![The Phoenix varsity volleyball team lines up for the national anthem. “We were more communicative [with each other] during this game, and I feel like we kept our energy up, especially after the first set,” senior Jessica Valdov said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/DSC_0202-1200x800.jpg)
Grade Levels Battle for Hallway Decorating Victory
Seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshmen competed by decorating their grade- level hallways on homecoming week.
October 24, 2019
Sophomore Anurag Gottipati helps decorate her class hallway. Gottipati is an SCA representative for the sophomore class and was helping decide how to decorate the middle of the hallway. “We’re trying to make the rocket right now, and we are covering the ceilings with black paper so we can prevent any light from coming in because we’re trying to mimic space,” Gottipati said.
Freshmen Neha Venna, Riya Kulkarni, Deeya Sharma, Leah Gutshall, Anya Muju, Anais Alvarez and John Chevrier discussing and planning the decorations for their class hallway to fit with the “Men in Black” theme.
Juniors Iriana Cholakis and Amelie Clarke paint decorations as their first time for their class hallway. Cholakis and Clarke were making a control panel for a UFO by painting the buttons and the controls for the spaceship.
Seniors Giselle Coronado and Marcela Mena cut out and glue letters from Star Wars quotes to a classroom door. Coronado and Mena were helping their senior class decorate their hallway with a Star Wars theme for spirit week. “I really love star wars and I love and enjoy the movies,” Coronado said.
Staff members Dawn Dickerson, Jeremy Cortash, John Duellman, Bradley Burzumato, Annamika Hacikyan, and Christopher Schamus pose with seniors Ramsha Naiyer, Katherine Lynch, Kaniedra Mason, and Abigail Pozniak. The seniors won the hallway decorating competition.
The final product of the junior hallway before school starts.
A giant junior class inflatable alien poses as the hallway’s focal point.
Freshmen Aria Sharma designs a poster for the freshmen class hallway. Sharma was creating a poster with alien footprints to match the freshmen class theme of “Men in Black.” , “It’s a good way for friends to come together as one, and it’s a good thing to do after school instead of just going home,”Sharma said.
Juniors Shradha Dinesh, Molly Gogia, Hoda Awad, Emily Bennett make aliens for their hallway themed Area 51.
![On Monday, Dec. 16, the Rock Ridge Phoenix boys varsity basketball team faced the Unity Reed Lions in a close-knit battle, where the Phoenix prevailed 59-56.
The first quarter started slow, with both teams focusing on strong defense. Even with sophomore Filippo Gomes leading the first with two three-pointers, the Phoenix were still down three at the end of the quarter, leaving a 15-12 lead for the Lions.
The Phoenix amped up their offense considerably for the rest of the game. During the second quarter, the Phoenix scored 20 points, allowing them to grow the point gap between them and the Lions’ score, finishing the quarter 32-23 Phoenix. The third quarter was neck-and-neck as the Lions found footing again, but the Phoenix persisted and gained 14 points, ending the third quarter with a nerve-wracking 46-45 Phoenix lead. “I was a little nervous, I’m not gonna lie,” senior Akash Kulkarni said. “But just staying confident, making good passes, and listening to [Coach] Geyer [got us through].” Both teams fought tooth-and-nail for the fourth quarter, utilizing fouls, free throws, and timeouts to their advantage, but in the end, it was up to Phoenix defense to ensure their win. Ultimately, the Phoenix triumphed, with a winning score of 59-56.
After the game, the Phoenix basketball team awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) belt to the player who worked diligently behind the scenes senior William Beck. They awarded him MVP for his team leadership and playmaking throughout the game. “It feels good, but I couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” Beck said.
✏️ and 📷 by Nidhi Manchala and Lucian Tiller](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
Villars • Dec 20, 2019 at 12:06 pm
Félicitations à notre petite fille Lilly Khalkho.Nous sommes très fiers d’elle.
Michel et Marie Claire villars