Pia Mishra

For 14 weeks a year, the cheer team never fails to impress even the biggest critics in the bleachers with their rigorous routines at each football game.

Apeksha’s take: The smell of warm Nutella and baking batter fills the air in Bonjour Crepes, a small bakery located in Cupertino. The menu, which offers a range of sweet and savory crepes to grilled sandwiches and beverages, has the perfect recipes to satisfy any craving.

As seniors begin the college application process this fall, they face the tough decision of choosing which colleges will be right for them come fall 2011. However, the College and Career Center has made the decision a little easier for the seniors by hosting college speakers every week.

In sixth grade, junior Eric Chuang tried out for the track team as a way to stay in shape but came to find that he had a real passion for it. After trying long jump for the first time, he discovered a natural talent for the event and has stuck with it since, excelling at it and becoming one of the best long jumpers on the team.

This year's junior prom was held on April 3 at the Decathlon club in Santa Clara. The bids were cheaper this year than last year's at $130 per couple. This year's theme was "You Belong with Me," after the popular pop country song by Taylor Swift. The reasonable bid prices drew in juniors as well as a number of sophomores. No official attendance figures were available. Sophomore Will Edman was grateful for the chance to attend a prom as an underclassman.

For the first time in school history, each position for next year's ASB had only one candidate and everyone ran unopposed.

When sophomore Shivani Chadha showed up at the Small Gym on Jan. 31, she and about 140 other students didn't know what to expect from two professional dancers who had been hired to teach them to dance "properly." After instruction and practice, she left with a better knowledge of dances like Merengue and foxy.

Despite a tough season, the Lady Falcons are trying to make the best of their difficulties by maintaining high spirits and good team morale. The girls continued their fight during the league finals, which started Nov. 2.

In an effort to raise more funds in a tough year for the school's budget, the Saratoga Sports Boosters are holding their annual Holiday Boutique on Dec. 5 in the little gym.

The girls’ water polo team isn’t expecting any easy wins this year as they compete in the upper division De Anza League with a brand new roster. The team lost six of its key players from last year: seniors Lauren Opatrny and Megan Nolet as well as graduates Alison Norris, Kaylee Pettengill, Amanda Murabito and Casey Long.

BAY Magazine, a local magazine started by Saratoga students and overseen by SHS alumnus and editor-in-chief, T.T. Tu, has completed a full year of publication and is on schedule to release its sixth issue this winter.

A major factor that determines a student’s acceptance into a college is their SAT score. Most college admission officers use the SATs as the basis upon which to judge their applicants, as grades can be dependent on a student's school. As a result, students spend a large portion of their time studying and cramming for the test along in addition to their other load of homework. It is a test of a student’s knowledge, but it appears to be more and more an indication of the income of a student’s family.

Like many students in high school, current senior Jason Huang experienced confusion in deciding which classes to select in high school. After completing English 9, Huang was encouraged to continue writing by poetry teacher Judith Sutton and moved on to take Poetry 1 his sophomore year. Huang, however, never could have imagined how much he could achieve in poetry, winning one of the most prestigious poetry prizes in the nation this year.

The girls’ softball season came to an emotional ending with a challenging game against a strong Santa Clara High School on May 8. The girls played one of their best games holding the team out for an extra inning but ultimately losing 0-1.

In the recent National Youth Poetry Contest, 14 of Saratoga’s own poets from the Creative Writing: Poetry class won top prizes in multiple categories. The poets won more prizes than any other single school in the nation, a great accomplishment for the poetry program. The contest is sponsored by the California Federation of Chaparral Poets, Inc., the oldest and largest poetry organization in California. Although the CFCP is a state-wide organization, the contest was held nationwide.

There’s something about the softball team that makes it impossible to leave— just ask alumni Katie Reed and Adriana Pak. Both were players on the team while in high school and have returned to help coach the varsity and JV teams. Pak returned after graduating last year, and has helped with the JV team, and Reed, who graduated in 2006, has taken on assistant coaching for the varsity team.

In desperate attempts to solve the state’s long-term fiscal problems, lawmakers recently passed the 2009 state budget plan that involves cutting $2.6 billion from K-12 apportionments. These apportionments are what generally provide the support for local school districts throughout California and nearly 1/5 of the budget cuts are coming from reducing these funds. When all is said in done this leaves the educational community with a loss of $787 per student, according to the California Progress Report. With the news of the budget cuts, districts all over California are struggling to scrap up what they can from what’s left of the budget. With the rapidly increasing California budget crisis, the district has decided that for the 2009-10 school year, they will increase class sizes to cope with the devastating financial limits.

Just improve, winning is a bonus. That’s the message coaches are relaying to a softball team trying to rebound from losing many key players to graduation. Recent results indicate the team will have to work hard for every win.

As spring rolls around, the drama department is preparing for an upcoming children’s show set to open during the second week of April in the McAfee Center. There are five shows, each directed by various students. The shows include “Prince Thrushbeard” directed by senior Juliana Lustenader, “The Frog Prince” directed by junior Hannah Brown, “Hump Beak Grandpa” directed by senior Diana Seo, “Strega Nona” directed by senior Christina Lauro, and “Seven At One Blow” directed by junior Natalie Riccomini. Each of the shows will be performed for local elementary school kids.

Sophomore Navneet Ramesh’s hands trembled as he stood to give his pre-trial motion. With his one motion, the entire course of the trial could be changed. The Santa Clara County judge called for him to start, and he pushed in his chair, and began to argue. Intense moments like this were what students took away from the mock trial season.

The math club is being praised for its exceptional students after placing 11th nationally at a recent contest.

Senior Christina Lauro looked at the faces of the two judges staring at her. She took a deep breath before she sang the first note of the Italian art song she had rehearsed for months. After finishing the song with a perfect pitch, she had to sight-sing 10 measures of music that she had never seen before. Following that, she listened to notes randomly played on the piano and sang them back. Finally she sang a major, minor, augmented and diminished triad, as well as a major and chromatic scale. This long process is what Lauro and many other students went through for their audition for the Regional Honor Choir in early fall. Juniors Josh Liu, Thomas Denq, Bryant Bae, and seniors Jennifer Hansen and Lauro made it through the audition and earned a spot in the Regional Honor Choir. The Regional Honor Choir is the first level of prestigious choirs followed by State, then National Honor choir, that takes in between 800 to 900 students.

Senior Christina Lauro looked at the faces of the two judges staring at her. She took a deep breath before she sang the first note of the Italian art song she had rehearsed for months. After finishing the song with a perfect pitch, she had to sight-sing 10 measures of music that she had never seen before. Following that, she listened to notes randomly played on the piano and sang them back. Finally she sang a major, minor, augmented and diminished triad, as well as a major and chromatic scale. This long process is what Lauro and many other students went through for their audition for the Regional Honor Choir in early fall. Juniors Josh Liu, Thomas Denq, Bryant Bae, and seniors Jennifer Hansen and Lauro made it through the audition and earned a spot in the Regional Honor Choir. The Regional Honor Choir is the first level of prestigious choirs followed by State, then National Honor choir, that takes in between 800 to 900 students.

The SHS Sports Booster program is selling a holiday CD titled “Home for the Holidays,” featuring classic Christmas songs are performed by the Spirit Squad, varsity football team and various Saratoga students. The songs performed include well known tunes like “Santa Baby,” “White Christmas,” “Jingle Bells,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Winter Wonderland.”

The SHS Sports Booster program is selling a holiday CD titled “Home for the Holidays,” featuring classic Christmas songs are performed by the Spirit Squad, varsity football team and various Saratoga students. The songs performed include well known tunes like “Santa Baby,” “White Christmas,” “Jingle Bells,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Winter Wonderland.” “It was really cool because we got to go to a professional recording studio,” said sophomore Arianna Paranzino. “It is so fun to be with the other girls on the [cheer] team singing.”

After performances on Nov. 20, 21, 22, 23 and a preview during sixth period on Nov. 19 “Romeo and Juliet” concluded their production. Overall, the cast was very proud of and the production.

The girls’ water polo team ended its season with a 6-5 double overtime loss to Gunn during the first round of league finals on Nov. 5. Two consecutive victories against Mountain View and Homestead to finish league play had left the girls feeling optimistic going into the tournament even though Gunn had defeated them twice before.

From a young age we’ve been taught to compete and to come home victorious. At every AYSO soccer game, ballet recital and swim meet, we’ve been taught to have “friendly competition” with the next-door neighbor Johnny or with cousin Erin. But we all know, it won’t be friendly. It will be a fight even if it’s not easy to see. Getting to that soccer ball, landing that pirouette, reaching that wall is the difference between a celebratory ice cream at Coldstones and a quiet car ride home. That same spiteful sense of competition is what occurs between the most animalistic of humans, teenagers.

On Nov. 25, Saratoga High held its annual Code Red drill. The students barricaded their rooms as soon as they were notified and sat tight for a few hours.

The Creative Writing: Poetry class has decided to create a calendar that includes the students’ poems, which were inspired by their recent field trip to Old Grandview Ranch, an awe-inspiring chateau of 25 acres located in the Saratoga foothills.

After a 12-week season, freshman JV tennis player Priyanka Arunkumar was looking forward to a nice, relaxing break. To her surprise, she found out that she only had two weeks until she would have to go to a sports P.E. class to complete her semester requirement for physical education.

With Santa Clara Valley Athletic League finals beginning on Nov. 4, the varsity water polo girls feel they couldn't be more prepared for the games to come. Senior co-captain Alison Norris said the team has drastically advanced in its play this season, and she hopes that even against tough competitors such as Los Gatos and Los Altos, it will be able to play its best.

After two disappointing losses against Palo Alto on Oct. 7 and Los Gatos on Oct. 14, the members of the girls’ varsity water polo team were delighted with their 11-8 win against Mountain View on Oct. 16. The girls have taken their victory in stride and continue to improve. A big part of their success has been junior Lauren Opatrny who has put her best effort forth in order to strengthen the team. As sprinter on the team, she puts it on herself to make sure the ball gets to her team and that the game stays active.

A cast for the fall play “Romeo and Juliet” has been selected with seniors Holden Sparacino and Juliana Lustenader playing the parts of Romeo and Juliet. Other parts include Friar Lawrence being played by senior James Arroyo, and Tybalt played by junior Patrick Hawks. Sophomore Jay Lee, who has been cast as Mercutio, said that he looks forward to portraying the character and is ready to accept the challenge.

Last spring, students from Judith Sutton’s Creative Writing: Poetry 2 class put on a presentation at the Saratoga Library portraying the bombings on Mutanabi Street in Iraq. The bombings had taken place in March 2007 and devastated the entire city of Baghdad. The street had originally been a lively market where ideas, books and thoughts were exchanged freely. The students wanted to spread the knowledge of the impact of the attack. The reading left the audience with a call to action. What could they do to help? Their answer was a small press publisher by the name of Studio 1801.

Last spring, students from Judith Sutton’s Creative Writing: Poetry classes put on a presentation at the Saratoga Library portraying the Mutanabbi Street bombing in Iraq. The bombing took place in March 2007 and devastated the entire street, which had served for several years as a lively market where ideas, books and thoughts were exchanged freely. Not only were all books destroyed, but some 75 people were seriously injured and 30 people died.

The swim caps have been dawned and the nets have been placed, as the girls’ varsity water polo team starts its season this month. All of the players are prepared for a challenging and rewarding season, but there is one problem. Alison Norris, senior co-captain along with senior Kaylee Pettingill, is one of the key players on this team and will have to play through the season with an arm injury.

For most Saratogans, the Olympic Games meant sitting around the couch watching Michael Phelps win his eight gold medals, but for the families of sophomore Mansie Cheung and junior Kandice Wong, the 2008 Beijing Olympics was the experience of a lifetime.

With the school year started, the drama department has sprung into gear, preparing for several productions. Soon, the drama department will begin general auditions for the fall play, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

For most Saratogans, the Olympic Games meant sitting around the couch watching Michael Phelps win his eight gold medals, but for the families of sophomore Mansie Cheung and junior Kandice Wong, the 2008 Beijing Olympics was the experience of a lifetime. For the past three years, Wong and Cheung had participated in Camp International, a language and cultural immersion program, which helped them prepare for the games. "It was fun, especially with all the other people in the camp," said Wong. "There were 35 of us, so there was always someone to talk to."