Ask Polly

Q:

I am hesitant to ask for help in person for my anxiety that I am usually good at ignoring boiling up at random moments. I am a senior almost about to graduate from high school and AP exams are coming soon. I also can’t afford to ditch the rest of my classes. Please help! What should I do?
-An Anxious Apple

 

A:

Hello, Anxious Apple!

 

One of the greatest lessons I have learned in life came from a professor when I was in graduate school. It was a tough time, close to graduation and I was completely overwhelmed. I needed an extension on my final project and did not want to appear weak. She told me that in order to be a great social worker one day, I HAD to learn how to ask for help. I have found my greatest successes when I utilize the resources around me. So, great job reaching out!

 

Take a minute to think about owning a nice car. Random, right? What goes in to maintaining this vehicle? In order to have it function at its best, you must get regular oil changes, put gas, wash it, drive it with care, pay the insurance etc. What would happen if you only took it to the shop when it broke down, or caught on fire? It would be much more expensive to fix and you’d run the risk of it being irreparable. We are much the same and if we only ask for help when we’ve hit our boiling points, it’s much more difficult to get things back on track.

 

Take the end of the school year one day at a time. Ask for help from teachers, friends and/or family. Just do your very best and things will work out, one way or another. If you feel like the anxiety is just too much to bear, please shoot me a School loop message and we can set up a time to chat.

 

Fun events to go to in the summer

By Trisha Trinh

Do you feel like you’re not going to have anything to do over the summer? There are a couple events during the break to keep you feeling rejuvenated and great. You will be having the time of your life and feel as if you aren’t wasting your summer away cooped up in your room.

Fanime- Are you into Japanese animation and culture? This event has it all with guest speakers at panels, merchandise, artwork and cosplayers. The event was created by the fans themselves to bring a community closer with their passion and love for anime. It’s filled with fantastic activities to do and you can interact with others that share the same interests with you. Fanime starts on Fri., May 24 and ends on Mon., May 27, and it is a way to fill your event with Japanese culture.

Corgi-Con- It is an event that happens every year at the beach in San Francisco where you can hang out with corgis of all kinds. The event is on June 15 and starts at 10 a.m. It is a great event for all dog lovers and a reason to get out the house. There will be competitions such as costume contests or even corgi races. A perfect way to bond over lovable and friendly dogs.

San Diego Comic-Con- This convention is made for all comic book lovers and those who are into the pop culture. With special guests from movies like the “Avengers” or Star Wars” to ask burning questions you might have. The event includes artists from around the world showing off their expertise and artwork created for the fans. Cosplayers from all the popular shows and movies gathered at one place to show off their love and passion of their fandom. It is a spectacular event for all ages to experience and go to. Comic-Con is from July 17-21 and it happens every year, so don’t miss it.

Outside Lands- A perfect way to end your summer with a bang by hearing your favorite music artists at the largest music festivals located in the heart of San Francisco. With headliners like “Childish Gambino” or “Flume”, this music festival will rock your heart out. Aside from the music, you can experience the taste of the Bay Area with a wide variety of food. Not to mention, a huge milk tea party for those boba lovers. If you are into music and food, this festival might be for you.

These events will keep you company in the summer if you cannot seem to find anything to do and to create memorable things along the way.

Senior Advice to Underclassmen

By Mason Sandoval

“Don’t care about what other people care or say about you. Also, know what classes you want to take before you enroll in them.”

~An Truong

 

“Start thinking about college early. Start exploring different classes too, so you figure out what you want to do in college before you apply.”

~Mike Guo

 

“Don’t take AP classes just so you can say you’re taking AP classes.”

~Christelle Suarez

 

“If you’re not enthusiastic about doing something, quit before it’s too late. You don’t want to be stuck doing something you don’t wanna be stuck doing. Be sure to expand your horizons and try as many things as possible during high school. And respect your teachers.”

~Brian Robertson

 

“Don’t get peer pressured into anything you don’t you don’t want to do. Do whatever you want to do, not whatever they want you to do.”

~Jameena Sampan

 

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Valedictorians

By Rose Lu and Francisca Pascua

Name: Kenneth Lien

Favorite Class: Graphic Design

Hardest Class: AP Statistics

How many APs they took: 10

Advice for students: Sleep > School

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: Brawl Stars & Minesweeper

Average hours of sleep: 7-8

College: UC Berkeley

Plans to Major in: Surprise!

Fun Fact:

Favorite Part of Senior year: That one time I clogged a school toilet with a massive bowel movement.

Biggest regret: October 18th, 2001

 

Name: Anne Ouyang

Favorite Class: AP World History, without dropping thousands of years of human events

Hardest Class: AP Physics C Electricity & Magnetism

How many APs they took: 14

Advice for students: Don’t take advices too seriously

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: Minesweeper, webcomics (xkcd!), CS, puzzles, and overthinking

Average hours of sleep: 6-7

College: MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Plans to Major in: EECS (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science)

Fun Fact: If you’re given two potatoes, you can shape a closed loop of wire to fit tightly around both potatoes. (hmu for proof!)

Favorite Part of Senior year: ColLeGe aPpS & iNteRviEWs & DecISioNs

Biggest regret: que será, será

 

Name: Asher Twu

Favorite Class: AP Calculus AB

Hardest Class: AP English Literature and Composition

How many APs they took: 7

Advice for students: When in doubt, take a nap

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: Math, anime, wallowing in anxiety, finding new milk tea places

Average hours of sleep: 6

College: Cal Poly SLO

Plans to Major in: Architecture

Fun Fact: Contrary to popular belief, stairs are great for napping.

Favorite Part of Senior year: Yes

Biggest regret: Not joining theater

 

Name: Linh Le

Favorite Class: AP Chemistry

Hardest Class: AP Chemistry

How many APs they took: 4

Advice for students: Join more clubs. Don’t let senioritis hit your friends too soon.

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: Kpop, Kdramas, singing (not that good), dancing (quite bad)

Average hours of sleep: 6-7

College: UC Davis

Plans to Major in: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Fun Fact: Don’t know how I get in UC Davis with only 4 AP classes

Favorite Part of Senior year: Last year seeing people I hate

Biggest regret: Not joining more service clubs

 

Name: Aayushi Shah

Favorite Class: AP Biology

Hardest Class: AP Chemistry

How many APs they took: 7

Advice for students: Don’t procrastinate! And don’t try to take on too many things at once.

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: She’s the First, dance, reading and writing

Average hours of sleep: 5

College: UCLA
Plans to Major in: Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics
Fun Fact: My total inability to play Mario Kart has left me with an intense fear of driving
Favorite Part of Senior year: Not caring about AP exams anymore
Biggest regret: Never participating in Fantastics

 

 

Name: Malia Tieu

Favorite Class: AP Biology

Hardest Class: Calculus AB

How many APs they took: 7

Advice for students: Always fuel your brain with food and snacks!

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: Finding new restaurants, binge watching shows, dancing

Average hours of sleep: 5-6

College: UC Davis

Plans to Major in: Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior

Fun Fact: I’ve marathoned almost all seasons of Kitchen Nightmares in AP Bio (sorry Mr.Dries)

Favorite Part of Senior year:  🙂

Biggest regret: not talking to more people (i’m sorry i’m awkward…)

 

Name: Casey Duong

Favorite Class: AP Chemistry

Hardest Class: AP Calculus BC

How many APs they took: 10

Advice for students: Don’t stress yourself out by comparing your own achievements to others

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: Piano, television

Average hours of sleep: 7

College: UC Davis

Plans to Major in: Biochemistry

 

 

Name: Hedy Chang

Favorite Class: AP Biology

Hardest Class: AP Microeconomics

How many APs they took: 8

Advice for students: If you’re feeling stressed, just inhale and exhale. It’ll be okay.

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: cross country, concert-going, napping,

Average hours of sleep: 3

College: UC Berkeley

Plans to Major in: Biology

Fun Fact: I have the same exact foot size as Karla is Manzanares.

Favorite Part of Senior year: Hanging out with Vivian Pham (shout out!) every day during President’s break

Biggest regret: Not meeting Vivian sooner

 

Name: Karla Manzanares

Favorite Class: AP Biology

Hardest Class: AP Calculus AB

How many APs they took: 6

Advice for students: go outside and play

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: cross country, dance, advocacy, reading

Average hours of sleep: 8

College: Stanford University #gotrees

Plans to Major in: Bioengineering

Fun Fact: I have the same foot size as Hedy Chang.

Favorite Part of Senior year: Disneyland Trip (take me back pls)

Biggest regret: not joining more service clubs

Interesting holidays

FUN.03 Interesting Holidays

By Devonna Dang

 

May 19 National Endangered Species Day Vesak
May 20 National Be a Millionaire Day
May 21 National Waiters and Waitresses Day
May 22 International Day for Biological Diversity
May 23 National Taffy Day
May 24 National Sunscreen Day
May 25 National Wine Day
May 26 National Paper Airplane Day
May 27 Memorial Day
May 28 National Brisket Day
May 29 Learn About Composting Day
May 30 International Hug Your Cat Day
May 31 National Macaroon Day World No Tobacco Day
June 1 International Children Day Global Day of Parents
June 2 National Pineapple Day
June 3 Repeat Day
June 4 National Cheese Day
June 5 World Environment Day
June 6 National Yo-Yo Day
June 7 VCR Day National Doughnut Day
June 8 Best Friends Day
June 9 National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day Donald Duck Day
June 10 Herb and Spices Day Iced Tea Day
June 11 National Corn on the Cob Day
June 12 Red Rose Day National Peanut Butter Day
June 13 Sewing Machine Day National Weed your Garden Day
June 14 Monkey Around Day Flag Day
June 15 National Hollerin’ Contest Day National Nature Photography Day

 

Lesser known countries to travel to

Drew Olaviano

It’s almost summer, and as always, people are bustling about and searching for an exciting and fascinating country to tour. However, these countries that people tend to visit are those which are most common: Mexico, the United States, Canada, and France. These countries are beautiful to the naked eye and filled with plenty of attractive tourist spots, however, there are plenty of other, lesser known countries which are just as exciting and fascinating themselves. Let’s take a look at some of these lesser known countries.

 

Brunei, Asia.

According to theculturetrip.com, Brunei is among one of the least visited countries in the world. However, there are few reasons to not visit Brunei. Firstly, Brunei is considered to be one of the cleanest countries in Asia and it is considered safer than Yemen. A cause of this may be related to Brunei’s ban on alcohol, which is easily in exchange for the country’s bountiful array of Singaporean, Indonesian and Malaysian cuisine. Another reason why people should visit Brunei would be for its Ulu Temburong National Park which covers about ten percent of the country’s surface area. According to waterlustingk.com, tourists will have to tour by a water taxi which is surprisingly cheap in US dollars at $0.66.

 

Vanuatu, Island in South Pacific Ocean.

Vanuatu is an island which attracts tourists who desire to dive, snorkel and travel to a calmer setting. There are plenty of attractions unseen in commonly visited countries such as Champagne Beach which is known as most popular to Vanuatu tourists for its white-sand and clean surroundings. Another popular spot in Vanuatu would be the national museum Port Vila, also known as a diving base as well. Tanna is another popular spot for tourists, being a land of traditional villages and a port resolution that leads to Mount Yasur, an active volcano.

 

Liechtenstein, Europe.

While being a country in Europe, Liechtenstein is one of the lesser known countries in Europe, especially in contrast to their neighbor Switzerland. In fact, Switzerland and Liechtenstein borders each other and hold a close alliance. Liechtenstein is similar to Switzerland in plenty of ways, especially concerning the blend of medieval, gothic and modern architecture. According to thecrazytourist.com, a well-known tourist spot would be the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, or the Liechtenstein State Art Gallery. This museum highlights the blend of architecture and art styles throughout the country, especially because the building of the museum itself is modern in contrast to the medieval and gothic surroundings.

 

Of course, there are more countries out there that are lesser known and worth visiting. These are some of the few countries tourists should visit, and hopefully you will as well in the summer!

 

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Two Students to Receive Jackson Scholarship

By: Rose Lu

 

Janelle Perez and Kelly Thich were awarded a $1000 scholarship at Senior honor night on May 1. The money came from a donation by Eunice Jackson, the mother of former AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) teacher Ken Jackson. Mrs. Jackson donated a large sum to Piedmont Hills in order to provide more opportunities and scholarships to other students.

Her donation was given to the AVID Dep. as Mr. Jackson was a former AVID teacher for 32 years, before retiring in 2015. Mr. Jackson was known for his upbeat, encouraging attitude during his time teaching at Piedmont Hills. The Jackson gym is dedicated to him.

“She wanted to make a donation to (Mr. Jackson’s) school through Parent Booster Club and they decided to turn her donation into a scholarship. It has been a dream of President Kellie Guevara of Parent Booster Club to give a scholarship but it’s hard to get the proper funding for it,” shared longtime friend of Mr. Jackson and English teacher Nancy Kennett.

There were five nominees from AVID teacher Lynne Murray’s class. The students had to submit a resume, personal statement and a letter of recommendation. Afterwards, the Parent Boosters club chose the recipients.

“I’m pretty surprised that I won, I didn’t think I was going to win, but I’m thankful the Parent Booster Club chose me as one of the recipients,” commented recipient (senior) Janelle Perez.

The donation serves to help AVID students pay for college and their goals.

“It was a huge help by helping me pay for school supplies like a laptop for school work,” shared recipient (senior) Kelly Thich.

Parent Booster Club hopes to present this scholarship opportunity to AVID students for many years to come.

“(Parent Booster Club) is hoping to continue this scholarship at least until next year,” continued Mrs. Kennett.

 

Cemented Door

Cemented Door

By Victor Xie

 

Guidance Office doors vandalized during Spring Break

 

Administration believes that three individuals committed serious acts of vandalism early on April 27, which was the Saturday at the end of Spring Break.

These individuals cemented the set of doors leading into the Guidance Office shut and plastered them with offensive words. With the quick work of the custodian and district office maintenance team, the doors were cleared in several hours.

“I feel that the individuals are probably angry, and I felt that they disrespected our school. I don’t know what message they were trying to get across, but I don’t think that it’s the Pirate Way of trying to get any message across,” commented Assoc. Principal Honey Gubuan.

The administration offered a monetary reward of up to $1000 for anyone who could provide valuable information on the individuals who caused the vandalism.

“I think there’s a general culture among young people that encourages such displays of disrespect to authority, but this is vandalism without a clear message and vandalism for the sake of vandalism,” said senior Emily Liu.

According to the California Penal Code Section 594, if the damage costs are over $400, the individual could serve up to a year in a county jail or be given a fine of up to $10,000. If the damage costs are under $400, the individual could serve up to a year in a county jail or be given a fine of up to $1,000.

The fines for the repair of the door were confidential, but are estimated to be quite high.

“I hope these students realize that the money put into fixing the vandalism is taken out of money that could be used for other materials,” said English teacher Peggy Lee.

At the time of this issue’s distribution, no individual has been publicly caught or announced to be the culprit in this ongoing investigation.

Pirate of the Issue

 

By Rose Lu and Francisca Pascua

Name: Kenneth Lien

Favorite Class: Graphic Design

Hardest Class: AP Statistics

How many APs they took: 10

Advice for students: Sleep > School

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: Brawl Stars & Minesweeper

Average hours of sleep: 7-8

College: UC Berkeley

Plans to Major in: Surprise!

Fun Fact:

Favorite Part of Senior year: That one time I clogged a school toilet with a massive bowel movement.

Biggest regret: October 18th, 2001

 

Name: Anne Ouyang

Favorite Class: AP World History, without dropping thousands of years of human events

Hardest Class: AP Physics C Electricity & Magnetism

How many APs they took: 14

Advice for students: Don’t take advices too seriously

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: Minesweeper, webcomics (xkcd!), CS, puzzles, and overthinking

Average hours of sleep: 6-7

College: MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Plans to Major in: EECS (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science)

Fun Fact: If you’re given two potatoes, you can shape a closed loop of wire to fit tightly around both potatoes. (hmu for proof!)

Favorite Part of Senior year: ColLeGe aPpS & iNteRviEWs & DecISioNs

Biggest regret: que será, será

 

Name: Asher Twu

Favorite Class: AP Calculus AB

Hardest Class: AP English Literature and Composition

How many APs they took: 7

Advice for students: When in doubt, take a nap

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: Math, anime, wallowing in anxiety, finding new milk tea places

Average hours of sleep: 6

College: Cal Poly SLO

Plans to Major in: Architecture

Fun Fact: Contrary to popular belief, stairs are great for napping.

Favorite Part of Senior year: Yes

Biggest regret: Not joining theater

 

Name: Linh Le

Favorite Class: AP Chemistry

Hardest Class: AP Chemistry

How many APs they took: 4

Advice for students: Join more clubs. Don’t let senioritis hit your friends too soon.

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: Kpop, Kdramas, singing (not that good), dancing (quite bad)

Average hours of sleep: 6-7

College: UC Davis

Plans to Major in: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Fun Fact: Don’t know how I get in UC Davis with only 4 AP classes

Favorite Part of Senior year: Last year seeing people I hate

Biggest regret: Not joining more service clubs

 

Name: Aayushi Shah

Favorite Class: AP Biology

Hardest Class: AP Chemistry

How many APs they took: 7

Advice for students: Don’t procrastinate! And don’t try to take on too many things at once.

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: She’s the First, dance, reading and writing

Average hours of sleep: 5

College: UCLA
Plans to Major in: Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics
Fun Fact: My total inability to play Mario Kart has left me with an intense fear of driving
Favorite Part of Senior year: Not caring about AP exams anymore
Biggest regret: Never participating in Fantastics

 

 

Name: Malia Tieu

Favorite Class: AP Biology

Hardest Class: Calculus AB

How many APs they took: 7

Advice for students: Always fuel your brain with food and snacks!

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: Finding new restaurants, binge watching shows, dancing

Average hours of sleep: 5-6

College: UC Davis

Plans to Major in: Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior

Fun Fact: I’ve marathoned almost all seasons of Kitchen Nightmares in AP Bio (sorry Mr.Dries)

Favorite Part of Senior year:  🙂

Biggest regret: not talking to more people (i’m sorry i’m awkward…)

 

Name: Casey Duong

Favorite Class: AP Chemistry

Hardest Class: AP Calculus BC

How many APs they took: 10

Advice for students: Don’t stress yourself out by comparing your own achievements to others

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: Piano, television

Average hours of sleep: 7

College: UC Davis

Plans to Major in: Biochemistry

 

 

Name: Hedy Chang

Favorite Class: AP Biology

Hardest Class: AP Microeconomics

How many APs they took: 8

Advice for students: If you’re feeling stressed, just inhale and exhale. It’ll be okay.

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: cross country, concert-going, napping,

Average hours of sleep: 3

College: UC Berkeley

Plans to Major in: Biology

Fun Fact: I have the same exact foot size as Karla is Manzanares.

Favorite Part of Senior year: Hanging out with Vivian Pham (shout out!) every day during President’s break

Biggest regret: Not meeting Vivian sooner

 

Name: Karla Manzanares

Favorite Class: AP Biology

Hardest Class: AP Calculus AB

How many APs they took: 6

Advice for students: go outside and play

Hobbies/Extracurriculars: cross country, dance, advocacy, reading

Average hours of sleep: 8

College: Stanford University #gotrees

Plans to Major in: Bioengineering

Fun Fact: I have the same foot size as Hedy Chang.

Favorite Part of Senior year: Disneyland Trip (take me back pls)

Biggest regret: not joining more service clubs

Local Summer Shenanigans

By Devonna Dang

If you’re looking for a summer adventure but don’t have much money, you’re in luck! Here in the Bay Area, there is so much to explore.

First, let’s discuss how to get from location to location. Our very first option is public transportation if you currently do not have your own car. Luckily, again, the Bay Area has an amazing public transportation system. If you’re looking to go anywhere from Fremont, Downtown San Jose, Palo Alto or San Francisco, you’re covered. Some local transportation systems are the VTA buses, the VTA light rail, BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and Caltrain.

Public transportation is very affordable. For the youth, a VTA bus fare is a discounted $1.25 and Caltrain and BART also offer a discounted fare.

Currently, the closest working BART is in South Fremont. However, a Milpitas BART is having an opening in November 2019.

A place that is calling for adventure and is only a $10.50 Caltrain fare ride away is San Francisco. Golden Gate Park is a great place to visit in San Francisco.

Golden Gate Park is a large urban park consisting of 1,017 acres of public grounds. Some establishments that should be visited is the Japanese Tea Garden, the DeYoung museum, Conservatory of Flowers and Cal Academy of Sciences. There is much to explore and to appreciate when you are there.

The Bay Area is also a great place to go hiking. Some hiking places include Mission Peak (10.4 miles from school), Sunol Regional Wilderness (24.1 miles from school) and Alamere Falls (88.7 miles from school). Mission Peak is a six mile hike that has a poll at the top to signify your hike’s success. Sunol Regional Wilderness is a great place to hike if you are on the pursuit of finding a waterfall. Despite the distance, Alamere Falls’ scenery and experience you get is quite worth it.

Another great way to spend summer is exploring museums. Some museums to visit include the Bay Area Discovery Museum, Exploratorium, San Francisco Museum of Art, Asian Art Museum, The Walt Disney Family Museum, Cable Car Museum and the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.

There’s no better time to do something you never do than in the summer. Go zip lining in the redwoods, complete a 5k or do some rock climbing. All in all, the Bay Area has adventure everywhere. If you’re free in the summer, get on a transit and explore what is out there for you.

Local Summer Shenanigans

By Devonna Dang

 

If you’re looking for a summer adventure but don’t have much money, you’re in luck! Here in the Bay Area, there is so much to explore.

First, let’s discuss how to get from location to location. Our very first option is public transportation if you currently do not have your own car. Luckily, again, the Bay Area has an amazing public transportation system. If you’re looking to go anywhere from Fremont, Downtown San Jose, Palo Alto or San Francisco, you’re covered. Some local transportation systems are the VTA buses, the VTA light rail, BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and Caltrain.

Public transportation is very affordable. For the youth, a VTA bus fare is a discounted $1.25 and Caltrain and BART also offer a discounted fare.

Currently, the closest working BART is in South Fremont. However, a Milpitas BART is having an opening in November 2019.

A place that is calling for adventure and is only a $10.50 Caltrain fare ride away is San Francisco. Golden Gate Park is a great place to visit in San Francisco.

Golden Gate Park is a large urban park consisting of 1,017 acres of public grounds. Some establishments that should be visited is the Japanese Tea Garden, the DeYoung museum, Conservatory of Flowers and Cal Academy of Sciences. There is much to explore and to appreciate when you are there.

The Bay Area is also a great place to go hiking. Some hiking places include Mission Peak (10.4 miles from school), Sunol Regional Wilderness (24.1 miles from school) and Alamere Falls (88.7 miles from school). Mission Peak is a six mile hike that has a poll at the top to signify your hike’s success. Sunol Regional Wilderness is a great place to hike if you are on the pursuit of finding a waterfall. Despite the distance, Alamere Falls’ scenery and experience you get is quite worth it.

Another great way to spend summer is exploring museums. Some museums to visit include the Bay Area Discovery Museum, Exploratorium, San Francisco Museum of Art, Asian Art Museum, The Walt Disney Family Museum, Cable Car Museum and the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.

There’s no better time to do something you never do than in the summer. Go zip lining in the redwoods, complete a 5k or do some rock climbing. All in all, the Bay Area has adventure everywhere. If you’re free in the summer, get on a transit and explore what is out there for you.