OPINIONS “San Gabriel should encourage student
collaboration” pg. 4
SPORTS
LIFE & ART “Anime Café garners
“Varsity boys b-ball
triumphs in Almont
success for its fifth
League” pg. 10
year” pg. 8
THE MATADOR
SAN GABRIEL HIGH/FEBRUARY 16, 2017/ VOLUME 62 / ISSUE 6
WWW.THEMATADORSGHS.US/801 S. RAMONA ST., SAN GABRIEL, CA 91776
Uplift Club hosts event to promote Christianity
Lilo & Stitch-themed talent show displays unique performances
Photo courtesy of J.P. Geronimo
Rapper Dedge-P entertains the crowd with his Christian-inspired music. Photo by Jessica Tran
Joanne Chau In order to raise awareness to their club, San Gabriel High School’s Uplift Club, a Christian club that offers to provide emotional support, hosted the “What is Love?” Valentine’s-themed event on Feb. 9 during lunch in the Matador Arena. As an outreach to God, it included inspirational guest speakers and free pizza. Christian rapper and hip-hop performer DedgeP kicked off the event with a musical performance dedicated to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The event also featured guest speaker Christopher Spolar, who spoke about his personal relationship issues and heart-break, read a story from the Bible, and inspired students by offering advice for the future. “I went with my friends to help serve pizza. It was fun; I liked it. I could connect with what they were saying, mostly [with the] relationship problems,” senior Esperanza Ayala said. In addition, several raffles took place. A $15 Starbucks gift card was given to the two winners. At the end of lunch, pizza from Little Caesars, provided by the club, was given to all of the students who attended. The Uplift Club holds meetings every Tuesday during lunch at MS-4.
Judges take their seats as they await the first performance of the Lilo & Stitch-themed night. Jessica Tran Twelve judges assemble, facing the auditorium stage, as they wait for the contestants to perform. The annual school talent show was held on Jan. 27. In the end, the winners were announced: duet singers senior Diana Kou and Anney Lin in third place, Latin dancer senior Karina Guan as runner up, and guitarist senior Eric Xie in first place. “I wanted to give the audience a good time. [It was] like a dream,” Xie said. “This was my first prize in the U.S. [and] I was able to make my parents proud.” At 6 p.m., the curtains opened, revealing Associated Student Body (ASB) members dancing to Lilo & Stitch theme song, “He Mele No Lilo”. “I thought [their dance] was really cute,” junior Joey Hua said. “[I liked] how they came down and did their own little moves.” Shortly after, the first contestant, sophomore Britney Huynh, commenced the show with the song “How Far I’ll Go” by Auli’i Cravalho from Moana. During intermission, ASB introduced the judges: English teachers Catherine Burkhart, Virginia Parra, and Jordan Vogel, math teacher Harmonie Bassette, Spanish teachers Victor
Garcia and Eliana Deniz, and Marching Band teacher Tammy Cognetta. In addition, as a yearly tradition, ASB members acted school event commercials. “I got to hear about Sadies and prom,” senior Ashley Del Rio said. “[I thought] the skits were really funny.” Collectively, the talent show featured an eclectic mix which included singing, dancing, and guitar-playing. The spectacle was culture-oriented, ranging from Korean to Latin roots. “I felt like [the contestants] influenced the cultural theme,” Del Rio said. “I felt like all the acts had their own flare, especially the girl who danced tango. She showed her passion through dance.” The contestants were: freshman Lauryn Capulong; sophomore Jerick Ee; junior Jerome Ee; junior Anthony Gallardo; senior Evan Garcia; senior Karina Guan; junior Bruce Hernandez; junior Britney Huynh; seniors Kathleen Ha, Sharon Lee, and Ivy Ly; seniors Diana Kou and Anney Lin; senior Lila Macias; senior Kiana Saucedo-Moreno; freshmen Ahyoung and Sunhi Nguyen; freshman Hanson Pham; freshman Sharleen Rengifo; senior Eric Xie. The talent show had a total of 16 performances. ASB plans to host another talent show in 2018, continuing the annual San Gabriel High School talent show tradition.
FBLA advances to State, places 2nd in sweepstakes Kathy Quach Clad in suits and up by dawn, members of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) competed at Westlake High School on Feb. 4 for their sectional competition. The competition featured 30 different events from Introductions to Business Communication to Health Care administration. In each of these events, the top ten competitors are announced, and, depending on the event, only a certain number of the them move on to state-level competition. Out of the 32 students who placed, 26 qualified for the state competition, including seniors Georgianna Chan, Phuong Ha, Winston Hau, Thinley Huang, Kevin Huynh, Diana Kou, Crystal Lam, Vicki Lei, Anita Li, Anney Lin, Kylie Tran, Charlene Vong, San Vu, and Katie Wong; juniors Carlos Carrillo, Roxanne Fong, Kelly Luu, Kaijie Han, Lisa Hong, Justin Phan, Lexie Tang, Leo Yue, and Lilian Zhang; and sophomores Jamie Fong, Sonam Huang, and Kyle Lam.
“Since I had no expectation to place at all, I was very for the state-level competition in Sacramento, CA from anxious and surprised to hear the [announcer say] ‘From April 6-9. San Gabriel High School’ and the dreaded pause before finally announcing the name,” Phan said. “When they did call my name, I was exhilarated.” For many, competing was a new and enjoyable experience. Despite being new competitors, several students won against students from other schools. The event brought much fulfillment to those who placed. “I was able to meet many new people that I wouldn’t have otherwise met,” Kyle Lam said. “It was the first time I had received an award for an event. I’m glad that I was able to go home knowing that I had placed fifth.” Older members relived the anticipation and satisfaction of being a part of the sectional competition. “I took the [hospitality event] with my teammates, Vicki Lei and Anney Lin, and because we were together, Photo courtesy of Diana Kou it was actually really funny and we felt good about our answers,” Kou said. Those who placed in Sectionals will now prepare The San Gabriel High School FBLA team poses with
their awards after Sectionals at Westlake High School.