Passive-Aggressive Notes review
By Trecia Cruz
(Photo Harper Collins)
Passive Aggressive Notes by Kerry Miller started off as a small website but has now grown into a book filled with those notorious angry notes.
This book started off as a website called passiveagressivenotes.com, which is somewhat like Post Secret. The website collected notices directed to annoying neighbors, irresponsible coworkers and more. Before she compiled the book, Kerry Miller wrote about her day to day life. She started posting these passive aggressive notes on her blog from other people. They were very sarcastic and rude, yet humorous. She then published these in a book for everyone else to read.
Most of these notes were very amusing and actually made me chuckle. One note reads, “If it’s too hard to close these doors, maybe you shouldn’t be opening them and I totally agree. Another one read, “Dear stalker, please do not leave anymore notes or flowers on my door. I am not interested.” I was surprised that some people actually had the guts to write down these notes to people. Most of the notes are about common day to day annoyances that you would get frustrated by too if you were to encounter them.
Other notes, however, I didn’t get as much. I couldn’t understand what some of them meant and they weren’t funny as others. A note read, “You are welcome to contribute If you are enjoying the special blend coffee in Marketing on a regular basis.” And I didn’t know what it was talking about. Some were confusing and I think that maybe older people would understand them better than younger ones.
Overall, Passive Aggressive Notes was a good laugh that many will enjoy. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.
Hamlet play review
By Yasmine Mahmoud
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a staple in every senior’s English class but isn’t always easy for them to comprehend from a popcorn reading activity. Unable to interpret certain scenes, students frequently lose interest in the play, considering it “lame”, “stupid” or “outdated”, simply because they have trouble visualizing the emotions or movements explained in the text. Seeing as Shakespeare is essentially timeless, the excuse of Hamlet being outdated is almost out of the question, while complaints of lameness or stupidity are often unfounded. The best way to understand this play has been and always will be watching a production along with a close reading and analysis of the play.
Unfortunately, watching Hamlet at the Noe Valley Library is not the best way to learn exactly what is going on in the play. Put on by the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, it is a good way of breaking into the acting field. The play was abridged and allotted an hour and a half on the library site, but it only ended up to be forty-five minutes long. Hamlet’s introduction was so exaggerated he began sweating within the first ten minutes, which was alarming. I had trouble understanding the less famous scenes because throughout the majority of the play, Hamlet shouted all his lines, which made his body language difficult to read, the plot was not well illustrated and child actors did not bother with costumes, which was distracting because of their choice to wear bright orange tie-dye. While I appreciate minimalism, the set could be more accurate; the backdrop continues to portray nighttime throughout the play.
Featuring mostly adult actors, the small cast had three men, two women and two children who did a charming job of reading highlighted lines off of a clipboard while not in costume. The whole experience was rather charming albeit exaggerated with the minimalist set, and extensive explanations of the most famous scenes. The actress playing Ophelia did a splendid job, switching her role with that of another sentinel, the change from man to woman not very detectable during the production.
Overall, the production focused on the most famous scenes of the lay and were illustrated fairly well, although the plot contained holes which made it difficult for one who has not read the play challenging; it was an interesting experience. I give it a 3 out of 5.
Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time review
By Steven Hansen
(Photo IGN.com)
Insomniac Games, with its nearly flawless track record, never ceases to impress. With their latest entry in the Ratchet and Clank series, the team managed to once more up the ante and make the tried and true formula feel fresh, while retaining the elements that have drawn people to the series since its beginning.
A Crack in Time introduces a new character Alister Azimuth who, much to Ratchet’s surprise, is a fellow lombax – the first one he has ever encountered. Azimuth has been in exile, spending his time seeking The Great Clock, an entity with the capacity to turn back time, in an effort to undo the disaster that befell the lombax race. Coincidentally, Ratchet’s longtime partner Clank, mysteriously vanished following the last game’s cliffhanger ending, winds up in The Great Clock, as well as in the hands of an old foe, Dr. Nefarious.
A Crack in Time is definitely the most narrative-heavy Ratchet and Clank title, and to great effect, as the game maintains the series’ clever humor and witty one-liners, but adds a sense of depth and investment to the characters, while also providing cohesion and, in some instances, closure to the long-running series as a whole.
(Photo IGN.com)
Adding to the immersion are solid voice acting and beautiful visuals. The cut scenes in particular rival – even outdo, in some regard – Pixar films. The in-game visuals, less impressive than the pre-rendered CGI cut scenes, are also stunning, bringing across beautiful, color-laden worlds rife with countless explosions. It’s a visual treat.
Of course, these newfound narrative chops don’t hinder Insomniac’s natural ability to craft tight, polished gameplay, either, which is at the series’ best in A Crack in Time. Staying true to its roots, the game has some of the best platforming around, and well as the series’ staple, frenetic gunplay.
The huge arsenal, as always, is incredibly creative and a joy to toy around with. Each spin on typical gun classes (Shotgun, rifle, etc) is as unique as ever, such as a living organism’s mating call acting as the game’s shotgun, and mesh nicely with the other, less typical weapons.
One of the most pleasant surprises for me was the Plasma Striker, a long-range crossbow akin to my old favorite, the Flux Rifle. The game also retains some past weapons, such as the Groovitron Glove, which throws out a disco ball and causes all enemies in the vicinity to break out into dance, and a new addition of the fan favorite Ryno.
(Photo IGN.com)
While the gunplay itself remains largely similar to past installments, new enemies and the new awesome arsenal keep it completely fresh. Equally impressive is the outstanding level design, which Insomniac built off of the concept of warping time and keeps gameplay fun. Catching some of Ratchet’s old pirate nemeses crashing to earth in the form of time-frozen scenery was a great nod to past titles, and aspects such as that constantly display the inventiveness of the development team.
Mainstay gadgets, such as the Swingshot and gravity boots, return as well, but most notable is the new addition, the Hoverboots, which Ratchet to traverse environments more quickly and add another element of frenetic speed to the gameplay. They also serve as a bit of a replacement for Clank, who spends most of this game, for the first time, separate from Ratchet.
(Photo IGN.com)
Clank has his own segments, which are some of the freshest and strongest puzzling the series has ever seen. His segments revolve around time, and using time pads to send multiple pre-recorded versions of himself to accomplish tasks in conjunction with each other. It’s a little bit complicated to imagine, but incredibly clever, and executed nicely.
Also expanded in A Crack in Time is ship navigation, with various galactic sectors to explore. Along with adding a nice element of exploration, it does open the world up a bit more. Unfortunately, the aerial battles leave a bit to be desired in terms of both difficulty and interest, but it isn’t much of a complaint.
Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time is an impressively polished, clever, and fun game that is likely to fly under the radar amidst a packed fall season in gaming. The fact that after so many iterations, Insomniac was able to piece everything together so nicely and that people are still interested in the series serves as a testament to consistency and excellent execution put forth. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of the Ratchet and Clank games.
New Moon review
By Rebecca Gigi
(Photo Summit Entertainment)
Typical teenage love story with obsessive, love sick girl, plus “dreamy” vampire, divided by hunky werewolf all adds up to the highly anticipated sequel to Twilight is New Moon. Viewers pay ten dollars to view two long hours of teen drama that you could easily get for free at your local high school.
In the second installment of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, the romance between Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and her vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) grows in New Moon until Edward and his family abandon the town of Forks, Washington.
As heartbroken Bella goes through months lonely and upset, she finds that Edward’s image comes to her whenever she puts her life in jeopardy. With the help of her friend Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), Bella starts to recover and build a relationship with him, only to find he is a “monster” as well when he turns into a large werewolf.
Once Edward comes back for Bella, he is faced with meeting the Vulturie (vampire royalty) and going through a vicious fight and vows to be with Bella forever in the end.
The special affects and action are drastically improved from Twilight. There were many intense fight scenes between the wolves and vampires that I did not expect after the inactivity relative to Twilight. The addition if the Vulturie also added some creepiness added to the suspense of the ending. New Moon has humor as well. There were many one liners that grabbed my attention and made me giggle in my seat.
However, the movie dragged in many points. The director could have cut out the scenes with Bella just staring off into space without dialogue or any hint of what she was thinking about. That probably would have cut down the movie to about an hour and 15 minutes from two hours.
This movie had way too many make out scenes for my liking. Either Bella and Edward were eating each other’s face, or Jacob and Bella’s faces were so close that you knew what was coming. This movie made me sick to my stomach from being forced to eat so many the cheesy love lines. There were just too many clichéd “I never want to hurt you,” or “It’s not you it’s me,” lines.
What really irked me was how few characters were wearing shirts. Was there a real need to have the entire Wolf Pack shirtless even in the rain? When Bella was bleeding, Jacob’s shirt came flying right off with ease. The vampires did their fair share of baring it all as well.
Overall, I give this move 2.5 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed the action and points of intense drama that continued through out the whole movie, but the annoying randomly shirtless boys and constant in your face view of intense teen passion was a turn off for me.
District employees make changes after safety seminar
El Camino plays it safer
By Marivic Victoria
"Since the safety meeting, I have kept a set of very straight-forward rules and always remain aware of all possible things." Spanish teacher Denise Webb said. (Photo Marivic Victoria)
In response to the October 27 district safety meeting, El Camino High School has started taking precautions.
After the meeting, teachers began to take what they’ve learned and put it into action. Many teachers are now keeping their doors locked throughout the school day and cover their windows with papers or posters.
“Besides locking my door and covering my window, I have also educated my students about the procedures they must do and the different drills we need to practice,” math teacher Stephanie Lopes said.
Many additional steps are being considered towards El Camino’s safety. District wide, schools are implementing a uniform color safety cards. Yellow cards to indicate a class is safe and red to signal if someone is injured or there is danger.
“I think the new methods are a good idea, but it doesn’t really affect me as a student. I still think it will make things a little bit safer in case of an actual emergency,” junior Nathan Huey said.
The district has also been considering the banning of cell phones. In the occurrence of a lockdown, many students would feel the need to call their parents or the police. Having numerous students using their cell phones at the same time can overload cell phone towers and cause them to crash, preventing police and rescue personnel from being alerted to an emergency.
“I think in the perspective of a parent, it is important for their child to have a cell phone, but if a lockdown was to occur, we should leave the police or swat team to deal with and leave it alone,” Principal Adele Berg said.
As a school, it is important for us to take these issues seriously and train ourselves in case a shooting was to occur. Berg believes everyone should be trained and students should be able to know what to do if something was to go wrong.
Since our school has many open areas, it would be easy for an intruder to step in. It’s important for everyone to stay alert and warn someone if anything seems out of order.
“If a lockdown was to occur, I would get on my cell phone and alert the office immediately,” Campus Security Ron Haynes said.
In response to increasing school violence across the country, El Camino is finally taking matters into their own hands.
GSA promotes Ally Week
Showing Support
By Jeff Crisafi
From January 11-15, the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) will hold a lunchtime activity for Ally week.
The pledge a person can make states that they must not use anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender (LGBT) language, intervene safely when someone is being harassed because of their sexuality, and support efforts to end bullying and harassment.
This helps support the community by showing that despite a person’s sexuality they should be allowed to have the same rights as anyone else and should not be discriminated against.
GSA will be offering armbands people can wear to show support for Ally Week and will accept two dollar donations.
Five steps schools can take to address anti-LGBT bullying and harassment are to establish and publicize a policy that specifically includes sexual orientation and gender, including gender identity, appearance, and behavior.
Secondly, schools should require training for staff to identify and address slurs or negative comments based on sexual orientation or gender non-conformity effectively.
Lastly, students should know where to go for information and support relating to sexual orientation and gender identity. And to support student efforts to address slurs and bullying against LGBT on campus.
According to the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a poll was conducted for schools all over California.
In 2004, GLSEN concluded that 63% of California students said they sometimes or often hear others make negative comments based on gender presentation. Thirteen percent of students surveyed said that they sometimes or often hear teachers make negative comments also.
Only 40% of California students reported that the teachers or staff stop others when they make negative comments.
For more information on Ally week, visit www.allyweek.com.
Panosian recognized as Region 4 CLHS Educator of the Year finalist
El Camino Teacher Honored
By Brian Trinh
As a finalist, Panosian was able to attend an Educator of the Year Banquet and give a speech on how she approaches students in the classroom. (Photo Katrina Nolasco)
English teacher Sevana Panosian earned the nomination as Region 4 California League of High Schools (CLHS) finalist for the Educator of the Year award. Panosian was recognized at a banquet amongst roughly 100 colleagues from all eleven Californian regions on Thursday, November 12th.
“She was born a teacher. She used to teach me a lot by correcting my English,” Panosian’s father, Armen Bagdasarian said.
Most of Panosian’s curriculum prepares students for the SAT and AP English test and also provides them a skill set to become a college-bound student.
“She has very high expectations, but she gives you the stepping stones to reach them,” history teacher Alicia Vosberg said.
She also stresses the importance of college. Instead of saying “you can go to college”, she replaces this with a resounding “you are going to college!” She gives mini-lectures about college including what majors to choose from, the different types of degrees, how to distinguish a good college, and how to succeed once there.
Panosian prepares students—covering all the California Standards and going beyond what is expected.
It is because of this approach that Principal Adele Berg nominated Panosian for the CLHS Educator of the Year award. The award is given annually to eleven educators in eleven regions throughout California.
Its focus is on reforming education for high school students by demonstrating techniques that can improve the system. The goal is for educators to maintain academic excellence by continually adding new ideas and strategies to previous ones.
When Panosian informed that she was a finalist for the award, she said, “I was very shocked because I’m only doing my job!”
"Teaching has always been my dream. I drew a picture of myself in 1977 as a teacher and used to play 'teacher teacher' when I was young." Panosian said. (Art Sevana Panosian, age 7)
As a finalist, Panosian was able to attend an Educator of the Year Banquet and give a speech on how she approaches students in the classroom. The event was held at the Basque Cultural Center where roughly one hundred guests from around the Bay Area attended. Attendees included principals, teachers, colleagues, friends, family and professors who taught the nominees.
Among some of the high schools represented were Hillsdale, Carlmont, Woodside, Westmoor, South City, and El Camino. Panosian represented El Camino with her speech—the first of a series of speeches that inspired, humored, and emboldened the crowd.
Panosian started her speech with the three mantras that she believes are crucial factors for success in life.
She says the first two are obvious: 1) Work hard and 2) Be nice. The third mantra is “Don’t eat the marshmallows,” a saying based on a Stanford study that concluded self-control, by delaying self-gratification and finishing the work that needs to be done, has the greatest affect on a young person’s life.
After the mantras, she continued by speaking about the importance of education and how it has helped her succeed even though life can be rough.
And it is with education that she made her final remark. She was shocked when the board rewarded her with a certificate that reflected her achievement through excellence in the three R’s: Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships.
“My students are the mirrors that reflect my experience and encourage me to continue,” Panosian says.
District Blue Ribbon Committee created to address “PI” status
“There are a lot of people here who care deeply about South San Francisco,” superintendant Howard Cohen said about the members of the committee.
Defined as a district strategic planning process that includes community, staff, and members of the School Board, the Blue Ribbon Committee is faced with the process of improving the district as a whole, as well as working with individual schools, administrators, and teachers.
It must construct a set of goals and procedures to help raise AYP scores, in all subgroups.
“The API is like the long jump, we can work over time and distance to make it over. The AYP is like a high jump, this bar we need to get over now,” said South San Francisco High School Teacher-librarian and Blue Ribbon member Marcie Mitchell said when asked what distinguishes the two different requirements.
The district hopes to have all subgroups meet state and federal standards in the near future.
“We’re looking for a program to close the [achievement] gap,” Ponderosa Elementary Principal Janet Ingersoll said.
Although there has been no finalized strategic action plan as of yet, the committee has already adopted a set of guidelines. The 9 Essential Program Components (EPCs) was created by the state to help districts under PI status.
They cover: Instructional Program, instructional time, lesson and course pacing schedule, school administrator training, fully credentialed, highly qualified teachers, student achievement monitoring system, ongoing instructional assistance and support, monthly teacher collaboration, and budget
“[We should] have after school interventions for kids, and cover not just those who are challenged but also the gifted,” Ingersoll said during a brainstorm session.
The district has already begun to implement changes, starting with the new textbook adoptions that have been an ongoing process for the past two years. So far, the math, history, social studies, and science departments have all adopted new textbooks, and the English department is currently in the adoption process. This is in compliance with the Instructional Program EPC, ensuring that all students are equipped with up-to date textbooks.
“How can we help kids prepare for the world out there?” Cohen said.
CollegeWeekLive
CollegeWeekLive.com, the biggest online college fair, hosted its Fall session from November 4 to November 7, 2009. The Counseling Department urged teachers to post flyers of College Week Live in their classrooms to inform students of the new website that is revolutionizing the college search process.
CollegeWeekLive represents over 200 colleges and universities from all around the world, ranging from community colleges to top-ranked universities from all over the world such as UC Berkeley and Columbia University. CollegeWeekLive makes the college search more convenient and economical, as students and parents can easily interact with colleges and counselors online through the internet.
Colleges have virtual booths where students can obtain electronic brochures, listen to podcasts, or watch videos for more information about that college. Most importantly, students can video chat with admissions officers in real-time. They can also talk to college students and find out what the living in the university is like.
Junior Erika Porcuna believes that students tend to have a lot of college questions and they have a hard time choosing which college to go to, which is why students should try to see what CollegeWeekLive has to offer.
“It’s really accessible and easy to use and it has tons of information…all in one place,” Porcuna says. “I thought [CollegeWeekLive] was better than College Awareness Week at El Camino.”
Apart from colleges, students can chat with college admissions experts regarding topics such as SAT and ACT test preparation, financial aid, or tips in successful interviews or writing stellar college admissions essays. Students who logged in between November 4 and 7 were eligible to win a $2500 scholarship. Sports scholarships were available from the website as well.
“The college admissions process has completely changed from when I was a teenager,” says math teacher Dalia Grybinas, who has the flyer and the website link posted up in front of her classroom. “I think it’s important for kids to find out that there are a lot of schools out there to apply to.”
The first CollegeWeekLive session was held in November 2007, followed by a second session in March 2008. Over the past year, CollegeWeekLive garnered more attention, resulting in an increase in participating schools and attending students in its Fall 2009 session..
For those who missed the Fall session of CollegeWeekLive, each video presentation is archived online and can be viewed anytime throughout the year. There will also be a Spring session from March 24-25, 2010.
ECHS Varsity loses to SSFHS 37-16 in Bell Game
By Ray Concepcion
(Photo Ray Concepcion)
The El Camino varsity Colts football team faced off against the South City Warriors in the annual Bell Game November 14. The Colts stayed competitive until the second half where they let the game slip away, resulting in a 37-16 Warriors victory.
(Photo Ray Concepcion)
The kickoff was received by Colt running back Dusan Semien took the kickoff to the South City’s 20 yard line. Quarterback Rob Roman passed to Kenny Anderson for a first down, but that was the only significant play El Camino could muster for the entire first quarter. The Colts managed to only gain five yards before punting to South City.
(Photo Ray Concepcion)
Once refocused, South City used an effective series of running plays and play action to drive downfield as Calgaro streaked up the sideline for 20 yards to the 15 yard line before getting tackled. In another play action pass Gomes scored a second touchdown on a pass from South City quarterback Eddie Sanchez, putting the Warriors up 16-0.
(Photo Ray Concepcion)
The Colts opened the second half strong with a touchdown on their first drive from running back Nate Huey, putting the Colts on the board. Rather than kicking for the point after, the Colts successfully attempted the two point conversion, bringing the score to 8-16.
(Photo Ray Concepcion)
In the fourth quarter, after a few questionable calls from the referees against the Colts, Sanchez hooked up with wide receiver McGovern on an 18 yard post route for another touchdown, putting South City up 30-8. Back on offense, Colts’ Roman hooked up with wide receiver Anderson on a 25 yard pass, bringing the score up to 14-30.
The 2009 Bell Game ended with a loss for the Varsity Colts, with a final score of 16-37.
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