Category: News

By Mansi Patel

Coming and leaving school, students often see the new science building being constructed every day, week, and month. The new science building will also house classes for GE (general education) as well as Special Ed.

This project started a long time back, with physiology teacher David Vasques originally leading the way for the Science Department. Many of the science classes are very cramped and that can frustrate both the teacher and the students when it comes to doing labs.

“We complained for a lot of years…. A teacher has to be here this period and then move over here for this period. The main reason we needed it is that we didn’t have enough classrooms for our teachers so it’s going to expand our number of science classrooms, by two,” said Mr. Vasques.

As the population of students gradually increased over the years, it has been harder to accommodate so many students in each class. Therefore, the GE and Special Ed classes also needed to expand. The building will include many different classes, with the one story classes being for the two science classes and the two story building being for the GE and Special Ed classes.

“They (the GE, Science, and Special Ed classes) are not really combined. They are different buildings, but it’s cheaper to build two things at the same time than one thing and then another thing. Plus we all asked at the same time as Special Ed asked back in 2008, so it’s only fair we get our stuff,” stated AP Biology and Forensics teacher Jason Dries.

With this new addition, many students are excited since there will be more space for their classes, especially for labs in science classes such as AP Chemistry, which has labs for majority of the time.

“I feel like it would be great if there is new equipment, especially sinks and stuff that work for the science classes,” stated senior Aayushi Shah.

However, this building has created problems for many students. It has been causing a lot of noise, has blocked off walking areas and its construction has far exceeded the original completion date of July and is now expected to be completed in January after Christmas Break.

“I think it will be good for the Science department, but seniors, we are probably not going to be able to see it because it is taking so long,” said Aayushi.

“It is super noisy and my daily round at lunch is made longer because I have to walk around all the fences,” said junior Guneet Sachdeva.

The portables that were once there had no sinks for labs and the space was very small and cramped, which could have been dangerous for labs that involve fire and chemicals. This new building has brought many high hope for the science, GE and Special Ed teachers. Coming back from Christmas Break, the school is expected to have a big present waiting for the students: the new and completed building. ◆

 

By Sophia Xiao

Homecoming swept through the halls, filling the school with festivities from Oct. 1 to Oct. 5. Each class chose an animated film as their theme: seniors chose Mulan; juniors, Fairly Oddparents; sophomores, Coco; the freshmen, Moana. This year, Powderpuff culminated in a surprising upset, while the Piedmont Hills Pirates beat the Live Oak Acorns at the Homecoming Game 48-41. After an eventful rally, the seniors were crowned the winners with a score of 624, followed by the juniors with 570 points, then the sophomores with 557 points, then the freshmen with 304 points.

Unlike previous years, the rally was not mandatory, and students could opt out to go the library instead. Those who attended were rewarded with Concert Choir’s performance of the National Anthem, several class skits and Male Cheer’s energetic debut, a routine choreographed by cheerleader Isabella Place.

“The seniors were kind of down in the slumps after Powderpuff and everything, but we came back, brought the energy back up, and that was all worth (the practices),” said Male Cheer member Eric Chau. According to him, Male Cheer practiced two to three hours a day, three days a week, for two months.

After the Class of ‘16 fiasco in which Male Cheer members were banned from Senior Picnic for inappropriate choreography, administration made sure to preview and approve of the routine a week before.

In Powderpuff, both the sophomores and the freshmen beat the seniors, leaving the way for juniors to win the Powderpuff finals.

“For the past two years, our coaches were never really on top of their game. This year, we made them go to practices, and the day right before our championship we had a practice, and we practiced offense and defense,” said 2020 Class President Britney Nguyen.

The third place match between the freshmen and the seniors came down to a throw-off which the seniors lost.

“I was mad in the moment but we still won (Homecoming) in the end, so I got over it,” shrugged 2019 Class President and Powderpuff player Jane Tran.

For the Homecoming Dance, the L-Building was filled with funky lights and palm trees, in accordance with the theme “Paradise Palms.” According to 2019 Treasurer Chloe Nguyen, the dance was hugely successful, almost selling out with about 500 attendees.

“I think (the popularity was due to) the theme and more because of publicizing! The other (executives) and I had our whole ASB publicize the dance to try and get the news out to every single person at school,” said Chloe.

The murals this year did not span the main hall; instead the seniors and sophomores shared the Senior Hall, and juniors and freshmen shared the Junior Hall. Even with a smaller area to cover, painting so many detailed murals took a lot of time.

“We painted all summer. I think we had maybe one week of break after school ended, and then we started painting,” said Jane.

All the work paid off, with the seniors taking first place in all categories but Powderpuff. Meanwhile, juniors’ and sophomores’ hallway decorations tied for second.

New this year, ASB held a contest for the best or most creative Homecoming Dance proposal called HOCOPRO. The first and second place winners, Jeremiah Porda and Niveah Gonzalez received free Homecoming Dance tickets, and the third place winner Stacey Thai received a discount.

After Homecoming Week wrapped up, Class of 2019 focused their attention on selling senior hoodies and prom tickets and planning for Male Pageant and FANTASTICS. According to Britney, Class of 2020 plans to continue fundraising for Junior Prom which they hope will take place at a venue. ◆

By Tyler Vu

The Art Department’s annual Art Faire is ending today, and has been taking place for the past two days.  The faire is an event at which art pieces from all classes and clubs are put on display.  The Artery will not have its typical booth at the faire since its advisor, Drawing and Painting teacher Van Nguyen, is on leave.  The fair is a chance for the rest of the school to admire their hard work and for the students to proudly display their projects.
The Faire is always a collaboration between all three art teachers, Photography teacher Ian Tippetts, Sculpture teacher Noreen Rubay and Ms. Nguyen. All the teachers have their own section to display their students’ work.
“Personally, I do quite like the Art Faire.  It’s a really easy and accessible way for the students in the art department to show off their work without having to awkwardly ask people if they want to see it,” says junior Jade Gallimore.
To the outsider it might seem intimidating to have a piece on display for all the world to see, but the students relish at the chance to have their works hanging proudly.
“I feel proud that my artwork and photos are good enough to be hung up to even be seen by other people.  I share my artwork with family and friends and have shared my artwork with countless others so it’s not a new feeling, but a good one,” says senior art student Rebecca Rossini.
Many of these students have been a part of the art department for their entire high school lives. Every faire is a chance for them to mark their artistic progress.
“My first faire was in my freshman year,” recalls senior Kelly Chau.  “Ms. Nguyen displayed our class’s stipple artwork.  It felt like such a long time ago—looking at my piece now, it’s cool to see how far I’ve come.”

“Personally, I do quite like the Art Faire.  It’s a really easy and accessible way for the students in the art department to show off their work without having to awkwardly ask people if they want to see it,” says junior Jade Gallimore.
To the outsider it might seem intimidating to have a piece on display for all the world to see, but the students relish at the chance to have their works hanging proudly.
“I feel proud that my artwork and photos are good enough to be hung wup to even be seen by other people.  I share my artwork with family and friends and have shared my artwork with countless others so it’s not a new feeling, but a good one,” says senior art student Rebecca Rossini.
Many of these students have been a part of the art department for their entire high school lives. Every faire is a chance for them to mark their artistic progress.
“My first faire was in my freshman year,” recalls senior Kelly Chau.  “Ms. Nguyen displayed our class’s stipple artwork.  It felt like such a long time ago—looking at my piece now, it’s cool to see how far I’ve come.” ♦

By Erica Xie

Senior Ball, Tale as Old as Time, a Beauty and the Beast themed prom, is tomorrow at the Glass House in Downtown San Jose from 7pm to 11pm.
“We chose this venue because it was so close to home and it’s easier to get there without paying extra for buses,” clarifies Senior Class President Jennifer Lai. “The venue gave us two dates and one of them was during AP exams, so we chose to have a later prom.”
Although the venue is so close, it’s not a bad location.
“I love the location of senior prom—it’s conveniently next to a lot of restaurants downtown,” comments senior Angela Du.
Even though Piedmont Hill’s senior prom is so late, there is a lot to look forward to. There will be a flip book, a photobooth, a fortune teller and a chocolate fountain, providing a variety of activities to enjoy at prom.
“The fortune teller tells your fortune using mahjong,” exclaims Jennifer. “We wanted another activity that was just taking photos and we found a fortune teller.”
Alongside these amenities, there are also delicious hors d’oeuvres, better known as appetizers, which include roasted filet mignon bernaise with arugula, samosas-curry potatoes and teriyaki glazed grilled salmon skewers.
The decorations are nothing to pass over lightly either.
“The decorations for Beauty and the Beast are old fashioned, and I think it contrasts the modernness of the Glass House well,” says Jennifer.
In line for Prom King and Queen we have Krysten Salas and Destine Lamonia, Leon Hsieh and Elyse Nguyen and Ryan Nguyen and Jordan Nguyen.
Alongside preparing for prom, there has also been a prom ask contest where people post videos of their prom asks and the best one get free tickets to prom with their partner.
This years winners are seniors Darian Nguyen and Lily Do. Darian asked his girlfriend by playing a violin song for her that was a favorite of them both and a bouquet of flowers.
“(On advice for a promposal) No one’s ever done anything great by expecting it to be great,” reveals Darian. “My tip would be, just focus on making the best promposal for your partner. Make it all about them, and if they like it hopefully others will too.” ♦

By Anthony Ta

Piedmont Hills Music Department ended off the school year with their Instrumental Spring Concert.  The event was held last Friday in the L-building from 7pm to 10pm.
Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and Band all prepared similarly by having more intense practices during class and stricter rules on attendance.  Mr. Ellis and Ms. Ray worked to bring the concert together to ensure that their students were ready to perform at their best.
This concert was more than simply a celebration of spring as it was the last performance with the seniors.  During the whole night, the attendees were not only able to enjoy the beautiful and well prepared pieces, but most importantly, were able to hear senior Darian Nguyen’s touching story on how he came to love violin, his solo, and the seniors’ confession of gratitude towards Mr. Ellis and Ms. Ray.  Roses were distributed out to all of the seniors during the last set, and gifts were presented to the teachers after each finished conducting their final groups.
On top of having a solo during Orchestra’s set of pieces, Darian delivered a heartwarming speech dedicating his drive to perform and do well as a violinist to his mother. He described how his mother took initiative in buying her own violin and following him through the highs and lows of learning to play. The audience was in awe once he finished the speech and the set when his mother went up to the stage and gave her son a bouquet of flowers, a kiss, and a hug.

Emotions continued to flow after his solo as seniors, Alina Doan and Jenna Mae Prado, delivered their speech of gratitude to Ms. Ray.
“I had 11 seniors in my Wind Ensemble and they were all 4 year students with me. They had a really nice year. The band played excellently well. We went on a great trip to Anaheim. I think it was a nice summing up of whole years’ experience on Friday. The seniors were a great contribution to our sound all year long and leadership too. They will definitely be missed. It was a great way to end the year,” reminisces Mr. Ellis.
Performing for the school is nothing new to the three groups. They’ve performed in the past with their winter and spring concerts as well as performing at festivals, Disneyland and competitions. “Next year I expect band to be different than this year, because there will be new classmates to play with and meet. I plan to roll along with it and see how it all goes,” says sophomore Andrew Dao.

By Emilie Chau

For the first time in Piedmont Hills history, PHHS History Team competed in the national history team competition in Washington DC from April 21 to 23 after making it past regionals at Saratoga High School and state at UC Berkeley.
In order to qualify for the state competition, a team has to get at least an even number of wins and losses at regionals.  At state, the history team did better than they did at regionals despite the increasing difficulty of the questions and thus qualified for nationals.
At the competitions, the teams are split into different groups consisting of one to four players.  During the different rounds, one group goes into a classroom and faces off another group from another school.  The moderator will ask questions and each group has to buzz in their answer.  Once the round is finished, each group will go to another classroom to compete against another group.
At nationals, the teams are separated into brackets based on their performance at state and PHHS History Team was able to defeat the six schools in their bracket, winning a plaque for their accomplishment
The History Team prepared for the events by doing drills and practicing recalling historical facts quickly.
“The trick to practicing is recalling the information quickly,” explains social studies teacher Amanda James.  “And that is the thing that is harder for most people to do.”
Flying out to Washington DC was no easy task.  When the team won the privilege to compete at nationals, there was no time for the team to complete the long paperwork clubs need in order to participate in off campus activities.  Furthermore, the team wasn’t able to use any school funds because the competition was not a school sanctioned trip.  The History Team then decided to raise the money themselves in order to go to Washington DC.
“President Nala Chen and Secretary Matthew Hoang were really the driving force behind doing as many last minute fundraisers as they could,” comments Ms. James.  “They did a GoFundMe, begged and borrowed from families and I think that the players that went made their families really know what a rare opportunity this was.”
Currently, the History Team is aiming to compete in the International History Olympiad next summer in Berlin, Germany.  The team qualified for this competition by finishing in the top half of the schools who competed at nationals in Washington DC.
“I’ve been a part of history team since my freshman year and meetings have always been my favorite time of the week,” smiles club President Nala Chen.  “It’s super satisfying to get recognized for our hard work!” ♦

By Mae Castellano

With food and games, Insane Ink’s Family Fun Night, held in the Piedmont Hills’ theater on April 27, was filled with cheer from children and adults.
“(Family Fun Night) was absolutely amazing!” exclaimed Business Dept. Co-Chairman Diane Pereira. “It was a feel good event. Everyone was just happy to be there, everyone was having fun and nothing went wrong.”
The whole idea of Family Fun Night was to bring families together and to have a good time through games and snacks.
But before the fun could begin, Insane Ink prepared the theater for the upcoming fun-filled night by putting the decorations up and setting up the food and tables.
“I was in charge of putting everything together,” said Insane Ink member Matthew Hoang. “I had to make sure all the food and tables were set up in the theater and make sure everything was decorated.”
Italian was served for dinner: lasagna, garlic bread and some salads. Desserts, such as cotton candy, ice cream sundaes and popcorn, were given out as well.
Insane Ink even had a photobooth supplied for the event-goers to remember their night.
“The photobooth was amazing!” expressed sophomore Amy Ton, who attended the event. “I actually didn’t expect there to be a photobooth. I just thought there’d be someone taking pictures.”
The fun could was also found within the games: a trivia Kahoot, bingo, limbo and dancing.
“Limbo was interesting because the guys were tall but were still able to get under the bar (when it was really low),” added Amy.
“Kahoot was really, really fun. After the answers were shown, (the players) would go crazy,” mentioned Matthew.
Donating just $1 allowed students, teachers and parents to be a part of the fun. Even donating items that were no longer needed would have sufficed.
All the proceeds raised from Family Fun Night went to the organization ACT4E (Active Community Thoughtfulness for Everyone). ACT4E specifically helps homeless people in the community. The donations of clothing, small snacks and toiletries had huge impacts.
“Insane Ink was not part of the donation, (all donations were) made directly to the organization,” provided Ms. Pereira. “It was over 300 dollars that we were able to get in donations plus over 20 boxes pawcked with supplies to make hygiene kits for the homeless.”
This year’s Family Fun Night was actually the first one in four years.
“The reason we haven’t done it in four years is because Mr. Jackson was the person in charge four years ago, and he retired. Even though the students do a lot of the work, there needs to be an adult to guide them,” reveals Ms. Pereira, who guided Insane Ink with executing this event. ♦

By Emily Zhao

After a year and a half of construction, the remodeling of Piedmont Hills’ pool was completed on Sat. May 13.
Across the East Side Union school district, seven schools, including Piedmont Hills, James Lick, Mt. Pleasant, Santa Teresa, Silver Creek, W. C. Overfelt and Yerba Buena high schools, are all currently remodeling their pools. All seven schools’ pool complexes originally composed of two smaller pools, but the modernization project features the fusing of both pools to create a single “super pool.”
“The new pool will provide a deep water area for competition programs separated by a peninsula walkway from the shallow area for physical education, shallow water swim practice and recreational swim programs,” according to facilities.esuhsd.org. Additionally, it will feature new “energy efficient equipment including water circulation pumps/motors, improved water filtration and disinfection systems.”
Construction first began in the winter of 2015. Since then, construction workers have demolished the outdated pool and rebuilt a new and improved version of it.
Following the completion of the pool, a school water polo team, competitive swimming team and a diving team could all potentially practice at Piedmont Hills. Since school’s pool has been out of commission for the past two swim seasons, PHHS swimmers practiced at Independence High School, sharing the pool with Independence, James Lick High and Mt. Pleasant, making a very crowded pool.
“Water polo would have to get two qualified consistent coaches to restart the program, but it is possible for (the) 2018-2019 (school year),” disclosed Physical Education Chair Peter Simos.
The district-wide budget for remodeling all seven pools was 21.6 million dollars
“I’m so excited to be able to host our own meets!” exclaimed Vatsity swimmer Chloe Nguyen. ♦

By Jen Luu

On Fri. May 5, the Special Education Prom was held at the Unify Event Center from 10 am to 2 pm.  The purpose of the event allowed special education students to engage in similar high school dance activities.
“It’s to give our students the experience of going to a prom,” expressed special education teacher Rowena Vocal.
Most special education students do not attend the typical Junior or Senior proms held at school namely because they’re held at night and they’re costly.  As a result, the special-ed prom was created to provide more flexible and accommodating circumstances.
Participants include the special-ed students themselves, as well as the specialized academic instruction program of the different school districts.  Meaning, the prom is not limited to only Piedmont Hills High School students.
“(There was) dancing and socializing,” stated senior Susan Sanchez.  In fact, many of the activities at the event are similar to those of the traditional prom such as dressing up formally.
There is not a theme for the prom, but the decorations will align with the school colors.
The concept of a special education prom is not new; it was actually started over a decade ago.  This year, the head coordinator of the special-ed prom is special education teacher Coy Garrett at Yerba Buena High School.
“I think it started in 2003,” recalled special education teacher Maria Casiano.  What began as a thought eventually got executed.  Indeed, it soon became established as a tradition.
“It was an idea brought about by one of the old teachers.  In terms of who started it, it was basically a brainstorm of different special ed teachers,” said Ms. Vocal.
Similar to traditional proms, the location varies each year.  In one year, it was held at the Fairmont Hotel; the location mainly depends on the decisions of the teachers. ♦

By Leiana Baclig

On May 4 at 6:30 pm, the seniors in the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program had a recognition event. It was called AVID’s Sweet Success, which mimicked Senior Honor Night.
“AVID is an amazing program, so we (wanted) the senior recognition to be just as amazing but to be a lot more formal,” stated AVID and Business teacher Diane Pereira.
This celebration honored the seniors and all their successes in graduating. Each and every senior was recognized for their consistency in working hard and putting in effort, along with their relentless commitment of being an AVID student.
There were awards given to some of the students. The Most Improved Individual award was given to J’Tayo McDowell. The Model AVID Student award was given to Destine Lamonia and Gretchen Tran. The AVID Scholar Athletes awards was given to Miranda Cabanayan, Richard Fedelin, Alex Garcia, Cynthia Reyes and Austin Rubalcava. Lastly, the Honor AVID Students award was given to Miranda Cabanayan, Larissa Gomez, Isaiah Gonzalez, Elisandra Ruiz Alvarado and Yenvi Vu.
“I was excited for this night because of all the hard work and years I have been with the AVID family. It finally turned out to be something good,” said Yenvi.
Unlike the prior years, this was the first time ever AVID celebrated its recognition event in the evening. Before, it was an AVID recognition lunch during sixth period.
“This year, it was during the evening so teachers, family and friends could come and support,” revealed senior Yenvi Vu. “None of the parents were there during the other years. The majority of the people were students from the freshman, sophomore and junior AVID class.”
To feed the supporting guests, the students and teachers served a wide range of desserts were with some coffee.
“I knew that I was going to need guidance in prepping for college. I knew that I would be completely lost if I didn’t take AVID because it has given me so many pointers,” mentioned senior Analyn Nguyen. “AVID wasn’t difficult at all, and having the commitment to stay in AVID was easy because I really wanted to go to college.” ♦