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Homestead High School 21370 Homestead Rd, Cupertino, CA 95014
October 9, 2025
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Taylor Swift is not your English teacher
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A snapshot into the life of shooting sports
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Volume 63, Issue 1
Kinesiology, guitar introduced as new elective classes Photo by Olivia Levesque Ouellette
Photo by Jason Lai
Dual-enrollment kinesiology class engages students with interactive curriculum Annika Abraham, Emma Chang, Danielle Feldsher and Saachi Nangare As a dual-enrollment course through Foothill College, the kinesiology class follows a college curriculum and teaches essential skills in rehabilitation, injury prevention and treatment of different injuries, kinesiology teacher and athletic trainer Dan Yusim said. Yusim’s success as an athletic trainer and sports medicine program manager helped foster strong student interest in kinesiology, assistant principal Terri Hannigan said. The class was even limited to only juniors and seniors due to high enrollment, Hannigan added. “We had students in the past travel to FHS to take kinesiology,” Hannigan said. “With our robust sports medicine program, we thought it would be of high interest.” Implementing the course took a little over a year, and during that time, administrators met with guidance counselors and assistant superintendent Trudy Gross to discuss interest, Yusim said. At last year’s course selection fair, over 100 students attended the kinesiology presentation, Yusim said. “I’ve had many years of experience of working here, but this is my first year in the
classroom,” Yusim said. “The students have been great so far, being flexible with my teaching style, but I’ve done a wonderful collaboration at FHS to develop the curriculum.” Thus far, students have had the opportunity to get CPR certification, and they are currently training with medical equipment like AEDs, senior Julia Boroun said. The class prepares athletes for many emergency circumstances, and Boroun said as a cross country runner, she feels learning skills for athletic health is critical. “A lot of my team is in Yusim’s room a lot because we get injured really easily. I spend a lot of time in the training room, for myself or a teammate, and I was interested in pursuing that,” Boroun said. The hands-on approach of the class is refreshing, as it encourages students to bond while learning, Boroun said. “It feels like we’re all very comfortable with each other,” Boroun said. “It’s a really nice environment.” Yusim said his own interest in sports medicine was sparked in his high school years, so he is excited to help students expand that same passion. “Adding this class is a huge opportunity for not only the interns in the sports medicine program, but for any students that are interested in the field of kinesiology,” Yusim said. “We thought this class would give them a good opportunity to have the lecture component involved and the education to support them.”
New administrators strive for supportive environment Valdivia, Biddle discuss transition into roles Sachin Chandran, Julia Song and Selina Wang As the 2025-26 school year commences, assistant principal Mayra Valdivia and dean Melanie Biddle have joined the administrative team this year, principal Denae Nurnberg said. The decision came
as their predecessors, Paula Mockler and Maria Trejo, relocated to new administrative roles at the district office and at McKinley Elementary School, Nurnberg added. “Valdivia and Biddle stood out amongst the rest of the candidates,” Nurnberg said. “It was nice having two FUHSD staff take on these roles. We really were happy about that.”
See New Admin, page 3
Guitar class teaches students of all skill levels Henry Hu and Catherine Yang A new guitar class was introduced this school year, allowing students to gain a skill they can showcase outside of an academic setting regardless of prior skill level, principal Denae Nurnberg said. The change comes as a result of Prop 28, a bill allowing FUHSD to offer more art and music programs, music department lead Jeff Morton said. After multiple student surveys, administrators and teachers collaborated with MVHS in proposing the addition of guitar classes to the district board, Morton said. The curriculum focuses on teaching students the basics of guitar, rather than mastery, Morton said. Morton said he hopes that by learning the basics, students can grow a lifelong interest in music. “The intent is [to] take somebody who’s never played an instrument before and build them up to where they can play a bunch of songs, [whether] at a singalong during the holiday season or just pop songs that they can play while people sing,” Morton said. Since the class is open to students of all experience levels, gaps in skill between players can make it challenging to create
a curriculum that engages everyone, music director of band and orchestra Ben Scharf said. “In those moments, we like to have more experienced players grouped with newer players so that they can model and help the younger players,” Scharf said. “Being around someone who really has a solid understanding of the guitar does so much to help inform new or less experienced players.” Senior Ojas Khandelwal said the new curriculum and class structure allow for self-guided learning. Each period begins with review, before students have to practice on their own, Khandelwal said. “Guitar, like any other music class, is about practice,” Khandelwal said. “I was surprised to see how fast-paced the class was in terms of learning certain chords, but we do spend two block periods and a Monday every week to be successful.” The guitar class is unique in that it fulfills a niche that had not been addressed by prior music courses like band and orchestra, Scharf said. Additionally, the class will allow students to explore a diverse range of musical skills, including those beyond Eurocentric genres, Scharf added. “It was super important to make sure that no matter what style of music you were interested in, there was a place where you could learn about it more,” Scharf said. “We’re still far from realizing that goal, but we think offering the guitar class is a pretty strong step forward.”
ASB makes changes for stronger class culture Leadership implements new structure Ethan Xue and Alan Zhang Through organizational changes and participation requirements, ASB aims to improve officer engagement and performance this year, IDC commissioner, junior Kat Heller said. By instituting a new participation
point system and having two presidents, ASB can develop better class culture and community support, Heller added. ASB is replacing the supplemental hours system with the Mustang Matters participation grading system, ASB adviser Hector Almendarez said. The original policy tracked attendance per hour spent, and the new system will incorporate an event-based format, Almendarez added.
See ASB changes, page 2
PAGE DESIGN BY JASON LAI AND KANMANI RAGURAMAN