The Wildcat Chronicles
Volume Volume 6,6, Issue Issue 22 Winter Winter 2013 2013 Volume 6, Issue 2
News
Level Up, Wildcats! By: Teresa Provenzano
Although Mrs. Fiallo is new to Westland experiencing her first year, she is already making big changes. Recently, there have been various renovations to the reading program. Some of these changes are focusing on students of all grade levels that have not passed the
News
http://wildcatchronicle.blogspot.com
HOME OF THE WILDCATS HOME OF THE WILDCATS
WESTLAND
W E S T L A N D
HIALEAH
H I A L E A H
S E N I O R
SENIOR
H I G H
S C H O O L
HIGH
SCHOOL
Westland Hialeah reached the goal of raising its school grade back in years. Even with the drop to a “B”, the faculty, staff and students are determined to raise it back up to an “A”. There has been an abundance of hard work and determination by staff and faculty, including tutoring and the assistance of our reading coach, Mrs. Fiallo.
FCAT, including the students who have scored below the grade level average on the Baseline and Interim Assessment. The Pullout Program, along with the Saturday Tutoring Program, has been targeted more vigorously.
made me take the initiative to start attending tutoring.” Ms. Fiallo is extremely passionate about what she does, and is always trying to improve the Reading Program to help out those students who really need it.
The Pullout Program and Saturday Tutoring have not only dramatically improved students FCAT scores, but those same students have also succeeded in their English courses as well! Daniel Rodriguez, freshman, proclaimed, “I have noticed success in my peers reading scores and better grades in their English classes due to the Pullout Program and constant attending of Saturday tutoring, it actually
Mr. Cummings, one of the pullout reading tutors, has stated “Mrs. Fiallo and Mrs. Blanco have personally chosen each kid in the pullout program. They picked those kids that were considered low level readers, but also those kids who were borderline to a four or a five score on the FCAT to help them achieve a higher score on the FCAT.”
Suspension or Teen Court?
As the 2013-2014 school year begins to kick into high gear, there has been an abundance of noticeable changes in WHSH; from hallway decorating competitions to mandatory EOC exams. Yet, there is one change that not many students and faculty know of. This year, Mrs. Shen’s fourth period, Constitutional Law Honors class has implemented a Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust Youth Development Division Program, also known as Student Court. Student Court is very similar to an actual court. Students who receive a referral for a minor offense will meet with administration and will be given the option to receive suspension or go through a trial. If the student decides to pick the trial, they will then write a statement stating
By: Teresa Provenzano their guilt, and the trial will begin to determine the consequence. Once the trial has finished and the verdict has been given, the student must come back to serve as a jury member and be a part of Student Court for at least one jury duty. The process should not only teach what a real trial is like, but also give a chance for the student/ defendant to show remorse and not repeat the offense. This program is not for the repeat offenders.
one trial and then work prosecution the next. This way students understand each role through experience rather than just reading about it from a textbook. Mrs. Shen states that the goal of the program isn’t to make the students afraid of the program, but to “give the student the chance to redeem themselves and receive a sanction that will aim to rehabilitate the student so that they do not break the student code of conduct again.”
Student Court is a grant that is given out by the county to schools who have a law program – and that have been approved by the county board. Students are now learning hands on experience as to what goes on in a courtroom. Positions rotate so students are not always an attorney or not always a bailiff. The positions in the courtroom all vary. A student can work defense
If interested in Student Court, enroll in Mrs. Shen’s law class to possibly take Constitutional Law.
Editorials Student Spotlight & Feature Stories Sports & Entertainment Miscellaneous
Pg. 2 Pg. 2 -3 Pg 4-7 Pg. 8
Editor-In-Chief: Karina Camara
Layout Editors: Edwin Blandon Carlos Cortina
Wildcat Reporters:
Holly Martin, Felipe Martinez, Teresa Provenzano, Magdiel Martinez, Edwin Blandon, Carlos Cortina
Editorial Time For Change
By: Felipe Martinez
Laziness is a dark abyss we can’t climb out of. The more we convince ourselves that we will change soon, the lazier we seem to get. But have we really challenged ourselves to change? It’s a new semester here at Westland and there is no better time to make a conscious effort to change our ways. Everyone from our teachers to our parents would agree with me when I say that laziness is the downfall of almost every high school student. Procrastination is the most evident form of laziness. Winter Break just passed by and most of us waited until the last day to start on the packets and other assignments we had. We are all united by this lifestyle we choose to live and you can make all the excuses you want but it won’t change a thing. The most common excuse we use is the “I have a life excuse” and I’m sure you do but the only thing that we are expected to do as teens is try our best in school. We must set our priorities straight and understand that our social life can wait but your school work does not wait for anybody. Thomas Edison once said, “We often miss opportunity because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Those words should echo in the mind of all the students here at Westland. We recently surveyed 11th grade students and asked them what their procrastination level was on a scale of one through ten. Only 1.3 percent of the students surveyed said that they do not procrastinate at all. This is alarming since 11th grade is one of the most important grades we have to go through. We start applying to college soon and we can’t even motivate ourselves to do school work. The majority of them said that math was difficult and they didn’t want to do it until the last minute. However, some comments did mention that they weren’t motivated enough to do their work on time. The only thing that we need to know is that how we perform in high school will determine how we will live the rest of our life.
Feature Story Student Spotlight: Leonardo Carbajo By: Felipe Martinez
Here at Westland we all take great pride in students that excel in all aspects of school. This time around we shine the student spotlight on one of our brightest Wildcats: Leonardo Carbajo. Leonardo or Leo as he is often called has remained true to his roots and continues to be an above average student all his life, but his motivation to succeed has only gotten stronger with time. Some of the teachers that have inspired him are Ms. Velar, Mr. Esperon, and Ms. Cordova. Leonardo Carbajo is particularly motivated to be the best he can be and believes his competitive instinct has a lot to do with that. He values his time in school because he loves to learn and has higher intellectual
pursuits. Leo believes that all students should strive to better themselves academically and try to be better people all around. He wants to see social, political and economic equality for all minority groups in the U.S. He takes great pride in being himself and in his 5.5 GPA which doesn’t include MDC Dual Enrollment. Leonardo is a great student; it’s easy to see why we are so proud to have him as a wildcat.
Leonardo Carbajo 12th Grade Page 2
H O M E O F T H E W I L D CA T S
Feature Story Student Sleep Deprivation By: Magdiel Martinez Many students find themselves tired and falling asleep in class. How much sleep should a teenager get so they can stay alert and focused? Coffee is not a great long term solution. Getting more sleep is a healthier and more effective solution. It is not recommended for teenagers to stay up at night since they require over 9 hours of sleep to focus on their tasks throughout the day. Less than 9 hours of sleep leads to sleep deprivation which has very serious side effects, such as memory lapses, depression, hallucinations, headaches, stress, irritability, etc. In fact, ADHD “How much sleep should (Attention-deficit a teenager get so they Hyperactivity disorder) and Psychosis can stay alert and share symptoms with focused? ” sleep deprivation. When deprived of sleep a person can black out from a fraction of a second up to several minutes, regardless of what the person may be doing. Skipping breakfast can also interfere with focus and ability to perform daily tasks. Starting the day without a breakfast may reduce the energy required to get through the day until lunch in the after-noon for some students. Sleep deprivation on top of skipping breakfast, various students will lack the drive to excel in their classes. For a well-rested and healthy lifestyle, it is recommended to try to elongate the time spent sleeping and through decent breakfast consumption.
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Feature Story Social Networking By: Carlos Cortina One item of everyday living, dating back throughout older generations, conversation has taken a major adaptation within the recent decade. Social networking has become a common factor of how people go about their lives in our modern age, allowing people to speak to each other from halfway across the world. A plethora of different accessible outlets of social networking are available for the choice of the individual. The most commonly known ones are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. This advancement allows users the ease of communicating with friends, family, or other familiars anywhere in the world, requiring only a connection to the internet. Social networking has become increasingly popular, gaining momentum in the recent years. Over 90 percent of the people who use the internet are in some way involved in social media, the majority of social media users commonly prefer Facebook as their site of choice. The most common ages of people who use social media are adolescents and young adults. Many companies and organizations have become associated with social media to endorse or advertise themselves to the public. Though this development seems to facilitate the communicative facet of living, it does provide a difficult and problematic potential. Identity theft through social networking has become a major problem, allowing hackers to access an individual’s personal information. About 34 percent of the social media users have reported identity theft through their accounts being accessed. Identity theft is only one of the major problems that have arisen from the additional ease of social networking which risk the individual’s personal safety. Social media is an evolutionary step that has become a major instrument of the mass populous to become more united in many fields besides communication. The technological movement is leading this generation’s focus on conversational and the expansive aspects, giving a new dimension on how people interact. This step might even lead us one step closer to the future of society and probably a more united future.
Page 3
Sports
Sports
Girl’s Soccer
Winter Sports
By: Holly Martin With winter sports season coming around it was time for the girls soccer team to kick off this season! The girls soccer team Coach, Mr. Charlie Ventura, was working very hard preparing and training the girls for this season. Team cocaptain, Daniela Ruiz, says, “Although the girls soccer team has some room for improvement, all of the team trains hard and work together in hope of bringing our school more pride. I am proud to be a part of Westland’s girls soccer team”. Even though the team didn’t score big this year, the team has high hopes for next season.
By: Holly Martin As the fall session wrapped up our winter sports teams were training and preparing to be all set to start off the winter sport season. We welcomed the Girls and Boys Soccer team and the Girls and Boys Basketball team, to bring us all a good season and lots of Wildcat pride. Conditioning began in the fall and of course all teams were anticipating and eager for the winter sport season to begin. Thanks to all our team efforts we had some pretty good winnings for this winter season and as always we thank all of our students who supported our winter teams by attending games and showing our school’s pride. Go Wildcats!
Westland Shows Off Their
Wildcat Pride!
Pictures from your WHSH’s Photo Club Thank You Wildcats! Page 4
H O M E O F T H E W I L D CA T S
Entertainment Horoscopes
By: Karina Camara & Felipe Martinez
2013 has ended and it’s time to start a new chapter in your life! Here’s your horoscope for 2014! *Disclaimer*
This horoscope should not be taken seriously in any way. They are for entertainment purposes only. Aries – This year focuses on your love life… Get out there and stop being such a loner, seriously, it’s depressing. Taurus – You will have some of your biggest accomplishments coming soon. This is not saying much since you haven’t done much your entire life. Gemini- This year you won’t need to look for love. Mainly because the only person you love is yourself. Cancer – You will face and conquer your biggest fears this year. These fears involve moving and any other physical activity. Your laziness is an art form. Leo – You will accomplish anything you set your mind to, as long as you don’t have to put any effort into these goals. Virgo – You can find a needle in a hay stack, but when you constantly point out everyone’s flaws it causes people to avoid you in public. Libra – You have always been weak minded. People get annoying songs stuck in your head easily. You find yourself singing all of Miley Cyrus songs against your will. Scorpio – Your friendships will be long lasting. This is because you make your friends look so much better in comparison. Sagittarius – You believe anything you’re told. This year you will find yourself forwarding chain mail because it says you will have bad luck if you don’t. Capricorn – If you tried to list all the nice things you’ve done for someone else you wouldn’t get very far. There’s no better time to start than the present. Aquarius – This is the year to broaden your horizons through lots and lots of travel! (By this we mean get as far from us as possible, we’re tired of your face.) Pisces- Sometimes you try to help people but not with the intention to help them, rather to help yourself. No one likes an ill intended person, stop being selfish.
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
Page 5
Entertainment A Look At Gaming in 2014
The last quarter of 2013 marked one year since Nintendo released their new home console, the Wii U, and the release of Sony and Microsoft’s new home consoles, the PS4 and Xbox One, respectively. With 3 consoles on the market, not to mention the PC as well, you may be struggling to decide which one to choose. The deciding factor, of course, should be one thing: the games. New games are in the plenty, while sequels to many hit franchises are also set to be released.
Xbox One, then look forward to exclusives like Titanfall. Titanfall is a first person shooter game, which combines the familiar shooter gameplay of Call of Duty, but with a twist. This game is set on a futuristic wartorn planet where players, called Pilots, take control of mechs, known as Titans. Featuring fast action, powered battle suits, and mechs, this online-multiplayer-only game will release in March 2014. Another exclusive to look towards is Plants VS Zombies: Garden Warfare. Sequel to the commercialFor those looking for games for current ly-successful Plants Vs. Zombies, this game generation hardware, look towards Dark features a big change in the gameplay. Souls II. The direct sequel to the critically- Switching from a defend-the-tower acclaimed Dark Souls, known for its highplaystyle, Garden Warfare lets you take difficulty level, Dark Souls II will feature control of the plants from the first game and new characters and story separate from defend your garden in a third person shootDark Souls, but will keep the same gameer game. The game also has a multiplayer play elements. Set for a March release in mode where players can control the Zom2014, it hits PS3 and Xbox360, as well as PC. bies and face off against players controlling Looking for a game to run on your new- the Plants. This game gets a February 2014 er console? Then look no further than Metal release. Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. The newest For Nintendo fans, you may be asking game in the universally-acclaimed Metal where are the games for my Wii U? Don’t Gear Solid series, this game is part one of worry, they’re there. If you’re a fan of two Metal Gear Solid V games, with Metal plat-forming games, then look towards Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain to be reDonkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, the leased late 2014. Ground Zeroes will feature new release in the Donkey Kong Country the return of Big Boss, a main character of series. This game features famed Donkey the Metal Gear series, as well as many other Kong protecting his island village from Vicharacters from the Metal Gear series. kings. Still want more Donkey Kong? Then Ground Zeroes is set to be a prologue to The look for him in Super Smash Bros for Wii Phantom Pain, both of which feature stealth U/Nintendo 3DS, the 4th entry in the Smash action that the Metal Gear Solid series is series. The Smash Bros games are a fighting famous for. Look for Ground Zeroes on PS4, game that brings characters from many of PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC in March Nintendo’s game franchises together to face 2014. off against each other. New characters are If you’re looking towards owning an Page 6
added in every entry, such as The Villager,
By: Edwin Blandon
from the Animal Crossing series, and Wii Fit Trainer, from the Wii Fit series. And Super Smash Bros. Brawl proved you don’t have to be a Nintendo character to get into the Smash games. Brawl had introduced two third-party characters, Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog from the Sonic series, and Konami’s Solid Snake from the Metal Gear series. In fact, a new character was announced for the 4th entry, Capcom’s Mega Man. This game hits the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U late 2014. If you want a game to own for your Nintendo console not from Nintendo, then look towards Bayonetta 2. This hack-and-slash game features high paced action gameplay similar to Capcom’s Devil May Cry. Attacking with spells and firearms, the gameplay is fast paced and acclaimed for being easy to learn. While not much is known about the sequel, Bayonetta herself has donned a new hairstyle and outfit, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the gameplay. Some new features include touch screen control scheme, which has been praised by critics. Many fans of the original have demanded the game be released on other consoles, seeing as how the original was on the PS3 and Xbox 360. However, the creator himself stated that the game wouldn’t exist without Nintendo’s inclusion, and thus will only see a Wii U release. If you have a new console already or are still looking towards which to buy, 2014 has already a huge lineup for games. For gamers on the go, gamers who stay up all the night, or those who have 30 minutes to spare, the games are plentiful. Just make sure you don’t waste all your time on gaming. H O M E O F T H E W I L D CA T S
Entertainment Superhero Movie Madness November 8, 2013 saw the release of Thor 2: The Dark World, Marvel’s newest installment in their Marvel Cinematic Universe/MCU. Having grossed $86.11 million on its opening weekend alone, it’s no surprise Marvel and other studios are trying to get superheroes to bring to the big screen. On December 5, 2013, Sony released worldwide the trailer for their new superhero movie The Amazing Spiderman 2, showing off the 3 villains of the movie and hinting at the possibility of more upcoming in the 2 Spiderman sequels announced and the confirmed Venom and Sinister Six spinoff movies. Marc Webb, director of the two Spiderman reboot films, and his writers are working diligently to flesh out a shared universe in Sony’s Spiderman films. The Venom film will feature the archenemy of Spiderman as the main character, fans speculate this movie may possibly be telling his origin or following his tale as an anti-hero. The Sinister Six film, though not much is known about it, we know it’ll feature 6 of SpiderMan’s enemies teaming up. All these movies will be made and released from now through 2018, giving us 4 years of big screen web slinging action to look forward to.
Demographics
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2
20th Century Fox has set X-Men: Days of the Future Past, the newest installment in the X-Men film series, to release May 23,2014, and it has confirmed a sequel for it, X-Men: Apocalypse, would release in 2016. Days of the Future Past takes from Marvel’s hero team up film The Avengers, featuring the mutants from the original X-Men trilogy coming together with X-Men members from X-Men First Class and X-Men Origins to face off against an enemy trying to wipe off mutants from the world. But Marvel Studios isn’t the only one getting their superheroes onto the big screen; DC Comics is also on the train. The success of Man of Steel has led to production of Man of Steel 2, which for the first time, would feature the Man of Steel-Superman and The Dark Knight- Batman meet on the big silver screen for the first time. Not only that, but one more superhero was announced to be part of the film, in her first live movie appearance, Wonder Woman. The fan dubbed “Trinity” of DC Universe’s comics will be making their movie premiere in 2015. And while the announcements of Batman and Wonder Woman have got fans raving about a possible Justice League movie, Superman
By: Edwin Blandon and friends have something bigger to worry about. This Man of Steel sequel is set to compete alongside Marvel’s The Avengers 2 in 2015. Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, the most successful comic-book movie made, already has two confirmed sequels. The Avengers 2: Age of Ultron will introduce two new superheroes to the team of 6- Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. They will join The Avengers in a fight against a fanfavorite comic book villain- Ultron, who is speculated to end up being created by none other than Iron Man himself, Tony Stark. And at the end of MCU’s Phase Three of movies is scheduled The Avengers 3, which many fans speculate will feature The Mad Titan Thanos as the main antagonist, who made a cameo at the end of the first Avengers movie. This new era of superhero films seems to indicate that every studio is looking to have a shared universe and more hero team up films. Whether you look forward to heroes teaming up or a hero’s debut, this year and the many more to come will be looking great for all superhero fans.
by Edwin Blandon
Page 7
By: Karina Camara
Kevin Morrero Grade:11 “I ice skate, so the ice skating rink is my favorite place to go!”
Massiel Armas Grade: 12 “I like to go to the beach!”
Mr. Quesada U.S Government Teacher “I go to the library.”
Karen War Machine Grade:10 “The mall is always fun!”
Five Spring Break Destinations in Florida By: Felipe Martinez
1) South Beach Miami , Florida 4) Daytona Beach Daytona, Florida 3) Disney World Orlando, Florida
2) Key West, Florida 5) Rapids Water Park Riviera Beach, Florida Spring Break Destinations. N.d. Photograph. GoogleWeb. 18 Feb 2014.
Florida