By Aydn Morris

Mr. Hastert continues to make his mark in the Bosco community, even after first stepping foot on campus 56 years ago.

Mr. Hastert has been all over the Brave community. Whether it was as a student, teacher, coach or counselor, he has done it all.

Mr. Hastert taught 37 years at Bosco, focusing mainly on the religious aspect of teaching, as that is what he wanted to give back to the students. He taught sophomore Morality, Social Justice and Relationships, as well as freshmen Old Testament and New Testament. He also taught Christian Service, which was a senior class that took place off-campus. The class was for seniors to serve their community any way that they can, whether it was tutoring, helping out at handicapped kids, among many other noble causes, with the goal to follow God’s will to serve others.

“I never really had much of a career plan. My goal was always to have this vague idea to help others, but I never really knew how I would go at it,” said Mr. Hastert. 

About a year after graduating, Mr. Hastert applied to a Jesuit volunteer group, called Jesuit Volunteer Corp, in which he ended up spending two years in Seattle teaching physical education. At the time, it was one of the biggest Catholic grammar schools on the west coast. In 1978, he got a job as a youth minister at St. Dominic Savio, which is also where he met his wife of 42 years. 

Mr. Hastert was in need of another job with his kids being on the way, but luckily, Bosco asked him to run the bookstore for year. After the year, St. John Bosco asked him if he would like to teach, but Mr. Hastert was hesitant about taking a teaching job. At first, he declined, but Bosco was able to convince him to take the job, and he made sure he was great at his job every single day. 

Mr. Hastert spent two years teaching, and then was asked to become Campus Minister, which led him to quitting the job that he still had at St. Dominic Savio, even though he continued to run the bookstore. He held one and a half jobs for about six years so that his wife could stay with the kids while they were still little. 

In addition, Mr. Hastert was the Religion Department’s chairperson and the Athletic Director, which he said no to at first because he thought he would be too busy for it, with his kids just getting ready to go to high school. However, he ended up serving that role for ten years. This was special to him, as for all his time at Bosco, there were only three other athletic directors: Marty Duissere, Ed Riley and Monty McDermott.

Not only was he a teacher, Athletic Director and Campus Minister, but he was also known as coach for Bosco football and golf. Coaching was one of the jobs Bosco did not ask Coach Hastert to do, but athletics was something he wanted to be a part of. He coached football for 26 years, serving as freshman head coach and varsity special teams coordinator. He then moved his coaching career into golf, which Mr. McDermott suggested because he knew he loved the game of golf. 

Lastly being a guidance counselor was the only job Mr. Hastert ever asked for. He held this job from 2002 to 2011 and it was one of his favorite jobs at Bosco because of the psychological love for dealing with the students, their families and their feelings. 

“One thing I would’ve done differently in life would have been change my major to Psychology, because at the time I didn’t know what that was but now that I do, I would have done that,” said Mr. Hastert.

He also enjoyed it because the people, even those that retired in the department, which he is still very close friends with, made it feel like it wasn’t work at all.

“Bosco has always been this place where you don’t feel like you are going to work with people you hate, but going to work with people you consider friends and family,” said Mr. Hastert

Mr. Hastert has taught and coached many Bosco alumni, which just makes his job so much easier. 

Mr. Hastert has always been a family person, as many of his decisions have been made for his family. He was the oldest of his three brothers and three sisters, and they all bonded very closely as they did everything together growing up. His youngest sibling was born when he was 14 years old, and crazy enough, Mr. Hastert taught his youngest brother at Bosco twice. 

He also has three kids: two daughters and one son. Both of his daughters went to St. Joseph High School and his son also went to Bosco. His oldest daughter, Julianne, is a nurse with two children, his other daughter, Rachael, also has two kids and works for many companies’ websites, and his son Jacob sells medical equipment to hospitals, and he has a son and daughter as well. 

Mr. Hastert loved sports as a kid, and he is a fan of the Rams, Dodger, Lakers and USC. 

“I know a lot about sports. I should have been a sports announcer,” said Mr. Hastert.

His love for sports is the reason he started coaching, as he also played many sports growing up, including baseball, basketball, soccer, football, cross country and golf.

As much as Coach Hastert loves sports and golf, he announced his retirement from coaching, with this season being his last.

“I wanted to have more free time to spend with my wife, to go traveling, visiting our family and not missing out on family events. It certainly wasn’t that I didn’t like it anymore, although I did get frustrated at players not listening or responding to emails, text or not showing up to matches. The main reason was to spend time with my wife and my family,” said Mr. Hastert.

Although he is stepping down as the head coach, he will still be a part of the team to help out if needed, which shows true love and dedication to Bosco.

“There are many things about Bosco that I really like, but the diversity of the place is one thing I love. It’s not just ethnic diversity, it’s financial diversity. There is academic diversity. We have people from all over the world at the school. If you point one direction there are people coming from there and from the other direction there are people coming from there, you can point any direction and there are people coming from there,” said Mr. Hastert

He doesn’t believe that the students realize how much of an advantage that is to their lives because the diversity allows one to hear from multiple people’s perspectives, and that has even opened his eyes up about everyone’s unique challenges that they have to overcome to be successful, helping him grow as a person.

“What has made Bosco such a special place to me is the family spirit. The Salesians really fostered the concept of Don Bosco and are all about being family, which is really important. With less Salesians, I am concerned we will lose that family spirit. They used to really push us on how important family was, but if Bosco loses the concept of family, it might not be as good as it was,” said Mr. Hastert

Although Mr. Hastert may be leaving his Bosco occupation, he definitely values family in his life, and will always be a part of the Bosco family.

By Ethan Gibbs

As graduation approaches, many seniors are reflecting on their past years here at Bosco.

Kai Storch

Q. What is your favorite memory at Bosco?

A. The junior ring ceremony where I got to speak at the event and get our rings was my favorite moment.

Q. What advice would you give to incoming freshmen or shadows?

A. Get involved. Make sure you come to Bosco and do something. Don’t come here and do nothing because you will be bored. Come here and try to get involved in something, as everyone here has open arms.

Q. Where do you imagine yourself ten years from now?

A. Hopefully I’m successful and doing what I’m passionate about, which is public health. I’m majoring in public health, and that’s what I like to do, so hopefully I’ll be able to be stable and happy.

Q. Who is your favorite teacher at Bosco and why?

A. My favorite teacher at Bosco would have to be Mr. Perez. I had him sophomore year for Algebra 2, and he is funny and always made me laugh.

Q. What is different about the school from your freshman year?

A. The dress code. Freshman year, the dress code was so strict and now, senior year, you can have long hair, earrings, facial hair. Everything is so more lenient, and I think it’s better for our community because we’re finally modernizing.

Q. Describe your senior year in three words?

A. Happy, healthy, strong.

Nova Goldsby

Q. What is your favorite memory at Bosco?

A. I liked hanging out with my friends at the lunch tables and sometimes food fights that would happen. The bus rides to and from school were fun, as the bus drivers were always really dope and chill.

Q. Who’s your favorite teacher and why?

A. Mr. Vigil because he always asks me how I’m doing, and it makes me feel better.

John-Paul Lim

Q. What advice would you give to incoming freshmen or shadows?

A. Get involved in anything you can, get more inclusive in the school.

Q. Where do you imagine yourself ten years from now?

A. Hopefully with a decent job, hopefully in biology or business.

Q. What career are you looking to go into?

A. I want to become a doctor or do something in marketing.

Q. How has Bosco helped you grow as a person?

A. Bosco has helped me grow as a person by introducing me to new people from around the area that I otherwise would not know.

Q. Who is your favorite teacher at Bosco and why?

A. Mr. Requerme because he understands not to give too much work, but also to not be too easy so he has a good balance of work and free time in his classes.

Q. What subject was your favorite and why?

A. Probably AP Biology senior year.

Jack Earley

Q. What is your favorite memory at Bosco?

A. It was definitely online learning.

Q. What advice would you give to incoming freshmen or shadows?

A. You might not have the best time here compared to your friends outside of school, but you’re going to have a lot of opportunities here, so try your hardest because at the end of it, you’ll appreciate it.

Q. What career are you looking to go into?

A. I’m looking to go into the arts and entertainment industry such as movies, acting and stunt men.

Q. Who is your favorite teacher at Bosco and why?

A. My coach, Mr. Beatty, because he has helped me become a better student and helped me grow as a student and as a Bosco Brave.

Q. What subject was your favorite and why?

A. Entrepreneurship because we got to go to UCLA and present a project there for free, and it helped me see what a college campus is like.

By Matthew Parsons

As finals week approaches, instead of stressing, here are some tips in order to prepare for all the exams.

Don’t Just Read:

Too often, students just read over their books or notes. Instead, try reading the notes and then create questions or answer questions from the material. Just rereading the material isn’t the optimal way to study for exams.

Practice Tests:

Retrieval tests are extremely beneficial to retaining information and being prepared for your exams. Retrieval tests can be as simple as quizzing a friend over the phone or creating flashcards with a question on the front and the answer on the back. Try to ask questions in the same way that a teacher would ask. Don’t just ask surface-level questions either, try to dig deeper to be prepared for more complex questions.

Use Pictures:

The use of pictures makes it significantly easier to grasp material for some. Try to use images from class materials and if there are none, try to find or make some. Using pictures allows the brain to create more complete models in one’s head.

Space out studying: 

Distributed practice is a strong tool to use as it allows for the digestion of information over a period of time. This allows for a deeper understanding and memory of the concepts, rather than just remembering it for the exam. Distributed practice also helps put off procrastination, which is a habit many unfortunately fall into.

Intensity:

Try to use short and intense study sessions. These sessions should last somewhere between 30 minutes to an hour, and they include active studying strategies. For example, self-testing is an active study strategy that improves the intensity of studying and efficiency of learning

Multitasking:

A significant amount of research has shown that multitasking does not have a positive impact on efficiency, but rather hurts your efforts to study effectively. Any distractions in studying can draw attention away from the main task and will have the potential to elongate the process of learning the material. Try to limit any and all distractions, including texting and social media.

Location:

Try to switch up the locations of where you study, and study when and where you learn best. Some times of the day will allow for a stronger performance than other times, and some places you may lead to better results than other places. Have a variety of locations for studying, which prevents one from being too comfortable and losing intensity in studying.

Try to Teach: 

Try to talk about the material and teach it as the teacher would. One can do this in a study group, with a partner, or even on one’s own. When saying the material out loud, it will direct the mind to what is confusing. Try to, like a teacher, make connections and use examples to deepen understanding. At first, notes may be necessary to help, but eventually the connections will be made, and the notes will not be needed.

by Aeden Alexander

As the 2022 school year comes to an end, St. John Bosco High School held its senior prom at Sofi Stadium. Home of the reigning Super Bowl champions the Los Angeles Rams as well as the Los Angeles Chargers.

The stars were shining bright in Los Angeles as Bosco and St. Joseph’s came together for the 2022 senior prom. The venue was one of, if not, the best venue Bosco has had for their events and it did not disappoint. 

Prom would begin at eight and kids would trickle in as the night went on. The loud DJ and the homemade pretzel bites were great but the announcement of the prom king and queen really took over the show.

The Bosco prom court consisted of Eric Torres, Jake Ellison, Michael Carbone, Gian Noble and David Mayoral. The winner was picked by who had the most votes which were taken on Friday during the senior retreat.

After a few hours of dancing the night away, it was time to announce the winner of prom king. Eric Torres would win and be swarmed by students and picked up after the announcement. 

“It feels great to be nominated and win prom king. To be honest, I did not expect this to happen, so I was very surprised,” said Torres.

The announcement came as a shock to Eric as there were many popular students on the court but in the end, Eric came away with the victory. 

Eric celebrated by dancing with the prom queen from St. Joseph’s while the rest of the two schools stood around in a circle and watched. 

“I was shocked when I received the email saying I was on the prom court. I knew some guys told me that they voted for me, but I didn’t know I’d actually be on there,” said Torres.

For the rest of the night, the DJ continued to blast music as everyone enjoyed their time doing different things. Besides the dance, there were many attractions at the venue. Off to the side, there was a circular platform you and your friends could stand on while a video camera twirls around you shooting a 360-degree video.

Though if the students grew tired, they could take a break from dancing and sit down at the tables while enjoying some of the snacks provided. Besides that, students could take a walk around and see different views of the Sofi stadium football field that had other events on it as well. 

The prom ended at 11 p.m., and the students left satisfied with the magical night. After the event ended, students made their way out either through their own car or party buses.