Anshu Siripurapu

  It seems like only yesterday that I was standing in a line of just-graduated eighth graders to pick up my freshman course schedule, flush with the excitement .

Ten brave and talented Saratoga students took the stage at the McAfee Center on March 21, each vying for the honor of being crowned this year’s Saratoga Idol, a title that ultimately went to senior Chelsea Venuti for her soulful rendition of Carrie Underwood’s song “Temporary Home.”

Principal Jeff Anderson has announced that he will be stepping down as principal to accept the position of assistant superintendent for the Los Gatos-Saratoga Unified School District. Anderson will continue to serve as principal until the end of the school year, after which he will assume his new position at the district office.

Senior Ruchie Bhardwaj found herself carrying around more than her backpack on the week of Nov. 28. Bhardwaj was one of the 87 students in AP Environmental Science who had to collect the trash they accumulated in bags they kept on their person, a task designed to remind them of the amount of garbage they generated in a week.

The Los Gatos-Saratoga High School district has much to be proud of: high standardized test scores, enviable graduation rates and state-of-the art facilities. But a recent energy audit, conducted by Innovate Energy Services (IES), found that the district is lagging behind most schools in one area: energy efficiency.

Senior Sangkyoun Shin and junior Carlos Del Castillo were a little confused on schedule pick-up day when they looked at the bell schedules printed on the back of their lists of classes. The classes were in blocks? Only certain classes on different days? What was tutorial? What seemed completely ordinary to most SHS students was completely alien to them. Like many other foreign transfer students, Shin and Castillo were surprised by the differences between SHS and their former schools in Korea and Mexico.

While most students at SHS will be spending the first Sunday in May hastily poring over thick AP prep books, the music department will be enjoying delicious pancakes and performing throughout the morning in the Saratoga Music Booster’s annual Pancake Breakfast, which will take place from 8 a.m. to noon on Sunday, May 1, in the quad.

The major cause of the district’s budget problem is the state cutting back on its education spending as it grapples with its budget problems. In the 2007-08 school year, state funding for the district was nearly $2.8 million while the projected state funding for the 2012-13 school year is a mere $376,873.

For visitors and students alike, the most prominent feature of the SHS campus may be the McAfee Performing Arts and Lecture Center. A gleaming structure of glass and steel equipped with state-of-the-art technology and renowned for its excellent staff, the McAfee is a venue that is sought after by not only students and members of the Saratoga community, but also by other organizations located outside our city’s boundaries.

While most students at SHS will be spending the first Sunday in May hastily poring over thick AP prep books, the music department will be enjoying delicious pancakes and performing throughout the morning in the Saratoga Music Booster’s annual Pancake Breakfast, which will take place from 8 a.m. to noon on Sunday, May 1, in the quad.

The major cause of the district’s budget problem is the state cutting back on its education spending as it grapples with its budget problems. In the 2007-08 school year, state funding for the district was nearly $2.8 million while the projected state funding for the 2012-13 school year is a mere $376,873.

For visitors and students alike, the most prominent feature of the SHS campus may be the McAfee Performing Arts and Lecture Center. A gleaming structure of glass and steel equipped with state-of-the-art technology and renowned for its excellent staff, the McAfee is a venue that is sought after by not only students and members of the Saratoga community, but also by other organizations located outside our city’s boundaries.

It would seem obvious to most people that, when facing bankruptcy, the time for saving loose change in the jar has probably passed. However, the politicians battling over the budget on Capitol Hill seem to lack this basic intuition. While it would appear that the logical approach to solving our nation’s deficit crisis would be to look for savings and cuts in the largest areas of government spending, Republicans and Democrats alike are unwilling to address the root cause of government spending: entitlements and taxes.

The Isaac Stern auditorium in Carnegie Hall seats 2,804 patrons in its five levels and its uppermost balconies sit loftily 137 steps above the stage.

After receiving data from a new voter poll, the Los-Gatos Saratoga Unified High School District board is expected to vote on a proposed parcel tax measure that would help the district alleviate the budget crisis and preserve programs at its meeting on Feb 1.

After making it through their pre-season games undefeated, the boys’ soccer team lost its first regular season game to Palo Alto 4-1 on Jan. 5.

The Marine Corps Recruit Depot or MCRD in San Diego is an alien world within the bustling city. A stone’s throw from the San Diego International Airport, the Marines just within sight from the rest of the world, but completely isolated. Recruits are allowed no contact with the outside except for letters and are held to the highest standards of discipline and conduct. This is what 2010 alumnus of Danny Baldwin stepped into.

At the end of November, most seniors breathe a long sigh of relief when they finally submit their UC application. Saratoga has a long tradition of students attending the competitive UC system, but recently, tuition increases in the UC system have made many private colleges seem like a more inviting option. For undocumented immigrants, however, the UC system is now a much more promising option after they were granted in-state tuition benefits, a welcome step in immigration reform.

The show must go on ... unless there’s rain, that is.

A few days prior to the highly anticipated football game between Saratoga High and crosstown rival Los Gatos, seniors Tim Lycurgus and Kevin Darchuk created a page on Facebook for Saratoga and Los Gatos students alike to discuss their sentiments regarding the game. The initial comments were harmless—one-liners poking fun at the opposing team.

If the members of the boys’ soccer team want to make it to CCS again, they will have to win in a tougher league and without last year’s top scorer. The team’s tryouts began Nov 1 and continued throughout the week. This year, the team had minor changes to their coaching staff, since Adam Clarke will be returning as varsity head coach, but JV will be taken over by Michael Patrick. The team also has recruited a new keeper coach, Jim Hull. Saratoga high alumnus Brandon Chow will be returning to help coach.

In an effort to improve school spirit, the ASB along with the spirit, rally and spring fling commissions have brought a little bit of Hogwarts magic to SHS by introducing a “class cup” to foster friendly competition between the classes.

The stereotypical high school bully is a staple of American media. Everyone recognizes the burly teenager shaking down a slight-framed freshman for lunch money. However, these bullies may now be looked upon with a sense of nostalgia as opposed to fear.

The marching band began its season on Oct. 23 with a competition at Gilroy High School. As rain poured, band members struggled with the conditions and scored 77.5 out of 100 and placed last among the four schools in their division.

For most students, P.E. can be just another freshman class you take and then forget. But for juniors Mei Gao and Natalie Liu, it was the start of what would become an enduring friendship.

Bradley Manning is the finest example of Internet irony. A young man working as an analyst for the U.S. army, he was arrested in May 2010 after allegedly leaking videos of U.S. Marines attacking Iraqi civilians to the whistle-blower organization WikiLeaks. In a Shakespearean twist, he was turned into the federal authorities by a fellow "leaker" after bragging about his accomplishment over e-mail.

Returning students may have noticed a number of changes to the campus that were made over the summer, including the construction of the MAP building and the general campus beautification that was appreciated by many. However, one of the more subtle but equally important changes has gone virtually unnoticed. Over the summer, new smart meters were installed on the two main electrical hubs of the school.

Imagine that your family has just moved to foreign country and you've been enrolled in school there. Every day you struggle to try to learn literature and history in classes taught exclusively in an alien language. Now imagine the situation reversed and you have an average day in the life of a foreign student at SHS. In addition to the normal challenges of high school, these students have to deal with being thrust into a new culture, bombarded with a new language and surrounded by a completely unfamiliar environment.

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.

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.