Caitlyn Chen

Senior Caitlyn Chen recounts how her sister's allergy to the Christmas tree did not dim her family's spirit. 

Standing in front of a crowd of world-class industry professionals from companies such as Nokia and IBM last month in Helsinki, Finland, senior Stacey Chen and five other interns who had spent the summer at NASA Mountain View began pitching their original web application AgroSphere.

Junior shines as drum major.

Junior's grandmother recounts experience living through World War II and the Chinese Civil War.

When senior Zayne Khouja found out about his Engineering Design and Development class’s final project last semester, he immediately started brainstorming problems that affected the environment and everyday life. After communicating with some of his classmates and narrowing down his options, Khouja decided to join with seniors Kyle France, James Johnston and James Lorenz to tackle the problem of how the efficiency of solar panels decreases by around 30 percent when they are covered in dust and pollen.

Junior shares idea of hoping to start a student center. 

As current sophomores sat in the McAfee Center recently listening to the guidance course selection presentation, many were surprised that Dance Fitness, which this year qualified for PE credit, was now listed as an elective and would not fulfill the school’s physical education requirement.

Almost 200 students will participate in a show to help Special Olympics.

English teachers make more projecs designed toward theatre.

It all started when Sabrina sat next to Joy on the first day of third grade. They became best friends, and their families hit it off immediately. From before elementary school to now, a decade later, the Chen and Tang girls have shared many hilarious memories together.  

Senior Caitlyn Chen shares about her experience as a member and officer on the school dance team.

At Palo Alto High School, the Class of 2017 has the choice of submitting through Common Apps their weighted or unweighted GPAs. But it was brought to the school board’s attention that having weighted GPAs might increase stress levels, as APs and Honors grades are reported on a 5.0 scale.  

Members of the Women in Stem club visit the Google campus in Mountain View.

Alumni recall recent experience at popular show.

Students find that recreating simple Thanksgiving treats require more skill than expected.

Students begin to realize the impact of using common derrogatory words, through the teachings of English 11. 

Junior shares opinion on SAT score conversion between the old test and new one. 

Standing in the history wing, 2016 alumnus Farbod Moghadam held a bouquet of flowers in his hand, a few weeks before senior prom last spring. Former World Geography and World History teacher at Saratoga High Jim Chin stood right beside him, holding a poster that read “We met in Chin, so let’s go for the win.”

The Saratoga community is once again reminded of its loss in the documentary “Audrie and Daisy,” which was shown at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival in January and released on Netflix on Sept. 23.

Students and teachers share perspective on new school schedule. 

Senior on her experience at the Rhode Island School of Design

Advice on how to spend those early mornings

When I was in sixth grade, one of the yearbook staffers at Redwood Middle School asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. On first instinct, I replied, “I want to be on TV one day.”  

Caitlyn Chen writes about her experience on “Live! With Kelly and Michael.”

Bright red, white and blue lights flashed across the Ontario Convention Center on April 16 as thousands of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) members filed in for the annual California FBLA State Leadership Conference (SLC) awards ceremony.

It happens all the time. College students begin receiving offers for credit cards and begin going out to dinner every night, buying expensive clothes or taking trips with money they don't have.

The Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (WiSTEM) clubs of Lynbrook, Monta Vista and Saratoga hosted the third annual Bay Area Research Exposition (BARE). The event kicked off with a keynote speech by Arora.            

Right off Saratoga Avenue across the street from Valero gas station, a white, A-Frame sign reading “Today’s Pick” sits in front of a red tent. On a typical weekday, a few people gather under the shade, standing before an assortment of kettle corn, fresh avocados, tangelos (a mix between a tangerine and orange) and deliciously red strawberries.    

Filmmakers seek to answer questions about two high-profile cases involving bullying and sexual assault 

When Julia Vita began playing lacrosse four years ago, she did so because she didn’t have a spring sport and wanted to stay active. After being placed on the varsity team as a starter, she discovered her love for the sport and her fellow teammates. 

As the lunch bell rang on March 13 last year, students rushed out into the Quad, eagerly shoving each other aside to be the first ones to get their hands on an In-N-Out burger or a Chipotle burrito. This was the scene at last year’s Club Rush, an annual closed-campus event that allows clubs, commissions and class officers to fundraise by selling food during lunch.

After taking the American Mathematics Competition (AMC) 10/12, 33 students qualified to take American Mathematics Invitational Examination (AIME) on March 3, a 15-question, 3-hour test.

The students crowded outside of Archbishop Mitty High School on March 4 had nervous looks on their face, unsure of what to expect from the most important test of their high school career. Among the anxious group of high schoolers was junior Nimisha Devanagondi.

In response to parent and student interest, sophomores will be able to take a regular physics class next year, according to assistant principal Brian Safine. 

Sophomore Isabelle Taylor juggles soccer and skiing.

In just two hours, 28,080 meals were packaged in the school’s third annual food packaging event, Stop Hunger Now, held on Feb. 27.  

As the lunch bell rings, upperclassmen rush out to the parking lot, eager to grab food before their next class. One of them, senior Michael Guo, scrambles into his car and pulls up the Timely app on his phone. He types in “fast” and selects “40 minutes. In a few seconds, he is on the way to La Cueva Mexican Grill, four miles away and a nine minute drive from school.

Sophomore Shania Jafri, a dedicated Muslim Pakistani-American, who has grown up in Saratoga, said that she has been greatly affected by these  and other world events.  

Sophomore Althea Zhao recounts her battle with anorexia and journey to recovering. 

The leadership class invited four students, sophomores Althea Zhao and Camilla Taysi, junior Saya Sivaram and senior Abhay Aanabathula, to speak.

After much deliberation over the difference between the school’s GPA scale compared to those of other nearby schools, the administration foresees a possible change in the grading system for the Class of 2020.

"Just then, my ex-boyfriend Jeremy walked in," narrated ComedySportz member junior Raymónd McCarthy. McCarthy’s teammate, freshman Adina Bidel, stepped into the scene with masculine strides. 

As last semester drew near to its end, students began to focus on studying for finals as dance commissioner started planning decorations for their biggest event of the semester, Winter Formal. 

“Hold it! Hold it! Find comfort within your discomfort!” yelled Blogilates instructor Cassey Ho, her voice echoing from the computer screen.

When Blogilates instructor CasseycHo announced her #30daywaisttrainer challenge for January, I decided to take it and make my New Year’s Resolution to do at least one Blogilates workout a day, with the hope of dropping the five pounds I had gained over the holidays.  

About 100 students got relevant advice from three media and technology professionals during a MAP speaker series event held in the McAfee Center on Nov. 5.

How these school spirit events have changed over time

Sophomore Jaime An finds her home at Saratoga.

As the semester nears an end, junior class officers are preparing for the annual Saratoga Idol singing contest to be held on Dec. 4 from 7-10 p.m.

Sophomore Chengzi Guo continues with passion in horseback riding.

Rushing into first period at 12:10 p.m., students scrambled to take out all their materials for the first class of the day. But only 22 minutes later, they found themselves packing up for second period. 

Recently, the school made changes to help students create better relations with guidance counselors and administrators. With the new arrangement, students are paired with an administrator in addition to their guidance counselor, meaning students have one more personal contact than in the past. Now that students have two outlets to seek help from, it should be easier to create deeper connections with the office staff.  

In an article published in a Chinese media outlet and later, an American website, alumnus Sameul Liu wrote that “the culture [at Saratoga High] had split soundlessly into two separate circles, each involved in its own activities and contemptuous of the other.”

Senior Isha Mangal reflects on her music and the experiences and happiness it has brought her.

To help Syrian children in need of humanitarian aid, sophomore Shania Jafri held a fundraiser on Sept. 23 selling root beer floats at the school to help Syrian refugees.

When sophomore Sida Ren moved back to Saratoga this summer, he realized that he had forgotten almost all the English he learned in eighth grade. A language barrier makes doing school work difficult.  

This summer, I spent seven weeks at Make School Summer Academy in Sunnyvale, where students learn how to design, code and ship their own original iOS app. With the help of the instructors at Make School, I programmed an app called GeoRecipe that allows users to explore recipes on a map, specifically placed on the location where the food originated from.

A couple of SHS students went to Outside Lands, an outdoor music festival that includes more than 60 musical acts from around the world performing for roughly 50,000 people in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. This year’s lineup included popular artists and bands such as Sam Smith, Kendrick Lamar and Mumford and Sons.

A Falcon reporter interviewed three Saratoga alumni to look back on different moments in their senior years.

Sophomore Ishana Narayanan and her traveling dance troupe from the Max Dance Company arrived in downtown Stockton on June 28 to participate as backup dancers in the Bollywood film “Warrior Savitri,” which will premiere in India in October.

Each student has been paired with an administrator in addition to a guidance counselor this year to connect more with students. The administrator will handle all issues related to student support, including discipline, activities and academic advice.

Sophomore Andrew Zheng participated in a program organized by the Wisdom Culture and Education Organization, which organizes a Chinese school, annual summer camps and volunteer opportunities for students.