By Celine DeVilla
Celebrating their 3rd Annual Hispanic Heritage Art and Music Festival, KSJC’s Fine Arts and Spanish Department did it again! (For the third time!) One of KSJC’s biggest events of the year took place this year on October 4th. With more than 150 attendees of parents, students, staff, and more, the event was a huge success! To kick off the event, attendees can appreciate the creative art pieces made by students who are currently taking art classes with Mrs. Vicuna (formerly known as Ms. Rico). Walking through the quad, you are greeted with the sounds of music by a “banda.” The coordinators of the event were able to find this performing group through one of KSJC’s current students who happens to be part of the band. Performing multiple sounds throughout the event all over campus, their music gives the event more life. In addition to the music provided by the banda, KSJC’s very own Concert Band performed 3 wonderful pieces to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month: Nzembo Na Mvula Zamba, Children of Sanchez and La Negra Tiene Tumbao. The Concert Band’s performance was followed by KSJC’s intermediate choir: Fermata Nowhere. The choir performed One Note Samba and So Danco Samba. To increase inclusivity within our school community, the event was heavily run by student performances. In the Quad, there was a collection of art pieces created by students in Art which all showed, not only the artists’ vision and skill, but also the way in which Hispanic culture permeates throughout many of the student’s at KSJC. Many artworks were beautifully colored and ranged in style from impressionistic to photorealistic. Many artworks also had deep ties to Hispanic culture and the artwork truly showed the best of Hispanic Heritage. Our lovely quad was also decorated with beautiful picado banners running across the roofs all the way to the end of the quad. Additionally, each door were decorated with huge colorful paper flowers. The club involvement was incredibly fantastic with many clubs selling Hispanic food. Many of the school’s clubs were there and the participation was phenomenal. The parents were also selling pupusas, tacos, and quesadillas, which were incredibly popular and many people who tried it with for the first time were absolutely enamored with it. The response to much of the food was overwhelmingly positive and amazing to see. The various activities at the fest were also incredibly well done. The pinning of the tail on the donkey had a long line that filled up the middle of the squad. The ASG photobooth was also incredibly popular for taking good group pictures. The educational aspect of the fest was amazing as well with Markwalter doing a slide show presentation about the importance of latinx people in film. The night was incredibly energetic and the mood of the fest was one of joy and positivity. The amount of appreciation during the whole event was palpable with many people enjoying themselves tremendously. The respect given to almost every aspect of Hispanic Heritage coupled with the large attendance and willing crowd created a night of festivities and celebration that is worthy of much applause. |
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Jose Gallegos led the largest group of 29 seniors to the stage to announce that they would all be attending San Jose State University. The entire school was there to cheer them on. Alvin Aranillo then led a group of 7 seniors up to announce that they will be attending UC Irvine in the fall. This class had the highest admission rate to UC schools out of any class to date with 54% entering a UC in the fall.
That was followed by recognizing the school record 36 PSAL and WBAL All-League Award Recipients. That included two PSAL League MVPs, ten PSAL/WBAL 1st Team All-League recipients, fifteen PSAL/WBAL 2nd Team All-League recipients, 7 PSAL/WBAL All-League Honorable Mentions, and two PSAL Honor Coaches. It was a year of unprecedented success for the Athletics Department. |
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Our next set of of soon-to-be graduates then took to the stage. Cynthia Escobedo announce that she will be joined by Jennifer Parra and Alexis Villa at University of Redlands in the fall. Herman Singh and Vivian Tu told the crowd they will be heading off to Santa Clara University, and Jenney Tang announced that her and a group of 11 other seniors will be attend De Anza College.
The first award of the afternoon was the 2017 Parents of the Year award. Parent Relations Chair, Cynthia Reza, took to the microphone and announced the winners: Maria Valenzuela and Norma Quintero. In her introduction, Ms. Reza said, "The Parent of the Year Award will be award to two incredible, hard working, and altruistic parents. They have been members of the KIPP |
For the Award for Excellence in the Musical Arts, Music Director Kenny Thomas recognized Scott Nguyen and Elizabeth Ngo for their contributions to the Music Department. "He was a strong leader in concert band as the trombone section leader. That leadership had carried over as an essential part of the rhythm section as the guitarist in the KSJC jazz band. He has been extremely influential in choosing music literature for the ensemble as well as providing accompaniment for the KSJC vocal ensembles," Mr. Thomas said about Scott. When honoring Elizabeth, Mr. Thomas continued, "She is an extremely talented vocalist and plays multiple instruments. Originally a flautists in the concert band, now an alto in her second year as a member of the vocal group, “Fermata Nowhere”. She is always prepared and leader amongst her peers." Her hard work and dedication with the vocal ensemble “Fermata Nowhere” has set a tone that will resonate for years to come.
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Next, a group of graduating seniors announced to the campus community where they will be attending in the fall. All these students will be heading off to their respective schools on their own. Brandon Jimenez is heading off to Hartnell College, Martin Casorla will be studying and playing soccer at CSU East Bay, Shaun Robles is heading to Sacramento State, Adam Tran is going to Valencia College, Jesus Guerrero is heading to New York to attend Syracuse University, Kelly Nguyen is headed to the University of Washington, Sebastian Gomez will be attending UC Berkeley, Dalila Cuevas will be headed to Georgetown, Sheila Camarena is going to Humboldt State, Kenny Tran will be attending to Lewis & Clark, Lizeth Galindo is heading to UC Santa Barbara, Elizabeth Nguyen will be attending the University of Pennsylvania, and Diego Zaragoza will be going to Pomona College.
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Head Girls Varsity Soccer Coach, Gustavo Arambula, then came to the stage to give out the 2017 Alpha Awards, given to the male and female student-athletes that have demonstrated excellence both on and off the field of play during their 4 years at KSJC. The first recipient was Jahaira Gonzalez, about whom Mr. Arambula said, "She was the Volleyball team captain, was named to the PSAL 1st team All-League, and she was among the league leaders in assists and blocks. While doing all this, she was also a leader in the classroom, achieving a 4.1 GPA." He then introduced Sebastian Gomez as the 2nd winner, "Our second winner is a multi-sport student-athlete. After serving as the captain and leading the Boys Cross Country team back to the CCS finals, he played a key role on the Boys Basketball team in helping them qualify for the CCS playoffs for the first time. He’s also a leader in the classroom, earning a 4.2 GPA."
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The final award, the School Spirit Award, is given to two seniors that have demonstrated a great deal of school spirit through their actions over the last four years. Math Department Chair and future Vice Principal, Aundrey Page, introduced Alex Zermeno as our first winner, "As a coach all three seasons this year, I know the importance of having a section of fans cheering for our student athletes. I knew going into every game I could count on one person to be there and that is senior Alex Zermeno. Whether it was his whistle at Volleyball games, the loud Wolfpack cheers at basketball games, or his presence in the dugout at baseball games, Alex was everywhere making our teams feel supported. His support was integral part of the success that each of our teams had through this year and in years passed."
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Mr. Page then introduced the second winner, Cynthia Escobedo, "In the creation of many events, there is often an unsung hero that goes unnoticed. They don’t do things to take credit. They don’t want any shine or accolades. They are driven by passion and their willingness to get things done. This describes what Cynthia Escobedo has been to our community over the past four years. She's an integral part of the yearbook staff, in charge of marketing for the GSE club, and generally participates in anything the school asks of her. She can often be seen organizing most school events or projects, including the blood drive, but does not seek recognition." |
Friday, December 11th |
Homecoming Dance was pretty fun! Other than trying to pry the freshmen out of the corners of the room, we were dancing and having the time of our lives! Not to mention that we also had an awesome photo booth with cool emojis.
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Monday, December 14th |
On this day, we had a BBQ after school and supported our boys for their soccer game. We also had the theme to wear things that related to the holidays, like santa hats, green and red clothing, ugly sweaters, etc.
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Tuesday, December 15th |
Tuesday was international day where people were able to dress up in clothes that represented their heritage.
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Wednesday, December 16th |
We had a professional dress day. Isn’t it nice to see people dressing up so nicely on a regular day of school?
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Thursday, December 17th |
Thursday was the most eventful day. We had to dress up as our favorite Disney character. During lunch, the club G.S.E., or Gender Sexuality Equality club, played the game “Wheel of Fortune” and it was fun since we also had a giftcard to Starbucks if we got the answer correct. They wanted to spread the awareness of the the LGBTQ+ community and the support for gender and sexuality minorities, so what better way than playing a game? We also had a rally. Since the theme was Disney, each grade level had to wear a different color that represented the little creatures from, “Inside Out.”
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