F RI DAY, M A RC H 3, 2017
The College Board exploits the education system
OPINIONS pages 4 & 5
Outdoor adventures
Bay Area bike culture
FEATURES pages 6 & 7
LIFESTYLES pages 8 & 9
Girls softball
SPORTS pages 10-11
COURTESY OF ALEX YUNERMAN
VOLUME 58 NO. 5
Lessons from blindness
FLIPSIDE page 12 JENN ZARATAN
The Prospector
CHSPROSPECTOR.COM
Student Newspaper of Cupertino High School
JENN ZARATAN
10100 FINCH AVENUE, CUPERTINO, CA 95014
Cupertino Actors Theatre wins Big New changes unveiled in CHS Annual School Plan PETER MARTIN opinions editor
COURTESY OF MYOUNG KANG
ETHAN QI news editor // copy editor
On Feb. 10-12, 2017, 18 members of Cupertino Actors Theatre (CAT) traveled to Folsom, Calif. to attend the Lenaea High School Theatre Festival. The annual festival is held “to advance the education of high school theatre arts students by offering opportunities to strengthen, promote and share artistic skills within an interactive and supportive educational environment.” While there, the students attended workshops and participated in different competitions including monologues, duo scenes, musical theatre, one-acts and costume and set design. They had the unique opportunity of working with professionals in their field. Said senior and Respondent’s Choice Award winner Roei Cohen, “It was a super great learning experience. After we competed, award or not, we were all super happy with what ended up happening with the feedback we got. The
improvement we saw in just 15 minutes of the respondent working with us was incredible.” For many competitors, the learning experience was like no other. The judges were able to offer criticism specific to competitors and their fields of performance. “I think a lot of us definitely learned how to become more honest actors because of it. It’s about coming from a place of humanity over a character. A lot of the times, people get caught up in playing some archetype over playing just a person. A lot of the feedback we got this time was catered towards just being more three-dimensional, which I think was really beneficial for all of us,” said senior and Gold Award honoree Amruta Talwalkar. In addition to accepting feedback tailored to individual students, CAT was also able to receive valuable advice on broader functionings of the organization. Said program director Arcadia Conrad, “I think that we understood this year some working methods which will al-
The 2016-2017 Cupertino High School Annual School Plan outlines the institution’s objectives and the programs designed to meet them. The plan combines goals set by oversight organizations, the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) and CHS itself. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) set specific targets with the school during the 2014-2015 school year for review over a six-year period. Further aims are formulated by the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) and FUHSD. These objectives were then integrated with goals created by the CHS staff. Said Principal Kami Tomberlain, “The staff was divided into focus groups. Each of us had a section of the last report that we were focused on ... There was a group on curriculum; there was a group on student climate life. There were different angles that different staff members took on the issues, and we built our goals and our action items from there.” The report is divided into four sections with distinct topics. Goals focus on academic performance, varied and practical curriculum and communication with the school community. The third objective in the report discusses student welfare, summarized by the statement: “every student will feel safe, cared about and both academically and socially engaged in school.” In the 2014 student survey, only 57% of students felt that they had a trusted adult on campus. Said Tomberlain, “Our staff was really concerned about that. How are we going to communicate to kids successfully so that they understand that we’re here for them? It is a matter of disconnect. The teacher knows they care, but the way that they are communicating that care is not something that the student values or understands.” The 2016-2017 student survey showed an increase to 67% of students, attributed to efforts to “claim” the students lacking a “trusted adult” by coaching the staff on strategies to build stronger
Lenaea Festival, continued on page 3
CHS changes, continued on page 3
C u p er t i no D ha dk an per f or ms a t Lyn b r o o k S i l si l ay JUSTINE QIU photo assistant
On Feb. 11, Lynbrook High School held its annual Silsilay performance. Lights decorated the doorways, and decorations of all kinds added life to the colorful outfits worn by the dancers. Dhadkan teams from a variety of schools came together on this day to perform their originallychoreographed pieces and to celebrate their culture. Of course, Tino Dhadkan, CHS’ Bollywood team, was not about to miss the chance to perform and to represent their school. The team, formed last year under the Tino Indian Cultural Appreciation Association, incorporates American hip hop, Indian Classical and Bhangra dance styles into their Bollywood performances. This year, the group has been invited to perform at around five different shows, all of which raise money for nonprofit organizations, including Riyaaz, a show that they themselves are hosting in order to support the India Literacy Project. The team sometimes spends up to 10 hours a week together hosting auditions, making choreography, buying costumes and mixing their music. The team consistently welcomes new members. “This year I finally got the chance to try out for the Bollywood team — and it seriously made junior year more bearable,” said junior Deepali Mittal. “Everyone on the team is extremely kind and they have amazing personalities that make you want to talk to them a lot.” The show consisted of multiple dance team performances strung together with a storyline dialogue from the hosts. Following a breathtaking performance from Aandhii, a team of dancers from multiple schools, CHS Dhadkan took the stage. Dressed in gold sequins and red skirts, or red bowties and white shirts, Tino’s very own dancers conquered the audience with an exciting seven-minute performance, which consisted of a girls dance, a boy’s dance and dances involving the entire team. Every move performed served a catalyst for loud cheering from the audience, Silsilay Performance, continued on page 3
ALL PHOTOS BY JUSTINE QIU
TINO DHADKAN | In the style of Bollywood, Tino Dhadkan dancers end their show in a spectacular fashion, celebrating their Indian culture and heritage