Spring is here and there are fresh new designs and trends for 2013. Many of these designs cater to the basic concepts of pastels such as coral, sea foam green, periwinkle, and also muted colors such as olive green. Many designs also include denim, bold patterns and basic black and white. Adding a bold pattern to a basic outfit spices up the look and creates a hot new fresh trend.

Perfect places to shop for these types of clothes are Forever 21, H&M, Old Navy, Target, and Pacsun. As for accessories, big chunky and short necklaces with repetitive patterns in the pastel colors are perfect.

Shoes are a must! The perfect shoes for spring a high heeled sandals, oxford, and low shoes such as flats.

For men however, the prominent colors and styles are bold, bright, black, and predominately white. White is a staple for men in this spring’s fashion. The military style is very in, along with denim shirts and jackets.  Currently,  vests are very in at the moment for men. Another offsetting color to contrast the bright colors for the newer looks would be any shade of brown.

A pair of those mysterious aviator sunglasses or anything with a retro twist is pretty cool.

For men’s footwear, anything in fun bright patterns and textures will be acceptable to tie the entire outfit together.

A few pretty cool places to look for these clothes that won’t break the bank would be Forever 21, H&M, Pacsun, and also even vintage shops or thrift stores have special pieces. Just remember to have fun, and rock the new fresh Spring 2013 looks.

It is known for its Spanish guitar, and beautiful women dressed in red, dancing on stage. Flamenco Dance is now celebrating its eighteenth year as an after school program at Kelly.

The program is run by Carolina Xavier and Patricia Ortega. Who are proud to continue the program at Kelly. Xavier started to dance Flamenco in 1992, with La Sociedad Espanola in Brazil. She moved to Chicago in 2002 she met Wendy Clinard from the Clinard Dance Theater and started training with her.

“Wendy started the flamenco program at Kelly HS in 1995,” Xavier says. “In 2005 she hired me to teach for her company and I started teaching at Kelly HS. In 2007 Patricia Ortega, Flamenco singer, joined me teaching teens. Kelly Flamenco dancers were then selected twice to perform at the Chicago Theater for the After School Matters annual city showcase.”

Flamenco was brought to Kelly to promote Spanish arts and culture. Flamenco has been part of Spain since the 1700’s, when a band of gypsies arrived in there.

“At the time of King Philip V, gypsies in Hungary came to Spain to fight in what was called the Flemish War”, William Duna, an author and teacher of gypsy or Romany culture says. “It was fight or die, and they fought for almost twenty years.

When the gypsies returned they were known as ‘the lost flamencos,’ or survivors of the Flemish Wars. At first, they were allowed to own land, but they were made to work as entertainers for the wealthy. Flamenco turned into a sort of protest music by the gypsies. The women danced with stern faces, not making eye contact or turning to face the audience. And the foot-stomping and guitar-pounding was not to keep time, but a sign or disrespect.”

This began the tradition of gypsy music which is now celebrated around the world,  including here at Kelly.

“In 2010 Patty and I created the Urban Flamenco Arts Project dedicated to inspire teens to express themselves through the art of Flamenco,” Xavier says. “Over the years Kelly students have shown amazing talent for Flamenco.”

Flamenco started on February 4^th, and will continue to meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 3 pm to 6 pm, and the program will pay you $100.00.

Today you might see many students walking around Kelly with a guitar. Well, the “tradition” was started by Moises Garcia. Believe it or not he is a former graduate from Kelly, who found a way to turn his hobby into a club.

He’s not only a teacher but also an “inspiration” and a helper, but mostly a friend, as some of the fellow guitar members describe him.

One of our fellow guitar members said; “I feel comfortable in the program; it is a place to hang out, and be your own person.”

Guitar club members stated that  Garcia not only helps them with guitar but also gives advice for drawing, and ideas for comics!

As busy as Garcia may seem; he was nice enough (not a surprise) to sit down and talk to us. We asked him what his motive was into creating this program.

“I realized that a lot of people wanted to learn guitar, and I thought, ‘Hey maybe I could do something about it,’” stated Garcia.

We then talked a few brief minutes, to find out who is this “Moises Garcia” that people grew so fond of? We found out that he wants to inspire people to know that there’s a chance in everything. We also found out that he is not only experienced in playing guitar, but also he’s played the piano, flute, base, violin ,  and a bit of violin, but also he knows how to sing. He also draws, and loves to write new songs.

So what’s the secret to trying something new, and becoming a pro at it? Garcia answered it better than we could ever had done:

“It takes courage in not giving up, having patience, but mostly, having the passion for it.”

So why join the guitar program? It provides a bigger opportunity to try something new, and you learn by your own pace without any pressure.

Valentine’s Day is all about being in a relationship, and if you don’t have a boyfriend or a girlfriend, you  might think no one loves you. But Valentine’s Day is not always about that, your friends and family need to know you love them as well. There are numerous ways you can spend the day without a date. Don’t think of it as being alone, or as a depressing thing, think of it as embracing the moments of being single, don’t put yourself down just because you’re not in a relationship. “Get together with a group of friends, and hang out!” Yvonne Zhu, a student at Kelly said.

There are also many upsides to being single. These include  being able to meet new people, and figuring out the type of person that is right for you before starting a relationship that can lead into something serious. Being single is easier because you don’t have to deal with problems such as jealousy, cheating, or heartbreak. Sometimes it can make your life less complicated because you don’t need to worry about buying something for your beloved. You can also focus more on yourself, and pursue your own dreams before having to share your experiences with another person. Some people might think there are so many downsides to being single.

“One downside is not being able to have someone close to you, and talk to you about your problems.”  Zhu said.  Sometimes when you’re with someone,  it can change the way you act. When you’re with your best friend, you can be yourself and goof around. When you’re with your family members, you may act different too. But when you’re with a beloved, you want to impress them, and make them like you more.

Overall, whether you’re single or taken, there are both upsides and downsides to your situation. Either way  you should just embrace the moments, and not overwhelm yourself.

A Kelly Pride in Achievement  Award is something that every Kelly High School student should try to pursue. It’s an award recognizing your hard work helping your community grow into a better, safer, more knowledgeable, and fun environment. The Kelly Pride in Achievement award consist of four categories: academics, athletics, activities, and community.

The award winner in academics for quarter one was Fatima Carlin.

“Fatima shows eager interest and takes her role as a student very seriously,” the organizer of the awards, Ms. Wilkinson says. “Fatima also works to help her classmates.”

The award winner in athletics went to Ana Lopez.

Lopez began swimming on the team three years ago as a beginner that had never swam competitively before. She persevered and became   this year’s captain. She qualified for the city finals in the 500 yard freestyle. Her dedication helped motivate her team and helped to lead the girl’s swim team in a 5-4 season and a 5-2 conference record.”

Abigail Coronel took the award for academics.

According to Wilkinson, “Her activism is not to just better herself; she is working to make a better world by fighting for changes that will benefit us all.”

The award winner in Community goes to Israel Munoz.

Not only is Munoz the president of MIKVA, but he also spent over 100 hours campaigning for the presidential election. He made sure that voters were registered and getting to the polls.

One who is dedicated on being prepared to come to school and not only understand the concept of the class but also help classmates achieve the same understanding of the material and motivate others to do the same is one to deserve a Kelly Pride award in Achievements.

Bullying is use of force to abuse or intimate others. There are kids and teens all over the United States that are victims of bullying or cyber bullying.

Teens are bullied for many reasons, such as the way they dress, where they come from, and how they act. Unfortunately, some entire groups of people can be the target of bullying, like the LGBTQ community (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, or questioning), immigrants, people with disabilities, and people of specific gender, races, or religions.

Bullying comes in many forms: harsh words, violence, alienation, and more recently, cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is a way to harm others through text message or social websites, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Bullying is very harmful to victims. For the past several years, victims of bullying have been all over  the news. Amanda Todd, the victims of Columbine, and Sandy Hook students that were killed will never be forgotten. Victims could commit suicide, which could be harmful to families and friends; or sadly kill others, like teachers, bullies, or even close friends. The victims of bullying often turn out be a bully to their friends, bullies, or family. Other symptoms of bullying for victims could be low self esteem and low grades. Lastly, victims could have more family life stress.

We Kelly Trojans are strong enough to stop bullying. How can we stop bullying you may ask? Simple: either tell an adult, guardian, teacher, or counselor if you or anyone you know is getting bullied.  If  you are being bullied at school, you should see Mr. Moss, Ms. Fernandez or another adult right away. Also, ignore your bullies because the more you ignore them, the less they will bully you. You could also find friends in good places to talk it out, and go to clubs or groups to express your feelings. If you see anyone getting bullied please get involved, either speak up, or try to get the victim away from the bully.

Ben Tang, a freshmen, was a victim of bullying when he was young. When he was bullied it made him feel hurt, sad, and depressed. Ben was bullied in kindergarten and then in 1^st grade. Ben ignored the bully to escape the taunting.

“The way to stop bullying is to talk to the bully with no aggression,” Tang stated.  Don’t stoop to their level.

Kelly Trojans are lucky to be at a school that doesn’t have many bully issues. We all have to play our part to keep our school and community safe.