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.
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 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.
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.
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.”
When senior Aaron Garg walked into the spotlight of the McAfee Center on Sept. 28, he instantly felt all eyes turn on him. He was calm and focused as he prepared to begin his solo concert. As the orchestra behind him started to play, Garg lifted his Chinese flute and began the first song. Finally, after months of dedicated practice, his moment was here.
In the show, Garg performed his solo debut “A Musical Journey Through East and West.” The California Youth Chinese Symphony (CYCS), a Chinese orchestra with about 50 members that uses traditional Chinese music and instruments, accompanied Garg.
Many students, excluding freshmen, know about Naviance, the online tool that allows students to search for colleges and explore different career options. However, a large percentage of these students, even seniors, have not been taking advantage of it.
Now it has become inevitable for many students to use Naviance. During this month, seniors are required to meet with their counselors about Naviance if they are applying to private colleges. In these sessions, seniors and their counselors work together to enter data before and after applications are over.
Every year, six major production companies, including 20th Century Fox and Walt Disney Pictures, make most of American films released. These corporations also earn billions. Usually a majority of the films that make the list of top 100 films each year are produced by one of these companies.
However, occasionally there are some films that start out small, making their premieres at film festivals, and make their way to the top. These films are called independent films, otherwise known as indie films, and are not produced in the Hollywood studio system. Some examples of famous independent films are Little Miss Sunshine, Crash, and The Queen. It may surprise you that these movies made their way to the top, despite not being produced by big companies.
The usually deserted downtown was crowded with small groups of people. Students dressed in red gestured to different stores while the sound of traditional Chinese instruments blew sweet melodies over downtown. Children dressed in Chinese robes giggled with excitement, paper lanterns dangling from their wrists.