THE ODYSSEY
February 1, 2012
ARTICLE
INDEX
Ulysses S. Grant High School
Volume LII Issue 6
Class of 2012 enjoys breakfast in pajamas By Lilit Vartanyan & Christine Harutyunyan
NEWS
• • • • • •
Senior Breakfast Jazz Night Magnet Potluck Homecoming Dance Queen Sophia Gill Tim Burton Exhibit
FEATURES • • • • •
CPVA Movie Night Gay/Straight Alliance LETS walks NAMI Champions Rock Climb MECHA Dance Show
OPINIONS • • • • • •
Music Tech Class Gross Gummy Desks Super Math Mondays Excellent Food Drive Meaningful Blood Drive Helpful College Night
SPORTS • • • • • •
Alum Basketball Game Boys Soccer Boys Basketball Homecoming Game Football Halftime Girls Volleyball
A BANNER, illustrated by seniors, welcomes seniors to their breakfast in Grant Hall. The vivid, eye-catching
colors of the massive Phoenix, symbolic of the senior class, astonished and delighted the students as they entered the room.
Friday, November 4, was the day that the magnificent Senior Breakfast took place. Senior Lancers were encouraged to attend in pajamas in order to enhance the breakfast experience. Bright and early in the morning, lines were formed in front of Grant Hall, where the seniors were divided into alphabetical groups. There, their ID cards were scanned, and they were allowed inside to wait for their breakfast, but only if they did not have too many absences or tardies.
The sweet aroma of the assortment of foods filled the air. Cinnamon buns, bagels, pancakes, ham and cheese sandwiches, donuts, coffee, hot chocolate, tea and many more choices were available to the seniors. All the food ensured that no one was left hungry that morning. In the midst of all the excitement, the most recent and popular music filled the room, creating a more fun and lively environment as the students danced and enjoyed their morning collaborating and re-
joicing with their classmates and seniors from other SLCs and classes. Later on, it was announced that the games were ready to begin! Musical chairs, dance competitions, and the balloon popping game were a great success! In the end, fliers and brochures for ordering class rings and graduating accessories were distributed by the yearbook staff and the Steering Committee. Overall, the morning allowed seniors to take a break
from their studious and hardworking schedules. Instead, they enjoyed themselves for the couple of hours that they were allowed to remain at the gathering. After the breakfast, seniors became nostalgic and actually began to realize that it was their last year being able to enjoy being a Grant High School’s Lancer student! This, along with the many upcoming senior activities, will allow the senior Lancers to have a fun and enjoyable last year at Grant!
Jazz Night pleases big audience Magnet Potluck is a hit y Seroj Kharayan, Grigor Serobyan & Harut Tarakchian B
By Eva Navarro & Cindy Burciaga
All week, Mr. Levine, our very own boys’ basketball coach, played music and made announcements on the P.A. during second period and lunch, ensuring that students all over campus heard about Grant’s Jazz Night. Tickets to Jazz Night were five dollars, but those who had earned a gold or silver card got a discount of three dollars. All proceeds went to the Grant High School student body. On November 16, it was show time. Grant Hall filled with people of all ages. Everyone came to support the performers who would show off their musical talents. If anyone was hungry or thirsty, there were plenty of chances to buy pizza, sodas, and water, as clubs sold refreshments to earn money for their events.
Our first Magnet Potluck occurred on Monday, November 28. The potluck was organized by Magnet Leadership and many students brought food early in the morning to share. During nutrition, students eagerly lined up outside of Grant Hall waiting to get inside and get a raffle ticket. Students that brought food had fantastic advantages; one perk was they could go straight to the front of the line! “It’s great that students who brought food get a chance to get inside first and get a chance to enter the raffle,” Jamie Chan, who brought food, said. “This should be fun, I’m really looking forward to it.” All of the Magnet students were eating, chatting with their friends and having an awesome time. Listening to the music while eating got everyone pumped and looking forward to hearing who received gold cards or who won the raffle.
“There was great music and delicious food,” senior Gurgen Harutyunyan said, summing up most attendees thoughts. “What more could you ask for? Coach Levine knows how to put on a show.” The Pat Longo Big Band played amazingly; they are truly talented. The audience
work paid off.” After these amazing introductory acts, it was time for the main event. As Mr. Levine came up to the stage, the audience went wild. This was the moment everyone was waiting for. Claps and whistles roared throughout Grant Hall. Mr. Levine’s joyful performance got the audience on their feet. Mr. Levine’s musical talent is truly outstanding. His voice brings smiles to his audience. Mr. Levine earned rave reviews. “I love watching Mr. Levine sing,” senior Babken Sarafyan said. “His voice is amazing. He’s definitely a talented singer.” Attendees couldn’t stop praising the event. “This year’s Jazz Night was excellent,” senior Chris Khachatryan said, I’ll definitely try to come next year.” Jazz Night was even better than it promised to be.
“There was great music and delicious food; what more can you ask for? Coach Levine knows how to put on a show.” - Gurgen Harutyunyan loved every single one of the songs they played. Mr. Sims and Grant’s Jazz Band had the chance to show off their jazzy talents. It was nice to see fellow Grant Lancers playing jazz. “The Pat Longo Big Band and the school’s Jazz band were great tonight,” sophomore Arthur Asatrian said, “Their hard
After everyone got a chance to eat and enjoy themselves, Mr. Stave calmed everyone down and announced all of the students that got proficient/advanced in English and Math. The list of gold cards was long, so it took a while for Mr. Stave to finish After all the gold cards were called, it was finally time for the raffle! Oscar Alberto won first prize, which was a $15 gift card to Starbucks. Atchara “Mint” Nakprasit won a Magnet T-shirt. “I was ecstatic!” Nakprasit said. “When my name was called, I didn’t expect it.” Magnet Leadership hopes this potluck is the first of many. “Well, it was our first magnet potluck,” Karen Perez said. “We had a nice assembly, and I’m glad we inspired other learning communities to have their own potlucks as well.” The potluck was such a success, and we can’t wait to have another one again!
Grant High School Odyssey
NEWS
Page 2
February 1, 2012
Student Council throws masquerade Homecoming Dance By Asmik Cholakian, Maggie Mouradian & Varduhi Shatarevyan
HOMECOMING
COURT By Liliana Nanez
MASKED STUDENTS pose together outside of Grant Hall on the night of the Homecoming Dance. Partygoers enjoyed dressing up and embracing the event’s mysterious masquerade theme.
Student Council, not to be mistaken for Student Leadership, originally started planning Homecoming in August. They had chosen the Homecoming committee, the date, and the theme, which was “Masquerade.” Throughout the next two months, they had managed to book a DJ, buy decorations, and start selling tickets. The entire class voted on which DJ to choose, with DJ Paul winning the chance to spin the night away! The members of Student Council officially started dec-
orating Grant Hall on Friday, the night before the dance. Friday was also the date for the Homecoming Game. Decorators started at 8 a.m. and finished at 6 p.m. Most of the student council members didn’t go to any of their classes Friday, staying in Grant Hall to help set up. The next day, Saturday, all of Student Council showed up at Grant Hall by 7:30 a.m. to finalize and finish the decorations by 4:30 p.m. They also decorated the main entrance hall, where the administrative offices are located.
Set-up went smoothly, according to senior Kristy Mamikonyan. “Overall, time management went pretty well,” Mamikonyan said, “and the only difficult part was setting up for it because it took a lot of time and effort. If all of us didn’t work together, I don’t know how it possibly would’ve turned out. “We ended up having a blast that night, even though we were all tired from the previous hours of decorating. It was totally worth it,” Mamikonyan added.
The race for Homecoming Court was competitive this year! Everyone wanted to win and receive the crown. Elections were held a week before the Homecoming Dance. All of the candidates made posters for everyone to see throughout the week, encouraging students to cast their votes for them. The night of the dance
came quickly, and once the clock hit 10:30, everyone was ready for the Court to be crowned. Finally, all eyes were on King Cruz, Queen Gill, Prince Orozco, and Princess Nash as it was time for their spotlight dance. Soon, many other students grabbed their dates and joined the spotlight dance until the dreamy night ended.
CPVA hosts gratis Movie Night By Samantha Tik
The CPVA (Center of Performing Visual Arts) presented a movie night on Wednesday, November 23, 2011. The movie night was a free show that started in Grant Hall after school at 4 p.m. and ended at 6 p.m. Inside Grant Hall, organizers set up a big white screen. Comfy chairs and sofa pillows were scattered around so students could be comfortable on the floor, just like when you watch a movie at home. Attendees could purchase snacks like popcorn, chips, soda and much more -even ceviche! CPVA showed the movie Nacho Libre (2006), starring Jack Black, which had everyone laughing. Nacho Libre is a comedy all about a man named Nacho without any skills. He embarks on a journey to become a Lucha libre wrestler after realiz-
ing that he would need more money in order to be the best cook possible. During his journey, he takes on a hilarious quest to make life a little better for the orphanage. Grant Lancers were enthusiastic about the movie. “If you love Jack Black and enjoyed Napoleon Dynamite then you would love Nacho Libre,” Senior Emmanuel Narvez said. “I laughed from beginning to end.” Other students liked the comfortable setting. “I like how there was pillows on the floor to roll around on,” Junior James D. Wolf said. “I had a great time,” he added. “I watched a funny film while eating and drinking soda. My girlfriend and I laughed throughout the whole movie.” Sophomore Richard T’ao enjoyed the choice of films.
“Jack Black plays another great role as a ‘holy man’ and a Spanish wrestler,” he said. “The movie will make you die from laughing so hard, - not a single moment of boredom.” Sophomore Mirella Tejada was familiar with the movie. “I already watched this in 2006,” Tejada said, “But every time I see Nacho Libre, he always makes me laugh over and over again. I liked how I get to spend time with my friends while eating popcorn and then laughing together. We had a blast.” Being with your friends after school, attending a funny comedy, and eating snacks made for a great event before the Thanksgiving break. The students went into their break after enjoying laughter and great company. What could be better?
the Spotlight is on Queen Sophia Gill and King Anthony Cruz.
Queen
Sophia Gill
King
Anthony Cruz
Princess
Destine Nash
Prince
Bryan Orozco
Grant High School Odyssey
FEATURES
Page 3
February 1, 2012
LETS Club raises awareness with auction, NAMI Walk By Jeffrey Mendez
Grant’s LETS Club, which works to raise awareness and erase negativity surrounding mental illness, participated in the annual NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Walk on the first of October and the 2nd Annual Silent Auction on the third of November. NAMI Walks across the country encourage mental illness awareness and raise money for research and mental health treatment. The route for the Los Angeles County NAMI Walk in Santa Monica extended from 3rd Street Promenade to the Santa Monica Harbor between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. It was a beautiful day for a nice walk with a lovely view of the ocean, to support a worthy cause. The event was moving for LETS members. “It was wonderful to see people working together towards a relevant cause,” said Vanessa Barrientos, co-president of Grant’s LETS Club.
“The walk showed that people can work together and make a difference.” Vice President Valeria Villegas agrees. “The NAMI walk was a great experience for me because sometimes I forget how big this cause is,” Villegas said. Seeing all those people opened my eyes to how many people are affected by mental issues.” The LETS Club also participated in the 2nd Annual Silent Auction on November 3rd from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in Beverly Hills at the Coupa Cafe. Fifteen participants of Grant’s LETS Club got dressed up and attended the silent auction with the goal of supporting fundraising for LETS. Like the NAMI Walk, the auction was inspiring for club members. “The Coupa Cafe was an interesting experience. I got to see how people with mental illnesses and those that have seen its effects come togeth-
er,” Club Historian Luisanel De Armas said. “LETS allows kids to organize ways to help erase the stigma.” The event consisted of a silent auction of items such as watches, handbags, and even a
car. Raffle tickets were also being sold for prizes. There were delicious food and drinks, and the event even had a DJ. “The Coupa Cafe was very fun, we raised money, and brought an award back to
Grant for all our hard work. We are more than happy,” said Nancy Cervantes, co-president. LETS helps make a change for the better: a change for the next generation.
GROUP MEMBERS of Grant’s LETS Club celebrate together in front of the beaches of Santa Monica after walking to raise awareness and erase stigma with NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
NAMI WALK participants from Grant’s LETS Club joined other Los Angelenos in raising awareness and erasing stigma for mental illness.
SILENT AUCTION-GOERS from Grant’s LETS Club, with Ms. Fontilea front and center, display an award given to them from the national LETS organization for their efforts.
THE ODYSSEY Editor-in-Chief Lilit Vartanyan
Adviser
Editor of Photography Sophia Gill Writers and Reporters Nicholas Alexander Mayra Gomez David Arevalo Marla Gonzalez Jazmin Bonilla Ricardo Gonzalez Cindy Burciaga Jazmin Hernandez Asmik Cholakian Christine Harutyunyan Vanessa Cortez Seroj Khrayan Devon Coye Jessica Martell Suren Ghazaryan Chris Matias Sophia Gill Jeffrey Mendez
Maggie Mouradian Liliana Nanez Eva Navarro Sabrina Nikadimas Julissa Oliva Oscar Perez Grigor Serobyan Chris Serrano
Varduhi Shatarevyan Ramon Solis Harut Tarakchian Samantha Tik Mariam Uzunyan Jennifer Valdez Lilit Vartanyan Sarkis Voskanyan
The Odyssey is published by the journalism class of U.S. Grant High School, located at 13000 Oxnard Street, Valley Glen, California. Opinions expressed in The Odyssey are solely those of the authors and do not reflect those of U.S. Grant High School, its faculty, or its student body. Ads are available by request. For more information, please call (818) 756-2700 ext. 275 Leanne Lasarow, Odyssey Staff Adviser
Grant High School Odyssey
FEATURES
Page 4
February 1, 2012
LACMA’s Tim Burton exhibit shows weird, engaging art By Vanessa Cortez
On Thursday, October 20, a group of fifty students from fine arts classes took a field trip to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) to see the Tim Burton exhibit. Students with good behavior and work habits were given the opportunity to go. I was lucky enough to tag along with the other students, led by Mr. Moreno, Ms. Dozois, and Ms. Blumenburg. All students and teachers boarded the bus during E/I, and as we were boarding we began to notice that there was a shortage of seats. Some teachers and students had to sit in the back or squeeze in one seat together. As we arrived at the museum, the first thing we did was have lunch, due to the fact that it was already 11:30; the teachers provided some snacks and water while we waited to get our tickets and get in line for the exhibit. As we were going in, we crossed a chessboard floor
reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. The huge open jaws of one of Tim Burton’s crazy characters served as a doorway to the first gallery. The first gallery consisted of Burton’s very first sketches
of his famous pieces, such as Edward Scissorhands and Alice In Wonderland as well as some of his 3-D designs that didn’t get the chance to make the big screen. It was fascinating to see
how these characters started out; some even looked better as sketches than in the films! As you walked through the gallery, you would think that Tim Burton must be a somewhat crazy man, but he
THE ENTRANCE to the Tim Burton exhibit is haunting, a perfect taste of what’s to come. The exhibit offered a glimpse into the seemingly crazy, yet ultimately creative mind of the famous artist.
just has a crazy, yet fascinating imagination. The gallery doesn’t contain the typical, dull type of paintings or sketches you find in most exhibits, but more of an explosion of creativity and color in all of his art. Burton’s artwork expresses his quirky yet intriguing personality and imagination. From the Beetlejuice sketches to Batman, you go from somewhat disturbing to pretty amazing. The second gallery was quite interesting: Burton’s very first sketches from his childhood, as well as his homemade stop-motion videos. We also explored some of his pieces which have yet to be released, such as The Island of Doctor Agor and more. I think it was, overall, a great experience for all of us. The highlight of it all was getting a glimpse of what goes on inside Tim Burton’s mind and how he expresses himself through his art.
MECHA honors Hispanic Month with fun assembly By Sophia Gill, Ricardo Gonzalez & Ramon Solis This year, MECHA Club invited the Grant community to celebrate Hispanic Month by putting on a show for us. Mr. Gonzalez also taught the audience about Hispanic heritage and different Hispanic cultures with his Powerpoint presentation at the assembly. MECHA Club prepared a Punta dance, featuring our very own MECHA Club VicePresident Jason Rodas. The dance was very fun and well prepared, and the dancing was well choreographed. Let’s not forget that the Punta is not an easy dance to master; it takes good footwork and hip movement to actually nail this dance. The ladies who performed this dance were experts. Many students even rose from their seats, got up on
stage and joined the dancers! MECHA Club also had Champions perform a dance for us too: a Zamba! The female dancers were dressed in black skirts and red shirts and the guys wore black slacks and white button-down shirts. They danced very well! Zamba isn’t an easy dance, either. Like Punta, Zamba requires a lot of foot and hip movement. Champions showed us what they were made of with great movements by Jeanette Macias and Jazmin Sanchez among others. Their performance made people want to learn the Zamba. Overall, MECHA’s Hispanic Month assembly was excellent and everyone enthusiastically enjoyed the performances and presentations.
Grant guitarists Tito, Mario, and Mariano join together to honor Hispanic Month. Dances like the Punta and Zamba, along with a Powerpoint presentation, were also part of the informative assembly.
Gay/Straight Alliance club provides opportunity to learn By Sabrina Nikadimas & Suren Ghazaryan The Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA) is a national organization which brings together members and allies of the LGBT community. Grant’s chapter is sponsored by Mr. Davis and Mr. Kent. The club is friendly to anyone interested in joining; you do not have to identify as LGBT to participate.
A Web site is available, GSANetwork.org, for anyone interested in learning more information about the nationwide organization. Every Thursday during lunch at Grant, the club meets either in room 121 or 122. Food is always provided by Mr. Kent or Mr. Davis. During club meetings,
President, Eduardo Ramirez, Vice President, Jason Arciniega, and Treasurer, Cindy Mendez, sit down with members to discuss upcoming news or events concerning the nationwide LGBT community The Gay/Straight Alliance Club also does fundraising for future field trips or special party events.
It’s a fun, exciting club for anyone to be a part of. “I encourage others in Grant High School to join,” Club President Eduardo Ramirez said. “It helps the community to get along and understand one another on a different level.” There is no maximum limit for membership capac-
ity, so you will never be turned down if you’re interested in joining. Sign up sheets are always available in Mr. Kent’s or Mr. Davis’s classrooms. It’s a great experience for anyone! Doors are always opened every Thursdays during lunch, so stop by and have a blast interacting with others!
Grant High School Odyssey
OPINIONS
Page 5
February 1, 2011
Production company perfects pep rally, Winter Concert By Devon Coye
MUSIC TECH students work with a sound board, mastering their technique. Sound set-up was vital to the Winter Concert and to the Homecoming pep rally this year, and hopefully more events to come.
Ms. Taylor’s production company has been active for some time now, and they have begun to help out and participate in larger scale events as the semester unfolds. Recently, members aided in setting up the Homecoming pep rally by fixing the sound equipment and making sure there was enough space for everything to be set up.
Arguably the biggest event the production company has helped with was the Winter Concert, held on Friday, December 9. The production company not only again helped with the sound set-up for the Winter Concert, but also aided in placing the decorations in Grant Hall where the concert took place.
The production company clearly put a lot of hard work and effort into fixing up Grant Hall, and everyone loved how they participated in the various play rehearsals throughout the weeks to help prepare for the performance. Their contributions were very important to putting on such a successful show. David Moreno is one of
A TUrntable is one of the many fun benefits of being a member of the production company, which gets to experience advanced technology.
the members of the production company who worked hard on the preparations for the concert. “Six presents have been wrapped,” Moreno said. “We’re hanging five stars now. We have a tree. Ms. Taylor is impressed with how her singers are getting into harmony. We’re going to pass out candy canes when people walk in.
We’re going to decorate the tree with ornaments and put fake snow on the ground.” A lot of creativity went into setting up the concert, and overall it was a big success. This was another great event for Ms. Taylor’s production company. We look forward to more fantastic contributions from them throughout the year.
Gum decorates desks Math Mondays stimulate brains By Vanessa Cortez
Ever wonder why some teachers here on campus do not allow gum in their classrooms? I have always wondered why it’s such a big deal. Although there are many pros and cons, in my opinion, I think it’s okay to chew gum, aside from the annoying popping sound it can make. The cons are that it’s distracting and it’s messy: Consider where a lot of people seem to place gum once they get tired of it. Have you ever moved a desk or slid your hand underneath and instantly got grossed out just because you felt someone’s leftover, hard, gooey or sticky gum? I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve accidentally touched someone’s day-old, month-old, or even year-old gum! I have even lifted one of the desks in my class and counted 16 pieces of gum underneath just one desk YUCK! Can you imagine how many pieces there will be under that desk by the end of the year? Sixteen pieces in 3 months would mean 294 in the last 6 months of school; imag-
ine what that would look like. I would rather not. Keep your school clean and try to avoid sticking your leftover gum under a desk. I’m sure you wouldn’t be happy if you happened to touch it yourself! I will never understand why some people make it seem like it’s rocket science just to spit gum out in the trash can. With that said, it seems like teachers have bigger things to worry about than gum. Mr. Kruska harbors no ill-will against gum. “I believe there are better things to worry about,” Mr. Kruska said, “Bigger distractions such as texting. It’s [gum-chewing] not something I really allow or encourage, but it’s not something I have serious consequences for. There are far more distracting things than gum.” I think Mr. Kruska has a point. I believe that texting is much more worse and distracting than gum. Bottom line, keep the gum off the desks so teachers can concentrate on more important issues.
By Samantha Tik & Mariam Uzunyan Every Monday during 2nd period, each student at Grant has a choice to participate in solving a given math problem with the chance of winning a prize. In each class, the first person to get the correct answer to the math problem receives a lottery ticket on which they write their name. The ticket is then carried to the office and put into a box with the tickets of all the other bright students. At the end of the month, three tickets are pulled out, and the winners receive a prize. Math Monday is a great way to motivate students to take a few minutes to solve a simple math problem. This stimulates the student’s brains. A lot of the kids at Grant High School don’t have a math class because they have already fulfilled their math requirements. I personally don’t have a math class, which is why Math Mondays are a great way to remember some of my math skills. Focusing on solving the problem fuels my brain,
and I remember all that I have learned throughout the years. Offering a prize to the winners encourages students and invokes competition. The students work fast and attentively to solve the problem to be the first one in their classroom to get the correct answer, receive a ticket, and increase their chances of winning a prize. “The feeling of winning is always great,” said sophomore Camilla Morales, a prize-winning participant of Math Monday. “You feel chills and all eyes are on you.” Most students have developed an automatic recall of the basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts because of this activity. Because kids find these games much more engaging than standard drill exercises, they are willing and eager to spend more time practicing basic math. Math is needed in every day life. Math is everywhere, and yet we may not recognize it because it doesn’t look like the math we do in school.
Math in the world around us sometimes seems invisible, but it is present in our world all the time: in the workplace, in our homes, and life in general. When you buy a car, follow a recipe, or decorate your home, you’re using math principles. Practicing math once in a while does sharpen your skills, which, in this case, makes your life easier. Without a doubt, even if your future does not include a career in a math field, there are still some after-high-school courses or jobs that call for at least some use of math. For example, some clerical or retail jobs may still require the use of math. Although these days, most people rely on electronic means to get basic math calculations done, there can still be times when a person’s knowledge of math is required. Plus, Math Monday is fun. “I entered once and received a $10 iTunes gift card,” Morales added. “I would definitely participate again; it is always great to win, and maybe I’ll win again!”
Grant High School Odyssey
Page 6
OPINIONS
February 1, 2012
Champions Food Drive helps needy Humanitas SLC hosts
By Jeffrey Mendez
Help the needy, help the poor, help those who can’t help themselves, help give some more. By organizing a food drive at Grant, our Champions Club created a great way to give a helping hand to others. During the month of October, Champions had asked for general donations of canned food items for the hungry. “The reason why we asked for canned food was to donate it to the Halloween for Hunger organization,”
explained Jennifer Valdez, a Champions Club member. The food drive was a meaningful way to help people going through poverty or suffering from famine. Donating food is a great way to give back to the community, and the feeling that you get from it makes it all the better. “I donated canned food,” Valdez said. “It feels good to give back to the community by taking a small action like giving food.”
The unselfish feeling of donating is amazing and exhilarating. If you donate, you can really change lives; you can even change the future. It’s rewarding to bring justice back into the world. The donations were certainly greatly appreciated. Many thanks go out to those who donated and to Champions for organizing such a meaningful and successful food drive.
useful College Night By Asmik Cholakian, Maggie Mouradian & Varduhi Shatarevyan
Rock climbing with Champions tests strength and nerves By Jennifer Valdez & Christine Harutunyan
It was Sunday morning, and members of the Champions Club were rock climbing with fellow Grant students as well as with kids from other schools. There was so much to explore, especially if you had no previous experience in rock climbing. I never thought rock climbing would be so hard. I was actually scared by the time it came to be my turn. After I saw people do it, and my good friend went up without fear, I thought, “Hey, I came here to do this specifically, so might as well go for it.” Other people who encouraged me helped too. Let me say that biting my nails not my habit, but when that moment came to get hooked to the rope, I knew there was no turning back. The man who was in charge of pulling the rope had to reassure me that he wouldn’t let go of the rope. Climbing up takes strategy and technical calculations to know where you will grab onto; I had trouble with that. Being up there for a while, starting off badly by hanging from the rope, and trying to hold still to the rock was annoying and embarrassing. I tried to control my nerves even though I was shaking because YOU’RE CLIMBING A ROCK! It looked like I was attached to it, but I was holding up my mass along with all my weight, and that’s what makes it hard and distracting. Afterwards, we walked around and someone guided us to where the train tracks were, far down a hill. We ran down and followed the tracks through a tunnel. It was a marvelous, in- rock climbers, both advanced and inexperienced, tense experience that was both scale the rock face. The ascent took skill and willpower, but amusing and nerve-wracking. Champions students are luckily endowed with both assets.
STUDENTS and Parents gather in Grant Hall to hear college advice and options from special guest speaker Jessica Vasquez.
The Humanitas small learning community was lucky enough to host their own College Night, which provided students and their parents with useful information for college planning. Humanitas teachers provided a free and delicious light meal, while guest speaker Jessica Vasquez gave a presentation on a vast variety of subjects revolving around education after high school. Her helpful tutorial covered trade schools, community colleges, four-year universities, financial aid, scholarships, and student loans. Vasquez provided good advice to the students and prepared them for their future education. She informed the audience that career, vocational, and technical schools are short-term trainings in a wide variety of career fields. For those who are interested in staying close to home, there are nine technical schools nearby. The slideshow covered tuition fees and admission requirements for the different types of degrees, as well as the application process for technical schools, four-year universities and community colleges. Vasquez was very helpful in informing the parents and students about receiving financial aid, signing up for possible scholarships, loans, etc. She advised all students to meet with their counselor before choosing classes and making a timeline on the
“Student Educational Plan.” The timeline is intended to help students keep their goals in sight. Vasquez also shared a little bit of her personal experience and gave wonderful advice to the students. She advised students to focus on getting everything done on time instead of ditching and skipping class, as she had done her first year in college. She said she didn’t take school seriously, and messed up in all of her classes, which forced her to extend her general education by a year. The night ended with a question-and-answers period, which allowed students and parents to clear up any lingering questions or concerns. The event was not only very informative, but also very well-organized and thoughtful. In order to make the evening convenient for parents, the event began at 6 p.m. and ended it at 8 p.m, taking into consideration parents’ work schedules. Additionally, parents were welcome to bring their children of all ages to this well-organized event. The Humanitas Club President chose responsible students to watch the children while their parents enjoyed the presentation. Humanitas teachers also helped provide childcare to those children under the age of 12. Movies, cartoons, coloring books, and cookies were provided for the children. Very well done, Humanitas, for that very successful night!
Grant High School Odyssey
SPORTS
Page 7
February 1, 2012
Boys’Varsity Basketball Team defeats alumni in match-up By Asmik Cholakian, Maggie Mouradyan, and Varduhi Shatarevyan The annual Alumni Basketball Game is a time-honored tradition at Ulysses S. Grant High School and, like every other year, was held in our main gym. All-star players from years past were asked to form a team to play against Grant’s current varsity basketball team. The all-star players that are asked to come back to Grant for the night of fun ranged from past Grant basketball coaches to alumni who boosted our school’s basketball records with their amazing talent years ago. The Alumni Basketball Game reunites the past with the present and has each team compete with positive intentions. Both teams seemed to be playing for fun, but of course every team always wants that win, whether it is fun and games or serious business.
“This game is always interesting because we get to play against our friends who used to attend Grant, but in a game of basketball we put friendships aside and get to it! It is no hard feelings, only a game,” said Gurgen Harutyunyan, Captain of the Varsity Basketball Team. Before the game started both teams had about thirty minutes to prepare and warm up. The current varsity team exhibited a positive attitude. “As always, before every game, our team must warm up and get in our zone,” Senior player Harut Tarakchian said. “I can’t say I’m not nervous because some of the players who returned tonight have very strong talent and skills. “I have confidence and faith that our team will perform a great job,” Tarakchian added. “I am ready to get started and give my all for my team
and coach Levine!” We hope the alumni had The game started off, and a wonderful time playing with right away our Grant varsity current students, and we can’t boys started to take the lead wait to see them back again for the win. The amount of determination shown by both teams was very strong, which made the game a bit intense. But without a doubt, Grant’s varsity boys team took the win at the end of the night! The boys were especially appreciative of the good audiOur Boys’ Basketball ence turnout. Team has just recently start“I appreciate all our ed its season. friends and family that came They have played four out to support us,” said games so far in the 12th AnHarutyunyan. nual Canyon Classic TourThis win was thrilling for nament in Santa Clarita at the boys, and got them pumped Canyon High School. up for their upcoming games The Lancers currently this season. have a 3-1 record and are “Our basketball season is ranked third out of 12 difbarely getting started and we ferent teams. only look forward to the finish The boys have beaten line and accomplishing certain Quartz Hills, Valencia and goals which have not yet been Kennedy so far. reached!” Harutyunyan added. Our one loss, by only
next year for a rematch. Great job, Grant Lancers. We wish you all the best of luck during this season!
VARSITY BASKETBALL
TOURNEY
By Lilit Vartanyan & Christine Harutyunyan five points, was dealt by Crespi, the then-third-ranked team in the Valley. After falling one game short in the Semi-Final game last season, the Lancers look to bring the LA City Championship home this year with major contributions from varsity players Gurgen Harutyunyan, Gor Plavchyan and Travis Wilson. It is going to be a great season for the Lancers, and we know that they continue to make us proud!
Girls’ Volleyball crushes Monroe Boys’ soccer ties 1-1 B S G ,R G &R S y
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The Lady Lancers had a rough start, and were behind with a score of 3-4, but our players were not going to give up. Impressive hits from #3 helped our Lancers get ahead of the game 5-4. Player #10 also came to show whose house it was. With great spikes from #10 and help from #36, the score was tied 10-10. Our Lady Lancers came ready for a game. Players #36 and #3 were not satisfied with the tie. Twenty minutes into the game, they came back, bringing the score back in Grant’s favor, 15-13.
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By Chris Serrano, Oscar Perez & Sarkis Voskanyan
Lady Lancers block the Vikings and secure their smashing win.
For the second half, our team went in wanting to take this game home and show Monroe that the Lady Lancers are fearsome. With all our Lancers calling out “got it” to each other, they all worked together as a team and gave an amazing performance, running the score
up to 25-16. The ladies, working together, came back harder then they had before. Great spikes and amazing hits from all of our girls brought the game to a close. The Lancers took it home 26-18. We showed them whose house it is. G-HOUSE!
The weather was windy but just perfect for soccer as the starters took the field, the referee blew the whistle, and the 2012 season started with a tough game between Grant and Chatsworth. The first half was really a test for both teams as they each tried to study every move. After a full 45 minutes, the teams were tied 0-0. At halftime, Coach Caesar talked to his Lancers and told them the right and wrong of both teams. Caesar made his substitutions, and the second half began. Fifteen minutes passed by and an amazing play gave the Lancers their first goal; The
play started with Sergio Guzman giving a through pass to Ruben Ramirez, who finished with the goal. Another five minutes passed, and Chatsworth HS scored their goal off a bounce from the keeper. The game got heated with multiple yellow cards and a lot of physical contact, with players pushing and shoving. The result of this type of gameplay resulted in the first red card of the season for the Lancers. With 15 minutes left, the Lancers only had ten players on the field. The final score was 1-1, starting the Lancers’ record with 0 wins-0 losses, 1 tie.
Homecoming pep rally boosts school spirit before win! By Marla Gonzalez, Mayra Gomez & Nicholas Alexander On Friday, October 28, Grant put on a Homecoming pep rally during 3rd and 4th period in the Big Gym in preparation for the upcoming football game against Monroe. The pep rally started with the band playing “Let’s Go Band,” “Go Yee Mighty Lancers” and “Rock and Roll.’’ Meanwhile, the cheerleaders did stunts and the drill team performed dance moves. After everyone was seated and Music Tech had finished setting up, Ms. Wright introduced Grant’s sports teams for the season. She brought out
Girls’ Volleyball, Cross country, Girls’ Tennis, Junior Varsity and Varsity Football. She took special care to mention every team’s senior players. Then it was time to get pumped up! The mascot in the cool Lancer suit, came out and performed a very funny, entertaining dance taught by the cheer coach, Marcus Alexander. Leo the Lancer said that originally, he had been nervous to perform the dance in front of the whole crowd! So he practiced in front of strangers at Sherman Oaks Park, which made him feel
more secure about performing in front of his own peers. Once Leo got the crowd pumped up and ready to go, it was time to bring out the talented Champions dance team. They performed a wonderful dance with eight girls and one boy, taught by their alumni coach, Jazmine Sanchez. Senior captain Jeanette Macias says she looks forward to doing more school performances and dances at Grant. After the dance, Ms. Wright organized a game of musical chairs. Seven cheerleaders encouraged a fresh-
man, a sophomore, a senior, a football player, a volleyball player, and a dancer to start the game going. Volleyball player Cecilia Gutierrez-Mata won the game during 3rd period, and another volleyball player, Militza Najera, won during 4th period. An exciting success for the volleyball team! After musical chairs, we had our wonderful and spirited drill team perform a couple of songs for us, which they had worked on and did by themselves. Drill team member Marla Gonzales said she had fun and can’t wait to perform
again. Knowing she gets the crowd going with the rest of the drill girls keeps her motivated to do more. Lastly, we had the cheerleaders perform a routine they learned while they were at cheer camp in Palm Springs, followed by a cool script mocking Monroe HS, the team our football players were to play later that day. When the bell rang, everyone had Grant spirit and went off happy, knowing that Grant would surely win Homecoming Game.
Grant High School Odyssey
Page 8
SPORTS
February 1, 2012
Lancers pummel Vikings in Homecoming Game! By Chris Serrano, Oscar Perez, Grigor Serobian & Sarkis Voskanyan Grant’s Homecoming game did not disappoint either the team or its supporter, with Grant pulling out the win 288. The game was scoreless until the second quarter when Monroe forced a fumble and took it to the house on a 30yard return. Monroe made a two point conversion to start the score 0-8. Although Monroe took the lead early and held it for the first half, the score did not demoralize Grant, and that first touchdown turned out to be Monroe’s last. Grant made big changes at halftime, thanks in large part to players Jonathan Reed and Marquise Murphy. “I think my favorite part of the game was me and Marquise Murphy pep talking the team at half time, because this game was ours,” Reed said. “All we had to do was tune some parts of our game and execute what we were told.”
After halftime, Grant came out on fire! The defense was shut down by not allowing any more points. They gave the ball back to the offense, which knew what to do with the ball. Running Back Brandon Jones broke free for an amazing 50-yard touchdown, which boosted the score to 7-8 after the PAT. Marquis Murphy, Grant’s wide receiver, had a big game with two touchdowns: one to take the lead and the other to put the cherry on the game. The defense came through with a forced fumble, which also lead to a Grant touchdown. #44 Reed had high praise for his team. “We had a good vibe going into the game and our confidence was high,” Reed recalled. “We just worried about what each of us as an individual needed to do to accomplish the common goal: To win.”
HOMECOMING
HALFTIME By Marla Gonzalez, Mayra Gomez & Nicholas Alexander
Grant High School had a spectacular halftime show during our Homecoming Game against Monroe High School on October 28. Everyone knows that during halftime, the football players take a break and talk about the issues that are going on during the game. While the football players do their talking, student performers and musicians entertain the fans for about 30 minutes. But this time was different than most games, because there was a parade! The parade included the Armenian Club, Hispanic Club, the cheerleaders, the drill team and color guard, the band and many more clubs and organizations. It also had some fireworks to kick it up a notch! Every club in the parade circled the field once
and smiled. Of course, there was still a traditional period when the band performed with the color guard and drill team. The band played our fight song while the drill team and color guard performed the dance. Halftime is an opportunity to feel an urgency in the field; knowing that people are looking at you gets you nervous, but can also get you motivated. The band always has things on task, especially when it comes to this, all because of our wonderful instructor Mr. Sims. Everyone who went to the game appeared very excited and happy watching the parade and seeing all of their fellow classmates. We believe that it sure did help the football players, because we won our football game, after all!
grant Football players rush out onto the field to great applause, as everyone gets pumped up for what would be a remarkable game. The Lancers crushed the Vikings 28-8.
lancer Defense was fiery, forcing a fumble which lead to one of Grant’s magnificent four touchdowns. Our defense ensured that the Vikings weren’t able to make another touchdown after their first.