Gabrielino’s Student Workers
By Cassandra Gallegos
Staff Writer
From 12 p.m. until the end of lunch, student cafeteria workers dedicate their time to a job that serves the entire student body.
Each day consists of using the register, serving students, and cleaning up.
The student workers receive minimum wage for their hard work each day. Even though the students are paid for their work, their job is not simple.
The everyday employees sacrifice ten minutes from their fourth period to leave class early. The ten minutes these workers spend preparing for lunch speaks volumes about their dedication to helping others.
Additionally, serving other students lunch causes cafeteria workers to lose half of their lunch as well.
Nevertheless, the cafeteria employees are always eager to take on the lunch lines. They face the challenge of having limited time to serve each student, but with everyone working vigorously and quickly, the student staff is able to conquer the challenge daily. There are nine total cafeteria workers.
“The pro of being a cafeteria student worker is that I am able to build a resume and work experience,” stated Simon Tran, senior.
By Jasmine Alfaro
Staff Writer
On the outside, Gabrielino High School’s library is a building like any other, but on the inside, it is an organized archive of countless books and computers for all to use. Those responsible for keeping it in near perfect condition are the three students who donate their time and work to getting others the resources they need.
For nearly ten years, student library workers have been a part of Gabrielino to help out the district librarian, Eileen Chi, during lunch hours and after school.
Working in the library is not an easy task. Their schedules rotate from supervising the computers to checking out books and printing. The workers are constantly interacting with others, lending a hand wherever help is needed.
“[The students we pick] have to be good with technology and detail-orientated,” Chi explained. “Their main goal is to be a resource to us and the students. Having them here allows [me and] Mrs. Lee to monitor students and do our jobs more efficiently.”
Even though Chi has been the librarian for only two years, she has been constantly impressed with the help she has received.
“They are responsible and reliable,” Chi commented. “If they weren’t here, Mrs. Li and I would have a tough time.”
The student library workers consist of seniors Amir Farahani and Annie Ung and junior Sokhay Pich.
Ung started the job as a student library worker in her sophomore year, enjoying the set routine it had to offer and the staff she got to work with.
“I joined because I needed the money,” Ung joked. “But, despite being an introvert, I’ve learned to grow out of my shell and see how hardworking people are.”
By Brendan Villena
Staff Writer
Tongva Tutoring, a free tutoring service run by other students, offers assistance to English Learning Development (ELD) students.
It focuses on students who are learning English for the first time as well as those who want to improve their grasp of reading and writing English.
Senior Angel Chen is the lone Tongva tutor that teaches ELD, but she does a stellar job at explaining concepts to students who need it.
“The students often ask for feedback on their essays,” Chen mentioned. “I help them translate the assignments they are [unclear] on and fix their grammar errors.”
Chen has seen immediate improvement in students that have come to tutoring.
Helping students learn English through ELD tutoring can be very beneficial. While learning a language as complex as English, there are bound to be a couple obstacles in the road.
Tongva Tutors and the students they are tutoring are around the same age, which helps make the learning relatable to the students learning English.
“Sometimes it is hard to explain the concepts clearly when translating,” Chen said. “But the students are open to [learning] so it’s not that bad.”
ELD tutoring takes place in E268 on Mondays and B142 Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
By Rodin Batcheller
Staff Writer
As students start to file out of school after sixth period, seniors Melody Song and Michael Yiu file into a classrom to help fellow students with their math classes.
Every Tuesday and Thursday from 3 to 4 p.m., these two dedicated students sit and guide others who are seeking aid with either homework, test corrections, or simply understanding a new lesson.
Song and Yiu help students in Geometry, Algebra 2, Precalculus, and Calculus. Aside getting paid, the tutors love working with other students to make math a little more understanding and enjoyable.
“I like [tutoring],” said Yiu. “I can help other students pass a class that they may be struggling in. It’s worth it to hear [the students] say how well they did on a test or a quiz.”
Math teachers Linda Ho and Kenneth Yee host the afterschool tutoring sessions in their rooms, B241 and B249 respectively. Math tutoring takes place in Ho’s room on Tuesdays and Yee’s on Thursdays.
These teachers love the help Yiu and Song give to their fellow students and are always inspired by their kindness.
“The nice thing about Michael and Melody is that I can assign them to any student and they can work with the student,” Ho commented, “They can teach any [math] subject.”
By Deandra Du
Editor In Chief
Two days. Two tutors. Infinite learning.
The magic of Gabrielino High School’s Writing Clinic happens every week in B238, room of English department cochair and teacher Lovyelyn Chang. She is supported by English tutor Lakshimi Ranjit, who enjoys having an immediate impact on those who come in.
“I’m able to progressively get better at helping students with English,” Ranjit said, smiling. “Each student learns differently, and helping [a] variety of individuals has expanded my scope.”
Ranjit applied for the job because she enjoyed taking Advanced Placement (AP) Language her junior year. The class taught her the macro skills to edit student essays and reinforced micro ones, like fixing grammatical errors.
The students that come in range in their understanding of the English language. Chang works with students who need advanced help while Ranjit takes students with simple questions. Both agree that their favorite memory is exchanging mutual glances of agreement and confusion across the room with one another.
The Writing Clinic is open every Tuesday and Thursday from 3 to 4 p.m.
By Angelina Liang
Addendum Editor
“Math is something that’s in every language,” said senior Samantha Lozano, smiling.
Lozano worked as a Restorative Math Tongva Tutor during her senior year, and was assigned to work with most of the bilingual students, helping them gain a better understanding of math through their native language. She worked alongside juniors Michael Hong, Ida Li, and Alyssa Lie and seniors Vicky Huang, Victor Luong, and Sanjaye Narayan.
Every week, these tutors work from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. from Tuesday to Thursday. They meet with students in need of Algebra Readiness and Algebra 1 assistance in math teachers Linda Ho, Mark Mikasa. and Kenneth Yee’s classrooms, B241, B254, and B259, respectively.
During this time, the math tutors help students with test corrections and explain concepts to students who are struggling in math.
While some students are required to attend tutoring sessions by their teachers, many students stop by math tutoring during the week to simply better their understanding of the subject.
“It’s great to see people improve over times,” said Hong as Li nodded in agreement.
By Kaylan Kha
Features Editor
Around the room, eyebrows are furrowed and heads are down, deep in concentration. The sound of pen hitting paper can be heard as students try to grasp how adenosine triphosphate is produced from the proton-gradient present in chemiosmosis in the electron transport chain. They are huddled around a lab table, eagerly looking up at the student explaining the process.
Every week, Tongva science tutors attempt to explain complex concepts like these to students. Seniors Juan Nathaniel, David Wong, and Cody Yiu each specialize in a specific science, but are able to help anyone that comes in.
“It feels good to teach [others],” stated Nathaniel, “especially when your help makes [the topic] easier to comprehend.”
There are different methods that the tutors utilize to ensure that students are understanding the important ideas of a particular chapter.
“I had an 80 in biology before coming to tutoring,” junior Sarah Tang shared. “[The tutors] helped me pull my grade up to an A.”
The workers are available every Tuesday and Thursday in B208. Headed by science department chair Tom Velekei, tutoring begins at 3 p.m. and lasts until 4 p.m.
By Christine Tran
Staff Writer
3 to 4:30 p.m. Every Tuesday and Thursday. B115.
There lies four dedicated Restorative English tutors: seniors Andrea Windanta, Rebecca Xu, Julia Yu, and junior Audren Kirchoff. Their goal is to teach students who have fallen behind in their English classes.
While they may be the ones doing the teaching, tutoring has also been a learning experience for them.
“This job has helped [with] communicating [and] empathizing with others,” stated Xu. “I also get to learn more about handling my own money.”
The Restorative English tutors enjoy tutoring because not only it is convenient, but it is an opportunity to work amongst friends as well.
“To me, tutoring is the perfect part-time job,” said Yu, beaming. “I wanted to share what I learned about writing and learn even more through teaching others.”
With any job, however, there are bumps in the road. Sometimes they have translating a concept they know into something that anyone can understand. Other times. they will face a student who is forced to come in and does not want to ask them for help.
Nevertheless, tutoring at Gabrielino has helped all four girls to learn patience and improve communication skills. It has taught them to be more open-minded because they never know who will walk in through those doors. Every student has different needs and the tutors have learned how to handle them all with ease.
By Jannelle Dang
Opinion Editor
“History is interesting because everything in the past will repeat itself,” explained senior Keanu Lim.
Lim is one of the two social science Tongva tutors at Gabrielino High School. He channels his fascination with history and desire to educate those around him to help fellow students understand and study the subject matter of their respective sociual science classes. From U.S History to World History, Lim is able to discuss a wide range of topics with the people he tutors.
Like the rest of the Tongva tutors for other subjects, social science tutors went through an application process and were interviewed by assistant principal Christopher Guyer. However, unlike the other tutors, Lim and his colleague, senior Deandra Du, take a different approach to help students.
Rather than teaching them how to use formulas or how to apply grammar rules, social science tutors focus on enhancing the critical thinking skills that are needed to analyze and ask questions about history.
The majority of tutoring time is spent helping students study for tests, work on projects, and complete homework. The tutors also clarify facts and give tips on how to be a successful learner when it comes to social science.
Tongva tutoring for social science classes take place on Monday and Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in B154, Chad Budde’s classroom.
