Features

Hours after the last bell of the day rings and the campus falls silent to empty classrooms and halls, the beat of a metronome shatters the deafening silence. Snare drums rattle away, tubas and trumpets blare into the open blue sky and flutes whistle melodically with clarinets. While most finish their school day in the […]

When she pieced together an elaborate griffin costume to challenge herself and show her school spirit, junior Angelique Delacroix was in seventh grade at Redwood Middle School. (The school’s mascot is a griffin.) Fellow students marveled at her creative and exquisite costume in the hallways. As a result, many of the staff members, including then-principal […]

On the way to the Cupertino Tournament of Bands in October 2021 (the first color guard competition of the season), Esabella Fung remembers hearing a horrible sound come from the back of her outfit.  As she inspected her uniform, she discovered a barely visible rip at the bottom of the zipper seam. “When it broke […]

From 1970 to 2019, the number of women in STEM occupations in the U.S. increased by 8%, but as of 2021, women still only make up 28% of the STEM workforce — even though they make up 50.5% of the U.S. population.  One  reason for this discrepancy is the lack of role models for female […]

When senior Darren Guo moved from China to Saratoga in seventh grade, he spoke little English. Until his English improved, he had a hard time in most of his classes — except during his media arts elective. “Media arts and filmmaking was something that my language barrier didn’t bar me from being good at or […]

Groups of Redwood Middle students gather on Redwood’s campus for a weekly meeting at Toga Junior Math Club (TJMC) Tuesdays at 7 p.m.  TJMC is the RMS math club taught by high school volunteers. It is split into four groups separated by difficulty: black, blue, green and yellow (listed in decreasing difficulty). Each group covers […]

A crowd gathered in front of a small band setup during the annual Falcon Food Truck Fest on Aug. 16 as the drumline to “Sofia” by Clairo began. Student band Peach Fuzz grabbed the attention of students and parents, drawing fest-goers from food trucks and backyard games to the corner of the visitor parking lot.  […]

When history teacher Kirk Abe first tried playing on his friend’s drum set in fifth grade, he discovered a lifelong passion.  As the years went by, he began to play big band music, such as Maynard Ferguson and continued playing his favorite songs from middle school to adulthood. Although his musical focus has evolved through […]

At lunch on Fridays, the 10 students in ComedySportz — the school’s comedy improvisation team — meet in the Thermond Drama Center to practice the skill most needed for success: thinking on their feet.  From cracking puns to thinking up funny skits, the members — freshman Beni Mercurio, Jo Begar and Apollo Burgess; sophomore Jay […]