ASB hosts annual food drive
Parents criticize math program at meeting
By Rhian Moore Assoc. Feature Editor December 15 marks the end of the holiday canned food drive at South Pasadena High School, a traditional competition between fourth-period classes to collect the most canned goods and other non-perishables. The drive began last Thursday, and was run by senior commissioners Brianna Loo and Michelle Ozaki. “It’s the holidays, and we want to give canned goods to the less fortunate,” said Loo, the Commissioner of School and Community. Loo and Ozaki will bring the cans collected to the Holy Family Church’s Giving Bank. The goal was to collect as many cans as possible; ASB had no specific target amount due to the short timeframe students were given to bring in cans. “We were given about two days’ notice before starting to plan. The power outage took away time, too,” said Ozaki, Commissioner of Clubs. According to Ozaki, she and Loo had four class days to work on the canned food drive. The fourth-period class that collects the most cans will be given free In-N-Out meals after winter break; no decision has been made as to whether the meals will come in the form of gift certificates or as lunches served during class. Science teacher Mr. Paul Groves’s fourth period class often does well in such events. “I talk to the kids in class and ask, ‘do you want to make an impressive contribution?’” said Groves. See “Canned food drive” on Page 2
By Harry Yadav Senior Staff Writer
Jennifer Kim
Virtual Business competes in Bakersfield: “Mistery” Chief Operating Officer senior Jessie Yen explains the product line to potential customers at the California International Trade Show. See page 2.
Drama department presents Bus Stop
Administration reinstates tardy sweeps
By Clem Witherall Assoc. Sports Editor
By Devin Mitchell News Editor Student tardies were down significantly in November, dropping from 201 in October to just 41 last month. Assistant Principal for Student Services Mr. Terrance Dunn attributes the sharp decline to the reinstitution of tardy sweeps on November 9. “In the month of October we had an alarming number of tardies, so I felt it was time to reinstate the sweeps,” said Dunn. “There was huge decline in tardies in November. It was dramatic to say the least.” The news was not met with positive reviews from students, who questioned the side effects of See “Tardy sweeps” on Page 2
The South Pasadena Theatre Department presented its fall play, Bus Stop, over the past two weekends. The play is set in Kansas City, Missouri during the 1950s. A group of strangers are trapped inside a local diner due to a fierce snowstorm and the play follows the characters’ humorous but melancholy interactions. South Pasadena itself was hit by a windstorm just two days before the first show, and SPHS was forced to cancel classes on December 1 and 2. The confusion over whether the show would go on was arguably responsible for the play’s lackluster attendance on opening night; only two-thirds of the 99 available seats were filled. “I’m just glad that Saturday
night’s attendance was much better, because I think that the audience always affects the performances,” said director Mr. Daniel Enright. Enright read over seventy scripts before eventually choosing Bus Stop, written by William Inge. “The play has a lot of universal themes such as love and loneliness that are all part of our lives,” said Enright. Seniors Sara Patterson and Joshua Roquemore starred as main characters Cherie and Bo. Other cast members include Robert Meza, David Yang, Ryan Stone, Ashley Allen, Ruby Muller, and Zoe Sokey. “It was a great experience. The whole cast grew together and it was nice to be able to mentor some of the new actors. I have had so much fun and the play was a great way to end my acting career here at SPHS,” said Patterson.
City sustains $1 million in damage due to storm By Alex Tranquada Copy Editor A considerable amount of damage was done to South Pasadena after the San Gabriel Valley area was hit with hurricane-speed winds on the night of November 30. The city joined Los Angeles County in declaring a state of emergency following the storm. According to estimates, approximately one million dollars will be required to restore the city to its previous state. Over 200 homes were damaged, and many South Pasadena residents awoke on December 1 to find their cars crushed by fallen trees.
The South Pasadena Police Department received over 3,000 wind-related phone calls, 2,000 of which were to report property damage. South Pasadena firefighters made close to 100 fire runs both during and after the storm. Although classes were canceled throughout the district for the two days immediately after the storm, no South Pasadena schools sustained lasting damage. SPUSD Assistant Superintendent Dr. Scott Price is in the process of obtaining state waivers that will prevent the district from having to tack the missed days onto the end of the school year. Although all major prob-
lems, such as interruption of electricity and water service, have been resolved, the cleanup process is far from over. “The city is working very hard to get things back to some normality. We are employing additional staff in our Public Works Department; there were eight people working there already, and we’ve hired fifteen additional workers to pick up all the debris,” said South Pasadena City Manager Sergio Gonzales. “We anticipate that it’s going to take a long time... it’ll most likely take a minimum of four weeks [to clear all of the remaining debris].” Additional reporting by Heather Vaughan and Kelsey Hess.
Theo Mandin-Lee
Hundreds of South Pasadena trees were toppled by the high-speed winds.
What was planned to be an announcement of new common course standards in state mathematics devolved into a venting session for parents on December 6 in the SPHS library. Approximately one hundred people attended the meeting, which ran well past the scheduled 8:00 end time. SPHS math coach Jan Bryson led the presentation. Principal Janet Anderson, Assistant Principal for Curriculum Jack Smith, Assistant Principal for Student Services Terrance Dunn, and all but one teacher from the math department were all present. The meeting was meant to inform parents of the new standards, which require students to do more critical thinking and less memorizing of formulas. The new teaching style is intended to give teachers the ability to ensure that their students understand the material. Bryson began the meeting with a sample math problem for parents. Each parent was given a whiteboard, a pen, and an eraser and asked to write, step by step, the solution to the problem. Smith then played a video highlighting the positives that the change in style would bring to the school. According to Ms Anderson, the conversation became very pointed 45 minutes into the meeting. Many parents became frustrated and felt that the meeting was not addressing their concerns. “When you have a high-performing district, and solid students are getting D’s, even though 70% of them are being tutored, that should raise a red flag to the district,” said Robert DeFulgentiis, a parent who was at the meeting. “There is a discrepancy between what Ms Bryson says happens in the classroom and what actually happens,” said Ms Christina Vaughan, another concerned parent. Anderson was eventually forced to end the meeting because it had strayed completely from its initial purpose. “Administration recognizes the complaints of the parents and we are working to address and fix their concerns, but I had to honor the intention of the meeting and the work of Ms Bryson,” said Anderson. “We will be holding meetings after the start of the new year to hear the parents’ concerns.”