News

Twenty-four students all sat nervously waiting for their names to be called, with witnesses in mind and questions in hand. On the night of Oct. 14, Mock Trial tryouts were held in Bill Peck’s room to determine which 18 would make up the 2008 team. The team will consist of six trial attorneys, two pre-trial attorneys, 8 witnesses, a bailiff and a count clerk.

The Spirit Squad performed at their first competition on Saturday, Oct. 11, at Great America. They earned fourth place out of nine competing teams and qualified for USA Nationals.

This year’s Homecoming allowed students to leave their desks and travel around the world. From the freshmen tooting on their French horns in Atlanta to celebrating with friends at the dance, the week passed by with most complaints centering around time conflicts because of conflicts with tests and SATs.

This year, Winter Ball is getting a makeover.

Because of the high price of renting the Decathlon Club last year combined with low attendance in the past few years, the event has lost more money than it has earned. This year, in an effort to make Winter Ball more profitable and well attended, ASB is holding Winter Ball in the gym on Dec. 13.

In the upcoming elections for the Los Gatos Saratoga Union High School District (LGSUHSD) School Board on Nov. 4, three candidates will be vying for two available positions. Saratogans can vote for school board elections at the same time they are voting for the presidential election.

The job of the school board is to oversee educational policies in Los Gatos and Saratoga.

Out of the three candidates, Lorrie Wernick and Rosemary Rossi are the two incumbents in the race.

Laressa Ridge has taught math for the past three years, but now she has moved across campus and is working in a new world: psychology.

Prior to this year, she has taught algebra, geometry, sequential geometry, and algebra II honors. But behind the fractions and geometry proofs lay her hidden love of psychology. For several years, she took night school classes, improving on her minor in psychology and getting a masters degree in child/adolescent parenting from San Jose State University.

The annual Homecoming night rally started off with a video about three girls who visit Atlanta, Rome, Tokyo and Cairo at 7:15 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 30. It was followed by three activities: the dating game, dodgeball, and birthday celebration. Then the rally commissioners announced the kings and queens.

After this pronouncement, the commissioners decided to play a prank. The Night Rally ended with the usual class songs.

In an effort to make communication easier, the school has implemented a new contact system for this school year called “School Messenger,” which takes the place of the older list serve e-mail. The old system was capable only of sending out messages by e-mail, while the new system will be more convenient for the school.

“It’s a lot more user-friendly,” said assistant principal Joe Bosco. “Not only can it be used to send out emails, but text and voice messages as well.”

Despite losing two highly-rated seniors last year, the chess team is confident they can win the league championship for the fifth year in a row. They have already defeated Leigh 5-0, Bellarmine 6-1 and Menlo Park 7-0.

The second dance of the year was a hit for many, gathering more than 700 students to celebrate the conclusion of the annual Homecoming week.

As students lined up from the entrance of the gymnasium along the front sidewalk, the clock had already struck 8, and the doors had yet to open as promised. What many hadn’t realized was that up until hours prior to the event, coordinators were already facing conflicts that hindered the success of the dance.