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Usually teachers try to help students succeed and stay in school, but it’s different for new math teacher PJ Yim. He dropped out of Boston University for four years before graduating because he had to figure out what he wanted to do.

“Some people have to find themselves.” Yim said. “I was one of those people. So I was the black sheep of my family. Once I found myself, I went back to school.”

Along with welcoming new students this year, students can also welcome many new changes made to the campus.

One change is the gym lobby that was completed around the end of the school year. Besides the new, bigger glass front, the administration has added a trophy cabinet, improved the concession stand and redone all the bathrooms inside.

According to assistant principal Joe Bosco, the administration also plans on putting tables in the lobby so that people can enjoy their food there since they are not allowed to eat in inside the gym.

The class of 2012 timidly filed into the large gym on Aug. 22 for the first time as high school students. Unsure of what exactly was planned for them, they were placed in the care of 104 Link Leaders for the day, who led them through a series of activities and a tour of the school.

By the time students get to their senior year at Saratoga High School, they are worn out from the multitude of homework, SATs, and AP tests. These hardworking students are, as seniors, expecting some relaxation that comes with the perks of entering the final year of their high school career. One of the most fundamental things they expect out of their senior year is a prime parking spot—one of the coveted ones in the front of the school.

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.”

What’s in a name? The leaders of the formerly named PTSA have changed their name to the PTSO (Parent Teacher Student Organization) in order to get more control on where they spend the funds and generate more money for the school. It is an organization that links together parents, teachers and students. The PTSO is now independent from the national PTA (Parent Teacher Association).

New World History and U.S. Government teacher Margarita Lozano is making some history herself. She is only the second teacher in the department in many years. (The other is Kim Anzalone.)

Raised in the Los Angeles area, she earned a bachelor’s degree in history at UC Santa Barbara, and a master’s degree in secondary education and her credential from Loyola Marymount University. She was inspired to become a history teacher because of her love and fascination with history.

“I love history,” she said. “I’m one of those history nerds.”

New librarian Kevin Heyman, who is replacing the retired Tibor Szalay, hopes to inspire students to become skilled researchers and to become as passionate about research as he is.

Heyman grew up mostly in Los Angeles and earned his Bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in library science at San Jose State University. Upon graduating, he started his career as a history teacher at Mount Pleasant High School in San Jose.

The scene was wild. Flashing lights, blasting music and cardboard animal cutouts filled the quad as hundreds of students gathered for an exotic, safari-themed quad dance. Drinking was only a minor problem.

This was the beginning of the year dance, themed “Born to Be Wild,” which took place in the quad on Friday, Aug. 29, from 8-11 p.m.

Though Bonnie Sheikh is new to the office as a guidance secretary, many people will recognize her from her contributions to the Media Arts Program last year and from her two children on campus, Zahra and Ramiz Sheikh. As the new academic year starts, Sheikh is excited to be here.