Students, staff say goodbye to five retiring staff members
By Miya Liu and Leila Salam
July 17, 2020
Five valuable staff members - Susan Wilson, Mary Jo Gunderson, Steve Schmidt, Mary Lund and Nina Swendig - retired at the end of the 2019-2020 school year. Each of them uniquely contributed to the HHS community and will continue to share their gifts in retirement. Susan Wilson English teacher Susan Wilson is retiring...
HHS welcomes new dean, two new assistant principals
By Naomi Baron
July 15, 2020
With the new school year approaching, HHS welcomes one new dean, Anthony Nguyen, and two new assistant principals, Terri Hannigan and Geoff Wright, to the administration team. Anthony Nguyen Anthony Ngyuen will be the new dean of students for students with last names A-Li. He joins HHS from Mou...
California senate passes Affirmative Action bill
By Naomi Baron
July 5, 2020
After 24 years of Affirmative Action being banned in California public colleges and universities, the University of California’s Board of Regents unanimously voted to repeal Proposition 209 — which banned schools from considering race, gender and ethnicity in college admissions — on June 15. The amendment w...
The new war: equality for all
By Karuna Chandran, Ritaja Subrahmanya
June 30, 2020
To protest the killing of George Floyd, HHS students, including rising junior Indhu Chandra, attended a gathering in Los Altos on June 5. “I think it’s good that people are making this [movement for racial equality] important now,” Chandra said in a Zoom interview. “This has been going on for ...
HOP forced to go online
By Karuna Chandran and Leila Salam
June 30, 2020
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, incoming freshmen will attend a virtual Homestead Orientation Program (HOP) for the first time in HHS history. HOP commissioners Olivia Lee (12) and Bobby Gorelick (11) said they plan to release a YouTube video addressing important information along with hosting a Zo...
California eases COVID-19 lockdown restrictions
May 23, 2020
Gov. Newsom announced that on May 8 California would begin to ease lockdown restrictions and allow certain businesses that were deemed as “not essential” to reopen, The Guardian reported. According to The New York Times California has started stage two of the four-phase reopening plan which allows ...
Students create, sign petition against canceling graduation
By Anika Karody
May 4, 2020
Due to COVID-19, events such as graduation and prom have been postponed, leading to disappointment from students. As a result, FUHSD announced a virtual graduation through a districtwide email; however, some students were still not content and expressed their disappointment through the creation of petitions, in an at...
Teachers look for alternatives to traditional finals
By Karen Li
April 26, 2020
With classes moved online for the remainder of the academic year due to COVID-19 and letter grades changed to credit/no credit, teachers are figuring out how to restructure their classes to adequately measure students’ proficiency in the course material. Typically, teachers use tests and final...
California colleges adjust admission prerequisites temporarily in light of pandemic
By Jane Park
April 25, 2020
All California universities and colleges — including UCs, state schools, community colleges and private colleges — have temporarily changed their previous grade- and test-based standards for admission due to COVID-19, according to EdSource. Colleges are known for heavily basing their admissions on statistics, but many schools are planning to switch to test optiona...
Alumni help seniors with post high school decisions
By Leila Salam
April 21, 2020
Spurred by a request from the PTSA, alumni are reaching out to current seniors to provide information about their post high school experiences to alleviate the stress surrounding college decisions, as COVID-19 has led to the cancellation of all college orientation events and campus tours. May 1, the i...
COVID-19 impacts future city, hospital, school operations
By Madhavi Karthik and Ritaja Subrahmanya
April 18, 2020
COVID-19 has led to disruptions and struggles for various facilities, from hospitals to school districts. As a result, the Bay Area community has taken several measures to ensure the welfare of its citizens. Hospitals implement preventative measures According to the Centers for Disease...
