#ghchs

[moved-strabius-strawberry]

One of my sister's students made an anime OP parody of their high school, and I believe everyone here deserves to see this work of art.

[girlswhocodeatghchs-blog]

Welcome!

Hello World! Welcome to the Girls Who Code Club blog at Granada Hills Charter High School.

[fantasticssamsgranadahills]

Give some summer lovin' to your hair! Ask your stylist for sun-kissed highlights. #AlwaysBeFantastic #FantasticSams #HairSalon #Summer #Granadahills #ghchs #fantasticsamsgranadahills (at Fantastic Sams Granada Hills)

[fantasticssamsgranadahills]

May your hair be as smooth as your moves. #AlwaysBeFantastic #FantasticSams #HairSalon #Granadahills #FantasticSamsGranadaHills #GHCHS #smoothhair #hairtips (at Fantastic Sams Granada Hills)

[fantasticssamsgranadahills]

❤️Keep Calm and get ready for Prom!❤️ #FantasticSams #Prom #FantasticSamsGranadaHills #GranadaHills #GHCHS #Hairdo #PromStyle #PromNight (at Fantastic Sams Granada Hills)

[changethelausd]

A Charter School Runs Amok

One of the reasons given for approving charter schools is that they provide more choices for parents.  However, about 30% of these schools are converted from existing public schools, actually removing the choice of a neighborhood public school for those families who live in the area.  Parents who feel that the neighborhood school  is the best option are left dealing with a school that  “is free from most regulations that apply to school districts,” resulting in the loss of important protections.

Our neighborhood school is Granada Hills Charter High School (GHCHS). Having this charter as a homeschool automatically disqualifies two of our daughters from attending a school with their neighbors as GHCHS does not serve special education students who cannot be mainstreamed. The school does not provide their own special day classes so both girls are transported to schools outside of our area. Our two other children are current students and my oldest daughter graduated from the school four years ago. My wife also graduated from the school before it broke from district control. My family has experienced the tradeoffs of giving a separate bureaucracy control over a school.

The most recent issue that we faced was the school’s expectation that we  sign away our rights in order for our daughter to participate in an academic activity that will take place as part of the regular school day. Without a plan for the campus, GHCHS spent $5.6 million to purchase the land that housed Pinecrest’s facilities in Northridge, depriving another set of parents of their choice.  Two years after this purchase the charter school will use this campus for the first time to administer AP tests. Since these new facilities are “about a mile” from the main campus, a field trip slip is required for students to participate.  Included in this slip is a phrase that states “all person making this field trip are deemed to have waived all claims against the District and its employees and the State of California for injury, accident, illness, or death occurring during or by any reason of the field trip.” When we called to inform the school that we would not waive these rights, we were told that they would find room for our daughter on the main campus. It is not clear why anyone should have to be sent off campus for these tests.

The school also violates their students’ privacy rights. “To participate in the graduation ceremony” seniors must submit a Senior Survey which is not anonymous. This questionnaire includes questions about college grants and scholarships that the student has been offered and the amounts of these offerings. These are questions that have nothing to do with the student’s high school experience and the school should not be forcing the students to divulge it to them, particularly without their parents’ permission.

Unfortunately, GHCHS does not seem to think much about a parent’s privacy either. I provided them with my e-mail address so that they could provide me with appropriate information about my child’s education, but in the past week they have sent me messages asking me to express my support for pro-charter school legislation that is being heard in Sacramento. In addition to violating the trust with which that e-mail address was provided, it also calls into question how public funds are being used. Charter schools are privately run but publicly funded, and these funds should not be used to promote a legislative agenda.

The charter industry promotes their schools as experiments in education and claims that they have superior results than public schools. In reality, these results are rendered moot by the failure to maintain a consistency among the two groups of schools. It is time for parents and taxpayers to demand an adherence to the rules along with measured academic outcomes.

____________________________________________

I am a former candidate for the District 3 seat on the LAUSD School Board and founder of Change The LAUSD.

[granadahillshighschool]

The issue of diversity throughout the fashion world

The annual New York Fashion Week is one of the world’s most renowned fashion shows, with models from across the globe and most of the top fashion designers and celebrities in attendance. The 2015 show was one of many firsts as well: the first male model amputee, the first model with Down syndrome, a few models in wheelchairs, and even a model with the skin condition vitiligo.

Despite these breakthroughs in the modeling universe, there are still huge problems with racial diversity. Between 2008 and 2014, the percentage of white models at New York Fashion Week has remained at about 80 percent. Less than six percent of Fashion Week models and only three percent of designers are African-American. The situation on the runway only reflects the extreme divide between races within the power structure of the fashion industry.

“There were more high-profile black designers in the 1970s than there are today,” Bethann Hardison, founder of the Diversity Coalition, said in an interview with the New York Times. “We’re going backwards.”

The lack of diversity in the fashion industry is not an issue of just African Americans not receiving enough attention, but all races. Asians and Hispanics, who also make up a large proportion of the American population, are rarely seen on the runway or receive any appreciation when they are present. As of 2013, only about nine percent of models were Asian and two percent were Latina despite their huge racial demographics in the nation. Thirteen companies--including Calvin Klein, J Brand, and Juicy Couture--had no models of color whatsoever at 2013′s New York Fashion Week.

“A few times I got excused by designers who told me, ‘We already found one black girl. We don’t need you anymore,’” African-American model Chanel Iman said to the Sunday Times Magazine. “I felt very discouraged. When someone tells you, ‘We don’t want you because we already have one of your kind’, it’s really sad.”

The lack of diversity is shown off the runway as well, especially in popular clothing stores for teenagers, such as Brandy Melville. Brandy Melville’s lines of clothing are allegedly “one size fits all” while advertising all of their clothes on skinny, Caucasian models with different hair colors, rather than their advertised “diverse California girls.”

Teenager girls are heavily influenced by the fashion world around them and by not offering several sizes or opening up to an array of diverse models, companies alienate curvy or colored girls into feeling like minorities and outcasts.

Within the fashion industry, women of color receive far less opportunities and are worth far less as models than models with white skin. Outside of the industry, the magazine covers, cosmetic campaigns, billboards, and TV commercials all promote the idea that beauty means having white skin.

The lack of diversity within the fashion industry does not just control the lives of the models and designers trying to make a break, but also the lives of teenage girls who feel inferior after not fitting into the cookie-cutter expectations of society.

When youth do not see their image and likeness in the jobs that they want to approach, it discourages them from striving towards their dreams. Girls need to be shown their ability to work in any job, including the fashion industry, is not influenced by the color of their skin.

The importance of racial diversity in the fashion world must not be overstated. Different races must be represented in order to truly reach equality in society and to prevent generations of teenagers and women from developing false senses of identity and perceptions of beauty.

--Shaneli Mirpuri

[granadahillshighschool]

Paul “The Punisher” steals hearts at assembly

Imagine waking up one day, planning to do one thing, but instead ending up changing your life forever. That exact thing happened to Paul Williams, a former American professional boxer and two-time World Boxing Organization (WBO) Welterweight Champion.

Paul “The Punisher” Williams was in a motorcycle accident in Atlanta, Georgia on May 27, 2012 that left him paralyzed under his chest.

Ever since the accident, Williams has gone around the country and inspired kids to pursue what they want in life and live every day as if it is their last.

On February 12, Eric King, a former National Football League (NFL) cornerback who played for the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions, introduced Williams at Granada Hills Charter High School’s “Three R’s” assembly in Highlander Hall for the current spring semester athletes. During the assembly, King explained what the Three R’s mean in the sports world and how all of the athletes should live by the motto.

“The first R is respecting yourself. It is very important to watch the circles that you keep ladies and gentlemen,” King said. “Don’t run with the big dogs because you’re bound to catch fleas.”

After explaining the importance of the Three R’s, King introduced Williams and showed a recap of Williams’ career to the students. The audience was astonished by the skill and difficulty of his job as a professional boxer.

“When the video started, I was expecting him to be decent, but as they showed more clips, I was amazed by how he lasted so long,” senior, Brenden Choi said. “I do not watch boxing because it looks boring, but his clips got me interested.”

Williams went on to talk about how he started boxing and how it ended up changing his life and getting him off the streets. At the age of 18, Williams had his first fight in a club and his career took off.

After his accident, Williams realized that sports careers could change unexpectedly, so he stressed to the athletes that it is essential to get an education and finish school.

“Why do I keep saying to graduate? When I was growing up, things were easy, but now, times have changed. You cannot get a job anywhere without a high school diploma; that is why I am telling you to graduate,” Williams said.

Following his presentation, Williams was kind enough to pose for pictures and sign autographs for any athletes who wanted them. There were some students who were moved by Williams’ presentation, and went up to him after to thank him.

Senior Joyce Chae was especially moved by Williams’ speech. “When I was in my seat, I thought how much it touched me and how amazing he was. I felt something say to me, ‘You should go pray for him,’” said Chae. “I waited until after and I prayed for him and got to talk to him and I was really glad I did.”

---Marissa Scott