Category: Features

By Arthur Hoang

The Treblemakers wrapped up the end of the year with a concert in Reno on April 28, their spring concert on Wednesday and their annual concert “Jazz in my Pants” today.
The Treblemakers departed from school for Reno after break on April 27 and performed at the University of Nevada in Reno.
“We had a blast of a time on the trip, and overall, I think we did a fantastic job,” said vocalist William Chung.
In preparation for Reno, the Treblemakers had rehearsals every day during lunch, as well as Wednesday morning.
“After the Santa Cruz, we learned that we needed to be fixed and improved on. I knew I needed practice on some of the songs, especially in terms of vowels shapes,” said William.
Volunteer drivers for the Treblemakers drove four hours to Reno, stopping once in Davis for lunch and then driving the rest of the way to the hotel they stayed at.
At 3 pm, The Treblemakers performed the pieces that they’d performed at the jazz festival in Santa Cruz, which included Moon Dance, Jody Grind and Waters of March for a panel of acclaimed judges. One of them actually turned out to be a composer of Moon Dance and Jody Grind.
The Treblemakers scored a 2-2-2 rating (a score of 1 being the highest and 3 being the lowest). After their performance there was a clinic, in which a judge talked with the group and gave feedback and commentary.
“It was both shocking and interesting at the same time to have the composer for the piece performed come tell us that she thought we were great and give us some advice,” said William.
The Treblemakers set out to finish off strong with their last annual concert of the year, “Jazz in my Pants.” The concert is being held today and features the Treblemakers singing all the songs that they performed during the year. ♦

By Emily Zhao

Every year, April 25 marks the day for National DNA Day, a day where students and teachers can learn about genetics and genomes. To commemorate the day, the SCCBEP (Santa Clara County Biotechnology Education Partnership) held their 14th annual DNA Day art competition, showcasing the art and videos that high school students created.
This year’s DNA Day art contest featured three winners in the art category and two winners in the video category. For the video section of the contest, Piedmont Hills High School senior Benjamin Gonzales took first place. First place winners were awarded $100.
The students’ artworks highlighted DNA in a variety of creative fashions.
“(My) video is about a kid at a typical lemonade stand, but instead of selling lemonade, he’s selling DNA! (When) the thirsty Jogger grabs a drink, (the DNA) transforms his head into a dog,” laughed Benjamin. “I didn’t try to convey any certain message, I thought it’d be cool to have the character’s head turn into a dog after drinking the mysterious DNA.”
Benjamin originally created the video because biology and biotechnology teacher Archie Kregear assigned the project to the biotechnology class.
“Don’t get me wrong, I loved making it!” said Benjamin.
The entire video recording and editing process took him almost eight hours to complete, with the vast majority of the time spent editing.
“I was shocked when I found I won!” exclaimed Benjamin. “I usually don’t win many contests.”

By Vivian Lin

Six students from Piedmont Hills competed in the The Santa Clara County Construction Careers Association (S4CA) competition on April 13. The students’ group, the “Home Dogs” won two medals and two awards for their tiny house project.
The theme for this year’s competition was “The Built Environment: Smart, Safe, Resilient,” where projects included aspects like environmental responsibility and safety. On the day of the competition, the group members arrived and set up their booth to display their project.
“We won two awards, it was surprising!” laughed junior Bryant Raphael Cachola.
Their finished project was a tiny house, a compact version of a normal house, that contained all the necessities that a normal house would have.
“It shows how futurist our thought process is,” explains Bryant. “In the 1990s, I don’t think anyone would have thought of a tiny house, but nowadays I’m pretty sure loads of people have this in mind.” ♦

By Angel Palomino

Last Wednesday, CSF (California Scholarship Federation) held its annual Take your Teacher to Lunch event in the library.

After the 6th bell rang, CSF members and officers alike made a beeline to the library to set up the groups’ respective tables. Then, teachers excitedly trickled into the dining area to participate once again in the beloved event.

“I always love (the lunch), and I loved the idea that I could talk to CSF students where I couldn’t normally be able to.  It’s all in a relaxed setting,” recalled former business teacher Kennett Jackson.  “I’d love to always talk to them about college and their futures.”

At the lunch, small groups of teachers, CSF members and volunteers sat at several themed tables that served anything from spam musubi, ice cream sandwiches, guava juice, funnel cakes, cupcakes, cranberry pie strawberry shortcake, apple juice, lemonade, fruits and much more.

This year’s successful event is just the latest of a longstanding tradition within the club to express gratitude for the hard work and constant support that teachers show students.

“About 35 years ago, (Counselor) Brunolli started this.  I believed his purpose was to take the academic students, put them in an adult setting, and help them be able to learn etiquette,” explains English teacher and CSF advisor Nancy Kennett.  “It was small talk, to have them ‘chat somebody up’ (and) make children more well-rounded.”

Even though the event is called Take Your Teacher to Lunch, the event consists of every faculty member of the campus, including counselors and administrative staff.

“I think it’s great, and the teachers are really grateful.  Teachers should be appreciated, and this really shows it,” says Ms. Kennett.

The event allows students and teachers to interact outside of just a classroom environment.

“I enjoyed telling my stories, it was to let students know me, and I am just able to be myself, not be only teacher Loggins” describes history teacher Jeff Loggins.

Every group chose their own theme and planned their tables accordingly. With an array of colorful tablecloths and carefully crafted centerpieces, the tables were transformed into festive dining areas.

“We had good conversations, with their plans for college,” remembers Spanish teacher Claire Gonzalez. “It’s nice to spend time with them to plan for their future and where they want to go.”

This was the second year that CSF added a salad bar before the main meal.

“I just love it.  It’s really fun and the teachers love it, because they get a chance to talk to the students,” expresses English teacher and CSF advisor Peggy Lee. “It lets the students know their teachers personally.”

By Melody Li

Last Thursday, ARK (Acts of Random Kindness) hosted a luncheon for the special education students and staff during lunch in the Jackson Gym.

“The purpose of our club is to spread kindness around the school, so we should reach every nook and cranny.  We do things for students and faculty, so we wanted to do something for special-ed (students) because they’re also part of PHHS,” expresses President Lily Li.

Before the event took place, ARK members sent out invitations that included a questionnaire for the special-ed students to help ARK customize the theme, food and decorations.  This year’s theme was “Picnic in the P-ARK” with a picnic themed menu and decorations.

“Officers coordinate with the special-ed teachers a month before the event and we send out invites that included questions about their allergies, their favorite sports, activities and more,” says Publicist Nancy Li.

Besides serving food to the special education students, the members also sat down to eat with them, got to know them and took pictures together.

“We want to build bridges between students and the special-ed (department) because we usually don’t have time to befriend them since they have different schedules from others students,” comments Board Member Andy Do.

This is the second time ARK hosted their special-ed luncheon and officers hope for it to be a continuing tradition at Piedmont Hills as both ARK and the special-ed community enjoy the event.

“We first got the idea last year when we realized how all our activities had been reaching out to all communities in our school except the special-ed community. We had huge success and heard that both the students and their teachers enjoyed the activity,” explains Nancy.

Despite the strenous work, ARK members love the event, especially when they receive thank you cards from the special-ed students.

“It made my day. I remember telling everyone about how happy I was because all the special-ed students were really sweet,” remembers Lily.

By Daniel Kokoski

Last Friday, Piedmont Hills’ Key Club attended the 71st annual DCON (District Convention) at the Anaheim Convention Center over a course of three days.

Tears of joy and sadness trickled down members’ faces as they bid farewell to the preceding term and celebrate the beginning of the new 2017-2018 term.

“DCON is essentially like a farewell party and a welcome party at the same time,” summarizes President Nicky Nguyen.

As the new term is welcomed, the preceding cabinet of officers retires and the new cabinet is installed.  The Governor’s Ball is a significant component of this process, as the next CNH (California-Nevada-Hawaii) District Governor is elected.  When the nominee is chosen, the newly-elected District Governor gives a speech, and members begin to become acquainted with the governor.

Along with the Governor’s Ball, Key Club members are recognized for their efforts and contributions to the club with awards such as Distinguished President and Members of the Year.  Remarkably, DCON has recognized Piedmont Hills’ Key Club as a Distinguished Club for the fifth year in a row and commemorated Secretary Jason Vu as a Distinguished Secretary for his indomitable commitment to service.

The convention also holds workshops that develop leadership skills, such as a College 101 workshop and a workshop on teamwork.  Members also participate in bonding activities and icebreakers with others from all over the CNH district, making new friends and memories.

Overall, these activities allow members to acquire helpful social and problem-solving skills that can become very useful in the future.

“DCON is a really good opportunity to get to know a lot of different people from all over California, Nevada and Hawaii,” says Activities Coordinator Megan Luong.  “I am very excited to go since this is my first time.”

This gathering has always remained a traditional event for Key Club every year. Members acquire useful techniques and meaningful memories from the experience, and many cite DCON as a highlight in their Key Club careers. The convention for many members is an emotional roller-coaster of joyous, yet sometimes melancholic, moments.

“My experience from last year taught me about what it means to be a good leader and how to reach out to members,” Jason fondly reminisces. “It was a really emotional and memorable experience for me because I got to celebrate the end of the term with some of my best friends, and that is why I am going again this year.”

DCON is one of many events that keeps Key Club members across the district closely knit together. It contributes to the familial atmosphere, strengthening their bonds and upholding values of passion and service.

“Being able to see members slowly growing to love community service and Key Club is really something that is super rewarding, especially when they have fun at events that we participate in,” remarks Megan.

By Anthony Ta

Piedmont Hill’s Vocal Jazz Choir competed against some of California’s best choirs at the Santa Cruz Jazz Festival on March 17. The group left for Santa Cruz after first period with parent chaperones and came back to school near the end of sixth period.

In order to prepare for the festival, Vocal Jazz upped their ante and increased practices from once a week on Friday’s to a whole week.

The event lasted for the whole weekend and all groups performed throughout the festival. Having arrived at 9 am, Vocal Jazz began with an hour of lunch and had a chance to watch other jazz bands prepare for their set. They would then perform in front of the adjudicators for a rating. They performed solos for “Moondance” and ended the set with “Virtual Insanity.” After the performance, the group was met with a famous figure in the jazz world and was shown how to analyze and connect with the world of jazz in a much deeper sense than simply practicing and performing. The famous figure would essentially provide them a quickly mentorship program.

The group ended their day with a score of one 1 and two 2’s. These scores went into the national ranking for each individual in Vocal Jazz.

“I do hope that we learn from our mistakes from this year and improve and strive for a better score next year and also for the Reno Jazz Festival in April,” says Senior Mirelle Cabang.

Performances are nothing new to the Vocal Jazz Choir. Despite the fact that the group underperformed compared to previous years, they still remained confident in each other and continued to perform for not just the students at Piedmont Hills, but also for those across the West Coast.

By Erica Xie

PHHS Treblemakers were invited to perform at the CASMEC (California All-State Music Educators Convention/Conference) on Feb. 17 at the San Jose Convention Center.

The Treblemakers were the only high school vocal jazz ensemble from California, and the first ever from our district, to perform alongside the Mira Costa College Women’s’ Vocal Jazz, Frequency, and a professional a cappella group, the SanFran6.

“It was an honor to have performed for an event of such importance when it comes to the music departments in California because it’s the very best of the best,” reveals Treblemaker Catherine Tran.

The ensemble performed “Moondance,” “The Jody Grind,” “Virtual Insanity,” “Voice Dance” and “Waters of March.”

The team was selected through an audition process in which music teacher Myles Ellis submitted recordings of the past two years’ performances, the past few year’s concert programs, and the songs they would perform if selected.  The CASMEC committee then picked out the best out of hundreds of schools.

“[The CASMEC] was very positive and it was a huge honor for the students.  I kept impressing upon them how rare and uncommon it is to be able to perform here.  Teachers try year after year, and we were fortunate enough to be the vocal jazz representative of all the high schools in California,” explains Mr. Ellis.

The audience consisted of PHHS and ESUHSD staff, including Principal Traci Williams and Coordinator of Student Services Juanita Linton, students who auditioned for the All-State Choir and music educators.

“It was nerve wracking because the California All-State Jazz Choir, fellow performers who are professionals and several other choirs were in the audience judging us,” comments member Lilly Liu.

By Daniel Kokoski

Piedmont Hills participated in ESUHSD’s (East Side Union High School District) 2017 Cesar Chavez contest, choosing sophomore Midori Izu for first place and junior Eileen Thai for second place. The district will host the award ceremony on Mar. 30 in the Mount Pleasant High School Theater.

“The prompt really spoke out to me, so I decided to enter the contest. I interpreted the quote as having the courage to stand up for others that can’t speak out for themselves,” explains Eileen.

This year’s quote is, “Perhaps we can bring the day when children will learn from their earliest days that being fully man and fully woman means to give one’s life to the liberation of the brother who suffers. It is up to each one of us. It won’t happen unless we decide to use our lives to show the way.”

“Cesar Chavez said that we have to stand up for each other, so I wrote about the Muslim ban and how people have to stand up for immigrants, because someday they might need someone to stand up for them,” describes Midori.

Participants are required to apply Chavez’s quote to contemporary society. The entries are scored based on factors such as how well they interpret the quote, their originality, and their content. The district grand prize is $500 while the first place prize of each school is $100.

“The contest is not like an essay that a teacher assigns because it’s much more free-form than that,” clarifies English teacher Nancy Kennett. “The judges are looking for the spirit of the quote from Cesar Chavez, and they’re looking for who can address that the best.”

The competition is in honor of Cesar Chavez, an American civil rights activist and labor leader. Chavez laid the foundations for the United Farm Workers of America, and improved working conditions for farmers through nonviolent protest. He was one of the few that actively spoke out against labor injustice and stood up for laborers across the nation. The purpose of the contest is to assess students’ interpretations of Chavez’s words, and how the students would apply his legacy to society today.

“The judges are asking the questions ‘Is Cesar Chavez still relevant today? Do kids still understand why he was important? Are they still applying his legacy to life today?’” says Ms. Kennett.

Because of his indomitable nature as he strived for workers’ rights, Chavez’s deeds remains an iconic inspiration to many people today.

By Emily Zhao

Rain and snow storms ravaged much of northern California throughout January, with precipitation rates well above average and over ten feet of snow bury the state’s Sierra Nevadas.

The average rainfall in San Jose is 14.9 inches a year, 62% less rain than the national average. In the month of January 2017 alone, however, San Jose had a total of 7.5 inches of rain according to daily-weather.com.

With the end of 2016, California entered its sixth year in drought. Just one year ago, over 86% of the state was in severe drought. As this was the wettest January meteorologists have seen in recent years, the percentage of California that remains in severe drought has been reduced to 44%, according to San Jose Mercury News.

“Just because the condition of the drought is improving doesn’t mean that we should stop acknowledging it. We should continue to conserve water,” remarks sophomore Mignon Lee.

For the first time in years, California’s reservoirs are brimming with water. The two biggest reservoirs in the state, Shasta and Oroville, are 80% full, while many Bay Area reservoirs are completely full, reports Mercury News. Water is even being released from such reservoirs to prepare for potential flooding.

“We’re so used to living in California with the drought that once we see all the rain, we’re pretty surprised,” laughs senior Lauren Young.

The recent heavy precipitation isn’t the only thing that has relaxed drought conditions.

On May 9, 2016, Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order to continue water conservation, declaring a number of preventative and remedial methods, from citizens not being allowed to hose down their cars to adopting better agricultural methods to fixing water leaks. Water distribution systems across the state alone leak an average of 700,000 acres-feet of water per year, enough water to meet the needs of 1.4 million homes for a year. Between June 2015 and Nov. 2016, Statewide Water Conservation calculated that over 2.5 million acres-feet of water were saved, according to gov.ca.gov.

“It’s a pretty serious problem, and everyone needs to do their part,” states junior Leo Guo.

While much of Northern California is no longer in severe drought, southern California and San Joaquin Valley remain parched in extreme drought conditions. After the wet month of January ends, the entire state is expected to experience a drying spell along the west coast, explained Weather West.

Although many PHHS students are happy about California’s receding drought, some have mixed feelings about rain.

“When it rains, the students who usually walk to school have to get their parents to drive, which increases the traffic. Also, we feel more inclined to stay in our warm beds, and we end up late to school,” jokes sophomore Gloria Qiu.