The Hawk's Eye - Vol. 3, Issue #4 by thehawkseye_lia

Managua, Nicaragua Lincoln International Academy February 29th, 2019 Dear Readers of The Hawk’s Eye, We are extremely excited to present to you our first issue of 2019. We have worked long and hard the past weeks and legitimately hope that you enjoy it. As you might have seen in an Instagram post we made last month, for the first time in intercollegiate newspaper history, we are starting a continuous collaboration with the American Nicaraguan School, The Eye of the Tiger. For this month’s edition, two of their writers have co-written an article about student life in their school, and in return, one of our writers, Marsela Porras, will be publishing an article for The Eye of the Tiger about what makes our school unique, which you can also find in this edition. Throughout our collaboration process, the ANS Journalism team has been exceedingly diligent and professional. In particular we would like to thank Pablo Lacayo, Elinor Ketelhohn, Wei-Ting Shih, Ji Su Kim, and Inhyuk Seo. Fulfilling our goals as the official newspaper is our utmost responsibility, and through cooperation, we have brought a broadened sense of information to our school. The Hawk’s Eye is stronger than ever, and cooperation at the intercollegiate level will further strengthen it. Our motto is “readers first”, and we will never stop pursuing the fulfillment of those words. We hope you find this joint issue excellent, for we have worked hard, and we will continue pursuing these projects to always place information first. All the best, Alejandro Castillo, President and Editor-in-Chief Ana Velarde, Vice President and PR Manager Henry Cabrera, Secretary and Logistics Director Yosibel Cabrera, Secretary and Head Photographer Carlos Icabalceta, Secretary and Media Supervisor Ana Valverde, Teacher Advisor

IN THIS EDITION

THE TRUTH ABOUT APPLYING TO COLLEGE Sarah Laporte

MEET LUIS BAEZ The Board

THE ABSOLUTE GUIDE TO JUNIOR YEAR Sara Perez

STUDENT LIFE AT ANS Wei-Ting Shih and Elinor Ketelhohn

STUDENT LIFE AT LIA

THE HISTORY OF ST. VALENTINEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S Alejandro Badilla

Marsela Porras

Photos by Sharon Cabezas, Carlota Cardenal, and Isabella Aguerri 2

If you follow what has become the tradition of graduating students for the past several decades, you have been preparing for this moment for most of your life. Working towards building an impressive and colorful resume, trading sleep for hard-earned grades, becoming the image of a perfect, desirable student–all for that fateful time: applying to college. From my own experience, I would divide this journey in three parts (let’s call them ACTS). Each represents a different stage, each with its own challenges, doubts, and triumphs. It’s a frightening time, yes, but you don’t have to go through it alone. So without further ado, let me tell you the truth about applying to college. ACT I: The Question This act begins sometime around second semester of Junior year, if you’re eager. Common Application prompts are released, you get your first real talks about what’s about to come, and you might begin compiling a first (very) unrefined college list. The truth is, however, that no one is eager,

and this act truly begins along with the start of your Senior year. From August to December, you live in a period of rushing: you rush to write, revise, rewrite, revise again, and submit. You run around frantically writing essays, conjuring supplements, filling out endless applications. You read over each one ten, twenty times, until the words on the pages blur and you have memorized them nearly by heart. At some point, you even convince yourself that you don’t really need to go to college. This rush period feels endless, but the truth is, it passes by in a blur. Before you know it, you are submitting that final application, satisfaction filling your body as you look at all the deadline reminders disappear, replaced with messages of “Thank you for submitting your application to _____!” You can finally let out a sigh of relief, and feel ready to take a step back and relax for the first time in what feels like forever. No more essays, no more emails, no more forfeiting sleep; best of all, no more stress. Or so you wish, because let me tell you the truth: the real stress is about to begin.

future is on a line, but you don’t know where it leads. And the truth is, all you can do–despite how much you hate it–is wait.

ACT II: The Wait The hard part is done, and now come months of hard-earned relaxation. Or do they? The truth is, I find this act the hardest of them all. If you’re like me, it’s like you’ve been building this momentum for years, working towards this phase in your life, and once it’s done and all you have to do is wait, it’s hard to stop. It feels as if you’re life stops, and you feel lost, because for the first time in however long, there is nothing else to do. School aside, of course, but even that feels as if it’s stopped. You’re almost at the end of the race, but you find that you can’t run anymore, and all you can do is crawl towards the finish line. When once days and weeks and months sped by, they now turn into hours and minutes and seconds, of which you feel. Every. Single. One. Life feels like a movie played at half the speed, time dragging as if held down by weights. It is agonizing, because for the first time, it’s out of your hands; you’ve done everything you can, there’s nothing else you can do, and you won’t know a thing about it for months. Your

ACT III: The Answer, and Beyond After what feels like an eternity, and is truly a culmination of the past twelve years of your less than twenty years of life, the wait is done. The countdown finally reaches zero, and you get your answer. The truth is, not all of it is happy. It’s something you have to deal with, no matter how bitterly unfortunate it is. Yet, it is my belief that whatever happens has a reason for occurring; whatever answers you get are a sign from the universe (a helping hand, if you will), in guiding you towards your right path. There will, for sure, be answers to celebrate about, to brag and boast and shout. So my advice is, focus on those. Because they are a result of all you have done, all of your effort, nights spent whittling away in front of a computer screen. They are an accomplishment, a triumph, a success, for now you have a whole future ahead of you, filled with its own ups and downs, victories and losses. A future beyond what your wildest dreams could ever imagine. And the truth is, despite all of the affliction and uncertainty and anxiety of the past, it’s all worth it.

For this edition of Meet the Teacher, The Hawk’s Eye sat down with Mr. Luis Baez. He currently has been a high school teacher here at Lincoln since August of last year, and currently teacher several Social Studies courses, such as Economics, World History, and AP United States History. He is known around the school for being the host of “Que Barbaro,” a weekly talk show aired by Vos TV, and “Zarandawer!” a daily radio show broadcasted by Radio Activa. According to

students, Mr. Baez’s upbeat personality helps make complicated topics easier to digest, due to the interactive nature of his lectures. Without further ado, read on to find out what Mr. Luis Baez has to say! Where were you born and raised? What was your childhood like? This is a tough one (laughs). I was born and raised in Managua, Nicaragua. My childhood here was really nice, and very family-oriented, I have two

brothers. Since we grew up in the 80s, there really wasn’t a lot of stuff we could do outside, so we spent a lot of time indoors. We played a lot with each other, and as you can imagine, it was a lot of fun. There were definitely lots of fights, and wrestling was a big deal. What did you study? What inspired you to start teaching? I studied business administration for my undergraduate, and communications for my masters. I was inspired to go into teaching because throughout my life, I have had so many experiences with teachers, both good and bad. I figured that if I became one, then I would have the opportunity to be like the good professors that I had, and avoid being like the bad ones, therefore making a positive impact in a student’s life. Eventually, I gave it a try and I ended up loving it. How has your job as a television/radio personality impacted your teaching style? I think my other job as a television and radio entertainer makes students have a hard time being serious around me (laughs). However, to some extent, it has helped me be a better teacher. The skills that I have attained from doing television interviews are pretty similar to the ones I use inside the classroom to make students adapt and feel confident about the topics I am teaching. What is a fun fact about you? I am a huge dork. I like reading anything that includes dragons, swords, knights, or magic. My favorite fantasy book is the second one in “A song of Ice and Fire,” by George R.R. Martin.

What are your hobbies? As I said before, I really enjoy reading. I also really like cooking. Whenever I’m watching television or scrolling through social media, and one of those tasty videos shows up, I get the urge to look the recipes up. I start researching other techniques, and I go for it. Among my favorites are pasta and grilled food. What are three adjectives that describe yourself? First, I would say optimist. I try to look at the positive things of almost everything. I hate focusing on the negatives things, which can sometimes can be detrimental, because at times, you need to accept some of the negatives. Second, I would say friendly. I have always been friendly. Meeting new people is really fun, and I always have the necessity to make people laugh, so that is often an easy way to make friends. Finally, I would say I am very empathetic. I definitely got this from my mother. I tend to feel what other people feel. How has your time at LIA been so far? I’ve loved my time at Lincoln so far. It’s better than expected, and I expected it to be fun because I like teaching. The quality of the kids here often surprises me. In here, I have found a lot of incredibly good people, which is maybe due to the fact that it is a catholic school. The treatment that I see between the kids and the teachers, and between students, and between teachers is really special.

The tale about junior year being one of the hardest years in one’s high school career has endlessly pervaded the minds of students, and truth be told, it arguably is. Junior year comes with countless challenges that might insurmountable at first. In order to survive junior year, one must maintain several important values: patience, hard work, and time management. Before the school year starts, the time comes when you have to decide how many AP and honors classes you are planning to take. Trust me, it is vital that you only take classes you truly like and know that you can do well on. Personally, I decided to take all four AP classes and two honors courses offered here at the school. Trust me, the workload that comes along with these classes requires full dedication. As a student involved in several extracurriculars and enrolled in such challenging courses, I have had to work on my time management skills in order to keep up with all the hard work. If you decided to follow my footsteps, I can assure you there will be moments you are going to ask yourself “How am I going to survive the year?”. Once your journey begins, you will have to worry about scoring well on standardized tests such as the SAT, the ACT, and TOEFL, as well building a resume for college. There will come a time in the school year, usually at the start of the second semester, where you will build your college list. To many, this could be life-altering decision. Eventually, you will

feel the list of responsibilities has become endless. I have encountered several moments where I have found myself buried in loads of work and stress, thinking that it is too much for me too handle. There will be occasions where all you will be able to think is “Am I really going to have time to read this APUSH Chapter?” From time to time, I find myself with a copious amount of work, and very little time to complete it. However, I am confident that I have been able to survive this school year by remaining patient when presented by difficult situations, and trust me—there have been plenty. By managing my time properly, I have been able to keep up with the hard work required by my academics. Believe me, it is possible to survive the baggage that comes with this challenging academic year. Nevertheless, throughout junior year you should get involved as much as possible in the school community. Take advantage of all the opportunities presented to you. If you ask anyone that is currently a junior or has already survived the experience, I can assure you they will tell you this is the most important year in high school. No words can stress how important it is that you focus on your academics and leaving your very own legacy at the school. The challenges this school year brings are not to be taken lightly, but if you remain patient, work hard, and manage your time properly, you will be able to survive junior year.

STUDENT LIFE AT ANS Wei-Ting Shih and Elinor Ketelhohn

Compared to other schools, such as ones in the United States where people in grades are measured by the hundreds, ANS could be described as a relatively ‘small’ school, with only about 40-70 people per grade. Yet, among bilingual Nicaraguan schools, this is a considerable amount. The ANS community is relatively close and tight-knit. Everyone is friendly, welcoming and willing to help out with anything you may need. Although there are defined and well-structured social groups within grades, these all interact well. Also, while there is grade unity, relations between grades are also usually very good. ANS, unlike LIA, is a secular institution, meaning that no particular religious practices are integrated into the overall school culture. This fits exactly with the idea of heterogeneity in our school; ANS is currently composed of students of more than 35 nationalities. This wealth of differences has made it a great learning environment, seeing as students are exposed to a variety of people and ideas from many backgrounds and perspectives. Current ANS junior and former LIA student, Mariajose Serrano, affirms this idea. “Since Lincoln is a small school, it also has a small community,” she says. “this means that there is a very friendly environment. People usually all know each other.” Serrano also states that her transition to ANS was very smooth. “I was worried about some things before coming here,” she confesses, “one of those being the friend-finding process. I didn’t know about the social environment here, or how it easy it would be to find your ‘people.’ Much to my surprise, though, I adapted really quickly my first week here and found it to be incredibly welcoming. In addition to getting to know other new students, I also had a buddy who showed me around. The school is just

really welcoming in general, and the people here are just really nice, the type to always greet you in the mornings and talk to you in class.” In terms of academics, ANS stands out for being more focused on overall balance rather than specific expertise. The school aims, above all, to create independent, well-rounded students that are given the opportunity to excel not just in one area of interest, but many. This is clearly reflected in its academic and extracurricular systems, which are not only designed to further intellectual curiosity, but also to foster values like leadership, collaboration, open-mindedness and service. ANS runs on a schedule with alternating days, meaning that students have specific classes on Day 1 and specific classes on Day 2. Classes start at 7:05 p.m., and there are four 90-minute classes a day. For high school, there is a 15-minute break after the first class, and then a 30-minute lunch after two more classes. In contrast to Lincoln, there is no homeroom. The ANS slogan is “connecting the global community.” This phrase is taken quite literally in our community, since the curriculum aims to provide students with the opportunity to attend college in virtually any part of the world. On top of the required ANS Diploma, students are offered two additional graduation programs: the Nicaraguan Bachillerato and the Global Studies Academy Certificate. For each of these certificates, there are certain course requirements. For the standard ANS Diploma, four credits of English, mathematics, Spanish, science, and social studies are required. Additionally, two credits physical education, and a half credit of fine arts are expected. Interestingly, the school demands one credit of Senior Capstone.

There are also a variety of electives that students can take in addition to their core classes. High school students have two slots, and can have up to four semester-long electives if they wish. These range from all topics — from architecture to forensic biology to world film to even journalism itself. In addition to learning in the classroom, learning outside the classroom happens through a variety of extracurricular opportunities. This not only includes the opportunity to participate in around 15 community service clubs, but also the chance to engage in sports and the arts. “The American Nicaraguan School balances academics and athletics,” says Serrano. “They are both given importance.” ANS aims to produce well-rounded students. The school places high value on athletics, as it offers an extensive list of extracurriculars. Specifically, the school conducts six year-long courses for both male and female teams. Moreover, in Physical Education class alone, students engage in a variety of sports, including: soccer, swimming, basketball, volleyball, track & volleyball, badminton, ping pong, and chess. A system for rewarding athletic excellence is established. At the end of every school year, an Athletic Awards Ceremony is held; it celebrates the outstanding performers in each sport, and honors those who have dedicated their time to multiple teams. An ANS junior and dedicated swimmer, Maria Cobos, asserts the significance of this event. “The Athletic Awards Ceremony encourages me to continue working hard,” says Cobos. “It appreciates the efforts of student-athletes.” Moreover, ANS outwardly displays pride in athletic achievements. For instance, a “Hall of Fame” frames the most successful athletes

from our school since 1998. Evidently, dedication to athletics is embedded into the culture of our school, through an extensive extracurriculars list, and a system for the appreciation of athletes. On top of motivating engagement in sports, ANS offers a variety of courses in the arts. For secondary students, visual art courses include AP Studio Art, Contemporary Art, and Exploration of Architecture. Regarding the performing arts, there are also numerous options, including Guitar, Instrumental Music, and Vocal Music. Increasingly, the school is developing the Arts Department. In March, nine musicians attended AASCA Music in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. This school year, a drama club was established, lead by junior Edoardo Amador. “I have a dedicated, enthusiastic group,” he says. “We look forward to a winter play and a spring musical.” Amazingly, he has pioneered the implementation of a drama course for the next academic school year. Indeed, ANS is increasingly fostering an appreciation for the arts.

STUDENT LIFE AT LIA Marsela Porras

The personality of a school is something that outsiders to said institution will never fully understand. It is subjective to every single student’s experiences — and even I myself, having studied at Lincoln International Academy for twelve years, cannot fully capture my school’s essence in simple words. If anything, I would define its culture as being made up of a bunch of little details that paint a colorful canvas — one of passion, unity, and an albeit understated silliness. I still remember how an excited left my lips as a result of an adrenaline rush last week— “Go griffins!”, I shouted, as I watched my fellow purple house members compete in the rally contests. Once more, we had scored a win, and the entirety of my team roared with applause and cheers to further encourage purple victories. Sitting on that bench, I felt a sense of belonging that I longed for years within my school community. Today, I am grateful that many Lincoln students to come will share this same experience — and be able to find a family, whether it be with the purple, blue, green, or yellow house. This ingenious way to foster unity amongst students is only one of the many ways in which Lincoln brings people of all ages together. It is a part of our culture — part of our school spirit, which I can proudly say is very high through our halls. Yet another part of that academy spirit comes from our relationships with our teachers. Whether it be sending stickers in class group chats, or having a meme wall in their classes, it is undoubted that teachers at Lincoln walk the line between relatability and professionalism very well. Any alumni will tell you how strong our bonds with teachers are — and yet, students are still able to respect them, and maintain harmonious classrooms. Another thing Lincoln students share? A ferocious love for The Station’s churros. It is a strange phenomenon to witness — every year,

we have multiple initiation ceremonies for our many available honor societies. Every year, the free churros are the first to go. “Are there any left?” I heard a friend exclaiming just this past week, during the NHS initiation ceremony reception. Knowing they’d be scarce, I have to shamefully admit I hoarded one too many churros, so I found myself passing along a bit of our perhaps silly culture to a friend in need. Churros, after all, are an obvious human necessity. Our passion for those empty calories do not compare, however, to the competitive spirit we are overcome with in Mr. Badilla’s classes. Mr. Alejandro Badilla is a part of the theology department, and he is widely known for giving away different sweets as awards for particularly difficult correct answers. Believe me when I say that people are fierce when it comes to these occasions — the amount of arguments I’ve heard over who said the prophets of the old testament first is humorous. I will never be able to put into words every last thing that makes up our culture. In years to come, as an alumni, I am sure I will miss many new things that keep being added to it on a nearly daily basis. New traditions, new games, new customs that build up over time, and create the beautiful mosaic that I step into every weekday. I will definitely miss fighting over the last churro, getting that tipitin for knowing what mass was about on Sunday, and knowing I have my purple griffins to rely on in pep rallies and games. I can only hope that the culture at Lincoln only grows, and becomes heaps more vivid than it already is. Because if there’s one thing I love about my school, it definitely is all of the intricate culture that comes with being a Lincoln hawk.

As February 14 approaches, expressions like “Happy Valentine’s Day” and “Be my Valentine!” tend to be a trend, and we ask ourselves a simple question: is he a real saint? The answer is yes! Saint Valentine of Rome is the patron saint of engaged couples, happy marriages, love and young people. His feast is celebrated on *drum roll* February 14th and he lived in third century Rome. Although much of his life is known through legends and tradition, we know for a fact that he was a Priest who served the Church in times of persecution and that he died as martyr in times of the Emperor Claudius. It is affirmed by many Christian authors that he was incarcerated for marrying Christian couples who at the time were persecuted, due to the fact that the celebration of Sacraments was prohibited. An old tradition tells the story of a miracle performed by Saint Valentine. Apparently, while he was imprisoned, he

healed the daughter of his jailer and future executioner. He left a note to the little girl, which he signed “Your Valentine.” There are several archaeological pieces of evidence that prove that Saint Valentine existed. For example, a Roman catacomb was unearthed containing a dedication to him. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration in honor of his martyrdom. Saint Valentine’s Day is popularly known as the day of love and friendship and what better way to celebrate this occasion than by repeating the teachings of Jesus. Saint John, in his first letter, defines God as love. Similarly, Jesus himself once affirmed “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn 15:13). Two verses later, we read “I have called you friends.” Let us celebrate the Saint Valentine’s honoring God’s love, friendship and cultivating a profound love for our neighbor.

Purpose: Members of Lincoln The Hawkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eye work to constantly inform and update students on the latest school events and activities in an unbiased and bipartisan manner. In furtherance of these goals, members seek to promote the right to be informed and to share individual opinions in a collective environment like the one that is Lincoln and the surrounding community, to educate on values of respect, synergy, tolerance, school policy and to work with others who share common goals. If you want to submit an article, please click this link: https://goo.gl/forms/aYmqF9S84ooxs8b62 If you have any feedback or comments, we would love to hear them, please email us: alejandro.castillo@lincoln.edu.ni - President ana.velarde@lincoln.edu.ni - Vice President henry.cabrera@lincoln.edu.ni - Secretary yosibel.cabrera@lincoln.edu.ni - Public Relations carlos.icabalceta@lincoln.edu.ni - Vocal Please email us if you need the source of any image on this publication. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to follow us on instagram, @thehawkseye_lia !