Issue 1 September 2014

The Magnet Attraction “WE’RE MORE THAN A SCHOOL, WE’RE A FAMILY!”

Welcome to our newly established Magnet

newsletter, “The Magnet Attraction.” Our team and our advisor, Ms. Akopyan, have worked hard to create an informative newsletter with the latest news at San Fernando Magnet and the people in it.

Magnet Student Group (M.S.G)

We all enjoy the many activities that Magnet hosts, but have you ever wondered how these events come together? MSG! No, not the silent killer in our foods, but Magnet Student Group, a student run organization that helps magnet students come together as a small community.

MSG and JETS (Junior Engineering Technical Society), our other Magnet organization, oversee every event and activity put on such as the CAHSEE breakfast, McFamily night, and Barnes and Noble. Since MSG is a small student group that represents all of Magnet, they would really like to hear your thoughts, ideas, and feedback.

Please feel free to email SFHS.MSG@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow them on Instagram at @sfhs.msg.

Magnet Spir it Every Tuesday, students have an opportunity to

show-off their Magnet pride to the entire school. During this event, if a student is wearing his or her Magnet T-Shirt, his or her name is placed in a raffle for a chance to win a prize.

Upcoming Events

Parent Conference, October 16 Barnes and Noble, November 2

Spotlights

-Student Spotl ight- Cesar Espinoza, Junior

Cesar Espinoza has proved to himself and his teachers that perfection is not important, but rather progress is. Cesar, like many other students, struggled to keep up with his studies in his first couple years of High School. “The transition from middle school to high school didn’t go as planned; it was a totally different environment for me, and I didn’t quite know how to handle it,” Cesar states. Cesar realized his procrastination and being unprepared were taking a negative toll on his grades. However, Cesar began to make small changes, which made a big difference. He says that it was the little things like creating a schedule and sticking to it, getting organized, and being prepared which pushed him to work harder.

These changes would not have come about, he states, if it weren’t for football, “meeting the GPA requirement is what pushed me to change in the first place.” Cesar joined MSG this year in hopes to continue his progress. He says that “Being involved in school is a major priority to me, and I like to help out my peers and community the best way I can. Setting an example for incoming freshmen or sophomores is my mission, and it also looks good for my college applications.”

Cesar is proud to state that both his brother and sister graduated from college, majoring in business and psychology. He is excited to continue his family’s legacy and one day be a role model for others.

-Teacher Spotl ight-

Mr. Graeve, History Mr. Graeve has been

teaching history for 17 years at San Fernando Magnet. Prior to joining his colleagues at the Magnet school, he taught at Valley View High. Mr. Graeve

Issue 1 September 2014

teaches Government, World History, US History, and AP Government for grades 10-12. Mr. Greave likes working with the Magnet student body, “It’s great to be here! My students and I have a wonderful time making history come to life.”

Though he loves to teach, Mr. Greave adds that he wants to travel around the world sometime in the future. Traveling after retirement is something he and his wife have been looking forward to for quite a while.

Sports Football

Drew Paniagua, Junior The 2014-2015 Tiger Football season began Friday, August 28th at San Fernando High school. All levels played Sierra Canyon, but San Fernando lost with a score of 42-14.

Although the score was not what we had hoped, head coach, Robert Garcia, was pleased with the boys’ performance and said that they’ll just have to work harder as a team. Junior, Drew Paniagua though excited at first, was disappointed by the end of the game. He believes with fewer turnovers our team could have won. Like Garcia, Paniagua thinks our offense still needs some work.

In other football news: Our game against Taft was a loss, but we won against Poly.

Tennis

Maria Balatan, Junior The San Fernando Tigers girl’s tennis team recently won a home preseason match against Verdugo Hills by a score of 4-3. An interview with Maria Paga-asa Sentengal, better known as Hope Balatan, gave us a closer look at this competitive game and what it takes to be an individual apart of a team.

Hope, who has been playing tennis since her freshman year of high school, recently played her first singles match against Verdugo Hills High School. Although it wasn't easy, she said her technique was to hit the ball short and in the court. Even though she had

her own technique, the opponent used her skills to make her run for the ball, therefore trying to tire Hope out. However, that didn't stop Hope from taking the win. At the end of the game, she explained that as she saw all the seniors watching her play, she reminisced about when she first started to play, and that's when she realized it was her turn to become a team leader. Hope has words advice for those who want to join a sport such as tennis, "don't focus on winning, though it’s great to win, focus on having fun playing.”

Basketbal l Rece Corral, Sophomore

Rece Corral, a sophomore on varsity, believes the strong connection his team has built will make this year an exciting one. He’s eager to see what the team can

achieve, “Our strengths are our quickness and our ability to shoot and be composed throughout the game. Our weaknesses are that we’re not great dribblers and our defense isn’t too good,” he explains. “Knowing what we’re good at and what we need to improve will allow us to work to improve them, making us a better, stronger team,” he states.

Lastly he believes that the key to having a successful season is playing as one unit, improving their defense, playing big and strong, and most importantly, playing with their hearts.

The basketball season will begin with a game against Arleta on December 3rd.

Cross-Country/ Running Frieda Orbach, Senior

As the Cross- Country Captain, Frieda Orbach leads her team to Pierce College, where the runners will be competing this fall. She believes in her team’s talent and that as long as they work hard and become motivated, they will be ready for their first race.

Orbach decided to join the team because she enjoys the competitiveness that the sport offers. She also describes the feeling one gets in taking part in the

Issue 1 September 2014

KEEP CALM AND GET TUTORED

sport as “knowing you’re out there trying your best makes you feel better about yourself. Running requires physical and mental training.”

Orbach’s motivation to run is to lower her mile time with each run. Though she dedicates a lot of her time to Cross- Country, she has not let her academia falter. Orbach already has a couple of AP courses under her belt, and continues to try her best to maintain her high GPA.

Orbach looks forward to surpassing her fastest mile time, which she set last year, as well as surpassing her academic goals.

Alumni Corner -Updates &Advice from our Alums-

Serena Garcia, SFHS Alumni Although Serena Garcia, a

former San Fernando Magnet student and retired Cross-Country team captain has completed her four-year reign as a runner, she continues to be a legacy to her younger teammates. Garcia showed a huge improvement in running from her freshman to her senior year. She ran varsity her junior and senior year and qualified for city preliminaries for the first time as a junior.

Her advice for this year’s team is to, “Run because you love to do it, but have fun while you’re doing it with others who love it as well. And secondly, the only person you should try to be better than is yourself. So don’t worry if you’re not the fast one, aim to be faster than you were yesterday.” Even though Garcia will no longer be racing with the team this upcoming season, she still visits Coach Sergio and her friends to wish them the best.

Magnet Tutoring

We’d like to invite all of our Magnet students to take advantage of the opportunity of learning after hours. Join your teachers for individualized sessions at tutoring!

Subject Teacher Day / Time Room # Math Mardi/Fernandez/Rodriguez/Escobar Wed: 3:15-5:00 PM 920

English Prater/Akopyan/Martin Mon: 3:10- 4:30 PM 925

S. Studies Mr. Greave Fri: 7:15-8:00AM 923

S. Studies Mr. Mesta Wed: 3:10-4:10 PM 924 Science Mrs. Cardoso Thurs: 3:10-5:00 PM 215 Physics Mr. Palazzini Wed: 3:10-4:10 PM 140 Biology Mrs. Ghazarian Wed: 3:10-4:10 PM 917 Spanish Mrs. Mercado Mon: 7:30-8:00 AM 926