The Student News Site of Saratoga High School

The Saratoga Falcon
Seniors pose in front of a model ship at the United States Naval Academy.
6 seniors test their mettle in summer program at U.S. Naval Academy
September 19, 2024
Henry Arellanes starts the school year by working to advance the softball batting cages and implement water stations.
New plant supervisor looks to improve athletic facilities
September 18, 2024
SHS students, faculty, and alumni pose after their final performance with BDB.
Students participate in prestigious Blue Devils Drums Corps over the summer
September 18, 2024
Sophomore Alma Garniek begins her shift at TEAZENTEA.
New bubble tea store opens in downtown Saratoga
September 15, 2024
Amanda Lupoli fills out a Venn diagram with input from students in her 6th period AP U.S. History class.
New history teacher emphasizes instilling critical thinking skills
September 15, 2024
Casavant derives Newton’s second law to the class.
A survival guide to AP Physics 1 and 2
September 19, 2024
Kanye West notoriously grabs the microphone from Taylor Swift at the VMAs in 2009 as she accepts the "Best Female Video" award during the MTV Video Music Awards.
From A-List to off-the-list: the downfall of Kanye West
September 19, 2024
Fans notice tension between the two co-stars.
‘It Ends With Us’ star Lively faces backlash over domestic violence remarks
September 19, 2024
Our conversation with ChatGPT.
Can an AI chatbot be your new best friend?
September 18, 2024
The album cover for “Bando Stone and The New World,” where Donald Glover plays the titular character in the accompanying movie with the same name.
Bando Stone and The New World is an exhilarating sendoff to the Childish Gambino persona
September 18, 2024
Junior Thalea Charton passes the ball during an after-school practice.
Season preview: Girls’ water polo tries to stay afloat with only 8 players
September 19, 2024
Abandoned aquatic facility in Rio
The devastating side of Olympic hosting
September 19, 2024
In her toughest match-up of the season, middle blocker Aanya Hotha serves the match point.
Star sophomore volleyball player makes strides toward her lofty goals
September 19, 2024
Freshman Chloe Zeng dives to narrowly save the ball during a game against Milpitas on Sept. 17.
Girls’ volleyball starts 1-1 in El Camino
September 18, 2024
The 2024 F1 season has already crowned 7 Grand Prix winners — the most since 2012.
The rise and appeal of Formula 1 racing
September 18, 2024
Junior Nirvan Shah faces off against junior Brady Liang at lunch on Sept. 16.
Student irresponsibility undermines the Falcon Nest’s true potential
September 18, 2024
I say my line during my annual spring program.
From private school to public school, the benefits and downsides I experienced
September 15, 2024
Too often, students instinctively reach for the calculator.
Stop and think: Do you really need that calculator?
September 15, 2024
Six ants crawl on bathroom sink.
Clean up after yourself before the ants take over the school
September 12, 2024
The skibidi toilet horrors that popped up in our Instagram reels less than a year ago.
Gen Alpha has a word for that — but you probably won’t know what it means
September 12, 2024
Keeping a balanced schedule can be hard in a 24-hour day.
Facing 11th grade: my new lifestyle for the new year
September 19, 2024
This so called “trendy” sport leaves the rest of the racquetball community in quite the pickle.
A plea to pickleballers from a ticked off tennis player
September 19, 2024
My pandemic level of monthly letters.
Hand-written letters are simple beauty
September 19, 2024
Kristen Thomson (left), Isla Thomson (right) and Spencer Thomson (top) on their first day all at the same school, 2024.
The three Thomsons find comfort in having family on campus
September 19, 2024
Superstitions across the world vary based on traditions and culture all the way from black cats to Friday the 13th.
Can superstitions boost confidence and performance?
September 18, 2024

The Saratoga Falcon

The Saratoga Falcon

Richard Fan, Sports Editor

All content by Richard Fan
Junior Nirvan Shah faces off against junior Brady Liang at lunch on Sept. 16.

Student irresponsibility undermines the Falcon Nest’s true potential

Richard Fan and Alec Guan
September 18, 2024
Junior Aiden Chen winds up for a pitch against Santa Clara on May 9.

Baseball falls short of CCS but builds for the future

Richard Fan and Jane Lee
May 23, 2024
Sophomore Kelsey Zhang swims the 100-yard Fly at CCS on May 2. 

Star swimmer’s disqualification in 200 IM race puts stirs controversy at CCS

Richard Fan, Agastya Vitaldevara, Ruiyan Zhu, and Bill Huang
May 21, 2024
Leo Shetler rows at a competition in Boston.

Sports: 2023-2024 notable athlete achievements

Richard Fan, Bill Huang, and Grace Lin
May 21, 2024
Junior Sawyer Chao sprints towards the ball during home game on March 11. The game against Gunn ended with a loss for the Falcons. 

Lacrosse: After a canceled year, teams rebound to complete their seasons

Richard Fan and Nika Svizhenko
May 21, 2024
Senior Riley Alves executes a reverse straight dive during a meet at Los Altos on March 14.

Senior diver competes at CCS, ends season unsure of future of the team

Richard Fan
May 21, 2024
Sophomore Nikhil Srivasta serves during home game against Homestead on April 29.

Boys’ tennis falls to California High at NorCal Regional Championships

Richard Fan
May 21, 2024
Saratoga students often take a variety of West Valley summer courses, whether it is for college credit or self interest.

Get a real college experience at no cost — take some summer community college classes

Richard Fan
May 4, 2024
The taste of happiness sadly lasted only one day.

100-word rant: Please bring back beef stew for school lunch

Richard Fan
April 30, 2024
More and more jobs will now be taken over by automation, making Computer Science less appealing as a major.

Is studying comp sci still the golden ticket to wealth?

Alec Guan and Richard Fan
April 29, 2024
Coach Osayi Omorodion gives sprinting suggestions to sophomore Steven Sun.

New track and field coaches help distance running and sprinters 

Kevin Yang and Richard Fan
April 18, 2024
Breaking will make its debut in the 2024 Summer Olympics in an effort to draw in more attention from a younger audience.

Break Dancing to be introduced at 2024 summer Olympics

Richard Fan and Alec Guan
April 18, 2024
Senior Ryan Cagliostro (young Jamie) mixes up a shot for a drinking game with junior Ryan Backhus (future Jamie) and junior Chloe Mantle (young Abby) in the play “Now and Then.”

Senior stretch in directing 2-act play of ‘Now and Then’ 

Richard Fan and Jeremy Si
March 24, 2024
Science Bowl members prepare for regionals during Feb. 1 meeting after school.  

Science Bowl team places third at regionals, falling short of national tournament qualification

Richard Fan and Alec Guan
March 3, 2024
Social media can shorten students’ attention span and hinder their academic performance.

Down the online rabbit hole: Students find social media to be detrimental to academic performance

Richard Fan and Alec Guan
March 3, 2024
Avadhanam uses geometry techniques to solve Team Selection Test (TST) problems.

Photo or Graphic for: 2 seniors now one step away from making national Math Olympiad teams

Jessica Li, Parav Manney, and Amy Miao
February 10, 2024
The blizzard on Jan. 6 caused numerous participants, including me, to lose visibility.

Harsh weather conditions derail my hopes at skiing competition

Richard Fan
February 6, 2024
Skiing and snowboarding are both very fun sports with very different styles. 

Slopesport face-off: a guide to the pros and cons of skiing and snowboarding 

Richard Fan
January 21, 2024
My current mish-mash playlist.

A musical journey, from Beethoven to The Fat Rat

Richard Fan
December 5, 2023
My Christmas in 2022 was completed perfectly with a bowl of clam chowder despite a sprained shoulder.

Shared experiences and togetherness are the essence of Christmas

Richard Fan
December 5, 2023
Sophomore Yash Sharma presents “Wonders of Python” on a trip to India in summer 2023.

Sophomore’s non-profit organization aims to inspire younger generations to pursue programming

Alec Guan and Richard Fan
December 2, 2023
Senior poster of girls’ varsity team captain senior Ryder Gangemi

Sports Boosters helps fund personalized Senior Night banners for athletes

Richard Fan
December 2, 2023
Girls’ soccer Instagram home page. 

Student-run social media accounts hype up school sports teams 

Richard Fan
December 2, 2023
The school’s Comedy Improv Troupe competes for laughs during the ComedySportz show

Drama program to hold student-directed plays

Richard Fan and Jeremy Si
October 21, 2023
Junior goalie Lera Polyakova gets ready to block the shot on goal during a home game against Homestead on Sept. 26. 

1-loss girls’ water polo celebrates success in league 

Richard Fan
October 21, 2023
Lithium mining has increased exponentially over the past few decades– and we will have to face the consequences of it sooner or later

Newsom’s mandate on electric vehicles will do more harm than good

Alec Guan and Richard Fan
October 19, 2023
Swimming cap worn by water polo players.

Photo or Graphic for: Top 10: ways to turn around struggling sports teams

Nika Svizhenko
September 29, 2023
Andrew Beattie works with football players during an after school practice.

New CBI aide takes on coaching roles for multiple sports

Richard Fan and Neal Malhotra
September 29, 2023
Tired of sweating? Try the sports on the right!

Top 10: unathletic sports

Richard Fan and Alec Guan
September 24, 2023
Load More Stories