The Eagle's Eye; Issue 5, Vol. 12; Akins High School

Baseball pg. 11

Eagle’s Eye The

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“Everything That Concerns You”

Austin, Texas

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“Big Brother”

Policies

ID chip system, a controversial issue

Photo composition by Matthew Lopez

Human barcodes Juniors Sydney Loyd, Brandon Pleasant, and Mariah Saucedo pose for a symbolic photo representing the futuristic idea of ID chipping and tracking.

Possible ID tracking becoming a hot topic on campus and high schools in Texas Cristina Gonzalez Staff Reporter Big Brother is watching, that is how some people feel about wearing their school ID badge around their necks, at least in one school district in Texas.

The Northside Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas has adopted the (RFID). RFID is a technology implanted used to track the location of students while on campus. The system was implemented in two schools; John Jay High School and Anson Jones Middle School.

The chip is designed to track the exact location of students on campus, but students fear that the device will track them home.

Since the chips are always broadcasting, anyone with a reader can track them anywhere. that the system is to help improve attendance, and also improve safety by allowing

Clubs and Organizations

them to locate students on campus. If the program is successful the RFID chips could soon come to 112 schools through out Texas and affect nearly 100,000 students, while on campus.

“I think it’s a little Big Brotherish,” Akins principal Daniel Girard said.

Many of the students at Akins fear that this system will be implemented on campus.

“I think it would be an invasion of privacy,” senior Angel Nava said. “It would be going against my rights.”

In fact a student at John Jay High School in San Antonio refused to wear the RFID chip.

According RT Publications sophomore Andrea Hernandez called it the “mark of the beast” – a reference to the Bible’s apocalyptic Book of Revelations. Hernandez was not able to participate in school activities such as voting for prom queen and king because she would not wear her student ID. Hernandez parent’s attempted to sue the school, but it was unsuccessful.

“If that system were to be established at Akins I would refuse to wear it, but I

wouldn’t move schools, I would stand my ground,” Nava said.

According to Girard he doesn’t see the RFID system as an invasion of privacy.

“I don’t think it’s an invasion because there is a level of privacy given up when you come to a school,” Girard said. “I just don’t see the purpose behind it. It’s more of an attempted level of control.”

Though some students are opposed to the system, others are not.

“I think only the trouble makers would care, but not the good students,” senior Sandra Landaverde said.

The AIMS Truancy program is similar to the RFID system in which students check in when they arrive to school and that they made it on time to class.

“I see the “Truancy” program differently because it’s voluntary,” Girard said. “If a student or parent doesn’t want to volunteer they don’t have to. There is no requirement to take part.”

According to Girard students who are in the truancy program get a text message from the company to arrive to school on time.

“I have nothing to do based on where the students are located,” Girard said about how AIMS works. “That is an independent company on their own.”

Though there are some differences with the two programs some might speculate that they’re not that different.

“To be honest I wouldn’t mind having a tracker,” Landaverde said. “Since I’m in the “Truancy” program, I’m kind of used to similar technology.”

Though Girard might agree with some students in not supporting RFID system the chances are still high that if it’s a district wide initiative, students at Akins might be wearing one.

“I can’t ever see it being adopted, especially knowing the culture of Austin,” Girard said. “But if the district decides to implement it, the school would have to establish it.”

Though Girard and the student body might debate over their opinion on the RFID system there have been no hints that AISD might try to implement the system as a means of tracking and monitoring attendance any time soon.

Robotics

Talon Racing takes third in F1 in schools contest Dez Moore Editor-in-Chief 1.4 seconds. That’s all it took sophomore Erwin Neira and his team, Talon Racing, to win third place in the F1 in Schools regional contest at Circuit of the Americas. Their race

the insight

making it the fastest race car in Texas.

“We were the only team to place out of Austin,” Neira said. “We also had the fastest time.”

The cars are made out of blocks of balsa wood and have carbon dioxide cartridges attached to the back to start them.

inside

“We made the model to resemble an F1 car,” Neira said. “The carbon dioxide explodes and gives the car its push.”

Talon Racing won third place in state, where they race the car and present the car’s pit display, and will go on to compete at the national competition May 9th.

“We will do the same thing as regionals, race against other cars and present our car,” Neira said. “We will be competing against the top three from each state.”

The team will be focusing on improving their presentation of the car, which they feel was their weakest part of the competition.

“Our car was the fastest but our presentation was what bumped us down to third,”

Neira said. “We did not practice and kind of just winged it. We focused on the car mostly, instead of the presentation.”

Talon Racing member, freshman Ethan Smith, believes that they have a chance to move past nationals and compete at internationals.

“I think we can win at nationals and go to internationals,” Smith said. “We have to improve on our presentation and tweak the car a little bit. The fastest car in the country der a second.”

Elective classes begin Competition dazzled mandatory reading by the Diamonds Akins High School has implemented a mandatory 15 minutes dedicated to reading during the beginning of all elective classes. Is it a waste of precious class time or a

our reading levels? Students weigh in on the new plan and the administration explains why the mandatory reading is in effect.

Check out the amas story on Page 4.

Luisa Veronica Tal

Our beloved Diamond Dazzlers competed in Fredericksburg and racked up over 20 awards earning them the title of Grand Champion.

Check out all the

Luisa Veronica Talamas

details on how the Diamonds spun, twirled, and dipped their way into victory on Page 8 and see for yourself the emotion that came with their victory on Page 10.

Freshman James Garcia, another member of Talon Racing, is proud of what the team has accomplished and believes they can compete at the national level. to improve on a lot,” Garcia said. “But for a

Luisa Veronica Talamas

5

things to know

ID chipping... pg. 3 CTE proposal... pg. 5 Less Than 3... pg. 7 20/20 Experience review... pg. 8 Diamonds competition... pg. 10

Vol. 12 No. 5

April 8, 2013

Opinions...pg 2, 3 News...pg 4-5 Student Life...pg 6-7 Entertainment...pg 8-9 Photo Essay...pg 10 Sports...pg 11 Community Page...pg 12

Opinions The Eagle’s Eye

Monday, 4.8.13

page 2

New beneficial graduation requirements EDITOrIAL In the past weeks, the Texas House of Representatives has passed new system of graduation requirements that are centered towards career paths and less on standardized tests.

The major changes this bill brings are; to the end of the year.

Other changes include new technical courses and multiple pathways to graduation.

As a staff we believe these proposed rebecause it could raise graduation rates and help students prepare for real world tasks better.

Currently, Texas has one of the lowest graduation rates in the country. If requirements were lowered in credits and test scores more students would be able to graduate.

Students need to have lessons focused on their educational needs instead of meeting test requirements.

A large part of the bill is bringing career and technical courses into high schools. This would focus more classes on preparing for everyday jobs like carpentry or plumbers. ity of students by preparing them for jobs in the real world, pushing more students to graduate.

Many proponents of this new bill believe that it brings down the level of education in Texas. Although graduation requirement have changed, courses and teaching have not.

Students will still be able to receive the same education as before, but just wont be required to take classes paved for college or be bombarded with 15 various tests to graduate.

John Hauser

Others against the new requirements say that students need to go to college, and not straight into the workforce.

Although college is a good option, it is not for everyone. Not all students are meant to go to college and receive degrees, and some just aren’t simply capable.

STAAR results modification the Eagle’s Eye newspaper, there was an error in the infographic depicting the 9th grade STAAR results from last spring.

The infographic originally stated that the Biology STAAR results from last year resulted in a 44% passing rate when the actual

percentage of students who passed the Biology STAAR was 85%, making it the subject that students succeeded the most in, followed by an 81% passing rate in Algebra I. The Eagle’s Eye apologizes for the incorrect data presented to the community on the date of Feb. 11, 2013.

The Eagle’s Eye Managing & In-Depth Editor Haleigh Wagner

is published six times a year, generally once per six weeks for the school’s students, staff and community.

Opinions Editor Marissa Sosa

The Eagle’s Eye is an open forum for student expression. The Eagle’s Eye is not reviewed by school administration prior to distribution, and the advisor will not act as a censor. Content represents the views of the

Assistant Opinions Editor Caitlin Starks

The Eagle’s Eye will work to avoid bias and/or favoritism. We will strive to make our coverage and content meaningful, timely and interesting to

Student Life Editor Jacqueline Rodriguez Entertainment Editor Savannah Garza Sports Editor Ben Livingston Photo Editor Alex Herrera On-line Editor Matthew Lopez Advisor Michael Reeves Eagle’s Eye Staff Andrea Barrera-Rodriguez Elianne Candelario Harley Cruz Francisco De La Rosa Tyler Derickson Cristina Gonzalez John Hauser Hannah Kerns Max Kosusnik Sonny Molina Maria Moreno-Gonzales Luisa Veronica Talamas Mark Vallejo Christopher Yanez Stephanie Zuniga

news and will be held to a high standard of quality.

We will make every effort to avoid printing libel, obscenities, innuendo and material that threatens to disrupt the learning process or is an invasion of privacy. We will avoid electronic manipulation that alters the truth of a photograph.

Staff editorials represent the opinion of the editorial board arrived at by discussion and will not be bylined. Bylined articles are the opinion of the Eye staff or administration as a whole.

The Eagle’s Eye welcomes reader input. Please send any letters, articles, comments or corrections to akins.journalism@gmail.com or mail them to 10701 South First Street Austin, Texas 78748 or drop them off in room 223 with advisor Michael Reeves or an editor. Letters must be signed, not necessarily publish all letters received and reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.

The Eagle’s Eye does not necessarily endorse the products or services found in advertisements from local businesses.

Organizations CSPA

2011 - Silver Medal 2012 - Gold Medal

ILPC/UIL

Bronze Star Award 2006 2007 2011 2012

TAJE

does not require a degree like a cosmetology license or being a mechanic. Those who are not destined or interested in college, or not progressing at a college level should not be forced to take a college pathway.

NSPA

All-American Superior 2012 Coverage Best in Show 2005 7th place - 2012 2008 2007 - H.M. Sweepstakes 2010 - 2nd Sweepstakes 2011 - H.M. Sweepstakes

As a staff we believe that the Texas House of Representatives state legislature bill in favor of new graduation requirements is positive outcomes dealing with graduation rate and helping students prepare for real world experiences.

Other corrections for the fourth issue In the fourth issue of the Eagle’s Eye Newspaper, the caption for the lead photobeled.

It read “Multiple students sit in their adadvisory intervention schedule change will go into effect on Tuesday, February 12th,” this caption incorrectly stated that the photograph was taken in an advisory class. It was actually taken in an eighth period athletics period. Students that afternoon were supposed to have practice on the tennis courts, but that practice was cancelled due to rain.

The Eagle’s Eye apologizes for this discrepancy.

Also, in the fourth edition in a story which

Ben Livingston Sports Editor

Editorial Policy

Editor-in-Chief Dez Moore

Some students may not be able to afford it

A musician’s life must be a glamorous lifestyle. Touring the country, playing music, and partying your heart out must be all that they do. How hard could it be to just stand on stage and sing and dance and play an instrument?

Its nothing like breaking your back in where near as exhausting working in a Musicians and performers have it so easy, especially since there are so many of them. What do they do, sit around and wait until they get a wonderful idea?

Usually when I talk to a person who isn’t a musician, doesn’t perform, or doesn’t create their own art form, these are some of the things that seem to be their understanding of what a performer does.

There is this idea that artists have it easy, that their cult or demanding. However, the reality is that it is just as demanding, if not more so

appeared on page six, titled Texas County Youth Show brings in awards for FFA there were multiple mistakes. Sophomore Sean Watt was credited for winning Grand Champion lamb, Reserve Champion goat and was also recognized for a quilt he made which was also a champion. Watt did not win Grand Champion lamb, that award was actually earned by junior Samantha Olivas.

Watt also did not win Reserve Champion for his goat, that honor went to a Bowie High School student named Kimberly Ussery.

Olivas won a number of awards including Reserve Champion Southdown (sheep), in her class for a goat and she placed 11th in chickens. The Eagle’s Eye apologizes for these errors.

than most occupations and careers. It may not be as physically demanding for some as workers on an oil rig, or as mentally demanding as tax brokers and researchers, but it is still challenging and complex.

Composing a song, arranging parts to play, and making it interesting in a live performance is a quite a daunting task.

Writing songs and writing them well is a mission with in it, and then learning to play it and engaging with the song on stage can be a different thing, especially with bands and many musicians.

Keeping the energy up, calming the audience down again, and keeping them entertained is a musician’s mission, and it’s not always easy, especially with how many of us there are out there.

However, even with all the complexities of live performance, and all the issues surrounding live set ups and arrangements, recording songs is a totally different science. It takes a lot of patience, time, and effort in order to do it with quality and performance. With a whole band, the task is greatly complicated. Even with engineers and top of the line equipment, recording is a long and careful process. And not everyone has the patience, the knowledge, or the willingness to do such a thing. They might think they could, but if they are ever themselves at a loss of what to do next.

Next time you or some one you know questions the effort put in by musicians and like performers, remember that it’s a much more complicated process than you might think, and not everyone can do it.

If you think it’s easy, how about you pick up a guitar, set up a microphone and perform for a room full of people. Or try it’s much harder than you think, and you’ll think twice before you doubt a musician or a performer.

Opinions

Monday, 4.8.13 Opinions

page 3

The Eagle’s Eye

Academics

15 minutes of reading is not necessary Savannah Garza Entertainment Editor Reading is fundamental and important to our future, but so is getting everything else in our classes done.

Reading for 15 minutes every time I go in to my elective classes puts a strain on the time I have to do my work.

Although the core classes like English, history, math, and science are important, art is also important to me, even if it’s not considered one of the core classes.

Having to cut out a portion of every class for reading not only puts a damper on student’s work, but also teacher’s lesson plans.

Teachers are not able to teach us as much because around 30 to 45 minutes are being taken out of their plans every week. There are many things in my classes to be

Opinions

done, and taking 15 minutes out cant once it all adds up at the end of the week.

Perhaps choosing one day of the week to read for 15 minutes would be better than every class period or if we were given a reading log in English classes, or even written pieces that involve the subject we’re learning about if teachers want to see reading levels improve.

Junior Sydney Loyd is not in favor of the new rule implemented in classes.

“I think it’s taking away from class time,” Loyd said. “It takes away from the curriculum we’re supposed to be learning about, people should be reading outside of school for their own sake.”

Some teachers give students a grade on whether or not they bring their own book to read.

We shouldn’t be required to have to bring a book every day, but its recommended to bring one instead.

Most teachers have their own bookshelves, there should be no harm in borrowing a book, and

at least the student is reading.

Being penalized for forgetting our independent reading book doesn’t seem very fair considering it’s not what the lesson is for the class in the Although I like to read, I don’t always carry a book with me and I don’t want to get a “bad grade” just for forgetting my book. book in our lexile and take tests on it that hurt our overall grade in English classes because we don’t remember a small detail out of the hundreds of pages we read that a test question was asking about.

Why implement more reading activities that will only interfere with our grades and classes?

Bottom line is, reading is important and vital to our academic career, but some of our elective classes are just as important to us and are classes we wish to strive in without losing time in them.

ID chipping

Opinions

John Hauser

Teen pregnancy

Student tracking not justified The flip side of being a parent Cristina Gonzalez Staff Reporter The walls are watching, as I walk down the hall. I am alone but I know in reality I’m not, because in some room I am a dot on a screen being tracked.

This is how I would feel if our student ID’s were implemented with a trackwhere each student is at all times. This is how the sophomore Andrea Hernandez at Anson Jones High School in San Antonio must have felt.

I think the RFID system that has been implemented in San Antonio school dis-

refusal to wear it. It made me angry when I read about her not being allowed to participate in school activities because she refused to wear her “proper ID” and instead she used her old one. they had originally told her that she could use her original ID for any school activities, but once the RFID chip was installed in their new ID’s those rights were taken away.

Her family attempted to sue but it did not

invasion of privacy.

I know the system was established in that district as a means of improving attendance but ultimately it was to increase funding. I think that it’s sad how far that district had to go because of no money.

I read articles about Andrea Hernandez and her

against the district.

The fact that our principal is not in favor of the RFID system reassures me somewhat, but it is not enough.

I see this system as a threat to all school districts in Texas. Though the system has not been adopted

by AISD, who is to say that we will not be the next school district.

If that system were to be implemented at our school Andrea attempted and if I were to lose, I would move schools.

It is changes like this that start changing our culture.

The more they try to push this on us the more we will be willing to give in and one day

John

comfortable. We must not let this happen because we still have a right to our own privacy.

If the time comes and I must resist, I will do anything to get Big Brother off my back.

Haus

er

And after having a child it is not just your education that will suffer.

Times are hard for a vast majority of us but adding

change anything and that’s what frightens me the most.

It scares me to think that she already tried to stand up Caitlin Starks Assistant Opinions Editor When talking about the risky subject of teen pregnancy, the opinions presented on the Eagle’s Eye editorial page have been one-sided.

Though babies are cute and fun to play with, it takes a lot of strength, courage, and willpower to give your baby its best shot at having a good life.

Something that most teenagers don’t understand is that the baby, if kept, has to become the sole responsibility of the mother and father.

When you have a baby you can’t hang on to your “YOLO” days or your nights of not coming home until 3am. You must be there for your child 24/7.

This includes (but is not limited to), giving up days and maybe even weeks of your education.

Without an education how are you to support yourself, let alone a baby?

equation will only make things worse for you and your family.

Do you have the money to pay for thousands of diapers?

It’s true that there are options for teenagers who without a doubt wish to keep their child.

You can always receive welfare payments and help from the child’s grandparent(s).

However if you cling to your parents for too long own way to support yourself and the baby, that child will grow up believing it can depend on you the same way you depended on your parents.

Obviously this does not apply to a lot of teenage parents but there are some who never learn to do the right thing and it only helps to teach the child to have bad lifestyle choices.

Choosing to have the baby means that you choose to be a parent and to be a parent you have a lot of

growing up to do before you can really give the child a good life.

In any case if you are not up to the challenge, there is always adoption.

Though I will not condone abortion, adoption is a safe, foolproof way of giving your child its best shot at life.

More often than not, teenage mothers or fathers will say, “Let’s keep the baby, we are going to love it and it will love us and everything will be perfect.”

But realistically, keeping a baby and taking on the role of a teenage parent is not the best option for your future or the child’s future.

A baby needs comfort, are, attention, gentleness, and structure at all times.

Can you honestly say that you are ready to give up your social life and take care of a being that depends completely on you?

It goes without saying that giving up your child would take a lot of courage.

But if you really loved that child it would be something to consider.

The child could grow up in a safe, stable home with people who will care for it dearly.

MAn On ThE STrEET Kourtney Boyd 12th

Johnraymond Yanez 11th

Hannah Spitzfaden Teacher

Ryan Nelson 9th

Marley Santizo 10th

TOPIC 1: DID yOu gO TO SOuTh by SOuThWEST? No, I had better things to do.

Yeah, I went and saw the James Webb Telescope on Sunday and the Flaming Lips on Friday.

Yes, I went on that Wednesday for about three hours.

No, I mostly stayed at home.

No, I had other things to do.

TOPIC 2: WhAT IS yOur fAvOrITE ThIng TO DO OuTSIDE Of SChOOL? I like to go rollerskating.

I like to get out of the house and hang out with friends.

I like to hang out with my best friend, Farran.

I like to help my parents with work

Mostly work on my house. I’m currently renovating it.

TOPIC 3: hOW DO yOu fEEL AbOuT ThE 15 MInuTES Of rEADIng? I think it’s good. It gives students a chance to take a mental break.

I’m neutral. I read but it doesn’t mean I want it to be forced.

I honestly don’t mind it but I feel like we are losing class time.

I actually like it because it helps with my book for English.

I think we should have students read for more than 15 minutes.

TOPIC 4: WhAT WAS ThE hIghLIghT Of yOur SPrIng brEAk? I went to the fair at the rodeo with my family.

I had a lot of pie on pi day.

I went to the rodeo for the

I went on my band trip to New Orleans

I got a pedicure.

No.

No, I’m not that creative.

TOPIC 5: DID yOu fOOL AnyOnE On APrIL fOOLS DAy? No, I’m not into that kind of thing

Yeah and he hated it

I played a joke on my friend Renee.

News The Eagle’s Eye

Monday, 4.8.13

page 4

Mandatory reading

Academics

Elective classes used to raise lexile scores Stephanie Zuniga Staff Reporter Recently 15 minutes of reading in elective classes were added to student’s daily routine as a way to increase the lexile levels and to improve scores.

Sophomore Jennifer Torres had mixed

feelings on the 15 minutes of reading with whether or not it could really help her.

“I saw no point in reading more, to read in a class that’s not English you know,” Torres said. “I don’t think the 15 extra minutes takes away from class, we still have time to go over the subject in class. This reading is good for us, in a positive light, I’m not bugged by it,”

Matthew Lopez

Exercising the mind Students in Coach Jane Martin’s 8th period gym class read for 15 minutes at the start of class. The students have to read for at least 15 minutes before they dress out and participate in physical activities.

Student Life

Principal Daniel Girard’s plan with the 15 minutes of reading is to have kids get more practice reading, many students are above level for reading but also below level.

“The more you read, the better you get, there’s still an opportunity to increase their lexile level,” Girard said.

Students have a positive mindset that they will achieve the lexile scores they need so the required reading time will stop.

“Eventually, I think they will take the reading away in electives because STAAR will be over and they will hopefully see an improvement on our scores and lexile scores by then,” Esli Arrieta said.

“I honestly think the extra reading helps us more, it helps the students improve our lexile scores which are really low this year for many students,” Arrieta said. “I think some students could care less, unless it really does affect them or sometimes it depends what class this extra reading is being done ly gets time taken away.”

Arrieta does see the positives that come from the mandatory reading time.

“In a positive aspect, I get to read more from my book for Reading Counts and it rieta said. “We got the 15 minutes of reading because our scores are terrible, our lexile scores are so low, hopefully this helps others with their reading counts quizzes.”

“I personally don’t want it to go away because it has helped me catch up on my reading,” Arrieta said.

Sophomore Jonathon Hardy thought these extra minutes of reading were useless for the students seeing as how students are already doing daily reading in English classes.

“It’s unnecessary, we have enough reading in classes, we should be doing the reading in the majority of our English classes,” Hardy said.

Electives are chosen by the student unlike core classes that the students are required to take throughout high school.

“Generally, electives aren’t getting much taken away from them because it is an elective,” Hardy said.

Students agreed that the 15 minutes of reading weren’t awful but they shouldn’t be done in electives.

“The 15 minutes of reading is a negative aspect to us because it takes time away from 15 minutes of reading was involved,” Hardy said.

Electives like art, PE, and dance have all every class period to take time and read.

“Because a majority of reading is done on a daily basis in English class to get their reading done,” Hardy said.

Students read their Reading Counts book at the beginning of English class for 15 minit down on their reading log.

“I believe, it might help prepare us accomplish and do better on STAAR but we already have it for English, so it is unnecessary extra reading,” Hardy said.

Many students believe that the extra reading time was put on them to increase their reading level to make better scores on the STAAR. “I think the whole concept of the extra reading between students is biased, and I think it is an insult to my intelligence,” Hardy said.

Accomplishments

Students gain certifications in their fields of practice Escalante and Molina to become vet techs Mai begins career with CNA program Elianne Candelario Staff Reporter Cute puppies, adorable cats and heartwarming bunnies are only some of the types of animals students in the Agriculture, Computer and Environmental Sciences academy get to work with.

Among many other things, ACES is famous for training and preparing students for a veterinarian life outside of high school.

Students who complete the veterinarian major can be-

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to actually have a job doing what I love right after or even during high school,” Molina said. veterinarian a student must take Animal science or agricultural principles freshman year, Small animal management sophomore year, a veterinarian class junior practicum senior year.

‘‘

not only means having passed a course in high school, this means students can now get a job in the real world that has to deal with what they’ve been studying for the past four years.

Senior Danielle Molina and senior Lindsay Escalanof this semester and be able to apply for a job at a vet clinic.

ing them all.

“Students just have to stick with it, it takes a strong stomach and a lot of passion,” Molina said “If you love animals as much as I do, the steps towards being cake.”

The problem is many students think that in order to to be in FFA but that is completely false.

“There’s a lot of kids in the class who are getin FFA and that’s ok,” Escalante said. “A lot of people just love being around animals.”

Both Escalante and Molina plan on attending Texas A&M to further their knowledge in animal science.

”

me in high school “The courses were dif-

so much I was able to enjoy the journey every step of the way,” Molina said.

Any incoming freshman or a former freshman could eventually be where Molina is today by simply taking those four courses and pass-

high school,” Escalante said.

“I’m so glad I took this opportunity while I had the chance.”

“It takes time but the result is totally worth it,” Molina said.

Elianne Candelario Staff Reporter The same way students who want a future working the ones who’d like to work with people in hospitals, nursing homes, or clinics The CNA program: Cerprovided by the Social Services academy, guides students in the right direction to helping people on a daily basis.

The steps to becoming dent to take Intro to Science freshman year, Health Science 1 sophomore year, CNA junior year, and the choice of Pharmacy Tech, Phlebotomy, or EMT your senior year.

Although students get must continue on with the planned courses. and I’m currently working at Southwood Care Center,” senior Linda Mai said.

Like many others in the program, Mai’s goal is to someday become a doctor.

“My dream has always been to become a doctor,” Mai said. “I love helping people and seeing how grateful they are in the end.”

Students who are inshould look into the CNA program.

“The training is not hard it’s mostly just common sense,” senior Julio Cesar Hernandez said. “All students have to do is pay for the scrubs, which isn’t bad at all.”

For students who enjoy working with other people different ways to help them, the CNA program should be a consideration according to current students.

“I’m really interested in nursing because it is a very Hernandez said. “There will always be a need for nurses and doctors so you can’t go wrong with this

Certification steps: 9th Grade: Intro to Science 10th Grade: Health Science 1 11th Grade: CNA 12th Grade: EMT, Phlebotomy, or Pharmacy Tech

career.”

Hernandez did not continue with the CNA this year, nevertheless; he will go on to college and continue to study medicine.

“I will be attending Texas State University this fall and hope to learn more Hernandez said.

Mai plans on enrolling at University of Texas and studying Kinesiology, the movement.

“Both my sisters are at UT,” Mai said. “I plan on keeping the tradition alive and graduating with a masters degree in Kinesiology.”

Two students earn the opportunity to direct films Dez Moore Editor-in-Chief

from the beginning,” Pryor said. “It is exciting to see the changes develop after revisions. I am very curious to see the initial idea and how it changes by the time it

Gonzalez and Jessica Oswald begin their written scripts.

Gonzalez, Oswald, and the rest of the Storytelling Through Film class wrote their own scripts and submitted them to two Hollywood directors, Cindy McCreery and Herschel Weingrod to be judged, critiqued, and scored. Gonzalez and Oswald’s scripts received the highest scores.

“They decided the two best scripts were Paper Bag Boy by Cristina and Black Scarf Murders by Jessica,” Digital Story Telling advisor from Austin Film Festival Patrick Pryor said.

Dialogue, characters, structure, and the plot are critiqued when choosing scripts.

“Both writers have really improved

rected. She is working on developing her directing skills with the cast for a second time around.

“I know now that we need to do a lot of preplanning and communicating,” Gonzalez said. “I also want people to have fun and be comfortable. If those two things are not happening then I am probably not doing my job well.”

One of Gonzalez’s crew members from

for Gonzalez.

“Working with Cristina is wonderful,” senior Cynthia Arteaga said. “I worked with her during Awkward Universe so I already have an idea of her. She is really easy to work with. It has been fun and a great learning experience.”

Paper Bag Boy tells the story of a boy dence going through high school. dence so he wears a bag to prevent students from bullying him,” Gonzalez said. mystery featuring a boy named S a m who encounters a series of murders of only blond girls.

ders,” Oswald said. “Sam walks into his blond girls are strangled and the school tries to solve the murders.”

“I’m kind of scared,” Oswald said. “I just want to have a lot of fun with my cast and crew.”

Both Gonzalez and Oswald want to “We encourage them to submit their os,” Pryor said. “If they feel their product is good enough they can submit them to Austin Film Festival.”

Film Festival,” Gonzalez said. “Hopefully it will be as successful as last year.”

Monday, 4.8.13 Academics

News

page 5

The Eagle’s Eye

CTE program

AISD promoting career-based learning Ben Livingston Sports Editor A new age of learning and curriculum is coming to Austin schools. Austin Independent School District may be enacting certain programs that promote more career-oriented learning and reinforce the number of programs aimed at teaching directly towards careers.

These programs are centered on Career and Technical Education, or CTE. The idea behind CTE is that students will learn their entire core curriculum in addition to choosing a career path to pursue. This includes career paths such as Information Technology, Automotive Technology, or Business Administration. Akins is already a very CTEoriented school because of the academybased setting in place. Social Services offer many health service and teaching programs, while agriculture is covered in the ACES academy and STEM highlights sciences and technology. The Arts and Humanities academy has animation and graphic design.

Through a variety of choices and scenari-

Career and Technical Education Mission Statement To provide opportunities for students to acquire 21st century academic and technical skills needed for entry into the global workforce and/ or postsecondary education in order to become contributing members of their community.

All students will demonstrate and understand the skills, knowledge, work habits, attitude, leadership, and teamwork required by employers for success in the global 21st century workplace.

os, AISD has proposed a number of different plans regarding new CTE hubs, magnet programs, or a primarily CTE-centered facility.

“One proposal, known as House Bill 5, would dramatically decrease the number of exit level tests required of students to graduate, from 15 EOC tests to 5,” CTE department chair Lisa Shaw said. “This plan would also reduce the general required amount of science and math classes to be taken.”

With a reduced core workload, students will have more of an opportunity to pursue more career-oriented courses.

“I think it could be a good thing because you’re learning more about your pathway or major,” freshman Joshua Solis said.

Taking alternative CTE classes would still be equivalent to a normal course load, because they are still as challenging as higher-level math or science classes.

“With less mandatory core classes to worry about, students have opportunity to complete more foundational diplomas for for certain occupations,” Shaw said. “CTE learning is still as rigorous than any other curriculum as well, so it matches up with the curriculum of students going on a four-year college path.”

The whole goal to Career and Technical Education is to create a greater set of hard skills, the ability to complete a certain task, and bolster soft skills, the ability to interact with people in a work place. Although focused in a certain amount of skill sets, the aim for CTE is to create greater viability for students in a work place.

“Soft skills are in high demand for jobs, and more CTE type learning would create more hands on opportunities for career oriented or vocational education,” Shaw said.

“Of course, students who still want to go on to a four-year college path can take career Depending on their occupation, some students may pursue a higher set of classes simply prepare for college. The CTE proposal could add classes that would incorporate hands on learning for certain career choices and the higher level of math and sciences needed for a particular occupation.

“Because I want to be a pediatrician or nurse, I would still have to take a higher level science or math class,” Solis said. “I also like to work hands-on, and learn about the human body.”

If the bill is passed, changes to student’s education would happen as soon as within the next year, but would only really affect

John Hauser John Hauser

current freshmen and sophomores.

“The bill has passed the House of Representatives, but now we’re waiting on the Senate to pass it,” Shaw said. “The Texas Legislature deciding on the bill ends May 5th, so once the decision goes through, there will be fairly immediate change.”

However, there is a similar bill being processed through the Senate that would conresentative’s bill.

“If both bills happen to pass, than the governor would have to approve one or veto both, depending on which one he decides,” Shaw said.

Which ever is decided, it is likely that they will provide more options and generally more help for students, who may be looking for something less of a conventional path.

“We don’t give enough credit to students on their personal choices. This will help them make choices on their own.” Shaw said.

Social Media expanding Haleigh Wagner Managing Editor

Repost, edit, retweet and snap: the social media capabilities and options are endless. Almost every day, a new application or “app” pushing the number to nearly a million, bringing the possibilities for communication to be endless.

Currently GIF or moving image apps are gaining popularity.

“I’ve been using a GIF app for about dez said. “I like to use Cinemagram.”

Cinemagram is composed of different types of GIFs from music to comedy.

“I tend to post really funny things or just interesting stuff,” Mendez said.

“I only follow people who post funny things since I like to repost them.”

Mendez also enjoys the girly part of Cinemagram.

“I like to follow people who post really cute and adorable things,” Mendez said.

There is one big downfall to Cinemagram according to Mendez.

“Some people don’t really post funny or cute things at all,” Mendez said.

“There are some people who post really inappropriate things. They also add some things that are just disgusting.”

Another social media outlet and app that is currently extremely popular with students is Twitter.

“I like Twitter because it is a simple way to express yourself,” senior Clarissa Pedraza said. “I have been using it since my sophomore year.”

Twitter consists of posts of no more than 140 characters along with the occasional photo posts.

“My favorite part of twitter is being able to retweet (repost) other peoples tweets,” Pedraza said. “I like that you can follow and communicate with your friends along with having the capability to see what celebrities that you are in love with are up to.”

Another new app on the market is SnapChat. SnapChat is an app where you can send photos with a drawing or text on top of the image.

“I have had SnapChat for about two months now,” senior Bailey Davis said.

Davis’ favorite part is the art capa-

bilities.

“I love that you can draw and color on the pictures,” Davis said. “I also really like the fact that you can add text to the photos before you send them to your friends.”

According to Davis there is only one downfall.

“I hate how sometimes your friends will send them for only three seconds,” Davis said. “If you send a picture with too short of time you can’t really see it.”

One big hit among students is Instagram. Instagram is similar to a photo album and similar to what can be found “Instagram is a great place to post all of your photos,” senior Melissa Maya said.

“My favorite part of Instagram would have to be the layout,” Maya said. “I like how it cites (geotags) where you took all of the photos you upload. I have had it for about a year now.”

The app is a large social network for students.

“I like to follow my friends and some other people,” Maya said. “I follow people who put up nice pictures

and also people who won’t annoy me when I see their pictures.”

Maya also enjoys Instagram because of the things you can see from around the world.

“I really like when people take pictures of different events,” Maya said.

“It’s cool that you can see different people’s photos from all over the world.”

With so many different apps, the world of communication has practically become endless. students,” senior Jose Sanchez said. “A lot of the time I will use apps like Twitter to talk to other people from school to get information about homework or other assignments that I may have missed in class.”

According to Sanchez, the world would be gravely different without apps like Twitter.

“If we didn’t have apps, communication would be totally different,” Sanchez said. “The world of sharing your thoughts and ideas along with other objects would be lost. The way that we are connected to each other wouldn’t exist without those apps.”

Prom Dress Giveaway

Sophomore loses life

Student Support Services is holding their annual Prom Dress Give-A-Way for students who

Sophomore Taylor Gray passed away on Monday, March 25 at her home. Details of her death were not available at press time.

Gray was a member of the Akins track team and re-

or simply just can’t afford a dress.

For those who don’t have the time or money, dresses will be given away during both A and B lunch April 1st through April 12th. All a student has to do is

“Students can come by and

worker Colleen Arnold said. “It is as simple as that.”“I have only thought about a prom dress for the past few weeks,” senior Jasmine De Leon said.

“I would rather much just go with the a last minute decision, but for others it is extremely important. Some students spend months planning and saving up for the dress that seems to be worth the time spent preparing for it.

“I have been planning my prom dress for about a month,” senior Venessa Buol said. “I spent $300 on my dress.”

Luisa Veronica Talamas

Relays.

A celebration of her life was held on Friday, March 29 at the Colonial Chapel of Cook Walden Funeral Home on Lamar Blvd.

Gray is survived by her mother and father, Christo-

pher Gray and Suzanne Stewart, her brother Kurtis, a junior at Akins, and a sister, Ashley Matthews.

Support counselors are always available for students through Student Support Services located at the front entrance of the school in the trance.

Additional school and community mental health services are also available to students.

Students are encouraged to contact any member of staff, or school counselors with Luisa Veronica Talamas any questions or concerns.

Student Life The Eagle’s Eye Spotlight

Monday, 4.8.13

page 6

Creative moves

Dancer expresses life through teaching Jacqueline Rodriguez Student Life Editor Lights dim, the beat drops, and junior Daniel Broxton gets ready to lay out his craft upon the dance Broxton who has been creating his moves since he was eight years old executes Broxton is just one of the many students here at school with talent, determination, dancing out as a hobby and “I gave up dancing when I got to the eighth grade and in the ninth grade I started dancing again and I have Along with many years of practice, Broxton has since been given multiple opportunities to show off his hip-hop style to his fellow “I teach a class at school, it’s the hip-hop class and it’s “I was given the opportunity

by Jeremy Sanchez, David I’m able to work with dance one class and go over the ba-

Prep session Making the best of moves, junior Daniel Broxton warm-ups up before starting his weekly hip-hop dance sessions. Broxton has been dancing since he was in elementary school and plans to open up dance studios in the future.

help teach the class and so far he has done a fabulous Teaching the beginnings of hip-hop, Broxton’s supporters have had a major im“I can see his compassion “I feel like dance is one of the ways he expresses himself and when he gets out on

Broxton is a hard worker according to Kallefelz and is doing his best to show the

Along with this support, Broxton has many inspirations that contribute to his

“I’ve given him a chance to help spread his wings and

“Jeremy Sanchez is the biggest inspiration,” Brox-

me create this and I dance for Sanchez was an Akins 2012 graduate who passed two were good friends and showed a passion for hiphop and the creative dance that has developed from that ing everyone the passion Sanchez had for the craft and “Unfortunately his time came too soon and passed away but I know he would still want people to know how he felt about dance,”

hard he wanted people to enjoy it and that was his story, he kept people going with has also helped Broxton in school and created a positive “After I got back into dancing I started wanting to achieve more in school,” Dancing, once a hobby to Broxton, has become a true passion and he is making his “Dancing is a big pas“I choose to leave being something that would make me rich to something that I could love doing and be happy about and create success Once Broxton graduates, he plans to start his career as soon as possible and has even bigger plans in the fu“I plan on taking professional classes and hopefully teaching classes still,” Broxvideos and put my work out there for people to see and eventually when I’m older I

Learning from the master Following his moves, junior Angelica Castelan and former graduate Claudia Gonzalez practice with junior Daniel Broxton in the gym dance room after school. Broxton began teaching hip-hop classes this year and is a dance aid for Tonya Kallefelz’s dance one class.

Broxton will also be collaborating with the Diamond Dazzlers for the annual Spring Show.

Spotlight

Though a dancer to many of his peers, Broxton feels he is an artist when it comes to “I like to call myself an artist when I dance,” Brox-

Way with the moves Stepping to the beat, junior Daniel Broxton practices his hip-hop routine to his personally made remix. Broxton and his teammates will be performing at the annual talent show.

and I paint pictures and stories, I want people to see the way I view things, to connect with the the pictures I paint ton feels that is truly his place to be and is able to be

tion, and inspiration, Broxton is headed far in the world as a dancer, and I feel like this is just the beginning for has good potential to achieve

“Dance helps me release whatever it is that is keeping me from being happy or it just shows my happiness,”

With potential and many other positive qualities Broxton is sure to be seen performing the best of moves in

of it is just having fun, especially in an environment with other dancers or people who

“Everyone inspires me, no matter who you are, the support keeps me going and allows me to express my-

With passion, determina-

Talents

Funky Decor

Student recognized for art work Francisco De La Rosa Staff Reporter The art and clothes that we see and use in our lives is all designed by a creative mind that has put the effort to design that product or art Luisa Talamas, is getting a glimpse of doing just tured at Austin Bergstrom International Airport, to most recently at the AMOA art-house gallery on 7th and congress at a show for youth called “Ahead of Their “It makes me very happy for my art to be recognized on such level,” Talamas said “I’m still in high school and already have accomplishments other artists my Talamas says that art is not stressful for her, it’s what “I usually prepare my art for deadlines ahead of time so that I can really enjoy the Talamas says that she gets

Supports

She has been accepted to the School of Art Institute of Chicago and has an internship with jeweler designer “Its great working with Lynn, I am able to come up with the designs and if she likes them, the clothing, or jewelry will begin being produced and sold with my Photo courtesy of Luisa Talamas

Quartz crystal Senior Luisa Talamas’ sculpture “Revelation 21:11” shines while on display. “Revelation 21:11” is on display at AMOA.

a lot of her inspiration in her art from verses of the bible, her most recent piece that is on display at The AMOA art house, is called Revelation 21:11 and is a 3D crystal the verse from the Revelais radiance like a most rare jewel, clear as crystal,” Tala“I wanted my art to be diverse,” Talamas said Talamas talent has

The experiences that Talamas has gone through are not what a normal high school art student would be Most young artist’s work is not noticed on a high scale as Talamas art has been rec“I’m not even out of high school and I already have stuff out there of mine on display,” Talamas said “ It just makes me so proud and hopes to continue her art and carry on her education, Talamas is an inspiration for students, resembling that if someone puts love into their art, it can open many doors and let them live their

The

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Monday, 4.8.13 Off Campus

Student Life

The Eagle’s Eye

page 7

Music for a cause

Less Than Three earns opportunity to perform Stephanie Zuniga Staff Reporter

cal notes anymore but are looking at bigger opportunities ahead down the road of

Looks like the boy bands are at it again, Akins’ sensation Less Than Three aren’t just hitting those high vo-

Battle of the Bands the boys were asked to play a gig at which will take place later in

“After the Battle of the Bands our manager said she had a gig for us which was to play at Dell’s Children,” “Since we participated in the charity for Random Acts of

Kindness we were more than

other instruments into the

A year ago band mates

Joshua Ondrusek joined the

Ortiz had an idea to start an

“I wanted to start an acoustic band and I knew Evan could sing so I asked him since I just can’t sing,”

got together and jammed out, later they brought

Later, Ortiz heard the voice of Maya at a show and asked him to come and sing with him and was added into it was just the group of the four making covers on You“Evan knew Danny could sing so we threw him in and we all just kind of mixed toThe band was nameless until one lunch over Panda Express that left them deciding their band name and decided on Less Than Three because the less than mathematical sign and three put together show the symbol of a heart which is meant to Once the name was chosen, Less Than Three was in“We just wanted our band to show how much we love music and show the effect it of the Bands, Less Than Three asked junior Christian Martinez to do a song with them during the show; he was a special guest perafter the performing, he became the newest member of “We all have someone close to us that we have

Boy band sensation

would be a good way to tell those kids to never give up Battle of the Bands gave all the proceeds to the char“We’re really excited to make sure they have some fun instead of just them focusing on what’s happening Battle of the Bands was supporting the foundation Less Than Three came in second place, after placing they were offered to play at without a doubt, the group “It’s going to be a great “We’re going to be able to give something to these kids who never get the chance to experience anything else but laying in those bed worryThe bands plans to sing original songs but also wants to transmit a positive message to the kids and are also planning on singing covers son Mraz and “Proud” by the “We’re going to do some covers of popular songs, some Bruno Mars songs, and throw in some original songs Less Than Three will be at Dell Children’s perform“We think everyone should have the privilege of experiencing music,” Maya

Christian Martinez to sing a song with them and right after, Martinez became a member of the group.

Music and Art

UIL

Musicians and artists excel at annual UIL competition Chris Yanez Staff reporter Students with artistic talState of Texas Art and Music competition to show what The State of Texas Art and Music Competition is an event that lets artists and musicians from all around the state compete for a chance to be rewarded with a medal as well as opportunities for members Chris Cepeda and Christopher Velasquez made it to state and went through solo and ensemble which perienced a long process of preparing their solos to per-

Clubs

“At the beginning of the year you get a solo and you have time to work on it and you go and perform in front of one judge and they comment and critique on it,” Being a freshman and one of only people that made it to state, Velasquez feels “It’s an overwhelming feeling knowing that I’m one of the two people to have made it, and after hours and hours of practice I feel like it has actually paid off,” For the state art competition the two students that made it to state sophomore and wait hours to be judged

Self portrait Senior Branden Harger’s self portrait shows what he loves and makes him who he is. Harger was one of two students whose art made it to state competition.

would have a chance to go

state they lay out all the art pieces on the edge of the

“Before we made it to

around to see which one

catches their eye and put a dot next to it and whoever has the most dots go on to

but I look forward to going to state,it feels good to have

prise that they made it into state due to the competitive-

Vivian Medina are very proud at what the students have accomplished and hope

“It’s pretty surreal that as a sophomore I made it to state, I didn’t think I could

“I’m ecstatically proud of both of them because we haven’t had a kid advance to state from UIL in quite some

For these students who made it to state it is an honor and privilege to be accepted into such a huge event that not many young artists and musicians have the opportu“It feels good to have made it into state because it’s really hard to make it into state and I have no idea what it is going to be like

Both the band director

“Both Branden and Quan are hard workers and well deserving and I hope that when they get to state they get another medal,” Medina The state art competition will be held on April 6, while the state music competition will start at the end

Business Professionals of America

Twins learn new skills to help them prepare for the future Francisco De La Rosa Staff reporter With the advance in technology in the past decade, technological instruments world, and almost all aspects Many children are being born into this world where at every corner a person turns Most jobs these days, require having typing and Brynn Selcer and Brianna Selcer are seniors who recently attended the Business Professionals of America State Leadership conference/competition in The conference gives students the opportunity to test their skills in an environment that prepares them for The Selcer sisters have

been in the program since their junior year and were elected president and vice “I think it is important for future students to have these skills because no one knows where there future is going to take them,” Brianna said The skills the students practice is advance wordprocuring skills; they participate in tests that check for typing accuracy and cor“It felt great to come away with more knowledge “I participated last year as well, this was the second year I had the opportunity, and I felt stronger in my skills, and walked away with The event does not just improve the skills a student has on a computer, but prepares them for future opportunities in careers and

Students also have the opportunity to compete for the chance attend the national BPA event held in Orlando Florida at Disney World, in “The conference is a great opportunity for students to make new friends and share ideas, and allows them to grow and mature, so and abilities to succeed in the business world,” Principles of Information Technology/ Business information Management instructor and BPA advisor Stuart BerkowMost students that come back from the event feel and feel that they can apply them to the environment they are in as well in their “I am glad that I have had the chance to put these skills

Photo courtesy of Brigitte Bright

Preparing for the future Seniors Brynn Selcer and Brianna Selcer pose with teachers Susie Gielow, Staurt Berkowitz, and Brigitte Bright at the Business Professionals of America State Leadership conference. Brynn and Brianna are president and vice president of the BPA program.

that I have learned at school Students who score high have a chance to participate “Sadly we did not make

the main accomplishment is we came back with more Technology is said to be the new age, and has been seen as the key to how so-

lights to sending resumes, with the help of BPA, the students of today will be ready to face it and have the skills to succeed in the future

Arts & Entertainment The Eagle’s Eye Diamonds

Monday, 4.8.13

page 8

Achievements

Nerves run high for Grand Champions Endless day of competition pays off for Diamond Dazzlers with high ranked wins Andrea Barrera Staff Reporter

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After months of repetition, dedication, and countless hours of practice, the Diamond Dazzlers got to showcase their routines at the “Danceline Competition,” in Fredericksburg earlier this month.

This is the only competition the Diamonds will be entering in for this school year, and the Grand Champions were none other than the Diamond Dazzlers themselves.

On competition day, the Diamonds had to have an early start to perform at the competition, which lasted literally all day.

The Diamonds had to arrive to school at early times on a Saturday morning.

“I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and got to Akins at 5:00 a.m.,” senior Lieutenant, Charlotte Nguyen said. “We ran through all the dances and then left for Fredericksburg at 6:00 a.m. We came back to Akins from the

competition around 11:00 p.m.”

In order to prepare for this state competition, the Diamonds had to prepare the routines weeks in advance to get them as close to perfection as possible.

“The competition in Fredericksburg was very important because it was the only one we’re doing to this year,” Nguyen said. “We wanted to show everyone at the competition how hard we worked and what Diamonds is all about.”

Day in and day out, the Diamonds have scheduled practices in order to prepare themselves for this single most important competition.

“We learned all of our dances during the summer,” senior Lieutenant Ariel Machuca said. “We practiced them until we had tryouts for the dances in January, and prepared for them until the morning of contest.”

Not only are the dance teachers in charge of preparing the routines for competition, but a few of the Diamonds had input into their routines.

“Mrs. Ball, our director, is the one who prepares all of the Diamonds for the routines,” Machuca said. “And the are the ones who can help out with preparing the routines as well.”

Not all Diamonds perform at competition, because there are certain standards and guidelines set in place to be apart of the major competition.

“Everyone gets to be apart of competition as long as you pass your classes and pay your fair share,” senior Nicole Castro said. “The process of making dance is trying out as we do for football routines.”

When performing for a set of judges, they score the performances and routines depending on the different categories entered.

“There were three judges for each dance,” First Lieutenant, senior Victoria Galicia said. “Scoring is based on technique, timing, energy, As it gets closer to the performance time, nerves are on full swing, and the emotions run high.

“It was a very nervewracking and exciting experience,” Nguyen said.

“Being able to compete is exciting, but it also puts a lot of pressure on a person.”

Some Diamonds had the chance to perform more than once in the different categories, in which Akins had entered.

“I did six dances, plus I also did a duet and a solo,” Galicia said. “Since I was competing in a lot of categories I wanted to prove that I could dance different kinds of dance genres.”

Backwards bend Flexibility takes junior Ariel Roland a long

Off-campus

Kite festival

Alex Herrera

Fancy Footwork Junior Lieutenant Haydee Rodriguez performs her solo at the Danceline Competition in March. Rodriguez also performed a duet with Senior First Lieutenant Victoria Galacia.

Overall the Diamond Dazzlers represented not only Akins, but also how much time and effort was put into each performance.

“We won overall in the category,” Machuca said.

The intensity was high as

Review

they were announced highest ranked in the overall team category.

“Our technique was great, I think our energy was what the judges liked the most,” Galicia said.

For the seniors on the Diamonds, not only have

they made many memories together but they also ended the competition season with a well deserved win.

“At competition we gave our all and we enjoyed ourselves,” Machuca said. “And we enjoy what we all love to do, and that is dancing.”

Music

Windy fest attracts thousands Pop artist makes big comeback Hannah Kerns Staff Reporter

Ben Livingston Sports Editor

rate ships and angry birds are tossed rapidly around in the wind. Zilker Park’s 85th Annual Kite Festival brings thousands of Aus-

Justin Timberlake is a man of many talents, and a man with a busy lifestyle. It has been almost seven years since Justin Timberlake last released a full album.

The 20/20 Experience is quite a lengthy one, but is only four minutes longer than his previous album, FutureSex/LoveSounds.

His new efforts still feature all the power and style of Timberlake and producer, Timbaland. Dropping in on “Pusher Love Girl” and straight to one of the album’s singles “Suit and Tie,” the album establishes a feel-good groove, complete with funky guitar and a smooth jazz band with strings.

The Exchange Club of Austin created the Kite Festival in 1929 to encourage children to be creative and active. The revenue from concessions, kite and T-shirt sales go towards the organization to try to help prevent child abuse.

“The original mission of the Kite Tournament was to encourage creativity in children and that part of the mission is the same today,” Event Coordinator Bunnie Twidwell said.

At an estimated twenty thousand people, the festival brings a bountiful amount of money towards the organization this year, sponsored by ABC Home and Commercial services.

“There were a lot of people, but I love how great the weather was; perfect for kite tearing up the horizon.

“I love attending events around Austin,” English teacher Georgiana Morell said. “I felt almost giddy while walking around the park, taking in what there was to see.”

From face painting to moonwalking the welcoming Sunday afternoons most appeal“There were so many kites,” sophomore Ana Ramirez said. “I hated how crowded it was though, you could barely walk without stepping on someone or their kite.”

The windy weather initiates the rapid movement of austinites to try to keep their kite in the air.

“Within minutes of being up in the air, my poor kite fell victim to the trees in Zilker,” Morell said.

The exchange club of Austin’s mission was a success and brought joy to many people.

“The festival was so much fun, I loved hanging out with with my friends,” Ramirez said. “I can’t wait to see what the festival will bring next year.”

a conventional pop formula with catchy hooks and beats, but thanks to their length, the songs on this album can also feature a second side to the song. ina At about halfway Sonny Mol through, “Pusher Love Girl” goes a bit more electronic R&B. In the last two minutes of “Suit and Tie,”

featuring Jay-Z, the song exchanges a jazzy groove for an R&B feel.

The songs leading up to the second single of the album, “Mirrors,” are all very solid and have a smooth transition, each of them mula for the song.

This middle of the album follows a darker feel, featuring minimal elements and subtle shifts in each of the songs.

“Mirrors” wields an inspiring build up, and drops into a classic Timberlake groove in traditional R&B style. The song’s hook is repeated with grand bravado, insuring that it will be a hit to get stuck in your head.

Floor,” is a relaxing departure from Timberlake’s style. Following the album’s formula, the song shifts creating a more ambient fade out from pop to the rest of the album.

Timberlake’s 20/20 Experience is a strong comeback, chock full of grooves, moves, tones and moods that will surely get stuck in your head for days.

John Hauser

Monday, 4.8.13 Literature

Arts & Entertainment

The Eagle’s Eye

page 9

Guest Speaker

Best-selling author visits with readers

Fans and students await guest writers meet and greet over renowned book Mark Vallejo Staff Reporter

Eager fans waited in the library for a meet and greet with author Cory Doctorow, to listen to him discuss his recently released book in February called Homeland, the sequel to Little Brother, which was released in April of 2008.

“I thought Little Brother was really interesting,” senior Michael Marcum said. “He thought of a great idea that the government was so controlling and that one teen, who I thought was really inspirational because of his leadership, could defeat the Homeland security.”

Junior Kasamira Martinez read both books.

“He was in the library talking about his inspiration for the book and all the obstacles he had to go through,” Martinez said. “It was really interesting to hear what he had to say about the books and the process of writing it.”

Homeland is about a boy named Marcus Yallow who was randomly taken and hurt by the government near an attack on San Francisco, which led to him becoming the leader of a group of teenagers who tackers.

It also made the New York Times best sellers list.

“I really liked how he got so deep in the story with the charac-

ters,” Martinez said. “The book was very adventurous and attention grabbing. It was a really good book and I recommend it to my friends who ever need help with choosing a book.”

Marcum also read Homeland and was a fan of Doctorow.

“I thought it was really cool because I never thought I would meet one of my favorite authors,” Marcum said.

Librarian Bonnie Hauser, who has been a fan of his, was grateful to have him at Akins, talking to students about the book.

“I’ve been a fan of his for a long time,” Houser said. “I was so glad he was able to come and talk about the book to the students and fans to meet him.”

Over 100 students were able to attend the meet and greet and got to hear from Doctorow.

“Many students were interested,” Houser said. “Students from all grade levels came and I was glad that a lot of them showed up were really interested in the book and to meet him.”

Sophomore Luis Ramirez read Homeland and said it was a great book.

“I thought the book was amazing. The fact that a 17 year old could beat homeland security was really cool and really futuristic,” Ramirez said. “The book reminded me of myself and I like how the author put the whole story together.

Its one of my favorite books.”

Riley Pierce

Read it and weep Author Cory Doctorow speaks to students in the library about “Homeland,” his sequel to “Little Brother.”

Off-campus

Spring Pageant Mariela Cartagena Jonadab Galindo Aunrie Davis “Less Than Three” Christian Hernandez “Alex & Sam” Kat Agudo Special Guest: Daniel Broxton with “Dance Creates Us”

Spring break

South by Southwest 2013 Savannah Garza Entertainment Editor

the world to invade Austin for one week for a spectacle known as South By South West, or SXSW. This year, the citywide festival lasted from March 8th to March 17th. SXSW is known for it’s eclectic interactive sessions.

Literally hundreds of bands come out to play the festival, which is a sort of vacuum for lesser-known bands that want to gain a bigger reputation and want to promote themselves to a larger audience.

Some of the smaller bands that played and are up and coming artists include Alt-J, Earl Sweatshirt, Sky Ferreira, DIIV, Flatbush Zombies, CHVRCHES, and Foxygen.

Although there are many smaller bands that play, SXSW is also a great place for bigger bands to play exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime shows.

Alex Herrera

“Doused” DIIV front man, Zachary Cole Smith, performs at the Mohawk at SXSW. DIIV performed their hit single Doused.

Bigger bands/artists that played this year include Prince, Snoop Lion, Kendrick Lamar, The Flaming Lips, Depeche Mode, Kid Cudi, Green Day, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, and Justin Tim-

berlake.

MTV threw their annual Woodie Awards in downtown Austin. Junior Riley Pierce attended the event.

“The most memorable part of the show was when T.I. came out on stage with

Joey Bada$$ and when Casey Veggies and Travis $cott did a song together,” Pierce said.

Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl premiered his directorial debut in a documentary about Sound City Studios, a famous Los Angeles studio that was the setting of many great American albums.

Along with the movie, Grohl also played a show at Stubbs with the Foo’s as his backing band and included guests like Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac, Corey Taylor of Slipknot, Rick Nielson of Cheap Trick, and former Nirvana bassist Krist Novaselic.

Other movies that premiered included Spring teens who have a more than interesting spring break, starring James Franco, Selena Gomez, and Vanessa Hudgins), and Reincarnated (A documentary about rapper Snoop Dogg being reborn as a reggae artist).

Next years SXSW will be from March 7-16.

Fashion For Thought Haleigh Wagner In-Depth Editor

many have been sporting Nikes and Jordans as always. A very popular shoe choice has been the new Nike Foamposites, or “Foams.”

In the recent weeks, temperatures have risen and fashions are starting to change.

On campus, many girls are sporting vintage inspired pieces from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Some popular things that are reminiscent of these decades are neon colors, ombre and Haleigh Wagner

Doc Marten boots or circle skirts.

Some of the most spotted pieces on campus are high wasted shorts that are tattered and torn along with combat boots. A store rising in popularity on campus is the Australian store, Cotton On. Boys have been sporting spring trends in different ways. Collard polo shirts in bright colors along with tank tops with vintage inspired looks have been extremely popular. For shoes,

Dellanie Rocha

During Spring Fashion Week, designers like Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Valentino were vintage inspired. Some of the “vintage” elements include black and white from the 1960’s or sporty dresses from the 1980’s. Men’s vintage throwbacks include denim on denim from the 80’s or military inspired pieces from the 70’s.

Designers were also taking fashions to extremes through peek-a-boo pieces and haute couture tight leather styling. Many men’s

Girly, yet sophisticated and on point with fashions are words that could be used to describe junior Dellanie Rocha’s style.

Rocha’s style icon is stylist and celebrity

Haleigh Wagner

Mix & match Junior Dellanie Rocha pairs bold patterns together. “Try

Kelly Osborne which shines through in her attire.

“I would describe my style as tacky or very different,” Rocha said.

As almost every teenage girl does, Rocha loves Forever 21 but also has other favorite stores.

“Some of my favorite stores are Nordstrom, Cotton on Rocha’s biggest piece of fashion advice is to be yourself.

Photo Essay The Eagle’s Eye

Monday, 4.8.13

page 10

Diamond Dazzlers shine bright at contest Team racks up 20 dance awards Alex Herrera Photo Editor Walking anxiously in the halls of Fredericksburg High School, the sounds of cheering and smell of competition surround the Diamond Dazzler dance team.

According to senior 1st Lieutenant Victoria Galicia, the Diamond Dazzlers took home 20 trophies that mostly placed in the “Best of the Best” category. Every team and director that was at the dance line competition knew that the Diamonds were the team to beat.

“The second we got inside the school all of the parents, teams, and directors were talking about how good we were and how they had to beat us,” Galicia said. “They even gave Mrs. Ball compliments on all of our dances and routines.”

During the competition, dancers could enter into the “Technique Chal-

lenge” where there were multiple categories featuring toe touches, leaps, and high kicks. Junior Ariel Roland touches and junior Rebecca Preciado placed in third. Galicia made top-5 leaps and senior captain Emily Steger placed third. Making top-5 for high kicks was, junior Lieutenant Haydee Rodriguez.

“I signed up because I’m good at a competition so I wanted to do something fun,” Roland said. “It felt amazing that I won, I was super nervous because I didn’t think I would do as good as I did.”

Along with placing in third for toe touches, Preciado earned the title of “Since I placed in top-six the judges made all of us perform again,” Preciado said. “I was really nervous to dance again because I felt like this was when the competition actually started.”

(Top Right) Winning solo With tears of joy and excitement, junior Rebecca -

(Middle Left) Knee drop

(Middle Right) -

(Bottom Left) Falling with style

(Bottom Right) Twirl to perfection

Photos by Alex Herrera

Sports The Eagle’s Eye Baseball

Monday, 4.8.13

page 11

Varsity 9

Varsity planning playoff push Dez Moore

Refuse to lose.

That is the motto moving forward for the varsity Eagles baseball team. The Eagles hold a record of 9-11-1 as well as a 1-3 district record. With the season winding down, the Eagles must win four out of their remaining six district games to potentially earn them a spot in playoffs.

“Our playoffs start now,” head coach Steve Velasquez said. “Every game is important and that is the approach we have to take going into games now.”

The Eagles are trying to time since the 2006 season.

“It upsets me that I have been here for four years and we have not made playoffs R.C. Medrano said. “I want to accomplish something before I graduate.”

A clear consensus on the team is that they have not been playing as a complete team but as individuals.

“Our biggest problem is everyone is trying to be an individual,” Medrano said.

“We just are not putting

Tennis

Martinez said. “We need to stop worrying about ourselves.”

On top of that the mis-

Abolishing the tuck

plaguing the team.

“One of our biggest problems is the players get too down on themselves and discouraged when mistakes happen,” Velasquez said.

“We have a lot of young guys playing varsity for the learning.”

That applies to short stop Austin McNicholas, a freshmen starting varsity.

“The biggest difference is everyone is bigger,” McNicholas said. “I still have the same expectations on me as everyone else though.”

The team came into the season with some major question marks at certain positions.

“We obviously knew pitching was very questionable,” Velasquez said. “Our pitching depth has been a major struggle.”

Even with the pitching struggles, the Eagles believed they would have a better record then what they have now.

“We knew we would be better than last year, and we

Max Kosusnik Staff Reporter

Alex Herrera

Going for the home run

are, but we have not been playing our best ball,” seren said.

However being young, inexperienced, and making too many mistakes has not ruined the Eagles season.

They boys are ready to put the past games behind them

their schedule.

“We have to be a team and put everything that has happen off to the side,” Medrano said.

Velasquez has given the team positive examples to relate to.

“I have shown the boys teams that have strung together wins and ended their

season on a winning streak,” Velasquez said. “I have shown them teams who win.”

Velasquez has even used the famous biblical story of David and Goliath.

“We are David and we are going to have to beat those Goliath schools,” Velasquez said.

Doubles feature

Doubles partners recount their experiences Andrea Barrera Staff Reporter Tennis unlike many sports, lasts all year around. For doubles partners, seniors Cynthia Arteaga and Stephanie Downs, joining tennis and being apart of the program has been a great opportunity.

This requires many days of practice and, dedicated players who are passionate for the sport.

“We have practice every A day after school, and we also have an 8th period Tennis Class,” Downs said. “Our tournaments are on Friday’s, and during our regular season, matches were on Thursdays.”

Tennis gives the players the opportunity to play either solo against one opponent, or with a partner against two opponents.

“In singles, you only have one opponent and the space available to play in is more narrow and constrained,” Arteaga said. “In doubles, two people play against two people and you’re allowed to use the entire court.”

For Arteaga, tennis was a sport she joined to have fun while trying something new for a change.

“I was introduced to tennis by a friend at the end of my sophomore

Covering the court

year,” Arteaga said. “I thought it all of my PE credits. I am glad I made that decision.”

As the season progresses, the doubles partners continue to improve from the many days of practicing.

“During the Akins tournament my doubles partner, Arteaga and I, doubles,” Downs said.

All-District Achievements Boys Basketball: First team fredd richardson Second team c.j. ross fred barton Girls Basketball: Second team Brinee Stewart

Soccer

teaches me better communication,” Downs said.

As the school year comes to an end, so does the tennis season, both Arteaga and Downs turned the season into a learning experience and are always looking forward to future improvements.

“I feel good about our overall season so far,” Downs said. “We’ve gotten a lot better. I look forward to doing even better in our tournaments.”

Tennis practice has helped each individual train and prepare to compete against upcoming opponents, while having a stress free environment.

Adam Zamora “Everyone is there to improve and that’s always relieving,” Arteaga said. “Also the most passionate people go to practice, I love it.” game, but won the following game The Tennis program not only that they played,” tennis coach taught the double partners how to Richard Kelly said. play a sport in which they now love, Even if tennis isn’t a major rec- but help them build an automatic ognized sport here at Akins, Arteaga bond not only between themselves, and Downs have come a long way but as well as with the rest of the program according to both Downs “This will be my second year,” and Arteaga.

Arteaga said. “I wish I had been in“My favorite part about playing troduced to it much earlier though. doubles would be playing with my The sport isn’t popular here at Cynthia,” Downs said. “She’s my Akins, but I love it.” best friend and I get to share our suc“Also, I like that playing doubles cessful moments with her.”

Season Recap

Teams face tough obstacles Maria Moreno Staff Reporter The boys’ varsity soccer team made it to playoffs, while the girls have been through many unfortunate events.

On March 22, boys’ varsity played Anderson, tied 2-2, and won the penalties, meaning they will compete in playoffs. be against Cedar Ridge High in Round Rock on Thursday March 28.

“I’m so happy we made it to playoffs, I’m really determined to get into state!” junior Gerardo Gamez said.

The boys also had a variety of different soccer drills that made the team better.

“The new soccer drills helped us connect our passes

better,” sophomore Emmanuel Maya said.”We were facing so many good teams and I think they helped a lot.”

The girl’s soccer team has started with a rough start, not only because 9 girls got injured and weren’t able to play, but the team also lost 3 teammates due to having failing grades.

“Having only 12 players on the team brought us to our downfall” sophomore Flor Mendez said. “It was hard only having one extra player because some of us would get injured.”

Because of member shortage, JV players are playing with varsity for a number of games until the season ends.

“I feel like the JV players stepped up to the plate and

did well with the challenge at playing at the next level,” varsity player Lisbeth Ellis said.

Martha Navarro, a JV captain, despite of all the unfortunate events and not making it to playoffs like the boys, keeps her head up thanks to an inspiring pep talk by her couch and is planning to get better by next season.

“Don’t pay attention to the board if we end up losing. Do you want to walk out of this and you could of done so much better to help your team out, but you didn’t?” soccer coach Armando Vazquez said. “Or do you want to walk out of this ing you lost but also knowing you gave your best out there.

That’s all that matters!”

One snowy night in Foxboro, Massachusetts, the wrong team won.

It’s the fourth quarter of a game in 2002, New England is down 10-13 versus the Oakland Raiders, and is going for the comeback drive.

As Tom Brady is in motion to throw a pass, he seizes his motives, and tucks the ball, only to be sacked by Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson.

Brady fumbles.

Referee Walt Coleman’s call was as follows; “The quarterback’s arm was going forward, it’s an incomplete pass,” NFL rule three, section 22, article two, note two states that when an offensive player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his arm starts a forward pass, even if the player loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body.

The Patriots would get

goal in overtime. They would end the season as Super Bowl champions.

The wrong team won.

At the Owners Meeting on March 20th, 2013, the Tuck Rule was abolished.

The Oakland Raiders organization tweeted “Adios, Tuck Rule.”

Sources say that rule was overwhelmingly voted against 29-1. The Pittsburgh Steelers were the only team to vote for the rule. The Patriots and the Redskins abstained from voting.

Another rule change at the Owners Meetings is the much more controversial leading-with-thecrown-of-your-helmet rule, or what some players are calling “The T-Rich Rule”, named after Cleveland Browns running back Trent Richardson, who would use his helmet as an advantage for running outside routes.

Now both offensive and defensive players who lead with the tops of their with a 15-yard penalty.

The new rule states “It is a foul if a runner or tackler initiates forcible contact by delivering a blow with the top/crown of his helmet against an opponent when both players are clearly outside the tackle box. Incidental contact by the helmet of a runner or tackler against an opponent shall not be a foul.”

Competition committee member and St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher thinks otherwise, “We want to bring the shoulder back to the game. As we all know, the helmet is a protective device. It’s not designed to be used like it’s being used as of late, and we want to protect our players, speIt will be interesting next season how this rule effects certain circumstances.

Community Page The Eagle’s Eye

The Community Page is an advertising page paid for and designed by the Akins Administration.

Monday, 4.08.13

page 12

New experiences propel student interns forward

Principal’s Message Dear Eagle Eye Reader: What a wonderful time of year to be able to write a letter to the Akins Commuing, the grass is growing and summer is on the way! It’s also a crucial time for all of our students.

For seniors it is important because each one should have completed the college application procedure along with applying for scholarWe have a wonderful resource with the College and Career Center where parents and students can get information on the college process. Folks can even stop by to see the many acceptance letters that have already been received.

We are very proud of our students, but we’re especially proud of a couple of seniors who have been accepted to UCLA, Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Princeton and Columbia - some of the most competitive schools in the world.

Their accomplishments really demonstrate both their hard work and the excellent educational experience that Akins students receive.

For juniors, it is a special time of year because of the TAKS days that are comdent that our students will

Spring Orchestra

UIL Concert April 11th, 2013 @ 6:30 pm in the Akins theatre

perform very well because of the extremely hard work that I’ve seen by our amazing teachers and dedicated students.

Our freshmen and sophtesting their EOC in Reading and Writing - they really showed perseverance as they concentrated on their tests. Their EOC assessments in the science, mathematics and social studies will take place in May. It is also very important for our students to remember to try their best because performance can determine course schedules for the upcoming school year.

Students also have to pass their TAKS for high school graduation. In order to make sure that our students are successful, our teachers have developed several plans to help kids.

For example, there is targeted mathematics and science tutoring each day after school from 4:30-6:00 p.m.

Students are able to work on their individual mathematics and science prescriptions during the after-school tutoring sessions along with morning and lunchtime sessions. In addition, each academy is planning tutoring extravaganzas on Saturdays between now and the TAKS administration.

However, our under-

Mr. Daniel Girard classmen should also be thinking about summer plans and next school year. and eleventh grade students can take free ACC classes this summer.

Student’s counselors can provide information about Early College Classes.

What a great way to save on a college education!

Once again, I would like to invite every parent and guardian to take part with their child’s education through school involvement/parent organizations such as one of the many boosters, PTA, or our Campus Advisory Council.

There are so many wonderful happenings at Akins, please be sure to visit our website for our most recent news and award announcements.

Through the power of ‘US’ we can continue to make Akins better each day.

Sincerely, Daniel Girard – Principal

Spring Show goes Hollywood

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The 12th annual Diamond Dazzlers Spring Show has been announced. The event will be held on Friday and Saturday April 19 and 20th in the Akins theater.

Both shows will begin at 7:30 p.m.

This year the theme is “Night at the Movies.”

“The theme “Night at the Movies” includes different songs and dances from famous movies from Hollywood,” Diamond Dazzler Director Lindsay Ball said.

The songs range from many different movies.

Some of the movies include famous Disney Channel movies to classic musicals.

Students from every dance class will perform, with the highlight of the night coming with the Dazzlers individual and team dances. Graduating members of the Dazzlers are honored at the end of the show.

For more information contact director Lindsay Ball.

Smoke engulfs the room as Corrections interns practice routines in a SCBA, or Self Contained Breathing Apparatus.

In March, Corrections Internship students extended their knowledge for their futhe SCBA. During the event students were simulating saving an inmate from a cell that had because you couldn’t really see,” senior Arisbeth Garcia.

“I had trouble seeing through

The smoke makes things very dark.”

The interns wore gear “The gear was really heavy,” Garcia said. “It was the house with all of the the dummy.”

Although the training was “It was really rewarding

Photo courtesy of David Lopez

Fire training Senior Ana Ramos exits the “smokehouse” as Senior Yolanda Torres enters it. The students were participating in a training for the Corrections Internship that demonstrated saving an inmate from a burning cell.

and a great experience when my,” Garcia said. “I think the experience will give us a lot of help for the future when working at different jails in

we know what to do in this type of situation now.”

The Corrections Internship will lead students to a Travis County Jail after graduation.

Volunteering Opportunities 1. Earth Day Festival 2013: Sat. April 20th @ 4550 Mueller Central Drive Austin, TX 78723.

Sign up at: vols.pt/aHpUaE 1. Special Olympics 2013: Fri. May 3 and Sat. May 4 @ Bible Stadium in Leander, TX. Contact to sign up: Joanna Sarrett @ 512-491-2962 1. Kocurek Carnival: Sat. April 6th @ Kocurek Elm. Contact to sign up: Loriann Riley @ 512-414-2547 1. Cinco de Mayo Fest: Sun. May 5 @ Knolls of Slaughter Creek. Contact to sign up: Larry Carreon @ 512-228-0847 1. Clean Sweep 2013: Sat. April 13th @ Around Austin. Sign up at: keepaustinbeautiful.org/cleansweep

The Eagle’s Eye

W. Charles Akins High School 10701 S. 1st St. Austin, TX 78748

Speech and Debate Competition Results Boys Division: 1st Place: Joe Lozano 2nd Place: Manny Cantu 3rd Place: Joseph Pinkston 4th Place: Colton Summers

Girls Division: 1st Place: Carolyn Hutcherson 2nd Place: Makena Smith 2rd Place: Alyssa Young

Students placing 3rd through 1st will recieve up to a $5000 scholarship

Ride 2 Recovery cycles past Akins for fourth year Akins High School will

LABEL

Ride 2 Recovery program.

Disabled veterans will ride past the school on Tuesday, April 9 in the morning. Normally the route sticks directly to South 1st St., but this year the riders will make a left turn into the school and ride directly past the school and

also raises awareness.

“Ride 2 Recovery raises a lot of awareness for our students,” Olivero said. “It helps people realize the plight and unfortunate situations that veterans have gone through.”

R2R is produced by the Fitness Challenge Foundation in partnership with the Military and VA Volunteer

The Ride 2 Recovery program raises money to support Spinning Recovery Labs and outdoor cycling programs at military and VA location around the country to help injured veterans overcome obstacles they face on their road to recovery.

According to ROTC Colonel Ronald Olivero, the ride

Mental and Physical Rehabilitation Programs for United States wounded veterans.

This is the fourth year in a row that the tour has included a drive-by of Akins High School. Students in a variety of clubs, organizations, sports and groups line the streets as the group rides to congratulate and cheer them on.

Alex Herrera

Cycling for service A cyclist rides while shaking hands of others at last years “Ride 2 Recovery.” disabled veterans.

Akins High School Prom: 2013

Japanese Garden NON PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID MANCHACA, TX PERMIT NO. 209

Saturday May 11

REQUIREMENTS: - No ALC for school year

@ The Austin

- Credit in 6 of 8 (or 75%) of classes,

Convention

-Passed 6 of 8 (or 75%) of classes

Center

-No 3-day suspension for Spring Semester

Fall Semester for 5th 6 Weeks -No library/textbook/AP obligations