News with a Bite! May 2021 Park Vista Community High School, 7900 Jog Road, Lake Worth, Fla. 33467 Volume XVII, IssueIssue IV Sleeping habits, Page 10 IT’S A WRAP! Dunkin vs. Starbucks, Farewell, Mr. Myers, Page 17 Pages 12-14 Childhood shows, Page 20 INDEX Publisher: Cobra Life 3 Mr. Reginald Myers Letter from Mr. Myers....................3 Adviser: Val and Sal.....................................4 Ms. Cynthia Glazier Cobras of Wall Street.....................4 Senior staff members: School’s out, time for class...........5 Aliyana Vasquez: Editor-In-chief Cobra congrats...............................6 Hayden Swergold: Managing editor Florida spots..................................7 Cary Tendrich: Production manager 8 Noam Bernstein: Business manager News Madison Barganier: Copy editor Pandemic affects oceans.............8 Fernando Matamoros: Sports editor Suez Canal.....................................8 Staff writers: Hidden impact of COVID-19..........9 Emily Cobb Daniel McDonald Sleep habits...................................10 Leo Fergenson Kaileigh Pinta Joshua Foreman Kayla Shim Bright futures.................................11 Carly Siedman Zombie outbreak...........................11 Features 12 Letter from the Editor Mr. Myers retires............................12-14 The Cobra Chronicle staff praises the class of 2021 for all they have Senior week...................................14 accomplished in their four years of high History highlights...........................15 school. We also honor Valedictorian Angelica Borowy and Salutatorian Kha Polly makes recovery.....................16 Vo as each of you have exceeded above 17 and beyond expectations. We cannot Opinion wait to see what you - and the rest of Dunkin vs. Starbucks....................17 the class of 2021 - do for the world. Last but not least, we say a Oh, so typical!................................18 bittersweet farewell to our principal Dr. Seuss........................................19 of thirteen years, Mr. Reginald Myers. Thank you for always supporting Entertainment 20 students and allowing us, the scholastic journalists, to have a platform where Remakes and reboots...................20 we can make our voices heard. It is sad Summer anime..............................21 to see you go, but we are grateful for your leadership and kindness as the Quick Bites.....................................21 principal of Cobra Country. Impact of older shows...................22 Marvel movies................................23 Student streamers.........................23 Sports 24 Softball’s stellar season.................24 Editor-in-chief Gender inequality...........................24 2 | About Us May 2021 Hello, Cobra Students & Staff: At the end of this school year, I will officially transition to the next stage of my life: retirement. Before I leave, I would like to thank you for being such an integral part of my journey as an educator. I consider it a great honor that I had the opportunity to serve as your principal. During the past thirteen years, I have been blessed to be a member of the Cobra family. I reflect on amazing memories of how much I have enjoyed every second, every minute, every hour, every day and every time I got to be with our students and members of this TEAM. I am excited for the bright future ahead for students and staff. Park Vista Community High School is such a special place to work, to learn and to grow because of the amazing teachers, support staff and extraordinary students that contribute to our positive and inclusive campus environment. Together, we have achieved tremendous success. Our strong academics, athletics, activities, academies, the arts and all programs continually bring accolades to our school. We are so proud of our students who embrace the opportunities and strive to excel in the classroom and the playing fields. We are also so proud of our adults who give so much daily so that our students have all of the opportunities that are a part of a comprehensive high school setting. I realize that for some of our students and some of our staff change is not easy. I also know that you will step up and work alongside the new principal so that all the accolades we have earned in the past will continue in the future. I am confident that you will make sure that the culture on this campus remains positive, and that I can count on you to commit to the best future of our school and the community. I am committed to making the transition between principals during the summer months one that is smooth and seamless and will result in positive outcomes for all. I remember when I first arrived on the campus in 2008. The student body leadership of SGA took me under their guidance and taught me about the dynamics and the school culture of “Cobra Country”. Therefore, I am confident that you will support the new principal in his efforts to make Park Vista Community High School better and stronger than ever. I have no doubt that you are committed to ensuring that Park Vista Community High School remains one of the BEST high schools in our District and in Florida. Remember that the success of our school is dependent upon you. You are the beacon of hope in this community. I am so proud of every student and every teacher on this campus. I truly mean this from the bottom of my heart. These past fourteen months have presented us with numerous challenges and opportunities. During this time I could not have asked for a better effort from the teachers. You rose to the occasion by working tirelessly to learn new and innovative ways to instruct our students both in person and virtually. I know this was not an easy thing to do, but you gave it your best and you were present for our students. All of the new apps, resources and online platforms you integrated into your lessons during this time can now be utilized to engage the students even more when they return to campus. Your enhanced technology skills will continue to captivate our students and will result in positive learning outcomes. Students, what I believe defines you these past fourteen months has been your resilience during the Pandemic of 2020 that stretched into 2021. Many of you improved your learning while some struggled. Each of you found ways to overcome the challenges that you faced with true grit and commitment. You are stronger, more durable and more determined to do better and be better than you were before. I think the biggest hurdle for students returning to campus in the fall will be your acclimation and reengagement in the traditional learning environment. So it is imperative that you understand what will be expected of you from your teachers who are going to be working diligently to motivate and inspire you each and every day to recover from some of the learning slide which occurred as a result of the pandemic. So moving forward, the future looks bright. We need to maintain the culture of high expectations for everyone which includes teachers, support staff and students. We need to continue to increase access to accelerated learning for more students. We need to remove the barriers preventing us from including more students so that enrollment in college level and honors levels classes reflects the demographics of our school. By doing so, we will expose all to more rigorous coursework which will better prepare them for post high school. Our graduation rate will also continue to soar. Let’s remember the importance of family engagement as we attempt to return to some normalcy soon. Family involvement has always been a key cornerstone to Park Vista’s success. I could not think of a better place to work and spend these last thirteen years and conclude my career than here at Park Vista Community High School with such a talented staff and amazing young adults. You have impacted my life for the better in so many ways, and I am so thankful for you. I will miss the daily interactions with you. Good change is coming your way. Be ready to embrace it and take this stellar institution to the next level. Remember to work hard, be nice to people and stay humble. Relationships matter! Love you guys! Principal Myers Always for the kids! Cobra Life | 3 Cobra$ of Wall Street BY DANIEL MCDONALD millions to be made, but only if you know what you’re Staff writer doing.” Weinstein said he gets his knowledge about the A few months back, the stock market was turned stock market from reading articles and doing research in upside down when day traders (short-term investors) order to understand the math behind stocks. from the popular media outlet Reddit bought so many Sophomore Andre Koltz, another student shares in Gamestop stock, prices went through the roof. investor, said students who want to get involved in This is known as a “short squeeze” in the stock market. investing and the stock market should “take their time The big hedge funds thought Gamestop was going to as it takes a long time to master the market” and to plummet, and there was a mass sale of shares before “never give up even if a stock goes down in value”. the day traders from Reddit decided to intervene. These Ron Lieber from the New York Times discusses day traders carried the price of a share in Gamestop from the negatives to investing at a young age. Lieber said that somewhere in the six dollar range to over $300 a share. “Big gains can make you feel invincible. It is a real danger This made big hedge funds lose billions of dollars in the now” which may contradict popular belief. Investors can process while some of the investors who drove up the hit big with one stock and lose that money by investing price made thousands. into another one and this is especially seen in day trading Following this explosion with Gamestop, the with short squeezes like Gamestop market went into a craze and young students were driven and AMC.