Dear readers, As the Editors-in-Chief of The Paw Print, we felt the need to address you in the light of all that has happened this semester. Our community and our school have been placed under more stress than we have ever faced before with the unpredictable fires and the tragedy at Saugus High School. We are writing to you with the purpose of addressing the setbacks the students and staff of the Hart District have faced so far this year and to recognize that, in spite of it all, we have stayed strong — #SaugusStrong, in particular. Already, we have missed more school days due to events that are far outside of our control than every previous year. Our issue highlights that, even with these complications, West Ranch students continue to make our school proud every day, including our football team that made history this season and our seniors that have already received college acceptance letters. In this issue, it is our ultimate goal to recognize the wonderful and talented students of our campus, varying from our accomplished Marching Band to the hardworking editors of our specialty electives. With the holiday season coming up, it is also our goal to encourage kindness, both to yourself and to others, and to put a smile upon the faces of our readers. We hope to reinforce that despite these hardships, our school and its students continue to thrive. The Paw Print dedicates this issue to Dominic Blackwell and Gracie Anne Muehlberger, Saugus High School, and to former West Ranch students Sebastien Gallegos and Eugene Oh. With that in mind, we truly hope you enjoy our 2019 Winter issue. And remember, “Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat.” - The Editors
Story by Alexa Empleo Graphics by Iman Baber On the morning of Nov. 14, a 16-yearold male student opened fire at 7:38 a.m. on Saugus High School’s campus. Three students were wounded and two were fatally shot. This includes the gunman, who later died from a selfinflicted gunshot injury. Two victims, Dominic Blackwell and Gracie Anne Muehlberger, passed away after being transported to a local hospital. The grief is palpable, not only for the families of the victims, but for the entire SCV community as well. Despite this devastating event, each and every one of us SCV residents have found the strength to give out and share our overwhelming love and support for one another. In the wake of the shooting, students from all over the district came to Valencia High School on Friday, Nov. 15, not only to support West Ranch’s football team against Long Beach Wilson, but to also show support and connect with one another as a unified district. The entire student section was decked out in #SaugusStrong decorations and spirit wear. Students shook hands, hugged and cheered on West Ranch Players. Because of this, the entire section was dubbed “The District.” Junior quarterback Walker Eget ended that momentous night with a touchdown that pulled out a 5756 win for not only West Ranch, but for the entire district. The next day,
West Ranch’s Marching Band and Color Guard competed in the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA) Championships wherein they took home their first gold medal in seven years. They dedicated their performance to Saugus, uniting people through their music in an atmosphere of community and love. On Sunday, people from all over the Santa Clarita Valley came together at Central Park for a vigil that commemorated the lives of the victims and promoted both the emotional and spiritual healing of all those affected. Even throughout the following week, the district made the point of focusing on mental and emotional health and spread out different activities to help, such as therapy dogs, yoga, meditative tea and conversation about the tragedy. West Ranch also hosted Saugus News Network students for a special WRTV show that uplifted the spirits of both parties. Dominic Blackwell and Gracie Anne Muehlberger will forever leave their mark on our hearts and our valley. We will always remember their smiles and their courage, and they serve as an inspiration for all of us to continue a life of kindness and love. Though we are forced to face the harsh realities of violence in schools, we are stronger together as a community now more than ever. May this tragedy continue to invoke a new era of support and collaboration in the Santa Clarita Valley. And as we move forward with our lives, we will forever always be Saugus Strong.
Self Care After Tragedies Tips Provided by Mrs. Chang
In light of the terrible events that took place on Nov. 14 at Saugus High School, West Ranch’s Bring Change to Mind Club and The Paw Print would like to provide you with some tips for self care after tragedies.
Find Connection
Talk with friends, family, and other loved ones
Discharge Excess Energy Express Yourself
Write in a journal, create art, share your experience
Listen to your body Find Gratitude
Go for a walk or run, play your favorite sport, or listen to music
Get rest and nourish yourself
Despite what you may have lost, be grateful for what you still have
Focus On Your breathing
Deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth can help you relax
WEST RANCH’S Notes of Kindness SUBMISSIONS BY STUDENTS
To: Madison East
To: BRANDON CHUNG
Hi Madison! I know you’re struggling with some of your classes this year and I just want to say that you’re not alone and you’re going to make it through. Chem may be difficult, and really when is it not, just know that it gets better and you’ll be just fine. I just want to say thank you for being a great friend!!
Brandon, you are an amazing person. I’m glad that I’ve gotten to know you better for the last two years. You are kind, genuine, thoughtful, and compassionate. I appreciate you. Keep being you!!
TO: SIENNA HAHN
To: Neiko Pittman
Hi Sienna, I know it’s been a little hard for you to adjust to the work load of high school and I’m sure you must feel a lot of pressure to do well. But don’t stress too much, you’re doing the best that you can and I admire your efforts! I love you and continue to work hard; I know you can achieve great things!
You’re such a cool and fun guy. You are always having a blast it seems and the energy you give off is amazing. Keep it up my dude, and have a fantastic day.
TO: Mrs. Chang
Mrs. Chang, there’s so much I can say about you that I’m not quite sure I have enough room! Besides being an amazing teacher, you are such an incredible person and it’s been a pleasure to get to know you during my time at West Ranch. I’ll miss you next year, but I’ll definitely come back to visit.
TO: Mr. Hughes
Sometimes, I come into class and I really don’t want to be in AP Calc BC. But when I hear your dad jokes and your constant enthusiasm to teach it always makes my day.
To: Mrs. Kim
Mrs. Kim, Thank you for being such a kind teacher. Your compassionate personality truly makes class feel like a family and math less of a struggle.
To: Ms. Frame
Ms. Frame, you are one of my favorite teachers ever! Every day I love going to class just so I get to hang out with you and talk about Star Wars. Thank you for being so amazing!
To: Reese Avalos
Hey Reese, just wanting to give you a compliment. I do have to say you really are great — I know high school is rough and it’s not easy to have a brother who CONSTANTLY makes fun of you with sarcastic comments. But I like you quite a bit and it’s gonna be hard when I have to go away for college so... I’m looking forward to that time I have left with you. Anyways, toodles. To: Phoebe Woods
Hey Phoebe Woods, you’re literally one of my favorite people to talk to. It’s always one of my favorite parts of the day.
TO: DYLAN THAI
Thank you for always being there for me and for being my best friend. I love you, Dyl!
To: Christina Lee
Christina Lee, you’re absolutely radiant and a joy to know! You light up our lives with your good heart and we love you very much.”
TO: Nancy Phillips
Nancy, you’re such a sweet and caring person not to mention very fashionable as well :) Thank you for always being there to uplift me, give me advice, and talk about romantic European adventures. See you in the Italian countryside with Fredrick! Love you! Thank you for everything :) I’ll make you tired of me someday!
To: Mrs. Cazan
I didn’t know a school counselor could care so much about one student until I needed you and you stepped up. I figured I was just another name on your list of students. Now I feel like so much more than that. Thank you for making me feel important, Mrs. Cazan.
TO: MRS. BROSCHE
I want to say thank you for being such a kind teacher that’s is always willing to listen and help. This year has been hard and you have been super nice so thank you. You are also a great math teacher!!
TO: Austin Chun
I luv u <3 Thanks for being there for me.
Special Electives
Story by Allison Alben and Mary Waugh Pictures by Allison Alben and Mary Waugh
Cade Costic
Caylen Greenburg
Q: How many hours do you spend working on WRTW stuff per week? A: I spend at least five hours a day in and outside of school working on WRTV-related business. On busier days, though, I can spend up to the majority of the day,especially if I’m editing Q: How does it feel to be one of the most recognized students on a large project or planning out a packed show. campus? A: It feels amazing -- I love that people have fun with me and are Q: What’s your favorite story you’ve worked on in WRTV involved in pre-shows, and I love that people respect what I do so throughout your time in the program? much. It makes me feel good and I never would have imagined it A: I love creating segments on anything related to the bands and colorguard at West Ranch. I feel like the marching band gets when I was a little freshman. really underappreciated for the intense amount of work they put into their program, so whenever I get a chance to work with the Q: The freshmen always run away from you, how does that feel? A: It’s interesting -- a lot of freshman actually come up to me now. musicians, it’s a lot of fun. However, people do run from me -- and when that happens, it’s funny yet sad at the same time. I think it’s funny because they think Q: How has WRTV helped you throughout high school? I’m scary, but at the same time, I’m not scary, and I’m not out to get A: This program has really expanded my understanding of hardware and technology. I’ve come to better understand the them, so it’s sad. equipment interconnections from wiring our studio and control Q: What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced throughout your four room. When I was directing the class of 2019’s graduation, I had to communicate with our ground cameras through two-way years in WRTV? A: There have for sure been some challenges... coming up with radio while giving directions to the student operating our video story ideas isn’t always easy, and managing my time between work, switcher... all while the entire stadium audience was watching school, and WRTV is hard. It is a very time consuming program and our feed live on the enormous jumbotron. Talk about stressful! you have to be willing to give it your all. Q: What’s your main responsibility in West Ranch TV? A: My main responsibility as Executive Producer is to oversee all segments going on, make sure interviews are set up, and [see] that the shows are planned out and ready to go for the weeks to come.
W R T V
Darren Eskandar
Drew Ashlock
Q: What does it mean to be the E-board President? A: Being E-board President means much more than just being a leader of all the students on campus. Yes, it is important to set a good example for everyone else, but there is a lot more to the job. I must always be prepared to answer any questions one might have about school activities or events.
Q: What’s your number one goal as senior class president? A: My number one goal is to guarantee that the class of 2020 feels unified this year. Whether it is through senior activities and events or perks of the senior package, my priority is making sure this final year of high school is all bonding and smiles.
Q: What’s the most challenging aspect about being E-board President? A: The hardest part about this position is the fact that I have to deal with all the behind the scenes work that goes on at this school. Don’t get me wrong, I love being able to work my hardest in order to make sure the student body enjoys their high school experience, but there is a lot that people don’t see when it comes to being E-board President. For example, whenever there is a special request made by students that must be approved by Admin, I am usually involved in communicating with Mr. Crawford or Mrs. Hinze in order to work things out on both sides.
Q: What is your favorite part of being class president? A: My favorite part about being class president is getting to work with my fellow class officers. They are some of the most incredibly hardworking individuals, and most of the 2020 events you see wouldn’t get done without them. They are a joy to work with every single day.
Q: What inspired you to apply for this position? A: Ever since I joined ASB in 8th grade at Rancho Pico, I knew that one of my passions was serving the school by trying to cater to the needs of the student body. Once I moved over to West Ranch ASB, I realized there was so much more that I could do to help other than only planning dances or lunch time activities. It is also important to mention that I was the most shy person when I first joined ASB, and I never thought I would be able to lead over 2,000 students on campus. However, after working with so many different personalities in ASB, I started to come out of my shell. Q: What are some of your favorite activities that you have put on for the school? A: All of the Homecoming activities that we put on this year were so much fun to plan and execute. First, it was very fun incorporating our theme of Rock n’ Roll into the entire week leading up to the game and dance. Our rally was filled with lots of excitement, and the court got to introduce themselves to the students. By this time, everyone was hyped for the game, and we had an awesome turnout in our Pack. Finally, we got to finish it all off with the dance at the Hyatt, which was definitely a night to remember.
Q: What are some of your favorite activities that you’ve put on for the school? A: Putting prom together last year was an absolute blast. Everything from organizing Prom Expo to coordinating our prom court, to making sure everything at the location was in tip top shape, was a fun process that I’ll never forget. Q: How much time does the position take out of your week? A: We’ve got our daily meetings in ASB which take up first period, but we also spend a lot of time outside of class working on our activities. Whether that’s scrambling together during school hours to put on a senior event or spending long nights in the gym the night before a rally, a huge chunk of my daily life has become dedicated to this position.
A S B
Emmett Ruhlan Q: It’s pretty uncommon for sophomores to be EICs. How does it feel to be one of the EICs of Yearbook? A: Being the Junior EIC for Yearbook is pretty incredible. Working with Jocelyn, on the other hand, is not as awesome. In all seriousness, while the job has a lot of stressful moments, the sense of accomplishment you get from submitting pages is totally worth it. Q: What’s the most challenging part of finishing the Yearbook? A: The most challenging part of Yearbook is making sure that every student has their story told. Our Friday night work sessions are very stressful because the pages have to get done that day no matter what. There is a lot of pressure that comes with finalizing pages because if there is a mistake, everyone is going to spot [it], and, ultimately, it’s your fault.
Jocelyn Q: What are some of your main responsibilities as the EIC of Yearbook? A: As EIC, I work to develop the theme and make sure that everyone knows what they’re doing and how to do it. I sort of feel like everyone’s mom, like I have to nag them, but it’s out of love. Unless they miss the deadline. Q: What’s your best memory that you’ve made while in Yearbook? A: We have these things called “lock-ins” where we have to stay Friday night until everything is done. So five hours in, I couldn’t stop laughing when Emmett Ruhland put on a pair of sunglasses and sat there deadpan. It sounds really stupid, and it mostly was.
Q: What processes do you go through to decide what the cover of the Yearbook is going to be? A: The cover is quite the beast. Over the summer at Yearbook Camp, we worked with an artist to brainstorm what it could look like, but we ended up scrapping that. Now we’ve got a Q: How does it feel to be one of the only guys in Yearbook? good picture of what we want it to look like, and Kyra Karatsu, A: Last year, I was the only guy on the Yearbook staff, and an editor, is working to make it real.
now there are five of us. It’s definitely not as awkward as it Q: What does the program do after the Yearbook is sent off sounds.
to print? A: We have this super fun curriculum from Herf Jones to Q: What’s the last part of the Yearbook you create before work on. That’s about it.
sending it to print? A: The last part of the book we create before we submit it is the Yearbook staff page and the letter from the editors page. These pages are a lot of fun to make because you get to reflect on all of the hard work you have done to get to this point and then highlight all of the amazing people in Yearbook.
Y E A R
B O O K
playing the Story by Emily Chang Photo by Chika Winston
field
On Saturday, Nov. 16, the West Ranch High School Marching Band and Color Guard travelled to Downey, California to compete in the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA) Championships. After a long day of traveling, practicing and competing on the Warren High School field, the band program won all three major categories and a gold medal for the first time in seven years. After the recent tragedy at Saugus high school, the band program wanted to dedicate their performance to them and contribute to #SaugusStrong, the hashtag that took off after Thursday’s events. When asked about the competition,
junior clarinetist Isabella Buenaventura said, “We wanted to use music to unite everyone. It really gave us the motivation to move forward.” Skylar Higgins, another junior clarinetist, had similar feelings about the performance. Higgins “felt like the whole thing was surreal.” According to Higgins, “We were standing in attention when they announced the awards, but the second we were released we all started hugging and crying and our families and coaches came down to us.” Nov. 16 was undoubtedly a historic day for the West Ranch band program as they end their season on the highest of high notes.
The life of a
Story by Alyssa Chang, Lauren Guss, Jasmine Wongphatarakul Photos by Mary Waugh and Chika Winston
Some people bake as a hobby, while others bake during culinary class. Junior Emma Bates has taken her love for baking to the next level. Bates is a sweet West Ranch student striving to reach her dream as a professional baker. “I’ve been baking since I was little with my mother and my grandmother and since then I’ve been baking for fun,” says Bates. With the help and support from her greatest inspirations, her mother and grandmother, she began to expand her hobby of baking to selling goods to friends and family. Her favorite cookies to make are sugar cookies, which are also her best sellers. Emma’s baking business started when one of her mom’s friends offered her the chance to bake sugar cookies. Bates eagerly took this opportunity and ended up finding her passion for baking. Her first orders began with just families and friends; however, it quickly expanded from there. Emma’s eagerness to learn how to bake has brought her many accomplishments. She has received orders from famous actor Jaime Camil, the dad from “Jane the Virgin.” Her favorite order was for the CHLA blood drive for cancer patients. She made blood drop shaped
cookies that certainly wowed the crowd. On Nov. 18, Mickey Mouse’s birthday, she obtained the opportunity to bake Mickey Mousethemed cookies for the Wellness Center here at West Ranch. While most high school students are anxious to find their career pathway, Emma has set her mind to what she loves most: baking. As she continues to receive orders from numerous customers, she hopes to turn her passion for baking into a career after high school. Emma states, “I’m definitely looking at culinary schools, specifically pastry schools for the next few years, hoping to maybe get into the city and become a chef or baker.” Her love for baking was revealed when she explained, “It de-stresses me a lot, it gives me something to focus on, and when I’m decorating cookies, it’s one way to help me be creative plus I love baking food for other people that they enjoy. Their happiness brings me happiness.” Students can order her delicious pastries by contacting her through her Instagram (@ebconfections), by email, or in-person. West Ranch High School looks forward to Bates pursuing her dreams and being able to thrive as a young baker.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;I love baking food for other people ... Their happiness brings me happiness.â&#x20AC;?
Francesco Ochoa brings
Magic to West Ranch
Story by Ashley Park Photo by Ashley Park and Katie Luo There are many elements that factor into a great magician. For Francesco Ochoa, magic began as an activity to free him from his boredom but developed into a fun and important hobby. Ochoa, a junior at West Ranch, practices the art of magic and sleight of hand — something he truly excels at. One boring summer three years ago led Ochoa to acquire this new talent. Ochoa’s past love for watching magic sparked his interest in learning how to do magic himself. He was taught magic in a variety of ways. “I learned how to do magic in different ways. I have my uncle — he does magic — he’s a magician. He taught me a lot of tricks, but I also did my own research, read some books and watched some videos to learn more tricks,” Ochoa said. Ochoa still educates himself on how to master new tricks. Magic takes time and repetition to develop the skills and fundamentals to perform it properly. After continuous practicing, he was able to overcome the struggles that he faced in the beginning. “It takes a lot of practice but after you get your first trick done, the next ones start getting easier and easier to do,” Ochoa said. He gains a lot of knowledge from trial and error, making mistakes and repeating the trick until he gets it right. He
has even performed magic for the public. In Las Vegas, Ochoa showed a magician one of his own tricks and performed a trick for the magician as an audience crowded around them. These experiences reveal what Ochoa loves most about magic. “The best part about doing magic is getting the impression from people, seeing how they react to the magic,” he said. He faced many learning curves as he began to perform in front of people. “The hardest part of learning was the talking part,” Ochoa said. “For doing magic, you need to talk a lot and be in connection with the public, and when I first started doing magic, I didn’t know much English, so it was hard.” Ochoa even receives some extra practice by performing magic for his classmates and teachers in English class during tutorial. Although magic is something that Ochoa works hard at, he finds it more as a hobby and for amusement. He found this special hobby as a gateway to connect with the people around him and has even made friends through doing magic. This is not something Ochoa wants to pursue as a career, but he wants to continue to progress and work on improving at it. Next time you see Francesco Ochoa at school, ask him to see his neat tricks.
tik tok stars: Andy Lee Gian ramos
&
Story and photos by Ryan Factora and Katie Luo
On any given day, Room 513 houses rows upon rows of students uniformly typing away at their computers for 100 minutes. But during Period 5, two students — no, two influencers — always seem to stand out amongst the dull, drab monotony. Armed with an iPhone XR camera, Gian Ramos painstakingly looks for the perfect angle to capture fellow junior Andy Lee as he charmingly stares into the camera. Their goal? To become Tik-Tok famous. “We were two classes into the school year. Some girl dropped out, and I had room for him to sit next to me — that’s how it all started,” explained Ramos. “We were just bored in class one day, and we made a Tik-Tok.” Little did they know that this single clip would be the kickstart of their Tik-Tok careers. The duo’s rise to fame started with a video posted on Ramos’ Tik-Tok account, @gianramoss, consisting of Ramos jokingly flirting with Andy. That video alone netted the pair 2.9 million views. “I was at Elite, and our group chat was like ‘yo, you’re going viral,’ and I was like ‘that’s wild,’” recounted Ramos. “I went home, took a four hour nap and woke up to 3,000 followers.” After their first taste of fame, the team was soon to jump on every trend and challenge. Ramos attempted to recreate their first exposure to the TikTok community, mainly focused on the “days until they fall in love with me” trend. Together, Ramos and Lee produced a story for viewers to follow along with as they created a facade of a romantic relationship.
Since then, Ramos’ account skyrocketed and took over the “For You” page of millions of Tik-Tok users. Ramos boasts 109.5k followers, 1.3 million likes and over 8.5 million views on Tik-Tok at the time of this article’s writing. Oddly enough, while Andy’s Tik-Tok (@andya7ki) has seen modest growth, it still pales in comparison to Gian’s fame. “People are just kind of dumb and don’t see that I tag him in every single video,” explained Ramos. While fans may not have found his Tik-Tok account, they definitely were able to find his Instagram — Lee’s inbox is chock full of direct messages, equal parts K-pop fan accounts and teenage girls. “Sometimes I get comments saying I look like some K-pop star,” remarked Lee. “I don’t really care. I guess they’re kind of handsome.” In an effort to engage with more of their fans, the duo decided to start a Discord server that now hosts more than 150 members. “There was a post on Gian’s Tik-Tok account saying ‘play League with me’ with a discord invite, so I joined it and met all of them,” said one such fan, Isabelle Hay. Hay lives in Australia, but, despite living on separate continents, she was able to create a strong bond with Ramos and Lee. “Before meeting everyone, I never really had any interest in going to America,” explained Hay, “but now that I’ve made a bunch of cool friends there. I really want to visit and meet everyone and hang out!” But the duo’s fame isn’t just limited to online circles. “Yeah, actually I went to In-N-Out and this little kid recognized me,” grinned Lee. “Oh yeah, I got recognized at Hart, too,” added Ramos. “It was after I was taking the SAT, and this kid comes up to me and is like, ‘hey, hey bro, you do Tik-Tok?’” The pair’s sheer devotion to Tik-Tok was evident throughout the entire Paw Print interview and photoshoot. Every 15 seconds, without fail, they would interject their sentences with references to Tik-Toks such as “Martha Dumptruck, in the flesh,” “Roxanne,” or other Tik-Tok videos that even we couldn’t recognize. When we looked at their weekly Screen Times, we found that Andy had used TikTok for 18 hours that week, but that was nothing compared to Gian’s whopping 30 hours. “I think Tik-Tok just made me cringier,” said Ramos. “Most people are like ‘Oh, I’m never gonna get into it. It’s stupid It’s cringy.’ But eventually, the app just rubs off on you.” “It’s a lifestyle,” summed up Lee.
g n i k a M ( a Splash) Amanda Tisdale There’s no “I” in “team.” That is, for everyone except Amanda Tisdale. If you’ve ever been to a West Ranch Swim and Dive meet, you would have noticed something intriguing about its second half. Until this year, the West Ranch dive team was a one-woman show run by junior Amanda Tisdale. During her freshman and sophomore years on campus, Tisdale was the only athlete representing West Ranch Dive. She entered high school knowing administration was close to discontinuing the dive team; determined to continue perfecting the art form she began at age nine, she expressed an interest in joining and kept the team alive. Soccer and basketball players run into fellow athletes just about everywhere they go. On the contrary, any divers that do live in Santa Clarita are few and far between. “SCV doesn’t have many pools with diving boards, and there’s not really any coaches or clubs here. So unless you have the passion to go to Pasadena every day, there’s really no incentive for anyone to join dive,” Tisdale admitted. Most students simply walk downstairs to the gym or field to practice, but it’s common knowledge West Ranch doesn’t have a swimming pool. Even though her hourlong commute to Pasadena isn’t desirable, Tisdale must fit it into her schedule three times a week to hone her skills. So what does she practice when she finally gets to the pool? Divers must refine their movements over-and-over because subtle nuances can make or break a maneuver. There are numerous dive categories, but Tisdale is especially partial to one of them. “I have a favorite group I like to do which are the twisting dives, and I really like doing inward dives. You stand backwards on the board but flip forwards, so it has a bit more of a danger factor,” she smiled. “I like flipping a lot.” Diving doesn’t involve games in which multiple athletes compete for a certain goal; instead, Tisdale says that “you’re trying to beat your own skills.” Imagine walking along a narrow diving board, heartbeat roaring in your ears and a crowd scrutinizing your every move. Although meets are stressful, Tisdale always has a plan of attack when the spotlight falls on her.
Story and photos by Brooke Johnston “I usually visualize myself doing the dive the way I want to, and then I regulate my breathing, regulate the speed of how I’m walking and I just imagine it like practice,” Tisdale said. “I’m like, ‘okay, I’ve done this a hundred times. I’ve done it well at least 20 of those times — I can do this.’” Dives are scored on a scale from one to 10, and according to Tisdale, “Tens are rare as a unicorn.” If divers complete one flip instead of two or otherwise fail to complete what the judge announces, they get out of the pool with a zero. “On average, a solid dive would be about a four to a five,” Tisdale said. “I’ve been averaging sevens to eights.” The scoring may seem harsh, but Tisdale loves overcoming the hardships and critiques. “I like the variety and the thrill of getting that dive right after you’ve tried it so many times. When you finally get that perfect landing, it’s like ‘wow,’” she exhaled happily. Next semester, a few new individuals — Meri Muro, Jaena Danaram and Veronika Pirog — will take leaps of faith for West Ranch. Backed by a group of eager athletes, Varsity Captain Tisdale has a goal for her season this spring. “My goal is to take the league title,” she asserted. “I’ve been placing second, just under the Hart girl, because I’ve had to cut back my practice time. I’m hoping with my new schedule, I can improve and overcome her this year.” The seasoned soloist can clearly thrive on her own, but she couldn’t create such a big splash without guidance and support from loved ones. “I would have to say the support from my family has been the best. Last year, no one showed up to any of my dive meets, but the one person who was consistently there supporting me was my mother,” Tisdale said, smiling. While her path might look different than most, Tisdale has valuable advice for any athlete looking to succeed when all eyes are on them, and only them. “If at first you screw up, don’t give up,” she said firmly. “Keep trying until you get it right because when you do that, it will be the best feeling in the world.” Tisdale pioneered a unique path at West Ranch and constantly dives deeper within herself to unlock her full potential. If you see her on campus, wish her luck on her season to come and ask her a few questions! You’ll walk away inspired and ready to plunge into your goals.
Diver Diver Diver
(
(
If at first you screw up, don't give up
ANDREW MEADOW 22.4
points per game* *in the summer league
2
college interest letters
20
top freshman standouts*
*according to Daily News
Balling for the Stars Story and photos by Harneet and Jasleen Arora
Before coming to West Ranch, freshman Andrew Meadow had made a name for himself in the basketball world. Having played for elite teams including such as Creators Basketball, Brea Academy and Academy of Young Ballers, it comes as no surprise that Meadow made the varsity team here at the Ranch. Through his travel teams, he has acquired the skills necessary to compete against many high-end players, including son of famed Lakers player Lebron James. Most recently, Meadow was ranked in the top 20 freshman standouts of the Los Angeles Daily News. Considering his bright future, Meadow has created a “three step plan” detailing his goals. After making the varsity team here at West Ranch, he can now check his first goal off the list. From here, he hopes to play for a D1 university then play professional basketball. With a heart truly devoted to basketball, Meadow’s intense weekly routine resembles his desire to succeed. “During school, we have conditioning or weight room every day,” said Meadow. “Outside of school, I usually go to LA Fitness for a long time after school and workout and work on my shooting, and I get in some games just to practice. Sometimes I go to the travel ball practice just to workout.” When it comes to playing on the high school team, Meadow has only one thought in his mind: work harder than everyone else on the court. And while other freshman players may need to work on improving their skill level, Meadow takes a different approach to his training. “I have not been working on [my skills] as much because my skill level is high, but I mainly just have to get faster and stronger to play with all of the older players,” said Meadow. Of course, coming to a new school comes with its own challenges and being a freshman on the varsity team may seem daunting, but Meadow seems to be fitting in fine. “The team has been very accepting,” said Meadow. “Some people think that they might not want me to play since I am a freshman and they are seniors and
juniors. But they accept me because they know that I am good and I am going to help the team. I have created a close bond with them. I’m most looking forward to having fun with the team and winning games and we’re gonna win league this year.” Meadow’s skills have surely shown to be exceptional and Coach Man shared some thoughts on cultivating the talent of young Andrew Meadow. “Andrew brings height, tremendous skill and a high basketball IQ,” said head coach Ron Manalastas. “Because he has played so much basketball he has seen different offensive and defensive systems. Experience plays a huge part in development. Playing against high level competition consistently forces players to get better or get left behind. Andrew doesn’t want to be left behind. He is competitive and strives to be the best player and teammate he can be.” Make sure to support the Wildcats in this exciting upcoming season!
X F L
Reshaping Football Story by Noah Neri and Zach Singer Graphics by Timothy Kang
On Jan. 5, 2018, WWE chairman and CEO Vincent K. McMahon announced that his company, Alpha Entertainment, would be establishing a reboot of the XFL, a professional football league. With the Feb. 8, 2020 opening day quickly approaching, The Paw Print is here to tell you why this league has potential written all over it. One word in the intro may have made you do a double take — a reboot? Yes, you read that right, although it’s forgivable if you never watched the XFL. Its one and only season took place in 2001, when many West Ranch seniors were just born. This earlier league failed because of wrestling-like broadcast elements and low quality play.
New Rules
So what could help the new XFL succeed? Examining the old XFL could help answer this question, as the old league introduced broadcast elements ahead of its time, such as the skycam and mic’d-up players. Innovation will be key in order to keep audiences tuned in, and the new XFL seems to have plenty of ideas in store. Some new rules might include a 3-point conversion, a constantly running clock, kickoff without fair catches and lateral passes including all passes behind the line of scrimmage. These will bring a fresh viewing experience that Alpha hopes is sustainable.
1
2
Strategy
The XFL is getting so much media attention due to the tons of ex-NFL players that are playing in the new league. Recognizable faces such as Trent Richardson, Tommylee Lewis, Cardale Jones and Landry Jones are giving new fans a stable amount of players they already know. These older names will attempt to attract potential viewers to watch the product and hope to get these watchers learning some of the newer names. The XFL is hoping to bring new life to the game of football. With advanced rules, new league qualifications and fresh faces to football, the XFL will look to rival the NFL. Though unsuccessful the first time, everything seems to be in place for the league to succeed this time around.
3
4
Early Entry To The Pros
The Teams
The league will feature eight teams, hailing from all over the United States’ biggest cities: the Los Angeles Wildcats, Seattle Dragons, Houston Roughnecks, Dallas Renegades, St. Louis Battlehawks, Tampa Bay Vipers, D.C. Defenders and the New York Gladiators. The XFL’s mission is to bring an exciting, fresh breath to the way we know football, and giving these landmark cities another team to represent seems to be a perfect path to success.
Another element of the XFL that could change football forever is speeding up the transition from amateur to pro. Currently, the NFL requires potential players to be three years out of high school. However, the XFL has no such rules. Although only one player with college eligibility remaining (West Virginia’s Kenny Robinson) has transitioned into this new league, players who would like to cash in on their talent could potentially go straight from high school or college to the XFL and play several years before declaring for the NFL draft. These promising young talents could be a major selling point for the newborn league.
To All the People as Clueless as Me... Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve Found the Secret to Finding Music
Story By Reya Mehta I’ve gone through a lot of phases of listening to music. I’ve listened to horrible pop music that sounded terrific at the time, and I’ve been through stages of sad music, going from ”Deep Dark Indie” to “Happy Indie Folk.” Then came Spotify-curated playlists of every genre I liked at the time, whether it was “Your Favorite Coffeehouse” or “Happy Chill Good Time Vibes.” Then I experienced the music void — I got so sick of trying to find music that I just stopped trying. After a little break, I started recycling my old songs. Then the cycle repeated. With music, it’s hard not to get sucked into a comfort playlist. I know I’ve found it frustrating when I want to find something different, to branch out a little, but nothing sounds as good as the playlist I started with. Spotify has many genres and moods to choose from, with a variety of playlists in each. The most useful tool on Spotify is “Go to Song Radio.” It’s brilliant when you find that one song that you absolutely love. Apple Music has Beats 1, with hand-picked songs by actual humans. Beats 1 is a live radio station that provides amazing recommendations. No matter what genre you’re listening to, Beats 1 is bound to have a first-rate selection. Pandora’s entire concept is based around radio stations. It’s designed to provide songs and artists similar to the ones you search up.
The first thing to determine when it comes to finding music is your favorite genre. Look at some of your past favorite songs, and look up what genre they are. Chances are, there will be some recurrences. Then, look at some artists in that genre. If you’ve listened to every song by one of your favorite artists, exhausting the songs, find artists similar to him or her. Spotify has a “Fans also like” option for every artist. Lots of music platforms have an option of finding similar songs or artists. Another option for finding music is to get suggestions from someone you know has reliable taste. More often than not, people love sharing the music they love. I asked my sister what music she listened to, and she created a playlist of songs for me. My sister and I have always had very different music tastes, but after listening to the songs multiple times, they grew on me. While it may not exactly give you the best underground music, the radio is an excellent way to find trending music. Beats 1 is already a perfect example, but even just listening to 104.3, 102.7, or 97.1 FM in the car is a great way to find out what’s at the top of the charts. Whether you enjoy playlists like “Late Night Vibes” or “Rock This,” music is a universal thing. Finding music can be tough, but listening to it always pays off. So, to all the people as clueless as me, remember that music is supposed to cause joy, not uncertainty.
Story by Quynn Lubs Graphic by Quynn Lubs and Timothy Kang “Skolstrejk for Klimatet:” climate strike. A simple message on a cardboard sign, and Greta Thunberg was able to alter the course of our planet. As a Swedish climate activist who has addressed the United States Congress and the United Nations and has inspired the largest global climate strike in history, Greta Thunberg is a symbol for progress. It began with her sitting alone with her sign for three weeks on the steps of the parliament building in Stockholm. Now, over 1.5 million young people worldwide have followed in her footsteps, fighting for their futures. Thunberg is 16 years old. To some, her age is offensive, it is crude, and it is threatening. Older generations feel uncomfortable with the idea that a teenager can hold power. They are afraid of change, and a teenager telling them how to change is out of the question. This can be seen in many tweets directed towards Greta Thunberg written by people of older generations — including President Trump. After Thunberg’s UN address in September of 2019, President Trump wrote sarcastically, “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!” Greta retaliated by making this quote her biography on her Twitter profile, holding her head high as she often does when facing backlash. According to the Los Angeles Times, Trump had attended the UN Climate Summit that Thunberg spoke at — for 15 minutes. He stopped by on his way to an event about religious freedom. President Trump has blatantly proven that he does not believe in climate change. In November of 2019, Trump announced that the United States would be withdrawing from the Paris climate accord, even though the U.S. is the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world — right behind China, who contributes to 29 percent of global CO2 emissions, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. It seems our government has abandoned the fight against climate change and has chosen to remain blissfully ignorant. Donald Trump proved it himself in 2012. “In the 1920’s people were worried about global cooling — it never happened. Now it’s global warming. Give me a break!” Some people in power simply refuse to acknowledge that global warming is harmful. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, it is dangerous to ignore the threat of global warming — if we continue on this same path, our global temperature will rise by around 1.5 degrees celsius by 2030. It is even more dangerous for a
THE VOICE OF A GENERATION government official with as much power as the president to deny the existence of climate change, telling their people to simply ignore this problem and wait for it to go away on its own. But it won’t go away on its own. Greta Thunberg works to combat the ideas of those in power in order to instill change in the youngest generation. Young people have to fix things because the youth is the group of people who have to deal with the effects that global warming has caused. Their world could be cut short, and they need to do everything in their power to prevent that. Thunberg has worked to inspire young people to protest in the name of climate change. In August of 2018, she founded “Fridays for Future,” for which she took weeks off of school in order to stand outside Swedish parliament in protest, encouraging other students to do the same in their countries. This won her the Ambassador of Conscience Award presented by Amnesty International in Washington D.C. She addressed the United Nations twice at the age of 16, and she sailed to the meetings instead of flying in order to release fewer emissions. In September of 2019, she lead the largest climate rally ever recorded with 4 million people, mainly schoolchildren, participating worldwide. Around the same time, she testified before Congress to tell the two House committees to “do something.” Throughout the few months that Greta Thunberg has been in the spotlight, she has become a voice for a generation. She is not afraid to talk back. She is aware of her influence, and she uses it to inspire young people around the globe to use their voices, because no matter how many times adults tell children and teenagers that they don’t know anything, there is always a way to prove them wrong. According to Thunberg, this generation has had an important task fall at their feet. The future of this planet is in the hands of young people, and, as long as we refuse to accept the reality the people in power have created, we can avoid the end of the world. That’s what it has come down to; we need to delay the end of the world. Global warming has become too big of a threat to ignore. Therefore, young people must protest alongside Greta Thunberg, fighting back against the non-believers. The next climate strike in Los Angeles is scheduled for Dec. 6. Do something. Take back your planet.
during the holidays Story by Ricky Rojas and Gaby Lesmana Graphics by Gaby Lesmana and Emily Chang
With the holidays coming up, shopping for friends and family while on a budget can be difficult. Every year, stores pressure people to spend more and more. So no matter what holiday you celebrate at this time of year, here are some ways to save money and still have a memorable holiday experience.
The Paw Print @wrpawprint @wrpawprint @wrpawprint wrpawprint.com