The story of San Juan as told by its students

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Cooper Aitken

Cooper Aitken, Managing Editor

Cooper Aitken is a senior at San Juan Hills and is excited for their third year on The Express staff as the Managing editor. They are also ecstatic to introduce a new literary magazine to campus, Expressions, as Founding Editor-In-Chief. In their free time they enjoy reading and playing Dungeons & Dragons with their friends. This year they hope to continue to develop their skills as a journalist and editor. 

All content by Cooper Aitken
“Living Dead” participant Lily Esparza (12) writes a letter to her family as if she had died in a car crash that day. The goal of the exercise, and the entire experience, is to recreate what it would be like to lose a classmate, friend, or family member in a drunk driving accident. Behind her, another participant James Branning (12) writes his own, which he read during the assembly the next morning.

Returning From ‘Death’ – Student Recounts Experiences From Beyond

Cooper Aitken, Managing Editor
May 9, 2023
“Living Dead” participant Lily Esparza (12) writes a letter to her family as if she had died in a car crash that day. The goal of the exercise, and the entire experience, is to recreate what it would be like to lose a classmate, friend, or family member in a drunk driving accident. Behind her, another participant James Branning (12) writes his own, which he read during the assembly the next morning.

[Photo]

Martiza Rebollar instructsstudents during the aftserschool Unidos program, which focuses on bolstering the academic success of students in traditionally underserved communites.

[Photo] Condo in La Zanja Neighborhood Serves Students in Need

Joaquin Serrato, Multimedia Editor
March 30, 2023
Uzair Qureshi was a part of San Juan Hill’s Class of 2016, before tragically passing away from a rare type of cancer, Ewings Sarcoma, in 2015. His family has continued to honor his memory through a memorial fund dedicated to pediatric cancer research and by providing scholarships to promising seniors.

Memorial Fund Honors Former Student’s Passion for Learning

Cooper Aitken, Managing Editor
March 2, 2023
Fernanda Villalba works with sophomores in her Spanish Speakers II Class, a course designed for students who are already heavily experienced with the language. Villalba was recognized as the SJHHS 2023 Teacher of the Year.

[Photo] Villalba Named Teacher of the Year

February 16, 2023

Digital Captures the Moment

Cooper Aitken, Managing Editor
November 17, 2022
Domenica Pelsoso (10) tests new tampon dispensers installed in school restrooms after California law.

Menstrual Products Now Free On Campus

Cooper Aitken, Managing Editor
October 20, 2022
Grace Freyer talks with her mother, Mrs. Anna Freyer, portrayed by Ella Linn (12), and her boyfriend Tom Kreider, portrayed by Liam Herd (9). Her mother is upset at her quitting her job at the factory because her wage was much higher at the factory than anywhere else she could work. Tom supports her decision in leaving the factory and exploring her passion for art, but Grace dies before she can marry Tom.

[Photo] Radium Girls: A Deadly Case

Sofia Bello, Photo Editor
October 20, 2022
Arthur Roeder and C.B. Lee, portrayed by Jacob Koclanis (11) and Anthony Verrengia (11), discuss how to expand their business’s ventures beyond painting clocks with radium paint. One of the central themes of the show is how the ambitions of a powerful few led to the deaths of many underprivileged women.

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Kathryn Schaub, portrayed by Viola Whitaker (10), asks a health department clerk, portrayed by Rosa Hernandez-Diaz (12), to help her file another complaint against the clock painting factory she previously worked at. Schaub is filing the complaint against the company due to her friend’s recent death, which, unknown to her, was caused by ingesting radium powder at the factory.

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Grace Freyer talks with her mother, Mrs. Anna Freyer, portrayed by Ella Linn (12), and her boyfriend Tom Kreider, portrayed by Liam Herd (9). Her mother is upset at her quitting her job at the factory because her wage was much higher at the factory than anywhere else she could work. Tom supports her decision in leaving the factory and exploring her passion for art, but Grace dies before she can marry Tom.

[Photo]

Viola Whitaker’s Kathryn Schaub, whispers a secret to Grace Freyer, portrayed by Julia Tonai (12). Radium Girls follows the story of Grace Freyer, and how she was exposed to high levels of radiation while painting clocks with radium powder. The workers would lick the tip of the paintbrush to make the tip more precise, but this also led to the women ingesting high amounts of the radioactive element, before scientists knew the dangers of radiation exposure.

[Photo]

Viola Whitaker’s Kathryn Schaub, whispers a secret to Grace Freyer, portrayed by Julia Tonai (12). Radium Girls follows the story of Grace Freyer, and how she was exposed to high levels of radiation while painting clocks with radium powder. The workers would lick the tip of the paintbrush to make the tip more precise, but this also led to the women ingesting high amounts of the radioactive element, before scientists knew the dangers of radiation exposure.

[Photo]

Onlookers watch as Marie Curie, portrayed by Allison Piwonka (11), discusses the benefits of the newly discovered element, radium in a press release. The radiation emitted by radium was not known to be dangerous at the time, and many believed that ingesting radium would benefit ones health.

[Photo]

Various forms of film photography have gained popularity among members of Gen Z in recent years.

[Photo] Is Film Photography Dead?

November 17, 2022
SJHHS most recent production of Beauty and the Beast featured a live musical accompaniment from student musicians below the stage.

[Photo] The Music Behind SJHHS Musicals

April 24, 2022

Life360 Leads To Overstep

Cooper Aitken, Staff Writer
April 11, 2022
The app Life360 has been a source of discourse between teens and parents for many years due to its controversial features, including constant location tracking of all users.

[Photo] Life 360: A Danger or a Convenience?

March 31, 2022
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[Photo] Turning Red: The Movie Teenage Girls Need Right Now

Alyssa Morrone, Entertainment Editor
April 2, 2022
The app Life360 has been a source of discourse between teens and parents for many years due to its controversial features, including constant location tracking of all users.

Life 360: A Danger or a Convenience?

Cooper Aitken and Anna Ho
March 31, 2022
Nine Girls, a murder mystery involving nine sorority girls in their private cabin, first opened February 23 and ran until February 26, then showed again the following week from March 2 through March 5. The show followed Mary, a women who killed her ex-boyfriend’s fiancee by accident, and then later murdered her sorority sister and attempted to murder her best friend in the pursuit of not getting caught.

Nine Girls

Sofia Bello and Cooper Aitken
March 28, 2022

Voices of the Students

Cooper Aitken, Entertainment Editor
February 17, 2022
Students demonstrated just outside of school bounds with signs and an American flag. Other demonstrations similar to this took place at schools such as San Clemente High School and Ladera Ranch Middle School.

Scores of Mask Choice Advocates Show In Board Room Following Two Weeks of Protest

Cooper Aitken and Sandhya Ganesan
February 17, 2022
Students who left campus after declining to wear a mask gather at the CUSD District Office to protest the mask mandate.

Mask Mandate Debated on Social Media

Cooper Aitken, Entertainment Editor
February 8, 2022
In addition to Kindness Week events, students participated in dress up days, such as “initial day” in which they wore a costume who’s name also started with their first initial. Danica Snyder (10) for example, sports a devil hoodie matching her first initial “D”.

[Photo] Winter Spirit Week in Photos

Alyssa Morrone, Entertainment Editor
February 3, 2022
Martin Luther King Jr. waves to the crowd gathered during the March on Washington, where he gave him most famous speech I Have A Dream.

MLK Day Is Our Day

Cooper Aitken, Staff Writer
January 19, 2022
Students work hard on various school assignments during some free time in their class period. Like many learn throughout high school, achieving and keeping good grades requires a considerable amount of time, commitment, and dedication.

[Photo] Straight-A Seniors Share Their Secrets to Success

January 16, 2022
The production of Metamorphoses has been one of the largest and most advanced undertakings of the drama department, with a dramatic retelling of a classical Greek tale. The production included a full sized pool used during the play. Upon closing night on December 4, the production was sold out and has since then won first for the California Theatre Education Association, an incredibly impressive accomplishment for the drama department as a whole. This is thanks to harkwork of the many staff as actors, such as Nathaniel Chin (11) portraying Orpheus as he is showered in water and begs Hades, god of the underworld, to return his bride, Eurydice, to living.

Metamorphoses Adapts Greek Mythology to Stage

Cooper Aitken, Staff Writer
December 9, 2021
Vaccination Mandates are Precedented and Essential

Vaccination Mandates are Precedented and Essential

Cooper Aitken, Entertainment Editor
November 18, 2021
Pride and Prejudice was the first live production since the pandemic nearly 18 months ago, and the play blew expectations out of the water. Running from October 27-30, the show centered around the Bennett family daughters, mainly Elizabeth Bennett, and their struggle to find love and stability as poor gentry. Pictured here, Darcy and Elizabeth embrace after she accepts his proposal, concluding the play.

Pride and Prejudice Opens a New Year of Theatre

Cooper Aitken, Entertainment Editor
November 3, 2021
Stallion Startup leader Bailey Smolinski (12) chats with Stanley the Stallion and a freshman during the Stallion Startup Halloween Lunch Activity. At the event, freshmen were given treats and candies, and a scavenger hunt was planted around the school for the 9th graders to enjoy.

[Photo] A Week In Photos 10/25-29

Nikki Iyer and Kaitlyn Kittredge
November 2, 2021
Ewan Herd (12) plays Mr. Darcy in the Stallion Theatre Companys fall production Pride and Prejudice. Herd is one of the many dedicated thespians involved in multiple shows all at the same time.

[Photo] Students in Drama Department Prepare for Multiple Shows this Season

October 30, 2021
Seniors Macy Loren and Kendall Rogers greet freshmen at the door with candy during the Trick or Treat event.

[Photo] Stallion Start Up Greets Freshmen with a Treat

October 28, 2021
Aiden Briggs (10), Aishah Flores (12), and Bella Gordon (12) are on the audio team for Pride and Prejudice. Here they are operating the audio board which controls all sounds, music, and actor’s mics.

What is Tech Week?

Cooper Aitken, Entertainment Editor
October 28, 2021
Connor Keithley (12) sings Hellfire from the Hunchback of Notre Dame, a show virtually streamed by the Theatre Department last school year. The Orchestra and Choir perform in the background, as San Juan Hills is the only school in the district that has a live band for the musicals. The collaborative effort between the various departments to organize the various musicals throughout the year embodies what it means to Ride for the Brand.

Musical Showcase- A Trilogy of Talent

Cooper Aitken, Entertainment Editor
October 19, 2021
From left to right, assistant principals Amanda Bratcher, Alexandra Easton, Brian Brosamer, and Heather Bosworth smile next to Stanley the Stallion, ASB Advisor Brooke Valderrama, and principal Manoj Mahindrakar. Easton is a returning assistant principal, while the other three are new to the position.

Behind the Desk: Introducing Three New Assistant Principals

Nikki Iyer and Cooper Aitken
October 3, 2021
An anonymous San Juan Hills alumni shares their experience in getting vaccinated in secret due to their parents fear and criticism towards the Covid-19 vaccine.

Vaccinated in Secret

Cooper Aitken, Entertainment Editor
September 23, 2021
There are many solutions to help avoid the long lines of traffic which flood the school in the mornings and afternoons.

How Individuals Can Help Reduce Traffic

Cooper Aitken, Entertainment Editor
September 12, 2021

Late Start Is Undoubtedly Not Meant for San Juan Hills

Cooper Aitken, Entertainment Editor
August 27, 2021
The new late start schedule and the traffic that it has caused has sparked controversy among San Juan Hills students and families.

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San Juan Capistrano: An Exciting Blend of New and Old

Cooper Aitken, Staff Writer
April 1, 2021
The two communities, Ladera Ranch (Left) and San Juan Capistrano (right), house a majority of students at SJHHS. Both neighborhoods are unique in their own ways and the debate has risen on which one is better: San Juan or Ladera?

[Photo] San Juan Capistrano Vs. Ladera Ranch

April 1, 2021

A $15 Federal Minimum Wage Would Be Devastating To Low-Income Americans

Cooper Aitken, Staff Writer
March 22, 2021
Minimum_Wage

[Photo] Should We Raise the Minimum Wage?

March 22, 2021
Bidens Top 10 Executive Orders

Biden’s Top 10 Executive Orders

Cooper Aitken, Staff Writer
February 27, 2021
The Queens Gambit Blatant Mistreatment of Addiction

The “Queen’s Gambit” Blatant Mistreatment of Addiction

Cooper Aitken, Staff Writer
February 2, 2021
Colleen Aitken (10) is shown skiing on Mammoth Mountain with a facial covering to follow new COVID-19 guidelines for the 2020-2021 ski season.

An Update on Hitting the Slopes

Cooper Aitken, Staff Writer
February 2, 2021
The Ban on Gasoline Cars is Just Talk

The Ban on Gasoline Cars is Just Talk

Cooper Aitken, Staff Writer
October 26, 2020
Over the past few years gender reveal parties have gotten more popular and more elaborate. Recently, these parties have received criticism for the damage theyve caused.

How Gender Reveals Can Be Harmful

Cooper Aitken, Staff Writer
September 20, 2020
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