The CHAT September issue 2016-2017 issue #1

“Pokemon Go

Seaching Far and Wide” Technology: Page 20 “Shreeya Singh: Spreading Feminism, one continent at a time” Student Life : Page 7

“Go”ing Back to School

Nadira Danticat - Content Sarah Barrocas - Content Cristina Feliciano - Layout Sofia Alfonso - Layout Managing Editors Chatter Daily News Evan Samuels Web Managing Editor Brittany Evelyn - Content Sarah Barrocas - Layout Business Managers Mr. J. Harris - Layout Mr. F. Fagen - Content Mr. J. Harris - Video Advisors Mr. P. Bayer Principal

David Cha-Kim News Editor Alexa Infante Student Life Editor LJ Lemmers Technology Editor

Contents

The C.H.C. Staff

Cristine Alayon Sports Editor Cristina Feliciano Features Editor Maria Acosta-Rubio Clubs Editor Ainsley McCormick Community Outreach

Student Life:

Samuel Eliacin - The CHAT Eric Hernandez - Web Photo Editors Katie Perez Graphics Editor

Jags Leave their Print Around the World Parking into Senior Year

Content Staff: Jordan Alberti, Florencia Azcurra, Sofia Azcurra, Paolo Barrera, Roselle Curiel, Mason Feldman, Matthew Hernandez, Janae McDonnough, Frank Mora, Christopher Nappi, Andres Perez, Amanda Rodriguez, Diego Salazar Layout Staff: Jose Bozo, Tomas Eiletz Bottaro, Sarah Barrocas, Esteban Gangotena Photography Staff: Julian Barcelo, Justin Dourvetakis, Omar Loutfi, Giulia Marcondes GRAPHIC STAFF: Nicole Mercadal, Micheal Perez, Justin Pierce

The C.H.A.T. is an official publication of the Pembroke Pines Charter High School (PPCHS). The content of our newspaper is not necessarily the opinions of our advisers and administration.

The C.H.A.T. staff welcomes any comments to the editors and/or staff.

The C.H.A.T is a publication of C.H.C (Charter High Communications) sponsored by the Communications & Technology Department of PPCHS. Pembroke Pines Charter High School 17189 Sheridan Street Pembroke Pines, FL 33331 Phone: 954-538-3700 Email: chc.ppchs@gmail.com Twitter: @_theCHATter Instagram: @thechatnews The CHAT welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed. The staff reserves the right to edit letters for poor taste, libel, and space.

Drop off letters in room C113 or send an email to chc.ppchs@gmail.com

Lifestyle: Rules for Back to School Bites for an After School Appetite

Technology: iPhone 7: Bigger and Better than Ever PokĂŠmon Go: Searching Far and Wide

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Studen

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Sports: Pg 14

nt Life

Sports:

Clubs and Electives: Pg 13

By the Grade:

Retiring Class of the 2016 Rio Olympics

First (First) Day

Aug-Sept Gaming Review

Jammin at Joffrey

News:

Entertainment:

Lady and the Trump

Charter Reviews Suicide Squad

Louisiana a Victim, Yet Again

End of Summer Album Reviews

Clubs & Electives: Don’t fear me, understand me Let Curls N Locks Empower You

Student Life

Jags Leave their Print Around the World Sarah Barrocas & Mason Feldman Co-Managing Editor - Content & Staff Writer

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his summer countless PPCHS students went on countless adventures for overall enjoyable summers. Whether it was watching the Olympics, cruising around the world, or even visiting national landmarks, this summer was surely filled with memories and stories for students of all grades to share.

Senior Chris Alegria went on a journey throughout Europe and had the time of his life. He said, "This summer I had the amazing privilege of traveling to Europe for 10 days. I went to Italy was amazed by the culture and I was able to see the Colosseum and the leaning tower of Pisa, both amazing works of architecture that amaze me. I then went to France and saw the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the palace of Versailles.” He was as if he was in the midst of history itself. There is a certain beauty that can only be experienced through travel, and Alegria was happily immersed in it. “Europe is an amazing continent and the experiences I had over there are truly once in a life time," he said.

Junior Amanda Cabus traveled to her far away home- Brazil. Every summer, Cabus returns to Brazil to visit her family. “The hot summer sun always warms my heart and the smell of my grandpa's Sunday barbecue, the aroma of rice and beans cooking in the kitchen, and my grandma's homemade picanha always full my belly,” said Cabus. She always loves the atmosphere in Brazil, but she explained that this year it was even more special, with the Olympics taking place right around the corner. For Cabus it was the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the night life and part scenes.

Back in Europe, sophomore Jalen Rodriguez took to the beauty of the Mediterranean Sea through his travels in Greece. "The waters were crystal clear and blue and the food was absolutely delicious. The culture there was most definitely an interesting experience, the people are more than willing to help one another out and get involved in the community. The Grecian monuments were breathtaking also, there's nothing like experiencing ancient architecture first hand," he said. It was Rodriguez’s first time there, but he said he would travel back in an instant. It was a trip filled with endless adventure and opportunity.

Junior Sonia Khan went to a chilly but breathtaking destination in Alaska and had an amazing visit there. She stated, "My trip to Alaska was definitely one of the best trips of my life. The scenery is extremely beautiful and unlike any place I've ever seen before. My favorite parts were getting to see all the wilderness and experiencing the wonderful weather there!"

All these extraordinary stories and memorable trips are a part of what makes the summer of 2016 simply the best. There is no telling what the future holds, but next summer should be just as great after another hardworking school year. There are plenty of vacations, travels and activities to do each summer and that is what makes each and every one so special.

Photo By: Samuel Eliacin

Shreeya Sing

Donated By: Sonia Kahn

Donated By: Jalen Rdriguez

Photo By: Omar Loutfi

Donated By: Chris Alegria

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Donated By: Amanda Cabus

“I am the Social Media Director for Global is something that is important to me. I hope As Head of Journalism, Danticat is sent arti an intersectional feminist, she could not pass In addition to this astonishing feat, Singh is and Harry Potter fan, as well as a lover of pu “This wasn’t something that I did to look g impact on the world.”

There is no doubt in the minds of many that genital mutilation, Shreeya Singh has made a If you have a passion for feminism and wis rience with feminism and gender equality to

Student Life

Parking into Senior Year Amanda Rodriguez & Andres Perez Satff Writers

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he beginning of the year always sparks excitement in the eyes of seniors. Accompanying their seniority is one specific luxury available if you have a car- decorating your very own parking spot.

Any Jaguar has the opportunity to purchase a parking spot, but only seniors are awarded the privilege to actually paint them. This long standing PPCHS tradition allows these students to express themselves as well as motivate them to park in their custom spot every morning.

All the seniors with cars rush to the front office a couple of days before school starts and they purchase a spot. From there on out, it's game on to see who has the most interesting spot in the school.

Having your own parking spot comes with rePhoto By: Samuel Eliacin sponsibilities like creating the coolest spot and coming up with unique ways to best represent yourself. Senior Alyssa Wright came up with the great idea of turning Drake's mixtape, “If You're Reading This It's Too Late” into “If You’re Reading This I’m Late.” Alyssa was able to replicate the way the cover photo for the mixtape had written the words, and at a quick glance it looked exactly like Drake's mixtape cover with her own little twist. Wright said, “I was actually really struggling to come up with a unique and fun theme for my spot during the summer and then one random day when I was listening to Drake's mixtape, I looked down at my phone and saw the cover photo and it immediately popped into my head.”

Some seniors go all out for their parking spots whereas other just like to write their nickname on their spots and decorate it nicely. You can be as creative as you want to be and maybe even show some school pride like a couple seniors have done. Senior Dana Meltzer has a parking spot that features her name and her soccer number. She said, “I've played soccer since third grade and for most of those years I was number five and my whole high school career I have been number five so that number represents me.”

Spots can vary from simple to extravagant, but the important thing is being proud of the spot you have created.

gh: Spreading Feminism, one Continent at a Time Nadira Danticat Co-Managing Editor - Content

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hen most of us look back on summer, our achievements are not exactly exemplary. Sure, we took a few online classes and waited until the second to last day before summer to avoid any real procrastination, but senior Shreeya Singh decided to change the status quo and do something extraordinary. Global FeMINIsts is an organization founded by Singh. It serves as a platform for adolescents from across the globe to discuss the importance of feminism in their individual communities, and simultaneously comprehend the need for feminism in other communities and areas. The membership already has a wide scope, with 60 ambassadors stationed everywhere. From Britain to Australia to Singapore and even Palestine, this organization occupies all livable continents and 22 countries.

The goal for the organization is simple: to provide children with access to information on gender equality to prevent prejudice later on. Though its inception is recent, there are many plans in the works. Singh already wants to organize visits and talks to elementary schools, distribute the resources in as many languages as possible, and generally increase the amount of children that self- identify as feminists.

The idea for Global FeMINIsts came about from something Shreeya has been passionate about since as long as she can remember: gender equality. She has considered herself a feminist since she was a child, but as she grew older she came to a startling realization.

“The problem with social justice is that it is oriented around prejudice reversal, but prejudice can be prevented in the first place if we never allow biases to set in during childhood.

However, when I tried to look for literature about feminism that was understandable to a younger audience, there was nothing,” said Singh.

It was at that moment that she decided to fill the gap. Though she had made plans to create the organization for months prior, it was attending Yale Young Global Scholars program for two weeks in July that really got the wheels in motion.

“At Yale, I realized that with the help of people who were equally passionate about activism, I could make it something that was global rather than something that affected only my city.”

Well Shreeya has certainly affected her city at least, as Charter students have even become involved in the effort to spread feminism awareness worldwide. Seniors Aja McGowans and Nadira Danticat serve as the Social Media Director and Head of Journalism, respectively. Additionally, seniors Jordan Farenhem and Diego Burga, as well as junior Maia Hunter, are ambassadors responsible for distributing the educational pamphlets in their area, organizing workshops, and acting as local resources for anyone to contact if they want to get involved or get access to feminist education. l FeMINIsts, which means that I run and post for all of the organizations social media accounts, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram,” said McGowans. “I joined because feminism to reach a wide range of people and actually be involved in an organization in which I could make a difference in one of the issues I feel most passionate about.” icles from ambassadors from all over the world. From there, she is responsible for proofreading and editing them, so they are ready to be posted on the website and read by the world. As s up the chance to be involved in this invaluable opportunity. s a nationally ranked debater and treasurer of the National Honor Society. Her accomplishments are jaw-dropping to many, but her friends mostly know her as an avid Game of Thrones uns and listening to music. Regardless, everyone can agree that Singh has flawlessly created a global network of young men and women who are all working to combat gender inequality. good on college applications or get more scholarship money. I have put my heart and soul into this and I am already so proud of how it has gone so far. I truly want it to make a lasting

at Global FeMINIsts has the potential to gain the recognition of many people, which will only further the spread of her feminist aims. In a world filled with everything from wage gaps to a huge contribution to changing the narrative on equality and on a global scale. sh to be involved, don’t fret! Singh is still accepting ambassadors, explaining that “anyone and everyone is welcome to get involved!” She is currently looking for people who have expeo share their stories with articles. Check out globalfeminists.org for more information and contactfeminists@gmail.com to join!

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Student Life

“Why Did You Decide to Sarah Barrocas

Co-Managing Editor - C

Ms. Altimore

Ms. Duran

Photo By: Eric Hernindez

“I

chose to join PPCHS by invitation. I have spent the past 14 years teaching Language Arts at Central Middle School Campus- primarily working with the 8th graders. I am always looking for challenges and adventures and when the invitation was made for me to come to the high school I decided, "Why Not?!" Changes offer us with new opportunities to grow! So I graduated to the high school with my eighth graders and it has been exciting! My expectations for my first year at PPCHS is to challenge myself as a teacher, to challenge my students to become better written communicators through reading, writing and speaking!”

Photo By: Julian Barcelo

"I

came to charter because I wanted a more family-orientated experience as a teacher on a school campus. I love teaching here so far, it's been great and I'm having a lot of fun!”

Mr. Toepel

came to Charter because out of all the other schools that I had previously applied to, this school provided me with the ideal opporunity to carry out my edutional practice. My experience so far has been great because the staff has been very nice and the kids have been truly amazing.”

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"I

came to Charter because I grad coming home. My experience so fa my department have really helped able with everything throughout th

Mr. Opalka

Photo By: Julian Barcelo

"I

Ms. Go

Photo By: Julian Barcelo

“I

came back because I missed the Charter School environment, and one of my goals was to give back to the future of our country- a lesson I learned from my life and the best way I learned to do that was through teaching.”

Student Life

“How has your experience been here so far?” and

Frank Mora

Content and Staff Writer

onzalez

Ms. Lebron

Photo By: Omar Loutfi

duated from here and it felt a lot like ar has been awesome, the teachers in me out and made me feel comforthis transition."

Ms. Reid-Morgan

Photo By: Julain Barcelo

“I

was previously a teacher at the Charter Middle School West Campus and I decided to expand my horizons and transition into high school. I’ve always been up for a challenge dealing with upperclassmen, and what better way to do that than move to the high school?

My experience at this school so far has been interesting to say the least. I am very appreciative of the faculty and staff who have helped me out through my career change; however, I havent gotten used to seeing my past middle school students now walk the halls of the high school.

Ms. Sumby

Photo By: Omar Loutfi

Photo By: Samual Eliacin

"I

came to Charter because I've heard such good things about this school and when the opening came up I quickly applied, and kept my fingers crossed that I would get the position. The experience so far has been really good because the school is really organized and all the good things that the staff said about the school has so far been true.”

Mr. Parks

Photo By:Aijah Harper

"I came to Charter because I love to teach biology. I am a biology "I came to Charter because a friend of mine works at the Charter major and a Charter alumnus so it was an obvious choice. I won't be Middle School Campus and she had a lot of good things to say about here to long as I am applying to college again to get my PHD but I thought on my down time why not help my former school and teach students what to me is the most important science to learn."

the system, so she recommend me to teach here. It's been a great experience so far and everyone has been really nice and respectful."

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First (First) Day Cristina Feliciano

Twirling into Success

Features Editor

Florencia & Sofia Azcurra

L et’s be frank. We all go through the “deer in the headlights” moment on our first day of high school. Whether it’s the big kids pushing you to get to class or not knowing which

lunch you have, the scary feeling is universal throughout freshmen minds. Most freshmen do not want to call attention to themselves on the first day. “I just want to be normal. To fit in.”

However, not everyone has the same mindset.

Like every other year, PPCHS was given a new set of fresh faces to start off the 20162017 school year. Excluding the infamous upperclassmen, many of the students had their 5 zippered JanSport backpacks and schedule in hand. As if on a scavenger hunt, students were looking all over for each of their classes. Some found it easier than others to maneuver around the school. As usual, SGA members came to campus a week early to assist teachers with their rooms as well as post banner paper with the letters S, A, M, D, C, and U on the corresponding buildings. Freshman Matthew Pressman said, “My first day was nothing like I expected it to be. It was very crowded with all of the students and this campus is much bigger than what I was used to at the Central campus." Pressman, including many other students, was excited to kick off the new school year by seeing old friends and catching up about summer. As far as things to look forward to, Pressman voiced that he wanted to prepare for college by getting good grades in addition to trying out for the junior varsity basketball team as a shooting guard.

In addition to the chaos of trying to find the right class, many freshmen struggle with the ignorant stereotype of wearing "the high school colors". For quite some time, it's been observed that freshmen usually lean towards the black and white polos for their first day. Being that these are new colors, it makes them feel like they belong. However, there are some kids who don't pay any mind to the stereotypes. Freshmen Mia Prieto felt that, "the first day wasn't as scary as everyone made it out to be. People do not care if you are a freshmen. But there were a lot of people warning me about the black shirt fiasco." At the end of the day, it's just uniform.

High school is the place where your clean slate starts until college rolls around. Most students are most excited to see old friends or to make new ones. However, the real task at hand is how you make the best of your experience here. You have the “best 4 years of your life” ahead of you. On behalf of PPCHS, The CHAT would like to give a warm welcome to the Class of 2020.

“Nestling” with Another Fun Year at Camp Alexa Infante Student Life Editor

E very summer has its share of unique experiences, as well as countless traditions. For freshman Mandy Pfau, her summer tradition rested several states away overlooking a

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magnificent lake. Since she was 8 years old, Mandy has been attending Surprise Lake sleepaway camp in Cold Spring, New York every summer. When she first began camp she was she youngest camper there. Endless tears were shed when she first arrived, but after becoming accustomed to her home away from homeit became even harder to leave. It has been like that ever since. Surprise Lake is a co-ed camp that aims to create a comfortable and fun environment while providing a high- quality Jewish experience to all of those who participate.

According to their mission statement, Surprise Lake promotes, “Jewish identity building, environmental stewardship, and the development of values and skills that help people lead fulfilling lives and become assets to their community.” The camp includes an entire month packed with unforgettable memories and countless activities. They offer multiple excursions like sports, waterfront activities, arts and culture, and more to help encourage campers to get involved.

The biggest tradition at the camp is “Nestling”, the camp song that unites the campers as they cross arms and sing.

“My favorite things at camp are making tons of new D onated by: Mandy Pfau friends each summer and going back with my old friends from the start of my journey. We get to swim in the lake, hike, and kayak. Going to sleep away camp is the best way to spend my summer!” says Pfau. The camp also enforces a technology policy which forbids the use of technology. This creates more of a retreat ambiance in the camp and helps the campers to really reconnect. Although the camp is based in New York, Mandy has made lifelong friends from all around the world. This past summer her closest friends resided in opposite coasts, specifically, California and New York. There were also counselors who were from countries like England and Israel. This camp has become a long valued tradition for Pfau and there is no doubt she will continue to attend as long she can. Many students travel to foreign countries to create many incredible experiences; however, by simply traveling a few states north, Pfau embarks on a month long journey every summer filled with excitement, new friends, familiar faces, and stories waiting to be told.

Staff Writers

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oing to Nationals was a surprise, but qualifying for the International Cup was an even bigger surprise for Jessica Schwend, Krissana Abolafia, and Sofia Cano. They knew each other before but the three have been tied at the hip since starting baton twirling. Krissana discovered twirling through a flyer with a friend and was told she had a natural talent. Where-as Jessica wanted to do cheerleading, but her mom wanted her to do twirling. Sofia joined to hang out more with a friend and they all Donated by: Jessica Schwend ended up loving the sport. They have all been twirling for 10 years and are supposed to go to Croatia to participate in the International Cup together. “Qualifying for this competition made me realize that I am a talented twirler and that I have potential in the world of baton,” said Jessica. They are all very ecstatic on representing their country along with other girls. They all feel that having this chance has shaped their perspective on baton and has made them realize how much they have come along.

They have two World Champions as coaches and felt that having their constant pushing and moral support was a big part on continuing baton. Their coaches, Jennifer and Melissa have shaped their minds to always have determination. “Having such good coaches,” sates Sofia, “makes me feel like I am in good hands.” Both Krissana and Sofia plan on going for sure. Jessica, however, is unsure, “Even if I can’t go, I’ll still hold the honor with me.”

The Competition will last 5-7 days in Croatia, right next to Italy. Girls from all over the world will go to participate in this rigorous baton competition. The three girls were three out of seven who were chosen to go. They each had a pair and had to prepare a beautiful routine to present to the judges. Jessica and her partner fell in 5th while Sofia and Krissana fell in 6th. They were all encouraged to do as many routines as possible. Jessica felt that her routine was last minute and her partner and her were very nervous but they were very confident because they knew each other's potential. The girls participated in a week long boot camp to help them prepare for the cup.

All three girls participate in PPCHS’s Majorettes and in Syngery Twirl Club outside of school. The excitement the girls contain are way above explanation. But all their years of hard work will go into this.

Jammin At Joffrey Paolo Barrera Staff Writer

Many students dance during those parts of a song where moving is inevitable, or simply for the fun of it. Some of our own Jags use dance as an artistic expression of

themselves. One specific PPCHS sophomore, Sophia Francisco, was able to express herself at a prestigious dance school up in New York for a summer program with many avid dancers, like herself.

Joffrey Ballet School was founded in 1953, by Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino, and boasts its reputation as “the only ballet school in New York City that offers a well-rounded dance curriculum that includes serious training in both classical ballet and contemporary ballet , as well as modern, character, choreography, dance history, music, pilates and yoga” (joffreyballetschool.com). Many graduates and attendees of the school have been known to be successful in their dance career, as the school itself has received awards for being Outstanding School in 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016 by the Youth America Grand Prix, the world’s largest international student ballet competition (Joffrey.org).

This summer, Sophia travelled to New York to attend the Joffrey Ballet School summer intensive for two weeks. Her time there consisted of rigorous, but fun, dance instruction with other attendees. Ballet was taught everyday throughout the course of the program, from 10 to 2. A lunch break after the ballet portion of the day was followed by different styles of dance. Styles like jazz and modern dance were taught until 6, in which that day at Joffrey would be over. To Sophia, the two weeks were “one of the most amazing experiences,” and “it was amazing, learning so much [dance].” Surrounded by serious dancers like herself, she was sharing her love for her craft with people she’s never met before. “I love going up and meeting new people and the new teachers,” says Sophia on some of the aspects of the camp she enjoyed.

The 10th grade ballet dancer has been dancing since she was 3, and has been dancing specifically ballet since she was 7. Back at home, she attends TAME dance academy to keep herself in shape, and her skills sharp. Her passion for dance is evident, as she dances for the school and for her academy. Experiences like the ones in New York are examples of what she loves about dance.

For those who have a fire slowly growing for dance, or even just an interest, she offers advice from her 12 years of doing what she loves: “For someone that would want to start dancing, I’d say that always try your best no matter what. It’s hard to keep having confidence when you see all these amazing dancers with crazy, flexible legs and beautiful turns. But if you love what you’re doing, like I do, then it won’t really matter. As long as you’re happy and having fun!”

Maria Amon: A Future Volleyball Star M

ost Charter jaguars take a break from sports during the summer or continue to do light conditioning to stay in shape for their upcoming seasons. But Maria Amon is just one of the few who constantly pushes herself in her sport due to the passion and joy she gets from the outcome. During July of this past summer, Maria was invited to train in a camp with the USA National Volleyball in Sonoma University in California for a week.

She also went out and performed at two USAV High School Performance tryouts here in the state of Florida, where she was evaluated by coaches not only from USAV but as well as coaches from other colleges. Maria impressed the coaches that they decided to let her make the cut for a trainee for the summer.

For the seven days she stayed at the camp, Amon practiced three times in a day, waking up from five in the morning and finishing the day at around ten at night. For Amon though, it wasn’t a downer that she always had a long day ahead of her. If anything, it made her appreciate the experience more and learned valuable lessons during it, rating the overall experience as refreshing and tiresome. When Amon was just ten years old, she became intrigued with the sport. “I guess there was just something I really liked about how physical, active and smart volleyball is.

I really like involving myself in energetic activities and also working with other people as a team.” She stated.

Photo by: Gisela Seay Maria Amon also gives tips to future volleyball players, especially the girls trying out for the charter team. She explains that the best thing a player can do is to relax and play their best, but to always be prepared and to make sure that they have fundamental experience and they can hold themselves up with maturity. “I will always hold our championship wins close to me, but I was playing rec at the YMCA when I was ten, and I dove for a really tough ball and completely belly flopped on the floor! We ended up getting the winning point, I know it sounds silly but I guess the satisfaction of the pain made me think, ‘let’s do that again’.” Maria said as she recalled her most memorable moment out on the court.

Although Maria is one of a lot of successful volleyball players at PPCHS, she gushes that if it weren’t for the support and sacrifices of her couches, teammates, and family, she would be nowhere as well trained and skillful. She states how grateful she is for all of them for staying by her side any time things got rough. She wants to continue to play volleyball and is positive she might see a career with it. Who knows, we might see Maria become the next Olympian Volleyball Gold Medalist!

Run with the Wind!

Roselle Curiel

“I

Staff Writer

was always athletic. I had too much energy as a kid, so my mom put me in sports.”

Margaret Copello once participated on a soccer team when she was younger, but later moved on to gymnastics. Having gone all the way to level 7 (out of 10 for junior-level gymnastics), she no longer felt that she was progressing, and wanted to have more time for a social life, especially since practices were up to 4 hours. Eventually she called it quits, and found a brand new opportunity to do something she liked during middle school- after reading an article in the newspaper about it. Flag football? Swimming? Soccer? After reading, she set her heart on Track and Field and has never looked back. After going to regionals her freshmen year and sophomore years, junior Margaret Copello hopes to make it to states this year.

To quote one of her teammates, “Margaret is the one runner who goes beyond her limits.

Ask anyone on the team. She sets the standard high for a high school runner”. Having been exposed to sports pretty much her entire life, it is no secret that she is athletic.

As Margaret states, “I like to push myself to my limits, even if I’m just at practice. I have really high standards for myself and really want to get the best out of every workout. I think my early years in sports are what helped me discipline myself”. However, she believes it’s not the physical running that’s the toughest part, but the mental aspect that threatens an internal conflict to fight in your head. It’s a battle where your legs are screaming, “Stop already!!” but your mind is telling you, “Don’t stop. Keep going. You got this!”

Donated By: Margaret Copello Luckily, she looks to her role model, Jenny Simpson, for inspiration. The Olympian won the first medal for the US at this year’s Rio Olympics.

Margaret has high hopes for this upcoming year, “My goals in my future for track are to get a scholarship and run on [the university’s] team. But, this year I want to break my best times and win at states.” Copello wishes for herself and her teammates to win races at UF & FSU this year as well as invitationals versus tough competition.

12th Grade Last First Day LJ Lemmers

Technology Editor

“It is sad coming to this realization because before us seniors know it we will be graduating and going on with our lives.” (Marc Ujueta, Senior)

“I’m happy that this is the last first day. It signifies that high school is closing soon and a new chapter is beginning.” (Michayla Konen, Senior)

“I was able to get into classes with my friends I have “It still hasn’t occurred to me that this is the last year of known since elementary school and the beginning of high school. Before I know it, I will be graduating and high school so I believe my last year will be a good one.” going off to college.” (Christina Hartenhoff, Senior) (Samantha Feinstein, Senior) Photos by: Julian Barcelo

Senior Jerseys: Baseball or Football?

Cristina Feliciano

S enior year is filled with many activities and expenses. As far as the preparation goes, Student Council works diligently for their peers to ensure a wonderful and exciting last Features Editor

year. Being a part of Student Council is not at all an easy task. Decisions must be made while having the feelings of the seniors into consideration as well as following the Charter guidelines. Recently, there’s been a major controversy when it comes to the senior jerseys.

PPCHS’ first graduating class walked the stage in 2003. Those alumni are the founders of the sentimental tradition –senior jerseys. Every year thereafter, student councils and teacher advisors came up with different designs for the football jerseys.

However, the class of 2017’s Student Council has decided as a whole to go outside of the norm. This is the very first year that Charter’s seniors will be strutting in baseball jerseys. This was a difficult decision between the class officers and administration.

Class representative Emilio Montanez said “I love the idea of being different this year with the baseball jerseys. And I wouldn’t change anything at all since the entire council decided on it together. Every year, the council proposed the baseball shirts, and the concept would get shut down.” The council as a whole came together to design a senior jersey that captured Photo by: Samual Eliacin the baseball theme but still went by the rules that administration set.

However, there were many upperclassmen who were not in favor of the change. Senior Samantha Villegas explained “to be completely honest, at first I didn’t like the jerseys because I was really hoping for a football jersey. Being a cheerleader, we wear our senior jerseys every home game, which obviously can't happen now.” Villegas continued saying that she came around to liking the decision, but that the football jerseys are tradition.

“They are a lot more meaningful since our school spent thousands of dollars on a football field, and it seems more appropriate for a senior jersey.”

Although there are many upperclassmen who wish for football jerseys, baseball took the cake.

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Don’t fear me, understand me Brittany Evelyn

A

Business Manager - Content

s the 2016-2017 school year rolled around, citizens at Pembroke Pines Charter High School saw the emergence of many new clubs, one of which was the Muslim Student Association. This club was made to educate others and bring social awareness to the Muslim religion. Two such students saw this as an opportunity to alleviate the growing hatred towards the followers of Islam. They took the first step at school by presenting Mr. Schwartz with their proposal. The idea was born from the mind of eleventh grader, Sonia Khan and supported by sophomore, Falak Abbasakoor. And so the Muslim Student Association was launched.

“I was motivated to create a Muslim Student Association at our school due to an incident that occurred at my old school and current mosque, Nur Ul Islam Academy. The school was vandalized with an Islamophobic message that had caused NUIA to be shut down for a few days to clean up the vandalism. Many people were frightened to go to school or to go pray. Seeing what had occurred had broken my heart. I firmly believe that no one should be afraid to practice what they choose to,” explained Khan.

Sonia was distraught after the incident at her mosque and felt it crucial to get her school involved and educated. Getting the idea from major universities, such as Princeton and Duke, Sonia and good friend Falak, decided to tackle the issue and inform others on the worldwide issue that is Islamophobia. Falak Abbasakoor said, “We can actually tackle the issue by raising awareness and showing that Muslims are actually peaceful.” The girls’ goal is to show that they can make an influence on our school by proving that Muslims are peaceful and “not out to exploit the world” as Falak put it. Sonia’s main goal for the club is to educate the student body on Islam and create a higher tolerance level. She hopes that by the end of the year, many of the misconceptions about Muslims will be erased. As for the clubs future, Mr. Schwartz says, “With Sonia and Falak at the head of this, leading it, I see nothing but success. I also see this club moving forward and growing over the next several years.” All three are hopeful that the more people know and have an understanding for the club, the more they’ll want to be a part of it.

The club meetings will take place every other Tuesday. Their plans for the club are secret, but they did reveal that those of you yearning to join can expect the meetings to start off with a discussion about recent events or anything that members would like to share. The club also intends to have events, fun activities, and several amazing guest speakers that will make an appearance. Sonia, Falak, and Mr. Schwartz encourage everyone to join the Muslim Student Association.

MSA Graphic by: Katie Perez

Let Curls N Locks Empower You

Ainsley McCormick Community Outreach

As we welcome in the school year, we also welcome the creation of new clubs. Students create these

Brianne Patterson: Founder of this club, she plans to make people feel proud of their natural hair. Photo by: Julian Barcelo

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clubs with plans of improving the school, helping others, or having fun! With this in mind, senior Brianne Patterson has created her very own Curls N Locks club. Sponsored by Ms. Ellis, this club focuses on empowering students to be proud of their natural hair and informing them on any questions or problems they may have about their hair.

Brianne originally came up with her club idea while growing out her natural hair. All of her friends and teachers would constantly ask her how she managed to do so and not feel uncomfortable. Curls N Locks wants to make students feel comfortable and supported while transitioning into natural hair. Sophomore Jeremy Perez is currently growing out his hair; he is proud of the way his hair looks naturally and loves to play with it. “Curls get the girls,” he said with a grin.

The main goals of Curls N Locks is to inspire, help, and support students in their transition to natural hair. The club is open to anyone, but will mainly focus on helping those with weaves, perms, or other hair enhancements. Throughout the year, club leader Brianne Patterson, plans on hosting activities that will “provide a place of belonging for people with Afro-centric, curly, and wavy hair.” With hopes to attend a Natural Hair Convention and having guest speakers come in, this new club will surely be informational while also being fun for everyone who joins.

Curls N Locks is still planning their first meeting date, so be on the lookout for any information regarding their meetings. They encourage new and interested members to join and hope to see a great outcome this year!

Calling all culinary geniuses!

Roselle Curiel

A

Culinary Club: A newer club in this school trying to find others that love cooking. Photo by: Giulia Marcondes

Staff Writer

spiring chefs, or even those who just enjoy cooking, get excited! Starting soon, Charter’s very own Culinary Club, established near the end of last year by junior and Club President Matthew Allicock and Vice President Toni Martin, will take place after school for 1 to 2 hours. It will be open to all sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Don’t know how to cook? Don’t worry! The only requirement to join is the will to learn something new. Other than making food, members this year can expect to learn the basic techniques on using kitchen tools. Last year, applicants were asked to see what they would be interested in making throughout the year, so every meeting will introduce a different dish to be taught as well!

“The goal of the club is not only to help members become adequate with their cooking skills and all that goes into it, but to add something special to our school, since they do not currently have anything for the culinary arts,” said Matthew Allicock. Who knows?

Perhaps the appeal of this club will spark an opening to a new Home Economics class.

In the future, the club is planning to take a field trip to either a culinary school, or a professional cooking class.

Matthew’s inspiration to cook and to create this club came from his family members.

He states, “My mom, aunts, and grandmothers are great cooks and when I was younger, I would always be in the kitchen with them.” After college, he wishes to open his own restaurant. A survey conducted from delish.com, a popular cooking website, indicated about 28% of young adults don’t know how to cook, and 51% of them said they don’t cook simply because their partner or spouse do it. However, Matthew believes that, “you cannot live your whole life having someone cook for you or buying from fast food restaurants.” With that said, this club will not only teach you to make your favorite meals, but gain some independence, which is important for high school teens since college is right around the corner.

Unfortunately, all 25 spots are taken but next year, the hype is real. The club leaders encourage all future applicants to go for it! If you are looking to expand your horizons, learn a new skill, enjoy your hobby with others, even if you just love food, this club is for you!

Helping others is what matters Janae McDonnough

The American Red Cross is an organization that helps people in turmoil due to tragic events.

The Red Cross is also known for supporting the military and their family members by providing Saff Writer

a blood drive that allow people give blood for a person that needs it. In our school’s chapter, students that want to make a difference in their community come together to find a way to do it. By having this club in our school, we can try to save a student or a stranger that’s in need of help. The club helps to try to organize activities that helps provide inside and outside of school.

The American Red Cross organization started on May 21, 1881 by the founder, Clara Barton.

When she found out about the Global Red Cross, she was in Europe before the Civil war started and wanted to bring it to America. The main reason of having clubs like the Red Cross in schools is to help students have a way of helping their community by creating events that can fundraise for families and victims during horrible events and raise awareness. There is also a sense of leadership that comes with it and it shows you’re trying to help people from all walks of life.

According to redcross.org, more than 11 million people are trained to perform lifesaving skills at the Red Cross. They even provide health services for 2 million people and also helped over 615,000 military families worldwide. There are many students from different grade levels between high school and college who are members of the Red Cross club.

The Red Cross Club in our school meets up in S221 in Ms. Oddy’s room after school and sometimes during homeroom if mandatory. Ashley McGowan-Sewell, senior and Red Cross Club President said, “We do participate with a lot of events at the Red Cross chapter in Fort Lauderdale such as installing fire detectors in people's homes, free holiday mail for heroes, the school’s health fair and our annual can drive during Thanksgiving at the school.”

Having this club in our school helps students come together with their friends and other members of the club to come out with ideas that can provide for the needs in our school. It can also register as a good example to friends, showing them that they can become a member and make a great difference.

“Our vision for the club this year is to do more, such as helping homes that have gone through tragedies or going to orphanages during Halloween and making the kids feel great. Having more fundraising events can have an even bigger impact on the community and really get the message out on what the Red Cross is all about. We want more members and people who are dedicated to giving back. Our goal this year is to leave a lasting impression. Our motto that we go by is ‘live it, be it’,” said Ms. Oddy.

Overall, the American Red Cross is a great organization and club to be in. So if any you guys want to be in a Club that helps your community and have fun at the same time just try the Red Cross club out.

Red Cross President: Ashley McGowan-Sewell is the president of the Red Cross Club. Photo by: Julian Barcelo

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Ramos Swinging into the Next Level Cristine Alayon

S tarting a sport at 6 years old and continuing it all the way through high school can encourage lots of aspirations for continuing your passion into the future. For senior Julia Sports Editor

Ramos, she did just that. Ramos first started swinging a bat at a young age when she was inspired by her sister who played softball as well. Following her sisters footsteps, she “got the feeling” that this was her sport. From playing rec softball as a little girl to playing in high school, Ramos has experienced the intense levels of softball. Outside of school ball, she participated in various travel softball programs such as West Pines Thunder and Davie Mustangs. “I really enjoyed playing travel softball because I made a lot of lifelong friends and at the same time I learned so much to become a better player,” she said.

This senior all-star is a threat on the field and at the plate as well.

Julia is positioned at third base due to her concentration being mainly attentive on the field. On the attacking end, she bats 4th Donated By: Julia Ramos thanks to her strength and ability to send the ball into the open spaces or even better, over the fence. Last softball season, Ramos’s batting average was .425 with a total of 2 homeruns. “To say one thing I love about the game, it would be challenging, but I’d have to say the happiness I get from playing the game is something I cannot get from doing anything else,” she admits.

As of July 26th, Julia has committed to The College of Central Florida. CF is located in Ocala, Florida and is a division 1 junior college. In addition, CF is ranked #1 in the nation for softball out of all the junior colleges. What made Ramos appeal to her college is the relationship she built with the coaches and school as well, “My coach is Kevin Fagan (played for the 49ers) and all of his daughters play or have played competitive D1 softball. I also really liked CF because it is a junior college and my coaches have a lot of connections with bigger universities which will help me progress on to play either D1 or D2 college softball,” she comments.

Softball is almost back in full swing and Ramos has never been more excited. For this upcoming 2016-2017 softball season, she is looking to lead the Lady Jags to victory this year more than any other year. As a two-time captain of the Jaguars, her goal for this up-

Haskin Tackles his Goals Frank Mora

As many of us Americans already know, rugby is not a popular sport here in the states. Although the sport serves little importance Staff Writer

to us Americans, it means everything to Chase Haskin. Chase is not just an ordinary senior here at PPCHS but a phenomenal rugby player. Haskin started playing the sport at a later age- when he began his freshman year. Don’t let this fool you though, although he may have started late, Haskin has a great passion for the sport and continues to grow as an athlete as the sport evolves. He currently plays rugby for two different teams; however, the team he is most involved in is his club team: the West Pines Rugby Club.

Along with passion, Haskin isn’t too short on skill either. Chase received a scholarship to attend Life University for his excellent play. Life University is a Division 1 school located in Marietta, GeorDonated By: Chase Haskin gia and are the defending national champions in college rugby. Along with getting a scholarship, Chase also received an invitation to play with the United States 17 under national team for his desired sport. Haskin said, “I’m just so blessed to have gotten an offer to play for the best rugby team in the nation and get top of the line training from amazing coaches. I am also very honored to have gotten an invitation to play for our national team and wear that red, white, and blue. All the work I've put over the course of my 4 years playing this sport has really paid off and I'm really satisfied. Overall I am just stoked for both opportunities and I especially can't wait for the upcoming season at Life Univer sity.

I really can’t wait to get started and put on that Eagles uniform!”

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Editorial: Father Prime Makes David Cha-Kim News Editor

Thirteen years. Three rings. Twelve All-star game appearances, 2006 Finals MVP. 2009 scoring champion. Miami Heat leader in games played, points, assists, steals, field

goals, and free throws. Guaranteed future hall of famer. The list goes on. ‘Father Prime’ was the living definition of a Heat-lifer… so everyone thought.

Dwyane Wade is one of the most iconic figures in Miami’s cultural history, alongside Miami Dolphin Hall-of-Famer quarterback Dan Marino and former NBA center and teammate of Wade’s Alonzo Mourning. Thirteen years of greatness as the leader and center figure of the Miami Heat organization has brought Wade love from not only the city of Miami, but from the entire NBA and its global fans.

For over a decade, Wade’s explosive and aggressive drive-and-slash mentality and playstyle has made him one of the most entertaining, offensive players to watch in the NBA. His frightening post-up game as a smaller player and his ability to reign victorious over larger defenders make him a threat to all positions. D-Wade is considered one of the top three shooting guards of all time, behind Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. He is widely regarded as the best shot-blocking guard in the league’s history and is recognized as being simply one of the most clutch and dependable basketball players the world has ever seen.

In addition to his exhilarating play, skill, and athleticism, Dwyane Wade’s positive and humble attitude on and off the court, respect for his teammates and opponents in the NBA, and the huge amount of philanthropic work he has done- including the creation of the Wade’s World Foundation and his community outreach programs in Miami and his hometown, Chicago- have all contributed to his admiration by the majority of basketball fans. Wade led the league in jersey sales for two consecutive years and to this day, well past his prime, he remains one of the most influential figures in the basketball world.

“I’ve been a Knicks fan my whole life but even I have to appreciate what D-Wade has “He’s always been one of the few things I didn’t dislike about the organization.”

At age 24, three years after his draft, Wade brought Miami basketball its first championsh one of the greatest individual finals performances the league has ever seen with 34.7 PPG he’s been recognized as the face of the franchise and has shared the co-captain position fo and close friend, Udonis Haslem.

When long-time friends and soon to be teammates LeBron James and Chris Bosh joine was obvious that Wade would have to share some of the spotlight, it was always understo to Dallas the first year of the “Big Three Era,” James came back better and stronger than training with NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon. LeBron James reached his peak in a Miam press and credit for the two straight championships (and rightfully so), in the locker room was still the voice of the team.

The Big Three Era was a bright time for the city of Miami, with four-straight Finals app James was the star player, but without Wade and Bosh supporting him the Heat never wo and LBJ had one of the best connections as teammates that anyone had ever seen in sports Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Their bond of brotherhood off the court showed strong on the c one another, making passes and plays with each other that only two people with their type When LeBron decided to return home to Cleveland after Miami’s defeat at the hands of were left in Miami as the big two. When Bosh went down halfway through the next seas was yet again the sole all-star playing in a Heat jersey. In the 2015-16 season, Bosh went of the best seasons of his career at age 34, showing how he has molded and adjusted his game to be based around skill rather than brute athleticism in correspondence with his continuously increasing age.

Wade had never once been the highest paid player on the Miami Heat in his entire career and at the end of this season he finally decided to ask for what he deserved, but his age provided complications with agreements. Miami President and fatherly-figure Pat Riley hurt Wade by prioritizing the hunt for Kevin Durant and the keeping of 7 foot center Hassan Whiteside. After Kevin Durant announced his decision to go to the Warriors, Riley was still unwilling to give Wade the money he had wanted, and D-Wade saw an opportunity to follow in his best friend’s footsteps: to go home.

On July 6th, Dwyane Wade announced that he had agreed to join the Chicago Bulls on a two-year 47.5 million dollar deal. While Miami fans were heartbroken, they never were upset with o grew angry at Wade because they were understanding of the situation with Pat Riley and the fact that Chicago was Wade’s original home. Wade said it was always a childhood dream of his to play for his hometown, but everyone recognizes that the main reason he’s made this homecoming is that he was genuinely hurt that the organization he’s given his all two for the past dozen years would be willing to treat him like they did.

“It was definitely sad to see Wade go but I know he’ll be happy ending his career where everything started for him,” says senior Aspen Oudshoorn.

Miami fans will always adore Dwyane Wade and he will always be one of the heroes of So We won’t speak poorly of him. We will cheer for him just as loud as we did before when

s a Homecoming

The Low-Key Olympic Winners Jordan Albrti Staff Writer

Unless you were living under a rock for the last 3 weeks of summer, you would have seen or heard that the Olympics were taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There were many headlines that came out of these Olympics: the Ryan Lochte controversy, the Mi-

Photo By: Samual Eliacin

done for Miami,” says senior Jonathan Herbert.

hip title ever and was crowned Finals MVP after G, 47% FG, 7.8 RPG, and 3.8 APG. Since then or the majority of the last decade with teammate

ed Wade’s Heat in the summer of 2010, while it ood that it was still his team. After Miami’s loss n ever before after intensive post-game summer mi uniform and although he received most of the m it was more than well-understood that ‘Flash’

chael Phelps and Usain Bolt Show, the Katie Ledecky takeover, and even the U.S Olympic Women’s Gymnastics team. With all these flashing headlines, you might not have heard of the underdog countries who miraculously took home medals despite all odds. Such Olympic teams who were hindered from their accomplishments include Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia. Along with them, there were a couple of other underdog Olympic teams who also rose to the top.

The most interesting Olympic story of all is that of Mongolia. Mongolia is a country located in East Asia in between Russia (North Border) and China (South Border). It is separated from Kazakhstan by only 22 miles. Mongolia made their first Summer Olympic debut in 1964; they, however, failed to take home an Olympic medal. Their first medal came in 1968 at the Mexico City Olympics.

During this year’s Olympics, Mongolia took home 2 bronze medals. One of the bronze medals came in Women’s Judo and the other came in Men’s Boxing. They had won 3 medals, but one was stripped from them due to the referees declaring that Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran, a Mongolian wrestler, received a penalty because he celebrated his victory too early. The penalty cost him a point and in turn cost him the match. Mandakhnaran’s lost victory became ironic when Mongolian coaches began stripping off their clothes.

One coach even undressed to nothing but his underwear. Despite all of their accomplishments to disway the judges’ decisions, the Mongolian wrestler however was unable to attain his victory. He had been stripped of the bronze medal and his coaches had stripped their clothes, what a story!

Along with Mongolia’s success, Uzbekistan had their fair share as well. Uzbekistan is a country located in Central Asia and it is landlocked between five countries. They have Kazakhstan (to the North), Tajikistan (to the south-east), Kyrgyzstan (to the northeast), Afghanistan (to the South), and Turkmenistan (to the southwest). Uzbekistan first appeared in the 1996 Summer Olympics where they won both a bronze and a silver medal. In the 2012 London Olympics, they won 3 medals. This Olympics was a huge step up, for the Uzbekistanis won 13 total medals. They were able to win 3 gold medals in 3 different boxing categories and 1 gold medal in weightlifting. As mentioned earlier, Mongolia had a medal stripped away from them because of a penalty in a wrestling match- that match was against Uzbekistan’s very own, Ikhtiyor Navruzov. Uzbekistan managed to gain their 13th medal because of this bizarre ending on the last day of the Rio Olympics. One man’s loss quite literally became another man’s gain.

And finally rising to the top of the chain was Kazakhstan- they took more medals in the Olympics than Mongolia and Uzbekistan combined. They were able to win 17 medals, including 3 gold medals. Just like Uzbekistan, they are located in Central Asia. They too made their first appearance during the 1996 summer Olympics. Kazakhstan has always held a solid stance during the Olympics; they have never won less than 7 medals at a summer Olympics. This Olympics, though, they set a new record for their country. They won 3 gold medals in boxing, 3 gold medals in swimming, and 3 gold medals in weightlifting.

When asked about the magic runs of the Low-Key Olympic Winners, freshman Daniel Dellostrologo said “I have only heard Mongolia because I ate Mongolian Beef at Pei-Wei but I don’t know where Mongolia is. I don’t know where it is and I really didn’t expect to see that they were in the Olympics, nonetheless actually win a couple of medals. I would have never expected Mongolia of all countries to win Olympic medals.”

These three unknown countries have rose to the top. Although they weren’t the hot topic of conversation during the games, they still managed to victoriously overpass great challenges. Maybe being an underdog is not be so bad after all.

pearances and two straight championships. King would’ve seen the success that they did. D-Wade s, garnering comparisons to the likes of Michael court, and they always seemed to be in sync with e of special connection could. the San Antonio Spurs in 2014, Wade and Bosh son due to a serious blood clot condition, Wade down for health issues again and Wade had one

Graphic By: Michael Perez

outh Florida’s history. We won’t burn his jerseys. n he walks into the American Airlines Arena this

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Graphic By: Justain Peirce

Charter’s Hype on Upcoming Fall Shows Roselle Curiel

Charter Revie

Staff Writer

“I

’m curious to see how they will continue Empire.

There are so many different expectations that I have for the new season, since the last one ended with Andrea’s wife, Wanda, and a pregnant Anita fighting near a balcony.

Someone gets pushed off and I’m really excited to see who it was.” - Mayra Saintilus, Junior

“I

am looking forward to watching American Horror Story again. It’s just so suspenseful and gives me such a creepy feeling which makes it so exciting. My favorite part of the show are the characters because their personalities are so twisted and crazy.” - Natalie Alegria, Sophomore

Mayra Saintilus Photo by: Guilia Marcondes

“I

’m really looking forward to The Flash since he’s my favorite superhero. I’m also excited for the The Walking Dead to come out because I’ve always really liked the concept of zombies.” - Ara Johnson, Freshman

Ara Johnson Photo by: Justin Dourvetakis

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Suicide Squad Photo by: Justin Dourvetakis

“I

’m excited for the new season of The Walking Dead because the last one ended on a huge cliffhanger. I’ve been watching the show for 4 years and I find the character development the most interesting part of the show.” - Eric Argibay, Senior

Eric Argibay Photo by: Samuel Eliacin

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his summer there was a variety of mov ed Suicide Squad by Warner Bros. There ha students had plenty to say about the new Jo on Harley Quinn instead of him. In terms heroes even made appearances in the film s the storyline is concerned, the villains all from Harley Quinn to Killer Croc. The st Enchantress, and her backstory. In the end, villains who do some good for a change. Ad as well -- a massive benefit to any movie. eyes but it also delivered an upbeat sound films don’t receive the recognition they des to the top of the charts in the U.S. Many critics and fans rated the film with a “The film did not exceed my expectations b nonetheless,” said junior Angel Padron. Pa have definitely been executed better for he Many students also shared the same opi film was a good concept with a poorly dev Lougedo. He mentioned that the actors in better.

Students not only mentioned what they th film could have been better. Senior Andre fitting soundtrack would’ve made the movi also made great points on what they thoug on the date of the release, such as, showing easily been improved, but it is in no way s final verdict on the film, Angel Padron gav Hamilton also gave it a 4. As to why Angel the plot, but a more creative story could ha the film a 4 because the directing could hav Suicide Squad in the end had mixed revie profession cinema critics, as well. With ra

ews Suicide Squad

End of Summer Album Reviews B

Nadira Danticat

Co-Managing Editor - Content

londe by Frank Ocean He lives! Frank Ocean, the singer who stole the hearts of millions with his debut album Channel Orange, finally released his sophomore record after 4 years of waiting and speculation. His release of the album was anything but normal, with his release of a visual album entitled Endless the night before Blonde. Nevertheless, fans rushed to purchase and listen to the album on Apple Music, which gained Ocean his first No. 1 album on the Billboard Hot 200. The album opens with “Nikes”, which serves as the album’s lead single with an accompanying music video.

The album is a triumph, with every track serving as a narrative to the loves that Ocean has had and lost. Almost every song shines with nostalgia such as the romantic Pharrell and Tyler and The Creator-produced “Pink and White” which even features background vocals from Beyonce. “Ivy” depicts the mistakes Ocean made with his first love and includes aching lines like “I broke your heart last week, you’ll probably feel better by the weekend” (genius. com). Though the album has generally favorable reviews, some have mixed opinions. “I thought Blonde was great, but it just wasn’t as good as Channel Orange. I just don’t think it was completely worth the 4 year wait,” said senior Christopher Alegria. The best track on the album, though hard to choose, is “Nights”, which acts as the unofficial sequel to Channel Orange’s “Pyramids” due to the mesmerizing beat changes. I think it is fair to say that this record was well worth the wait and I would write a detailed review of every song if I simply had the space. That being said, it’s supremacy over Channel Orange is uncertain.

Suicide Squad Graphic by: Katie Perez

Diego Salazar Satff Writer

vies that came out, and one of them was the much anticipatave been mixed reviews and opinions about this film. Many oker, now played by Jared Leto, and how the movie focused s of the film itself, it was action packed. Some other super such as The Flash and Batman! As far as the characters and had their own unique personality and each one stood out, tory itself was fantastic, especially with the film’s villain, d, the film provided what was promised: a squad filled with dditionally, the film was filled to the brim with some humor . Suicide Squad not only delivered a fantastic film for the track that was great to the ears. Sometimes music in some serve, but this film provided the song Heathens, which rose

Frank Ocean: Graphic by: Talor Causey

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ome of the Strange by Young the Giant Indie heads everywhere rejoice! Alternative rock band Young the Giant have released their third studio album, Home of the Strange, following their 2014 album, Mind over Matter. This album has deep meaning, illustrating the relationship and history that the band has with America. Accordingly, the album begins with “Amerika”, which could set the scene for an immigrant who leaves their loved one for a more promising future. The intriguing “Titus Was Born” has the vibes of a haunting childhood tale, but is something you can’t stop listening to. “I was fairly impressed with this album, considering lately some alternative bands have tried to change up their sounds to get on the radio,” said senior Aja McGowans. The best track on the album is undoubtedly “Silvertongue”, which is the grooviest and most infectious song I have heard in a while. It just has that universal sound that appeals to all listeners and can be played at parties attended by any kind of music fan. That being said, the album does have a few duds such as “Jungle Youth,” which is trying too hard to sound like a 70’s rock band and the album’s titular track, “Home of the Strange,” which just does not fit well with the other tracks. Overall, Young the Giant’s third release was a success but does not blow me out of the water.

a variety of opinions, and PPCHS students are no exception. because I thought it would be awesome, but it was still good adron thought the film was still a joy to watch, but it could e was left wanting more. pinion that the film could have been better. “I thought the veloped plot. But the actors were good,” said junior Albert n the movie were great but the directing could have been

hought about the movie, but made some points on how the ew Hamilton said, “better editing the movie and a more vie go up a point or two on my final verdict.” Many students ght about the movie and how it could have been improved g more of the Joker. Suicide Squad is a film that could have shape or form a bad film; it is enjoyable overall. As for the ave it an 8, Albert Lougedo gave the film a 4, and Andrew l gave such a high rating- he really liked the characters and have made the movie much better. Albert and Andrew gave ave been much better and more entertaining as well. ews from not just Pines Charter High students but also the atings ranging from 4’s to 8’s, Suicide Squad left students

Young the Giant: Graphic by: Talor Causey

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AppliedVR: Innovative Pain Killer LJ Lemmers

F

Technology Editor

or many people, virtual reality was seen as something used only for video games. However, recent events have shown that the virtual world can be used in the medical field as well. AppliedVR is a user-friendly, virtual reality platform that helps relieve pain and anxiety before, during, and after medical procedures. Dr. Walter Greenleaf, the Chief Science Officer for Applied VR, says the technology is “suitable for any level of pain.”

AppliedVR started out in a global market research firm, Lieberman Research Worldwide. The creators of this device have conducted clinical research to find the most efficient way VR can help patients with their pain (appliedvr.io).

“AppliedVR sounds like a really innovative idea that can be a great medical procedure for different kinds of symptoms. Maybe it can help people who have cancer and relieve some of that pain they experience,” said senior Christina Hartenhoff.

The company is working with hospitals and doctors to get patients to use AppliedVR in order to study the effectiveness of the application. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, an investor in the company, and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles are working with AppliedVR. A recent study that Cedars-Sinai completed had a group of 60 patients with a range of medical conditions (abdominal pain, chest pain from pneumonia) use AppliedVR’s game, Bear Blast, in which players move their head to throw balls at cartoon bears. Before using the VR, the patients had an average pain of 5.5. The study showed that 20 minutes with VR reduced the patient's pain by 24% on average.

Evan Slazak was born with an extra bone in his leg, and at eleven years old, he and his family decided he was ready to have it surgically removed. After his recovery, the time came for him to remove the cast. Naturally, anxiety would take over Evan during the procedure. Fortunately, Dr. Bernstein, an orthopedic surgeon, had recently begun using virtual reality with his patients, and Evan’s cast removal was the perfect opportunity for this new technology (appliedvr.io).

On the day of his procedure, Evan immediately put on the headset. While Evan was shooting bears, Dr.Bernstein got the saw and began to cut into Evan’s cast. Evan was unfazed during the whole process. After removing the cast, Dr.Beinstein had to remove stitches from Evan’s foot. Evan showed no signs of discomfort or pain and continued to be lost in the virtual world. After the procedure Evan stated, “It didn’t hurt at all. I’m going to tell my friends that this was really fun and they should all try it out!”

Dr.Greenleaf relates this principle to the Selective Attention Theory, which states that the brain can only pay attention to so many things at a certain time. With the VR, our consciousness is redirected and reduces the amount of pain (inverse.com). Matthew Stoudt, CEO and co-founder of Applied VR, said the technology can be used to create better outcomes and better patient experiences.

“Sometimes when I am really focused on doing something, I don’t pay attention to what’s going on around me. AppliedVR distracting the patient with a video game can really help ease the pain of the procedure even if it is a little but,” said senior Aja McGowans.

Brennan Spiegal, who directs health services research at Cedars-Sinai, is optimistic about virtual reality’s prospect for helping reduce patient’s discomfort. However, he is wary about the benefits it can have on everyone. While he believes the technology can be useful to some people who are in pain or could help with relaxation, more data is needed before the VR treatment can be proven useful (technologyreview.com).

Elliot Krane, chief pediatric pain management at Standford Children’s Health, thinks that the VR’s distracting method can be useful in helping kids with physical therapy and getting them to stay still during imaging studies (technologyreview.com). Krane’s main purpose is to find software developers who want to make applications that target specific medical problems. This information would help AppliedVR improve its catalog of content.

Right now, AppliedVR is using the Samsung Gear headset. The plan for the program is to expand to essentially all areas of medical application. Stoudt has stated that their main goal is to create a VR pharmacy that can have a role in healthcare that can have

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ark your calendar for Septemb pected announcement date of the new mored to have no headphone jack, a and a thinner feel, the new Apple p releasing two models, one with a 4.7-i hone 7) and the other with a 5.5-inch 7 Plus), along with a new iPhone colo available for purchase with the 7. Fre Muñoz, who currently has an iPhone the idea of an all-black iPhone, but I’m in buying it in that color.”

The most talked about change to the i the removal of the headphone jack. L sic will now be done through Bluetoo ning port, which uses chord free he will be provided with the purchase of about losing the headphones have be Freshman Emi Gonzalez said, “I don of chord-free headphones, I think the be lost by everyone the second they most people, headphones and a pho

• FIFA 17 (Sept. 27; PS4, Xb game franchise is one of the largest. T ago! In terms of changes that have ta look and feel more realistic. Game m duced in many popular games, includ been enhanced for FIFA has added ne play. In addition, the AI of the game is

• Forza Horizon 3 (Sept. 27 videogame is the 3rd installment of th but also introduces the beautiful Lam of sports cars, super cars, and trucks, Horizon history!

• NBA 2K17 (Sept. 20; PS4 game of basketball is respected as an a video games. Not only does the game ment aspect of the videogame. The gr release is going to add the US men’s 2

• Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 people may enjoy FIFA more than PES about. Not only does this game have t tion options. New additions to the gam

Graphic by: Taylor Causey

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• NHL 17 (Sept. 13; PS4, X means a new game is on the rise as we ey- a tournament with international te use their whole body to block a shot a

iPhone 7: Bigger and Better than Ever Ainsley McCormick Community Outreach

ber 7th, the exw iPhone 7. Rubetter camera, product will be inch screen (iPscreen (iPhone or, Space Black, eshman Isabella 5s, said, “I like m not interested

Phone 7 will be istening to muth or the Lighteadphones that the 7. Worries een a problem. n’t like the idea ey are going to get them.” For one charger are

Graphic by: Justin Pierce

With the new iPhone 7, you won’t have to worry about that since the battery life is going to last for a much longer time, and once home, the iPhone will quickly begin to charge once attached to its wireless charger. In addition, Apple will be changing the home button, which will be switched to a touch-sensitive pad, meaning the user will no longer need to use pressure when touching the home button, saving your muscles from doing a little extra work.

Another upgrade to this iPhone is the camera. Having a dual-lens camera will give the user a better experience while taking photos because it will provide better photos taken in low-light situations, a stronger depth perception, and possibly the ability to take 3-D images. “The upgraded camera is likely to be one of the biggest draws of the new phone,” according to telegraph.co.uk. The dreaded “Storage Almost Full” notification will also be a thing of the past since the 7 will be available with 256 GB of data usage.

With all of these new improvements, many are anxious to get a hold of the new phone as soon as possible,

Gaming Review: Diego Salazar Staff Writer

box One, PS3, Xbox 360, Android, Microsoft Windows, IOS): The FIFA 17 This franchise has been open since the Nintendo NES, which came out years ken place in this year’s FIFA, EA developers want to make the experience akers have added a new graphics engine called Frostbite; it has been introding Battlefield and Star Wars Battlefront. The gameplay of this video has ew overhauls to the gameplay: new set pieces, attacking plays, and physical s much more intelligent as well.

; Xbox One, Microsoft Windows): Placing itself into the racing genre, this e Horizon series. This new Horizon Game is not only now held in Australia mborghini Centenario! In past Horizon games, the racing usually consisted but now Forza Horizon 3 is adding dune buggies for the first time ever in

4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows): Considering that the all-time American sport, developer Visual Concepts releases yearly NBA 2K have updated rosters but it also included additional upgrades to the manageraphics also appear more realistic this time around. Furthermore, this year’s 2016 international team- the team that participated in the Olympics!

7 (Sept. 13; PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows): Many S, but PES has a few exclusive features that players should really be excited the biggest competition in Europe but it also adds more uniform customizameplay have also been enhanced, such as better goal keeping.

box One): The NHL season has ended but a new season is dawning, so that ell. NHL 17 adds a bunch of new features, including the World Cup of Hockeams. There have been some game play overhauls. Goalies are now able to and can push a defender off, making space for a clearer shot.

Graphic by: Nicole Mercadal

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Technology

Pokémon Go: Searc David Cha-Kim

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News Editor

okémon trainers have been present in the real world for decades, but only now can we say that the creatures they catch have joined us. Pokémon fans have embarked yet again on a journey very familiar to them, in a location they’re not so accustomed to: reality.

It would be a colossal and unjust understatement to say that Pokémon Go lived up to its pre-release hype. Niantic and Nintendo’s cooperative augmented reality smartphone game became an instant hit, breaking records quicker than any app has before.

According to Forbes, Pokémon Go became the fastest game to top both the App Store and Google Play, also becoming the most downloaded app on Apple’s store of any app in its first week. As of August 8th, Pokémon Go has reached over 100 million downloads worldwide on Android devices alone. By the first day of August, the game had already generated more than $160 million dollars from in-app purchases, and though the rate has slowed down slightly, the number is still growing ridiculously fast.

In addition to the endless quantitative statistics, the game quickly became an iconic cultural phenomenon, being one of the most talked about things on social media for weeks, opening up new opportunities and ideas for businesses, and even going as far as increasing the enforcement of automobile/traffic safety.

The game being released over the school-free summer definitely helped the game skyrocket to fame so quickly, considering the youth-based audience the franchise has had for years. But young long-time Pokémon fans were certainly not the only ones who contributed to the running of the hype train that took route this summer.

People of all ages and all levels of prior knowledge about the series were downloading the free app, and many who had never even heard of Pokémon were falling in love with the game they once could not even pronounce the name of a week prior.

“Apart from playing one of the GameBoy games on my phone one time, my knowledge of the Pokémon series was very limited before GO came out,” says senior Chinedu Ezenwa. “I didn’t know what I was doing at first but the concept of it was cool so I got into it really quickly.”

Players sported shirts representing the Mystic, Instinct, and Valor teams, braggart posted their rosters as they progressed to their social media accounts, and made sure to travel with fellow team-members to group up to take down gyms of the opposing two teams, all contributing to a very unique summer both the gaming and social worlds.

While the game was without doubt a success, critics spoke poorly of the many problems and issues the app caused for its players. The servers were abnormally weak in the game’s early days post-launch, app-crashing issues for fans extended far after the servers were fixed, and the infamous “three-step glitch”, which made the radar show that all nearby Pokémon were the same distance away, made it virtually impossible to track specific creatures, which is pretty much the whole point and theme of the game. The plentiful problems the game was burdened with saw to many fans growing bored and frustrated with the game, making the gaming phenomenon it was not as brightly shining in the spotlight.

However, since then, the developers of Niantic and Nintendo having been doing the best they can to meet the expectations of their superiors, their fans, and the media. Several small patches have come out since the month of August began and the game is on the track to being as great as it was expected to be. The true fans of the series are patient and understanding, as they recognize that the companies admitted that the game was not truly complete when it was initially launched. Considerate fans also recognize that it is difficult for Niantic being the first major and popular pioneer of the augmented reality genre of gaming.

The water fountain in the center of Charter is marked as a gym and there are three PokeStops surrounding it, providing opportunities for a very active Pokémon community at our school. As the school year progresses and more updates come out improving the app itself, the game will maybe pick up the pace it once had during the summer and students (and maybe even teachers and other staff) will be likely to begin training and fighting for the gym that calls our fountain home.

“The game has kind of died down since the summer ended but that’s mostly because a lot of the bandwagons stopped playing,” says senior and former Charter gym leader Jason Acosta. “The game isn’t even a full game yet but when it reaches that stage it has potential to be something really special.”

There are talks of a “Buddy System” soon to be implemented, with candy being rewarded for “walking” and “bonding” with one Pokémon at a time, similar to the egg-hatching system already present in the game. Only the first generation of Pokémon franchise are in the game as of yet but more are set to come along with the features of trading and battling we were promised. When the present issues are fixed, and the promised soon-to-be features including the Buddy System arrive, Pokémon Go, the first major game of its kind, is sure to take the world by storm again.

Graphic by: Michael Perez

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Technology

ching Far and Wide

Graphic by: Michael Perez

Pokémon GO: Pokémon GO is the game that allows you to experience the Pokémon adventure for yourself.

Photo by: Samuel Eliacin

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Follow the Signs into the School Year Brittany Evelyn Business Manager - Content

Aries (March 21- April 19) If you’re ruled by Aries, you should take advantage of your energy and focus by setting goals and getting organized. Expect your grades to skyrocket!

Libra (September 23- October 22) The key to a successful school year is peace and quiet. When it comes to your academics, avoid your group of friends and stick to a study session on your own!

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Despite having a determined nature, you will find it tougher to concentrate than usual. Try focusing your attention on one task and working towards that goal!

Scorpio (October 23- November 21) Start planning your future and embrace change. It’s the perfect time to look into colleges, join a new club, or try out for a sports team!

Gemini (May 21- June 20) As you head into the new school year you’ll be full of energy and craving physical activity. Try pushing yourself a little harder in gym class!

Sagittarius (November 22- December 21) Hard work definitely pays off! You’re finally gaining respect as a leader in student government, sports, or on a class project.

Cancer (June 21- July 22) Prepare now by getting yourself organized because once spring hits you’ll get distracted by the beautiful weather!

Capricorn (December 22- January 19) Success is your thing, so expect to do amazing this year! Consider volunteering on your time off to acquire good karma.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Your creativity and ability to think quickly will help your GPA go through the ceiling!

Leo (July 23-August 22) Due to some distractions in your personal life, you might have to work twice as hard at school.

Virgo (August 21- September 22) You love the back-to-school season. Start your school year with fresh supplies to embrace new beginnings!

Pisces (February 19- March 20) Those of you born under the sign of Pisces are ready and waiting for the new school year. You have big goals in mind this year and may be closer than ever to achieving them!

Graphic by: Katie Perez

Workaholic 101 Maria Acosta-Rubio

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Clubs Edtor

variety of Charter students have done interesting things over the summer. Some have traveled around the world, sophomores obtained the opportunity to gain their permits, and others participated in camps and volunteer organizations. Upperclassmen, however, have arranged their focus not only on the standard requirements needed to graduate high school, but also on the professional wage they should be experiencing as they are fast—approaching their adulthood. Applying for summer jobs can be stressful, but carrying that job throughout the school year is only intensifies the pressure. However, some of Charter’s upperclassmen have learned, and would like to share, a few helpful tips and advice on how to maintain a balance between their jobs and academic and social lives.

Senior Sydney Balester comments, “I’m not going to lie, it’s hard to balance a job and school at the same time, especially for me, because my work hours are during the week. My boss makes me stay late at night, usually until closing time, so I can’t leave the mall until 11:30, making it even harder to get my school work done on time. It’s difficult to figure out how to balance your schedule between school, work, and sleep; however, I promise that once you get the hang of your routine everything else just eventually falls back into place.”

Summer jobs, such as a lifeguard or camp counselor, promote life lessons that can be remembered and reminisced upon from time to time. Summer jobs also allow students to learn valuable tips and traits that are expected of you in the real world such as commitment, time management, responsibility, and carrying out actions that are financially “smart.” Jobs can also help students notice possible career choices or majors that they have been looking forward in pursuing or are now considering to carry out in their futures.

Sometimes students decide to keep their summer jobs during the school year. While it is important to learn fundamental skills, such as customer service or how to earn a personal gain, it is still stressed and imperative to remember that a one’s academics trump all other extracurricular activities. Rearranging your work schedule around you classes and afterschool meeting are just a few helpful hints that will help you succeed in both your academic and career.

“I worked at Hollister during the summer and am currently working there now as well as working at my second job. I think in order to really balance out everything, you need to have your priorities in order. You have to know what your limits are,” said senior Tyler Gruber.

Of course, Tyler goes on to notify and acknowledge how during the school year, students shouldn’t override themselves of agreeing to work large amounts of hours. This is based on the fact that students will have enough time to work, and get their homework done so they don’t have to stay up late every night. Instead of working long hours during the week, students could make up those hours during the weekend, to have the opportunity to focus on academics.

Photo Donated By: Ashley McGowan-Sewell Whether it be working during the summer for the whole week, working once or twice a day during the week because it’s the school year, or trying to balance both, summer jobs are some easy experiences to try in order to see how a taste of the

world would look like during or after college.

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Graphic by: Nicole M

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Rules for Back to School Sarah Barrocas and Alexa Infante

Bites for an After School Appetite Sarah Barrocas

Co-Managing Editor - Content Student Life Editor

nt has come to the point in their life where they lie in bed with their eyes closed and decide their life together. With summer coming to a close and the new school year kicking off, now re are a few tips that can help any student conquer the halls and the classroom. ur Alarm arm in the morning is extremely helpful for those who have the tendency to sleep in. Try rm for the same time each morning. Waking up at the same time each day will keep your le consistent and normalize your sleeping patterns. Your internal biological clock will slowack to a standard routine. If you’re one to shut off the ringer of your alarm and continue to etting your alarm 5-10 minutes before the time you are expected to be getting ready. While ur alarm may be an unpleasant noise to wake up to, the consequences of not getting up for are even worse. eakfast arly mornings by consuming a hearty and nutritious breakfast. Research has confirmed that most important meal of the day for children’s health, academic achievement, cognitive demental health (bestpractices.nokidhungry.org). Breakfast is often associated with decreased d tardiness, higher grades, and increased scores on standardized assessments. Proteins and will provide you with the energy and concentration needed to survive the school day. If you usually rushed in the mornings and have the tendency to skip breakfast, then try an on-thes instant oatmeal or a yogurt parfait.

Co-Managing Editor - Content

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ur backpacks are packed, our uniforms have slowly come back, and our homework has piled itself into stacks—the school year is back in session. This 8-month period is one that is looked forward to by some, while others can’t wait to get it over. Whether your school year is exciting or exhausting, fuel you academics with these yummy back to school treats!

French Toast Roll-Ups:

Bacon and Hashbrown Egg Bake:

Mercadal

Night’s Sleep ered food for the brain. Not getting enough sleep can limit your ability to learn, listen, conolve problems. In order to function to their best of their abilities, teenagers need about 8 to ep every night. Most students aren’t getting enough sleep—one study found that only 15% e getting a sufficient amount of sleep. Junior Joseph Tinghitella said, “I try to go to bed at a e, around 11 o’clock, every night. I’m a pretty energetic person, so when I don’t get enough ly lethargic throughout the school day. When I do get sleep, I can easily tell that I remain nd concentrated throughout the day.” Many have irregular sleeping patterns throughout the udents typically stay up late because they are studying for an exam or get preoccupied with social media. Kids make up for their sleep deficit by then sleeping in on the weekend. An ule does not only affect their biological clocks but also hurts their quality of sleep. Important en has a difficult time being retained (sleepfoundation.org) head ven planners at the beginning of the school year, it is generally understood that the majority ents rarely use their agenda. However, your agendas should become your newest right-hand chool year. Planners allow you to organize any upcoming work that may be due and help d on any assignment. Make notes to remind yourself what events you are expected to enek. Finishing your homework before the actual due date helps you reduce your procrastinaning in your assignment in a timely manner and not waiting until the last second to do so is ll that one must master in order to smoothly succeed in high school. Freshman Shazia Khan never used my agenda in middle school, but now that I am in high school I think it will help organized. Writing everything down just helps me plan out my week so I don’t abandon the study before a test or miss the due date for an assignment.” Procrastination only intensifies chool, so look at your agenda and plan ahead! als year’s school term and look forward. This year will provide you with a fresh start for it is o new beginnings. Every goal is unique to the specific individual. But remember, don’t beat he struggles you have faced in the past. You must only look into the future, providing you te to start over. If you notice in the past that you tend to easily get distracted while studying n a study group. If you realized that you continuously finished your homework much later ecause you tend to get distracted, try putting your phone away. Learning from past mistakes u to grow as an individual. As Tom Krause once said, “There are no failures—just experireactions to them.” o school is never easy, but with a clear mind and healthy schedule, the process will be a little owing these tips will help you to be more organized, relaxed, and confident so you can take a smile.

Graphic by: Nicole Mercadal

INGREDIENTS ● 8 slices white sandwich bread ● Softened cream cheese ● Diced strawberries ● Nutella ● 2 eggs ● 3 tablespoons milk ● ⅓ cup granulated sugar ● 1 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon ● Butter, for greasing the pan

INGREDIENTS ● 1 lb bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces ● 1/2 cup medium onion, chopped ● 3/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped ● 1 package sliced fresh mushrooms ● 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard ● 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper ● 3/4 cup milk ● 12 eggs ● 1 package thawed hash browns ● 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS 1.)

Cut the crust from each slice of bread and flatten it out with a rolling pin.

2.)

Place about 1-2 teaspoons of your chosen filling 1 inch from one end of the bread in a strip. Roll the bread up tightly and repeat with the remaining pieces of bread.

3.)

In a shallow bowl whisk the eggs and milk until well combined.

4.)

In a separate shallow bowl mix the sugar with the cinnamon.

5.)

Heat a skillet set over medium heat and melt a tablespoon of butter.

6.)

Dip each bread roll in the egg mixture coating well and then place them in the pan seam side down.

Cook in batches until golden brown, turning them to cook and brown on all sides, about 2 minutes per side.

Add butter to the pan as needed.

7.)

Add cooked rolls immediately from the pan to the cinnamon sugar and roll until completely covered in sugar. OPTIONAL: serve with syrup

DIRECTIONS 1.)

In a 12-inch skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove from pan to small bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

2.)

Drain drippings, reserving 1 tablespoon in pan. Add onion and bell pepper; cook 4 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in mustard, salt and pepper. In large bowl, beat milk and eggs with wire whisk.

3.)

Spray 13×9-inch (3-quart) baking dish with cooking spray. Spread half of hash browns in baking dish.

Spread onion mixture evenly on top. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese.

Spread remaining hash browns over top. Pour egg mixture on top. Cover; refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

4.)

Heat oven to 325°F. Uncover; bakefor 50 to 60 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese and the bacon. Bake 3 to 5 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean, top is puffed and cheese is melted. Let stand 5 minutes.

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Weekend Review

Louisiana a Victim, Yet Again

Nadira Danticat

Matthew Hernandez & Andres Perez

co-managing editor

Staff Writers

Hurricane Hermine terrorizes North Florida Category 1 Hurricane Hemine bore down on the northern and Panhandle regions of Florida on Thursday, September 1. The storm has sustained winds with speeds reaching 80 miles per hour and is the first hurricane to reach landfall since Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Governor Rick Scott has called the storm “life threatening”, (cnn.com) which is probably why many Charter alumni have had their classes cancelled until Tuesday at schools such as University of Florida, Florida State University, and Florida A&M University.

Oldest Fossils in the world have been discovered On September 1st, a group of scientists made the shocking discovery of fossils dating back to over 3.7 billions years ago. The fossils, found in the Isua area of Greenland, are 220 millions years older than the previous oldest fossils. The fossils have been since identified as stromatolites, which are already regarded as the world’s oldest fossils. This discovery could possibly put a date on the origin of photosynthesis.

Stanford rapist released 3 months early Brock Turner, the former Stanford University swimmer who raped an unconscious female student at a frat party in early 2015, has been released early on Friday, September 2nd. The controversial case sparked debates nationwide due to Turner’s lenient sentence of a mere 6 months.

His early release, due to “good behavior”, has caused even more outrage because he only served 3 months of his sentence. A petition created to recall the judge who made the sentence for Turner has amassed nearly a million signatures.

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ore than 20 inches of rain fell near East Baton Rouge between August 11th and the 14th, according to NPR. Louisiana has been suffering from historic flooding for months now.

Reportedly, it is the worst natural disaster in the US since Hurricane Sandy. Damages are accumulating to over 30 million dollars and people are being left homeless without food and clothes. Many have come to the aid of Louisiana and have saved lives but much more must be done to deal with the damage that has been done. The flooding was abrupt and not much could be done to prevent the disaster it has become today.

Louisiana was put under a state of emergency as a result of the flooding and the news has hit home for the entire United States. According to CNN, Livingston parish was among one of the areas most affected by the flooding and around 75% of the community had been destroyed.

Around 31 inches of rain fell around this parish and left homeowners speechless. Most of the locals watched as their homes and everything inside it were slowly filled with water.

Junior Manuel Estremera said, “I was watching the news one day when I saw this terrible tragedy. Louisiana has dealt with these floods for a long time and it is a shame they just continue to be struck with these massive floods. It’s crazy to think of the mass destruction that flooding can cause and these poor people can’t avoid it.”

Damages to property may sound like the worst that this flood has caused, but this disaster has been so severe that 13 people have lost their lives. Without the National Guard and good Samaritans in the community, that number could have been much higher. The National Guard and other organizations have rescued more than 30,000 residents and 1,400 pets. Rain is expected to continue falling in Louisiana but due to the landscape, the flood levels will not decrease very quickly.

“The people of that region have had to deal with floods for decades now and the problem never seems to be able to go away. Even though they’ve tried several times to prepare, there’s no real way to change the environment and how it’s laid out,” said Junior Gabriela Rodriguez.

Though a tragedy, Louisiana has in a way grown numb to the effects of natural disasters and the people who live there have always proven to overcome the horrible effects of these events.

With the help of major organizations like the Red Cross, the people of Louisiana can pick themselves up and rebuild the lost homes and property.

Lady and the Trump Evan Samuels & Frank Mora web managing editor

Staff Writer

Zika found in 3 mosquitoes in Miami Beach The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced on Thursday, September 1st that three mosquito samples from Miami Beach tested positive for the Zika virus. Prior to this, the only cases of Zika were carried by humans so this is the first case of mosquitos with the virus in the continental United States. (cnn.com).As of now, there are 49 cases of Zika-carrying individuals in Florida, with 42 of them residing in the county of Miami-Dade. The Miami Police Department has attempted to reduce the spread of the virus by giving out mosquito repellent to the homeless.

SpaceX rocket explodes at launch pad in Cape Canaveral A SpaceX rocket exploded at the launch pad of Cape Canaveral on the morning of September 1. The rocket and satellite were both completely destroyed, amidst an intended Saturday launch. The rocket was supposed to be used by Facebook to bring internet access to Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Europe. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed the issue in a Facebook post expressing his disappointment. “[The satellite] would have provided connectivity to so many entrepreneurs and everyone else across the continent,” said Zuckerberg. (abc7.com)

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he 2016 election is one of the most controversial elections ever. On the Democratic side, we have Hillary Clinton, w United States. She believes in limiting gun control, protecting America's civil liberties, and giving our youth a high quality ed is Donald Trump. He wants to protect the second amendment, believes that education should be at a local level, and that g be able to vote as early as October 24th - November 6th, so these elections are truly going to the last minute.

On July 28, 2016, Hillary Clinton held her Democratic National Convention speech. Throughout the speech, she noted ho the main democratic candidate. She outlined President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden’s importance to Amer America must not build a wall separating Mexico and the U.S. According to the ‘LA Times,’ Clinton also noted that, “we m of immigrants who are contributing to our economy.”

Because this race is so close, the battle will most likely be won and lost on the debate floor. Trump has said on multiple occ not be afraid to “expose” Hillary Clinton. Clinton hasn’t backed down to the billionaire though, slewing out attack after at has 8.5 million followers. Clinton has recently called out Trump on his idea to build a wall on the border with Mexico cal Trump actually gave a speech on this controversial topic in Mexico on August 31st, saying that he and the Mexican govern wall” and he also tweeted that night that Mexico would “pay for the wall.” These views are giving Trump the slight lead o CNN, if the election was today, Trump would defeat Clinton by a margin of just 2 percent. (45-43) These numbers are definit debate, which is on September 26, 2016.

In one of Trump’s speeches, he brought up his policy of prohibiting the entry of Muslims into the country. At the DNC and Ghazala Khan spoke of how their son died fighting for our country as a United States Army Captain. Their argumen to prohibit immigration entry from people of an entire religion while many, like their son, are just as ‘American’ as anyo mocking Islam and claiming that the wife, Ghazala, probably was likely silent during her husband’s speech because she h Trump’s numbers in the year.

Hillary Clinton and her “corrupt” email scandal also remain a prevalent theme. During her tenure as US Secretary of State, private email server for communications rather than state official email accounts, violating the code of maintaining classi As more information about this scandal has periodically been released, her supporters have slightly swayed away and her in the elections.

“The controversy surrounding these two candidates is terrible. There is no way Trump should be able to win the election but there is also no way Clinton should win with her email scandal. Usually there is a clear front runner in the race, or at lea year it is very different. So it will be interesting to see who Americans vote for in November,” said junior Mia Gonzalez.

The 2016 elections is unique to say the least. Trump and Clinton keep battling to take over the presidential polls in a full fi antonymous, the elections this year are definitely giving all ages of people something to talk about. Some of Charter’s ow vote for their first time in an election that will forever be remembered for its theatrics.

Remembering Stefano Dioguardi Cristina Feliciano Features Editor

O n July 29, 2016, Pembroke Pines Charter High School lost one of its beloved alumni. PPCHS graduate, Stefano Dioguardi, was well known around campus for

his outstanding skills throughout his water polo and swimming career. Dioguardi always had a smile from ear to ear on his face at every swim meet.

“He was big on team spirit and was always a goofball throughout the season. I even remember Stefano swimming the 500 without his goggles because he said ‘it would be funny’ ”, said Mrs. Calero. While at Charter, Dioguardi was a part of both the water polo and swim team for all four years of high school.

With a full ride scholarship to Florida Atlantic University, Dioguardi was majoring in medicine in hopes of becoming a doctor. However, Dioguardi’s life took a spin for the worst when he was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma just two weeks after graduating from PPCHS in 2015. This unfortunate tragedy has affected PPCHS as a whole and all those who were close to him. By his side through the heartache and pain were his parents, Vito and Tamara Dioguardi, as well as his two younger sisters.

On behalf of the Dioguardi family, PPCHS would like to bring attention the organization that has been created in honor of Stefano –Forza Stefano Foundation.

Dioguardi’s father, Vito, “is looking to create an organization that will give back to, and provide continuing support to this special community of water polo players and their families. Whether it’s providing funds to cover travel costs for competitions, or assisting individuals that face catastrophic medical expenses such as Stefano’s, there is a profound recognition by his family of the obligation to ‘pay this generosity forward’.” Overall, the Dioguardi’s would like to share their knowledge and experiences with those families dealing with similar circumstances. PPCHS students have the opportunity to help this wonderful cause by donating to the organization on https://www.gofundme.com/2hj5eks .

Dioguardi will always be remembered by his peers to be the fun, loving, and goofy kid on the water polo and swim team.

Always having a smile upon his face, Dioguardi lit up every room he entered with his contagious personality and charm. On behalf of PPCHS, The CHAT would like to express our deepest condolences to the family and friends.

Donated by Yearbook

Graphic by: Justin Pierce

who could be the first female president of the education. While on the Republican side, there global warming is a hoax. People are going to

ow happy and accepting she is to take over as rica. Clinton went into great detail about how must build a path to citizenship for the millions

casions that when these debates come, he will ttack on Trump on her Twitter account which alling it a “bad idea from a worse negotiator.” rnment leaders “spoke about the building of a over Hillary in the recent polls. According to tely heating things up for the next Presidential

C afterwards, a Pakistani couple named Khizr nt was questioning Trump’s audacity to want one else. This speech and Trump’s comments had to be, was the cause of the biggest dip in

, word came out that Clinton used her family’s sified information, which is a federal offense. r recent poll numbers drop just below Trump

n with the remarks he makes about Muslims, east one who’s at least kind of likable, but this

fire race. Though politics and drama are often wn seniors have the prestigious opportunity to

Graphic by: Justin Pierce

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Speeeeeaakk Liiiiikkkkee Controversial Killer Whales in Captivity Whhhaaaaalllee Paolo Barrera

Christopher Nappi

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Staff Writer

S eaWorld is a private company that is owned by SeaWorld parks and entertainment. SeaWorld first opened

on March 21st, 1959 when four UCLA graduates George Millay, Milton Shedd, Dave Demotte and Ken Norris, decided to create an underground restaurant surrounded by a humongous sized fish tank. Right after the idea, the city of San Diego denied the construction rights for their restaurant. The four graduates then chose not to build down, but to build upward to create the first ever aquamarine park in San Diego, California, which is now known as SeaWorld.

After great success in San Diego, the graduated decided to become a franchise, building in new locations like in San Antonio, Texas, Aurora, Ohio, and the newest park in Orlando, Florida.

Usually, when people or students hear about SeaWorld they quickly think about the exhilarating rollercoasters or seeing the huge Orca whales jumping out of the water. And they’re right, SeaWorld is a place to hang out with your family while you enjoy a day of rides or walking around seeing wonderful marine animals swim in their tanks. Senior William Wormsbecher said, “I like going to SeaWorld because it gives me time to spend my weekend with my family in a fun atmosphere”. SeaWorld also does a great job at treating their animals with extreme care. According to Voicesofseaworld.com SeaWorld “has rescued 23,000 animals in the last 40 years.” SeaWorld even has their very own marine research center, so they can study the animals, how they interact in their habitat, and see how long the marine animals could live in the wild and in custody. Each year, SeaWorld has over 1,000 schools visit their theme park for educational purposes on how they treat their animals and how they save them day in and day out.

On July 19th, 2013 the documentary Blackfish appeared in theaters. It’s a documentary about how SeaWorld treats their animals, but mostly tells the story of the killer whale Tilikum. This documentary destroyed the sales for SeaWorld by 45% in the year of 2013.

However, according to a trainer who got interviewed for that movie said “the creators of Blackfish picked apart his words to make it sound like he believed that SeaWorld deceived its trainers and the public.”Clearly, the documentary Blackfish is a bad source to watch about SeaWorld.

Overall, SeaWorld is not only a place to have fun and go on rides but it’s also a marine Photo By: Justin Dourvetakis

Staff Writer

f all the theme parks, aquariums, museums, and other popular attractions in Orlando, is the ocean themed amusement park known as Sea World. To both Floridians and visitors, Sea World is the place to be for all kinds of animal lovers. As the name suggests, Sea World’s biggest selling points are their live shows that feature a variety of sea life as the stars. SeaWorld’s “incredible killer whale performances” (seaworld.com) are what have attracted much criticism as of late because of the controversy surrounding the wellbeing and treatment of their beloved killer whales.

Reflected by the many pictures of Orcas on their website, killer whales are what SeaWorld likes to promote and show off, so to speak. Headlining her own stadium and show is the mantle of the iconic Shamu line of bred killer whales. Sea World’s foundation for its success was built around these splashing black and white mammals, but why are they being fought for by animal right activists? Well, this is because of the miserable conditions they have been living under.

Sea World’s rescue department, known as Sea World Cares, publicly talks about its goal “to successfully rehabilitate and return them to the wild.” Unless rehabilitate and return mean perform every day and live in a cramped pool for years to come, then Sea World’s famous rescued Orcas haven’t been nurtured for by Sea World Cares. Long term captivity in these completely unnatural habitats have decreased life spans from 30-50 years, to an average of 9 years. An example of the negative effects of SeaWorld’s Orca treatment would be the controversial Tilikum, who was the largest killer whale in captivity. Kidnapped and separated from his family (according to seaworldofhurt.com), Tilikum was forced to live in a 40 foot deep pool beginning at the age of 2. In comparison to the actual ocean, the 40 foot deep pool wasn’t deep enough to prevent sunburns, nor was it large enough to allow for an Orca’s natural daily travels of 75 miles a day out in the wild. Therefore, the stress that caused Tilikum to unfortunately kill two trainers in 1999 and 2010, were a result of his miserable life in what seemed like a bathtub in comparison to where he grew up.

Sea World has shut down its Orca breeding program after being exposed for its severe mistreatment of all of its killer whales. Killer whales aren’t the only mistreated species being held in the SeaWorld theme parks though. Dolphins and other animals have been subject to similar treatment, with cramped and repulsively unnatural living conditions. Isn’t it unsettling to know that four hours away in Orlando, is an Orca, dolphin, or even sea lion being forced to perform against their will and natural instincts?

Photo By: Justin Dourvetakis

Photo By: Justin Dourvetakis

Sneak peek for The CHAT’s upcoming issue: Upon their return to school, Pines Charter students found new black gates surrounding our campus.

There have been many changes to the campus. To find out more, check out our next issue in October!

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