Knightlife October 2015

5430 TORRANCE BOULEVARD, TORRANCE, CA 90503 • WWW.BMHS-LA.ORG

KnightlifeNovember 9, 2015 • XLIX • ISSUE 2

Bishop Montgomery High School

Above: Members of the Homecoming Court sit together at he Homecoming football game.

Above: Lauren Turner ‘19 and Archie Jordan ‘19 compete against the seniors in the spirit games.Left: The varsity song team members dazzle during the fall pep rally.

There’s No Place Like Homecoming

Photographed by Emily Blair.

Written by Bronte Brewer, David Macaraeg, and Emily Blair. Photographed by Christine Petersen, Zandra Tsao, and Yearbook.

PG. 3

The girls stare at their mirror while putting on their makeup, flatten the wrinkles in their dresses, slip on their eight inch heels, and hope their feet will survive the entire night. The boys put on their tuxes, fix up their ties, and tie their shoelaces, all while looking like James Bond and hoping for an exciting night. It’s the day af-ter a huge football victory, so school spirit is at an all-time high. Homecom-ing is one of the many nights that the Bishop Montgomery Knights can look

back and reflect on for the rest of their lives. From the endless hours of photo shoots in front of beautiful scenery to the elaborate attire, good food, and dancing, Homecoming becomes one of the best experiences in high school. Every group of friends experi-ences Homecoming a little differently, but they all have a chance create new memories. Junior Chelsea Hyl-ton commented, “The Homecoming dance is one of the first major school events that I can give two thumbs up. I had a great time dancing with my friends, taking pictures, and of course using the #hoco2k15 tag. It was nice to get together with my friends outside of school with fancy dresses and nice tuxedos to let loose and have some fun. The music was perfect for our generation and the food was just as good. Homecoming was a shoot for the stars, over the fence, world series type of thing. All my expectations were

met and I can’t wait for next year.” Senior Micaela Abraham add-ed, “My last Homecoming was proba-bly the best one I’ve gone to. As a se-nior I would've gone dateless because it’s my last year, but I ended up getting asked in the cheesiest, yet cutest way by my best friend.” In between danc-ing the night away with best friends and eating great food that included pasta and tacos, the Homecoming Court was presented by Mrs. McDer-mott. The court began the festivities with a slow dance that turned into Party in the U.S.A., eventually inviting everyone at the dance to join in. Abra-ham continues, “Seeing all my friends on the Homecoming court was prob-ably the best part because I know they all represented Bishop the right way. We met up before Homecoming with almost the whole senior class to take pictures at the Trump National Golf Course and it felt like we were a big family. By just going with some of the best people, endless laughs, dress-ing up in an expensive dress I’ll prob-ably never wear again, and dancing

until I was dripping in sweat were the few things I’m never going to forget.” Although this may be the last homecoming for the Class of 2016, it is the start of something new for the underclassmen, and the memories, sore feet, pictures, princes and prin-cesses, queen and king, dances, and good laughs will never be forgotten!

To start off Spirit Week, the school community participated in class color day and sock day, which allowed students to represent their class. This pretty much sums up how Spirit Week at Bishop Montgomery works: being united with your classmates while taking part in friendly competi-tion with the other grades. A similar competition took place throughout Spirit Week: the canned food drive. This event showed both the competi-tive and caring qualities of the student body by giving students the chance to be a part of spirit week while help-ing the community by donating food. The most hyped and antici-pated event, marking the clash be-tween the freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, was the Spirit Games. These games allowed stu-dents to show their class spirit more than any other, with creative costumes

and an overflowing amount of green, red, purple, and blue. A group of stu-dents from each class were chosen to participate in the games,while those who did not participate in the games expressed their team spirit through cheering and wearing their class color. The Spirit Games consisted of chal-lenges that required teamwork and coordination, putting all the competi-tors to the test. The first round of the spirit games had two matches- the se-niors vs. the freshmen, and the juniors vs. the sophomores. The final compe-titions took place between the seniors and juniors, who competed for 1st, and the sophomores and freshmen, who competed for 3rd. The Class of 2016 ultimately took the crown as the champ16ns of Spirit Week. The Black and Gold Breakfast paved the way for the long awaited pep rally, narrated by Senior Tayo

Adetola. In hopes of finding Doro-thy’s red ruby slippers and making it to the homecoming dance, Dorothy was able to receive help from the class characters and team captains to defeat the Wicked Witch of the West. The freshmen were the munch-kins, the sophomores were the flying monkeys, the juniors were the tin man and scarecrow, and Seniors Bri-ana Hernandez and Joshua Arevalo played the roles of Dorothy and Toto. Throughout the pep rally, the alma mater competition took place, beginning with the freshman and end-ing with the victorious seniors. Dur-ing Dorothy’s journey, the homecom-ing court was introduced as they took the stage to perform their skits. The homecoming princes were seniors Elvin Atienza, Tim Brown, Fili Diaz, Kane Kutler, Giovanni Meza, Jeremy Pfahler, Tommy Rocca, Danny Rob-inson, Kiefer Sawa, and James Ser-rano, and the princesses included se-niors Krystine Bernas, Sabrina Cruz, Kelly Huben, Anna Leoncio, Lourdes

Lidzbarski, Taylor Owens, Tiffany Phil-lips, Fiona Tai, Taylor Tillett, and Bre-nae Wilkes. Soon after the creative skits were performed, Dorothy was saved and the seniors were crowned the spirit week winners. With compe-tition and spirit games set aside, the student body, faculty, and staff all unit-ed together to sing the alma mater and show their school spirit. Spirit week is one of the most memorable weeks for the students and we can’t wait to see what next year’s spirit week holds!

PG. 5 PG. 6 PG. 8

Written by Caroline Cusolito, Alec Rupp, & Andrea Mansilla.

Follow the Black & Gold Road

Above: Brianna Hernandez ‘16 and TJ Balas-chack ‘16 perform as Dorothy and Tin Man.

Above: A group of senior boys pose at Trump Golf Course before Home-coming.Left: Markus Raad ‘18 places the corsage on Camille Petroni ‘18.

Tricks or Treats? High Tech Upgrades Battle Royale! Shop ‘Til You Drop!

Knightlife pg.2

Halloween

Spooky hangoutsWritten by Bella DeSanto & Johnny Brunac

S i r P o r t ’ s

Dear Sir Port,Halloween’s coming around, and my friends keep push-ing me to watch scary movies with them. The problem is, scary movies absolutely terrify me! How can I not be so scared?

-Just remember, scary movies are meant to scare you. To deal with spooky-spooks during a movie, a nice, warm blanket to hide under pro-vides unfailing protection if you just can’t handle the fear. As for post-mov-ie terror, you can follow up with a happy and funny movie or show. But try to stay away from chick flicks - those are just as terrifying as horror films. Dear Sir Port,I’m thoroughly convinced that there’s a monster in my closet. How do I get it out?

-Slow down there, Buffy! Put yourself in the monster’s shoes for a min-ute. He might be seeking a friend in you, but he’s too shy to make the first move. You should try to coax him out with a board game and snacks or a funny movie. Who knows? You might end up hanging out with your new best monster friend and having a night filled with Netflix and thrill!

If you’re interested in submitting a question to Sir Port, please email [email protected] with the Subject “Sir Port’s Support.”

Living in the LA, there are TONS of things to do year round, es-pecially during this time of year. The South Bay area offers a gazillion things to do during Halloween time, some being incredibly unique to our area. Two of our most popular attrac-tions being Knott’s Scary Farm and Halloween Horror Nights, which gross thousands of people during the month of October. Junior Alexa Roberts went to Universal Studios with a group of friends. “My favorite maze was Insidi-ous. It was kind of hard to get through the mazes though because everyone kept pulling me and running. Overall it was a funny experience because ev-eryone was so scared… especially the boys.” Meanwhile, sophomore Rebec-ca Barfield went to Knotts Scary Farm with her friends from her old school. “I had just bought an ice cream cone and we started walking through the park and next thing you know I hear someone breathing in my ear and I turn around and it’s a 6” foot tall clown. He yelled at me and I dropped my entire ice cream cone on the ground

which made me scared and sad.” While these attractions are loads of fun, the area offers some not-so-popular places definitely worth checking out. One of them being Los Angeles’ very own Haunted Hayride. The Hayride, being relatively new to LA for about seven years now, offers a freaky carnival, a maze, the original Haunted Hayride, and this year, the opening of a truly gruesome Haunted House and a more twisted take on trick-or-treating. The main attraction, the Hayride itself, opens at 7:00pm when the sun disappears behind the Los Angeles skyline. The ride itself is about twenty five minutes with shady entities and other dark souls around every turn of this chilling attraction . This year features an entirely new 25 minute experience with the fierc-est Halloween ghoul of all time... The Boogeyman. Be prepared to be wan-der into a seemingly endless dark-ness with new surprises at every turn. One of the most ghastly plac-es to visit in LA this time of year is the Museum of Death. Described as a

place that will "make you feel happy to be alive and at the same time creep you out," the Museum of Death, which is located in Hollywood, is the perfect place to go with a few friends to get into the Halloween spirit. They have a room dedicated to coffins and funerals, which gives you insight of what it's like to be buried. The museum has a room filled with drawings and paintings cre-ated by the most notorious criminals of all time. You will also see real pho-tos of infamous crimes that have been committed in the last decade. Be pre-pared to get extremely creeped out yet oddly intrigued at the same time. Another one of Los Angeles’ spookiest attractions is the infamous 17th Door. Scarier than Knotts Scary Farm and more spine chilling than Uni-versal, the 17th Door is definitely not the usual haunted house. True to its name, the 17th Door, has seventeen rooms that you must go through in or-der to reach the exit. Each room has a different theme, a little more intense than the last. You must sign a waiv-er before entering which clears the

employees of any liability if anything happens during the tour. The only way to leave the 17th Door without reaching the final room, is to scream the safe word "mercy." If you and your friends want to be truly terrified in honor of Halloween, this is the place to do it. Overall, this is going to be one season truly fun enough to die for.

Photographed by Yearbook

SUPPORTHigh school is a difficult time for any teenager because it is filled with drama, rigorous classes, sleep deprivation, and personal prob-lems. Luckily, our very own Sir Port, an anonymous student-writ-er, has taken it upon himself to make high school a little easier for Bishop Montgomery students by sharing his wisdom and advice.

What did the skeleton call his signficant other?

His vertebae!

What is the most important subject that a witch learns in school?

Spelling!

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Throughout the weekend of Halloween, many Bishop Montgom-ery students took part in volunteering for various harvest festivals. One harvest festival, that took place the night before Halloween, was put on by a local volunteering organization, VCYC. The VCYC stands for Vol-unteer Center Youth Coalition, and the members organize four national day of service events throughout the school year. This particular event, known as Make a Difference Day, is planned every year and takes place at the Toberman Neighborhood Center in San Pedro. The event is planned for young elementary students in which they are able to participate in a fun-filled Halloween celebration. Volunteers and high school students from around the South Bay enjoyed their time at the event by working their station and handing out tickets for prizes. This year, a total of sixteen booths were created and planned by the mem-bers of the VCYC; some popular booths among the children were the haunted house, balloon darts booth, face painting station, and the

wheel of misfortune. At the end of the event, the kids went home with prizes and candy in preparation for Halloween night! Bishop Montgomery stu-dents also volunteered and enjoyed themselves at St. James School’s Harvest Festival. The annual fes-tival lasted throughout Halloween weekend and was filled with thrilling rides, fun carnival games, and deli-cious food. Even though Halloween fell on Saturday night, many families stopped by to enjoy the festivities and even win some extra Halloween candy. The final night featured St. James students in the Variety Show in which select students performed acts highlighting their talents. Ju-nior Ariana Verduzco, a St. James alumna, reflects on her experience volunteering: “I really enjoyed vol-unteering at the Harvest Festival and seeing the people I used to go to school with. It was fun to talk to my old teachers after so many years! I’d definitely volunteer again.” The Harvest Festival allowed both school families and the Torrance community to come together and celebrate as one community.

Halloween’s Helping HandsWritten by Theresa Sitter

Photographed by Yearbook

Above: Krystine Bernas ‘16 and Megan Martis ‘16 volunteer at the VCYC festi-val.

Above: Alexis Heaney ‘17 is terrified by the mazes at Knott’s Scary Farm.

pg.3 Knightlife

Halloween

Spilled Ink: ItBy: Anonymous It is why I go to sleep fac-ing the wall at night. It is why I don’t want to be at home alone anymore. It knocks from the mirrors. It climbs up and down the stairs. It plays with the lights. It opens the door when it leaves and closes it when it’s back. It whispers across the room. It cries. It screams. It laughs. You shrug it off at first. Like it’s all in your head. Like your lack of sleep

is to blame for all the noises you hear and all the things you see. But you remember. You remember how the noises you’ve heard and the things you’ve seen haven’t changed at all, not since you first heard and saw them. I remember how it scared away my imaginary friends. It still scares away my real ones. It hasn’t changed at all. I can’t handle it for much lon-ger. I used to love silence. I used

to love being alone. I used to love the secrecy and safety of my own thoughts. Now I always have mu-sic playing or the TV on. Now I’m never by myself. Now it’s always in the back of my mind. Sometimes it stops the music. Sometimes it turns the TV off. Sometimes it moves to the front of my mind, where it sends shivers down my back and drops my heart to my stomach, where it makes

me notice the rotten smell and feel that sick feeling, where it makes me wish I was anywhere else but here. I can’t handle it for much longer. Monsters aren’t that bad. You can look to one side, and to the other, and underneath you, and be-hind you, and right in front of you and you’ll see them. Just don’t look up. It doesn’t want you to see it.

Halloween across the globeWritten by Matthew Alcedo, & Erin Hall

Whether it’s trick-or-treating, going to a costume party, carving Jack o’ lanterns, or eating thirty pounds of candy in one sitting, everyone has a favorite Halloween tradition. Although Americans seem to be the biggest fans of Halloween, many other countries have their own Halloween traditions. The birthplace of Halloween is Ireland, where it is celebrated as much as it is in the United States. Bonfires are lit in celebration as they were centuries ago. Children dress in costumes to spend the evening trick-or-treating in their neighborhoods. After trick-or-treating, people attend community parties, where they cel-

Written by Matthew Alcedo

Question #1: “What is your most

embarrassing Halloween moment?”

Question #2:What is your favorite Halloween movie?

Q1: “I dressed up as an 80’s kid and I had to wear this big afro.”

Q2: “The Nightmare before Christ-mas because everytime I watch with my friends, I would spend my time just trying to scare them during the movie.”

Q1: “I went trick-or-treating a few years ago and at one of the hous-es this guy just said to me, ‘Aren’t you a bit old for trick-or-treating?’ and I was so embarrased.”

Q2: “Halloweentown 2 because I love it and it was a Disney classic.”

Q1: “One time I went trick-or-treat-ing and for about three houses in a row, they would give everyone candy except me.”

Q2: “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown because I like the story and his last name is Brown like me.”

Q1: “I was 6 and I couldn’t find my dad while trick-or-treating, so I went to this stranger and when he turned around, I just ran away.”

Q2: “Corpse Bride because I thought the movie was great and I am a big fan of Tim Burton.”

also cook food and drinks that their deceased relatives loved. Hispanics do not see this as a time of mourn-ing, but one of celebration for those who have left and gone to heaven. Halloween has grown over the years into the classic spooky tra-dition that it is today. What started off as a simple idea in Ireland evolved into a global phenomenon as coun-tries all over the world added their own spin to it. Whether it’s paying re-spect for the dead or even just stay-ing at home and drinking a pump-kin spice latte, everyone has their own way of celebrating Halloween - each one just as unique as the next.

however, there is almost no trick-or-treating. Halloween is not celebrated by some people in France, and only time will tell if Halloween will devel-op into a long-term tradition there. Mexico, Spain, and other Lat-in countries celebrate a three day pe-riod called Dia de los Muertos, or “Day of the Dead.” Celebration begins on October 31st and lasts until Novem-ber 2nd. Hispanics prepare a special place for their passed loved ones, who they believe return from the dead dur-ing this period. Families would make altars in their homes that they placed candles, photos, streamers, flow-ers, and other items on. They would

ebrate by playing games and eating traditional foods, such as barnbrack, a kind of fruitcake. Kids often go on treasure hunts, play a special card game, and play the game ‘snap-apple’, which is similar to bobbing for apples. In many ways, the cel-ebration of Halloween in Ireland is similar to Halloween in America. Recently, some people in France have begun celebrating La Fête d’Halloween. Unlike many other countries, they regard it as an Ameri-can holiday, not as a day to honor dead ancestors. To celebrate, people carve Jack o’ lanterns, attend par-ties, and dress up in scary costumes;

China has more than five thou-sand years of history and many tales of ghost and monsters that are told from generation to generation. For example: the zombies that wear Qing Dynasty clothes and wander in the street; The young woman who dies due to misfortune, then comes back for revenge; Black and white Wu Chang takes human life at midnight; The King of Hell--Yan Wang with his mon-ster accompanies Niu Tou (man with a bull’s head) and Ma Mian (man with a house’s face). Therefore, China has a variety festivals to remember ones ancestors and to show respect to the ghosts, just like Halloween in Ameri-ca. However, there is still big differenc-es between the Chinese festivals and Halloween. Chinese culture respects ghosts, but are afraid of them. There aren’t any traditions in making the ghost festivals a form of entertainment. Confucius once said, “Respect ghosts and gods, but keep away from them.”

There are three major ghost fes-tivals in China: the Qing Ming festi-val, Zhong Yuan festival and Han Yi festival. The Qing Ming festival is the most famous one and it’s usually on April 5th, but it might change based on the Chinese lunar calendar. On this day, no one can cook food on an open fire, so they eat old food that was prepared before. All cemeteries are crowded by people who sweep their ancestors’ tombs and offer sac-rifices of food and drink. After the of-ferings, people burn paper money and incense in hope that the dead live well in the underworld. In contrast to the sadness of missing their ancestors, people also enjoy the hope of Spring on this day. They go hiking, fly kites, or sit on the ground enjoying a picnic with family. At night, people light KongMing lanterns and then let it fly as a prayer, which symbolizes hope to the future. The second festival is called the Zhong Yuan Festival, also known as

Hungry Ghost Festival. According to a Chinese folktale, on the day of ZhongYuan Festival, the King of the Underworld opens the gates of hell and releases all ghosts for one day. Ghosts can go out and find food to eat (in Chinese folklore, the dead in hell are forced to live without food or com-fort). Every family needs to prepare food in front of their door to serve those lonely, hungry specters who pass by. Prayers and offerings will be made at family altars. At night, people go out to burn paper money, leave food in memory of their ancestors, and pray for good fortune. These feasts feed the evil spirits so that they won’t hurt the living. They also are bribes to their ancestors for good luck. Everyone then stays inside the house because people believe that evil spirits are very active at night, especially on that day. The HanYi Festival is the last cel-ebration of the dead. HanYi in Chi-nese means clothes that prepare for

the cold, so it makes sense that this festival is to prepare winter clothes for people’s ancestors and other ghosts. On that day, people will burn clothes for ghosts to wear, which are mostly made of paper. It is also a symbol of the coming of winter. Do you believe ghosts exist? Some people say yes, and some people answer no. Chinese people often say, ”If you don’t believe, there won’t be, but if you do, there will be!”

Question corner: HALLOWEEN EDITION

Above: These traditional Chinese flowers are popular during lantern lighting ceremonies to honor ancestors that have passed on.

Timothy Brown ‘16 Natalie Goni ‘17

Jacen Castillo ‘18 Dominick Allman ‘19

Ghosts from the Far East Written by Ricky XuPhotographed by Michaelson Kuong.

Knightlife pg.4

campus life

Award winning knightsWritten by Carolyn Egekeze and Audrey EgekezePhotographed by Chloe An

Following each academic se-mester, the Undergraduate Awards are a way for students to be recog-nized by teachers, parents, fam-ily friends and other students for their amazing achievements in the previous semester. This year’s Un-dergraduate Awards for the Spring 2015 semester brought on a new round of certificates, memorable speeches, outstanding students, and delicious treats in celebration of last year’s great accomplishments. Senior Carolyn Egekeze gave the opening welcome speech, where she talked about the impor-tance of valuing the small moments that develop who we are. The speech was well-received, with fellow senior Idiuso Okeke saying, “It’s nice how relatable Carolyn’s speech was for us students. She emphasized our loss of sleep in order to stay on the top of our game...it was casual and very nice. Her speech was very re-

and share moments with friends and family more often. Afterwards, both guests and students eagerly enjoyed cookies, goldfish, and wa-ter provided by the Mothers’ Club. Once again, congratulations to every student and continue to work hard inside and outside of the classroom!

beaming smiles on their faces, grateful for being honored for their hard work. The most anticipated part of the ceremony was the reveal-ing of the students of the semester. Valerie Trinh ‘16 calls this her favor-ite part because of the “anticipation and excitement.” As Ms. Libbon read teacher’s comments about these outstanding hard workers, students quickly turned around in excitement and pride, happy for their peers. Se-niors Anna Leoncio and James Ser-rano received the award for the class of 2016, juniors Stephanie Trelease and Bernard Amofa received the re-ward for the class of 2017, and Soph-omores Kevin O’Donnell and Mag-gie Mao received the award for the class of 2018. With the students of the semester applauded, Ms. Libbon ended the celebration with a speech that advised students to continue their efforts, sleep more, feel com-fortable doing nothing sometimes,

freshing to my ears.” Once Carolyn finished her speech, the guidance counselors prepared to give students their awards. Starting with the current sophomores, students eagerly lis-tened for their names and the awards they received for the past semester. Students earned department awards for their exemplary work in a certain department and Principal’s Honor Roll for their grade-point-average. Once a whole class had received their honors, parents and peers ap-plauded loudly for every student. Af-ter the certificates were handed out, students were awarded the St. Antho-ny Scholar medal if they had a GPA of 4.25 or above in the Spring 2015 semester or the George Montgomery Scholar medal if they had a GPA of 4.5 or above. Once all these students received their medals, the audience applauded in celebration of each stu-dent’s achievement. The award win-ners went back to their seats with

Above: James Serrano ‘16 andAnna Leoncio ‘16 are awarded Students of the Semester while the crowd cheers for them.

Above: Mr. Mitchell congratulates and shakes Junior Alexa Wagner’s hand as she accepts her award.

Above: Ms. Libbon congratulates the Knights on their success during the last semester.

Senior Knight FarewellsInterviews by Anna LeoncioPhotographed by Lifetouch

“Even though this is my first and last year playing high school foot-ball, senior night made me realize that I am going to miss my team and having the opportunity to play in a high school football game. One of my favorite things about the season was being welcomed by all the other players and mak-

“It was crazy walking out of the locker room knowing that it was one of the last times I would play on our home field. Four years of memories rushed to my head. I’ll definitely miss my teammates the most. This team was made up of a very special group of guys.” - Chris Santizo

“Senior night was bittersweet for me. This was my first and last year play-ing tennis, and joining the team was one of the best decisions I made in high school. My tennis team will forever be like my second family. I always looked forward to going to practice and having matches. Over-all it was an amazing experience!” -Iana Cayme

“Even though I have only been part of the football program for two years, the coaches and team have become a brotherhood to me. On Senior Night, one of the football program’s

The beginning of the school year marked a great deal of firsts for many students; however, for many of our Seniors, October brought a lot of lasts when it came to Senior Nights.Football:

Tennis:

“At the beginning of the season, I was really excited to be part of the tennis team my senior year because I was the co-captain. However, I was nervous to continue playing because of the extra workload from college apps. Additionally, a week before school started, I had surgery and was still recovering. I was concerned that the physical activity would af-fect the healing process. That being said, I’m very happy that I joined and helped lead my team throughout this successful season!” - Ebehi Aboi-ralor

Above: Patrick Smith ‘16 and his family are honored at football’s senior night.

“I honestly thought that my whole team forgot about Senior Night, but that morning my teammate Rebecca Moore gave me a bucket of candy! After we finished practice, I also got a bouquet of flowers and balloons! I was so blessed and thankful to have such amazing teammates. We’re a family, and Senior Night made me realize how special we are to one another.” - Idiuso Okeke

Band & Color Guard:

“During Senior Night, I felt really loved and appreciated by everyone on color guard. The girls on the team really expressed their love for the seniors, and this experience made me realize how blessed I am to have every one of them be part of my high school experience. I will always be thankful for the girls on color guard.” - Audrey Bae

Volleyball:“So the quote our team uses every-day is “live to fight another day.” It means to me that we should have next play focus mentality and work together as one unit for the good of the team. Pick a teammate up and carry them on your back. One thing I’ll miss about the team is the fire and drive for a successful game.Each one of us had the mentality to improve every time we stepped into the gym.” - Tiffany Phillips

ing a new FAM” - Christian Arevalo

alumni came to hype us up before the game which really helped us get locked in. Playing at home for the last time in the regular season was a blast and we’re striving to prove ourselves to the competition and crit-ics” - Elvin Atienza

pg.5 Knightlife

TECH IT OUT: A NEW CHAPTER IN THE CHROMEBOOK

Written by David CarrollPhotographed by Alexis Cervantes.

Last year seemed like just another ordinary year, and we prob-ably expected the same from this one, but we were wrong. This year, our campus has received massive technological improvements in our li-brary, computer lab, and classrooms., which will affect Bishop forever. For the first time, chrome-books are being utilized by the en-tire freshman class. These Chrome-books are used in the classroom as a quick note-taking device and an alternative to textbooks. There is little worry about people being off-task on the Chromebooks in class because Bishop has expressed clear restrictions on Chromebook use. The library and computer lab

have received the largest improve-ment. The old computers in the library have been replaced with Chrome boxes that run on the Chrome OS operating system. Inside the com-puter lab there are new Windows 8 computers with Intel I7 processors, 16 gigabytes of ram, a terabyte of hard drive space, and industry grade graphics cards for graphic design. There are many sweep-ing changes coming to Bishop in 2016, and it will be an exciting year!

Above: Freshman Cornell Mapp logs into the new computer systems in the library.

SPORTS

LET THE MUSICIANS ENSEMBLEWritten by Jackie Pistole & Samantha OchoaPhotographed by Lourdes Escalona-Ward

Our football games and pep rallies are not the only places where our Knights band assembles to show off their musical skills, though our events are very much brightened by the band. Whether it’s the beating of drums, the sound of a flute, or the combination of all the instruments, the student body is livened by their out-standing performances. The BMHS band is led by director Eric Hankey, who prepares our Knights to enter various competitions. Sophomore Anna Quast, a flutist for the band, proudly states, “The competitions al-low us to display how much we’ve ac-complished as a group. Band is a fun experience for me because I make a lot of new friends and can learn how to play a new instrument.” Another flut-ist, Kathryn Graz ‘17, describes her

experience with band and guard as “a sense of community.” The musicians of the BMHS band not only unite to-gether to share their talent for music, but they also assemble to inspire oth-ers with their talent and commitment. Tuesday, October 27th served as a prime example of the band’s passion, commitment, and talent for music, as our Knights at-tended one of their first competi-tions of the school year. Going into this competition, jittery tension filled the air. Nathan Sarti ‘18, who plays the saxophone, worried that he was too “nervous” and “underprepared” for the competition that he and his bandmates were about to face. This competition, held at Mayfair High School, excited Joshua Ebel ‘17, as he claims that the opportunity to par-ticipate in a band contest is “exciting, because we can show other people what [the band] has been working on.” Our Knights faced competitors such as West High, Redondo Union, and South High. To make the compe-tition fair, the schools were divided so that a band would compete against a band of similar size, so Bishop faced only two other schools.Three judges critically watched each school’s per-formance and placed them in third, second, or first place. Although the band is still anticipatingly await-ing the results of Tuesday night’s competition, we are all very excited to see what they do in the future!

Above: Lauryn Crudele ‘17 performs her routine for the competition.

Knightlife pg.6 5430 TORRANCE BOULEVARD, TORRANCE, CA 90503 • WWW.BMHS-LA.ORG

CAMPUS LIFE

students learn a lessonWritten by Stephanie TreleasePhotographed by Maya Mimura and Christine Zhao

Friday, October 16 marked the return of the annual Students vs Teachers Improv Show! The two com-petitors faced off in the ultimate TMH showdown, hoping to prove their dominance. Having lost by a mere

humiliation.” Mr. Sansalone, who “totally enjoyed performing,” spoke similarly: “improv requires no fear of embarrassment.” He also continued the fun, joking improv spirit by teas-ing that “the teachers dominated in the talent department, as expected.” Mr. Bitto took a more humble tone, saying, “it was really fun to jump in with the students on their turf. They were very gracious to let us perform with them.” The student team greatly enjoyed competing with their teach-ers. Harrison Cook ‘17 enthused, “it was really great to see that side of the teachers.” Colin Sevely-Ortiz ‘18 agreed: “The teachers did really well. Mr. Fitz shot me with an arrow, which was fun.” Although the teachers are enjoying their victory for now, the stu-dent team is completely prepared to teach them a thing or two next year!

proved. In the end, the teachers beat the students 43 to 42, barely hold-ing on with their one point victory. The teachers’ victory was well-earned from their hilarious and chaotic scene games. An audi-ence favorite was Interrogation; in this scene, Ms. Evans and Mr. Fitz played cops questioning criminals Mr. Hong, Mr. McGoldrick, and Fr. Ken about their crime. The criminals left the room while the audience gave suggestions of their crime, their lo-cation, and their accomplice. As the good-cop-bad-cop pair of Ms. Evans and Mr. Fitz gave hints to help the accused guess, the three offenders threw out wild guesses in hopes of learning their crime. They finally suc-ceeded in guessing their transgres-sion: they were blowing bubbles at the Eiffel Tower with Julius Caesar. The audience loved seeing a different side of their teachers. Senior Kyle Anderson exclaimed, “It was fun to watch the students go against the teachers competitively. I loved all the puns.” Junior Michael Smet ex-pressed his support for the students, saying, “The teachers may have won with points, but the students won my heart. They were the people’s win-ner.” The victorious teachers also expressed their enthusiasm for per-forming. Ms. Meehan called it “an exhilarating mix of excitement and

point last year, the teachers brought their eager energy for victory as they went head-to-head against the expe-rienced student team. Led by senior captains Tayo Adetola and TJ Bal-aschak, the student team was com-prised of Harrison Cook ‘17, Stepha-nie Trelease ‘17, Rebecca Martin ‘17, and Colin Sevely-Ortiz ‘18; they were outnumbered by the teacher team of Ms. Behen, Mr. Bitto, Ms. Evans, Mr. Fitz, Mr. Hong, Fr. Ken, Mr. McGold-rick, Ms. Meehan, and Mr. Sansa-lone. The match was moderated by Mrs. Rudder, who relied on audi-ence applause to award points each round. The teams left their inhibitions offstage as they performed to win the audience over. The crowd loved both teams and were divided between them, as the consistently close score

days and knights with godWritten by Natalia Cortes & Theresa SitterPhotographed by Christine Petersen

In the beginning of October, our Bish-op Montgomery Juniors had the op-portunity to experience the Emmaus retreat. The moment they stowed all their suitcases, duffel bags, pillows, and sleeping bags under the bus, their two-day journey began. After three fun, but long hours on the bus, the ju-niors arrived at St. Andrew’s Benedic-tine Monastery, miles away from our beach city of Torrance. While they were unaccustomed to the extremely hot days and cold nights, the desert atmosphere allowed the juniors to leave their distractions behind and focus on strengthening their personal relationship with God. Centered on the Emmaus story in Luke 24:13-35, the retreat focuses on the theme that Christ will always be with us through the ups and downs of our lives. Myles Stafford says,”Leaving retreat, I con-nected with a lot of old friends and it was great to come back to Bishop knowing and becoming closer to more people in my grade. I also got a pet rock.” Seniors Cielo Gutierrez, Sabrina Cruz, Christian Dycoco, Mar-cos Huerta, Gio Meza, Sydney Silva,

selves for the next chapter of life: college. Senior Emily Blair, who will be one of the leaders at the upcom-ing retreat, says,” I’m really excited to get closer with my classmates and friends. It’s great that Bishop gives us the opportunity to do this. We get to open up to each other on a com-pletely new level, and I’m excited to know everyone a little differently!” The Bishop Montgomery re-treat program would not be what it is without including the underclassmen. Many would describe the first five min-utes of their first retreat experience as a freshman as awkward, to say the least. The retreat took place out-side of the typical religion classroom doors in the upper level retreat cen-ter. The freshmen began the retreat at the chapel by listening to God’s voice and trying to ignore temptation

Scott Von Kanel, and Rachel Weldin each led their own small group and shared their life story to the juniors. Mrs. Morski and Father Ken also led and mentored the juniors throughout their journey. Scott Von Kanel re-flects, “My leading experience was definitely different from when I was a junior on Emmaus. It was fun to lead the juniors in my group through the journey and to tell the entire group my story. My goal was to not force anyone to talk, but to help them get through tough times in their life and grow closer with one another.” Se-nior Cielo Gutierrez says, “I’ve nev-er been so blessed and honored to be a leader. While I was nervous to open up about my life, I felt that ev-eryone got to have a real view of who I was. It was amazing to see how moved they were and I really appre-ciated their hugs and comments af-terwards. I loved my group so much, and it was so amazing to see them open up to each other. It is always the best part of my day seeing them at school and giving them a hug!” While the senior Kairos re-treat does not start until November, the senior class is excited to partici-pate in it. Similar to Emmaus, Kai-ros is a three day retreat at Paradise Valley Ranch in Hemet, CA. The word kairos means ‘special time’ or ‘Christ moment.’ During Kairos, the seniors will be able to distance them-selves from distraction, grow closer as a class, strengthen their relation-ship with God, and prepare them-

Above: The first of the Student’s team, captain Tayo Adetola ‘16, Rebecca Martin ‘17, Har-rison Cook ‘17, and Stephanie Trelease ‘17 get ready to play one of the many exciting and hilarious improv games.

Above: Mr. Sansalone, Ms. Meehan, Ms. Behen, and Mr. Bitto, members of the first teacher’s team, enthusiastically prepare for improv games.

Above: Mrs. Rudder, the referee, stands between the first set of student and teacher improv teams as she explains to the audience how comedy sportz matches operate.

through a blindfolded trust walk. One of the campus ministry leaders rep-resented God, while the other rep-resented the devil who tried to stray them away from God’s intended path. Although the retreat took place over a single school day, it was definitely filled with love and friendship as the senior leaders shared their stories. The freshmen were pulled in by the emotional and educational stories of the upperclassmen, while being encouraged to express themselves and talk about what they are going through. Freshman Ashley Tandoc said, “[Freshman retreat] was great! I met people, got to get to know them, and I love the seniors. They told us really interesting stories.” By the end of the day, everyone was feeling clos-er, and more connected to each oth-er, God, the seniors and themselves.

Above: The group of freshmen listen intently to Christine Petersen ‘16 and Sydney Silva ‘16 as they talk to the freshmen about the impact of family on their lives throughout high school.

Above: Leader Christian Dycoco ‘16 stands with his group of juniors on Emmaus.

pg.7 Knightlife

entertainment & opinion

bakers gonna bake8. After the oven is comletely pre-heared, bake the cookie dough for 12 to 14 minutes for the larg-er sized cookies or 8 to 10 min-utes for the smaller sized cookies.

9. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 min-utes before transferring the cook-ies to racks to cool completely.

The cookies will keep for up to three days if stored in an airtight container.

And that’s it! Delicious Taylor Swift cookies in under an hour. Just like any other activity, it is more fun to bake and enjoy while with a group of your best friends.

To achieve Taylor’s chai cookies with-out baking, simply pour a pack of chai tea into a premade sugar cookie mix.

1. Using a mixer fitted with a pad-dle attachment, or a whisk, beat the butter in a large bowl on me-dium speed for about 1 minute.

2. Add the vegetable oil (this can be replaced with almond oil or sunflower oil, although canola oil produces the best results). It may not fully incor-porate with the butter, but that’s okay.

3. Add the granulated sugar, pow-dered sugar, egg, and vanilla extract (or the seeds of one vanilla bean), beating on medium speed, or mix-ing with a whisk, until each ingre-dient is completely incorporated.

4. Cut one full chai tea packet open and empty the crushed up tea leaves into the batter evenly.

5. Stir in the flour, baking soda and salt all at once using a wood-en spoon or the mixer set on low. The dough should now be soft.

6. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour or freeze it for 15 minutes (just so it’s easier to handle while putting it on the baking sheet).

7. For large cookies, dollop a series of 2 tablespoons of cookie dough onto the cookie sheet, each about 2 inches apart. For smaller cookies use 1 Tablespoon for each cookie. Press the cookie dough evenly with your fingers, palm, or a spoon to 1/4-inch thickness. Generously sprinkle sugar on top of the cookie dough.

Have you ever wondered what world-famous celebrities eat when their sweet tooth acts up? Se-nior Sarah Sodeika did, and once her fav celebrity, Taylor Swift, posted an Instagram picture of her preferred holiday treat, giant vanilla bean chai tea sugar cookies, Sodeika, along with T-Swift’s Tumblr following, set out to find the recipe, which we are bringing to you here. Although the cookies may not turn you into a Grammy-award-winning superstar, they certainly will surpass your wild-est dreams (seriously, they’re so good) and are a great holiday snack!

Before gathering your ingredients, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil, or generously grease it with butter or cooking spray.

Ingredients List:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus ad-ditional for sugaring tops

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 chai tea packet

Above: Seniors Christian Dycoco, Sarah Sodeika, Sean Geber, Kristina Soberano, Abbie Sul-livan, Krystine Bernas, Dominic Aguirre, and Hanna Yi try the cookies in their costumes.

Above: Finished chai tea vanilla bean cookies straight out of the oven.

film me in: october movie reviewsWritten by Jayden Davis

Goosebumps [PG] Released October 16, 2015The movie was a nice combina-tion of all of the books that we all read as kids with a nice spin off that wrapped up the series. I advise that one reads the books first because it helps make sense of certain as-pects of the storyline. It is very fun-ny with the corny jokes throughout the film. This movie brings a certain sense of nostalgia if you have read the books. Although the kids could have been better actors, I give this movie a 7/10 for numerous reasons

Pan [PG] Released October 9, 2015This movie gets a rotten tomato from me honestly. Why can’t we stick to the original? If we turn it into a non- animated movie, we should at least keep the same storyline. This movie seemed very different than the original and the writer’s view on the story was interesting. If you do want to watch a new movie with no relation to the previous Peter Pans (2003 & 1953), then this is the right movie for you. It was written nicely when you ignore that it was supposed to be Peter Pan.

Paranormal Acitvity :The Ghost Dimension [R] Released October 23, 2015The director & writer pull you in with this one. They fully show you the “en-tity” and give you an exact look into the lives of the family. The 4-mem-ber family in California (which makes it scarier to us) finds a camera that sees paranormal things , which they use to discover more than a human should know, resulting in a one-time opportunity to save their daugh-ter from the paranormal creatures.

Above: Caylea Lidy ‘19 and Katie Pope ‘18 show their love for Justin Bieber’s new song “What Do You Mean?”

Top 10 Most Played Songs:1. Adele: “Hello”

2. Justin Bieber: “Sorry”

3. Justin Bieber: “What Do You Mean?”

4. Charlie Puth (ft. Meghan Trainer): “Marvin Gaye”

5. Drake: “Hotline Bling”

6. R. City: “Locked Away”

7. Major Lazer: “Lean On”

8. Shawn Mendes: “Stitches”

9. One Direction: “Perfect”

10. Taylor Swift: “Wildest Dreams”

Upcoming Album Releases:1. Ellie Goulding: Delirium November 6, 2015

2. Sam Smith: In the Lonely Hour November 6, 2015

3. Hozier: Hozier [Special Edition] November 6, 2015

4. Little Mix: Get Weird November 6, 2015

5. Justin Bieber: Purpose November 13, 2015

6. One Direction: Made in the A.M. November 13, 2015

7. Adele: 25 November 20, 2015

top & new

Written by Jayden Davis. Photo-graphed by Mariana Madrigal

musicWith award season just around the corner, many solo artists and bands are releasing much anticipated sin-gles and albums to their eager fans. Whether music helps you through a particularly difficult math assign-ment or accompanies you in the long car rides to and from school, it is always exciting to listen to new releases from the most popular and innovative artists of our genera-tion, why is why we are bringing to you BMHS students’ most played songs and upcoming album releases.

8. Maroon 5: Singles November 20, 2015

9. Chris Brown: Royalty November 27, 2015

10. The Vamps: Wake Up November 27, 2015

An important aspect of being a suc-cessfull student is taking time to enjoy life in between all of the studying and extracurricular activities. A fun way to do so is taking time to go out to watch a movie with family members and friends. With Halloween just around the corner, October is the perfect time for scary movies to be released, and this month was filled with both good and bad box office specials. The fol-lowing contains objective reviews of movies that are still in theaters, so go out there and get watching!

Knightlife pg.8

CAMPUS LIFE

Malling in love: del amo opens its doorsWritten by Nicole Barragan Photographed by Matthew Topacio & Richard Vela

The Knightlife newspaper is published by the Knightlife club of Bishop Montgomery High School, 5430 Torrance Blvd., Torrance, CA 90503.

Opinions expressed in this paper do not reflect those of Bishop Montgomery High School.

Knightlife 2015-2015 BoardEditors-in-Chief: Lourdes Lidzbarski & Anna Leoncio

Vice Presidents: Stephanie Trelease & Caroline CusolitoPhotography Executives: Emily Blair & Simon Tran

Treasurers: Carolyn Egekeze & Theresa SitterSecretary: Kassandra Madrigal

Graphic Design Executives: David Macaraeg & Jesus Vazquez

This Issue: Staff Writers: Alec Rupp, Andrea Mansilla, Angelo Pasco, Audrey Egekeze, Bronte Brewer, Caroline Cusolito, Carolyn Egekeze, David Macaraeg, David Carroll, Emily Blair, Elizabeth Hadnett, Erin Hall, Fabiola Higueros, Jackie Pistole, Johnny Brunac, Jayden Davis, London Williams, Matthew Alcedo, Natalia Cortes, Nicole Barragan, Ricky Xu, Samantha Ochoa, Stephanie Trelease, Theresa Sitter

Staff Photographers: Alondra Camarena, Andrea Mansilla, Audrey Egekeze, Bronte Brewer, Caroline Kim, Chloe An, Christine Zhao, Eliza-beth Hadnett, Emily Blair, Erika Akyeah, Iris Shi, Jada Harris, Jenny Choi, Johnny Brunac, Kassandra Madrigal, Mariana Madrigal, Matthew Topacio, Maya Mimura, Michaelson Kuong, Natalia Cortes, Rachel Hong, Rebecca Julifs, Richard Vela, Zandra Tsao

Staff Advertisers: Alondra Camarena, Bella DeSanto, Bronte Brewer, Caroline Kim, Carolyn Egekeze, Jayden Davis, Jenny Choi, Rachel Hong, Ricky Xu, Samantha Ochoa, Zandra Tsao, Theresa Sitter

Staff Interviewers: Alondra Camarena, Natalia Cortes, Audrey Egekeze, Bella DeSanto, Bronte Brewer, Carolyn Egekeze, Elizabeth Hadnett, Jayden Davis, Johnny Brunac, Kassandra Madrigal, London Williams, Lo-renz Montecillo, Mariana Madrigal, Matthew Alcedo, Matthew Topacio

Peer Editors: Alex Rupp & Angelo Pasco

Advisor: Mr. HongProofreaders: Mr. Marafino & Ms. Vigon- MorffiPublisher: Ms. Libbon

Since its opening in 1959, Del Amo Fashion Center has been a landmark of Southern California. More than fifty years later, the shopping center has undergone multiple renovations in the past decades. It is now the ninth busiest mall in America and the fifth largest in the country. On Octo-ber 9th, the center added an entirely new wing of the mall on the north side of the mall and refurbished an existing building north of Carson af-ter about 21 months of construction. The once-confusing layout of numer-ous dark, claustrophobic passages has been transformed into a bright and inviting area flooded with natu-ral light and touches of greenery all around. The additions also included a new parking structure with a ca-pacity of nearly 2,000 cars along with 21 electric vehicle charging stations. Another important goal of the reno-vations is reducing the mall’s carbon footprint and recycling as much as possible. The center reused most of the building materials from the demol-ished north section. The new areas include energy-efficient LED lights

Hey Bishop, are you looking for an opportunity to earn extra money? Your solution is here! The following list includes jobs perfect for high school-ers that will look great on future resumes. Take a trip to the following lo-cations for more information on the application and other requirements for the job. Keep in mind that most jobs require the applicant to be 16 years or older, and most of the listed position are part time. Happy hunting!

Del Amo is closer and that’s where I buy most of my workout clothes.” The anticipation this construction brought to Bishop is more than evi-dent in Kaelyn, who visited the mall “the day it opened.” Likewise, Caitlin considers the 21-month wait “pretty reasonable since it was a pretty big project.” With the completion of this stage of renovation, the mall admin-istration is initiating the third and final refurbishing stage, which will include the south side of the mall. This space will see a transformation similar to what the north side experienced, and is scheduled to be completed by fall of next year. The multi-year project will allow the Del Amo Fashion Center to appeal to 21st-century consumers.

and walls of living greenery incorpo-rated in different regions of the mall. Other initiatives include high perfor-mance glass on the windows and skylights, more efficient heating and cooling systems, and an overall lower water flow throughout the building.Construction on this project started in January of 2013, with the official an-nouncement made public in July of the same year. Work progressed for the next 21 months, with the remod-eled food court opening earlier in fall of 2013. After almost two years and over $200 million, the new Del Amo is open just in time for the 2015 holi-day shopping season, expecting to attract a large amount of visitors and with them an increase in sales tax revenue for the city; unofficially, this increase has been estimated at 50%. This new development has created many expectations among the Tor-rance neighborhood, and the Bishop community is no exception. When asked about her overall perception of the new mall, freshman Caitlin Frich-tel described it as “fancy and mod-ern compared to what it used to look like.” The added retail space will host a large selection of luxury flagship stores, such as Michael Kors, Kate Spade, and Uniqlo, along with an ex-tensive variety of upscale eateries.The new stores bring a much needed convenience to junior Kaelyn Jef-ferson, who mentioned that she is most excited about “Lululemon be-cause the closest one to me was in El Segundo, but now the one in

Above: Del Amo mall now has a sleek and modern style.

job openings

Above: The new architecture of Del Amo mall connects from the old, outside pavillion and the new section of the mall.

- Restaurant Team Member for Del Taco (20135 Hawthorne Blvd., Tor-rance, CA 90501)

- Host/Hostess or Server for Den-ny’s (21270 Hawthorne Blvd., Tor-rance, CA 90503)

- Dishwasher, Busser, Host, or Hostess for Elephant Bar (21227 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, CA 90503)

- Cashier/Delivery Driver for Fresh Brothers (2008 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266)

- Restaurant Team Member for Chi-potle Mexican Grill @ Del Amo Mall (01451-21300 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, CA 90503)

-Day Time Team Member for Chick-fil-A (18200 Hawthorne BlvdTorrance, CA 90501)

November Art ProjectAre you interested in exhbiting your artwork and photography to the Bishop Montgomery community? This is your chance! The schoolwide theme for November is THANK-FULLNESS, so please send a pic-ture of what you are most grateful for to [email protected] to be featured in next month’s issue!

upcoming eventsNovember 5: Junior Varsity Foot-ball vs Verbum Dei (at Verbum Dei)

November 6: Football vs Verbum Dei (at LA Southwest College)

November 11: Veteran’s Day

November 11-13: Kairos Retreat

November 18: Improv at lunch

November 19: Senior Panoramic

November 18-19: Lab Days

November 21: Band Competition

November 21: Open House

November 24: Thanksgiving Mass

November 25: Early Dismissal