The Fall Athletes of the Month have been selected.  Congratulations to September Athletes of the Month, Sean Myers and Morgan Bilbruck.  October Athletes of the Month, Jay Bonthius and Lilia Vu.  November Athletes of the Month, Nick Frens and Thao Pham.  Great job Barons.

Attention all Barons….This is a Public Service announcement brought to you by your very own Activities Office in conjunction with Supervision…Do you have any un-cleared detentions lingering on your record??? Well it’s your lucky day again Barons!  You will have an opportunity to clear a detention for attending the Girls Varsity soccer game tomorrow @ 3:00…..In addition, if you act now you will be able to clear a detention when you attend the Game of the Week, Girls Varsity Basketball tomorrow night at 7:00 in our house…It is also Senior night so we can send our girls off by packing that Gym! One day, two detentions and some exciting girls’ athletics! It’s a WIN, WIN, WIN! Make sure to check in with an administrator at the games!

The Lady Barons basketball team takes on Newport Harbor tomorrow night at home.  The frosh/soph team plays at 4:00, JV team at 5:30 and the Varsity game is at 7:00 pm.   This is a very special game for our Lady Barons. It will be our last home game of the season and it will also be the night to celebrate our graduating seniors Nadine Bautista, Carly Ducat and Toyen Le.  Let’s go Barons!

Boys Basketball plays their final league game tomorrow night at Newport Harbor.  Come support your Barons!

Reminder to all Swim team members, there is a Swim team parent meeting tonight, Wednesday February 8th at 7 p.m. on the pool deck.

Do you want to see your crush blush?  Send them a flower and a song.  Starting on January 31st, you can buy a Valentine Gram from any concert Choir member for $3.00.  They will stop selling on February 10th and will be given out on Valentine’s Day!  Don’t miss out on this chance!

Hey Seniors!  The last chance for submitting Senior Salutations is February 10th.  Don’t miss out!  Go to room 404 or fvhs.com for more information.

Attention Ping Pong Players… there is a meeting this Friday at lunch on the grassy knoll.  If you don’t show up to the meeting you will be eliminated from participating.  See you Friday.
Attention Google Geniuses: There will be a mandatory meeting for all Geniuses today at lunch in room 508.

Attention Teachers: Schedule your appointment with a Google Genius today. Go to the staff page and fill out the appointment form on the right side of the page. Geniuses are ready to help you with Google Docs, Gmail, Calendar, and will even help you create your own blog or Google website.

Thank you everyone for helping HACAS (Health & Cancer Awareness Society) fundraise almost $2000! the class who donated the most was Ms.Munoz! She was kind enough to decline the pasta party so The party goes to… Mrs.Werdel’s class! Third place was Mr.G-O and Fourth was Mrs.Dickinson. Congratulations to the winning classes!

Seniors, are you going to attend Orange Coast College or Golden West College next fall? Then you must take the SOAR Placement Test. Sign-ups for the SOAR Test will be in the Career Center starting Feb. 21st. We will be offering 3 different SOAR Test dates but seating is limited. Sign-ups are first come, first serve starting Feb 21st.

Seniors, you should still be looking for scholarships. Have you applied to the Frank M Doyle Scholarship?  Have you turned in your Cal Grant Verification Form to Mrs. Wakeman in the Career Center? Have you completed your FAFSA?  Are you still checking the College and Career Planning page for even more scholarships? Help offset your college costs and fill out all these forms. If you have questions see Mrs. Wakeman in the Career Center. (end 2/17)

Any senior interested in attending Golden West College Senior Day can sign up for this event starting Monday, Feb. 27th in the Career Center. Space is limited and seats are on a first come first serve basis.

Any student interested in joining the Air Force should meet with the Air Force Recruiter today at lunchtime outside the Student Cafeteria.

All senior students who have been accepted to Cal State Long Beach should come to the Career Center on Wed. Feb. 15 at 10am. The Long Beach Representative will go over the Financial Aid process, how to register for classes, EAP Testing if necessary and on campus housing. If you are a senior who has been accepted to Long Beach State you should be attending this event. Sign up at the Career Center now.

Attention all Baron students…  Don’t forget that this week marks the nomination cycle for our next Baron4Life raffle, taking place next week in The Bowl.  If you haven’t done so already, make sure to demonstrate one or more of our school’s ESLRs for your 3rd period teacher, so that you too can be nominated to receive a $50 gift card next Friday.  Nominations close February 10th, so be on your best behavior all week!

CLUB ANNOUNCEMENTS:

There is a freshman commission meeting today at lunch in Mrs. Bunten’s room – 235.  See you there!

Have any electronics laying around?  Help Sea Leaf recycle at the E-Drive in the Senior Parking Lot this Saturday, February 11th from 9:00-11:00pm.  You can recycle any electronics, except appliances. Open to everyone, so tell all your friends and family.

Here are your morning announcements for Monday, February 6th….

Congratulations to February Seniors of the Month, Angelica Yaghoubi and Nathan Moss.

Hey Barons we need your help… our Lady Barons take on the Griffins tonight and tomorrow night Boys Basketball travels to Los Alamitos for a key Sunset League matchup.  Let’s keep that F.V. spirit rolling and show them what a “Loud Crowd” is all about.

Good Luck to Girls Soccer tomorrow as they also battle the Griffins.

Another victory for the dance team this past weekend at the USA regional competition.  The large and small hip hop teams both received 1st place!!  The jazz team placed 2nd, lyrical 3rd and officers 4th. All of these teams scored high enough to qualify for the national USA dance competition in March.

Do you want to see your crush blush?  Send them a flower and a song.  Starting on January 31st, you can buy a Valentine Gram from any concert Choir member for $3.00.  They will stop selling on February 10th and will be given out on Valentine’s Day!  Don’t miss out on this chance!

Hey Seniors!  The last chance for submitting Senior Salutations is February 10th.  Don’t miss out!  Go to room 404 or fvhs.com for more information.
Attention Google Geniuses: There will be a mandatory meeting for all Geniuses on this Wednesday at lunch in room 508.

Attention Teachers: Schedule your appointment with a Google Genius today. Go to the staff page and fill out the appointment form on the right side of the page. Geniuses are ready to help you with Google Docs, Gmail, Calendar, and will even help you create your own blog or Google website.

The Theatre Department will hold auditions for the spring musical “The Drowsy Chaperone.”  Auditions will be held in the Faculty Lounge on February 7th and in room 310 on the 8th at 3:00.  We need actors, singers, dancers, and anyone interested in the behind the scenes work for this award winning production.  Please see Mr. Zick, in room 135 for more information.

Seniors, are you going to attend Orange Coast College or Golden West College next fall? Then you must take the SOAR Placement Test. Sign-ups for the SOAR Test will be in the Career Center starting Feb. 21st. We will be offering 3 different SOAR Test dates but seating is limited. Sign-ups are first come, first serve starting Feb 21st.

Seniors, you should still be looking for scholarships. Have you applied to the Frank M Doyle Scholarship?  Have you turned in your Cal Grant Verification Form to Mrs. Wakeman in the Career Center? Have you completed your FAFSA?  Are you still checking the College and Career Planning page for even more scholarships? Help offset your college costs and fill out all these forms. If you have questions see Mrs. Wakeman in the Career Center. (end 2/17)

Any senior interested in attending Golden West College Senior Day can sign up for this event starting Monday, Feb. 27th in the Career Center. Space is limited and seats are on a first come first serve basis.

Any student interested in joining the Air Force should meet with the Air Force Recruiter this Wed. Feb. 8th at lunchtime outside the Student Cafeteria.

All senior students who have been accepted to Cal State Long Beach should come to the Career Center on Wed. Feb. 15 at 10am. The Long Beach Representative will go over the Financial Aid process, how to register for classes, EAP Testing if necessary and on campus housing. If you are a senior who has been accepted to Long Beach State you should be attending this event. Sign up at the Career Center now.

Here are your morning announcements for Friday, February 3rd….    

Congratulations to Zach Jones! Zach is one of only 27 Orange County Seniors who were nominated for the 2012 US Presidential Scholars Program for their perfect or near perfect SAT or ACT score. Zach is one of 3, 060 named nationwide for the elite recognition. This academic recognition is bestowed on about one-tenth of 1 percent of seniors nationwide. Congratulations Zach on this outstanding nomination!

Congratulations to the Wrestling team for winning the League title at ALL levels including Freshman, JV, and Varsity…The Sunset League tournament will be held at Huntington Beach high school tomorrow and the outlook for the varsity team looks good with 11 wrestlers being seeded high in the tournament. Let’s wish them luck as they head into the post season! Go Barons!

Congratulations to Girls’ Varsity Soccer for extending their unbeaten streak to 3 games by beating Marina High School yesterday 1-0!
The Barons freshman forward, Kasey Reeve, scored on a breakaway in the first half off an assist by junior, Maddy Gomez, to go up by one goal. They maintained their lead for the rest of the match behind a solid defensive performance by the entire Fountain Valley defense. Goalkeeper, Alison Marlow, records her first shutout of the season in league play. The Lady Barons next match will be next Tuesday @ Los Alamitos High School.

Congratulations!!  Boys Basketball completes a season sweep by beating Edison 53-51 on Wednesday. Let’s pack the gym tonight for senior night and our final home game of the year.

Before the Basketball game Barons, come out and support Boys Soccer on the main football field today at 3:00 as they take on Marina.  With a win the Barons will clinch the Sunset League Title.  Go Barons!

Texting and tweeting are so fleeting. Show your love that you really care by committing your heartfelt thoughts to ink & paper for the whole world, well our campus at least, to see!  Time is running out to order your Baron Banner Valentine’s gram. They’re just $1 from anyone in Baron Banner or Room 306! Grams are due today.

Do you want to see your crush blush?  Send them a flower and a song.  Starting on January 31st, you can buy a Valentine Gram from any concert Choir member for $3.00.  They will stop selling on February 10th and will be given out on Valentine’s Day!  Don’t miss out on this chance!

ASB is still taking sign-ups for the Ping Pong Tournament.  Sign up at lunch in front of the Activities Office during lunch, cost is $2.00

Hey Seniors!  The last chance for submitting Senior Salutations is February 10th.  Don’t miss out!  Go to room 404 or fvhs.com for more information.
The Fountain Valley Theatre Department kicks off the new semester with a comedy about love on a winter night in Maine.  The play is just in time for Valentine’s Day.  Come see Almost, Maine, playing in the theatre room 309 with shows at 3:00 and 7:00 today and tomorrow.  Tickets are $5.00 for students and can be purchased outside of room 309 at lunch or after school.  See you there.

The Theatre Department will hold auditions for the spring musical “The Drowsy Chaperone.”  Auditions will be held in the Faculty Lounge on February 7th and in room 310 on the 8th at 3:00.  We need actors, singers, dancers, and anyone interested in the behind the scenes work for this award winning production.  Please see Mr. Zick, in room 135 for more information.

Attention Teachers: Google Geniuses appointments are available now. Sign up on the staff page, and we will contact you shortly.

CLUB ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Congratulations FV Roller Hockey, their 5 to 3 victory over canyon completed an undefeated season with a record of 8-0-2!

Attention all club president’s there is a mandatory ICC meeting today at lunch in Mr. Nelson’s room 403.  See you there!

Let’s make it a Baron 4 Life Friday and beat the Vikings!

This fundraiser has been a tradition between the clubs for about 4 years now. Both clubs – NHS and OPS are both great clubs. NHS rewards those with high academic achievement, and OPS is a 100% non-profit club which raises money kids in poverty needing reconstructive lip surgery.

Rosie Toumanian (’12), co-president of NHS felt that “it was a successful night that has become a tradition with in the NHS community.”

The night also posed as a fun night out with friends and family as a celebration for the end of the first finals of the year as well as helping a good cause for both clubs.

Students and teachers alike (a certain teacher made an appearance with her kids) arrived at The Rinks/Anaheim Ice all bundled up ready for a fun night of ice skating, and they weren’t disappointed. Many participants learned to ice skate for the first time, while more experienced others got to flaunt their skills. Afterwards, as the ice skating session came to a close, Barons dropped by the snack bar to pick up nachos, hot chocolate, pizza, and other snacks to refuel.

Co-president of Operation Smile Victoria Le (’12) had a great time with her friends and club as well. “It wasn’t as a success as hoped [financial wise], but everybody had fun and every little bit helped, so overall, I guess it was successful in a way,” she commented.

Overall, it was a fun and beneficial Saturday night our for all, as Barons zipped across the ice, raising money for kids all around the world.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine recently named three of the UC’s as “among the nation’s best public school bargains.” In the list of 100 schools, UC Berkeley was ranked 7th, UCLA was ranked 10th, and UC San Diego was ranked 10th–a major achievement.

Brian Ross ’12 believes the UC rankings are well-deserved as he says, “There is no question that these three schools, especially UCLA, are among the best in the nation in terms of educational quality. Smaller schools, such as CSU Pomona for example, are an even better value specifically in engineering and hospitality. So the thing to consider here is this: you still need to do your own research to find out what is the best bargain for YOU, being that you are a special case and not a generalization, which is what this ranking is by its own nature. Go Bruins!”

These rankings are based on tuition and the “academic value” of each school, informing the nation which schools are of the highest quality in relation to cost, even with increasing costs of attending college. In this respect, several other California schools made the list, as well.

The entire list can be found here: http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/.

A typical festival complete with lanterns and varied shades of red

Legend has it that on the day of Lunar New Year, Buddha asked all animals to meet with him. Only 12 animals came (the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig), and those 12 were rewarded with having their namesake embedded in the zodiac forever. Seeing that the diverse group of animals characteristically encompassed most human personality traits, Buddha proclaimed that people born on certain years would inherit some the corresponding animal’s personality traits. People born in the year of the dragon, in particular, are assumed to be ambitious, innovative, courageous, and passionate. Notable historic year-of-the-dragon’s are Joan of Arc, Sigmund Freud, John Lennon, and two of our former presidents, Zachary Taylor and Woodrow Wilson.

Other new year traditions entail the lighting of firecrackers, dragon or lion dancing, and overindulging in the color red, all of which are based around the bringing of good luck and eluding bad luck. Firecrackers are meant to scare the bad luck away with the loud noise and the crackling flames, whereas dragon/lion dancing and the color red (as can be seen in festive clothing and ‘red envelopes’) are both supposed to reap a harvest of good luck.

“One of my favorite things about Lunar New Year is how jovial everyone is everyone is wearing bright colors and there are reciprocal exchanges of laughter and good vibes,” Julie Vu (’13) comments.

The most important of all traditions is the gathering of multiple familes, related in some way or even unrelated. In the early periods of American history, Chinese immigrants would arrive with their families in search of opportunity. As the ideas of racial hierarchy were still prevalent in that age, the Chinese usually lived in outcast enclaves. Nonetheless, they were able to find a sense of community through Chinese neighborhood bonds, especially on the day of their Chinese New Year.

Through the course of time, people of all shapes, sizes, and colors have grown to be more open-minded about the equal beauty of all humankind. And most people in the United States (especially in Fountain Valley) are able to live peacefully and harmoniously with their neighbors.

While we dance to Asian folk music and wish each other joy and prosperity, let’s remember to celebrate our heritage and more importantly, our families. In the coming year, let’s not take for granted the incredible people in our lives and how ‘lucky’ we are to have them.

Best wishes for the new year, Barons!

Gay Rights Movement

Since its passing on January 1st, the FAIR Act has made it legal for middle schools to incorporate the teaching of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender history in social studies classes.

The issue has been in the media as the center of controversy. Some parents oppose teaching LGBT history in schools because they assume that this is an introduction of political ideology concerning gay marriage. However, this is not the case. The LGBT movement is a huge part of history istelf.

Would there be a big difference in teaching about gay history beginning in middle school rather in high school? If we look at the big picture, there isn’t a very prominent or life-changing difference. Like many changes throughout history, the next generation improves on the acceptance of one another. The passing of this act would bring about more open minds and a more educated generation.

Not only is the act beneficial for the younger people, but the act itself is by no means promoting anything that is intended to enforce beliefs. Rather, the act provides informational background about gay rights and contributions. History is history, and it is better to be informed in order to prevent future mistakes, such as that of violence or discrimination.

Dancing it up at Pack the Gym

Pack the Gym was basically a cleaner version of the Aloha dance. The fact that there was a game before the dance made the dancegoers tone down their outfits a little, though for the most part it was females in tank-tops cut into oblivion paired with super tight skirts or shorts. The game was pretty lively, I didn’t really follow as I’m not a big basketball fan but watched in a kind of bemused fascination. It went by very quickly and with much enthusiasm from the audience. We won, obviously.

The dance itself was pretty magnificent. There was a raised platform where brave people could get crazy for everyone else’s viewing pleasure. The DJ was excellent; he mixed new hits with old favorites but kept it energetic and fun. Avid dancegoer Sarina Dayal (’13) noted, “He played songs that people actually knew and that you could sing and dance to, unlike those DJs that like try to mix everything up and just create horrible beats.”

Obviously, ASB can only control things like music and decorations; the overall mood is determined more by the students. In this case, the dancers seemed less focused on grinding than in previous dances, and actually took interest in “busting a move.”

Angela Nguyen (’13) commented, “The dance was a great girls night out… and a success.” She also found that there were a number of creepers and said, “They just should have danced with someone!”

BBN also was outside taking pictures of people who wanted to preserve the memory, and posted them in their flickr album.

I’m not saying it was completely g-rated. There were still guys on the prowl, there were still couples grinding, there were still gaggles of scantily clad teenage girls gyrating. But overall, it was another successful dance by ASB.

Procrastination: taking over your life

Sometimes procrastination takes over our lives like a virus does to its host cell. Of   course, we face the consequences in moments of despair and cramming. Of course, if you had started studying three weeks ago, it would have been beneficial; but since you didn’t you are now desperate for any ways to save yourself.

You’ve already heard all the clichéd tips: get off of the internet, study in a quiet place, go to the library. But none of that stuff is helping at all. You find yourself back at your computer after two hours of failed attempts at studying.

The first thing you ask yourself is why are you putting off studying? Usually it’s because you feel overwhelmed by the plethora of work that you have. Take five minutes to arrange which finals are more important and which are not (meaning they will not have much effect on your grade even if you fail). After that set aside an hour for each subject, with one ten minute break everywhere hour; basically you are studying for 6 or seven hours in row, yet switching subjects each hour. The reason this for this is so that you do not get bored and completely give up or get distracted. Once you have studied all the subjects for an hour, take a longer break and start the 6-7 hour studying session again.

In actual studying, it is too late to reread all the chapters, but if you are a fast reader and can understand what you are reading, go ahead. For the rest of us, it’s a good idea to just read over any notes you have. Another good idea would be to divide up each subject into major topics and make sure you fully understand them. If you have study guides, definitely go over them. Redo homework problems for math. If you go back and cannot complete a homework assignment, chances are you need to go over that material. There are always chapters that you fully understand and those that you don’t. Don’t spend as much time on what you already know (if you can remember it after 5 months, chances are you won’t forget it in three days). Essentially, go over the stuff you forgot, go over homework, and study review packets or study guides that your teachers have, hopefully, provided for you.

On Tuesday night, simply study for the subjects you have the next day. If you have extra time, or if your subjects on that day are easy, or you don’t have finals in those classes, only then should you be studying other subjects. By then it is too late to continue cramming. Focus on the next day more than the whole week. If you didn’t get distracted, you should be going over the last couple of chapters.

Remember not to study all night (with any luck, you won’t have to) and eat a good breakfast. If you feel as if you haven’t studied enough, don’t freak out. At that point, there will be not much that you can do about it. Your best hope is to pretend you know everything, take a deep breath and take the final. Defeat procrastination. Happy Studying!

The Pink Ribbon Club is holding its Applebee’s Pancake Breakfast next Saturday, January the 28th.

“This is the first year we’re doing the event,” says club president Mallory Mackey. “We’re really excited.”

The event will be held from 8am to 10am, with club volunteers working as servers. Each ticket costs $10, and profit will be donated to the breast cancer foundation Susan G. Komen For the Cure.

Unlimited pancake, eggs, sausage, milk, juice, and coffee will be served.

“It’s definitely for a good cause,” assures Mackey.

So grab your friends and family and head over to the Applebee’s, 18279 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley, near Ralph’s for a delicious post-finals breakfast for charity!

See any Pink Ribbon club member to buy tickets or contact event coordinator, Nichole Schwartz at nichole577@verizon.net.