The Student News Site of Foothill Technology High School

The Foothill Dragon Press
The Student News Site of Foothill Technology High School

The Foothill Dragon Press
The Student News Site of Foothill Technology High School

The Foothill Dragon Press
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Cartoon 114: Finals looming

Byline photo of Gigi Richardson Seifert
Gigi Richardson Seifert, Illustrator • 104 Views
January 16, 2024
Gigi Richardson Seifert
As the students of Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) leave the festivities of winter break behind, finals approach, a looming presence over the return to classes. Foothill Tech will soon be filled with anxious students cramming to remember coursework from before winter break.
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As Valentine's Day rolls around again, it's time to step back from a day that has been widely considered a romantic holiday and think of others you love. One popular way to celebrate Valentines is through doing a "Galentines," where instead of romantic company, you focus on just hanging around with friends and enjoying each other's company. It's a time to appreciate everyone you love, from family to friends, to future love, there is a place for everyone to celebrate Valentine's.
Cartoon 118: Valentine's Day
Falling on January 29, 2025, Lunar New Year is the holiday following the second new moon after the winter solstice. Lasting 15 days, celebrations from different cultures typically corroborate one of the 12 Chinese zodiacs; 2025 is the year of the snake. Associated with general qualities of an enigmatic and uncanny personality, depending on the time of year and conditions of the child’s birth, superstitions may point towards what the child’s personality may be like in the future. During the holiday however, Lunar New Year celebrations will be centered around snake imagery in cultures that support the 12 zodiac signs, also including the traditional exchange of red envelopes and grand festivities that occur otherwise. Common celebrations may include lion dances and dragon dancers, performed by crews of two for the lion and nine for the dragon. There may be fireworks and lanterns hung on the streets, plus a variety of other decorations as each family sees fit to celebrate.
Cartoon 117: Lunar New Year
Celebrated officially on the last Monday of May each year, the origins of Memorial Day trace back to May 5, 1868. Three years after the end of the Civil War, an organization of veterans from the Union side gathered to lay flowers on the graves of the war-fallen. The first declaration of the day of decoration was made by Maj. Gen. John A. Logan, who announced that it should be May 30. In the same year, 1868, the first large gathering of this event was held at Arlington National Cemetery, where flowers were left on both Union and Confederate graves in the cemetery. However, there were still small, local observances before this event. Such as on April 26, 1866, when a group of women decorated the graves of Confederate soldiers lost in the battle at Shiloh. Union graves were also present, however, ignored due to them being the enemy of the time. Disturbed by the bare graves, the women set flowers on their graves as well. However, this was not the only instance of claiming to be the first to have a decoration day ceremony, as 25 other instances tie for the title of the original Memorial Day celebration. By 1900, states had adopted proclamations recognizing Memorial Day as an official day, with the Army and Navy taking on regulations to observe this day properly at their facilities. After World War I, the day began to encompass all deaths in American wars and then was officially declared a national holiday by Congress in 1971. While the national date remains on the last Monday of May each year, many southern states also have separate dates to honor the Confederate soldiers who died. Mississippi has its Confederate Memorial Day on the last Monday of April, Georgia on April 26, Alabama on the fourth Monday of April, and North and South Carolina observe the day on May 10, while on June 3 Tennessee and Louisiana recognize the date as Confederate Decoration Day. Virginia claims the last Monday in May as Confederate Memorial Day, while Texas celebrates Confederate Heroes Day on Jan. 19. A small tradition emerged from Memorial Day, and that is to place small American flags on each grave. As well, in Dec. 2000 the U.S. Congress passed an act named “The National Moment of Remembrance Act” that encourages all Americans to pause at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day and have a minute of silence as they honor and remember those who have passed in service of their country.
Cartoon 116: Memorial Day
Lunar New Years is a time for celebration recognized in various places throughout the world. Following the setting of the second new moon after the winter solstice, Lunar New Year in 2024 begins on Feb. 10. After the initial day, the new year period lasts until 15 days later when the next full moon rises and a lantern festival is held on the final day. With celebrations recorded back as early as the 14th-century Shang Dynasty, it's said that the celebration originated from a battle against a Nian, a dragon that would prey on villages and livestock. The Nian would come down to the village once a year, until an old man had advised the village that the Nian was afraid of bright lights and loud noises, along with the color red. The village had hung red banners, lanterns, and decorations of all kinds on their houses as well as lighting firecrackers, then performing a very loud lion dance accompanied by a long dragon dance. When the Nian arrived to attack the village, it was scared off and retreated to where it had arrived from. Now to keep the Nian at bay, every year the Lunar New Year is celebrated. Associated with the lunar new year are the 12 Chinese zodiacs, which work in a 12-year cycle. The order of the zodiacs was decided in an old folk tale of a great race between the 12 animals to get to the Jade Emperor, the order decided by their place in the race. The rat is the first zodiac, as it finished first place in the race by riding along the ox’s back and jumping off at the last second. In last place was the pig, marking the end before a new rotation is started. Lunar new year in 2024 is the year of the dragon, the fifth animal to finish the race. With the dragon as Foothill Technology High School’s mascot, this year is sure to bring good luck and prosperity to the students.
Cartoon 115: Happy Lunar New Year!
With college applications coming to a close, so does this wave of stress and pressure. Some students get ahead of the deadlines, writing their applications early. Though mixed with school work college applications often leave quite a few students scrambling to meet the deadline with well-done work. It can feel overwhelming, application upon application to get done. It emphasizes the hurried pace of college applications, resulting in a thankful wave when they are finally done and over with.
Cartoon 113: The season of college applications
Now that the season for Halloween is over, it’s time to decorate for… Christmas? There is no doubt that Christmas is one of the most popular holidays of the year, with millions of people choosing to celebrate the holiday, and it’s easy to see why. Along with its religious context as the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, Christmas has also become a holiday where you can come together and gift presents to the ones you love. With the increasing excitement each year towards preparing and decorating for the oncoming Christmas season, companies and businesses aren’t afraid to jump in on the wagon. You might have seen Christmas decorations being sold as early as October, and maybe even the rare house or two decked out with icicles and Christmas lights way before Halloween even started. And of course, who could forget about poor Thanksgiving? Sandwiched between two very heavily decor emphasizing events, it’s easy to forget about decorating for Thanksgiving, as it’s decorations lean more on simple fall decor and color palettes than anything extreme, but Thanksgiving still remains a very big event, even if it may be a bit off putting to see a Christmas snowman on the counter top. In all, it seems that the Christmas spirit is arriving earlier and earlier each year. With Christmas cementing its place as one of the most popular holidays in the world, this trend doesn’t seem like it will stop anytime soon.
Cartoon 112: It's time to decorate for... Christmas?
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On the evening of March 21, 2025, Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) boys volleyball took on the Ventura High School (Ventura) volleyball team at Cabrillo Middle School. Despite a rocky start, ending in a Foothill Tech loss for the first set, the team came back strong, winning the second and third set. Despite this comeback, the Foothill Tech boys' team ultimately fell short, losing in the last two sets to Ventura. Foothill Tech performed well, displaying powerful hitting, skilled defensive plays and several well timed blocks. Seen above is one of Foothill Tech's many skilled hitters, Styles Haley-Kettler ’28, hitting a ball on Ventura's side of the court.
Foothill Tech falls short in five-set thriller against Ventura
The stage has been set – and it is irreversible. From the depths of schools and children’s playrooms emerges yet another drama, one to rival the most well-known Greek tragedies, "Oedipus Rex" and "Antigone": the usurping of the pen and paper. As the sun rises on a new age of keyboards and screens, so too does it set for the era of parchment and dark velvety ink.
A Tragedy: The usurping of the pen and paper
On the afternoon of March 20, 2025, the Ventura Aquatic Center became home to the Ventura County Swimming Championships. The event started on March 18, 2025, with the girls qualifiers, followed by the boys qualifiers on March 19, 2025. This annual event hosts over ten schools in the county every year, making the competition fierce. Seen above is Kylan Jaeger, holding the edge of his diving block in preparation for his heat to begin. Jaeger, along with many other Foothill Tech swimmers, performed well, earning various accolades throughout the meet.
Swim competes in the annual Ventura County Swimming Championships
The United States cherishes 63 total National Parks, ranging from valleys to forests. The Trump administration fired over 4,000 National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service employees combined, on Feb. 14, 2025. With the decrease of staff, protecting the natural beauty of the National Parks will become more of a challenge than ever.
Opinion: The future of National Parks endangered by mass layoffs
On March 18, 2025, students at Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) gathers outside a mobile donation trailer, waiting for their turn to donate blood during the annual event. This gives students the opportunity to support their local community by giving blood to those in need.
Up to 171 lives saved through Foothill Tech's biannual blood drive
On a sunny Saturday, a crowd gathers in the parking lot of Arts Corner Cafe, waiting for a seat. The cafe mixes Mexican cuisine into its menu alongside more traditional breakfast options. As well as serving lunch. Arts Corner Cafe switched ownership about a year and a half ago, and has gone through a remodel since then.
Art's Corner Cafe review
About the Contributor
Gigi Richardson Seifert
Gigi Richardson Seifert, Illustrator
“Dying is an art, like everything else. I do it exceptionally well.” – Sylvia Plath