By JACOB EWALDSTAFF WRITER

A few lucky seniors only take four classes a day, but soon it may be possible for every student to attain this luxury.

Wilson will be running three two-day trials of block scheduling throughout the school year.

On the first day, each student will take their second, fourth, and sixth period classes while on the second day students will take their first, third, and fifth period classes. Each class will last 90 minutes. Zero period will be at regular time for both days, and it will remain one hour long. School will also start at regular time.

This arrangement is reminiscent of a traditional block schedule in which students take four 90 minute classes per semester.

The following semester, students can take four additional classes enabling them to take eight classes during the year, each with smaller class sizes.

There are some drawbacks to the block schedule as well, according to the administration.

“Students may not be ready to take the state tests in spring. Also, the annual learning time for a class is about twenty percent less than in the current scheduling,” said assistant principal Ben Webster.

Volume 41 August 29, 2008Number 03 WWW.PAWPRINTSWEEKLY.COM

Glen A. Wilson High School Hacienda Heights, California 91745

Administration to play with ‘block’ scheduling

Back-to-School Night will be held next Thursday September 4.

Cat TracksEDITORIAL | The new school year brings inspiration for personal achievement. pg 3

the INSIDE story

A photographer from South Coast Photography takes a photo of sophomore Ezekiel Covarrubias for his ID card during the make-up business day last Wednesday. PHOTO/JENNIFER CHOW

SPORTS | Varsity girls tennis loses key veterans, but remain optimistic over season. pg 4

Orientation eases transition into high schoolBy MELODY WANGSTAFF WRITER

Many upperclassmen have become the link over the gigantic gap between middle and high school, providing a fun-filled day to give new students a good impression.

Link Crew held their second annual “Freshman First Day Orientation” on Tuesday to help ninth grade students adjust to high school.

“It’s a program designed to help freshmen start high school with a head start,” said Link Crew coordinator Christina Singhi.

Freshmen who chose to attend the orientation met with over 80 upperclassmen and coordinators Singhi and Chris Valentine. They were also introduced to some of the teachers and socialized with Link Crew members through games created by The Boomerang Project, a company that focuses on freshman transition.

“We help them transition through activities and games. They are very simple and teach values that people need to succeed,” said Chris Yu (10).

In order to ease the transition, Link Crew leaders needed the necessary skills to be able to participate.

“All leaders must complete one day of training in May and 12 hours of training in August. This training is based on leadership and group dynamics,” said Singhi.

Some freshmen said they felt that the orientation benefited them.“It was really fun because the Link Crew did games and activities with us. I

also liked it when they showed us the classes so I wouldn’t get lost at school,” said freshman Kimberly Toledo.

ROUND OF APPLAUSE - Link Leaders stand in two lines to welcome the incoming freshmen as they file into the gymnasium during Freshmen Orientation Day this Tuesday.

The trials were designed so that teachers and staff will be able to assess the program’s efficiency, which will affect their decision whether to vote to initiate the block scheduling for every day of school next year.

“My main concern is that we can offer a quality program to our students. If the staff wants to go in the direction of block scheduling next year, then we will,” said Webster.

Students have mixed feelings about the idea of block scheduling.

“I would like the block scheduling better because it would allow me to take more classes in the year,” said sophomore Nicolas Oueijan.

Some students disagree.“I don’t want block scheduling because

the classes are too long and I can’t concentrate on one subject for such a long amount of time,” said sophomore Briana Lomas.

The first block scheduling trial dates will be on September 4-5. The later dates will be on October 23-24 and March 18-19.

PHOTO/VIRGINIA TANG

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Editorial 3August 29, 2008

Alyssa RobertsAdviser

Double EaglePrinting

Glen A. Wilson High School16455 E. Wedgeworth DriveHacienda Heights, CA 91745

www.pawprintsweekly.com

An open forum, Paw Prints encourages the written opinion of its readers in the form of signed letters to the editor or longer commentaries on topical subjects.

While we recognize the individuality of all forms of expression we reserve the right to edit and / or censor that which we feel necessary in accordance with California Education Code 48907 and standards of good taste.

All communications must be signed. It should also be understood that the views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinion of individual Paw Prints staff members or the policy of Glen A. Wilson.

Number 3©Volume 41

Billy LinCharles Tsuei Editors-in-Chief

NEWSCarey Leung

Brandie Wong

EDITORIALStephanie Chang

FEATUREPERSPECTIVES

ENTERTAINMENT

SPORTS VISUALS

Renee TangSabrina Dea

Allison Ko Howard Li

Charles TsueiChris Chiang

Jennifer ChowMichelle GorSonia Tellis

EDITORS

Cat Tracks

Due to the Labor Day holiday next week, there will be no school on Monday

With the start of school, students looked forward to reuniting with schoolmates, while others felt apprehensive about what challenges the new school year would bring. Faced with new schedules, classes, books, and classmates, students lamented that their days of summer leisure were over and that it was time for them to start working towards their education.

Whatever emotions Wilson students return to school with, they should recognize that the new school year represents both a time for education and a time for personal evolutions.

Upon arriving at school, students were introduced to several transformations: new faces among the staff and administration and daily agendas. The school campus had undergone several renovations featuring a newly-installed lunch shelter and refurbished snacketeria. As Wilson undergoes progression and developments, students should follow suit, finding inspiration in the dynamism surrounding them and seizing opportunities to join clubs, perfect talents or pursue sports.

On a more international level, current events show that the world is undergoing fast-paced change just like at Wilson. With the Beijing Olympics, people at home witnessed individual displays of greatness from Michael Phelps’s eight gold medals to Usain Bolt’s record 100-meter time. The combined efforts of athletes allowed their respective countries to surpass expectations: America earned record haul of 110 medals and China received an impressive 51 gold medals. Immediately following the Olympics, the National Democratic Convention kicked off, during which Barack Obama became the first African-American man to be elected as presidential nominee. The Convention represents one of the many events that will culminate to the election in November.

For Wilson students, the ’08-’09 school year commenced during a time of transformation and triumphs in their local, national, and international environments.

At a time filled with successes and evolution in different fields, students should pursue the world’s momentum by aspiring to achieve personal ambitions.

& By VANESSA HOSUCHsuch ‘School looms closer and closer and closer ...”

ART/ SONIA TELLIS

Success and change translate to inspiration

August 29, 20084 Sports

CHRIS CHIANGSPORTS EDITOR

Beginning the season with only three returning players is not the way most teams would like to kick off the year.

However, the girls tennis team says they are ready to take on the challenge.

“It will definitely be a tough year, but we’ll work hard to preserve the success we had in the previous seasons,” said Jessica Chin (12).

In a team thin in veterans, captain Elaine Wang (12) said that all the players are valued contributors.

“Everyone plays an important role on the team,” said Wang. “We have been undefeated for seven years and to maintain that success we all need to try our best.”

These players will attempt to fill in the gaps left by graduating players, such as Marcia Oen and Sylvia Tang.

“We will miss the varsity players and what they brought with them,” said Janet Hsiao (12). “They do a lot of outside training themselves, which really benefited the team.” Apart from adding talent and skill to the team, the seniors also brought along experience.

“The players we lost were very well seasoned,” said head coach, Jerelyn Lopez. “Marcia, for instance, was in varsity for four years.”

Though the team is losing the benefits of veteran presence, they are also gaining the advantage of

BY ALEX CHAOSTAFF WRITER

The Olympics have revealed that hours of constant training and unparalleled devotion condition the athletes to perform on the world stage.

PHOTO/VIRGINIA TANG

Big splash

IN HIS FACE! - James Wu (9) squints his eyes as a pass falls short during yesterday’s freshmen-sophmore practice. Waterpolo’s first scrimmage of the season will be against Nogales Semptember 11.

REACH FOR THE SKY - Elizabeth Ovieda (9) watches teammate Kimberly Bermudez (12) stretch her arm out to serve the ball during yesterday’s practice.

and have left spaces for new people to join.

“Even with the loss of seniors like Patrick Chen and Stephanie Lopez, our team is still strong with hopeful newcomers,” said Rebecca Wong (10). “We’ll do well [this season], but our

Girls’ tennis rebuilds, remains confident

Cross country strives to increase success

youth with the incoming freshmen. One player they are particularly interested in is Megan Zamilpa (9) who is expected to make varsity.

According to Lopez, Megan is very mature for a freshman and has demonstrated great talent during practice.

“It’s nice to have a freshman that can come out prepared and play,” said Lopez. “Megan plays more like an experienced veteran than a freshman.”

Unfortunately, the girls still need to face several other challenges.

Most of the players in varsity now came from JV and will have to adapt to a higher level of competition.

“Playing on the varsity team is much more serious than playing on JV. You really need to adjust your mentality,” said Hsiao.

In addition to changing the level of intensity they play, returning players also say that everyone must be more self-sufficient.

“We were dependent on players like Marcia last year, but this year we have to learn to be independent and win for ourselves,” said Wang.

In spite of the difficulties they will face, the girls tennis team is optimistic about its upcoming games.

“It should be a very exciting and frightening year for us since we have so

many new players,” said Lopez. “We’re definitely shooting for CIF though it’s still too early to say.”

The girls’ first match is against South Hills on September 11.

Now that the festivities of the Olympics have ended, the time for cross-country has begun.

After the girls finished at the top of the league rankings, reaching CIF finals, and finishing 13th in state last season, the team hopes to

continue with another season of running.

The boys’ cross-country did not meet the same success as the girls’ team by coming fourth in league.

Many of the senior runners are gone because of graduation

success mostly depends on the skill of the new people coming in this year.”

As seen in this year’s Olympics, serious time and dedication to training is pivotal to success in any competition.

“Everybody on [the] team has to step up if they want to be league champions,” commented Angela Tu (12).

In order to reach that plateau of accomplishment, Angela also adds that the runners have to “remain consistent, stay healthy, and keep a positive attitude” in addition to following their rigorous training.

All cross-country runners know that the key to triumph during these runs is practice and determination.

“Other people may not [perform as well] because they do not train hard,” said Howard Mao (11).

The first meet begins on Wednesday, September 17 at Schabarum Park against Ganesha.

“We’ll do very well [this season]. Hopefully the girls will get league, CIF and state, and the guys get to CIF prelims,” said Coach Fessenden.

PHOTO/ALLISON KO