Half Moon Bay High School hmbpawprint.com Vol 3, No.2 December 2014

“I Voted!” - Do it for the Sticker

Homeless Youth Supply Drive a Success College Applications Make Senior Stress SoarAdvice for those students feeling the heat.

WINTER BRINGS sweater weather, hot chocolate, and….College Applications? Yes, it is officially College App time for Seniors at Half Moon Bay High School. Deadlines have come and passed for some colleges, but others are still looming over students heads.

The Ultimate Volunteering OpportunityCommunity service opportunities with Guide Dogs for the Blind.

EvERy yEAR students struggle with finding ways to fulfill community service require-ments. It’s hard to volunteer for organiza-tions and causes that are not very relatable or entertaining. Clara Fassinger has proven that you can volunteer for a cause that is fulfilling; she has found love for both vol-unteering and dogs through her work with Guide Dogs for the Blind.

INSIDE THIS MONTH’S ISSUEAll the latest on what’s happening in and around our school and community

INSIDE

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Half Moon Bay High School seniors help election run smoothly.By Jackson Crane

ACROSS THE NATION voters filed out to the polls to cast their ballots on the fourth of November. The election ran smoothly with the help of over a dozen Half Moon Bay High School seniors.

The participation on behalf of these students is reassuring, in contrast to the measly 38% of 18 to 24 year olds who bothered to show up to vote.

This low participation by young voters is frightening in a country that oper-ates on the democratic process. The number grows even more frightening when you consider the average voter turnout of around 60% for older citizens.

What this inequality in voter turnout

voting, White enthusiastically respond-ed, “I felt empowered; I got a sticker!”Some other seniors from Half Moon Bay High School have also begun performing their civic duty by signing up to work at nearby polling places.

Many of the seniors who offered their services are still 17, not even able to vote yet. Initially signing up to fulfill a require-ment for his AP Government class, elec-tion supervisor Mike Tyler reflects upon his experience, “I was proud to have taken part in the democratic process and to have helped people have their opinions heard.”

Tyler plans to vote in the upcoming 2016 election. He was pleasantly surprised by the politeness of the voters, and admitted to being a little amused at the excitement grown adults had about receiving a sticker that simply said “I Voted!”.

The participation on behalf of the stu-dents is largely thanks to two teachers at the school, Mr. Hoskins and Mr. Putnam. Mr. Hoskins was responsible for opening up the opportunity to students, he was in charge of sign-ups and arranging for the training of Half Moon Bay’s volunteers.

The second thankyou goes out to Mr. Putnam, the school’s Government and Eco-nomics teacher who made it a requirement for his class to get involved in some form of local politics.

When asked why he made such a require-ment, Putnam explains: “students who understand and appreciate the process are more likely to participate in it.” In his classes Putnam frequently emphasizes the impor-tance of voting and keeps his students informed on current events in an effort to produce a well informed citizenry.

THANK yOU to those who donated to the Larkin Street Youth Homeless supply drive that ran from November 17th to the 21st. On Saturday the 22nd, all the donations were driven to the storage unit of Larkin Street Youth Referral Center in San Francisco, where they were gladly received.

“This is about what we go through in a week,” one worker stated. The referral center, which aids the home-less youth ages 12 to 24, sees about 75 youth a day. San Francisco officially marks its homeless youth count at 914, yet when we asked the orga-nization if this number was accurate, they scoffed.

“That is a gross understatement,” one commented. Since the population sur-

veys are collected from headcounts alone, this allows for countless people to slip

under the radar. San Francisco sees a con-stant ebb and flow of their homeless youth due to the city’s laid back atmosphere and

temperate climate, which attracts many homeless travelers who stay for a while

before moving on. This means that at some points there may be 900, yet this can easily rise to more than one or two thou-sand.

After we unpacked the trunk-load of supplies, we were offered the opportunity to see inside the actual referral center. We accepted, and were shown into a hole-in-the-wall room on Haight Street that was a little smaller than our principal’s office.

Filled with colorful art that was drawn by the youth, tables, posters, sofas, flags, a handful

of dogs, and about a dozen people, it was a cramped quarters.

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means for the younger age group is simply that we are not getting what we want out of the government, and we are the only ones to blame for it.

Many people rationalize not voting because they feel that their vote does not mean anything. Although an individual vote does not have much of an impact, the individual votes of 22% of other age groups yield a considerable amount of power.

Thankfully, not all 18-24 year olds are lame ducks and hope is restored with students like Darragh White, freshly 18, who proudly comments, “it’s my right as an American citizen to be able to vote.” When asked how she felt after

Soccer Season 2014An interview with our four coaches

SOCCER IS A winter sport that all stu-dents look forward to every year. In the past couple of years all four teams have improved. This year both Junior Varsity and Varsity teams are playing in the Bay League, which is the highest soccer division in the area.

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Claiming the Skull

FOR yEARS, the rivalry between Half Moon Bay High School’s Cougars and Terra Nova High School’s Tigers has been bitter, angering, and neverending.

To help extinguish the anger, our football teams face off each year in the annual Skull Game. Unfortunately, for many years the game’s final score was in favor of the Tigers but those select years, when the Cougars came out on top, our cougar pride isn’t seen more anywhere else. The 2014 season was one of those such years.

After battling back from a large deficit at halftime, the Cou-gars scratched and clawed their way to a 49-48 victory. The Cou-gars scored with 1.8 seconds remaining in the game, giving Terra Nova one single chance to take back the score, but their attempt was futile, and with the last tackle of the game the clock struck 00:00, giving the Cougars the win and the skull.

Donations collected by Half Moon Bay High School delivered to Larkin Street youth Referral Center.By Tessa Cleveland and Gillian Davis

Cougars beat Tigers to win the Skull Game. By Andrew Olivero

INDEXNEWS 1-2STUDENT LIFE 3SpORTS 4OpINION 5ENTERTAINMENT 6

Christmas Decorations 101Create some Christmas cheer with advice from the experts!

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veterans Day ConnectionsOne of our students recalls her grandfather’s involvement in WWII.

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Athletes of the MonthInterviews with two Half Moon Bay High School sports star!

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What’s Wrong With The Bridge?Since early summer pilarcitos Creek Bridge has been impassible

Veterans’ DayHalf Moon Bay High School Student remembers her grandfatherBy Nicole Laughlin and Emilia Vogt.

vETERANS DAy MARKS the end of World War I and the start of an awareness day for the veter-ans who have or are serving our country. It is a federal holiday, and schools and banks are closed to honor this day. Some still do not know the exact date. It is on November 11th.

We surveyed 15 people from across the campus. The questions consisted of; “What is Veterans Day?”, “What day is it on?”, and “Do you personally know any veter-ans?”.

Almost every single person had a general idea on what Veteran Day was, but the date was tricky for most. The common answers were “the first Tuesday of November” and “November 12.”

Only one person correctly answered that Veterans day is on November 11th. An easy way to remember what day Veterans Day is on is, World War I ended on the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, on the eleventh hour.

We hope that more people learn what day it is for the upcoming years.

4 out of 13 people personally knew a veteran! We interviewed one of those four people, Gilly Davis, who discussed her Grandfather.

“My grandfather, Spencer Davis, was located in the South Pacific Theatre from Leyte on up through the other island inva-sions in 1944 and 1945. He was a soldier in the United States. He joined the army when he was 17 years old, enlisting in Fort Hood, Kansas. He got stationed in Germany at Ramstein Air Base. He went to Korea and fought in the Korean War.

He re-enlisted to continue fighting in Korea, and fought there two different times. He re-enlisted in Vietnam three different times. He gained the Purple Heart, meaning he was wounded in war. He earned the Silver Star; the highest award you can receive as an enlisted serviceman. He achieved the highest rank of a sergeant major.

He was a drill sergeant for most of his career; he trained enlisted men to fight in combat and show them how to

survive. He took a platoon of men during his first tour of duty in Vietnam. He came in with 256 men and came out with 16 men. He served 32 years.”

Veterans Day is an important holiday that takes place every year. It gives us the chance to acknowledge what veterans, like Gilly Davis’s grandfather, have done for their country. They shall not be forgotten.

“He gained the Purple Heart, meaning he was wounded in war. He earned the Silver Star; the highest award you can

receive as an enlisted man in the service. ” - Gilly Davis.

« Homeless Youth Supply Drive a Success, contd. Donations collected by Half Moon Bay High School delivered to Larkin Street youth Referral Center.By Tessa Cleveland and Gillian Davis

DESpITE THE TIGHT FIT, people cooperated with each other and were very respectful of personal space as they made us feel welcome with a positive atmosphere of community and thanked us and our school for the donations.

Being able to see for ourselves and hear the homeless’ stories was an eye opening experience. The diversity of the room ranged from a quiet girl who looked no more than fourteen years old, to a puppy that slept on a boy’s lap, to a duo of enthusiastic and outgoing young men who readily chatted and joked with us. One, who grew up in Oregon, said that San Francisco was nice enough, but it was hard to find places to sleep when it rained. When we asked what items they needed the most, he replied that tarps were always useful. He had spent the previous night, “In a few inches of water and mud. “

Apart from tarps, other much needed donations include dog and cat food, socks, and camping gear, such as sleeping bags. Other items like food, toiletries, and cloth-ing are much appreciated as well. We look forward to potentially organizing another supply drive later this school year to support the homeless youth of San Francisco again.

2 NEWS December, 2014

By Abigail Drobnick

A ROAD BLOCK has been limiting coastsid-ers from using the heart and soul of our scenic beach town, the coastal trail. Early this summer, it was determined that the Pilarcitos Creek Bridge was impas-sible. Since this date, coastsiders have been yearn-ing to take a bike ride or run along the full length of the coastal trail but are stopped by this broken Pilarci-tos Creek Bridge.

The last time the bridge was dis-cussed being fixed was in August, and the soonest date it could be fixed was thrown out since the estimate for completion was to be around August 2016.

What is so hor-ribly wrong with the bridge that it will take two years to fix? California State Parks sent out a team of engineers who determined that the bridge’s deterioration was widespread and needs to be replaced because it cannot be fixed.

Some coastsiders find this to be ridicu-lous, and a few have gone out and made an effort to fix the bridge themselves.

The City of Half Moon Bay and State Parks are in charge of replacing the bridge. This proj-ect is estimated to cost about $1.3 million, taking almost two years to complete. In order to raise funds, as well as get the proj-ect going more quickly, the City of Half Moon Bay and State Parks officials have decided to create a formal partnership. The community is looking to this partnership to bring closure to this issue.

We all hope that the bridge

will be fixed soon so that we can enjoy a long-awaited walk down the coast. More updates will come on the status of the bridge, so stay tuned on hmbhpawprint.com

Terrific Trees, Great Garlands, and a Merry FFA Christmas Half Moon Bay FFA Ag Boosters puts on a festive FFA fundraiser.By Kennedy Arnold and Jenna Baxter.

ON DECEMBER 7TH Half Moon Bay FFA Ag Boosters hosted a tree lot at the high school. FFA students were to ask people within the community if they were willing to participate in the fundraiser, as well as bring home a beautiful start to the Christmas season.

“This will bring money and recognition to our chapter.” said Senior and Half Moon Bay FFA President Ashley Utz. “This fundraiser helps spread the HMB FFA name out into the community. Students have taken an active role in selling trees,

wreaths, and garlands, whether it’s for their family or out in the community.” “They have the wonderful opportunity to interact with the backbone

and the real fans of the FFA, the Ag Boosters. Utz thinks “this [fundrais-er] is a good way for FFA members to get involved with Ag Boosters.”

Donovan Rice, a junior, said “asking my neighbors to buy Christ-mas trees and wreaths helps me get to know my new neighbors.”

From participating in this fundraiser, students devel-op more social skills and hopefully become more outgo-ing, due to the fact that this fundraiser directly helps them.

“Each tree, wreath or garland sold, the students make ten dollars and the chapter makes a dollar,” said Junior Emilee Moore. “ Without the support of our community, HMB FFA would not be able to strive as well as it has.”

“I hope that we make families happy by providing them with affordable prices and nice trees!” said Utz. With the dedication of the Ag Boosters as well as the members, this tree sale may become a long wintery tradition.

Department Store Lights Up ChristmasThe 25th annual Macy’s tree displayBy Nina Piccolotti

THE CITy HAS always been a busy, densely populated area, and it’s about to get even more crowded with giant shopping bags and a big tree taking up a large chunk of the square! Not to mention the giant ice skating rink that comes along with it. It’s time for the 25th annual Macy’s Union Square tree lighting celebration!

Every year, Macy’s sets up a humongous tree in the heart of the holiday hustle and bustle, with an ice skating rink at the base open for public use. You can go see this 83 foot giant equipped with over 33,000 lights and 1,100 gleaming ornaments. Families, friends, and even couples can skate around and see the tree up close and personal.

Christmas time in the city really is a magi-cal sight, and in my opinion one of the most beautiful. People around Christmas time get into an especially good mood. It’s as if something in the air changes, and people are compelled to act differently.

To go see this magnificent display in the city is to see the happiness that the time of giving brings. This tree is truly a way to bring people in the community together for an event that has been beautifully light-ing up the center of the city for the past 25 years.

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College Applications Make Senior Stress Soar Advice for those students feeling the heat. By Brenna Carroll.

The Ultimate Volunteering OpportunityCommunity service opportunities with Guide Dogs for the Blind.

EvERy yEAR students struggle with finding ways to fulfill community service require-ments. It’s hard to volunteer for organiza-tions and causes that are not very relatable or entertaining. Clara Fassinger has proven that you can volunteer for a cause that is fulfilling; she has found love for both vol-unteering and dogs through her work with Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Founded in 1941, Guide Dogs for the Blind is the largest guide dog school in the country and offers their services at no cost. They prepare highly qualified guide dogs to give to the visually impaired. These dogs are trained by passionate volunteers like Clara. Luckily, one of their two campuses is located in San Rafael, just North of San Francisco.

Clara first became involved in the orga-nization through her work with animals at the SPCA. Her current involvement with Guide Dogs for the Blind stems from her

love for animals, her experiences at the SPCA and also her relationship to people who are blind.

When asked how she began her recent work, Fassinger said, “I volunteered at the Humane Society and found out about Guide Dogs for the Blind because my mom actually has friends who are blind.” Not only is she getting to volunteer for some-thing she is passionate about, but she also is in touch with the people her volunteer work is affecting.

Clara found out that she had a special passion for dogs her freshmen year, and with Guide Dogs for the Blind, she works in the whelping kennel where she cares for newborn puppies about four hours a week. “I love it there,” states Clara about the organization.

She hopes to further help train guide dogs by housing a puppy and actually raise it past its newborn stage.

WINTER BRINGS sweater weather, hot choc-olate, and….College Applications? Yes, it is officially College App time for Seniors at the Half Moon Bay High School.

Deadlines have come and passed for some colleges, but others are still looming over students’ heads, making Seniors at the HMBHS feel like they could use some help.

With students juggling school, a social life, and maybe even a job, it can be hard to focus on future endeavors. Senior and working student Shelly Schabinger says “It is difficult because when you are done with school and work you feel like you need to breathe, but then you have to do college apps.”

She comments that she feels pressured in the process. “The stress of being forced to choose your future while working in school and a job in order to improve gives you no time to authentically think about what you really want, and that’s stressful.” says Schabinger.

A good way to stay on top of everything is planning. “Make due dates for yourself

so you’re always on top of your game” Schabinger recommends, “think about what is most important.”

While some students have trouble with applications as a whole, many find difficulty in one area: The essays. “The most stressful part was the personal statement for the UC application.”

Senior Mark Myren says, “It was the most personal part of the application.” Many stu-dents find it difficult to talk about them-selves.

Though the University of California dead-line has passed, there are other colleges that require essays to be written.

Great places to look for assistance on your essays are teachers and counselors. “Lunstroth and my counselor were a god send and really had some good points that strengthened my overall application.” says Senior Ian Barton. “I’m incredibly in debt for all of their help.”

College Applications are dreaded by stu-dents, but with a few tips, tricks, and help from the people around you, you can get through them with (almost) no stress.

December, 2014 STUDENT LIFE 3

By Abigail Drobnick.

Clara’s passion for animals made her the perfect match to volunteer at Guide Dogs for the Blind. Through her volunteer work, she knows that what she is doing is making a difference in the society around her. Clara is an excellent example of the many interesting and enjoyable community service activities available to

students. “It’s pretty easy for students to get involved (in Guide Dogs for the Blind). There’s just an orientation and a phone interview.”

So, Half Moon Bay High School students, find your passion and see what you can do to help our society. We can all find our ultimate volunteer opportunity.

Fun and Games at the Coastside Toy Drive. Former Students Give Back to the Community. By Lorna Mata.

TWO FORMER Half Moon Bay High School students, Jose Ahumada and Agustin Arroyo (class of 2011), partnered up with the Boys and Girls Club to set up the first ever coastside toy drive.

The main target of this event was to be able to give back to the community that Ahumada and Arroyo grew up in. They spe-cifically focused on the communities youth, children who are part of migrant programs on the coast, boys and girls ages 5-7, and kindergarten through first grade, who will eventually be the future of the town.

Ahumada and Arroyo wanted this not to just be about giving gifts, but about bring-ing the community together for a great cause, in a fun way.

The first day out of this three day event was hosted at Cunha Intermediate Middle school where the soccer complex was provided by the Boys and Girls Club, to initiate the traditional turkey bowl. About sixty people attended, and out of those sixty, twenty were toy wrappers.

This toy drive was not like any ordinary ‘drop in a bin and go’ donation. Ahumada and Arroyo wanted this to be a ‘fun and unite’ event by incorporating team sport games. If you brought a toy, you got to play, which was fair enough. If you simply just wanted to bring a toy and not play, that was acceptable too.

At the end of the event, they counted about eighty toys, which was way more than they expected to receive. Everyone that attended was smiling and simply having a good time.

Ahumada and Arroyo really pulled this off in a

safe and intriguing manner. They are both super stoked for the last two events.

There are still two more days left for this event, both which will be held at Cunha Intermediate Middle School. The upcoming event dates are December 7th, which will be the soccer game at the Cunha soccer field, and December 14th, which will be the Basketball game in the Cunha gym. It is the season of giving, and this is a really fun and cool event to experience.

For any questions contact:

Jose Ahumado (650) 521 2790ahumadocruz@ymail.com

Agustin Arroyo (650) 863 5686arroyoagustin@yahoo.com

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learn more about the development of Connect the Coastside. This workshop will provide an opportunity for residents to learn about how the Plan is being developed

and share ideas about how to best meet the transportation needs of Coastsiders in the future. That includes bus service and bike trails to and from school!

Flint Strategies is pleased to support Half Moon Bay High School’s student newspaper The Paw Print by providing

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High Hopes for Cougar WrestlingTeam looks to win another league championship.By Pace Farbstein

The Cougars wrestling team has high hopes this season, coming off of a PAL Bay Division championship where they went undefeated. Practice began this Monday as twenty or so students showed up to get a chance to duke it out on the mat. Many more will begin wrestling once they finish their current sport.

Five senior wrestlers graduated last year and are now attending college, so the coaches will be looking for new leadership to motivate the team.

Senior Chase Lawson described his excitement for the season. He said, “I’m really looking forward to getting back on the mats and hopefully winning league again.”

After just a week of practice Lawson believes this team has the skill to win another league championship. He also said, “We have a bunch of newcomers which is awesome to see. We love it when new people want to try wrestling because we know they will get hooked.”

Last Year’s victory came in March, after the team ventured to Pacifica and defeated Terra Nova by a mere 3 points. Junior Evan Marshall pinned his opponent at the 116’s weight class to lead the Cougars to vic-tory.

Hopes and Expectations of Cougar’s BasketballTeams look to build on progress

By Andrew Olivero

LAST yEAR our varsity boys basketball team went very far in CCS. Can we make it as far this year? “Yes! Even though the loss of the seniors will affect us, we will work really hard and play to our full potential”, said sophomore Ryan Yerby.

This season is approaching and games will be starting soon. We are in the Peninsu-la- North league and Division 4. Our overall record last season was 26 wins and 7 losses.

For our section rank, we came in eighth and for our section division rank we came in first.

Although we lost a few seniors last year, we have also gained seven new players includ-ing: Victor Altamirano, Andrew Saffold, Colby Yeh-Tinetti, Davis Ladd, Ryan Yerby, Alex Ormeno-Manfredi, and Austin Hilton.

Our Varsity Girls team also did impres

« Soccer Season 2014, contd. Coaches Give Insight on Upcoming Soccer SeasonBy Vanessa Aquino

FALL SpORTS have finally come to a close and soccer fans are welcoming the winter sports season with open arms. In the past few years all four teams, boys and girls varsity and junior varsity, have improved their league standings. Last year the boys’ varsity team won the CCS title while the girls’ varsity team won the Ocean Division League. This year both junior varsity and varsity teams are playing in the Bay League, which is the highest soccer division in the area.

Our teams could not have gotten where they are without the terrific coaching that we are so fortunate to have. Katie Moore is the returning varsity girls coach, and Julio Serrano, a new coach to HMBHS, is coaching the girls JV team.

When I asked the coaches how long they’d been coaching, coach Moore stated that she has been coaching since she was 16 years old, for about 22 years, including four years for HMB HS girls varsity soccer team. Coach Serrano said he has coached soccer for over 20 years and that he and coach Moore had both coached college soccer before. Both coaches also played soccer when they were in school. Coach Moore played varsity soccer all 4 years during high school, two years of community soccer college, and at Cal State Hayward, which is now Cal State East Bay. Coach Serrano played varsity soccer all four years at HMB HS. He is also an alumni class of 1996.

I also asked both coaches what their overall goals for this season were. “Win the league title”, coach Moore stated. Coach Serrano answered: “Get everyone up to speed to possibly play with Varsity, we have open roster in which players (freshmen-juniors) can move up and down to JV and Varsity anytime”. This does not apply to seniors.

Jeff Turgeon is the returning varsity boys coach, with help from assistant Coach Jim Vega, and for JV we have returning coach Miguel Vazquez. Both boys coaches also have coaching experience. Coach Turgeon has been coaching for about 18 years. It is his third year coaching for HMB HS, and his second as main varsity coach. Coach Vazquez has been coaching for about 4-5 years. This is his 2nd year coaching the boys JV team.

Both coaches also played soccer in school. Coach Turgeon played HMB HS Varsity soccer and played two years at Skyline. Coach Vazquez played four years on Varsity at HMB HS and is currently playing his 4th year of soccer at Notre Dame. The coaches also have goals they hope to accomplish this season. Coach Turgeon hopes to make the CCS play-offs, compere, and be one of the top two teams in the division.

He also stated that he lost four key players this season, and has to teach new players key roles. “Keeping my team and hoping players make grades is important, because last year I ended up with twelve players by the end of the season. Hopefully we can do better than last year in this division.”

Athletes of the Month We interview two our our current top athletesBy Jordan Regan

4 SPORTS December, 2014

6th ManA great way to become a part of our school communityBy Fiona Handler

IF yOU ARE interested in getting involved around campus, 6th Man is the club to join. 6th Man Crew is a spirit club on campus that prides themselves on cheering ecstati-cally for the varsity basketball team.

If you are interested in going to any basketball games this season, it would be highly recommended to join 6th Man Crew, the biggest club on our high school campus.

Anyone is welcome to join and they are constantly looking for new ideas from anyone who is willing to share them.

President for the last two years, Nicky Pyle, has a few things to say about the club.

He mentioned how most of the people on the team are pretty good friends with members of the club. This opens up the relationship between the team and the club so that there is mutual support. Pyle said a big goal for the club is to make it dif-ficult for any other team to win in our home gym. Pyle said, “Come cheer with us, come be loud!”

Athletic Director, Justin Ferdinand, has said this club is a great way for students to show their support for the athletic pro-grams at the high school and get involved in another way if they aren’t already involved. Pyle’s favorite part of our 6th man crew is that they don’t only attend home games, but also some away games.

Pyle also said, “I like how we have learned how to cheer and support our program in a way that isn’t demeaning towards other schools.”

In general, this club is very fun and a great way to become a part of our school community. If you have any further ques-tions, you can talk to senior Nicky Pyle or go to any meetings held throughout the season.

sively well last year. They went to CCS and got pretty far. “We are striving to do even better this year than we did last year”, said sophomore Addison Walling.

The girls also lost some seniors last year and are bringing in new players.

The season is beginning, so make sure you go out and support our Cougars!

Marcos Sarabia (boys) Q: What sports do you play?A: Wrestling and Football. Q: How long have you been playing?A: Four years of both.Q: Which sport is your favorite?A: I don’t have a favorite, both.Q: What is your schedule like with school and sports?A: Busy, I have sports everyday after school.Q: What motivates you to do well?A: I want to make my family and coaches proud of me.Q: What Coach or Coaches have inspired you most? A: Coach D and Coach Baker.Q: What are your future goals in sports?A: To make it to state for wrestling.Q: Are there any records you hope to break during your time at the Half Moon Bay High School?A: No, I already beat my brother!

Riley Donovan (girls) Q: What sports do you play?A: Softball and Volleyball.Q: How long have you been playing?A: Softball for 8 years, Volleyball for 4.Q: Which sport is your favorite?A: Softball.Q: What is your schedule like with school and sports?A: I practice almost everyday after school and then go home and do homework.Q: What motivates you to do well in sports?A: My parents and my family. Q: What Coach or Coaches have inspired you most? A: Coach Mike Sarabia.Q: What are your future goals in sports?A: I want to play College Softball.Q: Are there any records you hope to break during your time at the Half Moon Bay High School?A: Hit more home runs than my sister!

A Chance for a New BeginningIs Christmas a time for personal evaluation? By Noah Skinner

The Search For the “Perfect Gift”Stressing over who gets what for Christmas? We look at some options. By Sophia Perez.

Christmas Commercialism Has Christmas become too commercial ?By Ellie Henretty

OvER THE yEARS Christmas has developed many different personalities. It has a reli-gious aspect to it that has been around forever, along with a newly developing commercial aspect. To many, Christmas has become more about the gifts and profit they receive from the large surge in con-sumerism.

There are many benefits to Christmas becoming more commercial. It would aid the national economy, due to the benefits of consumerism. It is also creates new opportunities for the exchange of ideas and products. New products can increase job opportunities, lowering unemploy-ment. Especially if it began to be advertised all year long rather than two months out of the year. Whether you celebrate Christmas or any other holiday, either for commercial aspects or underlying religious meanings, this time of year is a time to become closer to the ones around you. Try not to let the commercialism and consumerism of the holiday seasons get in the way of getting close to your loved ones.

Best Holidays?Is Christmas the best holiday of the year?By Erik Garcia and Hunter Washington.

December, 2014 OPINION 5

ALTHOUGH SOME pEOpLE might disagree with me, I think the two best holidays are Christmas and New Years Eve because we get to have a winter break, spend time with family, and exchange presents.

When Christmas is done, wait a week later and New Years Eve is happening. Depending on what you do News Year’s can be like a second Christmas. You wait until midnight, have a party with friends and family, or if you’re the type of person who spends both holidays by yourself that’s another option.

The month of December just has a lot of stuff happening and other months just can’t bring the hype on for certain holidays like Christmas or New Years Eve. Just saying, but does anyone really celebrate Columbus

day? I mean what is there to celebrate on

C o l u m b u s Day? Anyway, I just believe Christmas and New Year’s Eve are celebrated way more than any other holi-day and they bring familys together. These holidays always make every place you visit so fes-tive. By festive I mean stores d e c o r a t i n g everything in a Christmas theme or the old Christmas songs that always seem to be playing.

Christmas is the only holiday that does this for a whole month. I just think this holiday and New Year’s get people very excited.

Alex Smith (freshmen)

Q: Do you consider the start of a new year to be a “true” holiday?A: Yes, I do think it is.

Q: What does the New Year represent in your eyes?A: It represents a new beginning and a chance to start over.

Q: Do you think it is important for a person to reflect on their past?A: Yes, but the future is more important.

Q: What issues in your life do you hope to resolve and/or recover from?A: I’ll just say the past has passed, all I can do now is be the best person I can be.

Dylan Wilcox (sophomore)

Q: Do you consider the start of a new year to be a “true” holiday?A: Yes, I do.

Q: What does the New Year represent in your eyes?A: I think that it represents a time for change.Q: Do you think it is important for a person to reflect on their past?

A: Yes, I do. We should reflect on our past so we don’t make the same mistakes.

Q: What issues in your life do you hope to resolve and/or recover from?A: My anger issues.

Ben Scofield (junior)

Q: Do you consider the start of a new year to be a “true” holiday?A: Yes, I do.Q: What does the New Year represent in your eyes?A: The New Year represents a “personality change”; I try to follow that.Q: Do you think it is important for a person to reflect on their past?A: Yes, but if you think too hard about it, you’ll hurt yourself.Q: What issues in your life do you hope to resolve and/or recover from?A: I want to get out of my house when I turn seventeen - eighteen at the latest. I just don’t want to be in that environment anymore.

THE HOLIDAy SEASON is passing us by. Some people cannot stand still, while others laugh at the hope in people’s eyes when Christmas is mentioned. This should be a time to rejoice with loved ones; whether Santa Claus is real or not is beside the point.

In many cultures, the beginning of a new year, or even a new day, is considered a time when a person should recognize their past mistakes and build upon these mistakes. I asked a freshman, a sophomore and a junior for their opinion on New Years. I asked why personal evaluation is essential for growth to occur, and if students had any personal goals in mind.

In my opinion, people should always recognize mistakes and always learn when given the opportunity. Confronting your own demons is a scary thing to do, and it can be difficult to forgive oneself. Once a person sees the ways his or her own actions have affected others, it can be devastating. The facts remain that literally everyone makes mistakes at one time or another, and in order for a problem to exist so must a solution. Some people realize when they do something wrong, while others continue acting the way the way they always have. The “messing up” part is not what matters though. What matters is how a person makes the recovery, and the manner in which they do such a thing. Never be too hard on oneself, and always love yourself before prioritizing other people. When one loves who one is, it’s hard to not see the path to happiness.

THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAy is just around the corner and people are beginning to wonder what the best gifts to give their loved ones might be. Everyone has their own interpre-tation of what the best Christmas present is, but as our lists grow, it becomes more and more difficult to find that “perfect gift”.

Between parents, siblings, friends, and other loved ones, some of us become completely overwhelmed with gift giving anxiety and fear.

“You can’t go wrong with jewelry”, Senior Manuel Zepeda said. Jewelry can be a great gift for any of the women in your life, moth-ers, sisters, girlfriends, etc. However this

is not to be confused with thinking that all women want jewelry! Know who you are buying for, and if jewelry is something they would want or wear. If they do nottypically wear jewelry, think of another accessory, like a scarf.

Because each relationship is different, there are a variety of answers concerning the best Christmas present to give one’s significant other. Some quick and easy gifts include hoodies, food, and shoes.

Another route to go in search for the per-fect gift for a boyfriend or girlfriend could be tickets to go watch their favorite team, or go see their favorite artist in concert, or

even some tickets to the San Francisco Zoo.

Buying a gift for someone you love should make the holiday even more special for the both of you. Select-ing the perfect Christmas gift may be one of the most stressful times of the year, but don’t worry, it will all be worth it in the end, when you get to see their face light up after opening that perfect present.

A tip of the pressman’s hat to Half Moon Bay High School.

Half Moon Bay Review

Keep up the good work.

We are very proud of all the students who are involved in producing the Paw Print. We know it’s not easy to create a newspaper. We also know that a printed product, for whatever reason,

carries more weight than its digital counterpart. Plus, you can make these jaunty little hats.

Want to make your own?

Courtesy of the late Guardian!

Keeping up with the Cougars since 1898.Are you a newspaper lover? Own a business? We are looking for one more supporter to take over this spot. It will help us print and distributre the high school paper as long as they make one. 726-4424

HMB High’s furry oracle of wisdom, helps sort out students’ lives.

Dear Cougie,I have been having a hard time juggling

classes, other activities and getting enough sleep to function. Do you have any advice to help me juggle an already stressful school year?

Sincerely, Stressed-Out Student.

Need to vent your spleen? Got a rant that just won’t come out? Let Connor oblige.

By Connor Whitt.

LOOK, I LOvE the holiday season just as much as the next person, but pretty much the only thing that I hate about it is having to buy presents. First off, I have no money. Since 8th grade, my parents have expected me to buy every single

one of my relatives presents with my own money, and so far I have only been able to buy them cards.

The next worst part about getting people gifts is when you buy someone a gift and they don’t like it. I mean seriously, I spent some of the small amount of money that I have to buy you a gift, and you don’t think it’s good enough? Even my own parents are never satisfied with what I buy them for Christmas.

All in all, when it comes to Christmas shopping, it’s the thought that counts, and always to make sure that no matter how crappy a gift someone gives you is, they had to spend their money on it, and spending money sucks.

Christmas Decorations 101

Hey!! Got something to say? Want to make a comment?

Let us know. Tell us about it. Your feed-back is important!

www. hmbpawprint.comhmbpawprint@gmail.com

6 ENTERTAINMENT December, 2014

Connor’s Corner By Adam Azizi and Tobias Leonardos.

Create some Christmas cheer with advice from our festive experts!

FIRST OFF, Merry Christmas. Most can agree that decorations are a key

part of the holidays. To have a great Christmas, there must be

a great deal of preparation.

Certain decorations also add to the Christmas cheer that everybody hopes to experience. Here is a to-do list for making your house the most-spirited house on the block this year.

1. Mistletoe- Place the mistletoe under your doorframe.

2. Stockings- Place stockings above your fireplace.

3. Christmas tree- Place it in the family den.

4. Lights- Hang the lights outside your house and on your tree.

5. Wreath-Place the wreath on your front door.

6. Ornaments- Hang the ornaments on your Christmas tree.

Essential to a great holiday experience, everyone should have at least a few of these decorations in their household, for a Christmas that even Saint Nick will be envious of!

DIY for the Holidays Spice up your holiday season with our delicious and creative festive treats! By Priscila Rodriguez

Every couple of months we have special holidays that are festive and joyful, but what better than to get creative for them? You can do DIY (do it yourself ) projects that anyone can try and get pumped up with to start feeling the holiday spirit vibe. Some cool creative ideas are treats (we all love them!). There are a ton of inspiring ideas on Pinterest and we found some good treats to share.

“Christmas Shopping is Terrible”

Rice Crispie Treat

Steps:

1. You can start by making the rice crispy treat at home and buying white chocolate at one of our local markets. 2. After you buy the white chocolate, you can go ahead and purchase sprinkles or other small treats such as m&ms. 3. Once your rice crispy treats are ready and warm, you may shape them any way you want.

Extra Tips: While they’re still warm, heat up the white chocolate and put it in a pan so it can melt. Once melted you can put a stick to the end of the rice crispy and dip it into the chocolate. While the white chocolate starts to dry off you can add the smaller treats such as m&ms or sprinkles, and that’s your finished DIY.

Sprinkle Cupcake

Steps:

1. Pick cupcake flavor and buy cake mix. 2. After, you can go ahead and put icing or whip cream on the top. After that process is done, get candy canes and crack them into little bits, and get marshmallows and sprinkles as well. 3. Once the candy canes are split, you can put them on top of the icing or whip cream, and add the marshmallow and sprinkles as well.

Now that we are done with the treats there are plenty more creative, and easy, projects for the holi-days, like making a wreath for your door, as well as decorations for your tree, christmas cards, stockings, table decorations, etc.

Get Creative!

Dear Stressed-Out Student,First off take a deep breath. Usually

the first semester is the hardest time for any student. Having a full schedule and dealing with time management can be a difficult task.

Take each day as one day and don’t look further down the week. Maybe get a planner book and write down what your homework is, and plan out

the rest of the day after school. It will get easier.

Sincerely, Cougie.

Dear Cougie, I have different opinions to that of my

teacher, but when I speak up they ostracize me and our differing opinions are reflected in my grade. What should I do?

Sincerely, Confused Student.

Dear Confused Student, It would be wise to privately confront

your teacher after class, or after school, and talk in a professional and respectful manner about what is bothering you.

This should help in finding a meeting ground to level your differing opinions, so you can both go on with the rest of the school year without butting heads.

Sincerely, Cougie.

7. Christmas rug- Use this as a door-mat.

8. Christmas bells- Place these on your door.

9. Christmas napkins/towels- Place in your kitchen.

10. Garland-Wrap garland around columns or on your staircase rail-ings.

11. Christmas pillows- Place these in your bedroom and couches.

Jokes! Jokes! Jokes!Q: What kind of motorcycle does Santa ride?A: Holly Davidson.

Q: Why did Santa’s helper see the doctor? A: Because he had a low elf esteem!

Q: What do you get if you cross a bell with a skunk? A: Jingle Smells!

Q: What does Santa do with fat elves? A: He sends them to an Elf Farm!

Q: Did Rudolph go to school?A: No. He was Elf-taught!

Q: Who is Santa’s favorite singer?A: Elf-is Presley!

Q: What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? A: Frostbite!

Q: What did Adam say to his wife on the day before Christmas? A: It’s Christmas, Eve!