Tag: ckm

Categories
Archive

Goodbye, Mr. Dobrescu

Gino Dobrescu, McClatchy’s beloved Vice Principal, recently left to become Principal of Pony Express Elementary. Dobrescu’s career in education has seen him as a math teacher at Sutter before taking up an administrative position here at McClatchy. As Vice Principal, Dobrescu had many jobs around the McClatchy campus, including helping students to sign up for AP tests, and being part of the morning announcements, as well as giving the weekly robocalls and emails to inform parents about McClatchy events. And those are just the things McClatchy students saw him doing. As Vice Principal, Dobrescu had many other administrative duties as well, like scheduling repairs and filing paperwork.
C.K. McClatchy’s students have been saddened by the loss of Mr. Dobrescu. Emilio Prince, a junior, says, “I’ll miss his positive attitude.” Most students have seen Mr. Dobrescu running around school taking care of different tasks as a vice principal. He was always friendly towards students and staff when going around the school. Despite losing Mr. Dobrescu, the students are still happy for him.
Ariadne Casteneda, a junior, says, “I’m happy for him to have a better job position. However, I am sad he left. He was very important to our community and will be missed.”
Jake Dean, a sophomore, says “It’s a loss for the school, but I’m glad he’ll be able to help out another school.”
Mr. Dobrescu was always friendly and active at school. He could be seen at concerts that the music department put on, checking in on classrooms to see how they were doing, and would always participate in school events. When the Japanese room was changed back to its original room, Mr. Dobrescu would peek his head into the classroom and check how things were going until the broken air conditioner was fixed. Mr. Dobrescu did alot for the school and his presence will be missed by the students. Although we are sad to say goodbye to Mr. Dobrescu, the McClatchy family wishes him good luck in his new job as an Elementary school principal.

Categories
Archive

Early Release Thursdays: Confusing but Necessary

Last Year, the SCUSD (Sacramento City Unified School District) started Early Release Thursdays. Schools release students one hour earlier than normal on Thursdays to allow time for teachers to attend mandatory meetings. According to the SCUSD website, these meetings “give teachers dedicated time every week to get together and plan lessons, share ideas and discuss ways to improve instruction.” In practice, however, Early Release schedules have proven confusing to teachers and students alike.
To determine how teachers felt on this issue, I polled several teachers, asking them if they thought Early Release Thursdays were productive. Of those I polled, the large majority supported the policy: 20 of the 32 teachers polled said that Early Release Thursdays were productive, the information gained by the meetings was worth the confusing class times. Of the remaining teachers polled, 6 said they thought Early Release Thursdays were not productive, and the other 6 teachers were undecided.
As a student, I enjoy that Early Release Thursdays provide us with extra time on Thursdays to meet up, or work on projects, or just relax. However, the Early Release bell has been known to catch teachers off guard, often in the middle of a lesson. While this was humorous for a while, it has gotten old fast.
Mr. Warren, a biology teacher, was particularly frustrated with the Early Release system. “It shortens my class!” he told the Prospector. “My students would be better served by me teaching them rather than by me being in a meeting.”
Whether or not we like the Early Release policy, it seems to be here to stay for the time being. And although the shortened periods can be very confusing and annoying, most CKM teachers agree that the informative staff meetings are worth the large inconveniences the system can cause.
Plus, some extra leisure time for students each week doesn’t hurt.

Categories
Archive

CKM takes over Holy Bowl?

On September 9th, at Hughes stadium, a very important football game took place. They call it Holy Bowl, which is Jesuit High School vs Christian Brothers High School. Even though McClatchy wasn’t playing, a lot of them came to the game. Students at CKM wanted to show support for their friends that attend private schools.
There was a strong favor toward CB among McClatchy kids, as many kids interviewed were rooting for CB. Others just came for the football. These are some of the best football schools in Sac, and there is nothing like catching a football game on a Saturday night.
For many years now, Jesuit has taken the dub. This year was no different. McClatchy Sophomore George Wiley hung out with his friends and watched the football game, “The game was really bad, because Jesuit just crushed them, but hanging out with friends was fun.”
Some of the most fun parts of the game was not even football related.
“I wasn’t there but I heard Josh Peck was.” said Luke Mitchell, a student at CKM. This was true. Many kids from CKM, CB, and Jesuit where excited to see that celebrity Josh Peck was at Holy Bowl.
Another exciting part of the game was a streaker that ran out onto the field.He was eventually arrested but it made some people’s night. There are a lot of things at Holy Bowl that CKM kids have control over. Which side is louder, has more spirit and more support. Even if the McClatchy football team doesn’t play at Holy Bowl, McClatchy kids can still enjoy the game, and they may even have some impact on who wins.

Categories
Archive

Homecoming: The Ultimate Scam

I don’t like dances, really don’t like places with more than 10 people–it’s way too many people. People are annoying and they don’t know when to shut up. Why would I go to a place that will definitely be crowded with over 10 people—a waste of my precious time. I can spend that time doing so many better things like, sit, eat, breathe, and other more deserving tasks. They’re pretty great compared to the hot and disgusting high school dance students call homecoming. I call it, a mosh pit of high school students.
People underestimate the power of doing nothing. My ears won’t bleed from the sounds of people yelling and loud music if I sit at home doing nothing. My body won’t be smashed by sweaty adolescents. I wouldn’t be exposed to whatever diseases I might contract from being in the general vicinity of other bodies. With the amount of time spent at homecoming I could probably learn how to do something really cool like learning how to weave baskets underwater while juggling. Realistically speaking that would be impossible because I don’t think you can juggle underwater, but the four hours people spend at homecoming could be extremely useful to anyone who doesn’t go.
Even if I did go I can’t do anything. You won’t catch me dancing to music. If you do, make sure you have the upper body strength to catch me, but don’t worry, I’m not very heavy. I’d rather not pretend I know how to dance like some people who stand around in the big mosh pit of the dance floor. Who knows what goes on in that circle. People twerk and yike (I had to google how to spell that) during the dance, but is there any actual dancing? Either way, I would prefer to avoid contracting stupidity from anyone who goes into that mosh pit. I prefer to live life on the edge of a couch, watching TV and not having a care in the world, not living life in the middle of a disgusting mosh pit of 2000 people.
However many times a friend will ask me to go to Homecoming, I will respond with a flat no. With all the different things going on at homecoming I would still be bored out of my mind having to talk to people for four hours. That’s an extremely long time to talk to people and your voice would be ruined by the end of the dance. If anyone is actually able to talk for four hours at a dance they would probably be unable to speak at a normal volume for the rest of the night since they wouldn’t be able to hear their own voice at the dance.
Homecoming is boring, loud, and overall a waste of 20 dollars I could spend somewhere else. I can spend 20 dollars on anything more important, like food or anything other than a school dance. If I spend 20 dollars, I would have to spend even more money on snacks and drinks at Homecoming. One scam after another, and by the end of the dance I can boast of losing 20 dollars, my voice, more money, my sanity, and innocence.

Categories
Archive

Clubs! Clubs! Clubs!

On September 12th and 13th, the Lunch Quad filled with students walking from table to table, searching for the right club for them to join. This year’s Club Rush included three additions to the list of clubs. These new clubs gained many student signups. The new clubs: Awareness League, Rogue Science Club, and Fashion Club are all run by juniors. Club officers were interviewed to see what they were looking forward to this year.
One new club, Awareness League, is tackling a new task of bringing awareness to our campus about current events. Co-Founder and Co-President Meredith Brown, a junior, said the purpose of Awareness League is to, “spread awareness of current events or teach people about current events to give them a platform for student activism or talking about current events and what could be changed in the world.” The other Co-President Connor Gusman, a junior, said, “There have been clubs that touch on this idea, but haven’t continued very well and they tapered off. Awareness League will be a more permanent platform that will continue to stay a club and safe haven for student’s voices to be heard.” The Awareness League wants to bring better awareness of current happenings in the world and for everyone to have a voice.
Bella Hopkins, a junior, is the Co-President of the Rogue Science Club. Through Rogue Science, she wants to help “spread the importance of science on our campus.” She was extremely happy when she almost 70 people had signed up to join the club on the first day of club rush. Ashley Matsumoto, a junior, and also Co-President of the club said, “there are lots of fun meetings, field trips, and experiments planned this year!” The Rogue Science club will be working towards the interests of all students.
The final club interviewed was Fashion Club. Kat Lu, a junior, and president of the Fashion Club is looking forward this year because so many people signed up to join her club. She is looking forward to doing a fashion show at the end of this year with her club. During the club, she will be teaching, “fashion and design construction, as well as fashion trends.”

Categories
Archive

Women’s Golf: Ckm vs. Kennedy



Gen Cha, teeing off on the first hole

Kat Lu, teeing off on the first hole

Gen Cha

Iris Lam and Tori Cano finishing up on the 9th hole

Tori Cano making a putt to finish the match

Checking scores from the match

Kayla Diaz, Filling in all the scores

Captain’s

Celebrating the win against Kennedy

Ckm Women’s Golf Team

Categories
Archive

New Track, Who This?

Three cheers for the new track, coming on October 31, 2017! A new track is long overdue, as issues prevented its use for years. Some include horrible drainage and uneven surface, which were often time consuming. The old track was a dirt one and vulnerable to rain. Footprints could always be seen after rain. “The drainage was horrible, so it [would] always flood up. And we couldn’t even practice on it,” stated Track and Field Coach Rohit. And the surface becomes uneven and dangerous for users. It’s also time consuming.
Cross Country Coach Watkins weighed in on the struggles of the old track, “For practicing things like the hurdles, we got to measure every time…trying to do exchanges, you got to measure out the exchange zones.”
Thankfully the new track will solve these problems. First off, it’s an all-weather track. Teams can practice in rain or shine, instead of in the hallways and on the blacktops, according to Coach Rohit. The new track will have better drainage, so they can practice in the rain. The new track adds consistency for the track team. “Every track we run on is all-weather but we practice on dirt and gravel and stone,” he said.
           Construction for the new track began on June 19 and is set to finish by Halloween with the budget being 4.5 to 5 million dollars. However the money will not cover the equipment the cross country and track teams need. Although the constant construction could get noisy at times, even the residents around the construction site are all for it. From their point of view, the old track was fine but it was generally agreed that renovation will be nice for all who use it.
One neighbor says construction has not been an inconvenience at all. “We have young kids and we’re active so, we’d like to visit,” she enthusiastically said. She hopes it will be beneficial in the near future.
It is clear the old track was problematic. Eight years later, the construction of a new one receives praise from many. But it seems that although the construction of the track has at times been bothersome, the result is universally seen as good, even necessary. Certainly this new track will be enjoyed by all, for years to come. “It’ll benefit everyone in the McClatchy community, the community around.” adds Coach Rohit.

Categories
Archive

The Real Stars of CKM

CKM is brimming with diversity and uniqueness. From various cultural backgrounds to music tastes, there seems to be no end to how different students at McClatchy are. This even extends to Astrological signs as well, from Capricorn to Sagittarius, everyone can claim a spot on the Wheel of Astrology. But, which sign is the most common? Least? And, come to think of it, how did Astrology even begin?
Astrology isn’t just daily Horoscopes and seeing if your crushes sign matches with yours, it has a history deeply rooted in both Western and Eastern culture. Astrology, at it’s core, is finding one’s meaning through the stars, moon, sun, and any other Astronomical object. Historians date the practice of Astrology as far back as 3000 B.C, with the most prominent ancient civilization to use the practice being the Babylonians. The Greeks later adopted Astrology as a way of reading about one’s self and future, a.k.a, Horoscopes. The signs correspond with various Babylonian/Greek myths and constellations, such as Gemini rooting from the myth of Castor and Pollux.
Beginning in the 17th century, the New Age of science started to discard astrology as a form of pseudo-science and religion. It’s popularity wouldn’t come back until the 20th century, when newspapers started to adopt Horoscopes as a column. In 1930, N.H Taylor, a British Astrologer popularized them following a series of oddly accurate readings, some of which include the reading of Princess Margaret, and the prediction of the crashing of the R101 British Aircraft. Many readers craved what the next telling would be, and more importantly, if he could predict their futures. Because of this sudden interest, the first main Horoscope column was born, called, What the Stars Foretell. It didn’t take long for Taylor to use the Ancient Zodiac to apply to modern age readers, to the wheel and apply dates to specific signs, depending on the constellations during that time of year. This sense of individuality further interested readers and has continued to remain popular amongst American media today.
Despite its popularity, the debate on the credibility of Astrology still runs hot, so we decided to gauge everyone’s signs, and their opinion as to whether they believed in it. Out of a sample of 61 randomly chosen students, these were our findings:
What is your sign?
Capricorn: 6 9.8%
Aquarius: 5 8.2%
Pisces: 3 4.9%
Aries: 3 4.9%
Taurus: 5 8.2%
Gemini: 6 9.8%
Cancer: 5 8.2%
Leo: 2 3.3%
Virgo: 6 9.8%
Libra: 6 9.8%
Scorpio: 10 16.4%
Sagittarius: 4 6.5%
Total: 61
Do you Believe in Astrology?
Yes: 27 44%
Sort Of: 21 34%
No: 13 22%

By far the most common sign was Scorpio, with the least being Leo. Most people we interviewed said they believed in Astrology.
Astrology, whether you believe in it or not, continues to be a prominent staple in American culture and is heavily reflected in CKMs culture today.

Categories
Archive

CKM Hell Court 2017

Categories
Archive

Girl’s Varsity Water Polo Team Commences Impressive Season

McClatchy’s Lady Lion Varsity Girl’s Water Polo team is off to a great start to their 2017-2018 season. The girls currently sit on a 3W-4L, and at the moment are on a winning streak.
    Last Tuesday, September 12, the ladies traveled to Florin for their first game of the season, bringing home the W. This past Thursday, the ladies also dominated over Rosemont at home, finishing the game with an impressive thirty-to-one score. The ladies held a strong offensive attack–utilizing players like Isabella Pfeffer (‘18), Catherine Spurgeon (‘19), Gabi Stewart (‘18), and Kealani Burke (‘18), for their power and speed. Pfeffer, scoring four of McClatchy’s points, had a strong presence in the game. She, along with captain Rachel Redmen, connected well during play. Assists from Redmen and Pfeffer helped McClatchy steal the lead within the first quarter. The ladies’ quick ball movement and structured defense lead them to victory.
    Over the weekend, September, 16-17, the Lady Lion’s participated in the 18th Annual Sierra Shootout, a high school girls tournament in Rocklin. The tournament, held at Sierra College, showcases teams from all around Northern California. Unfortunately, some of the games the ladies played didn’t turn out in their favor. Though most of the games lost, were lost only by a handful of points. Roisin McMullen (‘18), in goal, was a much needed asset, during McClatchy’s game against Christian Brothers alone, McMullen saved 8 goals.
    The team’s closest loss was to Concord. The game was forced into overtime, due to a 6-6 tie, but neither team scored in the 1st quarter of overtime. A slight mistake in the second quarter of overtime however, ended the game; leading in Concord’s favor. McClatchy came back hungry after the game however, to beat Nevada Union handedly, 11-3. The team utilized their strong attack, but were also quick to defend. Constant, rhythmic passing is another one of McClatchy’s strong suits. The girls’ passing often tires’ defenses and gives them more time to advance the ball as well as maintain possession.
    The Lady Lions appreciate the support of a fans at every game. With the strength of McClatchy’s valiant leaders alongside a cheering crowd, the Lady Lions will hopefully have many more wins this season!