New Challenges and Responsibilities to conquer...

         As an upcoming Junior going into my 3rd of high school, it is really hard transitioning into the footsteps of the Seniors (Class of 2017). The Seniors have really accomplished a lot of milestones in their pass years in high school, from Winning Float their junior year to having a lot of students pass their AP classes test. Coming into my junior year I really want my class to strive and accomplish many goals like the upperclassmen and hopefully accomplish more than them. This goal is really a huge goal  to for-fill but it isn't impossible for the Class of 2018. Junior year will be a success for us.
         In my Junior year, I have come across and faces a lot of challenges both mentally and physically. One challenge I have came across this year and am really proud of is when I took charge of the first ever "Back to school dance". The dance was really challenging to me because it was
De Anza's Very first "Back to school dance". I had never had a dance of this kind and thats what make it complicated. I took charge and done a lot of things to try to make the dance look good. My committee and I worked really hard to make it great, and it turned out to be a really fun first time "Back to school dance". Till this day I am really proud of my committee of students and myself for putting a really great dance together.
     

CHAPTER 2016

Starting off this year was intense because of float, block schedule, dances, and rallies. If you ask me how I pulled through it all I had a great team. I got all new officers and new independents that I needed to teach the how the leadership system work. One of the big projects we did in leadership was float and it`s not easy it consumes a lot of time and effort. I`m almost positive that this year everyone that worked on float this year almost cried when they announced that the Junior class won first place. We knew that all our hard work and countless hours pulled off. 

Fundraising is another huge part of the Junior class. We nearly quadruple our account in 3-4 months of the school year. We always try new things to see what makes a better profit. However, I personally don`t like taking risks when selling new things because of the fear of losing money. Most people call me an entrepreneur. In my opinion they are not wrong. 

I am very thankful for my team this year and all the hard work we do. I`m very excited for what the rest of this year has for me. 

Prime Time

Welcome back De Anza! We started the year off with a BANG and there's so much more in store for the rest of this school year. This year, we've been brave enough to experiment with new events and  ideas, such as our very first Back to School Dance, our Link Crew program, block schedule, and much more. Although, we still never fail to keep up with our De Anza traditions, such as float and Homecoming!

As you may know, Homecoming week is one of the hardest for our students, but yet we still manage to overcome the stress and anxiety to produce something great. All of our classes created outstanding floats with the help of one another. In addition, the dance was a hit and everyone looked fantastic! We had a great turnout of students and everyone had a great time. 

We've overcome a lot of new things this school year, and it's only just begun! There's still so much more waiting to happen and we'd love for our De Anza family to come and participate through it all. So far, we've been successful with it all and we plan to keep building traditions for our school and community. Stay tuned for what's next, we have much more in store!

C/O 2017

  My final year in High School has barely been here and it's already been a roller coaster. Every time I look up there is something frustrating, funny, stressful, or exciting going on. Although it can get hectic at times, I know at the end of the day, it's very worth it. I am learning a lot, growing day by day, and enjoying (almost) every moment I spend here at De Anza with people I love & experiences I will cherish forever.
  Joining leadership has been one of those major learning experiences for me. From now since the day I joined, I learned to be a team player while also being able to maintain my individuality, how to voice my opinion without offending others, how to keep focused on responsibilities, how to please a crowd while following rules, and so much more. Throughout leadership I have also had a lot of times that I enjoyed. My favorite experience has to be playing music at lunch with my friends. I really love to see DA joined together by just a few bangers on the speakers. It can get pretty crazy at times, but, at the end of the day, everyone is having a great time and that's all that really matters to me.
  Handling all the projects and activities leadership is involved with can be hard, but being apart of leadership definitely has it's perks. When there isn't much going on, I am able to get work from other classes done, and also get help with work, which takes some of the load off from academic responsibilities. Volunteering is mandatory in leadership, but optional on college apps, and that ultimately helps to stand out when applying to colleges which I appreciate. I am currently apart of the   November December Charity Commitee, in which I am able to help organize fundraisers, food drives, etc. for homeless, foster children and more. That is something that I really love to do and being able to do this through leadership just makes my heart light up something fierce.
  With all the looming responsibilities and college apps I have to go through , I have to say leadership. is definitely preparing me to be a well rounded freshman in college and I am so grateful

A Senior Year's Start

Change is something that many people can agree is often necessary, but in practice, we are often very reluctant to embrace it. This is especially true when jumping into something head on with no prior experience. This next year, as I go through the college application process, take on new AP classes, prepare events for my senior class, and finally prepare to walk the stage in June, there are many changes that I know I will have to personally encounter,

I found that the general opinion among the school about the block schedule was the feeling of uncertainty. Not many of us had ever experienced a block schedule. I'm now in love with it. Not only do we have longer passing periods and lunches, but it's also easier to manage my homework now that assignments aren't due the next day.

Anyway, my last first quarter was definitely one of the most busiest and stressful I have ever been in my entire high school career. Between sports, float, AP classes, college apps, and scholarships, it would be an understatement to say I wasn't going a little bit crazy.

After the relentlessly torturous Homecoming process (with the rally, dance, and parade floats), Homecoming week finally arrived. Everything went very well. The dance was a success, the rally was well-maintanced, and all of the floats were absolutely gorgeous, reminding me of how I will miss this long-standing tradition of De Anza once I graduate. Shout out to the Juniors' float! They went above and beyond with their amazing float, and deserved the first place trophy! Now that's it's over, while I will miss a lot of things about float (like eating Mrs. Bordas' delicious cooking), I am relieved I will never separate a two-ply napkin, fold it in an accordion style, and scratch myself while trying to place it into chicken wire holes.

Moving on, I look forward to the rest of my last year at De Anza. I'm excited for all the activities we're going to be organizing not just for the school, but for my Class of 2017. The senior sunrise started off an exciting year of change and transition, and I can't wait to continue planning other events like Prom and Grad Night!

The Final Beginning

So far this year in Leadership has been a great experience. In such a short amount of time we have accomplished so much from Homecoming Float to running social media pages for the school, and to just everyday Leadership life, both inside and outside of school. I feel that this year we are really making in difference in our  De Anza Community and raising our school spirit to heights that this school has never been to and that's something for all of us in our community to be very proud of.

One of the biggest projects we have done and will do this whole year is our Homecoming Floats that each class does. Float is a huge tradition here at De Anza and is something that is not taken lightly. It was countless hours of long, tedious work that took up essentially every day and every night, with weekends turning into all-nighters of full on fluffing and folding all types of napkins. It may not seem like the most glorious thing, all the hard work, but the connections you make and that special moments you share with your classmates is something I wouldn't trade for anything. I remember sitting there at 3 o'clock in the morning among all my friends that were left there thinking, "Wow. This is it. This is the last time we're all going to be spending time like this together." It really hit me in that moment how special and unique the experience of, not only making an incredible piece of art in our float, but having the opportunity to make these powerful bonds with people I may not see at all in the span of a year. It's truly something I will cherish for a very long time.

The main thing that I do in Leadership this year is running the social media pages and doing the announcements for De Anza. It may not seem like the biggest job but I feel like it is making a big impact on our school community. Keeping on top of the social media pages is no easy task with all the events and activities that go on inside and outside of the school. The reason I feel that it makes such a big impact within our community is when I see activity on the pages beyond the students in De Anza and see middle school students commenting that they're excited to come to this school or alumni saying that they are proud of what the school is doing. And we are doing really great things at De Anza these days and that is a tradition that I hope continues for decades to come.

Final Year

      It is incredible to think that this is my final year in Leadership. I have been apart of Leadership for four years now, and it is sad that it is all coming to an end now. However, I look back at the years and realize how much I've grown and found my leadership style. I have learned so much from my peers in the past. Now I can plan rallies, dances, spirit weeks, etc.

      Homecoming week, as usual, is very hectic for the Leadership class. Float for the seniors this year wasn't the best as how it has been in the past years. We may not have gotten first place, but I think what matters is that we came together and enjoyed our last all nighters, eating two for a dollar jack and the box tacos, going through the terrifying drive towards Sheldon, being afraid of the float falling to shambles, and getting cut by chicken wire one last time. It is important that we enjoyed those last moments together because for most of us that was our last time building a float. Homecoming week was full of stressful and rewarding moments. This year, I was able to plan the largest homecoming dance in De Anza History. Although it was stressful and definitely not as easy as I thought it would be, it was all worth it in the end. I believe that everyone enjoyed themselves and are now looking forward to more dances.

    Overall, the start of the year has been challenging for me. It has been hard trying to balance AP classes, homework, friends, family, and college applications all at once. However, I know I'll get through it and it will all be worth it when I get to walk down that stage and receive my diploma. It is now hitting me that sadly, I won't see most of my friends once we graduate. We are all going to move on and go onto to do better things. As a senior, I have to take advantage of doing everything one last time. Now, I am starting to understand what people meant when they said senior year goes by really fast. I know it is only the beginning of senior year, but soon it is going to be June and I am going to be left wondering where did the time go. I just have to focus on my grades and making as much memories as possible in this school with my friends one last time.

The Year So Far...

     As I entered my third year of  leadership as a Junior at De Anza High school, my mind is curious as to what lies ahead for this year. So far, only the first quarter of the school year has gone by and yet so much has happened. The first major thing in leadership that we did was our traditional First Rally. In the First Rally, we kicked off the school year with a bang with games, performances, and a whole lot of screaming as everyone was getting pumped for the school year to begin. All in all, the First Rally was a complete success and the incoming freshmen got a taste of what it's like to be a DA Don. 

     The next major events to happen afterwards was Homecoming. Homecoming was, as it usually is, a success. Many students came out to have fun and dance. Although, not everything was perfect because there was a couple of complications that occurred, one being that there was not enough food or drinks, especially water, to satisfy everyone. However, those problems were more or less dealt with accordingly and everyone had a good time. 

     Finally, this following major event is many people's favorite because of the hard work and dedication put into it that truly represents a beautiful and long lasting event at De Anza and that is Float! All four classes competed in trying their absolute best to create the best float out of the theme that was chosen and this year, the theme was Disney.However, a minor complication with the weather forced float to be delayed and pushed back one week. Some count it as a miracle for some precious extra days while others were anxious to have Float to happen. Now for the results! In fourth place came the Freshmen with an amazingly done Stitch surfing float. Up next was the Sophomore's who got third place with a colorful float design of Dumbo. In second place is the Senior class, with a high and mighty Simba for their Lion King float. The class that ended up winning float was the Junior class. This class has been craving for three years to be able to come on top of the senior class and win the trophy that is associated with winning float, which they will be able to design to their liking and will be on display at the front office's trophy case. Overall, Float put on a grand feat and everyone who assisted felt great pride in the hard work that they did and those who watched were amazed by the extraordinary floats. 

The Beginning

Quarter 1 is always the toughest most hectic quarter for me. Coming back from Summer break can be difficult to get back into the swing of things. This year I wanted to get more involved with my school since it is my Senior year. I joined the program Link Crew and so far I’ve enjoyed it. I really do think Link Crew has had a part in helping better our De Anza community. For example, the number of fights this year has decreased dramatically. Besides that, it has helped me to improve my Leadership skills and to get to know a few of the freshmen this year.

This year is my 3rd and last year in Leadership. I wanted to make the most out of it so I got more involved in float and the homecoming dance. Since I am in ASB I don’t necessarily have to help out with my class’s float. I didn’t really help out a lot with my class’s float last year and I regret it because I felt like I missed out on a lot. I really enjoy helping out with float because with the amount of time we spend together everyone bonds and new friendships are formed. This year, compared to previous years, there wasn’t that many Seniors involved with float. It made it more difficult to finish on time because we needed all the help we could get. At the end we managed to finish on time and I was very happy with our finished float.

Since it was supposed to rain on homecoming day, we had to move our float parade and rally to next week. I’m glad we ended up doing that because having the parade, rally, football game, and dance all in one day would have been way too much. This year I decided to take charge of the homecoming dance alongside Diana Trujano. The dance turned out to be great and over 500 students came. It was the biggest dance at DA yet. Although we had a great turnout, there were a few things I would have changed if I were to do it again. For example, we should have ordered the decorations way more in advance. A lot of the decorations we ordered didn’t come in on time. So I had to drive back and forth to different stores to buy new decorations the same day of setting up. This gave us less time on setting up. Compared to last years homecoming, I like it better when we have it on a weekend. We get more time on setting up and we don’t feel so rushed. Also, the students who were helping with setting up wouldn’t have missed the homecoming game if it were on a weekend. At the end, everyone enjoyed the dance.

So far Leadership has been going well so far! This year we have already tried new ideas and have been improving our De Anza culture. I can’t wait to see what other great moments will come!

Have You Heard of the New De Anza? Ya? Let Me Tell You a Little More.

         I'm pretty sure that more than often some of us look back at our four awesome years of high school and say "aah, those were the days" Don't you ever wonder if your high school years are the same type of  experience that us teenagers get? You ever wonder what goes on in the lives of an average high school student in the bay area? I don't know what other high schools are doing, but let me tell you what us Dons are doing at De Anza.

   

   Freshmen Orientation, Link Crew, First Day of School, First Home Football Game of 2016, Welcome back Rally, First Friday, Club Week, Welcome Back Dance, De Anza's very OWN Geo-tag on snap chat, not one but TWO full weeks of Homecoming Rally Week, Homecoming Dance, Homecoming Floats, Homecoming Football Games, School Mannequin Challenge, the list is just endless. All of these events were made possible by the leadership crew, and other De Anza helpers. These are only few of what us as De Anza Dons have done together, and the year is just beginning. The one that had to stand out from all these is homecoming.

    

        Quarter one always starts out stressful for leadership students, not just because we just started our classes, it's because of float and homecoming. Quarter one has to be the most fun yet hard time for leadership students, but it's all worth it. This is an experience that can have a positive impact on anybody, not just the students at De Anza, but the teachers, staff, admin, custodians, site supervisors, and everyone that is involved with the De Anza atmosphere. We only get 4 years, and we should enjoy them while it lasts. Me as a senior in high school, as the secretary for the senior class of 2017, wouldn't miss any of these events for the world.

       

what's next :)

         Quarter 1 has been a lot of fun.For this begin my second year in leadership I have to say our leadership class has been really organized and open minded.Everyone in class has great ideas and everyone wants to try new things.We have so much going on for example the welcome back dance really started the school year fun.We also have spirit weeks,welcome back rally,club week and homecoming rally/dance and not to forget about float every class did such a great job.
       Even though quarter 1 has been fun but it really pushed my stress limits.I really had a hard time managing my time.Being a student athlete is hard because you have to mange school and sport at same time and me taking Ap for the first time has even made it harder but thanks to block schedule for making it easy when I get home from practice I do not have to be awake all night doing my homework for all my seven classes.
      The biggest event De anza has had so far is our homecoming rally/dance.Both events went very well and organized.Majority of De anza seem to enjoy the events that were held.Everyone seemed to have a great time watching and participating at homecoming rally.The homecoming dance was great.We sold more tickets than we expected.Everyone in our leadership class work so hard on all these events and made them amazing.I cant wait to see what comes next.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

The Quarter Of Crowns!

              This quarter has definitely turned out much different than expected. My leadership class has improved by so much in comparison to last year. With our float being much better than last years and our class becoming closer, things have certainly changed for the better. But I order to have this improvement the sophomore leadership class had to go  through lots of stress. But in the end it was all worth it, and I've gain so many happy memories.

                De Anza's recent change to block schedules made me question how beneficial having two hour classes might be. After being familiar to this new change I grew to become very happy with it. Block Schedule ended up helping me in many ways. It has helped me balance all my classes, and dedicate certain days to certain classes. Which helped me achieve the highest grades I've had in high school.

              This first quarter ended up being really great in so many ways. I ended up being extremely proud of my class, my sophomores in leadership, and myself. I can't wait for what the future has in store for leadership and myself. In addition to that, so far my sophomore year at De Anza has been really fun and exciting. I would like to thank everybody who helped me achieve my goals, and the sophomore leadership class for working so hard.

       

A Learning Experience

         

          This first quarter has been an amazing experience that I will never forget! One memorable moment from this quarter was when the freshman leadership was first told about float and all of the work we needed to do in such a small amount of time. Our eyes widened and I think I heard Cassia, our president, wince. With the help of ASB, we got our bearings and began to work. We poured all of our free time into the float and became very, very stressed. This aroused conflicts but in the end, we all supported each other, which, in turn, bonded us even more.

          We did end up coming out with a win! All of our hard work paid off when we road into the track and saw our freshmen shout, cheer, and chant for our class! The spirit embraced us and all of our stress seemed to wash away. Our win wasn't a trophy for float or a spirit week win, it was the memories, friendships, and pride that float gave us.
          As a freshman entering leadership, I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know how to make a float, fundraise, or organize rallies. Luckily everyone in leadership was so accepting and helpful! They showed us how to accomplish the things we needed to do in a somewhat timely fashion and also helped us with moral support. With the help of leadership, friends, and family, we reached all of our goals for first quarter. Since this quarter was so successful, I can't wait to see what we are going to achieve within the next couple of months!

Mariana Barsotti

Being Involved

In the beginning of the school year I was a part of Link Crew. Link Crew is a freshmen transition program that helps welcome incoming freshmen and makes them feel welcome. I wanted to become a Link Crew leader because I wanted to  create a chain of kindness around my campus. When I was a freshman, I had a lot of speculation about high schools due to the rumors I have heard and really wish Link Crew was around my freshman year. I am fortunate to be part of the first class to be involved with Link Crew. I have created amazing bonds with my freshmen and have help them become more aware of the school. The most valuable lesson I learned as a Link Crew leader is that everyone can benefit from forming positive relationships with each other. This program has help me improved on my leadership skills and has changed my way of thinking. All these new qualities I have learned will be used to help out my leadership class this year.

The best event so far that Leadership has hosted would have to be the homecoming dance. I was part of the homecoming decorating team, it was stressful due to limited time we had. We mange to push through and finish with time to spare. The theme this year was Enchanted Evening; the gym was decorated with twinkling lights and mini trees as center pieces. The dance had a huge turn out, in fact it had the highest attendance De Anza has ever had. Everyone had a great time dancing the night away.

Even though this is my second year in Leadership, one would except it to be easier the second time around, that is definitely not the case.  Leadership is always busy, especially in the beginning of the school year. We have to get new officers for freshmen, attend float regularly, plan our first rally and then start planning for our homecoming rally/ dance. It seems as if the stress never ends. Do not be alarm, Leaderships is such an amazing class that I have been involved in. It gives one a thorough overview of the qualities of a good leader, while also allowing one to put these skills into practice in classrooms and community settings.

First year of leadership

So for my first year of leadership. It was stressful for me in the beginning,

Because I had to go in play football games and attend practices  a lot and I would not have

Time to go to float and stuff like that and that makes me upset that couldn't go to float.

But sometimes in leadership it would be fun where I can help out with my class with setting up 

Decorations for like our rally. For example our first rally the welcome rally to me was fun because I can get out of class early to see what I can do as a independent and help my class out .

                                   

                                We had two big rally's we had to do this year and it was the welcome rally

And the homecoming rally. The first rally was a good one because I got too see what it was like to be in leadership and see how it works. In that rally I got too set up and blow balloons make the sign for our class. It was fun because I got to do help out and not be bored in a class room. But the first rally was good I think everybody enjoyed it and had fun !.  Now the homecoming rally that was this year it was better than last year, because there was better MC. I liked about this rally was that the floats was really good this year. 

My experience with leadership so far is that it's really fun and stressful at times 

But I know I can do it with my class because I know they got my back

Quarter 1 just ended and I got the grades that I wanted. Hopefully next quarter I will

Do way better than my last quarter. I just have to keep up with the pace of my classes.

Also the block schedule that they added this year I really liked how they gave us more 

More time in class so we can finish our homework.

This Is Just The Beginning

Within this past quarter, there have been many events and new experiences in Leadership that have impacted me. From countless hours spent on folding napkins, to selling food every week, they've been a few things that have kept me going in this class. Along with new experiences, were new lessons that complimented them as well. Solely based upon the first quarter, I've taken more initiative and become more hardworking, with the help of my peers during that time.

Prior to the storm, was a sense of calm, yet time consuming business. Long story short, Club Week was an effective way of getting students more involved with some of the extracurricular activities at DeAnza as they explored the opportunities provided. This week was able to establish a stronger foundation of school culture that was as equally engaging as the welcome rally.
Speaking of a certain event that was especially stressful and draining, was definitely float. The whole shebang of float itself. Despite all of the sore fingers and Advil pills that were taken, it was well worth it in the end. Float is something that I portray as the epitome of DeAnza traditions, courtesy of this class and I'm happy that I was able to contribute. To showcase our floats, the classes were able to drive them around the track and at Sheldon Elementary for the homecoming parade/rally. On that note, the rally and parade were both productive, resulting in a success for the Leadership class.

All in all, this is just the beginning and with what the future beholds, comes a time full of pride, stress, and competition. The first of everything will eventually become times to reflect on and grow from, not only as individuals, but the Leadership class in general. With that being said, I'm excited for all of the new experiences we'll take on and represent as leaders of the school!

An Uplifting Experience

    What exactly does leadership do? How can being a part of leadership, give you an inside track on changing your school for the better? These are questions I had before I got excepted into leadership this year. But after about 2 1/2 months of being involved in leadership, I really feel as if I know my school inside-out. I know exactly what the spirit days are and what major events are going around at De Anza, which allows me to tell my peers so that they can get involved as well.
    To be honest, leadership can get very stressful, especially during rally weeks. But the feeling that I receive when I see my fellow peers getting involved is well worth it. Leadership has challenged me to work outside my comfort zone which has benefited me so much already. Truth be told, I thought that leadership class was going to be a waste of class, study hall, but it's so much more. Not only are we involved with everything that goes on at the school, we take pride and discuss every little detail because our vibe is be great or why do it.
   An additional amazing experience I've been blessed to be involved with in leadership is fundraising. I've never really put on a fundraiser by myself before because I didn't know how to do it. But with the guidance of Mr.Hillyer and our wonderful junior president Gladis Mendoza, I'm slowly learning how to guide an outstanding fundraiser. I've had so many wonderful experiences and learned so many life altering traits already, I can't wait to continue learning as this year goes on.

2016-Quarter 1 Reflection

     The first quarter here at De Anza has really pushed my stress limits.  I think the biggest issue I had was time management. With getting use to the new block schedule, being in an AP class for the first time, of course float, and other factors I really had my plate full. Besides stress, all those factors I've mentioned didn't really allow me to get much sleep, which eventually contributed to my stress.

     Besides the bad, good has came out of this first quarter as well. Compared to last year, the high  school experience has really changed for me. Because of leadership, my eyes have been opened to realize that building community and being involved in your school is very important. This opportunity has allowed me to contribute my efforts more in school events such as school rallies, dances, and other activities. Going back to near the beginning of the school year, leadership put on the Welcome Rally. I must admit it was a really exciting opportunity for me to get involved here at DA and get to know DA's culture a little bit more.

     The biggest event so far here at  DA was the Homecoming Rally/Dance. Honestly, both went very well and were very successful. A majority of DA seemed to enjoy the events that were held such as the parade, rally, and dance. Everyone seemed to have a great time watching clubs, sports teams, academies, and each class's floats come around the track. Also, the Homecoming Dance was a major hit. We sold more tickets than we expected and everyone seemed to have a fantastic evening. Even though leadership's blood, sweat, and tears went into these events, especially float, it was all worth it in the end. Truthfully, I can't wait to be a part of many more DA events this school year and witness the DA culture being spread around.

     

                                                               All Worth It 



                                                       

Going into this school year I knew I wanted to be more involved in school in any way possible. I knew joining clubs and being in leadership would be the best way for me to actually enjoy involvement with school. It was already too late for me to join leadership until Sophomore President said they needed one more independent and chose me as the new sophomore independent. First rally somewhat consisted of me wanting to help with the games but was too shy because I had just joined like two days before. It was all a great first rally of the year and great first rally that I helped set up. As for club week, I'd say so much more people came out of their comfort zones and joined all types of clubs that nobody knew they'd ever join. There's also many new clubs this year too !

          Homecoming was full of stress and anxiety for all of leadership to be honest. For all who helped with float and weren't done, were the most stressed out of all of us. Homecoming seemed like it lasted forever due to the fact we had to change the date of the rally and parade because of the weather. Homecoming overall was all a success, which includes the dance, rally, and floats/parade. For the dance so much more people showed up than we expected and not all just from our school which was kind of surprising how much people from other schools there was. As for the parade, I can't really say because I took one for the team and stayed to set up the rally while most of leadership was helping with getting the float ready for the parade. The rally was a huge success, it looked like everyone had fun and in my opinion, this years rally was so much more organized and overall I guess "better" than last years. So yeah sure, homecoming can be stressful but it's been the best experience             I've had in leadership so far ! And it's only the beginning !
                                                   
                                                                                             

Leadership in general has been such a great experience. You get to meet new people and become friends with all the other genuinely good and kind people in leadership. You get to volunteer in so many events, so you're not only involved in school but you're involved with the city in general. I don't regret joining leadership one bit because I mean yeah it was kind of hard to balance leadership and your other classes during homecoming but once that's over I'd say joining leadership was the best decision I've made because of the people I've became friends with and how many different things you learn each day. It's just nice knowing people come to you when they have questions that involve school whether it's about upcoming events or where to find a teachers room. Leadership just genuinely keeps me positive and optimistic all the time.

The Busiest Time

For this being my second year in leadership, I have to say the busiest and funniest time in the year has to be during Quarter 1. And that's because we have so much going on! We have spirit weeks, the Welcome Rally, Club Week, the Homecoming Rally/Parade and dance, and what was new to De Anza, the Back to School dance. Also, not to forget about the floats, that every class has work extremely hard on, Friday night football games, the El Sobrante Stroll and a bunch more fun and exciting events that all happened in the beginning of the year!

In the beginning of the year, most students are very open minded and wants to try new things and get involved in the school more. That's why there was Club Week! Club Week was a week where all clubs are out at lunch and students can learn more about them and join. De Anza also  started this new thing called Link Crew, which hosted a dance called the Back to School Dance. It was a success, it started off the year great.

We had two big rallies this quarter, the Welcome Rally and the Homecoming Rally. They were both so much fun and many people enjoyed it. We now have 3 minutes more rallies left this year, isn't that crazy? Time really does fly by when you're having fun. Out of everything during Quarter 1, the Homecoming Dance was the best thing. It was the biggest dance we ever had at De Anza, over 500 students came out! This year, our student culture is very much positive and everybody is having fun, which is our main goal. Quarter 1 is just ending, if we keep this up, 2016-2017 will be the funniest year yet!

A Great Start!

The past few months have been a nice concoction of STRESS and excitement. Just starting from day one of school, it was already obvious to see the major changes that have impacted our school from our awesome new Link Crew, to the interesting new renovations to our academies, and the cool new clubs we've added to our growing student body! The first quarter of my senior year has been a truly memorable one and I'm proud to have been a DA Don for the past four years! I've been blessed to have such an amazing team to work with my past two years and it truly is because of all the hard work of everyone in our leadership class that such an awesome first quarter was possible!

The true highlight of the first quarter was De Anza's Homecoming week; all of our blood, sweat, and tears all culminated to that one big week! We started off the week the same way we always do with our spirit days! As always, the seniors dominated spirit week, easily sweeping away at all the competition (like we always do). Spirit Week finally led to our Homecoming Parade! The most I remember about the Homecoming Parade was how excruciatingly long the whole day was. I had just spent the night before at a float all nighter so I was already exhausted. After busy hours of logistical set up we finally began our parade at Sheldon Elementary School! We arrived with many of our De Anza clubs, academies, fall sports, and marching band and met up with the homecoming floats who were already there waiting for us! Once our students started to get settled and organized we began our Homecoming Parade and finally started to make our way back to De Anza

Homecoming Day was a really busy day that was only one of the many busy days leadership had this year! As busy and overloaded we all were, everybody reacted surprisingly well; everyone always looked for an area to help out in and because of this, we were able to accomplish each task that was thrown at us. From the Homecoming Committee, the Rally Committee, and to the Blood Drive Committee, everyone did an amazing job in working towards an excellent start to the school year and building a better De Anza! 

First year of leadership

       So for my first year of leadership. For me it was stressful because I had to play in football games and I also had practice. I feel so bad I did not attend to the floats and I'm really upset with my self about tjat





The first rally was fun I got to get out of class early to help out with
My leadership class and it was really exciting. The new administration
They are good better than last year, like this year they are chill and they
Know how to handle us and stuff like that for example last year they would
Suspend us real fast , But now this year they give us another chance and
Make us go to Saturday school i like the new administration.

The block schedule this year i really love it makes us have more time doing
Homework in class so we have time for other stuff later. Last year when I
was a freshman and we did not have block and just had regular classes
We had to rush to do our work and stuff like that,we would rush
To get threw our lessons, and we would finish it so fast that
We would not learn the material.

2016 Prompt

      Wow! We survived our first quarter as High Schoolers! Coming into high school for the first time was a big leap. As a Freshman, I was introduced to so many new exciting things that made me actually want to come to school. Who knew school could be so fun? With the dances, the rallies, the parade, and all the other fun events that have happened here at DeAnza so far, it will be exhilarating to see what comes next!
     One of the first things that happened was the Back To School or Welcome Dance. It was a really nice to kick things off with a fun event that showed the friendly DeAnza community. A second fun event that happened was the Welcome Rally. To see the whole school out there showing off their spirit with all that energy was thrilling. Having a tight knit community that really wants to show off their pride in their school was one of the best differences that has shown from becoming a High Schooler this year. The other very fun thing that happened was the Homecoming Rally and Parade.
 In all honesty, building the float was very stressful,however it was a great experience with responsibility that paid off. The parade was super fun! The whole school was out there together just having fun and that is a tradition that I definitely want to continue.
    After these first few months at high school, I am really excited for whats to come. I think that this year will be a great first year at high school. DeAnza has a great community and I look forward to spending the next four years here!

  So how do I feel about the block schedule I believe its considerate for who may have a lot of homework so you have about 45 to 50 minutes to get started or maybe even finish it.Alright tips for the block schedule is instead of talking for the last  40 minutes get your homework done or at least start it so you have less work to do at home and complete your classwork also ask questions if you need help. I believe some good notes on accomplishing your grade goals are to take good notes, study, and if you have a De Anza planner write down your homework in it, and always turn your work in. 

 Yes it has been a crazy few weeks but its all fine because seem like they are enjoying school and seems they liked the dance and rally.My first quarter in High School was fun cause i know i had teachers who would help if needed it. Also the new administration is dope they are doing there job good and there was huge drop of suspensions compared this year to last year which is AWESOME. The first spirit week was cool because it showed how many people had school spirit and participated in the games and the rally. And it showed me as a freshman we have a bunch of seniors, juniors who are willing to help us.

  Okay homecoming was cool to see how many people participated in the spirit week and see how everybody dress up nice for the dance. And for the float that was amazing because everybody enjoyed them at the rally and how everyone who worked it on it truly showed hard work pays off. Club week was cool to see how many people want to be apart of club. The welcome rally was amazing as a freshman to see how a rally is going to like and i know besides me other freshman enjoyed it a lot. The homecoming rally was also dope because the freshman did good during the games, also to see how everyone's floats came out wonderful and showed how much work people put in on there floats. My experiences at DA are WONDERFUL I am part of leadership and every day I'm maturing to be a man in this BIG world. 

Leadership

               
    Leadership is the spirit of De Anza Highschool. We create fun activities for  students to  participate in such as rallies, spirit weeks, and Parades. Students from the freshman to the senior class all have a role in leadership and its activities. As teenagers we have a sense of what all the students will think is fun and entertaining. We put all of our ideas together while still keeping the school rules in consideration. This is a big responsibility that we have but we are really honored to be apart of it.
    Every quarter we have a school rally which is our main events. They consist of music and games between the classes. Some students even show off their talents and perform. Students really look forward to participating in these rallies. They love the competition and school spirit. These rallies are about an hour long which is filled with plain fun. This hour takes minds off of stressful school which students might need.    
  Other activities like parades and spirit weeks are all included some select rallies. As leadership we love putting a smile on students face by making these activities. Rallies have become very traditional through out the years and we look forward to each and every one of them. Students are always giving us great ideas on better spirit ideas for De Anza. We try our best to meet students expectations to make every event better and better.

               So far my first year at De Anza high school has been pretty good. There has been many fun things. There has been many events and activities that I participated in. The only thing I did not participate in was club week. I did not participate because I am a freshman and had not been able to join a club yet. I haven't joined any clubs so far and I regret that but I feel that I will be joining a club soon.
              A big thing that I worked on was the freshman float. All the people that worked on float and I worked so hard. the night before the parade we worked till we couldn't work anymore. Although we came in last place the administration still said it was the best freshman float in three years. Our theme was lilo and stitch, the Disney movie. We worked on it for over three long months. by the time we had finished, we were all so burnt out. But we were all very proud of they way it came out and we had a lot of fun at the rally.
            Another big thing that I participated in was the rallies. The rallies are so fun because you can cheer for your class and there is games and so much other fun things. Even if you are typically pretty antisocial, the rallies are still really fun. there's just something about them that makes anyone get into the school spirit. So i  conclusion my first quarter at De Anza high school has been great. i am greatly looking forward to my next three years here.
         

2016 Prompt and Leadership Reflection !

        Well, the beginning of block schedule had me a little slumped; having all the classes I dislike consecutively for 90 minutes had me fighting the urge to smash my face on a table repeatedly. I've adjusted pretty well to the new schedule and am now quite happy with the reduced homework load and more time to understand the material taught :-)

         Leadership has been a fresh experience for me. Float prep was stressful, but it was definitely good practice with cooperating and coordinating with others. Without leadership, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet some of the unique, positive, and supportive people that I'm friends with today. Some of the people I've met through leadership are honestly such precious humans that add some extra jazz to my life, it warms my heart knowing they exist and they deserve the best.

      There are a lot of people in leadership with a well-established sense of self; people that'll help expand and perhaps even change your perspective and values. The class dynamic in leadership is inviting and provides you with the opportunity to speak up and contribute; that is, if you're comfortable enough doing so. The upperclassmen are pretty kind to us freshmen, it made me really happy that some of the seniors were willing to help us with wrapping the streamers during homecoming rally! Props to them for helping us out, us freshmen were truly struggling :')

       Sometimes leadership (primarily communication) can be frustrating, but most of the students in leadership genuinely care about the well-being of other students and the overall school spirit. They try their best and it's clear from observing during class discussion that leadership has faith that De Anza can become an even more incredible school, with a bit of work put in. 

I hope you make today a great day! Spread a little love and light.

- Kaitlin Roth

 Float was such a new experience for me. It was stressful,difficult but overall it was fun and it made me learn lots of skills. I learned to maintain my time and notice what were my priorities. I met lots of people during float and it honestly brought everyone together when we finished. Of course,the process wasn't easy at all,but we did it! I feel like from this experience, it can be used in the real world. When I go to college, the professor may assign a huge project that can take months and this will help me not to procrastinate. This can also help when I have my career in the future.
     As you may know the Homecoming Rally ties down with Float. The Homecoming Rally was successful and all the classes enjoyed it! Of course, not every rally is perfect. I would change the organization of it and maybe have more activities going on so it won't feel as short. In the first rally we had this year, we had a problem occur but thankfully that problem didn't happen at Homecoming! Little by little we all work on the problems so we can make the next activity much more successful.
     From these school activities and projects from leadership, it taught me that there will be stress involved,disappointments,but mainly unity. As a whole leadership class,we work on making the school a better learning environment and of course enjoying your time being at De Anza High School!

Past Quarter Events

   The past months have been quite hectic for the leadership class, with homecoming being the center of everyone's attention. From blood drives, to the dances, to the El Sobrante Stroll, to the rallies, to even Club Week, it has been a fun, yet different experience from past years. Nonetheless, as an individual, despite my classes and college related matters, I have managed to get through quarter 1. Hopefully, I can toil through the last three quarters of my high school career.

                                                       Tug of War: Wednesday Games

   As the year started, I knew that the beginning would be a challenge - with all the pending responsibilities including clubs such as MESA and Interact, along with leadership responsibilities, and also the ever so terrifying process of applying to college and taking the SAT. My expectations were absolutely correct - it would be the most challenging process. This fact proved to be true when it came to leadership responsibilities as well. With the following events like homecoming and Wednesday games, I try to do my part in helping. For instance, during float season, I tried to assist the underclassmen with their respective floats and be there as an additional support. Also, with Wednesday games, I, along with others, try to organize activities in the quad for people to play - although they have been rather simple, yet effective, ranging from activities such as Jump Rope, Tug of War, and Hula Hoops. Hopefully, we can arrange more games for everyone.


    Overall, I have high hopes for leadership as we move forward to the second quarter. So far, there is more organization in the class, which is an improvement from the last year I had been here. I also hope to input more of my ideas and comments, so that I can also do my part in contributing to the betterment of leadership and other organizations for the time to come.
 

So my experience in leadership has been so fun and i'm waiting for more experience to come. So far I have help with the welcome back dance, homecoming dance, and with our sophomores float. It was actually really fun when I help out because I now know what leadership does for this school. The one activity that I think was most fun was the float because all of my friends were able to help us to make dumbo and it was just really fun. The day of the homecoming rally was really fun because my friends (that help with float) and I didn't go to school until the parade.

Leadership is so fun, I met so many nice, productive people and all the thing we do are awesome (in my opinion).My favorite thing to do in leadership is going class to class passing out paper or anything they forgot in their mailbox.. At first my expectation for this class was "its going to be really cool" and so far my expectation are correct. Leadership is so busy planning out more fun stuff for DeAnza. What we're mostly focusing on right now is snowball (which is in December 3rd I think)

One other thing that I like about leadership is how we sell some food. We have first Friday which is where leadership and clubs sell food,drinks,etc on the first Friday of every month. Last first Friday sophomores sold pizza and we were the first one to sold out and we had four boxes of Costco pizza.
Next first Friday apparently sophomore leadership are going to sell hot chocolate. So if you guys want some chocolate go to the tables after school and buy a cup for $1. That's it for now guys see ya next

Brand New School Year

The block schedule was a crazy switch and was difficult to adjust to. After having a month of our normal 7 period schedule, then having to change to a block schedule
with longer periods was a weird change but it was doable. Dealing with the new block schedule was fairly easy because even though you're constantly waiting for the period to end, it actually gives you time to get a lot done in class and to ask questions that you've never had time to ask in class due to the old short period.

I was in leadership last year, but so far it has been amazing. We've had a huge success with the events that happened like the rally's, dances, etc. The welcome back rally was the start of the continuation of the De Anza rally culture. All the performances and games that occurred at the rally was enjoyable for about most of the students. The homecoming rally would have to be the best rally of 2016 so far. It started off with the homecoming parade that was held at Sheldon Elementary School. The cheerleaders, football players, a few clubs were there, along with the floats from all 4 classes. They all took a lap around the track to show off their class, team, and club. It was a great representation of De Anza throughout the community. The floats looked amazing and it was all worth the blood, cuts, fluffing, and folding because all that hard work led up to that amazing stressful day.

Club week was great for students to show off their clubs and to have more special things for students to be a part of. We have a few new clubs this year such as lettuce club. There were many students signing up for clubs that week and hopefully it was a successful sign up day for all of the clubs.

Overlook of our 1st quarter

For De Anza's welcome rally our seniors took the win of 1st place for the whole rally week. Our spirit days were really competitive. We had days like Tropical Tuesday, Twin Thursday, and Color war Friday and so much more. Our welcome rally really started off our school year with a bang. It gave the freshman's a feel of how De Anza rocks and they fell in love with it.

During the whole beginning of the year our classes worked hard on their floats. When it was time for the homecoming rally the competition was there. Although it was very close between the seniors and the juniors, the juniors took 1st place with the floats. But our seniors took first place for the whole rally week. WooooHoooo Go Seniors!!

Being a part of leadership is a wonderful thing. It helps us shape the school and get feedback of things that we can do again and things that weren't that successful. Our focus is making the students in the school as involved as possible and hearing their voices. Leadership is all for the students and is a very wonderful thing for the school.

Homecoming Parade

  Homecoming was amazing, but the preparation was difficult. As Group Commander of AFJROTC it was necessary to help cadets practice marching for the parade and making sure everything was planned out correctly. Talking about the schedule and logistics for the Homecoming Parade in Leadership class was also strenuous since we talked about it every day. The hardest part of preparing for Homecoming was finishing up the Lion King Float. The float was only 3/4 done and there was only one week left. People, such as myself had to have stay up all night the night before the Homecoming Parade in order to finish it up in the morning. The day of Homecoming was all about working together. People came to float, and it was all hands on deck. Although it was difficult, it was a chance to spend more time with my friends.
      Being awake for 30 hours definitely hit me in the morning but I knew the day has just started. After I did my part at float, I rushed to the school to meet up with the cadets. I got changed into my uniform quickly and led the cadets out to the football field. When we finally arrived at Sheldon Elementary School, elementary kids surrounded all of us asking for high fives and autographs. It was so fun seeing all the hyperactive energetic smiling little kids (little as in my size).
      Leading the cadets back to school and marching them in formation was the best part of the day. Calling out cadences was what really had the audience all excited. Once we arrived at the school, it was such a colorful sight: green, purple, pink and blue all in order by class. The volume of the audience raised once the cadets marched by and screamed out the cadence. Homecoming was such a fun tiring day. I would never miss a Homecoming Parade.

First Quarter So Far.

Hello Dons! We have had so many events here and it has only been the first quarter! I'm so excited for the up coming school year and what else it has to offer. We started out great this year with tons of new things including: Link Crew, Student Advocacy, and Block Schedule. Although it was very different to start out it seems to be working very well! I can't wait to see more people getting involved in the varies programs and activities De Anza has to offer. Have a great second quarter!

Quarter 1 Reflection

   
    I think Club Week was a great way to get the word out about what clubs we have. I'm glad we changed it from Club Day to Club Week so that clubs have more space and time promote their club each day. Having all the clubs all outside on one day was a bit chaotic, so having different days definitely made the process more efficient. Prior to club week, I stepped out of my comfort zone a bit and announced it during the rally. Although only a few could actually hear what I said, I think I benefited from the experience greatly. I am typically not scared of talking in front of a crowd but the whole school was a bit nerve-racking. However, right after I was done, I realized it was not bad at all and I would definitely do it again.
  The Homecoming Parade went great! I marched with Gay Straight Alliance this year. I think it was so important for GSA to be represented because it is a very small club that many are not aware of on campus. I have heard "What's GSA?" "Do you have to be Gay to join?" "We have a GSA Club?" countless times this year. So I think that it was helpful for everyone to see us marching, cheering  and having fun. I hope that GSA continues to march each year after I graduate as well as participate in other school events/activities. I helped set up the rally last year so it was interesting to experience the rally from the opposite end.
   As a senior, I have been able to take on several leadership roles which have really improved my leadership skills. I am currently the ASB Club Director, President of GSA, Secretary of Interact, Student Secretary of PTSA, and President of Peer Drug Education. I love of the activities I am apart of and love being able to take charge and help them grow as much as possible.
 

So much to discuss!

Hey De Anza Dons! The past few months have been a bit crazy so today we are posting about some reflections on what we have experienced. Make sure that you answer the prompt before this titled "2016" on your experience here at De Anza through the first few weeks, but also in this blog we will require each person in Leadership to write a response. That means we will have over 40 responses to our blog in one day! The topic for this blog are to describe your experiences through the following major events:

• Homecoming Parade and Float
• Club Week (I know! Seems like so long ago)
• Welcome Rally and Homecoming Rally
• Experiences that you have had that are shaping your world here at DA.

Your responses should be at least 3 paragraphs long and we would love if you included pictures! You may combine the last 2 blogs together into 1 post per person. Please review and fix any potential grammatical errors and notify Mr. Hillyer once your posts are concluded. Thanks Leadership!

-Mr. Hillyer