1521 N. HIGHLAND AVE, LOS ANGELES, CA 90028 VOLUME VII, ISSUE III DECEMBER 2009

Hollywood High • Home of the Sheiks

The Crimson Chronicle

Man on the streetINDEx2 • Op/Ed 8 • Entertainment

4 • News 10 • Sports

Best and worst gifts with New Year Resolutions!

See Pages 2 & 3

Hollywood High School’s cheerleading team is on the verge of disbanding after the resignation of their coach, Kristy King. Unless a new coach is found, there will be no cheer-leaders when basketball season begins, according to those in-volved. According to King, her resig-nation was due to the unsuit-able pairing of the LACER (Lit-eracy, Arts, Culture, Educations and Recreation) program and the cheerleading team. LACER is the organization that oper-ates after-school tutoring and assistance for students. After budget cuts eliminated the previous coach, LACER took over the drill and cheerleading teams. The program was “not

Cheerleaders Cheer No MoreHollywood’s cheerleaders may not return for the spring semesterCHARLES RAINEY CHRONICLE REPORTER

a good fit,” said King. Ques-tions were raised over the way funding was spent. “The cheer-leaders were not provided with enough resourc-es,” said King. All of this inter-nal turmoil led to King’s decision to resign follow-ing the home-coming game in October. King says she has been a cheer-leading coach for 15 years and that in that time the LACER pro-gram’s organiza-tion contrasted from others she has been accustomed to. “In all of the LACER meetings, I was never asked to attend any

of them,” she said. Despite the loss of their coach, the cheerleaders held practice

and cheered, (with the permis-sion of Principal Jaime Morales) at the Nov. 13 football game against Bernstein High, accord-

ing to Jhosselin Chavez, cheer-leading captain. If the current cheerleaders

wish to save the team from fad-ing into obscurity, “they are go-ing to have to fight for it,” said Chavez, a senior.

Principal Morales is a major source of support for the cheer-leading team. He said that ar-rangements have been made for next semester regarding the cheerleaders, as well as the drill team, to train sixth period. Although they have the op-portunity to train themselves, “they need a coach that can train them and go with them to games,” he said. This is not the first time a coach has been prompted to leave the team. In fact, others were fired for unknown reasons. The his-tory of these fired coaches has been a quite repetitive pattern, according to King. “Many coaches have been let go because of all of these un-resolved problems,” she said. In order to end this repetition, the internal problems must be eliminated.

Mentors Helping Mentees

The Mentor Program is a new plan which is taking the whole school by storm. Twelfth grade advisories are pairing up with tenth grade advisories while eleventh grade advisories are teaming with ninth grade advi-sories. The purpose of the Men-tor Program is to prevent the drop-out rate from increasing - and it very well could be the solution. Older students mentor the

ANTONIO LOPEzCHRONICLE REPORTER

younger students by giving them advice with whatever questions the younger stu-dents have. This can include advice in life, school or even help with homework. In addition, the Mentor Program is a way for teach-ers to reach out to their stu-dents and get to know them better which produces a sense of involvement in ad-visory classrooms. However, mentees are not the only ones who will be able to take advantage

of this new program. Men-tors themselves get a few nice perks as well. They can use the mentoring program as part of their resume for extra curricular activities (college, anybody?) and not only that, but it can count towards community service hours which are a require-ment for high school gradu-ation. It also gives mentors the opportunity to be in the shoes of their teachers for a brief moment and see what that is like.

The Gift of Blood Keeps on GivingLUISA ITURBIDE CHRONICLE REPORTER

When one donates blood, it is replenished by healthy bone marrow, which con-stantly produces red blood cells. So, on Nov. 19, stu-dents gathered at the big gym for the traditional blood drive to help save lives. Some were afraid to donate blood, others were excited, but everyone was proud to be a part of some-thing beneficial to the lives of those in need of blood. “Blood is universal. It can

go to anybody to help save people,” said Nancy Rivas, a senior. The universal blood type is O- and only 7% of Americans have it. The blood drive also helped raise awareness for those who didn’t know how much blood is needed every day. According to the American Red Cross, one out of every 10 people admitted into a hospital needs blood, so about 38,000 blood dona-tions are needed daily. “It’s nice to have a blood drive be-cause schools are like blood banks. High schools are a

good source to get blood do-nations,” said Kevin Jimenez, a junior. Hosting a blood drive at school was also convenient since there is no common-place to donate. “It’s much easier when it’s at school. If it wasn’t here, I would’ve never been aware,” said Vicky Saati, a senior. In order to raise awareness, Leadership held an assem-bly to inform students that one pint of blood would help save the lives of up to three people. Students aged 16-17 could donate; however,

16 year olds needed a per-mission slip signed by their parents.During the assem-bly, the American Red Cross announced that they would offer a $1,000 scholarship to Hollywood High School if 500 pints of blood were do-nated. Although this blood drive only gathered a total of 234 pints, next spring there will be a second one to raise the amount. Joseph Herman, a senior in Leadership, said, “I’m proud of the people who donated and it would be nice if they kept doing it.”

david khudaverdyan and boston alba participate in Stephen Lange’s and Geoffrey Buck’s planned mentoring activities.

Photo Credit: adaM brenner

one of 234 pints donated that will save 702 lives. Another drive will be held in the spring.

Photo Credit: luisa iturbide

there is a little less Cheer this holiday season with the abrupt departure of coach King.

See page 10

new years is hereThe New Year is only weeks away!

See Pages 6 & 7

tardy PassesThe new tardy system may be running behind schedule

See Page 2

2 DECEMBER 2009

OP/ED

Crimson ChroniCle staff

Editor in Chief: AdAm Brenner News Editor: KiArA HurtAdo Features Editor: elizABetH mArquez Opinion Editor: lissette morAles Entertainment Editor: BreigH montgomery REpORtERs JessicA AcostA ceciliA Flores mAriA Alcoser luisA iturBide AnA BArron Antonio lopez sree BAtcHu AntHony quiÑones JAFet BucArAm cHArles rAiney Kevin cAlenzAni KArlA sAmAyoA Adrienne dAndAn mAlinA yAKHAmAn

adviser

Karen Cusolito

tWeet your feedback @HHsnews crimsonchron@aol.com

The sTudenT newspaper, The Crimson ChroniCle, of hollywood high sChool is a publiC forum, wiTh iTs sTudenT ediTorial board making all deCisions ConCerning iTs ConTenTs. leTTers To The ediTor are welComed and will be published as spaCe allows.opinions in leTTers are noT neCessairly Those of The sTaff, nor should any opinion expressed in a publiC forum be ConsTrued as The opinion or poliCy of The adminsTraTion, unless so aTTribuTed.

Most Hollywood High students have learned to fear the dread-ed tardy ticket machine; oth-erwise known as the PLASCO System. Thanks to this new sys-tem, now, when the bell rings, and a student is late to Adviso-ry, he/she has to present to the main office dutifully. show their ID, and receive a tardy ticket. Students complain nonstop, saying that their ticket was issued under some unfair circumstance. They also feel that they would have made it on time to class had it not been for this strange incon-sistency. This semester, the schedule changed, therefore we have lost five precious minutes in the morning. This dramatic change in schedule has seri-ously affected some students, who had their routine all planned out. Kimberly Torres, SAS 10th grader, said “I need those five extra minutes!” She has been the lucky receiver of three tardy tickets all of which she accredits to the change in schedule. As if it were not enough to re-ceive a tardy ticket in the first place, some very unfortunate students receive tickets before the bell has even rung. Torres received a ticket with the time stamp of 7:54:07am, however as it is understood by most of us, the bell does not ring un-til 7:55am. Somebody made

a dreadful error that cost this ill-fated student an after school detention with Sgt. Adams. But look at the bright side, according to Assistant- Prin-cipal, Marco Tolj tardies have gone down from 230 to 61 stu-dents. It is safe to assume that students are learning what the

ticket machine is capable of, and are starting to arrive to school a little bit earlier just to be safe. One possible reason why stu-dents are receiving tardy tickets marked incorrectly is simply that the time on the computer is off. Tolj said “These are issues that need to be addressed.” “We all have to understand that it is very hard to get things one hun-dred percent accurate the very first time.” When a student is tardy, they must present to the main office and wait in line. This line hap-

pens to be enormous and after a very long waiting period, the student ends up being extreme-ly late to advisory. While some rejoice in the fact that they are spending time out of class, oth-ers worry because they are los-ing valuable time that could be better spent on finishing last

night’s homework. But not to worry young students, soon a PLASCO computer will be installed in every SLC office, hence speeding up the line and helping you get to Advisory a little bit faster. When we first found out about the new tardy policy, we were soothed by the pos-sible rewards that one might acquire by receiving a “good ticket”. Has anybody received a “good ticket”? I don’t think

so. That is because rewards have not yet been thought of. “Good tickets” will be issued when, and only when, every little problem that the PLASCO system has is fixed. While we wait for the PLAS-CO to be fixed, we must try to do all we can to get to school on time. Remember it is the only way to avoid a tardy tick-et. Meanwhile,all we can do is dream about one day going to the Student’s Store to cash in a “good ticket”. Remember it is does not hurt to dream.

Unfair Tardy Passes for the MassesMARIA ALCOSERCHRONICLE REPORTER

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I would definitely like to see more about the latest music and movies along with their ratings, in our school newspa-per. I would also like to see a fashion column with the do’s and don’ts on what to wear. I’d like to see a sport’s column about who’s playing who and when along with the scores. I’d also like to see a column about the latest technology and how we’re using it plus relationship tips for couples and friends, and information about school clubs.-Ibiyemi Familoni and Dulce Gutierrez, 9th grade

Dear Editor, One of the things that I liked from the past issue was the article about the movie “Para-normal Activity.” I thought it was awesome because it talked about how freaky it was and it actually got me to see it. Another article that I liked from the past issue was the letters to the editor because it made me realize that people care about our problems. -Cindy Barron , 9th grade

The following is a letter from a magnent student to Superintendent Ramon Cortines: i am currently a freshman at Hollywood High school of performing Arts. i am fourteen years old and, like many other classmates of mine, passionate about performing. However, throughout the year we are be-ing pressured into fear over one looming factor, the performing Arts magnet may be closed. right now, we are told that the main reason the magnet program may be shut down is because of cst scores. i understand that the csts are a good way of track-ing how much a student has learned over the course of the year, although i do not think they should be determining factor of how much a pupil has achieved. By thinking artistically, students rationalize in ways they never have before. By cutting arts programs, you are cutting the cultural heart and soul out of America, and what makes it a creative, inventive na-tion. please save our performing Arts magnet.-Savannah Duplissea9th Grade

Man on the Street What are the best and worst gifts you have received for Christmas?

“My best present was an iPod touch, it was my best present because it enter-tains me.”-Carlos Zuna

“My worst present was a sweater. It was my worst pres-ent because I was expecting a toy.-Anthony Giron

“My best present was a scooter, because I had wanted it for a long time.”-Norberto Terrazas

Photographed and Interviewed by: Anthony Quinones

OP/EDDECEMBER 2009 3

An evident borderline distin-guishes the variations between what will be referred to as needs and wants. needs are the objects of necessity, the indispensable fuel for the human drive, for ex-ample; food, shelter, sufficient amount of clothing, and so on. As long as it provides for the hu-man’s necessary survival. wants are the objects that ap-peal to the human mind’s desire, objects that are not necessary and merely provoke a stage of mini-mal joy to a person, for example; a gigantic suv, an enormous mansion, a closet jungle of brand-ed clothing, and so on. A simple serving of a slice of steak opposed to a triple colossal cheeseburger, an apartment for one as opposed to a mansion for one, a pair of blue jeans as op-posed to leather pants; the logi-cal choice of each pairing is evi-dently necessary while the other is ludicrous. considering their behavior, it is most predictable to understand what the adolescent mind wants, at least what the average Holly-wood High student will want. Any technological device used to communicate with friends within their social circle, or per-haps expand the circle is an obvi-ous want. cell phones were origi-nally used for emergency calls and important calls, and perhaps a few chats. the modern genera-tion has risen above the essential use of the device, and has formed it into a texting cult. incessant use

of the device in class, instead of the student abiding by their scho-lastic duty, is an obvious example of what is indeed unnecessary. A cell phone is necessary for im-portant conversations when an individual is anywhere except his own household. so now that the december winds speak of the upcoming hol-idays, most notably christmas, many are preparing the lists of gifts, the lists that will fulfill their desires. For what reason is it necessary to have ten pairs of shoes? For what reason is it necessary to pierce a scrap of metal through one’s lip? A playstation 3? Any form of currency used to purchase these products are now wasted on an object that seems to simply exist to distract an in-dividual from his personal goals. Adolescents are influenced by the social circles around them, and are branded by the devil’s mark if they do not comply with any social standards. these social circles divert the individual’s at-tention from what is imperative, their prime goal. For example, a female decides to indent her natural hair with bright highlights. of course, she is satisfying her own desire for she is made to believe that this will alter her appearance from or-dinary to beautiful. she obtained this form of mentality from the social circle that she presides in. it is not she who has altered her appearance, but the denizens of her social surroundings. she has

purchased the rearrangement of her physical appearance not for herself, but for the sake of others, merely to empower the impres-sion of the social circle. But to accomplish what is nec-essary, to reveal the true power and capabilities of the individual, ignoring the pointless diversions from the exterior world, is truly a virtue. A rare virtue at that, since the school seems to be infected by a plague of inferior mentali-ties. the common person wor-ries about what the other person worries about, instead of utilizing their own mind. christmas should not be a time of exploiting the common people by demanding presents, for it is unnecessary. if anything, altru-ism is preferable. Although, the virtue of selflessness should not be taken advantage of by helping the common people in order to impress the social circles. if that is what one wishes for, then altruism in the form of help-ing others just to feel the virtue of assisting another human’s life, then it is acceptable. otherwise, the holidays are another day in the year. Another day to fulfill the aspirations of the ego. to put aside the desires and wants of the social mind, and to focus and im-plement the creative prowess of the individual himself. As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in his famous essay Self Reliance“My life is for itself and not for a spectacle.”

What the Adolescent Mind WantsCHARLES RAINEYCHRONICLE REPORTER

teachers: stand Firm!on deadlines that isANTONIO LOPEzCHRONICLE REPORTER

Students always find a way to weasel themselves through the system only to delay what is due tomorrow

Deadlines were made for a reason and the fact that they are changed is simply overshadowing the purpose of the deadline in the first place! Recently, there have been so many field trips that some rumors have even come about that the school is considering to cut all field trips and it is a little bit obvious that some teachers are beginning to feel annoyed. I, am one of the students, who finds this irritating. If a teacher says that an assignment is due tomorrow you expect them to collect it the next day, but when kids all of a sudden complain about turning in the assignment when it is due then

that’s when we have a problem. Students always find a way to weasel themselves through the system only to delay what is due tomorrow into a week from now, yet, in the end it does not even really matter because students just end up completing the assignment the day before the new due date. Why even force the teacher to delay whatever they could teach now to another day, just for an assignment a couple of students decided not to do? It’s pointless and only delays the lesson plan that the teacher had in store for the students. So now we know why the overall GPA of students is so low; When the test comes along they have all realized that they haveve learned nothing because they have forced the teacher to spend one weeks worth of class time for an assignment that was due ages ago. You would think that they would learn from their mistakes and try to manage their time a little better to make room for something as important as their homework, but that’s exactly the opposite of what happens. Students seem to have an attention span of about a day! When a new assignment is introduced, all they do is complain amongst themselves and wait for the deadline to come along. When it does, the first thing they do is complain to the teacher about it instead of doing it on the day that the assignment was assigned. This cycle repeats itself over and over again, however, the excuses continue to range widely. They can go as far as something as important as an SAT to something completely irrelevant as a club meeting.

Let’s start with field trips. First of all if a math teacher gives a student an assignment on a Thursday and it’s due on Friday then the student has one whole day to do it like the rest of them. Just because they can’t slack off and do it the same day that its due in advisory does not mean that they have a right to complain about something that isn’t fair in their eyes. Some may argue that having a delayed due date is a good thing but when you don’t get to learn the last three chapters of a book just because of delays for simple assignments then it becomes a concern. SAT’s are another topic. We all

know that SAT’s are highly

important and that a student needs to be able to do their best on it in order to get into a good college but let’s all be realistic and realize that the SAT’s do not last for three days. If you have it on a Saturday then you have Friday and Sunday to do your work. If it’s on a Sunday then you have Friday and Saturday to do it. It isn’t that hard and I doubt a teacher would give you homework that would take an entire day if you actually worked on it rigorously and continuously for a long time. If they do, then you probably failed to realize that the homework was assigned two weeks ago and that you’re just now deciding to do it. Some things are understandable, however. Things that consume up more than five hours of your time and are during the weekdays can become a problem such as magnet productions. I’ve heard of people rehearsing from 1 P.M to 6:30 P.M. That’s terrible and I’m sure that the student is dead-tired after all of that work and deserves some rest. There are some excuses that are acceptable but little things such as field trips just are not good enough. People who actually want to learn something and get on with the show are the ones who suffer. Teachers have the option to not care at all because they’re still getting paid but unfortunately us students don’t have that luxury. It’s time that the excess field trips and whining was put to a fiery end once and for all. In order to get what you want there needs to be some sacrifice made. It’s time to make a decision between a field trip or credit for your work.

“-Go to the marines -Finish high school -Stay out of trouble.” Douglas Lopez, 12th grade

“Grow 10 inches”

Maddy Echeverria 12th grade

what is your new year’s resolution?

man on the street

“Get a tattoo, graduate and make a mix-tape.”Russel Floyd, 12th grade

Photographed and Interviewed by: Sree Batchu

4 DECEMBER 2009

NEWSLights, Camera, Action: Sheik TV Rolls Webopedia, an online dictionary for technical definitions, defines new media as a “term for many different forms of [new] electronic communications … in relation to ‘old’ media such as print newspapers and magazines.” Hollywood High has started its new media venture by utilizing web blogs, automated phone calling systems and now Sheik TV. SheikTV, a video podcast, first started out as a promotional video for Hollywood and now is a continuing series, encompassing student body news, announcements and Sheik life. Sheik TV’s goal is to unite Hollywood and improve upon the foundation leadership has already built, stated Antonio Manriquez, Video Production Teacher in an interview with The Crimson Chronicle. Manriquez added that another factor for SheikTV

is that the technology is already here. Students have access to streaming videos both at home and on mobile devices, creating a podcast was the next logical step in distributing information. Manriquez’s 5th period, Video

Production Crew, is responsible for creating, editing and publishing SheikTV. So far the class was able to produce two new episodes of ShiekTV this semester, Leadership Welcome Message and Leadership

Homecoming Announcements all captured, edited and published by Manrizquez’s 5th period. When asked how long it takes to publish an episode of ShiekTV, Manriquez replied “when shooting

Leadership Welcome Message, a 45 second sound byte took around 2 hours and 30 takes to complete. [Furthermore] it takes a few weeks to edit and publish videos before any video is ready.” Manriquez assures fans of SheikTV to continuing subscribing to ShiekTV’s iTunes channel and expect more episodes to follow. New episodes will be posted under the Media Gallery section of Hollywood’s website and added to the iTunes feed. Notable SheikTV productions included last year’s, 2008-2009 Digital Yearbook, offering an environmental friendly but also new media venture, for Hollywood. As the school year continues, more episodes will be published as lights camera and action is an on going rhythm for SheikTV and its young Spielberg admirers.

Budget cuts have forced several Hollywood High teachers to find other means of transporting their students to field trips due to lack of buses. As a result, each of the SLC’s can only have five field trips for the entire year. Also, each bus must have at least 52 people, that includes students and all of the teachers and chaperones that are supervising the trip. According to Ms. Kimberly Smith, the Title 1 coordinator, every field trip must be district approved before the teachers and students take one step out of the door. The school is only allowed 30 buses until January 2010. This budget doesn’t necessarily restrict the amount of magnet buses, but it does affect the buses for the early release dates. So far, none of the important field trips have been canceled because certain institutions were kind enough to provide their own buses, including Cal State Northridge, which transported about 50 seniors on Nov. 23. Several teachers have been able to use other methods of transportation besides buses. For example, Mr. Manriquez (MET) had to walk his students to both the Egyptian Theatre and the Mann Chinese Theatre. It was fortunate for him that those two places were relatively close by so there wasn’t a real need for buses. However, for his next trip, he and Mr. Carmicle (SAS) took money out of their own pockets to pay the Dash bus fare for their students as well as

themselves to the Writer’s Guild Association (WGA) on Nov. 19. On the other hand, the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) trip in early June that Carmicle has traditionally been planned for his students will go on as usual. He and his students will walk up to Hollywood Boulevard and use the train to get to their destination. Many teachers have been forced to be less ambitious with their field trips and find other “creative” ways to travel to that specific location. It is understandable that our economy is currently in bad shape and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is doing everything with their power with what little resources they have left. However, an eleventh grade Hollywood High student named Maria Guzman (SAS) says that the lack of buses for field trips will make “the learning experience more forgettable.” Field trips shouldn’t constrain a students’ education. They should strengthen it, Guzman said. According to teachers, some of the students’ education takes place outside the classroom as well as indoors. Manriquez has stated that without field trips, school moments would just be “a very bland blur” in students’ memories. Field trips are those remarkable moments that make school unforgettable and should not be ruined from the unfortunate reality that this year Hollywood High has a limited supply of buses.

Field Trips left to Imagination

An exciting trip for students at Hollywood High School is now available in August, 2010. Mrs. Kamen will be chaperoning a group of interested students for nine fun-filled days in Costa Rica. Activities include kayaking on Lake Arenal, viewing the active Poas volcano, visiting the hot springs, and taking the canopy tour through the Santa Elena

Costa Rica: Field Trip to Paradise Needs Students

Billy Jean Thrilled by the Smooth Criminal

Cloud Forest. The canopy tour allows students to see the cloud forest the way birds and monkeys see it. A local expert guide takes the students on a series of zip lines to the tops of the trees to show them one of the planet’s most fascinating ecological systems. The price of $2,000 includes the round-trip airfare, three meals daily, hotel stays, and all

TAGUHI TAVITIANCHRONICLE CONTRIBUTOR

Photo Courtesy: sheik tv

Photo Credit: JessiCa aCosta

of the tours and activities in Costa Rica. The trip is through EF Tours, which has been in business for more than 40 years. Interested students can see Mrs. Kamen in room 424 to learn more about this “thrill of a lifetime” vacation.

tis the season: Magnet students rehearse a tribute to Michael Jackson. The annual Winter Show had three perfor-mances over the weekend.

asb President natalie rodriguez and Senior Eduardo Umana in a Sheik TV spot announcing homecoming activitiees.

ADAM BRENNEREDITOR-IN-CHIEF

DECEMBER 2009 5

NEWSWanna Byte? A Club for Food Aficionados

About 350 students are writing research papers, creating their own projects and practicing their speaking skills in preparation for the Senior Project presentations on Jan. 19, 2010. “The senior project acts as a bridge between high school and college and/or a career,” according to the Senior Project Survival Guide on Hollywood High’s website. These projects help seniors prepare for college. College assignments require self-motivation, but thankfully

Projects Combine Passion, Creativity and Hard Work

News Briefs

On Thursday, Dec. 17, Hollywood High will be holding its annual Staff vs. Varsity basketball game. The game will be located at the big gym after school at 4:00 p.m. Some of the teachers and staff that will be participating

Time for the Teachers to be Tested

senior projects are there as preparation. Seniors from all small learning communities will deliver seven to 10-min presentations using Power Point. The presentations will run from 1:45 to 3:15 p.m. Each SLC will use classrooms in their respective buildings. Faculty and community members serve as judges. Some students tend to stress out, while others actually find the projects quite simple, especially when you do them on a topic you are passionate

about. “Honestly the seniors that do not like it are lazy, and the teachers that do not want to grade them are too,” says Starla Onyeneke, working on schizophrenia. SAS Senior Allie Rakes said she bypassed AP English in order to be able to complete a senior project. Her topic is on the self-esteem of teenage girls.The real-life part of her project involves mentoring younger students in order to boost their self-esteem. Senior projects do not just help you prepare for the future, but they may even help your

community. For example, Jasmine Torres is working with a non-profit organization, called “Project H.E.L.P” (Hope, Education, Love, and Peace). Her senior project does not just revolve around her, but she helps her community as well by giving the people what they need from the donations her projects receive. One of her projects, “Project Warm Winter,” helps people in need obtain sweaters during the winter. Torres sends emails to organizations asking for donations. Eventually they respond and they send their

donation to “Project H.E.L.P”. “Project H.E.L.P” is in charge of then taking the donations and giving them to shelters, where people in need can receive them. After all the hard work, according to Torres, “It is a real satisfying feeling when you are able to make a difference in someone’s life, even if it is just one.” Senior projects are there for anticipation in the future, so take advantage of the learning experience, and in the end it

will all be worth it.

Emily Taron’s 10th grade advisory girls and Manuel Alas’s 12th grade advisory girls are in a giving mood this Christmas. They are bringing presents to Aviva, a non-profit organization that takes in girls who have been severely abused, incarcerated, or neglected. The gifts will be appreciated since most of the girls at Aviva will not spend the holidays with their family. Aviva is their home, their school, and

‘Tis the Season for Altruism

are Cary Cauley, Daniel Katz, David Payne, Marco Tolj, Manuel Alas, Sabrina Vargas, and Jaime Aravelo. They will compete against Hollywood High’s Varsity basketball team.

Charles Rainey

their life. They get the help they need to better themselves as people and at Aviva, these girls are given a second chance to become someone. Those who wish to give these girls a gift this Christmas, or who would like to know more about Aviva, see Taron in room 423. Gift suggestions include: batteries, beauty items, board games, books, card games, CDs and CD players, diaries and journals and gift cards. Gifts will be accepted until Dec. 18.Malina Yakhaman

JESSICA ACOSTACHRONICLE REPORTER

CECILIA FLORES & MALINA YAKHAMANCHRONICLE REPORTERS

Photo Credit: JessiCa aCosta

no big bytes alloWed: Teeny Bytes invites food lovers on Mondays during lunch in room 124.

Teeny Bytes, a club created by Chalida Sangsawat, Eddie Sa-gastume, 11th grade and 12th

grade magnet students respec-tively, is a club for food aficio-nados everywhere. The club meets every Monday during lunch in room 124 with Sabrina Valle, HNAS Health teacher, as

their sponsor. Teeny Bytes originated from a day when Sangsawat and Sa-gastume were drinking Boba and eating bread and suddenly a conversation of the quality of the food sprung up. This new club’s purpose is to educate others in making upgraded food choices. Sangsawat and Sagastume, the co-founders of Teeny Bytes, and co-secretaries Karl Resur-rection and Roxana Jimenez decided to create a system that would help the club meet their goals. During the Monday meetings, Sangsawat and Sagastume as-sign a food that every mem-ber of the club will eat if they want to try it. Every month, the members of the club will have to agree where every one will

meet, making suggestions of restaurants with different food from different countries. Some may include Mexican, Japanese, Korean, and Thailand cuisine. They will then write a review about what they thought about it, how the ingredients tasted, what made it special, and how good the food was. During the following meeting, members of the club that wrote a review have the opportunity to share their opinions of the food. Both negative and posi-tive comments are allowed and encouraged. The club has a point system that can lead to rewards. If a person recruits another person, they will automatically gain five points. If a person wrote a review of the food chosen the previous week, they will gain

15 points. By the end of the semester, the member who obtains the most points will have the privilege of choosing where they would like to go to for their free dinner. The club has the added benefits of helping a member gain con-fidence in presentations and sharing ideas through collabo-rating during meetings. Every-one in the club is entitled their own opinion and can share it in a structured manner.

Yearbook Sale!$70 @ the Student

Store December 7th- 18th

ONLY!

6 DECEMBER 2009

FEATURESIt is Time for Celebration

it’s easy as cake: cheesecake

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of 2009

As this year brings itself to a close, a lot is left to ponder about what have been the good and bad aspects of 2009. The year has not been entirely bad, it has had its ups and downs, but a lot of things happen during a year. Under the Good Events category, the dramatic increase of 89 API points Hollywood High School received this year can be used as an example. This is thanks to the hard work and determination of all students who should be very proud for accomplishing such a task. This has also been a great year for all students who play sports. HHS now has lights installed in the field, which make night games much better. To top it all off, Hollywood High had a great football season

with a winning record of 7-3. Another good thing was the well-asserted Lakers’ victory in the 2009 championship, although some might disagree. This year had an astounding change of events when Barack Obama became the first African American president the history of the United States. Last but not least, the long anticipated movie, New Moon has finally been released for those interested in seeing the next chapter in Edward and Bella’s love story. Although one should try to look at the positive things in life, it is impossible to pretend that bad things never happen. Global warming continues to be an ongoing threat affecting humans and all of nature. “The bad news is

that we have already passed into a dangerous range of atmospheric carbon dioxide,” says Dr. James E. Hansen a leading scientist in global warming. Thanks to the economy’s downfall, budget cuts have been applied to LAUSD schools, which are affecting class sizes, courses, and most importantly academic performance. The city of stars has suffered this year with the loss of one of its biggest pop icons. Michael Jackson perished this year, leaving an enormous gap in the hearts of all who knew his music. The year 2009 has been tormented with the constant reminder of the swine flu, which still continues to horrify people due to the many deaths

that it has caused globally. Next year still hangs in limbo, nobody knows what can happen during the course of a year. However, there are some things to look forward to, in order to make the time go faster. Next year promises to be a little better, hopefully the level of unemployed will go down, according to USA Today. This year already came to an end, now all that is left is to look forward to a hopefully brighter future. As each day goes by, each individual is given the opportunity to make the world a better place by contributing their little grain of sand towards a positive outcome At the end of the day, the year 2009, good or bad, is a year that should not be forgotten.

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MARIA ALCOSERCHRONICLE REPORTER

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Ingredients• Two 8 ounce boxes

of cream cheese

• 2 eggs

• ½ cup of sugar

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

• 1 prepared/store bought pie crust

Optional:• Fruit of choice

• Coffee crystals

Instructions1. Mix all the ingredients together with an electric mixer.

2. Pour into prepared or store bought graham-cracker crust.

3. Bake for 40 minutes in a 350° oven.

4. Let it cool for at least 3 hours until it is ready to eat.

5. If desired, top with fruit or any topping of choice.

• This is a basic cheesecake recipe. It can be changed into any desired flavor like key lime, chocolate, coffee, or etc. Just blend in with the original ingredients before pouring into the

prepared or store bought pie crust.

Christmas is celebrated because of the birth of Jesus Christ. It was originally celebrated by Roman pagans from Dec. 17-25.

Hanukkah is traced back to 165 B.C. when Juddah and his soldiers conducted a cer-emony in where they lit a menorah, only having enough for one day. Suprisingly, it lasted 8 days.

Kwanzaa has been celebrated since 1966 from Dec. 26-Jan. 1. The seven days represent seven principles known as Nguzo Saba.

Armenian Christmas is celebrated Jan. 6. The reason why is because that is the original date of Christmas. Christmas is celebrated on the Dec. 25 due to pagan festivities.

Saint Nicholas Day is a fourth century bishop from the city of Myra, now known as Turkey. Saint Nicholas Day is celebrated similarly to Christmas.

History

Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated Dec. 12 when Pope John Paul II declared it the official day.

Saint Lucy Day is celebrated on Dec. 13 in most Scadinavian countries, several parts of the U.S., and Europe.

HolidayChristmas

Hanukkah

Kwanzaa

Armenian Christmas

St. Nicholas Day

Lady ofGuadalupe

St. Lucy Day

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DECEMBER 2009 7

FEATURESIt is Time for Celebration

ANA BARRONCHRONICLE REPORTER

New Years Around the World

In North America, South America, and Europe, New Years Eve is celebrated with champagne, funny hats, and noisemakers. In many parts of the world, countries have their own customs and traditions. According to the website New Years Festival, Down Under initiates the new year on Jan. 1 and concludes on Jan. 6. Australian traditions

consist of a welcoming fresh mood of sound, music and family time. Australians celebrate New Years by attending discotheques, hotels that are completely crowded with festive inner being, and favorable moods. Celebrations might include outdoors activities such as picnics, surfing, and camping. Thailand starts New Years

on April 13 and ends April 15. The website Speaking Thai states that Thais celebrates New Years with an invigorating garden fresh start. New years in Thailand is also known as Songkran. New Years falls in one of the hottest seasons of the year. People from Thailand and tourist build pyramids of sand that are commonly known as chedies. continued on pg. 11

JESSICA ACOSTACHRONICLE REPORTER

The holidays are right around the corner and as families gather around the Christmas tree to sing-a-long to a familiar jingle, celebrities sing a different tune. Celebrities use the holidays as a way to get away from crazed fans and the constant chase of the paparazzi. Giorgio Armani said that his worst holiday was when he first visited the Caribbean. He did not find it a pleasurable experience due to the tour guides who had his stay planned out. The Londone newspaper The Telegraph stated that Armani tries to avoid the crowds of tourists that invade his privacy during

the holidays. Another celebrity who celebrates the holidays with her own unique twist is Hilary Duff. Duff’s favorite holiday was when she visited the island of Hawaii with some of her close friends, according to The Telegraph. On holidays Duff tries to avoid crowds, working, and any type of diet. Enrique Iglesias prefers spending his holidays in his hometown of Madrid, Spain. He told the Telegraph that the worst holiday was when he and some friends thought they were going to a club, when in reality it was a family resort. Iglesias said he dislikes having a planned holiday.

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Celeb-rating During the Holiday Season

Christmas is celebrated because of the birth of Jesus Christ. It was originally celebrated by Roman pagans from Dec. 17-25.

Hanukkah is traced back to 165 B.C. when Juddah and his soldiers conducted a cer-emony in where they lit a menorah, only having enough for one day. Suprisingly, it lasted 8 days.

Kwanzaa has been celebrated since 1966 from Dec. 26-Jan. 1. The seven days represent seven principles known as Nguzo Saba.

Armenian Christmas is celebrated Jan. 6. The reason why is because that is the original date of Christmas. Christmas is celebrated on the Dec. 25 due to pagan festivities.

Saint Nicholas Day is a fourth century bishop from the city of Myra, now known as Turkey. Saint Nicholas Day is celebrated similarly to Christmas.

History

Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated Dec. 12 when Pope John Paul II declared it the official day.

Saint Lucy Day is celebrated on Dec. 13 in most Scadinavian countries, several parts of the U.S., and Europe.

Families share gifts, Christmas stories, recite dinner prayers and blessings, and participate in other events center-ing the birth of Jesus Christ.

Lighting the menorah, saying bless-ings, and playing the dreidel game for gelt are the best-known Hanukkah traditions.

For every of the seven days, a new principle is reinforced and is incorpo-rated into families’ lives.

Famlies first clean thier houses since a local priest blesses the home with salt and water. Lentil seeds, chickpeas, or wheat are placed on cotton balls as a reminder of rebirth. In Arme-nia, it’s a tradition to only eat grains and fruit.

Today, especially in Germany, families and children leave a shoe outside their bed-room expecting candy and other goodies on Dec. 6. This is similar to today’s tradi-tional stockings.

Today, Catholics celebrate Our Lady Guadalupe by attending church and having a big feast.

It is celebrated with great parties and feasts. It is believed that St. Lucy comes as a young woman with lights and sweets. Another tradition consists of a girl wearing a crown of lights, while others hold candles as well.

Tradition

8 DECEMBER 2009

ENTERTAINMENTThe “Must See” Holiday Movies

Decisions, decisions. Out of the dozens of beloved Christ-mas movies, which ones are the ones to watch? Here is a list of some of the best choices for this holiday.

The Nightmare Before Christ-mas Tim Burton’s 1993 stop-motion musical film, which was remade in 3-D in 2006, is definitely one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time. The plot revolves around Jack Skellington, King of Halloween Town, who suddenly finds himself transported to Christ-mas Town through a portal. Enchanted with the concept of Christmas, Jack proceeds to create a scheme to kidnap Santa Claus and replace him. Jack’s endeavor as Santa’s re-placement only ends in failure as Murphy’s law runs rampant, (anything that can go wrong will go wrong). There is a very surreal quality to this film, which transports the viewer into a place where magic and Santa Claus are real. The romance between Sally, the Frankenstein-esque creation by a mad scientist, and Jack also brings a sweet quality to the plot.

Home Alone A young Macaulay Culkin stars in this 1990 film as eight-year-old Kevin McCal-lister. Kevin’s parents had the surprise of a lifetime when they realized onboard a transatlantic flight to Paris that they had left something very important behind: their son. The hysterical parents try to get back home as quickly as possible. Of course, Kevin could not have been happier once he realized he had the house all to himself. He then quickly real-izes that this is not the best of predicaments once he finds out that thieves are sneaking into people’s houses while they are away on holiday. Hilarity en-sues as Kevin booby-traps the house to keep it safe from the “Wet Bandits”, as the thieves were dubbed. The expressions on the thieves’ faces and the smug smirk on Culkin’s face were my favorite parts of the film. Well, that, and the idea that a Christ-mas vacation can go so wrong.

Elf Will Ferell plays a human-sized elf named Buddy in this 2003 Christmas comedy. Abandoned as a baby in an orphanage, Buddy meets Santa Claus and climbs into his sack

in pursuit of a teddy bear. He is mistakenly taken to the North Pole and subsequently raised by elves. A grown up Buddy receives the great shock that he is not an elf, but a human. He returns to New York to find his father and to find out about his past. An overgrown man with

the heart of a child has to learn to survive in a new world with a father that did not know he existed and a whole new family. The biggest catch: his family does not believe in Santa Claus. An overgrown man acting like a five-year-old? It was face-palmafter face-palm after

face-palm during this entire movie. The best part was when a well-meaning Buddy calls a “little person” an “elf” and the “elf” proceeds to wipe the floor with him. A Christmas Story In this 1983 movie, nine-year-old Ralphie Parker dreams of receiving “an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time.” Everyone he asks, including Santa Claus, replies with a flippant, “You’ll shoot your eye out.” Of course, this is not the only thing going on in this 93-minute film. Short subplots are incorporated into this Christmas classic, includ-ing the memorable scene in which a boy dares another boy to lick a frozen pole and his tongue gets stuck to the pole. Ralphie Parkers winning smile after asking for a BB gun was hilarious, especially in the scene where he loses it after Santa nudges him with his toe down a slide.

Classic Christmas Cartoons A Charlie Brown Christmas: Charlie Brown frets about the decadence of the Christmas meaning of giving and the rise of commercialism, very large

topics for such a young boy. Rudolph the Red Nosed Rein-deer: Rudolph meets stop-anima-tion in this Christmas staple in which Rudolph, along with Hermey, an elf turned aspir-ing dentist, and Yukon, a man who wants riches, try to defeat Bumble, the abominable snow monster. How the Grinch Stole Christmas: Based on the story by Dr. Seuss, this animated film deals with the grouchy, bitter Grinch who wants to get rid of Christ-mas. He plans to ruin Christ-mas for the citizens of Whoville by stealing their presents, and encounters mixed results. Frosty the Snowman: Children make Frosty the snowman come to life with the hat of an unsuccessful magi-cian, but once the magician realizes the power it contains, he attempts to get it back with sabotage. Mickey’s Christmas Carol: Mickey’s version of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol has Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer Scrooge and Mickey Mouse as Bob Cratchit with cameos from Donald Duck and others.

KARLA SAMAYOACHRONICLE REPORTER

Blood Wedding Shocks Audience

The Tournament of Roses, or Rose parade, takes place almost every year on January first in Pasadena. It began in the year 1890 and has become a tradition. Although it is sup-posed to be on New Years Day, “the tourna-ment has a ‘never on a Sunday’ deal, struck with local churches, that

sees that the parade runs on January sec-ond in the years where January first falls on a Sunday,” according to the website Theme Park Inside. The parade starts at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Stan-dard Time on Orange Grove Boulevard, and marches for five and a half miles. The parade

lasts for about two hours, and has almost a hundred bands, floats, and equestrian units. The floats must always be completely organic, covered with flowers, seeds, leaves, nuts, fruits, and vegetables. Visitors can pay a fee and watch the floats being made and deco-rated up to four days in

advance. “Just in a few years, the festival and parade had already gained national attention, with photos and articles about the parade appearing in large East Coast news-papers like the New York Times, says the website LA Tourist. After the parade there is The Rose Bowl, a

football game named after the Rose Parade. It was established since 1902 and is still being done. The Rose Parade is not just a parade, but an on-going tradition that still stands! Anyone who plans on seeing it in person should plan on stak-ing out a space well in advance.

The Historical Rose ParadeCECILIA FLORES AND MALINA YAKHAMANCHRONICLE REPORTERS

JAFET BUCARAM CHRONICLE REPORTER

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Originally written by Federico Garcia Lorca, Blood Wedding was a perfect showcase of love, deceit, passion, and Spanish flavor all put into one drama. The Hollywood High School Performing Arts Magnet showed an outstand-ing performance on their first production of the school year. Lorca’s character descrip-tions were very strange in that he only names one character, everyone is only referred to by their titles. Main character Bridegroom, played by Robert Halliwell, and Bride, Marlene Muller, were waiting on the approval of their parents for

a grand wedding. Mother, portrayed by Priscilla Appling, explains to her son that she doesn’t want him to be violent because his father and his brother were murdered. Unfor-tunately, he will be joining his father and brother soon. Mother had a strong feeling that Bride is too good to be true. With their wedding ap-proved, everything looks swell for the couple. Later, throughout the wed-ding, the Bride makes many expressions of disgust to her new and in love husband be-cause she was not fully in love with him.

The plot slowly begins to set in motion as old love affairs are reminisced when Leonardo, played by Hayden Gold, returns and convinces the Bride to leave her wedding party and run away with him. When Bride agrees to leave, everyone at the churchbegins to search for the im-posed romance couple.Bridegroom begins his search for his beloved and for her lov-er. The Bridegroom’s frustra-tion is shown when his search seems to be in vain. The plot is intensified as well as the conflict when Beggar Woman, played by

Brenda Perez, starts her so-liloquy and fortells and seals the fate of the love triangle. The Beggar Woman explains that the lovers must not pass through the river or their death is definite. Death came upon the Bride-groom and Leonardo after the river was crossed leaving the Bride in tears and remorse. The town unites to pay their re-spects to the two casualties and the Bride is left alone forever. As a performance, Magnet students were great. The actors made the audience sit at the edge of their seats because of the suspense.

The way the sets were con-structed and how the transi-tions ran smoothly was great because even though people were moving around and switching props to different places, it didn’t seem chaotic. The actors made all the scenes look real and as if the audience was in the wedding and in the forests with them.

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DECEMBER 2009 9

ENTERTAINMENT

Here in HollywoodConcerts: •Monsterball: Lady Gaga with Kid Cudi and Semi-Precious. Nokia Theater- Dec. 21-23 •Badfish: A Tribute to Sublime at The Palladium- Dec. 26 •MetalSucks presents: Kopoklaani with Tyr, Swashbuckler, and White Wizard at The Palladium- Jan. 8 •Arch Enemy at The Palladium- Jan. 23 •Epicia at The Palladium- Jan. 30 •Sonic Youth at The Wiltern- Jan. 9 •KROQ Presents Cold War Kids at The Wiltern- Jan. 2Movies: •Brothers- Dec. 4 •The Lovely Bones- Dec. 11 •Invictus- Dec. 11 •The Princess and the Frog- Dec. 11 •Avatar- Dec. 18 •Did You Hear About the Morgans? - Dec. 18 •Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel- Dec. 23 •Nine- Dec. 25 •Sherlock Holmes- Dec. 2Performances: •How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical; at Pantages- Nov. 10- Jan. 21 Albums Recently Released: •Momento Mori- Flyleaf •The Fame Monster- Lady Gaga •Rated R- Rihanna •All World Vol. 2- L.L. Cool J •Shock Value 2- Timbaland •For Your Entertainment- Adam Lambert •I… Am Yours- Beyonce •Stir the Blood- The Bravery •Element of Freedom- Alicia Keys •This Is War- 30 Seconds to Mars •Rebirth- Lil Wayne •Fall Be Kind- Animal Collective

BREIGH MONTGOMERY ADD JAFET BUCARAMCHRONICLE EDITOR AND CHRONICLE REPORTER

BY KIARA HURTADO AND ADRIENNE DANDANCHRONCILE EDITOR AND CHRONICLE REPORTER

Bones Captures Audiences’s Hearts

Aries (March 21 - April 19): Santa will finally give you what you’ve been waiting for. So don’t be naughty, be nice and jolly! Taurus (April 20 - May 20): This Christmas Holiday might be cold for you, but someone close is going to come along and make your spirits bright. Gemini (May 21 - June 20): Your special someone will sur-prise you that will surely make you merry this Christmas. Cancer (June 21 - July 22): During this Holiday Season, forget the arguments and give that special person a hug. Leo (July 23 - August 22): Loveless this Christmas? No worries, the person you like will ask you out. So you better not pout or cry, they’re coming to town! Virgo (August 23 - Septem-ber 22): This Christmas will be a very special one for you. Someone will make you happy this Holiday.

Libra (September 23- Octo-ber 22)You will soon face a truth that may affect one of your friend-ships. If it’s important to you, hear them out because there is a simple solution to this problem.

Scorpio (October 23- Novem-ber 21)Liking the same person as your friend is never easy. Let the person choose which one of you they like to keep things less complicated.

Sagittarius (November 22- December 21)The holiday season is here and there is romance coming your way. Keep an eye out on New Years!

Capricorn (December 22- January 19)We all know that breaking up is hard to do. Rejection or break-ing up your current relation-ship is all difficult to deal with, but stay positive!

Aquarius (January 20- Febru-ary 18)Avoiding your problems will not solve them. Try spending some time resolving them.

Pisces (February 19- March 20)Ask him/her out! Sure rejec-tion is horrible but on the plus side, they might say yes!

“Chris and Fester”BY CHRIS D.C. (INKED BY TERESITA A.)

BREIGH MONTGOMERYENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

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Adapted from Alice Sebold’s 2002 novel, comes The Lovely Bones, directed by Peter Jack-son (The Lord of the Rings Tril-ogy). The all star cast includes Rachel Wesiz, Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon, and Saosin Ronan, who made her major film debut in Atone-

ment, as title character Susie Salmon. The film beings with an introduction by Susie Salmon in which she ponders the short life she lived on this Earth and how her murder came to be. The unveiling of each character brings a new depth to the plot and cre-ates the platform in which the dramatic interpersonal interactions take place, post murder of Susie. Two plots intertwine to cre-ate this suspenceful yet deeply touching film. One plot thread follows Susie before her death and then into the afterlife and the stuggle she faces to come to

terms with her own death. The second string follows the Salmon family and their turmoil over the death of their beloved daughter and sister.

The search for her mur-derer cre-ates tension between her parents when her father re-fuses to give

up the search for the culprit while her mother only wishes to move on. Watching the rift develop between her parents, Susie is at war with herself by silently urging her father to continue his search and bring her mur-

derer to justice and her desire for her family to move on. The internal and external confilicts of the characters finally meet to create the harrowing climax of the film. The direction of the film and cinematography was beauti-fully executed by Peter Jackson, and somewhat reminicent of his work in The Lord of the Rings. The acting was exceptional, with Ronan’s performance be-ing particularly profound. The meshing of all these individual parts creates a beautiful scene which could match, if not rival, the quality of the book.

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“Two plots inter-twine to create this suspense-ful yet deeply touching film.”

10 DECEMBER 2009

SPORTS

Stuck in School Will vs The Classroom in the SkyBY WILIAM SANNICOLAS

As the fall sports season closed last month with a winning foot-ball and volleyball team, the winter sports season begins to warm up as both basketball and soccer begin their competition. The girls and boys varsity soc-cer team began their pre-season with a game on Nov.30 against Discovery Prep, which was a

Spring Lineup to IncludeSoccer and BasketballKEVIN CALENzANICHRONICLE REPORTER

shutout win for both girls and boys, girl’s soccer team, which have been playing a strong pre-season. Although an easy win for the boys varsity team, the team feels they still need to work the ball more, and that the team still needs to build up. This sea-son’s soccer team faces chal-lenges under new Coach Dimi-tar Belchev who came late in the year. As they adjust to his

coaching style. “We still have a long way to go but were confi-dent that we’ll make the adjust-ments to get to our ultimate goal, which is to win league champs and make playoffs,” said Alan Santiago Varsity Left Defense. Meanwhile, the boy’s bas-ketball team played their first game against Valley Magnet at home on Dec. 9th. Although suffering their first loss (47-

55), the boy’s varsity team feels confident about this sea-son because unlike last year’s, which felt short, this year has a complete team. When asked on what challenges they face, “we need to get organized and not be intimidated by other teams”, said Senior Adriel Viola Varsity Guard. The girl’s varsity basketball team on the other hand feel strongly confident coming into

this season as Captain Asjia Gomez Varsity Power Forward expresses “We are all together as one…I love my team and I be-lieve were going to take it this year.” The lady sheiks won their first pre-game, against Panora-ma (46-42) at home. Both basketball and soccer be-gin their regular season in Janu-ary and end in February, but both teams are prepared and ready to make it go further.

Teachers and students have some opinions to give on the new program such as Spanish teacher, Ms. Estangui who re-sponded to how she felt about the mentoring program by say-ing, “I think it is a great idea because we have been told that you learn best when you are in the process of teaching. At the same time, we need to have closer relationships in the sense that students don’t know each other unless they knew each other from middle school. When I was in school, we were

always with the same group of people but it is different here. This builds confidence and trust because usually you feel what you do not know and with the mentoring program, we won’t have as many with awk-ward moments.” Students have different opin-ions but one person who talked about the mentoring program ,Shazie Senen, twelfth grader said, “I think it is beneficial to the mentees. I think it also builds social interactions.” Mentees also seem to like the

program such as Jonathan Re-hoj, freshman, who said, “We do it every two weeks. It’s pretty helpful, and fun. I’ve actually made a couple of friends be-cause of it, too!” Others have voiced their opinion and have said that they do not like the new program but that is mostly because, “…We can no longer do our homework in advisory.” Despite having a mixed reac-tion towards the campus, it is still meant for the better of the mentees and mentors. Elise Jackson (member of the

School Site Council and current president of both the Thespian and the JSA club), an SAS senior, was the founder of the idea and has even gone to say that she has hopes for it. “I’m happy with the fact that some advi-sories have chosen to take the initiative on it.” she said, “After everything is finished and the students are paired up, I really hope it sticks with Hollywood High School”. This first year, however, is only the beginning. Principal Jaime Morales be-lieves that as the years pass by

and the small kinks within the program are fixed, it will be a success and a great experience. The goal is to get every single advisory to enter the program. “It’s all about spreading the word, the purpose and the ben-efits that come from it” said Jackson. The Mentor Program has nothing but good intentions and is capable of helping both parties out. Think of it as a way to socialize about things that actually do matter with strang-ers whom you’ll get to know fairly quickly.

Mentoring Kicks into High Gear with Many AdvisoriesContinued from page one

SPORTSDECEMBER 2009 11

Cross Country Girls Run to the City FinalsKEVIN CALENzANICHRONICLE REPORTER

This year’s cross country sea-son came to an end as the girls varsity team made it to city pre-lims along with top varsity runner Juan Reyes. On Nov. 5 they raced at Pierce College. Although they didn’t make it to the city finals Coach Gina Cog-swell feels that “this season was a tremendous success” having started the season without a complete team and only three eligible runners, to making it to city pre-lims with a full team.

“At every race we improved our times,” said Coach Cogswell. For those new to the sport, cross-country is not just a slow easy run as expected from the marathon but instead a three-mile race where both speed and endurance are necessary to excel. This season included two different courses: Elysian Park, which included both down, and uphill and Pierce College, course which test runners in al-most every type of terrain. Already thinking about next year, Coach Cogswell said “we need to start working out ear-lier, we need to start the season

with better condition athletes. We need to recruit more ac-tively”. These are expectations for next year along with the ul-timate goal of having both boys and girl teams to make city fi-nals, and having all the runners’ competition ready before the season begins. Placing fourth in the league this season, the Sheiks of Hol-lywood High School’s cross country team feel that they all did their part to make this sea-son an enjoyable one. “At the end of the day, we all feel good, knowing we gave our best,” says Sophomore Juan Reyes.

It has been an amazing year for the Hollywood High School football team, ending its 09-10 season with a record of 7 wins and 3 losses, a feat that has not been achieved in al-most 20 years. The team was lead by Coach Ceasar Sandoval, voted ABC Network’s Coach of The Week; “It was great for the school, [I’m] really proud of these guys.” The team played their last game of the season against Hel-en Bernstein High School. The game was an easy win, as the

Amazing Year for Sheik Football, 9-10 SeasonJOHN ROqUECHRONICLE CONTRIBUTOR

Sheiks defeat the Dragons 47-6. Motu Veavealagi led the team with 383 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. Kevin Marquina also led the team with 16 tack-les. The competition between these schools became slim as Hollywood took a commanding lead in the first half with a score of 26-0. “There was no question about losing, everyone knew we would win” said Quarter-back Steven De Guzman, Senior. Playoffs were just around the corner but the team was disap-pointed to hear their 7-3 record was not enough to earn them a playoff position. “[I] felt like we were robbed of a well deserved

playoff spot,” said Senior Line-men Jaime Alcalde, as the team found out about the bad news. The team has worked hard all year not only for themselves but to gain the support of fellow students who expected a losing season from the infamous Hol-lywood Football team. “It was a great season, we did all we can do,” said Wide Receiver Bryan Silva, Senior. This football season has defi-nitely raised the expectations people have on the Hollywood football team. “It is sad we weren’t able to give people what they wanted,” stated Running Back Jonathan Sosa, Senior.

Hollywood did not just suf-fer tough game losses or that most anticipated playoff spot. They lost a brother, friend and a teammate. Spencer Juarez will forever live in the Hollywood Football Team’s heart. “It was very hard for all of us, but I’m glad we were together and we pulled through it,” said Team Manager, Jasmine Martinez, “we dedicate this season to him.” The season was short-lived but the experience each play-er gained was irreplaceable. Enduring long practices and celebrating each win not only bonded the team as teammates but as a family. Tight end An-

thony Mendoza, Senior stated “regardless of how the season went, I enjoyed every minute of being with my comrades.” As this season ends, the team is excited about the next one. “We’ll get them next year,” said Coach Luis Barajas as he pre-pares the new varsity team for the next season. Aiming for the playoff spot the new team is eager to play the upcoming season as they start off-season practice. “The football program is a better program now,” as-sured Sandoval, “I can’t wait for the next football season.”

Swim Team makes a Splash Next Semester

The swim team will officially start their season in the begin-ning of the second semester, but it is recruiting students now. It will be headed by Coach Vladi-mir and Coach Roland. The competitive and devoted team was third in their league last year. As the new year starts, the swimmers will be practicing in-tensely and will be ready for the new season. When it comes to swimming, trust is a very important for the

whole team, says Christian Tor-res, Varsity swimmer. Trust that their teammates will be able to take them until the end during the relays. “It gets more intense each day. It’s competitive ,” Tor-res added. “When you’re up there, you stop thinking about everything and you’re just in your own lit-tle world, waiting for the buzz-er so you could just go,” Torres stated. When asked if Torres was con-fident about the team, he said “yes, it’s hard in the beginning but it becomes easier as we go along.”

The swim team is encouraging students who have experience with swimming or none to join. They are still in need of people, especially males. Students who are interested should approach Coach Roland or Christian Tor-res.

ADRIENNE DANDANCHRONICLE REPORTER

THE CRIMSON CHRONICLE STAFF WOULD LIKE TO WISH THE

HOLLYWOOD HIGH FAMILY A SAFE AND WONDERFUL HOLIDAYS

BREAK!

berniCe ortiz pictured here ran to the city finals showing Sheik pride. Coach Cogswell named Ortiz as Hollywood’s top runner!

Thailand also has its own religious traditional custom. Every New Years some Thais visit monks and offer them food some might include rice, fruit and sweets. During this custom Thais remember

ancestors, and elders and honor them with reverence. To the end people hurl water at each other and share a greeting of a happy New Years. According to the website 123NewYears, in Brazil New

Years is celebrated by eating lentils and rice. Brazilians believe that if you eat lentils and rice during New Years Eve will bring prosperity and blessings. Brazilians events include carnivals where

people dress up and march in the streets, by dancing to the popular beat of Samba, and singing traditional songs from famous Brazilians artist. Lastly, when celebrating New Years during dinner

time, Brazilians eat salad, rice, chicken, and fruit until midnight.

New Years Around the WorldContinued from page seven

12 DECEMBER 2009

To: Yenory Chaves

You are the sweetest girlfriend I could ever ask for. Merry Christmas! Hugs and kisses.

From: River Boyd

To: SAS SLC

Happy Holidays!

From: Mr. Carmicle

To: Idol ParticipantsThanks for your hard work!

From: Mr. Carmicle

To: Hector Granados

You owe me $10. I want my money before the 18th. Happy Holidays!

From: Julio Aguilar

To: Leadership I appreciate your support and suggestions for Hollywood Idol.

From: Mr. Carmicle

To: Students

Hollywood High #1 Go Sheiks! Shout-out to the volleyball team. Happy Holidays!

From: Mr. Morales

to: sree Batchuit’s very breezy out here. Have a merry christmas!

From: Victor Malagon

To: Mr. Fitzpatrick May all the luck of Christmas fall all over you and speedy recovery!

From: Mr. Burciaga

To: Everyone

Merry Christmas!

From: Mr. Cauley

To: Joana Korsakatie Happy 18th birthday! You’re a legal eagle! Thanks for being a great friend. We all love you! – Your besties at the table!

From: Jasmine Torres

To: Samantha DiazI love you!

From: Richard Huezo

To: SAS Class of 2010!

You are the BEST! (especially A.D. and K.H.)

From: mr. grijalva

To: Students

A special Christmas shout-out to all stu-

dents and staff. We’re always proud of the

Hollywood High School family.

From: Mr. Climaco

To: Giancarlo and the spot

Adrienne made me buy this. I’m going to use all 25 words. You guys are hilarious! Kickback during the vacation. Happy Christmas!

From: Joe Hernandez

To: Rebekka, my sis-ters, and friends

I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thanks for all the birthday wishes and for making me smile this year! <3

From: Natalie Hernandez

To: Tanya, Lizama twins Evelyn, Scarlett, Natalie

and Freddie

Happy Holidays and to Freddie, UCLA all the way!

From: Rebekka G.

To: Wendy, Vanessa, Kasey, Rocio, Jocelyn, Molly, Jennsy, Krystel and Sherry

Wish you all a Merry Christ-mas and lots of fun! Love you, girls! Happy New Year!

From: Jocelyn Menendez

To: Jennifer MartinezDecember 1, 2009 Full Moon

From: Jorge Mendoza

To: Jorge Mendoza and Richard Huezo

OMG! You guys are so hot and cute too! I love your smile, Jorge! And Richard, I love your per-sonality! I love you!From: Raymond Amaya