Raven Report Issue 4

Season’s Greetings Redwood City Sequoia School Employees Federal Credit Union http://www.rcsse.org/ 530 El Camino Real, P.O. Box 5413, Redwood City (650) 366-7777

Serving employees and their families in the following districts: Redwood City, Sequoia, San Carlos, Belmont Ravenswood, Las Lomitas, Menlo Park, Portola Valley, Woodside, Canada College

Sequoia High School Special Winter Issue

2

3

Special Feature

First Semester 2010 in Review FOOTBALL SEASON KICKS OFF AT TERREMERE FIELD, Sept. 10: After starting their seasons with victories at Branham High, the Frosh/Soph and Varsity football teams were both victorious in their home-openers against Galileo High. The Frosh/Soph team won 28-6 and the varsity team won 45-36.

CLUB DAY: 39 clubs lured approximately 200 students to the quad on Friday, Sept. 17. There were many new clubs this year, including the Quidditch Club, Schools for Schools Club, Poetry Club, Debate Club, Junior Statesmen of America ( JSA),and the Hip-Hop Club.

ANTI-BULLYING DAY: After recent suicides in middle schools and high schools across the country, Sequoia students rallied Nov. 19 in tie-dye and white to protest bullying.

With almost 7,000 group members on Facebook, this event went worldwide.

FRESHMAN ACTIVITY DAY: The freshmen class of 2014 ventured to Red Morton Community Center Oct. 29 for a day of bonding, pizza, and jumpy houses.

F.A.D. students braved the rain to make new friends that will be remembered all throughout high school.

September August

FOOTLOOSE DEBUTS: Singing and dancing all over Carrington Hall, Footloose the musical entertained audiences Nov.19-21. With leg warmers, big hair, and wacky make-up, Sequoia succeeded in bringing the 80’s back to life.

DREAM CLUB: Sequoia’s Dream Club supported the DREAM Act by raising awareness in the quad during lunch Dec. 1.

If passed, the law would give high-achieving undocumented students citizenship.

November December

October

WINTER CONCERT, Dec. 8: Sequoia jazz ensemble, advanced band, orchestra, and choir performed to a full house at Carrington Hall. Students brought holiday joy with seasonal music.

HOMECOMING: The Cherokees won their homecoming football game against El Camino High School Oct. 22.

Students and teachers performed at the lunchtime rally and the campus was showered in purple attire. Saturday night at the masquerade homecoming dance. Seniors Vinny Diaz and Julia Knorpp were awarded homecoming king and queen.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, Aug. 18: We started the year off with crowded hallways and packed classrooms.

600 freshmen swarmed campus due to the 35 point increase in API scores, which resulted in Sequoia’s largest population in school history.

SAN BRUNO FIRE, Sept. 9: Sequoia students among others around the world were in shock when a gas pipeline explosion sent a huge fireball in the air, destroying 53 houses in a residential San Bruno neighborhood. Brent Schimek, the husband of English teacher Jasmine Schimek, was among the many firefighters who helped to stop the fire. Sequoia students responded to the San Bruno fire by donating $1,084 to help aid the victims.

BREAST CANCER MONTH: Sequoia sports teams came together to support Breast Cancer Awareness month, donning pink apparel and collecting donations for the cause. The girls Water Polo team wore pink shirts and swim caps with the signature pink ribbon at their breast cancer awareness game, and the cheerleaders participated in San Francisco’s Breast Cancer Walk.

GIANTS WIN!! Nov. 1: The San Francisco Giants brought home the World Series trophy for the first time in the city’s history. Fans swarmed the street as soon as the final pitch was thrown. Sequoia wore jerseys and T-shirts for weeks on end to celebrate this momentous occasion.

FOOD DRIVE: Through November 8-19 almost 1500 cans were collected from 4th period classes, smashing last year’s total of 600.

These cans are donated to a parent center and benefit people in our community. Congratulations to Mr. Ton-tho’s class for collecting a total

Compiled by the Raven Report Staff

SEQUOIA SAYS: What is your best holiday memory?

“Fondue with my family”

“I got my dog on Christmas”

—Sophomore Maddie Chong

—Freshman Summer Toms

“Going to Yosemite and seeing snow for the first time” — Sophomore Ubaldo Arredondo

“Eating dinner with my Grandma” — Senior Victor Melara

“Definitely when my family and I all got each other snuggies and ugly Christmas sweaters for the holidays” — Freshman Amir Amerian

“When I go to Argentina I spend Christmas in the summer and we go to the pool on Christmas day and have a rockin pary” — Junior Lucia Bertero

“Every Christmas Eve we go to Taco Bell” — Junior Spencer Downing

“Putting up Christmas lights and falling off the roof...”

— Senior Andrew Olague

Compiled by Rebecca Sand and Anna Dagum

Happy Holidays from the Sequoia High School

Raven Report

Volume IV, Issue 4

1201 Brewster Ave. Redwood City, CA 94062

December 15, 2010

Cherokee football stellar season ends at CCS championship

By DANIEL JUDE and NICKIE PUCEL Sports Editor and Staff Reporter

Above: The football team fought valiantly againstWillow Glen in the championship. Top: Siosiua Vaka (30) and the other Cherokee football players observe the game intently. Bottom right: Quarterback James Beekley (10) launches a pass downfield. Photos courtesy of yearbook.

The Sequoia football team finished off its best season ever on Saturday, Dec. 4, when they lost to Willow Glen High School 47-14.

However, this was the only game they lost all season.

Heroics against Carlmont on Nov. 12 capped off our first unbeaten season since 1967.

The Cherokees beat Los Altos and Leland High Schools before proceeding to the CCS Division II Championship Game against Willow Glen.

While they may have been defeated, the team and school did not lose the wonderful feeling of having such an amazing season.

Sequoia students watched the team earn win after win throughout the season.

School spirit and football game attendance shot sky high as the team’s incredible season progressed.

“When I first started at Sequoia, I would ask people if they were going to come to the football games and they were like, ‘Eh, I don’t really want to,’” said Senior Clint Kastrop in an article by the San Jose Mercury News.

“Now people are asking me like, ‘When’s the game, what time should I be there, how much do tickets cost?’”

Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator Rob Poulos and Defensive Coordinator Fine Lauese worked their players hard, and in the end they had improved from a 1-9 record just two years ago to a 9-0-1 regular season finish this year.

Herds of Sequoia fans took the spirit bus down and filled the stands at San Jose City College to watch their team finish a hugely successful year.

A Christmas Story: Spirit learned the hard way

By JACOB WARREN Staff Reporter What does Christmas mean to you? The only two things that pop in my head are family, and being humbled.

I have learned through the 17 years of my life that Christmas is more than just a day of presents. It is a day of thanks. It is a day of realizing how important family is, how important friends are, and how some people take all that for granted.

A few years ago I also took this holiday for granted. That was a mistake which will never happen again.

Last year I had almost no family to be around at all. I lived at my grandmother’s and was nowhere near my mother or father. I wasn’t near them

because my dad left my mom and me when I was two. Why wasn’t my mother there? She was in Elmwood; Santa Clara County’s jail for women.

Why was she there? She was there for spending a lot of cash that wasn’t hers. It was her company’s money.

She used to put charges for things on her work credit card. Some of those charges came from the Christmas before last when she spent over $1,000 on my little brother Lucas and me.

Lucas and I had been living at my grandfather’s while she was in jail.

After Thanksgiving things between my grandpa and I became shaky so I went and lived with my grandma.

That meant Lucas and I wouldn’t be together for Christmas; his favorite holiday of the year.

Once Christmas came around I drove to my grandfather’s and wished a merry Christmas to my brother and my family. I gave Lucas a present and tried not to cry as he opened it.

It was very hard and emotional for

me since he was my little brother and mom and her saying, “Just make sure all he wanted for Christmas was our Lucas is okay and he isn’t too upset mother. about Mommy not being there with I talked to my mom on Christhim.” mas night and she cried the whole We knew family was important but time. All she said was,“I want to be we didn’t know how important is was home with my boys.” She thought until it wasn’t there. spending $1,000 would make Lucas What’s more important to you? and me happy but if Family or a PlayStation 3? we had known that “We knew family was Some people say family, she was spending so important but we didn’t and others say a PlayStamuch money on us, we know how important is tion 3. To the people out wouldn’t have asked was until it wasn’t there.” there who would take a for any presents at all.

PS3 first, I wish you the Lucas wanted her there but best because if you would take a game couldn’t have her. It killed him, and or electronics over family then you it killed me. That Christmas was the will end up very lonely one day. hardest of my life, and one I’ll never The people who take family first forget. will always have the best holiday That Christmas is why I will never season. Without family no own take Christmas for granted ever again. would have a PS3 or an XBox unless To me, Lucas, and my mom, family they bought it with their own money. is more important than any presPeople forget where gifts come from. ent. That’s why we all cried when So for this holiday season remember Christmas night came and we weren’t where you, your family, and your together. I remember talking to my presents came from.