Kaplan Academy : The California Chronicles

SPRING ISSUE 1, MAY 2009

Kaplan Academy :The California Chronicles

Dedicated To…

Kaplan Academy: The California Chronicles, would like to dedicate this first issue to Ms. Haya, Parent Advisor, and Devan Quintana, Editor-In-Chief. Without their guidance and support, this newspaper would have not been possible.

Summer Opportunities & Fun Things to Do

• Get a job – Youth Opportunity Center – www.hireayouth.com• Take a class for credit at Cypress or Fullerton College -

http://admissions.fullcoll.edu/specialadmit.htm • Note: Any of the California Community colleges may admit, as

special students, K-12 minor students without high school diplomas in summer session credit courses and collect state apportionment under limited circumstances. Education Code section 76001(h) specifies that community colleges may only admit those minor students who have parental consent, and:

• Are recommended by the principal of the school that he or she attends.

• Have demonstrated adequate preparation in the discipline to be studied.

• Have availed himself or herself of all opportunities to enroll in an equivalent course at his or her school of attendance.

Opportunities Continued

• Foreign Language High School Credit – Concordia Language Summer Villages - http://clvweb.cord.edu/newsite/Schedule/schedule_hscredit.php

• Foreign Language High School Credit (Free – paid for by US government) - http://www.startalk.umd.edu/ (2008 summer classes were held at Troy High School in Fullerton, CA)

• Speech & Debate Academy – 910 E. Birch Street #200, Brea, CA 92821; Phone 714-256-4709

• Math Olympiad Summer Camp - http://www.avidacademy.com/• Register now for the U.S. 2010 Presidential Scholar Awards -

http://www.nfaa.org/ • Center for Talented Youth Summer Programs -

http://cty.jhu.edu/summer/summer-programs.html (Great classes on university campuses across the country)

• Start preparing to apply for 2010 National Society of High School scholarships - http://www.nshss.org/scholarships/

• Young Musicians Scholarships - http://www.afm.org/young-musicians/scholarships

• Interlochen Center for the Arts Music Camp – http://www.interlochen.org• Arrowbear Summer Music Program - http://www.arrowbear.com/

Opportunities Continued

• Idyllwild Arts Summer Program - http://idyllwildarts.org/ • Weil Tennis Camp -

http://www.weiltennis.com/weil_camps/Camp_Information.htm

• Basketball Training at the National Jr. Basketball League - http://www.njbl.org/

• Sports Camps - http://www.ussportscamps.com/ • Parents and Teachers• Sign up for membership with the National Society for the

Gifted & Talented - http://www.nsgt.org/about.asp • Sign up for membership with California Association for the

Gifted - http://www.cagifted.org/

• By Mrs. Haya •  

Barack Obama: A Message of Hope By: Devan Quintana

The presidential campaign of this year has been widely regarded as the most popular and controversial campaign of our time. In the running was Hilary Clinton, the first woman to ever run for president, and Barack Obama, the first African American, to ever run for President. However it was John McCain and Barack Obama who were the final two presidential candidates.

John McCain, a Republican, Senator of Arizona and veteran of the Vietnam War; and Barack Obama, a Democrat and relatively young senator from Illinois, faced off in the end. The two candidates were definitely on opposing sides when it came to some very controversial issues, like stem cell research. However they also agreed on some issues, like same sex marriage. Barack Obama “Support[s] civil unions”, and in this instance John McCain agreed with Barack Obama saying that “[he] believe[s] the institution of marriage should be protected and defined as a union between one man and one woman”.

However, many American citizens sided with Barack Obama, and it was Obama who finally won the presidential election and assumed office on January 20, 2009. However, there are many people, both Republican and Democrat, who were outraged with his election and remain angry to this day. But Barack Obama said that “[he] will be your president too.” Whether you like Barack Obama or dislike him, he is now the President of the United States.

Many of the individuals who ran

for office, and many of the American

citizens who voted were consumed with one

idea, the idea of hope. Hope is said to be

one of the most powerful motivators in the

world, and with Barack Obama’s campaign

and election, you cannot dispute the fact

that it is safe to say that that idea has been

fully supported and can be deemed as true

in today’s society. For many people, Barack

Obama represents hope. Hope for a better

future, hope for a better economy, and hope

for all of those things that people feel they

need most today. Obama allowed people to

hold fast to their dreams and he gave them

a secure feeling of hope. Now, whether or

not he will be successful in his endeavors,

really no one knows. What we do know is

that Obama has many people who are fully

supporting him and still believe in his

notion of hope.

Barack Obama: A Message of Hope; - Continued

Barack Obama’s Winning Speech

Check out Barack Obama’s riveting and moving speech after becoming our 44th president by clicking tes link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJfGx4G8tjo

The 2012 ConspiracyBy: J.D. Cantrell

Many people believe the world is going to end in 2012.

Some people believe that 2012 is the year it will happen because

the Mayan calendar is ending. Others think Planet X is headed for Earth

and will crash into our planet and destroy 99.9% of the population.

I believe that it’s a hoax because when people feel threatened they

are willing to pay more in taxes in order to do whatever is necessary.

Consequently, it makes perfect sense that the government would use this

ruse in order to collect more money.

They are also making a movie (supposedly) about the year 2012

that is coming out in 2010. That is Hollywood’s attempt to extract money

from movie-goers.

In my opinion all of these scenarios about the end of the world have

little substance and should be dismissed.

A Champion Go Kart RacerBy: Dani Jacoby

Devin Lindsay, a champion Go Kart racer, on the podium after a race.

Devin Lindsay is one of the many talented

students that attend Kaplan Academy. Devin is not only

talented in his school undertakings; He is also is an

accomplished Go-Kart racer.

Devin has been racing Go-Karts for most of his

life, and has won a championship race and several other

races. He participates in races all across southern

California, and in nearby states as well. His most recent

endeavor was last weekend in San Diego, where he

participated in a Pokart race. He raced a KF which is a

faster engine. This year the biggest race of the year is

coming up, where he will be racing in the SuperNationals in

Las Vegas! Devin is supported by his family and a few

sponsors, but cleans and maintains all of his own cars. Even

though racing takes up a lot of his time, when Devin isn’t

racing Go-Karts he enjoys hanging out with his friends, bike

riding, and skateboarding.• By Dani Jacoby

Extreme Sports By Joseph Valdez

Extreme sports may be a term you may have heard of but didn’t really

know what it was. Basically the term means an action sport which has a high level of

inherent danger. The specific action sport may contain different attributes that make

it extreme such as speed, height, or a high level of physical exertion. Some extreme

sports are skateboarding, inline skating, hang gliding, and street luging.

Many of these extreme sports are well known and liked by people all

around the globe. But when there are popular extreme sports, there are also the not

so popular ones. Extreme Ironing ( yes you heard right) is basically ironing in weird

places like on a mountain or on top of a car. The so-called extreme sport was first

founded in 1997 by a man named Phil Shaw AKA Steam. Extreme Ironing started in

England and is now widely known in Germany, Australia, and Japan. They now hold

annual world championships.

As you may now see a sport doesn’t have to put you in extreme danger to

be called an extreme sport. So for all you anti-sport people who want the thrill of

being extreme with the satisfaction of a well pressed shirt then this is the sport for

you. For a clip to the extreme sport of Ironing then follow this link to the heart

stopping excitement. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njHE4S-HD3I

Under water Extreme Ironing

Mountain Top Extreme Ironing

Book Review

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie KinsellaBook Review by: Sophia Oleniacz

Rebecca Bloomwood, a financial journalist for Successful

Savings, lives the life many would dream of. She lives in one of

London’s most stylish neighborhoods. She has time to go shopping

every day. She even has a job with flexible hours. But, she is

thousands of pounds in debt from her daily spending and has no clue

how to pay everything off! Rebecca has a problem; she is a

shopaholic.

Throughout the book, Rebecca attempts to get rid of her

debt while trying to ignore the credit card companies and banks that

repeatedly send her letters regarding payments. Her plans to earn

extra money start with winning the lottery and span all the way to

dating her roommate’s multimillionaire friend. Throughout the three

hundred pages, Rebecca tackles financial problem after problem

while still writing her newspaper column about how to correctly

handle money.

Confessions continued…

Confessions of a Shopaholic has many

upsides as well as many downsides. The structure of

the book and its writing is wonderful and makes the

book very easy to read. Every chapter ends with a

cliffhanger that begs for you to turn the next page

and find out what has happened. Another talent that

the writer has is making the reader connect with and

like Rebecca Bloomwood, even though she tends to be

a pathological liar and a bit annoying. However, the

book is not a good choice for a person who cannot

stand shopping. The reason why most people (women

especially) can connect with Rebecca is her love of

shopping and fashion. Without that, the reader would

not be able to sympathize, but would instead criticize

Rebecca for her inability to stop buying clothes.

Confessions Continued…

Another fault that the book contains is Rebecca’s ability

to lie… easily. In almost every chapter, Rebecca lies about

something that gets her further and further into trouble. Even

though, it is understandable at times, after the fifteenth chapter

it can get quite bothersome. Nonetheless, the book’s faults

never seem to overpower its strengths, and it’s a wonderful read

for anyone who loves shopping. The book is an absolute page-

turner that will keep you laughing and smiling throughout.

Movie ReviewBy: Devan Quintana

Into the wild is a movie based upon the true and

actual events of a 23 year old man named Chris McCandles.

This riveting film’s screenplay was written and directed by

Sean Penn, who is also an Oscar award winning actor. In

the film Emile Hirsch plays Chris McCandles, a college

graduate searching for the adventure of a lifetime by

traveling into the wild.

While traveling to Alaska, Chris encounters some

people who ultimately change his life and world view. What

starts out as a trip to Alaska without anything to survive off

of but rice and his own survival skills, turns into the

adventure of a lifetime.

Into The Wild: Continued

Chris travels through Colorado,

Mexico, and Palm Springs, California

homeless. However, contrary to what you may

believe to be true about this story is the fact

that Chris McCandles was in fact an

extremely intellggent man who was going to

go to Harvard Law school, but he instead

chose to give everything he had up in order to

engage ie self exploration.

Once McCandles actually makes it

to Alaska he finds it harder than he

anticipated . McCandles had planned to leave

Alaska when spring came. He arrives in

winter, then when spring came he discovered

that the snow had all melted into the river

which he had crossed in the winter making it

a very dangerous passage.. This prevented

McCadles from crossing the river and forced

him back into the wild “[He] become trapped

in the wild”.