December 15, 2021
VOL. MMXXI, No. 5
RAM’S EAR R I O V I S TA H I G H S C H O O L
Gym transformed into Cloud Nine theme for Vice Versa dance by Monica Garcia, Staff Writer
Photo by: Stephanie Cobb
On the night of Saturday, November 21st, Rio Vista High School hosted its first Vice dance since schools were shut down. Vice is a traditional dance that happens at RVHS where the roles are reversed and the girls ask the guys to the dance. Senior Braeden McCann who was asked by senior Diana Freyre states, “I thought it was pretty cool because I wasn’t expecting it and I think it’s cool that the roles are reversed. I also liked the way Diana asked me.” Diana asked Braeden by making him a poster which said “Will you stick by my side at...” and had his car covered with sticky notes but the hood of his car had the words “VICE” in sticky notes. Since COVID struck everything froze and they didn’t get to have a dance until this year. The RVHS gym was decorated in clouds and lights by the leadership class. When entering, you’d see the bleachers covered in blue posters and white clouds on the posters. On the right of the entrance there is a wooden photo stand with white
Seniors Eric Peters, Braedem McCann, Mckenna Pratt, Diana Freyre amd Stephanie Corona getting a group picture for their last Vice dance together.
Tis’ the season of gift giving
by Melissa Uribe, Staff Writer
Ryan Zamarripa giving Brook Summitt a Christmas present
would love a new phone for Christmas. “I would rate the Airpods an 8 because they could get messed up easily, but my brother got them for me on my birthday and I was excited,” says senior Susana Valencia. Giving gifts can be stressful, and expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be thoughtful, small, and sweet. The difference really lies in the relationship and how we approach gift giving. It’s better if the gift is an inside joke. The most meaningful gifts are the ones that can’t be purchased or touched. Sometimes the simplest things mean the most.
Coach Smith demolishes four finger push up world record by Brook Summitt, Staff Writer
Eighty-five push-ups within sixty seconds was the record to beat for most push ups on only the thumb and index finger. With his integrity and practice Mr. Smith, teacher and wrestling coach has beat the record with eighty-nine in only fifty-seven seconds. As the rally occurred you could feel the support in the air as Mr. Smith prepared for this big moment. He had a plan to stay focused as he had been training two days a week and had only started training in summer. He says “It was a lot of fun having the students there to cheer me on, it was actually the best part about the experience.” Smith is actually a little surprised he beat the record because he didn’t know how it would be since he never did it on the mat and the surface could always make a difference as well as the stress he assumed would come from the crowd. As for exceeding the record, his plans are to make sure it counts and that they accept it and go after a new record with maybe one hand and two fingers. After accomplishing his first world record break it’s inspiring to see Smith’s integrity
Photo by: Mrs. Smith
Photo by: Braeden McCann
All over the world, families and friends give presents to each other. Now some people may be experts on picking out gifts but others may not. You’re reading this to admit that you need help on getting your loved ones great gifts and rocking their Christmas. We all know all loved ones deserve the best, and what is trending is usually what everyone has on their Christmas lists. Let’s start off with the basics; clothes. Now clothes are in every store, but to gift clothes people recommend that you think about a couple of outfits. It could be made with the piece of clothing before it’s given to the person. Puffer jackets are pretty popular right now since fall is here it goes with almost anything. High top Converse are also a good gift because they go with every outfit and are super easy to style. Converse aren’t that expensive as the Air Jordan retro 4’s. “The only thing I would want for Christmas is the Jordan 4 retro OG fire red shoes, it would make my year,” says senior Eric Peters. Airpods are also popular, so are any Apple products. The new iPhone 13 came out and it’s been trending. Many people
and blue balloons surrounding it. On the left of the wall was a big white and blue balloon arch. Once entering there is a sitting area, which has six tables with white table cloths covering a blue starry candle holder with a candle inside. On the other corner of the gym there’s a table filled with treats like cupcakes, waters, and a hot chocolate station. Towards the stage there were white curtains to lead you to the dance floor. On the stage was the DJ, Jesus Rivas. Having a DJ this year was very exciting for the students, Senior Diana Freyre states, “It was fun, I really liked the fact that we had a DJ this time.” The students spent the night sitting and talking with friends, dancing on the dance floor or taking pictures. Senior Boone Hurley who attended the dance states, “The dance was pretty fun. I really liked the Cloud 9 theme and the decorations and it was overall really fun.” The night was filled with fluttering lights and students enjoying their night.
Mr. Smith going for the record of push-ups on two fingers in front of RVHS staff and students.
and perseverance to want to break another one. He has all the support from the Rio Vista High School and we hope to see him succeed again. As for his current world breaking attempt, the next step to receiving the reward is to gather all the evidence such as the videos taken from all different angles and submit them whilst also having to fill out some paperwork. Congratulations to Mr. Smith once again for this astonishing achievement. RVHS is proud to call him a Ram and we hope to see many more records being broken by THE Mr. Smith.
WATCH MR. SMITH BREAK THE WORLD RECORD HERE! (LIKE the Rio Vista Wrestling Facebook page while you’re there)
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December 15 , 2021
RAM’S EAR
Calendar of Events
College of The Month: December CSU Long Beach by Jordan McDonald, Staff Writer
California State University of Long Beach, also known as CSULB, is a state university located in Long Beach, California. CSULB was founded in 1947 and it’s purpose was to serve the Orange and southeastern Los Angeles counties. It was established in 1949 by Governor Earl Warren. The applicants consist of 40,069 including 34,216 undergraduate and 5,853 graduate students. CSULB is ranked 12th nationally among public universities. The 2021 fall’s students had an admission rate of 31.2 percent. To meet CSULB requirements, one would need at least a 2.5 GPA. Tuition and fees are around $6,834 and out-of-state is $18,714. To attend CSULB, one would need to have leadership skills, study and good retention skills. The size of CSULB campus is 322 acres. There are lots of things to do on campus. CSULB has 84 buildings, 63 aca-
demic departments, 24 centers, 4 institutes, and 4 clinics. There is 19 division 1 athletic teams. Many coffee shops are located right next to the university. The most efficient way to get around the campus is walking. It is located three miles away from the Pacific Ocean. CSU Long Beach’s mascot is Elbee the Shark. Elbee is referred to as Long Beach’s initials. Elbee wears a jersey number of 49. Their motto is “Vox Veritas Vita,” which means “voice truth life.” CSU Long Beach is a resourceful college, it is known for getting ranked in the top 50 for the engineering program many times. Long Beach has a lot to offer to students, it has amazing waterfront attractions. It is also the sixth largest city in California with a population of 467,763. Long Beach is a great place to try new things and enjoy the outdoors.
Exchange student experiences very first Thanksgiving by Carmella Martins Rumiato, Staff Writer
In the year of 1621 the first ThanksThe third part of the Thanksgiving giving was celebrated nearly two centuries experience was a family fun night after ago, and still after all those years, people dinner. We still gather around the table to celebrate made two teams and played Family Thanksgiving, which became part of the Feud with the theme of Thanksgiving. The history and culture of the United States. team who lost would need to go in front Being able to celebrate my first thanksgiv- of the house and do a chicken dance in a ing was an amazing opportunity. turkey costume. The whole game was all The first part of my laughs, fun and a little bit of It reminded me of Thanksgiving experience competition. Thankfully my was the Turkey Trot. Christmas Eve in Brazil team won and I didn’t have Waking up at 7 a.m. when to go through the embarrasswhere we all get it was 40 degrees outside ing chicken dance. it didn’t seem very excitThe fourth part of the together with our ing, but I wanted to go experience was the dessert. I through the whole experi- families and eat turkey was so excited to try pumpence. The run turned into kin pie for the first time. I and a lot of food. a walk for me and it was tried to cut a small but perpretty fun, I really enjoyed it, especially fect slice of pumpkin so I could have the seeing how many people volunteered to be best experience, but that didn’t make a difpart of it. ference because I ended up not liking the The second part of the experience taste of it. At first it was sweet and then was the Thanksgiving dinner. My plate was a little salty. For me it tasted like what I filled with turkey, mashed potatos, gravy, think a sweet corn pie would taste like, I stuffing, green bean casserole and peas. I just didn’t like it but I’m glad that I tried barely ate during the day so I could save because now I can say that I don’t like space for the dinner and it was delicious; pumpkin pie. my favorite food was stuffing. It reminded Overall the whole day was very nice me of Christmas Eve in Brazil, where we and I had a great time with my host family. all get together with our families and eat It’s a great tradition and I’m really happy I turkey and a lot of food. had the chance to be a part of it this year.
RAM’S EAR
Published by Rio Vista High School, Digital Publications Class 410 South Fourth Street | Rio Vista, California 94571 (707)374-6336 ext. 1224 email: rvhsramsear@gmail.com Printed by School Paper Express, Wappingers Falls, New York Letters to the Editor: To be published, letters must have the author’s name, address, and telephone number.
Co Editors-in-Chief Monica Garcia and Diego Torres
Editors Kayla Delk, Jorie Forbes and Donny Roos Adviser Julie Griffin
Ram’s Ear Staff Kyra Atkinson, Victoria Coronado, Michaela Delazzar, Greta Dole, Diana Freyre, Monica Garcia, Sherley Guerra, Daniel Hurley, Shannon Laurens, Carmella Martins Rumiato, Braeden McCann, Jordan McDonald, Alex Ornelas, Synia Reed, Roxana Segoviano, Brook Summitt, Diego Torres, Jenna Torres, David Torrez, Melissa Uribe, Jovany Vega,
December 2 & 4 - Boys Basketball @ Foresthill Tournament (JV & VAR ) (away) Time TBA Decemeber 3 - Girls Basketball vs Delta (Home) (JV) 5:30 p.m. (VAR) 7:00 p.m. December 3/4 - Girls Soccer @ Argonaut Tournament (away) Time TBA December 3/4 - Boys Soccer @ Argonaut Tournament (away) Time TBA December 7 - Girls Soccer vs Highlands (home) 4:00 p.m. December 7 - Boys Soccer vs Highlands (home) 6:00 p.m. December 8 - Boys Basketball @ Winters (away) (JV) 5:30 p.m. (VAR) 7:00 p.m. December 8 - Girls Basketball vs Winters (home) (JV) 5:30 p.m. (VAR) 7:00 p.m. December 9 - Girls Soccer vs Esparto (home) 4:00 p.m. December 9 - Boys Soccer vs Esparto (home) 6:00 p.m. December 10 - Boys Basketball @ Delta (away) (JV) 5:00 p.m. (VAR) 7:00 p.m. December 10 - Girls Basketball vs St. Helena (home) (JV) 5:30 p.m. (VAR) 7:00 p.m. December 14 - Boys Basketball vs Natomas (home) (JV) 5:30 p.m. (VAR) 7:00 p.m. December 14 - Girls Basketball @ Natomas (away) (JV) 5:30 p.m. (VAR) 7:00 p.m. December 14 - Girls Soccer @ Linden (away) 4:00 p.m. December 14 - Boys Soccer @ Linden (away) 6:00 p.m. December 15 - Deadline for CSU Bakersfield, CSU Channel Islands, CSU Chico, CSU Dominguez Hills, CSU Monterrey Bay, CSU Northridge, CSU Sacramento, CSU San Bernardino, CSU Sonoma, CSU San Marcos December 16 & 18 - Boys Basketball @ San Juan Tournament (VAR Only) Time TBA December 16 & 18 - Girls Basketball @ San Juan Tournament Time TBA December 16 - Girls Soccer vs Vacaville Christian (home) 4:00 p.m. December 16 - Boys Soccer vs Vacaville Christian (home) 4:00 p.m.
January
January 4 - Boys Soccer @ Golden Sierra (away) 6:00 p.m. January 4 - Girls Socer @ Golden Sierra (away) 4:00 p.m. January 5 - Boys Basketball @ Vacaville Christian (away) (JV) 4:30 p.m. (VAR) 7:30 p.m. January 5 - Girls Basketball @ Vacaville Christian (away) (JV) 3:00 p.m. (VAR) 6:30 p.m. January 6 - Boys Soccer @ San Juan (away) 6:00 p.m. January 6 - Girls Soccer @ San Juan (away) 4:00 p.m. January 7 - Boys Basketball vs Highlands (home) (JV) 4:30 p.m. (VAR) 7:30 p.m. January 7 - Girls Basketball vs Highlands (home) (JV) 3:00 p.m. (VAR) 6:30 p.m. January 11 - Boys Soccer vs Encina (home) 6:00 p.m. January 11 - Girls Soccer vs Encina (home) 4:00 p.m. January 12 - Boys Basketball vs San Juan (home) (JV) 4:30 p.m. (VAR) 7:30 p.m. January 12 - Girls Basketball vs San Juan (home) (JV) 3:00 p.m. (VAR) 6:30 p.m. January 13 - Boys Soccer @ Highlands (away) 6:00 p.m. January 13 - Girls Soccer @ Highlands (away) 4:00 p.m. January 14 - Boys Basketball @ Linden (away) (JV) 4:30 p.m. (VAR) 7:30 p.m. January 14 - Girls Basketball @ Linden (away) (JV) 3:00 p.m. (VAR) 6:30 p.m. January 18 - Boys Soccer @ Esparto (away) 6:00 p.m. January 18 - Girls Soccer @ Esparto (away) 4:00 pm. January 19 - Boys Basketball vs Esparto (home) (JV) 4:30 p.m. (VAR) 7:30 p.m. January 19 - Girls Basketball vs Esparto (home) (JV) 3:00 p.m. (VAR) 6:30 p.m. January 20 - Boys Soccer vs Linden (home) 6:00 p.m. January 20 - Girls Soccer vs Linden (home) 4:00 p.m. January 21 - Boys Basketball @ Golden Sierra (away) (JV) 4:30 p.m. (VAR) 7:30 p.m. January 21 - Girls Basketball @ Golden Sierra (away) (JV) 3:00 p.m. (VAR) 6:30 p.m. January 25 - Boys Soccer @ Vacaville Christian (away) 6:00 p.m. January 25 - Girls Soccer @ Vacaville Christian (away) 4:00 p.m. January 26 - Boys Basketball vs Vacaville Christian (home) (JV) 4:30 p.m. (VAR) 7:30 p.m. January 26 - Girls Basketball vs Vacaville Christian (home) (JV) 3:00 p.m. (VAR):30 p.m January 27 - Boys Soccer vs Golden Sierra (home) 6:00 p.m. January 27 - Girls Soccer vs Golden Sierra (home) 4:00 p.m.
December 15, 2021
RAM’S EAR
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Students venture to Mexico Flowing with the flowers to celebrate the holidays in floriculture with family and friends by Kyra Atkinson, Staff Writer
by Victoria Coronado, Staff Writer
the holidays. He has grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who live there that he visits. He goes to Michoacán, and Guanajuato once a year to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s. “I go to parties and throw fireworks at night,” Brayan stated. One of his favorite foods to eat in Mexico is pozole, which is a type of Mexican soup. Alondra Garcia travels to a town called Yahualica, Jalisco. She visits her grandparents and uncle. She visits family during the holidays and stays for about a month. Alondra said,“I go to parties, go out of town, and sometimes go to church,”. Her favorite food to have down there is pizza. Some traditions that she and her family do while they’re together is celebrate the Virgin Mary and do a Posada. A Posada is when the whole family sings a song about the journey that Joseph and Mary made in search of a safe refuge where Mary could give birth to the baby Jesus. Christmas is all about spending time with your family and loved ones. Lots of students travel across the country to visit and have fun with their families during the holidays. Many people travel to different places for the holidays, and they all have fun in their own unique ways.
Photo by: Alex Ornelas
The holidays are a great time to spend with family. Everyone visits their loved ones whether it’s next door, or across the country. Different people have different plans for the holidays, like staying at home, or going out. Some people travel a long way to visit their family for the holidays. Students like sophomores Marco Carrillo Jr, Brayan Rodriguez Zambrano, and Alondra Garcia travel to different places in Mexico to spend the holidays with their families. Marco Carrillo visits his family in a little town called Amatlan De Cañas. He has grandparents and uncles who live there. He mostly travels by plane and stays in Amatlan De Cañas for at least one to two weeks. Marco visits his family once a year in January to celebrate the festivals that the town holds every year. While Marco is in Amatlan, he does lots of activities. Marco said, “I visit family, go to parties at night, and milk cows in the morning,”. Marco’s favorite food to have in Amatlan De Cañas are the street tacos. A tradition he and his family do during that time is carry a statue of Jesus around the town. Brayan Rodriguez goes to the state of Michoacán, and the city of Guanajuato for
Ms. Stark enjoying a beautiful fall afternoon with her Spanish 3 students.
Ms. Stark makes learning a foreign language fun by Jenna Torres, Staff Writer
Ms. Stark is the Spanish teacher at Rio Vista High School. She has been teaching at Rio for seven years. High school students will have to take her class for two years to graduate. She normally knows her students pretty well because of her personality, she definitely makes people be more friendly to each other. “Ms. Stark is really laid back and has a sweet personality. Her class is always fun, but my favorite part is all the games we play,” said Junior Hector Rodriguez. Hector said. “I really enjoy Ms. Stark’s class. Her room is so colorful and bright and I think it makes the environment more uplifting and exciting. Her class is really fun too, we do a lot of group activities, and play games together.” She enjoyed Dia de Los Muertos because the activities they did for Dia de Los Muertos were memorable, junior Jazmyn
Mrs. Reis is one of our amazing AG teachers here at RVHS. She does a few ag science classes, helps with our FFA association, and she also teaches floriculture. In floriculture they create fresh arrangements every few weeks, textbook work, and weekly flower IDs, which is where they pick a flower and research the special features about it. This is Mrs. Reis’s favorite class to teach, and she only sees herself stopping this class when she retires. She’s been teaching this class for about 11 years. She says she likes teaching this class with older kids since it still gives them an ag class for their last two years. The class also requires good listening skills because making mistakes in this class could turn your work in a different direction. She says working with mums and carnations are the easiest flowers to work with. Mums last the longest, while carnations have the best case life. They don’t
work with any hard flowers since the class can get a bit expensive and they can’t afford it. Each student’s fresh arrangement costs around $30, so each project can get pretty pricey. If she could do anything without worrying about the prices, the class would do a fresh arrangement every week. Her favorite projects to do with this class are anything holiday related like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween. She also enjoys the hydro-dipped flower project. Floriculture isn’t just playing with pretty flowers. Students get to learn many things about them as well. You get to do fun projects with a different variety of flowers to work with, made with your own hands. Since it’s an upperclassmen class, it’s definitely worth the wait. Floriculture would be fun to join for the experience and trying something new.
Honoring all those who served for our country by David Torrez, Staff Writer
Veterans Day was celebrated in is called Remembrance Sunday, which is the United States on November 11. In or- every second Sunday of November. All der to show respect to those who served the of these countries also have a moment of country, there was no school that day. The silence at 11:00 a.m. to honor all of their day before Veterans Day, a ceremony was veterans. held outside the front office where students Veterans Day is a holiday to honheard speeches from our community veter- or all of those veterans who fought in the ans. After their speeches, the school waited war for their country. We have lost a lot to see the flag be raised and saluted to it. “It of loved ones who went to war to help the was very inspiring to see our retired veter- United States. Every soldier that was part ans of our town. The speeches they gave of the war risked their lives for this counwere very motivating,” try, and the most we can do is said junior Roxana Segoto honor them with this holiThose who deny viano. day, and thank them for their freedom to others Veterans Day service. was originally called ArIf you have loved ones deserve it not for mistice Day. It was offiwho are veterans, try to cially named a holiday spend time with them and themselves in 1938 when Woodrow thank them for what they did Wilson was president. It for their country. If you don’t - Abraham Lincoln is celebrated on Novemhave any loved ones who are ber 11 of every year. On Veterans Day at veterans, try to thank any veterans that you 11:00 a.m. , we have a moment of silence spot around in public so they could feel to honor all of those who fought in the war honored for what they have done. “ I would and all of those who we have lost. They do thank a veteran by shaking their hand and this at this particular time because it was honor them for what they have done for the exact day that World War 1 came to an this country,” said junior Ian Vieira end. “I would show respect to a veteran The United States is not the only face to face and would salute to them,” said country that celebrates this holiday. Can- senior Alex Ornelas. Veterans Day will alada also celebrates it, but in their country ways be remembered as the day to honor they call it Remembrance Day. It is also every veteran in the United States and in celebrated on the 11th of November. Brit- any other countries that celebrate this speain celebrates this holiday as well, but it cial holiday.
Vigil said. This is why everyone likes her class. A lot of the students talk highly of Ms. Stark and always look forward to having her class. Ms. Stark always tries to make learning a foreign language as exciting as she can, so that the students will want to engage in it more. Ms. Stark has a huge impact on the school because she is really involved in things. She helps with the Bass Club, and she even helped with the floats that we made for homecoming this year. She also attends a lot of the after school activities. She will go to any sports games, she also helps with the Academic Awards. She also celebrates Dia de Los Muertos every year so that students can come together and put together a nice altar and remember their loved ones that they unfortunately lost.
Feliz navidad y próspero año nuevo
An example of some of the altars students have created for deceased loved ones for Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) which is celebrated annually on November 1 and 2 primarily in Mexico.
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Incorporate organizational and leadership skills while boosting school spirit by Boone Hurley, Staff Writer
Leadership class is an elective here at RVHS. This class is one of the electives where you get to have the ability to plan and organize school events. For example rallies, dances, posters, and spirit days. “I like being more involved in the school activities,” junior Tessa Miguel said. Leadership teacher Ms. Gornto said, “It’s fun, exciting, and nice to know that the students are building leadership and organizational skills and seeing the different social interactions between the students and you get to see a little bit of each students personality.” The class is a good mix of seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen so the ideas come from each grade level. The class gets to learn great leadership skills that will apply in life after high school, they also get to learn organizational skills. Those skills come from working together with classmates to plan these school events. Besides planning just school dances, rallies, and spirit days the class also comes up with other events for example movie nights. “I like that we get to help people plan different activities at this school,”senior Isabella Saldana said. When the rallies get planned, the rally committee bases the theme off of the sports that are occurring. For example, the rallies in the fall are always based off of all fall sports like football, cheer, cross country and volleyball. The rallies usually start with our cheer team’s performance which last two or three minutes long. After the cheer performance, it goes into all the games the rally committee has came up with. Some games include JV vs. varsity team or games that are against each class. After the games are played, the rally ends with the schools fight song which is led by the varsity football team. The dance committee comes up with themes for the dances and set them up. When they decide a theme, that committee
December 15, 2021
RAM’S EAR
Find your passion, do what you love, build a career by Victoria Coronado, Staff Writer
then votes on a location for the dance. In the past, dances have been in the cafetera, gym, outside the gym, and have also been at locations off campus. After a location has been chosen the dance committee then starts to make decorations for the dance based off the theme. Some themes have included scary movies, neon, glow in the dark, and Hollywood. Spirit committee votes on what to wear on spirit days. For example western day, neon day, anything but a backpack
Greta Dole’s first place pumpkin in the pumpkin decorating contest sponsored by the leadership class.
day, pajama day, and wear your class color day. The spirit committee is also in charge of hyping up the crowds at sports events and at rallies. The poster planning committee is in charge of spreading the word about rallies, dances, spirit days, and other school events through posters and advertising. So if you are interested in planning rallies, dances, spirit days, or making posters and making a difference at our school, then leadership should be your next elective. As a leadership student you get a lot of responsibility for what happens at your school.
Almost 26% of high school students enroll in a four-year college after they graduate. Most students already have a career that they want to pursue before they graduate. Some careers include becoming a teacher, artist, director, assistant, and many others. Freshman Brandon Leyba, sophomore Forrest Drury, and senior Sam Esperson are some students that have chosen a career they would like to study. Brandon Leyba is planning to become a nurse practitioner. He wants to help people in the future when he is older and knows more about becoming a nurse practitioner. “I want to improve the systems because healthcare is imbalanced in some places,” he stated. Brandon currently does not have any experience with nursing, but he would like to. He is very interested and curious about the human body and he loves the management style of the healthcare industry. He sees himself as more of a leader than a follower. To prepare for this career, Brandon is planning to go to a fouryear university to major in nursing, then transfer to a nursing program. Before he graduates high school, he is going to take more science and communication classes. Forrest Drury is looking into astronomy. “I’ve always loved space and I wish to learn more about it,” he said. He wants to know if there is life outside of Earth and see if there are any new things to discover. Forrest hasn’t had any experience with astronomy, but he enjoys watching rocket
launches and what goes on in space. “The idea that you’ll be at the forefront of discovery is very interesting,” he added. After high school, Forrest is going to a university with a good astronomy program, then applying to an internship at the university. He intends to keep his grades up in order to get into the best university possible. He is looking to apply into a school that focuses on different sciences and not just space. Sam Esperson is thinking about getting into a career along the lines of engineering. He is mainly interested in engineering and would like to experience a little bit more with it. He enjoys the fact that engineering includes designing something one your own. “I like the idea of designing something,” he stated. Sam is thinking about attending the University of Cal Poly SLO, and taking advice from the instructors there. He will continue to keep doing well in school and look for summer courses to take before he attends college. Many students have already thought about what they would like to become before graduating high school. Most of them look for a career that focuses on that student’s passion. Many people have a clear mindset about what they want to do when they become an adult. With the information that these students have presented, it is interesting to know that they have their future planned out and are looking forward to doing what they love as a job.
DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS March and/ JANUARY April Birthdays December 2 Colette Bellante Eric Peters December 3 Sam Esperson December 5 Yuliana Yanez December 9 William Lindsay Coby Roos December 10 Diego Torres December 11 Stephanie Corona Garcia December 12 John Peterson Maria Zavala Hernandez December 13 Beatrice Perez Alvarado Elicia Rodriguez December 14 Rylee Fraser December 15 Roman Ibarra December 16 Jimena Torres Ruiz December 17 Sumain Chiv December 18 Isaiah Molina December 22 Trevan Summitt December 24 George Aguilar Perez December 25 Jayda Estrada Kiara Perkins December 26 Destiny Grayson December 27 Meraiah Groves December 28 Blessing Mentee Victor Reyes Manzanillo December 29 Madison Belcher December 30 Kennedy Rogers
January 2 Daniel Diaz-Nunez January 4 Amaya Hubbard David Torrez Hernandez January 5 James Ryan January 6 Isaiah Holley January 7 Colby Eisenhour-Libby January 8 Boone Hurley Skylar Silveira-Logsdon January 10 Alan Gomez Kaleb Mamea Tucker Mayfield January 12 Alessandro Garcia Gonzalez January 14 Serenity Bell Laynie Selph January 19 Dakota Balcer January 20 Hailey Kennedy January 21 Jennifer Chavez Stephanie Fuller Briana Shafer January 22 Kyra Smith January 25 Shenandoah Price January 26 Kaylee Medlock January 28 Pablo Narvarro Cazares January 31 Daniel Dockery Julian Mena-Mejia
December 15, 2021
RVPD bringing new opportunities
by Michaela Delazzar, Staff Writer
The Rio Vista Police Department has started up their cadet program again for the first time in years. They are very excited to share this program with Rio Vista High School and the community. This program is a great experience and opportunity for students who are interested in the field of law enforcement. This opportunity will help you grow out of your comfort zone; teaching you leadership skills, good discipline, and communication skills. If you are interested they have a School Resource Officer, Santiago Ventura, that you can inquire with to get further information regarding this program. You can find him on campus during passing periods and lunch. His office is located in the theater building. Officer Ventura is the cadet advisor for this program as well. This is his first time as a cadet advisor. “I want to have a larger impact at the school, so I think the cadet program will allow me to build a bigger relationship with the students I serve,” commented Officer Ventura. In this program, the students should expect a sense of pride and expect to further their ability to be confident in themselves, have a good sense of morals, values, and discipline. “I can be a bigger role model. Although it is long hours, the end result is worth it. I want to be there for the kids,” commented Officer Ventura. Santiago has a lot of fun and exciting things for the cadet program such as meetings, scenarios, testing, academy, ride alongs, first aid training, marching, and other various teaching aspects of law enforcement. The Solano County Sheriff’s Cadet Advisor, Deputy Chase Dehoney has meetings with RVPD cadets as well. “This program gave me the job I have today. I’m coming back to help and show these young cadets what I learned and hopefully make an impact on them with the academy, just as the academy impacted me,” commented Deputy Dehoney. The cadet academy is very similar to the police academy, and if
Fall Athletes Honored at Sports Awards Night -Junior Varsity VolleyballJV Heart & Hustle- Leilani Barbosa JV Ram Spirit- Sherley Guerra JV Extra Mile- Emily Carpenter JV Team Spirit-Chloe Goddard
School Resource Officer Ventura on duty.
you want to be a part of law enforcement you have to undergo this training. This experience gives you an idea of what the Police Academy is like and will prepare you for it. RVPD has two cadets right now, junior Michaela Delazzar, and junior Hector Rodriguez. Michaela chose to be a Cadet in this program so she can have the experience as she will work towards law enforcement after she graduates from high school. “I chose to be a cadet because I have always seen myself in law enforcement, specifically a K9 Officer. So this program can really give me some good insight, tips and tricks on what the police academy is like. It will help prepare me for it. This program gives me a great sense of morals and values, and everybody could use that,” commented Michaela. Hector Rodriguez sees himself joining SWAT. “I chose to be a cadet personally because I want to follow my fathers footsteps, to accomplish something he could not. I wanna make him proud,” commented Hector. As our school is seeing more of Officer Ventura, we as a school would like to say thank you for being here for us. The faculty and community of Rio Vista High School appreciate your presence and with that we give a heartfelt welcome and “Ram hug” to Officer Santiago Ventura.
UEFA Champions League
by Jovany Vega, Staff Writer
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is the world’s most prestigious club competition in European soccer. This tournament consists of 32 clubs. The teams that get to participate in this competition are dependent on what position they ended in for their leagues. There are five teams from Spain, four from England, Germany, and Italy, three from Portugal, two from France and Ukraine, one from Austria, Belgium, Moldova, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, and from Turkey. All teams are chosen randomly and put in a group of four. In total there are 8 groups. Every team plays each other twice, one game in their home stadium and the other away. After playing a total of 6 games in the group stage, the two teams that made the most points move on to the round of 16. The teams that placed first in their group host the second leg in their stadium. The clubs can not play the team they had in their group before, so they play a team they haven’t played yet. Each club plays a two legged game and whoever scores the most goals keeps advancing. The 20212022 season dates are; Group Stage: Sept. 14-15, Sept. 28-29, Oct. 19-20, Nov. 2-3, Nov. 23-24, Dec. 7-8. The Round of 16: Feb. 15-16, March 8-9 / Feb. 22-23, March 15-16. Quarterfinals: April 5-6, April 1213. Semifinals: April 26-27, May 3-4. And final: May 28, 2022 which will take place in St. Petersburg, Russia. “I look forward to watching the Champions League every year. I always try to watch the games and support my favorite clubs” said Senior Alex Ornelas. This competition gathers the best clubs in the world to compete for the European Champion Clubs’ Cup. In this tournament you can find the best soccer players in the world such as Lionel Messi (the GOAT),
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Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., Kylian Mbappe, and many others. The UCL is very popular around the whole world. The team with the most UCL trophies is Real Madrid with 13. And the player with the most trophies won is Paco Gento with six. The player with the most goals in the Champions League is Cristiano Ronaldo with a total of 135, followed by Lionel Messi with 120. These two players lastly mentioned are still active in the competition, so the goals scored can and will increase. “My favorite thing about the Champions League is getting to watch the games during third period with my friends. It’s very exciting to watch the high intensity games from the round of 16 forward,’’ said Junior David Torrez.“I look forward to watching the Champions League every year. I always try to watch the games and support my favorite clubs” said Senior Alex Ornelas. This competition gathers the best clubs in the world to compete for the European Champion Clubs’ Cup. In this tournament you can find the best soccer players in the world such as Lionel Messi (the GOAT), Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., Kylian Mbappe, and many others. The UCL is very popular around the whole world. The team with the most UCL trophies is Real Madrid with 13. And the player with the most trophies won is Paco Gento with six. The player with the most goals in the Champions League is Cristiano Ronaldo with a total of 135, followed by Lionel Messi with 120. These two players lastly mentioned are still active in the competition, so the goals scored can and will increase. “My favorite thing about the Champions League is getting to watch the games during third period with my friends. It’s very exciting to watch the high intensity games from the round of 16 forward,’’ said Junior David Torrez.
-Varsity VolleyballMost Valueable Player- Sophia Saldana Best Offensive Player- Brook Summitt Best Sevensive- Isabella Saldana Most Improved- Maia Stone All League 1st Team- Sophia Saldana, Isabella Saldana, Gracie Medders Kayla Delk, Sherley Guerra, Josh Davis, Diego Torres, Marco Carrillo Mathew Bodle Honorable Mention All League - Isabella Saldana, Sophia Saldana, Michael Lorton, Nathan Panelo, Brook Summitt, Maia Stone, Daniela Roman -Junior Varsity FootballMost Valuable Player- Angel Mendoza Most Valuable Offense- Damien Castellanos JV Mr. Football- Justin Byers JV Lineman of the Year- Daniel Antunez -Varsity FootballMost Valuable Player - Boone Hurley Mr. Football- Marco Carillo Most Valueable Offense- Diego Torres Lineman of the Year- Trevor Coad -Junior Varsity CheerMost Spirited- Lacie McWilliams Most Dedicated- Letty Bellante Outstanding Leadership- Kaity Creed Awesome Attitude- Brooklyn Jackson -Varsity CheerMost Spirited- Madison Degroot Awesome Attitude- Greta Dole Most Dedicated- Adriana Hernandez Outstanding Leadership- Kylee Carlson -Cross Country-
Women’s Most Valueable Runner- Kayla Delk Women’s Most Promising Runner- Sherley Guerra Women’s Most Improved Runner- Brooklyn Koziol Men’s Most Valueable Runner- William Lindsay Men’s Most Enthusiastic Runner- Victor Reyes Men’s Most Improved Runner- Wesley Wirth Men’s Most Committed Runner- Alex Ornelas
Academic All League Cross Country- Alex Ornelas, Colby Eisenhour- Libby, Fabrizio Lazo Sam Esperson, Sumain Chiv, Victor Reyes, William Lindsay, Angelina Bauer Brooklyn Koziol, Greta Dole, Scarlett Dole, Isabella Saldana, Sophia Saldana, Kayla Delk, Samantha Lyon, Sherley Guerra, Tessa Jelly Football- Boone Hurley, Marco Carillo, Diego Torres, Mathew Bodle, Michael Lorton, Sam Lara Volleyball- Brook Summitt, Daniela Roman, Gracie Medders, Isabella Saldana Kiara Perkins, Maia Stone, Sophia Saldana Cheer- Kylee Carlson, Stephanie Corona, Bridget deFlores, Greta Dole Adriana Hernandez
ARTIST OF THE MONTH Dania Garcia
“Es una persona privada y no habla mucho pero cuando camino alado de ella boom esta su arte.” -Mr. Rivera
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December 15, 2021
Lost at sea? I’m not shore Even through a mask, Mrs. Jones greets students with a smile
by Ryan Zamarripa, Staff Writer
One of the first major steps to cut back ocean pollution is recycling. The movements to stop using single use plastic can greatly help the problem. Many organizations out there have volunteer beach clean-ups. Social media is one of the biggest ways to reach others, try spreading the word. Through social media you can stay informed about movements, solutions, and the problem. Another step is stopping support on major manufacturing companies that produce plastic, “With enough pressure from our supporters and allies around the world, the biggest companies like Coke, Pepsi, Starbucks, McDonald’s, Unilever, Nestlé, and Procter & Gamble will embrace a better model through innovation and redesign.” says Greenpeace. Greenpeace is a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. People need to stand together to take action and tackle this problem. Without the coral reefs means warmer waters and bigger storms. Marine life disappearing puts the ecosystem at risk, changing food chains, and killing species. If this problem does not start to decline the world may have a bigger problem on its hands.
Photo by: Jorie Fores
Ocean pollution has been a long lasting battle since the late 1960’s. Ocean pollution is one of the many major factors affecting Earth. The main source of pollution is plastic. “Several million tons of debris end up in the world’s oceans every year, and much of it is improperly discarded plastic litter,” says the founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation Charles Moore. Since COVID-19 started, ocean pollution has been skyrocketing. “Eight million metric tons of plastic waste enters the oceans every year,” explained founder and partner of Ocean Plastics Leadership Network Dave Ford. This is severely damaging to marine life and the environment. Due to about 40% of the ocean being covered in plastic, the negative impact plastic has on marine life is devastating. “Fish, seabirds, sea turtles, and marine mammals can become entangled in or ingest plastic debris, causing suffocation, starvation, and drowning,” says the director of Pew in protecting coastal wetlands and coral reefs project, along with the preventing ocean plastics initiative, Simon Reddy. This is causing many animals to become endangered or even extinct and causing an environment incapable to sustain itself. The pollution is killing coral reefs by damaging algae, stopping coral growth and reproduction, and smothering. The big question left is how can it be stopped?
Mrs. Jones ready to spread positivity in her classroom.
by Synia Reed, Staff Writer
Mrs. Jones is known for being the Culinary Arts and Essential Living Skills teacher at Rio Vista High School. Before becoming a permanent teacher, she was previously a substitute teacher, for different grades at RVHS. Mrs. Jones takes much pride in her job along with her husband who’s also a substitute teacher (Mr. Jones). In total Mrs. Jones has been teaching and substituting for 11 years. Mrs. Jones says, “I love teaching at RVHS, I love a small school and being able to know everybody. I’ve spent a lot of my years teaching at small schools.” She describes that teaching at a small school such as RVHS is a passion of hers because it allows her to remember more students, and get to know people at a faster pace. As a substitute teacher it can be hard to walk into a classroom and teach something you don’t know anything about to students you’ve never met. Mrs. Jones always had open arms when she first started subbing at RVHS, she always made sure to pronounce students names correctly, help as much as she could with work, and always make students feel comfortable even with-
out their teacher’s presence. Knowing that Mrs. Jones is the Culinary/Essential Living Skills teacher, Mrs. Jones describes her favorite things to do. “I love teaching students how to cook. I also love cooking and eating food, especially working with Ms. Anderson, it’s so much fun.” Mrs. Jones is a very familiar face to students and staff at Rio Vista High School, she has always shown up to rallys and school activities to show her support. Mrs. Jones says, “There is always something going on and it’s always new and exciting.” She teaches students how to make a variety of foods, from sweet to savory. Mrs. Jones says, “My favorite kind of food to make is Italian. I also enjoy teaching students how to make bread because it’s so amazing how it rises and cooks in the oven.” Mrs. Jones will always have a great impact on RVHS and be a great teacher. She always puts one hundred percent into everything she teaches and does, it never goes unnoticed here at Rio Vista High School.
Music is the universal language of mankind Why do you listen to music?
How important is music in your life?
What’s your favorite music genre?
December 15, 2021
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RVHS Varsity football boys warming up during haftime
Photo by: Jorie Forbes
Photo by: Monica Garcia
Varsity Football making it to Cross Country qualifies for playoffs after two years section championships
by Diana Freyre, Staff Writer
Varsity is making it’s comeback!!, After being able to be back to play football, the Varsity team couldn’t be more excited and happy to be going into the playoffs! Marco Carrillo, a sophomore on the varsity team, said he was very excited to go to playoffs and was hoping they made it to the second round! “I’m excited that we made it to the playoffs and I’m hoping we win because making the playoffs is a big deal already”, says Marco. Marco got hurt halfway through the season and was playing with a cast for the rest of the season so it was a little hard for him to play since he hurt. The game was against Woodland Christian and it took place there as well. Although there was some difficulties due to the fog and not being able to see the rams were able to score two touchdown
against Woodland Christian. Even though they didn’t win they were really proud on how long the made it through the season and how the game went overall. Josh Davis, a senior on the varsity team was very sad that the season ended because he was hoping to play at least one more high school game. “ I feel really sad but also excited about my season coming to end. I’m sad because of the bonds I had with the coaches who have been coaching me since I was little and bonds with the players who I will never be able to play with again.” Although the season ended in a way no one expected, everyone on the team is so grateful for the season they had with everyone on the team and their coaches and were very happy they were able to make it to playoffs this year.
Photo by: Shannon Laurens
Basketball cheer comes out of retirement
Cross Country team sectional qualifiers: Victor Reyes Manzanillo (front), Sherley Guerra, Bella Saldana, Kayla Delk, Sophia Saldana, Stephanie Corona, Tessa Jelly, and Greta Dole. by Greta Dole, Staff Writer
Ready, set, go! Cross Country is almost over but there’s still a few more miles to run. This year the varsity girls’ cross country team and Junior Victor Reyes from the varsity boys team qualified for sections. It wasn’t an easy accomplishment but every runner puts in the work and effort to accomplish their goals. The boys team performed well at subsections but unfortunately their season ended there. Even though they didn’t advance, they raced their best race, all earning personal records. Coach Noelle Gomes said, “I’m very sad that the boys didn’t make sections but not disappointed and very happy with how they performed.” During subsections, the girls team tied for fourth place with Holt Academy earning them a spot in sections. Senior Bella Saldana earned a medal for placing in the top 25 runners and a guaranteed spot in sections. Section championships were held on Nov. 13 at Folsom High School. The races before were all three mile races but the Folsom course was a 5k. The team had to arrive at 8:15 a.m. and patiently wait till 11:00 and 12:30 to race. The first to race was Victor with the division 5 varsity boys. Even though he didn’t qualify for state, Victor placed 21st out of 77 runners with a time of 19:55. “What made sections challenging for me was trying to keep up with the faster runners the whole time along with being the only boy from Rio Vista,” said Victor Reyes, “I did better than expected half way through the race getting
close to my personal record. Even though I couldn’t make state I’m happy with what I got.” The girls team was up next to run. The team’s goal was to beat Holt Academy and Vacaville Christian to advance to state. The girls team was down one runner, so Coach Gomes brought Senior Stephanie Corona out of retirement. Stephanie said, “I was a little confused at first. I didn’t think she was actually being serious and I felt quite honored to be asked to run for her again especially at sections.’’ The first runner to come in for Rio Vista was Senior Bella Saldana placing 14th and getting a time of 23:00. The next to follow Bella was Senior Kayla Delk, placing 21st and getting a time of 24:00. The runners that followed were Senior Sophia Saldana, Sophomore Sherley Guerra, Senior Stephanie Corona, Senior Greta Dole, and Sophomore Tessa Jelly. The girls ran their hardest and placed fourth in sections. They didn’t qualify for state but the team couldn’t be prouder of how they performed this season. Senior Kayla Delk and Sophomore Sherley Guerra both earned All League at league championships and Seniors Bella and Sophia Saldana earned Honorable Mention. Coach Gomes was very proud of every runner this season and said, “This year’s team was really motivated and it showed.” If anyone is interested in joining the cross country team they start running in the spring to prepare for their fall season and all you have to do is show up. See you next season!
Get to know Ms. Gornto
Varsity cheerleaders after performing for the basketball players.
by Kristiana Vega, Staff Writer
by Chloe McGahey, Staff Writer
Ms. Gornto grew up in Isleton, California. She attended Rio Vista High School and graduated in 2003. She has two children. For college she went to Cal State in Hayward, but transferred to Delta College. Then attended Sac State where she got her Bachelors of Science in Speech Language Pathology, and Audiology. After that she got her masters in Education and Social Justice from Fresno State and is currently getting her admin credential through San Diego State. She is the cheer coach with Ms. Lauchland, and has been working in the River Delta Unified School District for twelve years. Starting in 2007 she worked as an aid at Walnut Grove Elementary with siblings, three boys and one girl while living in Rio Vista also. She helped with speech therapy for five years after that. She was also an ABA tutor (Applied Behavioral Analysis). ABA tutors help students with autism and other developmental issues by working one on one, monitoring student progress, and developing individual learning strategies. She decided to change schools in 2015 and started teaching at Rio Vista High
After many years, Rio Vista High School has finally brought back basketball cheerleaders. Some of the football cheerleaders stayed on the team for basketball cheer but sadly most left. A lot of people at this school are very excited for basketball to start up this year. Cheerleaders will still have a half time dance but it will only be 30 seconds compared to football cheer. Their coaches have been trying very hard this whole season. They will do anything for the cheer team and make sure they are having a good time. Mrs. Lauchland is looking forward to the new basketball cheers and so is Ms. Gornto. Girls on the team love their coaches so much when the cheer season is over it will be very sad. Everyone can give a big thank you to senior Boone Hurley, for giving the coaches this idea. The last time RVHS had basketball cheer was six years ago, and for only one year. Before that no one can remember the last time they did basketball cheer. Senior Alonzo Chavolla stated, “I think the idea of doing basketball cheer
again will be very fun I am glad we are doing it before I graduate high school.” Boone Hurley wanted to give the coaches the idea of basketball cheer because he thinks it will be a very good and fun experience to have as well. The half times will be very short but the cheerleaders think that it will be fun because it will be faster but still clean and cute. There are only a couple freshman cheerleaders on the team, and they are very excited. Freshman cheerleader Brooklynn Jackson said, “I am kind of nervous but i would not want to miss the opportunity just in case we do not have it again.” The cheerleaders are very intrigued for this since they have never done it before. From half time cheers, to chanting crowds, and score buzzers basketball is one of Rio Vista High School’s most popular and valued sport. Cheerleaders enhance the experience and always show the up most support for the boys varisty vasketball team.
School. She teaches leadership where students help coordinate the rallies and spirit weeks while making posters spreading the word about school events and more. The leadership class is a big part of RVHS and without them, we wouldn’t have any school spirit. Ms. Gornto also teaches Study Skills. Study Skills is a class to help students catch up on work from other classes and to help improve their grades. Ms. Gornto has been teaching Study Skills for the past seven years. Certain students get picked for that class so that Ms. Gornto can individually help with their assignments. It’s a good thing because some students feel that they can’t ask for help when they don’t understand, since most students who struggle might not want to ask for help either from students or their teachers. Some students really struggle with Math or Science or English which is a good opportunity to have this class because it’s extra help outside of the classroom. Ms. Gornto has always been a big part of Rio Vista High School especially with leadership and we hope she stays a part of it for a long time.
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December 6th, 2021
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Photo: Jorie Forbes
Athletes of the Month
Ryan Zamarripa
Braeden McCann Varsity Basketball
Senior Joshua Davis going up for a block against the Foresthill Wildfires
The Bounce Back
by Braeden McCann, Staff Writer
Boys basketball is finally back! It’s been two years since there has been a high school basketball game played here in Rio Vista. The Rams first game back is going to be home, against Buckingham Charter. So far, it’s been a tough year because the football team made playoffs so the basketball coaches had to wait for the football players that play basketball to show up to practice to see if there are enough boys to make a JV and varsity team. There were enough guys to make two teams this year, but some juniors and sophomores are going to be jumping up and down from both teams this year, it just depends on what teams the Rams play that week. Now that there are two teams, they both play the first game against Buckingham Charter. Now that there are two teams we are excited to see them play friday. The Rams have been preparing for their first game since two years ago. Practices have been very long, specifically working on offense and defense because they need to be ready for the season and most importantly their first home game. Something that the high school is bringing back is cheerleaders during the game, which means it’s going
to be super loud during the games and a lot more exciting. Unfortunately, Rio Vista lost 64-34 their first game of the season. Rio played really hard and did their best but Buckingham Charter had a very good team. Buckingham’s team had a lot of chemistry together, they have been playing together for the last four years together while the rams don’t really have any chemistry. “We moved the ball around a lot better in the 2nd half, we rotated on defense a lot better,” Ashlynd Rhett said. This is the first year the Rams have all played together as one team. The first half of the game wasn’t the best by the Rams but the second half they really stepped up and did a lot better on defense and ran their plays on offense correctly. “We played a lot better the 2nd half, we ran all the plays correctly and ran the defense right. If we did that the whole game it would have been a lot closer,” Eric Peters said. The Rams will correct their mistakes and work on some things to make them better while they get ready and prepare for their next home game on November 29.
Braeden enters his final basketball season at RVHS as co-captain. While it has been difficult to re-start our basketball program due to missing the last season Braeden has stepped up and leads by example every practice. His teammates respect him and follow his lead. He believes in the process, his teammates, and himself. That’s a complete player. - Coach Baldwin
Lupe Valdenegro
JV Basketball
Ryan hit the game winning shot last Friday against Buckingham Charter. He’s one of the hardest working guys on the team and his knowledge of basketball is incredible. He’s going to continue to be a huge part of our success going forward.. -Coach Higgs
Lacie McWilliams
Varsity Girls Basketball
Lupe is non stop energy, she has a great attitude on and off the court, she’s a great team player and athlete! I love her hustle and intensity! She was working hard fighting for position under the basket these past two games.Her rebounding skills are definitely a huge asset this year!. - Coach Fawn
JV Girls Basketball
Lacie is still learning how to play basketball, but I think she can be as good as she wants to be. She rebounds well, she is active on defense and we are figuring out she can shoot a little bit. Lacie has a good attitude and normally works hard in practice. -Coach Medders
Let the feet do the talking
by Alex Ornelas, Staff Writer
The boys varsity soccer team is looking forward to having a very challenging and different season this year. It has been almost two years since the last time the boys had played a game at their home stadium because of COVID. New head coach, Andres Ornelas, and assistant coach, Brandon Gutierrez, are pushing the boys to a new limit with the running and conditioning going on at try-outs. They both want to make sure all the boys are in the best shape they have ever been in their lives so that no one gets any injuries during the season. Now that tryouts have been held, the team has been formed and both coaches have an idea of what they want the starting 11 players to look like for their first game against Natomas on Nov. 22. Practices are being held everyday after school from 4-5:30 to have time for both conditioning, and being able to touch the soccer ball. Everyone is very excited for this season and is motivated to give it their greatest effort on the field. “I’m excited for this season. All of our players are motivated to win it all and give everything they’ve got on that field for every game,” Captain Adrian Tejeda said. Junior Jovany Vega also commented, “I’m very excited about this year’s season. I feel like if we’re all committed and work together, then we will do very well. I am extra excited because COVID-19 has impacted my sophomore year for soccer so I have missed playing, and I hope we come back better than ever.” Injuries early in the season are starting to have an impact on the team as several boys have had pain in their ankles, hamstrings, and quads. The coaches are doing their best to get everyone in shape and prevent any of the other players from get-
ting injured. “It sucks because I want to get back on the field and play with the team,” Junior Oswaldo Segoviano said after injuring his hamstring. “Every time I see the boys playing and practicing, it makes me want to play even more! Another issue that has risen is that some players aren’t making it to practices and are holding the whole team back. To make up for this, the coaches are making everyone run for the absences and late show-ups at practice. Now because of this, a lot of the players are upset at their teammates for making them run extra in practice. “I’m expecting our results to match the effort put in by our players during this preseason. We’re going to get as far as we prepare for and even then, we’ll have to fight for everything we think we deserve. I do expect our players will perform well and have a winning season,” Coach Ornelas said. “My first couple of weeks as a head coach have been exciting. At first I wasn’t sure what to expect or how the players would react but after a few weeks it’s clear they’re just as excited as I am to start the season. It’s about finding the right mixture of competitive nature and fun and I think we’re doing well in mixing both. I’m also enjoying the time spent with the players, everyone of them is unique and I’ve seen them take steps to becoming better teammates already.” The soccer team is putting in the effort needed in order to have a winning season, but to have a good season, dedication and hard work is required. The players are working hard to improve their performance on the field and their physical condition. The coaches are also doing their best to make sure everyone is on top of their grades and are dedicated to this sport.
Jovany Vega
Varsity Boys Soccer
Diana Freyre
My Athlete of the month would be Jovany Vega. He’s been an important piece to the team. He always listens and he learns very quickly. He’s been one of the most impressive players since day 1 and always shows up for the team. My favorite thing about him is his composure and consistency. -Coach Ornelas
Charlie Jeffers
Varsity Girls Soccer
Diana has shown a lot of improvement this year stepping up to play such an important position. She’s always been an athlete willing to support her team with whatever it needs and this year is no different. We’re looking forward to another great season with Diana. -Coach Roman
Wrestling
Emily Carpenter
Charlie Jeffers has two gold medals in his first two tournaments and Emily Carpenter has one gold medal after one tournament, and has been to almsot every workout and event. -Coach Smith