Issue 001 | April 2024

INTHISISSUE

5

10 13 15 17

Marina: Events

Recent and upcoming events you want to hear about!

Stories from Set: Addams Family

Behind the scenes with Uncle Fester

Study Techniques

5 scientifically-backed methods to study better

Photography Feature A Rose Emerging from Beneath

Marina Drumline: Athletic feature 19

Wrong Time and Wrong Place

Creative prose

cornflower magazine

Board

Twilight Williams

Alec Grabowski

Nami Sy

ArtisticFeature

Ike Ikemori

Keston Ramirez

Lifestyle

Sebastian Perez

Twilight Williams

Community

Sidney Nguyen Nami Sy

Spotlight

Alec Grabowski Cameron Tran

Editorial Policy

The Cornflower is the student led news publication of Marina High School. All issues are published digitally through ISSUU. This is the first issue of The Cornflower, for April 2024. This student publication may contain controversial matter, so please note that opinions expressed in the newspaper are not necessarily representative of the faculty, staff, or administration of Marina. Students are solely responsible for the creation of this magazine and all of its the content.

The Cornflower strives to achieve accurate information delivered in a quality manner. If you wish to make corrections or clarifications in this or any past issue, or wish to contact a member of the staff with opinions, please contact mhscornflower@gmail com All letters must be signed; anonymous or inappropriate content will be overlooked.

LetterfromtheEditor

Hey Vikings! This is Twilight, your editor-in-chief for the Cornflower 2024! I’m a junior this year, and am very passionate about writing in all its forms fiction, poetry, non fiction, music, script, etc. I feel that lately, not very many of us have enough time in a day to invest into getting to know the parts of school that we aren’t relevant in. So, I started the Cornflower in order to quickly spread more awareness on all the activities and talents that Marina has to offer, which simultaneously generates more pride for our school. I’m excited to be managing the paper this year!

I’m very proud of all of our staff for this issue, April 2024. It will be the Cornflower’s first issue ever, and the work and effort being done for this is beyond everything I hoped for. The quality of work that I received was incredibly heartwarming, and I hope that the pride that I have in this publication can be reflected to its audience.

On Pages 5-9, read about the several different recent and upcoming events at Marina, featuring the robotics club and Multicultural Night. Page 10 begins an exclusive interview with Scotty Smith, a junior who starred in our spring musical, The Addams Family. Page 13 is a set of studying methods to help you prepare for final exams and AP season, and page 15 is the athletic feature for Marina’s medalist winter drumline. Page 17 begins our set of artistic features, including a photography feature and the first chapter of an original novel!

Please absolutely message me using the contact information on the previous page if you would like to suggest an article idea, submit a piece, or find any issues with our publication. Feedback is greatly appreciated and encouraged. Thank you for reading the Cornflower!

TwilightWilliams

Editor-in-Chief

NAMI

Hii I’m Alec :0 I’m a junior a Marina (obviously) and my hobbies/interests include drawing, space, music, and psychology!! I hope to see most of you at the Cornflower meetings! (everyone should join fr)

Hi my name is Nami Sy and I am secretary of the Cornflower. I found an interest in creative writing when I was 12 and found solace in this newspaper because of how much freedom it gives me. I am also a 2-year captain of the Marina Color guard team.

ALEC GRABOWSKI advertising executive

SY secretary

This year’s ASB Elections were a close call. The exec board candidates were Alessandro Baragan, Sarah Davis, Makenzie Koch, Kiera Lietz, and Marlee Ware. After a week of campaigns, four were chosen based on your votes! Two weeks after the exec elections were the board elections in which all candidates put their time and effort into a long, eventful campaign

Fighting to represent next year’s sophomore class, Nola Emralino, Jonier Gebraeel, and Ashley Melendez ran against each other for the position of president. Adelia Tigan Tigan and Maddox Vann Nguyen ran for the position of vice president, while Divyanshi Choudhury and Leah Smith went up against each other for secretary. Gyllian Gardner ran unopposed for the final position, guaranteeing her the spot as Sophomore Class Treasurer next year Similar to the class of 2027, next year’s junior class was also filled with many people running. Addison Brown and Francis Sapporito ran against each other for the chance to be president. Diana Kha, Sidney Nguyen, and Olivia Van Camp went neck-to-neck for the vice president position. Going for the secretary position was Giana Moak and Timmy Nguyen, and running against each other for treasurer was Lizzie Eagleson, Tommy Nguyen, and Dorsey Tran Next year’s senior board had four members running unopposed, guaranteeing Micayla Coble, Janie Garrard, Madi Keany, and Rachel Ruiz all a position. These four will be representing the class of 2025 next year and tasked with all things senior!

Overall, it was a great campaigning season, and a great job to all candidates for putting themselves out there to represent Marina!

ASBELECTIONS

ByNamiSyandSidneyNguyen

Marina Robotics

The Marina Robotics Team have been experiencing big wins in their season so far at the Ventura regional! One of their team members, Madi Keany, shares her favorite parts of robotics, “For me the best part about robotics is getting to work with my friends, and because I do social media and outreach for the team I get to show off and promote my friends and all the hard work, time, and dedication they put into being apart of the team!” The team's future goals for the team are to qualify and compete at world championships in Houston, Texas next season and gain more funding recognition for all their hard work that goes into their projects.

By Sidney Nguyen and Nami Sy

In more recent news, the Marina Robotics Team was visited by a robotics group all the way from Taiwan, who both competed in the OC Regional on Saturday, March 30th. Madi recalls her experience with them and says, “Although I didn’t get to spend much time with the team from Taiwan, it was still an incredible opportunity to connect with and form friendships with people I wouldn’t normally get a chance to!” Both teams did amazing at the regional and we can't wait to see what the future holds for the Vikings Robotics Team!

CULTURAL MULTI NIGHT

By Nami Sy and Sidney Nguyen Photography by Minh Le

Marina's Multicultural Night was a huge success! Held on March 22nd, the event featured 8 different booths sharing the cultures of Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Germany, the Ukraine, and Korea as well as the Chess Club and Badminton Team. Several students recall their enjoyment in seeing a huge 6 foot Gojo cardboard cutout used as a photo booth prop in the Japan booth. Megan Tran, a current senior and Marina, recaps her experience, “We got a lot of people playing a game called Tinikling at the Philippines Booth where bamboo poles are rhythmically tapped together while dancers step over and between them. Those were the ones that I noticed that people enjoy. Even Caldwell joined in on the traditional Filipino game.” Multicultural Night has only recently become an annual event for Marina High School but it has clearly made a big impact on the community. “I [Megan Tran] think this event is important just because it brings people together to learn new culture. Even when I only worked at check in, the atmosphere was very pleasant with everyone getting along.”

PROM NIGHT May4

PROM

Prom is fast approaching the Marina Vikings. You won't want to miss out on this years amazing venue, the AV Irvine. Seating over a thousand people, the AV Irvine is a beautiful 2-story venue and this is the very first year Marina is hosting Prom in such an large-scale setting. Don't miss out! Get your tickets for the Meet Me at Midnight themed Prom Night on May 4th from 7pm to 10pm!

ANNIVERSARYGALA

This year is the 60th Anniversary of the Marina Vikings, and to celebrate the Viking Foundation is hosting the Marina High School 60th Anniversary Gala on April 26th from 6pm to 10pm. If you are 21 or older, come support Marina's amazing academics, athletics, and activities at the Meadowlark Golf Course Event Center where they will have a buffet, live music, casino games, a photo booth, and live and silent auctions.

DANCESHOWCASE

By Nami Sy and Sidney Nguyen Photograph of AV Irvine

The annual Dance Showcase hosted by Marina's Dance Team is coming up quickly!! Watch several amazing, adorable, and exhilarating groups of dancers at 6pm, Sunday April 21st. Doors open for the public at 5:45 and the fee is $10 for general admission and free for Marina students with ID. All proceeds go towards the dance team’'s funding for their future endeavors.

ACROSS DOWN

5. Very saxy instrument

8. Large string instrument, like violin

9. Like a bugle with buttons

15. Larry the cucumber’s instrument

16. The smallest of the string quartet

17. Black + white keys

19. When mom’s not home meme (not the oven)

key on page 21

By Sebastian Perez

18 Big boy saxophone, abbreviated instruments

1. Not actually French, whirly brass

2. Has a reed, likeness to recorder, sophisticated

3. Also a big saxophone

4. The instrument Athena invented and cursed

5. Most meme-y instrument, hum into it

7. Six stringed

8. Makes a crash noise when you hit two together

10. Not English, like the french horn, but not

11. Heckin’ big boi, string quartet

12. Percussive, hit with stick, many kinds

13. It’s not a violin

14. Second most meme-y instrument, blow into it

storiesfromset SCOTTYSMITH

EXCLUSIVEINTERVIEWOFSCOTT

SMITH:STAROFADDAMSFAMILY.

By Cameron Tran

Coming off of their fall production of Clue, Marina High School had their eyes set on something a bit more mysterious, creepy, spooky even. And sure enough, we were given just that; Marina High’s springtime musical, The Addams Family, which ran from February 22nd, 2024 to the 25th of that same month, was an absolute smash hit. Playing at the Huntington Beach High School Auditorium, it garnered critical acclaim, adoring many viewers, with some never experiencing the show before! There were many parts to making this show work, from the kind directors Kathy Bubsy and Diane Christensen, the prop and set workers, the costumers, and many others. But it’s hard to make a musical without actors and actresses, so in came 33 students ready to act their hearts out. Quite a large ensemble cast, and fortunately, I’ve been given the opportunity to interview one.

The person? Scott Smith II, a 16-year-old junior here at Marina who is an incredibly nice person. His skills lie in golf, music (both singing and playing the piano), and acting. Guess which ones helped him in here? (Hint: Two of these probably helped him) (2nd Hint: It wasn’t golf). He’s sung and acted in The Sound of Music as Uncle Max and Matilda as the Doctor, and for this article, his role as Uncle Fester has landed him here today!

UNCLE FESTER lead

1.

What made you choose this role? - I chose Uncle Fester as my role because I wanted a lead role but not one with a whole lot of singing and stuff. The character also was the comic relief and heart of the musical, in my opinion, and I’m really proud of how I explored my character.

2.

Did you wish you had a bigger/smaller role? - No, personally, I was looking for a bigger character to play, but not too big, since I also had homework and other things Uncle Fester ended up being memorable, but not in a whole lot of songs and scenes, which was fine with me.

Did you do anything special for the role? (Study, watch past performances, etc.) - I watched a video of one of the musical numbers from Broadway, but besides that, I alongside the directors made the character our own

3. How did it feel to not just act, but sing on stage? - It felt great and not very stressful, since I’ve done this before. My past performances helped me ease into the cycle of production a lot, and it gave me more time to just have fun with the character.

5.

4. How was the production? - It was amazing, both in terms of how it looked and the overall energy The set designers, costumers, makeup, and everyone else did a great job, and working with the cast members felt incredible. There were no problems, everyone played well, and a lot of people loved the show!

Did you know any of the cast members beforehand? - I knew a few, but there were a lot more new cast members that joined, which actually made for great interactions and an overall better time.

7.

6. Any future plans? - I might do some acting and singing, including a senior musical, but I probably won’t go professional. Instead, I’m looking to go to BYU for choir.

There you have It! Hope this interview was fun to read, but if you would rather listen to what we said, scan the QR code above. (Hopefully, it should have sent you to a slide that says “Addams Family Audio Interview”, with an audio button that allows you to hear our whole unedited interview).

Other than that, I hope you’ve had a good time reading this, alongside all the other articles, and I hope I can do more of these for your viewing pleasure.

- Cameron Tran (Student MHS)

5TOP study methods

STUDYTECHNIQUESTOHELPYOUSTUDY BETTER(SCIENTIFICALLYBACKED!)

Pomodoro 1

Developed by Francesco Cirillo, the Pomodoro technique guides you to work distraction-free on a task for 25 or 50 minutes (this is measured as one pomodoro), take a 5 or 10 minute break, and then repeat by working for another pomodoro This method is especially effective for time management

By Twilight Williams

Teaching 2

Students are shown to have better memory and recall abilities when they are given the expectation teaching it to someone else Studies show that teaching someone else or yourself and seeking methods of recall and organization in the “teacher role” can be especially effective with comprehension.

4 Paper

While digital learning is convenient, research suggests that printed materials and the act of writing is more effective for studying. It has also been found that students require more repetition to learn new material from a computer screen versus reading printed material.

Recall 3

Specifically active recall, is a popular method that advises students to read the information, from either a textbook or their notes, and recite everything they can remember in order to practice long term memorization

5 Breaks

It’s no surprise that stress hinders learning. Researchers found that even a couple hours of stress triggers corticotropin-releasing hormones that disrupt the process of creating and storing memories

Remembering to take breaks will help your studying by lowering your stress levels

MARINA DRUMLINE ARoseEmerging fromBeneath

BYALECGRABOWSKI

There are a number of sports that represent Marina in many different ways, one of the less recognized being our very own drumline Similar yet different to our marching band, drumline takes up fewer hours and is a smaller group of people, and a majority of members are new players Welcoming people of all levels to experience a unique sport, Marina Drumline is perfect to learn more about yourself.

“EVERYTHINGYOUDOMATTERS.”

A new member, a sophomore named Caitlynn Nguyen, remarks that through drumline she was able to learn new skills with the support of her fellow team members, who are very supportive She also mentioned drumline “helps you with team bonding and learning how to stay focused,” which is not only useful in the sport itself but also in academics. Especially for those taking harder classes, being able to focus is crucial. Caitlynn herself is taking AP Chem, which takes a lot of focus, a skill she was able to enhance through drumline.

Drumline offers a vast variety of instruments to choose from, some of them are, including bass drums, tenor drums, snare drums, cymbals, marimba, bass, and much more. Not only does drumline offer the opportunity to learn one of these instruments, but also allows people to learn how to work as a team. Caitlynn mentioned that Drumline “helps with team bonding” and is “a lot smaller group so everything you do matters,” this puts an enormous amount of responsibility on those who participate in drumline, which differs from other sports on campus because there is no one to replace you. Such an immense level of responsibility put on those in drumline is not only beneficial in building character but also a great way to meet others as well.

Both mental and athletic ability are needed in drumline, which makes it just as difficult, if not more than other sports on campus. It’s a great sport to consider doing during the winter season, and the staff and people involved in it are extremely welcoming. Any athletic program in Marina can agree that dedication and loyalty are important, with Drumline being no exception

SPRING

With it now being officially Spring, the cherry blossoms at Huntington Central Park have begun to bloom. Blooming from March to early May, the cherry blossoms bring a nice splash of color to the park and it also attracts birds, butterflies, bees and photographers. The photos shown show the local Allen’s and Anna’s Hummingbirds feeding from the flowers

Photography by Ike Ikemori

submit to be featured in our next issue!

prosefeature WRONGTIMEAND WRONGPLACE

CHAPTER1 “BARTENDER!”

By K. P. Ramirez

It's 1953 in New York City. It's early August and the Korean War has just ended. It's late and the rain won’t stop pouring.

A girl walks into a bar, tall with black hair, pale skin, and the world at her fingertips.

The bar is very typical with cool jazz playing in the background. Though the music is lively, the customers are quiet and calm.

With rain droplets falling from her hair, the girl walks up and sits down on the bar stool.

“Bartender!” she shouts to get his attention. But the man seems zoned out, with a blank expression on his face as he cleans the counter.

“Hello!?!?” she yells, snapping her fingers in his face. He wakes up from his trance and apologizes, thoroughly embarrassed.

“Ah! Sorry miss, I was thinking about something. What can I get you?”

“Get me a Manhattan,” she replies.

“Ma’am, don’t mind me asking, but it is very late, why is someone like you drinking at this hour?”

“I've had a very long day, I need something to cool my mind. Hey, by any chance, you got some cigarettes on ya?”

“You smoke?” asked the bartender.

“Of course I do,” she says, “Who doesn't? Everyone in this dumb, depressing city smokes to relieve the pain.”

While the woman complained about the misery of the city, the bartender had prepared her drink with a pack of cigs on the side.

The woman lights her smoke and sips her drink, then opens her mouth to ask the bartender a question that will change his life forever.

“So…did you always want to become a bartender?”

The bartender stood there as if he spaced out again. “No, I only took this job because I thought it was easy and it paid well. I wanted to become a musician.”

“A musician?!” the girl exclaims.

“Yes, a musician, I play the saxophone. I wanted to be like the guys in the big band. I wanted to be one of the greats, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Stan Getz.”

“Well, what made you stop?” the lady asks.

“I had no passion,” he replies. “I had no spark or motivation to keep me going. No bright new ideas for people to actually notice. Anybody can learn an instrument; New York is filled with people that can play. But only the players with something new to bring to the table can make it far.”

The girl sat there in silence. Never before had she heard anyone talk like that. Surprised, she didn’t know how to retaliate. So, instead of responding, she asked him the only question she could think of.

“Hey, what's your name?”

“Mick,” he replied, “Mick Oswald.”

“And yours?” he asked.

She pauses for a moment.

“Maria,” she says with a smirk.

“Maria Wilson.”