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 art editor for West Signals. As a senior, this will be her third year on staff and second year as an editor. She looks forward to bringing new stories and visuals to the student body in hopes of being able to create fond memories of her high school years. In her free time, she enjoys reading, sketching at the park, experimenting with new artistic mediums, and spending time with friends!

 

All content by Samantha Takeda
West Highs new banners brighten campus and promote the Warrior Way

[Art/Photo] New Year, New West

Anthony Parker, Entertainment & News Editor February 23, 2023
Amongst the influx of first year clubs at West High this year, the Dead Poets Society opens a space for all enthusiastic writers, readers, and those passionate about sharing and exploring the world of poetry. Consider stopping by for lunch meetings in room 4203 every second Friday of the month!

[Art/Photo] Bringing Poetry to Life With Dead Poets Society Club

Ilma Patel, Assistant Social Media Manager November 22, 2022
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

Westley Kim, Staff Artist May 11, 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!

Alexssa Takeda, Co-Editor-in-Chief March 25, 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

Samantha Takeda, Visuals Editor March 14, 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

Alexssa Takeda, Co-Editor-in-Chief 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

Alexssa Takeda, Co-Editor-in-Chief February 19, 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

Westley Kim, Staff Artist 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

Alexssa Takeda, Co-Editor-in-Chief January 20, 2021
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

Alexssa Takeda, Co-Editor-in-Chief December 29, 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?

Lauren Ng, Co-Editor-in-Chief 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

Lauren Ng, Co-Editor-in-Chief 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

Alexssa Takeda, Co-Editor-in-Chief 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

Westley Kim, Staff Artist 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

Alexssa Takeda, Co-Editor-in-Chief October 4, 2020
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