Shaima is a junior and this is her second year on staff. Shaima enjoys reading, drawing, watching movies and shows, and going out with her friends and family during her free time.
![Junior Diya Arun stares out a window. For Arun, the winter season brings out the holiday blues. “ I think [the winter] has a negative effect on my mental health because I feel like the cold weather and people around me are also sadder [and] that affects me,” Arun said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_8047-1200x800.jpg)
![French teacher Marieme Toure serves a plate of the Senegalese food she prepared for her AP French Language and Culture class, to senior Faiza Syed. “I never had Senegalese food before,” Syed said. “I thought it was so cool that she was able to bring a part of her culture [and] background to us.”](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_0798-1200x906.jpeg)
![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)
![Junior Sneha Nekkanty, freshman Arjun Alagappa, and junior Joanne Ma play the flutes in Ralph Vaughan William’s fast-paced “English Folk Song Suite.” “We did well blending with each other during this concert,” Nekkanty said. “Our intonation was also better [compared to] the beginning of the year.”](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/DSC_0645-900x600.jpg)
