The Mariners’ Log
Marina del Rey Middle School
Oct. 2016
Pep Rally
A.P. Park
By Chandler Walton
By Jackie Aquino and Estrella Munoz
Mr. Park is MDR’s new assistant principal. He
previously worked at King Drew High School. Mr.
Park said he likes working
here so far. He likes being
the assistant principal and
he likes talking to students.
Mr. Park’s hobbies are
hiking, watching movies,
sports, and listening to
music. Mr. Park emigrated
from South Korea to the
U.S. when he was 12. He
The first week of school was awesome and
attended UCLA. His
started with a pep rally. This is thanks to the
favorite teams are the
Leadership homeroom of Ms. Raiders, Dodgers, Lakers, and UCLA. He is glad to
Iniguez. This rally had dancing, be here. He plans to support students and teachers
singing, and a Skittle straw and he wants everyone to be successful.Mr. Park
competition. Student Nalani said, “The only way to fail is to not try.”
said, “It was fun and I enjoyed
dancing to the Cha Cha slide
today.” Essence said, “The pep
rally was turn’t up!” Jennah said, “It was lit!” The
By Janaya Wilburn and Kelia Hulon
second week rally was even more fun! The pep rally
Mr. Lewis started teaching with LAUSD in
featured a fantastic music like Wobble, Cupid Shuffle, 2002. Mr. Lewis teaches 6th,
and more fun dances. Everyone loved it and Mariners 7th, and 8th grade drama. He
were excited at even more pep rallies to come.
likes teaching at MDR. He
Mr. Lewis
Leadership also sponsored Marina’s first ever get to
know each other breakfast in which homerooms were
paired up with each
otherin order to build community and
perhaps make a new friend.
A Great School Day
By Jackie Aquino
On September 1st, Mariners went on their
first beach walk of the year to Playa Del Rey Beach.
It felt really nice going to the beach again, and students
are looking forward to more. The
first thing Mariners did was the
beach clean up, and then when
finished with that, went into the
water inside and had some fun.
Everyone got so excited going to
the beach, but some struggled
walking the three miles back in the
hot sun, but it’s all worth it. It was really fun getting in
the water, being with your friends and just hanging
out. “Going inside the water is the best feeling ever,”
said an 8th grade Mariner. Indeed, just another great
school day!
has one daughter and son. As
a sports fan and former
coach, his favorite football
team is the Baltimore
Ravens. His favorite color is
purple because it stands for
royalty. He enjoys shopping
and visiting exotic places,
and collecting Asian art. Mr.
Lewis is a vegetarian and loves Asian food. His
favorite genre of entertainment is comedy. Watch for
his son, who is a new and up and coming comedian.
Volume 48 No. 1
Character Counts
By Dahlia Turner
What is character day? Character Day is a
global initiative to develop character strengths
(trustworthiness, fairness, caring, citizenship, respect
and responsibility) based
on scientific research.
MDR had three gradelevel assemblies in which
Mariners learned about
how each pillar of character
is important. Mi’kayla and
Lyric and Lawrence
rapped at lunch and in the
assemblies. Company
performed a dance to the
rap “Just Bounce {Del
Rey}.” Ms. Ramirez and her husband sang “Stand
by Me,” and Mr. Coffeld gave an inspirational
welcoming. Remember, that character always counts!
Ms. Little
By Jackie Aquino and Estrella Munoz
Ms. Little is our Restorative Justice Teacher
Adviser. Restorative Justice is a set of practices that
the district has adopted to help schools move away
from punishment and towards
empathy. Too many students
were being sent out of class
with referrals. “RJ” gives
students a voice. Ms. Little is
trying to change school culture
by bringing RJ into as many
classrooms as she can, to
work along with teachers and
students to build a safe
environment. She has been
teaching for 20 years. Ms.
Little taught an all boys class for four years. She went
to Cardinal Stritch University in Wisconson and
studied business. She moved to California and
worked at a bank for 10 years. Ms. Little went back
to school to get a masters degree. She doesn’t believe
in sending students out of class over small infractions.
She is leading restorative justice because she wants
to build a nurturing school community with all of the
students. She has 10 siblings: six sisters and four
brothers. Her favorite color is pink. Ms. Little is
married and has two kids: one is in 7th grade and the
other is in 10th grade. MDR welcomes you, Ms. Little.
________
Ms. Apenyo
By Essence Raines and Anthony Quisenberry
“The best part of teaching is that it matters.
The hardest part of teaching is that every moment
matters, every day.” Ms. Apenyo is a teacher who
tries her hardest to
make every moment
count. She loves her
students, puts her all
into her work. She has
two siblings, one sister,
and one brother. Ms.
Apenyo has been
teaching for about 10
years now. She started
in 2006 in middle
school
tutoring
students. She has come along way, and it is not over
yet. Her favorite holiday is Thanksgiving because she
likes to eat all of the food. Her favorite foods are
tacos, pasta, and hamburgers. Thank you for coming
to Marina, and hope that you make a home out of
this school, because you should feel safe right here
with MDR. Ms. Apenyo, you are an addition to the
niceness at this school.
Page 2
Marina del Rey Middle School
Marina celebrates College
Awareness Day!
______
Mr. Coffield
By Alma Moreno and Rosibelle Vera
Mr. Coffield is the new awesome P.E. teacher
here at MDR. He says a hunger for something new is
what brought him to our school. He grew up in Long
Beach and graduated in
Wilmington, Delaware. He
was in the Marine Corps,
and graduated college with
a degree in Diesel
Mechanics.
After
graduating, Mr. Coffield
went looking for work
down south, where they
didn’t accept him due to
racism. After that, he
returned to Long Beach
where he got a degree for Record Production and
Engineering, and a Masters in Cross Cultural
Education. He has taught Washington Prep High
School and Henry Clay, and in the Lynwood Unified
School District. He was also an electronic monitoring
officer at Juvenile Hall. He has traveled to places like
Africa, Spain, Italy, Alaska, and the Philippines. He
was in the Arabian War, and Israel, which was his
favorite country he visited because of all its beautiful
places. Some of his hobbies include sound
engineering, biking, tennis, and song writing. He said
that the hardest thing about being a teacher is trying
to juggle the idea of caring and following procedures,
because sometimes you can really care, but the rules
don’t allow it. Mr. Coffield shared a funny moment in
his life when he was in school and the teachers told
him to eat lunch under the pavilion, but he decided to
disobey. He was eating an ice cream sandwich, and
something dripped on his hand. At least he thought it
was ice cream, until he licked it and found out it was
it was bird poop. He sings in the car to folk music. A
message from Mr. Coffield is, always be nice and
willing, because life is what’s happening while you’re
waiting for life to happen.
The Centinela Cafe
By Ezequiel Rodriguez
The cafe food is so good. One of the best
things to eat there is the fries. The cafe is not that far.
It’s just two blocks away from MDR. After school
many of the students from
Marina go to eat there. Even
some of the teachers go to the
cafe and eat. One time they
burned my fries and after they
made them again, they was too
salty. Some kids say the cheese
burgers there are super good and others said the chili
cheese fries, breakfast burritos are so good. One
Mariner says she likes to play the video game Street
Fighter and Pac-Man at the Cafe. They sell drinks
like Coke, Pepsi, apple juice, Sprite, Crush and
orange juice. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner
with great pancakes and burgers. That’s why we
Mariners love the Centinela Cafe.
Oct. 2016
Natural Hair
Drake vs. Chris Brown
By Tylen Lockley
They are two ambitious artists. Two amazing
talents. Two controversial artists. And, two lovable
personalities. Drake is
a Canadian native who
grew up with Jewish
traditions, and before
he started his music
career, he starred on
the T.V. series,
“Degrassi” for several
seasons. He loves love,
and is very real in his
music, where sometimes he is sentimental and
affectionate, and when the time comes, very hard
and gangsta. He has diverse albums, with songs about
his life in Canada, and even some diss tracks. “Views”
is his latest album release, and has some of the hottest
songs out right now, like “For
free” or “Too Good,” and he
has a rumored romance with
the pop star Rihanna, who
happens to be Chris
Brown’s ex. I love Drake
and his music, and it only gets
better. Chris Brown is great
artist as well. He has a lot of
great hits, has now been
blessed with the gift of
fatherhood to his baby girl
Royalty. He has been through
a lot in his career so far: a
police raid, and an arrest for assaulting his exgirlfriend Rihanna and did jail time. Mr. Brown and
Drake have collaborated together and have no beef
with each other. But, because his music is so hot
right now all throughout the year, Drake has my vote.
I grew up to both of their music, and I am a big fan of
both of them, I even met Chris Brown before during
a music video shoot of his song featuring the late
great Aaliyah. Who do you think is the greater artist?
There are eight different types of African
American hair textures, including straight, wavy, kinky
and curly. Natural
hair is the easiest.
You can do many
things with all the
different types of
hair. You should
consider not
getting relaxer or
perm anymore,
because you can
grow
long
beautiful natural
hair in two or three years, or in some cases, just
months. All the hair textures are
good, but my favorite out of all
types include 3a, 3b, 3c .The
reason why they are my best
types is because with 3a, you
don’t have to put much work
when working with that hair
texture and my own hair is a 3c
texture and it is very easy to
work with in my favor. My
favorite things to do are twist
outs, braid outs, wash and go’s
and my favorite is bantu knots.
4a, 4b, and 4c are harder to
work with because you have to
use heavier products in your hair with that hair type,
but when you are working with the other hair types,
you can put a lighter product on your hair.
Phantastic Phora
By Nalani Haskett and Delilah Brownstein
Phora was born and raised in Anaheim,
California. He is a hip-hop
and west coast rapper.
Phora was influenced by
both his father and graffiti
to make music. Phora has
made five albums since
2012: Still a Kid, One
Life To Live, Nights Like
These, Sincerely Yours, and Angels With Broken
Wings. Phora has nearly been murdered twice,
although his music stays positive and enjoyable. One
of my favorite songs by Phora is Deeper Than Blood
and it’s a sad song, but I like it. A few other songs
that are my favorite are: My Story, Forgive Me
Mother, and I Think I Love You. Phora has gotten
me through the hard times and he means so much to
me. Jackie A. agrees. She says, “He has written lyrics
that make me understand some things in life aren’t
worth your time. He gets a lot of hate from people,
but is just motivates him to go harder and keep going.”
________
The Getty
By Nadera Powell
Dr. Seuss
By Ricardo Carvajal
We all know Dr. Seuss. Everyone has read
his book, “The Cat in the Hat.” The first thing that
mostly everyone knows
about Dr. Seuss is that he is
the king of children’s books.
But what people didn’t know
is that Seuss didn’t really like
kids. He once said, “You have
‘em, I’ll amuse ‘em.” He was
once challenged to write a
book using only 50 different
words, so he wrote “Green
Eggs and Ham.” One last
tidbit is Dr. Seuss isn’t really a doctor. His real name
is Theodor Seuss Geisel. He was also not a doctor
of anything. He only used Dr. Seuss as his pen name
because his father had always wanted him to practice
medicine. Children from across America have learned
to read by reading his books.
- Photo credit DeAndre Howard
On October 27, Mr.
George and Ms.
Vibbert brought 45
Mariners on a trip to the
Getty Center to see art,
amazing views of the
city and the Pacific
Ocean.
Oct. 2016
Marina del Rey Middle School
Page 3
Point of View - Editorials
Dump Donald Trump
Teen Peer Pressure
By Nalani Haskett, Jennah Redden, Rosibelle Vera, Alma Moreno and Delilah Brownstein
By Mi’Kayla Watson
Donald Trump should not be our president because he is a disrespectful human being. We feel that
he is a disgusting, immoral person. We are offended by the things he has said about grabbing women and
saying that he can touch women inappropriately and when he pleases. Trump says he is going put Hillary
Clinton in prison. Trump has made many threats against Latino immigrants in the United States about throwing
them back into the country they ran away from, when we are a nation of immigrants, and people come here
just to work and to have a better life.
Teenagers today worry about peer pressure.
Teens feel pressured to do something they know is
wrong, like smoking,
drinking, doing drugs or
alcohol that they were
pressure into doing.
Teens often give into peer
pressure because they
want to fit in. They want
to be known and worry
that they may be let out
or made fun of. Also
another thing that
teenagers worry about is
the clothes that they wear. Most teens want the
expensive clothes, hairstyles and expensive shoes,
like Jordans. I, as a teenager, feel that you should be
yourself and don’t let anybody push you to do
anything that’s not right.
Hillary Clinton:
Here to make a change
By Nadera Powell
Former Secretary of State, and former first
lady running in 2016’s presidential race, Hillary
Clinton is in the lead, and is stronger than ever. Not
only does she have a
vast majority of
supporters here in the
United States, she has
them worldwide. She
has spent 30 years while
in her political career to
make the world that
much better. Her
Clinton Foundation is also a charity that helps young
girls and boys and people with illness and all types of
other issues worldwide. She has a mental health
reform plan that will bring mental illnesses to the light,
and will help those who are in need of psychological
help. She also has a education plan that would make
college debt-free, and then she would give more
money to low-income students so that after college,
they would not have to worry about debt when they
graduate. These are just a few of her plans that will
help the public. She has to deal with the disrespectful,
rude, sexist, racist, fascist, and all the other -ist words
Donald Trump spews. He said to her during the 2nd
debate that if he were president, she would be
imprisoned. She has kept herself humble though, and
never lost herself, and that is why she would have my
vote if I were of age to vote. She has been in the
political world for a very long time, and to me, it’s
about that time that she ran for president because in
my eyes, she is already there.
Trump and Immigration
By Nadera Powell
He is just one of the things that is
wrong with this world. How can one go to a certain
country and make a speech there about how much
you love their
people and
even meet
t h e i r
president
and then go
back and
talk trash
about that
country?
Trump just
delivered a
speech in
Phoenix, Arizona saying how he’s “a man who loves
his country, the United States.” Well, Mr. Trump, you
will need to emphasize what exactly you love about
this country, and who you love because that is a broad
statement. But, the ignorance is getting 1000x worse.
He says he vows to begin deportations as soon as
he becomes president. He also said no one will be
able to gain citizenship by simply remaining in the US
after entering illegally. He also stated all undocumented
immigrants who were arrested-let alone convictedwould face automatic deportations. “I have zero
tolerance for illegal aliens,” he stated. His whole plan
is based of the idea of deportation. 11 million
undocumented people live here, yet back in 1980,
Trump hired 200 undocumented Polish workers to
demolish the Bonwit Teller store when constructing
the Trump Tower. He even said he wants Hillary
deported. Well, Mr. All-knowing, I will stand here
and watch you fall. Have fun.
___________
Dear Old Me
By Nadera Powell
Nadera. Aim high. The sky isn’t enough anymore. The clouds don’t suffice either. Aim for the stars.
Make sure you shine brighter than the next one, and the rest of them. Make sure your dreams happen. You
can dream about anything, but it is up to you to make it happen. You could be richer than Bill Gates! That
would be nice for a change. Be an over-achiever. But don’t let your pride get in
the way; it will hurt you more than anyone else. Don’t let anybody talk you out of
doing what’s best for you. You know you better than anyone else, and are a
person who doesn’t rely on other people. Don’t try to be like everyone else.
Everybody else is taken, so be you. Nadera, don’t let people stop you from
being you. If people try to change you, evaluate your friends. If you try to change
yourself to make others happy, evaluate yourself. Know your worth. Don’t be a
girl who doesn’t believe in herself. Be a person who some don’t like. If everyone
likes you, something is wrong. And, it’s okay that some don’t like you. You like
you, and that’s all that matters. Don’t try to fit in with the crowd; be the one to
lead the crowd. Be happy! Things happen, and yes, you will doubt yourself
sometimes, and that’s something I like to call, human. Don’t be naive. Always
know where you are, and whom you’re with. Be that one person who everyone considers a weirdo; normal
people should scare you. Don’t ever give up on yourself; you’re setting yourself up for failure. Love your
selfie and love yourself. Laugh with many, and don’t trust any.
________
POKEMON GO
By Antonio Topete
Do you see people walking around looking
constantly at their phones? They are probably playing
Pokemon Go.
You start the game
by making your
own character and
choosing your first
Pokemon. You
can choose from
Bulbasaur,
Squirtle, and Charmander. Once you do that, the
game starts. You need your location on and then walk
around the world catching Pokemon. Remember there
are Pokemon all around you. Student Guillermo said,
“It’s really fun.” Ezequiel said, “I love it.” Ricardo
shared, “It’s good, but dangerous.” Finally, Nalani
said, “I love it and I get exercise from walking.” Go
play Pokeman Go!
Pokemon No
By Guillermo Pinto and Jose Ramirez
Pokemon Go the game is fun and all, but
there is also dangers because there are a lot of people
who look at their screens
and never pay attention
to where they are
walking. Also, once you
make a Pokemon
account, you give all of
your information. And
some people spend real
money on that game so
hackers can easily take
your info and your credit card info and take all your
money and other private information. That’s why
Pokemon Go is dangerous. Make when you play be
careful. Pokemon Go is also dangerous because you
can go to a place that says no trespassing and you
can get in trouble. Pokemon Go is dangerous because
you can hurt yourself or someone can hurt you. And
that’s why when you go Pokemon hunting, you should
go with an adult so they can watch over you When
you play, make sure you watch your surroundings.
Page 4
Marina del Rey Middle School
HOROSCOPES
By Janaya Wilburn and Kelia Hulon
Scorpio (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21) The woman in black
will walk in your hall at night.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22- Dec. 22) A clown will stalk
you.
Capricorn (Dec. 22 – Jan. 19) Don’t look under
the bed because
La Llorona is
under there.
Aquarius (Jan.
20 – Feb. 18) A
creep is going to
creep you out.
Pisces (Feb. 19
- March 20)
When you wake
your worst nightmare will come alive.
Aries (March 21-April 19) When you are walking
in the park, there will be a zombie apocalypse.
Taurus (April 20 - May 20) When you wake up,
you will be in a pit of spiders.
Gemini (May 21- June 20) At night, your worst
nightmare will come to life.
Cancer (June 21 - July 22) When you are using the
restroom, the lights will turn off.
Leo (July 23 –Aug. 22) When you turn a corner,
Chucky will pop up and jump out at you.
Virgo (Aug. 23 – Sept. 22) When you wake up, you
will be drenched in blood.
Libra (Sept. 23 – Oct. 22) At night when you go to
put on your pj’s, a leprechaun will jump out at you.
Would you rather?
By Ariana Sanchez and Karen Nava
Meet a vampire or meet a werewolf?
Live in a haunted house or live in a spooky castle?
Go to Halloween Universal Studios Horror Nights
or Knott’s Scary Farm?
Eat all Halloween candy or trade all of your
Halloween candy for $5?
Be chased by a witch or be chased by a zombie?
Get scared all day or
get candy all day?
Eat a spider or a bat?
Trick-or-treat with
your friends or trickor-treat with your
family?
Be scared all day or scare people all day?
Eat as much candy in one day,
then the rest is taken away
or eat one piece of candy a day and the rest is
never taken away?
Mystery Teacher
By Karen Nava and Jackie Aquino
1. Favorite color: blue
2. Gender: male
3. Favorite movie: Shawshank
Redemption
4. Favorite type of music: Rock ‘n roll
5. Favorite sport: football
6. Age: 52
7. Birthday: October 8
8. Hobbies: gardening, cooking
Halloween Crossword Puzzle - If you Dare...
By Tylen Lockley and Maalik Murphy
1. down - another word for die
1. across - the day you trick-ortreat
2. down - a chocolate candy
with caramel and nuts
2. across - a chocolate candy that
has cookie and cream edition
3. across - chocolate covered
wafer in a red and white rapper
3. down - you get it on
Halloween
4. down - a circle chocolate
candy with caramel in the middle
4. across - all your bones put
together make this
5. down - a chocolate
commercial that comes on every
Halloween
5. across - what’s in he-l
6. down - little sour children
candy
6. across - there’s a commercial
that has this candy s a chicken
pox
7. down - what you bleed out
________
Word Search
By Jackie Aquino and Estrella Munoz
HALLOWEEN, TRICKOR TREAT, SPIDERMAN,
SKELETON, GHOST,
HAUNTEDHOUSE,
BLACKCATS, BLOODY,
CLOWNS, MUMMIES,
WITCHES, CANDY,
COSTUME, CEMETERY,
MONSTER.
Oct. 2016
Killer Clowns
By Jennah Redden and Michael Mckinney
Lately the only thing that’s been trending on
social media are the
killer clowns. Not just
our school is in the
middle of this rumor, but
so are over 20 other
schools across the
nation. Killer Clowns
have even been to Ohio
and even Kansas
[supposedly]. Mariners
claim to have seen the
clowns seen by students
around the buses, by
the garden, and other
rumors like that. But we have news for you. They are
not real. They are nothing but a rumor by bored
students who went too far. If it does make you feel
better, around 30 clowns have been arrested in other
states in the past month. If you’re out on Halloween,
and you’re alone… WATCH OUT FOR THE
CLOWNS!
________
Cam Newton
By Maalik Murphy
Cam Newton is my favorite athlete because
we both play quarterback. Cam has been my favorite
player since I was five years old and when he played
in junior college. I remember watching him play in
the bcs national championship game against Oregon.
Cam Newton was born in
1989. He’s 6’5 and weighs
245. His 40 yard dash time
is 4.59. His vertical jump is
35 inches and his broad
jump is 126 inches. He
started playing in the NFL
in 2011. The Panthers have
been my favorite team since
the day he got drafted. Cam
Newton broke just about
every rookie qb record in
2011. Cam Newton got
sponsored by Underarmour
his 1st year of the NFL. I
bought his cleats the year
they came out, but I didn’t
like the way they felt so I
never wore them. I watch Cam Newton’s highlights
to try to see how he plays and take notes on what he
does when he throws a pick or fumbles the ball. I
watch these things so I can know how to react when
I throw a pick or fumble the ball. He inspires me to
work harder than I do right now, because I’ll have to
work extra hard to get to that position. I like dancing
after I score just like Cam does. I either dab or act
like I’m Superman and open up my jersey. He does
the same thing. Since he’s my role model, I like to be
called “Baby Cam.”
________
JOURNALISM STAFF: Jaquelina Aquino, Delilah
Brownstien, Ricardo Carvajal, Nalani Haskett, Kelia
Hulon, Tylen Lockley, Michael McKinney, Alma
Moreno, Estrella Munoz, Maalik Murphy, Karen
Nava, Guillermo Pintor, Nadara Powell, Anthony
Quisenberry, Essence Raines, Jose Ramirez, Jennah
Redden, Ezequiel Rodriguez, Ariana Sanchez, Diane
Serrano Castrejon, Antonio Topete, Daliah Turner,
Rosibelle Vera, Chandler Walton, Mi’Kayla Waston,
and Janaya Wilburn. Adviser, Ms. Roth.