Jackie Gu

On Oct. 2, district leaders held a board meeting at which students, parents, and teachers expressed their outrage at the policy change that would make P.E. mandatory for all incoming freshmen next year, regardless of whether they already participate in athletics, marching band or Color Guard. Though athletes and band members are currently exempted from P.E. freshman year during their sport season, the new policy seems destined to change this.

Listen, I don’t want to judge you for what you did.

Walking into a Friday math club meeting, you would expect to see a group of dedicated students working diligently on problems or listening to a student-run lecture. Instead, you might be surprised to find yourself in front of a horde of squirrelly middle schoolers, working alongside the high school members on problems of equal difficulty.

When a 6-year-old Matthew Lee first witnessed his older brother’s middle school math team winning a national competition, his immediate reaction was a desire to achieve the same—yet not out of passion for the subject. He simply wanted to win the complementary laptop.

Despite finishing the season strong with a record of 10-2 in league and 21-5 overall, the boys’ water polo team fell one win short of qualifying for CCS.

Junior Michael Cheung and four friends from marching band were surprised to find themselves called to the office during fifth-period band on Nov. 7. They soon discovered that their involvement in an on-campus game called Assassin was the cause.

The boys’ water polo team won two major victories last week, starting with an 8-6 win over Wilcox High Oct. 18. In addition, the boys’ water polo team won 16-13 at home over its undefeated rival Lynbrook on Oct. 20.

A stranger walking into science teacher Bob Kucer’s classroom, room 1012, would probably be overwhelmed by the sprawling mass of colorful butterflies covering the walls and ceiling. Perhaps mixed in with the intimidation, however, is a dash of intrigue—what’s the story behind the butterflies? Why are there so many and how long did it take him to amass such a number?

Scoring a goal is one of the most rewarding feelings for any athlete. Sophomore Steven Cho experiences that exhilaration more than eight times every game.

The rhythm of competitive math has become long familiar to experienced members of the math club, and one common theme runs along each contest—they are almost all male-dominated.

On a given Tuesday night, senior Parthiv Mohan has piles of work to complete that his intensive classes demand. Instead of working on an AP Physics laboratory or reading dense philosophical text for AP Lang, however, he’s more likely to be found at his music teacher’s studio, practicing Carnatic music.

Though sophomores took to the quad steps at lunch on Sept. 28 for their annual Homecoming quad day, they were disqualified soon after their lunchtime performance for using inappropriate jokes that targeted individuals, according to administrators.

Though sophomores took to the quad steps at lunch on Sept. 28 for their annual Homecoming quad day, they were disqualified soon after their lunchtime performance for using inappropriate jokes that targeted individuals, according to administrators.

Though sophomores took to the quad steps at lunch on Sept. 28 for their annual Homecoming quad day, they were disqualified soon after their lunchtime performance for using inappropriate jokes that targeted individuals, according to administrators.

The boys’ water polo team suffered its first loss of the season in a close 11-10 game against Wilcox on Sept. 22.

The boys’ water polo team kicked off its season with a 4-game winning streak in the Watsonville Varsity Tournament on Sept. 9. The Falcons defeated Gilroy 17-6 in the first round, then won over Harbor 16-6 and Christopher 13-5. In the final round, the Falcons faced off against Harbor for a second time and won 11-6.

This is going to be free of spoilers, so if you haven’t read the series and have somehow managed the impossible task of steering clear of Potter spoilers for 14 years, feel free to continue reading. (But um, what are you doing with your life? Drop the APUSH! Burn the Bio! Potter is more important!)

Coach: Courtney Crase, entering first season as head coach for the boys’ team but has previously coached the girls’ team. 2010 Record: 11-4 (Overall record), 9-3 (League Record) 2010 Recap: After battling their way up to the league matches, the Falcons were unable to beat Wilcox in a key match that ended up spoiling their chances at leagues. The team finished third in their league last year. Star Player: Sophomore Steven Cho, Utility Key Departures: Goalie Gavin Peake and driver Tim Rollinson Key Additions: Junior driver Jim Speedy and sophomore driver Cameron Borch

It was a sad day for the math club last June when its three leading seniors, often called the “Three Musketeers,” graduated together in one fell swoop. Besides just helping the club to improve mathematically, alumni Albert Gu, David Zeng and Amol Aggarwal added irreplaceable character to the group with their one-of-a-kind camaraderie.

This is going to be free of spoilers, so if you haven’t read the series and have somehow managed the impossible task of steering clear of Potter spoilers for 14 years, feel free to continue reading. (But um, what are you doing with your life? Drop the APUSH! Burn the Bio! Potter is more important!)

A 7th-grade public school teacher in Oakland is preparing her students for impending STAR tests by drilling them with facts, dates and formulas. She gives them endless worksheets repeatedly reviewing the same concepts. Her schools is ranked one of the lowest in the state, and if her students score under the mark, they risk significant budget cuts.

This past spring, the school posted a notice for a full-time English teaching position. From the posting, more than 100 applications rolled.

As champions for the sixth consecutive year, the chess team had become accustomed to victory at last year’s CalChess Scholastic State championship. This year, however, they came in second to Mission San Jose despite strong individual standings among the four team members.

As champions for the sixth consecutive year, the chess team had become accustomed to victory at last year’s CalChess Scholastic State championship. This year, however, they came in second to Mission San Jose despite strong individual standings among the four team members.

Initially rooted mostly in football, the simmering rivalry between the Saratoga and Los Gatos has evolved significantly in the past quarter century. As demographics of both schools transformed, the rivalry did too—now, the disparity in academics is another source of opposition.

It’s a bird! No, it’s a plane. No, wait, it’s a flying rodent festering with disease and liquid feces. Oh wait. That’s a bird.

Name? David Wang. School? Saratoga High. Why do you want to spend your time at SIMR?

Before I walked into the kitchen of Chez TJ, I wasn’t quite sure what I was expecting to see. Angry-looking chefs aggressively wielding culinary weapons, like in “Iron Chef”? Perhaps high-strung chefs dropping pots right and left, as in “Food Network Challenge”?

When the class of 2011 walks down the field in their caps and gowns during the graduation ceremony on June 16, the red and gold cords that have typically adorned students’ necklines indicating achievements in community service and academic honors will be missing.

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel,” proclaimed junior Brandon Pierce, clad in billowing printed robes in front of the room.

In an era when the Internet has become an increasingly prominent part of society, the usage of online resources has grown significantly. Need help on math? Try Wolfram Alpha, an answer engine that can assist with anything from elementary arithmetic problems to calculus. How about literature? Check out Sparknotes, the online Bible for students who haven’t completed (or, in many cases, even started) their assigned reading. And there’s always Google, the most useful for information about anything and everything.

The age-old debate between pirates and ninjas has been analyzed and nit-picked to pieces. The time has come to find better, even more trivial, subjects to argue about. Which side of these popular topics would you be on?

Jackie’s Part: On my 11th birthday, the Hogwarts-embossed envelope I’d been expecting was missing from my mailbox. My chimney was free of owls, and sadly, no hairy half-giants broke down my door to inform me that I was a witch. I was heartbroken then, but I haven’t lost hope yet. I’m still waiting for the day the Ministry of Magic sends me an owl apologizing for the terrible mistake they made four years ago for not recognizing that I was clearly destined for the wizarding world.

A few months ago, I was talking to a friend about pop culture when she brought up the subject of animated movies. "Oh," I said rather dumbly. "I've never seen a Disney movie before."

Would you like to be seen as an overly emotional sop who wears his heart quite literally on his sleeve? Here are some loose guidelines to help. Express a burning hatred of "Twilight" and all other modern romanticized vampire fiction, because you think its fans are weak-hearted sissies who can't stand real blood. At least that's one thing you have in common with the rest of the world. Other things you should claim hatred of include daylight, happiness and innocent baby animals.

On a Thursday afternoon, school technician Spencer Sands retreats to his garden after a hard day at work and surveys the blooming patch of land behind the art building. He decides to plant a new row of tomatoes, enjoying the feel of raw earth between his fingers and unfiltered sunlight on his face. His better-known image as school technology guru contrasts sharply with this one, but trading computer motherboards for squash was easy to do with the newly formed Garden Club.

Are you sick of your hopelessly mundane lifestyle? Will you go insane if you hear another song on the radio by a whiny country girl with lyrics seemingly written by a prepubescent teenybopper trying her hand at bad love poetry? Follow the advice of this article, and soon you will be free of your life dictated by mainstream constrictions! With their lives steeped in bohemian culture, iPods stored full of obscure indie bands and hole-ridden clothing from the '60s, hipsters pride themselves on their estrangement from mainstream media. Care to join in on the mainstream-bashing fun? Hipsterdom awaits you!

The transition from middle school to high school is not always a smooth one. Incoming freshmen can often be overwhelmed by the sudden shift in schedules, teachers, policies and general environment; the class of 2014 is no exception. The Falcon took questions from freshmen and turned them to experience upperclassmen for answers. Question: “What does ASB stand for? What do they do, anyway?” - freshman Michael Zheng Answer:

"The world's oldest profession." This ancient saying stirs up a lot of historical dispute, but the euphemism for prostitution is not without ground. Stretching through almost all recorded history, prostitution has thrived as one of the most rampant practices to infect human civilization, both ancient and modern.