Volume 4, Edition 8 June 2012

Los Angeles Leadership Academy

The VoiceEditors-In-Chief:Ruth Galaviz

Photo Editor:Pablo Espinoza

Staff Writers In This Issue:

Angelica Ajanel

Enkbhat Bayar

Jordan Blevins

Pablo Espinoza

Kevin Ferman

Cristina Garcia

Becka Garcia

Zuleyma Guillermo

Oscar Isem-‐Villatoro

Natalie Morales

Zulma Ramos

Paola Sanchez

Kasey Sierra

Bryan Lopez Thomas

Jose Velez

Ever Vergara

Joy Woo

Faculty AdvisorPhyllis Rosen

Printer:Gardena Valley News

DeparturesBy: Joy Woo, Ever Vergara, Kevin Ferman, Pablo EspinozaStaff Writers

Another treasured staff member that will soon leave us is Ashley Daly. She will be returning to the Bay Area where she grew up and where her family and friends still live. This fulfills her original plan to return to the Bay Area after

her graduation from UCLA. Now Ashley is heading to Berkeley High School where she always dreamed of teaching. Ash-ley thinks of all this with a bitter-

sweet feeling, leaving something she loves but also establishing her-self as a teacher in the community where she grew up. (Ashley went to

Berkeley High School herself.) Ashley said that her experience here at LALA was “so amazing”. She recalls that in her two years at the school it has made so many posi-tive changes, like adding an urban

farm and the outdoor program. Some of her favorite memories here

were of the camping trips she or-ganized for the seniors and fresh-men. Ashley thinks that LALA feels like home, where everyone is like

family. In the end, Ashley said that she will miss having so much fun with her students and that, “ I will never forget this place and will carry my LALA family with me from

now on wherever I go.”

On June 30th, Linda Igoe will be departing after two years of serving both Los Angeles Leader-ship Academy’s middle school and high school as principal. Linda stat-ed that her husband’s retirement and resulting financial reasons led

to her decision to leave. The positive side of her husband’s retirement, as Linda ob-serves, is that, “Wherever I go, my husband will follow me.” However, leaving LALA comes with a price of leaving behind people Linda both

cherishes and cares about. When asked what students would be surprised to learn about her, Linda stated that she appears scary and cold, but in reality she cares about giving second chances to all students and that she’s a real soft-ie. She also stated that, “The stu-

dents here are wonderful!” She specifically enjoyed having students wave hello to her in the halls and smiling in her di-rection. “ I wish I was around them [the students] more,” she observed.

Linda says she will miss both Glo-ria and Cindy for their help, Brian for his dry jokes, Mark and their journey together in growing to be better administrators, Phyllis for all her help in making it through the two years more successfully, and Phyllis’s dog, Lola, whom she will

miss seeing on Saturdays. For her last words Linda stated, “I appreciate everybody here, and I’m going to miss them

all.”

Guillermo Gutierrez, better known as Memo, will not be com-ing back next year. Students who only see his disciplinarian side might say, “YAY, WOO HOO!” But this news shocks and saddens the many students that really like him as well as the leadership class he taught; because Memo is a really

good person. Memo has been a rock solid assistant principal and he is going to be missed. Memo cared deeply for the students and after inter-viewing him this became even more

Karla’s history lessons have become history. After six years of teaching, Karla Marquez will waive the white flag after teaching Gov-

ernment this summer. Karla began teaching World History at Los Angeles Leadership Academy in 2010 and has taught three different subjects since then. Most students have a positive vibe about their experiences with her. The overall word from her students about learning in her class, would

be “fun”. “My favorite memory was when she danced in front of us,”

said Jasmine Ahumada.

obvious. “ I really care for the stu-dents and I will always keep them in my thoughts, my prayers, and

my heart,” Memo said. When asked what they felt about Memo’s departure, students

offered these opinions: “He was a very good assis-

tant principal.” “Some people might not like

him, but I do respect him.” “He was very cool person that really did a lot for the school

and really did improve it.” “He is really serious about

school and that’s why some people don’t like him, but he made a lot of

improvements for the school.” In a recent assembly, Mark honored Memo. noting that he has gone through a lot with the stu-dents even if it was just for a year. Memo is leaving because he had a “previous commitment” to anoth-

er school. “It was a like a journey for me,” he said, and we all helped him

get there. Memo and his caring atti-

tude will be missed.

Ever Vergara’s favorite memory of Karla is, “Everyday.”

Karla’s is leaving her history position in order to “ get my mas-ters in counseling.” Her program requires her to pursue intern-ships to complete her degree. Karla knows it would be “overwhelming” to try to do teaching and intern-

ship hours at the same time . She will not be leaving Los Angeles Leadership Academy, though. She will be an assistant of Erin, the college counselor, for 2012. Karla will be on campus twice a week completing ten of her

internship hours here.

“I am going to miss the teachers here, the relationships I have established, and I am going to miss the senior class,” Karla said.Most seniors at the time of Karla’s

arrival were in tenth grade. “I think I really learned a lot about teaching because I’m able to make people understand things,” Karla observed about why she suc-

ceeds with students. “In a nut shell,” Karla con-cluded, “ I’m someone who gives advice even if kids don’t want to hear it, and my relationships at

LALA aren’t over.”

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News & Features

How Our Garden Has GrownBy: Joy WooStaff Writer

Urban Farming is back! And the team is hoping to progress enough during the summer intern-ship program to have a salad bar when school is back in season. The Urban Farmers will continue with their ROE after school program and resume their daily credit class as well. New people will be joining the team to help provide education in

Urban Farming. Julia said that she is “hoping for the program to re-ally grow, with extra support from the community.” To follow through on these aspirations, the summer internship program will run from July 9th through August 3rd. The interns will work the farm, harvest the vegetables for the salad bar and teach younger kids at the pri-mary and middle school level about farming. An added bonus is that through the farming internship stu-dents will be able to complete their

volunteer hours! In concluding, Julia ex-pressed her “hope that Urban Farm-ing will continue to be a sustainable

project.” Urban Farming has big dreams and seems to be on the path to realizing them. To learn more about Urban Farming and what it does, you can Google “Ur-

ban Agriculture.”

The 2011-2012 school year is closing and this year Los Angeles Leadership Academy had the honor of graduating its first ever Kinder-

garten class. Friday, May 8, 2012 at the LALA Middle School Chapel, eager parents awaited to see their little munchkins receive their culmina-

tion certificate. The clock marked ten and the parents quieted down as the Spring Concert was about to com-mence. The concert was scheduled to include the whole primary per-forming a song or dance they had learned in their respective class. After each class gave their performance , Mercedez Ibarra, the primary principal recognized each student for completing their grade level as well as for being part of the

founding class of the Los Angeles Leadership Primary Academy.

The first students to kick off the ceremony were Miguel Ar-riaga’s first graders, who performed an amazing stepping routine. Near the end, the kids skipped around

all the delighted parents. The next act was from Ms . Maritza’s mathematician kinder-garteners, who interpreted a song in Spanish that talked about count-

ing numbers. Soon came the Mexican in-spired munchkins from Ms. Robles Kindergarten class. The boys wore sombreros with attached mus-taches and the girls wore long pat-

terned skirts. The parents chuckled as their eyes went back and forth from the stage to the back of the room

where Ms. Robles was dancing to guide some of her students.

Then came the final act, performed by Mr. Ignacio’s kinder-garten class. Ignacio explained that the song was one of the childrens favorites. This performance proved to be heart warming as the stu-dents embraced towards the end

like one big family. The festivities ended in each student’s classroom where many parents asked teachers to take a picture with his/her son or daughter. Other families opted to continue the festivities as they signed their son or daughter out to

take them to eat. Congratulations to all the

LALA cubs and their families!

Kindergarten GradsBy: Paola SnachezStaff Writer

LALA’s First College Graduates Los Angeles Leadership Academy’s first graduating class of 2008 was very small. With all of the dislocation resulting from the move from Koreatown to Lincoln Heights, there were only twenty-eight stu-dents in the graduating group. Of those pioneers, two students will become LALA’s first college gradu-

ates this June 17th. LaShanae Thomas will grad-uate from UC Riverside and Genola Thomas will be graduating from UC Santa Cruz. In a time when fewer and fewer students are graduat-ing in four years, this is quite an achievement. Add to that all the upheaval of LALA High School’s early years, and what these two young women have accomplished becomes all the more remarkable. Executive Director Roger Lowenstein and myself, LaSha-nae’s advisor for several years, will proudly be in attendance at the Riverside graduation. We will be beaming with pride and probably get a bit weepy as well. LaShanae

and Genola, we salute you!

By: Phyllis RosenAdvisor

Last month the entire school had an assembly at the basketball court to give our thanks and appreciation to the teachers of LALA. Many seniors and a few juniors gave short speeches about the teacher they most appreciate and why they are grateful to have them. Mark Campbell was one of the teachers that was really appre-ciated by many students, maybe because of his strict yet fun per-sonality. Every teacher received an appreciation from at least one student. Teachers should be appreci-ated because they come to school every single day and have to deal with some immature students ( not all of us are though). Yet they complain. When a teacher yells at you it doesn’t mean they’re mad but it actually means they care for the students they teach and want them to be successful. We, the students, should all be grateful for them - and we are. Not all students can be

The dreaded AP exams took place during the CST testing week. Some students were hyped up and ready to beast on the test, while others felt anxious and wanted just to be over with it. The seniors felt that they were very, very pre-pared for the English AP test due to Mark’s rigorous training, practice and the advice that he gave them. The juniors thought the AP test was all right and, overall, felt either neutral or confident about the test results. On the other hand, the seniors felt the AP Bio test was just a bomb. Several expressed the view that though they had cov-ered all the material, there was still something missing for them in feel-

ing prepared for the test. As for AP Calculus, people said it seemed easy. This was prob-ably one of the most confident ar-eas of the AP tests. Whether or not this confidence was justified will become clear when the test results

are known. All in all, upcoming AP stu-dents should not stress too much over the AP exams. As Jose Veles said, “Our teachers prepared us substantially for the tests, so don’t freak out because it isn’t that hard if you have the mental endurance and the ability to focus - then confi-

dence shall come naturally.”

William Seguritan is the go to guy for our school’s technology; he also cares very much about the students of Los Angeles Leader-ship Academy. He approached Executive Director Roger Lowen-stein about the dilemma of LALA students who cannot afford to buy laptops, which have become almost essential to academic achievement.Roger and Hewlitt- Packard have stepped in to the rescue. After William spoke passion-ately to Roger about the need for students to have laptops, Roger quickly responded to this good

AP TestsBy: Enkhbat BayarStaff Writer

HP Provides Free Laptops for

By: Bryan Thomas-LopezStaff Writer

Teacher Appreciation

By: Ever Vergara Staff Writer

perfect and act like saints but it is important to see how teachers work vigorously to prepare us to go to a good college and be successful. !e Teacher Appreciation Assembly was very important to teachers because they were recog-

nized by the students they taught for maybe four years. Sooner or later we all mature and by the time we become seniors we should have learned to value our teachers. What teacher do you appreciate?

News & Features

3

Week

idea. Roger is a man of action and, just as quickly, he approached a board member and presented the idea to him. The board member was also persuaded and soon after the HP company was contacted and agreed to donate 20 laptops to the 20 incoming freshmen with the highest G.P.A. (grade point aver-age). The administration hopes that next year this program will be ex-tended to all grade levels, especial-ly seniors. William told the Voice that, ideally, the first step will be giving laptops to the seniors that

meet these same requirements, plus the added one of being ac-cepted to a collge. That way, qualifying seniors will to have the laptops to use during their college years. William and Roger will continue to work on extending this exciting program into the upper grades. Their success will depend on the funding they can acquire from HP.

Senior, Marcela Zaragosa delivered apples to teachers.

Freshmen

News & Features

A group of Los Angeles Leadership Academy students were invited to produce a film for the Reagan Library’s education department, which is beginning to develop student content for its website. Eight students and two teachers went to the Reagan Li-brary to record footage about one of the library’s new exhibits. The student group consisted of Joy Woo, Adriana Soto, Angela Mal-donado, Jordan Blevins-Trevino, Pablo Saravia, Enkhbat Bayar, Alan John Y, and Jasmin Chavez. Phyllis Rosen and Karla Marquez were the accompanying teachers. The students were on a mission to capture film footage and interview museum staff. They hoped to create an educational, yet entertaining movie about the

Gulag exhibit. The Gulag exhibit featured the paintings of a man named Nikolai Getman. Getman was im-prisoned in a Soviet Gulag for 10 years, simply for witnessing his friends draw a picture of Stalin on a piece of cigarette paper. After Getman was released from the Gulag, he made paintings in secret. These paintings were brought to the United States, even-tually winding up at the Reagan Library. The visiting students did not limit their visit to the Gulag exhibit. They also saw a piece of the Berlin Wall and Air Force One. In a short while, you will be able to view their finished film on the Reagan Library website.

dent Academy Awards screening where a former and current Acad-emy awards team would be voting on nine different student films. The film that was decided to be the best would then be nominated for an Oscar for the student’s amazing work of producing and directing it. The students left LALA around 10:15 am and arrived at The Academy Awards Publicity build-ing around eleven. Breakfast was served in a large lobby surrounded by photographs from French mov-ies around the 1950’s to the late 1960’s. To reach the the screen-ing rooms you climbed stairs a long red carpet and at the top of it all there were huge models of Os-cars in each corner of the second floor. These replicas of the familiar statues were as big as three people

stacked. Nine films were screened that day. The first was Nani, about a boy named Oscar who was caught spraying graffiti. Because of this he had to pay community service at a nursing home where he then meets 84-year-old Isabel and builds

a friendship.

On Saturday, May fifth, our wonderful librarian Eileen Peterson treated two students - Alanjohn and Becka Garcia - to an amazing day. Eileen brought them to a Stu-

The second movie was Mr.

Bellpond where a once celebrated playwright was consumed by guilt

after his wife vanishes.The third was called Hatch; this movie was about a couple who had to make wrenching decisions on a wintry night in Vienna after get-ting buried in the ground by a snow

storm. Contra El Mar was the fourth film and it was about a hus-band’s job of being a deep sea div-er to provide for his family and save his fishing boat, his own wife disap-

proves of this job. Requited was about a man named John who is betrayed by his lifelong friend, Jimmy, during a heist while deciding to keep a un-

wanted-stolen baby. The next film was called The Recorder Exam which was about a 9-year-old named Eunee who anxiously prepares for her re-corder exam as she struggles to find a place within her own fam-ily. Narcocorrido was the third to last film about a drug ballad in the Mexican folk music tradition,

Reagan Library By: Jordan Blevins- TrevinoStaff Writer

Inside the Student Academy AwardsBy: Becka GarciaStaff Writer

4

and it gives a mythic view of seedy border tales of the modern west.

The second to last film was called Benny. This was about an overweight teenager who revisits a friend from his past who is now a

fitness trainer. The very last film was named Under and this one was about a relapsed drug addict who is convinced to journey to a country

cabin by her fiancéй. Overall, seeing these mov-ies were really something unforget-table. All of them related to me in one way or another and when the curtains opened to show the first short film, Nani, I was surprised to see that I knew the main actor, Oscar. We went to middle school

together. From all nine of these mov-ies I’d say Narcocorrido was my favorite because my family and friends have always faced the con-flict with immigration and I’ve been

around it all my life.

Festival of the ArtsBy: Joy WooStaff Writer

On May 30th, 2012 LALA’s Festival of the Arts was held in Tan-ya’s room. The Art festival included a variety of activities - an Art walk, Talent Show, and the Film Festival. The Art Walk wel-comed peole in at 3:00 to enjoy the wide variety of student art that was exhibited. People were wel-comed to buy the art and some art was sold from prices ranging from $1 up to $20. This showed that the

art itself was magnificent. When the talent show began, Jose Velez and his crew started it off by singing a few songs. The crowd loved them, es-peially Manny DeLeon’s drum solo. Next came Zuleyma Guiller-mo, who sang a beautiful folk song that was meant for her mother. Jas-min Prado sang a Christian song; she performed it so beautifully that the audience demanded an encore

later on in the show. Finally, at 6:30, it was time for the screening of the four stu-

dent films. Sadly, many people left after the talent show and missed out on this treat. Kimberly Pena stated, “It was lame because al-most everybody left by the time the

screening had started.” But as the screening began, those who remained enjoyed the films and showed their apprecia-tion through laughter and admir-ing comments. Students discussed their films with the audience after the viewing and took questions. Overall, people were surprised at

how good the films were. The Festival of the Arts had a few problems here and there, but the imperfections made it perfect. The opportunity for stu-dents to exhibit their talents gave art a new meaning and power. As Isabel Fong stated for her nail art table, “You define your own vision

of art.”

Prom: Two Views Grad Nite 2012Class of 2012 Senior Section

While the rest of the school was taking their CST’s, the Class of 2012 met on the basketball courts on Wednesday, May 16, to have lunch before heading to one of the most exciting senior activi-ties, GradNite. This unique senior luncheon was coordinated by ROE staff and Diane from FIPSE, would be accompanying the seniors to

Disneyland. Seniors met at noon, ate a yummy lunch and were congratu-lated publicly with the announce-ments of their college intentions for the fall. By two o’clock the se-niors were in the bus and ready to hit the road. (See article on page 8

for hilarious details.) Once at Disneyland, the se-niors split into their usual social groups and almost everyone head-ed directly for California Adven-ture. The main attraction there was Tower of Terror. The wait to get on was not too bad, about forty min-utes and for most students it was the highlight of all of the rides. Other favorites included Space Mountain and the California Screamin’ Coaster. LALA students were pretty obsessed by looking at pictures of themselves on these

scary rides. Many girls checked out the

new Little Mermaid Ride, which Nat-alie Morales insists is “a beautiful ride.” Though pretty to look at, it

wasn’t much for excitement. Grizzly River Run was popu-lar and lots of fun but posed some problems. Many groups waited to go on the ride at 8:00 pm. It was already cold out by then so getting

wet led to discomfort and chills. Many students had been to Disneyland before but not Guada-lupe Ruiz. She shared that, “ It was my first time going to Disneyland and it was more special because I got to spend time with my friends.” Everyone agreed that Gradnite got better at ten o’clock when the general public was kicked out - that meant shorter lines and more rides to go on. Around the same time, Disneyland set up in front of the castle where they had a dj playing music; the goal was to simulate a club. The whole environment be-

came more festive. The night for LALA seniors ended at two a.m. Everybody had a fun time and wished they had stayed longer. As Neftaly Gonzalez said, “It would have been better if we would have stayed for the fire-

works show.”

Prom 2012 was a blast for some, and for others it turned out to be just a hangout place with re-

ally loud music. Dinner was to be served promptly at 7:30pm - that was the plan. It turned out dinner was served after 8:00 pm because not everyone arrived by 7:30pm. Din-ner began with a salad, appetizer with bread and butter, then came a dinner that was “just a little like

Royal Dining food.” Yes, the food was some-what similar to school food, espe-cially the chicken, which was a bit dry and had a funny taste to it. On the other hand, the mashed pota-toes were the best. The seniors seemed to be more attracted to the drinks and the candy table. Af-terwards, dessert was served, red velvet cheesecake, which was very

good. Another attraction at the table was the center piece: a fish within a cylindrical tank and rocks. In the end all the fishes ended up

dying, except for Renee’s table. The loud music proved too much for the auditory and mecha-nosensory lateral line systems (their ears). Something that could have improved the music was more variation in the type of music the DJ played, which was rave and Reg-

gaeton. The most common com-ment about prom was, “It was al-

right.” Overall, prom was a fun night where everyone hung out, hummed, and grooved to the beats.

From pretty dresses to el-egant suits, on May 25th the senior class of 2012 prepared with excite-

ment for prom! For the most part, the young ladies in attendance seem to have made excellent choices on how to dress for the occasion. There were long, lovely dresses accompanied by beautiful faces with hair and

make up done professionally. Everyone looked great, the night was amazingly well put to-gether, and even though the DJ was not as great, everyone had a good

time. A great addition to this year’s prom was a photo booth where everyone could take pic-tures for free. The seniors enjoyed the photo booth and took as many pictures as they could with their friends. The booth also provided accessories to make the pictures more memorable and fun. How-ever the booth was only there until 10;00pm so people had to take ad-

vantage. The time to announce the prom queen, king, princess and prince then arrived and everyone was anxious to hear the results. The lucky winners were Stephanie Lovos as prom queen, Ignacio Ahu-mada as prom king, Natalie Morales prom princess and Chris Lagunas as prom prince. They had their slow dance and the night continued to

go smoothly. “A Night to Remember”

lived up to its name.

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By: Enkbat Bayar By: Zulma RamosStaff Writer Staff Writer

By: Paola Sanchez and Angelica AjanelStaff Writer

L.A. Sports Museum By: Jose VelezStaff Writer

Class of 2012 Senior Section

Downtown on South Main Street lies a museum dedicated to the triumph, history, legends and innovators of the sports world. The man responsible for this collec-tion of amazing artifacts is, Gary Cypres, described by the LA Times “as a snowy-haired Willy Wonka of

sports memorabilia.” Mr. Cypres is also a friend of Allen Rudnick, who helps teach Eco-nomics here at Los Angeles Leader-ship Academy. Allen arranged for the senior class to visit this sports

shrine as a CST week activity. Los Angeles city attorney Rob Owens has called this col-lection “the Louvre of the sports world”. And that’s exactly what Gary Cypres has - a great collec-tion of sports memorabilia so ex-tensive that you cannot simply see everything that is in the museum.

You think you have seen the coolest thing ever, you turn the corner, and what’s that? Babe Ruth’s coaching uniform that he wore when he was the Brooklyn Dodger coach. Then you turn another corner and see the uniform Hank Aaron wore when he hit his famous record-breaking

home run. Cypres, started collecting baseball cards that came in pack-ets of gum as a boy in the 1950’s.

Rare and collectible cards are now worth in the six figures, with a 1909-1911 Honus Wagner recently selling for $2,800,000. Mr. Cypres owns an Honus Wagner himself,

but it is too valuable to display. The Museum isn’t limited to America’s pastime when it comes to the variety of items on display. He has items from the early years of football to its glory days in the late

50’s, which includes autographed jerseys from quarterback Johnny Unitas, or running back great Wal-ter Payton. He also has items from boxing, like an autographed robe from the legendary Muhammad Ali. This collection can turn anyone into a little kid again. It is hoped that next year’s seniors can experience this amazing museum.

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Sequoia Camping TripBy: Angelica AjanelStaff Writer

On Friday June 1st, twenty-four fun-loving and adventurous seniors met in the school’s cafete-ria with bags, sleeping bags, and a positive attitude, ready to hit the road for their destination, Lake Isabella. Along with the seniors came chapeones Phyllis Rosen, Ashley Daly, Guillermo Gutierrez, and Jordan Chase. There were three vans in which the seniors would be travel-ing and Phyllis followed in her car with her dog, Lola. The seniors packed their things into the vans efficiently and were ready to go by nine o’ clock. After two and a half hours of driving the first destination ws the Trail of 100 Giants. There lunch was handed out and the seniors ate beneath the huge trees of the forest. When they were done eating they all grabbed their water bottle and hats and got ready to walk the trail. On this trail you come across many giant and beautiful Sequoia trees which have been there for a long time. The students were having a fun time exploring and taking pictures of the giant tree. Once they were done walking the trail they got back on the van and were headed to Lake Isabella. After an hour’s journey, they got to the lake and started to unload the vans and set up their tents. While some relaxed, many of the students headed down to the lake where they swam or prac-ticed learning to swim. Later in the afternoon Ashley and Jordan made chicken

fajitas for dinner. For dessert we gathered around the campfire and made s’mores. After the fire was put out seniors headed to their tents, though many of them did not go to sleep right away. Chris Johnson’s laugh could be heard throughout the campground. The next day some seniors started rising at six because they were woken up by the beautiful sunrise. Many said that they didn’t sleep well because of the ground being too hard. But that wasn’t the case for Cynthia Nava because she was really prepared and took a huge inflatable mattress. Early in the morning Adam Panucci, a beloved English teacher that left last year, joined us at the

lake. Later that day, bacause of the extreme heat, we went to a shaded river and played for about four hours. The menu for Saturday was French toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner, and delicious banana boats for dessert. After dessert seniors gathered around the campfire where they shared their highs and lows of the trip. The seniors kept on talking and singing until the campfire extinguished. That night was un-forgettable because it felt like we were all a family. Sunday morning came, and everyone got up and started to pack up and put away their tents.

After everyone were done eating breakfast, cleaning up, and load-ing the vans we hit the road and were headed back home. We made a stop at In-n-Out for lunch and concluded the trip by getting in a circle and every senior named a person who they were thankful for. Hillary Chavez said, “The camping trip was one of the most memorable experiences I had at LALA. I had a chance to interact with other seniors on a more pro-found level than just seeing them at school everyday.” The trip was a success; everyone had an amazing time and most important a memorable last trip as a class.

Class of 2012 Senior Section

7

Senior Last WordsZulma: I want to thank all my amazing teachers for encourag-ing me to continue.Thank you to Mark, and Phyllis for always being there. Also thanks to all my friendsfor helping me keep my sanity this last year.

Paola: In minimal words, LALA and the memories I shared with friends, teachers, and staff will always bring a smile and in some cases laughter to my life. I’ll miss the table.

Jose: High school was cool, teach-ers were great, lunch was bad, and now we all move toward the future. What a long strange trip its been in Foreman’s bsement.

Chris C: Failure is not an option.

Brenda: Decisions are being made right now. The question is: are you making them for yourself, or are you letting other make them for you?

Amanda: Everyone has their own special path and their own strug-gles so judgement is never right; be humble and enjoy every single minute of your life because tomor-row is never promised.

Marcela: there will always be op-portunities, it will be up to you to take them. Surround yourself with people who challenge and believe in you. Kippster FO’ Life!

Marvin: Santa Barbara!!!

Stephanie S: Although I can’t wait to get out, I will miss everyone that has helped me.

Samantha: Im going to miss this crazy school. I’ve had a lot of memories in this school and i’ve met a lot of good people here and made great friendships along theway.

Elizabeth: I’m going to miss LALA. Even though some of us didn’t get along, we were still close. I’m going to miss this dysfunctional school the most and my friends.

Francisco M: I’m going to miss my friends and teachers at LALA, but my future is awaiting…Let’s go HOPE College in Holland, Michi-gan!

Daisy: I’m actually going to miss people. Not everyone but mostly everyone. I was fighting with peo-ple to keep a distance but some-how I just got attached to every-one and I love them all. Especially y friends who were always there for me when I needed them.

Natalie: These four years have been transforming. I have gained and lost people in my life but I am grateful for my friends who have stuck with me through it all.Running around, eating bad food, and creating memories that will last forever. Thank you to Mark and Brian who have always aided me in my times of struggle. Final-ly, High school is over: Thank God. Go Bruins!

Renee: I will continue my path, but keep a memory always.

Hillary: Great accomplishments begin with something simple as a dream.

Ruth: We don’t fully understand how important and valuable our teachers are. In Vietnam, people worship their teachers; we give them an apple. I will never for-get what my teachers have done for me. They basically raised me. Thank you.“I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well”

Yarisma: Dream big, Live big.

Oscar: The Hundreds.

Gilbert: Take advantage of all your opportunities.

Chris L: Enjoy the best things in your life because you ain’t gonna get to live it twice. P.S. Will you go to prom with me?

Ashley: Scars remind us where we’ve been, they don’t have to dictate where we are going; so live your life to the fullest and enjoy your new beginning.

Jasmin: Enjoy your life and make the best of it. Remember with effort and dedication anything is possible.

Andrew: Progress has its ups and downs but it really all comes down to hard work which everyone is capable of.

Francisco C: Follow what you love, don’t let others become your voice.

Kimberly: Class of 2012, we to-tally freakin made it :)

Cristina: Beware of senioritis! Other than that, love LALA, there’s no other school like it. As much as you complain you all love it 10 times more! Class of 2012 b*****! ;)

Stephanie L: Don’t be afraid to be yourself! Fight for what’s right and don’t procrastinate. Class of 2012!

Josue: Take care of your body and it will take care of you.

Arnaldo: You’ve been dykified!

Class of 2012 Senior Section

8

Paula Alarcon- Mount St Mary’s

Angelica Ajanel- Cal State LA

Kimberly Barajas- Pasadena Community College

Oscar Barraza- Undecided

Enkhbat Bayar-Institute of Finance and Economics of Mongolia

Chris Casillas- Cal State Northridge

Karely Castaneda- Pasadena City College

Ashley Chavez- UC Riverside

Hillary Chavez- Kenyon Col-lege

Yarisma Deleon- Cal State LA

Kenny Fernandez – ELAC

Elizabeth Flores- Cal State Northridge

Pamela Fuentes-Hope Col-lege

Ruth Galaviz- Brandeis University

Cristina Garcia- Mount St. Mary’s College

Amanda Gonzalez- Cal State LA

Neftaly Gonzalez - Whittier College

Marlene Guillermo- Cal State Northridge

Marvin Gutierrez – UCSB

Genesis Hernandez - Undecided

Josue Hernandez- Undecided

Maria Hernandez- Cal State East Bay

Solmayra Jacobo- Cal State LA

Anakaren Jarquin- Undecided

Chris Johnson- Long Beach Community College

Chris Lagunas- Cal State Northridge

Stephanie Lovos- Cal State Channel Islands

Francisco Mendez-Hope College

Natalie Morales- UCLA

Cynthia Nava- Undecided

Ricardo Nava- Undecided

Steven Nunez – Cal State East Bay

Javier Olmos - Cal State LA

Manuel Ortega- Cal StateFullerton

Arnaldo Parada- LACC

Jasmine Prado- Cal State LA

Samantha Ramirez- Cal State East Bay

Zulma Ramos- Cal StateDominguez Hills

Renee Rivas- Pasadena City College

Gilbert Rodriguez- Cal State LA

Susan Ruelas- Cal State Northridge

Guadalupe Ruiz- Undecided

Andrew Samayoa- Cal State LA

Daisy Sanchez- Pasadena City College

Paola Sanchez- Smith College

Stephanie Serrano – Univer-sity of La Verne

Brenda Solis- Mount St. Mary’s

Narvy Vasquez- Pasadena Community College

Jose Velez- Tulane University

Marcela Zaragoza- Kalamazoo College

College Destinations

9

News & Features

Who is that...

Social Justice Open HouseBy: Kevin Ferman & Kasey SierraStaff Writers

Almost everyone who attends LA Leadership or works at LA Leadership High School is known in our small community. We are very friendly to one an-other, help each other out when in need and most importantly, we’re respectful. We all walk around the halls greeting one another but nevertheless have sometimes asked ourselves, who is that? When one of our former students Pablo Espinoza was asked if he knew who Suzanne was he said “Who? Who is Suzanne?” Suzanne Criley is our school’s Operation Director. She helps oversee all of the non-in-structional aspects of the school in-cluding human resources, "nance, and some compliance matters. Suzanne has worked with LA Leadership for about three years as part time job. Suzanne feels good about working at LA Leader-ship because it’s very di#erent from what she used to do, which was being a lawyer. Suzanne appreciates how LALA has a great ability to com-municate and how everyone works to make this a great place to go to school. Stop by her tiny closet of an o$ce, which is located right across from our Principals Linda Igoe’s o$ce.

By: Kasey SierraStaff Writer

...tall blonde lady in the tiny office?

Bus Fiasco On June 16th the senior class took off for senior Grad Nite. The excitement was obvi-ous among the seniors. However, they were not expecting to have a little bus adventure! Nor were they expecting to be lined up against a wall like a bunch of criminals on a hot afternoon. There was anxiety and frustration, as one of the tires of the bus went flat. The bus had just emerged onto the freeway on the way to Disneyland when it came to a sudden stop in the middle of the freeway. With 45 students aboard and four ROE staff members, the bus driver was very worried. However some of the seniors made an adventure out of the incident. Others were upset because they were the cause of traffic. Also it was very hot in the bus since it had no air conditioner. Everyone had to sit tight in their seats while waiting for the tow truck and the back up bus. The students waited a good thirty minutes in desperation to get pulled out of the middle of

the freeway. Finally when the tow truck showed up there was a little surprise - the truck was accompa-nied by the sheriff patrol. The students were not at all expecting the sheriff to escort them out the freeway and into the back up bus. Before re-entering, the ROE staff wanted to count everyone and for this the police had them line up against a build-ing away from the traffic. Kevin Delgado compared the experience to immigrants being held at the border.

The seniors were finally happily on their way to Disney-land, ignorant of the fact that they would have another moment of frustration. The bus driver missed the Disney exit about three times. The seniors were upset because they couldn’t wait to have fun. At the end the bus driver exited cor-rectly but had difficulties finding the parking space. The seniors were glad to get off the bus and prayed that on their way back the bus driver would have less troubles.

!ursday, May 31, 2012 L.A. Leadership Middle School held its "rst Social Justice/ Open House Event. !e purpose of the event was to publicize how our school addresses many social justice issues and to show how the work of the high, middle, and elementary school students really makes a di#erence and impact on our community, Lincoln Heights. Students who attended or created exhibits for the event were given community hours for their service. Over all everything went well for a "rst-time event. Teachers went out of their way to provide snacks for the parents and students spent hours working on the proj-ects that were presented. !e Middle School Assis-tant Principal, Jessicah Rolapp, who really looks forward to making this an annual event, hosted the Social Justice Open House. When asked how she felt the event was recieved she said, “I feel like this event will be extremely successful”. Each Middle School advi-sory was given a choice of a social

justice issue that they would like to present. !ey then researched it and made it into a project, with the emphasis being to link the project to somehow giving back to the community. Some of the projects included ethnic identity posters, bullying and an elementary art exhibit. In the multi-purpose room,

a Scholastic Bookfair was held for the "rst time at LA Leadership in order to highlight the importance of reading in academic success. !e Social Justice/ Open House Event was a great way to show our leadership skills and to make others aware of what is going on in our community.

By: Zulma RamosStaff Writer

10

LALA Smash FacesWhat is your favorite

word(s)?

What three things could you not live

without?

Who would you like to change lives with for

a day, if you could?

If you could travel any-where in the world, where would you go?

Who would play Frank/ Adrian in a movie?

If you were to write a book about Frank/ Adrian what would

you name it?

What!

Family, House, and Friends

Lebron James

Paris

Jackie Chan

Los Asians

Yo!

Family, Music, and Friends

Ramon Sessions

Paris

Rodrick from Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Ballin’

News & Features

What senior are you most like?1.Which one of the fol-lowing TV shows is your favorite?

A) That 70’s Show

B) That 70’s Show

C) Big Bang Theory/ Gossip Girl

D) Criminal Minds

2.Which country would you like to live in?

A) England

B) Czechoslovakia

C) Mexico

D) U.S

3.If you were run-ning out of your burn-ing house, what item would you grab?

A) My records

B) Ipod

C) Family Photos

D) Computer

4. What is your favorite drink?

A) Dr. Pepper

B) Arizona Raspberry Ice Tea

C) Tea

D) Vitamin Water

5.Who would you like to meet the most?

A) Robert De Niro

B) Jeff Kemp

C) Gwen Stafani

D) Mr. Capone

6. Where do you see yourself in ten years?

A) Working and drinking my-self into a coma

B) Dodger Stadium

C) Opening my own KIPP in Mexico

D) Working in a federal prison

If you answered mostly:

A’s you are most like Jose Velez

B’s you are most like Steven Nunez

C’s you are most like Marcy Zaragosa

D’s you are most like Cynthia Nava

11

The rising junior classes of 2013 are seen to be the “bright stars” of LA Leadership Academy High school. However, it is often forgotten that one mistake can se-

verely tarnish a reputation. In March, hard-working Col-lege Counselor Erin Kim arranged a trip to San Francisco, giving the op-portunity to ten juniors to go and visit colleges. This trip was intend-ed to give the ten juniors a taste of diversity, motivation, and, most im-

portantly, responsibility. However, it was discovered later that seven of the ten students that were on the trip engaged in rule breaking actions. These ac-tions allegedly consisted of illegal drugs, and breaking curfew; which was brought to light because of pic-tures and posts discovered on Face-

book. Since the start of student interaction on Facebook, there has been controversy in the LALA community as to pictures, posts, student actions outside of school that appear on this popular social media website. Last February, there were several incidents that resulted in the suspension of students be-cause of their posts and pictures that were seen by faculty on Face-book. Many students fail to realize the importance of a social media network and the negative affects it

may have on their reputation. The seniors that went on the San Francisco trip in 2011 were shocked when they heard the news of the juniors’ misdeeds. “That trip really made me feel excited for col-lege, it gave me something to look forward for to,” said Jose Velez. The actions of these few students impacted many, especial-ly next year’s juniors who will be watched very carefully and whose trip might be altered because of

this year’s issues. Unfortunately, the seven students that were caught in infrac-tions were all either members or po-tential members of the Leadership Council; two of them were newly elected officers. This sparked con-troversy amongst many groups at LALA as to how the punishment

would be meted out. At an assembly on Friday, May 31st, the juniors who were members of leadership council apologized to the entire student body. (Their leadership positions were also revoked.) This experi-ence has humbled the staff and students of LALA. Like the family we are, we try to mix discipline with the the sense of forgiveness and support in learning from mistakes. As the students continue to grow, the school is trying to emphasize,

“Learn from your mistakes.”

Junior Apology

Los Angeles Leadership Academy is a big “give back to the community” kind of school. Every LALA student is expected to do

thirty service hours every year. For LALA seniors, service hours are a really big thing. The seniors have their privileges taken away from them if they do not do their hours. That includes having your diploma withheld at gradua-

tion. Hours are easy to get. Stu-dents can work for a volunteer group away from school, do the hours in school, or pay the school five dollars per hour. This way ev-eryone’s official transcript reflects that they have met this requirement and they have learned the value of giving to the community instead of

just taking what it offers. Not everyone feels this way about service hours, however. Some just do them because they have to. One of these people is a freshman, Juan Espinoza, who will do his ser-vice hours helping out the urban farming project. Juan says that he likes farming and that is the only way that he will do service hours.

Another reluctant worker is Irene Osequera. She did half of her hours and paid for half. “ I didn’t

Service HoursBy: Oscar Isem-VillatoroStaff Writer

want to do them but I did because I had to”.

Others just shrug it off and don’t even think about them. Rossy Rodriguez is one of these. She said that she would not be returning next year so there is no point in do-

ing them. Others, like Bryan Lopez, actually enjoy doing service hours. Bryan helps out William for his ser-

vice hours. Frank Nishihura also en-joyed doing his service hours. He claims to have gone to help out at the middle school for all of them.

There are many different opinions on service hours. Most people do not seem to care about them but most of them do it any-way. The important thing for every-one to remember is that LA Leader-ship does not do this to punish its students. LA Leadership does this to give back to the community and to teach us values that will help us

later on in life.

By: Natalie MoralesStaff Writer

What is your favorite word(s)?

What three things could you not live

without?

Who would you like to change lives with for

a day, if you could?

If you could travel any-where in the world, where would you go?

Who would play Zul-ma/ Natalie in a mov-

ie?

If you were to write a book about Zulma/ Natalie what would

you name it?

Brodie!

My phone, niece, and cheese

Captain America

Germany

Selena when she was still biri biri bummin’

The Young and the Restless

You’re a bully!

My phone, music, and my bed

Paola, because I would like to see how she really acts at home.

Spain

That one brunette, Kat Dennings.

The Puder Adven-tures

LALA Smash Faces

12

Pictures & Reviews

Arts Festival 2012

Snow White and The Hunstman In a twist to the fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a huntsman is convinced by an evil queen to capture the king’s daugh-

ter. The princess has run away from the castle after her father’s

death, committed by the queen. The Queen is in need of Snow White’s fair and pure heart inorder to remain beautiful and age-

less forever as well as having tostop worrying about her power be-

ing taken away. Throughout the movie the huntsman, not recognizing Snow White, meets her and becomes a

mentor and protector. They become more and more attached. Eventually he finds out the truth of who she really is

and how powerful she is. The movie ends with Snow White becoming queen after the

death of the hated evil queen. For a fairy tale, Snow White contains really exciting action se-

By: Becka GarciaStaff Writer

quences. Like all good fairy tales,a world that is dark is transformed by the people’s faith in Snow White and her goodness. Visually this is a really beautiful film and very sat-isfying, though not recommended

for young children.

The Avengers

2012’s top movie money maker, so far, goes to The Aveng-ers directed by Joss Whedon. Mar-vel has succeeeding in bringing to the screen, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawk-eye and Black Widow in one film, as the group named “The Avengers.” These superheroes are try-ing to stop Loki, the everyday vil-

lain, from taking over the world. The Avengers are just an-other team “superpower”, who have to work together because they all have special personalities and tal-ents that will help stop the villain. The plot is that their alle-giance falls apart because they all have high egos. Eventually they

realize they need each other. Black Widow’s appearance begins the film’s conflict but for a superhero movie, there isn’t nearly enough action. There isn’t really any fighting until the very end when the team reunites to save New York

City. Though it has a large and famous cast, it wasn’t an awe-some film, as it failed to live up to the high expectations of the audi-

By: Pablo EspinozaStaff Writer

ence. I recommend The Avengers if you’re stuck at home watching “Keep-ing up with the Kardashians”. Or if your mother or father ask you to pick between watching The Aveng-

ers or doing chores.