How Boyan Slat Is Helping Solve The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Sitting between California and Hawaii, five trillion pieces of plastic and about a sixth of the United States’ total garbage resides in an area known as the Great Pacific Patch. Trash in our oceans can cause many environmental problems: it destroys many marine animal habitats and kill marine animals and birds species alike. As of now, there are about 600 species of marine animals that are affected by plastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean. “I think that the situation in the Pacific Ocean is severe. A lot of animals and habitats are being destroyed. I think that people should start…
#TeamTrees
In May 2019, somebody commented on Reddit that Mr. Beast, a famous YouTuber, should plant 20 million trees to celebrate hitting the 20M subscriber milestone. After this comment went viral, Mr. Beast finally addressed it on October 25 in a video, saying that he was banding with the YouTube community, including a few famous YouTubers. So, they struck a deal with The Arbor Day Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to planting trees started in 1872, that each dollar that would be donated to Team Trees they would plant one tree. It is difficult to plant 20 million trees without help, so…
CA Bill Pushes School Start Times Back
California high schools, including ours, will soon be forced to start school after 8:30 a.m. The legislation (Senate Bill 328), signed by Gavin Newsom on October 13, requires schools to implement the new start times by the 2022-23 school year. Unfortunately, this means that most current sophomores, juniors, and seniors will no longer be attending high school by the time this law is put into effect. This law only applies to public and charter schools, excluding some rural districts. The reason people feel that school start times need to be pushed back is because students are not getting enough sleep,…
Bearcats Strike for Climate
More than a million people have participated in climate strikes in 2200 events and 125 countries worldwide over the span of the past two years. This widespread movement was all started by Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old dedicated to climate change activism. Ever since she declared that she would not attend school until the 2018 Swedish general election and began striking every Friday until Sweden joined the Paris Agreement, she has inspired millions around the globe to join her in taking action to defend the planet. Thunberg created the slogan FridaysForFuture, which gained global attention. Since then, school strikes began to…
A Personal Account On Vaping
WEATHERFORD, T.X.- Tryston Zohfeld, 17, is recovering after nearly three weeks of being in the Intensive Care Unit due to vaping, doctors conclude. On July 26, the 17 year old was fighting for his life as his seemingly healthy and athletic lungs suddenly failed. Tryston told ABC News, “When I woke up I was throwing up everywhere, and my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest going 100 miles per hour.” Tryston was rushed to Cook Children’s hospital and was immediately admitted to the ICU where he was put into a medically induced coma as his condition…
SMHS Starts the Year Cellphone Free
As we approach the end of the first six weeks of school, many students have begun to accept the new anti-cellphone policies. Despite not accepting the new policies at first, many people have changed their minds and begun to appreciate the new approach to having students pay more attention in class. Kai Ando had a lot to say about the new system. “At first it was weird seeing people with their eyes not glued to their phones, but now it’s nice to see people actually speaking to each other. It also seems like people are paying more attention in class,…
SMHS’ Boomwhacker Club
The xylophone can produce about 40 different pitches; the piano, a whopping 88. The boomwhacker? One. A boomwhacker is a hollow plastic tube that produces a sound when hit against a surface. The length of the tube determines the pitch, with longer tubes producing lower pitches. Crucially, this means that each boomwhacker can only make one sound. Combine this with the fact that you can only play one or two boomwhackers at a time, and you have a recipe for monotony. But with several people working together, entire octaves can be spanned –– and, with practice, music can be created….
California Flu Crisis
The Golden State is currently experiencing what could be one of its most deadly flu seasons in the past decade. Since the beginning of the season, the number of flu-related deaths has risen to 165 people-eight times the number seen at this time last year, according to recent figures released by state public health officials. The state doesn’t collect data on deaths among people over the age of 65 though, meaning that the actual death toll of flu related deaths could be much higher. California hospitals have been packed in the past few weeks, with doctors struggling to…
Chinese New Year Brought to SMHS
Gung Hay Fat Choy! Chinese New Year began on Friday, February 16 and the Chinese Language 1 and 2 classes performed in the quad at lunch on that day to celebrate! The holiday, also known as Lunar New Year, begins on February 16th. It is the first day of the new year on the traditional Chinese lunisolar Calendar and spans for a total of 15 days. Each new year on this calendar is represented by an animal of the Chinese Zodiac. This year, Chinese New Year will be in celebration of the Year of the Dog. Celebrations for this holiday…
Shaun White Wins Gold at Pyeongchang
Shaun White, after his 14 year career, finally sealed his legacy of one of the best snowboarders to live, by winning the gold medal on the men’s halfpipe in Pyeongchang. It was an extremely close match between him and the Japanese olympian, Ayumu Hirano. In the first run, White led the competition but at the second run, Hirano was in a good position for gold. White needed to one-up Hirano’s 1440 spin with two 1440 spin and he did. White also landed his signature move on the run and the final result: an astonishing 97.75 run. After his victory, White…
