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
Arshia Sista

Arshia Sista, Front Page Editor

Arshia Sista is this year’s front page editor for her second and last year on the Portola Pilot. She’s both bittersweet and excited to design quirky and fun front covers of issues and make new memories with her Pilot friends. Outside of the newsroom, you can find her texting people “queen” or “slay,” eating In-N-Out and filling her closet with new clothes from H&M and Depop :).

All content by Arshia Sista
Junior Yasmine Cheng first designed the senior mural by hand for the Class of 2024, which represents birds soaring over the sky. “I was just thinking of being free, being independent, choosing your own path, and when we leave high school, we basically can set our own course,” Cheng said. “I was trying to draw this piece and how I reflected on my past few years at this school.”

Soaring over the Sky: Junior Yasmine Cheng Creates Senior Mural for Class of 2024

Arshia Sista and Shaina Taebi | June 1, 2023
Sophomore Lulu Zhao, junior Natalie Song, junior Jawad Khadra and sophomore Jimin Han received the CTE Bulldog Excellence Awards, which is granted to students who demonstrate PRIDE values while taking advantage of opportunities to pursue their career interests, according to the Bulldog Excellence Award pamphlet.

Jadyn Zdanavage Named Bulldog of the Year at Annual Bulldog Awards Ceremony

Skyller Liu and Arshia Sista | May 30, 2023
Throughout the Super Nintendo World, there are numerous animatronics including coins, Goombas and Pokeys. To ride the new attraction, visitors can enter through a virtual queue on the Universal app.

Universal’s Newest Attraction Is Not So Peachy

Arshia Sista, Front Page Editor | May 19, 2023
Sophomore Skylar Nguyen has been practicing aerial silk since her freshman year and is continuing to grow her skillset with more difficult movements. “Usually when it comes to doing my drops the first time is always the scariest,” Nguyen said. “I'm usually high in the air, so it's not like anyone can really, like, help guide my back. Usually though, after practicing it a couple times, I get used to the height and the drop and the technique.”

Grace Through Silk: Sophomore Skylar Nguyen Finds her Art Form Through Aerial Silk

Arshia Sista and Shaina Taebi | May 15, 2023
Senior Joseph Sevilla plays the piano during the lunchtime activities at Ability Awareness Week to showcase the work by Unified Sound.

First Ability Awareness Week Allows Students to Embrace Inclusivity

Arshia Sista, Front Page Editor | May 11, 2023
Pham had a taste of Chawanmushi, a Japanese steamed egg custard with Dungeness crab and shiitake mushrooms, when he ate at Yakiya. Located in Hacienda Plaza, Yakiya is a high-end restaurant that serves ‘chef’s pre-fixe menu’ style.

Q&A: This Teacher is a ‘Pham’ of Fine Dining

Arshia Sista, Michael Sun, and Jordan Hata | April 21, 2023
Juniors Jasmine Davis and Haniya Hassan and senior Jana Malek celebrate their win on qualifying for the International conference with their project about pure water filtration in Pakistan.

Virtual Enterprise and Empowering Entrepreneurship Compete at State Career Development Conference

Aditi Salunkhe and Arshia Sista | March 20, 2023
How to Spend Second Semester as a Senior

How to Spend Second Semester as a Senior

Arshia Sista, Front Page Editor | January 10, 2023
Junior Kady Lin and sophomore Carol Chiang hug each other after the annual Secret Sister hosted by Canta Bella members. They both received each other as their Secret Sister and were able to enjoy some snacks like cookies and a “Canta Slay” cake after.

[Photo] Secret Santa Gifts Students Holiday Joy

Tara Vatandoust, A&E Editor | December 15, 2022

[Video] Have a Slice of Apple Pie: Two Variations

Kayleen Kim and Arshia Sista | December 5, 2022
S3 Episode 01: Clowns, Ghouls and Killers: A Reflection on the Horror Genre

S3 Episode 01: Clowns, Ghouls and Killers: A Reflection on the Horror Genre

Dheeksha Bhima Reddy, Arnav Chandan, Aditi Salunkhe, Arshia Sista, and Parmin Zamani | October 23, 2022
Upcoming College Deadlines

Upcoming College Deadlines

Arshia Sista, Front Page Editor | October 18, 2022
Many school libraries exclude banned books in their availability of books, specifically books featuring minority groups like POC and LGBTQ+ communities according to PEN America.

Banned Books Negatively Impact Representation

Arshia Sista and Sonia Wang | September 20, 2022
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[Photo] ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers:’Kendrick Lamar’s Perspective on Society Today

Emma Haag and Kayla Moshayedi | May 31, 2022
Whereas freshmen acceptance rates to UCLA hover around 12 to 16 percent, members of IVC’s Transfer Alliance Program are accepted to UCLA at rates between 70 to 85 percent, according to the IVC website.

[Photo] Community College–a Stepping Stone to Greater Opportunities

Emma Haag and Ryan Jung | May 26, 2022
Toxic Asian-beauty standards have made many South Asians use face-whitening products like Fair and Lovely to have a more Eurocentric look.

Toxicity in Asian-American Standards: South-Asian Underrepresentation

Arshia Sista, Staff Writer | May 25, 2022
ICSA performed during intercultural week with a traditional Indian dance to celebrate the diverse cultures on campus.

Indian Cultural Student Association Embraces Diversity of Indian Culture

Arshia Sista, Staff Writer | May 20, 2022
Netflix’s new show “Heartstopper” is in Top 10 of all shows in all of Netflix series and has pulled in 929,000 engagements, according to Variety.

Netflix’s New Show is a ‘Heartstopper’

Arshia Sista and Shaina Taebi | May 18, 2022
Junior Jesulayomi Bello, acting as Glory in Act 1, stretches her hand up to the sky, saying “Goodbye Wes!” A few seconds later, mystical, relieving music sets the closing scene with northern lights.

Love is in the Air with ‘Almost, Maine’

Arshia Sista and Martin Yoon | May 5, 2022
“Bridgerton” promotes diversity with the portrayal of the new season to bring inclusion within the cast on screen as it adopts color-blind casting.

Color-Blind Casting Fosters Inclusivity in Media Beyond Race

Cara Chan and Arshia Sista | April 22, 2022
During the robotics competition, the team created robots that picked up balls and put them in the basket.“My favorite experience was cheering for our team with everyone clapping in the stands and waving our team flag,” sophomore Selina Syed said “It took us months to prepare, and we started brainstorming ideas right away as this year’s competition was released. We had changed our design and finally decided on one that we continued to build.”

Robotics Team Qualifies for Quarterfinals in Competition Playoffs

Arshia Sista | March 22, 2022
Spring Sports and Programs Blossom at Pep Rally

Spring Sports and Programs Blossom at Pep Rally

Arshia Sista and Kayleen Kim | March 18, 2022
Both girls’ and boys’ swim perform a trending TikTok dance to the song “Surf’s Up” from the Teen Beach movie.

Dance Company and Dance 4 perform choreography to “Body Move” by Dizzy Fae and “Wrote A Song About You” by MNEK. The yearly collaboration for the spring pep rally between the two classes were different as there was more space to move than in the gym, according to Dance 4 member and senior Esha Ananth. “I would just say it's something different for people to see,” Ananth said. “Because I feel like it also promotes people to come to the dance concert because in the dance concert, we have more big performances, and we also actually have the pep rally dance in the performance.”

Athletics Boys’ Commissioner and junior Jayden Villanueva cheers on spring sports teams as they are announced and waves the pom-poms in front of the student body to commemorate the start of the new season.

Freshman class president and freshman Justin Hwang uses a pom-pom to direct freshmen to their stands before the rally starts.

Track and field runs off the field after performing the TikTok dance to Playboi Carti’s “Cancun” in the Sega Genesis Remix. Freshman Sophie Guilfoile recalled the experience as one that truly represented the track team, as track and field athletes have different events, rarely seeing one another unless they are in the same event. “We tried to incorporate some people from different events,” Guilfoile said. “So I definitely think it made us look more unified. I think that really gives a good image.”

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
Lion dancers performed traditional lion dancing to Chinese music to help promote their club.

Cultures Pin Their Mark at Portola

Arshia Sista, Staff Writer | March 3, 2022
S2 Episode 02: Love Languages: How Do You Define Love?

S2 Episode 02: Love Languages: How Do You Define Love?

Charlotte Cao, Arnav Chandan, Claudia Lin, and Arshia Sista | February 8, 2022
Various students across all dance classes performed “Don’t Call Me Back” to the song “These Boys Ain’t It” by Saygrace, which included themes of female empowerment.

Annual Winter Dance Concert ‘Breaking the Ice’ Leaves Audiences in Shivers

Cara Chan and Arshia Sista | December 15, 2021
Sophomore Tabatha Perdomo, junior Mia Linville and senior Nicole Phillip use a seam ripper to dismantle a pair of old jeans for their patches.

In with the Old, Out with the New

Clara Ferreira Lopes and Arshia Sista | December 2, 2021
Tustin High School juniors and seniors who have prior Model United Nations experience judge the delegates based on the quality of their position paper, debate and overall participation.

Portola’s MUN Club Enters their first MUN Conference after COVID-19

Arshia Sista, Staff Writer | November 30, 2021
Sophomore Jack Kendig sings “Sleigh Ride” composed by Leroy Anderson in preparations for the winter concert. The Treblemakers chose to keep their music a secret while preparing for the concert.

First All-Male Choir Stands up to Any Treble

Arshia Sista, Staff Writer | November 12, 2021
When the murder (Roman) is revealed to the audience, she stops to talk to the dead body about her plan all along. To help prepare for the performance, the rehearsals took three weeks and they would start memorizing lines and choosing the characters through an audition process.

First Dinner-Theatre Performance Serves a Perfect Blend of Comedy and Mystery

Arshia Sista, Staff Writer | November 4, 2021
ASB vice president and junior David Kim waved the Portola flag before the start of the pep rally as students sat in their designated class sections.

Making the Homecoming Pep Rally a Reality

Tyler Kim and Arshia Sista | November 1, 2021
Sophomore Quinn Schatz asked sophomore Lisa Liu to Homecoming after second period and she was very excited to see that he took the time to cut up tennis balls for the proposal.

Personalize that Proposal

Kayleen Kim and Arshia Sista | October 19, 2021
Two men walk around the Great Park, showcasing their traditional Korean attire. Korean traditional clothing for males usually consisted of long robes with wide sleeves and a black hat with two flaps on the side.

20th Irvine Global Village Festival Celebrates a Cultural Explosion After One Year Hiatus

Cara Chan and Arshia Sista | October 14, 2021
Growing up, social studies teacher and junior varsity girls’ soccer coach Samantha Ezratty has always wanted to teach kindergarten due to her love for kids. After volunteering with them, she said she realized that her love for history was something she wanted to pursue for the rest of her life as she was always involved in her high school’s student government, and it was the first place she learned to write.

Girls’ Soccer Program Scores a Goal with New Coach Samantha Ezratty

Claudia Lin and Arshia Sista | September 29, 2021
Rows of students fill out physical sign-up sheets, QR codes and online forms to indicate interest in a club. This way, clubs can follow up with members through email or by creating large group chats and Discord servers.

Clubs ‘Kick Off’ In-Person after a Year of Being Virtual

Arnav Chandan and Arshia Sista | September 29, 2021
At John Wayne airport, sophomore Klara Parang stands next to the 2001 Challenger 605 after successfully navigating her first solo take-off on the runway.

The Portola Pilots: Sibling Duo Soars The Sky

Arshia Sista, Contributing Writer | June 1, 2021
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Arshia Sista