Volume 105, Issue 2 Modesto High School December 2017

2 The Panther Press

Contents

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HonorOrchestra

Christmas Quiz

Talent ShowDistrict Election

Suit & TieFormalWinter Fashion

CampoExclusiveHolidayTraditions

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Modesto High School is home to many tal-ented students. Whether it is drama, speech, sports, or one of the many other activities in which students are involved, it is fun to celebrate the achievements of fellow Panthers. Recently, sophomore student, Apollo Par-ish Mitchell gave Modesto High another reason to be proud. Mitchell not only plays the oboe for the Modesto High Orchestra, but he also plays for the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra – a position for which he must audition each year. Mitchell has been playing oboe for two years and excels at the instru-ment. This past year, Mitchell’s instructor in the woodwind quintet for the Modesto Youth Sympho-ny Orchestra informed him that there were open-ings for oboes, French horns, and bassoons in the Honor Symphony Orchestra organized by the Cali-fornia Orchestra Directors Association. Mitchell said, “[I was] encouraged to try out, so I did.” After send-ing in an audio recording of his scales and a solo excerpt as an audition, Mitchell received first chair for the oboes.

The event was held in Santa Monica on December 1st and 2nd. The orchestra members consisted of high school students from all over Cal-ifornia. The students practiced together for the first time ever prior to the official concert on the sec-ond evening. The event was a night of outstanding music, which included pieces by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven.

Mitchell has never been part of such a large orchestra before, so being involved in this advanced program was quite an experience and a clear sign of his growing expertise. Mitchell is very proud of his accomplishment of getting into the Honor Symphony Orchestra. He explained that he can not wait to gain more experience in order to take more steps toward his life goal, which is to be a professional oboist. He is using this experience as a “further staircase toward [his] future.” The next step for Mitchell is another sign of his talent. Recently, he sent in a video recording of scales and select pieces to audition for Mahler at Pacific. Mitchell was selected to play with college music students and other select high school stu-dents, performing Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 at the Faye Spanos Concert Hall at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. This concert, sponsored by the Conservatory of Music, is sure to be another fan-tastic stepping-stone in Mitchell’s musical career.

Symphonic ExcellencePhotos provided by Mr. Scott Mitchell

December 2017

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Modesto High hosted its annual Talent Show on November 1st. As usual, it was held in the audito-rium. Tickets were even being sold for early admis-sion into the auditorium so spectators could snag a good spot. The wide variety of students’ talents were demonstrated through singing, dancing, beat-box-ing, and instrument playing. Fourteen year old, Gianna Howard, took first place for her performance of “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele. Gianna said, “There is 1st place through 6st place, crowd pleaser, and show stopper. I took 1st

place. This isn’t the first talent show that Gianna has participated in, “I have done a bunch of them at my old school, Hart Ransom. I have participated in talent shows ever since I was in 5th grade.” Gianna chose to sing for her peers, “Freshmen are really looked down upon, and I guess I can see, but I guess I wanted to come with a strong voice and make a good first impression.” Gianna has been singing for six years, “I have been singing since 1st grade.” Her mother recognized her talent at a young

A Show of Talents by Jasmine LÓpez

Pictured Gianna Howard

Pictured Madisyn Cates and Matthew Menenses

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age, “My mom used to say I was real-ly bad at first, but then my grandma kept buying me karaoke machines and my voice developed from there.” She doesn’t limit herself to singing one genre, “I sing what I like in general.” Gianna not only sings at school talent shows, but she is also in her church choir. The Crowd Pleaser award went to Alesia Correa for her perfor-mance of “Almost is Never Enough” by Ariana Grande and Nathan Sykes. Correa, a sophomore, is in The Per-forming Arts Academy. She said, “I wish everyone got an award because I know a couple people who didn’t and that’s sad.” Singing has always been a part of Alesia’s life having had vocal lessons at a young age and being part of a choir. Presently, Alesia mostly sings on her own. Alesia found comfort in the song selected for the show, “I chose to sing this song because I think it was a really soothing song, and it was classy. I also had a perfect dress for it, the song fit my voice well, and the words were easy to memorize.” Alesia always knew she wanted to be in the school Talent Show, “I would be in my room and have fantasies of me performing in front of a lot of people. Those moments encouraged me to do the talent show.” Her brother, Anthony Correa, was also in the talent show which gave her another sense of encour-agement to participate. She said, “Rehearsals went better. I have a video of one of the rehearsals, and I felt like I did better than in the actual Talent Show. In the Talent Show, people cheer and I like it, but I get mixed up. Then, I fear messing up.” She was excited and nervous, “I didn’t want the crowd to see my nerves, so I just put myself out there.” The Best of Show award went to Madisyn Cates and Matthew Menenses. Cates is a junior

here at Modesto High, and Menenses attends Hil-mar High. They performed a traditional Fado dance which is a genre of Portuguese dance. Cates added her own twist by adding dub-step to it. Cates said, “The music if very melancholy, dramatic, and about love.” Cates and Menenses are in a dance organiza-tion for young Portuguese people called Luso. Cates pulled the dance that was performed at the talent show from a 12 minute routine, and she taught it to herself and Menenses. The pair learned the dance the Sunday before rehearsals. The crowd received their dance well, and everyone was cheering for them. The students of Modesto High outdid them-selves and put on a great show for the audience. Students are already planning their performances for next year, which is sure to be another great night of talent.

A Show of Talents by Jasmine LÓpez

Pictured Alesia Correa

Board Boundaries Modesto High School and Modesto City Schools have been focused on education ever since their creation in the late 1800s. Since the district’s existence, the schools in the district have worked to prepare students for higher level learning, the work force, and surmounting the inevitable challenges that they will face in life. According to Kafoumba Doum-bia of EdLab Columbia, “Education gives [every student] a knowledge of the world around [them] and changes it into something better.” The importance of education in the lives of adolescents cannot be under-stated. However, it is through an intricate local school government that ideas are executed to benefit students and their learning environment. Modesto City Schools is composed of two districts for upper and lower nodes of learning (ele-mentary k-8 and high school 9-12). It is currently the third largest employer in Stanislaus County with a staff of 1,650 certified and 1,500 classified employees. and The district serves approximately 30,000 students. Modesto City Schools has a governing board which oversees district decisions.

The Modesto City School Board of Education (k-12) is comprised of seven members who are elected by districts to serve a term of four consecutive years. The members of the board have the power to authorize new programs and curricula, approve employment, adopt budgets, determine salary and school district policy. However, the true importance of the board is that it provides a “unique and crucial link between the community and the school district.” In April this year, the members of the board, successfully approved a new map to divide voter areas in the school district. This allows people to vote for representatives from their own area. The voting to approve the map was unanimous because it divid-ed the core of urban living in Modesto. While each board member represents their immediate commu-nity, their ultimate job is to represent the district as a whole. Beck Fortuna, the public information officer of MCS stated, “We hope that each trustee represents all Modesto City Schools students, regardless of the voting district in which they reside.”

6 The Panther Press

According to the Modesto Bee, the city of Modesto became the first entity sued under the California Voting Rights Act for disenfranchising Latino Voters. However, Modesto City School Board throughout the years has initiated numerous programs to stimulate the involvement of all members of the community. The creation of these “board boundaries” within the district will hopefully bolster representation for all demo-graphics of Modesto.

The new district election method requires that people campaign as representatives for their geo-graphic locations. Thus, people are able to campaign in their districts as more understanding individuals of the situations faced in certain regions. Ms. Neumann of the Modesto City School Board sees three long term benefits of using a by-district voting method. She stated, “I think it will cost significantly less to run in a district election than at large.” Ms. Neumann believes that the smaller districts will make running a campaign cheaper and easier than ever before. She also stated that the district elections will effectively encourage more people to get involved at the schools within each district. Additionally, more people will likely run to become members of the board because of the mini-mized district area. While this change may not have any profound effect on the students of Modesto High, it allows candidates to target and access more voters in each district. This is not a panacea for low voter participation. However, it may help encourage higher voter turnout and make the populace more politically aware of government on a local level.

In the most recent election in November, 4 of the 7 seats on the Modesto City School Board of Education were up for nonpartisan general election. Incumbents Cindy Marks and Chad Brown ran un-opposed for the Trustee Areas 1 and 3. Both Areas 5 and 7 had three candidates; Charlene West and Adolfo Lopez were elected to be members of the school board by fairly

By Shelby Benz

December 2017

large margins. It was the first election in which the school district used the by-district election method as opposed to an at large method, in which people vote for representatives regardless of geographic location. According to statistics derived from the Stanislaus County, 4,074 people voted in the Dis-trict 5 election and 1,432 people voted in District 7. Neumann and other board members hope that the district elections will spark higher voter enthusiasm, and get people actively involved in the election process. Neumann stated that the best way to get more people to vote is through educating the public about the importance of each individual vote, “In my first election, I won by only 23 votes. I know firsthand that each vote counted to put me into office. Local elections are won by a small amount of people voting and small differences between the candidates’ vote totals.” She encourages young people to become involved in campaigns to gain insight into the difficult processes and regulations of elections. Local governments need the participa-tion of the people in order to successfully represent the needs of individuals in various districts. Board boundaries may be the best way to satisfy the needs of the diverse population of Modesto - creating the framework to ensure the highest standard of educa-tion for our students now and in the future.

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Every year Modesto High has a fall formal. This year the theme was Suit and Tie. Students were encouraged to not only go with a date, but just bring friends. It was advertised as a more casu-al dance. This really helped take the pressure off of the people who wanted to go but couldn’t think of anyone they wanted to ask or didn’t want to go through the stress of asking someone. The decorations for the dance were fantastic with a chan-delier hanging in the middle of the gym and curtains all around the edges to make the room feel smaller. At the entrance to

the gym there was an archway which was decorated with white lights. It was a beautiful way to welcome people into the dance and make the gym feel less like a gym. Formal was planned by the sophomore leadership class, and they had to sell 150 tickets mini-mum. Last year it was postponed due to low ticket sales, but this year it bounced back with a total sale of 320 tickets! In reflection, Lyla Patel (‘20) said that the big-gest success was selling enough tickets in time. In the few days leading up to formal it looked like closing the ticket gap would

Suit and TieBy Lauren Byerly and Matthew Smith

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December 2017 9

be close, but with advertising and tables with permission slips set up in the quad they achieved a great turnout. Officially, plan-ning began right after homecom-ing, making this a busy time for the sophomore leadership class. In Lyla’s opinion, the biggest dif-ficulty that they faced was agree-ing on a theme, and they used a vote to make their final decision. This formal wasn’t just planned, it was an actual event too! With such a high turnout, the gym was full of people. Tess Kara (‘19) said that the dance, “went by really fast but was really fun,” and Iraya Cress agreed, say-ing that “it seemed super short.” It began at 8 and ended at

11, which totaled a three hour dance! All in all, this year’s for-mal was a success. The number of people there made the dance what it was, and most of them enjoyed it so much that they wish it had been longer.

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WINTER FASHION

Left: Senior Alondra Barajas. Alondra said her perfect winter outfit would have to be some booties, light jeans, a fall colored shirt with a cute pattern, and a jacket of any choice. In this weather she likes wear-ing leather jackets.

Right: Junior Baltazar Mancilla said his perfect winter outfit is a black polo sweater with a black shirt and blue jeans. Baltazar really likes this time of year because of the different outfits he can wear, and he likes the rainy days. On those days he likes wearing windbreak-ers with black jeans and Air Force Ones.

By Gisselle Rivera and Mehar Nijjar

December 2017 11

Below: Senior Ricardo Becerra has two different styles this winter. Ricardo is a boys varsity soccer team member and has to dress up professionally twice a week on game days. On the other days, Ricardo likes going for a “lazy” type of look, which includes black jeans, black Vans, a gray hoodie, and a black bomber jacket.

On the left, senior Karen Jimenez said that at this time of year she mostly loves wearing her denim jacket because it match-es with everything in her closet. She says there are various colors trend-ing this season such as emerald green, gold, and the autumn maple brownish color.

On the right, senior Monse Gomez looks super comfortable and cute in her flowy dress with black knee-high boots. Monse’s dress is the autumn maple brownish color that tends to be the most popular in this weather.

By Gisselle Rivera and Mehar Nijjar

A Convo with a Campo

What’s your favorite thing about being a campus supervisor?“My favorite thing about being a campus supervisor is having the opportunity to interact with students and staff.”

How long have you been a campus supervisor at Modesto High School?“I have been a campus supervisor at Modesto High School for 17 years. I started in January of 2002.”

Have you been a campus supervisor at any other school?“I have only been a campus supervisor at Modesto High School.”

What are you hobbies?“I like golfing, snowboarding, biking, fishing, and playing video games.”

Why did you choose to work at Modesto High School?“I chose to work at Modesto High School because of the culture this school is based on. I am a proud Panther Alumni and represent the class of 1995.

The campus supervisors patrol and monitor the campus to maintain order and security at our high school. Even though the campus supervisors aren’t police officers, a campus supervisor performs many of the public safety functions of law enforce-ment.

Mario Aviles is one of the many excellent campus supervisors on Modesto High’s campus. Other than being a campus supervisor, he is in-volved in school sports such as golf. Mario plays a vital role on the golf team by coaching the players on the team. Mario helps these kids with technique, form, and even gives the players on the team life advice. A person like Mario is irreplaceable because of what he does for students in and outside of school. Mario has been doing this job at Modesto High School for an amazing 17 years, which shows how fond and committed he is to our school. Mario is also a former Modesto High Panther who gradu-ated as part of the 1995 class, which means that he knows about the school traditions that the school has been able to put together.

Each campus supervisor is unique in his or her own way of connecting with the students of Modesto High School. Connections built with the campus supervisors lead to less violence and crimi-nal activity. Some examples of a campus supervisor duties include monitoring halls, urging students to class on time, being a general presence on campus ,and occasionally breaking up fights. Despite the fact that the campus supervisors know the risks of breaking up a fight, they risk their own body to stop a fight. Campus supervisor Mario Aviles believes that breaking up a fight is the hardest duty of a campus supervisor because if they handle the situa-tion wrong, then there may be consequences. When you see a campus supervisor, thank him or her for a job well-done for Modesto High School.

By Rohin Walia & Rahul Walia

12 The Panther Press

Modesto High junior Gina Pallios practices the Greek Orthodox religion. She celebrates Christmas Eve at her aunt’s house with about eighty other family members, including her first cousins, her thea, her theo, her yaiyia, and her papou. They all do a huge Secret Santa game. She goes home and eats tur-key with her closest family. On Christmas Day, Gina wakes up early to open presents and eat breakfast. She then spends hours at the Greek Orthodox Church for a Christmas Service. After church, she has a potluck lunch with her huge family. She enjoys these meals because of her love for Greek food, especially spanikopita. Gina said her favorite part of the holiday is “singing carols with my whole extended family at the Christmas Eve party” while her cousin plays the piano.

Gina Pallios with her brothers and Santa Claus on Christmas.

Celebrating the Holiday Season

by Tera Waterman and Anna Rinne

A Time for Family

December 2017 13

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Junior Alan Martinez is a part of the Mormon religion and he attends The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints. They have many traditions leading up to celebrating Christmas. Their first tradition takes place on the first weekend of December, every year. On the first weekend of December, his congregation hosts a “Nativity Festival” where every member of the community is willing to experience the Nativity of Jesus Christ, that is set up in a vast room that has been decorated. At the Nativity Festival there are many talented performers from the community who come and perform for everyone as they are looking at the different nativities. Also, there is a place where the little kids can go play, color, make cookies, and dress up as the characters of the Nativity. At the end of the festival, they then listen to a worldwide broadcast from their prophet. Aside from the Nativity Festival, an event starts where the church posts videos on YouTube for the members to watch and share with their friends and family, from December 1st to December 25th. In each of the videos, there is a different way to help someone in need in the world. On the videos, people can also see something that has been done by the church or other communities around the world, to help others in need. This year it is called “Light the World” which is significant, since that is what they believe Jesus Christ did. Other than that most Wards and Branches in the world hold their own Christ-mas dinner for the families in their area that do not have the ability to have a big family dinner, or for those who don’t have a family to be with. As a Ward, they all contribute and help out with buying gifts for the children, bringing in a Santa Claus, bringing in all the food necessary, and for planning out activi-ties for the dinner. Any leftover food is given to those families who don’t have much food available for their family dinner.

Christmas, the Time of Giving

This is one of the Nativity scenes for the “Nativity Festival”

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Senior Eeman Kahn is a part of the Muslim religion. Every year she and her fami-ly celebrate Eid-al-Fitr. There is no set date for Eid-al-Fitr; as it is determined by the new moon. This year Eid-al-Fitr started on August 31st to the end of the day on September 1st. During Eid-al-Fitr millions of pilgrims go to Saudi Arabia to begin the pilgrimage called Hajj. Hajj is a five day journey that is required of financially able Muslims. It ends in Mecca which is a holy city in the Muslim tradition. Believers of this faith date The Hajj back to nearly 2,000 B.C. when Ishmael, the infant of the prophet Ibrahim, and Ibrahim’s wife, Hager, were stranded in the desert. Ishmael was close to dying from dehydration. Hager ran back and forth between the two hills, Safa and Marwa, looking for water for her child. Then the angel Jubril touched down to Earth and created a spring of fresh water for the child. After this occurred, Ibrahim was said to have built a monu-ment at the site of the spring, Kaaba. Moham-med led the first group of Muslims to Kaaba; this was the first official Hajj then, destroying the idols placed there by polytheistic worshipers and re-dedicating the site in the name of Allah. The path that Mohammed and his followers walked was retraced as a part of Hajj rituals which include Mager’s walk between Safa and Marwa. Generally they also slaughter and animal in honor of the sacrifice that Ibrahim made to save his son. Usually Eeman and her family go to the Mosque and pray, facing towards Mecca. They also have a feast with friends and family and, just enjoy each other’s company.

Pilgrimage and Remembrance

December 2017

For holiday recipes, please visit the Panther Press website at mohipantherpress.com.

16 The Panther Press

Christmas QuizAs Christmas is approaches and lights fill the streets, it is easy to get into the holiday spirit. Take this quiz to see how much you really know about Christmas!

1. What is the most popular Christmas tree top-per?

a) A starb) A candlec) An angeld) No tree topper

2. What was the first state to recognize Christmas as an official holiday?

a) Wyomingb) Alabamac) Californiad) Virginia

3. “On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me...”

a) 11 Lords a Leapingb) 11 Ladies Dancingc) 11 Swans a Swimmingd) 11 Pipers Piping

4. How many reindeer pull Santa’s sleigh (includ-ing Rudolph)?

a) 8b) 6c) 12d) 9

5. What year was Christmas declared a federal hol-iday in the United States?

a) 1923b) 1870c) 1795d) 1904

6. Of all of the popular Christmas songs, which is the best-selling single?

a) White Christmasb) Jingle Bell Rockc) Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snowd) All I Want For Christmas is You

7. How many gifts would you get if you got all of the gifts from the 12 Days of Christmas?

a) 78b) 12c) 364d) 242

By Sarah RinneAnswers: 1 - C, 2 - B,

3 - D, 4 - D, 5 - B,6 - A, 7 - C

How well did you do? (Answers at the bottom of the

page)

6-7 CorrectYou sleighed this Christmas

Quiz!

4-5 CorrectYou did pretty well, but you might want to do more re-

search to get into the Christ-mas spirit!

0-3 CorrectAre you the Grinch?