VOLUME 8, ISSUE 1
November 2021
CROSSOVER EPISODE ABBOTSFORD
STUDENT CHECK-IN AFTER PINETREE COMIC
November
FIRST GLANCE 2 P.8: WORLD
P.13: FEATURED
The Pinetree Post
STAFF
FOUNDERS Russell Kim, Felix Guo EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Jennifer Shui, Kevin Fan
Abbotsford and Chilliwack
P.17: SCHOOL
Crossover
P. 21: OTHER
ARTICLE EDITOR Jennifer Shui CONTRIBUTORS Kaylin Brereton-Stiles Bryan Chen Kevin Fan, Jon Gough Na-Yeon Kim, Florin Lee Michelina Lee Kaleigh Morrow Shaina Rajwani Jennifer Shui GRAPHIC DESIGN Kevin Fan SPECIAL THANKS TO The Pinetree Administration, Ms. Rioux, Yoon Sang You, Jenny Hui, Amy Lee, Sebastien Hernandez
Student Check-in After Pinetree
Comic Artist Showcase
GET INVOLVED IN THE PT POST! Although we at the Pinetree Post try our best to represent the voice of the everyone at Pinetree, we are only a small group of students. To find the most pressing topics and interesting avenues to explore, we rely on input from readers to curate relevant content only. Anyone is welcome to suggest a topic or provide an opinion for Pinetree Post writers and
contributors to look into further. Do you have something to say that needs your voice? The Pinetree Post also welcomes guest content, any time, of any kind. Feel free to submit an article on a topic you are passionate for, a comic you think everyone deserves to see, maybe even a letter to the editor! You can submit your original content to us at thepinetreepost@gmail.com.
Have a question or a request? Contact us at: thepinetreepost@gmail.com
3
FIRST GLANCE
EDITOR’S NOTE
A Fun Little Introduction From your tired new editors. Jennifer Shui, Kevin Fan Editors-in-Chief
Hey Pinetree! We’d love to say “welcome back to a new school year”, but … we’re about three months late. Maybe nobody will be able to tell, because in our opinion, time is absolutely flying by. Either way, welcome and thank you for reading the Pinetree Post. If you don’t know who we are (gasp) - we’re the school’s official newspaper! We publish issues every month, content curated by some of the brightest and greatest minds in our community. We work as a team of writers, artists, and photographers to bring you the latest and greatest news within and outside our diverse community. This month has been a bit of a crazy one, so we weren’t able to put as many articles in this issue as we normally do. But rest assured, the quality of our work, as always, is there and better than ever! Both new and returning members have done extremely well to put out their articles and artwork, even in such unprecedented times. (I’m sure we’re all tired of hearing that.) Next month, we look forward to publishing a full-length issue with an even more expansive collection of the Pinetree Post’s very best work. Stay tuned :) First off, we know that many seniors are filled with worry about the Terrible Mountain of PostSecondary Applications and Senior Year Workload and Whatever Else is Going On in Our Busy Lives. (TMPSASYWWEGOOBL for “short”.) Obviously,
Here’s a little kitty :)
Source: Jenny Hui
we (when we say we, we mean Jennifer) just made that up. However, you can find reassurance, excellent writing, and far less confusing acronyms in (After Pinetree: Admissions, Applications, and Advice, page 9) - a detailed and humorous article that is sure to remind you that smiling is still a thing nowadays. We personally found comfort in knowing that pushing important deadlines to the last minute and then stressing about them is an almost universal experience. See, it’s not just us.
FIRST GLANCE 4 As we head into colder days and busier weeks, it’s important to remember how to take care of ourselves. An easy way to do that is by connecting with our peers and communities, especially by getting involved in social organizations such as school clubs! At Pinetree, we have around 30 clubs, including both long-running ones (like us!) and newer, developing groups that make use of creativity and fresh faces. The highlighted club for this month, a welcome addition to the Pinetree community, is introduced by none other than its Vice-President, Tyler MacKinnon. Check out the (Women Empowerment Club, page 5)! We also checked in with how some people are feeling at this point in the semester, especially as we return to a somewhat ‘normal’ schedule again after last year’s accelerated quarter system. (Student Check-In!, page 8) offers some thoughtful insight into our hardworking students’ minds. 2021 has been a wild ride, and unfortunately, the world has yet to recover. The pandemic is (somehow) still going on nearly two years later, but we have learned to adapt - as we always do. Recently, the flooding in our own province is yet another hurdle for us to overcome - (B.C. Floods Tell Us to Act, page 6) - and as Pinetree students, we can do our part to stay informed and help out to the best of our abilities. Last, but definitely not least, we are pleased to present our talented artists’ artwork - Amy Lee and Sebastian Hernandez-Lopez have worked hard to showcase their expertise (Artwork, page 11-12). Please show them their well-deserved love and appreciation! We hope you enjoy this issue of the Pinetree Post, albeit a little more compact this month. Remember to spread the word so that more people in our community can feel connected through the stories and experiences we talk about! Email us (thepinetreepost@gmail.com) if you have a topic you’d like us to address next month or if you’re interested in writing a guest article yourself !
If you missed our previous issues, read them at https://issuu.com/thepinetreepost. P.S. Next month, we plan to bring back the infamous persona of anonymous advice columnist Tommy Sharpe - but will he return as Sharpe, or someone else entirely? Only time will tell. À bientôt, Jennifer Shui & Kevin Fan Editors-in-Chief
5 FEATURED EDITORIAL
Epic Crossover
Women Empowerment Club
sets up room to speak freely about things that women generally find difficult to acknowledge in the presence of men. There is no threat of being spoken over or patronised. Fun fact: the etymology of “patronise” comes from patronus (protector), which comes from pater (father). This is all to say that real listening happens. We take each others’ experiences and fit it into the mosaic in our minds that comprises the feminine experience.
The intersectionality of our identities and other events throughout our lives means that we all have unique stories to tell and new things to learn from one another.
Understanding how we all differ allows our concept and application of feminism to be strengthened. Don’t worry though — you don’t need to know any theory or academics pertaining to feminism! You need only bring your experiences and the willingness to listen.
The Women’s Empowerment Club.
Source: Tyler MacKinnon
Tyler MacKinnon Guest Writer The crossover episode of a lifetime: a writer for the Pinetree Post writing about another club that they’re the Vice President of… How scandalous! The Women Empowerment Club is a new club at Pinetree dedicated to providing a safe space for anyone identifying with the issues of misogyny and sexism. The main feature of the meetings is the discussions we have about everything we’re put through as a result of systemic and systematic sexism. Everyone who sits in at our meetings gets comfortable quickly because the environment we’ve fostered is welcoming and understanding. It’s so lovely to see their laughs and smiles when they realize they’re not alone in what they’re feeling.
The concept of the club is important because it
Everyone spoken to after the first meeting had nothing but good things to say. We meet every other week at lunch in A112. Our next meeting will be December 15th. If you’re looking for a breather or a group of people willing to listen, come join us!
B.C. Floods Tell Us to Act
WORLD 6
Hyemin Kim, Sun-Ho Kim, Irene Lee Writer
Abbotsford civilians walk among the flood water on November 14.
Recently, we faced a series of floods, buckets of rain, people being chased out of their homes and lots of fear. In Abbotsford, B.C., over 100 families were forced to evacuate out of the flood danger zone. Similar situations occurred in Southern B.C., where more than 30 homes were evacuated, and 5,500 people were left without power. The situations were similar for the south-central Interior of British Columbia, where the city of Merritt was ordered to be evacuated after a devastating flood caused the failure of the municipality’s wastewater treatment plant, brewing concerns of
“immediate danger to public health and
among city officials. Larsen) among officials safety”(Karin
Source: CBC News
Through the flood, British Columbia is now more aware of climate change and the impacts of this terrible global crisis. The current floods and the summer heat domes are not isolated incidents; As Thomas Martin, a British Columbian forester, said on Tuesday,
“there’s a very clear link between [the mass surge of wildfires earlier this summer] and the risk of a landslide [with our current rainpour].”
The loss of plant matter in the mountainsides due to the summer wildfires aided in the mass mudslides as it destroyed the only barricades present to slow down the
7 WORLD water flowing off the hills, as well as the
“fires [making] the soil hydrophobic so the runoff increases even more. ” These connections are important since they provide an insight into how climate change influences our local environment, and its capabilities have never been more clear for the British Columbians hit the hardest from such unprecedented freak storms. With the damages from natural disasters building up steadily over time, there is much to be worried about in the upcoming years, perhaps even the next few months. However, there are still bright hopes; Throughout the quarantine, much of the world’s pollution activities have been halted for months, and nature was given time to heal and thrive. This unexpected boost in our nature’s health through the elimination of human activities gave the world enough evidence of the possibilities of ending climate change and its adverse effects. Ending on a positive note, we Pinetree students can start making changes from the lessons we have learned through this terrible event. As we devise strategies
A rescuer helps a little girl out of the flooding area.
to become much more environmentally friendly on a province wide scale, we can put in collective effort to prevent further climate disasters and help out local communities in their time of need. Emergency Management B.C. suggested that those who wish to help with the current flooding aids should contribute with monetary donations; They listed United Way, Canadian Red Cross, and Food Banks B.C. as trustworthy organizations, recommending them in ensuring the recovery of the B.C. communities back to the norm.
“Cities that are hosting evacuees and stranded travellers, including Hope, Abbotsford and Chilliwack, have asked local residents to reach out if they have shelter to offer” (CBC). In these times of need, Pinetree students can do their best to help by reaching out to people who have been affected, donating, and sending kind messages of hope.
Source: Unknown
Student Check-in!
Thoughts On the Semester System Na-Yeon Kim Writer, Interviewer
After two whole years of a seemingly hectic life, school is finally back to regular schedules! A lot of thoughts must be rushing through the minds of our Pinetree students. Some might celebrate the return, and others may find themselves struggling to keep up with the pace as everything reverts to normal. Nevertheless, it’s been almost three months since the strong start of a new year in Pinetree secondary, so let’s hear some thoughts of our fellow students!
Karry & Sam PTP: How are you finding the switch back to the semester from the quarter system? Are you struggling to keep up with the pace, or are you doing better than last year? Ka: To me, the switch was a little bit... strange at first. It was somewhat disorienting to go back to the normal school schedule from attending two to three hour classes a day. It took a while to adjust, of course, but I eventually got used to the semester system again. And personally, I don’t see much of a change in how I’ve been doing ever since the switch. The quarter system really tested my attention span, but it was also a benefit because I managed to finish most of my work during the long classes. Now, it’s the complete opposite in the sense that the shorter classes help with focus, but I constantly have to take home my work to finish. Overall though, I would say I’m not really struggling with anything. I almost feel glad that we’re going back to our, well, peaceful days. Sa: Well, personally, going back to the semester system was pretty difficult to get used to. The biggest shock was how short the classes were. I remember being confused when the teacher dismissed us so early. I think it was such a shock because I really liked the quarter system. I genuinely liked the long lessons, though sometimes it was difficult to concentrate. Thanks to the two hour classes, I had more than enough time to actually understand the material that the teacher taught me. After almost two
SCHOOL 8 years of the quarter system, I had completely forgotten that the semester system was so fast. I’m still trying to adjust, but things are finally starting to get better for me. PTP: Midterm exams finished recently and it must be a relief for most of the students. How was it? Ka: I might be one of the few people who didn’t find midterms that stressful. Though, that’s likely because of the fact that I didn’t have any midterm exams. I was really lucky on that part, but even so, I had a lot of tests and quizzes during the last few weeks, and that placed a lot of pressure on me. I was always thinking of the next test at the back of my mind, especially for my science class. It felt like a never-ending cycle of studying for a test, taking it, then studying again for another test! I didn’t even realize that the time was flying by; a few weeks feels like a few days. Regardless, I’m satisfied with my midterm results. Sa: Midterm exams were definitely tough. I was stressed for so many weeks, and I barely had time to unwind from all the work. I had to pull several all-nighters to study for all the exams and I overworked a lot, which isn’t the best for my health, obviously. It’s always a race against the clock and I just don’t have time to think about anything else. Anyways, in the end, I think the effort paid off. Surprisingly, I did well on most of my tests, so I’m pretty happy with that. PTP: The school removed a lot of the restrictions on activities. For example, some clubs are now offline! What are your opinions on the matter, and are you excited for any of them? Ka: I think it’s great! I’m really excited for all the clubs. Last year, I felt that it wasn’t safe to join anything. It was extremely disappointing to miss out on the typical high school experience, and to be honest, I was expecting this year to be the same as last year. And I was pleasantly surprised! As of now, I’ve already joined three clubs and I can’t wait to see what it’s like! I’m also thrilled to try out the sport teams this year. I haven’t decided which one yet, but I’m looking forward to it.
“It’s starting to feel like a real high school, and I’m really enjoying it.”
Sa: I’m overjoyed that more activities are being offered this year. I’m a little concerned for safety, but even so I can’t
9 SCHOOL
wait to try out all the new things. Most importantly, I’m really happy that classes are more active now. Although the long classes were nice last year, I could really feel the restrictions. My teachers often told me that we weren’t doing many of the enjoyable things that they did in the past due to Covid. That was the most disappointing part. The school is starting to feel more lively, and it makes me happy.
on both our individual experiences with applications, as well as acknowledge the challenges faced by many graduating students.
After Pinetree: Admissions, Applications, and Advice It’s about DRIVE, it’s about POWER, (but Personal Profiles make me COWER) Jacob Fu Writer, Professional Memer
For many senior secondary students around the world, the formerly distant idea of post-secondary applications have suddenly come into view, slamming into the graduating student body at lightspeed, its engine roaring, with no sign of stopping (the brake pedals were thrown out of the cabin long, long ago). We procrastinate, burying our half-completed applications in the deepest depths of our file folders, casting away our gaze whenever we accidentally happen upon them. Yet all the while, giants of due dates loom over us, everpresent and always approaching, cold winter deadlines that always seem set far too soon for comfort. Needless to say, post-secondary applications are always a matter of great concern for all graduating students. No matter where you want to go, when you want to go, or what career path you want to pursue, it’s likely that within the next four years, the majority of you reading this will have to put on your game faces, and spend a considerable portion of your weekends wrangling with the tangled monstrosity that is the post-secondary application system. Since that time of year has come once more, and many of you reading this may already be filling out university, college, or applications to other post-secondary institutions, we thought that it would be nice to provide our readers with some general advice and encouragement based
Where do we go from here?
Source: KC Green
1. KEEP TIME! Know where you are! Some of you reading this may have already completed your applications. Others might still be working through them (it’s tedious, but keep going! You got this!). You may have not started yet, or you may not even have to worry about the specifics of postsecondary until far into the future. Wherever you may stand within this range of completion, it is important to realize that you are completely fine where you are! As long as you have a good idea of what you want to do in post-secondary, and the time in which you have to get applications done, then it makes absolutely no difference whether you submit your applications in five minutes or in five weeks. (side note: The Author is not endorsing laziness). Of course, completing a form earlier is far better than completing it later, and you should try not to procrastinate, or else risk the stress of having to rush an application just hours before its deadline (much like the writing of this article). The point here, is that while post-secondary applications are incredibly important, they all come with fairly significant, widely-generous deadlines, provided that you can manage to stay on top of things. At the end of the day, Universities, colleges, and other post-secondary institutions all want as many good, qualified students as
SCHOOL 10 they can admit, and they will allot substantial time for you to apply. 2. Reflect While you might cringe when you read the words “self-reflection” as the header of a sheet of paper, having the ability to genuinely reflect upon yourself is an incredibly useful skill, especially when it comes to university applications. Applications to UBC, UOFT and certain programs at SFU all challenge a prospective applicant with a barrage of personal questions, which interrogate your person, your passions and your character as a whole. It would be safe to say that these questions are extremely hard to answer (why else would they be on a university application?). We do not want to answer disingenuously...and yet, it can be hard not to embellish your accomplishments with great swathes of colour and flash, to the point of falsification. If you want to write a genuine and powerful personal profile, you will need to do a fair bit of soul-searching. Who knows? Maybe it might even help you see yourself in a different light, and encourage you to seek out other possible futures. 3. Proofread. Absolutely. Everything. This cannot be said enough. Please, for the sake of whatever you find holy in this world, proofread your applications, not just once or twice, but however many times you feel that you have time to. Whether you have written something as complex as a supplemental essay (which absolutely needs to be revised), or filled out something as simple as autofilling your phone number on an information sheet, you need to give at least two good, thorough, completely conscious look-overs before you submit anything for good. It is tedious. It is boring. It feels like a complete waste of your time, and you absolutely need to do it just because of how important post-secondary is. We are talking about the next two to four years of your life, years that will greatly impact the rest of your life. Do you really want to risk it all on an incorrect transcript submission, or a misspelled email address? And last, but certainly not least... 4. Think it Through If you were going about your day, and an interviewer from your dream school suddenly appeared in front of you, slammed a microphone into your face, and asked you about what you wanted to do in your
future, what would you say? Would your completely spontaneous, unadulterated answer, be the same as what you tell your friends and parents you want to pursue, or the program name that you jot down on your application paper? It is completely fine not to know what you want to do for post-secondary, and to be honest, it could be said that only a handful of people our age truly know what they want to do. Post-secondary is really important. It defines the next foreseeable portion of your life, and because of that, so much emphasis is placed on timely and well-done institution choices and applications. What it doesn’t define, however, is what you make of the experience you have there, nor what comes after you graduate from whatever program you may take. It is in many cases like this, where freedom of choice reigns supreme, and the world truly is your oyster. Can you declare a different major halfway through your degree? Can you switch things up? Can you graduate with a degree and get a job that you absolutely despise, but allows you to save up enough money to go back to school, and get certification in a field that you love? Absolutely, you can! Post-secondary choices dictate our immediate future, but above all, they are inherently malleable. They truly are what you make of them. Regardless of what you pursue, it would be a glaring understatement to say that that post-secondary education is a grind from start to finish, with applications clearly not being any exception. For some reason, it becomes extraordinarily easy to make excuses and push them to tomorrow…and then to the next day…. and then the next, and the next, and again, and again, until we realize that there are no more next days to delegate it to. That said, post-secondary is important, and it falls on the shoulders of the individual to do the best that they can. With a little work, some hot drinks, and an ungodly amount of first drafts, revisions and reflection, we can see past the looming shadows of post-secondary applications and face them head-on, taking not just the first step, but a great leap towards the future that we desire.
11 COMIC
ARTIST SHOWCASE 12
Amy Lee
Ivan Luo
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