Features

A sillouette of a graduate surrounded (from left) by a road sign, a plane flying around a globe, and a piggy bank.

Students broaden their horizons with gap years

“I really want to figure out who I am outside of being a student at school for the past 13 years,” said junior Gabriela Almeida-Gere. The prospect of going to college right after high school is limiting to Almeida-Gere, which is why she has decided to take a gap year after she graduates Berkeley High

Past BHS teachers run Classroom Matters

Former Berkeley teachers Lisa Miller and Tatiana Guerreiro Ramos together run Classroom Matters, a tutoring and mentoring program for K-12 graders in the Bay Area.

Hands playing trumpet with musical notes in the background.

BHS JazzGirls Day develops outreach to prospective students

“We were not being reflected in the world of jazz at Berkeley High, or anywhere in the world of jazz, frankly.” Sarah Cline, BHS Jazz teacher Jazz music swept through the A Building on Saturday, March 4.

Scissors cutting hair

Using she/they pronouns, students expand gender identity

Gender is a fundamental expression of individual identity, not just a spectrum but a plane that extends in multiple directions. With it comes societal baggage — expectations of behavior, pronouns, and other aspects of identity.

Blake Garden, open on weekdays, has free admissions.

Best Places: Locations around the Bay Area to go out on a date

Choosing the perfect location for a date can be a nerve-racking task, so here are some recommendations from Berkeley High School students David Goldstein, Luca Vicisano, Vaiee-Talia Tu’ua, and Emmett Price to help ease the decision.  If you both enjoy art, the San Francisco de Young Museum is a great place to go.

The history of BHS’s current Small Learning Communities

In 1985, the California Partnership Academies was started by the state, in part to support kids struggling in school. The academies were programs inside schools that students could participate in, and were focused on specific topics.  When the Berkeley High School vice principal at the time went to visit one of the CPA programs

Student teacher Emma Zhao checks in with students.

Student teachers pursue BHS careers

“I could not imagine being in an office just sitting in a corner job,” said Elliot Robles, a student teacher at Berkeley High School. He described the best aspect of his work being students’ energy.

Reemajah Pollard’s memory leaves impact

“He was very intelligent and he was independent. He persevered through some of the most difficult challenges that a kid can face, so his accomplishments are remarkable and should be celebrated,” said Jessie Luxford, reflecting on Reemajah Pollard’s life.

Lack of diversity isolates Black students attending private schools

4.7 million students in the U.S. were enrolled in private schools in fall of 2019. In comparison, nearly 50 million students attended public schools. Of this population of private school students, just 9 percent identified as Black, according to the National Center for Education Statistics

Dana Moran taught AAPI History beginning in 1997.

Teachers and students reflect on discontinued electives at BHS

Berkeley High School’s course offerings are constantly and subtly shifting; new classes spring up with much fanfare and older classes are quietly retired.

Q&A with BSU leaders Winta & Muskana

Q: How does Black Student Union work with other groups on campus? Cyrus: Recently, we’ve been working with the Habesha Student Union. We’re having a bake sale on February 11, at Fourth Street.

‘I’m all heart’: A day in the life of Dawn ‘Doc Dub’ Williams

“I’m at a five minute plank now which I’m really proud of. It’s a little competition with me and Michelle Obama, because I heard she does a three minute plank every morning,” said African Diaspora Dance teacher Dawn Williams, affectionately known to her students and staff as “Doc Dub.”  Most mornings, Williams begins her day

‘A definite boundary’: UC Berkeley and BHS relationship leaves room for growth

Berkeley High School and the University of California, Berkeley’s campuses are only two blocks away, each filled with large and changing student populations.

Word on the Street: Is there a mid-year slump?

“I think it’s a perceived burnout because at the same time the classes actually do get harder in the second semester, and I think that’s really the reason for the burnout,” said junior Theo Lemkin.

Team Berkelium works on new prototype.

BHS robotics starts post-kickoff design

On January 7, the Berkeley High School robotics team gathered at Richmond High School to watch the 2023 First Robotics Competition Kickoff. The Kickoff is an annual event that determines what the robotics team builds for the next couple of months.

Students without phones navigate socially

Sevan Minassian-Godner, a Berkeley High School senior, has used a flip phone for nearly a year. After going to a school retreat in February 2022, he realized how glued people had been to their phones.  “There were people at tables eating or sitting at tables who were just texting each other,” Minassian-Godner said.

Non-traditional framework courses at BHS fight to stay afloat

“I want more students to know about this class because, for whatever reason, I get very specific groups of students, mainly white male students, and I want to promote to more students of color and women,” said Digital Design and Fabrications teacher Klea Bajala.

Luke De Valpine practices in a new soundproofed practice room.

Music teachers acclimate after moving back to the A Building

Sarah Cline, leader of Berkeley High School’s jazz program, was one of many teachers who made the move from their temporary holding spaces to the newly refurbished A Building.  “It was like one of those home makeover shows, when the family’s coming in two hours and everyone is blitzing to get ready,” Cline said.  The