“I love pushing the limits. I feel that everything I wear no one would even try to pull off. I don’t really follow trends. Whatever looks awesome, I’ll wear,” junior Daniella Anthony said.

Spring style this year, compared to last year, has transformed from set trends to originality and individuality. It is evident that San Dimas High students are becoming more confident in their own style rather that caring what other people think they should be wearing.

“Lately I’ve been in love with a soft grunge-hippy look. In other words, I shop at Brandy Melville or Urban Outfitters the majority of the time,” senior Emilee Coultrap said.

One thing is for sure: this spring consists of darker fashions that diminish the previous bright looks.

“I really like the edgy and vintage trends appearing this spring,” freshman Kelsey Villacorte said.

Items such as muscle tees, animal print shirts, a lot of rings, and peek-a-boo (see through cutouts) outfits create the new trends of spring.

However, the main trend this spring is individuality and a lack of fear among what people think. The dark trends apparent in people’s fashion are derived from the absence of this fear and a new-found desire to be different.

A few years ago the Glendora Tartans switched to a new type of learning that might make most cringe at the thought of it. They have what is called block scheduling, meaning they have three periods one day and then the other three the next day.

Some may think that only three periods a day would be heaven but before everyone goes looking to enroll they should understand that they stay in those three classes for an hour and forty minutes each. They believe that being in a class for a longer period of time will allow their students to really grasp the information that is given.

“I really like having the block scheduling because I have an open fifth period, so every other day I get out early!” Glendora student Jessica Yochem said.

Some of the few drawbacks to the new schedule are a short thirty minute lunch that makes it difficult to get back to school in time. Another is that many students are forced to take a zero period starting at seven o’clock if they wish to have a certain elective.

After zero period there is a twenty-minute study period or a kind of break to eat food and get last minute homework done.

One major difference between SDHS and GHS is that of lockers. Everywhere one turn’s there are thousands of lockers scaling from floor to ceiling in every hallway. Seeing as the campus is so much larger than our school, the passing periods are a great deal longer due to the fact that it could take eight minutes to simply cross the multiple quads.

Even though our schools are very different everyone is there for the same reason of being able to educate themselves in a great environment.

   The country, known for its string of anti-American totalitarian dictators, has not been taken seriously by International political powers, the United States not showing much concern on the issue.

   “The President does not believe that North Korea has sufficient means to carry out any kind of nuclear attack at this time, planning only a limited response in kind.” Said Press Secretary Jay Carney to the Washington Post on April 12.

   This response and the response of the United Nations to this threat has not satisfied some, the United Nations Security Council has attempted diplomatic relations with the erratic North Korea, the country being plagued by U.N sanctions in abundance. However, the view from international standpoint is that said sanctions are not enough.

   “The U.N should treat Kim-Jong Un and his nuclear threat as a crime against humanity and refer them to the I.C.C (International Criminal Court)” says United Kingdom news agency theguardian.co.uk

   North Korea who has for more than thirty years been a constant source of worry for international powers involved with South Korea has also threatened them, and with South Korea being located on the same peninsula the threat is much more viable.

   “The United States has a mutual defense contract with South Korea; if the north attacks the south we have to go in.” says history teacher Phil Lough.

   As for the threat to the United States most think it improbable and impossible.

   “They won’t attack us, the effects of that would destroy them.” Said Lough.

   The feeling from the country may be less than what is situational appropriate but the sense of fear is practically nonexistent.

   “There is no way North Korea would attack us, they aren’t that insane” said Junior Ian Rodrigues.

This spring break, I had the unbelievable opportunity to travel across the world and experience four different countries over the course of eleven days.

Every year, photography Dennis Tannen organizes a trip to a different country and this year, the trip included the following: Amsterdam, Netherlands; Brussels, Belgium; Paris, France; London, England. All of these places are so diverse, and it was incredible to see how much more the world has to offer than the little town of San Dimas.

This was my first time traveling out of state-excluding the time when I was a year old-and I was terribly nervous. The twelve hours it took to finally arrive in Amsterdam could not have come sooner. I was eager to get off that plane and start my endeavor.
Our time in Amsterdam lasted from Friday to Saturday. In that time, I visited the Anne Frank house, and I was able to walk through the rooms in which she stayed in for two years. The feeling one gets when standing in a place so historic is not easily described. Visiting the annex was my favorite part of my time in Amsterdam, hands down.

However, I might have taken in more than I would have chosen myself. For example, I probably could have done without the walk through the Red Light District, but I suppose it was part of the experience in Amsterdam.

The next stop was in Brussels, which lasted for the length of Sunday. While it is a beautiful city, it was not particularly my favorite, which might have been due in part to the fact that we visited the typical tourist part of Brussels.

Monday morning, we set out for the city of love: Paris. During my three days in this breath-taking city, I was able to experience the finest things France has to offer. I walked through the halls of Versailles, got lost in the Louvre, and heard the bells of Notre Dame. Not only did I get to see the Eiffel Tower, but I viewed all of Paris from the top of it. After climbing 669 steps to the second level of the tower, I ascended the rest by elevator, and though the journey was terribly freezing and a bit terrifying, it was an incredible experience and the view from the third level is indescribable. Paris was beautiful, and I was sad to leave it behind, but my despair was short-lived because up next was London.

London was most definitely my favorite location of the four that break. When we arrived on Thursday, it was snowing and I knew I loved it already. We saw all the sights of London, including the London Eye, Big Ben, House of Parliament, and so much more.

Two days later was our free day, and my two friends, Daniella Anthony and Karina Ruiz, made a brilliant decision to visit The Making of Harry Potter. This studio houses all of the props, costumes, sets, and technology used in the production of the eight films. I must say, this was the highlight of my entire trip. And I topped it off by toasting-with a glass of famous butter beer-to a great spring break.

One thing I loved about that city is that it felt so much like home. I don’t mean it in the sense that it looked like anything I was familiar with, because it was incredibly different, but I personally felt like I belonged there.

We had to take London Underground to transport us anywhere we wished to go, and I became accustomed to the lines and stops of that subway within the first couple times we took it. I was able to revisit stores and places I liked because somehow I remembered where they were. And it is an amazing feeling, to think that in three minuscule days I found somewhere I loved so much. It was bittersweet to return home; on one side, I was missing my family, friends, and my home. But on the other, I felt that I was exposed to a new home, one with which I was sad to depart. However, I know that I will be visiting there again soon.

Unfortunately, the next morning brought a bus with it to pick my group up from our hotel, and it took us to the airport. We made the arduous journey back to The States, where customs greeted us with a questionnaire and a stamp in my passport. It was a spring break well spent.

Even with all of the things that students have to do, everywhere someone looks, students are always on their phones looking through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or snap chatting funny pictures to their friends.

Addiction to social media is at an all-time high with the increasing number of smartphones and being able to access these websites right from their pocket.

Although cell phones are not allowed during class time, students are constantly using them to text their friends to ask where they are going to lunch or sending snap chats to their buddies.

Students are frequently on their phones during class time and are distracted from the learning that is supposed to be going on.

“I am on Instagram all the time to the point where I’m up until two in the morning and I’m so tired!” senior Kirsten Johnson said.

Being at home after a long day of school, most find it easy to relax while sitting on the couch and scroll through your phone for hours.

“I rush through my homework just so I can use Facebook and text my friends,” junior Arsenio Alvarez said.

Students are not as concentrated on learning and taking in the information when they are just thinking about if their status or picture got any “likes”.

“After a long day of school I come home and plan to check Facebook for two minutes but it turns into two hours just scrolling through news feed and I have to make sure I see everything, and once I go on, I can’t go off,” senior Hayley Geer said.

Senior Adriana Garcia, who is planning on attending Mt. Saint Mary’s, is looking forward to graduation.

“Graduating and attending college is going to be a real big step in my life, but at the same time I’m growing up and stepping into the real world,” Garcia said.

Usually when seniors are getting ready to graduation the first thought in their head is excitement but they do not tend to realize the huge change that is going to happen in their life.

“The memories of high school that I will miss are the dances, meeting new people, meeting teachers who are there for you; wanting you to do your best, like Mr. Casey.  My overall best memory is learning about who I am and who I’ll be,” senior Rebecca Schilling said.

During this time of the year staff members also have a hard time with the students graduating, especially if they have known them all four years.

“It’s very hard for me, I get really attached to these kids, more like a mother than a school employ, we go through so much together, I cry for about a week from check out day, but I take a lot of pictures for the memories,” Media Center Specialist, Lesley De Los Cobos, said.

Mr. Black’s intro, advanced, and AP art classes finished their annual art in the quad, but the OBEY recreation has drawn controversy from the student body because of its display of guns However, the artwork is meant to be a reference to the Cold War era, not to the rise of violence in America.

The image has been misconstrued by some students because they fail to see past the weaponry, but the overall message is a commentary on how the nation should focus on more peacemaking than the destruction of war.

“They did not choose to draw that in order to raise any concern about Newtown. It is not supposed to represent violence, but to represent a past time when violence was frowned upon by the general public,” freshman Patrisha Sangalang said.

    The feeling of safety in the homeland is rapidly depleting because of recent events like the shootings at Newtown, Connecticut  and the bombings at the Boston Marathon. Yet the display of weapons on school grounds has not stirred the student body as much as most think it would.

    “I think it is a touchy subject, but the symbolism is cool. The way that OBEY artist [Shepard Fairey] shows that is different than others because everyone wears those shirts,” sophomore Kelly Bramkamp said.

    It is both a blessing and a concern that students are passive about the possibility of gun violence on campus. They do not see the image of violence as a problem, probably because as a whole we have been desensitized to the violence of war.  It is important that students be conscience and aware of the possibility, but not paranoid that they will be killing while trying to get an education.

The movie had an estimated budget of about $130,000,000, and made $40,501,814 in its opening weekend. The movie is a bit under rated for its quality, but still not bad for an opening weekend. In total the movie has grossed over $300,000,000.

The plot is a total setup from the past movie, eliminating and adding characters as needed. The movie is action from almost start to finish. Although there is minimal character development, the changes made are both strong and easy to follow.

The movie is set a couple years after the first G.I. Joe movie. “G.I.Joe: Retaliation” is all about the evil society known as Cobra coming back and getting revenge for their defeat in “G.I.Joe: Rise of Cobra”. Having kidnapped the President and beginning to impersonate him at the end of the first movie, Cobra already is in control of the U.S. by the start of this movie. Using the control they have, Cobra manages to set Cobra Commander (Luke Bracey) free, and take out most of the G.I.Joe soldiers.

The remaining Joes include Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki), Flint (D.J Cotrona), and Snake Eyes (Ray Parker), with Roadblock taking the teams lead. With the assistance from General Joe Colton (Bruce Willis) the Joes set forth to retake control of the country, rescue the president, and save the world.

Johnson brings a lot to his character besides the action star we already know he is; he really plays off a man going through hard struggles and overcoming them to be the man on top.

All in all, the movie is great fun for any action movie fan, and highly recommended, if you’re planning a trip to the movies – go Joe!