Paul Jung

The harmony of the Saratoga Strings, the school’s highest level orchestra, will soon be heard in cinemas nationwide.

On Dec. 28, guidance counselor Alinna Stake had her third child, a baby boy. She went on maternity leave a few weeks prior to the birth, and is expected to return in May.

After a strong season, the Falcons finished second in the El Camino League with a stellar league record of 11-3. Though players had their eyes set on CCS this year, this spot, reserved for only the first place team in the league, went to Lynbrook.  

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.

For freshmen Yu and Ai Asai, having a twin means having a best friend. When asked a series of questions about the preferences of her twin, Yu had no problem rattling off Ai’s favorite color, food and book. The two share a special bond, according to Yu.

This year, sophomores Miles Mackenzie and Kia Hosseinian were two new additions to the varsity water polo team, bringing plenty of experience in the pool. 

A couple of years ago, you may have heard me uttering something along these lines: “Justin Bieber sucks! He sings like a 10-year-old girl! What has our world come to?”  

In the wake of last year’s successful season, the Falcons hold high hopes for the upcoming season. They kicked off the season with a tournament at Lynbrook and Mountain View on Sept. 7-8, and the first league game was at Harker on Sept. 11.

As the Falcons reached the end of their season in May, each of the players left the team with a new hope in the team’s strength. This hope came from a winning streak that the team held the whole season, broken only by two losses.  

The Falcons came out of the 2011 season with just one win. Determined to turn around their history of losses, the Falcons thundered into the 2012 season.  

Walking down the halls of the school, one is immersed in a sea of students wearing Nike, Adidas, North Face and assorted team gear. Sports-inspired clothing has become widely accepted in high school society, allowing items such as running shoes and team gear to become mainstream.

As the opponent serves a killer jumper, the team watches as the ball plummets toward the ground, already knowing that it cannot be saved. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, senior defensive player Alex Amato dives down and digs the ball up, keeping the game going and allowing his team a chance to strike the ball back.

Students entering the Research Center in the library for the first time this semester may be surprised to find that the large Dell desktops under the computer desks are missing. In their place, brand new Mac minis have been inconspicuously attached to the sides of the 62 desks in the Research Center. This upgrade, according to librarian Kevin Heyman, has been long awaited.

As retired physics teacher Bill Drennan drove up to his house on Dec. 28, he may have sensed something was amiss. Once he parked his car in the garage, a group of five figures ran behind his car and began caroling “Oh Rabbit Tree,” a version of the song “Oh Christmas Tree” created by senior Jimmy Zheng.

In a turn-around season, the Falcons improved upon last year’s 1-9-0 record, finishing 9-6-0 and in third place in the El Camino League. Players pointed to game performance and team unity as sources of the turn-around.

After the partition wall dividing the cafeteria and the Thermond Center (formerly known as the Little Theater) was damaged by an unknown drama student, the administration has begun the process of constructing a new solid wall to replace it, which will take an estimated two weeks to finish completely.

Sprinting down the pool in a match against Cupertino last month, freshman driver Mackenzie Rosenthal called for the ball and received a perfect pass from goalie Alison Knysh. Within seconds, she was looking into the eyes of the opponent’s goalie. Faking a shot the to left side of the goal, Rosenthal then reared back and fired a deadly shot into the right corner, sinking the ball into the net as part of a 15-1 win over the Pioneers.

After kicking off the season with three victories, earning themselves a 3-0 record, the girls’ water polo team is emanating positive energy and hopefulness for the rest of the season. The team defeated Mountain View 12-7 on Sept. 22, Santa Clara 8-7 on Sept. 20 and Fremont 12-7 on Sept. 14, establishing themselves as a threat in the El Camino League.

Coach: Heather Bridges, entering her first season as head coach 2010 record: 1-9-0 2010 recap: Due to a small team size and tough competition in the El Camino league, the Falcons had a tough 2010 season.

On Sunday, August 28, “the world’s fastest man”, Usain Bolt, made the grave mistake of leaving his starting blocks early in the 100-meter sprint at the track-and-field world championships in Daegu, South Korea. This false start resulted in the disqualification of Bolt from the race, in accordance with the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Foundation) rules.

Ending their season with a 12-19 record, the Falcons were disappointed with their performance overall. “Our record will be better next year,” sophomore outfielder Kyle Dozier said.

This year, Saratoga has been unusually yet fortunately fertile; many teachers are now raising new children in their infant stages. Guidance counselor Frances Saiki, English teacher Natasha Ritchie and math teacher Jennifer Mantle have all returned from their maternity leaves earlier this year. With the arrival of spring, three more teachers have been added to their ranks: Chinese teacher Sara Tseng, English teacher Suzanne Herzman and special education teacher Terra Vitarelli.

Despite a rocky beginning, the baseball team rebounded with a string of victories over spring break to achieve a 10-13 overall record as of April 26. “We started the season off slow, but we’re starting to get better,” said junior pitcher and right-fielder Kushal Raj.

Despite a rocky beginning, the baseball team rebounded with a string of victories over spring break to achieve a 10-13 overall record as of April 26. “We started the season off slow, but we’re starting to get better,” said junior pitcher and right-fielder Kushal Raj.

The lack of two starting pitchers has contributed to the Falcons’ losing their first seven league games of the season. But with the return of those two pitchers, the team hopes to start winning some games soon.

What is your favorite farm animal? What type of deodorant do you use? These are just a few of the questions that sophomore Amin Mirzadegan asked his dates to determine whether he would continue dating them in SHS’ own version of the popular reality TV show “The Bachelor.”

It’s hard to remember a time when children’s TV was not dominated by “iCarly,” “Ben 10,” “Wizards of Waverly Place” or the like. It seems as if everything kids watch these days involves the same plot in every episode. However, there was once a time when TV was actually something worth watching.

As the California general elections in May approach, the school is making an effort to encourage older students to vote. Students over 18 have been called in to the office to receive voter registration forms, which they can complete on their own and return to the office to register. So far, about 75 students have been called in to the office to receive this form.

How many of us want top-notch grades? Sure, that’s probably all of us, but how many of us who strive for A’s truly deserve them? Do we really retain what we learn in our classrooms, or do we all just cram and drop all the material we have learned the day after the exam? In the end, does that glorified “A” mean anything substantial to us?

The thieves had left her house in such appalling disarray that the junior girl still cannot erase the memory from her mind two years later. All the drawers and closets were open and almost nothing was undisturbed. Some jewelry along with hundreds of dollars of electronics, were missing—leaving their house feeling empty.

As the spring sports season approaches, the baseball team is working harder than ever to prepare. Disappointed from last year’s mediocre 10-20 record, many players on the team feel the need to redeem themselves with the upcoming season.

In April 2010, Apple released the revolutionary iPad that an increasing number of people and organizations are utilizing. This usage has had an unforeseen positive impact on education because it is an alternative, money-efficient and technologically advanced way to learn academic material.

The MAP program continues to grow as its newest addition, the Government MAP class, has finished its first semester and begins its second. The class is taught by history teacher Mike Davey.

This past summer, junior Vikas Nookala spent roughly 100 hours creating a database for Argonaut Elementary in an effort to achieve the highest possible rank in Boy Scouts, the Eagle Scout. Nookala had to complete this project as well as meet various requirements to show leadership and community service. Most Boy Scouts begin working toward earning this prestigious rank in the last few years of high school. “It’s important because it teaches you all about how to work well in a group,” Nookala said. He relied on help from fellow scouts to complete his project during the summer.

After three and a half weeks of running a successful food catering business, seniors Brian Vo and Jesse Yung were faced with disappointing news: Their business was in violation of a school contract with the cafeteria and they would have to stop immediately.

If football is one of America’s favorite pastimes, then filing lawsuits must be another. In the third episode in three years, a group of about 6,000 retired NFL players have recently filed a lawsuit against video game giant Electronic Arts (EA). The ill-conceived lawsuit states that EA unlawfully used the players’ likeness without paying licensing fees for using their image in their Madden NFL games.

In an effort to improve school spirit, the ASB along with the spirit, rally and spring fling commissions have brought a little bit of Hogwarts magic to SHS by introducing a “class cup” to foster friendly competition between the classes.

The stereotypical high school bully is a staple of American media. Everyone recognizes the burly teenager shaking down a slight-framed freshman for lunch money. However, these bullies may now be looked upon with a sense of nostalgia as opposed to fear.

Around 6:00 on Oct. 8, English teacher Natasha Ritchie gave birth to her first baby at Sutter Maternity Center in Santa Cruz. The boy, Cooper Riley, weighed in at about 7 pounds.

The California Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010 has passed both houses of the legislature and is currently awaiting the sign off from Gov. Schwarzenegger. This measure, written by State Sen. Joe Simitian, will increase the minimum age for entering kindergarten from 5 by Dec. 2 to 5 by Sept. 1 of the school year.

In the past, the school sports teams have ordered uniforms and apparel from different brands. Last year, the school made an agreement with Nike to buy all their sports apparel from Nike in exchange for large discounts on Nike merchandise. The fact that all sports uniforms will be from Nike has sparked some varying opinions among student athletes.

Having scuba dived all over the world, math and computer science teacher Debra Troxell found her biggest thrill in the ocean off the shores of Carmel. Three years ago Troxell had the honor of coming face to face with a mother humpback whale and her baby on the way back to shore after a dive. The enormous whales glided by just 20 feet from her face, leaving her in awe. “It was just majestic,” said Troxell, as she fished for words to describe the event.