2014 Peregrine issue 2

Shaking The Court 8-9

ThePEREGRINE

Also Inside•ANewArtMediuM-2

•SAviorofCollegedreAMS-3

•BlAziNgPASSioN-6

•liNkedtotrAditioN,fAMily-7

•guNCoNtrol-14

•lAwNdAleArtCeNter-16

uPANdoverFlying through the air, Kaila Overton, senior, prepares to launch the ball back to the opposing side of the court for a point. She, along with Lauren Greenspoon, senior, led the team to a successful season in which the united the student body to come and support them whether they were home or away.

Vol. 42 Issue 2, November 2013

Jersey Village High School 7600 Solomon Houston TX 77040

photo by Natassha Arreola

The bright, warm sound of an open chord sounds through the art room; rich, full, and reverberating through the studio. The eye moves toward the beautiful sound, but it stays, not for the music, but for the remarkable piece of art that produced it.

Jason Daniel has taught art classes for over a decade. Over the course of his extended career he has taught hundreds of students, focusing on helping them discover their creative potential and develop new abilities. Yet although Daniel gets caught up in the rigors of a teaching career, he has not allowed himself to become ambivalent towards his personal journey as an artist.

Daniel endeavors to improve his talents daily, and frequently finds ideas and inspiration in the very students in which he has helped spark an interest. In the 2013 year one of Daniel’s students decided to paint a design on his guitar.

Daniel, who has pursued music since a teenager and actively co-sponsors the Guitar Club, was inspired. Soon after his student brought his painted guitar to school, Daniel began purchasing inexpensive guitars off of EBay to experiment on. After acquiring a considerable collection, Daniel finally got the opportunity to work on them, but in a hardly ideal situation.

“I had to miss school for a six-weeks because I needed to have surgery. I needed an activity to pass the time while I recovered,” Daniel said.

The first guitar that Daniel painted was an old acoustic of the low-end variety. Having focused on landscape painting in college and throughout his vocation as an artist, Daniel felt compelled to start off with what he knew he could pull off.

The first guitar ended up more than satisfactory; a depiction of autumn leaves with a sky-blue background. Daniel put the

instrument up on EBay, and it sold quickly. This led to Daniel’s realization that perhaps he’d better continue selling his painted guitars, as he had acquired more than a few too many in preparation for the project.

Daniel has continued to sell his painted guitars, although this mostly serves to get them out of the way.

“Each guitar has a theme; it’s just like making a work of art. I made a

Rasta style guitar, and several that had landscapes painted on them. My knowledge of art has influenced the guitar decorations,” Daniel explained.

Daniel’s favorite guitar, a vintage jazz acoustic that has suffered considerable wear and tear in its time, was painted using an experimental technique that Daniel decided to try out. When Daniel purchased the guitar, he did not have particularly high hopes for it. The instrument looked absolutely horrible. It had suffered severe water damage, and in many places the wood was worn thin and in others it was broken

entirely. Despite this, Daniel felt the guitar had a certain rugged appeal.

Before any painting occurred, Daniel sanded the guitar down, filled the holes as

best he could, and primed it. The first part of the painting process involved taping up the guitar, and peeling away the parts that were for painting.

This process alone took a considerable amount of time, as

every single figure on the instrument needed to be precisely cut out of the masking tape. Only after hours spent cutting out dozens of intricate symbols and designs representing Daniel’s interests, the actual painting occurred. This was actually the easier portion of the task, as the design only feature two colors, black and

white, to create a contrasting design. “I think his guitar project, which was

inspired by one of his students, will in turn motivate others to pursue art in other mediums,” Kay Evans, math teacher and co-sponsor of the Guitar Club, said.

Daniel has painted multiple guitars since then, and over time his hobby has become somewhat of a habit, leading Daniel to experiment with guitar-kits and numerous other guitar-based projects. Since his collection of guitars has grown so large, Daniel began to loan out his instruments to students in Guitar Club.

“The fact that he paints his guitars should invite more people to want to learn how to play. A lot of people don’t have guitars, so it’s nice that he’s letting students borrow his.” Tyler Sweeten, senior and co-president of Guitar Club, said.

These guitars are perhaps not so impressive as those he has painted, but the Guitar Club members are appreciative for the chance to experiment with different instruments.

Daniel hopes to continue working with instruments, and continually endeavors to come up with new creative ideas for himself and his students.

story by Joel Montfort

photos by Joel Montfort

Feature2 November 2013Never a Lost Cause The stark black and white jazz acoustic at left was sal-vaged from a state of dis-repair. Hours were spent filling holes and refinish-ing before painting ever began.

PayiNg tribute The tele-caster to the right was painted using masking tape to create stripes, similar in style to the iconic Eddie Van Halen Frankenstrat

testiN’ Her out In the im-age below, Daniel dem-onstrates the playability of one of his painted guitars. Despite having consider-able work done, the instru-ment sounds great.

Art Medium

Jazz 2.0 The guitar above, a hollow-body electric commissioned by a friend, was the second jazz guitar painted by Daniel.

Art instructor inspires students with project

THEPEREGRINE

Issue 2

New

Savior of College DreamsFaculty member returns to give needed direction

With time working against him, he realizes that he still has no idea where to apply. His dreams of going to college are slowly

dispersing as he realizes the complications that go along with filling out his application. Entry Term, Major, Social Security, financial situation? All these daunting new concepts fly over

the head of the student and he does not know who to reach out to get help. But what he does not know yet is that one man, who

will reveal himself as ‘the savior of college dreams’, will show him the way towards the college of his dreams. Clayton Anderson was known around the school as a Spanish

teacher two years ago, but left that job to work as an ‘Academic Achievement Specialist’ at Labay Middle School. His

experiences at the middle school were enjoyable, but he missed his time working as a Spanish teacher in a high school. When Anderson heard about a job opening up in the faculty

he proceeded to research the position, and concluded that it was an opportunity that was

right up his alley. He immediately went through the application process and applied for the position.

“After a couple of emails, an interview or two, and a handful of phone calls, I was offered the job. I quickly and happily accepted the position,” Anderson said.

Lately Anderson can be seen going class-to-class giving out information to students about different opportunities to go visit colleges. He has taken on the role as the “College and Career Specialist” for the student body; and with this change in the structure of the college path finding available to the students, comes many changes in how the school shows its students different college opportunities. The most apparent change that Anderson has pushed is making college visits more available to the student body by scheduling field trips to visit many different departments and programs in colleges and trade schools around Texas. Some colleges they have already visited include Texas State and the University of Texas at Austin.

“College Night, Trip to Texas State University for IT Symposium, College 101 day at UT Austin, Spare Welding Academy Open House, college visitors, guest speaker, night presentations, and many other dual credit stuff. That’s all just from the first couple of months of school. Going into the future

there will be more trips to different university campuses and endless other visits to provide students with options and people who can enlighten their minds to different possibilities,” Anderson said.

Matthew Tesfalul, senior, recently signed up and attended the trip to the University of Texas at Austin after hearing about the event from Anderson. The experience of campus life in

Austin and the learning environment at the university inspired him to apply for admission to the school.

“I wanted to tour the campus and experience the atmosphere of a day at UT. The trip was perfect because it was a Friday and they provided transportation. In addition, the trip helped me decide to apply to UT,” Tesfalul said.

Other tasks that Anderson has undertaken with his new position include helping students find colleges and scholarships that are right for them, while also giving students the knowledge needed to get the most money and opportunities while they are in the college application process. Moony Cao, senior, regularly visits Anderson for advice on many college related things such as editing her application essays and showing her various scholarships that she could benefit from.

“He helped me analyze and edit my essays and gave me a ton of websites to find scholarships. He gives me honest input on whether I am applicable for a certain college or not without hurting my feelings,” Cao said.

Students do not always have the latest, or any, information on current scholarships and government financial help programs like FAFSA and it is Anderson’s job to relay this information to the students to make sure they are ready for their future life in college by the time they graduate. Most students look for any kind of advice they can get because they had never had to make a decision as big as this one in their life, and they look towards Anderson to give them the advice they will need to succeed.

“Research. Read. Realize. All of the information you need to know is out there. Google your brains out and be self-aware, and you will surely find something that’s right for you,” Anderson said.

While Anderson’s job primarily focuses on college opportunities he also is required to have the latest information on career opportunities for students who might not be ready for college, or who just don’t feel like college is necessary for them, and then relay this information back to the student body. Naturally, this has gotten Anderson in touch with the vast amount of students looking for help in their search for future opportunities they can pursue; and the amount of students in need of this help is astounding.

“I’ve already spoken with several hundred students, one-on-one, and I’ve also entertained large groups of students regarding their future after high school,” Anderson said.

Anderson’s new job has caused him to rethink new ways to help students have a sustainable life after high school, but only time will tell if his new techniques will be valuable in helping the average student receive the most out of what the working world has to offer them. For now, the faculty and students can say that they are glad to have him back.

By Trevor Hargis

photo by Monica Garcia

On The ROad Clayton Anderson gets students ready for the long bus ride to the University of Texas at Austin for the college visit.

UT COllege VisiT Clayton Anderson speaks with a representa-tive from the University of Texas to start the college visit.

photo by Monica Garcia

Upcoming College Info Sessions

Jan. 21st Paying for College

Feb. 11thCareer Roadmap

March 11thPLAN for College Readiness

April 1stDual Credit

Feature 3November 2013ThePEREGRINE

Issue 2

Debating Places

Team earns success through discussion, places at Spartan Classic

In a classroom full of around 12 debaters, every-one goes quiet. The judges sit a part from the rest and

slowly Christian Cordova, senior, makes his way up to

the front, ready to deliver his speech. He recites his name,

school, code and finalizes as he acknowledges the judges. He waits for a few seconds, feeling his heart beat faster and faster every second, and waits for the judges’ nod to begin his speech, a speech that every

competi-tor will have to d e l i v e r and that

in the end will start the discus-

sion and debate, the main part of the competition.

The participation of Cor-dova, Santiago Rosales, seniors, Jessica Hulett, Tristain Mathews, Neerali Shah, Chris Lester, sopho-mores, and Justin Meun, Noah Kopesky, freshmen, in the Cy-Lakes Invitational, The Spartan Classic competi-

tion, helped them value their skills as debaters and learn

from their performances.Rosales, who endured many

sleep-deprived nights to prepare for the competition, and most im-portantly, readied himself men-

tally for the challenges to come, earned first place in con-

gressional debate and im-promptu debate, and also

earned fourth in extempora-neous speaking.

“It is a thrill. In a single moment, I can act as a representative of this country, fighting for the interests of the American people and at the same time I’m in a high school classroom with 30 other kids, hav-ing the same dream,” Rosales said.

Although feeling simultaneously excit-ed, nervous, confident, and at ease, Ro-sales’ jumble of emotions did not impede him from retaining the important lessons that he learned while competing.

“At this tournament, I experimented with different attention-getting introduc-tions for my speeches. At the end of this experiment, I realized that working with what you know (your experiences) is the key to your success. I used a humorous element of my life and saw success. This is a lesson I will implement definitely, not only in debate, but also in other areas of my life,” Rosales said.

In the area of novice poetry, Mathews received first place and, although he felt nervous but over joyed, he prepared by reading over his piece numerous times and expected to win first or second place.

Their debate teacher and mentor Re-gina Jennings describes these students as exceptional and worthy of their success, after working diligently for many days, weeks and months.

“All of these students have a disci-plined work ethic. We are now working on a graded contract where they get to choose what they will be graded on. This allows them to fine tune the events they want to improve,” Jennings said.

Lester and Shah, who competed to-gether in the area of Novice Public Fo-rum, placed third and prepared together by having practice debates in class, go-ing over pro and con cases, and making counter arguments for each side.

Shah has also earned confidence in how she talks, get rid of stress, worry, and nervousness, and has also realized

that improvement comes from com-peting.

“Obviously, after every round, you feel I should have done this or I shouldn’t have done that, but you just have to accept it and move on. I wish I would have had that in my head during every competi-tion: ‘If you mess up, it’s okay, just move one or keep going’,” Shah said.

Meun and Kopesky, oth-er debaters who competed together, partici-pated in the duet acting category. Although Meun felt nervous knowing that competing against teams with more expe-rience would not make the competition any easier, the talent that both students had helped them place fourth in their area of competition.

Contributing to the success of the debate team, Cordova, who placed third in extempo-raneous speaking, and fourth in congressional debate, and Hulett, who received sixth in oratory, also helped them receive the recognition that they worked for after con-stant practice, disci-pline, and prepa-ration.

By Iveth GarcIa

Feature4 November 2013ThePEREGRINE

Issue 1

“Debate has given me the opportunity to express myself

in the most dramatic way possible,” Tristain Mathews, sophomore, said.

“It has opened me up to challenges and meeting new

people, definitely changed my life positively,” Neerali Shah, sophomore, said.

How has debate influenced your overall life?

“It has given me something to do and has provided me

with recognition,“ Chris Lester, sophomore, said.

“It has made me less afraid to speak and share my opinion with

others,“ Jessica Hulett, sophomore, said.

“Debate has made me a better person overall by improving

my speaking skills and work better with people,“ Noah Kopesky, freshman, said.

“Debate has made me more open to new people. It makes

me feel personal with the elderly,“ Justin Meun, freshman, said.

photos by Alexander Cruz

He approaches a table filled with strangers, and asks a young boy to pick a card, he picks the seven of diamonds and places it back in the deck, as directed by Diego Gomez, junior. With the sleight of a hand Gomez performs a mes-merizing trick that leaves the whole lunch table speechless. The seven of diamonds jumps from the deck and appears in his mouth.

Years of practice have lead Gomez to turn into a notable face in the school and in his com-munity.

Many consider Gomez introverted, and still to this day, he may have trouble connecting with people normally. However, Gomez does not let his timid nature get in his way; in fact he capi-talizes on it in his street magic tricks.

“For a moment someone can be suspended in disbelief and believe anything is possible. Magic brings out emotion,” Gomez said

Some of Gomez’s major influences came after he got addicted to TV magicians like Chris An-gle, David Blaine, and Penn and Teller. Watch-ing these shows Gomez realized his passion for magic after buying many instructional books and DVD’s Gonzalez put in countless hours into practicing new tricks.

He quickly decided that out of all the possible sub genres of magic he liked sleight of hand the best. Sleight of hand magic involves quick ma-neuvers to trick an audience or audience mem-ber into believing the illusion Gomez just per-formed.

When people think of magic, they think of pulling bunnies out of hats, levitation, and es-cape artists, Gomez, however likes to take a more personal approach by performing street magic. This type of magic allows for a more hands on approach from audience members

and is traditionally not performed on a stage. Gomez chose to do this type of magic because he enjoys seeing the audience’s faces and likes hearing the immediate feedback of oohs and ahs.

“The responses I get from people are won-derful. In a weird way I can live out my child-hood dreams with magic, like, I always wanted to be a superhero and with magic. It’s almost like I have super powers,” Gomez said.

However, Gomez hopes to pursue wrestling in the future and work in magic to his smack down.

“In the future I want to keep magic in my life and do it as a career, but I want to take magic to a different stage. Two things I love are magic and professional wrestling and in the future I want to incorporate the two together,” Gomez said.

The future is not so far off for Gomez. Many believe, including several of his teachers, that his persistence and passion in magic will lead him to a successful career in his field and he’s not even a senior yet.

“Diego is extremely creative and patient. He can see the ‘big picture’ and works through a lot of problem solving in his work in a very confi-dent and patient manner. He never takes the ‘easy’ way out and seems to thrive on challeng-ing himself,” Debbie Wheeler, art teacher, said.

The constant pressure that most students face about the future past and present all seem to fade away for Gomez when he performs. Just the ability to entertain a few students is enough for Gomez for the time being. All Gomez needs to happy is deck of cards a little bit of talent and audience.

By TryTon WendT


Issue 2

Illusions impress masses

Street Magic in Halls

Magic in The air Putting in a lot of extra time Michael Hernandez, junior, another Falcon magician, practices for his biggest performance, Battle of the Falcons. “I spent over six hours practicing for Battle of

the Falcons and the hardest part at least for me was building up the nerve to get on stage.”

Diego Gomez, junior, successfully runs a Youtube account with up to 50 subscribers. On his Youtube account he features many of his tricks that he had

performed at school. www.youtube.com/user/CrypticMagician

photos by Rosa Gonzalez

Breathing heavily and running around, they help aid other firefighters tame the fire that keeps roaring back to life after several attempts to douse it. The smell of burning wood filled the air making it even more challenging to put the fire out. Fighting against the feeling of exhaustion, the junior firefighters keep walking closer to the fire’s heat to prevent the fire from spreading.

Balancing school and work seems impossible for most teenagers, but not for Bryan Taylor II, Jordan Maher, Joshua Macon, Matthew Bierwagen, and Mohammed Khan. They volunteer at the Jersey Village Fire Department as junior firefighters. Taylor, Maher, Macon, Bierwagen, and Khan dedicate their time serving the community by putting out fires alongside other firefighters.

“I feel that everyone should volunteer in their community for the well-being of the whole, and this is my way to be active,” Bierwagen, senior, said.

As a senior, Bierwagen already has an extremely occupied year. He participates in JVTV, obtains the position of corps commander in the

AFJROTC, which simply signifies that his job requires him to take charge and run the corps. He participates in the National Honor Society, and manages to keep up his grades. Although he already has to balance all of these activities in his life, he still finds the time to volunteer. Bierwagen knew he wanted to take part in the experience watching his mom, Kerri Bierwagen, make the decision to help the community by volunteering at the fire station.

Matthew Bierwagen has recently completed a full year of hard work, and has made many memories on duty. Once, on duty he found an American flag in the middle of Highway 290. He stopped in traffic in order to recover the flag. After saving the American flag, he and a friend of his folded and donated the flag to the American Legion. Matthew Bierwagen plans on attending Texas A&M, and majoring in Aerospace Engineering. He has created many great adventures and has formed strong relationships with the people he has worked with, and because of this he will continue to volunteer.

“I enjoy the relationship we have

with one another. It is like a family,” Khan, senior, said.

Khan, also involved in many school activities, dedicates his time to the fire department. Watching his friends Macon and Matthew Bierwagen, Khan knew he wanted to join in on the experience. He started his activities in June 2013, and already has varied experiences. Khan believes his job goes beyond putting out fires. He feels his job entails him serving and saving the community. He appreciates and learns from the experiences he has made on the job.

Much like his co-firefighter, Matthew Bierwagen, Khan plans on attending Texas A&M as well to receive a degree in Petroleum Engineering.

Although Khan will not continue to volunteer, he still has created memories he would not have made if he had not joined his co-firefighters.

“It allows me to help out my community at a young age,” Maher, senior said.

Maher has a passion for the volunteer work he does for the community. He feels honored to do significant activities for the civic at

such a young age. If it had not been for his family influencing him to make the decision to volunteer, he would not have experienced such amazing memories.

Maher’s family has a history of relatives that work at the fire station. His grandfather and uncle are career fireman, and Maher hopes to do the same. After high school, Maher has decided to attend Lonestar to earn an associates degree in fire science in order to become a full time firefighter. He feels excitement knowing he will continue to do his work for the civic and have a career he yearns for.

These junior firefighters volunteer and get the same responsibilities that other men and women twice their age receive. Taylor, Maher, Macon, Matthew Bierwagen, and Khan dedicate their lives to the community because they have the desire to do so. They make noble decisions that most teenagers their age do not make. The actions the junior firefighters do volunteering glorifies their honor. Respected by many, these junior firefighters continue to save lives and worthily serve the community.

By Marilyn renderos


Issue 2

Blazing Passion

Volunteers make huge impact in community

Training For SucceSS From right to left. Junior firefighter, Jordan Maher acts as a victim laying in an ambulance. The rest of his co-firefighters are discussing the protocol as part of EMT training.

Maher and Bryan Taylor II help put out a house fire.

Firefighters put out two different burning vehicles

with the help of junior firefighters.

photo by Marilyn Renderos photos courtesy of Jersey Village Fire Department

Link to Tradition, FamilySister passes down leadership of Good Sportsmanship League

photo by Natalie Solano

Time for feeding Taking time out of his day to feed his day old turkeys, Shawn Montalbano, junior, begins to raise his third flock of turkeys for his upcoming shows. He has plans on making sales on these turkeys just as he has for his past two. The turkeys might

Linked arm in arm, two members from the cheerleaders, Gold Dust-ers, band, and Student Council cross the football field to represent the Falcons as the Good Sportsmanship League (GSL). Madison Wiltz, fresh-man, escorts the diverse group, skipping over the whites lines to meet the opposing team with a basket of candy to exchange. Following her sister’s footsteps, Wiltz leads the weekly tradition at every varsity football game. Wiltz remains the only permanent member of GSL, which entitles her to free tickets to all varsity football games and opportunities to meet new people every week. “My sister asked me to do it because she was graduating and they needed a new representative,” Wiltz said. Kayla Wiltz passed down her position as the head of GSL to her younger sibling to insure the club continued after her graduation. Madison fol-lowed her sister’s footsteps and decided to pick up the responsibilities of leading the club as a freshman. “My mom thought it was nice of my sister to let me take her place and that GSL was a good way for me to get involved and meet people,” Wiltz said. Leading a club provided Wiltz an interesting opportunity to start her high school career with, and a chance to expand her horizons. “The Good Sportsmanship League has been around for the ten years I have been here as an assistant principal,” Jeff Roth, GSL administrative sponsor, said. GSL in the past consisted of more than one member. Therefore, Wiltz did not expect to uphold the club as an underclassman. “On the night of the first football game I was very nervous heading down to the field to gather everyone else up to walk across because I didn’t re-ally know exactly what to do. I had to find my way,” Wiltz said. Wiltz exhibited maturity beyond her years by bravely accepting a leader-ship position of great importance without much guidance. “Madison is a sweet ninth grade lady that has taken control of getting the appropriate information to me each and every week before the football games,” Roth said. Receiving high praises from the people who interact with her, Wiltz takes her responsibilities seriously. She keeps up with the names of the GSL representatives every week and reports the names for the loud speaker to announce.

“Madison gets with Mrs. Yerkes and gets the candy and bags and makes a nice looking gift for the opposing school. She attends ev-ery football game and must be there 30 minutes early. She has a sideline pass that allows her to meet the others down on the field,” Roth said. Benefiting from the club, Wiltz meets various people every week from diverse organizations. Different students represent their groups as GSL at each game. Therefore, Wiltz interacts with new people when she gathers them to cross the field. “Madison seems very spirited and friendly towards everyone,” Jaliana Douglas, junior, cheerleader, said. After experiencing GSL as one of the cheerleader’s repre-sentatives, Douglas had a lasting impression of Wiltz. “I think Madison does great as her job. She always gives the other team a basket of candy for good luck,” Douglas said. Wiltz makes new friends with every GSL, and gains appreciation from the student body. Al-though many students question her exact job, they know her position has importance. “It’s awesome that as a freshman, Madison gets to have such a unique job that not many freshmen get to have,” Douglas said. Wiltz’s age compared to her maturity and leadership position shocks many of her peers, and GSL members. “A lot of my friends and peers asked what I was or how they could join, and some thought it was cool or weird skipping across the across the field,” Wiltz said. Despite negative comments and questions, Wiltz con-tinues to love her job. Other members of Wiltz’s class wish they had her position and its benefits. “Personally I like it and think it is a great experience that I will continue for the next few years,” Wiltz said. Creating a family tradition, Wiltz impresses the student body by leading GSL as a freshman at every football game.

By Kelsey Hodges

Feature 7November 2013ThePEREGRINE

Issue 2

UnitingSportS In-Depth8 november 2013

THEPEREGRINE

Issue 2 SportS In-Depth 9november 2013THEPEREGRINE

Issue 2

For six years, she left her mark on every gymnasium floor. The harmonious sound of her shoes squeaking on the floor; with the thought she left her mark in her mind. Six straight years, and finally, Lauren Greenspoon, senior, got recognized by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, a Division One college.

“I think Lauren is a charismatic person, who the entire team looks up to. She plays aggressively, confidently, and most importantly, with heart. She is going to do amazing things at UTC,” Kaila Overton, senior, said.

Lauren has been a leader of the team since her junior year, and has gained the respect of her whole team through the way she plays. She pumps the team up after they give up a point or score a point, and lifts their spirits whether they won or lost. That was one of her best qualities.

“Lauren is an all-around athlete. Just her playing ability on the court makes her a great leader. She is our go to person, and we could count on her to perform. She always also stays calm and will help if it someone may not be performing well on the court,” Becca Mauer, freshman, said.

Lauren knows she is good, but does not let her talent get in the way of helping her team. By helping her team, she knows they will get better, benefiting everyone in the long run.

Not only did the crowd and team support her during her time in high school, but she had others support also.

“I owe my success to my family and coaches for always pushing me to be better than I was yesterday and never giving up on me,” Greenspoon said.

Greenspoon’s determination and success led to her scholarship to UTC. She plans on finishing volleyball through college, and not going pro.

Although they did not make playoffs, Greenspoon had a season that she will not soon forget.

“My favorite memory from the season was beating Cy-Ranch in three and coming so close to playoffs, while getting so close with my team,” Greenspoon said.

Volleyball had one of its best season in Greenspoon’s senior year. Allowing her to finish her high school volleyball career on a high note.

Her leadership qualities from her years in high school, will benefit her greatly in her college years. Not only in her college years, but in the years that follow college in which ever career she plans to pursue. The qualities she possess will open up many opportunities in her future not only in volleyball, but her life itself beyond volleyball and school. Her life in the real world.

By Matt DuBose

An uneven path stands in front of them as the stam-pede follows them. Breathe in and out, in and out, and keep a steady stride. Shane Erwin and Ryan Erwin, freshmen, think not of the finish line, but just to run faster and pass the kid in front of them.

They keep a steady pace at the front of the pack, know-ing that they can make history at the district meet. The Erwin twins stay close to each other, but run their own race. They run with the pack of the other freshman cross country runners that placed in the top 10.

Six of the runners placed in the top 10. The only girl runner to place was Ahlam Abdel-Khaleq, junior. She finished in sixth place of the junior varsity girls race. The other five runners to place came from the fresh-men boys. Zachary Garza, district champion, Ryan Bronikowski, runner up, Matthew Jiang, sixth place, Shane Erwin, seventh place, and Ryan Erwin, ninth

place, freshmen, all finished in the top ten. “I owe my success to my amazing parents and my won-

derful coach, Coach Day,” Ryan Erwin said.All of the runners who finished in the top 10 at the dis-

trict meet ran as a pack for the majority of the race, break-ing off from each other to set their own finishing pace at the end.

They made history by having six runners finish in the top 10 for the first time in at least a decade at the district meet.

“I thought we did an excellent job at the district meet. Everyone tired their best and we got second which we were all very happy about,” Shane Erwin said.

The Erwin Twins finished at the back of the top 10, but contributed nonetheless. Their persistence and work ethics pushed each other and the team to do better than they had before.

At the district meet, 16 of the runners ran their personal best time. Shane Erwin was among those who ran their best time at the dis-trict meet, finishing ahead of his twin by two places.

Everyone pitched in and made history by do-ing what they were supposed to. They listened to their coach and it paid off in the very long run the district meet had in store for them all. The team has a bright future ahead of it.

By Matt DuBose

PumPed uP During the game against Cy-Ranch, the crowd played a huge part in helping push the team. As their screams shook the court, the Lady Falcons swept the game for their first time ever. Emotions ran hot, but with the crowd having their backs, they pushed through and tamed the Mustangs.

Erwin brothers pace each other

Greenspoon moves further

The floor shook as a roar filled every corner of the court. Point after point, the roar

escalated to a decibel of a playoff game. Every volleyball game sounded like this whether home or away. The crowd’s

i n t e n s i t y h e l p e d the team pull off a memorable season.

The season the girls have to look back on include a sweep of Cy-Ranch at home. The first time that had ever happened in the history of

the match-up, fueled not only the girls,

but the crowd as well.

“My favorite memory of

the season was beating Cy-Ranch

and Cy-Creek the first time. Those wins were the momentum-builders for the entire season,” Kaila Overton, senior, said.

After winning those games, the team was fired up and ready to play anyone else that stood in their way. They knew they were in the playoff race which included Cy-Creek. The race heated up towards the end, and as the race heated up, so did the crowd.

“The crowd was crazy and also very supportive. They would come to almost every

single match supporting us when we needed it the most,” Becca Mauer, freshman, said.

Everyone in the crowd knew how important each game at the end was, so they showed up. Sometimes they even took props to go with the phrase of the match. They took ponchos and umbrellas to the home game against Cy-Creek roaring, “Flood the Creek.”

“The crowd helped a lot. They always pumped us up and go us motivated for every point. We couldn’t have gotten as far as we did without them,” Lauren Greenspoon, senior, said.

The crowd not only pumped up the ladies, but they intimidated their opponents. They brought the true meaning of home court advantage to the court.“The crowd helped the team because we gave them

home court advantage, so it pumped up the players knowing they were in front of friends and family. It also intimidated the other team because no one was rooting for

t h e m , ” Mohammad K h a n , senior, said.

As the s e a s o n p r o g r e s s e d and the raced for the playoffs got tighter, the crowd got louder and more supportive. T h e y helped the v o l l e y b a l l team to a 10-8 record, and received a lot of credit for the way they helped at the games. They made

almost every home game feel like a playoff game, which made the team play like they had a playoff game at hand. Each player on the team knows the crowd helped them in ways unimaginable throughout the season.

“My favorite memory was when we played Creek at home. Even though we lost, the gym was so loud it is something I won’t forget. My team played their hearts out and never gave up. I’m so proud of that,” Mauer said.

The most intense game of the season was the game against Cy-Creek. Although it was a heart-breaking loss, the school pulled together and showed up in ponchos and rain coats for support. Their screams got to the point where the whistle from the referee was barely audible.

By Matt DuBose

photo by Natassha Arreola

The Freshman Pack Through every race, the Erwin twins, Ryan Erwin and Shane Erwin, freshmen, run in a pack with the other freshmen to pace themselves and stay at the front of the race. This tactic led to them finishing seventh and ninth at the district meet.

We deserve credit

because it is what

kept the team

going. If you don’t

have a crowd,

there’s no point in

playing since no

one is cheering you

on.

Mohammed Khan

“

“Twinning

Volleyball success rallies school

FINISH

The Varsity Football team had their first winning season in district since 2004. They finished 5-4 after beating Cy-Woods 42-0 in what was Mike Maddox’s last game of his career. The team pulled together behind sophomore quarterback DeShun Qualls, sophomore, to finish in fifth place, one game out of the playoffs. “I’m sad to see the season end. We were one of the best teams in the district and we finished just one game out of playoffs. Our senior leadership was amazing, they bought into what we wanted and were a big reason for the 6-4 season,” David Snokhous said.

One Game Out

Going for the Green(spoon)Golfer signs letter of intent with UT- Arlington

SportS 10 November 2013ThePEREGRINE

Issue 2

Eyes locked on the four and a half inch wide hole, nine feet back, this shot determines Jake Greenspoon’s scholarship for The University of Texas at Arlington. This putt will make par, much better than most if not all golfers at the high school lev-el. He must remember all the years he has been golfing just to make this one, crucial, putt. The piercing silence escalates the tension in the air, he putts, UT Arlington, here he comes.

Jake Greenspoon, senior, has been golfing since he was eight years old. Even at such an early age, his eyes were locked on one goal, playing in the PGA. Jake was not al-ways as good as he is today though. Nobody noticed him, he just hap-pened to be on the school golf team, and then it all changed.

“The biggest turning point in Jake’s attitude towards golf was when he began to accept the fact that every shot in golf you hit won’t be perfect and he had a tournament in which he hit very few fairways but managed to score really well. From that he learned that whenever he wasn’t hitting the ball very well, he could still be very competitive” Michael Greenspoon, Jake’s father, said.

This is a lesson many golf-ers do not accept, and soon be-comes the death of their golf game. Greenspoon, however, did not fall into this trap, and it has excelled his golf game leagues above others.

“When Jake played in his first

major tournament and he shot the lowest round of anyone in the tour-nament, I knew he was going to be good. When he went out to the City Junior Championship and lapped the field, I thought he was going to be very good. When I watch how hard he works at developing his game, I know he will be great,” Mi-chael Greenspoon said.

His friends and family have gone to great lengths to support him throughout his golf career, making sure that whenever he needed help in his game he would get it.

“I thoroughly enjoyed sup-porting Jake throughout his golf career, helping him in any way I

could whenever he needed it,” Alice Greenspoon said.

Since he has started to preform so well people have started to form expectations of him. In the game of golf that happens to become the largest amount of pressure upon the golfers shoulders. This pres-sure is what halts most golfers from reaching their dreams.

“I try not to let the expectations of others to get to my head, I try to just play my best and enjoy my time while on the course,” Jake Greenspoon said.

Golf is a peculiar sport with 34 rules, over 100 sections and sub-sections, yet with 2000 explanatory decisions, this makes golf one of the most complicated sports rule wise. Golf also happens to be the high-est paying sport in the world, with Tiger Woods earning over $78 mil-lion. Golf also happens to be one of the few sports where a man of John Daily’s age (47), can compete with men like Rory Mcilroy (24) and still have a chance to win.

People wonder what comes next, then after college, then after this af-ter that. Greenspoon is taking one big step, but it is not the final step. The college level is big, but it isn’t the biggest possible.

“In the next few years I see him competing at the collegiate level, playing for UT-Arlington and con-tinuing to refine his game, after that, who knows,” Michael Greenspoon said.

By William ScaleS

One of the

coolest aspects

of Jake’s success

in golf is that

his success has

gotten him noticed

by college golf

coaches nationally.

Micheal

Greenspoon

“

“The PerfecT PuTT Taking his time to line up his perfect putt. Greenspoon spots the ball on the green check-ing the alinement of the ball on the green, figuring his next move, a crucial part of the game of golf.

Greenspoons Game

Average Drive: 285 yardsAverage Score: 72 (Par)

Best Score: 65 (Cypress Lakes) Driver: Ping Anser

Irons: Ping i15 Wedges: Ping Tour Gorge

Putter: Seemore FGP

photo by william scales

Advertising 11november 2013ThePEREGRINE

Issue 2

Advertising 12 november 2013ThePEREGRINE

Issue 2

Running towards SuccessCross Country medalist leads pack

photo by Christin Ong

Feature13 november 2013ThePEREGRINE

Issue 2

With her mind fixed on finish-ing first in the race, Ahlam Abdel-Khaleq, sophomore, instanta-neously picked up her speed with the scorching heat bearing down on her. Winning; that is the only thing on her mind. Perpetually at the head of the pack, she acted as the pacemaker throughout the race.

With excellent form, her legs went into a continual motion as she sprinted towards the finish line, al-ways striving to push harder and finish strong. Abdel-Khaleq’s cus-tomary routine consisted of train-ing five days a week and doing an abundance of core work.

Running cross country became natural for her since she devel-oped zealousness for running, even though she did not start taking it seriously until she started compet-ing in middle school. They year, she won 1st place at the annual Galves-ton Day Beach Run. At the Friday Night Meet, she ran a two mile race placing 4th with a time of 13:21. She also runs for the track team which helps her prepare for the next year to compete in cross country races. She placed 2nd in the 800m race. On top of all that

“I did not think I would be run-ning cross country, but my cousin

felt like since I ran all time, that I should just join the cross country team,” Abdel-Khaleq said.

While she ran for the cross coun-try team, it gave Abdel- Khaleq times to disunite herself from the many distractions that went on in her life. She utilized this opportuni-ty to excel in all her races and push herself to not give up.

“I felt like if I could compete in cross country, it would help me as an overall athlete. Sometimes on my days where I am feeling stressed out, running takes away all of my stress,” Abdel Khaleq said.

Every day was filled with run-ning, workouts, or rigorous core exercises while consuming lots of fluids. Abdel Khaleq fully acquired the mind of an athlete. She prac-ticed every day and she did not make excuses to not run every day. She reminded herself that this was what she wanted, and she would do whatever she required to do to acquire victory. Abdel Khaleq dedi-cated her life to cross country.

Each cross country meet stay-ing in the front of the race was her main goal. She sometimes addition-ally needed to surmount the rough terrain and the heat that came with running cross country. In her first

two years of cross country, she be-came a force to be reckoned with. With the nickname “Ahlam the Bomb,” she crushed several of her own personal records, and has con-sistently placed in the top 10 of each race that usually includes 120-130 people.

“I nicknamed her Ahlam the Bomb, because at the meets, she would explode during different pe-riods of the race when she would get tired. Nearing the cessation of the race, she would pick up speed from nowhere and win the race, or close enough to placing first,” Cross Country Coach Crystal Day said.

Every year, Abdel Khaleq aims to beat her competitors and win her race. She has had to endure several obstacles and make sacrifices to be the runner that she is today. From rising early in the morning to go to cross country practice until run-ning until her legs start to ache, Abdel Khaleq still keeps on mov-ing forward. With two more years left of her cross country journey, she is already making a good name for herself. At this rate, there is no doubt that she is going to be a very successful athlete after her years of running high school cross country.

By Semon AdAmS

District cross country With self motivation, Ahlam Abdel-Khaleq, junior, pushes herself so that she can have an edge over her competition. During different points of the race, she reminded herself to stay in the lead. Abdel-Khaleq finished sixth place overall out of 130 girls at the district meet.

Columns14 november 2013THEPEREGRINE

Issue 2

As one of the most heated political topics of today’s day and age, atten-tion must be brought to the absolute infringement of the constitutional right of every American citizen, gun control.

The second amendment was placed by the founding fathers to

give the power to the American people. Not only to own a weapon, but to have a true representation of the pow-er to overthrow a tyrannical government if one comes to fruition. The United States founded on the idea that if the government becomes too controlling and too invasive into the citizens lives, they are allowed, no, it is their duty, to overthrow the government.

Other countries that have established strict gun control policies have a higher or unchanged crime rate after they have implemented the laws. Strict gun laws in cities and states such as New York, Chicago and Detroit have not ex-actly proven effective, as these three cities have some of the highest crime rates in the entire United States of America. New York City had 79,000 violent crimes in 2012. While Houston, Texas, with much less strict gun laws, only aver-aged around 12,000 violent crimes in 2012.

During a home invasion or a crime such as that, many say calling 911 is a safe resort and could save their life. Call-ing 911 delivers a false sense of security; the average re-sponse time from the moment one calls 911 until the police arrive at the door is roughly 10 minutes. A lot can happen in 10 minutes, and if one is not armed you will not be able to protect their home, and their life. There are many in-stances when a break in results in a murder because the homeowner is home and spooks the robber. If the home-owner owns a gun, they can legally take their life in their own hands, and stop the perpetrator in his tracks.

If the government outlaws guns, only outlaws will have guns. This stays true in society as meth, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana are all outlawed, and it does not seem to have really taken them off the streets, this illegality of drugs has caused the up rise of the most massive and powerful crimi-nal organizations in human history, very directly causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people in the world, and the weapons used to cause those deaths, are nine out of ten times, illegally obtained. I do not condone drugs, but outlawing weapons as we have with drugs could cause a massive uproar in illegal weapons trade, and that could have ramifications as far felt as the American econo-my, and as close to home as crime rate increases.

By Will ScaleS

W a l k i n g down the hall, I can hear whis-pers and see faces filled with disap-proval as

they assess my outfit of choice. Ashamed, I put my head down be-cause I know other students have made presumptions about me based upon the clothing I had on. I came in terms with the fact that I could not make my peers change their minds about my personality, because my peers think they know about the person I am.

Conclusions about a person and their personality typically originate from people’s clothing. People use fashion to self-express, so when people perceive a fashion style that seems odd or peculiar; they make critiques on the outfit and make judgments. Students stereotype all the time, and use the

way people dress to do it. When students see a girl or a guy wearing all black or dark colors, they auto-matically categorize the guy or girl in the “emo” or “goth” stereotype.

I myself can relate to these types of situations. I have had some of my fellow peers assume negative thoughts about me because of how I dressed. In the fifth grade the school I attended enforced uni-form wear. I felt restricted to self-expression, and felt that I could not dress in the clothing that I felt comfortable in.

Once, I attempted to wear a tie with my uniform and had a teach-er tell me to take it off. That same day other students teased me and told me it made me look like a “try hard”.

When I arrived back home, I sprinted to my room and sobbed. I did not want to look like every-one else. I wanted to stand out and be different than others, because I did not have the same personal-

ity as anyone else and neither did they. I believe everyone should be able to express themselves without having people critique them.

Everyone has all been through these types of situations and knows what it feels like to have people judge people negatively. People should speak to and get to know a person before they make assump-tions about a person’s character.

People do not know what anoth-er person is going through. Some people do not have the sources or access to “dress nice” on a daily ba-sis. Some people have families that go through financial stumbles, or have religious restrictions. These sorts of obstacles prevent people to dress to society’s standards, and it is not fair for people to judge without knowing another person’s background.

I believe that society as a whole should not contribute to these kinds of negative actions.

By Marilyn renderoS

To those that read my last column and instantly thought, well if Matt is not a Houston Hater, he

surely is a fair weather fan. There is no truth in that statement howev-er. The truth of the matter at hand is that I am not a fair weather fan either. I simply chose the teams I root for and have been with them the whole way through.

I started pulling for the Cardi-nals around 2003. In 2003 they finished third in the NL central, behind the Cubs and Astros. They did not make the playoffs, but nonetheless, I have stuck with them since 2003. They have been my favorite sports team to follow because they groom their youth in a great farm system which is how they remain a power house to this day in the National League.

I started following the Titans when they drafted Vince Young

(after the Texans passed on him) which was in 2006. Once he got drafted out of the University of Texas, I started following the NFL and chose the Titans to follow. Vince Young was easily my favorite quarterback coming out of college and I got heartbroken when the Texans passed on him in the draft, so became a Titans fan. Titans fans should not be considered fair weather fans because the team has not had a playoff year since,2008 but I follow them nonetheless.

In 2008, I started pulling for the Spurs. That season, they went 50-26 and lost in the Western Con-ference finals. Since I have started pulling for them, they have been a consistent good team that usually makes the playoffs, but lately they have gotten old.

Although they have gotten old, I will not leave their fan base, I am here to stay.

Overall, I do not follow the teams because of their record but because they are rivals of the Houston teams, and their history

as well. The Cardinals happen to be one of the most historical teams in the Majors by winning 11 World Series titles which is second to only the Yankees.

The Titans on the other hand, branched off of the Oilers fran-chise. When the Oilers moved, the franchise records stayed but the name just changed to the Titans. They kept the same colors as the Oilers to keep that tradition alive. The Spurs themselves have won 4 NBA championships which if fourth among all the NBA behind the Celtics, Lakers and Bulls.

The reason, as I have men-tioned, I follow the teams I follow is not because of their current suc-cess (and yes the Titans have cur-rent success), but because of their rich history.

Their record also helps as well, but I am not a fan that would leave the fan base because of a poor re-cord. I might be told Titans suck or other such comments, but I stick by my teams no matter what.

By Matt duBoSe

Team loyalty goes to favorite sports,which will continue through ups, downs

Amendment gives power

Eyes judge personal fashion choicesleading to unfair criticism, negativity

Illustration by Joel Monfort

STAFF EDITORIAL 15NOVEMBER 2013THEPEREGRINE

Issue 2

Stares, whispers, and rumors quickly dominate groups of students as soon as the knowledge of a pregnant girl in school comes out. The huge belly of the girl stands out in a crowd full of what everyone considers normal teenagers. Everyone turns around to see for them-selves, others to criticize, others to tease, and all the while, students do not real-ize the struggles that teen parents go through to make their education possible for them. Teen parents should receive encouragement for staying in school and have all the support possible for them to continue school.

Bullying persists throughout the school, attacking teen parents. Students point them out, laugh at them, and judge without having knowledge of how these teens go through many difficulties to have the opportunity to attend school. When teenagers become parents, their priori-ties change and focus more on their baby than school. Their time also organizes it-self to meet their child’s needs, moving school down on their list of priorities.

This proves as a difficulty for them when balancing school time and homework with caring for their baby. Students who do not go through a situation like this should exhibit more consideration and not embrace the prejudices that society uses to symbolize these young parents.

The education that teen parents re-ceive becomes more essential in order to go beyond depending on their parents for any financial aid. In order for these parents to succeed, school becomes a necessary process and students should encourage this process. Many of these teen parents find the decision of drop-ping out inevitable due to economical and emotional problems. Although many argue that these teens have taken erro-neous decisions, these decisions should not hinder their education and provoke judgment or bullying.

Instead of sarcastic and ridiculing remarks, peers and friends should give hope, encouragement, and urge these parents to continue school in order to provide a better future for their offspring.

The Parenting Education class provides more information and helps teens to continue school while being provided with essential knowledge that they would be able to use in their life. Although these teen parents can bring their children to school in order to be cared for, accord-ing to Maria Lewis, head counselor, the school does not serve as a day care but rather their main priority focuses on helping teen parents to graduate.

Everyone in school should unite to help make the process of graduating for these teens easier and without a nega-tive atmosphere of bullying, malicious, and pessimistic comments. Education for these young parents is essential and will help them become parents as well as students.

“I think (teen par-ents) should con-

tinue, it would make the child’s life easier.’’ Brenda Torres, sophomore

PEREGRINE STAFF2013-2014co-editors

MATT DUBOSEALEXANDER CRUZ

staff writersSEMON ADAMSIVETH GARCIA

MONICA GARCIATREVOR HARGISKELSEY HODGESJOEL MONTFORTJULIANNA PEREZ

MARILYN RENDEROSWILLIAM SCALESNATALIE SOLANOTRYTON WENDT

Contributing StaffNATASSHA ARREOLAMEGAN D’AGRELLA

MONICA GARCIAROSA GONZALEZ

CRISTIN ONGstaff adviser

MARGIE COMSTOCKprincipal

RALPH FUNK

Jersey Village HigH scHool

student Publications’newsPaPer Policy

The Peregrine is the official student publication of Jersey Village High School and is published by the Ad-vanced Journalism newspaper class at Jersey Village High School, 7600 Solomon, Houston, Texas 77040 (713-896-3400). It is distributed free to the student body. Subscriptions can be bought for $15, and copies of the paper will be mailed to your residence.

Unsigned editorials represent a ma-jority agreement of the staff. The Pere-grine is read in advance of publication by the JVHS administration.

Advertising is sold by the 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, and full page. The staff has the right to reject, edit, or cancel any advertisement at any time. The adver-tising policy is stated on the advertis-ing contract.

Advertising is not an endorsement from the staff, the adviser, the admin-istration, or the Cypress Fairbanks Board of Trustees.

The Peregrine is a member of the Interscholastic League Press Confer-ence, Quill and Scroll, and the Nation-al Scholastic Press Association.

The Peregrine is printed by Mirror Publishers, Inc in Texas City, TX. The opinion of readers is held in high re-gard. Please send all feedback or ques-tions to our address or room 1712. Letters to the editor need to be limited to 150 words. We reserve the right to edit for spelling and grammar. Letters must be signed.

thestudent

VOICE

Teen parents handle difficult situation

What is your opinion

on teenage parents

staying in school, what

challenges do you think

might arise from it?

“ Just because someone had a

child doesn’t mean they should dropout or go into home schooling.’’ Cindy Nguyen, junior

“If you can do it, then stay in school! But it

does depend on how much support your par-ents are willing to give.’’ Edwin Campos, senior

illustration by Megan D’Agrella

5yay

Peregrine Staff Opinion

5 nay

Photo Essay16 NovEmbEr 2013THEPEREGRINE

Issue 2

Respect foR family “I par-ticipated in this project to show respect to my great grandmother that passed away on the Day of the Dead. And being able to go to the Lawndale Art Center was pretty excit-ing,” Ryan Turner, junior, said.

among the famous “I never knew that I would be able to get my artwork in a gallery with pieces done by famous people,” Lacie Aden, sophomore, said.

honoRing the DeaD Three art students, Lacie Aden, Diego Flores, sophomores, and Ryan Turner, junior, spent a day out in the downtown area putting up the trifold they hand built and painted themselves. Then they hung all of the painted skulls in memory of their deceased loved ones.

“I thought it would be a great experience to explore the world of art outside of the classroom. It was very interesting and the Lawndale Art Center was just beautiful. It was also beautiful to see our final product put togeth-er,” Diego Flores, sophomore said.

Display foR VisitoRs Art I stu-dents painted skulls to form a display at the Lawndale Art Center’s annual Day of the Dead exhibit. Alisa Trevino, Art I Teacher, took three students to the on-site location to put it all together.

By Natalie

SolaNo

Lawndale ArtCenter

aRt stuDent oppoRtunity The Lawndale Art Center has their Day of the Dead exhibit in honor of all of those who have passed away. Alissa Trevino, Art I teacher, participated because she wanted her students to have the opportunity to have their art work in a gallery and help them meet some art stu-dents’ goals.

2014 Peregrine issue 2

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