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Ω VOLUME 43, ISSUE 4 January 7, 2010 400 N. PIERRE RD. WALNUT CA, 91789 OPINION Teaching with unique plans versus teaching with plans that coincide with each other. PAGE 5 SPORTS Runners prepare to participate in the half- marathon. PAGE 12 FEATURE Freshman Howard Phang creates appealing dis- plays with origami figures. PAGE 8 PHOTO BY PARIDA TANTIWASADAKRAN Angelina Tang and Alvin Wan Staff Writer Hundreds of volunteers, including members of Key club, NHS, and FBLA, contributed four days decorating rose floats for the annual Tournament of Roses in Pasadena. “It’s fun, but it’s mainly just being with your friends,” said freshman Anita Wang. Volunteers gathered at various warehouses near Pasadena, including ones in Azusa and Irwindale, to work on the floats. “Many of the volunteers in fact were people from other cit- ies,” senior Zachary Johnson said. “It’s just fun to help, to see all these people that you’re working with.” Volunteers worked diligently by supporting fellow volun- teers and handing out supplies, such as glue and seeds. Others decorated floats with prepared flowers of various colors and the occasional odd materials such as seaweed, coconut shavings, or yellow straw. “Everything was done by hand,” Johnson said. “The sup- plies of all-natural organic flowers were cut around their petals and crushed.” Volunteers were able to socialize while working and also during break times throughout the day. “It’s good to meet more people - more girls,” freshman En- rique Abreu said. Some students volunteer to stock up hours as on-campus club members. Volunteering at the Rose Parade also provides so- cial opportunities, and a chance to improve work ethic. “I just need a few more Key club points to finish the semes- ter and I thought this would be a great way to get the points,” said Abreu. “I was excited but I was also scared. What if I mess up the float? Then ‘Oh, it’s all Enrique’s fault’, that would not be good.” Alongside the seniors, many freshmen also attended the decorating for the first time and watched their hard work float down the parade route on the first day of the year. “I bet the freshmen [all] had a really good time, and would definitely volunteer again. It’s amazing to watch the floats and know you helped in making it,” said Johnson. Ω Volunteers decorate floats for the Rose Parade Students find social opportunities and chances to stock volunteer hours decorating floats at the Rose Parade. CASTLE IN THE AIR: Junior Ashley Stanford pastes glue on the ridges of castles, decorating a Rose Parade float celebrating the 30th anniversary of the famed arcade game, Pac-Man. Volunteers gathered at warehouses where they decorated floats with ingredients varying from rice grains to seaweed. hoofprint THE WALNUT HIGH SCHOOL WVUSD receives enough money to cancel following furlough days Brittany Tsou News Editor School days on Jan. 18, Feb. 18, and Apr. 22 have been restored to the school calendar as a result of an agreement voted on at a meeting on Dec. 15. The Walnut Valley Educators As- sociation (WVEA) and the California School Employees Association (CSEA) ratified the agreement and the Board of Trustees approved the decision. “We had been advertising since summer that the five days would be no school days,” principal Jeff Jordan said. “We’ve been work- ing on the schedule since before winter break, but one of the challenges is changing the sched- ule last minute.” The Federal Jobs Fund Act provided the district $2,800,000 to hire back teachers and avoid future layoffs. “We’re still scheduled to have furlough days next year but we still have money left over from the bill to go toward next year to reduce the number of days,” Jordan said. Originally, all employees would lose 2.72% of their pay to help with the budget deficit. Without losing instructional time, teachers do not have to teach with a rushed pace. “You’d think a furlough day would be an extra day to relax, but actually we were bom- barded with more work because teachers push up their schedules,” junior Jaynia Requinto said. “It was a day full of homework and it meant a lot more work for us.” Students no longer lose learning time at school although teachers must come to school on Jun. 3, 6, and 7. “In a way, I’m happy because when I know I have school, I do my homework,” Requinto said. The school schedule next week is also af- fected although Monday will follow a regular schedule. Two 65-minute review periods have been implemented on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for students’ benefits. Make-up finals will be given based on teachers’ decisions. “I’ll take whatever I can get,” Requinto said. “I’ll just adjust to whatever. I love a free day, but I hate the idea of having to do home- work on my free time.” Ω The next three furlough days have been cancelled. See page 2 for finals schedule.

The Hoofprint 2011 January

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ΩVOLUME 43, ISSUE 4 January 7, 2010400 N. PIERRE RD. WALNUT CA, 91789

OPINIONTeaching with unique plans versus teaching with plans that coincide with each other.

PAGE 5

SPORTSRunners prepare to participate in the half-marathon.

PAGE 12

FEATUREFreshman Howard Phang creates appealing dis-plays with origami figures.

PAGE 8

photo By pARIDA tAntIwAsADAkRAn

Angelina Tang and Alvin WanStaff Writer

Hundreds of volunteers, including members of Key club, NHS, and FBLA, contributed four days decorating rose floats for the annual Tournament of Roses in Pasadena.

“It’s fun, but it’s mainly just being with your friends,” said freshman Anita Wang.

Volunteers gathered at various warehouses near Pasadena, including ones in Azusa and Irwindale, to work on the floats.

“Many of the volunteers in fact were people from other cit-ies,” senior Zachary Johnson said. “It’s just fun to help, to see all these people that you’re working with.”

Volunteers worked diligently by supporting fellow volun-teers and handing out supplies, such as glue and seeds. Others decorated floats with prepared flowers of various colors and the occasional odd materials such as seaweed, coconut shavings, or yellow straw.

“Everything was done by hand,” Johnson said. “The sup-plies of all-natural organic flowers were cut around their petals and crushed.”

Volunteers were able to socialize while working and also during break times throughout the day.

“It’s good to meet more people - more girls,” freshman En-rique Abreu said.

Some students volunteer to stock up hours as on-campus club members. Volunteering at the Rose Parade also provides so-cial opportunities, and a chance to improve work ethic.

“I just need a few more Key club points to finish the semes-ter and I thought this would be a great way to get the points,” said Abreu. “I was excited but I was also scared. What if I mess up the float? Then ‘Oh, it’s all Enrique’s fault’, that would not be good.”

Alongside the seniors, many freshmen also attended the decorating for the first time and watched their hard work float down the parade route on the first day of the year.

“I bet the freshmen [all] had a really good time, and would definitely volunteer again. It’s amazing to watch the floats and know you helped in making it,” said Johnson. Ω

Volunteers decorate floats for the Rose ParadeStudents find social opportunities and chances to stock volunteer hours decorating floats at the Rose Parade.

castle in the air: Junior Ashley Stanford pastes glue on the ridges of castles, decorating a Rose Parade float celebrating the 30th anniversary of the famed arcade game, Pac-Man. Volunteers gathered at warehouses where they decorated floats with ingredients varying from rice grains to seaweed.

hoofprintthe

walnut high school

WVUSD receives enough money to cancel following furlough days

Brittany TsouNews Editor

School days on Jan. 18, Feb. 18, and Apr. 22 have been restored to the school calendar as a result of an agreement voted on at a meeting on Dec. 15. The Walnut Valley Educators As-sociation (WVEA) and the California School Employees Association (CSEA) ratified the agreement and the Board of Trustees approved

the decision.“We had been advertising since summer

that the five days would be no school days,” principal Jeff Jordan said. “We’ve been work-ing on the schedule since before winter break, but one of the challenges is changing the sched-ule last minute.”

The Federal Jobs Fund Act provided the district $2,800,000 to hire back teachers and avoid future layoffs.

“We’re still scheduled to have furlough days next year but we still have money left over from the bill to go toward next year to reduce the number of days,” Jordan said.

Originally, all employees would lose 2.72% of their pay to help with the budget deficit.

Without losing instructional time, teachers do not have to teach with a rushed pace.

“You’d think a furlough day would be an extra day to relax, but actually we were bom-barded with more work because teachers push up their schedules,” junior Jaynia Requinto said. “It was a day full of homework and it meant a lot more work for us.”

Students no longer lose learning time at school although teachers must come to school on Jun. 3, 6, and 7.

“In a way, I’m happy because when I know

I have school, I do my homework,” Requinto said.

The school schedule next week is also af-fected although Monday will follow a regular schedule. Two 65-minute review periods have been implemented on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for students’ benefits. Make-up finals will be given based on teachers’ decisions.

“I’ll take whatever I can get,” Requinto said. “I’ll just adjust to whatever. I love a free day, but I hate the idea of having to do home-work on my free time.” Ω

The next three furlough days have been cancelled.

See page 2 for finals schedule.

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Michael Hyunh and Jessica YouStaff Writers

In order to arrange various events, such as prom for the students, the class cabinets have been fundraising throughout the year.

“We work together to help out our other classes,” class of 2012 vice president Alyssa Spear said. “When we collaborate on ideas, we make sure it’s not on the same day so we can differ them.”

The class of 2011 holds its one dollar hot dog sales after school on Mondays, selling around 100-150 hot dogs each week and plans to sell a wider variety of boba drinks in addition to the usual Thai and green tea flavors.

The class of 2012 is planning a car wash and a food sale at the next club fair. However, selling class T-shirts has been difficult for class-es of 2012, 2013, and 2014 because designs and costs do not appeal to classes.

“It’s kind of disappointing, since we took a vote on the design, but still people aren’t buying them,” class of 2012 adviser Kirsten Thibeault said.

Fundraisers are also being held outside of school, such as the class of 2013’s “Souplan-

tation Fun-Raiser” that took place last month. Students who brought a flyer and bought a drink helped their class collect 15% of the proceeds.

“The entire restaurant was completely filled with people from Walnut,” sophomore treasurer Cloris Chou said. “Everyone in cabinet felt good about the hard work and effort we put into it and that really made everything rewarding.”

The class of 2013 is also selling blue and black rubber wristbands with catch phrases such as “LIKE A 13OSS” in gold or black lettering, expanding on Chou’s idea proposed last year.

“We advertised through Facebook and Tumblr, and we got a total of over a hundred people liking them or reblogging them, further spreading the word,” Chou said.

The class of 2014 previously sold candy and caramel apples, earning $1200 by selling around 1440 apples over a two-week period.

“It somewhat brought us together, and it was our first accomplishment,” 2014 cabinet member Christine Hu said.

The efforts exerted by each class brings students a feeling of accomplishment.

“We know as officers and cabinet that we’re accomplishing a lot this year and doing our job, sophomore secretary Arianna Choi. said.” Ω

Daniela KimStaff Writer

Simple Faith and MSA came together for the first time to discuss their two faiths. During the week of Dec. 13th-15th, these two clubs spent time trying to learn about the two different religions.

“I think it was a good way for both sides to learn about each other’s faith and I was able to learn a lot especially more about Islam and MSA,” senior Fiona Cheng said.

The first day was based on the religion of Is-lam, presented by a WHS alumni and guest speaker Amir Mertaban. Discussing topics like heaven and hell, justice, prophets, and the covering of women, Amir tackled the main ideas where people tend to have the most questions.

The second day was directed towards Simple Faith and a discussion of major topics pertaining to Christianity.

This gathering concluded with a question and answer session, alternating between the two clubs.

“They answered really good questions and I think they should do it again next year,” sophomore Samuel Sulliman said. Ω

Amy LeeStaff Writer

On Saturday, Dec. 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., members of Model United Nations attended the annual Triconference at Diamond Bar High School. The conference was primarily for the new members and novices to experience a competi-tion on a smaller scale before moving on to larger events.

“This conference was relatively short,” del-egate junior Raymond Chung said. “But it’s still fun because you get to know other people better.”

Students presented their ideas with a tactful and well thought-out delivery about a particular subject, ranging from environmental problems to pressing issues in the U.N., to a group of judges.

“This warm-up conference allowed them to practice what they’ve learned,” vice president ju-nior Rushabh Shah said. “They’re given a topic - a world issue - and they need to use diplomacy and research for a solution.”

Through each conference, members develop effective public-speaking skills by paying attention to the quality and presentation of the research.

“There’s a lot of work - about five to six hours are spent on the position paper - but the best part is the awards. I got one for my research paper and one for outstanding delegation,” delegate sopho-more Kaelan Chan said. “I’m looking forward to future conferences.” Ω

Angela AieStaff Writer

This year the winter formal dance will be held on Feb. 5 at Key Club, located on 9030 West Sun-set Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90060, from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m.

“I think it will be really fun because after we fin-ish with everything, I will feel really accomplished. It feels good because when everyone is having a good time then you’re having a good time,” said ju-nior ASB member Katherine Chung.

Preparations are time consuming and require a lot of work but the efforts pay off in the end. ASB is working hard to advertise the dance through vari-ous means and to make more money off of ticket sales.

“We are going to try to hit Facebook and Twit-ter and try to advertise the price since it’s cheaper than usual. We also have a video on Facebook and Youtube and we are going to try to advertise on-line more and hopefully sell more tickets,” said ASB president Angela Lau.

Tickets are $69 for couples with ASB and $38 for singles with ASB, $75 for couples without ASB and $43 for singles without ASB. Ω

1.07.10Vol. 43, Issue 4 the hoofprint2 news

&previews

CALENDARIB Drama PerformanceJazz Band ConcertChoir Master Host Com-petitionFinal examsMinimum DayMartin Luther King Jr. HolidayLate StartOrchestra Concert

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Class cabinets experiment with various fundraisers

bRiEf: SimpLE fAith AND mSA

bRiEf: muN CoNfERENCE

pREViEW: WiNtER foRmAL

Janzen AlejoStaff Writer

The Make It Yourself Club (MIY) is creat-ing a colorful mustang mosaic to replace the old

wooden sign located in front of the administra-tive office.

“After the idea had been brought to us, we decided to make the new sign for the adminis-tration because we thought we should contrib-

ute to our school,” MIY president senior Sylvia Trinh said.

MIY had started designing the project last summer, brainstorming during the final days of school. It continued working on it when the school year began.

“We officially began this project a month or two ago, but I guess you can say we started since summer since we’ve been selling shaved ice and hot dogs to raise the money to buy all of the supplies,” MIY vice president senior Bren-dan Yu said.

Grade level coordinator Jennifer Tucker gave attention to the potential project by noti-fying MIY adviser Mike Yamashiro, inspiring club members to take it on.

“Every morning when I would walk up the steps, I would always stare at the sign and see how ugly it is,” Tucker said. “So I hunted down Mr. Yamashiro to do something about it.”

Every member completed tedious tasks such as pulling apart putty, sanding tiles, and outlining the shape of the mustang.

“Sylvia spent an entire weekend working on it. She literally did not sleep and stayed up for about three nights straight working on the sign. If it wasn’t for Sylvia, I doubt the sign would be as completed as it is now,” Yu said.

The club hopes to finish before finals so members can concentrate on studying for the exams.

“It’s good to see students raise money and improve things on campus. It’s a really hard project but that just means they are a dedicated group and I am really proud of them,” MIY ad-viser Mike Yamashiro. Ω

A glass mustang mosaic will replace the previous one in front of administrative building.make it Yourself Club updates administration sign

Class cabinets not only set up fundraisers to earn profits, but also to appeal to the student body, responding to its feedback.

First semester final exam schedule

6 (review)passing5 (review)passing3 (final)lunchpassing 4 (final)

Wednesday

1 (final)passing2 (final)

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10:00-11:55

Friday

1 (review)passing2 (review)passing5 (final)lunchpassing 6 (final)

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Thursday1passing2passing3 (review)passing4 (review)lunchpassing5passing6

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9:50-10:5510:55-11:0511:05-12:1012:10-12:4512:45-12:5512:55-1:451:45-1:551:55-2:45

Tuesday

Piecing shards: Seniors Sylvia Trinh and Arthur Peng arrange blue and gold glass pieces to make the entrance arrow pointing to the administrative office.

photo By LEoNIE phoA

Staff prepares for WASC visit next spring

Eddie CoxNews Editor

The staff is preparing for the Western As-sociation of Schools and Colleges (WASC) representatives’ visit next spring by shaping the curriculum and the mission statement.

The high school’s reputation is sturdy, bol-stered by National Blue Ribbon and California Distinguished School awards. It has always re-ceived accreditation from WASC by keeping its education system updated.

“The accreditation evaluates what we are doing, anything we can do better, and what we need to maintain,” Principal Jeff Jordan said.

Staff members have met in groups to change the wording of the four Expected Schoolwide Learning Results which provide the foundation for the assignments and activi-ties held in classes.

“There is a lot of wisdom in getting input from new teachers and new faces who have had different student-teacher experiences,” English teacher Jeff Silva said who has been teaching at Walnut High School for four years.

The mission statement paired with the vi-sion statement represents the school’s goal to develop students into productive, social beings.

Although the entire staff is actively partici-pating in the accreditation process, principal Jeff Jordan, instructional dean Barbie Cole, grade level coordinator Andrea Deligio and English Language Development coordinator Marta Di-bell went to training where they learned about the expectations of WASC.

Walnut received maximum accreditation for a period of six years last time WASC visited which included a midterm review. The midterm visit passed smoothly with no new recommen-dations from WASC according to instructional dean Barbie Cole. Ω

The staff is assessing changes in the school since the last time representatives from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges came.

Timothy HuangStaff Writer

Unlike previous years, Winter Guard, a higher competition level Colorguard group, will not host tryouts this year.

“The coach wanted more people to be involved. More people will join be-cause members get intimi-dated with tryouts,” historian senior Jessica Bacosa said.

Instead of using only flags like Colorguard, Winter Guard uses flags, rifles, sa-bers, and air blades for their competitions.

Without tryouts, Winter Guard is open to more of the members in Colorguard, making it easier for members to join and gain experience.

“It’s really intense because I’m a freshman so we have to practice a lot to get the hang of it,” freshman Jessica Huang said.

Winter Guard members practice Tuesdays and Thursdays after school and on weekends when the season starts.

“Practices are rigorous, because we want to make the routines perfect,” junior Mei Chen said.

Colorguard has choreographed most of the flagwork for the routines.

“We’re more prepared because we thought of what we were going to do months in advance, so this year, we’re ready to win,” rank leader senior Janeczka La-gasca said.

After the fieldshow sea-son ends, Colorguard mem-

bers choose to participate in either pageantry or Winter Guard. The Winter Guard competi-tion starts around March and ends at the end of April. Ω

“We’re more prepared be-casue we thought of what we were going to do months in advance.”

Janeczka Lagasca, 12

Colorguard opens up membership for Winter Guard for more participation in the upcoming competition season.

Choir and Orchestra perform at DisneylandWinter Guard prepares for competition season

Angelina Tang and Jacqueline ChowStaff Writer and Arts & Entertainment Editor

Women’s Ensemble and Chamber Singers performed at Disneyland on Dec. 17, and Or-chestra will perform today in the morning.

The crowd consisted mostly of the Wom-en’s Ensemble alumni and the chaperones. Women’s performed songs such as “Home on Christmas Day,” and “Wonderful Christmas Time,” ending its performance by dancing to “All I Want for Christmas is You” and “Holiday Season.” However, the stage was too small, so some songs with choreography were reduced to just being sung.

“When the music started, I calmed down. Even though we had less room, it was definitely doable,” sophomore Candice Wu said.

After Women’s Ensemble performances,

Chamber Singers executed their rehearsed pieces.

“It was way better than what I expected it to be,” senior Lauren Hsieh said. “I actually en-joyed my time there because this year’s group is closer than I expected it to be. The performance was better than any other performance we’ve ever done this year.”

Orchestra is performing a mixture of Dis-ney songs today at 10:30 a.m. at Disneyland. Although Orchestra performed at California Adventure for the first time last year, it reverted back to performing at Disneyland.

“This is my last year performing onstage at Disneyland so I want to make it count,” senior violist Chris Wang said.

With less time to practice the pieces for its performance, Orchestra rehearsed songs such as “Reflection” and “Colors of the Wind.”

“We have to work super hard in the short time span we have, but it’s just so great how our music programs get to perform and enjoy being at Disneyland,” senior cellist Matthew Tong said. Ω

Paying a visit to the Happiest Place on Earth, Women’s, Chamber, and Orchestra execute a mixture of songs.

a&e 3the hoofprint 01.07.11Vol. 43, Issue 4

CloCkwise: Sophomore Lan Ahn and se-niors Sarah Kuo and Michelle Lin played the xylophone to “White Christmas.”// Junior Em-erald Chiang, senior Celestine Susi, and junior Jeremy Hsu played their violins Gustav Holst’s “Christmas Day.”// Junior Rebecca Luu played her flute to “Rudolph.”// Junior Frank Sun played the piano to “Jingle Bells.”// Sophomore Nathan Kim, junior Kristen Asada, sophomore Kevin Fong, senior Caleb Kil, and junior Terrance Yuen played their French horns to Leroy Ander-son’s “Sleigh Ride.”

photos By to-van hoang

Cheer, Colorguard, and Dance team perform at Winter Sports Pep Rally

Kevin YinStaff Writer

Cheer, Colorguard, and Dance team per-formed at the Winter Sports Pep Rally on Fri-day, Dec. 10, to raise school spirit. Each team executed its own unique routines.

“I feel it went really well, considering the time we spent on it,” Cheer member senior Stephanie Chui said. “People gave us compli-ments about the routine and asked the captains where they got the choreography.”

Cheer performed to songs such as “Like a G6” by Far East Movement and “Bottoms Up” by Trey Songz. The squad began practice every-day the week before the pep rally, and rehearsed the morning of the performance.

“Each time, I expect us to perform at our highest level and make as little mistakes as pos-sible,” Chui said.

Colorguard performed to Katy Perry’s “Firework,” using flags and swing flags.

“It gets us nervous but we’re always excited to perform in front of our friends and peers. It’s not like our usual performances because only leaders get to perform in pep rallies, and there aren’t many of us, so it’s really important for us to be synchronized,” Colorguard co-captain junior June Kim said.

Notified the week of the pep rally, Col-orguard only had three days to choreograph and practice.

“I feel that we didn’t get to show our full potential because we were not completely pre-pared for it, but I think this pep rally was pretty successful,” Kim said.

Dance team dressed as Starbucks servers and danced to Buster Poindexter’s “Hot Hot Hot,” unlike their traditional performances.

“We were surprised because we never had a theme like that before, and most of the people in our team like coffee,” lieutenant senior Jo-anna Shen said.

Dance also hopes that its team’s charisma will prepare them for the competition season.

“I think our team has potential, and even though it’s only been half a year, we’re really close, and we will only get closer as we go on,” Shen said. Ω

The Winter Sports Pep Rally wraps up 2010 with performances by Cheer, Colorguard, and Dance.

photo By ann Lei

BRewiNG UP: Dressed as servers at Starbucks, Dance team performed a coffee-themed dance to “Hot Hot Hot” by Buster Poindexter in the Winter Sports Pep Rally on Dec. 10.

Christmas ConCert

in Photos

Editors-in-ChiefCeline IsonJulia Win

Copy EditorSonia Chou

News EditorsEddie Cox

Brittany Tsou

Online News EditorFrank Lin

Opinion EditorsSharon Lay

Josephine Lien

Feature EditorsJessica Kwok

Karen OuReetika Singh

Online Feature EditorTo-Van Hoang

A&E EditorJacqueline Chow

Scene EditorElliot Park

Sports EditorsEsther Hwang

Felix Lee

Business ManagersCeline Ison

Carmel Yang

AdviserMs. Rebecca Chai

Staff WritersAngela Aie, Janzen Alejo, Matthew Almeida, Austin Au-Yeung, Nathan Au-Yeung, Eva Chen, Carlene Chinn, Cloris Chou, Vanessa Chou, Gabriella Compolongo, Tiffany Diep, Avika Dua, Diane Fann, Daphne Ha, Raytene Han, Timothy Huang, Michael Hyun, Iqra Iqbal, Kashif Iqbal, Justin Kang, Alex Kim, Daniela Kim, Michelle Kim, Mabel Kyinn, Joyce Lam, Susie Law, Amy Lee, Calvin Lee, Ann Lei, Jeffrey Leung, Jasmine Lin, Susan Lin, Christine Liu, Eunice Pang, Tina Peng, Moanna Phan, Leonie Phoa, Rea Reyes, Caroline Shih, Lily Tanara, Angelina Tang, Parida Tantiwasadakran, Varisa Tantiwasadakran, Deanna Trang, Alvin Wan, Jessica Wang, Alexandra Wong, Phillomina Wong, Kevin Wu, Ashley Xu, Carmel Yang, Stephany Yong,

Kevin Yin, Jessica You, Candee Yuan

Mission StatementThe Hoofprint, the official student newspaper of Walnut High School, is a forum for student expression that strives for accuracy, journalistic integrity, and truthfulness. It seeks to reflect the diversity of the student body and surrounding

community in a fair and objective manner.

the hoofprint Ω

As the semester comes to an end and a new one soon begins, the majority of students have become accustomed to their habits. These habits may unfortunately include doing things at the last minute (with homework and studying being the most common, of course) and even worse, completing tasks inadequately. Countless students are increasingly being sucked into a whirlpool of procrastination, which typically leads to average work. And average simply isn’t good enough.

Every individual can benefit from some self-motivation, no matter what the subject is. It is the factor that creates success, and without it not much would be accomplished. Think about it: if we didn’t even possess the slightest urge to do something, why would we bother doing it?

Although most don’t realize it, school is often treated as if it is only temporary. School may last a certain number of years, but in reality, it has a lasting effect on our lives. If we’re being lazy with our schoolwork during our teenage years, most likely, we’ll continually fall into that same rut through life. It may be cliché, but good habits start now. Taking that extra step is what allows you to excel.

If you are a club leader, truly honor your title. With so much power in your hands, think about the changes and improvements you can make. Organizations continue after graduation, so take advantage of your privileges and be a legacy.

As an athlete, perform to the

best of your physical and mental ability. There is always room to improve, even if you are the best on the team. Each individual effort contributes to the team’s overall success, so inspire the team to perform better by doing so yourself.

As for all you students, here’s the secret to succeeding: put some real thought into your work and study ahead of time. Scribbling some lines may get you that homework stamp, but it is obviously far from quality work and will only bring you down when that pop quiz comes along. After all, that anxiety acquired by the lack of confidence in your knowledge is not worth it. Despite the abundance of temptations around, there is no excuse for lowering your standards and losing sight of what is important.

Accomplishing the bare minimum may suffice for now, but what can be truly gained in the long run? Job promotions don’t occur by only achieving what is required, but from going above and beyond. Great leaders and entrepreneurs reach their elite statuses by fulfilling more than what was expected by their peers and bosses.

Just like in weight training class, the more you push yourself, the stronger you get. Therefore, we challenge each student to truly try your hardest this upcoming semester as well as for the remainder of your life. You’ll be surprised to see how much you can accomplish with a bit of effort. Ω

To infinity and beyond

Type a full-length reply to a particular article or situation on campus and 1. email to [email protected] or draw a sample comic or political cartoon in black ink on plain 8.5 x 11 inch white paper and turn it in to Ms. Chai in D-1. Include your name, grade, first period class, and phone number. 2. (Anonymous letters will not be published.)

EditOriAl

Business informationFor all ad and business inquiries, please email

[email protected].

Walnut High School400 N. Pierre Rd.Walnut, CA 91789

909 594 - 1333 x 34251

hOW tO gEt yOur OpiNiONS puBliShEd

the hoofprint OnlineYou can access our archives for the articles in this papers and more at http://www.whshoofprint.com

1.07.11Vol. 43, Issue 4 the hoofprint4 opinion

Justin KangStaff writer

It warmed my heart to see that the students of Walnut High School are givers. During the canned food drive I see caravans

of students trek to class with larger than life boxes and bags full of cans. I see clothes being donated to the various clothing drives around school to help the needy. I see mountains of tissue boxes make the journey to school during flu season and the end of the school year. And then I realized there was some ulterior motive behind all of this.

Doesn’t it ever feel weird walking to class with a giant box of cans for 10 points? It’s so much for so little if you think about it. Doing so much seems like a waste, but students love points. During the canned food drive, if you looked at the piles of boxes in the classrooms of teachers who gave some kind of incentive, they were huge, overflowing and constantly growing. They got a lot of cans for just 10 points per student.

In contrast to the plentiful can supply of the teachers who offered extra credit points, those who did not had bleak and empty boxes. It’s a sad truth, but most students wouldn’t bother giving anything unless they got something out of it, even if it is only a measly

10 points. Then again, to many students, any amount of extra credit is comparable to gold, and teachers know this. It sounds harsh to say they’re exploiting this fact, but they kind of are. More often than not, the donation to extra credit ratio is extremely skewed.

While extra credit as an incentive seems to be a powerful motivator, at times it seems a bit ridiculous. While I love bringing in 10 tissue boxes for 100 points in class, it just doesn’t feel right. If that’s the only reason why I got an A in the class, that would not be fair. Extra credit is exactly what it sounds like it’s supposed to be - extra; it shouldn’t be a major source of points.

Incentives are an extremely powerful driving force. It motivates us to go further than we normally do, but we do it for the wrong reasons. We should be donating cans because we want to impact lives. We should be joining service clubs because we want to help and serve the community. We should be giving tissues boxes to teachers because

there are never any tissues because of that one perpetually sick kid. Sadly, we don’t.

Instead we only do things when there is something in it for us. However, deep (deep) down, we all have the compassion to perform acts of kindness for our community, and we have to reach some balance between the action and the reward, where extra credit or club membership is not the sole goal in mind, but a happy reward for doing a good act. Ω

An incentive for everythingIt is not a surprise that most students only participate in activities if they feel that they will receive benefits from it.

“It’s a sad truth, but most students wouldn’t bother giving anything unless they got something out of it, even if it is only a measly 10 points.”

photo by Deanna trang

CANS FOR A CAUSE (TOP): P.E. students help lift boxes and bags crammed with canned food into trucks ready to send food to the those in need.

1.07.11Vol. 43, Issue 4 opinion 5the hoofprint

Differences in teaching methodsVarying teaching styles affect the performance of students. Which style is more effective: uniform or individual?

Make a real resolution

Angela AieStaff writer

The image of last year’s party still burns fresh in my mind: party hats, apple cider, streamers, and lots and lots of noise. New Year’s provides a time

for people to celebrate the ending of a year and to look forward to the beginning of new one. When this time of year comes around, I cannot help join the high spirits of optimism. With a fresh start, I eagerly plan on accomplishing new goals. Yes, we are all guilty of making New Year’s resolutions, but we also harbor the guilt of being caught in an illusion of being able to make change through weak promises.

Many of us start off with high hopes of accomplishing new goals, but dismiss the fact that these “goals” are actually the product of procrastination throughout the year. Most of our resolutions stem from actions that we have put off and should have done a long time ago.

Sophomore year, I promised to become more self-motivated and not rely on the encouragement of others. This may seem like a reasonable goal, but in the back of my mind,

I knew that I needed this behavior change ever since the beginning of the school year. Even though I procrastinated on that change, I still recognized the problem. New Year’s resolutions allow us to face necessary changes and give us an incentive to make that change.

People make New Year’s resolutions so they can work toward a goal. Some achieve their goals and some fail. Failure does not come from a lack of effort; it comes from trying to reach unrealistic goals.

A resolution does not demand a drastic change of character or lifestyle. So don’t feel obligated to lose 20 pounds or drop two sizes. Instead, go jogging twice a week. This removes the concrete goal and replaces it with a way that helps you obtain a good habit. Jogging twice a week will eventually make you more fit without having to starve yourself to lose weight.

A resolution cannot just be an act of determining an action, it must be an action. We must not use the tradition as an excuse to procrastinate, but we must take the opportunity provided to build on our long term goals by pushing towards them and taking tiny, reasonable steps. Maybe then, by the end of next year, the mood of optimism will be accompanied by a feeling of true accomplishment. Ω

Numerous people around the world make New Year’s resolutions, yet most fail to stick to them due to their unrealistic goals.

Ashley XuStaff writer

Rugrats? Bulbasaur? Sailor Moon? Spongebob?

A trend that invaded Facebook for a week had people bringing back these

characters onto their Facebook pages. While many believed the purpose of this fad was to help prevent child abuse, in reality, all it did was bring back childhood memories. Some people, myself included, may wonder how changing profile pictures into cartoons will help save underprivileged, neglected and/or abused children. The sad truth is, it doesn’t. It may bring awareness to child abuse, but most of us spend more time choosing which cartoon picture to put up rather than actually taking action to prevent child abuse.

Surprisingly enough, this trend that supposedly helps “raise awareness” originated in Greece as nothing more than a game. It was not until December that this fad proliferated through Facebook. No non-profit organizations or companies have sponsored this movement, making its intent futile. While most may not be worried as to whether or not this movement was effective, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, has stated that it is not a fraud; though how it fights child abuse still remains a mystery.

Seemingly, word gets out a lot faster when the news is slightly amusing. It took less than a week for almost all my friends to participate in this unreliable source of “raising awareness” to child abuse. It doesn’t take much to realize that changing your picture does not do anything in

the long run for a child actually experiencing abuse. Although the fad promotes an important cause and carries good intention, being active in the fight brings about more change than merely sitting at your computer desk and liking other people’s choices of cartoons.

Why not spend the time participating in a real organization that actually focuses on preventing child abuse?

One of the many credible organizations that have been going on for many years is the “Prevent Child Abuse America” (PCA America). Founded in 1972, this organization has led the way in building awareness, providing necessary education, and most importantly, inspiring hope to everyone involved in the effort to prevent the abuse and neglect of this nation’s children.

Prevent Child Abuse America has already gone a long way, from promoting legislation, policies, and programs that are able to support healthy childhood developments, to monitoring critical legislation that impacts children and families.

Believing that collaboration is the most effective way to work for families, they work closely with their state chapters and Healthy Families America sites across the country to address issues on state and local levels.

With that said, being part of a trend that goes on through one of the most popular sites right now is a great feeling. However, why not express your feelings on abuse through action. Support preventing child abuse; not only the ones that are going through Facebook, but the actual credible organizations that are doing all they can with the support they are getting. I am sure they are willing to receive all the support they are able to get. Ω

Credibility of Facebook fadsThe effectiveness and intent of many online fads are questionable and possibly futile.

Julia WinEditor-in-chief

While many students, myself included, spend hours complaining about teacher after teacher, most

do not realize that an integral part of their classroom experience revolves not so much around teachers’ abilities to teach, but around teaching schedules and curriculum.

All teachers fit into one of two categories: those who have a uniform teaching style and those who choose to set their own schedules. The ones who do follow uniform schedules use one that has been preset and used by other teachers in this category. Those who do not use uniform schedules decide for themselves what they should cover and when they should cover it.

From my four years at this school, I have found that my best classroom experiences have been when my teacher uses a uniform teaching schedule. However, this does not mean that teachers who follow the same schedule automatically become better teachers or that implementing these schedules will magically produce better grades or improve how a student performs. Instead, the teacher’s familiarity with the material helps create a stable and clear learning environment with a standard and unchanging pace of learning.

A uniform teaching schedule makes students feel secure. I know from my own experience that when more than one class follows the same schedule at the same pace, students feel more comfortable as they have a wider range of peers from whom they can seek

help. In addition, I get a sense of security when I know that our work and our schedule has been gone over, worked out, and agreed upon by more than one teacher. Now multiple people with different opinions and past experiences has shaped our class curriculum

These cemented schedules also make students feel like their class is efficient; and, more often than not, it is. Though some may disagree, classes running under uniform teaching schedules, such as biology and calculus, show the most organization and tend to run more smoothly. The material is always covered with reasonable time given to each topic. In addition, when other classes have the same curriculum, students have more access to help.

On the other hand, unique teaching schedules do come with benefits. When a teacher has the freedom to decide on his or her own and can adjust the schedule to fit each particular class or period. Sometimes this benefits students because it may adjust according to their needs. Classes can spend more time on certain topics as needed; however, a uniform schedule limits the amount of time classes could spend on a topic.

Freedom can sometimes be scary. There are times when teachers spend way too much time on a topic, which off-balances everything else. Teachers commonly try out new methods of teaching to improve the learning process, but the result may be less than desirable. When teachers work together to produce a shared curriculum, errors occur less frequently - more teachers, more opinions, and more experiences produce fewer mistakes.

When it comes to how well students learn in class, a time-worn schedule proves to be the best system. Ω

EDITORIAL CARTOON BY SONIA CHOU

pHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY jOSEpHINE LIEN

...that typically end in failure

1. Lose weight / Become more fit

2. Stop procrastinating

3. Get more organized

4. Save money

5. Get straight A’s

Most common resolutions

6 in-depthJanuary 7, 2011 Volume 43, Issue 4

the hoofprint in-depth 7

At first glance, winter break instantly evokes the thought of absolute freedom. For two weeks, students can do whatever they please, taking time off from the stress of school. Whether staying at home or going places, winter break held a wide variety of choices. These students travelled as far as Seattle or stayed in the comfort of their own room.

Having some fun in the winter sun

By the Numbers: 10Percent of Americans do not travel because of the hassle7Number, in millions, of unaccom-

panied minors travelling by air 4 to 5

Kevin YinStaff Writer

Even as the reality of schoolwork settles back into stu-dents’ lives, everyone still remembers the fun times they shared over winter break. Whether it was traveling to another country or preparing for the inevitable onslaught of final ex-ams, nearly everyone had something interesting to do.

For sophomore Jacky Tu, winter break allowed her to enjoy the various cuisines and other attractions of Taiwan.

“Taiwan is like a second home to me, because it’s al-ways enjoyable with lots of family and good food. I’ve always had fun,” Tu said.

Although Tu visits Taiwan al-most every year, the experience al-ways manages to remain fresh and entertaining.

“I like the thought of spending time with my family and being able to relax without having to worry about schoolwork,” Tu said.

Senior Nicole Punsalang, in-stead, decided to take advantage of her senior year by spending winter break traveling to France, London, Spain, and Portugal.

“It feels really good, because for the last two winter breaks I studied for the SAT at home. Senior year is a lot less stressful,” Punsalang said.

While these two students have been traveling the world, junior Celina Kim chose to visit the snowy mountains of Utah to snowboard, just as she has for nearly every winter break.

“It’s kind of liberating not having to worrying about school for a while, but it’s still in the back of your mind,”

Kim said.Kim, who has been snowboarding for three years and

skiing for six, enjoys the overall wintry atmosphere that is not seen in California.

“Seeing snow in Utah gives more of a feeling of what winter should look like. The snow is softer and better than anywhere in California,” Kim said.

But not all students spent their vacations away from home. Junior Brain Ho spent his break studying for finals.

“I knew I had a lot to study for some classes, and al-though I visited Facebook while I studied sometimes I was

able to get a lot done.”Ho studied for nearly four hours

everyday, but managed to keep up with his social life and also made time to play video games.

“I always studied in the morn-ings so I could do things in the after-noons; and I also had a lot of time to play video games. I don’t feel like I missed out on anything because I re-ally needed to study for some class-es, epecially math, and I had time to

mess around and have fun too.”Junior Louis Yang set her priorities straight by spending

the winter break preparing for the SAT and her upcoming finals.

“I don’t like to procrastinate. I like to spend my time ef-ficiently and productively,” Yang said, “It feels good because I know I accomplished a lot.”

From traveling to around the world to staying at home to study, winter break meant many things to many students, and each student had their own unique winter break experi-ences. Ω

“It’s kind of liberating not hav-ing to worry about school for a while, but it’s still in the back of your mind.”

Celina Kim, 11

photo By RAyMoND chuNg

WINTER WONDERLAND: Freshman Cassie Pong traveled to the mountains to enjoy the fresh fallen snow. In previous years, she and her family wanted to travel up the mountain but could not go on this trip because they did not have proper tires for the snowy terrain, but this year, they discovered they could ride a cable car which would take them to the mountain. “It was really amazing, since it’s like a whole new world up there. Everything’s white, and even though it was cold and wet, it was fun to play with the powder and it is a trip I will never forget.” Pong said.

WRAPPED UP: Junior Allen Chung cuts wrapping paper and helps customers wrap their holiday gifts at Barnes and Noble bookstores in Chino. “It is a tradition of CASA to always volunteer and help out with book or gift-wrapping over the holidays. It is a way we give back to the community and simply help out.” Chung said.

photo pRoVIDED By cASSIE poNg

SHREDDING IT: Junior Celina Kim glides down a slope in Brianhead, Utah. Kim takes a road trip to Utah annually, and works on her snowboarding. “I’ve been snowboarding for three years now, and I like it because you have to learn how to balance yourself and it’s challenging to control your speed; once I was able to manage my speed well I felt successful.”photo By JoShuA wAN

WINTER EXERCISE: Junior Helen Cheng looks around trying to find a teammate to pass the ball to, during a winter tournament at Row-land High School. This year is Cheng’s first on varsity, but she is no stranger to bas-ketball. “I have been playing basketball since the fifth grade. I really like playing basketball because it is fun to learn new plays and learn new moves.”

photo By ARIANNE gIN

photo By SAlly woo

SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE: Senior Sally Woo walks around in downtown Seattle near her hotel. “I liked Seattle a lot because it was really easy to get around and you could pretty much walk everywhere,” Woo said. Despite the rainy weather, Woo was able to see many of the Seattle sights. “My favorite place was the public market where I was able to buy presents for all my friends. I bought trinkets for myself too.”

Ratio of students who prefer to stay at home over break

01.07.11Vol. 43, Issue 4 the hoofprint8 feature

in the making

Unfolding the art of paper

The Walnut Hero-X Foundation, formed by junior Brian Yu, is a socially aware organization that sets its sights on improving the school community and promoting individual confidence by building positive relationships between students.

Origami cranes and fortune tellers are simple things that most people know how to make, but freshman Howard Phang takes origami to the next level as he folds complex designs from a single piece of paper.

Jessica YouStaff Writer

After going through piles of homework, students usually spend their free time sleeping in or doing nothing at all, but freshman Howard Phang spends his spare time with origami paper.

“I started folding be-cause I learned how to make a crane at a friends house long ago and it fascinated me,” Phang said.

Although the task of fold-ing origami is tedious and requires many hours to finish, Phang enjoys taking his time to create small mas-terpieces.

“Mostly it’s fun folding new things and finding new models that look really similar to what they are in real life,” Phang said.

After long hours of paper folding, he is motivated to finish by the thought of seeing his hard work paying off to become lasting pieces.

“Folding the actual models is the best part since I can see it slowly coming together and it can be manipulated however I want it to change,” Phang said.

For Phang, making origami

is more than just folding papers; he includes detailed origami surroundings to make his ori-gami look more original.

“First off, if I’m making a plant display, then I’ll have to put together

all the stems and leaves, and with ani-mals I need a suitable back-ground and maybe a small area of trees around it,” Phang said.

W h e n making dis-plays, Phang

considers many factors to make his origami ideal.

“I usually decide what to fold based on how real the model looks, the complexity, and how I can make it look well with other models,” Phang said.

Free time for Phang is time spent creating lasting showcases made out of everyday paper that most people take for granted.

“I believe that origami is an art, and not just a craft that kids do,” Phang said. “Origami uses sculptural and artistic ability and precise folds in order to create visually appealing dis-plays. Most models require difficult folds and steps that turn into realistic replications of objects or life forms, which is truly a work of art.” Ω

Jessica WangStaff Writer

Day by day, students walk by each other on their way to class, neither knowing nor caring about many of the faces they see during passing periods belong to.

Last November, junior Brian Yu formed the Walnut Hero-X Foundation, an organization that fo-cuses on the aspect of promoting the Walnut High School community through various social projects, environmental projects, and fundraising for school causes.

“This is community building with a focus on empathy. We’re different from the other clubs in the sense that we’re focusing on our high school stu-dents,” Yu said. “Some items on our agenda are tack-ling nutrition issues, loneliness, and anti-bullying. We have a passion for helping other people.”

Yu sets the foundation’s main objective as con-tinually strengthening ties between our community and creating a more connected school. He currently has a number of events planned, including a project called “You Belong With Me” dedicated to simply asking passers-by how their day was.

“Essentially, we’re going to launch a school-wide campaign where for one week, we encourage people to turn around and ask each other, ‘How was your day?’” Yu said. “At first it’ll be awkward, but over time, we start building a more caring commu-

nity.”The foundation’s focus of helping others attracts

members with a passion for improving communica-tion among students.

“I think it will be a really great cause, and I feel like helping people fits with my personality,” said ju-nior Chesley Ekelem.

However, some want to join for the large amount of social effort the organization requires from mem-bers.

“I found it interesting, and I wanted to be a part of it because it involves community,” said junior Erika Ku. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Yu snagged an opportunity provided by IB CAS (Creativity, Actions, Service) to form the foundation and bring his idea to action. He hopes to see it bring promising change to our school.

“I want to be able to leave this school better than I found it, and leave the foundation still running after I graduate,” Yu said.

Yu plans on expanding communication and increasing positive highlights of daily school life among students.

“We are a great school. When Haiti happened, we were the ones that donated a thousand something dollars. We are the school raising money for the Mid-dle Eastern floods,” Yu said. “Every time there’s a disaster, Walnut has always found within its heart to give to other causes. We believe that it is now time to invest in the greatest cause, ourselves.” Ω

photo By JESSICA WANG

PAPER PERFECTION (CLOCKWISE): Fresh-man Howard Phang deli-cately folds another ori-gami llama for his line of origami creatures; Min-iature flowers and stars made by Phang are as small as a penny and are placed into tiny bottles as decoration; Phang folds an origami fish, lobster, and seaweed to create a marine display.

“I believe that origami is an art, and not just a craft that kids do.”

- Howard Phang, 9

photoS By JESSICA you

01.07.11Vol. 43, Issue 4 feature 9the hoofprint

Dashin’ in the fashionDressing may only be a routine part of the morning for most students, but for seniors Philip Coronel and Melanie Yamanoha, the hand-picked clothes for their dressy outfits that they wear each day are an important part of their lives.

Picture perfect homeworkAngelina TangStaff Writer

Snap! As the bell rings, students scramble with cellphone cameras to capture an image of unidentified triangles that will later manifest into their homework assignments. Although the cellphone policy has not totally settled into student and teacher life, the use of tag-reading, an application used to notify students of their homework, has introduced itself to a few students.

“It’s a fun way of finding out your homework,” sophomore Diana Dai said.

Students can download a piece of two dimensional software from Microsoft which is called tag-reading. The technology can decipher the code and transform it into a text message.

“Since the cell phone policy has changed recently, I knew students would have their phones out and ready anyway, so why not have homework delivered by text message?” science teacher Bryan Mason said.

Although the homework can be accessed by phone, teachers will still continue to update notes and homework both online and in class.

“[I think] all three ways help students to get the homework assignment; no single method is the most efficient,” math teacher Tiffany Redcher said.

The tag reading symbols need to be updated everyday, but it is not difficult or time-consuming. A single update takes up to ninety seconds.

“It is very easy and fast to update the tag. Overall I see very few drawbacks or negatives to tag-reading; it seems like the un-limited Internet plans for phones are expensive and keeps many students from being able to benefit from the technology,” Mason said.

The convenient application and message are both easy to use

and handy. The triangular lines can be detected from the phone up to thirty feet away.

“I can put a tag symbol in my window so if students miss the homework and are coming back through campus from sports or performing arts, they can walk by and – click! - they have the homework,” Mason said.

Given this new technology, students no longer have to deal

with poorly copied homework assignments or, in some cases, il-legible or small writing, making the learning process easier for them and their teachers.

“While I also write the homework on my board and ver-bally go over it every day, I think it’s fun to try something new, especially when it comes to technology,” English teacher Kellee Lyons said. Ω

For some, writing down homework everyday for every class is a time-consuming hassle, but a new technologic application called “tag-reading” from Microsoft utilizes cameras from phones so that students no longer have to copy down homework.

Candee YuanStaff Writer

For senior Philip Coronel, dressing remarkably is sec-ond nature, a talent that his peers admire him for.

Coronel, like all others, has his own style which he calls Urban Utilitarian.

“Urban utilitarian is wearing comfortable clothes that look professional enough to do business in,”

Coronel said. To complete his “utilitarian” look, he pre-

fers to shop at H&M because of the wide vari-ety of clothing that he usually enjoys wearing.

“I like how H&M sells nice looking clothes at a cheap price compared to Nord-stroms or A&F or American Eagle or even Urban Outfitters,” Coronel said.

Even with being surrounded by people who follow fashion trends, Coronel decides to dress the way he wants to.

“I don’t follow trends, but if I like it then I’ll try it,” he said. “I decide on trends mainly if I think it looks good on me and what my friends think of it.”

Finding school clothes every morning may seem like a hassle to many, but Coro-nel uses his own technique to find his perfect outfit.

“I pick the clothes just by how it looks first and not if its comfortable. Sometimes, it’s worth wearing something uncomfortable if it looks good,” he said.

By complying to his personality, Coronel dresses accordingly to match his mood.

“I definitely dress depending on my mood especially on Mondays where I just feel

like wearing a t-shirt, sweatshirt, and jeans,” Coronel said.

Over the years, Coronel has evolved in his fashion styles from the help of his peers.

“I think my fashion sense has evolved mainly by my friends; they help me learn what looks good and what doesn’t,” he said.

Even with being surrounded by people who follow fashion trends, Coronel still dresses the way he wants to.

“I don’t follow trends, but if I like it then I’ll try it,” he said. “I decide on trends mainly if I think it looks good on me and what my friends think of it.” Ω

Tiffany DiepStaff Writer

After waking up, finding the perfect clothes to wear may be difficult but senior Melanie Yamanoha is always able to piece together her ideal outfit for the day.

Depending on what kind of day it is, or how she feels, Yamanoha changes her appearance to match with it.

“Sometimes I feel like looking more like a pin-up girl and sometimes I dress more like a modern day hippie,” Yamanoha said.

Without any inspirations, Yamanoha dresses the way she wants without having any other in-fluences that may change or affect her personal style.

“I don’t really like to follow trends because sometimes the trends are too much for me, but occasionally I open my mindset about certain things,” she said.

Although she does not have specific guide-lines of what to wear, Yamanoha takes ideas from other inspirations to help her create her outift.

“I usually look at blogs and I kind of go from there. I try to look for things that are similar to the clothes on the blog and then just mix it from there,” she said.

Because she prefers clothes are more expres-sive and free at thrift stores, she shops at thrift stores so that others do not wear outfits that are similar to hers.

“I think finding cheap things at thrift stores is better because most likely people won’t have the same thing you have,” Yamano-ha said. “You can always alter it and adjust some things to it which makes it more unique looking.”

To accommodate the changing seasons, she goes from summer shorts and a tank top to clothes that keep her warm.

“If its a chilly day outside, then I’d probably wear a coat, some knee high stockings, and boots with leggings,” Yamanoha said.

Clothing may fit her day to day life, but for Yamanoha, clothing is also her form of expression and her personality.

“I’m not really sure how to describe my style. It’s just me,” she said. “It represents me cause I like to mix things up.”

Not only does dressing a certain way make her look nice, but it also increases her confidence.

“I feel like if I like the way I’m dressed, then it would boost up my self esteem,” Yamanoha said. Ω

Phi

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photo By SoNIA ChoU photo By AlvIN wAN

TEXT ME: Sophomore Faith Sendon uses her phone to take a picture of the night’s homework on science teacher Bryan Mason’s door. The application then sends a text with a translation of the night’s assignment.

photo By ANgelINA tANg

Mel anie Yam

anoha, 12

1.07.11Vol. 43, Issue 4 the hoofprint10 scene

Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles fills your soul food needs

Daniela KimStaff Writer

After hearing many good reviews and comments about Roscoe’s House of Chick-en and Waffles, I had high expectations go-ing in but overall, left the restaurant only somewhat satisfied.

Although there was quite a drive out to Pasadena (as well as a fairly long wait), it was all worth waiting for as the chicken was crunchy on the outside with succulent, fla-vorful meat on the inside. Although 98 per-cent of the menu was essentially chicken, it offered a variety of chicken parts, even chicken liver. The “amazing waffles”, how-ever, were a different story. I had expected more out of the waffles than the chicken since a lot of people have found them to be the best waffles they have ever tasted but I personally was not wowed at all. They were better than just decent, maybe even good, but not delicious. Other than the standard

fried chicken or waffles, Roscoe’s also has eggs with chicken and other kinds of side dishes. The chicken or waffle selection were both decent enough.

After ordering the Carol C. Special, which comes with both fried chicken and a waffle, I only had to wait a short while for my food to come straight out of the kitchen. The service was great; the waiter constantly came around to check for refills and other needs. All the workers were kind and cour-teous making the visit more enjoyable. De-spite the fact that service was overall great, Roscoe’s could use more waiters instead of having the few that it has constantly run-ning around the restaurant.

With a welcoming, cosy southern and Harlem-inspired atmosphere, the restaurant was packed with people and had many wait-ing outside. I do have to say that my time there was full of noise and I was somewhat disoriented with people talking at every table and waiters rushing to get their orders

delivered. The ratio between space and people

was completely off balance since many tables were packed together, forcing a num-ber of customers to squeeze into small spac-es. This wasn’t a huge problem for me, but seemed to bother some of the others as they asked to switch tables or move to a different area with more space.

The parking lot was probably the smallest I have ever seen and the number of people eating inside compared to the num-ber of spaces was simply illogical. Once the parking lot is full, others are forced to park a little farther and walk, but they did not seem to mind because the food would pay off for this inconvenience.

All in all, Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles did not totally have me quot-ing food commercials or craving for more, but overall it still makes for a somewhat run-of-the-mill, yet enjoyable breakfast or lunch. Ω

Fried chicken and waffles. At Roscoe’s House Chicken and Waffles down by Pasadena, these great culinary concoctions are put together in one, hearty meal. Although straightforward in design and delicious in taste, is such simplicity enough to satisfy?

True Grit

Tron: Legacy

Kevin YinStaff Writer

As a moderate moviegoer, I have not seen many, if not, any western movies. As I went to watch the remake of the 1969 Western classic, True Grit, I looked forward to a solid experience with fast-paced action and unique western set pieces. Overall, True Grit stays true to the traditional Western formula while retaining a lighthearted feel.

Set in the Wild West, the movie begins with Mattie Ross, (Hailee Steinfield) a young 14-year-old girl whose father was murdered by an outlaw named Tom Cheney (Josh Brolin). Driven by vengeance, Ross stops at nothing to see her father’s killer brought to justice, which eventu-ally leads her to collaborate with both Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) and Texas Ranger La Boeuf (Matt Damon).

The movie itself has a traditional Western feel while also implementing a few modern twists, with both the breathtaking cinematography and realistic Western setting coming together to create a believable experience.

Despite the great Western vibe, it’s the acting that steals the show. Jeff Bridges performs admirably as the rowdy Rooster Cogburn. His stubborn persona works well alongside Steinfield, who seems much older and more ma-ture than she actually is. Her quick, sophisticated dialogue is executed cleanly for such an inexperienced actor and she brings much to an already talented cast.

Together, the classic Western style combined with an excellent cast come together to create a wholesome and entertaining film. While True Grit isn’t exactly ground-breaking, it is still very enjoyable. Ω

Sonia ChouCopy Editor

Despite the yowls of die-hard fans and harsh critics, I must say that Disney and director Joseph Kosinski made a great film with Tron: Legacy, which not only appeals to the action-lovers, but also the computer nerds.

Tron: Legacy is no exception to the typical hero plotline. Sam Flynn (Garret Hedlund), the seemingly abandoned and strong-willed son of the original protago-nist Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), embarks on a journey to search for his missing father and stumbles upon the com-puterized world of The Grid.

While I found the plot very unoriginal, I could not keep my mouth closed when noticing the light-up cos-tumes, neon set, and stunning special effects. In addi-tion, the film’s score, done by electronic duo Daft Punk, blended in nicely with the technologic and sleek feel of the movie.

Although I enjoyed the technical aspects of the mov-ie, the acting and line delivery fell a little short. While Jeff Bridges played a convincing villain as Clu and a defeated father as Dr. Flynn, Hedlund gave a rather static perfor-mance. His face almost showed no emotion and at times conveyed no sense of urgency, fear, or sadness: the Kris-ten Stewart effect. However, Wilde portrayed Quorra very naturally, though I must say her good looks did help, as to the consensus of me and the general male audience.

With its wonderful soundtrack and visuals, Tron: Legacy proved to be more eye and ear candy than mind stimulating thrills but it’s still a good view all around. Ω

in Hilson’s new album

Michael HyunStaff Writer

When I first saw the cover of Keri Hilson’s new album No Boys Allowed, my first thought was teenage rebellion. However, after

listening to the track list, this album seemed to be more of a girl expressing her emotions and providing advice for other girls about love troubles. Overall, it’s the perfect album for any female.

Once I pressed play, the first song that came on was “Buyou” featuring J.Cole. This rap and R&B mix-up has a catchy tune with a hip-hop beat that will surely get you in the party mood. On the other hand, the song essentially talks about girls who “don’t need no broke, broke boy trying to holla” and it ultimately serves to degrade the potential of men.

Being the most popular song on the album, “Pretty Girl Rock” sounds like a musical poem with a drum beat behind it throughout the whole composition. Whenever this song plays, it never fails to make me sing along and although I can do without the conceited repetition of a girl saying “don’t hate me ‘cause I’m beautiful”, the lyrics are appealing along with the rhythm.

Hilson brings out an emotional side in “Breaking Point” and it’s clear that she sings from within her heart. With the chorus and instruments playing behind her, Hilson creates a sort of jazzy, sweet-talk vibe in this tune. I always have the urge to replay the song over and over mainly because of its moving message, which emphasizes the idea that women have much more pride and dignity than we, guys, give credit for.

With an almost Oprah-like passion in her voice, Hilson suc-ceeds in capturing the listener’s attention, creating appealing music, all the while empathizing with all the girls out there in her new album. So for all you females reading this, don’t hesitate to buy Hilson’s album because it gets personal. I assure that there are No Boys Allowed. Ω

photo USED WIth pERMISSIoN oF ISlaND REcoRDS

photo USED WIth pERMISSIoN oF Walt DISNEy pIctURES

photo USED WIth pERMISSIoN oF paRaMoUNt pIctURES

SOUL FOOD (CLOCKWISE): The menu, although filled with a decent assortment of both chicken and waffles, rarely deviates from either choice. Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles, located in Pasadena, is the ideal place for a southern style dish for breakfast or lunch. While the waffles do seem a little plain, the fried chicken is filled with mouthwatering meat.

photoS by DaNIEla KIM aND USED WIth pERMISSIoN oF WIKIpEDIa.oRg

01.07.11Vol. 43, Issue 4 sports 11the hoofprint

photos By Andrew koo, kevin wu, Austin Au-yeung And nAthAn Au-yeung

Austin Au-YeungStaff Writer

Each new season brings another shot at winning the league championships. As with all other sports, it just takes learning from past experiences.

“Our first varsity game we lost 2-0, but I always believed we learn more from a loss than a win, so we learned and we won the following Monday,” girls’ soccer coach Lorraine Hansen said.

The wrestling team works mostly on basic shooting and takedown drills but often switches drills to suit the mistakes made during meets and tournaments.

“We have a stacked, solid team from 103 lbs to heavyweights. As coach said, we really have the potential to be CIF champions in individuals and in duals. As long as we stay focused and stay mentally tough we can take the title,” wrestling co-captain senior Spencer Lee said.

With a much smaller team this year, the girls’ water polo team is working on aggressiveness and consistency among all the players instead of depending on the dominant players.

“We had very dominant players that graduated, so this year we’re focusing on making each player solid. It’s no longer a matter of just relying on one or two players, but rather being able to rely on every girl on the team,” co-captain senior Stephanie Tuncel said.

The girls’ water polo team is also changing its style of play to stay at the top of its game as the defending league champions.

“Last year we were more of a counter team, meaning we had our speedy girls out-swimming the other team to beat them to the cage. This year we are really focusing on good passing, working the ball around to the strong side and getting good, hard outside shots from our top row,” co-captain senior Samantha Lepp said.

With longer and more intense practices and workouts, which include two hours of weightlift-ing, the boys’ basketball team aims to win league championships and make it past the second round in CIF.

“We plan on using tough defense, an aggressive offense, and playing smart with the ball,” co-captain senior Chibuzo Okoro said. “Our biggest weakness is playing smart, but as long as we function as one team we can win all our games.”

The girls’ basketball team is working on improving their team play by having all players con-tribute on the court.

“This year we are better at playing together as a team, rather than having one or two main scor-ers. The points are more spread out between players, and we are better at moving the ball and using each other,” co-captain senior Amy McDill said. “It is easy to defend a team that depends solely on one player; it is harder to defend a team in which all five players are a threat.”

The boys’ soccer team is more of an attacking team this year, focusing mainly on its offense.“We have a pretty determined team this year. The only thing that has really changed this year

is our formation and style of play. We have a couple fast forwards and look to get them the ball up top,” co-captain senior Cristian Ruelas said. “Just like any team, there will always be room for improvement. There’s always a chance to get better at certain things, and we have a good coach to help us execute those type of things.” Ω

Swimmers compete at Junior Nationals

Kevin YinStaff Writer

There is a shroud of anticipation that falls upon each and every swimmer, as they stand and wait for their event. It has been a long journey. A path filled with trials and tribulations. All for these few moments. Nationals.

Swimmers senior An-drea Grant, junior Emily Yu, and sophomore Chris-tina Vu are used to this kind of pressure. They attended the Junior Nationals Swim Meet from Dec. 9-11 in At-lanta, Georgia and competed against over 600 athletes.

“It feels like an honor because you are competing with some of the fastest kids all around the nation. It is one of the high points so far in my swimming career and it has helped me get mentally prepared for my future in college swimming,” Grant said.

Getting to this point has been no easy task, as each of the girls have a difficult training routine that prepares them for these kinds of meets. They work out eight times a week, while practicing from 4-6 p.m. Mon-day through Friday and from 5-6:30 pm on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

“It’s incredibly difficult. It’s so hard to not think about the constant pain you are going through and just push past the barrier because in the end, I know that it

will just make me a better swimmer,” Grant said. Despite that the team did not win anything, they

wont let their losses discourage them. “I felt indifferent. I wasn’t really expecting to

win. Those are really fast swimmers,” Yu said. Despite these hardships, the girls feel that it has

been definitely worth it. “Seeing myself grow as a swimmer has affected

my life a lot. I’ve had many bad meets and horrible rac-es, but it has helped me improve throughout the years,” Vu said. “Reaching this point has been a great success for me because I never imagined going to Junior Nation-als.”

Throughout these successes, family and friends have remained an important part of their lives.

“My family is super supportive of me and they are always rooting me on no matter what. And they are all re-ally understanding when it comes to me not being able to go out a lot of the time due to practice. I can’t ask for better friends than that,” Grant said.

Although swimming is an im-portant part of their lives, the girls have

learned to balance their academic and athletic lives to-gether, such as Yu, who is part of the IB program.

“Balance is based on the idea of no excuses. Just get it done and don’t whine about it unless you have the time to. It is difficult. You have to try to sleep as early as possible to rest for practice and finish homework at the same time,” Yu said.

As they advance through their high school ca-reers, the swimmers hope to utilize their talents in their futures.

“As a senior, I might do college swimming. I’m still debating, as swimming is obviously very time con-suming and school overrides sport. If I do swim, I look forward to participating in NCAA for my school and meeting lots of new people,” Yu said. Ω

By competing in nationals, seniors Andrea Grant, Emily Yu, and sophomore Christina Vu have gained experience influencing the rest of their swimming careers.

PLAYING COOL (Clockwise): Ju-nior Jenny Lee practices treading with a filled water bottle to strengthen her legs. // Senior Zachary Galman arranges the play while being guarded by senior Roderick Johnson. // The wrestling team goes on their daily run. // Junior Richie Taira helps sophomore Freddie Hsiao with his balance. // Sophomore Mario Interiano tries to steal the ball from his West Covina opponent. // Junior Sebastian Aragon tries to score a goal.

Winter teams prepare for the seasonIn the beginning of the season each team develops its strengths and style to reach its goals of taking CIF.

Timothy HuangStaff Writer

Since 2006, a freshman has not been named to the soccer Varsity team. Now, center midfielder freshman Dan-iel Hernandez has not only earned his spot on the team, but has earned a spot as a starter.

“It feels good because it’s a great accomplishment that many people couldn’t do,” Hernandez said. “It’s an honor to be a starter so I have to play hard and not let the Seniors down.”

Hernandez has been exposed to soccer since a young age and has been helped by the support of his parents.

“I’ve always watched soccer on T.V. and I wanted to be like those players. I’ve been playing since I was a little kid, and my family played the sport too, so I was kind of born into soccer,” he said. “My dad has played a huge part in becoming who I am today because sometimes we go out to the park to work out, to practice shooting and stuff.”

Outside of school, Hernandez

plays with his soccer club, Golden State, a gold division soccer club team moving up to premiere division, one of the highest divisions. Recently they have achieved success at the Dallas Cup where they placed first.

“Playing club teaches you how to move without the ball and to pass ef-ficiently,” he said. “You don’t get this anywhere else.”

Competing with the upperclass-men has changed the way he plays knowing that he needs to support the team.

“Just playing with the seniors mo-tivates me to be better because it’s their last year so I don’t want to let them down,” Hernandez said. “Playing with the seniors has allowed me to get used to the way they play and how the team functions.”

At such a high level of soccer, he has been able to settle into his role that he plays on the team.

“On the field, I try to keep the ball moving and not let the other team get to the ball and to also help out on de-fense,” Hernandez said.

However, Hernandez hopes to achieve similar success later on in his soccer career in college and beyond.

“Throughout my four years, my goals are to make CIF and contribute to the team,” Hernandez said. “After-wards I want to try to play college and hopefully make it to the professionals.” Ω

Freshman Daniel Hernandez starts on Varsity soccer

“Reaching this point has been a great success for me because I never imagined going to Junior Nationals.”

Christina Vu, 10

With a background in club soccer, Hernandez sets high standards for himself to live up to his teammates’ expectations and his own goals.

Winter sportsin photos

01.07.11Vol. 43, Issue 4 sports 12the hoofprint

Runners plan to race in half-marathon

Varsity girls’ basketball12/8 @ St. Lucy’s 52-49 W12/14 @ St. Lucy’s 39-46 L12/27 @ Summit 41-61 L12/29 @ Ayala 50-33 W12/30 @ Pasadena 42-49 L

Varsity boys’ basketball12/6 @ Monrovia 59-57 W12/11 @ Bishop Amat 43-49 L12/16 @ Ocean View 50-54 L12/29 @ Damien 32-57 L12/30 @ Diamond Ranch 43-38 W

Varsity boys’ soccer12/27-12/29 Don Lugo Tournament-1st vs Chino 4-0 W vs Glendora 4-2 W vs Gladstone 2-2 T vs Covina 1-0 W vs Rowland 1-0 W vs Pomono 3-2(PK shootout) W1/4 vs West Covina 5-4 W

Varsity girls’ soccer12/17-12/20 Nutcracker Classic vs Cajon 3-0 W vs Wilson 6-0 W vs Cypress 2-0 W

Varsity girls’ waterpolo12/7 @ Brea-Olinda 24-2 W12/9-12/11 Los Altos Tournament - 5th vs South Pasadena 7-14 L vs Bell Gardens 17-13 W vs Crescenta valley 4-8 L vs West Hills 11-3 W vs El Modena 12-6 W

DecembeR ScoReboaRD

Andrew Koo and Matthew AlmeidaOnline Editor-in-Chief and Staff Writer

Senior Scott Margiotta, junior Josh Gonzalez, and sophomore Isaac Moreno will compete in the 20th Annual Southern California Half Marathon this Saturday, Jan. 8 in Irvine. A half marathon is 13.1 miles.

“It’s a longer race so you have to mentally prepare yourself for enduring the hardships of running for a longer period of time,” Margiotta said.

For these athletes, running is more than just a sport - it is a passion.

“It’s about having a sense of achievement and being able to push yourself. It helps to reflect who you are as a person,” Moreno said.

Different runners have different experiences that shape the sport into something more personal.

“I got into running in fifth grade in order to lose weight and pass the physical,” Margiotta said. “I’m pretty good at emptying my mind and that blocks out the pain, making it possible to keep on going.”

Running is just as much a mental sport as it is a physi-cal one.

“I personally see a lot of who I am when I run. I see my character and will in it. I see when I slack and I see when I try. I have no one else to blame but myself. Run-ning, for me, shows a reflection of my effort,” Gonzalez said. “I can apply this to how I will try in other areas of my life, such as in school, or for my own personal growth to see how far will I go to achieve what I want.”

While the preseason athletes condition on the track or under the stadium, the half-marathon runners go on long runs off-campus.

“We’re training with a lot more mileage [to build stamina] because you still want to keep the same pace for

the entire race,” Moreno said. “For me, it’s a lot more of an enjoyable race. In cross country, you’re dead from the beginning because it’s so fast; in a half marathon, you ease into that pace.”

About 4,000 runners attended last year’s event, in-cluding “wheelchair participants” and “race walkers.”

“It’s much more of a relaxed mindset, especially with-out all of the pressure of league and school races,” Moreno said. “I’m personally planning to go out and see what feels comfortable race day without worrying about time for the first few miles. This helps me stay relaxed and I’ll know if I’m hitting the right pace when I check my watch after three miles.”

The runners’ goal is to finish under one hour and 30

minutes, a pace just less than seven minutes per mile.“A race is simple. It has to be relaxed but focused with

one thing in mind and that is to run with everything,” Gon-zalez said. “It is a ‘How hard am I willing to push myself with only myself to rely on?’ race.”

Moreno, Gonzalez, and Margiotta will line up 30 miles from school at 8:00 a.m. with thousands of other runners to finally run against only themselves.

“At the start line I will think I am really tired, I want this to get over with, this is going to hurt. And I’m looking forward to it,” Margiotta said. “I know I’m crazy. I think I am insane.”

“I know I am,” Moreno added with a smile. Ω

Three cross country athletes will take the sport to another stage by participat-ing in a half-marathon next Saturday, Jan. 1.

Timothy HuangStaff Writer

Varsity soccer opened up their season with a 5-4 victory over West Covina on Tuesday, Jan. 4.

In the first half, Walnut held most of the possession which created many chances to score. As early as the first minute into the game, a header went wide off the Covina net. In the sixth minute of the match, a breakaway shot from senior Matthew Almeida flew, again, just wide off the far post.

However, in the 7th minute, senior Christian Ruelas took a shot 20-yard out and buried it in the bottom right corner to give Walnut a 1-0 lead.

With Walnut controlling the game, West Covina showed their frustration with two yellow card cautions for hard fouls forcing those players to temporarily leave the game. West Covina ended with fourth yellow cards in total.

Then again in the 20th minute, senior Chris Dobson boosted the lead to 2-0 after dribbling past the West Covina keeper on a breakaway and scored into the open net.

West Covina scored in the 24th minute after the ball was punched out by keeper senior Farhan Jangda, the ball fell right in front of an attacker who easily placed the ball into the net.

Although Walnut held the ball for most of the half, they only went into halftime with a mere 2-1 lead.

At the beginning of the second half, Walnut showed their domination with more possessions.

In the 51th minute and in the 56th minute, a string of passes resulted in two goals by substitute junior Peter Ochoa pushing the lead to 4-1.

West Covina showed that they were not ready to hand the game over with a goal in the 58th minute when a point-blank shot of a deflection bounced just over keeper Jangha.

Ruelas revealed his superior shooting skills in the 73rd min-ute when he took a shot from 30 yards out that surprised the keeper and curled right into the back corner of the net.

West Covina gave Walnut a scare in the final 10 minutes of the match with two goals, one from a shot and one from a penalty kick awarded for a Walnut foul.

In the end, Walnut remained victorious in their first league game with a 5-4 victory. Ω

Soccer wins first season gameDespite two quick goals by West Covina in the last quarter, the team was able to hold them off.

SNAIL’S PACE: Senior Scott Margiotta, junior Josh Gonzalez, and sophomore Isaac Moreno finish their one-mile warm up on the track before starting their off-campus “long run” to train for the upcoming half-marathon this Saturday.

Photo by ANdrEw Koo