Interview with Tracy Nolan, Debris Free Oceans

By: PTS Falconer

Interviewer: Manuel Real '17

Manuel, a Falconer Staff member, interviewed Tracy Nolan, the Educational Director of Debris Free Oceans. Debris Free Oceans is a Florida nonprofit corporation whose mission statement, found on their website, is to “inspire local communities to responsibly manage the lifecycle of plastics and waste as part of a global initiative to eradicate marine debris from our beaches, reefs, and oceans.” One of their many programs available is a Marine Debris Education presentation at the middle and high-school level, Palmer Trinity being among them.

How can we be we reduce plastic production and pollution?

If we increase awareness about the problem with pollution in wild life, then we can help reduce the demand of plastic and other types of products causing less and less items being created and therefore reduce pollution.

What are some of the dangers of Ocean pollution to both humans and animals?

Plastic can be dangerous in two ways. One is entanglement with fishing lines or plastic soda can holders. When an animal is entangled it can expend its energy trying to escape and die of starvation or exhaustion. The second is ingestion where the animal will eat the plastic. Sea turtles might believe a plastic bag is a jellyfish and then eat it which makes it feel full but instead it will poison the animal and can starve or choke the animal.

What were the worst things that have happened because of pollution?

There was an incident in the U.K that caused 12 sperm whales to beach up because they had been affected by the pollution. Another incident included Albatross birds in the Pacific colony taking the pollution to their nest and killing off the entire colony.

What drove you to want to save the ocean from pollution?

“I love to see change in community and to help reduce pollution in any way I can.”

“If I can help teach even one student then a domino effect can occur and help spread awareness through the community and hopefully reduce pollution in the world.”

You can learn more about Debris Free Oceans at www.debrisfreeoceans.org.

Senior Parking Spots

By: GABRIELLE PUIG '17

PTS Falconer Assistant Editor

On August 20th the class of 2017 gathered to personalize their parking spots. Several teachers and administrative members were present to  watch  the seniors’ creative approaches to painting their parking spots. a tent was set up by the Alumni Association in the parking lot  that served donuts, gatorade, and water.

Seniors were instructed to bring along painting supplies and ideas, some chose to improvise that day. A few students in particular commented on their experiences that day. Victoria Rosales said, “The painting of the parking spots was really fun and definitely something you don’t do everyday. Although I was very focused on painting most of my time there that day, I was happy that I got the time to spend time with all my classmates.” Sofia Iglesias, another senior, noted that she really enjoyed walking around that day and witnessing the process each and every senior went through to paint their spots.” Amanda Brown also mentioned that she really enjoyed going out there that day to relax and have a blank canvas to paint whatever she wanted

Lost and Found

By: MADELEINE WAGSHUL ‘22
PTS Falconer Staff

You lost your sweatshirt. Where is it? Oh, I don’t know, maybe the Lost and Found. Well, looks like you’ll never find it there. Or you’ll die trying from reek of sweat and foot stench. I mean, hey, kudos to you for having a so-called “positive attitude” for finding your lost item, but you will not find it unless you lost your sense of smell. Or, if you have a really bad perception on what’s gross and what’s not. Call me picky, but it’s seriously disgusting. 

On the positive side (in no way is this meant to promote these ideas):

• If you lose all your friends, I bet you can find some centipedes and millipedes in the sweatshirts to be your buddies!

• If you really want to go home from school, just dive in; you’ll catch some weird disease A.S.A.P.! 

• And if you want to get revenge on someone, just throw their phone in the bottom!

Unfortunately, 95% of the people who go looking lose most or all of their dignity. BUT…

It has finally, finally been organized! Yes, yes, it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but it at least is clean...ish. This time, I ALMOST didn’t gag when walking in there for research, which is probably your best bet for how clean it’s going to get. On the bright side, you can find your stuff much easier without having to make tunnels in the lost items that resemble a groundhog’s home! All I can say is thank goodness!

Crystal and Kelly: PTS Athletics SuperStars

By PHILIP MCMICHAEL ‘16
PTS Falconer Editor-In-Chief

If you’ve been to a Palmer Trinity Varsity Football game in the past two years, chances are that you’ve seen student trainers Kelly Blary and Crystal Ferreira working just as hard as the players on the field. The two seniors have been working with PTS Athletic Trainer Coach Jones for the past three years, and their passion for helping student athletes shows when you talk to them about what they do.

Kelly and Crystal have proven to be integral to the success of many Palmer Trinity teams, especially the football team. When a football player is hurt on the field, they are the first to rush over and evaluate his injuries. When a player needs water or ice, Kelly and Crystal are quick to come to their aid. For three years, Coach Jones has been teaching the duo many techniques and tips for treating injuries, wrapping and icing various parts of the body, and prepping sidelines for teams.

Certainly, Kelly and Crystal have seen their share of gruesome sports injuries. For Kelly, the injury that is ingrained in her mind is that of Marcus Kyle ’16, who broke his ankle. Kelly says that she could see the bone pushing at the inside of Marcus’s skin! Crystal remembers how Daniel Chumbley ’15 tore his ACL, and how his knee looked abnormal and displaced. The student trainers treat more minor injuries almost every day of the football season. As Crystal says, “someone’s always got something”.

Both girls hope to study athletic training-related fields in college, and eventually find jobs in the profession. They feel that Coach Jones’ guidance has truly prepared them for success in athletic training. Kelly and Crystal admit that they are still learning, and that certain things like wrapping athlete’s shoulders are still yet to be mastered.  The pair says that their different traits complement each other, both when it comes to on-the-field assistance and injury treatment.

Crystal says that Kelly is often more competitive during games, cheering the team on and always as energized as the players on the field. Crystal prefers to be the calm and comforting member of the training staff, useful for keeping injured players calm and deliberate in their movements. Kelly believes that she is better at shin wrapping, while she admits that Crystal is often better at correctly applying ice wraps. Both are constantly learning and improving, and this season they have once again demonstrated their importance to the success of sports at Palmer Trinity School.

My ESL Experience

By LIDONG WANG
PTS Falconer Guest Writer
Confused and miserable, I have tottered on the road of finding myself for more than a year. Going through a quite tough time. I am suffering in this beautiful, vibrant country; nevertheless, learning and improving at the same time. Though I left the ESL class, speaking English as a second language, I am an ESL student for the rest of my life. I started my American school life in ESL program and stayed for one year, I had my unique experience on it.

Coming out from the plane, I stepped into the new world, unprepared, all alone. Imagine a life without knowing anyone at school; imagine a sunny boy trying to make friends with people who are passing by, but not knowing in which way he could say hello properly; Imagine all the people talking all the time but he couldn’t get what are they laughing at. If the ESL courses didn’t give me a hand, someone vulnerable like me might already drown into the unspeakable pressure, broke down even before the life starts. To me, the ESL program not only worked as the buffer for my language barrier but helped me adapt a brand new culture as well.

The relaxing atmosphere at the ESL class stopped my confusion and frustration in the beginning. I won’t be blamed for missing an “s” at the end of a word; I won’t feel ashamed for asking a simple grammar question because the only American in the classroom is Ms. Fernandez or Mrs. Robledo. Back in these days, I felt comfortable while sitting in the ESL classroom; laughter together with broken English spoken by everyone including me has comforted my heart; grades of A in classes of an unfamiliar language have helped me build up the confidence in learning English. Most importantly, I survived from that hardest time, determined to go further and better in future.

However, the hidden bitterness couldn’t just vanished on its own. When someday, laughing with my classmates again, the word “coward” has flashed in my head for no reason. I began to realize the fact that I had been competing with the ones who were not pushing themselves, that in order to rectify my failure, I, together with people around me, had taken ESL as the excuse of not being better. I don’t know when did I fall into the beautiful dream, but I have to drag myself out into the cruel competing reality; after seeing how well an essay could be written by a high school student, how far I have fell behind with the native speakers, strong admiration, in other word, jealousy, has driven me on a path to perfectionism. Life became simple since then:  learning and improving are only aims, bitterness and disadvantage are no longer excuses. I started to learn and dug out happiness from it.

I managed to survive at the beginning of the first year with the help from ESL program; I appreciated that it gave me a chance to catch my breath and maintain my confidence; it is one of the best experiences I have had so far in this country, but I have to let these beautiful memories go. To face the storm all alone, I have to step out from the warm greenhouse first, surviving while growing mature, promoting myself until I am strong enough to take on my responsibility. On the way to success, every mistake I make, all the suffering I have gone through will be finally worth it.