The Mustang Oct. 2013

10.04.13

10.04.13

Read about the history behind some of SDA’s iconic art on

25

cents for an adult ticket when La Paloma first opened in

1937

9

th place at the International Surfing Association World Longboard Championships in Peru Read about the La Paloma Theater through the years on

Read about Nick Anderberg’s success on

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Feeling bored might be easy to hide, but don’t worry, it’ll be easy to spot when you check Aeries.

Teacher Tidbit

Which SDA teacher was raised on an island but cannot swim?

Read Ivan Ramales’s story about staying focused in class on

Student Artist:

20 grams of protein in 1 cup

Tona Gonzalez

of almonds

Read about her on Read Wendy Disch’s tips for vegetarians on

Find out at www.sdamustang.com NEWS EDITOR Nicole Smith

FEATURES EDITOR Katie McPherson

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Elise Echeverria

ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR HEALTH EDITOR Elise Gout

ARTS EDITOR Gabby Catalano OPINIONS EDITOR Kira Elliot SPORTS EDITOR Sarah Kochanek PHOTO EDITOR Tacy Manis

BUSINESS MANAGER CAF EDITOR Lily LeaVesseur ONLINE EDITORS

Sam Winter Sierra Zounes

ONLINE ARTS EDITOR Sara Portnoy

STAFF WRITERS Linden Amundsen Peri Anderson Mycah Ayala Anne Blise Terren Brin Caroline Daniel Wendy Disch Dylan Hendrickson Reiko Inouye Devin Lasek Michael Leslie Kevin Moody Katrina Olsen Alynne Powers Ivan Ramales Jessica Rowan

Michael Schulte Lauren Shaw Keely Thompson Alex Weingarten Manon Wogahn STAFF ARTIST Roya Chagnon ADVISOR Tim Roberts

The Mustang is the student newspaper of San Dieguito Academy.

Advertisements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the newspaper. The Mustang is an open forum which welcomes letters. Letters can be submitted to room 98, emailed to sdamustang@gmail.com or mailed to the above address.

San Dieguito Academy / Room 98 / 800 Santa Fe Drive / Encinitas, CA 92024

10.04.13

New test, new questions Out with the old California Standardized Test, and in with the new and mysterious Common Core test. Story by Elise Echeverria.

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ho can forget STAR testing’s annual weeklong answerbubbling session? Every year students are immersed into a week of scantrons, number two pencils, and test booklets. These familiar tasks will no longer be a regular part of students’ year. STAR testing will cease to consume school mornings in those late weeks of spring. Be as that may, this is not the end of testing.

This year, SDA will begin its gradual transition to the Common Core State Standards.

This will result in changes in both the classroom and how standardized testing is done at SDA and statewide.

This change will result in elimination of all STAR tests in the future. However, the SBAC, the test created by the Common Core Initiative, will be implemented at SDA as early as this year.

This new test, which will be taken via computers, will introduce new aspects to standardized testing including answering short answer questions, writing essays, developing equations, and creating graphs. As to who will be taking the test this year, it is still uncertain, but it will most likely be either juniors or sophomores.

What is it?

According to the official Common Core website, the Common Core Standards Initiative was developed by teachers, researchers and parents in 2010. Based on what skills are needed in college and the workplace, the standards aim to ensure that students are prepared and successful after they graduate high school. California adopted these standards in August of 2010.

Why the Change?

“Many states felt the need for students to be engaged in a different kind of learning as opposed to what we are doing,” Principal Tim Hornig said. Kids need to be doing more producing, collaborating, and synthesizing as opposed to receiving information and regurgitating, Hornig said.

“There will be a much greater

A section of the SBAC math sample test. This problem requires students to generate equations from scratch to find a varibale based on data they are given.

Photo from smarterbalanced.com.

benefit to the students, the [work] place, and the country,” he said.

What About the Test?

“It was pretty much universally agreed upon amongst teachers, parents, and students, that the assessments that we had were not a good assessment of the skills that we think students really need to be ready for college and careers,” English teacher Justin Conn said, who is on special assignment and heavily involved in helping teachers with the change over to Common Core.

The new assessment is called the SBAC, which stands for Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. It will be given on computers which will create a much different testing experience for students and allow for new types of questions and interactive test aspects. “Gone are the booklets and the bubbling,” Hornig said.

Some of the features on the English portion include typing in short answers after reading a passage, revising a paragraph, answering questions after listening to a speaker read a passage aloud and filling

in charts. The math portion requires students to engage in more interactive questions like constructing virtual graphs and creating equations from scratch.

These changes are a result of the shift away from strictly multiple choice questions and towards higher level thinking questions that require kids to apply skills like synthesizing and

the student sitting next to him or her.

Another major aspect of the new test is performance tasks.

Performance tasks are individual sections of both the math and English assessments that are collections of questions and activities that revolve around one theme. The purpose of performance tasks is to attempt

“Kids need to be doing more producing, collaborating, and synthesizing.”

- Principal Tim Hornig comparing and contrasting Conn said.

Additionally, the difficultly of test will vary depending on how an individual student answers the previous questions.

“There is an artificial intelligence in the assessment,” Hornig said. This means that if a student struggles through a few questions in a particular math section, for example, the questions will become easier because the assessment will have identified that the student’s math level may be lower than that of

to incorporate “real world problems” into the assessment.

For a portion of the English performance task, students might be required to write an essay.

“This test requires much more in means of using multiple sources to create an argument which is new,” Conn said.

Who takes the test has also changed. The assessments will be given only to grades three through eight and to high school juniors.

What About Testing This Year?

“That is all yet to be decided,”

Hornig said of testing this year.

“We get a new report from Sacramento daily,” Conn said.

“Bills are literally on the floor of the assembly where they are making decisions.”

This year there are a few possibilities for how testing will be implemented at SDA. Every junior may take the new SBAC, or instead, sophomores may take the test in order to prepare them for next year, when testing will be in less of a trial period, Conn said.

Either way, scores on this year’s assessments will not be released.

“This year is an experiment,” Conn said.” There will be no weight on how students perform on it; it will not affect schools.”

There are still a few issues that need to be worked out in implementing the test. A major concern is the availability of the technology need for students to take the tests, Conn said.

“We are trying to find out what it will look like,” Hornig said.

“We are sampling different devices to see what we may have students use; Chrome books continued on page 05

10.04.13

ill txt u when i get there

San Dieguito Academy students face potential dangers while texting and driving. Story and art by Nicole Smith.

“I

came very close to being in a texting-while-driving accident as a passenger and my immediate reaction was: ‘You are so stupid and selfcentered. Did you need to do that right then?’” said senior Celine Parker.

Every year, a new group of students becomes part of San Dieguito Academy’s driving population that has to think about the risks of texting and driving in a technology-oriented age.

Students are exposed to the hazards of texting while driving in a multitude of ways. They might observe other drivers texting and driving, or consider texting in the car themselves. The subject is brought up in a school setting as well.

In order to obtain a permit for the student parking lot, students are required to go through the Start Smart program, which addresses driving dangers, including texting and driving.

This comes after extensive driver’s education that might also bring up the issue.

More recently, students may have seen Werner Herzog’s documentary, “From One Second to the Next,” which documents the stories of victims of texting and driving accidents and

the people who caused them.

Clips from the film are used as advertisements that students might see on websites such as YouTube. In addition, thousands of schools have started showing the video to students.

At SDA, driving safety is not a school issue, but it is

still of concern. Assistant Principal Jeanne Jones said: “Driving is not a school-related activity, but anything that effects adolescent lives is of our concern.” Jones explained that the sheriff’s department initiated a preemptive approach to teen driving safety through

the Start Smart program. The goal of beginning Start Smart at SDA was to “…open a dialogue between students and parents and students and friends,” Jones said.

Start Smart addresses the issue of texting and driving by encouraging “parents and teens to establish a ‘no text’ and ‘no phone’ policy while driving,” said Nancy Sheridan, school site coordinator for Start Smart program at SDA. “We know that what parents say matters.

When parents clearly convey expectations it does have a positive influence. Additionally, parents are reminded to model the behavior they expect to see in their teens.”

Jones observes texting and driving at SDA more frequently by parents than by students: “I’ve never seen a student on a cell phone in the student lot; however, I’ve seen plenty of parents pulling into the front continued on page 05

10.04.13

“... you’re in a giant death machine and you need to make each decision based on those sorts of stakes.”

- Senior Celine Parker continued from page 04 lot talking to their student on a cell phone. It’s very dangerous.”

She said that it is important for parents to be good role models, because teaching students driving safety is a parent responsibility, since it is not a school related activity.

According to senior Zach Lighton, programs like Start Smart, the videos shown during Start Smart presentations, and videos like “From One Second to the Next” are beneficial for reminding students of driving dangers: “It shows victims of something that we do every day [texting and using phones], and we don’t pay attention to what we are doing, but something as small as that can cause big results in an instant.”

Junior Stacy Li also said texting and driving is dangerous and not worth the risk: “I don’t feel like it’s worth it if something

happens while texting and driving. The text message can’t be that important compared to a human life.” Li does not tolerate texting in the car: “I was in the car with this one girl [who was texting and driving] and I just gave her this death glare and she put down her phone.”

Some students are more neutral on the topic of texting and driving: “Some people are adamant against texting while driving... Other people do it incessantly like they’re showing off their multi-tasking skills. I’m pretty neutral unless it’s clearly a bad time to text,” said Parker.

Ultimately, Parker thinks that it is important to make decisions carefully while driving: “At our age, driving is so much more of a game that a lot of the time you forget that you’re in a death machine and you need to make each decision in the car based on those sorts of stakes.”

“New test, new questions” continued from page 03 are one of them.

Students will have to wait to know their fate of whether they will have to take the test this year.

Additionally, the elimination of STAR testing week will affect Seniors. Without the two week window during May, Senior activities like Senior Olympics and tile-making will need to find a time slot.

In the Classroom?

Aside from the obvious changes in testing, Common Core will introduce changes in the classroom and daily learning for students. According to Hornig, “Classrooms will look different; collaboration will be an expectation and rich learning opportunities will come more naturally.”

There will also be some specific shifts regarding how the teaching of particular core subjects is approached. For example, history and science classes will have a change.

“One of the key transitions is there is an expectation of more direct instruction with reading and writing in these classes,” said Conn. “This is something

that before may have been just expected with English classes.”

These changes are being made because of a big push for a focus on literacy for all core classes.

“They went and looked at the average difficulty of texts, articles, [and] essays that students were reading in high school and looked at what was expected in a college class and the workplace,” said Conn “In all of these texts there is a huge gap.” The texts students read in high school are far less complex than those read in college and do not adequately prepare students for what they will encounter in college or in a career. This is the reasoning behind the push for more challenging texts for students to interact with, Conn said.

Additionally, in math classes we will see integrated math as opposed to traditional pathway math, Hornig said. Pathway math is how mathematics is set up at most schools, including SDA. It entails taking each type of math as an individual class, for example taking Geometry one year and Algebra Two the following year. Integrated

math sees less division in the “types” of math [i.e. geometry, algebra, trigonometry, etc] and more focus on students using their math. Additionally, there will be some content shift in classes. “The problems will not simply be algebraic formulas and expressions, but problems that ask students to apply what they have learned as well,” said math teacher Amy Johnson.

As of Now?

Currently there is still much to be determined regarding the Common Core Initiative at SDA. “We aren’t seeing a lot of changes right now,” said Conn.

“This is a slow progression, not a massive shift.”

To see examples of questions from the new tests, to take a sample test, or to sample performance tasks in either math or english, visit: www.smarterbalanced.org/ pilot-test/ and www.smarterbalanced. org/sample-items-andperformance-tasks/

10.04.13

Hour lunch vs. hour of sleep

Students are divided about the additional seven “Late Start” Wednesdays. Story by Sierra Zounes.

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s the new school year came to a start, students were able to mark their calendars with seven extra days where they could get to school at 9:30 and not be considered “tardy.” An extra Late Start has been added to each month to give teachers more time to collaborate together, and many students are taking advantage of it, often by catching up on numerous hours of sleep.

What do Students Think?

Chloe Hergesheimer, sophomore, attested to this, stating, “This extra sleep makes me young! I get to have my beauty sleep.” Others agree with this extra amount of rest, such as freshman Jaden Holliman, who will “be sleeping until nine” during these days.

There are other students who also feel that Late Starts are the way to go. Colin Scharff, freshman, said: “I’d rather have Late Starts because we are really pressured for time in the morning.”

Freshman Jourdania Nourian also enjoys these Late Starts, saying: “I am more awake by the time I get to school. Then I don’t pass out in first period.”

However, the time for these Late Starts have to come from the

school’s hour lunches. Instead of the usual three hour lunches per month, that number has been reduced to two. Students’ reactions have ranged from outraged to apathetic. Atticus Salmon, senior, said, “I loved the schedule in ninth grade!

They ruined it! It’s absolutely shameless.”

Senior Omar Smith also prefers hour lunch to the additional Late Starts, saying that he gets more sleep during hour lunch than Late Start, because he wakes up at the same time: “At lunch, I can get thirty to forty-five minutes of sleep.”

Anthony Law, junior, had a more neutral reaction than others, saying, “I’m kind of disappointed [that we have less hour lunches], but it’s going to a good cause.”

The Facts

Regardless of the students’ reactions, there was a purpose to the addition of these Late Starts.

Principal Tim Hornig said that the extra late starts were added when “WASC [Western Association of Schools and Colleges] recommended an extra day of instructional time for teachers for more learning,” while working more with the Common Core.

Seniors Ryan Romero and Jilly Haines wait for their breakfast at the Original Pancake House. Photo by Sam Winter.

The Late Start meetings allow teachers to create concrete assessments of learning outcomes.

Hornig also said, “We also talk about teaching students, and what to do if they hadn’t learned something in time. The Common Core will be shaping the class and the curriculum, to ensure this learning.”

The process for deciding to add these extra Late Starts dealt with the Yee Committee and WASC, while teachers gave feedback and input on the matter. According to

Hornig, “A Google Doc was created for all of the teachers to give feedback and collaborate together.” Now in class, teachers from different subjects will be working together to ensure the education for the students.

The only downside Hornig could cite to this would be the loss of instructional time. Parents have called, and teachers have asked Hornig about this loss, but he responded with the same answer: “It is true that we lose instructional time, but the time

is pretty minimum. But now we have more to work with, and we make even better use of the time that we do have. We want to ensure the education of our students. Plus, they get to have an extra hour of sleep.”

Yes, there will be a bit less time in class, but as Hornig said, “Nothing is perfect, but it aligns with our best interests for our students.”

See what students have to say about late starts at sdamustang.com.

New year, new classes, new opportunities New and well-loved classes debut and return to SDA. Story by Linden Amundsen and Jessica Rowan.

AP Biology

After a year spent missing from SDA, AP Biology has returned.

The class has been offered at SDA since 2005; however, it only can happen when enough students sign up, and usually the number needed is around 30.

Last year, there weren’t enough students signing up for it, so the class couldn’t run. Now it is back, and any students disappointed by its absence finally can take it.

The teacher, Michael Santos, said that “the class is a tough one.

Kids are busy, it’s overwhelming, and it can be difficult to juggle so much.” “(AP Biology) does consist of quite a bit of work, but is still very interesting,” said junior Emily Templin.

Calculus III

Another class new to SDA this year is Calculus III. This class has been offered at Torrey Pines for years, but this year is its first at San Dieguito.

Students were actually petitioning for the creation of a Calculus 3 class here. Their desires were granted this year.

“The focus of the class is to allow students to completely finish calculus,” said Darlene Blanchard, who is teaching the course this year. “It is a difficult course; however students currently taking it seem to enjoy it. After all, it WAS their idea to have it.”

As senior Ian MacGregor said, “Calculus III is really fun and we’re learning lots of things.”

AP Euro

Returning to students’ schedules is AP European History, taught by Jill Seidenverg.

“Based on student sign ups, the school usually chooses whether to have AP Euro or AP Comparative Politics; however, this year there were enough students interested to have both,” said Seidenverg.

“AP European History is different than most social study classes in that it has more of a focus on art and culture than other courses. It’s an interesting course; hopefully the class will someday run every year.”

Engineering Principles

Engineering Principles, designed by local engineers as well as a few teachers, makes its debut this year as one of SDA’s brand new courses.

The class is taught by Jason Berend who said, “Overall, Engineering Principles is an amazing opportunity for students interested in learning about, and trying their hand in engineering, robotics, electronics, programming, or computer-aided design,” said Berend.

This year not everyone could be accepted, and Berend hopes to offer two sections next year.

As Junior Romy Beigal said, “This is a challenging course, but ... it’s a wonderful opportunity.”

AP Art History

Combining art and social science, AP Art history has returned to SDA this year.

“Physical art has been around thousands of years longer than written word,’ said Neal Glasgow.

“AP Art History introduces students to this ...self-expression.

Every culture has had some kind of physical art, and this class teaches students about... these civilizations, and the art they made” “My favorite part so far was learning about Ancient Egyptian art,” said junior Sydney Busic.

“I’m glad the class is back. I’m not that good at history, but the subject of art makes the class interesting for me.”

10.04.13

10.04.13

Staff Editorial

Testing, Testing, 1 2 3

The Mustang weighs the pros and cons of the old California Standardized Test versus the new Common Core test. The votes are in.

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his year, the school decided that the students needed more sleep, so they introduced more Late Starts to the schedule.

We wish.

No, this year, while the students are enjoying their Wednesday mornings, the teachers are secreted away in meetings.

The meetings are focused on the new standardized test, Common Core, which is to replace the beloved CST. Common Core is all about testing students to see how much they have learned during their year of schooling.

The test is more interactive, more personalized, and more technological – everything that the Mustang is looking for in a

standardized test.

The Common Core test is paperless, which means that the district would save on buying all of those packets and pencils.

The downside is that the test would be taken on computers so, the district doesn’t quite know how it’s going to administer it.

This raises some questions about technology dependence and health issues.

For example, what if there is a power outage? What if the website that the test is on crashes? What if the students start having migraines from staring at the screen and end up overcrowding the nurse’s office? There are a lot of whatif’s surrounding this entire operation, but it appears that it is

for the best.

It turns out that the test is more about examining a student’s literacy and depth of understanding instead of how well they can fill in the bubbles, which is a plus.

The Common Core is a harder system to beat, with most of the multiple choice replaced with short answers and interactive questions, which lowers the probability of cheating.

The test is also geared to assess a person’s level of understanding by providing a 10-question assessment period, then giving the student either harder or easier questions based on how they did.

This allows the exam to get a better sense of how the individual

learns, rather than focusing on the population as a whole.

Some might miss the multiple choice – after all, it came in handy when you need to check your answer, and it made it easy to just flip back to questions that you might have skipped.

The CST was also easier to score, since all the graders had to do was put the Scantron through a machine and mark whether or not the answer is wrong.

Common Core also uses a computer to score many of the short answers, but graders will be hired to grade the longer answers.

The fact remains, however, that the CST was simply not a good indicator of the student body’s comprehensive understanding

Getting your class on

– how the Common Core will compare has yet to be seen. The Mustang is willing to make the change for the better.

The question posed to the Mustang staff was as follows: will the Common Core test be better at representing individual student abilities than the California Standardized Test?

The votes stand thus.

Yes: 18 No: 7

The Staff Editorial is the collective voice of the Mustang staff. After a moderated discussion, the Opinions Editor then holds a classwide vote and writes up the staff’s opinion.

It’s hard to stay focused on what is going on in class when there are more distracting things to think about. By Ivan Ramales.

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nyone who has ever taken class like geometry knows that the easiest thing to do is lose focus, on the equations and formulas, which aren’t very interesting to begin with.

You check your phone for a Snapchat from that cute girl, or you talk with a friend about hanging out this weekend, or you zone out completely from boredom.

When these things distract us we could potentially be missing out on missing out on important stuff, like what SohCahToa is and what is going to be on the test tomorrow.

But with these tips you can get your focus back, and you might even learn a thing or two.

might need to take more drastic measures to get your focus back on class.

Try locking it up in your bag.

After all, out of sight out of mind.

But this distraction might take a little bit of self-control to really get down.

Friends

Another common distraction from schoolwork is your friends in class. Though they probably

have something really important to tell you about the awesome Young the Giant concert they saw last weekend, you should definitely be getting your class on.

But if you’re like most humans and you enjoy talking to other humans, then it might be a bit challenging to change your old ways.

One possible solution is to

move a desk or two away from people you regularly talk to (just be sure to let your friends know that you’re not abandoning them).

This way you can still talk to them during breaks, but you’ll still be paying attention when your History teacher explains what Columbus was really about.

Feeling Bored

This next distraction is so

The Reason Why

Phones

One easy distraction is your phone. With music, Internet, and plenty of people to text, no one would judge you if you were whip it out in class.

Except your teachers. A lot of teachers look down on the use of phones in class, mostly because they take away attention from class. But if you’re heavily attached to your phone, you

subtle, that you may not even know that it’s happening.

Daydreaming during class happens when you get bored with what’s going on, so you start to tune out on stuff that might be important, but in your defense, where you’re going for hour lunch is pretty important.

One of the best ways to avoid getting distracted by boredom is to keep yourself busy with positive distractions.

Take notes or ask questions about concepts you don’t understand. This way, you’ll be too busy to feel bored.

Art by Reiko Inouye.

Keeping yourself from losing focus in class will help you understand the material, which will help you get a better grade.

Teachers will also respect you more if you’re not always on your phone or messing around with your friends, so you’ll have some more freedom and privileges that wouldn’t be available to anyone who is constantly distracted.

Feeling bored might be easy to hide, but, don’t worry, it’ll be easy to spot when you check Aeries.

10.04.13

Syria 101: The Facts Major Players There are two parts to the Syrian conflict: what is going on inside Syria and what is going on in the International community.

Within Syria, the Assad regime and its security forces are facing off against various rebel groups. Beneath that, the Alawite religious party is struggling to stay in power by terrorizing opposing Sunni Muslims.

Militant Islamic groups are just one type of rebel group currently fighting against The Man, who in this case is Assad.

Within the international community, it’s the US, the UK, and France who are primarily voicing opposition towards the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

On the other side of the coin are countries like Russia and China who are also opposed to chemical weapons, but do not want any intervention in Syria on any other front.

It’s funny – Russia is opposed to the use of chemical weapons, and yet has been arming Syria with weapons and providing a political shield for the country in the UN. A bit of a conundrum, really.

Inspectors have returned from Syria, and they have concluded from their investigation and analysis that sarin (see below) was used in surface-to-surface rockets in the attack on 21 August.

Chemical Weapons

Where is Syria again?

Challenge your friends: who can find Syria on the map? If you can’t, don’t bomb it. By Kira Elliott.

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t seems that America’s number one solution to so many conflicts in its young life is to go out, guns blazing and enforcing the Great American ideal of Democracy and Freedom for all.

I have to agree with President Obama: We are not, and should not be, the world’s policemen.

Sure, bombing people until they cannot see where they used to live worked in the Persian Gulf War. That in no way makes it the correct and appropriate response.

However, that appears to be the solution that President Obama is still considering as the Syrian conflict hits the fan.

The inspectors from the UN are back, and it’s official: the Syrian government used chemical weapons on the August 21 attack.

The proposition is this: if diplomacy fails with Syria and Russia and the UN, then force in

the form of air and missile strikes (but not ground troops) would be used against Syria.

The main problem with this whole scenario is that violence does not stop violence. All the politicians use the term “force,” but we all know that they only use it because it is more palatable.

The truth of the matter is that, if the US did decide to take military action, the next thing we will see in the news is this wonderful headline: “Several Dead from US Air Strike.” I thought we were trying to end the conflict, not add to it.

Yes, I understand that not taking action would mean going back on our word. I am not suggesting that we sit back and do nothing – we said that chemical weapons were a red line, and that if their use became apparent then the US government should intervene. I

am suggesting that we find a less violent solution.

This is the 21st century. Times and political philosophies are continually changing. Maybe we are moving a little too fast – after all, all this change is what led to the Arab Spring and to the Syrian people deciding to stand against oppression.

I still believe, however, that some change can be had for the better, and that one day, violence will not even be the primary option in any situation.

Since “force” and ground troops hasn’t worked in the past – I’m looking at you, Iraq and Afghanistan– and since bombing them senseless worked but is not ethical, let’s try a solution more novel to this era.

Let’s try something a little more peaceful, a little more diplomatic, a little more likely not to blow up in people’s faces

– looking at you, Egypt. Both sides need to be addressed – yes, President Assad is obviously a very big issue, but what about the rebels?

The Islamist extremist groups are still going to want to establish an Islamic state, and the Free Syrian Army and other moderates will still want to remove Assad from power. It takes two to make a civil war.

I am no great politician or world leader. I have only a small amount of experience in this field, and when I say small I mean miniscule.

Am I naïve to think that a peaceful solution can still be found? Probably.

But there is one thing I do know, courtesy of author and YouTube celebrity John Green: the marks humans leave are too often scars.

I just want one less scar.

Timeline of the Conflict August

District of Ghouta in Damascas is subject to a chemical weapons attack by government and anti-rebel forces.

September

UN Investigators release that the chemical weapon sarin was used in the August 21 attach on Ghouta.

NOW

February/May

Cities of Homs and Houla are attacked by government forces, fighting reaches Aleppo and Damascas.

2013

March

Group of teens are arrested and tortured for writing revolutionary messages, sparking protests in Daraa.

2012

2011

It turns out that in 2000, the CIA suspected Syria as well as several other countries for developing and storing chemical weapons.

The one that is causing all the commotion is sarin, a deadly nerve agent that acts fast and causes an overstimulation of glands and muscles.

The overstimulation causes the respiratory system to fail, and also causes convulsions, paralysis, and death.

Art by Kira Elliott. Answer online at sdamustang.com

10.04.13

Don’t tutor toddlers

Kids are preparing for the stressful life of a high school senior a little too early thanks to well-meaning parents. By Roya Chagnon.

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s summer neared, I was getting desperate. I was hunting everywhere for a second job to fill my time over the summer and nowhere seemed to be hiring.

Finally, I spotted a glimmer of hope hanging in the school library: a local tutoring center was hiring graders for the summer.

I ripped off one of the paper strips with a number to call.

Great hours and cute kids: what more could I want in a job?

When I started work, however, I learned there was a cold world behind the smiling, educated faces on the brochures of these tutoring centers.

My first misconception was that my job was to tutor kids.

Where I worked was actually a “learning center,” where kids

aren’t helped with their current schoolwork; instead, they are given a placement test, assigned specific worksheets, and taught a specific way to do them.

While some of the parents sign their kids up because they actually need help, most of them sign up with the goal of putting their kid ahead of their peers in the classroom.

Sometimes, it works: there are middle-schoolers doing pre-calculus and toddlers doing subtraction.

While those cases are impressive, I couldn’t help but wonder, “What good will it do them?” After all, all of these kids will learn these same concepts at school in the near future.

There’s no use in parents spending hundreds of dollars to teach them what a public

education will give them anyways.

The atmosphere at the center is also beyond the years of many of the students.

If you have ever taken the SAT, you know exactly what this place is like: just replace the stressed high school students with elementary-aged kids whose feet don’t even touch the floor.

The center’s goal is to make kids excited about learning, but those bare beige walls just don’t do the job.

What I couldn’t help realize at work was how much I could relate to these kids. Even though I had never gone through a program such as this one, I felt the pressure they were under.

Every time a kid turned in a paper only to find out he had several more mistakes to

fix, I could see in his eyes the frustration and inadequacy that have become all too familiar for so many of us teenagers.

Between AP classes, college applications, clubs, and sports, it’s a widely known fact that teenagers are stressed out.

While we’ve more or less come to terms with how competitive high school can be, it was a shock for me to find out that some kids are thrown into this environment so early.

They’re too young to understand why their parents want them there, which undoubtedly causes feelings of inadequacy and shame.

And the worst part is that it’s only going to get harder for them.

Kids only have so many years to be kids, and with the everincreasing competition in and

out of school, it seems like that timeframe is shrinking with each generation.

I know that parents want the best for their kids, but they’ve got to understand that these extracurricular tutoring programs won’t make their child better than anyone else’s.

In fact, some of the most important learning experiences don’t happen at a desk: they happen on the field or on stage or in the orchestra pit.

These kids could be doing so much more with the time they spend feeling bad about themselves in these tutoring programs.

They’ll get their dose of competition and pressure soon enough—for now, they should enjoy the carefree lifestyle while it’s still an option.

L i ke t h i s i s s u e ’ s o p i n i o n s ?

Check out more at sdamustang.com!

10.04.13

Lunch r i ghts

Late starts are really overrated. By Alynne Powers.

A

s of this school year (2013-2014), our sacred hour lunches have been reduced to two times a month.

WTH? Did we get a vote?

Until now, you and I enjoyed our hour lunches with the exception of our monthly late start. Now we get to enjoy this privilege only twice a month.

I don’t know about the rest of SDA, but I enjoy spending my hour lunch stress free heading to the beach, grabbing some in n out, or having a picnic at a nearby park.

The culture and tradition of SDA has always been hour lunches on Wednesdays. It was reward for the hard work put in for the beginning of the week and a break in the middle of our tough schedule.

Last year 10 out of 42 Wednesdays were late starts, so last year we missed 10 hour lunches. This year 18 out of 43 Wednesdays are

late starts. That means 42 percent of our Wednesday hour lunches have been cut.

Administration had made these changes to accommodate ‘Common Core’ meetings for 2 hours in the morning.

Common Core is a program to be implemented in the coming years. This new program is being presented to the teachers this year to be mandated by the state next year.

Common Core really? What do I care? I would rather spend my time learning how to balance a checkbook than determining the slope of a graph given the x and y coordinates of a f(x) = mx + b problem.

I propose a different schedule: How about we leave our Wednesdays alone and begin late start Mondays? If the admin wants to encourage us with late starts, let them be on Monday when most students really need to sleep in.

Student musings on late star t days What do you think? We went out to the field to find out students’ views on the new late start schedules.

“I like late start as opposed to hour lunch because I like the extra time to make all this [gestures to face] happen.”

- Sophomore Alex Read.

“I wish there were more hour lunches.... I don’t really think that the teachers need another meeting day, they deserve a break.”

- Junior Sabrina Barry.

“There’s a new late start schedule?”

- Senior Jeffrey Phan.

Check out more student responses on www.sdamustang. com under Opinions: Mustang Musings!

10.04.13

The unhapp i est place on Earth

The scariest things at theme parks are not the dinosaur animatronics or the roller-coasters, but the visitors themselves. By Dylan Hendrickson.

L

ast August, I went to Universal Studios. I hated it.

Well, I didn’t hate it. I just loathed every single moment of existing there, surrounded by thousands of faceless and deodorant-less people while feeling that dread and fear of slowly withering away without anyone realizing I was ever alive.

I don’t really like crowds. I’m not an agoraphobe; I don’t get panic attacks and nervous sweats from being around people, in spite of how I may act at school.

However, there’s something about being one of the masses that’s unsettling and stirs a dark, spider-like dread crawling deep inside my mind. Being in a crowd makes me feel like a nothing.

Of course, I know I am not the super special snowflake that I was told to be in elementary school.

I know that I am neither super, nor special, and I am just one of many similarly special and unique snowflakes in a giant blizzard just waiting to be swept off the side panel of someone’s $150,000 BMW because I’ll damage its matte paint job if I don’t. I know this, and I grudgingly accept these terms

and conditions because how else am I going to move on?

Even with the knowledge that I am just one of millions and billions of people, I still tell myself that I am unique and special, despite how glaringly untrue that is.

But at theme parks, and in crowds in general, I look at all the herds of people, all with stories of how they got there, what they feel, memories that shaped who they are, and I realize that I don’t care.

I don’t care if they saved up five years to be here or whether they’re here for a dying kid’s final wish. I simply don’t know anything about these people and I never will. What frightens me even more is that they have the same non-thought as me.

This sounds apathetic and cynical, but this is how we live our life day by day.

Five times a day, we pass by students frantically trying to make it in time so they learn about chronic conics or electronic bionics, all thinking to themselves about whether they should write anything clever on the next test if they don’t know the answer or whether that smile really means that she’s in love

with you. These are living people and we can’t know everyone. It is socially and mentally impossible.

So what did I learn from this?

Did I learn to be useful so I would actually become somebody worth noticing? Did I learn to break away from my cynical shell so I could actually enjoy life ? Did he get the girl? The answer is no (stick in there, buddy).

In all honesty, it’s easier for me to just go home, lock myself in my room and never care about the world ever again. But abandoning myself to feel ‘better’ isn’t really bettering anyone.

Shutting out society in order to get away from the apparent apathy of the world is deluding myself into thinking that I matter so little that no one will care about anything I say or do.

Maybe no one does care. That doesn’t mean life isn’t worth anything.

I know this is cheesy and tastes like a bowl of metaphorical chicken soup, but maybe I need to go out in life and do something to make it worth living. Maybe I need to do a self-improvement project, like a bird house or something cliche like that. I could go somewhere. Go anywhere.

Anywhere except theme parks.

After a while, you’re just another face in the crowd. Art by Alynne Powers.

Celebrity meltdown, or cry for help?

Being in and out of rehab and being a fool in front of the camera may be more than just another step to becoming an icon. By Taylor Knudson.

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often fantasize about someday being famous. Signing copies of my debut album (entitled “Angzty”), speeding away from paparazzi in my leopard print Ferrari, and getting into a three way Twitter war with Rhianna and Cher would be just a few of my duties as a superstar.

Just as my notoriety slammed to a bitter halt, I would pull out every celebrity’s key to extending their 15 minutes of fame to five years of infamy: staging a meltdown.

The summer of 2013 was ripe with former child stars humiliating themselves in the media.

From Miley Cyrus twerking all over the VMA’s, to Amanda Bynes’ twisted love story with Drake, to Justin Bieber’s politi-

cal statement against Bill Clinton, it was practically Christmas at TMZ. While many saw this as Cyrus “just doing Miley” or Bieber “being a teenager” these meltdowns have become surefire methods for celebrities to skyrocket to permanent notoriety.

2005 Paris Hilton, 2007 Britney Spears, and 2007 Lindsey Lohan were some of the most important moments in tabloid history. This was the time that Chris Crocker spoke out against the injustices permitted against Spears – taking Rosa Parks’ role as a modern civil rights advocate.

These were the days that Lohan and Hilton pretended to have musical talent just long enough to permanently scar their future children.

The thought of these moments evoke in Americans’ hearts like the smell of a campfire invites memories of childhood.

While this time in pop culture may seem to be some of the most humiliating moments in these celebrities’ lives, they were actually some of the most notorious. Britney released one of her most iconic albums, Paris was mentioned more than ever, and Lindsey was booking appearances frequently.

As ridiculous as it sounds, becoming a danger to yourself and society is actually one of the most effective ways of staying relevant.

While celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt began to fade by maturing and doing good for the world, people like Bieber

and Cyrus have maintained their status in the world of stardom by offending and disgusting. They have become idols and heart throbs to millions of impressionable preteen girls who may think that twerking on 45-year-old men is “cool” and that urinating into a bucket (that some poor janitor is going to have to clean up) is “funny” or remotely acceptable just because they saw their idol do it on “Access Hollywood.”

While I’m not saying that celebrities should have to censor themselves or become role models for teens everywhere, it’s important that those who are on a downhill spiral should receive way less attention than they currently do.

Not only is this mindset harm-

ful to their fans, it has disastrous effects on the stars themselves.

Spears lost custody of her children, Lohan has been to more rehab centers than she’s starred in movies, and Bynes almost lit someone’s house on fire.

These tabloid titles aren’t surreal jokes on a sitcom. They’re cries for help. Perhaps if people had spent less time laughing at Bynes’ tweets and Britney’s bald head they might have realized just how serious some of these stars’ situations truly were.

I suppose I’ll put my fantasy of stardom on the backburner. Maybe invest in a college degree, push the release date of my album back a few years, and commit to a job that doesn’t involve humiliating myself for the sake of relevancy.

10.04.13

San Dieguito Sentinel everything the cnn app doesn’t have

sdamustang.com

#1.00

Construction causes Disruption

By Peri Anderson

Parents are working to prevent students, like this one above, from view ing such salacious art. Photo by Kirsten Walz.

Parents Protest Student-made Statue for Alleged Grossness

By Dylan Hendrickson A recently unveiled statue at SDA has come under criticism from multiple parental interest groups claiming that the statue’s design displays acts of “a grave and most scandalous nature.”

The statue was unveiled at the end of the 2013 school year and was the product of a combined student-teacher collaboration.

“This statue might as well have been designed by a sex-crazed teen with the amount of depravity this sculpture depicts,” said Prudence Spinters, leader of the parental guidance group Nurses against Unethical and Tawdry Sculptures.

When asked to describe what offended her, Spinters said, “I can’t describe it. It’s simply too disgusting.”

At least seven other groups have criticized the sculpture including the Society against Uncreative and Convolutedly Kitsch Statues and the influential Parents Hunger-striking Against Lewd, Libelous, and Unchaste Statues. On Thursday, the latter group organized a hunger strike, with around 15 SDA parents protesting by the statue. Their children have called the situation “awkward.”

Students have also taken up arms against the sculpture, handing out flyers calling for a special school meeting to determine whether or not to remove the statue permanently and “stake its impure head in the front of school to warn others of making such wonton [sic] art.”

“How did this even get made?” asked Senior Senn Sore, at the most recent Forum. “Not only does it show acts of an immoral and sexual nature, it doesn’t even get their parts anatomically correct! I mean, the squid’s—” Sore was unable to finish his comment as he was ushered away by the principal.

However, the majority of the Forum was against the removal and disagreed with the statue’s inappropriate nature. Sophomore Unk Reative said, “Wait…what?” and Junior Arthur Sy remarked, “This is so stupid.”

Nevertheless, the school board, under pressure from the administration threatening to cut funding for Senior Java, acquiesced to the criticism and announced that the statue will be removed on Oct. 20. The staking ceremony will take place the following Monday.

Teachers and students all over the school have expressed firm opinions regarding the recent construction on campus. Most students welcome the current, aesthetically-motivated revisions.

“All those cherished senior tiles?

Those hand-painted murals? The large, intricate mosaic decorating the building along senior court?

They’re all hideous,” said freshman Emma McCrumb. “I can’t wait until they are out of here and destroyed forever.”

However, the construction and its effects have created a rift between departments. Violence at SDA reached an all-time high last week when fist fights broke out in the staff lounge as teachers passionately battled in defense of their opinions.

Physical education teachers argue that the heavy machinery being used is a valuable addition to the curriculum, and that students get their cardio workout by fleeing from annoyed,

hammer-wielding construction workers, and train for hurdles in track and field by leaping over exposed pipelines and bulldozers.

Physics teachers are grateful for the real-life applications now available to observe during class time. Students learn about velocity and acceleration much more quickly when they rely on these equations to dodge the wrecking balls that hurdle towards them during passing periods.

The art department refuses to acknowledge the construction at all. They only refer to it as a large, interactive modern art exhibit taking place on campus, and how much of an educational experience it is for students who question the validity of the modern art movement.

However, the rest of the staff is not as appreciative.

Some have complained that the noise disrupts the school’s yoga program. “How are we

supposed to appreciate the beauty of nature when our meditations are interrupted by the deafening ruckus and noxious odor of jackhammers and tar?” questioned one yogi, freshman Sunshine Raindance.

Similar concerns have been brought up by the band director, who has watched numerous brass players faint in class while trying to play over the sounds of the construction.

Auto shop students are now being graded on their ability to repair broken-down bulldozers, which some say is simple exploitation, even a violation of child labor laws.

Many teachers think that the worst is yet to come. “This is nothing,” explained counselor Tony “The Re-scheduler” Schwartz. “Wait and see what happens to the history department when the laborers unearth the Native American temple beneath the screen printing room.”

Student Shoves Sister into Busy Street, Says it’s for College Essay

By Lylan Henricksaur Senior Deb Sprett was arrested Monday after allegedly pushing her sister, sophomore Unsa Sprett, in front of oncoming traffic. Unsa faced minor injuries and was released from the hospital later that night. Deb is in jail awaiting trial.

In explanation of her motive, Sprett stated, “I was trying to think of some kind of adversity I had overcome that I could write about for my college application but since I don’t have any flaws and my life is basically perfect, I didn’t know what I could write.

Then I realized how easy it would be to create my own problem. So now I can write about this whole shenanigan.”

Sprett is one of many high school seniors that is part of a national trend of prospective freshmen creating their own hardship for college applications,

an act that often lands them in prison.

“We admitted nine percent of applicants last year,” said Saul Ecktive, Dean of Admissions at En Arkie University. “Ninety percent of those students had faced at least two years jail time or were deemed too dangerous for entrance into society.

However, in their willingness to disregard the law and normal ethical convention, they showed us their dedication in trying to get into our school, and that’s pretty much the only thing we’re looking for.”

Many students cite their motivation for this behavior as fear that their stable home lives and the educational opportunities they have received will actually work against them on their essay.

Senior Flo Liss said, “I feel like I’ve been done an injustice. Just

because I don’t have a diseased parent or any life-debilitating injuries doesn’t mean I shouldn’t get into college. God, why couldn’t I have just been born in Sudan or something?”

Sprett says the incident has given her more hope for a standout essay. “At first, I was a little disappointed that Unsa didn’t break as many bones as I’d intended. I know that doesn’t sound very sisterly but, you know, collateral damage. I think it’ll make a better essay if I focus on the supposed remorse I feel over pushing her, as well as how I’ll deal with the PTSD she might have from being hit. It’s good because you’d think that with me in jail and her getting run over, it would be a lose-lose situation.

But now she’ll be able to write about getting hit for her essay, so it’s really a win-win!” said Sprett.

Who Asked You? Last year, SDA students were bullied on sites like Formspring and SDA Insults. Now, Ask.Fm is in the spotlight.

STORY BY KATIE MCPHERSON

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they’re new to the school and don’t understand our school culture. I aln June of 2010, three Latvian men launched a little known website ways called it ‘middle school behavior’.” called Ask.Fm. Three years later, and 65 million users stronger, many The prominence of the new sites caused both the Having a Voice Club would call the site a shining example of an Internet start-up, while and retired Spanish teacher Suzanne McCluskey to call for the return others might call it the reason behind five teenagers’ suicides between of Community Day, a day in which English Teacher Rob Ross said was 2012 and 2013. designed to make SDA students “consciously think about what kind of More than half of American teenagers are bullied online and, recently, culture we want to have here at SDA and what kind of culture we don’t Ask.Fm has been at the center of the cyber bullying controversy. In the want.” death of five teenagers, many cite the constant and cruel comments reSDA’s PALs and ASB had their own methods of dealing with these ceived by the victims by anonymous harassers on the website as the readamaging sites. “Both ASB and PALs started monitoring the sites and reson they took their own lives. sponding and saying very clearly in response: this is not the San Dieguito The Problem at SDA way, this is not the way we treat each other respectfully,” said Jones.

The website’s presence is felt at SDA where senior and PAL CamRyn What Can Be Done?

Eakes recognized what the problem was: “Ask.Fm took social media sites Social media sites, however, are still thriving on the insults of teenagers one step further by allowing users to pose questions to other users anonyand many activists and parents are calling for the sites to take stronger mously,” she said. measures to deal with the crisis, but it’s not as simple as it seems. MacThe anonymity of the website attracts kids, who use it as a safe haven Gregor said, “Ask.Fm is a massive network with a very small employee from the watchful eyes of their parents, and is what many believe to be base comparatively.

They have nowhere near the cause of the site’s stinging harassment. the resources needed to handle the amount of “Bullying is a cowardly act and it is much ‘report’s or ‘flag’s they’d get.” easier to say nasty things about someone While flagging and reporting hurtful comwhen it is not face to face and you feel you ments may be an ineffective way of solving the are safe from any retaliation,” said Assisproblem, Menhennet suggested the real issue tant Principal Jeanne Jones. might be that anyone can ask a question of a Even with multiple bullying incidencuser anonymously.

“I feel like the fact that you es, Ask.Fm is an extremely popular form can ask things of people without having an acof social media with teenagers, and SDA count yourself leads to a feeling, even though students are no exception. “All my friends it’s untrue, that what you’re saying has less efhave it and then I made one,” said one fects.” He added: “If people had their own acsophomore, “[bullying is] what it’s used count and saw the other stuff [questions and for.” comments] that was coming into them as well, If Ask.Fm is such an escape for bullies, they’d probably be slightly more sensitive when it may seem odd that teens flock to the site it comes to posting to others.” in such great numbers, but Junior Johnny Art by Nicole Smith Although this is a possible solution to bullyMenhennet explained: “As much as I try ing on the site, it won’t fix the harassment expenot to care about what people say, it’s still rienced by teens daily on other social media sites and on school campuses nice just to know what’s out there and for the most part, I use it just for around America.

“Ask almost any teenager and they’ve at some point felt fun, to communicate with my friends.” put down or not accepted for who they are,” said Nebolon.

Counselor and PALs Instructor Ann Nebolon offered another reason Eakes pointed out: “I don’t think half this world realizes how one statefor the site’s popularity: “It’s [social networking] part of our culture right ment can impact someone so heavily.” now and it is what media is putting out there.” She added: “Just because When someone has the opportunity to insult another person from the something is presented as an option or something you can do, doesn’t safety of their keyboard, what they say can be damaging and even detmean you have to do it. You can choose not to visit that site.” rimental, but it’s also an act of cowardice that many view to be unacBullying Last Year ceptable, said sophomore Andrew Davidson: “If you’re going to say it to Although SDA is generally known as a safe environment free from bulsomeone, say it to their face, not over an anonymous site.” lies, the school has had some issues with anonymous sites, including sites Bullying is a far-reaching tragedy that strikes every corner of the globe like Ask.Fm, Formspring, and last year SDA Insults, a Facebook page and while it is a problem that can sometimes affect SDA students, Jones which senior and PAL Ian MacGregor described as a site “riddled with offered this reminder: “Since the day we opened this school, I’ve been direct insults, the interference of untrue statements, and general bullying incredibly proud of San Dieguito students, which have made a very real of other peers.” commitment to each other.

This is a school where every student belongs, According to Jones, “I did, at the start of last year, see an increase [of and I think it’s a beautiful, beautiful school culture.” cyber bullying],” but she added; “It’s 99.9 percent freshman because

10.04.13

10.04.13

Stages of La Paloma

After 85 years in the community, the La Paloma Theater continues to entertain local audiences.

STORY BY SAM WINTER AND ROYA CHAGNON

La Paloma opens with “The Cohens and the Kellys in Paris.”

1928

La Paloma gives free tickets to children on their birthdays.

1937 1940 1941

War declared on Japan. Servicemen called out of theater during show.

1950

Theater reopens with Woody Guthrie Benefit Concert.

1963

Tickets sell for two dollars.

1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936

Theater closes for refurbishments.

End of the “Couches Era.”

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” becomes a regular feature.

George Winston performs at La Paloma.

25 cent tickets for adults, 35 cents for leather seats.

1938 1939

1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962

1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971

1972 1973 1974 1975

San Diego County Premier of The Greatful Dead Movie. Theater runs seven showings.

San Dieguito graduation is held in the theater.

1976 1978 1979 1980

La Paloma begins to feature Mexican Films.

Theater Closes due to financial problems. Closes with “Jason and the Argonauts.”

Begining of the “Couches Era.”

Jerry Garcia performs at La Paloma.

1977

1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 3004 2005 2006

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

2013

Theater celebrates Golden Anniversary with the 100% all talking all singing all dancing review.

First Moonlight Poetry Slam.

Eddie Vedder performs at La Paloma.

La Paloma Celebrates 85 years in Encinitas.

Photo courtesy of San Dieguito Heritage Museum.

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nown today for its showings of surf and obscure foreign films, La Paloma Theater, at the corner of D Street and the Coast Highway, has been an integral part of the community for over 85 years. For much of its existence, the theater played host to second run films, vaudeville acts and even minstrel shows. It took the work of many generations to shape the theater into the La Paloma we know today.

The San Dieguito Heritage Museum celebrated the 85th anniversary of the theater with the grand opening of their new La Paloma exhibit on Sept 8. The museum invited past employees and Encinitas residents to speak about their experiences at the La Paloma.

When it opened its doors on Feb. 11, 1928, Southern California was a different place. Encinitas was a sleepy, rural town of farmers and their families, a town where the purchase of a Model T made headline news. To the North, the Hollywood film industry was on the rise so the arrival of a new theater in this quiet community was the talk of the town.

On opening night, the “The Cohens And Kellys in Paris” attracted thrilled audiences from all over, including future Academy Award winner, Mary Pickford, who is rumored to have ridden her bicycle all the way from Fairbanks Ranch to attend the event. Soon after, the La Paloma became the first rural theater in the country to show “talkies” when theater owner Aubrey Austin had sound equipment installed. For the next few decades, the theater remained the only movie house in the area.

In the 1940’s, the theater was a popular place for San Dieguito students to work. Two such students, John Crowson and Mary Arballo Magana, recalled at the exhibit opening the premier of “Gone with the Wind” in 1939 when the theater sold out despite the outrageous price of one dollar. On the day Pearl Harbor was attacked and war was declared on Japan, movie goers were interrupted by employee and event attendee Jay Willams, who walked the aisles by flashlight to pull out all available servicemen, whose assistance was required in the war effort. The film was resumed, and the customers reimbursed their 25 cents.

By the 1960’s, La Paloma had hit upon hard times, and when the theater closed its doors in 1963, it was uncertain if they would ever open again. But hope came in the form of a small group of eager, young film students at Palomar College who assumed management in 1972.

When Deb and Rich Bicher took over the theater they had their work cut out for them. The seats and curtain had been removed and sold by the previous owner, so instead of traditional theater seats, the Bichers re-furnished the theater with homemade couches covered in shag carpet. Deb Bicher remembers “Laydown seats, we used to call them.” Additionally, they bought pews from a closing church to use in the center row.

As film students, the Bichers loved showing foreign films, but in order to stay in business, they had to cater to local audiences. Surf films quickly became a staple in La Paloma’s repertoire. To maximize profits, the Bichers would squeeze as many “skinny surfers” into the pews as possible. “The money from the surf films allowed us to show the foreign films,” said Bicher.

Other regular showings included classic samurai films, popular with the local fire department. Once, the La Paloma showed a two day marathon of samurai films just for the Encinitas firemen.

In keeping with the fads of the 70’s the Bichers stocked the concessions stand with all organic food, adding carob bars and veggies to the list of theater snacks.

Since then, the La Paloma has established itself as the place to go for surf and indie films in San Diego. Though ownership has changed multiple times since then, current owner, Allen Largent, stays true to the legacy the theater has created. Surf films and regular showings of the “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” are reminiscent of the quirky style that made the La Paloma such an iconic piece of Encinitas culture.

For more information, visit the San Dieguito Heritage Museum’s new exhibit on La Paloma Theater. The museum is located at 450 Quail Gardens Drive and is open noon to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays.

10.04.13

In 2011-2012, Chase Brokaw, Raina Stinson, and Amber Michaelis completed this portrait of Arthur Main, SDA’s first principal. Photo by Manon Wogahn.

One student bought all the equipment necessary for this project out of his own pocket and completed it by himself in the 2002-2003 school year. Photo by Devin Lasek.

The dinosaur on the back of the sculpture building took MacKenzie Aries, who graduated in 2008, from the middle of her junior year to the end of her senior year to complete. Photo by Manon Wogahn.

Completed in 2003, the concept for this piece of art was “Here. Here’s a square, paint something,” according to Art teacher Jeremy Wright. Photo by Katie McPherson.

The Living Mural constantly changes its art. Nolan Gallagher, a 2012 grad, thought up the concept. Photo by Manon Wogahn.

A Dying Art

Future campus renovations mean saying farewell to some of SDA’s most iconic works STORY BY KATIE McPHERSON

I The Mosaic Portraits are designed to resemble Facebook photos in order to look fun, youthful, and genuine. Photo by Manon Wogahn.

This mural, done on the back of the girl’s bathroom, was completed by Cameron Hanlon, a 2011 graduate, in pencil and watercolor crayon. Photo by Manon Wogahn.

n the coming year, many of San Dieguito Academy’s buildings and classrooms will be torn down in the school’s most extensive makeover to date. As SDA faces this change it will lose most (or all) of the student murals, paintings, sculptures, and mosaics that have shaped the halls for more than a decade.

Almost all of the art that can be seen around campus were student driven projects. Some pieces were the brain child of a singular student who worked, solely, on the art until its completion. Others were a group effort, where students worked collaboratively

usually as part of the Art Leadership class.

As an integral part of the school, “[art] speaks to the nature of SDA - that students are willing to find ways to express their artistic talents literally on the walls,” said Senior Astrid Gonzales.

It also brings SDA together: “We all know what each other are talking about when we mention the face on the stairs or the mosaic or the dinosaur skeleton,” said Senior Elisa Willes.

It’s in the spirit of SDA to be creative and artistic, said Willes: “Tearing art down won’t stop us from putting more up.”

10.04.13

Live from San Dieguito...

This October, students in Drama Production present an SNL-based show. Story by Elise Gout

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dam Sandler has been fired off of it. Alec Baldwin has hosted it 16 times. Tina Fey’s first impression of Sarah Palin on it has had over 12 million views on YouTube and counting. Oct. 11, 1975 was the first night it aired and now, this October, “Saturday Night Live” will be coming to San Dieguito Academy.

Theatre’s third period drama production class will be performing an SNL-inspired show in replacement of the usual fall comedy. While having been worked on since the second week of school, the initial idea was formed at the end of the last school year.

“A lot of the students that I had known were going to be taking the class really enjoy comedy,” said theatre teacher Stephanie Siers. “We [she and the future Drama Production students] kind of started talking about it, and I told them to start brainstorming over the summer, watch SNL, and get ideas of skits.”

The show stands at a collection of 19 skits total drawn from all different SNL eras, including the very first show aired.

Among those to be performed are interpretations of Kristen Wigg’s “Crazy Target Lady,” Will Ferrell

and Cheri Oteri’s “Spartan Cheerleaders,” and the SNL constant, “Weekend Update.”

Students were given the chance to select pieces and to perform in as many as they wanted. “I really gave them a lot of freedom,” said Siers. “What I like about this is it’s a very diverse production.

There are lots of different types of scenes and skits happening.”

Junior Ben Ellerbrock has roles in eight. He admitted memorization was a challenge, but appreciated the flexibility as an actor that the SNL show allows him.

“It’s just really fun and different to have multiple, varying characters to work on.”

On the technical side, difficulties also did not go un-encountered. Senior Abby Espinosa, the stage manager, said, “We’ve definitely been having some trouble with props. For example, someone needed a goose, and we couldn’t give them a goose.”

Nevertheless, both Ellerbrock and Espinosa have had a great time with the new experience and its opportunities.

Careful editing and scene selection kept the production at a PG13, school-appropriate status, Siers said. She assured that one doesn’t need to be an SNL connoisseur to thoroughly enjoy the

Photo courtesy of www.cbgb.com

CBGB returns

The former club “CBGB” is back. Story

by Sara Portnoy

T Cast of “SNL” scene Theodoric of York: freshman Shea Fairbanks Galaudet (top right), junior Caleb Gibson (top left), sophomore Andrew Moore (bottom), and senior Carly Strait (middle). Photo by Gabby Catalano

humor. The show will run Oct. 10, 11, and 12 at 7 p.m., with tickets at eight dollars for students and 15 dollars for adults.

Siers encouraged everyone to

support this new beginning to the yearly theatre line-up. “It’s a really great show,” she said. “We’re showcasing some really great talent.”

Interview with artist: Tona Gonzalez Senior has an eye for dramatic art. Story by Michael Schulte

S One of Gonzalez’s art pieces.

Photo by Tacy Manis.

The artist, Tona Gonzalez. Photo

by Tacy Manis.

enior Tona Gonzalez, short for Tonatzine (she’s that cool), is an established artist at San Dieguito Academy.

Whether she’s bored or procrastinating, she’s always drawing.

Her love for art started when she was about five years old.

Gonzalez discovered her passion was art when she began coloring inside the lines of her coloring book.

“Art seems to be the only thing I actually enjoy doing,” said Gonzalez. She owns a tablet that she uses to make digital art .

Gonzalez categorizes her artwork as manga or comic book inspired, and tends to be character-based and full of dramatic expressions.

Her influence comes from mostly Tumblr, a lot of art blogs with detailed digital media or mixed media - except Devian-

ART. Gonzalez used DevianART as inspiration previously but now considers it to be‘amateur’. She also gets inspiration from her favorite artist Adam Hughes, a comic book artist for Marvel and DC, whose art she admires very much.

Gonzalez’s mediums for her artwork are markers, colored pens, and pencils, and she only uses a sketchbook.

When asked if she’d be interested in exploring other art forms, she said, “I’m interested in learning to expand my talent.”

Gonzalez has big plans for the future, aspiring to someday work for DreamWorks after attending college in Los Angeles, making concept art for their animation films, as well as creating her own comic book and possibly a cartoon someday.

Her favorite DreamWorks

movie is “Rise of the Guardians,” calling the animation gorgeous.

Gonzalez’s most recent piece, the one featured on the cover “represents my talent the best,” she said. “It’s the first time I’ve actually worked with a big piece of paper.”

The cover piece was influenced by artwork shown in her AP Studio Art class, specifically one that featured a “fleshy” child with a skeletal overlay, which she used to represent inside space.

When asked if she had a favorite piece of art, Gonzalez said she has none, since she considers most of the art she turns in as a work in progress.

Most of the reactions that Gonzalez gets are positive. She explained, “I usually receive a lot of compliments. Little fan girls are like ‘Wow! You’re really good!’ It’s nice I guess? Thank you people.”

he evolution of music is a continuous act that can happen almost anywhere around the world. The movie “CBGB” features a financially unstable club owner named Hilly Kristal, who decides to open a new Manhattan club in 1973 called CBGB. It was intended as a venue for Country, Bluegrass, and Blues.

About a decade later CBGB evolved from Country, Bluegrass, and Blues to a club that became the original source for underground rock ‘n roll and punk music.

“CBGB” depicts Kristal’s difficulty in booking country bands, so he decides to open his doors to musicians of a different genre.

Kristal, portrayed by Alan Rickman, only has one condition for the bands that play at his club: they can only play original music.

He eventually became known as the “godfather of punk” because he discovered many wellknown bands such as Blondie, Ramones, Misfits, The B-52’s, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and Talking Heads. Many of the bands portrayed in the movie are also included in the soundtrack.

The plot of “CBGB” chronicles the story of young dropouts and junkies trying to make their own rules in a depressed and dangerous society. Their anger, dissatisfaction, paranoia, and dark sense of humor create a new type of rock music for generations.

This musically themed drama has a popular cast, which includes Johnny Galecki, Rupert Grint, Ashley Greene, and Justin Bartha. “CBGB” premieres Oct. 11. After watching the trailer for “CBGB” it’s easy to tell that the diverse characters add a great deal of depth to its one of a kind plot, which makes it a sure hit for fall of 2013.

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Sound and cinema

Sound and cinema reviews are some of the best releases this year. From ghostly nightmares, electro-rock beats, indie vibes, a vat of acid, and finding the meaning of life, these films and albums do not disappoint.

Credits: www.cinemavine.com

Credits: www.faithvillage.com

Credits: www.highlighthollywood.com

Credits: Official Arctic Monkeys website

Credits: Official Kaskade website

The Family

The Ultimate Life

Insidious 2

AM

By Kirsten Walz

By Lauren Shaw

Adjusting to a new life in the Witness Protection Program must be difficult for any family, but the former mafia Manzoni family has bigger habits to break than responding to their real name, like refraining from torture, intimidation, and death.

Even after frequently relocating around France, they’re still having a bit of trouble.

Yet notable actors such as Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Dianna Argon have no trouble fulfilling their own roles during every plot twist, no matter how ridiculous in this dark comedy.

And “The Family” is dark.

While not visually gruesome, it is R-rated for good reason as it references some serious torture tactics, one involving a vat of acid.

However, the upbeat soundtrack that plays at almost every moment offsets such violence to give the overall movie a cheerful, comical undertone.

The characters themselves lessen the blows as they treat each punch, kick, and explosion with nonchalance comparable only to the Addams Family.

“The Family” takes time to frequently call out to its mafia relatives like the Godfather. It can even stand as a long awaited sequel to Robert De Niro’s earlier film, “Goodfellas,” which leaves off right where “The Family” begins, making each scene nostalgically amusing and an enjoyable movie to scratch that monthly mafia itch.

Being a fan of the first film, I was hopelessly wishing this lowbudget movie would be all that I wanted it to be. But considering that there were only four other people in the theater and one of them was my mom (don’t judge) - it was a grim foreshadowing of my inevitable disappointment.

“The Ultimate Life,” a sequel/ prequel to “The Ultimate Gift,” follows a man named Jason Stevens who inherits his late grandfather’s billion-dollar foundation (covered in the previous film) and starts to lose focus on what’s important in life. He digs into his grandfather’s past to apply lessons from grandad’s life and to his own future.

Sequels are always risky business. They switched actors for Jason’s role from the first to second movie. On one hand there were numerous poor choices on the director’s part, for example: having the main love interest move to Haiti unnecessarily, awkwardly and out of the blue. But, on the other hand, it was satisfying to fill in the blanks laid down by the previous film.

Overall the cinematography was amateur, the acting was juvenile, and the plot and creativity were lacking and the only real thing to glean from the movie’s message can be summarized in one sentence: the people you love are your true treasure, not money. There, I just saved you $10 and a bag of stale popcorn.

You’re welcome.

Teeth-chattering suspense, the heart-racing effects, the creepy apparitions and dark hallways.

The sequel “Insidious 2” has delivered yet another terrifying and mind-blowing ride to the world of haunted dreams and inevitable fears. Horror ensues.

Three years after “Insidious” came out, “Insidious 2” follows the life of the Lambert family, who seek to uncover the reason behind their connection to the ghostly world. Josh Lambert, husband and father, has an evil spirit living inside of him who wishes to take over his body. The evil spirit, a woman who dresses in white and enjoys singing, haunts the family’s house and pops up when least expected.

Not being a fan of scary movies, I was almost positive that I would run out of the movie hysterically crying and trembling from the gruesome effects.

However, the movie did not fully meet my expectations.

Although “Insidious 2” is suspenseful and disturbing, there are moments that sometimes cause laughter, like when the toy horses rapidly rock or when the ugly dolls stare at you through the camera. The balance of horror and comedy makes the movie less “Paranormal Activity” and more “Abraham Lincoln the Vampire Slayer.” Overall, “Insidious 2” is a film where haunted meets supernatural. It is the typical comedic scary movie that may cause either nightmares or chuckles.

Arctic Monkeys released their fifth album, “AM,” officially in the US mid-September. With a sound and lyrics as complex as ever been, many consider “AM” to be their best album yet.

Though the fans were forced to wait two years for the new album, they were given a taste of what “AM” had to offer when the single/video duo “R U Mine?” was released. Featuring a healthy dose of rocking guitar riffs, bold falsettos, and clever lyrics, this hauntingly provocative tune was a perfect preview. In contrast to the laid-back, whimsical sound of their last album, “Suck it and See,” this song had attitude.

The band also released singles alongside videos for “Do I Wanna Know?” and “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?”

These two seductive tracks only caused more excitement and buzz around the highly anticipated album.

They brought back the headbanging vibe that they initially created in their chart-topping debut “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not,” while maintaining the brilliant lyricism that they honed in on in their third album, “Humbug.” There seems to be the perfect mix of slower, ballad-esque songs and faster, catchier ones that are perfect to blast in the car with the windows down.

After listening to it non-stop since its release, I can honestly say that Arctic Monkeys have created yet another 12 songs that make me proud to call them my favorite band.

In his eighth album “Atmosphere,” Kaskade has managed to keep his vague, airy feeling throughout his work, incorporating both heart-wrenching vocals and electro-rock beats.

He also features many other artists in his tracks. Late Night Alumni, Lights, and Project 46 make appearances in the album, as well as Zip Zip Through the Night, School of Seven Bells, and Haley. Each of these artists bring their own elements to Kaskade’s songs, whether it is vocals from Haley or guitar elements from Zip Zip Through the Night, but they do not stray from Kaskade’s rocking beats.

Starting in his twenties, Kaskade evolved on the dance- electro scene and brought his own taste and experiences to the table.

For many fans, Kaskade’s albums have seemed like some sort of truth, explaining both highs and lows of life displayed through cello and piano elements in “No One Knows Who We Are” and in the uplifting beats of “MIA to LAS.” Although some of his songs seem to be sappy and overly melancholic, Kaskade demonstrates his deeper connection to his music, and expresses his love for the sounds that have developed his style. The sounds, the melodies, the pulse in Kaskade’s pieces have created a revolution and maturity in the dance music scene.

By Katrina Olsen

By Reiko Inouye

By Gabby Catalano

Atmosphere

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Do you even thrift?

Local thrift shops gain momentum among today’s youth. Story and photos by Manon Wogahn

S

DA students, more often than not, can be seen cruising around campus in attire as unique as the school itself. Yes, from Pikachu jumpsuits to platform boots, individuality is visible across the student body. In short, it’s part of the Academy’s culture, and it’s here to stay.

But where do these fashion entrepreneurs stock up their unconventional closets?

Luckily for SDA, thrift shops and consignment stores pepper the Encinitas area. Shops such as the hippie-chic Flashbacks and the classic Thrifty Threads on Highway 101 are among the most popular destinations for young adults’ quests to beef up their wardrobes.

Back in the 1970s, thrift shops used to be solely for money-challenged shoppers. Robert Romero, co-founder of Thrifty Threads in Encinitas, said that when he and his mother first opened the shop

Sophomore Morgan Saltamachil shows off her thrift shop shorts.

in 1977 thrift shops weren’t accepted as normal places to shop.

Yet today, secondhand shops are becoming increasingly popular among young adults. What may have caused this sudden shift?

“It’s a good way to find unique clothing without spending a ton of money,” said senior Nicole

Senior Ben Shapero sports the pants he scored at a thrift shop in Israel.

Loya. Romero agrees that unique products are one of the main desirable focal points of thrift shops: “There’s always a surprise element for [the customer] and for us.” Romero said that location, too, has a lot to do with the shop’s success. It makes sense— Encinitas is a fairly “hip” town.

Senior Annie Smith models a t-shirt she found at the CRC.

Thrift stores have found their niche among a distinctive blend of surfing, artistic, and youthful communities. In fact, these shops are continuing to sprout up: a new Flashbacks location in Carlsbad is scheduled to open this month.

Young customers tend to have

Sophomore Chloe Walecki found her shoes at a thrift shop.

a lower budget, so the less expensive clothing usually offered in thrift shops is a focal point: “With the awesome prices, it’s easier to have more clothes to choose from,” said Loya. “It’s a good way to find unique clothing without spending a ton of money.” continued on page 21

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“It’s a good way to find unique clothing without spending a ton of money.”

- Senior Nicole Loya continued from page 20 “I shop at thrift shops like [the] CRC (the Community Resource Resource Center) or Flashbacks because I find interesting things there that I don’t see many other places,” said senior Annie Smith, “plus, they’re good prices.”

“I would guess most people have at least been in one [thrift shop],” said junior Emily Templin of this trend. “I particularly like the cute shops on the 101 and Seaside Bazaar has cute stuff.”

Yet another benefit of “thrifting,” as many refer to the trend, is stepping into the spotlight.

Smith, an aspiring and innovative fashion designer, is able to find cheap and unflattering clothes and transform them into a new wearable item. “I love CRC because they can have some really bad clothing, like 90s debutante gowns or something, but if it’s made out of cool fabric I’ll just

tear the piece apart and make something wearable,” said Smith.

And yet thrifting isn’t always rewarding. It’s true that while these secondhand shops can be home to many surprises, there’s always the possibility that you won’t find what you’re looking for. “Thrift shops are really hit or miss,” said Smith. “Sometimes I leave with an armful of clothes and other times it’s just walk in and walk out.”

Bottom line, despite the chance of an unsuccessful hunt, thrift shops have made their way into the heart of many SDA students’ shopping habits. But it’s not just the prices that attract customers—it’s the knowledge that you may find something totally unique, something completely unexpected. They keep you on your toes, and they are what keep SDA students’ sense of individuality strong.

Thrifty Threads, which makes its home on Highway 101 in Encinitas, offers a wide selection of clothes, shoes, and accessories to fit every budget, as well as an array of Halloween costumes perfect for the season.

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San Diego Festivals 1. A festival for this fall is the 19th Annual Little Italy Festival on Oct. 6. It’s a colorful Italian Festival featuring exotic food, music, and a traditional Italian street-painting festival, held in downtown San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood.

2. La Jolla Art and Wine Festival returns to La Jolla for its fifth annual festival on Oct. 12 and 13. The festival is a twoday event and is free and open to the public. The festival features over 150 artists, live entertainment, and a wine tasting for 21 and up.

3. The Santa Barbara Art Association runs Oct. 13 to Nov. 20, featuring over 500 artists from all over California. The artists exhibit their works in digital media at local venues right on the beach.

Families and friends watched the bands play at the Carlsbad Music Festival. Photo by Gabby Catalano

A taste of music

The Carlsbad Music Festival returned again this fall and crowds of families watched the variety of bands perform on a sunny Saturday. Story by Gabby Catalano

D

rum beats from Kenya, a string ensemble under the stars, and an SDA alumni alternative band. These were just few of the performances that made up this year’s 10th Annual Carlsbad Music Festival.

The Carlsbad Music Festival was founded by composer Matt McBane in 2003. McBane wanted the festival to feature “both master and emerging artists” according to his website. Local media, such as the San Diego Union Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, described the festival as “magnificently enlightening” and “phenomenal.”

The Carlsbad festival is just one of several fall festivals that kids can go to, including the La Jolla Art and Wine Festival and the San Diego Film Festival. The Carlsbad festival was composed of a diverse array of music, including classical, jazz, blues, alternative, percussion, and electronic.

The festival began at Magee Park in Downtown Carlsbad and continued throughout the Carlsbad Village town. Families gathered at the park playing frisbee while listening to the different music, college students wandered around town with their

It’s A Grind coffees and senior citizens sat in front of the gazebo on a sunny Saturday by the beach. Ronald Paige, a Carlsbad resident, said, “My wife and I look forward to the festival every year and it’s nice to see families gather at the park.”

Kenyan Percussionist Peter Wanjira kicked off the event with drum beats native to Kenya.

Families and children danced to the artistic sounds and pounding rhythms. Wanjira then broke out with native African dancing and chants that entertained the crowd.

Across the street at It’s A Grind coffee shop, MandoBasso,

Percussionist Peter Wanjira beats on the drums.

Photo by Gabby Catalano

a musical group of two men on bass and mandolin, were playing Americana, Irish selections and original improvisations. Although it was enjoyable to watch the audience sway to the music, MandoBasso definitely catered to a more mature crowd which gave me the incentive to take a look inside Spin Records.

Second Cousins, an SDA alumni soft rock and indie band, played smooth sounds that reminded me of Jack Johnson and Cage the Elephant. Alumni Tim McNalley is the guitarist and vocalist for the band. The audience especially enjoyed the songs “Cheers” and “Tijuana.” Some

of their songs can be bought on their website, www.secondcousins.bandcamp.com. Watch out for this band in the future.

They may explode out in the music scene like Foster the People or MGMT. What’s next? Ensemble, a new music collective based in Los Angeles, played at the St. Michael’s Chapel. The ensemble consisted of six guys who each played a different instrument. The audience especially enjoyed their slow to quick tempo and mystical-like sounds.

“Carlsbad is a great city and this seems to be a well-planned event,” said John Levelis, an outof-town resident from Calabasas.

“My wife and I stopped here for a quick bite and we’ve already been here for a couple hours... and I even bought a festival shirt.” This was a common response from many people. It’s nice seeing Carlsbad gaining this appreciation in the arts over the years with events such as this.

I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of the line-up - no two bands were similar. It’s likely not to compare with the CBGB Festival in New York City, but what do you expect for a 10 minute car ride?

4. The fifth annual New Noise Digital Music Festival on Oct. 17 presents a SoHo themed resturant and a music venue and conference in Santa Barbara. This festival also features nightly concerts at a variety of downtown venues, and a full-day conference on careers in music.

5. “Dr. Sesus’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas” is a holdiay musical playing in Downtown San Diego at the Old Globe Theater at Balboa Park. The show is great to see, especially close to Christmas. The show runs from Nov. 17 to Dec. 29.

6. The 14th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival is the largest exhibition of Asian-American film in North America. The festival features films, videos, and workshops to celebrate the work of Asian artists from around the world. The festival begins Nov. 7-15.

Photo Courtesy of the San Diego Asian Film Festival’s website.

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10.04.13

To All the Vegetarians Tips every non-meat eater should remember.

Story by Wendy Disch.

Senior Keely Thompson uses foam weights in the pool underwater to make arm and back exercises increasingly difficult.

Water you wading for?

Senior Keely Thompson recounts her first time aqua aerobic adventure.

I

walked over to the competition pool at the YMCA which was swarmed by senior ladies in one-pieces, ankle braces, and floatation belts. Senior Zach Stevens, a water polo player, was my companion for the class. He confidently jumped in the pool without a floatation belt. He convinced me that I wouldn’t drown after treading water for an hour without one. He was wrong.

Class started with Leslie Mangini, our instructor, announcing that we would be aqua jogging. May I remind you, Stevens and I weren’t wearing floatation belts. We did high knees, sprinting, and straight legs around the pool. I was passed several times by sweet, old ladies.

Progressing into the strength

part of the class, we grabbed our weights (which were actually huge foam blobs). Being blonde, or maybe green-haired by this point, I couldn’t figure out why the weights were so light. As I quickly figured out, we would be doing exercises beneath the water’s surface to resist the buoyancy of the foam. One of these exercises included jumping-jacks and on each up-swing, I would unintentionally submerge my head.

“Keely, your water-boarding yourself,” Stevens said. This was only the beginning of my drowning experience.

About halfway through the class, Mangini told us to raise our hands out of the water and tread water. Let me remind you,

I wasn’t wearing a floatation belt.For the first five seconds, I surprised myself at my ability to keep my chin out of the water.

Then, I got tired.

The water started to creep up over my chin towards my mouth and I just thought, ‘Well I can kind of breathe through my nose.’

Then, I started laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.

I was in a pool, surrounded by a bunch of adorable grandmas, drowning. I started laughing harder and Stevens thought I was losing my mind as I swallowed water and told him that I was drowning over and over. But, what can I say? I survived it and thoroughly earned the nickname “Sinker” that Mangini gave.

Long story short, attend this

class because as Stevens said, “It was surprisingly fun. Old people are so nice!” It really was fine being the only kids. Water aerobics, in addition to being a good workout, is social hour for the ladies and we were included in all their jokes.

“Most are turned off by the age of the participants,” said Mangini, but they made the experience exponentially better, even congradulating me in the locker room at the end for surviving.

While it is a good class for seniors, Mangini said this class can be taken by “runners and elite athletes as well” because “the lack of impact on the joints and the constant resistance of H2O speak to rehabbing, heart rate, strength and flexibility.”

Think happy thoughts

A growing psychological outlook shifts the focus on improving lifestyles. Story by Mycah Ayala.

W

hat makes people happy is one of the main questions that many psychology professors are asking themselves nowadays, instead of the traditional focus on depression. The main purpose of positive psychology is working to discover what makes people happy and the factors that truly impact happiness.

Although this new branch of psychology seems like a breath of fresh air, there are many philosophers such as Buddha, Confucius, and Aristotle who started their pursuit of happiness nearly 2,500 years ago. Now, focusing on a positive mindset is being intertwined in modern

psychology. “Happy” people’s lifestyles and personalities are being determined through countless interviews and questionnaires. Outcomes have been narrowed down to the seven habits of “happy” people: relationships, caring, exercise, flow, spiritual engagements and meaning, strengths and virtues, and a positive mindset.

For example, many said that they were much happier with the company of others, rather than alone, because it emphasized belongingness and cooperation.

These habits are some of the main requirements that people can follow to lead to a healthy and happy lifestyle.

Although this is a fairly new study, positive psychology has gained popularity throughout many colleges and even some high schools, including San Dieguito Academy.

James Hrzina, the AP psychology teacher, has made positive psychology a part of his curriculum by showing documentaries, such as “Happy” and including positive psychology theories in his lectures and activities.

By including the science of happiness in his class, Hrzina wants to incorporate how this modern study is gaining popularity everywhere and has completely reversed the

mindset of many psychologists from thinking only about how people suffer from psychological disorders to focusing on how to improve people’s lives.

Instead of traditionally focusing on the negatives of why people have mental disorders, such as depression, positive psychology focuses on what makes people happy and how people can change their ways of thinking to make their lives happier. For more information, make sure to check out http:// www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/ to take a happiness survey and find out how to improve your lifestyle.

Many vegetarians come together with the goal of avoiding any carnivorous dishes, but soon falter for the same reason: lack of research. The major misstep? A lack of protein.

According to San Dieguito Union High School District’s nutrition specialist Siri Perlman, the school is required to serve two ounces of a meat or protein supplement in its lunches.

Luckily, a meatless alternative isn’t nearly as hard to find as some may think. Roughly, the amount of protein in one cup of black beans is 13 grams, one cup tofu is 20, one cup of almonds is 20, and one cup broccoli is 6.

Whole Foods specialist Scott Rickman also offered insight into alternatives, like protein powders. “I always recommend the Vega sport blend for athletes,” he said.

“It has a greater amount of amino acids and alfalfa in addition to pea protein so that the protein is better absorbed.”

Roy criticized soy products.

“They are often condemned,” he said, “for the increase in estrogen that they produce and their GM’s [genetically modified organisms]. I avoid them.”

Despite common concerns with the world of vegetarianism, there’s no reason to worry if everyone does their part to stay healthy.

All that’s needed is some creativity. One could make a protein packed stir-fry, for example, with a cup of tofu with some broccoli, black beans, and other veggies.

For healthy snacking in class, bring almonds instead of Dorritos, swap in pasta for quinoa, and pass up on popcorn for Greek yogurt. Not only will these choices allow for a maintainable meatless lifestyle, but they’ll also lead to new nutritious sources that one may have been missing.

10.04.13

Address your stress

Three main ways to help obtain a more managable school year. Story by Gabby Catalano.

T

Art by Alynne Powers

he clock struck midnight as I stumbled upon my final question for a government assignment. My eyes burned and my head spun from endless hours of juggling two AP classes, preparing for speech tournaments, and completing my college essay. I realized in that moment I was experiencing a high school version of a breakdown, better known as senior stress.

Stress is most typical when balancing homework, activities, and college. It is most commonly experienced between the months of October and January when college deadlines are near. Stress can become visible through physical appearance; the greasy hair, the unpolished nails, the baggy sweatpants, and the slouched posture.

Stress build up can also snowball into something much worse if not handled properly.

It can affect personal and family relationships, job performance, sports, grades, and mental health.

However, there are ways to avoid stress and prevent it in the future,

www.sdamustang.com www.sdamustang.com www.sdamustang.com www.sdamustang.com www.sdamustang.com www.sdamustang.com www.sdamustang.com www.sdamustang.com

three of which are passion, yoga, and organization.

Passion

Parents repeatedly say, “Do what you love and the money will come.” Although this phrase attracts the typical teenage eyeroll and sigh, it can be the key to a stress-free and successful lifestyle. For example, singing, writing, hiking, playing sports, or cooking, are great ways to relieve stress and bring on a more positive energy.

Seniors, taking just 10 minutes out of your day to do what you love isn’t challenging. At my most stressful moments, I turn to writing poetry and am rewarded with a positive and accomplished attitude after doing so.

Yoga

Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual practice to attain a state of peace and clarity. Becoming in touch with oneself can be a perfect form of stress-relie, whether you do it in a studio, at the beach, or in your own home.

For those seniors who aren’t familiar with yoga, now might be a good time to learn.

Yoga is more than just downward dog, child’s pose, backbends, and other well-known positions. It combines strength and serenity, meditation and focus. Taking at least two days out of your week to stretch and meditate can help decrease your problems and increase a peaceful state of mind. Free lessons are provided at Encinitas yoga studios, like CorePower and Yoga Tropics.

Organization

Staying organized and keeping a simple schedule can help prevent the stress of misplaced essays, angry teachers, disappointed parents, and an overwhelmed self. With college deadlines approaching and school activities prevailing, it is important to keep track of dates and stay prepared.

Senior year tends to be overwhelming and stressful, but it can help be prevented if some or all of the three tips are followed. Passion, yoga, and organization can help bring on positive energy and create an enjoyable last year.

Bonus tips: Passion

SDA is a great place to try new things. Join different clubs, electives, and extra curriculars to find something you enjoy.

Encinitas is a great hub of activity, check out the paper or community boards for upcoming events.

Yoga

Free lessons are provided at Encinitas yoga studios like CorePower and Yoga Tropics.

Aps can also be downloaded for free on a phone, iPad or Tablet, like “Simply Yoga” and “Daily Yoga”

Organization

Keep an ordered backpack with different folders, notebooks, or binder tabs for each class Maxize the use of a planner to stay on top of homework and “to-do” lists

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Photo courtesy of Sara Anderberg.

Swell Surfin’

SDA Junior Nick Anderberg ties for ninth in ISA World Longboard Championships in Trujillo, Peru.

Story by Keely Thompson

Photo courtesy of Mark Simon.

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Anderberg competing in Trujillo, Peru.

Photo courtesy of ISA/Rommel Gonzalez

N

ick Anderberg started surfing when he was ten years old, which is late for most competitive surfers. But now at age 16, he is one of the top ten U18 long-boarders in the world.

Anderberg surfed on the US team at the International Surfing Association World Longboard Championships from Sept. 22 to 28, at Huanchaco, a popular surf break in Peru. Anderberg tied for 9th place, helping the US team place 7th in the world.

“The competition was a little bit harder than I had thought it would be,” said Anderberg.

Back in the US the main form of Longboarding is the traditional, [where you] go to the nose and nose-ride the whole wave, where down here the style is to do the modern style of longboarding where you do your nose-riding but you go and mix in some short-board maneuvers as well,” said Anderberg.

This style difference affected judging criteria because “the judging is mainly high performance based.”

The Anderberg family flew with the US team to Peru. He was glad they were there when he got the flu during the competition.

Anderberg also “brought three boards that I had made for this

contest,” two performance boards and a nose-rider.

The opening ceremony included a Parade of Nations, much like the one in the Olympics, and a Sands of the World Ceremony, in which each nation poured sand from their country into a glass aquarium.

For Anderberg, the trip consisted of surfing, resting, a visit to a local Inca ruin, cheering for his teammates, and even more surfing.

“Our team schedule was pretty crazy,” said Anderberg. “We would wake up at six local time, to surf before the contest would start each day. After each day of the contest we would always surf after to become used to the wave and learn lineup points and to see how the wave felt underneath our feet. We always ate dinner together to keep spirits up if someone had a bad heat,” said Anderberg.

He got off to a rocky start after mistakenly “positioning [himself] too far up the point” in his first qualifying heat. Unfortunately, this put him in third, not enough to advance to the next heat. To re-qualify, he had to surf in another round.

“There was 15 seconds left and I needed a 3.9 to advance through to the next round,” said Ander-

berg, describing his second heat.

“I was paddling out and managed to steal an inside wave from the person in second as the buzzer was ringing. I surfed the wave so nervously because I didn’t want to lose out and let my team down.

“I was so nervous I fell on the last maneuver and started freaking out because I didn’t think I had made it. I was slowly walking in upset when the announcer said that I had needed a 3.9 and that my last wave score had come in.

He announced it as a 3.9, just barely putting me in to second and advancing through. It was one of the most nerve racking three minutes of my life.”

In his third heat, Anderberg came in third place, which meant he was out of the contest.

“As a team we didn’t come up to our expectations. We all lost out before finals day besides our girl Rachael [Tilly],” who finished in second place. Anderberg said, “I wasn’t surfing to my full potential and felt a bit bummed...but I won’t argue with that result.”

He enjoyed the waves, “which were possibly some of the best that [he’d] ever surfed. The wave is a really fast left point,” said Anderberg. “Along the entire wave there are sections to hit, air, and do as you please.”

Anderberg seated, his younger brother, and a local at the Chan Chan Ruins in Trujillo, Peru.Photo courtesy of Sara Anderberg.

USA Surf Team in Trujillo, Peru with Anderberg second to left.

Photo courtesy of Sara Anderberg.

10.04.13

Sam Lamirand surfing.

Photo courtesy of Samantha Lamirand.

2012-2013 Surf Team

SDA surf team at a school in Nicaragua.

Photo courtesy of Marco Martinez.

Surf and serve

The surf team went to Nicaragua last summer to surf and perform community service. Story by Anne Bilse.

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very year the SDA surf team goes on a volunteer trip to help people around the world. Last summer their destination was Nicaragua.

Surf coach and SDA teacher Marco Martinez explains that the surf trip focuses on the idea of Surf-Live-Give. “We surf exotic destinations, in this case Nicaragua, live, and experience the local culture, and give back to needy communities. This year was our third trip to Nicaragua and we had eight surfers.”

In Nicaragua, the surfers assisted three local schools.

Martinez said that they passed out school supplies, sports equipment, and clothes that they brought down for the children. Another treat that the volunteers shared with the local kids was American candy.

At the schools, the surfers spent their time with the students taking pictures and getting to know each other. To end each visit at the schools, they would break a piñata and play with the children.

Martinez said that a highlight of their trip was visiting a rural village in the mountains of Nicaragua to distribute supplies to the locals. With no roads leading up to the community, the volunteers rode on horseback through the tropical rain forest.

During the trip, the surf team

represented SDA’s H20 club by working with team Hurley to pass out water filters. The club’s mission is to provide people with clean water.

The surfers got a chance to meet up with the famous surfer Rob Machado, who is an alumnus of San Dieguito. He was in Nicaragua at the same time as the surf team, helping out with the H2O project.

Machado is Hurley’s source of inspiration with his influence as a surfing icon and humanitarian.

“We took 12 water filters to the schools, taught the students how to use them, and then passed them out to needy locals,” said Martinez.

In a promotional video for Hurley Machado said, “That mission really encapsulated what hydration nation is. We went to San Diegueto and we gave the power to the kids. By selling reusable water bottles, they got the chance to go to another school in Nicaragua to demonstrate how to put together water filters to save lives. To me, that’s a success story.”

Senior Chandler Cockle said, “The trip was awesome! We got amazing surf; it was perfect every day we were there! It was successful and we helped Hurley with their water filters that they were donating to the local people and schools.”

Surf team handing out water filters.

Photo courtesy of Marco Martinez.

Local children that the surf team interacted with during the trip.

Photo courtesy of Marco Martinez.

The surf team is ready to come back and defend their title. Story

by Anne Bilse.

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he San Dieguito surf team ended last year with a JV national title and first place in States for the men’s short board team. On June 26 and July 23, 2013, the SDA surf team competed against Huntington Beach, Newport Harbor, and Marina in the National Championships for the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA).

They placed first in their division with a score of 103.

With the huge victory, they are starting off this year ready to defend their title. In order to accomplish all of these goals, the surf team had the support of many local sponsors such as Hansen’s, Encinitas Surfboards, Fish 101 and many more.

With 65-plus members, this year’s team is bigger than ever. Marco Martinez, the surf coach and teacher at SDA, states that new freshman talent will contribute to the team’s success this year. Martinez also put a huge emphasis on the surf team contributing to the community.

Each student on the team is advised to volunteer by doing 10 hours of community service. Many members help out the local beaches by doing beach clean-ups.

Last year the surf team made appearances in local events around Encinitas. They participated in the Encinitas Holiday Parade by skateboarding behind a float and attending local surf competitions.

The team will be in the parade again this December.

10.04.13

What the students think: “I think it will be worth it, especially since I’m in the class of 2014 and we’ll be the first class to graduate on a nice modern field.” - Senior Alana Sullivan “All the athletes have been talking about it a lot and we have high expectations for it. It’s going to give the school more life and the sport teams more confidence…than the old field.” - Senior Tommy LaVake “The old track and field were classic and…the new facilities will mark a new era, a rebirth of San Dieguito Academy.”

- Senior Sean Whalen “As a student, not having the track is really weird... It’s kind of like my home at school is gone cause the track was my special place on campus.” - Senior Ryan Hollis

Construction goes off track SDA is getting a new track and field, but perhaps not soon enough. Story by Sarah Kochanek.

“I

just hope it’s not too little too late for the class of 2014.”

That’s Senior Sam Junge’s worry about the delay in the construction project underway on the SDA track and field. With an original projected completion date of September, the project was meant to be finished for fall sports teams. However, the delay, caused by a holdup in the Division of State Architects, has pushed that date back to late December of this year.

The effect of this delay has hit the field hockey and tennis teams the hardest.

Senior field hockey player Sara Shuldberg said, “For my senior night, I won’t be playing on a ‘home’ field or in a stadium.

Instead, I get about four home games the entire season, all of which happen at the middle school. It’s just a frustrating situation.”

Although the original plan was for field hockey to practice at the new Oak Crest field, that was also delayed and was unfinished for the first few weeks of their season. As a result, the

field hockey team was forced to practice on the softball field.

Said field hockey coach Argenia Torres, “The [softball field] is too small and does not allow for a full field hockey field, making it a bit confusing for the girls when we play on a regulation sized field.”

However, she acknowledges that the benefit of a new turf field

practices at LCC. Said senior Sierra Gallant, “We can’t start practice until 4:30, which means I won’t get home until much later to do homework.”

Cross country isn’t affected as much as tennis or field hockey, since their runs are mostly offcampus anyways. Justin Conn, cross country coach and English

“For my senior night, I won’t be playing on a ‘home’ field or in a stadium...it’s just a frustrating situation.”

- Senior Sara Shuldberg is worth the sacrifice of being relocated for one season. “Since all of the other schools we play at have turf fields, it will be nice for the girls to get used to that type of field,” she said.

The new track will take up more room than originally thought, so space had to be cut out of the tennis courts to accommodate it. As a result, the girls tennis team is forced to hold

teacher, said, “Obviously we cannot do the track work, but we find other ways to get our kids to do some speed training.”

Despite the frustration, the overall opinion of both coaches and student athletes seems to be one of positive outlook. Most Mustangs understand that even though they may not get to enjoy the construction this year, or maybe ever in their high school

career, it is for the benefit of the coming classes. As senior Deckard Mehdy put it, “I think [future classes] will appreciate what we sacrificed for them.”

With the new track, regulations state that nine lanes are required to host any CIF track meets, so that’s out of the question for SDA. However, regular season track meets can now be hosted at SDA. This is something that none of the current students have been able to witness yet, since no other schools wanted to run on the old, hardened dirt track. Fortunately, the few obstacles that were run into during the planning process were nothing that kept the project delayed too long.

Principal Tim Hornig was excited at the prospect of finally being able to host track meets.

“We can bring back something called ‘Mustang Relays,’ which we are really excited to see again,” he said.

Cross Country coach Gordy Haskett also commented on these Mustang Relays: “[It was] a nighttime invitational track meet of almost mythical proportion that even today will make anyone

who remembers it smile. Oh the stories we can tell.”

The construction on the field is the first of various projects funded by Prop AA, a $449 million bond initiative that was passed by voters in November.

This money will be put towards improvements and construction projects at a total of 11 different schools and sites throughout the community. For SDA, this means a new gym and locker rooms, a new stadium, and entirely new buildings all around campus, among other projects that will be completed in the next six years.

The construction of the new synthetic track and field is Phase 1-A of the master plan for the entire school.

The project is now estimated to be completed and ready for use when students return from winter break, according to Hornig. Only the playing surface (the turf and the all-weather track) will be finished by this time, along with the concrete foundations for the restrooms, concessions, etc. The entire project (the track, the field, and the stadium) will be finished by graduation in June of 2014.

10.04.13

Girls Volleyball

Boys Water Polo

Overall: W-7 L-7 Senior Amanda Colla leads the team with 103 kills and 186 attempted attacks.

The front line of the varsity volleyball team attempts to block an opponent’s spike. Photo courtesy of Phil Colla.

Girls Tennis Overall: W-6 L-2 Avocado East League: W-3 L-0 The Girls Tennis team had an upset over Westview on Sept. 12 and beat Escondido on Sept. 24. On Saturday Oct. 5 they will hold the annual Tennis Tournament Fundraiser to raise money for this year’s team.

Overall: W-2 L-13 Sophomore Collin Stewart leads team with 40 goals.

Junior Alex Stellar was awarded player of the game vs Valley Center on Sept.

23.

Senior Amanda Colla spikes the ball. Photo courtesy of Phil Colla.

Field Hockey Overall: W-3 L-5 The first home game for the field hockey team will be held on Oct. 14 at Oak Crest.

Junior Dani Ennis challenges an opponent in the Sept. 21 game against Otay Ranch. Photo courtesy of Dori Ennis.

Junior MacKenzie Haller hits the ball in the Sept. 21 game against Otay Ranch. Photo courtesy of Dori Ennis.

Cross Country Bronco Round Up, Sept. 7: JV Girls came in second, Varsity Boys also came in second.

Mt. Carmel Invite, Sept. 21: Senior Girls won third place, and both Senior and Sophomore Boys came in fourth.

Girls Golf Overall: W-4 L-2 Avocado East League: W-1 L-0 Best Team Score: 237

The girls cross country team at the starting line of the Sept. 7 race at Kit Carson Park in Escondido. Photo courtesy of Carl Thompson.

Senior Abby Novack and Freshman Elisha Chen have both won medals this season.

Senior Maria Lopez eyes a ball during the Sept. 17 match vs Bishops.

Photo courtesy of Al Zamora.

10.04.13

Surfer vs. Skater:

Junior skater Max Ashworth and sophomore surfer Sierra Gasperoni participate in the ultimate test of skill and endurance. Story by Lily LeaVesseur.

What do you call a male ladybug?

Surfer: A gentleman bug Skater: Mr. Bug. Skater, then why wouldn’t you call a female bug “Ms. Bug”?

Huh? What about feminism?

Patriarchal society? The 19th Amendment? “Blurred Lines”?

Gloria Allred? Whew. I’ve tired myself out. Minus 50 points for all the sandwiches no one’s ever made for me.

Surfer, I like that very much.

Can you imagine a little lady and gentlebug putting on little suits and gowns to attend “Bug Lake”?

They probably put up their little bug pinkies when they drink tea.

I bet they live in the suburbs.

Gentlebug is running for senate and Ladybug is on the board of some bug charity (Fly for the Cure? The Red Bug?). They probably have two bug children who attend private bug school, and are unaware that their son is planning on coming out of the bug closet and that their daughter is running a shady business out of her bugmobile. This is HBOquality stuff. I’ll thank you first, Surfer, when I’m accepting my Emmy for “Outstanding writing for a bug drama series.” Plus

30 points for all the millions of dollars I’ll make once it goes into syndication.

Why doesn’t Tarzan have a beard?

Surfer: It’s just not his style.

He’s too hipster swag.

Skater: Because reasons.

Surfer, according to Oxford English Dictionary, 8th edition, there is no definition for the term “hipster swag,” so I’m left to conclude that “is too hipster swag” means something along the lines of, “found a razor lying amongst the leaves and, despite little human contact and a severe lack of delicate motor-skills, was able to keep his face, chest, and other areas clean-shaven, even while the hair on his head grew past normal socially-accepted standards for men’s hair length.”

If I am correct in my assumption, brilliant answer, Surfer! What an astute observation. You remind me of myself when I was your age. Plus 300 points!

Skater, although you completely avoid answering the question, you use simplistic language that shows just how well you identify with the way of

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the jungle. You make no attempt to make any sense (maybe you should write this column). It seems that you transcend all need for actual use of communication.

It’s quite possible that you just understand the world better than the rest of us. In fact, maybe all that we know about the story of Tarzan is a lie. Perhaps he, like you, had mastered all the ways of the world so well that he no longer needed but two words to express his wisdom, and, like Thoreau, decided to pick up and live simply among the trees.

You should consider this. You are obviously way too advanced for this column. Plus three points: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.

What’s the opposite of opposite?

Surfer: The opposite of opposite is the opposite, but it could also be the same.

Skater: Parallelogram.

Surfer, if I wanted to spend 53 minutes staring at a single confusing sentence until I could no longer associate the letters with words, I would have time travelled back to one of those depressing nights sophomore

Photo by Tacy Manis.

year that I spent trying to read the AP World textbook.

Fortunately, my grade/the rest of my high school career/my future socioeconomic status doesn’t depend on being able to understand your answer, so I will avoid putting in actual effort to analyze it and instead accuse you of trying to confuse me into giving you points. If today were opposite day, I would say plus 50 points! But it’s not, so minus 100.

Skater, you may have thought this was a column that addressed important issues such as math and science. I regret to inform you that this column addresses no important issues ever. Although we often utilize convoluted language to project an air of intelligence, we are but simple folk. Have you ever heard of the infamous Barbie doll

that says, “Math is hard” when you press a button on its back?

That’s us. Anyways, I was going to ramble on again about how advanced you are and proceed to take away more points, but now I’m afraid you might just be confused. It’s possible you know less of what you’re doing than I do. I’m not sure how to reward people who say things completely unrelated to the question. (I was going to be subtly humorous, but let me point out why this is funny: the answers are ALWAYS unrelated to the question. My job is very hard.) Plus no points because I can’t decide whether or not you’re profound or just confused.

Surfer: 230 points.

Skater: -47 points.

Yay Surfer! You win nothing.

10.04.13

Selfie-Obsessed Students and teachers alike take part in self photography. Some of these “selfies” involve famous landmarks, significant people, or just silly faces.

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Senior Marissa Schuling: “I went to an aviation camp during the summer, and I took the picture while I was a piloting a Cessna 172 over Arizona. The co-pilot had the controls, so we didn’t crash.

Senior Ian MacGregor: “I took [this selfie] when my friend at UCSC’s Math Sumer camp, smushed my banana.”

Senior Sean Gildersleeve: “I was never really a supporter of the duck face, so I thought I would give it a go and make my own trademark expression.”

Junior David Figueroa: “#nomakeup #nofilter #chinatown #gate #nowhitetowels #thuglifeornolife #datface #whitedragon #tournament #alldayeveryday” Senior Kirsten Walz: “The thing that makes this selfie so special was the preparation and time that went into it. It took me a solid five minutes to get Mr. Roberts perfectly in frame without him noticing.”

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Sophomore Maggie Lombard: “It was right after we checked the cast list for ‘Ash Girl’ and [Senior Cameron Waggoner] came up behind me and we were just so excited.”

Sophomore Juliet Buck: “Last summer I went hiking in Charmonix, France.”

Senior Annalise Schlesinger: “This summer I went to Paris...I had the opportunity, saved up the money, and went. It was one of the best decision of my life.”

Senior Annie Goodstien: “We asked Mr. Conn to take a picture of us girls at the league track meet. The picture was great, but what was priceless was the surprise selfie that came before it.”

Sophomore Alexis Hale: “[Sophomore Kylah Clay, Sophomore Sophia Mock, 2013 Graduate Nick Liddington] and I met up at the fair to have a good time.”