As Steven Moreno, a social studies teacher, attempted to check his application status on Friday, Nov. 8, his mood wavered from happy and excited to completely irritated due to website problems. He had to wait more than another week to learn that he had been officially awarded with the National Board Certification.

 According to Principal Alicia Romero and the Oakland High School website, National Board Certification is an award that gives a teacher a teaching credential that complements a teacher’s state credential. To receive this award, teachers have to go through the challenging process of completing 10 assessments, 4 portfolio entries, and recording lectures in class.

“In my opinion, it’s one of the best ways to reflect on your teaching to become better,” said Moreno.  “It also pretty much makes us certified to teach in any state. I was relieved I passed it because it was such a rigorous process.  I was dreading having to do any of the parts over again this year. It was like a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders once I passed. When I found out I passed, I didn’t update my Facebook status, but I told my family, friends, and the students in my classes.”

Many of Moreno’s students were happy to receive the news that Moreno had been given the certificate.

According to Moreno’s students, from his lectures in class to joking around on office hours, Moreno is one of the best teachers at Oakland High and deserves to be recognized for his efforts.

“Of course he deserves (the National Board Certification) because not only does he (push) us to our fullest potential, he makes the classroom live by saying funny jokes and sarcastic lines,” said Cornneisha Godfrey. “Though, it can be quite annoying at times.”
“He makes class fun, interesting, and he relates to many of the students in class. He deserves it,” added senior Stephanie Groves.
The staff of Oakland High also think that Moreno is an excellent teacher who deserves this award for his commitment to achieving the laborious tasks.
“After his determination into completing the requirements, he earned and deserves it. It’s an honor to have a prestigious teacher like (Moreno) at this school,” said fellow social studies teacher Jesse Shapiro. “He attempts to make learning fun for his students. Now that he’s getting a raise, he can finally stop shopping at BabyGap.”
“I hope, in the future, more teachers at Oakland High, and throughout the district, will apply for it,”  said Moreno. “Students deserve good teachers, and this process helps you become a better teacher. What’s most important for me is to continue to improve as a teacher. If I ever get to the point where I’m no longer trying to  improve, then I hope I have the guts to find a new career, because otherwise the students suffer.”

Moreno just had one complaint about the process, saying that he felt National Board Certified teachers should receive a financial benefit as well.

“I wish Oakland Unified still had the $50,00 per year pay bonus,” he said.

Poster located in assistant principle Mr. Rogers' office listing the jobs required of students. Image Credit: Thanh Nguyen

New AP Rogers and OHS students find newly aggressive tardy sweeps effective

By Thanh Nguyen, Yvonne Tran, and Linda Saechao

Under the leadership of the new assistant principal Jeffrey Rogers, Oakland High is implementing aggressive new tardy sweeps and other security measures in hopes of reducing tardiness and truancy.

Ever since Nov. 28, 2011, students who enter the school later than 8:15 a.m have been caught up in the tardy sweeps. According to Rogers, these students have to go to the school library or theater, where they are lectured about punctuality. Students caught in three or more sweeps are assigned school on Saturday for three hours. If students are still tardy after going to Saturday school, then they get a three-day suspension. After suspension, the parents are required to re-enroll the student into the school; otherwise, the student will be expelled.

During lockout tardy sweeps, teachers lock their classrooms and require students to have a late slip from administration before they enter.

School administrators say that the strict new policy requires students to show their commitment to attending Oakland High. “There are other schools in the district,” said Rogers. “Get your act together or go somewhere else.”

Most schools in the Oakland Unified School District are doing tardy sweeps, according to Rogers. As a former Skyline administrator, he compared the two schools’ truancy problems.

“[Skyline’s] problem is worse than ours,” said Rogers, attributing the problem to the remote location of the other school’s campus.

Tardy sweeps have not been such a huge problem for Oakland High. More than 97% of students get to class on time, according to Rogers, who said, “We are more targeted on the [remaining] 3%.” He hopes the policy will help students understand that being tardy is a serious problem for their education.

    After a couple of weeks, it appears that the tardy sweeps have been effective and helpful in getting students to class, according to Rogers.

“Yeah, [they’re effective],” said senior Amy Ton. “I don’t see much people late now.”

Many students find the tardy sweeps helpful in motivating students to get to school on time to learn.

“I think it’s necessary,” said senior Saul Robles. “There’s been a lot of tardies and doing nothing won’t solve the problem.”

However, some students disagreed, pointing out that students caught in a tardy sweep will arrive to class even later than usual.

“It’s a waste of time,” said sophomore Desjon Howard. “Because you can’t do your test or work when you’re late.”

Tardy sweeps were aggressively implemented between 2004 – 2007, according to case manager Tiago Robinson. Since then, tardy sweeps had loosened up until Rogers’s employment this year.

“It is going to be all year round,” said Rogers. “[Unless] everyone gets to class on time–then we will stop. Tardy sweeps would not be necessary if everyone got to school on time. Not necessary at all.”

By Tommy Tran, Vanice Rutherford, and Rita Krouch

Teen mom Valerie Fairman, of Oxford, Penn., feeds her baby on the MTV show "16 and Pregnant." Some argue that shows like this and MTV's "Teen Mom" make the idea of parenting attractive to teens. Image credit: MTV.

Some teachers at Oakland High have noticed an apparent increase in teen pregnancy rates and are becoming concerned about the students of Oakland High. However, other teachers and administration believe the pregnancy rates have dropped in recent years.

Many teens have children for different reasons. Teens have babies due to the lack of love, family troubles, rape, lack of sex education, broken condoms, careless mistakes, and other reasons.

“I am shocked at the way teens are just having babies like it is a new trending fashion,” said Jiaqualia Green, a former Oakland High student. “I just don’t understand what makes them decide to have a baby, because raising children is not easy. We need more prevention programs to help lower the pregnancy rates.”

As a parent you have to provide the child with diapers, food, clothing, hygiene, housing, medical attention, and minor expenses. Health educator Som Florendo said the cost for raising a child as a young parent is still the same as for an adult, except that it is harder for teenagers to seek work.

“I have no choice but to accept my responsibilities and consequences of having sex,” said junior Souljah Perdue. “I have to become a responsible and loving mother.”

Some places help teens who are becoming parents at a young age.The Cal-SAFE/Fruitvale Academy  provides education to young teens who are expecting or already have children. The academic component of the program is designed to enable students to continue or complete their education, secure employment, and develop skills needed to provide a safe and caring environment for themselves and their children.The services consist of the following: in-school day care, parenting classes to reinforce positive parenting, vocational counseling, and nutritional information.

Pregnant teens can seek help at Oakland High’s Wildcat Wellness Center. According to Center employee Florendo, pregnant teens can see doctors at the Wellness Center. The Wellness Center also provides referrals to parenting education programs and access to free car seats from outside agencies.

The Wellness Center offers nonjudgmental help to pregnant students and others. “I support all youth throughout any situation and give the support they need,” said Florendo.

Oakland High began requiring students to take a Health class in their freshmen year about 4 years ago. In Health class, students take a sexual education course where they learn how to protect themselves during intercourse and the consequences of having intercourse.

Florendo noted that teen pregnancies have decreased in recent years as a result of better sex education.

Project Kai

Friday, January 13, Oakland High put on a fantastic show for the students of Oakland high. Project Kai was a great success as many students came and filled the whole auditorium to support their fellow friends that preformed.

Although the time and technical management could have been better to make the night great and  more smooth by making sure all the mics worked and the lighting didn’t turn on at random time, all the performer did a great job of keeping the audiance entertained with their great singing and the awsome dance moves that they showed.

Special guest performance by N3W ERA sent the students in to a frenzy and many enjoyed them with their upbeat and refreshing show. With many Youtube stars like Mae Muldez and students outside of Oakland High like the kids from San Leandro High to perform, the students of Oakland High were kept entertained the whole night.

The winners of the Project Kai talent show was O.N.E, a dance group with a fresh, unique skit bit in the beginning followed by intrecate B-boy moves that had the audiance cheering for more. The winner for the singing protion was Youtube star Mae Muldez. She played the ukle while singing “It will rain” by Bruno Mars. Although Mae Muldez did a fantastic performance the, voting might have been on a bias based vote. Being on Youtube already has a bias feel and so the winner of Project Kai singing portion should have been to a Oakland High student but all in all, Project Kai was a to be at.

Steven W. poses for a camera 1/17/12 Images credit: Luis

Kailah Johnson-Bryant

Winter season is finally here! The Oakland Aegis is here to keep you warm and cozy while also being fashionable. This article is counter part to our girls fashion article because boys need to be fashionable too.

      This season keep your piggies warm by thinking big! Anything high top is fashionable and reasonable. But we all know you can’t go wrong with Jordan’s. the new Jordan Concords were released in December 2011 and they are all the rage.

Aside from the classic blue jeans that will never get old such as Levi’s. Cargo’s are worn all year around.This form of shorts are fashionable and convenient due to multiple pockets. You never have to worry about losing anything ever again.

      Also, its all about ambition this season because college sweaters are “in” to be more specific. It’s just a simple crew neck with the name or logo of your favorite college team or even the college you intend on attending. This is also great to have in case it gets cold. If it gets too hot, all you have to do is take it off.
Lets face it! Certain things will never get old! Flannel shirts have been rocked since the early nineties.  No matter what look you’re attempting, be it a cool skater or if you just want to be fashionable while working out doors, flannels are just for you! Another great advantage is all the fashionable patterns and colors you can get!
Well there you have it boys, this is the Oakland Aegis’ guide on how to stay fashionable and swagged out this season!

Lei Fisiiahi

Starting off with such a great year, Oakland High will be holding Oakland Highs Project Karaoke American Idol (Project Kai) in the school theatre on January 8, 2012.

    Project Kai is a mini talent show and fundraiser for the Senior Class. It is a great opportunity for students, both shy and outgoing, to share what they hide behind their invisible curtains and to show the audience what they enjoy to do on and off the stage.
“The greatest thing about Project KAI is being able to see people show off their talents.” says Senior Class President, Nicole Saechao.

Pumped with excitement, students and teachers of Oakland High has been dreading for the day to come to

see students and guests performers show off great effort in their talent of  dancing, singing and so much more.

“…it’s amazing seeing how people are so excited and thrilled to perform.” Says Senior Class Vice President, Erika Huang.

For many years Project Kai has always come to a good end. The audience members would always leave with a wide grin plastered on their face wishing there were more for them to see. This year, will hopefully top that.

Starting off Project Kai with such a great introduction by the MC’s Warren Hoang and Jamie Tran, the student body, guests and faculty teachers were amazed and couldn’t help but to think of what else did they have in store for them.

“From the stunt that Warren pulled ripping off his clothes and ending up in a whole different outfit just made me wonder what else is there for me to see. What else will have me falling off my chair?” says Senior Rachelle-Ann Esmele.

As each performer  made their way to the stage, audience members that knew the performer would scream enthusiastically while shouting “Whoo! I love you!” or “Get it!”

While special guest N3w Era performed their number, the judges gathered together to make a hard but fair vote on who made the cut to winning the title, 2012 Project Kai winner. As the performance came to an end it was then that the judges came to conclusion and annointed Mae Muldez, singer, and the dance group, O.N.E as the nights winners and were given a beautiful bouquet of flowers and $100 as a group.

    The NBA managers’ 161 day lockout began on July 1, 2011 due to large money investments and ended December 8, 2011.

According to Wikipedia.org, during the lockout, teams could not trade, sign contracts, and players couldn’t access NBA team facilities, trainers, or staff. Some players signed contracts to play in other countries mostly Europe and Asia, most players came back to the NBA when it lockout came to an end. Many disapproved the lockout followed by the draft.

“MAN!” said junior Raksmey Mao. “I was hoping that the lockout would end earlier but at least its over and now I can watch [the] NBA.”

An average NBA player lost around $220,000 on their first paycheck. According to NBA.com, the NBA regular season was reduced from 82 games to 66 games. The lockout happened because the structure of the salary cap and luxury tax on the players.

The NBA lockout was because of the investment into to players’ paychecks and if they didn’t come to an agreement the NBA would still be on lockout until further notice.

“NBA lockout,” said freshman Bryan Co. “I can’t wait for it to be over and now I can see the heats serve.”

Many people were excited that the lockout was over but some are still upset that the NBA season is shorter.

”Now I can go to the games,” said freshmen Kevin Thu. “Hear the crowd cheer, and see the excitement and disappointment from the fans.”

Now that the season started again, the NBA fans can once again enjoy the adrenalin of having their favorite team making baskets.

This NBA lockout is the fourth lockout throughout NBA history.

Oakland High will celebrate the new year with a Lunar New Year Dinner in February, hosted by the Cantonese club.

Every year Oakland High has a Lunar New Year dinner to celebrate the Chinese New Year season. (Chinese New Year is often referred to as Lunar New Year because the Chinese calendar is based on the sun and the moon.)  However, since the retired Cantonese teacher and sponsor has left Oakland High, it was unknown if the tradition will go on since he was a major contributor.

In an interview with the Cantonese club president senior Andrew Kwan said that there will be a Lunar New Year dinner this year. Kwan commented that the Cantonese club is still planning on the celebration. “Tickets will probably cost $5 – 7,” said Kwan, adding that the dinner will probably be from 5  to 8 p.m.

The Cantonese club are also interested in getting choir and other musical performances to perform at the dinner. Choir teacher Jon Ulrich has expressed interest in leading a choir performance at the event as long as someone from the Cantonese Club gets into contact with him.

Cantonese club treasurer Angelina Li said that, “We expect about 100 to 200 people to come to the Lunar New Year dinner.” Li also said, “There will be fried rice, chow mein, (and) sweet and sour pork.”

So if you have any free time on February, then come have some fun at the Lunar New Year Dinner and experience this aspect of Asian culture.

Dragon 2012

It is now the big 2012 that everyone is talking about. “ Is the world going to end? ” “are the scientists lying to us just to scare us?” “Are the events in the movie going to come true? “

Based on the movie 2012 the chaotic events that occurred were a worldwide earthquake, thus the cities disintegrate under water, dust storms, and a mega tsunami approaches that causes a great flood causing everyone to die, and survivors have to live on a boat and start a new life.

Hectic huh? “Yeah, but [2012 is] not [going to end] like the movie way.” says senior Lanell Hunt. The world does seem like there is a chance for it to come to an end from all the earthquakes we’ve been having, countries being flooded that might just show a sign.

“There has been a lot of earthquakes and they are big ones too!” said senior Kerri Chao “Sometimes I think that’s a sign but it doesn’t seem likely.” Chao added.

An 8.9 magnitude Earthquake hit Japan during 2011, then a 23 feet Tsunami hit them right after, causing deaths and family anxiously searching for their lost member that might still be alive.

    Scientists say December 21, 2012 is the day, but it does seem likely because, it’s natural to have earthquakes, floods or/and tsunamis because nothing to stay in good condition forever.
It does sound scary, but everything does come to an end and it has to have a new start, its just the same as writing on a new paper, you fill in all the lines then you have to start new again.
Better yet, scientists have not been exactly accurate with their math, so if it comes, its here. If it doesn’t show up, wait another year.