Yick Wo Elementary School | San Francisco, March 2018

HOMELESSNESS ON WHAT I LEARNED AT THE SF CHRONICLE

THE STREETS OF
SAN FRANCISCO
By Islay McMillan
Down Kearny Street, near the corner
of Broadway, there is a gray building. It is
North Beach Citizens, an organization that
helps homeless people with things such
as getting a mailing address and finding
affordable housing. North Beach Citizens
also serves meals for homeless people.
Kristie Fairchild works at North
Beach Citizens. She says that homelessness
became a large problem only about 40
years ago, in the 1980’s. With just 47
square-miles available, there aren’t a lot
of places for the homeless to go. “It seems Chronicle Editor-in-Chief Audrey Cooper [right] and staffer Christina Noori field questions just hours
ahead of the newspaper’s print deadline.
to be a fairly big problem because San
Francisco is so small,” she says. By Penelope Bloom Aprile
Homelessness is hard in many ways. It all started with a plain tower, a two- end we were able to make it in time for
Homeless people have to withstand bad sided clock and a classy lettering logo: San our visit at the legendary San Francisco
weather; they don’t have money for food; Francisco Chronicle - Founded January 16, Chronicle.
and they often leave things like trash 1865. Everyone from The New Yick
continued on page 7 On a Tuesday afternoon in October Times was so excited when a lovely lady,
2017, The New Yick Times newspaper Christina Noori welcomed us in the lobby.
club left North Beach to reach the San After she gave each one of us a personal
Francisco Chronicle offices. We missed badge, she brought us upstairs, briefly
the first bus on Columbus Ave, but in the continued on page 2

SCHOOL CHANGES
By Lola G. MacPhee
This year our whole schedule
changed. Recess temporarily got shorter
to prevent kids from running into each
other in the hall, there is no tag allowed,
and, for some of us, special classes are in
the afternoon. Changes on the yard (games
& timing) were made because kids were
getting into fights and tons of injuries
occurred, according to the principal, Ms. What’s Yick Wo’s
Sarah Van Velsor. Also, this year, there was
not enough parent supervision.  There are Favorite Film?
mixed emotions about the new schedule By Atreyu Lam-Triplett
North Beach Citizens Executive Director Kristie Fairchild continued on page 3 see page 4

Page 1
 SCHOOL NEWS
interview with Lawrence Ferlinghetti.” He
particularly loved the ending of my article,
when I asked Mr. Ferlinghetti: “What is
the secret of life?” And he answered me:
“Tenderness, live with tenderness.”
Later, we moved on to the style
section. That’s where we met Carolyne
Zinko and her team, who are in charge
of the lifestyle news. They all looked not
to be in a rush, because they mostly work
on weekly and monthly issues, spanning
from fashion to food events, museums and
weddings.
“Tony Bravo” - said Mrs. Zinko - “is
currently writing about the fashion week
in New York City, he just attended in the
Big Apple to tell us about the new fashion
CHRONICLE Rubenstein’s explanation, how much time trends.”
continued from page 1 it takes to craft info and stories into the We were also shown by Mrs. Zinko
newspaper, I thought of my grandfather in how they check misspellings in their Style
telling us the history of the Chronicle.
Milano, Emanuele. Every early morning section, by using a very big digital printing
The most important San Francisco
at 5:00am he gets delivered his freshly machine on site, and get a preview of the
newspaper was founded by the De Young
wrapped copy of the national Italian final issue.
brothers in January 16, 1865: “We propose
newspaper, Il Corriere Della Sera. It’s a I was really impressed how much
to publish a bold, bright, fearless, and a
daily ritual for my grandfather, I guess, detailed work is needed to create a daily
truly independent newspaper independent
because this way he has read all he needs newspaper, and a weekly or monthly
in all things, neutral in nothing.” - as we
to know before he goes into his office. magazine!
can read at the entrance of the actual
Although when he travels he reads At the end of this trip, I was very
building where they moved later in 1924.
his newspaper with his iPad through a amazed by two stories written by Steve
“Wow!”, we all exclaimed entering the
digital subscription. “I prefer to read some Rubinstein 20 years ago, published on
main big newsroom of the Chronicle. It
specific bylines.” - My grandfather says - November 20, 1997.
looked like a movie: dozens of journalists
“That’s why I still buy my daily newspaper One of the two stories was about
working like busy-bees in their cubicles.
copy.” his dog, Tioga, who used to go to the
That’s when we met the editor in chief,
I also felt so proud of myself when newspaper everyday with him, and died
Audrey Cooper. She was in a hurry
Mr. Rubenstein told us about some articles when she was thirteen years old: so sad,
because they were about to finish the new
he had read from our newspaper club last but such a moving article to remember her.
daily issue about the huge wildfires in the
year, specifically referring to my “exclusive continued on page 3
Wine Country north of San Francisco, and
they still had to do some final checking
with the news, printing and distributing
the copies all over the San Francisco Bay
Area.
I got a chance to ask her a question:
“How can journalists help with fake news
from social media?” She answered me
they do not handle any fake news. I guess
because they publish only news when
the source is real. But a long time stuff-
reporter, Steve Rubenstein, encouraged me
to keep on asking those kind of questions.
Then we moved on to a smaller
newsroom where there was a huge, plain
and oval table. We felt so important when
we sat down to talk with Mr. Rubenstein
about journalism today, and how it will
compete with social media.
When I realized, thanks to Mr. San Francisco Chronicle reporter Steve Rubenstein talks journalism with reporters from the New Yick Times.

Page 2

CHRONICLE
continued from page 2
The other story instead was about
Donald Trump, who came to San
Francisco on November 1997, to present
“his third autobiography.” Reading this
interview I was shocked how Donald
Trump’s way of speaking and behaving was
exactly the same as today.
Thanks to this enlightening story by
Steve Rubenstein, I finally realized how
journalism is not just reporting news about
something that is forgotten the next day.
Personally, I do prefer when journalists dig
into something to let us understand better
our world, our life and make our choices
with more awareness. If we had read that
article Mr. Rubenstein wrote 20 years
ago about Donald Trump, maybe today
Americans would have made a different
choice about their president!
Before we left, I also had a chance
to take a photo close to Herb Caen’s
sculpture, which stands at the entrance of
the Chronicle. “He wrote his daily column
for almost 60 years, as a continuous love
letter to San Francisco.”
By the way, I really think the
Chronicle still rocks these days, since in
the main newsroom they had a two-week
old kitten and a white dog, respectively
welcoming visitors with purrs and wagging
its tail. I guess they help a lot in making
the day of every journalist.
Carolyne Zinko shows our reporters the giant printer that
lets Chronicle editors preview stories before they go to press.
SCHOOL NEWS
SCHOOL CHANGES
continued from page 1
and rules, some unhappy, some okay with
and some don’t care.
On why she made the recess changes,
Principal Van Velsor said, “The objective
is to make a safer, happier environment
for all kids during lunch and lunch recess.
Coach Samon, Coach Robinson and
I all find this set-up to be a great deal
safer for students and there is much less
conflict that occurs.” She added “This year,
because of budget cuts and changes to the
Chinatown Y, there is less supervision to
help with all of the yard and lunch as well.”
Last year, our principal, Miss
Stephanie Young, had everybody eat before
our recess and our recess and lunch time
felt much longer. Now the second graders
and 4/5 classes have recess before lunch
and lunch and recess was, at first, shorter
for some. Since there were complaints
coming from students and teachers, Miss
Van Velsor decided to make lunch longer
because we did not have enough time to
play and eat. But recess is still before lunch
for the 2nd grade and 4/5 classes (K-1 and
the 3rd grade have lunch before recess).
Below is a table that shows the changes.
How Lunch happens
First Activity Second Activity
K, 1, 3 Lunch =  K, 1, 3 Recess =
20 minutes 20 minutes
2, 4, 5 Recess =  2, 4, 5 Lunch =
20 minutes 20 minutes
Another change that happened in
schedule is that for some of us, our specials
are in the afternoon. It can get boring
for kids who have no fun specials in the
morning. Specials are extra subjects,
for instance, gardening, art, P.E., music,
library, and computer lab.
Some other things changed too. Last
year, same with this year our principal
didn’t let us play tag. The only time the
students can play tag is with P.E. coaches,
with adult supervision, and if the junior
coaches start a tag game and that would
be at recess or P.E. classes. For example,
everybody it tag, taco tag and freeze tag
and similar tag games are the only kinds of
tag you can play. 
Also, the P.E. coaches and the junior
coaches normally don’t run games, only
some junior coaches start tag games if
the kids want to. The 3-5 classes don’t
play tag out at recess, only at P.E. classes.
And sometimes the K-2 play tag at their
recesses. But the P.E. teachers are too busy
watching other kids to run games.
Many students and even some
teachers don’t like the new rules and
schedule. Fourth-grader Ahlani Davis
said, “I’d prefer to have recess after lunch
because that’s what we’re used to doing.”
Fifth-grader Larkin Erickson agreed,
saying, “I don’t like the new rules and
schedule because I like having a recess
after lunch.” Fourth-grader Hunter Thein
explained, “When you eat, if you do recess
before lunch, I kinda don’t like it, because
when you eat you get energy, but you’re
not able to get out that energy with the
new schedule.” 
But, some students and teachers are
okay with the new rules. Fourth-and-
fifth-grade teacher, Ms Lizzie said, “Rules
and schedules should be decided upon by
everybody, so that we can make a good
decision together, and so I would prefer
next time if we could decide together
schedules and rules. The schedule is
difficult for me, too. It makes us have all
our specials in the afternoon and some of
the specials overlap, so some kids don’t
get all the specials. So I don’t like it for
that reason, but I do like it because then
we have this really nice long time to not
be interrupted and work on reading and
language arts.” 
And PE Coach Robinson said, “The
first week I had a hard time with it. It took
a while to get used to it. From what I hear
from a lot of kids, some kids don’t like the
change and for some kids it doesn’t matter.
That is what life is about, adjustments and
changes.”
Page 3
 SCHOOL NEWS
What’s Yick Wo’s Favorite Film? A Fun Game
By Atreyu Lam-Triplett
Do you have a favorite movie? What’s your Favorite movie?
Gone
By Leo Wingate
During the summer, I watched Grades 3-5
Transformers: The Last Knight, and it Last year the decision was made
became my favorite movie. I couldn’t stop to ban football from recess. There were
talking about it among my classmates
many reasons for the ban, including four
when I returned to school. Everybody
loves it and it could be the favorite movie concussions and a number of bad scrapes
to most of Yick Wo’s students right now. and cuts. There were also many arguments
I decided to ask kids from all grades to among students during football at recess.
see what are their favorite movies and what People pushed each other and eventually
they think are the worst movies that they started punching. Football games also got
had seen so far.
in the way of other games such as four
Movies # of votes square and jump rope.
What’s Your Favorite Movie?
Transformers 4 “What was the reason for the ban?” I
Grades K-2 asked Ms. Van Velsor, the school principal.
It 4
Ms. Van Velsor sat down and talked
Stranger Things 3 with Coach Samon, Coach Robinson, and
Harry Potter 2 Mr. Erin. The four discussed football and
what would happen to the game. Head
Captain Underpants 2 injuries were too common and that was
Midnight Run 1 a big problem. There were a number of
concussions and those are more serious
The Lorax 1
when they occur in kids. Football was not a
Movies # of votes Deadpool 1 sport that everyone could play. Girls weren’t
Star Wars 1 playing the game as well as others who
Deadpool 1
thought the game was too rough or didn’t
Moana 1 Thor 1 want to get hurt. “We want games that are
Pokémon 1 The Matrix 1 inclusive to all kids.” said Ms. Van Velsor.
Many students have differing opinions
Bendey 1 Among the third, fourth and fifth graders, they about this situation. For example, Gage
enjoy watching movies with some thrill and
Winnie the Pooh 1 action. Transformer and It are tied with at the Schoepen and Armani Sullivan feel that
top. Even though Lorax is a good movie, it is the football should be permitted on the yard
Minions 1 least favorite. And most of the movies are not at recess. “Football was a fun game and a
Zootopia 1 animated.
chance to build partnership,” says Armani.
Spy Kids 1 Other students like Larkin Erikson and
Aanya Shah really don’t care about what
Spider-Man Homecoming 1 Transformers and It happens to football and whether it is
Lego Ninjago 1 are on Top allowed or not. “Football didn’t really affect
Harry Potter 1 me in any way and I wouldn’t really care if
In the lower grades, there isn’t a single it was allowed again,” says Larkin. Other
Thor Ragnarok 1 most popular film people think that football wouldn’t be a
Nancy Drew 1 problem at all.
I also noticed that the people that I Whatever happens to football on the
Nerf movies 1 was interviewing were struggling with yard, we cannot satisfy everyone and there
what was their favorite movie. Sometimes
Students from Kindergarten through second I felt they were saying any movie they will always be someone who doesn’t like
grade enjoy watching newer movies instead recently watched, especially the kids in what happens.
of older ones. Most of the movies are not from kindergarten through second grade.
Disney and none of them are the same. Also,
none of them like scary movies.

Page 4
 SCHOOL NEWS
Fifth Graders: Feelings About Leaving Yick Wo
Elementary School
By Elijah Leung
This is my final year at Yick Wo. I will Gage Schopen NYT: Where are you going to go and why?
miss my friends because they are amazing. NYT: How are you going to feel about Demo: Moving to Marin and going to a
I decided to interview some of my fifth- leaving school? new school that is some minutes away from
grade classmates about how they feel about San Francisco.
Gage: Happy.
leaving Yick Wo. Here are some of the fifth
graders I interviewed. NYT: What will you miss and why?
Gage: Mr. Chew’s class. Abdullah Hadwan
Mya Gee
NYT: Where are you going to go and why? NYT: How are you going to feel about
New Yick Times: How are you going to leaving school?
feel about leaving Yick Wo Elementary Gage: Presidio Middle School because it is
one of the best schools in San Francisco. Abdullah: Sad.
School?
NYT: Who are you going to see? NYT: What will you miss and why?
Mya: Sad.
Gage: Tyler and Kayden. Abdullah: Friends and teachers
NYT: What will you miss and why?
NYT: Where are
Mya: Friends and
you going to go and
teachers. Demo Givas
why?
NYT: Where are NYT: How are you going to feel about
Abdullah: Marina
you going to go leaving school?
or Francisco.
and why? Demo: I feel kind of sad. I will be happy
NYT: Who will you
Mya: Francisco when I graduate. It feels good to be moving
see, and why?
Middle School, on and getting other friends.
because fifth-grade Abdullah: New
NYT: What will you miss and why?
friends are there friends and new
from last year and Demo: I will miss all of my friends teachers.
Mya Gee Abdullah Hadwan
my cousin too.

From the Sixth Graders: Some Guidelines for Fifth Graders

By Ashling Murphy
I recently interviewed some middle
school students to find out about their own
experience, providing sort of guidelines for
fifth graders.
New Yick Times: What advice would you
give fifth graders about middle school?
Orly Cook (sixth grade at Millennium):
Challenge yourself so you will be ready for
middle school.
Roan MacPhee
Roan MacPhee (seventh grade at
Francisco): Do homework.
Leeanne Coghlan (sixth grade at
Francisco): Do not be scared of a new
environment, don’t hang out with the wrong
crowd.
Tyler Schopen (sixth grade at Presidio):
Hard transition, more homework.
NYT: Do you miss Yick Wo and why?
Orly Cook: Yes, I miss Yick Wo, because I
knew a lot of people, and I miss the teachers,
and I got less homework.
Roan MacPhee: Yes, I do miss Yick Wo
because it’s more fun.
Leeanne: I do miss Yick Wo. I miss the
teachers, everyone in general.
Orly Cook: I think middle school is harder.
I like the opportunity to meet new people.
Roan MacPhee: It is more independent,
more freedom.
Leeanne Coghlan: I think it’s pretty good,
everyone is really nice, and teachers are
super nice.
Tyler Schopen: I like the assignments. It’s
fun to be in big school, fun to be on school
sports teams.

Tyler Schopen: Yes, I miss Yick Wo because

Orly Cook

I liked the teachers and I miss my friends.

Ashling: What do you think and like about
middle school?

Page 5
 SCHOOL NEWS
What Students Think About Donald Trump
By Isabella Echavarri
Do you think that President Donald
Trump affected your life? He might have
affected this whole community in North
Beach. I got an interview with Aaron Peskin,
the supervisor of North Beach, on October
17, 2017. Supervisor Peskin said that
President Trump, “not only affected the lives
of North Beach but, affected the lives all over
the U.S.”
Now let’s hear a few others. I got two
interviews from students Nola Jesenk and
Elle Richie.
New Yick Times: Do you like President
Donald Trump?
Nola Jesenk: No.
NYT: Do you know why you don’t like him?
Nola: Possibly, because I don’t agree with
his choices for the U.S. and like he is taking
advantage of being President.
NYT: What choice of his do you think affected
the U.S. a lot?
Nola: Well, so far I’ve heard rumors.
NYT: Have you ever stopped not liking
President Donald Trump as president?
Nola: Not really.
NYT: Do any of your friends like him as
President?
Nola: Not that I know of, really.
NYT: Do you think that Hillary Clinton
This First-Grade Teacher Loves Reading, Writing...
and Running
By Mya Gee
Photo by Mya Gee
Haley Donovan in her classroom
Page 6
should have been President?
Nola: Yeah, because I’ve read the New York
Times and it said like Hillary Clinton should
have been President instead of Trump.
Now let’s hear from Elle.
NYT: Do you like President Donald Trump as
President?
Elle: No.
NYT: Do you know why you don’t like him as
President?
Elle: The choices that he made on the U.S.
NYT: What choice of his do you think affected
the U.S. a lot?
Elle: His choice for the environment.
NYT: Have you ever stopped not liking him as
President?
Elle: No.
NYT: Do you think that Hillary Clinton
should have been President?
Elle: Yes.
Did you know that President Donald
Trump is the 45th president of the U.S.? I
read an article in Scholastic News about kid
reporters asking Donald Trump and Hillary
Clinton a few questions. The first reporter
is Gracie Wood and she asked President
Donald Trump:
Gracie Wood: What should kids be paying
This is Ms. Donovan’s first year of
teaching. I had the honor to interview her
during her busy schedule.
After graduating from college, she
worked at a public relations and marketing
place. During that time she did a lot of
writing and volunteer work. During her
volunteer time, she worked at a school in
Washington DC is where she found her
inspiration to be a teacher. She enjoyed
watching the children learn.
During my interview with Ms.
Donovan I asked her what was her favorite
subject to teach, she answered, “reading.”
She loves teaching everyday, amd getting
to read a different story with the kids. She
loves watching the students enjoy and
explore the story, author, and the different
characters.
attention to the most in this election?
President Donald Trump: Education is
so important. You have to find the political
candidate who really wants to take care
of education. And you should have local
education [rather than standards like
Common Core], so that great people like your
mother can be involved.
Wood: Presidential campaigns and candidates
can be very vicious with each other. How do
you explain to kids that [such behavior] is OK?
Trump: It’s not really OK, but it’s something
you have to live with. It’s called life. As
you grow older, you’ll understand it. The
campaigns can be very vicious, just like life
can be very vicious. But you have to figure it
out and overcome it.
The other reporter is Kaitlin Clark and
she asked Hillary Clinton:
Kaitlin Clark: What is the most pressing
issue facing the U.S.?
Hillary Clinton: The most pressing issue
is to get the economy to produce more good
jobs for more people so that they can support
themselves and their children. Then their
children can do even better, because that’s
what supposed to happen in America. So I’m
going to work really, really hard on that every
single day.
Trump got 74 more Electoral College votes
than Hillary.
Outside of school, Ms. Donovan
loves running. She just signed up for a
half marathon. Ms. Donovan also enjoys
writing, spending time outdoors, and
hiking. She also likes to cook. I hope she
can cook for us some day.
During the time she was substituting
she learned she had to be prepared every
day and that each day she too learns from
her students.
As it’s my last year at Yick Wo I
wish I had more time to get to know Ms.
Donovan. She has inspired me to read
more and write more. Ms. Donovan is
one of the nicest teachers. I enjoyed my
morning getting to know her. Thank you
Ms. Donovan for taking time from your
busy day to be interviewed by me.
 SCHOOL & COMMUNITY NEWS
Meet Ms. Brown, Our New Second Grade Teacher
By Islay McMillan
Last fall, a new second grade teacher
took Ms. Goodyear’s place. She has been
here for two semesters, and her name is
Ms. Brown. The New Yick Times got a
chance to talk with her about what it has
been like for her at Yick Wo.
New Yick Times: What have your
experiences here been so far?
Ms. Breanne Brown: It’s been a wonderful
year so far. All of the students and families
are really welcoming and kind. It’s been
really great so far.
NYT: Where did you previously work?
Ms. Brown: I worked in Pescadero,
California, teaching second grade also.
And before that I taught in New York and
New Jersey.
NYT: What made you want to be a
teacher?
Ms. Brown: It started out that I wanted to
travel, and it was a good way to travel and
work at the same time. And then, I taught
HOMELESSNESS
continued from page 1
behind them. This leaves our streets
littered and unpleasant.
San Francisco spends millions
of dollars on homeless. Last summer,
Mayor Ed Lee formed the Department of
Homelessness and Supportive Housing to
help. But despite the effort, things haven’t
improved.
“What we’re not doing is creating
enough housing opportunities for people
who want housing,” Supervisor Aaron
Peskin told the New Yick Times in an
interview.
According to KQED, most
homelessness is caused by lack of
affordable housing and job loss. The
Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration says that about 20
to 25 percent of homelessness is caused by
mental health issues. Dr. Margot Kushel
is a professor at UCSF who specializes in
homeless problems. Dr. Kushel says that
the most common mental health issue
among people who are homeless is severe
depression.
in South Korea for two years and, when I
came back to the US, I had fallen in love
with teaching there. So I wanted
to continue.
NYT: Do you currently live in
San Francisco?
Ms. Brown: Yes.
NYT: What is your favorite
color?
Ms. Brown: Green.
NYT: What is your favorite
holiday?
Ms. Brown: Christmas.
Photo by Islay McMIllan
NYT: If you could have any
animal as a pet, what would it be?
Ms. Brown: Probably a dog.
NYT: What do you love most
about Yick Wo?
Ms. Brown: I love the sense of
community between everyone. Breanne Brown
San Francisco is one of the most of people; disease often spreads, and it’s
expensive cities in the country, which easy to lose your belongings there.
is why it can be very difficult to afford David Pirtle, a former homeless
housing. person told NBC that in the winter, vans
Rachel Fyall from the University of called “hypothermia trucks” drive around
Washington says that it’s very easy for the streets and offer blankets to homeless
people to be evicted due to the fact that people. Hypothermia is a disease that
with the growing population, rent is occurs when your body temperature drops
becoming higher and many people can to low. It can kill you if your body doesn’t
no longer afford housing. According to warm up soon. So disease is also on the
StarTribune, in California, Washington, streets.
and Oregon the homeless population has There are organizations like North
grown by 13%. Beach Citizens, which work to help
All this leads us to one question: What homeless people by being open all week
are we doing to stop homelessness, or at and ready to talk to a homeless person.
least reduce it? You can also help to stop homelessness
Well, action is being taken. Homeless yourself. Donate food, clothing and money
shelters are temporary places for homeless to places such as the National Coalition
people. Homeless people can go to a for the Homeless. Volunteer at places like
homeless shelter to get a meal and a place North Beach Citizens. Talk to a homeless
to sleep for the night. person on the street and ask if they want
Although living on the streets is help. You can make a change in your
unpleasant, not all homeless people are community.
interested in shelters. You would have to be
separated from your pet or your partner,
and not all shelters are very nice. You
might find yourself in a crowded room full
Page 7
 COMMUNITY NEWS
Locks of Love
By Selah Gale
Locks of Love is an organization based
in the United States for people who have lost
their hair for one reason or another. It was first
established in 1997. By 2006 they provided
about 2,000 wigs, for free! On their website,
www.locksoflove.org, they provide a lot of info
and guidelines about how to donate hair.
There are several problems facing children
who suffer long-term medical hair loss. One of
those causes could be alopecia. Alopecia is a
disorder that affects your auto immune system
causing hair loss.
Most wigs sold by retailers are made to fit
adult heads, and are much too big for children
to wear. If kids wear those wigs they could fall
off. It would also feel pretty uncomfortable.
Locks of Love wigs are different. They are
custom-fit to each individual child. The wigs
do not use tape or glue like other wigs. Locks of
Love uses a vacuum seal that only the child can
remove.
Kids are able to wear them during sports,
even when they swim or shower. This allows
the kids to be a little more comfortable when
wearing the wig.
When I found out about this website, I
thought it would be a great thing to write about
not only because it is very cool, but also to
inspire kids to donate their hair.
I met a fourth grader at Yick Wo who
donated his hair. His name is Matvei Kozulin.
He told me that he donated his hair just this
summer because he felt bad for all the people
who didn’t have any hair. Matvei also felt very
happy after he donated his hair.
Sanctuary Students
By Miles Bernson
Aaron Peskin fielded questions on San Francisco’s sanctuary city policies, homelessness, hurricanes
and other topics while visiting the reporters of the New Yick Times in October 2017.
Page 8
A friend of mine, Claire Young, from
Clarendon Elementary School, donated
her hair too. She was 11 years old when she
donated her hair. I interviewed her last week.
Here’s what she said:
New Yick Times: When did you donate your
hair?
Claire Young: January 20.
NYT: How many inches did you cut off?
Claire: I cut 12 inches off my hair.
NYT: How long did it take to grow out your
hair?
Claire: It took me about 2 and a half years to
grow it out.
NYT: Which place did you go to get it cut?
Claire: I got it cut at Supercuts.
NYT: Are you ever going to cut your hair
again once it gets longer?
Claire: Yes!
NYT: How did it make you feel?
Claire: It made me very glad that I did it.
NYT: Do you know anybody else that
donated their hair?
Claire: Yeah, my dad and a counselor at
my school.
NYT: What inspired you to donate your
hair?
Claire: I read about it.
NYT: How did you learn about Locks of
Love?
Claire: My dad used it first.
NYT: Do you know the child that received your
hair?
Claire: No I do not.
If you want to donate your hair, it must be
at least 10 inches long. But if your hair is curly
you must straighten it before donating. I want
to donate my hair because I feel really bad for
the children who have cancer or alopecia. Once
I do donate my hair I will feel very, very glad
that I did, even if it means I’ll have shorter hair.
Fortunately my hair will grow back so it’s a
small sacrifice to make for someone who might
never have hair. If I cut my hair today it would
be even with the bottom of my ears. However,
I’m going to wait a little longer so that my hair
isn’t so short but more importantly I can help a
little girl have longer hair.
Claire Young
When most kids in the United States
wake up, they rush to get ready for school,
get dressed, make sure their lunch is
packed, and go through all the normal
shenanigans.
But when you are an undocumented
student (a.k.a : sanctuary student), you
might worry about going into a school
that is not safe. In most cities this is true,
but not in San Francisco. Since 1985, San
Francisco has been a sanctuary city. What
is a sanctuary city, you may ask? Wikipedia
calls it, “a city that limits its cooperation
with the national government’s effort to
enforce immigration law.”
This issue is more important now than
ever because of President Donald Trump’s
continued on page 9
 COMMUNITY NEWS
SANCTUARY STUDENTS
continued from page 8

crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

He is pressuring undocumented students
In Loving Memory
Deborah Goitein Goodyear
by threatening to deport them back to
where they came from. In California alone,
13.2% of students have undocumented

1952 - 2018
parents or are undocumented themselves,
according to the Washington Post.
The Immigration and Customs
Enforcement Agency was established
in 2002. Also called ICE for short, it is
responsible for identifying and eliminating
border, economic, transportation, and
infrastructure security risks. One of their
methods is to prevent undocumented
people from getting in and then trying to
take them back to their home country.
When the supervisor for District 3
of San Francisco, Aaron Peskin, came to
our newspaper club to answer questions, I
asked him about sanctuary cities. He said,
“As a city we try to dissuade the federal
government from making raids. If a local
person gets arrested, we would not turn
them over to ICE for deportation.”
When I went to talk with our school
principal, Ms Van Velsor, she said, “This
policy was created so that kids and their
families can feel safe.” ICE cannot come in
to a school without a permit, which can
only be found in the SFUSD offices in the
downtown district of our city.
But Aaron Peskin said, “If ICE came
here and deported them, we couldn’t do
anything about it... there are some people
that try to stop these raids, but they are
city personnel”.
I am amazed that California and San
Francisco are standing up against the
federal government and I admire their
resistance and will be keeping an eye on
how things develop.

“In the United States and Canada,

a sanctuary city is a city that limits
its cooperation with the national
government’s effort to enforce
immigration law. Leaders of sanctuary Teacher, lover of language, weaver,
cities want to reduce the fear of
deportation and family break-ups walker and friend of nature.
among people who are in the country
illegally so that such people will be
more willing to report crimes, use You nourished our minds and
health and social services, and enroll
their children in schools.” --Wikipedia live on in our hearts.
Page 9
 WORLD NEWS
Hur ricane Season Trashes the U.S.
By BenNoah Arnold
Three major hurricanes made landfall
in the US within a little less than a month
last year. Harvey, Irma and Maria hit Texas,
Florida and Puerto Rico and caused billions
of dollars in damage.
A hurricane is like a tornado on the
ocean. The hurricanes that hit the US in
2017 were unusually strong -- it was the first
time two Category 4 hurricanes have hit the
US in the same year. Winds for a Category
4 hurricane range from 130 mph to 156
mph. Winds of that strength are capable of
causing catastrophic damage like blowing
houses down or into the air. Hurricanes also
cause damage from storm floods, caused by
rainfall.
Being in an area where hurricanes
strike can be scary for the people who live
there, and the storms can last for a long time.
Hurricane John was one of the longer lasting
storms. It existed for 31 days as it traveled an
8,100 mile path from the Eastern Pacific to
PUZZLE
Page 10
the Western Pacific and back to the Central
Pacific.
Hurricanes happen in warm places over
the water. They are more common in the
Pacific than the Atlantic. Hurricane season is
from June 1st to November 30th.
Hurricanes cause a great deal of damage.
For example, the catastrophe modeling
company Risk Management Solutions
estimates that Harvey caused between $25
billion and $35 billion dollars in damage
that will be covered by insurance. The total
economic damage, which includes uninsured
losses, could be between $70 billion and $90
billion.
Could a hurricane hit California? It
is unlikely because while hurricanes can
move into the Eastern Pacific Ocean and
affect Mexico. California is located North of
Mexico next to colder water in the Pacific
and is outside the path of hurricanes... so far.
ACROSS
1. Don’t throw one of these during
recess
6. It flew into the boys bathroom
7. Trusty tool for writing
9. Makes you pull your hair out
11. The bell rings; I’m finally free
14. Spins and spins and gets taken away
DOWN
2. A sign that you’re late
3. Books, books, and more books
4. You lose it and then you find it here
5. Black and white and read all over
8. What we used to make this puzzle
10. Messiest lunch of all
12. Banned the day after Halloween
13. Black and white and red all over
(when it’s embarrassed)
answer on page 11
Page 11
Answer: ACROSS 1. Football, 6. Pigeon, 7. Pencil, 9. Homework, 11. Recess, 14. Figetspinner
DOWN 2. Bell, 3. Library, 4. Lostandfound, 5. Newyicktimes, 8. Computer, 10. Sloppyjoe, 12. Candy, 13. Panda
by Elijah Leung Do It, Not Dream It.
by Elijah Leung Holiday Robot
by Elijah Leung Thin Tim
COMICS
 YICK WO NEWSPAPER CLUB
2017-2018

Members of the Yick Wo Newspaper Club on their October 10 visit to the San Francisco Chronicle. Behind them are the stained glass windows of the
Chronicle’s executive offices. At center is Lady Justice, presiding over a broken sword. Vanquished, no doubt, by the pen.

Reporters:
Penelope Bloom Aprile, BenNoah Arnold, Miles Bernson, Isabella Echavarri, Selah Gale, Mya Gee, Atreyu Lam-Triplett, Elijah Leung,
Lola MacPhee, Islay McMillan, Ashling Murphy, Leo Wingate
Parent Editors: Robert McMillan, Mauro Aprile Zanetti, Serena Satyasai The New Yick Times
Established 2010
Graphic Design: Melissa Lam The Newspaper of Record for
Yick Wo Elementary School
Special thanks to: Principal Sarah Van Velsor, Susanna Wong, and Stephanie Dominguez for their support. 2245 Jones St, San Francisco, CA 94133
Printing costs paid by the Yick Wo PTO. March 2018

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