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The Smoke Signal
Friday, December 20, 2013
Girls Who Code and MSJ ACM teach students to program By Apoorva Rajanala Staff Writer In order to spread the idea of girls getting more involved in engineering fields, Girls Who Code is holding classes at the Fremont Public Library for girls who are interested in coding. “It’s really surprising to see that such a small percentage of women go into the engineering field, especially after the feminist movements. I think women have the tendency of leaving the technical jobs to men and going into fields like medicine and law,” said Senior Sohini Ghosh, who has been taking these classes at the library. Girls Who Code also holds an eight- week course during the summer in which the girls work on projects, visit companies, and see presentations from entrepreneurs. Young women from all around the world have had their lives turned around by the multiple learn-
Students in a Girls Who Code class discuss a lesson.
ing opportunities that this program provides for them. According to their website, their program works to educate, inspire, and equip young women with the skills and resources to pursue academic and career opportunities in computing fields. The girls involved are mentored by leading educators, engineers, and entrepreneurs; with their help they have begun projects involving robotics, web design, mobile apps, and so much more. “It’s definitely a good thing that these classes are
staff writer apoorva rajanala
available because from what I’ve seen in class, most of the girls, including myself, enjoy coding. It’s great that more women are becoming prominent in computer science and engineering in general because it shows that just because we are women doesn’t mean we aren’t capable of doing the same thing as men. It’s a very interesting subject and the fact that it can be tricky sometimes shouldn’t be a setback for other women not to join that career path,” said Sophomore Neha
MSJ clubs come together for a cause By Alice Cheng & Hairol Ma Staff Writers MSJ’s clubs and organizations contributed to the season of giving by holding several fundraisers to donate to charity. The causes varied from donating to Typhoon Haiyan to collecting cans for Abode homeless shelter. MSJ’s annual canned food drive, organized by L2, gathered cans from third period classrooms. In total L2 collected 6,306 cans; Government Teacher Jaime Richards placed first with 385 cans, World History Teacher Risha Krishna placed second with 302 cans, and Government Teacher Tori Ha placed third with 262 cans. MSJ’s clubs were also responsible for donating cans. Each of MSJ’s clubs were required to bring in at least 30 cans. Service clubs contributed to L2’s canned food drive by holding an InterKeyLeo canned food drive. By the end of their canned food drive, 1,450 cans were collected between Interact, Key, and Leo Clubs through the efforts of 130 students. “Overall, I was really satisfied with the results because we were able to collect far more cans than we have gotten in recent years,” said Leo Club President Cynthia Jiang. MSJ Key Club hosted their annual Turkey Drive on December 7. From 10 am to 5 pm, they stood at Safeway to hand out flyers and collect donations. Leo Club and A La Mode Fashion Club hosted their third annual charity fashion show titled “I’ll be Home for the Holidays” on Friday, December
courtesy msj vams
MSJ students perform at the “Hope for Haiyan” Benefit concert, which raised $1612.19.
7 from 7 pm to 9 pm. Dance, performances, and covers were intermixed with models walking down the runway flashing their spirited wear. The Little Theatre was packed with an enthusiastic audience who cheered as models strutted across the stage in their wintry outfits. All proceeds went to the Jason Park Living Hope Fund, a nonprofit fund which will donate to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and many organizations that support homeless shelters, foster care, and educational scholarships. Peer Resource sold Turkey Grams for friends and teachers on November 21 and 22 in the Bell Tower Quad. A total of over 150 grams were sold and $300 was raised for the damage done in the Philippines. A donation of one dollar or more was recommended, and all proceeds went to victims of the typhoon in the Philippines. MSJ Interact also held date auctions. Proceeds went to “The Answer is Sun,” an international project which aims to provide solar cookers to those living in developing countries. Officers decked out in spirited or formal clothing and the MSJ community placed
high bids to win a date. “I personally really like this fundraiser because people really get into the spirit of giving back around Christmas and that’s always nice to see,” says Junior Board Member Nick Wu. On Friday, December 13, MSJ Visual Arts and Music for Society (VAMS) partnered with Irvington High School (IHS) Resonance to hold the “Hope for Haiyan” Benefit concert from 6 pm to 9 pm in C-120. The show featured performers and volunteers from MSJ and IHS, and all proceeds were donated to UNICEF to help fund areas struck by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. “With the recent typhoon in the Philippines, MSJ VAMS and IHS Resonance just wanted to hold an event where people can come to enjoy and help out with the relief of many people who were affected by Typhoon Haiyan,” says Junior Kevin Liu, public relations officer of VAMS. The event raised a total of $1612.19. Encouraged by the giving spirit of this season, MSJ students have successfully given back to the school, the community, and the world. ▪
that this soon-to-be club will help make the subject easier for students. In the future, ACM plans to get more students involved by holding Hackathons, coding competitions, and guest speakers. There are so many opportunities for students to get more involved in the field of engineering. Check out both programs, Girls Who Code and MSJ ACM for more information about local opportunities. ▪
Shah, another student participating in the program’s classes. The MSJ Association Computing Machinery (ACM) Chapter incorporates a similar idea. ACM is centered on increasing awareness and interest in computer science and coding. “In today’s world, everything incorporates technology so people need the basic understanding of how things work,” said Junior Abhinav Adduri, President of ACM at MSJ. Currently, the club has been tutoring students who wish to self-study AP Computer Science, as well as students in one of the MSJ classes. For the students to make the most out of the tutoring, ACM makes sure to choose well-informed tutors along with creating a good atmosphere so the students can understand what is being taught. ACM’s officers, many of whom have been coding for many years, know that computer science can come across as a very daunting, but they hope
A speaker addresses the Girls Who Code class.
SOS| Events
GUARD| Expands
withdrawal from social activity and weight loss. They also urged parents and students alike to take advantage of resources such as aacap.org that help with understanding emotional stress in children and teenagers. The night ended with an interactive portion during which audience members could text in their answers on how they think students would respond in certain scenarios. Mission: SOS representatives then compared audience responses to student answers from a similarlystyled survey passed out in two English classes. The three specialists then discussed and analyzed the responses to help guide students and parents to make better decisions. After the event concluded, Senior Dinaz Bamji said, “I found it to be really helpful... and I think they did a great job showing us how we can balance our academic life with our social life.” Be it yoga classes or parent/ student talks, these sessions are meant to respond to problems in the community related to MSJ. The thematic focus of Mission: SOS this year is “Balance: A balanced lifestyle fosters integrity, resiliency, and success, which directly correlates to health and happiness.” The club’s efforts to stay true to its goal are evident in the many events that it has been holding, and MSJ can definitely look forward to even more to come. ▪
sion quickly drew a great deal of feedback. Most MSJ student pedestrians tended to see the crossing guard service’s presence in the Mission Creek area to be an important addition to an already well-developed program: Freshman Brenda Wu said, “I think it’s easier and safer to cross the street, especially with people actually stopping the cars when you cross.” Senior Michael Hou, a frequent bicyclist in the Mission Creek area, said, “For most pedestrians, the crossing guard service provides a safer way for kids to get across the crosswalk. The [Mission Creek] area is pretty hazardous to pedestrians and bikers alike.” In the future, Hsu, Jain, and McQuade plan to further expand the crossing guard service so that it will be available in both the morning and the afternoon (at this time, the service is only provided during the morning). According to McQuade, the service may also be expanded to the Mission Boulevard area in the future. On the impact of the crossing guard service on the MSJ community, Kingsley said, “Over the years, students and parents have learned to appreciate the valuable service that the crossing guard team provides; many stop to say thank you. I am incredibly grateful to the volunteers who have stepped up as crossing guards.” The MPPFA will continue to work with MSJ in the future to provide students with a safe travelling environment to and from school. ▪
healthcare.gov Increase in the ObamaCare website’s success also resulted in an increase in Obama’s approval ratings.
todayszaman.com The plan passed through the Senate with a vote 16 to 13 in favor of Uruguay’s left-wing politics.
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staff writer apoorva rajanala
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for the nov. 22, 2013 issue
News page 1: Students grew plants without soil, with water. News page 1: The Zengs worked at the Nanotechnology Institute of the University of Louisville. News page 3: Peer Resource was misidentified. Feature page 10: Staff Writers Irisa Lee and Arti Patankar took photos for the Nanowrimo article. Feature page 11: Thanksgivukkah will not happen again for 79,000 years. A&E page 14: Band won the first ID unit. Photo page 24: Raquel Navarro and Sonia Prasad are pictured.
mercurynews.com The flashing reader-board sign outside John F. Kennedy High School shone the messages “Thank You Coach Webb for Everything, You Will be Missed.”
Compiled by Staff Writers Anand Balaji & Vivian Liu.
Community mourns former coach John F. Kennedy High School’s 76-year old retired football coach and athletic director John Webb passed away on November 23 after a car accident, according to a message sent out to FUSD. He worked with JFK for almost 30 years, teaching math, English and woodshop, and serving as adviser of student activities. Students set up a memorial outside JFK and held a candlelight vigil in his honor on November 26.
ObamaCare Back on Track
Following a very shaky release with a faulty website and numerous complaints, ObamaCare has been running much smoother in recent weeks with over 365,000 individuals having selected a plan and 7 million new customers. The number of people who have selected plans falls far below the projected 7 million mark but it is a step in the right direction for the Obama administration.
Uruguay first to legalize marijuana trade Uruguay’s Senate consented to the creation of the world’s first market place for legal marijuana on December 10 in a plan to suppress criminal drug trafficking.. With the approval of President Jose Mujica, the market place will be up and running by 2014, creating a system that allows every registered individual over the age of 18 to receive 40 grams a month from pharmacies, grow their own marijuana, or form smoking clubs.