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The student news site of Portola High School

Portola Pilot

The student news site of Portola High School

Portola Pilot

The student news site of Portola High School

Portola Pilot

Junior Gabby Sarabosing eats sweets in Sofia, Bulgaria with her grandfather, grandmother and twin sister in 2017, six years before her grandfather was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. According to Sarabosing, she has not visited Bulgaria since, but her mother went there to see her grandfather for two weeks in January. “My mom, even when she was in Bulgaria, was like, ‘I don’t want to send you pictures of him because you’re going to be so scared,’” Sarbaosing said. “‘He’s so different.’ So It’s just hard seeing him.”

Two Families who Are Fighting Cancer this National Cancer Prevention Month

Maya Tedini, Staff Writer | February 27, 2023

Fifty-four percent of Americans say cancer has affected their family in some way, according to a 2017 poll by CBS. In light of February’s designation as National Cancer Prevention Month, two students...

Online personalities have skyrocketed to success by streaming chess as an esport, particularly on the streaming platform Twitch. Most recently, “Mittens” — an interactive bot with a supposed ELO rating of 1 launched by chess.com in January — garnered the sport of chess new fans. In particular, the character’s tongue-in-cheek references to internet meme culture and appearances in humorous streams from leading chess personalities such as GothamChess and Hikaru Nakamura resulted in increased online attention to the sport.

Return of the King, Queen, Bishop and Rook: Explaining the Resurgence of Chess

Tyler Kim | February 23, 2023

318 billion.  That’s the theoretical total number of ways to play just the first four moves in the game of kings. For over thousands of years, some of history’s greatest minds have waged battles...

Counselor Ryan Itchon works on editing a video that will be released on the counseling department’s Instagram page. The videos will cover a wide variety of mental health topics and may include student actors in the future, according to Itchon.

Counseling Department Releases Mental Health Video Series

Skyller Liu, Social Media Team | February 21, 2023

The counseling department is producing a new series of mental health videos that will release on an ongoing basis and cover an array of topics pertaining to student stressors, needs and well-being. The...

The Super Bowl is one of the biggest sporting events of the year and has a lot of influence on the general public (NBC). Due to the extreme prevalence of the game in pop culture, advertisers try their hardest to make the best commercials possible to grab the attention of their audience.

Super Bowl Advertisements: The Fumbles and the Scores

Maitri Allani and Claire Chan | February 16, 2023

Fans cheer in joy and sigh in disappointment. The NFL Super Bowl, one of the biggest events of the year, kicked off on Feb. 12, which means that advertisers fight over a chance to gain a spot in their...

Center midfielder and senior Yasser Mallisho scored two goals on Senior Night. “It was amazing, you know, last league game of my life,” Mallisho said. “High school’s been an amazing time starting since sophomore year in varsity, and it’s been a hell of a ride.”

Boys’ Soccer Wraps up League Season with 3-0 Senior Night win against Sage Hill

Maya Tedini and Parmin Zamani | February 15, 2023

Boys’ soccer (8-5-4) won against Sage Hill High 3-0 on Feb. 2 in the stadium following a tie against Irvine High earlier in the week. The game started in the Bulldogs’ favor with a throw-in...

Night of the Arts and Cabaret Night Take the Stage to Kick Off Fine Arts Week

Ruhi Samudra, Staff Writer | February 14, 2023

In a magical evening of breathtaking exhibits and captivating performances, audiences made the school come alive in a celebration of students’ artistic talents. Visual arts students set up this...

With their corny dialogue and swoon-worthy scenes, these films can keep you company throughout Valentine's Day.

Ranking the Top Valentine’s Binge-Worthy Rom-coms

Jana Malek, Staff Writer | February 13, 2023

Romantic comedies from the late 1990s to the early 2000s are unmatched. The cheesy lines and over-the-top fashion are a tremendous source of comfort, especially around Valentine's Day when both the single...

Students entertain themselves with poker games organized by the Bowers Museum staff in the main hall. Historical artifacts on display served as popular photo backgrounds for students.

‘Roaring Twenties’ Winter Formal Hosts A Casino Night

Kayleen Kim and Hannah Ko | February 13, 2023

Students jazzed themselves up for the "Roaring Twenties" Winter Formal that took place on Feb. 4 at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. Over 1,000 students enjoyed a night full of casino games, desserts and...

Climate change activists faced public outrage after vandalizing a priceless painting at the London National Gallery and demanding that the government prevent the production of fossil fuels. Extreme forms of protest such as this have become increasingly common among advocates for climate action as they generate publicity. However, such acts only serve to distance people from the true purpose of the movement.

The Controversial Climate Change Movement: Why Peaceful Demonstrations Trump Extreme Protests

Aditi Salunkhe, Staff Writer | February 10, 2023

Vandalizing property. Shutting down traffic. Disrupting the public space.  These extreme forms of protest are tactics used by some climate change activists to garner attention for their cause, but...

Junior and small forward Kalynne Abraham Mendez makes a free-throw during the second quarter, bringing the score to 27-25. in favor of Woodbridge High, on Jan. 31. The Bulldogs and the Warriors were neck and neck throughout the game.

Girls’ Basketball Wins Tight Victory Against Woodbridge

Maitri Allani and Claire Chan | February 8, 2023

Girls’ basketball (22-6) won its league game on Jan. 31 in the gym against Woodbridge High’s Warriors with a tight score of 53-50. Girls’ basketball’s next game is a CIF game against Tesoro High...

Captain Hook (sophomore Jay Shin) and his pirate gang dance to “Hook’s Tango.” The melody features an elegant, soft tune, contrasting the main lyrics of the song, which uncover Hook’s sinister personality and nefarious plans.

Neverland Comes to Life in ‘Peter Pan’ Musical

Arnav Chandan, Sports Editor | February 7, 2023

A mysterious, lone box sits in the center of the otherwise empty stage. This worn, hickory-shaded box, highlighted with contrasting hues of pearl white along its edges, draws little attention to itself.  The...

Junior Haaris Alam extracts nanocomposite from a Brabender machine in the Stony Brook University in New York to collect data for his Science Fair project. “I was really proud of my ability to be in the lab for hours on end, where I'm collecting data and learning about the different machinery,” Alam said.

Bulldogs Digitize Projects for IUSD’s 42nd Annual Science Fair

Mia Jong, Photo Editor | February 7, 2023

Seventeen students from Portola High competed in Irvine Unified School District’s (IUSD) second ever virtual science fair from Jan. 23 to Feb. 3.  This year’s science fair submissions included...

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