The Union - Milpitas High School - April 2013

Page 1

E D I TO R I A L 3

UN I O N

O PI N I O N S 4

APRIL 2013

Volume XXV Issue V

F E AT U R E S 6

T HE

LIFEST YLE 8

E N T E R TA I N M E N T 11

S P O R T S 15

MHSTHEUNION.NET For the latest updates

STUDENT VOICE OF MILPITAS HIGH SCHOOL

TR OJAN OLYMPICS S CORES 2013

2014

2015

2016

“Doomsday”

“Cirque du Merveille”

“Peter Pan”

“All that Jazz”

TICKET SALES

1st

1st

3rd

4th

DECORATIONS

4th

1st

3rd

2nd

DANCE

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

W

L

PIZZA DELIVERY JUMP ROPE RELAY

W

L

WHIZZING WHEELBARROWS

FROZEN T-SHIRT

L

W 1st

3rd

FISHY WOBBLE WALK THREE-LEGGED RACE MUSICAL CHAIRS MANIA

W

BALLOON POP RELAY

2nd

4th

L

W

L L

W

1st

4th

2nd

3rd

SACK HOP

W

L

TUG OF WAR

3rd

2nd

1st

4th

BASKETBALL RELAY

W

SKATEBOARD DERBY

1st

CRAB CRAWL

W

L 2nd

4th

3rd L

SKY WALK

W

LEAP FROG

L

W 4th

2nd

L

EGG FLING

1st

2nd

OVER-UNDERTHROUGH

L

W

BUNNY CONES

3rd

2nd

1st

4th

PYRAMID

4th

1st

3rd

2nd

SPORTSMANSHIP

1st

3rd

2nd

4th

TOTAL POINTS

445

395

305

195

LeAnn Woo | THE UNION

Junior Jake Pham (left) races against Sophomore Jette Villanueva (right) and other participants in the ‘Skateboard Derby’ during Friday’s festivities. The junior team placed second, while sophomores came in third.

Seniors triumph at Trojan Olympics BY YING LUO

Trojan Olympics (T.O.) was held on Friday, March 29 at the large gym from 7 to 9 p.m., according to Activities Director Joanna Butcher. This competition began in 1999, Butcher confirmed, and since then has become an annual tradition. Seniors placed first with a total of 445 points, juniors followed suit with 395 points, sophomores with 305 points, and freshmen concluded the night with 195 points, Butcher affirmed. The competition was fairly close this year, Butcher continued. “T.O. is an opportunity to demonstrate school spirit, healthy com-

petition, some school pride, and memories,” Butcher said. “The sportsmanship [this year] was really positive among the four classes.” Senior Class President Cheverlyn Casta was proud to finally have won the trophy after four years, Casta stated. She felt every class proved to be a formidable opponent. “We spent the whole month of March, as well as February, [planning],” Casta said. “I was at school every day after school until five or six.” While the seniors did not have a specific strategy, Casta said that the seniors’ strength lied in their performance in their dance and games. Her favorite part is the feeling of familial

N EWS IN BR IEF Spring Break approaches in second week of April Spring Break will be from April 8 to April 12. School will resume on Monday, April 15. STAR testing week to commence in April STAR testing will begin on Wednesday, April 17. English will be on April 17, math on April 18, social studies on April 23, science on April 24, and 10th grade life science on April 25. The school’s goal is a 850 API score.

Ying Luo | THE UNION

Trojan Olympics comprised of 20 events, ticket sales, and campus decorations. ‘W’ signifies a win and ‘L’ symbolizes a loss. The seniors won overall.

T.O. selection processes questioned for fairness BY DAN LUO

Trojan Olympics (T.O.) drawings have been rigged in previous years, Associated Student Body (A.S.B.) Vice President Alexander Pham said. “Rigging” occurred when class officers would crumple pieces of paper with names of potential T.O. participants whom they wanted on the team during drawings. A.S.B. officers took precautions this year to make sure that rigging would not be possible, according to Pham. In previous years, students were allowed to turn in their slips themselves; this would allow the students to crumple up their papers which would affect their chances of being picked out of the box. “There are rumors about rigging every year, and it was actually rigged last year,” Pham affirmed. “However, this year the A.S.B. classes—which are supposed to be impartial—printed

and cut out each of the tickets themselves and put them in the box themselves.” A.S.B. officers also monitored the drawings themselves to make sure no student would receive an unfair advantage during drawing, according to Pham. However, some current T.O. policies that are in place might be considered “rigging” as well. “Each team is allowed to reserve six spots for people they want on the team,” Senior Class Advisor Lauren Byler said. “For example, if you have someone who knows how to do stunts, you want them on your team so they can teach you how to perform stunts safely.” Junior Class Advisor Letta Meyer added that the six people are chosen by class officers. If a person with a reserved spot is chosen during the drawing process, he or she may give up the spot to another potential team participant, Meyer added.

togetherness, according to Casta. Freshman Class President Krupa Patel also found the weeks leading up to T.O. to be stressful. Officers and participants struggled to find balance among school, sports, and T.O. activities, Patel stated. “[T.O.] was nothing like I imagined,” Patel said. “People always hear about it and see videos, though until they actually go to the event and support their team or participate as a team member they haven’t experienced the real deal.” Patel is proud of her class did, she said. Class of 2016’s accomplishments would have been impossible without their advisors, she concluded.

Andrea Wang | THE UNION

Sophomore Andrew Luu submitted a robot arm for his science fair project. The arm received first place in the Science Fair held on March 14 and 15.

First science fair hosted BY BRENDA SU

Science Club hosted the first MHS Science Fair on Thursday, March 14 and Friday, March 15. The purpose was to promote science and encourage more students to engage in independent scientific study, according to Science Club President Ivy Pham. 123 students entered 66 projects in total, according to Pham. Judges included MHS science teachers, and Science Club contacted businesses to donate prizes, Pham said. Principal Kenneth Schlaff donated money as well, Pham continued. “We had five first, five second, and 10 third place winners, with nice prizes, certificates and trophies, and every participant got a 1GB USB,”

Pham said. “The five judges used a rubric to judge the projects on [scientific approach, presentation, and research], and then we averaged the results for everyone and took the highest points as the winners.” Students could enter in anything related to science, according to Science Club Vice President Forrest Tran. Some students turned in experiments, others submitted research projects, and some even presented physics demonstrations, Tran said. Around 17 students entered in the construction challenge that took place at the Science Fair, Tran added. Juniors Albert Vu and Raymond Khau took first place, and winners received toolboxes and flashlights donated by Home Depot, Tran said.

Vietnamese Student Association hosts cultural show The VSA show will be held on Saturday, April 6 in the MHS theater. The day show will be held during all six periods on Friday, April 5. Annual MHS Art Show to be held in small gym The MHS Art show will be held in the small gym from May 21 to 24. The show will feature artwork from students enrolled in art classes, teachers’ works, and a demonstration by Ceramics Teacher Jeffrey Albrecht. Community service forms due for seniors For seniors, community service forms, with 150 hours, are due to P-10 by 4:00 p.m. on April 19 to receive the maroon cord for graduation. 20 hours are due by 4:00 p.m. on May 3 in order to graduate. Teachers selected as Teachers of the Year Teachers Kathleen Conradson, Nathan Dixon, and Leighann McCready were chosen.


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