Photo courtesy Al Gritzmacher

As I mentioned last week, I am working on having a supercool website next school year to publish the Rough Rider, with this blog being just part of it. This website will have plenty of multimedia content, including slideshows with and without audio, video clips, and audio pieces. I’m currently spending some time working on the design, trying to figure out how to tweak the Minnehaha Wordpress theme to add a flash slideshow, different sections of the newspaper, and so on.

Which brings me to the pitch. We have a few video cameras, although they could be better. We have one digital SLR that we got from another DonorsChoose proposal, which is amazing. What we don’t have are any audio recorders or mics to produce radio pieces. That’s why I put up this proposal. Here’s the DonorsChoose letter:

Dear friends,

I want my students to have as many great learning opportunities as possible, but sometimes I just can’t get the funding I need. To address this issue, I turned to DonorsChoose.org.

Here’s the scoop. At this nonprofit website, public school teachers (like me!) submit proposals for materials or experiences their students need to learn. These ideas become a reality when concerned individuals (like you!) choose projects to fund. Donors who complete project funding or give more than $100 receive photos and personal thank-you notes from the kids they helped. It’s easy - and very rewarding.

The great news is that my project proposal, Voice Recorder for Journalism, is now posted at DonorsChoose.org! Check it out at:
 http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/propo…

Take a look. Also, please consider supporting my students and me by forwarding and linking to this message for others who may be interested in improving education.

Best regards,
Ben Gertner

Improving Dreams, Equality, Access and Success at the University of California, Los Angeles cordially invites you to their 3rd Annual Fundraising Banquet In celebration of the Achievements and Activism of undocumented students in higher education and the community students in higher education and the community

Invitation: Here
Information for Donors: here

Date: Saturday, May 24th, 2008
Location: Ackerman Grand Ballroom, UCLA Time: 6:00pm - 9:00pm
RSVP to  ideasbanquet3 at gmail.com by May 18th 2008 Date: Saturday, May 24th 2008
Location: Ackerman Grand Ballroom, UCLA Time

The IDEAS at UCLA AB540 Project will be holding its 1st annual Immigrant Youth Empowerment Conference on Saturday, May 24th 2008. The purpose of the conference is to provide a space where potential AB 540 undocumented high school students will be exposed to information and inspirational speeches/panels to Featured Video increase the number of immigrant high school students attending college. The students will have access to workshops that will increase their college awareness, community participation, and broaden their scholastic resources.

I’ve been a fan of Al Borde ever since they had that rockin’ High School Journalism Day a few months ago. What better way to engage L.A.’s Latino youth in dialog about careers in journalism than through the universal languages of music, pizza, and celebrity panels? I loved it, and my students did too.

Although I enjoy the freedom and lack of responsibility of being on vacation, I wouldn’t mind taking students to this upcoming event, entitled “Cool Careers 4Me”, focusing on the fashion industry. It takes place in the Al Borde Lounge in Norwalk on Saturday, June 14 from Noon - 4 pm.

Panelists include:
Tony and Vanessa of Ton y Van Van
Roseanna Garcia, Latina Fashionista Fashion Educational Institute

The panel will address attendees on how they got their start, strategies for preparing for a career in fashion, and the day‐to‐day experiences of a fashion designer.
Attendees will also be treated to live performances by two of the top underground performers from the LA area: Torino ‐ Electro Pop Artist & Coatl ‐ Goth Metal Band.

If you’re an on-track teacher that would like to bring students or you’re a student that would like to go, comment on this post or email me (my address in in the About section of this blog).

Looking ahead, it looks like they’re having another career day on September 20, this time on graphic design. Can’t wait!

Link: For a look at indie vs. emo fashion, check out this recent piece from Al Borde. And you thought they were all just scenesters, didn’t you?

Al Borde Lounge, 11205 Imperial Hwy. Norwalk, CA 90650.

This post is targeted to my former students.

I got a call from a woman at Cal State Northridge about a survey they are doing on high school journalism. They are hoping to fill in some of the gaps left when the LA Times quit funding much of their education outreach. It would be a big help for you to take a minute to fill out the survey. Comment or email me and I’ll send you the link for the survey.

The school year is over for Track C, and so the Rough Rider Blog will mostly be on hiatus until July. I may post the occasional event announcement or commentary, but for those of you seeking the latest news on Roosevelt High School, your best bet is to go to the school’s official website.

This was my second year as adviser for the Rough Rider and the first year we had a blog. It’s been a great experience to have alumni and other friends of Roosevelt send me emails, comment on blogs, and even come visit the class. The big issues that have come up include: Keep reading »

As i sat in my living room watching the news about the fire and people dieing or other horrific things there was a story that caught my attention. the story was about a legal drug that not many knew about, well at least i didn’t. It’s called “SALVIA DIVINORUM”.

Salvia divinorum(click to web page) is a plant used for its psychoactive effects. Given the right dose, individual, set and setting, it produces a unique state of ‘divine inebriation’ which has been traditionally used by Mazatec healers. This inebriation is quite different from that of alcohol. Salvia divinorum is both similar to, and different from, other drugs that affect the brain and behavior. In many ways Salvia divinorum is a unique ‘magical’ herb. Salvia (and the salvinorin it contains) is very difficult to categorize pharmacologically. It does not fit well into any existing pharmacological class. Louis Lewin, the father of psychopharmacology called vision inducing drugs ‘phantastica’. Let us dust off this venerable term and recycle it by calling Salvia divinorum a ‘phantasticant’.

Keep reading »

Drill Team is sponsored by Joy Lee, a math teacher on B track. Ms. Lee became the drill sponsor in 2006 and this is her second year coaching. The team consists of three captains, Natalie Valencia 12A, Maria Leon 12A, Cassandra Alvarez, and two guards, Adriana Loera 12 and Yaricel 11A.

There are different strategies used to choose the captains but this year these young ladies had to choreographing a routine, give a speech of why they hope to be given a higher position, why they deserve it, and they also had to learn and teach the try out routine to the new group of girls attempting to be a member of the team.

These hard working girls meet Monday through Friday in the gym or the football field from 6:15 am to 8:15 am. But its not over yet because they also meet after school from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm and when they are preparing for football season they even come in on Saturday mornings usually from 6:15 am to 2:00 pm. During practices they learn routines taught by their captains and once they learn them they continue practicing to perfect them. Keep reading »

As a senior, Joel Calderon or “Joey”, has many aspirations and goals, but one of his main priorities right now, and every time this season comes around, is baseball. Joey has been part of the outstanding baseball team for the past four years. He has brought his enthusiasm and incredible talent to the team, which adds up to their respectable and honorable success.

Carlos Montes, one of the baseball coaches who has been coaching for the past nine years describes Joey as a “fiery and animated” player who “plays with his heart”.

Joey agrees, he says, “I bring intensity, I have a never give up attitude and I have a lot of heart”. Keep reading »

Omg!!! Yesterday was my B-Day…I turned 18, what the majority of teenagers look forward to, including me… but honestly I feel scared… I have gone through several different life changing experiences in the past two years that I have not been able to take advantage of my last underage teenage years.

Now im labeled an adult, but im not sure if I want that. It makes me sad to realize that im never going to be seventeen again and rely on my dad and my sisters for most things, im never going to be considered a minor again which actually isnt very pleasant if i really think about it.

There are many different advantages that I do gain and they’re quite nice, biut for some reason on Friday midnight I culdnt help but think about all the different things that made my kind of sad, I thought about all these things that I mentioned plus the several people I wished to have with me at that exact moment. But my the events that have a great impact in my life continue, the day right after my b-day, one of my sisters who I have been unseperable from is moving out too.

Well I guess all I can do is think positive and look at the bright side, everything is for the best and we simply have to learn have to cope with these things.