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Patterson Wins 31 Matches in 2023 Chess Nationals Tournament

Posted on May 25, 2023 by Haileyyyyyyyyyy Leave a comment

By Hailey Shifflet

Chess Nationals is a big thing for students throughout the country, ranging from kindergarteners to 12th graders. Chess Nationals can take place anywhere in the country, the 2022 tournament took place in Memphis, Tennessee, but this year was close to home, Washington DC at the Washington Hilton Hotel. The Chess team, led by Mr. Baron and Mr. Tola, brought 11 students with them: DeShown Streater, D’Andre Murray, Jauan Bennett, Coenia Sanchez, Alexandra Artiga, Hailey Shifflett, Julian Shifflett, Abel Kahsay, Aseel Alradaei, Brandon Lopez-Piedrasanta, and Kevin Lagoom.

The tournament had a total of 7 matches spanning over a period of 3 days, from the 31st of March to the 2nd of April. The competition had over 1700+ people join to compete. On the first day of the tournament you play the first two days, the 1st you play 3 games, then play the remaining two games on the 2nd. After all of the games are completed, we had some downtime until the award ceremony started. The Patterson Chess team had a total of 31 wins. The team was split into two separate sections, unrated and U800 (under 800). Because of the scores, The unrated players were ranked 35th out of 67 teams and they played against 407 players. The unrated players ranked 17th place out of 40 and played against 233 other players.

The Chess team was able to gain new experiences and grow their ability to play chess. They learned from their mistakes in game playing and were even able to meet grandmasters (high-ranked chess players), develop new chess techniques, and experience new things such as food or places. While Patterson didn’t win any trophies, the entire experience was positive and we all grew from it.

We also would like to give a special thanks to all the teachers that supported the chess team and helped us even get to Nationals in first place. We also like to thank the Principal Mrs. Myrick who even came to support us at Nationals. And most importantly, we like to thank Mr. Baron and Mr. Tola. Without them, we wouldn’t have a chess team and certainly wouldn’t have been able to go Nationals.

School Stress

Posted on February 19, 2020 by Haileyyyyyyyyyy Leave a comment

by Hailey Shifflett

Have you ever felt stressed and you couldn’t talk to anyone about it? You are not alone. Everyone at some point in their life will be stressed about something and/or someone.

Students in high school can feel many sources of stress. From school work to relationship issues it can put a hold on anyone. Sure, we don’t have to pay bills or have a full time job, but students can deal with a lot too.

According to the website TeenHelp.com, five main things that can cause stress to a teenager are school work, parents, friends’ problems, romantic relationships, and drugs in the neighborhood.

A ninth grader here, Anallely Santos Velazquez, said, “I feel okay about school; it is just the work in most classes that stresses me out.”

Also, Angelina Anderson, another ninth grader, remarked, ” School isn’t that bad; I just don’t like waking up in the morning. But what stresses me out is not getting work, assessments, done on time or just not getting work done.”

There are many problems that come along with stress. Many symptoms can take a toll on your mental health and body, including upset stomach, chest pain, fatigue, headaches, etc. Also, you can develop anxiety and depression, restlessness and the feeling of being overwhelmed. (Source: MayoClinic.org).

Patterson has many many counselors, social workers or psychologists that you can come to so you can talk to them. Whether you’re feeling stressed or need anything else, you can come to them. One of the psychologist that is in Patterson is Ms. Gaither. She gave us some advice on how to deal with stress or what causes it in the first place.

“Well, to know what causes stress you have to know what it is. It is like anxiety; an alarm system. That is what anxiety is usually is. Many things can cause stress. Typically school, since we are in school, but there can be other factors like family stress or it could be biologically because everyone is different so stress might be different.”

So, many things can cause stress, but you can also be stressed on things that are home related, taking care of siblings, parents, chores, etc. Also, some students have jobs, so now they have more worries on their plate. But Ms. Gaither also gave us some advice on how to deal with stress.

“You can face your fears. For example if someone doesn’t like science, they will try to avoid it, but you’re going have to go to science at some point. So if you face your fear, it can be a stress reliever. You can go to coach class, ask for help or anything at all. It is about overcoming those barriers. You can talk to someone, like myself, teachers or other social workers. Talk to someone you trust. You can exercise, working on your mind and physical health.”

Those are some ways you can overcome stress.

Back to School Night brings smiles to Patterson faces

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Haileyyyyyyyyyy Leave a comment

By Hailey Shifflett

Ms. Williams and the band as they are walking in to perform at Back to School Night *(Photo: Patterson Press)*

Patterson High held its 9th annual Back to School Night and Community Fair on September 26th from 5-8 pm in the school cafeteria. There were many things to do and many more things to see. From belly dancers to our own marching band’s performance, Back to School Night was a fun time.

Patterson has multiple groups and clubs that you can participate in during or after school. Back to School Night introduced students and their families to the teachers and organizers that host many different clubs. There were many tables for clubs like Art Club, the Student Government Association, the Patterson Press, etc along with a number of other groups from the community. Everyone who attended enjoyed Back to School Night, including some parents.

Ms. Ciera Garner, mother of Destiny Garner, remarked, “I love this Back to School Night. It is a lot of fun and I love how they have music too. My favorite event so far is the band performance.”

Not only parents enjoyed it, but students did too. Moussa Bombwe, a tenth grader, felt that Back to School Night was “good.” His favorite table was Soccer Without Borders, one of the groups that were featured at the event.

Some more clubs and groups at Patterson are SGA, run by Adam Sokolski, a social studies teacher, Roberta’s House, and Empowering Minds.
The SGA is the Student Government Association, The SGA’s goal is to teach student leadership, and to work with SGA all around Baltimore, and to work on teamwork skills. Also, in the past the SGA went to City Hall.

Roberta’s House is a family support group. They have multiple programs that help both parents and children for family loss (death, deportation, missing, etc.) Also, they help mothers with child loss (miscarriage, child died, etc.) They work here at Patterson and any student can join. Lastly, There is Empowering Minds. They are also a support group which has therapeutic counseling and talks to you about your problems, mental health, and many other things.

Mr Benton, Patterson’s principal, also shed light on what he thought about the Back to School Night. “I’m always excited about the Back to School Night. It doesn’t matter about the amount of people that come, but the smiles on their faces.”

His favorite event of the night was the band’s performance and the people enjoying the band’s performance as well. He’s appreciative for the adults that help out at Patterson and spend their own time with students to make new and exciting clubs. Mr. Benton loves all of the Back to School Nights because people showed up and had a good time and he is grateful for that.

Overall, Back to School Night was a good time. People had fun and enjoyed themselves. Some joined new clubs or met new people. Back to School Night was a way for the community to join together and forget, even for a second, the problems that might be going on in their lives. Their main focus was to just have a good time. And that is what Back to School Night is all about.