SHS Commissions explained

Commission: Elections

Head: Ariel Liu (12)

Commissioners: Michelle Huang (12), Manna Okada (12), Jennifer Veis (12)

Purpose: Elections Commission is in charge of publicizing the electronic voting system and reporting results for all elections. They work in conjunction with ASB and Homecoming Commission to ensure that the elections process works smoothly.

Goals: “This year, our main goal is to make sure people are informed and want to participate in elections. In addition, I hope that each election runs smoothly without technical difficulties, since we have switched to electronic voting.” – head commissioner Ariel Liu

Events: Freshman class office, Homecoming, ASB election, class office election

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Commission: Homecoming/Spring Fling

Head: Eileen Toh (11)

Commissioners: Jenna Chen (12), Yuna Kim (11), Zoe Liao (12), Ashley Nguyen (11), Megana Saripella (11)  

Purpose: The Homecoming/Spring Fling Commission selects the overall theme and oversees many of the details of picking the Homecoming Court. It also organizes the Spring Fling spirit week and Powderpuff activities.

Goals: “A lot of our problems last year stemmed from a lack of communication between us and ASB. To prevent this from happening again, we are working more with other commissions and the ASB Head Commissioner so that we all are informed of every detail that is important for Homecoming and Spring Fling.” – head commissioner Eileen Toh

Events: Homecoming quad days, Spring Fling Powderpuff football and cheerleading, Spring Fling spirit week.

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Commission: Dance

Head: Danielle Berkowitz Sklar (11)

Commissioners: Helen Chen (12), William Chen (11), Michelle Handoko (12), Sanah Shah (12), Supriya Singh (12), Lillian Zeng (10)

Purpose: The Dance Commission is responsible for publicizing, pricing, decorating and choosing venues for open school dances. They work with the Homecoming/Spring Fling Commission and ASB when needed.

Goal: “This year, we hope to raise spirit and student involvement by getting more people to attend school dances. We want to work on improving decorations and adding new features that will make the dances more fun and appealing. For example, for the first time in years, winter formal is going to take place outside of school.” – head commissioner Danielle Berkowitz Sklar

Events: Homecoming Dance and Winter Formal

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Commission: Spirit and Athletics 

Heads: Nicole Prowse (12) and Anne Rollinson (12)

Commissioners: Yu Karen Asai (12), Hannah Leonard (11), Erin Norris (12),

Purpose: The Spirit and Athletics Commission raises school spirit by decorating the quad, selling Saratoga merchandise and organizing  events such as rally tailgates.

Goal: “We plan to be more organized and publicize each event we hold more thoroughly. We are going to be providing tattoos and face paint at  home football games and we are working on creating even more events to get students out and supporting their school.” -head commissioner Nicole Prowse

Events: Rally Tailgates, spirit week, Event coordinated with the Special Olympics

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Commission: Benefit

Head: Sabrina Clark (12)

Commissioners: Nina Harris (12), Nellie Jalalian (12), Nicole Prowse (12), Darby Williams (12), Jace Welton (12)

Purpose: The Benefit Commission prepares all year for the Benefit Fashion Show that donates its proceeds to notable charities and features students modeling clothing.

Goal: “We hope to produce another successful show this year and also bring the school together to fight for a common common cause. Last year, we had a large audience and I hope to have the same, if not more support this year. We also hope to land more committed sponsors and make sure everything runs smoothly.” – head commissioner Sabrina Clark

Events: Benefit Fashion Show on Feb 27, 2016.

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Commission: New Student

Head: Felicia Hung (12)

Commissioners: Caitlin Ju (11), Puja Maheshwari (11), Nandita Mohan (12), Kanika Vora (11), Tiffany Zheng (12)

Purpose: The New Student Commission plans activities for students new to the district, such as the New Student BBQ, and periodically checks in with students to ease their transition into Saratoga High.

Goal: “This year, I hope for the entire commission to stay active and assist the new students until the very last day of second semester. Last year, we never brought the new students together again, so this year, I want to have a small food social second semester just to check in with the new students and allow them to meet other students as well.” – head commissioner Felicia Hung

Events: New Student BBQ, socials, free lunch days

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Commission: Community/Student Wellness

Heads: Isha Mangal (12), Deepthi Sampathkumar (12)

Commissioners: Jennifer Chen (12), Raina Kolluri (11), Ingrid Pan (12), Kirthana Ramesh (11), Shreya Sheel (12)

Purpose: The Community Commission plans and publicizes all community events that the school is involved in. The commission fundraises during the year and donates the money to a charity at the end of each semester. They will be collaborating on a recycling project with the Green Commission.

Goal: “We really wanted to focus on a theme for the entire year in order to impact more people. We were thinking in the ranges of spreading positivity by trying to get students to connect with each other, and more importantly, with the community outside of SHS.” – head commissioner Isha Mangal

Events: Blood Drives, Senior Citizens Day, Bone Marrow Drives

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Commission: Green

Head: Michelle Shen(12)

Commissioners: Anu Arjavalingam (12), Nidhi Jain (11), Jayee Malwankar (12), Anya Srivats (10), Shaunak Vaidya (10)

Purpose: The Green Commission works to make the school more environmentally friendly by brainstorming and implementing energy saving alternatives.

Goal: “Since our projects, such as adding solar panels to the front parking lot or switching the  school to more efficient light bulbs, are really big and far-reaching, we often have to work several years on them. We also have some short-term goals this year, such as putting up signs of recyclable items next to the bins and building a drought-tolerant garden of native plants.” – head commissioner Michelle Shen

Events: Earth Day activities

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Commission: Rally

Head: Isa Berardo (12)

Commissioners: Allison Borch (10), Nolan Chao (11), Emma Kovac (11), Zhan Ng (12), Arnav Pawar (12), Michael Schillage (12), Kylie Stokes (12), Albe Tremblay (12)

Purpose: The Rally Commission hosts rallies in the school gym to promote school spirit. Planning begins at least several weeks before each rally.

Goal: “Our vision for this year’s rallies is to really focus on creating unity within the school. Class competition is full of spirit but [at] the end of the day, we are all one team, and we are trying to focus on unification here at SHS.” – head commissioner Isa Berardo

Events: Four rallies, two per semester

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