The BullETin

Senior College Map

John Heffel — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:01:49 +0000

Joe Deprospero

John Heffel — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:56:16 +0000

Joe Deprospero. The man. The myth. The legend.

By Dylan Craig

Layout Manager

He cruises into the classroom and waltzes over to our editor-in-chief to discuss inside drama.

He wanders to his computer and brings up his page in InDesign and creates an amazing layout. He has a very difficult job creating the sports page because it is widely read and needs to be in top condition.

Not only does he design the sports page, but he also writes the famous humor column.

“Many of my story ideas are achieved through bribing my brain with naps and television; occasionally ideas will strike me from something strange I see on the Internet,” Joe said.

He also is a member of the Drama department and is a key member of the Comedy Sportz team, which helps him write his humor column.

Many of his ideas create the mood in the media room. He rarely says something that isn’t funny. Sometimes when we are on deadline, we are all hard at work and kind of down, but then once in a while Joe will crack a joke and we’ll be up and having a good time.

In his spare time he challenges his mind to game upon game of Tetris, securing the title of Tetris Master.

Dylan Ochoa

cbrannick — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:55:53 +0000

Dylan Ochoa, the man with many talents, from amazing layouts in the newspaper to busting some moves in this year’s Air Guitar. Loved by all and seen by few, he made his presence known by his well-crafted entertainment reviews and stunning layout designs that kept you glued to the entertainment page.

When I first met Dylan he was the silent type, but now being on staff with him for two years I have realized that he is very vocal about his opinions and is now a chatterbox . He is creative and always has something to say about layout and entertainment articles.

His reviews gave helpful insight to upcoming movies and albums and help make plans for Saturday night. When Air Guitar rolled around this year, I saw a new side of Dylan. He danced like no layout manager has danced before in his group Rythmus.

Not only did he rock the stage, he also put marching band in a new light for a lot of students. I am sad to see him go, but he will forever be the one layout manager who could rock a stage.

Teachers share their favorite summer memories from high school

Brittany Tucker — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:38:53 +0000

Sometimes students forget that teachers used to be students, too. Before they went to college and decided to work in schools they were the class clowns, the honor students and the jocks.

They even did some of the same things students do over their summer breaks.

By Brittany Tucker

Staff Writer

“My favorite summer memory was band camp because it was a fun time getting together with friends and preparing for the fall field show,” said Gwen Harris, health teacher.

“My softball travel ball team all summer long would go play tournaments in Minnesota, Wisconsin and all over the place. We went to Boston and ran the bases at Fenway Park and we visited the “Cheers” bar,” said Christy Ledford, English teacher.

“I didn’t do much over the summer, I lived in Iowa so I was just hanging out with friends,” said Samantha Le, science and math teacher.

“My favorite summer memories are hanging out at the pool and going to parties,” said Bret Kimbrough, science teacher.

“Playing baseball for the Torrance Bullets was my favorite memory,” said Dan Doty, science teacher.

“I spent my summers just going to the beach and body boarding with my guy friends,” said Allison Sucamele, English teacher.

“I traveled to Florida, Pennsylvania and Washington every summer to visit my extended family.” said Debra Schaefer, English and media teacher.

“When my cousin got a job performing as characters at Disneyland, I really enjoyed going to visit her at work – and getting ‘discounts’ on tickets was pretty nice too!” said Mike Bartetzko, English teacher.

Sarah Santoyo

Frankie Sakamoto — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:38:26 +0000

By Frankie Sakamoto

News Editor

With her outgoing and fun-loving personality, Sarah Santoyo always makes journalism enjoyable.

We had many great times together in journalism, but my fondest memories with her were in Washington D.C. singing “Pop! Goes My Heart” in the middle of the Capitol building and trying to avoid Manny from Miami at the dance.

Oh, and who could forget Sarah cutting through the crowd screaming, “Mr. Clooney! Mr. Clooney!” and finally getting our picture with him.

But the legacy of Sarah Santoyo goes beyond the fun and goofing off; Sarah is an amazing feature writer who can make anything, even dirt and blades of grass, sound interesting. And she is always there to gracefully complete great broadcast pieces and last-minute news stories.

Being the editor-in-chief of The BullETin carries a lot of weight. Sarah has to put in extra time to do last-minute edits and keep everyone on task, but she does it effortlessly.

To me, journalism will never be the same without her. For the past two years, Sarah has always been one of the people I look up to. She is never afraid to take charge or stand up for herself, and she always rises to the occasion.

Senior Memories

Kacie Benson — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:37:13 +0000

By Kacie Benson
Staff Writter

After four years of walking through crowded hallways, getting dressed up for Charger Mania dances, cheering at football games and making friendships, seniors share their memories.

“The Charger Mania football games were my favorite memory. They were honestly the one thing in high school I’m probably going to miss the most. Everyone was always so hyped up and excited and I absolutely loved those dances,” Emily Miller said.

“Best memory by far was Air Guitar 2010. The whole process of practicing and building friendships, and the trash talking between the groups and just all of the hard work winding down to those glorious five minutes on stage,” Andrew Nguyen said.

“My most embarrassing memory was getting initiated for varsity volleyball. We had to run around the track in funny clothes early in the morning and people stared at us like freaks. I loved it because it brought us out of shells,” Kellie Jack said.

“Performing in the Homecoming halftime show was my best memory.Three other girls and I were hula dancers for the night and I had a blast!! It was so much fun to perform in front of everyone,” Martina Kamarullah said.

“Male cheer because it was fun to be in the pep rally rather than watching it,” Frank Lemus said.

“Getting my job at the lunch line because i got to meet people and get free food,” Chris Mueller said.

Brent Sirignano makes progress

Marisa McNally — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 20:07:26 +0000

Brent returns home from the hospital April 31 and begins the road of recovery after his accident.

Marisa McNally

Feature Editor

Step by step. Little by little. The progression of a matter of feet, even with the support of his walker, is a huge achievement for senior Brent Sirignano after his car accident that hospitalized him on Feb. 6.

In his journey to recover from multiple fractures, a head injury which later resulted in a brain infection, two collapsed lungs and losing mobility and other capabilities, Brent remains in high spirits since his return home from the hospital.

Though Brent is limited in speech and mobility, he is able to talk and convey messages in a slow but deliberate manner.

“I knew I was with God and I told God that I wanted to go home and be with my mom and dad and brothers,” Brent shared with his parents several nights after returning home from the hospital.

After what his parents describe as a miracle and a blessing, Brent is on the road to recovery from his nearly fatal future and a lot of people have helped him along the way.

Although he will not finish his senior year as directed by his doctors, he may take summer classes to get his high school diploma. The district sent out an administrator yesterday to evaluate Brent. Depending on if the administrator thinks he’s capable, Brent will be allowed to enroll in summer classes or courses next year to complete his 15 unfinished credits.

“Time will tell where he is going to be,” said Ed Sirignano, Brent’s dad. “There’s no telling where he is going to be in two months or in six months. It’s all up in the air right now.”

Mr. Sirignano also explained that Brent has plans to go to college but mainly the family is focusing on finishing his high school requirements first. If he does decide to go, they are looking into him attending a college with a program for students with brain injuries.

The fundraisers to help pay for Brent’s medical expenses raised over 20,000 dollars. But it wasn’t just monetary support.

One group of 200 workers in Costa Mesa that prays in the morning asked for requests, and a woman said she saw a sticker that read ‘Pray for Brent’ and suggested to the group to pray for him

“Nobody knew who Brent was, but they all prayed for him anyway,” senior Garrett Daynes said.

Daynes also took a step further and spoke at Saddleback Church to share Brent’s situation to get the entire service to pray for Brent and his family.

Underneath the trauma and medical procedures, Brent is still a teenage boy. He watches Laker’s games and is able to spend some time with his friends, whether it be a visit or talking on the phone. He listens to his iPod and, with the help of his brother, Eddie, Brent is able to talk and text friends with his new cell phone..

“Despite everything that he has been through, he is in good spirits and dealing with his situation with a very positive attitude,” Mr.Sirignano said. “Brent will have a long and challenging road ahead, but he is very determined and getting better one day at a time.”

Brent will go to outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy at St. Judes in Brea approximately seven hours a day, three times a week for eight weeks.

During his sessions, Brent is working on his writing, walking and verbal skills as he works steadily toward his goal of regaining independence.

Mr. Sirignano is thankful for ET’s support.

“You all have played a role, no matter how big or small,” he said.

Prom 2010 “Reach for the Stars” was a success

Brianna Williams — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:19:01 +0000

Reach for the Stars Prom 2010 was at the Arroyo Trabuco Country Club in Mission Viejo. Seniors, juniors, and underclassmen, if they got asked, joined in last Saturday’s festivities.
By Brianna Williams
Staff Writer

The glitz and glam of the night was of no surprise as everyone was dressed to the nine’s. From horse and carriage rides or Karaoke to caricatures and poker, there was plenty to do. The ballroom was reserved for dancing where students went to show off their moves.
By the middle of the night, everyone on the edge of their seats as the Senior Prom King and Queen were announced. Jason Bohen Cheryl Nguyen were crowned Kind and Queen.

Baseball stopped in semi-finals

John Heffel — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:16:13 +0000

After a strong CIF run, the Charger baseball team fell 5-7 to Yucaipa on June 1 in the CIF semi-finals.

Brad Bolton
Sports Editor

The team had fought hard and was in contention through the end of the seventh inning when Yucaipa made a strong comeback to grab the win.

“They were a good team, but I think we really could’ve won,” said junior Matt Chapman. “That’s how playoffs go sometimes.”

The team had shown a lot of strength heading into the game after crushing Damien 7-0 on May 28.

“I was very happy with our pitching, and also I thought we played very good defense as well,” Coach Mike Gonzales said.

The team came out strong from the very start of the game as Garrett Donohoe hit a two run homerun in the first inning.

The team didn’t lose focus there though, as they finished the game with three consecutive homeruns by senior Chris Manning, Chapman, and Donohoe in the seventh inning.

“I just felt really good about this game,” Donohoe said.

The first two playoff games had set the trend for this dominating style, as the team beat Loyola 5-3 and Pacifica 4-2 with strong hitting from the entire team.

“Normally our pitching makes the difference, but it was our bats that carried us through this time,” Gonzales said.

“Robin Hood” hits its mark

Dylan Ochoa — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 16:58:35 +0000

The director of “Gladiator,” Ridley Scott, took on the classic tale of “Robin Hood” by revisiting the legend and adding a back story.

Dylan Ochoa
Entertainment editor

The movie stars Russell Crowe as the master marksmen Robin Hood who takes on England’s rival France, and co-stars Cate Blachett as the strong and independent Mary Loxley.

Taking place in the thirteenth century, we first meet Robin Hood as an archer in the king’s military, coming back from a fruitless crusade. And then on his way home he makes a promise to a fallen comrade who will eventually lead him to becoming the famed bandit.

This was a satisfying movie with plenty of action and laughs that kept the movie from getting stale even though it was an almost a three hour film.

Despite its PG-13 rating, a few of the battle scenes got pretty gruesome at times. However, the action wasn’t overly-flashy but incorporated some realism, unlike most CGI battle scene.

At times the movie got a tad confusing with the introduction of numerous locations and minor characters. It became hard to follow who was betraying whom and from where, although the scenes with most of the talking were nice, showing that this movie was more plot-based instead of over-the-top action.

Robin Hood’s love interest Loxley, played by Blachett, did the whole I-want-you-but-I-can’t-have-you-deal, which was annoying at first but when she finally gave into Hood’s charm so it was a huge sigh of relief.

A drawback of this movie was that it dropped some details, and then an hour later the dropped item ends up being a key point. For example, the abandoned kids living in a forest were introduced at the very beginning of the movie then completely disappeared, yet they came back at the last twenty minutes to fight in the ending battle.

I went into this movie as a skeptic imagining it to be a “Gladiator” look-alike but in the end I was very surprised by the outcome.