Finals are next week! Study! Study! Study!
Have a happy winter break! Enjoy the Holidays! Have a happy New Year!
Want to read more? www.redwoodgigantea.com
REDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL DECEMBER 9, 2011- JANUARY 9, 2011 PRINT ISSUE 1 VOLUME 57
In early 2011, the Tulare County Farm Bureau approved a 500 dollar grant for the Redwood Agriculture and Environmental Science departments to build a California Missions Garden under the instruction of Mr. Olson, RHS Environmental Science teacher, and Mr. Coon, Redwood Ag. Mechanics teacher. “The visionary behind the idea is clearly Mr. Olson. It came to him when he was walking at Mission San Luis Obispo 2 years ago. He shared the idea with me and we combined his vision with my ability to know how to construct it.” said Mr. Coon. Each Mission along El Camino Real has a garden that grows a certain type of plant native to that area. In this way, the California Missions Garden at Redwood will have a mini trail symbolizing El Camino Real running through the garden with mini stops along the way for each Mission, with a few plants from that particular mission and a sign describing it at each stop. The quarter-acre garden will consist of over 25 different species of plants in 10-15 groups. The majority of California’s “native plants” aren’t actually native. They originate from the mission’s era and the founding fathers of the Missions. The garden will show its visitors how each
T
Mission San Ranger
the completion of the garden. Brandon said, “Mr. Coon and Mr. Olson proposed the idea to me back in April. It seemed like a good thing to be a part of in the big scheme of everything.” Jarrett Haas, ‘13, another Ag Mechanics student, said, “We make the metal and fabricate pieces for the signs and the arbor, using class time. Basically we[Ag&Mechanics] are doing the construction, and they [Environmental Sciences] are doing the planting.” Continued on Page 2
Green Hands Join The FFA Family
he FFA club held their annual Green Hand meeting on Friday, December 2nd in the Ag building. There were about 100 people in attendance and the meeting was a definite success. The annual FFA Green Hand meeting is a formal meeting to honor and recognize the new freshmen coming into the program, or more widely known as the first years. The meeting began with the FFA officers formally stating their positions. The Green Hands (the first year ag members) then stood up and took a pledge to always contribute their share in the FFA program, to be loyal, and to use their organization to better themselves and others. Before school, the first years put on a t-shirt with a green hand print on the front. Throughout the course of the school day, the Green Hands were required to get as many signatures as they could on their shirt to win the competition.
M
plant came to be where it is today. “Sixty kids from the A.P. classes will run the garden and conduct tours. The big idea is to teach the younger kids about the California Crops while at the time bringing future Rangers on campus.” said Mr. Olson. Historically, the donated timbers from Chevrolet and Visalia Lumber are from the Sixties; yet another asset to the garden. The trail will end under an arbor covered in grapevines that is being built by a Ag Mechanics III students, as part of Brandon Eslick’s, ‘12 Eagle Scout Project. The arbor is a stepping stone to
Kayla Maine ‘12 said, “I remember when I was a freshman and got to do the Green Hand activity. It was a lot of fun because you get to run around like crazy to get signatures. It gets you more involved and makes you less nervous.” This year Mr. Coon has taken in fifty-six new first years. “Out of all the first years I have, only about half of them will stick it out until their Senior year. Students just get busy with sports
and school work, it’s hard to stay motivated to stick to the program. The ones who drop it usually aren’t as connected and involved. I’m excited though to see who stays with it and who doesn’t,” said Coon at the close of the Green Hand meeting. The meeting came to an end with Ag’s famous hobo stew. This is an annual tradition where everyone brings in a can of some sort of soup and they all get mixed together. The students seem to love it; it is definitely the most anticipated part of the meeting. Jessica Kelly ‘11 said, “It’s so good, you have to try it!” -Corinne Bigelow
Different, But In A Good Way
any people may know Mr. Feehan as a foreign language teacher around campus, but this year he has taken over as the yearbook advisor. When Dr. Marroquin asked Mr. Feehan to assume the role as the yearbook advisor, Feehan was up for the challenge. “I looked to see if there was any training I could get, so I went to San Diego and was trained by Jostens on how to be a yearbook advisor,” said Feehan.
A new advisor is not the only change that you will see in the yearbook this year. “We’re doing a lot of things differently this year. Hopefully it will make the yearbook different in a good way.” The whole yearbook itself has actually changed; this year we will have a chronological book, meaning everything is in the book by when it took place. So rather than having a sports secion, a student life section,
Miss us? We haven’t left! www.redwoodgigantea.com
and an academic section, everything blends together.” The yearbook staff could not agree more with Feehan. These changes will improve the book and influence more students to purchase it. Their hope is that years from now, when you open your yearbook you will get a sense of what Redwood is really about and realize you were part of something great. -Arianna Castillo
The first 5 trillion viewers get exclusive RHS news! www.redwoodgigantea.com
Oh Christmas Tree The annual Christmas
Tree Auction, put on by the Visalia Chamber of Commerce, was held at the Convention Center on Friday, December 1st. Redwood ASB was one of sixteen organizations that decorated a tree. This year the theme was ‘tree of toys’ and ASB’s third year of participation. The tree and decorations were sponsored by Mission Care Group and Redwood PTA. It was decorated with toys and board games with a teddy bear on top. The tree sold for $4500 and won the Mayor’s Favorite award. Delaney Ford, ‘12, and Cate Fisher, ‘12, co-chairs, worked with Alyssa Aguilar, ‘12, Taylor Margosian, ‘12, Gabby Solis, ‘14, Elena Montemagni, ‘15, Hannah Olsen, ‘13, Courtney Owens, ‘13, Holly McKinzie, ‘12, and Shaylenne Martin, ‘12 to create the tree. PTA president Maureen Fisher and member Alisha Olsen also helped decorate. In addition Stella Vaccaro’s family donated a dinner for two at Little Italy and Ford’s father donated a bottle of wine. “It was really fun and I always enjoy doing it,” said Fisher. “It’s a great opportunity to give Redwood yet another positive influence in the community.” -Bailey Lovern
Rangers Say...
What final will you stay up the latest studying for? “Physics because its a hard concept for me to understand. Ill spend two to three hours to review concepts.” -Ruby Tapia ‘12 “Calculus because its the most challenging class.” -Haden Hobbs ‘13
For Christmas break: snow destination or tropical vacation? Why? “Tropical because it’s warm and has cuter clothes and [is] really pretty with all the trees and flowers” -Sophia Stetson ‘15
PLEASE READ, RECYCLE, OR PASS THIS ON.
RANGER FEATURES
Redwood High School is a school of excellence in academics and sports which was showed in the sport of football this year. The 2011 season was very solid for our Redwood Rangers who ended with an overall record of 6-6 and a West Yosemite League record of 3-3, as well as making the playoffs under Coach Ball’s first season here at Redwood high school. Their hard work and dedication earned them an 8th seed playoff spot. They fought extremely hard, winning in the first round against Sanger High in a stunning double overtime game. From there they took on the #1 seed Garces Memorial in the quarter finals and gave them a good fight but came up short in the end . All in all they had an amazing run and an unforgettable experience as being part of Coach Ball’s first season here at Redwood high school. Starting quarterback, Raul Alvarez’13 said, “Our team worked hard, practiced hard and played hard and in the end it payed off with the fact that we made the playoffs as well as winning a playoff game .” He added, “I’m looking forward to next year’s season, many great things are to come, so be ready Redwood!” Starting senior receiver, Ervin Yancy mentioned, “I had a great time with
T
Football Finishes With Promise
the football team, it was a great experience, and most importantly very memorable.” Redwood’s most valuable player and captain, Jordan Morrison ’12 said, “I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end this season, we had a solid year, but most importantly we had fun on and off the field.” Morrison not only lead the team in touchdowns but also was a team leader and a great teammate. He later added, “We were all one big family, which helped us become a good solid team.” Brodie Surfus ’14 said, “Being part of this year’s team helped me mature as a person and a player and can’t wait for the next two years of football here at Redwood.” Two year varsity player Aaron Andrade, ’13 mentioned, “There’s more than meets the eye to being a football player here at Redwood, when one puts on a Redwood jersey, it signifies pride, honor, and respect.” Ben Jonhston, ’14 said, “I love being a Ranger and look forward for the upcoming season.” Redwood had some very memorable games this season, winning against cross town rivals the Golden West Trail-
Varsity Football players & Coach Ball join in the National Anthem. Photo by Megan Geiger
blazers and the El Diamante Miners as well Tulare Western and Hanford West. Senior starting lineman Brian Martinez’12 said, “Our greatest victory this season was crushing El Diamante, 55-30; it was a great feeling to finally beat them.” Overall the 2011 football season was comendable here at Redwood High School, under coach Ball’s first season as a ranger. They look forward to improve
Meet The Characters Of The Music Man
he roles have been cast for this year’s all-school musical, The Music Man, and there are many important groups and characters involved in making the musical special. Marian Paroo Playing the sassy leading lady, Marian Paroo, is Megan Wright ,‘12. Marian is a character with a big attitude to match her bad reputation. Wright describes her character as “pretty much the girl in town no one likes … She supposedly had an affair with the man from the local library and when he died she got all his money. She acts very strange to everybody which makes people not like her very much.” Wright said she is excited for, “the singing because there’s a lot through the whole show and the cast is great. I know a lot of people from choir and there’s some new people I get to meet so that should be fun.” Marcellus Washburn Jeffery Webb, ‘15, has taken a lead role of Marcellus Washburn, the main character’s right hand man. Webb, who will make his debut on the Redwood stage with this role, has participated in many plays through TCOE and Green Acres Little theater.
“My character description is fat and sweaty, which isn’t like me. The personality has good quality, smiles a lot, and likes to be the best at everything, which is very much like me,” he said. Barber Shop Quartet One group of actors are practicing to transform themselves into a classic 1950’s barber shop quartet.The four students that will be portraying these roles are Kyle Peterson, 12’, Garrett Moore, 14’, Daniel Townsend,13’, and Vincent Macereno, 15’. Macereno, playing Ewart Dunlap and singing baritone with Townsend, is mostly looking forward to not only hearing the great sound of the quartet, but also “looking forward to making it as entertaining as possible.” Pickalittle Ladies One very important group to the musical is the ‘pickalittle ladies’. “We’re pretty much the high society ladies of the town,” said Emily Whitson, ‘12. “We’re just kind of the gossip group,” added Celina Lim, ‘12. The pickalittle ladies “are there to spice it up and give it... a different kind of character,” said Whitson. Lim said that the hardest part of the character is going to be
“acting like an adult”. “The best part of my role is getting to be with all the other girls, and kind of just feed off their energies and their characters,” said Whitson. Harold Hill Playing the music man himself is Steven Braswell, ‘12. Braswell’s character is a conman, ‘professor’ Harold Hill. He poses as a traveling salesman and convinces towns that their children need an after school music program. He charges them all for instruments and uniforms, and then leaves with all the money at the last minute. But in the town where the story takes place, River City, Iowa, there is a music teacher named Marian Paroo who sees through his character and causes problems in his plan. “Something that is going to be hard is learning to twirl a baton. I’m practicing really hard to make it look good. Music Man’s gotta twirl a baton,” he said. “What I feel that is going to be fun this year is getting to work with a new kind of cast.” -Anna Adaska Want to read more about The Music Man? www.redwoodgigantea.com
Football: The Heart Of High School
Football is not just a
sport; in high school, its a lifestyle. Every time I go to a game, I see the student section filled with all of the students’ blue bodies and tutus. I see the fans shouting, hoping the players will hear them, parents hoping for the win, and future Rangers enjoying the game with their friends. The atmosphere at a football game is different. Football games are in the Mineral King Bowl and bigger facility means more space, more fans, and more people to talk to. Playing on Fridays is a major advantage for students because they have little homework and can stay up later. It also gives a feeling of a social event, not just a game. At other games, you are in a gym or by a pool and the atmosphere changes. Since nonfootball sports games are played Tuesdays or Thursdays, it is less convenient for students to watch. Football is a highly attended event and everybody knows it.
This draws even more fans to the game. In our bowl, there is rarely an empty seat. For other sports, kids hope at least 10 of their friends might come and watch, compared to the football players who are guaranteed over 1000 at football games. Football is the foundation of the Cowhide and Homecoming games which the students remember forever. These games are a great excuse to dress up totally wacky. If other sports had important games like Cowhide and Homecoming, the sport would be more important to student culture. Intensity plays a major factor in football. Football is dangerous and risky. Everyone knows the coaches and the players, so they come to see people they know. If they don’t come to watch a player, they might know someone in the band, in dance, in the color guard. People also like seeing the band play, the dancers dance, and color guard do their thing. Movies make football seem
next year as well as surpass it. Their hopes are high and anything can happen with great players and coaching staff, so make sure and stay tune to Redwood football! -Danny Carrillo
Cont. Mission San Ranger
A.P. Environmental Sciences (APES), taught by Mr. Olson, studies and grows crops from all over California, including the ones that will be used in the garden. When 6th-8th graders come to Redwood for field trips, whether to see a performance in the L.J. William’s Theater, or for a tour, they might also stop by the Missions Garden. Coon said, “The garden will show the students what happens in society. One person might have a dream, but somebody else might have the means to construct it. Things like this are a team effort.” The goal is to plant a seed, figuratively and literally. Each kid will plant an acorn in a pot and take one home that was planted by a child who visited he Garden months ago. Olson said, “I really like the idea of ‘pay it forward’. When a child takes home a tree that somebody else planted for him, he realizes that somebody he doesn’t know did something nice for him, and by planting an acorn in another pot, he’s doing the exact same thing. He may not be repaying that particular student, but hes doing something nice in return; no matter who benefits.” Olson’s vision should begin to take shape by Christmas break this year, with the completion of the construction. Our own California Missions Garden should be finished by the spring of 2013. -Stephanie Gates
like the heart of high school, which it is, and the media always praises football players. Famous Redwood bleeds blue and white. Photo by Tenney Rizzo Footpride for our school. When we win ball players have jerseys for their Cowhide, there is no better feelfans to wear and show their love. ing. Victory is what we want; every Football is a major American passtudent wants it. There’s a reason time, not just a high school sport. Football season is at the beginning Football includes many of the year. It brings the students aspects of high school. For Hometogether with a common desire, coming and Cowhide we have and it builds school spirit for the queens, escorts, spirit weeks, rest of the year. Football is more dress up days, lunch games, perthan tradition its the foundation of formances and assemblies. Cowstudent culture. hide is a symbol of honor and -Brettny Freitas
KEEP CALM AND
CLICK ON WWW.REDWOODGIGANTEA.COM
ARTS & & E EN NT TE ER RTTAAIINNM MEENNTT The Creme De La Creme of Redwood’s Top Voices
From November 17-19
eight of Redwood’s students took part and performed in the 2011 ACDA Central Region Honor Choir at Clovis North High School. 180 students across the valley were selected out of over 300 students who auditioned in September. The group of musically talented Rangers that were accepted are Holly Mckinzie, ‘12, Kimi Gubler, ‘12, Steven Braswell, ‘12, Megan Wright, ‘12, Maren Payne, ‘12, Frances Bueno, ‘13, Daniel Townsend, ‘13, Garrett Moore,’14, and Lauren Adaska, ‘14. “Regional Honor Choir is a weekend where auditioned singers all over the central valley are invited to work with a guest conductor,” said Steven Braswell ‘12, a two year veteran of Honor Choir. “It is a great honor to be selected for this and you meet a lot of talented and dedicated people and get to experience a choral setting on an advanced level.” Before they were able to
participate in the weekend’s activities and performance, the students were asked to learn a number of challenging choral songs on their own beforehand. “Learning the music on your own was challenging because in choir here at school you go over it daily as a class,” said Kimi Gubler ‘12, a two year Honor Choir participant, “but in the end it’s fun and I feel like you grow a lot musically.” Braswell added, “It was easier once we started practicing as a group and put it together.” Heading into a such a challenging weekend can be nerveracking for first year participants. Lauren Adaska, ‘14, who auditioned because she thought it would be fun to be in a really big choir of people who all loved to sing, said “ I was a little nervous going into it, especially the part testing,” (students are dismissed from the weekend if they come unprepared and don’t know their part), “but I was so excited to be a part of it.”
Once the part testing is done and the singers have made it past this stage, they move into hours and hours of practicing. The students are separated into two choirs, mixed and women’s. Guest conductors from universities and colleges across California are invited to come direct and work with one of these choirs for the weekend. Dr. Robert Istad from CSU Fullerton directed the Women’s chorus, and Ms. Lori-Marie Rios from College of the Canyons directed the Mixed. “She was so much fun and she made us look at music differently,” said Frances Bueno ‘13 who was in mixed. “She would ask us what color a song was, and to sing it royal purple or blood red.” “We literally sang for 10 hours straight two days in a row. It was the longest 2 days of my life,” said Bueno. Adaska added, “But the trip was fun. I learned a lot more about music and performing,” -Megan Wright
Tim Hernandez Returns To Redwood
Former Red-
wood Ranger Tim Z. Hernandez, a published author, returned to Redwood for a lunchtime performance during (red)Woodstock hosted by Artist’s Cafe. “I’m glad to know that … the arts live on at Redwood,” he said. Hernandez was a part of the graduating class of 1992 and since then has published works in multiple poetry anthologies,his own poetry book, Skin Tax, and a novel Breathing, In Dust. His publications have made him known nationally. Hernandez reads his work at RHS. Photo by Haylee Baker He has won awards such as placing 2nd in Fiction at the National acting aspect of art. It was after Latino Book Awards, the El Premio my uncle passed that I began writAztlan Literary Prize, and he reing because it was faster for me to cently received the New American express my thoughts.” Poets Honor earlier this year. Hernandez currently lives “I wasn’t into writing while in Colorado and travels across the I was at school,” said Hernandez, country performing poetry read“I was more into the painting and ings and conducting workshops to
Mass In G On Monday December
12th at 7pm, Ranger Choir is performing Schubert’s Mass in G at the First Presbyterian Church in Visalia. They will be accompanied not by piano, but by RHS Advanced Orchestra. The mass is close to half an hour long when sung all the way through. “I feel like it’s a hard enough piece for our group and it will challenge us to become more skilled singers so we’re able to sing even harder pieces in the future,” said Megan Richards, ‘12. The choir does a piece like this about every two years, but has never performed Mass in G before. The mass is composed of six parts: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei, all sung in Latin. “I feel as though our hard work is going to pay off,” said Holly McKinzie, ‘12. “It’s also a super cool opportunity to have our own school orchestra be able to perform it with us, and to be able to perform it in a nice church with great acoustics will be a wonderful experience for anyone who goes and sees it.” Some students are apprehensive about listening to choral music, like the Mass. But Choir Director Mr. Carrillo encourages them to broaden their horizons. He said, “Open your mind to different kinds of sounds - music you don’t hear on the radio.”
teach other writers techniques he uses to improve his writing. Other than performing, Hernandez held a workshop in Ms. Link’s room during one of her Lit & Expression classes where he taught students the “Scream of Consciousness”. “Many writers call it ‘Stream’ but this technique is more emotional because you actually write nonstop for -Bailey Loverin a few minutes and express not only what your thinking but what you’re feeling,” he said. Hernandez explains that growing up in the valley has taken n Saturday Decema huge impact on his writing. “In ber 10, 2011 the Redwood High Breathing, I take towns like VisaSchool band and color guard will lia, Dinuba and the surrounding farming areas and make them into journey to Disneyland to lead the character parade and dazzle thoua whole world that almost reflects this one,” he said, “I try to make it sands of people with their musical talents. authentic enough that you could RHS band director Dennis Betread a part of the book that takes tencourt is excited about performplace by the railroad tracks and ing in the parade and hearing know exactly what I’m talking their names announced over the about.” loud speaker. “It’s great to see the kids get excited to perform. And -Michael Jasso the decorations look great.”,This refers to the Christmas decoraWant more on RHS Arts? tions Disneyland has hung all over www.redwoodgigantea.com the park. Daisy Collins ‘15 said, “It feels great because it’s Disneyland! I’m excited about getting to actually go to Disneyland because I haven’t been there since I was five.” The fabulous trip has its moments that are not as fabulous. Collins, ‘15 is worried “that we might mess up while playing.” Even though the band members are obviously a little nervous Bettencourt is the exact opposite. When asked if he was nervous his quick response was “No, I’ve been doing this too long,” followed by a smile and laugh. The difficult part for Mr.Bettencourt is, “managing that many people, more can go wrong.” The RHS band and color guard, around 130 students, will leave to there destination at 5:30 in the morning to hear their names on the loudspeaker and perform for a huge audience led by Drum Majors & Bettencourt.
Musical Mickey
O
Music Man Takes The Stage
W
ith the all school musical, The Music Man, opening in February, the cast has begun rehearsals. “Monday nights we have vocal rehearsals, and so we learn new songs and we go over songs that we learned the past week, and then, Tuesdays we learn dancing, and then Thursdays we do blocking for drama,” said Kayla Ashburn, ‘13. “We are about a quarter of the way in. We’re learning choreography, the students are learning their vocals, we have a long way to go, but we’re in good shape. They’ve probably learned about half of their show already,” said Mrs. Galvan, director. This year, there is a new choreographer for the musical, Edgar Villegas. He started dancing in high school, and now works as a teacher at The Ruby Slipper Performing Arts Academy. “I like how you feel involved and you’re not just thrown in the corner to learn by yourself, and everyone helps you,” said Cassandra Castenada, ‘15.
-Monir Ahmadi The cast works on blocking during rehearsals. Photo by Anna Adaska
“My favorite part of rehearsal is watching everyone grow as a cast,” said Townsend. Galvan said, “[For me] it’s that ‘ah-ha’ moment. You give them their blocking, you give them their vocal notes, you give them their choreography... and then
when we get in to running the whole show.. is when the light bulbs start coming on, because once they understand how it all comes together, they’re going to be more relaxed.” -Anna Adaska
What is your favorite winter accessory?
“Crazy Beanies” -Jacob Kelch ‘15 “Snowman earrings” -Paige Vailhauar ‘14
THE SPORTS DESK
Girls Tennis With a history unlike any of
the other sports here at Redwood, Varsity Girls Tennis always has huge expectations. Once again, the team went above and beyond their opponents. Compiling an undefeated record in league, and capturing the WYL title. Captain Aubrey Buchanan,’12, said, “After every winning match, and the word undefeated started to float around, we all got very excited. It’s always a big deal to win the league championship. The team is coached by Rosemarie Lewis, who also coaches the boys tennis team at Golden West. After many years of dominating in Division 2, she moved her team into Division 1, the best of the best. During the season, she led her team to the California High School Tennis Classic title in division 4, beating schools like Clovis and Sacred Heart. A rivalry that has been one sided recently is that with El Diamante. Redwood has defeated them each of the last eight years, and that continued this season. Captain Sam Garcia, ‘12, said,”Beating El D always feels good. We all get prepared for that match, because a win against them is very gratifying.” The team made a run in valley playoffs, but were knocked off in the semi-finals. Another successful season for Ranger Tennis. -Joey Hanf
Like Us On Facebook!
Cross-Country Finishes Strong
T
he Cross Country team had some difficulties earlier in the season with losing some players to injuries, but finished through with the Girls placing second in WYL while the Boys placed fourth. Both teams competed in competitions across the state including the 64th annual Mt. Sac Invitational. The teams are coached by Joe Guerrero and the MVP’s were Emerolina Cantu ‘12, and Eric Molina ‘14. “It was a tough season for sure,” said Cantu, “But we have a young team and a lot of freshmen this year. So hopefully they’ll keep coming out and be league champs next season.” Many runners on the team say that it takes more than just running to do Cross Country. It’s a mental sport as well because the runners push themselves to their limits and focus on nothing else but crossing the finish line. A Varsity level race can extend between 3 to 3.4 miles with an average of 50 to 100 athletes per race. “It takes confidence and guts to do what we do,” said Molina, “We had a good season this year, and we hope to have a better one next year.” -Michael Jasso
What is your New Year’s Resolution?
“My new year’s resolution is to stop procrastinating and get better grades” -Zac Tate ‘12
Girls Water Polo Undefeated WYL Champions Stevens, 14’, said, “I think this nected with my teammates and learned a For the first time in Redwood Danielle year went really well. Being one of the lot from Mr. Fuller, helping me become a
history, Varsity Girls Water Polo was two sophomores on the team, the older better water polo player.” undefeated in Western Yosemite League girls really made me feel a part of the Senior Alexa Johnson, 12’, play. The team won WYL outright, and team. We were like a family. I really con- agreed, “We did really ended El Diamante’s 59 game well because this year, Mr. streak of success by beating Fuller was our coach. He them 11-9, in what was conhelped us learned a lot of sidered the game of the year. new things and made us The team was 17-3 overall, improve a lot as a whole.” 12-0 in WYL, and took Taylor Peters, 12’, said, seventh in Valley. Redwood “This was the best year Lady Rangers left a mark in we’ve had. It was also the Division 1. most fun year I’ve played. Alyssa Dyer was the The seniors really stepped MVP for the team. Her team up and played hard.” Head mates believe she really stood coach, Mr. Fuller also out this season and played said, “This team, made up hard. She’s saved the team mostly of seniors, made it multiple times and was all a very enjoyable season. around a key player for the I was very proud of them team. The key to this team’s for going undefeated.” success was in the senior Senior Taylor Peters maintains possession of the ball. Photo by Megan Geiger -Mari Mora leaders, team bonding, and Coach Fuller.
Boys Waterpolo Exceeds Expectations
Redwood Varsity Boys Wa-
ter Polo went into the season with high expectations. With a majority of the team being experienced upper classmen; they set a solid record of 17-10 overall, and 7-5 in Western Yosemite League (WYL). “We set a lot of goals at the beginning of the season, among them to be city champs, get a top three WYL finish, and have lots of camaraderie. All of which we accomplished.” said Mario Bravante, ‘14. “We met all the goals we set in the beginning of the year,” said Max Bricker ‘12. One of their biggest games of this season was against the undefeated Lemoore Tigers. Striving to take their undefeated name away, Redwood conquered. They were the only team in the central valley to have beaten them. The team went into a total of 5 over time games and won them all. They then went into playoffs, hosting one game against Yosemite. There were also individual accomplishments made for some of the players. Max Bricker was named MVP, and was named to first team all league.
He scored the most goals in the WYL bracket. “He was an amazing player and we were lucky to have him on our team this year.” said Travis Jacobson, ‘12. Mario Bravante was named to second team all league, and accomplished his own personal goals of leading the team in assists and being more consistent in the game. Without a coach, there is no team. Coach Jacob Avila guided the team in the right direction and pushed them to play to the best of their ability. “Mr. Avila is easily the coolest coach I ever had.. I am closer to him than I am most of the guys on the team. He is all around an amazing person and coach. I can’t wait to see how next season turns out.” addedd Jacobson. “We did really good this season,” said goalie Daniel Armagost ‘12. Overall, this fall season went well for Varsity Boys Water Polo. They hope to surpass this year’s record and do even better next season. -Amber Watson
Girls Golf WYL Champions
T
his season the girls golf team went undefeated, won WYL, had a victory at area and took fifth in valley. Not only did they win WYL, but they lead by 30 strokes. A successful season for the girls left them with high hopes and dreams for next season. Christina Trujillo, ‘11 said, “We had three freshmen that adapted well to the team and it was awesome getting to know them. I hear there are going to be more freshmen coming in next year, so we’ll see just exactly what they are made of.” The season started out in August two weeks before school started and the girls hit it off from the very start. Jade Hayes ‘11 said, “ We bonded from the get go. We all love each other and we were like a close knit family.” The season continued into November until they took fifth place in Valley. The team met everyday of the week and practiced from four until six-thirty. Trujillo added, “Practice was focused ninety percent of the time, but you gotta have fun in there somewhere, or else it just gets boring. Many strange things happened at practice but they allowed us to be closer than any other team that I have been on in the past.” This was Coach Bascatti’s first year as a coach at Redwood taught the team that winning wasn’t the most important thing. He encouraged them to not focus on solely on winning, just to improve at each tournament. -Corinne Bigelow
Coach Avila gives the team an inspirational speech. Photo by Megan Geiger
A
Volleyball Leaves An Impression
lthough it may sometimes go unnoticed, volleyball is a great tradition here at Redwood. This year volleyball went 6-6 in league and had a pretty good season. This year they also had a very young team. Although their team was young they found a way to have a .500 season. Captain Ciara Wong ‘14, had a Becky Cervantes & Ciara Wong play defense. Photo by Megan Geiger breakout season. When she was asked they were so experienced.” When asked about what she learned from playing older about what she looked forward do doing teams she said, “They have a lot more next year she said, “I want us to become experience so it made us play to the best stronger as players and come together as of our abilities.” She added, “El Diamante a team, we also need to work on our skill was the best match for us because level but I believe we can win WYL.”
A highlight of their season was defeating El Diamante 3-2 at their own gym. Senior, and Captain Aracely Lozano, ‘12 said, “I had a really fun season and I have a lot of good memories with my girls.” She added, “I will miss my coaches, and I am sad I cant stay another year with my girls.” Captain and MVP Ashley Cervantes ‘14, said, “Our goals for next year is to get better and exceed more and most importantly win WYL and Valley.” -Reece Newsome
Your source for RHS Sports coverage!
www.redwoodgigantea.com
OPINION & EDITORIAL Once A Ranger, Always A Ranger During Cowhide week, a neat little thing called “The Ranger Movement” was starting to make its way through the student body. Posters were put up all around campus encouraging students to be a “Real Ranger” and 2,000 little blue papers were passed around the student body on the day of the assembly. They told the students to do things like never sitting down, singing the national anthem, and screaming at the top of their lungs. Mrs. Lewis, one of the founders of the movement said, “I wanted to help student remember how much fun it is to be Ranger.” I’ll admit we definitely needed a Ranger Revolution. The contrast in school spirit at assemblies early this year from my freshman year is obvious. I remember wondering how 2,000 students could possibly make that much noise; even just the 500 in the senior section. Mr. Miller, RHS English teacher and one of the starters of the movement said, “The best decoration at an assembly is the crowd.” Although A.S.B. did an amazing job making the assembly unforgettable, no matter how hard they or the football team or the staff work, if the students don’t show they care, an assembly will fail.
Its the students that make an assembly, they can choose to make it great or awful. And obviously our Ranger Revolution made a difference since our 2011 Cowhide assembly got comments like: “In my 4 years as an RHS student and 5 years on staff, I have to say that was the stand out Cowhide assembly for me.” from Mr. White and, “Never before have I seen such enthusiasm and excitement at the Cowhide rally and game. My compliments to all who made the rally such an amazing event!” from Mrs. Montemagni, and, “Hearing the majority of the student body singing the National Anthem, especially since it was the day before Veteran’s Day, was very inspiring,” from Mr. Rooney. Not one person sat down during the assembly, and there were very few moments the gym was silent. The energy from the student body at the assembly carried over to the game the next night. It was easy to see a difference from Mt. Whitney’s student section and Redwood’s student section. But that’s because Redwood has always had incredible school spirit. Win or loose, our cheering never falters.
left side dominant which means they will be math and science lovers. The students’ many different wavelengths of thinking is what makes high school a unique experience; because there’s never just one opinion, and unfortunately it also makes school a living hell for the kids who physically can not comprehend a subject. Perhaps instead of shooting in the dark for the cure for the common F, the school board’s time, money, and resources would be put to better use if they actually put the needs of the student before the school’s scores. Since all our brains learn and work differently then we should be taught differently. So if your a math person, then you shouldn’t have to take a poor grade in English; instead, you should be able to learn the subject in a way that reassembles a math class. This way all the children will understand the curriculum and not just the students that are miniature Einsteins. Students need this change. The voice of the student is get-
Britley Owens ‘13, RHS ASB Rally Commissioner said, “Our spirit has definitely gotten a lot better since the beginning of the school year. Earlier it was just a few specific kids yelling at the games and the assemblies. But at Cowhide [both game and assembly], it felt like we were all cheering as one.” Redwood’s spirit may have been ebbing for a few months this year, but now our colors are showing true. Our
Battle For Grades
Kids are not computers, unfortunately though for students of the twenty first century, educators believe that they should act more like a fact spitting search engines than a breathing thinking human being. Due to this they force four very difficult subjects onto their students, from which they expect excellence. In a perfect world everyone would be great at every subject, there would be world peace, and roads would be paved in gold; but that’s just it. They aren’t reality. So instead of dreaming of A’s and a 4.6 GPA we should try to get down to the basics of why kids suffer in certain subjects. The search for the truth takes us to the focal point of the human mind, the brain. What most people do not know and what the education system fails to acknowledge is that everybody’s brain works differently. Some students may think with the right side of their brain which controls the understanding of English and history, while others may be
A
s the transition from middle school to high school is now settling in and students are becoming more comfortable, many students are changing themselves and their friends along the way. Upperclassmen have already gone through this transition and know what to expect from others. As for us Freshman, we might have had the same group of friends since the first grade. All throughout elementary school we would talk the same way, play the same sports, and laugh at the same jokes. Over the years, I have stuck with this one group of friends, and now as I make new friends and discover new things in common with them, I sometimes want to hang out with them too. Now as we get older we start to develop individual beliefs, as our friends do. I don’t always agree with the choices and decisions that my friends have made, but then again they may not agree with my choices and decisions; so it goes both ways. Change is inevitable in High School; its all part of growing up. We change friends, beliefs, hobbies, favorite colors, fashion styles, but it is very pos-
ting lost in the constant changes of learning methods and ways of enforcing the state standards. The educators forget that kids are only human and instead of wires they have hearts, but what they need to understand is that those hearts are getting crushed. Myself along with hundreds of other students have felt frustrated, angry, and upset after getting a test back. You try your hardest to do well but in the end your best just isn’t good enough and the teacher passes your test back with the familiar F and the look of disappointment. We take the bad grade thinking that it’s our fault and end up feeling helpless because there’s nothing else we can do to make the situation better. Don’t make us give up, give us the chance to learn for ourselves, not for a grade, and to embrace knowledge instead of sitting in the back of the class thinking to ourselves, “I can’t do it.”
school has always been about spirit; and we may not have the best academics, or the best athletes, or the most expensive technology, but Rangers love their school. The Rangers may have lost their Hide, but they won their spirit back. -Stephanie Gates
A Place For Competition, And A Place For Pride
R
edwood sports are more than just an after school activity for students. Sports for us are a hobby, something we love to do. Sports are exciting and popular, especially in high school. Redwood has so many different sports to offer, but why does it seem like coaches or teachers recommend us focus on one sport? Teachers, parents, administration, and even my older siblings always tell me to stay involved. If the advice given to students is to be involved in as much as possible, then why is it such a problem that we want to play multiple sports? I play volleyball which is a fall sport, but am planning on trying out for the soccer team as well.The volleyball season, like most fall sports, doesn’t end until after winter sports begin. If you play a fall sport and want to go out for a winter sport too, you usually miss out on conditioning or important preseason activities. By missing these activities, athletes don’t get the chance to meet the coaches when everyone else does. Coaches say that as long as you -Cori Hoover are in a fall sport your “okay” and to be sure to come out to try outs. Although they tell me that, I am thinking inside my head that my chances of making the team influence you to do. aren’t as good and the girls who have Surround yourself come out for preseason. with people that There is a huge contradiction will encourage you between being involved and playing to be successful multiple sports. If they really want us to and achieve your be involved in as much as possible, then dreams. A true why is it such a big deal? Redwood, like friend is someone many other high schools has multi-sport who will not only athletes. encourage you to do Sports should be arranged in a what you want to way students won’t miss out on anything. do, but also someAlthough the school wants to get started body that will try with the next sport as soon as one ends, and help you to get they should leave a week or so gap in the most opportuni- between for preparation, and let that small ties as possible to margin time be “preseason”. reach this goal. I am High school supposed to be a proud to say that great time in our life. To stay involved and I surround myself to get a full high school experience, playwith true friends ing more than one sport is the way to go and God willing it for some students. We should be enjoywill always be this ing every minute that we can doing what way, but I am completely open for new we like to do. For me, and many others, it changes and opportunities along the way, is sports that will really top of these four as high school is bound to give me. years. Just like every other high-school- For the students who aren’t just er, I am not perfect, but I’m doing my best playing school sports for fun, the students to be better, choose the right friends, and who want to go pro or play college, and change for the right reasons. the ones who have real talent in the Everybody deserves to be loved sport, they should be playing club. by a good hearted friend, and it’s not all By being so serious about a sport in that hard to find someone like that here at high school, it affects the kids who are Redwood.
High School 101
sible to fight the trend. Its been said that you can tell a lot about a person by the company that they keep. Here at Redwood it is very hard not to have friends, just because there are so many opportunities to make new friends. Your friends will change, and you will change and grow. In other words, just because you transition to a bigger school, and there is much more to do, does not mean that you have to change for the people around you. Change here at Redwood High School for the better and for yourself. Do what you want to do, and not what others
playing just because they can.
-Vanessa Casillas
-Kati Kochevar