2015 2016 peregrine issue 2

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Jersey Village High School 7600 Solomon Houston, Texas 77040 Volume 44 Issue 2 December 2015 The Crisp air entered the dimly lit Buffalo Wild Wings build- ing as students rushed in and began the long wait for a table. All gathered to support PALs in their efforts to raise funds through a program titled, Dance Marathon, a fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Net- work. The funds will directly fund Texas Children’s Hospi- tal. “This event is commonly done on college campuses and is a huge deal. It’s rarely done on the high school level. We were specifically asked at JV to do it because we were seen in the community as being amazing,” Leslie Wendt, PALs sponsor, said. This semester alone, PALs sold t shirts, collected change in gold containers belonging to specific teachers, which led to the pieing of multiple staff members, organized a Chuck E. Cheese fundraiser, planned a dance for the end of the year to celebrate the amount of money they raised, as well as partnered with Buffalo Wild Wings on November 21st in order to donate 10% of the bill belonging to those who men- tioned they were with Jersey Village High School’s PALs program. All this was done with the intention of donating the money raised to organizations that assist those diagnosed with cancer. “I feel that it’s so great we work to raise money for cancer. So many people are touched by this disease and it’s unfortunate that the world has yet to find a cure,” Eliza- beth Deitiker, senior and two- year-long PALs member, said. PALs enlisted the help of other school organizations to work with them in the Dance Marathon program. A four hour training was held on No- vember 16 to talk to volunters about how to be successful with the program. Wendt, PALs teacher, con- tinually inspires her students to want to leave their mark on their community. “I’ve learned that I might not be making a huge differ- ence in the world as a whole, but I’m making a large dif- ference in the lives that I’ve touched,” Deitiker said. Dance Marathon raises funds IMPACTING OTHERS’ LIVES. “We were at Buffalo Wild wings for “Spirit Night” in honor of the Miracle Network, and every time Buffalo Wild Wings made a sale, they gave 10% of their proceeds to the Miracle Network,” Elizabeth Deitiker, senior, said. Deitiker attended the event with her friend and PALs member, Zahria Powell, senior. Photo by Damaris DeLeon On November 21st, 2015, HOPE Club, an organization for volunteering around local events volunteered at Magical Winter Lights, a 52-day holi- day festival featuring lantern and light sets. HOPE stands for Helping Other People Ev- ery day. The members of HOPE Club volunteered with differ- ing jobs at the larger-than-life light festival located at the Sam Houston Race Park. The festi- val included performances, car- nival rides and games as well as food vendors. Allison Nguyen, junior, de- scribed the event as calming and elegant. “Volunteering at Magical Winter Lights was enjoyable and relaxing, especially with the diverse cultural structures created by the beautiful lights,” Nguyen said. Nguyen felt volunteering was always a journey and opportu- nity to discover something new. “Volunteering felt like an ex- citing adventure, even more so by having friends around to vol- unteer with,” Nguyen said. Ky Trinh, junior, illustrated that volunteering opens doors to aiding others. “It was pretty fun and excit- ing because I’ve never seen such gorgeous light displays before. I felt great because I got a chance to help people and be part of a big project,” Trinh said. Trinh thought that vol- unteering at Magical Winter Lights helped open her eyes to the small pieces that create a big event. “It helped me learn that ev- ery big event isn’t built with- out a small contribution. As I learned everyone’s different background and interacted with them, it helped me grow as a person,” Trinh said. Nguyen saw the volunteering experience as one that gained her valuable skills. “Volunteering benefitted me by not only giving me experi- ence in hospitality and social skills, but it gave me a chance to meet new people around our area and get closer to the new ones near me,” Nguyen said. Overall, the beautiful array of light displays encaptivated Nguyen, as well as the bonding experience. “My favorite part was the whole experience, including looking at the winter lights and spending time with close friends there,” Nguyen said. Magical Winter Lights HOPE volunteers discover opportunites at event EXCITING VOLUNTEER ADVENTURE. Magic and wonder light up the sky as a beautiful light up gar- den greets visitors at the entrance to the Magical Winter Lights located at Sam Houston Race Park. Photo by Lin Vu Featured Stories Damaris DeLeon Contributing Writer Harry Potter Club Page 2 Ren Fest Page 5 Cancer Survivors Pages 6 & 7 Cars Pages 8 - 9 Lin Vu Staff Reporter Sports Page 13 Photos by Mikelle Wood, Juan Torres, Alan Moreno, Joelyn Laughlin

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The official newspaper of Jersey Village High School in Houston, Texas. In the Cypress Fairbank Independent High School. One of 10 high schools.

Transcript of 2015 2016 peregrine issue 2

Page 1: 2015 2016 peregrine issue 2

PeregrineJersey Village High School 7600 Solomon Houston, Texas 77040

Volume 44 Issue 2

December 2015

The

Crisp air entered the dimly lit Buffalo Wild Wings build-ing as students rushed in and began the long wait for a table. All gathered to support PALs in their efforts to raise funds through a program titled, Dance Marathon, a fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Net-work. The funds will directly fund Texas Children’s Hospi-tal.

“This event is commonly done on college campuses and is a huge deal. It’s rarely done on the high school level. We were specifically asked at JV to do it because we were seen in the community as being amazing,” Leslie Wendt, PALs sponsor, said.

This semester alone, PALs sold t shirts, collected change in gold containers belonging to specific teachers, which led to the pieing of multiple staff members, organized a Chuck E. Cheese fundraiser, planned a dance for the end of the year to celebrate the amount of money they raised, as well as partnered with Buffalo Wild Wings on November 21st in order to donate 10% of the bill belonging to those who men-tioned they were with Jersey Village High School’s PALs program.

All this was done with the intention of donating the money raised to organizations that assist those diagnosed with cancer.

“I feel that it’s so great we work to raise money for

cancer. So many people are touched by this disease and it’s unfortunate that the world has yet to find a cure,” Eliza-beth Deitiker, senior and two-year-long PALs member, said.

PALs enlisted the help of other school organizations to work with them in the Dance Marathon program. A four hour training was held on No-vember 16 to talk to volunters about how to be successful with the program.

Wendt, PALs teacher, con-tinually inspires her students to want to leave their mark on their community.

“I’ve learned that I might not be making a huge differ-ence in the world as a whole, but I’m making a large dif-ference in the lives that I’ve touched,” Deitiker said.

Dance Marathon raises funds

IMPACTING OTHERS’ LIVES. “We were at Buffalo Wild wings for “Spirit Night” in honor of the Miracle Network, and every time Buffalo Wild Wings made a sale, they gave 10% of their proceeds to the Miracle Network,” Elizabeth Deitiker, senior, said. Deitiker attended the event with her friend and PALs member, Zahria Powell, senior. Photo by Damaris DeLeon

On November 21st, 2015, HOPE Club, an organization for volunteering around local events volunteered at Magical Winter Lights, a 52-day holi-day festival featuring lantern and light sets. HOPE stands for Helping Other People Ev-ery day. The members of HOPE Club volunteered with differ-ing jobs at the larger-than-life light festival located at the Sam Houston Race Park. The festi-val included performances, car-nival rides and games as well as food vendors.

Allison Nguyen, junior, de-scribed the event as calming and elegant.

“Volunteering at Magical Winter Lights was enjoyable and relaxing, especially with the diverse cultural structures created by the beautiful lights,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen felt volunteering was always a journey and opportu-nity to discover something new.

“Volunteering felt like an ex-citing adventure, even more so by having friends around to vol-unteer with,” Nguyen said.

Ky Trinh, junior, illustrated

that volunteering opens doors to aiding others.

“It was pretty fun and excit-ing because I’ve never seen such gorgeous light displays before. I felt great because I got a chance to help people and be part of a big project,” Trinh said.

Trinh thought that vol-unteering at Magical Winter Lights helped open her eyes to the small pieces that create a big event.

“It helped me learn that ev-ery big event isn’t built with-out a small contribution. As I learned everyone’s different background and interacted with them, it helped me grow as a person,” Trinh said.

Nguyen saw the volunteering experience as one that gained her valuable skills.

“Volunteering benefitted me by not only giving me experi-ence in hospitality and social

skills, but it gave me a chance to meet new people around our area and get closer to the new ones near me,” Nguyen said.

Overall, the beautiful array of light displays encaptivated Nguyen, as well as the bonding experience.

“My favorite part was the whole experience, including looking at the winter lights and spending time with close friends there,” Nguyen said.

Magical Winter LightsHOPE volunteers discover opportunites at event

EXCITING VOLUNTEER ADVENTURE. Magic and wonder light up the sky as a beautiful light up gar-den greets visitors at the entrance to the Magical Winter Lights located at Sam Houston Race Park. Photo by Lin Vu

Featured Stories

Damaris DeLeonContributing Writer

Harry Potter Club Page 2

Ren FestPage 5

Cancer SurvivorsPages 6 & 7

Cars Pages 8 - 9

Lin VuStaff Reporter

Sports Page 13

Photos by Mikelle Wood, Juan Torres, Alan Moreno, Joelyn Laughlin

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Club casts spell on series’ fanatics

The plush felt of the toppling hat runs through their fingers, floating from one person to another. Laughter chimes persistently as a sizable wizard hat passes around the compact room, a sense of unity apparently connected between each person. The practice resonates as a custom in choosing the Hogwarts House of the individual within the Harry Potter Club.

Jessica Haney, sophomore and president of the Harry Potter Club, bases her motivation to make the club off a demand for a judge-free space for people to expand on their interests.

“I wanted to make a place where people could easily make friends with others who shared a similar interest and express themselves without being judged. Since I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and know many people who are as well, that’s what the club became,” Haney said.

Haney outlines the discussions that take place within the club. The construction and organization of every event is never a burden for her.

“We sometimes tend to go off on rants or discussions about various point of the series, which is always fun but it’s also cool because every meeting we have something new planned. I feel we can all look forward to the next meeting, planning it is never a chore,” Haney said.

Haney believes the Harry Potter Club essentially creates relationships and forms a supportive area. The area provides a safe haven for those wanting to express themselves without mockery.

“It’s important to the members of the Harry Potter Club because of the friendships that have been made and strengthened here. It’s also a great place for people to show off their “nerdy” side instead of being picked on for it,” Haney said.

Alex Van Ravenstein, sophomore and Vice President of the club, values the club as a safe space as well. Free expression and acceptance is valued deep within the community.

“The club is important to let those who enjoy the Harry Potter series and let them be themselves without fear of being ridiculed for it.” Van Ravenstein said.

Haney illustrates the strong bond between the members of the club, evidentially, each member harbors a secure endearment for one another.

“We all get along really well and every meeting everyone just seems happy to be there. We can all connect quickly over Harry Potter and make dorky jokes that otherwise wouldn’t be appreciated,” Haney said.

Haney describes the first meeting’s events as astonishing and shocking to her. The sheer number of people had her flabbergasted and the feeling of accomplishment was a reward enough in itself.

“The number of people who actually came surprised me, it was around 17 and I had honestly been expecting a handful at best. As well as this, I was surprised at how excited everyone was to be there. It was one of those amazing moments where you’re just like, ‘Wow I did this’,” Haney said.

As well as this, Van Ravenstein found triumph

in the number of people that appeared at the club meeting. Van Ravenstein found the occurrence as a mood lifter, causing an uncontrollable grin.

“One the first day, I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of people who came. It put a big ol’ smile on my face the entire day.”

Van Ravenstein views the club’s atmosphere as one that brings great delight. The chemistry between the members is one that mingles well, always casting a light mood.

“The atmosphere in the club is always filled with joy and excitement because everyone enjoys Harry Potter. Everyone is excited each day to go see what we, the officers, have planned.” Van Ravenstein said.

Shelby Coleman, junior and treasurer of the club enjoys the activities planned. Coleman appreciates the games that go on within the Harry Potter Club, from trivia to physical.

“One of my favorite things to play in Harry Potter club is test our knowledge and play Kahoot. The trivia is intense.” Coleman said.

Harry Potter Club has many quirky activities that occur in the room, as Van Ravenstein describes. The awarding of house points is a considerable feature in the club. The activity motivates each member and feeds their spirit,

“My favorite thing to do in the club is award House points. Adding the silly yet competitive nature in our club really gets people motivated and is always a joy to watch. House points, for those who don’t know, is points awarded to your house (a group of people with similar personalities) just like in the Harry Potter world.” Van Ravenstein said.

Van Ravenstein describes Harry Potter club as a place where one can reconcile in, a place where ignorance and judgment is lifted. He feels the area is important as they stand in solidarity with the ostracized.

“This club allows those who are socially ridiculed or bullied in this school to be in a safe haven where they don’t have to fear what others may think. The Harry Potter club is a place of acceptance.” Van Ravenstein said.

Haney believes the club constructs a unique and distinctive aspect for the school. The Harry Potter Club is an exclusive experience in its own.

“It brings a very unique and pleasantly niche environment to the school that you won’t find anywhere else. It’s a neat little corner of the school (literally) that’s all ours,” Haney said.

2 The Peregrine Volume 44, Issue 2December ‘15Feature

WIZARD BANTER TRANSPIRES. In an exciting practice at Harry Potter Club, Kara Wetsel, sophomore, participates with high spirits. With a cut-out of Dumbledore, a popular character in Harry Potter, Jessica Haney, sophomore, playfully poses.Photo by Ismael Barcenas, Mikelle Wood

Lin Vustaff reporter

Harry Potter Community

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3The PeregrineVolume 44, Issue 2 AdvertisingDecember ‘15

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4 The PeregrineNewsDecember ‘15 Volume 44, Issue 2

JVTV ON SCENE. Taking the opportunity to interview Art Rascon, guest speaker and afternoon anchor from KTRK, ABC Channel 13, Carly Mark and Ethan Rideaux, seniors, get footage and audio for a story on the 19 times Emmy Award winner for use in a JVTV newscast. Photo by Ale Garcia

IT’S SELFIE TIME. Everywhere one goes social media dictates that the occasion be documented on Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Vine, Youtube or some other media. The audience of student journal-ists and student broadcasters delighted in taking a selfie with Art Rascon, guest speaker and afternoon anchor from KTRK, ABC Channel 13. Later in the day students found themselves on Rascon’s Twitter feed and liked and retweeted the posted image. Photo by Ale Garcia

ABC anchor speaks to Journalism, JVTV

A crowd of aspiring journalists and broadcasters gathered in the downstairs LGI eagerly awaiting the arrival of Art Rascon, 5 o’clock news anchor for Hous-ton’s KTRK, ABC affiliate.

Rascon began by introducing himself to the students and giving them back-ground information about himself, such as having worked for ABC news in LA and also as a national ABC reporter and CBS as a news correspondent in Miami, before joining KTRK in 1998. He never mentioned that he was a 19 time Emmy Award winner.

“In high school I was inept and a high school teacher told me I would never be what I wanted to be, a broadcast jour-nalist,” Rascon said.

His decision to become a journalist occurred at age 15, while watching cov-erage of the Viet Nam war on television.

“I wanted to go out there and cover the world,” Rascon said.

During his talk many in the audi-ence picked up on his energy and began to feel the excitement that comes with a journalist that has covered the world. Rascon talked about his coverage of Iraq, Cuba, the Middle East, and Cen-tral America in addition to many cities across the US.

“At first I did not know what to ex-

pect, but as he shared about who he was, and what he does, I became intrigued,” Yesenia Cuellar, junior, said.

He then proceeded to engage with the students by answering any ques-tions they had about him and his stories as a journalist. Many were interested in knowing what unique experiences Rascon had gone through while on the job.

“I have cried many times. I was in New York after 9-11 for two weeks. I walked around that city by places I had visited. And they were gone. I was in Kosovo and saw a sea of thousands of people in refugee camps. One wanted to give me a gift. It was a half-filled bottled of water. It was all they had,” Rascon said.

He wanted to make sure that his au-dience understood that everyone has a story.

Not letting a single person’s atten-tion drift, Rascon went on to talk about experiences that varied from, an emo-tional story about meeting a 17 year old homeless boy who had lived under a bridge for six years awaiting the return of his parents to a frightful story about being interrogated in Iraq at gunpoint.

“Listening to Art Rascon talk was a really cool experience. He had such a va-riety of stories. It was pretty hard to get bored with the amount of experiences he had,” Juli Perez, senior, said.

Odalys DelgadoContributing Writer

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5The PeregrineVolume 44, Issue 2 featureDecember ‘15

Dressed up and ready to show off, Madisyn Gracia, senior, arrives at the fair dressed as Puck from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare. Arriving just past the entry deadline, she could not compete in the dress up con-test.

“I didn’t get to perform, but I did watch the show and got to go around and spend a ton of money and meet some really cool and creative people,” Gracia said.

Monologuing for Roderigo from “Othello” by William Shakespeare, Josh McMahon, junior, proceeded to dazzle the audience with his performance.

“It was a really cool act to do because it gave me a different scenery since the performance was inside a restaurant, and the atmosphere was just really friendly and inviting. I’m sure I did well, and I’ll be getting the results soon, but even after doing that, I gotta say the joust was the most epic part of it all,” McMahon said.

Ren Fest trip ends with tales of learning

Yells of persuasion fill the streets as vendors try to sell their wares, costumes of big white hooded assassin like characters roam the grounds, and knights in armor show their stature and armory for all to admire. This kind of scenario can only have 0ne explanation. The renaissance festival has returned, and with it, a fortune in stories opens up for telling.

Including students from theater, digital media and art, pho-tography, and art classes, students from each course of study traveled to the Renaissance Festival during school day field trip. They had either assignments such as taking massive amounts of photos, or just casually strolling around to examine the area.

“I went with theater and performed a monologue of Roderigo from “Othello” by William Shakespeare and was really excited to perform in such a different environment and experience a whole new atmosphere to perform in,” Josh McMahon, junior, said.

FLOWER FRIENDS FOREVER. After browsing the massive board for a colorful design to catch their eye, Lilianna Bosse, senior, and Emily Morales, junior, settled upon a bright floral design for their face paints. “We really just wanted something that looked pretty and didn’t mean anything too specific or too serious, so we got the same option and just switched up the colors,” Bosse said. Photo by Joelyn Laughlin

On a mission to take a photo reel of the Renaissance Festival, Lilianna Bosse, senior, did a bit of her own exploring as she journeyed in search of subjects for her assignment as well as making a few stops along the way.

“It was a good learning experience and gave me a lot of opportunities to see a bunch of cool stuff and the ice cream was really good. I have been to the festival before and I’m really glad it has stayed so much to the essence of renaissance and hasn’t changed other than adding more stuff to make it cooler,” Bosse said.

While Bosse reminisced on previous adventures, Emily Morales, junior, started creat-ing her own. Meeting with other students and taking photos, she enjoyed the trip to its fullest.

“There was this student from San Antonio who was all dressed up and looked really nice, so I took a few photos of her for my subject. The coolest part was the joust, I defi-nitely want to come sometime to see it again,” Morales said.

Photographic flashbacks

Coming to the fair to see what she could, Madison Hopper, junior, did her fair share of touring the attrac-tions. She also made sure to show her friend Evelynn Martinez, junior, around to make sure they both had a good time.

“It was really cool to see all the dif-ferent exhibits and was kind of fun, yet sad, when I spent all my money on the random statue or souvenir. I don’t really remember much since the last time I was here, but there was a really nice looking fountain that I made sure I kept the memory this time,” Hopper said.

Having her friend act as her guide, Martinez enjoyed the acts and perfor-mances, as well as the shops and items for sale.

“It was my first time at the festival, and I was really surprised. It was a lot cooler than I thought, and besides the really loud vendors, it was a really en-joyable place to be,” Martinez said.

Tour guideFOUNTAIN OF FANTASY. Exploring the garden area, Madison Hopper, junior, discovers a fountain straight from another time. “I remember it really specifically because it had such a cool design and the area around it made it look like it was from some other place,” Hopper said. Photo by Madison Hopper

PIRATES WORK TOO. After a pirate hooked her attention, Savan-nah Mathews, senior, proceeded to haggle her way into getting a photo of the sea man. “He was a pretty cool guy and I really liked his costume since it had so much detail,” Mathews said. Photo by Savannah Mathews

Beached pirate

Cade SchaudelStaff Reporter

Returning for another Ren Fest, Savannah Mathews, senior, makes this trip one of her most memorable. From pots to pirates, this bizarre ad-venture will remain in her mind for many years.

“I was strolling around the main street looking at all the local artists and self-made booths when I saw this pirate standing outside a tent. Apparently he was the mascot for a statue store and was invit-ing people to go inside. I accepted, but only on the terms of getting a picture with him. I still didn’t buy anything though,” Mathews said.

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diagnosis with triple negative breast cancer, she felt determined to eliminate the cancer.

“I did not want to go through what my other family members diagnosed with cancer went through,” Love said.

Love accomplished this by remaining ac-tive in the community and her job without the diagnosis affecting her lifestyle heavily. She substituted for teach-ers at the high school at the time in 2009, and worked as a Vice-President to the Gold Duster drill team while her daughter attended her senior year at the high school. She stayed determined to fight the cancer that took the life of her grandmother, moth-er, three aunts, and two cousins.

“Feeling sorry for myself was a waste of time, life is too short to waste time. I considered each day a gift to be lived to

6 The Peregrine Volume 44, Issue 2December ‘15Feature

“My inspiration in supporting cancer awareness comes from a little girl named Raelyn Cutbirth.

She gained her wings 11 months ago today after a two year battle with Rhabdomyosarcoma. She was four when she passed. She was strong and beautiful and loved life.” Leslie Wendt, PALs sponsor

A doctor slowly walks down the hall-way to a door, and anxiously knocks to deliver the somber news of the day. Another patient with cancer, and an-other life disrupted by the struggles of a deadly disease. For Mary Bancroft, Liz Nebeker, Paula Love, and Thomas Piotrowski, high school staff and fac-ulty members, the complications of life had just gotten much deeper than ever before, but they could not have known the experiences and support that would come of their struggles.

The diagnosis of cancer tends to shock and discourage many upon dis-covery, but Mary Bancroft found pro-gressive ways to see her diagnosis early on.

Bancroft had gone to the doctor for a routine mammogram in January of 2012, and the doctors ended up finding signs of cancer after a biopsy. Bancroft knew her mother had also contracted the disease in her late 50’s and immedi-ately responded the only way she knew how.

“When they told me I had breast can-cer, I just shook my head, and wanted what needed to be done to fight it. The kind I had was Her2 positive, a very ag-gressive cancer. I had no symptoms, no lump noticeable at all,” Bancroft said.

Bancroft suffered struggles with time management because she coaches var-sity tennis along with her regular job of teaching College Algebra. Luckily, Bancroft had the opportunity to hire a long term substitute that could teach her morning classes, and then she could continue to coach and teach in her regu-lar afternoon schedule.

However, despite her absences in the morning to receive treatment, many of those around Bancroft hardly noticed that she contracted the disease. Even though she wore a wig for many months going through radiation, many people could not tell that she lost her hair or that she had cancer; Bancroft did not feel the need to advertise or talk about her condition frequently.

Similarly, when Love learned of her

Cancer Survivorsthe fullest and if that meant me putting on a wig or hat and some lipstick, that’s what I did,” Love said.

However, Piotrowski faced the ur-gency of contracting melanoma at the age of 35 in 2002 with only a 75 percent chance of living. At the time, he worked in the Aldine School District, had a wife, and two young children he felt he could not leave behind, but many of the doc-tors that fit his insurance plan had no intentions of working with him.

Doctors turned him away daily for weeks on end, and uncertainty sank in quickly for Piotrowski; he knew he had to find a way to get help. Too stubborn to accept his fate, Piotrowski went to a local news network and told them of his struggles to receive treatment. Soon af-ter, Piotrowski received a call from his insurance company who had already scheduled a meeting with a doctor who gladly accepted Piotrowski’s case.

“I was saying ‘Give me the news,’ and this was after no less than 20 differ-ent doctors. I had been everywhere you could possibly be, and finally this doc-tor looks at me and says ‘Oh, this is no problem. We got this.’ And I asked, ‘Re-ally? I’ve been looking for somebody to tell me that.’ The doctor just looks at me and says, ‘This is easy, I do this all the

time.’ When ev-eryone else had told me I was dead, they told me they do this all the time,” Pi-otrowski said.

To encourage their fight with cancer, many friends, family members, and even students gave support to these survivors.

The survivors found them-selves over-whelmed by the

heartfelt responses, but also in a posi-tion of support for other people at times.

Nebeker, the librarian for Postma El-ementary at the time, came to the real-ization that she had been helping other

people through her diagnosis of breast cancer and survival. She took on the role of reassuring others with cancer or fam-ily members of those affected with the disease who would face the apprehen-sion to surgeries, chemotherapy, and other forms of treatment.

“I like to believe now that every-thing happens for a reason. One of my co-workers at the time told me she had been putting off her mammogram and she finally went and got it after I told her about my diagnosis. It turned out she had a breast cancer type way more aggressive than mine; if they hadn’t caught it when they did, she wouldn’t be here today,” Nebeker said.

The massive amounts of support started to pour in from several different angles, and Piotrowski discovered it in the connections with other people who shared their faith with him.

“My faith is a very important part of who I am, and I was shocked by the amount of people who came to talk with me, see how I was, and sit down to pray. My office was in an obscure place, so people had gone out of their way to pray

Angelo GonzalesStaff Reporter

I never asked

“why me”

because there are

so many people in

this world with much

worse situations.

Paula Love

NO SELF PITY. Facing her cancer with determination Paula Love continues to stay active. Photo by Juan Torres

TRIED REASSURING OTHERS. Using her diagnosis Liz Nebeker, librarian, spurred others to go in for their mammograms.

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7The PeregrineVolume 44, Issue 2 FeatureDecember ‘15

with me, even if I had never spoken to them about their faith or beliefs before. For me, it was very uplifting,” Piotrows-ki said.

The cause of cancer awareness and support does not inspire many to the level of Leslie Wendt; who runs the PALS Organization at the high school. She considers herself a dedicated ad-vocate for cancer support and goes out of her way to ensure that the events she sponsors, runs, or takes part in directly affect those with the disease in a posi-tive way.

“It is always amazing and heartbreak-ing to see just how many people are im-pacted by this horrible disease. It effects the family and friends, not just the pa-tient. I’ve seen first hand how much it means to the families to be supported. For me, it’s also important to expose my students to what is going on in the world,” Wendt said.

Wendt believes that a young girl helped her gain inspiration to fight the deadly disease alongside patients and their families. The girl battled with Rhabdomyosarcoma for two years, and passed at the early age of four. Wendt believes that sponsoring, planning, and taking part in events to support this dis-ease in all of its forms will teach people about a world bigger than themselves and give them oppor-tunities to develop useful leadership skills.

Cancer support has spread its out-reach on a nation-al level, and thus there are months dedicated to both common and un-common forms of cancer annually in the United States. Most popularly, breast cancer awareness has found its home in national acknowledgement with the month of October, and many organizations take advantage of this recognition. Sports teams both profes-

sional and local have Pink Out games, featuring uniforms with different pink attributes to promote the awareness of breast cancer and its research to find a

cure. The profits col-lected in these efforts go to hospitals to pay for treatments, labo-ratories and univer-sities doing medical research, and other causes supporting can-cer patients and their families.

“October being ded-icated for Breast Can-cer Awareness Month touches my heart in so many ways. I am so grateful and blessed that I beat breast can-cer with today’s more available treatment options. I am the first

out of my family that is a breast cancer survivor,” Love said.

However, the outreach of cancer awareness events even outside of the specifically dedicated months bring

warm feelings to those supported, according to Bancroft.

“The PALS orga-nized Jersey Village’s clubs to participate in the ‘Relay for Life’ all-nighter. My ten-nis team raised a lot of money for the ‘Relay for Life’ and decorated about 15 luminaires offering me encour-agement in 2013. It was amazing,” Ban-croft said.

With all of this said, the lessons learned, experiences had, and virtues gained from fighting this disease cannot and will not fade from the mem-ories of the survivors. Piotrowski refus-es to fix the deep scar on the top of his head from surgery, he believes it serves him right for his recklessness in forget-ting to take precautions to avoid cancer and reminds him of his mortality. With these experiences, he took his faith to a new level, and found himself in the role of a deacon for his Catholic Church.

“I was sitting there in the chapel, and I just had one of those moments. I said ‘Hey God, I got it,’ and I did. We just had a moment, and I was very receptive of that; I think that’s because of where I was at the time,” Piotrowski said.

In a comparable manner, Love thanks her religious faith for giving her the strength to persevere and learn les-sons from having cancer.

“I thank God every day for the gift of life. If there is anything I have learned from having cancer, it is to take time for the little things, let go of things that are not important, and enjoy life to the very fullest,” Love said.

However many lessons learned and experiences had does not change the loyalty felt by the survivors to their sup-porters. Bancroft taught at this high school for a total of 33 years, and feels a great connection to the school she served so long and will retire this De-cember with.

The support given to her by the stu-dents and staff members only solidified

her bond to the school even deep-er.

“Jersey Village is a great place to teach, and it is definitely my home away from home. I have three children and g r a n d c h i l d r e n . My husband and I have missed our other two grand-children’s activi-ties because they now live in Frisco, Texas. It is time to enjoy their school

athletics, so we will be moving there in January.”

“ It is with mixed feelings that I will be retiring, but I am looking forward to this new chapter in my life. JV will al-ways have a special place in my heart, and my blood will always run ‘purple and gold,’” Bancroft said.

People had

gone out of

their way to pray

with me, even if I

had never spoken

to them about their

faith.

Thomas Piotrowski,

DIFFICULT EARLY DIAGNOSIS. Facing doctors problems Thomas Piotrowski, head athletic trainer, found help.

CLOSE SCHOOL CONNECTION. After 33 years with the high school Mary Ban-croft will retire.

Lots of people did not know I

wore a wig. And lots of people did

not know I had cancer. I did not

advertise it. Mary Bancroft

Celebrate Life

“I’m the type of person that does not allow myself to have any struggles that I cannot face. Losing

my hair was not a struggle for me...hair grows back. However, some of the chemo medicine that was given to me, was worst than giving child birth.” Paula Love

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Students open up about driving experience, offer advice

8 The PeregrineIn depth December ‘15 Volume 44, Issue 2

He wipes his hands on a towel hanging from his pocket as he sees a customer walk up. She browses around, picking up items and putting them back. He approaches her and asks if he can help her in any way. She immediately begins to rattle off a list of parts she needs.

Jose Campuzano, junior, does not work in a restaurant, nor does he work at a department store like other students. Campuzano works at a junk yard

selling used auto parts. “I was looking for a summer job. Since I spoke

English and Spanish very well, I fit all the criteria so I said why not?” Campuzano said.

With such an unusual job, Campuzano gains experiences that many students would not. Instead of folding clothes, he interacts with different people and different personalities.

“I look forward to socializing with different people and customers,” Campuzano said.

Since he works in a different field from many of his peers, Campuzano has many opportunities available

to him that others might not. “It has taught me patience and who knows? Maybe

I’ll meet a couple of people who can better my career,” Campuzano said.

As a student who works, Campuzano has learned many lessons of responsibilities through his job.

“I have to open up shop, clean, and most importantly, sell,” Campuzano said.

Campuzano, with his unique job, has gained many experiences and vast amounts of knowledge. He can now continue on with his life and face the world, armed with what he has learned.

Emmilyne ThomasEditor-in-Chief

A sleep-deprived yet ecstatic teenager stands outside the D.P.S. amongst the line of adults that would rather have spent their Saturday morning in bed. The grown men and women have stood in this line many a time before, but the student has their eye on a specific prize. Soon enough, the early Saturday morning trek offers fruition as the student receives their temporary license from the D.P.S service worker.

After several months of commitment, studying, drive times, and slight panics over having to drive on the freeway, students tend to hold their full driver’s licenses with pride. The ability to run to the store to get mom a gallon of milk has come, and what a great ability to have.

“Getting my license was definitely worth the trouble. I can go wherever I want to go, when I want or need to, and I don’t have to rely on anyone else to get me there. It really takes the stress off of errands,” Alicea Hoffman, senior, said.

As exciting as the thought of holding the key to freedom can be, many different thoughts can race through anyone’s mind minutes before the final test. Whether those thoughts pertain to anxiety or spew complete confidence can make or break any student driver.

“I’m already a very anxious person in general so getting behind the wheel for the first time was absolutely nerve-wracking. I was actually pretty nervous about not passing my test. I kept thinking some horrible accident would happen on accident and cause me to fail,” Kathryn Velez, senior.

Apprehension does not come so easily to everyone, though. Level-headed and calm under pressure does not come so easily to everyone but can be a blessing to have.

“I was not particularly anxious. The only thing I was even minor worried about was the parallel parking section. Other than that, I was okay,” Hoffman said.

Even if some amount anxiety may not quite add up to the amount of another, there can never be too many words too many words of the wise. As long as a good amount of studying and thought was thrown into the

effort, “I just had to remember to keep calm and pretend

that it was just a practice run, but also keep in mind that I had to do the best that I could since it would be the real thing. I had doubts but I remained cool,” Richardo Chino, senior, said.

The deciding test and the observant proctor are far from the last obstacle anyone will face once they receive their final license. The true test of being out on the road is seeing whether or not you can withstand the test of keeping both your car and the cars around you intact, and as time grows on, it grows more and more difficult.

“Everyone is a safe driver at first, but after a while they fall out of the good habits. Even I did, but after I got into my first accident I realized I had to be a much more careful driver,” Elise Thomas, senior, said.

The common theme of advice gives off the end message of keeping sensible head when learning and then keeping the good driving habits learned even better when alone and on the road. An accident can end up rougher than the resultant of any lateness one can experience.

Juli PerezManaging Editor

Have Keys, Will Travel

Out of 70 students . . . 35 boys and 35 girls were asked if they had ever been in a car accident. 12 girls answered yes and 23 answered no. 7 boys answered that they had been in an accident and 29 boys answered that they had not. In total,19 people said yes and 51 said no.

Teen drivers buckle up behind the wheelCar junk yard employee values opportunities of experience

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9The PeregrineVolume 44, Issue 2 In DepthDecember ‘15

Q&AWhy did you choose/get your first car?

“So my parents don’t have to go through the trouble of taking me places, and so I can hang out with my friends,” Andrew Rash, junior, said.

“The decision of my first car was based on what ,my parents could get me and I’m very grate-ful for that,” Lacie Aden, senior, said.

What stands out to you about you first car?

“It had bluetooth and seats that could move because I’m so small,” Dani Loeblein, senior, said.

“Bose sound system, I’m the only one to have one,” John Anton, junior, said.

Did you have any other options? What were they? Why did you not choose them?

“We had a Chevy Tahoe but I wanted a car, and the Tahoe wastes twice as much gas (which I pay for),” Ivan Rodriguez, senior, said.

“Yes, a Honda Civic. My mom didn’t like the dealership and the Corolla had a higher safety rating,” Tiffany Tran, junior, said.

When did you get your first car? “About two months after I turned 16,” Tim Irwin, junior, said.

“June 9, 2015, when I got my li-cense,” Casey Drew, junior, said.

Have you done anything to your car to make it special/your own? What is it?

“I added an aux cord (I call it the blueberry),” Elizabeth Hunt, senior, said.

“I still have sheet music from this past marching season in the backseat of my car,” Trevor Moran, senior, said.

Have you ever been in a wreck? What happened?

“Yes, I was going a little fast and didn’t slow down as I was turn-ing, causing me to crash and flip over the median,” Diego Flores, senior, said.

“Yes, my tires locked up and I ran into the back of one of my friends. Luckily, I was able to fix the damage myself,” Christo-pher Onorato, senior, said.

Have you had any other cars before this? What was it? How did it compare to your first car?

“It was a 2005 Toyota Corolla. It was terrible,” Amir Khalili, junior, said.

“I have driven cars for a while before I started driving. It was a Montero Sport. It squeaked con-stantly. In the summer the A.C. was hot and cold in the winter. It also had a huge oil leak and made a rattling noise all the time. There was rust everywhere and I had to scrape and sand it off to polish it,” Landon Thom-as, junior, said.

FAST AND FURIOUS. With their Mustangs ready to roll, Noe Gandera, junior, Chris Logsdon, sopho-more, and Morgan Stew-art, junior, like the feel of being behind the wheel of a classic vehicle. Photo by Juan Torres

CARS ON PARADE. The number and variety of cars students park on campus keeps the student parking lot full. Student drivers include John Anton, junior, Diego Flores, senior, Frank Sheehy, senior, Spencer Ruzicka, junior, and Ma-son Hicks, junior. Photo by Juan Torres

BLUE LIGHTNING. As the driver of a 1979 Chevy Camaro, Reece Dubaniewicz, senior, takes care to keep his vehicle in order. Photo by Juli Perez

PRIDE AND JOY. Teen car owners and drivers Collin DuBros, junior, Chance Canizaro, junior, and AJ Joubran, senior, take satisfaction in having a vehicle at their disposal. Having a vehicle allows teens to have jobs after school, participate in after school activities or just be socially active without having to have Mom or Dad drive them to all their destinations. Photo by Juan Torres

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10 The Peregrine Volume 44, Issue 2December ‘15Feature

Page 11: 2015 2016 peregrine issue 2

Gaslight brings tense stage momentsSECRETIVE LEADING MAN. “I am portraying the role of Mr. Manningham. He is a young man who has many secrets. He’s also not who he says he is. He is the lead, husband and master of the house. He loves playing wicked tricks and drives his wife crazy,” Julian Sedeno, sophomore, said. Photo by Gabriel Alvarez

GETTING READY. “The play is really interest-ing and captivating because it has a lot of suspense in it as well as mystery, and it’s very tense especially the last scene” Juan Padron, freshman, said. Photo by Samantha Mora

THE PROPER MAID. “I play a maid called Elizabeth Tompkins. I guess I’m quite re-sponsible, like her, and possibly I would do the same as she does in her situa-tion,” Zuzanna Stycznyska, senior, said. Photo by Jose Campuzano

THE INSPECTOR. “My characters name is Inspector Ruff. Towards the middle of the show I come in. There’s basically three big scenes in the entire show,” Joshua McMahan, junior, said. Photo by Samantha Mora

VICTORIAN AGED COP. “Gaslight was the second produc-tion I participated in. I thought the uniform was a little too tight, but it was still an extravagant experience,” Payton Hernandez, sophomore, said. Photo by Saman-tha Mora

STAY OPEN MINDED. “When I was first reading the script we all agreed it was a lot of dialogue and not much ac-tion. Along the way we realized these charcters have so many dynamics that it didn’t matter,” Abagayle DeVries, sophomore, said. Photo by Gabriel Alvarez

11The PeregrineVolume 44, Issue 2 EntertainmentDecember ‘15

FINISHING TOUCHES NEEDED. “We were putting the finishing touches on my costume. I was feeling so terri-fied, but ecstatic at the same time. I could not wait for the curtains to open,” Julian Sedeno, sophomore, said. Photo by Gabriel Alvarez

Pamela JimenezGustavo RangelStaff Reporters

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The camera focused on the man at the front of the room, live broadcasting the after-noon’s press conference.

On November 18, members of CFISD’s High School Jour-nalism Network gathered in Cy Lakes High School’s LGI room to witness Sam Khan, Cy Falls graduate, University of Hous-ton alumni, former Houston Chronicle sports reporter and now ESPN.com college sports reporter, speak about the les-sons he has learned through-out his career and his journey to ESPN.

Khan, a product of the school district, arrived hop-ing to provide insight to high school journalists, regardless of whether or not they plan to pursue the field. Although Khan was not a part of his high school’s journalism program and only minored in journal-ism in college, he acknowl-edges the importance of the foundation set in student pub-

lications classrooms in high school.

Throughout the press con-ference, Khan gave vital advice to aspiring journalists as well as those who aim to become better writers during their high school career.

“The first thing is be will-ing to do anything. If your edi-tors or teachers ask you to do something be willing to say yes at every turn. You want to be someone who is liable and hardworking,” Khan said.

He related how one of his editors from the Houston Chronicle used to tell him that the only two things he could control was attitude and ef-fort.

“If your work ethic and at-titude is really good you have a chance to go places. You can’t control what they assign you, you can’t control how much print space you’re given and you can’t control how much time you have to work. What you can control is your atti-tude and your effort. Those two things served me well in my career,” Khan said.

Khan also advise his audi-ence to read a lot.

“I’ve found that the best writers are ferocious readers. Identify the people who are where you want to be in your career,” Khan said.

Due to Khan’s upbringing, he easily related to the young journalists who hope to one day be as successful as him.

“I think that his advice was inspiring because it gives mo-tivation to us aspiring jour-nalists to go and pursue our dreams and it makes us real-ize that even people who come from the same community can become successful,” Christine Le, senior, said.

Khan’s insightful advice will remain with students who hope to further enhance their writing abilities.

“By seeing a man who started at nothing really, with no clear career path and then finding his future and being so successful, was really inspir-ing. We all have somewhere we need to be,” Cade Schau-del, junior, said.

Damaris DeLeonContributing Writer

12 The PeregrineNewsDecember ‘15 Volume 44, Issue 2

SPORTS REPORTER SHARES. As the featured guest at the 2nd CFISD High School Journalism Press Conference Sam Khan, ESPN.com col-lege sports reporter answers questions from Cade Schuadel, junior, and Juan Torres, senior. Photo by Damaris DeLeon

ESPN sports reporter shareshighlights of beginnings, career

SeniorsYou still have time to take your Senior Portrait for the yearbook.Make sure you are includedin your high school yearbook.The Deadline has been extended.Call Prestige Portraits today and make an appointment.

281-897-8300

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13The PeregrineVolume 44, Issue 2 Photo FeatureDecember ‘15

A new era is set to begin at the high school with first year head coach Tamara Collier taking the reins from Anthony DeCarlo.

She looks to bring winning seasons back here to the girls basketball team in the way of discipline, grinding it out, and being mentally prepared to outplay any of their opponents on their sched-ule.

With a full slate of games on their schedule before they begin district play the Lady Falcons look to bring their name back up to par and send a mes-sage to the district.

A new coaching staff means a whole new level of competitiveness and grit to the team and they will not be bullied around this season.

“She brings a really positive attitude and encourages us each and every day to become better,” Andrea Aponte, second year varsity member and senior, said.

With a set of freshmen twins making varsity their first year here, and having a good majority of upperclassmen on the roster, it’s a passing of the torch type of year as the freshmen, Kaylynne and Kayleigh Truong, look to contribute into getting a playoff spot at the end of the season and trying to make it all the way to state.

“It’s nerve wrecking because you go up against all these seniors and all the other freshmen on lower levels are look-ing up to you trying to make it there also,” Kaylynne Truong, freshman, said.

Looking to live up to the expectations from their coach, the fan base and most importantly, themselves, the Lady Fal-cons try to set the stage for the years to come with Coach Collier at the helm.

ON THE BREAK. Taking the ball across count Michelle MacIntyre and Kyra Collins, sophomores, looks to get an easy score to earn another non-district win. Photo by Alan Moreno

ESTABLISHING HER LANE. Bringing the ball up court Kayleigh Truong, fresh-man, looks for a seam in the defense to get a bucket. Photo by Alan Moreno

WingspanFan base neededto boost team wins

Frank PadillaSports Writer

Frank PadillaSports Writer

New era starts Lady Falcons with early wins

Everyone in the school talks about how every

team here is not good, and can never ac-

TO THE HOLE. Fighting through contact to try and draw the foul Kaylynne Tru-ong, freshman, goes for the contested bucket. Photo by Alan Moreno

RUNNING THE PLAY. Looking to set the play up, Andrea Aponte, senior, looks to pass and cut through the lane for an easy set up by her teammates. Photo by Alan Moreno

complish anything. The truth is, people do not realize how important a fan base or student section is in the games.

The athletes feed off of the energy not just amongst themselves, but off the en-ergy in the stands coming from parents, alumni, and current students.

When someone makes a good play and everyone cheers, only the athletes understand this, and that it motivates them to want to do better.

Too many people are quick to judge teams based off the past seasons. This in turn, yes, does mean that we have a bet-ter chance of having less of a fan base, but with the athletes knowing that they have someone to back them up through it all, it helps them strive for greatness.

Athletes really do appreciate the fact that people do take their sport into con-sideration and are willing to take time out of their day to come and cheer for them. Which in turn, makes them want to perform better and take their com-petitiveness to the next level. Then it will eventually translate to wins.

This past football season, the stu-dent attendance at the games was, what seems to me, an all-time low after hav-ing back to back winning seasons and had a promising mind set at the begin-ning of the season.

But then as soon as they lost every-one was quick to jump on them about how bad they were.

The better the attendance is at games,

not only helps the school, but could be the difference between that certain team grinding out that one win to give them a chance at the playoffs. That could have a spiral affect for the years to come or even for the next sport the next season.

Everyone should attempt to do all they can to get to the games to enjoy a sport. If a friend does not have a ride to one of the games, volunteer to take them or try to get them to carpool with a different friend or neighbor.

The support for the Falcon teams may be all the teams need; so maybe, just maybe, we can finally become a sports power house in the district like we once were back in the 80’s in multiple sports.

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I do not believe in feminism. Although I commend the idea feminism once promoted, I do not approve of the methods current

self-proclaimed feminists employ. Current active feminists focus more on attacking individuals

than trying to put a stop to true inequality. Men like Matt Taylor, an astrophysicist attacked for wearing

a shirt depicting scantily clad women, and situations like what happened in Buenos Aries, Argentina, where pro-abortion feminists attacked men praying the rosary to protect their

cathedral from threats of vandalism, represent just a few examples of the outrageous problems the feminist movement

has created. Today the feminist movement does not stand for the equality of women, or female

empowerment; it stands to tear down any man or woman who does not support what feminists do and what they believe.

This movement has gotten out of hand, and while I do not condemn anyone who supports feminism, I strongly advice doing research on the topic.

However, many people forget that in some situations, men have the disadvantage. In a custody battle, men who actively seek custody have a higher chance of losing to their female counterpart if they do not stay at home, even as the children get older. According to the CDC, men have a higher risk of suicide, which some believe stems from the idea that men must hide their emotions.

I struggle to comprehend how a group of people find inequality in women needing shirts in public, but see no problem with fathers losing their children because they work, or men ending their lives after they grew up believing saying how they feel would make them less of a man.

Although men and women still have a long way to go before reaching equal status, the current agenda of the feminist movement should not receive the support it does. Tearing men down until they sit at a woman’s feet like dogs does not symbolize equality.

Feminism has turned into a movement that placed women above men, not bringing them to an equal status. However, a new movement is budding.

The gender equality movement aims to raise standards for women and men, alike. With this in mind, one would expect this newfound idea to receive substantial support. Alas, because the movement has just begun, many do not know about it.

I encourage all who want to bring an end to gender inequality to explore this glorious movement.

Emmilyne Thomas,Editor in Chief

Modern feminist movement creates new problems

As a young child, history has always fascinated me. Touching the frayed pages of an ancient book gave me great

excitement. I adored learning about the great antiquity of civilizations, countries and immense empires. My extensive yearning for informa-tion on the past has never faded, but from recent observation, it is evident many students have lost that will.

History is the basis to any story. Our nation holds tales of sorrow, trauma and triumph. To lose and ig-nore the background of this historical country would be devastating. Students grow less and less interactive with the idea of history as years pass by. We grow less interest, many think “History is boring. What do I care about people who don’t exist anymore?” What we can derive from history is much more beneficial.

Our nation holds many scars such as civil war, slav-ery and genocide. It is in our responsibility to remem-ber these institutions and events and learn from them.

Instead of highlighting only positive events and bury-ing dark memories, we must examine all occurrenc-es. Students are then able to learn and take previous events and apply them to life in general.

History, be it past or present, links back to one an-other. Understanding history allows students to build and change upon a set foundation. I urge and encour-age the study of history, culture and tradition. We are all changing, evolving and creating history constantly, and getting educated in our past proves to be an ad-vantage in our ever-growing society.

The great aspect about living in the 21st cen-tury will always be the

fact that we have a steadily increas-ing industry of technology that makes life’s tasks easier, but

as with all pros, a con lurks in the

dark, ready to take all you love, put it in a sack, and shove it off bridge.

The con here is the adult, the one or even a few adults who bring up what they had in their day and how much they liked it. To quote an older custom-er that had recently visited my place of work, “back in my day we didn’t have

registers that counted totals out for us, let alone change! We had to count it all up in our head, tax and all. And that’s how we liked it!” to which I replied, “Al-right” and handed her the change, just waiting for her to walk away.

The last of information anyone needs to be concerned with is the technologi-cal advancements society has put in place in the last 10-20 years, but far be it from me to say words like that. Why revel in the fact that we can talk to fam-ily members on the opposite end of the globe in mere matter of second seconds or that fact that people can live four times longer than we previously could. Life was not better 100 years ago when many were dying of Polio, war waged the world over (almost literally), and

Typhoid plagued the planet. All of those wonderful events aside,

life is infinitely better than it was back then for just the little luxuries that we overlook every day. All of the indulgent activities we may even find tiresome or a waste of time like having regular doc-tors’ appointments or going grocery shopping were things that did not exist a century ago; but instead of marveling at the fact that in 1906 there was only about 8% of the population that had bathtubs in their homes and only about 9% of the population had graduated from high school, the baby boomers are stuck in the fact that kids are strug-gling to pay their way through college when the Harvard in 1978 was $2,400 a year. For anyone who has not heard,

that price has multiplied 19 times to a whopping $69,000 a year as of 2015-2016 sessions.

Humanity has come a long way in terms of technology and how we behave, and though there are times of addiction and distraction that does not necessar-ily mean any of this is a bad way of life. No one should have to take any shame in how they live their life and what they fill their life with. The world continues to grow into a tougher place, so let’s ex-perience it as we please, but also take some words in mind: whenever some-one starts to talk about how they did not have phones or computers when they were our age, remember that a century ago a whole different generation said the same words about electricity.

Juli Perez,Managing Editor

Understanding history allows foundation for building, changing world into better place for our generation

I really dis-like people who get mad at me not saying “Hi” and “Good m o r n i n g ” it’s 6:00a.m. N o b o d y

talks to any-body. It’s

crazy because if I don’t greet them, then I am the one being disrespect-ful. They never know, maybe I just do not feel like talking, maybe I am just not having a good day. My bus driver, one morning, stopped the bus and said, “I know it’s hard for you guys to do this but when you get on this bus and I say good morning to you, then if you do not say it back it’s very disrespectful.”

I understand how this feels when I walk up to a friend and say “Was-sup?” and that person just ignores me I feel mad, sad, confused, but I never know if he/she may be mad, sad, or might just not feel like talk-ing to anybody . One day at school one of my friends was just sitting alone so I went up to him and said “Wassup?” He just walked off. I can’t lie I was mad but then when I got home I texted him and asked “Aye, bruh you straight?” He said “Nah bruh, my mom just passed away,” and then I under-stood why he did not want to talk or greet me. So basically if I say hi and the oth-er person does not, I just calm down and go on with my day, because that person can be going through some emotional stress or just doesn’t want to talk.

Eric Williams,Staff Reporter

Friendly greetings meet unexpected returns

Technology makes life easier with added luxuries of personal communication, living longer, fewer diseases

Lin Vu,Staff Reporter

14 The PeregrineCommentaryDecember ‘15 Volume 44, Issue 2

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15The Peregrine

The parking lot teems with early morning traffic: students walking from their cars towards the building, others circling to find a decent spot. He puts his signal light on to turn into a spot on his right, only to have a car zoom by on that same side. He slams on his brakes to avoid hitting the car but the person behind him plows his car forward. He watches as a parent races out of the lot, and he gets out to inspect the damage, where he meets the other driver: yet another parent.

Early morning traffic in the gold and purple parking lot has increased throughout the year, as an influx of parents use these lots as another drop off point. Although trying to avoid traffic in the drop off lines can be understood, the parking lot should remain just that, a parking lot. The extra cars add to the mayhem in the already chaotic area, causing many students to take extra precautions while walking to school and while parking.

Excess traffic in the lot causes hold ups while entering, since some of the entrances cannot easily fit two cars. If a parent tries to exit the lot, students must wait until the parent has left before he/she can safely enter the lot, or different lot areas, because of the small passing space. Many parents also fail to follow the rules of the road. Parents parked on the side to not have the right of way; parents must yield to the oncoming traffic and wait until they can go safely. However, many parents dropping off their students do not follow this rule. Parents have cut students off countless times, causing them to hit their breaks and hope against hope that no one rear-ends them.

Students also have to be extra cautious while walking into the school. Since parents mill around the parking lot, students have to avoid cars exiting, as well as entering the lot. Since parents go against the normal flow of traffic, students must walk through the parked cars to safely steer clear of both incoming and exiting traffic. Although this option seems reasonably safe, students run the risk of getting hit with a car door by a preoccupied peer. They could also accidentally scrape a car with something in or on their backpack as they walk by.

Students must advise their parents to drop them off in the appropriate lines at the front of the school for the safety of fellow students. The number of parents in the parking lot in the morning has become dangerous and it must end. Without putting a stop to the traffic, students will continue to feel unsafe while entering school. School should not be a place for students to feel unsafe, regardless of where they are.

Administration should step in to regulate the traffic in the parking lot for the safety of the students who attend school. Without it, students will be forced to deal with the dangerous traffic on their own.

OpenConversationsWhat are your thoughts about the way parents drive in the student parking lot?

Mercy Ojo,senior

“Some are impatient. For me, I tell my moth-er to slow down and it’s a little off because I am the student.”

Dalia Torres,junior

“I was walking across the street in the morn-ing. The parent’s car lights were not on, the car was in high speed and I felt the breeze of the car speed past me. I was really disappoint-ed, because parents should be role models for kids.”

Kai’s travelsthru high school Stop speeding drivers

EditorialDecember ‘15Volume 44, Issue 2

Illustration by Ashlynn Smith

Jersey Village High School Student Publications’ Newspaper PolicyThe Peregrine is the official student publication of Jersey Village High School and is published by the

Advanced 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 majority agreement of the staff. The Peregrine 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 advertising policy is stated on the advertising contract.

Advertising is not an endorsement from the staff, the adviser, the administration, or the Cypress Fair-banks Board of Trustees. The Peregrine is a member of the Interscholastic League Press Conference, Quill and Scroll, and the National Scholastic Press Association. The Peregrine is printed by Mirror Publishers, Inc in Texas City, TX. The opinion of readers is held in high regard. Please send all feedback or questions 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.

2016 Peregrine StaffEditor - Emmilyne Thomas; Managing Editor - Juli Perez; Staff - Cade Schaudel, Lin Vu, Angelo Gonzales, Eric Williams, Pamela Jimenez, Frank Padilla, Jr, Gustavo Rangel, Gerardo Garcia, Damaris DeLeon, Ale Garcia, Ashlynn Smith. Contributing Staff - Odalys Delgado, Juan Torres, Jessica Sweeten, Mikelle Wood, Alan Moreno, Ismael Barcenas, George Rosales, Gabriel Alvarez, Jose Campuzano, Samantha Mora, Elizabeth Ybarra, Ashley Hoselton, Fabi Rodriguez. Contributing Adviser - Margie Comstock. JVHS Principal - Ralph Funk.

Ale GarciaContributing

Cartoonist

Compiled by/Photo by Elizabeth Ybarra

Page 16: 2015 2016 peregrine issue 2

ANNUAL PIE FRENZY. Gathered in the Fine Arts hallway, band, orchestra and choir members, as well as custodians and staff, enjoy the music department’s annual Pie Day after school, marking the beginning of Thanksgiving Break. Carefully selecting their pieces of pie, Lance Neidhardt, freshman, Jackie Paluch, sophomore, and Thomas Tran, junior, savor their desserts. Photos by Damaris De Leon and Ashley Hoselton

16 The PeregrinePhoto EssayDecember ‘15 Volume 44, Issue 2

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE. Saluting the flag at the the annual Veterans Day Retreat, Peter Huynh and Leticia Perez Montesdeoca, seniors, honor those who have served the United States of America through service in one of the armed services. Photos by Ashley Hoselton

RED, BOLD, FREE. In their red attire, Brandon Aird, Drew Grim, Jawan Rogers, and Amexi Harris, seniors, participate in Red Out Day, the concluding day of the yearly Red Out Week, a week devoted to drug prevention. Photos by Juan Torres

COOKING UP LUNCH. Enjoying the sunny day, woodshop members David Melendez, and Armando Zavala, juniors, celebrate the upcoming Thanksgiving break at woodshop’s cook out. Photos by Fabiola Rodriguez

Traditions

pass

on

school’s

customs

from year

to year

Damaris DeLeonStaff Reporter