Portable Poem Day

April 23, 2018 by ehesson@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By Leo Milmet

As many PVS students already know, on Tuesday, April 24, Palm Valley will be celebrating Portable Poetry Day. Essentially, the students will celebrate by wearing a word on themselves in some way. Below is Mr. Griffin’s release for Portable Poetry Day, where you can learn all about how we’re celebrating Portable Poetry Day at PVS.

If you need a couple of ideas for words, check below the poster for a few interesting words that might just tickle your fancy.

National Poetry Week

TUESDAY, APRIL 24

PORTABLE POETRY DAY

RELEASE THE MAGIC OF WORDS!

BE THE POEM YOU ARE!

Instructions:

COME UP WITH YOUR MOST FANTABULOUSLY EXPRESSIVE WORD. ADJECTIVE, NOUN, ADVERB, VERB–WHATEVER. THIS WILL BE YOUR WORD FOR THE DAY.
ON TUESDAY, APRIL 24-–WEAR IT PORTABLY SOMEWHERE ON YOUR SELF:

PINNED OR TAPED TO YOUR SHIRT, FRONT OR BACK
ON YOUR SHOE, ON YOUR SOCK
ON YOUR PANTS, ON YOUR SKIRT
ON YOUR HAT, IN YOUR HAIR
ON YOUR FACE, ON YOUR NOSE, ON YOUR EAR
THINK AHEAD AND HAVE IT PRINTED ON A T-SHIRT

(Dress code is still in force, but you may wear any alternate clothing that is directly related to your WORD: a hat, a scarf, a shirt, etc.)

ON TUESDAY: ALL THROUGH THE MORNING, PUT YOURSELF TOGETHER WITH CLASSMATES & FRIENDS & TEACHERS TO FORM WILDLY IMAGINATIVE POEMS THAT ARE PORTABLE!
AT LUNCH IN MR. GRIFFIN’S ROOM, WORDS AND POEMS WILL BE VOTED ON AND PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED:

MOST HILARIOUS WORD
MOST ATTRACTIVE WORD
MOST EXOTIC (UNUSUAL) WORD
MOST MEANINGFUL COMBO
MOST SURPRISING COMBO
2018’s MOST PORTABLY FANTASTIC POEM

Some of our favorite words here in Blog Class:

Orwellian
Vertebrate
Coniferous
Crepuscular
Antidisestablishmentarianism
Astroturfing

Editor: AJ Patencio

Fuller-TON of Fun

April 19, 2018 by ehesson@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By Brennan Nick, actor and blogger

The Palm Valley School cast of “Murder, Murder”

Just last month, the Palm Valley School Drama Department went to Fullerton College to compete with over 60 other schools in monologues, scenes, and a musical number–that you saw showcased at morning assembly. This is the Fullerton College Drama Festival. The key word here is “Festival” as it is emphasized that the most important aspect of Fullerton is the festivity of it per se. In other words, it’s all about having fun, and there’s ample opportunity for it. For example, there are songs played in the courtyard to “energy circles” formed by students from dozens of schools.

However, the real reason we’re all at the Festival is for the competition, and Palm Valley School was no slouch. Although we did not place, we had five finalists. To put this into perspective, two years ago we had only one finalist. This year was the first time we ever made it to the finals for a musical number. We did it with Murder, Murder from the play Jekyll and Hyde. Our other finalists included:

–A scene from Almost Maine performed by Lawrence, Shelby, and Josh;

–A scene from Twelfth Night performed by Joe, Aurora, Jordan K., Nathan, and Aidan;

–A monologue from Measure for Measure performed by me, Brennan;

–A monologue from I am not Batman performed by Graham.

None of this would have been possible without the help from Mr. Sarkis and Mr. Gahnz. They are the reason a school as small as ours can compete with schools of thousands of students. These two teachers worked alongside all of us for the month and a half leading up to Fullerton. Here’s to winning trophies next year!

Editor: Makena Behnke

Pete’s Declassified School Survival Guide: The Essay

April 11, 2018 by ehesson@pvs.org 2 Comments

By Peter Kadel, Senior Survival Scout

Essays, the go-to assignment of choice for English teachers everywhere. Ranging from 1 page to 100 pages, throughout your high-school career you will write so many essays and papers that it is likely that one of them will resemble the works of Shakespeare. But, what if all of them could be as good as the great William Shakespeare? Today, here at Pete’s Declassified, we are going to teach you how to write essays that are so good they will make your teacher question the very fabric of the universe and move to Thailand to discover inner peace. So fasten your seatbelts everyone! It’s time to learn.

First, you need to consider your deadline. The best concepts can be ruined by spending too much time worrying about staying on topic and making sense. The best time to write a wonderful essay are the first 48 hours after the essay has been assigned; if you wait any longer your ideas will be lost forever. So, as soon as an essay is assigned, check yourself out of school, and go home. Once you are home, lock all of the doors and retreat to your lair to begin writing.
During your 48-hour writing marathon, you are going to need to fuel your mind and body so you have enough energy to write a wonderful essay. While coffee may sound like the right choice, it’s not. Your best bet is to embrace your inner mad scientist and concoct a caffeinated sugar monstrosity so potent that it will give you a caffeine buzz just from looking at it. My personal favorite is brewing my coffee in Red Bull instead of water and instead of using creamer I buy an iced mocha and use that as my creamer to maximize caffeine intake. Once you’ve got a gallon or two of that in your system, you’ll be all fired up to write an amazing essay.
Now that you are ready to begin writing your essay, you need to think about the content of the essay. While the subject will vary, all essays can follow the same template: hook, line, and sinker. The hook should be eye-catching and astonishing, so even if it doesn’t relate to the rest of your essay, use the flashiest paragraph you can muster to hook your audience. Next, comes the line; all you need to do for this portion of the essay is write as many lines/pages as you need to fulfill the essay’s requirements. Use as many quotes as you can; there is no need to reinvent the wheel here. The human race has been writing stuff down for thousands of years; it would be wasteful not to use what previous generations have written. My favorite resources to quote are the Rosetta Stone, the Magna Carta, the White-Gold Concordat, and business records from Mesopotamia. Once your line is of adequate length, it’s time to move on to the sinker. All you need to know for the sinker is that it should essentially sink your essay in reality. Bring it down. Crush it like reality crushes all high-school students.

If you follow all of these steps, your essays will bring a tear to your teacher’s eye and an “A” to your report card. You’re welcome.

Editor: Makena Behnke

The True Heroes

March 23, 2018 by ehesson@pvs.org 1 Comment

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

We met Caroline Kennedy

March 21, 2018 by ehesson@pvs.org Leave a Comment

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

Go Climb a Mountain

March 9, 2018 by ehesson@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By Hiker and Blogger Claire Jenkins

On the 17th of February, right before the February Break, the Outdoors Club went on a hike up to the Palm Desert cross. The Outdoors Club, advised by Ms. Clark, hosts hikes monthly. All are welcome.

Happy hikers Sydney Armor, Sarah Jefferson, Claire Jenkins, and Hannah Makkai pose for a quick photo session and water break before climbing back down the mountain.

Ms. Clark and Hannah make interesting (“ahem” weird) shapes while Sydney and Sarah watch confusedly and Claire backs awkwardly away.

What’s happening? Possibly a playful pagan ritual? Actually, Ms. Clark was looking for an “interesting” photo op.

Ms. Clark smiles happily as her students dance like heathens.

PVS hikers rest in harmony with the view above Palm Desert from the yin-yang sign by the cross.

Editor: Renée Vazquez

Over 10,000 Views!

February 28, 2018 by ehesson@pvs.org 3 Comments

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

The 2018 Lunar New Year is Soon!

February 14, 2018 by ehesson@pvs.org Leave a Comment

Graphic by Harlow Berny

By Harlow Berny

Hello, Palm Valley Students, and Happy Valentine’s Day! As many of you know, the Lunar New Year/Spring Festival/Seollal is this Friday and will mark the start of the 2018 Year of the Dog. There will be an Advisory presentation and activities based around it today. Have a good day!

Editor: Claire Jenkins

FYI: For those interested in the personality and characteristics of those born in a Dog year, chinesenewyear2018.com says,

Men born in the Dog year are straightforward and genuine. They are energetic, though they’re more pessimistic inside. . . .

Women born in the Dog year are very cautious. They are indifferent towards people they don’t like, and don’t trust easily. But once they do, it’s permanent. They are intensely protective of their friends and family.

PVS Trip to USC!

February 12, 2018 by ehesson@pvs.org 2 Comments

By Shelby Armor

On January 28, PVS California Scholarship Federation students and friends took a trip to the University of Southern California to watch the Trojan men’s basketball team beat the Cal Berkeley Bears. Along the way, they got a campus tour from PVS Alumni Nick Kaufmann and lunch at USC’s new multi-function Village.

PVS students pose in front of USC’s iconic “Tommy Trojan” for a photo. Can you spot alumnus Nick Kaufmann? Chaperones Mr. Zuniga and Mr. Killeen?

PVS students pay rapt attention to USC freshman and PVS alumnus Nick Kaufmann as he leads a campus tour. Note senior Sydney Scheck’s intense interest.