Kaplan Academy : The California Chronicles

1. Kaplan Academy :The California Chronicles Spring Issue 1, May 2009

2. Dedicated To… Kaplan Academy: The California Chronicles, would like to dedicate this first issue to Ms. Haya, Parent Advisor, and Devan Quintana, Editor-In-Chief. Without their guidance and support, this newspaper would have not been possible.

3. Summer Opportunities & Fun Things to Do • Get a job – Youth Opportunity Center – www.hireayouth.com • Take a class for credit at Cypress or Fullerton College - http://admissions.fullcoll.edu/specialadmit.htm • Note: Any of the California Community colleges may admit, as special students, K-12 minor students without high school diplomas in summer session credit courses and collect state apportionment under limited circumstances. Education Code section 76001(h) specifies that community colleges may only admit those minor students who have parental consent, and: • Are recommended by the principal of the school that he or she attends. • Have demonstrated adequate preparation in the discipline to be studied. • Have availed himself or herself of all opportunities to enroll in an equivalent course at his or her school of attendance.

4. Opportunities Continued • Foreign Language High School Credit – Concordia Language Summer Villages - http://clvweb.cord.edu/newsite/Schedule/schedule_hscredit.php • Foreign Language High School Credit (Free – paid for by US government) - http://www.startalk.umd.edu/ (2008 summer classes were held at Troy High School in Fullerton, CA) • Speech & Debate Academy – 910 E. Birch Street #200, Brea, CA 92821; Phone 714-256-4709 • Math Olympiad Summer Camp - http://www.avidacademy.com/ • Register now for the U.S. 2010 Presidential Scholar Awards - http://www.nfaa.org/ • Center for Talented Youth Summer Programs - http://cty.jhu.edu/summer/summer-programs.html (Great classes on university campuses across the country) • Start preparing to apply for 2010 National Society of High School scholarships - http://www.nshss.org/scholarships/ • Young Musicians Scholarships - http://www.afm.org/young-musicians/scholarships • Interlochen Center for the Arts Music Camp – http://www.interlochen.org • Arrowbear Summer Music Program - http://www.arrowbear.com/

5. Opportunities Continued • Idyllwild Arts Summer Program - http://idyllwildarts.org/ • Weil Tennis Camp - http://www.weiltennis.com/weil_camps/Camp_Information.htm • Basketball Training at the National Jr. Basketball League - http://www.njbl.org/ • Sports Camps - http://www.ussportscamps.com/ • Parents and Teachers • Sign up for membership with the National Society for the Gifted & Talented - http://www.nsgt.org/about.asp • Sign up for membership with California Association for the Gifted - http://www.cagifted.org/ • By Mrs. Haya

6. Barack Obama: A Message of HopeBy: Devan Quintana The presidential campaign of this year has been widely regarded as the most popular and controversial campaign of our time. In the running was Hilary Clinton, the first woman to ever run for president, and Barack Obama, the first African American, to ever run for President. However it was John McCain and Barack Obama who were the final two presidential candidates. John McCain, a Republican, Senator of Arizona and veteran of the Vietnam War; and Barack Obama, a Democrat and relatively young senator from Illinois, faced off in the end. The two candidates were definitely on opposing sides when it came to some very controversial issues, like stem cell research. However they also agreed on some issues, like same sex marriage. Barack Obama “Support[s] civil unions”, and in this instance John McCain agreed with Barack Obama saying that “[he] believe[s] the institution of marriage should be protected and defined as a union between one man and one woman”. However, many American citizens sided with Barack Obama, and it was Obama who finally won the presidential election and assumed office on January 20, 2009. However, there are many people, both Republican and Democrat, who were outraged with his election and remain angry to this day. But Barack Obama said that “[he] will be your president too.” Whether you like Barack Obama or dislike him, he is now the President of the United States.

7. Barack Obama: A Message of Hope; - Continued Many of the individuals who ran for office, and many of the American citizens who voted were consumed with one idea, the idea of hope. Hope is said to be one of the most powerful motivators in the world, and with Barack Obama’s campaign and election, you cannot dispute the fact that it is safe to say that that idea has been fully supported and can be deemed as true in today’s society. For many people, Barack Obama represents hope. Hope for a better future, hope for a better economy, and hope for all of those things that people feel they need most today. Obama allowed people to hold fast to their dreams and he gave them a secure feeling of hope. Now, whether or not he will be successful in his endeavors, really no one knows. What we do know is that Obama has many people who are fully supporting him and still believe in his notion of hope.

8. Barack Obama’s Winning Speech Check out Barack Obama’s riveting and moving speech after becoming our 44th president by clicking tes link below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJfGx4G8tjo

9. The 2012 ConspiracyBy: J.D. Cantrell Many people believe the world is going to end in 2012. Some people believe that 2012 is the year it will happen because the Mayan calendar is ending. Others think Planet X is headed for Earth and will crash into our planet and destroy 99.9% of the population. I believe that it’s a hoax because when people feel threatened they are willing to pay more in taxes in order to do whatever is necessary. Consequently, it makes perfect sense that the government would use this ruse in order to collect more money. They are also making a movie (supposedly) about the year 2012 that is coming out in 2010. That is Hollywood’s attempt to extract money from movie-goers. In my opinion all of these scenarios about the end of the world have little substance and should be dismissed.

10. Devin Lindsay is one of the many talented students that attend Kaplan Academy. Devin is not only talented in his school undertakings; He is also is an accomplished Go-Kart racer. Devin has been racing Go-Karts for most of his life, and has won a championship race and several other races. He participates in races all across southern California, and in nearby states as well. His most recent endeavor was last weekend in San Diego, where he participated in a Pokart race. He raced a KF which is a faster engine. This year the biggest race of the year is coming up, where he will be racing in the SuperNationals in Las Vegas! Devin is supported by his family and a few sponsors, but cleans and maintains all of his own cars. Even though racing takes up a lot of his time, when Devin isn’t racing Go-Karts he enjoys hanging out with his friends, bike riding, and skateboarding. • By Dani Jacoby A Champion Go Kart RacerBy: Dani Jacoby Devin Lindsay, a champion Go Kart racer, on the podium after a race.

11. Extreme Sports By Joseph Valdez Extreme sports may be a term you may have heard of but didn’t really know what it was. Basically the term means an action sport which has a high level of inherent danger. The specific action sport may contain different attributes that make it extreme such as speed, height, or a high level of physical exertion. Some extreme sports are skateboarding, inline skating, hang gliding, and street luging. Many of these extreme sports are well known and liked by people all around the globe. But when there are popular extreme sports, there are also the not so popular ones. Extreme Ironing ( yes you heard right) is basically ironing in weird places like on a mountain or on top of a car. The so-called extreme sport was first founded in 1997 by a man named Phil Shaw AKA Steam. Extreme Ironing started in England and is now widely known in Germany, Australia, and Japan. They now hold annual world championships. As you may now see a sport doesn’t have to put you in extreme danger to be called an extreme sport. So for all you anti-sport people who want the thrill of being extreme with the satisfaction of a well pressed shirt then this is the sport for you. For a clip to the extreme sport of Ironing then follow this link to the heart stopping excitement. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njHE4S-HD3I

12. Under water Extreme Ironing

13. Mountain Top Extreme Ironing

14. Book Review Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella Book Review by: Sophia Oleniacz Rebecca Bloomwood, a financial journalist for Successful Savings, lives the life many would dream of. She lives in one of London’s most stylish neighborhoods. She has time to go shopping every day. She even has a job with flexible hours. But, she is thousands of pounds in debt from her daily spending and has no clue how to pay everything off! Rebecca has a problem; she is a shopaholic. Throughout the book, Rebecca attempts to get rid of her debt while trying to ignore the credit card companies and banks that repeatedly send her letters regarding payments. Her plans to earn extra money start with winning the lottery and span all the way to dating her roommate’s multimillionaire friend. Throughout the three hundred pages, Rebecca tackles financial problem after problem while still writing her newspaper column about how to correctly handle money.

15. Confessions continued… Confessions of a Shopaholic has many upsides as well as many downsides. The structure of the book and its writing is wonderful and makes the book very easy to read. Every chapter ends with a cliffhanger that begs for you to turn the next page and find out what has happened. Another talent that the writer has is making the reader connect with and like Rebecca Bloomwood, even though she tends to be a pathological liar and a bit annoying. However, the book is not a good choice for a person who cannot stand shopping. The reason why most people (women especially) can connect with Rebecca is her love of shopping and fashion. Without that, the reader would not be able to sympathize, but would instead criticize Rebecca for her inability to stop buying clothes.

16. Confessions Continued… Another fault that the book contains is Rebecca’s ability to lie… easily. In almost every chapter, Rebecca lies about something that gets her further and further into trouble. Even though, it is understandable at times, after the fifteenth chapter it can get quite bothersome. Nonetheless, the book’s faults never seem to overpower its strengths, and it’s a wonderful read for anyone who loves shopping. The book is an absolute page-turner that will keep you laughing and smiling throughout.

17. Movie ReviewBy: Devan Quintana Into the wild is a movie based upon the true and actual events of a 23 year old man named Chris McCandles. This riveting film’s screenplay was written and directed by Sean Penn, who is also an Oscar award winning actor. In the film Emile Hirsch plays Chris McCandles, a college graduate searching for the adventure of a lifetime by traveling into the wild. While traveling to Alaska, Chris encounters some people who ultimately change his life and world view. What starts out as a trip to Alaska without anything to survive off of but rice and his own survival skills, turns into the adventure of a lifetime.

18. Into The Wild: Continued Chris travels through Colorado, Mexico, and Palm Springs, California homeless. However, contrary to what you may believe to be true about this story is the fact that Chris McCandles was in fact an extremely intellggent man who was going to go to Harvard Law school, but he instead chose to give everything he had up in order to engage ie self exploration. Once McCandles actually makes it to Alaska he finds it harder than he anticipated . McCandles had planned to leave Alaska when spring came. He arrives in winter, then when spring came he discovered that the snow had all melted into the river which he had crossed in the winter making it a very dangerous passage.. This prevented McCadles from crossing the river and forced him back into the wild “[He] become trapped in the wild”.