Finals week is coming up and the stress levels are rising. The pressure of school is building up to an all time high. Us as high-schoolers (not all) begin to procrastinate. We lay things off and put unimportant things over studying and school work. Finals are just around the corner along with AP Testing. I’m stressed about AP Testing because that is happening less than 2 days from now. I haven’t done much studying and need to do it as soon as possible. A 40% on the test will give me a passing 3. Scoring a 70% on the test would give me a 5. Those percentages seem low but you have to know a lot of your stuff even to just get a 3 on the AP Test. My AP Physics class was offered multiple study sessions and test throughout the past weeks but I haven’t been able to go to any of them due to sports. On top of my AP Testing on Tuesday, I also have a history EXAM worth 500 points. I as many points as I can get to raise my grade before the end of the final semester.

Time has gone by so fast. It feels like i’ve barely been in high-school but 2 years of it has already flashed by just like that. My sophomore year in high-school is nearly over. I can’t believe that when this semester ends, I will be a junior and after my junior year passes in a flash, I’ll be a senior getting ready for college. I’ll have to worry about what’s to come junior year and on top of senior year. All the SAT studying and applying to all the colleges I want to go to and the stress of waiting to find out if I actually got accepted into ANY college.

Procrastinating is probably the worst possible thing you can ever do in high-school. ESPECIALLY if it’s the end of the semester. You think you’ll do your school work later or somewhere down the road but the work will just end up stacking and stacking until you can’t take it anymore and all you can do is just watch your grade drop letter by letter. By the end of the semester, everyone wants to party. Senioritis is spread down to the underclassmen. Even the teachers see it. They feel like the high-school vibe is ‘loose’. That’s the opposite of what the teachers want. They want their students to be studying and preparing for finals. They need to be in the mindset of wanting to finish finals and passing because as soon as you’re done, you’re home free.

Our school hosts the Evening of Jazz event which happens once every year.The event is held in our cafeteria and lasts for three hours. Those who attend must purchase a ticket which allows them to receive dinner and a great night of Jazz from out band.

This evening of jazz event took months to prepare. We practiced and practiced many many songs so we wouldn’t run out. We played at least 15-20 songs that day.

When we first got to the event, we were served food. We got to eat tri tip, chicken, salad, and potato salad. It was very delicious. By the time we finished eating people began walking in. When the event officially started, the cafeteria was filled. The parents started to serve the delicious food that they had to start preparing hours before the event.

Throughout the night we did many many other things than just play music. 30 minutes into the event we started our first cakewalk. In order to enter the cakewalk, a fee of 5 dollars had to be paid. This year, we had a random number of people come up for the cake walk. We played through an entire song until they had to stop on a number. We did about 2 cake walks.

After the cakewalk we would continue playing our music. We then did a raffle ticket drawing. We gave away prizes for each person whose tickets were drawn. We did a total of 5 draws until we continued on with our music. After another 20 minutes we did another cakewalk. After the cake walk we got to have a 15 minute break.

During our 15 minute break we talked to our fellow band members and had some refreshing drinks. Everyone seemed to be having a great time and was enjoying themselves. After our break was over, everyone had finished their dinners so student helpers began to serve the deserts. For the rest of the night people came up and danced along to our songs while played the rest of our music. This years evening of jazz was just as fun as the last. I had such a great time getting to hang out with friends and play music. I hope that next years evening of jazz will be just as good.

Academic dishonesty is a big issue at any high school. Many students on any high school campus would commit academic dishonesty either on a test or homework. Getting those few extra points on a test or homework assignment isn’t worth cheating for. Even if you get that good grade you cheated for, you would still need to know the actual material for college. Many colleges test you to see if you actually know the material. After that, it won’t be hard to find out that you cheated your way through high school. Learning the subject and working hard for a good grade is more worth it and has many more benefits. Knowing the things you learn in high school could help more than you think when y0u g0 to college.

Learning is the lifelong journey. Life is not about winning, it’s the effort you put into it that counts.

Many teachers at high schools can take academic dishonesty very seriously. At my school, our history teacher will do everything it takes to kick you out of the school if he catches you cheating. Everyone in the class didn’t take him seriously. Throughout the entire first semester, almost everyone started to cheat. Near the end of the semester, he went over almost every single homework assignment we did in that class and found that at least over 100 students had copied each other’s homework. Every single student that cheated was punished. Ever since then, he enforced far more strict rules and removed many benefits that would help improve our grade such as extra credit.

No one likes a cheater. Cheating will never get you anywhere in life. Working hard for something and putting in that extra effort is always worth it. You’ll realize that in the long run, the extra effort you gave was worth it.

With fall season just right around the corner, many are thinking about Halloween and Thanksgiving, while…juniors and seniors are thinking about hell. The dreaded SAT that looked so far away as a freshman, has suddenly appeared before them. By now, many are studying hard aiming to get a perfect score and some, are laid back thinking they’re smart enough to get a high score. Whichever one you are, you can still stay and learn some tips from someone who has taken the SAT before.
     

So the SAT asks you many questions on the subjects of English and Math. The composition of the SAT is what you have learned from when you were in Kindergarten all the way up to now. There are You might’ve forgotten many things since then, such as the difference between a noun and pronoun, or how to do geometry. There isn’t much to worry about because there are many study aids out there to help you and I will list some for you.
   

The SAT is split into 4 parts( 5 if writing essay), and each has a specific instruction. The first part is reading and comprehension section. You are given 65 minutes to read articles or short excerpts and must answer the questions based on the writing. The second section is Writing and Language. This section tests you on how well you are able to read the underlined phrase and choose the correct answer. This includes English grammar and correct word choice. You are given 35 minutes for this section. The next section is the no calculator math section. This section tests you on math mainly with algebraic, geometric and statistical math, you are given 25 minutes. The fourth section is the calculator math section. This section tests you on the same math but sometimes gives you big numbers. The last section is the essay. You are given 50 minutes to write an essay analyzing an author’s piece of work.

BEFORE TEST
Tip 1!
GET STARTED EARLY
Getting a head start allows for more time flexibility. For me, I started a month before the test. This allowed for me to give up a study day in order to do things I wanted to do. Also starting early means you are getting more practice in and a much higher chance of getting a great score.

Tip 2!
USE STUDY AIDS!
There are many study aids such as books and websites out there. If you go on Amazon, you can find a range of books from College Board and Kaplan. As for websites, PrepScholar and Khan Academy are by far the best out there. Both give lots of insight about the test and give good strategies on how to perform well. Khan Academy also has SAT practice based on what you missed on the PSAT, so the curriculum is finely tuned for every individual person.

Tip 3!
BE AWAKE WHEN STUDYING
When studying, be sure to be wide awake and ready to soak in information. Our mind works best when we are fully awake and rested. Also, the best time to study for long term memorization is right before going to bed. This allows your brain more time to encode and store the information giving you better results for the long run.
DURING THE TEST
Tip 4!
READ CAREFULLY!
While reading anything on the test, ready very precisely and carefully to avoid making any stupid mistakes. You can also underline key points so you don’t miss them when looking back for reference

Tip 5!
PAY ATTENTION TO BUBBLING
When bubbling, make sure to keep them in the circle. Watch the time and bubble efficiently. A good strategy is to mark your answers in the booklet, then bubble them in 3-5 at a time to work fast.

Tip 6!w
DON’T OVERTHINK
While doing anything on the SAT, do not overthink a single thing. Everything on the SAT is straightforward when you are asked to answer a question. It doesn’t mean that they won’t trick you, but don’t get caught up on one problem. Move on and go back if you have time left over

Tip 7!
BUBBLE ALL ANSWERS
For the new SAT, you are not penalized for getting answers wrong or omitting them. You gain points by getting answers right. This means that if you absolutely cannot answer a problem, guess, it won’t hurt you. This also applies to when the time is almost up. If you have problems left that you can’t finish, go ahead and guess.

-Thanks for Reading!!

–Music Eagles Team

–Tyler J.

On June 6, my mother, brother, and I departed from San Francisco International airport heading for Shanghai, China. The night before, we had been packing everything up in our suitcases and getting what we needed ready. We decided to just pull an all nighter because it didn’t seem logical to sleep for thirty minutes. 3:00 AM we depart Sacramento driving down I-80 towards San Francisco. At around 5:00 AM we arrive at the airport parking lot. Dressed up in our suits, we walked down to the check in desk only to find out that the first time was 8:00 AM. Armed with our neck pillows, we found the closest bench in the area and we took turns napping and watching over our luggage. When the clock hit 8:00, we were the first in line and quickly breezed through the check-in process. We headed over to the customs and security checkpoint, where we had to say goodbye to our father. After the goodbyes, we proceeded to wait in the decently long line. At the checkpoint, we got pulled over for having a container of skin scream over the allowed size of 4 oz. I asked for an exception with the excuse that my brother had eczema, they accepted it and allowed us to pass through. The funny thing was that the container was 24 oz, 20 OZ over the allowed size. Arriving at the terminal at 9:00, we found a place to sit and relaxed until boarding time came around. At 11:30, we all began boarding the plane. Finding our seat in the plane, we settled down and prepared ourselves for a 12 hour flight. During the taxi, we held hands and did a quick prayer. As the plane began takeoff, I wanted to throw my hands up in the air like I was in a roller coaster. I have no idea why I had the urge, but i ended up doing a half arm raise for fun. 

Thanks for Reading

Music Eagles Team

By Ty. J

Although the school year is almost over, there is still one more obstacle. Finals. Finals are the last tests of the year. They are also the hardest tests of the year. They have lots of questions and are worth lots and lots of points. Finals will determine your grade in the class. If you ace it, then you will finish with a good grade. If you fail it, you won’t have a good grade.

Finals require lots and lots of studying and note writing. Many people stress over finals because they think they’ll flunk it. When people stress too much during finals they usually don’t or can’t think too well so the key to being successful in your finals is being relaxed.

In order to pass finals, you have to know about everything you learned in that whole year. This is where studying and having a notecard comes in handy. Most people usually would study the things they don’t remember as clearly and don’t study the recent things they learned as much.

Even if finals can be the hardest tests of the year, they can be very easy for some. Some people don’t even study for finals and end up acing it like it’s nothing. These types of people usually work really hard to keep their GPA at a 4.0 or 3.5 and above. They study as much as possible, do all their homework, and make sure they always ace a test.

Finals usually last 2 hours per period. We split the periods by doing 2 hours each period. Periods 1, 3, and 5 the first day and periods 2, 4, and 6 the second. So that means we get 2 hours to finish our finals.

When finals are finally over our summer officially begins. Finals will be a painful week but we will finally be free with summer after!

Thank you for reading Finals Week!

Make sure to check out our Go Fund Me page and our Free Services!

~Music Eagle Team

By Ty J

The 2016-2017 school year went by pretty fast. In a blink of an eye we started out meeting new people or ones we knew to forming new lasting friendships. Everyone has gone through stress and the worst of the year but it’s almost over. In exactly two weeks, everyone will be free for the break we all long for, summer break.

As the end of the year approaches, many emotions begin surfacing. Emotions such as not wanting your seniors to leave or getting the courage to ask the girl or boy you like out. Luckily, as long we all have these emotions, that’s what connects us all as humans. As the day of graduation is coming up fast, everyone is preparing to see the seniors leave and getting ready for the three months of freedom.

Many of us now are looking back at the fond memories that will stay with us forever. Remembering all the things we have done with close friends will definitely stick with us till the end of the school year. As we get older, these memories will become dear and precious to us. We sometimes run into a wall called sadness or depression, looking back at fun memories, we can overcome the wall and return to our real selves. Adding to the collection of memories we have something called college. At college we can make many more memories.

Months prior, many seniors found out which colleges they have been accepted into. Many were excited going to the college first on their list, but some were rejected. Luckily, we all come across many opportunities, such as the transfer program, and start off at community level college. Next many progress and enter UC universities or other private institutions. Getting accepted or not, we shouldn’t dwell on the present, but on what we can do to make our future brighter. We are the only ones who can change our own futures, no one else can stop you from being successful, only yourself. That’s why you shouldn’t give up, even if the task at hand is very difficult. Push through and everything will come together.

Remember to always keep moving forward and not dwell on the past. Once the past is gone, it’s gone forever. Even with seniors leaving and you progressing one year up, there is more to come and more friendships to make

Thank you for reading The End of the School Year!

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~Music Eagle Team

Every year in the month of May, many high school music departments across the U.S. host their own Pops Concert. The music performed at the pops concert is usually music popular after the 2000’s. The concerts usually include performances from the choirs and bands of the school.

Our school hosted our Pops concert last Friday. All of our bands performed at the concerts and the choir will be having their own concert at a later time. The concert venue was outside on the lawn of the S-wing. The area is nicely shaded by a couple trees and the space is expansive. The sounds coming from the band travel nicely and fill the air with music. In order, our sax quartet and french horn trio performed first. Next our jazz band, beginning band, concert band, symphonic band, and honors concert band.

Officially the concert was to start at 5:30 pm, but the quartet and trio decided they would like to play a little before hand. The quartet began at 5:00 and played two jazzy pieces, Yakety Sax, and 12th street rag. The trio decided to play a combination of pieces created by John Williams. The arrangement was created by one of the students and it turned out very well. After the quartet and trio played, they received a good sounding applause and the jazz band made their way up to the stage.

After the Jazz band was seated, the conductor announced the band and what songs we were going to play. The songs were the stripper,
Señor Mouse, how high the moon, cry me a river, and the chicken. The main feature piece of the jazz band was Señor Mouse. Having four styles of music in one song, the piece is a level 6 created for college level bands. The jazz band was able to pull it off and make a great performance of it. Next up was the beginning band.

The beginning band is made up of students who have never taken a music class and have never played an instrument before. They played four basic level songs consisting of latin, jazz, march, and a comedy song. Having no experience prior to playing in the band, their performance was pretty well done. Next up was the concert band.

Concert band is mostly made up of freshman and some juniors and seniors with a year of experience on their instrument. The songs played by them were multiple medleys and they played them with great passion. Next up was the symphonic band

The Symphonic band is made up of sophomores who usually have 2-4 years of experience. At the concert, they were recognized for being the first band to receive superior marks at the golden empire festival. With their great musicality, they could push for superior all four years.

Finally, the Honors band was up. The Honors band is made up of juniors, seniors, and a sophomore. They played the most advanced songs out of all the bands and performed marvelously. The songs they played were Malaguena, the jungle book, tea for two, and Les Misérables.

The concert turned out very well and we had many attend, mostly parents, but even so, we all believe that the concert was a giant success.

Thank you for reading The El Camino Pops Concert!

Make sure to check out our Go Fund Me page and our Free Services!

~Music Eagle Team

The band Sports-A-Rama is an event that happens every year in the month of May. All the grade classes get together on the S-lawn for a fun-filled four hours where the classes compete in the games to win the prizes. Every class chooses two different games to play and plan everything out weeks before the actual event. The prizes were given out to first through fourth place. First place received It’s-It ice cream, second received Rice Krispie treats, third received jelly beans and fourth received pork and beans.

12:30 PM we began our preparation for the annual Sports-A-Rama. Every class was placing all of their equipment down and getting everything needed in the necessary areas. We are in different classes so we had our own things going on during the prep time. The seniors chose to do relay race and volleyball. Juniors chose lip sync battle and water balloon dodgeball. The sophomores chose wheelbarrow piggy back race and musical chairs. Freshman chose crab soccer and dodgeball. The last game was tug-of-war.
At 1:00 PM the fun began with crab soccer. An exercise ball was used and everyone had to move around like a crab. No hands were allowed, even by the goalie, and the only way to score was to kick. The victors were the seniors.

Next up was musical chairs. The teams decided as being four from each class. The people would circle the chairs until the song was stopped then the people would have to rush to find a seat. In the end, the seniors were the victors.

The next game was lip sync battle. Each class had 10 minutes to prepare a dance to go along with the song they were given. The judges based their decisions on how well the dance looked and the lip sync quality. The winners were the juniors and seniors tied. Next up was dodgeball. The objective was to throw balls at people until there weren’t any left on the opposing side. The victors were the juniors.

The next game was a relay race. The relay race consisted of dizzy soccer, balloon popping, and three-legged race. Dizzy soccer was where the shooter spun around and tried to make a goal. Balloon popping was where two people had to hug in order to pop the balloon and the three-legged race was where the duo had a leg tied together and they had to run. The victors were the seniors.

Next up was the wheelbarrow piggyback race. Each class had 8 participants, four doing the wheelbarrow and four doing the piggyback. The objective was to run to each side as fast as you can. The victors were the juniors.

Next game was water balloon dodgeball. Each class had 45 balloons and if you ran out, the objective was to survive. The winner was chosen based on how many on a team got out. The seniors were the winners because they only had five people.

Next up was volleyball. Exactly like a regular volleyball match, the objective was to score points. The victors were the seniors.
The last and final game was tug-of-war. Pulling as hard as you can was the objective in order to make the flag in the middle go past the markers. The victors were the juniors because of their larger amount of people.

When all the points were added up, the Seniors came in first, Juniors second, Freshmen third, and the sophomores last.

Thank you for reading The Band Sports-A-Rama!

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~Music Eagle Team

Prom is an event that occurs once a year across the high schools of America. Beginning around the 1920s, prom has become high school tradition. Dress attire is usually up to the student body to decide and school gym is transformed into a dance room. A DJ is hired and lights are set up around the gym filling the night with music and lights.

Prom is a huge event and many people begin their planning weeks ahead of the date. If you are a boy, planning ahead and asking a girl out before another person does is crucial to not being left behind. If you wait till the last minute, all the girls would have been asked out. This is why you have to be the first. When asking the girl out, don’t go all out and go crazy. Make it simple like a poster with a funny pun. Ask her friends what she likes and you could base your poster off of that.For girls, you will most likely be the one being asked out, unless the guy you like hasn’t made a move on anyone else. As said before, make it simple and ask his friends about his interests.

When going to prom, plan on being with a group of at least six people or more. Having a larger group of friends is more diverse and more people to hang out and talk with. Plan a week or two before whether or not you will be doing a group meal or going out with your date to a restaurant.

Next would be the dance. The dance is the best part of the night. Everyone is pumped up and dancing lets all of your energy out. You can show your dance moves off to everyone or just look like a weird flopping thing. If you see a large circle gathering around, you’ll know that it’s an open area to show off your dancing. Even if you think you look stupid, go in there a do some dancing and let everything loose.

Usually, there will be after parties. Be careful of which after party to go to because many teenagers have access to drugs and alcohol. Find a group who have a clean record and stick with them. If you do encounter drugs or alcohol, don’t use any of the substances and if you can leave immediately. Remember, you would rather keep your life and record intact so you can go to the ball next year.

Thank you for reading Tips for Prom!

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~Music Eagle Team

By Ty J