Tag Archives: April Zavala

Round-Up of World News

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By: April Zavala

Gas prices have reached a skyrocketing price, and they may be here to stay. Prices began taking off two years ago when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, and Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine that occurred only three weeks ago was like throwing a lit match into a can of gas. Then again, those in control of gas prices will always find an excuse to raise gas prices because they will benefit from it. President Joe Biden recently put a ban on Russian oil imports, which was announced Tuesday, March 15. There is a fear that this will only make the situation worse.

Thousands of Brazilians have gathered outside Congress in Brasilia to protest against a set of bills that they say threaten the Amazon rainforest and the Indigenous people living in it. The event began and is being led by musician Caetano Veloso, who brought together other marquee artists as well as more than 200 non-profits groups. The bill has languished in Congress since Bolsonaro presented it in 2020. But war in Ukraine has threatened the supply of fertilizer from Russia to Brazil’s farmlands, which forced the administration to push for an emergency vote.

North Korea will launch a number of reconnaissance satellites in coming years to provide real-time information on military actions by the United States and its allies. Kim Jong-Un said “a lot” of military satellites would be put into sun-synchronous polar orbit in the period of a five-year plan announced last year. North Korea says it conducted two tests of satellite systems on February 27th and March 5th. Authorities in South Korea, Japan, and the United States say the tests involved launches of ballistic missiles. The launches drew international condemnation and the U.S. military said on Thursday it had increased surveillance and reconnaissance collection in the Yellow Sea. Kim defended the satellite work as gathering information as well as protecting North Korea’s sovereignty and national interests.

Denmark’s prime minister on Wednesday delivered a face-to-face apology to six living victims of a 1950s social experiment in which 22 Greenlandic children were taken from their families and sent to Denmark to be integrated into Danish society. They had taken children between four and nine years old and shipped them to Denmark. Then, the colonial power, in 1951 tried to re-educate them as “little Danes.” The children were supposed to return to Greenland and be part of a new Danish-speaking elite that would help modernize the Arctic island’s Inuit population. The children were never sent back to their families but were either adopted by Danish families or sent back to Greenland to be placed in an orphanage, where they were forced to speak Danish and had little or no contact with their relatives.

Empty streets and exhausted medical staff. Social distancing and drive-by funerals. Protests and vaccine rollouts. Pictures remind us of a world transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic, now over the two-year mark.

Girl’s Softball Powered by Strong Bats

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By: April Zavala

Despite dropping their first 605-League game at Pioneer by a score of 12-11, the Eagles’ softball team proved themselves to be a great team during their pre-season games. At press time (Monday, March 21) the girls currently hold a record of 8-7 (5-1 home and 3-6 away).

The Eagles had an 11-8 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th inning, but Pioneer stormed back with a walk-off win, scoring two in the 6th and 2 more in the 7th to take the first  league game of the season. The teams will have a rematch at Glenn on Friday, April 8.

Some of their amazing preseason wins highlight the booming offense of this team, including defeats of Firebaugh by a score of 19-5, Ganesha (19-6), Cabrillo (20-1), Leuzinger (17-3), and Gabrielino (12-2). They currently stand at 3rd in the 605 League and 18th in the Division VI for softball.

Some of their star players include senior Gabriela Ortega, junior Kaylani Moncada, as well as Julia Cole, Beatriz Galvez, Aileen Lopez, Anais Perez, and Kristy Rodriguez.

We look forward to seeing how great the girls will do during the rest of their 605-League games. The girls would love and deserve your support, especially at home where the Eagles have dominated. Here is the remaining softball schedule:

  • Fri, 3/25 (@ Whitney)
  • Tue, 3/29 (@ Oxford)
  • Wed, 3/30 (vs. Montebello)
  • Fri, 4/1 (vs. Cerritos)
  • Tue, 4/5 (@ Artesia)
  • Fri, 4/8 (vs. Pioneer)
  • Tue, 4/12 (vs. Oxford)
  • Thu, 4/14 (@ Cerritos)
  • Fri, 4/22 (vs. WDVHS)
  • Tue, 4/26 (vs. Artesia)

Eagle Athlete Spring Spotlight: Gabriela Ortega

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(Girl’s Volleyball and Softball)

By April Zavala

Senior Gabriela Ortega is John Glenn High School’s star softball player who is known for her fascinating pitching skills that often leave her opponents stunned. She has played softball all four years of high school and is considering playing in college.

Aside from softball, she has also played volleyball all four years of high school. She played middle position for the team and won us our very first game with an ace! She is captain of both teams and plays both sports extremely well while balancing school work and homework on top of it all, which is what makes her our Spotlight Athlete for spring.

Q: How do you feel having been chosen for our Spotlight Athlete?

A: I think it feels good! It is a demonstration of all the hard work I put into the softball field every day.

Q: Considering how young everyone on the team is, what is it like being a mentor/role model to them?

A: I think it is a good thing because my coaches believe I can help whenever they need me to step up; although it can also be a challenge since they don’t always take things seriously.

Q: What are your plans after high school?

A: My plans after high school are to continue my education and hopefully become a surgical nurse or an registered nurse.

Q: If you could play any sport other than softball or volleyball, what sport would you be interested in playing?

A: I think it would be soccer. I’ve never tried to play but it seems really fun. All the plays and cool tricks they do seem intriguing.

Q: What song is stuck in your head at the moment?

A: A song that is currently stuck in my head is “Who’s that Girl?” by Eve.

Behind the Scenes at the Rose Parade

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By: April Zavala

THE AUDITION: My name is April Zavala and I auditioned successfully as a trumpet player for the Tournament of Roses Honor Band of 2022 which is the official band of the Rose Parade. Being a part of this band has been a dream of mine since freshman year, and finally being able to be a part of the rose parade was a once in a lifetime experience. 

REHEARSALS: Our first rehearsal was on November 7, 2021, and we continued having five hour music rehearsals every Sunday for a month. Once winter break began, we began marching rehearsals at Pasadena City College, Dodger Stadium, and Santa Anita Park to begin conditioning for the 6 mile long parade. The first few marching rehearsals were tough. The honor band as a whole was not conditioned to march (Play Instruments at an attention position while marching) for hours. But as the days went by it got easier and it proved to be worth it because it made the Rose Parade feel easy.

PERFORMANCES: We had a total of 4 performances before the big day. Our Disneyland performance was on the verge of not happening due to the high probability of rain. Thankfully, Disney agreed to having us perform in our “Rain-Day” uniform. When we arrived at Disney we still weren’t sure if our performance was going to be canceled due to rain, and unfortunately we would not be able to know until the very last minute. Finally, at 1:30pm, our performance began, and the rain did not start until half way through our performance. 

BandFest is a performance put on by all the bands that will be performing in the Rose Parade. Our bandfest performances were to be performed rain or shine, and unfortunately we had rain for all three shows. Since we are the host band, we performed at all three BandFest shows. 

 THE BIG DAY: Finally, it was the night of the “Big Day”, New Years Eve. We had a call time of 3am which meant that we all had to be in bed by 9pm to get a good night’s rest before the parade. I left my house at around 1:30am to ensure I got to Pasadena on time. One thing I wish I was more prepared for was the cold. I wore a white long sleeve shirt and double gloves and it was still not enough to bear the freezing temperatures that morning. (If you’re ever going to perform in the rose parade, make sure you have HotHands!) Finally, we arrived at the step off for the Parade and it was the greatest rush we all felt. Nothing anyone said could have prepared me for “TV Corner”. There were thousands of people, cameras, flashing lights, all eyes on us. There was a moment we turned and played facing the audience and it was the most magical moment of my life.

Opinion: Schools Should Not Close

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By: April Zavala

Although returning home for a few weeks to let COVID-19 cases settle down ultimately sounds like a good idea, there are some major consequences in doing so. For example, last year’s quarantine proved that doing school from home made students see school as an option which resulted in low assignment turn-in rate and plummeting grades. We need to keep the school open.

It is important that we take everything into consideration. The nation already spent over a year staying at home, in complete isolation from their family and friends, so going home again may affect our student’s mental health. This year, teachers planned out their year without the intention of returning to online school, and doing so may cause teachers to fall behind on lessons.

Another consequence is the student’s limited access to a good WIFI connection. Over the quarantine period, having good connection was an inevitable obstacle that would stand between a student logging onto class on time and getting their assignments turned in on time. Ultimately, I believe that with time, cases will slowly start to plummet, and we should trust that John Glenn students and administration will continue to do an excellent job with staying safe and making sure they stay home if they have any symptoms.

April Zavala

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April Zavala is a High School student at John Glenn High School. She is on the 2021 Varsity Girls’ Volleyball team and plays lead trumpet for the John Glenn Marching Band. She is also an avid member of the CSF (California Scholarship Federation) club on campus. Some of her favorite hobbies include painting, listening to or making music, cooking, playing volleyball, & annoying her younger sister. She got a job over the summer as a cook for Pizza Hut alongside her father who has worked there as his second job for over 18 years! She has lived in Norwalk her whole life with her parents, two sisters, one brother, two cats, and two dogs. April loves her pets very much, she believes they all have the most unique and dorky personalities. She is a very busy individual, so when she finally gets free time she enjoys napping or laying in bed watching TikTok.
INSTAGRAM: @aprillzavala
TIKTOK: @aprillzavala

Opinion: Stop Fighting on Campus

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By April Zavala

As we all know, John Glenn High School had a rough start to the 2021-2022 school year. By the second week of school there were approximately five altercations on campus. It saddens me, as this is not the reputation a student should want for their school. Every physical altercation that occurs on school grounds has to be reported to the district office, who keep strict records and keep track of our school’s positive and negative attributes on a dashboard and on things like the WASC Report.

This will ultimately reflect poorly on the community. Is this the reputation you want for your community? Sure, many of you could seemingly care less about our school’s reputation, but we need to acknowledge that our peers are working hard for their education. For many who plan on going to College or University, the reputation of our school is extremely important. It is not fair for those who worked exceptionally hard all four years of high school to build a good name for not only themselves, but for John Glenn, just for someone to ruin it with their careless actions. Distractions like these make it hard for us to feel motivated and want to continue to attend school when these fights continuously occur. 

Something we must keep in mind are the responsibilities we hold as students. We are here to learn. We are not here to start problems with one another. Sometimes, we can’t control who we like or who we don’t like, nor can we control who likes or dislikes us. What we can control is how we handle these situations. Since we will all be going out into the real world in a few years, we must learn to handle things maturely. This could be as easy as being the bigger person and letting the situation go, or you could even talk things out.

Here are some things you can keep in mind: when someone makes you mad or upset, it is hard to look them in the eye, and I understand the feeling of wanting to take that anger out on them, but something that helps is giving yourself time away from that person. If they continue to talk about you or do you wrong, be the bigger person and ignore them.

Once it gets to the point where you feel that you can’t control your anger much longer, try talking to someone. Our counselors here at John Glenn are great people to vent to about any situation you find yourself in. If you don’t feel comfortable speaking to your counselor, try talking to a friend, a family member, or even your favorite teacher.

Something we must take home with us at the end of the day is, we are almost adults, and it is important we start acting more maturely and with responsibility. Because remember, once you turn 18, fighting is a crime. We must not allow fighting to become a comfortable solution to minor inconveniences.

Eagles Girls Volleyball Recap

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By April Zavala

Despite the challenges faced by the 2021 Girls Volleyball team, they continue to put forth their best efforts in hours of daily practice. The main challenge the girls faced this year was having a team consisting mostly of first year players since there were only a few returners. 

Many of the students didn’t know that volleyball started during the summer, which pushed tryouts to the first week of school. This gave the Coach the challenge of putting together two teams with little to no preparation, with the fact that the first game was in a few days.

Although this made it extremely difficult for the team, they always put up a great fight and never lose their energy or passion to keep playing. I, April Zavala, am on the team myself, and this year has been a great learning experience for everyone. We do not regret anything.

Our star Volleyball Player is Kaylani Moncada, captain of the Varsity Team. She is a junior who has been playing volleyball for 7+ years. She holds the position of outside hitter and never lets her team down. She is always there when her team needs her, and she never fails to inspire her teammates to keep pushing through a tough game with her kind words.

2021 Girls Volleyball Team
Junior Kaylani Moncada