The Smoke Signal

By: Anusha Rijhsinghani Girls, it’s that time of year again where we are in control and have the opportunity to do the unconventional: ask a guy to a dance. Yes, that’s right, the Sadie Hawkins dance is only a few weeks away which means it’s time to start figuring out who to ask and more importantly, how. As one of my male friends so eloquently put, “Guys don’t go for the romantic stuff that girls fall for. Just straight-up ask him.” I guess that could be one approach to asking a guy to Sadie’s, or you could take the road…

By: Brandon Fuhs, Jaynelle Gao, Anjali Kanthilal,  Jade Shi, & Sonali Toppur                 Connie Chen Smoke Signal: How did you feel when you were nominated? Did you imagine this during your freshman year? Connie Chen: I feel pretty honored knowing that people acknowledge and appreciate my hard work. I was pretty surprised when I found out because I didn’t think very many underclassmen knew who I was. [Laughs], freshman year! Not at all! I remember seeing the Homecoming Court on stage and trying to guess who in my class would be a part of them senior year. I…

By: Brandon Fuhs, Jaynelle Gao, Anjali Kanthilal,  Jade Shi, & Sonali Toppur                      Justin Chew Smoke Signal: How did you feel when you were nominated? Did you imagine this during your freshman year? Justin Chew: Freshman year, I would’ve never thought I would’ve been voted Homecoming King, because when I was a freshman, looking up at them, they looked like idols, but I don’t see that in myself, so it’s kind of strange. SS: What have you enjoyed the most about Mission? JC: I think the people I’ve met for the last four years have…

Congratulations to our Winter Guard and Winter Percussion in the NCBA Championships! Check back for more coverage soon.

Think you know your teachers? The Smoke Signal is putting your knowledge to the test. Match the teacher or administrator to the correct occupation(s) held before becoming a teacher at MSJ. ____ Worked as a United States Air Force officer. Also worked for the California School for the Blind. ____ Drove a school bus for a camp. ____ Was a Paleontological Field Monitor who “cracked rocks” while looking for fossils. ____ Read textbooks and recorded his/her voice onto a tape for a blind student. ____ Was a bartender. ____ Worked at a tanning salon. ____ Worked on an assembly line…

Come see beatboxer Ryan Yung show off his skills!

By: Aishwarya Thakur Ten MSJ students participated in the 29th Annual Spanish Poetry Contest at Harker School on April 7. Students were chosen by Spanish teachers Linda Cochran and Jill Evans to partake in the competition. Two students from a pool of applicants were selected from levels one through five to advance to the competition at Harker School, where they competed against eight other public and private high schools. “This was the first year that we were invited, but we would love to participate again next year,” said Evans. Sophomore Grace Lee won first place in the level three division…

By: Ditha Balaji Senior Abel John is well-known for being part of L2 and the vice-president of his class, but little is known about his passion for Speech. Having been a part of Speech and Debate for 3 years and speech captain this year, Abel is a prominent force in the circuit. The Smoke Signal sat down with Abel to learn about his recent accomplishments in the State Qualification tournament as well as his overall experience in speech. SS: How long have you been in speech? Abel John: Technically speaking, I started [speech in] the middle of my sophomore…

By: Kevin Zhai       Lyrics: Jump on out of bed, blanket off my toes Another day at school: it’s for my future, I suppose Hop into the shower, droplets pounding on my head Feeling brainless like a zombie plus my social life’s undead Step onto the tile floor, my toes are freezing cold Wear stuff from the ‘crombie store, avoid the bathroom mold As I rush down to the kitchen where there’s bagels and fresh lox Guzzle down the OJ as I slip into my socks I shove a bagel in my mouth and almost wear my sister’s…