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Page 2 Seniors win Powderpuff game.
Westlake High School VOLUME XXXIV, ISSUE 8
Page 16 Page 12 Ean Silbar demonstrates the struggles of junior year.
100 N. LAKEVIEW CANYON ROAD, WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA 91362
Tennis player Matt Gottlieb helped the team take 2nd place in League. May 25, 2012
Club Hosts Annual Art Show and Competition Catlett takes first place after student and faculty voting this week participate in the show to display their hidden talents, not necessarily just the art students, but Three artists, Amanda anybody who wants to,” said Art Catlett ‘12 (1st place), Troy Yama- Teacher John Farmer. Different mediums were saki ‘12 (2nd place), and Kayla Johari ‘15 (3rd place), were rec- used to create a variety of pieces. ognized for their creativity in the Artwork on display was split into four separate categories. On the school’s annual Art Show. right side of The cafetethe mural were ria was transfine arts, which formed by adincluded paintditional WHS ings and drawstudent artists. ings. The left From May 18 side displayed to May 23, both photography walls that line and computer the mural outgraphics. side of the the“I think atre displayed that the art various art show is a fanforms created tastic opportuby students. nity for artists This year, to showcase the school’s antheir hard nual Art Show work and share did not have a Amanda Catlett earned first place for their talents specific theme. her portrait of an old man. with fellow All WHS stustudents,” dents, not said Sherry only the ones Huang ’13. in art classes, In adwere welcome dition to to submit their sharing stuartwork to the dents’ artshow. work with Students their peers, and faculty Kayla Johari's Howl's Moving Castle; it fourth gradvoted on their won third place in the competition. ers from favorite piecCVUSD vises. WHS’s Art Club awarded cash prizes to the ited to view the art show as part entries that were voted as the of the Focus on the Arts program. “So much time and labor is overall favorites. Various prizes were given to the first three place put into these masterpieces. It is very rewarding to be recognized winners. “The intent of the show is to for the work we put in,” cominvite all students on campus to mented Huang. Michelle Noyes News Editor
Nicolette Blatt Staff Writer Newsweek recently released its ranking of high schools throughout the country. WHS is still number one in Ventura County, but it moved to 29th on the list of top high schools in California. WHS ranked 240th in the nation. Newsweek based their calculations on six components as selfreported by principals and other administrators: graduation rate, college matriculation rate, AP tests taken per student, average SAT/ ACT score, average AP score, and AP courses offered per student. According to U.S. News and World Report, WHS is currently ranked 59th in California and 307 in the nation. U.S. News calculated the scores on student performance on state exit exams and internationally available exams on college level courses. Assistant Principal of Instruction, Nicole Judd commented on the
news, "We are aware that the number moved and are in the process of evaluating the criteria that was used." According to The Daily Beast website the four main criteria were assigned the greatest percentages: •Four-year, on-time graduation rate (25%): the rate is calculated by dividing the number of graduates in 2011 by the number of ninth graders in 2007. •Percent of 2011 graduates accepted to college (25%): the proportion of graduates who were accepted to either a two- or four-year college for matriculation starting the fall after graduation. •AP/IB/AICE tests per student (25%): the total number of AP, IB, and AICE tests given in 2011, divided by the total enrollment in order to normalize by school size. •Average SAT and/or ACT score (10%).
PHOTO BY MICHELLE NOYES
PHOTOS BY EMILY GUERRA
WHS Ranks 29th in Newsweek’s Annual List
OH CRAW-DADDY!: Erickson talks with biology student Madison Simons about crayfish anatomy.
Erickson Selected Teacher of the Year Chamber of Commerce Recognizes Science Teacher for His Commitment to Students Michelle Noyes News Editor Teachers, administrators, the Thousand Oaks Chamber of Commerce, and community members gathered in the Carpenter Family Theatre to watch the Teacher of the Year Award presented to one hard working WHS teacher. On May 9 WHS science teacher Darin Erickson followed up his Teacher of the Month award with a subsequent award, Teacher of the Year. In response to the recognition, Erickson said,”I am overwhelmed with the award. I feel extremely humbled and grateful.” The week before on April 25
Erickson won the Teacher of the Month award which is given out 10 times a year. Winning Teacher of the Month automatically put him in the running to win the Teacher of the Year award as well. “To be recognized for your work by the Chamber of Commerce is a tremendous honor. I was very pleasantly surprised,” commented Erickson about his May Teacher of the Month award. Erickson was awarded with a plaque among many other prizes. His favorite prizes were the food gift cards. “For those that know me they know how much I love to eat. I love all food so pretty much any one of those food gift cards was equally the best and some
were to my favorite restaurants so that was like icing on the cake,” said Erickson. When Erickson first started teaching at WHS he did not think it would become his full-time job. “He is so different from any other teacher I have had and love his class, he really deserves Teacher of the Year,” said biology student Alexis Jurgens ‘15. Erickson was very grateful for the award “I love this school, I love working here, I love kids, and to be awarded like that is just a tremendous honor.” Members of the faculty brought Erickson’s son Kyle into the auditorium during the Common Planning Time, so he could see his father receive the award.
UC/CSU See Enrollment Drop Liz Mossessian Feature Editor Over the past decade, admission rates have steadily declined at California four-year universities. Despite the influx of students graduating, reaching an all-time high of 405,000 in 2010, the acceptance of applications has not paralleled this trend; instead, it has plummeted dramatically. While high school graduates are getting increasingly competitive, so have university demands for increased funds. State budgets have declined by an estimated $1.6 billion in the last decade. Although graduates applying to California universities are eligible, well-rounded profile students, reduced funds have made the enrollment process much more selective. At CSU and UC schools, enrollment has dropped by one-
fifth, to fewer than 18% of all state high school graduates in 2010, from about 22% in 2007. Such universities dependent on state budgets have been forced to adopt new methods of dealing with the crisis in budget management. Semester tuitions have been raised, leaving students unable to pay for education, courses offered previously have been narrowed down and minimized, and placement availability has been limited, resulting in capped enrollment. Ironically, California devotes a higher percentage of the state budget to correction facilities in comparison to that of public universities. Doesn’t that say something about our state’s budget priorities? California Governor Jerry Brown proposed a tax measure that would increase state budgets dedicated to public universities.
This year alone, such funding has lost $750 million and, if this extra tax measure fails to pass, it will lose another $200 million. Such unfair distribution of funds has left families struggling over providing a high level education for their graduates and seeking all different forms of financial aid. What was supposed to be a fallback option available to any student, community colleges have also been left on the sidelines. While they have not necessarily decreased in acceptance, class sizes have experienced a significant hike in numbers and previously available programs have been removed. Transfer students are now left dependent in out-of-state university acceptance, numbers increasing by 36% in just three years, from 13,909 in 2007 to 18,964 transfer students in 2010.