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Fountain Valley Middle School Singers Perform in FVHS Bowl

Photographer- Tyler Rose — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:03:49 +0000

By Kali Hoang, Staff writer

Amidst these trying times, there is still a universal gratification: music. The Fountain Valley Middle School Singers (FVMSS), directed by vocal music director Mr. Tison and Ms. Aubrey Burnham, performed in the FVHS bowl on Thursday night, March 12^th. The singers included students from Masuda, Fulton, Talbert, and Moiola middle schools.

A TK Burger truck parked outside the bowl selling sandwich combo meals for $7 to benefit FVMSS.

“I\’m very proud of this group,” says Mr. Tison. “It has just been wonderful to work with FVMSS.”

FVMSS have been practicing for their competitions and concerts since mid-January. They rehearse every Thursday from 2-4 p.m. in Rm. 307.

”Choir has been such a great experience, the rehearsals are very enjoyable,” says Hannah Holbrook, a member of FVMSS.

The first number, “Rhythm in My Soul,” was a fun, light-hearted piece out of their wide performance selections. The songs ranged from John Lennon and Paul McCartney to Phantom of the Opera. A couple of handpicked soloists performed Broadway pieces, such as “For Good” from the musical Wicked, and contemporary pop songs, such as “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles.

“Even though many of them were shivering throughout the performance, they did a very good job,” says Carolyn Nguyen (‘10) of the unexpected chilly weather that evening.

The night ended with a brief appearance by the FVHS Troubadours. They performed the crowd pleaser, “Jabberwocky” from Through the Looking Glass, and two other inspirational pieces.

“The Troubadours\’ performance was breathtaking down to the very last note,” Tammy Nguyen (‘10) gushed.

Fighting Against Foam

Photographer- Tyler Rose — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:00:21 +0000

By Brie Roche-Lilliott, Staff writer

During lunch on Wednesday, March 11, about twenty-five FV students listened attentively while three members of Earth Resource Foundation (ERF) lectured on the disastrous effects of Styrofoam on cities and neighborhoods. While this isn\’t ERF\’s first time speaking to Green Leaf Society, their motivational and helpful discussions have helped the club take action, and in this case, against Styrofoam.

Green Leaf member and sophomore Miguel Santiago says that since the presentation he has been more actively encouraging people to use recyclable paper instead.

“I\’ve been picking [Styrofoam] up from the beach and in the water,” Santiago says. “It really affects the embryonic growth of sea creatures.”

“I eat out a lot, and all of my favorite Vegan restaurants use Styrofoam, so I come home feeling hypocritical. If it were banned, it wouldn\’t have to be a struggle between Styrofoam and being healthy,” says Vice President Mukta Mohan (‘10).

Green Leaf President Rosie Said (\’10) says, “We use so much Styrofoam everyday and no one really knows about the harmful consequences of what we are using.”

Styrofoam products are made of petroleum, a toxic and heavily polluting resource that contains the chemical Styrene, which not only makes the products non-biodegradable and non-compostable, but also poisonous because the chemicals actually leak into the food they contain.

The ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry), has taken many tests using Styrene, and publicly announced that, “It [styrene] is a possible carcinogen… causes slow reaction time, concentration problems, changes in vision, hearing loss (in animals), and impaired learning abilities.”

On average, each Californian pays a minimum of $1000 a year, and $352 million in California alone, just to dispose of and clean up trash and litter. It is said that if Styrofoam and other single-use plastics are banned, it will save the state millions of dollars in trash cleanup, and the average citizen at least a couple hundred dollars.

For more information on volunteering, how you can help, and to learn more about the consequences of Styrofoam, check out the Earth Resource website: www.earthresource.org.

Seniors defeat “Senior Citizens”

victoria — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:01:15 +0000

By Brian Larzlere, Staff writer

Friday, March 27^th marked the second annual Staff and Alumni football game. Teachers and coaches shared the gridiron with graduating players from the Varsity football team for an energetic match-up.

Last year, the Staff won. “We are the defending champs,” explained Principal Herzfeld, “We have our pride at stake.”

The competition was intense. Neither side gained headway until senior Nyko Gonzales broke the ice with the first touchdown, thrown by quarterback Steven Santana.

The Students maintained the lead into the second half, with Santana shooting another scoring pass to Dylan Itkoff. Itkoff shared his thoughts on the competition, laughing that, “The old guys try.”

The Staff rallied with a score by soccer coach and teacher Jason Smith, passed by Football\’s Head Coach Shipp. Girls\’ soccer coach and teacher Alyson Spencer tied the game scoring a second touchdown in the final minute.

The tie led to a strong finish by the Students in Overtime. Coach Shipp threw an interception, and it was caught by Steven Santana and returned for a score. Santana quickly followed his goal on the next drive with a touchdown pass to senior Hayden Toney.

The Students won 4 touchdowns to 2, despite the valiant efforts of the FVHS Staff.

Huntington Beach Reads

Photographer- Tyler Rose — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 04:45:56 +0000

By Sami Yerunkar, Staff writer

On Thursday, March 5, a select number of sophomores from FVHS chaperoned by English teacher Ms. Ziegler gathered at the Huntington Beach High School gymnasium to attend the annual program “HB Reads One” hosted by the Huntington Beach Human Relations Task Force.

This year, the program\’s guest speaker was the author of The Kids from Nowhere, George Guthridge. His book is his unique experience teaching indigenous children on St. Laurence Island, a sparsely populated island off the west coast of Alaska.

Professor Guthridge talked to the attendees about the various social problems and challenges faced by the natives of Alaska, such as their subsistence lifestyle and lack of basic amenities because of their remote location. He also explained that the rest of the world, especially developing countries, faces the same problems caused by poverty and poor infrastructure. Guthridge claimed the key to solving both problems is education.

Sophomore Norman Chung says, “I think the presentation’s theme of ‘the poor get one door\’ is meaningful and true because in an area that doesn\’t offer much opportunity, education is the only way to rise above your current status.”

Guthridge was accompanied by Merle, a former student who led his local high school team to Saint Lawrence Island to win Future Problem Solving International. These students overcame language barriers and had to change their way of thinking to adapt to the western education system.

The indigenous was of thinking could be best described as situational and deliberate, as it analyzes the situation as a whole thoroughly before carefully coming with ways to circumvent the problem. Western thinking can be represented by the phrase “try, try again.” But in the dangerous Alaskan tundra, one has to be very careful which promotes the careful indigenous way of thinking.

The program ended with students from the Art Institute of California offering a variation of traditional Yupik ice cream. There was also a sample exhibition of Yupik art, ranging from ivory sculptures to various wood carvings and tools, as well as animal materials used by natives as decorations.

Sophomore Christopher Allen says, “It was a fantastic educational experience. However, it lacked enough information and commentary on the actual book, as 75% of the lecture was jargon about diversity and tolerance, absorbed from training sessions and regurgitated onto us by the Human Relations.”