BUILD lays the foundation for a successful future in
3
Feature
Overworked students caught between conflicting realms By SIMON GREENHILL Santa’s Helper “I get tired, really bad. I go home, I take a shower, and go to sleep. I don’t even think about homework anymore.” Everyday after school, sometimes until after midnight, senior Martin Osuna goes to work at Taco Bell. He often works upwards of 30 hours a week. Pressure from managers to work longer hours, particularly during the holiday season, forces students to prioritize work over school and leaves some without any time to complete homework or to simply relax. Despite labor laws that stop minors from spending more than fours hours at Photo by Simon Greenhill work on school days or staying on the job past 10 p.m. on school nights, some stu- Senior Karla Aviles works 35 to 40 hours at Five Guys weekly while balancing dents frequently find themselves closing homework. stores well after the cutoff time, working “You have to deal with two different sonal expenses. as much as they can in order to support “I needed to start paying for myself, I things: the stress from your boss and the themselves and their families. had to stop depend- stress of school,” said junior Chelsea Lol“I do understand ing on my mom cause lar, who wakes up at 4:30 a.m. on Saturthat school comes “I do understand that school comes I don’t want to both- day mornings to work at Starbucks. first, but I need the first, but I need the job. School is not er her with money Denise Pope, who teaches at Stanjob. School is not paying for my phone bill, my car in- when I can provide ford University’s School of Education paying for my phone surance, all the stuff I need. I’m aware for myself,” senior and conducts research on the stress bill, my car insurance, of [the laws], but I need the money” Karla Aviles, who levels of high school students, has also all the stuff I need. —Senior Martin Osuna works at Five Guys, found that finding a balance is the greatI’m aware of [the est challenge for students. said. laws], but I need the “Jobs can be great in high school... For many, the hardmoney,” Osuna said. est part about having a job is trying to there’s a lot of benefits to jobs, but at Regardless of the laws, some students keep a healthy balance between work and a certain point if you’re working a 40are forced to work to pay for their perhour work week, that can be a really big school.
BUILD lays the foundation for a successful future in business By CARLOS GARCIA Santa’s Helper BUILD is the first program at Sequoia to offer academic advice and allow students to make a product and make money off of it. Sequoia students in BUILD are committed and have a wide range of unique products to sell, ranging from bookmarks that never fall out, to shoelaces that don’t untie. BUILD allows students to make a product to solve a common problem or just to express themselves. Sophomores and Juniors in BUILD are now making their products. They have two important events, one on Dec 5 and one on May 11. This is where they sell and make money. BUILD is one of the few college bound programs that allows you to make actual money. A team from Sequoia called LaceLastic sell laces that never untie. They come in glow in the dark and in different colors. They are one of the most successful teams in BUILD in revenue. “The key to our success is hard work, effort, and cooperation with each other,” junior Deanna Reyes said. Many teams are confident that they are going to dominate the battlefield. Klean Kickz, another team from Sequoia that sells a shoe cleaning kit, are confident that they will make it big. “I am confident because I already know what to say to people and its easy for me,” junior Miguel Fregoso said. “I am prepared.” BUILD helps one create a business, but it also prepares one for college. 99 percent of students in BUILD make it to college They also visit colleges like UC Santa Cruz, University of the Pacific, and Sonoma State. Some students didn’t want to go to college, until they found BUILD. “To be honest I didn’t want to go to college, but now that
Photo by Carlos Garcia
BUILD student Miguel Fregoso demonstrates his product to some potential customers.
I am in BUILD I do want to go,” Fregoso said. BUILD also helps seniors in the program apply to college and reach college success. They spend many nights at BUILD to research college and apply. BUILD also pays for application fees. “I’ve applied to the National Hispanic University, and two other community colleges,” senior Steve Campos said. “Thanks to BUILD, I was able to.” Students in their second and third year of BUILD go to Incubator. Incubator is a session where students can do homework and meet with their business teams. Academics are very important to BUILD. BUILD offers academic mentors that help students with their homework. BUILD is a unique college-bound program that can help people reach success throughout college. “I thank BUILD and every mentor that has helped me reach my goals,” senior Steve Campos said.
cause of stress. It’s really hard to balance, especially when you don’t know what’s coming [at school],” Pope said. Junior Sarah Swanson, who worked at Stacks from June 2011 to early November 2012, ultimately quit her job because she couldn’t balance it with rigorous IB coursework. “I was at work for 8 hours [on weekends], and after working I would have to do my homework and I didn’t have time for a social life,” she said. Some students, however, don’t have the option of quitting their job. “Ever since I got a job, my grades have been dropping, I’ve been slacking off, I’ve been coming really late to school, but I can’t quit now,” Osuna said. Unfortunately, stress and pressure are often the only things that keep overworked students moving. “If I didn’t have the pressure, I wouldn’t keep going and keep doing what I’m doing,” Lollar said. Even so, students like Osuna find that their only option is to prioritize work over everything else. “I don’t have time for homework, don’t have time for friends. I don’t have time like I used to. Now it’s just school, work. School, work,” Osuna said. Yet even for people like Osuna, having a job can occasionally have a sweet side. “It’s a job, nobody likes to work, but I need that money. It’s a great accomplishment when you get that check.”
CELL PHONE (continued from page 1)
However, some teachers are embracing the possibilities of cell phone use. Billman uses his phone during physics with permission from his teacher to text survey answers. The answers are then displayed on the SmartBoard so the whole class can see the results. Spanish teacher Evelyn Nadeau allows her students to use their phones to look up words that are not in the spanish dictionary. “As long as they ask me and say ‘Senora Nadeau can I use my phone to look up this word?’ then I’m okay with that,” Nadeau said. “I just don’t want kids to get distracted by always checking their phone or answering texts because it causes class disruption.” Some think that school is only for learning, however it is also where students learn skills they can use in the professional world. “In businesses now, in meetings, you have your laptops and your phone, so you need to learn to deal with technology in a professional environment,” junior Ellen Signer said. The final decision regarding the cell phone policy has not yet been decided, but it will continue to be discussed throughout the year.
Correction: In Issue 3, the Giants info graphic was created by Kyle Shea.
Feature
Overworked students caught between conflicting realms By SIMON GREENHILL Santa’s Helper “I get tired, really bad. I go home, I take a shower, and go to sleep. I don’t even think about homework anymore.” Everyday after school, sometimes until after midnight, senior Martin Osuna goes to work at Taco Bell. He often works upwards of 30 hours a week. Pressure from managers to work longer hours, particularly during the holiday season, forces students to prioritize work over school and leaves some without any time to complete homework or to simply relax. Despite labor laws that stop minors from spending more than fours hours at Photo by Simon Greenhill work on school days or staying on the job past 10 p.m. on school nights, some stu- Senior Karla Aviles works 35 to 40 hours at Five Guys weekly while balancing dents frequently find themselves closing homework. stores well after the cutoff time, working “You have to deal with two different sonal expenses. as much as they can in order to support “I needed to start paying for myself, I things: the stress from your boss and the themselves and their families. had to stop depend- stress of school,” said junior Chelsea Lol“I do understand ing on my mom cause lar, who wakes up at 4:30 a.m. on Saturthat school comes “I do understand that school comes I don’t want to both- day mornings to work at Starbucks. first, but I need the first, but I need the job. School is not er her with money Denise Pope, who teaches at Stanjob. School is not paying for my phone bill, my car in- when I can provide ford University’s School of Education paying for my phone surance, all the stuff I need. I’m aware for myself,” senior and conducts research on the stress bill, my car insurance, of [the laws], but I need the money” Karla Aviles, who levels of high school students, has also all the stuff I need. —Senior Martin Osuna works at Five Guys, found that finding a balance is the greatI’m aware of [the est challenge for students. said. laws], but I need the “Jobs can be great in high school... For many, the hardmoney,” Osuna said. est part about having a job is trying to there’s a lot of benefits to jobs, but at Regardless of the laws, some students keep a healthy balance between work and a certain point if you’re working a 40are forced to work to pay for their perhour work week, that can be a really big school.
BUILD lays the foundation for a successful future in business By CARLOS GARCIA Santa’s Helper BUILD is the first program at Sequoia to offer academic advice and allow students to make a product and make money off of it. Sequoia students in BUILD are committed and have a wide range of unique products to sell, ranging from bookmarks that never fall out, to shoelaces that don’t untie. BUILD allows students to make a product to solve a common problem or just to express themselves. Sophomores and Juniors in BUILD are now making their products. They have two important events, one on Dec 5 and one on May 11. This is where they sell and make money. BUILD is one of the few college bound programs that allows you to make actual money. A team from Sequoia called LaceLastic sell laces that never untie. They come in glow in the dark and in different colors. They are one of the most successful teams in BUILD in revenue. “The key to our success is hard work, effort, and cooperation with each other,” junior Deanna Reyes said. Many teams are confident that they are going to dominate the battlefield. Klean Kickz, another team from Sequoia that sells a shoe cleaning kit, are confident that they will make it big. “I am confident because I already know what to say to people and its easy for me,” junior Miguel Fregoso said. “I am prepared.” BUILD helps one create a business, but it also prepares one for college. 99 percent of students in BUILD make it to college They also visit colleges like UC Santa Cruz, University of the Pacific, and Sonoma State. Some students didn’t want to go to college, until they found BUILD. “To be honest I didn’t want to go to college, but now that
Photo by Carlos Garcia
BUILD student Miguel Fregoso demonstrates his product to some potential customers.
I am in BUILD I do want to go,” Fregoso said. BUILD also helps seniors in the program apply to college and reach college success. They spend many nights at BUILD to research college and apply. BUILD also pays for application fees. “I’ve applied to the National Hispanic University, and two other community colleges,” senior Steve Campos said. “Thanks to BUILD, I was able to.” Students in their second and third year of BUILD go to Incubator. Incubator is a session where students can do homework and meet with their business teams. Academics are very important to BUILD. BUILD offers academic mentors that help students with their homework. BUILD is a unique college-bound program that can help people reach success throughout college. “I thank BUILD and every mentor that has helped me reach my goals,” senior Steve Campos said.
cause of stress. It’s really hard to balance, especially when you don’t know what’s coming [at school],” Pope said. Junior Sarah Swanson, who worked at Stacks from June 2011 to early November 2012, ultimately quit her job because she couldn’t balance it with rigorous IB coursework. “I was at work for 8 hours [on weekends], and after working I would have to do my homework and I didn’t have time for a social life,” she said. Some students, however, don’t have the option of quitting their job. “Ever since I got a job, my grades have been dropping, I’ve been slacking off, I’ve been coming really late to school, but I can’t quit now,” Osuna said. Unfortunately, stress and pressure are often the only things that keep overworked students moving. “If I didn’t have the pressure, I wouldn’t keep going and keep doing what I’m doing,” Lollar said. Even so, students like Osuna find that their only option is to prioritize work over everything else. “I don’t have time for homework, don’t have time for friends. I don’t have time like I used to. Now it’s just school, work. School, work,” Osuna said. Yet even for people like Osuna, having a job can occasionally have a sweet side. “It’s a job, nobody likes to work, but I need that money. It’s a great accomplishment when you get that check.”
CELL PHONE (continued from page 1)
However, some teachers are embracing the possibilities of cell phone use. Billman uses his phone during physics with permission from his teacher to text survey answers. The answers are then displayed on the SmartBoard so the whole class can see the results. Spanish teacher Evelyn Nadeau allows her students to use their phones to look up words that are not in the spanish dictionary. “As long as they ask me and say ‘Senora Nadeau can I use my phone to look up this word?’ then I’m okay with that,” Nadeau said. “I just don’t want kids to get distracted by always checking their phone or answering texts because it causes class disruption.” Some think that school is only for learning, however it is also where students learn skills they can use in the professional world. “In businesses now, in meetings, you have your laptops and your phone, so you need to learn to deal with technology in a professional environment,” junior Ellen Signer said. The final decision regarding the cell phone policy has not yet been decided, but it will continue to be discussed throughout the year.
Correction: In Issue 3, the Giants info graphic was created by Kyle Shea.
