. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the boy was hiking with a group of 10 people, walking approximately 10 feet in front of the other hikers. The mountain lion then jumped and attacked him, dragging the boy into the bushes by the neck and head. The boy’s father and another adult male in the group then scared the cat away by shouting. It was later discovered that as the group ran back to the parking lot for help, the lion continued following them. Though the boy sustained serious puncture wounds and scratches, he was released from Santa Clara Valley Medical Center on Sept. 8. The 65-pound male mountain lion was shot and killed four days later near the same trail, after two
1279 Sunnyvale Saratoga Rd. Room 84 Sunnyvale, CA 94087 (408)522-2400 thephxnews@gmail.com Managing Editors Ashley Chavez Kayla Layaoen
PICCHETTI Ranch Zinfandel Trail Head is closed due to the mountain lion attack.
search dogs chased it up a tree. Though some questioned why the animal needed to be killed, tranquilizing was not an option for officials due to the lion’s unusually aggressive behavior. “No one at the department wanted to destroy this animal but protecting public safety is a first and foremost priority,” the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife said in a news release. DNA samples taken from the lion’s saliva on the boy’s clothing were later confirmed to be a match to
that of the mountain lion killed. Although an estimated four thousand to six thousand mountain lions are native to rural California, it is rare for them to attack civilians, as most of them avoid humans. Since 1890, there have been only six fatal mountain lion attacks. “It’s quite rare,” Lieutenant Patrick Foy of the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife said to the Los Angeles Times. “People are far more likely to be attacked by a dog.” If a mountain lion is spotted, there are a few cau-
Photo courtesy of ABC News.
tionary measures that can be taken in order to assure one remains unharmed. According to the National Park Service’s website, it is recommended that you do not run from the lion. “Running may stimulate a mountain lion’s instinct to chase,” said the NPS. “If the mountain lion moves in your direction or acts aggressively, do all you can to appear intimidating.” It is also recommended to immediately report all sightings, encounters or attacks to a park ranger in the interest of public safety.
FUHSD’s Annual College Fair
Photo courtesy of Mrs. Jackson
STUDENTS from around the district flip through brochures of prospective colleges.
by Rachel Pena Staff Writer
It’s that time of year, where Fremont High School sponsors the annual college fair accessible to students over the Fremont Union High School District. The College Fair occurred on Sept. 14 in the large and small gyms. Both of these places were filled with parents and students looking for college opportunities and information about various colleges. Students all over the district came to FHS to visit college representatives and learn more about specific colleges. This year’s event was all possible thanks to Lorena Villagomez, the host of the college fair.
“This year over 100 colleges came to FHS to represent their respective schools,” Villagomez, College and Career counselor, said.
This year over 100 colleges came to FHS to represent their respective schools Lorena Villagomez Although, FHS was the host of the event, we had a tremendous amount of help from other schools in the district, preparing six months prior to the event. “Monta Vista high school’s College and Career
advisor was in charge of coordinating colleges that were able to come,” Villagomez said. “Other schools within the district also facilitated the event.” As a result, people who went to the event were able to meet and talk to college representatives across the country. Going to the college fair is the first step for college. Students coming to the event have various reasons why they went, either looking for opportunities for their future major and career, more information about their dream college, or simply to just browse through colleges. Not only did students come to visit the college fair, but also parents wanting the best
colleges suitable for their children. Although it is a good idea for high school students of all grades to start thinking about their opportunities after high school, the event was held more specifically for juniors and seniors to get the necessary information for the schools they what to apply to. “I went to the college fair to find out how I can better get admitted to my dream school,” senior, Pedro Flores, said. “Which is the University of San Diego to study nursing.” Others have a more distinctive goal at the event, since they have a pretty good idea of where they want to go. “I came to get to know more about Humboldt University and their science program” senior, Illiana Castaneda said. College representatives were both informative and persuasive in answering the specific questions of persistent students. “All the college representatives were super helpful,” Castaneda said. “Her persuasion made me want to go to Humboldt for their pre-medical program.” Hopefully, next year Fremont will still carry the annual college fair so that all students in the area, FHS or not, can take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.
News Editors Jasmine Salik Sonya Jindal Sports Editor Chau Nguyen Arts & Entertainment Editors Sarah Arkoh Juan Martinez Opinion Editors Melissa Parlan Tatiana Castillo Lead Photographer Priya Lee Staff Writers Sravya Bathula Margaret Bernauer Hannah Marie Butay Ariana Honavar Hiro Sarah Kacmarsky James Kanuch Kristina Lechuga Dana Nissan Rachel Pena Nazmiye Ornelas Rodriguez Essam Rao Snigdha Rayala Nicole Stibbard Julie Wi Emily Wright Cindy Zhang Kelly Zhong Adviser Stacey Stebbins The Phoenix, protected under the California Education code, is a public forum for the students of Fremont High School. The Phoenix staff will publish features, editorials, news, and sports in an unbiased and professional manner. Editorials are the official opinion of The Phoenix. Opinions and letters are the personal viewpoints of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Phoenix. All content decisions are made by the student editors, and in no way reflect the official policy of Fremont High School, nor the opinions of the administration, faculty, or the adviser. Business advertisements are accepted in The Phoenix. However, The Phoenix reserves the right to deny any ad. Those interested in running advertisements can call the Business Manager at (408)522-2400, or email thephxnews@gmail.com. Lettters to the editor and questions for the advice column, may be submitted to room 84, Ms. Stebbins’ mailbox, or emailed to thephxnews@gmail.com. Identities of those who submit questions will remain anonymous. The staff reserves the right to edit letters to conform to styles and policy. Letters to the editor will be published at the discretion of the staff. The Phoenix is the official student newspaper, and is distributed free of cost to the students. The Phoenix publishes eight issues throughout the school year.
Opinion
Sept. 30, 2014
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Flex: great concept, not well excecuted by Emily Wright Staff Writer
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LEX time is 40 minutes of work time that is spent in a classroom of your choice every Tuesday and Wednesday. While that might sound like a good idea in theory, it has not been well executed. To ensure admittance into a FLEX time classroom, students must make an appointment online, but the system is still rather buggy. Several of my peers logged into their accounts to find many practice appointments made in their account. Many students also made an appointment, only to log back in later and find that it had vanished. Another problem that some classrooms experienced was being scanned in for attendance. With students using their I.D.s, the process is meant to be fast and quick. In reality, it is anything but. The scanner used by teachers and the system to check in students can be glitchy and slow. My teacher sontimes had to scan I.D.s multiple times to get them to register in the system. Also, the program often shuts down after only scanning a few I.D.s, making the process very slow, especially if there are a lot of students in the class.
FLEX time is only 40 minutes, and while that might seem like a long time, it isn’t. 40 minutes is less than a Monday block. Some people complain that on a Monday, they barely get anything done. Then, can they be expected to get through time consuming activities, like getting caught up after missing several days of work, doing homework that is meant to take more than an hour and working on a big group project during FLEX? There was also a huge gap in the knowledge students learned about FLEX time: what to do if you don’t have a teacher to see.
Sonya Jindal | The Phoenix
The library is meant for group work, but 80 or more students are making appointments for it everyday. Even the large rooms like the library can’t hold everyone, so there will inevitably be some people turned away from the door. Classrooms are meant for talking to the teacher, solving problems, or get caught up in that class. But where do you go when you want to do quiet, independent work? Apparently,
New late policy: uneffective by Nicole Stibbard
Staff Writer
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the Shannon theater and the small auditorium are two options. However, that has not been well advertised. What if you have a lot of problems in multiple classes? Since students are not allowed to move to another classroom after FLEX starts, students that are truly struggling cannot get help in multiple areas, while sometimes, problems may take all the 40 minute of FLEX, some problems may be solved very fast, giving the student 20 or 30 minutes stuck in that classroom when they could be getting more help. Since part of the reason FLEX was created was to give more time to help struggling students, this seems like a major oversight. Some students have extremely full schedules and cannot visit a teacher for thirty or forty minutes after school. It is clear that FLEX has been bogged down by many problems. Despite that, FLEX time is here to stay.
s of this year, Fremont High School has decided to further enforce their late policy. The policy has not changed in about eight years, according to Mr. Ochoa, the dean of students. They’ve integrated a new automatic email that is sent out to all parents with an infinite campus account. No matter what form of tardy or absence, your parent will get an email informing them of how many unexcused tardies or absences you’ve had recently, but they do not disclose the class or day. A majority of students would agree that one of the things we fail at is being on time. Now we’re not saying we should be excused for being late but with all that’s on our plate as students, it’s not a surprise that it’s a common reoccurrence. After a day with multiple classes, an hour or so of homework for each of these classes, extracurriculars and sports, you’re bound to end up going to bed relatively late, making it difficult to be on time the next morning. Rushing to finish homework before class, since we had little time the night before and wanted to get at least six hours of sleep in, is something none of us ever want to do but it definitley happens on more than one occasion for all of us. This makes for more of a stressful morning, putting more pressure on being on time to our first class. Also, we’re told that we should be eating a healthy, full breakfast each morning and still arrive at 7:35 am three days a week, if you have a first block. Due to our packed schedules the majority of students go to bed around 12:00 pm to 1:00 am, leaving us with five to six hours of sleep on early days, which isn’t enough for teenagers to fully function the following day. According to the Sleep Foundation, teenagers need eight to nine hours of sleep to function at their best because of our
developing and growing bodies. Typically when you’re without breakfast and sleep, you lack the energy you need to focus and participate in your classes. Of course, no matter our schedule or lives, we should be on time. It’s part of our job as students. But, there are changes that could be made that could prevent the typical late student rather than just a detention as a consequence. With this further enforcement, in a way, it manages to put more strain on us. Many parents are sticklers when it comes to their child being on time and studious, so even getting one email about one tardy will result in getting a half and hour long lecture about why we should never be late. Also, with the new policy, when we’re late four times in one week, and we manage to miss Friday morning detention for these tardies, we’re now required to go to three lunch detentions. So instead of getting another detention, adding up to two, we now get three of our short breaks from class taken away. Of course if these tardies are from being late to a class after passing periods, we most likely deserve these lunches or mornings taken away, but in certain cases, mornings are a different story. Being a high school student in itself is difficult enough and we’re expected to be on time every single day and if we’re not, there are repercussions that take away our mornings or lunches, which aren’t very long to begin with, makes our school life’s all the more stressful.
The naked truth: celebrities’ privacy violation by Sarah Kacmarsky Staff Writer
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ou’ve probably heard the story a thousand times: someone sends a naked pictures of themselves to another person and they spread everywhere. In the past few months, celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence, Ariana Grande and Victoria Justice have had nude pictures of themselves leaked on the Internet. Even though Grande’s pictures are allegedly photo-shopped pictures of someone else, she still received hateful messages along with the other victims. A typical assumption in this situation is that they sent the picture to the wrong person, but in this case, the photos were stolen from each celebrity’s personal iCloud account. The celebrities are not the only ones at fault here. Yes, they did take the pictures of themselves, but they have every right to do so. Since they are over the age of 18, it is not a felony as it would be if they were minors. If the celebrities want to take naked pictures of themselves, they should be able to. Who are we to
degrade them for having that kind of confidence? I’d say the most blame should go to the hacker. They took the time to find the celebrities’ account information, steal the pictures and exploit them online. Kalea Morishima, junior, thinks that the person who took the pictures is at fault. If they don’t want the pictures out, they shouldn’t take them. History teacher Mo Clark states that the hacker and the people looking at the photos are at fault a because they provide a sense of demand. Since the people in the naked pictures are so well known, they have more of an audience. Looking at the different reactions between female celebrities and male celebrities are a true example of society’s double standard between men and women. Celebrities such
as Calum Hood and Dylan Sprouse have had naked pictures of them leaked online but neither of them received anywhere near the amount of criticism that the female celebrities faced. Women tend to face more criticism whether it’s from their fashion sense, appearance or personality. I don’t believe that taking a naked picture of yourself, with no intention to send it to anyone, makes you a “whore” or a “slut.” However, a male celebrity undergoing the same situation receives comments admiring his “confidence” or “sense of humor.” Like Morishima stated, leaked pictures should be treated the same for all genders. Celebrities are human, too, and they should not be judged. Regardless of who you are, you have every right to take pictures of yourself. However, if you trust someone other than yourself with your pictures, then you face the consequences. But in the end, it’s not like we don’t know what a human body looks like.
Sarah Kacmarsky | The Phoenix
Arts & Entertainment New iPhone 6 sizes up to competitors
Sept. 30, 2014
5
by James Kanuch Staff Writer
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are here with a new set of upgrades, improvements and subtle tweaks shown in detail below. Both new iPhones are available to the public through carriers such as Tmobile, AT&T and Verizon.
Photos: The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus come with an improved camera to take better pictures, bigger panoramas and digital stabilization where you can take photos and videos while in a moving car, bicycle, etc. with no problem. A new photo option also allows you to take burst photos of 10 to more pictures (which you can also use for selfies.)
Video: The improved camera allows you to take beautiful videos at 1080p. Also, you can record videos in slow motion at 240 fps and there’s a time-lapse video option included.
Photos Courtesy of Apple.com
Size: The iPhone 6 has a 4.7-inch screen size while the iPhone 6 Plus is much bigger with a 5.5-inch screen. The current iPhone 5S has only a 4-inch screen. The iPhone 6 also has a slimmer width of 6.9 mm, and the iPhone 6 Plus has a width of 7.1 mm. The iPhone 5S has a width of 7.6 mm. Apps are also being updated to fit the larger displays. Any apps that aren’t updated to fit, will automatically adjust to the larger display thanks to the new iPhone’s desktop scaler.
Photos Courtesy of Apple.com
Celluar: Calls are clearer sounding and you can call over wifi if your cell reception isn’t good. Cost: The iPhone 6 is priced at $199 for 16 GB, $299 for 64 GB and $399 for 128 GB. The iPhone 6 Plus is priced at $299 for 16 GB, $399 for 64 GB and $499 for 128 GB.
Sound Off Quotes The girl’s restroom in the 150s wing has had problems since my freshman year. I would like to see locks on all the stalls and a working hand dryer. Junior Nisha Jagota
I would like more time to get ready in the morning. Freshman Vivian Tran
iOS 8: The new operating system comes preloaded to every iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The new features of iOS 8 include a new improved messaging app where you can share audio messages, photos, videos and your location. The messages app allows you to use it one-handed with a controller in the corner to scroll through messages. The keyboard is also improved, having separate keys for copy and paste. The keyboard also plans to take advantage of landscape. Other features include a health application that keeps track of your health through a motion processor. Also, Touch ID, a fingerprint scanner on iPhone used for security reasons, can now be used to protect other apps. iOS 8 is now free to download for other devices, namely the iPhone 5 generation phones, iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad with retina display, iPad mini, iPad air and iPod touch 5th generation.
“If you could change one thing about FHS, what would it be?” It always smells bad in the bathroom and half the time the toilets don’t work. Sophomore Marco Bostron
If we had cleaner bathrooms, I wouldn’t dread going to the bathroom at school. Students shouldn’t have to worrry about going to the bathroom at school. Senior Neeja Patel
If I could change one thing about Fremont High School it would be to improve relationships between staff and students and between students and students. I think that if we supported each other more, thenwe would have a better school. Special Ed Teacher Stefanie Durich
Special Feature 6
Sept. 30, 2014
un R lon e m r e t a W
Back sch
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SENIORS Clay Rivera, Miguel Ortiz Ashley Chavez | The Phoenix
PHYSICS teacher, Michael Amarillas, directs runners to the
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STAFF members and various volunteers prepare
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SENIORS Bryan Apodaca and Tristan Barragan support each other
SENIOR Eldar Rastoder keeps a good pace as he contin-
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Back-To-School-Rally
b u l C Day
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Special Feature
Sept. 30, 2014
k to hool
7
Block:
1
Date:
9/30/14
Name:
Teacher VonTeacherson
Essential Question: Who are Fremont’s newest teachers?
Ms. Zamkinos
Mr. Summers
Ms. Zamkinos teaches the courses Story & Style and World Literature. In her life she has moved about 27 times around the country, from New York to Ariz. She loves to travel; she has been all around the world, and wants to continue experiencing new sides of the globe. She has always wanted to become a teacher ever since she was in the 3rd grade. As a teacher she aims to teach not only academic skills but life skills too. She wants to encourage students to go out into the world, achieve their goals, and become who they want to be. Ms. Zamkinos praises students at Fremont for being active, involved and helpful to one another.
Mr. Summers is a World History and US History teacher. He grew up in Norwalk, a suburb of Los Angeles and has spent the last seven years teaching in Southern California. During college he discovered that he wanted to become a teacher, and had always found the history of economics to be interesting. As a teacher he wants students to succeed and to be interested in learning about history. He hopes to teach students how to make goals, meet those goals and do the best they can. So far, Mr. Summers is impressed with the helpfulness and kindness that the students and staff of Fremont have shown him.
Ms. Thomas
Ms. Aschenbach
Mr. Agredano
Ms. Thomas is a geometry teacher at FHS. She grew up in Modesto, Calif. Since she was a kid, she would help her friends with their homework. She has always wanted to be a teacher. Outside of school she has fun as a girl scout leader. When she is teaching she tries to keep her students positive and wants them to have fun and be goofy. She also encourages perseverance in her students. So far she loves Fremont’s community and students, who she describes as animated and outgoing.
Ms. Aschenbach is a special education teacher who teaches gateway and a therapeutic elective class. She is from Chicago, Ill. She first majored in accounting, but later decided to become a teacher. Her inspiration to enter education was a three-year-old autistic girl named Rachel, who she taught for her part-time job. She believes that teaching means creating solid relationships with students, impacting their lives, and offering them support. Ms. Aschenbach finds FHS students to be very courteous and respectful and so far is loving teaching at Fremont.
Mr. Agredano teaches Environmental Science. He grew up in Visalia, Calif., located in the central valley. When he was younger, he liked learning and school, and eventually became interested in becoming a high school teacher. He feels that through teaching environmental science, he can help students benefit themselves, the planet and the future. As a teacher he believes that every student has some knowledge of the world that he or she can share with others, and the teacher is not the only one who is teaching in the classroom. Mr. Agredano likes Fremont for its diversity, positive energy, and great staff.
Ms. Dalton Ms. Dalton, an American Literature and Lit/Writing teacher, grew up in Philadelphia then moved to Chicago. When she was younger she wanted to become a farmer or veterinarian, but eventually went into geology. She found that being a geologist was isolating and did not feel that it was for her. When she started teaching, she knew that it was her passion. She feels that she is doing something of value every day by helping students learn and understand things differently. Currently, Ms. Dalton is still getting used to Fremont as it is much different from the smaller school she used to teach in. However, she is enjoying it here at Fremont, and she feels that FHS students are down to earth.
Arts & Entertainment What is everyone wearing this fall? The Girls The Guys
Sept. 30, 2014
8
The whole purpose of a beanie is to keep your head and ears warm, but most guys wear them when their hair doesn’t look good, or just to add color to their outfit. Beanies come in variety of colors and designs.
An everyday look can be completed with an infinity scarf around your neck. . On top of a plain white t-shirt or a flannel, a scarf adds more color to any outfit.
A cardigan or sweater will keep you warm on a rainy day. They come in unique colors and cool designs which make them different. The most popular sweater colors are black, grey and white.
When wearing a hoodie you will feel like you are at home playing Xbox and just relaxing. The hoodie will need to match those dark jeans and those grey shoes you picked out, but most shirts and jeans fit with any kind of hoodie. Some hoodies have different designs and logos on them.
Jeans and leggings are one of the most important articles of clothing you will need this fall season. They match with a black shirt or even your favorite grey jacket.
Start the season with a brand new pair of boots. The boots will protect your feet from the cold weather. They bring your everyday styles to a comfy look.
Kristina Lechuga | The Phoenix
These items will make your fall season memorable.
High tops, Nike, Vans, Converse and way more. Most guys like high tops, Nike and Vans because they look better than a plain, old shoe. The color of your shoe matters the most to your outfit, so your shoes need to match the colors and your personality.
Spanish teacher John Musser hits the snowy slopes by Hannah Butay Staff Writer
John Musser teaches Spanish 1 and 2, yet his profession came as no surprise to his family. “My parents and grandparents told me that, as a kid, I always wanted to play teacher,” Musser said. “Whenever my friends were over...I’d give them handouts.” Before becoming a teacher, however, Musser was a professional skier and later a ski instructor. He started skiing when he was only five years old. Musser began to compete when he was 12, and went pro when he was 16. At the age of 18, Musser became a fully certified ski instructor and earned his first job in Alta, Utah. Due to the seasonality of skiing, Musser spent some time in South America. While it was summer in the northern hemisphere, Musser was in the southern hemisphere, where it was winter. There, he learned Spanish from hearing the way people spoke and
acted around him; infact he believes that is the best way to learn a language. South America is also the place where Musser decided he wanted to be a teacher in a more official environment. “It was actually a suggestion that came from some [ski students],” Musser said. “They said, ‘You’re such a great teacher. We really recommend that you consider teaching in a school setting.” Musser earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Utah and got his masters degree at Stanford University. He changed his major in college to Spanish after deciding that he wanted to be a teacher. When he was 36, Musser retired professionally as a skier due to the need for a more stable job and the effect skiing had on his body. “Most athletes, around 35 years old, just look to take it easy,” said Musser. Musser’s hobbies include music, specifically the keyboard and bass guitar. He enjoys going to live
Photos courtesy of John Musser
concerts and has an interest in winemaking. He goes to vineyards on occasion and does some wine tasting. An athlete himself,
Musser is also very proud of Fremont’s athletic department. “I really want to see them succeed, and I think
that they do,” said Musser. His personality in class is often serious and strict, but outside he is more laid back and easygoing.
“I’m all business in the classroom, but I’m really any normal guy outside of class.”
Arts & Entertainment 9
Sept. 30, 2014
The Maze Runner runs from book to the big screen by Essam Rao Staff Writer
3 out of 5 An enormous maze. A group of 10 to 20 year old boys like the ones from “Lord of the Flies.” Biomechanical monsters. Combine all these things with an episode of “Lost” and you get “The Maze Runner.” Based on the New York Times best-selling book from the mind of James Dashner, director Wes Ball debuts his first film. It is the first part to an epic trilogy. “The Maze Runner” does as well with intense action scenes and superb visuals, but fails to provide something new, as more and more young-adult novel adaptations with similar storylines hit theatres. The film jumps right in as the main protagonist, Thomas, played by Dylan O’Brien from “Teen Wolf,” finds himself rising quickly in a freight elevator. As the doors open, he is surrounded by a group of 20 or so boys who call themselves “gladers.” The gladers are a tightly knit community who have managed to survive together as best as they could for over three years. Each month, a new glader is brought up, with no memory of the past whatsoever, aside from their name. All they know is that they have to get out. The first glader ever to be brought up was Alby, played by Aml Ameen. He introduces Thomas to what they call the “Glade.” The Glade is a large expanse of land where the gladers reside, surrounded by a four impeccably high concrete walls, which are all encircled by the enormous, constantly changing maze. The doors to the maze stay
ACTOR Dylan O’Brien plays Thomas.
open during the day and close before nightfall. During the day, they have “runners” who explore the maze and attempt to map it. They must make it before the doors close or otherwise survive a night in the maze, which no one has ever done. Within the maze are “Grievers,” giant, boyeating creatures that fiercely protect the maze. With a title like “The Maze Runner” you would expect some running and Ball does not disappoint. The intense, nail-biting action scenes are really what set the movie apart from similar films like “The Hunger Games”. The running sequences are filled with excitement, keeping the audience at the edge of their seat. Ball also provides
Photo Courtesy of collider.com
stunning visuals. The mostly teenaged cast provides a new, refreshing set of actors who all play convincing roles. Newt, played by Thomas Sangster from “Game of Thrones,” provides some comic relief as the witty, second-in-command who guides Thomas throughout the Glade. The first girl ever among the gladers to ever be brought up is Teresa, played by Kaya Scodelario from “Skins.” Her arrival makes the film much more interesting, providing more ideas as to what was going on. “The Maze Runner” does a good job of keeping the audience entertained, but it lacks some originality. In a post-Harry Potter world, too many studios are trying to make the next
Get a slice or two at Giovanni’s by Tatiana Castillo
Assistant Opinion Editor
5 out of 5 Giovanni’s New York Style Pizzeria is a hole-inthe-wall restaurant located next to a liquor store at the entrance of Lakewood Village in Sunnyvale, Calif. Walking into Giovanni’s can be overwhelming because of how crowded it is, which is both good and bad. Good, because a crowded restaurant is usually the sign of a tasteful restaurant. Bad, because it probably means there’s a long wait. A couple minutes of waiting gives the opportunity to observe the physical appearance of the restaurant. Giovanni’s is a good sized place and is separated into two large dining sections that are distinguished
apart by a wall of older Italian paintings. Despite the plethora of people, the restaurant manages to give off a relaxed and soothing vibe. Waiters and waitresses are dressed more upper-class casual, which provides a sense of comfort and neutrality because it is obvious that you don’t need to be a baller to enjoy a great taste of Giovanni’s. The tables are properly sized and spaced, which does not make the environment as frustrating as it could be due to the amount of people. After about five minutes of admiring the peaceful scene of the restaurant, a table was made available. The hostess was not rushing or quick about her ways, which made it possible to slow down into a more relaxed pace. She pulled out a seat and set down a menu, then encouraged a good experience at Giovanni’s.
For $16, a small cheese pizza with sausage, pepperoni and Canadian bacon was the dish of choice. Cold refreshing water was brought to the table right after the order was placed. Ten minutes after ordering, a generously sized pizza came delivering a mouth-watering smell of the beautiful pizza placed at the center of the table. The steam rolling off of the pizza made it so difficult to wait for it to cool down. Giovanni’s pizza topped every other pizza parlor I had ever been to, which is high appraisal because I’ve been to quite a lot of pizza places. My pizza was devoured in a quickness and my stomach was left warm and satisfied. Giovanni’s is a great restaurant to try, and try again, because it truly delivers a satisfactory experience.
Photo Courtesy of jamesdashner.com
“Hunger Games.” Youngadult novel adaptations always follow a similar storyline: A young teen who thinks differently from the others and finds him/herself in a post-apocalyptic, dystopian future.
Also, the movie fails to answer most of the questions, and focuses more on setting the stage for a sequel, leaving the audience almost more confused than they already were. With other films like
“The Giver” and “Divergent,” it’s getting harder for youngadult novel adaptations to become more distinct from one another. It may not be the next “Hunger Games,” but it is worth seeing.
A new dancer teacher in town by Ariana Honavar-Hiro Staff Writer
New school year, new Featherettes and a new coach. The dance team at Fremont is always working hard to put on a good show for students whether at rallies or at games. A new coach means new routines, workouts and ideas. The dance team has already had some performances and they now know what it is like to work with the new dance coach Lauren Irwin. “I like having a new coach. It is good that she wants to allow all the dancers to have a chance to stand in front during a performance. This was not really the case last year.” Wenting Zhang said. Being able to be seen by the whole school and have people cheering for you is a fantastic experience and is made even better because all the dancers get a chance to stand in front. Having a new dance coach can mean several thing for the team. “Something I really like about coach Lauren is that she is really punctual,she always let’s everyone out of practice on time and tries her best to schedule everything.” Zhang said. Zhang also said that she was optimistic about this year. With
Photo Courtesy of collider.com
homecoming right around the corner the dance team is hard at work practicing for the rally and game. Though the dance coach changed, the Featherettes still perform even better than they did last year. Though changing coaches could be hard for the dancers, Zhang said the transition was smooth and she said this really showed when practicing for their first performance. The Featherettes are an important part of Fremont and this year will be a great year for the dance team.
Sports
Sept. 30, 2014
10
Renovations of weight training room give a better grip by Melissa Parlan Opinion Editor
Fremont High School’s weight training room, located underneath the home bleachers, underwent major renovations this past summer, which were mostly planned out by football varsity coach, Jake Messina. Prior to last summer, the old weight training room was cluttered and crowded with a choppy setup and presented obstacles for efficiency for groups and teams, such as the football program. It is estimated to have been the exact same way since 1992, when the even older weight training room was moved during the construction of the dance studio to its current location. “The old weight room was so difficult to run a strength and conditioning program,” Messina said. “It was, ironically, weight training unfriendly. I knew something drastic had to be done.” So Messina got to work, visiting and observing other schools’ weight rooms and other weight training locations that have gone through recent renovations. He took into consideration the layout and new equipment that
was brought in. Then the repayments began, being paid for by $35,000 dollars in donations through gofundme. org and the rest by Fremont’s Athletic Boosters. Now the upgraded weight room is equipped with slightly used Stanford machines and weights. This equipment was sold to Fremont from a third party at a deep discount, making for an approximately $50,000 renovation actually cost about $15,000. “What we did was addition by subtraction,” Messina said. “We took equipment out and created more space down the middle where people can do Olympic lifts, as opposed to tripping over stuff.” The most noticeable machines walking into the room are five power racks, with moveable benches and adjustable compartments. These multi stations allow a wide variety of exercises and optimal efficiency. Most of the old and heavily used metal weights have been replaced with Olympic grade, polyurethane weights. Not only is this type of material virtually unbreakable, but also has a better handling grip and feels better than holding harsh,
dirty metal. “The beauty of it all is that not only does the new room look nice, but it’ll also last longer,” Messina said. “Everything we bought is almost impossible to break.” Messina and the renovations team intended to remove the old and unused showers at the furthest part of the weight room and replace it with more workout space. However, due to economic and safety issues, the district board did not want to fund or do that. As of now, it is set up with a partition, using the space and a storage room for extra weight and equipment. Many other sports teams on campus have been noticing and training in the new weight room. Even teams that didn’t normally use the room due to it’s previous condition, have been making their way and taking advantage of the improvements. The new weight room has been most beneficial to the football team. One thing that separates this year’s team and the time when De Monnor ran the program was the usage of the weight room, which proves to improve the team tremendously with conditioning. “I think the new
Melissa Parlan | The Phoenix
NEW Stanford equipment in weight room ready to be used by the football team and various fall sports.
weight room is awesome,” senior Jeremiah Holbrook said. “I feel like it’s helped me as a player because at the time De Monner ran the program, I wasn’t as physically in shape I am now, due to the lack of utilities. Previously, the weight room was a place open to students, regardless of being on a team or not for use under the supervision of Chuck Herrera. However, Herrera isn’t available to take over that paid shift and the Athletic Program is having trouble
finding a fitting and responsible adult to take on that roll. “Without adult supervision, there is a huge risk of a major accident and liability for students to freely use the weight room,” Messina said. “We want to eventually open up the room for the student body, it just requires somebody to take on Chuck’s job.” As for the future, the athletics department would like to eventually build a full-sized and equipped weight room, much larger than the cur-
rent one, but the newly renovated one is a more than excellent first step. When it comes down to it, the renovations were for the students. “It’s a bit disheartening to know that some FHS students compare our facilities to other schools’, like Monta Vista’s and Cupertino’s,” Messina said. “Now with more of an improved weight room, students here can start to take pride in it and where they come from.”
New trainer ready to prevent athletic injuries and stress
Assisting coaches and athletes on campus for 20 hours a week by Priya Lee
Lead Photographer
Fremont High School is kicking off the year with many sporting events–and many possible injuries. Luckily, Fremont has a new athletic trainer to help prevent and treat sports injuries. Mary Rhatigan is originally from the Bay Area. She went to school in St. Louis, Missouri to study to become a trainer.
Hopefully I can get people back to play their sport and get them into good shape so they’ll be less likely to get further injured.
Mary Rhatigan
While preparing to become a trainer, Rhatigan went to school for five years to get her masters degree. She also spent the last two years doing clinical rotations. She spent a semester working at a high school, a semester at a Division I university and a year at a Division II university. She
just finished school in May, so working at Fremont is her first official job. Even though she may be new to the job, many coaches are grateful for her presence. “She’s done a good job,” football coach Jake Messina said. “She does a good job helping the guys with injury prevention, she does a good job with treatment and she’s organized. In that way she’s very similar to the gal we had before, who did a really nice job.” The athletic trainer last year had to leave to take care of her growing family. Rhatigan has many hopes for the upcoming year. “Hopefully I can get people back to play their sport and get them into good shape so they’ll be less likely to get further injured,” Rhatigan said. Rhatigan is working towards her goal by being on campus from 2:30 to 6:00 every school day, as well as attending every football game. Even though she is frequently on campus to help athletes, one of her least favorite parts of the job is that it is only part time.
“My least favorite part of the job is probably having to turn people down for things because it’s only a 20 hour position and I just wish there was a little more time to get things done,” Rhatigan said. “It’s hard if I don’t have as much to time to help everyone as much as I would like to help.” Helping is something that Rhatigan loves to do. As a high schooler, Rhatigan played tennis and softball and she knows what it’s like to be an injured athlete. Her own experiences are what made her want to become an athletic trainer, but she also has other reasons for wanting to become a trainer. “I have always found the body and how it works really interesting,” Rhatigan said. “I like engaging with athletes and I couldn’t picture myself working behind a desk every day. I get to be around people that I love being around and help to get them back to the things that they love to do.” Many athletes and coaches appreciate her and think that having an athletic trainer is a really great thing for the Athletics Department.
Priya Lee | The Phoenix
ATHLETIC trainer Mary Rhatigan prepared to check any injuries during the first home football game.
“It’s just really important to have [a trainer] and I’m really glad the district
makes it a point of emphasis to make sure that every site has one,” Messina said.
“Because without one, we’d have a real problem on our hands”
Sports
Sept. 30, 2014
11
Ranking top ten in meets by Nazmiye Ornelas Staff Writer
The Fremont Firebirds varsity girls cross country team has started off the season with two meets, placing top ten in both meets. On Sept. 20, they received third place as a varsity girls team out of more than 70 high school at the Lowell Invitational at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, each receiving a third place medal. Also, the girls placed seventh place out of 48 schools that competed at the Earlybird Invitational meet in Toro, Salinas, on Saturday Sept. 6. Fremont sent 22 Firebirds to participate in their first meet of the season. According to the Monterey County Weekly, the Earlybird Invitational is the Central Coast’s second largest high school invitational. Scoring for the meet is based off of the top five girls or boys for each division. The times are added up and the lower the times add up to, the higher the team is ranked. Juniors JJ Escalera and MacKenzie Cox received second and 12th place out of the 200 junior girls. Sophomores Kate Everhardt and Lauren Meier came in 25th and 28th
place and freshman Brenda Blanco received 55th out of the 200 girls she competed against. Escalera received sixth place out of the total 700 girls that participated at Toro. “I think I did well at Toro, especially congratulations to JJ for getting second in our race,” Cox said. “Overall a good start to the season.” This season’s varsity girls team received seventh in Central Coast Sectionals. CCS is where athletes from different leagues go to compete against one another, a level before state. Last year the girls came in eighth. “We have a lot of good incoming freshman this year with a lot of potential,” Escalera said. Although the girls have begun the season to a great start, they will also have to do a lot more training in order to improve. “I think improving this year is going to take a lot of patience. I’ve worked hard this summer to build a good base so there is no need to do high mileage,” Escalera said. “I need to focus on quality workouts that I can learn from mentally and physically.” The cross country team
runs over two- three miles some days, and does many workouts such as neighborhood runs and different types of circuits. Circuits include running laps around the track and using parachutes. Parachutes wrap around the waist and are meant to run against the wind to make it harder to run and help one run faster. “The workouts help me push myself, and improve in running long distances without getting tired,” Blanco says. Although not too many people are very fond of running, the girls have very good reasons to support why they enjoy the sport so much. “I enjoy running because it is a metaphor for life,” Escalera said. “You get what you put in. When I work hard and win a race or set a new record, it shows me that hard work is the key to getting your goals in life. Running helps me apply hard work in other aspects of my life such as school.” “I enjoy running because as one of the old XC t-shirts says, ‘Life seems short, running makes it longer ’,” Cox said. “Also because it relieves stress,and helps me not feel like a slug after school.”
New coaches set behavior by Cindy Zhang Staff Writer
As athletes return to the fall season, the varsity and junior varsity girls return to the volleyball court to find Coaches Tiffany Anderson and Olivia Thomas Anderson is the varsity coach for the team. She has some experience as a girls volleyball coach from coaching at Aptos Middle School in Daly City a few years back. In high school, Anderson played as a back row specialist, or libero. So far, Anderson is optimistic about the season’s progress. “I think the season’s going great,” Anderson said. “We have fabulous athletes, great girls who all work very hard. I’m really happy with the Fremont volleyball team and players. I think the season’s going very well.” Despite the varsity girls’ loss during their first home game on Sept. 16th against Pinewood High School, Anderson immediately helped the team get back on their feet. “I think Coach Tiffany is a lot more encouraging than our coach from last year,” Alexandria Tan, a junior on the varsity team, said. “She works really hard on our team-building, and her positivity really helps us come together as a team. I feel like Coach Tiffany will help us do much better this year than we performed last year with our old coach.” Thomas is the new JV coach. As a former volleyball player, Thomas played in high school and at Sacramento State University. Thomas coached at an area league team, Eclipse and due to her success in leading the team, her director recommended Thomas to be the coach for the new coach.
So far, Thomas is very satisfied with how the season has been going and is in high spirits for upcoming games. “My expectations for the season are really high,” Thomas said. “I’m super excited because the season’s been going great so far. There’s been so much improvement happening so quickly that I’m really optimistic. It’s nice to see everyone excelling.” Thomas defines a successful season as one where everyone learned a lot and at the end of it all, had a lot of fun. “It seems like that’s happening, so I’m happy,” Thomas said. According to some of the returning JV players, Thomas is a bit more serious and focused on honing their strength and technique than Coach Zoe Beltz from last year. “There’s more conditioning this year with Coach Olivia,” Amy Illorde, a returning sophomore player on the JV team, said. “She pushes us more than Coach Beltz, who was more loose—like, she’ll push you, but not as much as Coach Oliva would. However, ‘volleyball-wise,’ I feel like this is better and will help us improve at a much faster pace.” It seems that Thomas’s strategies are working perfectly. On September 16th, the JV girls also had their first game on home campus against Pinewood. Fremont beat Pinewood 25-16 and 25-10, winning 2 out of 3 games right off the bat. “She makes volleyball a lot more fun, while at the same time excelling our skills and ability,” Doryn Gomez, also a sophomore, said. “She also pushes us to try hard and encourage each other like our old coach. She’s really easy to talk to; you can talk to her about anything and everything. She always makes sure that you not only know what you’re doing, but you also know what you’re doing wrong.”
Improved program leads to win over Matadors by Maggie Bernauer Staff Writer
As the hype built up to Friday Sept. 12, students got ready to go to the first home football game of the season against the Monta Vista Matadors. The varsity team won 35 to 14. While the football boys got ready for the game, the cheerleaders, featherettes, marching band, color guard and the student body put a lot of preparation in as well. Jake Messina, the head coach for the varsity football team, asked his players to give the jersey they wore for away games to a teacher that has impacted their life positively on campus to wear during school to show spirit and respect for the big game. This year they football program worked to rais enough money to redo the weight room. “It has helped quite a bit,” Messina said. “The players have gotten bigger, stronger and in better shape. It’s been great.” With the new additions to the program the team is also trying to improve from last year and hopefully can be successful with their goals. “This year we are focusing on the details
of the game and trying to improve on little things,” Messina said. Going into the game the Firebirds started off slowly, but finished very strong. The Matadors scored in the first quarter, but after that, the Firebirds scored in every quarter with a total of five touchdowns. “It is tough playing quarterback as a sophomore but with the higher expectations from varsity it pushes me to become a better player,” sophomore quarterback Phillip Tran said.
We struggled in the beginning of the game, but in the end we pulled it off and played how we were supposed to.
Phillip Tran
Tran scored one touchdown. “We struggled in the beginning of the game, but in the end we pulled it off and played how we were supposed to,” Tran said. Junior Jordan Hendy
made one touchdown and also intercepted the ball twice while senior Austin Smith made one touchdown. Senior Devante Sanchez scored two touchdowns. They all realize that they still have improvements that can be made. The team provided practices during the summer or offseason to help build up the team’s physical abillity. “The summer program really helped us to get into better shape, but we need to work a little bit more playing as a team,” Hendy said. The team tries to not play single-mindedly “Having trust in my team helps me be a better quarterback,” Tran said. “I can pass the ball down the field pretty well, but I need to improve on reading the defense better.” This year they are really coming together as a team. The football season has just begun and the boys defeated the Matadors by three touchdowns. The Firebirds have their next home football game on Homecoming, on Oct. 10.
Priya Lee | The Phoenix
VARSITY team holds the ball during the second quarter, while marching band waits to play at halftime.
Priya Lee | The Phoenix
VARSITY team during the third quarter faces the Monta Vista Matadors as players try to tackle one another.
sports
Sept. 30, 2014
12
Encouraging participation by Snigdha Rayala Staff Writer
On Sept. 12, former Olympian Brandi Chastain visited Fremont High school to talk about the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative (BAWSI). It was a presentation aimed to encourage girls to join BAWSI and was held in the small auditorium. BAWSI is an organization which strives to get girls to be more active and participate in sports. Created in 2005, there were only 600 BAWSI girls to start with. Now, there are about 13,000 BAWSI girls. BAWSI is a weekly after school program where elementary girls improve their self-esteem and learn healthy practices from high school athletes who they can look up to. BAWSI has a curriculum of physical activities and discussions about healthy lifestyles. “Our BAWSI message is always about health and wholeness for our girls and role models,” Chastain said. Chastain was a soccer player who competed in the 1996 Olympics, 2000 Olympics and 2004 Olympics. From these, she earned two gold medals and one silver medal. In addition to this, she scored the penalty goal that won the Women’s
Chau Nguyen | The Phoenix
BRANDI Chastain poses with varsity athletes after her presentation.
World Cup in 1999. Chastain has done many presentations so far in high schools, mostly in the Bay Area. Before she started doing these presentations, she was an ambassador for the National Women’s Soccer Team. Athletic Director Steven Puccinelli invited BAWSI representatives to present at Fremont because there are two elementary schools within short distance of the campus. “My motivation to do the presentations is to spread the word about BAWSI, as well as to recruit potential role models for the program,” Chastain said. At the end of the presentation, girls who were interested could sign up to become a BAWSI leader.
“I love to see the young third graders change into confident, powerful and outspoken fifth graders,” Chastain said. “The change that they make over such a short period is life affirming.” One of the reasons why Chastain wants high school athletes to volunteer in BAWSI is so young girls have a role model. All in all, being part of BAWSI has been very inspirational for Chastain. She can make personal connections to the group because when she was a kid, she was a part of sports and really impacted her life. Due to this, she wants to give these to other girls.