Category Archives: Academics

Ms. Ball makes engineering class fun and exciting

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By Kayla Holeman

Ms. Ball and Mr. Yates won the Excellence Award at the Twenty-Second Annual Technology Education Excellence in Education Awards Program in February. (Photo: Ms. Ball/Mr. Yates)

We wanted to know more about engineering at Patterson High School and why should students take engineering classes so we interviewed the engineering teacher, Ms. Ball.

To me, engineering seems cool and fun. You learn a lot. I’m not even taking the class yet, but I will take it because I really like how it is. It seems interesting.

Engineering teacher Ms. Sharon Ball got inspired by luck because her recruiter from high school inspired her to get into engineering. She worked as an engineer on massive cruise ships and she loved it so she kept doing what she loves to do. Ms. Ball started working in the field of engineering 24 years ago.

In February, Ms. Ball and Mr. Yates received the Excellence Award at the Twenty-Second Annual Technology Education Excellence in Education Awards Program. Ms. Ball and her students have also won other prestigious awards over the last few years.

The engineering pathway has gone on a number of field trips, including visits to an engineering company, colleges, and a drum company. Ms. Ball loves to inspire students and to blow stuff up.

Ms. Ball’s advice is, “If you fall down to get back up.” I like this quote because you should never be scared to not get it right the first time. If you get it wrong, just keep trying; never give up. This is why I would like for engineering to be my pathway, because it’s just great in my opinion.

Ms. Ball seems like a nice, wonderful teacher and I can’t wait to have her and blow stuff up. If you have any questions about the engineering pathway at Patterson, then just go to Ms. Ball in 107, and she would be happy to answer anything you need about engineering. If you are into engineering, you should take this class because it seems pretty cool, going on trips and just learning new things. I would love to take this class next year. I can’t wait. It’s just going to be wonderful and if you are not sure what class to take but you want something like this, try it out because you are only going to know if you try.

Dante Wilds contributed to this article.

Patterson teacher participates in suicide prevention walk

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By Dasia Whitfield

Every year in Baltimore people walk to spread awareness and raise money to prevent suicide. This year’s walk took place at the Inner Harbor.

The walk, called Out of the Darkness, focuses on every age group from teenagers to senior citizens. About 1000 people were at this year’s walk. The awareness walk helps people who have lost people because of suicide or who have struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts themselves. The walk helps people to feel comfortable talking to other people about what they are dealing with when they realize that they are not in it alone.

Ms. Marchewka, an art teacher at Patterson High School who participated in the walk, says that “the walk at the harbor brings awareness to people, it lets people come out and talk about their issues or experience and not be shameful”.

The website AFSP explains that suicide claims more lives than war, murder, and natural disasters combined. Yet suicide prevention doesn’t receive anywhere near the funding as other leading causes of death. It’s up to us to make a difference.

According to Ms. Marchewka, the experience is very uplifting. You should consider going next time if you believe in the cause. I would recommend the awareness walk to anybody, especially to the people that are actually going through the situation so they can be more comfortable talking about it. I would have them surrounded by people that could relate to them and have empathy.

Ms. Marchewka participates in the awareness walk every year because she has been around and witnessed situations that have occurred and she can relate because of the fact that she has lost many people in her family due to suicide. She also knows people that have dealt with anxiety and depression.

I think coming up with the awareness walk was a good idea because we never know what people go through and or how they feel, and this walk could really help a person and give them that positive idea and see things on the brighter side. This walk can open the eyes of a lot of people.

Students tour battleships on Fleet Week

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By John Dingzon

AFJROTC cadets and students from the homeland security pathway took a field trip for fleet week to the Inner Harbor on Monday, October 1,  where they learned more about fighter jets, other aircraft, ground vehicles and ships.

They also learned about military life as well as how to join the military and the application that they need to fill out if they are interested in joining the military later in their future career.

The military personnel talked about their experience in the military, including any battle experience and whether it was reserve or the front lines, as well as the eligibility to enter the military.

Ms. Brett and Ms. Knowles were the chaperones that led the field trip. The students and cadets had the opportunity to see not just American Navy ships but also international ships from other countries, including England, Australia, France and Germany.

The HMS Monmouth was present from England and as well the U.S.S. Milwaukee from the American Navy.

Most of the military personnel were on shore leave but others were in transition to different ships to report for duty and get ready to ship out.

Overall, students learned a lot on this field trip and enjoyed getting to see the ships.

Remembering robotics coach, Kevin Boone

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By John Dingzon

Mr. Kevin Boone, an engineering teacher and robotics coach from Digital Harbor High School, passed away in November 2018.

It was a very tragic of loss of one of the best engineering teachers in Maryland. Mr. Boone had been involved in the VEX robotics program since day one, when the program was first released here in Baltimore City.

Two of Mr. Boone’s former students for robotics at Digital Harbor High School, Peter and Isaiah, shared their feelings with the Patterson Press:  “We mourn for the loss of Mr. Boone, because he was like a father and a mentor to us and always looked after us. If he saw any errors, he would help and correct us.”

A lot of times Peter and Isaiah would stay after school or stay really late just to finish their robots and get ready for the Saturday competition and tournament.

Digital Harbor High School is currently postponing their participation in robotics competitions with other schools. It is unknown who is going to take Mr. Boone’s place as robotics coach.

Patterson engineering teacher Ms. Ball who was a close colleague and a friend of Mr. Boone. “I was devastated when I heard the news of his passing.”, Ms. Ball explained. “I had just seen him at the Digital Harbor High School VEX robotics competition on Saturday, and his passing was announced 4 days later on Wednesday. He was planning to visit Patterson to help my students with programming on the same day.”

Ms. Ball first met Mr. Boone in 2004 when our schools were competing in the first robotics competition.

The Baltimore City VEX Robotics Coordinator, Gino Tagaytay, held a special ceremony to honor the memory of Mr. Boone at the next VEX robotics competition at Patterson Park Public Charter School.

Personally, I first met Mr. Boone in 2015-2016. Ever since then, I have been working with him. Mr. Boone was an amazing engineering teacher. It is tragic losing someone like Mr. Boone who had been in the program since day one.

The only way we can honor Mr. Boone is to continue the competition all the way to the VEX Robotics tournament cup at Johns Hopkins University.

Mr. Boone helped Patterson teachers & students in all aspects of the VEX robotics program, from designing and building to programming and fundraising. He was always available to lend a helping hand.

We all started together back in 2004. He was one of the first teachers to engage in the VEX program and to offer workshops for new teachers interested in setting up a robotics program at their schools.

Prior to his retirement last year, he was teaching at Digital Harbor High School and served as the VEX Robotics Summer Training Instructor.

I’d like to think he and I were close professional colleagues. He was an incredible resource for Patterson High School. My students looked forward to working with him during the school year as well as the summer. He and I also hung out at “Beer & Bots” to learn about the latest “high-tech” gadgetry used for robotics. Talk about awesome–he even brought us donuts during the Saturday competitions.

Kevin Boone was an amazing person; kind; wonderful; generous (especially with his time). He was respected and admired by his peers, and quick to support his colleagues and his students. He will be greatly missed.

Amazon donates money to Patterson engineering department

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By Moses Jeuronlon

The Patterson High School engineering department received a sum of $15,000 in support from Amazon on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018.

The students of the engineering pathway, Amazon staff, and a representative from the mayor’s office all gathered in Ms. Ball’s classroom to meet each other.

A representative from Amazon give a brief presentation on some of the things they do each and every day. He also talked about some of the opportunities and benefits Amazon has given him as well as some of the fun times he had working for them.

According to John Digzon, a member of the robotics club who participated in the Amazon event, “I am really relieved because with Amazon support we can buy more resources we need for projects”.

After the presentation, the group left Ms. Ball’s room and went to the robotics room where students presented the robots they have been working on. They also demonstrated some of the things their robots can do at the Vex robotics competition practice stage.

Patterson students inducted into National Honor Society

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By Moses Jeuronlon

Several students at Patterson High School were inducted into the National Honors Society on Dec. 7, 2018. Students brought their parents to watch them and celebrate.

The school had tried to start the program in the past but it was unsuccessful. This school year some students were able to achieve this very difficult feat.

According to Ms. Ericka Edwards, an English teacher at Patterson High and one of the co-advisers of the program, said, “It was long awaited and students deserve that honor.”

The students in the program were chosen based on their academic achievement. According to Ms. Edwards, “GPA, service to school and involvement in activity” are all criteria of being part of the society.

Anta Ndiaye, a student in the National Honors Society, said, “I feel honored and proud of being a member of the National Honor Society.”

Principal Vance Benton and Student Government President John Dingzon each gave a speech to thank the parents and the students and told them to keep up their hard work. Other dignitaries and special guests were also present to honor the students, including City Councilman Zeke Cohen.

The ceremony lasted for half an hour and refreshments were served at the end.

 

Patterson High student election postponed due to internet failure

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By Moses Jeuronlon

The Patterson High School Student Government Association held a election on Friday, Dec. 7, 2018 to select their new new president and officers.

Students were required to vote through Kahoot, an internet tool used for surveys quizzes and discussion. While preparing to vote, The internet connection was lost and they could not show the results. The teachers tried refreshing it but it ended in failure.

The audience was whispering, saying, “someone is trying to hack the school WiFi”. In reality, the voting was not being conducted on the official school WiFi network (which does not have a strong enough signal to work in the auditorium) but instead utilized a teacher’s private network.

They kept trying over and over and time ran out. Students got dismissed and the election got postponed to a later date. According to John Digzon, the former SGA President, “the internet connection in the auditorium is not good and too many people used Mr. Bey’s WiFi.”

Dingzon gave his opinion on the candidates, saying, “I’m proud of them and the things they have accomplished.” He suggested that perhaps the candidate can see this as a opportunity and try to encourage more people to vote for them when the true election takes place. It also gave Dingzon the chance to enjoy few more days as President. “I feel happy because I’m trying to finish what I can” said Digzon.

The election was rescheduled to take place early the following week in social studies classrooms.

 

 

Texting and driving kills

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By Dasia Whitfield

Texting and driving is becoming a bigger problem everyday. Texting and driving is a
problem because people are dying every day because of this issue. Phones are becoming a big distraction.

Mr. Casey, an EMT teacher at Patterson, knows about texting and driving because he has to deal with accidents. “It’s a huge problem. People that text and drive should get the
same treatment as people that drink and drive”, says Mr.Casey.

When you are driving, you should never pick up the phone, because no matter what it is, it can wait. Distracted driving causes 15% of injury crashes. Nearly 400,000 people were injured in distracted driving incidents in 2015. These statics come from Teen Safe, a website that helps parents keep their kids safe.

All generations are affected by texting and driving. “No age group specifically, but everybody is affected. Everybody wants to be kept up to date. People do not have patience”,  explains Mr.Casey.

This issue can be fixed if everybody stops picking up the phone when they get a message or to change the music. Everybody has to be considerate and think about others
before picking up the phone and also thinking about themselves and how many lives can be taken away by texting and driving.

Jury duty: a civic responsibility

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Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse — Circuit Court for Baltimore City, where jurors must report for jury duty (Circuit Court for Baltimore City website)

By John Dingzon

Jury duty is part of citizenship. Every American citizen must participate in jury duty.

On March 9, 2018,  I received a jury summons from the Circuit Court of Baltimore. The court gave me all of the information that I needed to know in a letter I received in the mail. They gave me the exact date to report for jury duty and a list of requirements that are needed when attending jury duty.Included with the letter I received from the court was also my juror number and a pass to enter the court. There were also written instructions that I needed to follow.

The next day, the court called me again and said they had enough people to attend jury duty, so they didn’t need me. There is a limited amount of numbers that can attend jury duty each day (usually between 100 and 900). There’s a list of people who have to attend jury duty and they draw the line somewhere. The system randomly selects who has to serve.

When they think that they have enough people to report for jury duty they just immediately stop. The court also pays the people afterwards when they attend jury duty.  I was, of course, excused from the court so I could attend school for that day. However, the court says that they will send another letter to me again very soon and have me report for jury duty.

After my jury duty experience, I interviewed several adults here at Patterson High School who have attended jury duty, to get their point of view.

“When I was on jury duty, I watched a movie, sat, and read a book”, recounted Ms. Knowles, a secretary on the 2nd floor. “I went to Baltimore City Courthouse down at Light Street where I reported for jury duty.”

People who get called for jury duty spend a lot of time just waiting to be called to a courtroom. Many of them never get chosen to actually serve on a jury. Ms. Knowles wished she had been chosen. “I’d rather be there on trial, rather than sitting their watching movies”, she stated.

If you do not show up for jury duty after receiving a summons, there can be serious legal consequences. You may have to pay an expensive fine or even go to jail.

“I had jury duty a year ago, but I have jury duty [again] on November 7, 2018, and if they don’t come and get me then they’ll lock me up, because I have missed jury duty two times”.

 

 

 

 

 

Internet is keeping teens up (OPINION)

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Using an iPhone to access the internet

Smartphones make it easy for teenagers to access the internet from anywhere. (Photo: J Haymesisvi Photography — CC)

By Moses Jeuronlon

Teenagers all over the country are using technology everyday for many different reasons, but is technology affecting how teens perform in school and at home?

In my opinion it is. Teens are mostly tired in class, falling asleep on the bus, and running late to class. It is mostly because they stayed up late at night surfing the web. Also when the teacher is teaching, they take their phones out and start to text each other and get distracted. Then, when a quiz comes based on the lesson, they fail it.

According to the computer science teacher at Patterson High School,  Mr. Nicholas Yates, “the internet provides information for students, but it also provides an easy source for distraction”.

Teenagers are a group of young adults who have taken a half a step into society. Yes, the internet gives us entertainment, but it also has its negative effects. Taking the internet or technology as the top priority of a student’s life and only giving 5% of their time to his or her education is abysmal and it will lead to that student destroying his or her future.

Teens and students need to be responsible for their lives and balance the amount of time they spend on the internet and the time they spend preparing for school.

“Sometimes the internet provides distraction because it makes us lazy and keeps us away from actual work”, said Josine Mamno, a Patterson student.

When students have homework or classwork, they can rely too much on the internet and it can make them too lazy. Then, when they really need to solve a problem and the rule says no phone is allowed, they may not understand the work and fail.

There’s no law in the country that says people should not be on their phones, but teenagers can make their own set of rules about when to be on their phones and when to put them away and get serious.

 

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