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The Saratoga Falcon
Sophomores Alma Garniek and Sia Bharadhwaj performed during the group dance.
Sophomore quad day thrives with a boost in participation
October 20, 2024
Seniors wave goodbye to students and staff in the audience after successfully delivering a stunning performance.
Seniors ends week of Quad Day performances with an energetic display
October 20, 2024
Group dance carries the show with energetic dance moves and smiles on their faces.
Juniors navigate low rehearsal attendance and participation for their quad day
October 20, 2024
Assistant superintendent of business services Ruben Fernandez, superintendent Bill Sanderson, director of human resources Dagmar Derickson, assistant superintendent of student services Heath Rocha and public information officer Tanya De La Cruz listen to public comment against the amendments to Sanderson’s contract. The new contract was approved by the board in a unanimous decision.
Widespread criticism over district leadership leads to community meetings and attempts at rebuilding trust
October 18, 2024
Sporting green jerseys, Joseph Yu, Elaine Luo, Sophie Qi and Serena Hu went all out for their performance.
Freshmen pull through despite fewer than 30 participants in their first quad day performance
October 18, 2024
Judges receive rubrics to score each performance out of 160 possible points.
How are Homecoming performances ranked?
October 20, 2024
The once-great Marvel and Pixar trend toward decline, as multiple factors drag them down.
The hidden factors behind Pixar and Marvel’s downfall
October 18, 2024
With an endless stream of online content, students find themselves overwhelmed by the temptation of smartphones.
In a world of short-form videos, long-term focus becomes a challenge
October 18, 2024
Each teacher reflected on their growth since they first started teaching at the school.
25 Years later: Educators reflect back on their first year at SHS
October 18, 2024
Gru Junior successfully tames Gru’s high school mascot—the honey badger Lenny.
‘Despicable Me 4’ is getting too much hate
October 18, 2024
With a shock offseason trade, Karl Anthony-Towns joins the New York Knicks to play alongside tenured Knick Jalen Brunson.
The Knicks are on course to finally bring a championship to New York
October 22, 2024
Leagues like Overtime Elite allow high school athletes to display their talents on a giant online platform.
How young athletes have started using social media for success
October 21, 2024
The constant cycle of practice and school leaves little free time during the day.
Competitive athletes balance rigorous sports schedule with academics
October 21, 2024
Falcons lineup in front of the endzone preparing to rush forward for another touchdown.
Football boasts 49-0 Homecoming win over Lynbrook, maintains undefeated record
October 21, 2024
Alice Vaughan balances in the flag position while practicing her solo performance at Garrod Farms.
Sophomore equestrian vaults to destress, despite dangerous nature of sport
October 15, 2024
Results shown on Google Map after searching up “housing developments nearby,” which doesn’t include those that didn’t publicize themselves on the map.
A gentler approach to growth: Why ADUs offer a middle ground in housing development
October 21, 2024
Though the school lunch applesauce is good, I prefer the ones that come in a pouch, since I don't need a spoon to eat them.
100-word rave: Applesauce is my go-to snack
October 18, 2024
To fight an upward battle, students struggle against time
100-word rant: classes without breaks
October 14, 2024
The balance of power at the school sites is heavily outweighed by the district.
Staff editorial: As the board levels up on district office personnel, LG and SHS staff suffer negative impacts
October 10, 2024
The Monopoly theme is a mere shadow of what it could have been.
This year’s Homecoming theme for the senior class is a major disappointment
October 10, 2024
There are some items I can’t leave behind on a ski trip.
Trip essentials from a yearly Tahoe-goer
October 22, 2024
My favorite teddy bears and I have made plenty of good memories over the years — and their origin story is better than mine.
From trash can to happy home: a tale of two teddy bears
October 21, 2024
Kratt brothers, Chris and Martin, hold their creature power discs.
Nostalgia for ‘Wild Kratts’ hits strong as it remains to be one of my core shows of childhood
October 21, 2024
School starts at 8:30! Thankfully I still have 31 minutes to get there.
Top 10: excuses for being late
October 18, 2024
A particular scent can tug at your nostalgic feelings.
An ode to my favorite ‘scent-sibilities’
October 18, 2024

The Saratoga Falcon

The Saratoga Falcon

Richard Fan, Sports Editor

All content by Richard Fan
Lalitha Maruvda helps freshman Brooklyn Harman test his nearly complete Pong game on Sept. 13.

New Intro to Computer Science teacher brings over 20 years of industry experience

Richard Fan
September 19, 2024
Junior Nirvan Shah faces off against junior Brady Liang at lunch on Sept. 16.

Student irresponsibility undermines the Falcon Nest’s true potential

Richard Fan and Alec Guan
September 18, 2024
Junior Aiden Chen winds up for a pitch against Santa Clara on May 9.

Baseball falls short of CCS but builds for the future

Richard Fan and Jane Lee
May 23, 2024
Sophomore Kelsey Zhang swims the 100-yard Fly at CCS on May 2. 

Star swimmer’s disqualification in 200 IM race puts stirs controversy at CCS

Richard Fan, Agastya Vitaldevara, Ruiyan Zhu, and Bill Huang
May 21, 2024
Leo Shetler rows at a competition in Boston.

Sports: 2023-2024 notable athlete achievements

Richard Fan, Bill Huang, and Grace Lin
May 21, 2024
Junior Sawyer Chao sprints towards the ball during home game on March 11. The game against Gunn ended with a loss for the Falcons. 

Lacrosse: After a canceled year, teams rebound to complete their seasons

Richard Fan and Nika Svizhenko
May 21, 2024
Senior Riley Alves executes a reverse straight dive during a meet at Los Altos on March 14.

Senior diver competes at CCS, ends season unsure of future of the team

Richard Fan
May 21, 2024
Sophomore Nikhil Srivasta serves during home game against Homestead on April 29.

Boys’ tennis falls to California High at NorCal Regional Championships

Richard Fan
May 21, 2024
Saratoga students often take a variety of West Valley summer courses, whether it is for college credit or self interest.

Get a real college experience at no cost — take some summer community college classes

Richard Fan
May 4, 2024
The taste of happiness sadly lasted only one day.

100-word rant: Please bring back beef stew for school lunch

Richard Fan
April 30, 2024
More and more jobs will now be taken over by automation, making Computer Science less appealing as a major.

Is studying comp sci still the golden ticket to wealth?

Alec Guan and Richard Fan
April 29, 2024
Coach Osayi Omorodion gives sprinting suggestions to sophomore Steven Sun.

New track and field coaches help distance running and sprinters 

Kevin Yang and Richard Fan
April 18, 2024
Breaking will make its debut in the 2024 Summer Olympics in an effort to draw in more attention from a younger audience.

Break Dancing to be introduced at 2024 summer Olympics

Richard Fan and Alec Guan
April 18, 2024
Senior Ryan Cagliostro (young Jamie) mixes up a shot for a drinking game with junior Ryan Backhus (future Jamie) and junior Chloe Mantle (young Abby) in the play “Now and Then.”

Senior stretch in directing 2-act play of ‘Now and Then’ 

Richard Fan and Jeremy Si
March 24, 2024
Science Bowl members prepare for regionals during Feb. 1 meeting after school.  

Science Bowl team places third at regionals, falling short of national tournament qualification

Richard Fan and Alec Guan
March 3, 2024
Social media can shorten students’ attention span and hinder their academic performance.

Down the online rabbit hole: Students find social media to be detrimental to academic performance

Richard Fan and Alec Guan
March 3, 2024
Avadhanam uses geometry techniques to solve Team Selection Test (TST) problems.

Photo or Graphic for: 2 seniors now one step away from making national Math Olympiad teams

Jessica Li, Parav Manney, and Amy Miao
February 10, 2024
The blizzard on Jan. 6 caused numerous participants, including me, to lose visibility.

Harsh weather conditions derail my hopes at skiing competition

Richard Fan
February 6, 2024
Skiing and snowboarding are both very fun sports with very different styles. 

Slopesport face-off: a guide to the pros and cons of skiing and snowboarding 

Richard Fan
January 21, 2024
My current mish-mash playlist.

A musical journey, from Beethoven to The Fat Rat

Richard Fan
December 5, 2023
My Christmas in 2022 was completed perfectly with a bowl of clam chowder despite a sprained shoulder.

Shared experiences and togetherness are the essence of Christmas

Richard Fan
December 5, 2023
Sophomore Yash Sharma presents “Wonders of Python” on a trip to India in summer 2023.

Sophomore’s non-profit organization aims to inspire younger generations to pursue programming

Alec Guan and Richard Fan
December 2, 2023
Senior poster of girls’ varsity team captain senior Ryder Gangemi

Sports Boosters helps fund personalized Senior Night banners for athletes

Richard Fan
December 2, 2023
Girls’ soccer Instagram home page. 

Student-run social media accounts hype up school sports teams 

Richard Fan
December 2, 2023
The school’s Comedy Improv Troupe competes for laughs during the ComedySportz show

Drama program to hold student-directed plays

Richard Fan and Jeremy Si
October 21, 2023
Junior goalie Lera Polyakova gets ready to block the shot on goal during a home game against Homestead on Sept. 26. 

1-loss girls’ water polo celebrates success in league 

Richard Fan
October 21, 2023
Lithium mining has increased exponentially over the past few decades– and we will have to face the consequences of it sooner or later

Newsom’s mandate on electric vehicles will do more harm than good

Alec Guan and Richard Fan
October 19, 2023
Swimming cap worn by water polo players.

Photo or Graphic for: Top 10: ways to turn around struggling sports teams

Nika Svizhenko
September 29, 2023
Andrew Beattie works with football players during an after school practice.

New CBI aide takes on coaching roles for multiple sports

Richard Fan and Neal Malhotra
September 29, 2023
Tired of sweating? Try the sports on the right!

Top 10: unathletic sports

Richard Fan and Alec Guan
September 24, 2023
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