Fright Nights Left Me Fearful
By Faith Gonia
I hate horror, but I love Westmont Theatre. Thus, you can imagine my quandary at the announcement of Fright Nights, their 4D movie experience filled with alarming jump scares, hair-raising music, and terrifying live actors. The mere thought of the event sent chills down my spine.
Nonetheless, I am a journalist, and I had a job to do. With comrades Olivia D’Antona and Jimmy Nguyen by my side, I courageously drove to Westmont at 8:30 p.m. on October 26 to brave the night of terror. Upon purchasing our tickets, the three of us were greeted with a lobby full of countless zombies surrounding us on every side. Little did we know, that was only the beginning.
Westmont’s National Merit Scholars
By Faith Gonia
Out of every high school senior in America, around 16,000 became National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists this year—one percent of the class of 2024. Westmont is lucky to represent two of these outstanding students; congratulations to Akilesh Subramaniam and Lisa Ido!
Currently, Ido is a part of the middle college program which Westmont and West Valley College offer. Subramaniam, however, walks the halls of Westmont. The brilliant senior gives us his outlook.
They Did the Mash!
By Faith Gonia
They did the Mash! They did the Monster Mash!
For three fun-packed afternoons on the week before Halloween, Westmont Theatre put on their annual family-friendly Halloween party.
Monster Mash, the name of the celebration, offered a variety of games and activities enjoyable for all ages. Coloring with vampires, face painting with fairies, playing musical chairs with pirates—kids (myself included) had a blast at each station. To top it all off, each party, lasting thirty minutes, included a choreographed dance by the talented cast members! Rocking to the hit 1962 song, “Monster Mash,” by Boris Pickett, the students performed an energetic dance, and concluded with inviting the children onstage to dance with them!
Director Hazel Behl immensely enjoyed putting together the show. “I loved working and having such a fun environment,” she explains. “And I love the face painting activities!”
Another behind-the-scenes student, Producer Mika Shahar, could be found in the lobby of the theater, handing out prizes to children who completed all of the stations. As a producer, Shahar managed the technical aspects of the show: ordering materials, overseeing the set, and also helping Behl with choreography.
Fun Facts
By Diego Mantelli
- The USS Texas once intentionally flooded itself in order to fire shells at a higher angle, allowing it to hit targets that were farther away.
- All the beds on the Titanic are waterbeds.
- Taylor Swift recently replaced The Weeknd as the most listened to artist on spotify.
- The first dog park was created in 1979
- It costs more to produce pennies than pennies are actually worth.
- The common pigeon is actually a species of dove.
- The fastest car in the world, The ThrustSSC, uses engines from the F-4 fighter jet, and goes through 4.8 gallons of gas a second.
- Republican Representative George Santos used to be a Drag Queen.
- Gerrymandering is named after a district that looked like a salamander created by Elbrigde Gerry.
- The largest monetary bill minted by the U.S. government was a 100,000 dollar bill, which is illegal for any citizen to possess.
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This Day in History: November 27
By Maxime Pocat
176: Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius grants his son, Commodus, the rank of Imperator.
1295: English King Edward I calls what later became known as “The Model Parliament,” extending the authority of its representatives.
1493: Christopher Columbus returns to La Navidad colony, finding it destroyed by the first Native American uprising against Spanish rule. Taíno Cacique Caonabo led his people to attack the settlement after the brutal treatment they received from the garrison who disobeyed Columbus’s orders.
1495: Scottish king James IV receives Perkin Warbeck, pretender to the English throne.
1807: The Portuguese Royal Family and its court of nearly 15,000 people leave Lisbon for their colony of Brazil to escape invading Napoleonic troops.
1868: Battle at Washita River, Oklahoma. General George A. Custer attacks group of Native American Indians; their chief Black Kettle dies in the attack.
1895: Swedish chemist Alfred Nobelestablishes the Nobel Prize.
1957: US Army withdraws from Little Rock, Arkansas after Central High School integration.
1960: Head of the government, Felix Félix Houphouët-Boigny, is elected unopposed as the first President of Ivory Coast.
1964: Filming starts for the Star Trek pilot, “The Cage”; the cast includes Jeffrey Hunter, Susan Oliver, Leonard Nimoy, and Majel Barret Although it never airs, some footage is re-used in “Menagerie” episode of the series.
1967: French President Charles de Gaulle said “Non!” to British entry to the European Common Market for the second time.
1973: US President Richard Nixon signs the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act, authorizing petroleum price, production, allocation and marketing controls.
2011: Roger Federer claims a record sixth ATP World Tour Finals tennis title with a 6–3, 6–7, 6–3 win over Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final in London, England.
2013: Frozen, the highest-grossing animated film of all time, starring Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell, is released.
2013: Tiger Woods is named PGA Tour’s Player of the Year for the eleventh time.
2022: Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, erupts for the first time in nearly 40 years on Hawaii island.
Sherlock Rocked!
By Faith Gonia
Sherlock Holmes can read people like a book. “An elementary textbook,” he so graciously specifies.
From November 9 to November 18, Westmont Theatre put on their annual fall play. This year, Sherlock Holmes paid a visit to the department—and boy, is Holmes a character. Taking place in nineteenth-century London, the story follows a blackmail plot by criminals Jamie and Madge Larrabee, who hold a young woman captive in hopes of extorting a royal family. The girl, Alice Faulkner, is in possession of a stack of letters which would allow the despicable Larrabees to succeed in their efforts. When the clever Holmes is put on the case, chaos ensues, as he fights for Faulkner’s justice while battling his archnemesis, Professor James Moriarty.
Entering the theater, one could immediately tell the amount of dedication that behind-the-scenes students put in. With five scenes total, each in a different location, the show requires a vast range of pieces, props, and lighting to immerse the audience in the various settings. My personal favorite, Moriarty’s Underground Office, contained so many eerie details, such as grate-like projections on the ground, and a trapdoor in the floor from which characters entered. Overall, the set of Sherlock was insanely impressive.
Furthermore, provided that many characters were double-casted, I had the pleasure of watching two different nights of Sherlock—I had hoped to see every student perform. From my time as an audience member, I learned the simple reason why phenomenal Director, Jeff Bengford, chose to double-cast: Westmont Theatre has an abundance of incredibly talented actors.
Jimmy Nguyen and Sergio Macian shared the role of Sherlock. Both Nguyen and Macian did an outstanding job at bringing the complicated character to life. Throughout the show, Holmes demonstrates a cool, confident persona. Yet, upon the reveal of his love interest at the conclusion, we suddenly see Holmes’s vulnerability. Watching Nguyen in the final scene, one could see the moment where his Sherlockian self-confidence suddenly fades. To mention every moment of Nguyen’s immense talent proves unachievable.
Moving forward, Kenzy McDowell played Jamie Larrabee. From the moment McDowell walked onstage, you could feel her energy. Each line delivered and movement across the stage she did with purpose. Thus, McDowell was a joy to watch onstage.
On my second night watching, I sat with several good friends, including the wonderful Marina Halbert. Together, we laughed at the hilarious Otra Phillips, who played one of Moriarty’s henchmen.
The Shield is an independent publication of the Journalism class at Westmont High School. Editorials reflect the opinion of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Westmont High School, its Board of Trustees, faculty, administration, or students. The Shield welcomes all opinions, editorials, poems, artwork, complaints, pictures, advertisements, and letters to the editor. Submit all material to Room 58 and/or aevans@cuhsd.org. We appreciate articles from students, faculty, parents and subscribers. The Shield, Westmont High School, and CUHSD do not endorse any advertisements that run in the newspaper.