Category Archives: Academics

Queendom conference builds self-esteem in female students

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By Angela Rivas,

Patterson High School, Queendom, and the Family League of Baltimore joined in collaboration to take Patterson students and students from other schools to a conference at Morgan State University on December 9, 2016.. The purpose of this conference was to help teenagers build stronger self-esteem and to help them develop a strong sense of self-worth. The program was particularly for black and hispanic girls.

Students from Patterson’s Nail Tech program participated in the event along with other students from our school. During the event, students got to meet strong women who have had to overcome so many obstacles to get where they wanted to be. Also during the event each of the girls walked to the stage and received a crown, which represented them in how unique and valuable they are.

People these days say that we young girls don’t respect ourselves and that we are acting crazy. Some people might also say we won’t be able to get to anywhere we want. However, that is not true. We are capable of doing anything we put our minds to. Queendom helped young girls feel confident and good about themselves. The program motivated them and helped them to have a new mind-set. “I remember what one of the women at the event said”, recalled Any Corea, one of the students who participated in Queendom. “A rich woman is not how much she makes [but] how much she keeps”.

Queendom was a successful event. We had so much fun and we got out of there with a positive attitude. This program showed me that I’m able of doing anything; all I have to do is trust myself and work for it. No one is different. Sometimes we are judged by our race or skin color but at the end none of that stuff matters because I know that one day I’ll be a successful hispanic girl.

Journalism students create photo-essays

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Mikal McCoy takes a "worm's eye" shot outside of Patterson during the Wide Angle Youth Media photography workshop. (Photo: Patterson Press)

Mikal McCoy takes a “worm’s eye” shot outside of Patterson during the Wide Angle Youth Media photography workshop. (Photo: Patterson Press)

Students in Mr. Pesa’s journalism class created original photo-essays as part of a unit on photojournalism. Students chose a theme, took their own photos, wrote cutlines (captions), introductions and reflections, edited some of the photos in Photoshop, and created their own presentation websites on Weebly.com.

Many of these photo-essays are nature-themed because the students participated in a photography workshop from Wide Angle Youth Media where they went outside to do a photoshoot. Nonetheless, there are a variety of different themes reflected in this collection.

Mr. Pesa plans to print the photos out and hang them up in the hallway, as well as putting them on the digital monitor in the cafeteria. Some of the photos will also be featured in the upcoming print edition of the Patterson Press. Additionally, some of the photos may be selected for a travelling art exhibit sponsored by Wide Angle Youth Media.

Here are links to the finished photo-essays (in alphabetical order by title):

Graffiti (Alvaro Flores-Villegas)

Hard Work at Patterson High School (Mikal McCoy)

Let’s Go Hiking (Sartre Ndebaneza)

Light and Darkness (Dabria Brown)

Litter (Christian Pietrowski)

My Passion, God’s Creation (Faran Nadeem)

Nature (Morgan McCaffity)

Nature Before It’s Destroyed (Joselin Miranda)

The Beauty of Nature (Justist Rice)

The Human Effects on Nature (Marina Siebor)

The Pemco Factory (Amadou Bah)

New nail tech students host Grand Opening

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img_1521by Angela Rivas

The new nail technology students had their Grand Opening on December 5, 2016. Every year, Ms. Bridgeforth sponsors a Grand Opening for her new students so people can get to know them. The new techs also have their official day to meet the new clients they will serve in the Cosmetic Services Salon. The new techs demonstrated the skills they have learned so far in the class. They provided complimentary manicures to the ladies from Our Lady of Fatima Senior Center. They serviced not only them, but also students and teachers at Patterson High School.

The goal of the event was for the sophomores to help the clients relax, get pampered and be happy. It was a peaceful and calm event and our visitors were very happy. It was a very beautiful event and successful.

Nail techs serve the ladies from Our Lady of Fatima other times besides the Grand Opening. Once a month, the ladies come and get their manicures for free, which is very kind of Ms. Bridgeforth. She says it is a way of giving back to the community.img_1524

Patterson AFJROTC March at Veterans Day Parade

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Patterson AFJROTC students in the Veterans Day Parade Photo: AFJROTC)

Patterson AFJROTC students in the Veterans Day Parade (Photo: AFJROTC)

By John Dingzon,

On Veterans Day, Lieutenant Colonel Jones and Technical Sergeant Smith took over 20 Air Force Junior ROTC students on a field trip to a parade honoring veterans. The students all marched downtown through the Baltimore City Council. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was there for the veterans and many retired military vets that fought and have survived. JROTC students from multiple schools marched in the parade alongside survivors of the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and World War 2. Some of the battles the World War 2 veterans fought in include the Soviet Union, the Pacific, the Battle of Manila, the Battle of Corregidor, and the Battle of Pearl Harbor. The first woman who joined the National Guard also attended and were on stage giving speeches.

“[The] Veterans Day Parade is a community service project we try and do every year. It is an opportunity [ . . . ] for the cadets to celebrate and to honor the veterans. And it is a chance for the public to see the Patterson Junior ROTC as the representatives of the military community. We are very proud of our students,” Colonel Jones said.

The Air Force Junior ROTC believe the Veterans Day Parade was a success, marching to honor the veterans that survived WW II. They are looking forward to performing again next year.

 

Parent Life Club Provides Support For Teen Parents

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By Dabria Brown & Joselin Miranda,

Are you a new parent or expecting to become a new parent? If you’re having problems or need help or support with your child, there’s a group called Parent Life that can help. Parent Life is a group that helps and gives you advice with your child. They help you set goals, they talk about self-awareness, etc. If you might need help with anything like providing for your child, they’re there. One call and they’re on their way.

Parent Life meets every Thursday from 12-1 pm in room 206. In Parent Life, fathers and mothers who go to school attend the meetings when they feel they want to; it’s not mandatory. If you’re an expecting parent or already a parent, you can attend. It helps you get through whatever you are experiencing. They’re there to support and give advice. Some people may be shy or uncomfortable talking in front of others, but everyone is nice and understanding. Parent Life is part of a bigger project that involves people outside of Patterson High School. Ms. Hope is the advisor for Patterson and she helps out with the girls inside this school. The person who came up with this club does not work at Patterson.

Editor’s note: below is Joselin Miranda’s personal perspective

In the meetings, we talk about things people feel they need to know about their baby and the growing stages. They always provide snacks to the people attending the meeting. When attending the meetings, you get to know people who are teenage parents just like myself and go through the same thing as me. I learned many things from the meetings I’ve attended: we talk about how babies grow, how they may feel at their age, and what things they should be doing in their months. The adults in the room always make you feel welcome and at ease when they’re around. They never judge you by the decisions you make.

The members always make dates with the babies and the parents when out of school: for example, going to the park and having a picnic and going to places to get items needed for the baby. When being a young parent in school, it may be hard and tiring, but attending the meetings makes you less stressed out during the day. Whenever I need someone to talk to or help, I always have the number from the group leaders; I can text any time and they answer the questions I have.

For more information about Parent Life, talk to Ms. Hope in Room 206.

“Out of the Darkness” walk raises awareness about suicide prevention

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Patterson student Andy Marquez and art teacher Ms. Marchewka at the “Out of the Darkness” suicide prevention walk at Patterson Park (Photo: Ms. Marchewka)

By Dabria Brown,

A student and a teacher from Patterson participated in a suicide prevention walk called Out of the Darkness on November 5th in and around Patterson Park. Between 500-600 people attended the walk, including Ms. Marchewka, the art teacher, and a student from Patterson.

The purpose of this walk was to raise awareness about suicide and how to help prevent it. According the The National Institute Of Mental Health, “In 2009, suicide was the third leading cause of death for young people ages 15-24. In this age group, suicide accounted for 14.4 percent of all deaths in 2009″.

Andy Marquez, the student who participated in the walk, had personal reasons for getting involved. ” I had some suicidal experiences and I also had a friend that I lost from suicide”, Marquez explained.

People around the world deal with suicidal thoughts. Most people commit suicide or even have the thought of it because they are depressed. Last year a Patterson student committed suicide. If you see anybody that seems depressed or suicidal, try to talk to them or get them help from one of the counselors or social workers in Room 113.

Ms. Ball Wins “Teachers are Heroes” Award

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Ms. Ball, winner of ABC2 Teacher Hero award (Photo: John Dingzon, Patterson Press)

Ms. Ball, winner of ABC2 Teacher Hero award (Photo: Amadou Bah, Patterson Press)

By John Dingzon,

This year’s nominee of Teachers are Heroes was Ms. Sharon Ball. She was nominated by her colleague Mr. Nicolas Yates. Ms. Ball used to be an Engineer; now she’s a teacher at Patterson High school. She teaches Engineering classes, coaches Robotics, and mentors students in STEM programs.

She won the award of Teachers are Heroes, sponsored by MEW & ABC 2 News. Ms. Ball said when she found out she won, “I was surprised and excited.”

Ms. Ball would like to thank her colleague Mr. Yates for getting nominated so she could receive the award of Teachers are Heroes.

 

Freedom of the Press Matters (OPINION)

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By Justist Rice,

Freedom of the press is very important because it gives everybody a right to voice their opinions and express how people really feel. There have been more and more victims to police brutality every day. People’s families have been broken because of the deaths of family members at the hands of police abusing their authority. There are so many people who are hurt and angry. They all have stories to tell, and freedom of the press helps them tell their stories.

Government censorship affects journalism in a very bad way, because it blocks out and ignores very important facts,  making it difficult to tell the whole story. Before Freedom of the Press, people weren’t allowed to voice their opinions, and if they did they were either arrested or bullied, and were stopped from writing–period.

There are limits to Freedom of the Press, such as libel, fabrication, and invasion of privacy. All these things are forbidden. People are not allowed to publish false statements to damage someone else’s reputation. It’s also forbidden to invade someone else’s privacy, meaning you can’t take a picture of someone if they are not in a public place. Similarly, you can’t hack into someone’s emails or messages and post them online.

In many states, reporters for school publications do not have the same rights as other news reporters. In many schools, student reporters are not allowed to talk about certain things, such as politics. The Maryland New Voices Act, which went into affect this October, allows student journalists to exercise freedom of speech without prior restraint. It gives student reporters a chance to express their opinions on any topic. Freedom of the Press is essential for people who want their voices to be heard, who are tired of being overlooked, who want to vent to the world.

The Election of 2016

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Hillary Clinton vs Donald Trump (photo is copyright free)

By Faran Nadeem,

As we all know, the election of 2016 is only a couple days away. This time it’s going to be big. The reason for that is some people still don’t know who are they are going to vote for.

The Narrator, also known as Tyler Durden (a famous actor and artist), says on his website, “Voting for president is like picking out which gun you wanna get shot from”. Amadou Bah, a student at Patterson High School, chooses Donald Trump because he says, “Its better to have an idiot rather than a criminal”. On the other side Sartre Ndebaneza, another Patterson student, chooses Hillary Clinton because according to him, “bad is better than worst”. So maybe this time people don’t have a favorite person they are going to vote for; they will just choose the one which they think is the lesser of two evils.

There is an interesting debate going on between the two candidates, Trump and Clinton. Donald keeps bashing Clinton about her emails and Clinton is bashing Donald by calling him a bully. According to BBC News,”Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has looked past a fresh inquiry about her emails to label Donald Trump a ‘bully’ who insults women.” Also according to the BBC News, Clinton is about 1% ahead of Trump in the polls (11/06/16).

It’s your right to vote. Everyone who is 18 or older should go and vote for the candidate you like the most.

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