The Phoenix

10/28/2023

NEWS — FHS students, families and alumni gathered in the cafeteria for Dandiya during the nine-night festival of Navratri.

On Oct. 21, 2023 families and friends danced the night away while dressed up in their beautiful jewelry and colorful traditional attire. The wonderful evening was bursting with bright smiles, laughter and lively conversation.

“It's a really good community builder and it really is a good way of bringing people together when you all get together to celebrate something you all care about,” FHS sophomore Nina Chandy said.

Everyone, from kids to adults, had an amazing time and grew closer together as a community. Along with hours of lively dancing, they also took pictures at the photo booth and enjoyed refreshments.

“I like how family comes together and how everyone else gets to come together to dance,” FHS senior Pihu Chawra said. “I really love dancing.”

People formed circles and lines as they danced in synchrony. They held decorated wooden dandiya sticks in hand, raising them and hitting sticks with a partner. The sticks represent the sword of the goddess Durga.

“Technically dandiya should be done around a fire where you do a puja, a type of ritual that you do,” Chawra said. “So after the puja you dance around the fire in circles.”

FHS robotics, 3501 Firebots, volunteered to put effort and thought into hosting this wonderful event of celebration for the community. Entrance was eleven dollars and an additional five for dandiya sticks. They played vibrant music that everyone of all ages enjoyed.

“90 percent of Bollywood music or just like a good vibe for these kinds of things. I'd say just any of it almost, especially like the 2000s era,” Chandy said.

Reporting and Pictures by Karissa Pulido Jara

10/27/2023

NEWS — For the second time since the start of COVID-19, FHS students celebrated Homecoming together in the large gym.

On Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, FHS held its annual Homecoming dance. The dance started at 9pm, but many students came to celebrate after the astounding victory against Santa Clara in the Homecoming football game.

“I really liked [the dance],” FHS junior Sri Kandala said. “Last year was my first year and I know a lot more people now so it's much better. And I think the decorations are much better this year."

Students enjoyed dancing with their friends to diverse genres of music, from Bollywood to rap. Many requested songs and screamed the lyrics of their favorites with their friends.

"It was fun, mainly the dancing," FHS freshman Miranda Nelson said.

While the dance was enjoyed by many, opinions varied.

"It was okay,” Homecoming royalty Niko Wong said. "Previous dances had better music, but it was still a fun experience."

Overall, the perception of FHS’s homecoming dance and game were positive, and a night to remember for many.

Reporting and Pictures by Koko Grundler & Shivani Mudhol

10/26/2023

NEWS — Nearing the end of the football season, varsity football had an exciting game. Fremont varsity football team had a very close game against Santa Clara High School on Friday, Oct. 20, with a final score of 31-24, with a big comeback in the third and fourth quarter.

The main event of this game for most of the student body was the halftime show where Homecoming royalty was announced. The two members of court who won the title of Homecoming royalty for the Class of 2024 were Don Martinez and Niko Wong. The other six students who did not win enjoyed being on court nonetheless.

“I was just doing it for the experience,” Homecoming court member Jazlyn Araujo said. “After I saw who else got nominated I was like, ‘let’s just do it for fun.’”

Halftime performances included the Marching Band, Color Guard and the current and alumni Featherettes. Homecoming court was driven across the track in pedicabs before they walked down the field to hear the winners.

“My favorite part of the experience was the pedicabs. I love how fast they went and all the teachers made us all feel comfortable,” Homecoming court member Ajsela Sivic said.

The football game also kept students at the edge of their seats with intense play near the end of the game.

“I feel like we did a good job as a team. And I feel like as a team, we pushed it to our limits where we didn’t give up at all,” Martinez said.

Many seniors see homecoming as the start of their senior activities and look forward to future events.

“[I am] looking forward to winter formal, prom, senior ditch day and all other senior events,” Araujo said.

Reporting and Pictures by Malena Andrade & Greta Heinke

10/25/2023

NEWS — FHS had its annual Homecoming Pep Rally to conclude spirit week with performances by Fremont Cheer, the Featherettes and Colorguard.

On Friday, Oct. 20, each class participated in the rally by wearing their class colors, and participating in games as their final chance to earn points to win Homecoming Spirit Week.

The games included “Finish the Lyrics,” a relay race and “Shape Tape,” where each class section had to hold caution tape in a designated shape to create a bird’s eye view of the shape.

“It's always nice to be able to perform in front of a crowd,” cheerleader Ava Malashock said. “We hit our entire routine.”

ASB as well as all the class cabinets have been planning this event for the past month and a half while simultaneously planning each class rally that occurred throughout the week. The large gym was decorated with class posters, streamers and balloons for the event.

“You could see we prepared. The script was good. The sound turned out pretty well. So I think it was good,” Sophomore Class Cabinet Member Rotem Ben David said.

The Spirit Week judges were there, watching performances and evaluating each class to determine how many spirit points to award to each.

“I think the marching band did a great job. I think everyone did. The cheerleaders did a great job,” Spirit Week Judge Mac Anthony Chen said. “I think there was a lot of class spirit too.”

At halftime during the homecoming game against Santa Clara High School, it was announced that the Seniors, class of 2024, won spirit week.

Reporting and Pictures by Molly Bobick & Clara Estan

10/24/2023

SPORTS — The varsity girls volleyball team celebrated their graduating seniors in an exciting match against Wilcox High School’s team.

On Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, the Fremont girls volleyball team went up against Wilcox High School for their last home game of the 2023 season. Before the game, the team was joined by the seniors and their families to have their Senior Night ceremony, commemorating the end of the seniors’ high school volleyball career.

During the ceremony, seniors Amanda Demo, Avery Fanslow and Hayley Johnson each imparted their final words in a speech given by one of their juniors, while also receiving gifts and a bouquet from the team.

Despite putting up a good fight, the team lost the game 0-3. Coach Michelle Wagner was however proud of the team's performance and believes that they played exceptionally well, considering they were missing key players. She applauded the team’s tenacity, and fighting spirit which was a testament to their strong character.

“We have lots of people that stepped up to new challenges,” Wagner said. “I’ve only coached them for about five weeks or so, but they have come so far.”

Regardless of the loss, the seniors and their families were happy to have celebrated their Senior Night. Drew Demo, varsity captain Amanda Demo’s father, echoed Wagner, commending the team’s ability to recover quickly from setbacks and maintain their strong spirit throughout the game.

“It’s been an amazing journey,” Drew Demo said. “It’s just been so exciting to see her play. We played a tough team but I saw some really good plays.”

Being the captain alongside Amanda Demo, Fanslow remained optimistic in light of the loss. As an outside hitter, she was a key player who was consistently involved and led the team throughout the match.

“It always sucks to lose, but we played hard today and I had a lot of fun with my team,” Fanslow said. “I loved being part of the team.”

Reporting and Pictures by Smera Jain

10/20/2023

SPORTS — In an exciting match with saves and blocks, FHS girls volleyball team faced off against Homestead High School.

On Monday, Oct. 16, HHS came out on top winning 3 sets to 0 (19-25, 18-25, 14-25). Coming off of their latest 3-1 victory against Santa Clara High School, the FHS Girls Volleyball team started off strong in the first set. However, a late run by the HHS team allowed them to take that set. The next two sets were also filled with chants from the FHS and HHS sections.

“I did realize our serving looked good. But on the other hand, I could see that they were covering us pretty well too,” FHS senior Cesar Davila said. “I will definitely be watching the game on senior night.”

HHS is ranked first in the league, and is undefeated with a record of 10-0. The record between the two teams stands at 1-6, favoring HHS. The FHS girls volleyball team, with a record of 2-8, is still looking to improve in their following games.

“They had some really good hitters,” FHS varsity team captain Avery Fanslow said. “I think our core energy is lacking and we should definitely be talking a bit more on the court.”

Reporting and Photos by Ayush Anarkat

10/20/2023

NEWS — As Homecoming draws near, the Class of 25 was determined to show their school spirit and unity at their annual class rally.

On Oct.18, juniors were able to engage with each other in games and activities. The weeks of effort put in by ASB was rewarded with robust laughter and focused teamwork. Throughout the rally, students attempted to gain class points to reach their goal of winning homecoming week.

“I think the rally went really well. It's fun seeing everybody from our grade come together and have fun,” junior Ella Walker said. “I think we're the most spirited class.”

This new class color for the juniors is blue, which was worn by many students in order to show off their class spirit at the rally.

“I love seeing our class spirit grow, especially because we were the ones that came out of the pandemic right into freshman year,” junior class cabinet member Natalie Chang said.

As a tradition of homecoming week, all the classes are meant to create dances and perform them at their class rally. The juniors have taken on the 2000s theme for this year’s homecoming, making it fitting that their class dance song was a mixture of popular 2000s hits.

“I feel like that rally had some hiccups, but we got over it and it was a great rally in the end,” ASB member Krishna Kemisetti said. “It was fun to see the class dance and everyone who participated.”

Reporting and Pictures by Alexia Sanchez & Shraddha Sriram

10/18/2023

NEWS — Decked out in their class color, FHS freshmen gathered in the large gym for their first class rally.

On Oct. 16, students participated in the activities and dances organized for their class. One of the activities held during the rally had students sit on balloons and attempt to pop them. Whichever team popped the most balloons the fastest would win. Freshman Chase Walker’s team, including members Eedo Akuka and Aslam Ahmed, took the win.

“We might have gotten a disqualification for breaking the chair,” Walker said. “[But] the whole time I thought I was gonna win.”

During the Rally, the freshman class was introduced to the “Dinosaur dance” which is their official homecoming dance choreographed by the cheer team.

“The dance was super fun. And honestly a really nice experience bonding with my teammates,” freshman cheerleader Mia Katz said. “I was upset that not too many people participated but that’s okay, because we have more rallies to come.”

The ASB team helped plan and create the games and small details of the Rally, putting a lot of work and thought into this event so the freshman class got the full highschool homecoming rally experience.

“The games had to tie into the script in specific ways and match our theme, while also being fun and easy enough to understand,” ASB member Ava Malashock said. “I think we have the best chance of winning out of all freshman classes in a while.”

The freshman homecoming rally was a memorable event with an incredible spirit from the freshman student section.

Reporting and Pictures by Alma Gad & Tanishka Sharma

12/09/2022

Hey Fremont! Our third issue is officially out now! Pick up a paper from Ms. Martin’s room (A-206) or click the link in our bio to read the articles on our website!

10/23/2022

NEWS — Fremont’s Choir held their “Flashbacks” concert in the Tim Shannon Theatre on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. Featuring the Bella and Aria choirs, it was their first concert of the school year.

The choirs sang selections from “Hunchback of Notre Dame,” as well as “The Wind'' and “Cantante Domino,” a Michael Jackson medley.

“[The concert] was very pleasant,” Aarohi Buddhavarapu, a sophomore who watched the show, said. “I liked the creativity that the teacher brought to the selection of music . Both of the choirs executed it pretty perfectly, and I very much enjoyed the concert.”

Joe Howard, the choir director of 31 years, wanted to showcase an array of different voices in the performance.

“If I had students who had the special talent to perform, I tried to feature them and it gives a lot of variety to the show so there's big numbers, small numbers and those group numbers,” Howard said.

The concert featured solos from Dylan Mallari, Rose Madsen, Daphne Emmert and many other students.

“I think the concert went really well for our first concert! I am excited for more of them,” Daphne Emmert said.

Their next concert will be the Winter Concert in December.

Photos courtesy of Lucas Li ()
Reporting by Lucas Li () and Akemi Tsuchitani (.tsuchitani)

10/19/2022

NEWS - FHS had their annual Homecoming game taking on the Woodside Wildcats on Diesner Field on Oct. 14. The eventful night featured thrilling performances from cheer, the Firebird Marching Band and the Featherettes. At halftime, the Homecoming ceremony crowned seniors Ainsley DeSousa and Naomi Nishikawa Homecoming royalty.

“It's very surreal,” Nishikawa said. “I was not expecting that at all but it's so nice to be recognized with all the amazing people on court. Everyone on court was great, and I'm glad that we all got to do it together.”

Homecoming court consisted of the two crowned royalty, DeSousa and Nishikawa, as well as Lauren Diesner, Nell Erez, Liel Gavriel, Abhi Guntaka, Eshika Jaini, Taran Kondamuru, Laura Martinez Carbajal, Kami Osher, Melissa Sandoval Lopez and Shreya Suriya.

“I never went into this expecting to be royalty, so I'm not like, oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm not royalty,” Erez said.“ I'm really, really happy for them. They're both people that I've been friends with throughout high school.”

The Firebirds lost 27 to 34 to the Wildcats. The schools were neck in neck for the majority of the game with the halftime score being 21 to 21. In the fourth quarter, Woodside finished the game with a last-minute touchdown.

Senior cornerback, Yahir Macias, describes his impression of the game.

“I feel like we did great,” Macias said. “Unfortunate events happened, you know, I feel like we should have won the game, but it’s all good. We have the next one.”

10/17/2022

SPORTS- On Monday, Oct. 10, 2022, Fremont and Cupertino’s Varsity and JV Field Hockey teams went head-to-head. These matches were heavily anticipated, with Cupertino High School being Fremont’s rival in Field Hockey. Varsity and JV’s games were both incredibly engaging; neither team was willing to back down in a long, grueling match.

VARSITY- The entire game was extremely close, with Fremont pulling away during overtime with a score of 3-2.

During most of the game, Cupertino held a lead, but towards the end of the game, Fremont closed the gap, earning them overtime, during which Kat Snow, one of Fremont’s forwards, made the game-winning shot.

“I feel really good because it’s my first year on varsity and I really wanna impress my coaches and it made me really happy to score finally against our rival, Cupertino,” Snow said.

We asked center midfielder Julia Johnsen what she thought about the game:

“In the beginning, it was kinda iffy but then we really stepped it up,” Johnsen said. “Whoever won this would get second or even first in the league.”

“We communicated a lot this game and my teammates telling me where to pass and if they were open was really helpful,” Captain Stephanie Orellana said.

The team came to a general consensus that their teamwork improved significantly over the season, earning them this smashing victory.

“The girls played really well,” Varsity Coach Jordan Amick said, commenting on the teams’ performance during the game. “We made some adjustments and we were really able to step it up and get the win.”

JV- Throughout the game, both teams kept each other on their toes, with neither giving the other team the opportunity to score. The game ended with a 0-0 tie; there was no overtime.

The game was quite fast-paced, but Fremont kept up a strong defense and proved to be a formidable opponent for Cupertino.

“I think our communication could use a little work but our team played really well by staying in our positions and being aggressive,” JV Co-Captain, forward and midfielder Anya Gajula said, reflecting on what the team can improve on. “I’m really proud of how we played.”

10/05/2022

09/25/2022

SPORTS - Homestead challenges Fremont’s Girls Varsity Volleyball team in a spirited match. On Friday, September 23, Fremont competed against its rival school, Homestead, in an action-packed game. With a final score of 0-3, Fremont lost the game but did not lose hope for the season.

“I’m so excited to keep playing this season,” Junior Avery Fanslow said when asked about her experience on the team.“Our season is almost over and that’s making me so sad but from the games we've played so far, we’ve been playing really well and I’m excited to keep playing more with my team.”

When asked about how the team did on Friday Fanslow replied,

“I think we played really well and we really pushed through,” Fanslow said. “They were really tough, but we matched up to them. We didn’t make a lot of errors, which is really good and the only time we did lose points was when they really pounded us, but we still did really really good.”

Some of the most memorable moments of the game were when the energetic student sections faced off. Even the school mascots attended!

“It was really lively, definitely the appearance of our mascot really hyped the game up,” Senior Cesar Pena said. “It was the most hype game I’ve been to.”

“It was so fun! I wish we had more people coming to our volleyball games,” Fanslow said. “I think that we could win a lot more games with that amount of energy.”

The next girl's volleyball game is Tuesday, September 27, at Fremont, with JV starting at 5:30 p.m. and Varsity at 6:45 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Photos and reporting courtesy of Abigail Callahan and Ella Pitsch

09/17/2022

SPORTS - Varsity football defeats M***a Vista High School 17-13 in the first league game of the season.

“The M***a Vista Matadors were a good opponent, but we really pulled through and did well tonight,” Senior Liana Sheridan said.

This is FHS’s third win of the season, after overwhelming victories against Evergreen Valley High School and Independence High School.

“We're looking pretty good,” Varsity player Gannon Stein said. “We're still working out a few kinks.”

Stein said that the team is still progressing, as they are missing some members.

“[We] just kept our heads high the whole game, [and were] just being a good team overall,” Stein said.

Photos courtesy of Caitlyn Chan
Reporting courtesy of Caitlyn Chan & Sophie Wang