News

Students recognized for their exceptional academics at Coraline-themed rally

Madison ONeill, Staff Writer

November 12, 2023

With the second rally of the year being the first indoor rally since gym construction, many looked forward to what they would see. The band students created a special performance for the rally to make it more fun and interesting to watch for the students. There were many different rally games and performances included that made the rally more enjoyable.

On Friday November 3, students were celebrated for their exceptional performance with games and recognition for their academics at the ‘Coraline’ rally, the first rally that was indoors since last school year. Featuring class level top ten, teacher of the year, and class competitions, many looked forward to what would be the outcome of the first indoor rally of the year.

To get students excited for what’s to come, a special performance by Ayala’s band kicked off the rally on a great note.

The band performance was then followed by the announcement of the top ten students from the Class of 2026, Class of 2025, and Class of 2024 classes, recognizing them for their outstanding achievements in academics. These students are representatives of their classes as it makes them stand out from the rest in terms of GPA. These people include:

Class of 2026: Elisabeth Lee, Priya Devine, Rohee Kim, Luke Mason, Aiden Kim, Anzhuo Zheng, Mikhaila Reyes, Rianna Manalac, Isabella Ha, Zoe Hsieh, Eunsang Lee, Madelene Lubangco, Xinqing Situ, and Ziyi Yang.

Class of 2025: Brady Smith, Shawn Choi, Evan Chang, Mihir Mandapaka, Jacob Medel, Steven Jong, Ninad Moholkar, Neil Jatakia, Melody Chang, and Kimberly Wang.

Class of 2024: Stephen Hung, Lukas Cao, Aiden Choe, Nathan Cheng, Wenxi Tang, Lauryn Park, Kellan Wong, Andrew Hwang, Kian Devine, and Andrew Min.

The nominees for ‘Teacher of the Year’ (from left to right): Mr. Mounce, Ms. Alves, and Mr. Donovan. (Avery Rosas)

At the rally, the nominations and revealing for the teacher of the year were also highlighted. The nominees included AP European History and World History teacher Mr. Kenny Donovan, Integrated Math 2 teacher Mr. John Mounce, and Spanish 2 and Spanish 3 honors teacher Mrs. Sandra Alves. The winner for teacher of the year was Mr. Donovan.

There were also class competitions from each class which consisted of singing performances and rally games that made the audience feel pumped up.

“I think that the rally game this time is really fun,” Mason Stevens (10) said. “I think that’ll be really enjoyable, and that it’ll really get people hyped up.”

Student volunteers from each grade level fight for a chair so they can claim victory in the musical chairs rally game. (Avery Rosas)

On the other hand, there were some students that believed that there could have been some improvements to make the rally more exciting.

“I feel like the crowd wasn’t into it like the Stranger Things rally,” Joliene Mente (10) said.

Because the rally was held indoors this time, it also meant that people were able to hear the speakers better along with being able to sit in the air conditioning rather than the brutal sun.

“I think [the rally] was [better] because we were inside,” Mithra Vijjapu (10) said. “It wasn’t as hot, and we could also hear better.”

This academic rally helped recognize all of the hardworking teachers and students of Ayala who put in most of their time and effort to be the best version of themselves. It was interactive through the class competitions and games that were played at the rally along with a band performance that made it truly distinguishable. Not only that, but this was the first indoor rally all year making it more enjoyable for everyone. All of this made the rally truly unique and one of the best rallies yet.

About the Contributors

Madison ONeill, Staff Writer

Madison O’Neill (11) is a staff writer, and this is her 2nd year with the Bulldog Times. This year she is excited to report on a variety of issues that impact Ayala and the students in it, having fun in the process. In addition to being a Bulldog Times staff member, some of her extracurricular activities include being a part of the girls golf team and being involved with multiple clubs, including Find Kind and The Creativity With Consideration club. In her free time, she loves to read romance and mystery novels, hang out with friends, and watch videos on YouTube. Madison is very excited for what this new year of journalism will hold.

Avery Rosas, Editor-in-Chief, Sports Editor

Avery Rosas (12) is the Editor-in-Chief and Sports Editor for the Bulldog Times. In his third and final year on staff, he hopes to grow the publication’s reach by diving deeper into the stories that make our school, and our students, unique. Avery is very culturally centered from his proud Mexican heritage and, as a result, is heavily involved in the World Language programs at the school. He hopes to influence others to become proud of their cultures while also respecting those of others. His immersion in his Mexican culture is seen in the altars he constructs for Dia de Los Muertos and heard in his never-ending Latino music playlists, his daily soundtrack consisting of anything from Natalia Lafourcade, Pedro Infante and Los Panchos to Romeo Santos, Caifanes and Los Angeles Azules. However, his biggest passion, seen in his writing and known by those around him, is baseball; more specifically, his darling Los Angeles Dodgers. Baseball is the center of Avery's media consumption and his immersion in the sport has allowed him to meet people across the country who deepen his understanding of the game and generally just enrich his life. His proficiency in baseball and sports writing as a whole has allowed him to enjoy some of the proudest moments of his life, the biggest of which was ranking Excellent in Sports Writing during a trip to the JEA/NSPA competition and convention held in San Francisco in April 2023. This year, he's hoping to further improve his writing skills and reach Superior for his final high school competition. Despite this being his last year as an editor for the Bulldog Times, he hopes to impart his passion for the program onto his underclassmen staff members and show them the beauty of what the Bulldog Times can do for writers and collaborators during their high school years; he also took the liberty of drastically surpassing the word count for his staff bio because it's his last year. Every moment, every article, every quote, and every word given to the Bulldog Times by Avery has been the legacy he hopes to leave to future student journalists and the higher standards he hopes to bring for the publication. And of course, he couldn't have done any of it without his mentor, advisor and friend, Ms. Eileen Tse, whom he will miss very much when he eventually leaves the Bulldog Times.