Features Archives -

Madi Given Becomes a Varsity Dance Team Coach

October 20, 2020

Madi Given joins the coaching staff of the Thousand Oaks High School Varsity Dance Team. Given previously attended Thousand Oaks High School and was a member of the Thousand Oaks High School Varsity Dance Team. In high school she was a co-captain of the dance team her junior year and captain her senior year. After high school, she attended Grand Canyon University and danced on their dance team. In college she was captain all four years and her senior year she was head captain of the dance team. “I was also given the chance to choreograph dances, schedule outreach program, and develop...

Unity Conejo

October 20, 2020

LGBTQ+ students in the Conejo Valley Unified School District but are still overlooked in the curriculum and on campuses. CVUSD parent, Megan Goebel, recognized this and decided to form Unity Conejo. Unity Conejo’s several subcommittees are working towards a curriculum and school district that offers a safe space for all LGBTQ+ identities. Many students and parents alike have expressed that the outdated curriculum is one of the main contributors to the stigma surrounding these identities. The curriculum subcommittee of Unity Conejo is dedicated to making sure the district finds a new curriculum...

Q&A: Ava Riggio Discusses Being Pepper Sprayed at Protest

June 3, 2020

The Lancer: First, tell us a bit about yourself. Ava Riggio: My name is Ava Riggio; I’m a junior at TOHS. I’m in Ethos and am a dancer. TL: What made you decide to protest? AR: As a white person I kept asking myself, “what can I do to help?” I don’t have a job, so donating was difficult, and posting on my Instagram did not feel like enough to me. So, I decided to protest as a way to actively fight and implement change, as well as show my solidarity with the black community. TL: What about the Black Lives Matter movement is most meaningful/personal t...

Changes at the Clinic

April 7, 2020

In our currently changing world, consistency and reliability are important in the form of essential businesses. The Westminster Free Clinic and its staff are working hard to provide for the patients that come in whatever way they need to while keeping everyone safe. “The week before school was closed was the last week I went and everyone was checked for fever before entering and we used hand sanitizer constantly,” senior Marina Zernick said. These students now make the choice, in these conditions, to continue helping these patients to make sure their needs are met. Parents have to sig...

Out of Work

March 31, 2020

Most upperclassmen have jobs, and because of the recent pandemic, they have lost them or decided not to attend work and stay in the safety of their homes. Senior Daniel Adams, and juniors Sawyer Noonan and Analucia Almenara all decided it would be best to not go to their jobs during the pandemic. “I work at the Habit and I wanted to go to my work to obviously make money, but since my parents are in the older age range we decided it would be better for them that I stayed home”, Adams said. With other family members at home the idea of making sure their safety is important to these students...

Celebrate the Seabees

March 10, 2020

“We Build. We Fight.” and March 5 we celebrated the Seabees 78th Birthday. If you don’t know what the Seabees are, they are a group in the Naval Branch who do construction for the Navy and Marine bases. In the United States Navy, there are estimated to be around 400,000 people. The Seabees make up about 14,000 of them. There are some requirements to become a Seabee besides just being in construction. It’s easy to become a Seabee but you have to hit a few requirements. This includes going through Bootcamp and then enlisting as an OF-7. After that, you then have to be assigned to the Naval Construction Force (NCF) as an Officer or Enlisted. When you hit the requirements from above you now are officially a Seabee. As their motto says “We build. We fight.” Seabees build bases so that the Navy has a place...

Gabby Lopez, Features Writer, The Lancer

Thankful for Community

November 22, 2019

Two things might come to mind when thinking about Thanksgiving. Family — and food. Yet, for many families, a “Thanksgiving feast” isn’t a first thought. In 2018, almost 1 in 7 homes with children could not afford the food needed to feed their families, (whyhunger.org). Thousand Oaks High School Project Concern is taking steps to help students and their families. The annual Project Concern food drive began last Thursday. Each second period class collected donations of cans, frozen turkeys, and more. The two top classes receives an “extravagant” breakfast on Nov. 22. Food also...

Cutback Pollutants in our School

November 19, 2019

In recent years, school administration and staff have begun to construct different ways to reduce waste and make the school more eco friendly. This includes things like imposing recycling and placing reusable water bottle fillers. But a more noticeable and serious form of pollutants on campus is the amount of trash accumulated by food packaging that is not thrown away, which is yet to be addressed. Despite the fact that students are able to bring reusable containers and lunch bags, cafeteria food and packaging contributes much more to the build up of litter. The unrecyclable plastics used in...

Studying in the 805

November 14, 2019

Sixteen year old Nicoline Runge, is spending the school year 5,482 miles from her home in Denmark. Runge had only visited the east coast a few times, but decided to follow in her sibling’s footsteps and experience life in another country. Despite english being her second language, Runge has assimilated quite easily to the 805 lifestyle. However, she noted that the most significant changes are the lack of public transportation and how school is run. In Denmark, taking the train is the norm, but in Thousand Oaks Runge has to rely on her host parents to be her personal taxis. Having to wait...

A Pile of Support -- Donations pile up outside of the TOHS gym. Families took photos with the ever-growing pile, and left feeling proud and fulfilled. The firefighters receiving the goods were thankful for the support.

Fighting Fire with Compassion

November 5, 2019

Keeping the Easy fire (in Ventura County, which was 5 percent contained and had burned 1,491 acres burned as of Friday according to fire.ca.gov) at bay is hard work. Thursday night, firefighters came to the Thousand Oaks High School gym to eat and rest. Here, from 8-10 p.m., the community donated snacks, hot food, water and more. The frenzy started after a tweet from TOHS principal, Dr. Eric Bergmann. "Lancers... we’ve got 200 firefighters showing up at the Lancer gym at 8 p.m. for some much needed rest. They could use water, snacks and Gatorade!!! If you are able and willing, please b...