Ryan Gura
Junior Staff Writer

On Monday, December 7th, an A-TECH student, Jason, was struck by a school bus. The bus arrived at the student’s bus stop, but Jason was running late, so he ran in front of the bus. However, the bus driver could not stop with enough time to keep from hurting the student.

Jason was taken to the hospital that morning. He says that his parents are handling the accident positively; he also says that his parents are worried about the bill.

He returned to school on Monday, January 4. Although he was in a wheelchair then, and is now in crutches, he says that he will be back on his feet “hopefully in two weeks, maybe four.”

The bus driver was not suspended from driving, nor was he fired. Although he stopped working for one week, he is back in the bus and continues driving the students to and from school.

Michael MacDougall
Staff Writer

Two-thousand-ten is going to be a big year for books, movies, music, and of course, video games. There are so many different things coming out, it’s almost impossible to keep track of them all.

Several new movies and sequels are coming out this year. One of which is the sequel to the 2007 blockbuster, Ironman. Robert Downy Jr. returns as Tony Stark, ready to save the world yet again from an “unstoppable force and threat.” This new action- packed thriller is going to be released May 7 of 2010.

Andrew Sorenson, an A-TECH sophomore said “I haven’t seen the first one, but the second looks good, as did the first one, so I think that I will go see it for that reason.”

Coming out this year Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. This movie is going to be so detailed; it won’t even be able to fit into one movie. This one will be released on November 19.

William Rubinol, an A-TECH sophomore is looking forward to it. “They did well with the previous Harry Potter movies. I’ll go see this one,” he said.

Tim Burton’s genius will again be put on the big screen, this time with Alice in Wonderland. He has a very talented cast, including Johnny Depp, best known for his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean. Sorenson thinks it will be good. This movie will be released March 5.

Garret Seppala, and A-TECH sophomore, disagrees. “I think it will be creepy,” he said.

If you get tired of using your eyes, you can sit back and relax to some of the new albums coming out this year. Spoon’s new album, Transference is set to come out on January 26 in the United States. It’ll feature some of the songs from their LP and their EP, as well as seven new tracks.

Parker Junger, and A-TECH Senior has a few opinions. “I wouldn’t really listen to them.”

Social Distortion is also going to hit the audio waves this year. They have a new album coming out early this year. A release date is very sketchy, but they hope to have it out by late spring. It will probably come out sometime near their South American tour in April.
Junger is enthusiastic “Oh yeah! I will definitely listen to them. Social Distortion is my favorite band.”

And if you like them, Massive Attack is also making music this year. They are best known for the theme song of the medical TV drama House, titled Teardrop. Their new album is called Heligoland. It will be released February 8.

If you prefer nice and quiet relaxing days with a good book, you were not forgotten. One of the books being released this year is Impact by Douglas Preston. This is a post-apocalyptic thriller, and best of all the wait is over. It was released on Tuesday, January 5.

James Patterson has a new novel coming out, too. His new book is going to be called Worst Case. The wait isn’t particularly long for this one either, it is set to be released on February 5.

If you find quiet and reading boring, you can always pick up and play some of these hot new titles for video games this year. Sequel to 2007’s aquatic underwater thriller, Bioshock 2 is coming out May 26. This game is perfect for those who love a story that immerses the player, and want environments that are detailed.

Garret Seppala shares his opinon “Yeah, I would play it. It looks interesting, and I played and liked the first one.”

If you want a slightly longer gaming experience, get prepped for Mass Effect 2, the futuristic Sci-Fi action role-playing game made by Bioware. Best know for their Knights of the Old Republic series, anything by Bioware will definitely be up to snuff with even the most up tight critic of role-playing games. This new title is coming out on February 20.

And finally, a hardcore franchise known to all gamers, Final Fantasy, is also making room for itself on shelves this year Final Fantasy XIII is coming out on January 15, so the wait is almost over.

Sorenson disagrees however. “I think that the series just needs to stop.”

Alyssa Hahn
Staff Writer

Remember walking into school freshman year and being crowded by a large amount of students? Yet again, these former freshmen were shocked on the first day of school. Students returned Sophomore year expecting to see the same familiar faces. These students were sorely mistaken.

Many returning students were shocked when they returned to A-TECH to find that many of their fellow students left and transferred to their zoned schools.

“I think it’s kind of funny, actually,” says junior Dakota Barber, “If so many people are starting to leave, there must something wrong.”

With all of A-TECH’s advantages over some of Clark County’s nonmagnet high schools such as small class sizes, little-to-no violence, and great reputation, it makes people wonder why any student would want to leave. For students there are plenty of reasons to leave and other schools can offer more benefits than A-TECH.

“I came here because of the good reputation and I’m leaving because A-TECH didn’t live up to it’s reputation and there’s nobody here,” says Barber, “Everybody else left so there’s really no point in staying.”

For some students like junior Hayley Miles, the problem has a lot to do with the people here in combination with the academics.

“At other schools, the teachers are harder and there’s a lot more work,” says Miles, “I learned more at Shadow Ridge, but I came back to A-TECH because I had more friends here and now I’m leaving again because all those friends have left too.”

A-TECH can offer a lot of opportunities if a student is really interested in their program area. The majority of teaching’s at A-TECH can be used even if a student doesn’t want to pursue a career in any of our program areas.

“I just think that if a student is going to leave A-TECH, they had better do it for the right reasons,” says senior Tiffanee Lang. “You should leave A-TECH so you have better opportunities with the career you want to be part, not just because you want to get away from teachers and hard work.

Sometimes though, instead of leaving A-TECH to be closer to friends, some students transfer to the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) and take high school classes along with college classes.

“It’s better students that go,” says law teacher Mr. Eason, “It’s really good for the parents and the student because the parents save so much money when their kids start college as a sophomore. Really, they aren’t missing out on much high school experience. I’m surprised more students don’t take advantage of it, there are so many options for students nowadays.”

Natasha Sushenko
Copy Editor

A-TECH offers a unique variety of majors to its wide range of students. These majors are highly specialized and require a teacher with experience on the subject to teach the programs properly.

Obviously, a teacher teaching Networking Technology can’t be unfamiliar with the insides of a computer and a Legal Studies should have read a law book at some point. However, complaints from students show cases like these are sometimes reality in A-TECH’s program areas.

Whether that is true is debatable. One student may claim a teacher knows absolutely nothing about their subject, while another may say that teacher is their favorite and that they’ve learned countless things from them. But sometimes, the complaints frequently reoccur.

Occasionally, students’ unhappiness is a result of long-term substitutes. These guest teachers are often unfamiliar with the subject they are assigned to teach. The problem with long-term substitutes is often fixed soon enough when the teacher returns from their extended leave.

Unfortunately, some unqualified teachers are permanent fixtures at A-TECH. As an unqualified teacher is unlikely to be fired barring some other incident, it is often up to that teacher to decide whether they leave the school. Even then, it is always hard to find a qualified replacement, making it possible for students to still be unhappy.

“It isn’t fair that we come to school to take specialized courses and we don’t have adequate teachers and resources to properly educate us,” says sophomore Arianna Hobbs.

“Sometimes I feel like I waste a part of my day because I feel like my teacher knows even less about my subject than I or my friends do,” continues Hobbs. “It’s really frustrating. I came to A-TECH to learn, and that’s what I want to do.”

Ashley Morris
News Editor

On November 25, 2009, three students. Senior Austin Prado, Senior Tiffanee Lang, and Senior Jessica Menchaca, were selected from A-TECH to represent our student body in the Sun Youth Forum held at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Sun Youth Forum is an organization sponsored by the Las Vegas Sun. At the forum, thousands of students from forty-eight different high schools meet to discuss issues concerning themselves and the state of Nevada.

Recent topics discussed during Sun Youth have included Yucca Mountain, gay marriage, the war in Iraq, terrorism, job outsourcing, abortion, the death penalty, and school violence.

The Sun Youth Forum was established in 1956 by Las Vegas Sun founder and publisher Hank Greenspun. His opinion was adults should listen to the ideas of the youth, as well as take their opinion into account. His original concept was to give students have the opportunity to express their opinions without any sort of adult interference. This is the only way the current Sun Youth Forum has diverged from his vision, as each group is required to have a supervising adult.

“I chose to advise Sun Youth Forum because I get to work with the best kids in our school,” advisor Mr. LaShomb said. “I also teach AP Political Science classes, and many of the issues presented in Sun Youth forum deal with Political science.”

“I chose the students for the competition,” Mr. LaShomb continued. “But they have to volunteer, fill in a form, and be able to commit to 4 nights of practice. They also must dress appropriately.”

For the competition, students are assigned to a certain issue area. They then are required to research said area, preparing for the annual competition. The Sun Youth forum provides each school a list of questions. The kids read them, research them, and come to each session prepared.

“We focus on seven areas. The students are divided into groups and assigned to that issue area. A few of the areas are Nevada, America, Teen topics, Potpourri, and Around the World. The best person is chosen from each session, and are chosen to represent their group,” Mr. LaShomb explained. “Three kids were chosen this year. The winners are selected depending on how each group’s mentor chooses to select them. Some mentors chose the winners themselves, while others leave it up to the whole group to decide.”

“Youth forum is the longest running student forum. Students from every county gather to talk about issues, such as schools, Nevada, and politics. We really just hammer out the issues and make sure the politicians hear us,” one of the Youth Forum winners, Tiffanee Lang said. “I was chosen by Mr. LaShomb from the applications submitted. I’m not sure why, but I’m glad he did.”

“We all cumulate in a meeting room, we’re given topics by the teacher, and we separate into rooms according to which topic we are given. How the mod wants to run the show is how its run. My personal mod let us chose the person to represent our topic with a vote,” she continued.

“My area was school days and education. A few things we discussed include drug testing, GPA flux, credits, abstinence, open-campus, and PG-13 movie viewing. I will represent A-TECH as a whole, as well as the voice education voice as a whole and our school’s opinion on the discussed topics at a bigger meeting, which is going to be televised Monday.”

Lang said that if a student is interested in Sun Youth Forum, they should keep themselves informed. “Watch the news! Be in tune to the world outside of MTV and VH1- watch CSN, NBC, and all the news channels. Also, gain an opinion! No one likes a fence sitter, so be on one side or the other. You also have to listen. It’s one of the bigger things. If you don’t listen, you’re not gonna get far.”

Although she is a senior, Lang wishes she could participate in the forum again next year. “I loved it! I wish I had known about it last year. It’s my kind of environment, and I knew I was sitting in a room with future politicians. If I could go another year I would, I love open discussions.”

Vanida Visessung
Staff Writer

On December 4, the final RSVP summit of the year was held and changes are to be taking effect in second semester. The amount of summits was reduced from three, last year, to only two summits this year.

This year, A-TECH students were most concerned about microwaves, music players, video announcements, the re-opening of the student store, food variety changes, and availability to use the patio and atrium during lunch.

Not all changes desired by the majority of A-TECH students such as the opening the student store again will be made due to the lack of teachers available for supervision or student behaviors and attitudes among certain issues, such as responsibility for cleanliness. Ms. Price, the dean of students, has some concerns over the changes taking effect next semester regarding how responsible students will be.

“It’s a monthly trial, basically,” Ms. Price says, “We will observe the students on a monthly basis to see if [the students] deserve having MP3 players or smaller items. If the number of problems increase while we allow those problems, we will ban all items as we’ve done before.”
Student Council member and RSVP facilitator Arianna Hobbs states that the “[Students] won’t be able to have a student store because we don’t have a supervisor available during lunches.”

Although some major issues cannot be changed, the administration has approved smaller but similar changes such as “having an online catalog instead of an A-TECH student store,” Hobbs says. The change for having an online catalog is to sell A-TECH merchandise online instead in the student store so all people are able to purchase A-TECH items such as T-shits and sweatshirts.

Ms. Price states that all changes made “are entirely ran by the students and the administration only approves of the changes according to the regulations” and that “changes such as the availability to the atrium must be planned and secured by the students before finally allowing students to go into the atrium during lunch.”

As A-TECH students prepare for semester exams, the administration has also been preparing for the changes made from RSVP summits. Changes that will be made are the use of microwaves in the SAC during lunch, the use of music players before and after school, the start of third period video broadcast announcements, and the use of the patio and atrium will be allowed during lunch at the start of second semester.

Brianna Vargas
Editor-in-Chief

Teen drivers are the leading cause for accidents on the roads today. Drivers age 16 to 19 are four times more likely than adult drivers to end up in a collision according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

New drivers tend to be arrogant and cocky about their lack of driving experience. Many adults fear driving on the road because of ignorant teen drivers. Now, however, measures to make experienced drivers more aware of new drivers on the road are being imposed.

“Caution, Newly Licensed” is printed on the patented magnetic signs that stick on the back of new drivers’ cars. Susan Kessler, a Georgia mother, created the signs to reduce the high 15,000 teen deaths a year caused by car accidents. They will create a “protective bubble” around the drivers so everyone on the road can be more cautious.

Kessler and a group of moms put their heads together four years ago to come up with a plan to protect their children from the hazards of driving. The moms presented the idea to a Georgia state official. Without being opposed, the patent became a requirement for all new drivers in the state.

Some pessimists believe that the signs are a waste of time because rebellious teens will take the signs off as soon as they’re out of their parents’ sight. Still, Kessler has faith in the teen drivers. She believes, despite the tackiness and embarrassment of the “driver” magnet, teens will choose safety over putting their lives in danger.

Some new A-TECH drivers are also a little skeptical about this safe driver program. “I wouldn’t really care if it was enforced for me to have a caution magnet on my car,” sophomore Bo Ying Fu said. “Still, not everyone will put it on their car.”

Other new drivers are a bit more in favor of the caution magnets, but still see its flaws. “I think it [the magnet] is a good concept, but not that great of an idea,” sophomore Chad Cowell said. “I would put it on my car but more as a joke than seriousness.”

On the other hand, A-TECH teachers, such as graphic design teacher Mr. Blount, believes these magnets are a great idea. “They will help because as drivers we can’t read other peoples minds and assume these drivers have been on the road for a long time. [The magnets] would help us avoid these new drivers.”

“The magnets will help the driver himself be more aware of his driving and the cars around him,” Driver’s Ed. Teacher, Mr. Schaper, said. “It will be light a spotlight on their car. Everyone will notice all the mistakes they make, like running a red light, because they’re a new driver.”

Along with newly higher minimum age license requirements and more required driving hours, the United States is working to lower the accident rates on the road. So far, they have been successful. In the past decade, the fatality rate for teens ages 15 to 17 had lowered by 30 percent.

Many states, such as New Jersey, have also enforced a higher legal driving age from the former 16 to the current 18. Other restrictions enforced across the states are nighttime curfews, cell phone use, and number of passengers.

In cooperation with each other, all of these methods will lower teen fatalities on the road. Safe driving isn’t an option no matter the driver’s age. Kessler and her group of friends understand this concept and continue working, selling over 3,000 magnets so far.

Stanley Blake
Staff Writer

“Bromance” is alive and well in Guy Ritchie’s rather popular adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective, Sherlock Holmes. Ritchie had his hands full trying to blend 19th -century characters with modern- day actors. Robert Downey Jr. played an astounding role as Sherlock Holmes and reliable sidekick, Dr. Watson, who is played by Jude Law.

Holmes and Watson could strongly be considered a pair of bromantic -type characters. In the past the high-octane violence might not have been a staple of the genre, but these two were really close. A mix of humor and affection always existed between them and only few times throughout the movie they quarreled and the audience questioned that “bromantic” bond they shared.

Holmes, throughout the course of the movie, used a method known as “Sherlockian Deduction” to solve many of the dilemmas he faced. In one instance he, with a series of well-executed moves, subdued a brute combatant as part of a daring attempt to prevent the nefarious Lord Blackwood, a classy and dangerously engaging villain, from sacrificing a hapless victim while on the way to securing hellish domination over the earth. Thwarting the plan was an anticipated ruse in Blackwood’s even grander scheme to instill fear in the hearts of London’s citizens and claim the independent American states.

The entire plot takes a backseat to the personal dynamics between Holmes and his heart. Caught in a bit of a pickle involving a former criminal-minded lover, Irene Adler, who has returned to scheme him, and Watson, who is on the verge of engagement to Mary Morstan, a smart, witty governess with a sound understanding of the relationship between the two men. The movie ended with a twist, Blackwood being tangled in chains falling to a death below. As always, Holmes unwinds his “method to madness” and a new proclaimed case is opened, thus foreshadowing a Sherlock Holmes 2.

Sean Diggins
Staff Writer

James Cameron, creator of Titanic and The Terminator, released his newest film, Avatar, on December 18, 2009. Cameron thought of the idea in 1994 but lacked the technology to create the movie. A few months before its release Cameron made a statement claiming his new film, Avatar, would change cinematography.

By 2006 the technology had caught up and he had developed the script, language, and culture of Pandora, the mythical planet where the movie takes place. The visuals the movie uses to present the story make it clear Avatar was created to change the way in which cinema is delivered.

Cameron worked on this film for 15 years and in that time he created a new technology that allowed for the illusion of every object in the movie becoming tangible. Every object was covered in flawless texture that brought the scenery to life. It allowed for the planet of Pandora to look more real than anything else made by Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) and the IMAX 3-D only enhanced the experience.

This will be used in movies to come later for two main reasons. The first is, Avatar felt like a tech demo of Cameron’s new technology and use of IMAX 3-D. In each scene a new effect was presented ranging from massive scenes encompassing large amounts of scenery to an up-close display of texture, allowing the viewer to feel height.

Avatar did a great job of demonstrating this new technology and will surely encourage other filmmakers to use the technology. The second is the plot in Avatar. In the movie it seemed as though so much time was spent on the visuals and the technology of the movie that not enough time was spent developing a quality plot. So, other filmmakers will probably try to make a film of a higher quality story but looks just as beautiful as Avatar.

With Avatar, Cameron demonstrated a new technology that is sure to be used in future films. Cameron is on a fast track to living up to his claim that Avatar will change history.

Raybin Dockery
Staff Writer

Across the United States, millions of families are dealing with the heavy stresses of military life. The stresses these families are managing are not only affecting the spouses of the soldiers but children and teens as well.

Teens whose parent(s) are in the military often face the most stress because they are in a transitional period in their life and facing more responsibilities at home with chores and siblings. They are sometimes forced to move schools several times because of their parents’ military deployment.
CNN recently conducted a study with 1,507 teens between the ages of 11-17 and the study showed that about 30 percent of the children interviewed report symptoms of anxiety, worry, and dealing with health ailments.

Dr. Michelle Sherman, a clinical psychologist, stated, “Military teens need support and understanding from friends, compassionate adults and supporters in their community”. Unfortunately, many teens are not receiving the support they need.

“Only a small fraction of military kids attend Department of Defense schools where they have access to support programs,” Dr. Sherman said. “The rest, more than 95 percent, go to schools in our local communities, and their civilian peers just don’t understand the unique military culture and lifestyle.”
Department of Defense schools provide an opportunity for military dependents to get a quality education since military families are often expected to live abroad and move.

The U.S. government is preparing to deploy an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, which has added to the stress of many teens whose parents are deploying soon.

A-TECH senior, Daydrena Atimalala is upset about the deployment of more troops. “I’m upset that my dad is going to be deployed again in a couple of months because he is going to miss one of the most important days of my life, which is graduation.“

Atimalala added, “I constantly worry about my dad’s safety when he is deployed and I often wonder if he’s coming home alive. My family life is less structured and incomplete when he is away at war.”
Fortunately for Atimalala, her family offers support to one another while her father is away. “My family provides me is a lot of emotional support and we have family discussions about how we feel about his absence from the family.”

Many organizations such as MTOM (Military Teens on the move), MKOM (Military Kids on the Move), and Our Military Children are providing advice and outreach programs to help kids and teens whose parents are in the military deal with the many challenges they are experiencing.

Military teens at A-TECH are experiencing the same issues as many teens across the United States. With the help of peers, family members, and organizations, the stresses these teens face can be eliminated so that education, friends, self-love, and opportunity become a priority.