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The Saratoga Falcon
Lalitha Maruvda helps freshman Brooklyn Harman test his nearly complete Pong game on Sept. 13.
New Intro to Computer Science teacher brings over 20 years of industry experience
September 19, 2024
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
Through the outlined steps, deepfakes are capable of swapping faces and emulating mouth-movement to create misleading videos.
Deepfakes take dangerous steps forward in authenticity, blurring the lines between fiction and reality
September 19, 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
In May of 2022, baseball player Samanyu Ram stands on Saratoga’s home field after a CCS win against St. Thomas More.
Senior commits to NYU’s Division III baseball program
September 19, 2024
The dance team sells homemade baked goods at their bake sale at the Sept. 5 home football game against El Camino to fundraise for competition and costume costs.
Dance team welcomes new assistant coach who focuses on their technique and fitness
September 19, 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
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
Toga Tests advertises its exams by posting on Instagram.
Toga Tests seeks to lend a helping hand to students studying for upcoming exams
September 19, 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

The Saratoga Falcon

The Saratoga Falcon

Shirina Cao, Lifestyles Editor

All content by Shirina Cao
The dance team sells homemade baked goods at their bake sale at the Sept. 5 home football game against El Camino to fundraise for competition and costume costs.

Dance team welcomes new assistant coach who focuses on their technique and fitness

Shirina Cao and Renisha Mandal
September 19, 2024
Thomas Casavant teaches freshmen how to fix a section of their Java code.

AP Physics teacher expands course repertoire to Intro to Computer Programming

Shirina Cao and Ashni Pillai
September 17, 2024
Wellness Center therapist Janae Smith writes in her notebook.

New Wellness Center therapist brings diverse work experience

Shirina Cao and Madhura Natarajan
September 9, 2024
 A turtleneck constricts a woman's neck.

Photo or Graphic for: Let’s leave turtlenecks in the past, where they belong

Sasha Prasad
May 30, 2024
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Photo or Graphic for: Road trips: a once detested, but now beloved summer tradition

Sasha Prasad
May 20, 2024
Sports Drinks

Photo or Graphic for: Top 10 sports drinks

Bill Huang
May 20, 2024
Different things make different people happy.

Taking Toga’s Temperature: What does happiness mean to you? 

Shirina Cao and Emily Wu
May 17, 2024
Sophomore Brennan Pak sprints across the lacrosse field.

Longtime seasoned athletes step out of their comfort zone to pursue new sports

Jeremy Si and Shirina Cao
May 15, 2024
Emily, Shirina and Amy hold up the finished tanghulu while sugary water drips onto the floor.

The viral sweet treat tanghulu: Is it worth all the hype?

Shirina Cao, Jessica Li, Amy Miao, and Emily Wu
May 10, 2024
The three Jacks’ line up in height order (left to right: Jack Gong, Jack Dong and Jack Tong).

Jack (Dong, Gong, and Tong) of all trades

Shirina Cao
May 4, 2024
When the world is turning more digital than ever, with children often online gaming during their free time, how are board games staying afloat?

Board games stay afloat among the rising online gaming industry

Shirina Cao
May 4, 2024
Saratoga students often take a variety of West Valley summer courses, whether it is for college credit or self interest.

Photo or Graphic for: Get a real college experience at no cost — take some summer community college classes

Richard Fan
May 4, 2024
Sophomore May Gendeh performs the small lyrical routine at the United Spirit Association Nationals Competition on March 22.

Dance team competes at Nationals in Anaheim

Shirina Cao and Jessica Li
April 23, 2024
Self-portrait finals projects (Caleb Yu left, Franky Zheng top right, Vivienne Brooks bottom right).

Roaming campus with a purpose, Digital Photography students hone skills that can be used for a lifetime

Shirina Cao and Emily Wu
March 27, 2024
The dramatic difference in body type between Ursula and Ariel indirectly villainizes certain “undesirable” features.

Disney dysmorphia: How a beloved childhood franchise instills unrealistic beauty standards and gender bias

Shirina Cao and Emily Wu
March 21, 2024
Birthdays are usually filled with big smiles and happy laughter, but I still can’t help but feel sad.

Fighting the birthday blues and losing

Shirina Cao
March 14, 2024
Students who succumb to the allure of Sparknotes will fail to analyze classic literature on their own.

Photo or Graphic for: SparkNotes — a glorified version of cheating

Alec Guan
March 7, 2024
Senior Michelle Wan fiercely raises her right arm during the ending pose of the team’s jazz routine during the competition hosted by West Coast Elite at Valley Christian on Jan. 20.

Making the most of limited practice time, dance team soars through competition season with a positive outlook

Shirina Cao and Jessica Li
February 8, 2024
Spice up your love life with these activities.

Ideas for the next big date after Valentine’s Day

Shirina Cao
February 8, 2024
The rising band faces difficulties coordinating around busy schedules, but its members look forward to their coming performances.

Photo or Graphic for: Student band Pollen Prone springs into the spotlight

Lawson Wang
January 24, 2024
Don’t worry, rock music enjoyment is definitely not a cult.

Photo or Graphic for: How my father rocked my musical world

Alec Guan
December 14, 2023
While UC Berkeley offers a tiresome uphill hike from SHS, Yale, Harvard and Stanford lead to an easy downhill slide.

Recent alumni offer their report card on how SHS prepared them for elite colleges

Shirina Cao and Jessica Li
December 13, 2023
Ashley Xu does a double stag jump while holding rainbow ribbons during her solo section of the folkloric group routine “Colorful Joy” during the performance at Spotlight Dance Cup nationals on July 8.

Dancers find perks in attending outside dance studios over school dance team

Shirina Cao and Jessica Li
December 7, 2023
The Christmas season means an impending list of gifts to get.

The Falcon’s guide to gift-giving during the holiday season

Shirina Cao
December 5, 2023
Substitute teacher Siddhartha Punj explains key coding vocabulary during an AP Computer Science lesson on Nov. 27.

Long-term substitute AP Computer Science teacher hired

Shirina Cao and Emily Wu
December 3, 2023
The dance team members Anisa Taymuree and Annalyn Bui hold their ending pose for their Oct. 20 football game halftime performance.

Dance team transitions from football half time performances to competition season

Shirina Cao and Jessica Li
November 20, 2023
Sofia Hoffman and Elisa Pattullo work on glazing their decorative coil pot on Oct. 11.

Ceramics gives students creative freedom and hopes to recover from recent loss of interest

Shirina Cao and Emily Wu
November 6, 2023
Seniors Riley Alves and Ashly Henry dressed as skeletons during the school's Trunk or Treat event on Oct. 28.

All dressed up: Creating terror-ific memories to celebrate the spooky season

Shirina Cao, Kathy Wang, and Beverly Xu
November 5, 2023
Class rivalry during rally games is a great way to raise school and class pride. 

Dear Toga students: You aren’t ‘too cool’ to attend rallies

Shirina Cao and Anika Kapasi
October 19, 2023
The dance team performs their hip-hop routine to the song “Hot in It” for the football game on Sept. 1.

Dance team kicks off to powerful start while adjusting to new coach

Shirina Cao and Jessica Li
September 23, 2023
Drum Major Petr Tupitsyn overlooks his marching band, ready to showcase their senior night performance.

Photo or Graphic for: Marching band shows promising season with their performance ‘Blossom’

Allison Tan and Zachary Zinman
October 25, 2022
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