Raven ReportSequoia Says...How do you feel about the

new later start to the school day?

“I don’t really mind it. Thirty minutes doesn’t make a big difference. I don’t think

I’m getting more or less sleep.” —Junior Nick Pauley

“I really like the schedule change. I’m always on time now. I was constantly late and rushing when school started at 8 a.m.” —Senior Charissa Teller

“I get a lot more sleep and I’ve noticed I’m more focused in class. I think I will do a lot better this year.” — Sophomore Devon Marmol

“I love it for many reasons: I’m not a morning person, I can take my daughter to school without having to worry about being late, and I feel more awake in the morning and ready to go.” —Activities Director Lauren Reibstein

“I hate getting out later. I had to turn down a job

opportunity because they asked me to start at 3:30.

No job I know is going to hire someone who can’t even start until 4 p.m.”

—Senior Cameron Logie

Math teacher Joshua Yezerski surveyed his two

Pre-Calc classes about their feelings towards the

schedule change. “I had about 25 against it

and 5 for it in both classes. For me, the big thing is the traffic in the morning; It’s

worse later in the morning.”—Math teacher Joshua Yezerski

Sequoia welcomes new Administrative Vice Princi-pal Sean Priest, who served last year as Dean of Students at Menlo-Atherton High School. Priest transferred to Sequoia to replace last school year’s Administrative Vice Principals Ricardo Cooke and Donald Milhaupt, after one administrative position was lost due to millions of dollars in budget cuts last year.

Priest said Sequoia has been welcoming and he is ex-cited for the new school year.

“I’ve been really lucky to never have a job that I didn’t love, and that hasn’t changed this year,” Priest said.

Priest said his experience as a teacher has influenced the way he connects with stu-dents. Before becoming Dean of Students at M-A, Priest taught Spanish and AVID classes at South San Fran-cisco High School for seven years. Because of his previous position as an AVID teacher, Priest said he tries to provide students with as many oppor-

tunities as possible for life af-ter high school.

After a year of teaching humanities to high school students in Mexico, Priest became fluent in Spanish. He said his bilingual skills have been helpful at Sequoia.

“I’m not sure if everybody knows I speak Spanish yet,” Priest said. “Kids in the hall will be talking and then I’ll come up and they will start speaking Spanish like I don’t

Sequoia’s prayers answered by new administrator PriestBy SARINA GROSSEditor-in-Chief

Administrative Vice Principal Sean Priest was a Jeopardy contestant and taught high school humanities in Mexico.

Volume V, Issue 1 1201 Brewster Ave. Redwood City, CA 94062 September 15, 2011

Sequoia High School

know what they are saying.”Priest has other hidden tal-

ents. In February, Priest won $1,000 on the show Jeopardy. In addition to being a trivia extraordinaire, Priest is an avid traveler. He said he and his wife try to plan a trip every summer to some place new and immerse themselves in the different cultures.

“We are very lucky to have Mr. Priest,” Principal Bonnie Hansen said.

180 students responded to a Facebook survey:Do you like the new later start?

72% No

Schedules change as enrollment tops 2000

Close to forty students unexpectedly en-rolled at Sequoia this year, increasing our total student enrollment to over 2000. Three weeks into school, multiple scheduling changes oc-curred to accommodate this growth.

“Sequoia unexpectedly grew over the sum-mer beyond the number of expected students,” Instructional Vice-Principal Lisa Gleaton said. “Those extra students were not taken into ac-count when making the master schedule, hir-ing, assigning rooms, lockers, etc... [but] we shoved them in anyway. Teachers went over their contractual limits, classes were huge and no one was happy,” said Gleaton.

To ensure a direct student-to-teacher rela-tionship, the teachers’ union limits the num-ber of students one teacher can have to 172,

By ANNA DAGUM and CAROLINE LEMPERT

Feature: Opinion:Survival guide to Sequoia High School Pages 2-3

Only girl in the world... without a Facebook Page 4

14% Yes14% Does not affect me

according to history teacher Marc Crownover. Although the over-enrollment was evident in the first days, teachers had to keep a tally of students until the district acknowledged Sequoia’s predicament on Sept. 2. Fourteen teachers were over their contracted limit.

In response, administration and guidance spent the weekend of Sept. 9 busily interview-ing, hiring, making hundreds of schedule changes, and rearranging sections in an effort to reduce class sizes. Students received notice on Monday, Sept. 12.

Although there are negative implications of the rising population, the numbers mean that Sequoia’s popularity is increasing due to years of hard work put in by our staff.

“Former Principal Marchbanks and Prin-cipal Hansen have had to spend an enormous amount of energy trying to change our reputa-tion,” said Crownover. “It has worked!”

Photo by Sarina Gross

Photos by Sarina Gross

JAPANESE TEA GARDENIt’s banned. Don’t go there.

BIGGEST TRAFFIC JAMAll halls seem crowded when the one minute bell rings and you’re caught in a standstill. However, we have come to the conclusion that this junction in the downstairs of the main building has the most tall people, the most frustra-tion, and the highest average heart rate.

TEEN RESOURCE CENTERCome here for free counseling services and SAFE programs after school.

IB ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEM AND SOCIETIES’ GARDENThere’s a secret garden on campus. No, really! It may not look like much at first sight, but the IBESS class has spent class periods upon class periods observ-ing and working in the field.

sequoia

LOCKER BUDDIESAlways be friendly to your locker neighbors because you will be seeing them four to six times a day.

SEQUOIA SEAL Do not touch! Nunca lo tocas! It doesn’t matter what language you speak, Ravokees know not to touch the seal to avoid bad luck.

LOCKER ROOM Locker rooms may be smelly, dirty, and whatnot, but it may be your only ticket to getting clean after a hard workout. Try to shower first. The lukewarm water only lasts so long.

B-QUAD BATHROOM BLISSWhile many restrooms are spoiled with broken hand dryers and clogged drains, the B-quad bathroom is by far the nicest bathroom. Let’s keep it this way!

ANTARCTICAThroughout the day, it’s normal to go from subzero arctic conditions in the 200 and 300 wings of the main building to that sticky, lethargic, too-hot-to-focus-on-any-thing temperature in the math wing. Wear layers and check the weather beforehand so you can focus on school work and not the bead of sweat dribbling down your nose.

IB ROOMFor you IB and ICAP students, this room may be your new home. It is now in room 14 instead of room 44.

VENDING HAVEN Knowing where these metal-clad machines are located is a must. What teenager can live without Hot Cheetos and Nutter Butters?

SENIOR PARKING LOTPark here at your own risk. Foul balls have been known to shatter wind-shields.

PARENT CENTERThe Parent Center helps families get through the many complicated details of school and college applications. Go to a meeting on the second Tuesdays of each month.

PASSING PERIODSAvoid having loud, lengthy and over-enthusiastic reunions with your friends during passing periods. It’s annoying. People have classes to get to.

by anna dagum and laurel dearborn

Welcome back! For those of you who are new this year and haven’t already figured out the campus boundaries during lunch or how to read the room numbers in the hallways, check out this survival guide. Complete with the best bathroom on campus, the biggest traffic jam during passing periods, classrooms to know and love, this map will supply you with tips and tricks on how to embrace the Sequoia lifestyle.

survival guide

opinion4

Student ‘likes’ living without FacebookBy CAROLINE LEMPERT Staff Reporter

When I de-leted my Face-book over the summer, I only thought I would gain a few extra minutes each day. However, in the short

time I’ve been Facebook-free, I have learned valuable lessons and gained perspective on the ever-entwining re-lationship between teenagers and so-cial networking.

I made a profile in 2008, and have witnessed it take over our generation. Facebook trends have helped define the past three years of teenage culture, but there is a point at which it turns into an incessant waste of time. How many pag-es of “Like my status for... :) <3” can you scroll through?

Do I really care that Sally is dat-ing Bob? No. Is the value of my life increased because I spent 20 minutes looking through over-edited pictures of people I’m not really friends with go to Great America? That shouldn’t even be a question.

The decreasing entertainment value and obvious time suck of Facebook prompted me to deactivate my ac-count. By doing so, I removed myself from the world of constant commu-nication, freeing up more elements of my life than I had anticipated.

During the first couple of days, there were little things that prompted witty comments and rants, and as I reached for my phone to inform my Facebook friends what was “on my mind,” I was almost disappointed when I realized that I no longer had an outlet for every detail of my life. I further realized, after about two min-utes, that the thought was very insig-nificant, and I was amazed at how I had ever thought anyone else would care. I started reflecting on all the “Facebook stalking” I’d done in my 3 ½ years on the site (I’m not creepy I promise), and was amazed at how I’d

ever found those useless tidbits about other people amusing.

Had social networking really be-come that large a part of my life? I had always laughed off a comment on our generation’s obsession with online connections, thinking that older gen-erations just did not understand our evolving society. However, as I began to live without the lingering presence of Facebook, I found I was much bet-ter off without social networking.

In a Facebook-free life, daily inter-actions with friends and classmates have more value. There are so many things that you would find out from Facebook, but 99 percent of them didn’t matter. Now I only know about the lives of people that actually matter to me, and what they tell me is a lot more valuable because I’m hearing it

for the first and only time from them, not from their profile.

My daily routine has become much more productive and punctual. Home-work is done as soon

as I get home, without, “Oh I’ll just be on Facebook for five minutes…” situ-ations.

However, for all the needless over-load of information I’ve been spared, there are some benefits of Facebook that are difficult to replace. As the president of a club, it’s harder to get information out to a large group of people. I can no longer “friend” all of the people in my math class, so if my friends in the class aren’t picking up their phone, I’m out of luck.

Social networking has become as es-sential to one’s social life as sleepovers and school dances. Teenagers get a Facebook because they want to be so-cially current, then they subconscious-ly allow it to take over more aspects of their life than intended. Its superficial functions have become second nature to most teenagers, and the postitive functions of Facebook are overshad-owed by overuse.

However, when used in moderation and for the right reasons, Facebook can enrich your social life and provide resourcses for various information.

Emphasis on the “in moderation.”

Sequoia High School

Raven Report2011-2012

Editor-in-Chief Sarina GrossLayout Editor Caroline Lempert

News Editor Laurel DearbornFeature Editor Anna Dagum

Staff ReportersTiffany Ah Tye Neyra Bedolla Silva Hanna Bolaños

Peter Bugos Erick Castro Jarrett Crowell Ty Dewes Cole Dunbar Araceli Efigenio Taisha Griffie Lily Hartzell Lauren Kirkpatrick

Catalina Mares Sophie Miller Matthew Morrow Bogart Sandoval Ramirez Jr.

Mission StatementThe Raven Report strives to provide Sequoia High School

with informative, engaging, and relevant news. The staff will exercise integrity amd adaptablitity while promoting justice

and transparency through professional reporting aboutthe school, the community, and the world.

Letters to the EditorThe Raven Report welcomes letters to the editor from students,

parents, or community members, sent to Room 308 or by email to ravenreport09@gmail.com. Letters must include the writer’s full

name and ID number, and the staff reserves the right to edit for space and style.

“I was almost disappointed when I realized that I no longer had an outlet for every detail of my life.”

Respond to what you read about in our issue, suggest a topic, or participate in a survey! Search for Sequoia High School Raven Report on Facebook and like our page.

With the largest student body in Sequoia’s history, patience and flexibility is needed more than ever. In the first few weeks of school, finding a lunch spot was difficult and walking through the crowded halls was virtually impossible without bumping into someone. Students packed into classrooms, some with over 40 stu-dents, leaving many without desks to write on.

Now, three weeks into school, many students are receiving notice that their schedules have been changed. New teachers were hired to alleviate congested classrooms, but that resulted in many surpris-ing schedule changes. Facebook statuses popped up showing frustration and confusion. Com-plaints were heard in hallways and bathrooms.

We acknowledge that this situ-ation isn’t ideal, but it affects more than just students. Some teachers have to prep for new classes and many share rooms. Counselors

are overwhelmed by the hundreds of students lining up, and even worked on the weekend. And ad-ministrators have been busy hiring new teachers while being bom-barded with student complaints.

While you may be upset that your crush is no longer in your class, or that a member of your project group has been transferred and the project is due tomorrow, or you want physics 2nd period in-stead of 5th period, these changes are ultimately made to help you learn. No one wants to be stuffed in a classroom with forty-one students.

We think that students need to be accommodating and un-derstanding to help everyone transition smoothly. Teachers, we hope that you can understand that students are struggling to deal with schedule changes and some feel lost in new classes or worried about their grades.

We all need to work together in order to have a good year.

Unexpected schedule changes demand flexibility from both teachers and students

Staff Editorial