In the late 1990s, the school could hardly be viewed as a great facility for learning. In fact, Saratoga High had hardly changed its appearance or facilities in its first 40 years.

Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood. Saratoga High students helped save these individuals' lives by generously donating blood in the Stanford Blood Drive Jan. 29.

The bi-annual blood drive was hosted by the SHS Community Commission and was scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Small Gym. Although many appointments were pushed back
because the Stanford Blood Drive truck broke down along the way to the school, the drive had a good turnout of 69 donations, according to head commissioner Daryl Chang.

In the 12 years since it was founded, Google Inc. has grown from a garage-based search engine into an internationally recognized cloud-computing giant, yet the company is contemplating a bold step in the opposite direction, abandoning its business in China because of a China-based cyber attack on its intellectual property and continued frustration over government censorship.

Google's decision may seem rash and illogical, but it is a calculated move. The company's ostensibly philanthropic attempt to bring free speech to China seems to be shrouding an ulterior mercantile motive.

With every new time period comes a fashion transformation. Whether it reflects the economic standards of the people or the strife of the country, fashion is affected by its surroundings and the people who make it.

The 2000s were no exception to this as trends ranged from skinny jeans to leggings; slip-on shoes to the infamous Crocs. But when the current generation reminisces about the past 10 years, fashion will be a major component by which to judge the decade.

Starting this past fall, world history/PE teacher Rick Ellis and athletic director Peter Jordan have led a movement to implement a new workout programs for teachers, P.E. students and teams and made sweeping changes to the weight room to accommodate the new philosophy.

Ellis has implemented many of the workouts and techniques from a program called CrossFit, which is designed to improve all aspects of physical fitness to create a complete athlete as compared to those who focus on a narrow spectrum of activities and exercises.

As many students were busy concentrating on bubbling the first few answers for their finals week of Jan. 11, Kirk Davis' physics classes gathered outside to drop eggs from the roof of the science wing.

For junior Tim Lycurgus, as recently as three years ago, playing fantasy football was merely a recreational and fun way to stay up to date with the NFL. However, over the years, Lycurgus has turned his simple recreational activity into a competitive hobby and has picked up many virtual trophies along the way.

"At first, I just used to play fantasy for fun and I would always lose to my friends," said Lycurgus, "but then our leagues became more and more competitive and I started to do my research and I started winning."

Saratoga suburban legend sometimes alludes to a tradition known as the "senior streak." From the mid-'80s until 1995, seniors left their legacy in the form of a streak through the high school while covered in body paint some time during the year. Many participants drank alcohol as way of working up courage for the streak.

Even more surprising than the lifespan of this tradition was that teachers and administrators mostly seemed to view it as a harmless activity.

In 1991, then-rookie history teacher Kim Anzalone was shocked the first time she witnessed the streak.

When new English 12 teacher Valerie Arbizu came to the school this past fall, she brought along her own traditions from years of teaching at Evergreen High School in San Jose. While there, she held an annual Canterbury Tales contest. She decided to continue the contest this year with her senior classes, and English 12 teacher Erick Rector and AP Language teacher Ken Nguyen also decided to participate.

The students in these classes wrote their own tale using the style and conventions of "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer.

Ever since the start of the new year, students who frequently visit the music building have noticed that certain items are missing. These items include a computer, several thousand dollar instruments, belonging to both the students and the school, and keys used to get in and out of the building.

Saratoga High is known for its safe and friendly environment. Usually, discipline problems are not an issue here—certainly not compared to most other schools.

Last fall junior clarinetist Kyle Fukui auditioned for the Santa Clara County Band Directors Association (SCCBDA) County Honor Band, which is held once a year. He was one of 57 clarinetists undergoing this stressful challenge.

In December, Fukui found out that he was among the 24 clarinetists who had the chance to join the 90-person group for its performance on Jan. 17 in the McAfee Center. The site of the concert changes among schools each year, and it was Saratoga's turn host the event.

On Monday, Jan. 18, the school held its first annual Martin Luther King Jr. community service day. Ninety-seven students and 30 adult volunteers attended an event sponsored by the Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO).

The different activities included preparing food for a local charity, creating care packages for soldiers overseas, making cards for seniors and participating in a Quad cleanup and a beach cleanup trip.

Parents Sudha Sreenivasan and Dory Albert organized the service day with help from many other parents.

Freshman goalkeeper Ally Nilan-Axline started her varsity soccer career off in style. In her first regular season game, she stopped many shots from Wilcox on Jan. 7, resulting in a 1-1 tie. After playing preseason on the JV team, Nilan-Axline was given the opportunity to move up to varsity earlier that week as senior Jan Iyer recovered from an injury.

"My dad had always encouraged me to do varsity and he was really happy when I got to move up. I think this is just going to be a really good team especially since I have a great defense," said Nilan-Axline.

After a slow 1-7 start, the boys' basketball team finished the non-league season strong, posting a 3-1 record over the winter break.

This four-game surge came at a good time for the Falcons, who rolled into their first league game versus Cupertino with some positive momentum.

Saratoga's winning ways continued against the Cupertino Pioneers, as senior shooting guard Daniel Chou exploded for a career-high 27 points on six three-pointers while shooting an astounding 71 percent from the field.

Sophomore wrestler Nick Marshall let out a sigh of relief as he stepped onto the awards podium at the toughest tournament of the year on Jan. 23 , Mid-Cals, to receive his seventh place medal. The Mid-Cals tournament in Gilroy is a two-day competition in which the best wrestlers from the all over the state come to represent their schools, and Saratoga was well represented. Other notable Falcon performances were sophomore Alfred Murabito, 127 lbs, and freshman Zachary Hansen, 105 lbs , both making it to the second day of the tournament, held Jan. 22-23.

“Time is like the waves on the shore, slipping away quickly, only leaving the memory of sound and shadow in our hearts. They used to make our life colorful, but now they’re only forever remembered.”

And so ends the English translation of the first story in the Chinese anthology, The Story of Walking. Filled with wise messages and meaningful life stories, The Story of Walking seems to be a book from ancient China, written by a notable philosopher. Actually, it was written by a teenager.

In the week leading up to finals, teachers are "strongly advised" to not assign homework or new material. However, many teachers bend this "suggestion" and continue to assign homework, projects and sometimes a test. This is a policy that needs to be enforced strongly so students can get the time they need to prepare for their final exams.

After dreaming of going to Antarctica for 20 years, planning for five years and getting ready for three years, science teacher Lisa Cochrum finally turned her dream into a reality when she embarked on a 21-day trip to Antarctica starting on Dec. 17.

Saratoga has always had a particularly dull downtown, with sidewalks empty except for the odd couple or elementary school kid. Most shops are lucky to have a customer grace their establishment, even if they only stop by to have a look. The local Starbucks has revived the ailing spirit of the town, yet it still continues to repel the young and old alike with its crumbly scene .

The decline in the economy has only hurt the area more. Since leases are so expensive downtown, many business have struggled to stay afloat.