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Girls Soccer

By Christine Do

 

The Girls’ Junior Varsity (JV) and Varsity soccer teams have kicked off this year’s season strong.

“We started off good. Overall, I think we’re in a two to one right now. We’re starting kind of slow because we’re still getting used to being put into new teams but we’ll get better over time,” said Varsity Forward Emilet Ramirez.

As always, with new captains and new teams, the season is definitely different for the players.

“You have to be a good role model and have good execution for game plans. As a captain, it is important to guide the team and have the ability to empower others,” said JV Captain Mahik Kaur.

Despite not being the most experienced, the girls have built on their skills since day one of tryouts in Nov. of last year. The soccer players have practice on the days they don’t have games so essentially, they’re always practicing and learning. With more training, the girls are able to work on their skills and build stronger bonds with each other.

“We’re not the best with skills but we’re good with working together and improving,” said JV Goalie Gurkiran Braich.

This year was the first year that the soccer teams have had a preseason tournament, where the teams played three games as practice for players to evaluate themselves and to see which areas they lack in.

In their first few practices, the girls focused on the mistakes they made during preseason. With the turf under reconstruction, this year’s practices were always held at different locations, and thus occasionally being cancelled. Like any team, there is always room for improvement.

“I think we need to work on talking more on the field to be able to improve in our games,” stated Ramirez.

As a team, the most important factor during a game is communication. Players have to know where their teammates are. If in possession of the ball, the aim is to pass it to the other players and get it safely into the goal.

“Every time the team loses a player, it is hard for them to lift that weight and to balance each other out,” said JV Left Defender Ishika Pol.

“I think we need to work on talking more on the field to be able to improve in our games,” stated Ramirez.

The girls are continuing to work on their skills as the season progresses. The next game will be next Wednesday at Santa Teresa High School, so come support the girls as the season comes to an end!

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The good, bad and ugly of 2018

By Sophia Xiao

 

Winter Olympics

For the first time, South Korea hosted the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Overall, Team USA had a disappointing Olympics, ending in fourth place. However, Team USA did have momentous victories: Women’s Hockey beat out Canada for their first gold medal in 20 years, Jessica Diggins and Kikkan Randall won USA’s first ever gold medal in cross country skiing and Skip John Shuster led his team to USA’s first-ever gold medal in curling. Despite military tensions, North Korea participated at the games. North and South Korea marched under a unified flag at the opening ceremony and formed several joint teams including skiing and women’s hockey.

Parkland shooting

On Feb. 14, a gunman open fired on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., killing 17 and injuring 14 more. It is the deadliest mass shooting at a US high school in history. Afterwards, student survivors demanded legislative action to prevent mass shootings and gun violence. In March, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, which raised the minimum age for buying rifles to 21, among other gun control reforms.

Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal

In March, Facebook became embroiled in yet another major political scandal when it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica acquired the private Facebook data of up to 87 million users and used it to help elect Donald Trump. Facebook’s stock price tanked, and the scandal prompted calls for increased ethical standards and privacy regulation of social media companies.

Border Children: Immigrant families in crisis

In April, the Trump administration implemented the “zero tolerance” immigration policy, which included separating children from their guardians at the border. Following tremendous public opposition and nationwide protests, Trump signed an executive order in June suspending the policy indefinitely. A lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union revealed that thousands of children were taken from their families without a system of keeping track of the separated children or specific plans to reunite them.

Royal wedding

The world watched as Prince Harry and retired American actress Meghan Markle spoke their vows in May. Around 29 million people in the US watched the wedding on TV, surpassing the 26 million who watched the 2011 wedding of Prince Williams and Kate Middleton. In the UK, TV viewership was about 18 million people.

Puerto Rico without electricity for 11 months

Hurricane Maria wrought catastrophic damage to Puerto Rico and Dominica back in Sept. 2017, causing massive flooding, lack of running water and other resources and the worst blackout in US history. Maria’s official death toll was originally 67, but was revised to 2,975 after studies revealed the full impact of the storm, accounting for the thousands who were unable to receive medical care due to the blackout. As late as June 2018, about seven thousand homes and businesses were still without power. Total losses from the hurricane are estimated at upwards of $91 billion.

Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearing

After Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, multiple women who knew Kavanaugh in high school and college came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct, including professor of psychology Christine Blasey Ford, who testified at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings in September. While the Senate ultimately voted to confirm Kavanaugh’s nomination, the hearings inspired women’s-rights advocates and survivors of rape and sexual assault to speak more openly against sexual assault.

Hurricane Michael and Florence

Hurricane Florence caused the deaths of over 55 people and severe freshwater flooding and at least $17.9 billion of damages in the Carolinas in September. Shortly after, Hurricane Michael struck the southern US with sustained winds of 155 miles per hour, one of the strongest hurricanes in US history. At least 60 deaths have been attributed to Michael, including 45 in the US and 15 more in Central America.

Global Trade War

The trade war between Trump and China continues into 2019, with the total US tariffs applied exclusively to China at $250 billion, and the total Chinese tariffs applied exclusively to the US at $110 billion. Hoping to fix the “longtime abuse of the broken international system and unfair practices,” Trump imposed tariffs on solar panels and washing machines in January, then steel and aluminum for all countries but Australia and Argentina. China, EU, Canada, India and Mexico have all implemented retaliatory tariffs.

thelegendonline News

Track Renovations

By Henry Zheng

Both the track and football field are to be completed this upcoming April.

The track renovations started in December, and will go along with the newly completed science buildings as they have many new exciting features that we should look forward to.

“At both end zones of the field we will have the school name at one side and the word PIRATES at the other. This is a new feature we’re looking forward to,” said Bond Program Director Julio Lucas.

Students can look forward to a more detailed football pitch. In addition to the new “PIRATES” addition, there will be new markings as well as synthetic black turf outlining the whole field.

The new turf will not only serve aesthetic purposes, but also as an economic investment for the school.

“Typically, synthetic turf needs to be replaced every 10-12 years,” stated Mr. Lucas.

From new markings to new turf and an addition of  “PIRATES” labeled on each end-zone, the field will be completely different from before.

Sadly, one crucial aspect is to be left out: bleachers.

“We are not (renovating) the bleachers as (a) part of this project. We are scheduled for replacement of the turf field that is in place now,” explained Mr. Lucas.

As for the track, the words “Piedmont Hills Pirates” is to be displayed in the middle of the grid lines, as well as a new straight-away that will overlap with the already existing left side of the track. There will also be new long jump runways on the track’s right side.

After many years, the worn down pink-red track surface itself is also expected to change.

“We’ve been addressing the track surface at the same time as we go through the process,” adds Mr. Lucas.

As for equipment, we can also expect to see new hurdles, which is particularly good news for senior athlete An Truong, who plans to experiment and try out hurdles this year.

“Being a track athlete, I want this done as soon as possible so I can be out running with my teammates at our home runway,” stated Truong.

However, many athletes are concerned over whether the track will be done in time for the season.

“Forreal, (we’re) not really going to have any home meets,” stated senior Tim Wang.

With construction workers working harder than ever as this will be the second major project completed this school,

we must remember to be grateful.

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The integral hobbies of a math teacher

 

 

By Lawrence Pei

 

Aside from teaching calculus, math teacher Joselito Sevilla has hobbies such as watching movies as well as interesting stories to tell, such as the time where he lived in a haunted house.

 

“I’m a huge Robin Williams fan and I have many posters in my classroom for movies in which he acted in the film,” said Mr. Sevilla.

 

According to his wife, he watches TV and drags her into watching with him.

 

“Sometimes I base my test questions off of the TV shows that I watch the day or night before.” admitted Mr. Sevilla

 

Furthermore, he claims that his children often question his musical taste because he himself even admits that he is still stuck in the 80’s. Some of his favorite songs include “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen and “Cry in the Wind” by Clan of Xymox.

 

Aside from being a huge movie fan, Mr. Sevilla also states that he believed that he previously lived in a haunted house alongside Mr. and Ms. Mac when they lived together.

 

We were all dating so we had a lot of fun parties and got to know one another really well.

 

“In fact she even helped me and my wife when we first started teaching 20 some years ago,” said Mr. Sevilla.

 

“We lived in constant terror, sometimes it felt like a there was a hand on your chest as you slept and sounds of footsteps coming your way. Sometimes, you have no clue how you ended up somewhere when you woke up from the night before,” said Mr. Sevilla.

 

He began his career in teaching math to students here at PHHS, he said that it was not completely out of a love for the subject although it has grown on him ever since. Rather an incapability to succeed in Med School that ultimately caused him to transition into teaching with a math major and a teaching degree.

 

According to him, his jokes and style just come up naturally and that he believes that, due to his cold humor, allows students to reciprocate to his lessons better. Furthermore, he believes that someone who would want to take calculus should study hard and they will be fine.

 

Mr Sevilla stated that he loved every part of his job: helping students out, working with his wife, making friends and most of all doing something he loves to do.

 

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thelegendonline Features

Girl Scout Valentine Event

 

By Devonna Dang

 

PXM (Paradox Motions) will be performing at the LDHB (Lien Doan Hoa Binh, pack 745) Venture Crew’s Valentine event at 1919 Montgomery Rd. next Saturday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. LDHB Venture Crew is holding this event to fund raise for their troop.

“(This dinner) will support the traveling expenses for LDHB’s high school students to visit colleges in southern California,” says senior Brenda Nguyen.

The evening will include entertainment such as dancing, fine dining, capturing memories and a wine auction.

PXM’s dance set will be comprised of 2 songs. They will be dancing to include “Big Bank” by YG, which was choreographed by junior Michelle Nguyen, junior Brian Tran and President Kristina Bellon. They will also be dancing to “Every Kind of Way” by H.E.R. which was choreographed by junior Brian Tran.

“The process usually starts with finding a song you really like, and sort of hearing different parts to it that you normally wouldn’t hear. From there, you start trying out new things and put specific movements to specific beats or lyrics,” says Brian.

They’ve been practicing and preparing for this set since Oct. every Tues. and Thurs. from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.  Altogether, their performance is three to four minutes long.

Many have joined PXM with no prior experience and it has proved to serve as a creative outlet.

“I got into dancing because I heard about it and was interested and wanted to try something new,” says Michelle.

“Dance started out as a hobby and a way to have fun with friends, but it soon became one of my stress relievers, a form of self-expression, and a way to grow my creativity,” says Kristina. “I find that dance provides a safe space for people in the community to come together and freely express themselves any way they’d like.”

The song genres that PXM mainly dance to are Hip Hop and R&B. Throughout the year, they have learned around eight dance pieces and performed around three times each month.

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Find the Keypers

By Francisca Pascua

Key club officers will participate in their annual event named Finders Keypers this Friday at the PHHS campus from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Finders Keypers usually is an event where officers of Key Club hide around campus and members have to find them in order to complete a challenge. They decided to come up with this event because it is a good way for members to socialize with the officers and with each other.

Members will be split into groups of 2 and they are given sheet of clues that includes a description of an officer. Their goal is to match that description to an officer.

“We thought that it would be a good idea for members to socialize with the officers more,” says Senior Jameena Sampan.

This year they will be meeting at E-11 and the officers will be scattered all over campus.

“I am very excited to participate in this event. I haven’t gone since my freshman year,” says Junior John Nguyen.

Once the participants correctly match the officer to the clue they complete a challenge. However, if they fail to find the officer within three tries they have to repeat the whole process again.

Finders Keypers usually happens during the second semester each year so this is a bonding opportunity that cannot be missed.

thelegendonline Features

Interesting Holidays

By Mansi Patel

03

Superbowl Sunday

 04

Thank A Mailman Day

 05

Chinese New Years

 06

National Chopsticks Day

 07

Send A Card To A Friend Day

 08

Kite Flying Day

 

 09

National Pizza Day
10

Umbrella Day

 11

White T-Shirt Day

 12

National Lost Penny Day

 13

Get A Different Name Day

 14

Valentine’s day

 15

Singles Awareness Day

 16

Do A Grouch A Favor Day
17

Random Acts Of Kindness Day

 18

National Battery Day

 

 19

National Chocolate Mint Day

 20

Love Your Pet Day

 21

Card Reading Day

 22

Be Humble Day

 23

Tennis Day

 
24

National Tortilla Chip Day

 25

Pistol Patent Day

 26

National Pistachio Day

 

 27

No Brainer Day

 28

Floral Design Day

 

 01

Peanut Butter Lovers’ Day

 02

Old Stuff Day

 

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Q&A With construction worker

By Rex ly

Mr. Lucas the ESUHSD Senior Manager of the Bond Program and overseer

 

  1. When did you originally expect the new building to be complete?
  2. We were anticipating for the new building to be complete in August.

 

Q.The buildings finished a little late, why do you think that is?

  1. Usually, there isn’t one reason or one event that creates a delay. Construction projects are complex and require a great deal of synchronized coordination. There are many factors such as equipment malfunctions, weather, and communication and overbooked are a few things that could cause a delay.

 

  1. When did you originally expect the new building to be complete?
  2. We were anticipating for the new building to be complete in August.

 

  1. Personally, did you think the building was a good idea?
  2. I think the building is a good idea. The project creates new spaces that Piedmont Hills can be proud of.

 

  1. Why is the building shaped the way it is?
  2. There is a strong slope from the sidewalk just outside of the D Building to the student lot (about 7 feet). It was shaped the way it is to work with and manage the slope.

 

With Construction worker Fuji Gerardo

 

  1. How do you feel working at school?
  2. It feels much safer working in a school.

 

  1. Do you still work regardless of the weather, such as if it rains?
  2. We work out here rain or shine.

 

  1. what is the hardest part of the construction?
  2. The hardest part was digging the foundation and over the winter break we had truckloads of dirt.

 

  1. Did you enjoy working on this building?
  2. Building is always more enjoyable when you know the people who will use it for many years to come

 

  1.  Why do you think the new building was done late?
  2.  It is hard to find substitutes when we need more manpower. There are only 10 to 12 of us working at a time

 

  1. How long do you work?
  2. 6:00 am to 2:00 pm.

 

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Cons of construction building

Cons of construction buildings David Shih

By: David Shih

 

The new building have been the talk of the school for the past month, as it took two years to build. With the new buildings finally open to staff and students, there have been a lot of contrasting opinion going around asking what they think of these buildings.

“The bathrooms have too few stalls, in which when I go with my friends we can’t all pee at the same time and some of us have to line up,” stated senior Mike Guo.

The bathrooms stalls indeed have been a major problem as there are only three stalls and one toilet. Another problem is, that the ramp of the building is not straight and the plants that are place under the ramps feel awkwardly placed.

The new buildings also tend to waste a lot of space and the 2nd floor seemed unnecessary. The space wasted for the walkway to go to class on the second floor seemed overly designed, as the same function can be made with a staircase. A lot of the space that is used to build the ramp could be used for something else.

“I feel like the windows of the new buildings are shaped a bit awkward and when I walk by the buildings I feel like the people inside can see me walking… and it makes me self-conscious of disturbing the classrooms,” stated senior Tim Le.

When office aides tend to walk by the classrooms, they usually catch the attention of all the students inside the building that is teaching which may not only make the person feel awkward and also disturb the learning process that is going on inside the classrooms.

The trees near the new buildings may seem befitting but after a number of years the trees will grow to significant sizes bigger. This might interfere with the surrounding classrooms as the roots of the tree may cause safety concerns, as the roots of the buildings may destroy the buildings from under.

According to Mr. Dries, “They were very expensive, and they went a little bit over time, like six months over, but whatever we got what we want. I don’t know of and cons, the only cons are temporary. The plumbing, the electricity, the heater, but those will get fixed.”

Lastly, the color of the new buildings do not fit in with the norm of maroon color of Piedmont Hills. The building should be painted in maroon as it fits with the other buildings and can camouflage with the other buildings. Despite these faults the buildings are well built and provide necessary classrooms for teacher that are in need of one.

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The new buildings: a great addition

By Victor Xie

The new buildings have been the talk of the school for the past month, as it took nearly two years to build. With the new buildings finally open to students and staff, there have been contrasting opinions going around regarding these buildings.

In a recent survey put on Schoolloop where 72 students answered, more than 80% of students rated the buildings a 4-5 out of 5.

“Being in the new building is good because our old (portable) classroom was pretty cramped but with the new building we feel more open,” says junior Maggie Nguyen.

Because this building has been anticipated for a lengthy five years, teachers were also quick to point out the positives of the new buildings.

“(The buildings are) awesome and beautiful. They’re spacious and new, and they have enough cabinets, finally, for us hoarding science teachers,” says biology teacher Jason Dries.

Personally, I think the second-floor view is the most interesting part of the new buildings. All of the buildings at our school are one story, which is why the new building is able to give everyone a unique perspective of the student parking lot.

In addition, because the area is finally open again, students may now go through the D-Building walk-way again and not hear construction work while taking their already devastating math test.

Even if the buildings took almost two years to build, the general feedback is still exceptional. Rooms are larger, the swirly ramp is great, and of course, the bathrooms are clean.

“We’ve had a previous problem of weed-invaded bathrooms, and now with the new buildings we have a clean one where it’s a safe environment where we can (go) peacefully,” comments junior Joanne Vu.

Some people may say the buildings aren’t as great as they expected, but I honestly don’t think it is possible to satisfy everyone. However, what is satisfying is the final product: a great addition to Piedmont Hills.