The Student News Site of Saratoga High School

The Saratoga Falcon
Courtesy of LGSUHSD board The official map, decided during the April 14 public hearing.
School board finalizes district map for new trustee elections
June 1, 2025
Courtesy of Saratoga High School Junior Arjun Krish is one of 20 students in the country who have a shot at representing the US at the International Biology Olympiad.
Junior qualifies for International Biology Olympiad training camp at Harvard
May 27, 2025
French 1 classes are switching to the “Reporters Francophones” textbook for next year.
Language classes to try new textbook options next year
May 25, 2025
Seniors gather in the quad to celebrate their college decisions.
Seniors showcase post-grad plans on Commit Day
May 23, 2025
Choir and AP Music Theory teacher Beth Nitzan conducts a choir class during a rehearsal for their end-of-year concert on May 19.
Nitzan to leave school after four years in music department
May 21, 2025
Me conducting taste evaluations with two drinks at once.
The *actual* best boba places in the Bay
June 2, 2025
Courtesy of Aidan Smith Finn and Aidan pose together in the backyard for pictures before prom.
The Duality of Man: Aidan and Finn Smith
June 2, 2025
Keys works on an essay with an English 11 Honors student.
The first day of school in August requires months of planning for teachers
June 1, 2025
Hector and I pose with our first target after eliminating her in San Francisco.
Senior Mag 2025: We were eliminated in Senior Assassin — but that only made the game more fun
May 29, 2025
Seniors Annette Li and Kayla Nguyen anchor on an SHSTV broadcast.
Senior Mag ‘25: Duo evolves from GNNers to SHSTV head producers
May 27, 2025
(left to right) Audrey Wong, Summer Shen, Hannah Bui and Angela Tan prepare for a football game.
Senior Mag 2025: From Europe to the Bay, Flute seniors bonded over marching band
June 1, 2025
Courtesy of Annette Li We pose after our victory against Fremont High on April 30.
Senior Mag 2025: The chemistry and chaos of a 4-year badminton partnership
June 1, 2025
Junior Garrick Chau faces off sophomore William Dechlick and mental health therapist Victor Thompson in the Falcon Nest.
Foosball club brings in a professional to coach members skills
May 31, 2025
Many physical therapies consist of stretching and light exercises.
Student athletes navigate a long rehabilitation process after injuries
May 31, 2025
Courtesy of Lauren Nguyen Smiling proudly, the team stands together and celebrates their awards.
Dance team reflects on Nationals and what’s next
May 28, 2025
A wide variety of euphemisms impact perception in different ways.
Words that need to be heard: euphemisms are dangerous tools for desensitization
June 1, 2025
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Universities have no right to revoke diplomas for political speech
May 30, 2025
Courtesy of Charles Edward Miller People protesting against unlawful deportations.
Universities need to take action to prevent students from being deported by ICE
May 30, 2025
11th grade classes are full of interesting material.
100-word rant: teachers, five tests in two days is just cruel
May 29, 2025
Campaigning on popular social media apps such as Instagram shouldn’t be the norm.
For school leadership elections, candidates can rely too much on social media advertising
May 28, 2025
General Psychology teacher Hana Chen.
General Psychology class explores the field through projects
June 15, 2025
Courtesy of Nathan Shows The view from the dinner cruise on the Vltava.
The last class to remember being stranded in Prague, 2022
June 4, 2025
Courtesy of Rani Khanna Rani and Krishen in their childhood.
The Khanna twins: more like regular siblings than twins
June 4, 2025
Courtesy of Saratoga High School Grace Liu and Luke Zhang are the valedictorian and salutatorian of the senior class respectively.
Class of 2025 valedictorian and salutatorian announced
June 3, 2025
Courtesy of NBC Bay Area Saratoga High’s field shot from above.
Senior Mag: How anti-turf advocacy became my turf
June 3, 2025
Volume 58, Issue 5
Volume 58, Issue 5
July 10, 2025
Volume 59, Issue 2
Volume 59, Issue 2
July 10, 2025
Volume 59, Issue 1
Volume 59, Issue 1
July 10, 2025
Volume 58, Issue 10
Volume 58, Issue 10
July 10, 2025
Volume 58, Issue 11
Volume 58, Issue 11
July 10, 2025

The Saratoga Falcon

The Saratoga Falcon
All content by Tara Natarajan
The five contestants (left to right) — Derek Liang, Anika Kapasi, Beverly Xu, Kathy Wang and Tara Natarjan — line up behind their boards.

The Charcuterie Board Beatdown: which reporter will make the breaking board?

Anika Kapasi, Derek Liang, Tara Natarajan, Kathy Wang, and Beverly Xu
My Common App essay after two months of fruitful progress.

Top 10: places where I’ve worked on my college application essays (and why you shouldn’t)

Tara Natarajan
Charlie Brown is an unexpected Christmas comfort character

‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ spotlights struggles of those who just don’t mesh with the holiday

Tara Natarajan
Gym bro culture normalizes disordered eating under the guise of self-improvement

Gym bro culture normalizes disordered eating under the guise of self-improvement

Tara Natarajan

Mountain View episode underscores need for independent student journalism

Tara Natarajan and Kavya Patel
Am I really a Logician? Debriefing my personality test results 

Am I really a Logician? Debriefing my personality test results 

Tara Natarajan
A still from one of my childhood shows, “Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom.” Ben, an elf, and Holly, a fairy, hang out with their friend Gaston the ladybird.

A childhood without ‘Spongebob’ allowed me to experience truly great childhood TV

Tara Natarajan
Junior Sarah Lim marks her last putt at Baylands during the team's second match of the season on Aug. 30.

Photo or Graphic for: Early season update: Girls’ golf team banks on returning players 

Kathy Wang
Senior Lucas Dennis pitches a ball

Top senior athletes: Falcons shine in their respective sports

Victoria Lin, Tara Natarajan, and Aiden Ye
There are multiple pathways to college other than going straight after high school.

Photo or Graphic for: As colleges acceptance rates continue to decline, more students should turn to options other than 4-year universities

Neal Malhotra and Kavya Patel
Alumni players Rick Worman, Rich Orlando, Kevin Ruf, Steve Worman, Larry Worman, Kevin Tanner, Rob Orlando and Kyle Heinrich (left to right) pose with coach Benny Pierce (center) at the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl reunion game against Los Gatos on Nov. 26, 1992.

Colleagues, alumni reflect on longtime football coach’s Benny Pierce’s life and legacy

Tara Natarajan
One of my go-to workouts is Kirsten Ferguson’s popular ‘90s Walk series.

The Peloton app might be what you need to get fit

Tara Natarajan
With superscoring, students combine their best scores from each section of the SAT.

Superscoring exacerbates existing inequity in the SAT

Tara Natarajan
The leadership conference attendees pose in front of Aurora’s castle on the last day of the trip.

Leadership class travels to Anaheim and learns leadership the ‘Disney Way’

Allison Tan and Tara Natarajan
A typical BBL dress can be found on websites like PrettyLittleThing and Fashion Nova.

BBLs and beauty standards: the damaging effects of the trend cycle

Tara Natarajan
That’s a wrap for the movies of 2022.

2022 wrapup: my favorite movies of the year

Tara Natarajan
Twitter has long been toxic; why are we trying to protect it?

Twitter has long been toxic; why are we trying to protect it?

Tara Natarajan
The process of mixing the brownie batter. 

The best baking guide to making brownies from scratch (kind of)

Tara Natarajan and Kavya Patel
 Passing proposition includes the legalization of sports betting.

Photo or Graphic for: California’s propositions challenge voters with tough decisions over often obscure issues

Sarah Zhou and William Norwood
Biology teacher Anne Witkowski helps one of her students during tutorial.

Class of ‘15 alumna returns as intern to teach Biology

Derek Liang and Tara Natarajan
Nearly 50 seniors show up to the first day of Homecoming move-in.

Senior Homecoming participation increases

Allison Tan and Tara Natarajan
Duvvuri sets the ball for his teammate

Junior wins national volleyball title with his team in the 16U division

Tara Natarajan
Counselor Brad Ward leads a college application introductory presentation for seniors in the new College and Career Center on Aug. 25.

College and career counselor Brad Ward quickly settles into the school community

Tara Natarajan, Shreya Rallabandi, and Beverly Xu
Affirmative action cannot be abolished without drastic consequences

Affirmative action cannot be abolished without drastic consequences

Tara Natarajan
Seniors Sadaf Sobhani and Caroline Keogh strike a pose on the runway together.

Benefit organizers, model reflect on 2022 show

Tara Natarajan

Track: While losing meets, individuals set their own PRs

Tara Natarajan and Shaan Sridhar
Kyle Scola hits a jump off a ramp at the Northstar slopes while snowboarding.

A Tahoe life: Skier and snowboarder relish their time on the slopes

Tara Natarajan and Daniel Wu
Employees from Inspire Diagnostics wait for students at the school’s testing site

Students and staff grapple with COVID-19 infections

Sarah Thomas and Tara Natarajan
Senior Amoli Vanavadiya overtakes her competitor at a meet.

Cross-country captain reflects upon school educational experiences in India

Tara Natarajan

English teachers foster classroom community through various forms of gift exchanges

Tara Natarajan and Kavya Patel

Dutch transfer student experiences Saratoga education and school culture

Tara Natarajan
Caroline Keogh works with sandpaper letters in her Beijing Montessori elementary school

Senior reflects on education abroad compared to in Saratoga

Tara Natarajan
The ‘metaverse’ may be the internet’s next big thing, but it shouldn’t be Meta’s

The ‘metaverse’ may be the internet’s next big thing, but it shouldn’t be Meta’s

Tara Natarajan
‘Blue Banisters’: Lana Del Rey reminds us that she is still in charge of her narrative

‘Blue Banisters’: Lana Del Rey reminds us that she is still in charge of her narrative

Tara Natarajan
Five (actually good) covers of Christmas classics you should add to your 2021 winter playlist immediately

Five (actually good) covers of Christmas classics you should add to your 2021 winter playlist immediately

Tara Natarajan
The district aligned valedictorian and salutatorian GPA calculation.

District aligns GPA policies between both school sites

Tara Natarajan and Shaan Sridhar
Profane graffiti from the night of Oct. 31 scrawled across a wall at Los Gatos High School

Los Gatos community responds to vandalism incidents of spray-painted profanities and slurs

Sanjoli Gupta and Tara Natarajan
Multiethnic South Asian students recount their experiences with identity, culture and family

Multiethnic South Asian students recount their experiences with identity, culture and family

Tara Natarajan and Sarah Thomas
The Anarchists’ poster for Daveyland

MAP students dive headfirst into 19th century social and economical philosophy

Tara Natarajan and Sarah Thomas
Nicki Minaj’s vaccine-related tweets amount to a public health hazard

Nicki Minaj’s vaccine-related tweets amount to a public health hazard

Tara Natarajan
Principal’s assistant Pola-Michelle Alas to leave school for district office this month

Principal’s assistant Pola-Michelle Alas to leave school for district office this month

Tara Natarajan and Sanjoli Gupta
Halloween 2020

My first autumn in America

Tara Natarajan

New English 12 teacher splits time between SHS and LGHS

Apurva Chakravarthy and Tara Natarajan

As team rebuilds, senior golfer relishes having a more normal season

Avani Kongetira and Tara Natarajan
The singer’s supporters rally near the Los Angeles courthouse where her conservatorship case is being heard.

Conservatorships aren’t just a Britney issue — they’re a civil rights issue

Tara Natarajan
Screen Shot 2021-01-21 at 10

Weaving the fabric of pandemic communication

Tara Natarajan
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