The Aztec- September 2016 Issue

Page 1

THE AZTEC VOLUME LXXVIV NUMBER I

IN THIS ISSUE

VIEWPOINT PG 3

"Why do I like memes?"

FOCUS PG 4-5

Dating 101

FEATURES PG 6

Origin of mystery mural

SPORTS PG 8

Girl's varsity volleyball prepares for game with Bellgarden

September 16, 2016

Arrival of French teacher

9/20 -English Language Advisory Council (ELAC) #1 9/21 -Collaboration Schedule 9/22 -PTSA Meeting (6:30 pm-7:30 pm) 9/28 -Collaboration Schedule, MKHS Alliance Meeting 10/4 -School Site Council (SSC) 1:45 pm- 2:45 pm 10/5 -Collaboration Schedule 10/12 -End of 1st quarter 10/13 -Drama Boosters Meeting (A114, 7pm-8:30 pm) 10/18 -English Language Advisory Council (ELAC) #2

News in Brief

KEVIN LIU Staff Writer

The arrival of the new school year brings changes, namely a teacher named Ms. Smith to continue the French curriculum for students who want to pursue the French language. Though born in the United States, Ms. Smith spent her childhood in France and majored in French at the University of Paris. After her graduation, she worked at a French bookstore until becoming a teacher in the United States. As a prior teacher at Alhambra High School, Ms. Smith has been teaching various French courses in her teaching careers. She has experience teaching all four years of French, in addition to the AP French class at Alhambra High School. In addition, she is part of the International Baccalaureate, a non-profit educational foundation that offers four internationally recognized programs. She emphasizes four components of learning a foreign language in class: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Depending on what day it is, the class will focus on certain skills, with some days of various cultural activities on a monthly basis. To encourage a stronger French-learning environment, she speaks to her students in French and translates if they do not understand. Sophomore Allen Kate Akpawu in French ¾ observed that she “calls on people who struggle in French to participate so that way she can help them, but she also calls on people who aren't

13 new staff members introduced at Keppel The new staff members include Ms.Acuna, Mr. Hill, Mr. Yankowsky, Ms. Chan, Mr. Heredia, Mr. Lam, Ms. Martinez, Ms. Mozell, Mr. Ramirez, Ms. Hayashibara, Coach Tuttle, Ms. Smith, and Mr. Lee.

French teacher Ms. Smith enjoys working at Keppel. THE AZTEC/KENNETH LIU

struggling mainly to set an example for those who are.” Junior Carina Li, who is taking French 5/6, enjoys various aspects of French life in the course, such as food-tasting days that allow students to sample French foods. In addition to rigorous coursework, Ms. Smith advocates for cultural French experiences, such as the City of Light Film Festival (COLCOA) in Hollywood where French films are featured. She hopes for a trip to Franco-Spanish regions of Europe in January in collaboration with Spanish teacher Ms. Dominguez to further educate students about Spanish and French culture in addition to the language. However, since this is her first year Ms. Smith would like to familiarize herself with the school before going for these large projects.

Mark Keppel Theatre Company presents A Christmas Carol MIRANDA KWOK Staff Writer

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The Mark Keppel Theatre Company has decided to perform A Christmas Carol for this year’s fall musical, in collaboration with Advanced Orchestra. A Christmas Carol is a fictional story written by Charles Dickens about a bitter and stingy man named Ebenezer Scrooge who dislikes Christmas. Scrooge is haunted by several ghosts to convince Scrooge to change his pessimistic attitude by becoming a generous and kind man. “It was my first time auditioning for a play and all the people who auditioned had at least three years in drama. I just came out of nowhere,” said Vincent Pham, who will be playing the role of Bob Cratchit. The list of the official cast of A Christmas Carol was posted on Thursday, September 1. The cast

includes Albert Aguilar as Ebenezer Scrooge, Vincent Pham as Bob Cratchit, Trevor Kwan as Fred or Young Ebenezer, and more of the ensemble cast. “Musicals are always so difficult because they’re written for professional people. At Keppel it’s not a high school musical, it’s the real New York version,” said Dr. Bartlett. Dr. Bartlett, Director of Instrumental Music, announced last year that she will not be teaching at Keppel and shall retire in December this year. Dr. Bartlett teaches Advanced Band, Guitar, Advanced Orchestra, and World Drumming at Mark Keppel. Head of the Drama Department Ms. Phillips said, “When Dr. Bartlett announced she would be retiring in December of this year, I was desperate to do one more musical with her.” “I have wanted to direct A Christmas Carol for a very long time. I’m just thrilled to get to do it with Dr. Bartlett!”

Important Notice: Due to technical difficulties, our website theaztecnews.com is experiencing issues. Please check our Facebook page, The Mark Keppel Aztec, for more stories and school updates.

Fall Pep Rally The 2016 Fall Pep Rally will be peformed at Palm Court on Friday, September 16th at lunch. SAT Bootcamp to take place at Keppel The PTSA will be co-sponsering a two day SAT bootcamp from September 24th to 25th. The PSAT will be on October 19th.

Palm Court gets repalmed TIFFANY LEUNG Staff Writer Keppel’s Palm Court has been renovated with the addition of three new King Palm Trees planted in designated areas beginning August 24th. The school’s primary lunch area is named for the palms trees planted throughout. Keppel’s administration renewed Palm Court due to hazard reasons. Throughout the years, weather and student contact had deteriorated several palm trees in the lunch area. The trees were in such fragile states that some trees bent drastically to one side. Therefore, about three weaker palm trees were each replaced with a young King Palm Tree, a studier palm tree that is native in Australia. The young King Palms have the tendency to grow slowly. Keppel’s staff hopes to preserve the young trees from student influence to allow them to reach adulthood. “They are going to take a while,” Robert Guerra, Keppel’s plant manager, said, referring to the King Palms’ future.


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