15325 E. Los Robles Ave. Hacienda Heights, CA 91745Volume XLVI, Issue X February 14, 2013 Circulation 2200

As February and March areright around the corner, the Los AltosHigh School choir program is ferventlypreparing for its big event: CabaretNight. It will be held on Thursday, March7 at 7:00 P.M. and Friday, March 8 at 6:00P.M. and 8:00 P.M. with an open re-hearsal on Wednesday,March 6, at 5:00 P.M.Drinks and dessert arecomplimentary with thepurchase of a ticket to theshow. Tickets will be $10for the performances onThursday and Friday, whiletickets for the Wednesdayshow will be offered for $5.

Junior AlexandraLopez, a member ofWomen’s Ensemble, expresses her feel-ings about Cabaret Night by saying, “Ireally like the choreography for the per-formance, and I think we’re all really ex-cited to show everyone the merits of ourhard work!”

In addition to Cabaret Night,individual groups from the choir programare preparing for their own events. Pro-duction Choir is preparing for its showchoir competitions at Brea Olinda HighSchool and Los Alamitos High School

By Irene TsaoConqueror Page Editor

After months of studying andpractice, the Los Altos Academic Decath-lon team finally traveled to El RanchoHigh School on January 26 for their firstcompetition of the year. “Our goal thisyear is to break the ranks since we’vebeen a top competing school. We defi-nitely have the opportunity to do betterthan expected this year,” said Jibin Park,advisor.

The team con-sists of three groups dif-ferentiated by grades.With the highest grades,the Honors group in-cludes Darren Eng, senior;Patrick Chiang, senior;and Jordan Yen, sopho-more. Next is the Scholas-tic group including VictorZhang, senior; JuanReyes, senior; and IvanWang, senior. Lastly isVarsity with Alex Nazaroff,senior; Darren Liu, senior; and Jason Lee,senior. At the El Rancho competition, theywere tested on their abilities in speech,interview, and essay.

The second competition was onFebruary 2 at the University of SouthernCalifornia. There the competitors took

Dozens of school police andsheriff’s deputies flooded Los Altos HighSchool on January 23 due to a possiblegun threat on campus. A student notifiedadministration that he had overheard astudent whispering “it’s loaded” to an-other student in a restroom stall.

Los Altos administration firstgave students warning that lockdownalarms may be going off due to alarm test-ing. It was not until 8:45 a.m. that admin-istration put the school under officiallockdown. As students sat quietly in theirfirst period classes, teams of police en-tered classrooms to search backpacksand pat down students in search of a gun.“I believe it’s still the best thing the po-lice can do to ensure everybody at schoolwas safe. It’s just like the security checkat the airport. You go through the pro-cess that can make your flight safer,” saidLeon Liang, senior.

Around 1:00p.m., classes thatreceived the all-clear signal were escortedto the stadium where students wereserved lunch and allowed to use therestroom. While students filled the sta-dium, parents simultaneously filled

Turnbull Canyon Road as they lined upbehind the back entrance of the stadiumto pick up their child. “The students andstaff were excellent during our lockdown. Everyone did exactly what was askedwithout hesitation,” said Jeff Hess, vice-principal.

Los Altos High School waseventually deemed safe for re-entry andthe lockdown was lifted around 3:00p.m.,only a few minutes later than when stu-dents are usually released from school.Some students scurried back to theirclassrooms to retrieve their belongingswhile other students scampered to thesafety of their parents’ arms. “I’m gladthe school took that precaution after whatthey heard. There may not have been agun, but if there was, it would have re-ally helped,” said Danny Venegas, fresh-man.

Within this six hour period, ad-ministration carried about multiple safetyprocedures to ensure the well being ofstudents and their families. Los Altos’social networking feeds were updated tolet the public know that the situation atLos Altos was under control. Next, over

By William LiuInternet Editor

multiple choice exams on subjects includ-ing art, music, social studies, languageand literature, economics, and science.The overall theme of the tests this yearwas Russia. “The theme of Russia madethe tests hard, but the subjects them-selves weren’t,” said Liu. The banquet,where they will find out the results, washeld on February 13.

The teamhad high goals andaspirations thisyear. “We are thebest team in thenation. I hope wewin first place innationals and meetthe President,”c o m m e n t e dZhang. No matterwhat they bringhome at the ban-quet, at least thec o m p e t i t o r s

brought home memories. “At first itseemed like it was going to be boring,but it turned out to be a lot of fun. You’renot up against super geniuses, but in-stead, students like yourselves. If timeisn’t an issue, I recommend everbody tryit!” says Reyes.

on February 16 and March 22 respec-tively. The group has already competedat Walnut High School on February 9,placing second and winning showman-ship honors. Women’s Ensemble has aSouthern California Vocal Associationfestival performance on March 28 at

Beckman High School.The choir

program is also goingto the annual HaciendaLa Puente UnifiedSchool District choirconcert, featuring allchoir students in thedistrict.

SophomoreJackie Ku, a member ofProduction Choir, re-

marks, “I think it’s really great to be inthis group and everyone’s eager to startcompeting with our show. Also, I thinkthe district choir concert is going to gowell.”

When asked about his feelingstoward the upcoming events in Febru-ary and March, junior Joshua Sales, alsoa member of Production Choir, replied,“It’s amazing to be surrounded by somany talented people. The music is go-ing to be remarkable.”

By Melissa ChenEditor-in-Chief

Students gather on the lower fields during the lockdown

Seniors Darren Liu, Juan Reyes, andAlex Nazaroff

Alexandra Lopez, junior

50 classrooms, totaling upto approximately 2000 stu-dents, were searched forany threats. Furthermore,phone calls were made toeach student’s guardiansto inform them of the situ-ation at hand. Lastly, in anorderly fashion, studentswere escorted to the safetyof the stadium where theywere served lunch. MarkHughes, physics, com-mented, “That was the bestorganized lockdown I haveparticipated in.” At the endof the day, no studentswere hurt and no threatswere found at Los Altos.Officer Robert Barbastated, “Your child is ourchild. Your student made ithome safely.” Jeff Hess,vice-principal, added, “Iwould like to take this timeto thank everyone for theirunderstanding and coop-eration,”

NewsThe Conqueror February 14, 20132

Everyone on cam-pus knows that there is a se-nior project paper, but little domost people know that thereis more to the senior projectthan just writing. The seniorproject is a way for seniors tohelp out in the community bydoing five hours of commu-nity service. The communityservice must be related toeach senior’s topic.

In addition to com-munity service hours,each senior must com-plete 10 hours of a learnedskill, also related to thetopic. The goal of eachstudent completing a to-tal of 15 hours is to de-velop a possible actionplan. An action plan is asmall but realistic stepthat society can take tosolve the current issue ofeach student’s choice.

The steps are hopefully beingshown through the commu-nity service and learned skillhours.

“The senior project mightbe a long process, but in theend, you gain an experienceand learn something from allthe hours you put into it,” saidIsaac Ruiz, senior.

Juan Vasquez, senior,commented “To be honest,the senior project seems to be

a waste of time, but it canactually help you get in-volved in the real world. Ifyou don’t care, then just doit, because it is pretty easy.”

Elyse Kasparian, senior,exclaimed, “I am using signlanguage for my seniorproject learned skill. I can-not wait to learn more abouthow deaf people communi-cate!”

“As long as you stay on

top of thingssuch as yourjournals andhours andpick a topicthat you feelpassionate inhelping oth-ers out, theprocess willnot feel like adrag,” saidC a r l aQuezada, se-nior.

The seniorproject is quite a bit ofwork, and some seniorsare not particularly de-lighted about that. “Thesenior project is the long-est piece of busy work Ithink anyone will get intheir life,” said ManuelEscalante, senior. How-ever, other seniors are

Juan VasquezCarla Quezada

It was 7:00 P.M. The audi-ence looked on eagerly. The highlyanticipated play, “The Company ofWayward Saints”, was about to be-gin…

The vibrantly masked troupeonstage had a dilemma. They werefar from home and homesick. Frankly,they were also getting sick of eachother. These haughty actors were tooprone to bickering amongst them-selves to put on a cohesive perfor-mance. Harlequin, their manager,brought news of a wealthy duke will-ing to pay for their trip home. In ex-change, the troupe was required to actout “The History of Man.” In front ofan audience that included the afore-mentioned patron, the actors com-menced with a scene depicting thecreation of mankind.

As they performed scenesleading up to the return of Odysseusto an unsympathetic Penelope, it wasapparent that the actors had lost theirsense of teamwork. Capitano, thewarrior, strode directly in front of aknitting Columbine, the nag, as he re-layed his adventures in the role ofOdysseus. Tired of being upstaged,Columbine plunged a knitting needleinto his leg. All of the characters re-turned to the stage and instantlysquabbled with one another. The

characters then angrily stormed offstage,leaving Harlequin alone. He apologized tothe audience and promised to reassemblehis company. “You have the word of Harle-quin!” he vowed, “and you know whatthat’s worth!” He pulled the curtains to aclose and the intermission began.

After the intermission, the actorsdecided on a different interpretation of theduke’s given topic. With a newfound to-getherness, they performed the four stagesin the history of every man: birth, adoles-cence, marriage, and death. They marveledat what they discover in the process, suchas the rekindled love of the sweethearts,Tristano and Isabella. In the end, the com-pany of wayward saints gained both theapproval of the duke and a new apprecia-tion of life itself.

The duke was not alone in his ad-miration. The actors that played thearchetypical characters executed their lineswith precision and emotion. The play, rifewith witty innuendo and perfectly timedone-liners, kept the audience giggling. “Itwas very well produced, especially for ahigh school play. It blew my expectationsaway,” raved Yuyu Luo, senior. “My onlyconcern was that I wasn’t in it.” JuniorShelby Gulino, who played the role of Col-umbine, stated, “It was really good. Every-one is so talented and dedicated. We fedoff the energy of the cast and audience.”

Many had kind words to say about

the students who devoted themselvesto their characters. Jeromy Ramos,sophomore, had the most lines of anycharacter in his role as Harlequin. “I re-spect Harlequin for learning all of hislines,” commented Nick Agurcia, senior.It was not easy. “I didn’t have a life,”explained Ramos humorously. “Thescript was my life for a solid two months.”Isaak Serrano, senior, practiced his lineswith his ten-year-old sister and five-year-old neighbor. Gulino was simply blessedwith a good memory. She channeled her“naturally sassy inner nag” to portrayher character and entice laughter fromthe audience. Meanwhile, Serrano’s un-derstudy, Eduardo Vasquez, wowed au-dience members on the only night he per-formed. His ready smile and accent per-fectly suited the role of the romanticTristano. “His accent was hilarious andsexy,” declared Michael Welch, senior.“I feel honored,” remarked Vasquez.“Performing is my life.”

The successful cast had advicefor aspiring actors. “Do the spring pro-duction,” Serrano recommended. “Joindrama. There is no drama in drama,” ob-served Gulino. “Drama’s a great program.You become courageous and make a lotof friends.” Ramos’s piece of advice wasmore generalized. “Do what you love,”he proclaimed, adding hastily, “and don’tlet the world get in your way.”

Zoe AcostaJustin AlmanzaJoshua Alverez

Micheal ApiMonica AreveloWesley ArvizuMarcos AvilaGalvin BarnesAngelica Bravo

Corissa BurdetteGrayson Castro

Christopher CervantesJeffery Chang

Mariana CoronaOscar De la TorreSergio De la TorreElizabeth DimasLiberty Espana

Vania FloresYvette Franco

Christian GarciaRyan Gomez

Daniel GonzalezArmando GonzalezAnthony GuevaraArmando GuzmanGustavo GuzmanDavid Hernandez

Tatiana HernandezKenneth HirschtTatiana Holgluin

Josh HsuihSean Khang

Eduardo LechugaTimothy LeeCrystal Lopez

Steven MagallanesBrian Mariscal

Molina MelendezJames Mendez

Alejandra MendozaBrandon Mendoza

Raul MonroyRigoberto MontanezMiriena Mungarro

Marlene MunozJessica OchoaRene Prenza

Jeromy RamosGriselda RuizEric Sanchez

Andrea SerranoKimberly Wong

On January 21,2013, President BarackObama attended the Inau-guration Ceremony andwas sworn in for a secondterm as President of theUnited States. Four LosAltos students, accompa-nied by Richard Nares, so-cial sciences, traveled to WashingtonD.C. to explore the city and witnessthe inauguration first-hand.

In addition to attending thePresidential Inauguration, these fourLos Altos students spent several daystouring the city and visiting its manyhistorical monuments, sites, and mu-seums. Along with learning thenation’s history through firsthand ex-perience, students involved in the triphad the opportunity to earn one unitfor a college level course regarding

leadership and citizenship.Students on the trip visitedCongress Hall and met with acongressman where they wereable to discuss various topicssuch as leadership and poli-tics.

Nares was also re-sponsible for chaperoning a

group of nineteen other kids from all overthe country in addition to the four studentsfrom Los Altos. He admits that meeting thenew kids was the highlight of the trip.“They’re interesting and loving kids. Theyall really bonded. In just four to five dayswe became a small, little family.”

The inauguration itself left an im-pact on those who witnessed it. Accordingto Nares, “It doesn’t matter who it is. See-ing the president inaugurated is a once in alife time experience.”

Santiago Walker, junior, was one

of only four LosAltos studentsthat went on thetrip. He says,“The city of DCis truly a breath-taking place, andthe inaugurationceremony itself,even for some-one who dis-agrees with ourpresident as much as I do, was a mo-ment of spectacle like few I’ve seen. Iespecially loved the way the sun shoneon the capitol in the hours before Obamatook his oath.”

The trip was clearly an amaz-ing experience for all those involved.Nares emphasizes, “It was a fantastic trip.It was the highlight of my teaching ca-reer.”

quite pleased with their work and havebeen moving along steadily. “I’m donewith everything except for the learnedskill. The project has been pretty easyfor now,” said Daniel Cheng, senior.

Progress is something to beproud of, and some seniors have pro-gressed quickly and are content withtheir work. “My progress so far is excel-lent. Senior project is not as hard as Ithought it would be. Future seniors: payattention to those due dates, and if youfollow them, it won’t seem like a ton ofwork,” advised Angel Herrera, senior.

Finally, Nicole Meylor, English,stated, “The studentshave developed an ideaabout their issue, andnow that the paper isover and they knowmore about it, they aregoing to go out andlearn about it morethrough their commu-nity service and learnedskill.”

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By Lydia Lee and Corissa BurdetteConqueror Page Editors

By Hillary HermawanConqueror Staff Writer

By Caroline TorresConqueror Staff Writer

Elyse Kasparian

Santiago Walker

FeaturesThe Conqueror February 14, 2013

There is something special abouta high school romance. Perhaps it is be-cause of the quick glances in the hallways,the gossip at lunch, or the common symp-toms of flushed cheeks and a racing heart.Perhaps it is because of the uncertaintyof it all. Does he like me? Does she thinkof me as only a friend? Will it last? Per-haps what makes a high school romanceso sweet is its tangible frailty. The presentis a present for these youngsters. AsValentine’s Day once again comesaround, it is time to take a closer look atthese privileged few.

Among the five couples chosenat random, three first met each other in aphysical education class. There must besomething about shared physical exertionthat brings people together. “I outran herin the mile,” gloats Noah Garibay, sopho-more. His girlfriend, junior Leslie Velez,simply laughs inresponse. Mean-while, freshmenAnthony Fierrosand Becky Navamet in band, wherea mutual fondnessof music turnedinto a mutual fond-ness for each other.Seniors Manuel Escalante and CeciliaMora take the cake as they got to knoweach other in a chemistry class. It is al-most certain that their friends have at-tempted bad jokes as a result.

It has been nearly a year sinceEscalante and Mora discovered they figu-ratively and literally had chemistry to-gether. For sophomores Andrew Romeroand Martha De Los Santos, it has beennearly two. “It has been one year, elevenmonths, and nine days,” specifiesRomero. What is their secret? “I love hissmile,” explains De Los Santos. ChristinaGurdzhyan, junior, and Freddy Gomez, se-nior, have been together for six months.“He makes me laugh,” says Gurdzhyan.Fierros and Nava, who have been togetherfor almost eight months, find that theirsmall quirks are what bring them together.“My favorite thing about her is her mole,”confides Fierros.

Cartoonist Bill Watterson oncesaid, “We’re so busy watching out forwhat’s ahead of us that we don’t take timeto enjoy where we are.” In the confusingworld of high school romance, nothing iscertain. What is certain is the fact thatthese five couples live in the moment, andtheir relationships prosper because of it.

Pieces ofthe PuzzleBy Hillary Hermawan and Valeria WangConqueror Staff Writers

Stores are starting to fill theirshelves with chocolates and roses as

February 14 drawscloser. Valentine’sDay, generallyspeaking, has al-ways been seen asa day for girls.The guy is alwaysexpected to dosomething specialfor the girl, and ifhe doesn’t, he isforever shunned

as being a terrible boyfriend. But whynot turn the tradition around and letthe girls do something nice for theguys. Here are some ideas:

1. Bake him his favorite treat.Find out what sweets he likes to eat,whether it be cookies, brownies, or cup-

cakes, and personally bake them for him.It means much more to him if you person-ally make it for him rather than if you buyit from the store. Decorate it with aValentine’s Day theme to add to the sen-timent and surprise him with them.

2. Make him a personalized pic-ture frame. Buy a picture frame and deco-rate it with things that remind you of him.Find a cute picture of the two of you andwrite a message on the back. He will beable to keep this picture forever.

3. Take him out to dinner. Showyour thanks by turning the tables around.Surprise him with a dinner reservation athis favorite restaurant.

Valentine’s Day is comingand I’m here to give you guys an ideaon how to spend your Valentine’sDay with your girlfriend. Becausethere are many things that can bedone, I’ll talk about the three spe-cific things that I would do onValentine’s Day.

1.Take your significantother to the place that she has alwayswanted to go. This is number one onmy priority list because I am a cheap-skate. For instance, there are manytimes that your girlfriend has hintedor blatantly said that she wants to goto Disneyland. Take her to Disneyland.It is a special day, after all. Eventhough I just told you to go toDisneyland, many amusement parkson Valentine’s Day are going to bepacked, so buy the ticket and waituntil the week after to go!

2.Be a gentleman around

her and make it seem like the world re-volves around her. If you have a car, driveher to a restaurant and open the door forher. Treat her like a princess. These littlethings can make a girl’s day seem better thanusual, and that’syour goal. 3.Don’tdo anything at all.This must be theworst advice evergiven forValentine’s Day,but this is justsomething that Iwould do.Valentine’s Day is just a lazy excuse for theguys to do something special on one day.The thing that guys should do is just spon-taneous bursts of kindness and little giftsevery once in a while. That would make yoursignificant other think greater of you thanever before!

Valentine’s for

By Nicholas PungConqueror Staff Writer

By Melissa ChenEditor-in-Chief

Her and Him

3

Background picture from www.deviantart.com

Background picture from www.deviantart.com

FeaturesThe Conqueror February 14, 20136

By Nathalie GomezConqueror Page Editor

During the past few weeks,there have been a series of incidents thathave required extra security measures beput in place at schools. As a result, theLos Altos campus is also increasing se-curity measures of its own. These newsecurity measures include a securityguard being placed at the school en-trance during school hours, a require-ment to have adults who enterthe campus sign in and out, ask-ing teachers to lock gates morecarefully, and a district-wide re-quirement to have classroomdoors closed and locked at alltimes.

These new rules wereadded to create the most secureenvironment possible for stu-dents to learn. So far, assistantprincipal Jeff Hess shared thepositive comments he has heardabout the new procedures to in-crease security. Hess shared, “Ihaven’t heard anything from students,but parents like the process of signing inand out of the campus.” When studentswere asked for their thoughts on the in-creased security, sophomore Mayra

Sebiria responded, “Yes, I do feel saferat school because now they know whois inside the school at all times.”

The school is striving to do itsbest to provide students with the safestenvironment possible. The district re-cently had a meeting at the Los Altoscampus to discuss school safety withparents. Teachers have also been briefed

on what to doin case of an in-cident byencouragingteachers to dis-cuss plans withtheir class onwhat to do incase an emer-gency pre-sents itself.

It is better tobe safe thansorry. Hesswants to reas-

sure students that one thing is certain.“All of the staff, including the teachers,is going to try our best to keep studentssafe. After all, our main goal is to keepstudents safe,” he said.

Many centuries ago, a saintnamed Valentine defied a king’s order thatprohibited marriage for young men. Hesecretly organized weddings, but was ex-ecuted when the king discovered his ac-tions. Today, February is celebrated as

t h emonth ofromance,a n dValentine’sDay com-m e m o -rates thats a i n t ’ sb u r i a l .Teachersanticipate

the holiday as much as students. WithValentine’s Day approaching, manyteachers plan to spend the holiday withtheir loved one.

Jeff Buchholz, math, says, “Iwould plan a romantic getaway, and Iwould find a cabin up at Lake Arrow-head. Hopefully it snows so we can goice skating somewhere. Every Valentine’sDay I enjoy getting two dozen roses formy wife.”

“I plan on celebratingValentine’s Day with my wife and kids.For me, every day is Valentine’s Day,”says Ignacio Hernandez.

Jennifer Kostun, English,shares, “We are going to find out thegender of our baby this year, which isdifferent, because we do not get to dothat every year. The best Valentine’s Dayoccurred in the year before I got married.My husband and I went on an engage-ment encounter weekend. It was reallyspecial because we talked about all theimportant aspects of marriage, and I feltlike I fell even more in love with my hus-band. It also made me feel more excitedfor my marriage.”

On the other hand, other teach-ers think Valentine’s Day is a rather in-significant holiday.

“I don’t plan anything onValentine’s Day because it is a corporateholiday developed by the card compa-nies, such as Hallmark. Also, my wife’sbirthday is in December and I simplydon’t do Valentine’s Day,” says SeanKane, science.

The United States has startedthe year on the wrong foot according todoctors and health professionals. It ap-pears that a simple flu has become a wide-spread epidemic that now covers thenation.

As a result of the epidemic, doc-tors have created vaccines to help pre-vent the influenza from further spread-ing. Unfortunately, over 20 children havealready died from it already. Health au-thorities advise children, senior citizens,and people with health conditions to re-ceive this vaccine as soon as possibleas they are more prone to catch this dan-gerous flu.

Unfortunately, there has beena shortage of the vaccine in many areasof the country. There were 135 milliondoses distributed by manufacturers atthe beginning of the season, with 128million given out during the first week ofJanuary. After learning of this news, jun-ior Mimi Mikhael suggested, “Theyshould make more flu shots so morepeople can have it.” Since there is a short-age of the vaccine, people who still wantit will have to look for it in many placesbefore getting their hands on it.

Sophomore Mitchell Ducharmeshares, “Although I have not gotten aflu shot yet, I’m not nervous since I’musually a healthy person. I am constantlytaking vitamins and drinking fluids to re-

main healthy.”On the otherhand, juniorLuz AmandaR o d r i g u e zsays, “I didget a flu shotalready. I’mscared some-one I knowmight diesince I heardmany kids

have died from it already. I simply recom-mend doing whatever it takes to stay ashealthy as possible.”

Doctors recommend people be-gin taking anti-virals as soon as symp-toms begin to appear. Such symptomsmay be fever, cough, or fatigue. Remem-ber to try to stay as healthy as possible.

By Connie Pung and Caroline TorresConqueror Staff

Jeff Hess, assistant principal.

Babies here, babies there, ba-bies everywhere! This past year, thenumber of new babies had by the LosAltos High School staff has increaseddramatically! Female teachers now facethe problem of absences during mater-nity leave while male teachers have todeal with having to be by their wife’sside at all times. Nonetheless, the stu-dents are happy for them.

Jennifer Kostun, English, hasannounced that she now has ababy forming in her stomach. “It mostlyfeels surreal. Initially, it was shocking asit is a new experience. Now that sometime has passed, the excitement and an-ticipation are setting in for Mr. Kostuna n dm e , ”s t a t e dKostun.Thoughthis isexciting,it turnsout thatKostunhas keptit a secret for a while! “She told us nearthe beginning of December that she waspregnant, but right now she’s threemonths pregnant. That means she keptit from us for about a month to two,”exclaimed Judy Chen, sophomore.

Many of Kostun’s students arethrilled to hear about new baby Kostun.“I can’t wait for the baby to come! Mrs.Kostun is like a mother to me and sheloves kids so much. I’m so happy to hearthat she’s going to have a kid of her own.,”said Jessica Jang, junior.

“I think my students feel excitedabout the pregnancy. Every week I sharean update with them about the baby’sdevelopment, and they always ask a lotof questions. They have a lot of namesuggestions, and they are fun to hear,”stated Kostun. Though many studentshave given their input, she has opinionsof her own. “We like the name John Jo-seph for a boy. John is Mr. Kostun’sfather’s name, which is a name we bothreally like, and Joseph is my father’sname, which is a name we both reallylike. Also, if it is a boy, it will be the firstboy Kostun, so we like the idea of hon-oring these names for tradition, especiallyto honor our fathers who are such great

Here Come The Babies!Here Come The Babies!Here Come The Babies!Here Come The Babies!Here Come The Babies!

By Nancy GomezConqueror Page EditorBy Hailey Lee

Conqueror Staff Writer

By Cheryl ChingConqueror Staff Writer

teacher

Winnie Gilbert,math, has received anopportunity to helpwrite the National Com-mon Core Standards,but she must drop herthird and fifth period Al-gebra 2 classes to do so.Gilbert will work on ateam to write the eighthgrade standards. Cali-fornia will fully imple-ment these standards inthe 2013-2014 schoolyear. “The district was very generous toallow me to take partial leave absencebut remain connected to the school. It’slike I’ll be having two part-time jobs. I amvery grateful that the district is lettingme do this. This is a huge endeavor,”said Gilbert.

Gilbert had been working withProfessor Hung-Hsi Wu from UC Berke-ley for ten years on teacher-professordevelopment. When the opportunityarose, Wu was asked to help write theCommon Core Standards, who then re-cruited Gilbert.

valentinesFlu

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Gilbert NamedGilbert NamedGilbert NamedGilbert NamedGilbert Named To CCS Committee To CCS Committee To CCS Committee To CCS Committee To CCS Committee

It was an ex-tremely harddecision tomake. In orderto seize this op-portunity, sheneeded to letgo of her thirdand fifth peri-ods. “That’sthe most diffi-cult part, leav-ing my

classes.” Fortunately, her leave is onlytemporary. “Don’t worry; it’s only untilthe end of the year. I’m going to be backnext year.”

Gilbert is currently working tofind a replacement teacher to teach hertwo Algebra 2 classes. A possible candi-date is a teacher Gilbert met at math camp.The new teacher has not been confirmedyet, but Gilbert does not want to settlefor just any substitute. “I’m working toget a qualified teacher, not a sub. I wantmy classes to be in good hands.” Never-theless, she will be missed by her stu-dents in periods 2 and 5.

Luz Amanda Rodriguez,junior

dads to us.If it is a girl, I love the name,

Grace Elizabeth. Mr. Kostun likes thesenames too, but he also really likes SophieMarie. We will have to take a good lookat whoever it is, though, before commit-ting. As of now, this is what we are talk-ing about, and it is very fun and exciting,but everything is just a plan until theevent actually happens,” said Kostun.

Chris Coleman, social science,is yet another teacher that will be wel-coming a new member to his family thisyear. His baby boy’s due date is set forMarch 22, just a handful of weeks away.Coleman eagerly awaits the unborn child.Despite it being his first, he claims not to

suffer from anynew parent jit-ters. “I’m not re-ally nervous,” hestates, “more ex-cited.”

His stu-dents have ex-pressed con-gratulations andwell wishes for

his wife’s pregnancy. According to him,“They’re all excited, especially my girls’water polo team.” It’s possible studentsalso hope for a new child to create a morelax classroom atmosphere. Colemanclaims, “It’ll calm me down. It alreadyhas.”

Fortunately, Coleman’s wife hasescaped most, though not all, of thedownside that can come with pregnancy.“My wife has never thrown up, thoughshe has gestational diabetes. Pregnantwomen get it. She has to check her bloodsugar two or three times a day so thebaby doesn’t get too large, but it’s fine.The baby is fine.”

For now, there are no names se-lected for the baby, though there are afew in the works. Coleman is playfullyvying for “Cosmo”, though he doesn’texpect his wife to concede to it. “It’s ajoke,” he says. While students are wel-come to make suggestions, Colemandoesn’t expect to pick any names thatthey recommend.

For now, Coleman can only ea-gerly await the arrival of his first babyboy. “I’m excited! It’ll be fun,” he ex-claims.

*Photo credit to Chris Coleman

EntertainmentThe Conqueror February 14, 2013

“When words fail, musicspeaks” is a phrase used by many todescribe music in their life. It is difficultto choose music for one tolisten to when there arevarious genres and stylesavailable. As the years goby, more music is writtenand sung, so how doesone decide the best songs?The year 2012 was full ofmany hit singles. The fol-lowing songs were themost played and the mostlistened to of 2012.

“Payphone” byMaroon 5. This song wasnominated for a GrammyAward. The subject of the song was apayphone, which hardly exists any moredue to cellphones. However, it main-tained its spot at the top of the chartswhen it was released due to its catchylyrics and beat.

“Glad You Came” by TheWanted. This tune was actually releasedin 2011, but it was not until last year thatit became one of the most listened tosongs of the year. This UK band wonthe People’s Choice Award for Best NewArtist in January because of this tune.

“Wild Ones” by Flo Rida fea-turing Sia. A song with a good beat, yetthe title might throw one off.However, the song hit num-ber five on Spotify’s mostplayed songs.

“We Are NeverEver Getting Back To-gether” by Taylor Swift. An-other break-up song forSwift. Famous for its catchylyrics, the music video is saidto have been filmed in onlyone day!

“Starships” byNicki Minaj. With its catchy hook, thissong made its way to the dancing scenesof 2012.

“What Makes You Beautiful”by One Direction. The UK’s X-factor par-ticipant has created one of the biggestfan bases with their hit song. It was re-leased at the beginning of the year and,as the year went by, the band was ableto pave its way to a successful year.

“Ho Hey” by The Lumineers.

Described as “America’s Mumford &Sons”, The Lumineers recorded a songthat ended up being the most-playedsong on Spotify over the course of 2012.

“Somebody That I Used toKnow” by Gotye fea-turing Kimbra. Thissong was a break-upsong known for itscatchy lyrics and mu-sic video. The musicvideo is known for itsunusual approach tothe song.“It’s Time” by Imag-ine Dragons. Reach-ing number 15 on theBillboard Hot 100 andmaintaining top 10 po-sitions on charts sole

for rock music, this song was played onpopular radio stations across the nation.Certified as a platinum single by the Re-cording Industry of America and nomi-nated for “Best Rock Video” at the 2012MTV Video Music Awards, it remains theband’s most successful song to date.

“We are Young” by Fun. Thissong was number one for six weeks. Itgave Fun a Grammy nomination, addingup to a total of 6 Grammy nominationsfor the group.

“Gangnam Style” by PSY. Thissong is famous for its dance moves. Per-formed by the Korean singer PSY, this

song was intentionallymade just for fun. How-ever, it received highviews on YouTube,eventually reaching abillion views!

“Call Me Maybe” byCarly Rae Jepsen. Eventhough this song wasalready playing on Ca-nadian stations, it madeits entrance into theUnited States this year.

The song has been made into parodies,covers, and dances including Harvard’sbaseball team dancing to it!

Overall, the year was full ofmany hit singles. Now that 2013 is here,new songs will take over the top playedsongs.

*This list of songs was created after researchon websites such as billboard.com, mtv.com,huffingtonpost.com, and rollingstone.com.

Songs of 2012By Yvette FrancoConqueror Editor

“Out with the old and in withthe new.” However, some technologystill remains. Just because it’s a new yeardoes not mean last year apps are nowuseless. Check out these top 5 iPhoneapps of 2012 and see if they’re outdated.

1. Summly: With the help of aHong Kong-based billionaire who in-vested in several other companies(Skype, Facebook and Spotify), NickD’Alosio created Summly as a newssummary app. The slick in-terface has complicated al-gorithms working to pro-vide users with stories theywant to know, all in oneplace.

2. Evernote: Tak-ing notes and sharing themhas never been easier.Evernote has been rede-signed with iOS 6 support,allowing users to sharecontent over Facebook.This redesign is also opti-mal for a 4-inch screen, reducing blackbars covering up to-do lists.

3. Instagram: Instagram allowsusers to take pictures of anything, editthem with given tools, and post themonline for other users. Only people with

Instagram can access other people’s pic-tures, and it can also be linked toFacebook and other social mediawebsites.

4. Minecraft: Pocket Edition:Derived from the full version game forPC and X-Box, pocket Minecraft haschanged the iPhone application market.With a newly added survival mode,Minecraft pocket edition will become thenext generation of Legos. The point of

the game is to survive,build, kill monsters, andcreate a world. Every-thing is in blocks andthis game allows for cre-ativity, imagination, anda passion for building.

5. FIFA 13: This vir-tual soccer game hasadded EA SPORTS Foot-ball Club and allowsplayers to share goalsand outlandish Cruyffturns, dribbling tricks

made revolutionary by Dutch footballerJohan Cruyff in the 1974 World Cup,through YouTube. Through this newedition, players can also save games inmanager and tournament mode in iCloud. *Information and descriptions from t3.com.

This Valentine’s Day there aremany things one can give to his or herloved one. There are cards, candy, andstuffed animals. However, simple giftslike a smile and a laugh can also be agood gift. Try a funny joke to put a smileon your loved one’s face. Here are somejokes that can bring laughs thisValentine’s Day.

• What did the stamp say to the enve-lope on Valentine's Day? I'm stuck on you!• What did the boy owl say to the girlowl on Valentine's Day? Owl be yours!• Why did the boy have his girlfriend putin jail? She stole his heart!• Why did the boy put candy under hispillow? Because he wanted sweetdreams.• What is the most romantic city in En-gland? Loverpool!• What does a carpet salesman give hiswife for Valentine's Day? Rugs andkisses!• What did one light bulb say to theother? I love you a whole watt!• What did the valentine card say to thestamp? Stick with me and we'll go places!• What did the light bulb say to theswitch? You turn me on.• Do skunks celebrate Valentine's Day?Sure, they're very scent-imental.• What did the paper clip say to the mag-net? I find you very attractive.• Why did the cannibal break up with hisgirlfriend? She didn't suit his taste.• What is a vampire's sweetheart called?His ghoul-friend.• What did the boy squirrel say to thegirl squirrel on Valentine's Day? I'm nutsabout you!• Why did the banana go out with theprune? Because it couldn't get a date!

*These jokes are a great way to give the simplegift of laughter. More jokes like these can befound on http://www.craziestjokes.com/valen-tine-day-jokes.html.

Valentine’sDay Jokes

By Ariel ChangEditor-in-Chief

By Yvette FrancoConqueror Editor

Single on Valentine’s Day?Maybe a pick-up line will help you find adate. Try a few of these corny pick-uplines on a cute girl or guy and see whereit gets you! Disclaimer: LAHS journal-ism is not responsible for any laughs orslaps in the face that may result from us-ing these lines on Valentine’s Day.• “Look at the tag on his or her shirt andsay: "Oh, I thought you were made inHeaven!"• "If I could re-arrange the alphabet, I'dput U and I together."• "Do you have a twin sister? Cause I’veseen you here before."• "If I followed you home, would youkeep me?"• "Is it hot in here or is it just you?"• "Excuse me, do you have a cellphone Ican use? I told my mom I’d call her whenI fell in love!!!"• "I lost my phone number. Could I bor-row yours?"• "Is your fathera terrorist? Be-cause you're dabomb!"• "If I received anickel for everytime I saw some-one as beautifulas you, I'd havefive cents."• “Excuse me, I think you have some-thing in your eye. Oh wait, it's just asparkle."• “Is there an airport nearby or is thatjust my heart taking off?”• "I hope you know CPR, because youtake my breath away.”• “Hey, Cupid called. He says to tell youthat he needs my heart back.”• “You're a cool cation. We should bond.Ionically, that is.”• “A date with me would be at least mar-ginally better than eating bag after bagof those weirdly chalky heart candieswith sayings on them.”• “You must be the square root of 2 causeI feel irrational around you.”• “Is your father an alien? Because I seennothing like you on earth!”• “You're an acid and I'm like litmus.Everytime I meet you, I turn bright red.”

If none of these pick-up linesseem to prove useful, then try this ulti-mate conversation starter: "Hello." Al-ternately try "Hi." And if you are stillalone by the end of these pick-up lines,there is no shame in spending Valentine’sDay alone.

Valentine’s DayPick-up Lines

By Melissa ChenEditor-in-Chief

As the new year rolls in, tech-nology is already changing. With how-ever many new apps available in the An-droid market, let’s not forget about theold ones. These top five apps of 2012range from a work assistant to a socialmedia network.

1. Google Now: Modeled afterApple’s Siri, Google Now is a personalassistant that anticipates and assists auser’s needs and requests. As the exten-sion of the original Google search app,this top app debuted in June of 2012 and

has yet to reach itsfull potential.

2. GoogleDrive: While GoogleDrive is not the newapp on the market, itsnew update allowsfor easy access tospreadsheets on an

Android phone or tablet. With this mul-tifunction app, resizing, creating, and ed-iting a Google Sheet has never been soeasy.

3. Flipboard: With many differ-

By Ariel ChangEditor-in-Chief

ent apps, Flipboard organizes and com-bines selected apps into one simple app.Flipboard can combine the news with so-cial media sites and can range fromFacebook to Twitter. With a simple “flip”through the pages, all selected apps arecovered with this new app.

4. Catch Notes: Everydaythings are not easy to remember, but withthe Catch Notesapp, notes havenever been easierto take. Not onlydoes this app in-clude a sharingoption that allowsthe user to postup to 70 MB ofcontent eachmonth to Catch’scloud service, but it also offers a varietyof options to do so. Why use a simplepen and paper when Catch Notes usesvoice, photo, and text notes, each withits own icon?

5. SwiftKey 3: Costing only $4,SwiftKey offers a more accurate Androidkeyboard. Unlike the standard keyboard,SwiftKey adapts to its users, predictingthe writing style and learning from theuser.

*Contributing source: informationweek.com

Top 5 Android and iPhone Apps7

SportsThe Conqueror Febraury 14, 20138

Under the lights of a night gameat number one Diamond Bar, junior AdamFox gets fouled near the half. Althoughthere are only two minutes left in thegame, the players ask for water, thinkingof the impending overtime as the scoreis tied at 1-1. Alex Henry, captain andsenior, steps up to take the free kick. Heput it on frame; it skinned the keeper’sfingertips and flew into the back of thenet. Everybody went crazy as Los Altosboys’ soccer defeated the number oneteam in league.

After a rough first week of go-ing 0-2, Los Altos was back. Their finalleague record was 9-3.

However, the turning point inthe season did not come as a result of acrazy last second win, but instead came

Boys’ SoccerBy John AndraosConqueror Staff Writer

Girls’ Waterpolo

only needed three goals and she alwaysmakes most of the goals at our games. Iwas glad to see her hard work pay off.It’s amazing to know that I played in agame that will go down in history! I’mable to say that I played waterpolo witha girl who broke a CIF record. Plus, it wasagainst a tough team. It was a game thatI’ll always remember. ”

Congrats to Contreras as sheholds the title for the most goals in ahigh school career!

Today’s girls waterpolo matchwill start at 5:00 P.M. at home against ElRancho High School.*Photo credit to insidesocial.com

By Carolyn MejiaConqueror Staff Writer

On Friday, Febru-ary 1, the girls’ waterpoloteam played againstTemescal Canyon HighSchool. After four intensequarters, the girls won bya final score of 9-8. To addexcitement to it all,Stephanie Contreras, se-nior and team captain,broke the all-time CIFrecord of most goals in ahigh school career. In herfreshman year alone,Contreras made 188 goals,enough to break the CIFrecord for most goals in asingle season.

Frances Paz, senior, says, “It isdefinitely a game I will always remember.I am so honored to be part of a teamwhere we’re able to win against the two-time defending CIF champs and be a partof Stephanie breaking a record. Eversince I can remember, we always lost tothis team, and knowing we won on Fri-day made me very happy.”

Victoria Mezack, sophomore,says, “It was great to see a big audienceat our game! Not many people come towatch our waterpolo games, but this timewe had a huge turnout. It was nice to seepeople come and support us andStephanie. I definitely had confidenceStephanie would break the record. She

Stephanie Contreras, senior, with teammatesafter breaking CIF record

Girls’ BasketballThe girls’ basketball team ended

their season with a loss to West Covinaat an away game. The season proved tobe grueling and filled with enough upsand downs to rival that of a rollercoaster.Plagued with injuries and suspensions,the team struggled to finish in a comfort-able position in league. However, theywon the admiration of other teams withtheir unparalleled determination and mo-ments of brilliant teamwork. “We sur-prised many of the teams we playedagainst,” commented Nicole Rodriguez,sophomore. “We gained some respect.”

While the losses could dis-courage other teams, the Lady Conquer-ors used them as learning experiences.They realized that a lot of the games werewithin their grasp. “We could havebeaten most of the teams we played,”Rodriguez admitted, “but I don’t thinkwe believed enough in ourselves to doso.” When the team matched confidencewith talent, they were on par with thebest teams in the league. They held theformidable Diamond Ranch to an 18-18tie at halftime in the Panthers’ home gym.They outscored the Bonita Bearcats inthe latter half of the game. Last but notleast, they defeated the Rowland Raid-

ers at home in a landslide victory.The five seniors shone this

season. Natalie Edwards often assistedher longtime teammate and fellow seniorJasmine Hamori with a last minute, per-fectly executed pass that resulted in aneasy layup. Edwards drove to the bas-ket as easily as she sunk outside shots.With a practiced flick of her wrist, ValerieAlmaraz shot three-pointers effortlessly.Erika Beserra played every game withtenacious passion and helped theyounger players improve. Alanna Hopersevered through the pressure of be-ing the starting point guard to prove her-self time and time again. Hamori, the cap-tain and leading scorer of the team, neverdisappointed and never wavered in herdifficult role as both.

“Next season will be tough be-cause we are losing five incredibly goodplayers,” Rodriguez stated. The team willbe losing their top two scorers, Hamoriand Edwards. While this will be a tre-mendous setback, the team plans on tak-ing advantage of their youth. CoachColin Yamashita remarks confidently,“We have a great group of young under-classmen that are improving each day.”

Girls’ SoccerBy Evette AndraosPage Editor

from a loss against Bonita, a team thathad not won one game all year. After thegame, everybody was disappointed. In-stead of giving up on the season, theplayers decided to come together andwork as hard as they could to live up toConqueror expectations. They have notlost a game since. Junior Tanner Owenexplains, “We were all devastated afterour loss to Bonita, but it opened oureyes. If we wanted to win, we had to trainand play as hard as we could and putmore energy into the game.”

Los Altos finished league playwith another 4 wins, extending theirstreak to 7 wins. By doing this, they wonleague and made it to CIF playoffs whichwill be a home game this Friday at 5:00P.M. vs. Brentwood.

We have completed the winterseason. For girls’ soccer, this means thatthey have already played each leagueteam twice. They endedthe season with a recordof 9-3 and finished inthird place. This meansthat they have moved onto CIF. The team is fo-cused, committed, andstriving to be CIFchamps.

When askedhow their season went, sophomore Al-bany Turcio replied, “I think we did ex-tremely well for such a young team, butwe will always have room for improve-ment.” When asked the same question,freshman Natalia Elizarraras answered, “Ithink our soccer season took an unex-pected turn after losing two very closeand tough games against Walnut andDiamond Bar to start the second half ofthe season, but soon after, it turned backaround.”

Elizarraras states, “Our biggestrival would probably have to be Bonita,but we tried our best and conquered!”

All season thegirls’ soccer team hasbeen working hard tomake it to CIF and win.Elizarraras states, “Ithink we have the poten-tial of going far in CIFbecause we are able toplay and match up wellwith top ranked teams.

We were just plays away from beingleague champs. We are definitely pre-pared both mentally and physically forCIF. This will be my first time playing inCIF, so I am very excited.” Turcio ex-pands, “I think we have a really goodchance of becoming CIF league champs.When the team all works and plays to-gether, we can accomplish great things.”

The girls soccer CIF playoffgame will be this Friday at 5pm vs. Gar-den Grove.

Stephanie Contreras, senior,not only plays the hardest sport offeredhere at Los Altos High School, but she isthe best of the best in all of CIF as shehas broken both the school record formost goals in a single season and theCIF record of most goals in a high schoolcareer!

This incredible athlete has beenplaying since she was five years old andbroke the school’s record for most goalsin a single season as a freshman! In thatshe was able to score 188 goals as afreshman, the spotlight has really beenon her during her entire high school ca-reer. She has had a lot to live up to afterher freshman year as she not only brokethe record, but also had her father as hercoach. Her father is an amazing coachfor Commerce. He has had the chance tocoach many talented athletes over theyears including Brenda Villa, the captainof the women’s U.S. Olympic waterpoloteam. Contreras comes from a long chainof talented waterpolo players, and hasdone well in representing her last name.

Justin Contreras, sophomoreand Stephanie’s brother, says, “WhenStephanie and I were little kids at Com-merce, we never thought about highschool because all we ever did was com-pete to see who was better. We neverthought one day she would break anysort of records. I was very confident thatshe would break the record because she

averages at least five goals a game, so Iknew it would not be a problem. Goinginto CIF, I believe her team is capable,but it is all up to how the team is goinginto the playoffs. With my sister on herbest performance, they should be ableto pull off a championship.”

Victoria Mezack, sophomore,says, “I’m very proud of Stephanie. Allher hard work this high school seasonand her entire life so far definitely paidoff. It’s an honor to be on the same teamas a girl who is so dedicated towaterpolo. I think Steph is an awesomeplayer! I could definitely see her goingfar with her talent.”

Chris Coleman, head coach,says, “It’s been a blessing to havecoached her. She is one of the greatestathletes in our school’s history.”

Contreras, senior and team cap-tain, says, “When I broke the record Ifelt excited because the crowd wasscreaming and yelling just for me and itfelt pretty amazing. Any time I play, I justfocus on getting the ‘W’s’ and the goalsjust come with it. Going into CIF, I feelpretty confident that my team and I willdo everything we can to get back intothe finals, like my freshman year.”

Contreras is a talented athletethat has so much love for the game. LosAltos is honored to have her play for ourteam and congratulates her on her title.

On Friday, February 1, Los Al-tos played against Walnut High Schoolat home.The game wastough, but in the end, LosAltos lost 53-49. “This sea-son has been really fun. Wehave had losses, but theymade us stronger. We knowthat we have to work reallyhard to get to the top. Nextyear we will be even better!”said Chris Li, junior.

This season hasbeen difficult with very fewseniors and many new play-ers compared to otherschools. “We’re a veryyoung team with only onesenior. We continue to grow as a team,and most important, as a family. Although

Boys’ BasketballBy Wendy ShihConqueror Staff Writer

By Hillary HermawanConqueror Staff Writer

Contreras SetsCIF Record

Chris Li, junior, varsity.

By Carolyn MejiaConqueror Staff Writer

our league has been very tough, we con-tinue to play with all of our heart,” said

Aiden Barcelo, junior.The Conqurors fin-

ished league play with arecord of 3-9. This includedtwo wins against WestCovina and the best win ofthe season, an upset of Wal-nut at Walnut. ChristianEspinoza finished the seasonas the team’s top scorer.

With an overall recordof 10-16, the Conquerorsshowed flashes of brilliancethroughout the season. Withsenior Danny Ahn the onlyone lost to graduation, the

Conquerors look to improve over thesummer and be ready for next year.