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R.I.P. FLOATS
ONCE UPON A TIME,
A look into the 30 year history of Homecoming floats and their uncertain future ENTERTAINMENT page 19
VICTORY
40 YEARS AGO
MVHS defeats Cleveland High School 14-6 on Sept. 19 to earn first win
NEW COOL THING
CENTERSPREAD pages 11-14
SPORTS page 18
VOLUME XLISSUE 1MONTA VISTA HIGH SCHOOLCUPERTINO, CA
1977 F rie togethe nds walking r
g a football
1977 Plannin game
SEPTEMBER 23, 2009
Underenrollment shakes three classes Extra sections result in the closing of three classes more than three weeks into the year
Samved Sangameswara | El Estoque
SWAPPED On Sept. 17, English department chair Debbie Vanni informs parents of English teacher Vanessa Otto’s seventh period American Literature class that their child’s class is being dissolved. Otto’s class was one of three collapsed in the last week.
API score rises 11 points
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hen juniors filed into english teacher Vanessa Otto’s seventh period American Literature class on Sept. 17, they didn’t know it would be the one of the last times. Due to underenrollment in the sophomore and junior classes, Otto’s seventh period American Literature class, as well as Vivana Montoya-Hernandez’s seventh period World History and Brian Dong’s seventh period Geometry class, were all dissolved in the last week.
Anticipation for predictable growth in the sophomore and junior classes led MVHS and the FUHSD to create extra sections for certain classes. However, instead of the enrollment growing as it has done over the past few years, it decreased by about 30 students. According to the registrar there has been a sharp increase in students who were originally enrolled for the 2009-2010 school year, but ended up withdrawing their enrollment after the school year had already begun. The top two reasons given for leaving were issues with paying rent and moving out of the country. see SWITCH on page 6
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN
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DANCE
MVHS reaches a new high of 935
Dance policy tested, changes in the works
by Samved Sangameswara
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fter a brief relapse the dark ages are over. The MVHS API score has risen to a new high of 935 and is now ranked 6th in the state. Just two years ago MVHS saw its API score fall below 900 for the first time since 2003. Although the 2007 score of 900 is high by many standards, the slow decline still managed to shake the nerves of administration. “We need to take scores seriously,” Principal April Scott said. “It’s a measurement of our school.” However, the nerves have been relaxed as API scores from 2009 school year were released and MVHS saw its score rise to 935. Although not as large as the 23 point jump that occurred between two years ago, the improvement was still welcomed.. “When you’re that high already, your growth is very limited,” Scott said. “So 11 points is a huge jump.” One of the areas that MVHS saw heavy growth in was the algebra portion of the STAR test. Math teacher Jennifer MacDonald attributes the improvement to a change in textbooks. Last year all Algebra classes used a book called “Algebra Connections.” After being introduced two years ago the book began to be used by all Algebra classes last year. Ultimately though, Scott credits the students afor the rising score. “The students [at MVHS] take school very seriously.
by Aileen Le and Samved Sangameswara
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Stefan Ball| El Estoque Illustration
School year began with absent budget by Aileen Le
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by Jordan Lim ith the Homecoming dance quickly approaching, there is a nervous buzz amongst the students. This year it’s not about who you’re going to ask to the dance, rather how you’re going to dance. In the aftermath of the Welcome Back Dance, the MVHS community has one big unanswered question: what will future dances look like? Students are wondering whether they will once again see flood lights illuminating the dance floor and have to keep an eye out
Potential cuts cause concern
for administration wandering the floor “policing” the dancing. Although administration has not confirmed any definite changes for the Homecoming dance, Dean of Students Denae Moore has made it clear that future dances will not look like the ones from years past. “We want to create a dance environment that is more in line with our morals at MVHS,” Moore said. “There are definitely going to be some changes.” see DANCE page 6
UC’s policy concerning SAT II’s considered unfair
n an economy doomed by overspending, it seems like MVHS’ administration was the wise saver. By anticipating unknown cuts to state funding in spring of 2009, it prepared for the worst, which made it easier for the school to swallow the 50 percent cuts in categorical funding announced early this year. “It was like a test of patience going into the school year since we knew there would be cuts, but we just didn’t know how big they were going to be,” Scott said. “That’s where our frustration was at the end of school last year. We were waiting to hear how big the cuts were so we were entering the school year really conservatively and almost had to anticipate having zero dollars versus what we were normally used to getting.” Despite not knowing how much money it would receive, if any at all, administration was still able to purchase vital instructional matierals such as AP Environmental Science textbooks because of money saved from previous years. “We have to be conservative some years to adapt to our growth,” Scott said. “Think about it like a savings account, when we have the need, we have the money to meet it.” Scott explains that the school must separate the “must-have” items from the “can wait” items. Nothing that was absolutely needed was denied to any department, and Scott describes the department chairs as being very supportive of one another and seeing the big picture.
Some believe that elimination of subject tests discriminates against Asians by Christine Chang
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ommon are juniors whose bookshelves house enough SAT subject test books to keep bonfires ablaze for hours and hours. Next year, however, those bookshelves may be empty. For students looking to pursue an education in the University of California system, the subject exams, also known as SAT II’s, are inevitable. But this year’s juniors will be the last generation of prospective UC applicants burdened with taking subject exams. In February of this year, the UC Board of Regents modified the admissions policy with hopes that “more qualified students will have the opportunity to be considered for admission to a UC,” UC
Academic Senate Chair Mary Croughan said in a press release. A major difference in the new proposal is the elimination of two SAT subject tests required for admission, which are mandatory for all undergraduate students applying before Fall of 2012. The changes, effective for the class of 2012, have been the source of controversy among high-performing academic students. In the past, SAT subject tests have generally given applicants an unbiased chance to demonstrate their understanding of various subjects. Through the current system, each student’s score in respective subjects is computed and factored into the overall admissions decision. Once the subject test requirements are
dropped, however, the University of California hopes to expand the pool of applicants to include minority groups such as Blacks and Chicano Latinos. “In Proposal for Eligibility Reform”, a report issued by the university itself and reviewed by the UC Board of Regents, researched data reveals that Black admissions are expected to increase between 0 percent and 25 percent, Chicano Latinos between 0 percent and 15.8 percent, and Whites between 20.6 percent and 29.4 percent. The only specified ethnicity that is expected to decrease in admissions is Asian Americans: between 11.1 percent and 19.4 percent. see UC POLIICY page 3
see BUDGET page 5
THE ROAD AHEAD
Road to Renovation A brief overview of how Measure B will affect campus in the coming years Looming consequences Parcel tax needed to maintain status quo
NEWS page 5