Students were invited to perform any and all types of acts, including songs, poetry and raps. Over 10 performances were given to a large and delighted crowd.

Senior Nick Darington and junior Arthur Bogdanovich both used their guitars and voices to show off their talent.

“It’s always a great experience to perform at Jamnesty,” Nick said. “[Everyone is] so supportive of each other and it’s a great opportunity for students to share what they do with their peers.”

Arthur played several songs, such as rock tune “Transilvania.”

“Performing felt great,” Arthur said. “I always love being on stage.”

Other performers included juniors Lucas Andrade, Eddie Salisbury, Kevin Coehlo, Megan D’Andrea and Margherita Lacapra, and seniors David Han and Neha Rathaur.

Despite some scheduling issues regarding last minute acts and general disorganization, everyone still pulled together to put on a fabulous show. Although junior Melissa Goldman went to support her peers, faculty advisor Seth Donnelly inspired her to perform. Melissa’s impromptu performance was supported only by an iPhone with a karaoke soundtrack, but was a hit all the same.

“People really loved all of the performances,” Melissa said. “I heard a lot of good feedback … I really enjoyed the Jamnesty night and I definitely plan on going to the next ones.”

For competitors in Rebound Rumble, the task is to create a robot that shoots compact foam basketballs into four different hoops in a diamond pattern. Although the final event will take place on Friday, March 16, the Robotics team learned of this task on Saturday, January 7 and have already begun designing and prototyping.

Team members build and design the robot in the shop every weekday from 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. and every weekend from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

To see the entire animation for the competition, click here.

“Music is wonderful because it exists in a variety forms,” Audun said. “It’s purely collaborative, since every individual contributes to the whole. It’s unique in that there isn’t another activity that makes something melodic out of everyone’s individual effort.”

Branching out from the school’s music department, Audun decided to further pursue his passion this year by trying out for the All-State bands: concert band, symphonic band and wind symphony.

The acceptance process requires students to record a selective piece, along with five or six chosen scales. Adjudicators evaluate the individual CD recordings. From about 1,600 student submitted recordings this year, roughly 150 to 200 were accepted into the All-State bands.

Along with Audun, who joined the wind symphony, senior Alexie Ogonowsky was also accepted.

The All-State conference will take place from Thursday, February 16 to Sunday, February 19 in Fresno, where adjudicators will evaluate the students to determine seat placement in the bands. While Thursday is reserved for these auditions, the students will spend the entire Friday and Saturday playing, only stopping for a bite to eat or sleep.

The final concert of the conference takes place on Sunday afternoon. Students will spend the rest of the day working on next year’s audition piece.

The conference lives up to its selectivity by providing a multitude of opportunities for music enthusiasts to explore the realm of professional music.

“It flies by pretty quickly [but] the main thing I get from this experience is the opportunity to meet some outstanding musicians, both student and adult alike,” Audun said.

Jerry Junkin, who works at the University of North Texas and was a past conductor of the Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia, worked with the wind symphony last year. Audun enjoyed interacting with him, and hopes the same for this year’s conference.

“I can’t wait to get back out to Fresno and meet some great musicians and friends,” Audun said.

“Where I grew up, in Armonk, New York, the environment was humid so I couldn’t really play tennis, or any other sports,” Strauss said. “So I picked swimming and I’ve stuck with it ever since.”

Strauss has done more than just “stick with it.” She has been swimming for the U.S. Masters Swimming Organization for over 25 years. In the Short Course Yard Nationals, which was just two and a half years ago, she placed 10th nationally.

“For me, it is one of those things where I can be active, be fit and stay in shape,” Strauss said. “I really like the sport too, so it’s really fun. I’ve seen lots of people that I have become friends with through swimming that have supported me and I support them … so it’s a very supportive community. I have friends from all over the country that I see when I get together with them at swim meets.”

Besides swimming herself, Strauss coaches the Sunday workout for the Menlo Masters Team, one of the many teams in the U.S. Masters Swimming Organization that offers workouts for swimmers. She assists swimmers from ages 18 to 80 with all different skill abilities. Two weeks ago, her team attended a 10-Person Relay where the Menlo Masters 10-Man Team broke their previous record.

Strauss had to face an unfortunate set of obstacles in her own swimming career, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in April of 2006.

“It was a very, very early case,” Strauss said. “Every cancer is different, and for me, the type of cancer that I had was one that was pretty easy to treat … so, I knew going into it that I was going to be okay. With that said, it was still very difficult.”

Through the support of her swimming community, family and the students at school, Strauss was able to bear through the terrible experience.

“When I started to go back to swimming, it was very difficult to do because of the type of surgery that I had,” Strauss said. “It was painful, and it took a while, and I had lost a lot of strength and flexibility.”

Once Strauss fully recovered, she reconnected with Susan Helmrich, a three-time cancer survivor, and put together a forum for swimmers in the U.S. Masters Organization that were cancer survivors, or who had family members who were cancer survivors. She wanted to make sure that others were given the same level of support that she was given to get through the experience.

“That was how I became involved with Swim Across America,” Strauss said. “That was right around that time my friend Susan had been hired for the event director for the Bay Area event, and she asked me if I wanted to help out.”

Strauss worked with Swim Across America to generate a sum of $50,000, in just the Bay Area itself.

“I think that swimming was really helpful because I had a lot of support, but because of going through cancer, I was able to help and support other cancer survivors,” Strauss said.

Also known as LitMag, the Literary Magazine is made up of student poetry, artwork, photography, short written pieces and excerpts from stories.

“LitMag was born from a perceived hole in the student publications at the high school,” Managing Editor senior Adron Mason said. “We’ve got an incredibly vibrant artistic community, and it seemed practically criminal not to show it the attention it so richly deserves.”

Besides collecting artwork and writing pieces submitted by the student body, LitMag also conducts one or two creative projects per issue. Members of the club come up with creative ideas to implement and feature in the magazine.

For one project, LitMag asked students in elementary school to write letters to their future high school selves and published the letters. In another project, members tied a disposable camera with a note (saying “use me”) to a park bench. At the end of the day, club members retrieved the camera and developed the photos taken by passerby.

The LitMag chooses student works to feature based on the perceived amount of effort in the pieces and their ability to convey emotion.

“I feel that the submissions that get published are generally ones that the creator put a lot of effort into,” Creative Director of Art senior Julie Tseng said. “The writer or artist often has an emotional connection with their pieces that can be translated to the reader, whether it is a whimsical or serious feeling.”

The club tries to include as many submissions as possible but each issue also features one student from either AP Studio Art or Freestyle to highlight his or her passion for art.

“We want to know what inspires them, and take an in-depth look at the personal styles they’ve developed over time,” Creative Director of Submissions junior Sarah Zanjani said. “Student features are a terrific way to get to know the creative minds on campus.”

The LitMag is open to and encourages student submissions throughout the year.

“We hope to get the word out to a great number of students at school so they can read and appreciate the work that their peers have done,” Sarah said.

The issue will be distributed in Room 409 and is accompanied by food. The magazine is free and food is available for $5.

Email litmag.lahs@gmail.com if you have questions or are interested in submitting your work.

I learn by trial and error, and it’s working pretty well so far. The process is thus: attempt action. If unpleasant reaction, abstain from action. In practice, it’s not so much “trial and error” as it is “learning by failing.”

You’ll see that common sense had absolutely no effect on my learning method, and never quite managed to insert itself into the process. At age five, I tried to eat a crayon. Why? Because the label said Macaroni & Cheese. But crayons aren’t for eating, you say.

I know. But the label said Macaroni & Cheese.

Twelve years later, common sense has stopped trying to get my attention at all. I recently found a tool in the garage that can cut through tough plastic pipe. It looked fairly sturdy, so I tested it to see if I could cut a bolt in half, and created a hole the size of a dime in the cutter. How did I ever believe that a thin plastic-cutting blade could cut a metal bolt?

I don’t really know. But it seemed important that I try.

The result of all this is that I end up doing lots of stupid things with the rather flimsy excuse of “it seemed like a good idea at the time.” Nearly putting my metal thermos in the microwave. Putting a beach ball on top of my lamp (which had been on for about two hours) and melting it to the bulb. Turning a rather interesting red valve outside my house and accidentally shutting off the water to the entire house. Closing my car door as fast as possible while it made this incredibly annoying ding-ding-ding noise to remind me that I had left the lights on.

I used to put my keys on the floor of the trunk while I took my stuff out. And then one night I locked them in.  Fortunately, I had my phone. Unfortunately, I was at Fanime (read: convention which I treat pretty much like a second Halloween in May). I had to wait for the AAA guy in assassin robes. Needless to say, I have since learned to keep my keys in my pocket.

But I remember all of my failures, and for the most part I don’t repeat them. I watched and felt insufferably smug (from a distance) at Egan when I saw people try to put aluminum foil in the microwaves, not because I inherently knew that it was a bad idea, but because I had already mastered that particular failure. It’s not that I’m smart; I was just the first to fail.

“Thanksgiving was really the time when I first started cooking,” David said. “My parents have a lot of friends and relatives who are chefs. They all kind of taught me during that time from baking scones and baking rolls and stuff like that to doing the full on roast and mashed potatoes.”

After being taught by his relatives and working with them in events outside of the house, David worked at a church for free with a chef from the French Laundry, a lavish restaurant located in Napa Valley.

Working at Calafia is a product of David’s passion for cooking, which spurred him to experience a different side of the culinary world, one that extends beyond his own kitchen.

“[Cooking is] about efficiency and sometimes creativity and how fast you can get product out,” David said. “It is a much different environment from when I started.”
Although he still enjoys cooking at home with his family, especially at times like Thanksgiving, David really appreciates the opportunity he has to learn from his mentors, namely Charlie Ayers, the head chef of Calafia.

“There have been a lot of people but I would definitely have to say Charlie Ayers. [Charlie] took me under his wing, so to say.”

David’s passion for cooking however has not altered his plan for the future. After graduating from high school, David plans on getting a degree and then becoming a chef in the future. One of his favorite examples of this is Ming Tsai, owner of the restaurant The Blue Ginger. Ming graduated from Harvard with a degree of electrical engineering but then decided he wanted to be a chef.

“I believe that I have to get a conventional education before I can start to pursue culinary school, otherwise there is no way I can distinguish myself from other chefs,” David said.

David did not neglect to mention the less serious side of cooking.

“I often have competitions with other people in the line with who can get the most orders out the fastest, it’s fun,” David said.

Deciding what his favorite part of cooking was difficult for David. Though one of his favorite parts is the actual preparation of the dishes, he loves putting the food on the plate and making it look beautiful. But answering why he loved cooking wasn’t difficult.

“I love the look of satisfaction on peoples faces when I make food,” David said without hesitation.

“Hello, boys and girls,” says Lotta Pasta (junior Andrew Leindenthal), as she walks across the stage and cheerfully greets the audience.

“Ciao, Lotta!”

“Hello, Lotta,” the audience elatedly responds to Lotta, as they journey to the bustling streets of ancient Rome, submerged in yet another successful and engaging production by The Broken Box Company.

In the past, Broken Box has done an outstanding job with compelling dramas and exhilarating performances, such as “Romeo and Juliet” (2010) and “Flowers for Algernon” (2011). For this show, however, Broken Box entertained its audience with a pantomime–a musical-comedy theatrical production that is highly interactive and extremely entertaining.

“There’s No Place Like Rome” takes the audience back to the ancient cities of Rome and Cairo, as they follow the charming love story of Prince Alexander (junior Ian McColl) and Penne Paste (sophomore Emily Baird), the sinister plan of Bilious (junior Sam Gavenman), and the hilarity of the many quirky characters encountered throughout the production.

The play begins with an opening statement from Venus, the Roman God of Love (senior Sage Yort), who provides a witty narration throughout the entire story. As the curtains unveil, the audience is brought to the animated city of Rome, where the constant banter of the townsfolk brings a sense of livelihood to the audience.

The audience becomes acquainted with character Lotta Pasta, who cooks scrumptious Italian meals for the emperor. Soon, the despised Bilious enters the story, and the audience finds out about his evil plan to take over Egypt and Rome by murdering his father Emperor Nauseous (junior Corey Moran) and framing it on Prince Alexander, the son of Queen Cleopatra (senior Laura Delamare) and Mark Antony (senior Annalise Tahran).

In the meantime, Prince Alexander and Penne Pasta meet, both sure that their love is true and that they are meant for each other. However, the evil Bilious also loves Penne, and after he kills his father and blames it on Alexander, he kidnaps Penne and runs away to Egypt in an attempt to take over the throne of Queen Cleopatra.

Just when it seems like Bilious might be able to accomplish his sinister plan, Soothsayer (senior Christine Do) saves Emperor Nauseous’ life. With Bilious out to Egypt holding Penne as a hostage, the rest of the team–Prince Alexander, Lotta Pasta, Emperor Nauseous and many other characters–sail the vast Mediterranean to Egypt, causing a shift in location from Rome to the land of pyramids.

The rest of the story details how Prince Alexander, along with the help of his friends from Rome and in Egypt, defeats the evil Bilious and wins back his love, Penne Pasta. The show ends with their marriage in Rome since, obviously, “there’s no place like Rome.”

Broken Box has definitely mastered the art of the pantomime–the play gets a roar of laughter from the audience, who are entirely engaged in the lively production. Whether it’s the amusing dances that the characters spontaneously break into, the hilarity of the jokes in the production, or the variety of interesting and quirky characters, Broken Box does an outstanding job.

Many props go to director Nancy Moran, who makes the stage come to life. Junior Ian McColl and sophomore Emily Baird showcase Alexander’s and Penne’s love for each other vividly through wonderful acting.

Junior Sam Gavenman does an exceptional job as the evil Bilious. Junior Andrew Leindenthal has mastered the role of Lotta Pasta. Senior Sage Yort is a graceful Venus who guides the audience throughout the story.

Maximus (senior Johnny Henriquez) and Minimus (senior Will Gros de Mange), who play Bilious’ henchmen, crack many jokes throughout the entire production. The entire cast of Broken Box does an extraordinary job, and leaves the audience in laughter the entire time.

By traveling back in time to the streets of Rome and journeying through the story of Prince Alexander, Penne Pasta, and all the other characters involved in the production, the audience realizes, amidst laughter and drama, that there really is no place like Rome.

Her interest in unicycling began about a year ago when her little brother’s friend brought his unicycle over and offered to let her ride it around. She took him up on his offer.

“It’s just something that’s not common and I thought that was cool,” Sasha said.

After a quick ride, Sasha found that she was already better than her brother and his friend. She became eager to improve her abilities.

Ever since then, Sasha has been teaching herself how to ride a unicycle. She spent last summer practicing as often as she could to build up her skill. Often, she stays after school to get more practice with the free space that’s available.

Sasha said another upside in learning how to unicycle is that it’s a safer alternative to biking. There are less components to get caught up in, and as a result it’s easier to ride.

Although her parents had initial worries about letting Sasha ride around on a unicycle and kept her practicing in a parking lot, it has become her mode of transportation around town and to school.

Although none of her friends have been interested enough to learn how to unicycle themselves, she has met six or seven people around town who also unicycle.

When Sasha meets fellow unicyclists, they often share and show each other the unicycle tricks they’ve learned. Tricks include riding the unicycle on their stomachs, hopping on and off objects, hopping in place, riding with one foot and riding backwards. Sasha began practicing and attempting new tricks about a month ago.

“I know how to hop off things,” Sasha said. “[It] didn’t take long to learn.”

After months of trial and error, Sasha is still learning the best way to ride a unicycle smoothly and safely. To any who are interested in learning how to unicycle, she offers some advice.

“You have to actually put your weight on the seat and this way it’s easier to balance and it looks smoother,” Sasha said.

Although Sasha enjoys riding the unicycle, it is purely recreational.

She is not aware of any competitions for unicycling and isn’t sure of whether she would compete if introduced to one.

“Maybe I can just watch. Or maybe more of a talent show. I don’t like competitions,” Sasha said.

Sasha has no plans about unicycling for the future. She is willing to just see how things turn out. Unicycling will stay a part of her daily life as long as she can manage it. No matter how often she will unicycle in the future, she remains proud of her hobby.

“It’s a personal achievement,” Sasha said. “You feel good when you accomplish something.”