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Interview: Superintendent Kevin Skelly on credit/no credit and extended school closures

8 min read

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Interview: Superintendent Kevin Skelly on credit/no credit and extended school closures

Kayla Shiao April 20, 2020

On Thursday night, after five hours of deliberation and public comment, the San Mateo Union High School...

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On Oct. 31, Aragon held its annual Halloween rally

On Oct. 31, Aragon held its annual Halloween rally in center court during lunch.

The rally opened with a performance from the Aragon dance program to a mashup of “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads and “Bloody Mary” by Lady Gaga.

Staff members then competed in a costume contest, presenting a variety of costumes, including Taylor Swift albums from the social studies department, the Hocus Pocus Sanderson sisters from the art department, scrabble letters from the office, cowboys from the English department and “Spa Pirates” from the wellness counselors.

The winning team was the science department, replicating the colors of a rainbow via a prism.

“I am a competitive human [and] I like to win, especially when it comes to beating the math department, so I feel very gratified,” said chemistry teacher Max von Euw. “I think it was well-deserved; we worked hard. I truly thought that last year, with our heavy metals costume, we were going to win, [but] math squeaked out with their Barbie costume, so this has been a long time coming.”

The math department came in second place, dressing up as Mardi ‘Graph,’ a play on the holiday Mardi Gras.

“I’m actually okay with [being second] because we often win, [and] the science teachers were very clever,” said math teacher Alice Hu. “ I liked their whole concept, it was different. Having a whole skit, and at the same time [teaching] an actual science lesson, was very thoughtful.”

Following the staffulty contest was the student costume contest, the winner of which was junior Shea Peni, who dressed up as TV show host Steve Harvey.

“I was a little scared to come to school in a bald cap because I thought I looked kind of stupid, but I decided to anyway because I thought it'd be fun,” Shea said. “It was very validating [though] — I look stupid for a reason. Then [it] paid off because I won the contest.”

Other students dressed up as classic monsters, TV show characters and inflatable figures.

Check out the full coverage by Yang Yang on aragonoutlook.org.
Photos by Madeline Allen and Ethan Tawn.

On Oct. 29, Aragon’s Varsity Girl’s Volleyball

On Oct. 29, Aragon’s Varsity Girl’s Volleyball team (17-16, 9-5) celebrated their senior night at a game against Menlo-Atherton, ultimately resulting in a 0-3 loss for the Dons. This game marks the conclusion of the team’s regular season. Next up, the Dons will host Willow Glen on Nov. 5 at 5 p.m.

Reporting by Felix Ma.
Photos by Felix Ma and Lian Wang.

On Oct. 19, the San Mateo Citizen’s Climate Lobb

On Oct. 19, the San Mateo Citizen’s Climate Lobby hosted their annual Youth Climate Rally. They marched through Central Park and downtown San Mateo, advocating for reducing carbon emissions and preventing climate change. The theme, “Make it Real” emphasized that climate change will affect us in the near future, but is a solvable crisis if policymakers and youth take action.

Check out the full coverage in our upcoming print edition.

Reporting by Mark Rumberg.
Photos by Victoria Santana and Lian Wang.

On Oct. 17, Aragon held its 19th annual Internati

On Oct. 17, Aragon held its 19th annual International Food Fair from 5-7 p.m. in Center Court, allowing students to share cultural dishes and bond over food.

“When there’s so many people becoming more and more concerned about their differences, this is a really important time to come together and share what we have in common,” said PTSO member and volunteer Anise Graham. “[The food fair is] a really amazing opportunity to bring the community together.”

Student volunteers helped with event set-up.

“The fulfillment of helping people and seeing everyone come together is very entertaining,” said sophomore and volunteer Francez Santos. “It makes me happy seeing my friends perform and seeing all these cultures in the same place.”

There were a variety of performances, including a snippet of the Sister Act, traditional Indian dances and guitar solos.

“[Performing is] a great opportunity to showcase your culture, your dance and your food,” said sophomore and performer Aiswarya Selvakumar. “It’s important to share our culture and … to understand how other people’s cultures work and to respect [them].”

Many parents volunteered at the event to prepare dishes, set up booths, serve food, collect tickets, etc. Some were motivated to participate in order to share their culture.

“It feels closer to home,” said parent volunteer Vaishali Nayak. “Then with my child also being part of the school, it’s good to have her see and embrace that culture as she’s growing up as a second generation [immigrant].”

In regards to next year’s Food Fair, co-chair and event coordinator Laura Lee has some plans for improvement.

“Hopefully, next year we’ll have a photo booth too,” Lee said. “I would [also] love to have a student MC … for [them] to showcase all of the amazing cultures represented in the different booths … We’re learning and improving year by year.”

Reporting by Yang Yang.
Photos by Ethan Tawn.

On Oct. 18, the Aragon music department held its f

On Oct. 18, the Aragon music department held its first concert of the year, the Fall Potluck Concert. The event was hosted in the South Gym and included different foods for the audience to enjoy. During the event, many Aragon’s music groups performed, starting with the student-led ensembles and acapella groups, before moving on to the choirs, bands, orchestras and jazz bands.

Reporting by Ellen Li.
Photos by Ethan Tawn.

On Saturday Oct. 5, Aragon music performed at Seal

On Saturday Oct. 5, Aragon music performed at Seal Point Park NAMIwalks, an annual mental health awareness fundraiser and event. Aragons’s student-led acapella group Treble With Angels and the Perfect Fifths Jazz Combo performed throughout the event, providing encouragement and entertainment to the attendees.

Photos and reporting by Lian Wang.

Senior Rocco Lamberti’s introduction to Warhamme

Senior Rocco Lamberti’s introduction to Warhammer came from online content creators combined with his affinity towards creativity.

“A YouTuber that I watched for different content, randomly made a video on it about his experience getting into it,” Lamberti said. “I thought it was super cool because I was into Legos and art. And my friend knew someone who actually played it, [so I] played a demo game, and I really liked it.”

Warhammer is a tabletop strategy game involving self-built miniature figurines. It’s similar to the popular Dungeons and Dragons, in which the game is set in a fantastical world and players agree on objectives to complete for points, often related to one’s spatial location on the map, and a set amount of points required to win.

“[Warhammer teaches] a lot of creativity,” Lamberti said. “And it teaches you some level of people skills and patience because some people are going to be less fast-paced.”

The local Warhammer community is another important aspect of playing that Lamberti appreciates.

“There’s a lot of local game stores like Gator Games, Heretic Games, they host a lot of these events,” Lamberti said. “All the communities from my experience, have always been super, super welcoming and … respectful.”

One challenge Lamberti notes with getting into the game is the inhibitive initial cost to players.

“Upfront cost is very high because there are different sizes and the most standard games can run you up to $1,000, minimum,” Lamberti said. “That varies from whatever faction you’re playing.”

“3D printers are becoming a more readily available [option] for people,” Lamberti said. “Some people will Scratch build [figurines] … I actually have a resin printer for [creating figurines]. I print stuff pretty regularly now, because it’s much less expensive and more customizable.”

Lamberti envisions himself continuing to play in the future as a supplement to other career goals he has.

“It allows me to still have a creative outlet,“ Lamberti says. Even if I go into maybe a more STEM or mathematically driven career.”

Reporting by Leah Hawkins.

On Sep. 25, the varsity waterpolo team (0-4) battl

On Sep. 25, the varsity waterpolo team (0-4) battled Hillsdale High School (2-3) and ultimately lost by a score of 7-16.

More coverage coming soon next week on aragonoutlook.org.

Photos by Darra McLintock.

On Sept. 21, Aragon celebrated the induction of fi

On Sept. 21, Aragon celebrated the induction of five outstanding athletes and one soccer team into the Athletic Hall of Fame. This ceremony honors Aragon athletes of the past and their outstanding achievements in their sports. Among the inducted were Cliff Glidden (class of 1963), James Lilomaiava (class of 1995), Katie and Laura Zasly (class of 2006), and Sam Tuivailala (class of 2010). Additionally, the 2011-2012 girls soccer team, coached by William Colglazier, was inducted.

Glidden earned his induction through his achievements in shot put, where his school record still stands today, over 60 years later. Although Glidden didn’t continue with the sport after high school, he carried his mindset into the Navy.

“It’s a scary situation, but being a sportsman and playing sports and competing against guys who were bigger, tougher, stronger gave you a kind of balance with people,” Glidden said. “Sports really give you a strong deportment, and people respect that.”

Lilomaiava earned his induction for exceptional dedication to football.

“What I remember most about Aragon is rarely losing,” Lilomaiava said. “Everything I’ve learned in the game was from coaches up here.”

The Zasly sisters were inducted for their outstanding soccer and basketball achievements. Both sisters recall their time at Aragon fondly.

“I honestly just remember the support that we used to get from the athletic department, my teammates and the entire school,” Laura Zasly said.

Tuivailala was inducted for his achievements in football and baseball during his time at Aragon and beyond. Although his talent was clear on the field, he recalls the connections he made even more.

“My talent was pretty good, but it’s the friendships and the relationships that I built, and I still keep in contact with all my friends,” Tuivailala said.

The 2011-2012 girls soccer team also earned an induction for their stellar performance.

“It was just so impressive how not just skilled they were, but dedicated,” Colglazier said. “There’s a sense of camaraderie that’s also really special.”

Reporting and photos by Adya Tewari.

From Sept. 16 - 20, Aragon hosted its annual club

From Sept. 16 - 20, Aragon hosted its annual club fair at lunch for its 84 clubs.

This is the moment for every club to distinguish themselves among the student body and to recruit new members.

“The clubs are more popular than I expected them to be,” said freshman Sara Chiguchi. “There’s a lot of people walking around and checking them out … I was at the Japanese Culture Club. They had a lot of people signing up. I see candy is a big motivator.”

Officers dedicate a period of time beforehand in preparation for this 30-minute period.

“We worked on our presentation as a club,” said junior and Music Production club secretary Gwen Johnson. “While making our poster, we went over what our main goals are … focusing on how [to] get our passions, our spirit, out to everybody in the most appealing way possible … [The prep work] is a good activity for all officers to bond together before we embark on running the club.”

Ultimately, club fair is a chance for people to share their interests and discover new ones.

“I expected my club to be too niche for a lot of people but I’m seeing a really large variety of people coming and signing up,” said senior and Mahjong club president Jonathan Wong. “It is really heartwarming knowing that my passions are speaking to other people.”

Clubs will begin holding weekly meetings at lunch next week.

Reporting by Meilin Rife.
Photos by Felix Ma, Victoria Santana, and Meilin Rife.

37 Questions with our Dr. Jones, our new principal

37 Questions with our Dr. Jones, our new principal >> Visit Aragon Outlook’s TikTok in link below for full coverage.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8dyeym7/

On August 30, Aragon football played its season op

On August 30, Aragon football played its season opener against Pioneer. The theme was “Red Sea”, as the student body wore red to show off their spirit. The Dons’ next game is Sept. 6 against San Mateo at home.

Photos by Lian Wang and Ethan Tawn.

On Aug. 23, Aragon’s Class of 2025 and PTSO host

On Aug. 23, Aragon’s Class of 2025 and PTSO hosted the annual senior sunrise.

Photos by Ethan Tawn and Lian Wang.

Check out more coverage in our upcoming print edition.

Steven Sah is a dragon boat racer and the creator

Steven Sah is a dragon boat racer and the creator and leader of the Bay Area Dragons Youth Team. Dragon boating is a paddling sport derived from Chinese culture that has evolved into a competitive sport. The sport is split into three sections, with 22 people in all, including 20 paddlers, one drummer and one steerer.

Sah first started during the pandemic because his parents were involved at the time.

“I was pretty isolated,” Sah said. “It was distance learning, so I couldn’t really go outside as much. So it’s just wanting to spend more time outside de-stress and also try to get my physical health better.”

Although initially skeptical of the sport, Sah learned to love it through his first competition.

“Since I didn’t exercise as much of my upper body it was kind of painful at first,” Sah said. “But then when I went to my first race, [in] Vancouver, Canada, which is the biggest international festival race in North America, and when I first raced, it was really exhilarating, really fast pace and that really locked me into this sport.”

Later, Sah created the youth team, amassing 22 people.

“They are my friends, but dealing with them as a captain … is different and having to make sure they know their roles and place when it comes to between us being in the boat and us being at the lunch tables,” Sah said. “Communication was definitely one of the hardest parts and having the team stay disciplined on training and meeting dates [was] pretty hard.”

Sah and his team recently competed at the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival, the most competitive dragon boating event in North America.

“[Dragon boating] made me rethink … Chinese culture because I thought it was kind of boring, but there are some cool things that I didn’t know about until dragon boating,” Sah said. “The dragon festival and dragon boat racing itself makes me have a deeper connection [with Chinese culture].”

The Bay Area Dragons Youth Team will be hosting an open house on Sunday, August 25th at 10:30 am. Visit their instagram page for more details.

Reporting by Ellen Li
Photos in courtesy of Steven Sah

On May 24, the Class of 2024 Class Council hosted

On May 24, the Class of 2024 Class Council hosted its annual Senior Sunset event in Center Court. This was the last event for the seniors before their graduation.

“I think it’s really cute that everyone’s getting together for one last time,” said senior Lia Moynihan. “Everyone’s having a good time playing around and [it’s] just putting a smile on my face.”

The Senior Sunset had a beach theme. Everyone wore leis that the school provided. There were many games such as spike ball and volleyball with giant beach balls, along with food and a photobooth.

“I’ve been hitting myself with the beach balls and my friends, obviously eating and taking photos,” Moynihan said.

Unfortunately, the weather did not quite fit the theme.

“It’s definitely so cloudy,” Moynihan said. “There’s actually no sunset, [it’s more like] senior cloudy.”

The event commemorated the friendships the seniors had made, especially over the past year.

“I remember, in the beginning, it was a lot more quiet,” said senior Isabelle Ly. “But now, since the end of the year, there’s a lot more camaraderie and like friend groups.”

The seniors offered their thoughts on their upcoming graduation and departure from Aragon.

“I actually don’t feel anything like it hasn’t come to me yet,” said senior Momoka Dhanuwidjaja. “I know I will feel it at graduation, but even more so like two weeks after graduation, like I’ll just start bawling.”

Graduation will be on May 30 at 5:30 p.m. on the football field.

Reporting by Claire Dong.
Photos by Martin Zheng and Julia Del Mundo

When head athletic director Steve Sell heard the d

When head athletic director Steve Sell heard the district was finally going to start on the flex field late 2023, he was excited–after all, the field would serve as Aragon Baseball’s new home, complete with artificial turf and material fit to perform under all conditions.

The project was first proposed two years ago and added to the district bond measure over a year ago, but progress has been slow, as the completion date has been continually pushed back. Sell cites several causes for the delays, the first being that the original company hired for the project got bought, so he had to go through the bidding process again to find a new construction group to contract. The second obstacle was Aragon’s inherent landscape, being built on a hill.

“So much of our cost and so much of the process was dealing with a retaining wall, so it was a challenging project,” Sell said.

Finally, there were material shortages, as well as uncontrollable circumstances, such as bad weather, that contributed to delays in the project.

As the Aragon baseball team could not play at home during construction, other schools across the district let the Dons play on their fields. Combined with the good attitude of Aragon’s baseball team, the delays have not caused significant issues.

“The rest of the schools and our league, and specifically Mills High School and San Mateo High School, are extremely cooperative in helping us out,” Sell said. “The baseball coach Don Hahn, and the players and families in our baseball program were just unbelievable and flexible…those guys were real champions through all this.”

The current completion date for the flex field is sometime in June.

Reporting by Jack He.
Photos by Anna He and Martin Zheng.

On May 17 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., the Advanced Dram

On May 17 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., the Advanced Drama class presented their annual student-directed project: a mini version of the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.”

As the lights dimmed, the story of teenager Cady Heron experiencing the cliques of American public high school after moving from South Africa unfolded before the audience’s eyes. Junior Katya Kleinhenz, who played Cady, shares the lesson she learned from the role.

“Be yourself and [do] not let external factors influence who you are as a person. Stick to your values and who you want to identify with,” Kleinhenz said.

Senior Maya Efron chose and directed the musical bringing a fresh perspective to the story that has been told many times on Broadway and in two movie adaptations. She reflects on her experiences as a director.

“This is a completely new experience for me… Seeing how I would act in the situation, from a new perspective, is eye-opening,” Efron said. “It makes me realize, in the professional world, how directors would pick people and the way to act to get the most out of it.”

Having a student director was also challenging for some actors.

“I think for a lot of us [working with a student director] was a new experience, and definitely not something we were used to,” said sophomore Jack McNeely, who played Coach Carr. “It was an interesting experience that took a lot of time to get used to. There were different things we needed to work around for the show to turn out as it did.”

Despite the obstacles, the performance went well and was met with appreciation from the audience.

“I absolutely loved it,” said audience member Ash Adams. “Except seeing my brother have to kiss two people on stage. That was horrifying. [I think] McKenna [Gustavson] singing “World Burn” [was my favorite]. Just absolutely chills and amazing vocals from McKenna. It’s amazing.”

With the success of Mean Girls, the drama program looks forward to an even more exciting production next school year.

Reporting by Claire Dong.
Photos by Lian Wang and Ethan Tawn.

On May 10 and 11, The Dance Team, Dance Class, Bre

On May 10 and 11, The Dance Team, Dance Class, Breakdancing Club and Polynesian Club performed at the Dance Showcase, showing off all their hard work from the year.

They all worked hard in preparation for the event to make sure everything ran smoothly.

“We’ve been actually [staying] after hours, basically been almost 6 to 7 o’clock,” said Dance Team director Isabella MatalSol. “We’ve been actually using the extra time to really rehearse and get down [to] practice. The team also practices outside of school during their free time.”

The dance team maintains a positive energy even though there may be nerves around events coming up.
“Leading up to the showcases, it’s really fun because everybody’s excited and we’re just all there for one [another],” said sophomore Sienna Shehadeh, who is a member of the dance team. “There’s nothing to be like nervous about because it’s very supportive community.”

MatalSol added on to this.

“[Within the team] it’s all good [vibes], positivity, everybody’s happy and energetic and just wants to dance and it’s a way that [they express] themselves,” MatalSol said.

“I think the show went really well,” Shehadeh said. “[I believe] that the dance team and Poly Club did a really good job like bringing, like hype to the Showcase”
Ultimately all four groups came together over the course of two days to provide a stunning showcase of dance.

Reporting by Oscar Nicholson.
Photos by Victoria Santana and Lian Wang.

On Friday, May 3 at 7 p.m., the Aragon Choirs came

On Friday, May 3 at 7 p.m., the Aragon Choirs came together to perform a series of pieces in their Spring Concert.

Since it is the last concert of their year, the night served as a tribute for the seniors.

The Choir’s had two-hour rehearsals leading up to the event, in addition to their regular in-class practice, in order to make sure they were all ready.

Furthermore, student-band organization Tri-M spent time leading up to the concert mapping out the event and preparing food to sell during the performance.

The Choirs sang various different pieces, even singing in different languages such as Chinese and Spanish. One piece though, rose above the others.

“Our biggest piece is Leonard Berstein’s ‘Chichester Psalms,’” said Senior choir singer Mia Weinberger. “It’s a really meaningful piece because it is about bringing peace during a war.”

Weinberger emphasized the importance of music and deeper meanings.

“Being able to evoke an emotion in a person through music is what makes me want to continue music,” Weinberger said. “And I think that’s something that we all get to really develop here at are honest, through those songs, whether it’s learning it in a different language, or learning the meaning behind a piece is being able to present a piece of work that really can connect with our audience and connect with our peers and not only connect with the audience themselves, but bring us together as people because we all have our different own experiences.”

Reporting by Oscar Nicolson.
Photos by Ethan Tawn.

On May 3, Aragon hosted its annual end of the year

On May 3, Aragon hosted its annual end of the year rally in the gym. Students watched as dances featured songs like “Finesse” as well as games in which grades competed against one another. Leadership also projected this year’s “End of the Year Video” on screen for the school to watch, reflecting on events and moments that shaped the school’s sense of community. At the end, classes moved up to the next grade’s area to commemorate the completion of the school year.

Check out the full coverage in our upcoming print edition.

Reporting by Anushka Punjabi.
Photos and video by Martin Zheng, Lian Wang, Darra McLintock, Anna He

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