2016 september

Page 1

The World Is Our Campus Volume 64, Issue 1

Arcadia High School 180 Campus Drive, Arcadia, CA

SPORTS pg. 16 Homegrown Olympian: Apache alumna Iris Wang makes history in her Olympic debut, becoming the first American Badminton player to win two matches.

OPINION pg. 7 Sibling Dynamics, and How They Change: “Siblings have a strange relationship. They compete for their parents’ attention and strive to define themselves as individuals, all while forging a bond that is stronger than any friendship. But what happens to this unique dynamic when an older sibling moves out of the house for college or work to begin his or her own life?”

September 2016 Also in this issue: PERFORMING ARTS pg. 14 In the Spotlight: Why you should check out A Noise Within Theatre in Pasadena.

Photo courtesy of FLICKR.COM

NEWS pg. 4 Reviving the Mission District: The San Gabriel Mission District aims to get its vitality back. Pokemon Go has helped generate attention and traffic.

CALENDAR pg. 22 Salju Dessert: Summer may be fleeting, but shaved snow is forever. STUDENT LIFE pg. 18 Club Day: Over 60 campus organizations will set up booth at lunch on Sept. 28.

Jumpstarting the School Year

MIXED BAG The early start to the school year has its benefits and drawbacks, but whatever your stance on it, the 2016-17 year will look a lot different from past years. Finals week will be a month earlier, and summer break will begin June 8, 2017. By DONNA SAYPHRARAJ Staff Writer

F

or AHS students, this past summer vacation felt much shorter than those of previous years. While the return to school may have seemed like an abrupt cut in the middle of a funfilled August, in reality the first day of school was only a week earlier than usual. The effects of starting the school year a week in advance are mostly beneficial. AHS will now have a finals schedule streamlined with that of other schools in the area, as testing week will be held before

winter break begins on Dec. 23. Furthermore, summer vacation, while shorter this year, will begin at an earlier date next year. For teachers, the change in scheduling is a multifaceted transition. Mr. Gerry Wang, speaking on the earlier start, jokingly stated that “at first I viewed it as a week of vacation that I’ll never get back, but then I realized it just means I get to retire a week earlier, unless I die on the job.” In all seriousness, however, Mr. Wang remarked that “it will be beneficial for AP classes to have more instructional time pre-AP Exam, and thus less downtime after the AP Exam.” Many other AP teachers feel the same. Mr. David Jones noted that the transition “was not easy,” but

will be worth it “for the students,” in the end. Testing week’s new dates also mean an adjustment for teachers. Mr. Wang noted that he would be grading during winter break— something that he tried to avoid in past years, when finals were in January. Yet, Mr. Wang graciously conceded that students will at last be able to “have a true winter break.” For Mr. Jones, the pre-break finals is also beneficial for students, since “students tend to forget many things over the course of two weeks.” Although the school year has just begun, teachers are already looking to the revamped summer break schedule. Mr. Wang also looks forward to an earlier start to the summer. He claimed that “there’s a psychological effect

of winding down in May as opposed to early to mid-June. You feel like you have more of the summer to enjoy.” Students, too, have been impacted by the sudden change of dates. Many students were ambivalent about the abrupt end to their summer vacation. For junior Jason Xie, the end of summer came with “more pressure to complete summer assignments.” Sophomore Andrew Hoagland felt the same, saying that he “would’ve liked another week to [complete] all the summer assignments.” Andrew also noted, however, that he had been getting “incredibly bored” throughout the summer, and enjoyed going back to school. In response to the new finals schedule, students expressed optimism and excitement, as well as trepidation towards having to get all their studying in before winter break. Sophomore Cindy Qi indicated that she thinks she “will probably be more stressed at the end of this year, but it’s good to know that winter break will be spent sleeping in instead of studying.” Senior Jacqueline Shang dryly pointed out that with the new schedule, “now seniors have no legitimate reason for putting off college applications.” However, the change matters little to Andrew, who pointed out that students “still have the same amount of time to prepare for finals,” so it would not matter much. No matter how students perceive them, finals this year are sure to be an interesting change from years before. Like it or not, AHS’ new school year has shifted and brought significant changes. Both students and teachers are looking forward to testing out this difference. In the future, school years like this may become the norm, so it might be well worth it for underclassmen to acclimate. And, ever optimistic, Mr. Wang promises that “as long as the AC works, we’ll acclimate to the earlier start.” dsayphraraj@apachepowwow.com Photo courtesy of MELODY ISABELA


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