By Sarah Perez December 10, 2025 Growing up Persian-American in the U.S., senior Tara Kashani-Brink celebrated Persian cultural traditions, was spoken to in a mixture of English and Persian and enjoyed Persian food—experiences that led her to feel passionate and proud between her two cultures. Kashani-Brink vividly remembers her mother’s book of Farsi poems; whenever her mother had a worry or unanswered question, she would read a poem to Kashani-Brink and foll

By Dylan Xie December 10, 2025 On Wednesday afternoons, when many students are tired and eager to head home after a long day, a new adventure is just beginning around the corner of campus in Room F-4—the clatter of dice on the table top,  the murmur of voices around the table, the players plotting their next move. This is a typical afternoon at Leland’s Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) Club, a growing community of students eager to explore the limitless realms of make

At student council meetings, attendees are given the opportunity to voice their thoughts on school issues and propose initiatives for change. Before this year, attendance was limited to selected representatives, chosen by teachers or from extracurricular organizations such as Speech and Debate. Now...

Saturated with color and bursting with motion, Freshman Bayleigh Toth’s edits—10 to 20 second clips of characters synchronized to music—have enthralled almost 30,000 followers. What began as a personal hobby has become a success for Toth. Her most viral video...

By Dylan Xie Sept. 24, 2025 Frida Castro-Lavenant,  Social Studies Department Entering her first official year as a teacher, this has been a dream come-true moment for Castro-Lavenant. Prior to this position, she was a student teacher at Fremont High School and a substitute at Leland for a year and a half. Castro-Lavenant had already familiarized herself with the faculty during the previous summers. As an instructional assistant, she collaborated with Trevor H

On the first day of each school year, Roberto Gutierrez, Foreign Language Department, introduces himself with the fun fact that he held the Olympic torch at 13 years old. While at first it may seem like this event is  at most a slice of trivia, in truth, it represents a common theme throughout his life: seeking inspiration from the best of the best to improve himself.

While many students spent their ski break relaxing at home, members of the Journey Around the World (JAW) club traded their typical routines for an immersive teaching experience in Cambodia.