Mother’s Day, occurring on May 13th this year, has been known for being one of the most important holidays of the year; its a day to give back to all moms that support, help, and care for their children. Mother’s Day is just around the corner and many people have been planning surprises for their moms. Are you struggling to plan a special surprise for your mom? If so, here are some fun and caring ways to show your love for your mom on Mother’s Day.

Start with the morning: It is important that every mom wakes up to a nice, home-cooked breakfast. Start the morning by making breakfast for your mom; make something you are capable of cooking because it is always the thought that counts. Some common breakfast foods people have made in the past include pancakes, fresh fruit salads, and coffee. If you are not the best cook or cannot cook at all, go out in the morning to your mom’s favorite bakery and buy her favorite pastries or breakfast items. Also, stop by a coffee shop to pick up a nicely brewed cup of coffee. Be sure to also add a bouquet of flowers at the center of your mom’s breakfast surprise.

Afternoon fun: Today is definitely meant for relaxing and having fun for moms; in the afternoon, go out to a place you and your mom would like to go and enjoy a day together. Fun activities for mother-daughter outings include shopping or going to nail salons. Boys usually like to go out and play sports with their moms or watch a fun movie together.

Surprise! The perfect gift: The biggest dilemma of all would have to be the Mother’s-Day gift buying. We have all been looking through stores and online shopping for hours to find the perfect gift. Some recommended gifts that are both reasonably priced and loved by all mothers are brooches, scarves, wallets, and other accessories. Accessories are easy presents for Mother’s Day because they can easily be shopped for and can definitely put a smile on your mom’s face.

 Homemade presents: There are also some people who prefer making their own homemade Mother’s Day gifts. Some common homemade gifts include baking treats or even knitting a hand-knit scarf for your mom. Also, one of the easiest and most thoughtful gifts is to decorate an old picture frame and add a photo of you and your mom to it.

Mother’s Day is definitely a special day for all moms that work hard everyday and are a big part of our lives. To make their day even more special, follow these tips to put a great, big smile on her face.

Summer Internships are great opportunities for high school students to further themselves. photo credit - jerkmagazine.net

Summer break is rapidly approaching, much to the excitement of all; however, summer is a great time for high school students to start looking into their future.  A fantastic way to do this is by taking advantage of summer internship opportunities.

The benefits are huge because internships are one of the best ways to gain real-world job experience.  Perhaps the biggest reason to join a summer internship program is that they are a terrific way to have a productive summer, which is considerably better than sitting at home all day.  This is especially good for college applications as colleges are interested in students who show their interest in a particular field by sacrificing their break to work.

Summer internships teach many potentially valuable skills for the future.  The process of applying, including creating a resume, and interviewing for an internship teach valuable skills that are crucial to get a job in the real world.  These skills can really only be learned through training, and thus it is important to get the experience as soon as possible.

Although many internships are unpaid, they allow students to make new connections and gain contacts that can be put on their resumes.  This is very valuable for students because of the rising competition for all sorts of jobs.  Future job-seekers need to take advantage of the opportunity and the personal connections from a summer internship because they can make all the difference.

Summer internships are exceptional because they give students an insider’s look at a particular career that they are interested in.  If you are interested in any sort of field there is likely an internship out there available that allows you to learn all about a job’s requirements and the type of background and knowledge necessary.  It is also a good idea to look into an internship for your desired career because they are usually just a few months’ commitment, which could end up saving you a lot of time if you end up not wanting to pursue that career any longer.

There are tons of opportunities for students to get summer internships, many being within Millbrae.  One of the simplest ways is by checking Schoolloop, where many have already been posted.  However, it is also a good idea to look at a company’s website that you are interested in and see if they are interested in getting any new interns.

A summer internship is a wonderful opportunity for any high school student looking to have a productive summer.  The various benefits are wonderful and they come only at the cost of a summer break.  In turn, you could end up saving much more time in the  future as you pursue your desired career through and past college.

Mrs. Kitano, current assistant principal of Mills High School, has been an important part of the Mills community.

Mrs. Kitano will be retiring at the end of the school year after having served three years as the Assistant Principal of Mills High School. She has been working for the San Mateo Union High School District for seven years, serving four years as vice principal at Capuchino High School and three years as vice principal at Mills High School.

“The best part about Mills is the kids, the teachers, and parents. The students are always so dedicated,” says Mrs. Kitano.

Throughout her service at Mills High School, Mrs. Kitano has coordinated student activities such as senior prom and graduation. She also manages the custodial department and has overseen the construction.

Before working for the San Mateo Union High School District, Mrs. Kitano worked for the San Francisco school district and had the vice principal position at Wallenberg High School and was the head of the special education department at Galileo High School.

During her retirement, Mrs. Kitano plans on obtaining a master’s degree in organizational psychology from Walden University. Currently, she has obtained a master’s degree in Administration from St. Mary’s college, a Bachelor of the Arts Degree in Art, and teaching credentials from San Francisco State University. She also plans to spend more time with her family and four grandchildren and continue pursuing her hobbies. Her hobbies include playing tennis and baking; she plans on enhancing her baking abilities by taking cake decorating classes.

Mrs. Kitano has been a big part of our Mills community and her kindness and consideration will be missed. Mills High School wishes Mrs. Kitano a fun and relaxing
retirement.

“This has been my best year working with teachers, parents, and students. I especially enjoyed Mills Mania and I am looking forwards to senior prom and
graduation,” says Kitano.

Day of Silence is a nationwide event in which students choose not to speak in order to demonstrate their support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) individuals who feel they cannot speak up about being bullied and harassed. As a long-time supporter of gay rights, it seemed right that I participate in Day of Silence on April 20. Though I did not originally plan on partaking in this day, a member of Spectrum convinced me to show my support for LGBT students, so I decided to put myself in their shoes as well as demonstrate my hopes for tolerance and acceptance.

On Friday morning, I dutifully silenced myself, scribbling on Post-its and letting others speak for me. It was incredibly frustrating to have to communicate via written words, unable to blurt out my thoughts on a whim. Throughout the rest of the day, my exasperation increased and I eventually gave up following an oral presentation fifth period. I resumed talking, sharing ideas, and generally making my presence known, leaving behind my role as a voiceless student.

Prior to this day, I had never done anything like Day of Silence. Although I usually have a lot to say, I did not expect silence to be such a difficult task. However, I find myself generally unchanged by the day. I still support gay rights but I do not know that my participation in the event changed anything for anyone else. A classmate commented, “I was wondering why you weren’t talking!” after some time spent doing group work in silence, but it seemed as if my silence’s symbolism was lost upon most of my peers. Perhaps the LGBT community benefits most from these displays of support from non-LGBT students like me. Maybe our muteness is meant to say, “We are here for you and we sympathize with your struggles.” Nonetheless, our silence could use a volume boost.

Though I understand and value the concept of empathizing with others by putting myself in their shoes, I feel as if Day of Silence is more powerful in theory than in practice. This is not to say that this day should be discontinued; it is an excellent reminder to school communities of the harassment and bullying LGBT individuals face. However, perhaps school communities might pay more attention to a louder (both literally and figuratively) form of action. I do not think that people viewed my silence as much more than participation in a well-intentioned school event. Through being silent, I imitated the suppression of LGBT people, yes, but did nothing to change prevalent societal attitudes. Whether symbolic or not, my lack of speech meant a lack of vocalization––of concerns, of demands for change, of refusal to tolerate discrimination. I was silent.

Personally, I think a more effective form of raising awareness is the opposite of Day of Silence. How about a year of discourse? How about two years, three years, an entire high school career of discourse? Recognition of LGBT rights and issues in our school community should not be limited to only one day, but instead should consist of open and honest discussion of tolerance and acceptance every day.

The Mills team (in white) shakes hands with the El Camino (in red) team before the matches begin.

After a long, difficult season, the tennis team finished it off with a win against El Camino High School on April 19, bringing their league record to 5-9 and an overall record of 10-9.

After a tough loss against Carlmont High the previous day, the Mills tennis team was able to pull out a win for their last match of the season.  The starting line-up for Mills was James Tanjuatco – singles one, Jeff Liu – singles two, Brian Liang – singles three, Alton Chau – singles four, Erik Johnson and Eliot Nounou – doubles one, Mitchell Louie and Robert Mitsuda – doubles two, and Mark Hattori and Jensen Yeung – doubles three.  The last match against El Camino was a heated one, with Mills barely coming out as the winning team, deeming them fifth place in the Bay League.

Mills got off to a quick 1-0 lead when Louie and Mitsuda, playing doubles two, won the first match 6-0, 6-3.   However, the odds turned when the top three singles players all lost their matches in a dramatic turn of events.  Tanjuatco, having previously won against the same opponent suffered a disappointing loss, bringing the score to 1-1.  Liang had an especially tough match.  After breaking his strings, Liang was forced to borrow a racket from a fellow teammate.  After losing the first set, he almost managed to turn the match around, but lost the second set in a tough tie break, and unable to shut down his opponent, was followed by a defeat by Liu, bringing the score to 3-1.  However, Chau quickly closed out his match 6-4, 7-5, followed by a win by Yeung and Hattori, the doubles three, with a score of 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.

With both teams tied at 3-3, it all came down to the doubles one match to determine the winning team.  Johnson and Nounou breezed through the first set 6-2.  However, as the match continued, El Camino’s doubles one began to put up more of a fight, winning the second set 4-6.  As the pressure was piled on in the third set, both teams gathered around the fence, rooting for their respective doubles teams.  When the score became tied at 4-4, Johnson was able to hold his serve bringing the score to 5-4.  El Camino was serving to stay in the match, however the stress was apparent when the server began to double fault and make unforced errors.  With match point in sight, Johnson and Nounou prepared for the serve to determine the match.  But the El Camino player double faulted the match away, losing not only his match but the team’s as well, giving Mills the win in a close 4-3 match.

Thanks to the perseverance and determination of the players, the tennis team finished off the season with a great win, raising their spirits and preparing them for PALs.

March was Random Acts of Kindness Month and the Leadership class relaunched its third annual activity of logging the random acts of kindness done in their lives.

Teachers were also involved, jotting down the names of students they saw doing random acts of kindness in their own classrooms.

March’s “Random Acts of Kindness” program was inspired by the nationally recognized initiative of the same name. People were encouraged to make kind gestures to strangers and friends alike in an effort to spread positivity and generosity. Each day, Leadership students were urged to carry out a kind act toward friends, strangers, and classmates  and log their acts in a kindness log. They observed acts ranging from helping someone pick up their trash to stopping a cart from crashing into a car at Target.

Teachers were asked to fill logs of their own, noting students in their classrooms who acted especially kind to other classmates. The Kindness Committee of the Leadership Class then collected these logs and tallied the number of times students were listed in the logs. Twenty-two students who stood out in the teachers’ kindness logs were invited to a special ice cream social on April 26^th, awarding their kind acts around the school.

Vickie Wu, a member of the Kindness Committee, noted how people who kept track of their kind acts realized what a big effect positivity and kind acts make on other people.

“A small deed can have a big impact on someone’s day… If you see someone who needs help, just do it because in the end, you’ve helped someone and made their day.”

Here is the list of students who the Leadership Class awarded:

Nathan Gaffney

Heather Park

Jackie Chen

Kai Yee

Tennyson Guo

Henry Wu

Aaron Lee (11)

Katherine Chan

Dong Hee Kim

Chantel Yip

Raymond Magsaysay

Lydia Joh

Darren Fong

Matt Gomez

Rafael Rivas

Noah Seto

Billy Jay Buted

Mills High School principal Mr. Belzer holds up a copy of the new graduation requirement, Protocol 56.11.

San Mateo Union High School District officials have finalized plans for a new graduation requirement that consists of an oral exam question used to test students’ speech and general knowledge skills.

This extra step, formally called SMUHSD Protocol 56.11 or simply Pro 56, requires high school students to answer an intellectually stimulating question impromptu. First established in a handful of high schools on the East Coast, the San Mateo Union High School District is the first district in Northern California to use the program. Students will have to stand in front of a panel of judges that will grade and evaluate their answer. Administration from each of the San Mateo Union High School District high schools will be the judges. The questions are said to be similar to SAT I essay prompts, often asking about specific character traits and an individual’s opinion about it.

Answers will be graded out of one hundred points in three different categories: content, originality, and presentation. Content is weighted the most at forty points while originality and presentation each account for thirty points. According to preliminary information sent out to high schools in the school district, the judges will be looking for a well-stated answer that demonstrated a strong opinion. Furthermore, students will be awarded more points with a more creative and innovative answer. Students are also expected to dress in business attire and be able to exhibit a high level of maturity. To pass, students must get a minimum of seventy out of the one hundred points. High school students are to take it for the first time during the first semester of their junior year. If they do not pass the first time, they are able to take it again in the second semester of their junior year. The final chance to take the exam would be in students’ first semester of senior year. At this point, if a student has not passed, he or she must apply for a private oral exam at a later arranged date.

The positive effects of Pro 56 are said to be widespread. The oral exam doesn’t test on written or studied information, instead, it is an assessment of a student’s own personal experiences and speaking skills. In conjunction with the standard CAHSEE test required by the state, the oral exam will be able to create a balance between students’ skills.
“Pro 56 will really help out students become great, well-rounded individuals.” stated Mills High School Dean, Mr. Christian.

While many high schools around the nations have seen a general increase in test scores, school administrators want to emphasize a greater need to prepare students for the real world and the practical challenges it brings. The exam and the skills it encourages will help students achieve success in finding and getting jobs.

“The new graduation requirement will encourage students to become more socially conscious and challenge them to be critical thinkers in this rapidly evolving job market.” said Mills counselor Mrs. Hauth.
For all of its benefits, Pro 56 is getting a lot of support from high school staff throughout the district. District managers are planning for the requirement to begin to take effect for the class of 2014; their ultimate goal is to have the first exams administered this fall.*

* = This is an April Fools article.

Mills High was one of ten high schools nationwide selected to participate in an exclusive telephone conference call interview on Sunday, March 4, 2012, with 2011 Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence regarding her role as protagonist Katniss Everdeen in the movie The Hunger Games.

Based on the best-selling first novel of the trilogy by author Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games is set in post-rebellion years after the collapse of North America. To discourage the twelve districts of Panem from further revolt, the nation’s government in the Capitol annually hosts the Hunger Games, in which two juvenile representatives, or tributes, from each district must compete in a fight to the death from which only one victor emerges. Volunteering in her younger sister’s place in the Games pits Katniss’s will to survive against others’, love, and humankind.

Lawrence, previously most notable for starring in Winter’s Bone, agreed that her fame has “exploded” since she snagged the lead in The Hunger Games, which premiered on March 23. Even before signing onto the role, she said with a chuckle, she recognized that she could not allow public anticipation to distract her from shooting the movie as she would any other.

“This [The Hunger Games] is probably the biggest press campaign I’ve ever, ever done for a movie,” Lawrence said. “Nobody ever regrets getting a promotion from their job. But it’s life-changing and it’s weird and I’m happy that it’s happening when it is.”

Also strange to the twenty-one-year-old actress was the training she underwent for the film. Playing Katniss required Lawrence practice archery, agility, and climbing, skills germane to survival in an undeveloped battle arena. She performed the majority of the stunts herself.

“But some of the very dangerous ones, like falling out of a tree—well, I fell partially out of a tree and landed on the ground—and rolling down mountains and things like that, were all stunt doubles,” Lawrence confessed. “But I did train in preparation to do all the stunts, and the day of, we decided what was too risky and what would take too long if I did it.”

Her initial reaction to the book, however, brushed over the fast-paced combat and action of The Hunger Games, and addressed instead its influence on a broader scale.

“It didn’t feel like I was reading this kind of thriller action, cool, badass character. I felt like I was reading this dramatic, beautiful story and that it was kind of a terrible reflection on humanity and society. I thought that it was an important message for our generation,” she said.

While Lawrence thought the Capitol’s harnessing of intimidation a poor parallel to today, she admired Katniss as an exemplary role model for people, especially for young girls.

Lawrence lauded Katniss, “She’s loyal, she’s strong, she’s not quiet when something is wrong, she’s this unbelievable character that only beats the game, she changes the entire game.”

The Aragon Dons boys’ junior varsity baseball team was defeated on Mills territory on Thursday March 23^rd, at four o’clock on the field.

The boys played their hardest and Mills catcher Michael Mcwhirter did a great job of keeping the Aragon players in check.

The pitchers executed their pitches greatly and without hesitation, despite  the fact that the Aragon players were skilled and were frequently hitting the ball, thankfully through the team’s support of one another and great teamwork ended with the Mills boy’s junior varsity baseball team in victory.

The highlights of the games although did not come from the players but from the outraged parents attending the game who did not agree with the umpires calls. The umpire was trying to take away a turn to bat from one of the boys on the team, and he took his sitting out like a champ, while the parents were outraged.

Mills student Colin Wang who attended part of the game stated that he “didn’t agree with the referees calls at all,” but was glad to see that the players kept their heads held up high enough to win against the Aragon Dons to a twelve inning game. Mills Won 8-4, once again stating that Vikings cannot be messed with on their own territory, much luck to the junior varsity boy’s baseball team in the future.

To check out a full gallery of pictures of both teams playing, check out millsthunderbolt.org.