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1 Volume 103, Issue 1 Modesto High School October 2015 Dress Code Covered p. 5 Panther Puff pp Fall Sports Report pp

2 The Panther Press 18 H Street Modesto, CA Table of Contents Editors: Liam Coyle,, Nicole Parhizgari, Enya Rodriguez, Lucy Wenstrup, Natalie Schlenker Panther Press Staff: Erika Gonzalez, Waleed Khan, Sarah Lee, Yarithceli Mariscal, Aiden McAllister, Amar Pannu, Amrit Pannu, Micheal Perez, Aryana Perillo, Maria Ramirez, Laurel Reeves, Jordan Toledo, Jasmine Underwood, Alexandria Yuam and Kristina Zuroff Adviser: Kerrie Glenn glenn.k@monet.k12.ca.us The Panther Press is created by and forby students of Modesto High School. The goal is to bring news to MHS and to acknowledge ideas, events, and individuals on campus in an unbiased and professional manner. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the journalism staff and not of Modesto High School or Modesto City Schools. This publication may also be accessed at mohipantherpress.com. Letters may be mailed to MHS or submitted to Kerrie Glenn s mailbox in the main office. Freaky Features National Merit Scholars New Teachers Dress Code Homecoming Panther Puff Fall Sports Mohi s Bloggers Gleaning Seasonal Stories Halloween History CANDY

3 October

4 Teacher Feature By: Michael Perez Here at Modesto High, we are on big family. This includes the amazing staff and faculty that work hard to keep us safe and prepare us for our futures. This year, we were fortunate enough to get some new teachers at our school, and we welcome them with open arms! Let s get to know these teachers a little bit better... Mr. Chavez who came from Berkeley High School described MoHi as a big caring family, It s a place that I can call home, he said. Mr. Chavez came to our school because he wanted to make a difference in the community. When teaching in Berkeley, he felt as if he wasn t making as much of a difference. Here at Modesto High he knows that many students need someone to encourage them to do better and be their friend. Ultimately he hopes to get to know Modesto not only as a school but as a home. To Mrs. Avila, Modesto High School is a great place to be with great staff that are not only kind, but also spirited. Mrs. Avila decided to teach at Modesto High School after she heard many great things about our school. Mrs. Avila, who teaches students how to cook, hopes that students will benefit from her class and can use its lessons in the future. Mr.Cardenas grew up in Modesto and attended Modesto High School where he graduated in the class of This led him to transition from a student to a teacher at Modesto High School. He said, I want to give back where I started. Mr. Cardenas motivation to teach Secondary Math 1 & 2 came from our excellent math teachers who are still at this school. The most prominent teachers that stand out to him as role models are Ms. Chavkin, Ms.Au- Yeung, Mr. Tea, and Mr. Saechao. Mr. Cardenas aims to create a safe and fun environment for students that struggle with math. He describes Modesto as a great family and says that he is proud to be a Panther. Mr. Smith, who came from Davis High School, depicts Modesto High as being a strong family community with a good academic stability and even stated that Modesto High School is better than Davis. Mr. Smith taught at Davis until they closed their AVID program, and he explained that Modesto High took him in right away where he became an AVID tutor. Mrs. Chavkin encouraged him to eventually become a teacher at Modesto High School where he now teaches Pre-IB Secondary Math 1 and 2, and freshman AVID. His goal is to eventually bond with students and provide any help they need. He knows students struggle with math and he wants to help them grasp the concepts of it. In addition to math, he likes the AVID program because students are more involved in college and learn to complete college applications and more about college information. There are many more teachers that have joineed us this year! To learn more about them and for more information on the teachers featured in this story, please visit 4 THE PANTHER PRESS

5 Opinion October

6 Halloween History By Gabriel Malonzo and Liam Coyle Ms. Amarante, as a child, in her homemade ghost costume. Good luck sleeping tonight! Or staying awake, whichever. Many viewers may find these images familiar, likely seen beforehand on the internet, in a documentary, or a horror film. But understand that these photos are of regular people wearing regular costumes on a regular Halloween early-1900s style, that is. Halloween in the early 20 th century consisted of traditions still recognizable today, such as; costumes, trick-or-treating (although more like trick-and-vandalizing), and parties. But one tradition that is not common today is making costumes from scratch as in, sewing scraps of cloth and hand-crafting masks. Sure children still do this today, but at the time adolescents and even adults partook in the activity. Costumes nowadays are more based on traditional Western monsters (e.g. Dracula, witches, zombies, etc.) and pop culture. But in the early-1900s, Halloween was not yet a powerful market and so was not as publicized, and costumes were not commercially available as they are today. As a result, people had to rely on pure ingenuity, resourcefulness, and, in these cases, contracts with a demonic entity. 6 THE PANTHER PRESS

7 By Laurel Reeves and Sarah Lee Illustrated by Roberto Jimenez We all know it stirs the minds of everyone in this world and makes taste buds tingle. On occasion, young children are known to binge eat candy during the most special day of the year. Many people of all ages enjoy trick-or-treating, which is a method of picking up candy at fellow neighbors doorsteps, saying, Trick or treat! during Halloween. Many people believe that without candy Halloween is not as exciting of a holiday. They are under the assumption that Halloween cannot live without the presence of candy. So, what is the Halloween hype, and why does this very big holiday happen? Halloween first originated during an event called Samhain (pronunciation of sah-win ), on November 1st around 2000 years ago. Samhain was a pre-christian Celtic festival that was known as the end to summer and although its literal meaning was never fully depicted, it was generally known to be the time for spirits to come altogether by entering the next world. Dressing up as ghosts, monsters, and zombies for costumes is a way to bring back the Samhain festival in a sense through representation of ghosts from before to present day with the modern inclusion of candy. On Halloween, I go all out: candy, costumes, scaring children- the works said Mia Vizcaino who spreads the Halloween spirit. Going back to the topic of Halloween candy, these past few years have been quite a bundle of chaos. With children and adults finding harmful objects in their candy such as pins, nails, and razor blades, trick-or-treating has now become an activity of which to be wary. Aside from deadly implements in candy, it can also be hazardous to the human body. Candy itself has no practical benefactors; sugar and fat being two of the most prominent components. These ingredients will clog arteries and can lead to major health issues. Sugar is one of the greatest causes of tooth decay. It hurts my teeth. I ll end up getting cavities while having to get painful fillings afterwards said sophomore Taylor Tran. When people eat candy very often, they forget to include healthy nutrients to their diet. I just eat a lot on certain occasions. I think it s good that way. Victoria Ramirez tells us what she does to keep herself healthy. Candy is fine as long as it s in proportion, said Emahlia Power. These two school athletes share similar views on how to keep up a healthy diet while indulging in a sweet treat every once in awhile. Others have differing views. Candy should not be given to children. It s unhealthy and bad for our fragile bodies, said Lauren Bridges who is very angry and passionate about this topic. But it tastes good, stated Natalie Contreras, with a grin. Candy is good for you because it makes you happy and sometimes people are really depressed. It s nice to see people becoming happy when they eat candy, said by Jasman Hans, having a unique perspective on candy. Many people have convoluted perspectives of candy. Do we all agree? Of course not. All ages should be made aware of this long standing issue: Candy kills. October

8 MoHi Movie Homecoming at Modesto High is one of the best things that happens during the fall season. From the hallway decorations, the dress-up days, the rally, the floats, and the football game, this year s activities proved to be ridiculously fun and entertaining. Seeing the decorated hallways made arriving at school everyday exciting. This year s different themes selected were all movies before 2k. The freshmen made a detailed centerpiece including a Jumanji board, giant dice, and vines and animals all around to give a jungle-like feel to their hallway inspired by the movie Jumanji. The sophomores provided entertainment by dancing to the songs from their movie s soundtrack, Grease. The juniors decorations were vibrant with color for their Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory-themed hallway complete with a giant Wonka chocolate bar centerpiece and plenty of other giant candy props. The seniors sure outdid themselves in their The Wizard of Oz hallway. Who would have thought of using a giant, rotating tornado as a centerpiece! Without a doubt, they earned first place in the hallway competition because of their amazing energy and detailed work. Everyone took the time to watch and join in the chants that Thursday morning. Each theme had a specific dress up attire that went with the movie which the leadership class selected. On Monday, the theme was tribal wear and many students wore different colorful prints and had their faces painted in a tribal patterns. Tuesday was 50 s Day, and many boys chose to slick back their hair and wear leather jackets, white shirts and denim jeans, while the girls were decked in their colorful poodle skirts and ponytails. There was also a fair share of biker girls who chose black leather and dark colors for the day. Dynamic Duo Day was Wednesday, and students and their best buddies wore outfits resembling their favorite iconic combinations.thursday was all about comfort; students wore their favorite sets of sleepwear for Pajama Day. It was incredible to see so many students dress up and enjoying this cool part of homecoming. There was much anticipation for the homecoming rally considering that it was the first rally of the entire school year. It began 8 THE PANTHER PRESS

9 Madness Movies before 2K with a few cheers and MoHi JV and Varsity cheer squad performances. The respectable and entertaining activity of Downey Duck Hunting was selected as the game, using a slingshot and plastic whiffle-ball as a hunting weapon. After the seniors won the game, it was time for Dance Production s annual homecoming performance. Using the choreography of two of their own dancers, the company was confident and cool in their hip-hop routine. Colton Cruce and Selena Martinez were announced sophomore prince and princess and Roman Figueroa and Karla Ochoa were crowned junior prince and princess. The leadership classes at Modesto High showed off their intense decorating and performing skills with the presentation of their floats between the JV and varsity football game. An organized arrangement of jungle greenery was placed surrounding the majestic elephant in the center in the freshmen float. The sophomores brought to us Frosty s Palace, a traditional 50 s diner from Grease. With a backdrop of lollipop trees and colorful oompa-loompas, the juniors had a sweet float and routine using huge lollipop props and a joyful and synchronized dance, which earned them second place in the float judging competition. The seniors won first place with their creative The Wizard of Oz float, with a backdrop of the Emerald City and a huge tornado tossing around Dorothy s house. The final event of homecoming was the football game, which was played against Downey on their campus. The Black Hole was filled up long before the varsity game started, bursting with anticipation. The homecoming royalty was crowned during the halftime of the game. The senior king was Alejandro Salcedo and the queen was Josalynn West. The game took an unexpected turn after halftime when Downey began catching up. By the third quarter, the Modesto side of the stadium was biting their nails at the score, Modesto 35- Downey 34. However, Modesto s team did not let Downey take the victory and scored one last touchdown in the fourth quarter. The final score was 42-Modesto, 34-Downey, proving the Panthers had a successful duckhunt, the finishing touch on this year s fantastic homecoming week. Story and Photos by Erica Gonzalez and Maria Ramirez October

10 Panther Puff v By Kristina Zuroff By W h a t I s I t? Panther Puff is a MoHi tradition where the junior and senior girls get the opportunity to play some football while the junior and senior boys get to show off their groove as cheerleaders. The game is split into 4, 12-minute quarters of pure fun with a 10 minute half time show after the 2nd quarter ends. The Job of the Coaches... Despite their busy schedules, our panther football players volunteered their own time to teaching the girls the basics of football. Coaches were responsible for coming up with the plays, picking positions, and preparing the lady panthers for the game. Senior Football Coaches: -Donato Cipponeri -Luke Orth -Cameron Cruce -Alejandro Salcedo -Connor Brink-Sawyer Senior Coaches & panther players Junior Football Coaches: -Roman Figueroa - Justin Farkas - Ian O'Dell -Romello Parker Junior Coaches huddle the girls together to explain the plays and strategy. Two Weeks Before Game Day Preparing for this game requires a lot of hard work on behalf of everyone involved. After the list of players, coaches, and cheerleaders is posted, the practices began the following week. The two hour practices took place after the boys football practice and after any other fall sport practice as well. Even though only three practices were held (making it a total of 6 hours as a team before the game), the results came out well. 10 THE PANTHER PRESS

11 Game Day: During School The players wore their jerseys and spandex to school while the cheerleaders wore their hand crafted outfits and tutus. This year the school held a dance/cheer off between the junior and senior cheerleaders during both lunch periods. Players and spectators gathered around in a circle and watched the senior men dance against the junior boys. While there, the senior boys gained the most applause and support from the crowd. However, some of the juniors felt that the seniors had an unfair advantage because they had a lot guys from Dance Production on their cheerleading squad. Senior and Junior cheerleaders getting the audience pumped on the sidelines. Junior and Senior cheerleaders perform their halftime dances. Game Time! Within the first few minutes of the kickoff, the juniors scored a touchdown. The seniors followed with a 2-point conversion, giving them the lead. The Class of 2016 held that lead for the rest of the game, even though their opponents came close to it at one point. At half time,it was time for the cheerleading squads to perform their dances. The Class of 2017 led the pack and put their all into the performance. Afterwards, the seniors returned the kickoff for a touchdown like the juniors did in the first quarter. The Class of 2016 held onto their lead even when the juniors scored again. In the end,the Class of 2016 took the win, 24-14, and the night ended with the senior black hole screaming, Ooh Ahh you wish you were a senior! Panther Puff players battle it out on the field. Junior Panther Puff cheerleaders with their coaches. October

12 Season So Far By Jordan Toledo and Jasmine Underwood The Lady Panthers are killing the game this year with a record of 4-2. This young team, with 3 freshmen and 2 sophomores, has no problem holding their own against older teams and becoming the 3rd ranked volleyball team in MMC. Lady Panthers warming up for the big game. This is definitely the year for the Panthers in soccer. With no losses and only 1 tie, the boys soccer team has managed to score their way to 1st place in MMC with a record. Remaining at the top is going to be a big goal for these boys. Ramiro Lopez ( 16) goes for the goal. The water polo boys are making a big splash this year, tying their league record 6-6 and getting 4th place in MMC, so far. Their 6 losses has no effect on their ambitions especially polo player Court Dumars ( 18), who when asked about where he sees the team going, said a simple best in state. Well said, Court. The varsity boys and coach Chiavetta on the bench during a game. Almost neck and neck with the boys, the girls water polo team has a league record of 3-9 but are 5th place in league! Despite not having the most successful season, these lady panthers have more heart and determination to finish off the season strong. The varsity girls water polo team lines up for a faceoff. 12 THE PANTHER PRESS

13 They are really acing it this year, making their way to 3rd place. We ve had a great year and are excited to see where we are placed. So far we are in 3rd place and team is going to work together to go as far as we can, says Sophia Furtado ( 18). With as much enthusiasm and drive these girls have, the tennis program is definitely a must-see at Mohi. Mitchel Apostle ( 16) getting ready to serve a ball. Having to run a seemingly endless amount of miles is no easy feat, but for our Varsity boys, it is no big deal. These runners have remained undefeated so far in the season and have sprinted to the top of the MMC league at first place. Hilda Perez ( 18) during a meet. Courtesy of Scott Durham. The ladies are not letting up this season, running past their competition with a record of 2-1. They are working hard to make sure they continue their domination within the Modesto City School District. Fernanado Guerrero ( 19) during a meet. Courtesy of Scott Durham. Every high school knows, it isn t a real football game until the Cheerleaders pump up the crowd with their never ending spirit. Mohi is home to one of the best cheerleading teams in Modesto and they aren t letting that accomplishment go anytime soon. The varsity cheerleaders pump up the crowd. Varsity panthers jog out to the field. This year, the Mohi panthers are tackling the competition with a record of 2-0. They hope to continue this winning streak and achieve success in all aspects of the game. From a big win against Johansen to a nail biting homecoming game against Downey, these boys know how to keep the Black Hole cheering. October

14 MoHi s Fashionistas Valeria Gonzalez It s no surprise junior Valeria Gonzalez joined the YouTube community as valerriaaa99 earlier this year. At school, it is easy to spot her collection of fun prints, vintage garb, and classic pieces. She really makes a statement, even in a high school as diverse as our own. Valeria has channeled her love for fashion and travel into her YouTube account for personal enjoyment and expression. I m really into fashion and I m really loving the idea of someone having their own style to kind of represent themselves. I really wanted to show that in my YouTube videos, she explains. She doesn t do it for the likes or the subscriptions or the views. For her, it s just a fulfilling pastime. Her channel includes trips to Southern California, the LAB Anti-Mall, the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, and San Francisco, thrift tips and thrift hauls, shoe collections, and lookbooks. Valeria s biggest influencees in fashion, lifestyle, and as a relatively new YouTuber are Emma Mercury and India Brooks, part of The Messy Heads blog, something I definitely recommend if you re into 70 s, bohemian style, veganism, crystals, and living life as a free spirit. Valeria incorporates a similar relaxed but refreshing vibe into her channel. It s truly inspiring seeing someone from MoHi who can express herself in this way. Natalia Cipponeri By Lucy Wenstrup When I interviewed Natalia, she was wearing a white jersey, spandex, and black paint on her face. This junior was all dressed up for Panther Puff, demonstrating her spirit for Modesto High. A similar spirit for fashion can be seen in her relatively new blog Runway Sage. She began this creative endeavor earlier in the school year as a way to foster her creativity and her passion for fashion. Natalia wanted a way to express her individuality through her style, which has been developing over time. I d say ideally I would wear haute couture but in the moment it is modern, individual, and chic, she states. Natalia wants to encourage others to find that same self-confidence and wear what they want because they want to, not because other people are wearing it. At the end of every blog post, Natalia includes, Walk every hallway like it s your runway, a true message of individuality and fearlessness that we can all learn from. On Runway Sage, you can see Natalia and several of her friends posing in front of the famous brick walls of Modesto High, wearing clothes and accessories that make them unique. This junior is not afraid to put herself out there, so you should definitely check out what she has to offer THE PANTHER PRESS

15 Waste Not, Want Not By Amar Pannu First of all, it s called gleaning, not gleaming, cleaning, or any other variation of the word. If you would have asked me a year ago about it, I probably would have next to nothing to say about it. In the beginning of junior year, Mrs. Pereira had us do an assignment where we talked about ourselves. One of the prompts was to describe one thing that aggravated us. For me, it was food waste. A few days later Mrs. Periera pulled me aside to speak to me about gleaning and what it was all about. Basically, people would go into farmers fields after harvest, and with the owner s permission, pick the leftovers before they rotted. These leftovers would then be donated to those in need. At first, being an I.B. student, I thought it was a good idea for CAS hors. However, being an arrogant junior I ddn t start CAS until mid to late junior year. By this time it was January and there was no crop that was gleanable. (Yes, I just made that word up.) Senior year rolled around and I was in desperate need of service hours. It was a scorching August afternoon on the farm. I was taking a break watching trucks go by on the freeway. I noticed that there were a lot of tomato trucks driving by on the freeway. Th idea hit me like a ripe tomato. I could glean tomatoes with my friends and get CAS hours. The first problem was finding a field that I could glean. Luckily, I was friends with Damon Bogetti, a senior here at Modesto High. His grandfather, Mr. Perez, has a field of green salsa tomatoes that he was willing to let us use for gleaning. The next problem was finding people who were willing to come out on short notice on a Sunday, the day before a history study guide was due. However, Damon and I managed to get six people out in total. While speaking with Mr. Perez, we learned that the tomatoes would become extremely soft in the heat and crush each other. We had to work fast. From 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., we managed to fill up the bed of a 3/4 ton pickup truck. We all took a guess of about how many pounds we gleaned; we expected the most would be about 300 pounds. The final problem we faced was finding a food bank that would take the tomatoes. Luckily, Second Harvest Food Bank was kind enough to take our tomatoes. They also weighed and told us how many pounds we gleaned. We picked a total of 850 pounds of tomatoes in seven hours. We were ecstatic. Now what is the future of our gleaning project? Gleaning has become a part of my weekly schedule. Every weekend either on Saturday or Sunday I try to offer gleaning opportunities for I.B. students. Gleaning has become more that fulfilling my CAS hours. I do it for a greater good. After gleaning that first Sunday, the six of us truly realized the power of teamwork and what we could do to help our community, and ultimately, the world. I plan to offer this for I.B. and non-i.b. students. In total, we have worked for three weekends and have gleaned 3,000 pounds worth of tomatoes, an astonishing feat in my opinion. October

16 C & R INTERNATIONAL SALES, INC. Manuel Toledo Sales & Procurement 2403 Navy Drive Stockton, CA Office Fax manuel@candrinternational.com