.
June 11, 2010
Judy Wu
Fremont’s Earth Day Fair celebrated Earth Day’s fortieth anniversary, April 24. It also featured the WHS New Leaf Club as one of the eco-friendly exhibitors.
The fair was held at the Teen Center in Central Park. The fair offered free admission and was coordinated by Fremont environmental specialist Chanel Kincaid.
“I was thrilled with the fair’s outcome. More schools participated this year compared to last year,” Kincaid said. “There was also music which entertained the guests.”
WHS New Leaf Club had a booth with games, such as spin-the-wheel, hangman and a water game with toy cars. They gave out brownies and Capri Sun coin pouches as prizes. The club also sold plants and lemonade. They will use profits to buy plants for the planting. Sophomore New Leaf vice president Bharathi Gandi asked senior Christopher Valdez to play the guitar to attract guests to the booth. Many WHS students came to represent the New Leaf Club and earn community service hours.
“The booth looked like a success. We earned a lot of money from selling plants, lemonades and brownies,” New Leaf president junior Julien Malard said.
Other Fremont high schools participated in the fair. Kennedy High School’s Green Ventures Academy sold healthy, organic food. They will donate the money earned to Tri Cities Food Bank. Irvington gave out plants and brought the hybrid bus the school won from America’s Greenest School contest.
American made paper and sold the paper cutouts for $1. They will adopt trees with the money earned. Fremont’s Got Talent vocalists Levi William, Ciara Lunger and Derek Chan also performed some original songs to entertain guests.
“The Earth Day fair was nice. I thought Levi William was very talented,” Gandi said.
Union City Transit, Alameda County Water District, Tri City Ecology Center and other corporations set up eco-friendly booths. The corporations gave out brochures to inform guests about being environmental friendly. Some corporations gave out free tote bags, pencils and other goodies to attract guests.
There was a native tree giveaway, bicycle safety check up and a lamp exchange. People could exchange their old 300-watt halogen floor lamp and their PG&E bill for a new energy-saving version for free. The Union Sanitary District hosted a pharmaceutical disposal and mercury thermometer exchanges.
There were also activities for children such as a puppet show and arts and crafts. Guests were also invited to vote for Earth Day fair posters designed by Kennedy and Washington High School students. Finalists included students from Washington, juniors Steven Lee and Cheng Tan.
The fair was a way for the city, high schools, non-profits organization and the county to provide event-goers with educational outreach about local programs or how to get involved in various environmental topics. It emphasized the importance of giving back to the planet.
“The planet provides water, air and so much more for us. We should be thoughtful in return on how we are impacting those resources that we so readily rely on,” Kincaid said.
Photo Credit: Raphael Ghieuw Sien
.
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: Britny Stewart
.
November 13, 2009
Christine Harms
The California Scholarship Federation (CSF) allowed non-club members to attend their field trip to UC Santa Cruz, Oct. 30 due to a decline in member interest.
Club president Emily Khuc decided to open the trip to all interested Washington students, in order to cover the various costs such as transportation.
Senior Chris Valdez was one of the students who benefited from this decision.
“I thought that the UC Santa Cruz trip was very well planned. The tour was informative and the campus was great. Everything was organized well, and I definitely want to join CSF in January,” Valdez said.
The trips gave students an opportunity to take a campus tour as well as attend an admissions presentation and experience the dining hall. Students were able to get a realistic view of typical college life at UC Santa Cruz.
The annual trip is meant to give college-bound students, especially seniors filling out their applications, a chance to visit a college campus before applications are due in November.
“[Visiting the college] gives students a much better idea of what’s going on and what the environment of the campus is like…also it’s more convenient and nice to go on the tour with your peers rather than your parents,” Khuc said.
Khuc does not foresee the field trip being open to all students in the years to come. The annual field trip is considered one of the privileges of being in the club, along with the banquet in the spring and scholarship eligibility senior year.
Any students interested in joining CSF can apply for membership in at the beginning of the second semester in February.
.
November 9, 2009
Shelmi Liang
Homecoming is one of the most important events for the school, especially for the school marching band. Under the instruction of music teacher, Duane Mitchell, the students aim to shine with their musical abilities in front of a large audience. The band performs a field show during half-time at the homecoming football game. For three weeks prior to the event, the band practices during class at Tak Fudenna Stadium.
“We [also] practice after school for about an hour on Wednesdays and Thursdays in the teacher parking lot,” senior Nicole Torio said.
The song they are performing this year is called “Malaguena” arranged by Michael Sweeney, which is a slightly more difficult piece than last year’s.
The population of students in band has decreased. However, the size overall has remained fairly the same for awhile. There are more underclassmen than upperclassmen, however the upperclassmen have more experience. It is also a small group compared to other schools; they only have 34 students in band as opposed to other schools with many more students. If a WHS student plays an instrument, they are encouraged to join.
The shortage of band members has a big impact on what the band has the ability to perform on the field.
“Line formation is probably spread out more,” senior John Rasure said.
The reason why the line formation is spread out more is to fill the field with people so it looks aesthetically pleasing to the crowd. Conducted by senior Chris Valdez, the band played a short, yet sweet “Malaguena.” Although Washington lost their homecoming game, the field performance by the band impressed the crowd.
“The band seemed on point and coordinated. They did a good job getting everybody pumped for the next half of the game,” senior Naser Mohabbat said.
