The Smoke Signal

Joe Martinez was our coach, our mentor, but most importantly our friend. This is a photo gallery dedicated to his memory. Please leave a message about how Joe has touched your life in the comment box below. Comments: “Without Joe, I would not have accomplished my goal of qualifying to NCS. He pushed me to work my hardest every year. He was a great coach and will be missed by everyone. ” -Kristina Bergstrom “Even if he’s not here, Joe will always be our swim and water polo coach throughout highschool. He will be our motivation to do our best…

Congratulations to our Winter Guard and Winter Percussion in the NCBA Championships! Check back for more coverage soon.

Think you know your teachers? The Smoke Signal is putting your knowledge to the test. Match the teacher or administrator to the correct occupation(s) held before becoming a teacher at MSJ. ____ Worked as a United States Air Force officer. Also worked for the California School for the Blind. ____ Drove a school bus for a camp. ____ Was a Paleontological Field Monitor who “cracked rocks” while looking for fossils. ____ Read textbooks and recorded his/her voice onto a tape for a blind student. ____ Was a bartender. ____ Worked at a tanning salon. ____ Worked on an assembly line…

Come see beatboxer Ryan Yung show off his skills!

By: Frank Chen On Friday, March 25, English Teachers Katherine Geers and Jennifer Moore’s students had the opportunity to meet internationally recognized humanitarian Carl Wilkens. Wilkens, the only American who stayed in Rwanda during the country’s genocide in 1994, is currently the director of World Outside My Shoes, a non-profit organization that dedicates itself to educating others about stopping genocide and creating peace. Wilkens is a passionate and active speaker who travels across the nation to share his story with students, teachers, and community members. Due to the limited number of seats in room C120, students were divided into three…

By: Angie Wang On April 2, 2011, FIRST Robotics Team 2489, the Insomniacs, competed at their annual Silicon Valley Regional (SVR) at San Jose State University. SVR is a three-day event that began on Thursday with practice rounds and ended on Saturday with quarter finals, semi finals, and finals. The Insomniacs participated in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Regional, one of many held in the nation. FIRST stands for “For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology” and is designed to promote careers and expertise in engineering as well as entrepreneurship. FRC inspires the minds of future scientists and…

By: Aishwarya Thakur Ten MSJ students participated in the 29th Annual Spanish Poetry Contest at Harker School on April 7. Students were chosen by Spanish teachers Linda Cochran and Jill Evans to partake in the competition. Two students from a pool of applicants were selected from levels one through five to advance to the competition at Harker School, where they competed against eight other public and private high schools. “This was the first year that we were invited, but we would love to participate again next year,” said Evans. Sophomore Grace Lee won first place in the level three division…

By: Alice Zalan Britney Spears’ much awaited album Femme Fatale was finally dropped on March 29. This album is a “tribute to bold, empowered, confident, elusive, fun, flirty women and men” and Spears has been working on this new production for over two years. Since 1998, Spears has been constantly pumping out hot new songs and reinventing popular music. From her first single, “(Hit me) Baby One More Time” to the catchy “Circus”, from her previous album, she has been a force to be reckoned with. For this new album, Spears joined up with Max Martin and Dr. Luke to…

By: Angie Wang On April 15, 2011, MSJ’s Performing Arts department plans to hold their annual Jazz Dance, a formal dinner and dance event held at the Fremont Marriot. The event features MSJ’s renowned jazz band as well as guest vocalists. Various selections by Duke Ellington, Dave Eshelman, and Frank Sinatra will be performed at the year’s gala, named “April in Paris” after the song by Vernon Duke. This year, Band Director Monica Kraft has decided to expand the event to other performing arts classes outside of the Jazz Band. This year’s gala will also feature a string ensemble from…