Redwood Middle School students get a head start on many high school classes.

For every academically rigorous high school, there must also be an equally rigorous feeder school. Such is the case in the Saratoga school district.

The school boasts one of the highest API (Academic Performance Index) scores in the state: 933 out of 1000. Given that this standard of excellence is established at the lower levels, it's no wonder that Saratoga's feeder schools also boast abnormally high test scores.

Commitment, enthusiasm and friendliness are just some of the qualities that guidance counselor Frances Saiki looks for when selecting Link Leader applicants, qualities that are also important in Redwood Middle School's WEB program.

But Link Crew, which pairs upperclassman leaders to a group of eight to 10 freshmen, it is not many students' first mentoring experience. Many current Link leaders and applicants participated in a similar program called WEB, or Where Everybody Belongs as 8th graders at Redwood Middle School. WEB trains student leaders to welcome in coming sixth graders at Redwood.

Who knew five years ago that people would make household names for themselves from right in their bedroom, but with YouTube, hundreds of people have found this success as the website celebrates its fifth anniversary. Two of many people who use this method to broadcast themselves online are Kevin Wu (known online as KevJumba), a sophomore at UC Davis, and Ryan Higa (or Nigahiga), 19, who attends the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. Both of them upload videos as often as they can in order to gain more subscribers, which further increases their popularity.

"And I was like baby, baby, baby ohhh, like baby, baby, baby noo, like baby, baby, baby ohh, I thought you'd always be mine, mine."

This over-played jingle stuck in many teenage girls' heads is sung by Justin Bieber, the squeaky-clean 16-year-old Canadian sensation. After being discovered on YouTube and signing a deal with Usher, Bieber rapidly rose to become an international phenomenon. He released his first single "One Time" in 2009, and soon enough, many people worldwide found themselves diagnosed with the contagious "Bieber Fever."

As summer draws near, the sun, sand and waves of the beach beckon to students in need of relaxation. Although the beaches of the Bay Area are not as glamorous as those in southern California, there are several local beaches that are less than an hour away from Saratoga and can satisfy the needs of stressed students.

As almost any freshman will tell you, high school is a daunting experience. Fresh out of middle school they are suddenly faced with a new campus, new classes, new teachers, new people and shockingly, grades that matter. Even though it is a frightening transition, most incoming students are fortunate enough to bring their old friends along, giving them a support network to survive the first few brutal weeks. Imagine being a student without that support system, thrust into a new environment but with the added burden of not knowing anybody there. For quite a few students, this was the harsh reality.

On a Friday afternoon, junior Chris Chung returns home from a rough day at school and decides to relax on his computer. As he logs onto Facebook, he sees a notification, and expects it to be a wall post from one of his friends. But to his surprise, it says, “Michelle Chan posted a video on your Wall.” In the video, freshmen Michelle Chan and Lynne Okada strum their ukuleles and belt out lyrics personalized just for him. As the one minute-long video comes to an end, Chris can’t help but smile at the two girls’ “spunky and energetic personalities.”

Who has never had a bad day? Put your hand up. No, put your hands down and don't lie.

Everyone has had one of those days where everything seems to go wrong, the world has turned upside down and there's no end in sight. When that happens, all you can do is hope you can go home so that you can curl up into a little ball and cry yourself to sleep.

Next year will be one of change and adjustment for drama students, as current English teacher Kerry Mohnike has volunteered to teach two classes of drama after Chris Mahle, who has led the program for four years, was not retained by the school.

Many students were disappointed about news of Mahle's departure, which was revealed during a drama club lunch on April 6 by assistant principal Karen Hyde. Junior Hannah Harter said the news was "very upsetting" and was surprised to hear it.

Saratoga Girls dominated CCS this year coming in at sixth place. Seniors Megan Nolet, Elizabeth Murray and Laurnen Opatrny all gave stunning performances in their last meet of their high school career. Despite set backs in which a confusing meet schedual caused missed races, the Falcons went on to achieve best times in CCS Finals. Lauren Opatrny achieved 56.10 in her 100 yard backstroke, placing second in finals.

1.Season Record: 4-12-0

2. Highlight: "Bonding I'll never forget that, it's always crazy and fun. Our best game was Harker because it felt great to win, but I also really liked the game against Leland even though we lost in overtime because everyone put 100 percent into it and more," said Jodi Huang

Coming off a momentous season, the boys' swim team made its mark again by earning a third consecutive top-five finish, placing fifth place and emerging as the top public school at the CCS finals meet on May 21 at Santa Clara International Swim Center. Bellarmine won its 26th consecutive title.

Freshman David Zarrin wants to change the way people think about bicycles. With a first place prize in engineering from the International Science and Engineering Fair under his belt, he may very well do so.

"I learned of the issues of today's bicycle through experiencing them myself as I rode my bike," Zarrin said. These problems, he said, primarily relate to limited gear ratios, no backwards pedaling capability, and inefficient gear shifts.

Next year’s budget woes may be solved, but the Los Gatos Saratoga Union High School District (LGSUHSD) is now facing a $3 million deficit for the 2011-2012 school year.

The budget deficit for 2010-11 has been solved by cutting courses and programs, implementing a salary freeze and a pay cut, withdrawing money from the reserve and instigating teacher layoffs. As a result of these changes, some class sizes such as English 9 will increase by one or two students.

After qualifying at CCS trials, freshman Melodie Bellegarda and sophomore Ailene Nguyen hoped to continue on their winning streak into CCS finals.

Bellegarda placed fifth out of eight competitors at the CCS trial in the 400m.

"I just really wanted to run my race and get another [personal record]," said Bellegarda, whose current personal record is 57.58 seconds.

For the past decade, I've been swimming two hours a day, six days a week and 11 months a year with DACA (De Anza Cupertino Aquatics) up until roughly two months ago. Am I crazy for that? Possibly. Since then, I put club swimming on the back burner for a couple of months and started practicing exclusively with the school team. It's been ... different.

"They care deeply, they are high motivated, they're very determined, they work hard and they are very goal oriented. They're like Alice in Wonderland. They just know where they're going." - Karen Hyde

Replacing decrepit water fountains, planting gardens and installing new cabinetry in the cafeteria are among the myriad of improvements the school's maintenance staff has been busy working on this year, and students around campus have taken notice.

Just last month, the school installed new wooden cabinets, funded by the PTSO, in the cafeteria to replace the old trophy case, which has been moved to the gym lobby. According to plant operations supervisor Brian Moran, the main reason for this change was to increase storage space.

Finally, AP Tests are over! The relief and freedom of the students is overwhelmingly obvious in their actions and expressions afterwards. However, the classes are not over yet, and those classes still require that students participate and be active in learning—because, while AP tests may be completed, the school year is certainly not.

In this issue: graduation, Cochrum named teacher of the year, Mohnike to become drama instructor, senior prom, Bombay in the Bay, opinions about South Park censorship and oil spill in the gulf, transitioning from Redwood to SHS, youtube stars, SHS alumni, spring sport wrap-ups, and personal column about bad mood remedies.

Senior Magazine 2010. The nexts, future college destinations.

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