A Samoan football drumline, Smackle speaks and school equity: HS Insider reports

Every week we bring you a roundup of student stories from High School Insider. Students from more than 60 Southern California schools contribute to High School Insider and post their stories on latimes.com. If you – or your students – have stories to tell and would like to participate, check out this link for all the details.

A drumline infused with Samoan culture

Mater Dei High School senior football player Tupua Seanoa carries his Samoan heritage with him on the field every week through his family and their music. Since Seanoa was a freshman, his family has been playing traditional Polynesian drums and conch shells with their group Tupua Productions. “Football is a team sport and you just need to get that rhythm," said Seanoa’s sister Kalea Seanoa. "And so we give them that bass to just keep going. You see them as we're playing and all of their heads are just going dum, dum."

Meet the high school freshman who plays Smackle on Disney Channel’s 'Girl Meets World'

Ceci Balagot is a ninth-grader at the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) in the Musical Theatre Conservatory. "There are people who just want to be friends with you because you’re on TV — I’ve met those people,� Balagot told Cassandra Hsiao (OCSA). "So when people come up to me for that, I’m wary, but I don’t think I’ve come across that too much.�

Students speak out about school equity

Around 150 students from high schools in East and South Los Angeles attended a United Way-sponsored event to give their input on new school funding allocations, Miriam Antonio (Fairfax) reports. The students were English learners, foster youth and from low-income families who will benefit from this new funding. “You have the right for full engagement in this process because it affects you,� Los Angeles School Board President Steve Zimmer told them.

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