PACIFIC ACADEMY Student Newspaper

December 2011 VOL. ONE ISSUE 2

Pacific Academy Irvine Hits the Trail By: Keith Corpus

On a warm mid-October day, Pacific Academy students from Irvine left their comfortable school to search for fossils, flowers and fauna in the beautiful Santiago Canyon in nearby Silverado. Organized by teachers Roseanne Greenfield and David Drayer, students and teachers met with a naturalist/tour guide Joel Robinson to learn more about nature on the short hike. Our first stop was in a dry riverbed where mollusk fossils from over 65 million years ago could be found. Students searched the riverbed for these impressive treasures. Zhongzhi, Phoebe, and Sheilabair had keen eyes and discovered many remarkable samples. The next portion of our day was a one-mile hike along a fire road. Our guide told us about the plants and wildlife. He showed us many small aspects in nature, which included rodent bones, an owl pellet, a large spider wasp, a beehive, and numerous plants (such as sagebrush, willow, prickle bush, and prickly pear, to name a few). Mr. Drayer peppered the students with questions about adaptation, form and function. The hike took us to a hidden spot off the road. Students clambered over rocks and boulders, snacked on some of the Taiwanese bakery sandwiches we brought, and then we did a descriptive writing exercise led by Dr. Greenfield. Students used all five senses to depict the pastoral surroundings. In a letter to our guide Joel, eleventh grader Sheilabair wrote, “I still remember the first time we went to find those fossils. I got a pretty fossil, and my friend took a picture for me. Afterwards, I sent [the pictures] to my mom who really loved them.” Commenting on the many animals and plants we saw, Herman, a senior, wrote to Joel, “That trip was not only a nature hike trip, it was also a knowledge trip.” There were challenges along the way, like pesky insects and a typically strong Southern California sun. But with plenty of water, some encouragement, and a touch of perseverance, we concluded the hike in good spirits and with some insight into the beauty and complexity of nature.

Office: 949-398-5288

4947 Alton Parkway, Irvine, CA 92604

www.pacificacademy.org

The Opportunity to be me.

Photos by: Paul Lee

Dear Joel,

Do you remember the day when Pacific Academy came for

the nature hike? We all remember that, and thank you for

giving us a nice trip.

I still remember the first time we went to find those fossils, I

got a pretty fossil, and my friend took a picture of me.

Afterwards, when I got it and I sent the picture to my mom,

my mother loved it. I really had a good time there.

And I also learned new things from you; it's the first time I

learned that sagebrush could make bugs go away. It's very

awesome! But there were really too many bugs there.

That's why during lunch beside the little river, we still had

lots of bugs following us, even when we used the

sagebrushes. But it's not a big bother, we still had a great

time during lunch.

Thank you for everything and we had a good time on the

hike.

Sheilabair

♫ DENNIS Birthday:10/30 Q: What is your favorite birthday memory? A: "When I was 16 years old, I had dinner with my ex-girlfriend. ♫ JASON Birthday:11/4 Q: What did you do on your birthday?

A: "Skating with Dr. Lin, Min Soo, Alan, and Qu and ate dinner with them in Koba.” ♫ SARAH Birthday:11/3 Q: How was your birthday? A: "It was an impressive birthday, and I felt really moved and exciting when my friend Yuri got the big delicious cake for me. I almost wanted to cry because I was so happy." ♫ PHOEBE Birthday:11/9 Q: What was your coolest present? A: "My coolest present was a concert grand piano that my parents got for my 10th birthday.”

Nature Hike Letters to Joel Robinson

Students’ Birthdays! ♫ Happy Birthday to you ♪

By: Min Soo Oh

Photo by: Jasmine Wang

Photo by: Paul Lee

The week before Halloween, we carved pumpkins in Mrs. Greenfield’s class because Halloween was coming. JimmyLu was my partner. First, we removed the pumpkin top with a knife. Second, we cleaned out the pulp with a spoon and scraper. Then, we used a spoon and a knife to clean out the seeds and any loose flesh. After that, we taped the stencil on the pumpkin and used plenty of newspaper to protect the work surface. Next, we poked the outline, careful to cut out the features.

We made small cuts and used a puncturing motion rather than a slicing one. Then, we carved the pumpkin. I thought carving a pumpkin was very hard, so I used a sharp knife. After that, we carefully hollowed out the marked area with a teaspoon and placed a candle in the hollow. Then I lighted it and replaced the lid of my Jack-o-lantern. Finally Jimmy and I made scar on our pumpkin’s head. I was very happy with carving pumpkin.

December 2011 The Opportunity to be me.

Carving Pumpkins By: Tom Yu

On October 19th, 2011, we went to Santiago Canyon in Irvine, California. When we arrived there, we met Mr. Joel Robinson. He was our naturalist guide. First, we saw lot of cactus. I was really interested in the cactus because I've never seen it before. The cactus had sharp needles on their bodies, because they had adapted themselves to protect against other animals eating them. Also we saw red cactus fruits. I have eaten that fruit in chocolates before. It tasted really good. Then, we looked for fossils. Mr. Robinson told us that place we were looking at was an ocean many years ago. That was really marvelous to me. We found mollusk fossils in the mud stone and sand rock. The fossils were thousands of years old. Then we changed locations. We started walking on a trail and we saw poison oak. Poison oak was a red color and grows on a short bush. If we touched poison oak, our skin will get red and itchy. Poison oak is considered an adaptation, too. The poison is how it protects itself from animals eating it. We also saw a California live oak tree. Poison oak was short, but a California live oak tree was huge. They have fruit called acorns. If we wanted to eat acorns, we would surely have to boil them because acorns have poison inside. Also, Mr. Robinson told us about owls. We saw owl pellets with bones inside of them, from the animals the owls had eaten. We also saw wild mint plants that tasted like mint gum. Ms. Greenfield told me that people usually make a tea with wild mint. The trail also had a lot of bugs. Then, Mr. Robinson gave me some sage. Sage has some smell that bugs hate. That worked to scare them away. I didn't like the mountains before, but after we went to Santiago Canyon, I want to know more about natural things.If we could, I would want to go on another naturalist hike in the mountains.

And what did our teachers think about the nature hike field trip?

Ms. Kim remarked: "The nature hike was a great learning experience for the students,

and I thought it was important for them to write a thank you letter to our guide Joel."

Photo By: Paul Lee

Naturalist Hike By:Yuri Lee

Have you ever wanted to be Lady Gaga for one day of you life? You could if you wanted to! October 31 is the special day when you could be someone else. Everybody wears special costumes and they go

around their neighborhood to get candy. American born children are usually excited about this, but to a foreigner, it would help them learn more about America and show them a completely different culture. At Pacific Academy, we had a Halloween party on October 28 during school.

It was exciting when I went to the Halloween shops to buy a costume.In the store, they had zombies, vampires, corpses, and much more.Shopping in a haunted house store was interesting.But, not everyone is able to buy their costume. For people who want to save money, they just make their own costumes. During the time the whole family joins together to create their Halloween costumes, it’s a good chance to improve relationships between parents and children. On Halloween, you can enjoy making your own costume or searching stores for one.

That day in school was so much fun. Some students wore their costumes to school and had classes dressed in them. During that time we had a scary beast, pink haired pirate, a vampire at school, and also lots of ”super stars” came to our school to enjoying our fun Halloween party. (Justin Beiber Hsu, Elvis Presley Corpus and Lady Gaga Pecenkovic.)

it’s HalloweeN! By: Sheilabair Wu

The Opportunity to be me.

PHotos By

Interested in photography? Join Pacific Academy’s brand new

photography club! See Phoebe Pan for more information.

For some students in Pacific Academy, the requirement of a vending machine has become a problem. However, the science and our daily experience have already proven and showed that our requirement is necessary. But the school still cannot make a decision. We do not think education should get in the way of the students' demands. So, here is what we can do to best to persuade our principal. The students in Pacific Academy need a vending machine because: they need food and water at particular times, they can be more productive and they can be well behaved subjectively. The students at Pacific Academy should have a vending machine because they need food and water in particular times during the day. As a good status to study, we must eliminate hunger and thirst during the school days. Some students who missed their breakfast will be suffering at class and cannot focus on what the teacher is saying. Many students feel hungry during the 4th period and cannot concentrate. Day by day, their 4th period's class will get bad grades and they can only learn few things. For students who forget their bottles at home, they have no way to drink water for whole day. They will study in a bad mood even though they have no idea water can solve the problem. So now, the main point is: students need some facilities to offer or sell food and drinks in a hurry. Then the best choice to fix this point is vending machines. Now it is up to you to make the best decision. If we get enough food and drink we will lead to a good status that we can work harder and more effectively. Suppose you are a student who is listening to the teacher carefully while suddenly your stomach is gurgling because it is empty, and it needs you to eat immediately. What you continue to do is to still listen to the teacher and work hard with your stomach protesting at the same time, which makes it difficult for you to focus. Or you will have some snacks to eat and then continue your work? Of course food comes from the vending machine. Then the water problem is nearly the same.

You have said that we can drink water at drinking facility which is opposite the office. But, the problem is, we can only use it after class and we cannot take our own water into the classrooms. It is not easy for students to run all the way down the hall to get a drink. So, the vending machine can make us work more productively and effectively and not cause trouble for school and ourselves. Then, good treating helps students become well behaved as a result of the vending machines appearance. Students get appeased after they have food and drinks, which solved their problem of hunger and thirst. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest's search results: “rewards can be an effective way to encourage positive behavior. Children like every one after their actions based on short term anticipated consequences.” As a win-win event, to arrange a vending machine not only help students to solve their problem with their physiological need and help them to set up a positive attitude but also help the teacher to teach easily and fluently to create high class productivity. So the vending machine is the best choice to fix the students' problem, also bring school a good order and management at the same time. Above all, students need vending machine to get food during the day and they need to be more productive and well behaved. Students are now anxious that their will now do something to address this problem.

The opportunity to be me.

VeNdiNg MacHiNe Needed By ZHoNgZHi Qu

December 2011

www.pacificacademy.org

In October, our school organized an activity, which needed to be finished in the market. The activity was so funny and teachers took some photos about this experiment. First teachers made some notes and there were phrases on the notes. Students who had bad behavior would be given a note. So what were the words on the notes? The answer is: I act like a child. It was creative and interesting, wasn’t it? Then teachers separated all of the students in some groups. Next, they gave each of the students a note. There were the things they need to find in the market. And also at the very bottom of the paper, there were some things Mr. Corpus would ask us to find.

After the preparation for the market trip, students and teachers walked to the nearest market called Ralphs. The sunshine was so harsh that most of the students began to sweat. But everyone was happy and no one complained anything about the hot weather. Then teachers and students arrived at the market. They began to find the things listed on the paper with groups. At first they just found things by themselves very carefully. But after a while, they seemed to work in a group. That’s may be the main idea of this trip. Every group worked together and students seemed to be very happy and satisfied after they found all of the categories.

This trip gave students a fun time and taught them the importance of group work. Thanks to the school, you gave us such a great opportunity to learn something which we have to learn during our whole life!

our iNterestiNg exPerieNce at tHe

suPerMarket

Photos by: Paul Lee

December 2011 VOL. ONE ISSUE 2

Seniors Attend Tim Burton Exhibit at LACMA By Dennis Wang

“I’ve always been more comfortable making my decision from the subconscious level, or more emotionally, because I find it is more truthful to me. Intellectually, I’m more wary of my intellectually mind of becoming delusional if I think of it too much.” say Tim Burton. Tim Burton was born in 1958, a place called Burbank in California. Now he is a movie director. “Strange” and “Gloom” are his styles. His movies are famous because most movies have darkness. His childhood makes me think he is a crazy genius. Burbank is not famous like Hollywood, but they have a beautiful and peaceful environment. So a lot of companies like NBC, Warner, and Disney are there. Burton had lots of chances to see stars. Tim’s childhood was lonely. He indulged in his own world. He liked to use painting to express his thoughts. After high school, Tim went to California Institute of Art to study character animation. Next year, he joined the Walt Disney Animation Studio. Initially, he worked on “The Fox and The Hound”, “The Black Cauldron”, and “Tron”. However, his personal style clashed with Disney’s standards, and he hoped to work on solo projects. In 1982,he made a short cartoon named “Vincent”. Disney thought it was too gloomy for young kids. After this, he made another short movie “Frankenweenie” in 1984. Disney thought it was too gloomy again. But there was an actor who watched “Frankenweenie” and said Tim is the best director for his new movie. He worked for Warner. He directed “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” very successfully. And then he made a horror movie. It was different from others horror movies; there were a lot of new film elements in it. He became famous and the most popular horror movie director in Hollywood. Tim Burton had his own exhibit in LACMA during May 29th to October 31st in 2011. “The exhibition brings together over 700 drawings, paintings, photographs, moving-image works, storyboards, puppets, concept artworks, costumes, and cinematic ephemera, including art from a number of unrealized and little-known personal projects. Many of these objects come from the artist's own archive, as well as from studio archives and private collections of Burton's collaborators.” In the exhibit, his movie “Edward Scissorhands” gave me a deep impression. In “Edward Scissorhands” Tim sets his own style. He has a style includes sad endings like those of Hans Christian Andersen. Edward, a robot, has two hands that are like scissors; he could not even embrace his lover. He only hides in a corner where people never know that he trims plants, ice engravings, and his love. Tim Burton has his own style. Most of his movies have a dark style. He uses different ways to show his art, from different points of views to comprehend art. This is why he is very popular in Hollywood.

Photos by Jacqueline Kim

The Pacific Academy Newsletter Staff: Editor-in-Chief – Jasmine Wang Copy Editor – Phoebe Pan Staff Writers - Sarah Wang, Min Soo Oh, Jason Lee, SheilabairWu

To include a class event, fieldtrip, or any other Pacific Academy news, please email pictures and text to

npecenkovic@pacificacademy.org.

The Opportunity to be me.

ELD 2 students have been learning about movies and

entertainment in general in their “American Culture” class

that takes place on Fridays. From viewing clips of

blockbusters, analyzing student films, and learning the movie

industry lingo, students have been immersed in all things

Hollywood. Then came time for students to try out movie

making for themselves. Students write scripts, pitched ideas,

and created story boards. In the end, three movie scripts

were chosen: Alan’s story about chicken, Jason’s tale about

an ELD 2 teacher that ends up murdering all of her students,

and Dennis’ account of a creepy hospital where things are

not as they seem. To wrap up the “Entertainment” section of

the “American Culture” class, all ELD students took a trip to

a local movie theater and watched Adam Sandler’s Jack and

Jill. As is always the case, the reviews were mixed. Qu

found Sandler to be a funny actor who portrays two

characters very well. Sheilabair found the movie’s humor

crude and did not enjoy the flick, while Jason claimed that

slapstick humor was his favorite kind. In addition, the

students are currently filming their own Christmas plays

written for Ms. Kim’s English class.

I Smell Popcorn! Students Take a Field Trip to the

Movie Theater as part of their American Culture “Entertainment” Lesson

We have so much to be thankful for!

For Thanksgiving, PA students and staff shared a traditional

Thanksgiving meal with the St. Paul staff. The meal was

wonderfully created by Carissa Rice, ACI’s science teacher.

Students shared what they were most thankful for and turkey

was had by all!

Photo by Nidzara Pecenkovic

Photos by Paul Lee