New tutors = more help
Posted on December 17, 2014 by Eloisa Garcia in News
Eloisa Garcia
April Chuvac
Photo Editor
Chronicle Reporter
The LACER tutoring program has always had tutors assisting students. However, recently there has been a change.
This year, Daniel Gonzalez and Eric Siegel, along with former tutor Michael Hakopian, are the new tutors for LACER after-school tutoring. Each of these tutors specialize in math, English, Science and Spanish.
“All three tutors are really awesome at every subject. Mike is like especially good at all the maths and the sciences, through AP Calculus and through physics and all that stuff,” said Vanessa Gonzales the cheer coach.
Each tutor has their own strengths. Gonzalez’s strength is English, math, and Spanish while Siegel’s is English and Michael’s is Math and Science. Although they are said to be good tutors, they took a special training session along with LACER’s other tutors at Fairfax High School to help seniors with their college applications, personal statements, and other help they might need.
The two new tutors were interviewed and hired by Ramiro Segovia, LACER Program Director. Having just joined the team for about 2 months now, these two new tutors have successfully mentored students using their own teaching methods. Daniel Gonzalez said that the method he uses is “just repetition. I’ll attempt to teach it one way then I’ll ask did you to see if you understood it.”
There’s no place like a piece of school property
Posted on November 10, 2014 by Eloisa Garcia in News
Eloisa Garcia
Thomas Medrano
Photo Editor &
Chronicle Reporter
A half-naked homeless man with no pants was an eye opener for students who passed the man walking by on the morning of Oct. 6 on Highland Avenue as they entered school at the Selma gate.
SAS Senior Denis Beltran was one of the students that saw the half-naked man and said, “I was disturbed because he could have been carrying infections, and I don’t know what was going on down there.”
The school as well as Denis has the same thoughts and concerns about this situation. Earlier this month Principal Alejandra Sanchez called school police to bring patrol for the school. (quote from Ms. Sanchez needed)
The homeless population around the school is not only concerning school staff and students. Parents also have intervened and have expressed their personal opinions about the situation. Silvia Chalco is one of the concerned parents, and believes that its the city’s responsibility to solve this problem. She said, “In my opinion I think that the city is not taking responsibility and control for these homeless people. It is necessary for police to supervise and patrol around the school for the students’ security.”
Another parent, Maria Morales, agrees with these thoughts, believing that if possible, the homeless should be be kept at least five feet away from the school.
Parents plan to collect signatures from both parents and students and present it to the school board to demand a solution to this problem.
As parents plan to take action, it seems that from past experiences, the school has learned that by turning on the sprinklers, it would help keep the homeless away from school grounds and from sleeping outside the school lawn. This method has been found to be very efficient from keeping them away. “When the lawn is wet they do not stay here,” said Frank Muniz, plant manager.
Although asking the homeless to leave would help alleviate the situation, they are not legally obligated to move. However most of them do, but instead of taking their belongings with them, they hide them behind bushes so that they can come back later when the staff is gone. The school, however, cannot legally touch their personal belongings, especially if is not close to the school or affecting it in any way said Officer Martin.
Another suggestion that has been made is upping the patrols of school police. Officer Martin, one of the school police officers, has only been here since last year and says he has not seen a problem with them affecting any students commute to or from school. However, he does know that the reason why the homeless prefer to stay around the school is because there is no fence surrounding the grounds on the side of Sunset Boulevard.
Although the amount of homeless people around the school is not decreasing, students like Ilene Gomez, SAS senior, believes that the homeless people are just minding their own business. Gomez was one of the students who saw the half naked man walking around and said, “I just thought it was funny. I am not disturbed by the homeless; they mind their own business and I mind mine.”
Martha Khalaji, a parent, is another person that does not have a problem with homeless people sleeping around the school because she knows that they need a place to sleep and she wishes they had a place to sleep.
As for the outcome of the situation, there has not been a definite solution until further notice.
History of the Sheiks
Posted on October 7, 2014 by Eloisa Garcia in Features
Eloisa Garcia
Photo Editor
The world famous Hollywood High got its mascot in the early 1930’s from a local sportswriter who first called the football team “Sheiks,” which would later become the official mascot.
According to the book “The History of America’s Most Famous Public School,” by John Blumenthal, in the early 1920’s, the school’s athletes were known as the ‘The Foothillers’ or ‘The Filmmakers’. These nicknames were too long and not a good fit for the athletes. However in the early 30’s, Sheiks became the new nickname for the athletes first, then the school newspaper, before finally becoming Hollywood High’s official mascot.
The sportswriter who coined ‘sheiks’ as a nickname, was inspired by Rudolph Valentino’s starring role in the silent movie ‘The Sheik.’ The film was filmed in 1921 and was directed by George Melford, starring Rudolph Valentino.The film is about a powerful sheik called Ahmed Ben Hassan, and a young girl named Lady Diana Mayo (Agnes Ayres). The film is about the powerful and romantic love between Ahmed and Lady Diana. Lady Diana is abducted by Ahmed and is forced to stay with him. Later in the film, he decides to let her go, which makes her realize the strong love that she has for him. She is then captured by bandits. Ahmed goes out looking for her. He fights with the bandits and rescues Lady Diana and they both realize the strong long that they feel for each other.
The movie reflects that the sheik never gave up and proved his strength to Lady Diana and to his enemies. The same way the Hollywood High Sheiks have demonstrated their strengths to their opponents.
Please no more CST testing !
Posted on May 20, 2014 by Eloisa Garcia in Op-Ed
Eloisa Garcia
Rocio Flores
CST Testing
CON
The California Standards Test was administered this morning for Juniors. For me, the test is pointless because it is an extremely easy test that only wasted my time. Tomorrow, juniors are taking the math portion of the test – today they took the English part.
Earlier this year, juniors took the Smarter Balanced test, so most Juniors were confused and angry about having to take the CST. The CST is supposed to measure the API score of a school, but with the Smarter Balance in place this year, the deal was that we were not taking the CST. What angered most of us was that we were told we did not have to take the CST, and then the test was given to us on such a short notice.
Most people found out about the CST yesterday, which was not ideal for me because I was absent yesterday. I did not know we were going to take the CST and was not prepared.
The English portion of the CST was easy but boring. We had to read so many selections and then answer the questions. Coming from taking three AP tests, I was tired of bubbling in answers and reading so much articles.
PRO
Many students have been really upset because of the CST English and Math section they have to take. Hence many consider this test as a waste of time and not beneficial. As everybody else, I was really mad when I heard about this test. I mean who wants to take a three hour test for two days after taking AP test for two weeks and preparing for finals in the next two weeks?!! I mean nobody!
Personally I was mad because that meant that I would have to miss some of my classes and miss out on preparation for finals, especially since finals are around the corner. When I found this out, as many juniors I blamed the school for scheduling this test.
However, as Ms. Quintanilla mentioned before the test, the school is not to blame because LAUSD planned the CST to be taken in late May. This test would also benefit us juniors (future college students) for our college admissions because if we pass this test, we won’t have to take an college entrance exam to determine if we are ready for college or not. On the bright side this CST testing also known as EAP (Early Assessment Program), will benefit us after all.
Smarter Balanced Survey
Posted on April 29, 2014 by Eloisa Garcia in News, Op-Ed
The Smarter Balanced test is intended to demonstrate the students’ overall knowledge of the required curriculum throughout the whole year. This year’s 11th graders were given a field test to evaluate the efficiency of the questions to determine the necessary questions that will be in next year’s test that will be scored.
The test includes a series of questions on English Language Arts and Mathematics due to each student’s level of understanding. The Smarter Balanced Test is aligned to the Common Core, that substitutes the CST’s multiple choice questions to critical thinking skills. Students have been taking the test from Apr 21 to May 1, and have realized the big difference between the CSTs and the Smarter Balanced Test.
A short survey has been conducted to show the effect the test has on students. We encourage students to take this survey, to the see the positive and negative outcomes.
http://surveymonkey.com/s/WZ5VZM8
Who Will Be Representing Sheik Pride at the Ball?
Posted on February 6, 2014 by Eloisa Garcia in News
Eloisa Garcia
Abril Chuvac
Chronicle Reporters
The highlight of the Military Ball this year is going to be crowning the 2014 court of each school and awarding the students on Mar. 1 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel. This event will commend JROTC for their training achievement in the corps.
The nominated king and queen along with the principal their royal court, will be representing the school’s JROTC program . The royal court will be formed by the nominees for king, queen, prince, and princess depending on each student’s training and education level.
A big ceremony will be held to reward the top students in JROTC for each school in LAUSD. The top high schools with JROTC programs will be given different awards for their accomplishment. Although these events will be in honor of the JROTC program, any student that may be interested is eligible to go. “From my perspective its a good opportunity for students to meet other people… to have fun … its a good feeling..”, stated Cadet Captain , Eddy Jimenez, a TCA Junior. Students will have the chance to meet and interact with other LAUSD students in the JROTC program.
Not only are students invited to go but parents are also invited to attend this lavish ceremony. Students who will be attending, will have to be dressed formal. The price for the tickets this year will be at $58. If a student needs help to obtain or sell tickets, JROTC organizes a fundraiser to help students pay for their ticket and opportunity to attend. There will not be any provided transportation, so student must find their own way to get to the hotel.
Doors will open from 4 pm to 6 pm, and ending at midnight. This Military Ball is an annual event that is sponsored by the JROTC headquarters department in LAUSD.
Man on the Street Nov. 2013 – Weird Black Friday
Posted on December 9, 2013 by Eloisa Garcia in Op-Ed
Eric Gavilanez TCA 12
“While I was at Wal-Mart I saw a
guy rush in and smash the
video game window (glass) and
started taking all the video games
and ran away.”
Evelyn Ramirez SAS 12
“I saw one of my male
middle school teachers
buying inappropriate
clothing.”
McKenzie Guy MET 11
“ I was at the mall… this
old lady came up to me and
snatched a sweater from me, I
went to get it back and she just
slapped me.”
Luis Avalos MET 9
“I was tackled by an old
lady who really wanted an
American Eagle Product.”
Cheyenne Daniel TCA 12
“When I was at best buy
I was standing in line and
a homeless man started
asking for money and
then started taking off
his clothes in front of
everybody.”
Paola Lopez SAS 10
“I saw my fourth grade
teacher shopping for
bras and underwear and
she just looked up and
said hi.”
TCA Students on the Road
Posted on October 14, 2013 by Eloisa Garcia in News, Uncategorized
Eloisa Garcia
Chronicle Reporter
TCA students have a great advantage ahead of them this year. All freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors will be able to have a great learning experience through field trips throughout the course of the year.
This year’s field trips are full of hands- on activities and two career field trips for students who are interested in becoming teachers. The Lull Special Education Center (a center that handles severely disabled handicapped students), is one of the places that would be provided for students who are interesting in a teaching career. Before going to the the center, students would first have to create a lesson to later on teach at the center.
TCA also provides students interested in science and enjoy hands- on experiments to have the opportunity to visit the Sepulveda Wildlife Basin, where they will be taught an experiment which will later be taught by them.
“TCA is is a completely inclusive small learning committee,” agreed Kelly Bender, lead teacher of TCA. “The purpose of these field trips and experiences is to help our students see that they can make a difference in their own lives and in the world around them, which goes along the TCA motto: ‘creating a more humane society through lifelong teaching and advocacy.’”
Transportation and field trips are available to TCA students thanks to the support of Linked Learning and Hollywood High School, who have been supporting TCA since past years.
As students keep advancing into the next grade level, they are a step closer to college. For this purpose, Hollywood High provides TCA students with a learning experience at colleges.
Sophomores this year will be visiting Cal State Northridge and Pierce college to inform themselves more about college and start preparing for it. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors get one field trip per year, which only applies to field trips to colleges.
For this reason, each grade level will visit two colleges in one day- one community college and one four- year college. These field trips will help students understand how to transfer from a community college to a four year university.
