Holiday

December Holiday Events

Kailani Aguigui Staff Writer

The campus December event calendar has many upcoming performances. The long rehearsed Winter Dance Recital, Orchestra, Choir, and Band Holiday Concerts are coming up soon. Our panthers have worked long and hard to put on a superior show for us. Students from each organization will share information about the preparations for each event, going to give a sneak peek for the shows. Let’s start with dance.

  Senior Sophia Luna is on the dance team rehearsing for the Winter Dance Recital. Sophia has been dancing since she was 9 and she has proven herself by making the dance team. The dance team has been working on the winter recital since September. She expresses that they have worked very hard since and that the people in that class make the dance even better. She says, “We work really hard and try to get all the little details perfected”. Sophia is most excited about showing the dance to everybody and to see the final result after all the hard work they’ve put in. The Winter Dance Recital is Tues, December 5 at 6:00 in the auditorium.

 Senior Abby Jones is the officer for orchestra. Abby plays the violin and has been playing for about 7 and a half years. She enjoys her time being an officer and is very committed to what she does as an officer and how things are going to work. Abby conveys that even though being an officer can be difficult sometimes, she has a lot of fun. The orchestra group has been working on this performance for a couple of weeks now and is getting ready to perform. Go watch and support our panthers on Wed, December 6, 7:00pm in the auditorium.

 Freshmens Emily Pap, Edwin Lewis, Madeline Harmony Acosta are in choir preparing for their performance. They all have been doing choir for at least 4-6 years and they are still engaged in continuing it. They have been working for about 2 – 3 weeks on this performance. All of them said they are having fun with the songs and are most excited to see how it turns out. When I asked Harmony, did she like the songs they were doing, she added “I think they all sound really well put together cause everyone’s been working really hard.” The Choir Holiday Concert will be on Thu. December 7, 7 pm in the auditorium.

  Freshman Juliet Aguilar is in the band getting ready for their performance. Juliet plays the clarinet and has been playing for 3 – 4 years. She is most excited to see how it’s going to turn out because she expresses that with every practice, they get better with their songs. So far, they’ve been practicing for about 2 weeks and Juliet thinks they’re almost ready. The Band Holiday Concert will be on Wed. December 13, 6:30pm in the AMP.

  Come out and support our Panthers on their amazing performances. 

Sports, Uncategorized

Varsity Soccer Scores a Spot in Playoffs

Brooke Amosson Sports Editor

Boys celebrate after a goal, heading on to another round.

   Boys and girls varsity soccer has kicked their way to the top, putting them both in the playoffs. They both had outstanding seasons ranking in the top three in district. 

     The Varsity Lady Panthers finished their season with a 12-3-1 record, putting them in third place overall. The girls had their first playoff game where they played Del Rio in the Valley, they took home a five to nothing win, setting them up for their second round game which was played in corpus the following tuesday. The girls dominated that game coming home with a nine to one win. The Lady Panthers moved forward to round three of the playoffs and played Harlingen, winning five to four. The Lady Panthers season came to an end in round four of playoffs where they fought hard but unfortunately lost one to zero against round rock. 

     The Varsity boys finished their season with a 12-1-3 record, putting them second in district. The boys had their first playoff game right at home, where they played Laredo United and moved forward with a five to one win. They ended their playoff run in Corpus Christi, one to zero. The boys had a great season and we look forward to seeing how the season will shape up next year.

Senior girls huddle up in celebration of a goal, they faced the Stevens Falcons and prepared for Playoffs.
Feature

Spirit experiences successful competition season

Brooke Amosson Sports Editor

     The Goldusters, Dazzlers, and Stardusters swept almost every competition they attended this competition season. The Golduster Dance Team won numerous awards like first place in contemporary, jazz, lyrical, and pom style routines. The Dazzler Drill team won first place in lyrical, first runner up in team jazz, second runner up in team pom and team grand champion. The Starduster Pep Squad continued the victorious tradition by winning first place in novelty and pom, getting third place over all.

   The Golduster competition season went wonderfully, the spirit of competing has affected all of the team.

    “I think it’s important to compete not so that you can prove you’re better than everyone but i think its to prove to yourself your abilities and where you stand and it gives you something to be proud of with a shared group of people,” junior Ellie Price said.

     Price is one of the four officers for the Goldusters, she got third place overall in the 11th through 12th division at the first competition and first place at their second competition for 11th grade soloists. Price has always used dance as her escape from reality.

     “It’s a way to keep me physically in shape but also mentally, I always feel better after dancing,” Price said.

         The experience of growth as a team and individually is what Sophomore Drill Team lieutenant Madeline Popp has gotten out of competition so far.

     “I feel like we’ve improved as a team at our comp performances so far, and I personally have improved with my solo and as a dancer,” said Popp.

Popp got first place for 10th grade soloists at the Dazzlers’ second competition. When talking about influences 

     “My director [Ms. Pawelek] is someone I really look up to, she pushes us really hard and she’s always been one of my biggest supporters,” Popp said.

     Our Starduster Pep Squad has seen an immense amount of talent this season, senior Kennedy Wilmarth, captain of the Starduster Pep Squad, has a bittersweet feeling about competition.

     “Watching all the solos is one of my favorite parts of competition, especially the freshman and seeing how talented they are, it’s just really fun to watch,” Wilmarth said. 

     Competition season truly brings all of our OC spirit groups together, waiting to perform and watching each other perform is a shared experience for all of them. 

     Ariela Muñiz, sophomore officer for the Stardusters said, “The experience that we have and the time that we spend together is the best part of competing.” 

     The Goldusters and Dazzlers are National Champions. They swept the stage in Florida and came home with the title of national champs. Overall every group in the Goldenstar spirit organization has worked hard to succeed during their competition season and the returning spirit girls look forward to next season.

Feature, Uncategorized

Exchange student experience American schools

Staff Writer: Noemi Vantini

Junior Ilenia Berto leaves class during passing period.

Ten foreign exchange students are studying on campus this school year from several countries including: Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Columbia and Japan.

Seventeen year old junior Italian exchange student Ilenia Berto shared about her experiences.

“Since I can remember, I have desired to complete an exchange year, though I was unsure of the appropriate time. At first, I had planned to do it when I would have been in college, but then, I figured out I could do it during my junior year of high school so I took the opportunity,” Berto said.

She wanted to become an exchange student to learn the language, make memories and most importantly to challenge herself and become more independent.

Berto was very excited about her stay here in the United States because she wanted to get to know how life and school is here. 

“The main difference between Italy and America is that the school here is more active and involved in the students’ life,” Berto said. 

Being an introvert, she found it difficult to establish friendships because it required her to talk in another language. Although Berto has an older brother who has his own house in Italy, she grew up as an only child; nevertheless, she now lives with a nine year old and a thirteen year old, which is a significant shift for her. She expressed gratitude for having made a genuine connection and that she feels truly included in her host family because they regularly involve her in significant decisions.

Berto advises other exchange students to have realistic expectations and to live every moment without overthinking because you won’t get a second chance at this experience.

Even if her expectations weren’t met, she is still having a great time. Before coming here, she would have loved to know that the “special year” she was going to live in was a typical routine for everyone else.

Feature

Winterguard finishes competition season

Saige Griffin Feature Page Editor   

The Winterguard team started off their competition season strong, bringing in a first place, and two second places. The team is a combination of dancing and props like rifles and flags, competing around once a week. Captain Amy Guerra describes the process of preparing for a competition. 

   “We spend the whole week practicing and on comp day there’s a warm up we go to. There’s a body warm up where we practice dancing only and from there we move on to equipment warm up where we practice with all our equipment like rifles and after that we move onto the performance,” Guerra said.

   As the team moves forward in their season, member Eden ( ) says her favorite thing about being in winterguard is the family they have created, “we have our own little group,” Guerra said.

   Captain Amy Guerra says that her favorite thing about her position is seeing the progress everyone makes between the incomers and freshman. Her path to become captain was encouraged by their current tech, who was previously captain. 

If you are interesting in joining Winterguard for the 2023- 2024 school year, here are some important dates:

The Winterguard team including: Amy Guerra, Emmerson Schellin, Pricais Vasquez, Madison Alaquinez, Jerry, Paolo, Talia, Giovanna Arias, Hailey Doriott, Eden Garcia, and more Panthers
Feature

HOSA Celebrates Competition Win

Sophia Luna Staff writer

H.O.S.A. or Health Occupations Students of America, is an international organization and club that many of our students are involved in. HOSA has a variety of divisions and career prep paths to participate in. Recently, our own HOSA club competed in their regional competition and advanced to State. The students in HOSA, and their sponsors Ms. Avens and Dr. Cano shared their excitement to compete at State. 

Junior Treasurer, Scarlett Graf, shared she spent her time in HOSA working with wonderful people, and creating an enjoyable environment for everyone in the club.

   “We strive to create a learning environment as well as service collaboration and experience , so we provide our members with the ability to deep dive into something they’re interested in in the healthcare field,” Graf said.

   HOSA is a way for students to explore a variety of options and career paths to take in healthcare.

   “The thing about Hosa is that there’s over 40 competitions you can choose from, and you can take test based ones, and skill based ones,” junior President Hector Frausto said.

   HOSA sponsor Ms. Avins is one of two teachers who helps lead the members to success. This is Avins’ first year as a sponsor.

   “In HOSA we are looking for somebody who is willing to learn, and try new things,” Avins said.

   Seniors Kaleigh Hampton and Isabella Carrizales are both members of CERT or Community Emergency Response Team. 

   “We are best friends and we have this little duo going on, so it definitely helps if you’re really good friends with your partner. It’s also important to uphold an amount of professionalism. It’s easy to have fun in the moment but also to take it seriously,” Hampton said.

   “In Hosa you get to network with people who are interested in the same thing as you, and you are already studying for stuff for your future that you wouldn’t study in regular courses,” Carrizales said.

   Junior historian, Karlee Kenyon, who is on the parliamentary procedure team, was extremely proud of her and her teammates for advancing to state.

   “I love my team, they are my favorite people in the whole wide world. We just work really well together and it makes studying and going to these competitions more enjoyable,” Kenyon said.

   HOSA members felt they accomplished amazing things this year and plan to continue to work hard.

Feature

Adopt a dog, they helped me

Staff Writer: Samantha Martinez

Dogs are a man’s best friend, they are companions that will be there for you until the end.They are animals you can run around with or lazy ones that will accompany you during a binge watch of shows. During the pandemic, people needed something to keep them company through this isolation and loneliness, their answer was man’s best friendAs a result,the lockdown really showed how much we rely on companionship to keep ourselves sane.

According to the ASPCA, nearly one in five households nationwide adopted an animal during the pandemic and 90 percent of households are still continuing to house the dogs they acquired during the lockdown. 

But what is it about dogs specifically that drew people in to adopt during this pandemic?  What exactly persuaded people to go out during these hard times and make a life-changing commitment to adopt a dog? 

The American Kennel Club says studies have shown that owning a dog can help with anxiety and stress. Worrying about failing that math test? Get a dog and worry together. Studies show that 40% of dog owners have an easier time making friends. This is due to your beloved canine being a good conversation starter and making you seem more approachable. 

Another thing to note would be the physical benefits these pooches bring. With the rambunctious animals that dogs are, it’s evident to say that keeping them locked indoors doesn’t always cater to their needs. According to AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association), results from a survey showed that out of 1,000 people 53% increased playtime with their pets, and 39% took more dog walks, along with 43% exercising more with their pets than they did pre-pandemic. 

Although adopting any animal is realistically not an easy decision to make on a whim, the benefits are gravitating. Not only with their aid in both mental health and physical health, but also the gift of having a cute animal in your home. 

Feature

Multicultural club highlights Ramadan

Staff Writer: Eryca Gomez

 Senior Hajar and junior Yousef Aldhafeeri lead March’s Multicultural Club meeting with a presentation dedicated to the religious observance of Ramadan. The siblings are muslim students, meaning they are followers of the religon of Islam. In their presentation they covered the meaning of Ramadan and its origin. 

  Ramadan is the 9th month in the Islamic calendar and is a month of prayer, fasting, and community. The naming of Ramadan stems from the Arabic root “ar-ramad,” which means scorching heat. Muslims believe that in A.D. 610, the angel Gabriel appeared to Prophet Muhammad and revealed to him the Quran, the Islamic holy book. 

  “Ramadan is determined by the sight of the new moon. The start of the month is different every year,” Yousef explained to the club.

  This year’s Ramadan is from April 1st to May 1st, followed by Eid al-Fitr, a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide because it marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting experienced during Ramadan. 

     In addition to the presentation, the students set up moon colorings and handed out Arabic candy and pastry bags. The club director Laura Dejong also informed the club about a multicultural fest involving other NISD high school multicultural clubs. The fest will be May 25th from 6-8 pm at Stevens HS.

Opinion

Smith’s Slap Reflects Toxicity of Revenge

Copy Editor: Cristian Velazquez

  The internet exploded near the end of March when, during the 94th Academy Awards on live television, after Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s extremely short haircut while presenting an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, her husband Will Smith avenged her by getting up from his seat and striking Rock across the face with an open hand, then walking back to his seat without saying a word. Smith then continued to escalate by yelling profanities at Rock; making the auditorium gasp, fall silent, and leaving a disconcerted Rock to continue the award ceremony. Smith would win an Oscar for Best Actor about 45 minutes later; giving a tearful acceptance speech for over five minutes, where he apologized to the Academy and the award nominees, but not to Rock.

  “I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people,” Smith said in contrast to his actions not even an hour prior.

  “Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said. I look like the crazy father just like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things,” Smith said, referencing his character in the movie King Richard (2021) he won an Oscar for portraying. Rock made a similar connection before he was slapped. “Uh Oh! Richar…” Rock said laughing as Smith walked on stage.

  I became aware of the incident the night it happened after looking at my phone before I went to bed, as is my bad habit. Going to school the next day, the meme had entranced the majority of the student body. I joked with my friends and laughed about it. People in the hallways were talking about it. People in my classes were talking about it. Two of my teachers discussed the incident with their class.

  As teenagers, we can probably all relate to situations where an insecurity is agitated by someone, we act out emotionally in retaliation, and then suffer the consequences for our actions; penally and emotionally. Countless physical fights at schools follow this formula. A quote dubiously attributed to Benjamin Franklin rings ever-so true in cases like these: “Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.”

  Smith has since posted an apology to Rock, the cast and crew of King Richard, and the Williams family on social media. He resigned from the Motion Picture Academy while awaiting his punishment from the organization, which was revealed last Friday to be a ten-year ban on attending Academy events. However, none of these acts can make up for the deep, dark shadow that Smith cast on his accomplishment and the accomplishments of others at the Academy Awards with his belligerence that night. His attempt to get even with Rock ended up having multiple negative repercussions that rippled across the Academy, the public, and his own career.

  Many have come in support of Rock for enduring particularly humiliating unjustified violence; myself included. However, some believe that, regardless of Smith’s conduct, Rock’s joke was in extremely poor taste as Pinkett Smith has publicly stated she wears a shaved head, not purely as a style choice, but to conceal her hair loss condition.

  “Jada, I love you. G. I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it, all right?” Rock said smiling; comparing Pinkett Smith’s haircut to the Demi Moore character’s haircut in G. I. Jane (1997), where Moore plays the fictional first woman Navy SEAL, Jordan O’Neill, who also sports a shaved head. Some of the audience, including Smith, laughed at the joke, but many audience members expressed shock and thought it went too far, and Pinkett Smith’s face immediately displayed disapproval. “It’s—that was a—that was a nice one!” Rock said after the joke before continuing his monologue.

  While people may criticize Rock for making a dubiously dubbed “ableist” joke, It is actually Rock who suffers from a disability. In 2020, Rock revealed he was diagnosed with nonverbal learning disorder (NVLD), a neurodevelopmental disorder that hinders comprehension of nonverbal communication. Given this information and Rock’s body language at the time, one can reasonably infer then that he was not even aware that his person was in danger before the slap because Smith failed to give a verbal cue until after he attacked him.

  I do not want to say that Jada Pinkett Smith should not have rolled her eyes and endured the joke. Despite what she has said about her haircut, she is not completely comfortable with her status as shaved-headed, and her feelings were hurt. If the Smiths did not want to take this sitting down, there were multiple options to address Rock’s transgression. They could have expressed their disapproval of the joke by giving a statement after the ceremony, incorporating a statement during Smith’s acceptance speech, leaving the ceremony, or all of the above; perhaps guilt-tripping Rock to make an apology later on and raising awareness for hair loss among women.

  Talking about what could have happened that night won’t change what has already been done. But hopefully for Smith, and for us in our worst moments, we can recognize our mistakes, forgive, and look forward towards a brighter future.