Raven ReportVolume VI, Issue 1 1201 Brewster Ave. Redwood City, CA 94062 SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

Sequoia High School

Feature: Opinion:Get to know new Sequoia teachers Page 5

Zero Period: not as bad as it sounds

Cherokees begin new season with two winsTwo weeks into the season,

the Cherokees are 2-0 with a win at home against Fremont and on the road at Monta Vista.

Senior offensive lineman Julian Bertero is ready to bring it every week by being a role model both on the field and in practice.

“Being a senior is great, but with it comes responsibility,” Bertero said. “Seeing as we are a young team this year, it falls to the seniors to pull the in-

tensity that we need out of the younger players. I think that the seniors have to be not just be an example to the younger guys, but to also keep them in check.”

Bertero leads the list of of-fensive players to watch out for, which also includes quar-terback Mike Taylor, running back and linebacker Matt Jenkins and running back Tommy Lopiparo.

The top defensive players include defensive back Dylan Anderson, free safety Zach Tornquist and lineman An-dres Ortiz.

“The team is fun,” Ortiz told Prep2Prep.com. “You get to play with people and have teamwork. I’m excited to play against Woodside and to [beat] Carl-mont and [get] the Terremere T r o p h y back.”

B o t h games will be played at Sequoia with the Woodside game on Oct. 19 and the Carlmont on Nov. 9.

The highly anticipated Woodside game was initially

scheduled to be the Chero-kees’ Homecoming game, but with PSATs the same week, the administration felt it would be too hectic.

“I was asked by the Admin-istration to move it to any other w e e k , ” H e a d

Coach Rob Poulos said. “We make such a huge academic push here at Sequoia for every student who is eligible to take the PSAT that they felt like

By LAUREL DEARBORN Sports Editor

Page 6

By the Numbers

1,997Total 2012-2013 student enrollment

“Seeing as we are a young team this year, it falls to the seniors to pull the intensity that we need out of the younger players.”

—Senior Julian Bertero

Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education, visited Sequoia High School on Sept. 12 as his first stop on the “Education Drives America” tour. Speaking to a packed audience of students, edu-cators and leaders in technology in Carrington Hall, Duncan moderated a panel of experts from Silicon Valley about the need to promote technol-ogy in education.

“[Technology] is not about replacing humans, but em-powering them,” said panelist Salman Khan, founder of Khan Academy.

Principal Bonnie Hansen opened the assembly, which focused on how technology can support teachers. She emphasized equal opportunities for all students in the public education system despite income inequality.

“Families have chosen Sequoia be-cause they want their kids to go to

school with the rest of America,” Han-sen said.

Senior Alejandro Castro intro-duced Duncan after sharing his story about moving from El Salvador as a freshman to being a college-bound se-nior in IB English. He was one of the

student musicians featured in the “We Are the Fu-ture” music video, which premiered at the event. It was written and filmed by Sequoia stu-dents in collabora-tion with the John Lennon Educa-tional Tour Bus.

“Who knows, you know, [I could be] a doctor that makes hip raps on the radio,” Castro said.

Duncan complemented Sequoia on our efforts to cater to every student.

“My goal, my dream, is that every student can go to a school like this one,” Duncan said.

He also touched on the issue of the DREAM Act, which was passed in California in 2011, but has not come

US Secretary of Education kicks off tour at SequoiaBy LILY HARTZELLFeature Editor

through on a federal level. The Act allows undocumented students to qualify for state financial aid and at-tend state universities without pay-ing out-of-state fees.

“Nationally we have to pass the DREAM Act,” Duncan said. “We as a nation can’t afford to keep that on the sidelines.”

The bulk of the assembly was a panel discussion with Duncan, Khan, Andrew Ng, Director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab

and co-founder of Coursera, and Catlin Tucker, a high school Eng-lish teacher and author of “Blended Learning for Grades 4-12.” They all highlighted technology as a tool for teachers to close achievement gaps and allow students to work at their own paces.

“Technology is not going to save education [on its own], great teachers with great tools are going to save edu-cation,” Tucker said.

See DUNCAN, page 2

it was going to be very hard to [have the test] the same week that we were doing all the homecoming activities.”

Still, this game will have a huge draw and may be the biggest game of the season.

“The idea about playing [Woodside] for Homecom-ing [was great] but even if you take emotion out of it, the games not going to be any smaller,” Poulos said. “It’s going to be crazy here. You don’t need homecom-ing to add to that. There is enough passion on that one.”

See WIN, page 8

Photos by Erick Castro

Sequoia was the first stop of 23 on this national tour. The event drew hundreds of visitors to campus.

484 New freshmen

News2

DUNCAN(continued from page 1)

Examples of these tools are interac-tive digital textbooks, which the Fed-eral Communications Commission and the Department of Education hope to implement in U.S. schools in the next five years. They also hope to incorporate Connect2Compete, a program that would offer low-cost broadband plans to families with stu-dents on free or reduced lunch, start-ing in 2013.

Sequoia was the first of 23 stops on the nationwide tour. Other stops will include public libraries, universities, middle schools, community colleges, elementary schools and a local tire company. At each stop, Duncan will focus on a different aspect of educa-tion.

The Sequoia community had a vari-ety of reactions to Duncan’s visit.

“It was great to see the music video,” said sophomore Alicia Menendez-Brennan, a singer in the “We Are the Future” video.

“It was pretty much the culmina-tion of all the fun we’ve had this past week. The people we worked with were the best and I appreciate every-thing they did for us.”

Over 400 Tweets were posted dur-ing the day about the event. Many praised and agreed with the panelists’ ideas.

However, some people protested the visit and Duncan’s policies, includ-ing Race to the Top, a program created by the Department to give incentives for innovation in education.

“No Child Left Behind gave schools a stick. Race to the Top was supposed to be more of a carrot, but the problem [is] in the name - ‘race,’” Spanish teacher Edith Salvatore said. “If you take all the kids in the country, who deserve free education, and you have a race, some are go-ing to lose. I disagree that anyone should lose.”

At the e v e n t , Wo o d s i d e h i s t o r y teacher Greg Gruszynski stood dur-ing the as-sembly with signs read-ing “Arne D u n c a n : Stop Clos-ing and Privatizing our Schools” and “We Sup-port Chicago Teachers and Schools.” Other teachers stood in solidarity with the Chicago Teachers Union strike by wearing red.

“I think they’re working real hard together,” Duncan said. “I have great

Fast FactsArne Duncan is the US Secretary of Education. He majored in sociology

at Harvard University, where he was named an Academic All-American in basketball. Here is some information on his background and what he has

done so far in office.

•Duncan played professional basketball in Australia from 1987 to 1991. • Duncan was previously the Chief Executive Officer for Chi-cago Public Schools from 2001 to 2008. • Duncan has been Secretary of Education since 2009 when President Barack Obama appointed him. • While in office, he has insti-tuted the Race to the Top Program, which is meant to give incentives to schools to improve education. • He has worked to increase Pell Grants for college students. • This is his third Back to School Tour, which is meant to excite the country about public education. • He lives in Virginia with his wife and two children, who both attend public school.

—LILY HARTZELL

confidence in the teachers and the union, and I hope they resolve it as quickly as possible and get everyone back together in the classroom. I know everyone has students’ best interests at

heart and that they will put egos and persona l i -ties aside to work to-gether and figure this thing out.”

D uncan praised Se-quoia’s suc-cess.

“Sequoia is an amaz-ing school. It’s no coin-cidence we started our

tour here. We want to take the lessons learned here and share them. This is a remarkable success story in the mak-ing,” Duncan said.

Additional reporting from Dalia Jude, staff reporter.

Above: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan gave a signed basketball as a gift to Principal Bonnie Hansen. Below right: The event drew hundreds of educators, journalists, and technology experts, who came ready with laptops, tablets, and cell phones to blog and Tweet about the event as it was broadcast live. Below left: Not all were happy about Duncan’s visit or educational policies, though.

Photos by Erick Castro and Alsace Patrone

Feature 3

“We are the future”

750,000 miles traveled. Four dancers. Three sing-ers. Two guitarists. One rapper and famous produc-er songwriter for the Black Eyed Peas, Printz Board.

For a special three days, the Lennon bus provided 10 Sequoia students with the opportunity to create an original song and music video using high-end in-dustry standard technology which was unveiled at U.S Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s visit last Wednesday.

The song “We are the Future,” written to go along with Duncan’s “Education Drives America” tour, was filmed in Carrington Hall and other locations around Sequoia and Redwood City.

The Lennon Bus staff works with students who have all types of musical experience over the course of the five-month tour.

“Sometimes the kids haven’t touched an instru-ment in their lives and sometimes they’re going to Juilliard,” said Ryan L’Esperance, one of the three engineers for the bus.

All the Sequoians, however, have been involved in their craft from young ages.

“So much knowledge at such a young age is really inspiring for me,” said George Pajon, guitarist for the Black Eyed Peas.

Jeff Sobel, the chief engineer and responsible for the bus design, enjoyed seeing the progress of the students first hand during the international tour.

“You forget that you didn’t know [these stu-dents]. They seem like old friends at the end of the day leaving the bus,” Sobel said.

The bus is separated into two studios with audio, video and a full recording booth.

Sequoia guitarists, seniors Jared Solomon and Zé Martinho, worked with Pajon. Junior Jackie Ahern, senior Joselyn Juarez and sophomore Alicia Menen-dez-Brennan worked on vocals with Board.

“It’s nice to listen to these girls and say ‘Yeah, she’s got it’. If you’re dedicated to the craft, then you’re gonna win,” said Board, also a father of three who values music education in schools.

Music is very important to all the singers, espe-cially Juarez, who is often caught singing in class.

“[Singing is] really individual,” Juarez said. “Sing-

ers try to compare themselves to other people, but one isn’t better than the other. I can’t sing like Be-yoncé, but Beyoncé can’t sing like me. We’re like flowers—they’re all different but all beautiful.”

Senior Alejandro Castro, who rapped for the song, primarily worked with songwriter Mario “Tex” James. Castro, who is originally from El Sal-vador, moved to California four years ago and used music to help him make the transition.

Bottom left: Jared Solomon’ interview will be featured on the Lennon Bus website and on YouTube.

Top left: From left to right Joselyn Juarez, Mario “Tex” James, Jackie Ahern, Alicia Menendez- Brennan,

and Alejandro Castro spent three days together over the weekend to create an original song.

Top right: Zé Martinho has been playing guitar for seven years.Bottom right: Edgar Aguirre and Francisco Menera

were two of the four dancers who had two hours to create choreography for the music video.

By ARACELI EFIGENIOFeature Editor

“I started doing my own rap cause I missed the old [music] at home,” said Castro. “You get lonely [here] without knowing [English].”

The Lennon bus gives the next musical genera-tion the opportunity to channel their talents and transcend all cultures and backgrounds.

“Music is kinda the thing that unifies people. That is one of the things we can all agree on as a na-tion, as a world,” L’Esperance said.

Lennon Bus project inspires students to come together

Photos by Araceli Efigenio

By TY DEWESStaff Reporter

Four new classrooms and a new fine arts room are being built in the B-quad to accommodate Sequoia’s grow-ing student body.

During the past two years, the number of students at Sequoia has in-creased from 1,600 to 2,000 and Se-quoia has added four portable build-ings this year, to use as classrooms.

“They are pretty big classrooms,” English teacher Jane Woodman said. “Most classes out there are close to 36 kids.”

Although the portable classes hold many students and help deal with the massive student body, they are not part of the main building. This has not affected their attendance to class yet.

“The students have had great punc-tuality,” Woodman said. “If anyone’s late it’s me.”

Woodman has to run from the band room all the way to the portables to begin teaching English between classes.

Besides the portables, construction is being done to the old woodshop room in the B-wing. The old wood-shop classroom will be replaced with five new classrooms, including a brand new, huge fine arts room.

“ W e needed more classrooms because we had more kids,” art teacher Kate Sheehan said. “[The district is] thinking this will help.”

The construction was supposed to be finished by last year but has been pushed back.

“The new projection is this Febru-ary,” principal Bonnie Hansen said.

“But you can’t count on it until next Fall.”

Although the construction seems new, it’s been 10 years coming.

“They had to wait a long time to get the building approved since it was an old building,” Sheehan said. “They needed permission from the historical

society.”Permission

from the his-torical society was necessary because the buildings at Sequoia were

built long ago, and permission is need-ed to renovate or change them.

The new classrooms are being built to help accommodate for the kids that will be coming to Sequoia in the next few years. In 2020, the pro-jected amount of students at Sequoia is 2,556, which is 427 more students

“The students have had great punctuality; if anyone’s late, it’s me.”

— English and band teacherJane Woodman

than the current student body.“What we are experiencing and pre-

paring for is to deal with the projected growth,” assistant superintendent En-rique Navas said. “We need to look at Sequoia and look at the program needs first.”

The new classrooms will be able to hold about 150 students, averaging 30 students per classroom. Although the construction will cost around $5 mil-lion, the school has a separate budget for buildings and other activities, so other departments will not be affect-ed.

“It’s important to understand that the money is coming from a bond from 10 years ago,” Hansen said. “The money has to be used for construc-tion.”

But the question remains; will it be enough?

“I hope so,” Hansen said. “I really hope so.”

As Sequoia’s population goes up, so do new buildings

Feature4

Some students spent their summer lounging around in the sun, carefree. Senior Geremy Escolta, however, spent his vacation battling to a gold medal at the Junior World Taekwondo Expo in South Korea. As a result, he is the best in the world for 14-17 year-olds, in the 113 lb. weight class.

“It was a great experience,” Escolta said. “When you win, it feels good knowing that you worked so hard to get to that point and that all that hard work paid off.”

Escolta is a member of the California Unified Tae-kwondo Association Jr. Team (CUTA), which represented the United States in Korea this past August. Escolta re-ceived bronze at the nation-als in August, which qualified him. However, an opponent kicked him in the face, and dislocated his jaw early in the qualifying tournament. Escolta fought through the next four rounds, to win the bronze and earn a spot on the national team.

“I would have gotten silver for sure, if I had been healthy,” he said.

Escolta has always been in-

volved in martial arts; his old-er brother competed as well.

“I’ve always loved doing it. I grew up with it and it’s been there my whole life,” he said.

Taekwondo is a full con-tact martial art that consists of kicking, and sometimes punching. Escolta trains at Powerhouse Gym with his coach, Ron Leong, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, for one to two hours. He will train for three or four hours a session if he’s prepar-ing for a fight. Escolta also has to make a certain weight class before each fight, which sometimes requires him to lose 10-15 lbs. by dieting.

“It’s tough, but it’s all mental,” Escolta said, “Your body can do it, but if you don’t think you can do it or you don’t have the mental strength, you’re not going to make it.”

Though he’s become accus-tomed to toughing it out, Es-colta says he would not have made it this far without the help and support of his family.

“My parents have always been really supportive,” Es-colta said. “My dad takes me to practice everyday; he drives me home, and when I’m cut-ting weight, my family diets with me. They’re not as hard-core, but it really helps.”

Escolta is also a vital part of the Sequoia Varsity Wres-tling team. Escolta went two-for-two at CCS, and won the P.A.L wrestling championship for the 113lb. weight class, in his junior year.

Escolta likes both taekwon-do and wrestling, because they require the same type of train-ing. He intends to focus on taekwondo, however.

“I like taekwondo better, because I think I’ll be able to take it a lot further,” Escolta said. “I c o u l d p o t e n tially m a k e t h e Olym-p i c

team.”That is Escolta’s ulti-

mate goal, to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Though that has al-ways been his highest personal aspiration, Escolta would also love to go for his family.

“It would be the best feel-

By JARRETT CROWELL Page Editor

Teachers at Sequoia can do more than just lecture and assign massive homework assignments. History teacher Lydia Cuffman starred in Redwood City Community Theater’s production of “Legally Blonde” here in front of a home crowd. Carrington Hall on two weekends this past Au-gust.

In the play, Cuffman plays Mar-got, a passionate sorority sister and protagonist Elle Woods’ cheerleader. Margot’s ditsy lines and stereotypical sorority sister personality force Cuff-man to play someone who is not repre-sentative of her actual personality.

“My character is different from my self, so at first I thought ‘Oh no are my students going to see this’ but now it is great and I enjoy playing the part,” said Cuffman.

Performing at Sequoia led to some familiar faces in the audience.

“It’s great to see people I know in the audience. My department came to see it, and I’ve seen some students in the audience as well as some actually in the production,” said Cuffman.

The production in Carrington Hall was not just about the entertainment, it was also about the community.

“[Acting] makes me feel like a part of the community. I am a teach-er in the area, and now acting in this production, it’s a great feeling,” said Cuffman.

Cuffman got into acting at a young age, and it used to be a hobby of hers.

“I’ve been doing productions since middle school and throughout high school and I thought I would be cool to get back into it,” said Cuffman.

As Cuffman remembers the pro-

Teacher doubles as actress in Legally Blonde

ductions that she was in during high school, she stresses the importance of balancing schoolwork.

Redwood City Community theater produces a play every summer at Se-quoia, and has open tryouts for parts. According to Cuffman, it is easy to just come and tryout for the plays, and is a great way to practice a new hobby in front of a large crowd.

She suggests that all students should tryout next year.

The cast of “Legally Blonde” gets down on the stage during the show held at Carrington Hall this past August.

Photo courtesy of Robert Stronck

Geremy Escolta knocks out competition to win gold medal By HANNA BOLAÑOSEditor-in-Chief

Administrative Vice Principal, Mike Kuliga, announced a change in Sequoia’s dress code policy at the campus control policy assembly for the 2012-2013 school year.

Previously, all shorts had to reach mid-thigh, but the new rule only requires that they cover the student’s buttocks.

However, a few days after the announcement, Ms. Hansen an-nounced on the P.A. system that if violations of the new rule contin-ued, the dress code change would be revoked.

“Frankly I was surprised at how short the shorts became,” Kuliga said. “I was shocked to actually have to enforce violations.”

According to Kuliga, an im-mense amount of dress cuts have been given out since the policy change, and the violations have been worse.

“It’s unfortunate that the nature of being a teenager is to push the limits,” said Kuliga. “And this one isn’t a limit that should be pushed, because the only place to go with it is hanging out of your shorts.”

ing to have my parents and brother watch me compete at the Olympics,” Escolta said. “Having them watch me com-pete at the highest level pos-sible would be like repaying them for everything they’ve done for me.”

Escolta will be moving up to the senior division and is aware that his competition will be much tougher. He says he is up to the challenge.

“I don’t really get

Photo courtesy of Geremy Escolta

Dress code changed, limits pushedBy ANNA DAGUM News Editor

intimidated before fights,” Escolta said. “I wouldn’t be fighting at this level if I wasn’t good. I usually do most of the intimidating.”

Feature 5

Allison StaffordOriginally from: Seattle, WAEducation: Stanford UniversityDepartment: ScienceFun Fact: She swum 1500 metersin a single day.

Dylan ShelleyOriginally from: Whittier, CAEducation: SF State UniversityDepartment: MathFun Fact: He served as a White House Intern for Bill Clinton.

Dy NguyenOriginally from: San Jose, CAEducation: SF State UniversityDepartment: Special EducationFun Fact: She makes and sells terarriums, containers that display plants.

Erica Villalba Originally from: San Jose, CA Education: San Jose State University Department: Counseling Fun Fact: Once she spent two months backpacking in Europe.

Shannon Schadler Originally from: Palo Alto, CA Education: UC Santa Barbara Department: Library Fun Fact: She loves Disney and enjoys traveling.

Tovah SkilesOriginally from: San Leandro, CAEducation: UC Davis, Sacramento State UniversityDepartment: SpanishFun Fact: She attended the Olympics over the summer and saw Gabby Douglas win her gold medal.

Ian Perdikomatis Originally from: Ireland Education: SF State University Department: Math Fun Fact: He likes to surf, snowboard and spend time with his five-year-old twin girls.

Sophie StateOriginally from: Napa, CAEducation: Stanford UniversityDepartment: ScienceFun Fact: She was an audience member on The Price is Right.

Kim Hansen Originally from: San Francisco, CA Education: SF State University Department: Science Fun Fact: She lived in Guatemala for seven years teaching high school science.

Clare Szydlowski Originally from: Buffalo, NY Education: UC Santa Cruz, SF State Department: Art Fun Fact: She spent part of her summer working on an organic dairy farm milking goats in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Tamesha Wise Originally from: San Francisco, CA Education: SF State University Department: Counseling Fun Fact: She is all about the 49ers and the Lakers.

Beth PetersOriginally from: Atlanta, GAEducation: Davidson College, Stanford UniversityDepartment: Math Fun Fact: She played indoor soccer in a national championship tournament.

Demian MartensOriginally from: Mendocino, CAEducation: CSU HumboldtDepartment: MathFun Fact: At age seven, he was in the movie Cuba Crossing.

Librarian, counselors, and teachers oh my!

As the school year kicks off, new faces adorn the campus in all different forms. The Raven Report talked with the 13 additions to the 2012 -2013 Sequoia staff to find out what makes them unique.

—Compiled by Araceli Efigenio, Feature Editor

6 Opinion

Sequoia High School

Raven Report2012-2013

Editor-in-Chief Hanna BolañosOnline Editor Caroline Lempert Sports Editor Laurel Dearborn

Feature Editors Lily Hartzell Araceli EfigenioNews Editor Anna Dagum

Page Editors Erick Castro Jarrett Crowell Ty Dewes

Staff ReportersAngelica Calderon Anthony Dufour Ashley Hall Becca Melmon Brianna Escobdo Cam Rebosio Carlos Garcia Carmen Vescia

Claire Bugos Dalia Jude Glenn Billman Jamie Guaspari Jenna Paliughi Kyle Shea Lorna Wake Matvari Maharaj Paul Kiraly Sabrina Villanueva-Avalos Simon Greenhill

AdviserKim Vinh

Mission StatementThe Raven Report strives to provide Sequoia High School with

informative, engaging, and relevant news. The staff will exercise integrity and adaptability while promoting justice and transparency through

professional reporting about the school, the community, and the world.

Letters to the EditorThe Raven Report welcomes letters to the editor from students,

parents, or community members, sent to Room 308 or by email to ravenreport09@gmail.com. Letters must include the writer’s

full name and ID number, and the staff reserves the right to edit for space and style.

Find us on Twitter and Facebook.Facebook: www.facebook.com/ravenreportTwitter: @ravenreport

The 11th Commandment Thou shalt not show thy butt cheeks

0 period, 0 problems

BEEP BEEP BEEP. The deaf-ening sound of my alarm at 6:30 a.m. I roll out of bed, against my will, leaving my sanctuary of warmth and

dream-land. It’s Monday morning, and I love my 0 period!

During these first few weeks of school, waking up for zero period has actually been helping my sleep cycle. With a 0 period, I force myself to go to sleep earlier and get even more sleep .

Even after a few weeks of the early wake up, I am already getting used to it and it is becoming a routine. And if I am tired after 6th, I can just come home and take a quick nap before starting my homework.

While I hear many kids whining about their early classes, I welcome the 6:30 a.m. wake up call. Having a 0 pe-riod allows me to have a free seventh and take seven classes.

In my free period, I can do dumb stuff with my friends and pretend like I am starting my homework early and

being productive. With the schedule changes from last year, not having a seventh is great because I actually get a chance to hang out with my friends. Without a free seventh, the day is over at 3:40 p.m. and that basically kills the whole afternoon.

In the event that I actu-ally do need to start some homework, I can go in and see most of my teachers who have seventh period preps. Having a free seventh is also amazing because I get to leave school an hour early and watch all of the suckers reluctantly trudging up to their never-ending seventh periods. This is one of the greatest feelings in the world and makes my day all the time, especially on Fridays.

Another perk of the 0 period is parking. These last couple of years at Sequoia, the parking situation has been ugly. But arriving here at 7:20 a.m. every day guarantees one a primo parking spot. That way, one is not stuck parking on Brewster or James

but can easily find a spot in the senior or junior lots.

Waking up at 6:30 a.m. every morn-ing means that I am the first one up in my house, therefore allowing me to eat all of the Lucky Charms before my brother wakes up for school. A hearty breakfast is important for school, and

having a 0 pe-riod assures that I can eat what-ever I want for breakfast with-out sharing or being scolded.

Lastly, during 0 period, I find

that the class-room environ-

ment is a lot better than during other periods. There are no noisy classes in the halls going to an assembly, or kids working on their English projects just outside of our door. The school at 7:30 a.m. is peaceful. This offers a perfect environment to learn, or go to sleep in 0 period. Just kidding, Ms. Banister.

Having a 0 period has really worked out great for me, and fits my schedule perfectly. Though it may sound unin-viting at first, I am pleased with get-ting up an hour earlier than normal and going to school at 7:30 a.m.

By JARRETT CROWELLPage Editor

Having a free seventh is also amazing because I get to leave school an hour early and watch all of the suckers reluc-tantly trudging up to their never-ending seventh periods. This is one of the great-est feelings in the world and makes my day all the time, especially on Fridays.

0 period reveals benefits and opportunities for student learning

Uncle Ben reminded Peter Parker, “With great power, comes great re-sponsibility.” Truer words were never spoken. The Sequoia female student population has indeed received a great privilege, thanks to a recent change in the school dress code policy.

Dress codes are meant to cre-ate order in a school environment by keeping students appropriately dressed. This used to mean: “Girls, (and boys), please don’t show your legs, or people will become distracted and fail their classes.” As of this year, though, the announcement was made: shorts now only need to cover a student’s buttocks, instead of need-ing to reach mid-thigh. And so, we of the Raven Report Staff, present to you the 11th commandment: thou shalt not show thy butt cheeks.

This change in the dress code is a blessing and somewhat of a breakthrough for Sequoia’s Campus Control Policy. Students, particularly female students, have often been stopped in the hallways for wearing shorts and skirts that are possibly too short for school.

It was often joked that the rule was really knee-length and not mid-thigh due to the amounts of dress cuts be-ing handed out like pink slips during

a recession. Things were getting out of hand.

To those students who still feel rel-atively unfamiliar with the seemingly harsh enforcement of the previous dress code, we would like to reinforce how critical it is that the new shorts rule not be abused.

Yes, you looked really cute in your size zero Hollister shorts at that random Jason Aldean or Toby Keith concert, but you wouldn’t wear them to Ms. Hansen’s house for a barbeque (assuming you actually want to look tasteful). We are completely capable of wearing cute, appropriate shorts to school.

So, be smart and respect the new dress code. When choosing shorts to wear on a hot day, think about the privilege we’ve been given. There is a large gap between shorts that reach your knees and booty-shorts. Please take the time to find the in-between. This is not an opportunity to break out the latter -- it is an opportunity to finally wear normal shorts and not have severe paranoia every time we walk down the hallways.

Let’s be mature and display our ability to handle responsibility. The U.S. Secretary of Education did just visit us, afterall. We wouldn’t want to ruin his thoughts about us.

By The Numbers

277Students have 0 periods

13.8% of students have 0 periods

10 Subjects taught during 0 period

3Subjects taught last year during 0 period

7:30 is when zero period starts

87Spaces available in the senior parking lot

Staff Editorial

Feature 7

By ERICK CASTROPage Editor

Teachers stay at school during summer... or do they?

Sequoia teachers hate summer, and so they choose to spend the vacation in the dark dungeons of their classrooms prepar-ing for the upcoming year. Or so students b e l ie ve .

H o w -e v e r , many of S e q u o i a’s t e a c h e r s take ad-vantage of summer to spend time away from Sequoia. Sev-eral teachers tied the knot, others travelled to Europe and South America, and many found time to re-charge before school began.

English teacher Katie Kar-lin helped with the planning of her brother’s wedding and then travelled to Europe. She spent time in Cam-bridge, England and in the Czech Republic and Hungary.

“I think any time I have the opportu-nity to just be alone and to especially be in another country and to read and immerse myself in the culture of somewhere else, it impacts my teaching because it makes me a more interesting person, so I have more to share with my students,” said Karlin.

Psychology teacher David Wey-ant defied student beliefs this summer.

“In terms of what I did over the sum-mer, nothing too academic, just sort of rejuvenating and re-energizing,” said Weyant. “I did do a little work, collect-ing some things for my psychology class, but the main thing is just coming back rested and getting ready to tackle school.”

Weyant spent time in the East Coast visiting family and friends, then came back and toured California where he was visited by friends. He also went on a mountain bike trip in Utah.

“I just was able to discon-nect from one thing and men-tally take a break. So if you’re able to disconnect, you come back refreshed,” said Weyant.

Jane Woodman, who teaches band and English, spent her summer in New Mexico, Okla-homa City where she par-ticipated in a graduate pro-gram, and in northern Texas.

“Getting time away from Sequoia absolutely re-ener-

gized m e t o come b a c k . A l s o , t w o of the t h i n g s that I did over the sum-mer were d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d

to creative w r i t i n g ,

which is something that I like to try to bring into my English classes,” said Woodman, “So some of the things I learned for my own writing and read-ing, I’ll be bringing into the classroom.”

The trips and activities teachers par-ticipate in over the summer affect the manner in which a class and their at-titudes for the rest of the school year.

“I think it’s always good for [students] to see us as people who have families and friends and life experiences outside of the classroom, so I think the more of that we can share, the better because we’re accessible that way,” said Karlin.

Sequoia SaysWhat do you think teachers

do over the summer?

“Let loose in an attempt to be young again.”

Alana PuertoJunior

Chris OrtizJunior

“The teachers gather and mingle at a teacher

party.”

Megan DaySophomore

“They die then resurrect when

school starts again.”

Dipaul TandelSenior

“Get together and play bingo.”

—Compiled by Araceli EfigenioFeature Editor

Photos courtesy of Jane Woodman and Katie Karlin

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8 Sports

Matt Jenkins is the only freshman to ever play for Coach Rob Poulos on varsity. He is a three year starter, has participated in three other sports, has a 4.15 GPA, and never played football before walking onto the Sequoia field three years ago.

“I’ve been coaching for 17 years and Matt is the first freshman to ever play on the varsity team for me,” Poulos said. “He had never played organized football before he walked onto the field fresh-man year but he still made the varsity team. That never hap-pens.”

Jenkins, now a junior, de-veloped a passion for football when he was in seventh grade as he watched his fa-v o r i t e t e a m , the Oregon Ducks, on TV with his family and played pickup games with his friends.

Originally he was eyed by the coaches for his natural kicking ability which helped him land third highest scor-ing kicker overall in CCS in 2010.

Now, however, he has moved to become the Chero-kees main force at running

Jenkins ready to excell in his third varsity yearback.

“This year he’s going to play a lot of offense and defense in addition to doing some kick-ing. He’s kind of blossoming in more than one area now,” Poulos said.

While at Sequoia, he has also been a part of the soccer team, baseball team, and the track and field squad. Foot-ball is different though.

“Football is more of a com-mitment and it feels a lot more of a part of your life than other sports,” Jenkins said. “It feels cool to be a part of something that people think is such an important thing and it’s cool to be a main contributor.”

Being a three year varsity starter allows Jenkins to help other players that might not have as much experience.

“I don’t feel like I’m above anyone

[ b e -c a u s e I have been on

varsity longer]. We are all one team and the fact that I have been playing since freshman year just gives me the oppor-tunity to help other people as much as I can and to help contribute as a team,” Jenkins said.

This can help him to be more of a leader, even when it’s hard.

“It’s hard sometimes to be a

leader especially when you’re around your friends and you are expected to be an authority around them. It’s hard to have a balance between friendship and authority. To be a good leader you have to show that you have their best interests in mind and they have to realize that,” Jenkins said.

Life doesn’t exist all on the football field though.

If college football doesn’t work out, he hopes to focus on business and make school more of central priority.

“I’m really interested in business. I think that it would be really cool to be a CEO and start my own business. I think it would be cool to be in a po-sition to be able to influence

people in positive ways while still making a good living.”

In his free time, Jenkins also is an avid musician.

“I play the piano and the guitar and the ukulele. That’s really important to me. I’ve been passionate about it since I was young,” Jenkins said.

Late night practices and hard workouts seem hard without goals in mind, but Jenkins knows what drives him forward every single day.

“Every day I strive to be better in every possible way that I can,” Jenkins said. “I try to keep my goals constantly in mind.”

As published onPrep2Prep.com

By LAUREL DEARBORNSports Editor

But before the Chero-kees face the Wildcats and the Scots they must first go up against the rest of the PAL Ocean Divi-sion and make sure to like each day and experience in the moment.

“Being a senior is great,” Bertero said. “ I don’t really know how else to put it except that now it really stands out that every practice and every game matters.”

Prepare to cheer on your Cherokees at their next home game, Sept. 28 against Half Moon Bay.

Junior running back, linebacker, and kicker Matt Jenkins (40) has proven to be versatile on offense, defense, and in special teams in his third year as a varsity starter.

By ANNA DAGUMNews Editor

A three day week marked the beginning of the school year and also marked the beginning of Sequoia’s first ever Gatorade week.

But beneath the hype that is “G-Week”, there is an underlying con-troversy surrounding the idea behind commercialism in schools.

This new program featured free Gatorade for all fall sports athletes before, during, and after practice, de-buting the company’s newest line of products called “The G series” to high school athletes.

“The G series” includes a range of products that are high in carbs, low in calories, and full of electrolytes to re-plenish the nutrients sweat out.

As the market for new products becomes increasingly more competi-

tive, companies have begun targeting schools as a new frontier for advertis-ing.

“I don’t believe in selling out to cor-porate America,” said volleyball coach Jane Slater, whose opinion is shared among much of the faculty.

“I understand that we rely on tax-payer money, and California is not the most generous when it comes to sup-porting public education. I am not na-ive to that,” World Studies and Build teacher Eric Kobrick said. “So I un-derstand that teachers are often com-pelled to use that method of funding.”

But at what cost will Sequoia be es-sentially bought out by companies?

With the state of the California Public School System budget, schools need all of the funding they can get.

“I can visualize down the line, are we as teachers going to be corporate sponsors?” Kobrick said.

“Like a race car driver, I’ll come to school in my suit with my decals, are my opinions going to be bought? It could happen if schools are so under-funded that teachers might be tempt-ed to cross a line.”

Schools are supposed to be a place of learning, where one can concen-trate on studies and not be distracted by commercialism.

However, if commercialism is nec-essary to provide our school with items necessary to learning or enhanc-ing performance, then some teachers argue that advertising in justified.

“The fact that Gatorade provided so many products free of charge for all athletes to sample was really the best part for me,” Sequoia Ath-letics Director and Football Coach Rob Poulos said.

But will advertising marketed at high school students truly sway their decisions and buying habits?

“I think kids nowadays are so bom-barded with all kinds of products,” IB History teacher Kathleen Banister said. “But at the same time I think that they are savvy about what prod-ucts they choose.”

When obtaining a product is easy,

and the merchandise is free, high school students will tend to buy into that product regardless of its effect.

We can all be bribed, and we are all tempted by free products such as ciga-rettes, or services such as the military are also items that may be troubling to the administration.

“I see that sometimes [advertising] could be dangerous to use in schools

if the products were used in

the wrong way, or advertised as the wrong thing,” Banister

said.Regardless of the controversy it

brought, Gatorade week truly reso-nated with the athletes.

“When we were doing stunts, our group was full of energy and working at 110 percent,” cheerleader McKenna Brown said.

Freshman quarterback Scudder Stockwell felt the same way.

“I had a pretty good week of foot-ball thanks to Gatorade week,” Stock-well said.

Gatorade week: the reality of a commercialistic age

“I don’t believe in selling out to corporate America.”

—Teacher Jane Slater

“Every day I strive to be better in every possible way that I can.”

WIN(continued from page 1)

Photo by alsace patrone

—Junior Matt Jenkins