Campus Life – The PCS Roar

PCS Teachers’ Union and School Enter Mediation Phase of Bargaining

Kai Tao

October 1, 2019

Roughly one year ago on the 15 of August, the PCS faculty began the long process of unionization, believing such a union to be a step forward for school-teacher relations and beneficial for the school environment. In response to the comparatively low pay, high job turn-over rate, and rising cost of living heavily affecting teachers when working at PCS, a majority of its faculty decided to form a union for the sake of rectifying these issues and instituting worker protections. The process of unionization began with a formal petition, in conjunction with the California Teachers Association, and consisted in negot...

PCS Varsity Boys Volleyball Champions

Henry Madsen, Jordan Hopkins, Noa Harrison, Alessio Bernardi, Chloe Chipman

October 1, 2019

The PCS boys varsity volleyball team qualified for CCS championships which took place last week. PCS advanced to CCS as the “wild-card” team. Their first game is the quarter finals was on Tuesday 5/7 against Sacred Heart Cathedral. They beat them Sacred Heart in three games. This was a great game and the team played very well leading them to the victory and giving the team extra confidence going into their next game. The semi-finals took place on thursday 5/9. The Pumas played the number one seed, Harker High School. It was a hard fought game, but the Pumas ended up losing in three sets. Harker went on to win the...

New Teacher Profile: Ms. Kelly

October 1, 2019

This year, Pacific Collegiate School has a new addition to the world language department! Mary Kelly has taken over Mr. Huyck’s Latin classes and is excited to work with students of all ages. Ms. Kelly grew up in New York City, and attended the Bronx High School of Science, where she initially became interested in Latin. After that, she went to Bowdoin college in Maine and attended t...

Conspiracy Theories Club at PCS

Gavin Kowalski, Logan Newkirk, Benito Sauceda, and Benson Young

March 12, 2019

Do aliens exist? What is Area 51 really about? If the government ever finds The Loch Ness Monster, what will they do with it? Larger than the PCS community, these questions have provoked the minds of many, and have led to a myriad of alternate explanations known as conspiracy theories. The Unsolved Mysteries of the Universe Club at PCS, also dubbed UMOTU, has recently gained considerable traction from PCS students fascinated with these questions. The club hosts weekly discussions around popular alternative explanations to world events, and viewings of documentaries and other media surrounding conspiracy theories. Three R...

Jump Bikes on the PCS Campus

Benito Sauceda, Benson Young, Gavin Kowalski, and Logan Newkirk

March 12, 2019

Jump Bikes are rental bikes provided in Santa Cruz that are fun, efficient, and affordable. They are electric assist bikes meaning that they provide a “boost” every time you pedal. Jump Bikes are made for people of all shapes and sizes with a full size frame, adjustable seat, tamper proof brake lines, grip bill, and a built in U-bar lock. However, they have been banned from the Pacific Collegiate Campus. Why is this? Most importantly, to use a Jump Bike, you need the Jump Bike App, which tells you where the nearest jump bike is, and it guides you to where it is located. This creates a problem because if Jump...

Gym Issue Hurts PCS Sports

Natalie Walker, Kirin Hopper, Maddie Briscoe, and Carina Raffaeli

March 12, 2019

PCS does not have as gym. This predicament heavily influences the sports at PCS by limiting practices and games. Our school is geared towards academics which leaves little room for school spirit in regards to sports and other activities. When PCS moved from the Swift Street campus in the fall of 2015, the school lost access to the gym as well. The loss of a well-managed, easily accessible gym has since hindered the value of sports. The gym was primarily used for basketball and volleyball before it started falling apart due to erosion, mold, and inconsistent upkeep. Due to complaints from the athletes, construction on the old g...

Environmental Consciousness

Sylvie Fraley

October 25, 2018

The environment is our single biggest and most valuable resource, and we need to do everything we can do to protect it. The fact is, the environment has been depleted and destroyed by humans at a staggering rate, a rate that is not sustainable. Humans are going to continue to exist here, in growing numbers, and if we keep treating the natural world the way we are, not only will we fully destroy beautiful animals, plants, places, but we will also be severely limited in our resources, opportunities, and quality of life. We depend on the environment for everything we have: our food, our shelter, our jobs, our health, our lives...

Gym Issue Hurts PCS Sports

Natalie Walker, Kirin Hopper, Madeline Briscoe, and Carina Rafaelli

October 25, 2018

Halloween Costume Quiz

October 31, 2017

Don’t know what to dress up as for Halloween? Don’t worry we’ve got you covered. Just take this quick personality quiz and keep track of your points. We’ll let you know what costume to pick at the end of the quiz based on your points! What do you like to do in your freetime Crush the patriarchy (1 point) Eat (2 pt) Hang with friends (3 pt) Browse through social media (4 pt) Where...

Senior Camping Trip

October 17, 2017

PCS Girl’s Volleyball

Ayush Garg

October 17, 2017

Girls Varsity Volleyball

October 16, 2017

While the PCS girls varsity volleyball season is well underway, there are plenty of more games to get excited about. To give you a preview of the rest of the season, we spoke to a number of players and coaches about this year’s team, season goals, and sports culture at PCS. This year’s girls varsity team has about fifteen players. The head coached by Chelsea Ching, who is assisted by current...

New Teachers

October 16, 2017

Mr. Pandey is a PCS alumnus and currently teaches AP English Language And Composition. He can be found in Room 127, dropping sick beats. What attracted you to the job here at PCS? I knew I wanted to teach high school and was looking at options in terms of where I wanted to be living. Since I grew up here, there was an obvious attraction to coming back to a place that I love. I wa...

Phone Home Significances

October 16, 2017

As we returned to school this August, many students wondered about the addition of ‘phone homes’--places where students are required to deposit their cell phones prior to the start of class. There have been a variety of student reactions to this new policy. Many students don’t like having to put their phones somewhere they might forget and some just don’t like having to be away from their ph...