The Sunset Crusader

Volume 41 Issue 3 Miami Sunset Senior High NOVEMBER 2018

Miami Sunset’s Newest Assistant Principal: Raydelin Munoz

By: Dominique Cortez ous positions. One of cipal, she still makes the time to offer
Staff Writer Munoz’s goals is to make new ideas to the activities director to en-
more of an impact at sure that the students will have a remark-
Since November of
Sunset, and she believes able year.
last year, previous assis-
that being assistant prin-
tant principal, Mr. Leron
cipal would help her From the outside, the job may look
Cook retired after working
achieve just that. very effortless, but in reality, the job re-
for the Miami- Dade
quires to not only work hard, but to also
school system for 35
The role of assis- be on task with all the assignments given
years.
tant principal isn’t as to them.
simple as it may seem. Assistant principal Ms. Gomez ex-
This left an a very
Munoz and Mrs. Gomez pressed her impressions of Ms. Munoz
important position that
play a big role in the after working with each other on a daily
needed to be filled for the
school being assistant basis, “I am ecstatic to work with her. She
next school year. After
principals. is very dependable, caring, and a great
many applications and
team player. We are lucky to have her as
consideration, it was decided Sunset’s
Her job is to assist Principal Lux part of the administrative team.”
new assistant principal would be Sunset’s
and other staff members in all aspects
Testing Chair, Raydelin Munoz.
of making sure of the school is running After one year of being assistant
as normal and smoothly as possible. She principal, Munoz said that “It has been a
Before landing the position of as-
also works alongside other teachers and difficult transition, but it is a process that
sistant principal, Munoz had worked for
coordinates with them on what is the I still work through every day. I want to
Sunset for over 12 years. She originally
best way to help the students. This continue to work hard for the benefit of
started with the position as a Program
means she works on how students can every teacher, every student, and every
Specialist for the special education’s pro-
reach their academic objectives and she staff member at Sunset Senior High
gram. She then held the position as test
provide support to the eaders of the School.”
chairperson for the school, and briefly
school in order to help them carry out
the handled the activities director posi-
their functions in dealing with students.
tion as well.
Her reasoning for applying for as-
Even though Munoz has a lot of
sistant principal was due to the experi-
duties to fulfil being the assistant prin-
ences she had gained through her previ-

Miami Sunset Senior High Welcomes New Culinary Teacher

By: Victoria Landa
Staff Writer
Miami Sunset
welcomes our new-
est addition to the
school, the new culi-
nary teacher, Jen-
nifer Sosa.
Sunset’s culi-
nary program has
always been a vital
part of Sunset’s cul-
ture. At almost eve-
ry event there are constantly
sweet and savory treats on
standby for guests attending.
Now that Sosa is taking the
lead, she will be in charge of
teaching students of all three
levels. The levels range from
cooking delicious home cook
meals, to gourmet advanced
cooking.
The Sunset Crusader
had an opportunity to sit
down with Sosa to hear about
her experience at Sunset so
far and what she expects
from her students this year.
She gave some insight
about some of the dishes that
her students are learning to
cook, depending on what lev-
el they are on.
Level one students are
learning how to bake basic
foods like biscuits and pies.
Level two students will be do-
ing more intricate things like
cupcakes and baking des-
serts. Level three students are
taking up advanced dishes
and prep meals for special
events.
Sosa comments on her
expectations for her students
for the year by saying, “I ex-
pect my students to do their
work, to do their best when
doing the food, but also
learning to follow instruc-
tions and be able to read and
execute recipes.”
She also stated, “I want
my students from level three
to pass their safety and sani-
tation exams that they have,
which is gives them honors
when they graduate.”
Sosa believes that culi-
nary is a really important
class that every student can
learn from. “It’s a great basic
skill to have because every-
one eats, and we should all
be able to prepare food.”
Ms. Sosa also
emphasized the importance
of teaching her students
about sanitation and keeping
their station clean while
cooking.
She explained that
students can gain skills from
this class, like safety and
sanitation, baking and read-
ing and executing recipes.
Sosa exclaimed how
excited she is to situate into
a new classroom and consid-
ering that she is in a new
school, she has an opportuni-
ty to start fresh. She has a lot
of plans this year for her cul-
inary class that she has yet
to mention but all will be re-
vealed in the events yet to
come.
THE SUNSET CRUSADER
Miami Sunset’s Athlete Spotlight: Sno White
By: Felix Palacios
Staff Writer
Earlier this week the Sunset Cru-
sader sat down with senior football player
Sno White to talk about how the game of
football has changed his life and to get his
opinion on your Sunset Football Knights.
The football team has had a rough
3rd season under coach Mandrell Nickle
with a record of 2-6 after winning their
homecoming game. But one of the big sto-
ries of this season are the seniors, who will
be looking to take the next step in their
playing careers. So, to give us a little in-
sight on being a senior football player is
cornerback Sno White.
A lot of people believe that football
is all violence and dangerous, but many
people still love the sport to death, fans
and players included.
So, when asked on why he started
playing football Sno had this to say, “I
mostly started playing because it runs in
the family and I’ve just been playing since
a young age.” He also talked about how it
teaches toughness, “It's such a tough sport
that you got to push yourself to new levels
to get better every time you step on the
field.”
White’s been playing football at
Sunset ever since his freshman year which
is also more than three years of playing
under coach Nickle. And he had this to say
about coach Nickle, “He's hardworking and
always believes in us no matter what. You
can go to him for anything, which is why
he's such a great coach.” Just like many
other players on the team, White has a lot
Miami Sunset’s Cross-Country Team Celebrates Their Big Win at Districts
By: Hurma Aziz
Staff Writer
On Wednesday, October 24, Miami
Sunset’s cross-country team brought a
huge win back to the school, winning
first place at their annual district meet.
The team was super excited for
this accomplishment as the team had on-
ly got fifth place last year. Although the
team made it to regionals, there was still
hope that more good things are ahead
for the long distance runners.
Sunset’s cross-country team show-
cased their improvement by surpassing
their rival teams, the Braddock Bulldogs
and Ferguson Falcons. This rivalry has
been going on for five years and finally
Sunset prevailed by going undefeated
this season.
Coach Eric Castaing was very
proud of the team’s win, and his hard
work and effort into training the team
won't go unsung.
Mohammad Aziz, a senior, that
has been on the team for three years
says, “I've been coached by Castaing for
almost three years. He knows us more
SPORTS AND CLUBS
of admiration for his coach and isn’t shy
about expressing it.
The coaches do a lot to prepare the
team for games, but every player has a dif-
ferent pregame ritual. When asked about
what are some of his pre-game rituals White
said, “I don't do anything that different, it's
mostly just listening to music to hype me
up.”
Being a senior on a high school foot-
ball team doesn't only mean that you have
the most playing experience, but it also
comes with a lot of responsibility.
According to White some of those
responsibilities are leading the lower class-
men at practice and at games, being an ex-
ample in the classroom and on the field and
keeping the spirit in the locker room up. All
of these things are very important to keep-
ing the team functioning as without leaders
than we know ourselves. He has high
expectations for us and the motivation
never stops coming. Not only is he my
coach, be he is also my mentor.”
Raul Dominguez, a senior, that
joined only this year says, “Coach
Castaing is dedicated. He loves his ath-
letes and we love him. If it weren't for
him, I would have quit a very long time
ago.” The team sees Coach Castaing as a
NOVEMBER 2018 PAGE 2
in the locker room there wouldn't be order
among the players.
Playing football is full of challenges
but being able to push yourself to overcome
those challenges is how you become a better
athlete. Sno White's biggest challenge in his
playing career happened during his junior
year. “Recovering from pulling my hamstring
last year was really hard, because I’d keep
pulling it like every week,” said White.
This Knights’ season has also been full
of challenges. When asked on how him and
his fellow teammates can improve, White re-
plied saying, “We all got to be on the same
page and just stay focused on each game at a
time. Another thing we have to work on is the
maturity because of all the underclassmen on
the team I think we play around too much.”
Improving the maturity in the locker
room has to start with a leader. In Sno
White’s opinion this leader is Marcus Nickle,
who is of course coach Nickles’ son. White
thinks it’s important for the underclassmen
to follow their designated leaders.
Now, as this is his last year at Sunset,
the big question is what school he wants to
play for in college or if any schools had
reached out already. “Honestly, I’ll play for
any school that gives me the opportunity.”
replied White. And when asked what he
would do after football he said that he would
want to be a firefighter.
After many years of playing football
Sno White has not only become a great player,
but is now also an excellent example of a role
model, a great teammate, and a hard worker.
“And he’s Tough!” according to coach Nickle,
which is why he is an example of a true ath-
lete.
very important part of their success.
Cross-country season lasted about
a tough six months, with over a hundred
practices. The boys practice six days a
week and three hours each day.
Coach Castaing comments, “In
comparison to previous teams, there's a
sense of responsibility to each other, if
one misses a practice, there's a conversa-
tion that's had, and they I think that's
why they're so successful.” The team has
a sense of family, they're all very close,
that’s why they function better as a
team.”
This win was only the beginning
for the future of the team, and yet there’s
more that is left to come. The team will
now focus on excelling at Regionals brin-
ing another win to Sunset and eventually
move on to States.
Quote of the Month
“Only by giving you are able to
receive more than you already
have.”
Jim Robin
THE SUNSET CRUSADER SUNSET & LIFE NOVEMBER 2018 PAGE 3

The Truth Behind Black Friday

By: Misela Soto
Staff Writer
For many years, mil-
lions of people have lined up
at storefronts to get the best
deals that Black Friday offers.
Although chaos has
been a product of Black Friday
because of the illusion people
are saving a lot of money,
what many don't realize is the
misconception of these Black
Friday “deals.”
Black Friday is often re-
ferred to as the “biggest sale
event of the season,” yet the
sales are not saving people
money as much as they think
they are.
Companies take ad-
vantage of Black Friday and
use manipulation tactics to
gain profit. With the right
methods companies make it
seem as if people are getting
the deal of a lifetime.
A study done by The
Wall Street Journal, shows the
pricing data of a wide range of
products. It was found that, at
differing times throughout the
year, most items were priced
below Black Friday price
points. This is something re-
tailers wouldn’t want consum-
ers to know.
These same retailers
use several methods in order
to lure customers into buying
their products. For example,
they will only put a very low
amount on extremely
“discounted” items. When
those items run out, custom-
ers are already in store or
online. Therefore, they are
more likely to buy something,
even if it’s not on sale. Buyers
become impulsive and pur-
chase unnecessary items.
On Black Friday, stores
will also raise the original
prices on their products.
They will proceed to add a
ridiculously large discount.
Customers then feel as if
they are saving a huge
amount of money. The reality
is that buyers may end up
paying the true original price
of the product. This allows
companies to create the illu-
sion of a sale that is unlike
any other done before.
Another common trick
used is the selling of deriva-
tives, or lower-quality ver-
sions of name brand prod-
ucts. Items such as TVs and
other electronics are general-
ly the items that mostly copy
these higher-quality prod-
ucts. Essentially, derivatives
are made with cheaper mate-
rials.
Companies do not
spend a lot of money buying
or making these products.
Therefore, it is possible for
them to market these items
at very low prices. It is only
much later that consumers
realize their buying error.
Big screen HDTVs may
be seen marketed at only 300
dollars. This may not seem
suspicious to most, but when
taking a closer look, you can
notice that most of these tele-
visions do not come from
brand names.
Some items don't even
have a model number. These
are two key aspects that show
you if a television is a deriva-
tive.
Besides the false deals
and misleading advertise-
ments, Black Friday also caus-
es trouble between customers.
With such huge crowds of peo-
ple aiming to buy the same
products, it is no surprise that
fights break out.
People become overly
competitive and this causes
several issues. The Public
Broadcasting Service mentions
reports of fights, pepper-
spraying, and even the occa-
sional shooting. Some cus-
tomers even rob stores, ran-
sack them, or dump their mer-
chandise.
If you want to go Black
Friday shopping this year,
think of all these factors be-
forehand. They could save
your time and money.

Sunset Brings Great

Miami Sunset’s Credit Union is Now Open
By: Kari Halteman
Staff Writer
Miami Sunset’s
Credit Union is open
again and ready for
business. Located in
room 175, students are
at liberty to open their
own bank account and
receive many opportuni-
ties such as scholarships, saving accounts,
online banking, and much more.
The Credit Union is a member-owned
financial cooperative, controlled by its mem-
bers and operated on the principle of people
helping people, providing its members' credit
at competitive rates as well as other financial
services.
In Sunset, students can take ad-
vantage of many benefits that the Credit Un-
ion has to offer. For example, the Credit Un-
ion offers internship programs.
The internships last four weeks dur-
ing the summer, where students can get work
experience at a real business and even earn
money from doing it.
If a student is in the Finance Acade-
my, they can work at a real-world Bank/
Credit Union that is close to Sunset.
Students from Miami Sunset also work
at the Credit Union during the school year.
Senior Yionmikal Roque, a teller who works
at the Credit Union says, “I
love the friendly environ-
ment and all the people I
get to spend my time with
there.”
Bryant Lola, a stu-
dent who has been a teller
at the Credit Union for two
years now and is a proud
employee added, “I genu-
inely love working at the Credit Union,” he
adds,“That’s why I tell everyone to either
join or make an account, they’ll love it too.”
Seemingly, all students who volun-
teer to join get to know Mr. Terence Wil-
liams, the Credit Union’s sponsor and man-
ager, as well as the head of the Finance
Academy. He will help put you on the right
track to getting a job after high school or a
summer internship.
If you’re a student who is interested
in opening a Credit Union account, you will
need to enter a 5$ deposit to secure your
account, your social security number, and
some form of identification.
The Credit Union is open on Tues-
days and Thursdays, from 10:45 am to 12:45
pm.
The Credit Union has a lot to offer for
everyone, so come over and open a credit
union account. Will we see you at the CU?
Opportunities to Students
By: Emily Batista
Staff Writer
Miami Sunset Senior High is always seek-
ing better student education and success in every
aspect. One great opportunity offered to the stu-
dents is an outstanding internship program pos-
sible through the NAF organization, which stands
for National Academy of Finance.
The program is available to sophomores
and juniors, aged fifteen and up. Mr. Williams is
the school Lead Teacher in charge of this pro-
gram. The program first started out for NAF jun-
iors going into their senior year. Miami Sunset
Senior High has five NAF programs which include
information technology, hospitality, engineering,
health sciences, and finance.
The internships start in the summer be-
fore your senior year. There are currently many
organizations partnering up with NAF, allowing
for things to become bigger than just the acade-
my. A few involved include: Children’s Trust,
Miami Dade County, Royal Caribbean, and Chase
Morgan. In an interview with students involved in
the internship, Bryant Lola, currently in 12th
grade stated, “This program has really helped me
in learning how to act in a professional work-
place.”
All in all, the internship program is
amazing for kids wanting a head start in their
career and to have a good look into their work-
place and how it operates.
THE SUNSET CRUSADER
Student of the Month
Genesis Torrez
GPA
Unweighted:3.461 Weighted:4.179
What activities/sports/clubs do you
do?
Student government, DECA, FBLA,
National Honors Society, and in my
spare time I enjoy swimming.
How do you balance school and
your activities?
I make sure to write everything in
my planner, being the oldest of three
siblings I have to work round every-
one’s schedules, so my planner
keeps me organized.
Who/ What inspires you?
My mom, she is always teaching me
new life lessons. For example, think
less do more, and to be determined.
What are your plans after high
school?
The plan right now is to continue my
studies. I want to stay along the lines
of hospitality and tourism because I
do see myself traveling a lot in the
future.
What is your drive to continue do-
ing better?
Making my parents proud, that’s my
number one motivation. It’s the best
feeling in the world.
What is the best part about Sunset?
We all feel like a family. Being a
small school, some see it as a bad
thing, but I think it’s a good thing.
You see familiar faces every day and
everyone for the most part is really
welcoming.
Why are you in the activities that
you’re in?
I feel passionate about everything
that I’m in, I don’t just join things to
a them to my resume. I like doing
things all the way, everything I do
will help me with life skills in the fu-
ture and in the workforce, so I don’t
want to give anything less than my
full attention.
SPECIAL FEATURES NOVEMBER 2018 PAGE 4
Teacher of the Month Staff of The Month
Maricel Castillo Joe Faas
Maricel Castillo is a psychology teacher and
now teaching biology at Miami Sunset. She
has devoted many hours to the schools’ bowl-
ing, girls soccer, and badminton teams. Cas- How long have you been security
tillo is one of the most involved teachers in guard?
Sunset and values and appreciates every one About 15 years, two and a half at
of her students. sunset.
How long have you been teaching?
What is the best part of your job?
About 22 years To serve and protect. It’s a very im-
Why do you continue to teach? portant role and I enjoy what I do.
I think that this was my mission in life. I was
What did you initially want to do as
put here to work with high school kids and to
a career?
try and change their lives.
What is the best part about teaching? A sports agent. I became a security
The best thing about teaching is working with guard because it’s a way to find and
kids and seeing that lightbulb go off when a recruit athletes. You get to see them
kid gets something. Its what drives me to in school, so you see their attitude
keep teaching it’s the best part of my job. and the way the student acts, you see
how they function to know if their
Did you always want to be a teacher?
good enough to get.
It was always one of my options. No matter
how many times I’ve changed my mind, What exactly do you do as a securi-
teaching was always there I always wanted to
ty guard?
do it. I think if my first choice wasn’t even
teaching I would’ve ended up teaching any-
way. To keep the outsiders out and pro-
tect the students within these walls.
How do you keep your students motivated?
What advice would you give to the
Students never know what to expect with me,
I never do the same thing over and over. I students of Sunset?
keep them on their toes with experiments
and movies and whatever else to keep them To work hard and study, it should be
intrigued.
everyone’s goal to graduate and even
What motivates you? after that to continue to work hard.
My son, Jonathan, he means the absolute
Do you enjoy working at sunset?
world to me. I try to be the teacher I want my
son to have in the future. These kids are the
future knowing that I’m teaching the future Yes, and it pays the bills.
keeps me very motivated. That and I just love
to teach! What is your favorite thing to do
What is your ideal student? when you get off work?
I like to go home and cook. I love
My ideal student is one that follows me con-
cooking, my family owns a Greek res-
tinuously throughout the year, challenges me
and in return keeping me on my toes. Also, taurant, so I’ve been cooking my
the kid who’s well rounded overall, involved whole life for the most part. Cooking
in clubs, sports, and just more than a smart is an art and requires time, so I did-
kid in my class. n’t pursue cooking as a career since
What is the best experience you’ve had as a there’s a lot of pressure on cooks in
teacher? the kitchen.
I love when students come back and tell me
that because of me and my class I’ve made a
difference in their life. I made a difference in
the classroom but also their lives and its very
touching.