The School Newspaper of West High School

West Signals

The School Newspaper of West High School

West Signals

The School Newspaper of West High School

West Signals

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The highly coveted Oscar trophies illuminate on the display ahead of the 96th Academy Awards. This year, late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel reprised his role as host.
The 2024 Oscars: A Bold Year for Film
Anthony Parker, Entertainment & News Editor • March 28, 2024
In a surprising move to many, West Capitaneus, the school yearbook publication, will be discontinuing the popular, longstanding tradition of senior quotes. Citing logistical concerns, the West High administration has maintained this restriction, prompting petition by nearly a quarter of the student body.
Say Goodbye to Senior Quotes
Cyrilla Zhang, Editor-in-Chief • March 21, 2024
Thursday, Oct. 5’s theme was Mathletes or Athletes, where students choose to dress up as one of the two subjects. Students in Mr. Collin’s AP Biology class sported their unique choices of attire. From left to right: Leah Ho (11), Gabriel White (11), and Mackenzie Ashford (11).
Get Ready for Some School Spirit!
Joshua Lee, Staff Writer • March 21, 2024
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Two New Counselors Come to WHS

Students are not the only ones dealing with confusion regarding their new schedules; the counselors have gone down the same road. With the news of Mr. Drasner’s indefinite leave and Mrs. Garcia’s maternity leave, the counseling office was struggling with its own crisis. Lucky enough, two new counselors were found to temporarily take the place of Mr. Drasner and Mrs. Garcia.

Ms. Lianne Lau. and Ms. Tiffany Sramek are substituting for Mr. Drasner and Mrs. Garcia, respectively. Despite the setback, the counseling office has settled down and is fully functional.

Ms. Sramek is thrilled to be here at West as she states, “I’m excited to be here as a counselor and, while I’d love to be somewhere as a permanent counselor, I am very grateful to [have] a job in the field I have chosen for a career.” With warm welcome and kind help from others, Ms. Sramek seems to be enjoying each day as a counselor. Ms. Lau also shared this enthusiasm and added, “I love counseling in the school setting because each day is so unique and I have the opportunity to learn new things each day. That’s the beauty to counseling; there is really never a dull day in our offices.”

Whether it be simple or difficult, helping students with whatever problems they may have is not all easy. Students like Melvin Johanis (11) are grateful for the counselors’ effort. He asserts, “I like how our counselors, even the new ones find time to help us out despite their busy schedules and new setting. With budget cuts and a very small counseling staff, I appreciate the time they take to help students out with their problems.” Though each counselor has to attend to almost seven hundred individuals, students like Johanis show support for the counselors for being able to manage this workload.

Ms. Sramek showed her enthusiasm for her work, revealing, “I hope to assist the students in whatever ways I can. I want to form relationships with the students, faculty, and staff and be a positive and beneficial addition.” In addition, students should also know that Ms. Lau worked at West before, and she adds, “I love West! That’s why I came back! Some of the students may remember me from when I was an intern under Mrs. Garcia from January-June of 2010. I truly enjoyed working with the students, parents, faculty, and staff at West when I was an intern and jumped at the opportunity to return to West this fall as a substitute counselor.” West High wishes both Ms. Lau and Ms. Sramek good luck as they continue on in the Counseling Office.

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