Category: News

By Devonna Dang

 

Computer Science Team traveled to NYU (New York University) to compete in a cybersecurity competition, CSAW (Cyber Security Awareness Worldwide) from Nov. 8 to Nov. 11. Two students from the team, President Anne Ouyang; senior Anh Thu Pham, Advisor Stewart Kuang will be attending the Final in-person round after qualifying as a top all-girls team.

According to Anne, hundreds to thousands of people attend the event. All finalist teams received a scholarship to NYU of $28 thousand and first place received double of the amount, $56 thousand.

Unfortunately this year, the Computer Science team didn’t place. The winners were announced at the award ceremony and a first, second, third place team is recognized for each region. First place was 1064CBread from Dos Pueblos High School resided in Santa Barbara, Calif., second place was n0de from Montgomery Blair High School resided in Rockville, Maryland, and third place was let-down from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North resided in Plainsboro, New Jersey.

“It’s a competition for everyone, including college students, professionals and there’s a special high school division,” said Anne Ouyang.

The high school division is named the RED (Red Team Competition) and is comprised of 11 US high school teams: 8 teams derived from 4 US regions of the top 2 scoring teams with no more than one team per high school, 2 teams from the top scoring all-female team and 1 team from the top scoring New York City team.

At CSAW Finals, the teams were given a brief story-line. They began with a single piece of evidence, which was a website with a login page and the other lead to a google drive with the company’s products, and needed to utilize forensic analysis to uncover further key evidence.

“They gave us a packet with leads to the questions that we had to answer and type a report on,” said Anh Thu.

Both physical and digital evidence is encompassed. Afterwards, they were required to submit a report with their findings and conclusions which will be then evaluated and scored by a range of credible industry judges.

“The highlight of the event for me was after the actual RED Team competition. We had enough free time in the night to explore and go to Manhattan and it stopped raining just before we headed out to Times Square,” said AnhThu

The competition had been redesigned as a two-part investigation for RED. The first round is the online Qualification Round which focuses on reconnaissance, penetration testing and skill-building. The second round is the in-person Finals, where they had to infiltrate and analyze findings of an operation and successfully abscond.

“(High School) students will need to apply skills related to forensics, cryptography, reverse engineering, exploitation and social engineering,” according to the NYU Tandon School of Engineering’s website.

This event was entry-level and geared towards students who had the intent of studying or working with cybersecurity, which protects computer systems from theft and hardware, software, or electronic data damage. The challenges hold the purpose to showcase rudimentary concepts and challenge students to enhance their skills.

“(It) requires players to integrate concepts develop skills, and learn to hack as they go. Challenges mimic real-world scenarios modeling various computer security problems,” according to the NYU Tandon School of Engineering’s website.

In addition, it provides an opportunity for students to improve their cyber security skills or to simply gain experience. For the students with no prior interest or experience in cyber security and digital forensics, RED gives assistance to proliferate a greater recognition of educational possibility and profession paths in the field.

“(CSAW’s) purpose is to promote awareness and interest in cyber security at a high school level,” said Anne Ouyang.

With participation in RED comes along a wide array of benefits: scholarships, prizes, travel awards, pre-college experiences, the experience of participating in an international competition with thousands of students from around the world and the opportunity to meet industry experts and learn about internships.

The CSAW RED Finals this year was held at four global academic centers: CSAW Europe at Grenoble INP-Esisar, CSAW MENA at the Higher School of Communications of Tunis, CSAW Mexico at University Americana Mexico City and CSAW US-Canada at NYU Tandon School of Engineering.

The competition was sponsored by Applied Computer Security Associations so the trip to NYU was already planned for by the Computer Science Team.

By: Janelle Perez

 

Bring Change to Mind attended an annual summit on Nov. 3 held by the Bring Change to Mind organization and their sponsors, headspace and the Hudson’s Bay Company Foundation.

The summit took place in San Francisco at the Twitter headquarters, where 180 schools from all over the Bay Area came together to talk about ending the stigma behind mental health.

Piedmont Hills joined Independence High School and represented the East Side Union High School District.

“Since ¼ people are affected by mental illness at some point in their life, I want to help others recognize the importance of mental health,” says Bring Change to Mind President Trinh Ho. The summit provides a safe and open environment to all students interested in attending, even those not in the club.

Students did a series of mini-seminars about mental health-related topics along with activities that calm the mind and body, such as yoga and hula hooping. The event also provided therapy dogs, which students were allowed to pet and interact with. Students were also given t-shirts that read ‘The future is stigma free.’ Name tags were provided so students could write their preferred pronoun.

“I think that allowing people to express themselves and be open about who they are, especially in any type of, environment is great,” said Trinh. “It allows people know they are valid and are loved.”

One of the main topics discussed at the summit were Mental Health Rules, such as how someone should react towards a person who is dealing with mental health issues. Issues that are typically avoided were brought up in discussion in an effort to end the stigma against mental health. Attendees also talked about their own schools and the type of support system the students have access to.

“The summit was very exciting, new (to me) and very safe and comfortable,” stated senior Paola Rios, who was a first time attendee.

This environment where students feel safe, comfortable, supported and loved is something that Bring Change to Mind members hope to bring back to their schools. They hope to help contribute to ending the stigma behind mental health and help make school a much safer place.

Midterm Election

By Terry Tang

 

Midterm Elections

PHHS was recognized on Nov. 5 along with 12 other San Jose high schools for its voter registration efforts by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. According to KPIX speaker Len Ramirez, together, the schools registered at least 1000 new voters.

“The problem that we are trying to solve is really getting young people to cast their ballot. They are marching and protesting, but not voting,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez on KPIX news.

Government teacher Lynne Murray spearheaded the voting registration drive on campus, encouraging students, even those too young to vote, to become politically aware and active through mock elections and voting pre-registration. Students as young as 16 were allowed to pre-register to vote, in the hopes that they will vote in future elections, particularly the upcoming 2020 election.

“Voting is one of the responsibilities of being a citizen,” said government teacher Lynne Murray.

These high school voter registration drives were a part of a nationwide effort to increase voter participation in the midterm elections, resulting in a record voter turnout. According to the United States Election Project, nearly 48% of eligible voters cast ballots in these midterms, compared to almost 39% in the 2014 election, making it the first midterm in history to exceed over 100 million votes. The Atlantic stated that more than 3.3 million voters ages 18 to 29 voted via early ballot, a 188% increase from 2014.

According to Vox, Democrats took control of Congress by 28 Republican-held seats for a net gain of 26 seats. In the Senate before the Midterm Election, there were 51 Republicans and 49 Democrats which meant that Democrats only needed to flip two seats to gain majority in Senate. So far, the Senate elections show that 51 Republicans and 47 Democrats with two undecided.

The Midterm Elections were very close, especially in majority red states where Democrats were trying to flip their election. The New York Times showed that within the nine red states, five Democrats won their Senate elections in majority Republican people states. Most of the Red State Democrat Senate elections were very close, most of them in the margin of 4 percent or lower. For example, Jon Tester is an incumbent that was running for reelection at the Senate. He won by 3.1 percent according to the New York Times. He was an open-minded Democrat and was willing to work with President Trump. On the other hand, Republicans won the Senate election by less than 1% in Florida according to the New York Times. Republican Florida Governor Rick Scott beat Democrat Bill Nelson by a mere 0.2 percent.

Democrats disagree on whether Nancy Pelosi should be re-elected as Speaker of the House again. CBS News claims that about eight Democrats believe that Nancy Pelosi should be replaced despite her being one of the top level Democrats and all the accomplishments like making minimum wage higher while being Speaker of the House. President Trump also believes that Nancy Pelosi should be Speaker of the House again and is willing to get Republicans to vote for her. He says that she is a fighter and deserves the office. Pelosi disagrees saying that she does not deserve the office, but one should get it by doing hard work.

“In all fairness, Nancy Pelosi deserves to be chosen Speaker of the House by the Democrats,” tweeted President Trump.

Since the Democrats control House of Representatives and the Republicans have the Senate, the government is divided. Democrats and Republicans have different ideas on how to run the government so there will most likely be conflict which is called gridlock. Gridlock prevents the government from working correctly and often no work is done. In order for the government to function again, Democrats and Republicans would have to set aside their different beliefs to satisfy America’s citizens’ needs and pass productive legislature.

by Alana Silva and Lawrence Pei

Last Wednesday through last Saturday, the Drama Dept. performed its annual play “Radium Girls” in the L-Building. The play is a dramatic retelling of the young women who worked at the U.S. Radium Corp in the 1920-30s applying radioactive paint to the dials of clocks, instrument gauges and wristwatches for the United States Radium Company using the newly discovered element Radium. That is, until girls at the factory started dying of radiation poisoning and turned to the owners of the company to take responsibility for their illnesses and impending deaths.

According to Drama teacher and Play Director Anna Woods, she decided to produce this play because she thought it was a very important story to tell.

“It’s a bit of history that nobody knows about but I think the idea of corporate greed, and corruption and the lack of proper treatment of workers is something that happens all the time. The idea of the commercialization of science and of discovery and how people jump on fads and trends without knowing what they’re getting into is something that definitely happens today, so I feel the story is topical and relevant,” said Ms. Woods.

This year, the Fall Play casted 32 characters compared to the 22 characters from last year’s “I Don’t Have a Clue.”

“We have a lot of new actors, people who are taking the stage for the first time, so the show allows a lot of people to get stage experience. We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores on stage. and of course our juniors and seniors are getting some of the bigger parts because they have a little more experience,” explained Ms. Woods

For this year’s play, the Drama dept. decided to transition to a more dramatic play in “Radium Girls” than in previous years when the focused mostly on comedy

“We haven’t done a dramatic play in a while, it’s been a lot of comedy, so that is something new.” said Jack Wong, who played Dr. Knef who is a dentist attempting to blackmail the US Radium Corp. to give him money in return to disclose the results of the dying girls.

Because of this transition, it caused many actors to have to expand their skill set to better the production as a whole.

“I had to learn to speak slower and louder while acting on stage as well as in scenes where I’m angry at other characters,” said lead actor Mason Sandoval, who plays the President of the US Radium Corporation.

For some actors, the most rewarding aspect was to show the audience aspects of American history that many were previously oblivious about.

“By performing this play, I believe that I was able to tell the story about these women and the hardship they went through,” said lead actress Rachel Nguyen, who played Grace Flyer who is one of the sick workers working for the US Radium Corp who decides to sue them over her condition.

This year’s production was based on a true story, so many of the actors sought to familiarize themselves with the historical context and circumstances behind the play.

“Because of the background of this year’s play, I had to study the script a lot more, dig into the background of the time in which these events were occurring as well as to find similar characters to mine and to draw inspiration from them,” stated actor Andrew Wang, who played Jack Youngblood who is the reporter disclosing the story.

Viewing the play as a whole, Ms. Woods was very satisfied with this year’s group and how they did both in the amount of talent they had as well as the way they rehearsed.

“I think one of the strengths right now is that we have actors that are able to be emotional and able to be very deliberate in their acting and to be able to step into the lives of these historical characters.” stated Ms. Woods

By Harleen Kaur

Artery Club planned a new mural outside the B-Building and are expected to start painting soon.

“We plan to have a tube of acrylic paint and it is going to have paint with miscellaneous designs and flowers coming out of it,” stated Artery President Diego Papa. This is the next major project the Artery Club has decided to do as they have already decorated the science halls with very vivid and extravagant murals.

Upon deciding their next big project, the club decided not to have a specific theme associated with this new mural, unlike their last project where they filled the science hallways with science related themes.

“We wanted to make the school more colorful and pretty,” stated Artery Vice-President Rachel Nguyen. This new mural will contain designs that the dedicated members had drawn and planned out during their Wednesday after-school meetings in B-11.

“It is so cool seeing the murals when I walk to my chemistry class. They make me feel like I’m walking through a painting since most of our walls have basic designs and colors,” exclaimed junior Ashley Huynh.

The members have started to get some of the paint up this month but they do not plan to finish until the end of the school year. The students would work on and off on this project as they meet once or twice a month to get more designs up. The club is really excited to get new work up and ready for the whole school to see.

“One of us wanted to put Voltron. I want to put Voltron too. We just want to put stuff that makes people happy,” answered Artery member Tammy Ngo.

“We want this project to be fun and creative,” said Rachel. Although they would use other paints such as house paint and watercolor for other projects, the club planned to use acrylic paint as it displayed the most vivid colors and stuck the best to the wall.

This is the biggest project the Artery club has taken up this year but they also planned to sell some grams and pins throughout the following months.

Next time when passing the B-Building, be sure to be on the look for new progress to be made on the mural. ◆

By Andrew Wong

Sophomore Dan Luong passed away from a car accident at the age of 15, on October 3rd, 2017. To many, Dan was well-known for his sense of humor and kindness. As a person who often showed his affection, he was very generous and helped others build their confidence. Dan enjoyed many hobbies in his life, such as biking, playing video games, watching anime and hanging out with his friends. Missed by many of his friends, he played a major role in their lives and became an influence for them all to remember.

“He was very generous, funny, filled with joy and a whole big chunk of fun. He has a dirty mind and dirty humor, but it was funny humor,” said junior Matthew Vo. “Dan is my best friend and I think of him as a mirror image of me and I am a mirror image of him. He had a major influence on how I act, and we were basically together as one. If he was still here right now, I would run up to him and hug him for a long time. Probably won’t talk just to seize that moment; after that I would tell him I miss you and I love you a bunch of times.”

Among his group of friends, Dan was known to be the funny guy in the group. He was acknowledged for his generosity and cheering people up with his funny jokes. Dan attempted to befriend anyone he met, as well as trying his very best to bring them along with his happy times.

“Back in 5th grade, before we met, I was a nerd and a loser. Later when I met him in 6th grade, I became more of a funny guy and I had a more positive outlook in life,” described junior Andy Ho.  “He was also one of the most generous people I knew, and I became more generous to others because of that. If he was still alive today, we would still be hanging out, playing video games and going out to play badminton.”

“He was known for his humor the most and brought out his fun side,” said junior Dinh Tran. “I’m not as close towards Dan as much, but I still hung out with him and he was a part of my life. If he was still around, I would hang out with him a lot more because I never got to do that.” ◆

 

By Vincent Hoang

Piedmont Hills’ Choir held their concert, ‘Pieces of Autumn’ on Wednesday, Oct. 10 in the L-building for a five dollar admission fee.

The Music Department presented this concert in order to gain support and raise funds.

Choir teacher Myles Ellis conducted all the members of choir to sing the many songs of autumn, along with some solo pieces performed by some of the Varsity Choir members.

Some of the members of the choir really enjoyed the presence and the conducting of Mr. Ellis, and being their first concert, the members felt ready and grateful for the teachings that Mr. Ellis gave them.

“I joined Choir simply because I really enjoy music and I wanted to use my voice to improve the choir. I just find singing really fun. Mr. Ellis is by far the most talented musician I have met. I had a solo piece that Mr. Ellis has heavily trained me for,” said Soprano Section Leader and Choir Council President Lilly Liu.

Even though Lilly thought that she didn’t do well, but the audience’s reaction says otherwise for her fantastic solo performance.

“I enjoy singing whenever and with whoever. The people I sang and practiced with have truly helped me prepare for our performance.” said Varsity Choir member and Choir Council Treasurer Nikko Timbol.

With confidence, Nikko and the other choir members were successful in making the audience enjoy their time.

“I have been teaching high school music for 13 years, but 9 of those years was here in Piedmont Hills. I would consider this a magnificent job and I am very glad that I am able to do this and find it enjoyable. This year’s Choir was very different from the others being that there is many more new faces than usual. But even so being our first concert, I am so proud of my students for working so hard on the songs we performed,” explained Mr. Ellis.

The many pieces performed by Choir show how much talent we have here at our school. ◆

By Drew Olaviano

The PHHS Music Department hosted the “Falling into Music” Fall Instrumental Concert in the L-Building on Fri., Oct. 12, at 7 p.m.

Tickets at the door sold for $5 and featured String Orchestra, Concert Band, Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble.

“It’s always exciting to do a concert at the beginning of the year because you work so hard for the pieces and you [want to] show the talent as a group that we have,” admitted Symphony Orchestra’s First Violinist JeiRonemo Thomas.

String Orchestra opened the concert and performed Overture to Semiramide by Bob Lipton, Prelude and Fugue in D Minor by John Leavitt and Short Overture for Strings by Jean Berger.

Concert Band performed Kentucky 1800 by Clare Grundman, The Headless Horseman by Timothy Broege and Coast Guards by Karl L. King.

Symphony Orchestra was next after intermission and performed Tico by Nancy Bloomer Deussen, Symphonic Dances Op. 63 by Edvard Grieg and Symphony C Major by Georges Bizet. Unlike previous groups, Symphony Orchestra performed solos which resonated the building.

“It was definitely something. I really liked their performance!” cried Concert Band’s clarinet player Julian Olaviano.

Wind Ensemble performed last and performed Accolada by Ed Huckeby, Lake Washington Suite by John P. Zdechlik and Riders for the Flag by John Philip Sousa. Similar to Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble had solos performed by many different musicians.

“I played my very first solo in our first piece Accolada. I felt very nervous and anxious and I thought I was going to completely mess up! Thankfully I didn’t and I was satisfied with what I played. I stuck through and [it paid] off,” exclaimed flute player Karla Manzanares.

The concert proved to be a success.

“I felt pretty good and excited [about it] because it [was] my last concert ever in high school,” mused Wind Ensemble’s flute player Quynh Nguyen.

The only goal in mind for the Music Department is to improve in the future.

“Hopefully if the violas have fast moving parts (ex: sixteenth notes) in our next pieces I’ll be able to play them properly and keep in time with Mrs. Ray’s conducting,” said Symphony Orchestra’s viola player Tiffany Nguyen.

The PHHS Music Department will be hosting their next performance soon, and they are confident they’ll improve as time goes on. ◆

 

By Divya Verma

This year, PHHS administration is almost entirely filled with new faces. The new members are Principal Ginny Davis, Principal Secretary Melissa Hawkins, Assoc. Principal Honey Gubuan and Assoc. Principal Nancy Perierra.

Principal Davis used to be an APA (Assoc. Principal of Administration) at IHS (Independence high school) and an APED (Assoc. Principal of Educational Development) at Santa Teresa HS. After working in these positions, she was ready to move on. Ms. Davis used to be a teacher here, she was the head of the Social Science Department and brought AP European History to PHHS. Through her position, she has been able to reconnect with teachers and reach out to parents and students. She hopes that students feel respected, welcomed and that they get the best education possible.

Ms. Davis has a bachelor’s degree in history and Political Science and a masters in both Secondary Education and Urban Leadership. In high school her favorite subject was history. She was a part of the swim team and yearbook. Her first job was a counselor at a day camp when she was in high school.

“My role model is Ruth Bader Ginsburg (who is in the Supreme Court) because she is a working mother able to find a balance,” explained Ms. Davis

“I read a lot, I also really like to cook. I like to do stuff at home and I like to garden, I’m not very good at it though but I am a good cook,” continued Ms. Davis when asked what she likes to do in her free time. Her greatest strengths are being patient, organized and calm under pressure and being open to change.

Principal Secretary Hawkins used to work at IHS with Ms. Davis as a counseling technician. She was invited by Ms. Davis to be a principal secretary. She chose to become a principal secretary because she has always worked in an office setting and wanted to try a new position. Her message to students would be to ask for help if they are going through something and to not give up.

“The most enjoyable part of my job would be seeing students every day and keeping up with what is going on in their lives,” said Ms. Hawkins. Her most memorable experiences would be previous students coming back to tell her how she was able to help them in high school.

Ms. Hawkins did go to a college, but because she was always working two to three jobs, she did not finish. In high school her favorite subject was Marine Biology, she was a cheerleader, in the volleyball team and for her senior year, she was rally commissioner. Her first job was at Larry’s Country Inn Restaurant and at Raging Water in high school.

“My role model would be my mom because she has a good character and a good reputation,” said Ms. Hawkins.

Ms. Hawkin’s hobbies include taking care of herself, practicing mindfulness, eating healthier and taking care of her three Dioxins. Her greatest strengths are multitasking and her attitude.

Assoc. Principal Gubuan used to work as a preschool teacher aide. She chose this position because she felt that she had qualities to help make a school more successful and better for all students. Her message to the students would be that everything is a choice and to always make good choices.

The most enjoyable part of her job would be seeing students overcome challenges and as adults being able to give back to society.

Ms. Gubuan has a B.A (Bachelor of Arts) in Political Science and International Relations, a master’s in Education, Curriculum, Instruction and a M.A (Master of Arts) in Educational Leadership. In high school her favorite subject was English and she was a part of Yearbook, Filipino Cultural Dance, Key club and CSF (California Scholarship Federation).

“My role model would be my grandpa because even when he had close to nothing he was able to support his kids, nieces and nephews through a college education,” said Ms. Gubuan.

“My hobbies would be cooking, shopping, traveling, spending time with family and watching Netflix,” responded Ms. Gubuan. Her greatest strengths include seeing the positive, being organized and driven.

Assoc. Principal Pereira worked at a leadership role in her previous school. She felt that it was time to make the jump to administration because she likes to work with students and education. She feels fulfilled with her job and could not imagine herself in another field.  Her message to students would be to not be so hard on themselves, to take things day by day, have a balance between studying and having friends.

The most enjoyable part of her job would be the daily interactions and connections with students. Ms. Pereira’s most memorable experience would be seeing students achieve their personal goals for high school and coming back to visit campus.

Ms. Pereira has a bachelor’s in history and Spanish and a master’s in Education. In high school her favorite subjects were English and history. She played volleyball, basketball and was involved in ASB through homeroom representatives. Her first job was a babysitter when she was in middle school.

She does not have one role model, she admired people for different qualities they had.

“My hobbies, I like to walk my dog, scrapbook and read,” said Ms. Pereira. She describes her greatest strengths as being open minded, dedicated and straightforward. ◆

By Trisha Trinh

President Trump appointed former law clerk Brett Kavanaugh to be next Supreme Justice on Oct. 6 after Anthony Kennedy retired on July 9. Brett Kavanagh worked side-by-side with the Bush administration. He later became an U.S. Circuit Judge and was sworn in by Judge Anthony Kennedy. Because of Kavanaugh’s work with Kennedy, Trump felt like Kavanaugh was well-qualified candidate for the job of Supreme Justice.

During Kavanaugh’s time in office, he had taken on some notable cases, ranging from abortion to national security. He followed conservative values and supported anything that the Republican Party unveiled.

“Judge Kavanaugh has impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications and a proven commitment to equal justice under the law,” said President Trump about the nomination.

Kavanaugh’s confirmation was nearing its end following his confirmation hearing when allegations by psychology professor, Christine Blasey Ford, that Brett Kavanagh had sexually assaulted her in high school, surfaced in September. Dr. Ford gave vivid details of the alleged assault that happened. She described how drinking was an essential part as to how it happened.

“Brett Kavanaugh physically and sexually assaulted me during high school in the early 1980’s…It is upsetting to discuss sexual assault and its repercussions, yet I felt guilty and compelled as a citizen about the idea of not saying anything,” read Ford’s letter written to Senator Dianne Feinstein.

After the allegation, the conformation was immediately put on hold. Shortly after, Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick also accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, which resulted in an FBI investigation. Only Ford got the chance to testify against him. Kavanaugh clearly stated his belief that those allegations were a sabotage delivered by Democrats to change the minds of the Senate Republicans.

“This is an orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election fear that has been unfairly stoked about,” said Kavanaugh during the hearing.

Ford was terrified of speaking on the matter and wanted to keep the information confidential until she was comfortable with revealing what happened, mainly during the trial.

“I am here today, not because I don’t want to be, but I am terrified. I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school,” said Ford during her opening statement.

When the hearing ended, the Senate voted 50-48 to confirm Brett Kavanaugh as the next Supreme Court Justice on Oct.

“I applaud and congratulate the U.S. Senate for confirming our GREAT NOMINEE, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, to the United States Supreme Court. Later today, I will sign his Commission of Appointment, and he will be officially sworn in. Very exciting!” tweeted President Trump. ◆