January 21, 2011

P7: Junior Jeffrey Brandon dribbles the ball next to Junior Alex Matei.

P3: Alternative education is profiled and shores is highlighted.

P6: Sophomore Ilana Lagraff’s mother draws artwork on her lunch

High Tide

Redondo Beach, CA Redondo Union High School

Jan. 21, 2011 vol.

LMXXIIV

edition 7

]www.hightideonline.org ]

4.

New gym and field provide a sense of school spirit

On Deck

by Taylor Ballord

1.

ALL PHOTOS BY JAKE COLLINS

2.

On Deck. 1. The softball team enjoys their new facility. 2. A view of the new gym floor with the school name stenciled in red. 3. The first competition in the new gym was last week’s wrestling match against Peninsula. 4. According the Saltsman, the new facilities will boost school spirit.

3.

Red and white from ceiling to floor, the new gym is the epitome of school spirit and its ready for teams to compete in. Meanwhile the luscious green grass of the new softball field provides a scenic view for all while being a haven for our softball team.

While the new gym was open to the public for a wrestling meet last week, it is not completely finished.

“The meet was stressful because the gym wasn’t fully open yet. It was still a construction site,” Athletic Director Andy Saltsman said.

The softball team also has a new home, the new field.

“We love it out there it’s like being in a new world and there’s really no facility in the area as good as ours,” softball coach Jennifer Dessert said.

Thanks to the new facilities most sports teams will be able to practice and play here at school, according to Saltsman “The benefits are huge, not only athletically but also for our school. I think when you come to the facilities now you’ll want to be a part of it not only athletically but you’ll want to be a fan as well,” Saltsman said.

Recycling awareness week encourages students to take action for a cleaner campus

by Danny Garzon

As part of a district-wide recycling movement, Recycling Awareness Week (RAW) took place last week to encourage students to be more eco-friendly.

Each week, a club will collect all the recyclable bottles and cans from new recycle bins placed across campus.

According to Assistant Principal Amy Golden, the clubs will receive all the money collected from the recycling and will be able to donate the money to a charitable cause of their choice, or decide to keep the money for club related activities.

“We really feel like this is important for the environment,” she said.

A school-wide assembly was held on Jan. 11 to bring awareness to recycling and to influence students’ decisions regarding trash and littering.

At the assembly, pictures were shown of the campus littered with trash. Golden hopes that the pictures will serve as a call for action for students.

“I don’t think we’re being good global citizens by not taking action, so now, we are,” Golden said.

Jeremy Porr, commissioner of inter-club

council for ASB, feels that club involvement will prove beneficial for both the clubs and the school.

“Students at Redondo have always been dedicated to important causes,” he said. “Saving the planet and keeping our beaches clean is something all students can agree on.”

Junior Charlotte Kim drew artwork that

“At the end of the day it is up to the students to keep our campus clean, If they do not really want it, then it will not happen.”

—Jeremy Porr was featured during the school-wide assembly. She feels that the recycling movement will help everyone involved.

“I feel that nobody realizes that trash never truly goes away,” she said. “Even if it’s put in a garbage can it will eventually end up in a landfill or the ocean.”

According to Kim, the trash left behind

after lunch and snack is “disgusting”.

“It makes a terrible statement for the school if most of its students don’t even know how to use a trash can,” she said.

Like Kim, Porr feels that the trash problem was getting out of hand.

“I think [the amount of trash] is really disgusting and it makes me sad to see how careless some people can be,” he said. “Trash is literally left right next to trash cans after lunch, and the seagulls are getting outrageous.”

According to Porr, there has already been a noticeable difference in the amount of trash left behind since the program was implemented. He feels that the responsibility to maintain a clean campus falls on the student.

“At the end of the day it is up to the students to keep our campus clean,” he said. “If they do not really want it, then it will not happen.”

Golden hopes that the renewed awareness will excite students about the positive effects of recycling.

“This is something that, I think, many kids are jazzed about, and it’s not that hard,” Golden said. “Kids just have to throw their trash away.”

1.

PHOTOS BY ASHLEY MAULDIN

3.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. 1. (From left to right) Michelle Huff, Christina Mehranbod, Crystal Anderson, Jessica Hammer, and Kelsey Szerlip talk about how their club would benefit from recycling.

2. Seniors Casey Lovano and Joanie Schneider promote their club, Heal the Bay. 3. Students enter the auditorium to see the recycling awareness week assembly.

2.

Dances are cancelled due to lack of student support and student funding

by Laney Burke

Due to low support and profits, the Winter Formal dance has been canceled.

Assistant Principal Amy Golden and Dance Guard coach Sarah Siemmons based their decision on a school-wide survey that asked students what they thought of school dances.

According to the survey, most of the students wanted to pay less than $5 per ticket and preferred it to be off campus.

“We can’t even have [the dance] in the

gym for that amount,” Golden said.

Golden and Siemmons considered holding the dance at a Hollywood club, but this option did not generate enough interest from students.

“It was a really cool venue,” Golden said.

“But to break even we would have to charge $35 per person.”

Because Dance Guard lost over $1,000 from last year’s Winter Formal, they could not afford to go over-budget again.

“Winter Formal is used as a fund raiser,” Siemmons said. “If we can’t cover the cost of

the dance by getting enough students, it is not worth it to put the program in debt again.”

Just over 200 students went to Winter Formal last year.

“At a school of more than 2,000 students, it really shouldn’t be that hard to get 300 to 400 [students] attending dances,” Siemmons said.

Dance Guard co-captain Gianna Esposito is disappointed that the dance has been canceled.

“We loved putting [the dance] on and going to it—the whole process,” she said. “It’s

taken away from us now.”

Some seniors feel that they have missed out of a full high school experience.

“It’s not fair that I don’t even have the option to go the dance,” senior Melanie Wells said. “I’ll never have this opportunity again.”

Siemmons hopes to give out another survey next year to see if they can get a more positive response.

However, according to Golden, it will take a few years for students’ attitudes to change.

“It was never really a fully received dance,” Esposito said.

Although many students have complained that they never received a survey, ASB Activities Director Sherie Gross maintains that every English class was given surveys.

“It was the choice of the English teacher to give them out,” she said.

According to Gross, the survey has no effect on ASB and no effect on prom. However, Golden will be talking to Semper advisor Melanie Ware about Homecoming.

“It’s a huge commitment [to hold a dance],” Golden said. “The decision will be up to her.”

Opinion

2

p.

]Jan. 21, 2011]

State education situation is dire

Around

Redondo

“Should struggling students consider alternative education options?”

“No, it’s not like they would learn anything from that anyway.”

12th

— Andy Danryd

“Yeah, because they would get to learn at their own pace.”

12th

— Rachel Otzelberger

“They should be able to get enough help in a high school.”

11th

­— Chris Paliungas

“Yes, they are entitled to get the best possible education.”

11th

­— Thomas Stevens

“Yes, because they still need an education.

They shouldn’t just give up.”

10th

­— Idalys Rivera

“Of course. If these kids need help, they need to be able to get it.”

9th

­— Sam Bodin

High Tide

]staff]

Editor-in-Chief: Austin Pritzkat Managing Editors: Sophia Lykke, Julia Uriarte Editor of Design: Molly Simon News Editors: Kaitee Scheyer, Christina Mehranbod Opinion Editor: Josh Hillsburg Features Editors: Dylan Futrell, Kelsey Chung; Meglyn Huber; Ashley Pournamdari, Alison Peet-Lukes, Madeline Perrault Sports Editors: Adam Ammentorp, Jessica Cascio Photo Editor: Jonathan Martin Copy Editors: Shannon Bowman, Olivia Loveland; Melissa Rosero Cartoonist: Josh Hillsburg Online Editor: Brianna Egan Staff Writers: Vanessa Alarcon, Sammie Avalos, Victoria, Balding, Taylor Ballard, Matthew Brancoli, Loren Brown, Laney Burke, Tati Celentano, Kimberly Chapman, Zachary Commins, Alexis Curtis-Olson, Camille Duong, Kaelee Epstein, Gianna Esposito, Daniel Garzon, Allie Goldberg, Anacristina Gonzalez, Michelle Hough, Bethany Kawa, David Kawa, Casey Lovano, Anthony Leong, Tricia Light, Cammille Mitchell, Cameron Paulson, Melissa Rosero, Allison Salazar, Alyssa Sanchez, Derek Sarno, Joanie Schneider, Alex Shea, Jessi Shipley, Laura Shodall, Annica Stitch, Shayna Stuart, Emma Uriarte, Alyssa Wolf, Zachary Zent Adviser: Mitch Ziegler The High Tide dedicates itself to producing a high-quality publication that both informs and entertains the entire student body.

This newspaper is a wholly student managed, designed and written newspaper that focuses on school and community events.

The High Tide is published by the journalism class at Redondo Union High School, One Sea Hawk Way, Redondo Beach, CA 90277.

Advertising is $7.50 per column inch, $6.00 if paid in advance. For information call (310)798-8665 ext. 2210.

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

Editorial: Recycling efforts admirable The lights dim as the noise of over 1,000 people sighing into their chairs fills the auditorium. Restless eyes find the stage as the assembly MCs bounce onto the stage and introduce us to Redondo’s new movement: Recycling Awareness.

The student body sat calmly while they learned how humans are single-handedly destroying the planet, and how we, as high school students, can change that.

As the mass exodus of students thundered out of the auditorium, with each person scrambling for a RAW wristband, everyone seemed more than slightly inspired — glowing, almost.

Last week, Recycling Awareness Week (RAW), was completely dedicated to making our school environment a cleaner and more ecofriendly place to live.

The all-school assembly was hosted by Redondo’s Recycling Committee, a group composed of ASB representatives, teachers, clubs, and administrators.

The group dynamic was particularly interesting, as it incorporated different kinds of people from all over the school.

There is something motivating about watching different factions from around the campus come together for a common cause.

For months the committee planned to preach the “go green” gospel.

In this age of fiery rhetoric and differing opinions, such teamwork and coalition-building is as rare as it is refreshing.

With our interests peaked, a brief video showed us images of our campus after lunch.

We were assured that we could change with just the smallest of efforts. We watched as Ecology Club flashed us photos of our overflowing landfills and our littered oceans.

Do Something Club illustrated how recycling won’t just benefit the campus, but the proceeds will also fund nonprofit organizations.

RUHS, here’s the challenge: Recycle your bottles and cans, and save lives. It is as easy as that.

Instead of receiving information from the same people from the same group, new and different people were constantly strolling onto the stage and throwing out something new.

The student body never had a chance to look away.

We discovered that what was on the screen was relevant to us.

The entire student body rallying together to join the cause is surely significant and inspiring progress.

The campus has also recently been inundated with new, blue recycling bins.

With green bracelets adorning wrists and encouraging recycling, we hope you felt the extra push to walk the few steps to the bin, and drop in the water bottle.

If so, you’ve donated to a non-profit organization, cleaned up our campus, and reduced the hazardous wastes in our landfills.

If you haven’t joined the movement yet, know that by doing so, you could also help save the world.

“The entire student body rallying together to join the cause is both significant and inspiring progress.”

For the past thirty years, the monster of Sacramento has devoured our tax dollars, accumulated huge debt and cut

by Alex Curtis funding for programs that millions depend on.

But “new” Governor Jerry Brown aims to change

by Zac Commins Sacramento’s image and make the state accountable for its debt.

In his inaugural address, Brown expressed the need to review the budget and make a reasonable compromise that closes the budget deficit.

“In the coming year, we will grapple with the problems of our schools, with our prisons, our water supply, its reliability, and our environment,” Brown said. “We will also have to look at our system of pensions and how to ensure that they are transparent and actuarially sound and fair to the workers and the taxpayers.”

According to the California Department of Finance, Brown proposes a $1.7 billion cut in higher education spending, slashing state library spending in half, revoking over 48,000 cell phones from state employees, and a four percent cut in funding for K-12 education to eliminate the mounting budget deficit.

Our state’s education system has faced drastic cuts in the wake of the economic downturn.

As residents of California, we are entitled to receive a quality education, but not necessarily a fully-funded one. In recent decades, Americans have ceaselessly demanded for lower taxes without cutting government spending. But these petitions have created a recipe for unmanageable accumulation of debt.

While elementary and secondary education has been relatively spared from severe cuts in Brown’s budget, it is impossible to uphold a system that provides superior public education to California’s youth with continuing budgets.

Though both seem like curse words in the modern political arena, the only two viable options for closing the budget deficit and creating a stable education system are cutting programs and raising taxes. Some believe that a smaller hand of government presents the best choice, but a future without a quality public education in California will not facilitate global economic competition.

This is the time to truly be accountable for the well-being of our state. We must stop hoping for a better future, while refusing to provide for one. If we wish to leave a lasting legacy for future generations, we must take responsibility for the shortfalls of the past and create an enduring, financially stable public education system.

Pro Con Do alternative schooling options provide adequate education?

S

tudents are given one path that they are told to follow in order to succeed: four years of high school followed by four years of college.

by Olivia Loveland We are told that we must prove our superiority to our peers by somehow surpassing them in all the same categories –– classes, tests, and grades. It’s mindless competition. Students with this mind-set sometimes go through school without ever exploring and discovering their own talents.

But not all students thrive in this academic environment, which is why we need alternatives to the traditional high school plan.

There need to be other options for students to consider. Nationally, 40 percent of students do not complete high school (www.all4ed.com). I know Shores and Independent Studies educations may not be as popular as one received in high school, but they are often the best options for struggling students.

One option that most students do not know about is the California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) which, upon completion, a student of at least 16 years old can receive a certification equivalent to a high school diploma that can be used to enroll in a community college.

Completing this test could allow a student to potentially leave high school at age 16, enroll in community college for

two years, and then transfer to a 4-year public or private university — all with out taking the SAT or ACT. This test is also not to be confused with the General Education Development (GED) test, which can only be taken at the age of 18 after your graduating class has already graduated. The CHSPE is not for all students, but for a certain type of student who is ready for a new learning environment and ready for higher education.

Students can also try dual enrollment in a community college. During the year, they can pick up college credits that count towards high school as well.

These options are not for kids who cannot compete academically, but for students who are unsatisfied with the rigid, unforgiving structure of high school.

As I said before, we as students are given one path to take, and that path is getting harder. Admission rates to CSU and UC campuses have declined significantly over the past several years. Everyone is doing the same things to try and get into the same colleges, often with a near identical list of GPA, AP courses, SAT scores, academic honors, and extracurriculars.

We have become obsessed with doing the right things to get accepted, but have ignored the students who struggle in high school because they need a different option that can also lead to college.

So, instead of mindlessly competing against each other — for the same acceptances to the same colleges — maybe we should mindfully do things differently to achieve success.

T

hey call them “alternative education options,” but we know what they really are: alternatives to education.

The progressives strike again with their programs that offer kids the easy way out, shamelessly risking kids’ futures just to make sure no one gets their feelings hurt.

Rather than using the time honored and effective system of schooling that has been in use for generations, shortcut after shortcut is offered to students to allow them to dodge as much of the workload as possible; anything to allow them to graduate and feel special for doing so.

Options like this are what causes the education in the U.S. to fall behind the rest of the world. Children need to stay in structured classrooms that teach not only the skills necessary to permit our country’s continuing prosperity, but also teach the social skills which allow our economy to thrive and our workplaces to remain productive.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development places the United States 18th among the 36 nations examined in a recent USA Today article. Only 75 percent of US students graduate compared to South Korea’s 93 percent rate (www.upi.com).

In 2006, the average science score of students in the US trailed behind those in 16 of 30 countries and the average math score trailed 23 out of 30 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (www. washingtonpost.com) These numbers

have dwindled even more now.

These programs that herald “going at your own pace” sound nice, but that’s not how the real world works.

Future employby Derek Sarno ers won’t give kudos for trying; you are just out of a job.

In our society of free enterprise, a man needs to not only meet the standards of himself, but the standards of the economic climate.

Programs like Independent Study or the California High School Proficiency Exam are nothing more than breeding grounds for laziness and ineptitude. In an ideal world, the languid work habits instilled and tolerated by these lesser institutions would be sufficient in the workplace and conducive to collegiate success. Unfortunately, the real world doesn’t “play nice” or bend to unmotivated students’ will. The real world jives fast and hard, and these hapless “alternative” graduates are going to find themselves tripping over the dance floor.

Giving a child the responsibility of delegating his own workload is a recipe for disaster. Teenagers are generally not responsible or motivated enough to pursue their own education. A proper, rigorous high school education is the only type of education applicable to hustle and bustle of the real world.

When it comes to education, it is a privilege to play by your own rules, not

Features

3

p.

]

Jan. 21, 2011

]

ONE SIZE

DOES NOT ALTERNATIVE

FIT ALL:

EDUCATION

Alternative Education gives students options

by Kimberly Chapman

R

edondo Shores, Independent Study, and Redondo Beach Learning Academy are the alternative education options offered to students in the school district.

According to Assistant Superintendent Frank DeSena, they provide students with other options besides the typical education offered in high school.

“Alternative education is offering options that are not main stream options as

far as educational programs,” he said.

Having a job or activity that takes up time during the week or missing credits that are necessary to graduate are some of the many reasons why students are in an alternative education program, according to Assistant Principal Amy Golden.

“Sometimes being outside of the typical high school setting gives kids more flexibility in their schedule,” she said.

According to DeSena, going to school from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. does not always work out for every student’s schedule, but because

a student is in an alternative education program does not mean that they have failed at a regular high school.

“Alternative education does not always mean that students have been unsuccessful at RUHS, but that they have other needs in their lives that take up a lot of time,” he said.

Golden agrees that the typical high school setting does not always work out for everyone.

“School is not a one size fits all type of thing, nothing is great for everyone,” she said.

1.

Shores provides additional aid for students

by Victoria Balding

It’s his first day at a new school. He walks in, sits down and takes a deep breath.

He slowly starts to notice familiar faces, faces that have disappeared the past three years. Senior Zack Cronkrite is enrolled at Redondo Shores High School.

“Redondo Shores is a separate high school and a continuation school. Students are referred here when they’re behind so they can recover lost credits,” Redondo Shores Principal Stephen Edmunds said.

According to Edmunds, the school is designed so that the students can demonstrate what they know and make up what they have missed.

“We don’t have the students start from scratch, it’s set up so the students can learn the information they missed the first time around,” Edmunds said.

The process of being transferred to Shores is a decision made by the student, their parents and their counselor. However Cronkrite’s experience was different.

“I didn’t really have a choice about going to Shores. [I had no other option}, I was being lazy and spending more time skateboarding than doing my homework,”

Cronkrite said.

Cronkrite did not have enough credits to graduate so he was referred to Shores and was given the opportunity to make up his lost credits.

“I was brought into the office and told that my son was not going to be able to graduate because he had fallen so far behind,” Cronkrite’s mother Jackie Cronkrite said. “I want him to be successful and if Redondo Shores has a learning environment that is more suited for him then that’s where he needs to be.”

According to Zack, the fast paced classes and the smaller class sizes at Shores allow him to learn in a way that is better for him.

“I really enjoy having one on one with teachers, it helps me understand the material better,” he said.

Redondo Shores offers all of the same classes RUHS does except lab sciences, Advanced Placement classes and some electives.

“Some of the electives we offer at Shores are to help prepare the students for life and our shorter schedule is designed so that the students have time to get a job and have work experience,” Edmunds said.

According to counselor Tawni Chinchilla, Redondo Shores has a limited number of seats and being accepted to Shores is a privilege.

“Currently Shores is full and is not accepting new students so we are recommending students who are behind in credits to pass their classes, attend SCROC, go to summer school and do their best to make up credits without having to transfer to Shores,” Chinchilla said.

Assistant Superintendent Frank DeSena also feels that Redondo Shores is beneficial to students.

“We want them to continue their education rather than dropping out and giving up. It’s a good place for students who didn’t fit into the learning style of an average classroom,” DeSena said.

According to DeSena, the Shores graduation is very emotional because many of the parents and students were under the impression at one point that they were not graduating at all.

“The only difference between a Redondo Union diploma and a Redondo Shores diploma is the name of the high school,” Edmunds said.

Foley enjoys a closer teacher-student relationship and atmosphere at Redondo Shores High School

2.

PHOTOS BY JONATHAN MARTIN

Just another day. 1. A mural, painted by Redondo Shores students, depicts the reputation associated with the student body there. 2. At the entry of Shores a student walks out at the end of the day. 3. Two students walk out of the main office at Shores at the end of a school day.

Students at Shores have a shortened school day. 4. Student-made posters of future career aspirations are hung up in some of the classes at Shores.

Independent Studies allows students to work at their own pace

by Alyssa Wolf and Derek Sarno

by Kimberly Chapman

Redondo Shores has a very different learning environment than that of RUHS-one that is beneficial for students who are working to turn their lives around. Former RUHS drama teacher, Sunee Foley, discovered this atmosphere after becoming a new teacher there this year.

One difference between RUHS and Shores is homework. At Shores, it is a privilege to receive homework.

“If a student receives extra work to do outside of school it shows that that student has been working hard, coming to class everyday, and has proven that they are serious about graduating,” she said.

According to Foley, Redondo Shores is different from the typical high school because it helps kids learn how to be more independent because of the individual work they are given.

“Students have individually paced work which requires them to be responsible and use their time wisely. They also have to be self sufficient in the way that they are doing a

different assignment than the person next to them,” she said.

Foley is now teaching a wide variety of classes such as Psychology and Adult Living.

“It’s definitely a busy day, but it’s very interesting because it gives me a chance to use a variety of projects and creativity to help students get their life back on track,” she said.

Foley believes that the smaller class sizes at Shores makes a big difference in studentteacher relationships than that of RUHS. “Class sizes of about 15 students allow me to give individual attention to every student that needs it. It makes a big difference to have that type of teacher attention,” she said.

Foley also enjoys preparing students to graduate and for their future outside of high school.

“I help them learn about going to college and I give them the education they need to succeed in the careers that they are interested in,” she said.

Shores helps students succeed where they might have had trouble doing before, according to Foley.

“I think that Shores is a wonderful op-

4.

3.

PHOTO BY JONATHAN MARTIN

Sunee disposition. Teacher Sunee Foley talks to one of her students, Nathan Freeman, about him returning to RUHS in a few days.

portunity for students to move ahead instead of being in a position where they might not have even graduated,” she said. “I don’t think everyone can succeed in the same environment. Shorter classes and individually paced work allow for students with a variety of learning levels to succeed.”

Senior Trevor Myers hears the shrill buzz of his alarm and, half aware, flicks it off to look at the clock- it's 11 in the morning. This is a part of Myers’ daily routine.

Myers is a student of the alternative education program Independent Study.

"It's incredibly different than any school I've gone to before," Myers said.

The differences involve more than just waking up late. Students only go to class once a week, and between these weekly sessions they are expected to complete the work that is assigned to them independently.

"The work normally isn't too hard, but I have to do a lot in order to make up some missing credits," Myers said.

According to Assistant Principal Amy Golden, students take the program for different reasons.

"Each situation is different," Golden said. "For some students it will be where they have their entire [high] schooling."

Myers took an Internet class before he enrolled in Independent Studies. According to Myers, since no one was there to force him to work, he would go long periods of time with-

out getting work done. He believes that meeting up once a week makes a big difference.

"Working on my own is cool," he said.

"Except when I let it slip and end up doing all the work on the last day. The work isn't hard; [it’s] just meticulous. A lot of it feels like busy work."

In Independent Studies, the students do not have a time limit to finish a class. They can take classes at their own pace.

"What's nice about Independent Studies is that it is really individualized," Golden said.

According to Myers, there are a lot of good things about Independent Studies, but also has some down sides.

"It is harder to keep up with friends since I don’t see them every day," Myers said.

Only ten percent of the student body is allowed to be in independent studies.

"Not everyone can just go in," Golden said.

"We have criteria. We take each case individually and decide whether or not they should be in the program."

Myers believes that Independent Studies works well for him.

“I don’t think [classes once a week] really affects [learning] at all," Myers said.

Features

4

p.

]Jan. 21, 2011]

Time changes traditions more, according to Soohoo.

“If there’s no competition involved, Four years ago, seniors ruled the cam- there’s not the same motivation to wear pus in their purple attire; juniors roamed the colors,” Soohoo said. “Right now the halls decked out in all green. School there’s really no score keeping with class spirit dominated the campus. colors.”

But fall 2007 marked the change of Szerlip feels that the new colors have class colors to coordinate with the school been an overall positive change to our colors — grey for freshmen, black for school. sophomores, white for juniors, and red “Although I really liked the idea of for seniors. carrying a certain class color with you “[Administration and ASB] wanted throughout high school, I like the way our school to be more spirited but felt it is now because it seems like the colors that the class colors we had didn’t re- are a privilege. As a freshman, you start ally have much to do with Redondo. off with the least desired color, grey, and They wanted us to be spirited about then work your way up to the top, a seour own school colors, not other ran- nior, and being red. It’s kind of cool how dom colors,” Senior Class President, that works out,” Szerlip said.

Kelsey Szerlip said.

Alumna Terry Martinez, ‘70, believes Activities Director Sherie Gross be- the former colors were more exciting then lieves the change was for the better. the new ones.

“I like that the class colors are school “I believe the red and white are at least colors. It’ll only enhance school spirit,” an attempt to continue to use the actual Gross said. school colors. As for grey and black, I Mike Soohoo, former Activities Di- personally wouldn’t be too excited about rector, reminisces on the days when those choices for my class,” Martinez class colors were more vibrant. said. “The vibrant colors would seem to “The colors were brighter and there be something I would want to see. I think was more participation from each the ‘personalities’ of grey and black might class,” Soohoo said. be hard to get pumped up about.”

Students would carry the same class Former ASB president and alumna color throughout all four years of high Amanda Shreier is pleased to hear about school — green, yellow, purple, or or- the change that has been made. ange.

“I believe once the students get used to A few years ago, competitions would the switch it will become a long-lasting be held to see which class could represent tradition at Redondo,” Shreier said. their color the best.

Shreier believes rallies will be easier to This motivated students to participate conduct with the new colors.

by Anacristina Gonzalez

“The vibrant colors were more of a nuisance because it is surprisingly hard to find orange materials when preparing for a rally,” Shreier said.

Another change that has been made is the number of rallies this year.

Instead of having three rallies, there are only two.

According to Gross, by having less rallies, students might find them more interesting. “[Rallies] would be a rarer event and students may look forward to them more,” Gross said.

The loss of a rally is disappointing to quite a few students as well as alumni.

“Rallies are a lot of work, and if people aren’t going to participate and have a ton of fun with it, it feels like a bit of a waste,” Szerlip said.

Shreier remembers the rallies as being one of her favorite aspects of Redondo.

“I am sad to hear that there are only two rallies for the year. But they are a privilege and if students take on the attitude that ‘rallies suck’ or ‘I don’t care’ then no matter what ASB does to prepare for the rally, it will not be a success,” Shreier said.

Martinez recalls school spirit as playing an important role during her high school years.

There were many activities and traditions that were held at Redondo, like the Co-Ed Ball, weekly dances after football games, and multiple concerts.

“If ASB were to research the amazing things we’ve done in the past, they could

1.

Lacking Spirit 1. ASB decorates the gym with class signs and decorations, preparing weeks in advance. 2.

Students sit idly at the fall rally clad in red awaiting the next game and performance.

2.

PHOTOS BY JAKE COLLINS

bring back great activities,” Soohoo said.

“Overall, I think ASB is doing a fantastic job.”

The loss of a rally and the lack of school spirit on students’ parts go hand in hand.

This demonstrates the lack of interest students have recently demonstrated.

“School spirit is popular if it is deemed ‘cool’. At Redondo the coolness fact of school spirit has never been consistent

and is usually one of the biggest struggles for an ASB,” Shreier said.

According to Szerlip, ASB and the administration work very hard to put on rallies and raise school spirit. Whether or not these efforts are successful is entirely up to the students.

“Spirit is what you make of it. It is up to our school to make it as spirited as possible,” Szerlip said.

Suffering

SPIRIT Disappearance of

40% Winter Formal 78% 23%

With the decreasing attendance at school dances, the question remains as to whether or not school dances should even exist. A recent survey of 574 students in all grades found that support did not exist for dances.

Due to the results, winter formal is now cancelled.

have never attended a school dance.

would pay $5-$10 for a casual on-campus dance.

would pay $11-20 for a formal on-campus dance.

Administrators’ roles increase

by Alex Curtis

They work behind the scenes, supporting the invisible strings that hold the school together. They face challenge after challenge, each more complex and difficult than the last.

They are the administrators, and they are the driving force behind school.

Retired City Attorney Jerry Goddard was principal from 1982 to 1985, and continued his career as a district official after his time at Redondo.

According to Goddard, being an administrator is a difficult job with many different aspects.

Goddard believes that the role of administrators has changed over the years with a change is the increase in their responsibilities.

“I feel sorry for the administration. I think they have their hands fuller than I did about twenty years ago,” he said.

Shannon Rodriquez, vice-principal

from 2003 to 2007, agrees.

“As the population has grown, that in itself has required that [administrator’s] responsibilities to grow,” Rodriguez said.

While their responsibilities have grown, administrative roles around campus have stayed very much the same.

“It’s not so much the role, it’s the people who fill that role [that change],” Rodriguez said. “It’s like the government: the president’s personality and management style will define that administration, very much like how the principal’s will define his or hers.”

The problem, according to Goddard, also lies in the changing times.

“Each decade of my life, life has moved faster — for all of us,” Goddard said. “We live in a whole different electronic age. People in this age group are growing up faster.”

Both Rodriguez and Goddard agree that the role of administrators, whether

54%

prefer a formal off-campus dance than a casual one.

past or present, can be trying and exhausting.

“A teacher faces negative challenges throughout the day as well, but an administrator’s job is to problem solve, to react to sometimes complicated issues that can affect a student’s life for a long time. It can be very exhausting,” Rodriguez said.

Goddard found that his role in the lives of teachers became more personal after becoming principal.

“Your school principal is like a father confessor… I knew if someone was going through a divorce, or had cancer.

The principal is who [teachers] go to and confide in,” Goddard said.

Goddard hopes that students will recognize that the administrators are there to create a better learning environment for them and their teachers.

“Education is the practice of dealing with human beings,” Goddard said.

58%

would pay more if food and drinks were available.

Liability restricts activities

by Taylor Ballard

Liability looms over every school dance, rally, and activity. “[ASB] would love to do more events but we live in a very litigious society and we have to be careful,” Activities Director Sherie Gross said.

According to Gross, beach bonfires and fireworks at football games could be new ways to boost school spirit but these ideas are not feasible because some events are too dangerous, and clean up is a problem.

Faculty members are responsible for the students and according to her, there is not enough faculty to have some types of events. The staff is held accountable for student safety.

“We are accountable exponentially because of the media students have access to,” Gross said.

While there is a large book of guidelines ASB must follow for the well-being of the student body these guidelines

do not prevent “fun” events.

“There is no shortage of fun things to do, we need to be more creative. We just want our events to be safe and fun at the same time. You have to remember many of the rules were made because an incident has already occurred,” Gross said.

When considering the well-being of students, administration and teachers must consider not only a students physical well-being but their emotional well-being as well.

“We have to think about what could be hurtful to others,” Assistant Principal Amy Golden said.

With the huge student population, supervision is a top priority. Administration, therefore, ensures that there are a number of adults at every school event.

“It is Administration’s job to protect the kids even if that means overprotection. Better safe than sorry,” Gross said.

Features

5

p.

]Jan. 21, 2010]

IT’S ALL IN YOUR SLEEP While many students simply get lack of sleep due to school work and extra-circulars, they also experience serious sleep issues.

Student suffers with severe insomnia Its 11:00 pm, and as the rest of the house is sleeping, she lays motionless in her bed.

With her arms and legs paralyzed and eyes locked onto the ceiling above, her mind is focused on the conflicting thoughts that race through her mind: “You need to sleep.”­­—“I can’t sleep.”—“It’s over.”­—“It’s because of the medication.”— “He can’t hurt you anymore.”—“It’s the insomnia.”—“You’re just scared.”

She tosses and turns, finding no comfort in her high quality mattress or childhood blankets. Frustrated, she heads downstairs in need of her sleeping pill.

Its 12:30 am, and with the aid of the sedative, *Sarah begins to drift into a deep sleep. It’s short lived however, as her calm and even breathing then begins to quicken as the nightmares begin.

She’s pushed down; her every movement is restricted as he begins to touch her. She becomes restless. His lips begin to wander.

Her breath shortens. His eyes pierce her. She screams.

She awakens gasping for breath, overcome by both fear and panic as she tries to

Z

HOW ’s?

MANY

reassure herself: The door is locked. Her windows are shut. She’s safe.

“You are suffering from an acute case of PTSD.” The doctor told her. “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Your nightmares are a symptom of this disorder, as well as your increased anxiety.”

She sat in the leather chair across from the doctor, limbs tightened and ready to flee.

“I am sincerely sorry that you must deal with this at such a young age,” he continued, “With the insomnia and the PTSD.” He paused, hoping to get some reaction from the 17 year old girl. “Well. You must be somewhat used to the lack of sleep.

This can’t be that much worse.” The doctor chuckles and receives an empty eyed glance from zombie-like girl in front of him.

Realizing his insensitivity, the doctor clears his throat and regains his posture. “Are you ready to talk about this?” he asks.

Its 3:00 a.m. the next night, and due to the sedative she is not able to get out of her bed. Her legs are wobbly and she feels as if she’s

49%

44%

40%

of students feel fatigued and/or irritable throughout the day.

of students get a ‘good’ night’s sleep on Sunday night.

of students drink caffeinated beverages to help keep them awake.

52%

of students fall asleep in class once and a while.

Based on a poll of 500 students.

seasick. Her head begins to spin and she becomes increasingly anxious. With tears in her eyes, she braces herself for the horror that has yet to come.

“You must speak of the incident before you can properly deal with it,” the lazy eyed doctor repeated, “If not, we cannot help you here.”

She resided in silence, fidgeting with the bow on her blouse.

Running out of patience, the doctor placed his notepad on his mahogany desk and leaned in. “Listen, I’ll up your dosage on Ambien. We can’t let you go another week and a half without sleep. This should knock you out. Insomnia or not, you should get a decent night’s sleep.”

It’s now 3:30 a.m. and her body starts to shake. The tremors overpower her will to try and get some rest, and her mind’s volume increases. She begins to hear a dull high pitched ring, followed by various screams.

Shadows pour through her windows and closet - swarming all around her. She remains upon her bed, crippled by fear. She desperately tries to reassure herself that these images and sounds are only in her mind, looking for some sort of escape.

“Of course, with every medication there will be side effects.” The doctor explained. “These may consist of dizziness, next day drowsiness, nausea, weakness and hallucinations.”

Caught by the concern of his patient, he went over the side effects once more. “Dizziness and next day drowsiness are among the most common side effects,” he said.

“What about the hallucinations?” she asked.

“Oh that? You’ll be fast asleep before hallucinations can even cross your mind.”

Her alarm goes off. Its 5:45 am, and the rest of the house gets ready for the day ahead. Her alarm goes off. Anxious and exhausted from yet another sleepless night, she finds her way to the shower and gets ready for school.

The asterisk (*) in the story indicates that the name of a speaker has been changed to protect his/her identity.

Kim and Rosenfeldt reflect on reasons for loss of sleep

by Melissa Rosero

An annoying ring buzzes in her ears as she stuggles to lift her head. Disoriented and adjusting her eyes to the fluorescent lighting, she can barely see the board. Yawning as she rubs her eyes, it suddenly dawns on her, class is over. It’s only Tuesday and junior Charlotte Kim has already fallen asleep during her first class.

For Kim, feeling tired is a routine. From her five Advanced Placement (AP) classes, being co-founder of the Animal Rescue Club, to playing the piano and being an artist, is it really a surprise that Kim hardly sleeps?

“My bedtime ranges from 11 p.m. to three a.m. and sometimes I’ll take naps during the day, depending on how much homework I have,” Kim said.

For many, a heavy workload and a rigorous schedule has been affecting their sleep since freshman year. While some can handle sleep deprivation, others regret taking an overwhelming amount of AP classes.

“Looking back, I should have been more realistic. I realized taking so many hard classes wasn’t worth the lack of sleep, but since I’ve gotten this far already, there’s no turning back,” she said.

While sleeping a normal eight hours isn’t an option for Kim, others such as senior Cassandra Rosenfeldt willingly deprive themselves of sleep.

“I usually go to bed from twelve to four in the morning. I’m only taking one AP so I can’t blame homework for keeping me up every night. I’ve become so use to sleeping late that I’ll be watching TV and I won’t even realize it already one a.m.,” Rosenfeldt said.

Psychology teacher Chris Hyduke finds that although the effects of sleep deprivation vary, their is no way of cheating the body of sleep.

“When someone is sleep deprived, that person becomes sluggish and their awareness is affected. This is because lack of sleep messes with the body’s circadian rhythm, which changes the biological rhythm, which then throws the body out of sync,” Hyduke said.

Both Kim and Rosendfeldt agree that their poor sleeping habits have a negative affect on their daily activity.

“I will confess that I have fallen asleep in my classes more times than I can count. On days I get less than fours hours of sleep, I usually forget a lot of stuff and I tend to get irritated easily,” Rosenfeldt said.

Kim finds that lacking sleep and bearing the consequences is an equal trade-off to being prepared for a class.

“I would like to switch out of some AP’s, but I could also just carry on. I wouldn’t want to waste all the time I’ve already spent studying and staying up late from previous years,” Kim said.

For Rosenfeldt, the internet has become the main reason for her lack of sleep.

“Facebook is my biggest problem. I can go online and start having a conversation with one person, which leads to another conversation, which just leads to hours on Facebook,” Rosenfeldt said.

Whether lack of sleep stems from work overload or pure pleasure, there always seems to be the common argument, “Well, its not like other people aren’t staying up late too.”

Allthough Hyduke finds it is “teen-nature” to lack sleep, he believes that teenagers should still be informed of sleep’s importancee.

“The most important part of sleeping is that when sleeping, our brains make memories. Our brains consolidate information from the day to make neural connections.

These connections in the brain form memories and if a person doesn’t get enough sleep, then they are missing out on making memories,” Hyduke said.

PHOTO BY MAX PITTMAN Sleepless nights. Kim works hard doing her AP Chemistry homework. With five AP classes and many extra-cirriculars, her sleep schedule is severely impacted by her hectic lifestyle.

Winter play a classic with a modern twist

by Emma Uriarte

The lights dim, flicker and then go out completely. Suddenly, the stage lights up to reveal an empty set with Greek music playing and a backdrop of the Parthenon. The drama departments newest masterpiece “The Iliad, the Odyssey, and all of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less” has begun.

This play is more than just a simple recap of what everyone learns in 9th grade English, mostly due to the fact that it’s actually entertaining. It retells these ancient stories with a modern twist. It’s also far from the classic Greek tragedy thanks to its hysterical characterizations and funny one-liners which occur almost every 30 seconds.

The cast reenacts what seems to be every scene from every well-known tale of Greek mythology from the comedic creation of mankind, Pandora’s Box, to the Trojan horse. All done with side-splitting humor in

their actions and lines.

Senior Kieran Newton keeps everyone laughing with his portrayal of a human fresh from “creation,” and his ambitious and conceited Odysseus won’t make the play feel twenty years long.

Junior Pearson Bian is also comical in his roles as Zeus, Hades, and a hilariously sulky Achilles.

Senior Loren Brown’s performance as Hermes, messenger of the gods, stands out as well. With her catch phrases and dancing, no one will be able to keep from cracking a smile. These and many more actors keep the audience captivated throughout the play.

The cast creatively uses props like Barbie dolls, masks, and swords as well as parodies TV shows like American Idol and TV dating game shows.

The aisles are lined with posters of the Greek gods and goddesses and in one scene Zeus even talks to an unsuspecting

member of the audience, giving everyone a chance to feel as if they are on stage with the actors.

They even throw some Justin Beiber and Lion King in to the mix, making the play all the more interesting “The Iliad, The Odyssey, and All of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less” is a must see. You won’t want to take your eyes off of the stage and paying attention is critical to understanding this fast-paced play.

True to its title, the play finishes in less than 99 minutes and includes multiple Greek myths.

Greek feast. 1. Three actors in the winter play, “The Iliad, the Odyssey, and all of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less.” take part in a dress rehearsal preparing for their first performance. 2.An actress plays another character in Greek mythology in the play. 3. Sophomore Abby Attig and Pierson Bian preform alongside each other.

1.

2.

3.

PHOTO BY LISA INOUE

Features

6

p.

]Jan. 21, 2011]

Senior Brandon Carroll eats Baked Dorito chips.

Junior Currie Ritchie eats Pick-up Stix for lunch.

Senior Brianna Newman eats Veggie Chips for lunch.

Senior Jonathan Diaz eats goldfish for lunch.

What’s in your

Lunch Box? 27% buy lunch from school 45% of freshmen buy lunch at school 14% of seniors buy lunch at school

52% sometimes only eat junk food for lunch

55% do not like the food served at school

Raw appetite

20% believe bringing a lunch is healthier

11% of juniors spend more than $25 on food at school weekly

Senior John Ly loves eating raw eggs and meat despite the health concerns.

20% of students believe bringing a lunch is healthier

by Bethany Kawa

The crack of an egg is all it takes. The slippery yolk oozes its way out of the shell and into senior John Ly’s mouth. The egg is slimy, squishy and raw as it inches its way down his throat.

Ly eats normal food in an unconventional way.

Ly exemplifies cultural diversity when it comes to lunches.

After the experience of eating a raw egg at 14, he immediately fell in love with the taste.

“I found it to be very delicious. I just enjoy eating raw eggs. I don’t eat them all the time, but when I actually do cook them, I have them sunnyside up and make them really soupy,” Ly said.

Ly’s parents advise him not to eat raw eggs, due to the high possibility that they will contain salmonella. Ly’s mom, Tham Tran, expresses concern about his food choices.

“I don’t encourage him to eat raw eggs because it’s dangerous. I don’t let him eat them too much,” she said.

In addition to eating raw eggs, Ly also eats raw meat. He attributes this habit to his Vietnamese culture. According to Ly, when some Vietnamese eat their traditional noodles, pho, they eat

Swallowing it whole. Senior John Ly shows how he cracks and swallows a raw egg.

raw red meat on the side.

It’s not very common, but some people eat raw meat. I eat pho pretty often for lunch, and when I do, I eat raw meat with it. I enjoy it because I’m eating what it really is,” he said.

Although Tran abstains from all raw foods, she is more accepting of John’s raw meat eating habit than that of his raw eggs.

“I don’t like the taste of raw meat, but it is less dangerous than raw eggs. I still try to limit him,” she said.

Ly only eats raw meat when he has lunch at home. He insists upon eating it only when it’s fresh, or else it would not taste like what he desires.

“The best meat is when it’s really rare. The rarer is the better, because it has more flavor. I eat my meat raw because I don’t like dry food,” he said.

Ly eats eggs once or twice a month, depending on the circumstances. If it is a break, he’ll eat raw meat about four times a week, because of his frequent intake of pho.

-Although Ly is constantly warned against eating raw eggs and meat due to health hazards, he says, “If I don’t believe in it, I won’t get it.”

Sophomore Dakota Kaufman eats a hamburger.

280 students were randomly surveyed during 4th period English classes

More than a bag of lunch Sophomore Ilana Lagraff’s mother decorates her lunch bags everyday.

Peanut Butter Jelly Time. 1.

Sophomore Ilana Lagraff shows off her mom’s new drawings to her friends. 2. Lagraff saves all of her mom’s elaborate drawings.

by Tricia Light

Dozens of designs ranging from stars to cartoon characters adorn a slightly unusual canvas: brown paper lunch bags.

Sophomore Ilana Lagraff ’s perfectly average lunches are set apart by her mother’s unique drawings.

“It is a weird little tradition we have,” Lagraff said. “Each day there is a little picture on my lunch bag that I can laugh about.”

Lagraff ’s mother, Judy Lagraff, began drawing around three months ago when Ilana wanted to start brining lunch again.

“In a tradition from elementary school I wrote her name in block letters on the bag. One day I saw markers sitting on the counter and was inspired to draw a picture on it,” she said.

Ilana and her friends enjoyed the drawing, so Ms. Lagraff continued to make the designs.

Senior Brandon Boyd eats a slice of pizza.

“Now I feel like I have to do something everyday,” she said.

The pictures include offbeat drawings such as a cookie saying, “It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time.”

“Sometimes the topics will just come to me or I will be inspired by conversations we’ve had,” she said. “One day when I had no ideas I wrote, ‘Minimalism is Huge’ in block letters.”

Ms. Lagraff enjoys designing the lunch bags.

“Sometimes if a design is complicated I pencil it out first, but I never spend more than five minutes on it,” she said.

“I like to fill the whole bag. I don’t do any little designs.”

The drawings have become more than just a habit.

Junior Phillip Lober eats carrots on the steps.

1.

2.

“I like the thought that Ilana can look back on these little bags and the memories they create fondly,” Ms. Lagraff said.

Ilana, along with her friends, appreciates her mother’s efforts.

“It’s just a little thing, but I guess I am easily amused,” she said. “It brightens my day when I see it.”

Freshman Paolo Ragusa eats a peanut butter nutella sandwich.

Photos by Celeste Manughian

Photos by Jonathan Martin

Sports

7

p.

]Jan. 21, 2011 ]

Battle of the Boards

With the “wolf pack” now 3-0 in League, they are on the hunt for a league title for the first time in three years.

by David Kawa

PHOTO BY CELESTE MANUGHIAN-PETER

Battling. Senior Allie Goldberg goes for a rebound in a game against West. The girls beat West 60-49 and are now 3-0 in league.

After watching tapes of earlier games, Enriquez created the program to cover the team’s weakness in rebounding. The team is now 5 - 0 in the Battle of the Boards.

“After [watching the tapes], I made sure to make rebounding a focal point. It’s vital for our success and even more important than winning the game. Ninety percent of the time if we win that battle, we win the game. It’s no coincidence that we are now winning more games,” he said.

The Pack is tailoring its practice to counter Palos Verdes’ defense.

“We are working on taking down key players. We are going to have to be very aggressive with our press and hit the big shots,” Enriquez said.

The team is always concerned with working towards the Bay League title.

“No matter what it takes we have to find a way to win. We work too hard. We deserve that title,” Antar said.

Keeping a level head, the Wolf Pack prepares for tonight’s game.

“We go hard every practice. We can’t let this win get to us and take Palos Verdes lightly. We need to have the right mind-set and always play our hardest,” Park said.

A shot of confidence

Focused on improvement

Girls’ Polo plays Palos Verdes today, Last year’s League Champs

by Matthew Brancolini

The Redondo wrestling team lost to West Torrance last night in their first away Bay league dual-meet of the season. The Warriors beat Redondo 58-24.

However the score was deceptively high, according to head coach Arond Schonberg.

“I think we kind of surprised West. If you take out the 18 points we gave them because of having to forfeit weight classes, it was actually a lot closer than it seems,” Schonberg said. “ Last year, West came to our building and embarrassed us 72-6. Our goal was to score twenty this year and we hit that almost right on.”

Junior Alex Anthony Maldonado attributes this success to a renewed interest in the wrestling program.

“Last year we only scored six and this year we scored 24,” Maldonado said,” We’ve improved so much since then. We’ve brought in a lot more wrestlers. After my freshman year, the program was on the chopping block. The school wouldn’t pay for anything for us but now we’re a program on the rise.”

According to junior Damon Guerrero, injuries are having a major effect on the team in a negative way.

“Injuries are definitely hurting our team a lot. Every other week it seems like someone is going down with an ankle or a back injury or from sickness,” Guerrero said, “No one is suffering major injuries but every time a wrestler misses a match, it does cost the team points. But injuries are just part of sports in general.”

The wrestlers believe that their new found success will bring their sport more attention from the Redondo student body.

“I think more support from the fans would definitely positively affect the team.

It would create a lot more positive and exciting atmosphere for the wrestlers,” Guerrero said.

“We need more support for the team. The visiting team always has more fans than we do at our home meets. We especially need a lot more support for the Costa match next week,” Maldonado said.

Schonberg believes that the Costa match may a great opportunity to get Redondo fans interested in wrestling.

“The guys are definitely gearing up for Costa. It will probably come down to a couple of weight classes and it should be exciting. I hope a lot of Redondo kids drive down to Costa to see some entertaining and exciting matches,” Schonberg said.

In general the team remains optimistic for the future.

“We have a young team with a lot of discipline and talent and our younger guys are getting exponentially better” junior Nick Christy said, “I believe we have a bright future.”

Guerrero added,” We have bigger and better guys than ever before. Within the next few years, possibly even next year, we’ll have a phenomenal team. “

Girl’s Basketball continued its winning streak by defeating West High 60 – 49 this Tuesday. The “pack” now has its sights on Palos Verdes tonight.

According to junior Annie Park, the team wore West down with a steady determination.

“We played hard and kept our composure. We could have lost at any given time, but we never gave up,” she said.

Park scored 20 points off the bench. The Wolf Pack works together to highlight every player, according to coach Marcelo Enriquez.

“That’s the great success of this team. We have enough talent that every girl has the capability to have a great offensive night and score a couple of buckets,” Enriquez said.

The team focused on breaking West’s defense to gain the lead.

“We broke their defense with fast breaks and being aggressive,” senior Ashiana Antar said.

The team stayed consistent, but clinched the lead in the final quarter.

“We were basically even with them the entire game, but in the fourth quarter, we

just picked up the intensity and ran with it,” senior Shayna Stuart said.

Conditioning was the key to victory, according to Stuart.

“We brought our press back and picked up the intensity. We are really strong mentally and physically, which helped us create a lot of turnovers,” Enriquez said.

Park agrees.

“They were really worn out and we took advantage of that for sure,” she said.

The team is now 3 - 0 in League. According to Stuart, the team tackles every game with equal intensity.

“We always play like there is nothing to lose,” she said.

In addition to the “Wolf Pack” mentality, the team also stresses rebounding with “Battle of the Boards.” The team’s goal is to win the Battle of the Boards every game by picking up more rebounds than the opposition.

Stuart feels that the system has encouraged a more aggressive strategy.

“No defensive possession is ever done until we have secured the rebound. [Battle of the Boards] makes us more aggressive offensively because the more boards we have, the more possessions we have, and the more points we can score,” Stuart said.

by Julie Tran

PHOTO BY ASHLEY MAULDIN

Dialing in. Senior Emily Ewart takes a shot in a game against West. They play Palos Verdes today, who are undefeated.

Girls’ water polo recently won against one of their closest-matched competitors, Peninsula and are looking to take this momentum with them into their final bay league matches.

According to senior Devon Cohen, all the girls are “stoked” to defeat Peninsula and are going into the game against Palos Verdes today with a new-found confidence.

Head coach Danielle Berger and assistant coach Rob Baird always try to instill this sense of confidence in the girls to achieve their best and to go into every game with a winning attitude, according to Cohen.

“We go into games saying ‘We will win’, regardless of the team we go up against,” Cohen said. “Among water polo teams, Pa-

los Verdes is a notorious powerhouse.”

According to junior Tiffany Morales, although they do not stack up well to PV, they are aiming to earn third place spot behind Costa and PV, which they almost achieved last season. The new pool has “been helpful in the fight for third place.”

“Now that we have a pool closer to home, we have more time to condition and swim,” Cohen said. “If anything, the intensity of every practice has increased.”

Morales feels that in order to compete with the other teams in league, the increased intensity is necessary, especially if they expect to see significant improvement in speed and endurance.

“We know we are going to have to step up our game to compete at PV’s level,” Morales said. “They are a very experienced team and we can’t wait to hopefully give them a run for their money.”

According to Cohen, the team is working to eliminate their weaknesses and improve their offensive efficiency.

“We’d get lazy or too tired in the game at the most critical moments,” Cohen said.

“When we really needed to push a little harder to win, we’d slip up- make a poor pass or get lethargic.”

Berger feels that the team’s reaction time is slow and that, at times, players do not pay close enough attention to the opponent.

However, the team will continue to play up its strengths.

“PV has a lot of strong swimmers and well-trained water polo players who play club year-round, but I think we make up for its lack of counter offense with strong outside shooters,” Morales said.

According to Berger, the team is focusing on defeating Peninsula for a second time for a CIF spot.

“Personally, it’s my senior year and it’d be nice to make it to playoffs, but even better if we win CIF,” Cohen said. “We just really want to go out with a bang, and I speak for the entire team when I say that we can and will do it.”

Full steam ahead. 1. Junior Alex Matei looks on as junior Jeffrey Brandon dribbles during Tuesday’s game. 2. Nich Graham goes for a header against West. They lost 2-1 and are focusing on their game against PV today.

Pushing forward.

Soccer focuses on the positives after losing to West this Tuesday.

by Jessi Shipley

The Varsity Boys Soccer team lost, 2-1, against West this Tuesday. Although the team was particularly upset by this loss, they remain optimistic and confident for the rest of the season, according to senior Adam Anderson.

“We need to be more focused and be confident that we can win and do our best but not get cocky,” senior captain Adam Anderson said.

The players anguished over what could have been, but are also thinking about their next challenge.

“We need to become more solid and take advantage of our scoring oppor-

tunities if we want to beat PV,” junior Alex Matei said.

Several players on the team think that their overconfidence led to a lack of focus and hurt their preparation, but they are working on fixing that, according to senior Nich Graham.

“We can beat any team if we really want to. It’s just a matter of us focusing and working well together,” Graham said.

For their game today against Palos Verdes, the boys are determined to take a different approach.

“Our heads need to be in the game and on the field ­— not on what’s going on outside the game,” junior Kris

PHOTO BY MEGAN GUERRA

Martin said.

Although Palos Verdes is considered tough competition, the coach remains cautiously optimistic.

“Every game is different—anything can happen—it can go either way,” Lopez said.

The players remain optimistic about the season overall, hoping for a CIF berth.

“We are going to work harder to work out the kinks. This year we have

more experience and more varsity returners. Our experience will help us get far,” Graham said.

Anderson agrees, and is looking forward to the rest of the games this year.

“This year is different. We are definitely going to change the mentality of the team to help us in the long run.

We are going to put forth our best efforts and see how things turn out, but I can tell that we going to pull through and win in the end,” Anderson said.

Sports

8

p.

] Jan. 21, 2011 ]

Girls’ soccer, 0-2-1

by Zachary Zent

A tie has never tasted so bitter for the girls soccer team. The team tied West High, 1-1, Tuesday afternoon after “dominating” for most of the game, according to coach Shelly Marsden.

The game went into overtime after West scored the equalizer early in the second half to match sophomore Katrina Cohen’s goal.

However, no team was able to seal the game in regulation or in overtime.

The result was far from what the team expected and “disappointing,” according to both sophomore Brittany Oldham and Marsden.

“We had a lot of chances to win the game, so it was upsetting that the game ended in a tie and that we couldn’t come through in overtime,” Oldham said.

The feeling was the same for Marsden.

“The tie was disappointing considering the way we played and the result was not reflective of what we deserved,” she said.

However, seniors Jen Stevens and Alex Marin played exceptionally well, with Steven’s having her best game of the season, according to Marsden.

Along with an “undesirable” result, junior goalie Erin Middo was rushed to the hospital late in the game after running into the goal post while saving a goal.

Luckily for the team, they have depth at the goalie position in senior Lydia Rutz.

In the midst of disappointment, there were still some positives, according to senior

PHOTO BY MEGAN GUERA

Possession. Senior Cece Perez shields the ball from a Costa midfielder.

Stephanie Solano.

“Although I’m not satisified with the result, we did a good job of attacking and passing,” Solano said.

The girls will play Bay League rival, Palos Verdes, this afternoon. The team has been unsuccessful against PV in the past, losing both games last year.

Despite consecutive losses to the returning Bay League champions, the team is optimistic.

“PV is a fantastic team but we are capable of beating anybody,” Marsden said.

Athlete of the

Issue Ben Fortun

by Allie Goldberg

He packs his things and gets ready to wait in the standby line. With his surfboard at his side, senior Ben Fortun takes a five-hour flight for a twenty-hour trip to Hawaii.

“Both of my parents work for the airlines so I get to fly for free,” he said. “It’s a really cool opportunity and last summer I got to go to Spain to check out the Barcelona surf.”

Fortun is on the varsity surf team, and competes in various competitions outside of school.

“I try to bring down the barrier of aggression [on the team], and have fun out in the water. It’s all about having fun, and I don’t want anyone to feel bad about losing or winning,” he said.

Fortun was named long boarder of the year for school, won first place in the international surf championships junior men division, qualified for the south bay all star league competition, and has various sponsorships.

“It’s all about showing appreciation for the ocean and the sport,” he said. “If anyone on the team has questions or wants to go surfing, I’ll drop what I’m doing and take them out. Surfing is such a basic thing I just want to have fun and not worry about how I’m surfing compared to anyone else.”

Fortun surfs with a unique style, using old fashion heavy long boards and skipping the leash.

“Riding my old boards is the link to my Hawaiian past,” he said. “I don’t wear a leash because I don’t like the feeling and I don’t like the restrictions. It gives me more appreciation for those old fat guys.”

According to Fortun, his dad Tony Fortun has played a very prominent role in his surfing career.

“He’s a true waterman. He fishes, surfs, basically anything to do with the ocean. He had his own surf shop and he taught me about the history of the sport and respect for the ocean,” he said.

Ben explained that watching his dad has definitely contributed to his love of being in the water.

“You obviously can’t live in the ocean, but I like to spend as much time as possible in the water,” he said. “It’s a high I get that takes away stress and really helps me appreciate the little things.”

Ben believes that surfing has helped in many other aspects of life as well.

“I feel like I’ve learned the essence of hard work. Also I really have to focus in school so I can get that out of the way and go surf.”

According to Mr. Fortun, surfing has always been a large part of Ben’s life.

“He’s always watched me surf and thought ‘I want to be like him someday,’” he said. “One day he just migrated to the water and picked up a surfboard.”

Mr. Fortun believes that Ben surfs for all the right reasons.

“If he wins he wins, but that’s not what’s important. It’s in his personality to just go out and have a good time.”

Mr. Fortun explained that when Ben puts his mind to something, all of his energy goes into it as well.

“If he finds an interest in something he wants to know everything about it,” he said.

According to Mr. Fortun, surfing has brought him closer to Ben and his other son, sophomore Joe Fortun.

“He has a network of surfing friends but when all three of us go out together we grow closer and push each other’s abilities,” he said.

Ben has been adopted into the “family” at Vanguard surf shop, meaning he is sponsored and can use the shops equipment.

“I met him as a costumer,” Vanguard employer Ray Clantz said. “His attitude, passion, and loyalty all stood out to me.”

Clantz explained that Ben is now an extension of what Vanguard represents.

“Ben doesn’t surf for monetary gain or fame, but for the love of the sport,” Clantz said.

Above all things, Ben believes it is his positive attitude that contributes to his accomplishments in surfing, and in life.

“I always say that surfing is a sport of respect, and if you have a good attitude and are not aggressive, you will become a great surfer,” Ben said.

PHOTO BY JAKE COLLINS

Drive. Senior Joc Bates drives to the basket in last Friday’s game against Costa. Redondo won 66-58.

Looking to rebound

Basketball has been working on inside shots and playing aggressively to improve after the loss to West.

by Tatiana Cellentano

Boys’ basketball will go up against PV tonight. The team plans to step on the court with a positive and determined mind set, according to senior Mwelu Mataya.

“We know PV is a physical team and we are prepared for that,” senior Brandon Boyd said. “They aren’t going to get in our heads. We’re going in focused to accomplish one thing.

Win.” According to stats, PV’s Spencer Armer is their top scorer and Aljosa Bjerkovic is their most attentive rebound player.

“If we come out aggressive and hit them first, play smart and follow through with our assignments, they shouldn’t be a problem,” senior Martyre Demarco said.

Tuesday, Redondo lost to West, 4543.

“The boys blew assignments, gave up good shots and didn’t follow directions,” coach JR Martinez said.

The team needed to get inside not outside shots, get in the lane and do more lay ups in order to score more, according to Demarco.

“Our hearts just weren’t in it.,”

Boyd said.

According to Senior Joc Bates, the boys have been focused on shooting, taking the ball to the basket and making three point plays to prepare for today’s game.

Last Friday, boys’ basketball dominated Costa, 66-

58. Martinez, former coach to Costa basketball, clued in the boys to Costa’s game.

“We came out with drive to peruse victory

and pull it out for Redondo,” said sophomore Derek Biale.

“We had our way with them,” coach Ron Riggs said. “We were up by seventeen at one time.”

According to Boyd, Costa did better in the second half, knocking down shots.

“Throughout the game we were putting in shots, made free throws and connected passes. We earned our victory.” Bates said.

For tonight’s game the boys know they need to come out stronger than PV, attack the basket and have a strong defensive line, according to Mataya.

“We are going to take all the mistakes from the West game, fix them and prove to PV and ourselves that we deserve to win Bay League,” Bates said.