The Eagle's Eye; Issue 3; Volume 19; Akins High School

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AKINSEAGLESEYE.COM

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The highs and lows of the decade the big moments, Movies & more Pages 11, 12, 13, 21

Inside: News- 4-6 | Opinions- 7-9 | Entertainment 10-11, 14-15 | Indepth 12-13 | Sports 16-18 | Life & Style 19-22,24 | Photo Essay 22-23

news: new picnic tables in courtyard.................................6 Entertainment: Streaming movies illegally....................10 Sports: Baseball field off-limits..............................................17 Photo essay: wrestlers train for battle..................22-23

Quick reads

The Eagle's Eye Page 2 | December 16, 2019

Decade in Review The Best and Worst of the 2010s Scan the QR to see our online coverage

Editors Our web staff has been hard at work compiling lists of the best and worst of the 2010s. Check out our special coverage on AkinsEaglesEye.com to see the highs and lows of the last 10 years as selected by staffers of The Eagle’s Eye.

Editor-in-chief

news

Ash Catalan Brooklyn Bissell

Brooklyn Bissell

In depth

Life & Style

Dee Carreon

Andrew Martinez

Opinions Austin Rutledge

entertainment Anneliese Olivo

Photo

sports

Amora Arriaga

Diego Gutierrez

staff writers Frank Duran Natalia Salazar Angel Hernandez Oscar Navarro Robert Ramos Zachary Reyna Diego Rivas

Akins at large The Akins Orchestra performs holiday songs in the Eagle’s Nest before school starts. Photo by Sean Claes

HONORS

Bronze Star Award 2007 2011-2018 Silver Star Award 2019

Superior Coverage 2005 2008 2007 - H.M. Sweepstakes 2010 - 2nd Sweepstakes 2011 - H.M. Sweepstakes 2016 - Best In Show

Jamie Bain Tera Braly Joshua Guerrero Julian Medrano Ben Naden Alondra Mondragon Saul Moreno

Jaime Rios Hanniel Cruz Victoria Garza Evelyn Moreno Kayden Harnett Gregory Roque Rhett Moore Enrique Camacho

The Eagle’s Eye

the learning process or is an invasion of privacy. We will avoid electronic manipulation that alters the truth of a

before publication. We will not necessarily publish all letters received and reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.

2011 - Silver Medal 2012 - Gold Medal 2015 – 2017 - Gold Medal 2018 - Silver Medal & Silver Crown Finalist

businesses.

All-American - 2013 Nominated for Pacemaker - 2013

Editorial Policy

calender

Events

16-19th Finals Week

Classes dismiss at 1:10pm

18 Winter Guitar Concert cert 19 Winter Break Begins 23 25 Christmas th 7-9pm in the Theatre

Winter Orchestra Con

th 7-9pm in the theatre

th Classes Resume January 8th th All Day

The Eagle's Eye Page 3 | December 16, 2019

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word scramble 11/21/2019

PuzzleFast Instant Puzzle Maker | Word Search Maker | Crossword Maker

The Eagle's Riddles- December Edition 1. G G G E O N holiday drink made with egg and cream 2. C S I R S T A H M takes place on the 25th of December 3. O S M N N W A made of snow and carrots 4. E C E D A D time span of 10 years 5. R T S C A F J O K ____ nipping at your nose 6. H H T R I N C E G Who stole Christmas

Puzzle created with PuzzleFast.com. Answer key on Akinseagleseye.com

News

The Eagle's Eye Page 4 | December 16, 2019

ASL classes offer new foreign language credit options Frank duran Staff Writer

hen Merin Rogers was in high school, she did a lot of theatre, which she said has helped her to become Akins first American Sign Language teacher in many years. “(Acting and ASL) are very similar actually,” Rogers said. “Using your body movement using your facial expressions. So they kind of go hand in hand. I had always wanted to learn for some reason. And then I started teaching myself and I just felt like I was natural at it and kind of fell in love with it. So that's why I decided to pursue it.”

For many years, Akins only two foreign language offerings were Spanish and French.

This year, Akins offered American Sign Language as a new language course that students could take. There are currently six sections of ASL at Akins.

Before Rogers began teaching at Akins, she worked as a sign language interpreter at another high school. She said she loved it because she got to know the students and be a part of their daily life.

Rogers said she developed close relationships with the students she worked with because she followed the same students throughout the school day to interpret for him.

“I could kind of see the challenges that they were facing because I was with him all the time,” she said. “So that inspired me to kind of branch out. And I thought to myself, you know, I love sign language and I really like connecting with the kids.”

Teaching ASL is different from teaching and learning other languages because it is a visual language, she said. Because it is not a written language, she can’t assign students to write paragraphs that show understanding.

“I have to make sure that when we're in class, we're very focused on what we're learning about since it's really hard to monitor when students go home,” she said.

Junior Christina Sanchez who started taking ASL this year said she is hopeful that learning sign language will allow her to communicate with members of Austin’s deaf

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Frank Duran

painted hands

Students paint their hands in Merin Rogers American Sign Language class. Students have to adjust to sign language being a visual language.

community.

“I actually have learned a lot of signs so if I can learn more signs then I could probably have a conversation with somebody which is it's good enough for me,” she said.

Interview with an alum: Finding success after school Hanniel Cruz Staff Writer

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How did you overcome these obstacles?

Jeremiah Silguero graduated from Akins in 2014. He studied Biomed at A&M. He's now pursuing his master's in public Persevering through the failures and learning from my mistakes health in Boston. helped me to make it through. Due to my academic struggles The Eagle's Eye asked him about life after high school. from the very beginning, I sometimes lacked confidence in my abilities. Giving myself credit for hitting rock bottom and climbing back up helped me realize that I can do anything I wish to achieve. It is true that the only limits in life are the ones we put on ourself. Reminding myself that I was capable of I planned on going to college to pursue a career in medicine/ succeeding in my coursework and not setting limits on my aspihealthcare. At the time, I was set on medical school. As I rations helped me to overcome some of my greatest challenges went through my undergraduate degree, I started exploring in my coursework. other interests. Different career paths besides medicine began to appeal to me, such as politics. I had a passion for both public policy and healthcare. I ultimately found the field

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After high school, what were your plans?

of public health to tie both of my interests together.

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What were some of your biggest challenges?

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What advice do you have for students who want to go to college?

For anyone wanting to go to college, do not hesitate and just go

for it! Each of you are capable of succeeding. The possibilities are endless if you’re willing to work for it and strive endlessly towards your goals. Once you are at college, go in with an open mind. This is a once in a lifetime experience, so make the best of it! The years One of my biggest challenges was transitioning from will go by faster than you think, so enjoy this time you are given to figure high school to the academic workload of college. It took out who you are and where you want to go in life. There will be ups and time for me to adjust and figure out what it was going to take for me to succeed at the next level. At times during my downs throughout your college experience, but it is all part of the process of growing up. When times get tough, take a deep breath and persevere undergraduate degree, it was a roller coaster of highs and lows to figure out what worked and what didn’t in my classes. knowing you are capable of anything you set your mind to.

Jeremiah Silguero

News

The Eagle's Eye Page 5 | December 16, 2019

Eagle's Eye lists the big moments at Akins for the 10s

2010

Compiled by Kayden

The STEM academy opened

n 2010, the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Academy opened, offering students new elective courses focusing on biomedical science, aerospace engineering, and robotics. Akins had offered some of these classes before the opening of the academy, but it was not formally recognized by the state as a STEM program until 2010.

The STEM wing of the school o opened to students in October 2010.

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2012

Austin COrp program opens tudents interested in learning about civics and city government enrolled for the first time in the Austin Corps internship program. Students learned about the inner workings of various city departments and were able to meet officials including Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell

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2014

District looks for new superintendent fter five years of leading the Austin Independent school district, Superintendent Dr. Meria Carstarphen decided to take a job as chief of the Atlanta Public Schools.

Dr. Carstarphen has left a huge impact in the lives of parents, students, and faculty in the AISD district, according to a statement released by school board president Vincent Torres.

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2016

Students displaced by flooding

n Oct. 31, the day after heavy rainfall hit Austin, the neighborhoods of Onion Creek, Bluff Springs, as well as many other neighborhoods were torn apart as the heavy rainfall caused flooding. The flooding caused students and their families to lose their belongings, cars, and even their homes. This natural disaster affected many students on campus.

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2018

Akins experiences lockdown n Feb. 22, Akins High School was put on lockdown after a former student made a terroristic threat to the campus.

Students sheltered in their classrooms for about three hours while waiting for authorities to capture the subject who ran off campus. He was later arrested at the nearby Southpark Meadows shopping center.

Due to the large crowds, in some cases it took parents up to an hour of waiting to be reunited with their children.

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2015

Wheelchair challenge

ozens of Akins students participated in a Wheelchair Challenge, allowing students the chance to experience what it is like to spend a whole school day in a wheelchair.

The event is also a way to raise funds to pay for motorized doors to be installed around campus to help students who use wheelchairs.

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2017

Campus mourns passing of namesake

r. Charles Akins, “a true legend and trailblazer” according to Austin ISD trustee Paul Saldaña, passed away Wednesday morning, March 29, 2017.

Dr. Akins served in Austin ISD for more than 50 years as an educator and administrator. He is especially known for overseeing the integration efforts at L.C. Anderson High School in the 1970s. In the late 1990s, the school board voted to name a new high school built in South Austin after him, giving the school students attend here his name.

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2019

SEL classes start for all freshmen dministrators at Akins are hitting the reset button when it comes to how Social Emotional Learning is taught.

The Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum has been mostly limited to brief talks and activities with advisory teachers, leaving some to feel that it wasn’t enough. Principal Brandi Hosack pushed for the campus to change the way it offered SEL lessons to students and oversaw a series of meetings with teachers that created the new required course for all freshmen.

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Harnett

AISD plans to reform its dress code for the first fter more than 600 people submitted a petition to reform the Austin ISD dress code, the school board is set to vote on a series of changes at its June 17 meeting.

Members of a group called Austin Families for Common Sense School Dress Code collected the signatures to make the student dress rules more inclusive and less discriminatory towards specific races, genders, “or any aspect of an individual’s identity.” The dress code was last updated in 2007 and many students have complained that is sexist and focuses more on female dress.

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Check out more Big moments in Akins history by checking out akinseagleseye.com Scan the QR code to read an extended list of big events

News

The Eagle's Eye Page 6 | December 16, 2019

Picnic tables in courtyard purchased to honor student Oscar Navarro Staff Writer

oon after SCORES teacher Kari Janner heard about the tragic death of one of her former students, she thought of ways she could honor him.

Christian Tienda, a 2014 Akins graduate, was fatally injured after being hit by a driver in South Austin as he was using his motorized wheelchair near William Cannon Drive.

Janner, who teaches in the SCORES program, taught Tienda for many years when he was at Akins and was greatly saddened by the news. However, she was reminded of Tienda’s kindness to other students during his final year attending Akins.

This memory inspired her and other Akins staff to do something to honor Tienda with a donation of two new picnic tables to the campus courtyard. The picnic tables have a small plaque that says that they are in memory of Tienda.

Janner answered questions about the donation in an interview with The Eagle’s Eye.

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How did the donation of the picnic tables come about?

The scores teaching assistants and teachers wanted to do something nice for Christian. And we initially were thinking that we would get some flowers for him. And then I started thinking if we could raise more money, we could do a more permanent memorial for him. So I just had this idea that a picnic table would be a great idea because when he was a ‘super senior,’ he would go out into the courtyard and try to find people who are sitting alone and go sit with them. Or you know, try to start up a conversation with them.

What is the personal significance of the picnic tables for you?

The personal significance every time I walked by, I just remember him. Blue was his favorite color. And I just remember how he would go out into the courtyard and, you know, try to meet people and make a new friend.

Have you told your students about the donation? What do they think about it?

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Does Christian’s family know about the installation of the picnic tables at Akins? What have they said about it? honoring a student

I told Christian's dad about it at his memorial service. And then his dad said to please text him when the tables came in. And so I sent him pictures. And then I also posted about it on Facebook and his sister and his mom found out about the tables as well and they were all really excited. They did with them.

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Mylo Bissell

SCORES teacher Kari Janner sits at a picnic table that was purchased and placed in the courtyard in memory Akins graduate Christian Tienda. He passed in late September.

Are you worried that the tables will not be treated respectfully by students?

A lot of times kids just throw their trash around in the courtyard and I was kind of worried. You know that something might happen to the tables, but hopefully, people will see the plaque on them and, you know, realize that they're brand new tables and hopefully they'll be treated well.

Yes, we did tell all of our students about Christian passing away and about the picnic tables. In fact, we've eaten lunch out there several times we've gotten we've brought some of our classes out to look at the tables. We showed them the plaques that are on the tables that are dedicating the tables to him.

Mylo Bissell

Christian Tienda

new and bright

The picnic tables stand out with their bright colors.

opinions Ash

Co-Editor-in-Chief

Brooklyn

Co-Editor-in-Chief

The Eagle's Eye Page 7 | December 16, 2019

Amora

Photo Editor

Austin

Opinions Editor

Dee

InDepth Editor

Andrew

Life & Style Editor

Anneliese

Entertainment

Diego

Sports Editor

Editorial: Teens should make an effort to be heard

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esides the impeachment of President Donald Trump, the elections of 2020 will soon begin to dominate the headlines of national media outlets and discussions about the future of our country.

The primary election in Texas is set for March 3 and early voting will start on February 18. For students who are 17 years and 10 months old before March 3, they will be able to vote for candidates they want to be the nominees for the party of their choice, including candidates for president.

The deadline to register to vote in the primary elections in Texas is February 3. Fortunately, there are 10 Akins staff members who are volunteer deputy registrars and can help students become registered voters.

But before students either prepare to vote or tune out because they are not old enough, we believe they should first consider becoming informed about the process.

In presidential election years, candidates spend a lot of time in relatively small states like Iowa and New Hampshire because they’re the first contests for the election cycle. Iowas’ election comes first on Feb. 3. New Hampshire will hold an election a week later on Feb. 11. Often candidates who win in these early states are able to build momentum that will help them win their party’s primary elections to become the nominee. Most states have primaries to decide who receives the most delegates, but a small number of states

Ash Catalan

like Iowa and Nevada have caucuses. In a Primary Election, voters go to their polling station and cast a ballot. Caucuses are very different because they are basically big meetings where supporters of candidates gather at a public place and work to create the largest group of people in attendance.

This process of elections isn’t as common because a lot of people don’t have the time to go out and actively support their candidate at a specific time and place. Often in political campaigns, candidates want to get

their base out to vote. Campaigns especially target younger voters to go out and vote as young voters don’t often come out in large numbers in elections. The 2014 elections only had an 8% turnout for young voters in Texas. According to The Texas Tribune, 61% of registered voters in Travis county voted in the 2018 midterm elections. The Eagle’s Eye believes that teens should get involved in the political process even if they are not old enough to vote.

They can also volunteer for a cause that

they care about. There are many organizations for a variety of different issues that have volunteers for the issues that people care about. Teens can also write letters to their current elected representatives to urge them to vote their preferred way on an issue. This is another way of how teens can get involved and let their voices be heard.

Most teens aren’t able to vote, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get involved in politics, as younger voters are only becoming a larger percentage of the voting block.

What is a staff editorial?

The Eagle’s Eye editorial board decides the positions taken in the staff editorials. The editorial board consists of the paper’s top editors. The editorials are not given a byline because editorials express the collective opinion of the board.

The topic of the editorial is discussed by the board and a position is voted on. When deciding on editorial opinions, majority rules, so most opinions reflect the vast majority of the opinions of the editorial board. The Editor-in-Chief has the final say if the group cannot come to consensus.

Opinions

The Eagle's Eye Page 8 | December 16, 2019

Favoritism, misbehavior causes problems for students Jaime Rios

Staff Writer hile student misbehavior is often the focus of attention at high school, sometimes the actions of teachers can be just as bad.

In my 12 years of attending school, I’ve seen it all: favoritism, vindictiveness, weird touching. The list goes on. Most teachers don’t behave this way, but it is especially upsetting when you see a teacher do it because they are supposed to be role models.

Favoritism is one of the most commonly experienced types of bad behavior. It results in unequal treatment of students that receive certain advantages from the teacher compared to others.

Favoritism doesn’t necessarily result in harm to students, but it can produce negative feelings of self-worth. I believe teachers should give all students a chance.

Yes, there are times when students provoke teachers to the point where the teacher has to raise their voice to get everyone’s attention, but sometimes it goes too far.

I remember my sophomore year a student didn’t do his work and that was our teachers number one pet peeve so he made a big deal out of it and slammed a keyboard on the desk and kicked a chair towards the student and it completely threw off the whole class. Sometimes it seems

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Tera Braly

that there are certain students that receive a teacher’s wrath more than others, causing them to get upset over small things. Another incident my sophomore year my teacher strictly told all students no phones are allowed in her class so a student had his phone out she politely asked him to put it away but whenever another student did it she raised her voice and threatened the student to give her the phone or she will take it to the office.

It’s understandable for some teachers to be irritated by students that are constant offenders, If it is getting to the point where students and teachers are yelling at each oth-

er, they should try to work out a mediation session with the Restorative Justice program we have at Akins.

A far worse form of misbehavior is when teachers form inappropriate relationships with students. I’ve seen a teacher grab a student’s phone and take pics of themselves or even send a text or post something on their social media. This is unacceptable. Teachers need to respect students’ personal boundaries.

I could tell that these students felt uncomfortable because of their facial expressions. Most of the time I don’t think that the teacher realizes it, but you can tell that the student is annoyed or bothered with the situation.

There are laws that prohibit teachers from engaging in romantic and sexual relationships with students. Students should contact administrators or other school officials if they feel they feel they are experiencing sexual misconduct from any adult, especially teachers.

In conclusion, I think that teachers and students should work out disagreements the appropriate way. Or even be understanding both ways because we as students don’t know what teachers go through and we don’t know how they feel.

Same for teachers because some students aren’t spoonfed so right after school they probably have work or even struggle to do schoolwork or even makeup tests that they didn’t do good on. So I think students and teachers should take the time to think before speaking because we don’t know what that teacher or student is going through.

Teachers overuse BLEND for classroom teaching Natalia Estrada Staff Writer

hen students walk into most of their classes, they are greeted with a typical reminder: “login to BLEND.” It was created in 2017 and it was available to all schools starting in August. This application is intended to be used as a practice for teachers and improve the skills and interests of students. BLEND provides learning, assessment, and organization tools that allow users to be more efficient and effective in their everyday learning.

In the last two years that Akins has had access to the BLEND learning management system, it has become central to the operation of most classrooms. Logging into BLEND has become even more important than coming to class with a pencil and paper in some ways.

BLEND is a learning management system that allows teachers to provide instructional resources in an online format that is available to students, at any time and any place that has an Internet connection. When it was introduced in 2017, it was a game changer for many teachers who were still mostly relying on passing out paper copies of handouts for lessons and resources.

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However, the name BLEND is often misleading because in some cases teachers are overusing this online tool and students are missing out on traditional “in-real-life” learning activities. BLEND by itself does not provide a truly blended learning format, where students learn from both online resources and in-person learning experiences.

In some classes, teachers ask students to get into their courses and wait for them just to read from slides that are already on BLEND for a large portion of the class. After they are done reading they are asked to submit a written explanation or reflection about the reading. And that might be all the student does for the rest of the period.

There are clearly teachers at Akins that have not had enough training to know that BLEND should not be the only thing that students do in class. The name itself is a reference to the concept of “blended learning” in which students are supposed to do a mix of online work and inreal-life activities with other students and the teacher. In these cases, it feels like BLEND is not being used appropriately or to its full potential. Even though this system sounds like an advance and creative tool for students to improve, the benefits it provides are mixed.

How can students benefit from working on Blend?

Students can have access to classroom assignments, quizzes, calendars, and a grade book integrated with TEAMS. Track their progress with the help of their teacher feedback and communicate with them. I appreciate having BLEND as a resource and a way to turn in written

Jaime Bain

assignments, but I do not think online assignments should replace engaging teaching and lessons. That said, I know that it takes time and effort to develop online content posted on BLEND. The school district should do more to ensure that teachers have access to content that can easily be incorporated into BLEND so they don’t have to spend all of their time creating and uploading online lessons.

This takes them away from the important work of developing relationships and engaging classroom experiences.

opinions

The Eagle's Eye Page 9 | December 16, 2019

Students debate online and in-person drivers classes Online is the better option than in-class Andrew Martinez Life&Style editor

or many teenagers, earning a driver’s license is a milestone of maturity as they begin establishing independence from their parents. Driving is empowering for students because it gives them control of where they can be at whatever time they’d like.

Similarly, online driver’s education classes give students more control over their learning experience compared to in-person classes. These liberties include the ability to work at one’s own pace, to schedule the class around one own’s plans, and to be able to learn in the comfort of your own home.

The most upfront and clear difference between online and in-class drivers ed is the person teaching. In-class has a group of students being taught by a teacher so there will be a set schedule in which a student would have to follow. This would hinder any ability to make plans, so students would have to plan around the class. On the other hand, online gives a student the option to learn whenever and wherever they are. As long as they are in possession of a phone, tablet, computer, or anything that can access the Internet, they can read/listen to the lessons and take the quizzes. With that, the student, therefore, can, for example, spend an afternoon with their friends and do the lessons later that night.

Being in a class has a certain atmosphere that would create stress. There’s a teacher going at the pace they deem necessary, which may be either too fast or slow for people. This could also create a sort of competitive environment for students that might turn students off. In an online class, a student will most likely be in their room alone reading the material with the occasional visit from their parents to assist them. A student can, therefore, listen to their music and get into the zone as they finish their lessons. There would be no teacher to pressure you or students to judge you.

Online classes also enable parents to be involved in the learning process in a closer way than in-person classes. And because parents have years of driving experience they can help you understand some of the concepts and reasons behind the laws while also refreshing their memory on certain driving laws. Most students would be very comfortable and trusting of their parents, which is a better learning source compared to an unknown teacher.

The bottom line is that online classes offer more flexibility and independence as it makes a teen start the growing up process in their lifetimes as getting a drivers license is a major step. Making it a better experience than in-person classes. They don’t have to follow a set schedule or keep up with the class’s pace or learn from a stranger.

With online classes, students can set their own schedule, which allows them to accommodate a busy schedule. There’s no pressure from a classroom atmosphere to keep up with the program’s pace, allowing the students to take their time to properly learn the material. Finally, the students will learn on their own with the assistance of their parents. In all, online is the drivers’ ed to take if a person wishes to get a license but do not want to have a class to add to the stress.

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In-person drivers class is better Ash Catalan

Co-editor-in-Chief

significant milestone of adolescence is earning their driver’s permit. It’s a mark of independence and responsibility in a teenager’s life and proves they’re capable of safe driving. How can you ensure that you learn the most you can about road safety and driving laws? I strongly encourage that parents and their teenagers to consider attending an in-person driving school.

One of the best reasons to take driving school in a classroom environment is that a trained professional is teaching the course.

The instructor has taught students for a long time, they know what works and what does not, and they probably have more knowledge about current driving laws than Ash Catalan Tera Braly a parent.

Driving instructors are expected to be able to answer any road safety questions a kid may have. In most cases with online school, the parent will have to do some of the instructing in addition to the online content. Keep in mind it has probably been a while since your parents have had to pass a driving test, and they might not be in the loop on the new laws or remember what is logistically the best way to navigate an encounter that may have not been covered in the online course. I know I had a lot of questions about driving when I first started taking lessons, and my parents couldn’t answer every single one. I sometimes went to class with a question in mind, and my instructor was always able to provide an answer to my questions.

As much as we hate to admit, teenagers struggle with self-regulation. I know for sure that I do. Teens are good about putting self-paced online classes off. I have friends who have taken months to complete the driver’s ed course online. Of course, everyone is different and some do have the means to complete the course in a timely manner. Online classes, also help students avoid information overload or the problem of going through the course so fast that you don’t retain information. A classroom where the course is paced in a way that you can truly retain and learn safety laws can be beneficial in a way you might not see.

I attempted to do online classes to accelerate my credits and found that I kept telling myself that I’d do that work tomorrow, or not put enough time aside to focus on my course.

An important portion of driving school is the behind-the-wheel part. I found it much more relaxing to drive with a professional instructor than my own parents.

Obviously, I was more nervous, but the teacher knew better than to yell at some poor 15-year-old. Parents might be tempted to yell at their children if they make a mistake, show nervousness, or be confused as to how to teach their kids the mechanics of driving. This can lead to issues like parents refusing to drive with their child or the child being too frustrated to be behind the wheel with them. Overall, I am glad I took the classroom route of driver’s ed. I found it suitable for the type of driver and person I am. I can also say my education was effective, as I have never gotten into a crash or a ticket. And I’ve never been that driver who other drivers turn their heads around to see the tool who just did a U-turn on the highway.

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Local entertainment

The Eagle's Eye Page 10 | December 16, 2019

Connor Austin takes his first lead roles in a school play

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Isaac Guerrero Staff Writer

unior Connor Austin took his first lead role in November, but he didn’t get just one part. Instead, he got the dual roles of Dr. Jekkyl and Mr. Hyde in the theatre production of Chemical Imbalance. It was a big change for Austin, who only had small roles before.

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What made you want to audition for Chemical Imbalance?

I love being funny and making people laugh. It just seemed like it would be really cool and I looked at this script before and it was funny, so I had to audition.

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How hard was it to develop two different characters and make them distinct from one another?

It was pretty difficult. Although I admit the play did help me by highly contrasting both of the characters, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

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What mental preparation did you do?

Oh, mental preparation that was pretty tough.

Switching between two characters. I had to learn how to give myself a lisp, accent and to uncontrollably spasm. All were kind of tolling on me.

What was your favorite moment from the play?

My favorite moment is the park scene where I got to hit that pigeon into the audience with my cane.

How tiring is doing a play day after day?

It was very exhausting… because we didn’t use microphones so I had to constantly like projects to the whole theater. I had to do that every night and I always went home and I couldn’t move. I was asleep on my couch, like right when I got home and it was rough, but I’ve recovered.

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Are you confident in taking another lead role?

I don’t know. I definitely could if I really wanted to. But I know it would be hard for me because being a lead role is very, very hard. It’s a lot of work. But I definitely could do it.

Isaac Guerrero

Conner Austin

Students resort to pirating movies on online websites Zachary Reyna Staff Writer

hen most people think of piracy, the first image that pops into their heads is that of a rough-looking sailor from the 1700s.

However, piracy in modern life takes on the form of an everyday act streaming or downloading movies, music and other digital content. The convenience of Netflix, Spotify, and other online content providers have created an expectation that all entertainment should be available online at any time at a reasonable price. And, of course, everyone’s favorite price is free.

And piracy is often the result of the desire to have access to content without the hassle of paying for multiple streaming services or perhaps of the desire to not pay at all.

Watching pirated movies is a big trend right now as students have found ways of accessing streaming websites on district-provided Chromebooks. While the district does try to restrict access to these websites they’re unable to block all of these websites that exist.

Students use this as a way to beat boredom in class.

According to the American Consumer Institute, punishment for using pirated software is about a $100,000 dollar fine, a charge with misdemeanor, and a 1-year prison sentence. When asking students none knew the punishment for pirating movies or didn’t really understand that there was a legal problem.

“Not exactly sure the exact trouble I can get in I just know I can get in trouble.”

Asking this student why they pirate movies one of their responses was, “There are movies that like are just classics, but they go off Netflix, YouTube, or Hulu. Sometimes they’re not on there and you just want to find them but when you find them you have to pay for them, and they’re $7 or $6” A response from another student, regarding this same question they answered, “Because I’m broke, I don’t know how else to say it. I don’t know why it’s so illegal honestly.

But like for those people can’t afford it should be given an alternative option.” They added, “Which they don’t so they resort to not so legal methods.”

The common response for why students pirate movies was that the movies are unavail-

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Student pirating during class

Zachary Reyna

An anonymous student is using his chromebook to pirate movies during his fourth period.

able to the user in any legal method they try to take. This is because either the movie isn’t on the platform they have or they don’t want to pay to go to a theater.

The number of streaming services that are coming out has affected the amount of pirating. Along with the amount of money people are paying for these have also influenced people to just use these pirating websites as a way to watch the shows that are exclusive to the streaming service for free.

Pop Culture

The Eagle's Eye Page 11 | December 16, 2019

Akins students pick best entertainment of the decade These top picks were chosen by the students at Akins High School on an online poll.

Movies

Music

1

Video games 1

1

Disney Pixar

The students of Akins chose Toy Story 3 to be the best movie of the decade.

Disney Pixar had finally released the third continuation in 2010 since the second movie that was released in 1999. This was a very big and enjoyable movie that was a part of most children’s lives back then.

And there are teenagers and young adults that still re-watch this classic Pixar movie.

This movie is also known as the best Toy Story movie out of the trilogy.

1

Raven Software

Jungle Studios

Toy STory 3

TV Shows

Lemondae

Call Of Duty: Black Ops

The students of Akins chose Lemonade by Beyonce as the best album of the decade. This album was a fantastic body of music that was released without teasers and even had a one hour special on HBO. The album was a sign that Beyonce was finding her style and where her music fit best. This album contained empowering topics for black women and women in general. Therefore this album takes place as the best album of the generation.

The students of Akins chose Call Of Duty: Black Ops to be the best game of the decade. Students have expressed that the graphics were amazing. The multi-player aspect of the game is was made it enjoyable to play. Which also leads into the amazing multi-player map that gamers loved as well. Overall this was highly played over the decade. And this version of the game is what made Call Of Duty so popular and big.

Cartoon Network

Adventure Time The students of Akins chose Adventure Time to be the best TV show of the generation. This is because children back then enjoyed the cute animations of the show. The characters were also a very unique aspect of the show. Students had explained that the show was entertaining because of the comedy. And the show was not only for young kids but also older audiences too making it appealing and very memorable.

The best of the decade runner ups were chosen by: Diego Gutierrez Sports Editor

2

2

Columbia Pictures

2

2

RCA Records

Naughty Dog

HBO

Spider-man into the Spider-verse

American Teen

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

The Watchmen

Spider-man into the Spider-verse is the second-best movie of the decade. It’s the best Animation and what sets it apart from the rest of Marvels catalog or is the way it tells the story of Miles Morales. I’ve ever seen a movie about a superhero who is a person of color.

Khalid’s American Teen is the second-best album of the 2010s. Dropping in the spring of 2017, Khalid’s debut album perfectly captures what it’s like to live, love, and lose growing up. This album is an ode to the teenage love story and the essence of what it means to be gen Z.

Uncharted 4: A Thief ’s End is easily the best in the franchise the fourth installment in Naughty Dog’s action series. The environments are gorgeous, immersive, and colossal. In a decade of gaming there’s not a better title in the Sony or Microsoft’s back catalog.

The Watchmen is the second-best TV show of the decade. It’s the show that has been a fantastic bookend to the one we leave behind. Racially charged and unashamed to go for the throat, Watchmen is a love letter to the controversial source material from which it gets its name.

InDepth

The Eagle's Eye Page 12 | December 16, 2019

THE

Anneliese Olivo

2010s

ver the decade the United States and the world, in general, have faced some big changes. Whether that be with the climate, people’s rights, or tragic events that have unfolded. No decade is perfect and this decade certainly wasn’t close to that concept. But although this decade had its terrible downs, it also had its amazing up’s. Here are some of the biggest news events of the decade for you to remember and potentially look back on the memories you have that involve the things listed.

2010

Staff Writer

O

February of 2014 is known as the time of the Ebola outbreak. Ebola is very infectious, this is because even a small

President Obama signs into law the

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on March 23, 2010. The goal of

amount of it can cause someone to be ill. The outbreak started in West Africa. It is known to be the worst outbreak of this virus in history. The most affected countries were Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. In the United States, there were a total of 11 cases of Ebola. Nine of these cases were people who had gotten the virus outside of the U.S. Two of the nine had died. The other cases were ones that had caught the virus in the United States. They were nurses who had treated a patient who had Ebola.

this law was to make health care insurance accessible to more people by making it more affordable.

The BP oil spill started on April 20, 2010, after an explosion occurred at an oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The spill caused more than 4 million barrels of oil to be released into the gulf.

The explosion killed 11 workers, and it took about three months to cap the leak. The BP oil spill is considered to be the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.

2011

Carolyn Cole / the Los Angeles Times / latimes.com

New York was one of the first states in the country to legalize same-sex marriage. On

July 24, 2011, Lawmakers of New York voted to make same-sex marriage legal in the state.

Although there have been other states before New York to legalize this. This bill made New York known to be the largest state in the United States at this time to legalize same-sex marriage. Gover-

On May 1, 2011, special United States forces raided Abbottabad, Pakistan in an effort to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda.

American military personnel and intelligence agents had been hunting Bin Laden for almost 10 years because he took responsibility for the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Bin Laden was killed in the raid and he was buried at sea the next day.

2012

Nathaniel Brooks / the New York Times / nytimes.com

On December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza killed his own mother at their home and then went to nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School, where he shot 20 children and six adults. The 20-year-old man then took his own life after the mass shooting, resulting in 28 deaths.

On February 26, 2012, George Zimmerman sho and killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Africa American teenager, Zimmerman claimed to have sho him because of self-defense because he thought Marti looked suspicious while wearing a hoodie pulled up ove his head while walking through his neighborhood. Th following year, a jury found him not guilty of second-de gree murder or manslaughter for the killing. Martin death sparked a new era of protest for black life i America. Shortly after Martin’s death, activists use the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter as a rallying cry in new era of activism against discrimination

On July 20, 2012, during a showing the fil The Dark Knight Rises at a theater in Auror Colorado, James Holmes threw tear gas co tainers inside the theater and opened fire. Holm used an AR-15 rifle, handguns, and a shotgu He killed 12 people and left 70 people wounde He was later sentenced to life in prison witho paro

President Barack Obama was reelected in November 2012, extending his presidency for another four years. Obama ran a successful campaign in which he pointed to successes like passing healthcare reform and steering the country out of an economic recession and housing crisis. Obama won 332 electoral votes, which was more than he needed to defeat his Republican challenger Mitt Romney, which received 206 electoral votes.

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Indepth

The Eagle's Eye Page 13 | December 16, 2019

2015 On May 13, 2015, an Amtrak train ran off the tracks and crashed. This tragic incident happened in

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. The train had left from Washington D.C. and was traveling to New York City. After an investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board determined that the train had accelerated before the crash, hitting 100 miles per hour, which was twice the speed limit for that track. The crash led to 200 people injured and 8 On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled

that state bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional under the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In the case called Obergefell v. Hodges Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, asserted that the right to marry is a fundamental right “inherent in the liberty of the person” and is therefore protected by the due process clause, which prohibits the states from depriving any person of “life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”

On November 8, 2016, Donald J. Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States of America in a surprise victory in a contentious campaign against Hillary Clinton. Trump won304 electoral votes while Clinton only earned 227. However, Clinton won the popular vote, outpacing Trump by almost 2.9 million votes, with 65,844,954 (48.2%) to his 62,979,879 (46.1%). More Americans voted for Hillary Clinton than any other losing presidential candidate in US history. Analysis of the election credited his win to his exploiting fear through rhetoric over immigration in which he pledged to build a wall along the entirety of the southern border and described immigrants as drug smugglers and criminals.

2016

2018

2019

On September 24, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives launched a formal impeachment inquiry into the actions of President Trump.

The investigation is related to his ordering the withholding of military funding to Ukraine in an effort to extract political favors. Since then, there have been many hearings to establish whether there is enough evidence to impeach and remove Trump from office. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that House committees will begin drafting articles of impeachment that will be voted on by the full House of Representatives. If the House approves the impeachment, Trump will face a trial in the U.S. Senate, which determine whether his actions should cause him to be removed from office.

On February 14, 2018, Nikolas Cruz opened fire on former classmates after he entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. He used a legally purchased an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and a backpack full of magazines loaded with bullets. Around 2:19 p.m. the former student arrived at the school and by the time a staff member saw him and warned the school for a lockdown he had already started shooting. He had killed a total of 17 people and injured another 17 people. On March 7, 2018, a jury ruled Cruz guilty of 34 charges, including 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder. After the shooting, students who attended Stoneman Douglas led a movement to reform laws to reduce gun violence in America. Their efforts On April 15, 2013, two eventually became the March for Our Lives, which has led to bombs ignited near the finish the hosting of rallies and the creation of campaigns to change line of the Boston Marathon, gun-related laws across the country. killing three people and wounding anEver since 2017, there have other 170. Police and other law enforcebeen women’s march to protest ment agencies initiated a massive manhunt to find the 19-year old bomber named women’s rights. This was to The Trump administration announced it would end the Deferred Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. He was found hiding send a message to the new adminin a boat behind the home in a residential Action for Childhood Arrivals program — also called DACA — putistration on their first day in office. area outside of Boston.

This was pointed towards Presiting an expiration date on the legal protections granted to roughly 800,000 dent Trump to show that women people known as “DREAMers,” who entered the country illegally as children. have rights too. And on January The Department of Homeland Security said it would stop processing any new 19, 2019, there was the women’s applications for the program and rescinded the Obama administration policy. march. According to womensSeveral lawsuits have been filed against the administration for terminating march.com, the march from this DACA unlawfully. As a result, three nationwide injunctions issued by U.S. year marks two years of resistance district courts — in California, New York, and the District of Columbia — to the Trump presidency. This also have allowed people who have previously had DACA to renew their deferred marked two years of bringing new action. On June 28, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review these legal activists to the movement and two challenges. The Supreme Court heard oral argument on the cases on Novemyears of building power for womber 12, 2019. A decision is expected no later than June 2020. The Supreme en. This movement is also circling Court did not “stay” any of the lower court orders, which means that DACA social media with the hashtag recipients who currently have or previously had DACA can continue to submit applications to renew their DACA. #WomensWave.

2013

Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert

2014 2017

Reviews

The Eagle's Eye Page 14 | December 16, 2019

Death Stranding is unlike any other video game out Josh Guerrero Staff Writer

eath Stranding, one of the newest exclusives for PS4 that just released November 8 is unlike any other game that I’ve played before.

This game isn’t for everyone. There are going to be people that absolutely hate it and think it’s boring and that’s perfectly OK. There are also going to be people like me that absolutely adore this game. Hideo Kojima, who created the concept for the game, is known to make games that are mysterious and confusing and this game takes that to the next level. After playing this game for 30 hours I was still confused and had no idea about what was happening, but that’s what was amazing about it. However, that mystery kept me going because I wanted to understand more and figure out what’s going on.

Death Stranding is a game set in the near future in which a catastrophic explosion called the Death Stranding occurred resulting in the unraveling of modern civilization.

The living merges with the dead, creating these sort of alien/monster/zombie tar things.

That’s the best word I can possibly think of to describe these monsters that roam the land trying to hunt you down and turn you into one of them.

You play as a porter named Sam Bridges who is a character based on the actor Norman Reedus, who is known for playing Daryl Dixon on The Walking Dead. Porters carry cargo and equipment across the country to those in need of it and that is the main objective of the game. You carry cargo across areas from muddy valleys to snowy mountains, using dozens of tools like ladders, climbing anchors, zip lines, and motorcycles to get to your next destination in literally any possible way you can think of. Players must consider the logistics of whether they should go around a mountain, taking it slow and safe or should they save time by going over the mountain through a swarm of alien things and terrorists who want to steal your cargo. Any route is possible in this game.

Along with amazing graphics, an insane cast of famous celebrities, around 50 hours of game play, dozens of hours of high-quality cut scenes, and overall different experience as

3 out of 5 feathers

Rating:

D

Kojima Productions there really isn’t another game like this.

Death Stranding is a great game that I love playing but it’s not for everyone. If the walking as a virtual character over mountains, hiding and fighting through other humans and monsters, and uncovering the whole mystery of the Death Stranding seems cool to you, then I recommend checking out this game. But if you are worried that you might get bored, wait until it goes on sale. Either way, it’s a game that is worth experiencing.

Disney + update and the different ages that watch it Diego Rivas Staff Writer

streaming service filled with all of your favorite childhood Disney shows. Sounds like a time full of nostalgia but that’s what many teenagers and young adults have been asking for.

With the recent launch of Disney+ many fans couldn’t wait to try this brand new streaming service and enjoy their favorite movies and TV shows they have been missing.

Such as shows that are not airing on TV anymore like That’s So Raven, Kim Possible and Lizzy McGuire.

On the other hand, the younger audience was expecting more recent things airing like Descendants 3 or Just Roll they’re not part of the current catalog of Disney+, but there is a ton of content that these younger audiences may find amusing.

I’ve been using the app for a couple of days now and it is definitely worth paying for.

Disney+ is a better platform to use because of the price, it is really affordable for people that don’t want to spend $15+ every month. It does come with a 6 day trial with the option of canceling after the trial period expires. In terms of usage, Disney+ has a very simple interface that can easily be used. There are different categories sectioned in different brand pages which include Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic.

Disney+ is full of only Disney content and Disney is going to add more content on the app, for example, they have added a series called “High School Musical, The Musical” which released early November.

Disney+ completely succeeded with making a great streaming service, with almost 3.2 million downloads on its launch day Disney+ is going to be close to surpassing Netflix which is already a really big service for people all over the world. If Disney keeps adding shows or movies it will not take long for it become the #1 streaming service.

Overall Disney+ is a really good service in the market right now for it being brand new. So if you’re trying to get out of the ordinary and try something new besides watch-

A

ing Netflix TV shows and movies. Disney+ is definitely a service you should check out.

Go! End the decade by going back to your childhood for a second while watching your old favorite TV shows and movies.

4 out of 5 feathers

Rating:

Diego Rivas

entertainment

The Eagle's Eye Page 15 | December 16, 2019

Evolution of Minecraft from early 2009 to present day Gregory roque Staff Writer

hen Minecraft first released in 2009, the action in the game was pretty simple explore a block-based world and gather resources.

Over the years Minecraft has been the best selling video game of all time since 2009 from being an indie game. Since its commercial release in 2011, Minecraft has recorded worldwide sales of 176 million units, making it one of the best-selling games of all time, according to a Statista article.

Minecraft developer Mojang introduced survival mode in a 2009 beta version. This gave players 10 hearts of health and required them to search for resources to build a shelter and weapons they could use to fight off attacks from skeletons, creepers, and zombies.

Minecraft “Infdev” (Infinite Development) an updated version was released on February 27, 2010. It included infinite world generation so players could travel as far as they wanted with more terrain automatically generated as the players moved around.

Since then Mojang has added a few other versions and produced other games like Minecraft Story Mode and the Minecraft Education Edition version.

When Minecraft first released on May 17, 2009, it started out only a single-player game. Multi-player wasn’t available until 2010 and now it is one of the most played cross-platform games that exists with versions available for every major console and

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mobile device.

Mojang is currently developing an RPG version called Minecraft Dungeons, which is expected to release in 2020. In October, Mojang released Minecraft Earth, which is a mobile game that has features similar to those in Pokemon Go where players search for resources by walking around in the real world. It also has an augmented reality component that lets players view their builds placed in real environments.

Minecraft has evolved over the years with a regular series of updates ranging from.1 to 1.15 in which the game now includes more than 60 biomes and 49 mobs (creatures). One of the best parts of Minecraft is how much it can be modified and customized. There is a whole industry of map-makers that allow Minecraft players to experience mini-games and adventure modes that are made by fellow players.

The graphics still retain Minecraft’s simple blocky feel, but designers have done subtle improvements that improve how it looks and feels. And if you are playing the Java version on Minecraft you can always use shaders and resource packs to improve how it looks.

Microsoft bought Mojang in 2014 for $2.5 billion and has added a marketplace where players can purchase intricate environments and mini-games within Minecraft.

Mojang This has added new ways for Minecraft to make money and ways for players to purchase custom skins and pre-built worlds and resource packs that tie into movies and TV shows like Stranger Things and Star Wars.

The Star Wars saga ending has fans expectations high Angel Hernandez Staff Writer

t’s taken almost 42 years to complete the Skywalker saga.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be the ninth and final episode of the epic series, which has played out over four decades. Young kids who were first introduced to Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader in the late 1970s are now being in their 40s and 50s. New generations, and original fans are able to catch up or re-watch the series and experience the ending of a saga.

Although many fans are excited about the movie they are also experiencing feelings of distress before the release as they worry whether or not the movie will live up to the expectations or be a total fail.

Fans, such as reactors by the name Blind Wave on YouTube, of the nine-part space odyssey have analyzed every frame of the trailers that have been released looking for clues to what may be included in the final installment.

Perhaps the biggest reveal so far is the return of Emperor Palpatine, who was the main villain in the original Star Wars trilogy and thought to be dead and gone until the release of the trailer.

The emperor himself has not been shown in the trailer, but his distinctive voice is heard saying “Long have I waited” and “Your coming together will be your undoing.”

I

There are other hints that the old imperial enemies from the original trilogy will be resurrected as the huge imperial cruisers are seen rising out of arctic sea ice, forming huge formations of spaceships.

The reappearance of the emperor is causing fans to speculate that the story of The Rise of Skywalker will revolve around a plot hatched by Palpatine way back in The Phantom Menace, which was the first prequel trilogy and the first time he encounters Anakin Skywalker.

Trailers reveal a few other ancillary plots and characters that will be in the movie, including the return of Lando Calrissian, a possible demise of C-3PO and a resolution of the conflict between Rey and Kylo Ren. Weaving together plots and characters from three trilogies is no simple task, so director JJ Abrams has his work cut out for him.

While most recent release The Last Jedi was panned by some audiences, Rise of Skywalker is bringing a new hope that the saga will be concluded in epic fashion. YouTuber, Jeremy Jahns said, “As far as trailers go, this is great.” He also added that he was very pumped.

For someone who just started watching these films, I expect the Rise of Skywalker to be an amazing movie. I’m hoping to see plot questions answered like who are Rey’s parents, why is she so strong with the force, how did Palpatine, if he actually is still alive, survive the fall and more.

So to all of those Star Wars fans don’t forget to watch it when it hits theaters December, 20 and may the force be with you, always.

Disney

Sports

The Eagle's Eye Page 16 | December 16, 2019

Baseball boosters upset about lack of access to field Brooklyn Bissell Editor in Chief

he Akins baseball teams will likely not have a functional baseball field that they can use to practice or play on until January 17, which is just a couple weeks before they play their first official games in February.

That’s what dozens of parents, players and supporters of the Akins baseball program filled the library to discuss at a specially called meeting of the baseball team booster organization. The boosters asked that officials who work for Austin ISD’s Construction Management Department and athletics department to attend so they could answer questions about problems with the current condition of the baseball field.

The field has been off-limits to the baseball team all year after construction began in the summer to install new irrigation and draining systems that were paid for as part of the bond issue projects approved in 2017. Members of the booster program also expressed frustration with Austin ISD officials and contractors who they said were responsible for damaging parts of the field that they had recently spent thousands of dollars on renovations.

In particular, booster parents were upset about the damage to the pitcher’s mound and the condition of the turf.

“All the people in this room worked really hard to get the money for that so that our kids could have a place to practice that it’s not even comparable to the fields that (opponents) have to play on,” said Elena Torres-Ponce.

Jesus Delgado, Austin ISD construction management department project manager, began the presentation with explanations of the various complications that have caused the field to be in bad shape and off-limits to players. He said one of the problems that caused the delay was that a contractor was waved off of the projects at Akins. He also said it was a challenge to get workers to return to work schedule because of a lack of staff.

T

“

Parent Rodney Wilk said he was upset because he felt the Akins baseball team was five months behind in training of other teams that they play in district play because of construction delays, mistakes and bad weather.

“Should we just host a wiffle ball tournament in the gym (when they’re supposed to play other schools)?” Wilk said.

He was sure to let Delgado know that he wasn’t at fault for this, the problem being more inherited than a direct effect of the work being done by the contractor and district workers, a sentiment that was not shared by team photographer Bob Morton.

Morton has worked as the photographer for the Akins baseball team since 2001 when the team was first established.

“My kids used to tell me about kids who would do their science fair projects on the bus because they knew they would have to turn it in that day. This feels like a bus project,” he said.

“Because it sat there for a long time until you knew you had to come and address this room.”

Morton was referring to the work that was done the day of the meeting, both the mound being rebuilt and the turf work beginning the day of the meeting.

Though he did acknowledge that the field had issues itself.

“You inherited a bad field, a field that had problems, that’s on AISD,” Morton said.

He also shared that in the original build of the field, similar issues arose where contractors were dismissed from the project much like they were this time around.

Delgado informed that work would continue this week to only need to complete hydro-mulching, an efficient way of planting grass, by the end of this week or the beginning of next to ensure the field be as usable as possible by the time the winter break ends.

Senior Noah Torres spoke on behalf of the team to convey how they felt about the problem.

“It’s really a feeling of helplessness,” Torres said. “It’s not what goes into a field it’s what comes out.”

Courtesy of Pete Barbato

asking for help

Senior Noah Torres speaks at a special meeting called by the Akins Baseball Team boosters program to discuss solutions to get players access to the field after a number of delays.

It feels like AISD totally abandoned us.”

– Elena Torres-Pena, parent

Greg Roque

baseball on the soccer field

Head Baseball Coach Eugene Salazar hits balls to players to catch while they practice on the soccer field becasuse the baseball field has been off limits to the players since the summer.

Greg Roque

Mound replaced after damage

Austin ISD construction crews rebuilt the baseball field’s mound last week after many months of delays and confusion have prevented the players from using it for practice.

Sports

The Eagle's Eye Page 17 | December 16, 2019

Fine Arts offers new yoga class to teach mindfulness Zachary Reyna Staff Writer

indfulness is often described as the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis.

It’s not an easy state to maintain. It usually takes concentration and a peaceful environment to help people feel like they have achieved it. And yoga is usually the go-to practice associated with helping people reach a state of mindfulness.

This fits well with Austin ISD’s current push to help students with social-emotional learning. Currently, the district has been introducing mindfulness to students by providing yoga lessons in elementary schools like Cunningham and Manchaca.

It helps students relax and focus

M

Strike a pose

through meditation to help them maintain positive behavior during their school day.

And now Akins dance instructor Morgan Eddy is looking to introduce yoga classes for Akins students starting in the fall of 2020.

The course could provide different credits to students depending on what grade they are in, Eddy said.

“You can receive an SEL credit for the course as a freshman and if you really like it, you can continue it all four years,” she said. “And it will become a fine arts credit and you can take yoga 1, 2, 3 or 4. So it goes all four years — SEL or Fine Arts.”

Eddy said she has been researching the benefits of yoga in schools and noticed a lot of positive results.

“Last year, I started doing yoga and mindfulness every Friday in my dance classes, and all my students ask for it now

all the time,” Eddy said. “They love it because it’s just it’s a relaxing time for them where they can just kind of think about themselves and focus on themselves and relax, which they don’t really get that.”

Sophomore Lilliana Boon said she has enjoyed doing yoga in Eddy’s aerobics dance class.

“Whe has us do downward dog and the warrior pose,” Boon said. “Yoga’s fun because it helps you balance and like just gonna get to chill.”

Researchers have found evidence of behavioral benefits from doing yoga in schools. According to a 2019 study by the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, school yoga helps with self-regulation skills. This helps maintain behavior, attention, and emotions which used on a day-to-day basis. An experiment with 37 high school students

did 40 minutes of yoga three times a week and for 16 weeks had improved their ability to regulate emotions.

Students that have chosen to participate in school yoga have found an improvement in attention, memory and relieving academic stress. Another study had found that a group taking yoga had an improvement in their grade point average (GPA) then they had previously before.

Eddy said the class will have a fair share fee in order for the school to purchase accessories needed for the class such as yoga mats so the students won’t have to buy them so it will be provided by the school.

“That way we’ll be able to use that money to get yoga mats and blocks and blankets and stuff and they don’t have to pay out of pocket to bring all that stuff. So a $20 fair share fee is probably what it’ll be.”

Elena Salinas

Junior Julia Creed assumes the warrior 1 pose along with the rest of her class. A new yoga class could be coming in the 2020 fall semester headed up by current Aerobic dance teacher Morgan Eddy.

Sports SPORTS

The Eagle's Eye Page 18 | December 16, 2019

Wrestlers show mental, physical strength in matches Alondra Rodriguez Staff Writer

restling is typically not one of those sports that gets a lot of attention.

The matches don’t attract huge audiences of cheering fans. And the sport can easily be confused with the drama and silly antics of so-called professional wrestlers of the WWF. Instead, high school wrestlers follow the traditional rules in which they score points by pinning their opponents or pushing them out of bounds.

Besides physical strength wrestlers must possess agility, flexibility and mental toughness.

It takes a lot of effort and hard work to be in wrestling, like any other sport. Having to lose weight in a specific amount of time, staying in the same weight for the whole season, being mentally prepared for the challenges are just somethings that wrestlers have to go through during the season.

All members of the Akins wrestling team have put in dozens of hours of training, but seniors Sophia Rivera and Kayla Muñoz are recognized by their coaches for going above and beyond in their pre-season preparations.

Rivera has been wrestling since her freshman year and Muñoz has been since she was a sophomore. They both wanted to join wrestling because their family encourages them and they wanted to stay in shape.

“My older brother, my dad, my uncle — they all wrestled and they encouraged me to — plus I want to stay in shape for volleyball,” Rivera said.

Wrestling is not just about you being physically prepared but also mentally. Losing weight is a big part of wrestling but wrestlers also have to watch what they eat because if they mess up their diet then exercising is useless.

“Knowing what I’m going to put in my body is going to help me in the future,” Muñoz said.

In every sport, its good to stay in shape but in wrestling its different because depending on their weight is depending on which weight class they compete against. Therefore wrestling is more strict about staying in shape than other sports. Having to stay in a

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Diego Gutierrez

Practice makes perfect

Akins wrestlers warm up before a match against New Braunfels Canyon High School. The wrestlers spent many hours a week in preparation before their season started in November.

certain weight has its benefits and detriments. Staying healthy and in shape is good for the human boy and self-esteem but not eating what your craving is difficult, they said.

Rivera stated that having to watch what you eat is the hardest thing to do when you have to stay in the same weight class.

“When I come home after practice, I can’t have a pizza, ice cream like I have to watch what I eat and that’s really hard,” Rivera said.

Sports Briefs: Top 3 events of the past decade Track and Field 1st in District

For the first time in school history, an Akins boys team claimed bragging rights when the cross country team won the district championship.

The runners were aware they had a chance to claim the championship, but were surprised when they found out they won because it was a very close finish, Cross Country Coach Juan Rodriguez said. Senior Cassius Serf-Roberts said it means a lot to him to have lead the first Akins boys team to win a district championship.

“It means (1) I did my job as a leader and we listened to our coaches, and (2) it means the team wasn’t running for themselves, they were running for and towards history with confidence,” he said.

It took the team whole to win the championship.

Football makes playoff

1st in History

History has been made at Akins High School. For the first time ever, the Varsity football team made the playoffs in 2013. In the twelve previous years of Akins existence, the football team has never made it to playoffs.

The Eagles finished the regular season 3-7, including two district wins against Del Valle and Austin High, which was enough to reach the playoffs.

“It means a lot to the whole senior class because this is something that has never been done before,” senior linebacker/cornerback Nick Vega said, who led the team with 21 solo tackles. “It feels good to make history and be the first class to make playoffs.”

The Akins Varsity Football team narrowly cleared the hurdle to make it into the play-offs, again, in 2017 with their win over the Manor Mustangs.

Baseball

Defeated Lake Travis The Akins Baseball team threw a curve ball last year when they unexpectedly beat the Lake Travis cavaliers.

Lake Travis was the number two team in the nation and was knocked down to number four because of one game. The score was 9-5.

Courtesy Bob Morton

Life K Style

The Eagle's Eye Page 19 | December 16, 2019

Student shares personal experience from a pow wow saul moreno Staff Writer

n November 2, I woke up at 8 a.m. to the sound of my alarm blaring. I made my way to the closest pair of socks I could find and proceeded to get dressed.

Soon after my sister helped braid my hair into two long braids. She pulls and tugs all I can think about are all the dancers, beadwork, and frybread that will be sold at the 28th Annual Austin Pow Wow.

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As I wait for my dad, I make sure to pack anything I might need like my camera and charger. At 1 p.m. we arrived at the Travis Expo Center. The first stop we make is to scope out the vendors to see if there is anything I would like to buy.

We walk back and forth through ¾ rows of vendors and lots of things catch my eyes like new sage bundles and offerings in prayer like sweetgrass which is like a blessing used in the Catholic Church on the forehead. Instead smoke ash is smudged on you with eagle feathers. It’s good to keep positive thoughts and prayers in mind when you get smudged.

As we keep walking, I see the vendor I always see when I come to Pow Wows in Austin. She doesn’t recognize me but I say hello and trade-in conversation about her.

Too bad that’s all we had to spend, nonetheless. We walk through the vendors and past the food trucks, which has this savory aroma of buffalo burgers, turkey legs, and fried bread tacos.

As my dad and I walk into the amphitheater we are greeted with loud drums and chants of the singers with

voices that would make a banshee twitch. We walk around ing (Thanksgiving) the headdress and eagle feathers or looking for seats and a great spot to sit and take photos. turkey feathers. here any many more different categories As usual they don’t allow for dancers just depends photography unless you on what you’d want to ask the dancers themselves. dance. Personally, I’d Lucky enough, I have my want to be a horse dancer cousins there who dance also which seems like so much so I get free card. fun. You get to create As luck would have it, your own regalia which I see my younger cousin is basically the whole suit wearing his Dallas Cowboy that the dancers wear colored regalia and tell him when doing a ceremowhere his mom is. He helps ny, where dancers start me by pointing her out for dancing when listening me. to the drummers as they Once we look at each sing around a pow wow other in the eyes we swiftly drum they also come in a run towards each other and frame drum — which is hug as if World War II just the typical shaman drum ended. We trade in conver— and a hand drum. sation with jokes and teasing At the end of the day each other, she allows me the experience of going Saul Moreno to sit with her next to some to a Pow Wow is memopeople dancing fancy dancers. rizing and beautiful with Fancy Dancer dancing to the beat of a There are two types of each dancer having there Pow Wow drum during the celebration male dancers. Fancy dancers own choreography, their and traditional dancers. Fanown dance, how they sing cy dancers have more color and share their culture and ribbons than what you would see in most competiwith those who sit beside them. I still don’t know much tion. about who I am as a Indigenous person but I learn someAs for traditional dancers, you’d see the iconic dancer thing new every time I go to a Pow Wow and every time I as you would see in newspaper comics for Day of Mournmeet someone new to guide me.

Nigo builds popular street fashion with BAPE brand Enrique Camacho Staff Writer

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he Limited releases, street apparel that appeals to hip-hop fans and a funny-sounding name has been a recipe for success for fashion designer Nigo.

Nigo, who was born in Japan in 1970, is a fashion designer and record producer, who is best known for creating the clothing line called A Bathing Ape (also known as Bape). The popularity and appeal of the Bape clothing line is a bit of an enigma because of the obscure references and cultures that it brings together. However, Bape labeled products are highly sought after and can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

The name of the clothing line originated from a Japanese saying that was meant as an insult from older generations to younger people obsessed with consumer culture.

Japanese people typically have daily baths in water at temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 °F). As such, to bathe in lukewarm water is to complacently overindulge.

This is a reference to the lazy indulgence of the younger generation of Japanese people, which happens to be Nigo’s target market. The ape graphic seen on Bape merchandise

resembles a hipster looking version of a character from the 1968 version of Planet of the Apes.

He kick-started his fashion career at the seminal Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo where he would later remark that he learned little from school besides meeting fellow designer Jun Takahashi (who would go on to found UNDERCOVER) and Hiroshi Fujiwara. With the help of Fujiwara, the duo founded “Nowhere” in 1993. The small store located in Harajuku district sold a selection of international streetwear and Bape products. A tactic of rarity propelled the brand into popularity, with production runs only ever fulfilling 10 percent of demand.

Operations were scaled back further in 1998 when the designer chose to cut back over 40 stores to just one in Tokyo. In an interview he says “We used to sell to something like 40 different stores in Japan…But around 1998, I decided to just cut back to our one store in Tokyo.

It didn’t take long until the sales from one store were as good as when we sold throughout the country. That made me realize that this was something bigger than I had imagined.” (According to a COMPLEX article). This tactic increased the demand in supply and made the brand more popular. The early 00’s saw Nigo create the Bapestas, sneakers which are near replicas of Nike’s iconic Air

trendy shoes

Courtesy of bape.com

Two pairs of the latest BAPE shoes Force 1s, which were released almost two decades earlier in 1982. The differences are subtle. The lightning star replaced the “swoosh” while the words “APE” or “BAPE” replace the” AIR” that typically appears on the Air Force 1s midsole. Most important was the fact that the Bapesta was constructed from patent leather that the Air Force didn’t have.

Life K Style

The Eagle's Eye Page 20 | December 16, 2019

The ways other cultures celebrate the winter holidays Robert Ramos

Robert Ramos

Staff Writer

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arin Polyakov recently moved to the United States from Russia. We spoke to him about the different ways Russians celebrate winter holidays, including New Year’s Eve.

Staff Writer

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herry Lin is an exchange student from Taiwan. We spoke to her about the different ways people in Taiwan celebrate winter holidays, including Chinese New Year.

Yarin Polyakov

Sherry Lin

Sophomore

Q Q Q

Sophomore

Robert Ramos

Robert Ramos

Do you eat any kind of cultural food?

A

During New Years, we usually make, its made a dish with, on the top it has mayonnaise and kind of a salad also carrots, cucumbers usually with salt and also with mayonnaise and sometimes we did make like kind of cookies. It has cheese onion and it’s baked for two hours in the oven

Does your family get together during this time of year?

A

Yeah we try to but then, when we moved from Russia, we usually talk with relatives on the phone, we don’t meet them. Because in our country, we tried to gather and even now we have a difference in time because of our country. US and Russia are in different continents. Maybe 8 hours so, usually when we first me it’s three o’clock our time and is [twelve am] in Russia.

How is winter celebrated in russia?

A

Usually they don’t have Christmas break. Christmas, it’s not a celebration in Russia, so it’s only the New Year. And there’s only one week off of school, let’s say yeah, but it’s really similar. By the time the clock hits 12 and the TV shows the President give some speech some sort of speech wishing Happy New Year. Oh, yeah. The TV shows well, kind of celebrities sing songs, making jokes.

Q

What celebrations do you celebrate?

Q

what’s the story behind Chinese new year?

Q

A A

Chinese New Year. We will, so we meet that night and then like the whole family will eat it together. And then the adults will give a red envelope, put some money in it and give it to the kids who don’t work. The parents will also give you new clothes.

I think is a story but is not true. So in the old times so there’s a dragon and then, like when the Chinese New Year comes, the dragon will show up to every house. The people will put the like you know, red paper and then we’ll put it at the door to scare the dragon and then they won’t show up like that.

are there any celebrations in the us that you like?

A

I think it’s Christmas, or I like Halloween. My house parents say they will decorate the Christmas tree. I like Halloween trick or treating, because we don’t have trick or treating.

Life K Style

The Eagle's Eye Page 21 | December 16, 2019

Eagle’s Eye identifies top fashion and social media trends Best of Fashion Best of Social Media evelyn moreno

Rito Pineda

Staff Writer

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Staff Writer

ashion trends come ago, and sometimes even coming back after 15 or so years. This decade had its fair share of fashion that defined it, we now take this chance to review the most significant fashion trends of the decade.

leggings and yoga pants

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ach decade is known and remembered for the trends that defined it. With this decade is coming to an end, we now take the opportunity to revisit this decade that most of us high schoolers grew up with.

YouTube Famous

he evolution of leggings started in the 1950’s.

Audrey Hepburn was one of the original fashion girls. It continued on to the 1970’s with Olivia Newton-John wearing her iconic final costume in the movie Grease. After the relevance of leggings lessened for a few years, leggings were back with a return this decade as the biggest. Girls started wearing different color, print, and length in leggings, with the comfort being the largest attraction.

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erhaps no other platform has a larger reach or bigger impact on video entertainment than YouTube. There are an estimated 2 billion users of the video streaming service.

It blurs the line between social media and video streaming because of its commenting features and ability to follow favorite content producers.

Many new genres of content have originated from YouTube, including unboxing videos, vlogs and gaming video.

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Courtesy of Motion Wear

Musical.ly AND Tik Tok

skinny and ripped jeans

efore it was known as Tik Tok, it was known as Musical.ly. Musical.ly was a place where you can create and share lip-sync videos. Some people who got famous on Musical were Ariel Martin, Jacob Sartorius, and Loren Gray. Musical change to Tik Tok in November of 2017. Besides the name and the logo change, there is no difference between Tik Tok and Musical.y.

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kinny jeans became fashionable around the 1915s.

In the 1970s the ripped, undone look of the jeans only grew more. In the late 1990s, high waisted and low rise jeans came into place. In the 2000s the total skinny-jean takeover is complete, with everyone from models to the cashier at your grocery store or teachers at your school wearing the same cut of pants.

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Viral Challenges

Courtesy of AliExpress

here were many challenges that went viral because of online social media. These challenges would have you do the challenge and record you doing it, then you would post it to social media. One of the most popular challenges were the cinnamon challenge in which people would take one spoonful of cinnamon and swallow all of it without spitting it out.

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camo print amo has always maintained a high level of approval on the street this decade, especially in hip-hop and streetwear culture. Everyone from Public Enemy(New York Hip-Hop group) in the late ’80s and early ’90s to current day A$AP Rocky has worn what could be the world’s most widespread pattern.

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Courtesy of Banana Republic

Cartilage Piercings hese earrings are different and unique. Unlike with other kinds of piercings, they are less noticeable. In the past decade, the stigma against alternative styles have lessened. Which have given rise to their popularity.

T Courtesy of Brian Keith Thompson

Snapchat

riginally released in September 2011, Snapchat is the most-used social media app used by teens today. It originally started as a texting app that would delete text and messages in 24 hours. These days Snapchat is popular for its photo filters, geofilters, and integration with Bitmoji.

It dominates the social media world of teenagers because it is easy to use and its a great way of maintaining relationships with close friends.

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Photo essay

The Eagle's Eye Page 22 | December 16, 2019

DOMINATING THE MAT

Akins wrestlers train their bodies, minds for battle

Amora Arriaga

Holding on

Junior Leila Gomez puts her opponent in a painful position at a December match against New Braunfels Canyon High School.

Amora arriaga Staff Writer

et’s go Eagles !!!” was all I could yell while I was experiencing such an intense match.

Never in my four years of high school did I think that being able to feel this excited could come from a sport like this one. The only time I found myself and others enjoying a sport this much is at a football, basketball or volleyball game.

Walking in, everything looked like any other time I had been in the gym.. But

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after a couple of minutes, things start to feel different. Before the matches start, the players have to get weighed in. This happens behind the scenes, but is very important because it determines which weight class they will be competing in.

As soon as they were ready, the first thing that they did was give a handshake with their opponents. Because wrestling is a tough contact sport no matter how physical they get, the players have to maintain respect for each other first. After the handshakes, the match started. While squinting their eyes, and trying to grapple each other

I’ve started to feel very anxious. Not only because things were getting physical, but because it makes you want to jump in and I had to stay on the sidelines.

I started questioning the rules and wondering how they scored points so I decided to contact my very close friend Google and asked how scoring worked in high school wrestling. The referee had a sweatband on every wrist each a different color — always standing by very closely — and officiating the match by making numbers with his fingers. Very quickly I realized what was going on. The different color sweatbands

on each arm represented each team.

And every time he called out a number with his fingers in different hands and that’s how many points each wrestler scored.

Wrestling might be a fun sport to view from the stands, but on the mat is where we see our students get rough. I learned new rules and a slightly different way of communicating and saw how hard playing this sport is. By the end of this season, our eagle players should have 29 games during a 13 week period. I found that being here was a very thrilling experience.

Photo essay

The Eagle's Eye Page 23 | December 16, 2019

Amora Arriaga

Pre-match huddle

Akins wrestlers huddle before a match against New Braunfels Canyon. The team supports each other in their matches.

Diego Gutierrez

warming up

Wrestlers Hadyn Owensby and Xandro Gonzalez warm-up and go over techniques before their matches begin.

Amora Arriaga

Fighting the pin

Ricardo Castrejon works to avoid a pin in a match against a wrestler from New Braunfels Canyon High School. To score points, wrestlers work to hold their opponents so both of their shoulders are on the mat for three seconds.

Amora Arriaga

in control

Deonne Gonzalez works to keep the opponent pinned. The referee keeps count of time and scoring.

Amora Arriaga

in the air

Junior Harlenie Arriaza pushes a New Braunfels Canyon High School wrestler through the air.

Amora Arriaga

Amora Arriaga

Getting into position

Junior Xandro Gonzalez confidently takes down his opponent. Holding a position like this requires a lot of strength.

Amora Arriaga

Body Slam

Leila Gomez uses her body weight to pin down her opponent.

Pushing through

Hadyn Owensby uses wrestling methods to gain points. This is his first year as an Akins wrestler, and his first time wrestling against the New Braunfels Canyon High School team.

Life K Style

The Eagle's Eye Page 24 | December 16, 2019

Easy and simple winter decoration Dee CARREON Staff Writer

t’s the time of year to be festive. A great way to channel this is through making some holiday crafts. These can be used as small gifts or maybe as a way to spice up your room.

This issue, we present the steps needed to make a cute paper wreath. That you can make using the newspaper.

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ake a square using a page from the newspaper. To do this, grab one corner from the paper and pull it directly across to the opposite side of the page, making a triangle. Cut off the excess rectangle.

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sing the creases of the ice cream cone, push in the sides as you pull the tip towards the top.

Final Product

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Courtesy of MartaOrigamis

This is the result of a completed origami wreath.

old the page by the middle four times, horizontally, vertically, and across twice.

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Andrew Martinez

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ake the tip of the triangle and fold it along the bottom on both sides.

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o the same thing to every corner on the fold.

Andrew Martinez

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old ice cream cone on all four corners.

Andrew Martinez

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8

Andrew Martinez

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his is the final product and what it should look like.

sing the crease that you’ve made, fold it downward into a triangle shape.

Andrew Martinez Andrew Martinez

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Andrew Martinez

ut the corner of another piece into the gap of a previously made one. Continue until you’ve made the entire wreath.

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