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VOL. XVII WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2011www.kerronicle.com NO. III

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The awards for the art Scholastic event will be given out on February 14. Students who have won a silver

key will get it at the Texas Art Supply. Those who have won a gold key will get it at the Harris County Department of Education.

“The scholastic event is an art and writing competition,” art teacher Lisa Canario said. “Many Kerr students have

won things.” Scholastic Gold Key Individual Awards

went to Davis Dang and Elizabeth Nguyen for ceramics, Mikhael Pascual for digital art, Jo Lochary and Amy Mai for Mixed Media, Brilliant Ton for Digital Art, and Amy Mai for painting. Scholastic Silver Key Individual Awards went to Abby Lam for ceramics and Marie Gonzales for drawing. Scholastic Gold Key Portfolio went to Najah Tibi. Scholastic Silver Key Portfolio went to Jo Lochary.

the Calendar.

Kerr High School8150 Howell-Sugar Land Rd. Houston, TX 77083

(281) 983-8484 ext. 267STAFF:

KERRONICLE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFAlexandra Karr

ASSISTANT EDITORJoanna Arias

STORY EDITORNneka WaturuochaGRAPHICS EDITORGabriel GuitierrezDESIGN EDITOR

Parbattee MaharajPHOTO EDITORSara Elmiaari

NEWS EDITORAmy Tram

STAFF REPORTERSAnnie Pham

Anthony PhungDanielle Jones

Rao KhanJason Nguyen

Phat PhamPhil Pham

Jason PhamAja Bryant

The Kerronicle is published six times a year by the student newspaper staff of Kerr High School and serves as a medium of communication for its readers. It exists to inform its readers about school and community, school policies and their changes, entertainment, and to serve as a forum for student expression.

Advertisers interested in placing an ad in the Kerronicle should contact the staff at (281) 983-8484 ext. 267 or 8150 Howell Sugar Land, Houston, TX 77083

Letters to the editor are welcomed and encouraged. Letters should be delivered to room 302 or e-mailed to laura.negri@aliefi sd.net. All letters must be signed.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2011 SPECIAL ISSUE

Sarah BungayHan Chau

Kelli ChowJesus Escobar

Jefi n JacobAnh La

Tracey LeTuong-Phi LeKrista LutrickRosa Montero

Abhishek MukundJulie Nguyen

Eghosasere OkundayeMario Pineda

Abraham RubioAbeer Sajwani

Emmy SinhSarah TranKatrina UyNadia Zulfa

JOURNALISM I

21FBLA 30 HOUR FAMINE

Several clubs will join together January 21 to participate in the “30 Hour Famine” event. The main purpose for this activity is for students to understand how people deal with starvation in third world countries. The event involves various club members from around campus fasting for 18 hours, and participating in activities that help them understand the survival skills impoverished people use.

“[Club] members will be in survival activities to understand the everyday life of Africans,” said Rahal Shan, co-vice president of FBLA. “Members will go through a survival obstacle course with rivers and many more surprises. There will be about 100 other people involved in the event, people will be divided into groups to represent African tribes; in each group there will be one member that is the leader and will guide the group through the course.”

JANUARY

Artists win Scholastic awardsArtists win Scholastic awardsBY: ROSA MONTERO & RAO KHANJOURNALISM I & STAFF REPORTER

NEWS

27TEEN SUMMITThe annual Teen Summit on Race Relations is a city-wide event that brings different

high school students together to discuss the issue of racism in their communities. It will assemble on Thursday, January 27. Different high schools including public, private, catholic, and others will meet in the Aldine School District at the Berry Center.

Each school will have 16 students; four representatives from each grade level. Students from the same school will divide into groups with other students from other schools to talk about general views on social problems in their school which occured recently or frequently. They will discuss topics from all different views and then try to bring some ideas for solutions that other schools can implement in their own schools.

Students can talk to Mr. Levine for more information.

28STUDENT FOR HUMANITY WINTER WONDERLAND LOCK-IN

Students for Humanity will have a lock-in on Friday, January 28 at 7 PM through Saturday morning. Club members will meet on Tuesday, January 11 at 2:30 PM in the Social Studies Center to plan the event. Tickets will be on sale soon for $12.

The lock-in will include movies and an open gym. Each ticket entitles the students to two slices of pizza with a drink.

News briefs were contributed by Jason Nguyen, Jason Pham, Abraham Rubio, Anthony Phung, Phil Pham, Krista Lutrick, Sara Tran, Rosa Montero, Rao Khan, Phat Pham, Emmy Sinh, and Jefi n Jacob.

5

FBLA DISTRICT COMPETITION

On Saturday, February 5, Future Business Leaders of America will be attending a district competition. They are having business competitions with other districts and the fun thing about this competition is that “at the competition, there are workshops where guest speakers come to educated future leaders about business,” President of FBLA, Phoi Le said.

Some of the contests include: Client Service, Computer Problem Solving, Cyber Security, Health Care Administration, Hospitality Managements, Impromptu Speaking, Network Design, Personal Finance, and Word Processing.

FEBRUARY3

3

Recycling is the new trend and Alief ISD has joined in the effort.

According to Molly Tatum, manger of Alief’s nutrition distribution center. said the district recycles a variety of materials.

“Alief is now recycling materials such as cardboard, wooden pallets, steel and aluminum cans, printer cartridges, plastic buckets and water bottles with lids,” she said.

However, Alief is not able to

recycle the following materials: glass, carbon paper, food or beverages, candy wrappers, chip bags, tissue products, styrofoam, plastic holders, and shrink and plastic wraps.

At Kerr, almost every center has paper recycling bins for students to dispose materials in. Green Squad has two recycling bins in the cafeteria, one for plastic and the other for aluminum.

“However, it’s not up to Green Squad to make plastic and aluminum recycling bins for the other centers because they have to be committed and put in the effort to recycle,” art teacher Lisa Canorro said.

NEWS

SENIOR KEVIN PHAM

Four students were not expecting their names to be announced during the morning announcements. on

January 7. “I was actually pretty shocked when I

found out this morning,” freshman Nadia Zulfa said. “They never told me before.”

Junior Naomi McMurray didn’t even know what was required to become student of the month.

“I didn’t really expect something special like that,” McMurray said.

All of the students of the month were surprised because they could imagine someone better that deserves the title.

“I know better people that can be nominated than myself,” sophomore Kelly Chau said.

Zulfa believes some of her friends deserve it more than her.

“I know they are harder workers than I am and; yes we do care about grades equally but I think they put more effort into their work than I do,” Zulfa said.

Senior Kevin Pham believes those who work hard deserve the award.

“They’re honest and they try, so they deserve it,” he said.

According to Pham and others, having the title student of the month is not a big deal, but it is an accomplishment.

“After four years, it feels good,” Pham admitted. “I mean there’s a small competition, but it still feels good.”

“I got a certifi cate and it’s nice,” McMurray said. “I don’t think I’ll remember it in about fi ve years, but it’s nice to have now.”

The students’ advice to become student of the month is to work hard and do well in class.

FRESHMAN NADIA ZULFA SOPHOMORE KELLY CHAU

JUNIOR NAOMI MCMURRAY

Senior Silvia Chicas took fi rst place in the district American Legion Constitution Oratory

Contest January 6. Chicas received a $500 scholarship and will compete at the regional level January 16.

Chicas and the Speech and Debate team attended the Westfi eld High School tournament January 7. This was the largest tournament of the year for them, and they competed with students from over 40 schools.

Kerr had a record number of participants

at this meet, due to the club’s rise in popularity. “[We have] 40 or so students as compared to 20 in recent years,” Speech and Debate sponsor Derek Davis said. “The team is growing.”

The team was confi dent in their abilities, hours before the tournament. “We are successful,” senior Christine Umeh said. “We don’t always get fi rst, but we almost always place. Students stop by Davis’ class when they can for additional help, and there is mandatory practice on Thursday, before tournaments.”

The team has already won fi rst place at the Bayfi eld meet, and fourth at the Alief Taylor tournament.

BY JULIE NGUYEN & KATRINA UY JOURNALISM I

Shining above the restShining above the restRECOGNITION GIVEN TO STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

Chicas earns scholarship; Chicas earns scholarship; speech team continues seasonspeech team continues seasonBY: JEFIN JACOBJOURNALISM I

Recycling rules exploredRecycling rules exploredBY: PHIL PHAM & KRISTA LUTRICKSTAFF REPORTER & JOURNALISM I

The UIL Invitational for Journalism was held January 8 at Seven Lakes High School in Katy ISD. Contests

included headline, editorial, feature, news and ready writing.

Senior Alexandra Karr won secondplace in headline and 10th place in feature writing. Junior Joanna Arias placed fourth in headline and 10th in news writing. Senior Ashley Fenuyi placed fi fth in ready writing. Sophomore Rao Khan won seventh place for editorial writing. Senior Joshua Cadungog placed eighth in Literary Criticism.

Five place, win medals at Five place, win medals at Seven Lakes UIL meetSeven Lakes UIL meetBY: RAO KHANSTAFF REPORTER

ALL THE RECYCLED PAPER PRODUCTS GO TO THE ABITIBI PAPER RETRIEVER RECYCLING BIN IN THE FRONT PARKING LOT OF KERR. IT IS PICKED UP TWICE A MONTH, MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.

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On January 7, the Kerronicle staff received its fi rst hands-on experience in what it was like to

work as a daily newspaper. The 24-Hour News Cycle project

was originally presented to Journalism I students as a way to show how a professional newspaper staff would work under day-to-day pressure. The staff collaborated with the Journalism I students as editors and over-seers of the project.

As the bell rang for fi rst period at 7:45 AM, both Journalism I students and Kerronicle staff gathered in room 302 to get started on the project. After fl ying through introductions, our Editor-in-Chief immediately gave out assignments, making sure every person in the room had something to work on. Those who were assigned stories and interviews rushed out of the room in anticipation to get started.

Normal issues would take a week’s worth of staff meetings, another week of writing stories and holding interviews, and at least a week or more of editing and laying out pages, equaling to about a

month or a little more for each issue to publish. However, with the 24-Hour News Cycle project, the aim is to publish a 12-page newspaper within a whole school day. This meant that instead of 24-Hours, our staff only had the seven hours of school plus an hour and forty-fi ve minutes after school to write and edit stories, lay out pages, and publish an online PDF format newspaper.

By the middle of fi rst period, things were already going by quickly. Both the staff and the Journalism I students were turning in stories to be edited, and our editors were working hard on making sure the pages looked intriguing and eye-catching.

Unfortunately, time seemed to be burning out quickly. When the bell rang

for second period it surprised all of us. Many people opted to stay throughout second period, and by the end of second period all the stories except for the ones placed on center spread were fi nished and waiting for edits to occur. Students ambled in and out of the door, making the journalism room more crowded than

usual.Third period

was the worst. The newspaper staff share the j o u r n a l i s m room with the yearbook staff; so when y e a r b o o k staff members arrived, there were question

marks in their eyes when they saw newspaper members sitting in their chairs, typing away at their computers, and plugging in their laptops to charge.

To make matters worse, seniors were

piling in to fi ll out their senior profi les for the yearbook, causing the journalism room to be overcrowded and stuffed with people. Not a single minute was peaceful.

Some of the newspaper members sacrifi ced their lunch time to work on the 24-Hour-News Cycle project, and even with sacrifi ced time, we still had more than half the paper to work on, which we attacked with ferocity throughout fourth period and right now, after school. As the clock reached near 4:15 PM, the challenge of producing a paper within eight hours drew to an end.

By experiencing a project such as the 24-Hour News Cycle, we experienced the stress that a professional newspapaper staff goes through on a daily or weekly basis.So many of us were frazzled by the intensity, but it was still an amazing experience.

Because of the overwhelming success of Friday, we have decided to publish the project as a full paper. We put in the extra few hours we needed to complete the paper and this is the result.

OPINION

WHAT IS YOUR NEW SEMESTER’S RESOLUTION?GQENERALUESTION:

We experienced the stress that a professional newspapaper staff goes through on a daily or

weekly basis.

PATRICIA GIANESELO,11“To exercise so I can get

fi t; be less of a couch potato.”

“Have fun because this is my last year at high school, and the last two years were just

work.” work, work!”

CARLOS INIGUEZ, 9

“Quit being distracted so I can get my work done so I

don’t have to rush.”

BRENDA MBURU, 9“To manage time better because then I will be

more organized.”

TINA NGUYEN, 12

Staff Editorial: 24 hour news cycle a success

5

It’s the eleven-hour essay that still earns an A. It’s the test that’s crammed for at the last minute but still earns an “acing”

grade. It gives students the feeling that we are brilliant because we can get great grades with minimal effort.

Many students are familiar with the phenomenon referred to as faking (or fl ubbing), a process of putting as little effort as possible into schoolwork. It’s simple: throw something together, add complicated words to make it sound smart, and submit it. Though teachers discourage it, we students still do it anyway, and it troubles me that the fl ubbed work often earns grades that are just as high, if not higher, than work done with more effort.

It’s not academic dishonesty, exactly, because technically students are submitting their own work. But there’s a sort of insincerity, a sort of “I don’t care” that still

lingers around work that comes from such a mindset.

You see it everywhere: essays that throw together random quotes with little thought; maps that rely on assumption instead of verifi ed facts; Spanish essays that were written in English and then translated on the Internet.

You learn less when you fl ub assignments, and with time you are forced to depend on the people who actually put effort into their work — and I’m sure everyone knows how aggravating that is.

In addition to being insincere, it’s unfair. Teachers claim they know the difference between fl ubbed work and work with effort, but without records of some kind, it’s very hard to gauge effort. Time and time again, I’ve seen people (all right, myself included) do something at the last minute but still get a stellar grade afterward—sometimes even higher grades than people that I know worked hard. And that’s a reversal of the ways things in the classroom are supposed to be.

And worse than being unfair is the fact

that fl ubbing, like anything else, can become a habit. Some people get so used to it that they no longer care about the quality of their work. Their one goal is to get it done, get it over with.

What will happen when the future is in the hands of people who don’t care about doing the job right? I can’t speak for everyone, but to me, it’s kind of scary.

Maybe it’s true that we can’t do much about it here at Kerr, where things move so quickly. It’s true that we have things to do and deadlines to meet, and that sometimes we have no choice but to disregard quality. But it’s also true that fl ubbing is insincere, and unfair,

and it can become a habit. So we should do it as little as possible.

Because in the end, it’s good work, not fl ubbed work, that gives you that feeling of accomplishment. And I’ll take that any day.

One of the few perks of being a senior is graduation. The diploma is placed in your hands as a sign

of no longer having to drag yourself out of bed at some ungodly hour in the morning (anything before 9 AM is just way too early), just to survive through a tiring seven hours of seminars, PAK work, and trying to weave your way around the herd of underclassmen blocking the already crowded hallways. Until recently, graduation was all I had to look forward to as a senior.

However, another reason included major changes in the upcoming school calendar, after class of 2011 has already left.

A committee in Alief ISD has proposed three calendars for the 2011-2012 school year; all three start on August 23, each one with slight differences. The fi rst calendar is the traditional Alief calendar, with the same number of vacation days, and school ending on the last day of May. The second calendar has school ending on the second to last day of May. There is the same number of student holidays: 27. The third calendar proposes

that the last day of school be on May 24, in the second-to-last week of May.

Now, here’s where the huge, fun changes come in (or not-so-fun, depending on whether you’re a senior or an underclassman). The second calendar differs from our traditional calendar because there are only three days of Thanksgiving Break, not including the weekend. Also, right after celebrating the New Year, students are expected to be back to school the following Monday, on January 2, 2012.

However, this isn’t reason to panic. The two missing days of T h a n k s g i v i n g Break, and the one tiny holiday after New Year’s would simply be placed somewhere else: the weekend after term two fi nals would be upgraded to a four-day weekend. Another four-day weekend appears at the beginning of April, and the last day of school is on May 30, rather than May 31.

I’ve mentioned earlier that the third calendar proposed that the last day of school

be on the second to last week of May rather than the last week of May or early June. This is great news, since it means we might have a full three months of summer break rather than simply two and a half. But with good news comes sacrifi ce. Like the second, the third calendar also features a three-day only Thanksgiving Break. However, it doesn’t end there. In the third calendar proposal, while school would start on a Wednesday

after the New Year and feature a four-day weekend in April, Winter Break would be hacked off to a little less than a week. Instead of the usual two-

week vacation in which everyone has time to pack and head out to their snowboarding/skiing resort in Canada or make cheery holiday memories in some exotic country outside of the United States, the third calendar proposal only has eight days of winter vacation, not including the weekends, and has a total of only 23 vacation days.

I guess you can panic now, but you

should actually count your lucky stars: There was a fourth calendar that was almost considered. It included the two-week break in December, a full week of Thanksgiving Break, and all other one-holiday breaks except for Labor Day and Memorial Day. Oh, I forgot to mention: The fourth almost-considered-proposal calendar threw away Spring Break. Not two days, or three days, but the whole break itself.

But no worries, it’s not being presented to the school board. Only the three calendar proposals are.

How is this affecting me or other seniors graduating this year? That’s the great thing: it’s not. As we leave the school year, we’ll still be having a tough time at school (depending which school we get into), and some of us will actually have a three-day Thanksgiving Break, or have tests and classes on Saturdays even. But one of the good things is that we’ll have pretty much a month off for Winter Break, rather than two weeks, or worse, just one week.

2011, you’re looking pretty good right about now.

OPINION

BY: ANNIE PHAMSTAFF REPORTER

BY: PHI-PHI LEJOURNALISM 1

Luck of the seniors:

Fake it to make it: RUSHED WORK MAKES THE GRADERUSHED WORK MAKES THE GRADE

NO CARE FOR CHANGENO CARE FOR CHANGE

Until recently, graduation was all I

had to look forward to as a senior.

6

eneral

uestion SERGIO OQUENDO, 11 MONIQUE MORRIS, 11

Moving Beyond High School

GQ

KERR GRADUATES FIND CHALLENGES IN COLLEGEKERR GRADUATES FIND CHALLENGES IN COLLEGE

“I WANT TO GO TO UT AND MAJOR IN COMPUTER SCIENCE”

“I W

AN

T TO

GO T

O B

AYLO

R A

ND STUDY NEUROLOGY”

BETHANY BONNETTE, CLASS OF 2010

MUSIC, BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

WHAT ARE SOME MYTHS ABOUT COLLEGE?Not all the classes are humungous

HOW ARE YOU PAYING FOR COLLEGE?I have a full tuition and my parents are paying for housing

WHAT ARE SOME GOOD AND BAD THINGS ABOUT COLLEGE?Basically having all of your best friends as neighbors so it’s easy to kind of have fun and hang out with them all

the time. And the bad thing is that you might have a lot of homework so its really hard to make time to have funWHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT YOUR LATE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS?Umm...less procrastination!

ADVICE FOR A HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: Know where you want to get in and work hard.

KEITH SANDERS, CLASS OF 2009

BIOTECHNOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON

WHAT ARE SOME MYTHS ABOUT COLLEGE?Well everybody thinks that college is a lot harder than it actually is. I mean in Kerr they tell you that the school is going to prepare you for college and it really does! You will really notice the difference. You’re going to be ahead of the game!

HOW ARE YOU PAYING FOR COLLEGE?Mostly student loans

WHAT IS THE BEST AND WORST THING ABOUT COLLEGE?The best would have to be choosing your times. Like if

you don’t want to go to school in the morning you can take afternoon classes. The worst would have to be getting swamped in college papers depending on what classes you’re taking.

WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT YOUR LATE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS?Absolutely Nothing

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR?Just enjoy it while you have it now. Senior year is the best year so just enjoy it!

What are your plans for college?

IN-FOCUS

7

MARC PARRA, 9 HAN TRAN, 12

“RIGHT NOW I’D LIKE TO GO TO UT AND MAJOR IN FORENSICS”

“MY PLANS ARE TO GO TO HARVARD AN

D MAJO

R IN PS

YC

HOLO

GY.”

College expenses truly depend on the choices made by the student, such as the classes taken and the living arrangements.

About 47% of full-time undergraduate college students who attend a four-year college pay less than $9,000 per year on average.

On the contrary, private colleges tend to cost more than $35,000 per year.

On estimate, out-of-state students end up paying $2,000-4,000 more than in-state students in public four-year colleges.

However, there are other factors to consider as well. Things such as books, supplies, living cost, food, clothing, and other necessities of life will add to one’s expenses towards gaining a college education.

WORDS TO KNOW:Student loan: Loan offered to students which used to pay off education-related expenses

Scholarship: Financial aid provided to a student based on academic excellence to pay for college expenses

Grant: Sum of money provided by the government or other people of authority to fi nance educational study

Pell Grant: Money given to students with the highest amount of fi nancial needs (needy postsecondary students)

FAFSA: (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) a form for undergraduates and graduates to determine their eligibility for federal student fi nancial aid

Financial Aid Package: Award given to a student consisting of grants, employment, loans, and/or scholarships, in an effort to help pay college expenses

JIMMY EAPEN, CLASS OF 1996

MBA, BELLHAVEN COLLEGE

WHAT ARE SOME MYTHS ABOUT COLLEGE?Not everybody parties!

WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT COLLEGE?The idea of freedom and responsibility and being able to make my own decisions.

PAYING FOR COLLEGE IS EXPENSIVE KNOWLEDGE

HOW ARE YOU PAYING FOR COLLEGE?Financial aid

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR?Don’t party your freshman year (college); Work your butt off!

LAUREN CELESTINE, CLASS OF 2007

4-8 GRADE ENGLISH, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN

MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE IN COLLGE?The small classes.

WHAT ARE SOME MYTHS ABOUT COLLEGE?College students party all the time.

HOW ARE YOU PAYING FOR COLLEGE?Financial aid and loans.

WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT YOUR LATE HIGHSCHOOL/EARLY COLLEGE YEAR?My dorm assignment.

MAHANA PAIGE, CLASS OF 2007PSYCHOLOGY, ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY

IN-FOCUS

INTERVIEWS BY STAFF REPORTER

PHAT PHAM AND

JOURNALISM I STUDENTS

ROSA MONTERO AND MARIO

PINEDA

8 FEATURE Teachers getting taught:

Teachers can’t possibly understand how hard it is to be a student. Doing homework or projects that will possibly take days to fi nish.

Having to wake up early in the morning, groaning as you have to get out of your comfortable bed. Getting no sympathy when you complain about all the things you have to do: assignments for other classes, work, family responsibilities, relationships...

Of course, it would be different if they were students themselves.

Nurse Carol Wiley, art teacher Janine Hughes, PE teacher Jorge Diaz and speech and debate coach Derek Davis are experiencing this role-reversal as they go to back to school.

Hughes is currently enrolled in University of Fine Arts in Philadelphia studying for an Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture.

“Trying to be an overachiever here at Kerr and go way above and beyond for my job and trying to still fi nd time to do my own work is very diffi cult,” she said.

Hughes enrolled in a ‘low-residency’ master’s program in 2010.

“I get to live there [in Philadelphia] for three summers,” she said. “I live in the graduates’ dorm for eight weeks with a whole bunch of other people like me and we do our art program very, very intensely in the summer.”

While rubbing elbows with the New York gallery crowd, Hughes is amazed to be able to meet professional artists fi rst-hand.

“It’s very cool to have somebody that you’ve been worshipping from afar…in my own studio, critiquing my own work.”

Davis currently attends University of Texas in Arlington, aiming for his Masters in Business and Educational Studies.

“For the last 16 years, I kept putting it off…,” Davis said. “Now I’m pursuing my Masters and I hope to get my Doctorate one day, so I can be called

‘Dr. D.’”Davis takes classes online and says he enjoys the

advantages of doing work at his own pace.“I’ve always been busy with the speech team

and classes,” Davis said. “Now, as you can see, I’m always working…I’ve just been online to get classes done. It’s been a challenge to be able to spend time with students and with class work and get everything done that you need to do.”

Wiley attends class-es with a friend who works at Youngblood Middle School.

“Basically, I looked at a lot of different places…” Wiley said. “[But my friend] is a Texas fan. Her degrees have been through the University of Texas and she goes, ‘We have to go to the University

of Texas in Tyler.’”Like Davis, Wiley is taking some classes online,

and said it is challenging to go back to school after many years outside of the classroom. But she has high goals, including expanding her career choices.

“Once I pass and get my degree in Nursing Edu-cation, it will give me the opportunity to hold anad-ministrative offi ce here in the district,” she said. “Or if I want to, I can leave the district totally and go to a university, teaching new prospective nurses how to be a nurse.”

Diaz is also interested in other job options as he furthers his education. Currently he is work-ing to get a Masters in Business Administra-tion at the University of Houston in Victoria.

“I’m in the pursuit of more ‘dinero.’ I got to go for the ‘gusto,’” Diaz laughed. “Ben-jamins, baby!”

But while a new degree could lead to a new job, not every teacher who goes back

to school wants a career change. In two and a half years, Hughes will be quali-

fi ed to teach art at the university level. However, she doesn’t know if she wants to do that.

“I kind of like high school,” she said. “I’m just doing this for myself and my own artwork, and I think if I continue to strive to do better artwork for myself, I’ll be a better teacher overall.”

BY: AJA BRYANT & PHI-PHI LESTAFF REPORTER & JOURNALISM I

EDUCATORS PURSUE EDUCATORS PURSUE HIGHER EDUCATIONHIGHER EDUCATION GQ:GQ:

Would you go back to school if you could?

General Question

“NO, I’M TOO OLD. THERE’S NO NEED TO

GO BACK TO SCHOOL.”– ENGLISH TEACHER

ROGER MARTIN

“YES, BECAUSE I LOVE LEARNING AND THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW DISCOVERED THAT CAN BE

LEARNED.”– SCIENCE TEACHER

DEBRA VALDEZ

“YES, BECAUSE LEARNING ANY KIND OF EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT AND YOU CAN

NEVER LEARN TOO MUCH.”– ENGLISH TEACHER EVGUENIA VOLKOVA

“I hope to get my Doctorate one day, so I can be called ‘Dr. D’.”

Speech and Debate Coach Derik Davis

“If I continue to strive to do better artwork for myself, I’ll be a better

teacher overall.”Art teacher

Janine Hughes

FEATURE

FEATURE 9

Kindle spirits:

Reading on the go has gotten easier with the development of electronic readers like the Amazon Kindle

and the Barnes & Noble Nook. Both devices are gaining popularity all over the globe because of their portability and ease. Although both the Nook and Kindle boast

easier reading and cheaper books than print

b o o k s ,

users say there are many reasons to buy one of the devices.

Doris Curry, business teacher, said that she bought a Kindle because of its versatility.

“I had more choices of books and the library that I could actually download from was larger,” Curry said. “In addition, the number of free books was also larger.”

According to Curry, there are many benefi ts from using the Kindle.

“I read faster, there is less eye strain, convenient, lightweight, easy to travel,” she said. “And when I fi nish a book I

don’t have to go buy another one or go to the library. I can

just choose the next book.”Nook users also talked about

the benefi ts their book readers. “You get to own the book forever,”

science teacher Debbie Valdez said. “It’s convenient and it’s cheaper than

a new book.”Nooks and Kindles are not only for

teachers though. Many students have already received their very own portable electronic book reader.

“It lasts longer, it has more storage space and you could put music on it like an iPod,” Kindle user Ella Morgan, a junior, said. “I [can also] go on Facebook or play Scrabble on it.”

Sophomore Murietta Flores said that her Kindle is a lot lighter than carrying around the amount of books she normally reads.

“It’s a portable Barnes and Noble,” she said.

There are some disadvantages to electronic books. Users of both devices expressed some concerns.

One complaint was that the electronic books do not have pages that can be turned.

“It makes the Kindle a little less realistic and you’re more likely to get bored of it,”

Flores said.

A

disadvantage with the Nook was that it isn’t multiple user friendly.

“You can’t really share it,” Valdez said.

M o r g a n ’ s complaint was the short appeal of the reader.

“It gets kind of boring after a while,” she said.

Even with the variety of use and a large amount of

fans, electronic readers may someday be old news, Valdez said.

“They might be made obsolete by smart phone technology,”

BY: JESUS ESCOBARJOURNALISM !

OWNERS OF E-READERS SAY DEVICES OWNERS OF E-READERS SAY DEVICES HAVE HAVE FOUND A NOOK IN THEIR HEARTSFOUND A NOOK IN THEIR HEARTS

AT LEFT IS THE NOOK AT RIGHT IS THE AMA-ZON KINDLE. MORE AND MORE STUDENTS

AND TEACHERS ARE USING THE EREADERS

PHOTOS FROM BARNES & NO-

BLES AND AMA-ZON.COM

General Question

“LAPTOP BECAUSE I CAN DO MY WORK AND HAVE

MORE SPACE UNLIKE STUDENTS WHO HAVE TO USE THE SCHOOL’S

COMPUTER.”– CINDY TSAI, 9

“I PHONE 4 BECAUSE I CAN LISTEN TO MUSIC, TEXT, AND GO ON THE INTERNET ALL IN ONE.

”– ALEJANDRO RODRIGUEZ 12

“CAMERA BECAUSE I CAN TAKE IT

ANYWHERE AND WHEN MY MOM IS DRIVING I

CAN SNAP PICKS. ”– STEPHANIE AINA, 10

GQ:GQ: What’s your favorite electronic device?

FEATURE

10

Diddy Dirty Money is a collaboration between Sean Combs, also famously known as P. Diddy, former Danity Kane member Dawn Richards, and singer-songwriter Kalenna Harper. The group’s fi rst album, Last Train to Paris is also the fi fth studio album P. Diddy produced. In interviews, Diddy describes this album as an electro-hip-hop-soul-funk type of album, and the songs featured certainly prove so. In Last Train to Paris, the listener not only gets a feel of the usual hip-hop genre, but it also expands into R&B, electronica, techno, and pop, covering pretty much a majority of musical genres.

While the title of the group may say otherwise, Diddy Dirty Money is actually not about illegal money, or drugs, or anything negative. The group sings of a love story that shows two different sides – the man’s and the woman’s. The songs are placed in an order that tells a narrative of Diddy’s alter ego as he travels on tour from London to Paris and fi nds the woman of his

dreams before losing her, fi nding her, losing her once more, and fi nding and reuniting with her at the very end of the album with the concluding song, “Coming Home.”

I honestly have mixed opinions about this album.

I love how each song in the album adds a spin to the love story being told by Diddy Dirty Money, so the order in which the songs are placed are not random. Instead, they fade, to signify an end to a chapter, before increasing the volume and introducing the listener to a new chapter in the story. It’s basically like reading a novel, except instead of words and eyes, you use your ears to fi nd the story through the music.

Aside from the album being a lyrical and musical story, some of the songs, like “Yeah Yeah You Would” and “Strobe Lights” give

you a feeling of dancing and having fun at a nightclub. But instead of anything sexual or derogatory towards women, these songs just give you a “let go of life’s problems and just have fun once in a while” type of emotion.

And this was the main purpose of Diddy’s new album. In an interview with MTV, he states that this “…was the most v u l n e r a b l e album I’ve ever been involved in. It’s raw emotion – you get a feeling, a vibe.”

My favorite song overall

would be “Coming Home,” which was the fourth single released from the album, and preceded by “Angel,” “Hello Good Morning,” and “Loving You No More.” The song, “Coming Home,” gives the listener a feeling of blissfulness as the novel of a love

story comes to a positive end.While I did like the album, there were

also things I didn’t like about it. I loved the songs that featured guest artists such as Skylar Grey, Usher, and Trey Songz, but I felt as if Diddy’s choice to feature Li’l Wayne wasn’t all that great. For one, Li’l Wayne barely made a contribution to any song he was featured in, while the other guest artists made the featured songs their own. Second, I found Diddy’s rapping to be unoriginal. He sounded as if he was trying too hard to be a combination of Lupe Fiasco and Kanye West. It was a relief that the majority of the songs were taken over by the guest artists.

Overall, I thought the album was decent. If I had to rank it, I’d give it about three and a half stars out of fi ve. The beats were great, the order in which the songs were placed to tell a story was amazing and unique, and the line up of guest artists (minus Li’l Wayne) was a good choice on Diddy’s part.

ENTERTAINMENT

THE DILEMMAJANUARY 14ROMANTIC COMEDY

RATING: PG 13SYNOPSIS: Ronny’s best friend, Isaac, gets married, but Ronny soon fi nds out that Isaac’s wife is cheating. Ronny a journey to try to make things right, but it only makes things more complicated.

FROM PRADA TO NADAJANUARY 28,DRAMEDY

RATING: PG 13SYNOPSIS: When two spoiled rich girls must move in with their aunt who lives in East LA, they must learn to take on responsibility without their father’s wealth. While at fi rst, it’s hard for both sisters, they discover their Mexican ancestry and embrace it for what so long they have refused to accept it. They learn that life of prada means nada (nothing) without love, family, and community.

SECONDS APARTJANUARY 28THRILLER AND HORROR

RATING: RSYNOPSIS: Two twins with evil hearts harm the ones around them using telekinesis. Local law enforcements begin to suspect the twins’ connection to the massive murders.

BY: ANNIE PHAMSTAFF REPORTER

Mixed feelings for Diddy Dirty Money

Upcoming MoviesUpcoming Movies

THE GREEN HORNETJANUARY 14ACTION/ADVENTURE/CRIME

RATING: PG 13SYNOPSIS: After his father’s mysterious death, Britt Reid (Seth Rogan) transforms from a party animal into LA’s night-time vigilante, the Green Hornet. He develops a friendship with Kato (Jay Chou) and together they build an invincible battle machine. The two companions decided to protect LA by taking on the city’s notorious crime lord, Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz). But the villian plans to clip the Green Hornet’s wings for good. Li

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11LIFESTYLE

GQGENERAL QUESTION

Junior Betty Van has been doing Vovinam, or Vietnamese martial arts, as a hobby for the past two years.

“My friend wanted me to join because she was feeling lonely by herself,” Van commented. “And after a while, she quit, but I stayed because I liked it so much.”

Van likes the fact that martial arts focus more on philosophy, respect, and discipline, and taking Vietnamese martial arts helped her to learn how to practice patience and discipline better.

When Van fl ew out last summer to San Jose for the World Championship of Vovinam, the

adrenaline was rushing through her veins, and she was really nervous about the outcome of the competition.

“I participated in three events: sparring, and two other forms,” she explained. “We did do lots of practice, but my heart was still beating, and I was the fi rst to perform. The fi rst girl I fought against in sparring wasn’t that good, but the other two girls, they were a tough match! But in the end, the adrenaline rush was what helped me do my forms really well.”

Van considered changing to a different fi eld of martial arts.

“The basics of all martial arts are the same, so you can pick up the moves pretty quickly,” she said. “But after the black belt, it’s a whole different learning experience.”

Van said how a person applies martial arts to the outer world proves how good she is at martial arts.

“You don’t do martial arts to just fi ght,” she commented. “But if you can’t win a real fi ght, you can’t say that you’ll be good at martial arts.”

Van thinks that there is more to martial arts than just the fi ghting.

“It’s not just about sparring,” she said. “It’s about the patience and discipline behind the sparring.”

BY: NADIA ZULFACONTRIBUTOR

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY?

“I collect key chains because I like to have memories of the places I went.”

GHARAM ALATKI, 11 NI NGUYEN, 9

“I make friend-ship bracelets because I enjoy doing crafts.”

“I like Yu-Gi-Oh cards because they stimulate my mind.”

BILL NGUYEN, 9

Minh Loung, senior, has been doing lion dancing for four years now.

“I want to do it every year, and I want to do it as much as possible,” he said. “It’s fun, exciting, and you get to skip school and have free food.”

Lion dancing is a Vietnamese tradition where two or more people perform a dance in a costume. They perform this dance for the Chinese New Year or when other special events.

“Lion dancing has taught me strength, endurance, teamwork, and it also kept me going

to Temple every Sunday,” Minh added. “Yes, it was hard when I fi rst started because it took a lot of physical strength. My whole body would be sore.”

According to Luong, one has to be at least 16 years of age and audition. The audition tests fl exibility, strength, and endurance, because lion dancing requires stamina.

“We had this one show where we were in a circle of fi reworks. We couldn’t breathe, but we did get to eat after,” Minh recalled. “It was really hard to do, and it’s also for a long time.”

There were times when he and his friends would even climb a pole, or carry each other. The

costume was heavy, and holding it while dancing around was very tiring.

Growing up, Luong said inspiration from what other people were doing was what made him stay committed for all these years.

“It made me want to try and do it also,” he said. “I’m going to keep doing lion dancing until I’m really busy with school and work, but even so I’ll still go to help out my team during Chinese New Year.”

BY: SARAH BUNGAYCONTRIBUTOR

Luong gains strength from lion dance

Martial arts master: Van practices Vovinam

Heads over HobbiesHeads over HobbiesACTIVITIES ENCOURAGE TEAMWORK AND DISCIPLINEACTIVITIES ENCOURAGE TEAMWORK AND DISCIPLINE

12 ETC.

POETRY SLAM BRINGS FUN...

ROOM 531 BECAME MORE THAN JUST A SEMINAR ROOM ON JANUARY 11. IT TURNED INTO THE “OMG, WHAT IT DO, WHAT’S ON & POPPIN, LOL, FOR REALZ, JUMPIN’ JAVA, UNDENIABLY HAPPENIN’ CLASS!!!!!” COFFEE HOUSE. AP ENGLISH IV, CREATIVE WRITING AND ENGLISH II STUDENTS GATHERED THROUGHOUT THE CLASS PERIODS TO SHARE POEMS THEY HAD WRITTEN OR FAVORITE SELECTIONS FROM POETS SUCH AS ROBERT FROST AND EDGAR ALLEN POE. COFFEE, SNACKS AND BONGOS WENT ALONG WITH THE CHILL FEELING OF THE COFFEE HOUSE.

ENGLISH TEACHER KATHLEEN HARRISON SAID SHE HOPED THE EVENT WOULD BE A FUN WAY TO FINISH THE POETRY STUDIES ALL OF THE CLASSES WERE DOING.

SOPHOMORE TRAN MA, WHO WROTE A POEM ENTITLED “I AM” FOR EVENT, SAID SHE LEARNED ABOUT OTHER STUDENTS FROM HEARING THEIR COMPOSITIONS.

“IT HELPS ME UNDERSTAND MY CLASSMATES BETTER,” SHE EXPLAINED. “IT CHANGES MY THOUGHT OF THEM.”

STORY BY SARA ELMIAARI AND AJA BRYANT PHOTOS BY SARA ELMIAARI

1. THE CLASSES COME TOGETHER TO LISTEN TO ONE ANOTHER’S POEMS. “I LIKE HOW PEOPLE ARE CREATIVE NOWADAYS,” SOPHOMORE RACHEL MELO SAID. “I’M HAPPY THAT MY CLASSMATES OPENED THEMSELVES UP, LETTING ME LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM.”2. ENGLISH TEACHER KATHLEEN HARRISON RECITES ‘SARAH SYLVIA CYNTHIA STOUT’ BY SHEL SILVERSTEIN IN A HORROR MANNER WITH ALL OF THE LIGHTS TURNED OFF AND ONLY A FLASHLIGHT IN HER HAND. 3. JUNIOR SARA SOSA READS A POEM SHE HAS WRITTEN.4. SOPHOMORE PHAT NGUYEN ALSO READS A POEM HE HAS WRIT-TEN WITH BONGOS PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND.

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3 4 ii CHECK OUT MORE PHOTOS ON KERRONICLE.COM!