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PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL 50 EMBARCADERO RD. PALO ALTO, CA 94301
NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE
PAI D PALO ALTO PERMIT #44
The Campanile Vol. CVII, No. 2
Palo Alto High School, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
SENIORS WIN SENIORS WIN SENIORS WIN SENIORS WIN SENIORS WIN
PHOTO BY PHILIP SHEN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MERYEM ORAZOVA
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pirit Week, held from Oct. 13-17, kicked off on Monday with a blur of green and white and ended with a whirl of colors as students dressed up according to their class themes each day and competed to be crowned the most spirited class. #e seniors swept Spirit Week 2025 with 32,450 points, followed by the juniors with 24,600 points, sophomores with 23,600 and freshmen with 21,750.
!"#$%&$'()*+,'$'-",-$'-,+). #e week started off with the best dressed competition on the quad at brunch, where senior Maeva Herbert-Paz won a mini fridge for her green and white spirit. #e day continued with a rally in the big gym during lunch. Classes competed in a human ring toss game and an intense Connect Four relay race. Senior Julian Rabbit-Tomita said the seniors were off to a strong start and he expects the momentum to continue. “I think the seniors are going to show out this year,” Rabbitt-Tomita said. “It’s our last year, and I think we’re going to win.” On the other hand, junior Maria Uribe-Estrada said she had lower expectations. “I don’t think the juniors are going to do very well, honestly,” Uribe-Estrada said. “I feel like we’re feeling a little less spirited than last year. I feel like that might be due to the stress from junior year.”
!"#$/&$01)*+,'$2+3($4"25 #e week continued in the Peery Center on Tuesday at a rally that featured two games: Hungry Hungry Hippos and a mummy wrap dress-up contest. Juniors Jessie Kwan and Eli Kozodoy won the brunch Best Dressed competition with their “Teen Beach” surfer outfits. Senior Chloe Chan, ASB’s Wellness and Diversity Commissioner, said this year’s senior class was particularly engaged. “I think we did pretty good — definitely better than previous years,” Chan said. “Our float is going pretty well because we did a lot over the weekend. I think people are more into it this year.” Senior class president James Park said he had high hopes for his class and the week. “I think it’s going great,” Park said. “It’s fun to see everyone decked out with spirit gear. I’m looking forward to all of the rallies.”
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Students geared up to tackle “Salad Dressing” day, which wrapped up with seniors holding the lead. Juniors won the best dressed contest for the second day in a row with Nava Schwarzbach and Annie Kasanin in full-fledged granola gear. #e lunch rally on the football field featured the teacher’s dance, combo race and tug-of-war, with seniors winning both. Sophomore Elias Perlroth led his grade win second in tug-of-war and said he felt great beating freshmen.
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“Losing to the seniors kind of sucks,” Perlroth said. “#ey’re bigger than us, older than us, so it makes sense. But it was still fun. Next time, we’ll win.” Ultimately, senior Ivy Hardy said the seniors came back from their losses in the beginning of the week and are looking to finish strong. “We were kind of a little backset, but we’re back and ready to finish the games,” Hardy said. “We are so hyped, and the seniors are coming out on top.”
!"#$9&$01)*+,'$,"::#$17 #ursday featured performances from the cheer and dance teams at the lunchtime performance, as well as two rally games: musical chairs and a cup reflex challenge. #e seniors won the cup game, but juniors triumphed in musical chairs. However, ASB ruled the juniors cheated and gave the winning points to the seniors, helping them maintain their lead. In addition to the games, the seniors won the best dressed competition with their elderly costumes for Generations Day. Junior class president Kai Bunger-Tang said he was impressed by his class’s spirit throughout the rally. “Everybody was cheering super loud, (and I’m) super happy about that,” Bunger-Tang said. “Even though we got eliminated first in the second rally game, we continued with our high energy, still had some good chants after that.” Sophomore Vice President Olivia Woo said she noticed an increase in turnout from her class compared to earlier in the week. “#e sophomore stands were more filled compared to the other rallies, and there was a lot more hype,” Woo said. “I think the games today were good for getting the entire student section hyped.”
!"#$;&$'()*+,'$-"5($.+:! On the final day of Spirit Week, students dressed up in their class colors: freshmen in orange, sophomores in red, juniors in yellow and seniors in camo pants and their class jerseys. #e juniors once again won the Best Dressed contest in banana outfits, with the sophomores coming in second. #e after school rally was an opportunity for students to show off their floats and class dances. #e seniors won the class dance competition, while juniors and freshmen tied for second and the sophomores finished in last. After the dances, the seniors continued to dominate, winning the float contest with their Jurassic Park-themed float. Sophomores and juniors tied for second, and freshmen came in last. Freshman Albert Wehrman said the unique float designs and student turnout surprised him. “#e floats were a lot better than I expected, especially the sophomore and senior floats.” Wehrman said. “(#ey) were really good. #e detail on the senior float and the execution on the sophomore float with Lightning McQueen was very cool.” In addition to floats, senior Millie Reiter said she was excited by the number of seniors who danced. “We were a little bit worried that it wouldn't come together,” Reiter said. “But it was really exciting that everybody came out to dance. I think we did really well. I'm very proud of us.”
STORY BY PHILIP SHEN, ANNIKA CHU, ALEX ISAYAMA, KIRA TZENG, ZOYA PRABHAKAR & SOFIA SINGER