The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
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Advertise in Bluffer Looking to appeal to the teenage demograph- ic? The Bluffer is distributed to about 1100 students and community members every two weeks. Ads can be purchased for individual is- sues or on a yearly basis. Contact Madison Waelty in Bluffer for more details. 529-8805 Features Page 3 October 3, 2014 partan ound S off What is your favorite thing about fall? Mr. Palubeski (Teacher) "The weather is getting colder and I get away from the heat." Jasmine Dittner (11) "I like the colors of fall, because they are pretty." Mrs. Phillips (Teacher) "The air is clean and crisp from the exhilarating wind. You can see all three mountain ranges." Cameron Ortega (10) "The leaves changing coloring, because I couldn't think of anything else." Rafael Chavarria (12) "Starbs, cuddling, hoodie/ ugg weather, Halloween, and it's my pre-birthday season!" Sound Off/Jay Boone Paris Shiner (9) "I like how people dress." Jay Boone Staff Writer Outside the Box The Austrians visit the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransico on Wednesday, October 1. FFA continues fund raising with coffee Brianna Tackmier A & E Editor - Mrs. Svejda "We are excited to start our fund raiser on October 8 at our meeting." With fair being wrapped up, and animals either being brought back to RBHS or to a new place, FFA has fund raisers throughout the year to raise money for events or for supply purposes. This October there will hopefully be one of those fund raisers for their department through a coffee sales type of fund raiser, once they get the approval. If they do get the thumbs up to go through with the activity, then student order forms will be available for other students to pick up and fill out for their coffee. The types of coffee they can get and how much they cost, that is still to be worked out, according to RBHS teacher Mrs. Svejda. The exact day(s) of this fund raiser are also to be announced. This is the first year FFA has done such a fund raiser as this one. The idea came to them from the parents of one of the students involved in FFA, according to Svejda. Then senior Molly Murphy was asked to be in charge of this fund raiser, and she accepted. This fund raiser in particular is for FFA leadership conferences, field day, and meeting supplies for thee FFA members this year. Compared to most other fund raisers, this is a small one to build toward that goal of being able to buy new supplies for conferences and meetings. For the most part, students will be in charge of the order forms, but it is undetermined whether or not those same FFA members will be handing out the coffee, when it will be handed out, or anything else about the fund raiser. However, FFA will be certain to let the RBHS population know the inner details of this fund raising event as soon as possible. Kaylie Capps Staff Writer PIQE raises PIQE, Parent Institute for Quality Education is a program to increase parent's knowledge about education and has been around since 1987. PIQE was introduced two years ago but has been brought back for this school year. "The first time PIQE was introduced, was to the principle at the time, Mr. Gleason, and the second time was by Mr. Mendoza," said Miguel Barriga. RBHS is doing this because the school wants the graduate rates of the students to increase and also to increase the college entrees. Mr. Barriga stated "I want to increase parent's knowledge about education and increase the possibilities for students to graduate and getting into college." RBHS will be offering both levels of curriculum, PIQE level one and PIQE level two. Level one is for parents taking it for the first time, and Level two is for level one graduates only. The level one curriculum focuses on understanding the High School System, discussing higher education options, and identifying the different financial aid options, recognizing the importance of grades, identifying the classes that form part of the "4 year plan," and finally reviewing other importance of grades (GPA.) Level two curriculum focuses on the benefits of attending college, exploring career options, emotional intelligence and student success, mapping the road to college, finding the right college, and finally discussing financial aid options. PIQE is a nine week program, once a week, for nine weeks starting on September 30, in the Performing Arts Center. Miley Cyrus has once again surprised the nation, except this time it wasn't our nation. On September 16 th , Mexican Independence Day, famous pop star sensation Miley Cyrus had the privilege to perform in Monterrey, Mexico. This performance was the first of four performances that she performed in her Mexico gig and it was not a great start, although it did leave an impression. While performing, the pop star used the Mexican flag to floss her enormous, fake buttocks. One of her back up dancers then proceeded to spank her with the country's flag while she twerked. Not only did she degrade the nation's flag, but she also reportedly chugged water and proceeded to spit it out on to the faces of her fans. Although her intentions were unclear, the people of Mexico most definitely took offense to the filthy and disgusting acts of her performance. In an interview with CNN state Representative Francisco Treviño stated, "I felt truly offended and annoyed by the fact that a foreign artist feels like she can come here and make fun of and mock our national flag on Independence Day, September 16th. She brazenly made fun of our flag." Mexico treats their flag with the upmost respect just like most countries do, but unlike many countries it just so happens that Mexico has laws to protect the honor and respect of their flag. This law states any action "that implies contempt or lack of respect to the Homeland Symbols will be punished according to its severity and the condition of the offender." This crime can have a punishment of three days in jail as well as a fine of up to twelve hundred dollars. As far as we are aware Miley will not be serving any jail time, although the international government may be opening up an investigation of the incident. In her concert the following night there were Mexico flags on display, but none were used as props or in a disrespectful way. This leads Francisco Treviño to believe that the out of control pop singer has learned her lesson and won't do it again. Austrians fly in to experience US culture SAT haunts students with pressure parents' knowledge Juanita VanMeter Staff Writer The SAT is a college entrance test that must be taken by any and all students who wish to attend a four year college or university directly after the graduation of high school. There is an optional pre-test that can be taken in order to become familiar with the format, layout and overall feel of the SAT before you take the real thing. It is $14 dollars to take the PSAT (Practice SAT) and if you score a grade of 90% or higher you could qualify to be a National Merit Scholar (NMS) , which opens up opportunities for dozens of better scholarships. Usually, the PSAT is taken in the fall of your Junior year, then the SAT is taken the following spring. While it is possible to take the PSAT as a sophomore, you are only eligible to be a NMS if you are in 11 grade when you take the test, no matter how high your score is. The ACT, a similar entrance exam, and the only other entrance exam that is offered, is slightly different in that it has a lot more specific optional segments that can be taken as well as the required material depending on what your college requires. Also, there is no wrong answer penalty, whereas in the SAT there is 1/4 th point per wrong answer deducted. The ACT is published and overseen by the ACT, and the SAT is published and overseen by the College Board, which are both non-profit organizations that help students prepare for college by offering recourses such as these tests. Starting in Spring, 2016, some minor changes will be made to the SAT, for example, the ¼ point deduction system will be replaced with one much like the ACT, and there will be some slight alterations to the critical reading segment of the test as well. Even though there is no pass or fail policy on either one of the tests, your score does affect the likelihood of colleges accepting you, either positively or negatively. Red Bluff High School doesn't offer the ACT, but if you want to take the SAT or PSAT, go to the main office or counseling center to ask about sign ups and payment. Hailie Willey Staff Writer Red Bluff High school is welcoming twenty-six students from Austria. The Austrians arrived on October 1 and will be leaving on October 15. The councilors for the exchange are Mrs. Coker and Mrs. Haase. They will be taking the Austrian students to different attractions across the North State, including Chico State University, the Sacramento capital building, Shasta Dam, Turtle Bay, and San Francisco. The students will, also, be taking tours around Red Bluff and doing classroom visits around Red Bluff High Campus. They will be doing a series of concerts and performances. The exchange students will be staying with Red Bluff High School students. "I am hosting an Austrian because I want to learn about their culture before I went to Austria," said sophomore Omi Renfroe. "In the beginning, you don't think you will get so attached to them, but in the end, you don't want them to leave," junior Melinda Rudnick said. The exchange has been taking place for about twenty years. "It is fun taking students from little Red Bluff to Europe. It's a great learning experience," Mrs. Haase said. The Red bluff High students are leaving for Austria on March 12 and returning on March 27. They tour castles, concentration camps, salt mines, chocolate factories, and a lot more. They stay with Austrian students and their families. There are still a few spots left on the trip. Photo by Mrs. Haase