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
For students in IVA, the school campus is replaced by a desk in their own home. Students can learn their core subjects without the inherent COVID-19 risk that in-person campuses present.

Hybrid Loses Students to IVA

Aryan Mittal, Staff Writer | January 22, 2021

About 190 students transferred from the Portola High hybrid model to the Irvine Virtual Academy for spring semester, while only 30 students transferred from IVA to hybrid, according to principal John Pehrson....

In what the New York Times described as a “mob” and a “breach of democracy,” dozens of supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed Capitol Hill just two weeks before the inauguration of President Joseph Biden, forcing members of Congress to evacuate as they voted against a recount of ballots from the Pennsylvania presidential election.

Rioters Breach Capitol Building; Donald Trump Impeached

Jenny Won, Opinion Editor | January 20, 2021

Playing team-oriented sports while being physically distanced can create some disconnect between team players. “I think the biggest thing would be playing against each other as a team and going to the games and having that adrenaline rush and experiencing the program and playing in a competitive environment, as opposed to just getting better,” junior varsity volleyball player and sophomore Sarika Menon said.

Orange County Moving into Purple Tier and its Impact on Student Athletes

Akshay Raj, Krisha Konchadi, Aryan Mittal, and Erin Choi | January 20, 2021

Athletes across Irvine Unified schools are facing an array of changes and challenges to athletic practices and training as a result of Orange County’s recent transition to the purple tier of Gov. Gavin...

Six students share what they received from friends and family for the 2020 holiday season. Even with the stress of the pandemic and final exams, these presents added joy and relaxation to the students’ lives.

Christmas Presents Create a Cheerful Ending to 2020

Clara Ferreira Lopes and Haruka Noda | January 14, 2021

Physical education equipment custodian Noe Belmudez cleans the sinks in one of the restrooms during second period with a special disinfectant. During each period, the custodial staff must clean every restroom on campus, as well as any other area classified as a high touch point.

Custodial Staff Wipes Away Student Concerns

Akshay Raj and Kelthie Truong | January 13, 2021

Whether they are on staircases spraying down handrails or in bathrooms sanitizing sinks, Portola High custodians Noe Belmudez, Leo Diego, Adrian Espinoza, Armando Medina, Frank Perez and Adrian Saavedra...

After going viral on TikTok and other social media platforms, teens all around the world are watching Megan Is Missing, a horror/thriller movie all about a teenager going missing after meeting a fake person online.

Mediocre Movie Gains Popularity for Obscene Content: ‘Megan is Missing’

Emma Haag and Kayla Moshayedi | January 13, 2021

Content warning: This movie contains scenes of sexual assault, kidnapping, extreme aggression and gore. “Megan is Missing,” a 2011 drama and horror film based on a true story and directed by Michael...

Drawn by AP Studio Art: Drawing student and senior Natalie Yu, this piece is titled “Smile! You’re on Camera,” which is the phrase that Yu explores in her art. Through her use of inverted images and a self-portrait, Yu captures the message that being on camera is something she fears rather than smiles for.

AP Art Students Self-Reflect by Compiling Annual Portfolios

Claudia Lin, Co-News Editor | January 11, 2021

Every year, students enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) art classes are not evaluated by their performance on a standard AP multiple-choice exam or their ability to answer a free-response question, but...

Steve Lacy has exhibited his talent in producing songs for artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Denzel Curry in songs such as “PRIDE” and “If Tomorrow's Not Here,” respectively. Lacy is also an important member of the 2015 Grammy-winning band, “The Internet.”

The Highs and the Lows of ‘The Lo-Fis’

Krisha Konchadi, Front Page Editor | January 8, 2021

Twenty-two year old R&B singer, songwriter and producer Steve Lacy spent quarantine creating merchandise for his fans and producing a music video at home for his song “Live Without Your Love.”...

The model minority myth hurts both Asian Americans and other minorities, which can further perpetuate racism against Asian Americans and racism against underprivileged minority groups, downplaying the chances of other minorities to pursue an acceptable societal status and creating a rigid set of regulations of how an Asian must act in the community.

Model Minority Myth Magnifies Misunderstanding

Cara Chan and Dheeksha Bhima Reddy | January 7, 2021

The model minority myth, while seemingly harmless, can be detrimental to the Asian American community, as well as other minority groups by creating an expectation that Asian Americans are considerably...

Looking for a means to support their families by driving to school themselves, student drivers must grapple with whether the stress alleviated with a parking permit is worth its $40 per semester cost. Despite this, it is important to keep in mind that lowering the price of a parking permit would raise more serious concerns from a campus perspective than it would resolve.

Look To Student Responsibilities In Lieu of Lower Parking Costs

Justin Tang, Staff Writer | January 6, 2021

As Portola High progresses under a hybrid learning model in the 2020-21 school year, students who have received their driver's licenses face a dilemma in their school commutes. Even as COVID-19 has heightened...

Spanish teacher Grace Maginn is surrounded by her class of students who had thrown a surprise party on her last day teaching in spring 2017. While living in Salamanca from 2016 to 2017, Maginn taught as an English teacher at a high school located in Zamora, Spain.

Teachers Who Lived Abroad: Grace Maginn’s Three Trips to Spain

Celine Lee, Staff Writer | January 5, 2021

Spanish teacher Grace Maginn first took a plane from Indiana to Spain to study abroad in 2014. Maginn never anticipated to become so captivated by the foreign country that she would later live there two...

Hours before the album’s release, Swift took to Instagram on Dec. 11 to post promotional pictures for “willow,” the lead single off her surprise album “evermore.” Just five months after the release of her previous album, “folklore,” Swift treats fans to a similarly-styled journey in her second surprise drop of 2020.

Taylor Swift’s Genre-Defying Skill Lasts ‘evermore’

Claudia Lin and Akshay Raj | January 4, 2021

Imagine wandering through a mythical town and the chilled, autumn breeze tousles your hair. Amid the thickening fog, you come across folklorian woods. With curiosity, you step deeper into the forest, whisked...

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