Ami Nachiappan

The track and field team secure key win against Matadors, pushing the team to run and train even harder.

School spirit extremely strong decades ago.

Diificulties prevent Mexican students from coming to SHS. 

Leadership goes to other schools to promote reading. 

Recent storms have hindered teachers on the way to school from highway 17.

Senior loves cooking and aspires to become better. 

In early February after school, junior Allie Liddle and the rest of the wrestling team sprinted from the weight room to the track, sweat dripping from their faces. To prepare for CCS, which began on Feb. 13, the team increased their speed and endurance, along with their usual weight workouts.  

Boy's track gears up for a strong start to the reason, because of many returning key players. 

Seniors attempt to cook their own lunches rather than spending money on off-campus food. 

The girls' track team is improved through the addition of new star freshmen players, regardless of the lack of coaches. 

Ellen Wu and Carolyn Ma add diversity to the team.

Sophomores take physics

Students talk about the Berkowitz family. 

Senior plans on going into product design

Recently, early-action has become more popular with highschool students.

Inktober sees rise in participation from SHS students.

Students gain sense of independence through part-time jobs. 

AP Government teachers find new methods to teach about the elections. 

Recap of boys cross country team performance for the start of this season and a recap of the CCS winners last year.

On Sept. 6, the boys ran their first meet of the season, a 2.1 mile flat course at Lynbrook High School. Other star Falcons at the meet included junior Amit Nag, who ran a time of 11:15; sophomore David Berkowitz, who ran a time of 12:03; and senior Kushagro Bhattacharjee, who ran a time of 12:27.  

This year, Eileen Toh’s job has been handed over to seniors Yuna Kim and Megana Saripella. Besides Kim and Saripella, the Homecoming commission consists of senior Amy Chiang and juniors Ishana Narayanan and Andrew Zheng.  

Freshmen excels in cross country. 

Sophmore excels in chess. 

Seven Saratoga High athletes who placed in the top six in their respective events at the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) meet that took place on May 13 at Los Gatos High; their stellar performances earned them spots at CCS trials, but none qualified for CCS finals on May 27.  

Decked out in maroon and and gray plaid uniforms with rackets in their hands, the boys’ tennis team was ready to take on Saint Ignatius, a high school in San Francisco, at CCS semifinals on May 12. Stakes were high and pressure rose as the Falcons, who have made CCS semifinals for four straight years, were determined to come out on top.

Senior Michael Okuno shares thoughts about playing music for the Marine Corps Band.

This ASB Joke of the Day was delivered recently by principal’s secretary Susan Dini, her upbeat and cheerful voice resonating throughout campus. Surrounding her at the microphone were eight smiling faces filled with laughter, ASB members thankful to have Dini by their side as their supervisor for daily morning announcements. 

Scanning system will make tracking of student activities easier, though some see possible complications with it

With the league meet approaching, the girls plan to improve their times by refining their techniques and increasing their endurance rather than working on speed.    

Students and parents show frustration over parking lot troubles due to music building construction.

After taking a year off due to stress fractures, junior Celine Bellegarda is leading the team as the fastest sprinter.

The senior project for the Media Arts Program (MAP) is an open-ended, year-long project where students apply what they have learned in the past three years of MAP.

The lead came early for the Falcons in their Division II CCS semifinal game against Menlo on March 2, but it didn’t last.  

In early February, senior Nina Harris, one of six members of the Benefit Commission, walked through the doors of Lotus Boutique and onto the lime green floors for a First Date fitting event. Harris and the models, surrounded by steel racks filled with vibrant new styles and trending outfits, were ready for a full day of fittings. 

Boys' basketball loses game and cannot continue CCS this season.

After losing the three previous games, the Falcons finally managed to score — and this time, against their fierce rivals.

After listening to head coach Jose Gamaz’s motivational speech and a few songs to pump him up, freshman Clayton Murabito prepared to wrestle a “pretty strong guy” at a tournament in Cupertino on Jan. 8.

As senior small forward Tyler Yoshihara made the free throw at a home game against Lynbrook on Jan. 13, the boys on the bench immediately began cheering and dabbing, the team’s celebratory dance move.

Senior Alex Rossip explores passion with drums and jazz.

On Jan. 9, the school’s For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) robotics team, M-SET FISH, received its challenge for the year: to design a robot that can shoot balls into an opponent’s castle, defend itself from other robots and climb to the top of the other team’s castle in order to score extra points. The team is now focusing on using these six weeks, the “build season,” to make this robot.

Seniors Nina Nelson and Jennifer Chen created a ‘Little Rock Nine’ music video with the help of the class of 2015 alumnus Nik Aji.

After losing a tough CCS field hockey game 2-0 against Los Gatos in late October, senior Erin Norris knew it would be tough saying goodbye to her “amazing teammates,” especially since she had to grasp the idea that she would no longer be playing field hockey on Benny Pierce field. Though Norris felt nostalgic, she was comforted in knowing that she would soon be surrounded by another group of “amazing teammates”: the varsity basketball team.  

The team will now compete in the state meet Nov. 28.

The boys’ fast times led them to win CCS in Division III, advancing them to the state meet for the second straight year.

The Falcons look to improve on last season's 18-7 overall record (10-2 El Camino League finish) and make it into CCS in the El Camino League.

The wrestling team, a small group of just 14 boys, hopes to send multiple boys to CCS. 

After falling short of CCS last year by a narrow point margin, the girls on the varsity team hope to make a statement in the preseason matchups.

Folowing a near-death expierence of fallling into a pool at age 3, senior Arnav Pawar's mom put him onto swimming. Pawar became a water person, taking up both competitive swimming and water polo. He said his passion for being in the water motivated him to instill a “love for swimming in children in the same way that [he] loves swimming.”

Senior Arnav Pawar, then a 3-month-old baby, gasped for breath in the pool of the apartment complex where his family lived after accidentally falling in. His worried mother quickly leaped in after him, dragging Pawar out of the pool. 

New boys’ cross country coach Scott Bang replaced former coach Dan Ambrico and JV coach Peter Jordan after both stepped down to pursue other interests.

The Falcons ran the flat 2.1-mile Lynbrook course a second time on Sept. 29. Zeng placed first for the Falcons with a personal best of 14:02.

Junior Shannon Chen and her team of two other girls sat at the edge of their seats at the Microsoft headquarters this past July as they anxiously made the final touches to Brouze, their online database of tutors designed for high school students. 

Freshman Deyshna Pai joined band in fifth grade and has been playing ever since. Her enjoyment with music led her to apply for drum major in eighth grade and she is continuing to pursue music in high school.

After the boys’ team made it to the state meet last fall, athletes on the girls’ and boys’ teams are back to training at a high level.

Current athletic trainer Liz Alves has spent the past seven years tending to athletes’ sprained ankles, swollen legs, concussions and other injuries that occur on our school’s athletic fields, courts and pool. 

Since  moving to California in 2013, freshman Sasha Pickard has placed first in every cross country meet she has competed in, besides winning the county races for middle school girls in seventh and eighth grade, proving a valuable addition to the team.  

Due to the Measure E construction near the upper field, the home meet cannot occur this year, preventing the tradition of holding Senior Day during the Saratoga Tri-meet.

Assistant principal Kevin Mount has decided to step down from his position at the end of this year, citing unhappiness with nature of the work.

Recently, some journalists have selected pictures that have been enhanced in Photoshop and compared them with the original pictures. As the movement toward natural beauty has gained steam, young people today better understand the media’s often exaggerated images.  

Sophomore Raina Kolluri, then 7, sat in front of her television with her eyes glued to the screen. She laughed as she watched a teenaged Hilary Duff in the classic Disney sitcom, “Lizzie McGuire,” a show involving a young girl nicknamed Lizzie, her friends, Gordo and Miranda, and their junior high shenanigans.

This summer, sophomore Anya Herne will study in the Summer Study Camp at Sorbonne University in Paris, France. The five-week camp will focus on French language and enrichment classes such as fashion and architecture which she is very interested in.

Star long-distance athlete senior Andrew Harter is approaching the end of his high school track career on a high note. After setting a personal record (PR) of 10:18 in the 3200m at a home meet against Fremont on April 2, he scored another PR at the CCS.

Senior Avery Gigoux passed the baton to fellow 4x100m senior runner Laura Cummins after finishing the third leg in the race against Fremont on April 2. Running one of the last meets of her high school track career, she watched Cummins race down the track with a wistful smile. The girls’ relay team, which also included junior Kylie Stokes and senior Puck deRoos, finished second with a time of 53.82.

Digital electronics, a new elective course that will be the third class added to the Project Lead the Way program, is tailored to sophomores, juniors and seniors, and will teach students about technology and give them hands-on experience in engineering.

Halfway through the 100m dash at an away meet against Santa Clara on March 26, senior sprinter Tony Holt realized he wasn’t running full speed. He urged himself to focus on the race, but his hamstring had been bothering him since his first jump earlier in the meet.

Using her last burst of energy to push ahead of her opponents, junior Kimberly Chen sprinted to the finish of the 400m race at the away track meet against Homestead on March 17. With a time of 1:04.85, she placed first in the event.

Senior Neel Kattumadam, a member of  the March Madness basketball team “PM,” ran down the court with his heart beating and legs pumping. His team remained nervous as the game neared its end, and the close score of 15-14 left no room for error. A misstep by a defender allowed Kattumadam, the team’s point guard who runs the team’s offense and controls the ball, to take the winning shot that advanced them to the quarterfinals.

Reporter takes on a dare from the Falcon's Lifestyles editors to prepare a foreign dinner for her family.

Since the beginning of the school year, about 17 of the 28 clubs surveyed by the Falcon have experienced a decrease in membership. Many clubs have had trouble sparking an interest and recruiting club members, though the recent Club Rush helped raise money.

Many students decide not to go to the Los Gatos DMV for their drivers test due to the “compact and small town area,” according to health and drivers education teacher Amy Obenour. Also, it has been rumored that nine out of 10 students who take the behind-the-wheel test at the Los Gatos DMV fail.  

Dozens of students this year commit to fitness regimens in local gyms or the school’s weight room either to lose a few pounds or just to get fit.

Members of the Leadership class along with ASB commissioners and class officers attended the Youth Leadership Program at Disney’s Grand Californian Resort from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1.

The boys' track team prepares for the upcoming season.

The girls' track team prepares for the upcoming season.

Senior Irene Chen takes a keen interest in ceramics and intends to pursue it in the future. 

Behind the scenes of the copy room are Janet Verson, who has worked at the school for 15 years, and her colleague Nada Macesic, who has worked at the school for seven years.

Saratoga’s teachers recently received an A plus rating from Business Insider. The magazine released an article on Nov. 4 naming the 25 best public high schools in the country. Saratoga High School was No. 23.

The holiday boutique, an annual fundraiser for the junior class, will take place in the cafeteria and Thermond Drama Center on Dec. 7.  

Senior Steven Sum placed second out of 195 runners at state finals in the Division III race. 

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

The Falcon learned that it won a Pacemaker Award from the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) for 2013-14.

Freshman Austin Shi follows a much different path than his older brother, junior Sean Shi.

Sophomore Aarushi Lakhotia excels in squash, a little-known indoor racquet sport.

Reporter discusses not having a Facebook account.

Sophomore Aarushi Lakhotia excels in the little known game of squash. 

Whether it be forcing the student to study with them every night or excessively checking Aeries, high levels of parent involvement undoubtedly result in negative consequences, hindering the child’s independence.

The city's “Village Pedestrian Enhancement Construction” project aims to add features in downtown such as paving and lights.

After Planet Juice closed down a few years ago, the vacant spot next to Starbucks has been filled by Saratoga’s very own cupcake store, Minicakes by Tasha, which opened on Aug. 30.

SHS alumni return to coach the school's sports teams.