Conejo Valley hosts first pride festival
Shri Arulmani and Anoushka Jasuja
October 1, 2018
Filed under News
Rainbows, music and story time with drag queens. Conejo Valley hosted its first LGBTQ+ pride festival at the Civic Arts Plaza Sept. 22. Inspired by the results of the 2016 election, Founder and Board Chair member of the Conejo Valley LGBTQ+ Pride group, Narissa Petchumrus, brought the idea of a pride...
How recycling works and where it all ends up
October 1, 2018
National Geographic wrote in 2017 that a whopping 91 percent of plastic does not get recycled and instead ends up in landfills or littering the Earth. However, when done properly, recycling reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators, conserves natural resources, reduces pollution,...
Costumes and Crew: Behind The Scenes
October 1, 2018
The Oak Park Performing Arts Alliance presents three drama productions every school year. The audience fills the Pavilion with laughter and cheer, especially at the end of the night when the whole cast comes out on stage for applause. But who is behind all of these productions? Throughout the years,...
Minding mental health
Sam Barney-Gibbs and Amanda Lurey
September 28, 2018
Filed under Feature, News, Showcase
Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States and nearly 90 percent of Americans struggling with suicidal thoughts have an underlying mental health issue. September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and with an attempt to increase awareness of suicide prevention, mental...
Wellness policy update impacts fundraising efforts
Katya Kiseleva and Kellen Beckett
September 27, 2018
The choir can no longer sell chocolate bars as they have done for years. In fact, no class or club can sell any food item with a sugar content greater than 35% by weight, barring naturally-occurring sugars in fruit and vegetables. The Oak Park Unified School District updated its nutritional code Dec....
Community joins for “Wishtree” discussion
Megan Satorius and Mikayla Kresc
September 27, 2018
Filed under News
As advertised in a post from the district’s Twitter, all ages are welcome to attend and discuss “Wishtree,” this year’s Oak Park community book, at the Corner of Calle Rio Vista and Oak Hills Drive by the high school varsity softball field. At the end of the talk, attendees will be able to tie...
Sloan incorporates meditation into his classes
September 27, 2018
Inhale. Exhale. Repeat. Chemistry and physics teacher David Sloan has been taking time out of his normal teaching schedule to add meditation sessions for his students. According to the Exploration of Consciousness Research Institute, meditation in the classroom leads to greater relaxation, increased...
Plastic straw ban pending in California legislation
September 26, 2018
Plastic straws have been made only available upon request at full-service restaurants in California. Bill AB-1884 was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Sept. 20, and will take effect Jan. 1, 2019. State laws are not the only things that have been changing, new policies are being considered in local companies...
New anti-vaping equipment installed
September 25, 2018
Filed under News
Anti-vaping sensors were installed Sept. 8 in student restrooms to discourage students from vaping. According to Principal Kevin Buchanan, four sensors were installed in the restrooms, each costing approximately $1,000. Buchanan said the vape sensors will have two functions: to prevent bullying and ...
California lawmakers authorize later school start times
Anusha Rao and Mina Jung
September 25, 2018
Filed under News
“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,” said math teacher Jared Weintraub, quoting Benjamin Franklin in response to lawmakers efforts to push back school start times. California state legislature passed Senate Bill 328 on Aug. 31 requiring schools to start no earlier tha...
Wellness policy updated
September 25, 2018
Filed under News
The Wellness Policy, which was created and is regularly updated by the Oak Park Board of Education, is now being enforced more strictly on Oak Park campuses. This has affected the fundraising efforts of several classes and clubs. “Collectively in the past all of [the Associated Student Body] has so...
Seven seniors score big
September 24, 2018
Filed under News
And then there were seven. Seniors Joyce Forster, Sravya Gadepalli, Grace Ma, Vinay Pillai, Jonathan Vu, Andrew Wells and Wayne Xiao have been named semifinalists in the 64th National Merit Scholarship Program. Nearly 4.3 million students took the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test, or National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, in Nov...
October 19, 2018 • No Comments
October 19, 2018 • No Comments
Olivia Buccieri and Sam Barney-Gibbs
October 15, 2018 • 1 Comment
October 12, 2018 • No Comments