Category: Volume 69, Issue 8

by Nolan Runkle

Due to COVID-19, the school threw the previously planned graduation ceremony for the Las Lomas class of 2020 out the window. The new graduation ceremony will take place on June 3, and Las Lomas gave information on how seniors should attend, and how to get their cap and gown. In an email sent out on May 20 Principal Tiffany Benson, details the process for the new graduation ceremony.

For senior events, there was the cap and gown pick up party on May 19, and a highlight of some Seniors’ reflections on May 24. The Senior Awards ceremony is on May 26, and then the events come to a close with the Graduation ceremony on June 3.

Las Lomas sent out gift bags to seniors, filled with Las Lomas goodies and signs recognizing seniors. In these bags, seniors should have received more info on their graduation time and line up number. However, to ensure social distancing, graduation will be very different in terms of a crowd: “The county has been loosening this number of family participants, but still capping the total number of people on campus. We will update families on the total number of allowed guests on June 1st, but for planning purposes you may bring any number of guests in your car and can bring AT LEAST 2 family members to the stage area to view.”

Some Las Lomas seniors offered their thoughts on graduation. Daphne Burton says, “I really appreciate how Las Lomas is still trying really hard to make this school year special for us seniors. They have put up tons of signs to celebrate our achievements and have given me a lot of cool goodies including a balloon which I loved. My family is celebrating my graduation with a small party at my house with just my family and my grandma. They have also mentioned getting me a gift but I don’t know what it is yet.” Haven Piper stated that “Las Lomas has acknowledged me by sending me helpful emails which provide substantial information regarding cap and gown pickups and future dates. Personally I am celebrating graduation by spending time with family. I’ll probably go out to eat or do something special. Either way I am proud of what I’ve accomplished in high school.” Tristan Thomas replied, “Me and my family might be celebrating my graduation by going down to San Diego with [another] family since there’s nowhere else we could go. We were planning on going to Hawaii for my graduation, but COVID-19 is preventing us from going now.”

Seniors may have had terrible luck this year with the pandemic, but one hopes that they will still feel special after the many years they’ve endured at -school.

by Mateo Requejo-Tejada

As we approach our third month under a stay-at-home order, many counties, including ours, have started easing up on restrictions as we approach phase 2 of Governor Newsom’s four-phase plan. This plan’s purpose is to safely transition California to a position where it can eventually reopen the economy. According to ABC 7 News, the plan is as follows: In Phase 1, everyone is either following stay at home orders or they’re part of the essential workforce. Phase 2 opens up lower risk workspaces “like childcare facilities, some office spaces with a minimum number of people, retail stores offering curbside pick-up, and schools.” Phase 3 involves “reopening higher risk workspaces like gyms, hair salons, nail salons, movie theaters, sporting events without a live audience, and in-person religious services (churches and weddings).” Lastly, Phase 4 would end the stay at home order “which would allow for the reopening of concert venues, convention centers, and sporting events with live audiences.”  Although we are in Phase 2 of the Governor’s plan, we are only in its early stages,  only allowing the opening of florists, car washes, outdoor museums, curbside retail, manufacturing, logistics, childcare for nonessential workers, open galleries, and other open spaces, with restrictions. These restrictions on open spaces like parks and beaches can include no access to parking, limited time at a location, face masks, being 6 feet apart from others, and locations closing on weekends. Once the State further ensures a comeback in overall public health and met some of Gavin Newsom’s requirements, Contra Costa and the rest of California can proceed with the rest of Phase 2. According to Mercury Newsm in order to qualify for the rest of phase 2, “Any county that wants to accelerate its reopening must submit a 12-page application, called a ‘local variance attestation,’ plus supporting documents.” The criteria of these applications goes as follows:

• 1 or fewer cases per 10,000 residents the past 14 days
• No deaths for the past 14 days
• Minimum daily testing of 1.5 per 1,000 residents, with recommendation of 2 per 1,000
• Testing sites within 30 minutes of 75% of urban residents and 60 minutes of 75% of rural residents
• 15 contact tracers for every 100,000 residents
• Temporary housing available for 15% of population experiencing homelessness
• Hospital capacity for 35% surge in COVID-19 patients
• A “robust” plan to protect hospital workers and provide personal protective equipment
• A 14-day supply and a documented supply chain of PPE for skilled nursing facilities

Once a county meets these requirements it will be able to slowly reopen schools with safety precautions, allow dining in restaurants, shopping in retail stores, and the opening of shopping malls. 

Progress reports are among the many changes that online learning has brought about for Las Lomas staff and students. Generally, student progress reports seek to inform parents and students of the latter’s performance compared to curriculum standards, providing information as to those courses that need improvement. . Typically, Las Lomas calculates grades at a specific point in time during the semester, generally, eight weeks after the quarter starts.But, this semester progress reports were issued last week due to the change in teaching and grading practices brought about by the pandemic.According to Principal Tiffany Benson in a announcement to parents and students on May 13, “The fourth quarter progress report period ended last week.” 

In terms of a students’ permanent record, progress report grades do not appear on students’ high school transcripts and will not be used to calculate their GPA or factor into their college applications. Instead, these reports provide an opportunity for individuals to identify areas that need improvement and can be addressed before grades are final. For instance, there may be missing assignments that can be turned in, or students can work with their teachers to develop a plan to raise their grades before the semester ends. Additionally, students may use this information on their progress reports to determine whether they may need to sign up for summer school to repeat a class. Since Las Lomas converted to online school at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Acalanes High School District decided that students’ work would be assessed as Credit (CR) or No Credit (NC) instead of the typical letter grades for second semester. Credit is assigned for work that is deemed 60% or above, while No Credit is assessed on assignments that are evaluated below a 60%. Thus, any course that earns a No Credit will appear on a students’ progress report and if it does improve to Credit, the class will need to be repeated. Grades from third quarter will be combined with fourth quarter performance to calculate the second semester grades. This grading standard differs in another way from the usual letter grades as progress reports were calculated based on performance less than 70%. In her recent announcement, Principal Benson, indicates that “if a student received no credit for any of their classes, a paper report card will be mailed home and should be arriving soon.” Also, she advises that “ students and families can access their progress report marks online on the Aeries Pass Portal.” 

by Brian Gewecke

Students usually fear Finals Week more than any other in the semester. However, this year, due to the quarantine, Las Lomas has cancelled its finals, relieving many students’ stress that one test may destroy their grades. Although finals’ cancellation helps many students, it especially benefits one group: Juniors. It allows them the opportunity to focus solely on their AP Tests, especially benefitting those with multiple tests. It clears up time for those still with SAT’s left to study, and gives all Juniors an opportunity to begin preparation for college applications.

“Although I don’t really have a strong opinion on the subject, I’m kind of glad that we don’t have finals. It’s nice that we only have work that week, and that we don’t have tests after the AP Tests,” said Junior Ethan Clymer. “Having finals wouldn’t help my grade in any way, and not having to take them prevents adding to stress brought on by AP Tests”. For Ethan, an AP student, avoiding finals is huge. If finals weren’t cancelled, AP students would be studying tirelessly for AP Tests, only to go right into studying for finals.

Another Junior, Ashley Cowell, isn’t surprised that the school decided to cancel finals, and is glad she has one less thing to worry about. However, “even though it gives me less things to stress about, I still have to worry about AP Tests, which will be hard. Just the fact that they’re going to be different from what we’ve been preparing for is a little stressful”. Many students like Ashley have been well prepared for their AP Tests, but still feel a little stressed due to the unfamiliar format of the tests, with several tests being different from what students have been preparing for all year.

For many students, finals’ cancellation prevents a few weeks of complete exhaustion, especially for Juniors. 

by Katelyn To

As May comes close to an end and June approaches, the thought of the pandemic taking a traditional graduation ceremony away from high school and college seniors makes many sullen. However, high schools, universities, and celebrities do the best they can to make up for a regular graduation ceremony for the class of 2020. 

For example, on May 8, Ms. Benson sent out an email to Las Lomas students about a graduation ceremony with social distancing guidelines in place, which the school will hold on June 3. “Students and their immediate family members will be invited to campus during a specific timeframe to participate in a diploma presentation,” the email states. “Professional videographers will film every component of the ceremony and present it via a live webcast. This webcast will be recorded and available, in a condensed format, after graduation.” The ceremony will also include student and staff speeches, certification, presentation of diplomas, and ceremonial changing of tassels. The email tells students to await additional information. 

“I think it’s the best the school could have done honestly,” said Senior Yoonju Kim. “Although the traditional one would have been preferred because I definitely wanted the experience and atmosphere of graduating with people I spent four years with…I’m just glad we have at least some type of in-person graduation…I think it’s super clever the school is doing specific/different time frames for people.” 

Senior Mari Johns said, “I’m disappointed that I don’t get my traditional graduation, but I understand why they are doing this. But in my opinion, I was hoping that they would have waited till this pandemic was over. And I’m sad that I don’t get to graduate alongside all my friends and whole family.” 

Many celebrities have also taken to online platforms like YouTube to host their own virtual graduation ceremonies for anyone who wants to join. On June 6, Barack and Michelle Obama will host “Dear Class of 2020” on the YouTube Originals channel at 12 PM PST. The Obamas will make speeches, along with speakers and appearances by Beyoncé, BTS, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Doja Cat, Emma Chamberlain, The Try Guys, Malala Yousafzai, and more. 

On May 15, HerCampus celebrated college seniors also with a YouTube livestream and appearances by Liam Payne, Austin Mahone, Margaret Cho, Andrew Yang, and more. On the same day, Oprah Winfrey, Lil Nas X, Awkwafina, Simone Biles, and Jennifer Garner spoke on livestream “#Graduation2020” hosted on Instagram and Facebook. 

The University of Southern California held their own virtual ceremony on May 16. Speakers like Will Ferrell, John Williams, Mandy Moore and Lisa Ling came to celebrate the graduating class at USC on the Youtube livestream. ‘Graduate Together’ also featured Lebron James, Barack Obama, Lana Condor, the Jonas Brothers, Malala Yousafzai, H.E.R., Bad Bunny, Pharell Williams, and more. It aired on television in addition to TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter.