Allison Lin

Senior Nandita Mohan feels a sense of belonging, as though Saratoga had always been her home, even though she had only lived in the United States for five years.  

As the Falcons begin their 2016 league season, they face several challenges, such as the loss of last season’s ace pitcher, Joey Medeiros, to graduation. Alongside a fresh crop of newcomers, the veteran players are putting in time at the yard, fine-tuning their defensive teamwork and strengthening their offensive skills.

Over 200 students, ranging from freshmen to seniors,  woke up excited on the morning of Feb. 27. During the day, they prepped and pampered themselves in anticipation of the grand night ahead: the annual Benefit Fashion Show.

As ASB co-clubs commissioner, I have learned that only a minority of students know the amount of power they have in student-affiliated affairs. While ASB does conduct votes on various events and issues, its votes are based on what it hears from students in the classroom and their experiences as upperclassmen. 

During a heated Jan. 12 school board meeting, a new rolling block schedule for next year was unveiled and explained by a committee that had put in months of studying and creating it. However, the change has provoked a strong negative reaction among some community members.

Reporters look back on Kobe Bryant's career as the 17-time all-star, best known for his tremendous impact as a star shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers.

After a semester of maternity leave, Economics/AP Government and Psychology teacher Hana Chen has returned to the classroom.

The Falcons lost twice to a talented Wildcat team this year but pulled through when it counted most: CCS.

Football team loses to De Anza upper league front runner Milpitas, ends season with victory over Fremont

Seven students from Cuernavaca, Mexico, arrived on Nov. 14 to experience the way of life at Saratoga, especially the American Thanksgiving culture. The students will stay with host families until Nov. 30.  

Recently, Facebook newsfeeds have been filled with posts and links that direct users to external gossip sites and celebrity news outlets.

After losing 4 games, football players are hoping they can turn their season around against Los Altos in the game on Oct. 16.

The senior class officers and class parents hosted the first-ever Homecoming Barbecue to celebrate the end of Move-In Weekend and kick off Homecoming week.

Shaking off a disappointing result in the Golden State tournament at Stanford that took place three weeks earlier, the members of girls’ tennis team regained their winning ways at the second annual Battle of the Bay tournament on Oct. 2-3.

Senior Jasmine Qin moved from Evergreen Valley High School for a fresh start.

The Action Sports Allstars (ASA) show is an interactive action sports circuit that has teamed up with the U.S. Marine Corps and the Anti-Defamation League to discourage bullying among teens. Following the motto “No Place for Hate,” the show included an emcee who served as a commentator while repeating a few bullying statistics.

As a mere sophomore last year, Will Liddle took on the pressure-packed role as the team’s starting quarterback. One year later, he’s prepared to have an even better season.

With starting junior quarterback Will Liddle back again, the Falcons are ready to aim for a winning season, and after winning their first game against Hillsdale 22-7 on Sept. 4, the team’s morale continues to increase.  

Three seniors, along with guidance counselor Eileen Allen, traveled to a small village in Ecuador for a 10-day service trip organized by Me to We, a subgroup of the Free the Children charity. 

The [girl's tennis] team looks to regain footing after losing six starting players from the previous season. The junior and senior veteran players are leading the team both on and off the court.

Two seniors experience a night at Levi's Stadium for Taylor Swift's 1989 World Tour.

Everyone expected the rebuilt baseball team to struggle as underdogs all season. Few expected the Falcons to finish second after powerhouse Palo Alto in the De Anza league.

Next year, SHSTV and the Falcon will combine in third period, creating a class where journalists can participate in both broadcast and print journalism. 

Junior Michael Guo had a brush with death in a sleep-deprived driving accident. However, this is hardly unique. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2015 poll, an estimated 100,000 police-reported crashes are the direct result of driver fatigue each year.  

The California Interscholastic Federation uses these characteristics to define the best and most honorable high school athletes. The award acknowledges one male and one female student-athlete during each season of sport from 10 sections in California. Chosen winners exemplify principles of pursuing victory with honor, are active in school and community service and exhibit leadership qualities.  

The original “Full House” cast is reuniting and filming a spin-off series called “Fuller House.” “Full House” cast member Candace Cameron Bure recently tweeted this exciting news to her followers.  

A rebuilt Falcon team has been battling adversity ever since the league season began. With so many new players, they have managed to overcome an early losing streak and win most of their recent games, putting them in a position to win playoff games against top teams.

Three hundred guests dressed to the nines and attended Junior Prom at Silver Creek Country Club on the night of April 18. Following the theme of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” guests sipped on mocktails and danced the night away.

Projects and textbooks fill up the room of Class of 2013 alumna Sanjna Verma, now a sophomore at New York University (NYU) studying economics and computer science with an emphasis in math. Despite her heavy workload, though, she still goes to various club meetings, socializes with friends and hunts down new opportunities, a schedule she has been able to manage since high school.

As the season began, coaches, players and fans of the baseball team agreed that it was going to be a season of rebuilding. After losing nine players from last year’s team to graduation, including most of the outfield, current junior and senior players are striving to help new team members pick up the competitive pace this season.

On Feb. 12, Buzzfeed uploaded a video called “Things Everyone Does but Doesn’t Talk About,” in which President Barack Obama demonstrated his personal quirks, such as mispronunciation and taking selfies with a selfie stick, while indirectly promoting ObamaCare at the same time. The 2-minute clip directly demonstrates day-to-day struggles in a quintessential way that captures the essence of citizen life, and serves as a great way for the president to connect with the people, especially youth.

In a typical year, somewhere from 10 to 15 percent of Saratoga High students will attend two-year universities after graduation, according to recent statistics. Students choose community college for a variety of reasons, whether it is the lower costs associated with the community colleges or the knowledge that transferring to a four-year university works well after attending a two-year community college.

Many young athletes aspire to be ripped, with muscular physiques of mature collegiate national champions or Olympians. They use products intended for ingestion that add nutritional value to supplement an athlete’s diet, and come in the forms of powder, shakes, pills, energy drinks and even chewing gum.

This year’s opening show of Bombay in the Bay takes place Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. and Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. in the McAfee Center, which will be decorated in traditional Indian style. 

Preview for the Spring BAseball season for the school year 2014-2015. 

A new weapon has emerged from the past, one that is dangerous enough to threaten an entire country’s rights and safety. The weapon? Violation of free speech.

Couples waltzed, tangoed and swung the night away at the Prospect Community Center Friendship Hall on Jan. 24 at the “Fly Me to the Moon” senior citizen ball, hosted by the City of Saratoga Youth Commission. 

In Saratoga, most students are chauffeured to school by parents until sophomore year and receive cars when they obtain their licenses. Because we are rarely forced to travel by any mode of public transportation on a daily basis, many of us disregard the idea even when travelling longer distances.

The Leadership Class lit the fuse of the annual Speak Up For Change Week with eye-opening student-lead assemblies, dozens of granted students wishes and a dazzling on-campus Carnival. This year’s theme was “Ignite Your Spark.”  

The upper field is set to be renovated and transformed into a turf field, similar to the football field with the goal of making the area much more useful to a variety of sports teams.

Reporter goes a Sharks game and learns about a possible career path.

The varsity girls’ tennis team wrapped up its De Anza League season 12-0. With a lineup of reliable singles players and powerhouse doubles pairs, the team has a strong chance of winning CCS, which began on Nov. 11.

It’s a longstanding tradition: Senior football players begin their season with a “guardian angel” cheerleader watching over them. The designated varsity cheerleader supports each player and wishes them luck by giving them a weekly gift, often home-baked goods, before every home game.

Saratoga residents felt the tension rising as the 2014 City Council election day rapidly approached on Nov. 4.

Red Ribbon Spirit Week, organized by the Leadership class, is taking place for the first time on Oct. 27-31. 

The City of Saratoga Youth Commission and the City of Cupertino Teen Commission will host its second “Pizza and Politics,” a political forum for teens, on Oct. 22.

After four hard-fought matches, the Falcon brought back a third place finish at the annual California Peach Tree Classic Tournament in Fresno on Sept. 5-7. The team was seeded No. 2 heading into the tournament and faced powerhouse teams such as Santa Barbara High School and Menlo High School.

The Rialto School District located in Southern California received intense criticism last December for assigning a Common Core essay assignment titled “Is the Holocaust a Hoax?” to 2,000 eighth graders. The assignment asked students to explain whether they "believe the Holocaust was an actual event in history or merely a political scheme created to influence public emotion and gain."

Having spent the month of August planning the year’s activities, the 2014-15 Spirit and Athletics Commission is ready to boost school pride at rallies and school sporting events.  

Media Arts Program students, parents and friends will dress to the nines to attend the annual SMASH’N (Saratoga Media Arts Showcase) awards in the Mcafee Center on May 31 at 6:45 p.m. SMASH’N, the biggest Media Arts Program (MAP) event of the year, showcases student work in film, animation, digital photography, drama and multimedia journalism.

The Falcons ended their memorable season with a 2-1 home loss against Bellarmine in the first round of CCS on May 21.

The Falcons are picking up momentum for league playoffs and CCS. The team is currently tied for fourth place with the Homestead Mustangs in the De Anza League and has an overall record of 15-7.

If you flip through the first several pages of the student planner, you will not come across the dress code policy. Instead, you will find policies on the use of electronics, student I.D. cards and athletic eligibility. If you happen to be strangely inclined to find out the school dress code, you will have to turn on your computer, open the school website, click on the student handbook and scroll to the section under “Behavior.” There, you will see it in small font.

While Beyonce sells out Madison Square Garden and Katy Perry surfs the crowd at SAP Center, Saratoga’s own Esha Krishnamoorthy sings for crowds at local venues. Before she steps into the spotlight, like these world-famous stars, Krishnamoorthy shakes off her nerves and takes the stage with a bright smile.

Students, their families and alumni laced up their dance shoes and headed to the annual Jazz Cabaret and Swing Dance on the evening of March 1.

As the music came to an end, freshman Caroline Li smiled proudly and held her head high.

Students, their families and alumni laced up their dance shoes and headed to the annual Jazz Cabaret and Swing Dance on the evening of March 1. Hosted by the music department and Saratoga Music Boosters, the event showcased the Jazz Bands I and II, the Men and Women’s Choir, Concert Choir, the Redwood Middle School Jazz Band and Footnotes Jazz, a professional jazz group.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry conducted a national study in 2011 and found that a shocking one in three 12th graders have used marijuana in the previous year.

After a successful 2013 season for the baseball team ending in a tough loss to Saint Ignatius in the first round of the CCS playoffs, the Falcons are looking to try and get back this season. While they have strong senior players and a lot of potential from the junior players, the Falcons will have to overcome the loss of several key players.

Imagine a student walking down the hallway, arms swinging at his side, shoulders back and openly giving high-fives to other students passing by. Everybody looks at this student and thinks he is someone who was born confident. His emotions and confidence did not come first. His posture, gestures and body language have helped him become the person he is.  Students who are ambivalent and timid can change that just by opening up. In a way, they need to fake these “power poses” to boost their confidence and courage. 

In the month of February, there were several students cited for marijuana offenses on campus. The number is alarmingly high in such a short period of time, which begs the question: Why are students using the drug? One of the main reasons encouraging recreational drug use is social media. On Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, there are pictures glorifying the use of marijuana. People often talk and converse about using the drug. Since our generation is so addicted to social media, the constant references and allusions to marijuana use can encourage students to experiment with the drug.

As the second semester began, students and staff members were missing the smile of a prominent teacher on campus: Jim Yowell. 

The biggest challenge I face each year is far more daunting than a big dance competition, intimidating than preparing for finals week or exhausting than a tennis tournament. As the holidays roll around at the end of each year, my hopes for a relaxed break are crushed, as my mom and I prepare ourselves for the tiring task of finding the best fit gift for the personality of each person in our 20-member extended family. 

The cheer team is leaping back into routine after experiencing a rough beginning to the season due to lack of a coach. But it seems that new head cheer coach Brianna Shearer is here to stay.

On the day I was born at El Camino Hospital, my grandparents stood hovering over my clear hospital crib, smiling down at me. I weighed barely 6 pounds and was dressed in a pink cotton cap and a hospital blanket, but my grandma held me in her arms and rocked me while my grandpa looked on proudly. Little did I know that 10 years from that day, my grandparents, would be 6,698 miles away.

At the end of last November, senior Ethan Gelfand was pulled over for a rolling stop. The week of Oct. 28, senior Clark Rothenberg was pulled over for speeding. Was the timing of these infractions a coincidence? We think not.

CCS play starts Nov. 13 for Falcons.

When the government shuts down for 16 days, it is natural to point fingers at one political party or one person. However, the shutdown only magnifies the country’s ever-deepening political split.

No voices are reverberating in the usually lively cheer studio these days. It sits empty because the team has lacked a coach since mid-September. Even worse, the team’s competition season is in jeopardy.

Every six years, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) assesses the school’s courses and progress. In the administration’s efforts to collect data for WASC as well as for the school’s own study, teachers this year are visiting colleagues and completing peer evaluations.

My soaked, muddy sneakers hit the jungle floor with a splash as I slid off of Kai’s back. Kai, a 16-year old, 5,400-pound captive elephant, was my companion during my trip to Phuket Island, Thailand this past summer.

Three years ago on Oct. 22, seconds after the game clock ended the fourth quarter, a sea of red stormed Benny Pierce field, cheering and screaming in celebration of the Falcon’s thrilling 21-17 victory that ended a 27-year losing streak against Los Gatos. Students, alumni and parents flooded the green turf, rejoicing in one of the most memorable games in the history of Saratoga athletics.

 Last year, sophomores Jason and Michael Yang, who are twins, struggled with English pronunciation, fluency and vocabulary when they moved from Shanghai, China, to Saratoga. Based on their own experiences, the twins formed an English Language Development club this year to help other non-native speakers feel more comfortable and offer them a chance to improve their speaking without fear.

Earlier this year, the cheer squad and dance team struggled with sharing one head coach, Dinishia Nichols, between the two different teams. 

For many years, the tennis team has been led by veteran players. This year, however, freshmen and sophomores are playing a key role in the team’s success, consistently clinching essential wins for the team.

Though the tennis team was less than optimistic going into the season, coach Florin Marica and players have gained a new level of confidence after defeating Los Altos, Lynbrook and Gunn. Both singles and doubles players brought aggressiveness and intensity to the courts, edging their opponents point by point.

Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, said, “The creation of something new is not accomplished by  the intellect, but rather by the play instinct rising from inner necessity.” 

The varsity tennis team has a reputation as one of the best sport teams at Saratoga, as well as one of the strongest competitors in the league. As the 2013-2014 season begins, the team faces the obstacle of losing nine key players, six of whom to graduation. 

As the bell rings at 7:50 a.m. each morning, the familiar scene of panicking students making a beeline to their first class is no surprise.  However, starting this year, the administration and staff want to see the rate of tardies decline by enforcing a strict policy that is nerve wracking to many students and parents.

After five years, the school’s dance team is back and ready to bust a move. Seven girls, ranging from freshmen to juniors, along with their coach, Dinishia Nichols, have been working hard to make an outstanding impression at the upcoming performances, rallies and competitions.