Patterson students join rally for immigration reform

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Patterson students join thousands of other demonstrators at a rally for immigration reform in front of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington DC (Photo: Ms. Flores)

By Ms. Kelly Flores

Two buses full of Patterson students, faculty, and community members participated in a rally and march in support of immigration reform on the West Lawn of the Capitol Building in Washington D.C on April 10th, 2013. This was a nationwide movement crying out to urge Congress, who just returned to session, to address the issue of there being over 11 million undocumented immigrants in our country.

Cries of “¡Sí se puede!”  (Yes we can!)  and “Obama escucha–estamos en la lucha”  (Obama listen–we are in the fight!)  filled the air as the students and faculty from Patterson arrived onto the scene of over 100,000 people rallying together for the same cause. During the rally speakers such as Dolores Huerta and Congressman Luis Gutierrez passionately addressed the audience, urging them to keep pushing Congress and that this is the year for reform.

This was a fantastic real life learning opportunity for students to see government in action and the importance of people being an active participant and making their voice heard.

(Photos: Ms. Flores)

Clippers Baseball Team Falls to City in Season Opener

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(Photo: Tamika Addison, Patterson Press)

By Tamika Addison

The Patterson baseball team lost their first game of the season against Baltimore City College after school at Patterson on Friday March 29, 2013. The score was 13-5, City. Tical Montgomery and Sha’Quel Ramsey both scored during the game, while Jorge Ynfante led the defense from the pitcher’s mound. According to Coach Gagne, Patterson made too many mistakes on defense and did not score enough runs on offence.

During training and practice, the baseball players spend most of their time on basic fundamentals: catching, throwing, pitching, and hitting. Many of their players have never played in an organized baseball game before. They only had 3 weeks to prepare for the season.

Since the first game, Patterson has played 3 more games. Their most recent game was also their first victory as they defeated Mervo 17-9. “To be much better by the end of the season than they are right now, they need to help each other and take care of each other”, Coach Gagne commented.

 

(Photo: Tamika Addison, Patterson Press)

A few of the players on Patterson’s baseball team (Photo: Tamika Addison, Patterson Press)

Coach Ray Gagne (Photo: Tamika Addison, Patterson Press)

 

Patterson receives grant to build hoop house in school garden

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The future site of the hoop house (Photo: Corey Grisson Jr., Patterson Press)

By Corey Grisson Jr.

Coming soon to Patterson High School is the Patterson Hoop House, which will be an addition to the Patterson School Garden. It will be built in back of our school, in the fenced- in area near the Garden. This is a nice little cool area which the students can see from Mr. Yates’ and Ms. Roberts’ classroom windows.

The hoop house will be paid for through a grant called the Lowe’s Toolbox for Education grant, which a group of staff members applied for:  Ms. Hope, Ms. Snyder, Ms. Diehl, Ms. Solomon, Ms. Githua, Ms. Wongus, Ms. Bridgeforth, Ms Heneson, and Ms. Holter. Our grant was awarded in January and a couple of estimates have been given to Ms. Diehl regarding hoop house construction.  It has been hard to find a pipe bender for rent locally. Ms. Diehl is currently reaching out to people like Arthur Morgan with Gather Baltimore, Greg Strella with Great Kids Farm, and Andreas Spiliadis with Baltimore Hoop Love for guidance about constructing the hoop house.

A hoop house  is designed to be used in colder months but ours needs to be built in the spring to comply with grant guidelines. Plastic will be put over the hoop house in late fall when we want to raise the ambient temperature in which plants can grow. In the meantime, we can still grow in the space it covers and use it as an outdoor education space. The hoop house will allow us to grow fruits and/or vegetables all year long.

Students participate in health study

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Students keep careful records of everything they ate (Photo: Robin Morrison, Patterson Press)

By Brennan Meeks

Patterson students are participating in a program called “Spice My Plate”. The University of Maryland wanted to study what and how teenagers eat. At the beginning of the study, each student received a food log to write what they eat for three days. Patterson students who completed the food log for the study received a $25 shopping gift card and kitchen instruments such as pots, pans, spices, etc.

The study began in the first week of March and will continue until May 15th. At the end of the study, students will  receive a $150 gift card for finishing the study. For more information about the health study, see Ms. Diehl in the Health Corps office.

Patterson students compete in Special Olympics swimming event

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Students practice swimming at the Meadowbrook Swim Club (Photo: Ms. Carol Menetrez)

By Qu’Chae Madison

For the third consecutive year, Patterson students have been learning swimming skills and training in preparation for the Special Olympics Summer Games.

Approximately ten students and even some staff members attend practices every Friday, including social worker Ms. Carole Menetrez, classroom teacher, Mr.Peralta and some classroom aides. The team travels by bus to Meadowbrook Swim Club where practices are held. The club is owned by Olympic gold-medalist and Maryland native, Michael Phelps. The Patterson students will join forces with other students in Baltimore for this exciting event. Students will have practiced throughout March, April and May and must participate in two qualifiers this spring. The event will be held on Saturday, April 27th at the Naval Academy.

Ms. Menetrez volunteered to organize a group of eager Patterson students, interested in swimming and willing to take a leap of faith and join Baltimore City’s Sharks Swim Team. Ms. Menetrez enjoys working with them and watching them master their skills as swimmers. Three students who are returning to this year’s swim team are Dominic Allen, Charles Collins and Jasmain Gilliam. They enjoy swimming because they say,”it’s fun”. Dominic reports,”It makes me relaxed and all the anger goes away when I get in the water”. Rodney Lee, who is a new swimmer this year, is enjoying getting in the water and reports he’s learning to swim. When returning swimmer, Quandra Horne, masters a new skill in the water, she likes to refer to the Baltimore Sharks Team Slogan: “I Know I Can”.

Congratulations to all the Patterson Students for showing their support for Patterson’s Swim Team.

With files from Ms. Carol Menetrez.

Patterson’s Special Olympics Swim Team (Photo: Ms. Carol Menetrez)

(Photo: Ms. Carol Menetrez)

Ms. Menetrez (right) poses with a Patterson student on the Sharks swim team (Photo: Ms. Carol Menetrez)

Students and staff practice Yoga after school

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Students and staff members practice yoga after school in Patterson’s cafeteria (Photo: Tamika Addison, Patterson Press)

By Tamika Addison

Ms. Jess with Yoga Across America teaches yoga to students and staff members for free every Tuesday after school in the cafeteria from 4:00-5:00 PM and every other Friday in gym.

In Yoga Club, participants practice a variety of moves and positions, including Sun Salutations, Downward Facing Dog, Warrior 1 , and Crow. These exercises involve a lot of stretching and strengthening and they focus a lot on breathing.

Yoga is good for developing strength and flexibility, clearing  your mind and coping with stress. Yoga can also be a lot of fun for people of all ages and ability levels. For more information, see Ms. Diehl in the Health Corps office.

 

(Photo: Tamika Addison, Patterson Press)

(Photo: Tamika Addison, Patterson Press)

Yoga instructor Ms. Jess (right) models the correct body position for an exercise (Photo: Tamika Addison, Patterson Press)

(Photo: Tamika Addison, Patterson Press)

Patterson participates in “Teens for Jeans” campaign

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Students help collect jeans that will be donated to shelters across the country (Photo: Robin Morrison, Patterson Press)

By Robin Morrison

Patterson High School recently participated in a campaign called “Teens for Jeans” whereby students donated jeans to people in need. In return, students received two service learning hours and a discount coupon for Aeropostale. The campaign was co-sponsored by the Student Government Association, the senior class, and the Jonathan Ogden Club. Ms. Brett, Coach Kelly Bagdasarian and Ms. Rue were the teachers in charge of the campaign within the school. This campaign lasted from February 12th to February 22nd.

“I found out about the campaign from Ms Rue and it seemed interesting, so I searched more about it online”, Ms. Brett told the Patterson Press.

Aeropostale was a sponsor of the campaign. The jeans collected at the school will be sent to Aeropostale and then they will send it to shelters throughout the country.

“It feels good to be making a difference in our community while allowing our Patterson students to give back to the community”, said Coach Kelly.

The campaign was a big success as the school collected many jeans from the students and sent them off to go to the shelters.

Ms. Rue (left) and Ms. Brett, co-organizers of the Teens for Jeans campaign (Photo: Robin Morrison, Patterson Press)

Black History Month exhibit showcases African art and much more

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By Brennan Meeks

(Photo: Brennan Meeks, Patterson Press)

In honor of Black History Month, Patterson hosted an African/African American history exhibit in Room 162. Staff member Mr. Ricardo Jordan organized the exhibit.

The exhibit explored black history and culture over the years and featured portraits of black inventors, spiritual objects, sculptures and other artwork. The exhibit also included books written by famous African Americans.

The exhibit was open during homeroom and class times and some teachers took their classes down to visit it. Students who saw the exhibit were very interested in learning about African American history and different African cultures.

Remembering Women’s History

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By Qu’Chae Madison

Editor’s Note: This article was written in recognition of Women’s History Month, which takes place every March.

Women have made many important strides in history. Madam C.J. Walker invented the first perm. Rosa Parks wouldn’t give up her seat. These are just a couple women who helped to pave the way for women today. Women have made their mark in history–women like these ones, strong and brave. These women looked in the eye of adversity and said, “I’m going to make a change”. Every day, these women faced hostility and violence, sometimes even murder. Women were always treated as inferior, because they were seen as weak in the eyes of a man. Men back then thought women were “property’ and that they “owned” them.

But now women are strong, beautiful, independent and confident. Women like Oprah Winfrey are changing the game. Oprah is one of the richest women in the world. Women like these follow their dreams, regardless of what people say. For example, if Oprah never had people saying, “You’ll never make it”, she might not have been inspired to reach her dreams. I guess that saying, “let your haters be your motivators”  is true. Now Oprah has her OWN television network named after her, and plenty of money. She could spend it on whatever she wants but she chooses to donate a large part of it to charity, even helping to build schools for underprivileged girls. Women everywhere are following their dreams, reaching new heights and achieving goals everyday. They are able to do this because of the courage and sacrifice of women from generations past.

Patterson celebrates Black History Month with special performance

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Drama Club members perform original poems modeled after the poetry of James Weldon Johnson (Photo: Tamika Addison, Patterson Press)

By  Tamika Addison

Members of  the Patterson Drama Club and Patterson Dance Team performed for our Black History Month assembly on  March 4th  in the auditorium. The Patterson Drama Club did a staged reading of  poems by Patterson students. These poems were written in Ms. Bell’s African American Literature class and were modeled after James Weldon Johnson’s ” Lift Every Voice and Sing “. The Patterson Dance Team performed a  series of  pieces which created a timeline from African Dance through modern hip hop. The performance demonstrated how modern hip hop moves evolved from African dance. The invited audience showed enthusiastic appreciation. Stay tuned for more activity performances!

With files from Ms. Bell

The Dance Team shows how African dance developed into hip-hop moves (Photo: Tamika Addison, Patterson Press)

(Photo: Tamika Addison, Patterson Press)

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