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COMP SCI PROJECT
Senior Awards culminated Wed. night when Principal Dr. Robert Nye presented Michael Weinberg with the coveted ‘Dolphin of the Year’ award.
Weinberg is the President of National Honor Society, a captain on the boys’ varsity soccer team and the founder of Sports Gift, a program that gathers used sports equipment for children in third world countries.
This ‘Dolphin’ will be attending the University of California at Irvine in the fall as a member of the Honor’s Program.
Weinberg and 17 other members of the senior class were nominated to receive the title of ‘Dolphin of the Year’ from a class of more than 700 students.
The 18 nominees were recognized by their teachers for their outstanding academic achievements, leadership qualities and strong moral fiber.
“Great leaders are nothing without their followers. In order to lead, one must learn to follow first,” Weinberg said in his interview.
The 2009 ‘Dolphin of the Year’ finalists included: Dominique Brillon, Cameron Djokovich, Nathan Lubock, Melanie Shimano, Michael Weinberg, and Jeffrey Zhang.
In total, the event spanned three hours and recognized over 200 members of the senior class.
The class of 2009 will be showcasing 75 white robed valedictorians on June 18 and 127 silver medalists, who earned academic distinction.
Local, state and national scholarships were awarded to a vast number of students.
National Merit Scholarship Recipients included Zhang and Scholar of Scholars Jeremy Chang. Jessica Lopez was honored with the US Air Force Academy Preparatory School Scholarship.
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Many students are still frustrated that they couldn’t study marine life in wondrous, Monterey, Mexico.
Instead, students in Marine Ecology were given the opportunity to work with respected scientists on the local island of Catalina.
This change resulted in a more structured study, but obviously there was still no lack of fun or adventure.
Regarding her favorite experience on this year’s Marine Ecology trip, Kaylie Fernald recalled, “I loved cliff jumping and how encouraging people were to make me jump.”
With the support and encouragement isolation can bring, the students bonded.
A series of inside jokes were quickly formed among students and teachers. “Equalize, early as often, cockle blockers, casper graspers, nature is so loud if you just listen, I can take you down, para bailar la bamba, and zoo noises” are just a few of the jokes that just came about inside the course of the trip.
This year, the Catalina trip was successful in various ways. Not only did the students learn about sea life, they were given the opportunity to snorkel, go on long, hikes, and absorb a lot of new information.
Connor St Clair’s advice for future Marine Ecology students is, “Don’t hike to two harbors expecting a boat ride back, it’s a bad idea.”
Apparently, the boat ride never came… And the hike back was twice as bad the second time.
The trip was fun regardless of location. The students bonded, learned, and completely understood the science of marine life through this trip.
The only difference was that Catalina is so close to home, and does not deliver the emphasis of “far away from home.”
Students were in awe of the success of the Catalina trip and it could possibly become a new tradition replacing Baja.
The water was clearer, there were bathrooms, and there were actual cabins. The learning that was obtained will remain with the students forever.
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