Decidí venir a hacer una visita porque quería conocer y
saber cómo son las universidades. Creo que sería maravilloso aprender y
experimentar nuevos horizontes. He aprendido que en la vida con esfuerzo uno
puede lograr todo lo que se quiere. Es necesario que estudiemos para tener un futuro
mejor para cuando seamos grandes. Sin embargo, la educación es cara y por eso me
gustaría saber cuánto me costaría una clase en Goucher.
Conocer a Goucher College fue una experiencia incredible
porque compratimos tiempo con el director y conocimos a algunos alumnos y ellos
nos enseñaron sus recámaras y nos hablaron un poco sobre sus propias
experiencias en la universidad. Nos explicaron las reglas universitarias y por
qué es importante seguirlas. Nos dijeron que todo es posible y que luchemos por
nuestras metas y sueños.
The Patterson track team has been making tremendous progress this year. There are over 20 students on the team that do many track and field events. For the past season the team has been expanding, going to new events and breaking old Patterson track records.
There was a track meet on May 1 at City College and Patterson runner Kuran Johnson ran the 100 meter dash, setting a record time of 10.80 seconds. He is now is the fastest in the state.
“I feel accomplished when they succeed but never satisfied. the goal is to be the best in the world.”, declared Coach Ted Smith.
This is important because he is saying he wants the runners to do better then just win. He wants them to be successful in life overall.
103 school shootings took place in 2018, including 4 in Maryland. (Image: Everytown for Gun Safety)
School violence and efforts to prevent it have been going on for so long that it has almost become commonplace. Last year alone, there were 103 recorded school related shooting related incidents resulting in 60 deaths and 88 injuries, according to the group Everytown for Gun Safety.
The violence happens at every level, from elementary schools to colleges and universities. Violence in schools has spread widely throughout the nation. School violence is a big problem we are facing now. School violence has caused many problems among students, families, faculty/staff of schools, and residents of the community.
School violence is not limited to mass shootings. It also includes gang activity, bullying, and assault. There are also other crime and safety concerns in school, such as theft and drugs. School violence usually does not start in school. Crimes in school are often related to violence that occurs in the home or the community. Some kids could be going through something at home that leads them to do bad things at school. Violent tendencies may also be linked to the experience of children that watch violent TV shows.
Some people only go to school because they have to, and some people skip school because they think it is unnecessary. When students cut class or leave the building without permission, it often leads to unsafe situations.
The last 3 years have shown us that the threat of violence in schools and in society at large is more common today than in the past. One problem involving violence has to do with knives. The reason kids bring knives to school is because they probably do not feel safe at the school. The student who was arrested for stabbing another student at Patterson in March claimed that he was being bullied and that he carried the knife for self-defense. Whether or not this is true, it is clear that the presence of knives and other weapons in school is a serious safety concern.
School is supposed to be a safe place where young people can go learn the basics of mathematics, literature, science, and other subjects, without fearing for their safety, feeling intimidated, or being harassed. Patterson High School is taking a variety of measures to improve school safety. These measures include the use of metal detectors, the presence of security guards in the school, rules and regulations regarding student conduct and dress, profiling of potentially violent students, anti-bullying programs, restorative practices, and more.
When an incident does occur, administrators respond to it and take steps to keep everyone safe and prevent further violence. “Once a fight happens, we’ll always deal with it.”, declared Mr. Alukwu, one of the assistant principals at Patterson.
Even though school administrators and teachers are working toward making the school environment safe and secure, crime and violence still find their way onto the school grounds. Safety will continue to be a concern at schools, so educators, school administrators, parents, and students remain vigilant in striving to make their schools safe places where youth are able to learn.
There is a drug problem at Patterson High School and dozens of other schools all over Baltimore. But why do people do drugs in school? What is the purpose of young people engaging in this harmful behavior? Why do they like to smoke in schools? Is there a reason why they do what they do?
Students take drugs for a variety of reasons: because they are experimenting, because of family history or genetic predisposition, because they got addicted to prescription drugs, because of loneliness, peer pressure and more. You can tell if someone is using drugs because of the way they act or look; for example, change in friends (to hang out with kids who use drugs), having red or puffy eyes, etc.
Drugs can have serious ramifications on a person’s physical health, mental health and well being. And that’s not good at all. We want students to stop taking drugs and to be more healthy because if they don’t stop, it can create changes in the way their brains work. Drug abuse changes your brain chemistry, which is not good. The longer you use drugs, the more damage is done and the harder it is to go back to normal. It is very hard to go back because you get so addicted to it that you don’t know when to stop.
There are 175 different public schools in Baltimore City, and most of them have a problem with kids smoking marijuana or using other drugs in school. Kids are smoking in bathrooms and in the hallways and on stairwells. And that’s not good. We want kids or anyone else taking drugs to stop and be healthy.
To stop drug abuse, always talk to whoever is taking it because they can be going through a lot at school or at home or anywhere. Or they can just do it because they see someone else doing it because they think it’s cool. Just by talking to them and helping them see that drug abuse is bad and that it’s not good for you at all, hopefully they will change their minds and get on the right track.
We really do need drug abuse to stop because it’s really, really bad. This is why people are taking drugs and we need to stop and help people who are taking it and change people’s lives. If you or someone you know is struggling with a drug problem, there is a free substance abuse counseling program at Patterson that can help. For more information, speak to Ms. Smith in the Guidance office or call New Beginnings substance abuse counseling at 443-310-2409.
Congolese families fleeing their villages due to fighting between the government and rebels groups (Photo: MONUSCO/Sylvain Liechti)
By Asende Baele
At Patterson, there are refugee students from all over the world. Many of these students are from Congo, a country in central Africa.
The refugee students from Congo are coming to the United States because of they want a better life. In the Congo, they had a bad life: there was not enough food, they drank dirty water, and they did not have a good education. Their parents were farmers and they worked very hard to help them to pay for education, to buy food, and to pay for other basic necessities. If they were not plowing their fields all year they would not be able to buy anything. Wars have also been taking place in Congo and it is not safe to stay there. These are some of the reasons why young people from Congo are coming to United States.
One of the Congolese students, Luc Mtembezi, explains why he came to America. “I come here because in my country, my life–it was not a good one. I think it is important to me to be here. I needed education.”
Some people wonder why are all these refugees from different places are coming to the United States. This is one of the reasons. But it is not easy to come to a new country and start over.
Nia Ramadhani, one of the refugees, explains the challenges she faced adapting to her new life as a student at Patterson: “My first day to come to school, I was so scared because it was my first day and I did not speak English. That was my problem, because some people come to ask me where I am from I was telling them, I don’t know. So right now I’m so excited that I speak English now.”
When refugees come here on the first day to go to school, it is hard for them to adapt or to understand. One of they English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers, Ms Avellaneda, works with these students after school with the Refugee Youth Project to help them make this difficult adjustment.
“I really enjoy working with my students from Congo.”, Ms. Avellaneda explained. “Despite the fact that they have experienced difficult situations and hardship as refugees, including learning how to adapt to US culture and life, they are very motivated and work very hard to learn English. They inspire me to work hard and always do my best. They also have a great sense of humor!”
All the refugees from the Congo work really hard to improve their language and they focus in class because they need to see a better future than the one they would have had if they had stayed in their home country.
A projection of what the new Patterson High School building will look like (Image: 21st Century Schools)
Patterson High School has been around for many years. Patterson was built in 1959 (after relocating from an even older building) and it is now 2019. For over 5 years, Patterson has made plans to build a new school. In 2017, when I was in 9th grade, they told us the new building was already planned and was going to be built at that time, but unfortunately for us that did not happen.
However, from the information I collected to write this article, I found out why the new building was not constructed at that time. It was hard for the school to get the money and be approved by Baltimore City Public Schools to get a new building. In 2013, the Maryland state government approved a plan called the 21st Century Buildings fund. Under this plan, Baltimore City Public Schools would rebuild or renovate dozens of schools by borrowing money from the state, the city, and the Stadium Authority. A nonprofit organization called BUILD was enlisted to help execute this plan. With this new funding, the city and the state agreed to create a new building for Patterson. This information comes from Ms. Masati and Mr. Pesa.
The school was expected to cost 120 million dollars, which was approved by all of the decision-makers involved. However, last school year it was discovered that an additional 7 million dollars was required to build a protective barrier that will help ensure the area is safe for everyone. This is because the location for the new building (behind the athletic fields) is Superfund site, meaning that in the past, toxic waste buried underground there. To protect students and staff from this potential environmental health hazard, the new building had to be redesigned and the additional 7 million dollars had to be approved by all four boards involved in the 21st Century Buildings program. This caused construction for the new building to be delayed, but the new funding was eventually approved and BCPS CEO Dr. Santelises publicly confirmed that the district is moving forward with construction on a new building for Patterson.
Groundbreaking for the new building should start this June and and the new school should be finished in the summer of 2021. This year’s freshmen will be the first class to graduate from the new building. The new school will be built on the current site of our baseball/softball/soccer field.
Do you think it is weird or a bad idea to have the school change its location, even if it’s just a little bit, or to build on the field? I think it’s alright as long as Patterson gets a new school. I will be gone in 2020 and I would not know what the sports teams will do about the field, but Patterson will figure something out for their teams.
Knowing the expenses for the school, do you think they are spending too much, too little or the just right amount of money on the school? I have seen other schools that have been rebuilt and they look nice, but visiting the website baltimore21st centuryschools.org , I found the prices for the schools and Patterson is spending a lot more then some other schools. Of course, every school is different, and the new building will also be shared with another school called Claremont, which adds to the expense.
But the school will have all the new things that you would expect in a new school building. As Mr. Martin explained, “The new school will have open learning spaces, heat, air conditioning and the latest technology. Our current 2022 class should be excited about the possibility of spending their senior year in the new school.”
Patterson AFJRTOC cadets at the 5th Regiment Armory JROTC Citywide Drill Meet competition at Poly High School (Photo: Lt. Col Humble)
By John Dingzon
Patterson students participated in a citywide JROTC drill competition on March 29th. The event was took place at the 5th regiment Armory.
There were a lot of JROTC schools that participated in this event. Everyone was competing for the CEO Cup that is the trophy to win overall. Whatever the outcome, at the end each school would still receive a trophy.
Patterson won 2nd place for the overall competition, while Poly won 1st place and took home to CEO’s cup. Patterson also won trophies in the following categories: drill – unarmed platoon, drill – armed platoon, squadron – armed drill, squadron – unarmed drill, and color guard.
There was also a competition called the knockout challenge, which the cadets participated in. The knockout challenge is when you have 4 element line leaders and the cadets stay in formation and the drill Sergeant gives them a command and they will move and execute the command. If the drill Sergeant says the command wrong and a cadet executed the command wrong, then that person is out, but if the person keeps up, then they stay until the drill Sergeant declares a winner.
During the event, there were also breaks where cadets had time to relax and socialize. During this time, some students saw familiar faces that they knew from previous events.
Patterson High School’s AFJROTC cadets did an outstanding job performing at the different levels of the event. A lot of eyes were focused on Patterson because last year Patterson won the CEO Cup and were in 1st place overall.
Technical Sergeant Smith and group commander C/Col. Batista were both proud of what the group had accomplished, and they thought that the cadets really did a great job.
At Patterson High School there are students who skip class and they keep walking in the hall. We don’t know why they do that because we know everyone should follow school rules but there are some students that can’t respect that we are coming to school to learn, not to walk in the hall.
Patterson High School has rules. If they call a hall sweep announcement for all teachers to close the door, they do that because they want to see all students in class.
We asked some students questions about why students walk the halls. One of the students, John Dingzon, explained, “I think they are lazy, stressed, and overwhelmed.”
We needed to find out more information about hall walkers at Patterson, so we talked to Mr. Alukwu, the assistant principal who leads the hall sweeps. Mr Alukwu explained, ”We cannot stop every single hall walker, but what we do is we call a hall sweep. If we see any students in the hall and if we already called a hall sweep, we should be taking the students to the cafeteria. If I catch one of them, what I do is I will call a parent and I will show them the attendance to see how he skips class and he keep walking the halls.”
In my opinion, Mr. Alukwu is one of the best principals at Patterson High School. He works really hard to help students. He wants them to respect school rules and to get their education. That’s why he tries to tell them we need all students at Patterson High School to follow school rules and to focus in class, not to walk the halls, because if we keep walking the halls, we can’t focus what we need to learn in class.
Student Aaron Carrington plays traditional African drums with a profession drummer at Patterson’s 2019 Black History Month celebration (Photo: Thomas Miller)
By Shayvonne Hennix
For Black History Month, I interviewed two students from Patterson High School to hear their thoughts about celebrating black history and about how black people are perceived by other Americans. Here are their responses:
Sharissa Hennix (Cohort 2020)
Q: What is your ethnic background?
A: African Trinidadian.
Q: How do you think America views your ethnicity and your country?
A: I think they like view us as aggressive Trinidadians because for some reason people think West Indian people are rude, but for my black side of the family, I think people regardless think black people are bad and thieves, that they always kill black people for no reason.
Q: Do you think that black history should be celebrated all year long?
A: I mean, I feel like it is celebrated all year but it’s just highlighted more during February.
Q: Why do you think that is?
A: I don’t know. Probably something that happened a long time ago caused it.
Anonymous boy (Class of 2022)
Q: What is your ethnic background?
A: Black.
Q: How do you think America views your ethnicity?
A: Oh nah, them white people be geekin’, like, “F*** wrong with them killing people and s***?”.
Q: Do you think that black history should be celebrated all year long?
A: Hell yeah!
Q: Why?
A: What you mean? White people do it. Why can’t we?
The Patterson Press would like to thank these two students for their time.
The Patterson dance team was excited to perform for the audience. (Photo: Makhia Burley)
The dance team at Patterson had their first major dance event on Thursday, January 31, 2019 at 6 pm in the auditorium. The show was called “Pretty Hurts”. In addition to the Patterson dance team, teams from other schools also participated in this event, such as Majestic Dance Team, Fatally Fem, Code Blue, Torch Dance Company, Douglass Dance Company, and Prestige Dance Team.
According to Ms. Green, the dance coach at Patterson, dance helps kids show self-awareness and social awareness. It helps kids know and understand their worth.
The first dance at the event was a flash mob and the song they danced to was “Pretty Hurts” by Beyonce. This was the opening of the show and the song was basically saying, “Hey, pretty really does hurt no matter what you wear or have, if you’re messed up on the inside, it really does hurt.”
The next song “I Was Here”, also by Beyonce. It is basically saying that the seniors wanted to leave their footprint at Patterson High because it is important to them and then they were turning the torch over to the freshmen and sophomore dancers.
The last song, “Scars to Your Beautiful”, by Alessia Cara, was basically reiterating the first part of the show but saying that it doesn’t matter because all of your scars are beautiful, so even if it does hurt, your scars are your story. They tell you who you came to be and who you are.
Dancers from other schools also performed at the event. (Photo: Makhia Burley)
Tamia Johnson, one of the Patterson dancers, expressed how it felt dancing on stage. She said she was nervous but once she got up there, she was happy.
Ms. Green said seeing her dancers up there, she felt a sense of pride and accomplishment. “A lot of them always tell themselves what they can’t do. This shows them that they can do it.”, Ms. Green said.
Tamia Johnson said we need dance here at Patterson High “because it allows people to express themselves and feelings and allows people to come out of their shyness.”
Ms. Green also thinks it is important to have a dance program at Patterson High. “That’s the only way of self-expression. Instead of being angry or feeling down on yourself, sometimes people dance away their frustration and their anger and it actually helps you be creative.”
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