Gwynevere Hunger

Most students never get the opportunity to have their work recognized beyond the classroom, but senior Katherine Liu is not most students.

The School Site Council recently approved and helped pay for the addition of six new murals in the Large Gym: two large murals on each side with the school’s slogan and four small murals above the bleachers. The large murals read, “It’s great to be a Falcon,” and each small mural has the name of the grade that sits in that bleacher section during rallies.

For many seniors, second semester is  a time of pure bliss. Free time abounds, pressure dissolves and college applications are a distant memory. However, some seniors continue to make a productive use of their time by seeking outside opportunities  before heading off to college in the  fall.  

As the announcement for awards started, the dance team huddled up and held hands in anticipation. A few moments later, the team’s 11 members were jumping and shouting:  They had just learned they had won first place in Medium Hip-Hop Division at the USA (United Spirit Association) Regional Competition at Bella Vista High School on Feb 6.  

Mock trial team prepares for upcoming matches and reflects on past matches.

Meera Rachamallu is well-known by her peers to be addicted to the popular reality show “Keeping up with the Kardashians.” The Falcon had questions for the senior who has watched 110 episodes of KUWTK.  

Audience members left full of holiday spirit after attending the winter concerts put on by the music department on Dec. 1 and Dec. 3.  

Four hundred and seventy-five students enjoyed an evening at the Children’s Discovery Museum on Dec. 5 during this year’s Winter Formal, themed “Frozen in Time,” which lasted from 8-11 p.m.  

With regular head coach Brad Frederickson out for family reasons, the girls’ volleyball team will be coached by Steve Chiou, father of senior setter Nicole Chiou, for the rest of the season.

Homecoming week brought together classes and showed school unity.

With Homecoming week encouraging school spirit for all students, the dance and cheer teams have worked hard to serve as spirit leaders.  

According to SHS graduates,  all-female schools serve as important stepping stones for the gender equality movement.

At age 11, Arul Venkatesh sat in front of the television set, his eyes glued to the Formula One competitors speeding around the track in polished go-karts, blurring past the world beyond them and obeying only the drop of the checkered flag. From that point, Venkatesh was inspired to  become a professional kart racer, and he soon found a place to practice: Sonoma Raceway, 34 miles north of San Francisco.

At the first rally on Sept. 11, the cheer and dance teams officially kicked off their 2015-16 season with their appearance.

A white paper lined with gold leaves and two black cameras peeked out of the envelope as senior Marcus Emery ripped open the package that he had just received in the mail the middle of summer vacation. A wide grin spread on his face as he read the letter enclosed; his film, “Dooble—The Short Winged Quail,” had been nominated as a finalist in the animation category of the All-American Film Festival, to which he had submitted his application a month earlier. 

The first of three year-end music concerts opened with a performance by the Concert and Chamber Choirs in the McAfee Theater on the evening of May 8 and continued in succession from there.

The girls’ lacrosse team ended its season with a 16-10 first-round loss to top-ranked Palo Alto in Santa Clara Valley Athletic (SCVAL) playoffs on May 13. The Falcons’ final season record was 6-7.  

Junior Kanaai Shah started refereeing soccer games in 2013 after completing an AYSO referee class with a couple of his friends. He recalls how his soccer career a number of years ago in AYSO motivated him to apply for the job.  

Sophomore Gaya Chatterjee, then a freshman, settled into her seat in the McAfee Center, ready to see “Les Miserables.” Chatterjee watched intently as one of the characters, Fantine, sang her solo “I Dreamed a Dream.”

Winter percussion elevates its performance this year, reaching nationals.

After four months of planning by Music Education at Saratoga High (MESH) student leaders, the fourth annual Benefit Concert was held on March 13 in the McAfee Performing Arts Center.

With brand new coaches for the season, the girls’ lacrosse team has begun the league season with a 2-2 record. The lack of players due to extended winter sports forced many to miss practices in the beginning of the season, in turn affecting the team’s overall performance.

Reporters review Smashburger, a burger joint in the Westgate shopping plaza.

A special concert was held on March 6 in the McAfee Performing Arts Center to showcase the marching band’s skills for the upcoming Rose Bowl Parade in the fall. Attendees in included Rose Bowl council president Council Mike Matthiessen, his wife, members from the National Park Service and council members from the Rose Bowl Parade.

Reporter reviews the Villa Montalva hiking area in Saratoga.

Nowadays, pop has seemingly taken over the entire music industry, causing genres, such as rock, classical and jazz, to receive less recognition at music award shows.  

The girls' lacrosse team prepares for the upcoming season.

Rowing, though a sport low-profile around campus, plays a crucial role in a several students’ lives. Its most attractive qualities, according to these students, are its meditative effect and rewarding benefits, such as the proud feeling of pushing their physical and mental limits.

Those going to Winter Formal this weekend can expect to be in  a winter wonderland in a dance inspired by the popular Christmas song “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” The dance will occur in the Large Gym on Dec. 6 at 8 p.m.

Junior Jennifer Chen created her Youtube channel “This is the BAY”  as a means of experiencing and showcasing the Bay Area’s diverse population and features. One of Chen’s other goals is to break stereotypes associated with the West Coast through her videos, which she hopes to release once a month.

The girls’ water polo team finished third in the SCVAL League De Anza Division with a record of 7-5. After placing fourth in the League Tournament on Nov. 9, the team moved on to CCS as a No. 9 seed.

Saratoga’s marching band has been invited to march at the Rose Parade, an annual nationally televised festival of floats in Pasadena, on Jan. 1, 2016.

Starting in the spring of 2016, the SAT will include an optional essay, a shortened time of three hours and a score out of 1600. Because of these changes, some sophomores and even freshmen are scrambling to take the more predictable old SAT.

Emerging from last year’s 7-5 record, the girls’ water polo team is training hard so far this season. After losing star player Nikki de Roos to graduation, the Falcons are depending on the experienced seniors such as seniors Mackenzie Rosenthal and Madison Gress to lead them.

School dances have always been a symbol of school spirit, a time when all social groups come together, united under the pride of being a Falcon. And with more dances and more attendance comes more unity and school pride. However, during the beginning of this year, the administration decided to ban freaking, a sort of dancing that consists of two people grinding against each other, with both looking in one direction so that interaction is not face-to-face. The administration has not approved of this way of dancing for many years and finally required students to dance “face to face” in the beginning of the school year.

After joining the lower El Camino Division El Camino Division this spring, the track team gained more success than in recent years. The boys ended with a 5-1 record, and the girls were 2-4.

Glitter filled the room as rays of sunlight reflected brightly onto the multi-colored prom dresses, creating a mini-rainbow inside the room. All around, a buzz of excitement filled the air as students were greeted with non-alcoholic beverages in margarita glasses, each with their own tropical color and flavoring, to kick off the night many been looking forward to ever since their childhoods — prom.

Spring is finally here. As the end of the school year nears and the weather grows warmer, everyone is itching to rush outside, go to the beach and devour that perfect ice cream. But after a long day, the time comes when students are ready to relax. With many new TV shows airing this spring and summer, there is sure to be something for everyone.

“Optimistic.” It’s the first word that comes to coach Archie Ljepava’s mind when thinking toward the upcoming season of track.

In the new age of a technology-crazed world, social media’s importance is growing exponentially. Buzzfeed is promising itself a prominent spot on the social media battlefield scene. The site has now gone viral and has become a new addition to the mass  of social networking sites available on the Internet. 

Freshman Julia Vita has been playing sports for as long as she can remember. For the past three years, she has consistently played volleyball, but lately she got an unusual amount of exposure when her photo was featured in the Winter 2013-2014 “USA volleyball magazine.”

The thought behind the present matters more than the present itself.

As the second semester began, students and staff members were missing the smile of a prominent teacher on campus: Jim Yowell. 

Adjusting to high school life and standing out from the crowd  can be hard, but luckily for freshman Christopher Metz, his magic making skills set him apart from his classmates. He has created a buzz as others try to figure out his magic tricks.  On a daily basis, Metz mainly practices tricks with cards, only sometimes creating tricks with money, coins and pencils. 

Travel to Lexington Reservoir near Los Gatos on a typical afternoon, and you’ll see senior Izzy Zuccarino crouched down at the end of the boat, yelling out words of encouragement and directions to the rowers in front of her, as their oars cut through the water in one fluid motion.

For many students, the first few months of school can be rough, especially for seniors: Getting past the Nov. 1 early deadline for college applications can be the hardest part of the year.

When Instagram first came out three years ago, it was an innovative way to share photos; now it is a community in which 150 million users take part and share their lives.

Imagine how different life would be if you just picked up all your belongings, got into a U-Haul truck and moved to a different house. How would you feel? Now multiply that feeling by five because that truck is an airplane heading to a different country.

At halftime of the football game against Mountain View on the evening of  Oct. 4, seniors Ingrid Hong and Nikhil Goel, both section editors for The Falcon, were crowned Homecoming Queen and King. Their victory came as at least a mild surprise since it, as it challenged the tradition of enthroning mainly marching band members.

For most seniors the common application and school-specific supplements are their most hated enemies. However, in the music quad, some students have a whole different set of complaints. Applying to a music conservatory requires a completely different application process than applying to a regular college. 

Don’t be surprised at the sight of someone dressed as Miley Cyrus and her horrendous foam hand from the MTV Video Music Awards walking the halls this Halloween. 

Bright and early on a Sunday morning, we woke up with the excitement of overloading on sugar at Cafe LaTTea, which is located on Stevens Creek boulevard near Yogurtland. For the past couple months, social media sites such as Instagram and Facebook have been filled with pictures of the cafe’s mouth-watering desserts. 

What would you do for 234,178 likes? Would you trash your kitchen “trying to kill a bug”? Or how about for 501,769 likes? Would you run around the mall singing “I believe I can fly” while hitting strangers with swim noodles on your arms? Believe it or not, people do all of the above and more through a social media app, Vine.

More than 200 members of the band department gathered on the lower field at 9 a.m. on Aug. 6 to officially kick off band camp, spending a grueling two weeks of 12-hour days reviewing marching and music basics. From 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., band members learned their new field show for the upcoming competition season under the sweltering heat.