Nandini Ruparel

The bell rings, and students pour out of the classrooms, heading for their next class. In the hallway, they pass by several rooms that are vaguely recognizable, but which they have no knowledge about.

Toxic mud slid down into Hungary, invading three villages and killing nine people. Sounds like a nightmare that Prime Minister Viktor Obran might have had after eating too much spicy food before bed.

The school board is on its way to deciding whether the school should have finals before or after winter break for the school year of 2011-2012, according to school officials.

For most educated Americans, the mere mention of the Lincoln Memorial and the date Aug. 28 brings back memories of Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963, one in which he rallied for the civil rights movement and brought hope to many disheartened African-Americans. The significance of the two together is rarely lost on anyone. Except for Glenn Beck, apparently.

Finally, AP Tests are over! The relief and freedom of the students is overwhelmingly obvious in their actions and expressions afterwards. However, the classes are not over yet, and those classes still require that students participate and be active in learning—because, while AP tests may be completed, the school year is certainly not.

Who has never had a bad day? Put your hand up. No, put your hands down and don't lie. Everyone has had one of those days where everything seems to go wrong, the world has turned upside down and there's no end in sight. When that happens, all you can do is hope you can go home so that you can curl up into a little ball and cry yourself to sleep.

Do you harbor the desire to record your band's music in a legitimate studio? Or maybe you have an idea for a Saratoga High sitcom? If you have an interest in performing arts and would maybe like access to some technology that would bring your art to all of Saratoga High then, next year, the new Multimedia Arts Building is exactly where you should head.

Dear California State Budget Committee , Recently, I have been listening to the radio and reading the newspaper frequently. As a high schooler, I have started to realize that the budget crisis is on its way to affecting me personally. I know there are plans to cut health care, education funding and infrastructure spending. What really shocked me, however, was when I read that there are plans to cut library funds and close down public libraries across the state. I may be just a teenager, but I know that this would be a really terrible decision to make.

On March 26, the most amazing thing happened to me—I went to a John Mayer concert.

Stepping out of our car and onto the front steps of Foothill Elementary School overwhelmed us with a rush of nostalgia. The easy, carefree memories of being a child, now long gone, still permeated from the neatly trimmed lawns and welcoming classrooms of an elementary school. As we walked through a corridor toward the office, we couldn't help but wish to be become kids again. The peeling handball courts, which were new when we were there, are now being used by kids half our height, and the tether ball poles are barely in use anymore. These small things brought back so many good times.

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?

Starting with "Angels and Demons" and going on to pen the best-selling "Da Vinci Code", author Dan Brown has made a name for himself writing smart thrillers involving fictional college professor Robert Langdon. Brown a lot of hopes riding on his latest installment in the Langdon series, "The Lost Symbol", which came out last September.

The recent release of the multi-billion dollar movie "Avatar" has become the highest grossing movie of all time but it has also sparked controversy from varied interest groups around the globe. The blue men with golden stripes. The lush, beautiful, and green environment. It seems like the Na'vi's world in the movie is a paradise to be envied—especially since here on Earth, the innocent world is under fire for about every controversy there could be about a movie.

I have always skeptical of the new e-book fad. I thought that e-books were a sort of blasphemy. As a book lover, I couldn't imagine reading a book on an electronic device—I had never seen electronics that way. Recently, though, I had the chance to try one of these devices and, surprisingly, I like it. Here's what happened: My parents have become annoyed at my habit of taking way too many hardcover books on long trips and nearly breaking my back. So they suggested the Kindle.

I have always skeptical of the new e-book fad. I thought that e-books were a sort of blasphemy. As a book lover, I couldn't imagine reading a book on an electronic device—I had never seen electronics that way. Recently, though, I had the chance to try one of these devices and, surprisingly, I like it. Here's what happened: My parents have become annoyed at my habit of taking way too many hardcover books on long trips and nearly breaking my back. So they suggested the Kindle.

Lack of communication and publicity about on-campus events? Perhaps not anymore. YouTube will soon play a role in raising awareness by informing about school events. The Leadership class, aided by members of the new Multimedia Journalism class (MMJ), is creating a YouTube channel that will provide updates about dances, fundraisers and other happenings on campus. The YouTube channel will consist of a series of newscasts

Why does spy-themed entertainment hold such a great attraction for people? There are so many books, movies and shows about espionage that it is surprising that that genre still makes money. Thing is, they probably get most of their market from me.

How many times do you wish for a different type of learning in your class? Many students absolutely despise simulations, while others are enthusiastic and dress up for them like it's Halloween. Similarly, while diagrams may help one student learn, lectures appeal to another. Teachers often try to account for these learning styles in their lessons. And, contrary to popular belief, many teachers were students once themselves and reflect their own distinctive learning styles through the way they teach. English department head Jason Friend is one such teacher.

Having to do school service for a semester or two to fill in schedule gaps may not seem like a big issue, but students, particularly the juniors and seniors who are mostly able to drive, wonder why they aren't allowed off campus instead.

After an injury derailed her junior season, senior Kiersten Dolbec returned to CCS to reclaim the championship trophy she won sophomore year. She jumped 5’6” and placed first in CCS for high jump. She will be going to the State Championships from June today and tomorrow in Clovis along with freshman Ailene Nguyen. The team as a whole placed fifth.

If, by chance, you come to school one morning and your orange shirt doesn’t match your green sweatshirt, you immediately become the talk of the school. If your jeans look exactly like the ones that your friends have on except that they’re lacking that infamous moose on the corner, you may just be shunned for the rest of the day.

When junior Madeline Rothenberg arrived at the Los Gatos and Saratoga High School Art Show on May 17 with her mom, she was surprised by the congratulations people gave her. She had arrived a little bit late and had missed the awards ceremony. Soon enough, however, she found out that she had won first place in the ceramics division of the art show. “I was really surprised, because I didn’t even know that I was a competitor,” Rothenberg said. She won the award for a blue and rainbow-colored sculpture.

When President Barack Obama went to Europe this year, he did so with a mission: to reconcile America and the European countries that have often been at odds in recent years. He said, “There have been times when America has shown arrogance and been dismissive…”. This, coupled with bowing to the Saudi Arabian king, has made it seem our president has set himself up for criticism from the country by looking weak in front of our allies. However, Obama is doing the right thing. George W. Bush strained in Europe, as a result of his foreign policy. The U.S. is viewed as a bully, and that impression can be damaging.

Relay runners? Check. High and triple jumpers? Check. Hurdlers? Check. Throwers? Although many people don’t know it, check. Oftentimes, the throwers on the girls’ track team get overlooked because there is only one of them this year—junior Baylee Yates. As the only thrower for the girls, the burden of competition falls solely on her shoulders.

Sophomore Taara Rangan came to school early one Wednesday morning recently. It was a cold morning, and she knew that English teacher Cathy Head often keeps her room open before school. Opening the door to the room, she saw about a dozen teachers sitting in a circle, all staring at her. Mumbling her apology, she quickly withdrew from the room. This teacher meeting was no accident. Every Wednesday morning, when the students get to come late to school, teachers attend a staff-collaboration, where they exchange ideas and work on making the school and classes better.

The tutorial bell often signifies the mark of “freedom” from the classroom. While many students use the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday sessions to talk to teachers and finish up homework, others use it like a second lunch period, with all the usual lunchtime privileges—the most important being the right to go off campus. However, the administration has emphasized that this is a false privilege. Students are actually not allowed to go off campus during any time other than lunch. Although this rule may aggravate many students, the reason for this is that tutorial time is reserved teaching time for students. If students go off campus at tutorial; they don’t get the number of learning hours that the school is required to provide.

It began as a normal conversation between two students in the Au Bon Pain café at Virginia Tech University. One moment, witnesses only saw a casual meeting between two friends; the next, one student was holding onto the other’s decapitated, blood-dripping head in one hand, and gripping a kitchen knife if the other. Even the police who quickly arrived and arrested the murderer were horrified by the scene. Another murder incident struck Virginia Tech on Jan. 21, nearly two years after the mass shooting on campus that left 30 people dead and another 30 wounded. Although fewer people died in this latest incident, the horror is that another life was ended on the now infamous campus. This incident shows that despite the improvements in counseling and security for students attending the school, more efforts must be made to prevent violence from occurring here and at other campuses.

The engine is running, and my clammy hands grip the wheel as I slowly press the accelerator. My mom, who’s sitting next to me, gives a small yell of fright as I swerve out of the way of a tree on the side of the road. Suddenly, there’s a crash, and when we get out of the car, the whole front is smashed through—the tree, however is completely unharmed. I have officially destroyed the family SUV. This is how I have always imagined my first time behind the wheel. I’ve always been scared of the whole concept of driving. It isn’t that I’ve been in any major accidents or have any other serious reasons to fear getting behind the wheel, but it’s more that I think that I will crash. This makes me feel even more pressure while driving, or doing something similar to it.

Sometimes, due to blocked traffic on Highway 17 or other unforeseen circumstances, teachers are tardy to their own classes. While some students may bolt for the door immediately, others sit in apprehension—watching the clock and waiting, hoping and even praying for the minute hand to reach 15 minutes past the start of class: the magical moment when it’s OK for the class to leave without it being considered a cut. Right?

The oral interpretation class held a “Scary Story” event on Oct. 24 and Oct. 25 to showcase the work they had been doing in the class. The event, which was about an hour long, consisted of students reading and enacting scary literature in front of an audience of students and parents in the Little Theater.

The smell of popcorn permeated the room, and candy wrappers lay forgotten on the desks as 55 students watched eagerly as Iron Man flew across the screen in English teacher Erick Rector’s room. On Oct. 16, the LINK Crew held an “Afternoon at the Movies” for freshmen in Rector’s and Health teacher Amy Obenour’s rooms.

I was shocked. Hurt beyond belief. Paralyzed, in front of the news article that said that it was delayed. I had just found out that premier of the 6th Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince) had been pushed back eight months. I wanted to yell at people, but I tried to use meditation to calm down. After that completely failed, I went downstairs and used a bowl of chocolate ice cream to relax myself. Whether heartbreak is caused by movie producers or ex-boyfriends, Ben and Jerry are always there to help.