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Sequoia High SchoolSpecial Winter Issue

Season’s Greetings

3Special Feature2

First Semester 2010 in Review

August OctoberSeptember November

December

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, Aug. 18: We started the year off with crowded hallways and packed classrooms. 600 freshmen swarmed campus due to the 35 point increase in API scores, which resulted in Sequoia’s largest popula-tion in school history.

SAN BRUNO FIRE, Sept. 9: Sequoia students among others around the world were in shock when a gas pipeline explosion sent a huge fireball in the air, destroying 53 houses in a residen-tial San Bruno neighborhood. Brent Schimek, the husband of English teacher Jasmine Schimek, was among the many fire-fighters who helped to stop the fire. Sequoia students responded to the San Bruno fire by donating $1,084 to help aid the victims.

FRESHMAN ACTIVITY DAY: The freshmen class

of 2014 ventured to Red Morton

Community Center Oct. 29 for a day

of bonding, pizza, and jumpy houses.

F.A.D. students braved the rain to make new friends

that will be remem-bered all throughout

high school.

GIANTS WIN!! Nov. 1: The San Francisco Gi-ants brought home the World Series trophy for the first time in the city’s history. Fans swarmed the street as soon as the final pitch was thrown. Se-quoia wore jerseys and T-shirts for weeks on end to celebrate this momentous occasion.

DREAM CLUB: Sequoia’s Dream Club supported the DREAM Act by raising awareness in the quad during lunch Dec. 1. If passed, the law would give high-achieving undocumented students citizenship.

FOOTBALL SEASON KICKS OFF AT TERREMERE FIELD, Sept. 10:After starting their seasons with victories at Branham High, the Frosh/Soph and Varsity football teams were both victori-ous in their home-openers against Galileo High. The Frosh/Soph team won 28-6 and the varsity team won 45-36.

CLUB DAY: 39 clubs lured approxi-mately 200 students to the quad on Friday, Sept. 17. There were many new clubs this year, including the Quidditch Club, Schools for Schools Club, Poetry Club, Debate Club, Junior Statesmen of America ( JSA),and the Hip-Hop Club.

HOMECOMING: The Cherokees won their homecom-ing football game against El Camino High School Oct. 22. Students and teachers performed at the lunchtime rally and the campus was showered in purple attire. Saturday night at the masquerade homecoming dance. Seniors Vinny Diaz and Julia Knorpp were awarded homecoming king and queen.

BREAST CANCER MONTH: Sequoia sports teams came together to support Breast Cancer Awareness month, donning pink apparel and collecting donations for the cause. The girls Water Polo team wore pink shirts and swim caps with the signature pink ribbon at their breast cancer awareness game, and the cheerleaders participated in San Francisco’s Breast Cancer Walk.

FOOTLOOSE DEBUTS: Singing and dancing all over Carrington Hall, Footloose the musical entertained audiences Nov.19-21. With leg warmers, big hair, and wacky make-up, Sequoia succeeded in bringing the 80’s back to life.

ANTI-BULLYING DAY: After recent suicides in middle schools and high schools across the country, Sequoia stu-dents rallied Nov. 19 in tie-dye and white to protest bullying. With almost 7,000 group members on Facebook, this event went worldwide.

FOOD DRIVE: Through November 8-19 almost 1500 cans were collected from 4th period classes, smashing last year’s total of 600. These cans are donated to a parent center and benefit people in our community. Congratula-tions to Mr. Ton-tho’s class for collecting a total

SEQUOIA SAYS: What is your best holiday memory?

“Definitely when my family and I all got each other snuggies and ugly Christmas sweaters for the holidays”

— Freshman Amir Amerian

Compiled by Rebecca Sand and Anna Dagum

“Going to Yosemite and seeing snow for the first time”

— Sophomore Ubaldo Arredondo

“Fondue with my family”

—Sophomore Maddie Chong

“I got my dog on Christmas”

—Freshman Summer Toms

“Eating dinner with my Grandma”

— Senior Victor Melara

“Putting up Christmas lights and falling off the roof...”

— Senior Andrew Olague

“When I go to Argentina I spend Christmas in the sum-mer and we go to the pool on Christmas day and have a rockin pary”

— Junior Lucia Bertero

“Every Christmas Eve we go to Taco Bell”

— Junior Spencer Downing

WINTER CONCERT, Dec. 8: Sequoia jazz ensemble, advanced band, orchestra, and choir performed to a full house at Carrington Hall. Students brought holiday joy with seasonal music.

Compiled by the Raven Report Staff

Raven ReportVolume IV, Issue 4 1201 Brewster Ave. Redwood City, CA 94062 December 15, 2010

Sequoia High School

By DANIEL JUDE and NICKIE PUCELSports Editor and Staff Reporter

What does Christmas mean to you? The only two things that pop in my head are family, and being humbled.

I have learned through the 17 years of my life that Christmas is more than just a day of presents. It is a day of thanks. It is a day of realizing how important family is, how important friends are, and how some people take all that for granted.

A few years ago I also took this holiday for granted. That was a mis-take which will never happen again.

Last year I had almost no family to be around at all. I lived at my grand-mother’s and was nowhere near my mother or father. I wasn’t near them

because my dad left my mom and me when I was two. Why wasn’t my mother there? She was in Elmwood; Santa Clara County’s jail for women.

Why was she there? She was there for spending a lot of cash that wasn’t hers. It was her company’s money. She used to put charges for things on her work credit card. Some of those charges came from the Christmas be-fore last when she spent over $1,000 on my little brother Lucas and me.

Lucas and I had been living at my grandfather’s while she was in jail. After Thanksgiving things between my grandpa and I became shaky so I went and lived with my grandma. That meant Lucas and I wouldn’t be together for Christmas; his favorite holiday of the year.

Once Christmas came around I drove to my grandfather’s and wished a merry Christmas to my brother and my family. I gave Lucas a present and tried not to cry as he opened it. It was very hard and emotional for

me since he was my little brother and all he wanted for Christmas was our mother.

I talked to my mom on Christ-mas night and she cried the whole time. All she said was,“I want to be home with my boys.” She thought spending $1,000 would make Lucas and me happy but if we had known that she was spending so much money on us, we wouldn’t have asked for any presents at all.

Lucas wanted her there but couldn’t have her. It killed him, and it killed me. That Christmas was the hardest of my life, and one I’ll never forget.

That Christmas is why I will never take Christmas for granted ever again.

To me, Lucas, and my mom, family is more important than any pres-ent. That’s why we all cried when Christmas night came and we weren’t together. I remember talking to my

mom and her saying, “Just make sure Lucas is okay and he isn’t too upset about Mommy not being there with him.”

We knew family was important but we didn’t know how important is was until it wasn’t there.

What’s more important to you? Family or a PlayStation 3? Some people say family, and others say a PlaySta-tion 3. To the people out there who would take a PS3 first, I wish you the

best because if you would take a game or electronics over family then you will end up very lonely one day.

The people who take family first will always have the best holiday season. Without family no own would have a PS3 or an XBox unless they bought it with their own money. People forget where gifts come from. So for this holiday season remember where you, your family, and your presents came from.

By JACOB WARRENStaff Reporter

A Christmas Story: Spirit learned the hard way

The Sequoia football team finished off its best season ever on Saturday, Dec. 4, when they lost to Willow Glen High School 47-14. However, this was the only game they lost all season. Heroics against Carlmont on Nov. 12 capped off our first unbeaten season since 1967.

The Cherokees beat Los Altos and Leland High Schools before proceed-ing to the CCS Division II Championship Game against Willow Glen.

While they may have been defeated, the team and school did not lose the wonderful feeling of having such an amazing season.

Sequoia students watched the team earn win after win throughout the season.

School spirit and football game attendance shot sky high as the team’s incredible season progressed.

“When I first started at Sequoia, I would ask people if they were going to come to the football games and they were like, ‘Eh, I don’t really want to,’” said Senior Clint Kastrop in an article by the San Jose Mercury News. “Now people are asking me like, ‘When’s the game, what time should I be there, how much do tickets cost?’”

Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator Rob Poulos and Defensive Coordinator Fine Lauese worked their players hard, and in the end they had improved from a 1-9 record just two years ago to a 9-0-1 regular season finish this year. Herds of Sequoia fans took the spirit bus down and filled the stands at San Jose City College to watch their team finish a hugely successful year.

Cherokee football stellar season ends at CCS championship

Above: The football team fought valiantly againstWil-low Glen in the championship. Top: Siosiua Vaka (30) and the other Cherokee football players observe the game intently. Bottom right: Quarterback James Beekley (10) launches a pass downfield. Photos courtesy of yearbook.

Happy Holidays from the

“We knew family was important but we didn’t know how important is was until it wasn’t there.”