*Disclaimer, this article is ever-so-slightly satirical, and written in the style of an epic, iconic priss–I myself do not live by many of these commands, I am not Emily Post, and my etiquette in OHS classes is far from perfect.
Read More
Twice a year, the clocks spring forward and fall back, marking the start and end of daylight saving time. While intended to conserve energy and make better use of daylight, this biannual change often leaves people scrambling to adjust their routines. For students, the one-hour shift can be particularly disruptive, affecting sleep schedules, productivity, and even emotional well-being.
Read More
On the night of October 23, OHSers met at Filoli Gardens and Estate where they experienced the magic of Halloween.
Read More
“Are you showering first or am I?”
This summer, on one of the Student Travel summer trips, a select few OHS high schoolers traveled to South America to visit the birthplace of Darwin’s theory of evolution: the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador! Led by the organization Ecology Project International (EPI), 12 students and OHS instructors Dr. Kristina Vetter and Ms. Marie Hamaoui embarked on a nine-day-long expedition to learn about the ins and outs of islands.
Read More
On September 29th through 30th, OHSers and their families descended on the town of Incline Village, Nevada for a weekend of fun and friends. The journey to Tahoe was an adventure for many, featuring many long road trips or flights to the local airport.
Read More
Parent-teacher conferences can be a source of anxiety, excitement, or curiosity for students at any school. But for Stanford OHS students, whose parent-teacher conferences are upcoming at the end of October (to be exact,October 30th through November 1st), this normal mid-term ritual has certain differences to brick-and-mortar schools, precipitated by both OHS’s “online”ness and its global reach.
Read More
Emotional regulation is an important dimension of wellness. It gives you the tools to deal with stressful situations in an adaptive way, rather than being pulled under. It may even reduce general stress; studies show that people with lower emotional regulation report higher levels of experienced stress. Isn’t less stress what we all want?
Read More
Or do they? One student, rising full-time senior Charlotte Own, has pioneered a highly commendable different course of action. Instead of disillusionment, she chose an alternative route to prepare for the OHS prom. Charlotte shared: “I thrifted [my dress] at a relatively high-quality Japanese thrift store…for an equivalent of around $20.” Thrifting is not only a sustainable recourse in the face of a difficult prom dress market, but may solve problems of both quality, comfort, and expense that many are facing. Before thrifting, Charlotte pattern sewed her own dresses. “It’s become a yearly tradition for me to get straight to sewing…right after finals end so I can have that week in between finals and prom to work on it.”
Read More
In reality, reintroducing mandatory testing is more likely to go back to privileging the privileged—those who could afford pricey test prep classes and had the overall advantages in life that lead to higher scores. Although students struggle to perform well in this unbalanced system, they are also stressed by trying to determine if they even need to take these standardized tests or if they should. We don’t know whether to take tests, retake them, or focus our energy elsewhere based on the latest policy changes from different colleges.
Read More
As such, Student Life still plans for alterations to this year’s event. They will be working with a carnival company to hold the carnival, and as Ms. Mustafa says, “the best part is… there will be prizes!” Ms. Mustafa, who spearheaded this initiative, expresses that her personal goal was to, “uphold the spirit of the Carnival name and translate it into a real-life experience that captures all the best parts of the carnival and fairs many of us have gotten to experience in the Bay Area,” then share that with the entire OHS community. For students attending remotely, one event that will be hosted is an online student showcase on June 4.
Read More
Although Isabelle enjoyed riding death defying roller coasters, she also appreciated other moments—one of her favorite moments was bonding with her friends as they walked around the park. While walking, Isabelle fondly recalls, “This adorable stray cat walked up to us and was meowing. It was super friendly and adorable, so we took some pictures of it!”
Read More
On the last day, the OHSers met up at Andrew Mullikin’s, one of the students in attendance, house for breakfast. Andrew’s mom was the main planner for this meetup and was also generous enough to set her house up with food and sports (like basketball and tennis) for the last day. Reflecting upon the meetup, Andrew said that he enjoyed “... seeing friends and people you’re really close with in person and actually getting to do fun things with them,” which seems to be a shared sentiment among everyone who attends OHS meetups.
Read More
Every year, during the month of March, Women’s History Month is celebrated. Women’s history month began as a celebration in Santa Rosa, California in the 1970’s. It originally was a week long, with the official Women's History Day in the middle. Over time, the idea spread throughout America, and in 1980, Former US President Jimmy Carter declared the week of March 8 Women’s History Week. Later on, this weeklong celebration was extended to last the entire month of March. Every year, Women’s History Month has a different theme. This year’s theme is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion” (NWHA). In previous years, the themes have ranged from “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories” to "Generations of Women Moving History Forward".
Read More
On the fourth day of the trip, OHSers contributed to a global citizen science project, where they helped to document and monitor the populations of tropical fish surrounding the island. Already demonstrating the significance of their work, the students documented the Crown-of-thorns starfish which is a nonnative species. This is one of the many discoveries that are sure to come from the documentation and data the OHSers gathered on this trip. On the fifth day of the trip, students went on a desert hike and learned about the ecosystem and species that live on Espiritu Santo Island.
Read More
If taxes from homeschooling households contribute to their local school district like any other brick-and-mortar family, why are homeschool students discriminated against, like clockwork, every fall when they go to register for AP exams? If a homeschooled student lives within the district of a school, they are as entitled to a seat as any given student who happens to attend. They should be permitted to pay the College Board for the test and sit for AP exams, regardless of attendance status.
Read More
Reminding us of the togetherness of our OHS community, Ms. Mustafa, the director of Student Life, mentions how parents specifically can partake in sessions “...focusing on social-emotional well-being and college counseling” led by expert OHS instructors. Rounding off the night, students can let loose at the Winter Formal filled with music, board games, and lots of delicious food.
Read More
Alas, we do indeed have some students who celebrate with splendid spirit, but with their twist! Aishwarya (‘27) shares that, I don’t think I’ll ever celebrate Valentine’s Day the way it’s meant to be. But I have my own unique way of celebrating it with family and friends! Valentine’s Day is a day of love for my family.” Rebecca (‘25) also thinks of it as “a fun day to celebrate meaningful relationships and eat chocolate.” A tasty agenda in addition to family, friends, and fun? Count me in.
Read More
But it certainly affects a majority positively. From the collected data, it seems that the reason why students don’t love the longer winter break is that it makes getting back on track with school harder. Of 39 students that were asked whether or not the longer break made it harder for them to re-adjust, 9 replied “yes” and 3 replied “maybe”.
Read More
In general, there was a lot of flexibility in the organization of the event. Although Maxwell stayed in a separate hotel for the weekend, most people stayed at the same hotel. Some students were even able to drive everyday to the meetup! Moreover, students were able to select which events they wanted to attend each day. For instance, Maxwell’s favorites were the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Gianni’s Pizza, and the Bird Rock Hike. He was able to make cherished memories at Gianni’s Pizza, which was a “highlight of the entire meetup for me!”
Read More