rhsnewswire.net

Reporter: Olachi Obioma

On April 24, 2010, Richmond High’s “Tree Huggers”, originally known as the Aqua Team, painted a mural at the El Sobrante Public Library.  It took the team three weeks to figure out what picture was going to be  on the mural and what story they wanted to tell through it.  According to Daisy Villalvazo, a member of Aqua Team, “the priming on the wall went so fast, in fact it only took an hour. When the mural is done it will represent the earth’s cycle and the books on the trees represent . . .always learn[ing] from mother earth.” From day one, the students worked very cordially. At certain points the only thing that the students could do was wait for the paint to dry. For example, when they applied the primer on the wall, they were forced to wait in order to continue their project. Afterwards, the students came back to trace the outline of the mural. On the second day they did the actual painting. Approximately 15  students painted  for 4 hours and finished the mural.  Lots of them said it was a great experience.

Do you know what an estuary is ? It is a body of water made up of the combination of fresh water and salt water. Last Saturday, March 13, 2010 the Aqua Team went canoeing in the bay. While they were out canoeing they got to see the animals in the wetlands environment.  According to a great number of the aqua team members it was a lot of fun. For members for whom it was the first time canoeing it was hard in the beginning but  in the end it got easier as they got used to it. There were a total of three people per canoe the person in the back of the canoe was called the captain because  they were in controll of the canoe. The other two people in the canoe simply just had to row the canoe. The animals that the group saw were crabs, ducks, fish,great egrets,etc. In addition, the students are currently in the process of creating a mural. It will be located at El Sobrante Public Library. The students have designed this mural working with a professional muralist named Eduardo Pueda. For more info stay tuned at rhs newswire.net

Reporter: Olachi Obioma

There are many after school programs at Richmond High School (RHS) in which students engage in in order to help their community.One of these that many students have shown great interest for is the Aqua Team. When most people first hear about the program they thinks it is some sort of swim team, but it is not, in contrary it is a youth group that aims to learn more about the environment.This year, according to Chiara Swartout, the head instructor at RHS, it is the ‘’second year doing aqua team”.  Swartout goes on to say that “this year the Aqua team is studying the way that water flows from up in the mountains down through the neighborhood into the San Francisco Bay estuary, and into the Pacific Ocean.” According to Swartout, this year she plans on teaming up with Doria Richardson, the creator of the RHS garden and the program Urban Tilth, to improve the garden. Richardson  is currently the producer for Green Screen TV, she says now her job is to “meet with students all over CCcounty and Alameda doing good things for the environment.” Richardson states that, ”the RHS garden started years ago, the plan was to give students a green place of flowers, vegetables, fruits, and herbs. She continues saying, “some of the organizations that helped were Chevron which came and donated water pumps, electricity, and plumbing. And the California Conservation Corps came and bought pick axes, shovels, and helped dig to make the creek.” Student Tymichia Griffin, a RHS 12th grade student stated, “I love the aqua team, it makes me feel like my peers and I are doing the right thing by helping our community and earth. It keeps me busy and updated about what’s going on in my local environment. I’ve learned that a creek went through my neighborhood which is North Richmond.”

This poem is dedicated to a beautiful young girl that was bright and intelligent. We, the Richmond High student body, will never forget such a star person.  This poem is dedicated to Marlene Aguirre:

M= magnificently

A= amazing

R=real

L= loyal

E= embraced

N= naturally

E= empowered

A= all

G= generally

U= useful

I= is

R= respectful

R= remembered

E= eternity

Some Richmond High School students may not like the Sustained Silent Reading program, but it appears to be helping improve exit exam scores. Students take this class every day of the school week for thirty minutes. The books are provided by the school, but students are also welcomed to bring a book of their own choice.

When asked, two out of the three students interviewed said that they did not like the program.

“It’s boring,” said Estefania Terrez, an 11^th grader of Richmond high . “Basically the kids don’t do anything. I don’t even know why we even have the class.  The majority of the kids don’t read. It’s like a free time to me. Overall I really wish that instead I had an extra class because I hate SSR.”
But Stacey Saechao disagreed, and would recommend Sustained Silent Reading – also called SSR – to other schools.

It “helps your reading and writing skills improve and expands your vocabulary,” Saechao also an RHS student of the 11^th grade said.

Vice Principal, Nancy Ivey said that SSR “dramatically increased our CAHSEE scores … “There was a big jump. We beat De Anza, and Kennedy.”

Ivey said Richmond High improved at every grade level.

“We are number four in the school district; we jumped up exactly 60 points,”  she said.

According to the web site teachersnetwork.org, “for young people to succeed in school and beyond, it is imperative that they are literate. For the majority of students literacy poses no great problem. Reading happens.”

But for some, reading at school is imperative, according to the research conducted at the Los Angeles Public Library, illiteracy costs more than $225 billion a year in lost productivity and “is tied to unemployment, crime, poverty, and family problems.”

“For example, “ Los Angeles data reports, “75 percent of unemployed adults have writing and/or reading difficulties. Sixty percent of all juvenile offenders have problems reading, while $5 billion is spent each year on welfare and unemployment compensation due to illiteracy.