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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

Tilly the Tilapia’s Descent into Cannibalism

Tilly the Tilapia’s Descent into Cannibalism

Sidra Asif and Ryne Dunman | March 16, 2022

Delve into the murky waters of Tilly the Tilapia's cannibalistic legacy in aquaponics.

For students who feel that AP Physics 1 is too daunting or that CP Physics wouldn’t be the best fit for their interests or abilities, Principles of Engineering can offer an alternative that involves a survey of the applications of physics. However, the focus is placed on fostering interest in engineering rather than making the course an intermediate course in physics, according to physics and engineering teacher Anthony Pham — a possible reason that it has gone under the radar for many students entering their junior year.

‘Hidden’ Classes: How Can Engineering Courses Be Better Promoted During Course Selection?

Kayleen Kim and Justin Tang | March 15, 2022

At Portola High, the two physics courses offered to juniors – CP Physics and AP Physics 1 – cover the required subject in vastly different ways. From the amount of coursework to the number of concepts...

Junior Tessa Trieu prepares for a flipturn during the 200 Butterfly Relay at the March 3 Capo Valley swim meet, where schools from all over Orange County competed.

For Swim Captain Tessa Trieu, It’s All about Teamwork

Charlotte Cao and Zara Shirwany | March 15, 2022

Junior varsity swimmer and junior Tessa Trieu’s voice bubbles with excitement as she describes her biggest victory in the pool. The memory comes to life as she recounts how she led the girls’ swim...

2022 Girl Scout Cookies Ranked

2022 Girl Scout Cookies Ranked

Michelle Kim, Business Manager | March 14, 2022

Portola administration anticipates that many students and staff will go maskless unless they are in a large area with multiple people indoors, according to assistant principal Amy Paulsen.  

“I’m already noticing when I see people off campus, large students together without masks gathering and going places,” Paulsen said.

Portola High to Lift Indoor Mask Requirement Following Updated State Guidelines

Tyler Kim, Staff Writer | March 14, 2022

Face masks will no longer be mandatory but instead “strongly recommended” inside Portola High classrooms starting March 12, in accordance with California’s new indoor mask policies announced by Gov....

After senior Kian Miremadi won, he took a photo with the winning jackpot amount of $1,220.

Senior Kian Miremadi Takes Home Jackpot in Senior Assassins

Arshia Sista and Shaina Taebi | March 11, 2022

The fifth annual senior assassins competition ended on Feb. 27 and awarded senior Kian Miremadi with the jackpot amount of $1,220. The final round of competition was between Miremadi and senior...

Girls’ lacrosse players and seniors Chloe Choi, Celine Aoki and Aafiyah Chohan hold up four fingers on their hands to symbolize their fourth year being on the girls’ lacrosse team.

Q&A with Three Fourth-year Girls’ Lacrosse Players

Ryan Jung and Celine Lee | March 10, 2022

As seniors Celine Aoki, Aafiyah Chohan and Chloe Choi enter their fourth and final season of lacrosse, we asked them four questions to learn about how their lacrosse journey all started, what it was like,...

Top Row: junior Dheeksha Bhima Reddy, junior Arnav Chandan, sophomore Kayleen Kim, junior Sidra Asif, senior Clara Ferreira Lopez, senior Michelle Kim and senior Justin Tang. Bottom row: sophomore Shaina Taebi, junior Arshia Sista, sophomore Tara Vatandoust, junior Cara Chan, senior Ryne Dunman, senior Claudia Lin and adviser Brianna Rapp. Lin believes that it was a good learning opportunity for all who attended and competed. “It's just everyone coming together to kind of appreciate and celebrate journalism in the form of competition and also just appreciating other people's newspapers,” Lin said.

Portola Pilot Makes History with First Newspaper Sweepstakes Award

Shaina Taebi, Staff Writer | March 9, 2022

Portola Pilot swept the competition, winning first place in Best of Show for Newspaper in Division 1, Website, Podcast and overall Sweepstakes at the Orange County Journalism Education Write-Offs hosted...

Senior Aryan Shrivastava, junior Jenny Zhang and senior Howard Zhang present their trophies for qualifying for the International Career Development Conference. Six out of 11 Portola High delegates placed as finalists.

Largest Number of Student Delegates in School History Qualify for DECA Internationals

Cara Chan | March 9, 2022

Three members of Portola High's Distributive Education Clubs of America chapter qualified for the International Career Development Conference. This conference had the most number of Portola High qualifiers...

Sophomore Nithila Francis, with the other fourteen students, were selected for the Southern California Vocal Association Regional Honor Choir, the most selected from any high school in Southern California.

Sophomore Nithila Francis Uses Music to Connect to her Past, Present and Future

Kayleen Kim and Zara Shirwany | March 9, 2022

No matter where you come from, art and culture can be a powerful way to learn about and connect to your heritage and identity. For sophomore Nithila Francis, music can combine many different historical...

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