March 2017 Cover

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 4

MARCH 2017

PIN TREE POS

THE OTHER UNSC

REAL ACTS OF CARING

A positively delightful week for Red Cross

Staffing at PacificMUN 2017

BALLING

The Pinetree Timberwolves and their stunning season

FILL OUT RESPONSES IN THE BLOCKS

An update on student responses to the schedule

5 TIPS FOR SPRING BREAK

Aaand we’re back.

2 FIRST GLANCE P.8: SPORTS

P.4: FUN

EDITOR’S NOTE

Springing Back into Action Seven months finished, three to go Emily Liang and Julia Park Editors

The Pinetree Post

STAFF EDITORS Emily Liang Julia Park

5 Steps to the Best Spring Break of Your Life!

Senior Basketball Team’s Unprecedented Success

P.10: GLOBAL

P.12: SCHOOL

WRITERS Benjamin Connor, Jeff Feng, Jeffrey Shen, Shirley Wang, Jenny Zhao, Sherry Zuo LAYOUT DESIGN Emily Liang COVER AND GRAPHICS Emily Liang WEBSITE DESIGN Zhen Zhen Tsai Marvin Shi SPECIAL THANKS TO PTSS Confessions, Mr. Clarke, Student Voters, PT’s MUN Club, Mr. Lau

3

First Glance

South Korean President Finally Impeached!

Block Schedule: Updates and Student Response

FOLLOW TREEHOUSE THEATRE ON INSTAGRAM For a sneak peak into the backstage of Pinetree’s very own drama department, Pinetree Treehouse Theatre, follow

@pinetreetreehousetheatre Have a question/request? Email us at: thepinetreepost@gmail.com

Welcome back from Spring Break, Pinetree!

We hope you’re adjusting back the school schedule as smoothly as possible, which is why we’re bringing you a fresh issue of Pinetree Post to leaf over as you try not to fall dead asleep while waiting for class to start.

We’re sure that after working hard for the first half (more like a third, or a quarter, really) of the second semester, you’ve all been playing just as hard during the luxurious two week break. Unless you’re like us, and you’ve been playing catch up - that is, writing articles, researching current events, and ruthlessly abusing Adobe InDesign’s limits. Hopefully, it’s all paid off and you’ll find the following articles to be relevant and noteworthy by the time of publication.

Many of this month’s articles centre around the goings-on at this very school. On page 15, we have an article documenting the work of the talented drama and music departments for their work in performing The Sound of Music tirelessly for two consecutive weeks. After that, we drifted away from la la land (sorry, Damien Chazelle), and back to reality on page 18 with an interview with Ms. Mobilio about Real Acts of Caring week held by Red Cross. Speaking of caring, this issue includes an in depth update on one of the hot topics of the year: the schedule change.

The editorial piece will include the opinion of the Pinetree Post staff writer and the thoughts of different anonymous students with a variety of experiences from the new schedule. Be sure to check it out on page 15. And if going against past trends is your thing, you’d definitely want to check out Senior Boys Basketball article on page 8, detailing their stunning successes of this season and the significance of their growth as a team.

Of course, we couldn’t call ourselves a student newspaper without reaching outside the limits of our school. Another Pinetree Post staff writer recounts his experiences venturing away from the home tree to staffing at the United Nations Space Command committee at PacificMUN 2017 on page 7. The bureaucracy doesn’t stop there either, with a fiery response to former President Park Geun Hye of South Korea’s impeachment and the sequence of events that led to her downfall on page 10. If the corruptions of politicians aren’t your taste, you can check out an article about the 2018 Global Perspectives trip to Laos in Southeast Asia on page 6, and take global matters into your own hands by volunteering to further local development.

Suffice it to say that there is plenty of weight in the articles we’ve chosen for you this month, so if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed, try some comedy in our Spring Break tips article on page 4. Yes, we know, this is after spring break, but we would be remiss to go without a review of any sort this month, and with the lighter topic you might even consider it a… reading break. We hope that you enjoy this issue and all the articles within it, and with that, we’ll see you next month!

Oh wait- there’s one more thing. The Pinetree Post has evaluated all the effects of unrestrained power in global politics of the last year and agreed that solo leadership could be disastrous. So we decided that the “editor-in-chief ” position should bifurcate and become “co-editor” and “shorter, short-sighted co-editor”.

That’s double the power!

Sincerely, Emily Liang and Julia Park

4 FUN

Fun

A SIMPLE STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

5 Steps to the Best Spring Break Ever

You too can have a Spring Break like Spring Breakers!

How to make every minute count!

Sherry Zuo & Jeff Feng Writer

Spring break is a time for many things sleeping, going on vacations, catching up on K-dramas, exercising (or rather, thinking about exercising) - but most people will agree that spring break is most importantly, a time for procrastination. To protect the students at Pinetree from falling into this toxic, inescapable cycle of leaving everything to the last minute, we at Pinetree Post have compiled a guide to making the most of spring break.

1. Plan out your daily schedule.

Nothing is more crucial to ensuring a productive spring break than creating a timeline of when to complete your designated workload. Now is the time to buy that overpriced floral planner from Chapters and put it to good use! Begin by planning out each day; it is recommended to account for every fifteen minute interval to avoid time slipping through your fingers. In fact, time allotments should be planned down to the seconds to maximize the utility of each golden spring break moment.

Remember, your schedule should be ambitious, meaning that any unrealistic estimations of your

Photo courtesy of hercampus.com

own efficiency must not be omitted - finishing that calculus worksheet in fifteen minutes is feasible if you have enough faith. Make sure to keep your daily schedule somewhere and secure, as it may dissapear to an obscure corner of your bookshelf once the waves of inevitable laziness arrive.

2. Be active

Exercise should always have a place on that aforementioned daily to-do list, because no spring break is complete without setting arguably unattainable fitness goals. All those hours of stalking instagram fitness models will be a thing of the past - after these two weeks, you will be well on your way to Instagram fame and FitTea sponsorships.

The first step to obtaining rock solid twelve pack is finding a worthy gym buddy who will lift your often waning motivation. With your trusty exercise companion by your side, facing intimidating gym junkies who grunt every time they do a bicep curl will be a walk in the park. After completing your daily workouts, you can even celebrate by driving to McDonald’s for chicken nuggets - a mere snack won’t hurt your fitness progress, right?

3. Travel

What better time is there to travel than two weeks of uninterrupted freedom? If you have

ever wanted to explore the vast history of Europe, the deadliness of Australia, the fashion of South Korea, or the pure eccentricity of Japan, then spring break is the perfect time to do so. There are so many cultures to discover and new people to meet - don’t pass on your golden opportunity to gain such invaluable experiences. Heck - traveling seems like so much fun you should extend your vacation beyond two weeks. Why not change your spring break into a life break? Take your dreams of traveling the world and start aiming for them now! If you don’t start now, you’ll never be able to achieve anything. Money doesn’t matter. You’re still young - make your parents pay for everything.

4. Work

Well, you can’t be too heartless. While your parents will still pay for nearly everything, make sure you ease their burden with a minimum wage occupation. After you’re done becoming a professional body-builder and traveling the world, you’ll definitely have enough time to take up a job. Also, make sure that it is a job that you enjoy, and that you can attain with your unfinished highschool diploma. Competition isn’t too stiff, so finding a job like that will be easy as pie (yes, as easy as that pecan pie you gave yourself for being active during spring break). Soon you’ll find yourself rolling in metaphorical dough - not metaphorical because the dough represents money, but because you will have to pretend you have money after giving it all back to your parents for the debt you owe them. “Metaphorical” probably isn’t the best word to use in this case; rather, soon you’ll find yourself rolling in your imaginary dough.

5. Spend time with family and friends

After months of listening to your parents complain about “selfish millennials” being glued to their phone screens, it is time to shed that label by being as sociable as possible. Turning that computer tan into a real tan by actually participating in family excursions to the great outdoors is a good start. It is not as if you didn’t

5 have enough time to spend time with your family but now, your family has an excuse. Think of this as your time to practice your acting; if you can somehow convince everyone that you want to be outdoors with them rather than browsing memes under your blankets with the lights off during the middle of the day, then go ahead to Hollywood to win some of those Oscars that you deserve.

Connecting with your friends is also of the utmost importance, and also a chance to amp up your spring productivity. Instead of doing mindless, and legally questionable, things over the break, try organizing wholesome group activities. For one, you and your friends can spend a morning at the library studying and then spend the day cooking vegan meals together. These are top-notch bonding sessions, and once school starts again, you will find yourself the most popular person at school.

However, all of this rides on the premise that you actually have friends, and haven’t spent the last three years with your posters of 2D anime girls.

In the end, spring break is simply two weeks of freedom. Two weeks is both a lot of time, and not enough; you can do a lot of things, but not everything. What you do end up doing is entirely up to you. If you need a break and want to use the two weeks to vegetate and catch up on some R&R, that is completely fine. If you want to spend everyday with your friends to regain some of those missed opportunities, no one will stop you. If you want to work all the time to make some money for a grad-trip, then do so. Overall, just stay safe, and enjoy your time. We encourage you to rest, but do whatever you think is best with your free time - you might not have much of it ever again.

Now, this will be printed after spring break, so take a moment to reflect upon what you did the past two weeks. If you think that you made the most of your time (which doesn’t necessarily mean studying all break), then good for you. But if you don’t think so,n think about what to change so that in the future, you can take advantage of these rare and precious breaks.

6 SCHOOL

School

LEARN, TRAVEL, AND SERVE WITH GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM A RATHER EMBARASSING OCCASION:

Not Your Typical Class: Travel to Laos

My First MUN Staffing Experience Jeffrey Shen Writer

Take Global Perspectives in the 2017-2018 school year!

Shirley Wang Writer

Have you ever wanted to travel to another country? Do you have a deep desire to help others?

Looking for both volunteer hours and new friends?

Then consider joining the Pinetree-exclusive program, Global Perspectives in your 2017-2018 school year.

Global Perspectives is a course open to 11/12 that runs every other year, so if you are currently in grade 10 or 11, next year will be your only chance. It runs as a year-long course, every day, and counts as both Global Perspectives 12 and Work Experience 12A, providing 8 credits. It is taught by Ms. Browne, whom some may remember from English class. When travelling abroad, Ms. Ikeda and another teacher will join as supervisors.

In the Global Perspectives course, students will learn about global development, as well as common causes of it and possible solutions. It is recommended that students have taken Social Studies 11 before taking this course, due to the connection between learning about development and the poverty cycle.

Additionally, students have the chance to learn about ranking countries using human development indicators, as well as to plan ahead for the future.

For three weeks in March, the Global Perspectives class travels to a third-world country where students volunteer their time and explore the culture.

Photo courtesy of jmagazine.joins.com

Past volunteer projects include building houses, paving roads, teaching, and painting murals among others.

Because much of the work is manual labour in hot weather, students should be hardworking, but not necessarily strongest. In addition to the labour, the class will travel to cultural landmarks in the country and learn about both the history and culture of the country. This class provides a great opportunity for anyone who is willing to work hard, wants to help others, and wants to expand his or her view of the world.

Many students may remember the Global Perspectives class visiting their classes back in middle school or elementary school. This is yet another part of the curriculum, where the class learns presentation skills, such as how to appeal to different audiences.

Global Perspectives also holds fundraisers to raise money for the organizations in the country of visit.

Students who have attended Pinetree during 20152016 may remember the samosa sales and bubble tea sales held by the Global Perspectives class. On top of that, the class holds other opportunities to raise money in the community, outside of class time.

The Global Perspectives class is a once-in-alifetime opportunity. It provides one with the valuable opportunity to learn both about our community and the world, but does require a certain level of work and dedication from its students. If you are a hardworking student who would like to volunteer and travel abroad, definitely consider signing up for the course.

7

On February 24, 2017, I chaired for UN Space Command at Pacific Model United Nations and I plan on sharing with you what I learned from the experience. The first thing you should know about my first time staffing was that I was shocked to have even received the position in the first place. I sent in my application three weeks late and had to make up an excuse to even receive a chance for an interview.

Rather than choosing the responsible and professional path and doing some research as to how to chair a MUN conference, I simply decided to ‘wing it’. Let’s just say, that that probably wasn’t the best decision.

Worst part is, I was put into a committee that I was not entirely comfortable with. The committee was set in the future, in which the earth was running out of resources. The different countries had to find a diplomatic way to develop space travel and extract resources from space. Even though I had read the backgrounder that the director had written, I was still not very familiar with space science. To top it all off, this was a ‘theoretical’ committee, so delegates were allowed to come up with new technology that had been supposedly ‘already invented” by 2067. This absurd rule completely threw me off, and I spent an overwhelming amount of time googling things such as ‘have they found water on Mars yet?’

So I screwed up shortly before first session started - after the first delegate had spoken, I thanked ‘honorable dais’ instead of ‘delegate.’ The room burst out laughing - I had said what the delegates were supposed to say to me. It was really not a very big deal, but I was so embarrassed. The lesson that I took away from the moment of embarrassment is that preparation is ALWAYS a good idea when starting a new job, or simply trying something new. It took me a little bit of time to get used to the procedure involved with chairing, but thankfully, my amazing director and co-chair made the learning so much faster.

Now, in each conference, delegates are given a crisis to solve. Our’s was an asteroid headed towards earth, which the delegates had two hours to stop before it was unstoppable. The solution offered by the delegates was to launch a nuclear warhead towards the asteroid and shatter it into pieces to minimize the impact. There was no scientific evidence or calculations to back up the feasibility of the plan.

However, the purpose of MUN is for the different countries to work together and act in a diplomatic manner, and I definitely think that I did a pretty good job of overseeing that, even though I was frantically googling space-terminology that the much more researched delegates threw at the rest of us.

Ultimately, the main learning experience that I have taken away from my first staffing gig is that it is always better to be over-prepared than underprepared – especially where your performance can affect an entire committee. However, throughout this experience, I gained so much knowledge on how to effectively chair. I also learned that if you do mess up, like I did at the beginning of the session, it is honestly no big deal. It always seems worse in your head. Always remember to just laugh it off, and never take mistakes too seriously.

Photo courtesy of quickbase.com

8 SPORTS

Sports

TIS THE SEASON... FOR THE TIMBERWOLVES:

Pinetree’s Senior Basketball Team

Senior Basketball Team

The Victories of the Decade Emily Liang Writer

Pinetree has never been a school best known for its sports. The name “Pinetree” is usually more associated with “mathlete” than with “athlete”, yet as the past Spirit Week has indicated, the trend may be turning. Take the senior volleyball team, for example, most of which began training to be able to compete with elite teams all the way back in Grade 9. Or the cross country team, which has valiantly guarded the district championship for three years. Or the wrestling team, which has recently produced several nationally competitive wrestlers in different weight classes. With

Photo by Emily Liang

top athletes on these teams and on others (like on the track and field, tennis, girls’ soccer, junior and senior badminton teams, whose seasons have just started up) spanning a breadth of ski and snowboard to indoor intramurals, one wonders why Pinetree still isn’t known as a “sports school”.

Perhaps it’s because all the aforementioned sports had expected success, after years of foundational training and visible hard work. The story of gradualism draws little attention in the way of athletic sensationalism. This means that for Pinetree to really flip the script on its reputation, it needs a breakout star. So now that I’ve appeased all the other teams by talking about their successes in the introduction, it’s time to discuss the dark horse of the

Pinetree athletics department: the Senior Basketball team.

Badminton, sure, wrestling, alright, but basketball? Suffice it to say that the Pinetree Timberwolves are far from the most recognizable brand at the BC boys high school basketball championships year to year. In fact, the last time that they reached such heights was ten years ago, an eternity given the shelf life of a high school athlete.

So this year’s qualification was an unexpected, but welcome surprise. However, after digging below the surface, it turns out that the Timberwolves making an appearance at the BC championships is no surprise at all. There’s much more to this story of a group of taller than average Grade 11 and 12 boys bringing the Pinetree name to the provincial level.

On Sunday, February 26th, the team played against the Tamanawis Wildcats from Surrey for the Fraser Valley Quad A Zone’s seventh berth for the BC Championships, which is to say, a decisive game against a team that was well established in the high school basketball world. The Grade 10 Boys Basketball teams of last year and two years ago found themselves in a similar position, playing against a seasoned team for a place in the championships. They didn’t win.

So, put in the same position once again, the senior boys brought the game with them to Surrey, with players like Maban Teny (22 points) and Armon Taef (28 Points) showing off their exceptional abilities at every turn. This time, at an away game in Tamanawis Secondary, the score ended close: 78-74. This time, the Timberwolves ended up on the greater than side of the equation. This time, they made it to the championships. Apparently, the third time’s the charm.

At the risk of sounding like a sports movie: clearly, their hard work paid off. The Timberwolves trained summer, fall, winter, and spring to prepare for the season, and it showed with their 7-0 streak of winning games during the regular season. Under Coaches Davies, Ireland, and Hudda, they matured as players and as people. With a regular season point average

9 of 87 per game and their 80-77 victory against New West for the Guildford Park Classic in December, the team was consistent in showing that they had what it took to be real competitors. Anyone who has been to one of their games can see the athletic potential in their lightning-fast plays, unbending concentration, and improbable shots. Even more than that, a couple minutes at a game could tell you that the Pinetree Timberwolves are more than a collection of top-notch athletes from diverse backgrounds with varied abilities: they’re a team.

The addition of the Pinetree name among serious threats on the high school basketball scene has been in the making for a long time. We just weren’t looking. Without a doubt, this is a team that has disrupted the flow of Pinetree’s usual reputation and added athletic prowess to the legacy of school traits.

Let’s hope that in the games and season to come, they continue to surprise us.

Pictured: Left to right: (first row) Coach Davies, Justin Masigan, Jordan Olley, Solomon Anim, Maban Teny, Farhoud Abedini, Landon Hiney, Coach Ireland, Coach Hudda, (second row) Hameed Hewaidi, Josh Hortillosa, Simon Hsieh, Xavion Fleary, Imran Hudda, Andy Lin, Shawn Bae, Jordan Jimenez, Armon Taef.

Graphic courtesy of graphiccave.com

10 GLOBAL Good-bye and Good Riddance, Park Geun Hye OR, WHY YOU NEED TO CHOOSE YOUR FRIENDS WISELY

Former South Korean President, Park Geun Hye

Why the impeachment really matters Julia Park Writer

On March 10th, 2017, South Koreans all around the globe together celebrated an unforgettable moment in South Korean political history: the longsought-for impeachment of president Park Geun Hye. Civilians cheered and danced on the streets where they once gathered to shout for her impeachment. March 10th, 2017 marks the day where, for the first time after its independence from Japan in 1945, South Korean citizens again proved a victory of the people.

Now, I’m sure that unless interested in politics (or just simply of Korean nationality and forced to watch the news at home), most high school students are not fully aware of what has happened for the last

11

Global would look drastically different and America would currently be in better hands. But when the leader of a country is surrounded by bribery scandals, the voices of the irritated people are magnified. (Former) president Park Geun Hye was accused of running the country on the advice of her non government member long time friend, cult leader, and billionaire Choi Soon Sil. To make matters worse, Park was accused of actively coercing the largest and wealthiest Korean companies into handing over tens of billions of dollars in donation to foundations run by Choi in return for favours. After three gruesome months of investigations and protests, Choi has been imprisoned for embezzlement and Park has been officially impeached.

I’m not saying that South Korea is in a significantly better state now—prime minister Hwang Kyo Ahn is temporarily in power until elections in May, but the current situation with the candidates reminds me of a widely controversial election we had not too long ago just a few hundred miles below.

I mean, none of the to-be-presidents seem very promising, but I feel strangely confident that their best friends aren’t billionaire cult leaders.

Rumor has it the streets of Seoul are still echoing with laughter, music, and cheers. I think the significance of March 10th, 2017 lies not entirely on the impeachment itself. Rather, it lies in that South Korean citizens have shown that they have power, that their voices matter. People of South Korea have won against corruption. Korea’s people were united as one voice, one purpose, and carried out perhaps one of the most successful protests in political history with just one weapon: a candle. Join me as I watch the dawning of a new political reality, the unfolding of the new future of South Korea. And to you, former president Park, I hope you can hear all fifty million citizens of Korea wholeheartedly praying for the day you are punished for your wrongdoings to the country. If you can even hear over your botox shots, laser machine, and hair dryer, that is.

Photo courtesy of Image: signalng.com

three months in South Korea. Allow me the honour of filling you in on the juicy gossip. (Former) President Park Geun Hye, the first female (former) president in Korea, was voted into power in 2013 largely due to her father’s popularity as the president (or technically speaking, the dictator) in 1961. Never fully supported by the younger generations due to her rather absurd ideas and ignorance, the people’s disapproval heightened when Park showed significant shortfalls as president—among which include her exploitation of tax money and failure to respond to the Sewol Ferry tragedy.

Unfortunately, being an utter idiot and valuing a perfectly done updo over the lives of 300 young students does not provide enough reason for impeachment. If presidential idiocy was punishable by ousting, history of politics in just about any country

South Korean citizens gathered in Seoul to protest

Photo courtesy of Image: http://www.cnbcnews.net/

12 SCHOOL

13

School

FOLLOWING UP ON THE SCHEDULE CHANGE CONTROVERSY

Block Schedule Changes: Updates and Response

execution. However, I don’t believe it is something that new students, who haven’t experienced it before, will be sold on if they are the one’s giving the option to vote on which system they prefer.

I was also curious of students’ reactions to the new schedule after experiencing it for a month.

From our last poll, the vast majority of students were opposed to changing to a static system. Out of 242 responses, 79% of those who participated in the survey were opposed to the change. After conducting a second, smaller survey, it appears that that sentiment has not changed. Here are the results of the second survey as well as responses from 87 Pinetree students.

The responses presented to the right are some of the most common responses for those who voted for a particular answer.

SURVEY RESPONSE PREFERS STATIC SCHEDULE: “I could never remember the time table switches before the static table. It also gives me an hour every day to do English homework or other homework that is due the next day.”

“It’s easier to follow and routine is something I value.”

The charts below summarize the poll:

PREFERS ROTATING SCHEDULE: “There’s no change & nothing to look forward to and it hinders club activities as the people who setup/takedown lunchtime events are always missing class. I’m always falling asleep in block 5 which negatively affects my performance. It’s much harder to find teachers for tutorial blocks since teachers with block 1 or 5 off because they are never at school at those times. Frankly I see no benefit to the new system except to make the admins’ jobs easier.”

Do you Prefer the Static Schedule?

Photo courtesy of Image: signalng.com

Following up with the schedule:

Admin decisions and Student Reactions

Benjamin Connor Writer

I think many of us at Pinetree are wondering what is going to happen to the block schedule next year (with the exception of the grade 12’s who are probably happy they’re leaving before things change too much), especially with talks of many drastic changes. I’m hoping this article will answer some questions about how next year will be shaped. Will there still be a common lunch? Are we shifting to a four block schedule? Will we be getting rid of off blocks? The answer appears to be no. We reached out to Mr. Clarke for the results of the PACK survey and here’s what he had to say: At this time after hearing from all of the partner groups, (teachers, parents and

students) we have decided to keep our schedule a five block schedule for next September. In the information we received from everyone the three most important things were student choice for courses, a common lunch and a reduction in the length of the day.

At this time we did not feel we could move to a four block schedule. We will be looking at how we can make slight adjustments to our schedule to accommodate things we have heard from students, staff and parents (Clarke).

The schedule will likely remain very similar to the way it is now. However, for those who may have been hoping to return to a rotating system, in my opinion, it appears unlikely that will happen next year or in the future. Thinking about it, in two years there will be only one grade of students remaining who experienced an entire year of a rotating system. The system does seem chaotic in theory, but works well in

Did the static block schedule impact your decision to drop a block 5 or block 1 course?

“[The new schedule] encourages students to skip. It’s tiring and makes the day seem longer.

It also ruins plans to have appointments or work.”

“With the rotating schedule, it was very interesting because it made me feel like I was doing a variety of things each day.”

“It is very tedious to have your classes in the same order every single day.”

“Rotating schedule allowed for a dynamic style of education that encourages attentiveness”

14 SCHOOL SURVEY RESPONSE CONTINUED Q: HOW HAS STATIC SCHEDULE IMPACTED YOUR LEARNING? “It gives me time every day to do homework (continuous and predictable)” “I’m always tired by the time for block 5” “I work best as the day passes and not so much in the mornings. It doesn’t allow me to learn at equal times.”

“I’m always missing the same classes (blocks 4 and 5) when I need to skip school for events such as wrestling tournaments and debate”

Q: OTHER COMMENTS? “It’s really the aspect of no student voice in the decision that stirs me.”

“I have several friends who dropped their three or so non-essential blocks so they could get a job and work. I think that’s a pretty good use of time that wouldn’t have been possible with the static schedule.”

“I heard one of the reasons that we have the static schedule is because it helps students to keep track of their classes. Personally, I do not think it is necessary to have a static schedule just to help students to keep track of their classes… Therefore, it is unnecessary to have a boring static schedule..”

“Change back pls”

School

An overall summary of the survey is people tend to prefer the new schedule if they have block 5 or 1 off. Interestingly enough, those who prefer it tended to vote yes that the static schedule impacted their decision to drop a block 5 or block 1 course. For the majority of those who voted that they did not prefer the new schedule, it was due to how the static system is very tiring and is not flexible for their needs. It appears that the rotating system facilitated a broader range of student learning habits. There are those who enjoy the predictability of the static schedule; however, there are also those who like the idea of a predictable, continuous change through the week.

The benefit of the rotating schedule, in my own experience, is it gave students the opportunity to participate in a class at a time they operated best in.

For example, I work best in the mornings and begin crashing after lunch, while I know some people work best as the day progresses. Having the rotating system allowed different people with different needs the ability be more successful because they had a class during a time that worked best for them. It wasn’t limited to a handful of students like the current one is, but was common to all students. Shouldn’t a school be trying to do the greatest good for the greatest number of students?

As a student, I’m glad that the admin is attempting to give students a voice on the future of their schedule as this is their school. There also is a degree of facilitation among stakeholder groups. However, at the end of the day, the schedule has already changed, without the input of the majority of students; therefore, this PACK survey does feel too little too late.

A four block system does seem to be on the horizon in the future, yet since student favor course choices, which a five block system facilitates better than a four, the transition seems improbable. All this said, which this will be reminiscent of my last article, keep voicing your opinions to admin on the way you want your school to be since they are figures who share a responsibility in your education, and they should therefore play a major role in facilitating the needs of every student.

15

PINETREE TREEHUSE THEATRE PRESENTS:

Sound of Music, The Musical

Photo by Emily Liang Left to right (PT students only): Sofia, Renee, Jacob, Marley, Morgan with each and every one of the Von Trapp kids, bringOne of my favorite things: musicals ing music, love, and life back into the once solemn family. During the stay at the Von Trapp house, Maria Jenny Zhao and Captain Georg Von Trapp fall in love and eventuWriter ally get married. The musical also follows the history of World War II, proving The Sound of Music to be

The Sound of Music is one of the most remore than just another romantic Hollywood show. nowned and beloved musicals in history. Released In 2017, Pinetree Secondary’s Treehouse Theatre on March, 2nd, 1965, there is no doubt that the film decided to have its own take on the infamous musical. is a cult classic - its poignant love story never fails to From February 2nd to 4th and February 9th to 11th, fill viewers’ hearts with hope. Many of the students the show ran successfully through hard work and dedat Pinetree Secondary have grown up watching this ication. Pinetree’s production of The Sound of Music one-of-a-kind film, perhaps even having memorized featured more than 35 young actors lead on by Ms. every word to all the songs. The storyline of the muFera, as well as a live orchestra directed by Mr. and sical focuses on a compassionate and enthusiastic yet Mrs. Carmichael. Seven students were casted to play adventurous novice, Maria, who is considered a rebel the Von Trapp kids, including a student from Scott amongst the nuns for her lack of discipline. Mother Creek Middle School. The main cast included Renee Abbess, believing that Maria would be better off outside of the abbey, decides to send Maria to the villa of Fajardo as Maria, Sofia Palma as Liesl Von Trapp, Sarvin Esmaeili as Mother Abyss, Alexandra Haagen retired naval officer Captain Georg Von Trapp to be governess to his seven children. Maria slowly connects as The Baroness, and Greg Jungco as Captain Georg

16 SCHOOL Von Trapp.

Renee Fajardo, who played Maria, states, “It was a privilege playing Maria! At first, I was extremely nervous because the sound of music has always been my favourite movie and Julie Andrews has been a role model to me as a child. Learning and growing with the character was quite an experience and a great one. I am extremely proud of all our cast and crew and especially the orchestra. Everybody worked so hard and gave their everything to make this production as amazing as it was. Everybody took time out of their day to rehearse and it payed off at the end. The fact that everybody

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Left to right: Jodie, Sarvin, Alexys, Marissa

Left to right: Alexandra, Greg, Christian

Photo by Emily Liang

Photo by Emily Liang

was understanding and took care of each other really helped us bond as an ensemble. ”

Sarvin Esmaeili, along with the role of Mother Abyss, also took on the role of musical director of the production. She states, “It was absolutely a successful musical which took a lot of commitment, passion and hard work.

We worked on the show for about 5 months. Natalee Fera did the directing and choreography. We had a full orchestra of 36 students directed and conducted by Marcia Carmichael, as well as 27 student performers and 6 student crew members. I took the role of Musical Director, writing harmonies, teaching, and rehearsing daily for five months. Music is a universal

language. I believe that with music, you can communicate across cultural and linguistic boundaries in ways that you can’t with ordinary language. Teaching music has always been a passion of mine and I’m really grateful that I had an opportunity to take on a leadership role like this. It was a wonderful teaching experience that will help me a lot in future since I’m going to pursue performing arts. The best part was when my friends came to ask for extra help outside of class time and seeing them improve and grow made my heart swell.”

The orchestra, complete with 37 talented student instrumentalists and Mr. Carmichael, performed an

Photo by Emily Liang

Left to right (PT students): Morgan, Jacob, Marley, Renee the multi-talented drama teacher, warmly states, “The Sound of Music was one of the first musicals I was introduced to as a child, and in highschool, one of my sisters and I were in it. Directing this incredible group of talented performers was absolutely a gift. It was nostalgic and fun, yet the perfect amount of challenging. This year we had a particularly strong group of singers, not to mention a musical director in that brought the best of everyone’s talent out! During tech and dress rehearsals I felt it was already a success, and I judge this by the fact that I never got bored. I watched the show intently every night. It looked, sounded, and felt incredible. I was incredibly appreciative of the standing ovation on opening night!” Treehouse Theatre has again carried out a phenomenal production and showcasing of The Sound of Music. As aftermath of the remarkable production, the musical has had

Renee as Maria

outstanding total of 23 songs. The members of musical theatre to put together their incredible show over the course of five months.

Mrs. Carmichael, one of the directors of the pit orchestra, proudly states, “The musical was extremely successful! The orchestra played very musically and worked very hard as individuals and as a group to learn their notes, rhythms, and tempos for a big show. I am very pleased and proud of their work! I really enjoyed directing the orchestra. It is very challenging music and the orchestra students rose to that challenge and performed beautifully.”

The drama department, the orchestra and music department, technical staff, and guest actors have all contributed significantly to the success of the production. Ms. Fera,

Photo by Emily Liang

a tremendous amount of positive feedback from students, teachers, parents, and friends. Some audience members have even dubbed The Sound of Music the most successful and enjoyable musical in Pinetree Theatre’s show history.

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RED CROSS CHANGINGTHE WORLD ONE STEP AT A TIME

Kind Soul, Kind Heart: Real Acts of Caring

Small acts of kindness do make a difference Kate Huang Writer

Happiness has been proven to lengthen life expectancy, improve chances of healing, encourage better cognitive performance, and even boost your immune system! Happiness is known to increase quality of life in general. For example, doctors have made faster, more accurate diagnoses simply because they felt happy. Salespeople reported to have made 50% more sales when they were happy as opposed to not. Students performed significantly better on tests when they felt more optimistic (so if you want to get that A, here’s a little tip for you!). Simply put, happiness is the key to success. However, happiness does not mean much when there’s no one to share it with. What better way is there to get the most out of your pleasure than to share it with others?

The Red Cross students and teachers decided to spread the love with their event Real Acts of Caring, in which they taped candy to every lockers, set up a compliment board in the foyer, and made a table

Photo courtesy of redletterchristians.com

of compliments written by students for the teachers!

What was their goal? To create an example of a healthy and positive school environment! Real Acts of Caring showed us that even a small action, such as a little compliment or a small treat, can brighten up someone’s entire day. It served as a reminder for students and staff to show appreciation for the special people in our lives. Furthermore, most noticeably, the acts of love put a smile on everyone’s faces for the day.

If you felt inspired or encouraged by the effects of the Real Acts of Caring, why not pass it on? Contribute positivity to the world by doing a small thing, whether it’s helping a classmate carry heavy books to his class or giving words of encouragement to someone who’s feeling down. When you show someone else kindness, you’ll find that in return, good things will happen to you as well.

To learn more about the idea behind the Real Acts of Caring and its purpose, we at Pinetree Post interviewed Mrs. Mobilio, the teacher who managed the Red Cross class on her thoughts on the Real Acts of Caring.

Q: What did you hope to achieve with the Acts of Caring?

A: The Real Acts of Caring week was something that was put on by the district. We were just trying to promote a happy, caring, loving school. We were hoping to create pride in Pinetree and to create more of a loving environment where people had the opportunity to express kindness and caring for one another. We really wanted to make an impact where people were just more aware on the small things they could do on a day-to-day basis to make the school a more positive environment for everyone.

19 I mean? We had set up in the main foyer and down by the cafeteria. The energy in general was very positive, I would say! And even that compliment wall, I felt that was just something where people could just express a little compliment or something about someone or just in general and it was just kind of a happy, feel-good week. I was very happy because I wanted to be able to make an impact on the school and the students did as well. So I was really pleased with our first run of it. Maybe next year we can make it even better!

Q: What was your favourite part of the Real Acts of Q: How was everything organized? Was it difficult?

Caring?

A: We have a Red Cross class that meets once a week A: My favourite part of the whole thing was and at a meeting, I said to the class, “We have this great probably the compliment board and the teacher opportunity to promote kindness and caring.” We wanted letters! Showing teachers appreciation – I really to encourage positive behaviour as opposed to negative liked that part because I think sometimes, even for behaviour. So I said, “What would we like to do with your friends, we forget to show appreciation for this opportunity?” So, the class all collaborated together one another and we assume that the other person with different ideas and came up with different ideas for already knows what we’re thinking or that we care the different days. The candy one was something that a about them. In my little world, I would like to show group did last year and the students really enjoyed it so appreciation to my students more. That’s one area they wanted to implement it again this year. There was a that I’d like to improve on, probably during next group of ten to fifteen of us that got together after school year. But I appreciated the notes my students wrote on Thursday to tape the candy to the back of every lock, for me so much that I wish I could take the time which was interesting because of the Meet the Parent and write them notes, which I guess I can, anytime. night, so we had to try to hide them a little bit so everyone That’s the thing; we don’t need to wait for some would be surprised the next day. I’m not sure how it went kind of special occasion or event to express how but I hope it made students smile when they went to their we’re feeling towards students. So some of those I locker and were surprised pleasantly with the candy. did in person, where I showed my gratitude for the notes they wrote.

Q: Didn’t Red Cross do something like this last year?

A: No, actually, that was the Random Acts of Kindness.

Mrs. Mobilio wished to conclude the interview by This was something new this year that me and Sofia saying the following: “ I am so proud to be part Palma were discussing while talking about doing a theme of a school that promotes kindness and is already week that Red Cross could put on. Later, in a district-wide generally very kind, considerate, and thoughtful of email, Mr. Clark asked if any group was doing anything one another. I love the school spirit in general, I love like this so we had the opportunity to run it during the the spirit week that just followed recently, I thought Real Acts of Caring week and it seemed to fit. that was really fun, and that was good energy. I’m very grateful that I’m a teacher here! I just love the Q: Did you feel that it had an impact on the overall mood students. I’m so glad to be a part of Pinetree!” or atmosphere?

A: I would say yes. But I was hanging around the “write- I believe that all small acts of kindness and real acts a-note-to-your-teacher” compliment table so I was of caring do make all the difference in the world. So around that energy where everything was, you know what next time you meet a stranger, smile and say hello.