DIAMOND BAR HIGH SCHOOL
Matthew Aquino the rising star
sports 16
Randy Thomas
Diamond Bar High School’s cutest couples
a&e 10
Alumni Feature
feature theme 8-9
School’s Internet C***orship
feature 7
EYE OF THE EDITORS
editorial 5
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
White Out Game
STUDENT NEWSPAPER
The Bull’s Eye WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014
Volume XXXII, Issue VI | ONLINE at dbbullseye.com | Published Monthly
State tests to be held early Administraters hope to start testing early to avoid interference with AP testing. BY KATLYN LEE NEWS EDITOR
sionable memory with Darren. Filled with stories that revealed many humorous sides of Darren, the video offered occasional moments of chuckle amidst the generally solemn ambience. Many recollected his sarcasm and wit, traits that had made Darren fun to be around. It was his way of showing courage even in situations when it was hard to. By the end of the clip, the congregation had grown quiet, drenched in nostalgia, reminiscing on their own past experiences shared with their friend. The video was followed by a moving speech from three of Darren’s soccer teammates: DBHS seniors Alex Larcheveque, Vishal Bhupathiraju, and Carlos Amezquita, who reflected on Darren’s athleticism, ambitiousness, and resilience. The ceremony then transitioned into a special trio performance put
For students at Diamond Bar High School, the week of state standardized testing is closer than we think. Because the school must give students both California Standardized Testing and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, students will be required to follow a new testing schedule from late March to mid-April. Tentatively, during the week before Spring Break, juniors will take a field SBAC, consisting of 25 questions of English Language Arts, 25 questions of Mathematics, and one Performance Task section. After returning from Spring Break, all students except seniors will be spending at least a week of April taking standardized tests. Although the CST is optional for schools, juniors at DBHS will be required to take the ELA and Math CST’s in order to take the EAP section, which is an extra section of the standardized tests. The EAP, also known as the Early Assessment Program, is a 15 to 25 question assessment that allows juniors to skip the California State University Placement tests. All sophomores, as required by the federal government, will be taking a No Child Left Behind Science portion of the CST’s, and all freshmen will be taking a practice CAHSEE test. The testing dates were pushed earlier this year because the CST
See PENG | pg 3
See TESTING | pg 2
GLORIA KIM
LAST WORDS - Students, all wearing Peng’s favorite color, gathered during lunch to sign a poster and write their final goodbyes.
Remembering Darren Peng Fellow DBHS student Darren Peng was honored for all the lives he touched. BY GLORIA KIM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Sweet, sarcastic, strong, supportive: these are the words friends and family used to describe Diamond Bar High School senior Darren Peng, who passed away last month on Jan. 27 from a brain tumor. A week and a half after his death, his memorial service was held at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier. On a fair, breezy Saturday afternoon, over a hundred friends arrived at Skyrose Chapel, a sizable hall with large, glass walls and high beam ceilings. The wooden pews were quickly filled, and a handful of guests stood in the back.
Photo courtesy of Siris Tsang
BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY - Band director Steve Acciani leads Symphony Orchestra members during Peng’s memorial service, held on Feb. 8. With the onset of the sentimental tune, “Over the Rainbow,” a video created by Darren’s friends started, and the audience grew si-
lent, engrossed in the big screen projected at the front. In the video, each of his friends and teachers recounted his or her most impres-
Ennio brings his Spanish concert to DBHS This is the singer’s second year at DBHS after Justo Lamas retired in 2012. BY FRANCES WU CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Spanish students had a chance to practice their Spanish skills outside of class last Friday at the Puerto Rican-American singer Ennio Emmanuel’s second annual concert. The concert, held in the Diamond Bar High School theater at 7 p.m., united students to learn Spanish language and culture through Ennio’s fun and motivational concert.
Some crowd favorites included “Manda Un Angel” and “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” from his album “Ojalá,” which means “I Wish.” The songs featured fast-paced, catchy beats and were aimed to increase the students’ interest in Spanish and to encourage them to follow their dreams. The concert featured dance students who danced along Emmanuel’s new single “Fuego Fuego.” Emmanuel also dedicated song “Manda Un Angel” to a student in the crowd, senior Taylor Raymundo, a tradition that he began last year. Crowd members were also asked to volunteer to perform on stage with him throughout the concert. Many attendees came onstage to dance along to his songs and play various Spanish instruments while
he sang. Students were also invited onstage to say tongue twisters and later rewarded with their choices of merchandise. The Spanish teachers were thanked personally by Emmanuel when he brought them onstage and gave a short speech in Spanish to express his gratitude for their organizing the concert. “The concert was a lot of fun, and I thought that the concert was a great way of incorporating Spanish into the lives of the students,” attendee Stephanie Wantah said. The artist also shared his backstory and how he became part of the music industry. He was inspired to change his way of life after several troubling incidents at XING YEN QUEK
See SPANISH | pg 3
SPANISH FESTIVITY - Ennio Emmanuel sings and dances with members from the crowd who volunteered to go onstage with the performer.