Author: Kimaya Cole

By Kimaya Cole, Staff writer

On Monday, October 20th, our girl’s volleyball team battled against Kennedy in an intense game defining who would be one step closer to becoming the metro league champions. Kennedy came out strong the first set and beat our lions 25 to 17. With the help of Legion cheering our girls on and the hatred against Kennedy growing, CKM came back the second set to win. Rallying back and forth, having to go over the 25 point set limit, our lions pushed through to win 28 to 26. Trying to stay in the game, Kennedy came back to win the third set 26 to 24. CKM had to win the 4th set or the win would go to JFK, so our lions turned up the heat and won 25 to 18. Starting the last set off strong with a lead of 4-0, our CKM Lions just came up short on the last few hits. With a sad, unfortunate loss for our girls, the JFK Cougars left the Lion’s den with a 16 to 14 victory.

Even though we didn’t come through with a win, it was a very intense, exciting rivalry game. Key players that stood out were Nia Evans, ‘16, and Kelsey Wong, ‘16. These juniors made a great duo. With Kelsey’s perfect sets and Nia’s stellar spikes and blocks, JFK struggled to keep up. But overall, if anyone saw our girl’s volleyball team competing, they would agree that our team is stacked with strong, hard-working players.

November 3rd, our girls got the chance to go up against the Sac high Dragons to tie Kennedy for metro league champions, but unfortunately, they lost by 2 in the very last set. However, they still got the chance to be in playoffs, ending in 3rd place.

On November 10th, the girls got the chance to move on in playoffs, playing the competitive Pitman High School. Sadly, our lady lions lost all three games and Pitman ended up winning the Division 1 playoffs. Despite their loss, what a great season our McClatchy girl’s volleyball team had!

By Kimaya Cole, Staff writer

As Mr. Lambert always says, “Remember, it’s a great day to be a lion,”…. unless it’s 98 degrees outside and you’re on the verge of having a heat stroke. This comes from the dress code rule that’s gone WAY too far. Has the school administration crossed the line with the new dress code “sweep?” Is it really necessary to dress code students (mainly girls) for exposing too much shoulder or lower thigh? Does faculty really need to take a student from class, and interrupt lecture, to make them change?

On the announcements, Mr. Lambert always says we need to learn how to express our style in a “school” appropriate way, but it’s more than wanting to represent ourselves and our style. We wear certain clothes depending on the weather and wanting to be comfortable in class. When it’s hot outside, the first thing students are going to think about wearing are shorts and a tank top, NOT jeans that will suffocate our body, or long sleeves that will make it hard to focus in class because we’re too worried about the sweat stains we’re acquiring under our pits. They can try to scare students into conforming to the dress code, but the reality is the majority of students will still break the rules. And I’m sure students don’t wake up every morning with the main goal to try and attract the opposite sex by exposing their shoulders and thighs. The administration is trying to over-sexualize the appearance of students by claiming it is distracting. However, what’s distracting is conducting unnecessary “sweeps,” disrupting students and keeping them out of class.

The dress code has become so harsh that the idea of uniforms is starting to sound more appealing. But why should it even have to come to that point? McClatchy High School is a public school, not a private school, and it shouldn’t be treated like one.

Besides the fact that uniforms would be way too expensive for our school’s budget, they are uncomfortable with their cheap fabric. “Inappropriate” clothing is said to be the reason why students aren’t paying attention, but uniforms aren’t going to change that. Not only are uniforms expensive for the school, but some parents may not be able to buy uniforms for their child. Also, uniforms may violate certain students’ religion or beliefs. What will happen then? Will that child be forced to go to a different school? And last but not least, uniforms suppress individual expression and creativity. Uniforms don’t allow students to represent themselves and be unique.

Montana Vince (‘16), exclaimed, “Uniforms are expensive and would be ugly. I don’t want to be conformed to dress like everyone else. I want to be able to show my creativity through my clothes.”

McClatchy’s administration needs to loosen up and realize that there are a wide variety of clothes that are considered “in style,” but uniforms will never be a fan favorite.

By Kimaya Cole, Staff writer

What fun is spirit week when the majority of the school has no spirit? Yes, dressing up and going all out is “so middle school,” but we need something to give us a break from all of our studies. I’m not saying everyone needs to be decked out everyday, but it isn’t that hard to put on a tie dye shirt or wear red, white, and blue.

Part of the reason is that most of our spirit days are repetitive. Students get tired of dressing up for the same thing every year. The names might be a little twisted, but the overall concept is the same. For example, America Day, Mix & Match Day, and Athlete Day seem to be a few of the  favorites. Instead of ASB having the only say in choosing the school’s spirit days, the whole school should be involved. Maybe we could have a school poll and let us students choose the top five spirit days, or add suggestions of our own. This will give more students the satisfaction of dressing up if they know they were a part of the decision process.

Another problem is that students don’t have anything to motivate them to dress up or to look forward to afterwards. It sucks that students need bribery to do something as simple as showing school spirit, but that’s the way it is. Multiple people have suggested that we make spirit week a class competition. Each class would compete against one another, obtaining a point for every person that shows spirit. At the end of spirit week, the points would be tallied up, and whichever class wins would be announced and recognized at the rally. Since everyone loves a little competition, this would be the perfect motivator to get students more involved in spirit days. Also, students love getting rewarded with candy in the morning. Who doesn’t love candy, right? There should be different types or sizes of candy handed out determined by how much spirit you have. These fun little activities and bribes might be the key to having a more spirited school.

Last, but not least, multiple students don’t dress up because they fear that they will be too dressed up and made fun of. More than once, I’ve heard people in the halls say, “Well I wasn’t sure if anyone else was going to dress up so I didn’t want to be the only one..” But you will only be the odd one out if you show no spirit. I think a lot of students think that they will look weird or crazy, but 1) they shouldn’t care what people think about them and 2) if everyone else in the school is decked out in wild outfits, there’s no reason to be judging anyone else.

Spirit days are a great way to let loose and show school spirit. What makes it fun is seeing your peers’ creativity and what they ch

oose to wear for each day. When there are a lot of people not dressed up, it brings down the mood. There are a few things that could possibly be changed to increase the amount of students who participate, but overall, showing your school spirit shouldn’t be something to dread.

By Kimaya Cole, Staff writer

The day before his 12th birthday, Alexander (Ed Oxenbould) is having a very bad day, beginning with the old gum-in-the-hair haircut, continuing with tripping in front of his crush and finding out the most popular kid in school has his birthday party on the same day as his,  it seems like it will never end. While, on the other hand, his family is on top of the world and doesn’t seem to have much sympathy for him. His unemployed dad, Ben (Steve Carell), finally has a promising job interview, while his mom, Kelly (Jennifer Garner), is up for a big promotion. His 16-year-old brother, Anthony (Dylan Minnette), is poised to get his driver’s license just in time to take his girlfriend, the hottest girl in school, to their high school prom, and his 13-year-old sister, Emily (Kerris Dorsey), is starring as Peter Pan in her middle school play. Frustrated by their lack of empathy for his bad day, Alexander unintentionally makes a birthday wish that his family would get a taste of what it’s like to have a “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day” but ends up getting more than he bargains for. The next day, he watches his family go through all sorts of mayhem like he did the day before. But amidst the chaos, Alexander’s family manages to support each other and ends up even stronger and closer than they were before. Ultimately, this is a sweet, entertaining movie with positive messages about finding humor in adversity and coming together as a family. It gives you the reminder that everyone has bad days and you have to learn to laugh it off because tomorrow is a new day.

I watched this, and being  younger than an adult, but older than a child I could relate to the younger jokes and still understand the adult humor. It was appealing, funny, and kept me intrigued. It was entertaining even though it was predictable from the start, as Disney movies tend to be. I would probably recommend watching this movie with your family. It is kid-friendly and funny while including adult humor and a good message for all families. However, some parents, depending how strict, might say it should be rated for kids older than 10. Scenes like the sister drinking too much cough syrup and getting a little drunk from it and having strippers dance and take off articles of clothing might be too mature or “inappropriate” for some kids. Also, terms like ‘penis,’ ‘butt crack,’ and ‘boobs’ are said multiple times, which parents might not want their kids to learn before the age of 10 Besides these minor turn offs, all of the characters fit their roles perfectly and are very likable and funny. Overall, this is a great movie and I would definitely watch it again for a good laugh.

By Kimaya Cole, Staff writer

Derek Jeter’s last home game of his career will always be one to remember. With a man on 2nd, the game tied, he came up to bat at the bottom of the 9th inning and hit a walk-off RBI single, beating the Baltimore Orioles 6-5. This sent the Yankee fans into a frenzy, chanting, “Thank you, Derek.” He could only react by holding back his tears and saying, “For what? I’m just trying to do my job.” With this fairytale ending there couldn’t have been any better way to celebrate “The Captain’s” stellar twenty season baseball career.

In his post-game interview, Derek Jeter revealed to the world that he is retiring not because he is physically unable, but because he feels it is the right time. Many are wondering how he will be remembered. He was a five time World Series champion, fourteen time All Star,  a World Series MVP, and he won five Gold Gloves for being the best shortstop in league. He was a practically perfect role model and example for how all professional athletes should behave. In a sport known for arguing with the umpire, controversial calls, and players that don’t get along, Derek Jeter was not once thrown out of a game. He was never involved in any outside issues like drugs, violence, or disobeying the law. Especially during the steroid era, he stayed clean and stuck to his natural talent to help him play.

Derek Jeter is praised so often that everyone expects and assumes that he will be a first ballot hall of famer. Being the team captain for twelve years with a .310 batting average, 3,465 hits, and 11,195 at bats, he can easily walk away knowing he fulfilled his dream of being a great baseball player. His famous jersey, number 2, is the only single-digit number not retired by the Yankees. His manager, Joe Girardi, could only say about him, “It’s been a blessing. To manage a guy like that is what you want in every player.” Even though Derek Jeter’s career is coming to an end, he will always be remembered as one of the greatest Yankees of all time.

“There may be people who have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do — and I believe that.” – Derek Jeter