Christine Tseng

Students and teachers will be branching out in the next few weeks as they explore new subjects and other parts of the world. As one example, junior Daryl Chang will be taking part in a prestigious internship at Stony Brook University in Long Island called Garcia MRSEC.

Michael Chen was at the top of his game in high school—salutatorian, president of the Key Club and editor-in-chief for the school newspaper—just to name a few of his impressive positions. He continued this remarkable streak by getting accepted to Harvard University. Acceptance into Harvard University is a goal that many top students aspire to. Not only is it hard to be accepted, but the classes there are difficult as well, even for the supremely gifted. However, Chen finds that life at college is not as daunting as he had feared.

Shortly before the Holy Week of Easter, the Catholic church was hit with a devastating and familiar scandal. A massive cover-up of pedophilia and sexual abuse committed by priests and high-ranking members of the church was brought to light. With over 300 cases just in Germany, the victims have reported everything from molestation to repeated abuses, including beatings and rape. These offenses have left an unknown number of children traumatized by the very people who were supposed to guide them.

Ask physics teacher Kirk Davis about his work before becoming a teacher and he says he had worked as a trash collector for 20 years. ... After a long moment of silence, he laughs. "No, I worked as an engineer for three years, and I worked on energy and environmental things," said Davis.

In elementary school, teachers always try to give equal awards to all the kids in order to prevent jealousy among the students. Based on Russian skater Eveginy Plushenko's reaction to American gold medalist Evan Lysacek's victory at the Vancouver Olympics, you'd think he had never learned to be a gracious loser. To quad or not to quad?

Recently, Prop 8 has once again been cast in the limelight. With all the controversy surrounding its passing, it is hardly surprising that the proposition is under debate again. However, what is different this time is that lawyers Theodore Olson and David Boies have joined the fight to overturn the decision. But even their legal might isn't enough to make their case right, or for that matter, necessary.

Christina Wu sits down at her Yamaha C-5 grand piano at home, turning the metronome to a fast pace of 176 beats per minute. A second passes, then a burst of sound as Wu starts her daily warmup: several scales of 16th notes, going up a fifth each time until she reaches the top, then coming back down. Wu, a junior, has been studying piano ever since she was six after discovering a liking and skill for the instrument. "I've always been very intrigued by piano," said Wu. "I had a natural talent for it."

In today's society, simply wanting to be an entertainer is not enough; aside from being talented, getting noticed takes a lot of effort too. One such persevering entertainer is Saratoga High alumni and singer Vienna Teng, the stage name for 1996 graduate Cynthia Shih. She sings from four main genres: folk, pop, indie folk and chamber pop. Since her debut in 2002 she has produced four albums, including "Waking Hour" and "Warm Strangers", which once reached No. 2 on Amazon.com's bestseller list. Teng told The Falcon that she found her passion in music early on.

Saratoga has always had a particularly dull downtown, with sidewalks empty except for the odd couple or elementary school kid. Most shops are lucky to have a customer grace their establishment, even if they only stop by to have a look. The local Starbucks has revived the ailing spirit of the town, yet it still continues to repel the young and old alike with its crumbly scene . The decline in the economy has only hurt the area more. Since leases are so expensive downtown, many business have struggled to stay afloat.

Henry Barmeier, a senior at Princeton University and 2006 SHS alumnus, was recently named one of the 32 Rhodes Scholars in the U.S. for this year. Barmeier becomes the fourth Saratoga High graduate to be honored as a Rhodes Scholar, joining the ranks of former honorees Ankur Luther (Class of '99), who went to UC Berkeley, Betsy Masiello (Class of '99), who went to Wellesley and Chelsea Purvis, (Class of '01) who is currently attending Yale Law School.

When students do poorly in school or just feel less energetic than normal, they usually attribute it to homework, family or outside activities. However, these problems might not always be the cause. In fact, it could just be a case of bad Feng Shui. Feng Shui, an ancient Chinese practice, is designed to improve one’s life by receiving positive energy. It directly translates to "water-wind" in Chinese and can be used to improve overall health, luck and finances.

California’s 2010 elections for political office have once again produced some interesting candidates to consider. This time, besides lawyers and mayors, there have been CEOs moving toward the ticket, namely, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman for governor and former HP CEO Carly Fiorina for senator.

Some use the phrase "only when pigs begin to fly" as an expression to describe the impossible. In California, though, it's not the pigs that are flying, it's the flu. Must any more be said? Swine flu: one of the most pressing issues today. The recent outbreak has hit hundreds of cities across the United States, and there have already been 219 deaths reported just in California from this disease.

Head bobbing up and down, world history teacher Mike Davey sings along to his favorite songs while working during tutorial. The posters on the wall, which sport The Beatles, Lord of the Rings and prominent figures such as Audrey Hepburn and the soft, patterned beige sofa in the corner make Davey's classroom a comfortable place for students to relax and do work, though that is not the only interesting aspect of Davey's teaching style.

Unlike most students, for whom the transition to Saratoga was already decided without a doubt , freshman Eveline Ju remembers the time when she had to choose between high schools. “Basically, I was accepted into Harker, but that’s really expensive,” said Ju. “ I also applied to Saint Francis, but it was one of the Catholic schools [where] you waste an entire period on religion, so I don’t think I would’ve really gone there anyway.” Although most freshmen come from nearby Redwood Middle School, some came from private schools. While convenience plays an influence on the decision, the cost of private schools in the current economy (which often runs as high as $33,927) is convincing an increasing number to enroll in their local public schools. The student population is projected to be 1,391 next year, an increase of 22 students from this year, according to the district.

Sitting alone at the library computers, Mark Hernandez is one of the few people in the vast space during fourth period. As he checks his mail, he smiles and continues to read. His golf cart, parked outside, is one of the many things that identify him as the new campus supervisor.

A former student goes back to visit his school, bringing along 10 pipe bombs, a chain saw and a sword. It sounds like a scene out of a horror movie, but that's exactly what happened at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo last month. In the end, it took several teachers to tackle him and bring him under control.