Issue 1, 2018-2019 by The Lancer

the

LANCER

Volume LVII, Issue 1 » September 28, 2018 » Thousand Oaks High School » 2323 N. Moorpark Rd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 » www.tohsthelancer.org » thelancer.tohs@gmail.com » Circulation 2,099 Putting Our Children First

Cindy Goldberg

Marlon School Board Williams ! t s r Kids Fi Mike Dunn Patrissha E I ANG N Booke r SIMPSO Jenny Fitzgerald

School Board

Chen ol Board

lley Scho

a Conejo V

Bill

Elect

Gorback

CVUSD School Board

GRAPHIC »NATALIE DULANSKY » THE LANCER

MONEY MATTERS In a Q&A with seven of the eight school board canidates, funding of extracurriculars, measure I and declining enrollment were called into question pgs. 12-15

SENIORS SILENCED

STAR POWER

COME TO AMERICA

The Lancer Legend becomes legendary and removes senior quotes starting with the class of 2019.

Back for a ninth season, Dancing with the TO Stars adds a matenee perfornmance and a new venue.

pg. 6

pg. 10

Three exchange students from Germany and Italy land on campus, with “High School Musical” expectations. pgs. 16-17

EDITORIAL

Hits and Misses

STAFF EDITORIAL

Struggle or Success? Ummmmm....

I shouldn’t have signed up for this

How can I drop this class?

What’s Up and Down with The Lancer Hit: The wonderful people of The Ocean Cleanup, the largest cleanup in history, set out to clean up the mess the not-so-wonderful people of Earth made.

Miss: Apple is selling their two billionth IOS device, the iPhone XS, that costs a whopping $1,400, but we’re all still going to buy it.

Hit: Lancer football was actually winning against Pacifica on Friday, Sept. 21... For about five minutes.

ARTWORK » NATALIE DULANSKY » THE LANCER

Should students be required to petition into honors classes? EDITORIAL BOARD

yes

abstain

Last year, administration decided to experiment with a new policy on registering for honors and AP classes: Anyone who wanted to enroll in one could, no questions asked. This system gave many students the opportunity to try out higher level courses, but it resulted in a higher rate of dropped classes and struggling students, prompting administrators to go back to the way it was. Because it was so easy to sign up for honors classes last year, many students were encouraged to, so they were in classes they weren’t prepared for. Honors classes are in high demand, which is reasonable considering how colleges tend to favor honors and AP courses, and how they boost weighted GPA. However, much of this interest is misplaced. Honors courses are taught at a faster pace, and students will not get the benefits of them if they are just sitting there confused the entire time. We’ve all been there when we have absolutely no idea what is going on in class—it’s easy to zone out and stare at the wall for 55 minutes. It happens to the best of us, but if that is happening throughout the entire year, a student will not be successful, making it a waste of time to be in the class at all. CP classes can be a better fit for some students. These classes are designed to prepare students for college, and considering we are in high school, that is sufficient. Everyone learns differently, so an unhurried pace is better for many students. Learning at a slower pace is nothing to be ashamed of. Everybody has their strengths and certain teaching styles may not work for everyone, and that’s okay.

On the other hand, CP classes will not be engaging enough for some. We’ve also all been there: Zoning out in class because we already know all of the information being presented. This is a huge waste of time as well, and for those with this issue, there is a simple solution: An academic petition. An academic petition acts as a ticket for more rigorous courses that must be earned through success in previous classes. After this year’s policy change, petitions are required for honors students not meeting prerequisite requirements and CP students wanting to be in an honors or AP class. For incoming freshmen, the petitions go to administration, and they are approved based on test scores and prior grades. Students receiving As in their CP classes are generally approved since they’re likely to be successful in honors classes. For current TOHS students, the petitions are sent directly to the subject department of that particular class. Then, teachers, being familiar with the students, decide if they will succeed in a higher level class. This system works to filter out students that are unlikely to be successful in challenging classes. It isn’t that administration doesn’t want students to challenge themselves, it’s about finding a balance between challenging in a good way and too much off a challenge. Since they implemented this system, administration has seen a decrease in dropping classes. In this case, it’s best to not fix what isn’t broken; changing the policy back was a good call on administration’s part.

Miss: CVUSD internet went down intermittently last week which was *super* convenient while working here at The Lancer.

Hit: The Cleveland Browns beat the Jets on Sept. 20 destroying their remarkable two year losing streak.

Miss: European Union banned copy-written content on social media. Our hearts go out to the now meme-less EU.

Hit: Naomi Osaka became the first Japanese woman to win a major tennis tournament. Hopefully, Serena can be happy for her soon.

THE LANCER STAFF 2018-2019 EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

ENTERTAINMENT

SPORTS

Natalie Dulansky Blake Saari

Rebecca Tarbet Dylan Yoon

Tanner Patterson Ryan Hong

NEWS

IN-FOCUS

STAFF WRITERS

Ann Portereiko Cameron Smith

OPINION Emma Tunnell Natalie Venable

Brandon Cupples Cooper Goyette

Sophie Crivier Sierra Smith

Abbey Austin-Wood

ADVERTISING MANAGER Anna Norton

Emma Caudill

COPY EDITOR FEATURES

BUSINESS MANAGER

ARTISTS Natalie Dulansky

Abbey Austin-Wood

WEBSITE EDITOR Tommy Kackert

ADVISER Tasha Beaudoin

The Lancer is the official school publication of Thousand Oaks High School, created and produced by students in Advanced Journalism. This publication as well as additional stories can be found online at tohsthelancer. org. The Lancer reserves the right to refuse advertising deemed inappropriate for high school publication. Guest editorials and “Letters to the Editor” are welcome, but must be signed and are subject to editing for length, libel, obscenity and grammar. They can be sent to thelancer.tohs@gmail.com. The Lancer is a member of the Journalism Education Association (JEA), National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) and NSPA All-American Hall of Fame.

VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT: www.tohsthelancer.org

NEWS

Current Events Every Lancer Should Know 1. John McCain died Former Arizona Senator John McCain died of brain cancer on August 25th at the age of 81. His funeral was greatly discussed and many former presidents were invited, but current president Donald Trump was missing from the invite list. PHOTO » BIOGRAPHY

2. Hurricane Florence Thousands of people in North and South Carolina evacuate in the week of September 10th as Hurricane Florence draws near. Due to the strong winds that push the hurricane, it will move back and forth between the Carolinas, hitting the same parts again and again. 3. LGBT+ rights extended in India While gay people in India still cannot marry, the country made a huge step forward on September 6th when they decriminalized homosexual activity. The previous law that made it illegal, and punishable to up to ten years in jail, was deemed unconsitutional by their top court.

PHOTO » ABC NEWS

SOURCE » USA TODAY

SOURCE » THE CUT

SOURCE » NEW YORK TIMES

SOURCE » CNN

4. 11-year-old hacks into Florida voting system An eleven year old at DEFCON in Florida hacks into the voting system. in about ten minutes. He proves how easy it would be for the Russian government to do the same thing in the 2016 election.

5. Brazil Museum burns down The Brazil National Museum burned down on September 2nd. Hundreds of priceless artifacts were destroyed or damaged, including Luzia, one of the oldest exmaple of human remains. Thousands of years of Brazilian history were lost.

PHOTO » NPR

PHOTO » LIBERTY HEADLINES

PHOTO » THE ATLANTIC

NEWS

Campus Improvements Replacements, removals, and repairs taking shape around campus. CAMERON SMITH

News Editor

Thousand Oaks High School is 16 years overdue for a makeover. Cracks along the quad and in classrooms show significant wear, many windows around campus are painted over due to lack of shading, and many classrooms are underutilized. There are way more problems that have been accounted for in a site analysis of TO, which is a draft for the Master Plan to fix up this school under an initiative called Measure I. “Measure I - approved by voters in November 2014 - is a facilities bond that will raise $197 million for Conejo Valley schools with the purpose of updating school sites,” according to Ventura County Star describing the measure. All repairs and modernization for schools in the district, including Thousand Oaks High School, will be funded by the Measure I proposal. The Master Plan for what’s going to be done to TOHS and how much it will cost is already completed, so big improvements that are coming within the next few years are no longer concept ideas, but actual plans. The school categorizes the different improvements into three different sections: facility enhancements, safety and technology. The priorities of the Master Plan for TOHS are to remove almost all portable buildings including the G, H, and weight room buildings, replace nearly every window on campus with efficient windows, renovate the cafeteria and library to make them nicer, build a new and much better athletics building, repaint the school’s classrooms, fix the plumbing to prevent the science classrooms from flooding with sewage, and install new HVAC units in all buildings. The total cost for these plans comes out to about $15.5 million. “The new HVAC system will easily be the most expensive project in our Measure I portfolio,” Dr. Bergmann said in an interview. Additionally, the plan to give the front of the school a “face lift” as well as to completely renovate the library and MPR will also prove to be costly,” Bergmann added. As of now, security camera fixes and new air conditioning have been completed, which means cold classrooms and a much smaller margin for error to pull off this year’s senior prank. Under the Master Plan, technology gave about $100 to each student last year, which is where all the Chromebooks are coming from. All the Chromebooks for this year’s freshmen and next year’s will come from the same technology bond. According to the plan, the library modernization is soon to come this winter, which will reorganize all the books and shelves, as well as turn part of the library into a relevant and popular student hub, named ‘Lancer Cafe’ in a concept map. Everything isn’t supposed to be finished until about five years from now, but even juniors should be expecting some changes to the campus next year. “Measure I projects will be underway until approximately 2022. We are currently planning on completing approximately 15 total projects,” Bergmann said. “We can expect there to be some kind of work happening on campus continuously until then.”

FUTURISTIC LOOK- A concept drawing of what the campus entry may look like from the parking lot in front of the office. MODERNIZATION - LOCKER ROOMS NEW ADMIN ENTRANCE AND SITE ENHANCEMENTS NEW SIDEWALK AND LANDSCAPING REMOVE H-WING PORTABLES ROOFING - PHASED SCHOOL MARQUEE SITE PAINTING UNENCUMBERED AND ADDITIONAL PROJECTS FUTURE PROJECTS TOTAL

$400,000 $200,000 $50,000 $200,000 $500,000 $35,000 $350,000 $3,000,000 $4,735,000

The new air conditioning for the school cost a total of $7.9 million ALL PHOTOS AND STATISTICS » CVUSD MASTER PLAN

BIRDS EYE VIEW- An overhead depiction of the entire school, used to determine what needs updating and what will be unchanged. Grey buildings are permanent, black ones are portables, and darkened sections are areas of improvement or development.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT- Our campus is not in great shape, as some areas highlight the desperate need for repairs, like rusted fences, cracks in the quad, and destroyed lockers. Smaller, less expensive fixes will be following other major renovations and builds to the school.

NEWS

RENOVATION ROLLING IN The Lancer library is getting an update for the new school year. Construction begins in January, but books will be moved out before that to rooms H1 and H2. The interior will be transformed into a new space for the students. able to work together. Using funds from the district, the school plans on We mostly use the library for getting our textbooks redecorating and updating all aspects of the library. and chrome books at the beginning of the year and The cost includes new tables and chairs, books, lights, returning them at the end of the year. Soon, however, computers and a front desk. the librarians are hoping that will change. Mrs. Burns describes the ideas that they have for The library is getting a face lift. the design of the library. As of 2019 we will have a completely new library “A lot of the ideas have plugs so that students can where students can hang out and learn. The new plug in their devices right there” Mrs. Burns said. library will include more seating and a more inviting It will also have a new entrance located farther atmosphere where kids can study. down the building, which will make more sense once It will feature a central desk area and bookshelves they have the central desk area. that are up against the wall instead of sticking out like The library will not start moving until the district it was previously. gives them the go ahead. A few computers and as many books as possible “The district has to put out a bid to give time for will be transferred to H1 and H2 for the duration of construction companies to submit their proposals and construction. The move from K2 to the portables will the district does all that, they just tell me when to occur during December and construction move out” Mrs. Burns said. will be projected to start in January to The library will be a masterpiece wor“We hope to be up thy of Agatha Christie and J.K. Rowling give time for the move to take place. Mrs. Burns, our teacher librarian here and functional over [in themselves, as long as their dream librarat TO, says that the school doesn’t know ies involved groups of kids studying for H1 and H2] by the last their calculus test this Friday. for sure when the renovation will start. “Some time in January the remodel Current seniors won’t be able to take week of school in De- advantage will begin, but until they actually send of the library very much this out the bid and get the proposals back we cember” school year, but it will be a good investdon’t know exactly” Mrs. Burns said. ment for future Lancers. The library will be done in about six or The librarians are excited for the new seven months once it has been started, and it will be change and are eager to show off their up-to date open for official use soon after that. library to the student body. The librarians will transport any books that students While a library renovation may not seem like a big will need for their classes to the portables. This deal, it is important for it to be updated with technolincludes non-fiction memoirs and any books that will ogy so that we can access all the information that we be read in class. Ten to fifteen computers will also be might need. moved to the portables. Updates in style and technology will make our “We will be moving out in the month of December library seem more modern and will hopefully encourover to H1 and H2, that will be our new home, and so age kids to utilize our school library’s resources. This we hope to be up and functional over there by the last includes adaptable furniture. week of school»in December” Mrs. Burns said. “Our furniture will be movable so our students can ALL PHOTOS NATALIE DULANSKY » THE LANCER The old library was outdated, with a 50-year-old work in small groups or by themselves, they call that carpet and completely original furnishings. Chairs and flexible seating” Mrs. Burns said. tables have been broken and need to be replaced with Funds for construction will come from taxes and more practical furniture. A new layout and bookgrants to the school district, and donations from busishelves will be the main focal point of the library. nesses and corporations. After the renovation there will be new tables that Overall, this library is a positive investment in can move around and adjust for students to easily be Thousand Oaks High School. ANN PORTEREIKO

News Editor

GRAPHIC » CVUSD MASTER PLAN GRAPHIC » CVUSD MASTER PLAN

A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE-(Above) Official renderings from the Measure I showcase the future of the library. (Below) View of the current library.

PHOTO » NATALIE DULANSKY » THE LANCER

OPINION

... That’s Debatable Should the Thousand Oaks High School yearbook include senior quotes?

This year, the Lancer Legend Yearbook decided not to include senior quotes due to many inappropriate submissions in the past.

YES

Senior quotes are a tradition to be kept alive NATALIE VENABLE

Opinion Editor

The days of college acceptance letters via snail mail, passing notes actually written on paper and now senior quotes have come to an end. This year, The Lancer Legend Yearbook decided not to include senior quotes, disappointing The Class of 2019. The seniors were given no warning. It would be one thing if it was announced that The Class of 2018 would be the last class to get senior quotes a couple of years ago, giving everyone time to prepare, but no. Last year’s juniors probably had something wonderfully corny planned for their senior quote, only to have their dreams shattered. It goes without saying that of course the yearbook will still be great without senior quotes, but some of the personality will be lost. The baffled Class of 2019 will not be able to leaf through the pages after graduation and in years to come and see what legacy their peers decided to leave. Nowadays physical, paper momentos are hard to come by. With the thriving digital age we live in, many high school traditions have died. College acceptance letters have turned into newsbearing emails, passing notes has morphed into texting under your desk and now the glossy middle pages of the yearbook will be filled with only senior pictures and their names with no witty, cliche or simply laughable quote underneath. One of the best things about senior quotes is trying to explain them after time has passed. I am certain I can’t be the only one whose parents decided to take a break from cleaning out the garage to sit me down with an old, dusty yearbook printed in black and white to show me “how it was back in the day.” Admittedly, watching my mom trying to explain her 80s hair was priceless. I for one remember my parents and I both being thoroughly entertained after getting to the senior quotes section. There is something beautifully nostalgic about looking back at what our hormone ridden, desperate for validation teenage brains came up with in the final moments of our high school years. That is one novelty the current and future senior classes will not be able to enjoy. Sure, there will be yearbook signatures and inside jokes to attempt to explain to our kids, but it’s just not the same. Many senior quotes have a story behind them; some are meaningful words to live by and some are funny and self-deprecating. Mine was going to be something about my perpetual tardiness, but we won’t even get into that. Regardless, senior quotes trigger teenage memories, good and bad, and that’s special. They are like a time-capsule. Senior Quotes are a snapshot of who we were as a teenagers. While some would consider the entire yearbook to be a time capsule, only a fraction of the student body works on it. Senior quotes were the opportunity for everyone to leave their personal mark. Yes, it’s true that our whole world is documented on the internet and social media, but there’s no match for the various sentiments seniors decide to leave when it comes to high school memories. Senior quotes, you will be dearly missed.

Senior quotes require too much time wasted on editing EMMA TUNNELL

Opinion Editor

Senior quotes, in the school year 2018-2019, have been prohibited from the Lancer Legend due to the use of inappropriate language and content that students have attempted to sneak in. In other school districts, specifically a school in Georgia, the consequences were far worse than omitting senior quotes. Paris Gray, a senior four years ago, wrote an inappropriate quote that yearbook staff did not identify as improper and approved. Therefore, the unacceptable content was not caught until it was too late. She then got suspended and was not allowed to read her ceremony speech at graduation. TOHS instead of choosing severe consequences, decided to delete the quotes, which do not affect the students’ future. The staff designs the Lancer Legend yearbook to contain quotes where seniors can express and reflect who they have become throughout their four years of high school. However, the effort it takes to add hundreds of quotes each year and edit quotes individually is not worth the time. Past seniors have proven that these quotes are a way to show unsophisticated behavior. While this does not include the majority of seniors, even a few disrespectful and inappropriate quotes still inconvenience yearbook staff members and potentially jeopardizes the school’s reputation. Not only does it take a long time to edit senior quotes but once the yearbook is printed, quotes are permanent. The yearbook reflects the school and when there is inappropriate content in senior quotes, it makes Thousand Oaks High School look unprofessional. The comments and quotes cannot be deleted or altered once the yearbook is printed, making the decision easier to eliminate senior quotes all together. Omitting the quotes will take away any concerns of quotes affecting the school. Seniors who desire to take part in creating a senior quote have social media to post and tell their experience to others in the school. A quote in the yearbook is not required for students to reflect on their four years of high school. Social media is a better outlet for seniors to leave their legacy, whereas the yearbook is not something everyone will purchase. Yearbooks are mainly used for students in high school, although social media has more people to share their voice with. This provides seniors with a way to establish who they are outside of the school yearbook. There are seniors who would follow the guidelines and keep it appropriate. However, one person can ruin it for everyone. Similar to a group project, one person can be off task and cost all the other students their grade. All it takes is one person to write an immature senior quote and the privilege will be ruined for everyone. In order to avoid this, senior quotes were removed from the Lancer Legend yearbook. Although senior quotes will be missed, this change will teach students to act professionally or face the consequences. GRAPHICS » NATALIE DULANSKY » THE LANCER

OPINION

A Shift in Time

The new bill inhibiting schools from starting before 8:30 a.m. limits students.

The average school start time in California is

8:07 a.m.

33% of students reportedly fall asleep in school.

Around 87% of High schoolers in America are sleep deprived.

NUMBERS:

Teens need over 8.5 hours of sleep per night.

80 school districts already opted to start school later.

Over 43% of U.S. public high schools start before

8 a.m.

Pulling an all-nighter inhibits ability to recall 40% of the facts studied. Schools in other countries have 25-30% longer days than the U.S. per night.

The California State assembly approved the bill by a 41-30 vote.

75.4% of high school students get fewer than eight hours of sleep on school nights.

GRAPHICS » NATALIE VENABLE » THE LANCER SOURCE » NATIONAL SLEEP FOUNDATION SOURCE » LIVESCIENCE.COM SOURCE » M.HUFFPOST.COM SOURCE » STNONLINE.COM SOURCE » SOCLEAN.COM SOURCE » NCES.ED.GOV

Students should not let strangers, including lawmakers, control how much sleep they receive by taking away the option of attending a first period class. The earlier a student starts their day, the more time they have to be productive. Because of sleep efficiency and the mental function of the brain at an early time, California lawmakers voted to ban school from starting before 8:30. This bill, SB-328, includes both middle and high school students and will be implemented in the year 2021. Changing the time school starts does not increase the total time a student sleeps, which depends on a student’s routine. Altering the time school starts is not going to benefit all teens’ sleep patterns because students can change the time they choose to get in bed. The bill does affect the students who choose to have a first period because it prevents them from having a choice to start earlier. This would mean that most extracurriculars provided by the school would have to be taken after the student’s last period. Waking up earlier allows a student to have additional time in the day to complete homework and go to sleep at a decent time. Getting up at an earlier time also allows a student to accomplish more. From personal experience, an early beginning helps me get a head start to the day. On the other hand, attending school at a later time and getting out of school later leads to students staying up doing homework because there is a reduced quantity of time to accomplish specific tasks. I attend first period in order to have an extra class which allows me to end school at the same time as students who do not take a first period. School would end much later with the 8:30 bill in place because students taking an extra class would have to start at the same time as others. This would mean that an extra hour of class would have to take place at the end of school instead of the beginning. Placing extra classes at the end of school, rather than in the morning, will get in the way of sports and work schedules for students who are employed. Being on the tennis team, I have to skip sixth period to leave early for away games, as many other people in sports do. With the bill in place, I would have to miss two classes instead of one, which causes more make up homework and a missed learning opportunity in class. Students should be able to have the option to take a first period class. Depending on the time a student goes to sleep and wakes up can be equivalent to the amount of sleep time a student without a first period gets. A rule in place can not determine the amount of sleep a student has because there are circumstances that the lawmakers cannot control. For example, parents can tell their child to go to sleep, however this does not stop teenagers from staying awake in their bed doing homework or simply staring at the ceiling. In this case, a person cannot make another person get a certain amount of sleep because sleep depends on the person themself. Forcing sleep is the same as making someone feel a certain way, both factors are internal and depend on the person.

As a sophomore, I stay up late every night doing homework. Pushing back the time school ends would allow less time for students to complete homework. Students will then stay up late and get less, or the same amount of sleep as they would before the bill was in place, therefore defeating the purpose of changing the school starting time. In comparison to not having a first period, which I can relate to during freshman year, this bill will not be effective because it will affect students that have nonschool related extracurriculars. Students may have to reschedule practices or miss the practice completely because the time school ends does not match the time practice starts. From my experience with outside of school sports, I had to go straight from school to practice. With the new school starting and ending time, I would not have enough time to make it to practice. This forces students to change times of their other activities. The SB328 bill will also affect other out of school extracurriculars, coaches and sports groups that will have to shift practices and schedules based on the time a student gets out of school. After school sports will have to switch practice times or have a lack of participants in the hobby because students can not make it in time with the new time that school ends. First period, which is optional, starts at seven o’clock, while second period begins at eight o’clock. Starting at 8:30 is only thirty minutes later than the time second period normally starts at TOHS. Even if a student goes to bed at a decent time, the extra thirty minutes is not enough time to greatly impact and benefit a student. This shift in school is irrelevant because it is not beneficial to students, whether they have a first period or not. Starting school earlier, and ending earlier is more beneficial because it provides more time in the day to finish homework and other out of school extracurriculars. As mentioned, the shift in time is not beneficial to students and will cause disturbances in the schedules of high school and middle school students.

THE

Opinion Editor

EMMA TUNNELL

ADVERTISEMENTS

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Help with: Math (Algebra, Pre-Algebra, Basic Math: MS&HS)

Study Skills Special Education Department Chair MS in Special Education CLU Organization Skills BA in Sociology Homework Completion Maryknoll College, Phillippines For more information, contact Angela Fitzpatrick angelf24@aol.com

IN-FOCUS

THE FUTURE OF THE

BOARD OF EDUCATION The Lancer Newspaper alongside The Panther Prowler and The Westlake Arrow interviewed the 2018-2019 school board candidates to discuss policies that pertain and affect high school students. Putting Our Children First

Jenny Fitzgerald

School Board

Marlon Williams

ANGIEN

Cindy Goldberg

SIMPSO

School Board

ool Board

alley Sch

Conejo V

Chen rst!

Kids Fi

Mike Dunn

ALL PHOTOS » NATALIE DULANSKY » THE LANCER

Bill

Patrissha Booker

Elect

Gorback

CVUSD School Board GRAPHIC » NATALIE DULANSKY » THE LANCER

Patrissha Booker Qualifications —Ashford University, Organizational Management —CSU Chico, Social Science — Santa Barbara City College Associate of Arts, Sociology —Standardized Test Rater, Educational Testing Services

Q&A: THE LANCER: Students are worried that their extracurriculars are being underfunded. How would you address this issue?

lation, so that barrier is the reason. But I would just keep, [the higher performing schools] on the right path and if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

Patrissha Booker: Go to the source and ask why it’s being underfunded. And then I would take action to make sure that they would get funded properly. I don’t have any problem going and talking to anybody. Even if it means going outside the school district and the city. I’ve been in front of the city many times talking about issues. It takes a whole community to raise the children, [they] are the future and everybody must be involved.

Alot of people on the school board want to fix things that aren’t broken, but if it’s not broke don’t fix it, leave it like it is. That’s what I would do. And I would listen to everybody’s voice on the [school] board.

If I have to go out and fundraise or get money from the wealthy people in the community to keep extracurriculars from being underfunded, I will do it. I look for creative ways, problem solving. It’s not always inside the administration. TL: With the district producing impressive test scores, what will you do to make sure the district provides a cutting edge education in the future? PB: It’s good, but I would have to focus on low performing schools in the area to see what could be done. Where I live, the Conejo Elementary School is low performing. It’s a mostly Spanish speaking popu-

TL: To what do you attribute the declining enrollment and how do you plan on addressing this issue? PB: A lot of people are moving out of TO, the rents are too high and that has to be addressed on the city level, which it has been addressed. Most of the parents I talk to, the rents are too high, people are moving out for that reason and that’s something we need to keep addressing the city about. I think that is the major problem. I think affordable housing is necessary because even with your teachers, some of them drive in from other places. The working class, they have to drive in from other places. The city is not listening to that. They are putting up all these expensive apartments that aren’t renting. That’s what I think needs to be addressed.

IN-FOCUS

Amy Chen

Qualifications —UC Irvine, graduate —Many involvements with National Charity League —Chief Financial Officer of First Ave. Education Inc.

Q&A: THE LANCER: From your website you pushed the agenda of bringing enrollment up and had some interesting plans to bring flexible and individual programs to our schools, however under the current budget restrictions how do you plan on accomplishing this goal? Amy Chen: This is exactly what we want. Very often if you ask why families are leaving the district its because its just simply because we don’t offer some option. We need to start offering these options so that we will have enrollment return. So it’s making an investment into a program to bring students in. I think that if we just stayed the course we will continue to lose over 200 students a year and we can’t afford that. TL: How will you play a role in the distribution of Measure I funds? AC: We currently have an Oversight Committee right now, and I think they are doing a pretty good job. I’ve talked to some of them, and they would like to perhaps see more meetings. Right now they’re limited to four annual meetings to try to spend $200 million. We sold another 50 million in bonds and we’re talking about a lot of money. I do want to be able to empower our oversight committee to be able to ask questions and to do a good job, to be

given the resources to be able to have a good oversight and give us reports on that. And like I said definitely more than four meetings a year to handle more than $200 million is probably a good thing. TL: Should Measure I be used for modernization of school environments, such as the new AC system here at TO, or would you rather see Chromebooks being distributed to students, like what’s happening with the freshman and sophomore classes here. AC: I think a lot of thought has been put into how this money should be used, and we do have $197 million, but it’s very difficult for me to come in and second guess and say “Well, we probably shouldn’t have spent it on the Chromebooks, well this building is leaking right now. We probably should have fixed that first.” I think they’ve planned and that they’ve spent many years and hours on planning this, and this money doesn’t go very far. Technology is very important, not every child has a computer at home. I think we have to balance all of the needs and wants.

Jenny Fitzgerald

Q&A: THE LANCER: Students are worried that their extracurriculars are being underfunded. How would you address this issue? Jenny Fitzgerald: I know that’s been an issue and it’s come up to me in terms of a difference in how we fund our extracurricular activities. Where we used to be able to require a certain amount from families, now it’s just a donation. I think one of the things we do that we can improve upon is working with our community for funding. We are lucky that we live in an area that has quite a few large businesses. Some of those, for example Amgen, are tapped into pretty well and donate quite a bit to our schools, but there are other ones in the area that I think we can utilize to help fund items like that especially whether it be arts or sports as schools are an essential part of our community. TL: In your opinion, what has the school board done well, and what have they done poorly in the last few years? JF: I think that we obviously have a good school district. We have developed programs in our district that have helped our

students and our families. For example, one of the things that one of our elementary schools has done in our district is started free English lessons for [non-English speakers]. To me, those types of programs are so crucial because for parents who aren’t able to communicate in English, there’s a barrier already to what’s going on with their kids and what’s going on in their kids’ school, unique programs like that are something our district has started to do really well over the last few years. What we’ve done poorly is really upsetting to me because we have taken the collaborative approach among our school community: Our teachers, our parents, our students, our district staff, and completely driven a wedge into it, and for me no matter what policies we decide we want to pass, no matter what funds we get, all of that stops when you have a dysfunctional school board because you can’t move forward. You can’t move forward in a productive way so that’s the biggest downfall in the last few years. It’s one of the main reasons that I’m running.

Qualifications: —UC Berkeley, BA, Political Science —Parent of two current students in CVUSD —Thousand Oaks Resident

IN-FOCUS

Cindy Goldberg QUALIFICATIONS —Measure I Campaign Steering Committee —Managing Director, Conejo Schools Foundation —District Advisory Committee (DAC), Member/Executive Board/Chairperson

Q&A: THE LANCER: Students are worried that their extracurriculars are being underfunded. How would you address this issue? Cindy Goldberg: I think you’re worried because it’s true. [Programs] are being underfunded because the way schools are funded in California is really weird. I’ve been on the budget committee for a really long time, and I see them and I look at the way the numbers go, and I have a lot of familiarity with budgets because of my work with the Conejo Schools Foundation. Unless California funding changes with intervention, you blow up the budget and start from scratch, which is a lot of work. I don’t know where those dollars could come from. We are so lucky to live in this community, that is so supportive. But there’s a lot of people that don’t feel comfortable because they don’t feel like their parents can help. But, in every single school, the boosters will help. So, [we] have to make it known, that everyone can help, and that everybody can participate. In terms of funding, I wish I had a magic wand that could just make money grow on trees. Unfortunately, we can’t.

TL: What other issues do you think are most important in this election and what are your stances on them? CG: The most important issues in this election, are rebuilding the trust and the communication between all stakeholders. I think we are woefully broken. You could see the trickle down, morale was bad for a while, and then it got really bad. It started affecting teachers, which effects kids in the classroom. I think we need to rebuild that. We used to be known, far and wide, as a model for other districts. Now I have friends that work in Chula Vista, in maintenance, and, in Powai, in technology, and they’ll ask, ‘What is going on in the Conejo?’ We’ve made national news, not for any great things that we’re doing. [CVUSD Students] guys are all part of award-winning programs: art, music, athletics, educational opportunities. Westlake High School, your cadaver program, there’s only one in the country. Why do we not talk about that, why are we not celebrating that to draw people in? Shout our successes, admit we have some issues, but I think we need open communication because no one talks to each other anymore, they’re all afraid, and that part is so sad.

Bill Gorback QUALIFICATIONS —CLU, Masters, School Administration and Supervision —CLU, Masters, Counseling —District Bond I Oversight Committee —District Wellness Committee

Q&A: THE LANCER: Students are worried that their extracurriculars are being underfunded. How would you address this issue? Bill Gorback: It’s a tough issue. Many people here in the Conejo Valley have a diverse socioeconomic climate. We have people that can afford to pay extra for their extracurriculars on their own and we have people that can’t. I certainly don’t want that to discriminate between who can participate and who can’t. It’s about the kids. I look at the students like a rock, and upon the rock being thrown into a pond concentric circles are created. The one closest to the stone that’s the most important. That’s the ones closest to the kids. I would make sure that all activities, whether it be curricular or co-curricular, extra curricular, are funded enough that every student can be participating. If we have to cut something, you know, three or four waves away from the stone, then we’ll cut that. We’ll look for things that don’t directly pertain to the kids.

TL: In your opinion, what has the school board done well and what have they done poorly? BG: The fact that they added an LCAP for this year, on social and emotional learning abilities I think was a wonderful thing. I believe social and emotional support is the most important thing. As far as the areas that I think our reputation has gone down based on their actions has been all this fighting and in fighting and arguing. We get people from Simi and Camarillo and they ask, “What are you gonna do about this book thing? Are you going to go back to the fifties?” I think this whole discussion about limiting what books you read as a class, not you as individuals but as a class, I think has set us back a long way as far as our reputation and is the thing that worries me. I think that’s what they’ve done wrong is all the divisiveness, all the arguing, and not listening to people’s opinions.

IN-FOCUS

Angie Simpson

Q&A:

As a result, I think that as a leader in this community, what the community has to be benefit by voting for me in November is that I [have] a broad reach of relationships with other elected officials both Democrats and Republicans in various roles across the Conejo Valley. I think that we all have to work together and we all have to put pressure on our state officials to be the change in Sacramento to drive better funds here to public education. Right now California is ranked 44 out of 50 states in funding [education] and California is ranked number one in state income tax. We look at California as the number five GDP out there and we are

not putting enough money into education. That is not something alone a school board member can fix, but is something that I will commit to advocating [for] with our other elected officials, to drive that change in Sacramento. TL: In your opinion, what has the school board done well and what have they done poorly? AS: As a community member [I saw] really poor interactions from the board the majority of the time with the public citizens. That made me sit there and go ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe that this is happening.’ I taught in this district and I can’t believe that this is the bar, as far as how the board is going to be interacting with the public. As I sat there week after week regarding our issue I realized with my background as a teacher, with my community involvement here it seemed like the school board would be a great place for me to put my effort into giving back to the community. I think [number one] is restoring the trust within the community, number two is working to figure out the curriculum council, and number three is ensuring that our budget and enrollment numbers are secure long term.

Marlon Williams

Q&A: THE LANCER: Students are worried that their extracurriculars are being underfunded. How would you address this issue?

if we’re going to learn something, and the more days we’re absent, the more that we’re not learning, the more we’re not becoming educated.

Marlon Williams: I think schools are underfunded. Some schools don’t have any type of programs or extracurricular activities or funds for them, so they raise money for it. If I can say that adds to extracurricular programs then we can do that, but we also need state funds.

That’s the goal is for you to be educated people, and to do things that are promising in our society. So, attendance is one. There’s a big difference between the education of elementary school students and high school students.

This is all for our education, or for your education, and I don’t think that is fair or appropriate to not allow any students to have the ability or the access to any type of educational [opportunity] even if it is extracurricular, because it it also educational. Funds are needed when they are. We can probably [acess] grants and stuff like that a better place because [funding] is falling apart. TL: What issues that are affecting students now will you address in your term on the board, if you’re elected? ML: One is attendance, if stardents are not at school they’re not learning, and this is an educational place. We need to be here

Of course, you have your elementary school students taken to school, being picked up, obviously they don’t have a choice to be there. It’s mandatory for students to go to school, but as you get older and become seniors and juniors in high school, it becomes a challenge for students to want to wake up and say, “Hey, I want to go to school or, I have to go to school.” Students should want to. I think that it’s something that you guys are going to be tested on, because you’re going to have peers that are going to influence you to do other things. I think that drugs are a problem in the high school setting. I don’t know what’s out there but I hear about it which is also an issue, I find. I think proper education could teach students how to avoid a lot of the pitfalls of drug use and school lapses.

QUALIFICATIONS —Attending California State University Channel Islands, Liberal Studies —Worked as a special education paraprofessional for CVUSD —Previously ran for the school board and City Council.

ALL PHOTOS » NATALIE DULANSKY » THE LANCER

THE LANCER: Students are worried that their extracurriculars are being underfunded. How would you address this issue? Angie Simpson: Underfunding extracurricular activities is again an epidemic across our state of California. I am sad that my son’s elementary school doesn’t have access to a specialized PE teacher, a specialized art teacher, and music comes at a cost. That’s something that when I grew up going to school was baked into mainstream education.

QUALIFICATIONS —USC, Masters, Health Administration, —CSUN, Single Teaching Credential —District Bond I Citizen’s Oversight Committee —Former CVUSD Teacher

FEATURES

From Around the World Foreign exchange students from Europe share their experiences moving across borders to California. Hamburg

ITALY

Venice

Berlin Chiara’s Hometown

Florence

GERMANY

Pisa

Cologne Mlina’s Hometown

Rome

Amelie’s Hometown

Stuttgart Munich

Sardinia

SOPHIE CRIVIER

Features Editor

For Amelie Kurz, an 11th grade foreign exchange student from Berlin, Germany, everything about school in America is different. She has had to learn to adjust to everything from life at her new home to school in California. Kurz chose to come to the United States because she wanted to be a part of the American high school experience that is so often seen on TV. She also came to learn English. “I wanted to improve my English,” Kurz said. “[I chose] America because of the culture and school spirit and all of that.” Kurz takes English 11, US Government, US History, Sociology, and Yearbook. She is also a TA for track and field. Of these classes, she said Yearbook is the easiest for her. School can be challenging, but for someone from another country, it becomes a whole new level of difficult. She mentions that English is the hardest class she takes because taking any classes in English is a lot harder than in German, her native language. “It’s not so easy to understand,” Kurz said. “My teachers speak so fast.” However, Kurz does say that her teachers do their best to make it easier for her. “ I think they try to help me a little bit more than the others.” Kurz said. Kurz said that one of the biggest differences between Thousand Oaks High School and her school in Germany is the way the classes are set up. “In Germany you have one classroom and one class and the teacher comes to you.” Kurz said. “And you can’t choose your classes.”

Grades are also very different in Germany. Instead of getting letter grades from A to F, her school uses numbers, the highest being a 1 and the lowest a 6. Despite all the differences, Kurz likes school in America much better than school in Germany. When asked if there was anything from her school she wishes she could bring to Thousand Oaks, Kurz says that there is nothing. However, she still misses some parts of her life in Germany, including her family. Staying here for the entire school year, ten months, Kurz has had to adjust to living with a different family. “It’s okay, first you feel like it’s new, and everything is new… with time it gets better and you get used to the family and their traditions.” Said Kurz Kurz has had to get a new routine and lifestyle as she gets used to living with another family and going to school in the United States. It can be scary, leaving everything one knows and experiencing new places, so joining an exchange program takes courage. As she has become closer to the people she is staying with and made many friends in Thousand Oaks, Kurz has gotten used to the contrasting cultures of the people in Germany and people in the United States Life is very different for Kurz, but in a good way. Kurz agrees that moving away to live in another country is a great experience for teenagers, and recommends it to everyone.

Amilie Kurz, 11

GRAPHIC » SOPHIE CRIVIER» THE LANCER ALL PHOTOS » SIERRA SMITH » THE LANCER

Sicily

FEATURES

Melina Natsidis, 11

Chiara Moni, 11

Melina Natsidis, a foreign exchange student from Germany, found many things surprising about life in America. From friends to classes to dress codes, Natsidis is learning a lot as she begins to settle into her ten months in the United States. Natsidis chose to live here because she loved the idea of going to American high school. In Germany, there are no sports or activities at Natsidis’ school. However, she has soon learned that high school in America is not all football games and dances. As part of her foreign exchange program, Natsidis has to take English, US Government, and US History. For fun, Natsidis also takes Photography, Spanish, and Swim. Natsidis said that Spanish is the easiest class for her because she also took it in Germany. The hardest for her is US History. “There are a lot of words I don’t understand.” Natsidis said. While she is still getting used to the academics at our school, Natsidis did not have many problems fitting in. She found that there are a lot of amazing people at Thousand Oaks High School, and has a great support system with her friends and the family she is staying with. “[People] are really open and they’re kinda like ‘hey, do you wanna go to lunch?’ So the first day I think twenty people had asked me if I wanted to eat lunch with them.” Natsidis said. Another part of the foreign exchange experience is moving away and living with a new family that they have never even met before. They live in a different house with strangers for an entire school year. Natsidis has found that this can be very strange at first. “It’s different, and in the beginning it’s really hard because you don’t know them. It’s kind of weird because you don’t really know what to say and what

to do, and of course they say you can do everything you want, you can take the TV, you can take the computer, you can go to the fridge, but you’re kind of thinking like, ‘Can I do this now?’ Because you’re a stranger.” Natsidis said. Now, however, as time has gone on, Natsidis said that it is totally normal. Aside from living with a family she had never met until she moved here, Natsidis says that the school structure here is also very different. While here we have the same classes every day, Natsidis has different classes in her school in Germany depending on each day. Every day, her schedule is different. She also takes many more classes in her school in Germany than she does at Thousand oaks High School. When the Lancer asked how many, it took Natsidis a little while to count up all of them “So many,” Natsidis said. “I think it’s around twelve or thirteen.” Natsidis states that if she could bring one thing from her school to Thousand Oaks, it would be the ever-changing class schedule. She notes that she gets bored of the same classes each day. “I want to have other classes.” Natsidis said. “I don’t like it if I have the same classes, it’s kind of the same every day.” One of the parts of school in California that Natsidis was not expecting was the relaxed dress code at Thousand Oaks High School. “What I find surprising is that people dress how they want to at school. I thought here there was a dress code like the American dress code, but I think no one is doing it. In Germany we can wear what we want, but here people come in pajamas . . . .” Natsidis said. Natsidis recommends joining a foreign exchange program to anyone who can. “Everybody should do it because you get so many experiences and you grow. You have a lot of friends in other countries, and you meet a lot of other foreign exchange students.” Natsidis said. “You have friends all over the world.”

When she first learned she would be staying in California for a year, Chiara Moni screamed and told everybody she knew. Moni is an 11th grade foreign exchange student from Italy. She never thought she would be lucky enough to get to live in California until she got her housing assignments. Moni came to America with a foreign exchange program called American Field Service, (AFS). She is on the JV girls volleyball team, and already made many friends from California and all over the world. The Italian native has only lived here for a month, but it already feels like home. Moving across the world to another country is difficult, but Moni has wanted to live in America since she was little. Her original interest in the United States was brought forward when she watched High School Musical as a kid. “Your school is really interesting. You have football games, and things like that,” Moni said. “I saw High School Musical when I was little, and it looked so fun [that] I wanted to go.” However, California is not exactly what Moni expected it to be. “I expected Californians were different. And I expected more palm trees.” Moni said. According to Moni, school is very different in Italy than it is in Thousand Oaks. “We don’t have sports at our school.” Moni said. “We go to school and we have classes, and then we go home. We don’t have prom or homecoming, and if you want to do sports, there are clubs… but it’s completely different from school.” Moni takes US government, US history, English 11, French, math analysis, and girls volleyball. “The easiest is French,” said Moni.

“I wanted to do French 4 because I’m pretty fluent, but it’s a first period class and I don’t want to wake up early, so French 3 is easy.” In Italy, Moni started school at 8:10 everyday, and had school for about six hours. She also go to school on Saturdays and have less holidays than we have in the United States. While she may have less days of school, that does not make it any easier. Moni finds many of the classes she takes to be difficult. “The hardest is between English, Math, and US Government. Maybe Math, because it’s in English.” Moni said. “The definitions change.” Among many other differences between her life here and in Italy, Moni had to get used to living with another family. “I’ve never had brothers or sisters. So it’s weird, but it’s cool. I love my new family. They’re nice to me and I like having siblings.” Moni said. Despite all the great experiences she’s had, there are many things Moni misses about Italy, including her parents, friends, and, of course, Italian pizza. “Pizza in Italy is fantastic, and pizza here is disgusting,” Moni said. She comments on the fact that pizza here can be much more expensive than pizza in Italy. Moni was very passionate when asked her opinion of pineapple as a topping. “Don’t eat it!” Moni said. “It’s not good! If you go to Italy and say ‘What do you think of pineapple on pizza, because I think it’s pretty good,’ they’re gonna kill you.” Despite differences in food and school, however, Moni loves being a Lancer and living in California. When asked if she would recommend joining a foreign exchange program, Moni was very enthusiastic. “Yeah! I think it’s hard, because I felt homesick,” Moni said. “But it’s a beautiful experience and if you have the chance to do it you should.”

FEATURES

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT PERFECT— (Above) Band members practice. (Below) Three drum majors pose after their practice. ALL PHOTOS » SOPHIE CRIVIER » THE LANCER

Major Accomplishments The newly appointed drum majors talk about their responsibilities for the current school year and the commitment it takes to lead the lancer marching band. SIERRA SMITH

Features Editor

In most cases all pieces are needed in order to complete a puzzle, in this is no diﬀerent. Thousand Oaks High School drum majors, Jackson Waters, Meagan Mirras, and Lucien Luc all contribute in order to complete the puzzle that is the leadership of the Lancer marching band. Jackson Waters hopes to lead by stepping up when no one else can, leading by example, and by pushing the band in the right direction. “You’re not telling them what to do but doing it with them.” Waters said. “You basically do things that no one else would.” Leadership is a complex combination of commands in which a leader is needed to guide by example and be a respectable person that people can talk to. “Leadership is having integrity and being able to guide people with that quality.”Megan Mirras said. “Being a leader means you’re always doing the right thing no matter what.” Waters was ﬁrst introduced to the idea of joining band in fourth grade by his parents. He always had an interest in band so he picked up the trumpet and

Jackson Waters, 11

discovered his passion. Much like Waters’s original introduction to band his decision to become a drum major was brought forward by his peers. “It was because a lot of people were telling me to because drum major isn’t just conducting. Waters said. “It’s leading the band, being a good image and just being a leader in a way.” Waters proved that his peers had the right idea when he was chosen to be one of three drum majors for the 2018-19 school year. “We had auditions based on conducting, time keeping, vocal commands, marching execution, surprise conducting and an interview. Mr. Martone said. Seven members of the band auditioned and Jackson, Lucien, and Megan were the highest scoring candidates.” To become a drum major hours of commitment are required before you are chosen for the job, this takes up time and effort in the summer prior. “In order to earn the position of drum major, you have to go through leadership camp, and drum major camp, so there’s specific training involved prior.” Mirras said. Each of the chosen drum majors had a different skill set that contributes to the excellent leadership team

Megan Mirras, 12

currently in charge of assisting rehearsals, making sure members stay on task, and communicating with staff members. “One of the most important parts about being a drum major is being the bridge between the staff and the band members.” Lucien Luc said. “You want to be respected enough by the band yet still be someone people can talk to if they need help.” Even though the drum majors are responsible for leading rehearsals and performances, many others contribute to the chain of command filled with various sections of the band along with members of the staff. “The pyramid of hierarchy starts with the base is the students who are marching. Then it’s the drum majors.” Mirras said. “There’s a team of really great instructors that are hired to help the band improve with their technique and understanding of what we all do. At the top tier of the pyramid there’s the band director, Mr. Martone.” All three of the drum majors for the 2018-19 school year have greatly contributed to the current status of the Lancer marching band and throughout the school year their skills to conduct, and lead will only continue to improve.

“Leadership is having integrity and being able to guide people with that quality.” —senior MEGAN MIRRAS

Lucien Luc, 12