Rocket Reporter Volume 55, Issue 5

Moon Valley High School |R OCKET REPORTER| 3625 W. CACTUS RD| PHOENIX, AZ 85029 | VOLUME 55 |ISSUE 5|APRIL 2020

Ninth annual MV reads postponed

EVELYNE SANDOVAL | REPORTER

This year’s 9th annual MV Reads was set to be held March 25 with the theme “Book Transforms;” however, the event was postponed due to COV- ID-19.

Dawn Harman, Media Center specialist, and Melanie Allen, literary coach, planned MV Reads for the entire school as a celebration of reading.

To encourage students to sign up, Harman decorated the Media Center using the theme by putting up a variety of paper butterflies and signs all over the Media Center.

The first step of MV Reads was for teachers to choose a book that they would like to read with students, students then signed up using a link sent to their school email.

After they signed up, they read the book they picked out and then they were to come to discuss the book with the book talk leader and other students who signed up.

The night of MV Reads students were to go to the classrooms of the book talk leader and after discussing their novel they were to come back to the Media Center for some snacks and prizes.

There were a number of teachers doing MV Reads this year, such as Shanalee Dorsey, art teacher; Jennifer Wright, social studies teacher; David Coates, math teacher; Jared Hunt, Spanish teacher; Kim Fisher, English teacher and Julie Rasor, theatre teacher.

Some teachers partnered up with each other such as Christy Wiley, special ed clerk and Rachel Woolfenden, math teacher and Harman and Kara Sargent, special ed teacher.

Two administrators also planned to participate in MV Reads. Amy Di Meola, assistant principal of student services and Principal Anat Salyer discussed Throne of Glass.

Senior Yasmine Cordova has participated in MV Reads in the past and has signed up this year for Di Meola’s and Sayler’s group.

Cordova said that she wishes she had signed up since her freshman year.

“[My sophomore year] a friend dragged me into it and it turned out to be a lot of fun,” Cordova said.

This year’s MV Reads had a novel that Cordova looked forward to discussing because she wanted to know what others thought about it and if their opinions matched hers.

All titles were available for check out in the Media Center but according to Harman, “they were flying off the shelves.”

Any title not available for physical checkout was available on Sora or at the public library .

One way teachers got students more involved with MV Reads was by advertising flyers outside their classroom doors with the QR code that links them directly to the page where students can sign up, and some English teachers offered extra credit as an incentive for students to participate.

Woolfenden decided not to offer extra credit to her students, but hoped to “help kids become lifelong readers.”

Woolfenden is involved in a book club of her own and firmly believes that with MV Reads students can read books for fun.

The night was to include a candy buffet, popcorn and a grand prize of an Ipod mini as well as smaller prizes like food vouchers to In-N-Out or Pizza D’avinos and tickets to the Odysea Aquarium and Laser Quest.

Students receive financial aid for college

MARCUS WRIGHT | CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAF- SA) allows students to receive financial aid for higher education.

However, some disagree with the effort Moon Valley is putting in for students to complete the FAFSA, especially considering not every student plans to seek higher education.

William Ramsey, College and Career Center specialist, believes every student should complete the FAFSA, even if one does not plan to go to college.

“What one thinks they are going to do in May is completely different from what they plan to do at the start of the school year,” Ramsey said. “Students often change their mind on whether they wish to go to college or not.”

Ramsay said that the FAFSA simply opens up a student’s opportunities as it only an hour of students’ time and has the potential to change your whole life.

“Even if you’re not planning on going to a traditional university, the FAFSA can assist you. The FAFSA helps for short programs such as trade school and community college,” Ramsey said.

According to Ramsey, the FAFSA in many cases can cover almost all of the costs of a trade school or community college. “This is why I, and Moon Valley,

encourage the FAFSA as much as we do. It opens opportunities and has the chance of changing a student’s whole life,” Ramsey concluded.

Senior Omima Mahadi has already completed her FAFSA.

“I made sure to apply as soon as applications opened,” Mahadi said.

Mahadi shares a similar sentiment to Ramsey. “The FAFSA allows seniors to earn some money from many colleges.”

Mahadi appreciates the recent effort Moon Valley has put in encouraging the FAFSA.

“I like how Moon Valley is motivating students to complete and submit their FAFSA. Many students didn’t know what it was and wouldn’t have completed it if it wasn’t for the staff informing us about it,” Mahadi said.

“By pushing students to complete their FAFSA, Moon Valley is opening more doors for students after high school,” Mahadi concluded.

Senior Keaton Wagner believes that “previous generations do not know how much the FAFSA really affects us. I think that’s why some don’t think it’s that helpful, the FAFSA didn’t really apply to their parents.”

Senior Hunter Parker has personally benefited from the FAFSA.

“The FAFSA helped me save money for the college I applied to. I think Moon Valley is doing good at raising awareness for the FAFSA.”

Compared to previous years, Moon Valley has encouraged more seniors to complete the FAFSA.

“In previous years, the whole state, not just Moon Valley, had about a 27 percent completion rate for the FAFSA, and clearly we have more than 27 percent of students going to college and university,” Principal Anat Salyer said.

According to Ramsey, Moon Valley has 71 percent FAFSA completion rate, and plans to get to 80 percent.

Salyer attributes this growing success to “state competitions Arizona has ran. On top of that, the counsellors have become more united in their goals.”

Michael Raffle continues earning top karate awards

DANIEL HILL |REPORTER

Photo courtesy Michael Raffle CHAMPION: Senior Michael Raffle started karate when he was 4 years old and is now a world champion.

There are many stories to tell that might go unnoticed if one does not dig deeper into the subject around Moon Valley’s campus.

One such story is of Senior Michael Raffle.

Raffle does not often talk about his success, however, many would agree that he has accomplished a lot in a short amount of time.

“I started karate when I was four and it was because I had too much energy as a kid and my parents wanted to get me out of the house,” Raffle said.

Starting from a young age, Raffle has participated in several competitions throughout his karate career.

Raffle has completed many national and international competitions.

Raffle was a world champ in 2016 and is a seven-time Pan-Am champ.

Every year he does Pan- Am championships that take place in South America, with this year’s in Brazil.

“It’s definitely something they want me to keep going to because they keep inviting me back, but it’s really fun and a good experience,” Raffle continued.

Even with the challenges it brings, Raffle said there are many benefits to karate.

“It keeps me in really good shape and keeps me with a good mentality. Whenever I don’t train I start to feel really weird. When I was injured I couldn’t train for a month and it just felt so wrong not doing anything,” Raffle said.

Raffle has no plans of giving up his love for karate any time soon

“I plan to stick with it in my future, especially since I teach karate right now it would be really cool to open up a school some time in the future,” he said.

Raffle said his favorite part of the sport is teaching because “when you teach it’s cool to see someone else figure the stuff you do, and seeing them get so much better as a person and an athlete is really cool.”

There were plenty of times Raffle struggled with his martial arts.

“It was definitely hard starting and staying with it. There are times where you get bored of training because it’s too much. But there’s some people I’ve met who definitely help me stay with it,” Raffle said.

“Training is the part that sucks the most. You’ll have to do your form hundreds of times a day until your cardio is giving out. It’s definitely the hardest part of karate,” Raffle added.

Junior Isaiah Robles is on the varsity wrestling team and is good friends with Raffle.

As a wrestler, Robles appreciates the work Raffle puts into karate.

“You have to keep your body weight in control. There’s a lot of time spent training in wrestling, and I’m sure it’s the same for karate too,” Robles said.

Jennifer Metheny, math teacher, has Raffle in her Honor Pre-Cal class.

Metheny described Raffle as, “a worker, who is humble about his success in Tae- Kwon-Do.”

“He is an incredibly smart student who is highly successful in martial arts,” Metheny said.

“We truly have students on this campus that do amazing things [and Raffle is one of those],” Metheny said.

Julie Rasor, theater teacher, has Raffle in her class and has seen the support his peers give him.

Rasor described Raffle as, “one terrific young man - very talented, intelligent with a strong work ethic.”

“Michael is incredibly modest about his championships and his tournaments,” Rasor said.

Rasor found out about Raffle’s karate when he was going to be absent for an extended period of time, and his dad sent pictures of him doing Taekwondo and some of his trophies.

“He is amazing and almost nonchalant about how many tournaments he has won,” Rasor said. “Michael is also a hard worker and has a dynamite “He has the spirit of a champion.”

Choir, band students earn coveted regional spots

TAELOR BENFIELD-DAVIS REPORTER

Band and choir students attended regionals Feb 14-15.

Justin Jenkins, choir instructor, said that the weekend “was a huge success, and the West Regional Choir had a wonderful performance.”

The choir is part of the West Region, and the event took place at Skyline High School.

In order to attend regionals, students need to audition.

Senior Tyler Herr and Freshman Maggie Leitch were two members that auditioned and qualified for regionals.

“I am super proud of them because it is a tough audition,” Jenkins said.

“I want my students to enjoy themselves, learn as much as they can and represent our school well,” Jenkins continued.

Leitch was shocked when she realized she made it to regionals, yet she was still very confident in her performance.

“I had no idea I was going to make it. I screwed up the sight reading part but my solo went extremely well,” Leitch said.

“Regionals went really well, and I was very proud of my overall performance at regionals,” Leitch said.

Eric Zimmerman, band instructor, stated that students who make it through the audition process make it to regionals.

The band program had two students from band and one student from orchestra attend regionals.

Senior Kylie Coleman represented orchestra and Juniors Tye Johnson and Jonathan Smith represented band.

Zimmerman wanted his students to “listen to the clinicians, learn as much as they can, find things to bring back to our groups, have fun and enjoy the experience.”

“The students were prepared for the event so I was confident they would have a great experience,” Zimmerman concluded.

“It was my second year going to regionals, I was fairly confident that I’d do well,” Coleman said.

“Regionals is two days of super long rehearsals at a quick pace. The second day of regionals is basically just running through the music,” Coleman concluded.

Coleman’s goal was to make it to the first violin section, and thinks of this as a significant improvement for her.

DECA looks to get more student involvement

ISAIAH DANTE’ CAMPBELL | REPORTER

DECA has many ideas in place for the remainder of the school year.

DECA is a student organization that allows students to get a feel for marketing or many other business fields that pertain to the same knowledge.

Students that want to participate in this club can do so if they have taken a business course over their high school career or plan on taking those classes over your high school experience.

Curtis Folkman, business and marketing teacher, advises the DECA program.

“Most of the time, everyone is doing their own thing and helping one another along the way. Many students that I’ve had over the years like the practicality of the class,” Folkman said.

“Students enjoy learning something that can actually be helpful for them as they are trying to shape their future. If you have any interest in business or technology, my door is always open,” Folkman concluded.

DECA member conferences, DECA comes up with ideas for marketing that can bring money back to the school, and help fund other things on campus.

DECA provides food and beverages from the Rocket Shop, and sells them on campus to increase school profit and give back to other clubs and programs.

Senior Mickey Reyna works at the Rocket Shop during lunch and is often a cashier there everyday.

“It’s not really too much extra work, and I enjoy the constant affiliation with people from all class grades. I get to meet new students, and get to work with a bunch of other students that are passionate about marketing.” Reyna said.

Senior Stephan Pawloski has been part of the program for the past 2 years, and has some insight on the club as a whole.

“Even though DECA is a club, and it may seem like more work on the side of everything else going on, it is a really enjoyable club that actually has real life benefits,” Pawloski said.

Pawloski recommends any student that is good with numbers to try out DECA.

“We get approached by real businesses

around the area to help market their business and products. You get to see more of the real business dynamic of how things are really handled in the real world,” Pawloski said.

“ Learning how to promote products and seeing how companies make billions of dollars every year is something to be interested in, and getting to compete for the school allows DECA to represent the student body,” Pawloski finished.

Participating in DECA also gives students the opportunity to compete alongside other schools for first place.

DECA gives students a chance to accel in a career in business, financing, or marketing, giving students incentive to get involved.

Zimmerman wanted his students to “listen to the clinicians, learn as much as they can, find things to bring back to our

Film and TV class prepared for Film and TV Festival

JOSHUA MAYFIELD-CHAVEZ | REPORTER

The film program has made many preparations for the upcoming April 16 Film and TV Festival.

Ryan Swartz, Film and TV teacher, explained that the Film and TV festival was started by all the film teachers in the district coming together and thinking of the event.

Swartz explained that the main thing he does for the festival is showing students how to make different types of videos.

“I have the students try to make different types of videos in class so they can be selected in the festival,” Swartz said.

“Every year I am excited to see how my students have come throughout the year, they have been preparing for the festival for a very long time,” Swartz said.

Swartz expressed that he was quite excited for the upcoming festival as he wants to see how far his students have gone so far this year.

The awards given during the festival are provided by the district.

Senior Leo Galindo explained that he is making a commercial for a university trying to promote the university.

“I’m making a commercial for a university because I’m good at doing commercials,” Galindo said.

Galindo expressed that the hardest part of his commercial was trying to get all of the information that is needed in a certain time frame.

The main thing Galindo was excited for in the festival is seeing other competitors work.

Galindo explained that he thinks what mostly prepared him was his efficient editing of videos that he was making.

“It’s pretty exciting seeing other styles and works in the festival,” Galindo said.

“I feel like what prepared me the most was learning how to quickly edit a video to make more room for other parts of the video,” Galindo said.

Senior Matt Myron explained that he is going to make a movie trailer for the festival.

“I’m going to be making a movie trailer to get into favor of the festival,” Myron explained.

Senior Ray Daves enjoys watching the videos from everyone and seeing how far their minds pushed.

The Film and TV festival is a well planned program that will give all of the Film and TV students a chance to show their work and improvement.

DECA organizes car show

DE’SHEA MOORE | REPORTER

The DECA car show happens once every school year and the 3rd annual car show was set to happen the Friday before spring break.

The appealing thing about the car show is that people want to touch others’ cars or try to talk about how their car might not be the best at the show.

“The best cars that students have seen from last year’s show was the 2016 lime green Lamborghini Huracan,” Curtis Folkman, DECA sponsor, said.

Folkman and his DECA students host the show. There were 32 cars in attendance at last school year’s car show.

“The cars are like pieces of art and it brings all the students together,” Folkman said.

DECA prepares for the car show in January and they start to organize, brainstorm and put out ads around campus to better the car show so that everyone at school is aware of the event.

“I think this is the best event on campus and it’s a fun way to end the quarter going into spring break,” Folkman said.

Folkman said that the best car in the show this year is a red cherry Ferrari.

“Students love this event since they don’t see foreign sports cars on a regular day basis and it’s also cool to see the different types of cars people bring ranging from trucks to sports cars,” Sophomore Austin Ortega said.

This type of event brings people together as students walk around looking at the cars like they are paintings that have their own unique style.

Those checking out the cars tend to check out the car’s engine, rims, car speakers, detail of the exterior and the interior.

The car show is held during both lunches around spring break and there is something new about the cars every time. Sometimes people get to see their dream car at car shows or just like looking at cars. Some students love the sound or the looks of cars.

The show was pushed back to April 10 due to the weather, but COVID-19 school closures has students waiting until next school year.

FCCLA prepares for national competition

MAKHI SPOTTSVILLE

The Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) helps students with future jobs.

Senior Hannah Lawyer is the president and Senior Tania Thomas is vice president of FCCLA.

“FCCLA helps kids learn real world skills and get experience with it,” Thomas said.

FCCLA also helps our members experience different careers on campus.

The club has many benefits for its members.

“When you join the club and participate, you develop a personal kind of leadership style, have fun with sharing experiences with other members or friends and prepare in your later life living as a responsible adult,” Junior Alyssa Wiggins said.

There are advantages to joining FCCLA according to Thomas.

“You create new friendships, I got to become friends with a girl from Hawaii,” Thomas said. “You join a wide circle of friends and learn employment skills that will be used later in life whether you work at McDonalds or become a doctor.”

FCCLA members go to an event every year called Students Taking Action with Recognition (STAR).

“Each year the competitions look different and are held in different locations,” Brandi Jans, FCCLA sponsor, said.

“The competitions have different people from all over trying to beat each other in cooperative, individualized, and competitive challenges,” Jans said.

Thomas has never been but said that the competitions has plenty of competitive people from all different places all doing what they love

“The competition is held in different states and cities every year and this year it is being held in Washington,” Thomas said.

“People should get involved with FCCLA because you learn life skills that you will need later in your career such as helping people and experience working with people in groups,” Lawyer said.

Fashion trends make a comeback over the years

BRANDON TOLLIVER

Trends have come and gone throughout the decades, but lately past trends have found their way back into today’s generations.

People of all ages experience past trends and are trying to create new ones.

One such trend making a comeback is “mom jeans.”

“I can definitely recall constantly seeing the denim 90’s style mom jeans,” Sunny Zamar, U.S. history teacher, said.

Many people still see fashion from all eras continuing to come back and make an impact on today’s society.

“In my junior high years, I remember seeing the platform-style shoes and to see them come back is weird, I didn’t like them then and still don’t like seeing them now,” Zamar said.

“I feel that things never really tend to go out of style,” Zamar said.

Zamar said people are inclined to recycle and reuse fashion ideas due to the fact that this generation claims them to be “cool and vintage” and never had them to truly experience living in the time.

Not only are fashion clothes coming back, but fashion accessories are also in style.

“I still continue to see fanny packs coming back,” Zamar said. Fanny packs were popular during the 80’s and today high-end fashion companies like Gucci and Louis Vuitton are showing up and putting their own spin on these trends.

Even though old trends are recirculating, there is still an addition of new trends.

Sophomore Fiona Rasco said “some new trends that I definitely see are VSCO girls and e-boys.”

“Wherever you go, you can always see someone trying to fit in when it comes to fashion trends and being trendy,” Rasco said.

“I like to think I am trendy because I stand out and try to not to fit in with others,” Rasco added.

Senior Mickey Reyna doesn’t consider herself trendy, but does like to participate in some trends when it fits her style.

“I own a pair of Birkenstocks and it’s weird to see them blow up and become more popular than they were originally,” Reyna continued.

Not all people have the same view when it comes to past trends coming back.

“In the end people use style as a way to find and thoroughly express themselves,” Reyna added.

“People have different ways of showing their true selves and fashion is one of the best ways,” Zamar said.

There are many different ways to stand out, such as through fashion to express one’s personality and to show off trends.

Tik Tok encourages bad choices, entertains

ILEANA MONTOYA

As technology continues to grow, so do social media outlets, and the discussion of the detrimental effects it may have on teens intensifies.

Outlets like Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter have been around for years, followed by Musical.ly and Tik Tok.

Tik Tok is a video-sharing social networking service and is used to create short lip-sync, comedic and talent filled videos.

This year, Tik Tok has grown enormously in watchers, further increasing its influence on their audience.

Senior Daniela Vasquez believes that its quick rise to fame was due to the fact that it’s the closest thing to Vine.

“Tik Tok is definitely one of the top apps. It’s up there with Twitter and Snapchat,” Junior Jayden Rodgers said.

Students explain that watching Tik Toks is often captivating and becomes time consuming due to the entertainment brought by them.

“I’ve been watching Tik Toks since fall break, everyday Tik Tok is my most used app,” Senior Alexis Reilly said.

“You’ll watch one video and it leads to another and another and it makes you end up watching for hours,” Senior Evelyn Robles said.

Students have begun to make these videos during school hours.

“It’s a thing to do a Tik Tok at school rather than be a voice over, or dancing, or recording other students or teachers, it’s affecting how students learn in school,” Robles said.

In January there was an incident on campus where students were filming a Tik Tok to post and one of those students fell and received a concussion.

One of the students involved in the incident was Rodgers who still believes that Tik Tok can have a good impact on people.

“There are many tips and tricks one can learn from it, but there are also bad things like stuff we did that hurt people, which isn’t good for anyone,” Rodgers said.

“I feel like in instances where people get hurt, Tik Tok should monitor more things like that because that girl who got the concussion could have gotten hurt way worse. Is it really funny to see someone get hurt like that? She could’ve gotten hurt really bad,” Junior Kevin Escoto Gamez said.

Although Vasquez felt that it was just a mistake, it wasn’t Tik Toks fault as Tik Tok didn’t tell kids to do stuff that’ll hurt others.

“I don’t think Tik Tok is a bad thing, I just think that people are mean or don’t think before they act,” Reilly added.

Dawn Harman, Media Center director, said that as you enter adulthood you need to understand what is good for others and what is bad for others and understand what is not good for yourself.

“I think that teens need to use social media and any kind of digital media responsibly and you need to be aware of your social media presence and what could be possibly harmful to somebody else and think about that before you post anything,” Harman said.

“I feel like Tik Tok is like every other social media app, it will always have its bad side to it no matter what,” Vasquez added.

Vasquez thinks that Tik Tok “isn’t as brutal as other social media outlets like Twitter and Instagram,” although she does believe that if someone is “making an account for something they should know there are going to be negative parts to it.”

Harman feels that there is a positive side of Tik Tok as well. Harman’s niece has a podcast called social feed that is dedicated to Tik Tok and how it’s become more well known.

“[My niece] explained that there was a Tik Tok of a kid who got a perfect SAT score and he made Tik Toks helping others on how to improve your scores,” Harman said.

“I feel that Tik Tok it made me more confident I’ve been able to dress the way I want to act the way I want, it’s a fifty fifty for me on good and bad because it’s brought me down but it’s mainly brought me up through my confidence,” Escoto Gamez said.

Playboy emblem clothing breaks dress code rules

ABBI VARGO

Recently several students have been breaking dress code by wearing Playboy attire.

Dress code is strictly enforced for numerous reasons, however it’s mainly enforced to maintain a peaceful learning environment for every student.

“There are certain rules in order for students to focus on learning and sometimes clothes can be distracting, that’s why the dress code has come into play,” Principal Anat Salyer said, “when you wear clothing with violent or sexual content you want to protect those that would possibly be offended so people can focus on learning and not what others are wearing.”

Despite the dress code, teachers and administrators have noticed a new trend forming- Playboy clothing. This trend represents the sexualization of women.

Kris Hutson, assistant principal of discipline and attendance, believes Playboy attire is demeaning, derogatory and offensive to fellow students and teachers.

Hutson noticed that the students who have been caught wearing this attire are boys.

“I think boys are trying to be cool and think they are putting on a facade,” Hutson said.

Hutson questions if female students are aware of Playboy’s meaning and if so, he wonders if they’re okay with their peers wearing the brand at school.

Senior Kylie Coleman is not bothered by others wearing the brand.

“The logo itself isn’t inherently explicit or graphic so as long as they aren’t wearing a centerfold I couldn’t care less,” Coleman said.

Senior Omima Mahadi is aware of what the symbol stands for and how Playboy uses women and their bodies as a symbol to satisfy people’s pleasures.

“As a woman myself, I don’t find the Playboy symbol itself offensive, it just depends on what’s pictured on the shirt or attire, I think people just wear it at school because it’s become a trend to wear name-brand clothing,” Mahadi said.

Similar to Mahadi, other students and staff members believe males wear this brand to keep up with the latest trends.

“Playboy attire is kind of an old fashion statement, sometimes trends come back into style like Birkenstocks and Adidas attire,” Salyer said.

Mahadi also believes that “boys may just like the idea of owning a shirt from a magazine company that is known for photographing naked women.”

Senior Alyssa Enk thinks it’s “weird [that students are wearing Playboy attire] since the students are underage and basically advertising sexual content.”

Senior Eyelyn Robles believes everyone should wear what they wish; however, that should be done on their own time.

“School is a place of many opinions and it’s inappropriate when students wear Playboy clothing, if students aren’t allowed to wear shirts that have guns, drugs or curse words, they shouldn’t be allowed to wear Playboy brand,” Robles said.

Advanced art students create chalk drawings

Moon Valley’s advanced art class did chalk art in front of the office on Feb. 9.

The students spent the school day working on their drawings. Once they chose what they wanted to draw, Shanalee Dorsey, art teacher, printed out a picture and without practice they headed out to the sidewalk and started to sketch their drawing.

Senior Everett Bowers has done chalk art for two years.

“It’s a lot of pain to sit on your knees under the hot sun drawing a picture,, but I think it’s all worth it in the end,” Bowers said.

Bowers did Galactus, which is a marvel character that was created back in the 60’s by a man named Jack Kirby, who’s an alien god that eats plants to survive. Bowers was happy with how it turned out and also likes that he can share his hard work with the whole school.

Art is more than coloring inside the lines, for some people it’s a way for them to release all their stress and anxiety to let them express their emotions.

Bowers didn’t want to be in art at first but has come to enjoy it and be good at it.

Senior Daniela Vasquez prepared for the chalk art by testing pastels and chalk.

For Vasquez’s first time doing the chalk art she was “excited to start, it was actually really hard, but I do believe it was worth it in the end.”

“I’ve always liked drawing, it’s just something that is naturally calming, while drawing, I like to listen to music making it even more relaxing,” Vasquez said

Vasquez started drawing at 6 years old, she liked how art calmed her and she stayed with it.

Chalk art is a tradition that students look forward to.

Self expression allows people to be themselves

KRIS HARGENRADER

Self expression is the freedom one has to be who they are.

In a high school with hundreds of students attending, a lot of different types of self expression are occurring.

Whether it be fashion, music, art, dance, sports or even academically, student have been expressing themselves through these things for a very long time.

Having safe outlets to freely express oneself can be a positive for personal development.

“I try to convey the message that people should be who they are, and that no one has to live up to what other people expect from them,” Sunny Zamar, history teacher, said.

The freedom to be oneself can benefit in more than one way. It can also help improve one’s self-esteem.

Senior Treasure Winder expresses herself through her hair color, clothing and her personality.

“I feel good and confident about myself when I’m being expressive,” Winder shared.

Although it may get difficult at times, there are many upsides to having an expressive style.

“There are times where you get caught up in your head about what other people might think, but if you ignore them, you’re happier,” Winder continued. Zamar agrees with this thought process.

“I used to be self conscious because I was always worried people wouldn’t like me, but as I have gotten older, I don’t care what others think because I feel good about expressing myself,” Zamar said. “ I won’t apologize for who I am or tone down my personality.”

Zamar is known on campus for having a soft pink, feminine and decorated room, which is a clear representation of who she is.

“Anyone can walk into my classroom, not knowing me and look around and know what I’m like and get an idea of the kind of person I am,” Zamar shared.

Senior Omima Mahadi has a different expressive style.

“ I express myself through social media to speak on social issues,” Mahadi shared.

Her ideas and opinions are an important piece for Mahadi to express herself freely.

“If I see something wrong happening in the world or near me in my environment I always say something,” Mahadi said. “ I am never silent.”

With freedom of speech being a constitutional right, Mahadi has no issue being controversial from time to time.

“Some people may not agree with what I say, but I’m not here to please anyone and I feel good about that,” Mahadi expressed.

“People have told me that I shouldn’t say certain things or act how I do because it might make me look like a bad person, but if someone doesn’t agree with me they don’t have to listen,” Mahadi revealed.

Self expression helps one to establish individuality and uniqueness.

Students' habits could negatively impact their lives

BLADIMIR CRUZ

Often, habits become compulsive tendencies, and corporations such as Dutch Bros. and Starbucks see an increase in their profit due to people’s habits.

However, these drinks that students are addicted to may have a negative impact on their health

“I started drinking Red Bull my junior year, and I’d say it was because of my AP classes. There was a ton of homework, I had to stay up really late and I needed that extra energy, and the addiction spiraled,” Senior Desaree Lujan added.

“I used to drink Monster to help me stay awake because I was always tired, but it doesn’t help anymore, I mainly drink it now just to drink it because I’ve been doing it for three years,” Junior Karisa Bateman said.

Bateman has been drinking Monsters since she was in middle school, but thinks that freshmen year was when it became a stronger habit.

Junior Jessica Perez said she started drinking coffee when she was three years old.

Sunny Zamar, history teacher, has gone to Chick- Fil-A consistently for 10 years straight.

“At first I had their tea, but then I got hooked on their lemonade and my addiction to it started,” Zamar added.

Many understand that these habits are not healthy and are expensive to keep up with.

“It’s definitely a bad habit because it’s bad for anyone in general,” Bateman explained. “I buy two or three cans a day, so I’d say I spend roughly around $84 in a month.”

“When I first started I was like, ‘oh I barely drink it so it won’t be too bad for me,’ but I’m at the point where I drink multiple a day, and if I don’t get one I get really upset,” Bateman added.

Lujan admitted that Red Bull does make her a little shaky sometimes. She spends roughly around $20 to $30 a month on Red Bull.

“The most I had in one night was six Red Bulls because we had an assignment due the next day. I didn’t sleep that whole night,” Lujan said.

“I think most kids drink energy drinks or coffee because of school or more than likely AP classes,” Lujan said. “When finals begin it becomes even worse,”

“I would say lemonade is not good, it’s a lot of sugar and I consume it everyday, just at work I spend $100 a month On Chick Fil A ,” Zamar expressed.

“It seems like I could drink coffee my whole life, I get like two cups everyday. I spend roughly around $120 a month on Starbucks and often it causes me to go broke,” Perez added.

Most don’t believe that they could stop their consumption in just a day and others would only find a substitute.

“If I didn’t drink monster, I would just substitute it for soda or something,” Bateman expressed.

“The only time I go without having lemonade is when I go on a close up trip to D.C because there isn’t a Chick Fil A close by there in the area,” Zamar added.

“I don’t think I could finish right here right now or tomorrow because I’m too hooked on it,” Zamar concluded.

Coronavirus impacts community, campus, cancellin

ABBI VARGO

Due to the Coronavirus epidemic, schools across Arizona are cancelled for the rest of the school year.

The first confirmed CO- VID-19 case in the U.S. was reported on January 19 in Washington state and rapidly spread across the country, businesses and schools began being shut down as a result.

With the school closure, students and teachers switched to an online learning platform.

“All work will be handed out virtually and then teachers will be available for help, questions and remediation during a designated time,” Principal Anat Salyer said.

Salyer believes the student body will take online classes seriously because she thinks they are excited to connect with fellow classmates and teachers.

“Our teachers are amazing and will be able to engage and motivate the students,” Salyer said.

Jennifer Wright, history teacher, believes that this experience will help some students to become more responsible/independent.

“Some students may even advance their problem solving skills as they will need to learn to troubleshoot technology issues and figure things out on their own as teachers may not be able to respond right away,” Wright said.

Online schooling doesn’t bother Senior Noah Ramirez.

“I have the resources to access whatever it is my teachers provide me with and I’m on my own schedule,” Ramirez said.

“While this could work against me, it eases my stress knowing I can do work from my own house,” Ramirez said.

Online schooling completely differs from learning in a classroom in several aspects.

“For now, online teaching is quite different in that we are offering enrichment activities and opportunities to complete missing work so in essence there isn’t a whole lot of [new] teaching going on,” Wright said.

Due to teaching online, Wright is lacking regular face-to-face contact with her students.

“I feel like I have become a voice in space when I put up videos and I spend most of my time answering emails,” Wright said.

Teaching online isn’t anything new to Wright as she has been instructing on online platforms for eight years.

“I have a Masters Degree in Educational Technology so online teaching is something that I am trained and qualified to teach,” Wright said.

Due to the fact students are unable to return to Moon Valley, all upcoming events and district, state and national testing has been cancelled or postponed.

“AzM2 and AIMS science are currently on hold as well as ACT. The College Board

has already transitioned all AP tests to be online and have altered their format as well,” Salyer said.

Ramirez feels more confident about the changes with his AP tests.

“The fact that the multiple choice questions are no longer included reduced my stress, now I only have to worry about the essays,” Ramirez said.

Prom has been cancelled and graduation ceremonies are still up in the air.

“As difficult as it is for students to miss those monumental events, it’s recommended that we limit groups to 10 or less,” Salyer said. “It really depends how things progress throughout our state and the nation and the directions we are given by local authorities.” Ramirez is very disheartened with prom being cancelled.

“I didn’t go to prom my junior year, as I wanted the experience to be that much more significant and now it seems like I won’t get the chance,” Ramirez said.

“As for graduation it’s even more saddening, as I was most likely going to sing for my senior class, my friends and my teachers with the Vocal Ensemble; I was looking forward to meeting my family afterwards and going out for lunch as one big group,” Ramirez said.

Dawn Harman, media center director, is upset for the seniors who are missing out on some life’s most enduring memories.

Harman still encourages the student body to stay connected and check in with their friends and teachers

“Meeting virtually is important, just to stay connected with others and your community,” Harman said.

“Also, take some time to learn something new or to meditate, I am trying not to have the television on and

trying to stay out of my news feed because it makes me upset.”

Letter from the Editors

Dear student body,

As Moon Valley remains sheltered due to COVID-19, students are advised to take their classes online. Students had an opportunity to receive a Chromebook from the front office on March 30 if they are in need of a computer. Online school began March 30 and was set to continue online through April 10; however, we found out that it would remain closed to the end of the school year.

The dismal thought that many of the student body may never interact with one another for the remainder of the year became a reality as time passed.

The Rocket Reporter’s goal is to provide relevant, reliable news about our school and surrounding community. We will continue to provide information to help students and faculty.

During these trying times, it is hard to remain unified. COVID-19 has disrupted our normal routine, introducing more stress to our most stressful years yet. However, it is important that the community works together, as with any crisis. The Rocket Reporter hopes you and your family remain healthy and safe during these unprecedented times.

It is very easy to get caught up with the media regarding COVID-19, leaving us fearful and anxious, however, there are many tips and strategies to keep us healthy, preventing risks of coronavirus. To begin with, it’s extremely vital to keep yourself isolated from others, especially those who are ill. It’s extremely important to self quarantine yourself because it can take up to two weeks to receive symptoms of coronavirus; someone around you could be unaware they have the virus and are spreading it with everyone they come into contact with. Next, it’s important to clean daily objects frequently such as tables, door handles and light switches to kill up to 98% of daily germs. Finally, it’s urgent to wash your hands and avoid contact with your face.

The Rocket Reporter recognizes the difficulty that comes from living in an epidemic. However, it is important to strictly follow instructions that healthcare professionals provide, including social distancing and healthy hygiene practices. In the upcoming weeks and months, morale will be tested, but it is essential to stay mentally strong to ensure our community stays physically healthy. Rely on each other, rely on your teachers, rely on your admin - we’re Rockets and we’ll get through this together.

Sincerely, The Rocket Reporter

Softball team prepared for season, tournaments

NASSER SINNOKROT

The Varsity softball team ended the 2018-2029 season with a record of 11-13.

Christy Wiley, Varsity head softball coach, thinks this year’s season will go pretty well for the team.

“We have a lot of new players on Varsity, so the biggest challenge will be getting all of them to play together as one unit,” Wiley said.

Rina Beukema, freshman softball coach, is new to coaching at Moon Val- ley and thinks her first season coaching the freshman team will go great.

Beukema wants to let future players know that “it’s so fun, you’re almost like a little family.”

“You can expect to see awesomeness this season,” Beukema said.

Jennifer Wright, assistant Varsity coach, thinks that the program benefits interested players to “work on softball knowledge and watch college softball.”

“You’re going to see aggressive base running this season,” Wright said.

Wright said that some players to look out for on Varsity this year are Senior Lexi Dominguez and Sophomore Hailee Warr.

“The game is the same, just different girls,” Wright added.

“The biggest challenge to overcome will be girls being too nervous,” Beukema stated. “Softball is a game that requires mental strength and if you’re nervous, that’s a big obstacle to tackle.

Wiley shared that the team participated in the Wickenburg tournament on Feb. 28 and 29, and although they didn’t place in the tournament, the team improved with each game they played.

Sophomore Hailee Warr believes “there won’t be any schools difficult to beat if we come with our ‘A’ game.”

“I’ve been playing softball for ten years, and this is my second year playing for Moon Valley,” Warr said.

Warr feels that the team has to be “prepared for anything.”

Warr believes the biggest challenge will be the young players on the team.

Wright indicated that pitching is hard for the team right now.

The softball team hopes to win many more games this year.

Unified sports competed in various activities

ETHAN MANLANGIT

Unified sports is a sports program that pairs students with intellectual and physical disabilities with general education students.

Christy Wiley, special education clerk, said, “the students have physical disabilities and cognitive disabilities, so we have a blend of all different kinds of disabilities.”

These students with disabilities compete in competitions including cheer, bocce, and shuffleboard.

Bocce Ball is an Italian game similar to lawn bowling but on a shorter and greener setting like grass of a prairie.

“Bocce tournaments are only with our MD students and with those students we have them in the competition with an athlete and a partner,” Wiley continued.

“The athletes with the disabilities are the competitors and the partner is the person that helps the athlete roll the balls and set up games for them,” Wiley said.

Wiley said that this program gives the MD students more confidence, “they have just as much fun competing as any other student.”

Wiley said that in addition to unified sports, “many of the students compete in Special Olympics out of school, and so they know some of the different athletes from the other schools.”

“It’s good that we offer unified sports because all kids want to play sports, but if you’re in a wheelchair while playing basketball, it’s not going to be beneficial for you, the hoop will be too high or everyone is moving faster than you, so it’s good because it adapts to the students’ needs,” Wiley said.

Wiley said that the students participate because they like sports and they want to compete and they like the competition.

Elizabeth Enk, unified sports sponsor, said that they have a student with a disability being the athlete and then a more capable student being a partner and then they work together as a team to compete.

Enk said that the Special Olympics has a student with disabilities doing some kind of athletic event, but we are trying to push our students more towards unified sports .

“Special Olympics/Unified Sports is a way to get our students with disabilities involved in some kind of athleticism or just a socialization,” Enk said.

“Some of our students get really into it. They really like that we have trophies and we have ribbons that are able to be won, but they do have a lot of fun,” Enk said.

Senior Rosa Lopez has participated in unified sports as a general education student.

“There is a process in unified sports, you help them with what they need to do in the sport that they’re playing,” Lopez said.

“It’s a good thing that we have the special olympics or unified sports because helps the students get out of their comfort zone, it enables them to actually participate in something that they like to do,” Lopez said.

Tennis preparation for upcoming season cut short

JONATAN WONDIMU

Tennis began their season last month with new and returning players.

Junior David Acosta, boys Varsity tennis player, thinks this year is looking promising with all the new players.

“I think it’s in the works, we lost a lot of seniors last year, but I think we got a lot of good people this year,” Acosta stated.

Acosta said there is room for improvement to this year’s team.

Acosta believes the team is still big even with the loss of last year’s seniors and thinks that this season is looking pretty similar.

“The sport is individual in itself because you don’t compete as a team but you compete individually,” Acosta elaborated.

Acosta added that everyone practices together Monday through Friday, and when the team competed it was one on one with the opposing team.

“You get your individual workout and you get the same team bonding experience,” Acosta said.

Senior Amer Beckdish, a boys tennis Varsity player, loves tennis for the team bonding and the peaceful atmosphere.

Beckdish feels said he practices every week day for tennis and prides himself on it.

He also mentioned that he loves everything about tennis“It’s perfect,” Beckdish said.

Junior Hannah Heffke, Varsity girls tennis player, believes the girls tennis team is looking good this year.

“It’s pretty good, we won our first game this year,” Heffke said.

Heffke enjoys tennis because of her team; and likes how she has fun with them during practice.

The girls tennis team did not lose as many players as the boys tennis team; however, Heffke still misses the seniors who were on the team last year.

“We did not win a lot of our games, but it was a lot of fun with them,” Heffke stated.

Heffke feels like this season may turn out the same as last year, but she also said it really depends on what the opposing teams will look like.

“It depends how the other teams are since last year a lot of their teams had seniors on them,” Heffke added.

Reena Gosalia, head girls tennis coach, believes the girls tennis team is looking good this year.

“[The players] have much better idea this year; we have a lot of great kids coming out that have never played tennis and have a lot of potential,” Gosalia said.

Gosalia said that this year is very different than last year because of how much they have learned already.

The only thing Gosailia sees very different about the team this year is the addition of an assistant coach, Coach Rudnick.

Gosalia’s favorite thing about coaching is seeing the girls learn how to play tennis.

New baseball coach prepared team for season

AROP KUAL

With the spring sports season underway the Varsity baseball team started their games.

Trey Lidle, Varsity baseball coach, said that the team started back in June working a couple days a week on the fundamentals and putting the pressure on the other teams and not ourselves.

Lidle liked the amount of effort and work put forth from day one and the fact they want to play and continue to practice.

“We need to be able to cut down on the amount of errors in the field and strikeouts at the plate compared to last year,” Lidle stated.

Lidle’s goal is to win on and off the field with his players.

A few standout players Lidle is looked forward to were his two team captains, Junior Jake Simington and Senior Kaleb Castillo.

Simingtion was to play center field and Castillo was to play right field.

A few tough opponents for the team were to be : Tempe, Thunderbird, Shadow Mountain, St. Mary’s, Bradshaw Mountain and Peoria.

Lidle took over the Varsity program this year. Before getting the Varsity baseball coach position Lidle was coaching in Poland, Ohio.

“If they played how they usually do then the team could have taken a win from [these teams],” Lidle said.

“I’d like to think I’ve kept the atmosphere of the program close to the same as Forelli left with the exception of bringing my football/strength and conditioning coach personality to the table,” Lidle stated.

Lidle worked alongside Forelli last year and said that he learned a lot last year and enjoyed the atmosphere under Coach Forelli.

Lidle doesn’t plan to come in and make immense changes this year. “The only changes I really foresee happening is just our team philosophy, especially at the plate, and that is to put the ball in play and put the pressure on the defense to make a play,” Lidle said.

“We aren’t going to hit a bunch of bombs, but we’re going to get on base and then run and run and run. I’m an aggressive coach and the players seemed to have really brought into this philosophy,” Lidle stated

Lidle was confident that it was going to be a good season and that fans would have seen the Rockets return to postseason action.

Sophomore Micah Southwick said that he prepared for the season by having workouts during the summer and winter break with the team.

Southwick liked the hard work and dedication they showed throughout the summer to prepare them for the season.

“I wanted to work on batting average and have a big jump from last season,” Southwick stated.

Southwick’s goal for the season was for the team to make it to the playoffs.

Southwick likes his new coach because of how he pushes all his players and how he strives for greatness.

Southwick said that the difference from last season and this season is the work ethic and that they are more dedicated to having a winning season compared to last season.

Sophomore Charlie Akers prepared for the season by practicing everyday he could.

Akers likes how the team is always together and have a tight relationship outside of baseball.

Akers wanted to improve on his whole game because he believes that he still needs things to work on.

Akers goal for this season was to win a lot of games and make it to the playoffs.

With spring sports season beginning, the baseball team is ready to play.

Pom team competed in national competition

MARIAM HERNANDEZ

The Pom team worked consistently to make it to Anaheim, Cali. for the national competition on Feb. 15.

The process to go to this specific competition starts with the regionals competition in state, where the teams must score an 85 or higher to qualify.

The competition lasts four days: Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Each team competes for one day, and if they qualify for finals, they compete again on a different day.

The 11 member team worked year-round to prepare for this event. They practiced last year and all of this year, held tryouts before school started and even held a summer camp.

All this practice paid off, according to the team.

“Practice has helped me gain new skills and helped me clean [up] my choreography,” Junior Samantha Ley said.

Ley practiced every morning with the rest of the team from 5:55 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. and practiced her technique every day outside of school in order to be, “100% ready for when we compete.”

“Practice in school helped us work as a team and become sharper and have better technique. Outside of school, I was mostly practicing on my turns and jumps,” Senior Kathryn Klima said.

Most of the students were nervous about forgetting the routine, whereas their coach was more worried about the technique level required for nationals and if they could reach it.

“The hardest part for me would have to be needing to learn new techniques that were incorporated into the routine, but the best part was how close I got with all the people on the team,” Ley said.

“The hardest part was probably the early practices, but I was most nervous about making the coaches proud,” Klima stated.

Shauntel Sussex, Pom coach, felt that the team worked well together in getting to nationals.

“No one outshined another person, they’re all on the same level. Since it’s such a small team, they all work better together,” Sussex said.

The work, nervousness and struggles paid off when the excitement of competing as a team and being on stage hit them.

“The most rewarding aspect was seeing them on stage and knowing they did their best and seeing all that hard work pay off,” Sussex said.

“They all did good, really really good, I’m so proud of them,” Sussex concluded.

The team itself values fun, and it’s the reason Ley tried out.

“At first, I wasn’t even thinking about trying out but then I saw how fun it looked, it was one of the best decisions I have ever made in high school,” Ley said.

“I’ve only been competing this year and I regret not doing it all four years,”

“Nationals was everything you’d expect, lots of crazy lights, loud music, and an amazing atmosphere,” Ley stated.

“Regionals was really a pumped experience, doing amazing and qualifying for nationals. It was like a movie, more than I could have imagined,” Klima said.

The memories made and experiences and friendships created were some of the best aspects of pom.

“I love this team so much and I couldn’t thank them and the coaches enough for everything they have done for me,” Ley stated.

“The best part of being on the team is bonding more than I ever thought I would with the people,” Klima said, “Competitive Pom has some ups and downs, but in the end, we’re a big family and had a once in a lifetime experience.”

Coach strengthens track team, seniors last season

BROC SAEGER

The new track and field season was beginning, and Brian Raper, track and field coach, could not be more excited.

“This season should [have been] better than last year’s season, everyone was locked in and determined to win,” Raper said.

Raper has been coaching the team for over 10 years and said that “Greenway is always up there with us, they’re a rival school and they find a way to stick with us every single year.”

Raper has high expectations for some stand out girl runners.

On the girls’ side, Raper was looking to Junior Melissa Rivera and Senior Magaly Diaz.

“Those two seemed to get better and better, and this [would have been] a great season for them,” Raper said.

Raper had also been scouted the boys’ side, and is certain that boys’ track and field would have done amazing.

“Junior Jordan Richardson is a great sprinter, I don’t think he’ll shock anyone with his ability because everyone knows how great and efficient he is,” Raper stated.

Richardson is known by his peers for being very explosive and fast, he feels he is gifted.

“I would say I am a great sprinter, I’m blessed to be able to run, it is definitely a hobby,” Richardson said.

Rivera is a runner who has great expectations from Raper and she hoped to exceed them.

Rivera participated in cross country this year, but she had been looking forward to track and field since last season.

“Although cross country is very fun, I like track and field more,” Rivera said.

Rivera has a passion for running, that’s why she does both cross country and track and field. She also uses cross country as preparation for track and field.

“I know I am always in shape, but cross country prepares me for track,” Rivera said.

Track and field has a variety of events, but Rivera only looks forward to one event in particular.

“My favorite event is the 4x4, that is an event I live for,” Rivera said.

This would have been Diaz’s last year doing track and field.

“I’m sad, but I wanted to make my last year my best year, I’ll do whatever it takes,” Diaz said.

Boys, girls wrestling send athletes to state competition

RANDY GORDON

The wrestling state tournament was on Feb. 16 held in Prescott and run by Moon Valley’s wrestling team and staff and they have been running the tournament for the last 13 years.

The Varsity team had three wrestlers qualify for state Sophomore Tawni Gomez, Junior Isaiah Robles and Sophomore Mai Torres.

Gomez wrestled for the 110lb and 113lb weight class.

Varsity wrestling finished the season with 11 wrestlers, which is below what they normally end up at 14 which meant that the team had to forfeit six points at the 106lb, 112lb and 120lb weights

Robles was disappointed in this year’s performance.

“When we went to state there were many schools at the competition where their whole team made it and they had 11 to 12 people wrestling for them and we only had three wrestlers in the tournament,” Robles said.

Robles was the only male wrestler that wrestled during

the tournament and he wrestled at 130 pounds and he was knocked out of the competition early. “I loved the competition in Prescott and I would hope to be able to make it next year and leave high school a qualified wrestler,” Robles said.

Bryan Smith, Varsity wrestling coach,was not very impressed with the

turn out of the season. “We only had three qualifiers and we also had three weight classes with no wrestlers which lowers our chances of qualifiers.”

“My goal in the wrestling season was to make it to the state tournament not just to be successful but also to have fun with the team,” Gomez said.

Gomez has wrestled since her freshman year and has qualified for state both years.

Peggy Armstrong, girls Varsity wrestling coach, was “impressed with my girls this year we only had one returning wrestler which qualified for state and we also had a non returner for state which is very impressive.”

Armstrong said that she had a lot of fun running the state tournament with Smith and appreciates how educated he is with what he does.

Freshman Robert Salgado was part of the JV wrestling team and wrestled at the 145 weight class.

“My favorite memory from the season was the Greenway wrestling tournament, where I had fun and even wrestled a junior,” Salgado said.

Moon Valley has had a successful wrestling team having won the state champions in 2010

With the season over many wrestlers are doing getting ready for next year.

Gender inequality still common in many sports

MAYA LAND

Compared to the past, sexism and gender inequality in sports has made many improvements. However, there are still many changes that need to be done.

“Since Title IX a lot of what happens nationally has closed the gap between men and women’s sports at the high school and collegiate level,” Eddie Lopez, assistant principal of operations and resources, said.

Title IX went into effect in 1972 with the idea of bringing gender equality to education - mainly sports.

In today’s world gender equality is talked about more in the sports industry. A lot of that goes into the pay difference that men and women get, along with opportunities.

“Facilities, budgets and the equal treatment on prime time has definitely been improved, as well as scheduling,”Lopez said.

Although high school’s have improved in equal play, some have not had equal exposure.

“I believe women’s sports, are underestimated and not recognized enough because of the societal stereotype that males are more superior,” Senior Taniyah Thomas said.

Sexism is more common in some sports than others.

“I think females need more recognition when it comes to sports. Women in basketball, volleyball and softball don’t get enough support,”Senior Malak Malak said.

The support females get compared to males, nationally is lower. Whether it’s because of personal preference or the energy from the games.

“Lots of people will pop out to the guy’s games, but then if you go to a girl’s game there will be a smaller amount in the stands,” Malak continued.

In today’s generation sexism is still very controversial and there are many different opinions around the fact of it being brought to a common ground.

“I feel like there can be a way to bring sexism to a common ground but at the same time I believe males have a different athletic level when it comes to sports, there will be more support for guys than girls,” Malak said.

When you look at this in the girls perspective you can see the point of view on both sides.

“Playing on the girl’s varsity team I saw that our boys definitely got more recognition and its sad because we work really hard” Thomas said.

Supporting all sports encourages athletes to keep pushing and staying positive.

“Stay in the lab and keep putting in work, strive for your goals and don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do something; set your mind to the highest extent and apply pressure,” Senior Shakir Galab said.

Suffering a concussion can lead to CTE, studies show

GARRY ANAU

Head injuries can come from playing any sports.

Football and wrestling are the most common sports for head injuries.

Head injuries can lead to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a brain degeneration disease caused by repeated head traumas.

Senior Joey Maxey decided to stop playing football after suffering several concussions.

“Sophomore year, I suffered a concussion that I had to go to the hospital for. From that point on, I started getting really bad migraines,” Maxey said.

“Senior year I took another hit that caused more migraines, and I decided it was time to hang up my helmet,” Maxey said.

Maxey expressed how hard of a decision it was to decide to quit football in concerns of his health.

“I invested so much time and dedication into football. It was the hardest decision of my sports career, but I knew if I continued to play, the injuries would only get worse,” Maxey said.

Overall, Maxey decided that his safety was most important.

These injuries are still affecting Maxey in the long run, as he still gets really bad migraines every now and then.

Seth Millican, Varsity football coach, is taking steps for the safety of his players.

In October 2017, during a football game, Carlos Sanchez took a hit to the head and collapsed on the field. Sanchez later died.

“Experiencing the loss of a player during a game was really hard,” Millican said. “If there is any coach that knows the importance of safety for the student athletes, it is me.”

During the summer of 2019, the football team raised money by selling coupon cards.

The money raised was used to buy head caps for their helmets during practice. These head caps have cushion pads to help prevent injuries to the head.

Junior Isaiah Robles,Varsity football player and Varsity wrestler, has also suffered from many concussions.

During the 2020 football season, Robles had to sit out for half of the season due to head injuries such as concussions.

Today, there is no known cure for CTE, which makes the safety of athletes very important.

According to NFL.com, a study was done on 111 former NFL players. All but one of them were found to have CTE.

Former NFL players such as Aaron Hernandez, Andre Waters and Junior Seau all had CTE and killed themselves.

Doctor Michael Alosco has talked about the effects of CTE.

“CTE leads to aggression, depression and memory problems,” Alosco explained “If they live into older age, CTE patients will develop dementia.”

Enlisting in the military is option for students

DON NGO

Enlisting in the military is a career path that many people take when they get out of high school.

The military is not just a career, but also a lifestyle in the eyes of many people.

Pat MacLean, JROTC Commander, believes that the ASVAB can help decide one’s future especially for the military.

“Students should know how they did on the AS- VAB and they should know what to do with their score if they’re truly intending on joining the military,” MacLean said.

The ASVAB is typically taken in junior year of high school.

“The ASVAB opens a number of jobs that are available to you - the higher you score the more jobs you can select from, the lower you score the more limited your possibilities are. The ASVAB really directs [you] on where you’re going to go,” MacLean stated.

Military recruiters help those enlist in the military. When doing this, they have a specific rubric they go through to determine future candidates.

“The recruiters are going to tell you the truth,” MacLean said. “[They’ll inform you about] things like commitments of four to six years cannot be backed out of. If I was a recruiter, I would look for their ASV- AB score, arrest record and their life in school.”

Enlisting right out of high school is an option, but some military jobs may take a while for a spot to open up.

“I’ve been through the enlisting process and it is very straightforward, all you have to do is be on it and be patient for when the time is right for the job you want,” MacLean said.

Joining the military can grant one many benefits.

“The military is beneficial to people who join and take advantage of the opportunities granted. Many students don’t know that if you spend four years in the military, you get four years of free college,” MacLean expressed.

A lifetime of opportunities can be granted by enlisting in the military

MacLean is enlisted in the military because he wanted to marry his girlfriend, but felt that he was going nowhere and needed a career and education.

MacLean is glad he enlisted.

“[The military] gave me a bachelors and masters degree, helped provide for my family, gave scholarships for my wife and helped my kids experience different cultures due to the many times we’ve moved around the country,” MacLean stated.

Junior Justin Meier is a JROTC member in his third year, and said that if he was a recruiter that he would look for leadership skills and the ability to cooperate with others.

Enlisting is only one out of many options to join the military.

“Enlisting is not necessary since there are many other ways to join. If you go through college first, you can be an officer instead of an enlistee,” Meier expressed.

Discipline is a key factor to how successful one is in the military.

“Joining the military can be beneficial, you just have to be fine with what the military is asking of you,” Meier stated.

Senior Auturo Juarez is a JROTC member that enlisted in the Marines.

“The enlisting process isn’t that hard, you just can’t have body limitations,” Juarez said. “I enlisted because I wanted to increase my body fitness and gain more knowledge about the job I’m going in to.”

Retirement can be made easier due to the benefits gained from serving in the military.

“If you join you can get free college and higher pay than most people so I find it very beneficial. After 20 years, you get to retire and still get paid,” Juarez explained.

Seniors enjoy their last semester before college

GABRIELLA GRACIA

As the school year comes to a closing, seniors prepare themselves for the next chapter of their lives; realizing past issues and welcoming new beginnings and moving forward in life.

Senior Brayden Crotz has committed to Rochester CTC in Minnesota on a four year scholarship for football and plans to major in Criminal Justice.

“I admit to being afraid of moving to Minnesota and adapting to a whole new environment. It’s sad to leave memories behind, but I will have the opportunity to create new, everlasting memories,” Crotz added.

Graduation is approaching, and some seniors tend to get nostalgic about having to depart from all the memories they have created while in high school.

“My most memorable experience from high school was the last time I ran onto the Putman Field knowing that I would never again run onto it, hearing the crowds cheering,” Crotz stated.

Teachers believe that seniors should be preparing themselves while still in the comfort of high school.

“Creating a positive interaction with someone could lead to better opportunities in the future,” Deanna Raab, English teacher, said.

At the beginning of the school year, students in Dustin Williamson’s, economics teacher, class were involved in an activity where they learned information about the basic things that come after high school.

“All my students took part in an online financial literacy assignment where they learned about personal financing, types of health insurance, building credit and other essential skills or life after high school,” Williamson said.

Senior Alyssa Alabado felt that most students felt like the activity was full of useful skills for their next chapter in life.

“I feel like that activity really increases my chances of knowing what to do when it comes down to having to purchase a home or car or insurance” Alabado said.

Williamson does his best to educate his students on the next episode of their lives.

“It will be a lot of learning as you go. Once you are in the real world and doing all these things, that’s when you will really get the hang of it,” Williamson said.

Raab will miss her seniors “eagerness to learn more than just the content in class, most underclassmen aren’t worried about how to build credit or how to handle life.”

Graduation is in a few months away, all seniors will be taking all of the memories they have created throughout these past four years and on to creating even more in the future.

At the end of the day all teachers wish their former students the best after high school, especially having to adapt to entering the adult world.

Senior sonnet tradition for teachers continue

MARIA GONZALEZ

Seniors have made sonnets for their favorite teacher on campus for several years now .

“It has always been a tradition for seniors to make sonnets,” Jenna Serafini, English teacher, said.

“It is not about the quantity, it’s about the relationship you make with a student,” Eric Scafone, English co-teacher, said, “It’s really nice when you get a sonnet out of the blue from a student that you have not seen in three or four year.”

“Knowing you made an impact on their lives and they took the time to create the sonnet for you really makes our jobs the best job in the world,” Scafone expressed.

Scafone said that one of his favorite sonnets was when a student made a portrait of him.

Senior Anlesa Luza painted Scafone a canvas and printed a Tinder page and put his picture in it then put his sonnet on the back of it.

Luza chose Scafone for her sonnet because “he always checked up on me and he has always been there for me.”

Sunny Zamar, history teacher, realized that, “you do not know the impact that you have on students, [and the sonnets] are always so thoughtful.”

“Every year I’ll get one or two that I didn’t expect and it means a lot when I get one that I didn’t expect because as teachers we do our job every day and we don’t really know how the students read us or how they feel about us,” Zamar said.

Zamar added that “it gives the seniors the opportunity to show their appreciation for a certain teacher.”

Zamar mentioned that a senior gave her her tiara that she had won for prom last year.

“This is a fantastic thing that the English teachers are having their seniors do for teachers because not every school does something like that,” Zamar expressed.

“Every sonnet is unique in its own special way,” Anne Kauffman, French teacher,

Kauffman has received many sonnets over the years, including some written in French.

These sonnets are a way that seniors say thank you to those teachers that have made an impact on their high school career.

Loud music damages ears, leads to hearing loss

JACKY LY

Headphones are used by almost everyone however, the problem is that they can cause permanent damage to ears.

“Twelve and a half percent of kids between ages of 6 and 19 have hearing loss as a result of listening to loud music, particularly through earbuds or airpods at extreme volumes,” according to healthyhearing.com.

Kris Hutson, assistant principal in discipline and attendance, disciplines students who are seen wearing earbuds on campus.

Hutson said that “playing your music way too loud will damage your ears, there’s no natural resistance going on around you you’ve got your ears closed up with the earbuds in, and you’re playing music louder than you need to.”

Excessive noise to the ears can lead to hearing loss and tinnitus which is a constant ringing in the ears.

“It’s crazy because the ringing in your ears never goes away and there’s not a whole lot you can do about tinnitus,” Hutson said.

Hutson said that hearing loss can happen from playing music too loud and for a prolonged time.

“If the ears have been damaged, it’s going to affect you later on and there’s absolutely nothing students can do. You are not thinking about the future of what can happen to their ears,” Hutson stated.

Hutson feels that the type of music you listen to may affect you mentally.

“The type of music you’re listening to and what the lyrics are telling you to do,

it moves you into a different mental state,” Hutson said. “If you’re listening to things that are anti-everything, then you tend to take on that disposition of the music you’re listening to.”

Hutson believes students using earbuds could cause a distraction in class.

When students are not “ participating in the class because they can’t hear anything but what’s going on in their earbuds, then they closed off during class, so you’re the one distracted,” Hutson stated.

Nurse Melissa Bowden said that she can tell which students use earbuds because of the hearing tests all freshmen complete in the fall.

When Bowden does hearing tests, she finds out which ear has hearing loss already.

“Whether the loss is permanent or temporary is unknown, but the ear that fails the test is the ear that student uses earbuds in,” Bowden said.

“Since their ears are still young and developing, [some of] the damage is reversible,” Bowden said. “Constant noises to the same ear will cause permanent damage.”

“In about 20 years, I think we’re going to have a society that is going to have a hard time communicating with each other due to the hearing loss. I don’t think we’re going to have a lot of people communicating on a personal level, people nowadays communicate through texting and other social media platforms,” Bowden said.

Freshman Angel Lopez isn’t concerned about damaging his ears, but he appreciates the concern coming from his parents.

Bowden has encountered many students with ear damage and sends out approximately 80 to 100 referrals a year for students with hearing damage or hearing loss.

“About ten percent of the students I test a year have some sort of hearing loss,” Bowden said.

Students struggle to balance work, school life

LOUIS PORTILLO

Stress is common amongst staff and students on campus, with schoolwork, personal life and jobs, it could be overwhelming for some people.

Senior Mia Renee, who has Calculus AB and shares that school stresses her out the most.

“For me it’s just the schoolwork overload and it just makes me want to leave,” Renee said.

Junior Roxana Grandados also feels that school stresses her out the most.

“Everything gets me to a point where I can’t handle school anymore and the homework and teachers on top of that is frustrating,” Granados said.

“People at school stress me out just as much as school does because of the way they are,” Grandados added.

Many students on campus have to work and go to school and some may find this difficult to do.

“You have to get the money, but then you also have to worry about homework and trying to balance [it all] is a handful especially when I’m a procrastinator,” Renee said.

Granados also believes that having to work and going to school is tiring.

“It’s hard [having a job] because my grades start slipping a bit because I get home late and I’m tired and tell myself that I’ll wake up early and do my homework but I never end up doing it,” Granados said.

Counselor Susan Gentry thinks that students can overcome stress by adding certain habits.

“Good time management skills are important so they can get everything done. Another one is to have some sort of stress relievers built into their life like exercise, art, sport or whatever it is that students are into that brings them joy,” Gentry said.

Granados copes with her stress by pampering herself and having a good cry.

“When I cry because of how stressed I am, I do a girl’s night so I do a face mask and listen to good music to help me get that stress out. Sometimes I just punch my pillow too, that also works,” Granados said.

Renee relieves stress by telling herself that she “has this because I don’t want stress to overcome me, I’m going to stand my ground.”

Gentry even has stress of her own.

“As a counselor, we have a lot of responsibilities and students that we’re juggling at once so it’s stressful just to make sure that I’m meeting the needs of all of my students,” Gentry said.

“I personally tend to be pretty good at turning negative thoughts around and trying to look at the positive by venting about the stressful stuff first and then once I can kind of get that out of the way and then say what could I do about it or how could I turn this into a positive,” Gentry shared.

Gentry wants teens to know that “there’s always going to be stress whether you’re a teenager or an adult, so trying to start early to develop some good habits early on will benefit you for the rest of your life and that is very important.”

Spring break plans cancelled due to COVID-19

MADILYN WILBANKS

As the weather is warming up and spring is approaching, students were beginning to make plans for spring break.

Class trips were cancelled for students involved in NJROTC, band and choir due to COVID-19.

NJROTC planned to take the seniors to Flagstaff; however, they had to meet certain requirements to qualify for the trip.

According to Chief Barnett, the requirements included, “passing all classes, attend all events and complete the SAT or ACT.”

Senior Michael Cesar, NJROTC cadet, felt that “for some the requirements were easy to meet but not for others who struggle with some subjects in school.”

Every year, seniors in the program choose where they want to go and some of the events they get to do. This year they decided not only to visit Flagstaff, but also spend a day in Snowbowl.

Towards the end of the trip, seniors in the NJROTC program were to participate in an awards ceremony. During this, the seniors were to be presented with their medals and awards they earned throughout the school year.

During the awards ceremony, seniors were to walk through a sword arch which is another ceremony Cesar looked forward to.

“It [was to] symbolize the seniors graduating and making it through all four years in NJROTC, it’s a nice and emotional moment for everyone,” Cesar explained.

At the beginning of the school year, seniors got together and discussed what criteria they should meet by the inspection date which was on Feb. 19.

“A lot of people earned an outstanding for the inspection and afterwards we had a team builder where all the cadets ran through an obstacle course,” Cesar expressed.

Other groups on campus such as band and choir were going to spend time in California during their break. While there, the groups were to visit Disneyland for a day.

Justin Jenkins, choir director, stated that, “it was to be a great reward and opportunity for the students who have put in so much work during the school year.”

For Senior Evelyn Robles, this would have been her last school trip.

“I felt very excited, especially because I was to go with most of my senior friends and we all wanted to make the most of it,” Robles stated.

While there were not many requirements to meet to be able to participate in the trip, the main one is the students must be in either Concert Choir or Vocal Ensemble, both of which students audition to get into.

For some students who have been in the choir program for two or more years, this would have been their second or third time going on the trip.

Although the trip was supposed to last for three days, Robles “wished the break was longer to get a small taste of summer which then motivates me to finish the school year stronger.”

Spring break usually gives students opportunities to experience new things, get a break from school life, and prepare themselves for the rest of the school year.

Photo Courtesy of Cactus Asphalt MOON VALLEY CLOSED: Governor Doug Ducey officially closed all Arizona schools for the school year, due to the Coronavirus, and students began online learning on March 30. “All work will be handed out virtually and then teachers will be available for help, questions and remediation during a designated time,” Principal Anat Salyer said.