the bird on fire

The Palm Valley School Student Blog

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Slide onto the Ice with CSF

by 1 Comment

Part of The Bird on Fire’s What’s in the News

By 12th-Grade Blogger Melina Brodeur 

The California Scholarship Federation and California JUNIOR Scholarship Federation at Palm Valley School hosted an ice-skating event at the Acrisure Arena last month to allow students to come together and create a space with laughter and moments that are unforgettable. Events like this allow students to take a break from school activities and enjoy time with friends and support each other. Skating is the perfect activity to meet new people and enjoy your time away from school for a few hours. I asked Matteo Lam, the CSF President, “Why do you think events like ice skating are important for students?” and he replied, “Events like ice skating give students the opportunity to socially connect in a dynamic different from the everyday classroom experience. It’s fun, a new experience for some, and helps build community.” So if you have missed this event, make sure to watch out for future CSF activities so you’re able to enjoy the experience of hanging out with friends and having fun. 

Matteo, Nevan, Olivia, and Louisa have fun, skating, and enjoying time together. (Photo credits to Mr. Killeen and Ms. Zachik.)
Mr. Killeen captured the action of Matteo doing a “hockey stop” and spraying all with ice.

The Power of Having a Hobby

by Leave a Comment

Op-Ed Post: How do we really feel?

By 12th-Grader Melina Brodeur 

Bedazzling is one of my guilty pleasures. It takes many, many hours for me to finish a project, but placing down each little rhinestone is relaxing and allows me to get off my phone for a few hours. Bedazzling for me is not just decorating things with rhinestones, but a creative outlet that allows me to reduce my stress and anxiety. When I feel I am unable to focus on homework, do my reading, or even be able to study for a test, I decide instead to take some time to give myself a second to slow down, and focus on my thoughts while doing something I find extremely rewarding. I started bedazzling because I had watched a TikTok video of a girl explaining how much she enjoyed it.

I found it so satisfying to take something simple, like a water bottle, lip gloss, or even a phone case, and transform that plain item into something unique. Hobbies like bedazzling can bring back creativity into your life in a world full of social media. Instead of spending money on buying items that are manufactured and that everyone has, now you can create a unique item that is only yours, and even customize the colors, the patterns, and even the designs. Gluing down the rhinestones is extremely relaxing and takes a lot of patience and focus. If I ever need a break from homework, social media, or studying, I know I can rely on bedazzling to be able to ease my stress. There’s even research to support the idea (Mercy, 2023). According to the American Psychological Association, creative activities can decrease stress through expressive activities that involve concentration and imagination. They say having a hobby that involves using your hands, like doing crafts, can create a calming effect. 

Hobbies don’t have to be major like building a treehouse (although if you wanted, it would be cool); just do something that feels personal to you, give yourself a chance to slow down, focus, and enjoy yourself, and maybe you’ll figure out that this creativity will be the main component to you being able to pull through the rest of the year. So go find something you enjoy doing.

Melina bedazzled fragrance bottles and a mini Vaseline using rhinestones and adhesive.  Photo by author.

Don’t Overlook the Moments that Connect Us

by 3 Comments

Feature Post

By 12th-Grade Blogger Melina Brodeur

The school grows crowded with students by about 8:45 a.m. People who I have seen for years but never spoken to walk inside the big building–backpacks slung over their shoulders. Some of them are out of dress code. I should get out of the car and join them, but I don’t. I continue to look down at my phone.

The small screen that I hold shields me from the world right in front of my eyes. I swipe and swipe on my phone. Minutes pass. Five minutes, maybe even eight. I tend not to pay attention to the time. This is a pause I make every day. It’s almost even a routine, a moment not big enough to be remembered, a moment that happens almost every day.  But one day I notice there are many other students who do the same. Many students around me in the parking lot also sit in their cars–some scrolling on their phones, others sitting and listening to music; some even sit there and stare until they’re ready to walk inside. 

We are alone, all in our own cars with the same little pause in the morning. This is the time we take to get ourselves ready to get out of the car and start the day. 

We define high school as this huge moment that shapes who we are. But high school is made up of these small, unnoticeable moments too: the time it takes to walk from class to class, the minute before the teacher calls your name for attendance, or the moment before you open the car door. Waiting isn’t anything dramatized, nor is it meaningful. 

But waiting takes up our lives. Waiting makes up moments that may feel empty and mean nothing. 

In these moments, we think about things that we forget the next second; we worry about the day; we wonder what people think of us, maybe even wonder who we may be in the future. Sitting in the car for me is a moment to understand and brace for the day. It is the moment when my private life switches into my public life–outside that car door stands every expectation. 

These moments are not the person we present in a class environment, not the one posting on social media, but instead the person alone in their thoughts. And tomorrow morning, everything will continue; students will sit in their cars, looking at their phones, looking around, and listening to music all over again. And these moments will be overlooked. 

Notice those moments before school when you just wait for something to happen. (Photo credit: Kayliee Augustine-Sails)

Coachella Lineup 2026

by 1 Comment

Part of The Bird on Fire’s What’s in the News

By 12th-grader Melina Brodeur

The Coachella lineup came early this year; usually, we see it in late January, but this year it came out in September (Stereogum 2025). 

Every year, many people complain about who is playing, and this year is no exception. Arielle Gordon, a writer for music zine Pitchfork, notes, “[T]he festival was officially more cooked than the parched earth beneath its main stage” (Pitchfork 2025). 

This year’s festival runs from April 10th through 19th. The headliner most people are super ecstatic about is Sabrina Carpenter. She is headlining because it is the peak of her musical career, she has lots of personality on stage, and her live vocals are fantastic. 

Our next headliner is Karol G, a Colombian pop star who is pretty big in the music industry. She just dropped her fifth album this summer, called Tropicoqueta (Consequence 2025). 

The following headliner, Anyma, has gained much traction due to the visual aspects of his shows, but many say he is the headliner who doesn’t fit in this year’s lineup due to his music being more futuristic. 

Now Justin Bieber, our most controversial headliner this year, has been somewhat rocky as of recent due to his “it’s not clocking to you” (Complex 2025), which was a misuse of slang and is now being turned into a meme. He angrily confronts the paparazzi for taking videos of him, and he has questionable Instagram live videos looking like he’s crashing out. Still, many are excited to see him because he hasn’t been on stage much in recent years (EOnline 2024). 

This year’s lineup is very 2010 Indie-focused, and there are plenty of bookings that are remarkable. David Byrne is finally back; Geese is about to drop a new album, and Nine Inch Noize is exciting to see due to their reputation for their visuals. Even if people are complaining about the headliners, the smaller artists and groups’ energies are going to be unmatched. 

Credits to Relix: Coachella Unveils 2026 Artist Lineup: Justin Bieber, Sabrina Carpenter, Karol G, David Byrne, Iggy Pop, Young Thug, and More 

Sources Referenced

https://consequence.net/2025/09/coachella-2026-one-day-later/2/ (Consequence)

https://stereogum.com/2323042/23-thoughts-on-the-coachella-2026-poster/columns/sounding-board (Stereogum)

https://www.complex.com/music/a/jaelaniturnerwilliams/justin-bieber-becomes-viral-meme-for-misusing-aave (Complex)

https://www.eonline.com/news/1394366/justin-bieber-returns-to-the-stage-a-year-after-canceling-world-tour (EOnline)

https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/coachella-2026-lineup-issues/ (Pitchfork, Arielle Gordon)https://relix.com/news/detail/coachella-unveils-2026-artist-lineup-justin-bieber-sabrina-carpenter-karol-g-david-byrne-iggy-pop-yung-thug-and-more/ (Photo Credit)

 A Dream that Continues Today

by Leave a Comment

Part of The Bird on Fire’s What’s in the News

By 12th-grader Melina Brodeur

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a day off from school, celebrated on the third Monday of January each year, even if it falls on a different day from his actual birthday. MLK Day is scheduled this way under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which places federal holidays on Mondays to lengthen the weekends. The importance of this day is to celebrate the legacy of a civil rights leader and to promote equality. Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader most known for his nonviolent protests to fight for racial equality and justice. My favorite quote from Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” This quote is a call to action to stop oppression and injustice. He helped lead and advocate for civil rights movements, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which legislated an end to segregation. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is significant because it honors the life and the achievements of a leader who fought for equal rights and justice for everyone. Recognizing this day allows people to see the progress made toward racial equality and the work that remains.

Photo Credit: “The Art of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr” by the National Endowment for the Arts

Why Do Things Fall Out of the News Cycle?

by Leave a Comment

Spring semester blogger Melina Brodeur asks, “Why do things fall out of the news cycle?” She did some research. Here’s what she found.

By 12th-Grader Melina Brodeur  

News doesn’t stay “news” for long, and the main reason is the extremely fast pace of the 24-hour news cycle. The 24-hour news cycle is the constant reporting of issues, events, and updates around the clock across many platforms. This is a competition for attention between different news channels. Every news cycle wants to be the fastest to deliver information and stories. The new cycle pushes older topics out of the public eye, even if the issue persists. Everything in the news is constantly reviewed to see if it is still relevant to the times. In most 24-hour news cycles, according to KSL Executive Producer Kiera Farrimond, producers decide whether stories are worthy of broadcast; producers weigh whether audiences want to engage with stories or not. If a story cannot meet those requirements, it will be replaced by a new story. Journalists filter data because of either time, impact, or the ability to attract audiences, which causes newer stories to appear and old stories to disappear. In one case, the Coldplay concert was a controversy about a cheating scandal between a woman and her boss, caught on camera during a concert, and was aired online everywhere. But, today, we hear little about this situation; this controversy disappeared like a speck in the wind. 

Research shows that audience behavior on a repeated topic can lead to boredom and news avoidance (International Journal of Communication, 2023). So many of us become psychologically exhausted looking at the news; there is too much information all at once. Studies show that as news consumption increases, adults feel overwhelmed. Many of us limit how much news we follow. A great example of news avoidance is my mom; she tends to hate constantly hearing the news blare in her ears about all the horrible things happening. It brings down her mood, and she gets incredibly annoyed. That’s why news outlets stop running stories that aren’t gaining any traction anymore.

News organizations rely on audience attention to gain revenue. When stories stop attracting attention, they are replaced with different ones that will bring views. Views bring advertisers. Advertisers bring money. All these issues combined can make it seem like ongoing stories, many quite serious issues, seem too old to cover. Ukraine is an example of a serious situation with many fatalities, and many people have lost their homes, a situation that persists, which we barely hear about as much as we used to. The news algorithm’s favorite is what is newest and trending, which pushes the old stories out of public view. So, stories don’t disappear because they stop being important, but more because the media wants newer news.