High Tide Oct. 16, 2014

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Redondo Union High School Redondo Beach, CA October 16 , 2014 Vol. XCV Edition 4

TIDE

Inside pg. 2, 4, 5 Unless it is saved, SoCal ROC will be cut at the end of this year

pg. 14 Maddie Bright won the Legion of Valor award in MCJROTC

pg. 18 The girls tennis team beat Palos Verdes last week for the first time in a decade

Just doing what they love Andrew Blanchet and his rockabilly, rhythm and swing band Naked Blonde don’t necessarily want to make it big as long as they keep their current passion for music

by Allegra Peelor and Chris Paludi It all started in a small coffee shop that didn’t even have a real stage.

Senior Andrew Blanchet, his brother and his friends formed a rockabilly, rhythm and swing band called Naked Blonde four years ago.

“Once the first notes hit, it’s like no feeling you’ve ever experienced. I have never replaced that feeling of being on stage. It’s just something so surreal as if you’re in a dream,” Blanchet said.

Blanchet’s first show was in a small coffee shop next to a Von’s.

“We moved all the furniture and set up. It was just starting to get dark, and you could hear us all the way from Vons, and people started running in,” Blanchet said. “It was low budget, local, and wasn’t even advertised except for on the day. And everyone came right then. It’s a memory I would never trade the world for.”

But even before their first gig, the Blanchets’ band had one challenge: picking a name. Eventually, they settled upon Naked Blonde .

“It took us weeks if not months to identify a name, because you have five band members and they need one name -- that takes a while,” Blanchet said. “We ended up with this because, if you go back to the fifties, you imagine this really attractive girl with big blonde hair. It’s definitely a name that draws people in, and gets people to check us out.”

Naked Blonde is a rockabilly band -- a combination of the words rock ‘n roll and hillbilly, a fusion of blues, country, and rock ‘n roll.

“In that first gig, the music was so starkly offset from whatever the crowd had ever heard that they were just staring at us— at first we thought it was be-

[cont. on page 10]

PHOTO BY MASHA PESCHERYAKOVA

page 2

High Tide

news

News and Briefs

Powderpuff Football

2.

PHOTOS BY CARLA MACAR

Freaky Wednesday. 1. Senior Nick Graves is lifted by junior and senior Powderpuff cheerleaders.

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“I thought we looked good in the cheerleading uniform,” junior Chris Paludi said. 2. Girl football players compete for class bragging rights - seniors won that privilege .

Red and White Carnival

Senior Picnic

1.

Seniority. 1. While underclassman took the

PSAT, seniors took a panoramic picture, listened to a college talk and enjoyed a picnic. 2. One of the attractions of the picnic was “bubble soccer”.

PHOTO BY JOSH KANO

Getting involved. Students gathered at the Student Union on Oct. 9 to buy club-provided food.

2.

PHOTOS BY MASHA PESCHERYAKOVA

Increasing awareness

[more pictures on back cover]

ASB promotes wearing pink to bring attention to breast cancer

by Samaya Rubio With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, ASB is looking to raise student knowledge of the issue.

According to Cancer.org, about 1 in 8 women and 1 in 1,000 men in the US will develop breast cancer during their lifetime.

ASB’s “On Wednesdays We Wear Pink” campaign will get the word out to the whole campus.

“We did a modern twist to [raising awareness] because in the movie, Mean Girls, they said, on ‘Wednesdays We Wear Pink’,” sophmore Samuel Higuera, who is running the awareness campaign within ASB, said.

Higuera and sophmore Sharon Joseph are in charge of running the awareness campaign. The two came up with the idea of wearing pink on Wednesdays to show support.

Higuera and Joseph’s main goal is to in-

crease awareness by hanging signs around campus and also by making announcements over the loudspeaker. They are not raising money for the cause because the cheer team has been making pins and selling them for a dollar. ASB wishes to add more visibility to the cause while allowing cheer to continue their “successful” fundraiser.

“We’re doing that because it’s something that people can relate to and that we’re all aware of. People like Mean Girls and so we feel like even if they’re not too excited about Breast Cancer Awareness specifically, they’ll still feel like they can dress up because they know it happened in this popular movie,” Joseph said.

They believe that they are raising awareness “in a tasteful way.” Their “creative” way of raising awareness is meant to avoid offending anyone by relating the serious topic

PHOTO BY SAMANTHA BANDALL

Educating the public. Among other things, ASB put up posters around the school to remind people to wear pink on Wednesdays in honor of breast cancer awareness.

of breast cancer awareness to the popular movie.

The topic hits close to home for both Joseph and Higuera because they have a mutual friend who battled breast cancer.

“To see the amount of pain she’s been through and all the chemotherapy she’s had, like all the treatments that she’s done, she just looked so sick and we were all sending

positive thoughts to her,” Joseph said.

ASB wants everyone to wear pink on Wednesdays in support of not only their friend, but all people fighting breast cancer.

“It made me realize how much she’s gone through and how much stronger she is that she still shows up for school every day and she’s just super there for people and she wants to help them learn,” Joseph said.

Oct. 16, 2014

page 3

news

APES learns water treatment on location

by Chris Paludi

RUHS’s AP Environmental Science (APES) class took a field trip to the Ballona Wetlands last week, their second field trip of the year following an earlier excursion to a water treatment facility.

“I really liked the field trip,” junior Anna Fauver said. “I felt like we were actually doing something productive and interesting and something that could make an impact.

Since we took water samples and tested them, we learned a lot about healthy levels of water and about how the water quality affects the vast amount of animals that depend on it. Also, I think that students don’t get a lot of opportunities to go out and actually learn outside of the classroom, which in my opinion is sad. Going on field trips such as this one gives students a chance to connect to the actual world and see how what they are learning has to do with real life, instead of just sitting there absorbing facts.”

APES teacher Gillian Moberg agreed that the field trip was a valuable way to see the topic students are studying.

“The class learned a lot more than they would in the classroom,” Moberg said.

“I think the proof is in the quiz scores. The quiz questions asked how to perform a field test. The context, where you can see the environment around you, helps. I hope that students have more of an appreciation now.

I hope that it was a valuable experience, because it certainly was for me. Even I learned some things while I was there.”

In addition to enhancing learning, Moberg believes the modern world’s impact on the environment can be best observed when outside in the environment.

“It’s a restricted access area, and the regular public doesn’t always get to go back there, but we got to go back there, which is very special,” Moberg said. “Things clicked even for me when I was in the middle and got to see just how impacted that area is.

When you’re in the wetland looking out at the urban development, it looks like it’s invading. It really does feel like humanity’s encroaching on this tiny, tiny space. For 360 degrees, there are buildings all around.”

Fauver returned from the trip bearing similar sentiments.

“The wetlands were so preserved and perfect, and the buildings were almost hanging over them,” Fauver said. “The wetlands had been there first and had been a prominent part of the environment and the way of life in California for the Native Americans, but then we covered all of it up. It’s sad to see that that’s all we have left of these ecosystems and the natural environments because of our selfish greed for money and land.”

2.

PHOTOS BY CHRIS PALUDI

Going APES. 1. Students look out over

1.

the Ballona RIver. 2. Moberg leads field testing on site at the wetlands. 3. Junior Elena Bodkin tosses a water collector to obtain a sample for testing.

3.

In the long term, APES gives students a deep understanding of current, potentially disastrous environmental issues.

“I think APES gives us a better appreciation for the environment,” Fauver said.

“Coming into the course, I didn’t know much about it. I knew that we in California were in a drought and I knew that we needed to conserve water, but I didn’t know all the details and ways of conserving. I definitely didn’t know all the consequences and effects of not saving water. There are so many economic and social reasons to save that we’ve learned, as well as environmental reasons.”

Moberg also attests to increased student respect for the environment and the world around them, and also points to the class as inspiring to students.

“By the end of the year, an APES class always has a greater appreciation for the environment,” Moberg said. “I had lots of students thinking about it as a career or they were thinking about law and politics, which goes hand in hand with the topic.

It’s something that’s really, really relevant -- one of the most relevant classes on campus.”

Robotics prepares for World Championships

by Cody Williams

After winning the Los Angeles Regional competition and qualifying for the World Championships during last year’s robotics season, the RUHS robotics team hopes to repeat their previous success in their upcoming season.

Senior Garret Stribling attributes this success to the previous class of seniors that held positions of leadership within the program “Last year we had excellent leadership,” Stribling said. “The seniors were phenomenal, especially our mechanical leader.”

Stribling believes that this year’s leaders have “big shoes to fill” and must follow the example of those before them.

“This year’s biggest challenge will be filling the role of last year’s seniors,” Stribling said. “The current seniors have to step up and also train the lower classman in order to benefit the program in the future.”

Along with strong leadership, Stribling feels that the success of the robotics team was a product of an efficient work ethic.

“We also had great time managing ability, we were never struggling to finish a component which gave us the ability to make any

adjustments if needed,” Stribling said.

Although the team’s work ethic and focus played a major role in last year’s victories, senior Matthew Chu believes that pure chance gave the team an edge.

“A lot of it was luck because we had to also rely on other teams that formed our alliance,” Chu said. “But we also built some awesome robots and were able to communicate with each other.”

In order to repeat the “amazing” year, Chu acknowledges that the team must improve in it’s lacking areas in order to stay competitive.

“We definitely need to build on our communication between subgroups just to ensure we get all the right specifications,” Chu said. “We also need improvement in our business and marketing because we are the poorest team out there.”

Chu believes that these changes can be made as a result of team interactions inside and outside of the robotics lab.

“We all collaborate all the time, even when we are just hanging out.” Chu said.

“We are also able to talk to other programs through bonding events which are always a

good source of ideas and information.”

If the team is able to make the necessary challenges it is “very realistic” that they will find themselves at the World Championships again at the end of the upcoming season.

“It definitely can happen again,” Stribling said. “It’s just a matter of cooperation between subgroups and how much we focus in preparation for season.”

Chu, who is also very confident in the team’s abilities, believes that luck will be the deciding factor in future success.

“We are going back to the World Championships, there is no doubt in my mind.” Chu said. “But luck is a huge part of the competitions so everything, including the things we can’t control, has got to be in our favor in order to do well.”

After a season in which the team won the Industrial Design award and Quality Award, for building superior robots, they are anxious to prove themselves at the World Championships once again.

“We need to make ourselves a well known team,” Chu said. “We want people to know who team 294 is at the World Championships.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF MATTHEW CHU

On the ball. The Beach Cities Robotics Robot

shoots a ball into a hoop at the Inland Empire Regional Competition. They got second place. “We used the defeat to inspire us to grab first at the next competition,” senior Matthew Chu said.

page 4

High Tide

opinion

Save SoCal ROC; save vocational education

Editorial

Unless it can be saved, the Southern California Regional Occupational Center (SoCal ROC) will no longer be funded after June 30, 2015 and will close its doors soon afterwards.

SoCal ROC is being closed due to lack of funding from the state government. Various campaigns to save it have waged for two years, and yet the facility, which since 1967 has served as a free destination for high school students from the Joint Powers Association (JPA) districts of Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Torrance, El Segundo, Palos Verdes, and Inglewood, has not yet been granted the funding it needs to survive. This itself is a huge problem, and it also speaks to a larger issue in education.

In today’s society, there is a push for everyone to go to college -- a noble goal, one which speaks to our country’s dissatisfaction with our flawed education system and its statistically embarrassing results. And yet, should everyone go to college? There are many other means, equally meritable, of earning a living than by first earning a college degree. Vocational centers offer a wide variety of career and technical education classes. For example, SoCal ROC provides high school students with free classes in career and technical education, including plumbing, cosmetology, banking, auto shop, nursing, dental assisting, engineering, welding, fashion design, video-game design and even pet health and grooming, to name a few. Students taking classes at SoCal ROC and centers like it have a special, highly valuable opportunity to jumpstart their careers and lives by receiving free, high quality training in their chosen career path.

It’s not politically correct to say, but not everyone should go to college. Many who do attend do so as a result of pressure, whether it be parental or societal. We live in a society that only respects white-collar jobs and professions, and that still considers blue-collar work to be of lower worth. Thus, it follows that most parents push their children to go to college, as they feel, like most of America, that it is the only path to a profitable career and good life. In high socio-economic communities such as ours in Redondo Beach, this is even more evident.

This societal bias in favor of “everyone should go to college” and against vocational education is a glaring flaw in how we look at careers. It is destructive to us as students. We should have the opportunity to be trained in whatever skills our natural talents and interests lead us to, rather than societal pressure to attend college for a degree qualifying us for -- condemning us to -- a job we’ll likely find meaningless. And that opportunity has historically been given to us. Since 1967, we’ve had an avenue to pursue a career outside the mold of the millions

of students who enter college with no real purpose for doing so and no passionate use for their degree. SoCal ROC gives many of us that opportunity, with 161 enrolled from RUHS alone, and a few thousand overall from the JPA districts.

The cultural devaluation of occupational centers and vocational careers is also destructive to our society. Many of the skills most needed to compete in the global market of the 21st century are technical skills that fall into the technical or vocational area.

The absence of excellence in many technical and vocational fields is costing us economically as a nation.

College-for-all is an unreasonable goal.

There are many young people who don’t want to go to college. College changes if it is turned into a higher level of compulsory education. It becomes like high school or

even junior high school if unmotivated, unready or unwilling students are pushed into college.

Furthermore, if everyone goes to college, the value of a four year degree is diluted.

We see this already, as it is well known that even college graduates sometimes struggle to find jobs out of college, and often struggle with their often crippling debt accrued while paying for their education. SoCal ROC provides many students with a career right out of high school -- for free.

We as a society should be preparing students for a variety of vocations and let them know that it is meritable to weld, or to install plumbing and electricity, for example. And we should do that as we perform the lost basic function and goal of public education, which is to prepare students to be informed, intelligent voters, to serve on juries, and to

be the citizens who sustain our democracy.

Ultimately, SoCal ROC losing funding reflects the potentially fatal societal disrespect for blue-collar work. Politicians reflect the mindset of their constituents, and until our culture changes to support such occupations, fantastic programs like SoCal ROC will continue get shut down.

If you would like to help thousands of students and save SoCal ROC, you can add your voice. Write or email a letter to Governor Brown, or call Sacramento at 1-916-445-2841.

Editorial Board vote

The college-for-all push is flawed, and blue collar work should be equally respected in society.

Yes, such a societal If we’re going to catch problem exists. The up to the rest of the first step is to fund world in education, centers like SCROC for everyone needs to go students. to college.

9

agree

0

disagree

ILLUSTRATION BY LUMA WEGMAN

Oct. 16, 2014

Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor

If you have an opinion about one of the articles, letters can be sent to the editor at hightideonline@gmail.com.

We reserve the right to edit them for content, grammar, and space constraints. Letters must be signed and are not guaranteed to be printed.

Please keep letters to a maximum of 250 words. Longer guest opinions are also accepted.

After many years of studying and even living in Israel for four months, I have accumulated a vast knowledge on the history of Israel and its surrounding conflicts. My fellow Sea Hawks cannot possibly understand what is going on between the State of Israel and the Palestinian people without understanding the history of the region.

Notably, the ancient kingdom of Israel thrived for one thousand years with the city of Jerusalem as its capital. In the year 70 CE, the Romans came to rule over this area and captured Jerusalem while destroying a sentimental Jewish temple, scattering people of the Jewish faith around the globe. For two thousand years the Jewish people suffered persecution and discrimination, culminating in the Holocaust, where six million of Europe’s nine million Jews were murdered.

In 1948, after centuries of the persecution faced by the Jewish People, a country and a safe heaven, the Modern State of Israel, was established.

Unfortunately, people don’t realize that throughout history, there was never a country named Palestine and the city of Jerusalem was never a capital to any people other than the Jews. In the late 1800’s, there were roughly as many people of the Jewish faith as there were Arabs living in this disputed ancient land.

When Jewish settlers from Europe immigrated to this region, they drained swampy lands, planted orange groves and created an economy out of the desert land.

This is when Arabs started moving from neighboring lands to the new economically prospering region.

From the beginning of Israel’s establishment (1948 to present), the entire Arab world has never been able to accept Israel as a state and has launched multiple wars to annihilate it.

The current conflict between the Gaza Strip and Israel has escalated to a complex political and militant war between the opposing Jewish and Palestinian

High Tide

staff

Editor in Chief: Allegra Peelor

Managing Editor: Alejandro Quevedo News Editor: Jason Rochlin Opinion Editor: Christopher Paludi Features Editors: Yasmeen El-Hasan;

Vaidehi Gandhi; Caterina Hyneman; Shawn Mallen; Shaniya Markalanda; Amanda Shaw

Sports Editors: Nina Gomez; Sophie Maguy

Writing Editors: Stella Gianoukakis; Kayla Nicholls; Grace Zoerner

Photo Editors: Ted Cavus; Chandler Ross Copy Editors: Joseph Blakely; Kira Bowen

Online Editors: Vivian Lam; Romy Moreno

Photographers: Dinah Aiad; Samantha

Bendall; Jennifer Blanco; Madison Brooks; Erin Czulewicz; Daniel Green; Janelle Howe; Lexi Kleen; Carla Macar; Masha Pescheryakova; Laua’e Schweitzer; Tyler Wunderli; Adam Yorke

Illustrators: Steven Bell-Nixon; Kaita Staff Writers: Dinah Aiad; Gianna Aqui-

High Tide dedicates itself to producing a high-quality publication that both informs and entertains the entire student body.

This is a wholly student-managed, designed, and written newspaper that focuses on school and community events.

High Tide is published by the journalism class at Redondo Union High School, One Sea Hawk Way, Redondo Beach, CA 90277.

Signed commentaries and editorial cartoons represent the opinions of the staff writer or cartoonist and in no way reflect the opinions of the other members of the staff.

People. This issue exists because of historical hatred towards the Jewish People and due the terrorist organization called Hamas. Hamas is the elected government of Gaza, and has been firing rockets at Israeli cities and digging underground terror tunnels leading into Israeli territory. For the past two thousand years, the Jewish People have been weak, distressed, and poverty stricken, but now they are strong with a country of their own. Israel will not, under any circumstances, be intimidated by Hamas, who illegally fires rockets into Israeli cities from schools, hospitals, marketplaces and mosques. Israel has taken measures to defend itself and unlike any other army in the world, the Israeli Defense Forces do their best to minimize civilian casualties by often abandoning missions. Unfortunately, during war, innocent people on both sides are killed as a direct result of conflict.

I noticed in the previous edition of the High Tide an error that I would like to clarify. On the timeline of what led to the present conflict under the 2014- Present spot, the title “Israel shells Gaza” is biased and misleading. The explanation continues to describe a single event; the description also failed to mention that the school bombed was hiding terrorist arms; was a possible center for launching missiles at Israeli urban centers; as well as the Israeli Defense forces warning many ahead of time of the bombing via dropping informational leaflets. A more appropriate and neutral title could have been “Israel and Gaza exchange fire”.

The description could have mentioned the conflicts on either side that caused this exchange in fire as well as the recent operation Protective Edge launched by Israel.

Sincerely, Justin Williamson

Dreams Defunded

Pannor; Luma Wegman

lina; Samantha Bendall; Jennifer Blanco; Madison Brooks; Malek Chamas; Jason Clebowicz; Isabella Cordero; Erin Czulewicz; Kelly Dickinson; Micah Ezzes; Lizzie Fauver; Yasamin Fazeli; Jason Fong; Camille Gerson; Daniel Green; Ilene Guerrero; Zach Hatakeyama; Kayla Hiken; Jessica Johnson; Massa Kassab; Brittany Ketting; Jon Mallen; Marie Ona; Kaita Pannor; Sadie Pearson; Masha Pescheryakova; Samaya Rubio; Laua’e Schweitzer; Parker Scott; Mylene Silver; Ava Uema; Simrun Ursani; Tyler Wunderli; Adam Yorke

page 5

opinion

“

SoCal ROC Superintendent Dr. Christine Hoffman preaches its value to students

SoCal ROC has been providing quality, industry job training and certifications to adults and high school students for over 45 years. In raw numbers that amounts to close to 500,000 individuals! When we talk about not funding places like SoCal ROC, we also need to understand that we are eliminating opportunities for our students. By limiting the opportunities we are forcing people to have to pay thousands of dollars for like training thus incurring life long debt.

People do in fact want to be cosmetologists, welders, et cetera. These are important jobs too. And the need for these types of jobs will not go away.

- Christine Hoffman

”

1.

Learning on the job. 1. Student of the

2.

School of Health Sciences at SoCal ROC trains in one of the program’s three Dental Assisting classes 2.

SoCal ROC student works metal in one of the facility’s four welding courses at the School of Engineering and Design.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ATLAS HELAIRE

page 6

High Tide

features

Going to Boeing

Seniors Matthew Chu and Hayes Honea interned at Boeing over the summer

by Kira Bowen

They shot for stars and landed amongst some of the best engineers of the country at a Boeing internship over the summer.

Through their internships, Seniors Matthew Chu and Hayes Honea were able to see first hand how people work in engineering, math and science oriented fields.

“Because I am an aspiring engineer, I wanted to know what a day in the life of an engineer would be like,” Chu said.

Chu learned many new applicable skills for work in general and more specifically, in the engineering field.

“I came to Boeing not knowing what to expect, but soon I was immersed into the life of a mechanical engineer. I learned that anyone, whether it be an engineer who has been working there for years or a new intern, can have a smart, applicable idea. Through various projects, not only did I gain valuable knowledge about satellites and how to carry out tests and projects I also learned self dedication,” Chu said.

Honea dealt more with systems architecture and learned communication skills that will help her in future work environments.

“I was mentored by Depti Patel in systems architect and Ted Orden for IT. Under them, I attended meetings edited PowerPoint presentations, learned the design, testing, and released procedures for all Boeing projects, and learned a lot about teamwork and innovation. By the end, I created my own presentation to all interns,” Honea said.

Though Chu did not get to personally make satellites with the engineers, his time was far from wasted.

“I mainly did paper work, and performed different tests and examinations on several HP 702 satellites. I also researched how a newly designed mechanism functions, and created a powerpoint that described the mechanism,” Chu said. “My final project was my gift to my mentor which led to me being selected to give a couple speeches to executive management and the chief engineer at the El Segundo facility. The project was to create a mock up mechanism of a vernier pulley. I made a computer aided design program to make the model virtually, and machined the mechanism itself, in our robotics lab.”

Overall, Honea enjoyed her experience and learned new skills at Boeing but found that the internship was not as hands-on as she had hoped.

“I worked in systems architecture, so I learned improved communication skills first and foremost. I also learned about 3D print-

ing which I thought was really really cool. I didn’t get to physically touch or build anything, but I did get direct experience in creating presentations,” Honea said. “I was a little bummed that I didn’t get to work with satellites directly, but I’m very happy with the experiences I did have.

Honea made many memories throughout her internship but meeting astronaut Colonel Michael Hopkins was most certainly the highlight.

“Meeting the astronaut and watching the video he took while in space was incredible.

And we got to shake his hand and take a picture with him which was really cool. I also really enjoyed the 3D printing lecture I attended, as well as watching the 3D printers in action,” Honea said.

According to Honea, the main reason she enjoyed her time at the internship was because of the efforts of the Boeing employees, especially the mentors.

“I loved how committed all the Boeing employees were in helping us interns learn.

They really wanted us at all their meetings, seeing all the incredible facilities, and actually doing work. I also really enjoyed making

IL

connections with top executives within the company. I definitely believe that this internship will help me in the future,” Honea said.

Both seniors enjoyed their internships, and due to their experience want to continue interning with science/technology organizations. Chu wishes to come back his junior or senior year of college to Boeing and Honea plans on being an intern at Northrop Grumman the following summer.

The main purpose of these internships is to provide students work experience and preparedness for the future makes all the ‘breakfast runs’ and ‘presentation making’ worthwhile.

“I believe that the internship has both inspired me and prepared me for the future. I was exposed to so many things that have the potential to be amazing and I have learned so many important people skills,” Honea said.

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Boeing 702HP Satellite

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The 702HP configuration carries a modern lithium-ion power system and other features designed to operate at power levels greater than 12 kilowatts. This higher-power capability is required for satellite telephone systems and fixed satellite services. information from ing.com/boeing/history/boeing/702sat.page

Oct. 16, 2014

page 7

features

Cruz-ing on the runway

by Jason Rochlin

While most RUHS students sit with friends at lunch, senior Bianca Cruz sits on the bus to the Southern California Regional Occupational Center (SoCal ROC) to take her Fashion Design class.

“The class is pretty cool. We basically make clothes, learning different things like notching and the different ways to sew and cut up fabrics,” Cruz said. “You’re actually in an environment where you can make the clothes - there’s sewing machines, mannequins and fabrics that you can use.”

According to the SoCal ROC website, SoCal ROC helps students gain access to greater academic challenges and the opportunities diverse learning can offer.

“It’s such a good experience and opportunity, since it’s free and looks good to colleges. You’re taking up your extra time doing things that you love rather than just sitting at home and doing your basic schoolwork,” Cruz said.

Cruz emphasizes the benefits of having the opportunity to gain work experience for free.

“They’re free classes, unless you’re an adult or out of high school, because then it’s around $700-$800,” Cruz said. “I think it’s great that we students get it for free, and we can get things like tailoring licenses.”

Cruz’s boyfriend Oshie Patterson “really inspired” Cruz to take a fashion class and supports her enrollment.

“I think Bianca taking these classes shows her determination and that she’s taking advantage of the free classes SoCal ROC is offering,” Patterson said. “She made a great

decision, even though it takes up a lot of her free time these days.”

The fashion design class is structured so the students get an overall view of the fashion industry from production to a runwayready fashion show.

“When I get to class there’s usually something written up on the board, like an agenda that the teacher will tell us to follow,” Cruz said. “We all do a warm up, and then past that the teacher is really nice and openminded, so we can pretty much do whatever we want.”

Taking a vocational course in her preferred career field helped Cruz decide whether her love of fashion was the right path to take.

“The class has definitely helped define what I want to do with my future. I’ve always wanted to be involved in the fashion industry, but I didn’t realize just how much I hated fashion design until now,” Cruz said. “I definitely don’t see myself making clothes, so now I know that if I am in the fashion industry, I’d much rather be a stylist then actually being the creator and making the clothes.”

Patterson agrees that the extra SoCal ROC class will help Cruz become a better job applicant in the future.

“Bianca took a fashion class, so I feel like it really offers up a great idea of other people’s fashion and cultures,” Patterson said. “If she does decide to be a stylist, fashion designer, or something else in that field she can put the stuff she does in the class in her resume and be more confident in a job interview.”

Bianca Cruz pursues a career in fashion

2.

1.

Fashionista. 1. Cruz takes measure-

ments on a mannequin. 2. Cruz believes that SoCal ROC has been a valuable resource for herself and other students.

“I think that everyone should definitely get into it and sign up. It’s a great opportunity, even if you aren’t really planning on taking that class or being in that career in the future. I’m not going to be a fashion designer anymore, but at least I know that now.” 3. Cruz works on a piece.

3.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BIANCA CRUZ

Fujita volunteers at Torrance Memorial hospital

by Joseph Blakely

PHOTO BY TED CAVUS

Scrubs. “The hospital has enriched my life in more ways than I could have ever imagined,” Fujita said.

Some people try to avoid going to the hospital, but senior Gabriella Fujita went to Torrance Memorial Hospital to volunteer once a week for two years.

As a volunteer, Fujita worked in every department and every day was different.

“You really work in all fields,” Fujita said.

“Sometimes you’re just wheeling patients outside to be picked up and sometimes you’re assisting the delivery of a baby. Once we had to set up tarps on the floor for a woman to deliver her baby since all the hospital beds were taken and we had to follow the health code.”

Working in a hospital also comes with “eye-opening” experiences, according to Fujita.

“I was wheeling this older woman out to the sidewalk to be picked up and she had a blanket over her legs,” Fujita said. “We began to talk in Spanish. When her driver arrived, the blanket was taken off and I saw that both of her legs were amputated. I was shocked for she spoke with such strength and power and our conversation allowed me to see beyond her physical impairment.”

Fujita’s favorite part of volunteering at the hospital is the connections she can make with others through helping them.

“I just love being able to help people out and volunteering at the hospital has allowed me to realize that I want to go into the medical field and continue to help people,” Fujita said.

According to senior Juliette Charlet who volunteered alongside Fujita, several of Fujita’s qualities such as “[being] smart, relaxed, and sweet” have allowed her to “thrive” volunteering at the hospital.

“She’s been volunteering for a while and she knows the hospital very well,” Charlet said. “Volunteering requires patience and a good attitude, and you have to be very open to everything.”

The hospital is an “epicenter” of emotion as well as a place to practice medicine.

“Volunteering helps us see how the hospitals run and the medical field, it shows us the real world, how sad and happy it can be,” Charlet said.

One of the hardest parts of volunteering were the parts where Fujita saw the most

pain and sadness.

“Once I was in the same room as a man when he died,” Fujita said. “His wife was there and she was screaming and crying. It was heartwrenching.”

Being around “so much” death and pain has almost numbed Fujita to the experience.

“You’re surrounded by so much suffering and if I want to work in the medical field I have to be able to deal with such things and not let my emotions affect my actions,” Fujita said. “This experience has been a great help in solidifying my decision to enter the medical field after high school, for I have experience and am confident in my abilities.”

However, Fujita is still unsure of what exactly she wants to do in the medical field.

“I know I don’t want to be a nurse, but I’m not sure if I want to be a doctor or a surgeon, or even work in administration,” Fujita said.

“Currently, I’m taking a class at UCLA on Immunology and I would love to learn more and possibly work in that. But I do know that with whatever I end up doing in the medical field, I want to help as many people as possible.”

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center [cont. from cover]

cause we sucked, but I remember the owner being enthusiastic and the crowd really liking us,” Blanchet said.

Blanchet and Naked Blonde are in it for the music, not the bright lights.

“I’m not looking to make it big, I’m just looking to make it my career,” he said. “Money, popularity— it’s all temporary. I’m pretty sure that no one’s recording all the top artists and putting them in history. In fact, a lot of the biggest and best bands of all time are not even heard of today: Cab Calloway, Eddie Corcoran, for example, but nobody knows of them today. You have to go out of your way to look for them, and that’s what I want to be: the type of person you have to search for if you want to get to know me.”

According to Blanchet, having a band that’s dedicated to its sound and its music over making it big draws them into a tight knit unit.

“We’re going for the music, not for some substantial amount of money or anything,” Blanchet said. “It’s almost an experience of its own and you almost develop a bond like a family. You understand each other.”

Although the band doesn’t seek popularity, Blanchet expects to get their music out there.

“You should probably expect us to become at least locally big,” he said. “One thing I will say about us is that we started out a few years ago in a single coffee shop, and now we have actual shows going on and heading our way, and what we’re playing is good music. It’s something that sticks.”

Naked Blonde will soon be rockabilly-ing on the road.

“When it comes down to it for us, we just get up there and give it our best, whether we’re feeling slack or lazy or something, we go up there and give them a show,” Blanchet said. “Playing music to become popular isn’t the right mindset.”

Lights. Camera. Music.

Eighties synth band 8dz dram@x both composes music and shoots music videos

by Grace Zoerner

Seniors Ethan Morlett, Chris Santos, Daniel Murphy, Wyatt Austin, Branden Silva, and Trevor Hairston are members of the 80’s synth band 8dz dram@x.

“We’re trying to have a nostaglic 80’s type of sound, but mixing it with modern electronic music,” Morlett said. “We want to do something different than the mainstream music everyone listens to nowadays.”

Morlett describes their music as “mellow,” “dramatic,” and “chill” - the kind of music that “makes you want to dance.” Overall, he believes it gives them a distinct, unique vibe.

“What separates us from other electronic groups is that we actually play instruments, while other groups just use the computer to make beats,” Santos said. “We change it up.”

By combining old school music with a contemporary style, the band believes that they have a sound that sets them apart.

“We’re going back to what music used to be - what it should be,” Silva said. “We’re not like bands like Skrillex, which have the same beats playing over and over. We’re trying to mix it up, mellow it out.”

8dz dram@x originated during its members’ freshman year.

According to Silva, playing music was initially “just something fun to do,” as they played around with a synthesizer and developed different beats.

High Tide| Oct. 16, 2014

center

Liquid Glass

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ANDREW BLANCHET

“But then we thought, instead of just messing around, why not make something of this and do something cool?” Silva said.

Now, the band has grown into something they all take very seriously, according to Santos. They have produced three music videos for the songs “Hidden (In Gridboots),” “A Copa Mata,” and “Isurus,” all of which can be found on the group’s Youtube page.

To help publicize and support the growing band, the idea of the “street team” emerged: a group of people to help promote the band.

“The main part right now is trying to make it out there, trying to get our music out there,” Morlett said. “The street team is helping us get our name out there. It’s tough to do that.”

The street team consists of Santos, Murphy, Silva, Austin, and Hairston, who run the band’s various social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

“It was hard trying to get the word out,” Santos said. “Not many people really liked the music at first.”

In addition to publicity, the street team’s role is to support the band however possible, such as setting up and organizing gigs.

According to Silva, they are all a part of the “face of the band.”

“Without us, it’s only the band itself,” Murphy said. “We take the weight off of the band. You have a group to spread the word and get them known, so they can focus on their music.”

The band agrees that they do not intend to stop making music once high school ends, and that the future looks promising.

“We’re pretty sturdy right now,” Santos said. “I have a feeling that we’ll get more followers, and we’re going to get popular.

We’re going to change music.”

Cruz enjoys challenging himself by rapping

by Jason Fong

To some students, hip hop is just the soundtrack in the background as the swagger across campus. For aspiring rapper Xavier Cruz, however, the hip hop music he loves takes him back to his fond childhood memories.

To Cruz, hip hop music is a nostalgic reminder of some of his favorite experiences spent with his family.

“The first hip hop song, still one of my favorites, I ever heard was the song “I got 5 on It” by Luniz. It transports me back to when I used to hear it all of the time in the car with my uncle when I was younger. He had it on a CD, and would always play it. I used to go crazy when I’d hear it and would always rap along. I kind of grew up with hip hop.” Cruz said.

As stated by Cruz, his first attempt to rap was also while spending time with his uncle.

“When I was younger, my uncle and I would fool around with a keyboard: He’d play and I’d rap some lyrics out loud for fun in front of my family. When I was 13, I really started getting into rap, and that was when I started writing my own rhymes,” Cruz said.

For Cruz, rapping has turned from a one-time experience into his favorite pastime, in which he can spend multiple hours immersed alone writing rhymes. Cruz enjoys rapping for the challenge it provides in the struggle to put together his verses.

“Rapping is like a game or puzzle to me. When I’m writing, I’m forced to keep thinking and thinking and thinking until I figure out ways to put together rhymes and lines, which are like puzzle pieces. It’s something I really enjoy, and have dedicated myself to getting better at, ” Cruz said.

According to Cruz, rapping allows him to speak about his thoughts and experiences freely.

“Most people think hip hop is just about ‘oh, I have this and that,’ but it can also be about your own life experiences, the thoughts that you have, and anything else that you want to. Through rap, you can really get your thoughts out there to the people and just talk about whatever you want. And, the coolest part is, other people can just vibe to it and really feel what you’re saying,” Cruz said.

Cruz’s favorite rappers are those that “really speak to him” lyrically.

“My favorite artists out there are either Kendrick Lamar, Hopsin or Eminem. Those type of rappers are really poetic with their lyrics.

They teach me how to talk about what’s around me. When I hear something I like from them, stylistically, I’ll play with it a little bit and try to incorporate it into my music,” Cruz said.

Cruz cites ingenuity as his biggest strength as a rapper.

“My creativity is definitely my biggest strength: I’m pretty versatile: I can change up my rapping speed when I want; I’m always trying to create new things and sounds with it; I don’t just stick to one way of rapping. I take chances and try to change things up in each song,” Cruz said.

According to Cruz, his most popular song to date is “The Lost One.” Written a few months ago, it received hundreds of views online, and several positive reviews by various critics.

by Mylene Silver

Her hands shake and butterflies fill her stomach as sophomore Elliot Lewis recites the words to each verse in her head before stepping on stage. As she sings and moves to the beat of each song, the comfort of the stage welcomes her.

Lewis has been performing on stage for the past eight years and now plays rhythm guitar and sings in her band Liquid Glass.

She met band mates Kat Ozden, Sky Ozden and Rod Bickerstaff at a rock music school and has known fifth member Logan Shroyer from elementary school.

“My first impressions of Sky and Kat were that they had a really cool look. They had colored their eyebrows cool funky colors and they were just very interesting and definitely some of the people I clicked with immediately,” said Lewis. “When I first met Rod I [had] massive respect for his drum skills.”

Liquid Glass has been together for almost three months.

“We started Liquid Glass so we could play our own music and express ourselves more and be able to have that freedom,” she said.

According to Lewis, the band hasn’t written any music yet and is currently focusing on “nailing” cover songs.

“I’d say we do classic rock, alternative, progressive rock, and we do reggae fusion,” she said.

Lewis musically relates to band mates Kat and Sky Ozden the most and believes they see a similar future for Liquid Glass.

“I want to do some funk but I also want to do, I don’t even know, definitely rock with bass. I really like reggae but it’s not a good thing for us,” she said. “We’d want to do more grungy rock with funky bass lines and stuff.”

According to the Ozden sisters, with more practice and tighter synchronization, the band as a whole has potential to improve.

Liquid Glass has performed twice publicly so far and according to Lewis, performing in a band has made her feel more comfortable on stage opposed to being on her own.

“The first show was at The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach and then the second was at the Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair,” Lewis said. “The manager from the The Lighthouse came up to me and was telling me ‘Wow, you guys killed it, great job’ and he invited us to come back in January to do The Lighthouses’ music festival.”

The band has plans on performing at more venues in the future and is grateful for the support from Lewis’ parents.

“My parents are fully supportive. My dad’s basically the manager, even though it’s not his official title,” said Lewis. “He calls people about our stuff; he helps us with our equipment. And if we ever have anything to do with shows, my dad will talk to the people there.”

According to Lewis’ father, he is absolute-

page 9

On deck at the Lighthouse.

Liquid Glass preforms at The Lighthouse Cafe on Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach. According to Lewis, it was the band’s first performance at a “legitimate” location, and the band is “happy and excited for what’s to come.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ELLIOT LEWIS

ly okay with his daughter pursuing a musically structured career path and that supporting her is “the right thing to do”.

“It’s intimidating to get in front of a crowd of people and engage them and ex-

press yourself creatively like that and to do so comfortably,” said Mr. Lewis. “I’m very, very proud of her.”

Lewis has said that as a band, they don’t know what definite direction they will go in

but that they just want to make music.

“I really like doing shows. We’re definitely pretty serious,” she said. “I plan on being in music for the rest of my life. I don’t care if I’m poor.”

PHOTO BY MASHA PESCHERYAKOVA

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High Tide

features

‘Crossing the Finish Line Drue Serrato competes in motocross with his racing team, SB3

by Lizzie Fauver His heart beats faster as his competition comes up along his left and right side. His bike gains speed, and he leaves a trail of dirt flying behind him as he hits one bump after another. Senior Drue Serrato reaches the final turn of the race, and does anything in his power to separate himself from the rest of the pack.

Almost every weekend, Serrato suits up and heads out with his team, SB3, to participate in motocross, a form of off-road motorcycle racing.

“Motocross is very hectic. When you are on the bike you get tunnel vision and you can’t pay too much attention to your surroundings because of how much concentration you need,” Serrato said.

According to Serrato, motocross is an extremely demanding sport because of the hard work and time needed to be spent in order win a race or series. To perform to the best of his ability, he must stay concentrated not only during the race, but also the days leading up to it.

“On a race weekend we would usually get to the track the day before the race to pre-

pare, and on race day everything gets serious,” Serrato said.

Although he started motocross several years ago, Serrato has not stopped enjoying the “non-stop thrill” he gets from it.

“I started racing when I was 12, and I keep doing it because it’s a huge reward when you win a race or series, knowing that all the work you put in payed off. It gives you a great sense of pride. It’s a way to express myself and I don’t think of anything else while I’m racing,” Serrato said.

Participating in motocross comes with many exciting moments, such as when Serrato won a race series.

“I was in second place in points for that race series and in order to move up to first I had to win the last race. I managed to take the lead on the last turn before the finish line and won the race,” allowing him to win the series.

The excitement of racing is not the only thing that encourages Serrato to continue spending time on his bike. Serrato also enjoys the social part of the

sport.

“My favorite thing about racing motocross is meeting new people and being in a positive atmosphere. I just meet new people whenever we go racing or riding in general,” Serrato said.

While racing motorcross, Serrato made many friends, including freshman Jake Nall.

“Me and Drue weren’t friends at the beginning. But now that we dirtbike together every weekend, we’ve become best friends,” Nall said. “I’ve also met plenty of other people throughout California of all shapes and sizes. I’ve made great friends with famous people by just seeing them at the motocross track every weekend.”

Serrato enjoys all aspects of motocross and would like to continue the sport for as long as he can. However, he believes getting a career in motorcross may be too difficult.

“I’m going to do this until I can’t walk anymore. It would be nice to pursue it as a career, but for a serious motocross career as a professional you need to give up school and do it everyday and travel the

country. I don’t have time for that,” Serrato said.

Motocross is not only Serrato’s passion, it is his lifestyle and requires that he dedicates large amounts of time into the sport, from being at races every weekend, to buying the necessary equipment.

“A lot of time and effort is put into racing. I need to keep my grades up and stay in good shape,” Serrato said. “None of this would be possible without the support of my family, and of course SB3 suspension helping me in every way possible.”

2.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DRUE SERRATO

1.

Big air. 1. Serrato (left) competes in a race with his

team, SB3. 2. Serrato goes off of a jump. To Serrato, motocross is not only a passion, but a lifestyle as well.

Oct. 16, 2014

page 11

features

Whistle Blower Mackenzie Thomas volunteers as an AYSO referee

by Gianna Aquilina Refereeing games takes responsibility, making sure that the game is played correctly, and keeping the players safe and following the rules.

Junior Mackenzie Thomas is an American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) referee.

She has been refereeing soccer games since she was twelve years old when the opportunity arose.

Each team is required to have a certain amount of points from refereeing to qualify for a tournament.

“My team needed a certain amount of hours, so I decided to step up and take responsibility for my team,” she said.

Thomas started to play soccer at five years old and played for AYSO until she was fourteen. When her older brother, Davy started playing, it encouraged her to join.

“My older brother played soccer, and I always wanted to be like him, so I also got into playing soccer,” she said.

Once she started to referee at soccer games she really enjoyed it. She referees for U-7 up to U-12 games.

Refereeing for the kids also means dealing with their parents. While refereeing a game, she has to be patient and respectful to the angry parents who try to tell her what to do.

“This past week a coach flipped out because we ended a game early because of a kid getting injured, when really the game was over. He ended up losing a whole bunch of sportsmanship points. In the end, after some of the adult referees agreed with our

call,” she said.

According to Thomas, referees need to support each other in order to be successful.

“Refereeing helps you work together because you, along with other referees, are like a team and you have to work together to make the correct calls,” she said.

Refereeing has made her attitude towards children change.

“Dealing with little kids makes you more patient because you know that at their age they will make mistakes, and you have to adapt to it,” she said.

Thomas plans to referee until she graduates and stop when she gets to college.

“It’s a really great program, but once I get to college, I’ll be too busy, or nowhere near the kids to referee.”

“It’s such a great and easy way to get community hours and honestly, its really fun,” she said.

Flag girl. 1. Thomas initially volunteered as a referee to help her team qualify for a tournament. 2. Thomas signals that a player is offsides.

1.

Gibbs undergoes correctional eye surgery 2.

PHOTOS BY CHANDLER ROSS

by Zac Hatakeyama

She watches as a doctor puts a mask over her face and hears him utter the words “You will be out in a few seconds.” Instantly, junior Paris Gibbs is completely unconscious.

Over the summer, Gibbs underwent an eye surgery to correct strabismus, a condition in which the eyes align improperly, leading to what is often called “lazy eye.”

“It was more for confidence, but I felt that it was needed. [However,] I was terrified. The thought of being put under frightened me because I like being aware of what I’m doing. It’s like being forced to sleep,” Gibbs said.

At a young age, Gibbs underwent the same surgery, but it turned out to be unsuc-

Eyeballing Strabismus

cessful.

“It only got worse and it turned into two eyesinfected instead of just one. After the [most recent] surgery, the doctor mentioned that the stitches from the last surgery had actually loosened, causing them to move inward,” she said.

Though she had the same surgery years before, Gibbs still had many worries about the operation.

“I’m a very paranoid and anxious person. The week prior, I was thinking of all the things that could go wrong,” Gibbs said.

To Gibbs’s relief, her most recent surgery turned out to be successful; however, it came at a cost.

PHOTO BY TED CAVUS

“When I first woke up, I couldn’t open my eyes and when I could finally open them, I could only do it in intervals: 2 minutes with them open, 5 with them closed. I had to do this for an entire week,” she said.

When Gibbs gained the courage to look at her eyes in the mirror, she was not pleased with what she saw.

“My eyes were red, not bloodshot, but pure dark red with only a little white of my eyes there for me to differentiate myself from some sort of demon you’d see in a Hollywood horror film,” she said.

After the surgery, Gibbs was in need of constant care because she was unable to see out of both eyes.

“I couldn’t walk anywhere and my dad had to help walk me places,” she said. “I felt so useless.”

Because she was not able to see, Gibbs had to rely on others to do everyday activities for her.

“I didn’t like it,” she said. “I just wanted to walk downstairs, but instead I had to scream just to get some water.”

Through the difficulties of preparing for the surgery and the frustration of the recovery, Gibbs feels satisfied with the results.

“All in all, the surgery was worth it,” Gibbs said. “I think I’ll be a bit less anxious if I ever have surgery again and it really boosted my self confidence.”

• Caused when eye muscles do not work together properly, causing “lazy eye” • Each eye sees different things, confusing the brain. The brain favors the eye with stronger vision, causing the weaker eye to wander.

COMPILED BY SHANIYA MARKALANDA WITH INFORMATION FROM MAYO CLINIC

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Leveling up

High Tide

features

Freshman Jason Hernandez designs video games

by Malek Chamas He thinks of the player flying in a spaceship like something out of “Star Wars.” Suddenly, enemy spaceships show up, and a titanic battle ensues. Freshman Jason Hernandez plans for his next video game.

Hernandez became drawn to creating video games because of the artistic aspect to it. Hernandez gains inspiration from many forms of art, especially 3-D and realistic art in the form of sketches or paintings.

“Anything that has to do with art and creativity, that’s me,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez recently came up with the idea to make a classic starship game where the player destroys anything in their way.

Hernandez uses a software called Unity 3D, which is a free software that helps to get professional software out to the public, which allows Hernandez to make games the same way major game companies like Activision or Electronic Arts would.

He plans on making his game available for Windows and Android. According to Hernandez, getting his game ready for Windows is his greatest priority.

“Your first priority is to get the best game

idea you can come up with,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez prefers the more artistic part of game development (3-D modeling) over writing code.

“A single error in code can take hours to fix and mostly just involves me completely scrapping the code,” Hernandez said.

According to Hernandez, taking Engineering in middle school helped him learn to do 3-D modeling, and taking Media Arts this year taught him to make attractive logos and other necessary artwork for a game.

“I’m not necessarily trying to make one of those big budget games or become the next Flappy Bird,” Hernandez said. “I would at least want it to be enjoyed by other people.”

In the future, Hernandez wants to start a variety of projects from different genres.

He would also be interested in a career as a game developer.

“I’d love to do 3-D modeling, which is probably one of the best jobs you can have, because if a high-budget game came out, you could say, ‘Oh, I created that building there, I created that weapon in the game,’” Hernandez said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JASON HERNANDEZ

Game on. Hernandez works on his website, indiespy.weebly.com.

Hernandez’s friend Saige Kurtenbach noticed his drive and passion for designing games.

“It seems to make him very happy that he’s accomplishing a lot more in game developing. He seems very excited about it, very into it,” said Kurtenbach.

Hernandez loves looking at his own creations in action.

“If the game is fun, and it works, it’s really fun to try it out,” Hernandez said. “It’s cool, especially if you’re playing it with other people. The sense of accomplishment, nothing can compare to it.”

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Chromebooks to be introduced

New Chromebook laptops are to be distributed to RBUSD students

by Marie Ona

Students of the Redondo Beach Unified School District are going to each be receiving a Chromebook. Having looked at the Chromebook guidelines and agreed and signed to terms and conditions, Chromebooks will be handed out this fall.

The pilot program for the Chromebook project was instituted last year at selected schools and classrooms.

“After that was over, we evaluated how the chromes worked and prepared everything in order to do a roll out for the one to one Chromebooks for the entire district. Every student from third grade up to twelfth grade is going to be receiving the Chromebooks. The high school was one of the last to receive Chromebooks mainly because of the size of RUHS and the logistics of trying to hand out the Chromebooks themselves to everyone,” the systems engineer of RBUSD, William Taira, said.

Assistant Principal Anthony Bridi believes that the first year with Chromebooks will run smoothly.

“We already had the pilot so we’re already foreseeing things that might happen. We’re still going to be learning and evolving with the Chromebooks but it’s for the better because we have a foundational

knowledge. I think after that year we’re going to take it to another level just with the shared information not only with our staff but with our students and we’re going to grow together to make this a very effective useful learning tool for our students.”

Due to the large volume of the high school, getting the resource out was a “bit of a challenge.”

“Obviously, elementary schools are smaller so those one-on-one school devices could be sent to those schools’ sites a little easier because they have less numbers.

With that, learning the mistakes that are made and how to make it the smoothest when dealing with a larger volume such as the high school. So there’s minimal problems and will be very efficient by the time it gets to us. We want to know what those little mistakes might have been so it’s streamlined,” Bridi said.

He is anticipating varying uses of the Chromebooks, as suitable to the class’ needs.

“It’s baby steps in the classrooms. It has to do with the comfort level, not only of the teachers but of the students. Also with the software that is going to be used per class, and there is so many things you can

do within that format,” Bridi said. “Again, it’s about that comfort level when the roll out happened and then from there its a foundation. From that foundation, you can start building up to what would be appropriate in each classroom.”

Chromebooks will be strongly monitored to keeps students from getting off task.

“If you try to go to sites that are inappropriate, that firewall will catch it, just like in the library,” Bridi said.

Students will be able to take their Chromebooks home.

I really like that responsibility because it’s a learning tool. Not only is it a responsibility but I think it’s an opportunity for the students to utilize and learn and grow because really these are the tools that we’re gonna be using in 21st century and that’s one of the tools we do use. How better to provide this opportunity for students knowing that they’re going to be professionals in our work force with the tools that people are using now. I think that our students are going to have a huge benefit to students who don’t have these one on one devices currently.

The Chromebooks are “just like text-

books.”

“At the end of the school year you would turn in your Chromebook,” Bridi said, “and it would get updated, it’s software modified, and will be utilized.”

The laptops were tested last year for things like battery life and other issues that could obstruct the students’ Chromebook experience.

“We have a small snapshot of how can target those future issues when every student has one. For instance, with those it’s great because the IT department has to get all that information together and see if that Chromebook that we had then the type of device we want for the future or is there something that needs to be modified, like if we need a longer battery life or something more durable, etcetera,” Bridi said.

The priority for the Chromebooks is to make them as usable as possible.

“Those questions were proposed and the Chromebook you will be receiving at the high school is kind of like a hybrid. Its going to be a modified version of what that pilot was because its a better product. We want to suit your needs and have something that going to last for a longer period of time for our students.”

Oct. 16, 2014

page 13

sports

Girls volleyball prepares for Mira Costa

by Jason Fong

Girls’ Volleyball is excited for their upcoming game tomorrow against Mira Costa, one of the team’s toughest competitors in the Bay League.

“Costa has always been our biggest rival in the Bay League. For us, there’s always been a fun rivalry. And, rivalries are fun, especially when you win,” junior Sophia Loiola said.

According to Loiola, the team is confident in their chances of winning the Bay League Championship.

“There are no teams in the Bay League that can beat us this year. There are a couple teams that will be a challenge for us, Mira Costa especially, so tomorrow’s game should be good for us.

“Their smart hitters and strong offense will give us some trouble. Our defense needs to be ready for a tough match,” Loiola said.

The team feels that their training has put them on pace to accomplish their goals, which include qualifying for CIF and winning a state title.

“We’re doing really well, especially in relation to last year. We’ve set our standards higher than last year, and are pushing ourselves harder. I’m confident that we’re on track to accomplish our goals,” Loiola said.

PHOTO BY TED CAVUS

Unstoppable. Senior Abril Bustamante blocks the ball in the match against Palos Verdes Loiola feels that the team’s new level of intensity has been paying off, as the team has not lost a match all season, winning over 30 games. RUHS’s team is ranked 7th nationally, and has several players committed to playing in Division 1 colleges.

“We’re definitely capable of competing on a state and national level. We’re heavily favored to win at state this year. If we stay

on pace, and continue to practice the way we do now, we will win state. We really have our eyes on the prize,” Loiola said.

According to Loiola, the team remains motivated by their loss in the state semifinals last year.

“After losing in the state semi-finals to a Temecula team that we could’ve beaten, we’re pretty hungry for a state title we be-

lieve should be ours. We’ve worked on being ready for anything other teams throw at us, and the little things that have made the difference between winning and losing, like our communication on the court,” Loiola said.

As stated by junior Kacey Baker, the team’s lack of communication on the court is one of their greatest weaknesses.

“We really need to communicate to each other more. We can’t expect everyone else to automatically know what we’re thinking. It’s really more of a mental mistake than anything else. It creeps into our volleyball play: we need to let everyone know who’s going for a ball,” Baker said Baker claims that the team takes an aggressive approach to the game, and every player is willing to make the key plays.

“We trust everyone on the court to take chances and try to make the big plays. We all want to make plays that can beat the other team’s good play,” Baker said.

Loiola believes that the team’s greatest strength is their implementation of plays.

“The difference between us and other teams is in our ability to execute our plays and pick ourselves up when we’re down.

Also, our players are just more skilled,” Loiola said.

Training a new team After beating West 14-6 yesterday, boys water polo prepares players for League and their upcoming tournament

by Kaita Pannor

1.

PHOTO BY YASMINE GHAZVINI

2.

PHOTO BY PETER TRAN

Shooting for success.

1. Junior Blaze Bird attempts to shoot against Mira Costa last Thursday 2. Senior Perry Corkos defends a Mira Costa player and attempts to steal the ball in the first quarter

Despite having to work with a younger team, boys water polo won against West Wednesday 14-6.

“We played harder and got a good sized lead against West after they caught up with us,” senior JR Beck said, “We were also strong on our counter attack to offense and that was how we scored a majority of our goals.”

The team is now working on attempting to achieve a higher ranking in Bay League than in previous years.

“We started out as a young team that had never played [a game] together, and did not perform,” Beck said.

According to Beck, new starters and returning players have been working hard under their new coach to better their game and have improved drastically since the beginning of the season.

“We are slow on swimming back to defense, [but] our defense is improving and we have a very strong goalie who blocks a high percentage of shots,” he said.

The new coach, Chris Murin, has played a “vital” role in the overall growth of the team.

“The key has been Coach Murin’s prac-

tices, plays, and inspiration. Murin is out to win.” Beck said.

The team’s “primary” goal this season, according to Beck, has been to advance to 3rd place in the Bay League division in order to qualify for the playoffs this season.

“It has been challenging since Mira Costa, Palos Verdes, and Peninsula have almost always been superior to Redondo, but we’ve been practicing to beat Peninsula,” he said.

It is “critical” for the team to beat Peninsula when they play them again on October 23rd in order to obtain 3rd place and qualify for playoffs.

“We have been practicing our offensive plays to use against them, and our press defense in order to prevent them from scoring,” Beck said.

The team will also be playing a tournament this weekend, playing Arroyo Grande and Torrance this Friday as well as a game on Saturday.

“I think we will do well; our bracket for the tournament doesn’t seem too difficult, so I believe we have a good chance a beating both teams on Friday and then moving on to the winners bracket on Saturday,” Beck said.

page 14

High Tide

sports

Turning a Corner

Girls tennis ended their ten-year losing streak to Palos Verdes last Tuesday

by Romy Moreno “Since PV just recently graduated a lot of their experienced players, we knew that if we were going to be beat them this was our chance,” junior Emily Zargham said.

The last time the RUHS team beat Palos Verdes was in 2004 when their coach, Jessica Seibert, was playing for the team.

“After we beat PV our coach was ecstatic,” Zargham said.

“You could tell how proud she was of us for breaking their ten year winning streak.”

According to the girls, after they heard that West beat PV they instantly knew that they had a good chance at winning the match.

“We beat West and hearing that West beat PV kind of gave us a sense of relief and the motivation for us to take the match,” freshman Alena Smith said.

The team agreed that they took this match more seriously than others because they knew they had what it takes and wanted to finally beat PV. “We were expecting a tough match so we really took our coaches tips seriously especially when it came to dealing with PV’s eye formation,” Zargham said.

“Our coach drilled us a lot harder than usual and we really fought through our tiredness to prepare ourselves for this match,” freshman Halle Bender said.

According to the team, once they knew that they win the match their emotions took them over.

“There was a lot of screaming, jumping and sighs of relief; we knew that our hard work finally paid off and we were incredibly excited about it,” Zargham said.

Since the girls were able to beat PV they now hold the third spot in Bay League which is one spot above their average rank.

“Since we’re in third now it changes everything,” Zargham said. “We always go into Bay League as the Wildcard team so

we’re forced to play against the number one team, but now we have a chance to play teams that we have never played and have a good chance at winning.”

With only a few matches left in there season the girls hope to hold onto their third spot in Bay League and feel like this win will help them get it.

“We didn’t only prove it to ourselves, but we proved it the other schools that we will fight and do whatever it takes to do our best,” Zargham said.

PHOTOS BY CHANDLER ROSS

1.

Running the last mile

Dueces. 1. Junior Emily Zargham hits a forehand in their game against Culver City. 2. Sophomore Jana Jones hits a backhand.

Cross Country prepares for one of their last races of the season and, for the seniors, one of the last of their high school careers: The Mount SAC Invitational

by Mylene Silver Cross country will be contending in the Mount SAC Invitational near Pomona next Saturday.

“We have a lot of talent within our team, we just need to work on putting the talent together on the same day. Everyone needs to run [their] best and then we can be as successful as everyone hopes we can be,” said senior Amber Gore.

Senior JV runner Zachary Rounds is very optimistic about the Mt. SAC race.

“It’s my favorite course in cross country because it is the ultimate cross country course; it has everything a cross country course could have. And the atmosphere of it makes it even better,” said Rounds.

Boys’ and girls’ varsity coach Bob Leetch said this race will be the team’s first indicator of how good they are as Bay League finals approach in two weeks.

Most of the boys varsity team this year consists of new varsity runners that moved up from JV. “Our girls are very good. The boy’s team has done really well and have been a very pleasant surprise,” said Leetch.

“We thought this was going to be a rebuilding year and it turns out to be more of a reloading year. The boys have really stepped it up.”

According to Gore, the boys team has a lot of potential and they are responding very well to the pressure they have been put under.

“I think they’re feeling a lot of pressure. And I think it’s very demanding what I ask them to do,” said Leetch. “But I have high expectations for them, and I expect them to do well.”

According to senior Carlos Suarez, the new varsity runners are feeling the pressure to excel.

“The coaches aren’t really putting on a lot of pressure, it’s

mostly self-pressure,” said Suarez. “The first couple of races it was a little difficult, but they’re adapting pretty well. They seem to have adjusted okay.”

Gore and Suarez face the inevitable end of their high school running careers.

“Considering that every race I run will be my last time on that course, it adds more pressure to perform great. A lot of people might say, ‘I’ll just do better next year’, but for myself and all the other seniors on the team, there is no next year,” Gore said.

Suarez finds himself running every race like it’s his last, literally.

2.

“It’s really tough to think that there really is no next time, there is no next year. If you want to hit those times, it’s now or never,” says Suarez. “And especially now, with the whole college search and the recruitment process, it’s a little bit overwhelming.”

Oct. 16, 2014

page 15

sports

The course is clear

Girls golf is confident that they can beat Mira Costa at our home course on Tuesday

by Vivian Lam

PHOTO BY PETER TRAN

Put in on the green. 1. Senior Mackenzie Jeffery hits the ball at a match against Palos Verdes last Thursday.

Girls golf hopes to score better than their last match against Palos Verdes in their second to last match of the season against Mira Costa next Tuesday.

“I’m hoping for an improvement from my match last week,” junior Carlin Liang said. “I want to score in the low 40s because I know I have the ability to do so.”

Freshman Maria-Victoria Baker felt “pretty good” about her score from last match, but she still wants a better score.

“In the last match at PVCC, I shot a score of 46 and I am extremely happy with it considering the level of difficulty of the course but I hope to do better in the Costa match,” Baker said.

Baker believes that their team will play well next week.

“As far as I’ve heard, Costa plays really well because they have a lot of good players,” she said. “But I’m sure we can handle it. I’m expecting our team to play strong and to be the victors.”

According to Liang, she believes that the match would be difficult.

“Mira Costa has a strong team and they have placed first in league for as long as I can remember,” she said. “Beating them in a match would definitely boost our morales and maybe we could stand up against them, but we have a very slim chance.”

Senior Mamika Toyoshima agrees with Liang about the difficulty of the match.

“It will be difficult because Costa is number one in the league,” Toyoshima said. “We’re not expecting an easy win, but we hope to give it our all and play our best round against

our rival school.”

Even though playing Mira Costa will be difficult, Liang is still looking forward to having an “enjoyable” match.

“It’s going to be a good experience and, sometimes, it’s not all about winning or losing but doing something you like and enjoying it with others that share the same passion,” she said.

Along with Liang, Baker is also highly anticipating the mtach against Costa.

“I’m expecting great competition and a lot of fun,” Baker said. “I’m looking forward to great golf and hopefully beating our rivals.”

Toyoshima expects the team to do well during the next two matches to end their season “strong.”

“Our season is going by very smoothly due to our consistent scores and multiple wins this year, which gave us an opportunity to qualify for CIF as a team, so I hope it will continue smoothly,” she said.

Because their season has been “good” so far, according to Baker, Liang has mixed feelings about the season ending.

“I’m a bit sad because the rest of the team are seniors and these next few weeks will be my last time playing with the teammates I’ve spent three years with,” she said. “I’m also excited because we have some very promising players for varsity next year and I can’t wait to play with them.”

Even though the season is short, Toyoshima is still satisfied with her last season.

“I’m extremely happy to play various matches with this amazing team and I can’t imagine where I would be without my teammates,” she said.

Recent loss against Dana Hills marks the end of beach volleyball’s season

by Kayla Maanum Beach volleyball lost in the Interscholastic Beach Volleyball League (IBVL) team championship semifinals to Dana Hills on Saturday, concluding its season with a 9-3 record.

Three RUHS teams lost all three matches to Dana Hills. However, junior Sean-Michael Cramer believes playing higher-level teams has improved his and his partner’s game.

“It challenged us in a good way. Playing on that high level, we both got better,” Cramer said.

Despite the loss, Cramer’s partner, junior Logan Gehman, believes they played “very well” in the playoffs.

“Personally, I think we had a pretty good mental day, good attitudes, and sided-out pretty well,” Gehman said.

Siding out was one of the aspects junior Lucas Lossone felt the team needed to improve on throughout the overall “strong” season.

“The season went really well and was pretty successful.Our biggest flaw was siding out and being mentally strong,” Lossone said.

According to Lossone, in beach volleyball, being mentally unfocused for a few plays can change the momentum of the game fairly

quickly. Cramer also believes in the importance of improving mental stamina for future competitions.

“Personally, I hope to improve mental focus and staying positive. That was my biggest thing to improve on. If I get that down, other things will come because it all starts mentally,” Cramer said.

However, the team has made significant improvements from last year’s team, according to Lossone.

“I think we all became physically stronger, Our capability went through the roof at one point; we were playing really well at some times,” Lossone said.

With the departure of many seniors last year, leaving few mentors for the younger players, Lossone thinks this year’s team did a “pretty good job” filling the former seniors’ shoes. He credits their coach, Cory Glave, for the team’s improvement from last year.

“I think that our coach really stepped up in his position. He really just tried to help us all to get better,” Lossone said.

In addition to coaching, the team agrees that partner chemistry off-season has had and will have great impact on performance during the season. “[Gehman and I] played during the sum-

PHOTO COURTESY OF LOGAN GEHMAN

Taking a knee. The boys huddle up at their last tournament this past Saturday. mer as partners so having a partnership throughout the beach season was good,” Cramer said.

For Cramer and Gehman, their most memorable moment of the season was their win over Costa in three games, having lost the first game in the match.

“We went out and played a hard-fought game. I was honestly in shock when the ball dropped and we had won. It was a great win and definitely a moment to remember,” Gehman said.

Lossone, too, shared his most memorable moment with his doubles partner Logan Glaves when they won bronze in an individual competition two weeks ago.

This team chemistry is critical to their success, and Lossone hopes to improve it by next season.

“I think [the team] need[s] to have more time together, to work out with our partners more and just get to know each other,” Lossone said.

If the team makes these improvements going into next season, Lossone believes the team has a chance to be more successful in playoffs.

“I think that we’re going to be really good next year and have a better chance of winning it all,” Lossone said.

page 16

features

High Tide | Oct. 16, 2014

2.

Homecoming round-up PHOTO BY JOSHUA KANO

Week of festivites. 1. As a male cheerleader, senior Nick Graves was a flyer at the

powderpuff game last Tuesday. 2. On rockstar day, sophomores Charlotte DiMaggio and Kate Lux painted their faces like punk rockers. 3. Best Buddies Club had a ring toss game at Red and White Carnival last Thursday. “On Mondays, students spend their lunches with special needs kids, hanging out and making sure they have a friend,” president Fareshta Nazif said. 4. Sarina Ferlazzo runs the ball for the seniors’ offense at the Powderpuff game last Tuesday. “We had really great coaches and an awesome group of girls that worked really well together,” Brigid Antonelli said. 5. Taylor Herm and Billy Strickland were crowned Homecoming King and Queen at the dance.

1.

PHOTO BY CARLA MACAR

3.

PHOTO BY ELLIOT LEWIS

5.

PHOTO BY SANDER FINK

4.

PHOTO BY CARLA MACAR