The Student News Site of Saratoga High School

The Saratoga Falcon
Courtesy of LGSUHSD board The official map, decided during the April 14 public hearing.
School board finalizes district map for new trustee elections
June 1, 2025
Courtesy of Saratoga High School Junior Arjun Krish is one of 20 students in the country who have a shot at representing the US at the International Biology Olympiad.
Junior qualifies for International Biology Olympiad training camp at Harvard
May 27, 2025
French 1 classes are switching to the “Reporters Francophones” textbook for next year.
Language classes to try new textbook options next year
May 25, 2025
Seniors gather in the quad to celebrate their college decisions.
Seniors showcase post-grad plans on Commit Day
May 23, 2025
Choir and AP Music Theory teacher Beth Nitzan conducts a choir class during a rehearsal for their end-of-year concert on May 19.
Nitzan to leave school after four years in music department
May 21, 2025
Me conducting taste evaluations with two drinks at once.
The *actual* best boba places in the Bay
June 2, 2025
Courtesy of Aidan Smith Finn and Aidan pose together in the backyard for pictures before prom.
The Duality of Man: Aidan and Finn Smith
June 2, 2025
Keys works on an essay with an English 11 Honors student.
The first day of school in August requires months of planning for teachers
June 1, 2025
Hector and I pose with our first target after eliminating her in San Francisco.
Senior Mag 2025: We were eliminated in Senior Assassin — but that only made the game more fun
May 29, 2025
Seniors Annette Li and Kayla Nguyen anchor on an SHSTV broadcast.
Senior Mag ‘25: Duo evolves from GNNers to SHSTV head producers
May 27, 2025
(left to right) Audrey Wong, Summer Shen, Hannah Bui and Angela Tan prepare for a football game.
Senior Mag 2025: From Europe to the Bay, Flute seniors bonded over marching band
June 1, 2025
Courtesy of Annette Li We pose after our victory against Fremont High on April 30.
Senior Mag 2025: The chemistry and chaos of a 4-year badminton partnership
June 1, 2025
Junior Garrick Chau faces off sophomore William Dechlick and mental health therapist Victor Thompson in the Falcon Nest.
Foosball club brings in a professional to coach members skills
May 31, 2025
Many physical therapies consist of stretching and light exercises.
Student athletes navigate a long rehabilitation process after injuries
May 31, 2025
Courtesy of Lauren Nguyen Smiling proudly, the team stands together and celebrates their awards.
Dance team reflects on Nationals and what’s next
May 28, 2025
A wide variety of euphemisms impact perception in different ways.
Words that need to be heard: euphemisms are dangerous tools for desensitization
June 1, 2025
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Universities have no right to revoke diplomas for political speech
May 30, 2025
Courtesy of Charles Edward Miller People protesting against unlawful deportations.
Universities need to take action to prevent students from being deported by ICE
May 30, 2025
11th grade classes are full of interesting material.
100-word rant: teachers, five tests in two days is just cruel
May 29, 2025
Campaigning on popular social media apps such as Instagram shouldn’t be the norm.
For school leadership elections, candidates can rely too much on social media advertising
May 28, 2025
General Psychology teacher Hana Chen.
General Psychology class explores the field through projects
June 15, 2025
Courtesy of Nathan Shows The view from the dinner cruise on the Vltava.
The last class to remember being stranded in Prague, 2022
June 4, 2025
Courtesy of Rani Khanna Rani and Krishen in their childhood.
The Khanna twins: more like regular siblings than twins
June 4, 2025
Courtesy of Saratoga High School Grace Liu and Luke Zhang are the valedictorian and salutatorian of the senior class respectively.
Class of 2025 valedictorian and salutatorian announced
June 3, 2025
Courtesy of NBC Bay Area Saratoga High’s field shot from above.
Senior Mag: How anti-turf advocacy became my turf
June 3, 2025
Volume 58, Issue 5
Volume 58, Issue 5
July 10, 2025
Volume 59, Issue 1
Volume 59, Issue 1
July 10, 2025
Volume 59, Issue 2
Volume 59, Issue 2
July 10, 2025
Volume 58, Issue 10
Volume 58, Issue 10
July 10, 2025
Volume 58, Issue 11
Volume 58, Issue 11
July 10, 2025

The Saratoga Falcon

The Saratoga Falcon
All content by Sam Bai
Seniors Sam, Kabeer and Shrey sleeping while Pothan stays alert

Senior Mag 2024: A professional guide to sleeping in class

Sam Bai
Weasel Decklich belaying up at Movement Climbing.

Senior Mag 2024: Learning to climb, one boulder at a time

Sam Bai
Victoria and Sam waiting in the League of Legends lobby

Senior Mag 2024: Bonding over League of Legends

Sam Bai and Victoria Lin
Gravel Ridge, owned by Ryan Cagliostro’s parents, a five-acre vineyard planted for Chardonnay grapes in 1979-81. 

Senior grows up on historic family-owned vineyard

Sam Bai
A wall in the journalism room showcasing many of the awards the Falcon has won in the past 65 years since its establishment.

Falcon wins Silver Crown Award from Columbia Scholastic Press Association

Sam Bai and Nicole Lee
A person crying after losing all of their money

Sports gambling in the digital age fuels underage addiction

Sam Bai and Victoria Lin
Junior Aiden Chen swings bat towards incoming ball.

With no JV team and a huge roster, varsity baseball team focuses on skill building for underclassmen

Sam Bai and Isabelle Wang
Bee boxes sitting on my lawn.

A new hobby has me buzzing with excitement

Sam Bai
Student amazed upon receiving a schedule of seven classes.

Yes, it’s hard, but taking seven classes a year is worth the time and effort

Sam Bai and Lynn Dai
A rain cloud smacking somebody with a fist.

Photo or Graphic for: Rain, while sometimes inconvenient, sustains us

Nicole Lee and William Norwood
The first fight encountered when playing “Library of Ruina.”

‘Library of Ruina’: the painful process of learning new games

Sam Bai
Mr. Torrens photoshopped onto an image of a Scottish Lord.

The Tarbox and Torrens Show: using photoshop to provide comic relief for the staff

Sam Bai
Herzman and Tyler enjoy music on the ride to school.

Teachers grow friendships through daily carpools to school 

Sam Bai and Annie Liu
The library is jam packed with students during tutorial.

Teachers continue to call for hiring of credentialed librarian three years after the role became vacant

Sam Bai and Zack Zhang
The National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists pose outside the college and career center.

An untapped resource: student photographers

Sam Bai
The old school website (left) in contrast to the updated version.

School and district websites undergo major redesign

Sam Bai
Principal Greg Louie stands in front of a no fire sign, reviewing the fire drill simulation

Newly created safety team plans for emergency scenarios

Sam Bai and Andrew Lin
Rector sits inside of his homemade jungle.

Plants enliven Rector’s classroom

Sam Bai and Annie Liu
Ghosted

Top 10 ways to ghost 👻

Sam Bai and Victoria Lin
27'

Photo or Graphic for: 100-word rant: Students who write 27’ instead of ‘27 should be rescinded

Allison Tan
Senior Kasie Yang’s sculpture “Quarantine Lifted,” a part of her portfolio which won a gold key.

Scholastic Art and Writing Awards: 47 students recognized in 2023 competition

Sam Bai
A student plays Tetris on their computer.

School WiFi should not block students from playing video games

Sam Bai
A student addicted to their phone.

Reddit and Reels: Tech has made teens like me unable to focus for longer than 15 seconds

Sam Bai
Senior Anthony Wang and two assistant coaches, sophomore Skyler Mao and freshman Lawson Wang, teach four students in Redwood’s black team. 

Clubs build connections with middle school counterparts

Sam Bai and Jonny Luo
Cover of the first book in the series, “Percy Jackson and The Olympians, The Lighting Thief.”

Percy Jackson: not as good as nostalgia might make it

Sam Bai and Victoria Lin
chess.com is blocked when using school WiFi.

100-word rant: school’s wifi should stop blocking video games

Sam Bai
Physics teacher Matthew Welander does a bench press.

Physics teacher Matthew Welander finds numerous benefits of going to the gym

Sam Bai and Aiden Ye
How much money students spent at Saratoga High School compared to the national average.

How do students spend their money?

Sam Bai and Victoria Lin
100-word rant: The new bell tone is like being at SFO

100-word rant: The new bell tone is like being at SFO

Sam Bai
The three gray bins placed around campus are filled with donated food.

Photo or Graphic for: Hunger at Home club combats food insecurity through food drives

Natalie Chua
 Day 2: Skurry. Victoria: A tiny rat scurries across the floor in search of cheese, “sneaky sneaky.” Sam: A youtuber named Skurry fights the final boss from the indie game Hollow Knight.

Inktober proves to be a daunting challenge

Sam Bai and Victoria Lin
School shooting pranks undermine safety

School shooting pranks undermine safety

Sam Bai
shsfalcon

Photo or Graphic for: Top 10 isms

Victoria Lin
100-word rant: Fog is confusing

100-word rant: Fog is confusing

Sam Bai
Ask someone out with these easy, fool-proof methods.

Top 10 ways to ask someone out

Christina Chang and Sam Bai
The long line of students waiting to enter the cafeteria extends all the way to the student center.

School joins National School Lunch Program

Sam Bai and Victoria Lin
Outside temperatures are burning hot while inside ones are freezing cold.

100-word rant: too cold classes

Sam Bai
People socialize during the Food Truck Festival on Aug. 16.

Food Truck Festival deemed great success, $300 raised

Sam Bai and Leyna Chan
Gloriana Garcia standing in front of motivational posters in her room.

Long-term sub brings in her experiences as an advocate, journalist and entrepreneur into classroom

Sam Bai, Selina Chen, and Aiden Ye
Falcon individuals and teams shine in their respective sports

Falcon individuals and teams shine in their respective sports

Sam Bai, Aiden Ye, and Victoria Hu
100% sugar? More like 100 grams of sugar

100% sugar? More like 100 grams of sugar

Sam Bai
School to host Grad Night in person on June 2

School to host Grad Night in person on June 2

Andrew Lin and Sam Bai
Engineering Design and Development students design and build original projects for practical use

Engineering Design and Development students design and build original projects for practical use

Sam Bai and Howard Shu
“NileRed explains what is happening in a Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction"  

NileRed, a professional amateur chemist, savior of students, bane of teachers

Sam Bai
NileRed explains what is happening in a Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

NileRed, a professional amateur chemist, savior of students, bane of teachers

Sam Bai
Math and CS teacher incorporates video games into teaching

Math and CS teacher incorporates video games into teaching

Sam Bai and Aiden Ye
Achieving perfection after two reboots and nine tries: ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’

Achieving perfection after two reboots and nine tries: ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’

Andrew Lin and Sam Bai
My month-long journey to learn Morse code through mnemonics

My month-long journey to learn Morse code through mnemonics

Sam Bai
Senior Andrew Hong defends the goal at the team’s last game against Lynbrook on Oct. 29. The Falcons ultimately lost 8-7.

Boys’ water polo closes season with a loss to Lynbrook at league finals

Bill Yuan, Sam Bai, and Andrew Lin
Teachers gather for a picture in the library after the Nov. 16 LGSUHSD board meeting.

District Teachers Association rallies behind effort to get higher pay

Sam Bai, Shreya Rallabandi, and Aiden Ye
Sam and Andrew get insanely jacked

Sam and Andrew get insanely jacked

Sam Bai and Andrew Lin
So you want to play all the games The Falcon has reviewed recently? Start here

So you want to play all the games The Falcon has reviewed recently? Start here

Sam Bai
If you snooze, you lose

If you snooze, you lose

Sam Bai
Why you should buy ‘Bloons Tower Defense 6’

Why you should buy ‘Bloons Tower Defense 6’

Sam Bai and Jonny Luo

Advisories resume; more changes still planned

Sam Bai and Andrew Lin
From left to right: Varsity players seniors Daniel Jiang, Chris Wu and Marcus Kuo perform warm up drills during practice

Boys’ water polo currently undefeated

Sam Bai, Andrew Lin, and Esther Luan
Learning poetry, one stanza at a time

Learning poetry, one stanza at a time

Sam Bai
Welander poses next to equipment used in AP physics demonstrations.

AP Physics C students dive into school year with advanced concepts and labs

Sam Bai and Nicole Lu
Mr. Bayona smiles for a photo in a chicken costume back in high school.

New math and CS teacher aims to engage students

Sam Bai and Vicky Bai
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