1527 Lakme AvenueWilmington, CA 90744

May, 2017Issue V

BHS Portlight Presents...The Senior Edition

The Millennial Class of 2017

cdPage 1Seniors...the end is

near!Seniors, It’s almost

June which means the end is near!

-June 3rd Prom Huntington Hyatt Re-gency Resort and Spa:

6pm.-12pm. (must be on time)

-June 5th Senior Picnic Football field

10:14 a.m.- 12 a.m.

-June 6th Graduation Rehearsal

#1 Football Field 8:00 a.m. - 9:53 a.m.

-June 7th Graduation Rehearsal

Football Field 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 am

-June 7th Cap & Gown Distribu-

tion Large Gym 9:30 a.m. - 10:30am

-June 7th Cap & Gown Picture

Large Gym 10:30 a.m. - 11:30am

-June 7th Senior Lunch 11:30am

-June 7th Senior Mass (optional)

Saints Peter & Paul 6:00 p.m.

-June 8th Graduation

4:00pm (check in

at 2:15pm)

-June 10th -11th Disney Gradnite

11:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m.

Banning High School has been ranked for the second consecutive year by U.S. and World Report Today in their na-tion school rankings. Our school has been ranked 222 statewide and 1,253 worldwide. The na-tional publication considered col-lege readiness, graduation rates, and state test scores in consider-ing the rankings among schools. They have looked at around 30,000 schools nationwide and statewide in getting their rank-ings. Last year we were ranked 327 statewide and 1733 nationwide. We are also ranked

175 among magnet schools. We ranked higher than San Pedro, Carson and Narbonne. “We are very proud that so many of our exceptional schools were included on this prestigious list,” Superintendent Michelle King said. “This recog-nition reflects the hard work and commitment of our principals, teachers and school-site employ-ees to the success of our stu-dents.” With hard work, Banning High School can get ranked even higher next year on the best high schools by U.S. News and World report.

Banning Ranked Top School Nationwide

By: Kevin Duran, News Writer

2017 is the year Sweet Charity came to Banning High School. Many students were involved in this project by building sets, cho-reographing dances, and memorizing lines and lyrics. It took hours of dedication and practice to make Sweet Charity happen, and it was all worth it. I played the role of Hermione, the tough manager of the Fandango Ballroom where Charity works alongside her friends. Hermione comes in now and then but later sings, “I Love to Cry at Weddings” as the 11 o’clock number. It was such a fun song to perform because of how slow it starts then it escalates to a very energetic song that in-cludes the whole cast in a big production

number. Being in a play is very difficult be-cause it gets insanely busy and hectic back-

stage. The backstage crew needs to get every-one their mics on time, the actors have to be ready to come out once they hear their cue, and the dancers must be ready to go. Not to mention the people rushing to get into their costumes and fix their hair and makeup on time. Although busy and stressful, I don’t regret getting involved in such a big produc-tion because of how amazing it felt to get up on stage and sing my heart out. As silly as it may sound, I loved the nervousness in the pit of my stomach while anticipating my next move on stage. Participating in Sweet Charity was an incredible experience I will remember for years to come.

Broadway Classic Sweet Charity Graces Cragin Theater StageBy: Alexa Ocampo, Editor-in-Chief

What will you do af-ter high school?” It’s a question that everyone asks you. You may even ask yourself that question if you are undecided on what to do. It’s okay to be unsure, not every-one has a plan right away, but do something temporary until you find the path you want to take. There’s college but if school isn’t your calling, you can go and get a job, or you can join the military, help fight for what you stand for-

-if you have figured out what you stand for yet!You want to do something that is going to make you happy and lead you to a good future. Here’s the thing: there is so much to do in the world, you just have to go out find what it is that you want to do. Don’t let the words ‘impos-sible’ or ‘hard’ get in the way of it because nothing is impossible, but nothing comes easy, you have to work for it.

What Will You do After High School?By: Giselle Gallardo, News Photographer

Love

Peace

88% of the Millennial Class of 2017 will be walking the stage. This is one of the highest percentages of gradu-ates in Banning history. We, the Millennial Class of 2017,

issue a challenge to the class of 2018: beat our number next year!!

Graduation Challenge to The Reminiscents ‘18

By: Giselle Gallardo (News Photographer)

vs

News The Incredible Mr. Han-na has been a part of the Banning High School staff for 12 years. He has impacted many students and we are sad to see him go. We know that good things are in his horizon. Before he leaves we figured it would be good for stu-dents to know more about him. Mr. Hanna grew up in Venice, California and went to the Santa Monica School District. Later in life he went to UCLA, Cal State North-ridge, and the University of the Pacific. When he got out of col-lege he became an archaeologist. When I asked him why he became a teacher he joked and said “God knows” but in all se-riousness he talked about how it made sense and he had always really been a teacher. And after his wife got pregnant he needed a more stable job. Hanna’s teach-ing career is very impressive. He

gave 12 years to Banning High School , 16 years to Stephen White Middle School, 8 years to Hollenbeck Middle School, making 35 years of teaching. He’s been a dedicated teacher at Banning and when asked why he liked Banning he said how it’s a very familiar school and just feels like family.

Hanna is going to use his retire-ment to relax more for sure, but besides that he doesn’t know what the future has in store. He might get a job as a veterinarian in a local ani-mal hospital. He

wants to tell his students to find what you love and do it and as he says goodbye to Banning, which has been quite the ride for him, he says to “find your truth, everyone has their own, don’t confuse truth with facts.” Thank you Hanna for all your years here! The staff and the students wish you well!

Thank you Mr. Hanna!By: Giselle Cabrera, Opinion and Editorial Writer

Ms. Madison has truly left an impact here at Banning during her years of teaching. We are so grateful she taught here for so many years and teaching us so much. For those of you who weren’t lucky enough to have her or you want to know more, well here it is! Ms. Madison grew up in the Coachella Valley and went to Indio High. She studied at UC Santa Bar-bara, then stud-ied in France abroad, UC Davis, George-town, and M a r y m o u n t . Before teach-ing at Banning she taught adult school at Holy Family, Banning Adult School, Fairfax, and at the Refugee Project. She became a teacher because she needed a sta-ble job and enjoys being around teenagers. Before she became a teacher she was an office man-ager, secretary, receptionist, and was a Soviet Union exhibit guide. She has been teaching at Banning since 2001: 16 years. She taught English because it was

employable and she likes to read and write; but, when a French po-sition became available, it turned out she liked it better! Before she became a teacher she was an of-fice manager, secretary, recep-tionist, and was an Soviet Union exhibit guide. Her experience at Banning was unique because it was the only time she taught high schoolers and while she did say it

was difficult, she also said how it was fun. On her retire-ment she’s going to write more, publish more, spend time with her mother and her sister who has alzheimer’s, and go swim-

ming. We wish Ms. Madison the best and thank her for her years of teaching. Her advice to graduat-ing students is to learn everything you possible can, knowledge is power, there’s no useless knowl-edge. And to her students, past and present, she says “Put away your phones!” Thank you for ev-erything Ms. Madison we wish you the best!

Thank you Ms. Madison!By: Giselle Cabrera, Opinion and Editorial Writer

Thank You Mr. Jones!By: Giselle Cabrera, Opinion and Editorial Writer

Mr. Jones has been an amazing teacher and a great addi-tion to the Banning High School staff and we are sad to see him go. Although his stay at Banning wasn’t long, it was splendid and we are grateful. This year marks the end of his teaching years as he goes into retirement. Mr. Jones grew up in Alaska, Fair-banks in first grade, Ketichikan in second grade, and finally Juneau till his s o p h o m o r e year. He at-tended Idaho State Univer-sity for his B a c h e l o r ’ s Degree as well as CSULA, UCLA, and Arizona State. He worked for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He became a teacher because his mother was one and he was inspired by his high school his-tory teacher to become one too. He also taught Government, Economics, Constitutional Law, and became an 8th and 5th grade teacher. He taught at Mecca El-

ementary, Horach Mann Jr. High, and South Gate High School. He came to Banning December of 2014 and says the experience was good and he’s enjoyed working with Banning students more than the other schools he’s worked in. He plans to move to Olympia, Washington in the summer because his part-

ner got a position as a doctor there. They like to camp and kayak and he would like to get into dog rescue. He also plans to take some classes and wants to get an RV and a boat to go back to fish-ing. His advice to students who are

graduating is, “Go out there and become what you want to be. The only difference between what you are now and what you want to be is what YOU do.” Thank you Mr. Jones for being a wonderful ad-dition to this school! You will be missed and we all wish you the best! As his final words, “Do or do not, there is no credit for trying in life.”

Ms. Alam is retiring af-ter 22 years at Banning.. Ms. Alam grew up in Ka-rachi, Pakistan and went to school there too. Before becoming a teacher she was a chemist for a pharmaceut i -cal company. She became a teacher because as a teen she liked tutoring others and just generally liked to teach oth-ers. She teach-es chemistry, physics, and biology because she has always just liked science. She likes Banning be-cause the teachers and staff are very nice and supportive of her and the science department is a llarge group of teachers who help each other. In all her years at Ban-ning she has never had a negative experience. In her AP classes, her students are all wonderful but she noticed how a lot of students don’t like chemistry and find it very dif-

ficult. She says, “ Make America Smart Again.” They are a lot of people who don’t like science and math, hence there are fewer peo-ple majoring in it. She believes

to be more competi-tive we must instill the interest in math and science in high school. Now that she is retiring she is going to travel for a year and then volunteer in biotech work. She says how she will try to keep in touch with students now that she is leaving. She wished that her

students know they can do any-thing. If you put your mind to it you can, achieve it. Looking back, she spoke on how no mat-ter how hard it is to teach here, she truly enjoyed it and liked ev-eryone, they were all truly good people to her. Thank you Ms. Alam for all your years of teaching here. You will be missed and we wish you the best!

Thank You Ms. Alam!By: Giselle Cabrera, Opinions and Editorial Writer

The Academic Decath-lon is a program with events in which you will compete in com-petitions, have fun, and make new friends in. They also refer it as “sports for your brain.” The reason it’s called Academic Decathlon is because deca means 10 and there are 10 categories to compete in. The 10 categories are speech, give an interview, write an essay, music, art, math, sci-ence, economics, literature, and social studies. In the Student Decathlon you also have the opportunity to represent your school and com-pete against other students from other schools. There is also a big event at the end called the super quiz and this year we were able to beat Carson! Anyone that wants to join is welcome. All grades and all GPA’s are accepted and it would look great on your resume and college applications. Here at Banning you will earn 5 elective credits if you join. The competi-tion starts in January or February and ends in May.

Student DecathlonBy: Jacqueline Marroquin

Advice From Ms. C. Finley: “Enjoy life while you are young. Do not be afraid to try new POSITIVE experiences. Live life with no regrets.”

Advice From Papa Finley: “Don’t be afraid to do what you want to do. The world is a challenging place.”

Advice From Mr. R. Finley: “Try to stay in school before you get involved in other opportunities.”

Advice From Ms. S. Finley: “Get your %!#@ together. Enjoy high school while you still can. Enjoy not having so many responsibilities. Once you’re out you’re on your own.” Advice From Mama Finley: “I wish you the best of luck and keep working hard to achieve your dreams.”

Finley Family ForumBy: Emelly Escobar, News Writer

“Today’s News

isTomorrow’s

History”

Page 2

OpinionPage 3

People tell you “enjoy high school, it will be the best years of your life.” It’s when your life peaks. But, will it never get better than being enclosed for 12 years in the school system telling you where to sit, use the restroom, and what to think? Many adults don’t seem to remember how high school was so stressful and hard for some people.So many students have insecurities, even some of the most popular ones. On top of that everyone is telling you that your whole future rides on these years and it does. Get good grades. Par-ticipate in extracurriculars. Have a social life. Be happy. High school is not total hell; time spent with friends laughing and mak-ing memories are amazing. High school is a building block. It will impact what you are going to be-come and what the future holds, but after high school your whole life is ahead of you: career, fam-ily, and limitless possibilities. Yes, prom, grad night and homecoming are all fun. But if high school is as good as life gets? Count me out.

Is High School the Best Years of Your Life?

By: Giselle CabreraOpinion and Editorial Writer

Some students already know what they want to do after school. In the morning announce-ments, we hear that students are getting accepted to college but there are also students who have no idea what is going to happen after graduation. All we know about life is that we go to school, learn, and do homework on the subject afterwards. Obviously we can go to college and, according to adults, we should apply right now, but what about careers and life styles? School briefly tells you about how difficult getting a job can be, how much you’ll be paying for a home or a car, or how to live on your own. First, looking for a job is not as easy as looking it up, ap-

plying and poof, you get the job. You have to look all over the in-ternet and in newspapers to see who is hiring. Then you must email or call the employer, apply, and wait for a call back, then go to the interview. Even then you only have a 50 percent chance of getting that job. Having a job also relates to getting a house because you have to pay for loans and get a deposit and financing.. Your job reflects on what kind of house you can buy and don’t forget about es-sentials like food, electricity, wa-ter, and most importantly in our generation, WIFI! Because every-one knows we can’t live without wifi these days. This is only half of the struggle so be prepared.

It’s that time of the year, prom season. You’re excited to go dress shopping and you fi-nally find the perfect one, but you forget that there’s a dress code. Banning’s dress code for females is: splits and the length of skirts should be no higher than 3 ½ to 4 inches above the knee, no sheer attire exposing body parts, no midriff or excessive cleavage,

no low cut dresses in the front or back(no further than mid-back), spaghetti straps will be allowed as long as they don’t reveal ex-cessive cleavage, dresses should be tasteful, and appropriate shoes must be worn. As for male stu-dents, they cannot wear casual shoes and must wear a suit or tuxedo. Honestly, I don’t understand

why prom dress codes are so strict. It takes the fun out of dress shopping. Also, most of the time, students don’t know about the dress code until the school an-nounces it a week before prom… after everyone already has their outfits. Therefore, prom dress codes should be less strict so stu-dents can just enjoy their night.

Prom Dress CodesBy: Rocio Palacios,

Reporter & Photographer

It’s a new year. You’re in a new environment. So many dif-ferent faces. It’s a lot to take in. So, as a freshman, you have ev-ery right to be nervous or afraid. However, there are more reasons to be afraid, such as keeping up with your grades and making sure you hang out with the right crowd. Freshman year is the year that focuses the rest of your high school career. If you have a bad start then you might have a rough time trying to catch up. It’s im-portant to stay on track in your classes because you don’t want to risk having to take Edgenuity classes or summer school which must be taken if you have failed any of your A-G requirement courses. Summer school begins a week after school finishes and lasts about 5 weeks. Edgenuity is taken after-school and caters to seniors who need to catch up on their classes in order to graduate,

however it is open to all grades. Being surrounded with the wrong crowd during your fresh-man year can be one of the rea-sons why you might have done poorly your first year. Alexa Oc-ampo, a graduating senior, re-flects on her freshman year and realizes that the people she hung around had affected her. “Look-ing back at my freshman year I realize that the people I hung out with, no matter how much I liked them, were a bad influence for my academic career. They made me feel lazy and unmotivated.” It’s best to be with people who encourage you to do better, don’t get me wrong, it’s okay to have fun with your friends, but don’t let them pull you down and bring you to failure. Make the best of your high school career and do bigger and better things in your life, because graduating high school is only the beginning of the rest of your life.

Take Control of Your Education!By: Melanie Cervantes

Managing Editor

What Comes After High School?By Poem Medina

Opinion and Editorial Writer

In order to g r a d u a t e high school and meet the A-G require-ments, we must past two years of

a foreign language. The problem is that we only have two language choices: Spanish or French. These are not horrible languages, but it is difficult to learn a lan-guage that you’re not interested in or already know. At Banning, most of the population is Latino who already speak Spanish, and French is quite similar to Span-ish. Other schools, have courses like Japanese, Korean, Farsi, or Russian along with Spanish and French. We need variety with our courses such as Asian, European, or American Sign Language. Many teenagers are interested in different cultures and want to learn more about them. This is also a way to get students to be dedicated to school work. If a stu-dent is bored, they aren’t going to care. If it is something they want to learn about, they will look forward to attending that class and strive to pass it. In the end, it doesn’t hurt to try new things and that is something our school needs to do with languages.

More Language Classes

By Poem MedinaOpinion and Editorial Writer

Education is something that one needs in order to have a good paying job and to be successful in life. Being famous and getting sudden opportunities to have a good paying job by chance is not a guarantee for everyone. One has to work hard for what they want in life. Nothing is just handed to you without a price. There is always a catch to every-thing, like fine print. Just think of life having fine print; it is every-where and hard to notice. Education is needed for al-most everything. Whether it is a high school diploma or some kind

of college degree. Some form of further education will be needed. For example, Mcdonald’s re-quires a high school degree or a student with good grades to work at one of their restaurants. If Mc-donalds needs a high school di-ploma then imagine all the other places that will soon require the same thing. It is unknown when we will all need more than just a high school diploma to have any job. And for careers in the future, one might need not only a Bachelor’s Degree from a four year univer-sity, a graduate degree may be needed as well.

Why You Need Education By: Xena Ybarra, Editor-in-Chief

Welcome Freshman!

Everyday families are torn apart because of the United States immigration policy. They have trouble in court cases, if they are even given one. The families are torn apart by a system they were unable to understand. These families often don’t have money for a lawyer and sometimes have a language barrier. The Trump ad-ministration’s raids will bring so many new cases like these. Right now, L.A. has one of the largest unauthorized im-migrant populations in the coun-try — nearly one in 10 of these immigrants lives in L.A. County, according to a 2015 study by the Migration Policy Institute. And for many of the people facing de-portation, their lives are at stake, some will face torture returning to their home countries, but most immigrants can’t afford a law-yer to argue against government prosecutors. Another study found that detained immigrants who are represented by an attorney are five times more likely to win their cases than immigrants without representation. In California, almost 100,000 cases are waiting to be decided. The consequences of this inefficient system affects others besides these immigrant families. The detention centers keep productive workers out of the work force. We should pro-vide immigrant communities with more resources to give them the fair trial they deserve.

Immigration Cases Deserve a Fair Opportunity

By: Giselle Cabrera, Opinion Writer

FeaturesPage 4

Expectations vs. Reality: Prom Edition

By: Jasmine Contreras, Features Writer

Prom is a day that most seniors look forward to. They fantasize that it will be one of the most memorable and wonderful days of their lives after watching cheesy prom movies. People tend to have high hopes for prom, however it is not always what they expect. Here are some expectations vs. reality on prom:

Expectation: You’ll be asked to prom in the most creative way.Reality: There are some people who just get a text asking if they want to go to prom. Nothing ex-traordinary.

Expectation: Prom will be one of the best nights of your life.Reality: Prom ends up being just like any school dance.

Expectations: Girls hope that they will easily find their dream dress.Reality: Buying a prom dress ends up being one of the most stressful parts of prom. Choosing the color and hoping that it will fit can be a struggle.

However, prom can also end up going as expected. Even if things go wrong, you will always re-member the day and have a good laugh about the memories.

Prom Looks By: Odalis Zuniga

Ah prom, a special night where you get to look your very best! Prom is around the corner, and if you haven’t figured out what makeup look to do, then here are some tips to inspire you!

- If you’re planning to wear a black dress, then you have 2 op-tions. You can go for a dramatic smokey eye and a nude lip, or you have the option of wearing a soft neutral eye and a bold lip. - If you plan on wearing a red

dress, then I suggest you stay away from using any yellow, blue, purple, or green colors on the lid since it might throw off your look. Instead, use neutral colors like brown, tan, gray, or cream tones so you can rock a bold red lip. - If you plan on wearing a navy blue dress, then you can prob-ably rock a silver, glittery half cut crease or a dark blue smokey eye.

I hope this helped you out!

What To Expect in College

By: Monique Rodriguez, Features Editor

College classes are going to be different than your classes in high school. Class sizes are often larger and you likely won’t get special attention from your professor. You’ll no longer be ba-bied and you’ll need to be more responsible. You have more free-dom in college, so no one is forc-ing you to come to class everyday or making sure you turn in your work. If there is something you don’t understand in class or you missed a day, you need to make sure you get that missed material on your own. College is hard work,

but you may still have time to so-cialize and have fun. Many times, your friends from high school all split up and go to different colleg-es. It’s sad, but just know that you may lose touch with your closest high school friends. However, you have many opportunities in college to meet new people and make more friends. You can join clubs, a sorority or fraternity, meet new people in class, and attend other social events. Just be sure to man-age your free time wisely and dedicate an appropriate amount of time to your academics.

Prom is a night that most seniors look forward to. In order to make this a memorable night and less stressful, here are some tips: -For both genders, make sure to have enough time to get ready so you won’t have to stress that you are late to prom -Be early to the appointments you made for that day such as hair and makeup

-You should have your dress or tuxedo out and displayed so that you can easily put it on once you are ready to go

-Make sure you have everything prepared such as when the limo or other type of transportation will arrive

-If you are going in a group, be sure that everybody is ready on time so no one will end up in a fight

-If you are going to go eat after or before prom, make sure you know which restaurant or fast food place you are going to go to

Tips for Prom

By: Jasmine Contreras, Features

There are many great uni-versities in California but some are easier to get accepted into. Banning students got accepted into many universities all over the state but the majority got ac-cepted into Cal State Dominguez Hills and Humboldt State Univer-sity. All of these university’s tu-itions are around $6,000-$7,000 a year. Choosing the right univer-sity can be very stressful and con-fusing, but here is some informa-tion about these colleges. Humboldt State University has 51 majors and 69 minors. They have over 8,700 students and 578 facility members with their student to teacher ratio be-

ing 21:1. In 2016 they had an ac-ceptance rate of 75%. In the past, they solely focused on teacher education, so it used to be called Humboldt State Teacher’s Col-lege. However, now they have extensive research facilities so they changed their name to what it’s known as today. Students have a chance for hands-on learn-ing with professors engaged in research. Cal State Dominguez Hills offer 45 undergraduate programs and 26 graduate programs. They have about 14,731 undergradu-ates and graduates and about 575 staff members. In 2016 they had an acceptance rate of 58%.

College AcceptancesBy: Valeria Ruiz

Be Successful...Join a Club

By: Giselle Cabrera

There are so many chances to get involved in extracurriculars at Banning High School, here are just a few.1. The African American Stu-dent Union is sponsored by Ms. Mcalpine who hosted a Black History Month assembly this year. 2. Spanish Club that Ms. Vargas sponsors gives students a chance to engage in a new language and culture. 3. Ms. Osorio’s Youth and Government takes students to Sacramento and shows them how our government works.4. Best Buddies affords students the opportunity to develop new friendships with students in spe-cial ed classes. 5. Youth Action, fights for environmental justice and social justice in the community.

Senior Advice to UnderclassmenBy: Monica Andrade

I have learned a lot over the four years that I have spent at Banning High School. My first piece of advice is to always put effort in your work. I know many people say this and I also know it’s easier said than done. Also, time management is very essential in school. You have to make time to do your school work so you won’t be doing it at the last minute. Don’t procrastinate. This not only allows you to have free time, but it also shows you the importance of meeting deadlines. Lastly, it is important not to overwork your-self. Breaks are important when it comes to school. It helps manage stress. We have to keep in mind our health, above all. I hope this is helpful for the following years you have in school!

Don’t ForgetProm is on June 3rd!!!

Baby PicturesPage 5

Melanie Cervantes Vanessa Jaramillo

Michelle herrera Alan Vera Irene Rodriguez

Ligia Barrios

Porshay Hilt

Sira Tello

Ingrid Escarrega

Emelly Escobar

Poem Medina

Ivan Delegado

Elaine Gomez

Amor Bernui

Alexis Magallon Evelyn Lagunas

Alejandra & Jennifer Lopez

Maria Mercado

Maria Gomez

Dyan Alejandre Alexa Ocampa Natalie Davalos

Rosa Rivera Monica Andrade

Josue Cervantes

Class of 2017

Senior Memory Lane

Millennial Class of 2017

Page 6

What’s Your Favorite High School Sports Memory?By:James Dempsey - Sports Reporter

“One of my favorite sports memories was when we beat our rival Car-son on Homecoming night while being televised. The crowd had me so hyped! Another memory I have here at Banning is when we beat San Pedro in 2015 on Homecoming night. That game was amazing as well.Last, but not least, was when we defeated Garfield High School and I was recognized personally by the T.V announcer.”

Johnathan Conde - Football

“My best high school sports memory was during the 2016 baseball season. It was the first round of playoffs and we had a home game against Granada Hills. Their pitcher was the best in the City Section and he was being clocked at 94 mph. We hit a walk-off during the 7th inning and the whole team rushed the field and dog-piled. We advanced onto the second round.”

Adam Sanchez - Baseball

“Beating San Pedro was my best sports memory in high school. It was a close game the whole time. We were down one point as I went for the game winning shot and was fouled. My heart was racing as I stepped onto the free throw line. The opposing crowd was loud and outrageous but I did not let it get to me. I made both free throws with ease and we won the game.”

Andrew Fuerte - Boys Basketball

“My favorite high school sports memory was beating Carson my senior year.After a long 16 year losing streak, the win was more important than any other win we got that season. After finishing the season with a 9-3 record, beating Carson was a great way to finish my senior year, next to winning our first round of playoffs and bringing Wilmington the first home playoff game after more than 10 years.”

Bruno Tovar - Football

“My best memory would be beating San Pedro my senior year. After an 11 year losing streak, that win made me and the team feel so proud and happy. Knowing that all the hard work and dedication we put into the team had payed off. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without our coach. Shoutout to coach Mejia!”

Alexis Magallon - Girls Basketball

“My best memory would have to be when we played against Gar-dena. My opponent and I were tied, and she hit the ball up and it was my chance to smash, so I did but the ball ended up hitting her on her chest really hard. I felt bad because I had hit her but, hey, it was my winning point.”

Ingrid Escarrega - Girls Tennis

Senior Reflections By: Alexis Magallon

I asked some seniors what they would remember about their four years of high school and these were their responses:

‘’The opportunity to meet new people.’’

- Ivan Delgado

’The art classes because it was a time that I can be creative’’

- Poem Medina

‘’All my three years in theater were memorable to me.’’

- Amor Bernui

‘’My favorite moment was when I joined softball because it was my first time I went out and joined something to represent my school.’’

- Melanie Cervantes

‘’Joining tennis my sophomore year was memorable to me.’’

- Ingrid Escarrega

’All my four years playing football.’’

- James Dempsey

Page 7 Senior Reflections

‘’What I’ll remember out all my four years in high school is that I was the plug for chips’’

- Andrew Salazar

‘’How badly I did, but in the end I still made it out’’ - Xena Ybarra

Editors-in-Chief:Xena Ybarra

Alexa Ocampo

Editors:Ingrid Escarrega

Jennifer IxtaAlexis Magallon

Poem MedinaMonique Rodriguez

Managing Editors:Amor Bernui

Melanie Cervantes

Advertisement:Brian CalderonEmily Garcia

Magali Rodriguez

Staff/ReportersMonica Andrade

Cynthia AvilaGiselle Cabrera

Jasmine ContrerasApril DelgadoIvan Delgado

James DempseyKevin Duran

Emelly EscobarGiselle GallardoAbraham GarciaCarlos GonzalezNoemi Macias

Jaqueline MarroquinCarmen MartinezJulie MelgarejoLuis Morales

Rocio PalaciosLeonel RamirezGabriela Ruelas

Vanessa RuizMary Smith

Isabel VillalobosOdalis Zuniga

Melanie MagallonYazmin Zendejas

Portlight Staff

Unsigned editorials reflect the views of the Portlight staff and not necessar-ily the newspaper advisor, the faculty, administra-tion, or LAUSD credited stories, or the opinion of the writer. This is a stu-dent run publication pro-tected by student press laws. We adhere to profes-sional ethical standards.

Editorial Content

CongratsZClass of 2017 Z

Michelle Herrera- “uh unh, is that a mini dinosaur?”- Zane/Bonifa

Ligia Barrios- Little deeds are like little seeds, they grow into flowers or to weeds!

Lyptis Rubalcava- Amor told me to put anything random it doesn’t have to be special. :)

Giselle Gallardo- Dream Big!

Hector Perez- Dreams can come true.

Nathalie Garcia- Spread love not hate!

Elaine Gomez- Life is a journey, don’t dwell in the past.

Alexis Ramirez- You can do anything you set your mind to.

Vianney Diaz- Keep calm when you’re put on the spot.

Marisol Jimenez-Ortiz- Happiness is more impor-tant than knowledge.- Albert Einstein

Dyan Alejandre- Enjoy every moment!

Amor Bernui- “You dumb potato, that’s a Kramoda Dragon!”-Heath/Tay-Tay

Alexis Magallon- Did you end that 16 year streak?

James Dempsey- Yup #Carsonwho?

Poem Medina- Faking niceness is so exhausting -.-

Melanie Cervantes- “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game”- Babe Ruth

Alexa Ocampo- When life gives you lemons, make grape juice.

Laura Alvarez- “Thanks for watching. Make sure to like and subscribe tweet me @ David Dobrik”

Irene Rodriguez- I’m like a broken Xbox, I play no games.

Vanessa Jaramillo- I like cute dogs.

Xena Ybarra- waffles are better.Alejandra Lopez- Be extra.

Alan Vera- I have no idea what I’m doing, but I know I’m doing it very well.

Kaily Acosta- the good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.

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