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Entertainment

Pre-game Playlist

There are so many playlists out there that people use to get hyped for their games. Here are some soft songs to get you ready for that big game!

Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You, by Lauryn Hill  

Not everyone’s favorite but a favorite of mine that gets me hyped. Especially if you have ever had a crush or just someone you’re thinking about while listening to a song that gets you in a good mood. 

Mirrors by Justin Timberlake 

Now this song is just great, it gets you thinking of things that make you feel a way that gets a kick out of you. And it’s a pretty long song but it makes you just want to dance. 

Valerie by Amy Whitehouse

This song is like daydreaming when you’re listening to it. It makes you feel like everyone you’re thinking about just disappears. It most definitely makes you want to dance and get everyone else hyped and in a good mood before your match. 

Dream Girl by Kolohe Kai 

Now this is a banger, this song is a good song that makes everything go away when you start to think about that one person. This song makes you feel like you know how to sing for real. Makes you want to start singing to your teammates.

Fantasy by Mariah Carey 

I mean it’s Mariah Carey who doesn’t like her? This song makes me want to snap my fingers and do a little pop of the hip. This is a song that gets everyone in a good mood no matter what. Whether you can sing or not it makes you sing it either way. 

Hold You Down by DJ Khaled ft. Chris Brown, Jeremiah, etc…

This song is a song that will make your head bob and a song that you could share the music out loud with the entire team. That way they can also get hyped. The lyrical melody is memorable too.

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News Photo Series Sports

Red & White Meet

McClatchy’s track and field team kicked off the first meet of the season with their annual red and white meet. The meet itself wasn’t a typical meet where other teams from other schools came to compete; it was just a meet amongst the team. The meet was done so the players could get a feel for what an actual meet entails. The runners showed up bright and early at eight o’clock last Saturday to help set up the meet and some of the equipment needed for their events.

The team consisted of 113 people, differing from field events, sprinting, and distance. Coach Watkins, also a chemistry teacher, coaches the distance kids and the throwers. Coach Dale coaches the pole vaulters. Coach Johnson, also a math teacher, coaches the hurdlers and high/long jump. Coach Mo’ coaches the sprinters, and was a college student-athlete, who ran track at Sac City College.

Before the meet started, I had the opportunity to talk with Coach Mo’:

“So if I heard correctly this is your first official year being a full-time coach?” 

“Yeah, it’s my first time coaching through the school district.”

“That’s so exciting! Going into this first meet, technically more of a warmup meet, what do you look forward to your runners doing today?”

“I look forward to seeing all the preparation that we’ve worked on in the past few months. We just ran the timed four hundred last week, which was super successful! Today most of the sprinters will now be running the 100 and 200 meter, which we have been preparing for. It’s a great way to start our season!”

“Yes, it is! What do you look forward to achieving as a coach this season?”

“I look forward to achieving more PRs, more banners of course, and just aspiring all of you to keep being active and staying out here.”

Coach Mo’ has such a positive outlook, and so do the rest of the coaches. Many of the runners had amazing races, setting new personal records (PR). Hugh Heyer ran PR’d in the 800m race, coming in first place with a grand time of two minutes and six seconds, basically running a minute and three seconds on each lap. 

Many of the girl varsity runners PR’d in the 1600m. Madeline Zimmerman, only a sophomore, ran a 13-second 100m, and she had never run track before. We can expect to see a lot out of all the newcomers on the team, along with the returning veterans, like the super-fast sprinter Jada Lawson and crazy fast distance runners Owen Anderson, Sam Rounds, and more.

As the season progresses, we as the audience, parents, or supporters, should anticipate the greatness the track and field team will accomplish. Whether that be getting a new banner to hang up or just having a good time, the Lions will set out to do their absolute best and on those days where they might not, it will be okay because they will have so much support from their teammates and the community around them. You go Lions!

Pictures from the event photographed by Francisco Escobar:

Categories
News Sports

McClatchy Lions vs. Jesuit Marauders Boys Varsity Soccer Final

On Saturday night, the McClatchy boys varsity team played in the CIF Sac Joaquin finals against Jesuit. They had a great season, and everyone was excited for this final game.

The first few minutes of the first half were a close battle between both teams; all the boys wanted this win and did everything they could to get it. With 23 minutes left in the first half, Jesuit scored, making it 1-0.

Starting the second half, both teams seemed tired, but they did not give up. McClatchy students, family, and staff did not stop showing support and still had hope they could win this game.

The intensity of the game picked up, with both Jesuit and McClatchy attempting shots but missing. Time kept getting shorter, and McClatchy was losing their chance to make a comeback.

With only two minutes left, Jesuit scored again, making the score 2-0 and McClatchy losing their chance at winning the title.

Although they did not win, McClatchy had a great season, ending at #1 in the league with 11 wins and only 1 loss. It wasn’t the ending everyone was hoping for, but McClatchy fans showed love and were extremely proud of how far they made it this season.

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News

Volunteer Opportunities in Sacramento

Sacramento is in no short supply of volunteer opportunities and people in need. Volunteering is a very generous way to give back to your community.

Going out and helping around your community can be a very good way to use up some spare time and help those in need. Opportunities to volunteer with The Front Street Animal Shelter and the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services are just a few clicks away.

The Front Street Animal Shelter and the Sacramento SPCA need volunteers to help with the care of these animals. The volunteer work consists of walking the cats and dogs, socializing with the animals, cleaning them, and just spending time with the animals making sure they feel cared for and loved during their search for a home. To sign up, one would just have to go to either of the shelters’ websites and navigate to the volunteering section.

The Sacramento Public Library is looking for teen volunteers for their Virtual Homework Zone program. In this program, kindergarten through eighth-grade students can drop by and get help from the volunteers with their homework. They want people with at least a 3.0 GPA and full access to a computer with Zoom.

At the River City Food Bank, their goal is to give food to people who are unable to meet the basic living expenses. From February 27th through June 27th, you can volunteer to prepare and hand out food to the people in need. Even if you cannot make the time to volunteer, food banks across Sacramento are always taking food donations in the form of canned goods.

You don’t always have to volunteer your time, for there are always people in need of other things. Donating food to food banks, hair to Locks of Love, or even donating to charities, there is always a way to help.

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News

New Campus Renovations

For the next few months, McClatchy is focusing on new renovations to improve campus life. This includes new bathrooms, upgrades to the field, and a cafeteria renovation.

Cafeteria renovations should be done after Spring Break. These renovations include a whole new flooring, new food service equipment, and re-tiling of the kitchen area. Changes like these are projected to improve the efficiency of the cafeteria, so more students are able to get lunch quickly. These upgrades will change the way the cafeteria works until it’s complete. The cafeteria will be closed intermittently until Spring Break, and two food trucks serving lunch as normal will be parked near the trash cans to the left of the outside cafeteria line, and one near the McClatchy mural on the blacktop. There will also be a larger food serving area in the ROTC Quad.

We’re also planning to see several upgrades to our sports fields. Two new bathrooms will be installed near the softball and soccer fields for easier access to athletes. Tennis courts and the swimming pool will also be upgraded. Tennis courts will begin construction in March, bringing in new scoreboards and flooring for a better playing experience. Games taking place in the allotted construction time will be relocated to different fields or away games. In addition to this, the swimming pool will begin construction in the summer to make for a more playable pool for our water polo team. It will be made to be deeper for adequate water depth, optimal for water polo, and will be fitted with a completely new deck as well.

Another project taking place this summer is the placement of an all-new HVAC system. McClatchy is notorious for the air conditioning randomly breaking when it is most needed. This completely new HVAC system is meant to prevent it from happening again. After these renovations are completed, we can expect a cool school in the summer and a warmer one in the winter. With Sacramento’s summer days reaching the 90s-110s, this cooling is badly needed. Plus, the air conditioner and heater will be on consistently, so we don’t have to worry about sudden heating and air conditioning malfunctions.

Credit recovery that would otherwise be held at McClatchy will now be held at the Health Professions High School following the amount of construction happening during the summer, but will otherwise be held as normal.

Overall, we can expect plenty of much-needed upgrades to our school founded in 1937. These changes will improve campus life as a whole, but until these changes are completed, we can expect a very different day-to-day schedule to avoid the construction. Sports games will be relocated and played as normal, and the cafeteria will be temporarily closed but also replaced with more lunch facilities. Quality of life on McClatchy’s campus will most likely dramatically improve with these changes.

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Book Buzz With Amanda Book Reviews Opinion

The Girl From Mars by Tamara Bach Review

This week I gave myself ‘The Girl From Mars.’ Written by Tamara Bach. I didn’t enjoy this book due to its lack of writing, describing a constant derogatory way of looking at the way things are. 

This story circles the life of 15-year-old Miriam. She has no intellect of what the outside of her little town is like. She is a very negative character, but then again so are all 15-year-olds. She acts very grown up to her friends and to her mother (she seems to hate all of them). She experiences the ultimate lows of what it means to act grown. 

She eventually finds a circle of friends she associates with, they convince her to take a rebellious road trip only to eventually take a turn for the worse. 

Though this book didn’t stand out to me, it had a great representation of what being a confused teenager can look like. As Gen-Z, we grew up with teenage shows that show almost everything but the realistic struggles of being a 15-year-old kid. 15 is the teenage dark period. I think that’s why I didn’t enjoy this book as much because it reminded me of all the weird stuff that happened as a 15-year-old. 

This book is also a bit stereotypical, Miriam has grown up in a small town, where nothing ever happened, everyone already knew her, and nothing ever seemed to change pace. Her character is a constant daydreamer that night and day, dreaming of something bigger. 

I guess dislike is too strong a word for my feelings toward this story, but it had its relatable parts. It represents a lot of LGBTQ struggles and dicey feelings masking friendships and relationships and such.

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Cuisine and Recipes

Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter. It’s a debated food, as I’ve heard from most people that they either love it or hate it. And some are sadly allergic to it. If you couldn’t tell, I love it. It has such a strong, distinct flavor that is like no other. I feel so bad for those who have peanut allergies, as they can’t regularly eat something I think is a wonderful invention. I also feel bad because peanut allergies can be deadly, which is probably the point I should’ve mentioned first, but oh well. Anyways, if you’re a fellow peanut butter lover, these easy cookies are perfect for you.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups flour
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
  • 1 cup peanut butter (preferably smooth)
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • ¾ teaspoons baking powder
  1. Preheat your oven to 350℉. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Set aside.
  1. In a separate bowl, beat the sugar (white and brown), peanut butter, and butter until light and fluffy.
  1. Add vanilla and egg, and mix until combined.
  1. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, and fold until combined.
  1. Separate mixture into ¼ cup large scoops, and move onto a baking tray.
  1. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
  1. Remove from the oven and use a fork to make indents on the top of the cookies in a square pattern.
  1. Allow to cool, and enjoy!
Categories
News Sports

McClatchy Lions vs. Whitney High Semi-Finals Boys Varsity Soccer

McClatchy’s varsity boys soccer team has made it to the semi-finals of the CIF Sac Joaquin sections. They have worked so hard to get where they are, and they had a challenging opponent to beat to advance to the finals.

McClatchy started strong from the beginning to when the whistle blew, and their opponent, Whitney High, had the kick-off. McClatchy knew that they had to win this game to make history.

Whitney High had a corner kick. McClatchy made a mistake with their communication, which led to a goal against them, but that did not stop them. It only made them play harder. But soon after McClatchy had a corner against them on their side, they went in strongly, crashing the box with a header to the back of the net, which Kevin Miller made. All the boys gathered around cheering each other on while the crowd went wild.

The score was 1-1, making a very intense game. A little bit before halftime was about to end, McClatchy had another corner kick beautifully crossed into the box with a header straight to the back of the net by Ethan Roach. The boys all cheered Roach on, pushing him around, giving each other high-fives, and heading back to their side of the half.

Half-time began, McClatchy gathered around talking strategy for the next half so they were well-prepared and fixed their communication from earlier in the game. The whistle blew to alert the boys that the half would begin and the crowd started to cheer on both sides as the boys started to get ready to head onto the field. McClatchy had the kickoff this time, and as the whistle blew they kept position and good control over the ball, getting the other team tired.

Later into the half, Kevin Aguilar had a magnificent goal; he struck the ball low and with a lot of speed on the ball straight to the right side of the net and the crowd went crazy. McClatchy had secured their spot in the finals! The whistle blew, and McClatchy fans cheered. The team all congratulated one another and shook hands with Whitney, who also had an amazing season.

McClatchy is on their way to the finals after a great game. Now, we wait for the final match on Saturday, February 24th.

Categories
News Sports

McClatchy Lions vs. Davis Blue Devils Boys Varsity Soccer

The McClatchy Lions played against the Davis Blue Devils on Tuesday, February 13th. McClatchy had a huge crowd cheering them on as they stepped onto the pitch; the audience included family, friends, coaches, and even college scouts!

The starting lineup was as follows: #8 Alexis Ramos, Goalkeeper; #22 Vicente Robles, Right Center Back; #15 Reid Paskey, Left Center Back; #11 Joseph Gray, Right Outside Back; #21 Kevin Miller, Left Outside Back; #6 Adali Parra, Defensive Midfield; #13 Ethan Roach, Left Winger; #10 Darwin Mendiola, Right Winger; #18 Kevin Aguilar, Center Midfield; #17 Nathaniel Ochoa, Center Field; and #9 Frank Thao, Center Forward.

McClatchy started with the ball in the first half, and the game started off strong. In no more than 20 minutes, McClatchy scored a beautiful goal by Kevin Aguilar with a chip that had speed on it, and all the boys got up and yelled and ran to the side of the field, cheering on their teammate Kevin. The crowd went crazy and chanted; McClatchy was up 1-0.

Both teams were getting fouled from left to right, and McClatchy got fouled in the box, which caused a penalty kick for them.

A memorable moment came when Nathaniel Ochoa stepped up to the box ready to take the kick. Everyone went silent, and then the whistle blew. Bottom left, straight to the back of the post; therewent one heck of a penalty for Nathaniel Ochoa.

 McClatchy’s goalkeeper, Alexis Ramos, came off the field limping when he had hurt his knee during one of the plays but chose to stay in and battle it through for the team for the rest of the half. 

McClatchy was sitting at 2-0 right in time when the 1st half was done.There was a switch goalkeepers, and Israel played in goal as the 2nd half began. The crowd cheered so loud that the other side of the field could hear them. McClatchy unfortunately got caught off guard and made a mistake, and the Davis Blue Devils scored a goal, making the score 2-1.

But McClatchy did not let that get to their heads and instead used it as a tool to make sure they won this match with everything they’ve got! McClatchy got the ball from the defense up to Emilio Godnick, and he got past the last line of Davis and had a one-on-one moment with the goalkeeper and shot a magnificent mid-air ball to the right of the goalkeeper. Everyone was so hyped and jumped around, and the boys all gathered together to celebrate the amazing goal.

The whistle was blown for the game to be over in 10 minutes after Emilio’s goal, and everyone celebrated getting ready to shake hands with the opposing team. McClatchy gave it their all out on that field. It was a great game for the Lions!

Categories
Cuisine and Recipes

Lovely Sugar Cookies!

Ahh, Valentine’s Day. 

Some love it, some hate it, but I love it. Pink and white are some of my favorite colors and hearts are just so cute to me. It’s a day to celebrate the love you feel for your partner or any of your other loved ones. You don’t need a significant other to celebrate Valentine’s Day in my opinion. Going out with friends and appreciating them and the love you share for each other is such a nice way to spend your time. Sure, you can show your love for another person any other day, but having a whole holiday centered around love can remind us to appreciate one another. And if you don’t have a plan to give anyone Valentine’s Day presents, then these adorable heart-shaped cookies are perfect for you.

Ingredients

For the cookie dough:

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (Remove 3 tablespoons of flour as well)

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

¼ teaspoon espresso powder

1 large egg

¾ cup unsalted butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For icing:

3 cups powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

4 tablespoons water

¼ teaspoon salt

Food coloring (optional)

Sprinkles (optional)

  1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and baking soda. Whisk until combined.
  1. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
  1. Add egg and vanilla extract, and mix until combined.
  1. Pour the dry mixture into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  1. In the meantime, mix powdered sugar, water, corn syrup, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth for the icing. 
  1. Add your desired amount of food coloring to the icing, and mix until the color is the same throughout.
  1. Preheat your oven to 350℉ and sprinkle flour on a clean counter to roll out your dough.
  1. With a rolling pin, flatten the dough until the dough is about ⅛ of an inch thick.
  1. Using a cookie cutter or knife, cut out cookies to the desired shape.
  1. Place on a cookie sheet, and bake for around 10 minutes, or until cookies look golden brown (depending on size)
  1. Place on a cooling rack and wait until completely cool.
  1. Once cooled, use a knife to spread icing on the cookie and add your sprinkles. Place back on the cooling rack to allow the icing to dry.
  1. Enjoy!