The Mark.The Making of ours.

Menlo-Atherton High School Issue 1

1. You have a voice and you want it to

be heard.

2. You want to be a published writer/ar

tist/photographer

3. You want a hands-on learning experie

nce

4. You want a class that teaches you m

arketable skills

5. You need elective credit.

6. You want to be a part of The MArk

, M-A’s new magazine!

7. You want to learn graphic design so y

ou can make cool fliers

8. You want a “home away from home”

in our computer lab

9. You want to do better in all your cla

sses.

10. All the interesting kids are doing it

!

See Mrs. Snow, Mr. McBlair or your counselo

r

for more details!

10 Reasons to take

Journalism: Drawing/Painting I An introductory drawing and painting course. Emphasis is placed on 2-dimensional work using traditional drawing, painting, and printmaking techniques.

Contemporary styles such as comic book illustrations and graffi ti art are explored as well.

Art IAn introductory art course that focuses on both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional projects. Artworks are inspired through multi-cultural traditions and various art styles that enhance personal expression. Multi- media includes acrylic and watercolor paint, ink, papier-mâché, wire, and clay.

Web Design This course is based on web design and graphic design concepts. Students will create a website through a mixture of hands on exercises, lecture and demonstrations. The class focuses on Adobe Photoshop®, and ImageReady®, but also uses Dreamweaver® and a basic demonstration of Flash®.

C e r a m i c s An introductory clay course that incorporates traditional ceramic design with multi-cultural themes. Projects such as; decorative tiles, boxes, masks and teacups are made using slab, coil and wheel techniques.

Drawing/Painting II Students suited to this class are those who enjoyed Drawing/Painting I or Art I and wish to further expand the limits of their own creative process.

Art II An intermediate art course that builds on sculpting and painting skills learned in beginning art courses. Individual as well as group

projects such as; mosaics and mixed media sculptures are created.

Ceramics II An advanced clay class that builds on construction

and design techniques learned in beginning art courses. Students suited to this class are those who enjoyed Ceramics I and/ or Art I and wish to further the “hands on” creative process.

Art Studio I An advanced art class that fosters the skills

and techniques learned in previous art courses. Projects may be 2-dimensional and/or 3-dimensional and are based on individual choice of media and subject matter. Students are those are self-motivated, creative, and like to

challenge themselves in the artist realm.

Art Studio A continuation of Art Studio I, this advanced course is designed for fourth-year art students who do not wish to take AP Art Studio, but want to further refi ne their understanding of and abilities in the various art-making techniques.

AP Art Studio - Grades 11 & 12AP Art Studio is a college preparatory

course motivated advanced art students who are interested in developing their individual artistic styles. Students will develop a portfolio, which may be submitted to the College Board’s AP Program for possible college credit.

AP Art HistoryThe Advanced Placement History of Art

course is designed to introduce students to an understanding of the purpose and meaning of art and architecture in our daily lives. Students who enjoy

MY PAGE

Drawing/Painting I An introductory drawing and painting course. Emphasis is placed on 2-dimensional work using traditional drawing, painting, and printmaking techniques.

Contemporary styles such as comic book illustrations and graffi ti art are explored as well.

Art IAn introductory art course that focuses on both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional projects. Artworks are inspired through multi-cultural traditions and various art styles that enhance personal expression. Multi- media includes acrylic and watercolor paint, ink, papier-mâché, wire, and clay.

Web Design This course is based on web design and graphic design concepts. Students will create a website through a mixture of hands on exercises, lecture and demonstrations. The class focuses on Adobe Photoshop®, and ImageReady®, but also uses Dreamweaver® and a basic demonstration of Flash®.

C e r a m i c s An introductory clay course that incorporates traditional ceramic design with multi-cultural themes. Projects such as; decorative tiles, boxes, masks and teacups are made using slab, coil and wheel techniques.

Drawing/Painting II Students suited to this class are those who enjoyed Drawing/Painting I or Art I and wish to further expand the limits of their own creative process.

Art II An intermediate art course that builds on sculpting and painting skills learned in beginning art courses. Individual as well as group

projects such as; mosaics and mixed media sculptures are created.

Ceramics II An advanced clay class that builds on construction

and design techniques learned in beginning art courses. Students suited to this class are those who enjoyed Ceramics I and/ or Art I and wish to further the “hands on” creative process.

Art Studio I An advanced art class that fosters the skills

and techniques learned in previous art courses. Projects may be 2-dimensional and/or 3-dimensional and are based on individual choice of media and subject matter. Students are those are self-motivated, creative, and like to

challenge themselves in the artist realm.

Art Studio A continuation of Art Studio I, this advanced course is designed for fourth-year art students who do not wish to take AP Art Studio, but want to further refi ne their understanding of and abilities in the various art-making techniques.

AP Art Studio - Grades 11 & 12AP Art Studio is a college preparatory

course motivated advanced art students who are interested in developing their individual artistic styles. Students will develop a portfolio, which may be submitted to the College Board’s AP Program for possible college credit.

AP Art HistoryThe Advanced Placement History of Art

course is designed to introduce students to an understanding of the purpose and meaning of art and architecture in our daily lives. Students who enjoy

MY PAGE

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COURSE DESCRIPTION: Prepare to venture into new territory! This quarter we will be suspending our regular print publication in order to transition into a fully operational website. This new technology affords us with fantastic opportunities along with new challenges. As with many journalism classes in the nation, this class will incorporate both theory and practice. Students will learn the history of journalism, press law, news writing, research, interviewing, advertising, design, and writing for the web. Mr. McBlair is acting in place of Mrs. Snow while she is on maternity leave. Please direct all questions towards Mr. McBlair this first quarter, he will contact Mrs. Snow if necessary. At the end of this quarter she will return and Mr. McBlair will stay on as an occasional presence acting as an assistant advisor. Due to this unusual situation we will not be choosing positions on the staff until Mrs. Snow’s return.

GOALS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER:During the first several weeks we will emphasize the

basics of journalistic ethics and law. The staff will establish a professional code that will guide us through the new dilemmas that a publicly accessible website creates. Once students clearly

know their rights and the ethical boundaries of good journalism, class will focus on writing skills specific to the varying aspects of any paper (interviews, sports, editorials, etc.). Students will complete a portfolio by the end of the quarter that will showcase the breadth of their skills. This portfolio will be your introduction to Mrs. Snow and will be crucial to any student

“We are revamping the face of journalism at M-A by combining the former newspa-per, literary magazine into one publication.”

-Ms. Snow

hoping to achieve a position with responsibility. After the basics have been cemented, the staff will focus on launching the web site. Students will learn how to post stories, update from

remote locations (twitter), write to maximize search hits, synergize with social mediums (facebook), create photo slideshows, advertise, create podcasts, and embed news shows that the video production class will be generating.

EXPECTATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS OF THE STUDENTSAttendance is crucial

to your successinthis class. Participation will be a key component of your final grade.Be timely with your assignments. Late homework and stories will not be accepted. When you are absent it is your responsibility to contact the advisor in order to receive assignments. Assignments during excused absences are due upon return to school. If you miss a test or quiz you must set up a time to make it up. The advisor will not seek you out. Be patient. Because we are taking on new challenges and have a change in leadership, we will take our time in order to ensure that our product meets the highest standards. We can’t jump into production too quickly. If the web site suffers a bad reputation from sloppy journalism, it could take years to reverse its first impressions. We want to amaze from the beginning. Come with ideas. Our administration extremely supportive and more is possible with the accessibility of technology. We have access to resources that few do. Let’s push the boundaries of what people think a high school newspaper should look like.

“We are revamping the face of journalism at M-A by combining the former newspa-per, literary magazine into one publication.”

-Ms. Snow

With a 32 million dollar budget and 493 seats, Menlo-A t h e r t o n ’ s

greatly anticipated Performing Arts Center is having its grand opening on October 9th and 10th.For years Menlo-Atherton High School planned to build an extravagant Performing Arts Center, and it has finally completed the task. The building stands at 80 feet tall and will be used primarily for musical productions and theater performances. Covering a total of 32,000 square feet, the Performing Arts Center features a 2,000 square foot cafeteria, which will mainly be used in the wintertime.M-A principal Matthew Zito feels that the Performing Arts Center is a “legacy building” that will

stand the test of time. Proposed for at least seven years now, the construction of this complex was delayed due to size issues, and had been almost cancelled three times. Not only did the architects, Hogetts + Fung, have to adhere to a tight budget, but they also had to downsize their model given the restricted amount of land available.Zito revealed the use of “green” building features, enabling a large portion of the new complex to be eco-friendly. The well-insulated walls, as well as the strategic placement of windows under the roof overhanging allow the

rooms to stay cool without the need for air conditioning.Built by Blach Construction, the

Performing Arts Center includes music, chorus, and dressing rooms, and has h a n d i c a p p e d access. There are three sound isolated practice rooms and the theater itself is equipped with laser cut panels, d a m p e n i n g curtains, and a control booth. The building contains an upper and lower lobby with an

outdoor court that can be used for performances as well. The

“The Per-forming Arts Center is a “legacy building” and will stand the test of time.”- Mr. Zito

Taylor Gananian

By Evan Peairs

Macworld 2010 was a great success, even though Apple didn’t have an official presence. Hundreds of companies catering to every taste and interest still came to advertise their various products.

The best product at Macworld for the hard-working student was definitely the Pulse Smartpen. This pen is an ordinary writing utensil- that doubles a compact computer that records all the sound it hears while you write. It comes with specially-printed paper that allows the pen to sense where it’s writing, so you can press buttons printed into the paper as well as upload your lecture notes to your computer. With two quick taps on any word written on the paper, the pen will play back the sounds it recorded at the time the words were written. However, at $150 it i s n ’ t really within the average student’s price range.

Many headphone companies also attended, including Beats by Dre. Though they were very snazzy looking, I thought the sound quality wasn’t as good as Shure’s competing models, which sold for $200 less than Dre’s.

For the musically inclined, one booth featured a mixing program called Djay. This

program acts as a virtual turntable, letting the user pick tracks out of their library to spin and scratch together

with others. Along with it came the Spin attachment, an electronic

turntable that lets you control the program with your hands directly with various sliders,

discs, and buttons. Though it was very shiny and was easy to use, I don’t feel like it lived up to

professional standards for a spin station. Also, it cost $250, also a bit out of the average reasonable price range.

Though Macworld didn’t quite live up to the previous

years’ hype that Apple generated i n its presence, it was still a success. People still flocked to see the new products, and it looks like Macworld wasn’t going away any time soon.

Macworld ‘10

Led by nine seniors, the Menlo-Atherton boy’s water polo team will settle for nothing less than PAL and CCS

championships. The Bears have fought valiantly for their cause, beginning the year 10-4, with a 4-1 record in league play. Not only did they finish fifth out of 32 teams in the Richison-St. Francis NCS/CCS tournament, but also beat cross-town rival Menlo for the first time in seven years. Seniors Jed Springer, Eric Wright, Andrew Higgitt and Jor-dan Bernstein all scored in the Bears’ 7-6 long-awaited victory. Sopho-more goalie Alex Gow

had an amazing game, blocking 14 shots against the Knights, who will host the next match against M-A on Wednesday, October 14th.On Wednesday, September 30th, in a rare evening match up at the

Menlo-Atherton Spieker Aquatics Center, the Bears took on Soquel High School. After taking an early four-goal lead, the Soquel Knights began to come back. But, with five goals from M-A’s infamous two-meter man, and three more from senior Scott Swartz, the Bears pulled out a decisive 12-8 victory.Adding to their impressive record, the Bears won their PAL match versus Aragon High School. Zander Rohn and Jed Springer each had

five goals and freshman reserve Zach Deal scored three times as the Bears torched the Dons, 21-1. Ahead 14-0, the Bears only al-lowed the first goal of the game on a 5-meter penalty shot.The Bears’ latest match took place on Wednesday, October 7th against Woodside High School at M-A. In a dominating performance, sec-ond ranked M-A sent the Wildcats packing in a 17-2 victory. Leading scorers Zander Rohn and Andrew Higgitt each scored four goals,with senior Scott Swartz adding three goals of his own. “We straight peaced them and never looked back,” said a confident Zander Rohn, whose scoring helped make up for the illness of star scorer Jed Springer.

“We straight peaced

them and never

looked back”

- Zander Rohn

By Russell Gurman

Boy’s Water Polo: A Dominant Year So Far

Led by nine seniors, the Menlo-Atherton boy’s water polo team will settle for nothing less than PAL and CCS

championships. The Bears have fought valiantly for their cause, beginning the year 10-4, with a 4-1 record in league play. Not only did they finish fifth out of 32 teams in the Richison-St. Francis NCS/CCS tournament, but also beat cross-town rival Menlo for the first time in seven years. Seniors Jed Springer, Eric Wright, Andrew Higgitt and Jor-dan Bernstein all scored in the Bears’ 7-6 long-awaited victory. Sopho-more goalie Alex Gow

had an amazing game, blocking 14 shots against the Knights, who will host the next match against M-A on Wednesday, October 14th.On Wednesday, September 30th, in a rare evening match up at the

Menlo-Atherton Spieker Aquatics Center, the Bears took on Soquel High School. After taking an early four-goal lead, the Soquel Knights began to come back. But, with five goals from M-A’s infamous two-meter man, and three more from senior Scott Swartz, the Bears pulled out a decisive 12-8 victory.Adding to their impressive record, the Bears won their PAL match versus Aragon High School. Zander Rohn and Jed Springer each had

five goals and freshman reserve Zach Deal scored three times as the Bears torched the Dons, 21-1. Ahead 14-0, the Bears only al-lowed the first goal of the game on a 5-meter penalty shot.The Bears’ latest match took place on Wednesday, October 7th against Woodside High School at M-A. In a dominating performance, sec-ond ranked M-A sent the Wildcats packing in a 17-2 victory. Leading scorers Zander Rohn and Andrew Higgitt each scored four goals,with senior Scott Swartz adding three goals of his own. “We straight peaced them and never looked back,” said a confident Zander Rohn, whose scoring helped make up for the illness of star scorer Jed Springer.

“We straight peaced

them and never

looked back”

- Zander Rohn

By Russell Gurman

Boy’s Water Polo: A Dominant Year So Far

How many of these teachers can you name?

How many of these teachers can you name?

How do you feel about winning this international contest?I’m really happy, but actually I’m still kind of in awe. Overall I’m feeling pretty accom-plished. Is this your first big win?I hadn’t entered contests for quite a while be-fore this photo, might have even been a year or so. So, when I finished this photo off I thought it had gotten pretty good results on Flickr, people seemed to like it a lot, and I thought “Well, what’s the harm in trying it out?” and it worked out pretty well. Have you won any other contests?I was a runner up in a college photography contest, but it wasn’t very big at all- pretty small stuff. This was really my big break though.How long did it take you to set up your picture?

Eric Evans is obsessed with photography. For those who know him (let’s face it) it’s pretty much his passion. For

those of you who don’t know Eric directly, you may have seen his pictures around the school or at least on this website. But what you probably don’t know is that Eric, a junior here at M-A, won third place in a photo contest in the well-known magazine Popular Photography. That definitely gives him something to brag about.

How do you feel about winning this international contest?I’m really happy, but actually I’m still kind of in awe. Overall I’m feeling pretty accom-plished. Is this your first big win?I hadn’t entered contests for quite a while be-fore this photo, might have even been a year or so. So, when I finished this photo off I thought it had gotten pretty good results on Flickr, people seemed to like it a lot, and I thought “Well, what’s the harm in trying it out?” and it worked out pretty well. Have you won any other contests?I was a runner up in a college photography contest, but it wasn’t very big at all- pretty small stuff. This was really my big break though.How long did it take you to set up your picture?

Eric Evans is obsessed with photography. For those who know him (let’s face it) it’s pretty much his passion. For

those of you who don’t know Eric directly, you may have seen his pictures around the school or at least on this website. But what you probably don’t know is that Eric, a junior here at M-A, won third place in a photo contest in the well-known magazine Popular Photography. That definitely gives him something to brag about.

It didn’t actually take that long. I was pretty frustrated towards the end; I was just saying, “Why can’t I get this to look the way I want it to?” But I took a step back, took another look, rearranged some things, changed the lighting and it all came together. How long how have you been doing photography? What got you interested in it?I’ve been doing photography since 7th grade. I didn’t do much photography freshman year, but I got back into it a lot sophomore year. But what really got me into it was probably the thrill of developing my own film in the dark-room. What do you mostly like to photo-graph? I don’t really have a preference. I like to shoot a variety of things, so that I don’t get caught up in like a state of mind. Shooting dif-ferent things lets me branch out, and have interest in everything so I don’t get bored. Do you gener-ally prefer film or digital? They both have separate purposes, and a lot of the time, time constraints make digital a much better option. Money con-straints make digital a much better option as well, because devel-oping costs are pretty wild. And I don’t own my own darkroom. [laughs] Film has

its place- it definitely does. There’s a certain look to film that digital hasn’t gotten yet. So there are pluses and minuses but overall I prefer digital. You do lose something when you aren’t going through the entire develop-ment process of your own film though- that’s really something special. I didn’t treasure that enough, printing my own film, I mean. How do you feel about Photoshop?I don’t do that much of it, and when I do it’s for making posters or just light touch ups and adjustments. But right now I’ve been using Adobe Lightroom, too, which I’ve found very popular. It pretty much saves me the trouble of going into Photoshop. It’s like iPhoto on ste-roids. What advice do you have for aspiring photographers?Keep shooting, and try new things. Don’t get stuck in a groove where you’re only do-

ing one thing, where you’re only doing a certain style. I would definitely say that if you’re shooting a lot, and trying different things- even if they don’t work- trying them and perfecting them and finding out what you like, as well as keeping your op-tions open, is my best advice. As long as you’re clicking that shutter, every time you get a little better.

To see more of Eric’s work go to: www.flickr.com/