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Ventura High School
2 North Catalina, Ventura CA 93001 (805) 641-5116 www.thecougarpress.org Instagram: @the.cougar.press Twitter/Snapchat: @thecougarpress Facebook: @thecougarpressvhs
The Cougar Press Friday, August 25, 2017
“The whole secret of a successful life is to find out what is one’s destiny to do, and then do it.” -Henry Ford
Volume 70 Edition 01
Dear Superintendent Cresswell: voices from VHS CAUSE students Brooke Newman Micah Wilcox Ventura Unified School District’s new superintendent was revealed on July 25 at an evening school board meeting following the March dismissal of former superintendent Dr. Michael Babb.
Photo from: VC Star
Dr. Babb was VUSD’s superintendent from 2015, following the retirement of former superintendent Trudy Arriaga, until March of this
year, when he was removed from by the school board in a 4-1 vote. New superintendent, David Cresswell (pictured left), was selected in a unanimous vote out of 51 applicants in a process that included multiple special school board sessions, five candidate interviews, and callbacks for two candidates before Cresswell was chosen. Cresswell’s biography on VUSD’s website notes that he is “a recognized Human Resources leader having received the Association of California School Administrators HR Administrator of the Year award for 2016.” His biography also notes his degrees from California State Long Beach, Azusa Pacific and La Sierra Universities, and mentions his work with a non-profit organization that “works to prevent human
Photo By: Lucia Marquez
From Left to Right: senior Desiree Estrada, CAUSE leader Lucia Marquez, junior Jordan Pollock, senior Maya Espinoza, senior Maritza Duran, junior Kate Marsden, and senior Maria Palomino.
trafficking.” After the board approved the employment and contract of Mr. Creswell, there was a brief intermission before the floor became open for speakers to address their concerns to the board members and new superintendent. Six Ventura High School students spoke, occupying six of the 16 slots available for public comment.
The students were members of the youth organization Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy. CAUSE is a grassroots organization in Ventura and Santa Barbara County that works to empower community members to influence change on various issues. VHS seniors Maya Espinoza, Desiree Estrada and Maria Palomino
advocated for making ethnic studies a graduation course requirement for high school students in VUSD to increase cultural awareness and appreciation. VHS juniors Kate Marsden and Jordan Pollock spoke to address environmental and health concerns with Cresswell that they believe could be improved upon at VHS. Both Marsden and Pollock urged the board to consider increasing the amount of fresh drinking water available to students on the VHS campus. Finally, VHS senior Mariza Duran spoke on ensuring that LGBTQ+ students feel safe and comfortable at VHS and other district campuses. continued on... www.thecougarpress.org
Fall sports kick off the school year Diego Roberto
swings,” said senior Lacy Soleil. Asked how the team was looking for the upcoming season, Soleil said, “My coach told us [that] we’re going to smoke Buena again this year because our team is looking really
good… We have a lot of new freshman on the team, some of which have never played before but have great potential.” Over the course of their season they will play 14 matches against ten different teams, including Royal, Simi
As the new school year begins, so does the fall season of sports for Ventura High School. Throughout the summer, football, boys water polo, girls tennis and golf, dance, cheer, girls volleyball and cross country all began to prepare for the fall season. The girls golf team is preparing for their season opener on August 24, the second day of school, at BuenaVentura Golf Course. This year, the team had almost twice the number of girls tryout for the team than last year, including incoming freshmen. Photo From: Instagram @venturacougarfootball The girls have been From left to right: senior Seth Hense(#65), junior Carlos Aviles(#75), and senior practicing every Tuesday Jesus Ochoa(#91) have had summer practice everyday except Sunday all summer and Thursday through the long. summer, “perfecting our
Valley, Calabasas, and the four other teams competing in Channel League. On the first Friday of school, August 25, the best of VHS’s Cougar spirit will come out as VHS watches the first football game of the season against Thousand Oaks. VHS Cougar football has been practicing since last school year, starting with weight room, moving to seven on seven scrimmages in the spring, and then, in July, they received their football pads and began practicing. Football has practiced ever yday but Sunday all summer, r unning routes, learning coverages, and conditioning to be the best team to represent the Channel League in the playoffs.
In a tweet on Thursday August 10 @VCSPREPS wrote, “Ventura FB coach Tim Garcia thinks his team is the fastest and most athletic Cougars squad since 2000,” considering the fact that the team from 2000 was the first team to win a CIF title in 49 years. With the football season beginning, the cheer and dance seasons have begun as well. The VHS cheer team started summer practice on July 20, and have been practicing MondayThursday from 4 to 5:30 since. Cheer has performed for football and school events throughout the summer as well. continued on... Page 7