IN-DEPTH
SPORTS
Exploring recent controversies over the ethnic studies course design
Examining how the Gunn vs. Paly sports rivalry sparks spirit, competition
PAGES 12-13
PAGE 16
Palo Alto Unified School District Henry M. Gunn High School 780 Arastradero Rd Palo Alto, CA 94306
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Thursday, March 7, 2024 Volume 61, Issue 5
780 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306
Sophia Hwangbo
Victor Peng
Benjamin Qian and Naomi Wang
Chloe Wu SPROCO logo by Jolie Zhou. Other graphics by Michelle Koo
Top left: SPROCO’s Balloon Stomp game will take place on Tuesday at brunch. Top right: Thursday’s Pool Relay will have reworked rules from Homecoming Week’s. Bottom left: The Flying Fish brunch game will take place on Wednesday of SPROCO. Bottom right: SPROCO’s Obstacle Course will take place during lunch on Tuesday.
Gunn SEC organizes first-ever Spring Homecoming Week Gwen Domine Reporter Gunn’s Student Executive Council will hold its first Spring Homecoming Week, known as SPROCO, from March 12-15. In contrast to past spring spirit weeks, which have usually included schoolwide dress-up themes and lunch activities, SPROCO will be similar to Homecoming Week, with daily grade-specific dress-up themes and games during brunch, lunch and PRIME. Some brunch and lunch games — such as Balloon Stomp, in which participants attempt to pop as many of their opponents’ balloons as possible — are repeats from Homecoming Week activities. Others, such as Obstacle Course and Pool Relay, will be reworked versions of their Homecoming Week counterparts. The week will
also feature completely new events: In Pizza Noodles, competitors will hold a pizza box in their palm while trying to knock others’ boxes off with a foam pool noodle. According to organizer senior Chris Lee, school board representative and managing editor for The Oracle, SPROCO emerged from an SEC impact project, in which SEC members create a new event, initiative or system that benefits the student body. Senior Class Vice President Naya Nebriaga is also on the SPROCO team and has high hopes for student engagement. “Because seniors tied (during Homecoming Week) this year, I think that was more of a driving force to make (SPROCO) actually happen,” she said. SEC created a reveal video for SPROCO, released during PRIME on Feb. 28. The video featured Lee and Nebriaga in a flashback to October’s Homecoming Week and teased some grade-specific themes — including “Homecoming
Deja Vu,” in which the dress-up for each grade is pulled from October’s homecoming. “At first, it was difficult coming up with an idea because we’re not revealing a theme — we’re revealing the week itself,” Lee said. “But I actually think that worked out better in the long run because we were able to start from a blank slate and have a more creative plot.” Through this reveal video — past ones have helped publicize schoolwide events — Instagram posts and posters around campus, SEC hopes to increase and participation. Beyond SEC, students are look ing for ward to participating in the new spirit week. Freshman Audrey Berger hasn’t experienced major spirit events other than Homecoming Week and anticipates enjoying SPROCO. “I’ve heard that (SPROCO) wasn’t really a strong tradition until this year, and I think it’s really cool that as a freshman, I get to experience that,” she said.
In the Pursuit of Wellness: The Oracle investigates efficacy of SELF program Fiona Xiong Website Editor In 2017, Gunn implemented the Social-Emotional Literacy and Functionality program in response to growing concerns about student mental health on campus and new California social-emotional learning standards. This program is the first of the wellness initiatives The Oracle will be investigating in a continuation of its 2019 “In the Pursuit of Wellness” series. The objective is to better understand the efficacy of Gunn studentwellness approaches. Our question: Are these measures working, and how can we further promote student wellness?
The creation of SELF Intended as a space for students to build connections with trusted adults and peers, SELF classes meet biweekly — in rotation with Study Hall — during the
school year. This model, adopted during the 2022-23 school year due to teacher compensation issues, marks a shift from the program’s original weekly structure. As before, however, cohorts remain together during all four years of high school.
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I say a lot of students don’t really recognize SELF for what it’s trying to be. There’s a lot of antagonizing it because people don’t see what the creators are trying to do with it. —Freshman Class President Nathan Yoon
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SELF Coordinator Kathryn Catalano noted that the program’s goal is to promote students’ emotional regulation, communication and empathy. Its curriculum is based on California’s Social and Emotional Learning Competencies, or the T-SEL Competencies, which include
self-awareness, social-awareness and relationship skills. Gunn’s SELF curriculum also draws on sources such as private-school curricula; Project Wayfinder, an organization that provides packaged grade-specific SEL curricula to schools; Stanford professor Linda Darling-Hammond, a social scientist who advised the curriculum’s development in 2016; student organizations such as the Gender Sexuality Alliance and Title IX Club; and proposals from individual students. Currently, SELF is designed to suit different grades’ needs. For example, ninth graders begin with lessons on “Founding a Community,” which includes identity development and community-building, while secondsemester seniors focus on “Life after Gunn.” According to Assistant Principal and former SELF Coordinator Courtney Carlomagno, the SELF curriculum constantly evolves based on feedback from feedback forms, focus groups, administrators and SELF Advisory Board students (whose names students can see on the SELF feedback form in the Schoology SELF efficacy—p.3