Launch

ASB ANSWERS

Photos: Charlize Chu and Tao Xu

WITH SPIRIT COMMISSIONERS

SABRINA CHAN AND JOY XU What plans does ASB have to foster school spirit?

ASB is hopeful that when it’s safe, we will be able to have some sort of in-person spirit events, because we know that a lot of students are missing that social aspect of school. As our cases drop and more people get vaccines, we are hoping to have some sort of drive-by event or socially-distanced quad event or talent show.

What upcoming events does ASB have in store?

For cohorts that have gone back to campus, we are planning to have Cookies on the Quad. We are working on Tea with Teachers too. We also have a Mental Health and Wellness Week, where we are planning to collaborate with the Wellness Center and different clubs on campus.

What are the ASB Weekly How-To Videos?

We’re making these videos to continue our social media presence, because social media is one way students connect most during distanced learning. There are a lot coming in the future, including chocolate chip cookies, cake making and french toast. The videos are posted on our Instagram @palyasb.

UPCOMING EVENTS

2/26 2/25 3/12-14 3/16 3/19 3/19 3/20-21 3/28 Paly Choirs Pops Concert

Nicola Yoon Author Visit (Paly Lib)

Much Ado About Nothing

One year since shelter-in-place

Paly Instrumental Pops Concert

Career Speakers Series kickoff

Much Ado About Nothing

Paly Choirs Evening Song

HEART HUNT

Love is in the air!

Can you find all 14 hearts hidden throughout Launch?

GIRL SCOUT COOKIE SEASON: COVID-19 EDITION

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GIRL SCOUT COOKIE?

Thin Mints (49.6%) Lemon Ups (4.1%)

Samoas (25.2%) Trefoils (3.3%)

Tagalongs (6.5%)

S’mores (5.7%) Other (5.7%)

Source: Data presented comes from an opt-in Verde Magazine survey of 144 Palo Alto High School students, conducted from Feb. 1 — Feb 11 through a digital form published on schoolrelated social media and Schoology pages. Responses were anonymous and participation for all questions was optional. THE BRIGHT BOXES with smiling girls plastered on the sides are a familiar sight in February, the highly anticipated Girl Scout cookie season. Though just as popular as ever, Girl Scouts in Palo Alto have had to to adapt their selling methods with the pandemic still in full fledge.

Vivian Trach, a Paly sophomore and member of a local Girl Scout troop, says that the social aspect (or lack thereof) from distance learning has an immense impact on cookie sales. “It’s a lot harder to find people to buy Girl Scout cookies because a lot of the time, people would get them to snack on in class,” Trach said. “Now, nobody can do that.”

Not selling cookies in-person has pushed many scouts to rely on social media to promote themselves.

“I’ve had to advertise a lot more digitally,” Trach said. “I’ve mainly posted on Nextdoor and Instagram and have been advertising in random group chats I happen to be in.”

In addition to taking online orders through personal web-pages on the Girl Scouts Digital Cookie website, (www.digitalcookie.girlscouts.org) the organization is also working with Grubhub, providing the option to order cookies delivered straight to their home. While snacking on Thin Mints and Samoas with a room full of classmates will remain a distant memory for now, the magic of Girl Scout cookie season prevails.

Text by SOFIA ANTEBI and EMILY YAO Art by XIAOHAN LI

UPDATES WITH MADRONO WITH CHRONO EDITOR ARATI PERIYANNAN How has Madrono overcome challenges from the pandemic?

What can we expect in this yearbook?

We’ve found ways to adapt by doing more features on individual students. It’s hard to cover people doing things in groups, but everyone has their own individual story.

Photo: Isabelle Shi

One thing we have been trying to do more of this year is creating interactive mods on pages. Last year we had a few; one asked you a series of questions and you followed a path to find out your match.

Art by Samantha Ho

TEACHER’S PETS

Being on Zoom has changed the way Paly students interact with teachers, as it has provided a peek into everyone’s home lives. Whether intentionally or not, Paly pets have made various appearances during class, so we made a collection of some of the teachers’ pets we adore.

Science teacher Michael Mishali shows off his dashing dog Luca. Photo: Justin S.

History teacher Mary Sano has buzzing bees in her backyard. Photo: Mary Sano English teacher Mimi Park’s cats make frequent Zoom appearances. Photo: Marta Heiken

Math teacher Deanna Chute and her dog Gracie make the perfect pair. Photo: Deanna Chute

VERDE STAFF BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

In honor of National Reading Month in March, we asked Verde staff members to recommend their favorite books.

Ayesha at Last

by Uzma Jalaluddin “A Muslim Pride and Prejudice“

The Haunting of Hill House

by Shirley Jackson “A suspenseful thriller with a fatal twist“

Whether you’re a bookworm or looking to respark your joy for reading, here are four picks for you to add to your list.

A Brief History of Thought

by Luc Ferry “Thought provoking“

Blink

by Malcom Gladwell “Exploring the nature of our intuition“