Phoenix Flyer
October 2017
San Antonio High School Writer's Workshop
Email: mmcgarry@petk12.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/a/petk12.org/san-antonio-high-school/
Location: 500 Vallejo Street, Petaluma, CA, United States
Phone: 707-778-4758
Juan Zanabriga, Sam Pleitez
Bottom Row: Jesus Barajas, Daniel Cortez, Luis Cervantes, Christian Garcia, Cristian Valencia
San Antonio Soccer Ties Game!
It was a sunny day on September 28 and the turf was nice artificial grass at Ridgeway High School. The San Antonio soccer team played against the Ridgeway soccer team and tied 3-3. The San Antonio soccer team started out strong at the beginning and they thought Ridgeway would be more aggressive and better. Juan Zanabriga scored two goals and Jafet Azpeitia scored the last point. Adrian Pleitez said, “We lost ground during the game and couldn't get it back.”
Many of the players on the San Antonio soccer team have been playing since they were young children. Juan Zanabriga’s father inspired him to play soccer and Jesus Barajas’s friends inspired him to play. Juan Zanabriga and Alexis Ceja play on outside teams. The team prepares by practicing together at lunch with their positive, motivational coach Mr. Smith.
The opposing team was friendly, more friendly than last year. When asked if they ever met the other players if they would be friends with them, the San Antonio players said that they have met them before and are “definitely cool with them.” Tony Ramos thought there would be a lot of trash talking. Juan Zanabriga wants to go pro, his idol is Renaldo, and Adrian Pleitez is his own idol.
There was a game scheduled for October 10, but it was cancelled due to the fires. Mr. Smith will reschedule the game when Ridgeway is able to play again.
Kyler Adams, Kristine Booncharoen
National Guard Helps Fire Evacuees
The night of October 8th massive wildfires spread through Sonoma, Napa, and Mendocino Counties. Staff Sergeant Alberto Ruesga was deployed to the Petaluma National Guard base to help evacuees. The National Guard met on Monday to discuss the situation, Tuesday they began to bring soldiers, and by Wednesday 150 Army National Guard soldiers were helping secure the population. The Army National Guard brought soldiers from as far as Fresno.
The National Guard Armory is a direct neighbor of San Antonio High School. The large room was half full of three rows of cots. Many soldiers were resting. Some soldiers were armed.
When asked how he felt being here, he explained that they were here to protect shelters, “There are always people who will try to take advantage of poor situations.” He explained that they need to be armed to keep the peace and protect people against con-artists and looters.
Ruesga enlisted in April of 1998, when he was a junior in highschool. He said he always wanted to be in the military because his grandfather was a soldier. “My parents didn’t believe I was enlisted until the recruiter showed up at the door.”
Ruesga is a platoon sergeant and manages 20-30 soldiers. He has been to Afghanistan twice. When asked what the craziest thing he has seen is, he said that once a deer almost clipped him jumping out of trees. He was shocked that a deer is the thing that made him jump after 9 months in Afghanistan.
When asked if he is ever afraid, Ruesga said he thinks about how he needs discipline and he has fear, but falls back on training and stays very careful.
This article was written collaboratively by Kyler Adams, Kristine Booncharoen, Mary Cobleigh, Ayana Penders, Jordan Stoeckle, and Faith Thalacker.
Clara Silva was instrumental in interviewing Staff Sergeant Ruesga. This was her last assignment with Writer’s Workshop. She will be missed dearly. Our thoughts go out to her friends and family.
Upcoming Events
Halloween- Oct 31
Mentor Day- Nov 1
End of Second Grading Period- Nov 3
Thanksgiving Break- Nov 20-24
College Night- Nov 14
Pumpkin Patch Time!
Remember being a kid when Halloween rolled around, going to the pumpkin patches: getting lost in the maze, picking the biggest pumpkins, jumping on the jumpies, seeing the animals, petting them uncontrollably and just running around like crazy kids? Well, it’s that time of year again and it’s time to get to the pumpkin patches. There are quite a few pumpkin patches in Petaluma and they are anything but boring. Most of them allow field trips and every kid loves a field trip to the pumpkin patch. One of my favorite things is the photo ops they have all around the pumpkin patches. Mind you, all of them have free admission and free parking. They are all quiet similar, but they all have their small different interesting activities. The Peter Pumpkin Patch has many free activities to do and we all know free is always better. This pumpkin patch has free lessons on how to milk a cow, free access to the corn pit and hay maze, and free hayrides. On weekends, you can listen to live music. Also, you can dig your OWN potatoes and get some pumpkin ice cream! Next we have the Pronzini Pumpkin Patch. They have something called a “spooky trail walk” and Teepees, which are Native American huts. They also have carving kits, so that when you pick your pumpkin you are able to carve it there at the pumpkin patch! Then, of course, we have the big original Petaluma Pumpkin Patch which has the largest corn maze. The corn maze is four acres and, no matter the age, it always gives you a challenge. It's ten feet high and only has one way out. If you're lucky and go on the right weekend, you may even have a chance of going zip lining or rock climbing. Pumpkin patches are always the most popular thing to attend to around Halloween time; no matter what age you are! For more information: http://www.pronzinitrees.com/pumpkin_patch.htm http://petalumapumpkinpatch.com/
Dia de Los Muertos
Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday to remember and pray for loved ones who have passed. The celebration starts at midnight on Halloween, which is believed to be when the spirits of children can visit the living for 24 hours then November 2nd is when spirits of adults join the living. Some people create altars, certain foods, flowers and candles are often placed on the altar. Sugar skulls may also be placed on the altar or be used to decorate grave stones of the ones lost. The spirits are believed to enjoy the offerings during their time on earth. Petaluma has a number of annual events to celebrate Dia de los Muertos Events that have passed this year: 10/1 Opening Ceremony; music, dance, food Poetry of Remembrance (cancelled due to fires) Events coming up: 10/15- 11/3 Find Art Exhibits and Altars throughout Petaluma 10/28 Candlelight Procession with Giant Puppets 4pm - 9pm Starts at 100 Petaluma Blvd N and ends at the Petaluma Historical Museum The festivities include live music, ballet folklorico, Aztec dancers, children activities, food and art, etc.
For more information go to http://www.petalumamuseum.com/
Art Corner
Poetry Corner
Dance To Express
I am ballet...elegant, strong, and composed
I am acro...astounding, unique, and hard-working
I am lyrical…expressive, moving, and passionate
I am tap…musical, alert, and intricate
I am jazz...girly, sassy, and fierce
I am hip-hop…upbeat, independent, and sensational
I am the dance, the music, and the movement.
The singer and the song.
by Faith Thalacker
I Am...
I am like a dual sport, I can handle anything
I am quiet like an all electric Zero SR,
But I can be loud like Two Brothers Exhaust
I am tall like a BMW S1000R
I am fast like a supercharged Kawasaki Ninja H2R
Sometimes I am slow like a starter bike
I am Jordan Stoeckle
Students Present to School Board
On Tuesday October 24th, a group of San Antonio students made a presentation to the school board of Petaluma City Schools at the District Office. George Ruiz, Bradley McCullough, David Garcia, Jack Niess, and Zoe Nicol presented a slideshow to show the board what some of the highlights of being a student at San Antonio. Some of the highlights included our soccer team, the basketball team, and field trips. Zoe mentioned the tests results of the National Spanish exam and the upcoming art show. According to Mr.Smith, “The presentation was explaining some of the great and wonderful things San Antonio High School provides to the students. The students mentioned what was important to them and what they liked about San Antonio.” Nicol stated her experience as, “It was pretty cool, there were like a lot of people, but I don’t know. I was nervous at first. I thought it was going to be worse than it actually was. But it wasn’t that bad. It was kinda fun.” As the interview came to close, Nicol and Mr. Smith gave their overall opinion on how it went. Mr. Smith said, ““I thought it went really well. I thought all the students did a really good job. They presented and spoke well. They also got their point across. The board was duly impressed by their presentation. In fact, I ran into a parent from one of the students of the month afterwards at dinner and they were also impressed with what the students put together.” Nicol added, “I think it went pretty good actually. I kinda choked up a little bit, but like I pulled it together and we did a really good and I think the board heard what we had to say.”