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November 29, 2011
Anirudh Pamula
Link Crew and ASB collaborated to create Washington’s first Activities Fair to have clubs recruit freshmen. The fair was held on Nov. 17.
“We wanted to show freshmen that school shouldn’t be just a chore and there is a lot of stuff to get involved in around school. This also helps out student’s grades because we find that students who are involved in clubs also get higher grades because they are more involved with the school” said Link Crew commissioner senior Eric Chu.
The fair consisted of several clubs that advertised their clubs to underclassmen. Since the fair took place during Husky period, time was short. Clubs recruited freshmen in various ways. Most clubs had their presidents utilize posters and signs for recruitment. Other clubs such as Guitar club had a live demonstration from senior Matt Nowzari and junior Joshua Laquian. And other clubs such as Interact club attracted freshmen with the chance to gain community service hours. This was the most effective method as all students require 40 community service hours to graduate and most of the freshmen class had little to none. The Activities Fair resembled the annual MAZE day recruitment that many clubs participate in.
Although this is the first year Link Crew and the IOC commission have organized an Activities Fair, the idea of clubs getting together to recruit is not a new idea. The annual MAZE day activities also employs the same tactics in order to involve and recruit students.
During the fair, Link Crew members took groups of freshmen from club to club. Since the event took place in the cafeteria and the whole freshman class was moving around it was very difficult for Link Crew leaders.
“It was impossible to keep everyone together and take them club to club, but we managed somehow.” Link Crew leader senior Edwin Lao said.
Despite the slight overcrowding in the cafeteria, the Activities Fair might be continued for years to come. Assistant Principal Lance Miller, who helped organize the event, was pleased with the results and plans on organizing it again next year. Government teacher and Link Crew Adviser Elizabeth Dewitt also thought it was a success.
“I think the Activities Fair was very successful, at the very least we got a lot of freshmen to sign up. I’m glad it was a success and I plan on organizing again it in the future.” Dewitt said.
This article originally appeared in the print edition on November 29, 2011.
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October 4, 2011
Alex Rich
School Resource Officer (SRO) Robyn Berlin, along with the administration, held assemblies about enforcing the dress code and electronic policies on Sept. 9 through 14.
The assemblies were age specific, with one day per class and mostly involved Berlin and Assistant Principal Lance Miller informing students about punishable offenses. Since it’s Berlin’s second year at WHS, she felt she needed to do something this year to get studentsmore aware of consequences.
The school board recommended consequences, as stated in the husky planner, ranges from a dress change to expulsion, including a
possible referral to the SRO.
“There’s no new enforcement,” Miller said. “We just took the time to explain the rules.”
Among the rules the assembly addressed was the school dress code. According to Campus Supervisor Kathy Fetz, in recent years since dress code rules
prevented wearing hats or the colors red and blue, fights on campus have dropped significantly.
“It’s good to have rules, and it’s good to enforce them. It keeps things running smooth,” Fetz said.
Berlin mentioned during the assemblies that blue or red shoelaces are violations of the dress code policy, as well as the rule that hats are not to be worn inside of class, but may be worn outside of class as long as they are school colors. To some, these rules aren’t as important.
“If a kid is doing well in my class, I don’t see why I need to bug him or her about a hat,” Teri Hu, a teacher in the English Department, said.
Dress code has always been a large source of debate at WHS, both among staff and students.
“It keeps things orderly, and it keeps students focused on school,” government and economics teacher Mike Soltau said. “Hats in class are just disrespectful.”
Though the dress code policy was the main idea of the assemblies, the electronics policy will also be enforced in the same manner. If electronics are not surrendered to a teacher, students may be arrested, Berlin stated at the assemblies. The administration hopes raising awareness will prevent future violations.
This article originally appeared in the print edition of the Hatchet on October 4, 2011.
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October 4, 2011
Amelia Chu
As the bell rung, crowds of students joined lines that led into the amphitheater for the Up Your Scores Lunch, on Sept. 23, to celebrate a 19 point increase in the school’s API score.
In two separate lines, students were served by leadership students and students from the special education program with with 800 hamburgers, cheeseburgers and 200 hot dogs.
“Call it a burgerfest!” Assistant Principal Lance Miller said jokingly.
For 50 cents, one could get a meal ticket, which included chips, a hot dog or a burger, and a small bottled water. Final preparation for this barbecue began the day before, when students from ASB went to Costco to buy all the materials necessary for the event. On the day of the event, Leadership students prepared food during first and second period, then teachers helped out from third period to 15 minutes before lunch ended. Improvements were made based upon previous experiences. The two line method for lining up students was brought up by senior Billy Bergendahl to increase efficiency.
“It was a team effort.” Paris said.
The same is attributed to why the school got the point increase.
“[It was] everyone, together, teachers and students, working hard,” Miller said.
Some teachers, like English teacher Sharon Jones, did more practice problems with students in what her students called “Grammar Parties.” Students, such as senior Brady Knight, continued to take the test seriously, as he does every year.
“I try my best, so I guess that’s why I do well,” Knight said.
Others, like senior Stephanie Zee, received constant encouragement from her parents. When prompted with the question of how seriously her parents took the STAR test, she rolled her eyes and said “Oh my God, you have no idea!”
If the school had reached the goal of an API score of 801, students would have been given an extended lunch. Although there was a 19 point increase, the school dropped 29 points the previous year, leaving the school still 10 points away from its API score in 2008.
“If we didn’t really improve [upon] our best [API score], I think we shouldn’t have gotten it [the barbeque],” Sophomore Hamza Muhammad said.
Others like Miller and Jones, had a more positive outlook.
“No, I was not surprised [ by the news],” Jones said.
Freshman Moses Ordona loved the “awesome food” that was bought with funds from ASB cards, a small grant, and student fees. When he heard that the barbecue was because of STAR test results, he said, “Heck yeah, I’ll work harder!”
This article originally appeared in the print edition of The Hatchet on October 4, 2011.
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March 2, 2010
Noelle Fujii
Symbolism, tone, style. Some students can’t even comprehend the meaning of the work, which makes enjoying, much less analyzing, the work impossible.
“Every day, it’s a teacher’s job to get students interested,” English teacher Sharon Jones said.
Yet sophomore Melanie Miller is often bored by the assigned reading. She had difficulty understanding Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. She read Art Spiegelman’s Maus because it was a captivating, easy-to-understand graphic novel.
“I was motivated by Maus because it was in the form of a comic book, which set it aside from all of the other books,” Miller said.
Freshman Maureen Madrid believes a good story and climax can motivate students to read. Madrid is unimpressed with a majority of the current academic literary selections, but she continues to read in order to do well on the tests.
“I don’t know what English teachers would really let us read but I guess [I would] like [to read] stories that can relate to a typical teenager’s life,” Madrid said.
Freshman Natalie McCluskey would like to read books containing adventure and life lessons.
“[The books I’m reading in English class] are about the older times, which is harder to relate to and [they also] use older language, which I don’t see the point of learning,” McCluskey said.
On the other hand, senior Michael Jones enjoys the assigned dramatic works. Although he did not enjoy every classic, he liked Lord of the Flies by William Golding and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
“Often in everyday life you see references or quotes from classic books like the ones assigned in class,” Jones said.
If pop culture is not enough to encourage students to read classics, they will be pleased to learn that more contemporary books are approved annually.
English teacher Stewart Perlman submitted The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini to be reviewed and successfully approved by the district. However, purchasing the novels and developing new curriculum is also an issue.
English teacher Teri Hu submitted eight contemporary books to the district for her AP English Literature class, and six were passed.
“We teach enough literature by dead people, it’s time to read books by people who still have a pulse,” said Hu, in an e-mail letter.
She submitted more dramas, such as “Six Degrees of Separation” by John Guare and “Wit” by Margaret Edson, because she can make copies to distribute to students.
“I don’t know if every student who doesn’t read would be more inclined to read if the books were more relevant, but for SOME, that would make a difference,” Hu said.
Meanwhile, teachers continue to motivate student readers through interactive projects, group work and class discussions.
This article originally appeared in print on March 2, 2010. It has been modified to correct style errors.
Photo Credit: Raphael Ghieuw Sien
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December 19, 2009
Nicole Pham
Students packed the gym for the winter assembly Dec. 18, but the annual event was cut earlier than in previous years. Student activities director Helen Paris released students ten minutes before first period was scheduled to start, explaining the gesture as a type of holiday reward.
The assembly, though shortened, maintained its usual sequence of events. Athletics director Mike Tripp announced the $2,500 check awarded to the football team for their entry in a video contest. Balancing athletics with academics, vice principal Lance Miller acknowledged those with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
After the administrators’ announcements, the festivities began with senior Kimberly Chatterjee singing “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. Sports team members and teachers appeared as Chatterjee sang about each “day”. English teacher Debi Pavlecic (pictured) was among the six teachers acting as the “geese a-laying”. Students played games with seasonal themes, competing within classes. The school band, conducted by senior Christopher Valdez and band teacher Duane Mitchell, played sets of holiday music between the various games.
Photo Credit: Raphael Ghieuw Sien
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November 13, 2009
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November 10, 2009
Edin Cristofi
With fantasy football coming to an end, there have been many shockers and busts. Some surprises have been the emergence of Kyle Orton and Denver Nuggets, Mario Manningham from New York Giants and DeSean Jackson’s from the Philadelphia Eagles. Their consistency with points have impressed fantasy owners. Matt Forte of the Chicago Bears and Clinton Portis from the Washington Redskins may have been some players who have been disappointing. But you can guarantee that those players won’t be able to redeem themselves as the season finishes.
One season is ending, another is beginning. And yes, I am referring to basketball.
Some sleepers that may bolster your fantasy team are:
Roy Hibbert, center for the Indiana Pacers. This is Hibbert’s second year in the NBA and he looks polished, just through the first couple of weeks of the season. Hibbert is making a big impact coming off the bench, and if he continues to play this way, you can guarantee that he will start before mid-season.
Jason Thompson, power forward for the Sacramento Kings is another second-year player that you might consider drafting. Unlike Hibbert, Thompson has been a starting power forward ever since last season, so you can expect a more reliable performances on a night-to-night basis. Thompson probably was not someone you would have picked up last year because of the lack of consistency. However, with last season under his belt, you can bet stability will be there this season.
People you shouldn’t expect much from this year are:
Caron Butler, a small forward for the Washington Wizards. With “Agent Zero” a.k.a. Gilbert Arenas back and with the new additions of Mike Miller and Randy Foye in the off season, I don’t expect Caron to get as much playing time.
Keyon Martin, a power forward for the Denver Nuggets. Don’t anticipate Kenyon to be in the spotlight with the emergence of “Birdman,” otherwise known as Chris Andersen. In the 2008-2009 playoffs, Andersen did all the dirty work in the paint, creating havoc for opposing offenses. Both players are playing split minutes even though Kenyon starts every game.
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October 16, 2009
Chase Glenister
Fremont police department officials called a meeting with the FUSD and all secondary principals in the district, including Principal Linda Fernandez. The FPD wants to have the schools be stricter about the hat policy, to make it easier to distinguish between students and gang members.
“It is effective on all campuses in the district, not just ours. In addition, they chose hats because they wanted to be fair about it. Not everyone wears tank-tops or low-cut Dickies. Everyone wears hats,” Vice Principal Lance Miller said.
As a result of the new hat policy, people can buy a Husky Hat for $20 at the student center. All money will go to the student store account.
