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Homestead High School 21370 Homestead Rd, Cupertino, CA 95014 · Volume 60 · Issue 2 · November 4, 2022
Staff discuss A building
Teachers decide AP exam format AP computer science principles and AP world history exams to be offered digitally this school year By Anderson Piccone and Annabelle Yip
A103 - History teacher Matt Wright’s classroom
Inconveniences, delays lead to educational issues
Photo illustration by Faith Watters
History teacher Matt Wright, whose class is located in room A103, said he did not know what to expect of his new classroom, but found advantages and By Karuna Chandran and disadvantages to the arrangement. Hope Saena “The size was impressive to me, especially after being stuck in a small As a result of incomplete construc- room for 10 years,” Wright said. “I knew tion, including lack of proper doors, fur- there was a lack of furniture when I niture and light fixtures, before the start first walked in, but we’ve been promof the school year, A building teachers ised that furniture will be coming in lathave felt the inconveniences of the er. We just got our filing cabinets.” building’s hindered functionality. Minor details in his classroom, such Principal Greg Giglio said factors as a lack of power outlets closer to that delayed construction from May to desks, have been difficult for students, August included supply chain issues, especially for those in his seventh pericommissioning availability and sudden od, Wright said. changes to long term plans. “By the end of the day, a lot of the FUHSD superintendent Graham students’ laptops are very low on battery Clark said in a phone interview that or dead,” Wright said. “Now you’ve got once classes started, addressing con- people trying to use extension cords, struction concerns, like replacing tem- causing tripping hazards.” porary doors, became more difficult. Other concerns include automatic “The building finished the week be- lights that turn off too frequently, poor fore school started and that just made Wi-Fi, inconvenient placement of cabieverything kind of rushed,” Clark said. nets and whiteboards that are difficult “But if it finished to write on a month or two and erase, acearlier, that cording to a would have alsurvey given lowed all of the anonymously punch list to be to A building resolved before.” teachers. Unlike the G i g l i o Follow us as we guide you through the new GSS, the A buildsaid he has facility and explore student opinions on the ing’s construcmet with the new addition to the campus. tion did not start A building from scratch, so teachers to the construction address their team had certain structural limitations concerns, and plans to collect input in developing the new facilities, Clark from future B building residents to help said. inform the design of the B building. “When you’re modernizing an exist“There’s been lots of silly things that ing building, you can take staff and stu- have been annoying for teachers, which dent input around that, but you have to is unfortunate because the building’s stick within the confines of the building a great building and we love the way itself,” Clark said. it looks,” Giglio said. “It’s like buying a
A building tour video
LEGEND: 1. Some temporary doors need to be replaced, Clark said. 2. Wright said more outlets would benefit seventh period students, whose devices are often low on battery. 3. Wright said his classroom has too few whiteboards and he hopes to receive more. Lamborghini and there’s four flat tires, so you can’t really drive it yet.” Wright said he hopes there will be more teacher input going forward with future projects, so they can address their concerns beforehand. “It’s so much easier to change things when it’s still on paper, so I think we’re taking steps in the right direction to try to avoid some of the headaches that have happened in this building,” Wright said. “For the next time, I really hope they have some teacher voices as we know what works best for our students in the classroom.” Giglio said despite issues with the A building, he is very grateful for the new addition to campus. Not only do teachers get to enjoy more classroom space, the building will also help HHS strive toward sustainability goals, he said. Similarly, Clark said there is still much to look forward to in the buildings being built next. “Teachers are going to get new technology and we think the new furniture is going to be more comfortable,” Clark said. “Students are getting more control over their heating and cooling. Overall, it’s a nicer environment.”
Every year, high school students across the nation take AP exams. For this school year, however, HHS and the rest of the district are offering two AP exams in a digital format, FUHSD coordinator of data and assessment Denae Nurnberg said. Beginning this year, the College Board is now providing seven AP exams in both digital and paper formats. Of these seven exams, FUHSD offers five, and has opted to administer two tests digitally, AP computer science principles and AP world history. The decision to offer these two exams digitally while offering the rest in a paper format was collectively made by teachers who teach the subjects related to each of the five digital exam options, Nurnberg said. “Because this announcement came after the school year had already started, we put the decision in the hands of the teachers since they are the ones who will be required to make any last minute changes to their curriculum,” Nurnberg said.
See AP exam format, page 2
ASB deactivates 15 clubs Clubs disbanded due to lack of communication By Evelyn Wang In response to a lack of communication from multiple club officer teams, the ASB student council unanimously decided to deactivate 15 clubs at its meeting on Sept. 22, ASB club commissioner, junior Alex Zhang said. Toward the beginning of summer break, the club commissioners sent out three emails asking for club contact information for future event opportunities, Zhang said. “We gave clubs a month into the school year to reply,” Zhang said. “We deactivated some clubs because without contact information, we can’t monitor the clubs nor reach them for regulation purposes.” Zhang said the club commissioners — himself and junior Elisa Floyd — along with ASB vice president, senior Josie Cho, brought forth the idea of deactivating the clubs. However, for the clubs to officially be deactivated, the ASB student council needed to approve the decision.
See Clubs deactivated, page 3
In this issue... News
Opinion
Lifestyles
Arts & Culture
Sports
ASB spreads inclusivity: New student advocates work to bring change on campus. Page 3
Miserable school restrooms: School restrooms are in desperate need of upgrades. Page 6
Change with clubs: Social justice clubs impact the school positively by spreading inclusivity. Page 7
Keeping it Real: BeReal is not a platform for posing. Realism must be captured. Page 12
Halftime show: Performers exhibit dedication and abilities during routines. Page 14
PAGE DESIGN BY MACKIE VU, EVELYN WANG AND VERONICA ZHAO