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
Samantha Takeda

Samantha Takeda, Visuals Editor

Sam Takeda is the Visuals Editor for Signals and a junior at West. It's her second year in journalism, and she's excited to work with the staff to tell stories and inform her peers through art and photography. In her free time, you might catch her playing tennis, drawing, or hanging out with friends.

All content by Samantha Takeda
Whether it’s an animated musical or a nail-biting thriller, these movies are perfect for entertaining yourself on a spooky night-in this Halloween!

[Art/Photo] Spooky Shows To Stream This Halloween

October 29, 2021
West High’s Friendship Club is back on campus with a ton of new in-person events! After almost two years of missing out on activities due to the pandemic, West High Chapter co-president Faith Iwanaka (11) is “super excited to get going again this year.”

[Art/Photo] Making Connections With Friendship Club

October 6, 2021
As a month of AP testing continues, students prepare for online exams by taking practice tests. Riyana Roy (10) notes how she plans to study for her AP World History exam: “Since world history is about remembering facts, I’m [going to] use active recall where I ask myself questions about important topics to see if I can remember them. I’ll probably create notes for every unit too, and sort them into various world history themes which would be useful on the DBQ (Document Based Question) portion.”

[Art/Photo] Conquering AP Anxiety

May 11, 2021
On April 12th-14th, tryouts for West High’s Speech and Debate team were held. Team captain Jana Abulaban (11) expresses what she got out of being a part of the team: “Once I joined, I understood the broader concept of Speech and Debate and really understood what I wanted to gain [from] it: that feeling of being part of a really supportive team...I have learned to publicly speak more and be more confident with it.”

[Art/Photo] Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to this Debate

April 27, 2021
Students returned to West High’s campus for the first time in months as COVID restrictions were loosened in Los Angeles County. Hallways decorated with posters and signs remind students to wear a mask and socially-distance. Blended student Gaby Nieraeth (10) notes how “staircases only go one direction...when walking around campus, some pathways point a certain way, so I had to find alternate paths to get to my classes.”

[Art/Photo] A Day in the Life of a Blended Student

April 2, 2021
West High’s ASB threw themed events for each class using the GooseChase scavenger hunt app. Anika Agarwal (10) participated in the St. Patrick’s Day themed event, noting how one event included collecting as many green items as she could find to photograph: “it was pretty fun, especially [when] asking my family to [help].”

[Art/Photo] The Hunt Is On!

March 25, 2021
As stricter COVID-19 restrictions are eased out and vaccinations become more widely available, more schools around the country are beginning to open up. Teachers at West are preparing their classrooms, stocked with COVID precautions, alongside normal supplies, to ensure the safety of students and fellow staff.

[Art/Photo] Teachers Prepare For School As Reopening Approaches

March 17, 2021
West High’s Drill and All Male dance team came together to record their pandemic-style performance on the football field to enter into their first competition following an unprecedented year of COVID-induced stress and technical difficulties.

[Art/Photo] WDAAM Competes Through the Virtual Year

March 15, 2021
West’s sports competition season goes into full swing as the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health released updated health and safety guidelines allowing for inter-team competitions in designated sports following months of postponed practices.

A Social-Distanced Sports Season

March 14, 2021
Following a pandemic-style tryouts, Sidney Hinks (10), a returning player for West High Girls soccer team notes: “I was pleasantly surprised to see that we were able to play together in smaller teams with masks. Although it’s not ideal, the coaches did a really good job at making it as normal as possible.”

[Art/Photo] Pandemic-Style Soccer Tryouts

March 2, 2021
A new tiny homes village has opened its doors to North Hollywood’s homeless citizens, but many skeptics wonder if this is the most that California’s government can do to fight the homelessness crisis in the state.

[Art/Photo] Tiny Homes With a Large Impact

February 22, 2021
Many fundraisers have been canceled following California’s strict stay-at-home orders, but West High ASB members stay optimistic having planned many fun events this virtual school year.

[Art/Photo] Fundraising Through A Pandemic

February 19, 2021
So far, President Biden has implemented 40+ executive actions, many of which reversed contentious Trump-era policies in order to create a safer, more unified America. One of the policies most recently targeted by the Biden Administration was Trump’s controversial ban on transgender troops in the military. The repeal of this ban will allow any qualified individual to serve in the armed forces, regardless of gender identity.

[Art/Photo] New Efforts Towards Equality

February 10, 2021
President Biden has reversed 24 Trump-era policies through executive actions in order to create a safer, unified America. One of the policies most recently targeted by the Biden Administration was Trump’s controversial ban on transgender troops in the military. The repeal of this ban will allow any qualified individual to serve in the armed forces, regardless of gender identity.

[Art/Photo]

February 10, 2021
With an abundance of time on peoples hands during lockdown, many turn to new hobbies and self-care routines like reading, baking, or simply napping to keep themselves occupied during such uncertain times.

[Art/Photo] The Bright Side of Quarantine

January 23, 2021
A new and more contagious strain of COVID-19 discovered in the UK has spread into the farthest corners of the world and sent many cities back into lockdown.

[Art/Photo] New COVID Strain Raises Alarm

January 20, 2021
As COVID-19 cases begin to rise in Los Angeles County following major holidays, stricter regulations are being implemented. Residents of LA County are being further encouraged to continue social distancing and mask-wearing to keep safe.

[Art/Photo] LA County Tightens COVID-19 Restrictions

December 29, 2020
West High students hopped on their laptops for a virtual Winter Rally in exchange for the typical in-person experience. The rally included a baking competition among students from each class and their advisors. The winner, Marina Suzuki(9) had a few things to say about her winning dessert: “I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed the process of baking this cheesecake cake. If there’s an opportunity to do something you love, you should always do it...I saw the opportunity on Instagram, plus I love baking so I just went for it.”

[Art/Photo] A Holly Jolly Winter Rally

December 29, 2020
Joe Biden’s win turned out to be more focused on Donald Trump’s loss as his legal team campaigned to call out voter fraud in several battleground states.

[Art/Photo] Democracy: Does it still stand?

December 9, 2020
As the days of online learning play on repeat, students such as Eva Reyes (10) wonder when in-person school will return. She expressed, “online [school] is getting tiring as it’s hard to sit and look at a computer for a long time and learning feels the same for every class.”

[Art/Photo] When Will We Go Back to School?

November 17, 2020
The virtual school year has its ups and downs, but many people choose to cherish the bright side of things, as they finally have the time to do things like simply sitting down and enjoying breakfast with their family before work or school.

[Art/Photo] Breakfast Pandemic-Style

November 3, 2020
The recent rise in COVID-19 cases nationwide and political pressure from the Trump Administration raises political and ethical concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine coming before the November election.

[Art/Photo] The Race to Relief

October 27, 2020
A good example of how to celebrate during the pandemic: an outdoor and socially distanced party with friends.

[Art/Photo] A Safe Celebration

October 16, 2020
Parents, students, and teachers encountered many of the ups and downs of West High’s virtual Back-to-School Night over Zoom.

[Art/Photo] Back-to-Zoom Night

October 4, 2020
As the California wildfires rage on, organizations including the American Red Cross work hand in hand with local fire departments to provide shelter, meals, and delivery services for those in need.

[Art/Photo] What You Need to Know About California’s Wildfires

October 4, 2020
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