Presbyterian Pan American School April 12, 2017 •VOLUME 14 • ISSUE 6• KINGSVILLE, TX 78363 Eagle X-Press North Carolina wins March Madness 2017 by Antonio Ruiz Staff Writer Eagles baseball beats Sunnybrook by Hope Shobha Staff Writer Track & Field competes in Bishop Staff Writer by Maylin Diaz by Paulina Boudesocque Staff Writer Annual Celebration held at PPAS Students participate in Science Symposium Juniors attend Dual Enrollment Day at TAMUK by Hannia Sanchez Staff Writer TAPPS 3A Valley All-Stars defeated Valley 1A All-Stars 36-25 in the game last night. PPAS Senior Henriette Mbawmbaw and freshman Alondra Gutierrez played in this game. PPAS ju- niors Joshua Karang- wa and Changhee Han also participated in the 3A TAPPS Valley All-Stars on April 4. Annual Celebration was held March 24-25 on campus. Photo provided by:PPAS FB On March 24 and 25, students from Presbyte- rian Pan American School (PPAS) enjoyed games and activities in the an- nual Celebration event. Celebration is a two-day activity that consists of many things, from play- ing games to listening to speeches from students and singing praise songs. Students were sepa- rated into 10 families, which are randomly so students co-exist with other students that they may not be familiar with. “I really enjoyed all the games and worship that we did. It was a good experience for being a family member,” said Junior Wooseok Choi. The theme for this year was The Hun- ger Games: Catching Fire and every team or family was a District. “I loved the experi- ence. This was my first Celebration at Pan Am and I thought it was fun and creative,” said Freshmen David Araujo. Junior Lizeth Mireles said that Celebration is the per- fect opportunity to inter- act with people you don’t always talk to because that is one of its purposes. There were differ- ent games and activities such as flip the bottle, lap sit, monster, etc. “The main purpose of Celebration is to encour- age students to work as a team and socialize with Throughout the school year, students in chem- istry, physics and biolo- gy class at Presbyterian Pan American School have been working on different topics in this year’s science sympo- sium and the judges will select the best research done on April 5, 2017. Rosine Uwayesu, a 17-year-old junior, is working on their re- search on Generation of Electricity together with Nadine Karabaranga, a 17-year-old junior. “What I like most about our topic is that it helps us understand how electricity has helped in growth of today’s tech- nology,’’ Uwayesu said. Working on a science symposium is a very good experience be- cause you just don’t do it for a grade, the fact that as you research, you get to learn more on the science topic you’re doing, Uwayesu said. According to Priscilla Escamilla, a 16-year- old sophomore, her other students,” said Senior Fabiola Saldaña. Another big part of Celebration is the sing- ing. All the students reunite in the school’s chapel to sing praise songs. The school’s Praise Team plays a va- riety of songs to enter- tain the students while they have a good time. At the end of the first day, all the students get letters from their friends and family that were sent to them. “I was surprised when I got a letter from home because I didn’t expect it. It was a good surprise though, it made me feel home,” Araujo said. “Celebration is one of the best experiences a person can get from Pan Am. At the end of it, you end up having more friends and good experiences,” said Ju- nior Eulalia Velazquez. Presbyterian Pan American School track and field members had a track meet on March 23, 2017 and had to compete with differ- ent schools in different track and field events at Banquete. Some of the schools they competed with were Bishop High School, Banquete and Riviera. Omar Ortiz, a 16- year old sophomore competed in 110 me- ters race and hurdles. “I think that was the best experience be- cause you get to know where to improve in the next compe- tition, ”Ortiz said. Different track and field members also competed in differ- ent categories in the event at Banquete and some students stood out. Some of these stu- dents were Miriam Ji- menez, a 16-year old junior participated in the two mile race, Jose Vasquez, a 17-year-old junior, in the 100 and 200 meters race and lastly, Christian Pena, a 16-year-old freshman in the 400 meters race. Tabitha Barakagwira, 16-year-old junior, likes track because the team members are so encourag- ing and supportive during the events. “I believe that the strength of track and field as a team is the fact that we are united and there is a lot of team work,” Barakagwira said. The benefits of track and field is that it has a lot of components that are basis to other sports and also track and field’s help to im- prove mechanics for running and jump- ing, said Reili Cantu , Track and Field Coach. “What I like about this year’s track and field team is that most of them are willing to put in the work, ”Cantu said. On April 4, 2017, at Presbyterian Pan American School (PPAS), a baseball game took place. The Eagles baseball team won against San An- tonio Sunnybrook Christian academy by a score of, 18-2. Among the top base- ball players that com- pleted more runs were Jose Calderón, Min Oh and Carlo Lopez. “We as a team want to give our best in every game, even if situations are not fa- vorable,” said Se- nior Jesus Perez. The starter pitcher was Calderón and catcher Juan Vazquez. Al- though the score was favorable, it was a fair game, Perez said. “The game was great. They were good play- ers, we all gave our best, and at the end our efforts were paid off,” said Se- nior Abiel Cárdenas. Moreover, there was another game held earlier on March 31, 2017, in San Isidro. The score was re- markable with, 18-12, with PPAS in the lead. Starters were Calderón as the pitcher and Moi- ses Araujo as catcher. “Our boys played very well. I was proud of how they played and how they han- dled the situation,” said baseball Coach Hardy Robertson. On April 3, the Men’s Gonzaga basketball team played against North Carolina Tar Heels for the March Madness Champion- ship. In the end, North Carolina won the match with a score of, 71-65. As it is done every year, the March Madness tournament 2017 start- ed on March 12 with the selection Sunday and it is going to come to an end on April 3 with the championship game. The March Madness, considered the great- est tournament for col- lege teams, is a bas- ketball competition run by the National Collegiate Athletic As- sociation (NCAA) that features more than 60 college teams that play against each other in different categories. According to the Il- linois High School As- sociation’s website, Ihsa.org, March Mad- ness was born in Illinois as an “annual tourna- ment of high school boys basketball teams, sponsored by the Illi- nois High School As- sociation.” It started on 1908 and grew to be a state wide tournament that hosted over 900 schools by the 1930’s Today, this phenom- enon is thought to be the Super bowl of col- lege basketball and it is broadcasted through- out the whole U.S. in broadcast compa- nies like CBS Sports. The Final Four is the name for the semifi- nals stage of the March Madness tournament. This year the Final Four matches, played on April 1, were South Carolina vs. Gonza- ga, with a final score of 73-77 and Oregon vs. North Carolina, with a final score of 76-77, respectively. From left, Juniors Min Oh, Youjin Oh & Joshua Karangwa attend Dual Enrollment Day at TAMUK. 219 students, dozens of TAMUK staff, and 9 different schools, reunited for a single purpose: celebrate the annual Dual Enrollment day. The Event was held at Texas A&M Uni- versity- Kingsville (TAMUK) on March 21st, 2017. It started at 10 a.m. and came to an end at 2 p.m. in the second floor of the Student Union Building. Presbyterian Pan American School (PPAS) attended with a group of TAMUK dual en- rollment students pertaining to the junior class, who received information and explored the institution’s educational spaces. “I liked the fact that they ap- preciated our efforts for be- ing a high school student and a college one at the same time,” said Junior Joshua Karangwa. TAMUK’s staff was com- posed by college students and professors who shared their experiences throughout the years and who essentially as- sured to all the dual enrollment students that TAMUK Univer- sity was a very good option, indeed the best in the region. “It was interesting to hear their offers and to know more about the colleges inside the university. They sounded pretty convincing,” said 17- year old Junior Youjin Oh. TAMUK’s faculty divided the colossal amount of students into 4 groups: A, B, C & D. Thus, different groups attended diverse rooms, and listened to the proposals comfortably. After some these conferences and oral presentation shared between students and the hosts, the staff invited the alumni to get some snacks and drinks. During the lunch break, door prizes were provided to the au- dience by drawing raffle tickets. “The path to being success- ful starts with making the best choices, and you guys have a pretty good potential that must not be wasted,” said TAMUK College of Arts and Sciences Dean Dolores Guerrero at the beginning of the event. Indeed, Oh recognized their recruiting efforts and po- tential to captive the inter- ests of high school students. “I liked the University buildings and centers, now I’m consider- ing applying to this institution. It seems to be diverse and a proper place where higher education is conveyed,” said Junior Min Oh. According to the Universi- ty’s staff The Dual Enrollment day purpose is to appreciate, identify, recognize, and dis- sect the best students around the area and in the community. by Hope Shobha Staff Writer topic, neonatology, can help one understand more when it comes to careers because it is a science topic, which it focuses on and one might be in- terested and try it out. “I believe that next year’s science sym- posium will be much better because one will be able to look at the mistakes done in the previous one and then correct them in the new one,” Escamilla said. “As a science teacher, I think science sympo- sium is different from science fair because in science fair you have to follow the scientific method while in sci- ence symposium you have to conduct re- search on a topic,” said Walter Mebane , Chem- istry/Physics teacher. Science symposium is more of research- ing and then educating people and thus it is a benefit for the audience that listens and the re- searcher, Mebane said. From left, Angelita Mireles and Elizabeth Blanno with their research and board. Min Oh up to bat against Sunnybrook. Photo by: Maylin Diaz PPAS plays in TAPPS All Star Game Photos provided by: PPAS FB Photo provided by:PPAS FB