After the conclusion of the 2010-11 school year, both teachers and students received a chance to relax with the arrival of summer vacation, a time free from homework and exams. In the same way, The Feather halted operations until school resumed, Aug. 15.
However, before leaving the 2010-’11 school year in the past, The Feather would like to take time to reflect on some of the year’s key events. This year’s 35-member staff aimed to capture campus news and issues in a broader sense than any of its predecessors. In order to meet this goal, staffers produced more than 650 articles in addition to numerous blogs, videos, slideshows, podcasts and comics.
After everything that happened throughout the year, The Feather staff would be remiss if we did not publish an article that displayed our desire to cover school activities and events. We hope that this article sufficiently features highlighted content in such areas as sports, academics and extracurriculars.
GRADUATION
The class of 2011 transitioned out of high school in the 30th commencement, May 26. During the ceremony various awards were presented, and speakers addressed the class and the audience of families and friends.
Breaking the campus tradition of one valedictorian and one salutatorian, both Austin Ward and Richard Lopez served as valedictorians with Ashley Ward as their salutatorian. The three gave speeches reflecting on the past, present and future.
Apart from graduation, The Feather chose to recognize Cassidy Hutchins as Student of the Year. Hutchins was selected due to her passion for academics and sports in addition to her unwavering school spirit.
SPORTS
As far as sports go, one of the most memorable events was the boys’ basketball victory in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Central Section DV Champions. This was the first time since 1997 the boys’ had won the championship. They went on to win the first game of the state playoffs.
Despite the boys’ success, the girls’ basketball team was unable to repeat the outcome of last year’s season, and fell before they made it to the championships. They ended the season 8-0 in the West Sequoia League.
For a second year in a row the girls’ volleyball team experienced a winning season, finishing 8-0 in league. The team went on to compete in the state playoffs, losing in the first round.
Although they didn’t qualify for the Valley Championships, the golf team secured the league title with an undefeated season 4-0.
For the first time in campus history, the baseball team reached the DV Valley Championship but were defeated in a shutout. The team was 5-3 in league.
Runners on the cross-country team struggled for the CIF Central Section Division V Valley Championship. Sophomore Maddie Yee placed ninth at this event, which qualified her for a run at state.
After several meets and invitationals, some members of the track and field team qualified to attend championships. For example, senior Josiah Ford took the first place title in the triple jump and second in the long jump at the Division II League Championship meet. This qualified Ford for the Valley Championship meet where he placed fifth in triple jump.
Playing on a new home field, the football team suffered heavy losses after several of its players sustained injuries. Team moral further deteriorated after it was announced that head couch, Bonner Cunnings, had resigned midseason. In spite of this, the team continued to play — with the minimum requirement of players at times — and finished the season 0-5 in league.
In addition, the boys’ tennis team achieved a record of 6-5, respectively. For soccer, the girls’ team completed the season with 0-7-1 and the boys’ team with 0-8-0.
For more information on athletics, including game recaps and individual profiles, check out the Sports Section.
ACADEMICS
In the realm of academics, many student groups and individuals reached various achievements.
At the 29th annual Fresno County Academic Decathlon Competition, the FC team placed 4th in Division 2. The eight-member team collectively gained 15 medals.
Math instructor Mike Fenton led students to the annual Math Field Day at California State University, Fresno. FC was awarded 1st place overall in the small school division for both high school and junior high. Between the high school and junior high participants, a number of students took home awards.
In addition to these events, the campus mathematics department was expanded through Fenton’s implementations of Daskala and Piazzza. Math teacher Jane Gillespie attended the 2011 T-Cubed International Conference in San Antonio, TX.
Individual students accomplished various achievements as well. Ward became a National Merit Scholar, a California Scholarship Federation (CSF) Seymour Award winner and a candidate for the United States Presidential Scholars Program. Lopez qualified as a National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar in recognition of his score on the PSAT/NMSQT and Hispanic background.
EXTRACURRICULARS
Because the extracurriculars category arches over a range of different areas, this section is divided into organizations, performing arts, visual arts and publications.
Organizations
In addition to the previously-established campus clubs, a number of new clubs began for the student body
Students became accustom to hearing ukuleles around the school due to music instructor Michael Ogdon’s Ukulele Club. Like Ogdon, IT Director David Martens sought to spark enthusiasm for music, and formed the Guitar Club.
In order to open up schedules, Yearbook was turned into a club. A team of students met during lunches, after school and on weekends to publish The Shield.
With a mission to focus on the environment and serve, Ward and Lopez formed the Planeteers Club. The group performed service projects such as planting at Oso de Oro Park and Charlie Creek Park, supporting Operation Christmas Child, and labeling storm drains. Club members took on challenges to preserve the environment like cutting down on unnecessary water usage.
The California Scholarship Federation (CSF) continued to promote academic excellence and service. The group served at the Community Food Bank, attended the central region conference and underclassmen put on the senior recognition dinner. CSF collaborated with Spanish Club to put on the annual Cinco de Mayo lunch. In the Spanish Club, students received cultural education through activities such as fiestas.
Instead of restricting student outreach to Sister2Sister, the guys on campus were able to participate with Brother to Brother. Junior and senior students received the opportunity to foster positive qualities in junior high students.
The leadership class hosted activities such as Homecoming, Night of the Stars, Sadie Hawkins and the Talent Show. Leadership rekindled the beach trip tradition, taking students to Cayucos for the football game versus Coast Union High School.
Campus groups collaborated for Kids Day, getting up early to sell special editions of The Fresno Bee in order to benefit Children’s Hospital Central California. According to a spread in the March 20 edition of The Fresno Bee, the 24th annual Kids Day raised more than $440,000.
Performing arts
Led by director Michael Ogdon, campus music groups took part in several competitions and festivals throughout the year, including the Heritage Festival in Southern California. At these events, students received both critiquing from judges and awards of various excellence.
In addition, the music department also participated in local parades and concerts. The 91st annual Veterans Day Parade, held in downtown Fresno, combined campus bands from the elementary, junior high and senior high schools. Concluding the first semester, the music department staged “Round the Table Carol Sing” a performance which featured a number of Christmas-related songs. Concluding the school year, both band and choir presented a final concert for the campus community.
The drama department put on two shows for the student body. Throughout the months of Nov. to Dec. actors performed A Christmas Carol, a one-act adaption of Charles Dickens’s classic novella; in May they produced 12 Angry Jurors, an adaption of the three-act play 12 Angry Men. Instructor Brianne Vogt led the students through each production.
Visual arts
Students took a creative approach to art through competitions, including the Congressional Art Competition and the Big Fresno Fair chalk-drawing contest. At the latter, a creation by juniors Lizzie Williams, Bianca Hinojosa and Austen Houts received an honorable mention.
In the technical area of art, the video productions class produced videos throughout the year. Along the way, students were able to participate in competitions. At the Slick Rock Student Film Festival, sophomore Jordan Boudreau won Best of Show for his music video, “Welcome Freshman.”
Publications
The publication class, which produces the content of The Feather, experienced both success and disappointments after submitting their paper for evaluation from a number of sources. Despite this, the website plans to make improvements which will expand coverage and harness the latest technology.
During her second year on staff, freshman Katie Barisic continued to contribute the daily comic series known as “The Good Times.” By the end of the year, she had published more than 250 installments. (To view comics, click on “The Daily Comic” button located on the right menu bar.)
FC Underground, a weekly video segment covering campus news, was continued by multimedia anchor Brooke Stobbe and Webmaster David Casuga. The duo took over the job after former Editor-in-chief Suzanna Quiring and previous videographer Paige Powell are ’10 alumni. Stobbe and Casuga produced a total of 20 episodes. (To view episodes, click on the “Video” button on the top menu bar.)
In recognition of The Feather’s efforts, two organizations awarded it their highest distinctions. The Columbia Scholastic Press Association presented its Online Gold Crown in March, while the National Scholastic Press Association awarded the website an All-American rating, its highest level of recognition. This was The Feather’s second Gold Crown, having won its first the year before. Despite their best efforts, The Feather missed a Pacemaker nomination in the spring.
Even after these awards were issued, The Feather continued to operate until the last day of school, May 27. In accordance with tradition, seniors on the staff wrote senior reflection columns during the final two weeks of school. Check out the
