Features

  • Finding the balance: Students work on and off campus

    Facing a line of tired eyes, Sami Griffin, junior, prepares for the busy workday by taking orders, grinding beans, and mixing drinks. Griffin spent her summer behind the counter at a local Starbucks. Although it meant sacrificing part of her summer, making her own money and being in a fun environment made the whole…

  • The Man, the Myth, the Legend: Mr. Steve Johnson’s travels

    Steve Johnson, esteemed history teacher, takes traveling the world to a whole new level. Having explored several continents, he has a cultured view of society and its different governments and systems. This summer, Johnson started his travels on the East Coast and took a train down to Kansas before spending some time in Independence,…

  • Summer Camps and Internships

    Summer camps and internships offer students opportunities to pursue passions, hobbies, and possible career interests in a more relaxed setting. This past summer, many students took advantage of these activities. Ashley Mansour, junior, participated in the astrophysics cluster of the California State Summer School for Math and Science (COSMOS) program at UC Davis. COSMOS…

  • The Next Chapter

    NP ideals: Students bring nobility, potential, humanity and scholarship to nation’s top service academies For applicants, choosing a future at one of the five Federal Service Academies is a unique choice to make, and although the select few students who decide to follow this path are free from tuition induced debt, they must serve…

  • Yo-yo boys swing into the spotlight

    The “yo-yo boys” do it all. Whether it’s the Spring Rally, the Talent Show, or performing tricks at school, both Matthew Weymer, sophomore, and James Pratt, freshman, both found a passion in yo-yo-ing and dedicate much of their time to the activity. Weymer started yo-yo-ing in fifth grade, and with the support and help…

  • Champions for change: students defend the needs of local environment

    As an AP environmental science teacher, Robert Martin has seen many students with genuine concern for the environment. As an instructor, he considers education a key role in informing people about daily decisions. “Being responsible environmental citizens is something that I think every student should at least have some exposure to if we hope…

  • Face to face: Removing the mask of bullying

    “It was one of those things where playful teasing slowly developed into more psychological abuse and it eventually developed to the point where it got physical,” Jeancarlo Yela, junior, said, describing his past experiences with bullying in elementary school. “I would end up getting beaten almost every day; they would say, ‘Oh if you…

  • Learning together: Students collaborate through the LEAP program

    Every fourth period, Sophie Buffo, sophomore, heads to the special education classrooms to help as a teaching assistant. “I am able to learn so many new things about the students,” Buffo said. “Just walking around school you can see fellow students smile and interact with the special ed students,” Like Buffo, many people believe…

  • What Wood Jake do?

    “I don’t think he’s very good at being a normal person,” said Joe Shimamoto, senior and varsity wrestler, about his teammate Jake Wood, senior. After winning the school’s first CIF wrestling title since 1992 on March 5, 2016, Wood rose from the mat as “all the other kids there were jumping and screaming,” Shimamoto…

  • Lark Detweiler: A journey of passion and perseverance

    As she moves across the stage, the first things immediately apparent about Lark Detweiler, sophomore, are her technique, her strength, her poise, and her passion. What isn’t immediately apparent is that the ballerina has been hard of hearing since her childhood. After going through an unidentified illness that burned the cilia in both of…