Junior officers Nielsen named plan Western county Teacher homecoming of the Year
Moon festival celebrates Chinese culture By Brandon Kim Staff Writer The sidewalk outside of the South Pasadena Public Library Community Room was covered in activity booths and intricate chalk drawings on Saturday, October 6 for the annual Moon Festival. Sponsored by the South Pasadena Chinese-American Club, the event attracted residents of a variety of ages and backgrounds in celebration of Chinese-American culture and the recent harvest moon. “I think it was an amazing opportunity for many people to experience and become more familiar with the Chinese community and culture,” said sophomore Stanley Tan, who volunteered at the event. Storyteller Barbara Wong narrated the Legend of the Moon Festival during the event and a group of eight South Pasadena High School Chinese Language students sang traditional Chinese songs. “The performances were so exciting, and I loved how we were able to interact with children on stage,” said sophomore Tae Nam, one of the student performers. Food trucks and booths served traditional Asian foods such as boba, moon cakes, and egg rolls. An assortment of activities was offered for younger children, ranging from balloon sculptures to Chinese calligraphy. Senior citizens were taught how to make dragon beard candy and bonsai trees, and a table was set up for traditional Chinese board games like Mahjong and Chinese chess. Attendees of all ages participated in a sidewalk chalk-drawing competition. “The festival is a great, culturally educational experience for the younger generation,” said junior Yoon Lee. “I think our [community] needs more events like this one.”
By Shine Cho Assoc. News Editor
Rachael Garner
Seniors Dominique Amaya and Devna Desai cheer during the Color Day roll call in the gym on October 5. See Pages 8 and 9.
Students don orange and black for Color Day festivities By Andrés García Staff Writer Students showcased their creativity and spirit by dressing in orange and black for Color Day on October 5. This year marks the 74th anniversary of the annual South Pasadena High School spirit day. “I was really impressed with the costumes people wore this year, and it shows that South Pas never fails to express its Tiger pride,” said junior Victor Hidalgo. “The bar was set even higher for next year. Everyone truly went all out this year and tried their bests with all of the costumes.” Commissioner of Assemblies senior Nick O’Brien and
Anastasia Velicescu
The South Pasadena Chinese-American Club hosted the annual Moon Festival on October 6 outside the library Community Room.
Commissioner of Spirit senior Lauren Riley conducted the Color Day assembly, which featured performances from pep and drumline and a dance by the SPHS teachers. The Rio Hondo League rivalry was portrayed as an American Idol parody throughout the assembly. “I thought it went really well,” said O’Brien. “I was very happy with everyone’s performances and the overall student involvement.” The Homecoming court nominees and the winners of the grade-level Color Day costume and poster competitions were also announced. “I was really shocked to see how many people went all out,” said freshman Seiji Sasaki. “I wasn’t expecting to see so many people dress up.” ASB was pleased with the demonstration of school spirit. “The whole Color Day experience was really amazing this year. It was extremely exciting to see so many people dress up, especially freshmen,” said Riley. “The great amount of school spirit really unified [SPHS]. It was the perfect way to conclude my last Color Day.” Visit tigernewspaper.com for a complete list of the 2012 Homecoming court nominees.
The junior class officers and the Junior Activities Committee are saddling up for this year’s Western-themed homecoming dance. The dance is scheduled for Friday, October 26 and will be held in the main gym following the football game against Blair High School. The juniors aim to revamp the traditional school dance by adding new elements to its casual atmosphere, such as carnival games surrounding the dance floor. ASB also intends the dance to be Sadie Hawkins, in which it is customary for the girls to ask the boys. “The homecoming dance is very unique this year,” said junior class president Josh Ma. “The dance is more theme-centered than ever before and focuses on providing a fun and enjoyable atmosphere for everyone.” Last year’s homecoming dance was held off-campus at the Pasadena Hilton Hotel for the first time in school history. The junior officers originally planned to find another off-site location for this year, but were unable to find an available venue because of previous reservations made by a horse race series the same weekend. “Although we couldn’t find an off-site venue, I’m still looking forward to this year’s homecoming dance as a fun, exciting, and different experience,” said junior class treasurer Patricia San Pedro.
By Jason Wang Business Manager Ms Maryann Nielsen was honored on September 21 as one of sixteen Los Angeles County finalists in the California Teachers of the Year competition. The World History and Advanced Placement American Government teacher was selected as the South Pasadena High School Teacher of the Year last May. “I’m honored and a little embarrassed because we all work hard, and there are so many excellent teachers at our school,” said Nielsen. “The highest honor of all was being nominated by my colleagues.” The competition process consisted of an extensive interview and application. Nielsen competed with 70 other teachers from across L.A. County. “I literally had to sit down and write ten essays for the See “Nielsen” on Page 2
Rachael Garner
Nielsen was selected as one of the top 16 teachers in LA County.
Virtual business program prepares for competition By Amber Laird Copy Editor Virtual business teams from throughout Southern California attended the Virtual Enterprise Student Leadership Training at South Pasadena High School on October 4. The eighth annual session served as a fundraiser for the SPHS virtual business program and instructed students on how to succeed in upcoming competitions. Students visited three onehour workshop sessions over the course of the day. Presentations covered business-related topics such as the role of social responsibility in business, how to build a business case, and the legal aspect of
business. The SPHS varsity and junior varsity Virtual Enterprise classes spent the majority of September electing officers and proposing business products. The varsity team selected eXpedition, a backpacking service for high school students, as its company. This is the first time in several years the program has chosen to market a service rather than a product. “It’s not really like anything we’ve ever done before. There will definitely be a lot of new exposure and different challenges and experiences,” said eXpedition Chief Executive Officer senior Austin Kahn. See “Virtual business” on Page 1