News

Drivers going by Big Basin in downtown Saratoga two weeks ago saw a huge group of students who may have looked like tourists being led by a tour guide. It turned out history teacher Matt Torrens’ AP US history class was off to downtown Saratoga. The entire class walked at the beginning of class and stopped at the World War I monument near Starbucks. Once there, students listened to Torrens as he went through the history of how the war veterans named on the monument died. Students were surprised to learn that all of these people lived in Saratoga and went to war and were honored through this monument.

“I’ve never done anything like this before so it was really cool,” said junior Karen Wai. “School becomes a drag when you have to do the same thing over and over again, so it was nice to have a break and do something different.”

For the first time in many years, the school has become a California Distinguished School again.

“I’ve always known that Saratoga High is a distinguished and special school,” said principal Jeff Anderson, “so I decided that it was about time that we got an official recognition of it.”

Hundreds of boxes of fundraising peanut butter cookie dough for the school’s music department have been recalled because of the possible risk of salmonella infection in late January. However, although the company offered to collect the boxes of cookie dough as a precaution, no boxes of cookie dough have been turned in, according to the music department.

When English teacher Natasha Ritchie gave her English 11 Honors class a “practice write” assignment last November, junior Steven Hong thought it was just another 800-word essay assignment. So a few months later, in February, when Ritchie congratulated several of her students for making it to the state level in a contest, Hong was confused at first, like a few other students who had advanced.

“I completely forgot because I wrote the letter sometime in first semester,” said Hong. “And it took a while before I even remembered what my essay was about.”

Reality television star Matt Roloff of TLC’s “Little People, Big World” delivered a speech about how he has successfully faced adversity in a world that didn’t seem to be fit for him at the McAfee Center on the evening of Feb. 12.

On Feb. 25, 40 total students from both Yerba Buena and Saratoga High School exchanged places as part of Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program. This experience was a way for the students to explore a different academic world.

Neither of them saw it coming. The two friends are hard workers, one dedicating himself to music and basketball, and the other dedicating himself to The Falcon and Key Club. At first tied together through their willingness to always do their best, seniors Thomas Wang and Michael Chen were brought together again for one of the highest achievements possible in one’s high school career: having the highest grade point averages for the class of 2009.

Wang and Chen were notified shortly before February break that they were the valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively, of the class of 2009.

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.