After just three weeks as interim superintendent, Heath Rocha has already made strides to repair the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District’s (LGSUHSD) relationship with the community. Since Bill Sanderson’s resignation announcement on Oct. 22 following weeks of controversy, The Falcon interviewed Rocha on his plans for the district’s future and his approach to addressing the community’s concerns as LGSUHSD enters a new era of leadership. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and slightly condensed.

In early September, an email notified 30 seniors that they had qualified to be National Merit Scholarship semifinalists based on their high scores on the PSAT in fall 2023. 

Only test-takers in the 99th percentile in their respective states qualify for semifinalist status. For the Class of ‘25 in California, this was an index of 221 — or a score of 1,480 out of a possible 1,520. Among the Class of ‘25, 178 students took the test last year, with an average score of 1,355, compared to the national average of 920. 

Since at least the early 1960s, scientists have issued dire warnings about the severe health consequences of smoking cigarettes. 

Cigarette and vape packaging, however, has never gone far enough or been nearly graphic enough. 

One case in point: The popular American cigarette brand Marlboro sells its menthol cigarettes in a stylish, brightly colored packaging, advertising the product with an enticing “Fresh Menthol Flavor.”

I stare down at the crime scene in front of me. I see a cruel, red ink mess scratched all over my paper. Seventeen out of 23 — and on a mere in class assignment. I check my phone. Time of death: 8:33 a.m.

Each year, I’ve always had a teacher who grades minor assignments based on accuracy, but never lets us review our errors while looking at an answer key. 

I get it. These teachers fear cheating, and they believe students will copy the answer key instead of genuinely doing their homework. 

The Falcons sent their No. 1 and No. 2 singles  — juniors Viki Toram and Mihika Singh — as well as doubles No. 1 and 2 — Poon, juniors Kate Vasquez and Sasha Prasad and sophomore Aishi Prashanth to the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) tournament at Milpitas High School. That competition determined which players would make CCS. In the 2-day event, which ran from Nov. 5-6, they lost 8-3 to Wilcox in a pro set (where the first team to eight points wins) and no players made CCS.

The tennis team finished second in the El Camino league for the third year in a row with a record of 11-4, ending their regular season with a 6-1 victory against Gunn High School on Oct. 31.

Rebounding from an early-season 4-3 loss to Gunn on Sept. 17, the members of the girls’ tennis team beat the Titans 6-1 on Halloween night on their home courts. The Falcons won all four singles matches and two of the doubles matches.

This time around, one key factor that helped the team gain an edge was Gunn’s loss of their singles No. 1 player, which shifted the entire lineup so that each Saratoga player faced a weaker opponent.

From Aug. 9, 2024, to June 17, 2025, senior Rebecca Bossow is trading Saratoga High classrooms for a secondary school in Hamburg, Germany. As part of the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) program, Bossow is spending a year abroad, immersing herself in a new language, culture and education system. 

The program is extremely selective, with an acceptance rate of less than 1%, and is fully funded by the U.S. Department of State. Aiming to foster cultural understanding between the two nations, CBYX sends 250 American students to Germany and 285 German students to the U.S. every year.

The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest,  held yearly on the Fourth of July, has always been an exciting watch. The event draws 40,000 spectators to Coney Island, while about a million people watch from home. 

It features a men’s and women’s competition, usually with around 20 serious eaters. However, this year’s competition was missing the star who dominated the event for years. 

Joey Chestnut, a San Jose native and 16-time Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Champ, was prohibited from competing as he endorses a “rival brand,” plant-based brand Impossible Foods. Chestnut is nationally renowned for his world record of 83 hot dogs in a span of a mere 10 minutes.