the lancer2 june 3, 2009 NEWSnewswire

BY KATIE BUTLERStaff Writer

Anyone who has ever had a jobcan relate to the spring play “Work-ing.” The play opened on Wednes-day, May 13 and closed on Saturday,May 23.Similar to the 2007 fall play

“Spoon River Anthology,” this playconsisted of monologues from abroad array of everyday jobs, rangingfrom housewives and ironworkers toprostitutes and valets.“This play is about working in a

modern day America with toughtimes. I think that the reason behindDonia choosing this play was that itparallels with what’s going on in ourAmerica today,” senior SamanthaStimpson said.A challenge for the actors and ac-

tresses of “Working” was breakingthe fourth wall, a theater term forcharacters talking directly to the au-dience, something not usually ac-cepted in a play.“I loved the fact I got to break the

fourth wall, I got to get up and talkdirectly to the audience,” sophomoreRyan Brodsky said.

Between the monologues were up-beat dance numbers that enticed theaudience’s interest with flashy outfitsand eye catching choreography. Onesuch dance involved several ensem-ble members wheeling shopping

carts to the stage while dancers insidewaved their legs around before jump-ing out of the carts.Amore unusual challenge was the

managing of a cast over 40 peoplestrong from freshmen to seniors.“With a large cast there is defi-

nitely a lot more just standing aroundand waiting for your turn…but sincethere are a lot of people, you can get

more feedback and suggestions fromyour fellow cast members about howyou’re doing,” Stimpson said.Along with students who have

acted in Donia’s plays before ‘Work-ing,” several underclassmen foundpositions in the play as well.“We’ll have the underclassmen in

place to develop [the graduatingclass’s] acting skills as the plays go

on,” junior Laura Zazueta said.After the final curtain fell, stu-

dents were pleased with their suc-cessful results.“The casting was awesome, the

choreography was epic, and all thedancers executed it perfectly,” Brod-sky said. “The whole cast reallypulled it together and I was happy tobe a part of this awesome show.”

LOVEN AL’ OF WORKING—Junior Ben Brooks (center) leads background dancers (left to right) junior Kate Pelota,sophomore Brooke Bowers, and senior Caitlyn Arndt to a jazzy tune from “Working.”

Following the applicationprocess and approval as a distin-guished school, TOHS, NPHS,Colina, Los Cerritos, and Red-wood Middle School were dis-qualified as Distinguished schoolsfor 2009.Only a school that is invited to

apply may do so for distinguishedschool status.During the application process,

the testing scores of specific sub-groups are analyzed.The state neglected to take

these scores into account and con-sequently allowed the schools toapply for an honor that they wouldlater be denied.

Losing this award does not,however, affect the award for Ex-emplary Technical Education inrecognition of the newly adaptedEThOS program.“Although [the awards] are cer-

tainly appreciated,” Superinten-dent Mario Contini said. “Theyare not the primary measure of theamazing success of our schools.”In spite of the loss, the schools

retain the fact that they have, inthe past, been recognized withDistinguished School and Na-tional Blue Ribbon awards.

-Dakota Jones■ See TOHS Robbed, pg. 3

BY KATIE BUTLERStaff Writer

The Teacher of the Month awardgoes to a teacher who dontates theirtime and energy to his/her classesand who inspires students. Usually,from month to month the award goesto teachers from different schools.This spring, however, two teachersfrom TOHS achieved the honor. TheApril winner was band directorMarty Martone and the May winnerwas ceramics teacher Jerry Sawitz.

Martone was surprised to receiveTeacher of the Month.“I’ve worked on three different

campuses but here there is a great at-mosphere and I’m humbled to be rec-ognized by the staff,” Martone said.

Martone believes it is not histeaching alone that inspires the bandto win competitions, but his philoso-phy on how to handle the outcome ofa competition as well.“I teach the band to be a humble

winner and a gracious loser,” Mar-tone said.

Martone’s students feel his awardis well deserved.

“Everyone has their own personalstory to show when he was support-ive of the band and he cares aboutevery single person in band,” juniorBrandon Dickson said.Sawitz expressed surprise at re-

ceiving the award.“I teach an elective and [the award]

is usually given to an academic sub-ject teacher,” Sawitz said.

“The staff was even better than Ithought and the school presented alot of opportunities. If you want to beconnected to the school, there’ssomething for you whether it’s year-book or journalism or something elseand it’s just a great school to be a partof,” Sawitz said.Sawitz’s favorite moment of teach-

ing comes from the emails his stu-dents send after they’ve graduated.

“It’s the greatest reward gettingemails from students who went here20, 25 years ago and see what they’redoing and where their lives went,”Sawitz said.Students appreciate the time and

effort Sawitz puts in his ceramicsclass everyday.“He is always hands on with

everyone and he’s always runningaround because everyone needs helpand he’ll keep doing that until we de-velop our skills,” senior KristinaSherman said.The two have both demonstrated

their commitment to the tradition ofexcellence that teachers at TOHShave continued for many years.It is a high honor and a welcome

one for the two teachers.

Community honors teachersAP Biology students started

their pig dissection labs the weekafter AP testing.“In this lab students will dissect

a pig to see and identify all of thebody’s systems that they havebeen learning about all year,”Dana Grooms, the AP Biologyteacher, said.The lab was a way for students

to learn about body systems.“This lab was not only a great

way to review on what theylearned but it is also a great expe-rience to see these systems and tohave a hands on [experience]about the inside of the animal aswell as the systems similar in thehuman body,” Grooms said.Junior Natalie Kennedy appre-

ciated the activity.“At first it’s a little gross but

once you get into it you really geta feel for how a body works, youcan see the parts in books, andyou know they exist but its way

cooler in person because it makesup a living thing," Kennedy said.Anyone absent or not partici-

pating was required to write anessay and do a presentation on so-ciological biology developmentsin evolution theory and how theyrelate to the development of socialtheories.

-Olivia Sundstrom

State cancels covetedschool award

DRAMATIC DEPICTION OF WORKERSCAPTIVATES AUDIENCES

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THIS PIG WON’T FLY— The organswithin a dissected fetal pig helpstudents understand anatomy.

USED WITH PERMISSION OF CARLENHANDLEY

JERRYSAWITZ

Students exploreanimal anatomy

ReaganLibrary

ScholarshipWinners Stephen

MarshKylePriske

NadiaSafaeinili

VENTURA COUNTY STAR AWARDS 2009

EMILY ARNDTSecond Place GraphicsSecond Place Features

KATIE BUTLERThird Place News Writing

JACOB MARKUSThird Place Graphics

SEAN MCMINNSecond Place ColumnThird Place Graphics

REBECCA SYLVERSFirst Place Review

First Place News PhotoSecond Place Sports

ARLAN CASHIERThird Place SeriesThird Place Review

TREVOR CROWNFirst Place SeriesThird Place Series

Second Place OpinionThird Place Review

GISELLE QUEZADASecond Place GraphicsSecond Place Features

DAKOTA JONESFirst Place Series

LOUISA LENANDERThird Place Series

Lancer NewspaperSecond Place General Excellence

Editors-in-Chief: Matt Bradbury and Jean Kim

MichaelValentino

The seniors who received theRonald Reagan Presidential Li-brary Scholarship were awardedgrants of up to $2,000 in tuitionfunds for colleges.

Each recognized senior main-tained an average 3.0 GPA anddemonstrated outstanding excel-lence in extracurricular activities.

Working:

PHOTO BY KATIE BUTLER

MARTYMARTONE