California Educator

November 2014

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Learning • Sell subscriptions to cover printing and hardware expenses. Even if you give away the issues on campus, many families will pay about $20 a year to have them sent home. By mailing at least 200 copies, you will qualify for the Postal Service's drasti- cally cheaper bulk rate. • Network! Affiliate with the Journalism Education Association, which has Califor- nia branches in the north (jeanc.org) and south. Join the National Scholastic Press Association (studentpress.org/nspa). Enter competitions and attend conferences, which support both teachers and students. • Embrace technology. Google Drive offers the perfect platform for collect- ing and editing articles. Learn enough Photoshop and InDesign to support your students. There are lots of free YouTube tutorials to help with this. • Create a website. School Newspapers Online (www.schoolnewspapersonline.com) makes it easy to get this started. Once it's established, promote it through Facebook and Twitter. Deadline is March 2, 2015 Because teachers like Matt Johanson are so proud of the work of their students, we decided to have a contest to highlight the outstanding work and creativity of student journalism programs throughout California. Read about it on page 56 or go to cta.org/journalismcontest. Tips for successful student publications pregnancy, marriage equal- ity, and the state's budget crisis of the recession years. Our program provides a great service to our cam- pus community, especially to the students who pro- duce it, I would say. A list of skills the kids acquire from journalism could practically fill an issue. Writing, editing, photography, page design and business management are just a few. The technology students learn (proficiency in Photoshop, InDesign and Wordpress, for example) provides highly marketable job skills that apply to multiple career fields. And while computer skills are an important aspect of our work, many kids benefit from the push to unplug from their devices long enough to meet people face to face. They do so with classmates and other teachers on a daily basis, but a few other highlight interviews stand out. Reporters from our newspaper have met and written about Gov. Jerry Brown, Attorney General Kamala Harris, Marvel Comics guru Stan Lee, and Major League Baseball players including Pablo Sandoval, the 2012 World Series MVP. How many other high school kids can say that? Alumni of our program have become newspaper reporters, editors and book authors. We have a television producer, a radio host, and a radio reporter who worked as far away as Ghana. Our graduates put their skills to use as teachers; two became college professors. Others have gone to work in presidential and other political campaigns, in Congress, and at high-tech companies such as Facebook and Pinterest. When Maddow met us before a public appearance promoting her bestsell- ing book Drift, we got to do more than shake hands and take pictures with a national celebrity. The students worked together to make an eight-minute video that became the most-watched interview our group has ever produced. Everyone contributed at a high level. Our top editor conducted the interview warmly and smoothly, with the poise of a professional 10 years older. She called the event the highlight of her high school career. That evening became a highlight for me too, just as teaching journalism has been. Advising our newspaper has allowed me to work with some of the bright- est kids at school and bond with them through our work on a labor of love. Our group's writing and photography lets me know other members of the stu- dent body and their accomplishments. The changing technology of the field has helped me keep my computer skills up to date. Just as I thought, teaching journal- ism has required tremendous time and energy, even more so than I ever imagined. But I've learned that it's more than worth the effort. Don't text and drive! Tips, advice for new drivers Track teams compete in HAALs Every 15 Minutes crashes at CVHS VOLUME 55, ISSUE 11 WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012 CASTRO VALLEY, CA 94546 WWW.CVHSOLYMPIAN.COM Pg. 6, 7 Pg. 8, 9 Pg. 12 Running, jumping, throwing Don't drink and drive! Junior Caleb Kim pretends to be injured in a drunken car crash during the Every 15 Minutes assembly on April 26. See page 6 and 7 for Every 15 Minutes spread. Tim Pak / Photo Editor Brown supports new tax plan for schools Every 15 Minutes impacts students By Jane Hong STaff WriTer The familiar beep of the pub- lic announcement system went off and all that I could hear was a voice saying, "Rest in peace, Jane Hong." When the Every 15 Minutes program began, someone died or was seriously injured due to a motor vehicle accident involving an intoxicated driver every quarter hour in the Unit- ed States. On April 26, I became an example of this statistic. The renowned and accred- ited Every 15 Minutes program, organized by Eden Medical, is undoubtedly one of the best student activities CVHS offers. Two years ago, the video made for this activity went viral and even won an Emmy award. To be a participant this year was a true privilege and it's an experience I'll keep with me wherever I go. Before the simulated crash portion of the program, the rest of the "living dead" cast and I got our faces painted a ghostly white with black, sunken eyes and gray lips. I could actually feel my energy drain while we acted as spectators during the mock crash scene. When it was over and done, we walked off the field, wiped off our make- up, and got ready to completely separate ourselves from reality. I immediately received text By Rachel Crary STaff WriTer Governor Jerry Brown is once again proposing a tax plan that could potentially end cuts, lay- offs, and budget cuts to schools. The Protect Schools and Public Safety Act could will be included in this year's ballot if enough sig- natures are collected in its favor. Brown's new plan consists of a few minor changes from his previous proposal. The old plan was one that lasted for five years, with a 1 percent tax increase for those earning $500,000 or more a year, a 1.5 percent tax increase for those earning $600,000 or more a year, a 2 percent tax increase for those earning $1 million or more a year, and an overall half-cent sales tax increase for everyone. This plan was expected to raise a total of $7 billion each year. As teachers argued for an even bigger tax hike, Brown rethought his plan and created a compromise. This new plan included a 1 percent tax increase for those making $500,000 a year, a 2 percent tax increase for those making $600,000 a year, and a 3 percent tax increase for those making $1 million a year or more. There would also be a quarter- cent sales tax increase for every- one. The sales tax increase would last for a total of four years, and the income tax hike would last for seven years. This compro- mise plan would be expected to raise $9 billion each year. CVHS staff members were busy over the spring break col- lecting signatures for a petition that would qualify the Protect Schools and Public Safety Act for the ballot this year. An enthusiastic CVHS P.E. teacher, Marie Gray, actively encouraged the petition by col- lecting signatures from staff members and parents. "I think it's great," said Gray. She is all for the plan, as it prom- ises to reduce budget cuts and layoffs, which are causing all kinds of problems for schools. Cuts affect the P.E. department greatly as money for equipment is a big part of sports. With great- er and greater budget cuts, P.E. classes would only be able to of- fer their students sports options that require fewer materials. "The plan gives us, as educa- tors, the tools we need to teach our students with new and in- novative ideas," said Gray. She believes that the plan would be able to solve most of our prob- lems given time. However, sophomore Kevin Brum views the tax plan in a different light. "I do not believe that you should punish people who are successful in our state. We need to stop spending, not raise taxes," said Brum. According to Brum, Califor- nia already has high taxes, and raising them even more would not make anything better. In fact, he believes it would have just the opposite effect. Many people have already left the state of California due to its high taxes, and passing Brown's new tax plan would only cause more HONG: Page 7 TAXES: Page 10 A student and a teacher fight for the ball in the three-on-three basketball tournament. See page 11. Tim Pak / Photo Editor Students doing time for no-ID crime By Lily Carrell STaff WriTer The CVHS Student/Parent Handbook clearly states that student ID cards must be pre- sented to check out books from the school library or the book room. It does not, however, ex- plain that students who attempt to do so without their ID cards will be administered a warning, and possibly a detention. According to Sue Hale, the book room supervisor, at least 200 students have come to the book room without their ID cards, and have therefore been refused the ability to check out any book. Those students have then had their names put on a list and have been given a warning. So far, 100 students have been assigned 45-minute detentions after first receiving a warning. "I would expect at this point in the year that students would know," Principal Mary Ann Valles said in regards to students bringing their ID cards to check out books. When students do not have their ID cards to check out books, the process is much slower and tedious. Even if students recite their ID card numbers, it must be entered by hand into the com- puter rather than automatically when the barcode of an ID card is scanned. S o p h o m o re A l e x a L u d k e shared her thoughts about the school's new approach to check- ing out books. "I think the system is fair because students are already required to carry their ID cards at all times," Ludke said. Other students, however, are not as compliant and believe that assigning book detentions is too severe of a punishment, as well as "unnecessary." " T h e p u n i s h m e n t f o r n o t bringing your ID card is too harsh because a student can just go on their own time to get a book," said junior Ryan Brown, one of the many students who have been issued a warning for not having their ID card when checking out a book. Gimme that! Castro Valley High School news site www.cvhsolympian.com CVHS student interview with Rachel Maddow www.youtube.com (search for "Castro Valley Maddow") Go Online @ CTA Journalism Contest 51 V O L U M E 1 9 I S S U E 4

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