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The Palm Valley School Student Blog

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The True Heroes

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By Charles Schnell

 

Charles received Honorable Mention for this poem submitted to the Youth Town Hall “Giving Back” Poetry Competition–a valley-wide competition held in honor of Caroline Kennedy, former ambassador to Japan and daughter of John F. Kennedy. Kennedy is a longtime advocate and editor of poetry. Her family is known for its dedication to service. The compilation of poems was a gift to Kennedy when she spoke at the Desert Town Hall Forum last month.

 

The celebrities,

The athletes,

The CEOs,

The lawyers.

These aren’t the

True heroes

(Especially the lawyers).

Rather,

Blessed be

The organ donors,

The charity givers,

The teachers,

The soldiers,

Those who give their time, money, and life

To giving back,

For they are

The true heroes.

Editor: Renée Vazquez

March Madness: Or U Must Be Cinderella

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By Guest Blogger and Basketball Fan Holden Hartle

March Madness is a time where everyone, not just college basketball fans, puts some money in and fills out a bracket in hopes of making that perfect bracket. Well, for those who are more inexperienced, and want to win some money, here are some good pointers.

  • Three’s are better than two’s–Statistically, the three pointer has become very popular in the past decade. Furthermore, college teams who shoot better from the three-point line often have a better chance of winning the game.
  • Be careful of Cinderella Teams–There is always that one team that is not a high seed but goes far in the tournament. Don’t get too caught up in this. This is usually GREAT advice. Before this year, only four double digit seeds had ever made the final four. It just so happens, this is the year of Cinderella Teams! For instance, No. 11 Syracuse upset No. 3 Michigan State AND beat No. 6 TCU; No. 11 Loyola-Chicago upset No. 3 Tennessee AND No. 6 Miami; No. 16 UMBC won over No. 1-seed Virginia; No. 13 Marshall defeated No. 4 Wichita State; and No. 13 Buffalo upset No. 4 Arizona.
  • Free throws win championships–-Every NCAA championship team has been an above average free throw shooting team; keep this in mind.

However, the most important rule of all is go with your gut. If your gut tells you to pick it, then pick it. With these in mind, I hope you happen to win lots of money!!!

Editor: Peter Kadel

We met Caroline Kennedy

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By Shelby Armor

On Thursday, March 8, a team of our Upper School students went to see former US Ambassador to Japan and daughter to John F. Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy. Desert Youth Town Hall hosts four such events each year at Indian Wells’s Renaissance Esmeralda. Leo Milmet, Shelby Armor, Andrew Zhu, Renée Vazquez, and Jordan King were all in attendance and enjoyed a great night of talk on foreign policy with Japan, Caroline Kennedy’s life, and JFK!

Renée, Andrew, Jordan, Leo, and Shelby all pose for a photo before they go to see Caroline Kennedy.

Caroline Kennedy addresses Coachella Valley high school students before she enters the main ballroom at the Renaissance. She welcomed questions from the crowd.

Leo Milmet, at the request of Caroline Kennedy, shares inspiration for his poem he wrote for the “Giving Back Poetry Contest.” The contest was a tribute to Kennedy, to her love of poetry, and to her family’s dedication to service.

Next Wednesday, the Town Hall Forum hosts the final speaker of the 2017-18 series, journalist Chris Wallace. Our own Jordan King is tasked with introducing the Fox News commentator.

Editor: Makena Behnke

Trial and Error: The Verdict

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By Brennan Nick, Blogger and Mock Trial Defense Attorney

Hey, I’m back with news about Mock Trial! To recap, nearly fifteen Palm Valley Upper School students competed together in the California Mock Trial Competition, and now that it’s over, here’s the news on how it went. Out of four competitions this season we went 2-2. Our first two competitions were against Indio High School and Great Oaks High School. We lost but by very slim margins. After that, we came back and narrowly beat Xavier in our third competition, and we won our last competition by a large margin against Amistad High School.

Palm Valley 2017-18 Mock Trial Team

Editor: Claire Jenkins

OSCARS 2018: PREDICTIONS, PICKS, etc.

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 By Leo Milmet, Resident Film Critic and Academy Awards Guru

Yay! That one weekend where everyone suddenly becomes a huge film buff like me is almost upon us! The Oscars are coming up this weekend!

Here is my list of predictions, wishes, and personal picks.

The following list will be divided into the Oscar nomination categories. I will write “Will Win,” “Should Win,” and “My Picks” next to the contenders:

*“Will Win” = the film/person that is likely to win the award;

*“Should Win” = who deserves to win;

*“My Picks” = my personal picks for that category.

 

BEST PICTURE:

Will Win: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Should Win: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

My Pick: The Big Sick

 

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Will Win: Gary Oldman–The Darkest Hour

Should Win: Gary Oldman–Darkest Hour

My Pick: Gary Oldman

 

BEST ACTRESS:

Will Win: Frances McDormand–Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Should Win: Saoirse Ronan–Lady Bird

My Pick: Saoirse Ronan

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Will Win: Sam Rockwell–Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Should Win: Sam Rockwell–Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

My Pick: Sam Rockwell–Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Will Win: Allison Janney–I, Tonya

Should Win: Allison Janney–I, Tonya

My Pick: Allison Janney

 

BEST DIRECTOR:

Will Win: Guillermo del Toro–The Shape of Water

Should Win: Greta Gerwig–Lady Bird

My Pick: Martin McDonagh–Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

 

BEST ANIMATED FILM:

Will Win: Coco

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:

Will Win: Faces Places

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Will Win: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Should Win: The Big Sick–Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani

My Pick: The Big Sick

 

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Will Win: Call Me By Your Name–James Ivory

Should Win: The Disaster Artist–Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber

My Pick: My Friend Dahmer – Marc Meyers

 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Will Win: Blade Runner 2049–Roger Deakins

Should Win: Blade Runner 2049–Roger Deakins

My Pick: Blade Runner 2049–Roger Deakins

 

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:

Will Win: Phantom Thread–Mark Bridges

Should Win: Phantom Thread–Mark Bridges

My Pick: Baby Driver–Courtney Hoffman

 

BEST FILM EDITING:

Will Win: Baby Driver–Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos

Should Win: Baby Driver–Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos

My Pick: Baby Driver

 

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

Will Win: A Fantastic Woman

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT:

Will Win: Edith + Eddie

 

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING:

Will Win: Darkest Hour–David Malinowski, Kazuhiro Tsuji, Lucy Sibbick

Should Win: Darkest Hour–David Malinowski, Kazuhiro Tsuji, Lucy Sibbick

My Pick: Darkest Hour

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:

Will Win: The Shape of Water–Alexandre Desplat

Should Win: Phantom Thread–Jonny Greenwood

My Pick: Darkest Hour–Dario Marianelli

 

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:

Will Win: The Shape of Water–Production Design: Paul Denham Austerberry; Set

Decoration: Shane Vieau and Jeffrey A. Melvin

Should Win: Blade Runner 2049–Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration:

Alessandra Querzola

My Pick: The Shape of Water

 

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:

Will Win: Blade Runner 2049–John Nelson, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover, Gerd

Nefzer

Should Win: Blade Runner 2049

My Pick: Blade Runner 2049

 

SOUND EDITING:

Will Win: Dunkirk–Alex Gibson, Richard King

Should Win: Baby Driver–Julian Slater

My Pick: Baby Driver

 

SOUND MIXING:

Will Win: Baby Driver–Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin

Should Win: Baby Driver – Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagi

My Pick: Baby Driver

 

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT:

Will Win: DeKalb Elementary

Should Win: DeKalb Elementary

 

BEST ANIMATED SHORT:

Will Win: Lou

Should Win: Lou

 

BEST ORIGINAL SONG:

Will Win: “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman–Benj Pasek, Justin Paul

 

Editor: Renée Vazquez

Over 10,000 Views!

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Shelby Armor marks our milestone.

Our blog, The Bird On Fire, recently reached a huge milestone. For the first time ever, we reached 10,000 views! The Bird On Fire was formed in 2014 as a Winterim course on how to create a blog. The first post was on December 18, 2014, stating how we have many fun posts to come. When Blog became an elective offering in 2015, we landed on our motto: “Sophisticated Schoolyard Shenanigans” (Thank you, Gaige Griffin). Now look how far the blog has come! As we hit 10,000 views, we go back and remember the fun times that have happened since its formation. Who could forget Brennan’s exposé on the Doomsday Clock? Or Makena’s comforting poem on “Comfort”? Or Gaven Li’s famous recorded Blog-sponsored ping-pong competition? (280 views on YouTube!) We thank each and every reader for coming back time and time again to read our posts. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, and we are excited about where we’ll go in the future.

Pictured above is the very first post of the blog.

Editor: Claire Jenkins

Trial and Error

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By Brennan Nick, Blogger and Lawyer for the PVS Mock Trial Team

Many of our high schoolers, nearly 15 in fact, are competing in the California Mock Trial Competition. Our first competition is today, Thursday, February 8, at the Indio Courthouse. Mock Trial is, as the name entails, pretend court. This year’s case involves defendant Casey Davidson who is accused of murdering victim Alex Thompson. Today, we role-play as prosecution against the team from Indio High School who will litigate against us as the defense. Our job? To prove beyond reasonable doubt Casey Davidson is guilty of murder. Wish us luck!

 

Editor: Claire Jenkins

Upper School Cultural Potluck

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Graphic by Harlow Berny

By Harlow Berny

Hello, Palm Valley Community! This is an announcement to the Upper School teachers and students for the 2nd annual PVS Cultural Potluck this Friday! Over 25 people have signed up to bring a dish to the Potluck that either comes from their family, nationality, or religion. Just as a reminder for those bringing food, you need to 1) send an email to Jordan Dinerman confirming that you will bring a dish, 2) bring enough to serve small portions to at least 15 people, and 3) attach a piece of paper with your name, the name of the food you brought, a list of ingredients (since some people may have allergies), and where the food is from (family recipes, culture, religion, etc.). If you bring food for the Potluck, then you will be at the front of the line to eat.

 

Editor: Peter Kadel

Get Your Candy Grams!

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By Claire Jenkins

 

The Upper School ASB is selling Candy Grams all week (February 5th-9th) at $2 for one bag of candy or $5 for three. ASB representatives are also selling–for the first time available this year–Barbershop Quartet songs. You can send a Barbershop Quartet song to a friend, romantic interest, or yourself. The song is just $5, and you can send a friendship or romance song. All proceeds go to your Upper School ASB!

 

Edited By: Brennan Nick

Cali-Pizza Party!

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Graphic by Harlow Berny

By Harlow Berny

 

Hello, fellow PVS students! Today from 11 am-10 pm there will be a Pizza with a Purpose fundraiser at the California Pizza Kitchen* on El Paseo**. In order to participate, you need to bring in a flyer–which you can get from either your Advisory teacher, the front desk, or online***–and present it to your server/cashier. When you do, 20% of your check will be donated to the school. Remember to write your Advisory teacher’s name on the flyer, as the Advisory class that has the most participation will have a pizza party!

 

Editor: Brennan Nick

*Phone Number: 760-776-5036

**California Pizza Kitchen 73-080 El Paseo Suite #8 Palm Desert, Ca 92260

***https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VPXscFvXAuMrsHk0bW1qUJEMTh3szJnL/view