LOOK INSIDE:
Art and Music Pages 8-9
Trash and recycling
Page 7
The Highlander
Cost of sports Page 15
Carlmont High School Newspaper Volume III, Issue VI, March 2012 See us online at http://scotscoop.com
Carlmont Communication By Jacob Rudger Staff writer
Communication goes two ways: how the information can be offered, and a person’s will to receive and maintain this information. One of the most classic excuses from students if they miss a club meeting or school event is: “I didn’t hear about it.” It is this excuse that drives the people in charge of Carlmont publicity crazy. ASB publicity supervisor and student body vice president Kristi Tom has experienced this frustration first-hand. “I get really discouraged because publicity works really hard to put up posters and make announcements about upcoming events. Although it is extremely discouraging, we continue to publicize events, in hope that people become more aware of what ASB puts out there,” said Tom. In short, the people who work behind the scenes to communicate with the student body are insulted when their efforts go to waste. Principal Raul Zamora takes pride in the way Carlmont communicates, not only to the students, but to anyone who is interested in Carlmont news and events. “We take several pathways in terms of publicizing events. We have the PTSA communicating to parents about events, class information, and sports boosters. Our guidance department sends emails to seniors and juniors about available scholarships. ASB constantly puts in great effort to publicize events. Also, this year, journalism
Cops stop students
By Luisa Zepeda Staff writer
Carlmont’s senior parking lot has become Belmont Police Department’s new destination to find any teens driving recklessly. With the ever growing number of teenage drivers, safety officials are becoming stricter on teens committing violations. Many students can see police officers “stake out” in streets, such as Chula Vista Avenue, Ralston Avenue, and other streets near Carlmont, to find teenagers committing violations. “I mainly stop students for merging into bike lanes or not making a complete stop,” said school resource officer Milana Jordan. Before a student decides to get their permit, they must take driver’s education, which is a course either online or in a classroom that informs them on rules and hazards of the road. Therefore, when they are ready they know what to expect on the road. It shouldn’t be a surprise to many of the students that do receive tickets when they have been informed of the laws they are faced with beforehand. Punishments may vary with each violation, but many do end with going to traffic
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was presented the challenge to keep up the daily bulletin, and they have done a great job,” said Zamora. Zamora is right. Carlmont offers many different forms of communication. These efforts keep everyone involved in the school informed and up-todate. Sophomore D.J. Martin contributed to the discussion of communication, as he stated, “Carlmont does a good job of communicating. Infor-
Photo illustration by Dana Bloom
mation is in the announcements and all over the school walls.” Students like Martin are the individuals
who pay attention to the publicity provided to them at school. These students serve as examples that Carlmont does a good job
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What is Carlmont?
By Sarah Levin Staff writer
From performing arts to school sports, the definition of Carlmont continues to be shaped by its students and shapes their lives along the way. Students spend most of their lives here at Carlmont. For a total of six hours a day, five days a week, students can be found in these classrooms and hallways. They have the same teachers, take the same classesthey even eat the same hot lunch. Yet when asked to answer the question, “What is Carlmont?” students came up with very different answers. For some, the academic programs are the most notable aspect of Carlmont. Junior Andrew Cardozo talked about the expansive math and science programs. “We have so many high-level math classes,” he said, “like Multi-Variable and AP Statistics. They’re really hard classes, and they show the high academic level of the kids at this school.” Sophomore Ryan Dimick believes that the wide variety of classes is an important feature of the school. “We don’t really focus on one subject,” he said. “We’re more of an allaround school. We have a lot of programs other schools don’t have, like Biotech. They even put in an entire new building for that,
and not many other schools can say they have a whole building just for Biotech.” Regardless of what courses or programs they’re involved in, it’s clear that academics plays a large role in the lives of Carlmont students- and it shows through their dedication. “Students really have to put in a lot of effort at Carlmont,” Cardozo said. “We take really hard classes with a lot of homework, and on top of that people are involved in sports, which can be really demanding too. I think that the amount of dedication Carlmont students have is a big part of what makes our school what it is.” On the other end of the spectrum, the social aspect of Carlmont is the most important for some students. Junior Gillian Spring cited school friends as the reason most kids come to Carlmont in the first place.
Photos by Highlander Staff
“Socializing is a big part of Carlmont,” she said. “A lot of kids here don’t show up because they like going to class- they show up because they want to see their friends.” Beyond small groups of friends, some students, like Junior Emma Smith, men
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