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This weeks Photo Theme: Potraits
This weeks Photo Theme: Potraits
Its just Flavored Air
Written by: Jairus Lagrimas 12th
I think we can all agree, or most of us can agree, that cigarettes are bad. They include many toxins, such as carbon monoxide and ammonia, which can cause cancer, stroke, and heart disease. Because we don’t want to risk our health, that’s why the alternative of vaping exists! It is simply flavored air that bears resemblance to that of smoking, but it isn’t. It is just less harmful.
If you are sold on something because it is less worse than the alternative, you may have to reconsider your spending habits. Just because it is less worse than cigarettes or marijuana (some studies have shown that vaping is actually worse than marijuana), it is a fallacy to claim that it must mean vaping is better or good.
This paper is not going to explain the harmful effects of smoking or vaping and will not cover the effects of nicotine or other toxins that are included in e-cigarettes. It is fairly general knowledge and common sense that it is harmful to breathe in toxins into your lungs. Rather, we will try to explain the reasons as to why people, especially teenagers, result to vaping.
One of the reasons was mentioned in the introduction and the title: the lie that it is just “flavored air." If someone’s reason for vaping is because it is a less harmful alternative to smoking, it is indicative of the person’s desire to commit the act of drug use. This furthers the question as to what causes desire and appeal.
One reason would be through influence. If you grow up in a family or culture where self-harming actions are normalized and many people do it, what’s stopping you from doing the same? There are genuine people who do it to fit in. A better example of a drug use that falls under this category would be drinking alcohol, as it really does seem so normal to do. The other reason would be mere curiosity; you find something such as flavored air to be appealing; it entices you emotionally because of how it could make you feel, and so you try it. The largest reason someone would want to vape is because it is a stress reliever. Nicotine is a factor in getting you to feel high and is a quick way to move your mind away from your problems. Regardless, all such reasons lead to addiction. To be quick and to the point, it feels good. You crave that feeling, and so you do it again, and the cycle continues. This is more prevalent among teenagers due to the fact that their brains are still under development. Harsher predictive risk factors include (TW):
Unhealthy family dynamics
Rejection from familial relationships (especially parental)
Trauma (especially divorce)
Poor academic performance
Poor self-image
Lack of piety
So in all, vaping is not a “better” alternative to smoking. “Less harmful” does not mean good. It is not “flavored air." Besides how it damages your health, it also severely damages your mental well-being. It is not a “stress reliever." It is a substance that induces a feeling of instant gratification that gives the illusion of making you feel better, when it only worsens depression and can cause depression. It is a reflection of neuroticism, a lack of conscientiousness, and a careless lifestyle. As for a final point, you don’t need to follow everyone else.
Some better alternatives to vaping that can relieve stress and even help you grow as a person are developing hobbies such as drawing, learning to play musical instruments, dancing, and hiking; whatever makes you feel happy but also makes you feel accomplished.
School Update
School Update
News!
News!
Lunar New Years was last Friday (2/9)! - The school will be having a Lunar New Years Festival, This Friday (2/16) in the C-commons!
some photos from Last Friday!
Pep rally is on the 16th followed up with a Dance on the 17th.
Spirit Week!
M - Fandom day!
T - Teacher/Student Fit Swap
W- Wear Pink or White
Th - Anything but a Backpack
F - Purple Out!
Upcoming International Trips:
Spring 2024: Japan
Summer 2024: Greece, Italy, Spain
Spring 2025: Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam
Summer 2025: Costa Rica & Panama
For more information, contact the designated trip leader for each trip
February - March
February - March
Month of February: Black History Month
Valentines Day - (2/14)
(buy some valentines treats from us, see more details on our instagram)
FEBRUARY BREAK - (2/19) - (2/23)
Coming back (2/26)
Month of March: Woman's History Month
Benchmark Week - (3/6)- (3/8)
End of Quarter 3 - (3/15)
NO SCHOOL (Staff Development) - (3/22)
NO SCHOOL - (3/29)
Written by: Jasleen Batth 11th
Current World
Current World
DIscovery Alert: A ‘Super-Earth’ in the Habitable Zone
Written by: Rhiane Kate Dalisay 10th
If you were ever offered to travel the solar system and live on a planet where it has the same sustaining factors as Earth, would you move? Over time, technology starts to evolve, and many technologies have been and are being created to make space discoveries easier, which raises the possibility that eventually humankind will be able to travel to different planets occasionally. Considering that along with these new technologies, there are plenty of off-planets constantly being discovered, with some of them being theorized to have qualities that can potentially sustain life, including having a habitable atmosphere, A stable habitable zone is a planet that contains a surrounding star, water on its surface, habitable temperature, and more, which can thus be planets that people can occupy. One possible planet is “TOI-715 b.”.
Recently, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope was an invention that allowed us to observe farther into the universe than we ever had before, thus allowing NASA to be able to discover a “super earth,” a planet that’s dubbed “TOI-715 b,” a planet that is approximately 137 light years away that, according to NASA, could be the new earth. Apparently, it has conditions that can sustain life. It is said that this planet is about one and a half times the size of the Earth’s width. It has been discovered that it orbits a small red star that could potentially provide just the right temperature that could initially let liquid water form on its surface and eventually sustain life. An interesting fact about this newly discovered planet is that it seems to be flying a lot faster than it is on earth. According to an article by NASA writer Pat Brennan, "In the case of planet B, that’s once every 19 days, a “year” on this strange world.” There is a stockpile of possible habitable zone planets being discovered by NASA, which truly shows how technology is shaping space discoveries, which is truly amazing, as maybe we would be able to go travel to one of these planets one day.
Perry High School Shooting
Written by: Eliana Ramirez 10th
School shootings have always been a major problem everywhere across the globe, from the Bryansk school shooting in Russia to the Prague shooting in the Czech Republic, both of which actually occurred last year. With the new year having started just a month and a half ago, I had been hoping we could keep this streak going until the end of February. But unfortunately, as I had been scrolling through Twitter (or X, as I prefer to call it these days) in my free time, I happened to stumble upon a post by a news outlet concerning a school shooting that had happened in January. I’m not even talking about January of last year or even the year before that either; I’m talking about a school shooting that happened in January of this very year. I had instantly clicked on the post to learn more, but quickly became frustrated at the very little information that was given to me. I immediately hopped off X and quickly opened up Google instead, typing up the words ‘Perry High School shooting,’ and I was suddenly bombarded with a multitude of articles.
News articles, GoFundMe's, and even a Wikipedia page all popped up as results, which slowly started leading me down a rabbit hole of questions that left me with very few answers. We all know how the media tends to obtain information, from rumors gathered from untrustworthy sources to rudely shoving mics in other people's faces, but after scrolling through articles upon articles for about an hour (yes, I did actually scroll through ‘boring’ articles for about an hour), I came to the quick realization that this school shooting had barely been covered at all. While there were still many articles that could obviously prove me wrong, they all repeated the same thing over and over again: ‘Heroic Principal dies days after trying to protect students’, ‘17-year-old kills one and injures seven others’, ‘Perry High School community mourns loss', etc. There were other articles that stood out here and there about'student threats discovered a month later deemed not credible by police’, ‘parents urge for better security’, and'students return to class for the first time after shooting’.
Nothing frustrated me more than reading all these articles and getting the memo that this shooting could have been prevented or that the police could have at the very least been more prepared for it. The thing I found strange, however, was the very little information that was given to me by that article on X. That post was most likely just to catch people's attention and nothing more, but the very little information that was even given in that article seemed just a little strange to me. Usually media outlets ‘eat up’ this sort of thing and make it a big deal, but I saw this mentioned once on a social media app and had to do my own research on Google to even find out anymore. The fact that the parents of the child who shot up the school in the first place made a statement or that the police hadn’t been doing a good enough job of investigating the entire thing just seemed really weird in my opinion. I would try researching a little about it yourself, like I did, if you want to really learn more about the Perry High School shooting.
Sports!
Sports!
Basketball
On February 8th, 2024, your KSJC Wolfpack boys basketball team played against the Thomas More Knights for the league championship. After preparing for this game since March of 2023, they knew it would be all or nothing. When they arrived at the game, the nerves were through the roof, but the team’s spirits were even higher. Right when they walked into the gym, they learned that it was the Knights senior night, and KSJC was prepared to ruin it. With their determination high, they were ready. After a talk to the team, they were prepared. The game started off quick with a fast layup from #23 Christian Ademe Johnson. After that lay, the Knights started firing from everywhere, scoring with drives and threes. The Wolfpack stuck with them throughout the first half though. Then, out of nowhere from the bleachers, the crowd started arguing with each other. With the More Knights' parents saying discriminatory things to the Wolfpack families. A fight nearly ensued after, but it slowly deescalated.
After the half, the game became more aggressive on the court, hard fouls coming from both sides. To end the game, the Wolfpack lost 34-52, making their chances of winning the league, sadly impossible. Yet their season is nowhere near over, as on Monday, 2/12, both the KSJC basketball boys and girls teams will be having their senior night games. If the KSJC boys teams win their game on monday, they will still have a spot in CCS. In the boys last meeting against DCP Alum Rock, the team they’ll be playing on senior night, the Wolfpack beat them 46-39. With the team knowing how important this game will be, they will 100% put everything they got into the game. During the last meeting with these teams #23 Christian Ademe Johnson dropped a double-double, 20 points and 11 rebounds, to lead the charge for the wolfpack. With help from #1 Jonathan Mendoza and #10 Matthew Huynh, they overcame Alum Rock. These gamers are notoriously chirpy, with the aforementioned players all getting in their opponents head with their game and their talking on the court. If the boys do make it into CCS, they will more than likely place into a good seed for the first round. Let's hope all goes well for the Wolfpack!
Written by: Elijah Vazquez 11th
This Weeks Features!
This Weeks Features!
The President Insider
The President Insider
Written by: Cecilia Delgadillo 11th
Throughout her 2023-2024, Kipp San Jose Collegiate’s president, Emma Alvarez, has dominated her term. She has balanced playing on the varsity girl’s basketball team and her senioritis all while working together with ASG to create school dances, spirit weeks, and pep rallies. Her reign on the school has helped with the culture and overall spirit of the school. This past week, I had the opportunity to learn more about our school's president and about Emma herself.
What made you want to go into ASG? Especially go into a big role like the president?
“I have been in ASG since 8th grade and I always liked being involved, and when I ran for secretary, I knew that eventually I would want to be president.”
Best part? Worst part?
“I think the best part is definitely being able to have a say in what happens, especially with events. I get to be more involved in most of ASG and it's really fun. I think the worst part is people underestimating how much work it is. There's a lot more work than people think goes into it.”
How do you combat the idea and saying, “She’s just a high school president.”?
“I always remind myself that the school and the campus voted for me and they put their trust in me so I just gotta remember that, and I try my best to make decisions for what's best for the school.”
There can be a lot of pressure being a teenage girl and especially one with a position of power, do you find yourself feeling any pressure to conform to others ideas about you?
“I would think so.”
How do you try not to fit in any boxes, stereotypes or ideas that people have about you?
“Well everyone is always gonna have opinions about you so I think it is just best to know your worth and everything about yourself. It doesn't matter what other people think.”
If you can speak to yourself a year ago today or even five years ago what would you say to her?
“To go for it. I have been scared to do stuff and I think that fear holds a lot of people back from what they truly want to accomplish. And just go for it.”
Being a fangirl is a full time in itself especially with Ms. Taylor Swift, what was the first thing you ever remember fangirling over?
“Justin Bieber. Justin Bieber and Big Time Rush, Kendall was always my fav.”
Top 4 albums
“Oh my God. Okay 1989 - Taylor Swift, emails i cant send - Sabrina Carpenter, I wanna say SOUR - Olivia Rodrigo and Midnight Memories - One Direction”
With those albums, I know 1989 is the essential pop girl album. Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo are the main pop girls at the moment. Do you look up to them?
“I mean of course. They have accomplished so much at such a young age, it's incredible.”
Who do you find yourself looking to go to when you need it?
"My friends and family. They have a lot of good advice."
Top 4 Movies
"Tangled is my number one. For sure Tangled. Does One Direction’s documentary count?"
Need Advice?
Need Advice?
How to Avoid home burglary
How to Avoid home burglary
Written by: Ixchel Ibanz 10th
The most common thing people do to avoid a home burglary is to lock their doors and turn on their lights. Here in San Jose, keeping your doors locked is always best since you have a 1 in 38 chance of being a victim of a property crime, with the population of SJ being over a million. Leaving your lights on when you are out gives a burglar the impression that you are home, making your home less of a target. If you ever see any suspicious activity, report it to the police by calling 911, making sure to keep your neighborhood safe. Additionally, make sure to have good locks on your doors and windows. Knob locks on doors are common; however, they are known to be less secure because the lock cylinder is inside the knob rather than being in the door. They don't require much force to break, so they aren’t recommended to be used on external doors. It is also best to have an alarm system in your home in case of an emergency where the police can be alerted even if you or your family aren’t home. Having an alarm system helps you protect the things you find valuable in your home. Don’t forget to activate your alarm every time you leave your residence. Another way to avoid a home burglary is to stop putting your key under the mat outside the door or in your flowerpots. It is one of the first places a thief would look to break into your house. If needed, you can make sure to have a spare key stored somewhere safe, away from your house. Make sure to stay safe and keep your home protected.
How to Start your Morning
How to Start your Morning
Written by: William Espiritu 10th
What is the most important part of your day? Arguably, it is morning. Starting your day in a negative way will damage your mood and decrease productivity. You can prevent this by having a morning routine. Morning routines ensure that you will begin your day refreshed and happy. There are many morning routines, so here are some helpful suggestions you should incorporate into your day.
Before you go to sleep, place your phone in an area where you can’t access it without getting up. Then, allow yourself 30 minutes to read or rest without using any technology. This will make it so that you get a higher-quality sleep as well as a snoozeless wake-up.
Once you're awake, drink a glass of water and fix your bed. Drinking water decreases drowsiness, and making your bed sets a productive tone for your day. Next, don’t look through your phone for at least 10–20 minutes. Going through your phone will lead to unnecessary distractions that will cause you to lose control of your day. Moreover, scrolling through messages or social media increases anxiety throughout the day.
When you get out of your room, eat a nutritious and balanced breakfast. Including some meats, veggies, dairy, fruits, and grains will fuel your body and make it prepared for the day. After eating, focus on your hygiene. Brushing your teeth, working on your skin, or taking a shower are great ways to keep your hygiene great. It will allow you to feel clean in your own skin throughout the day. Finally, do something that you like that's not technology-related. If you like reading, cooking, cleaning, learning, working out, stretching, et cetera, you should add those activities to your routine. It will give you a positive attitude that will carry on throughout your schedule.
Morning routines are tough to maintain, but doing so will improve your life.
Need Advice for anything?
Fill out our Advice Form and get an answer! Located on the Forms Page!
Poetry
Poetry
The Son Sun, Pluto
The Son Sun, Pluto
Written by: Charlotte Zeng 10th
Chase you, I will chase you and you will follow
If I live, it’s through your patience, can you be patient with me?
Lets go, round and round again, the same love, the same sorrow
You disappoint me and I’m tired of you
Your love is nothing, you have become nothing to me
A selfless child, but from a distance you are too small
Too insignificant
Too desperate
Coward! hide from me because you’re a coward!
You are blind and I’m tired of you
Why can’t I reach you?
Won’t you let me warm your cemented heart?
Do you think you're better than me,
Failure?!
I love you as I love all of your brothers and sisters
Know that I don’t love you
So chase me then, block out my light and follow an old path
Understand, I was never supposed to guide you
Why couldn’t you wait?
You could’ve been more
And yet you stopped trying.
Fine. Go on and live in your shadows without me
I’m already tired of you.
Confessions 🤫
Confessions 🤫
Whats something you want to get off your chest?
Whats something you want to get off your chest?
"Ushers performance was wack"
"I think my 4th period teacher is balding "
"Im a junior, and I have no idea what I'm going to do in life, and everyone around me does. I'm kinda scared" *Don't worry, you got timeee*
"My teacher gives me a headache and doesn't let me sleep 😴"
"I like someone but am too scared to talk to them teehee have a nice day & happy valentines yall "
What's one things you're embarrassed to admit you enjoy?
What's one things you're embarrassed to admit you enjoy?
"I secretly enjoy watching Gilmore's Girls when my wife puts it on"
"Watching people fail videos "
"I gobble corndogs in one go"
"I like anime"
"I excessively observe peoples social media pages 🔎"
"Farting"
"I sniff my dogs paws, it smells like corn chips"
What do most people assume about you that isn't true?
What do most people assume about you that isn't true?
"That I look like jackie chan (im literally mexican)"
"I'm taller than average and dress alt so i've been told people are scared of me but i'm just traumatized i swear i swear"
"That I'm rude and for the streets"
"That me and my brother are identical twins, but we are fraternal"
Want to see your confession in our next publish?
Want to see your confession in our next publish?
Fill out the confession form, everything is 100% anonymous! New questions every week!
Click the button to the Forms Page!
Any Questions or Concerns?
Any Questions or Concerns?
Reach us at:
ksjc.wolfprints@gmail.com
Web Designer: Jasleen Batth 11th
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Personal Reach out
Personal Reach out
President - jasleenbatth062@gmail.org
Vice Pres - joeilynmarie.bernard@studentkipp.org
Advisor - daniel.betancourt@kippsanjose.org
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