Senior Reflection

An experience here at Saint Genevieve High School cannot be summed up in a single article. An article lacks the ability to do it justice. As a graduating senior here at Saint Genevieve, I can say that I have sufficient knowledge and experience to make an attempt in explaining what it’s like to be in Saint Genevieve High School.

First of, I will not begin by saying “Saint Genevieve High School is a school like no other,” because honestly, I wouldn’t know. I started my journey in Saint Genevieve as a Kindergartner, making my way all the way up 12^th grade. As you can see, Saint Genevieve is the only school I have ever attended and it’s impossible for me to make that kind of statement.

I will say, however, that my experience here was nothing short of spectacular. The colorful personalities you meet at Saint Genevieve are more than enough to make you keep coming back. As a freshman, I had a feeling of concern when I was first dropped off for my first day. In retrospect, there was absolutely no need for concern because of the way the upperclassmen treated me. Even though I was significantly younger than them, they treated me with respect and dignity. As a sophomore, I began realizing what the school was really about. It wasn’t about getting through High School as fast as you could in order to continue advancing through life. It was about creating a strong foundation of character, in order for students to graduate with a strong set of values that will be more useful to them in the world than any education. As a junior, my mindset changed as I stepped into the role of an upperclassman. Although I wasn’t a senior, I still had a responsibility of giving the underclassmen an example. It was a big change for me, and an awkward year because of all of the tests I needed to take, but my teachers and peers took me by the hand and walked me the whole way through.

It is easy for me to say that my senior year here was the best year of education yet. Although we were given a number of teachers that were new to the school, it felt as though we were going through senior year together for the first time. Along with Mr. Sheehy and Ms. Butler, the senior class went on an adventure in leadership. It was in this year that I began to reflect on my 4 years at Saint Genevieve High School.

After a few days of thinking, I finally realized what made my Saint Genevieve experience a brilliant one. Although the atmosphere and the people greatly contribute to your experiences, you honestly receive what you deserve. My experience here at Saint Genevieve would have been absolutely terrible if I didn’t take the initiative to join all the activities I could. In conclusion, high school is exactly what you make of it, but SGHS makes a really good attempt at helping you make it great.

Top Of the Class

Congratulations are in store for the Top 10 students of each grade level here at Saint Genevieve High School. Not only does the school want to thank them for their outstanding work and effort, but they want to take them to hear former-President Bill Clinton speak at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles.

Forty Valiants and faculty will make their way to Los Angeles courtesy of their Principal Mr. Horn. Along with counselors, Mr. Shatkin and Ms. Alvarez, he personally extended the invitation to the students to join him in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In addition to an all-expense paid trip to see Mr. Clinton, each student will receive a blazer with the school emblem.

We hope this event will encourage every student to involve themselves in a healthy competition for the top of their class. Academics and Education are two of the most important things you will receive in life. It’s a relief to know that their hard work and effort is not without reward.

300 Review

"Prepare for glory!" - King Leonidas

And glory they shall recieve. The movie adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel 300 is not your typical "comic book" movie. Like every other movie created, 300 contains a plot and dialogue, but if you took those 2 elements away, you would still be left with a spectacular work of filmography. It is a visual representation of the Battle Of Thermopylae, in which 300 Spartan soldiers and Leonidas, their King, took their last stand against tens of thousands of Persians. The battle was so epic that we are still talking about 2,500 years later.

The movie was created with stunning visual effects, taking on the likeness of "Sin City," another one of Frank Miller's graphic novels adapted into film. With live actors portrayed onto computer generated backgrounds, the Spartans are set in an aesthetically beautiful world that never looked fake or overly exaggerated.

It is also nice to mention that the mascot of our Elementary school is the Spartan. Back when i was a student at the Elementary school, i never really appreciated the name Spartan. But now after watching 300, I am proud to know that we were named after the people of Sparta, and that I was once known as one. The "do-what-you-need-to-do" attitude emanating from the Spartan Warriors will inspire each and every person that watches this film.

Faculty Retreat

To most students, a faculty retreat is a dream come true. Twelve complete days away from school and formal education in general. Of course, dreams can turn into earth-shattering nightmares when the 12 days of rest occur right before School Midterms. The responsible student would take the time to catch up on any work he/she has missed, and use the rest of the time to prepare for the six exams they will soon face. Despite the fact that we as students know what are expected of us, we see the 12 day faculty retreat as a mini-vacation. I'm sure most of us have left all of our books in our lockers, leaving behind what worry and responsibility we had. The consequences of our actions will appear hastily as progress reports are handed out on March 19. It is in misguided hope that we pray the faculty has learned much about empatyh and understanding in their trip to Rome. But until we as students learn the error of our ways, we can only dream of recieving forgiveness and compassion. They say hard work pays off after time, but procastination always pays off now.

Hobby Day

The gusty days of Spring are right around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than having weekly "Hobby Days" here at St. Genevieve High School? Depending on the approval from our Adminstration, students and faculty alike will have the opputunity to share their favorite hobbies with their peers. With the assistance of my Journalism teacher Mr. Anderson, and his remote controlled dragonfly, we were able to pitch the idea to Mr. Van Grinsven - the Vice Principal, and Mr. P. - the Dean of Character Education. Mr. P played around with the idea briefly with us, but it is too early to assume whether or not he was serious with his words. A downside to a School Hobby Day would be the supervision it requires. This would mean volunteers from the faculty to stay after school hours in order to socialize with the students, volunteers that may be hard to come by.

Family Night / Senior Night

February 9, 2007. History was made as the St. Genevieve Gymnasium erupted in a deafening roar. For the first time since I can remember, the Gym was packed with an enthusiastic crowd that came to support the Valiants. The fundamentals of school spirit have changed quite a bit this year, with support coming from all over the valley. Students, teachers, parents, and friends of St. Genevieve High School all gathered together last Friday night for the sole purpose of watching our amazing athletes, and dance teams, do what they do best.


Although the Freshman and Junior Varsity Basketball teams were defeated by Bellarmine Jefferson, our Varsity boys walked out triumphunt with a score of 62 points to 58. That was not the only victory that night, during the first quarter of the Varsity game it was announced that our Varsity Soccer Team defeated Bell Jeff with a score of 13-0.


Victory over Bellarmine Jefferson wasn't the only accomplishment we achieved on Friday. The tension between the two crowds was palpable that night. As a community, we conducted ourselves in a way that enables us to truly stand tall and say, "We are a school of Character." We proved to ourselves that the Pillars of Character would not crack or crumble to wrecking balls of arrogance and disrespect.


Friday night was also a very special occassion for senior athletes. All senior athletes that played in the Winter Sports - Girls and Boys Basketball and Girls and Boys Soccer - were thanked and commended for their participation and work they have done for our school.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa against Gangs

With the start of a new year, statistics report that gang-related violence in Los Angeles has increased for the first time in 4 years. Last year's drop of 8% was quickly overtaken by this year's 14% increase. In an effort to supress gang violence, Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa appealed to the U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for federal aid and prosecutorial help. Mayor Villaraigosa is currently looking for millions in order to target areas such as the San Fernando Valley, Southern Los Angeles, and Boyle Hights. He is asking for Federal assistance for the prosecution of gang members, specifically targeting foreign-born gangs. Mayor Villagraigosa is also asking for aid in prosecuting gang-related racial crimes. Law enforcers are beginning to focus primarily on areas where racial rivalries are surfacing, it is in those areas where innocent people are getting caught in the crossfire. Recent efforts have been moving away from raiding gangs and attempting to disband them, they are now putting the attention on stopping kids before they join a gang. One primary factor of the increase of gang-related violience in Los Angeles was the quick release of inmates in the County jails. A large percentage of inmates who admitted to gang affiliation, and were convicted of lower level crimes, such as weapon violations and assaults, were quickly released back into the streets. The only thing that did decrease this year, was the number of police units covering Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire and the Westside. As a resident here in the Valley, I never noticed a difference in the number of crimes around me. Here in Panorama, I've been completely oblivious to the crimes around me. Now that I see the numbers and percentages on paper, I am now more conscious while walking to my car at night.