Volume 105, Issue 2 Modesto High School December 2017 Contents

Home , Almost Is Never Enough

3 Honor Orchestra

4 Talent Show

6 District Election

8 Suit & Tie Formal

10 Winter Fashion

12 Campo Exclusive

13 Holiday Traditions

16 Christmas Quiz 2 The Panther Press Photos provided by Mr. Scott Mitchell

Symphonic Excellence Modesto High School is home to many tal- Mitchell has never been part of such a ented students. Whether it is drama, speech, sports, large orchestra before, so being involved in this or one of the many other activities in which students advanced program was quite an experience and a are involved, it is fun to celebrate the achievements clear sign of his growing expertise. Mitchell is very of fellow Panthers. proud of his accomplishment of getting into the Honor Symphony Orchestra. He explained that he Recently, sophomore student, Apollo Par- can not wait to gain more experience in order to ish Mitchell gave Modesto High another reason to take more steps toward his life goal, which is to be be proud. Mitchell not only plays the oboe for the a professional oboist. He is using this experience Modesto High Orchestra, but he also plays for the as a “further staircase toward [his] future.” Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra – a position for which he must audition each year. Mitchell has been The next step for Mitchell is another sign of playing oboe for two years and excels at the instru- his talent. Recently, he sent in a video recording of ment. scales and select pieces to audition for Mahler at Pacific. Mitchell was selected to play with college This past year, Mitchell’s instructor in the music students and other select high school stu- woodwind quintet for the Modesto Youth Sympho- dents, performing Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 at the ny Orchestra informed him that there were open- Faye Spanos Concert Hall at the University of the ings for oboes, French horns, and bassoons in the Pacific in Stockton. This concert, sponsored by the Honor Symphony Orchestra organized by the Cali- Conservatory of Music, is sure to be another fan- fornia Orchestra Directors Association. Mitchell said, tastic stepping-stone in Mitchell’s musical career. “[I was] encouraged to try out, so I did.” After send- ing in an audio recording of his scales and a solo excerpt as an audition, Mitchell received first chair for the oboes.

The event was held in Santa Monica on December 1st and 2nd. The orchestra members consisted of high school students from all over Cal- ifornia. The students practiced together for the first time ever prior to the official concert on the sec- ond evening. The event was a night of outstanding music, which included pieces by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven. December 2017 3 Pictured Gianna Howard A Show of Talents by Jasmine LÓpez Modesto High hosted its annual Talent Show place. This isn’t the first talent show that Gianna has on November 1st. As usual, it was held in the audito- participated in, “I have done a bunch of them at my rium. Tickets were even being sold for early admis- old school, Hart Ransom. I have participated in talent sion into the auditorium so spectators could snag a shows ever since I was in 5th grade.” good spot. The wide variety of students’ talents were Gianna chose to sing for her peers, “Freshmen demonstrated through singing, dancing, beat-box- are really looked down upon, and I guess I can see, ing, and instrument playing. but I guess I wanted to come with a strong voice and Fourteen year old, Gianna Howard, took first make a good first impression.” place for her performance of “Rolling in the Deep” by Gianna has been singing for six years, “I have Adele. Gianna said, “There is 1st place through 6st been singing since 1st grade.” place, crowd pleaser, and show stopper. I took 1st Her mother recognized her talent at a young

4 Pictured Madisyn Cates and MatthewThe Panther Menenses Press age, “My mom used to say I was really bad at first, but then my grandma kept buying me karaoke machines and my voice developed from there.” She doesn’t limit herself to singing one genre, “I sing what I like in general.” Gianna not only sings at school talent shows, but she is also in her church choir. The Crowd Pleaser award went to Alesia Correa for her performance of “Almost is Never Enough” by Ariana Grande and Nathan Sykes. Correa, a sophomore, is in The Per- A Show of Talents forming Arts Academy. She said, “I by Jasmine LÓpez wish everyone got an award because I know a couple people who didn’t and that’s sad.” Singing has always been a part of Alesia’s life having had vocal lessons at a young age and being part of a choir. Presently, Alesia mostly sings on her own. Alesia found comfort in the song selected for the show, “I chose to sing this Pictured Alesia Correa song because I think it was a really soothing song, and it was classy. I also had a perfect dress for it, the song fit my voice here at Modesto High, and Menenses attends Hil- well, and the words were easy to memorize.” mar High. They performed a traditional Fado dance Alesia always knew she wanted to be in the which is a genre of Portuguese dance. school Talent Show, “I would be in my room and have Cates added her own twist by adding dub- fantasies of me performing in front of a lot of people. step to it. Cates said, “The music if very melancholy, Those moments encouraged me to do the talent dramatic, and about love.” show.” Cates and Menenses are in a dance organiza- Her brother, Anthony Correa, was also in the tion for young Portuguese people called Luso. Cates talent show which gave her another sense of encour- pulled the dance that was performed at the talent agement to participate. She said, “Rehearsals went show from a 12 minute routine, and she taught it to better. I have a video of one of the rehearsals, and I herself and Menenses. The pair learned the dance felt like I did better than in the actual Talent Show. In the Sunday before rehearsals. The crowd received the Talent Show, people cheer and I like it, but I get their dance well, and everyone was cheering for mixed up. Then, I fear messing up.” them. She was excited and nervous, “I didn’t want The students of Modesto High outdid them- the crowd to see my nerves, so I just put myself out selves and put on a great show for the audience. there.” Students are already planning their performances for The Best of Show award went to Madisyn next year, which is sure to be another great night of Cates and Matthew Menenses. Cates is a junior talent. December 2017 5 Board Boundaries

Modesto High School and Modesto City Schools have been focused on education ever since The Modesto City School Board of Education their creation in the late 1800s. Since the district’s (k-12) is comprised of seven members who are elected existence, the schools in the district have worked to by districts to serve a term of four consecutive years. prepare students for higher level learning, the work The members of the board have the power to authorize force, and surmounting the inevitable challenges that new programs and curricula, approve employment, they will face in life. According to Kafoumba Doum- adopt budgets, determine salary and school district bia of EdLab Columbia, “Education gives [every policy. However, the true importance of the board is student] a knowledge of the world around [them] and that it provides a “unique and crucial link between the changes it into something better.” The importance of community and the school district.” education in the lives of adolescents cannot be under- stated. However, it is through an intricate local school In April this year, the members of the board, government that ideas are executed to benefit students successfully approved a new map to divide voter and their learning environment. areas in the school district. This allows people to vote Modesto City Schools is composed of two for representatives from their own area. The voting districts for upper and lower nodes of learning (ele- to approve the map was unanimous because it divid- mentary k-8 and high school 9-12). It is currently the ed the core of urban living in Modesto. While each third largest employer in Stanislaus County with a board member represents their immediate commu- staff of 1,650 certified and 1,500 classified employees. nity, their ultimate job is to represent the district as a and The district serves approximately 30,000 students. whole. Beck Fortuna, the public information officer Modesto City Schools has a governing board which of MCS stated, “We hope that each trustee represents oversees district decisions. all Modesto City Schools students, regardless of the voting district in which they reside.”

6 The Panther Press By Shelby Benz

According to the Modesto Bee, the city of Modesto became the first entity sued under the California Voting Rights Act for disenfranchising Latino Voters. However, Modesto City School Board throughout the years has initiated numerous programs to stimulate the involvement of all members of the community. The creation of these “board boundaries” within the district will hopefully bolster representation for all demo- graphics of Modesto.

The new district election method requires that people campaign as representatives for their geographic locations. Thus, people are able to campaign in their districts as more understanding individuals of large margins. It was the first election in which the the situations faced in certain regions. Ms. Neumann school district used the by-district election method of the Modesto City School Board sees three long as opposed to an at large method, in which people term benefits of using a by-district voting method. She vote for representatives regardless of geographic stated, “I think it will cost significantly less to run in a location. According to statistics derived from the district election than at large.” Ms. Neumann believes Stanislaus County, 4,074 people voted in the Dis- that the smaller districts will make running a campaign trict 5 election and 1,432 people voted in District 7. cheaper and easier than ever before. She also stated that the district elections will effectively encourage Neumann and other board members hope more people to get involved at the schools within each that the district elections will spark higher voter district. Additionally, more people will likely run to enthusiasm, and get people actively involved in the become members of the board because of the mini- election process. Neumann stated that the best way mized district area. While this change may not have to get more people to vote is through educating the any profound effect on the students of Modesto High, public about the importance of each individual vote, it allows candidates to target and access more voters “In my first election, I won by only 23 votes. I in each district. This is not a panacea for low voter know firsthand that each vote counted to put me into participation. However, it may help encourage higher office. Local elections are won by a small amount voter turnout and make the populace more politically of people voting and small differences between the aware of government on a local level. candidates’ vote totals.” She encourages young people to become involved in campaigns to gain In the most recent election in November, 4 insight into the difficult processes and regulations of the 7 seats on the Modesto City School Board of of elections. Local governments need the participa- Education were up for nonpartisan general election. tion of the people in order to successfully represent Incumbents Cindy Marks and Chad Brown ran un- the needs of individuals in various districts. Board opposed for the Trustee Areas 1 and 3. Both Areas 5 boundaries may be the best way to satisfy the needs and 7 had three candidates; Charlene West and Adolfo of the diverse population of Modesto - creating the Lopez were elected to be members of the school board framework to ensure the highest standard of educa- by fairly tion for our students now and in the future.

December 2017 7 Suit and Tie By Lauren Byerly and Matthew Smith Every year Modesto High the gym there was an archway has a fall formal. This year the which was decorated with white theme was Suit and Tie. Students lights. It was a beautiful way to were encouraged to not only go welcome people into the dance with a date, but just bring friends. and make the gym feel less like a It was advertised as a more casu- gym. al dance. This really helped take Formal was planned by the the pressure off of the people sophomore leadership class, and who wanted to go but couldn’t they had to sell 150 tickets mini- think of anyone they wanted to mum. Last year it was postponed ask or didn’t want to go through due to low ticket sales, but this the stress of asking someone. year it bounced back with a total The decorations for the sale of 320 tickets! In reflection, dance were fantastic with a chan- Lyla Patel (‘20) said that the big- delier hanging in the middle of gest success was selling enough the gym and curtains all around tickets in time. In the few days the edges to make the room leading up to formal it looked feel smaller. At the entrance to like closing the ticket gap would

8 The Panther Press be close, but with advertising and tables with permission slips set up in the quad they achieved a great turnout. Officially, planning began right after homecom- ing, making this a busy time for the sophomore leadership class. In Lyla’s opinion, the biggest dif- ficulty that they faced was agree- ing on a theme, and they used a vote to make their final decision. This formal wasn’t just planned, it was an actual event 11, which totaled a three hour too! With such a high turnout, dance! All in all, this year’s for- the gym was full of people. Tess mal was a success. The number Kara (‘19) said that the dance, of people there made the dance “went by really fast but was really what it was, and most of them fun,” and Iraya Cress agreed, say- enjoyed it so much that they ing that “it seemed super short.” wish it had been longer. It began at 8 and ended at

December 2017 9 WINTER FASHIONBy Gisselle Rivera and Mehar Nijjar

Left: Senior Alondra Barajas. Alondra said her perfect winter outfit would have to be some booties, light jeans, a fall colored shirt with a cute pattern, and a jacket of any choice. In this weather she likes wearing leather jackets.

Right: Junior Baltazar Mancilla said his perfect winter outfit is a black polo sweater with a black shirt and blue jeans. Baltazar really likes this time of year because of the different outfits he can wear, and he likes the rainy days. On those days he likes wearing windbreak- ers with black jeans and Air Force Ones.

10 The Panther Press Below: Senior Ricardo Becerra has two different styles this winter. Ricardo is a boys varsity soccer team member and has to dress up professionally twice a week on game days. On the other days, By Gisselle Rivera and Mehar Nijjar Ricardo likes going for a “lazy” type of look, which includes black jeans, black Vans, a gray hoodie, and a black bomber jacket.

On the left, senior Karen On the right, senior Jimenez said that at this Monse Gomez looks time of year she mostly super comfortable and loves wearing her denim cute in her flowy dress jacket because it match- with black knee-high es with everything in her boots. Monse’s dress closet. She says there is the autumn maple are various colors trend- brownish color that ing this season such as tends to be the most emerald green, gold, popular in this weather. and the autumn maple brownish color.

December 2017 11 A Convo with a Campo By Rohin Walia & Rahul Walia

The campus supervisors patrol and monitor the campus to maintain order and security at our high school. Even though the campus supervisors aren’t police officers, a campus supervisor performs many of the public safety functions of law enforce- ment.

Mario Aviles is one of the many excellent campus supervisors on Modesto High’s campus. Other than being a campus supervisor, he is involved in school sports such as golf. Mario plays a vital role on the golf team by coaching the players on the team. Mario helps these kids with technique, form, and even gives the players on the team life advice. A person like Mario is irreplaceable because of what he does for students in and outside of What’s your favorite thing about being a campus school. Mario has been doing this job at Modesto supervisor? High School for an amazing 17 years, which shows “My favorite thing about being a campus supervisor how fond and committed he is to our school. Mario is having the opportunity to interact with students is also a former Modesto High Panther who gradu- and staff.” ated as part of the 1995 class, which means that he knows about the school traditions that the school How long have you been a campus supervisor at has been able to put together. Modesto High School? “I have been a campus supervisor at Modesto High Each campus supervisor is unique in his or School for 17 years. I started in January of 2002.” her own way of connecting with the students of Modesto High School. Connections built with the Have you been a campus supervisor at any other campus supervisors lead to less violence and crimi- school? nal activity. Some examples of a campus supervisor “I have only been a campus supervisor at Modesto duties include monitoring halls, urging students to High School.” class on time, being a general presence on campus ,and occasionally breaking up fights. Despite the What are you hobbies? fact that the campus supervisors know the risks of “I like golfing, snowboarding, biking, fishing, and breaking up a fight, they risk their own body to stop playing video games.” a fight. Campus supervisor Mario Aviles believes that breaking up a fight is the hardest duty of a Why did you choose to work at Modesto High campus supervisor because if they handle the situa- School? tion wrong, then there may be consequences. When “I chose to work at Modesto High School because you see a campus supervisor, thank him or her for a of the culture this school is based on. I am a proud job well-done for Modesto High School. Panther Alumni and represent the class of 1995.

12 The Panther Press Celebrating the Holiday Season by Tera Waterman and Anna Rinne A Time for Family Modesto High junior Gina Pallios practices the Greek Orthodox religion. She celebrates Christmas Eve at her aunt’s house with about eighty other family members, including her first cousins, her thea, her theo, her yaiyia, and her papou. They all do a huge Secret Santa game. She goes home and eats tur- key with her closest family. On Christmas Day, Gina wakes up early to open presents and eat breakfast. She then spends hours at the Greek Orthodox Church for a Christmas Service. After church, she has a potluck lunch with her huge family. She enjoys these meals because of her love for Greek food, especially spanikopita. Gina said her favorite part of the holiday is “singing carols with my whole extended family at the Christmas Eve party” while her cousin plays the piano.

Gina Pallios with her brothers and Santa Claus on Christmas.

December 2017 13 Christmas, the Time of Giving

Junior Alan Martinez is a part of the Mormon religion and he attends The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints. They have many traditions leading up to celebrating Christmas. Their first tradition takes place on the first weekend of December, every year. On the first weekend of December, his congregation hosts a “Nativity Festival” where every member of the community is willing to experience the Nativity of Jesus Christ, that is set up in a vast room that has been decorated. At the Nativity Festival there are many talented performers from the community who come and perform for everyone as they are looking at the different nativities. Also, there is a place where the little kids can go play, color, make cookies, and dress up as the characters of the Nativity. At the end of the festival, they then listen to a worldwide broadcast from their prophet. Aside from the Nativity Festival, an event starts where the church posts videos on YouTube for the members to watch and share with their friends and family, from December 1st to December 25th. In each of the videos, there is a different way to help someone in need in the world. On the videos, people can also see something that has been done by the church or other communities around the world, to help others in need. This year it is called “Light the World” which is significant, since that is what they believe Jesus Christ did. Other than that most Wards and Branches in the world hold their own Christ- mas dinner for the families in their area that do not have the ability to have a big family dinner, or for those who don’t have a family to be with. As a Ward, they all contribute and help out with buying gifts for the children, bringing in a Santa Claus, bringing in all the food necessary, and for planning out activities for the dinner. Any leftover food is given to those families This is one of the Nativity scenes who don’t have much food available for their family dinner. for the “Nativity Festival”

14 The Panther Press Pilgrimage and Remembrance

Senior Eeman Kahn is a part of the Muslim religion. Every year she and her family celebrate Eid-al-Fitr. There is no set date for Eid-al-Fitr; as it is determined by the new moon. This year Eid-al-Fitr started on August 31st to the end of the day on September 1st. During Eid-al-Fitr millions of pilgrims go to Saudi Arabia to begin the pilgrimage called Hajj. Hajj is a five day journey that is required of financially able Muslims. It ends in Mecca which is a holy city in the Muslim tradition. Believers of this faith date The Hajj back to nearly 2,000 B.C. when Ishmael, the infant of the prophet Ibrahim, and Ibrahim’s wife, Hager, were stranded in the desert. Ishmael was close to dying from dehydration. Hager ran back and forth between the two hills, Safa and Marwa, looking for water for her child. Then the angel Jubril touched down to Earth and created a spring of fresh water for the child. After this occurred, Ibrahim was said to have built a monu- ment at the site of the spring, Kaaba. Moham- med led the first group of Muslims to Kaaba; this was the first official Hajj then, destroying the idols placed there by polytheistic worshipers and re-dedicating the site in the name of Allah. The path that Mohammed and his followers walked was retraced as a part of Hajj rituals which include Mager’s walk between Safa and Marwa. Generally they also slaughter and animal in honor of the sacrifice that Ibrahim made to save his son. Usually Eeman and her family go to the Mosque and pray, facing towards Mecca. They also have a feast with friends and family and, just enjoy each other’s company.

For holiday recipes, please visit the Panther Press website at mohipantherpress.com.

December 2017 15 Christmas Quiz By Sarah Rinne As Christmas is approaches and lights fill the streets, it is easy to get into the holiday spirit. Take this quiz to see how much you really know about Christmas! 1. What is the most popular Christmas tree topper? 6. Of all of the popular Christmas songs, which is the best-selling single? a) A star b) A candle a) White Christmas c) An angel b) Jingle Bell Rock d) No tree topper c) Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow d) All I Want For Christmas is You 2. What was the first state to recognize Christmas as an official holiday? 7. How many gifts would you get if you got all of the gifts from the 12 Days of Christmas? a) Wyoming b) Alabama a) 78 c) California b) 12 d) Virginia c) 364 d) 242 3. “On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love How well did you do? gave to me...” (Answers at the bottom of the page) a) 11 Lords a Leaping b) 11 Ladies Dancing 6-7 Correct c) 11 Swans a Swimming You sleighed this Christmas d) 11 Pipers Piping Quiz!

4. How many reindeer pull Santa’s sleigh (includ- 4-5 Correct ing Rudolph)? You did pretty well, but you might want to do more re- a) 8 search to get into the Christ- b) 6 mas spirit! c) 12 d) 9 0-3 Correct

Are you the Grinch?

5. What year was Christmas declared a federal hol- C - 7 A, - 6

iday in the United States? B, - 5 D, - 4 D, - 3 Answers: 1 - C, 2 - B, - 2 C, - 1 Answers: a) 1923 b) 1870 c) 1795 d) 1904

16 The Panther Press