Dragon’s

Tale
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March 2011 - Volume 20 - Issue 7 - Sonoma Valley High School

Baseball in full SVHS’s yo-yo

swing wizards
page 6 page 3
Track leaps into season
page 7
Dragon
Sightings Slate 5 wins it all
Film fest fun
The annual Sonoma Interna-
tional Film Festival begins April
6. Students began creating their
films in early January in prepara-
tion for the Film Festival.
Mr. Hansen, video productions
teacher, commented, “Twelve stu-
dents films from my advanced and
beginner classes, the Film club
and even students from middle
schools will be display their films
on April 7 and 10 at the ‘Student
Works’ showcase.”
The International Film Festival
and its members have continually
supported the Film Program at
SVHS. “The Film Festival and its
members have given the school’s
video production class over half a
million dollars,” said Hansen.
Student Film Previews on page 3

Melba Beals
speaks out
Melba Pattillo Beals visited
SVHS speaking to most of the
sophomore English and history
classes on March 16.
Beals was one of the nine
African-American students who
were the first to integrate into a
all-white high school. In 1957, at
the age of 15, Beals was enrolled
as a student in Central High in
Little Rock, Arkansas.
“One of the recurrent themes in
the sophomore reading material
is the individual versus society
when there is societal injustice,”
said Pam Adams, sophomore
English teacher. “Dr. Beals’
story is a clear example of what it
takes to stand up for what is right
at great personal cost.”
Adams organized Beals’ visit
to SVHS and was greatly pleased
with students’ interest and sup-
port of Beals’ speech.
Jeremiah Zelaya, Student Activities Director for the 2010 Slate, speaks to the candidates at the 2011 Convention.
By Grace Bon &
Lindsey Jasperse
Although the popular vote
placed Slate 3 in the lead, Con-
vention delegates had a different
idea. As competing slates were
eliminated, the delegates consol-
idated behind Slate 5 and vaulted
the triad to victory in the final
round of voting.
Slate 5, composed of Selena
Caruso, Financial Advisor, Ben
Marcus-Willers, Student Voice,
and Olivia Donald, Students Ac-
tivities Director, will be assuming
their roles on the ASB Executive
Council beginning next year.
Slate 3 ran on the platform of
extensive Leadership experience
and promises of representation to
diverse racial groups, while Slate
5 promised to reexamine the sta-
tus quo of Leadership activities.
When asked by moderators to
critique Slate 5’s ideas, Slate 3,
composed of Corinne Labitzke,
Financial Advisor; Karissa Hess,
Student Activities; Yair Alvarez,
Student Voice, offered, “Slate 5
does not have leadership experi-
ence here at the high school. They
haven’t made time in their sched-
ule for Leadership class.”
Caruso, Slate 5, rebutted, “I
know we’re not the most ‘popu-
lar’ Slate, but we have put so
much time and effort into this,
and we really want it.”
A preliminary vote before Con-
vention revealed that Slate 3 was
in the lead, with 29 percent of the
vote. Slate 5 followed close be-
hind with 23 percent; Slate 1 with
19 percent; Slate 4 with 14 per-
cent; Slate 6 with 12 percent; and
Slate 2 with 3 percent.
The event began as the Slates
strutted their way to the stage,
dressed in everything from Bat-
man capes to short shorts to box-
ing robes.
The first round of voting forced
Slate 2 out of the running, but
they readily endorsed Slate 3
upon their exit from the stage.
The morning activities allowed
them to strut their stuff: slates pro-
posed their ideas to Mr. Battaglini,
presented their prepared raps, and ral-
lied for the support of the students.
The next round of voting, a dou-
ble elimination, resulted in the
defeat of Slate 4 and Slate 6.
Lunch was provided for the
delegates by the Culinary Arts
classes: they served pastas,
salad, and bread.
After lunch the guest speaker,
Amy Ahanotu, spoke about his
struggles as a child during the
civil war in Nigeria. Later, he
Photo by Jordan Albertson
immigrated to the U.S. and even-
tually was elected a city council
member in Rohnert Park, though
not without a struggle.
“I want to leave you with a mes-
sage of perseverance,” said Mr.
Ahanotu, addressing the crowd
of delegates. “I persevered and
achieved this much. My hope is
that you, too, will persevere and
achieve more than I have.”
Slate 1 was eliminated after a third
round of voting, then Slate 3.
The slate-elect is ready to take
on next year’s responsibilities.
“Our whole Slate is very honored
to be able to serve SVHS,” said
Marcus-Willers of Slate 5.
Leadership put on Convention;
it is one their biggest events of
the year. Weeks of planning, or-
ganization, and decoration were
required in order to throw a suc-
cessful Convention 2011.

Furlough day Students encouraged to take new electives

cancelled
Due to budget cuts, a furlough
day was scheduled for April 25.
However, SVUSD received fund-
ing from Federal Ed Job funds
and will be re-instating the Mon-
day as a regular school day. “We
are thrilled to be able to bring one
more day of learning back for
our students,” said Justin Frese,
Deputy Superintendent
Home period option to be reduced
By Grace Bon &
Jamie Ballard
As many students have noticed
while planning their schedules,
SVHS is set to offer many new
classes for the 2011-12 school
year, especially in the elective area.
These options include American
Sign Language, Creative Writing,
AP Art, and many more.
However, Principal Dino Batta-
glini says that these electives are
dependent on enrollment, and
thus may or may not be offered.
“The decisions about which
classes will be cut will be made
in the next month. And hopefully
we will be able to tell the teach-
ers what they are teaching. We
won’t tell the students because
we want them to come to Rush,”
he explained.
The number of classes offered
will remain the same, which
means that if there is an influx of
students who take a newly offered
class, another class with low en-
rollment may be cut.
“If we’re adding seven new
classes, that means there will be
seven fewer classes offered in dif-
ferent areas,” clarified Mr. Batta-
glini. Despite recent talk of
Continued on page 8

Plugged-in generation In defense of the World Wide Web
By Shannon Murphy
If they are popular and effec-
tive in college, then why would
online classes be different in high
school? Beside the minor draw-
backs of a socially deprived high
school experience and the absence
of the invaluable interaction be-
tween teacher and student, online
classes for graduation appear to
be nothing short of a godsend.
While high schools continue to
remain several years behind in the
world of technology, the rest of
the nation online courses are con-
sidered a typical, and mostly per-
fect, means of acquiring credits in
specific classes.
Despite their efficiency when ap-
plied to college-level courses, on-
line classes are a much more hotly
debated topic at the high school
level. Currently, many schools
have begun offering online class-
es as valid credit opportunities for
students who might not be able to
fit more into their busy schedules.
But can an online class really
replace the life lessons picked up
in a classroom setting?
Different students have differ-
ent needs. Each student is an in-
dividual, and while one might feel
more comfortable moving at his
or her own pace, another might
need more instruction and a tight-
er regimen in order to learn.
This idea may seem foreign to
a generation that did not grow
up with the Internet, but to cur-
rent students who, in many cases,
learned from childhood how to
operate and search for informa-
tion on a computer, online classes
Home periods out, studying in
By Liam Casey
For many students, high
school is a demanding social
and academic environment.
Studying for AP classes, main-
taining par grades, and apply-
ing for college are just a few of
the tedious factors in the life of
a high school student.
The high school maelstrom,
spinning and ruthless, just wait-
ing to spit out students who can’t
handle the workload, can be
“tamed” with a home period.
The home period system works
to give the student more time
to finish assignments at home.
However, this system has many
potential loopholes.
Though it is rumored that Prin-
cipal Dino Battaglini plans to
~Dragon’s Tale Staff~
ADVISER - Alison Manchester
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF - Caity Tremblay
COPY EDITOR - Luther Cenci
NEWS EDITORS - Caity Tremblay, Jamie Ballard, Grace Bon
OP/ED EDITOR - Samantha Salek
FEATURE EDITORS - Caity Tremblay, Lindsey Jasperse, Arianna
Maysonave
CULTURE EDITOR - Luther Cenci
PHOTO EDITOR - Thomas Perot
SPORTS EDITORS - Adam Kohut, KC Jeppesen
BUSINESS MANAGER - Emily Wood
REPORTERS - Arianna Maysonave, KC Jeppesen, Luther Cenci, Lindsey
Jasperse, Emily Wood, Jamie Ballard, Adam Kohut, Grace Bon, Thomas
Perot, Jessica Marioni, Liam Casey, Samantha Salek, Caity Tremblay,
Shannon Murphy
PHOTOGRAPHERS - Thomas Perot, Arianna Maysonave, Lindsey Jas-
perse, Emily Wood, Jamie Ballard, Jordan Albertson, Jessica Marioni
ART AND GRAPHICS - Sebastian Amara
Dragon’s Tale
make perfect sense.
Other concerns about online
education include cheating pre-
vention. With less regulation on
these programs and no adult to
play big brother, this might pose a
serious problem to the integrity of
the program.
In addition, among the multitude
of classes available online, not all
are appropriate for delivery in an
online format. It may be perfect for
classes that are textbook-oriented,
but many others require not only in-
dividualized help but also a Socratic
method of communication.
Although there are benefits to
online courses, including, but not
limited to, the relief the financial
strain many schools find them-
selves in, they are not an accept-
able substitute for actual partici-
pation in a class.
As if there are not enough rea-
sons (and even incentives) to no
longer come to class, now doing
so is not only easy and pleasant,
but also entirely legal.
While online courses require
tests to determine the students’ un-
derstanding of the course, if these
even slightly resemble the simplicity
of the GED or CHSPE tests—both
valid diploma equivalencies— then
they will demonstrate nothing more
than the students’ common sense.
Online education is bound to
become common in the immedi-
ate future. This will consistently
sacrifice integrity in the name of
efficiency. We can only hope that a
wave of socially awkward students
is the worst that this plugged-in
generation will become.
eliminate the
home period, in
reality the sys-
tem has been
given a tune
up, and a new
purpose.
“I wanted
students and
parents to
mutually un-
derstand what
complications
this class poses
for college
bound stu-
dents,” ex-
plained Mr. Battaglini. “It im-
plies a lack of initiative on the
student’s part.”
A home period doesn’t give
the student any credit; it exists
Opinion - Editorial
By Samantha Salek down the rate at which a web site and entrepreneurs: its openness
loads based on its content. Net and freedom. [Net neutrality is]
Communication has changed neutrality protects web site opera- the First Amendment issue of our
over the years. Communication, tors and application providers from time,” said Senator Al Franken.
in fact, is constantly changing— having to pay for the speed of their Let us not forget the vital role that
evolving to allow for the use of connection to the network. the Internet has played in modern
innovative technologies, and What would it mean if net neu- events. It was a way to spread in-
adapting to the ever-changing hu- trality were to be limited? Web formation during the Egyptian and
man social climate. sites that couldn’t pay would be Libyan uprisings, as well as a high-
The Internet speed means to
has undoubtedly release and spread
changed the face news about tsu-
of modern inter- nami warnings
action. This can following the re-
be seen as both cent earthquake
a change for the in Japan.
better as well as Let us not for-
for the worst, but get that every
it is no secret that day, thousands of
in the modern bloggers take to
world, having an their computers
online presence is to share informa-
a necessity if one tion and opinions
hopes to promote with the public
a business or in- that consistently
novation. provide a fresh
Unfortunately, Cartoon by Sebastian Amara outlook on cur-
the currently limitless state of the slowed down and those that could rent affairs around the world.
Internet that we are familiar with pay top dollar would run much Let us not forget that the many
could change for the worse, pos- faster. This would unbalance the small web sites that would be sac-
sibly very soon. Who is the culprit playing field between similar sites rificed if net neutrality were to be
in this attack on the free-flowing and services and make competi- forfeited belong to up and com-
web? Limited network neutrality. tion almost impossible for those ing entrepreneurs, inventors, and
What is network neutrality, that could not afford to pay. small business owners who are
anyway? It is what makes it pos- Limited net neutrality is an is- simply trying to make their mark
sible for anyone with an Internet sue that has stumbled in and out on the world.
connection to go online anytime, of courts for years, thankfully not The Internet is currently the one
surf the web, watch video, read causing too much damage so far. stop ticket to fortune. It’s almost
email and do anything else that he Recently, however, the issue has impossible to compete in business
or she desires without having to picked up again and is causing if you are not online. If net neu-
worry about varying data transfer much concern. trality were to be sacrificed, cor-
rates on each individual site. “They’re coming after the Inter- porations that could afford to pay
The principle of net neutrality net hoping to destroy the very thing for service would take over the In-
means that Internet providers can- that makes it such an important ternet. The Internet as we know it
not discriminately block or slow [medium] for independent artists would be changed for the worse.
in their years efit from a home period.
outside of high The change in the home pe-
school. There riod system poses no harm to
are obvious ram- students with the initiative to
ifications for stu- apply for it. In fact, this change
dents who have will positively affect both cat-
taken home pe- egories of students who use
riods in the past, the home period system. Those
and don’t have who do not necessarily need the
the academic re- extra time are in better shape
inforcement to when applying for college, and
provide structure those who do need the home
when applying period to offset their academic
for colleges. workload now have an applica-
Pio Valenzuela, tion system to justify their en-
Cartoon by Sebastian Amara sophomore, not- rollment into the class.
ed that “Home Mr. Battaglini concluded, “I
as a placeholder. When colleges
periods shouldn’t be taken ad- can only see the positives with
look at a student’s transcript,
vantage of by students who, aca- this new system. Home periods
they see all of the classes a stu-
demically, are in no place to be are still available for students
dent has taken. The home period
taking them.” to use them, and the option
system only benefits the students
The administration’s solution for students to apply for chal-
when they need more time for
to this problem was to have lenging classes (such as AP)
work, not when they apply for
Mr. Battaglini review appli- is always a positive factor at a
college.
cations for home periods. He school.”
For students who are not taking
would then determine which
a very arduous workload, this
students could legitimately ben-
class will not suit or benefit them
~Editorial Policy~
The Dragon’s Tale is a public forum newspaper produced by the Sonoma Valley High School Newspaper
class. The newspaper attempts to inform its audience in a broad, fair and accurate manner on all subjects, and
to encourage an exchange of ideas and opinions on issues of prominence to the readers.
The newspaper staff encourages letters for opinions and responses on the content of the publication. Only
signed letters will be considered for publication. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit all letters for
content.
No material, opinionated or otherwise, will be printed which is libelous, irresponsible, advocates an illegal
activity or which the editorial staff deems in poor taste.
Editorials reflect the collective views of the staff and will not contain bylines. Other opinionated pieces will
include editor’s columns, feature columns, letters-to-the-editor, and entertainment reviews.
If the staff discovers that a mistake has eluded the editors, a correction will be printed in the next issue.
Page 2 March 2011

Student Films compete for Film Fest first
Ghitta Ferrara directs her cast and crew on the set of her film There’s No Such Thing As Magic.
There’s No Such Thing As Magic
By Jamie Ballard
Ghitta Ferrara’s film, There’s No
Such Thing As Magic tells the sto-
ry of a young girl who is skeptical
about magic when she encounters
two street magicians who attempt to
convince her otherwise.
The film is going to the Student
Film Showcase, and Mr. Hansen is
On My Side
On My Side is a music video of an original song by Danny Wirick.
By Sebastian Amara
Film often works best when it draws
in urelated artistic media.Danny Wir-
ick, senior, did just this when he com-
posed, produced and edited a music
video of his original song “On My
Side.” In the video Wirick sings and
plays the accompaniment to his song.
“It’s about things going your
way and life looking up,” Wirick
Yo-yos take flight; students delight
By Jessica Marioni
SVHS is now home to a rare
species of flying creature. Alert
students may have noticed its
distinctive whizzing call, long
trailing plumage, and astounding
aerial acrobatics in its preferred
habitat between the Culinary Arts
and English buildings. Yes, na-
ture lovers: our campus shelters
the elusive yo-yo once more.
The yo-yo’s amazing return can
be credited to freshmen Morgan
Stixrud and Cristian Carpenter
and their band of yo-yo devotees.
“The fact that not very many
people yo-yo is what really keeps
me inspired,” said Stixrud. “It is
such an original game and gives
people the potential to develop
into experienced players.”
For the past 6 months, Stixrud
has fervently practiced his yo-yo
skills. “When I was grounded for
the entire summer I needed some-
thing fun to do and I found yo-
yo,” said Stixrud.
Carpenter took up the hobby out
of sheer boredom last July. “My
mom and I were driving when she
Dragon’s Tale
attempting to enter it in the “Short
Film” category in the Sonoma Inter-
national Film Festival.
“The film is actually based on a
story my friend Sierra Barnes wrote.
I thought it was really cool, so we
worked together and made it into a
movie,” Ferrara mentioned.
“My brother also wrote the
music for it. I think that adds a
explained. “I think it’s important
to write about things that people
can relate to and feel good about.”
Wirick has been preparing his
video for the Film Festival, includ-
ing planning the concept, filming,
and editing, for four weeks.
The music video itself is com-
pletely original, meaning it was all
created by Wirick without the help
of other producers or editors.
unexpectedly got a flat tire,” ex-
plained Carpenter.
“I had nothing to do, so when
I found a yo-yo in the car I just
started to mess around with it.”
The game kept both youths inter-
ested because it is divided into five
skill paths that allow a player to
develop an individual style. These
schools range from 1a to 5a.
1a: The player uses a long-
stringed yo-yo and manipulates
the cord for tricks.
2a: The player uses two yo-yos
simultaneously, sometimes while
performing acrobatics.
3a: The player uses two long
spinning yo-yos by maneuvering
the string.
4a: The player releases the yo-
yo into the air without the string
attached and attempts to catch it.
5a: The player uses a yo-yo with
a counterweight on the other end
of the cord instead of attaching it
to a finger.
With hard work and dedication,
Stixrud and Carpenter have mastered
all five styles of the game, although
Stixrud mostly performs 1a and 5a
while Carpenter prefers 1a and 4a.
Culture
unique touch and makes it not
just a typical movie.”
Ferrara remarked that the en-
tire process took “about five
months.” Storyboarding began
around mid-November, with film-
ing starting in January. Though
it was sometimes difficult get-
ting the cast and crew gathered
to shoot, Ferrara continued until
she was satisfied with the result.
As for now, Ferrara hopes that
“people will like and understand it.”
Dance
By Sebastian
Amara
Dance has
become a in the school,
popular ac-
tivity at
SVHS as the
year has pro-
gressed. The
short doc- Dance, by Danielle de la Torre and Jonah Son The film fea-
c u m e n t r y is a documentary about dancers at SVHS.
Dance, filmed and editied by Dan- Jeremiah Zelaya and Tony La, se-
ielle de la Torre and Jonah Son, niors, as well as JJ Murphy, Tashi
gets a closer look at the work that Sherpa and Tre Coles, sophomores.
goes into these dances.
“I’ve always been amazed by and it compiles segments of dance
the talent these people have,” footage as well as individual inter-
de la Torre said, “so I decided to views with the dancers.
Photo by Tommy Perot
Morgan Stixrud, freshman, performs a
yo-yo trick
The boys and their friends are mak-
ing the game their own. Formulating
their own moves has kept them inter-
ested and willing to teach others.
Page 3
Cast members face off in Gleeful
Gleeful
By Jamie Ballard
Anthony Lucchesi wrote, produced,
edited, and directed his film Gleeful
after the manner of Steven Spielberg.
Now, the young filmmaker’s homage
is expected to go to the Student Film
Showcase. According to Lucchesi,
Gleeful is the “classic, somewhat
cheesy, boy-girl love story with some
humor thrown in as well.”
The film draws inspiration from the
television show Glee, as well as Luc-
chesi’s personal love of musical the-
ater. “I think people will enjoy my film
because [of its classic appeal]. I find it
pretty funny and I hope other people do
as well,” he remarked.
get more in-
volved and
draw atten-
tion to dance
and share
with others
how good
these guys re-
ally are.”
tures dancers
The film is about six minutes long,
v-necks and fixies!
Acclaimed indie band Animal
Collective will be playing a lo-
cal set at the Phoenix Theater.
“Lately I have been creating
my own styles and tricks,” said
Stixrud, “but I began learning
with watching a lot of Youtube
videos on the subject.”
Both boys will be competing in
a yo-yo tournament dubbed the
“Bay Area Classic” that occurs
somewhere between May to July.
The contest is hosted over a two-
day period where they will show
off their hard-earned skills.
Not only is the sport entertain-
ing, but Stixrud has found other
uses for the game. “Yo-yoing
helps me relieve the stress that
builds up over the school week,”
divulged Stixrud. “It allows me
to focus on something other than
homework and tests.”
“The yo-yo has an infinite num-
ber of possible tricks,” said Car-
penter. “All you need to do is learn
how to manipulate the string.”
While the intricacy of the yo-yo’s
dances may intimidate amateur
yo-yo tamers, the creature need
not be feared. Both yo-yo keepers
testify to the beast’s frendliness
and approachability, and hold pub-
lic feedings on a daily basis.
Upcoming
Three exchange students
will be visiting from Kaniv,
Ukraine, for 3 weeks.
Keep your eye out for cul-
tural workshops, includ-
ing Ukranian Easter egg
painting on Apr. 9.
Arrival: Mar. 28
Go nuts! Peanuts, that is.
The new Peanuts’ movie,
“Happiness is a warm
blanket, Charlie Brown”
will be debuted for all to see
at the Charles M. Schulz
Museum in Santa Rosa
6 - 8:30 pm Mar. 31
Lights, Camera, Action!
Absorb Sonoma Valley’s
independent films and ogle
global celebrity actress
Susan Sarandon at the
International Film
Festival.
Sebastiani Theater
Apr. 6-10
Go see Drama’s 2011
Spring Musical, South Pacific,
to take your imagination
all the way to Bora-Bora.
Little Theater
Opens Apr. 8
To see some of the best that
modern professional the-
ater has to offer, head down
to the Berkeley Repertory
Theater to see their criti-
cally acclaimed production
of the Pulitzer Prize-win-
ning Ruined.
Through Apr. 10
Dust off your
Doors open 7pm
Apr. 10
Aspire to go
green at this year’s
Earth Day Fair at the
Santa Rosa Courthouse
Square. Don’t
forget to carpool!
11 am - 3pm Apr. 16
Think our country needs
a dose of fine art?
Enter your work in the
2011 Congressional Art
Competition.
Winning artwork from
each congressional district
will be displayed in the
U.S. Capitol for one year.
Contact Lindsay Righter
at 269-9595 for more details.
Deadline Apr. 25
March 2011

Slate 5 triumphs
C o n v e n t i o n 2 0 11
By Arianna Maysonave &
Lindsey Jasperse
The Dragon’s Tale asked Slate 5
about their campaign prior to the
election.
DT: What makes your slate the
most qualified to make decisions
for our student body?
Slate 5: Ben Marcus-Willers
(Student Voice) was President of
Sonoma Charter School. Addi-
tionally, he has extensive public
speaking experience.
Olivia Donald (Student Activities
Director) is very spirited. She has
been avidly
involved in
the dramatic
arts, and has
many great
ideas for
improving
participation
between the
grades.
Selena
Caruso (Fi-
nancial Di-
rector) has
experience
working
with financ-
es, including
the comple-
tion of an 18
page exiting
project on
economic
systems and
their effects on society. She is
qualified for her position.
Emily Wilber (Campaign manag-
er) is both hilarious and practiced
in strategic marketing, so she was
a logical and entertaining choice
for campaign manager.
DT: What specific aspect of our
school are you striving to develop
or change? How are you planning
to achieve this goal?
Slate 5: We want to improve
communication and participation
throughout the school. We will do
this by creating our own dedicated
Facebook and Youtube pages, as
well as by trying to attain slots on
the daily bulletins and broadcasts
to inform the student body on the
school’s state of affairs. We also
want to make sure that every rea-
sonable opinion is taken into ac-
count and used to determine Slate
5’s course of action.
To improve activities, and fund-
ing for those activities, we will
establish a system called “ac-
tivity jars” where students can
place any amount of money into
the “activity jar” of their choice.
For example, if a student wanted
better rallies, they could donate
into the “rally jar.” In the end, the
jar with the most money would
be the main area of focus for the
next relevant event. i.e. if rallies
got the most money, then the next
rally would receive our greatest
amount of attention.
This is how we plan to improve
activities and finances. After all,
Dragon’s Tale
if everyone brought just 50 cents
to school, we would make $700 in
one day.
DT: As many students are opposed
to the implementation of tier, what
are your ideas regarding system
changes?
Slate 5: We believe that the ma-
nipulation or modification of the
school’s schedule is not slate’s area
of focus. There is already a teacher
Design Team focused on the sched-
ule. We will poll the student body
to get their opinion on schedule
changes, but the power to change
the schedule is ultimately the De-
sign Team’s.
DT: How do
you feel about
the proposed
changes re-
garding the
availability of
home periods
and the addi-
tion of new
electives?
Slate 5: We
believe that
the increased
number of
options for
electives is a
great thing.
However, we
still believe
that home pe-
riods should
be an option.
As much as
we would en-
courage students to take an elective
over a home period, we know that
having a break in one’s schedule
can be a much needed source of de-
stressing. We will poll the student
body on this issue, but once again
we don’t have the power to make
that decision.
DT: What are your three most di-
verse ideas on how to unify the stu-
dent body?
Slate 5: We believe that school-
wide inter-grade competitions, stu-
dent showcases, and class bonding
days are our three most important
ideas to unify SVHS’s student body.
Inter-grade competitions may take
place in or outside of rallies, and
would involve higher levels of par-
ticipation from the four grades. As
great as it is to showcase the sports
teams, we think that through more
optional involvement from the
grades, we could make rallies and
the school a lot more interesting.
Student showcases would be an
opportunity for students to show-
case their creativity, in areas such
as art, drama, film, music, dancing,
etc. SVHS puts great emphasis on
sports, and we plan to keep it this
way, but with added emphasis on
students’ creativity. Class bonding
days would be days where inter-
grade mingling would be encour-
aged. Students from the different
grades would be given an opportu-
nity to meet students they normally
would never have the chance to be
around, from other cliques, groups,
demographics, etc.
Emily Wilber, Ben Marcus-Willers, Selena Caruso, and Olivia Donald of Slate 5 are surprised and delighted at their Convention victory.
Photo by Tommy Perot
Amy Ahanotu, Rohnert Park city councilman, delivers a
motivational speech to the convention delegates.
Ahanotu inspires delegates to persevere
By Arianna Maysonave
In 1967, he was a teenager in
the midst of a civil war. In 1986,
he migrated to America. In 2003,
he graduated from the University
of San Francisco with a masters
degree. In 2005, he was granted
US citizenship. Finally, in 2010,
he became a city councilman.
You may not be able to pro-
nounce his name or recall the in-
tricacies of his triumphant story,
but you will undoubtedly remem-
ber the message behind Rohnert
Park city councilman Amy Aha-
notu’s passionate speech.
Emily Wilbur, Christopher Swanson, Jersey Witous, Ben
Marcus-Willers, and Riley Clark listen to the poll results.
He encouraged the audience
to persevere through their hard-
ships, embrace their obstacles,
and refuse to give up. Why? Be-
cause he endured relentless tri-
als and tribulations in his early
life, yet he stands as proof that
wholehearted dedication will
lead to success.
Mr. Ahanotu was raised in Nigeria,
where he was forced to experience
the terrors of the 1967 Civil War.
“At ten years old, witnessing
murders and hearing gunshots on a
daily basis caused me to view the
world from a place of negativity,”
shared Mr. Ahanotu.
Feature
Audience appeal
By Jessica Marioni
Convention 201l combined a
mixture of groups from around
SVHS to perform for the future
politicians and voters of our cam-
pus. From yo-yoes and hip-hop
moves to awe-inspiring singing
performances, Convention hosted
it all.
The Slates kicked off Convention
with a very unconventional ‘cat-
walk’ onto stage in a wide variety
of humorous attires while throw-
ing items to the cheering delegates.
Marissa Bragstad, senior, then pro-
ceeded to sing the national anthem.
All six Slates were asked their
opinions on a number of topics and
were instructed to move towards ei-
ther a ‘disagree’ or ‘agree’ painted
poster. It gave students the chance
to see which slates had the courage
to stand alone for their beliefs.
Shortly after, each Slate cleverly
rapped their platform to a crowd
filled with laughter and cheers.
“The raps were my favorite part of
convention,” said Jessica Wilson,
sophomore, “They were all so funny
and entertaining!”
Tension cooled between the com-
peting slates as the best dressed
state of New Mexico was named
Photo by Jordan Albertson for their sombreros and costumes.
Photo by Jordan Albertson
Maddy Parisi, senior, sings “Listen” from Dreamgirls. After students were escorted to
Photo by Jordan Albertson
Photo by Jessica Marioni
Keaton Davis, sophomore, of the freestyled to the song “Refuge” by John Legend.
The war was his first experience “I was forced to improve and sup- spite a college degree. straints of different institutions.
with authority’s malicious use of port myself. My thick accent was “It may have been challeng- He learned through these ex-
power, and inspired th realization the most troubling hindrance, as ing, but I realized that for periences that citizens have the
that he possessed the strength to being consistently misunderstood any change to happen I must opportunity to participate in cre-
make a change. undermined my legitimacy.” participate in my communi- ating their own journies.
His family ty, and be un- After working in financial
couldn’t afford
a quality edu-
“You can achieve anything you set afraid to speak
my mind.”
institutions for years, becom-
ing a city councilman ap-
cation, so he
was forced to your mind to if you have the ambition Throughout the
Nigerian civil
peared initially farfetched.
However, Mr. Ahanotu started
fight for him- war, the Ameri- his campaign by promising
self. After three to fulfill what you strive to be” can university that if you, “just vote for me,
years with no system, and his everything will be fine.”
education, he journey to U.S. Today, his life is more than
migrated to the United States and Mr. Ahanotu shared his most citizenship, Mr. Ahanotu had not fine, and he rejoices in the
was eventually accepted into the dismal moment, when he was been able to make his decisions. opportunity to share his hard-
University of San Francisco. denied a job as a dishwasher de- Instead, he conformed to the con- ships with students.
Page 4 & 5
the ‘Fuzzy Room,’ they sheep-
ishly streamed back into Golton
Hall grinning ear to ear in their
humorous costumes.
As the lights dimmed and
a silence fell over the crowd,
SVHS’s newly formed dance
team performed choreography to
John Legend’s song “Refuge.”
After two months of practice, the
dancers finally unleashed their
moves to the anticipating mass
of students and faculty.
“It was absolutely incredible,”
said Tre Coles, sophomore and
dance team member, “I was re-
ally nervous but pumped at the
same time because I have been
practicing so hard.”
Part of Convention’s festivi-
ties included an exhilarating yo-
yo performance from Morgan
Sitxrud and Cristian Carpenter.
Through flicks of the wrists the
yanks of string, the two dazzled
the crowd with a magical routine.
As Convention pressed on,
Danny Wirick and Maddy Parisi,
seniors, sang an unforgettable
duet to the song “Listen” from
Dreamgirls.
After all the entertainment and
debate of Convention 2011, Slate
Five took home the trophy after
a thrilling neck-to-neck race with
Slate Three.
Photo by Tommy Perot
“WE WANT YOU” said Olivia Don-
ald, newly elected Student Activities
Director.
“You can achieve anything
you set your mind to if you
have the ambition to ful-
fill what you set out to be,”
claimed Mr. Ahanotu.
He advised the audience to
seek guidance from adults,
value education above all else,
participate in the community,
and let their voices be heard.
He views convention as a
beneficial precursor to the real
political world.
“SVHS is brewing leaders
with positive public speaking
experience, and beginning ear-
ly is the first step to success.”
March 2011

Dragons fall victim to inconsistency
Dragons take bite out of hounds
By KC Jeppesen
The Dragon tennis team recently
found the fire after defeating the
Healdsburg Hounds in their first
win of the season.
The Dragons traveled to Analy
on Mar. 1 and were unsuccessful
at winning their league opener
against the Tigers.
Following their visit to Analy,
the Dragons hosted the Casa
Grande Gauchos on Mar. 3. The
Dragons’ were unable to collec-
tively defeat the Gauchos, bring-
ing them to 0-2.
Dragon’s Tale
Sophomore Stephen Montano
was the only one to manage a win
against Casa Grande. He earned a
5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory over his Gau-
cho opponent. Despite a medio-
cre team performance so far this
season, Montano has been having
a stand-out season. He has yet to
lose a match in league play.
Reigning SCL champion sopho-
more Sean Hall fell short 1-6, 4-6
in his match, which was a rematch
of last year’s SCL title match.
Both Hall and Matt Halligan,
Hall’s Casa Grande opponent,
were determined to be victorious.
Sports
However, Hall lost the first two
sets, and was swept by Halligan.
The Dragons traveled to Healds-
burg to face the Hounds on Mar.
8. They won their first match,
which put them at their current
1-2 record.
The Dragons are set to travel to
El Molino to take on the Tigers on
Mar. 15.
After the visit to El Molino, the
Dragons will play host for three
consecutive games, against Peta-
luma, Windsor, and Analy, on
Mar. 17, Mar. 29, and Mar. 31 re-
spectively.
Page 6
By KC Jeppesen
The Dragons’ varsity baseball
team has been both the vic-
tim and the victor in two 17-1
blowouts thus far in their sea-
son. The boys sport a 2-2 re-
cord after having played Piner,
Vintage, Dublin, and Acalanes.
The Dragons traveled to Piner
for their season-opener on Feb.
28. Senior ace Sam Alton took
the mound for the Dragons’
first game.
The Dragon offense began
their season with a bang, man-
aging 17 runs in their game
against Piner.
RBIs are scattered across the
board for the Dragons. Juniors
Sam Morgan and Christopher
Swanson, sophomore Jonah
Son, and senior Kevin Deely
each contributed 2 RBIs. Five
other Dragons each contrib-
uted 1 RBI.
Alton allowed only 1 earned
run during 5 innings pitched.
Junior Michael Hernandez and
senior Alec Berthoud each
pitched a shut out inning fol-
lowing Alton’s departure from
the game.
The Dragons hosted the
Vintage Crushers at home on
Mar. 4. The Dragons offense
wasn’t able to match their pre-
vious performance, and the
Dragons lost 5-1.
Vintage got off to an early
start by scoring a run in the first
inning. They then tacked on 2
more runs in both the third and
fourth innings. The Dragons,
however, were unable to score
until the fifth inning.
Hernandez started the game,
and put in five innings of work
allowing 5 runs, 1 of which was
earned. Sophomore Brennan
Cole came on in relief and con-
tributed 2 shut out innings.
Senior Steven McGunagle
Photo above by Jenna Wirick
Will Murphy, junior, takes a swing at the incoming baseball in the game against
Vintage.
Photo at left by Jordan Albertson
Michael Hernandez, junior, is pitching in the game against Vintage.
Swimming sinking in SCL
By Adam Kohut
The Dragons hosted Casa
Grande in their first home
swim meet in six years. This
hasn’t happened since SVHS
removed its swimming pool.
Sonoma has begun using the
Agua Caliente Aquatic Cen-
ter’s pool so they can host
meets again.
The first-year coach Cyn-
thia Leonard couldn’t lead the
team to a victory in its first
home meet in six years. The
Dragon boys lost 112-46 to the
Gauchos and the Lady Drag-
ons suffered a 103-35 loss.
The boys were paced by
the second-place 200 medley
relay team of juniors Daniel
Fonseca and Victor Virgen,
sophomore Wyatt Casella and
freshman Matthew Leonard in
2:14.71.
The ladies were led by ju-
nior Ghitta Ferrara’s first
and Hernandez were the only
two Dragons who managed a
hit against Vintage.
Following the disappointing
home loss, the Dragons hosted
the Dublin Gaels on Mar. 11.
The Dragons managed a run in
the first inning, 4 in the third in-
ning, and 3 in the fourth. Dub-
lin, however, made a run for the
victory late in the game.
After only managing to score
1 run in the first four innings,
Dublin put up 4 runs in the
fifth. In the next inning, the
Gaels managed 2 more runs,
but were unable to get across
the final run they needed to tie
the game.
The Dragons were able to hold
on by a score of 8-7, despite the
last minute scare.
Cole started the game, and
pitched 5.2 innings allowing
5 earned runs. Son led the
Dragon offense by getting 2
hits and 2 RBIs.
Following the close victory
over Dublin, the Dragons trav-
eled to Acalanes to take on the
Dons on Mar. 12. Acalanes
managed to score early and of-
ten, and continued with their
pattern throughout the game.
The Dragons fell short to
Acalanes by a score of 17-1 af-
ter only 5 innings of play.
Junior Sam Keechler took
credit for the one run the
Dragons managed by driving in
a run on his triple.
Alton was the starting pitcher,
and allowed 6 earned runs dur-
ing only 3.1 innings pitched.
Dylan Thomas Briggs, se-
nior, put in .2 innings of work
and allowed 1 earned run, and
Berthoud allowed 4 earned runs
in 1 inning pitched.
The Dragons are playing in-
consistently, but they were still
able to manage a .500 record
early on in the season.
place finish in the 100 yard
back stroke in 1:16.61.
The Dragons came up short
again when they traveled to
Healdsburg and lost 126-41.
The Lady Dragons also fell
119-39.
Nearly the same 200 med-
ley relay team led the Dragon
boys; however, sophomore
Chase Campion replaced
Leonard, finishing in 2:29.0.
A second-place relay team
made up of sophomores
Sebastian Amara, Ryan Bar-
more and Leonard finished in
second place with 2:06.01.
Ferrara earned two first plac-
es in 500 free and 100 back-
stroke in 5:50.0 and 1:21.19
respectively.
The 400 free relay consist-
ing of Ferrara, sophomores
Marissa Balchinas and Jamie
Ballard, and freshman Mad-
eline Cline finished with a
second-place in 5:45.53.
March 2011
 Sports

Tr a c k t e a m t r i u m p h s
By Emily Wood
There’s no better way to start
spring than to sprint right into
it. Track season officially began
Feb. 7. The most recent meet
was the South County Invite at
Rancho Cotate High School on
Mar. 9.
Held in Rohnert Park, SVHS
competed not only against Ran-
cho Cotate, but Petaluma as well.
This was the first time this sea-
son the team competed against
another school. Despite this
challenge, the varsity Dragons
placed first and second in several
key events.
Several varsity girls earned first
place in the meet. Among them
were Laura Amador, sophomore,
Sarah Summers, junior, and
Jenna Wirick, senior.
Amador sprinted to first place
in the 800m dash with a time of
2:41.3. Summers took first place
in both the 300m and 100m hur-
dle events. Wirick achieved first
place with a 15’1” long jump.
As for the varsity boys, second
place 400m relay winners in-
cluded Nick Fitzpatrick, fresh-
man, Tashi Sherpa, sophomore,
Brandon Gossett, senior, and
Danny Maggioncalda, senior,
with a 49-second time.
Among the 1600m relay second
place winners were Chris Tose,
sophomore, Stefan Flynn-Gar-
cia, grade, Devin McAllister, se-
nior, and Maggioncalda, posting
a time of 3:48.4.
Other second place victors in-
cluded McAllister in the 800m
dash, and Raymond Mellinger,
senior, in the shot put.
All varsity members succeded
Time out
in not placing lower than fourth
place, which is an accomplish- Off the court, student
ment the track team can be
proud of.
athletes spring into
The first track event this season action and discuss
was the Green and White Re- their current season.
lays, held at home Mar. 2, where
SVHS competed against their
fellow team members.
Landing a first place, 51.7-sec-
ond time in the 4x100 were Ali
Romano and AJ Lemaire, sopho-
mores, Emma McGee, senior,
and Maggioncalda. The same
team also won first place in the
4x200 with a 1:52.2 time.
Kirsten Hodgson, freshman,
took first place in the 1600m
with times of 6:08.5, 4:47.8 re-
spectively.
Wirick threw a first place 74’
discus. Josh Heiser, junior, also
received first place for his 112’8”
throw. Victor Virgen
While there may be many Junior
standouts, the 2011 track team Swimming
is smaller than usual. The team,
however, maintains high hopes
for improvement this spring. • Favorite athlete:
The next meet will be the Wind- Lionel Messi
sor Relays at Windsor on Mar. 12
beginning at 10:00 am.
• Goal for season: to get
The event following Windsor 25 seconds on the 50 free.
will be at Piner Mar. 16.
There will be multiple meets,
all leading up to the SCL Finals
held at Windsor, which will oc-
cur May 12 for j.v. and May 14
for varsity.
Following that will be the NCS
Area Meet at Rancho Cotate May
21 and the NCS Meet of Cham-
Photo by Brinkley Capriola
pions at UC Berkeley on May
27-28. The season ends Jun. 3 Baily Zellers, freshman, gallops over a hurdle.
with the CIF State Champion-
ships at Clovis.

Freshmen lead Lady Sam Alton

Dragons to victory
By Adam Kohut
The Lady Dragons softball
team started out the year strong,
winning three out of the first
five games.
The team struggled with mul-
tiple rained-out games and re-
scheduling due to the weather.
Damp conditions took a toll on
practice time as well. Still, the
team is optimistic.
“We have a great group of girls
that bond really well together,
and hopefully we will have a
successful season,” said junior
pitcher Megan McNeilly.
They kicked off the year
with a big 14-3 win on the road
against Maria Carrillo. Two
freshmen, Lyndsay Rocha and
Amber Rose, paced the team,
each going three-for-four.
Rocha had 3 RBIs and Rose
had two. Senior Mia Stornetta
also had two RBIs.
Sonoma came off this win over-
confident and suffered a tough
10-2 loss to Alameda at home.
The two freshman Rose and
Rocha led the team once again
with the team’s only two hits.
Next they took on Pinole
Valley at home and couldn’t
match Pinole’s second inning
Dragon’s Tale
streak where they scored three
runs and sealed the game with an-
other two runs in the fifth inning.
Stornetta and freshman Riley
Elis-Reis both finished two-for-
four, leading the team in batting
average. Rose followed them
up with two RBIs.
Although the Dragons suf-
fered these two tough defeats
they rebuttled with a huge
13-0 win against San Rafael in
which the team barraged San
Rafael with a number of singles
to score all 13 runs in the first
three innings.
Rose continued to lead the
way, going three-for-four with
a season high of four RBIs.
Ellis-Reis added to this with
another three RBIs.
McNeilly allowed no runs
as the pitcher, sealing the
Dragons’ shutout victory.
Sonoma kept it rolling with an-
other win against Montgomery
7-4. Rocha paced the team go-
ing three-for-four with two
RBIs followed by sophomore
Julianna Gutierrez going two-
for-three.
McNeilly followed up the of-
fense with a complete game,
striking out three of the oppos-
ing players.
Jenna Wirick, senior, leaps over the high jump bar to go along with her first place
long jump.
Golf tees off to a slow start
By Sebastian Amara
The SVHS boys’ golf sea-
son began along with all the
spring sports on Feb.7. The
team is 1-5, with two can-
celled matches as of Feb.14
after their Ukiah meet.
“So far the team has not done
well in its preseason games, but
were all improving,” said Brian
Hurley, sophomore.
“Last year we were a lot older,
but in the case of experience
we didn’t have much still,” said
Robert Byrd, junior. “Golf is
one of those sports that shows
that practicing isn’t enough.
There’s a huge mental aspect
to the game that our entire team
has to obtain before we can win
Page 7
Senior
Baseball
• Favorite athlete:
Buster Posey
• Goal for season: Win
league then focus on NCS
Photo by Brinkley Capriola
and put up good scores.”
The team is young, but show-
ing improvement in their
swings. “We just need to play
more to gain the proper ex-
perience to compete against
some of the better schools,”
continued Byrd.
Riley Ellis-Reis
Sophomore
“Tom Hickerson, coach of the
golf team, is doing a great job Softball
improving our swings and pre-
paring us for our league match-
es,” concluded Hurley. • Favorite athlete:
The team has a match Mar. Mia Stornetta
17 in Petaluma. Then the team • Goal for season: Make
will then have a bye week with
their next match on Mar.31 ver-
it to NCS and get past the
sus El Molino at the Sonoma first game this year.
Golf Club. All eyes are to the
sky as the team must fit prac-
tices in between rain squalls.
March 2011
 News

Shakespeare troupe is a class act Caught

By Caity Tremblay
“Lord what fools these mortals
be!” exclaimed Puck during the
Marin Shakespeare Company’s
Teen Touring Company per-
formance of Shakespeare’s “A
Midsummer Night’s Dream” in
the Little Theater on March 11.
Freshmen from Linda Dillon
and Danielle Lovejoy’s English
classes and juniors from Jane
Martin’s English classes attend-
ed the production.
“[Shakespeare’s] hard to un-
derstand, but I like watching it;
it’s enjoyable,” said Ava Gon-
zales, freshman.
Students often struggle to
comprehend Shakespeare,
much less enjoy it. “I get it, but
I don’t get it at the same time,”
said Lupe
Lucas, freshman.
“It’s difficult for a modern
audience to understand Shake-
speare because there are so
many words,” explained Mrs.
Martin. “But it’s important to
see Shakespeare because it’s ex-
quisitely written. It’s the classic
storyline, and it brings up issues
still relevant today.”
The teens captured the magic,
humor, and romance of Shake-
Electives (continued from page 1)
budget cuts and fiscal short-
ages, Mr. Battaglini insists that
the addition of courses will
have no negative financial con-
sequences. “There is not going
to be a major cost to offering
these electives. It is not a huge
expense,” claims Mr. Batta-
glini.
The purpose of offering these
speare’s en-
chanting
In
comedy while
adding a mod- Thought:
ern flair. A What are you
simple set and
modern dress doing for
added to the
contemporary
Spring Break?
atmosphere.
The audi-
ence was very
responsive
to the play,
laughing and
feeding ener-
gy back to the
performers.
“I loved it,”
said Mrs.
Martin. “It
reminded
me why I
like working Photo by Caity Tremblay
with teenag- Marin Shakespeare Company’s Teen Touring Company performed Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s
“I’m going to
ers. There’s Dream” in the Little Theater on March 11. Mexico with
an honesty, an
earnest energy with teenagers
Shakespeare before while oth- students were starting to study some friends.”
ers were new to his plays. The their Shakespeare in class when
that’s refreshing to see.”
actors attended different high they watched the production.
A question and answer ses-
sion followed the performance.
schools but were brought to- “It’s an exciting way for kids Lily Shapiro,
gether in their mutual love of to experience the play,” Ms.
An eclectic group of teenagers
performing. Dillon said. “Shakespeare is
freshman
put on the show, ranging from
Ms. Dillon received a flyer meant to be performed.” Ms.
twelve to seventeen years of
from the troupe and booked Dillon hopes the troupe will re-
age. Some had worked with
the performance. The SVHS turn in future years.
classes is so that students might will be beneficial for the stu- ing with the student and parents
become more passionate about dent body. “Offering new elec- and making sure it’s the best
their studies. As Mr. Battaglini tives seems like an effective academic choice for the student
puts it, “Students are more like- way to keep students interested [to take a home period],” as-
ly to do well in a class they’re in school,” he commented. sured Mr. Battaglini.
interested in.” He adds that the Some students were concerned “We don’t want students tak-
administration wants as many about the proposed elimination ing advantage of the system,
students as possible to benefit. of home periods. “Nothing has because it will affect them neg-
Wyn Davis, sophomore, thinks
the addition of new electives
changed. We’ve just added an
extra step that involves speak-
atively in the long run,” said
Mr. Battglini.
“Playing a lot
of baseball,
then going to
Arizona.”

Garrett Walker,
sophomore

“I’m going to
Santa Cruz.”

Andrew Chiesa,
Senior

Dragon’s Tale Page 8 March 2011