High Tide: Oct. 16, 2015

IGH H

Redondo Union High School Redondo Beach, CA Oct. 16, 2015 Vol. XCVI Edition 4

TIDE Horsin’ around

by Amanda Shaw Senior Natalie Eberle takes a deep breath as her name is announced. She steps into the ring, shutting the out the chatter of the audience and the echo of her name, focusing solely on the connection between her and her companion.

They snake around each barrel, human and horse molding together to quickly

Inside

navigate sharp turns while each critical second passes. This is rodeo.

“I love that I have this connection with this animal that has a mind of its own. He knows me and I know him,” Eberle said.

“Finding a way to communicate with this animal is just unbelievable. And once you have that bond, it’s something you can’t

describe.”

Eberle believes that the task of bonding with and communicating with her horse, whom she considers “more like a friend than an animal,” is what makes the sport unique from others.

“Some people say horseback riding isn’t a sport, but I think it is because I

choose my teammate to be a 1200 pound animal instead of other people that I can actually communicate with,” Eberle said.

Eberle was inspired to begin rodeo from a very young age, influenced by her family, who has always been very involved in the horseback riding business.

“I started when I was five years old in

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Column: Students should take emergency preparation seriously

Junior Raymone Radi creates and sells Mac and iPhone themes

Girls volleyball beats Mira Costa 25-23, 27-25, 25-17 PHOTO BY SANDER FINK

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High Tide

news

News and Briefs

Senior spirit.

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1. Seniors Ghattas Malki and Jessica Johnson compete in one of the inflatable games to try to push each other out of the ring.

2. ASB President Daniel Ferradas participates in dodgeball. “I felt like Senior Day was a huge success and a lot of fun. I hope all the seniors enjoyed it. And I hope that they look forward to future events.” 3. A senior slides down the inflatable obstacle course.

Linking on the Lawn has low attendance

by Simrun Ursani Starting this year, Link Crew is attempting to continue to support the freshmen throughout the entire year by having monthly check in meetings. Link Crew teacher Lauren Clayton explains this past event on Oct. 8.

“Every month we have a check in where the link leaders check in with the freshmen they have at orientation and this time they had a brief introductory game and there were a lot of announcements about homecoming and other events going on this week,” Clayton said.

According to junior Link Leaders Maddy Bacon and Lauren Hahn, the event was not as big of a success as they hoped it would be.

“I feel like it could have been more successful because there was a lack of attendance by the freshmen but if they would have attended, it would have been really good,” Bacon said.

Even though attendance was low, Hahn believes Link Crew still ran the event “smoothly”.

“Everything on the side of Link Crew went smoothly. We had everything set up and everyone was there wearing our shirts but it is hard to get people involved, especially freshmen, because they always feel scared because it is such a new thing,” Hahn said.

Hahn gives an idea on how the next event could have a better turn-out for Link Crew as the Check-In Committee plans their next event.

“If we had the freshmen class teachers know on this day their freshmen should be there. if they come to class, the teachers should say you’re suppose to go down to the link crew thing or the freshmen classes are walked down to the lawn so that everyone comes. I think we have to make that connection with the teachers,” Hahn said.

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PHOTO 1 BY NITA VILLAS PHOTOS 2 AND 3 BY CLAIRE ANTONELLI

Thirteen seniors commended

by National Merit

by Erika Zlatkin Out of 1.5 million 10th and 11th graders nationwide who took the PSAT last year, 13 of the top 50,000 test scores were from Redondo Union High School.

The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) gives students the opportunity to practice for the SAT, which most colleges require for admission. Great scores can also lead to National Merit Scholarships.

Although the Redondo students did not win any scholarships, they placed in the top 50,000 and were commended by National Merit.

Alina Bieschke, Jessica Chun, Yasmeen El-Hassan, Anna Fauver, Natalie Hardiman, Daniel Kelly, Dona Jamie L. Leonard, Ghattas Malki, Christopher Paludi, Raymone Radi, Devan Shah, Amanda Tsao, and Ryan Wadhams were all the students who placed in the top scores.

“It feels awesome. I didn’t expect, even

when I got my PSAT results back, to be in the top,” Alina Bieschke said.

Bieschke is proud she got a great score and to handle what is being thrown at her, considering “sophomores go in blind”.

Ghattas Malki in addition to Bieschke believes the PSAT is a great way for students to prep for the SAT and it can be very useful to students.

“It provides kids a free opportunity to be able to practice,” Ghattas Malki said.

RBEF uses their donation money from families, friends, and the community to pay for all of the students to take the test. This is especially beneficial for students who may not be able to afford prep courses and tutors to train for the SAT. “Our goal at Redondo is that every student is A-G eligible and for every student to be able to apply to a four year college,” said Assistant Principal Lindsey Corcoran.

Corcoran aims for students to live to their full potential and work hard during their time in high school.

“Generally, I feel that our students have done really well on the test and they try their hardest,” Corcoran said.

“For 10th and 11th graders, National Merit Scholarships can be given out along with a letter, based on their score of what AP classes they would do well in,” said Corcoran.

Triple the amount of students enrolled in AP Environmental Science because of those letters, in addition to a growth in AP Psychology enrollment. The PSAT can serve as more than just a preliminary test for the SAT; it is a foundation for more youth to be involved in complex courses and exploring new options.

“We like the idea that kids are trying to push themselves a little harder,” said Corcoran.

Seniors participate in Senior Day

by Faith Petrie

The class of ‘16 participated “Senior Day” on Oct. 14. The seniors took a class panorama on the field and were then taken to the auditorium to learn more about how to have an efficient and memorable senior year.

In addition to hearing a motivational speaker, seniors were treated to a lip sync battle, where Cole Baird won one pair of prom coupons.

“It was extremely surprising because I was doing it by myself, and I saw all these people who had probably been practicing for weeks. And there were more people that did multiple songs and they looked really good. I didn’t think I’d do it, I didn’t think I’d.

It was a really big surprise for me honestly.”

On the soccer field, inflatable activities and other sports were available for the seniors to freely enjoy. However, some seniors deemed the day’s activities as underwhelming.

“I was expecting there to be more things to do and a puppy petting zoo but I had fun,” said senior Daniella Montero.

news

Oct. 16, 2015

Online math textbook hiccups gone

by Mylene Silver Since day one, students have been experiencing issues with online math textbooks.

These problems are now solved, according to math department chair Donna Williams.

“It’s been really difficult because sometimes the textbook doesn’t work and I get blamed for not having my homework in on time. It’s messed everything up and not having physical textbooks make it worse,” sophomore Maddie Marcon said.

Marcon is in the seventh period online Algebra 2 class and has experienced negative effects due to the lack of physical textbooks in classrooms.

“If the textbook isn’t working, I can’t get my homework done [and it is] hurting my grade,” Marcon said. “I would rather have a physical textbooks because sometimes I don’t even have wifi to conveniently do my homework.”

According to Williams, the publisher saw problems between the software and the Chromebooks only after students started using the program.

“Some of the students weren’t able to log in and some of them had freezing pages,” Williams said. “Then we were able to get a PDF of each textbook and load those into Google Classroom. But then students didn’t have any of the online resources, they just had the textbook.”

After initial problems were solved, teachers ensured that students were able to navigate the software in order for them to avoid future confusion.

“We discovered that only some students who had certain apps on their Chromebooks meant that their program didn’t work,” Williams said.

There are currently no issues with the online textbooks and all problems have been resolved, according to Williams.

“No physical textbooks are going to be ordered for Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2,” she said. “The district felt that the money was better spent just putting the book on the Chromebook instead of having a physical textbook.”

Williams believes that the online textbooks serve as strong resources because of their video tutorials and other tools. RUHS plans on permanently relying on online textbooks.

Math teacher Joshua Friedrich believes that they will be worth the cost in the long run.

“I think when there’s a huge transition like what we have had this year with new technology, curriculum and textbooks, you just have to expect that there are going to be some hiccups and that not everything is going to work perfectly,” he said. “People have to be flexible, patient and understanding about some of those issues.”

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Students perform on FOX News

by Hannah Hastings Marching band, dance guard, and cheer team performed live on the television network FOX 11 at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7, during the television segment “Coffee Shop Takeover” at the Catalina Coffee shop on Catalina Avenue.

The co-hosts, Maria Sansone and Araksya Karapetyan, gave out free coffee and exchanged conversation with the long line of customers that extended through the shop’s door. The marching band, dance guard, and cheer team got the opportunity to perform when FOX News first contacted the mayor’s office in search of performers for the show.

“I thought it was a great opportunity to take the band on a community event, and I thought it would be lots of fun for the kids,” said marching band instructor Raymundo Vizcarra.

For the few minutes of performance, the marching band requires not only musical skill, but also physical strength. The members of the team must be in top shape to move and play instruments simultaneously.

“There is a very high level of athleticism that goes on in field shows nowadays. It is not your typical boring marching band that

PHOTO COURTESY OF LINDA OKIMOTO

Blending up a fresh beat. Vizcarra and students meet FOX 11 reporter Sandra Endo. “With

something like this, when we get there, we have to be ready to go on the spot, so we have music prepared and we are ready to perform the way they want us to,” Vizcarra said.

people think it is,” said Vizcarra.

In addition, there are difficulties associated with performance on live television.

“The most challenging part of the performance was having to look good while we were performing,” marching band member Alina Kim said.

Vizcarra feels that early events like the

Coffee Shop Takeover have helped the students “gel together.”

“They are a little more together. They feel a lot more confident. The more that they perform together, the more comfortable they become with performing in front of audiences as well as with each other,” Vizcarra said.

New Biomedical Innovations course

by Ben Brill Project Lead the Way’s (PLTW) Biomedical Science program has allowed students to experience science in a new way through immersive classes and labs while gaining the knowledge and skills needed to jumpstart their careers.

The program has recently been enhanced and expanded as the capstone course, Biomedical Innovations, has been added to the now certified PLTW Biomedical Science program at Redondo. The teacher of the new course, Karin De Collibus, believes that the Biomedical Science program has a different educational experience to offer to students.

“It is not a traditional class where they are listening to the teacher lecture and I give them work. I very rarely stand up in front of the class and talk to them,” said De Collibus.

“They’re always doing the assignment on their own. They’re out there learning without me directly instructing how to do them.

There’s hardly any lecturing.”

With over 100 students enrolled in the Biomedical Science program, De Collibus feels that following the Biomedical pathway will “pay off” later for many students enrolled in the program who want to pursue biomedica careers.

“I hope students will represent the school well. I have gotten a few calls from former students saying that these classes have helped them already in their anatomy class-

es. They already know the terms, and it is a review for them,” De Collibus said. “I am hoping that they are successful in their future biomedical careers.”

According to Biomedical Science teacher Ann Bhare, the program looks more appealing to colleges with the new certification.

“When students apply to colleges and they have this on their resume, it gives them an advantage above kids who weren’t in a biomedical program, or weren’t from a certified program,” Bhare said.

Bhare thinks the Biomedical courses are more interactive than traditional science classes.

“They’re hands on, problem-solving, lab based, where it’s not measured by a simple multiple choice test. They have to research, they have to write a report, they may have to give a presentation, so it’s a long term type thing and it shows their knowledge in different ways,” Bhare said.

President of the Biomedical Club, Sara Spicker, a senior also enrolled in Biomedical Innovations, the fourth year of the program, believes that the courses give her a better opportunity to learn.

“The classes are a good environment for students who want to expand their science knowledge. It’s so much different than normal classes. It’s really hands on and that helps me learn more than I would in normal

classes,” Spicker said.

From a teacher’s perspective, the Biomedical Science program requires a different type of teaching style to reach its full effectiveness.

“It is a different approach to teaching. It is not like a traditional ‘do a lab, write a lab, take a test’ kind of thing,” De Collibus said.

“It’s project based. They do real labs with their bodies basically. It is really cool.”

The new Biomedical Innovations course also introduces a new type of problem solving projects that have not been seen before.

“It is broken into problems that the students will have to solve. It involves long term research, and long term design,” Bhare said. “One of the key elements is that they have to come up with a biomedical innovation where it could be things such as job shadowing a medical professional, or creating something from the ground up.”

Spicker believes that students who take the Biomedical program will have an edge compared to other students in terms of knowledge and expertise.

“The program really gives students an advantage. You get to experience things you’ve never experienced before. It makes you think out of the box and become an independent thinker. It isn’t everyday where you get to build your own emergency room,” Spicker said.

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High Tide

opinion

Newer is not always better

While Chromebooks are increasingly integral to RUHS curricula, handwritten notes are still the best option Editorial As technology continues to progress, taking notes on laptops, or in the school’s case, Chromebooks, has become increasingly popular among the student body. However, what students do not realize is that taking electronic notes can hinder their ability to understand “big ideas” or concepts. It is more beneficial, and thus should be required, that students take handwritten notes, until proven that it may be helpful for students for certain abilities to do so.

As a result of the speed and legibility such note taking affords us, many students no longer have to listen closely to what the teacher is saying in order to distinguish what needs to be written down. Instead, students hone their skills as typing machines eager to get every word down. Such a practice reduces the amount of critical thinking, or any type of thinking, while note taking.

There are of course many positives to typing notes, such as its efficiency and the assured security that notes won’t get lost or misplaced in an already disorganized backpack. Furthrmore, legibility and organization are positives that may benfit students who lack those factors when handrwriting.

However, typing surrenders the flexibility of note structure and annotations.

According to a study done at UCLA by two psychological scientists — Pam Muel-

ILLUSTRATION BY ALINA BIESCHKE

Editorial Board vote

Students should continue to take handwritten notes, as they enable better critical thinking and retention.

agree

5

disagree

2

Students’ notetaking 39% preferences

ler of Princeton and Daniel Oppenheimer — comparing the two note taking methods, both experimental groups, typers and handwriters, did equally well when asked to recall facts.

However, the difference was displayed in the the typer group’s ability to do well when tested on the ideas within the lecture. This group did much more poorly.

The results from a test a week later after students had more time to study proved similar conclusions: the group that handwrote notes did much better than even those who had transcribed the entire lecture. There is something about typing that allows for “mindless processing” (Medical Daily).

In addition, many high school students are easily distracted and having Chromebooks out to take notes, definitely does not help minimize potential distractions. Even the sudents who take notes and stay focus while on their Chromebooks, end up miltitasking and doing something unrelated to the task at hand.

Teachers should not allow the use of chromeooks, as the negative effects of doing so outweigh the positives. Just a year ago, handwritting notes was the only option. Now, typing on Chromebooks has become more popular, but it is not the best choice for the majority of students.

Teachers say...

Out of 160 students surChrissyveyed...

67% 33% ”

poo

prefer hand writing notes prefer typing notes

22% 39%

allow students to take notes on chromebooks sometimes allow students to take notes on chromebooks do not allow students to take notes on chromebooks

Number of teachers surveyed: 66

Regarding Chromebooks, students say...

54% 3% 43%

do what they are supposed to don’t do what they are supposed to do both

Number of students surveyed: 160

Letters to the

Editor

Shake it out

If you have an opinion about one of the articles, letters can be sent to the editor at hightideonline@gmail.com.

We reserve the right to edit them for content, grammar, and space constraints. Letters must be signed and are not guaranteed to be printed. Please keep letters to a maximum of 250 words. Longer guest opinions are also accepted.

High Tide

staff

Editors in Chief: Yasmeen El-Hasan; Stella Gianoukakis

Managing Editor: Vaidehi Gandhi News Editor: Malek Chamas Opinion Editor: Christopher Paludi Features Editors: Lizzie Fauver; Zach Hatakeyama; Caterina Hyneman; Jon Mallen; Shaniya Markalanda; Samaya Rubio; Reema Saad; Sports Editors: Jessica Johnson; Adam Yorke

Design Editors: Shawn Mallen; Grace Zoerner

Writing Editors: Kayla Nicholls; Amanda

Shaw

Photo Editor: Ted Cavus Copy Editors: Micah Ezzes; Carmen Hamm

Online Editors: Romy Moreno; Mylene

Silver

Photographers: Syd Alli; Samantha

Bendall; Angel Blanquel; Megan Contreras; Elise DiPaola; Sander Fink; Hiroki Goto; Ilene Guerrero; Anam Khan; Serena Maanum; Gisela Pedroza; Faith Petrie; Laua’e Schweitzer; Keiko Shingu; Angie Tait; Nita Villas; Karen Vuong; Ania Webb

Illustrators: Alina Bieschke; Luma Wegman

Staff Writers: Gianna Aquilina; Brittany Baker; Mia Berger; Ben Brill; Reem Chamas; Jasmine Dube; Micah Ezzes; Miriam Farah; Yasamin Fazeli; Jason Fong; Dina Ghanim; Kelly Harraka; Patrick Henry; Kayla Hiken; Shyanne Landers; Gerika Macalino; Eden Millan; Micky Munns; Davina Nguyen; Austin Nunis; Hayley O’Connor-Rigby; Luke Peterson;Justin Pioletti; Samaya Rubio; Summer Saad; Simrun Ursani; Lulu Wegman; Tyler Wunderli; Kylie Yorke; Erika Zlatkin This is a wholly student-managed, designed, and written newspaper that focuses on school and community events.

Signed commentaries and editorial cartoons represent the opinions of the staff writer or cartoonist and in no way reflect the opinions of the rest of the staff.

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opinion

Oct. 16, 2015

Kids, take emergency preparation seriously

Micah Ezzes Get out of class. Take the designated route. Get to the Seahawk Bowl.

For most students at this school, the Great California Shakeout seems like nothing more than a fluid motion, an excuse to get out of class, a waste of an hour. The blistering sun did not help with that this year, but nonetheless.

I don’t think that most students understand the gravity of such an occurrence, and why would they? There hasn’t been a major earthquake in California over the lifetimes of the students here, the last notable one being Northridge in 1994. However, it is important to follow the safety procedures and stay within the guidelines set by the school.

I know, that sounds condescending, but more students need to hear this than you may realize. Of 123 students polled, 52 said that they would leave campus in some shape or form, be it going home or elsewhere, in the event of an actual earthquake.

Of course, that’s a small sample size, but I’m sure there would be plenty of students who would follow the logic of these people: get home, get in contact with family, and survey the damage.

I understand that perspective, but leaving campus is a bad idea on a multitude of levels. For one, consider the thought process of your family. Where do they imagine you will be? Will they be able to contact you?

Everyone knows the answers to these questions: at school, and probably not. As such, leaving the school both denies your parents the knowledge of knowing where you are, and simultaneously renders them incapable of contacting you.

Where will your parents go to know where you are? Naturally, they’ll go to the school. That’s where you’ve been all day, and they know that the school has guidelines in the event of an emergency. But suddenly, you aren’t accounted for. Not only that, but

Student reactions to potential earthquakes Out of 153 students surveyed...

39% 61%

said they would leave campus

said they would follow procedure

the school could technically be considered liable for you. So now you’ve caused both the school and your parents to panic, as no one knows where you are and no one has any means of contacting you. And if they can’t find or contact you, they will naturally assume the worst.

Unless you really, really hate your parents, I’d imagine no one would want to do that to their family. It creates a false sense of panic, something that can’t be afforded considering the actual damage done, should an earthquake occur.

Of all of the things at school that seem excessive, pointless, or a waste of time, the shakeout isn’t. So, for the sake of those you care about, follow the guidelines should a natural disaster occur.

That’s the end of my Public Service Announcement. I’ll probably be back to complaining about mundane things by next issue.

Correction and Clarification Last issue’s article “Maybe it’s our fault” contained an error. It referred to ASB’s monthly spirit battles as spirit “rallies”.

ASB’s monthly spirit events are class competitions, spirit battles to be exact, and are held at lunch. Rallies are still once per semester and are held during third period on special “rally schedule” days.

For clarification, when the High Tide refers to ASB, it is referring to the members of the ASB class.

When you’re done reading the issue, if you are not going to hang onto it, please either leave it in your classroom or recycle the paper.

ILLUSTRATION BY JOSEPH BIESCHKE

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Dancing with the

Best

Freshman Alex Best teaches ballet at Dance One Studio

by Dina Ghanim

As she draws closer to the dance room, the sound of the light, tinkling music floods over her. Immediately, she is comforted.

She is here. She knows what she is doing. This is her territory.

“I like how structured [ballet] is. It’s probably the opposite of what everybody else thinks because it is so strict, but I like how I can just go in and know what to ex-

En pointe. 1. Best suspends herself from two tables and balances using only her legs. 2. Arabesque, a “more common” ballet position, involves extreme coordination, strength, and balance. 3. Best does a double attitude while jumping in the air. PHOTOS BY SANDER FINK

2.

3.

pect from my teachers,” said freshman Alex Best.

Starting ballet at the age of nine at Dance One Studio in Redondo Beach, Best now teaches ballet collaboratively with Francesca Stern, the owner of the studio. Stern was trained at the Royal Academy of Dance and the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance in London, England, and she has been teaching and performing throughout England and America ever since (www.dance1redondo. com).

“It started with me being in a higher level ballet class. My teacher kept asking me to demonstrate things, and she just liked the way I handled things with the kids,” Best said.

Teaching younger students with Stern provides Best with additional knowledge about her prospective career in dance that taking dance lessons would not provide.

“I either want to become a professional dancer and join a company, or become a dance teacher,” Best said. “ Fr a n cesca is my rolemodel due to all 1. of her experiences abroad. She has experience in the dance world, so she knows how my career is going to go.”

By teaching, Best wishes to affect her o w n students the way Stern has affected herself. Her goal as a teacher is to be a rolemodel for her students.

“I feel more like a mentor that a teacher; I’m mentoring them so that they have someone to look up to, even if it’s just for a certain technique in dance,” Best said.

Best finds the disorganization and short attention spans of children shocking. The

Swim in the deep end

by Shyanne Landers

She climbs up the ladder and goes over the routine multiple times in her head. Then, she steps onto the 5-meter-high diving board with complete confidence bouncing, flipping, turning, and flying about. Like a needle wading through water, freshman Kayci Nathan pursues her passion.

Nathan does competitive diving as an independent sport.

“Diving makes me feel good about myself.

Just knowing how to dive is a cool thing, and knowing you’re a good diver makes it greater,” Nathan said.

She has won awards for anywhere from 12 to 3 place out of about 40 other divers in competitions.

Nathan practices on Mondays to Fridays

High Tide

features

from 6:00pm – 8:45pm and Sundays 8:30am – 11:30am. Her and her team use trampolines and a dryboard, a diving board surrounded by padded flooring. The team meets at UCLA’s Spieker Pool.

“On the team, you become like a family.

Some of the people are like a parent figure.

You look up to them.” Nathan said. ”One reason why I dive is so I stay in shape, but the real reason is for the people there,” Nathan said.

Even though she took up the sport on a whim, she has since never regretted doing so.

“I love diving because it’s different. You see all of these football, soccer, and basketball players, but not often can you look over

tantrums and fits are often a test of her patience.

“The kids are funny on a daily basis, but the things that stand out most are the tantrums and the being out of control,” Best said. “There used to be this class that I would teach, and one of the little girls would always walk to the back corner of the room and start sobbing because she didn’t know what to do even though they did it every week.”

Best teaches ballet in order to pay for her own ballet classes. The payment that Best would receive if she had a work permit go towards her dance tuition, relieving her parents of costly dance lessons fees. “[My parents] are definitely supportive.

[Ballet] can get pricey at times, so that’s why I teach classes. That money goes towards the classes that I take,” Best said.

In addition to the financial benefits that teaching provides, Best believes that ballet has made her life purposeful, and she is grateful to spend her time doing something that she is passionate about.

“It has definitely had a positive effect on my life because now I have something to do. Before I started dancing I would just go home and watch TV after school. Now, I can plan out my days more effectively,” she said.

Additionally, Best feels that when students show improvement in their techniques, the time and effort put into her students is worth the while.

“Teaching my students is definitely rewarding because I get to see the outcome of what I’ve taught them and how they apply the knowledge,” Best said.

According to Best, her ultimate goal for her students is for them to share her passion for ballet.

“I love dance, so I want my students to love it too. I understand that some kids just dance for fun, while there are kids who are there for a dancing career like me,” Best said.

“I just hope that they want it as much as I want it.”

Freshman Kayci Nathan dives competitively

and see a diving team. It’s very unique,” Nathan said.

“What I love about diving is when I am flying through the air during a dive. It is definitely a highlight. You get this feeling in the pit of your stomach knowing even if you do good or bad, you’re going to make this jump happen,” Nathan said.

When Nathan was a beginner, he made a mistake on a dive and ended up falling facefirst into the water.

“In the end, that was my best dive because I learned the most from that time,” Nathan said.

Nathan began diving when she was 8, and has been pursuing the sport since. Nathan is hoping for a diving scholarship in col-

lege, but she dives for more than a ticket to college.

“I don’t only dive for the scholarships, I dive because of the feeling I get when I execute a really great dive. When I have a great dive, I always remember that is the reason why I continue to do this,” Nathan said.

She wants to continue diving throughout college and eventually go to the Olympics. She would also like to eventually win 1st place.

“If you’re trying to make a big decision in your life, you can’t know what the outcome is going to be until you do it. This is what I thought when I started diving, and what I will continue think throughout my life.” Nathan said.

Oct. 16, 2015

Or are we dancer?

After eight years, freshman Grace Bradley still has a passion for ballet

by Reem Chamas Everytime she laces up her pointe shoes, freshman Grace Bradley has a new goal in mind. Even after eight years dance has never failed to fill her life with passion.

“For my first pair of pointe shoes I couldn’t stop smiling that day, and it was so amazing,” Bradley said. “It is such a rush and it never gets old”.

Bradley dances ballet, tap, jazz, and modern, however she has a passion for ballet.

“I love ballet the best because going into a classical company and wearing all of the old costumes [from previous shows] is my motivation,” Bradley said. “Ballet is usually the basis for most dance styles, and having that training helps me progress more quickly in [other] dance styles.”

Bradley feels lively when she dances, and uses dance as a stress reliever.

“I feel really energetic, and I feel like I’m letting go of any of the anger I had that day,” Bradley said.

The positive and motivational people in the studio make dancing even more enjoyable for Bradley.

“We have a really close connection,” Bradley said.”It’s like [they are] my second family, I am sure a lot of people feel this way with

their sports team because we always have each other’s back”.

While all the dancers in her class look out for each other, Bradley’s dance teacher, Mr. Jack, also plays a huge role by and making sure the girls are all having a good time. He also motivates them by showing the girls videos of professional ballet dancers in action.

“My one dance teacher Mr. Jack is really passionate about his job, and he’s done a lot in his lifetime,” Bradley said.

Despite the added workload from being at the studio for long hours, Bradley believes the effort is worth it.

“It is definitely a challenge when I have multiple projects [due], because dance takes up all of my afternoon from the moment

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features

I get home until nine,” Bradley said. “And I have to figure out when to do my homework between those times. But because it is my career choice then it’s something I am willing to work for, and it is very much worth staying up late or waking up early to finish schoolwork because I have had a dance class,” Bradley said.

Along the way to become a professional ballet dancer, she looks up to her friend Kenzie Packer because of her desire to improve.

“There are a lot of professional dancers that are really amazing and inspirational to watch,” Bradley said. “Kenzie Packer is amazing and always striving to do better than she already is.”

Bradley finds the time to think about her future because she wants to dance for a professional company.

“Just being in the dance world, you hear about different companies, and since I am trying to go into that field of work I go home and research what exactly they are. There is World Ballet Day and the San Francisco Ballet participates in that, so ultimately I’d love to be with the San Francisco Ballet.”

Bradley also finds a sense of security because she knows what she wants to do with her life.

“I know where I am when I put on my pointe shoes, and I know what I am going to do [in t h e

future],” Bradley said. “I know where I am going now, and I know what I am going to do with the rest of my life,” Bradley said. “I have new goals

to accomplish all the time so I am never bored”.

In addition, Bradley believes dancing allows her to make connections to her daily life.

“Dance teaches you a lot of things, not even just how to perfect your technique, but how to go about things you do in your life,” Bradley said.

Are we human? Bradley is in the

middle of an “a la seconde” turn, with her leg in second position. “I know where I am when I put on my pointe shoes, and I know what I am going to do [in the future],” Bradley said. PHOTOS BY SANDER FINK

Ballerina’s pet peeves: Do’s

Don’ts

Proper hands:

Hands should be relaxed, a natural extension of the arm

“Hamburger hands”: Stiffening the hands causes the form to be tense and less graceful

Proper pointe: Ankles are straight and strong, supporting the dancer well

Sickled feet:

Breaking the line of the ankle when going en pointe

“On the box”:

Dancer is well-balanced, ankles are strong and fully en pointe

“Off the box”: Ankles are not strong enough to go fully en pointe

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High Tide

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[cont. from cover] Germany. I think my biggest influence was my grandma since she was a huge horseback rider and was always very successful,” Eberle said. “At first, when I was a kid I didn’t really realize what I was doing, but as I started to grow up with the sport I definitely got more attached to it.”

Eberle has made personal advancements in her riding skills and presence, as noted by her trainer, Sean Martin.

“She rides with a lot more confidence.

Her skill levels have gone through the roof.

She first started with us doing basic riding lessons and now she has the fundamentals to train young horses,” Martin said.

Not only has Eberle improved in the sport as an individual, but has also had a positive impact on the South Bay equestrian community.

“I’m proud of her all the time. She is an important part of my business and the success that we have had the last few years,” Martin said. “She is a role model to many young equestrians in the community.

Representing her ranch in Las Vegas in Feb., Eberle won the 2015 RSNC (Ranch Sorting National Championship) Priefert Western Regional Sorting.

“She rode against some of the best ranch sorters in the Western United States. Her name was heard all weekend long. She’s worked very hard to get to that point, that no matter where we go, whether it be Northern California, Nevada or Arizona,” Martin said. “People know who she is and they want to partner up with her cause they know they have a good chance at winning.

And it shows, she left Las Vegas winning over $1600.”

The rodeo competitions Eberle represents RUHS in are comprised of two events: poles and barrels. In one event, six poles are lined up in the center of the arena, and the rider must serpentine around each one as quickly as possible. In the other event, one barrel is placed at either end of the ring, with one barrel in the middle, and the rider must complete a clover-leaf pattern around them as quickly as possible.

Overcoming anxiety by listening to music and spending time with her reassuring teammates and coach, co m p et i tions are a

culmination of Eberle’s hard work.

“Competitions are a test of whether your practices have been good or not, or if you’ve been working hard and putting in a lot of effort. All of the hard work pays off, and I’ve gotten a lot of very good results,” Eberle said. “Sometimes it’s definitely very frustrating, especially if I don’t do well or if you pretty much drove five hours for nothing.”

Pinpointing weaknesses and improving upon strengths, Eberle returns to training soon after a competition to perfect her riding.

“The first couple of days after a competition, I take a break from riding to give the horse a break and myself a mental break.

And then the next couple of days I go right back into training. I work on things I need to improve on, like turns or just getting ready for the next competition,” Eberle said.

According to Martin, Eberle’s work ethic and maturity play a large role in her achievements in rodeo and are the reason she is able

to continue improving.

“Maturity plays a big role in this sport. It takes a lot of discipline to deal with a thousand pound animal. You have to figure out what went wrong and how you change it.

We have a tendency as humans to try and blame other factors. But the reality is, most of the time it’s the riders fault,” Martin said.

“And it takes a lot of maturity and discipline to acknowledge mistakes. She’s been able to learn from what she’s done wrong and worked hard to get better. She makes mistakes every now and then, but they are very rare.”

Eberle hopes to continue her rodeo career for many years to come, both by studying equine science and competing at the collegiate.

“The opportunities are endless if she works hard,” Martin said. “If she chooses not to go the rodeo route and least she’s getting the experience that will help if she decides to go down a different equine related path.”

1

PHOTOS BY SANDER FINK

Not her first rodeo. 1. “There definitely is a lot of work before the actual riding,

2

such as cleaning up the horse, tacking up and feeding the horse nutritional supplements.

But of course, there’s always fun involved, especially when we are on the road and travelling to places we have never been before,” senior Natalie Eberle said. 2. “Horeseback riding is quite simple once you learn how to balance on a 1200 pound animal. I compare it to riding a bicycle, except that this bicycle has a mind of its own and does not always understand what you ask him to do,” Eberle said. 3. “What makes it all worth it is the work I put into it and the countless hours working every day, but once you compete and do very well, the pride you receive is just something no one can ever take from you,” Eberle said.

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Oct. 16, 2015

Come sail away

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features

Phoebe Mather and Bella Briggs lived on the ocean, traveling the world

by Kylie Yorke From sailing around the world to powerboating up to Alaska, senior Phoebe Mather and freshman Bella Biggs both have experienced living life on the water.

When she was in second grade, Mather and her family packed their bags onto their 45’ sailboat and started their five and a half year long voyage around the globe.

“I didn’t’ really believe them at first,” Mather said. “They said we were going to go traveling and then all of a sudden the house was sold, the boat was ready, and we were leaving.”

Her parents only told Mather and her brother about the trip a year before they left, but they had been saving up before she was even born.

“My parents planned ten years in advance,” she said. “They saved up a whole bunch, and then my dad quit his job and we left.”

For Briggs, who was three, the news was just as unexpected when her family left their home in Florida for a life on the water, and set off on their 72’ power boat. “[My father] just decided, ‘I’ll take my wife and my kid out on a trip and see how it goes,’” Biggs said.

The sudden change of pace was especially hard for Biggs, who found that the constant moving around made it difficult for her to keep friends.

“It was really hard for me because as soon as I would make a friend I would have to leave them,” she said. “That’s kind of why we moved off [the boat].”

According to Mather, it was harder to leave the places she visited more than it was to leave the people she met, and she found that this was a “recurring theme” when she fell in love with a certain place.

“We would go to one place, and just never want to leave,” she said.

“Then we would have to leave, the same thing would happen.”

Because she

was constantly leaving places and arriving at new ones, Mather learned how to make a good first impression for not only herself, but her country.

“Be kind to people, be very kind,” she said.

“Because you are basically the ambassador for your country.”

According to Biggs, traveling to different countries presents a great variety of new and and strange experiences, but she recommends going into them with an open mind.

“Don’t assume things are going to be similar to what you’ve already experienced,” she said. “Be open to new customs, to new ways of living, and just enjoy it.”

Living at sea meant Mather never really had a daily routine, and the change of setting kept things interesting for her.

“Every day was different,” she said. “We planned our day depending on where we were, and stopped to smell the roses everywhere we went.”

Every time they landed at a new destination, their day was always “packed with adventure.”

“We would be out hiking, going to museums, surfing, diving and just doing anything you could imagine with the water,” Mather

said.

Biggs and her family spent a lot of their time in the Bahamas, taking advantage of the warm weather and crystal clear waters.

“We would do some kind of adventure for that day. Whether it be snorkeling, or just exploring the islands,” she said.

Because Biggs was so young when she left for the Bahamas, by the time she got back, she had spent most of her life on the boat.

“All my memories basically started on the boat,” she said. “It always felt like home to me.”

According to Mather, her and her family all got along really well, and the fact that they were living in a confined space only brought them closer. “[The boat] would never really seem small to me,” she said. “Not a lot of people get to have breakfast, lunch and dinner with their family every day.

While she was gone, Biggs felt a similar connection to her family, especially her mom.

“I definitely had separation anxiety once I moved back, when I had to go to school without my mom teaching me,” she said.

Despite being gone for over five years, Mather managed to stay up to speed with her schoolwork.

“My mom would teach us; we had a bunch of workbooks that my grandma would send us, and we used ones that schools were using,” she said.

When Mather returned to school, she managed straight A’s, but she also came back knowing grades weren’t all that mattered.

“I learned how to sail, how to surf, how to dive and snorkel, I learned how to be kind to other people and embrace cultures,” Mather said “There’s so much more out there than just sitting in a classroom.”

2 PHOTOS COURTESY OF PHOEBE MATHER

All aboard! 1. “How many chil-

dren are fortunate enough to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with both their parents while growing up? I was, and now I have an amazing relationship with both of them,” Senior Pheobe Mather said. 2. Peter (right), known as “Peterdog” by the Mather family, helped take the boat down to Ensenada, Mexico for refitting. “Having extra crew, like Pete, on board was helpful to my parents because they had an extra hand and someone to help do night watches, where someone has to stay up two to four hours making sure everything is okay while we sail,” Mather said.

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features

High Tide

Oct. 16, 2015

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features

STUDENTS OF

SOFTWARE

Techtree takes root

Fujita’s club teaches students about coding

by William Pournamdari

Currency for coding Radi creates and sells Mac and iPhone themes

by Austin Nunis At eight years old, his dad gave him a broken computer and told him to put it back together. With some help, he eventually succeeded. Nearly nine years later, senior Raymone Radi is making money off of his love for coding.

For nearly half of his life, Radi has been involved in computer science. His ability to create more intricate coding started out as a hobby of building computers.

“I would find broken computers or I’d take apart working computers and I’d put them back together. I loved the hardware aspect of it,” Radi said.

Another aspect of coding that appealed to Radi was overcoming the difficulty of working with complicated computer softwares.

“It’s a challenge everyday. It’s not a set process. You have to find out what you have to do, which is hard,” Radi said.

Now a self-taught coder, Radi creates and sells detailed themes for both Mac computers and iPhones. Radi changes the appearance of the app icons with Photoshop and how the apps work with coding.

“I code little things to help me in my day to day activities. [They help me with] homework or just whatever I want to do. I’ve made a chemistry calculator on the Mac that tells you all about an element,” Radi said.

About 2 years ago, Radi began selling his designs using a software called Objective-

C. Between official purchases and people downloading his themes, around 70,000 people have downloaded his work.

His sales peaked after his theme iOS X Ultimatum was reviewed by the popular youtuber iDownloadBlog, who has over 200,000 subscribers.

“I was amazed. At first sales weren’t that good. But when he reviewed it, I started getting 50-100 sales a day. I was really thankful that someone so big found a theme of mine and decided to review it. It was pretty cool actually, I didn’t think this would happen,” Radi said.

After his high school career, Radi plans to major in computer science and then attend law school to study law related to computers.

Even though college will keep Radi from selling his themes, he says that the themes have played an important role in his life.

“I’m not going to sell themes too much anymore, but I think it really helped me understand the world of computer science,” Radi said.

Radi wants to spread his passion for coding, believing that it is an important skill to possess, especially in the modern world.

“I think it’s really important that more people know how to code because in our world today, where everything is based around technology, coding is a super useful skill to have,” Radi said.

PHOTO BY SANDER FINK

Confident and proud. Fujita sits at a computer in front of a

few lines of code. “You could design a program that calculates the temperature in Celsius and converts it into Fahrenheit for your chemistry course,” she said.

Paulson learns coding at Ucode

by Tanner McEveety

Freshman Zack Paulson wants to test his game again, but he knows not to. After all, he has a lot more coding to do if he wants Mario to jump when he presses the spacebar.

Paulson is at Ucode, a company that teaches kids and teens computer and video game programming. After attending their summer camp in 2014, he decided to continue. Since then, he’s learned the basics of coding webpages, phone applications, and computer games.

“What I really like about Ucode is that you feel like you belong,” Paulson said. “The instructors teach you, but you can talk to them like they’re a friend.”

The teacher’s job is to guide the students and assist them when they need help or are confused. Ucode teacher Kristian Salmeron enjoys teaching code and watching students progress.

“It’s very satisfying, seeing many of your students grow, especially at a place like Ucode,” said Salmeron.

According to Paulson, the actual coding process is not something that’s easy to teach. “Coding is just like a language,” Paulson said. “You have to learn to speak in the computer’s language.”

The coding language often taught is called Javascript, and Paulson has come to know it well. Each set of either video or written tutorials explains how simple games like Flappy Bird or the original Mario are made using Javascript.

“It’s difficult,” Paulson said. “There’s a lot of code sometimes, and you have to think ‘What does this actually do?’ rather than just being a robot and typing it out.”

Despite its challenges, Paulson still enjoys programming at Ucode and feels like he is learning a lot. For him, building each and every separate piece of a game, from the animations to the reset button, is an interesting look at the clockwork of games.

“It’s fun watching it all come together,” Paulson said.

Coding is the driving force behind all computers, from the the schoolwork done on chromebooks to preceise rocket launches into space. Now, it’s a club. Junior Giorgia Fujita helps students to pursue STEM related careers in the Techtree club.

“In its simplest description, Techtree is a club that provides STEM opportunities such as internships or research for students with the addition of technological workshops,” she said.

According to Fujita, computer science is used everyday by a variety of people of varying ages and professions.

“Computer science encompasses the video games that you’re playing with your friends, the ongoing research in technology, even now with the chromebooks in our classrooms which are all based on software development,” Fujita said. “Coding can be applied to many different disciplines which is why I think that it’s important for students to join this club.”

According to Fujita, coding is essential to the digital age.

“You can see the level of innovation we have today would not be possible without coding and the development of computer science,” Fujita said.

Techtree will introduce various workshops built around coding. These workshops will provide an interactive experience for students by exposing them to building computer software, writing resumes, and applying for STEM internships.

“I hope to create an environment in which students feel encouraged to take the risk of entering a field in which they have absolutely no experience,” Fujita said.

Students who are just looking to learn about the subject are welcome as well.

“The whole club was just very welcoming and encouraging and I like how we are able to ask the club president questions and even make our own suggestions,” club member Alex Tipping said.

Unlike most coding programs, Techtree

offers students with internships at universities like UCLA, where Fujita herself was inspired to start the club.

Fujita would like to help people pursue careers by integrating coding workshops into classroom curriculum, and help develop their passion for computer science through internships like herself.

“Students will become more encouraged to apply to these internships and they will take away from these experiences, mentors, and just a vast breadth of knowledge they may have not had prior to the club,” Fujita said.

With the help of Techtree, students will receive the basic knowledge necessary to pursue coding as a career.

Techtree will also provide students with the tools and experience allowing them to get a better understanding of STEM affiliated fields.

“Students will get a broader idea of biology, chemistry, and physics,” Fujita said.

Many of the internships reach out to minorities who have historically not been involved in coding, like women. Techtree provides internships solely for women as local companies push for females interested in coding.

“Girls starting in high school are pushed to pursue computer science or STEM related internships so that they stay with those interests through college and when they reach the working world,” Fujita said.

“Computer science provides great social interaction in making technology more accessible in people of all areas of society,” Fujita said. “It’s important to try it out because every opportunity that we take helps us determine what our true passions are.”

Fujita hopes Techtree will help people find and pursue their goals.

“I hope for students to receive experiences that potentially determine what career they will pursue for their lifetime,” Fujita said.

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features

High Tide

Sunscreen Film Festival Compiled by Yasi Fazeli, Zach Hatakeyama, Amanda Shaw, Mylene Silver and Grace Zoerner Written by Zach Hatakeyama and Grace Zoerner South Bay residents are familiar with festivals such as Fiesta Hermosa and Lobster Fest. However, there is a new festival in town, this one celebrating the advancements in independent film.

During the weekend of Oct. 2, the Sunscreen Film Festival took over Hermosa Beach and screened over 50 independent films and shorts.

“To me, it’s about telling a good story,” festival director Robert Enriquez said. “It’s nice to find these young filmmakers and to see where they’ll be in the next few years.”

Centered around unknown filmmakers and featuring many different categories of films including horror and shorts, Sunscreen offers a different movie-going experience than what most people in the Beach Cities are used to.

“Some of these films have very well known actors, but they don’t have distribution because it’s a passion project. If you don’t have distribution, then you’re not going to see it in a commercial theatre,” Julie Vasquez Nunis, the festival’s Executive Director of Community Development, said.

“This is the place you’ll see foreign films and shorts, and films that are made very well on a different size budget.”

Nunis hopes to pull in an audience of all ages, especially the local youth.

“Students in high school and college want to see creative, funny, different films, and you’re only going to see those at film festivals, [where] people like us who have a creative bone [are] actually putting in the work,” she said. “It’s okay to see films that aren’t commercially marketed. There are [other] good films out there.”

Korey Pollard, First Assistant Director of new television series, The Player, also agrees that today’s youth is important to the film industry.

“My show is not a young person show but the entire business itself is designed to be marketed to [young people] in the first place. That’s a big part of what it is. They’re trying to hit that 13-29 year old market a lot of times,” Pollard said.

Nunis’s favorite featured movie is a short French film called Plein Soleil. According to her, the opportunity to see foreign films is one of the greatest characteristics of film festivals.

“This is the first festival I’ve been to ever,” Norwegian filmmaker Eirik Daleng, who travelled to Hermosa Beach for the festival, Halsnøy, said. “It’s an amazing opportunity with a lot of great people and films.”

In many cases, film festivals are the only source of exposure for independent filmmakers.

“I think [festivals] make the TV and film industry. I think aside from your huge studio movies and blockbusters, this is how people know about indies and this is how they come to light,” Dermaphoria actress Nicole Badaan said. “The films that get awards and get in the most festivals get heard and get to be compared on that same level as movies with the bigger budgets. Film festivals are like these are catalysts for indies films.”

In addition to providing publicity for independent films, festivals also serve as an outlet to celebrate the film industry.

“It’s kind of a celebration. It’s nice to have people who love movies. People who love film festivals love movies and it kind of spreads to the audience that comes to the film festival. The filmmakers get a chance to shake the hands of the people who are going to go see their movies. It’s a very cool way for all film lovers to get together,” Dermaphoria and Sons of Anarchy actor Ron Perlman said.

While some find it difficult and expensive to promote a film, it is a similar struggle to do the same with a film festival, according to Enriquez.

“It’s tough without a big marketing budget to plaster the papers, get certain press people, and get that kind of exposure,” Enriquez said.

Enriquez and Nunis allowed the festival to advertise for itself, through word of mouth. They went to the local farmer’s market weekly to meet members of the community and offer them two free tickets to summer screenings.

“It kind of became an organic thing,” Nunis said. “We had a tent every Friday and were physically shaking hands with people.

It made us a very human part of the Beach Cities.”

Both Enriquez and Nunis stress the importance of Sunscreen’s role in the Beach Cities community, and credit much of the festival’s success to its location in Hermosa Beach. They initially tried to hold the festival in Manhattan Beach, but quickly decided that it wasn’t a good fit.

“It felt a little too corporate for us. It was too spread out and really hard without to make a festival of that size work without major funding,” Enriquez said. “I thought, why not go to the community I know the best? The town I live in: Hermosa Beach.”

This year, the festival’s attendance level rose by 30%, pleasing Enriquez. According to him, Sunscreen is starting to feel like “an event in the community that’s staying.”

“I really want to keep going in this direction. I feel like we took a really nice turn this year,” Enriquez said. “This is something people can look forward to.”

1

The big sunscreen. 1. This

PHOTOS BY KEIKO SHINGU AND KAREN VUONG

2

is Sunscreen Film Festival’s second year in the South Bay after moving from St. Petersburg, FL. 2. Festival director Robert Enriquez discusses his excitement for the festival, “I’ve lived [here] over twenty years. I’ve always felt it would be a great place to house a film festival,” he said. 3.

Actor Ron Perlman speaks to senior Zach Hatakeyama and sophomore Mylene Silver on the red carpet.

3 PHOTOS 1 AND 3 BY KAREN VUONG PHOTO 2 BY KEIKO SHINGU

Oct. 16, 2015

features

Ain’t no mountain high enough

page 13

Preedeedliok worked as a trail guide in college

by Summer Saad

Even though his partner was covered in poison oak, biology teacher Dean Preedeedilok continued leading his first hike up a mountain. He did not let the situation discourage what would turn into a hobby he grew to love.

During his college career at California Polytechnic State University, Preedeedilok was a trail guide.

“There’s nothing quite like looking out onto something you just climbed or being at the highest point in a mountain range where you can see everything all around you,” Preedeedilok said. “It’s euphoric. It’s an amazing feeling that you can’t really describe with words.”

According to Preedeedilok, the goal is often beyond most people’s comfort zones.

“It’s like a staircase, it’s hard, it’s difficult — and you’ve got to get through those tough times because at the end there’s that amazing view at the top of the mountain or there’s that accomplishment where you just completed this amazing trip and it was hard and it was dirty and you’re exhausted but, it’s all worth it in the end,” Preedeedilok said.

Preedeedilok believes bonding can help build the trust essential to trail groups.

“We’d go to bike nights, we’d even go on our own personal camping trips and back-

packing and mountaineering trips. We’d do a bunch of training trips together,” he said.

“You’d really build close bonds with the people you’re working with.”

With this bond, the group trusts Preedeedilok to guide them to the top of the mountain.

“Climbing is like a puzzle, so you just try and find the best way up. How are you going to get up this mountain, and what’s the best route.” Preedeedilok said.

Preedeedilok’s main goal is to ensure that everyone got the full experience.

“I want these people to have the best time possible, I want to show them all the cool things that I’ve seen on this trail and I want them to experience everything that I’ve experienced,” Preedeedilok said.

Preedeedilok takes this experience and connects it with teaching. He believes that the key to guiding and teaching is leadership skills.

“Being a teacher, of course you’re leading the classroom, but [you are also teaching] perseverance. Things like mountaineering and backpacking, they’re fun but sometimes they’re arduous,” Preedeedilok said.

Preedeedilok sees many similarities between teaching and mountain climbing.

“It’s like a prize,” Preedeedilok said. “See-

ing your kids get good grades and seeing your kids actually learn something, there’s always that prize at the end. It’s also like fulfilling a goal in school. If you strive for the ‘A’ and you get the ‘A’, it feels great. But, if you don’t get it, you set a new goal on how you’re going to get it next time.”

Biology teacher Kelly Lewis agrees with Preedeedilok.

“You see all the obstacles you have to overcome, and take them one step at a time to reach your goal,” Kelly said. “It’s exciting to watch kids overcome these struggles to accomplish the goal of being successful.”

Although Preedeedilok spends most of his time teaching and grading, he does not stop hiking and plans on continuing as long as possible.

“Now it’s even sweeter because I don’t get to do it as much but, when I do, I really enjoy it and take everything in and really appreciate the time,” Preedeedilok said Even though Preedeedilok doesn’t have as much time as he used to for hiking, he still finds it important to go out expeirience the great outdoors.

“Life’s too short, you gotta see all the mountains you can,” Preedeedilok said.

“There’s always going to be more mountains to climb.”

P

PHOTO COURTESY OF DEAN PREEDEEDILOK

Follow the trail. Preedeedliok spent much

of his college career at Cal Poly University as a trail guide and led groups up many mountains, “It makes me try things that I’ve never tried before,” he said. “I do plan on doing it in the future, I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.”

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High Tide

features

And the nominees are...

Members of the homecoming court vie for the titles of king and queen compiled by Miriam Farah

Senior Boys

Senior Girls

Josh Arrow

Chika Awujo

Micah Ezzes

Rowan Berndt

Adam King

Marley Capper

“I think [being a nominee] is fun. I was nominated last year, but I didn’t win. This year, I’ve been trying to get involved as much as possible and I think it’s a good experience to look back on. I’ve tried to be a better person during the last couple years and I think this is a good step to show people that.”

“I think it’s pretty funny that I got nominated. My friends did it as a joke; they were just messing with me, and I guess it got attraction. It’s kind of a funny experience, and people keep coming up to me and tell me they voted for me. I kinda get a kick out of it.”

“It feels good to be a nominee. I like everyone who is on the homecoming court. I’m good friends with Josh and Micah, so we’re just having fun and it’s not too competitive. I think it’ll be cool to win. I moved here just last year, so I think going from joining a school in eleventh grade to winning will be fun.”

Junior Boys

“I would like to homecoming queen to show other people that they can do anything they put their mind to. I didn’t request the position to be nominated for homecoming queen, but it’s kind of cool to have people want me to become homecoming queen.”

“It would mean a lot I guess and it would be really cool and exciting. I didn’t know I would make it this far. It’s pretty cool and exciting. I would love to win and it’ll be cool to say, ‘I’m a queen.’”

“It means a lot to me because I’m really involved on the campus. I’m cheer captain and senior class president, so it’s nice to be recognized. I’m so grateful to be nominated in general and if I don’t win, it won’t faze me. The recognition means more [to me] than just winning.”

Junior Girls

Steven Barbee

Hali Honea

Matt Mercier

Brooklyn Narvaez

Matthew Yonemura

Isadora Quevedo-Capizzi

“Being homecoming prince; it’ll be really great to win. I didn’t even know that I was actually going to be nominated for it, so it was a surprise to make it into the top five, and making it into the top three, and it was even more surprising that people would actually vote for me.”

“I always hope to win at everything, so hopefully I will win. Bragging rights, everything. I know both of the other candidates for the juniors, who are Steven Barbee and Matthew Yonemura, and they are both my friends and it’s great to beat your friends. I always take delight in beating my friends.”

“I do [hope to win], but I am running against two good friends, Steven and Matt. So if I lose to them, I am not going to be too worried, and I feel like they’ll feel the same way. It’s just kind of cool; it would be fun [to be homecoming prince], but if not I’m not going to stress too much about it.”

“It’s not that big of a deal; it’ll be just kind of cool. I never experienced this before and it seems like a fun experience. I don’t really care if I win or not. I’m excited becasuse we are doing something new this year. The court is on a float instead of walking around the track in high heels. I’m glad that we’re doing that this year.”

“I just think it would be really cool since my boyfriend and I have been dating for almost a year, so it’ll be cool if Matthew and I were prince and princess. But I didn’t ask anybody to nominate me, it just happened. It’ll be cool [to win] but I’m not asking anyone to vote for me or anything. Whoever wins deserves it.”

“It’s actually really exciting. I feel like it’s one of those things that your mom or your dad tells you about when you’re younger and you feel like it’s never going to happen in high school with so many people. So to be one of those people out of so many, is really cool and honorable.”

PHOTOS BY SAM BENDALL, TED CAVUS AND SANDER FINK

Oct. 16, 2015

page 15

features

1.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MADYX

Hiting the high notes. 1. After the performance, Blachard meets and poses with newly aquired fans. 2. Blachard performs with MADYX to attract students to the event during lunch.

1

2

Living life above the influence

MADYX and Dispatch Schools promote a healthy lifestyle

by Eden Milan Individuality and maintaining a healthy lifestyle: two struggles that come with being a teenager. The band MADYX and Dispatch Schools focus on making a difference for students dealing with these issues.

“Be okay with who you are. You don’t need drugs or need to drink to seem ‘cool’ in people’s eyes,” Michelle Blachard, lead singer of the band MADYX, said.

With Red Ribbon Week coming up, a correspondent from Dispatch Schools hosted an anti-drug activity with the band, MADYX. According to Dispatch Schools, the group works to “engage students to be proactive in having a healthier lifestyle [and] provide resources on anti-smoking, anti-bullying, anti-drug, and anti-drinking and driving.”

“I find it neat that the information goes beyond just them as students but it goes to the family members too. The students want to do good for their mom and dad, and they give the information to them. I find that awesome,” Dispatch Schools correspondent Shael Trunk said.

The group visited RUHS on Sept. 28 in the Student Union to enrich the students’ knowledge on anti-drug use and the harmful effects it has on the teenage body.

“The purpose of the event is to spread the word and for the students to get insight and understand the harmful effects of things

like smoking, drugs, and drinking and driving,” Trunk said.

While the band plays, a correspondent from Dispatch Schools set up around a tent where a table full of pamphlets reside.

Each pamphlet informs the reader on inhalants, prescription drugs, club drugs and the harmful effects they can have on the human body, with emphasis on the effect on the teenage body.

“It’s up to [the students] as responsible people to read and try to understand the words in the pamphlet and hopefully they’ll learn something from it and apply it into their lives,” Trunk said.

Correspondent Shael Trunk believes the event is an effective way to provide students with information that they might have questions about.

“Schools used to do this themselves but because of budget cuts to actually buy materials, like pamphlets to give out to students, but that stopped. Budgets dried up and no longer had money to do that. The fact that I still have funding and am able to do this is awesome. Hopefully they read the material and it sticks in their heads,” Trunk said.

Many of these events focus on what is relevant at the time. For example, when it’s close to Prom night, Dispatch raises awareness for anti-drinking and driving and on

“Kick Butts” Day the event focuses on antismoking.

“You have to understand, I do this everyday. The whole purpose is to get the information into the student’s hands. What they do with the information after the lunch period is for them to decide,” Trunk said.

Trunk uses DJs or bands to grab the attention of the students and encourage involvement and participation during the performance and event.

“I have been working with Dispatch for six years and MADYX has gotten the most response out of all the bands and DJs. I’m able to grab the attention of the students and they like it better with music,” Trunk said.

At the last anti-drug rally, MADYX, the self-proclaimed “Alternative/Pop brainchild” of lead singer Michelle Blachard, performed their latest songs “Some Kisses” and “Only Human,” along with a cover of Nick Jonas’ hit single “Chains.”

“I want to help others and the only way I feel I can do that is by expressing myself through my music,” Blachard said.

The band formed in 2014 after Blachard’s previous band Life Down Here (LDH) disbanded, and since then MADYX has drawn a great following. Its fan base is made up of old LDH fans and the high schoolers she performs for.

“MADYX is more of a movement than a

band,” said Blanchard. “I play and share my music for you, and I share my experience to help you.”

“I really liked the band. I hope we have something like that again,” freshman Shy’ane Rosco said.

Blachard hopes her music and efforts will be able to help kids embrace their individuality.

“I sing for the kids who are too scared to be themselves,” said Blachard. “I am the voice for the voiceless.”

Another reason why she performs for these events is because she overcame a drinking problem that started when she was a teenager. Blachard came faced up to her problem and has been sober for a year and a half now.

“I get to promote the fact that I am sober.

I’ve been through it. I know what it’s like to be in high school. I know how hard it is [because] all of the peer pressure and bullying… just know you don’t have to do it,” Blachard said.

With 60 more schools left on their High School Tour, Dispatch, MADYX, and other bands and DJs travel from the Valley to Orange County.

“That’s our deal. We go around, we play music for you,” said Blachard. “I let you in on my life a bit and I let you know it’s okay to be yourself and it’s okay not to do drugs.”

page 16

High Tide

sports

Best of the best

Cross country prepares to race at Mount Sac, one of the “most challenging” courses in the USA

by Micky Munns Girls cross country won Division 1 at the Clovis Invitational last weekend while boys placed second behind Beaumont High School.

This was the boys’ first race in Division 1 after moving up from Division 2. They finished with an average time of 16:47 while the girls finished at 19:53.

“Clovis was a state course. It has many hills, but we’ve been doing hill workouts so we were prepared,” sophomore Isabel Ramirez said.

Cross country will compete in the Mount SAC Invitational near Pomona this weekend.

The course is three miles of tarmac, dirt, grass, sharp twists, and technically challenging turns.

It has been qualified as “the hardest course in southern California” and “one of the hardest courses in the nation”.

“It’s a really great and diverse cross country course and I think that’s why they make it CIF SS Finals,” Fox said. “I’m really looking forward to it because it’s one of my favorite courses and I know I’ll do well at it every year.

Arguably the most challenging part of the course is the infamous “poop out” hill, which is the course’s steepest hill.

“We run a lot of hill courses but this one is different because there are three different types of hills,” he said. “There’s the switchbacks, which are gradual and have a lot of turns. Our coach makes us practice the turns really well.“ Boys and girls coach Bob Leetch sees this race as a chance for many of the girl runners to “find their stride”.

“The girls team has the potential to be very good,” he said. “We have quite a history of excellence, but we graduated quite a few

Hill yeah. 1.Junior Ethan Comeaux leads the way at PV invitational on Sept. 19.

girls. This team does not have a lot of varsity experience, so we’ll need them to speed their learning curve up a little bit. They’re very talented and they’re just kind of feeling their way around right now.”

In the next month, Leetch expects the teams to improve as a result of difficult training six days a week.

“There’s a half mile warm-up with 100 push ups and sit ups. Varsity starts with a hard mile at the Esplanade, then at Torrance Beach they’ll do a series of hills that are about 600 meters long. And then some interval training on the way back,” Leetch said.

“All in all, it’ll probably be 10 miles running and when they get back they’ll have their medicine ball workout.”

The boys team works on packing, or staying together, during training.

“Our training’s been really great this year.

Our top four guys have been really consistent with hitting the paces,” Fox said.

The teams train up until the day of races.

“It’s very rigorous this time of year, I don’t let up,” Leetch said. “They’ve got to find their confidence while we’re doing a heavy workload of training because sometimes they’ll have to run races on heavy legs.”

Coach Leech is determined to instill a good work ethic into his runners.

“If you want to be faster, you have to work harder than the rest. It is kind of our philosophy to peak at the end of the year and not so much in the middle,” he said.

As a senior, Fox feels nostalgia thinking back on the years he has run these courses.

“Since this is my last year running for Redondo, I’m really just focused on helping these guys win. I really gotta go all out,” he said. “Every course I remind myself that I’m running for my team. I know that we’ll do better as long as I’m doing that and not just focusing on myself.”

Back to back: Girls Golf beats South again PHOTO BYELISE DIPAOLA

by Mia Berger

Girls golf beat South Torrance yesterday 250-258. This was their second match this week; Redondo beat them on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at South’s home course, Los Verdes.

“I think we did really well on our home course because we are the most comfortable with it,” senior Molly Jimenez said.

It is shared throughout the team that South is a good team.

“Every year previously South has been relatively good and we’ve lost to them for the most part. [However], their team is really

nice and fun to play with. It’s always good to play a nice team because usually it is really competitive,” Jimenez said.

The team will play RUHS’s rival, Mira Costa High School on Tuesday, Oct. 20. This will present a difficult transition after playing the “sweet” South.

“I’m nervous because Costa is a really good team. It’s going to be a really intense and competitive match because Costa’s our rival. They are definitely really strong at driving, in other words, they are really good

at hitting the ball hard off the tee into the hole,” Jimenez said.

According to sophomore Madison Laster, another difficulty presented is Redondo’s youthful varsity team.

“Costa is definitely a challenging team.

Our team is really new because it is mostly made up of sophomores, whereas their team is made of juniors and seniors,” Laster said.

The team has lost to Costa in both 2013 and 2014, and their spirits do not seem high for this year.

“[I think that] our chances of winning are not that high. However, it’s good sometimes to play people that are better than you,” senior Captain Carlin Liang said.

With two wins under their belt this week, the team is very proud of their performance this season.

“We have come a long way this season.

I’m very proud of my team and our accomplishments so far,” Jimenez said. “I am really proud that we worked hard to pull through and win against South.”

Oct. 16, 2015

Back in red

page 17

sports

Football gears up for homecoming game, first home game in three weeks

by Romy Moreno In their first game home after three weeks, football is ready to show all the faces in the stands what they are capable of in tonight’s homecoming game against undefeated Morningside high school.

“We’re expecting to do well, especially because everyone is feeling really good coming off of the Inglewood game,” junior Diego Balcarcel said. “But since Morningside is 6-0, they probably feel the same, so it should be a good game.”

According to the team, Morningside has been playing well and haven’t lost, but their tactics are nothing RUHS hasn’t seen before.

“Their team runs a similar offense to Mission Viejo with their deep passes, but we have a specific defense just for that so we should be good,” Balcarcel said.

Senior Preston Feacher has more specific ideas about how to win against Morningside.

“They have a good passing game so we have to come out ready to pass the defense and rush the quarterback,” Feacher said. “We are really focused on our defensive backs staying deep and not getting beat over the top and other than that, just executing.”

The team also mentioned that they plan to keep an eye out for number three, a receiver and defensive back.

“Number three on Morningside is a major player we are looking out for; he’s a playmaker,” senior Mike Rubio said. “So not

allowing deep passes will be key because they’re going to want one shot plays and they have the athletes to do so.”

The players agree that the only difficulties will come from themselves and that their schedule so far has prepared them for such a team.

“We try to schedule a tough non-league part of our season to prepare us for league because ultimately our first goal is league championship and CIF after that,” Feacher said. “But so far the teams we’ve played have shown depth and variety and have given us a look at everything we need to see and prepare for.”

In addition to facing an undefeated team, this is also the big homecoming game.

“Since it is our homecoming game a lot of alumni will be there along with a lot more faces in the crowd. We especially want to show them and Morningside who we are; show them that we’re a good solid team,” Rubio said.

The team also believes that this game will bring more than just faces in the crowd.

“There will be a lot more energy, drive and focus because everybody wants to win their homecoming,” Balcarcel said.

Representation is key to the boys especially in this game.

“Homecoming week is about alumni, about the people that come back and watch

PHOTO BY MATTHEW YONEMURA

Huffing and puffing. Junior Dallas Branch races down the field in Redondo’s 35-14 loss to Mission Viejo. It was their first loss of the season, breaking a decade-long streak.

us play and to reminiscence about the times that they had here,” Feacher said. “We just have to come out and represent Redondo for Redondo and not only think about ourselves.”

In the end, the team is not trying to put

any extra pressure on themselves and are sticking to their typical game strategy.

“We’re preparing as if they’re a great team just like some others,” Rubio said. “We’re preparing to be champions and that’s how we’re looking at the rest of the year as well.”

Water Polo prepares for tournament

Sharp shooter.

Senior Blaze Bird shoots over a Peninsula defender in Redondo’s 11-9 win.

PHOTO BY SAM BENDALL

by Justin Pioletti Expectations are high for boys water polo, as they dive into the South Bay Tournament, nearing the end of their season.

Following a 20-4 win against West High, the match gave insight for areas of improvement, especially the team’s mentality towards each game.

“As a team we try not to go into any of our games cocky, even towards West. We know

that we have to always fight to get a lead and the win,” sophomore Blake Vogelsang said. “Winning is always our intention, but never our expectation.”

The team plans to carry this momentum into the South Bay Tournament, which begins tomorrow afternoon. According to senior Chris Kirchner, team diversity within the tournament is evident.

“There’s definitely a wide range of teams

at this tournament, some that are the best in the state, and others that don’t have much potential,” Kirchner said. “It doesn’t matter how we did in the tournament previous in years, as long as we bring our best to each of our games” The boys will face Mira Costa in the upcoming tournament as well. The most recent game against Costa ended in a 5-10 loss. Improving from much lower scores in previous years, RUHS aims to become potential adversaries.

“It would take a lot but I definitely think we could beat Costa,” junior Ikaika Napohaku said. “For the first two quarters of the game, we were pretty much neck and neck, but died out by the third and fourth quarter. The only way to make ourselves competition is through conditioning.”

The boys unanimously agree that conditioning has become a major aspect of the current season, which has opened a variety of improvements. ”Instead of burning out just after the first two quarters, we need the endurance to

play four solid quarters,” Kirchner said. “It’s really a mental challenge, and conditioning has really helped compete against teams we previously weren’t able to.”

The team has increased their conditioning and intensified their situational awareness in order maintain their position.

“The team’s exercise towards real game situations during practice have definitely helped our games” Ulrich said. “When we’re down by one and there’s 25 seconds left on the clock, hours of practicing really helps.”

Besides rigorous offensive strategies, RUHS also looks to improve their defense.

“Counterattacks from offense to defense are really important, which the coaches consider a ‘positioning war’.” Ulrich said.

The success of the team can be attributed to the dedication and loyalty of the coaches “Both coach Skylar and Murin have been really outgoing this season, which has helped the team connect.,” Ulrich said. “Even small things they do like conditioning and getting us in better shape really shows their dedication to the team.”

page 18

High Tide

sports

Athlete of the Issue: Norene Iosia

A swing and a miss

Girls tennis prepares for the rest of the season after losing to Costa

by Angie Tait

by Angie Tait

Bump, set, spike! 1.

Born into it 1

Senior Norene Iosia sets up a play against Costa, resulting in a point in the second match. 2.

Senior Norene Iosia attempts to block a hit by a Costa player.

Norene Iosia will playing volleyball for the University of Hawai’i Manoa next fall

by Serena Maanum Growing up in a family full of volleyball players made it hard for senior Norene Iosia to not pick up the sport. At six years old she started playing volleyball; now she’s in her last season at RUHS and preparing to continue playing in college.

“The coaching staff has been with me all four years and it’s going to be different without them,” Iosia said. “They motivate me to be a better person on and off the court so I’m excited for college, but also sad.”

Iosia has committed to playing volleyball at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. According to Iosia, she knew she was going to be “playing volleyball for a long time” as her whole family grew up playing the sport.

“All my uncles, siblings, and all my cousins play [volleyball] so it’s just something that runs in my family,” Iosia said.

When she was a little girl, Iosia always dreamed of going to Hawai’i and loves how “the people out there are all about women’s University of Hawai’i volleyball”. She looks forward to being coached by volleyball great, Dave Shoji.

“Just being coached by Dave Shoji, who

holds the record for most career wins, is a great opportunity for me,” Iosia said. “I know [the coaches] will push me to get better.”

Iosia acknowledges that volleyball in college will be different from her high school volleyball experience. “[In college], it’s more intense and serious,” Iosia said. “In high school, volleyball is more fun, but in college it’s no joke because if you don’t keep up then you won’t be successful.”

Since she started playing, Iosia has learned skills that help her in her game and the coaches have helped improve these skills.

“I have become more confident and more offensive minded while reading the game,” Iosia said. “Our team reflects on wins and losses by watching the recording of the game.”

Head coach, Tommy Chaffins, has personally influenced her with his stories of life lessons that she brings off the court.

“He makes me want to be a better person and he always wants us to stay humble,” Iosia said.

2

PHOTOS BY TED CAVUS

Coach Chaffins hopes that he has taught Iosia and her teammates “the life lessons that come from participating on a team and competitions.”

“Her skill set was amazing and I felt like the best thing to do for her would be to not tinker with her mechanics,” Chaffins said.

According to Chaffins, Iosia is not only a pivotal player to the team, she also has leadership qualities.

“She celebrates other’s successes more than her own and always thinks about the team first,” Chaffins said. “She cares about each of her teammates as individuals first, then as volleyball players second.”

Iosia hopes for the team to win Bay League and maybe advance even farther.

“I believe we have the talent to win CIF as well as state,” Iosia said.

Now a senior, this will be Iosia’s last volleyball season at RUHS, but her achievements with the team will stay with her.

“My favorite memory would have to be beating Mater Dei in the state semi-finals because we almost lost,” Iosia said.

Chaffins knows that Iosia will be one of the school’s “top 10 ten athletes” ever.

She will not only go down in RUHS history, but she has also achieved a Top-25 national rank in volleyball, according to MaxPreps.

“It’s crazy [to be recognized] out of all the seniors in the U.S.,” Iosia said. “I know I am ranked number twenty-one, but I think that it’s amazing.”

As she departs from RUHS, she takes with her fond memories and lifelong achievements, but leaves behind advice for the younger players.

“There’s not many programs like ours and it’s going to go by super fast,” Iosia said. “So just cherish your whole volleyball season here and cherish it with your teammates.”

After losing to Costa last Thursday, the girls’ tennis team hopes to end the season on a high note.

“We’ve been expecting Costa to play their best, and they did, just as they have in previous years,” senior Isabella Guzman said.

The team agrees that Costa’s team was “more aggressive and powerful” on the court, which gave way to most of their points.

“Singles put in a really strong effort, and doubles worked equally as hard. We simply didn’t have as much confidence going into the match, which probably held us back,” senior Emily Zargham said.

The team needs to work on a good offense - is one of Costa’s main strengths.

“We need to be more aggressive at the net, against both Poly and the others schools we will be playing this month,” Guzman said.

The team agreed that their serves and shots were solid overall, and that they “played well, just not as well as Costa.”

With a game against Long Beach on Oct. 19, the team’s practices will remain the same, except for the fact that their top player, Alyssa Grijalva, remains on the sideline with tendonitis.

“Without Alyssa, our matches are going to be tighter and we will have to fight harder in the games we play with out her. We lost to Costa, because we didn’t have a tough player against a tough team,” Zargham said.

However, Grijalva’s injury will not necessarily take a damaging toll out on the team as a whole, according to sophmore Alena Smith.

“It’s more of the singles adapting to [Alyssa’s] absence. We all knew how much she wanted to beat Costa and this was her last year to do it,” Smith said.

The Long Beach Poly match on Monday, according to Zargham, “shouldn’t be a problem,” in terms of tactics.

“At this point, the team as a whole can mainly work on believing in ourselves, and motivating each other to play to the best of our ability,” Zargham said.

Oct. 16, 2015

sports

page 19

Costa gets served Girls volleyball sweeps Costa in yesterday’s game

by Romy Moreno

PHOTO BY MATTHEW YONEMURA

They’re digging it. 1. Seniors Amanda Taso amd Kacey Baker bock a shot in the game against Costa.

After two gut-wrenching back and forth sets, the girls volleyball team was able to defeat rivals, Mira Costa high school in a clean sweep, 25-23, 27-25, 25-17.

“Costa is our rival, it’s the biggest volleyball game, I think, in southern California” coach Chaffins said. “I thought the Mustangs played great and they pushed us to find another level and luckily we did.”

With this win under their belt the team is set up for the first place spot in Bay League.

“We are the top two teams in the league, and the South Bay, so it’s an electric event,” Chaffins said. “We live in a volleyball rich area with a lot of passionate fans, so there’s always more than a thousand people at the game, especially at one like this.”

The team plans on continuing the momentum from this game throughout the remainder of the season.

“I think we put our heart on the court and we really took each other’s energy and used it,” freshman Kyla Doig said.

According to Chaffins, senior Norene Iosia and senior Megan Rice were the stars of the match.

“Norene and Megan made some outstanding superstar plays; they are pure superstars,” Chaffins said.

Iosia believes that this was a crucial win to determine how the team will feel in an effort to make it to CIF finals once again.

“Being undefeated in league right now,

will give us a lot of confidence on the road to CIF,” Iosia said.

Rice has similar thoughts.

“It’s really important that we stay undefeated and focus on our next game. The next game is what by far most important to us,” Rice said.

Even with this big win, the team agrees that they still have plenty to work on.

“We have room to get better, we can block a little better but that’s on me because we haven’t really practiced it a lot,” Chaffins said.

In addition, the girls shared that improving their serves, passing and communication is key to the upcoming games.

“We always have room to improve; serving and passing are the main things on our mind,” Iosia said.

Despite the areas they need to work on, the team agrees that they had many good aspects throughout the game.

“I thought we sided-out wonderfully. We also dug a lot of balls,” Chaffins said. “We [had] to win with smarts, experience, and a great defense.”

Overall the team is thrilled that they were able to accomplish one of their biggest goals of the season: to beat Costa.

“They wanted to win just as much as we did. They brought a lot of fans to try and get into our heads but we were able to shut them out with our plays,” Rice said.

Boys beach volleyball places first in AAU

by Hayley Rigby Boys beach volleyball dominated playoffs and beat their final opponents of the season, winning the Bay League Championship and the Amateur Athletics Union (AAU) tournament over the weekend.

The team advanced to the quarter finals and semifinals, then won against their last opponent, SaddleBack Valley, 2-1 at the team’s final match that took place at Ocean Park Beach.

“It felt good to win. However, it was a huge challenge. They were more skilled and the heat took more energy out of us,” senior Lucas Lossone said.

According to Lossone, competing against well experienced players was not the team’s only battle at the championship tournament.

The recent sunny weather and record high temperatures was one of the team’s major setbacks during last weekend’s matches. It affected the team’s energy and

performance during their games. Junior Logan Glave believes the players still managed to keep themselves together.

“The heat and humidity drained all of us a little bit later in the day, but we were able to overcome it,” Glave said.

With a lot of pressure that was surrounding the team, Glave and other players had to push themselves through each match in order to go all the way to the final round. They brought out their best team strategies and skills out onto the court in order for them to beat their opposition.

“The first match we came out a little bit slow but picked it up after the first game. We played really well in the two matches after that. We brought intensity and hustled for every point,” said Glave.

The boys on the team could not be anymore proud of what they have accomplished. The players feel that not only winning the final tournament and becoming

PHOTO COURTESY OF LUCAS LOSSONE

Set and score. The team poses for a picture after a long day of games.After the tournament the team will start preparing for the indoor season.

state champions for this year’s Bay League was a big achievement, but also strengthening and improving as a whole team has been a great accomplishment.

“There are no words for how I feel about the team’s performance. Nothing can com-

pare to it. Knowing we pushed ourselves through the season and all of our hard work has paid off, and becoming closer as a team.

It feels amazing. We put in everything we had into this season of beach and were able to win a state title. I’m so proud”, said Glave.

page 20

High Tide

news

Great Shakeout

by Chris Paludi

Yesterday, across California, 10.4 million people were registered to participate in The Great California ShakeOut, “an annual opportunity to practice how to be safer during big earthquakes...to review and update emergency preparedness plans and supplies, and to...prevent damage and injuries” (shakeout.org).

RUHS accounted for several thousand of the participants in this drill, which began in California in 2008 and has since run on the third Thursday of October every year.

“This drill is optional, but a large majority of the state participates in the drill because it is a great way to ensure that the school site is prepared,” Assistant Principal Anthony Bridi said. “However, we are obligated and mandated to have drills throughout the school year. For me, it is not optional. I want to make sure that our staff and our students are very well prepared for any emergency.”

According to shakeout.org, “all of California is at higher risk compared to the rest of the country.” And the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports that California “has the most damaging earthquakes...because of its great population and extensive infrastructure.”

“The greatest risk in an earthquake,” according to the USGS, “is the severity of the shaking it causes to manmade and natural structures and the contents within these that may fail or fall and injure or kill people.”

Bridi says that although following all

earthquake procedures is imperative, students should also work with their families to plan for emergencies.

“It is important for students to communicate a plan with their parents,” Bridi said.

That way “they know a possible emergency might happen in the future, they know if there is a family plan to re-unite, even if it is not during school hours.”

Yearly disaster drills provide administration with an opportunity to get feedback on and improve their emergency procedures.

“We had some feedback last year on our rescue teams, and the rescue teams were numbered, with a total of four rescue teams, because when we are communicating over the radio, a lot of the things we are saying is number-based,” Assistant Principal Anthony Bridi said. “What we have decided to do is rather than say a bunch of numbers, because some things can be complicated with throwing too many numbers out, we have changed the rescue team name not to have a number, but a color.”

These rescue teams are designated red, blue, yellow, and green, and each of the groups had buildings that correspond to their group color, which “makes it easier to compartmentalize if there ever is an actual emergency,” Bridi said. “It’s imperative that we prepare here in the South Bay for earthquakes because if we have an emergency here, it would probably be an earthquake.

We should be prepared for that.”

ILLUSTRATIONS BY LULU WEGMAN INFORMATION COURTESY OF WEATHER UNDERGROUND AND LIVE SCIENCE

2-2.9 3-3.9 Very minor

Minor

Primary waves Travel at the speed of sound, shaking things in the direction they travel

Tectonic plates boundaries Ring of Fire

a year 500,000 earthquakes around the world

452

90% 1% of earthquak-

of earthquakes happen along the Ring of Fire

volcanoes along the Ring of Fire

5% of earthe-

Richter Scale

4-4.9

5-5.9

6-6.9

7-7.9

8+

Light

Moderate

Strong

Major

Great

Surface waves Presumed to be the most destructive type of seismic waves

Love waves

Rayleigh waves

Travel along the surface moving forward to back and side to side at the same time

Also called ground roll, these are surface waves that travel as ripples