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The Official Student Paper of Riverside Poly High School

Seniors Weigh in on High School Experiences

May 17, 2022

What was your favorite book you had to read here at Poly? Why?

  • A Mans Search for meaning: It was a dark sickening story that provided a level or realism that is hard to find in some books.- Brianna Garcia
  • Of Mice and Men: Interesting take on morality and mercy – Anthony Quintos
  • Night by Ellie Wiesel: I dived into the book and felt connected. I could feel his emotions and could see the scenery in my head. Amazing book overall.- Elijah Najera
  • Lord of the Flies: My teacher made it fun! – Darolyn Shipley
  • Fahrenheit 451: I found it was the most interesting and kept me hooked as I was able to understand it. – Brianna Magana
  • The Things They Carried: It interested me the most, because I had the most connection to it. It also helped me with the fact that it gave lessons as to how to write a novel based on war. – Mia Zell
  • The Great Gatsby: I enjoyed the time era and how successful the class discussions were!! – Kamryn Kasper
  • The Glass Castle: It had different situations within the story. Also, I like that the book was based on a true story.- Briseida Bedolla
  • The Crucible: I felt the drama in the story (play) really added to its message, and learning the history behind it was a bold move. – Louis Harbauer
  • MacBeth: It had a great storyline and message. – Kaitlin Allison

Which class and/or teacher prepared you THE MOST for life after high school?

  • Mr Van: He gave a very real approach to teaching, and made us work in groups and learn from each other.- Kassandra Sorto
  • Economics: I need to understand the economy before I head out into the world. – Adrian Castanada
  • English – Ms. Cunningham – She prepared me the most for life after high school because she doesn’t treat you like a baby but also does understand you as a person rather than just a student.She helps us with other things not just literature , weather it be just giving us life advice, or answering questions of college and more, helping us and guiding us. And she built a relationship with mostly every student. She listens to us about almost anything we have to say and she takes care of us as if we were her kids.- Saira Cantano
  • AVID – Mr. Schulte: I was able to learn that a lot of my life is under my own control and actions have consequences. – Lizbeth Veloz
  • Math – Mr. Finwall – He taught us about important things like how to do taxes. – Eden Johnson
  • Choir – Mrs. Walton: Choir classes gave me passion for music which is what I’m majoring in college. – Jerden Patillo
  • Financial Algebra: It taught me how to spend and invest in the real world. – Daniel Calizto
  • MRWC – It taught me a new approach to math that wasn’t so much about the actual formulas as much as it was about how to apply them. – Louis Harbauer
  • English – Ms. Marlowe: She prepared me the most for life after high school because she taught us things that would help us in the future. – Michael Bautista
  • French – Madame Kund: She prepared me the most for life after school. She always gives the best advice, whether it is French or non-French related. My favorite quote from her is “Unless you feel unsafe, NEVER SAY NO!”- Jamie Tovar
  • Theater – Markermorse – He prepared me through student led independence and leadership qualities to make me a leader. – Andrew Callow
  • Economics/Government – Mr. Booth: He taught us a lot of valuable life lessons that will benefit us in the future.- Cindy Sanchez
  • Ms. Marlowe, her straight forward attitude, and her strive to get stuff done and give 100% really does inspire me. She has taught to give 100% on everything I do. I also think she is fair and never will be unfair.- Madelyn Johnston
  • Baseball – Mr. Ermert – He taught me the importance of hard work and good values- Mark Coward
  • French – Madame Kund – She prepared me the most for life after school. She always gives the best advice, whether it is French or non-French related. My favorite quote from her is “unless you feel unsafe, NEVER SAY NO!”

What was your most embarrassing high school memory?

  • Tripping in front of the gym- Angelita Rico
  • Getting hit by a basketball in front of a crowd – Karina Rosales
  • When I hit myself in the face with a hockey stick during PE.- Saira Catano
  • Dropping my phone in the restroom into the other stall while someone was in there. – Emily Lara
  • When I was performing with choir and I dropped my papers on stage while performing. Thank goodness my teacher didn’t notice but some of the crowd did- Zalyn Rivera
  • My bad haircut freshman year. – Simone Van Gasteren
  • Getting asked to prom in front of other people – Kaia Paulo
  • I walked out of the bathroom with toilet paper on my butt and walked like a mile around campus until someone told me…- Montana Rocha
  • I fell into mud and had to change my pants after waiting in the office for my parents to bring new ones. – Jude Lamb
  • The entirety of freshman year. – Darolyn Shipley
  • When I was getting dressed in virtual learning and I didn’t know my camera was on, so everyone saw me shirtless. – Cole Clark
  • That y=mx+b will almost never be used in our lives. – Nicholas Morales

Who is your “secret” high school crush?

  • Steven from baseball team LOL – Angelito Roco
  • Melanie Herrera has got to be the most beautiful girl I’ve laid my eyes upon, but I’m way too nervous to go to talk to her. Hopefully this gets my message out to her. – Joshua Reid
  • Joseph Nieto – Lizbeth Veloz
  • Alyssa Taylor – Daniel Navarro
  • The Queen of England – Davin Ledbetter
  • Daniel Navarro – Spencer McCree
  • Your mom – Landon Strickland
  • Nunya B. Zness – Jude Lamb
  • Coby Lotts – Madelyn Johnston
  • My Inifiniti q40, because I work hard everyday for it to sit and look nice and pretty.
  • Nicollett DeLorenzo – Amir Hariri
  • Aaliyah Artry – Andrew Callow
  • Valerie Copado – Raul Soanto-Sanchez
  • William Rivera – Sean Pineda
  • Andrew De La Ossa – Yessica Torres
  • Jack Stone – Yasmine Romero
  • Crystal Leon – Luis Cardona
  • Shawn Mendes – Salma El-Hiraki
  • Robert Pattinson – Monica Gonzalez
  • Kieran McAllister – Amaia Ambriz

What was an important “lesson learned” during high school for you?

  • The best time to do things is right now, and later always comes sooner than expected. – Orbel Diaz
  • If someone isn’t going to be honest and good to you, the probably aren’t worth your time. It was a hard lesson to learn but a necessary one. – Mitchell Babcock
  • To be “chill” with everyone. – Tristen Garcia
  • No matter how hard you try it is NOT always going to be easy. – Kassandra Sorto
  • Talking to people always helps your mood improve. – Joseph Nieto
  • Always go to class and never fall behind.- Angelita Rico
  • You have to try everything that opportunity throws at you or else you will miss out on important experiences. – Caleb Young
  • Try to slow down, because now that I’m at the end of this journey it’s getting very real that I have to figure out what I’m doing for the rest of my life. – Soren Peterson
  • Not everyone is going to like you, and not everyone has to like you. – Owen White.
  • How important grades are and not to slack off. – Mason Duarte
  • High school is such a short part of a person’s life, so enjoy it while it lasts. – Nathan Ramirez
  • Try hard in all of your classes even if you don’t think you are going to go to college, because things will change, and you might regret not trying hard enough. – Crystal Leon
  • Keep your head up at all times. Periods of difficulty are temporary. – Andrea Rea-Vargas
  • Love everyone – Yes! – Reanna Gonzales
  • Lesson learned during football – stay disciplined. – Richard Aguayo
  • Don’t try to impress others, just worry about impressing yourself because you only need your own approval. – Marcus Miller

Who is your favorite teacher here at Poly?  Why?

  • Mr. Markermorse: His passion for theater always made class exciting and you could tell he really cared about his students. – Amaia Ambriz
  • Mr. Booth: He can make the most boring material funny. It makes Gov/Econ bearable. – Monica Gonzalez
  • Mr. Mckinnie: He has taught me many things and is just an amazing teacher. – Kaitlin Allison
  • Mrs. Martinez: She makes an effort to really connect with students personally to help them with their future. – Bethie Clinkenbeard
  • Ms. Rahman: She is my bestfriend. – Mo Flores
  • Mrs. Williams: She actually cares about her students and wanting to show them the fun in life. She creates a bond with all of her students to know they are loved and always wanted. – Lyndsey Brown
  • Mr. Day: He would always respect me and help me out when I need help. He was just nice to me. – Mario Paez
  • Mrs. Arceo: She taught me how to relearn and enlarge my Spanish. – Julie Valencia
  • Ms. Marlowe: Even though she is strict on us at times, she always pushes us to our full potential and wants the best for us. She has really helped me become a better writer and truly inspires me to be the amazing person she is each and every day. – Yasmine Romero
  • Chef Lovett: He has always been there for me and would always try to make the class a positive place to be in. He is the kindest and funniest teacher who makes learning fun. – Salma El-Hiraki
  • Mrs. Walton: She always has patience with all of her students. – Crystal Leon
  • Mrs. Shrock: She teaches science – a topic that I like – and I like the way she teaches her class. She’s forgiving when grading assignments and gives extra credit to encourage students to do more and learn more. – Javier Fernandez
  • ALL THE TEACHERS: Because they are all amazing. – Lexie Salcido
  • Mrs. Dubuisson: She was a laid back and nice history teacher and just how she was as a teacher made feel good going to her class every day. – Nicholas Morales
  • Mr. Snyder: He always came up with new ways to make math fun. – Kimberly Jacinto-Cabelle
  • Mr. Bailey: He’s a father figure teacher. – Adam Figueroa
  • Mrs. Beckman: I feel like she makes sure everyone is in a positive mindset. During virtual learning we would have mindfulness Wednesday where we would do activities where we can just rest without worries. She also taught me many art strategies I am able to use now and in my future. – Karina Rosales
  • Mr. Volker: Despite being retired, my favorite teacher will always be Mr. Volker, the history teacher, since he put empathy and power into each word. ??
  • Mrs. Fulwider: I feel comfortable and safe talking to her and she is easy to get along with. – Eden Johnson
  • Mrs. Garcia: She is so nice and welcoming and will hear you out for anything. – Zalyn Rivera
  • Mr. Schulte: No matter what it was he would help us with anything it needed whether it was for scholarships, homework or advice and I’ll always remember him for sacrificing his time for me. – Angel Cano
  • Mr. Harbereder: When I need a trusted adult to talk to he is one of the first people I go to. – Mia Zell
  • Mrs. Wilson: I had her sophomore year, but I loved the way she taught our class and how she was as a person – Emily Sosa

What is one event or experience during high school that you believe you “will always remember?”

  • How fun and nice Mr.Lovetts class was! – Angelita Rico
  • Girls lacrosse team, Ms. Cunningham’s, and choir class with Ms.Walton : ) – Kassandra Sorto
  • When the varsity basketball girls won league and was first in league too and we haven’t done that in 37 years.  – Emily Lara
  • Going to homecoming and getting Denny’s after. – Adrian Castaneda
  • Pink out football game! – Montana Rocha
  • My first time doing a stunt in front of a large crowd of my peers at school. – Kali Karmann
  • Singing at Carnegie Hall in 2020 right before COVID for choir. – Jerden Patillo
  • Playing football – Anthony Celis
  • CIF soccer game even though we lost. – Alyssa Taylor
  • Our second round CIF softball game. It was a great game and it was the best game I’ve ever played here. – Brianna Garcia
  • Singing at Disneyland. – Elijah Najera
  • When poly soccer won the quarterfinal game at home. – Daniel Navarro
  • The last day of school, before covid happened. – Naomi Cubillas
  • Going to playoffs twice on the football team. – Mekhi Alexander
  • The first time I broke a 205kg deadlift, in the rain no less as it was the first time ive ever lifted twice my body weight. – Miguel Muniz-Elizarraraz
  • Senior ditch day is a core memory, spending time with my friends before they leave for college will always stay with me. – Ruby Bravo
  • Shooting the bottle rockets in Mr. Van’s class. – Amir Hariri
  • The very first play acted at in at Poly called “She Kills Monsters”. The family and community environment allowed me to excel. – Andrew Callow
  • My first home lacrosse game. Being able to play in my home turf for the first time as a part of a team is something I will always hold on to. – Andrea Rea-Vargas
  • I will always remember my Volleyball Senior Night because it was the day that we had become league champs! –  Kamryn Kasper
  • My senior season of football being able to make it all the way to CIF second round since 2014 – Christian Fuentez
  • I think the fact that I went to high school with my sister is a great experience and I will always remember – Mo Flores
  • I will always remember walking onto campus and feeling a mix of emotions such as scared and excited. – Yessica Torres
  • An event I will always remember was when I volunteered for Mecha. – Kimberly Jacinto-Caballe
  • Friday Night Lights. The football games were always so fun to watch and entertain. Mostly my friends were there, as I did not pay attention to the football game. – Gracie McCabe
  • Winning Homecoming King – Adam Figueroa
  • I am thankful for being in the Link Crew class. Setting up little events like Fresh Friday meant so much to my friends and I. – Monica Gonzalez
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