News

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.

The popular nighttime event “Celebrate Saratoga” has been replaced this year by a daytime festival known as “Taste of Saratoga,” to be held on Sept. 20.

Rather than a street dance, this year’s event will be more similar to an art and wine festival. By making this change, the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce hopes that Taste of Saratoga will create a better business environment, while continuing the fund raising effort begun by the Street Dance.

This year, English teacher Erick Rector has stepped up to coach the speech and debate team in hopes of bringing much needed stability to the program.

Saratoga High currently offers 76 clubs, half of which may be cut this year if everything goes according to plan. Due to the numerous inactive clubs, the Associated Student Body (ASB) reached a conclusion to reduce the number of clubs after Club Day.

The ASB’s goal is to consolidate and minimize clubs, especially those that have disintegrated or become inactive since their time of formation, according to ASB president Ketaki Shriram. The ASB refused to comment on specific clubs they plan to cut.

Students at Saratoga High: There are more of you than you think. This year, many teachers at SHS are students once again.

As of January 2008, the state of California required teachers to hold the California Teachers of English Learners (CTEL) certification. Teachers have the option of passing either three tests or completing four graduate level courses—either online or in a weekly class that last until mid April.
English teacher Cathy Head became aware of the certification three years ago but did not know that it would be required of all teachers at the time.

Students at Saratoga High: There are more of you than you think. This year, many teachers at SHS are students once again.

As of January 2008, the state of California required teachers to hold the California Teachers of English Learners (CTEL) certification. Teachers have the option of passing either three tests or completing four graduate level courses—either online or in a weekly class that last until mid April.

This year, 32 seniors qualified as semifinalists for the National Merit Scholarship Program, an academic competition for recognition and scholarships, by scoring among the top 1% nationally on the PSAT.

In response to the sometimes apathetic and negative attitudes at Saratoga High, assistant principal Karen Hyde is teaching a new leadership class this year. Senior Paul Stavropoulos first introduced the idea to Hyde last year after hearing some students’ take on the school.

“There’s a lot of gossip that always goes around about how the students don’t really like Saratoga [High], or there are [always] things they can fix,” said Stavropoulos. “Our goal would be to make [school] a place where our students could feel not only comfortable and accepted in but somewhere they can also have fun and some spirit.”